THE TEACHER, THE SORCERESS, AND THE WONDERBOLT

Chapter 1: Surprises All Around

“Thank you Miss Hooves.” Cheerilee gave her sincere thanks with a warm smile. She waved goodbye to the mailmare as Derpy left her home to continue her rounds. The smile disappeared however, when she saw the postmark on the badly crumpled and stained letter. It was dated three months ago, far too long for the quick trip from Canterlot. With nervous worry, she ripped open the envelope, and quickly read the letter inside.

Dear Miss Cheerilee,

We at the Ministry of Magic, Canterlot branch, Department of Education, regret to inform you that due to recent budget cutbacks, we will be unable to provide for you an Instructor in the Arcane Arts this fiscal year. We apologize for this inconvenience and urge you to make other arrangements for the coming school year. At your request, we can provide you with a list of tutors in your area, but must ask for a request to process no later than two weeks from this postmark, owing to the fact that such tutors are in very high demand. We are afraid the payment for this tutor must come from your town's own purse. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience, and wish you luck in your endeavors.

With deepest apologies,

Pencil Pusher the Diligent

Chief Educator

Ministry of Magic, Canterlot Branch, Department of Education

Cheerilee's knees buckled, leaving her to slide down the door frame, ending in a heap on her stoop. This is a disaster! The instructor was supposed to come by today so we could discuss the curriculum! And classes were supposed to start TOMORROW! The poor teacher groaned softly and covered her eyes with her hooves.

“Cheerilee? Is something wrong?” The voice pulled her from her musings, causing her to look up with a gasp. Before her stood Twilight Sparkle.

Cheerilee felt a familiar rush in her chest at the sight of the unicorn. Every time this mare made an appearance, her day was instantly brightened, and today was no exception. “Twilight!” she gasped. A sudden thought ran through her mind instantly. “Um Twilight, could I ask you for a large-sized favor?”

“Well, I was on my way to Quills and Sofas to pick up some supplies, but I always have time to spare for my favorite school teacher,” she smiled back.

The maroon pony's heart rate doubled at the friendly words. She wondered how such an innocent comment could make her feel like she was flying amongst the clouds. “It might be best explained if you read this letter I just received today. Keep in mind that it was sent several months ago.”

Twilight picked up the letter in her telekinetic grasp, and read through the lines quickly, her eyes widening as she reached the end. “Oh, my. This is quite serious, Cheerilee. Did you want me to send for a tutor from Canterlot? I know a few there who are quite good,” she inquired.

Watching her hooves as she pawed the ground in nervousness, Cheerilee responded, “Actually Twilight, I was kind of hoping that you could teach the class. I know just how much you love learning, and teaching is a great learning experience. It would only have to be for an hour a day, three times a week, and the class would be very small, so you'll be able to give them the attention they need. I'm afraid I cannot pay you much, but I'll make it up to you.” Worried at the lack of response, she looked up again to see Twilight's reaction.

The stars in the unicorn's eyes, and near-manic grin put the fear of Celestia in the teacher. “Y- you want me- me to teach? You want me to shape young, fertile minds? You want me to spread the joy of learning?!” With every sentence, Twilight had taken another step closer, until by the end, she was quite literally nose-to-nose with Cheerilee, who was backed up against the door frame.

With a nervous titter, Cheerilee said, “Um, i-i-if it's not too much trouble that is...”

Cheerilee was stunned into silence when Twilight swept her up into a fierce hug, and began to twirl her around in her front yard. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you so much! I've been wanting to spread some of the knowledge that I've been acquiring for so long now! You don't know just how much this means to me!” She stopped twirling as a thought suddenly occurred to her. “Oh! I need to get started on a lesson plan! And books! And worksheets! And Tests! Oh, my goodness, the tests!”

She dropped the mare in her arms without a second thought, and began hopping on her rear hooves and clapping her fore hooves. “Eeeee! I get to make tests! Oh, this will be so much fun!” She stopped her dance long enough to grab Cheerilee by the shoulders and say, “I better go prepare! Meet me at the library at noon so we can discuss everything we need to do, okay?” and with that, she ran off. She didn't get far before she ran back and gave her another tight hug along with a quick peck on the cheek. After which, she ran off again to gather her needed supplies.

Overwhelmed, Cheerilee fell backwards onto her lawn sporting a goofy grin and a blush warm enough to fry an egg. With deliberate care, she placed a hoof near the place Twilight had kissed. The pleasant burn spread to her hoof, giving it a tingling sensation. Now I understand why some ponies say “I'll never wash this cheek again”. Does she even know how adorable she is? Or how sexy?

The teacher let out a contented sigh, and just lay there enjoying the warm sun on the cool autumn day. Ignoring the looks she was getting from passersby, she whiled away the time, daydreaming about a certain unicorn librarian. She remembered with fondness the first time she laid eyes on the mare. She was walking through town, talking to her assistant dragon, muttering something about making sure the town was ready for the Princess' arrival for the Summer Sun celebration so she could get back to the important stuff. What in Equestria could be more important? Well, after that, Twilight became something of a fixture in the town, taking charge of the public library. Cheerilee had gone to see her a few times for school functions, and they had met a few times in the street, and with each encounter, the teacher would add another butterfly to her stomach. Now, they were going to be spending a lot more time together. A lot. With a grin, Cheerilee thought to herself She is right about one thing. This is going to be so much fun!

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The blue mare sat down in the middle of the road with a decidedly unladylike grunt. She levitated her hat off of her head to wipe the sweat from her brow with a hoof, and slowly fanned herself with it. “Trixie did not think it would be quite so hot today. And so early, too.” So unused to such arduous physical labor, that even the walk she had resumed at dawn had her drenched with sweat, despite the cool weather. It didn't help that all her meager belongings were stowed in the overstuffed saddlebags she wore on her back, nor that she had been walking like this for the past three days.

Replacing the star-spangled hat, she looked down the hill at the town below her, and remembered the last time she was here. She recognized the spot where she had parked her stage cart... only to have it smashed to splinters by the Ursa Minor. She noticed the water tower that a certain pony had filled with milk and turned into a baby bottle had been replaced. And the apple orchard on the far side of town appeared ready for harvest. Even now, she could see ant-sized ponies among the trees, placing baskets under their boughs in preparation.

Then, she spotted the building that was her ultimate target. The tree-turned-library was a humble structure in Trixie's eyes. Rather small and dowdy if one were to ask Trixie. From this distance, she could just make out a purplish blob making its way to the building. No, wait, is it... dancing? There was a moment where the shape definitely twirled in place before stopping to pick up something it had dropped and going inside quickly. Shaking her head at what must have been a trick of distance, Trixie heaved herself up to her hooves, and continued down the road.

The looks she received from the other ponies as she made her way started to give her an uneasy feeling. Conversations stopped as she went past, and the stares she was getting would have made a lesser pony self-conscious. To Trixie, they only made her mildly disturbed. One could hardly begrudge them their jealousy. Trixie has only met one pony who can outshine her, or even come close to her talent.

The blue mare had her nose in the air as she trotted through town, which was how she missed the rope strung out on the ground. She also missed it going taut just before she reached it. However, she did not miss the ground as she tripped, falling face first into the dirt. Overbalanced by the saddlebags, her rear end kept going until they were directly over her head. The flaps on the over stressed bags came undone and dumped their contents on the mare.

Immediately, the silent street was filled with stifled laughter, which doubled in intensity when her rear, now bereft of the extra weight, came down again. Slowly, she picked herself up and the street was silent once more. With barely contained rage, she picked up her spilled belongings with her magic and stuffed them into the bags quickly. Trixie studiously ignored her audience until a tomato hit her in the back of the head.

She whirled around to see who would dare to affront her so to find nopony there. With a “Humph!”, she continued as if nothing had happened. Though she ignored the snickering aimed at her, she kept her eyes open to any further attacks, little good though it did her. By the time she had arrived at the library door, she was covered in filth and had somehow managed to get a hoofful of burrs tangled in her mane.

With as much dignity as she could manage, she politely knocked on the door and waited. “Coming!” a voice inside distantly called, the familiar dulcet tones bringing a smile to Trixie's face.

The door opened to reveal Twilight Sparkle. “You're early Chee-” Her sentence was cut off by the unexpected sight before her. “Trixie?” she asked after a moment's hesitation. “Is that you, Trixie? What happened to you?”

“Are you going to invite Trixie in, or shall she just wait out here?” she asked with a barely perceptible quaver in her voice.

Twilight stepped aside to allow the showmare in. Trixie walked in, and her host closed the door just as it was pelted with half a head of shot lettuce. The audible thump caused both of them to jump. Twilight once again opened the door, but spotted nopony anywhere in sight. She did note the wilted lettuce on her stoop, and nudged it off to the side with a hoof before heading back in.

She turned around to see Trixie standing stiffly, but proud. “Trixie, what happened? Your last letter said that you'd be nearby in one of the Canterlot suburbs. I was going to come see your show in a few days.”

Trixie smiled at the mare's thoughtfulness. They had been exchanging letters since shortly after she had been chased out of Ponyville. Twilight had gone looking for the embarrassed showmare, and did her best to console her, even going so far as to give her address when the proud unicorn had refused to come back with her. In the ten intervening months, they had grown quite close over their correspondence. More so to Trixie's mind, than Twilight's.

With a sniff, Trixie replied, “The Great and Powerful Trixie decided to surprise Twilight Sparkle.” A moment of silence passed before she said in a timid voice, “Surprise?”

“Well, objective achieved. I am indeed, pleasantly surprised,” Twilight chuckled as she floated a trashcan into the room and began to pick off trash from the blue mare with her magic. “But how did this happen to you?” She held up a bit of tomato pulp for emphasis.

Trixie looked at the garbage in question and turned her head away as if it were nothing of consequence. “The great and powerful such as Trixie attract enmity wherever they go. It is something to which one must become accustomed.”

Twilight gave a little lopsided smile. “Well, accustomed or not, you're a mess.” She led her guest down the hall to the bathroom. “Here, take all the time you need to get cleaned up. You're welcome to my bath and anything in here.” Trixie was about to protest, but was interrupted by the lavender mare. “I insist. What kind of friend would I be to leave you dripping rotten vegetable matter like this?”

The showmare was overcome. “Tri- um, thank you, Twilight Sparkle. For everything.”

“You're quite welcome, Trixie.” Twilight's genuine smile brought a flustered smile to the sky blue pony. What she said next though, caused the smile to morph into a surprised “O”. “And you're staying here tonight, no arguments out of you. It's too far to walk back to Canterlot tonight, and the trains are notoriously late around here on Sundays.”

“Oh. Um, if you're sure that it is no imposition...” The negative head-shake Twilight gave her confirmed this. “Then Trixie will humbly accept your offer of lodgings.” At that, Trixie gently closed the door and leaned against it, sliding down to sit on the floor. Now in complete solitude, she let her mask fall. A dreamy smile crept onto her lips, and a burning blush flooded her cheeks. Not since her parents died over a decade ago, had anypony shown her this amount of kindness without wanting something in return. Looking at her guileless face, it was plain to see that all Twilight wanted in return was exactly what she gave freely. Trixie put her hoof over her chest right where she felt an incredible lightness. She felt like her heart was fluttering at her rib cage in an attempt at escape. The feeling was some stiff competition for the flock of butterflies in her stomach for which was going to overwhelm her.

With the sigh of a lovesick filly, she rose to tend to her ablutions.

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As the yellow pegasus flew over the town, she scanned the ponies below for a familiar face. At this point, any familiar face would do. She had been looking first for the pony she had come here to see, and when that had failed, the library itself. Alas, she was going to have to do this the possibly embarrassing way, and go to the town hall and ask for directions. Oh sure, she had a plausible cover story, but as team captain for the Wonderbolts, this would ideally be dealt with by a subordinate. Preferably Soarin'. He could always stand to work off his latest trip to the buffet. But Spitfire had good reason to take care of this personally.

She had seen the purple unicorn mare many times since joining the Wonderbolts. At first, it was whenever she had business in Celestia's court, she would notice the cute unicorn with an almost terminal case of shyness. Back then, she wasn't team captain of course, but whenever there was a need for a team representative to visit the court, Spitfire was always first to volunteer, even going so far as to challenge other members for the privilege. All just to catch a glimpse of that fey filly. On the few times she had seen her, she was either hiding behind the princess herself, or had her nose buried in a book, making it nearly impossible to approach her without being rude. Many times, she had tried to write her a letter (having learned her name by asking the palace staff), but just could not find the words to put down on paper that didn't make it seem like she had all the articulation of a stunned brick.

Still, day and night, Spitfire dreamed about this mare and what she would say should they meet. She felt that if she could become team captain, she would finally have not only the clout to impress, but also the courage to finally ask her out. So she trained. She trained so hard, she would vomit from exhaustion, and then she would train some more. Every time she thought she was done in, had no more left to give, she would picture that mare, her indigo mane blowing in the breeze, her enticing star-shaped cutie mark just daring somepony to be brave enough to touch her perfect flank; she would find reserves of energy she never knew she had. She would break through the pain barrier, and come out the other side stronger, faster, better than before. She didn't neglect her brain, either. She saw not only how Twilight (the most perfect name in all of creation by her reckoning) was never seen without a book, but also learned that she was the princess' personal student, and knew that winning this mare would take more than physical strengths. When she wasn't practicing or sleeping, she was studying. While she ate, in between practice runs, even while she bathed, she read books that she had seen in the hooves of the object of her affection, no matter how esoteric the subject.

When the day came that the old captain was retiring, and a new one was to be chosen, nopony was surprised at his choice of successor. It was little secret that no other pony on the team had her skill, stamina, or even (make that especially) her drive. When Princess Celestia pinned the golden captain wings on her uniform, she felt that the time had finally come. She would ask that beautiful mare on a date, and everything would work out. Unfortunately, one look at the mare in question was all it took for her to become undone. Her stomach dropped out like the first day she had been pushed off a cloud to learn how to fly. During all her training, she had only gone to the palace a few times so as to interrupt her work as little as possible. Now, seeing her again in the flesh brought back all the insecurities. She tried several times after that to approach her, but all to no effect. Trying to talk to her was like trying to talk to perfection. It is just not done.

It became a moot point however, when shortly after Princess Luna's return, she discovered that Twilight was no longer living at the palace. Asking around had only earned her strange looks, and asking the Princess something possibly personal would be... imprudent. It seemed that her chance at happiness had passed her by.

That is, until the day of the Best Young Flyer competition. Her heart froze when she spotted her with what were obviously her friends. That gave her pause, and left her wondering how a unicorn and two earth ponies came to be standing here in Cloudsdale stadium. That question was quickly pushed to the side at the joy that ran through her. She never thought she would see her again, but here she was! She had to go speak to her before it was too late! She had to... she had to go save that poor unicorn who had just plummeted to her certain doom! Spitfire wasted no time as she leaped into action, diving after the hapless pony. Unfortunately, just as she reached her, the unicorn's flailing limbs knocked her unconscious.

When she finally regained her senses, she found herself in the Cloudsdale hospital with a concussion. It wasn't until many months later when she next met with the elusive mare. As captain of the Wonderbolts, it was her duty to put in appearances at events like the refilling of Cloudsdale's reservoir. Seeing that it was Ponyville's turn at the task, she sent a junior member to talk to the local scientist to see about rebuilding the old anemometer. She came back with an affirmative (as well as an amusing anecdote about how detail obsessed this egghead was), and Spitfire thought nothing more about it until the day she was to show. Seeing her standing by the giant anemometer stunned her. Spitfire was so nervous, she could barely string together a few words. After the tornado was finally pulled off (by the skin of their teeth), she looked back at the mare, longing in her eyes. Yet again, she was stymied by her fears. What was it about this filly that so tongue-tied her? Why couldn't she just come out and say it?

Well, not this time. After several weeks of fretting and screwing up her courage, she came up with a plausible excuse to visit her and dashed off before her courage failed her again. She had even deliberately left her uniform behind so as to not attract too much attention, and so that she didn't give the impression of trying too hard to impress. She had just decided to give in and ask at the town hall, she spotted a familiar tiny purple shape walking away from what appeared to be a giant gingerbread house. Ah! There's that baby dragon of hers! He can help me!

Spitfire gracefully landed in front of the dragon who was carrying a stack of confectionery boxes taller than himself. With a polite cough to announce herself, she stood slightly to the side so he would not run into her. He peeked around the stack and looked at her inquisitively. “Um, yes?”

“Hello... Spike,” she said with a slight hesitation. She grinned inwardly that she remembered his name. “My name is Spitfire. I was hoping you could direct me to the library? I have something I wish to discuss with Twilight Sparkle.” It was only through great effort that she was able to say Her name without a breathy whisper.

Spike arched an eyebrow at her. “Spitfire? Where have I...” Dawning realization spread on his face, and he shouted, “You're-!”

His exclamation was cut short with the mare's hoof being planted firmly in his mouth. She leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, “Please don't shout that out. I've heard that a certain... fan of mine lives around here, and I'd rather not run into her just yet. Not until I do what I've come here for.”

The dragon nodded around the hoof which was then removed from his mouth. With a smile, he said, “Well, I was just heading back to the library myself. I'm pretty sure Twilight's still there.”

The pegasus nodded at this and followed him back. When he opened the door however, her smile and elation at finally meeting her crush both took a nosedive. There was Twilight, sitting at a large desk talking to a maroon mare who was making moon-eyes at her. The only saving grace of the situation was that Twilight seemed to be oblivious to the fact.

Spike walked up to the table and plopped the boxes onto it. “Twilight, you have a guest.”

She looked up at Spike as if noticing him for the first time (which was in fact, what had happened). She had been so engrossed in going over the proposed lesson plan with Cheerilee, that she had typically tuned out the rest of the world. “What's that, Spike? A guest?” She looked over to the stunned pegasus with a smile, then after a moment's hesitation, walked around the table to greet her. “Hello there, I'm Twilight Sparkle. Is there something I can help you with?”

It took a moment for the yellow pegasus to find her tongue again before she finally replied, “Um, yes. I don't think you remember me, but my name is Spitfire. I was here when your town refilled the reservoir for Cloudsdale?” Spitfire's uncharacteristic nervousness was starting to cause her to stumble over her words, and she lost track of what she was going to say.

Twilight on the other hoof, smiled at her, though a bit tremulously. “How could I forget the captain of the Wonderbolts? To what do I owe the pleasure? Did the Princess need something?”

Everyone in the room, Spitfire included, could hear the slight quaver in her voice, but most attributed it to her being anxious about disappointing the Princess.

Both Cheerilee and Spitfire were smiling at Twilight indulgently as she nervously ran one hoof up the other's foreleg. However, all that cute sputtering had realigned her mental tracks, reminding Spitfire of her excuse as to why she was here. “Um, actually, Twilight, I'm here for two reasons. The first was to give you this.” She pulled out of a small saddlebag a medal commemorating the unicorn's hard work in rebuilding and monitoring Equestria's largest, and most accurate anemometer.

Twilight took the medal in her telekinetic grip, and admired it with a blush. “I-I don't know what to say. Thank you.” She put the medal around her neck before giving the surprised pegasus a quick hug.

Needless to say, this left Spitfire a little discombobulated, and it took Twilight asking another question to bring her out of it. “You mentioned two reasons for being here? What was the other one, if I may ask?”

With a shake of her head, Spitfire answered, “Well, I've heard so much about the week-long series of fall festivities unique to this town. I took a few weeks off so that I could relax a little, and maybe even take part in the running of the leaves.”

Twilight eagerly took the lifeline thrown to her. “That's great, Spitfire. Who are you going to be staying with?”

This question seemed to take her off guard. “What do you mean? Isn't there an inn or hotel here?”

Immediately, the newly anointed pedagogue smiled at the chance to educate someone. “ Oh my goodness, no. This town is far too tiny to support such a venture. Why, the population here is just over two hundred, and that includes the outlying farms and other ponies outside of the town limits, proper. Most visitors here simply stay with family or friends. So, with whom are you staying?”

The cute look Twilight was giving her, snapped Spitfire out of her stupor. This is perfect! I'll ask her and that will give me WAY more opportunity to tell her how I feel! “Well, actually, I had no idea it was like this here. I have no family here, and as for friends...” She let the sentence drift off in the hopes that the purple mare would catch on. Cheerilee, while smiling pleasantly, had a dangerous eye tick developing.

Twilight beamed at her saying, “Well, I already have a guest staying here for a while, but I'm sure we could accommodate you, Miss Spitfire.”

Both of the other ponies and the dragon looked agog at Twilight's nonchalant announcement of a guest already at her home. While the two mares were trying desperately to engage their brains to ask, Spike was quicker off the mark. “Um, Twilight? What are you talking about? What guest?”

His question, however, was answered by a singsong voice calling out to her hostess. “Oh, Twilight! I really can't thank you enough for letting me use your facilities. That bath really hit the... spot?” Her voice trailed off as she walked into the main lobby, wearing a towel on her head, and noticed everyone there staring at her in shock. With a nervous grin, she waved at everyone. “Aheh, hi.”

Author's Notes:

I'm branching out into shipping. Somepony stop me before it goes too far! O_O The usual warnings apply here. I don't own any of the characters, settings, or things in this story. Only the words are mine. Well, not the words so much as their arrangement. All else is Hasbro's and that wonderful brain of Ms. Faust's God bless you, you wonderful woman!