THE TEACHER, THE SORCERESS, AND THE WONDERBOLT

Chapter 14: She Said Yes!

The door opened, admitting the plum mare, who looked around for any signs of life. “Hello? Anypony at home?”

A small head poked out of the adjoining kitchen, and took notice of the mare. “Oh, Berry Punch! Are you here to return those books?” Spike asked.

She pulled them out of her saddlebags with her mouth and stacked the books on the floor in front of her, then placed a hoof on top of them. “Yeah. Listen, Spike, I have a sort of large-sized favor to ask of you.”

“What is it you need?”

The mare hemmed and hawed for a moment. “Um, well, I was kinda, you know... hoping that you might could maybe...” The dragon looked at her in confusion. “Could you sorta 'lose' these two books somewhere in the library?”

Spike looked at her if she had grown another head right in front of him. “What?” he asked incredulously.

Berry Punch groped for the right words to say. This is harder than I thought it would be. “See, I used what was written in these books, and if somepony in town were to find out, it might cause some... trouble. For me, that is.”

“I dunno, Berry. Twilight got really sore at me when I accidentally burned a book she needed.” he replied. “Considering how seriously she takes this job, I'd hate to think of what she'd be like if I 'lost' some books that other customers have been waiting for.”

The earth pony settled onto the floor with her legs folded underneath her, bringing her to Spike's eye-level. “Please, Spike? I'll make it worth your while.” She dug around in her saddlebag and brought out a small velvet bag, dropping it into his paw.

He prized open the drawstring and gasped at what he saw. “Star Sapphires? They must have cost you a fortune!”

“And they're all yours if no copies of these two books are ever seen or checked out of this library for the foreseeable future,” Berry Punch said with a conspiratorial wink.

Spike wiped the drool from his chin. Without taking his eyes from the pawful of gems, he said, “What books? Do you know how easy it is to lose a book or two when they go out of rotation and are stored in the basement?”

Berry Punch's devilish grin threatened to take in her whole face. “So glad we understand each other, Spikey my boy!”

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As spitfire trotted down the street, she was trying to come up with a way to thank Bonbon and Lyra for all their help. Maybe they'd like season tickets to the Wonderbolt shows? Her peaceful contemplation was broken by a cry of distress behind a house. “Stop it! What happened was your child's fault!” The pegasus immediately recognized the voice and dashed around the corner to have her suspicions confirmed.

An azure unicorn mare stood behind a magically erected shield, yelling at a yellow stallion unicorn, who was telekinetically throwing mud at her. “Please, stop! Trixie did not tell your son to go find that Ursa! Neither is she to blame for his poor upbringing!” This had the predictable effect of angering the stallion even more, and he began lobbing rocks in addition to mud.

Spitfire had seen enough. She ran in between them with her wings spread. Facing the yellow unicorn, she yelled, “You should be ashamed of yourself! Attacking a mare like this? What has she done to warrant this kind of treatment from you?” She looked at his cutie mark which appeared to be a slug waving a checkered flag, but that didn't give her any clue as to his identity.

“That bucking mare lead my colt astray. She told him that if he brought an Ursa to town, she would tame it! And when she couldn't do it, she ran off!”

“Sir, I heard the story from Twilight Sparkle herself, and she tells it a little different.” Spitfire was trying to keep calm, but she could not ignore the discrepancies between the stories. Trixie was both amazed and confused why her rival would help her out this way, but let her do the talking, since all she could do right now was anger the father.

“I don't care what that little self-important, highfalutin, puffed up, overblown, lah-dee-dah, fancy pants told you. She thinks she knows everything, well I'll tell you, she don't know nothing about any- whoa!” Further insults were halted when a pink aura surrounded him and lifted him upside down off the ground.

Trixie, with her horn aglow, trotted over to him, fury building in her eyes. “How dare you! You can say what you like about Trixie. You can throw mud and rocks, or even rotten vegetables at her. You can even laugh at her when she's at her lowest ebb, but you don't ever, and I mean EVER insult Twilight Sparkle.” He appeared surprised, but far from cowed.

“You know, I don't think he's taking your warning to heart, Trixie.” Spitfire glared at the stallion as she rolled her head, eliciting several cracks from her neck as she did. Her wings were flared out to their fullest and trembled with rage. Both mare's tails were held high and twitched spasmodically. As they approached with menace in their eyes, terror finally took hold of the stallion.

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As the two satisfied mares walked off, a backdoor to a shop opened up. A blue unicorn mare with a two-toned blue mane looked out. “What was all that noise about?” She glanced left and right, noticing two yellow, flailing legs poking out of a dumpster. Walking over, she glanced into the dumpster, and saw the stallion face down in the garbage. “What the hay?”

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The two walked along in silence until the unicorn broke the silence. “Why did you help Trixie? You and she are... perhaps not enemies, but certainly not friends. It has always been Trixie's experience that nopony but Twilight cares for her. So... why?”

At her declaration, Spitfire looked a little.. hurt? However, it quickly passed. “I don't like seeing others persecuted for something that isn't their fault.” Her gravelly voice was a little more gruff than usual. “I'm always getting onto Fleetfoot about that, but she never seems to learn. She's a talented wingmare, but far too quick to lay blame on others.”

Trixie considered her answer for a moment. “Tri-... Thank you for your help. Though I could have easily handled him alone, your assistance, and the sentiment behind it, is appreciated.” Spitfire nodded wordlessly, and they continued walking towards the school.

A pregnant silence passed between them until they arrived at the school. The crested the small hill, which overlooked the playground where the foals frolicked. They could see them at their games, but there was only one game that interested them, and that was the one Cheerilee seemed to be playing with Twilight. They were far too close for comfort, and as they approached, they could hear the tail end of their conversation.

“I would like to take you out to dinner this Satyrday. Just you...” Cheerilee closed the distance until their faces were just inches apart. “... and me.”

Trixie and Spitfire loudly and obviously coughed. “AHEM!” Twilight and Cheerilee jumped apart as if a snake had just popped out of the ground and started yelling at them in Griffish.

Cheerilee looked at the intruders with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. They just looked at her with anger. Without taking her eyes from her, Spitfire said, “Twilight hon, I think that Trixie, Cheerilee and I need to have a talk. Alone.”

Twilight looked like she had just walked in on her parents having an argument. “Oh, um, a- alright.” she said in a small voice and slowly walked over to the swings towards Dinky Doo.

The three suitors walked off a distance to stand in the shade of a tree. “I think we need to establish some 'rules of engagement', as it were,” Spitfire announced without preamble.

“Agreed,” said Trixie.

“Such as?” posed Cheerilee.

“First of all, no sabotaging each other, even by omission,” Spitfire began. The other two nodded in agreement. “Secondly, if one of us manages to land a date, the others must at least be given a chance to ask her out before given another.”

“Trixie thinks that it should be catch-as-catch-can, but Twilight should have final say in with whom she dates.” The others nodded agreement. “That being the case, Trixie would like this Fryday night to ask Twilight out on a date.”

“Hey!” Cheerilee did not like being one-upped like this.

The golden pegasus laid a hoof on her shoulder in restraint. “It's only fair, since you went and arranged something for Satyrday. Besides,” she added with a smirk. “My surprise won't likely be ready by tomorrow anyway.”

Cheerilee grumbled at this. “Fine, but no super expensive gifts. Some of us live on a tight budget.” She thought back to her wager that she had made with her sister on impulse and winced internally.

“Trixie agrees wholeheartedly with this,” the unicorn said quickly.

Spitfire's lips tightened into a thin line. “Alright, but that does not count against things we had in motion before we made this agreement. I already have something going that may cost me a lot of bits.”

“Trixie supposes this cannot be helped. Agreed,” she said with a sigh.

Cheerilee nodded as well. “What about outsiders? What if somepony else tries to steal her away?”

They all three looked at each other, and after a pregnant pause, Spitfire said, “Buck 'em”

“Let them face Trixie's full wrath.”

“So we're all on the same page, then.” Cheerilee smiled.

They looked over to Twilight who was holding an impromptu magic lesson for all the fillies and colts, unicorn and otherwise. At the moment, she was showing Scootaloo how to get the maximum lift from her wings, while focusing her magical center to make her as light as possible. All three mares smiled at the scene, imagining Twilight teaching their foals. Foals they would have with her.

Once she entered teaching mode, she seemed to have a natural affinity for little ones. She had a way of capturing their attention that made them want to learn. Even Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara were paying rapt attention, though it could be that they just wanted to see Scootaloo fall flat on her face... again.

Much to their surprise (and everypony else's), the little orange filly managed to fly for nearly ten yards before coming down to a running landing. She was mobbed by her classmates, all eager to congratulate and praise her. She looked at Twilight and said, “You're not so bad for a brain, Miss Twilight.” which was heard by the three mares as they approached.

“Scootaloo!” Cheerilee admonished. “What have I told you about name-calling?”

Twilight mussed the filly's mane with a hoof. “It's alright Cheerilee. I've been called much worse. Besides, she didn't mean any harm, right?” Scootaloo, chagrined, smiled shyly at her and nodded.

“Regardless, she should know better, especially after the treatment she gets.” The teacher was about to go on, when the school bell chimed, announcing the end of recess/lunch. “Sorry Twilight, I guess we'll have to pick this up later.”

“That's fine, Cheerilee. There's always tonight,” the unicorn replied.

In unison, both teachers sat back on their haunches and clapped their hooves, gathering the foals' attention. “Alright, class, inside-” They stopped and looked at each other before breaking out into laughter.

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As they walked back to the library, Trixie glanced at Spitfire, then pointedly looked back at Twilight several times. Taking the hint, the pegasus blurted out, “I'm going to fly ahead and check with Spike about diner tonight. Gotta make sure it won't mess up my flying trim!” She reared up and pranced in front of Twilight, showing off her taut, athletic figure , especially her powerful wings. Seeing a slight blush color the lavender mare's cheeks, she flew off with a grin.

Trixie stared at Twilight in consternation as she watched Spitfire leave. With a polite cough, she brought the mare's attention back where it belonged, on her. “*ahem* Twilight, there's... something Trixie would like to ask you.”

Twilight tilted her head. “What is it, Trixie?”

“Wo- would you go out with me tomorrow evening?” the showmare blurted out. Before she could respond, she added, “You don't have to answer right now, but I just wanted to know if you would like to accompany me to this little bar I've been hearing about, it's got karaoke, and we could sing, and drink, and have some late night snacks, and have fun, and I'm rambling now aren't I, I'll stop now and let you think it over, okay, bye.” With that, the blue mare ran off to the library just ahead, leaving a speechless, blushing mare behind her.

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Twilight walked in to the library in a daze. Two invitations to dates in a single day? What are the odds, especially for a homely shut-in of a mare? She almost bumped into Spitfire as she stood in the main lobby. She looked up in shock saying, “Oh! S- sorry, Spitfire. Guess I was woolgathering again.”

Spitfire smiled at her nervously. “S'alright, hon. Um, listen, Twilight. Are you free this Sunday? Th- there's somewhere I'd like to take you.” The pegasus turned an abnormal shade of red as she stammered on and looked away. “You know, as a thank you for your hospitality, and being so nice and everything. Especially over the... you know, incident.”

Twilight put a hoof on her cheek and gently turned her until they faced each other once more. “I already told you once that it was forgiven and forgotten.” Her smile and half-lidded eyes melted the pegasus's heart. “And I would love to go out with you this Sunday.”

Spitfire's face turned a shade of red usually reserved for tomatoes. She tried to say something, but all she could do was mumble out a “thank you”, and run off to the bathroom. The fact that the bathroom was currently occupied by Trixie was of no matter. The unicorn had been washing her face with cool water when she was unceremoniously shoved out, her face and hooves still dripping wet.

The azure mare sputtered for a moment. “Huh, buh, wah?” She looked around, but couldn't see anything with water and wet mane in her eyes.

Twilight took mercy on the bewildered mare, and floated a towel over and started drying her vigorously, and guided her downstairs. “You okay, Trixie?”

“T-Twilight!” Suddenly, she was very glad her face was covered by the towel. Taking over with her own purplish aura, she tried to resume the task of drying, but was distracted by the intense pleasure evoked by their auras wrestling for control of the towel. To Trixie, it was like their well-oiled bodies were sliding and grinding against each other. Every magical erogenous zone was being caressed by Twilight's telekinesis, her deft touch had an artless, fumbling quality that spoke of inexperience, which intensified the pleasure she was receiving.

Just as Trixie was about to climax from her magical touch (a feat she had long thought to be urban myth), Twilight's telekinesis faded away, leaving her off balance. The azure mare stumbled forward, but had the presence of mind to keep her face covered by the towel.

“Trixie!”

Twilight's near shout startled her out of her reverie. “Y-y-y-yes, Twilight?”

“I was trying to tell you that I would love to meet you for drinks tomorrow night.” The lavender unicorn's smile was infectious, spreading to Trixie.

The giddy feeling in Trixie's chest turned her shy smile into a silly-looking grin. She rushed up to the mare and engulfed her in a tremendous hug. “Thank you, Twilight! I promise you won't regret it!” She got the sudden feeling of being watched, and looked around. To her utter horror, the library was occupied by several ponies all watching the two mares embrace. She recognized several, but most were strangers to her still. With an “eep”, she ran upstairs to Twilight's room and slammed the door shut.

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She walked down the street, putting one exhausted hoof in front of the other. Normally, Cheerilee would be chipper and excited to be going to see Twilight, but after the day she just had, even somepony with her name could get worn down. It wasn't that her foals were bad per se, it was just that they could be so rambunctious, and Cheerilee wasn't as young as she used to be.

This proved to be especially true when Scootaloo just had to validate to Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara that her flight earlier wasn't a fluke. This would not have been so bad if they had been outside at the time. It took her some time to locate a ladder capable of reaching the rafters, where the filly had stranded herself.

Then, Cheerilee still had to stop by the mayor's office to pick up the paperwork so that Twilight could run the Science/Magic Fair this year, rather than an accredited teacher. That in itself was a task worthy of one of Era Cleats' twelve labors. Or would Sissy Fuss' torment have been more apt? Filling forms out in triplicate was bad enough, but due to Twilight's special... nature, it was more like triplicate triplicate. Whoever said bureaucracy was magic was right. It was magic straight from Taurtarus, wrought by the worst fiends imaginable. And they could keep it.

After all that, the maroon mare had to plod along to her home, her actual home. There were a few books that she had needed to pick up before returning to Twilight's. She was going to need the rulebooks for these fairs, and she had promised something to help her teach more efficiently, so she had to bring a few books on public speaking. The mare had performed well for a beginner, but Cheerilee knew that “well” would not long live up to the mare's demanding standards.

As she walked, Cheerilee noticed a pair of mares talking while trying to watch her unobtrusively. Roseluck and Golden Harvest kept giving her furtive glances when they thought she wasn't looking, all the time talking in hushed tones. They finally noticed her watching them watching her, and parted ways, heading to their respective homes.

The teacher sighed, realizing that this sort of thing would continue to happen at least until Twilight made her choice, maybe even after that. She finally reached the library, and opening the door, called out, “I'm home.”

Twilight stood from the book she was reading and walked over to help her remove her saddlebags. “You look exhausted,” she observed.

“That would be because I feel exhausted,” she quipped back lightheartedly.

“Here, it looks like you need this far more than I do right now,” Twilight said as she levitated a cup of hot tea over to her.

She gratefully accepted the cup and laid down on some cushions. “Ah, thanks, Twilight. You're a real gem.”

“Don't let Spike hear you call me that.” Twilight smiled as she sat down beside the teacher and massaged her shoulders. “Ooo... you're a mass of knots back here.”

Cheerilee let out a low moan as her muscles slowly relaxed. “Oh, Twilight. Your hooves are as magic as your horn.”

Twilight chuckled lightly and started to bear down a bit harder on the mare's shoulders. “So, about this afternoon...”

The earth pony tensed up again, causing a throbbing knot to form right where Twilight's hoof had just left. “Yes?” she croaked out weakly.

Leaning in close, Twilight whispered in her ear, “I would be delighted to go out to dinner with you this Satyrday.”

Cheerilee turned to face her in a flash. “Really? You mean it?”

Twilight nodded. “Of course.”

Spike walked out of the kitchen, saw the two mares from behind, one on top of the other, and turned around to walk back into the kitchen. The two turned at the sound of the door and giggled. They stood again as Trixie and Spitfire came down from upstairs, and Spike retried his entrance again.

“Well, I don't know about you,” Twilight said, “But I'm starved. How about dinner, Spike?”

“Already done, Boss-lady,” he answered. Taking their places at the table, they at in what was possibly the first contented silence at dinner they'd ever had. Twilight was basking in the warmth of all her friends, Spike in the silence itself, and the others were contemplating their upcoming dates. At least, that was what they were doing when there came a knock on the door. Spike faceplanted onto the table and groaned in frustration while the ponies looked to the door in confusion.

Twilight asked the question on all their minds while she walked to the door. “Who could that be at this hour?” Opening it, she gasped in surprise as in strode Princess Mi Amor Cadenza, but she was known to Twilight as- “Cadance!” The mares still at the table were left with their jaws hanging open while Twilight backed up to allow the princess entrance.

Instead of kneeling or even hugging her as was expected, the both began to hop in place as they chanted “Sunshine, Sunshine,” then dropped to the floor and covered their faces with their hooves before uncovering them as they said “Ladybugs awake!” sat on their haunches at clapped hooves together, singing, “Clap your hooves,” and finally stood, presenting and shaking their flanks to each other and finished their song, “And do a little shake!” Twilight then gave the expected hug, nearly knocking them both over. “Oh, I missed you so much, Cadence!”

The three suitors stood in shock, their jaws still hanging loosely. Their confusion was worsened when the alicorn said, “I missed you too, little sis.”

Trixie stepped forward, confusion plain on her face. “Trixie does not understand. How can Twilight Sparkle, powerful though she is, be an alicorn's sister? Isn't one born an alicorn?”

Cadence walked over to the inquiring mare. “She's my sister, because I married her brother. Princess, Mi Amor Cadenza. And you are?”

Twilight rushed forward saying, “I'm so sorry, Cadence. You remember Spike,” The dragon waved without lifting his head from the table. “This is Trixie, Spitfire and Cheerilee. Ladies, this is, well, she sort of introduced herself, but she's not just my sister, but also the best foalsitter ever.” she finished, beaming with pride.

Cadence shook her head in amusement. “Twilight sweetie, you have to stop introducing me to your friends like that. You're not a foal anymore, and ponies will start getting the wrong idea about us.”

The purple mare arched an eyebrow at her. “What do you mean by 'the wrong idea'?”

“Make me a promise, Twilight. Never change,” the alicorn said laughingly.

Twilight looked very confused for a moment. “Okay, if you say so.” She brightened up again quickly, however. “So what brings you here so soon after your honeymoon?” With a sour expression, she asked, “Was it my brother? He said or did something stupid, didn't he? It was my brother wasn't it?” She started pacing back and forth mumbling to herself. “I knew this would happen. He's a sweet stallion, but he always finds a way to put his hoof right in it. I swear, sometimes he only opens his mouth to change hooves.”

“Twilight, stop. Your brother is fine. I came because I heard the good news about you teaching,” Cadence looked overjoyed. “Shining Armor isn't here because, you know, that whole captain of the royal guard thing.” Her smile belied her dismissive tone and hoof waving the matter away.

The lavender unicorn launched into a replay of the past few days' events for Cadence's benefit as well as that of her other friends, leaving out nothing. Amazingly, her usually dry, clinical approach to storytelling was enhanced by her excitement and the joy apparent on her face.

Cadence stood once more, smiling at her “little sister” “Well, it seems you've had a big day, and since it seem that your house is a bit... ahem, full at the moment, I'll have to come back tomorrow with your surprise.”

Twilight looked dismayed at this development. “What? You're leaving so soon? But I'm sure we have room here. You can take my bed-”

The alicorn silenced her with a hoof to the lips. “Four may be a crowd, but five is right out,” she smiled. “Besides, I need to go to Canterlot to fetch the souvenir we picked up for you on our honeymoon in the Bahamares.” She mussed the mare's mane with a hoof. “Don't worry, I'll be back bright and early tomorrow, Twily, bearing gifts and brothers!” the alicorn said brightly.

Author's Notes:

Man, this one was a bit of a chore to get out. As I mentioned in my blog, relatives are visiting, so updates may be late for a few weeks. Please, bear with me until this passes. I hope you weren't too disappointed by the misleading chapter title, but I couldn't help myself. ^_^ Also, that last scene is something that I have been holding on to since waaayyy back in chapter four or five. The “agreement” scene had been around since about chapter one, but I could never find an appropriate place to put it until now. All in all, a few things that I've been holding on to for a while have finally shown up. The usual disclaimers apply here, Hasbro and Lauren Faust own everything here but the arrangement of the words, those are mine.