THE TEACHER, THE SORCERESS, AND THE WONDERBOLT

Chapter 16: Date Night, Take One

Trixie nervously paced back and forth, trying to spend some of her nervous energy, semi-productively. Perhaps I can work up an appetite, because right now, I don't think I could keep down a wafer-thin mint. She stopped in front of the mirror for the umpteenth time, and checked the lay of her mane again. She tried flipping it on to the opposite side with telekinesis, before putting it back where it was.

“Would you please calm down? You're making me nervous about my date with her Sunday,” Spitfire said from her position on the couch.

Cheerilee, who was grading some papers at the table in the main lobby where they all waited, nodded in agreement. “It'll be fine, Trixie. Just be yourself.” She stopped and thought for a moment before adding, “Just try not to be too much yourself.” Why am I giving her dating advice? We're all after the same mare! She shook the thought away as unworthy of herself.

The azure mare whirled around at her. “And just what is that supposed to mean?”

Spitfire gestured with her hooves, placatingly. “It's just that when it comes to ponies who aren't Twilight, you can be a bit...”

“Abrasive,” Cheerilee finished. The pegasus nodded at this assessment. “And you know how Twilight is. She wants everypony to be if not friends, then at least friendly.”

Nodding, the unicorn replied, “Trixie knows this. She cannot make any promises, but she will try to be... friendlier.” She sighed as she turned back to the mirror. “What is taking her so long? Trixie was ready fifteen minutes ago.”

“Sorry Trixie, I just had some last minute instructions for Spike.” They all turned their attention to the stairs, and gasped in surprise. Twilight stood there in all her well-groomed glory. Her coat had been brushed until it shone and there was an iridescence to her mane and tail, like the stars from the night sky had been caught in them. The subtle eyeshadow drew attention to her eyes, inviting the beholder to come drown in them, and her horn had been polished until it gleamed. She gestured towards the door, asking, “Shall we?”

Trixie closed her mouth, and in a vain attempt at salvaging her dignity, trotted to the door with her nose in the air. That didn't stop her from catching the scent of heather perfume as she went past the unicorn. Feeling herself go weak in the knees, she thought to herself, This is going to be a long night.

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Trixie looked at the menu again and gulped silently. I hadn't expected it to be quite this expensive. Still, for Twilight, I'd spend every last bit I have to see her smile. Indeed, Twilight was smiling. She looked over her own menu, which lacked prices, with delight.

“It all sounds delicious, doesn't it, Trixie?”

The azure mare answered with a weak smile. “Indeed, it does, Twilight. Don't be afraid to order what you want. Remember, this is a thank you for everything you've done, and I want you to have a good time, alright?” Inside, Trixie was nervously awaiting her decision. When she had chosen The Pasture to wine and dine the librarian, she didn't know just how expensive the most expensive restaurant in Ponyville was.

The waiter chose that moment to arrive, nose in the air, his mustache gleaming with the wax used to shape it. “Is Madame ready to order, yet?” Even his voice had a snobbish, nasal tone, almost like he had a cold.

Trixie looked to Twilight who nodded. “Yes, I'll have the orchid salad with a vinaigrette dressing, and a bowl of minestrone soup.”

The waiter nodded as he wrote down the order with telekinesis. “An excellent choice, Madame. The orchids were received fresh this afternoon.” He turned to Trixie. “And for you, Madame?”

“Trixie will have the same. And bring us a bottle of Chateau LeHoof '45,” she added.

The waiter smiled this time as he wrote down her order. “Ah, a most exceptional vintage, if I may say so. I'll return shortly with your wine.” He bowed and walked back into the kitchen.

Twilight leaned forward, whispering, “LeHoof '45? Those aren't exactly cheap, Trixie.”

“Relax, Twilight, Trixie has this covered.” She smiled as she looked into her amethyst eyes. “Besides, nothing's too good for you.”

Blushing deeply, Twilight looked to the wall and tried to study a landscape painting there in an effort to bring her coloration under control. The silence, and Trixie's contemplation of Twilight's features were broken by the arrival of the waiter who uncorked the bottle, and gave the azure mare the cork to inspect.

Trixie took it with her magic, and ran it under her nose once, and gave a nod of approval. The waiter poured two glasses, then disappeared into the background, leaving the bottle in a bucket of ice.

After a long moment of awkward silence, Twilight found her voice again. “So, how are you liking Ponyville, this time around?”

Trixie set her glass down after a sip, saying, “Trixie cannot complain. The ponies here are more forgiving than she had expected, and there's was only a few sour encounters so far.”

Twilight blinked in surprise. “Sour? What happened? Somepony didn't try to hurt you, did they?” She looked ready to tear into somepony right then and there, and knowing what she could do, Trixie felt a shiver of fear, tempered with affection at her protectiveness.

“Thank you Twilight, but the matter is already settled. Nopony was hurt, and it's doubtful the problem will crop up again.,” the showmare reassured her.

“Are you sure? I don't mind showing them the error of their ways.” She clenched her hoof like she was ready to do bodily harm. “Nopony messes with my friends.” Her eyes narrowed threateningly. “Nopony.”

Trixie giggled at the sight. It was like seeing a fluffy kitten getting very upset, and was now hissing and spitting in as threatening a manner as it could. “Trixie appreciates the concern, but really, the matter is settled. No need for you to 'smack a pony' as the foals say.”

Twilight lowered the hoof to the table. “Well, if you're certain.” She took a sip of her wine, mumbling her appreciation.

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“I still can't believe you talked me into this,” Cheerilee grumbled. “You better not pull something like this for my date.”

Spitfire lowered her binoculars and gave the teacher a flat look. “I already told you this doesn't violate the letter nor the spirit of our agreement, so chill out.” She returned to her surveillance of the restaurant from the bushes with a casual “And if you think I won't do this on yours, you're nuts, Hon.” She smiled as she saw Twilight and Trixie through the restaurant's window, sipping on wine.

Cheerilee had to restrain herself from strangling the pegasus with her own binocular strap. “If you insist on violating everypony's privacy, then at least tell me what's going on.”

“Not everypony's, just yours and Trixie's,” she replied with a feral grin.

“And Twilight's.”

That brought Spitfire up short, reminding her of recent events, and patch-up over a violation of privacy. She actually lowered her binoculars and looked at the teacher thoughtfully.

Cheerilee tilted her head in confusion. “What is it?”

“It's just...” Spitfire swallowed hard. “It's just that I... let's say that I did something recently. Something that 'violated Twilight's trust',” she added air quotation marks with her hooves. “We talked about it, and more or less made up over it, but... Am I... are we violating her trust right now?”

The mulberry mare was silent for a long moment before answering. “ This is...” She sighed. “When one of my students comes to me asking if something is wrong, I ask them 'how would you feel if this was done to you?'.” She pawed at the ground, looking to it as if the answer were written there. “I always try to do the right thing, and for the most part, I think I do, but when it comes to Twilight... I kind of lose my head. She's...” She hugged herself as she looked to the stars in the sky.

“I've never felt this way about anypony before, not even my previous crushes. Twilight's so...” It took Cheerilee a moment to come up with an appropriate adjective. “Perfect. She's perfect. Even her mistakes, her foibles, her irritating mannerisms, Hay, even her ugliest side, it's all so... beautiful. Twilight Sparkle is the closest a mortal pony can get to the word, Divine.”

Spitfire nodded sagely. “I know what you mean. There's something... Goddess-like about her, especially in her capacity to forgive.”

Cheerilee looked at her curiously. “What exactly did you do to her, anyway? It must have been big if her forgiveness meant this much,” she asked.

“I'd rather not say,” the pegasus said with a shake of her head. “Let's just say that it was a personal low for me, and leave it at that, okay?”

The earth pony could hear the pleading in her scratchy voice and relented. “Alright. But that leaves us with the question of what we're doing right now. Is it a violation?”

Without even a second's thought, Spitfire replied, “Yes. It is.” She put a hoof to her chin and said, “But it's not a violation if we're here to make sure their date isn't interrupted by others, right?”

Cheerilee held out a hoof, which was taken in a warrior's clasp. “Right!”

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“So then, Trixie made his tail slap at his flanks until he started to cry!” The azure mare's infectious laughter spread to Twilight, who was holding her sides and trying to catch her breath. “But the really funny part is, he came to Trixie after the show, begging her to do it again!”

Their laughter was drawing the attention of all the ponies in the restaurant, who just stared at them. In between gasps, Twilight asked, “So that's... that's when you added... audience humiliation... to the show?” She smiled at Trixie's nod. “Well, I have to say that he deserved it for heckling you, but what did you do when he came back for seconds?”

“Trixie did what any sane mare in her position would do, of course: report him to the constables for harassment,” she answered. “Needless to say, she hasn't seen nor heard from him since, though she may have been responsible for introducing a certain kink to North Horsingbrook by mistake.”

“Kink?” Twilight asked.

A blush stained the showmare's cheeks. “You know... a fetish.”

Twilight looked really confused now. “What does a magical talisman have to do with this story?”

Trixie's blush deepened. “Not that kind. Um, perhaps a diagram might help.” With that, she arranged a few petals from her mostly finished salad to vaguely resemble a marehood, then placed a bread stick strategically close to it. “This kind of fetish,” she whispered.

Twilight's eyes grew wide, and her cheeks went scarlet. “Oh, I see.”

“If you ladies are finished, I'll just clear these plates away.” The waiter's voice startled them both, and before either of them could clear off the visual aid, he was telekinetically taking the plates. “Would either of you care for dessert...” He trailed off on the last word as he spotted the new table arrangement.

Acting as if nothing were wrong, Trixie said, “Thank you, but no. We're quite full now. Just the bill, if you please.”

Unable to face then, the stallion produced a slip of paper, causing Trixie to wince internally, and her eye to twitch involuntarally when she saw the total. Still, she had brought more than enough to cover the bill and leave a standard fifteen percent gratuity, and did so happily. As soon as they were outside, they burst into laughter once again.

Trixie started to run, and Twilight gave chase, still laughing. It felt good to run and laugh like this. They felt the years falling away until they were like young fillies again, naughtily playing outside after dark. Trixie ran around a closed shop stall with Twilight close behind. They finally came to an exhausted stop next to a building, and collapsed on the ground, their chests heaving as they gulped in air.

“Trixie... has not... frolicked... like that... in years,” she gasped.

Twilight looked over at her. “Nor have I. I think the last time was the final occasion I was foalsat. Cadance and Shining were the only one I ever did things like that with.” She looked up and noticed where they were. “Hey, I know this place! It's that new karaoke bar Berry Punch just built,” she commented.

Trixie rolled onto her belly. “Trixie knows. She wanted to show you something that could only be done here.”

“You do?” Twilight asked in confusion.

“Mm. Come on. Let's go inside.” She stood and held out a hoof, which Twilight accepted. She could feel a strong thrill going up her foreleg starting at where they connected physically.

As they walked in, Twilight noticed right away that there was nopony singing. One look around the bar made why plain as the muzzle on her face. There were a total of five ponies here, two of which were working. Trixie led her over to a table near the stage and sat down. The waitress sauntered over and asked, “What can I get yah?”

“Trixie will have a cosmopolitan.” She looked over at her date. “How about you, Twilight?”

The lavender mare appeared to be at a loss for words, and just mumbled, “S- same.” The waitress didn't say anything, just snapped her gum as she walked away. Twilight hunched over as she looked around, and gave a little sheepish wave to Berry Punch, who was working the bar. “So, what is it you wanted to show me, Trixie?”

The azure mare patted Twilight's hoof reassuringly. “Patience, Twilight. Trixie must first have a glass of courage.” They failed to notice two mares slip in and take a booth in a darkened corner. The waitress returned with their drinks and set them down before walking away wordlessly to the newly occupied table. “Can't say much for the service, can one?” she said as she glared at the retreating mare.

“It's probably the end of her shift, Trixie,” Twilight replied.

Shrugging, Trixie downed her drink in one go, letting the cherry slide onto her tongue in an obvious manner. She tried her hardest to not look at Twilight as she did this, but if she had, she would have seen her staring wide-eyed at her dexterous use of the muscle. She sucked the cherry through pursed lips with an audible POP, and set the glass down. Letting out a sigh of satisfaction, she said, “Well, Trixie believes she is ready to show you what we came for.”

With that, she stood, and went to the stage and began fiddling with the karaoke machine. It took a moment to find her selection, then she took her microphone in hoof over to the center of the stage. In an amazing feat of nimbleness, she stood on her hind legs and began to sing. From the first words, Twilight sucked in her breath and held it. She watched as Trixie cast an illusion spell above her of two vague unicorns, one blue and one purple meeting. Their features were indistinct, though their silhouettes were very familiar.

The blue unicorn started to walk away, but the purple one chased her down, catching her easily. The two seemed to talk before parting again, the purple unicorn watching her go. The blue unicorn walked as the scenery changed. From country roads to city streets, back to the wooded lanes, to small villages. Through summer, autumn, winter, and back to spring again, the seasons changed. Some places welcomed the blue pony, but most did not, driving her away, with stones at times. Through it all, the blue unicorn always kept the purple in her mind.

Twilight noticed a small feature on the unicorn become clearer as the imagery went on. A small red dot formed on the blue unicorn's chest that slowly, but steadily grew with every beat until she could see that it was a heart. Every time the heart grew, a white tear could be seen rolling down the pony's cheek.

When the guitar solo came around, the blue unicorn shrank to a small corner of the illusion, leaving the purple unicorn, who was searching for the blue one. She visited the same places, went to the same towns, but was welcomed, whereas the other was not. She finally came to the same small town where the blue unicorn was being chased by a bear-like monster. With the kind of ease that would make most mages jealous, the purple unicorn flung the bear away into the distant woods.

Face to face once more, the two unicorns looked into each other's eyes. The purple one presented the blue with a bouquet of flowers, bringing a patch of red to her face. The purple unicorn then swept up the blue in her arms, dancing to the swell of the crescendo. Long, flowing gowns appeared on them, adding to the ponies' grace. As the song wrapped up, the two unicorns drew closer until their muzzles were touching. Their lips met in a fiery clash of passion, and the illusion faded away with the song and singer.

A moment of stunned silence was broken by the roaring cheer that suddenly filled the bar. Startled, Trixie opened her eyes and looked out to see the large room filled to standing capacity. Ponies were packed in and stomping their hooves, or sitting on the floor and clapping. Whistles and cheers filled the air, almost deafening to hear. Trixie bowed and looked over to her table and saw Twilight sitting alone, tears streaming down her face, a face which was smiling at her.

Twilight wiped away her tears as the azure mare came back to the table and sat down again. Trixie gestured to the audience, asking, “When did they show up?”

Twilight giggled at her. “A little after you started singing.” She blew her nose into a napkin.

New ponies were taking to the stage, looking to impress their special someponies with a song of their own. Berry Punch was grinning ear to ear, and the waitress suddenly didn't have the time to look or act bored. As a brown stallion with dark brown mane and an hourglass cutie mark took control of the stage, and began his rendition of Billy Foal's Uptown Mare, much to the delight of a certain gray pegasus, Trixie said in Twilight's ear, “Let's move on. Too noisy for Trixie's comfort.”

Twilight nodded, and they left, being followed by a unicorn stallion, who was in turn followed by two mares, a pegasus and an earth pony.

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The light blue stallion followed the pair of mares at a discreet distance. He smiled broadly when the two of them turned down an alley between two houses. He slowed down just a bit to let them get far into the alley. He was about to run in when he was pulled into the alley next to which he was standing. He was violently thrown up against the wall where he stayed, rear legs dangling free of the ground.

“What's your problem, pal?” hissed a rough, feminine voice off to his left.

“What do you want with Twilight Sparkle and Trixie?” Asked another, softer feminine voice directly in front of him. The cloud hiding the moon moved on it's course, illuminating the stallion, but leaving the mares in the dark. The thunk of something solid hitting the ground caught everypony's attention, causing them all to look down on the ground.

A gold hoof picked up a camera, holding it up for all three to see. “Paparazzi,” she growled. “I... hate... BUCKING PAPARAZZI!” The mare popped open the back of the camera and pulled out the film, destroying it. She then threw the camera into a nearby pond, startling some ducks who were sleeping on its shore.

The stallion grinned at them sheepishly, but the mare holding him up slammed him against the wall again. “The lives of private citizens are just that, private. If we catch you trailing Twilight again like this, we'll-”

A hoof on her shoulder stopped her from going into explicit detail of what would happen. Instead, the gravelly voice said, “We'll see if Twilight's big brother would want to take the time to give you a lesson on just where the line is drawn for journalists, yellow or otherwise.” She punched the wall next to his head, cracking the brick slightly. “Got it?”

The stallion was unable to say anything, so he just nodded vigorously. He was unceremoniously dropped to the ground, where he stayed catching his breath while the two mares walked off into the night. As he rubbed the back of his sore head, he wondered, not for the first time, if he should have just stuck to taking baby pictures and nature photos.

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Trixie and Twilight walked side-by-side along the edge of a pond. The cool evening breeze blew a cloud of fallen leaves past them, sending a shiver down their spines. The moon peeked out from behind clouds, flooding the land with a pale light. It's reflection on the water was broken up by the ripples and occasional leaf that alighted on the surface. Crickets and frogs sang their night songs, and even a few lightning bugs could be seen dancing in the dark.

“Trixie?” Twilight's soft voice sent a thrill up the blue unicorn's spine that the chill wind could not compete against.

“Yes, Twilight?” Much to her relief, Trixie's voice did not hold the quaver she felt in her chest.

“Did...” The lavender unicorn's hesitation caught the other unicorn's breath. “Was that illusion story... was it about... us?”

Trixie licked her lips nervously. “What would you do if... if Trixie said yes?”

There was a long pause that filled Trixie with dread. The longer it stretched, the more worried she became. “I... I would say that... I have a lot of things to consider.” Trixie's face fell, causing Twilight to hurriedly add, “That's not a no!” Twilight grabbed the other mare's shoulders in an effort to keep her from running away. She could see relief and hope flooding back into Trixie's expression. “It's not a no,” she said quieter. “It may not be a yes either, so let's just call it a... maybe?”

“How long?” Trixie's question was almost lost on the wind, it was so quiet.

Twilight looked to the ground and flipped over a flat rock with her hoof. “I... I don't know.” She took a deep breath and sighed. “I don't know. I feel so... conflicted. I enjoy what we have as friends, but I also see what we could have as... something more, and want to take the plunge, regardless of the risks and consequences, known and otherwise.”

Trixie's heart swelled at Twilight's almost-admission. Just knowing that she was seriously considering the matter was enough... for now.

(\ /)
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*(“)(“)

Twilight opened the door, and led in a subdued, but smiling Trixie. She looked over at the couch and saw Cheerilee and Spitfire sitting and reading from the same book. “Have a relaxing night, you two?”

They looked up, and Cheerilee replied, “Back already?”

Spitfire looked to the clock and said, “Is it that late already? Boy, time really flies when you're reading, huh?”

Twilight grinned at her. “I know, right? Well, if you'll excuse me, I need to take off my make up for bed. See you ladies upstairs soon.”

As the lavender unicorn trotted upstairs, Trixie walked up to the other two on the couch. “So, stayed in all night?” They nodded. “Nothing interesting happen?” They shook their heads. “You know, we had a wonderful night,” she said, eying them closely. “Not a single bad thing happened to ruin the night. It was almost as if we had a guardian angel or two watching over us.” She gave them a pointed look which caused them to start to sweat a little. “If that were the case, Trixie would definitely have to thank any pony who would do such a thing for her or Twilight, perhaps even go so far as to return the favor.” Another pregnant pause. “But since that didn't happen, Trixie supposes that she will just turn in, since it was an exhausting evening.”

She turned away and walked to the stairs, pausing as she reached them. “By the way, books work better when they're read right-side-up.”

Author's Notes:

Woof! She finally said it! Glad that's finally out there for everyone to poke at with sticks. So, poke away! I don't mind. I hope you all clicked the video links at the appropriate places. I really think it adds to the story. The usual disclaimers here, I don't own anything here but the arrangement of the words. All else belongs to Hasbro and Lauren Faust.