THE TEACHER, THE SORCERESS, AND THE WONDERBOLT

Chapter 6: Apologies (clop heavy version)

Applejack stormed into the boutique, righteous fury in her eyes. “Ah just knew you'd be up to somethin' just like this, Rarity! Yah promised yah wouldn't interfere! Yah said-”

“Applejack, not now! Not in front of hmmrmrmr,” she said through gritted teeth, the last bit dying off in an effort to not give the game away. She looked pointedly at Twilight, back at Applejack, twice, sweating bullets.

The farmer's already raised voice went up a few decibels, furious at being shushed as much as the broken promise. “Ah don't care! She deserves to-”

She was cut off again, this time by Rarity's hoof in her mouth. “Twilight, Trixie, would you please excuse us? We have a uh, private matter to discuss. Fillyfriend stuff. I hope you understand.”

Twilight looked at her friends in confusion. “Um, sure, Rarity. We need to go get some lunch anyway.” She got up and started towards the door. “We'll just get out of your way, App-”

Applejack rushed back to the door and stood on her hind legs, her forelegs forming an effective barrier as she put each on opposite sides of the door frame. “Oh, no yah don't. Not this time, Rarity. Your interferin' ways end here and now, missy.”

“Yellow submarine!” Rarity shouted. For some reason, this stunned Applejack into wide-eyed inactivity. The white unicorn took this opportunity to quickly shove Twilight and Trixie past her stunned fillyfriend, and pulled her in, shutting the door behind them.

The two shocked unicorns stood there a moment, staring at the door. “What was that all about, I wonder,” Twilight asked aloud.

“Trixie is sure she has no idea. Perhaps one of them bought something she should not have?” Trixie ventured.

Twilight took another deep breath of her flowers, and her smile reasserted itself. “Well, whatever it was, if they want us to know, they'll tell us. Let's go by my place for a bit so I can put these into a vase and cast a preservation spell on them. Don't want these beauties to wilt before I can really enjoy them, right?”

Trixie nodded her agreement as the trotted off.

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Rarity breathed a sigh of relief as she leaned her back against the door and slid down it. Her relief was short-lived as she looked up to see her fillyfriend glaring down at her, a fire in her eyes. “I... have some explaining to do, don't I?”

Dead silence filled the room for several tense heartbeats until Applejack growled, “Sugar, dependin' on the answer, we may be over.” Rarity's eyes went wide, and a sick feeling in her stomach replaced the joy she had felt just moments before when she had helped Trixie. “Ah've never raised a hoof to yah, an' Ah never will, but Ah've never been so angry at yah as Ah am right now. Yah know how I feel about lyin', and breakin' promises is just as bad. So what possessed yah to do this after promisin' me t'other night yah wouldn't? Not to mention usin' our safe word in front of others like that!”

Absolute terror gripped Rarity. She went to her knees and threw herself around Applejack's strong neck; and while she wasn't pushed away, neither was the embrace returned. “Oh, Applejack forgive me! Please! I just want what's best for Twilight, and I think that she and Trixie would do a lot of good for each other. For a pony to find somepony who shares their special talent, it's like... it's like... finding that one perfect accessory that goes with your favorite dress, only a thousand, thousand times better.”

She could see that the farmer remained unconvinced and perhaps a little confused by the analogy, so she tried a different one. “Imagine if while digging through your ancestor's things, you found the recipe for the perfect flaky crust to go with a new breed of apples you just created. How could you deny putting them together? Why, it would be criminal!”

This seemed to sink in, and Rarity could see some of the anger leaving her lover's face. However, she could still see the disappointment in her eyes, and that cut worse than a thousand knives in the chest. “That still don't change the fact that yah went back on your word. Yah promised me that we wouldn't interfere in their goin's on after we left the party.”

Unable to stand looking at the hurt in Applejack's eyes any longer, Rarity dropped her gaze to her hooves. “I... I'm sorry, Applejack. I just wanted them to be as happy as we are together. Ever since the day we were trapped in your hay barn by that thunderstorm, you've made me so happy, that I just want to sing it from the mountaintops.” She managed a sidelong glance at the earth pony. “You're the best thing to ever happen to me Applejack, and I wanted all our friends to be even just a fraction as happy as you make me.”

The last of the anger slipped away from her face. Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening, but never quite spilling. The farmer shuffled on her hooves a bit and gazed at the ceiling as if searching for the answer there. “Yah realize what this means, don't yah?”

If Rarity had thought that the bottom of her stomach had dropped out before, it sank to new levels at those words. She locked her hooves around her lover's neck so that should she try to walk out the door, she would have to drag the unicorn with her, because she intended to never let go.

Applejack looked down into Rarity's eyes. “This means that all bets are off. No interferin' in each other's plans, but we can back the pony we each want to win, in any way we want.”

Suddenly the world had room for happiness, and all of it poured into the white mare. She fiercely smashed her lips to the orange pony's, attempting to drown her in a deluge of passion. Their tongues intertwined, the wet muscles vying for dominance. Unable to support herself anymore, Rarity's rear legs gave out, dragging Applejack down on to the floor with her.

The farmpony crawled over her love, her weight a satisfying pressure to the unicorn. She settled into position between Rarity's legs and broke the kiss with a gasp.

“So we're okay now?” Rarity asked meekly.

Applejack kissed her jaw several times before answering. “We're okay. Jes'... Jes' don't break your promises anymore. Once a pony loses another ponies' trust, it's powerful hard to get back.”

Rarity kissed the hollow of Applejack's neck where it met the sternum, giving it a lick at the end. As always, this caused a delicious shudder down the earth pony's spine. Without breaking contact with her muzzle, she murmured into her lover's chest, “You have my word, darling. No more broken promises.”

Their lips met again, the fierceness gone, but no less passionate. Rarity's hooves slid down the hard, muscled sides of Applejack, taking delight in the juxtaposition of strong and feminine. The muscles may suggest stallion, but the shape, the shape was all mare. Her hooves reached the tight, yet rounded rump, before heading down and unerringly finding the cutie mark on either flank. In a ritual they had started since their first encounter, Rarity rubbed each apple in a circular motion then tapped each before moving on to the next of each trio. Applejack moaned into the kiss at each tap, hunching into her lover, their increasingly wet sexes meeting briefly with a squelch.

Finally ready to really get down to business, Applejack broke the kiss, and began shuffling down the mare below her. Leaving a wet trail of kisses and nibbles, she slowly made her way down to her greatest treasure. Rarity's moans were broken with a squeak every time her skin was pinched between Applejack's teeth. The earth pony came to rest for a moment with her forelegs still resting on the unicorn's rear legs, spreading them open as far as she could.

Applejack kissed around Rarity's breasts, not quite touching them, and watched with satisfaction as the nipples hardened. Deciding to change gears, she licked the inside of her lover's legs, drawing her tongue up in long, sensuous licks. She switched legs with every lick, leaving a trail of damp fur on the trembling mare. With agonizing slowness, she worked her way back down the legs until she was almost but not quite licking the breasts in front of her. Just when Rarity began to despair of ever getting any relief, Applejack dragged her rough, wet tongue straight down the middle of the teats, causing the mare to buck up of the ground almost completely.

The farmpony wasted no more time and planted her whole mouth on one teat, laving her tongue all over it. The other was not left to linger as an orange hoof gently massaged it. Alternating stimulation was administered, going from gentle lick and massaging, to biting nibbles and a hoof flicking a nipple. Rarity's moans filled Applejack's ears, and her enticing musk filled her nose.

Unable to take it any longer, Rarity forced Applejack's head down towards her marehood with her forehooves. The earth pony took the hint, and began to gladly lap up the leaking essences, savoring the taste that was uniquely Rarity. However, she wasn't quite ready to end the teasing, and instead of diving right in as she usually did, Applejack instead sheathed her teeth with her lips to gently take hold of the mare's petals and pull them until they slipped out. With each snap back into shape, the unicorn's moans were accentuated with a sharp gasp. “Ah- Ah- Applejack! Please! Finish it!” she managed to say between gasps.

Deciding she'd had enough, Applejack slid her tongue into Rarity's depths, lapping up her sweet cream into her mouth, before going back in for more. She rested her nose on the mare's clitoris, gently rubbing it back and forth, while drinking her scent. Both ponies' eyes rolled back into their heads, but only Rarity's mouth was free to shout her release to the heavens.

The mares' breathing slowly returned to normality, and Applejack returned to her favorite perch, laying on top of the beautiful seamstress. They kissed again, this time Rarity savoring her own taste on Applejack's lips with a relish. When the earth pony's face was clear of all traces of her cream, she nuzzled the strong mare. “Darling, while I hope we never fight again, I also hope that the rest of our... rendezvous will be that... intense.”

Applejack rubbed her muzzle to Rarity's. “Ah hope so too, sugar. On both counts. Now how about another round?”

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As she finished grading the last question of the history test, Cheerilee let her mind wander again to her favorite subject. School had been out for only a few minutes, and she was ahead on her work here, since she had taken everypony's homework with her to recess and graded it there. If she wanted to finish work as early as possible, she had to take little shortcuts like that. After all, every minute she spent away from Twilight was not only a minute spent away from Heaven, but it was a minute that the poor, defenseless librarian was left to the tender mercies of that... that unicorn, not to mention that slightly more tolerable pegasus showoff.

Where does she get off studying about magic? It's not like she can learn anything useful from it. she thought to herself. Then another thought suddenly occurred to her. What if it was only to get closer to Twilight? What if her interest in it was more prurient? What if right now, she and that witch- Cheerilee stopped herself as she stood bolt upright at her desk, forehooves firmly planted on the surface.

No. No, I have to trust that they wouldn't dare do such things for risking alienating her. And even if they do attempt that, I have to trust Twilight to resist their wiles. She sat down again, and returned to her work, rushing through the papers. It wasn't long before she lost focus again thinking about her dream mare. A goofy grin spread across her face as she remembered her first significant encounter with the Mistress of her Heart...

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Cheerilee stood in front of the door, hoof poised to knock. Come on, Cheerilee, you can do this. So what if she's the cutest nerd you've ever seen. So what if she's saved Equestria, and this town in particular, several times over. So what if she's got the cutest smile, the most adorable laugh, the best-looking rump you've ever-

She stopped herself and shook her head to clear it of those thoughts, but they refused to stay gone for long. The teacher took several deep breaths, and knocked before she lost her resolve. As each second ticked by without a response, Cheerilee lost a little more resolve, until just as she was about to turn around and run off, the door opened to reveal Twilight's number one assistant as she liked to call him.

Not recognizing her, he asked, “Yes? Can I help you?”

“Hello, my name is Cheerilee. I'm the local school teacher.” The dragon seemed to relax at this news. “I was hoping to speak to Twilight Sparkle?”

“Oh. Sure, come on in,” he said as he stood aside to admit her. He pointed to his left, saying, “She's over there rearranging the shelves for the fifth time today.”

Looking to where he pointed, she saw the librarian totally absorbed in her work. She had two dozen books floating around her, and was examining the spines, and muttering to herself. The sunlight filtering through the curtained windows created a golden halo around her, and a heavenly choir sang a beatific note of joy. Cheerilee's jaw dropped at this Goddess-vision descending from the Heavens. Surely a divine being such as this was too good to be true. A cloud passed overhead, blocking out the light; and she noticed that the choir was singing off to the side, so turned her head to find Spike blowing as hard as he could on a harmonica. He took the instrument out of his mouth, and dusted it off, saying “Been looking for this thing ever since we moved in,” as he wandered off to the kitchen.

Taking a moment first to compose herself, she walked over and cleared her throat. Without looking, Twilight said, “Good timing, Spike. I need you to hold these.” Ten very large tomes floated over to her, and Cheerilee instinctively stood and held out her hooves to catch them before they hit the floor. “Oh, and these,” three more floated onto the wobbly pile. The teacher danced back and forth, trying to keep her balance, but was having real trouble doing so. She was about to point out Twilight's error when she was interrupted with, “And this one too.” A small book, barely larger than postcard size, topped the pile, causing the maroon earth pony to overbalance and fall over under the avalanche of books.

Twilight finally looked over at the noise. “Omigosh, Spike! Are you okay?”

The dragon in question walked out of the kitchen, a topaz in one claw, and a jar of peanut butter in the other. “You call for me, Twi?”

“Wait, if you're there, then who...” In a panic, Twilight lifted all fourteen books to the air, revealing a slightly battered earth pony. “I am so sorry, Miss... um...”

“Cheerilee,” she answered. Accepting a hoof up, she dusted herself off.

“I can't apologize enough, Miss Cheerilee. I had no idea you were there. I thought you were my assistant, Spike.” She neatly stacked the books next to the shelf as she brushed off the mare, both with her magic. “Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”

You can make me the happiest mare in Equestria for the rest of my life. “Um, actually, I came here seeking books. You see, I'm the teacher at-”

Cheerilee's explanation was interrupted by a fillyish squeal from Twilight. “You're the teacher! I've been meaning to talk to you! Oh, it must be so fulfilling being a teacher! Seeing those fillies and colts grow up into such brilliant, dedicated, and productive members of society! Molding their minds, honing their skills, I can't even imagine how rewarding it must feel to be such an important part of their development!” She grabbed her hoof, and vigorously shook it.

“Um, yes, it is fulfilling.” The teacher was more than a little sad when her hoof was released. “As I was saying, I came here to look for some books for the students to make reports on, actually. Well, that and to introduce myself. I'm sure we'll be working very closely in future.”

Twilight seemed unaware of her odd choice of words to stress over others. “Oh, how rude of me. Would you like some tea?” Before she could respond, the librarian shouted, “Spike! Put on some tea for the three of us, would you?” The little dragon grumbled as he went about his assigned task, and Twilight led her guest over to the kitchen table. “Sorry about the mess in here. We're still getting settled in, and the previous librarian seemed to not have any rhyme or reason to her book sorting.”

Cheerilee smiled at this. “Actually, there hasn't been a librarian running this place for months now. A few elderly volunteers checked books out for visitors, and it was kept clean by the City Hall janitor, who came over every other Monday.”

The unicorn gasped as they sat down at the table. “Well, no wonder it was such a mess here. Those poor dears must have had their hooves full trying to keep order when school let out. I can just imagine the chaos as they swarmed in, intent on borrowing everything in sight, leaving muddy tracks on the floors, hoofprints of jelly and other unmentionable substances smudged on the books, and worst of all, the noise.” She gave a shudder at the thought of the madness.

The earth pony smiled as she shook her head. She looked over at Spike as if to ask if she was serious, he just rolled his eyes. “Well, I'm not sure how it was in the Royal Library in Canterlot palace, but here, you'll find it more... sedate than you might think. You can go for days or even weeks without a visitor, Miss Sparkle.”

Twilight leaned over and patted her hoof. “You can just call me Twilight. After all, we scholars have to stick together.” Cheerilee blushed at the contact and offer of intimacy. “But what's this about so few visitors? Surely with a town this small, there would be more visitors rather then less? I mean, what else is there to do around here other than work and read for pleasure?” They ignored the amused snort from Spike who was tending to the now whistling kettle.

“Twilight, I think you may find this remarkable, but not everypony likes to read for fun.” Cheerilee smiled at the cocked eyebrow and incredulous look the unicorn was giving her. “To be perfectly honest, most ponies don't like to read. I've discovered that most see it as a necessary chore, or even just bothersome.”

Standing on her hind legs, the lavender mare looked upset, nay personally offended. “Spike! Take a letter!” The dragon reached into a drawer next to the stove and pulled out a quill and a sheet of parchment. Without waiting for him to acknowledge his readiness, she began dictating.

Dear, Princess Celestia,

It has come to my attention that the ponies of Ponyville have lost their love of reading. As shocking as it sounds, the local teacher here, Miss Cheerilee has informed me of this deplorable situation, and has assured me that this is not confined to Ponyville. Something must be done about this before it is too late. I propose a series of programs to reignite ponies' interest in reading once more. We can start small, offering free stories to foals told by volunteers in public spaces, and work our way up to full blown book fairs and conventions.

Now I realize that what I propose is going to cost money, and possibly lots of it. To that end, I would like to suggest that we use Ponyville as a sort of testbed, to see what works best before setting anything up on a larger scale. We'll begin planning a few sessions of the foal-reading, and start putting up posters encouraging ponies to read, and to show how much it can benefit them. I'm sure that between Miss Cheerilee and I, we can turn this trend around before our civilization falls off the precipice.

I shall get together with Miss Cheerilee and start planning right away, at her earliest convenience, and get back to you with our results next week when I send in my next Friendship report. With your help and encouragement, we can save Equestria from another Dark Ages like what followed the fall of the first Equine Empire.

Your most faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

Cheerilee was about to object to being volunteered like that, when Spike spoke up. “Got it, Twilight. But do you really think this is something to bother the Princess with? I mean, she is awfully busy running Equestria. I kinda doubt she has time for a project like this.”

“Spike, there is nothing, absolutely nothing more important than education! You've read the history books, so you know what it was like back then. Now send it quickly! Time is of the essence!”

Startled into action by Twilight's harsh demeanor, he quickly rolled up the parchment and breathed on it, turning it to a wisp of green smoke which wended it's way out. “I still think that she's not going to take this very seriously,” he groused.

“Spike, I can assure you that the Princess takes everything seriously. You could do well to take a page from her book in that.” Further conversation was halted by her as she calmly waited for a response. The three of them sat there drinking tea, Twilight looking a little smug in her confidence, Spike a bit put out in his irritation, and Cheerilee a little out of it in her stealing of glances at the librarian.

The response wasn't long in coming. With a belch of green flame, Spike brought forth a rolled up parchment and began to read without prompting.

My Most Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle,

While I agree that reading and education are indeed very important to all ponies, we must also accept the fact that not everypony is going to feel the same way about it that you and I do. As to your proposal, I am rather shocked that you've already forgotten the many, many book fairs we attended when you lived here in Canterlot. I had thought that we'd had a rather good time attending those events, and am saddened that they have slipped from your memory so soon.

Rest assured that the future of Equestria is in good hooves. I would never let what befell the first Equine Empire, happen again. I must cut this letter short, as I was in the middle of partaking of lunch with Luna.

Your loving Mentor,

Princess Celestia

Twilight's face was a study in realized horror. “The Princess thinks I forgot... She thinks those times weren't important to me...” she murmured. “SHE THINKS I DON'T LOVE HER!” Cheerilee had been leaning close, trying to decipher what the lavender mare was saying, and so was knocked back in surprise when her volume went to shouting levels. “SPIKE! TAKE A LETTER, QUICK! Miss Cheerilee, I'm sorry, but I need to take care of this! Could we do this another time?”

Cheerilee nodded and walked dejectedly towards the door, Spike following to let her out. She wanted to know, but at the same time, didn't. Curiosity finally won out and she asked her escort, “Spike?”

“Yes?” he responded.

“D... I... Is Twilight and the Princess...” Now that she had come this far, she found that she just couldn't say it outright.

Having been asked this question many times in the past, Spike knew what she was getting at. “They're more like dam and daughter than anything else. Or maybe aunt and niece.” He tilted his head and thought for a moment. “Their relationship is kinda weird, but they love each other. They're not in love with each other, if that makes any sense.”

Elated at the news, she crushed the tiny dragon in a hug. “Thank you Spike. You were a big help.”

He tried to return the hug as best he could with his arms pinned at his side. “No problem. You seem like a nice mare, and I hate seeing nice mares look sad like that.”

Cheerilee released him and ruffled his spike a little. “You're a good dragon, Spike, and an even better assistant.”

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Cheerilee was brought back to reality when her head fell off of the hoof that had been propping it up on her desk. With a skull-cracking BAM, her face slammed into the desk, cushioned only slightly by the papers she was grading. She sat up, rubbing her forehead in pain. Looking up at the clock, she gasped at the time. “Four-thirty? How did it get so late?”

Suddenly in a rush, she stuffed all the papers into her saddlebags, promising herself to take care of the rest tonight, or worst case scenario, tomorrow morning before class started. She dashed out of the classroom, having to come back to lock up when she remembered halfway down the street.

Her headlong rush was halted by an orange leg barring her way suddenly. “Whoa there, missy! Yah best slow down a'fore you run some poor pony over.”

Cheerilee screeched to a breathless halt, eyes wild. “Applejack! I'm really very sorry, but I'm in rather a hurry just now. I need to get home before something awful happens.” The orange mare was apparently just closing up her cart for the night.

The farmer knew the current living arrangements going on at Twilight's home, so she was elated to hear Cheerilee refer to the librarian's home as her own as well. “Well, goin' home emptyhoofed like this might just make it a bad situation in the first place.”

This caused the teacher to be taken aback for a moment. “Huh? What do you mean?”

“Well, Ah mean that it would be foalish to go see Twilight without one of her favorite treats, Like say... some apple strudels?” Applejack tilted her hat back a little and gave her a knowing wink. “Ah happen to know that they're not only the things she buys from me the most, but neither she or Spike have been by to get any from me in ages.” She leaned against her cart and crossed her left hooves over her right. “Seems to me, somepony could score some major points with her if'n they were to say, show up with some for dessert.”

Cheerilees's eyes narrowed as she took in the farmer. “And what makes you think that I'm trying to “score some major points” with anypony?”

Applejack walked up to her and patted her shoulder. “My dear Cheerilee. Half the town knows you're pinin' for that mare. Heck, Ah might feel the same if'n it weren't for Rarity.” She looked off into the distance speculatively. “Yep. There's definitely somethin' about a smart mare.”

She took her hoof from the surprised teacher and turned back to her cart. “Tell yah what. Ah happen to have some leftover from today. Made fresh this afternoon for another customer, but she never picked 'em up. Be a cryin' shame to waste strudels this good by throwin' 'em out too.” She handed a warm, brown paper bag to the earth pony who took it in her teeth.

“Bt how mch do ah owe you?” she asked around the bag.

Applejack seemed to consider it for a moment. “Consider it an investment in my friend's happiness. Now, Ah expect to see dividends on that tomorrow with her smilin', yah hear?”

Cheerilee smiled and nodded, then continued her mad dash back home. Applejack smiled at her retreating form with a wide grin. When the maroon pony disappeared around a corner, she started whistling a work song, slipped into her cart's harness, and started for home herself.

Author's Notes:

Hail the conquering hero! Chapter six has arrived! Finally earning that mature label today! At least, it is for the clop heavy version. Try reading that if a little naughtiness between ponies doesn't make you feel all squicky. The usual disclaimers here. I don't own any of the characters, places, or things in this story, only the arrangement of the words. All the rest belongs to Hasbro and Lauren Faust.