//------------------------------// // Teaching Sweetie // Story: Crazy, Clever and Cunning // by Fresnor //------------------------------// Things started to settle down after the party introducing Selene to the town. While not all the ponies in town fully accepted her; most were at least cordial with her especially after seeing Princess Luna’s reaction to her. Twilight also seemed to calm down after talking with Luna who must have told her just what she needed to know. Through it all I was able to relax as the problems I feared didn’t arise, even if there were some close calls. Still I had one more pony to really convince and I had no clue what to do except try to get her in a good mood when she is told. Until that time I decided to spend more time around town with less time doing research and exploring the forest. Much of the time I would spend keeping track of Selene and the Crusaders, though I would have to get help from those that knew better about some things, like Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash for flying issues. It was a few weeks before the start of winter when I was watching over the two without wings while Selene and Scootaloo were getting lessons from the older pegasi. To distract them I was showing them some of the rune magic that I used when I had time to draw them out. I figured that it would be useful in teaching Sweetie Belle how to better utilize her magic and maybe even teach her what she may have been doing wrong. I had drawn out a simple array using the runes that would cast a levitation spell and was watching Sweetie Belle try to power it. Applebloom watched on in interest as there was anything else for her to do. “Okay Sweetie, just channel your magic into this circle and try to feel out how it shapes your energy.” I watched as she struggled to do as I said though I can tell she is having trouble. I’m not sure exactly how unicorns channel their magic through there horn so I make note to try to get Twilight or her sister to give her some advice. Probably both as there are probably a variety of ways for them to do it so her having a few ways to try would be useful. Eventually I could see her horn slowly start to light up as she finally managed to gather her energy. Once she got that far she was actually able to direct it into the circle well enough to get the rock within it to shakily rise a few inches off the ground. I smiled as she was able to succeed though I notice she wasn’t watching though until Applebloom spoke up. “Look Sweetie Belle, you’re doing it!” At this the white unicorn’s eyes shot open. “I am!?” She was able to see the rock floating for just a moment before her concentration faltered and it fell to the ground again. “Aww, it stopped. Stupid horn.” I shake my head at her disappointment and look at stone. “Well it just means you need to work on your concentration a bit more, and how you charged your horn could use a bit of work as well. Still, the fact you were able to lift it is a really good sign though.” I really was impressed as the rock was easily three times her size and I was more looking into testing how well her magic worked and not her actual abilities. “Really Sweetie Belle, you usually have trouble with lifting a pencil and yet you picked that huge thing up like it was nothing.” Sweetie Belle blushed a bit at the praise from her fellow Crusader but still seemed a tad disappointed. “She is right Sweetie. To be truthful I wasn’t actually expecting you to be able to lift something of this size yet. I was planning to start with a large size and work down until we reached something that you actually could lift.” This actually seemed to help her mood a bit as she looked a tad happier about this information. Applebloom moved closer to the unicorn and put her hoof on her shoulder. While they were preoccupied with each other I noticed the rock starting to wobble again, but without any action from Sweetie Belle. Wondering what was causing this I looked down at the circle in curiosity to notice the earth pony’s hoof in contact with it. It takes me a moment but my eyes widen in realization and I quickly wipe the main runes powering the circle. Right, I think I had better be more careful with what I teach them if any of the three can activate these circles. It sure explains why I haven’t been able to find many recent innovations regarding them. Thinking back to the work I did for Cadence I made a note to send her a letter about this as it could help with the crystal research some more. Turning back to the two I decided that there was enough teaching for one day. “I’m not sure how to help with your issues, but I think your sister or Twilight could help you more as they know how your horns work. But for now we should probably get a meal ready for when the others come down.” Sweetie Belle looks enthusiastic about this though Applebloom looks at her warily for a moment before nodding to me. I pause to consider why she reacted like that until I remember some of the stories Rarity told me about her sister. I almost change my mind until an idea comes to mind that could work. I set Applebloom on some of the simpler things and desserts while I set Sweetie on the stove with a cook book for some fish dishes. The young earth pony just gives me a look, probably wondering what I am thinking, before getting to work on her preparations. I keep an eye on the two as they work on what they were set to as I do my own work. Applebloom flinches when the pan in front of Sweetie Belle bursts into flames and the unicorn nearly panics but calms down when I don’t move to stop anything and eventually the flames die down as they finish consuming the alcohol. She didn’t even realize what she was using to do the cooking as it was from unlabeled bottles that I kept in a sealed area. This happens a few more times with each one she prepares, but when I don’t do anything she steadily calms down until she doesn’t even flinch with the last one, yet Applebloom just continues to look at me as if I’m crazy. I sneak a peek at the first one that Sweetie Belle made, and from what I could see it looked fine, though I couldn’t say much about the taste yet. Still I added a last few touches to them so that they look even more presentable. Once the two were done I sent them over to set the table as I finished up the last few things and brought everything over. Soon enough the four flyers came downstairs from their little wing lessons. Fluttershy pauses when she sees all the food laid out while Rainbow Dash rushes to a nearby chair. “Oh Flarenza, you didn’t have to cook for us.” Fluttershy speaks first in her predictable manner when being offered kindness. “What are you talking about Fluttershy? She already cooked it so we might as well dig in.” I just chuckle at the banter between the two. “Well it’s the least I could do for you taking your time to help Selene and Scootaloo. Granted Rainbow Dash would have probably got around to it eventually, whenever she could clear her schedule of naps and reading.” The blue pegasus starts to nod before realizing what I just said. “Hey!” The rest of the ponies just laugh at this, except for Scootaloo who tries to defend her but is drowned out by the laughing. Once everyone had calmed down I passed out the meal to everyone. The ones who hadn’t seen what was going on while we cooked looked impressed, though Applebloom refused the fish previously which was understandable as earth ponies didn’t need fish in their diet like pegasi or unicorns that were using magic often. Fluttershy slowly picked at hers, due to a combination of being disturbed about eating meat and the knowledge of needing it in her diet, while the rest dug in to their food. I was pleased that the taste came out better than I expected for the fish and was glad my idea actually worked. Soon enough everyone was finished eating and the Crusaders and Selene started clearing the table while Rainbow Dash reclined a bit and patted her stomach. “That sure hit the spot. The fish may have looked fancier than I’m used to but it sure tasted good.” There were nods from the others agreeing with her which earned a blush of pleasure from Sweetie Belle and a jaw drop from Applebloom. “Well you can thank Sweetie Belle for that as she cooked all the fish herself, I just provided the instructions.” I burst out laughing at the looks on their faces as they couldn’t believe what I just said. “How in the world did she manage that?! Everything she’s tried to cook before ends up burnt to a crisp, including orange juice!” This comes from Scootaloo which earns an indignant “Hey!” from the unicorn. I reply after I stop my laughter. “Well it really wasn’t that hard, I just had her cook something that was meant to be set on fire.” This earns a few wide-eyed stares from most of them, including Sweetie Belle, though Fluttershy looks thoughtful. “Oh, you mean like some sort of flambé?” The buttery pegasus shrinks down as the stares turn towards her, though I’m not too surprised she knows considering some of the other fancy things she’s known of before. I nod in response to her question and Sweetie Belle perks up about something. “Hey, could it mean that…” She looks down at her flank and notices that there is still nothing there. “Aww, you mean that’s not my talent either?” This earns a few chuckles of sympathy, though I come up with something to cheer her up with. “Well it’s still something to be proud of. Not many can make something like that correctly on their first try. Maybe you should make some for Rarity when you ask her for some tips with your magic?” She brightens up at this as her sister has been a bit critical about her trying to help her. She couldn’t wait to get back home at the information and practically bullied the others into letting her head out. She was so forceful that they couldn’t even attempt to convince her to stay any longer. She was soon speeding out the door at speeds that would rival Scootaloo on her scooter. “Well, I didn’t think that she would be that enthusiastic about it. Maybe Rarity has been ignoring her a tad bit too much.” The others just look at me before they shake their heads at this. Soon enough Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash headed out while the three remaining fillies went off on their own together. This leaves me to myself so I decide to just do some basic work around my home. It was only a couple hours later while I was working in my garden when I sensed that someone was rushing towards the manor at a fast pace, and I could probably guess who it was. Finishing up the last little bit I made my way around to the front to find Rarity banging on my door and yelling. I almost turn back around at this but she notices me as I come around the corner from the back. “YOU! What did you do to my sister?!” I wonder exactly what she is talking about so I decide to answer like I did Twilight before. “Not much really; helped teach her a bit about magic and a little bit of cooking.” She just stares at me with disbelief in her eyes while impersonating a goldfish. Eventually she gets her thoughts back together again, enough to respond. “But how?! Everything that she’s made was a total disaster! But this! This was perfectly made! How?!” Ahh, now I understand a bit. She must have thought what I did is a miracle or something. “Well it wasn’t that hard after hearing some of the stories you’ve told me and how everything she cooks somehow ends up burned or on fire. So I just had her cook up something that is meant to be set on fire. She seemed rather excited to be able to do something for you; maybe you should spend a bit of time with her in thanks.” Rarity just looks at me in shock at mentioning how the food was supposed to be set on fire as only high class places make dishes of that kind. Considering she looks to be in complete shock now and Sweetie Belle was obviously alone this time while cooking which gives me an idea take break her out of her shock. “You know she had me watching her when I was teaching her how to make that. Was anyone keeping an eye on her in your kitchen when she was there?” Rarity seems to snap out of it a bit at my question as she looks at me oddly. Suddenly she seemed to get even paler as she took off running back to her place while being followed by my laughter. <><><><><><><> Things continued for the next few months at a casual pace. Trixie returned over the winter with stories of her travels and things seemed to be going well for her. While most of her shows were for children in hospitals and schools, she was able to get a few big ones together in a few towns. After word started to spread she was able to get a big one in a major city which helped repair her reputation again. She had kept in touch with me through letters at every town she went through, letting me know how things were going. She decided to make Ponyville both her first and last stop of the years since she was staying with me during the winter. This allowed her time to practice new tricks for her shows as well as take time out to rest. While the others were still a tad wary, Twilight was actually enthusiastic about helping the blue mare with her magic and often joined me in research with her. Of course they still had the occasional magic dual, which I also joined periodically, but at least they were friendlier than they were the first couple times. By the end of winter Trixie was at least on a speaking basis with the others, though she was rather friendly with Rarity and Fluttershy after a few trips to the spa. She was even able to relax enough with their help to finally drop the third-person speak while not performing around town. Soon enough winter ended and she performed her first show of the year before heading off once again. Soon after Twilight and her friends had to go off to the Crystal Empire to do something related to some sort of Equestrian Games. I wasn’t sure what it was about but was able to find a bit about it in a couple books I borrowed from the library. Strangely enough Spike and the Crusaders vanished for a period while they were all gone, yet appeared again as soon as they returned. Wherever they were they weren’t missed by anyone other than Selene as she alone during that period. In exchange for not mentioning anything to their sisters the Crusaders all agreed on a sleepover at my place while Twilight and the others went off to some border town. I didn’t catch where but AJ and Rarity seemed relieved at me agreeing to watch over the fillies. “So do you all have everything you need now?” Selene and the Crusaders nod at me. “We still have those bits you gave us before.” Selene seems has been speaking up more often since she had made up with Luna. I probably should talk with her again myself just to see what all was going on as well as if there was anything else I could do for her. “Well if you need more you know where I keep the emergency stash. Also-“ I am interrupted by a knock at the door which surprised me as I wasn’t expecting anyone and wasn’t paying attention to what the hearth stone was telling me. “Now who could that be?” Heading to the door I open it to find Spike waiting there with a bag of things. “Hey Spike, I didn’t expect to see you around. Any reason why?” He looks a tad uncomfortable as well as irritated at the same time. “Well Twilight didn’t want me to go with them and for some reason the Princess suggested sending me here if I didn’t go with.” I look at him oddly as this was rather unusual. “Really? But you’ve always been fine taking care of things without anyone watching over you. Granted it probably gets pretty lonely unless you have ponies actually using the library.” He sighs before responding. “I know. Sure it will be nice to actually be able to talk with someone else, but I didn’t even have a choice about this. I don’t know why I couldn’t have gone with them to this Whinnysted place they were headed to.” The name surprises me a bit as I actually know a bit about that place. “Really? I don’t see why they wouldn’t let you come with, it’s not like there is anything worse there than here.” Spike looks a bit excited for some reason. “You mean you’ve been there before? It’s not often you talk about the places you’ve been.” I realize that he’s right about that, though many places I’d rather not talk about. “Well there isn’t much to say about the place. It’s a border town that also borders the Everfree Forest. It’s a good bit smaller than Ponyville and was actually the last place I went through before arriving here. There wasn’t really anything that stood out about the place other than the variety of races living there.” He seems a bit disappointed at how boring the place sounds but something is bothering me for some reason. My eyes widen as I remember one last thing about the place and I hope I’m not right about the reason why they are going there. Spike looks a bit worried at the panic that crosses my face. “Flarenza, is there something wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” I just look at him and remember why he was sent here. “There was another thing that I remember about the town. As I was leaving I met a group of ponies just inside of the forest. The problem is that it was a group of thestrals.”