Ch. 23 - Second Chances
The Traveling Tutor and the Librarian
Second Chances
“Hold still. You’re smearing.” Twilight Sparkle dipped her quill into the inkwell and continued to carefully transcribe runes onto the inside walls of the tutor’s wagon, expressing only minor irritation at the movement of her notes, and the medium they were written on.
“You could have used paper,” groused Green Grass weakly, still holding the ice pack to his eye while keeping his flank inscribed with Twilight’s pink frosting notes turned to the busy researcher. The scratching noise of her quill on the walls of his home brought an itchy trembling up his sticky frosting-covered flanks, made only worse by her habit of inking the quill at erratic points during the process just when he had gathered the willpower to speak. Even with the icepack over his swollen eye, he still could not resist the occasional glance backwards to see the intense way she concentrated on her task, that magnificent mind focused on a single idea through those beautiful eyes. It seemed to be a futile effort, for every time he stole a glance over his shoulder, he always seemed to catch her at the exact instant she was looking away.
Finally, as if he could no longer stand the scratching of her quill, he blurted out, “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” The infernal scratching continued without a pause. “For what?” She carefully dunked her quill and continued her drawing.
“The icepack. Unscrambling my thesis. Everything.” He sighed and looked up in the library branches. “We’re being watched. One of Fluttershy’s birds?”
“Yes.” As Green Grass watched the bird, the trees, and random passing dust motes in order to avoid any more awkward conversation, the scratching continued. It lasted through three dunks in the inkwell until she added, “Thanks.”
“What for?” He shifted positions so Twilight would not have to crane her neck so much to read her notes, still feeling a bit unnerved that she was looking at him so intently he could almost feel fire on his flank.
“Being a convenient notepad.” She scratched away, continuing to talk only during the occasional times she would dunk the quill for more ink. “Giving me a second chance.” The scratching changed tempo, becoming slower. “Dunking me in the fountain.”
“Huh?”
The scratching came to an abrupt stop.
“Would you rather I thank you for not making me walk drunk through the town in the morning traffic? Took me a while, and a memory spell, but I remember everything about that morning.” The scratching started up again as if it had never paused.
“Oh. Everything?”
The scratching seemed to gain in volume, as if the writer were leaning on the quill with greater intensity. “Yes. Turn a little more to the left.” The scratching went on unabated for a while until Twilight added, “Everything.”
He flicked an ear in irritation and shifted the soggy ice pack higher on his head. “Anypony would have done that.” He winced at her snort of derision. “Well, not any pony. I suppose you’ve met some real winners.”
The scratching stopped. “Yes, but not one of them took me in his firm embrace with tender, heartfelt words of passion, long concealed behind a mask for one you adored beyond words but could never find the courage to express in physical form. We kissed, our passion igniting a fire of love that exploded into a volcano of desire, overwhelming your innermost willpower until you could not resist the temptation to...”
The cringing tutor had fairly curled into a ball of mortification with his tail tucked between his legs as far as it would go and the icepack forgotten on the ground. “I didn’t do that. Did I? Did we?”
“No, but Rarity thinks we did.” The scratching of the quill started up again, so lightly it could barely be heard.
“I’m sorry.”
The scratches slowed behind him, becoming longer and more rhythmic. “Why?”
“Because I don’t want your friends to think any less of you.”
The scratching slowed even more. “Well, that’s an improvement.”
Green Grass could not bear to look back anymore, and maintained his solid eye contact with the warbling bird while trying to ignore the sounds of the quill. Just because he was ignoring it, did not mean it ceased to exist, but instead it seemed to grow in volume until the echoes resounded inside his hollow head. He barely heard Twilight’s voice when she asked a question.
“Why did you run into the doorframe on the way out of Sugarcube Corner?”
Picking up the ice pack and putting it back on his face to dampen the physical stinging did little to nothing for the bruise to his ego, but it did allow him a respite from the infernal quill. “I wasn’t thinking well. I was confused. Your father says that’s a dangerous sign.”
The scratching of the quill started up again in soft, regular strokes as if Twilight Sparkle were drawing a series of short parallel lines. “What do you think?”
“I think... wait.” Green Grass turned around and looked at where Twilight was casually leaning on the inside of his wagon doorway and cleaning her quill on a rag. “I think you’re done drawing your symbols.”
“Got it in one.” Twilight Sparkle moved down the ramp and closed the door, revealing the drawing she had created⁽*⁾.
(*) Technically she revealed both drawings she had created: the one on the door, and the mirror image of it on her own flank where she leaned against the still wet drawing.
—
The tutor looked aghast at first, then thoughtfully at the back door to his wagon while attempting to come up with an adequate description that would not get him killed, finally settling on “The cutie mark is fairly accurate.”
“Do you think I got the proportions correct? This is the back door to your house after all. I thought it only proper to put a picture of your backside on it.” The drawing of the rear end of Green Grass looked entirely proportional, as if he were walking through the door, only not quite all the way through yet. Not quite what normal ponies put on their back door, but he had to admit, it was almost perfectly accurate except for the size of one thing.
“My butt is not that big.”
“Maybe not, but it will be if you don’t start exercising some of those donuts off.”
“Mumph. At least you didn’t draw the welts.” Green Grass nodded sagely, in an attempt to at least appear as if he had a choice in the decision while attempting not to laugh at the matching inverted drawing where Twilight had apparently backed up into the wet ink on the door.
* * *
The basis for the unsorting spell was fairly simple, even though the casting was horribly complicated. Twilight must have flipped through the defaced history book a dozen times in preparation, changing her position microscopically or shifting the location of a single hoof. Green Grass knew he should not feel guilty at the anxiety that coursed through his body, but he still had a strange urge to look at her cutie mark and compare it with the drawing on the door.
Nerves. That’s all it is. What’s the absolute worst thing that could happen? She could incinerate the whole wagon, all of father’s books and my thesis. Six months and I could rebuild it. Or the attempt could hurt her.
The urge to call out to her and stop the spell flared up and was tamped down repeatedly. He fidgeted, much like a stallion awaiting a birth, helpless to the end results but so dependent on them. Finally, she planted all four hooves and he could feel a light wind begin to stir the grass, highlighting the entire area in a radiant purple that prickled across his coat and itched behind the ears.
She’s magnificent.
Ripples of subdued power seemed to surge through the wagon in the rhythm of a heartbeat of an immense sleeping beast. The surges began to increase in frequency, making waves in Twilight’s mane and coat like they were wheat in a gusting summer wind and giving an iridescent golden shine to the tips of each hair. Slowly, as if reluctant to emerge into the persistent light, the first book slid out from the bookshelf and began to whirl around the room, soon followed by a second, and a third until the desk drawers flung themselves open and Twilight became nearly invisible behind a wall of papers. Threads of red and blue began to add to the spiraling papers, spinning around until they stuck, one at a time to the wagon floor and down each one slid a paper or book to settle into place. They nestled together with little rustling noises like baby birds setting in next to their mother, each shuffling slightly as their brother or sister paper would land on the growing paper quilt. He did not realize he was walking forward until his flank touched Twilight’s with a faint crackle of electrical discharge and the tingle of ozone just as the last paper touched the floor.
The urge flowed through him without resistance, and he leaned over to kiss her gently on the cheek, only to have her turn and meet his lips fiercely. Throwing a foreleg behind his neck, she leaned unexpectedly into him with a passion that both terrified and excited him. The hairs on his coat were standing on end, although he was unsure whether it was because of the magical charge or the sensation that surged through his body at her touch. Time itself seemed to stop while the world narrowed down to nothing but the two of them, wrapped in each other’s embrace. Eventually the need for breathing overtook their desire, and both pulled away from each other to gasp for air.
“That was... whoa.” Green Grass leaned against the side of his uncomfortable bookshelves and panted.
“Wow. Really... different than the first one.” Twilight Sparkle fanned herself with a history book, leaning against the other wall of the house regardless of the lumpy bookshelf.
A fierce blush swept over Green Grass, and he held a hoof to his lips. “Uh-oh. I’m sor—”
“Don’t you dare say you’re sorry!” interrupted Twilight sharply. “That was fantastic. I mean—” She coughed and stood straight, looking around the cluttered room. “Everything appears to be in order here. Don’t you think so?”
Green Grass coughed also, looking carefully around the floor for his common sense, or what was left of his wits. “Yes, it does. I think I’m ready to continue...” A quick glance at the clock dropped his heart into his hooves. “Darn. I’ve got a lesson in a few minutes over at Roseluck’s.”
“And I’ve got an experiment running in the basement that needs feeding,” mumbled Twilight, looking at the clock as if sheer willpower could make it run backwards. “I really wanted to increase my sample size.”
“Increase the confidence interval,” murmured Green Grass, trying to keep his eyes off Twilight and failing.
“You know what I want to do,” breathed Twilight, looking Green Grass straight in the eyes. “And I know you do too.”
“It’s been a long time,” admitted the tutor, nearly touching noses with Twilight.
“I’m certain you will remember just how,” whispered Twilight, gently bumping noses with him. “How about we meet back here after your classes are over? And we can work on continuing our... little project.”
“A date?” asked Green Grass, taken aback slightly, only to relax as Twilight’s entire face seemed to glow with a joyous smile that nearly blinded him.
“A study session. Now come on, let's get going. The sooner we get done with our projects, the sooner we can get back here.”
* * *
Green Grass carefully spread his ammunition out on the platform before looking at his two little students: Sweetie Belle and Sun Glimmer. There was a shimmering aura of resentment across both of the little unicorn fillies which had started with a disputed juice box last year, and now focused on their teacher who had just dropped them both together for a ‘little project.’ They both were a little confused; their normal attempts to disrupt lessons or object about working together which worked so well with Miss Cheerilee had just bounced off their new tutor with about the same effect as a firefly trying to outshine the sun. The tutor just fairly glowed with happiness, and neither of them would admit it, but it was just a bit contagious.
“Mrs. Cake, are you ready?”
The baker gave a nervous nod while checking the assembly line they normally only used for high-volume orders. Pinkie Pie had produced a dozen trays of unfrosted cupcakes for the occasion, and Green Grass was perched at the top end of the conveyor belt, his supply of unfrosted goodness all lined up and ready.
“Now, for the last time. This isn’t a race. When a cupcake comes by, scoop it up, frost it, and set it back on the belt. Mrs. Cake will box them up at the other end.”
Sun Glimmer glared resentfully at Sweetie Belle while holding her frosting tube proudly in her magical aura, the green glow only flickering occasionally. Sweetie glared back across the tube held in her mouth, being unable to hold onto it in unicorn fashion and having to settle for earth pony style.
“And just to make things interesting, I borrowed Pinkie’s record player and some old record she had laying around. Let’s get started!”
The record started spinning as Green Grass dropped his first cupcake on the conveyor belt, an action that seemed to take all of his concentration and allowed the two rival fillies to glare at each other seemingly unnoticed.
“Bet I can frost more than you can,” whispered Sun Glimmer.
“Mummph mum um,” whispered Sweetie Belle back, through bared teeth.
“You’re on!” shouted Sun Glimmer, grabbing the first cupcake down the belt and giving it a squirt of frosting.
Ear-blasting notes of Sapphire Shores filled the room, rattling the pictures on the walls and even Mrs. Cake at the other end of the belt began to sway to the beat. One frosted cupcake after another was popped into a box to the beat of the music, with two happy adults at either end of the conveyor, and two rapidly unwinding fillies in the middle.
“Yeah!” shouted Sun Glimmer as she popped a frosted concoction back on the belt and gave a half twirl.
“Mumph!” mumbled Sweetie Belle as she duplicated her classmate’s move and added a double hoof-tap.
“Chorus!” shouted Sun Glimmer.
♫ You’re never too old to rock!
You’re never too old to roll!
So pick up your hooves and make ‘em groove
Until you lose controoooolllll ♫
“Guitar solo!” shouted Sweetie Belle as the two fillies jumped up on their cupcake decorating platforms, holding the frosting bags as if they were guitars and jamming ferociously to the deafening chords, neither of them noticing the ear-to-ear grin on their tutor’s face at the matching green auras on their makeshift instruments and each of their horns.
* * *
“Okay Spike, you’ve got the checklist for tonight, right?” Twilight Sparkle fairly hopped around the library, reorganizing the already over-organized bag she had prepared for tonight.
“For the fifth time, Twilight.” Spike glanced at her happily trotting around the library and broke into laughter again, before wiping his eyes and trying to get serious. “Yes. I got most of it done while you were out this afternoon, shopping.” The little dragon’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “I thought we bought everything you needed yesterday.”
“I told you, Spike. I’ve got a new project, and I needed to buy some special things for it.”
“Uh-huh. Is that why you didn’t want me along while you were shopping? Did you buy anything for your new coltfriend? I think he’s rubbing off on you.” Spike snickered at Twilight’s weak glare.
“He’s not my coltfriend. We have a mutually beneficial research project I’m helping him with, that’s all.”
“Then why are you blushing?”
“I am not! I’m just excited about — you don’t need to know.”
“I noticed on my checklist, you wrote ‘Lock the library door’ right before ‘Go to sleep and no staying up late trying to spy on us.’ Are you planning on teleporting back into the library when you two are done, or are sleeping with him tonight?”
“Spike! We are not sleeping together! Very often. Except for recently. And it’s just sleep.”
The unasked question of what ‘it’ might turn into in the future drifted unspoken through the library air.
* * *
As the reddish clouds of sunset began to darken, heralding the arrival of the moon and casting the town into twilight, the unicorn named Twilight fidgeted nervously inside the library. She had agonized between arriving too early and having to wait on Green Grass inside his wagon, or too late and possibly finding him fast asleep, or worse, having started without her. When she finally broke free of her nervous indecision⁽¹⁾, she found the green stallion standing quietly outside his wagon, looking at the artistic depiction of his rear that now graced the back door of his home.
(1) ‘Broke free’ being defined as when Spike finally dragged her to the door and pushed her outside, locking the door behind her.
—
“I’m sorry,” whispered Twilight sharply as she scurried up to his side, the bag of supplies drifting along in her wake. “I’m late.”
The green tutor turned gracefully to her, a look of mischievous joy on his face. “Fear not, M’Lady, who’s cheeks doth glow brightly with the fire of new life. I shall take responsibility for my actions and hie with thee to the chapel to take you as my bride before the fruit of our night of passion becomes obvious to the world. I regret not that my affection for thee was long concealed behind a mask, only that the volcano of desire that thou hath ignited in mine heart was— What are you doing? Did you buy me ros—” The bouquet of yellow roses that Twilight had levitated out of her bag of supplies began to whack Green Grass vigorously over the head while his impromptu declaration of love rapidly became fragmented.
“Love hurts!—Ow!—Thorns!—Ow!—Mercy, M’Lady fair! Mercy!”
Twilight stopped, the remains of the tattered bouquet held firmly in front of her like the sword of an avenging angel, her stern, fierce frown badly weakened by giggles from seeing one of the roses ensnared in his silly hat and pointing to the sky, like a horn.
“Not that kind of late?” he asked with a grin.
“No.” She sighed in familiar frustration as she tucked the flowers back into her bag. “I swear it seemed like everypony in town this afternoon had a goofy smile or a case of the giggles.”
She broke off at a snort of laughter from Green Grass, which cut off abruptly as she turned to chastise him and only saw a perfectly innocent face⁽²⁾ returning her stern expression.
(2) Green Grass, being a late-bloomer, had been in not one, but two different cutie mark searching organizations, and was quite proficient in the Look of Extreme Innocence.
—
“What?”
“Nothing. So, are you… um… ready to get started?”
“Oh, yes. I can hardly wait. Are you... um... You seem to have more icing on you now than before.”
“Yeah.” Green Grass rubbed a hoof through his mane, coming away more pink than green. “On the third guitar solo, Sweetie Belle’s magic flared and her ‘guitar’ blew up.”
“Oh, that’s bad.”
“Are you kidding?” Green Grass struck a heroic air guitar stance. “It’s awesome! Any Flare that you survive without being turned into a potted cactus is a good Flare. I’ll take pink sugar over prickly pear any day of the week.”
“Still, we can’t work on our project if you’re all covered with frosting. I’m not licking you clean.” Twilight turned away from the blushing tutor and called quietly into the air. “Rainbow, it’s an emergency. Can I get one quick wash and dry for our town’s little tyke tutor?”
“Sure thing!” A pegasus-propelled cloud descended over Green Grass before he could react, and a torrent of rain blasted out, encouraged by a certain rainbow-maned weather pony energetically hopping up and down on the top. Despite the faint gurgle of nearly drowned pony, he was quickly encircled by a rapidly circling Rainbow Dash and in moments, Green Grass stumbled out, clean and dry, only with a tangled mane that could double for Pinkie Pie’s.
“He sure does clean up well, doesn’t he Twilight?” Rainbow Dash paused to admire her work, only to be magically snagged by the tail and suspended in midair in front of a simmering Twilight Sparkle.
“Rainbow, do you remember when I asked you to stop following us?”
“Sure, Twilight.” Despite being upside down, the pegasus still fought to keep from chuckling.
“Well, before I throw you from here to Canterlot, what is so funny?”
Rainbow pointed, finally breaking out in full-fledged laughter. “You’ve got his butt on your butt.”
Twilight Sparkle turned to look at her own flank with chagrin. There, in an exact mirror image of the drawing she had inked onto Green Grass’ door, was an ink outline of the tutor’s cutie mark as well as several of the other lines that had not fully dried when she had brushed up against them earlier that day. “You mean I’ve been walking around with that on my flank all day?”
Behind her, Rainbow Dash quietly made her escape, leaving Green Grass to his fate.
“I don’t know, I’ve walked around all the time with my own flank — Good point, why don’t we go inside and work on our project.” It was magical to see the change on her face, from irritated to irresistible as she fairly bounded up the ramp to the door, only to pause as the door refused to open.
“Oh. I forgot. I put a privacy ward over the wagon when I left, and didn’t key it to us. Sorry. Just let me...” There was a flicker in the faint violet field wrapped around Green Grass’ wagon and Twilight ducked inside, followed by the tutor, who paused at the doorway and turned to address the apparently empty yard around the library to make an announcement.
“May I have your attention, please? We would like a little privacy, so go home before I talk to your parents! Thank you.” With a flick of his tail, the tutor vanished back inside his wagon before the low purple glow of the shield spell resumed.
Emitting a sigh lamenting reduced cutie mark earning possibilities, a trio of low bushes near the library sprouted hooves and trudged away, along with a trash can, two shrubs, and one somewhat-depleted cloud⁽³⁾.
(3) Roll Call: Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Dinky Doo, Snips, Snails, and Rainbow Dash.
* * *
“Did you… um… get everything for tonight?” mumbled Green Grass as he glanced around his cramped and now cluttered wagon living area in embarrassment.
“I think so.” Twilight poked into the bag, extracting various items they would probably need. “I’m out of practice. I haven’t done anything like this with anypony since school, and even then I didn’t get much of a chance. Being as I was the student of the Princess, after all. Nopony asks you to do this unless they have an ulterior motive. Are you nervous?”
“Yep.” Green Grass forced himself to lie down and press his nose into the thick carpet of papers across the wagon floor. “It’s not like I’ve never done this before. There was college, I suppose.”
“Out of practice?” asked Twilight with a hopeful lilt in her voice. “I think I can help.”
“Thank you, Twilight.” The tutor did not even raise his nose from the book, but concentrated on his breathing to keep from falling over in a dead faint from stress. “I owe you more than I could ever repay.”
“I’ll think of something.” One purple hoof threaded hesitantly through his poofy mane before she giggled and withdrew it.
After a deep breath to calm his threadbare nerves, Green Grass gritted his teeth. “Let’s get started.”
Sociopolitical Implications of the Pony/Griffon Conflict
surrounding the Battle of Pericorn Heights in 615 G.E.
by
Green Grass
A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of
Canterlot University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the Degree of
Masters of History…
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This has to be one of the most underrated stories on FiMFiction. Keep it up. =)
Yeah! Go Twilight!
I love how Dash was within quiet yelling distance.
Getting cute. I particularly like the mutual bumbling of our principals. They are both obviously very clumsy when under emotional strain.
Teaching Sweetie Belle to 'let go' of her magic when not musically stimulated is going to be an interesting challenge.
This has got to be one of THE MOST underrated stories on FIMFiction
I only just realized that I copied exactly what LtRonald said... My bad...
“Rainbow, it’s an emergency. Can I get one quick wash and dry for our town’s little tike tutor?”
Abusing the fact she knows they're always being shadowed. Now that's pragmatic
You, sir, are a master of double entendre. Well done.
Oh God the innuendo. It hurts, it's so good.
Happy to see Twilight and Greeny finally "Getting it on," as t'were.
When the innuendo first started before the scene break, it was funny. After that, it wasn't until their faithful watchers went home. But damn this chapter was amazing. Oh I love this!
I have a question to any who.know. is there really a pop song with guitar solo? I thought guitar solos where a rock/metal (stuff like that) thing.and yes I know classical music has solos in them. I'm asking about genres like rap and pop only. Do they have solos?
4597499
Pop is fairly vaguely defined, in some connotations it is literally what is popular, which can include rock. As a genre though pop pulls mostly from rock classical and edm. A fair amount of songs could be classified as either rock or pop, Viva La Vida comes to mind, which I think Wikipedia classifies as some sort of pop. Because of this rock leaning songs may have guitar solo's.
They react in joy the same way and she painted her plot with his symbol? Do I hear wedding bells?
Baby steps, Twilight...
Thought that's what happened earlier...
Yeah. That's for when he's covered in jam and... what was the other thing you mentioned again?
Never actual said no to eloping
Hmm. Finally getting back to this, I have to say I prefer your later-written "Substitute Librarian" approach.
11011727 You must realize that Substitute has eight years of writing experience on top of it. A wise writer once said, "After you have made your first sale, take everything you have written up to that point and burn it." I used to think that was crazy. The longer I write, the more sense it makes.
There's also a 'theme' difference between them. Tutor is a shipping/romance story focused on Twilight Sparkle with two different POV. Substitute is a single POV story based on the wacky adventures of GG as he dances through the minefield of Ponyville. A lot of people don't like romances, particularly between their favorite Purplesmart and some oaf that an author makes up, but there's always humor and entertainment in the kind of stories that Hollywood has churned out by the hundreds every year.
Writing different stories gives me experience to write more stories better. Think of this as a ten-year writing workshop for me, and counting.