//------------------------------//
// The Treasure of the Rogue Diamond: Part 4 
// Story: The Sparity Family 
// by Zexoguy 
//------------------------------//

	Ruby and Topaz arrived at a nice little suburban house that was only about five blocks away from their own home. After parking their bikes in the driveway, they walked up the barely visible path to the front door. 

"Are you sure this is where your teacher lives?" Topaz wondered out loud to his sister.
"Positive," Ruby answered. "She showed us a picture of her house in class once."
"Okay then," Topaz shrugged and then proceeded to ring the doorbell.

As he did, Ruby turned and saw the bushes rustling. She stared at them carefully and then shrieked when she saw something run out of the bushes and behind the house.
"What is it?" asked Topaz.
"I saw that thing again! It ran out of the bushes and went behind the house!"
"Oh relax. It was just another squirrel."
"Nuh-uh. That was way too big to be a squirrel. I'm telling you, someone's been following us."

Before the blue unicorn could retort, the two of them heard footsteps approaching them from inside. The door started to open and when Topaz saw the pony who was on the other side, his eyes went wide. In front of them was a groggy-looking mare wearing a plain white tank top and boxers who had clearly been woken abruptly from a deep sleep. She did indeed look just like the mare from the obituary, except that she was missing the tattoo on her face (though judging by the faint mark, she had probably had it removed). But that wasn't what drew the young colt's attention. Topaz couldn't help but notice that her breasts were almost larger than her head and her white top didn't really stop him from getting a small peek at them. 

When the mare saw who was in front of her, she practically jolted awake. "Ruby?!" she exclaimed, hiding her semi-exposed body behind the door. "What are you doing here?! And who's this?"
"Hi, Ms. Goldenrod," the little red dragon greeted her teacher. "This is my brother, Topaz. Sorry to bug you so late, but can we please come in?"
Reluctantly, Ms. Goldenrod opened the door and let the two kids in, angrily stating that they shouldn't even be out by themselves at this hour. "You should be at home in bed right now."
"We know," Topaz defended, "but we really need to ask you some questions, so can we please stay?"
The brown mare took a moment to think. "Fine," she said, "but afterwards, I'm calling your parents. Wait in the living room. I'm gonna go put my robe on and I'll be right back." 

The two kids watched the blonde-maned mare head upstairs and then sat down on a couch in the living room. When she came back down, she was wearing a robe that was emerald green, not unlike the color of her eyes. Topaz could still see her cleavage, though. She sat down in a rocking chair facing the kids. 

"So what do you need to ask me so badly?" 
"Uhh... well..." Topaz mumbled with a blank expression on his face. Ruby wondered what was wrong with him until he seemed to snap back to reality. "Oh! Well, see, we found out our parents used to be pirates and we think they might've hidden a treasure somewhere," he said. "Do you know anything about that?"
Ms. Goldenrod chuckled in amusement. "Treasure? No. Why would I?"
"Because we found a picture of you in an old newspaper that said you died fighting them," Ruby explained.
"What?!" Ms. Goldenrod exclaimed, shocked. "That's ridiculous! I would never wanna fight your...... parents." She paused, suddenly looking lost in thought. 
"What is it?" asked Ruby. "Do you know something?"

Ms. Goldenrod sighed deeply as if she was about to lay some bad news on her guests. "Okay, look," she began. "The truth is, I have amnesia. I can't remember anything from before twenty years ago."
"What? Why not?" Ruby urged.
"I don't know. The first thing I can remember is waking up on your parents' ship with my head hurting. I had no idea where I was or how I got there. I couldn't remember anything about who I was. Not even my own name. But your parents, they helped me. They gave me a new name and a new life. Thanks to them, I was able to buy this house, find my first job and decide that I wanted to be a teacher. I don't remember who I was before, but I don't care, because it's not who I am now. I love teaching and I'm happy with my life, even if it's not exactly perfect."
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"Nothing. It's grown-up stuff. The point is I don't know anything about a treasure or a battle. Sorry."
"That's okay. Thanks anyway."

Ruby glanced over at her brother. He looked like he was in pain and about to explode. "Are you okay, bro?" she asked worriedly.
"Oh yeah, don't worry. I'm fine," Topaz answered quickly.
"Are you sure?" Ms. Goldenrod asked. "You look like you really need to use the bathroom or something."
"Actually, now that you mention it, a bathroom sounds great right now," Topaz admitted. "Where is it?"
"Upstairs, second door on the right."
"Thanks." The young adolescent colt got up and ran up the stairs, desperately holding his groin.
"Wow. He must really have to go," Ruby joked.

After a few minutes, Topaz came back downstairs looking much more relaxed. Ruby, on the other hand, looked more anxious and ready to get out of there. As soon as she saw her brother, she practically jumped out of her seat. 
"Well, now that he's done with that, I guess we'll just be going now, right Topaz?" she said quickly and nervously, yanking his arm toward the door.
The unicorn hesitated at first. "Uh... oh yeah. Don't want our parents wondering where we are, so we should go home before I have to, uh, use the bathroom again."
"Thanks for all your help, Ms. Goldenrod. I'll see you in school on Monday."
"Not so fast," the teacher stopped them. "You two aren't going anywhere until I call your parents."
"Please don't. They're gonna be so mad at us," Ruby begged.
"Sorry, but I have to. So you might as well get comfortable until they get here."
Ruby and Topaz both sighed, cursing their rotten luck. "Oh well," Topaz shrugged. "I guess if I have to be stuck anywhere until Mom and Dad show up and totally nuke our childhood, I'm glad it's with such a....... responsible grown mare like yourself, ma'am." He walked up right next to Ms. Goldenrod, standing almost too close for comfort.