//------------------------------//
// Dancing in the Dark 
// Story: It Can't Be Taught 
// by RunicTreetops 
//------------------------------//

The air outside is pleasantly cool. There is a gentle breeze causing the many bushes and trees of the royal gardens to lightly sway, and the sound of their leaves and branches brushing up against one-another creates a peaceful atmosphere. Compared to the gala going on inside, it's downright relaxing out here.

Anon and Cheerilee walk through the gardens, neither knowing quite what to say. Occasionally, one will open their mouth to speak or glance at the other, but nothing will come of it. Both wear expressions indicative of their mixed emotions, but despite their lack of communication, there isn't any tension between them. Neither are purposefully hesitating to speak, they just don't know where to start.

Eventually, they come across a well-maintained wooden bench. Cheerilee stops in front of it, prompting Anon to do the same.

"We've been standing ever since we got off the train. I think I'd like to rest my hooves."

"Yeah, that seems like a good idea."

Cheerilee happily places herself onto the bench. Anon sits next to her, but it immediately becomes clear that, like most furniture in Equestria, this bench was made with ponies in mind, so it's uncomfortably low to the ground for him. The two sit like that for a while, their awkward silence continuing for what feels like an eternity. However, Cheerilee finally ends up breaking the silence by briefly clearing her throat.

"I... ugh. Look, I don't really know how to..."

"You don't need to say anything, Lee."

"Thank you."

She turns to look directly at Anon, and he looks back at her with a straight face.

"Really, you don't-"

"I do." Her voice is resolute. Confident. "If you hadn't shown up when you did, she would have raised the amount she was charging me for her silence even more. I can't cut any more corners to make ends meet, Anon. I just can't."

"Well, you no longer have to. Spoiled Bitch is out of the picture, right?"

Cheerilee sighs.

"For the most part, yes. I can't imagine that this is the last I'll ever see of her, but if I'm lucky, she'll think twice about pulling something like that again. So... yeah. Words can't really express my gratitude."

"Well, it's not like I had the authority to do anything. That was all Celestia. And Neighsay I guess, but I hate that guy so I'd rather not dwell on him."

Cheerilee laughs out loud, catching Anon off guard. She has been tense almost all night, so it's nice to see her loosen up like this.

"But you told them about me. You were the one who dug into my personal business. If I weren't so grateful, I'd smack you upside the head for that."

"If you didn't want me digging around, you shouldn't have told me it was legal to do so!"

"I shouldn't have to... ugh!"

True to her word, she smacks him upside the head. It isn't hard enough to hurt though, and they both quickly find themselves laughing once more.

"By the by, I've been meaning to ask you: How did you end up getting blackmailed to begin with?"

"Anon, I've told you before, it's none of your... well. I suppose there's no harm in sharing anymore."

"If you'd rather not, don't force yourself."

"No no, you deserve this much." Cheerilee takes a deep breath as she prepares to share her story. "Do you remember Snips?"

"The colt with the orange mane? Scissors for a cutie mark?"

"Yeah, him. Well, I accidentally got him hurt."

"How so?"

Cheerilee hesitates for a moment and tilts her head backwards. The night sky is crystal clear, and she decides to recall her tale while gazing at the stars. Anon follows her lead and does the same as he waits for her to speak.

"It was right after the EEA put those regulations into place. The students were really confused about why all of the 'fun parts' of school were no longer allowed. They were upset, and frankly, they were right to be. Children learn in all sorts of ways, and you can't just shove them all behind a desk, put standardized tests in front of them, and expect all of them to succeed. Some may be fine, sure. Heck, they might even prefer it. But no two children are alike. The EEA... or, I suppose I should say Spoiled Rich, tried to justify the decision by saying that it puts all the students on an even playing field. Really, it did exactly the opposite."

"..."

"Anyway, the days kept coming. The students were getting more and more desensitized to school. Meanwhile, those new regulations meant that I had a whole lot more paperwork to do. I'll tell you what, spending all day teaching students just to go home and spend all night preparing for the next day takes a lot out of you. Then, when you do go back to school, the children don't even want to be there. I do what I do because I want to help them learn and grow, but... well, when they aren't passionate, it's hard for me to be passionate. It doesn't help that their grades were slipping across the board, too."

"I imagine that must have been soul sucking."

"You don't know the half of it. My workload was basically tripled, my desire to work plummeted, and my sleep schedule was fucked. I may as well have been a walking corpse."

"You weren't much better when I met you."

"I was even worse, but we'll get to that. Anyway, I eventually threw in the towel. 'Screw it,' I thought. 'I'm gonna teach these kids in a way that makes sense to them!' So, I took them on a field trip."

"Where to?"

"The Everfree Forest."

"W-wait. Isn't that, like, one of the most dangerous places in Equestria?"

"We didn't go into the forest, of course. We just observed it from the outside." Cheerilee sighs deeply, but she doesn't look away from the stars. "At least, that was the plan. I neglected to pay as much attention to the students as I should have. I was giving my lecture, pointing out specific trees and sections of the forest, when Snips and Snails sneaked away from me, right through the treeline."

"I don't like where this is going."

"Good, because it ends exactly how you think it does. It took me just a bit too long to realize that they were gone. As soon as I did I raced into the forest after them, of course. By the time I reached them, they had already experienced a run-in with some of the local fauna. Snails was fine, but Snips... he had a big gash down his back. There was... a lot of blood. I remember it so clearly."

"Wait, but he seemed fine to me when you had me act as a guest speaker?"

"It turned out to be treatable, thank Celestia. But that doesn't erase the fact that it happened."

"Lee, you shouldn't blame yourself for-"

"Yes, I should!" She finally looks down from the night sky and gazes directly into Anon's eyes, a serious expression on her face. "And I don't mean that in a 'woe-is-me' kind of way, either. I am his teacher. I was his chaperone. It was my responsibility to keep him safe, one way or another. It doesn't matter that I didn't do it on purpose. It doesn't matter that he did something he shouldn't. You cannot blame the children for things like that. It was my fault, through and through. And I still carry the guilt of that with me to this day."

"..."

"I wasn't going to try to hide what had happened. I mean, his health was the most important thing in that moment. I rushed him to the hospital and contacted his parents. As I said, he ended up being okay in the end. Plus, his parents didn't even blame me. Even though I told them it was my fault, they just smiled and said 'these things happen, just keep doing your best.' What saints they are." Cheerilee takes a deep breath. "However, the rest of the children saw what had happened. Most of their parents were understanding and didn't make a fuss about it, but then one day, in walked Spoiled Rich. She made her demands. I struggled to afford them. And, well, you know the rest."

"Lee... I'm so sorry."

"I'm not looking for pity. That's just what happened. I thought that mistake was going to be the end of me." Cheerilee's serious expression slowly melts into a warm, embarrassed smile. "But then, in came Twilight with an alien to dump on me."

"Who, little old me?"

Cheerilee chuckles.

"Seriously, Anon. I basically owe you my life."

"You owe me no such thing. As far as I'm concerned, we're even now."

"Even?"

"I told you I repay my debts, didn't I?"

"Well, yeah, but what did I do?"

"You taught me everything I needed to know. You tried to understand me. Like, really understand me." Anon takes a deep breath before smiling, his cheeks becoming a slight shade of pink. "You actually wanted to be around me."

"I feel like our problems were on wildly different scales."

"Eh, agree to disagree."

"...Heh. You know, it's strange. I never saw myself becoming this close with anyone, let alone an alien with a bit too much snark."

"I could say the same about a pink nuisance like you. I mean really, you're thirty-four years old and still this childish?" Cheerilee smacks Anon on the back of the head again, but it still isn't enough to hurt. Sure enough, both of them smile and start to laugh. "I probably deserved that."

"Jeez. I can't stand you, you know that?"

"Well, I can't stand you either. After all, I believe you referred to me as 'just a side job?'"

"So you DID hear that?!"

"Sure did. Heh, and look at you, acting like a guilty teenager when I call you out on it." Anon wears a cheeky grin as he teases Cheerilee. "You really are childish."

"Yeah, like the alien that the government told me I have to babysit is any better!"

The two of them have been slowly leaning forward as they sling their obviously-not-serious insults at each other, smiles on their faces all the while.

"And clearly you didn't even do a good job, considering all the bullshit I just saved you from."

"If it means I have to keep dealing with you, then all you did was replace one pain in the ass with another."

Clearly, after the stress of the evening and the nature of their strange relationship, both Cheerilee and Anon find catharsis in these faux arguments of theirs.

"Believe me, I'd like nothing more than to never have to deal with you again, either! You teachers never shut up."

"Like you're one to talk. Apparently humans like the sound of their own voices, because I don't think you've ever stopped spewing garbage since we met."

Their faces are mere inches apart now. They can both feel the other's breath through their grinning faces.

"The only one spewing garbage here is you, Lee. You, and your... beautiful dress."

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say, man of the hour."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

Anon cups Cheerilee's face in his hands and closes the rest of the gap between them, eagerly pressing his lips to her own. She lightly moans as both close their eyes and lean further into the other. They begin to embrace, neither breaking their passionate kiss. Their faces grow flushed, but the evening breeze prevents them from getting too hot. Thus, the two of them stay like that for a long while, the quiet-yet-burning love in the air seen by none but the skittish creatures of the garden. 

Eventually, they're forced to part in order to catch their breaths. They stare into each other's eyes for a few moments as they fruitlessly try to regain their composure, neither brave enough to bring up how flushed the other looks.

"...Wow," Anon mumbles.

"I, uh... hm."

"..."

"..."

Anon and Cheerilee, who just had a heart-to-heart followed by a strangely happy argument that immediately led into a heat-of-the-moment kiss, turn away from each other and look at the ground, their faces red as can be.

"H-hey, uh..." Anon nervously speaks up. He glances towards Cheerilee, but is too anxious to look her in the eye. This is fine by her, as she's just as flustered. "You are my date at this gala, right?"

"I... wouldn't object to you saying that."

"Then, would you, er... like to dance?"

"...Yeah." Cheerilee smiles as she finally brings herself to lock eyes with Anon, who smiles in turn. "I think I would."

The two stand from the bench and begin to slowly approach each other, their cheeks still red as can be. However, once they're right in front of each other, they realize that there is a problem.

"This height difference is going to be an issue, isn't it?"

"Hmhm. Don't underestimate me, Nonny."

"Nonny?"

"What, I'm the only one who gets a cute pet name?"

"...Heh."

To Anon's surprise, Cheerilee stands on her hind legs and presses her front legs against his chest. Catching on to what she's doing, he grabs one hoof in each hand as they lose themselves in each other's eyes.

"Well? Aren't you supposed to lead, big guy?"

"You have no idea how a human dances, do you?"

"No, but I'm a fast learner."

"Haha! I guess I'll be the teacher tonight, then."

Thus, the two slowly begin to dance under the moonlit sky. The quiet gardens of Canterlot Castle provide the perfect place for this strange, newly formed couple to celebrate the first day of the rest of their lives, all while the merriment of the Grand Galloping Gala continues in the distance.

And neither have ever been happier.