//------------------------------// // In Search of Awkward Silences // Story: In Search of Knowledge // by thehalfelf //------------------------------// In Search of Awkward Silences I really need to stop doing this to myself, Cheerilee thought, staring down at the monstrous stack of papers resting on her coffee table.  She spat her favorite grading pen from her mouth, smacking her lips to try and banish the lingering taste.  That was the second time she, not paying attention, had picked it up backwards.  The ink still didn't taste any better. Cheerilee glanced up at the clock, noting it to be just after three, in the morning.  She sighed and leaned back, kicking her hooves out, swinging them over the couch.  I need to sleep, so I can help Twilight with the book, but I can’t sleep, because I’m too excited about getting to see Twilight, and helping her with the book.  A single chuckle found its’ way past her lips.  Sheesh, I’m crushing like a schoolfilly. A lazy eye was cast over to the documents fouling the early morning air.  They could wait, Twilight could not, and under no circumstances was she to be disappointed, especially with Cheerilee.  She squeezed her eyes shut, blinking rapidly after.  Twilight could not be made to wait, but neither could sleep, and the latter was closer than the former.  Just a little sleep wouldn’t hurt.  She could be up in plenty of time to help, and it would probably end better because of it. --_--_--_-- Twilight sat, eyes glued to the vast expanse of the stars above.  Already, the edges of the sky were lit by a pink hue, a sure sign that dawn was fast approaching, and with it, the death of the stars until the next night.  “I just don’t know,” she sighed.  “I know it’s silly, but I just can’t stop thinking.  About Her Only Stallion, about the textbook, about the party and if Cheerilee will want to go with me, and about Nightmare Night.  We’ve been planning it for awhile, but I’m starting to get nervous.  What if she doesn’t like it, or worse, Fluttershy actually comes out this year, and we scar her for life?” “What are you fretting about, Twilight?”  A gray mare, button eyes barely poking over the bedspread, asked.  “Care to share?” “It... It’s nothing,” Twilight replied, looking back over her shoulder.  “You should be asleep, you know.  It’s too early to get up.” “Says the mare who runs on caffeine.  I know you, I know when something’s bothering you, now spill.” “It’s silly, just a bunch of stuff I’ve already told you.”  Twilight scratched the back of her head with a hoof.  “Little things, really.  The costumes Rarity made for Nightmare Night look amazing, and I’m kind of afraid we are going to scare the feathers off Fluttershy if she leaves her cottage.  And I’m worried we won’t make the textbook right, or something will be wrong, and it’ll be get published, and get back to us, and ruin both of our careers, or--” “Yeah, I got that much.  Relax, Twi.  As many books as you’ve read, writing one will probably come as natural as breathing.  And to be honest, you should have worried about Fluttershy before you gathered the girls together and planned it.  Actually, didn’t you invite her?” “Er, well, yeah, but sometimes she is scared by her own shadow, so I kind of expect the worst, especially with how well the costumes came out.”  Twilight turned back and looked out at the stars, slowly disappearing behind an encroaching line of pink.  “And then there’s Cheerilee...” “Oh-ho, still stressing about her are we?  Do I sense a bit of a teacher fantasy in our little Twilight?” “Huh?”  Twilight blinked rapidly, trying to find the implications she knew were there.  Evidently, she found them, because her face burst into a fiery blush.  “I don’t have a teacher fantasy!” “Mmhm, sure.” Twilight’s blush crept slowly up towards her ears.  “H-Hush!” “Twilight... who‘re ya talkin’ to...?” a sleepy voice called.  The librarian peeked over her shoulder, spotting Spike looking at her with half closed, questioning eyes. “Nopony, Spike,” Twilight answered, hoping the early morning shadows hid her blush.  “It’s still pretty early, you should get back to bed.” “Mmkay...”  The baby dragon turned around and trundled back to bed, tail dragging the entire way.  Cleared of the possibility of further embarrassment, Twilight shot a glare towards Smarty Pants, head poked above the covers, before stuffing it under a pillow with a burst of magic.  ‘Teacher fantasy...’  Where does my brain come up with this stuff? Shaking her head, Twilight tiphooved her way past the basket holding the sleeping dragon and made her way downstairs.  First stop: the kitchen, for two reasons.  A nice, warm cup of coffee, and she was mostly sure she left her book in the kitchen while eating the night before.  A quick sniff of the coffee pot revealed it hadn’t been turned on the night before, and was cold; so tea was in order.  Not quite her favorite, but it would be warm, with just enough caffeine to get her awake, and maybe enough to prevent crashing until Pinkie’s party. Once the tea was ready, it joined the book in a lavender aura on a trip to the front room.  There was a... fair bit of cleaning needed before Cheerilee came over, but it wasn’t anything unmanageable, especially with Spike’s help.  Twilight took her seat at the table reserved for the textbook, cuddled the warm tea in her forehooves close to her chest, and began to read. As the words slipped by, so did time.  The turning pages turned the hands of the clock, and before Twilight even realized, Spike was poking her side with one claw, holding a plate of finely cut potatoes, topped with a thin layer of cheese.  Finally, a glass of juice, balanced precariously on his head.  “Thought you might want something to eat,” Spike said, placing the food down before Twilight. “Thanks, Spike.”  Twilight replaced her bookmark and set down the novel, licking her lips at the prospect of food.  “As soon as I finished eating, we need to get to work,” she said, quickly swallowing her first delicious bite.  “I do, anyway, but it’ll be a lot better if you help.” Spike looked to his caretaker skeptically.  “What kind of work...?” “Well, I want to do a little bit of cleaning before Cheerilee comes over to work on the textbook, but the checkout log is getting really messy.  I was hoping you could kind of go through it and find the overdue books for me?” Twilight asked with a big grin. “Awww, Twilight...”  Spike kicked the ground with a claw.  “But you said I wouldn’t have to work today...”  Twilight let her smile slip, just a twitch every few seconds while she held Spike’s attention.  “I... But... But comic book...”  Her ears bent.  “Alright, fine...” Twilight’s smile returned full force, and she sat up to clop her forehooves together.  “Great!  I’m sure it’ll all get done in time now.  Thanks, Spike!”  Spike just grumbled to himself, plodding over towards the large book on the librarian desk, his closest companion for the next few torturous hours. --_--_--_-- “Twilight, Cheerilee is here!” Spike called, hoping his caretaker could hear through the heavy door to her room.  Turning back to Cheerilee, Spike stepped aside and pulled the door open wider.  “Come on in,” he welcomed.  “Twilight is upstairs getting ready for something, but I’m sure she’ll be down in a minute or two.” “Thanks, Spike,” Cheerilee replied.  She carefully made her way into the room, making sure not to get her overstuffed saddlebags caught on the frame.  Clearing the doorway, she made her way over to the table already loaded down with materials sent for the textbook, and unstrapped her bags, placing them down on the table with an audible sigh, and a rather large bang. “Woah.”  Spike whistled, eyes wide.  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen saddlebags that full before!  What’s in them?” “Books and things to help out,” Cheerilee replied, head in one of her saddlebags.  When it came back out, she had a mouthful of books, which she gently deposited on the table.  Spike rushed over to help.  Between the two of them, it wasn’t too long before the already overburdened table sagged even further, loaded with even more books. “What was that noise?” a voice called from behind the pair.  Cheerilee turned around, and smiled at the lavender unicorn poking her head over the edge of the stairs and peering down into the library proper.  As their eyes met, Cheerilee could have sworn the tip of Twilight’s muzzle glowed with a faint blush, but she couldn’t really tell. “Oh, h-hey, Cheerilee.  I’ll, uh, I’ll be down in a minute.”  Without waiting for a response, Twilight backpedalled madly, vanishing from sight. The very tips of Cheerilee’s ears fell.  “Are you okay?” Spike asked, causing the teacher to turn around. “Yeah, I’m fine.  Just... ready to get to work, I guess...”  Cheerilee sat down by the labored book table, busying herself sifting through the material there.  Left alone, Spike wandered off into the kitchen, searching for food.  Some time later, the clop of hooves on wood announced Twilight’s return.  Cheerilee turned around and smiled.  “Hey, Twilight.” Much to the teacher’s confusion, Twilight didn’t respond in kind.  Instead, she pawed at the ground with a hoof and refused to meet her gaze.  “I’m sorry, Cheerilee,” she mumbled.  “I forgot Pinkie Pie was throwing a party tonight, and if I don’t go, well, we know how Pinkie is about her parties.  I can still work with you, but not all night.” “That’s okay, we aren’t that pressed for time,” Cheerilee replied, trying her best to hide her disappointment.  “Though I might need to check out another book.  I expected to be working most of the night, and I don’t want to run out of things to read.” “Well, um, you could always, um… come to the party... with me?”  For the first time, Twilight looked up, and Cheerilee got a good look at her.  She was different, but only subtly so.  The teacher stared for several minutes, not noticing Twilight’s growing blush. “Your mane,” Cheerilee finally said, much to the librarian’s relief.  “You did something different with your mane.”  It was true, and very subtle.  The tips of her bangs were curled inwards, and though on its own it was rather unremarkable, but the curl drew Cheerilee’s gaze down into Twilight’s eyes--wide and sparkling, bordered by the faintest blush. “It... It’s nothing special, really.  I just wanted to do something different, I guess...” Twilight spluttered.  “So do you want to go with me?  I’m sure Pinkie won’t mind another guest...” “Well, I... I’d love to, but I didn’t know I was going anywhere, I’m not dressed up or anything.” “You don’t need to dress up.  Beside, you look great anyway.”  As soon as the words escaped her mouth, Twilight ducked her head, hiding her glowing cheeks.  Both mares coughed and worked hard to avoid letting their gaze settle on the other.  From the kitchen came noises of exaggerated gagging and retching. “You... You too, Twilight,” Cheerilee replied.  The silence grew, awkward and heavy, resting itself across the room like a blanket.  Cheerilee cleared her throat.  “So, we should probably get to work on the textbook.” “Yup!” Twilight agreed, seizing the opportunity to ignore the awkward lurking in the room.  “We should.  The party starts in a couple of hours, so we should try to get as much done as possible.” Cheerilee took a seat, sliding a couple of the books she brought over and opened them.  “I dug up copies of books I thought might help us.” “More information never hurts,” Twilight replied, taking her own seat and moving over the plans.  Cheerilee wasn’t one hundred percent sure, but it seemed to her that Twilight had moved her chair closer.  It’s going to be a long night...