//------------------------------// // In Search of a Date // Story: In Search of Knowledge // by thehalfelf //------------------------------// In Search of a Date Spike sat, watching Twilight bustle around the kitchen with thinly-veiled amusement.  “So, you’re making an actual lunch, again, why?” “Cheerilee is coming over.”  Twilight quickly shifted her attention from Spike back to the stove in time to prevent her pan of vegetables from burning. “So?  She’s been over a lot since you started working on that book together, and you’ve been cooking all week.”  Spike quickly stood up and rushed to turn off the burner.  “So what gives?” With a sigh, Twilight set down her food and steered Spike back to his chair.  “Do you remember last week, when you stayed with Applejack and the Crusaders?”  Spike nodded.  “Well, I actually spent the night over with Cheerilee and--” “Did you tell her about your crush?  Are you two a couple?”  Each word seemed to heighten the small dragon’s excitement until he bounded out of his chair, beaming. “How did you know about that?”  Twilight fixed Spike with an accusing gaze.  “Were you reading my personal journal again?” Spike shook his head quickly.  “No, no, no, you talk in your sleep.” “Oh.”  Twilight chuckled nervously.  “Well, um, I don’t actually know if--”  Before she could finish, a knock echoed through the library.  “That must be Cheerilee.  Spike, could you go open the door?”  Without waiting for an answer, she turned back to the food.  Moments later, a floorboard behind her creaked.  “Was it Cheerilee?” “You tell me,” a soft voice whispered in her ear.  Another pony pressed into Twilight’s side and nuzzled her neck, a nuzzle Twilight returned. “I knew it!” Spike shouted at the doorway.  “Ugh, now you’re going to be all mushy and stuff.” “You’re one to talk,” Twilight shot back.  “You swoon whenever anypony even mentions Rarity.” Spike blushed, as much as a dragon could, at Cheerilee laughing behind a hoof.  “That reminds me,” he said, “I need to go help Rarity with a dress order so I’m going to... go, before the kissing and stuff starts.  Bye!”  Both mares glanced at the other, each sporting a light blush, before watching the dragon scamper from the treehouse. “So...”  Cheerilee took Spike’s vacated seat at the small kitchen table, “you told him?  Thanks,” she added as Twilight placed a plate of food before her. The librarian took her normal seat, across from Spike’s, with her own plate of food.  “I made it myself, hope it’s okay.  And, I didn’t really tell him, he guessed.  Apparently I talk about you in my sleep.” “Creepy.” “Sorry.”  Cheerilee smiled, reassuring Twilight she was just teasing.  The two sat in silence, making quick work of lunch. “So, have you, uh, have you told anypony else about, you know, last weekend?” Cheerilee asked. Twilight shook her head.  “Well, I berated Rarity for getting me drunk and setting me loose on you, Fluttershy was there too, but I didn’t tell them anything, I didn’t know what to say.  We never really... talked about anything.” “I didn’t know that we needed to talk.  You tackled me off of my couch.” “I was drunk!” Twilight countered, blushing. “All right, all right.”  Cheerilee waved her hooves, hoping they would disguise her grin.  “What do you need to talk about?  It was pretty clear to me.” “I think we need to talk about us, about where we stand.  Last sunday was an important day in our relationship.  We need to talk about what happens with us because of it.”  Twilight spread her hooves out wide, growing more animated with each sentence. Cheerilee, however, narrowed her eyes suspiciously.  “Did you just quote Her Secret Desire at me?” “W-Well, all of this is really new to me, and that’s really the only book I’ve ever read that covers our... situation.  I needed a reference.”  She grinned sheepishly. “I don’t think a cheesy romance novel is a good reference for real life.” Twilight knitted her eyebrows together.  “Well, what do you suggest then?” “How about a date?” “Is that a suggestion or an offer?”  Twilight grinned.  “I’ll go get my saddlebag.” --_--_--_-- The two mares walked through the streets of Ponyville, side-by-side, talking about anything that crossed their minds.  Their path took them through most of the town, until Twilight stopped them near the path branching out towards Sweet Apple Acres.  “Um, Cheerilee, where are we going exactly?” Cheerilee opened her mouth, ready to reply with confidence, until a stray thought entered her mind.  “Er, well, I was taking you to a small cafe I know of, but... we already ate...”  She stared off in the distance, eyes tracing the path back around into town.  “I don’t really know, but I’m open to suggestions.” “Hmmmm...”  Twilight’s glance followed Cheerilee’s before curving off.  “Well, Fluttershy showed me a little glade near her home.  I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if we just... I don’t know... hang around?” “Don’t you think it’s a little cold to be sitting outside?”  As if to prove her point, a brisk wind blew across the path, causing the two mares to huddle together. “M-Maybe you’re right.”  Twilight sighed, still huddled to Cheerilee’s side though the wind had passed.  “Maybe we should have planned this better.” “Maybe,” Cheerilee said, steering the pair back into Ponyville, “but we planned to work on the textbook today, not go on a date.” “I suppose we could have a textbook... date?”  With a laugh, Twilight shook her head.  “Nevermind.  That sounds really boring.” The two walked in silence for a few minutes.  “What a great start to our relationship,” Twilight muttered under her breath. “Our what?”  Cheerilee’s ears perked up, turning towards the purple librarian.  “What did you say?” Twilight’s ears bent in half.  “O-Our relationship?  That’s what this is, right?  Two ponies who share a crush, going out on dates...” “...tackling each other over couch arms for kisses?”  Cheerilee grinned at Twilight’s increased embarrassment. “I was drunk,” Twilight pouted. Cheerilee quickly trotted forward, spinning around to stop Twilight in her tracks, fixing the librarian with a half-lidded gaze.  “You haven’t thought about it?  You know, alcohol only removes inhibition.  You wanted to, you were just too shy.”  She stepped forward until she was almost right on top of Twilight.  “Come on, what are you afraid of?  I won’t bite, unless you want me to.” Twilight simply squeaked in response, face lit up in a fiery blush.  Sensing an opportunity, Cheerilee darted forward, leaving a light peck on her muzzle.  Then, giggling like a madmare, she darted off. “H-Hey, wait!”  Twilight darted after Cheerilee, woken from her frozen state by the kiss.  “Where are you going?” “Don’t know!  Haven’t decided!”  The words drifted back on the wind, spoken by the teacher just a little ways ahead. “Then why are we running?” Twilight panted, trying her best to keep up.  A mental note was made to start exercising more regularly, of the physical sort too. “So we aren’t cold!” Twilight opened her mouth to argue, but nothing needed saying.  After all, she wasn’t cold anymore.  With a light laugh, she put on an extra burst of speed, attempting to close the ground between them.  Hooves pounding on compacted dirt, breathing ragged, she finally drew near Cheerilee, only to have another-- rougher --peck planted on her cheek before the teacher took off again, leaving the winded unicorn behind, but only for a moment. Twilight pooled the reserves of her strength until her horn begun to glow.  With one last little burst of energy, she laid her trap.  Threads of lavender light weaved an ethereal net in front of Cheerilee.  The teacher tried to stop, but momentum carried forward.  The spell activated, slowing her down while at the same time sealing around her.  Before long, Cheerilee was trapped in a net of purple light.  Slowly, Twilight walked closer, surveying her hoofwork. “Having trouble?” Twilight asked Cheerilee.  “You look a little stuck.” Cheerilee struggled against her warm magical bonds.  “This isn’t fair,” she pouted.  “You should let me go.  I promise I’ll be good.”  The teacher’s eyes fluttered over an innocent smile.  “Unless you--” Twilight kissed the tip of Cheerilee’s muzzle, effectively silencing her  “Unless I don’t want you to, right?” she said, mimicking the teacher’s voice.  “Well maybe what I want is to just bring you along with me, like a pet.”  She prodded at Cheerilee’s cage with her magic, sending her floating a couple of feet. The sudden movement elicited a squeak from the teacher.  “But aren’t you the teacher’s pet?” Twilight hummed.  “Sometimes,” she sauntered over to the enraptured teacher, placing her head next to the teacher’s to whisper, “but I learn best by doing.” “Y-Y-You really should stop taking ideas from... from that book,” Cheerilee gasped, trying her best to ignore the unicorn nibbling on her ear. “Too much?” Twilight asked, pulling back with a worried look on her face.  “I’ll be honest, I’m not totally--hey!”  She refocused, doubling the strength of the weave around the struggling Cheerilee.  “That’s not fair.” “But I want to be freeee!” the teacher replied, flailing her hooves around in an attempt to escape her purple prison.  Deciding that no amount of hoofwork was going to work, Cheerilee turned her attention instead to her captor.  “Please let me go, Miss Twilight.  I’m sorry I kissed your nose.”  She put on her best pout, praying it would work this time. “Don’t be.”  Twilight closed the distance between them, planting a soft kiss on Cheerilee’s lips.  She hummed happily into the kiss before pulling away, releasing her magical bonds as she did.  The second Cheerilee’s hooves touched the ground she rejoined the embrace, followed by an extended nuzzle. “I’ve wanted to do that for so long, ever since you helped with the talent show last year.  Thank you, Twilight,” Cheerilee whispered into the lavender ear. “For what?” The teacher nuzzled into the soft fur by her head.  “For getting drunk and confessing.  I... I don’t think I ever would have said anything.” “You almost did, though.”  For the second time, Twilight broke the embrace.  She started a slow walk back towards town. After quickly moving to match pace with Twilight, Cheerilee laughed.  “Yeah, but I probably would have chickened out.” “Why?”  Twilight cocked her head.  “If it’s because we’re both mares, the most recent census shows that the mare to stallion ratio in Equestria is 67.3 to 32.7 percent, and it isn’t like same-sex relationships and even marriages are uncommon.  A court decision by Celestia in...”  She slipped into lecture mode, deftly rattling off statistics and facts as they slowly walked towards town. “...Or was it something else?”  Their hooves left the dirt road, replacing the crunch of road with the thump of wood as they entered the library.  “Were you afraid?” Twilight’s tone was joking, but Cheerilee’s answer was not.  “Yes,” she whispered.  “I was terrified: of you, of rejection, of losing a friend, of... of...” “Of the Princess?”  The lavender librarian moved to stand against the slightly trembling Cheerilee. “A little, yeah.” “Well, get over it.”  Upon seeing her friend’s shocked reaction, Twilight giggled and planted a small kiss on Cheerilee’s cheek.  “I’m kidding... sort of.  You don’t need to be afraid of Celestia, or anypony else.  As long as we are happy, what does it matter?  Are you happy?” “Mmhm,” Cheerilee purred, “very, even with just our one date.” Twilight walked over towards the textbook table, drug two chairs out next to each other, and sat in one.  She tapped the other with a hoof, an invitation Cheerilee was happy to accept.  As soon as she sat down, the smaller mare leaned on her and levitated over a notebook.  “It was a weird date.” “I had fun though, except for when you trapped me in midair.” “That was my favorite part, though.”  Twilight wiggled further into Cheerilee’s soft coat.  “So, um, are we a...”  She trailed off, nervously rubbing her forehooves together. “I thought so, I mean--” Twilight held up a hoof.  “Don’t say anything about your couch.” “Fine, just ruin all my fun.”  Adopting a much more serious tone, Cheerilee continued.  “I mean, what else would we be at this point? We can’t just go back to being just friends after all this, and I don’t think I’d want to.  I-I’ve had a crush on you almost since you came to Ponyville, but I hid it, and I hated myself.  I couldn’t even come to the library, I’d get so nervous.” “You don’t have to hide it anymore, not from anypony.  What you do have to do is stop moving so much, you’re making it hard to not fall over, and work on this textbook with me so we have a chance of getting it done in time.  Then, we’re going back to your cafe to get dinner, stop at Rarity’s to ask if she can keep Spike, come back here to work more, and then you’re going to read me the rest of Her Secret Desire.” Cheerilee looked down to the lavender eyes peeking around her shoulder.  “I’m going to what now?” A book floated over from a writing desk to rest in front of Cheerilee.  The tip of a purple six-pointed star poked up from between the pages.  A small, pleading smile appeared under the lavender eyes.  “Please?” Without answering, Cheerilee nudged the book open to the marked page and begun reading to herself.  About halfway down, she stopped.  “This is the part where Shadow confesses her crush on Buttercreme and they ki-- oh.”  A gentle shaking at her side betrayed Twilight’s soft laughter.  “Very funny.  You planned that, didn’t you?” “Maybe.  I really don’t care if you read it or not, I’m just not willing to send you home until I have to.” “And what if I decide I don’t want to?” Cheerilee asked, fixing Twilight with a mischievous look.  “What if I just eat and run?” A few thin tendrils of light snaked their way across Cheerilee’s coat, making the mare shiver.  “You seem to think I’ll let you go,” Twilight whispered.  A single thread played across the teacher’s muzzle, making her cross her eyes to keep it in sight.  As quickly as they appeared, the threads vanished, leaving a giggling Twilight against a flustered Cheerilee.  The librarian’s laughter proved contagious, and soon both were laughing openly, trying not to knock each other off their chairs. “You seem to think I want to leave.”  Cheerilee wrapped a hoof around Twilight’s shoulders, pulling the smaller mare even tighter against her and planting a kiss on her head.  “You had me at ‘textbook.’” The two sat, slowly working their way through their notes, adding structure and content to the burgeoning text.  “I’m still not reading that book to you,” Cheerilee said nearly an hour later, distracting Twilight from her refinement of the second chapter. “Awwww...”