Rarity took a deep breath as she stood outside her boutique. Well, she supposed it was now or never. She cringed and the door opened slowly. She braced herself, ready for the scent of charred food.
Instead, the soft smell of lime filtered to her nose. She blinked and stepped inside, her eyes widening. The main room was spotless, practically sparkling. There was a light hum from the kitchen and she gulped, slowly trotting towards it.
The kitchen was even cleaner than the main area. It actually DID sparkle. There wasn't a single dirty dish, the trash was taken out and every sign of the morning's charred and destroyed breakfast was gone. Spike was in front of the stove in an apron, stirring a large pot where the most delectable scent of tomatoes and corn came from. She couldn't recognize what he was humming, but it was music to her ears after the sight she was seeing.
“Spike, did you do this?” she asked softly, her voice in awe.
He glanced back. “Oh, yeah. There was a bit of a mess, so I just tidied up a little bit. I uhh... I hope you don't mind.” His apron had some red splatters on it, as did the stove, but compared to how the kitchen looked before she didn't mind in the slightest.
“No! Not at all! Why, dear Spike, this place looks marvelous. Errr... ummm... Sweetie had... cooked some things.” She glanced towards the fridge with worry. “What, err, did you do with them?”
“Wait, Sweetie made those?” he asked with a light chuckle. “And here I thought Twilight had swung by. There wasn't a lot left, so I finished them.”
The unicorn paused and stared at Spike. She then rolled her eyes. Of course, he was Claw's father after all.
“I see. Well, thank you. What is that you're cooking?” She trotted over and gave it a nice sniff.
“Stew. Nothing fancy, but it's really easy to make a lot of it. I figure with all the kids here, it'd be best to make something with left overs. I uhhh... I hope you don't mind. I used up the last of the tomato sauce. I can go shopping for more later, really, it's--”
She hushed him with a hoof. “It's quite alright, Spike. To be honest, at this point I welcome the extra help. I've been feeling a little over whelmed as it is, what with Sweetie Belle, Silverbelle and Claw all at once. Having your assistance is quite delightful.” She then paused and looked at the food. “Though, I am curious where you learned to cook.”
“Hey, who do you think takes care of Twilight whenever she goes into research mode?” he asked with a chuckle before returning to stirring the pot. “She's actually in it now, but I told the guards what to do. So long as they make sure she eats something every four or so hours, she'll be fine. She probably won't even realize I'm missing.”
Rarity looked around at the spotless kitchen and then rubbed her chin. Well, maybe he wasn't quite so bad, after all. Well, no. Of course he wasn't bad. He's never been bad. Her little Spikey Wikey was always so sweet and caring. But she still wasn't sure she was okay with the idea of him being with her sister.
But at least she could accept that if the two did, somehow, get together, that he would take care of her. Making his cooking, not hers. Oh heavens she didn't want to imagine her dear little sister eating nothing but burnt pancakes for the rest of her life. Even better, she knew on the... hopefully rare occasions where the filly did cook, she would have a lover who would make sure to eat all of her food and enjoy it. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.
But hopefully that would never, ever happen. Twilight was going to fix all this. She wasn't at all set on Claw going back, though. Even if he'd likely never be born now, he was still part of the family. If they sent him to the future, would it be fair if he never had his parents? It wasn't the most ideal situation, but at least here he still had a mommy and daddy. Even if they were both younger than him. Probably. Unless she was his mom and... ugh, all this timey wimey stuff just gave her a headache.
“Is something wrong?” Spike asked nervously.
“I'm sorry?”
“Well, you're just kind of... staring off into space. Is it the stew?” He looked down at it nervously. “I tried to make it as--”
“It's fine, dear.” She gave him a light nuzzle. “It's all fine. Thank you very much for this. It simply means the world to me that you're helping around here. But are you sure Twilight will be okay without you?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I don't really know most that magic stuff, anyway. The most I could do is send letters to Celestia and, frankly, I think she knows a spell to do that already.” He gave a sheepish smile. “Besides, I want to help out around here. I... ummm...” He looked down. “I'm sorry about... Claw.”
“What? Why?” Rarity asked, her eyes widening slightly.
“I know... you don't really want him. I mean, since he's my... and our... I mean... I don't know what I do in the future, really. But I must have been bad and... I don't know why we... but I never wanted to--”
She silenced him with another hoof, shaking her head. “I'm sure whatever happened to lead to the birth of Claw, it was something that everypony was okay with. You have nothing to be sorry for.” She paused at the wide eyed, happy expression on his face. “That does not mean whatever led to it will happen again, of course. Maybe it was something... anything, that won't happen again. But it is not your fault and there is absolutely nothing you need feel bad for. You are a good, wonderful dragon who has been nothing but sweet and delightful since I've met you.” She gave him a light nuzzle. “And I'm sorry if I've done anything to make you feel like you are a bad dragon for the creation of Claw. I can see a lot of goodness and kindness in him and I am certain, without any hint of doubt, that a lot of it comes from you.”
Spike blushed and stared at her. His heart beat so fast he thought it might tear from his chest as he stared into her eyes. There was a light snap, drawing both their eyes down to his claws, where the snapped stirring spoon stood grasped tightly. He eeped. “S-sorry...”
She merely chuckled and gave him a light pat on the head. “It's fine, dear.” Her horn glowed and her magic grabbed the fragments of the spoon, tossing it into the trash before she pulled out another, giving it to him. “Thank you for cooking dinner, dear. I'm going to go find the children and let them know supper will be ready soon, okay? I do hope they haven't managed to get in too much trouble.” She turned and trotted away.
Spike watched her go, a claw moving to his heart which pounded desperately on his chest. “C-calm down,” he whispered to it, before shaking his head and turning towards the stew. “Best cooking job ever.”
------
Cheerilee sighed as she opened the door to her house. She could tell that somepony had been there, there looked like quite a few dirt marks across the ground. Not hooves, though. Something smaller and... with more legs. She shivered and stepped inside.
Yep, Fluttershy had definitely been here. The door to both the downstairs rooms were opened and she could see the little trails of webbing. At least now she knew all the spiders would be gone. She doubted any of them could resist the siren call of that pegasus. She stepped towards the right one, closing the door on the left. She flicked on the light and cringed.
Sure enough, the top corners were all covered in webbing. She could see the signs of where the spiders had made their nests. Fortunately, all that remained was cobwebs. She would have shrieked like a banshee though, had she come through here before. The room just had a bunch of old junk, stacks of boxes. She'd been meaning to toss half this stuff out anyway, she just never got around to it. Welp, there was no time like the present.
She trotted upstairs and grabbed a few towels in her mouth, before trotting back down. The room itself wasn't completely full, it just had lots of boxes stacked up far higher than they should have been. She hummed softly before shaking her head, trotting to the front door and opening it, before following through on the windows next.
She took a deep breath and trotted to the room, slowly grabbing the nearest stack with the towel in her mouth. Slowly, gingerly she pulled it towards the open door, nervously eying the tower of boxed junk. Just a little tiny bit further, that's all she had to do.
It wavered precariously, almost threateningly. But it didn't topple. Inch by inch she guided it outside and for moment, it seemed as if it would all be fine.
Then it fell. She let out a shriek as the boxes toppled on her, the old cardboard exploding, filling the air with dust and cobwebs and coating her completely in it, until she was more a gray pony than a pink pony. She let out an exasperated groan and looked at all the... junk. Paper work that had long since expired, forms that she had kept in case she ever needed them, a few pieces of electronic devices that she definitely no longer had a use for. She shook herself, sending more dust into the air and not managing to clean herself in the slightest. The remnants of the boxes were scattered all over her lawn.
She eyed it for a few moments, before shrugging and giving one of the boxes a nice healthy buck, sliding it down. Well, she was already filthy, not like it could get much worse. She gripped the dusty towel in her mouth and headed inside to grab the next stack.
Within an hour all of the stacks were outside, some neatly stacked while others had met a similar fate to the first. A long trail of dust led from inside to outside. Fortunately, none of the stacks had managed to fall inside, so she was able to close the main windows without problem. Though there had been a really close incident when all the dust build up had made her sneeze and she nearly sent one of the boxes toppling across her living room.
Her hooves left dusty hoof prints across the ground as she headed back into the side room. It was large and spacious, at least. Val could enjoy himself in here. At least for the little bit of time they had together, she reminded herself. This was just temporary, after all. He'd be out in a few weeks, she was sure. Once they had all this stuff settled with the princess. She pushed open the window. Or rather, she tried. The darn thing jammed and she let out a low growl, pushing with all her might. There was a loud shriek and, slowly, the rusted metal began to slide. After a few moments of strenuous shoving, the window opened and fresh air billowed through the dusty room.
“I really should come in here more often,” she grumbled, looking around. There was a small closet and then the rest of the room was a square. Cobwebs dangled from the ceiling and there was almost an inch of dust on the ground. But, all in all, it was a start. He'd be fine in here, for now. Probably. Hopefully. She'd have to grab the broom to clean the walls and ceiling and then the vacuum to get all the dust, but it would be a lot easier than the other job. The fresh air would help, too. She trotted out of the room and closed the door, before turning towards the main entrance. She was not looking forward to this.
But stiff upper lip and all that. She trotted outside and looked at the stacks of old, dusty, sometimes moldy junk she'd acquired over the years. She really had to learn how to take better care of her things. She picked up an old slightly faded newspaper and sighed, she couldn't imagine why she'd even kept the thing, it--
Oh. The date. A small smile spread on her lips. The newspaper from the day she first started teaching in Ponyville. It was such a beautiful day and she'd had so many plans. And so many of them had succeeded. Thankfully she'd had plenty of time to practice as a teacher's aid by then, but it had been her first job as a full teacher, without somepony hovering over her shoulder. She let out a soft, happy sigh before shaking her head. Well... it wasn't trash, that was for certain. She put it aside in a small keep pile.
Next she found some old magazines and rolled her eyes. Fashion magazines with tips she'd just 'absolutely had to have!'. She cringed as she saw the manes. Oh dear, she could hardly believe all those spikes had once been in fashion. At least her current style was far easier to maintain. She tossed them in a to-trash pile.
She hummed softly as she worked, picking out little things. She stopped at a big ceramic apple and giggled. It was signed by all of her students a few years ago. She very delicately put it in the keep pile and watched it for a few moments, giving a soft sigh. She really did need to keep her stuff better organized.
She then snickered as she came to a box of old, half baked games she'd made over the years. Little tokens and boards set all over the place. For a little while she'd planned on making her own learning games, with grand thoughts of all the students she could touch through them and help learn. She'd abandoned the idea quickly when she realized how difficult it actually was to create a game. Still, she had never quite given up on the idea and over the years had occasionally brought out a few of the prototypes for the children to enjoy. She set a few of her better thought out ones aside. Perhaps Val would enjoy them.
She cringed as she came to a box filled with, for lack of a better term, garbage. Little broken pieces of blocks, toys, pretty much anything that she had broken and planned to use later had been stuffed into the box and promptly forgotten about. Most of it was completely useless and she shoved it into the toss stack. At least after she was done, she'd probably have a lot more space. Maybe once Val was gone, she could turn the room into a full second bedroom. For when she had more guests come over. She more than had the space, after all. Her house had always been pretty big.
“Pink pony!” a voice called out, making her cringe. She looked up and almost immediately burst into laughter, barely managing to suppress the giggles.
“V-Val? What... what happened to you?”
He was soaked, from horn to tail. Sea weed was wrapped over almost ever inch of him. He looked ridiculous. “Scootaloo's idea. It was supposed to make me... water dynamic.”
She couldn't hold it in any longer, she burst into a little fit of giggles, her hoof to her mouth. Unfortunately, this brought all the dust right to her nose and she soon broke into a massive sneezing fit, hacking and coughing helplessly. When she finally managed to settle, Val was besides her. “You okay?” he asked worriedly.
“Just too much dust,” she said with a sigh. “What are you doing home so early?”
“Early? I thought the sun going down meant it was late?”
“Huh?” She looked up and let out a little eek. The sun was beginning to get lower, in another hour the moon would be out. She looked around. There were plenty of stacks finished, but there was still so much more work to do. She let out a soft sigh. “Well, I guess I can finish the rest tomorrow.”
“Want me to help?” Val asked, smiling up at her.
She glanced down, before smiling. “Very well. But first...” She reached down and started tearing off the sea weed. He let out a little eep as the long strands of plant were torn away. Soon he was just soaking wet, his coat covered in little green strands. “There. Feel better?”
“Not... particularly,” he whined, shaking a little to try and get it all off. “Ugh. I smell horrible.”
“Don't worry, you can take a bath soon.” She then looked around at the stacks. “So just try pulling the stuff out of the bins and putting them aside, okay? I'll go and get the tarps from out back. We'll cover it for the night.”
He nodded and she got to her hooves. She soon heard the sound of something crashing. “I'm okay!” Val's voice came, making her roll her eyes. She trotted back behind the house towards a little shed behind the back door, walking in and grabbing a small blue tarp in her mouth, before trotting back.
She cringed again when she saw the colt had already managed to knock over four boxes, spilling their contents across the ground. He still was obviously not used to his hooves and four legged body, but at least he was trying. He had stopped though, standing over a small black book. He looked up at her as she walked over. “Hey, what's this? It's got pictures.” He nudged it open to reveal the picture of a griffon on the inside cover.
“Ohhhh, I remember that. My old Oubliettes and Ogres game book. Wow, I haven't played that in ages. Not since I was in school. As a student, not teaching.” She let out a soft chuckle, but got nothing but a confused look from him. “Oh, it's a make believe game with... well, griffons, dragons, zebras, things like that. I used to be the game master for a few of my old friends.” She gave a soft sigh. “Also used to run a few games for my nieces, helped them with their math homework. I'd always put in little homework challenges to help get them going and they never realized.” She let out a little giggle into her hoof, before shaking her head.
“Ohhhh, so it's like a game? Can we play?”
Cheerilee paused before shaking her head. “Not right now, maybe another time. It's not meant for only a few players, anyway. You need at least four.” She picked up the book and cringed as some papers fell out. She let out a sigh of relief when she realized they were just old character sheets. “Ah, I remember these. I used to make dozens of little pre-made...” She paused and looked down at the confused unicorn, before sighing. “Nevermind. We can play it another time. But first we need to get this stuff all packed up.” She tossed the book back in the bin before moving to spread out the tarp. “Grab one end and help me spread it out, okay?”
“Okay,” he said before moving besides her and grabbing the other end. She didn't say it, but she couldn't deny feeling a little thrill at how good and helpful he was being. No threats, no objections, no arguments. Heck, he wasn't even bleeping. Maybe a day with foals his age was rubbing off on him. Hopefully he didn't rub off on them. The tarp was soon spread out and she weighted the ends down with stones, nodding proudly. “This'll do for now. Now comes the hard part.” She looked to the sky, it was almost dark. “Come on. Let's go clean out your room.”
To her delight, cleaning the room wasn't too bad, at least compared to sorting everything. He was near hopeless at grabbing anything with his hooves, but after a few tense moments where he threatened to blow up the vacuum, he was soon able to nudge it along with his head. She used an old broom to knock all the dust and cobwebs down from the ceiling and soon enough the room was all clean and ready to live in. After that, she just had to set up a fan in the window to blow all the dust out. “Okay, Val? How about we...” She stared at him and sighed. “Do you know how to bathe yourself?”
“Of course!” He said, glaring. “I bathe at least regularly once a month!”
Cheerilee paused. Cringed. Tried not to retch. Finally, she shook her head and grabbed him by the back of his neck, hauling him off.
“Hey! Stop! Put me down, what are you doing?!” he shrieked as he swayed from side to side in her grip. She trotted down to the bathroom and gently stuck him in the bath, before spitting into the drain.
“Ugh, you're filthy. Okay, rule one. You need to bathe more than once a month. Every few days.” She paused. “If you plan to keep hanging out with the cutie mark crusaders, probably once a day. Lots of tree sap.” She looked down at her own dust covered form and sighed. “Well... you were a drow before so... let's just get this over with.” She shook her head and stepped into the tub, turning the water on.
He was hardly the first child she'd had to bath, but he was making himself a top contender for most difficult. The moment the shower came on he stepped back, hissing at it. “What sorcery is this? I thought you didn't know magic?”
“In door plumbing,” Cheerilee said with a nod. “A magic all its own, true, but not like unicorn magic. Now come on, under the spray.”
“I don't wanna...” he whined.
She rolled her eyes, reached out and grabbed him, dragging him under. He let out a little shriek and closed his eyes tightly, shaking his head. However, after a few seconds they slowly opened. “See? It's not so bad, is it?”
“It's warm...”
“Yes, as I said, magic all its own. Now, close your eyes. You're filthy and need a lot of shampoo to get all this out.”
“Okay...”
She hummed and put a generous dollop of shampoo on her hoof before she began rubbing it in. She cringed as she knocked a few twigs and clumps of dirt out of his mane and tail and cleaned up the muck from his coat. She hadn't even realized how filthy the poor colt had gotten. Then again, she couldn't help but wonder how much of it was from yesterday, too. Maybe she'd need to clean off the couch later. Possibly get it fumigated. Ugh. At least he didn't have any fleas. They were always a real pain in the flank. Especially if Fluttershy found out a pony just washed them out. She couldn't imagine how the pegasus could find even fleas adorable. Though her flea circuses were quite impressive.
“Ow!” Val let out a low cry and whimper as she got a knot out of his mane. She smiled despite herself. He was covered in so many bubbles he looked more like a cloud than a pony.
“It's okay, it's okay,” Cheerilee said calmly. “Keep your eyes closed, I don't want to get any of this in your eyes. It--”
“What? Why, what happens if it-- GAHHHHHHH!” He let out an ear piercing scream, making her cringe. She quickly pulled him against her chest and gently patted him on the head.
“Shhh, shhh, it's okay. It's just water, blink and the stinging will go away. It's just shampoo.”
He let out a soft little whimper. “But it hurrrrrrrts,” he whined, shaking his head.
“I know, I know.” She made sure all of the shampoo was off her hooves before she held his head still. “Now, I'm going to splash some water in your eye to clean it out, just be still, okay?”
He whined, but didn't object as she splashed his eyes a few time. Soon the whimpers gave way and she was able to wash the rest of the shampoo away without incident. She then shut off the water, grabbed a towel and started to wipe him down, drying him as best she could.
She barely managed to hold in her laughter when she finished and his coat puffed up. He no longer looked like a cloud, more like a small black pillow. She gently lifted him out of the tub and put him on the bathroom rug. “Okay. I want you to go down and sit on the couch for a little bit, okay? I'll be down in a minute to make dinner.”
He nodded. “Okay...” He glanced up. “If... errr... can we watch more of the magic box?” his voice bristled with hope.
She nodded. “Yes, if you're good and sit down quietly while I finish here.”
He nodded and ran off, accidentally slamming into the door the first time, but quickly bouncing back and charging out.
She sighed before turning the water back on and proceeding to wash out the dirt and dust her coat had accumulated. She was, fortunately, nowhere near as dirty as him, but little twigs and other clumps had gathered near the drain and she had to take a few moments to clean out the majority of those. She'd need to clean the full tub thanks to the mess he'd made.
Still, she was soon clean and refreshed, stepping out of the tub with a gentle sigh. She dried off and trotted downstairs, half expecting him to be destroying or breaking something. Instead, she found him laying on his side on the couch, cradled up into a little ball with Nibbler held tightly in his hooves against his chest, like some kind of spidery stuffed animal. She grinned and moved over, gently pulling the blanket up and putting it over him. Well, she didn't see any harm in letting him get a little bit of sleep while she prepared dinner.
It was late and she knew she could probably get away with something microwavable. Or maybe just a sandwich. She was tired, he was tired, it would have been easy.
Instead, she found herself boiling up a pot of water and starting to cook some noodles. It'd been a while since she'd last made neighsgetti, but it was a simple enough recipe. Soon the tomato sauce was bubbling and she tossed in a few veggies to go with it, humming softly to herself. She then made a nice nut salad to go on the side. While it was cooking, she trotted over by the room and started cleaning up the dirt and dust they'd dragged in the hall. She'd need to go over it one more time with the vacuum, but it could wait until after he'd woken up.
Finally, she trotted to the kitchen and sat down on the chair. This wasn't so bad, now that she had time to think about it. It was hard work, there was no doubt about it. But she couldn't deny that Val was growing on her. Kind of like moss or other fungi. When he was tired and at least trying to listen, he was almost adorable.
She glanced towards the couch where the little colt was sleeping soundly.
Okay, definitely adorable. And after a day with the girls, he was a lot more tolerable. Apparently the secret was to just let them tire him out.
A chill ran down her back as a new horror dawned on her. Tomorrow was a school day. She couldn't just call in, could she? Maybe she could leave Val with Rarity or Twilight. No no. He was still a child, she couldn't just pawn him off. Maybe school would be good for him.
She looked over to him and gave a sigh. Maybe she should ask him what he thought, rather than just assuming he'd cause problems or dislike it. She walked to the stove and hummed, testing the sauce and noodles before turning off the stove. She gave a nod and started dishing up the neighsgetti and nut salad, putting them on some plates, carrying them on her back to the table. With a flick of her back, they landed smoothly in two little spaces.
She then trotted to the couch and leaned over, smiling down at him. “Val? Dear?” She pulled the blanket off.
He didn't move, just kept laying there, snuggling Nibbler to his chest. She sighed and reached down, gently shaking his hoof. “Val, wake up. VAL!”
He let out a yipe and recoiled, nearly crushing Nibbler in his hooves as he turned around wildly. “What? Who, what?” He cowered in the corner of the couch, eyes wide and frightened. He then looked up at her and gave a sheepish smile. “Errr... time for magic box?”
She shook her head and gave a comforting smile. “No, time for dinner. Sorry for waking you up, but you need to eat. Come on.”
He nodded and slid his spider onto the ground. It rolled over and groaned from its previous hug squeezing. He jumped up and followed her to the table, sliding into the chair. His head cocked to the side. “I didn't think you ate worms.”
She sighed. “They're noodles, Val. Not worms.”
“I know, I was making a joke.”
“Fine, I...” She paused and looked over at him. “Wait, you made a joke?”
He nodded nervously. “Errr... yeah? Is ummm... is that okay?”
She reached out and gave him a big hug. “Yes! It's okay! It's wonderful, marvelous! You're making bad jokes, that's perfect!”
He blushed, his eyes widening. “W-what? Bad jokes? It wasn't bad!”
“Oh, it was horrible and just ridiculous and for little foals like you, it's perfect.” She leaned down and gave him a little kiss on the forehead. “I'm very proud of you, Val. In the last day I've seen a vast improvement in your behavior.”
He blinked and glowered up at her. “I am not behaving nicely.”
She chuckled and gave him an even tighter hug. “Yes, you are. When I first met you, you were...” She paused and then looked down at him. Now that she thought about it, she'd only known him one day. During that time he had been sucked through another dimension and deposited someplace he'd never seen. He'd been a little monster, sure. But who wouldn't in such a situation? She gave another little grin and then motioned towards the chair. “Go ahead and sit down. After we finish eating, we can watch some television, okay?”
He nodded, staring up at her in confusion. “You're a very strange pony.”
“And you're turning out to be quite the wonderful little child.”
He blushed sheepishly and grumbled mildly as he sat down. She sat across from him and started eating. “How do you do that?” he asked softly.
“Hmmm?” She looked up, the hoof halfway to her mouth. “Do what?”
“Grab the fork in... well, a hoof?”
“Oh, I just... well... I ummmm...” She looked down at her hoof. “You know what? I've never thought about it.”
He sighed and nudged his fork around.
“Try using telekinesis to... oh, right. I ummm...” She hummed, watching him. Slowly she got up and trotted over to the kitchen, grabbed a small towel and carried it over to him.
“What's that for?”
“We'll need it. Trust me,” she muttered before grabbing his hoof gently in hers and softly putting the fork in it. It clattered uselessly to the table. “Now, try to grip it.”
“Ugh, why don't you have fingers? It's hard enough to do all this without them. You need thumbs! I must grow fingers and thumbs, that is the only way.”
She rolled her eyes, but smiled none the less. “Come on, dear. You'll get this right in no time, trust me.”
He grumbled and tried again. And again. And again. Before long even she was getting annoyed, her hoof tapping on the table a few times. Finally, she sighed and pushed it aside. “Very well, let's try this. We'll try just using your mouth.” She cut up the food herself, making neat little piles on the plate. “Just use your mouth and tongue. We'll work on it over the next week, okay?”
“Okay,” he mumbled, before she moved to sit across from him. She watched for a few more moments before clearing her throat.
“Val, how do you feel about school?”
“Who, the prison warden? He seems okay. Bit weird. Has a strange fascination with dogs.”
She paused. “Errr... I mean going to school.”
“Wait, I can go home? I thought you said there was no way to go home?”
She stared for a few moments before shaking her head. “No! No no no no! Not... it's not a place from home. It's a little... it's a place little foals go to learn about the world. I'm a teacher, I go there and teach ponies about the world and everything.”
He nodded. “Ohhhhh! Yes, like a tutor?”
She perked up. Something she could use! “Yes, it's like a building with tutors, except each tutor has multiple students and teaches them all at once.”
He nodded, rubbing his chin. “I... guess that could be fun. It can't be too hard, right? What would I have to do?”
“Just come, meet other foals, try to learn. Things like that.” She relaxed and smiled at him. “You'd be in my class, so I can keep an eye on you.”
He gave a shrug. “I guess. I need to learn about this world anyway if I plan to conquer it.”
She rolled her eyes. “Exactly.”
“Hey, do you teach about things like that? Conquering the world?”
“Well... no. I do teach the students about our political system, though. It starts with the princesses at the top, followed by the politicians who are put in positions of authority over their chosen fields. Then the ponies under them and under them, all the way to the bottom.”
He nodded. “Right. So a matriarchy.”
That made her pause. “I... suppose in a way, yes. I am a little surprised to find out you know that word. Where... did you learn it?”
“The drow are the same way.” He said with a nod. “Males aren't even allowed into positions of power over anything. Well, usually. I've seen a few male guards. My sisters talk about it all the time.”
Cheerilee paused and shook her head. “N-no, it's not... quite like that. The princesses rule because they're alicorns and the most powerful. Well, that and they're thousands of years old.”
“All of them?”
“Well, Princess Celestia and Luna are, at least. Twilight and Cadence are new, as far as I know. But, they don't rule because they're female, only because they're alicorns. That and they have years of experience and protect us against all the threats in the world.”
He nodded. “Right. Gotcha. Males can't become alicorns either, right?”
That made her blink a few more times before she shook her head. “No no no no! I'm sure there could be male alicorns, just--”
“Are there any?”
“Well, no, not that I know of, but--”
“See? The same female superiority thing exists here, too,” he said with a shrug.
“No!” she said quickly. “I'm sure a male has just as much chance to become an alicorn as any other pony.” She turned a little red. “In fact, I can think of a few who... might have a good chance.”
“Oh? Who?”
“Big--” She then shook her head and coughed. “Anyway. There are plenty of stallions in positions of power, even if they aren't at the top. Princess Luna and Celestia have ruled for millennium and kept us safe. Not because they're mares, but because they're immortal... beings of immeasurable power. They just happen to be mares.”
He nodded, looking skeptical.
“You're a little young to be thinking about this kind of thing, anyway.” She sighed and shook her head. “So, would you like to come to school then?”
He nodded. “It'll be good, right? Learning. I can learn all of your weaknesses.”
She let out another sigh of exasperation. She liked him more when he was asleep. Or tired. Or being helpful. Now he was just being whiny. She gave a small nod. “Okay. We'll have to go to bed earlier tonight than last night, soon in fact. But we can watch a little television before, okay?”
He nodded. Soon enough the two were finished and she turned on the television and let him watch while she did the dishes. She then trotted over and smiled as he stared at it, hugging Nibbler to his chest. He was a little cute like this. Just a little. So long as he didn't open his mouth she couldn't help but find his company enjoyable. She sat down besides him, watching the little cartoon with a smile.
However, once the commercials came on she stood up. “Ah! I almost forgot. Come along.” She started trotting back towards the bathroom.
“What? Why?”
“It's time to brush your teeth.”
“... What?”
“Brushing your teeth, to get all the...” The color drained from her face. “You... know what brushing your teeth is, right?”
“Why would you use anything on your teeth?”
“To stop them from getting diseased and falling out.”
“If they do that, just have a cleric regenerate them, obviously.”
She blinked a few more times and stared at him. Finally, she scooped him up and carried him off to the bathroom. “Hey! Put me down!”
“Nope. Teeth brushing, then television. Now, hold on.”
It took her a few seconds to find an unopened tooth brush, but she popped it open, put some water and toothpaste on it and then looked back to him. He glared at her, defiant. She rolled her eyes. Not again. “Just... stand still.”
He let out a yipe as she proceeded to clean his teeth with the little brush, wiping his mouth clean. He tried tugging and yanking away, but a hoof on his shoulder stopped him from going far. “Calm down. It doesn't hurt, does it?” She was too tired to deal with this, but she'd be darned if she was going to ignore good oral hygiene.
After a few minutes of struggling he gave up and let her brush his teeth. After that it didn't take long at all. “There, now spit.”
Instantly she got a mouth full of spit and tooth paste to the face. She sighed. “I meant in the sink.” She grabbed a towel and wiped her face off, followed by his. “There, now just... go watch T.V.” She glowered as he walked off, before turning to the sink, grabbing her brush and proceeding to brush.
Just a few more days or so, she was sure. They'd deal with all these little problems and then he'd be out of her hair. She could hardly wait.