//------------------------------// // Teacher and Student // Story: Dear Twilight Sparkle // by Penmore //------------------------------// "That's everything that happened. What do you think I should do Spike?" Twilight took another bite of the daisy pancakes he had prepared for her that morning. It had been a long night for her as she tossed and turned throughout her sleep. When it was near sunrise she woke up in a sweaty fright to find Spike still holding her hoof. She smiled at the action and levitated the small dragon to their room and onto the bed. That was the first time in a long time they had slept together like when they were young. It calmed her down and let her rest a while longer in peace. When she finally got up from her bed she found Spike was gone and the smell of breakfast being made. When she proceeded down the stairs she saw that the dragon had finished cleaning from last night and the table occupied by a large meal. Spike had finished cleaning once she sat down and joined her in eating as she recounted what happened at the farm. Spike just sat in silence, his expressions changing only slightly as if he knew what was coming next. "Twilight, please don't take this the wrong way, but have you actually thought about anything you said to her before actually saying it?" "What do mean? I was just trying to be a good friend. She looked so sad when the subject came up, I couldn't just leave her like that." "Twilight, I get that you're just trying to be a friend and I agree that just leaving Applejack like that would be something even I'd hate to do." "Exactly! So…" "But! That doesn't mean you have to go behind her back when she said she'd tell you at some point in the future. She said that she trusted you and you betrayed that trust. You should have waited for her to open up about the matter instead of cutting open the wound without any regard to how she felt. I can somewhat understand the things Big Mac said; I don't like the fact he hit you or threw you out, but you not only did you upset A.J, you also upset Applebloom by letting her hear about her father! She's still a filly Twilight!" "I… I wasn't trying to… I didn't mean…" "Let's just finish breakfast first, we can talk more about this afterward and figure out what to do." The rest of the meal was taken in silence as Twilight was mulling over what Spike had said to her. When they were done Twilight moved to the main part of the library and sat on one of the couches, while Spike cleaned up the remains of the meal and washed the dishes. Twilight stared at all the books around her and wondered if any could contain a solution to everything that was happening. That was when it hit her, she still hadn't received a reply to the letter she sent the first day on the farm. "Spike!" "Yea Twilight?" "Did you get a letter from A.J around the first day I was gone to send to the Princess?" There was a moment of relative silence as no answer came from the kitchen. Twilight wondered if Spike had heard her clearly and was about to ask once more until she heard him speak. "Yea… I got it… Why do you ask?" "Have I gotten a reply yet? Maybe the Princess would be able to help me with this problem, while I don't particularly like the fact that I'll be bothering her for help. I just can't seem to think of a way to start fixing this screw-up." "No reply yet." He replied as he dried his claws on his apron, walking out of the kitchen and proceeding to the library. "Are you sure it's wise to ask her for help?" "Why wouldn't it be? She's my teacher and I'm her student. She has to know something that could help right? I mean, she is the Princess of Equestria." Twilight had raised an eyebrow when Spike had asked that question as if he didn't want her to contact the Princess. "I guess you're right." He said with his back turned as he put his apron to hang. For a moment, and only a moment, Twilight thought she saw him clench his claw. "I'll write up the letter, send it to her when I'm done. In the meantime, can you think of anything I could do?" Twilight walked to a nearby desk and started to write about the situation to the Princess and requesting assistance. Spike just stood by in silence, he hadn't moved from behind her and whether or not he was thinking of anything to help the situation was a mystery as Twilight kept writing. Once finished, she handed the letter to him and it disappeared in a blaze of emerald flames. "Ok, hopefully, she'll reply soon enough. Did you think of anything Spike?" He was starting in the direction the smoke had disappeared in a daze. Twilight thought it was weird for the usually attentive dragon. She reached out to put a hoof on his shoulder only to stop halfway as he turned around. "I might have, though, I kind of doubt it'll be anything important." "It's… it's ok Spike, anything can be useful at this point. What is it?" "Well, after hearing the story about her parents and Applebloom's birth. It seems to me that the thing she's been avoiding the most is her mother's death. She lost her father only a few weeks before so the loss of her mother would have had to hit her hard." "You're right, she was really sensitive around the topic of her mom more than anything else. It was especially true when I asked about the song she was humming." Spike took a seat on one of the couches and watched as Twilight began to pace around. She usually only did this when she was thinking of all the possible avenues of approach to a problem at hoof. "That song, maybe… maybe if I found out what song it actually was…" "Twilight, you said you'd drop that. We're trying to smooth all this out not cause another incident. The song idea is good, but I think maybe not the right approach." Twilight paced around again and the library was blanketed in silence once more. Spike looked on as her mind was at work. Eventually, he left to prepare lunch and set the table for the meal. At one point he disappeared upstairs, though, Twilight didn't notice it as she was busy with her contemplating. Once he returned the food was finished and put some finishing touches before grabbing Twilight. "Twilight, lunch is ready. Put a mental bookmark in it and come eat. I made spaghetti with some garlic bread and some lava cake for dessert." "Thank you Spike; I'll be there in a bit. I think I've almost got an idea… I got it! How about I teach Applejack Prench? Her mom was from Prance and the song she sang was in Prench. So if she learned the language then maybe she would be able to discern what the song was herself." Spike took a minute to think about the idea as he poured water for the each of them. He sat down and served the food then really thought about whether this would help or just be some kind of half-baked, roundabout way for Twilight to get A.J to talk about it. "Honestly Twilight? I have no idea whether or not that would work. It really doesn't seem like much of a plan in the first place, but I don't think there's anything else to work with at this point. I'll go explain things to Applejack later on since Big Mac doesn't want you on the farm. I'll also try to smooth things out with him if I can." "Thank you, Spike, again, for everything." Twilight sat down and ate the lunch he prepared. They talked about what he was doing while she was gone and he explained that he was just running the library. After lunch and clean up, Spike left for Sweet Apple Acres while Twilight prepared all the necessary materials to teach somepony Prench. It would be the first time she'd teach somepony other than Spike, but nerves aside she wanted this to work. If it could lessen the animosity between her and A.J, then it would be worth it. She wanted some way to apologize for everything she'd done so far, she wanted her trust back, but most of all she wanted her friend back. It took a most of the day for Spike to return and by that time Twilight had already set up several lesson plans. She was ready for this to last a long time and for every possible question that Applejack would have during the teaching. "Spike! Welcome back, how did it go? Here let me help you with that." She levitated the groceries he brought back which explained why he had taken so long. He probably only had enough food in the house for himself due to her planning to be away for so long. "Well, I talked to Big Mac about what happened and we got into an argument towards the end, but he said he'd allow you back only on the condition that it's only for two hours a day." "Well it's a start, I'll make sure to apologize to him sincerely. What of Applejack?" At this point, Spike closed the door as he had been standing in the doorway the whole time. He took a seat at one of the desks and took a deep breath. "Spi…" "She said No. She doesn't want to learn Prench and would prefer to be left alone for a while." "Wha…" Twilight once again felt despair as all the plans she had made had been destroyed. She hadn't really accounted for the possibility of her rejecting the offer. She realized that this had affected her ex-friend more than she thought. "Twilight, stop. Don't do this right now, I do have some good news." "What could possibly be good news at this moment?" "I found a student for you so the material won't go to waste. Not to mention maybe that whole song idea won't go to waste. Only… there is a condition with this too." Twilight sat down and threw her forelegs up in the air in frustration. "Great, another one! Well, what is it this time?" Spike took a moment to let her calm down and motioned for her to take a seat before she did anything else in her state. "She wants to hear the whole story of the day she was born."