The Traveling Tutor and the Librarian

by Georg

Ch. 1 - The Return

The Traveling Tutor and the Librarian
The Return

---

It was amazing how the proximity of death sharpened the senses. Perhaps it was the faint scent of reptile that triggered the first stirrings of panic deep within his subconscious. After all, even if Green Grass had never actually seen a dragon, he had read nearly every book about dragons that had ever been written. Although none of the books could describe the scent that surrounded the ferocious beasts, there might have been some hidden remnant of knowledge between their pages, giving him a moment’s warning as to what lay behind the door he was so casually opening.

Dragons. Deadly creatures, nearly immortal, growing to immense power and size. Nearly everything Ponykind knew about them came from the few encounters that ponies survived by luck or pure whimsy on the part of the beast. In Green Grass’ case, every fact he had read about dragons cascaded through his herbivore mind in a torrent as the door swung open and he saw the back of the surprised predator no more than a few yards away.

Time all but slammed to a halt as he stood there, paralyzed in shock. A small portion of his mind immediately classified the dragon as draconus vulgaris from the smooth purple scales and green fins. Male, if the shape of the crest and tail were referenced correctly in his books.

The noise made by the opening door drew the predator’s attention, causing it to turn in almost a glacial fashion to Green Grass’ adrenaline-fueled perception. A thick book tumbled from the pony’s mouth, forgotten in his panic even though it had been the most important thing on his mind a mere terrified heartbeat ago. Now something else occupied that portion of his mind. Teeth.

The dragon began to open his mouth during the turn, revealing rows of bone-white teeth topped with razor-sharp fangs. They could crunch through rock as easily as a pony could eat pretzels, but they were not to be the reason for his impending demise. The flexing of muscles in the dragon’s chest and the intake of breath clued Green Grass to his doom. The moment the dragon completed his turn, he would breathe out.

And dragons preferred their helpless prey roasted.

As the dragon continued to turn, a single eye, darker than the finest emerald with a thin slit pupil riveted his attention. As long as there was only one eye holding the young pony in its hypnotizing grip, the beast had not finished turning, and Green Grass still had an instant to live. When the turn was complete, the opening jaws would belch forth dragonfire and burn him to ashes.

Most ponies had their entire lives pass before their eyes in the moment of death.

Green Grass only saw the last five minutes.

(five minutes ago)

♫ Let me live, and never worry about tomorrow
why ever worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow’s another day! ♫

(‘Song of the Open Road’ by Flankie Laine)

The cheerful song that floated through the warm noon air was being rather enthusiastically belted out by a stocky green pony pulling a small wagon, although the singing cut off rather abruptly as the wagon crossed into the outskirts of Ponyville. After all, Green Grass had discovered the hard way last year that singing inside the city limits had a way of turning into a full parade with marching bands and confetti.

Settling for a quiet whistling of the tune, the young tutor plodded along with his wagon creaking behind him, simply enjoying his freedom on this beautiful day. In his hometown of Canterlot, everypony wanted something out of him, with his parents being the worst of the lot. They had constantly bemoaned their chance of getting him settled down in a ‘proper’ job, perhaps in the family business or some other employment where who he was would be more important than what he did with his life. The day he got his cutie mark in the waiting room of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns was the best day in his life, made better by the look of stunned horror on his parents faces as their plans for his future crumbled. His newfound gift of teaching little unicorns their first magic had been about as unexpected as his subsequent embarrassing and fortunately short introduction to Princess Celestia, but there was no arguing with a cutie mark.

Tilting his floppy fedora forward to block the glare of the sun reflecting off the gathering clouds, he glanced over his shoulder at the distant city of Canterlot and waggled his flank in a sign of juvenile defiance more appropriate to one of his young students, although the gesture was spoiled by the thunking noise of borrowed books shifting inside his wagon. Even though he owned the wagon free and clear, the contents were only a loan from his father’s library. The living allowance stipend that came with his job as a Unicorn Magic Youth Educational Specialist had paid for the wagon, allowing him the glorious freedom of travel while still keeping his research and entertainment within hoof’s reach at any hour of the day or night.

Last year’s visit to Ponyville as a student teacher had been... different from what he had expected. All of the theory in the world could not compare to the actual experience of having a student detonate a spell a few feet in front of his nose. At least this year was going to be less of a challenge now that he was an experienced teacher. Or at least he hoped.

A rainbow-streak of light in the cloudy sky made him abruptly aware of his first challenge, and his carefree whistling died on his lips. The story of the Elements of Harmony would have been a strange enough tale if discovered in dusty manuscripts during his thesis research, but reading in modern newspapers about how three of the ordinary ponies he had known in Ponyville last year had somehow become users of the ancient artifact and brought Princess Luna back from the moon was just weird. The words ‘Pinkie Pie’ and ‘ancient artifact’ did not belong together, and the thought of Rainbow Dash with some cosmic power brought shivers up his back. At least Applejack was a rational leader, even if she was too smart to be fooled with his theatrical acting tricks. Then there was Rarity, who he had only met once at her little sister’s early evaluation last year, and Fluttershy, who he had never seen at all.

The last, of course, was the Element of Magic, Twilight Sparkle, whose reputation preceded herself. During his college years, every time there had been an explosion on campus, a tree suddenly growing out of the top of a building, or a rain of frogs, it had been called a ‘Twilight.’ He had never been so glad to be in the educational school with the lower-level classes than when the ground would shake, and some upper-level magical class would suddenly become an open classroom, raining shingles and roof braces across the university. It was probably more for insurance purposes than any real research opportunities that Princess Celestia’s prize student was being housed so far away from Canterlot, and he smiled thinly at the thought of the princess’ pet trying to pull any rank on Miss Dewey, Ponyville’s librarian.

Earth ponies aged well, and the elderly librarian had taken a certain shine to her ‘Little Avocado,’ but that had not allowed him any slack when dealing with her precious books at first. On last year’s visit, it had taken all of his not inconsiderable skill at flank-kissing and flattery to wrangle a free parking spot for his wagon under the library branches, and after a week or two, he found her to be actually tolerable. A few chores on her behalf finally resulted in a few relaxations of the library rules on his behalf, and they got along fairly well until he had to leave for his next assignment. With his rotten luck, Miss Dewey would have forgotten all about him this year, and he would have to go through the whole buttering-up act again.

A faint rumble of thunder as the weather pegasi tuned the thunderclouds made him increase his speed to a pained trot through the rapidly clearing streets, the wagon jolting along behind him. Although Green Grass was wearing a thick cloak to guard against the chafing of the wagon harness and a hat to block the warm sun rays, he much preferred to spend rainy days someplace dry. Preferably with food. Which brought him to a decision: Sugarcube Corner or the Golden Oak Library?

The bakery had the irresistible appeal of sugar in dozens of forms, providing a dry location where he could rest and chat with Pinkie Pie about the past year’s events, both mundane and Elemental. The friendly party pony had always been willing to help set up entertaining distractions for his students or rewards for their hard work, and she would have much more pleasant things to talk about than Miss Dewey’s inevitable lecture on ‘ducking responsibility’ and ‘maturity’ that would certainly follow the return of his overdue library book. He never had been good at facing conflicts with adults, finding it much easier to deal with little fillies and colts who shared his views on the stressful subject. Last year, he had spent a great amount of pleasant time in Sugarcube Corner avoiding conflicts, although it did leave him with a few more pounds than when he had started.

If he were to slip by the library now, perhaps he could catch Miss Dewey during one of her midday naps and slip the book back on the shelf without her noticing. That would let him park the wagon in his accustomed spot, return the book, and escape to the bakery to establish his alibi for when she woke up. A sharp twinge in one knee sealed his plans.

Library first to drop off the wagon, before I break my back. I suppose it’s my own fault. If it had a few dozen fewer books, it might not be so heavy. Or a few dozen dozen fewer.

“Flowers,” he muttered as he pulled the wagon up to the big old oak tree that served the community as a library and research center. “Miss Dewey planted flowers over my parking spot. I hope this isn’t some payback for not returning that book before I left.”

He gave his wagon an uneasy glance before pulling it under the library’s leafy shade to retrieve the errant library book. The thought of just slipping it into the book depository and fleeing flickered briefly before reality snuffed it out like a match. There was something strange in the air, perhaps a faint scent of smoke that triggered the thought. Concern roiled in the back of his mind at the idea of even a single match inside the flammable structure of the library. Miss Dewey was quite stringent about using only firefly lanterns for illumination, and only fed coal into the ancient kitchen stove with the smallest of scoops during even the coldest winter.

He retrieved the book from the wagon, making certain the parking brake was set and the doors closed as he eyed the sky. There were only a few empty spaces in the overcast for the weather team to plug before the rain was going to begin, which meant he had little time to dawdle or he would wind up trapped in the library. He had no desire to nosh off leftovers in Miss Dewey’s antique icebox, which ran heavily to prunes and applesauce, so he dusted off the tattered book before picking it up in his mouth and heading for the library door. Miss Dewey always despised tooth marks on the books, overdue fines, and crumpled corners. This one had all three, in addition to more than a few small drool marks where he had fallen asleep while reading. And Chapter Twelve, which was going to be a royal pain to explain.

If she’s awake, I should be able to distract her by asking about my students for this year. If that doesn’t work, I’ll have to give her the beaten puppy face, droop the ears, and try scuffing the floor with one hoof. Just don’t get her talking about local events like the Elements of Harmony, or the rain will start before I can get free.

The library door was never locked, so it only took a nudge from one hoof to bump it open while he stepped inside with the book in his mouth…

Comments

[Georg]

Author's Notes: Feb 2019 - Redid entire document formatting with corrected footnotes. Enjoy!

This is more Comedy combined with a "You can never go home again" story than Romance, but there will be kissing going on, and a lot of innuendo. Originally I was not planning on getting too serious, or too long, but it now weighs out at 36 chapters, having taken off and dragged me along for a most enjoyable ride, with many memorable moments.

‘Don Rocinante’ is stolen borrowed from RDD's Lunaverse series with permission, because I could never come up with a way to ponyfy Don Quixote half as well.

Presently featured on Equestria Daily after third submittal after extensive editing that touched each chapter at least four times. And I'm *still* finding typos.

I would like to extend thanks to the many editors and proofreaders who have taken the time to wade through the story, including Peter, Bad Horse, Featherprop , Nyerguds, lhmac , Alicorn Priest , Kydois (and others more numerous to mention who have helped point out my errors. You are all a moment of joy that I will treasure forever.)

Special thanks to KatyscornerTx for a *wonderful* sculpt. of GG and his hat.
img00.deviantart.net/3617/i/2016/246/f/2/green_grass_by_katyscornertx-dagd6t0.jpg

Submitted to /fic/ for a review 3/3 linked Here , and the review posted 6/2 is Here with my politely worded response to the review Here with yet another politely worded response to my response (Yes, I got a *good* reviewer who cares) Here. The first chapter has been completely rewritten and major changes have occurred in several others from their advice, giving a much better story. Thanks guys!

If you would care to read it as it was developed along with my contributor comments and various internal musings, a link to the raw Google Document is here.

Now with a TV Tropes page and a sequel, The Traveling Tutor and the Diplomat's Daughter

Submitted 12/1/2012 3:00 (and approved really quickly too)
Second chapter is up. The rest should follow with a few days between them.
Sunday: Third chapter is up. It's a bit stubby.
Tuesday: Fourth chapter is up. Yes, that's a Star Wars reference. (footnotes updated for Twilight's mother, added link to Fauxsquared fantastic pic)
Thursday: Fifth chapter is up. I'm pleading the Fifth, and Green Grass really needs a fifth.
Friday: Sixth chapter is up. And so is Green Grass. And so is Twilight. How to say the wrong thing in just One Word.
Saturday: Seventh chapter is up. "Mom! Guess what we learned in school today!"
Sunday: Eighth chapter is up. The cake is not a lie. And it's delivered.
Monday: Ninth chapter is up. Dinky brings a friend to the evaluation.
Tuesday: Evaluation is over (although who is getting evaluated is debatable). The date apology lunch is scheduled, and something is developing. (literally)
Friday: Eleventh chapter is up. The young lovers get their first kiss. And Twilight gets to meet the in-laws. And his fiance.
Sunday: Twelfth chapter is up. Twilight sends Green Grass on a little trip.
Wednesday: Thirteenth chapter is up. Guys talk guy things, girls talk girl things. Green Grass gets a welcome letter, Airmail.
Friday: Fourteenth chapter is up. Now the Princess knows.
Saturday: Fifteenth chapter is up. The day starts with Sunlight, and ends with Starlight and Moonshine
Sunday. Chapter 16 is up. In Vino Veritas.
Tuesday: Chapter 17 is up. Green Grass finds out what the moon is like.
Wednesday late: Chapter 18 is up, hangovers and misconceptions (not *that* kind of conception!)
Thursday : Chapter 19 is up. Sleepovers are so much fun, particularly when people you know drop in. (19 chapters in 28 days, whew!)
Saturday : Chapter 20 is up. Twilight's father is a nice chap. Really.
Sunday: Chapter 21 is up. Twilight Sparkle’s mother is Julie Andrews, but this song went through my head while writing the entire chapter.
Monday: Chapter 22 is up. As we say goodbye to Twilight's mom and dad, and near the end of our tale.
Wed: Chapter 23 is up. Green Grass and Twilight start a little project that may take a few months to complete.
Sat: Chapter 24 is up. Green Grass decides to break it off. Pinkie Pie is making cupcakes.
Mon. Chap 25 is up. The break up is off. Somepony goes for a fountain trip. Twilight has to stay after school.
Fri Chap 27 is up. The young lovers get snowed in, and find an activity suited to the isolation.
Sun Chap 28 is up. Green Grass has two tickets to paradise. Rarity has 20 tickets to Tartarus.
Tue Chap 29 is up. Our young lovers face an evening separated by some very old chaperones.
Thu Chap 30 is up. The Princess gets some unexpected male. err. Mail.
Sun Chap 31 is up. It's a good thing those newspapers have layers of fact-checkers or they might get something wrong.
Mon Chap 32 is up. Green Grass besieged! Canterlot castle surrounded! Fortunately they're just reporters.
Tue Chap 33 is up. Green Grass and the author loose some points (Author fixed it though)
Wed Chap 34 is up. Finally! A proposal! There's going to be a wedding! (cackle) with image by Tamalesyatole
Thu Chap 35 is up. That letter returns, with some annotations. It makes me happy when a stallion gets what he deserves.
Chapter 36 is done This is the end, 36 chapters in just a shade over 2 months.
Chapter 37 (epilogue) has been published, and story is now marked complete! Dec 1 - Feb 6. Whew. No, I'm not making a sequel for at least several months, while I decompress. :)

And I have an image for Green Grass' cutie mark now. Yea, Inkscape.

lh5.googleusercontent.com/-jEf_1RquRLE/Udusq35a6hI/AAAAAAAAAJI/zai3Mgmxb3A/w159-h196-no/horn-w-sparks-small.png

[FanOfMostEverything]

Well, this should be interesting...

You have my interest. I look forward to seeing where you go with this.

[Little Voice]

Nice. I'm looking forward to reading more.

[BenRG]

Yeah, pal, a dragon. Fortunately, he's shorter than most foals so I don't think he's going to be much of a threat unless you push him too hard.

[Seether00]

Insta fave. I know of the guaranteed quality here. I thinking Mr Grass is going to find Twilight a poor replacement for Ms Dewey. She is a poor librarian.

[djthomp]

Oh hell yeah, this looks like a lot of fun. Eagerly looking forward to more.

[nemryn]

When Mom and Dad had taken Frost into the testing room

Wait, who is this 'Frost'? Green Grass's sister is obviously named High Tides.

[irrationalhashbrown]

images.encyclopediadramatica.se/a/a1/Lol-wut-is-this.gif

[Zyrian]

" Now that his first circuit through the seven school district was complete, it was time to start it all over again. "

School districts

[Lhmac]

Ooh, I really liked this intro to the character. A lot of really nice little details there, and some great little implications of normal things (the pulling cart bald patches vs. sweat) as well as a set-up for a fun meeting

[Shire Folk]

Well this is going to be interesting, and I love this song. Thanks for introducing it to me. However, I've got to say that for travelling songs I can't get any out of my head besides, 'Roads Go Ever On' by Bilbo Baggins.

May the Grace of the Valar Protect You

Shire Folk

[Draco Dei]

SPOILER ALERT!!!
(1. I'm no English Major.
2. All questions answered in the course of the story should be considered rhetorical.').

.

Unicorn Magic Youth Educational Specialist
-U.M. Y.E.S.? Sounds like an organization that Fluttershy would be a part of... this is almost certainly irrelevant to the plot, but it is funny, so I thought I would point it out.

The words ‘Pinkie Pie’ and ‘ancient artifact’ did not belong together, and the thought of Rainbow Dash with some cosmic power brought shivers up his back.
-Yeah, one would think, on the surface, that that would be a recipe for disaster, but in Pinkie Pie's case it is part and parcel of why she can use her Element (although I suppose the same sense of humor and Joy could be accomplished without the toon physics...).

The last, of course, was the Element of Magic, Twilight Sparkle, whose reputation preceded herself. During his college years, every time there had been an explosion on campus, a tree suddenly growing out of the top of a building, or a rain of frogs, it had been called a ‘Twilight.’
-Ah, that might explain why she had so few friends. Hard to work up the courage to say "Hello" to someone who is considered a walking hazard zone...

A faint rumble of thunder as the weather pegasi tuned the thunderclouds made him increase his speed to a pained trot through the rapidly clearing streets,
-This probably isn't what you meant, but I have felt that a really skilled pegasus (or lightning proficient unicorn), could replicate Arc Attack (it is the name of a musical instrument or band or something... anyway, it involves an open arc of electricity being modulated so that instead of a CRACK! as the air expands from the heat, you get something musical).

And Chapter Twelve, which was going to be a royal pain to explain.
-I look forward to the details...

[Jirodyne]

small portion of his mind immediately classified the dragon as draconus vulgaris from the smooth purple scales and green fins

Hi Spike!

[Mythic Night]

I’m just starting to read through this wonderful series yet again now that you’ve changed the story notes to be consistent throughout.

One thing I’d like to bring up, before you start printing this series, is that Twilight’s library was called the Golden Oak, no “S” at the end.

[Georg]

9466261 Darnit, and I'm normally so paranoid about that. Fixed and will reupload Ch. 1,30, and 36.

[peter]

♫ Let me live, and never worry about tomorrow why ever worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow’s another day! ♫ (‘Song of the Open Road’ by Flankie Laine)

alternative for any new material. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYKeDJSbq9g

[Lord LunaEquie is me]

Finally coming around to convert some of my notes into comments. I'll have to do this in spurts.

--------

The opening to this is absolutely fantastic, though even with the image of Green Grass's cutie mark, I feel it could use a section break for consistency's sake.

♫ Let me live, and never worry about tomorrow
why ever worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow’s another day! ♫

(‘Song of the Open Road’ by Flankie Laine)

I feel like the note could maybe be a footnote, again for consistency's sake.

his subsequent embarrassing and fortunately short introduction to Princess Celestia, but there was no arguing with a cutie mark.

Great little piece of foreshadowing here. Or, at the very least, when we finally come around to this part of his backstory, it pays off.

Tilting his floppy hat forward to block the glare of the sun reflecting off the gathering clouds,

It wasn't until going back over this a second time that I realize you left the description of his hat so vague that it confused me. I initially pictured him in a beret, but with the later comparisons to Trixie, I'm left wondering if the hat isn't of the style Rincewind would wear. I feel it's important to mention because a more WIZZARD-ly hat would make Twilight mistaking him for a unicorn make more sense, even if there was never actually a point where she should have been able to make out that he wasn't one.

I'm a little disappointed that the acronym of his job, UMYES, was never used for further comedic purposes. Even if you never actually used that acronym, it's here in the very first chapter that you establish the comedic level of the story and his job as a Unicorn Magic Youth Education Specialist, so I was disappointed that I got all the way to the end without having any joke about that.

“Flowers,” he muttered as he pulled the wagon up to the big old oak tree that served the community as a library and research center. “Miss Dewey planted flowers over my parking spot. I hope this isn’t some payback for not returning that book before I left.”

I like this paragraph. It's a simple detail that both sets us up for the later conflict over it (however minor), as well as cueing in the reader to what kind of person/pony Green Grass is.

--------

This is a great opening chapter for a rom-com. It has some good setup with the starts of some shenanigans already underway.

[Georg]

9656557 Come to think of it, 'floppy fedora' works well there to be more specific.

[tsaukpaetra]

This is going to be so much fun!

[Georg]

9720924 And it will be available for purchase at the 2019 Bronycon Bookstore, as well as going on sale at Lulu after the con is over (most probably for a limited time of a few months).

[tsaukpaetra]

9720951
Sounds like we have a reading challenge then!

[UrsaMajor]

Image link is broken.