I’ll admit it: my fuse was short in the first place. My legs were tired, my head hurt, my nose was stuffed, and by mid-afternoon, I hadn’t yet had a thing to eat. All because, apparently, not one contractor in all of Manehattan had any balls. I’d hiked all over town, and every last one of them was afraid of working just a few blocks past where the city started going south. I couldn’t very well tell anypony that the usual suspects were on my side. “Oh, right, I’ll be rebuilding a theater in gang territory, but it’s okay; they like me!” Half-truth aside, that’d just make it even harder to get them interested, and without a willing contractor, it wasn’t even worth trying for the loan. I’d nearly used the smoke on one, but the long view on that was awful. Subordinates asking questions, wondering if their boss had lost his mind, refusing to work there—if I couldn’t predict what somepony would have to answer for, too much change would just come back to bite me. The limitations of what my power could do were starting to get rubbed in my face.

So there I sat, frustrated, angry, hurting, and ready to snap at anypony who looked at me funny while I tried to handle the club’s paperwork, with Day Planner replacing it as quickly as I got it off my plate. I wanted to scream. Remembering I owned the place, I went ahead and did, causing Day Planner to jump nearly out of her skin. Before I could even laugh, the lecturing started.

“Mr. Deal,” Day began, with her ears flat, “I understand your day has been frustrating, but I don’t appreciate being startled like that! If you can’t focus, you know I’m willing to help you blow off steam, but say so, don’t shout like some maniac!”

If I told her to right then, I’m sure Day would’ve gotten under my desk and started licking, just like she said, but her angry glare killed any interest I had in her then. So tack “stomaching a justified lecture from a subordinate” on the list of things ruining my day. And biting back a reminder of who was in at The Tall Tail. “Dammit. Sorry, Day. I’ve had about all I can take for today.”

I explained to her how I’d marched all over the city, missing cabs three times, getting turned down almost instantly by four contracting firms and laughed out of the office by a fifth. How I’d skipped lunch to get the parade of failure over sooner, and how the changing weather had left me completely unable to breathe through my nose after all that marching around.

In true Day Planner style, she just turned away and lifted her tail. At least her tone was soft, the closest Day ever came to sympathy. “Mr. Deal, please either put me to use, or give up on paperwork for today. I’ve had to correct at least one thing on a third of what you’ve handled. If you can’t calm down, you’ll only make things worse.”

I sighed and rose to round my desk and approach Day Planner. Speaking softly, and in that pose, she was quite a lot more inviting than she’d seemed just minutes before. I’d no sooner stretched out a hoof to warm her up, though, than I heard the unmistakable crash and tinkle of shattered glass—loudly. “Son of a diamond dog! What did Jade break—the entire damned wine rack?”

Day Planner was entirely forgotten as I stomped out the office door and down the stairs. I was only halfway down when I saw it, and thoughts of replacing a little wine vanished from my mind: fragments of my beautiful picture window lay all over the floor, surrounding a flat rock about two hooves wide. On the far side what remained of the window sat three horrified looking fillies. One with a bow had a hoof clapped over her mouth. A short-maned pegasus sat staring at the damage, covering her ears, a girly looking unicorn with a bicolor mane and tail covered her eyes as she screamed shrilly—probably the reason the pegasus had her hooves in her ears.

I grit my teeth, laid back my ears and bit back some profanity so vile that had Pirouette heard me use it, she’d have shoved an entire bar of soap in my mouth. This was hours more work for me, over a thousand bits of damage, and would cost us several nights’ revenue while we closed for repairs. The chill that had clogged my nose wasn’t going to be welcome blowing through the club after dark; there was no way we could run shows like this! All because these three little brats didn’t know how to behave. I stomped past Pirouette, her dancers, and their interrupted rehearsal. I’d really had it, and was ready to let these fillies have it, too, when I spotted a purple mare running my way, smiling flowers on her flanks.

“Girls! Where have you been? I’ve been—” The newcomer’s eyes widened when she saw the damage to my window, and maybe I’m flattering myself, but I could swear the look on my face caused her to wince. She was obviously in charge of the little monsters. That suited me; I didn’t need to be seen shouting at fillies.

“Perhaps you’d like to tell me why these three just destroyed an expensive picture window.” My tone was cold. I wanted to make clear that I was in no mood for niceties, that I was not up for tolerating excuses, but I may have taken it too far. The mare seemed to shrink in place a bit, and all three fillies rushed behind her, though the pegasus did poke her head back out to glare at me, as if she weren’t the one destroying my property.

“I’d like to, but I didn’t see them do it, so the girls will have to explain for themselves. I think they owe you an apology anyway.” Though she still looked uncomfortable, the mare was making eye contact, and wasn’t trying to talk her way out of it. That simple fact calmed me more than I expected it to: she was reasonable.

I let my ears up, and dropped the chilly tone, but I was still all business. Until that was settled, those ponies had no right to expect anything else from me. “They’re going to owe me a lot more than an apology, or somepony is, miss. This window didn’t come cheap, and I’m going to lose money while it’s being replaced. Are you the mother of any of them?”

The pegasus looked at me as if I were crazy, but the one with the bow shook her head seriously. “My ma’d have some kinda apple fer a cutie mark, mister. All us Apples do!” I might’ve found the obvious family pride in her voice endearing, if she hadn’t just smashed my window. Her own flank was blank. I bit back a remark about exceptions to the rule.

The cold breeze blew as the mare gestured for “Ms. Apple” to stay quiet. “I’m afraid not. My name is Cheerilee; I’m their school teacher. We’re on a field trip, and these three seem to have gotten separated from the group while horsing around.” Cheerilee shot the three girls a look as she said that before turning back to me. “Under the circumstances, I suppose I really shouldn’t be asking for anything from you, but may we come in to deal with this? That wind is cold, and I imagine I’ll need to sign some papers or something.”

I nodded. The teacher was handling this exactly right. Not wasting my time, no manic defense of the “little angels,” and her only request so far was perfectly reasonable. It wasn’t going to improve my day any, but perhaps it wouldn’t be as infuriating as I’d imagined.

“I’m Done Deal, and I own this business. Come around to the door, and I’ll let you in. No point stepping in the glass.” All of us walked toward the door on our own sides of the wall. I unlocked the ornate glass doors centered on the long wall of the club’s hall and Cheerilee stepped in, fillies in tow. As they entered, I couldn’t resist a cheap shot. “At least they left the glass door intact.”

The unicorn filly hung her head and made a hurt sound, the pegasus glared angrily, and Ms. Apple and her teacher turned their heads head to frown at me. The first thing to mind was, “If you don’t like it, don’t break things,” but Pirouette had overheard and was menacing me silently from the stage. I sighed and pointed the fillies and their teacher up the stairs. I had to work with Pirouette; aggravating her over these fillies wasn’t worth it.

As they climbed the steps, the fillies seemed to be craning their necks, taking in as much as they could, especially the unicorn with the easily hurt feelings. Suddenly she stopped dead. “Hey, what kind of pla—oof!” The pegasus filly had plowed directly into her little friend’s tail while looking down at the stage. They began to squabble, and I rubbed at my eyes with a hoof in exasperation. Fortunately, Cheerilee had had enough as well, and pushed them both up the last steps to the landing with a meaningful expression. All three fillies sat politely without so much as a glance at each other. So they could behave. Just not for long.

“It’s a cabaret.” I stepped past my “guests” and pushed open the office door, gesturing them inside. “Ponies come to watch dancers and sometimes other acts, and have a few drinks at night. It’s a place to relax. Usually.” Cheerilee’s lips tightened a bit at my description. Great. A teetotaler. I decided it would be best to get the fillies out of there as quickly as possible, before I ended up hearing another lecture. I walked across the room to a filing cabinet near Day Planner, who was staring at the new ponies disrupting her peaceful workplace, and pulled out one of the oldest folders inside, carrying it back to my desk in my teeth, taking a seat across my desk from them.

Cheerilee and the fillies waited while I found the paper I was after and placed it toward them on my desktop. “Ten years ago, that window cost me fourteen hundred bits, custom made.” Cheerilee blanched a bit, and the fillies’ eyes widened. “Do you see why I was so angry now, girls? On top of that, I’m going to lose thousands in business while a new window is made. I can’t put on shows with a cold draft blowing through! It’s a big de—oh, Celestia, don’t start that!”

The unicorn filly with the bicolor mane had begun crying at my reprimand, so shrilly I almost feared for the office window, and somehow her friends had plugged their ears in advance. My headache from before returned, worse than ever, and I grit my teeth, but filly or not, if I have a weakness, it’s crying ladies. I grabbed a handkerchief from my drawer, trotted around my desk quickly, and started dabbing at the unicorn’s eyes. “C’mon, please? Don’t cry; I can’t handle that! Ugh, my head…” I looked to Cheerilee for help, but instead found her smiling at me for the first time. I facehoofed. In just one moment, I’d lost the tough businessman advantage.

Day Planner had had her fill of the noise, and after placing a note on my desk, quickly rushed out of the office and down the stairs. I desperately wanted to beg her to take me with her.

Cheerilee walked over to where I sat trying to comfort one of the kids who caused all this trouble and patted the bawling filly’s head. “Calm down now, Sweetie Belle. See? He’s nicer than he seems. He’s just upset because some rambunctious little fillies made a mess and still haven’t said sorry!”

I was upset about a lot more than that, but could only blink in surprise at the three fillies whose, “We’re sorry!” came in absolutely perfect unison. How often must they have had to apologize together to pull that off? I rubbed at my aching head, gave Sweetie Belle my handkerchief, and retreated to the safety of my side of the desk. Putting something between myself and the still-sniffling unicorn was far more comforting than I wanted to admit, and Cheerilee continuing to smile at me was simply embarrassing.

Pirouette opening the door felt like salvation. Her head peeked inside the office, tight bun resting on top. “Done, there’s a pegasus named Raindrops here. She says she’s a chaperone for the same field trip—Done Deal, did you make this filly cry?”

My jaw dropped. Those fillies broke my picture window, and I was getting yelled at? I gave up, and my face hit my desk, landing right on Day’s note. I spoke without raising my head. “Yes. Yes, I did, Pirouette. Please just kill me now and get it over with.”

Cheerilee laughed. “Don’t be angry, miss. He didn’t shout; he didn’t try to scare her. He was just telling us what that window cost. Girls, why don’t you go with Miss Raindrops? I’ll stay here and sort this out. It might take a little while.”

“Yes, Miss Cheerilee!” All three girls spoke in unison again and rushed for the door, but Sweetie Belle stopped to say, “Um. We’re really, really sorry. Please don’t be mad at Miss Cheerilee.” With that, the fillies were gone, but I could hear their voices fade as they peppered Pirouette with questions on the way down the stairs.

“They’re gone, Mr. Deal. Your dance instructor, too. You can come out now.”

I looked up at Cheerilee, and Day’s note stuck. Cheerilee laughed again, while I groaned. “You know, this really does fit my whole day, Cheerilee. I peeled the paper from my muzzle and looked. In Day’s precise, clear hoofwriting were the words, “Smoke practice.” I nearly dropped the page, and quickly slipped it into a drawer, out of sight.

Cheerilee cocked her head, but didn’t ask. “I hope your secretary wasn’t too angry. She seemed very annoyed.” I sighed. I really had lost the whole angry businessman edge, if Cheerilee was making friendly chit chat. Day’s suggestion wasn’t terrible, but I wanted business handled first. Using the smoke to get Cheerilee to just pay up would be efficient, and very like Day, but for all I knew I could put Cheerilee out of her house doing that. Not acceptable. Even if I was stiffening just a bit under my desk at the notion.

“She’s very no nonsense. Having anypony in here who’s not an employee bothers her. As for me, I just don’t handle crying girls well. So. Do you have any notions of how this is going to be paid for, Cheerilee? It’s been ten years; getting a new picture window will cost more than fourteen hundred, I’m sure of it. I don’t want to play the villain here, but somepony is going to reimburse me, and obviously three little fillies don’t have that kind of money.”

Cheerilee calmly took a seat across my desk as I got down to business. “I understand why your first concern is your business, Mr. Deal. It’s your living, and your employees’. But my main concern is my students. I know I don’t have any real grounds to ask favors, but you seem more reasonable than I thought. Can I have your word that if you’re paid for the window, you’re not going to make any trouble for the girls? No charges, no surprise bills, or anything like that?”

I blinked. Cheerilee was sharper than I’d given her credit for. Fortunately for us both, I didn’t care about those fillies as long as my window was paid for, but plenty of businessmen would’ve tried to milk the situation. Still, legitimate concern or not, it was a bit insulting, and more than a bit presumptuous when she hadn’t even discussed dealing with the window. I felt the smoke swirl a bit at my annoyance.

“Provided the cost of replacing the picture window is covered in full, Cheerilee, your students are going to be the last thing on my mind. If it’s not, then I’ll have to look at how to proceed, but I’m hoping we can get this sorted out and all go on our separate ways. The tricky part is that I don’t have an estimate yet, and I can’t claim insurance without naming the girls.”

Cheerilee nodded. “Can you get estimates done before shops close? I could come back tonight, since you said you’ll have to cancel shows anyway.”

The last thing I wanted after all my running around earlier that day was to run around more to visit glass shops, but the sooner the problem was sorted, the sooner I could reopen, and dealing with bills would be that much harder after Cheerilee had gone back to… wherever she was from. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure I can handle that. When will you be back?”

It was Cheerilee’s turn to sigh. “As soon as I get the girls in bed. Those three are the most ‘lively’ of my class, but there are plenty more, and only two have been to Manehattan before. Calming them last night took far too long.”

I frowned. I wanted a time, and that was all she could offer? “Can you promise to be no later than three in the morning, Cheerilee? I’m used to late nights running this business, but past that, I’m going to start getting pretty annoyed.”

Cheerilee’s eyes widened. “Mr. Deal, I won’t be awake at three in the morning myself! If any of the girls are, I’ll tie them to their beds!”

I couldn’t help a slight laugh, which was just what I needed at the moment. I offered Cheerilee a much more honest smile than I could’ve imagined I would when I saw my broken window. “Sounds like a plan, then. I’ll see you tonight, Cheerilee.”

* * * * *

It was quarter of midnight when Cheerilee finally arrived. I opened the office door for her, to find her staring wide-eyed down the stairs. Day never had come back to the office, so when I finished the paperwork that had stopped growing in her absence, I spent the rest of the evening calming down and thinking of just how I’d use the smoke on her. I’d never been one for teacher fantasies; most of my teachers had rubbed me the wrong way as a colt. But with one in my hooves… I shook it off and asked Cheerilee if she was alright.

“Who in Equestria was that? In the dark, I didn’t see her at all until she spoke, and I’ve never seen any pony so big! Not even Big Macintosh!” Cheerilee still hadn’t gotten over her shock as I ushered her into my office. I smiled, pleased not to be the one getting thrown off this time, and offered her a seat at my desk.

“That was Parapet, my bouncer. She’s very protective of me, and I live upstairs. When she saw the broken window, she insisted on spending the night playing watchdog. Don’t worry; she’s a sweetheart to anypony who’s nice to her.” Walking around to my side, I pulled out a small stack of papers—the estimates I’d gotten—and set them in front of Cheerilee like before.

“Those are the estimates, Cheerilee. They’re not inflated; I brought the shops a photograph of the front of the club to show them exactly what I wanted made. Ten years, Manehattan getting more expensive in general, and no pony offering any discounts makes it more than I would’ve expected.”

Cheerilee looked at the first estimate and winced, her ears lying back. Shuffling the papers, she looked at the second, third, and fourth, and seemed more and more distressed. I wasn’t surprised. I’d put the lowest estimate on top, and that had come to just over two thousand bits. The worst estimate was almost two thousand eight hundred. Watching the her set the papers on my desk again, I think I saw her hoof shaking slightly.

“Those are really the cheapest, Mr. Deal?” The worry was evident in her tone, and honestly made me feel guilty. Still, I assumed the fillies’ parents would end up splitting the cost, so I wasn’t sure what she was so upset about.

I nodded. “They are. In fact, the lowest offer came from a shop that just opened. He couldn’t give a discount, but he was very eager for the work. I’m sure he’s not trying to stiff me. Are you alright, Cheerilee? You look upset, but they’re not your girls. Won’t you just be passing the news along?”

Cheerilee shook her head. “Applebloom’s family runs an orchard, Sweet Apple Acres, on a pretty thin margin. If word of this got out, they’d insist on paying their share in full, and I don’t know what that would do to them. I was planning on giving the girls the world’s biggest lecture, but… well, I was going to tell them you decided to let it go, and I’d just cut corners at school. Cut my salary, pass on new textbooks, call in favors for repairing the playground. But there’s just not two thousand bits of wiggle room in the budget! Ponyville is a simple, tiny town.”

I frowned. I was alright with it coming out of school funds. The girls had been on a class trip, after all, and were supposed to be monitored by chaperones, not playing street hockey with a big rock. I was not at all comfortable ruining the school, though. “Cheerilee, I can report this for insurance still. It’ll be rough on the girls, and their families are probably going to have to pay something, but the school won’t be touched.”

Cheerilee shook her head, long mane shuffling around her neck. “I know Applebloom’s family. They’d be up here with their share of the money in no time. They’re good ponies! But I can’t just risk costing them the farm!”

I pulled the estimates back to me and threw the more expensive ones in the trash. I had no intention of using them; they were only to convince Cheerilee that two thousand was on the level. She was convinced, and I had her over the barrel, but the idea of demanding sex to let her off the hook disgusted me. I rubbed at my eyes with a hoof, and looked up at Cheerilee. “If you sign papers so we can continue this later, I can drop it for now. You could go home, talk it over with your husband, see if he’s got any ideas.” I was spending too much on the Trotties to let a couple thousand bits just go, especially with all the big plans ahead, but I could float the expense in the short term.

Cheerilee shook her head again, with a slightly frustrated smile on her muzzle. “I might ask to take you up on that, Mr. Deal, and maybe talk to Mayor Mare about a fundraiser or something, but I don’t have a special somepony.”

I nodded and offered a friendly smile. As long as it wasn’t about money, there was no reason for me not to be friendly. It might even help work something out. “Never found the right pony? That’s not too uncommon with my girls here.”

Cheerilee laughed and shook her head, more open about the topic than I’d have expected. “No, no. I’ve found just the right pony, but he’s painfully shy, and a certain… incident with the same three fillies you met this morning made it even harder to treat him as anything but a friend.” She sighed. She might have seen the humor in it, but there was no question the situation bothered her.

“Do you think he feels the same?” This was a story I’d heard more than once here, both from my girls and from customers when I filled in behind the bar. It always bothered me. I never found the right mare, never had a real shot at that lasting, perfect marriage. When ponies who did just let their chance sit, it drove me up the wall.

“I’m certain he does! But a stallion as shy as he is? If I invite him to a picnic, he’s happy to join me. If I were to invite him on a date, he’d bury himself under mountains of apples needing hauling before I could finish the sentence!”

I smiled much more broadly than before. Cheerilee had just given me the answer to how I was going to play with her—and I’d have laid odds that I’d get her her special somepony in return. The business could wait. I got a sheet of paper out and quickly scratched out a very simple agreement, just enough to ensure somepony was going to have to take responsibility for my window. It wouldn’t have held up in court, but I didn’t see that becoming a problem.

I turned the paper and slid it toward Cheerilee. “Here. This just acknowledges that the girls broke my window under your custody, and that we’re agreeing to figure out compensation at a later date. I’ll send a letter in a month. If you haven’t figured out how to pay by then, I’ll take a trip to Ponyville and we’ll have the hard talk then. Sound good?”

Like the smart mare she was, Cheerilee skimmed the paper for traps, but as soon as she was satisfied, she practically pounced on the quill I held out. “Thank you so much, Mr. Deal! I’ll talk with Mayor Mare, see if something in the town budget will do the job! I’m sure she won’t let either the school or our orchard suffer!” She slid the signed paper back, and I put it in the drawer, just on top of Day’s note. That note was due to be taken care of.

Cheerilee rose and after another thank you, she excused herself to get back to her students. Before she was halfway to the door, however, a slim, dark trail of smoke had caught up to her and slipped into her ear. She stopped. For all our talking, I hadn’t had much opportunity to actually check her out earlier. Between the fillies presence and Cheerilee being focused on me, ogling would’ve been noticed in a heartbeat. Finally getting a good look at her, however, revealed a body nice enough to match that pretty face of hers. If she’d been a local, I’d have offered her part time work at the cabaret to settle the window.

I kept the smoke thick; I suspected that if she weren’t heavily affected, she’d never agree to my plans. No orders, though. Once the stage was set, I wanted to let the smoke go, and have Cheerilee run with it.

I moved to stand next to Cheerilee, face to face. “You know, I’ve lost four of my dancers over the years because they figured out how to land their shy stallion.” It was true. I was happy for each of them, but the problem with stage dancers is that if they want a stallion, they’ll have him locked down and retire within the month. It’d caused me staffing issues a few times. Putting my girl’s tricks to use for my benefit, and Cheerilee’s eventually, was a nice change of pace.

“The trick is not to give him a say in the matter. If he’s shy and really does want you, push hard, but not rough, until he feels trapped. Then make that trap something he never wants out of. You follow?” I loved the blank expression on Cheerilee’s face. That was becoming more and more exciting to me, and I was getting hard fast as I waited for her to get her reply out.

The smoke was dense enough that the words were difficult for her to form, but gradually, they came. “I couldn’t… not that kind… of mare…” She even managed a gentle shake of her head.

I smiled gently. She’d cooperate; there was no reason to get bothered over a little resistance. “Nonsense. You love him, right? There’s nothing wrong with it then. You just need a little practice. Snare me like my dancers snared their stallions, and you’ll have no trouble going home and landing the one you really want. I won’t be any different from an ex-coltfriend. It makes perfect sense.”

Cheerilee furrowed her brow just a bit, maybe trying to figure out where her objections went, because when she responded, it was to nod her head slowly and agree. “Perfect sense. Trap you…”

I nodded at her, smiling happily. Just one thing left. “Just remember, Cheerilee: come on too strong and you’ll scare him. Not strong enough, and you won’t hook him. So make sure to do what I say. I’ve seen my girls do this over and over, after all. This time, I’m the teacher.”

Cheerilee nodded again. “I’ll… learn.” The scent in my office told me Cheerilee was ready just as much as her agreement had.

I released the smoke. Aside from a blink or two, Cheerilee seemed exactly the same as before… That is, until she got so close I could feel her warmth, and she tossed her tail over my flank, letting it slowly slide back down.

I played the part of the startled beau-to-be, staring wide eyed. “Ch-Cheerilee?”

She smiled up at me. “Done… do I have to go? My hotel’s a long walk, and it’s gotten awfully chilly.”

If that stallion of hers was as shy as Cheerilee said, he wouldn’t just invite her in. “Well… let’s check the dressing room downstairs, Cheerilee. Maybe one of the dancers left behind something warm we could borrow.” I held open the door for her, and she stepped out—halfway.

With the most patient smile I’ve ever seen, she turned and shook her head. “I don’t want to go out in the cold, Done.” Cheerilee stood half a head shorter than me, but as she stepped into me gently, I fell back a few inches before I’d even realized it. Almost perfect.

I offered my first instructions. “If you’re shorter than he is, nuzzle under his chin when you’re trying to stop a getaway.” It broke the moment, but Cheerilee was back to bedroom eyes in a heartbeat, her muzzle running along my jaw.

“Pleeease?” Cheerilee’s tail swayed gently behind her, and she pecked my cheek before drawing back just a bit and making puppy eyes. I was getting harder, but that wasn’t the right move. As little as I wanted an interruption, I shook my head.

“Keep up the pressure, Cheerilee. Gentle, but firm. The ‘please’ is fine, but don’t wait for an answer.”

Cheerilee nodded so seriously that I found myself wondering in the back of my mind just what kind of a student she’d been. “I understand. It’s like keeping after a student you know can do better. Give them any slack, and they’ll just quit trying again.”

I wasn’t so sure I liked being compared to a lazy student, even if I was just playing a role, but the gentle headbutt on my chest took my mind off of it, and the big, green eyes staring up at me when I looked down didn’t remind me of any teacher I’d ever had.

Cheerilee slipped her muzzle under my jaw again and murmured pitifully, “Nights are lonesome. Can’t we put it off for a little while, and stay together?”

Her tone was so sad I almost forgot my coaching and what I was after, both. The line was perfect. She played to sympathy, made it sound like just a little request, and asked to be “together,” nothing more. My stammer was still an act, but it wasn’t hard to come by at all.

“U-um… I suppose it won’t hurt anything.” Cheerilee stayed almost underhoof as I shut the door heading down and crossed to the private door heading up. I pushed it open, and was rewarded with another peck, on the neck. She was taking to heart the instruction to keep up the pressure.

Cheerilee weaseled her way past me at the base of the stairs, her tail brushing under my chin. I sniffed, and there was nothing—a missed opportunity. “Find out if he has a favorite scent, and have that in your mane and tail. Makes it harder for a stallion to think straight. You don’t want him doing that until it’s all over.”

Cheerilee thought a second. “This is awfully sneaky. But… it’s kind of fun!” With that, she was back in character, trotting up the stairs in front of me, tail held high, but dangling so her sweet spot was out of view. I smirked while she wasn’t looking. Yeah, it was fun.

At the top of the stairs, Cheerilee turned and urged me up with another misdirection. “Won’t you show me around? I’ve never seen your apartment before!” I nodded and headed up after her, silently praising another good choice of words. The instant I was at the top, there she was again, offering no breathing room. “This looks like a pretty classy place. Full marks for good taste.” She was buttering me up, maintaining the pressure, but giving me a chance get comfortable with it. I wondered if the real problem as that she was shyer than she seemed. Her stallion would’ve been in the bag if she’d behaved this way already.

I quickly trotted to a shelf a few feet away, to force her to adapt, and acted relieved. “Thanks! I, uh… don’t get many ladies in here.” Now that was a difficult line.

Cheerilee wasted no time, and made up for my short escape by standing withers to withers, flank to flank, and nuzzling again. To prevent me from stepping away again, she pointed at a framed photo on the shelf in front of us. It was me, surrounded by four lovely young mares—a decade ago. “Who are they? They all look so happy.” Cheerilee sounded just the slightest bit displeased.

Another excellent choice of distraction. A hint of vulnerability that most stallions would want to reassure, a chance to talk about “good old days” that most stallions would take, and more time spent in contact, so the next step wouldn’t be such a jump.

Still, a pretty mare with the length of her body against a shy stallion? Some stuttering was called for again. “Th-those? They’re the first girls I hired, the day we opened. They were happy. Keeping my girls happy is important to me. Always was.”

Cheerilee was a quick learner. Half a second of looking down, then a hoof on my cheek, pulling me into a long, gentle, but not at all timid kiss. I was hard and ready when she broke it and looked up at me with pleading eyes. She was going for the kill.

Her muzzle was still so close she could’ve licked my lips. “I want you to make me happy, Done. I don’t want to go home alone at night anymore.” Cheerilee leaned forward and threw her forelegs around my neck. “I’m sure you’re the one for me! Don’t send me away.”

My breath was short, even knowing that Cheerilee was still “practicing.” She’d nailed it. My whole body went as stiff as the rod hanging beneath me, a textbook panic reaction, and exactly what I had her aiming for. She just had to spring the trap. “Cheerilee…?” Her answer was to release my neck, and slide her cheek along my side and underneath, licking a few inches of my shaft in the same motion. I gasped at the pleasure, and just barely stayed in character. “W-wait!”

She did nothing of the sort. Friendly, gentle teacher Cheerilee wrapped her lips around a ball, and toyed gently with the other, making it harder and harder to stand. The sweet breathiness in her voice said this wasn’t a calm study session for her, either. “Just relax. I want this. You. To be with you from now on. No silly potions, no meddling.” I had no idea what in Tartarus that meant, and it would’ve pulled me out of the moment again, if Cheerilee hadn’t moved to press her wet pussy up against my stallionhood. Was she even going to practice that?

She remained breathy as she asked, “How was that? Do you think it’ll work?”

Tartarus take me, I nearly fell down on her.

She sounded like stopping had been a challenge. I had no intention of it. Smoke formed almost before I thought of it, and rushed from my body to her ears and nose in an instant. The pressure of her sex against my dick faded a bit as Cheerilee drooped, but it wouldn’t be gone long. “If he loves you back, I’m certain it will work, Cheerilee. But you’re not done yet. You didn’t spring the trap. Practice isn’t over.”

Cheerilee’s muddled sounding voice came from below. “Practice… sex?” The pressure against my dick returned, and I could feel her lips part as my flare spread them open.

I forced myself not to push, but churned up the smoke, pouring it into her blacker than before . “You don’t want to be unprepared! How humiliating if you go so far, for nothing! Practice makes perfect, Cheerilee.”

Cheerilee pushed back, sliding herself over my rod. She felt it, even under the smoke, and moaned her reply. “I want to be… perfect… Big Mac…”

Aroused as I was, I smiled a little. That wasn’t my doing. The stallion she was after was really missing out. “Then practice, Cheerilee.”

Cheerilee craned her neck beneath me and licked at my chest as she tightened her soft walls and slid forward. A panted “Yes, teacher,” was all I heard. Tightening and relaxing, she did all the work while I struggled to stay upright above her. She sped up, and I wobbled slightly. I lowered my front half, pressing hers into the floor, and began to pump her. Pinned and unable to move, Cheerilee moaned and pressed her face up against my chest. Her breath in my coat was erotic: a caress from a mare helpless underneath me. Eager to make her mine, I thrust deep and hard, forcing a cry of pleasure from her—then remembered myself at the last second and jumped up to pull out, spraying her hindquarters and the wooden floor.

I stood over Cheerilee, gasping for breath and frustrated, but a stranger’s foal would ruin everything. Cheerilee looked up, so affected by the smoke still sinking into her that this must’ve felt like interrupting practice. I lay beside her on the floor, and pulled her sluggish form into a spoon, caressing her mane like a satisfied lover. “He might not be ready for foals. Practice showing him that’s okay too.”

Cheerilee nodded blankly, and reached back slowly to pull me into a kiss. While our tongues played, her other hoof reached down to my shaft, not yet deflated, and pulled it up against her stomach, and her soft, tiny teats. Without ever halting the kiss, she clamped her thighs around my slick, messy shaft and curled just a bit, smearing her thighs, teats, and stomach with my cum, and offering me enough pleasure to stay hard against her. I began to rock too, and she squeezed tighter.

I stroked her face happily and wrapped my forelegs around Cheerilee as she rocked on my shaft cuddling obscenely on my living room floor. Her shy stallion was missing out on the world. I released the smoke, but blew it into the kiss, and Cheerilee stiffened, the smoke making the difference between simple pleasure in her teats and orgasm. I bucked more roughly, and she moved so I rubbed her lips. Slowly we sped up, gasping and moaning in our mess on the floor, lips never parting, until the pleasure was more than I could take and I came, painting Cheerilee from chest to chin.

* * * * *

I hadn’t had to smoke Cheerilee again to get her home. When the afterglow faded, she smiled up at me and asked, with a twinkle in her eye, if I thought she’d studied enough to pass. I led her into the shower, joking about grading her own paper, and we cleaned up before I walked her to her hotel, wrapped in a coat one of my dancers had left behind.

There was a spring in my step on the way home, despite feeling a bit self-conscious about carrying a mare’s coat without a mare in sight. The evening had gone better than I’d hoped, despite delaying payment for the window. Bright Jade had apparently managed to secretly take quite a few photos while Cheerilee was smoked and I was preoccupied. She practically danced when I told her she’d done a great job.

Only two weeks later, a letter arrived with photos of Cheerilee in a lovely white dress, next to a powerfully built red stallion in a tux, looking almost as astonished as he was happy. As much charm as the photos from Ponyville had, I liked Jade’s more.

Author's Note

This may seem like a PC chapter right now, but it sets things up for Ponyville Week, and provides a little background on how things are going for Done and The Tall Tail right now. And yes, Cheerilee x Big Mac is canon for this story now. Don't say I never gave you any sweet ships!