Twilight Sneaky Sneakyby gokenshadowChaptersThe BargainThe TestThe TeacherThe BargainTwilight looked at the clock on the wall for the twentieth time. It was 12:45. If she was ever gonna do the thing that she couldn’t believe she was thinking of doing, she would have to start doing it right now or she would never have enough time to accomplish it. She knew for a fact that it was technically the wrong thing to do, but a chance as mind-numbingly good as this one didn’t come along often, and technicality was irrelevant when it came to real-life morality, right? Right? Right? Right. Her face screwed up in determination. She edged herself out of her desk and snaked her way along the floor, moving as quickly and quietly as physically possible, hoping to the moon no one would notice her absence and hoping to Celestia none of the joking ponies in the corner would make too loud a noise. They were whispering, of course, but every now and then, a slightly less mature one would slip into a tone of voice much too loud for the given situation before being scolded by several hissing whisperers. She continued to creep along the floor, creeping past the bored pony fooling with her pencil, past the the two fillies chatting about some new toy they both bought, past that one colt with the black mane who never talked to anypony ever. She was almost there, almost. At last, she reached the corner cabinet. A shrill burst of laughter rang through the room for a second before being quickly silenced, making Twilight’s eyes widen. She jerked her head back to the joking students. Three of them had shoved their hooves into a fourth’s mouth. They all apprehensively looked toward the teacher, as did Twilight. By some kind of miracle, he still snored softly at his desk, though it looked like he had shifted slightly. The colts went back to joking with each other. Twilight let out a breath she had been holding. She didn't expect to make it this far. In fact, she didn’t expect to ever get a chance like this in the first place. Her teacher was not at all the kind of pony to fall asleep on the job. Something must’ve happened to him at home. She looked up at the cabinet... and immediately frowned. It was much, much taller than she had anticipated. She wouldn't be able to reach the top without something to stand on. "Curses!" she whispered, pounding the floor lightly with a hoof. She looked around the classroom. There had to be something she could use. She looked from corner to corner to corner. Her face fell into dismay when she saw that the one and only stepping stool stood right in the corner where the group of colts continued to joke and play with each other. She sighed. She crept her way back toward them. When she got within fifteen hoof-steps of them, she stood still. Three of them were trying desperately hard not to laugh, while the fourth was blushing like a tomato. She gulped. Slowly, carefully, quietly, she crept past their desk. Their snorts and giggles covered the sound of her hoofsteps. She reached the edge of the room, and there it was, the step stool that was so much more than a mere step stool. The step stool that represented hope, hope that she wouldn’t have to fail, hope that she still had a chance. She grabbed it with her mouth and yanked at it. It squeaked as it slid across the floor, making the four colts look in her direction. “Hey, what’s the egghead doing here?” one of them said. Twilight immediately let go of the step stool. “Nothing.” she said, backing up. Another colt smirked as he looked to the stool then to Twilight. “It don’t look like nothing to me.” he said, stepping down from his chair. “Well… “ Twilight tried to think of something to say, “...it IS nothing. I’m not doing anything, Brash.” Brash stepped toward the stool, smirking at Twilight. “Well then…” he said, grabbing the stool with a hoof, “You won’t be needing this, then, will you?” He pulled it toward himself, making Twilight flinch-reach for it. He smirked. “So, you wanna tell me what you need this for, egghead?” he said. “Its… nothing. Just give me it.” she whispered loudly, trying to reach for it, but he pulled it away again. “What do you need it for?” he said. Twilight stood there, considering her options. After about half a minute, she finally sighed and lowered her head. “I need to finish my test.” she said. “Finish your test? You mean cheat?” he said. “I’m not cheating!” she screamed loudly, but instantly regretted it. They all looked toward the front of the room. The teacher snorted at his desk, and shifted his position again but remained asleep. “I am not cheating,” Twilight repeated, quieter, “I never got to finish the test because I got sick.” Brash ignored her statement as if it didn’t matter. “Well, if you wanna use this thingy here to cheat,” he slid the stool slightly with a hoof, “we’re gonna need some kinda payment. Know what I’m saying?” Twilight looked dumbfounded. “... no… I don’t.” she said, backing up slightly. “Well, here, let me spell it out for ya,” he said stepping toward her, “if you wanna use this stool to cheat on your test--” “I’m not cheating, I’m finishing!” “... whatever, if you wanna ‘finish’ your test,” he said making huge air quotes, ”you’re gonna have to ‘finish’ our tests too.” Twilight’s eyes widened in horror. “No… that would be really cheating.”. “Then it looks like I can’t give you this, egghead.” he said, pulling the stool back toward himself. Twilight stared at him. His buddies had joined him, and they were all looking at her with dangerous smirks. A moment passed. Another. Another. She looked toward the clock. Even though it was far away, she could feel the weight of each and every tick it made. She looked back at the colts. They still smirked. She gulped. “A-alright,” she said, turning away, “I’ll help you with your tests. But we have to be quick. There’s not much time.” “That’s more like it,” Brash said, patting her on the back; he turned to his friends, “you heard her, boys, let’s get this stool to the other side, pronto!” The TestWhile their combined intelligence was below sub-par when it came to classroom learning, the four colts were certified geniuses when it came to sneaking stuff around. They carried the stool toward the tall cabinet without making so much as a sound, though they did get a few odd looks from desk-laiden students. Twilight followed them, trying as hard as she could to avoid thinking about what she was about to do. Maybe if she didn’t think about it, she’d actually be able to do it. That made sense, right? Matter over mind, or something like that. The colts placed the stool at the base of the cabinet and backed away. “Alright, egghead, do your thing.” Brash said. Twilight stared at the stool for an uncomfortable amount of seconds. That it no longer looked like the pure representation of hope and opportunity would be the understatement of the century. Every single splinter of wood on it felt like a chunk of her soul being sliced away from her. “Well, hurry up, already. I thought you said there wasn’t much time.” Brash said. Twilight gulped. She looked to the clock. It was 12:53. Wait… no, it was 12:54. Her eyes widened as she realized she had six minutes to complete five tests. She didn’t have time to think. She hardly had time at all. She clambered onto the stool, clumsily, and jerked the cabinet handle open with the small amount of levitation magic she had. And there they were, right next to a bin filled with pencils, the unfinished tests, the ‘oh so important’ tests, the ridiculously simple tests. She rapidly searched through them, one by one, looking at the names until at last, she found the ones she was looking for. She lifted them up with her magic and took a look at them. As she stared, she began to notice details about the inked pieces of paper that she had never noticed before. The letters were so dull looking, for one thing: so plain and uninteresting, so dark. And the paper: it was so cold, so sterile, so icky. And the tests themselves: they had no color. They were just... black and white. Black and white. Black and white. Black and... “I can’t do this.” Twilight said, placing the tests back onto the pile. She closed the cabinet and started her way down from the stool, but a hoof stopped her. “I don’t think so.” Brash said. She turned and stared at him. He stared right back and smirked. “What do you think would happen if I woke up the teacher right now?” he said. Twilight’s eyes widened. “W-we’d ALL get in trouble. All of us. You would, too.” she said. “That may be true, but I’VE been in trouble tons of times. YOU, on the other hoof? You haven’t been in trouble at all.” He zeroed in on her face. “I wonder what the teacher would say if someone as immaculate as you were caught.” he said. Twilight stood there for a moment, hardly able to believe what was happening. She tentatively stepped back up the step stool and opened the cabinet. Her unfinished test lay on the top of the pile, staring directly at her. It looked so wrong, but there was nothing she could do. She magically levitated a pencil from the bin and took a look at the first question. Joe loves to do honest work, so today he’s decided to help his father collect bottles for recycling. He’s found 32 bottles in his backyard and 53 bottles in the front yard. How many bottles has Joe found in all? That was easy enough, 85. Twilight wrote down the answer on all five tests. She looked at the next question. Twane is a very honorable stallion. Everytime he does something wrong, he writes it down in a notepad. At the end of the week, he apologizes to everypony he’s wronged. If Twane did something wrong 4 times each day for 5 days, how many times did he do something wrong? Also easy, 20. Twilight wrote down the answer. She looked at the next question. Emily is not very good at taking tests, but she has figured out that she will pass the class if she can get at least 7 questions right on her final. During her final, she only gets 6 questions right, so she decides to cheat to get that last question. How wrong is Emily? What? Twilight shook her head, blinked, and looked at the question again. During Emily’s final, there are a total of 10 questions. What percentage of questions does she need to get right in order to pass? That was easy, too, 70%. Twilight wrote down the answer. She looked at the next question. Twilight Sparkle is a very studious student who would never think of cheating, but today she has decided to cheat. If she has been nothing but studious for 3 years, how much of a cheater is she? What the hay!? Twilight shook her head again, and looked at the question. If Twilight Sparkle cheated on 2 tests everyday for 20 days, how many times did she cheat? That couldn’t be right. This was… Twilight shook her head again and blinked several times. She looked back at the test. Twilight Sparkle used to be a studious and honorable pony, but now she has decided to help 4 of her fellow students cheat. There are a total of 10 questions on her test. If she gets 1 point taken off for every question she helps a student answer, how many points will she loose? Tears formed on Twilight’s eyes. “Hey, what’s taking you so long up there.” Brash said, “Hurry it up.” Twilight sniffled and shook her head as hard as she could. She looked at the question. Tate is a friendly colt who loves to share his toys with others. He always tries to give each pony an equal amount of toys. If he is playing with 4 other ponies and has 40 toys, how much better of a pony is he than Twilight Sparkle? Without a second thought, Twilight screamed. She screamed as loud as she possibly could and held the scream until her lungs ran out of air. The shrill sound echoed through the room. The few students not curious enough to be already looking at the cabinet shot their heads toward it. The teacher awoke. “What in Celestia’s name is going on here!” he said. “I’m… I’m a…” Twilight took a deep breath. “I’m a cheater!” She burst into tears as the four colts bolted for their desks. “You four, stop!” the teacher said. They froze. He stared at them. “Detention.” he said. They lowered their heads. The teacher turned his attention to Twilight, who’s eyes were already red with tears. “Twilight Sparkle,” He stared at her for a second before sighing. “meet me in my office after school.” The TeacherTwilight looked up at the door to her teacher’s office and sighed heavily. It was covered to the brim in many different kinds of stars, which were one of her favorite things to look at. They would’ve looked pretty magical if she were here for any other reason. She cracked open the door and stared inside the room. All she could see from her viewpoint was a small desk with a window behind it. It didn’t look like anypony was in there, so she pushed the door open enough to inch her way into the room, then closed it gently. “A bit late, aren’t we, Twilight?” Twilight eeped and quickly turned around. Her teacher stood in the far corner of the room, staring at her with heavy eyes. “Didn’t I tell you to meet me after school? It’s been nearly twenty minutes since it ended.” he said. “I…” Twilight couldn’t think of anything to say. “Have a seat, Twilight.” he said, gesturing toward a cushion at the end of his desk. She trundled over to it and sat. He slowly walked to the other end of the desk and also sat down. He opened a drawer and pulled out some pieces of paper with his magic. After looking at them for a few seconds, he placed them down on the desk in front of Twilight. She gulped. “So, these are the tests you tried to cheat on, correct?” he said. “... yes.” Twilight said. “And cheating didn’t work very well for you, did it?” “... no.” Twilight looked away, trying to blink the water out of her eyes. “It didn’t.” “Do you know why that is?” he said. “... no.” Twilight said, continuing to look away. “Twilight,” he said, “You’re a very bright student, possibly the brightest I’ve ever had. Are you honestly telling me that lovely little mind of yours hasn’t come up with some explanation why you couldn’t cheat on the tests?” Twilight blinked and looked up at him. He was smiling, which was really, really weird. “Because…” She thought for a second. “... because you put a spell on the tests?” “Correct,” he said, “and do you know what kind of spell I put on the tests?” Twilight looked at the ground for a moment, before looking back up at him. “A cheat-detecting spell?” “No.” he said, shaking his head melancholically, “Frankly, I don’t have much of a problem with cheaters.” Twilight’s brow furrowed quizzically. He smiled at her. “I have found in my years of teaching,” he said, ”that the type of pony who cheats tends to be the type that never would have found the knowledge useful in the first place.” “Then, what kind of spell did you put on the tests?” she said, sniffling a bit. “You still don’t know?” She shook her head. “Tell me something, Twilight. Did you want to cheat on your test?” “... well, I did cheat, so yeah, I think so.” she said. “I am not asking you if you did cheat on your test. I’m asking you if you wanted to.” he said. She stared at him. “What do you mean? I did it, so that means I wanted to, right?” she said. “Does it?” he said. She stood there for a moment, thinking. “... no.” she said. Her teacher smiled, stood up, and walked toward the window. “I have been teaching at this school for around twenty years now, and nearly every class I teach has yielded at least one student like yourself.” He turned back to her. “Ambitious, precocious, eager to learn every lesson and complete every test.” He walked around the desk toward Twilight. “And, normally, they do complete all their tests, they learn all they possibly can, and they get the best grades. But every odd year or so, one of them, for one reason or another, misses a class or two. This drives them, shall we say, slightly mad, and makes them do things that they usually regret later.” He tilted his head toward the pile of papers on the desk. “The spell that I put on those tests is one that is as old and simple as time itself. All it does is prevent a pony from doing something that they don’t really want to do. If you had wanted to cheat on the test, you would have succeeded.” “I would?” she said. He placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Yes, Twilight, you would, and since you didn’t succeed, I am not going to give you any bad marks for your actions.” Twilight’s eyes sparkled . “Really?” Her teacher nodded. “Just make sure never to cheat again.” he said, winking, “Honestly, if you wanted to retake the test, you could have just asked me.” Twilight’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Really?!” “Yes, I am not an unreasonable pony.” Twilight sat there for a moment as he got up, walked around her, and opened the door. “Now, if you please, I have a lot of business I must attend to. I’ll see you at the next class.” he said. Twilight nodded to him, got up, and walked out the door. It closed gently behind her. Before walking away she took one last look at the stars painted on it. They looked magical.
The BargainTwilight looked at the clock on the wall for the twentieth time. It was 12:45. If she was ever gonna do the thing that she couldn’t believe she was thinking of doing, she would have to start doing it right now or she would never have enough time to accomplish it. She knew for a fact that it was technically the wrong thing to do, but a chance as mind-numbingly good as this one didn’t come along often, and technicality was irrelevant when it came to real-life morality, right? Right? Right? Right. Her face screwed up in determination. She edged herself out of her desk and snaked her way along the floor, moving as quickly and quietly as physically possible, hoping to the moon no one would notice her absence and hoping to Celestia none of the joking ponies in the corner would make too loud a noise. They were whispering, of course, but every now and then, a slightly less mature one would slip into a tone of voice much too loud for the given situation before being scolded by several hissing whisperers. She continued to creep along the floor, creeping past the bored pony fooling with her pencil, past the the two fillies chatting about some new toy they both bought, past that one colt with the black mane who never talked to anypony ever. She was almost there, almost. At last, she reached the corner cabinet. A shrill burst of laughter rang through the room for a second before being quickly silenced, making Twilight’s eyes widen. She jerked her head back to the joking students. Three of them had shoved their hooves into a fourth’s mouth. They all apprehensively looked toward the teacher, as did Twilight. By some kind of miracle, he still snored softly at his desk, though it looked like he had shifted slightly. The colts went back to joking with each other. Twilight let out a breath she had been holding. She didn't expect to make it this far. In fact, she didn’t expect to ever get a chance like this in the first place. Her teacher was not at all the kind of pony to fall asleep on the job. Something must’ve happened to him at home. She looked up at the cabinet... and immediately frowned. It was much, much taller than she had anticipated. She wouldn't be able to reach the top without something to stand on. "Curses!" she whispered, pounding the floor lightly with a hoof. She looked around the classroom. There had to be something she could use. She looked from corner to corner to corner. Her face fell into dismay when she saw that the one and only stepping stool stood right in the corner where the group of colts continued to joke and play with each other. She sighed. She crept her way back toward them. When she got within fifteen hoof-steps of them, she stood still. Three of them were trying desperately hard not to laugh, while the fourth was blushing like a tomato. She gulped. Slowly, carefully, quietly, she crept past their desk. Their snorts and giggles covered the sound of her hoofsteps. She reached the edge of the room, and there it was, the step stool that was so much more than a mere step stool. The step stool that represented hope, hope that she wouldn’t have to fail, hope that she still had a chance. She grabbed it with her mouth and yanked at it. It squeaked as it slid across the floor, making the four colts look in her direction. “Hey, what’s the egghead doing here?” one of them said. Twilight immediately let go of the step stool. “Nothing.” she said, backing up. Another colt smirked as he looked to the stool then to Twilight. “It don’t look like nothing to me.” he said, stepping down from his chair. “Well… “ Twilight tried to think of something to say, “...it IS nothing. I’m not doing anything, Brash.” Brash stepped toward the stool, smirking at Twilight. “Well then…” he said, grabbing the stool with a hoof, “You won’t be needing this, then, will you?” He pulled it toward himself, making Twilight flinch-reach for it. He smirked. “So, you wanna tell me what you need this for, egghead?” he said. “Its… nothing. Just give me it.” she whispered loudly, trying to reach for it, but he pulled it away again. “What do you need it for?” he said. Twilight stood there, considering her options. After about half a minute, she finally sighed and lowered her head. “I need to finish my test.” she said. “Finish your test? You mean cheat?” he said. “I’m not cheating!” she screamed loudly, but instantly regretted it. They all looked toward the front of the room. The teacher snorted at his desk, and shifted his position again but remained asleep. “I am not cheating,” Twilight repeated, quieter, “I never got to finish the test because I got sick.” Brash ignored her statement as if it didn’t matter. “Well, if you wanna use this thingy here to cheat,” he slid the stool slightly with a hoof, “we’re gonna need some kinda payment. Know what I’m saying?” Twilight looked dumbfounded. “... no… I don’t.” she said, backing up slightly. “Well, here, let me spell it out for ya,” he said stepping toward her, “if you wanna use this stool to cheat on your test--” “I’m not cheating, I’m finishing!” “... whatever, if you wanna ‘finish’ your test,” he said making huge air quotes, ”you’re gonna have to ‘finish’ our tests too.” Twilight’s eyes widened in horror. “No… that would be really cheating.”. “Then it looks like I can’t give you this, egghead.” he said, pulling the stool back toward himself. Twilight stared at him. His buddies had joined him, and they were all looking at her with dangerous smirks. A moment passed. Another. Another. She looked toward the clock. Even though it was far away, she could feel the weight of each and every tick it made. She looked back at the colts. They still smirked. She gulped. “A-alright,” she said, turning away, “I’ll help you with your tests. But we have to be quick. There’s not much time.” “That’s more like it,” Brash said, patting her on the back; he turned to his friends, “you heard her, boys, let’s get this stool to the other side, pronto!”
The TestWhile their combined intelligence was below sub-par when it came to classroom learning, the four colts were certified geniuses when it came to sneaking stuff around. They carried the stool toward the tall cabinet without making so much as a sound, though they did get a few odd looks from desk-laiden students. Twilight followed them, trying as hard as she could to avoid thinking about what she was about to do. Maybe if she didn’t think about it, she’d actually be able to do it. That made sense, right? Matter over mind, or something like that. The colts placed the stool at the base of the cabinet and backed away. “Alright, egghead, do your thing.” Brash said. Twilight stared at the stool for an uncomfortable amount of seconds. That it no longer looked like the pure representation of hope and opportunity would be the understatement of the century. Every single splinter of wood on it felt like a chunk of her soul being sliced away from her. “Well, hurry up, already. I thought you said there wasn’t much time.” Brash said. Twilight gulped. She looked to the clock. It was 12:53. Wait… no, it was 12:54. Her eyes widened as she realized she had six minutes to complete five tests. She didn’t have time to think. She hardly had time at all. She clambered onto the stool, clumsily, and jerked the cabinet handle open with the small amount of levitation magic she had. And there they were, right next to a bin filled with pencils, the unfinished tests, the ‘oh so important’ tests, the ridiculously simple tests. She rapidly searched through them, one by one, looking at the names until at last, she found the ones she was looking for. She lifted them up with her magic and took a look at them. As she stared, she began to notice details about the inked pieces of paper that she had never noticed before. The letters were so dull looking, for one thing: so plain and uninteresting, so dark. And the paper: it was so cold, so sterile, so icky. And the tests themselves: they had no color. They were just... black and white. Black and white. Black and white. Black and... “I can’t do this.” Twilight said, placing the tests back onto the pile. She closed the cabinet and started her way down from the stool, but a hoof stopped her. “I don’t think so.” Brash said. She turned and stared at him. He stared right back and smirked. “What do you think would happen if I woke up the teacher right now?” he said. Twilight’s eyes widened. “W-we’d ALL get in trouble. All of us. You would, too.” she said. “That may be true, but I’VE been in trouble tons of times. YOU, on the other hoof? You haven’t been in trouble at all.” He zeroed in on her face. “I wonder what the teacher would say if someone as immaculate as you were caught.” he said. Twilight stood there for a moment, hardly able to believe what was happening. She tentatively stepped back up the step stool and opened the cabinet. Her unfinished test lay on the top of the pile, staring directly at her. It looked so wrong, but there was nothing she could do. She magically levitated a pencil from the bin and took a look at the first question. Joe loves to do honest work, so today he’s decided to help his father collect bottles for recycling. He’s found 32 bottles in his backyard and 53 bottles in the front yard. How many bottles has Joe found in all? That was easy enough, 85. Twilight wrote down the answer on all five tests. She looked at the next question. Twane is a very honorable stallion. Everytime he does something wrong, he writes it down in a notepad. At the end of the week, he apologizes to everypony he’s wronged. If Twane did something wrong 4 times each day for 5 days, how many times did he do something wrong? Also easy, 20. Twilight wrote down the answer. She looked at the next question. Emily is not very good at taking tests, but she has figured out that she will pass the class if she can get at least 7 questions right on her final. During her final, she only gets 6 questions right, so she decides to cheat to get that last question. How wrong is Emily? What? Twilight shook her head, blinked, and looked at the question again. During Emily’s final, there are a total of 10 questions. What percentage of questions does she need to get right in order to pass? That was easy, too, 70%. Twilight wrote down the answer. She looked at the next question. Twilight Sparkle is a very studious student who would never think of cheating, but today she has decided to cheat. If she has been nothing but studious for 3 years, how much of a cheater is she? What the hay!? Twilight shook her head again, and looked at the question. If Twilight Sparkle cheated on 2 tests everyday for 20 days, how many times did she cheat? That couldn’t be right. This was… Twilight shook her head again and blinked several times. She looked back at the test. Twilight Sparkle used to be a studious and honorable pony, but now she has decided to help 4 of her fellow students cheat. There are a total of 10 questions on her test. If she gets 1 point taken off for every question she helps a student answer, how many points will she loose? Tears formed on Twilight’s eyes. “Hey, what’s taking you so long up there.” Brash said, “Hurry it up.” Twilight sniffled and shook her head as hard as she could. She looked at the question. Tate is a friendly colt who loves to share his toys with others. He always tries to give each pony an equal amount of toys. If he is playing with 4 other ponies and has 40 toys, how much better of a pony is he than Twilight Sparkle? Without a second thought, Twilight screamed. She screamed as loud as she possibly could and held the scream until her lungs ran out of air. The shrill sound echoed through the room. The few students not curious enough to be already looking at the cabinet shot their heads toward it. The teacher awoke. “What in Celestia’s name is going on here!” he said. “I’m… I’m a…” Twilight took a deep breath. “I’m a cheater!” She burst into tears as the four colts bolted for their desks. “You four, stop!” the teacher said. They froze. He stared at them. “Detention.” he said. They lowered their heads. The teacher turned his attention to Twilight, who’s eyes were already red with tears. “Twilight Sparkle,” He stared at her for a second before sighing. “meet me in my office after school.”
The TeacherTwilight looked up at the door to her teacher’s office and sighed heavily. It was covered to the brim in many different kinds of stars, which were one of her favorite things to look at. They would’ve looked pretty magical if she were here for any other reason. She cracked open the door and stared inside the room. All she could see from her viewpoint was a small desk with a window behind it. It didn’t look like anypony was in there, so she pushed the door open enough to inch her way into the room, then closed it gently. “A bit late, aren’t we, Twilight?” Twilight eeped and quickly turned around. Her teacher stood in the far corner of the room, staring at her with heavy eyes. “Didn’t I tell you to meet me after school? It’s been nearly twenty minutes since it ended.” he said. “I…” Twilight couldn’t think of anything to say. “Have a seat, Twilight.” he said, gesturing toward a cushion at the end of his desk. She trundled over to it and sat. He slowly walked to the other end of the desk and also sat down. He opened a drawer and pulled out some pieces of paper with his magic. After looking at them for a few seconds, he placed them down on the desk in front of Twilight. She gulped. “So, these are the tests you tried to cheat on, correct?” he said. “... yes.” Twilight said. “And cheating didn’t work very well for you, did it?” “... no.” Twilight looked away, trying to blink the water out of her eyes. “It didn’t.” “Do you know why that is?” he said. “... no.” Twilight said, continuing to look away. “Twilight,” he said, “You’re a very bright student, possibly the brightest I’ve ever had. Are you honestly telling me that lovely little mind of yours hasn’t come up with some explanation why you couldn’t cheat on the tests?” Twilight blinked and looked up at him. He was smiling, which was really, really weird. “Because…” She thought for a second. “... because you put a spell on the tests?” “Correct,” he said, “and do you know what kind of spell I put on the tests?” Twilight looked at the ground for a moment, before looking back up at him. “A cheat-detecting spell?” “No.” he said, shaking his head melancholically, “Frankly, I don’t have much of a problem with cheaters.” Twilight’s brow furrowed quizzically. He smiled at her. “I have found in my years of teaching,” he said, ”that the type of pony who cheats tends to be the type that never would have found the knowledge useful in the first place.” “Then, what kind of spell did you put on the tests?” she said, sniffling a bit. “You still don’t know?” She shook her head. “Tell me something, Twilight. Did you want to cheat on your test?” “... well, I did cheat, so yeah, I think so.” she said. “I am not asking you if you did cheat on your test. I’m asking you if you wanted to.” he said. She stared at him. “What do you mean? I did it, so that means I wanted to, right?” she said. “Does it?” he said. She stood there for a moment, thinking. “... no.” she said. Her teacher smiled, stood up, and walked toward the window. “I have been teaching at this school for around twenty years now, and nearly every class I teach has yielded at least one student like yourself.” He turned back to her. “Ambitious, precocious, eager to learn every lesson and complete every test.” He walked around the desk toward Twilight. “And, normally, they do complete all their tests, they learn all they possibly can, and they get the best grades. But every odd year or so, one of them, for one reason or another, misses a class or two. This drives them, shall we say, slightly mad, and makes them do things that they usually regret later.” He tilted his head toward the pile of papers on the desk. “The spell that I put on those tests is one that is as old and simple as time itself. All it does is prevent a pony from doing something that they don’t really want to do. If you had wanted to cheat on the test, you would have succeeded.” “I would?” she said. He placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Yes, Twilight, you would, and since you didn’t succeed, I am not going to give you any bad marks for your actions.” Twilight’s eyes sparkled . “Really?” Her teacher nodded. “Just make sure never to cheat again.” he said, winking, “Honestly, if you wanted to retake the test, you could have just asked me.” Twilight’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Really?!” “Yes, I am not an unreasonable pony.” Twilight sat there for a moment as he got up, walked around her, and opened the door. “Now, if you please, I have a lot of business I must attend to. I’ll see you at the next class.” he said. Twilight nodded to him, got up, and walked out the door. It closed gently behind her. Before walking away she took one last look at the stars painted on it. They looked magical.
