Caballeron's Prize

Scootaloo, Applebloom and the now awake Sweetie Belle all crowded around in a circle in the Cutie Mark Clubhouse, laying with books and papers stacked around as the now awake unicorn continued thier conversation. "You want us to do WHAT?"

"Another love potion, but less.. Potent." Scootaloo shrunk into her textbook, lowering her volume to a grumble. She thought it was a good idea at the time but now her doubts were sinking in as Applebloom rested her chin on her hoof in thought, writing down answers on her homework from the textbook. "We can put it in that coffee he's always drinking while on our trip. Since teachers sit together for lunch during it."

"Ah mean. It could work. Cheerilee is great and Caballeron wouldn't be able to be a criminal anymore if they were locked in as married teachers for life. I just think Miss Cheerlie is too good for him though." She hummed in thought, making Scootaloo turn her head and put down her quill.

"That's the point! She'd be a really good influence on him and she won't need the potion. Just him since she clearly already likes him!" She explained, scooching over to Applebloom with her pupils dilated like a begging kitten. "Come oooon Applebloom. I know you've been practicing potions with Zecora. Just whip up a little something to push him in the right direction!" She pleaded, making Applebloom cover her answers so she couldn't see.

"Why don't you just do it? You're clearly his favorite after all the times he called on you today." Sweetie giggled, causing Scootaloo's face to go red as Applebloom's hair as she buried her head in the textbook. "Wow! Look at her blush!"

"Forget it. I'll just ask Zecora tonight." She blew her mane from her eyes as she got back to struggling to memorize the different fossil types in her assignment.

Applebloom shut her textbook, surprising the two of them as she had already finished her work. "No, Ah can brew it. Zecora's a genius potion maker but she doesn't label things very well. Or at all." She sighed, putting her work in the nearby bookshelf with the folder. "No copying my answers!" She pulled out a feather from Scootaloo's wing with a sharp pinch as she tried to sneakily nab the completed file.

"Ow! You didn't have to pull out my feather!"

"Yeah-huh. Need it for the potion." She smirked, putting it in her bag before heading out the door. "I'll head to Zecora's to get the rest and meet you tomorrow morning. Operation reform Caballeron is a go!" She cheered, hurrying out the door and leaving the two to work on the assignment.

The little pegasi rubbed her wing, sucking air through her teeth from the lack of a feather. "Didn't have to pull mine out that hard, Zecora has plenty." She sucked air through her teeth, making her hoof rub her tender side.

"Well if it doesn't work it seems like he's sticking around for year. Maybe you should be friends with him like Fluttershy did with Discord." The unicorn suggested, casually floating Applebloom's folder to her side to peak at the answer as Scoots rolled her purple gaze.

"Discord is a gullible egomaniac who clearly just loves attention. Caballeron is just..." She hummed, trying to work it out in her head. "Greedy."

"Well you said you chatted yesterday. Was he really that unbearable?" The white unicorn asked curiously, skillfully switching her words around while answering the history assignment. Easier to say the same thing in a different way than looking through a whole chapter to find the same answers anyway.

Scootaloo's aching died down as her mind was distracted by the conversation. "Well I mean. He was polite and not hard to talk with while being an awful creep. Then he brushed his tail on my nose as he left." She reminisced, making her current company suddenly crawl over in peak interest.

"So you're saying he did a tail touch?"

"I-I uh... It seemed like an accident. Wait why are you getting so excited?! I can feel your breathing from here!" She scotched away towards the entrance as Sweeties eyes glowed like lanterns.

"He did the tail touch and asked you to see him again today? You're getting hit on by a stallion with a doctorate?!" She squeaked, making the pegasus blush more with a more assertive frown, bonking her on the head with a hoof.

"Don't rub your crazy romance theories on me! I don't wanna catch the Rarity syndrome!" She growled, standing up and heading towards the door with her homework. Sweetie made kissy noises at the door teasingly as her friend internally screeched with her head repeatedly hitting the door.

"Where you going Scoots? Gonna go see your special somepony?"

"He's not! But he's clearly better company than you right now!" She retorted, slamming the club house door behind her as she took a deep breath of fresh air, smelling the sweet scent of the surrounding apple trees. She quickly trotted her way down from the treehouse, leaving her scooter at home for the day to rest her wings. She was glad to since it still ached. With a grumble to herself she left Sweetie to finish the assignment.

Without her knowledge, a light blue stallion stepped out from behind the clubhouse's tree trunk, adjusting his tinted glasses with a smirk decorating his face.

Some time passed as Scootaloo trotted with her knapsack swaying, still groveling to herself about the situation. "And another thing about him. He gives us way more work than Cheerilee. Who does we think we are? We're not in college!" She scoffed, leaning to put pressure on her wing as wing flaps suddenly reached her ears, a teal pegasus with a rainbow mane smoothly landing in front of her.

"Sup squirt?"

"Rainbow!" Scoots hugged the taller mare as she felt the hoof tussle her mane. "You're back from practice! How was it! Did you come up with some new moves!? You gotta show me!" She bounced up and down, forgetting about everything as her wings fluttered in excitement.

The Wonderbolt chuckled as her hoof itched the back of her mane in a casual stance. "Weeell not really. We went over our routine pretty nonstop. But I've had some ideas I wanna try it if you wanna watch me get some solo practice in." She invited, immediately being cut off by Scootaloo's excitement.

"You know I do! You wouldn't believe how stressful this weeks been, with Caballeron here and the new field trip I have to pack for plus all the extra work we have to do with two teachers now I gotta-"

"Woah woah woah! You're telling me Caballeron. DOCTOR Caballeron. Is here?" Scoots nodded rapidly. "In Ponyville?" More risk of whiplash in Scoots neck was presented in her nods. "Right now?"

"Yeah he's our new history teacher! Me and the girls are gonna give him a love potion so he has to marry Cheerilee and won't bother you and Daring Do anymore!" She explained, making the blue celebrity itch her hoof in thought. "Hmm. I like your thinking. Miss Cheerilee would put him in his place for sure." She snickered, the idea alone of the teacher either strapping him in bed with a paddle or even beating up the coot for advancing on her put a big grin on her face. "I'm gonna go have a chat with him though. Don't even think about giving them the potion, Cheerilee won't be happy after Twilight has to clean your mess." She warned, getting her wings ready to take off. "I'll meet you at the ledge we hang out at. Be right back!"

Before Scootaloo could defend her case Dash took off into the air, heading off to confront the villain. The blue dot in the distance suddenly rushing back and landing in front of the filly. "Uh, where do I find him?"

"Ponyville Cafe."

"Right!" She zoomed off again faster towards the area, leaving Scoots to watch in awe as her rainbow trail decorated the sky. The filly picking up the pace to get to the meeting point to meet her later.

"CABALLERON!"

The doctor blinked as his newspaper ruffled violently as his table shook from the impacted landing in front of him, recognizing that irritating scratchy voice anywhere. He grit his teeth behind the newspaper before taking a long calm sigh, gently putting it down on the table next to his coffee mug as he met the magenta glare of the mare. "Rainbow Dash. How lovely to see you again."

"What are you doing in Ponyville!? We already ran you out of one town, we can do it again!" She snarled, planting a hoof on his table. The outdoor area was clear of bystanders as she threatened him, to his relief, letting him lower his polite persona a tad. "Clearly enjoying my coffee in peace. Do you have nothing better to do than spout threats at me when I haven't done anything?"

"Not when you're involved. Scootaloo told me all about you taking over her class. What's your game? Gonna try to use her to get close to me?"

"I'm an archaeology major and a history professor. This place had an opening for a teacher." He spoke bluntly, huffing at her with a dismissive glare. "You really want me to say it." He grumbled, catching the pegasus off guard as he seemed to grovel under her gazed.

"You won. My schemes never worked and I can never make a rich living as a criminal. So I'm putting my work as a professor to use and becoming a teacher." He sighed, spinning his cup idly as he lowered his head in defeat. "There's not a future for me If I had continued my ways. I paid my henchponies with the gold I got from the Ring of Scorchero and moved on." He explained, making Rainbows stare tighten on him.

"I find that hard to believe. You've tormented Daring Do for years." She spit, trying to find the slightest curve in his face to cement her suspicions.

He merely gave out a regretful sigh and cleared his throat before taking another sip of his coffee. "I'm staying as a teacher here for the next year. If that's a big issue then keep an eye on me all you want. It's your time." He frowned, putting his cup down. "If you stomp in on me with accusations again I'll be giving a complaint to the mayor. Now leave me be." He demanded, flicking his newspaper back up as the last word to end his conversation with her.

A blue hoof pushed down the newspaper one last time. "I WILL be watching you. One step out of line and I'll drag you to the dungeons myself!" She threatened.

The stallion heard a throat clearing at the end of her sentence. His head turning to a familiar blonde waitress. "Um. Is this one bothering you, Sir?"

"Yes. But she was just leaving." He glanced back at her, seeing her blush at the scene she made for herself as took her hoof off the glass table. She gave one last frown at him before zooming up into the air, heading out of town to meet Scootaloo as he let out a relieved sigh, turning to the waitress. "I'll take another refill. You can leave the pot this time, amor." He smiled warmly. She nodded with a giggle as she turned to get him his order.

He spotted blue fur again from the corner of his eye across the table, making him whip back. "I told you to leave me be Rainbo-" He stopped short to see it wasn't the loud mare but a more chill stallion with shades smirking at him, hooves folded.

"Heya boss. I got some new info for you."