After she walked away from him, Chrome found Sweetie Belle to be giving him the cold shoulder.

When he came to Twilight’s class next time, she seemed to be doing all that she could to not make eye contact with him. When the bell rang for class to be let out, she quickly threw her things into her backpack, and bounced out of the room before he could even make his way down to her seat.

The next day, he saw Applebloom while on his way to a class, and quickly got her attention.

“Is Sweetie Belle…upset with me?” he asked.

“Well…ah can’t really say,” she replied.

“I feel like I made a real mess out of things a few days ago. Can you please tell her I’d like to talk about it?”

Applebloom claimed she would relay the message, but couldn’t say for certain how her friend would respond.

As Saturday began, Chrome was pouring himself some coffee when he heard a knock at his dorm room door. Taking a look through the peephole, he quickly opened the door to find Sweetie Belle standing there.

“Hi,” he said quickly, before calming down.

“Hello,” she replied quietly. “So, um, I…can we talk?”

“Sure, sure. Want to come in?”

“No, I’d rather talk somewhere a little more…open.”

“How about the Student Union?”

“That’ll work.”

The student union was relatively quiet on Saturdays. The only facility that was open, was a small coffee shop to serve the few students who were studying away at various tables, and other areas throughout the building.

Sweetie Belle grabbed herself an iced tea from the coffee shop, and she and Chrome found a spot under a skylight on the second floor.

Once they took their seats, there was an awkward silence before Chrome spoke.

“About what I told you the last time we were together,” he said, “I…I’m sorry if it, freaked you out.”

“Well, it was…unexpected,” replied Sweetie. “I’ve, never had anybody say anything like that to me before.”

“Really? I would have figured I wouldn’t have been the first.”

“You mean how stallions take courses because I take them?”

The line brought the return of a queasy feeling to Chrome’s stomach, and he found himself tongue-tied for a bit.

“Did you ever stop and think that that might not be such a smart idea? Twilight expects her students to be well-prepared. She wasn’t going to make something like this easy, Chrome. It’s an advanced course, and there were probably dozens of other students that would have wanted to be able to learn from her.”

The queasy feeling was growing stronger.

“You should have taken this more seriously. Because now, you’re-“

“All right!” He cried out, before realizing he had shouted the words so loudly, that other students around him had taken notice. “All right, I get it, I messed up. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking it through properly. And, I didn’t mean to freak you out, but can we just…start over? You’re a really great pony and, it really makes me feel bad to know you hate me.”

“I don’t hate you,” said Sweetie. “I’m just…disappointed.”

What followed was a minute of silence that seemed to go on forever, until Sweetie Belle spoke again.

“But even so, I’ve decided to take a page from my sister Rarity, and be generous. Therefore, I’ve decided to help you with Twilight’s class.”

“Really?” asked Chrome, a look of dawning relief spilling over his face.

“Yes…but, on the condition that you apply yourself. I’m sure you understand that I also have other classes, and I’m going to be giving up some valuable time to help you.”

“Absolutely, I totally understand. Though, given how you’re feeling, is this going to affect the upcoming dance in anyway…I mean, are you still going to, go with me?”

It was another moment where Chrome wondered if he had said too much.

“I said I would go with you, and I intend to stick with what I said,” she replied. “I hope you’re keeping in mind that this isn’t any kind of romantic date. It’s just an as-friends thing. Got it?”

“Yeah-yeah, I got it,” he said, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Alright. And now that we got this all straightened out, let’s talk about Twilight’s assignment for next week, and see if we can figure out what needs to be done.”

It hadn’t been a very relaxing conversation after that. Chrome had no basic knowledge on what he was going to demonstrate to Twilight regarding the next assignment.

The conversation had led to Sweetie Belle taking some very deep breaths, and some very large sips of her iced tea…leading to her running out of liquid, and Chrome rushing to get her a new one as a form of “apologetic refreshment.”

Eventually, Chrome got Sweetie Belle to go outside for a walk. Though it was cold out, the locomotion appeared to do them some good, as Chrome’s mind seemed able to better focus while out in the open.

A few times along their walk, they stopped and attempted magic on a few hedges and shrubs. By the seventh try, Chrome found that he was starting to feel a little more confident.

It was the tolling of the campus clock tower that soon had him and Sweetie Belle parting ways, as she had to return to her dorm room to do some studying of her own. The two made arrangements to meet up in a few days (before Twilight’s next class), in order to go over what Chrome had been working on.

“Thank you again for doing this,” he smiled, before blushing. “Um, this is going to sound odd, but…can I give you a hug? Just as friends.”

“Well…alright,” she nodded.

And thus, Chrome found himself trying to think of the most stomach-churning things imaginable, as he felt Sweetie Belle’s huge chest against his, and struggled to not let his sizable bulge swell against her soft, vanilla-scented body.

A few days later, the two were meeting in a study area of Sweetie Belle’s dorm.

After going over the lesson for next week, Sweetie Belle explained some of the finer points of what would be needed to make the assignment’s spell work. While she could easily make it happen, she broke the spell down into 8 steps.

Chrome struggled to keep from blurting out that he wasn’t a child, as she made him repeat each step individually, before getting him to combine them.

As he watched Sweetie demonstrate the spell a few times more, he found himself almost becoming hypnotized as she focused on what she was doing.

“Get it?” she asked.

“Get what?”

“Chrome Shield, what did I just say?”

“That I should focus on mastering these steps?”

“Yes, you should, but that wasn’t what I just said. Now, either you pay attention, or I think we’re just going to call it a day.”

Chrome quietly worked to focus his attention, and soon made another attempt. And then another…and then another. It felt like the effort was taking longer than expected, but eventually, they ended up making some progress.

Soon they decided to take a short break, and Chrome got some juice cans from a vending machine.

“So, how do you feel?” asked Sweetie. “A little more knowledgeable?”

“A little,” replied Chrome, “but I really wanted to get it all figured out today.”

“I don’t think it’s going to happen, but you do have a few more days before Twilight’s class. You know what you need to do, so just try to spend a little more time to focus.”

“I must seem like a real idiot to you,” sighed Chrome. “Here I am, a unicorn who couldn’t ever do anything with his magic until now. I feel so…insufficient.”

“Now don’t say that,” replied Sweetie Belle, taking a sip of her drink. “You’re at least making an effort, so that’s something. Besides, didn’t you have moments in your cadet training where you needed to put in more time?”

“Of course.”

“Well, there you go. You just gotta-“

“Hey Sweetie Boobs,” came a snarky voice from nearby.

Chrome turned to see a blue-haired pony, smirking at his friend.

“Hi,” replied Sweetie quietly.

“Picking up some extra bits tutoring? Rumor is you need them for a new bra.”

“Well,” said Sweetie Belle, trying to control her voice. “For your information, whomever you heard that from is wrong. I don’t need any new clothes, and besides, what business is it of yours if I do?”

“Just saying, your boyfriend here might appreciate-“

“He is not my boyfriend, he’s just a friend whom I’m helping. Now why don’t you leave us alone?”

“Fine,” said the pony. “Later…Boobs.”

After the blue-haired pony left, there was an uneasy feeling hanging in the air.

“Now…where were we?” asked Sweetie.

“Does she call-“

“I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Sweetie Boo-Belle, really, I want-“

“If you want to help me you can focus on what we’re studying,” she said, her words firing off in quick succession. “If not, then we’re done for the evening.”

The lessons continued on for a little longer, but seeing Sweetie was still upset, Chrome decided to call it a night.

As he left, he kept thinking of her expression, and found himself more determined to ace the lesson for the next class.

“Well, that’s an improvement,” said Twilight, as she observed the results of Chrome’s handiwork, as he demonstrated his knowledge of the homework assignment. “Not perfect, but it’s definitely an improvement.”

Chrome tried not to smile too broadly, as the compliment pricked up his ears.

“I’ve been working to do better,” he mustered in a response.

“I do wish you would have applied yourself a bit sooner,” replied Twilight, writing some things in her grades book. “But still, I hope this means you’ll continue this hard work towards your future homework assignments.”

“Of course.”

Chrome passed Sweetie Belle in the line of students in the hall. As he did so, he gave her a little wink and a half-smile. She immediately picked up on it, and her mouth creased into a little smile of her own.

Later on after class, the two talked on the way out.

“I’m glad it worked out for you,” said Sweetie. “How do you feel?”

“Like I can only go up from here,” he replied.

“That’s good to hear. Why don’t you practice on the next lesson, and we’ll meet up in the student union in a few days to go over your progress?”

“Sounds like a plan,” he smiled. “Oh, I need to head to the library. There’s something I need to look up for, another project.”

“Alright,” smiled Sweetie, as she adjusted her book bag, and clopped on down the sidewalk. “Later!”

Entering the library, Chrome pulled out the syllabus Twilight had given the class at the beginning of the term. Turning it over, he found a section that was labelled, “additional texts for expanding your knowledge.”

Taking it to one of the librarians, Chrome was escorted to a section of the library, where he saw a number of unicorns poring over some rather thick tomes.

Of the books Twilight had recommended, only 4 of them were currently available. Chrome tracked them down, and was soon poring over them, taking notes and leafing through the pages.

He felt like he had to shake the cobwebs out of his brain regarding some of the words. It was when he got to the third book, that he came across one spell that caused an idea to quickly blossom in his head.

Glancing at the nearest clock, he was shocked to see that he was 15 minutes away from needing to be at the castle for his cadet duties. Grabbing up the book, he hurried to the nearest check-out counter, ready to make a mad dash to Canterlot Castle.

The duties wore heavily on Chrome (let alone some more taunting from Brawny Bones), but once he got back to his apartment, he knew he had some things to take care of.

Opening the book, he began to read through the specific chapter he had bookmarked.

As night settled in, he closed the book, and sat upright in his chair. After taking a few deep breaths, he closed his eyes, and tried to focus on a particular location. As he visualized it in his mind, a golden aura began to swirl slowly around his horn. It’s activity increased until suddenly, there was a bright flash of light!

Chrome suddenly felt the chair drop out from underneath him. It felt like he was weightless, before he suddenly felt his back hit something, knocking the wind out of him, followed by the rustling of leaves!

Opening his eyes, he saw the illumination of a street lamp, and around him, the dense foliage of a snow-covered hedge.

Getting to his hooves, he figured he had teleported along the pathway to the library.

“Not quite where I was aiming for,” he said. “But I’m not going to give up.”

Trotting back to his apartment, he passed by the dorm where Sweetie and her friends were staying. Their apartment window was too high up to see anything, but he could see their shadows playing across the ceiling.

As he neared the front door of the dorm, he was surprised to see the blue-haired pony who had insulted Sweetie Belle a few days ago, leaving the building!

Quickly hiding behind a nearby tree,, he watched as she turned left and headed away from the building.

Chrome couldn’t help but remember the sad look on Sweetie Belle’s face after what she had been called.

As he looked around, he saw some unfinished drinks perched on a nearby trashcan, that still had some liquid in them…and that gave him an idea.

A few moments later, Chrome was focusing on the blue-haired pony as she kept going on her way.

Keeping the image of her in his mind, he then focused his attention on the drinks. It was then that a golden aura engulfed his horn once again, and then the drink cups became engulfed the same golden aura. They shakily rose a few inches above the trashcan, and as Chrome visualized a destination for them in his head, they wavered slightly, and disappeared in a small flash of light.

A split second later, there was a flash from nearby, and a loud shriek down the pathway, as the blue-haired pony suddenly found several drinks raining down on her from the sky, drenching her in soda and coffee!

“Hey!” she shrieked. “Who did that!?”

Luckily, she was far enough away that she couldn’t see Chrome duck behind the tree, trying to stifle a laugh. He could soon hear the annoyed clopping of her hooves, as she headed back into the dorm to wash up.

At least I got those cups to appear where I wanted them, he thought. That’s a victory for me, and also a little one for you, Sweetie Belle.

Author's Note

Yes, we return back to the story after almost five months. It was hard to regain focus after all this time, let alone figure out how to hit the allotted word count I had set for the chapters.

My original intent was to name the spells for Twilight’s class examples, but in going over the MLP series, I soon found that there weren’t a whole lot of named spells, and so I made the decision to not tell exactly what Chrome was working on for the assignment.

An unexpected revelation came when I added in the blue-haired pony. I had glossed over at times, that Sweetie Belle had to deal with other ponies in the dorm making comments about her chest, and I found it added an element that seemed to be the final piece of the puzzle that I needed.

I just hope some find this chapter entertaining. It has been difficult to keep going at times, because it feels no one reads the chapters, or even leaves comments. Comments were a way I knew the story was working on The Expansive Romance of Applebloom and Coral Leaf, and it kept my momentum up.