The Chemical Re-Mark

Starlight leaned back into her recently-raised seat, and shot Cheerilee the most intimidating glare a bound, bruised, magic-less pony in the basement (not cellar) of a pedophile (not foal sex offender) could.

"So, let me see if I've got this right: you're got some sort of short-circuit up there," - she nodded towards Cheerilee's head, her own tilted to avoid being blinded by the bag - "that makes you feel hot for foals. And you want me to try and put a stop to that using magic. Is that it?"

Cheerilee nodded anxiously. "Y-yes, exactly. Although 'want' doesn't feel like urgent enough of a word."

"And you're absolutely certain that this is not some prank you brain is playing on you, but rather a type of, uhm, like, a facet of your... sexuality." Starlight's face rolled up into itself as Cheerilee nodded. "And that magic, specifically my magic, is the only way you found to change it?"

"Well, that's, ah, not entirely true." She turned to the corner of the room containing the Sun Princess' likeness. "I obviously couldn't turn to anypony to help, so I thought I would follow in the hoofsteps of the modern ideal of celibacy: the Convent of the Sun. Suddenly leaving town to don a habit would be too extreme, of course, but I once had to write a report on them for school and what I learnt back then stuck with me: to fight back against 'sinful' thoughts, they would train themselves to force Celestia's visage into their mind's eye to replace whatever it was that bothered them. I tried to emulate something like that, which is why there's a shrine to her right here."

"Hey, that's pretty clever, haha." Starlight risked a smile and then frowned twice as hard to make up for it. "I, uh, I'm guessing there's a big problem with that approach you haven't mentioned yet?"

Cheerilee nodded. "Burning her face into my mind was easier than I thought it would be. After a month of running down here from my study and back so many times a day while grading papers, I found I could just conjure it uo in my mind's eye, and that helped. But I began shutting the world off in defense whenever a student so much as brushed against me, and that wasn't exactly conductive to teaching. In fact, one time a filly stuck a nail through my chest and I only noticed it after I got home that day. That day..."

Cheerilee drew in a breath and blew it out. "T-that same night proved to me without a d-doubt that magic can alter these things. Effortlessly so, even. If three fillies can f-, can mix up a potion that makes two grown horses fall in love with each other and forget about everything else then s-surely you can cure me without breaking a sweat?!"

"Woa, wait!" Starlight dangerously teetered back on her chair, lunged forward to try and stay up, and almost fell on her face instead. "Look, that's not how my magic works. When I... enchanted their marks... I could only do it because of how much I hated them. Truly hated them. Couldn't-think-about-it-without-frothing-at-the-mouth hate. It's not something I can just do, so, uh, I think you should-"

Cheerilee suddently jumped onto her lap. "But don't you hate me?" She argued. "Weren't you promising to kill me just earlier today?"

Starlight gritted her teeth and sunk as deep into her chair as she could. "And I do still mean it, yes, but that's exactly why I'm not going to help you!"

"...But didn't you just say you didn't fully control it?"

"I- well I guess I did, but nothing of the sort has happened since t-the town, so-"

"Then take that hate and let it take its course against my sickness. Against the reason I dragged you down here in the first place. Here, let me get that bag for you..."

"WAIT!" Starlight shook her head at Cheerilee's outstretched hoof. "How do you know I won't just shoot you dead the very moment I can?"

Cheerilee recoiled, but then held her hoof in the air and her jaw agape.

"...I don't know."

"See? This was a stupid idea. Now if you'll just-"

"And I don't care."

Cheerilee slammed her hoof down with way more force than what she'd meant to use. "Either way, my students are safe. Either way, you get out of here to your fillyfriend's show on time."

"How'd you-"

"I'm going to take the bag off now, Starlight. Make your choice."

"Wait don't-"

Cheerilee's hoof met fabric. "If you need to focus, focus on the scum right in front of you. Focus on the backstabbing bitch who gave away a friend's greatest secret to save her own hide. Focus on the disgusting snake who wormed her way into a class full of children who think her love for them is normal. Focus on the most disgusting stain in Ponyville!"

Starlight stomped on the floor and shook in her chair. "What'd- stop! Stop it! I-I can't"

"FOCUS ON HOW MUCH YOU WANT ME DEAD! ENVISION MY SMOKING CORPSE AT YOUR HOOVES! MY ENTRAILS SPILLED OVER THE CELLAR FLOOR! BLOW MY RAPIST SCUM BRAINS OUT, STARLIGHT!"

"I-I-"

"DO IT!"

Cheerilee ripped the bag off her head.

The room erupted with a blinding, overpowering light.

"SHUT UP!"