Dancer's Night School for Stallions

“I don’t know. This seems a little... risqué.”

“Your hesitation is understandable, but I really think this will benefit the mares of Ponyville, and possibly beyond.” Brown lips sipped gently at a lightly steaming teacup while cobalt eyes regarded the purple unicorn sitting across the table.

Twilight sat back on her couch, clopping her hooves together gently and looking out the window as she thought. Rivulets of water trailed down the window thanks to the hard work of the town pegasi, and she let her eyes follow a single droplet down to the windowsill. Her guest merely waited patiently, content to sip her tea and warm up after the long flight to Ponyville.

After a moment, Twilight broke the amicable silence. “You need to understand my position on this, miss. I’m the personal student of the Princess, and the mayor has entrusted the running of this library to me. If anything... untoward were to happen...” She trailed off, eyes finally travelling back across the coffee table to meet the pegasus’s own. A purple hoof gestured to the air, finishing the sentence unspoken.

Shifting to sit up a bit straighter and sweeping a lock of dark purple hair back, the pegasus smiled. “That is why I have already been in communication with the mayor about my proposal. She is also hesitant, but has said that as long as this is carried on with your permission and outside of normal library hours, with foals barred from entry, that it is acceptable.” She pulled a neatly rolled and tied scroll out of pale pink saddlebags, offering it forth. Twilight nodded and took the scroll in the soft glow of her magic, reading over the missive from the mayor to her strange guest.

Twilight looked up somewhat suspiciously. “Why wouldn’t the mayor tell me herself?”

The brown pegasus looked at her softly, with a hint of amusement dancing in her eyes. “I was informed that you don’t really deal with stress too well, especially from authority figures. She asked me to ask you instead.”

“Oh.” Twilight stared blankly for a second, until she caught up completely. “Oh. That’s understandable then, I guess.”

More quiet sips. Some shifting and fluttering of cold wings. Truth be told, she was a bit nervous that Twilight would deny her. She knew full well how straight-laced Princess Celestia’s protégé was. Surely, though, Twilight herself must have heard of the problem; it had been increasingly on the lips of mares everywhere for the last few years. With a large influx of stallion-made pornography lately, there had been... problems for the straight mares.

Her introspection was interrupted when the purple unicorn finally gave her answer. “Fine. I mean, I know why you want to do this, and I heard you had great success in Fillydelphia. It can’t hurt, and it might even help, who knows?”

Perking up immediately, the pegasus grinned widely, tail flicking excitedly. “Oh, thank you Lady Twilight! I’ve gotten requests from Ponyville, you see, and I really think-”

“There are conditions.” Twilight held up a hoof. “One night only. If the stallions don’t come, you’ll have to wait for another time to have your class. No advertisement beyond word of mouth; I wouldn’t be comfortable with foals hearing about a ‘special class’.”

“I completely understand-”

“And please clean up the library yourself after this class. I don’t need Spike running across an errant diagram with your brand of blunt honesty on it.”

The pegasus nodded. “Of course.”

“And never call me ‘Lady Twilight’, please. I’m just Twilight, or Twilight Sparkle. We’re very different mares, but I see no reason we can’t get along as friends, especially if you’re going to use my home for something of this nature. Agreed?” A friendly smile graced Twilight’s otherwise nervous face as she reached a hoof across the table to the brown mare.

Smiling happily, the pegasus reached her own hoof across for the hoofshake. “It would be my honor, Twilight. Let me just say, also, that you are of course welcome to stay during my presentation.” She settled back into her chair, head cocked slightly to the side. “After all, it is your home, and you may find the presentation interesting. Cherilee has told me about your deep love of learning everything you can.”

Hiding her blush as well as she could behind her teacup, Twilight made a point to take a long sip with her eyes closed before standing up briskly and clearing her throat. “Well, I guess if I have time, but I do have a lot of projects to do and time with friends to catch up on, so-”

A light giggle interrupted, and Dancer shook her head gently, smiling. “It’s alright, Twilight. The invitation stands if you have the time.” She stood as well, dipping her head gently to the other mare. “I appreciate your hospitality, and am grateful you have accepted my proposal. I plan to hold my class next Tuesday evening, if that is alright with you.”

“Perfectly fine with me. Do you have somewhere to stay in Ponyville, or were you flying back to Fillydelphia tonight?” She cleared the coffee table with her magic, carrying the teacups into the kitchen.

“Oh heavens no, I don’t plan to fly back and forth. I have a hotel room here. I plan to... immerse myself in the local culture, pick up the local gossip, and get a feel for what I need to address most vehemently in this particular town.” Saddlebags slid on, and she checked the acorn-shaped clasp on each. Satisfied, she smiled brightly at Twilight. “It’s research, you could say.”

Twilight paused on her way back into the living area, a confused look on her face. “Research for this? Huh. I guess I just thought, well, um-”

“-that since it’s not a ‘real’ science, it doesn’t require research?” Eyes half-lidded, Dancer regarded the blushing unicorn. “It’s alright. How can I teach without knowing what the students need? No point in teaching ponies all about fire if they’re dying of thirst, after all.”

“Y-yes, you have a point.” Twilight scratched the back of her head, looking off to the side, embarrassed. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“Oh, you didn’t,” the pegasus replied cheerfully. “You’re just adorable when you stutter. See you next Tuesday!” She trotted off through the door, leaving a blushing and confused Twilight in her wake.

The unicorn shook herself out of it, picking up the book she had been perusing earlier before her guest had arrived. “Pegasi,” she chuckled, shaking her head as she opened the book to her last page.