Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Cheerilee had fully expected to wake up the next morning just as confused as she was yesterday. When she went to bed the night before, even after Zecora's encouragement, she had been prepared to wake up confronting the words that had plagued her mind for the past two days. When she woke up, she was ready for Headmaster’s vicious words to be the first thing to run through her head.
Yet... it wasn't. When she woke up, the first thing she saw in her mind was the smiles of Zecora and Twilight Sparkle, and the first thing she heard was the words of encouragement they had offered her.
"When times are tough, lift up your chin. What matters to your heart…will always win."
"Cheerilee… you are more of a teacher than any pony I've ever known."
It still left her speechless. Throughout her whole life, the worry about her lie had sat in the back of her head, plaguing her. She had thought that the moment that another pony found out would be the moment that her life as she knew it would end. That once the news was out it would spread around Ponyville, and that she would no longer be respected as a teacher, but shunned as a gardener who lied her whole life. Telling Twilight Sparkle about her garden was one of the most difficult decisions she ever made, and the minutes following were now a hazy blur of anxiety, a period where every word out of her mouth had been accompanied by the thought that Twilight was going to abandon her any minute. But that never happened. And when Zecora had realized that her Cutie Mark was for gardening and not teaching, she had prepared herself for confusion and disappointment. But that never happened either.
Instead, they were supporting, comforting, and ready to help Cheerilee through what was clearly a hard time. Cheerilee still was trying to wrap her head around it. Ever since Headmaster had scolded her, the question of her worth as a teacher had been running through Cheerilee's mind almost non-stop. But now, another question had come to the forefront - a question that she had never even considered before.
Had she been wrong all this time?
All this time, hiding her real special talent for fear of being judged and not respected, was she wrong? Would ponies not judge her based on her Cutie Mark, but instead on what she chose to do with her life? Cheerilee spent a lot of the day thinking about it, but she realized that she had come to an impasse - she couldn't come to a conclusion on her own. And so with trepidation, she finally left her cottage and took off towards the library to talk to Twilight Sparkle.
Before stepping into Ponyville, Cheerilee paused and took a deep breath, preparing herself to be in public for the first time since the weekend began - the last thing she wanted was to break down in the middle of Ponyville. As she finally stepped into town, her path brought her through the local farmer's market, and she felt the knot tighten in her throat and her mood fall. Everywhere she looked, all she saw were ponies doing something that matched their Cutie Mark. Carrot Top was happily negotiating the sale of a bushel of carrots with another pony. The Cakes were standing outside of Sugarcube Corner, a crowd gathered around as they gave out free samples of fresh muffins. Lyra was leaning up against a wall, horn glowing as her lyre gently strummed a calm tune, occasionally pausing to jot something down on a music sheet next to her. Seeing ponies proudly displaying their special talents made Cheerilee shudder, and just like that, the anxiety that had been lowering that day suddenly returned.
Her heart sank. Even with what Twilight and Zecora had said, all Cheerilee could see in Ponyville were ponies proudly displaying their special talents. They never had to lie about it to other ponies, because their Cutie Marks had been exactly what they wanted them to be. Cheerilee turned away from the area of activity and looked for an alternate route around the center of Ponyville where she wouldn't be confronted by Cutie Marks, but she was interrupted by a prodding on her side, causing her to wince and shy away. She started to turn around again to see what it was, but she felt the prod several more times, and instinctively started moving in the direction the prod was forcing her, just barely managing to turn her head and see who was poking her.
"Rarity? What are you… "
The unicorn interrupted her. “Cheerilee, you are just the pony I had in mind! Would you be so considerate as to spare a friend a few minutes of your time? I swear, it will not take long.”
"Rarity, I have somewhere I have to go. I'm really not in the mood to…"
Rarity interrupted her again with a smile. "Darling, I am working on a new line of hats for the summer, and I require a model. Your coat and mane are the perfect contrast of vividness and subtlety! You'll be the ideal model for them, I just need to check to make sure they can stand out as well on calmingly loud as they do on muted earth tones."
Cheerilee began to shake her head, but Rarity leaned forward, staring into Cheerilee's eyes and lightly pouting her lips. Cheerilee sighed. When Rarity had an objective on her mind, it could be almost impossible to persuade her out of it.
"All right."
Rarity hopped up and down happily and grabbed Cheerilee by the hoof, taking off and dragging her to Carousel Boutique. In just a few short minutes, Cheerilee found herself perched up on a platform at the Boutique as Rarity ran back and forth, gathering a plethora of materials before floating a stack of extravagant hats next to her. She levitated the first one up and carefully placed it on Cheerilee's head, slowly circling her with a carefully analyzing eye.
"Hmmmm… just as I thought, this hat simply looks drab on you. Perhaps a few more feathers… "
Rarity muttered to herself as a few feathers floated up to the top of the hat, and she carefully started attaching them in place. As she was working, Cheerilee glanced around Carousel Boutique and she noticed something new hanging on the wall: a framed simple, childish sketch of Rarity and Sweetie Belle smiling at each other, surrounded by a large heart created out of blue gems. As Cheerilee looked it over, she went back to Headmaster's admonishment.
"They're giant, dangerous creatures, hardly the kind of information that fillies need! You'll be giving them nightmares!"
Cheerilee’s ears flattened. "Rarity… I think I owe you an apology."
Rarity backed off from her work on the hat and looked at Cheerilee. "What? Whatever for, darling?"
"The other day, I had a lesson about some of the creatures around Equestria, and… well, I think I may have gotten too enthusiastic. I went into a fairly detailed lesson on Hydras, I'm just worried that it might have been too detailed."
Rarity paused before giving a knowing nod, then went back to work on the hat.
"Ah, I was wondering why Sweetie Belle was talking about Hydras at Sugarcube Corner on Friday." Rarity looked down at Cheerilee, smiling. "I wouldn't worry about it, dearie. It is an important subject, better she learns it from a teacher than from personal experience."
Cheerilee smiled a bit, even though hearing the word "teacher" hit her with another chill. The room went quiet again as Rarity continued to try different hats on her, muttering to herself, making modifications and occasionally writing something in a notebook. As Cheerilee glanced up at the clock, Rarity suddenly gasped.
"Oh! This reminds me, would you mind telling your students that I'm looking for models for small costumes? I was selected to design the outfits for the performance of Romule and Fillyette at the Seaddle Center for Children's Performing Arts and I need a few students who can model the outfits for me before I arrive."
"I'll be sure to mention that to them on Monday. Congratulations, that's quite the job!"
"Why thank you. I must say, thinking about it has me a bit sentimental. I haven't designed children's costumes since… " Rarity trailed off, then looked at Cheerilee, and a nostalgic smile grew on her face. "Why, since the play that we were in as little fillies!"
Cheerilee smiled. "Oh yes, I remember. Goodness, that was quite some time ago."
Rarity carefully replaced the hat on Cheerilee’s head with another, taking more notes. "My, I don't even remember what the play was about. Although I suppose that's to be expected; the only thing I really remember about that play anymore is that I got my Cutie Mark at the end of it!"
Cheerilee turned away as best she could. She had no desire to hear about Cutie Marks, and didn't want Rarity to see her reaction. Rarity reached out and pulled Cheerilee's head back into position to continue modeling the hat, oblivious to Cheerilee's face as she continued talking.
"Oh, that was such a wonderful day! I had been working so hard for so long, and for my Mark to appear like that, in front of so many other ponies all looking at my work… Well, it just meant the world to me."
Cheerilee tried to compose herself as best she could. "Rarity, could you-" she started to say, but Rarity continued talking.
"Oh, I'm sorry for prattling on about the past, but it was just such an important day. After finding those gems, well, it was just the proof I needed that I truly was destined to be the greatest fashion designer in all of Equestria!"
As Rarity smiled and continued working on another hat, Cheerilee breathed a silent sigh of relief that Rarity had stopped talking about Cutie Marks. After seeing every pony in town proudly displaying their special talent, she knew that any more discussions of them would just make her more anxious.
Yet… there was something that Rarity said that stuck in Cheerilee's head. No matter how much she wanted to not think about Cutie Marks until she had the chance to talk to Twilight, what Rarity had said simply wouldn't leave her mind. As she thought, Rarity began to place yet another hat on her head, then looked at Cheerilee's face and smiled.
"A bit for your thoughts, dear?"
Cheerilee jumped a bit, suddenly brought out of her thoughts by Rarity. "Oh… it's nothing."
"You know, for saying it's ‘nothing’, you certainly seem like something is on your mind."
"Well… it's your Cutie Mark."
Rarity raised a single eyebrow. "My Cutie Mark?"
"You just said that when it appeared, it was the proof that you were going to be a fashion designer. But as I recall, didn't you find your special talent by discovering a cache of gems? How did that confirm you being a fashion designer?"
Rarity's mulled the question over in her head for a few moments. "Well, I guess you are right. My special talent was finding gems…" she cut herself off with a smile and a laugh. "Oh, who am I kidding? I didn't need confirmation. I knew I was destined to be a fashionista from the very moment I discovered cloth!"
The anxiety that had been haunting Cheerilee since she first ran into Rarity suddenly went away. "What?"
"I guess I was never really that concerned with my Cutie Mark, now that I think about it. I had long since decided to pursue dressmaking and I wasn't about to let my Cutie Mark get in the way of it. "
Cheerilee stood in silence, staring off into space. She had never even considered that there was another pony who had decided on their passion before their Cutie Mark appeared, let alone one who was in the same class as her as a young filly. "So, you just went against your Cutie Mark? You decided to pursue fashion anyway?"
"I wouldn't exactly say that I went against my Cutie Mark. It still influences me, now and again," Rarity said, nodding her head at the hat floating next to her, adorned with a number of rubies and sapphires around the brim. "But I suppose that would have happened no matter what my special talent was. Why, if I had received a pineapple for a Cutie Mark, I'd be creating pineapple-influenced dresses to this day!" Rarity paused, suddenly lost in thought. "Hrm… fruit-themed dresses. That might be worth looking into."
Rarity picked up her notebook and quickly started scribbling something into it. As she did, Cheerilee tried comprehending what she was hearing. Rarity had decided on what she wanted to do long before her Cutie Mark appeared. She hadn't let the fact that gem-finding was her special talent get in the way of her dream. If anything, she had let her talent guide it. As the last hat was slipped on her head, Cheerilee looked around, taking in Carousel Boutique, a wildly successful fashion boutique, well respected not only in Ponyville but known throughout almost all of Equestria as well. It was a boutique being run by a pony with a passion for design the likes of which had never been seen before. A pony who, when she was a filly, wanted nothing more than to be a fashionista, and would not only accomplish it, but become one of the most well-known and up and coming names in fashion. A pony who was one of the happiest ponies in Ponyville.
A pony who had gone against her Cutie Mark.
Rarity finished with the hat and took it off Cheerilee's head. "Allrighty, that's all I had for you to model. Thank you so-" Rarity interrupted herself as she looked down at Cheerilee. "Goodness, I didn't think the hats were that good."
Cheerilee turned to Rarity. "Hmm?"
"You're positively beaming! "
Cheerilee hadn't even realized it, but she had the biggest smile on her face. She couldn't help it. As she stepped down off the table, Rarity nodded at her.
"Thank you most sincerely again, Cheerilee. Sorry for taking up your time, but—Oh!!"
Rarity was interrupted by Cheerilee leaning in and grasping her in a tight hug.
"Thank you, Rarity. Thank you so much."
As Cheerilee finally broke the hug, Rarity smiled at her, her lips curved in confusion. "Whatever for, darling?"
"I… well, I can't really go into it right now. But hearing you talk about your Cutie Mark like that, and pursuing your dream, it just means a lot to me. It means so much to me to see a pony follow their dream and become so successful."
Rarity took a step back, and giggled, tilting her head to the side.
"I-I'm sorry, Cheerilee. I appreciate the sentiments, but I'm afraid I am completely lost as to what you're referring to here."
Cheerilee smiled. "Listen, I'll come back and tell you the full story, I promise. But right now, I have to go see Twilight, I think I have some new insights I'd like to share with her."
Cheerilee gave Rarity another quick hug, then turned and trotted out of Carousel Boutique. Rarity, shaking her head in bewilderment, waved a hoof to Cheerilee before turning around and looking at the hats she had just modeled.
"Hmmm… I wonder how pear slices would look on these…"
-----
As she walked through Ponyville again, Cheerilee saw the same ponies she had seen last time. She glanced around at them and their Cutie Marks, and briefly paused in her walk. After only a few moments, she turned back and looked at Carousel Boutique. It stood as one of the tallest buildings in Ponyville, and no doubt one of the most successful. Cheerilee thought about all the times she would see a pony walk into the boutique, and walk out with an hoofload of clothes. The outfits that came out of the boutique were always of the utmost quality, and could be seen all throughout Equestria.
And it was all being done by a pony whose "special talent" had nothing to do with dresses. Cheerilee sighed contently at the new knowledge, then turned back around to continue her trek to the library.
"Gangway, look out!!"
Cheerilee barely had time to register the shout before she saw something barreling towards her. She dove out of the way at the last second as a scooter shot past her. Scootaloo rocked the scooter back and forth to try to stop the momentum, and after that failed, she buzzed her wings, finally sending the scooter to a screeching halt. As she popped her helmet off and scanned the area, Sweetie Belle poked her head out from the wagon being pulled.
"Sorry about that, Miss Cheerilee,” Sweetie Belle said, her words stuttering from dizziness.
Cheerilee smiled. "It's ok, girls."
Scootaloo continued looking around her, then turned to Cheerilee. "Miss Cheerilee, have you seen Apple Bloom anywhere?"
"Apple Bloom? Sorry, girls, I don't think I have."
"Aw shoot. If you see her, will you tell her that we're looking for her? We were supposed to have a Crusaders meeting like fifteen minutes ago, and she's nowhere to be found!"
"If I see her, I'll be sure to mention it."
Scootaloo jammed her helmet back onto her head. "Thanks, Mis Cheerilee. Come on, Sweetie Belle, let's check over at Sugarcube Corner. Maybe she's apologizing for the biscuit thing."
"Okay, but could you, uh, go a little slower this time? My stomach isn't feeling too gooAAAAAAAA-" Sweetie Belle didn’t even get a chance to finish her sentence as Scootaloo took off down the road on the scooter, pulling the wagon behind her.
Once they were away, Cheerilee turned and continued her walk towards the library. But as she did, a new thought popped into her head: Apple Bloom. She remembered everything that Applejack had told her: that Silver Spoon had been bullying her relentlessly, that she had been walking home in tears for weeks, that Cheerilee had completely missed one of her students being so miserable. Her mood dropped again and the image of Carousel Boutique suddenly seemed so very distant. She couldn't focus on her newfound knowledge of Rarity. All she could see was her failing to keep one of her students happy. Her place slowed as she got downtown, and with Ponyville relatively quiet now, she had nothing to distract herself from her thoughts. The very idea that one of her students had been so sad, and yet she had been so blind to it, was all she could focus on. All she could hear in her head was the sound of a pony crying…
Cheerilee came to a halt, and she turned her head up. It suddenly occurred to her that it wasn't in her head; she actually could hear the sound of a pony crying. She quickly looked around the area, not seeing anypony who showed any signs of distress, but she again heard the faint sniffles and sobs of a crying pony. She carefully walked forward, scanning around Ponyville until she came across a small alley in between two buildings. Walking towards it, she heard the crying becoming clearer and she turned her head slowly around the corner of the alley. Sticking her head around the corner, it only took her a moment to see the source of the crying, causing her to gasp.
At the back end of the alley, Apple Bloom sat. She was partially hidden behind a stack of garbage bags, but enough of her mane and bow stuck out for Cheerilee to recognize her instantly. As she approached, Apple Bloom didn't notice her; her eyes closed and head hanging down, face stained with tears. Once she got close enough, Cheerilee finally spoke up.
"Apple Bloom?"
Gasping, Apple Bloom wiped her eyes off and looked up, trying to smile. "Oh, hi Miss Cheerilee. I was just, uh… " She trailed off as more tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked down at the ground, away from her teacher.
"Your friends are looking for you, Apple Bloom! What's wrong?"
Apple Bloom continued staring at the ground, sniffling.
"…Silver Spoon."
Cheerilee sat down next to Apple Bloom.
"What happened?"
"I was jus' gonna meet the other Crusaders here downtown to decide what we wanted to try next, and I ran into her," Apple Bloom said, her head lowering more. "She laughed at me. She said I'm never gonna get mah Cutie Mark, that it's 'too late,’ that me an' the other Crusaders should just start paintin' stuff on our flanks ‘cuz we ain't gettin’ anything there otherwise."
Cheerilee sighed. "Apple Bloom…"
"We've been crusadin' for so long now, and we ain't any closer to gettin' our Cutie Marks. Maybe she's right. We're the oldest kids in class without Cutie Marks, it's way too late for us to ever find anythin'. We're gonna be blank flanks forever!"
As Apple Bloom began to close her eyes, Cheerilee took her by the shoulder and turned her so they could be face to face.
"Apple Bloom, listen to me."
Apple Bloom opened her eyes and looked up at her teacher.
"Silver Spoon… she's a bully. All she is doing is saying things to try to see you upset, nothing more. You can't let the things she says get to you."
Apple Bloom sniffled. "But… she's been sayin' this stuff for so long…"
Cheerilee shook her head. "It doesn't matter, Apple Bloom. It's never a good idea to let something bad that someone says get to you, because the more you take what a bully says to heart, the more you will start believing it. You can't focus on that."
There was a short pause, and Cheerilee smiled.
"You have to focus on the good. Don't listen to some bully saying you'll never get your Cutie Mark, listen to your friends. The ones who know more about you than Silver Spoon can ever know. The ones who love you dearly, who are always there for you. Listen to the ponies who you admire, who you respect and who respect you. The things that they tell you are more valuable than anything a pony like Silver Spoon will ever say to you. "
Apple Bloom looked at up Cheerilee, then turned and sat against the wall, thinking. Cheerilee turned and sat next to her, and the two ponies remained in silence for a while.
"Miss Cheerilee?"
"Yes, Apple Bloom?"
"… Do you think I'll get my Cutie Mark?"
"I know that you'll get your Cutie Mark. You and your friends, too"
"But it's taking so long! Ain't we too old by now to find our special talents?"
Cheerilee turned and looked down at Apple Bloom, resting a hoof on her shoulder. Apple Bloom looked up, and was met with a smile.
"Let me assure you, Apple Bloom, it is never too late to learn something about yourself."
There was another pause. Cheerilee looked down at the little filly.
"You know, Apple Bloom, I've been learning something about myself lately too."
Apple Bloom turned up, wide eyed, at Cheerilee. "What? Really?
Cheerilee nodded. "Yes. And it's… Well, it's something that I think I should have learned a long time ago. Something that I should have realized when I was your age."
Apple Bloom shook her head. "But yer a teacher, ya'll know everything!"
Cheerilee shook her head slightly. "Oh, Apple Bloom… you'd be surprised."
"Well, what did ya'll learn?"
There was a long pause as Cheerilee closed her eyes. She thought back to when she was sitting alone in her house, a weeping wreck of a pony. She thought back to the doubt that had been plaguing her mind for far too long, the anxiety that had been eating away at her from the day her Cutie Mark appeared, and the depression that surrounded her any time she looked at her Cutie Mark. But she thought back to something else: Twilight Sparkle telling her that she was more of a teacher than any pony she had ever known. Zecora telling her that what mattered to her heart would always win out. Rarity, who told her the story of following her dream despite her Cutie Mark, and becoming a success. Cheerilee opened her eyes and turned down to Apple Bloom, smiling.
"I learned that all this time, I've been doing exactly what I've been meant to do."
Apple Bloom responded with a confused scrunch of her face. "What, teachin'? I coulda told ya that!"
Cheerilee chuckled. "Yes, I suppose you could have told me that. I just wish I would have listened earlier."
"So... ya'll do think I'll get my Cutie Mark?"
Cheerilee nodded. "Absolutely. And I know that once you do, it's going to be beautiful."
Apple Bloom smiled and wrapped her hooves around Cheerilee's leg. "Thanks, Miss Cheerilee. Ya'll are the best."
Cheerilee reached down and patted Apple Bloom on the head. "You’re quite welcome, Apple Bloom. Now, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are looking for you. They said they'd be checking Sugarcube Corner. If you go now, I’m sure you can catch up with them.
Apple Bloom nodded and let go of Cheerilee, taking off down the alley. Cheerilee couldn't help but smile as she watched the filly run to meet her friends, and she let out a long withheld sigh. As Apple Bloom exited the alley, she looked back and forth… and she immediately froze in her tracks as she heard another voice.
"Well, if it isn't ‘little miss Blank Flank’ again!"
Cheerilee stood up and walked towards the exit of the alley. Apple Bloom was slowly retreating from where she stood, her face fallen. "Were you looking for your Cutie Mark in there? Cause I don't think you're gonna find it."
As Cheerilee exited the alley, she immediately saw the source of the voice: Silver Spoon. A slight smirk was on her face as she looked at Apple Bloom, but as soon as she saw Cheerilee, her grin was quickly swept away.
"Oh… hello, Miss Cheerilee! I was just, uh… talking with…"
Apple Bloom smiled at Cheerilee. Cheerilee smiled back at her, then turned back to her other student.
"Silver Spoon…"
The filly smiled awkwardly. "I was just joking around, Miss Cheerilee! I was-"
Cheerilee interrupted her. "Listen to me, young lady. It doesn't matter if you were joking or not. Do you understand how upset you've been making Apple Bloom?"
"But I wasn't being serious! I-"
"You need to learn that your words can really hurt the ponies around you. Now I want you to apologize to Apple Bloom, and I want you to do it right now."
"But-"
Cheerilee shook her head. "I want you to apologize right now.”
Silver Spoon sighed, and turned to face Apple Bloom. “I... I’m sorry for calling you a Blank Flank, and saying you’d never find your Cutie Mark. I didn’t mean to make you so upset.”
Cheerilee nodded her head. “Good. Apple Bloom, you can run along now.”
Apple Bloom smiled and took off towards Sugarcube Corner, and Cheerilee turned back to Silver Spoon. “Now, if I hear that you have been bullying Apple Bloom again—or any pony in class, for that matter—I'm going to have a talk with your parents.”
Silver Spoon went wide eyed. "But-"
"No ‘buts’, young lady. I’m sorry for being so harsh, but that’s just the way it has to be - I don’t want you bullying any other ponies, do you understand me?”
Silver Spoon nodded. “Yes Miss Cheerilee.”
“Thank you. You can run along now.”
Silver Spoon hung her head and nodded, then and shuffled off in the other direction. Cheerilee sighed as she turned and began to walk towards her initial destination: Ponyville library. She only made it a few steps before she came to a halt, as she realized something.
It was gone.
The anxiety that had clouded her mind for the past few days. The words of Silver Spoon, Headmaster, and Applejack, and all those of the past that had been playing over and over in her head were gone. Her nervousness about her garden, her future, and her special talent. The questions she had about being a teacher.
They were all gone.
Cheerilee closed her eyes and just savored the moment. For all the questions she had had only a few days ago, for all the uncertainty and nervousness that had controlled her for so long, everything seemed clear to her. She smiled and began to walk again, but before she could open her eyes, she bumped directly into another pony.
"Oh goodness, sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going, my apologies," she said, carefully stepping around the pony she had run into. She started to walk away, when an exasperated sigh froze her dead in her tracks.
"Hello again, Cheerilee. Fancy running into you here."
Cheerilee slowly turned around, and as soon as she saw the pony she had bumped into, her face went numb.
The past few days had been eye opening to Cheerilee. So many of the questions she had had in her mind were so long had been answered. The encouragement of her friends had truly opened her eyes, and she was seeing herself in a new light.
But all the encouragement now seemed a million miles away. The anxiety was starting to creep back into her mind, and the only thing left in the world now was the pony standing in front of her.
Her boss. Headmaster.
--------
SMILING FLOWERS
End of Chapter 3
Special Thanks: Props, RazgrizS57, and Shortskirtsandexplosions
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Well-done chapter... Rarity seems like one of the best people to address Cheerilee's anxiety.
Looking forward to chapter 4!
689355 I HAVE. DEAR CELESTIA THAT WAS HORRIBLE!
Was jsut about to go to sleep, and then Cheerilee comes along to talk rith Rares. and now there are even more updates from different stories.
:
It's all your fault, you wonderful troll you.
Working Rarity in there was a brilliant move - I'd never really thought about the disconnect between her cutie mark and profession before.
Good show, old chap
Awesome chapter, i should have been asleep before it even came out but when it did i couldn't stop my self.
Heh, I was hoping Rarity would show up and be a positive influence at some point. When Cheerilee was thinking about ponies' only doing their "special talent" a couple chapters ago, I thought about it and went, "Well, Rarity's special talent is supposed to be finding gems, but it's not really where her passion lies, is it?"
EPIC CLIFFHANGER
Please tell me that at some point Cheerilee just lays into that headmaster guy. The guy's an idiot as far as I'm concerned and needs a severe dressing down by somepony.
835449
NEXT CHAPTER: Cheerilee and Headmaster tie their hooves together and have a knife fight while, in the background, Octavia and Lyra team up for a wonderful dual-string rendition of "Beat It".
This may or may not be wholly accurate of what happens in the next chapter.
Oh, I can't wait for the next chapter!!!! This has made it to my 'runner's up' for my all-time favorite pony stories (which I'm pretty picky about). Keep at it! ^^
835458
Well, if it is, then that would be awesome.
If not, well, this is still amazing.
Considering that Headmaster seems to combine the worst features of Principal Skinner and Superintendent Chalmers from Springfield, it would be delish indeed to see him taken down several pegs.
835458 I doubt it. Hydras are "too dangerous" and so are knives... which make them out of the question. He has to lead with example
Although I can't say that giving Cherilee a chance to use a sharp object on him isn't tempting...
Anyway, I really love your story. I had been wondering about that- the single focus of a cutie mark, and if it were possible to stray from it. It kind of slipped my mind that Rarity was already an example of this
Uh oh! Here comes trouble
SSUUUSSSPEEEEENNCCE
Seriously I knew it was too good to be true.
Headmaster teaches Bad Timing at the school of Trollington.
Strangly enough when first thinking of ponies defying their cuttie marks and defeating destiny i first thought of ditzy doo
not entirely sure how well that would of went.
anyway this a very beautiful story, i am looking forward to the final chapter.
oh, I love how you depicted Cherilee :D her friendship with Twilight seems so natural and obvious it should be canonized
and the over all story is just so... really... I just love it, can't explain 
836348
I personally imagined that Silver Spoon's Cutie Mark represents a natural ability for silver smithing, quite the handy talent (in fact, the initial idea for this chapter was that Silver Spoon would be with her dad, who would be named Silversmith) , and that it's one of those cases where the Cutie Mark got influenced both by the talent AND by the name of the pony.
835458
I seriously wasn't expecting this story to be a multi-parter when I first read the description. I admit to being a bit curious if you had expected it yourself.
Either way, you've done a good job expanding the idea and making it play off of other characters.
And the next chapter also needs Dr. Hooves in a deerstalker going undercover in Aloe's spa to try to discover a gem-smuggling ring headed by Spike. You take that idea, for a good guy like you, that's free.
I really enjoy this story, as it does such a charming job of capturing the personalities of all of the cast and evokes a ton of empathy for a great, if under-used, character. This chapter was a bit heavy on the mood-swings, perhaps, as Cheerilee bounced repeatedly from feeling good to being miserable and back again. It makes it hard to judge any kind of real progress she's making when a comment or image can make it all fall apart for her again. That said, it does make for some juicy momentes and you can't help but love her and the kind-hearted ponies around her in this tale. I can't help but really root for her to take down that damn administrator and come out triumphantly happy in the end.
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I'll admit that she bounced back and forth a lot, but let me assure you from experience that that can happen when you're going through an anxiety crisis. One minute you're feeling great, and the next, you feel like the world is against you. Someone's words can bring you right back, but remembering your anxiety can drop you back down. I probably played it a little too drastic in this chapter though, I'll admit.
But thanks for the comment. And a little quick aside, just assuming you're the same Harwick as the one over on deviantart, I absolutely LOVED the Cheerilee picture you drew recently. Amazing stuff!
ah, this was awesome! :D again, i will say: can't wait for the next chapter!
OH COME ON! Great chapter, but I HATE cliffhangers! Keep 'em coming tho, it never fails to make me antsy for the next chapter!
OH COME ON! Great chapter, but I HATE cliffhangers! Keep 'em coming tho, it never fails to make me antsy for the next chapter!
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Thanks! Cheerilee is adorable, and deserves more attention... one of the reasons I'm so happy to see such a great fic about her like this one!
This is going to end badly isn't it?
Why haven't I thumbed this already? Oh well, better late than never!
Cherilee is definitely climbing the ranks of my favourite pony charts, thanks in no small part to fics like this one.
The hay.On top in my web page it says"MicTheMicrophone >Anything other than egotistical and talentless.
The hay?
AnyBrony else getting that or is it somehow because im listening to everfree radio?
DUN DUN DUUUUN
FINAL BOSS
Also, this fanfic is fantastic. I can't wait for the next part.
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I approve of this.
That was a very nice chapter. I really liked the part with Rarity where she said she always wanted to be a fashionista no matter what her cutie mark was. Instead, she used her cutie mark to determine the direction she went with her fashion designs. Personally, I think that's the real purpose of the cutie marks. You do what you want to do (granted, it usually ends up being closely related to your cutie mark), and your cutie mark tells you what direction to take your career in. You want to be a teacher, but your cutie mark is a bunch of flowers? Teach botany
Not saying, uh, that Cheerilee should go for a career change or anything... Heh heh...
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I'm getting that too, and I'm not listening to Everfree.
838250Oooooh so im not as sugar high as I thought I was!
i found this chapter too predictable and constructed. things happen and always support cheerlie's character development pefectly. it doesn't feel natural.
i did like the first chapter though.
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I'm sure this is going to sound weird, but thank you!
I appreciate it when people who didn't like something take the time to point out what they didn't like about it, rather than just say "It was bad" and move on. It gives me an idea of what I have to work on with my writing.
So thanks!
Of course, this means Fluttershy's Very Special Talent is... landing on butterflies at terminal velocity.
A nice chapter. I like how's things are wrapping up tidily, and how you used Rarity to push her further towards development ^^ you really gave your good bit of thought about canon cutie marks. Cherilee's progress is also unfolding organically, and up and away from her depressed self, so refreshing
Can't wait to see where this ends! Keep up the good work, good sir.
689355 Wait that sounds just like Cheerlie's Garden.
confound these cliffhangers they drive me to drink
Eh... I can see how this is going. You're having her run into a person or situation that matches with each thing that troubles her. Not following your cutie mark? Meet Rarity, neither does she. Worried about one of your students picking on another? What a coincidence, they're both right here, and you solved it pretty quickly. "But what will my boss think?" "You mean that guy over there?" Believe me, I still enjoy reading it, but this chapter didn't punch my heart in the balls like the previous two.
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"This chapter didn't punch my heart in the balls like the previous two"
Yeah... didn't do it to me either, and I wrote the damn thing, haha. Make no mistake, I really enjoy how this chapter turned out (especially since it didn't have the same amount of planning that the other 3 chapters had/will have), but it just so happens that this chapter didn't really have the emotional scenes that the other two have.
I enjoyed this chapter, especially the part with Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon, and look forward to the next one, yet I want to complain a little (not whine, this is whining
). Rarity's Cutie Mark is three gem stones, but her talent is not finding gems 
; it's making ponies (and other species) shine. Or in other words her talent is to bring out the beauty in the world.
As proof I point to when she got her Cutie Mark: when the costumes she made were shown off in the play making the students look amazing, not when the sonic rainboom opened the gem filled boulder her spell had led her to find. That said she does have a knack with gem stones having invented the finding spell and using them in her designs.
Rarity is best pony.
I give this chapter 4/5 moustaches
Ah, nothing like further evidence that Rarity is best pony.
Very nice chapter, man. The whole "special talent vs. personal passion" thing is an interesting subject to tackle; kind of a whole fate vs. self-determination thing. And then there's also the layer of interpreting what, exactly, a cutie mark means; like the guy above mentioned, Rarity's could be interpreted a couple of different ways. (Though considering she invented a spell to find gems, I'd say that gem-finding is definitely at least part of her talent.) So, yeah. Interesting subjects being addressed here, on top of a well-written story about one of my favorite characters.
Good stuff, is what I'm saying
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At bare minimum, it has to be a whole peg.dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Luna_lolface.png
geee, I wonder if any other ponies have jobs that aren't related to their cutiemark...
let's see. Pinkie pie, whose special talent is setting up parties, bakes and works AT a bakery.
Twilight Sparkle, whose special talent is magic, tends a library.
and... umm... shoot. I guess we don't actually know enough about various characters cutiemarks to know what they say they should be doing. I suppose one could argue Rainbow is doing a job at best tangentially related, and Applejack's, based on the episode, is actually a cutiemark for BEING an apple(the family, not the fuit) not for the bucking thereof, but that's about it.
... I might include ditzy/derpy, but like many people I have no idea what her cutiemark means.
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=3
Ok. First off, I few mistakes.
SIlver Spoon will ever say to you. " <--Capital letter
direction.Cheerilee <--Space is missing
Other than that, it is pretty darn sweet!
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Haha, very nice catches. Just went back and made those edits. Thanks for picking up on those!
NOT QUITE AS SAD
Actually, it was encouraging; really, really good.