//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Seeds of Inspiration Sewn // Story: A Dress for a Muse // by LegionofPony //------------------------------// Rarity simply went upstairs into her workshop, closed the door, and Sweetie Belle soon could hear the sewing machine start up. It just continued to rattle through the evening, and while Sweetie was unaware of what Rarity was doing, and while she was curious as to why she was sewing now of all times, she decided that she would rather not bother her, and leave Rarity to what seemed to be a coping mechanism for the situation. Anything beat being chewed out after all, she figured. She decided to take it as a small blessing, and a fortunate surprise, and settled down with a piece of paper and some crayons to draw with. The sewing machine never quieted for longer than a couple of minutes. As was a fairly common occurrence, it was a night full of Rarity designing the new dresses and gowns that had been custom-ordered by customers…and one in particular this time, which was not on the list. Rarity then opened her shop, and carefully hung her newest creations out to be seen, the one which she had been inspired to create as she was sitting across from the teacher at the school. Cheerilee’s eyes had such a wonderful, saturated green, that reminded her of one of her high-quality fabrics from somewhere far away, which she had  put to good use in its creation. All of her dresses were gems on their own, dazzling gems which Rarity would proudly put her name to, but that dress was the piece de resistance tres magnifique of her night’s work, no doubt.  The day passed rather slowly, as there weren’t a lot of customers shopping during the middle of the week, save for the ponies coming to pick up their custom orders, but that promised Rarity success for what was to come. Many ponies had come in, and many had looked upon her new creations. She’d made a good few bits, selling many of her creations…except that one. As the last pony left the shop, she closed the boutique early in anticipation of Cheerilee’s arrival.  Rarity felt a nervous excitement when the doorbell rang, but she had her own plan. Sweetie Belle darted to the door faster than Rarity could move. She was unaware of her teacher's arrival, and as she opened the door and saw the cerise mare there, the blood froze in her veins. She fell into an awkward silence, and it lingered for what felt like hours, when it had just been mere seconds that they had looked at each other. Cheerilee, even though she wasn’t happy about what Sweetie Belle and her friends had done, gave a friendly smile. She was the guest here, after all. “Hello, Sweetie Belle, is your sister…” Cheerilee started, before she got interrupted by Rarity coming forth. “I’m here! Come on in, darling, I have prepared a delightful tea for us. Oh, and Sweetie Belle? Would you mind waiting in your room while we talk business, please? Thank you!” Without a word, the implication being obvious by the phrasing of her sister’s request, indeed not making it a request at all, Sweetie Belle quickly nodded and did as asked. She was worried about the outcome, but Cheerilee’s friendly attitude today, now she had clearly calmed down overnight, gave her a slight hint of hope. “Please, have a seat!” Rarity said, waving a hoof over as she invited Cheerilee onto a rather comfortable soft couch. As she had promised, she had prepared some tea, a special blend from Trottingham, which she reserved for special occasions.  “So since we got interrupted so suddenly yesterday, where did we even leave off?” Cheerilee left out a sigh, the reminder of yesterday’s afternoon reigniting a flicker of anger within her. Sure, she had dealt with foals as a teacher ever since she’d gotten her cutie mark as a younger filly, and they often would mess around, but that never had stopped her from feeling rather saddened when their actions led to destruction, intentional or not. Meanwhile, Rarity levitated a beautiful teacup over to the teacher, before floating the teapot, a bowl of sugarcubes, and a small pitcher of cream, over to her too. “Well…you see,” Cheerilee said, gently picking up the delicate Chineigh teacup in her hooves. “I spoke to Applejack and Scootaloo’s aunts, and we came to the conclusion that a simple detention wouldn’t quite teach the intended lesson.” Rarity blanched internally, but kept her outward composure. “I see. Well then, what have you planned for the three little pranksters?” Still taking the situation with some humor, she was careful not to make too light of the situation. After all, in the end, her ultimate goal was to get the best outcome for her sister and her sisters’ friends, and surely belittling the teacher’s emotions on the matter wouldn’t help with that. She knew very well that ponies at such a young age could be quite the trouble-makers, but surely they hadn’t intended to cause any damage with their pranks. Perhaps, she thought, Cheerilee was overreacting. “Applejack, Scootaloo’s aunts, and I came to an agreement, but your opinion on the matter is missing,” Cheerilee started, before taking a sip of her tea, wrinkling her nose as she found that it was still too hot. She also added another cube of sugar, before continuing. “We have decided that we should have them repair the damage they have done themselves, and the other guardians agreed to help pay for the materials. How the fillies handle repayment of the cost to their families is for their guardians to decide. Well, fixing it, along with a small note about their behavior in their permanent records.” Rarity cleared her throat, deciding now was the time to put her plans into action. “Couldn’t you let this be laid to rest after the floor is repaired? After all, they are just three young, mischievous fillies, and I wouldn’t want my sister to be reprimanded so critically for just a little prank. I would be quite willing to pay for the damages, and a crew to repair the floor, personally. We all were young once, right?” Cheerilee frowned. “But, that would not really drive the lesson home; that thoughtless actions have consequences for them. If we don’t nip this in the bud, they might do something in the future like this that isn’t well thought out, with possibly even worse consequences. Somepony could get hurt!” Rarity took a sip from her tea, calmly. After all, she had already expected this for an answer. “Are you sure? I will talk to my little sister about this in more detail, and make sure her friends are spoken to, whether by their guardians or myself, but I really do think this isn’t necessary. You would have to supervise them while they do that after school, and the rest of the day off sounds much better rather than extra work as a teacher. Especially after the school day’s finished, don’t you think? Even worse, if you had to spend a whole day over the weekend! A weekend where, perhaps, you could be doing something nice for yourself?” “Hm…” Cheerilee said, weighing punishing the fillies appropriately with her own desire for a day off from her long days of planning lessons, then teaching them. Her planned discipline would indeed cut into her personal time, what little of it there was. “Well, I still have a voucher for Ponyville Day Spa that I got as a Hearth’s Warming gift. I could use some relaxation there. I tell you, teaching those foals, as rewarding as it is, can be quite stressful in the long run,” Cheerilee then sighed, getting up.  Rarity realized that she had Cheerilee on the ropes now, and it was time for the clincher, before she lost her chance and the teacher left. “Before you leave, though, would you like to take a look at my newest collection? I’m sure you must have passed a glance over it on your way in already.” Cheerilee nodded, giving a soft smile as she once more looked over the beautiful evening gowns and dresses on display. “Oh, yes, I did. These gowns you made are absolutely gorgeous! If Sweetie Belle has as much talent as you do, she will make it far once she gets her cutie mark! Well, I really should be going now. Still have lessons to plan for tomorrow, and…” Rarity stood up, with Cheerilee leading the way to the door, with Rarity quickly following. “You said you think these dresses are magnificent! Perhaps you may want to try some on?” Rarity said as she looked over her own collection,,before scooping up the specially-made dress, then looking at the teacher. The dress was made of an emerald-green fabric, with small gold and maroon accents throughout. It was like she’d made it for her. “Ah, I’m sure this one would look great on you! It perfectly compliments the color of your purple coat, and has a similar green to your eyes. I felt inspired to create it when I was having the conversation with you yesterday, to be entirely honest with you. Once I got home, I just whipped myself into a flurry, creating!” As she looked at the absolutely ravishing dress held before her, looking as though it were created just for her - and indeed, according to Rarity, it had been heavily inspired by her - Cheerilee mentally shrugged. She hadn’t tried on any new clothes in quite a long time, after all, with a teacher’s wage not offering much free spending money for, admittedly optional, clothing. “Oh, why not! It’s so beautiful…” Cheerilee said, taking the dress from Rarity’s hooves, her eyes widening slightly, “...and soft!” “Ah oui, c’est très magnifique, if I dare say so myself! Please, go on! Let us see if it looks as fabulously on you as I imagined it may on…somepony,” Rarity said, though excluded that one, intended word at the last moment: ‘…as I imagined it may look on you.’ “Sure! It’s not like it costs anything to try it on, at least.” Cheerilee said as she took the dress to the fitting partition. As she tried it on, she looked at herself in the mirror, doing a small twirl and made the dress spin around her with a flourish. The dress looked as if it had been custom-tailored for her, and her specifically. For the first time in a long time, she felt…she felt…beautiful. As she heard a joyous squeal, which could have easily come from her filly sister given its high-pitched tone, come from the fitting room, Rarity knew her dress was a success. The dress was, in fact, designed to be a perfect fit for Cheerilee. Though the correct size was difficult to figure out for Rarity just by sight, she had a trained eye after working in that business for years at this point, and clearly had gotten close enough. Cheerilee soon came out of the back room, and Rarity had to say, the dress fit her perfectly. “Wow, I feel 10 years younger! You certainly know what you’re doing with these dresses; it’s like magic! I…I must have this one! But, how much would this cost?” Rarity said: “Oh, It’s five-hundred bits, as it’s a unique, hand-sewn piece with a fabric that made its way along the Velvet Road from Saddle Arabia to here. Not even many of the Canterlot elite, or even royalty, have access to this, as the fabric alone is practically a piece of art in and of itself!” Cheerilee’s breath stopped, her eyes widening as the price was announced. ‘Five-hundred bits? That's more than I earn in a moon! Cheerilee thought. But, she thought again, biting her lower lip, that the dress was so beautiful. So perfect for her. “Oh my, that’s quite the history, but I would never be able to afford this, and pay for my house mortgage this month.” Cheerilee said, looking absolutely crushed as she started to head back to the changing room to take the dress off. “Well you can always just try on my other pieces, see if something else more within your price range strikes your fancy, or perhaps I could custom-create something for you with a more common material?” Rarity offered, waving a hoof over the many displays, “Come along, if you like! I have an entire boutique for you to look around!” Cheerilee looked at various other dresses and gowns, even trying a few on, but her eyes always wandered to that other dress. None of these could hope to compare to how perfect that dress was for her, not even another custom-made one. But the price… Eventually, despite several of the other clothes looking rather nice on her, Cheerilee decided to get nothing, with a heavy heart. She realized that she only had eyes for that which she could not have, it would seem. “Well, it was a pleasure. Trying on all these dresses was actually quite fun!” Cheerilee said, giving a soft sigh. She honestly felt rather relaxed, the mundane pleasure of trying on fancy clothing something she hadn’t indulged in in quite a while. In fact, it was the first mundane thing she could remember doing in many months, since school had started. “Well, goodbye! Also, I must say, you looked rather lovely in those dresses!”, Rarity said, giving a small smile. Cheerilee truly had looked beautiful in the gowns and dresses she had tried on, especially in that particular green dress; the one which had been inspired by, and essentially been made for, her. “Thanks! It’s too bad I can’t purchase anything today,” Cheerilee gave one final glance at the perfect dress for her that was on display, then headed over to the door, with Rarity accompanying her, “Oh well…maybe one day. Goodbye now!” “Alright, ta-ta!”, Rarity said, opening the door for her guest, before watching her go. For some reason, she felt some slight sadness as Cheerilee walked away, but quickly shrugged it off. “Perhaps I should go to the spa tomorrow. It has been a while, and I could certainly use some ‘me-time’ after all that unpleasant business. Perhaps tomorrow afternoon, I’ll give Aloe and Lotus a visit, get the ‘full treatment’,” Rarity said to herself, before heading into the kitchen to make some food. Subconsciously, though, perhaps she was hoping to run into Cheerilee there, from her mentioning her voucher. As Cheerilee got home, she looked over some papers her students had turned in, intending to grade them, before sighing. She was unable to really concentrate, as she couldn’t get her mind off of the situation with the three filles. She didn’t want to punish them, but knew that if she didn’t take care of this now, they may do something worse later on as a ‘prank’ without intervention, and it could possibly end up with somepony in the hospital. Instead, she got up, going to get herself some coffee to help her focus. As the coffee brewed, she glanced over at a pink envelope. It’d been sitting on her side table for months now, yet she’d never really paid it much mind. It’d been a gift from one of her students at the previous Hearth’s Warming and, after seeing what was inside, Cheerilee had put it aside for a special occasion. Getting up and walking over to the table, she picked up the envelope. Opening it, she once more saw the golden ticket for a ‘full service’ treatment at the Ponyville Day Spa, surely quite an expensive commodity. Chewing her lower lip as she looked at the golden ticket, she thought that maybe she deserved something special after the stressful day, and the many months of hard work before too. “Well, maybe I should go to the spa tomorrow…it’s been forever since I’ve had a ‘me’ day”, Cheerilee said, giving a nod as though to confirm it to herself. “Perhaps tomorrow afternoon, after school.” After that decision was made, Cheerilee heard as the coffee machine beeped, the brew pervading the kitchen with its strong, invigorating scent.