//------------------------------// // Acceptance // Story: Violet Lace // by DemonAngel13 //------------------------------// "Alright class, this morning we will be discussing the concept of..." Miss Quill trailed off. Violet wasn't listening. She never really listened when it came to note-taking days. She didn't really need to. One good thing about practicing the art of writing, is that once you got it down, you don't really need to think about it. You could think about other things... like a story you were writing this morning. Maybe I should create a character... that challenges her. Perhaps a rival...? "Psssst! Violet, do you undertand bullet number two?" Cloudy Sun whispered in the least subtle way possible. "Um..." She looked down at her notes. The second bullet discussed unemployment effecting the economy in Canterlot. "Yeah. If you don't have enough ponies working in factories or idustries, not enough of the product will be made. Due to a lack of supply, the demand skyrockets, causing a surplus in prices." "But... that doesn't make any sense. Why would anypony buy something more expensive?" She asked. Violet shrugged. "Sometimes that's the only option. Plus, that's kind of how it works in Canterlot. The item with the highest price, naturally seems more valuable. More value, the more a pony wants it. " "I guess... but what if it's something pointless? Like, what if in some freak accident, quill makers suddenly stop making quills? Will everypony start buying useless crates full of quills?" "First off, quills are not useless. And, yes. Knowing Canterlot, that is exactly what everypony would do. They would probably build shelves in their homes to show them off, and shrines in their closets to hold their fluffiest plume." Violet answered with a playful smile. Cloudy Sun snorted. "Plus," Violet added. "Some ponies are alreadly doing that. Quills can be made from rare birds, or with rare colors. Some could have certain details added to them, or just be made by a specific brand. There are even some that are hoof-made. Quills can have an extremely high value, so obviously there are going to be some collectors somewhere in Equestria." "With shrines in their closets?" Cloudy Sun asked. "I bet they dust them every night." Violet said as she cracked a smile. "I can also see them having a little tuft of down, like in a velvet lined box." Cloudy Sun was clearly holding back laughter and Violet was doing the same. She even had to hold her hoof to her face to keep from an outburst. "Miss Lace? Miss Sun? Is there something you would like to share with the class?" Violet and Cloudy Sun both looked up to see Miss Quill staring at them with icy blue eyes. The teacher, though normally very sweet and motherly, was known throughout the school for doing a complete one-eighty and becoming one of the most menacing mares in all of Equestira. With her lean, long legged appearance, she would be beautiful as much as she was intimidating. Her bright pink mane would be pulled back into a tight bun, that would start to fray and become increasingly more relaxed as the day continued, similar to her personallity and overall attitude. It was the begining of class. Niether Cloudy Sun, nor Violet had that luxury. Her appearance now looked stiff, and ridgid. Her bun was perfectly tight on her head, with a harsh appearance. With her long legs, she towered over the two young fillies. Her wings, which were larger than the average female pegasi wing, were now fully expanded to their highest and widest reach, making Miss Quill look huge and scary. "Um...we-" Cloudy Sun tried to explain. "We were discussing the concept of a decrease in feather quills produced," Violet inturrupted. "and how it would effect pony behavior in Canterlot. We went on to talk about how the value for quills increasing, causing collectors to buy as many quills as possible, and putting all of their money towards them. We were then going to discuss how a huge surplus in quills produced was going to cause a low demand for the product, and making many of those ponies go bankrupt." Miss Quill raised an eyebrow, debating whether or not to punish the girls for talking in class. But with a slight shrug of her shoulders, and a small grunt of contempt, and went back to flying towards the center of the chalkboard, where she continued to take notes. "That was amazing." Cloudy Sun whispered quietly, trying not to draw attention again. "How in the world did you manage that?" "It wasn't that hard." Violet answered. "I wrote down everything, so I just figured that if I contorted the situation to make it seem like it related... and to be fair, it wasn't a total lie." "That's still so cool! How are you doing that anyway? Is it some kind of spell, that makes your quill take notes for you? If it is, can you enchant my pencil too?" Cloudy Sun asked. "What? no." Violet said, slightly annoyed by the question. "My quill isn't enchanted, unless you count the levitating spell that I use to hold it. I just... copy the board. Nothing to complicated. I read the notes when I get home. And plus, how do you know I wasn't listening? I could have been completely enthralled." "You were staring out the window, with your ears pointed in the opposite direction." Cloudy Sun answered. "You may not be cheating, but you certainly aren't smooth about not listening. "Well, whatever. I'm not hurting anypony." She said in her defense. Cloudy shrugged and went back to catching up on her notes. ... "Well... today was boring. I hope that's not how it is everyday." Cloudy Sun said as they were walking down the school's steps. "It's not." Violet responded. "But it does come close." "That sucks, but it still isn't as bad as being home schooled." "You were home schooled?" Violet asked. Cloudy Sun nodded. "Back in ponyville. Dad was a historian, so the concept of history and writing was covered, and mom, having a cooking talent, taught me math and, well, cooking. It wasn't that bad, but it got lonely." "Maybe you should have stayed!" The two girls spun around to see Shimmering Ruby standing behind them. The most popular pony in their entire class had a wicked smirk plastered on her freakish, perfectly proportioned face. Her mane, which was a constantly briliant candy apple red, was styled in a feminine pompadour with a couple of loose curls trailing down her neck and a couple framing her face. Her coat was a lot paler than her fathers, giving her a strangly attractive complexion that, in Violet's mind, resembled a rock without any jewels. And of course, around her neck, was a massive ruby necklace. Gold plates encircled the young pony's neck in a way that didn't seem healthy, if normal. The large stone was as big as Violet's hoof and as obnoxious as a dragon with a snoring problem. The gold plates were frequently shined, and the effort put in to make the piece of jewelry look new showed. Though Shimmering Ruby had owned the accessory for at least a couple of years now, it barely looked as though it was taken out of the jewelry box. Oh, and her father was Hoity Toity. So yeah, this filly had a bit of an attitude. "E-excuse me?" Cloudy Sun stuttered. "You should have stayed in Ponyville." Shimmering said bluntly. "It's where dirty, cutie mark-less, lower class ponies like you need to live." "Back off, Shimmering." Violet said through clenched teeth. "It's Shimmering Ruby." She said with a sneer. "And since when do you ever butt in?" In the years that they had grown up, their relationship had fluctuated. Before Shimmering got her cutie mark, she was just like any other pony in the class. But as soon as her cutie mark, which was a gigantic ruby (big surprise!), appeared, that all changed. She bullied and made fun of all of the blank flanks in the class. She stole kids lunches, claiming that bringing your own food from home was a sign of lower class and that Canterlot Gifted was made for only the upper class ponies. She bothered Violet for a time. But soon, she realized that she wasn't going to get a tear, blush, or sob out of her. So she gave up and went for the weaker spined. "And I'm just being honest." Shimmering continued. "I mean, a Ponyville pony? Here? She and her family just aren't going to make it. They'll get eaten alive! I'm just trying to spare them the pain." She pouted her lips to feign sincerity. "Shut it, Shim-" Violet was interrupted by Cloudy Sun sprinting off of school grounds. She watched in sadness as the pony bolted her way past the main gate. She ran after her, hearing Shimmering's pompous laughter behind her. Somehow, Violet managed to keep Cloudy Sun in sight. Once the sun-colored filly slowed down, Violet felt as though her lungs were going to give out and her legs turned to jelly. "Are...you...okay?" Voilet huffed. When Cloudy Sun didn't answer, Violet felt a seed of worry sprout. Though Shimmering wasn't bad once you got use to her, she certainly wasn't fun to deal with. And according to the past pony's reactions to her, the first interaction was something that nopony could prepare for. There was a long, cold silence. Violet looked at Cloudy Sun, with her ears drooped and her braided tail laying on the ground like a piece of discarded cloth. A feeling of ice appeared in her stomach. A feeling that froze her to the bone and caused her eyes to burn. A few seconds passed, and Violet figured out what caused the feeling. She felt bad... for Cloudy Sun. She thought for a moment, wondering what to do. It was only when the sky rumbled with thunder did an idea appear. "Cloudy S-." She stopped herself, realizing that she needed to handle the situation with care. She felt a burning sensation overtake the cold feeling that resided in her abdomen, causing her to physically feel her uncomfortableness. "Cloudy...?" The filly's ears perked up in surprise. "I... want to show you... something special. Do you want to see?" Violet asked carefully, trying not to sound to forceful. "...What is it?" Cloudy asked quietly. "It's a special place." Violet whispered. "A place I found when I was a small foal. I haven't showed it to anypony before." "Really?" Violet heard Cloudy's voice crack. "Yes." Violet whispered back. "Nopony."