In Search of Answers
In Search of Answers
Rarity rubbed her eyes, momentarily displacing her glasses for a moment before she readjusted them with her magic. She looked down at the sewing machine before her with bleary eyes. Gentle moonlight shone in through the windows, straight in the eyes of the sleep-deprived fashionista, as if berating her for defying nature and not sleeping.
But how could she sleep? She had a special order for Aloe and Lotus due tomorrow, and she hadn’t been struck with inspiration until earlier that day. Thus the unicorn had worked hard, far into the night.
Rarity looked over at the clock and bit her lip. Surely the girls at the spa wouldn’t be too upset if she delivered the dresses just a little late? After all, one simply could not work in bad conditions and expect a perfect product.
The white unicorn gently disengaged the machine from the material, stowing everything away in it’s proper place and draping the half finished dresses over forms before heading upstairs. She passed the dark portal to Sweetie Belle’s room, knowing it was empty having sent her dear sister to Sweet Apple Acres for one of her Cutie Mark Crusader sleepovers earlier that day. Rarity shut the door, as she had instructed her sister to do before leaving, and, shaking her head, walked across the hall into her own room.
Rarity collapsed onto the pile of pillows and blankets spread across her massive bed, for once not caring about messing up the covers in her half-asleep daze. She kicked at her imported Canterlot duvet with her hind legs, managing to get them over her body before sinking her head into the mountain of pillows, and finally falling asleep.
--_--_--_--
“RARITY!” A door banged open somewhere downstairs, causing the white unicorn to groan and try her best to meld her head with the pillows below it. “RARITY, I’M HOME! WHERE ARE YOU?!” Rarity grudgingly opened one eye, noting the door to be closed and locked before shutting it again.
“Rari-oof!” The next cry was stopped by a shuddering bang. Rarity finally opened her eyes, looking over to see the door knocked open, and a little filly standing in the doorway. Sweetie Belle looked up, beaming. “There you are, Rarity, I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
“Quiet down, Sweetie Belle, your sister is trying to sleep,” the tired unicorn said, rolling to face away from the door. “Go play with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo or something... I need to rest so I can finish my work.”
“But Rarity,” Sweetie Belle said, coming around to the other side of the bed. “It’s past noon. Shouldn’t you be done by now?”
Rarity’s eyes shot open, wide awake and alert. “Past noon! Oh, I was supposed to deliver the dresses at three! There’s no way I’m going to get them done before then!” The white unicorn jumped up, beginning to pace back and forth in front of her bed. “What am I going to do?!”
“Well, you know, I could help you out sis,” Sweetie Belle said, beaming up at her sister.
“Aye-uh... I thank you for the offer, little sister, but I don’t really think this is a project you can help me with...” Rarity replied, scratching the back of her head with a hoof. And I know I don’t have the time to fix any mistakes.
“Oh...” Rarity could almost hear the heartbreak in her sister’s voice.
“Did you ever get that book from Miss Cheerilee, darling?” Rarity asked, trying to distract her sister while running several brushes through her mane in the mirror.
“Yeah, but I don’t understand it at all... I even tried talking to the other Crusaders, but they understand about as much as I do. I’ll probably have to go in early Monday to ask Miss Cheerilee...”
Rarity looked down at Sweetie Belle sympathetically. “Well, you could always go ask Twilight for help. I’m sure she knows whatever it is you’re trying to do.” Rarity reached out with a brush, moving it towards her sister’s mane, making the little filly to duck her head and move back.
“You’re right! I’ll go get the girls and we’ll go to the library!” Sweetie Belle’s grin lessened a little. “Oh, the library...”
“Sweetie Belle, what’s wrong with the library?” Rarity asked with a chiding tone.
“Not really what I wanted to do on a Saturday...” the filly groused.
“Well, if you don’t get your homework done, you can’t really have a good weekend now can you? What have I always told you?”
“To do my work as soon as possible, so I can free up the day to do whatever I want...” Sweetie Belle recited with a hidden roll of her eyes.
“...to do whatever you want, that’s right. Now, go on, get it done.” Rarity put down her brushes and nudged her sister towards the door.
“Okay... see you later, Rarity!” the little filly said, bounding out the door. Rarity waited a moment until she heard the front door close before going downstairs and getting all of her machinery in order.
“Now, to get these dresses finished...”
--_--_--_--
Twilight Sparkle was just settling down on her favorite couch for a bit of light reading (Starswirl the Bearded’s Unabridged Works in the Metaphysical and Metamagical Realms, Volume Two) when a rapid flurry of knocks on the front door shattered the silence of the library. “I’ll get it!” Spike called from his place behind the checkout desk before Twilight could so much as raise a hoof. He scurried over to the door and threw it open, revealing the three fillies beyond.
“Hello, girls,” Twilight called as the three rambunctious fillies walked in the library. “Can I help you find a book?”
“Hi, Twilight,” Sweetie Belle said. She was obviously the leader of this little expedition, the other two skulking back by the door. “We, uh, we need your help.”
Twilight’s ears perked up. “My help? What for?”
“Well, we’re starting a new lesson in school, and Miss Cheerilee asked us to look over a part of our book so we would know a little bit for class Monday, but...” the grayish filly looked back at her friends. “We don’t get it.”
“Speak for yourself,” Scootaloo said, “I understand it fine.”
“Oh yeah?” Apple Bloom poked a hoof in the pegasus’ face. “What’s it ‘bout then?”
“I, uh, I can’t tell you,” Scootaloo replied, flashing her friend a cocky smirk.
Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, cuz you don’ know!”
“Do too!”
“Do not.”
“Do too!”
“Do not.”
“Girls, enough!” Twilight said, stopping the argument before it really got started. “Let me see the book, please.” Sweetie Belle reached her head around, pulling the aged volume out of her saddlebag and giving it to the purple librarian. “Oh, I remember this book!” Twilight exclaimed upon seeing the cover. “Princess Celestia had me read it when I was a little filly and was--” she stopped, looking down at the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “...right. How can I help?”
“We just don’t get it. None of it makes any sense,” Sweetie Belle said.
Twilight got up and walked over to a table, shadowed by the three little fillies. “Come on, let’s look at it, and I’m sure I can explain... whatever’s... wrong...?” Her voice trailed off as she looked down at the first few pages of the book. “This is exactly the same book I used when I was little. There’s no way they would go all this time and not change anything...”
“What’s that mean?” Apple Bloom asked from Twilight’s right.
“Spike!” Twilight called, ignoring the younger pony. “Can you bring down my copy of Ponies Big and Small?”
Spike grumbled, something about always doing the fetching, but went and got the book from Twilight’s personal collection upstairs anyway. Impatiently, Twilight grabbed the book from Spike with her magic as soon as he came down the stairs, nuzzling him as he walked by. She set her book down next to Sweetie Belle’s, and flipped them both to the same page.
“It’s exactly the same. Years, and its exactly the same...” Twilight muttered to herself.
“Is that bad...?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Let’s find out. Come on, girls, let’s go visit Miss Cheerilee, shall we?”
--_--_--_--
“I-I’m sorry!” Shadow shouted at her friend before she walked out the door.
“You’re sorry? You’re sorry!?” Buttercreme shouted, turning from the door and advancing on the dark pegasus. “You don’t know sorry. You don’t know...” her voice trailed off, eyes filling with tears. “Go, go be with your stallion. Just leave me alone...” With that, the golden unicorn ran from the room, door closing the sound of her sobs behind her.
Thunk.
Huh, it’s like I can hear the door closing, Cheerilee thought as she turned the page.
Knock, knock, knock. Ding-dong, ding-dong. “Scootaloo, don’t break down the door.”
Wait a minute. Cheerilee’s eyes jumped up from her book to look straight at the door. That sounded like Twilight. What’s she doing here? And with Scootaloo? The teacher got off the couch, making sure to stash the book under a pillow, and walked over to the door. Sure enough, looking through the small peephole in her door revealed the lavender unicorn, along with three little fillies anypony in the town could identify on sight--or sound.
Cheerilee opened the door. “Hello?” she asked, poking her head out.
“Hey Cheerilee,” Twilight said as the three fillies moved back behind her. “We have a question.”
“You have a question for me?” The teacher cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t think theres anything you could ask that I could answer.” Except for “will you go out with me?” That would be an easy one.
“No, I think you could answer my questions, especially if we sat down and figured it out together,” Twilight replied, missing Cheerilee’s smile. “But this question is about the girls’ homework.”
“Alright, well come inside and we’ll get it all sorted out, okay?” Cheerilee stepped back, allowing the ponies to walk inside. The Crusaders’ heads all shot off in different directions, trying to take in everything they could of their teacher’s house. Twilight chuckled, shepherding the three over to the living area, and seating them on the couch.
Wow, she is really good with foals... but I already knew that, huh? Cheerilee grinned.
“Everything alright?” Twilight asked.
“Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m fine.” Cheerilee took a seat across the table. Twilight took the one next to that. “So, what did you want to ask?”
Twilight’s voice took on a hard edge. “What is the meaning of this?”
“M-Meaning of what?” Cheerilee stammered, face going pale as countless possibilities flew through her mind.
“This!” Twilight pulled the textbook from her bag, slamming it down on the table causing Cheerilee sighed in relief. “What is this? Why are you using a book this old to teach the foals! I used this book in Canterlot years ago! Doesn’t the Education Board keep you better supplied?”
“Well, yeah. They send the latest edition of every book we need and all our supplies and stuff, but they have never sent a new copy of that one, except to replace damaged ones. I just figured they never found one better, and none of the students have complained, so I didn’t see a problem,” Cheerilee said, gingerly taking the textbook and running a hoof over the cover.
“But we don’t get it!” Sweetie Belle shouted from her place on the couch, making the other four ponies jump. “I spent half the day Friday trying to read it, and I don’t get it!”
“Sweetie Belle, calm down,” Cheerilee replied, cowing her student. “What don’t you understand?”
The white filly hopped off the couch, going over to stand next to her teacher as she opened the book and started pointing out passages. The other two fillies got off the couch as well, looking over from the other side of the table. As the discussion continued, Twilight’s brow furrowed in thought.
“I understand, that is somewhat confusing. Unicorn magic is called ‘true magic’ because the raw energy can be formed and shaped by unicorns. The other types of ponies can draw on it, like the pegasi ability to fly, manipulating air currents, and their command of weather...” Cheerilee was saying. The fillies gathered around her nodded in understanding, and Twilight smiled, remembering a paper she had written directly contradicting the information in the book.
“Is something funny, Miss Sparkle?” Cheerilee asked in her best stern teacher voice.
Twilight instantly looked down at the ground. “No...” The giggling of fillies quickly filled the room, joined shortly after by Cheerilee. Twilight looked up, blushing. “Ha ha, very funny.”
Cheerilee reached over, putting a shaking hoof over Twilight’s withers. “Oh, calm down, I’m just messing with you.” Twilight quickly pulled back, sticking her tongue out at the teacher and her students.
“Very funny. I’ll leave you to your lessons then, Cheerilee. I’m going to go write to the Royal Canterlot Archives and see if I can’t get you a better book. See you around.” Cheerilee briefly debated calling the unicorn back in, but she quickly decided against it. As it was, she barely had time to say goodbye before Twilight walked through the door, and the teacher became one again bombarded with questions.
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I like it, I really do like it. It really has the potential to get into my "really good cheerliee stories" (yes I have that list and yes, cheerliee stories are awesome).
Your characterization of the CMC is miles ahead of your old one. they do actually seem like foals now and are not just all over the place. the story also seems to be progressing with a better flow overall.
And what would i have changed? I would have Cheerliee and Twilight not write the book, simple as that. Having a full time schoolteacher and the personal student of the princess write a book makes no sense at all to begin with. I sadly do not have any much better suggestions at the moment, but you really should try to not go down the same path again.
And now I sit, waiting for more.
So, er, I went to track this story and get e-mail updates... and now it says that there are 10 unread chapters...
There are no unread chapters...
2211193
Well, there were at one point in time. I took down the chapters that were there to put up the rewrite...
2213458 Well apparently FIMfiction thinks they're still there.
2213985
You could hit "mark all as read" I'd just make sure there are none you haven't actually read first.
Sorry.
2214007 Oh I did. Just figured I'd let'cha know about it. Wasn't sure if something went all screwy.
2214015
Screwy? On the internet? You've got to be joking.
2192124
Wow... I just saw this... Awkward.
Anyway, they are going to write it. It is the premise of the whole story. And who better to write a textbook than a teacher who will use it, and one of the smartest unicorns in Equestria?
2298972 there are people who have it as a job to make school books.
2301052
Shhhhhh... Willing Suspension of Disbelief. Learn it, live it, love it. That's what's going to happen, so sorry if you're disappointed.
2301881 i know what that is and it is pretty much necessary to read the not so good stories on this site. however, i did not mean it as real criticism and it is not a problem, it is merely an answer to a question you asked.
Redundant comment of redundancy
A bit less egregious than the sentence prior, but another instance of repetitive word choice.
Though the formatting doesn't transfer to my quote, this part is a bit difficult to read because you treat what Cheerilee is reading and what she is thinking exactly the same. The passage is meant to show confusion between what she's reading and what's happening around her, but because of formatting decisions the confusion is elsewhere. The combination of purposeful bleeding between book and surroundings and the confusion between book and thought is quite jarring.
Little bit of Lavender Unicorn Syndrome here.
This passage just read a bit oddly for me, I couldn't quite gather if she was correcting the book--world building, or if that was the old, incomprehensible passage she was quoting. This is another instance of you writing confusion in a confusing manner, in my opinion, at least.
This is out of place, we are currently hovering over the figurative shoulder of Cheerilee in this scene, why can we know what Twilight does or doesn't remember
? The thought is sound, but should either be put in sound (dialogue), or put aside
.
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I hope you don't mind me jotting down a couple of the things I noticed about the chapter, I've been doing quite a bit of editing recently and I felt compelled to write my thoughts down. I probably won't go back and go over the first chapter, but I will probably do this for the following chapters.
I'm actually falling in love with the prompt, and I am really interested to see how this plays out. While your Cheerilee feels just a bit OOC to me, it's a common trope with ship-fics, and I can't even fault you in good conscience because Cheerilee is such a minor character; I'm certain you have taken a reasonable amount of artistic liberty on the matter.
Anyhow, next chapter!
I hate to be that guy but if I'm not mistaken, "Do to!" during the exchange between Apple Bloom and Scootaloo in the library should be "Do too!".
Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, though.
Loving it so far!
I'm liking this story so far--my only issue is that Cheerilee's voice seems slightly off. What I mean by that is, she doesn't tend to use words like "yeah" or "stuff." At least, I don't think. Her lexicon is much more composed and formal.
I think that the characterization of CMC is fine, but I think Sweetie Belle more screen time than the others