A Dress for a Muse

Chapters

Chapter 1: Hemmed In
Chapter 2: Seeds of Inspiration Sewn
Chapter 3: In Her Pocket
Chapter 4: Tailor-Made for a Wedding
Chapter 5: A Perfect Fit
Chapter 6: A Seaming Finish

Chapter 1: Hemmed In

Rarity was on her way to the Ponyville Schoolhouse, mildly annoyed at having to come down here. She had never been called into the school, and as she approached the building, she was more and more questioning what was so important as to have her meet the teacher after school. After all, she’d not been there before, aside from the monthly guardian-teacher meetings.

As Rarity entered the small one-room schoolhouse, Cheerilee was already waiting for her. Apparently, from what she’d gathered from the note Sweetie Belle had brought home, she had done something to invoke the disapproval of the usually easy-going teacher. “Please, have a seat,” Cheerilee spoke, her tone not as friendly or light as it usually was.

As Rarity sat down, across from her was a clearly very unamused Cheerilee, who was taking a second to gather her thoughts, thinking about how she was going to explain what had happened. Her usually cheery green eyes were narrowed in what seemed to be annoyance, a magenta hoof softly tapping on the desktop.

“So, whatever is the meaning for you calling me here? Surely my little sister didn’t do anything too bad? She’s always acted sophisticated and proper.” Rarity asked to break the uncomfortable silence, before hearing a soft, disappointed sigh from Cheerilee. Disappointed that one of her students, who had always been so well-behaved before, would pull something like this.

“As this is the first time Sweetie has ever done something like this - within school grounds, at least - I am unfortunately obliged to have called upon you for a guardian-teacher meeting, and I really hope that this is not going to become a regular occurance,” Cherilee replied, before softly shaking her head, “Apparently Sweetie, as well as her friends Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, spoke with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, and got the idea to pull a page from their book. They pulled a prank aimed at today’s class.”

As Rarity glanced around the room, when Cheerilee had mentioned a prank, she noticed that there seemed to be parts of the varnish gone from the fairly-scuffed wooden floor around all the desks for some reason…as well as a few chunks of the floor itself missing. “Did they vandalize the classroom? Surely not! Neither my Sweetie, nor her friends, would ever do something so…base! She’s much more couth than that!” Rarity stated, before Cheerilee softly shook her head in disagreement.

“No, nothing like that, though it did lead to needing to sand the floors, and we still have to replace several boards of it from the damage that the adhesive removal caused. You see, the three fillies came in during lunch break and, after pulling the benches so far from the desk as to be unusable, they used some fast-drying wood adhesive to…glue the desk benches to the floor. Even mine.” Cheerilee explained, clearly more than a bit peeved by the recounting. She was none too amused as Rarity gave a soft chuckle. “I’ll have you know, it took the three of them - yes, I made them scrape it off as punishment, in detention - over an hour to use a chisel to peel each chair off the floor, rather then just ripping them away, in order to minimize the damage. But, nonetheless, even the careful peeling led to some minor damage. However, and worse, it led to disruption of the class, since everypony had to sit on the floor instead.”

“Oh come now, there was nothing so harmful in that! I think that was a pretty good prank, if I do say so! I would have loved to see the look on the students’ and your faces when they…” Rarity started, before trailing off as she saw Cheerilee’s withering glare, “..and besides, I believe that perhaps them having to undo it and detention was punishment enough?”

“They disrupted an entire class session, and ultimately led to damaging school property to undo their ‘prank’,” Cheerilee explained, looking somewhat perturbed by Rarity’s lackadaisical response to the, to her at least, rather serious infraction that had occurred, “And as this school isn’t rich, as well as not wanting to pay for vandalization like this, we have to figure out who is going to pay for this.”

“I can give you a few bits to replace the damages. Surely a few pieces of lumber couldn’t cost much, correct?” Rarity said, before getting a soft shake of the head from Cheerilee.

“That would help with the financial part of the problem, but it doesn’t account for the disruptive and destructive behavior of Sweetie Belle and her friends. I’ll be discussing this matter with the others’ guardians after we’ve finished here, too. I think a few days’ suspension would suffice as an appropriate punishment.”

“Suspension!?” Rarity said, honestly shocked by the suggestion, “B-but Sweetie has never been suspended before! That would mar her perfect record! Couldn’t just them having to take the glue off be a sufficient enough punishment, if I pay for the repairs?”

“Unfortunately, I think that is how it needs to be. They damaged school property, and they should be heavily incentivized to not do it again. I…” Cheerilee said, then was cut off by a knock at the door of her classroom, “...I’m sorry, that must be my next appointment with Applejack. We could discuss this more later, perhaps, when I’ve had a chance to…cool off some? Maybe at a cafe, or somewhere like that?”

Rarity, meanwhile, was thinking. She knew this couldn’t stand as it was. Sweetie was such a good filly, and one small prank shouldn’t be the cause of her perfect record being tarnished, even if it did lead to some unintended damages. “Well, perhaps we could meet at my place of business when you’re free? Carousel Boutique, located on Saddle Way? Surely you’ve seen it before?”

As Rarity said that, Cheerilee’s eyes lit up. “Oh! Of course I’ve been there! There are so many beautiful outfits and gowns there, some of which I’d love to buy. Unfortunately, a teacher’s wages aren’t the best, and they’re a bit too…rich for me. I didn’t know you were the owner!”

“Yes, indeed! I’m the owner, and the designer and seamstress too!” Rarity said, feeling a small bubble of pride as her life’s work was mentioned, as well as called beautiful. “So, would it be agreeable to meet there then? Perhaps tomorrow afternoon, after school?

“Sure!” Cheerilee responded, with an enthusiasm previously missing in the conversation, “I’d love to see all of your new, undoubtedly beautiful creations!”

“Why, thank you! I do work quite hard on them,” Rarity said, giving a genuine smile as her art was appreciated.

Another knock came at the door, a bit firmer, as though making sure the knocker had been heard now, if not before. “Well, I would love to continue this conversation, but it sounds like my next appointment is getting a bit…” Another door-rattling knock. “...impatient. So, I’ll see you tomorrow, around three-thirty or four?”

“Sure, sure, that sounds like a good time for me. I’ll be sure to set some tea on.” Rarity responded, giving a soft smile.

“Alright, I’ll see you then. Goodbye, Miss Rarity!”

“Ta-ta, Miss Cheerilee!”

As Rarity opened the door to leave, a very peeved-looking Applejack all but charged into the room, followed by a glum-looking Apple Bloom, looking like she’d gotten quite the talking-to from her already. “Good luck,” Rarity whispered to the filly, before going on her way.

Apple Bloom noticed that Rarity was all on her own, no Sweetie Belle in sight. “AJ, Ah thought me ‘n’ the girls had to come with our guardians, you said, why would you say ‘at? I can’t believe it!”

“Ah thought so, but Ah guess not. Still, Ah wanna get yer side’a thangs too,” Applejack replied, before opening the door and nodding inside, having Apple Bloom go in first to face her fate.

On the way back home, Rarity was thinking to herself how to achieve the best outcome for Sweetie Belle. She considered how to make it not so obvious that she had planned to persuade Cheerilee into letting the consequences resulting from her prank slip, so as to not ruin her sister’s perfect score. She also needed to think of how to explain this to Sweetie Belle, still keeping her manipulation of the situation a secret.

In fact, Rarity was so occupied in her thoughts that when she came back to the boutique, Sweetie Belle was already worriedly anticipating a heavy talking-to, so much dreading it that she was nearly cowering behind some furniture upon Rarity’s arrival. Instead, to her surprise, she was completely ignored by Rarity. Sweetie Belle had mixed feelings about being passed by without so much as a word from her sister about the incident; was she just to be treated like thin air now? Was Rarity really that mad at her? Sweetie’s eyebrows furrowed in concern, worried about when Rarity would explode at her. Perhaps, she thought, this was merely the calm before the storm.

Chapter 2: Seeds of Inspiration Sewn

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 wasthe 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.

Chapter 3: In Her Pocket

“But, Ah thought we had to stay after school, ta fix the damage our prank caused?” Apple Bloom asked clearly, a little bit confused.

“Well, you see, one of your guardians had decided to take care of this instead, because they didn’t want me to be stressed out over always having to look after fillies like you while you fixed the floor,” Cheerilee told them after she’d been stopped after class, before leaving the three friends a bit confused as she walked away, “So, see you tomorrow in class!”

Cheerilee, right as the final lesson ended, just couldn’t get rid of the thought of finally getting some relaxation, mindlessly trotting in the direction of the spa, the ticket in her saddlebags.
As she entered the spa the first thing she noticed was a rather lovely scent - perhaps lavender? Aloe? - that definitely was soothing, and promised a good time already.

With her barely even entering the lobbies, one of the spa ponies - Aloe and Lotus, the famous ‘Spa Twins’ - went to her left, and the other to her right, one of them carefully taking her saddlebag from her back and going to hang it on a nearby hook. “Hullo, und welcome to zee Ponyville Day Spa!” the pink-coated mare with a blue mane said, having a slight Scandineighvian accent, “what are the treatments you’re wanting today? We have a special on hooficures, seaweed wraps, und mud baths, with imported mud from the Celestial Sea! Vat can we do for you today, miss?”

“Oh, well,” Cheerilee said, before reaching into her Saddlebag and pulling out the golden ticket. “I have this voucher from a while ago. For a ‘full treatment’?“ Cheerilee asked more than requested, not entirely sure what all was in a ‘full treatment’, “Unless, of course, it’s expired..”

“Oh don’t worry about zat! They don’t. They are a one-time use, thanks to some magic, so that ponies can’t fool the system”, the spa pony with Cheerilee’s saddlebag, which she was carefully putting away right then, responded from across the room. Once she’d seen that glint of a gold ‘full treatment’ ticket, she went to do preparations after hooking Cheerilee’s bags.

“Oh, yes, one of our VIP tickets! That’s zee first one I’ve seen in months!” the blue-coated mare said, then passing the ticket under a scanner, which beeped. The ticket lost its lustrous glow and instead became plain paper, with the spa pony then hoofing it back over to Cheerilee. “Und here is your receipt. Vell, I am Aloe, and I will be your primary aesthetician today! My syster, Lotus, will be my assistant und your masseur. So, do you know what you’re in for with a ‘full treatment’, or do you vant us to explain it?”

“Well.. I actually don’t know, so if you’d be so kind?” Cheerilee responded, honestly hoping there was nothing too strange in store for her.

“Ok, vell,” Aloe started, “zee first treatment vill be a simple full-body massage. After we have done zhat for you, you will be sent into the sauna to even further get all these tensions down. After zhat you will receive a full bath and shampooing, including a face mud-mask we will make for you, all in our ‘sea room’,” At Cheerilee’s clearly confused expression, she elaborated, “We made it so the room resembles zee environment of a seaside resort, the scent of sea air, und the saltiness in the air often helps ponies with allergies, should they happen to have any. It iz also a wonderful experience nonetheless, even if zey do not. Then, when we are done with zee ‘sea room’, then we will go outside for a natural sunbath, as well as a hooficure alongside it, as currently it’s summer, und the pegasi put all their hard work into keep the sun shining.”

“That sounds…a little overwhelming, but delightful!” Cheerilee said, though she had not paid full attention to what had been said, due to the sheer amount of things she was scheduled for. But, she figured this place had a reputation for a reason, and decided to trust that, as well as going along with Rarity’s glowing recommendation the day before.

As she enjoyed the hour-long massage, with Lotus finding and soothing muscular tension in places that even Cheerilee[/] didn’t know she was tense in, she then relaxed in the sauna. Cheerilee simply enjoyed all the treatments as she then headed to the ‘sea room’. As she had the mud masque applied, before sinking herself into the warm, thick specialty mud, she realized that she never felt nearly as relaxed as she was then for what felt like years to her; never having time to just take some ‘her’ time, always busy with planning lessons, teaching her students, or grading assignments, with the rest of her time eaten up with everyday life.

When the post-mudbath shower and shampooing was finished, and Rarity was making her way to the sunbathe and get her hooficure done outside, somepony bumped into her as they both tried to go through the door simultaneously, and was moving so quickly that Cheerilee was knocked to the ground.

“Oh, how rude of me, I’m terribly sorry!” the pony said as they reached down their hoof in a friendly attempt to help the slightly-dazed teacher up again. As she recognized the voice, then looked the familiar white-coated mare in her ocean-blue eyes, she had not noticed at first who she actually ran into. Honestly, she thought, what were the chances that she would show up the same time that she was here.

Cheerilee reached for Rarity’s offered hoof, the latter helping her up and ending up with their muzzles nearly touching. Both of their cheeks flushed red from the intimate closeness, before they both backed off a step at the same time.

“Huh, quite the coincidence seeing you here,” Cherilee said, clearly surprised to see the other mare there.

“No, no I wouldn’t say that at all, darling! I’m a regular customer here, so the likelihood is actually quite good that I’d be here on any given day.” Rarity replied, not mentioning that she’d been inspired to come here when Cheerilee had said that she was considering coming here…and possibly, because she was coming here.

There was a short moment of silence before both ponies went their own ways, Rarity going for a massage and mud-bath before the sunbath and hooficure outside, with Cheerilee meanwhile enjoying just that.

After a while, with Cheerilee still enjoying the warm sun caressing her coat, her hooves smooth and shiny, Rarity showed up outside as well to enjoy the rays of sun touching her body, looking rather relaxed after her massage. Lying on the table next to Cheerilee’s, Lotus approached with a hoof file, and started getting to work on Rarity’s hooves.

Rarity’s arrival had gone unnoticed by Cheerilee, as she had cucumber slices over her eyes, and only noticed she was there after hearing her ask Aloe for some water. Removing the slices from over her eyes, she looked over to Rarity. She wanted to thank her for inspiring her to do this, something she would have never done on her own, but Cheerilee couldn’t find the courage to do so, let alone any idea how to speak to her without making it sound like an awkward attempt at having small-talk. Instead, she just stood, and started to leave.

On the way out, Rarity actually followed, and was the one who started a chat with Cheerilee. “So, how was the trip to the spa?” Rarity asked. She had chosen to not go for the full time at the sunbath and left after her hooves were smoothed once again, instead wanting to talk with the teacher. She moved at a trot, quickly catching up to the now mentally-absent Cheerilee.

“Was it as good as I had promised?” Rarity asked with a smile, curious how Cheerilee had enjoyed ‘the full treatment’ that the voucher had offered.

Cheerilee started as Rarity had suddenly spoken, her thoughts clearly elsewhere. “Y-yes, it indeed made me forget all my worries for a while, and I feel like a new pony,” Cheerilee said with some excitement slowly making her way home, “But, did you talk to the three fillies yet, as you had promised?”

“No, I have not, at least not yet. But I will later today, so please don’t worry about it.” Rarity replied honestly.

“That’s not what I’m really worried about…” Cheerilee responded, more to herself than to Rarity

“Well, if not that, then what has you worried? Do you want to tell me about it?” Rarity asked, offering the teacher a chance to get whatever it was off her chest, following by her side as they shared a very similar path home.

Though it wasn’t quite Cheerilee's intention to start a chat, she explained further what was occupying her mind. “Well, I just remembered that I have to attend the wedding of my sister soon, and I simply don’t know what to wear! She also wanted me to help her find a wedding gown too. This has been stressing me out all week now.”

Rarity nodded, giving a comforting smile. “I understand. Marriage is quite a special event, and nopony ever wants to show up unprepared. So, why don’t you come to my boutique? I could maybe hoof-sew a wedding dress for your sister. Of course it comes at a price, but who’d not want one of Equestria’s popular tailors to make their wedding dress for them?” Rarity shamelessly promoted herself, but the reputation of her work’s quality was a widely spread one.

Cheerilee blinked, seemingly having forgotten that Rarity was, indeed, a tailor. “That sounds like a great idea! I’ll talk to her about that. When can we meet up to discuss the terms, if she agrees?”

“Basically at any time the shop is open. I will be there then anyway!”

“Alright, Thanks for the offer,” Cheerilee said, smiling brightly, “and a special thanks for having pushed me to get this spa treatment. That ticket had just been sitting there, covered in dust. I never would have used it otherwise.”

“Oh, it was nothing! No offense, but you looked like you were running yourself rather ragged, and you needed a proper break, away from work and students.” Rarity said, returning the maroon mare’s smile.

“Well, speaking of that, I actually did need to get back to planning tomorrow’s lessons, as nice as this break was. I’ll see you after I discuss using you as the tailor for my sister’s wedding dress with her! Bye!” Cheerilee said, before turning away from Rarity and parting ways with a wave of the hoof.

Rarity returned the farewell wave, and felt an odd pang of sadness as Cheerilee walked away. Ignoring that, she decided to head back to the boutique. She had a filly to speak with, after all.

*Weaving Bonds*

Back at the boutique, Rarity decided now would be a good time to keep her word to Cheerilee, and finally have the talk with her sister to prevent future pranks from potentially causing further damage. She let out a sigh before knocking at Sweetie Belle’s door.

“Come in…” Rarity heard from the room: the hesitant voice of her little sister.

Rarity came in falteringly, not really wanting to have such a conversation with her sister, especially when she viewed the damage done to the schoolhouse floor as not really being her fault. But, she knew it had to be done, since she had already promised Cheerilee she would discuss this with Sweetie.

“Well, I’m sure you haven’t forgotten why I was called to the school yesterday?” Rarity asked as she slowly approached Sweetie Belle. Rarity felt so relaxed from the spa trip that the last thing she wanted to think about was having an argument. She could see the filly was practically trembling in her horseshoes, despite still holding a brave expression. “Please sit down, I wanna have a word with you.” Rarity said in a rather friendly tone, as she pointed to Sweetie’s bed, then sat there herself.

Sweetie Belle slowly joined her sister, taking a place next to her on her bed. Sweetie Belle indeed felt slightly uncomfortable, expecting Rarity to be quite angry, but that clearly wasn’t actually the case.

“So,” Rarity started, not oblivious to her sister’s discomfort, “Cheerilee and I came to an agreement. You and your friends don’t have to deal with the repairs, but she had me promise her that I would talk to you and the other fillies about your actions.”

“Oh, so that’s why we didn’t have to stay in school in the end?” Sweetie asked, though more to herself than her older sister.

“Well, yes, but I still think you require some form of discipline.”

Sweetie Belle shuddered at that.

Rarity noticed, giving a small chuckle. “No, no, no, not like that. That was a poor choice of words, pardon me.”

“W-well, what did you mean then?” Sweetie Belle asked, clearly having calmed down a little from her sister’s assurance.

Rarity tapped her hoof on the bed, considering how to put her thoughts to words. “Ok, what I thought was the prank wasn’t too bad, as we all have been a silly-filly at least once in our lives. Even I was, though of course I would never admit it to anypony in public. Speaking of, this is our little secret, right?” Rarity asked, getting a little chuckle and nod from her filly sister, “But still, the repairs will be costing me bits, and I am not going be able to run the shop tomorrow due to a special commission I received: somepony is getting married, and I am responsible for the dress. I will have to stay in my workshop for a while, planning the dress and actually creating it, and I needed somepony to watch over my shop in the meantime. If you promise me to take good care of the shop, and help any customers as I taught you to, then we are even. What do you think? Is that a fair deal?”

That was Rarity’s plan all along: to have a trustworthy pony run the business, rather than leaving it closed for any amount of time, and this gave her a perfect opportunity to fulfill that desire.

Sweetie Belle was surprised, intrigued, though a bit hesitant at running the shop all by herself, even with her sister in the back room. But, seeing another opportunity to possibly finally earn her cutie mark, she nodded. “OK, I’ll do it! But, what about Scootaloo and Apple Bloom?”

“Oh I will talk to them and take care of that too, don’t you worry,” Rarity said, though she’d yet to decide what she’d say to the others. Besides, their guardians had likely already given them a good, stern talking-to already regarding respecting others’ property. Still, she had promised Cheerilee she would talk to them, and she’d keep to her word.

“Do you think they could come here too? That could be much more fun!” Sweetie Belle asked, looking for a way to turn this punishment into some fun with her friends instead.

Rarity shook her head. “Sweetie, this is not about having fun. Consider this payment and punishment for the bits that your actions have cost me, and as time to consider what you’ve done.”

“Okay…” Sweetie Belle said as she looked to the ground, sighing rather disappointedly.

Rarity cleared her throat. “Right, good. Now that we have come to a conclusion, I hope you will think again before pulling off anything like that in the future…even if it was quite a funny idea,” Rarity chuckled, covering her muzzle a little bit with her hoof, and getting a confused look from Sweetie. “Oh, that prank just reminded me so much of when I was a filly.”

Sweetie Belle’s muzzle scrunched up in confusion. “Really? That doesn’t seem much like…something you would do?” she asked, clearly caught by surprise. Her sister was usually so sophisticated, and would never do any silly stuff like pranks…or so she thought. Rarity just smiled, giving her little sister a wink, before she left her room.

Rarity then headed out to talk to both Applejack and Scootaloo’s guardians, explaining that she thinks that the fillies shouldn’t have to stay in school and do the repairs, less so because they didn’t deserve it - after having had second thoughts about it - but because of talking to Cheerilee, who would have had to stay in school for longer than necessary. They did come to an agreement. Apple Bloom had to help out more on the farm than her general duties, doing the things she in fact hated to do. Scootaloo, meanwhile, had had her scooter taken away by her aunts for two weeks; a punishment, for her, nearly worse than a death sentence.

Chapter 4: Tailor-Made for a Wedding

Another day had passed, and the two of the three fillies were busy with their newly-assigned work. Rarity was meanwhile going over some of the important details about running the shop with Sweetie Belle. Shortly after she was done teaching her little sister, the doorbell rang again.

“Oh, that must be the customer I told you of, Sweetie darling!” Rarity said, before she then quickly went and opened the door, “Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique and magnifique!” she said, reciting her slogan as she greeted two mares, letting them in. Sweetie Belle, from a bit further away, was spying from between some of the clothes racks. As she looked for the guest, she only saw Cheerilee at first. Is Cheerilee the special customer? She’s gonna get married? Sweetie asked herself quietly. She was absolutely not expecting to see her teacher again during the weekend. Sweetie Belle hid even more behind the clothing, not feeling comfortable even being in the same room with her teacher right then.

A second voice, one unknown to Sweetie Belle - sounding like Cheerilee but a bit deeper and gruffer - then started speaking. “So, you are Rarity? My sister told me a lot about you, and that it's well known that you make the best clothes in all of Equestria.”

Sweetie Belle had no idea who this was, taking a peek from afar to see another mare, and noticing she looked identical to her teacher, except for her mane-style and voice. She never knew her teacher was a twin!

“Ah, yes, I forgot to make introductions. Rarity, this is my twin sister, Cherry Blossom.”

Cherry Blossom grunted a greeting.

“Pleased to meet you, miss…well, soon to be missus. As for your earlier statement, well, I suppose that could be true. My fashion is indeed high-quality, and is known and worn throughout Equestria. Anyways, shall I make us some tea? This could take a while.” Rarity offered as she slowly trotted ahead, waiting for the others to follow her into her workshop.

“Tea sounds delightful, the blend you made yesterday was delicious! Perhaps some more of that, please?” Cheerilee said, licking her lips subtly.

Cherry Blossom, however, gave a soft huff. “Cherry, you know I’m not a big fan of tea.”

“Is that so?” Rarity asked. “I have a few more drinks in store, should you prefer something else. Please, be my guest and don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Got any coffee?” Cherry Blossom asked, getting a nod from her host.

“Of course! Let me just go get some coffee brewing for you, and some tea for Cheerilee and myself, and then we’ll head upstairs into my workshop and we’ll work on making that fabulous dress you want for your wedding! Please, head on in, I’ll catch up with our drinks. It’s just right over there.” Rarity, meanwhile, after starting the drinks, seeked out Sweetie Belle. “Very well, Sweetie, you are now in charge of the shop. Be polite to customers, remember to say the slogan in greeting, and don’t forget to give exact change,” Rarity said to her filly sister, getting a nod from her, “and don’t forget: get me only if there is an emergency.”

“Of course, Rarity!” Sweetie said, before hearing the kettle whistle, and her sister went to tend to it.

As Rarity and the two twins were in the workshop, Sweetie Belle meanwhile took care of the boutique quite well. It was a rather slow day, though she made a few sales. Every time she did sell something, she expectantly looked at her flank, always hoping that she was going to see that she had gained her cutie mark; earned that which her friends and she so much desired, but was left with disappointment every single time she saw her blank flank.

As a customer showed up, Sweetie was trying to do her best at this job despite the disappointment of not yet getting her mark. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique and mag-noo-feek! How may I help you?” Sweetie asked the couple who had entered the shop.

The mare and stallion were quite surprised by the very young filly, almost a bit startled at the sudden greeting as they looked down at Sweetie Belle. “Aren’t you a bit young to work alone?” The mare asked, getting a light shake of the head from Sweetie.

“Well yes, but it’s my sister’s shop, and she needed someone to help her out for a while.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes, she’s right in the back, so I’m not alone here or anything. So…did you need any help? Are you looking for something in particular?”

The couple looked at each other, clearly thinking, before the stallion shook his head. “No, not right now. We just want to have a look around first.”

“OK, just ask me if you have any questions!” Sweetie Belle chirped, though feeling a touch disappointed, as she didn’t feel like she was doing much to help them.

After a while of nothing much happening, except for Sweetie Belle sitting at the cash register, observing the couple out of boredom, it was then that they both came to a halt. They were both looking at the green dress that Rarity had been particularly inspired to make when she had seen Cheerilee.

The customers waved Sweetie Belle over, and she quickly jumped up with a smile on her face. Finally, something to do! she thought as she approached the couple again.

“This unique piece looks wonderful, but the price is quite high at five hundred bits! We wanted to know what this is made of, as the material feels so soft! Surely there is a reason for this high price.” the mare asked, looking expectantly at Sweetie Belle.

Sweetie, who actually didn’t know, felt put on the spot by the question. Not wanting to bother her sister, who specifically asked her to run the store, and to not be bothered, she couldn’t just let such a big potential transaction slip. Ponies that showed interest in something like that likely had bits to spend, and that would put such a good amount of money into her sister’s earnings.

Sweetie Belle stuttered as she looked inside on a tag on the dress, which usually held notes about the gowns’ fabrics and other contents, but all that was there this time was the date of its creation : “I… I actually don’t know, I’m sorry. My sister made it just yesterday, and what it’s made of is not fully noted.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. We were considering buying this, but don’t want to if we don’t even know what it’s made of! I only get my darling here the very best, after all,” The stallion said, before heading towards the door and adding as an afterthought, “Oh, and thank you for your time.”

Sweetie Belle, seeing such a high-profile sale walking out the door, quickly decided to get her sister anyways. “Wait! I can get my sister! She understands that the customer always comes first!” The couple nodded and looked around a little longer to pass the time.

As she headed to the back room, Sweetie Belle couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous.”I hope she won’t be mad,” she whispered to herself, before taking a deep breath and knocking at the door of the workshop.

Almost instantly, she heard a rather friendly ‘come in’ inviting her into the room.

Sweetie Belle took a quick glance into the room in silence at Cherry Blossom, who was half-dressed in something white. It looked rather awkward and quite incomplete, but of course that was only because the dress wasn’t done yet. Then she looked at Cheerilee, her teacher, and it still made her feel slightly uncomfortable, her teacher being at her home. Again.

After a short moment of silence, Rarity quickly broke it as all three stared at Sweetie Belle. “What is it, my dear?” she asked, though there was no edge to her tone that Sweetie was expecting.

“There are two customers who wanted to know something about a dress, but some information is missing on the tag.” Sweetie Belle explained.

Rarity got up from her chair, then looked at the twin sisters. “Please excuse me for a minute, then I will also be back with some more tea.”

“More coffee for me!” Cherry Blossom quickly threw in, then, after a glare from Cheerilee, added a little quieter, “please, if that’s OK….”

“Of course. I’ll be right back.”

As Rarity and Sweetie Belle were on the way to the showroom, Rarity asked Sweetie Belle to make the tea and coffee, while meanwhile she was on her way to the customers.

As she arrived at the showroom, Rarity had a quick look around, but nopony was to be seen immediately. She could, however, hear two ponies’ voices coming from behind a display.

‘That must be them,’ Rarity thought, then went towards the both of them. “Hello, I’m Rarity. I was told that you had a question about one of my dresses. How may I help you?” She kept her tone very friendly, even though she was indeed slightly annoyed at the disturbance. She would’ve much prefered to stay upstairs focusing on the wedding dress.

“Yes, so we’re interested in this green dress,” The stallion replied, pointing to the dress in question, “It would look great on my wife at an event we shall soon attend. We were wondering what it is made of?”

Rarity took a look at her work, the dress that she had internally decided, although she couldn’t quite admit it, she wanted to gift to Cheerilee now.

“Oh, oh that one. I’m very sorry, it’s not up for sale.” Rarity replied, almost too quickly.

The mare picked up the tag, which very clearly displayed ‘500B’ on it. “But then, why does it have a price tag on it?”

Rarity quickly tried to find an excuse: “That was a preliminary price. I forgot to take it down. I wanted to rework it a little bit because I wasn’t entirely happy with it.”

“But, it looks great right now!” the mare said, sounding a bit whiny.

“I said, it’s not for sale, I’m sorry.”

“But I want it!”

Rarity felt rather annoyed by the attitude of the mare, who was rather acting like a petulant, spoiled filly at this point. To the surprise of Sweetie Belle, who could hear the conversation as she was bringing the drinks to the workshop, she heard Rarity almost shout at the couple. “It’s not for sale! Please choose something else!”

The couple were both clearly shocked by the sudden outburst. “Well, if that’s how you treat your customers, we won’t purchase anything, and shan’t be back!” The stallion said, consoling his clearly-upset mare, before they both shortly after left.

Sweetie Belle, who came back from bringing the other two their drinks, saw as Rarity brought the now-folded dress back to the workshop with her, which Sweetie gave a confused look at, but decided she’d rather not ask about it right now. Not after hearing Rarity shout like that, and at potential customers nonetheless.

As the day had passed and evening was nearing, the sun lowering in the horizon and casting an pink-orange hue on all the beautiful fashion pieces in the shop, Sweetie Belle closed up the shop and went to her room, her ‘punishment’ fulfilled.

Rarity shortly after led her visitors to the showroom, both of them looking quite happy, with Cherry toating a rather large dress box on her back. As she opened the front door, and Cherry and Cheerilee were about to leave, Rarity stopped Cheerilee. “Would you mind staying for a bit? I would like to talk to you about something.” She asked, getting a nod from whom she was inquiring.

Cheerilee tilted her head slightly at the question, though. “May I ask what about?” Cheerilee asked, then turned around to her sister.

Without even waiting for the question, Cherry shrugged. “It’s okay, I can find home alone. Don’t be too long, I’m gonna get dinner started. Daisy sandwiches sound good?”

Cheerilee nodded to her sister, then went back inside with Rarity.

Chapter 5: A Perfect Fit

“I have a few dresses I would like to properly fit,” Rarity explained as they headed towards the fitting room, getting a nod from Cheerilee, “ I would like to change a few features on them, and it’s much easier when I have someone to wear it while I do so. Would you mind? I will make sure you’re aptly compensated as well.”

Cheerilee blushed a little bit at the offer to help, and about getting to wear some more of Rarity’s fine clothes. She had quite enjoyed having the opportunity to try all the different clothes on the previous day, feeling like a new pony every time the fancy fabric touched her coat. Trying to hide how excited she was for it, Cheerilee stepped closer to Rarity. “Sure, I can do that.” Cheerilee said, the excitement in her voice barely contained

“Delightful!” Rarity said, quite happy at this turn of events.

Rarity led Cheerilee back into the workshop, and on a ponyquin there was the very first piece Rarity wanted to work on. It wasn’t the green dress; she didn’t want to work on that one, at least not yet. She wanted to wait a while before she moved onto that, so she would have an excuse to give it to Cheerilee for her extended help. Instead, it was a beautiful pink dress with white lace fringe and pink gems studding it.

“So, how have Sweetie and her two friends been in school? Behaving?” Rarity asked as Cheerilee sat down, taking her measurements before levitating the dress off the ponyquin and fitting it onto her living model instead.

“Well, so far, so good. They’ve been listening well, have turned in all their assignments on time, and haven’t pulled any more ‘pranks’. I think this may have taught them the lesson intended after all, but only time will tell for sure.” Cheerilee answered, Rarity meanwhile measuring how this dress fit on her, and making sure everything was the right length.

“Oh, that’s delightful to hear!” Rarity exclaimed softly, meanwhile carefully taking the perfectly-tailored dress off Cheerilee, and summoning another one.

They went over a couple more dresses while chatting, Rarity changing a few things here or there, until they finally moved up to the final dress. As Rarity placed the green dress that she had made more for Cheerilee than anypony else, Cheerilee recognized the dress. How could she have forgotten it, after all, when it was the most perfect one in the world for her. She felt so beautiful in it, like the richest and most famous pony around.

As she put it on Cheerilee, Rarity couldn’t help but just stare at her own creation. ’You look beautiful’ she thought, but even though she wanted to say it aloud, she just couldn’t let it pass her lips. Instead, she shook her head for seemingly no reason to Cheerilee, who cocked her head slightly as she did. “Is there something wrong?” Cheerilee asked and, getting another soft shake of the head from Rarity, looked into the mirror at the dress that she thought was the best.

Rarity moved towards one of the drawers in the room. “Yes, I think it needs something...” Rarity said, trying to make an excuse rather than telling the truth: that the dress was absolutely perfect on the mare it was designed for, and made her look rather striking too. She then rather clumsily looked through the different sections containing ribbons, accents, and various other accouterments for her creations, trying to search for something, anything, to improve the perfection she’d already crafted. She searched for a while, until she pulled out a specific golden ribbon, “...this!” Rarity held the ribbon up high with her magic, slowly making her way back to Cheerilee, marking out the areas where it was supposed to go, along the neckline, with some needles attached to it. “Careful please, I don’t want to poke you by accident.” Rarity was a little bit worried that Cherilee could hurt herself considering how many needles there were put through this one dress, unlike the other dresses, to make it look even better than it already was.

Rarity took the dress off Cheerilee, then went to the sewing machine to attach this final bit to the dress. While waiting, Cheerilee’s eyes widened a bit as she looked at the time. “I think I should go now...It’s getting quite late, and my sister probably has dinner ready by now.”

Rarity quickly intervened: “Please, just stay for a minute more, this won’t take long!”

Cheerilee watched Rarity’s work over her shoulder, not sure what to talk about now, though trying to make some conversation nonetheless. She decided to talk about what she was best at: school. “Rarity, having been around here helping you with the dresses I had a thought. Maybe we could add a home workshop class to the curriculum, including students working with textiles in groups, it could be fun and it would help the foals get along better with each other!”

Rarity nodded, though not really paying much attention to what Cheerilee had said. “Yes, yes,” she said as a courtesy, though rather excited and more focused on her work than her guest at the moment. A mere minute later, Rarity was done. She got up and pushed the dress into Cheerilee’s chest, giving a small, excited squeal. “C’est parfait! Try it on darling, please! I wish to see my finished work upon the mare who inspired it!”

Cheerilee once again put the green, magnificent dress on, feeling like an excited little filly again as she did. Seeing herself in the mirror, her eyes widened, as the small added detail had turned the flawless dress into the absolutely best piece. Every single detail was the right amount; not too much, nor too little. Anything else added now would just ruin this piece of perfection.

“Please, have this dress as a gift for your help with modeling for me!” Rarity all but blurted out, as she finally saw an opportunity to give Cheerilee this piece of art.

Cheerilee felt like her heart stopped as she heard what Rarity had said. “B-but…it’s so expensive! I didn’t think you valued me modeling for you that much.” Cheerilee stammered, hardly trusting her ears. This beautiful dress was actually hers now. She couldn’t believe it.

Rarity simply chuffed, waving her hoof dismissively. “Oh please, I insist!”

After the initial joy, Cheerilee started to feel bad about the offer. After all, five hundred bits was no small amount. “I can’t possibly accept something so valuable for doing so little...and after all you did for my sister already…”

“But you look so beautiful in it, you were actually the one inspiring me to make it!” Rarity presited, half shouting, before she blushed at her own words. She didn't quite want to be so direct about it.

After a moment of silence, looking at each other as if they were cowponies in a showdown at high noon, just waiting for the other to draw, Cheerilee chuckled. “I’m flattered that I’m apparently a muse to you. Is that why you have kept me around for so long?” she asked, seeing Rarity’s cheeks tint with a shade of pink.

Rarity finally gathered her courage, and decided to just let it out since the cat was already out of the bag. “Well, it is that, but also I wanted to spend time with you. The very first time we met, there was something…” Rarity paused, trying to think of the right word, “...intriguing about you. Your soothing purple coat, the beautiful green in your eyes that so perfectly matches it, your mane styled so well…”

Cheerilee wasn’t really sure how to react to these compliments, leaving her feeling rather caught off-guard. “I guess?” she said, and, with a smile crossing her face and a light chuckle at a realization, she started teasing Rarity. “Admit it”, with a mischievous tone in her voice.

“Admit what?” Rarity asked with pseudo-innocence, though she knew exactly what Cheerilee had meant. She still didn’t have quite the courage to tell the deepest of feelings that she had developed towards Cheerilee, and was not really sure about them even herself. Instead, she kept biding her time to emotionally sort her feelings by talking. “That you look absolutely gorgeous in that dress? Oh, yes you do!” Rarity’s eyes shined as she gazed at it again, with it undoubtedly being her magnum opus.

“No, silly”, Cheerilee teased further, “you know what!”

Rarity, still in slight denial at her own feelings, slowly thought of all the things she had done just to hold off on a final admission. “Admit that I like you? Well yes I do, of course I do. I wouldn’t become so inspired as to design something so amazing if I didn’t, would I? But who doesn’t like their muse?”

Seeing she had Rarity on the back hoof, Cheerilee tried to push Rarity further out of her comfort zone, though kept a playful tone. “Is it just a coincidence that we met again at the spa that you pushed me into going to. That you invited me to your place to talk about Sweetie Belle when it wasn’t entirely necessary. That you offered help with my sister’s wedding dress, which I assume was just another excuse to have me over again. Wasn’t it?”

Rarity was completely taken off-guard by the sudden revelation of her interest in the teacher mare, and Cheerilee being so blunt about it too! “I…no, I just, I wanted to…” Rarity stuttered, at a loss for words. She’d been caught out.

Rarity’s stammering was interrupted by Cheerilee smiling mischievously, then pressing her chest into hers. To the fashion mare’s surprise, she gave Rarity a gentle, loving kiss on the lips. Rarity was very shocked at first, panicking internally. She had never truly thought of being with a mare before, and now she was kissing her! This felt weird, yet…

After the shortest amount of internal debate with herself, Rarity let go of her harsh feelings and they melted away quickly, with as heated and passionate as this kiss was. She took in the other mare’s scent and flavor, with it having a hint of the chocolate Rarity had offered her earlier still lingering on her lips. After their lips had parted again after some seconds of kissing, Cheerilee looked at Rarity with a smile and lidded eyes, happy to have finally, truly, broken the ice. She’d learned something about directness from her sister, it would seem.

Rarity meanwhile just stood there in disbelief for a little bit, staring without words at the mare who’d just kissed her. Cheerilee, ready to leave now after letting her feelings for the fashionista be known, carefully finally took off the dress and Rarity absentmindedly boxed it for her. “Well I should go now. It’s getting late and I have to teach tomorrow again.”

Rarity finally snapped out of her shock, realizing that the mare she finally realized she had such affections for was preparing to leave. “No, no no no, the least I can do is offer you to stay here for the night. Especially after you have been so…” Rarity couldn’t find a way to finish her sentence and stopped even trying, still in disbelief at what had just transpired. She was happy, but having very mixed feelings that she’d never had before, feeling butterflies in her belly as she looked at Cheerilee.

Cheerilee turned back around to Rarity, before nodding and bowing graciously as she accepted the offer. “Oh, that would be very kind of you, if you wouldn’t mind.” Cheerilee said, only to get a dazed nod from Rarity. She herself couldn’t believe her own boldness, but hey, she thought, somepony had to stop the wagon wheel from spinning in the mud…by giving it a good, firm kick to get it out of the rut. Or kiss, as was this case.

Rarity nodded, looking like she was mentally in another world at the moment. “Yes, of course. The, um, the guest room is downstairs, next to Sweetie Belle’s room. The first one on the right.”

Cheerilee shook her head. “Are you sure I need my own room?” she asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

Rarity felt slightly uncomfortable, but more intrigued by Cheerilee’s suggestive tone. This was all…very sudden, even if her feelings had been building for the mulberry mare for the past few days, and possibly even before. She could remember a few times her eyes had lingered on Cheerilee before, though she had never made a connection. “Well, I suppose I could agree to that suggestion. My bed does feel quite cold and empty most nights, as it is far too big for just one pony,” Rarity admitted, without really knowing why. Though she had previously had hugged her friends quite often, she had never actually gone as far as cuddling with another adult pony, so this would certainly be a first.

It felt a bit awkward as she cuddled up to Cheerilee face-to-face after a few minutes of fumbling to get comfortable together, sharing her princess-sized bed with somepony else for the first time. As Rarity felt the warmth of this mare’s hide on her own, felt the soft breaths washing through her fur, she realized it felt…nice. Really nice.

She could get used to this.

Wrapping her hooves around Cheerilee’s withers, and getting the same in return as they embraced, Rarity felt a warm tingling in her chest as she gazed into the other mare’s eyes, and an urge to kiss Cheerilee again. So she did just that, and Cheerilee only too eagerly reciprocated.

Their lips were only together for a couple moments this time, as a yawn from Cheerilee had interrupted it, though it was no less wonderful than the first time. “Goodnight, Cheerilee.” Rarity whispered, only to feel soft lips pressing to her nose in a little kiss.

“Goodnight, Rarity.” Cheerilee whispered right back, before shifting a bit to get comfortable, ending up with her nose buried into the crook of Rarity’s neck. It wasn’t long, tired after a long day of teaching, excitement, and while cuddling up to a warm mare, before sleep took Cheerilee.

Rarity, however, couldn’t sleep. She just kept replaying how Cheerilee had basically jumped her just minutes ago, how they’d kissed, and that the teacher was now sharing her bed, with Cheerilee’s forelegs wrapped around her withers, and hers around Cheerilee’s. How she felt her heart throbbing, an odd fluttering in her chest, and a certain giddiness she’d never felt around another pony before. How she’d, quite possibly, just gained a marefriend. A special pony.

Rarity struggled to fall asleep, her thoughts a restless maelstrom for a while, but soon they settled and adjusted, and she experienced the best sleep she ever had being hugged up to her potential mate so close, giving her a kind of warmth that somepony would never be able to get from anycreature but their loved one. At first her heart was pounding out of her chest in excitement, leaving her thrilled and filled with adrenaline, but it soon calmed down, and just like that, she was cast to Luna’s realm in restful slumber.

Chapter 6: A Seaming Finish

The next morning, Cheerilee woke up shortly before Rarity had, already heading downstairs, getting ready for her altered path to the Ponyville Schoolhouse and to drop by her house for a quick cup of coffee. As she hit the last step of the staircase, Sweetie Belle, who of course was also about to go to school, had spotted her after Sweetie had packed her schoolbooks and was moving towards the entrance of the shop and home. She couldn’t believe her eyes, thinking she had to be imagining things. She rubbed her eyes quickly, but the mare before her persisted in reality. “Am I actually awake?” Sweetie whispered to herself, shaking her head, questioning her sanity.

Cheerilee saw Sweetie too and, finding the situation a bit humorous, had to giggle as she heard her student mumbling to herself and looking like she’d seen a ghost. “Yes, you really are awake, and I really am here.” Sweetie Belle froze in place as she heard what she had thought was a figment of her imagination actually talk.

Quickly following Cheerilee, Rarity came downstairs too. “Oh, good morning Sweetie Belle!” Rarity greeted her sister rather happily, feeling so invigorated from a night of cuddling, and finally having gotten her subconscious desires satiated. “You two should leave soon, or you shall be late!” Rarity said, before catching herself and giggling as she looked over to Cheerilee, “Though, it is not as if you can really be late to class without the teacher there.”

Cheerilee clearly agreed, moving to the door with Sweetie Belle, who was feeling nervous and uncomfortable. The doorbell rang, interrupting their conversation. Rarity headed through to open the door, and, as expected, she saw the two other fillies who were there every day to walk with their friend to school. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom stood there, looking at the odd situation before them, and Sweetie Belle took the opportunity to quickly get away from the awkwardness, dashing out to greet her two best friends.

At the sight and sound of Cheerilee’s voice, the other fillies froze, just as much in shock as Sweetie Belle had been when she’d encountered her teacher, at her home in the morning of all places.

Cheerilee slowly left the Boutique, feeling reluctant to leave, before turning to face Rarity. “Well, I think it’s best we go now. Wouldn’t want to keep the other foals waiting, after all. I trust we’ll meet again soon, though, right?” she asked, giving a little wink, and noticing Rarity’s cheeks flushed as she looked away bashfully, though indeed nodding.

“Perhaps…we should go to the spa again soon? That was most delightful! Or…perhaps we could go to this lovely little place…” Rarity started, before being interrupted as Cheerilee gave her a soft peck on the lips, her cheeks growing rosy once more.

“Wherever we go, if it’s with you, I’m sure it will be a time worth remembering. I’ll see you after school lets out, OK?” Cheerilee asked, getting a soft nod from Rarity, before turning to her students. “Come along little fillies, we’ve got to get to the schoolhouse. None of us want to be late, right? Especially not me. That would be embarrassing!”

As they were addressed, the fillies snapped out of their stunned state, looking at each other with confusion, then Cheerilee and Rarity, and a very questioning expression being thrown towards Sweetie Belle, who shrugged in response. “Don’t ask me, I don't know myself. I’m as baffled as you guys are as to why she’s here!” Sweetie said bluntly.

As she headed off with the fillies towards the school, Cheerilee suddenly paused and turned to Rarity. “But, before I leave…” Cheerilee said, giving a little grin, before planting another gentle kiss on Rarity’s lips, “...perhaps that will hold you over until this afternoon.” Rarity blushed heavily as she was kissed in front of the three fillies, who seemed to actually be paying attention this time. Even still, she couldn’t help but enjoy the passion of the kiss, and pressed back into it. Of course, as she feared, this kiss didn’t go unnoticed for the three friends, with them letting out a conjoined “EEWWW!” at the sight. Sweetie Belle even felt a little sick, considering that this was her sister and her teacher she’d just witnessed being intimate.

The three fillies left at a trot, wanting to rather quickly get away from the situation, Sweetie at the front of the retreat. Still, Rarity and Cheerilee could hear them whispering back and forth, undoubtedly about them. “See you after school, my special somepony!” Cheerilee said, getting a bashful look from Rarity.

“I shall indeed see you this afternoon, my…special somepony…” Rarity said, before heading back into her boutique. After she closed the door, Rarity let out a joyous squeal as the realization dawned on her fully: she had a special somepony, she thought, again and again. A special somepony all her own.

Scootaloo looked at Sweetie Belle as they walked well ahead of the meandering Cheerilee, who looked like she had quite something on her mind. “Did you know that they were…?” she asked Sweetie, getting a curt shake of the head that made her pink and purple curls shake.

“Ah think Ah feel a li’l bit sick after seein’ that...” Apple Bloom added.

“Well no, I didn’t know that they were…together! How do you think it makes me feel, finding out by seeing Cheerilee coming down the stairs this morning, then them being all…smoochy?” Sweetie Belle cringed, then let out a whining sigh, “I don’t even wanna imagine how Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are going to treat me if they find out!” Sweetie Belle answered Scootaloo's question in quite a rapid tone, speaking just as fast as she was nervous at the thought of the two bullies.

Apple Bloom sighed. “Let’s just hope they don’t!”

Author's Note

And thus completes this submission for the contest! Thanks again to my cowriter Stray Winds for allowing me to write this with them, and to the contest holders offering us the opportunity to compete!