In Need of a Break [Rarity]

[Rarity]

Rarity set her coffee down and closed her eyes for a few moments, thinking. "Well, the official story is that her and her friends caused a ruckus that involved a bowling ball flying all over the alley, almost harming a few ponies." Rarity said with a sigh, opening her eyes. "Though, with just one bowling ball going crazy, I'm not sure which of the three it was." She said, shrugging. Rarity's cheeks reddened and she lowered her head slightly, taking another thoughtful nibble of her fritter. "While I do take care of Sweetie, I was always able to send her home when she got to be too much. If I have a child, then I'm not able to do that... I can send them to play with friends when they're older, but that's not very motherly, either." Rarity said with a sigh, sipping her coffee. "Either way, It will be quite some time. Perhaps after my Career settles into something more manageable, or when I find someone to assist me that I trust with my name... I have been looking into getting an apprentice." She said with a nod, sipping her coffee and looking over to Derpy for a few moments. "I've also got a dinner date with Lotus. Something that could hinder any child-based plans."

[Derpy Hooves]

Just how capable were the CMC at being able to get in trouble? More importantly, just how were they able to send a bowling ball flying all over the alley? In the long run it was probably better to not dwell on that and simply accept it.

Derpy did giggle a little at Rarity’s statement that sending them to play with friends wasn’t exactly motherly.

”Well, you’re sort of right; you can’t exactly just send your kids away all the time. But I wouldn’t say it’s unmotherly to occasionally send them to a friend’s house if they’ve started getting on your nerves just a little bit and you need a break,” she said. Yes, it was a little mean, but it was the truth. No matter how much you loved your foal, sometimes you just needed them to be left alone. Granted, Derpy would probably admit her tolerance was high enough she didn’t resort to that often, but she still did it once in a while.

She could appreciate that Rarity wanted to focus on her career first before making any child-rearing plans. In her own case things had been more…unexpected, and she didn’t regret any of it. But planning ahead and getting established was also a good way to go about it. Dating a mare would probably be a bit more of a hindrance to any plans involving foals though.

”Oh, you have a date? That sounds wonderful. I mean, I don’t know Lotus all that well, but she seems nice. She works at the spa right?” Derpy said, not having been to the spa all that much in her life.

[Rarity]

Rarity gave a light laugh, covering it with her hoof for the most part. She smiled to the Mailmare and shook her head lightly. "Not a real date, darling. I'm treating her to dinner to thank her for her work at the spa. I go weekly, and she always knows just what I need, even if I don't." Rarity said with a smile. "Lotus and I have come to know each other really well." She thought for a few moments, chewing on her fritter in her moment of quiet contemplation. Rainbow Dash had thought it was a regular date as well, and Rarity had denied that fact. She looked across the table to the Mailmare with a somewhat thoughtful look. "Though, perhaps an actual DATE would be... pleasant?" Rarity mused, taking a drink of her coffee. As she looked to Derpy, another smile played across her face. "How about you, Darling? Do you have any Stallions vying for your attention?" Surely there had to be somepony, right? Derpy was cute as a button and a hardworker. And a good mother on top of that. Definitely someone to keep an eye out for, right?

[Derpy Hooves]

"Oh, sorry! I guess I just assumed by the way you were talking..." Derpy said as she realized she had made a mistake. Although apparently the idea that it could be a date date wasn't a far out of the way possibility. Still, it was kind of embarrassing, and all Derpy could do was offer a apologetic grin.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to at least try if you really are interested in her like that."

Of course, if Derpy was embarrassed before, Rarity's question sent her into straight flustered mode as she started blushing.

"W-what? No, I haven't had anypony looking at me that way," she replied before nervously looking away a bit,"I mean, there was one stallion I sort of liked, but he's with somepony else now and seems really happy."

[Rarity]

Rarity smiled at the Pegasus. "It's quite alright. You aren't the first to think that." She said, taking another long sip of her coffee. "You're right. It couldn't hurt, right?" She said with a smile. She couldn't help but let out a bit of a light giggle at Derpys reaction to her question... One that was quickly silenced at the last half of the explanation. "Oh, I am sorry to hear that... I would assume that you are speaking of Dinkys father?" She asked, pausing for a moment before placing a hoof on Derpys shoulder. "You're doing alright without him. I was just asking for the sake of conversation, I didn't mean to make you feel bad."

[Derpy Hooves]

Well, today was just filled with miscommunications wasn't it? Derpy had not meant in anyway to refer to Dinky's father, but apparently that was what Rarity had thought she had meant. Quickly shaking her head no, Derpy figured it would be a good idea to get things clarified quickly.

"I appreciate the sentiment Rarity, but I wasn't talking about him actually," Derpy said, her face reddening just a little as she continued talking,"It was actually somepony a bit more recent. We sort of had lunch together, but it didn't go anywhere and then he met somepony else he really liked during Hearts and Hooves. It was just a small crush though so don't fuss over it too much."

At this point Derpy had to let out a laugh at all the awkward miscommunications they were having. It was all just rather silly, but then again Rarity needed a little silliness based on the day she was having.

[Rarity]

Rarity made a bit of an 'oops' face as Derpy explained things. "Apologies Dahling, I assumed... Nevermind, new subject, then." Rarity said, joingin Derpy in the little laughter. It was true, the day was going well, and Rarity had mostly forgotten about her massive pile of orders that had come in. She had finished her Apple Fritter and was just working on sipping her coffee. After a few moments she gave Derpy a little bit of a sad look. "It's funny, really. We hardly ever sit down to talk, and now that we do, I can't even think of anything to talk about." She said, pondering for a few short moments. "I assume you don't want to talk about Fashion?" She asked. and shook her head lightly. "It must feel wonderful to be able to fly all the time. I was only able to for a brief day. It does seem very relaxing, and being able to rest on a cloud seems very luxurious~" Rarity said, hoping to give a little something to talk about.

[Derpy Hooves]

Derpy was going to argue that she wouldn’t necessarily have minded talking about fashion: the point of this was to help Rarity relax after all. But, on the other hoof, it might have reminded Rarity of the work she needed to do, so maybe it was a good thing she wanted to talk about flying.

”Yeah, clouds are really comfy; it’s hard to find mattresses that come even close to being that soft. I’d probably have one myself if Dinky didn’t fall through them,” Derpy said. It was a bit harsh, but it was one of those things that pegasi who had non-pegasi kids had to kind of have a sense of humor about.

”Flying is pretty fun too. My wings are pretty sensitive though, which is great when the winds are kind of slow because you can catch those small, hard to get bursts, but I can’t stand flying in bad weather because it just really messes me up.”

By now Derpy had finished up her muffin and was sipping on some tea. She took a sip as a chance to think of something to talk about; she couldn’t leave it all up to Rarity to make the conversation after all.

”Although, you got to fly at least a little bit, but I doubt I’ll ever get to use magic. I bet it’s really handy when you’re sewing.”

[Rarity]

Rarity couldn't help but smile at Derpy's description of sleeping on a cloud. "It would be a big problem if the filly fell from a cloud. Unless you were sleeping over something soft." She said with a bit of a smile, taking in Derpy's feelings on flying. It was a curious thought. She knew Rainbow Dash enjoyed the thrill and danger that came with flying in storms. And the weather ponies did just that on a regular basis. Though she supposed some ponies wouldn't care much for that. Her mind immediately brought Fluttershy to mind. "Hmm, It's interesting. You would think all Pegasi would love the feel of wind in their wings, and would soar all day. Though, I suppose it loses its wonder if you actually can fly." She said. Derpy brought up Magic. Rarity let out a light nod again. "It is a great thing to have. On some of my finer, more intricate stitches, I'm glad to have it. Sometimes, I even surprise myself with how much I can do, despite not having formal training in using it." She said, relaxing into her chair a bit more. "The other day, I lifted and moved most of the items in my workshop without so much as a strain!" She said in surprise. A feeling that only lasted a short while. "Though, Gemstones are my true talent. There is a spell, the first that I learned, that allows me to find Gems. no matter where they may be." She said with a soft smile. With how much Rarity did with fashion and dresses, most ponies think that's her true talent. Though most of her designs wouldn't be possible without her ability to find and cut gems.

[Derpy Hooves]

”Yep, other parents tend to look down on parents who let their fillies fall through clouds. It’s one of the reasons Cloudsdale tends to be kind of insulated: unless you’re a pegasus, you can’t really live there.”

Rarity did have a point: flying did lose some of its mystique when you were used to it all the time. Also helped that Derpy’s job didn’t exactly involve a thrilling use of flight like Dash’s or the weather ponies did. All she had to was fly a bit to get through the day faster.

”Well, I guess if you could fly like Dash can then it’s a lot more exciting: my talent only work when I’m being slow and steady so it kind of loses the thrill and excitement pretty quickly.”

Now that she thought about it, similar things had to apply to magic. For a lot of unicorns it just made daily tasks easier, but for somepony like Twilight it was always filled with new discoveries and excitement. Although apparently even for a pony like Rarity it could still have something new to offer.

”Wow, cleaning the house would be a lot easier if I could do something like that….although my wings can serve as pretty decent impromptu dusters,” she said, laughing a little bit.

Derpy took a glance at Rarity’s flank, looking over the cutie mark. Like many, apparently she had also thought Rarity’s talent was in fashion, but now that she heard about this gem-finding spell, the cutie mark made a lot more sense. Could also explain how Rarity afforded such a nice place to live even before getting a start on her career…

”Huh, didn’t know that was the case: must be pretty handy. Are there a lot of gemfields around Ponyville though?”

[Rarity]

Rarity nodded. "I was able to fly for but a weekend, and it was the most exhilarating moment of my life. Up until the wings disappeared..." She said, almost chuckling. "It helped Rainbow win the Best Young Fliers competition. So that's a bonus." She smiled. Nodding once again, she smiled to Derpy as she spoke. "Cleaning is so much easier with Magic. Sometimes, I wonder how some ponies keep such a clean house." She admitted. As if to prove a point, her horn glowed and she stacked some of the dishes they were finished with into a neat little pile. "Now, if only I could get Sweetie Belle to clean up after herself, I'd be golden~" She laughed lightly. "The Gemfields aren't really /in/ Ponyville a such. They're in some of the outlying areas. Rubies, Sapphires, and the like toward the mountains. I've also found some perfectly round stones in a riverbed once. They were lustrous and white, like a full moon." She explained. After a couple moments she had a bit of realization and levitated one of the Stones out. "This one is a bit more rough looking. I'm using the more presentable ones for a special project." She said with a smile.

[Derpy Hooves]

”Oh, I heard about that in the newspaper; I’m surprised you knocked out three Wonderbolts like that,…oh, sorry, probably didn’t want to remember that part did you?” she said, recognizing that Rarity probably didn’t want to exactly reflect on that part of the event. To be honest, Derpy didn’t exactly want to dwell on it either. It was the kind of thing she was used to having ponies expect her to do, so it wasn’t exactly nice to bring it up for somepony else.

Derpy could see plenty of ways that magic was useful for cleaning the house, although it wasn’t that bad doing it without magic. Just took a little longer to do was all, and at least she had wings to serve as impromptu dusters. Having a foal who was pretty good able cleaning up after herself probably helped matters to.

”Yeah, I’m lucky Dinky is pretty good about keeping clean. She has her moments, but she usually keeps out of trouble and does her chores. About the only big problem I’ve had was her running off to the Crystal Empire with that one group of foals.”

Derpy couldn’t believe that Rarity just carried around a stone like that with her like it was nothing. Even if it was rougher, it was still better than the kind of stuff that she had. Not that she had a lot of jewelry to begin with. Actually, she had a pair of earrings and that was about it. She leaned in a bit to get a better look at the stone as she talked.

”I think it looks really pretty; are you sure you can’t use it in something?”

[Rarity]

"It wasn't one of my proudest moments, but they understand that it was an accident, and no one was seriously injured." Rarity siad with a nervous chuckle. She pulled the cup to her lips and pretended to take a sip, though the cup had been emptied a while back. She did have a couple of embarrassing moments in her past like that, and there was really no use denying they happened. She was happy with the change of subject. About Dinky keeping clean and doing her chores. Rarity gave Derpy a smirk and lowered her head slightly, looking at Derpy. "My, if I didn't know any better, I'd think 'somepony' at this table was bragging a little bit~" Rarity said with a chuckle. "Dinky sounds very well behaved. Even with the little trip to the Crystal Empire." She said with a smile. Rarity nodded. "I do have a few plans for it, but nothing solid yet~" Rarity said, turning the stone over to show a stress fracture that was in it when she had first found it. "But this one is staying in a small case at my home when I get it there~ Hopefully I can find some that aren't too deep in the mud... I would hate to have to dig them out... Mud stains fur too well..." She explained.

[Derpy Hooves]

”Oh, well, that’s good to hear then,” Derpy replied, chuckling just a bit to try and release some of the awkward tension that the topic had brought to the air.

At least they were able to move on from it pretty quickly, focusing more on their respective foals. Yes, Derpy had to admit that she was bragging just a little bit, and responded to Rarity’s smirk with a shrug and a smile.

”Well, what can I say? I got the best daughter in the whole wide world.” She ended her shrug with another chuckle.

Derpy listened as Rarity went over her plans for the jewels. It sounded kind of sad she didn’t have much of a plan for them yet, only some ideas. Even if they weren’t perfect Derpy thought they deserved a little more than just to be put in a case. Still, Rarity was the best pony in Ponyville at designing things. It was only a matter of time till they got something.

”Yeah, I know what you mean. I look like a real mess whenever there’s a really bad storm and the winds send me for a loop. You’d think grey fur like mine wouldn’t stain so easily but it does. I can’t even imagine what it would do to a coat so white like yours.”

[Rarity]

Rarity smiled at her, standing and levitating their cups back up to the counter to refill them, offering Derpy a second cup of Coffee while their conversation, as it seems, started winding down. She put some more cream and sugar into her cup, offering to do the same for Derpy so she wouldn't have to fumble this time around. "I would be concerned if you didn't say you had the best daughter in the world, dahling. But She has a wonderful mother to instill this quality in her~" She said with a smile, sipping her coffee with a soothed sigh, finally reaching the peak of relaxation she can reach without going to the spa. She smiled and nodded as Derpy spoke. "I have some shampoo that I ordered from Vanhoover that works wonders for getting mud out of a coat, but I'd rather not go through all that trouble." She said, thinking for a moment. "Perhaps I'll give you their information? I'm sure you could make use of the shampoo, if you have troubles with dirty fur." She offered with a smile, her voice quieting just a bit. "It also does wonders for a mane. It's how I keep mine so smooth." She said with a wink, sipping at her coffee again.