FimFiction Link - Short ID: 29902/smiling-flowers
Published: Jun '12 — Jul '12
Smiling Flowers is a 28k word sad story about a liar.
This may be the best story about cutie marks I've ever read. Not that the competition is high.
It turns out Cheerilee's cutie mark really is about flowers. She's just that good at gardening. When she's confronted by the headmaster regarding the performance of some of the foals, she goes down a path of self-doubt, wondering if her dreams of being a teacher should've been just that. I make it sound more melodramatic than it actually is. If anything, I would've liked for the start of the story to dwell a bit more into Cheerilee's feelings before she starts talking with friends and other ponies.
Also, for some reason, Apple Bloom gets bullied by Silver Spoon. Diamond Tiara is missing for 95% of the story. I thought she was just gone, but she's brough at the end to tie things together. I would've liked for it to be Diamond and Silver as usual, and then Diamond makes a realisation that parallels Cheerilee's.
Nevertheless, it's a good story, and one of the best Cheerilee ones I've seen.