//------------------------------// // Sweepy Belle // Story: The Everycraftery // by Liquid Truth //------------------------------// Sweetie Belle groaned as she walked the path to Carousel Boutique. The day had been frustratingly boring. With Apple Bloom working on the farm and Scootaloo going to flight camp, she was left with two weeks of nothing to do but finding something to do. Crusading had been crossed out of her list of possible things to do, as it required all three of them to be together. It didn't mean she hadn't tried anything to find her cutie mark; all her efforts were simply too boring and not destructive enough to be memorable. As she mindlessly walked across the streets of Ponyville, she thought of how the next CMC meeting would be like: Apple Bloom will definitely bring apples from the farm and proudly announcing how she was the one to harvest them, while Scootaloo will either talk about how amazing it was for Rainbow Dash to accompany her throughout the flight camp, or give them souvenirs from Cloudsdale. She noticed that she hadn't thought of anything to give her friends by the end of summer, and so she began fixing it. She thought of how she might give them clothes that she made herself, but quickly dismissed it when she remembered what happened when she last tried her hoof at tailoring. So, she thought of what she might be good at, noticed that it was definitely not singing, and probably cleaning after their mess. She stopped in her tracks as she began thinking of how all the times she had put into cleaning after their mess had resulted in her being a very good janitor, and that might be her purpose in life. She shook her head and continued walking. The CMCs had tried to be janitors once, and it resulted in her friends making a mess of everything she had cleaned, adding absolutely zero numbers to the town hall's cleanliness point. Besides, it's not like she could give cleanliness as a souvenir. Except when they got to Crusading, which they didn't. As she walked by the familiar route, she stumbled upon an unfamiliar sight: an antique shop by the name of The Everycraftery. She might have missed it before, but she was pretty sure that the store wasn't there yesterday, or the day before that. What made her stop wasn't the sudden appearance, however, but rather the motto beneath the store's sign: 'For all your impossible needs, no questions asked!'. She grinned. If what the motto said was true, then something that wasn't really impossible as giving three fillies their cutie marks must be within their capabilities, right? A cutie mark for each of her friends would be the best souvenir ever! Einstein was regretting his decisions. At first, the thought of visiting a random neighboring universe was a good one. He'd come by, take a few commissions, then return with a smug grin for Twilight who said they shouldn't open their store inter-dimensionally. Now, after a few hours of absolutely nopony noticing the sudden appearance of an antique shop, he was having second thoughts. It was Ponyville, after all. What are the odds to find a Ponyvilleian that got surprised by something so trivial compared to their Tuesdays? His second thought was quickly demolished when the silver bells chimed, announcing the arrival of one Sweetie Belle to The Everycraftery. Einstein quickly straightened up his suit and stood up. He waved his hand in a flourish, smiled, and said, "Welcome to The Everycraftery! How can I help you?" Said guest stopped by the entrance to stare at the clerk. After a few seconds, she said, "What are you?" He chuckled. "I'm a Homo sapiens, also known as a human." She cocked her head. "I've never seen a human before. Are there more of you in Equestria?" He tapped his chin in thought. "Well, I don't know for this particular Equestria, but mine does. Just recently, mind you." Sweetie scrunched her eyebrows in thought. After a while, they shot up in understanding. "Oh, are you from another dimension?" "That I did, little one. Now, what drew you to this place? Simple curiosity? Making commissions? Looking around the shop?" Sweetie vigorously nodded. "Is it true? Can you make anything, even impossible ones?" She gestured to the front, where the store's motto was emblazoned in the window display. Einstein stood proud and smiled confidently. "We can! Anything you can describe, we can make. And our wares don't have hidden consequences like those ominous antique shops, either! Just write your commission in this slip of paper," he said, giving Sweetie the commission sheet and a pen. Commision Sheet Commissioner: Sweetie Belle Address: Carousel Boutique, 16 Mane St., Ponyville, Equestria Preferred Delivery System: Mail; Ponyville Delivery Express Contact: - Item Description: A cutie mark for me and my friends Notes: Make them cool ones! Einstein smiled as he reread the commission sheet. Making a device to tell little fillies what they needed to do to get their cute marks was simple enough; he'll be finished by tomorrow, with or without Twilight. "Alright. Your commission will be done by tomorrow morning," he said jovially. Sweetie bounced around in excitement. "We're getting our cutie marks! We're getting our cutie marks! We're—" "That'll be twenty bits." Sweetie stopped mid-air and unceremoniously dropped to the ground. "Wait, what?" Einstein raised an eyebrow. "You do know that it's not free, right?" "Come on, Rarity! I'm getting us our cutie marks!" Rarity sighed as she massaged her forehead. "No, Sweetie. Inter-dimensional or not, there's no such thing as an instant cutie mark." Sweetie pouted. "He said that he can do it!" "He's most likely lying, Sweetie." "But—" "Alright, alright. You know what, Sweetie?" she said, sighing in frustration. "I'll let you buy this—" "YAY!" "—but only if you use your own money for it." Sweetie frowned. "But I haven't any money left!" "Then make some. Ask this 'human' to employ you for a while to make up for the money," Rarity reasoned, thinking in her mind how a job experience would be good for Sweetie to fill her vacation with. "You want me to employ you?" Sweetie Belle grinned. "Yep! Just enough to pay for the commission!" Einstein tapped his chin in thought. His brows scrunched in intensified neurological performance. His head steamed in trying to process how tiny he was to the universe, how insignificant the universe was compared to the multiverse, and why the answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything was forty-two. After a few tense seconds, Einstein snapped his fingers and nodded. "Alright. I'll let you work here for three days, and then I'll do your commission for free." Sweetie bounced around akin to last time, while Einstein smiled fondly at her. As soon as the store materialized the next morning, Sweetie Belle bounced her way inside with unrivaled enthusiasm, the human already waiting behind the counter. "Good morning, Mr. Einstein!" Einstein stepped from behind the counter and patted her on the head. "Good morning, Sweetie Belle! Ready for your first day of work?" Sweetie nodded vigorously. "Of course I am!" She stopped suddenly, thinking. "Uh, Mr. Einstein, what actually is my job?" Einstein answered by pulling out a broom. Sweetie's smile instantly fell. "Sweeping? Really!?" Einstein chuckled. "Oh, no, Sweetie. You'll be doing all the janitorial duties!" At the end of the day, Einstein was smiling. The storefront was positively gleaming, the random insignificant thingamajigs littering the shelves were arranged in neat order, the window so clean they were invisible, and even the street in front of the store was free of dust, despite it being a dirt road. Sweetie Belle wiped her brow and smiled. She never knew she liked—no, loved—to tidy up. Adding to that, she relished in how Mr. Einstein had praised her by pointing out that customers started coming because it looked clean, and her idea of neatly arranging the antiques was attracting more than one patron. "Alright, Sweetie, you can go home now. I'm closing up the shop." Sweetie smiled and nodded. Looking around the store once more, a thought crossed her mind. "Uhm, Mr. Einstein? If the store is already clean, wouldn't it mean that I've nothing to do tomorrow?" Einstein guffawed. "Don't worry, Sweetie. You haven't seen behind the workshop yet," he said, gesturing to the door behind the counter. The next day, Sweetie Belle learned what Rarity meant when she described Twilight's 'moments of inspiration'. While she had seen her sister in those kinds of moments, it was of fashion, not of science and magic. A single peek through the 'Employees Only' door—or the workshop, as it were—gave her a complete schedule for the rest of the day: trying to comprehend how such a room could exist while trying to tidy it up as neatly as possible. At one corner of the room, she could see a metal forgery, while at another she spotted a letter forgery alongside a money laundry that washes off money with triple-distilled cunning and wit. At the top-mostly-right corner, she could see a giant corn cob dangling from the endoplasmic reticulum of a prison cell, while underneath it was what looked like an ongoing distillation process of truth from a stack of historical textbooks (which is failing). She shook her head and gave Einstein an expectant look. Einstein returned it with an excited one. "Come on, Sweetie! Let's get to tidying this place up!" Sweetie groaned. "Nothing here makes sense! Even if I could somehow understand it all, it'll take forever!" "Of course it does! There's practically infinite stuff around here." Sweetie gaped. "What!? As in, literally infinite!?" Einstein chuckled. "Now, it won't stop us from doing it, right?" He gave her a green box with yellow stripes that started from the middle and got smaller and smaller as it reached the top. "Use this Supertask. You'll be done before lunch." Sweetie eyed the box curiously. "How does it work?" Einstein rolled his eye and returned to the counter. "You just do. It's not that hard." Sweetie groaned in annoyance as Einstein left the room. As she took a hold of the Supertask, she began thinking of how she should clean with it. The Supertask began humming, and Sweetie's mind was assaulted by Zeno of Elea, and how motion was impossible. She got befuddled at the claim that motion was impossible, as she had done that numerous times before. The Supertask answered by showing her how to clean the room that required infinite tasks in a finite amount of time. All the thought came to Sweetie as comprehension, and she nodded in determination. With a swift motion of her broom, she counted half the time from then to lunch, then tidied one thing as her timer reached zero. After that, she counted another half of the time from then until lunch and cleaned another thing. Soon, she finished tidying up the infinite number of stuff just before lunch. Between the workshop and the storefront was the living room, and inside it was a table and a long sofa, on top of which sat one Sweetie Belle with a sandwich in her hooves. As she ate the lunch Rarity had prepared for her, she hummed in bliss, as she finally understood the true meaning of impossible, and would never use nor see the word the same way ever again. Einstein ate his own lunch next to her. Seeing her in such a blissful state, he asked, "So, enough impossibilities for today?" Sweetie slowly turned her head and looked at Einstein in the eyes. "I'm going to say yes, but then enough is never enough. So, no. I don't think it's enough." Einstein let out a hearty chuckle and ruffled her mane. "That's the spirit! Now, I'll be working in the workshop for the rest of the day. You can wander around the storefront and do whatever you want, as long as you greet each customer and call me when I'm needed. Oh, also tell them not to touch anything before they know what anything does." Sweetie nodded. "It applies for you too, Sweetie. Read the item's entry in the catalog before touching it." The afternoon went by quickly. Sweetie Belle had resorted to sweeping the store again to kill the time. When the time stayed alive, she resorted to sweeping the street, which seemed to do the trick. Not by making her pass the time quickly, but by making a few passersby curious enough at how she cleaned a dirt road to look around the store, which gave her something else to do besides moping around, either with a mop or with an existential crisis. She was proud at how she managed to keep the customers informed about the few thingamajigs at the shelves, and inadvertently needing to clean up afterward when somepony got too nosy to touch something they shouldn't. Fortunately, there was only a hoofful of them; the majority of customers were level-minded enough to not mess with impossibly impossible impossibilities. She was even prouder at how she managed to sell a dozen bottles of the shampooless conditioner (the conditioner that can be applied before shampoo) to twelve different ponies. It seemed that it was becoming a trend over the afternoon, and its demand will most likely flood the store by tomorrow. Einstein was already quite apprehended by the thought of his store getting flooded by demanding shampooless conditioners, let alone codependent ones. He was positively relieved when Sweetie ensured that she'd help him clean up for it, and even stick around for the next few days if they're unable to move on. He ensured her that it wouldn't be necessary, as he'd be gone to another universe by then. That brought Sweetie to ponder. "But I liked working here." Einstein gave her a curious look. "Really?" Sweetie nodded. "I like cleaning things up. You know, tidying up after someone else's mess? I never knew I liked doing it before now, even though I've been doing it for quite some time since I joined the Cutie Mark Crusaders." Einstein was about to say something when a pink filly wearing a diamond tiara came into view. She caught a glance of Sweetie Belle carrying a broom and sneered. "Oh hey, blank flank. Trying to get your cutie mark at sweeping? Huh. I guess you are that desperate." Sweetie grumbled. "Go away, Diamond Tiara." "Oh, I will. Blank flanks like you don't really deserve my attention, you know?" As the little blob of pink brat walked away with a smug, Einstein noted the downtrodden look on Sweetie's face. "School bullies?" Sweetie sighed. "Yeah." Einstein kneeled and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You want some advice, kid?" "I've got a lot of those, but all of them are just different phrasings of 'ignore her'." "Well, then I'll give you something different: praise her." Sweetie looked at him like he had grown a second head. Einstein touched his shoulder to ensure that he hadn't grown any other head, then looked at Sweetie with a smile. "I'm serious. Next time she teased you, give her praises. Shower her with all the love and affection you can muster." Sweetie cocked her head. "You sure?" Einstein shrugged. "It worked in theory. Putting a base into acid neutralizes it, which means giving her something as basic as love and affection will neutralize her acidic nature." "You meant toxic, right?" "No, I didn't. Bullying can be the result of too many exasperated sighs written with multiple 'H+'s from an uncaring parent. It just so happens that this acid is toxic." Sweetie nodded. "Makes sense." The next morning went as expected. That is, that both of them spent it entirely on selling shampooless conditioners. Thankfully it didn't flood like expected. When afternoon came, however, the store was already empty, and the streets were void of ponies, for they were too busy in their baths, relishing in a shampooless but conditionerful shower. Einstein decided that Sweetie could take the rest of the day off, as she'd done a lot more than expected. Her commission would be done by tomorrow morning. Shortly after she left, however, she was met with a sight of a party leftover by the public bath. It seemed that the ponies had decided to party with the shampooless conditioners and, overdosing their furs with conditioner, became conditioned/accustomed to the sensation of euphoria they got. The result was a full-blown midday party that left many sprawling unconscious on the street. Sweetie Belle felt the urge to march forward and pretend that somepony else was going to magically clean it up, but she knew better that it was nothing more than that—pretentious hope. She shook her head and turned around toward the public bath. Once inside, she slid into the only door with a handle left in the establishment: the janitor's closet. She took out the broom and dustbin and swept the entire floor of debris, used the mop and bucket to wipe the remaining conditioner, and all in all, turned the once insufferable public bath squeaky clean. It took her the rest of the afternoon, but she felt that it was worth it. Passersby gaped at the glinting walls of cleanliness and stared at the figure responsible for the restoration: Sweetie Belle. One passerby didn't, however, and instead smirked. "Oh look, it's the blank flank that wanted to get a janitorial cutie mark. You know, after all this, maybe my dad will be happy to hire you for my mansion. Maybe." Sweetie opened her mouth to object, but then shut it tight. She thought back at Einstein's advice and thought of things she'd never say to her before. She smiled at her. "That's good to hear! Maybe I can talk to him someday?" Diamond was slightly surprised, but she kept her smirk. "You bet, blank flank. It's where you belong: as a servant for me." "Yes, well, you are lovely and deserve all the attention you need." "Well, I—" "You don't need to say anything else, Diamond. You are the loveliest, most adored pony in Equestria, and I like your mane!" Diamond, having her acidic nature neutralized, was unable to bit back any acidic bullying into her, and so she resorted to screaming and ran away. Sweetie blinked. "Well, that worked." The crowd Sweetie wasn't aware of before cheered at the sight, and Sweetie Belle blushed. As the crowd went on, a single figure came forward with a beaming smile. "Rarity!" Rarity smiled and hugged her sister. "Well, Sweetie, I must say that I'm proud of you. For both reasons, of course. You have the will and courage to clean after somepony else's mess without fearing for your reputation, and you've proven yourself mature enough to not fall into Diamond Tiara's bullying. Again, I'm impressed." Sweetie Belle nodded vigorously. After a moment of thought, however, her smile vanished. "But what about Diamond Tiara now?" Rarity raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, darling?" "She's not done yet," she began. "She's still a mess. Maybe she won't bully me again, but what about the others? I'm sure she'll still be a bully after this." "So, what are you going to do about it?" Sweetie hummed. After a while, she nodded in determination. "I'm going to fix her. She's somepony's mess; we need to clean her up. Somepony needs to. And if nopony's going to do it, I will. I already have a plan in mind, but it will most likely take the entire year to accomplish and the entire town to cooperate, but we can make it work." Rarity smiled proudly at Sweetie Belle, mirrored by the crowd as well. She ruffled her mane and said, "Well, you've just made me even prouder of you, Sweetie." Looking at her sides, she continued, "And possibly yourself." "What?" Sweetie asked. As Rarity pointed at her flank, her smile got even wider and she cheered for the broom superimposed on a tri-colored kite shield. A Heartsong soon followed, chorused by the entire town. At one point Einstein joined in and took the entire town into a gibberish dance of gibber and Irish. As the evening continues, the time for dinner eventually came, and Carousel Boutique spent it with a certain human as its guest. Rarity swallowed her dinner and looked across the desk. Sweetie was excitedly talking to the human with her mouth full. She'd usually scold her for this, but the sight was too heartwarming for her to do anything but watch. "Isn't it amazing? I finally understand what the grown-ups mean when they say we're doing it wrong! It's not about doing every possible thing on the list, it's about trying some to find which one suits you most! Oh, I can't wait to tell Scootaloo and Apple Bloom! They're going to get their cutie marks soon!" Einstein raised an eyebrow. "Well, of course, they will. You've bought it." Sweetie stopped and looked at Einstein. ". . . Oh, right." She hummed. "You know, I think I don't want that anymore." Rarity's eyebrows shot up. "Really, now? What made you change your mind?" After finally swallowing her food, Sweetie answered, "Well, if I just buy them their cutie marks, it wouldn't really be memorable, wouldn't it? And now I know that's what mattered: the experience! Finding that one moment in life where everything clicked together and the fog was lifted to let you see the horizons!" Einstein chuckled. "That makes absolutely no sense. Not that I mind, though." Rarity joined, "So, are you still going to take a commission, darling?" Sweetie nodded. "Yep! And this time I know exactly what I want!" Commision Sheet Commissioner: Sweetie Belle Address: Carousel Boutique, 16 Mane St., Ponyville, Equestria Preferred Delivery System: Mail; Ponyville Delivery Express Contact: - Item Description: Bow Notes: Make it pink Einstein read the sheet and gave Sweetie a quizzical look. "Seriously? You could've asked for anything, you know? Absolutely everything you can think of." Sweetie nodded. "It's for Apple Bloom. I mean, how cool would it be to have half a ship tying up your mane?" Rarity took a look at the sheet herself and asked, "What about Scootaloo? Won't she be upset if you don't give her a gift?" Sweetie pointed at her cutie mark and smiled. "I'll help her clean her room." Rarity cocked her head. Sweetie waved a hoof. "You'll understand once you see it. But I know that it'll be the best gift I could give her." Rarity nodded and, looking at Sweetie's cutie mark, put her hoof under her chin. "So, Sweetie, tell me about your cutie mark. What does it stand for?" Sweetie grinned and promptly forgot about her dinner. "It's cleaning! Both literal and metaphorical! My cutie mark is about cleaning after somepony else's mess; because as much as the world needs innovation, it also needs ponies to do the maintenance to keep that innovation running and clean up afterward when it turned out to be a bad idea." Rarity patted her head. "That's the most beautiful description of a janitorial cutie mark I've ever heard." Sweetie Belle beamed. A knock came from the door. Before Rarity could say anything, it swung open, revealing the worried face of Filthy Rich. "Excuse the interruption, but have any of you seen my daughter?" Three heads shook in such synchronicity, it almost made Rich's heart went the opposite direction into arrhythmia. "The last time I saw her was in front of the public bath, but that's almost two hours ago. She ran off somewhere south afterward." "Exactly!" Rich exclaimed. "Who knows where she is now? She could've been in the Everfree Forest!" Rarity's face went worried. "Oh, dear. That's quite true." Einstein suddenly stood up, gaining the attention of everypony in the room. "I think I can help," he said and, turning to Sweetie Belle, continued, "Sweetie, come with me." Rarity, Sweetie, and Filthy were waiting impatiently in front of The Everycraftery. Einstein had gotten inside a few minutes ago, and as time ticked by, Diamond could've gone further into the Everfree. At last, Einstein came out, carrying a green janitor's cap and a saddlebag full of janitorial stuff. He put the cap on Sweetie's head and kneeled, looking into her eyes with encouragement. "Now, Sweetie, I need you to be a janitor." Everypony present grunted. "Mr. Einstein sir, this is not the time for jokes!" Einstein shook his head. "No, it isn't. And that's why I'm not joking. Reach inside you, Sweetie. Dig into your heart. Know that you are a Janitor." Seeing the serious look on Einstein's face, Sweetie closed her eyes and reached inside her. She scurried around her insides and scrambled along the ribcages. As she reached her heart, she could see, at the top-right corner of the left ventricle, that she was, indeed, a janitor. Sweetie's eyes shot open, and everything came into her as comprehension. She nodded in determination and strapped the saddlebag of janitorial stuff tight. Pulling a broom from her saddlebag, she went into a flourish, brandishing it into the air and swept the area for Diamond Tiara. She couldn't find her. "Go further," urged Einstein. Sweetie nodded. She gripped the broom tight in her grip, somersaulted, flourished, and did many other unnecessary moves, ending in a pose that swept the entire town for a frown. She gasped. "I found her!" Filthy galloped to her side. "Where is she? Going to the Everfree? Inside the Everfree? In the middle of the Everfree? Running away from—" "She's sitting on a bench in the park." Filthy swept his brows and let out a long sigh. "Phew. I thought today's going to be one of those days, you know?" Sweetie nodded. "There's still the problem of her crying there, though." "She what?" Sweetie wasted no time. With another flourish of her broom, she swept through the air and landed on the park. Diamond immediately noticed her and looked away. "Leave me alone." Sweetie didn't. She walked closer to the bench and sat next to her. Diamond didn't move. "I said leave me alone," Diamond said weakly. Sweetie took a sprayer and sprayed Diamond with words of encouragement. Diamond stumbled back. Sweetie twirled the broom in her hoof and swept. Taking the first letter of the verb and putting it behind the object, she gave it to Diamond and let her weep among a bunch of brooms, all the while putting her in a caring embrace. After what seemed like forever, Diamond stopped weeping and gave it back to Sweetie, which turned the plural back into a singular and stashed it inside her saddlebag. Sweetie took a look at Diamond and winced. Her mane was disheveled, her eyes bloodshot, her tiara dangling in her hair, and her coat stank of sweat and grime. Not to mention her psyche. She was a total mess. But Sweetie Belle was a janitor, and it was her job to clean up a mess. And so, she went into cleaning. She brushed off any complaining Diamond gave her, wiped away all her problems, cleaned her mind of any bad thoughts, and did many other verbs attributed to janitorial duties. A few minutes went by as Diamond stared with a disbelieving expression at everything Sweetie did. By the end of it, however, Diamond was clean and tidied up. She had been broken down and put back together, as it were, and is now looking and acting like a brand new mare. Sweetie gave Diamond a warm smile. "Sorry I didn't notice it earlier, Diamond. I should've known that you're not really a bully by choice." Diamond sniffed and hugged her. "Don't worry, Sweetie. And I'm sorry I made you three miserable just so I can feel good about myself." Rarity eyed the stack of papers warily. Looking up, she was met with the hopeful eyes of her sister, still wearing the green cap from before. "Are you absolutely certain about this, Sweetie?" Sweetie frowned. "Again, yes, Rarity. It's just a part-time job, after all. It's not like it's dangerous or anything; not any more dangerous than Ponyville, at least." Einstein was waiting next to Twilight in front of The Everycraftery. She had been reluctant at first with the thought of hiring an underage worker, but then accepted it pretty quickly when she found out the different legal systems of this Equestria restricted employments for the lack of cutie marks, not age. Twilight looked at Einstein and whispered, "Admit it, you're doing this because you're too lazy to clean up the shop." Einstein nodded without any hint of guilt. "That I did." "Shame on you." "Why? If not for people like me, people like her won't have a purpose." "If not for people like you, people like her won't be needed in the first place." "That's exactly what I said," Einstein replied, smirking. "Just give up, Twilight. You're not really good at philosophical stuff." Twilight snapped her neck at him. "Is that a challenge?" "Indeed it is." A smirk came to Twilight's face as an idea came to mind. "You know what? I'll take that challenge." Just as Einstein was about to for a rebuttal, Sweetie swept her sister into a hug (without brooms), indicating her part-time employment into The Everycraftery.