Chapter Five: Sweetie Belle Feels Just Fine
As Sweetie Belle and her two best friends arrived backstage, Rarity galloped up to them, her eyes wide with surprise. "Sweetie! What – what happened there?"
"We made the whole town laugh with our amazing comedy act!" Scootaloo said, looking very proud of herself. Sweetie nodded and pointed at her friend.
"But... but what about your audition?" Rarity asked. "It surely won't count now!"
Sweetie Belle whispered something to Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, and the two of them nodded and trotted off, leaving her and Rarity. "Sis," Sweetie began, "when I got up on stage, I froze up and forgot all of my lines! Everypony was staring at me, and I just didn't know what to do! I was so scared, but then my friends came and saved me!"
Rarity's snout scrunched in confusion. "So... you're happy that they ruined your audition?"
"My friends didn't ruin it!" Sweetie replied, giggling. "They made it better!"
Rarity laid a hoof on Sweetie's shoulder. "Sweetie Belle, I very much doubt that you're going to make it to the next round of the contest now. Doesn't that upset you?"
Sweetie just shrugged. Finally, she felt able to tell Rarity what she had been trying to say to her for days and days. "There's always next time. I don't think I was ready to sing in front of all those ponies anyway. Besides, I... Rarity, I only wanted to audition in the first place so we could spend time together, and so you'd be proud of me!"
Rarity went silent for a while. "Sweetie Belle," she said eventually, "do you know I'll always be proud of you, singing or no singing? Because I will. I promise."
"Really?" Sweetie asked, unsure.
"Yes, of course. Please don't feel like you have to do things to impress me – you should do them because you want to."
Sweetie Belle looked up into her sister's eyes and saw an expression that she knew meant Rarity was being very, very serious. The last tiny knot in her stomach untangled, and she smiled broadly. Looking up at her sister's smile, she walked closer to her and reached out her forelegs.
Rarity smiled and pulled her into a hug, and they stayed that way for quite some time.
"And you know... I really enjoyed helping you practice for this," Rarity said after a while. "Maybe we can do it some more, just for fun? And of course, there's always next year's audition."
Sweetie Belle thought that was a pretty good idea. She was about to reply when Scootaloo and Apple Bloom came running up to her with enormous grins on their faces. "Looking around this audition thing just gave me a great idea," Scootaloo said. "We should hold our own singing competition! We can be..." Sweetie grinned and shared a look with her friends.
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER TALENT AGENTS!" all three of them yelled at once.
The three Crusaders giggled and started towards Scootaloo's scooter and wagon, but before they went, Sweetie Belle turned around and darted back to her sister.
"That would be really fun, Rarity," she said. "Even after I get my talent agent cutie mark, I'm sure I'll be able to squeeze some singing into my tight schedule." Sweetie tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe a week from today? I'll have the ponies I'm going to employ pencil you in between the appointments I'm going to have at two and three."
"I'll make a note of it in my diary," Rarity said. Sweetie Belle saw her sister wave out of the corner of her eye as she rushed off to join her friends.
Nailed to a tree near the centre of Ponyville the next day:
IMPORTANT NOTICE: In light of recent events and after much deliberation, we the organisers of the Sapphire Shores Singer Search have ruled to bar group acts from participating in our event going forward.
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The Bloom-Scoot-Belle Talent Agency welcomes group acts! We're not lame like those guys!