Unicorn In Training

by jim150454

Who's Hungry?

“Sweetie Belle, what happened?!”

Rarity rushed over to the boutique’s front door, where Sweetie Belle laid in a disoriented state. She levitated her sister onto her red sofa and placed a pillow under her head.

“I’m fine.” Sweetie Belle murmured, although it would’ve been more reassuring for Rarity if she could’ve actually opened her eyes and said it.

“You most certainly are not fine! Did something happen at the library? Are you hurt?” Rarity was beside herself with worry, and also fear that she would have to face the wrath of her parents for letting something happen to their little angel.

“I’m just tired from practicing with Twilight. I think I need to go to sleep for a while.”

“Twilight?! Did she do this to you?” Rarity felt anger well up beside her concern for her sister.

It was almost painful for her to do so, but Sweetie Belle slowly opened her eyes, feeling her headache return. “I’m tired... can we talk about it later?” It wasn’t really a question, as Sweetie Belle had already shut her eyes and curled up into a ball.

Rarity almost objected, but she saw how weak her sister was and decided to drop the subject, even though it pained her not to know. “Alright Sweetie Belle, you can go to sleep, but we will be talking about this later.”

She would’ve gone on to lecture her sister but the sounds of light snoring told her that it would have been futile. She kissed Sweetie Belle gently on her forehead and got her a blanket. She walked upstairs into her bedroom and slumped down against the door.

‘Oh, Sweetie Belle, this is all my fault! If only I hadn’t been so caught up in my work. I should’ve seen the signs when you were so tired the other day.' Rarity placed a hoof to her eyes, trying to stop herself from crying.

‘No!’ She thought, stamping her hoof into the floor. ‘This is not my fault, This is Twilight’s! She’s been putting pressure on Sweetie Belle right from the start, making her read that book and putting all sorts of ideas into her head! I think I might just pay her a little visit tomorrow to see what she has to say for herself.’

---

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Spike jumped up out of his bed with a yell, startled by what sounded like cannon fire coming from downstairs. He glanced over at Twilight, who was sound asleep. He wondered how she could even use an alarm clock if something as loud as that couldn’t rouse her.

Shaking with fear, he tiptoed down the stairs, brandishing his nighttime blanket as a weapon. He looked around, searching for any sign of whatever made the noise.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The return of the loud noise only made Spike jump again. This time, he was awake enough to be able to hear where the noise was coming from. The front door. Now, his fear became curiosity as he wondered who would come to the library before it was so early, and who would need to get in so bad that they would be prepared to break the door down with such forceful knocking. Not wanting to face another round of thunderous thumping, Spike walked up to the door and unlocked it.

On the porch stood Rarity, her eyes brimming with anger, which scared Spike more than the thought of any intruder. She stared unblinking into Spike’s eyes, an act that on any other day would send his heart skyrocketing to the moon, but today, only served to make him flinch and back away.

“Spike, I would like to speak with Twilight. Now.” Rarity said as she walked past the cowering dragon, coming to a stop in the middle of the room. Spike stood motionless for a second before he sprinted up the stairs with speed that would rival Rainbow Dash.

After a minute, Spike returned, walking down the stairs with Twilight close behind. Spike still carried a fearful look whereas Twilight was just confused. Rarity once again turned her attention to spike, this time trying to soften her angered tone. “Spike, would you please go upstairs. I need to speak with Twilight alone.”

The dragon wasted no time in grabbing his blanket and clambering up the stairs. He found a spot where he was hidden from view, but could still listen to the conversation that was happening downstairs.

“Hey Rarity, what’s up?” Twilight asked innocently, not noticing the tension in the air.

“I know what happened yesterday.” Her voice was unreadable now, neither angry nor happy.

Twilight shuffled nervously. Now she knew what this was about. “Oh...”

“Oh, is right...I let Sweetie Belle come over here to learn because I thought I could trust you!”

Twilight gasped, she stepped forward, bowing her head down slightly. “You can trust me! it was just an accident but everything’s okay now.”

“Everything is not okay!” Rarity snapped. Twilight recoiled and put her ears down, making herself as small as possible. “You pushed her too hard with your books and spells and whatnot, then when she inevitably got hurt you just sent her away without a care! Well I won’t let my sister be stolen from me by somepony who isn’t concerned for her safety!”

Rarity was quite distressed now, her eyes were watering and her mane was slightly disheveled. Twilight was in tears over Rarity’s yelling, amidst her soft whimpering, she managed to say a few words. “I am concerned about her, I just... I don’t know. She was so determined to do the spell...”

“Don’t try to blame this on her! As her teacher it was your job to make sure that nothing bad happened to her.”

Twilight cried even harder. The side of Rarity that begged for her to comfort her was growing fast. She needed to leave soon, or else she wouldn’t be able to bear the sight any longer.

Now, Rarity spoke with a softer tone, one which had an inkling of sympathy for the purple unicorn. “Sweetie Belle is at home resting. We have talked, and I’ve told her that she’s not to come back here again.”

Twilight only responded with a half-hearted nod, not even bothering to look back up. Rarity quickly turned and rushed out the door. When she was sure that it was closed, she wiped the tears away from her eyes and ran home. Inside, Spike rushed down to comfort Twilight, who now rested her head on his chest.

“I’m the worst friend ever.”

---

Back at the Carousel Boutique, Rarity had just gotten in and had hoped that the bell on the front door wouldn’t wake Sweetie Belle. She trotted to the filly’s bedroom and peered through the door. Sweetie Belle was sitting on her bed in the dark looking sadly at a green book. The guilt that Rarity had felt at the library returned even stronger than before.

“Sweetie Belle? Are you feeling better?” Rarity asked quietly. She was expecting a flurry of angry comments or maybe something to be thrown at her. Instead of that, all she got was silence.

“Sweetie...?” Rarity moved closer to the bed. She was almost sitting on it when Sweetie Belle finally acknowledged her.

“...I’m ok.” She mumbled gloomily. Though Rarity knew this wasn’t the case.

“Would you like something to eat?”

“No” Sweetie Belle said flatly, not even looking up.

“Something to drink? I have your favourite juice in the fridge.” Rarity said, trying her best to entice the filly into giving her some sort of reaction.

“No, I just want to go to sleep.”

“Sweetie, I know you’re mad at me about Twilight, but I really think-”

“Just leave me alone!” Sweetie Belle screamed. Though she expected it, Rarity was still shocked and hurt by her sister’s outburst. She tried to put a hoof on the filly’s mane, only to have it batted away as Sweetie Belle curled up into a ball away from her.

There was nothing she could do at this point that would make Sweetie Belle any more inclined to talk to her. As she left the room, she gave a cursory glance back at the bed, hoping that she her sister would’ve at least turned to watch her leave. But despite her hopes, Sweetie Belle had no intention of acknowledging her exit.

She walked into the kitchen and sighed, sitting down and resting her chin on the table. ‘I feel awful. Not only did I make one of my best friends cry, my sister doesn’t even want to see me anymore,’ Giving a small look over her shoulder, she watched the door in case Sweetie Belle decided she wanted to come in and talk. Unsurprisingly, nothing came through the doorway, prompting a sigh from Rarity. ‘...Maybe I shouldn’t have yelled at Twilight. It was quite mean.’

Rarity quickly shook her head and furrowed her brow. ‘No! I suppose I could have handled it with a little more grace, but Twilight still needed to know that what she did was wrong,’

‘Sweetie Belle is sure to come around, and then things will be just like they were before, just me and her. I just hope it doesn’t take too long for her to talk to me.’

Her head twitched in the direction of the oven. Her pout slowly changed into a smile as she was overcome with inspiration. ‘That’s it! I just need to do something special for her, then she’ll be sure to forgive me! I’ll cook her favourite meal tonight, just for her!’ In a flash, Rarity was at the kitchen counter, collecting pots an pans in preparation for what was sure to be the meal of the century.

---

It had been a few hours since Sweetie Belle had heard even a peep out of Rarity, a fact that she was truly grateful for. Sweetie Belle didn’t truly hate her sister, but that didn’t mean that she had to like being around her at this time either. There was only one problem, being angry was extremely boring!

Sweetie Belle hadn’t left her room since Rarity had come home and since her living situation in Rarity’s home was always a temporary thing, her room had barely anything in the way of entertainment. She had a few books in her room, most of which were cheesy romance novels that she had ‘borrowed’ from Rarity. She did have her magical guide, but at this point it would only serve to make her sad, since she no longer had a teacher.

Just as she breathed in to let out a groan of boredom, she caught the faint smell of something coming from downstairs. Gradually, as the scent got stronger, she could make out the details of the aroma, mainly that it smelt really good. It was unmistakably her favourite dish, something that she hadn’t tasted for far too long. Her mouth watered in anticipation and her hooves carried her forward towards the door. It was as if she was being hypnotised by the food that was waiting below.

‘Wait.’ Sweetie Belle said to herself while she fought to keep her own hoof away from the door handle. ‘It’s just a trick. Rarity thinks that by being all nice, I’ll forget about everything. Well that won't work!’

Sweetie Belle walked back to her bed and sat on the side with a determined expression. Although, it would have been easier to keep her composure if her stomach wasn’t rumbling so loudly. In an attempt to escape her cruel torture, Sweetie Belle buried her face in her pillow.

The bedroom door creaked open for the first time in hours. Rarity gingerly poked her head in and saw Sweetie Belle with her head embedded in her pillow. “Sweetie Belle?” She called out, not knowing whether she was asleep.

The little pony being apparently devoured by her pillow twisted her head, so one eye peeked out from the pillowcase. She responded to her sister with a low mumble that was almost completely muted by the material around her.

“I made you some dinner.” Rarity said sweetly. She was tempted to move closer to her sister, but thought against it. She was already treading on thin ice.

“I’m not hungry.” Sweetie Belle said bluntly, though her muffled voice was hard to understand.

“Are you sure? I think you’ll enjoy it,” Rarity said enticingly. Her response was another suppressed refusal. “Pleeeaaasse! I know you’re hungry!” Rarity was almost dancing on her hooves as she begged her sister. Sweetie Belle clutched the pillow tighter around her face. “Please, Please, Please, Please, Please, Please!”

“Alright, fine!” Sweetie Belle screamed, lifting her head up so fast that the pillow was thrown over to the other side of the room. She got up and angrily walked out of the door, making sure to growl loudly as she passed her sister. Rarity silently giggled to herself and followed Sweetie Belle down the corridor.

The amazing aroma she had smelt from upstairs was even more powerful the closer she got to the kitchen. When her waiting meal finally came into view, it took all of her willpower to not lunge at the plate like a rabid manticore. Rarity watched her closely, hoping to evoke any reaction from the filly that wasn’t a look of distant apathy.

Sweetie Belle sat down to her meal opposite from where Rarity had now placed herself. Rarity stared at Sweetie Belle with a wide smile whilst Sweetie Belle kept her eyes locked onto her meal. With her fork in hoof, she gently rolled her food around on the plate.

Rarity’s expectant grin began to fade. “Well? aren’t you going to eat it? It’s your favourite, grilled carrots and asparagus!”

Sweetie Belle sluggishly cut a piece of carrot and placed it into her mouth. In a moment of simultaneous euphoria and torment, the taste of various spices and flavours washed over her tongue. The overwhelming sensation combined with her hunger almost made her want to forgive Rarity right there on the spot, but she knew she had to persevere. On the outside, she looked like she had barely noticed the food at all. Not tempted to prolong her punishment any more, she swiftly swallowed the rest of her mouthful.

"I'm not hungry." Sweetie Belle said flatly as she placed her fork back down.

Rarity frowned and opened her mouth as if to chastise her sister. She drew back and took a moment to think her words over before she spoke. "Sweetie Belle, I know you May be angry with me, but not eating isn't going to solve anything."

A tense silence filled the room as Sweetie Belle regarded her plate. She wanted so much to enjoy her meal, but her stubbornness wouldn't allow it.

“I’m. Not. Hungry." Her plate screeched across the table in protest as she pushed it away from her.

Rarity looked down at her own meal. Suddenly, it didn't look so appetising anymore. With a loud sigh, Rarity conceded. "Okay, I'll leave these in the oven if you want it later. You may leave the table." Rarity placed the two Plates in the oven and began cleaning pans in the sink, keeping her back to her sister.

Sweetie Belle hesitated for a moment, then got up and walked out of the room. The thought of another stretch in her bedroom prison cell haunted her. She passed by the open door to Rarity's work room and spotted something that could possibly alleviate some of her impending boredom: a drawing book and a set of coloured pencils. She quickly darted into the room and collected the items, then ran to her room and slammed the door. The bed creaked as she hopped onto it and rested her new book on her legs. There was a pause while Sweetie Belle pondered on what to draw. As her eyes wandered around the room for inspiration, she noticed a familiar green book, still lying on the same spot it had been on since her last trip to Twilight’s. Just looking at the book was enough to form a lump in her throat. After shaking her head to rid herself of the thoughts, she began drawing in her book.

Rarity walked into her living room and reclined on the couch. 'Well, that went well.' Opalescence jumped on the arm rest next to her and began her usual routine of jamming her claws into the delicate upholstery. Rarity was about to shoo her away, but couldn’t find the strength inside of her to care for the well-being of her furniture.

‘What am I doing? She’s made it quite clear that she doesn’t want to speak to me ever again. She never turns down dinner!’ Her stomach growled in an uncouth display of anger towards Rarity for denying it its food, but her mind was in no fit state to comply with her physical demands. ‘I guess I’ll just have to try again tomorrow...’ All of Rarity’s previous pep had been sapped away from her. ‘She’s my sister, and I won’t lose her.’

She buried her head into the couch pillows and tried to fall asleep.

Comments

[Level0Hero]

Rarity should have listened to Sweetie's side of the story. Although I can understand why she is angry at Twilight.

[shorty8597]

ahhh, the the terrible things that happen when efforts of communication are ineffective

[Opalesence]

I NEED MORE

[CMC4TW]

1727351
You and me both, man.

Also, looking forward to more Twilight/Sweetie Belle interaction. We all know it'll happen eventually, heh.