//------------------------------// // Of Sweets and Bells // Story: A Royal Problem // by Wearin Hat //------------------------------// Twilight decided to maintain silence following the filly’s question. Could she be trusted with the knowledge of the situation? Was it safe? Moreover, the older mare centered her thoughts on whether or not Sweetie Belle could correctly handle this information without rushing around Ponyville in some misguided attempt to solve the problem as the purple unicorn was sure the filly would attempt to do. Unsure of what to do, the librarian turned a hopeful glance to the generous pony who was similarly casting a wondering stare at the studious purple unicorn. An unspoken conversation then proceeded to take place as the three unicorns stood before the Boutique in mystery of what the next action to be taken was to be. Rarity’s eyes agreed wholeheartedly with Twilight’s in regards to the danger present in revealing such information to somepony so young. However, the two friends understood that leaving the filly in the dark would be far worse as a pony’s imagination was far crueler than reality could ever be. Reassured by the calm expression of submission in the white unicorn’s eyes, the purple mare looked down into the confused eyes of Sweetie Belle with a comforting smile. “Well, you see,” though sure of what course of action was now best, Twilight couldn’t quite find the words to correctly spell this out to the filly without somehow laying it on too thick. Biting her lip, the purple unicorn had to force herself to continue so as to make it seem as though this issue was not one that was as serious as it really was, “Sweetie Belle…do you know how you and Rarity argue and fight a lot?” Twilight felt the tension in her mind falter as the filly before her nodded in affirmation. “It’s not always my fault when we fight. All I try to do is help and all she does is yell at me when I break stuff.” Her mind heavy with the events of the busy morning, the purple unicorn felt immense relief in letting out an unrestrained chuckle at Rarity’s expense. The white unicorn in question was about to start in on her sister as she normally would, but she quickly held her tongue as the studious pony’s plan became clear to her. “So Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are having a fight? Did Luna try and help only to make things worse? I always thought Celestia would understand that she was only trying to help out in some way.” A few painful seconds dragged on as both older unicorns looked on in humored silence to the foalish way Sweetie was envisioning such a problem. “Did they become ex-sisters like Rarity and I did that one time?” That was the straw that finally broke both of the older mares. Confused as to why the other two ponies were now fighting to hold back tears of laughter, Sweetie Belle trotted forward intent on just getting home so she could take a nap and rest up before heading out to crusade later. What stopped her from rushing inside was the feeling of the Twilight’s hoof on her small shoulder. Not feeling capable of putting up with their silly behavior at the moment, the filly looked to the librarian’s smiling face with a look of faux anticipation. “No, they didn’t become ex-sisters…yet.” Though still fighting to contain her giggles, Twilight’s tone turned somber as she admitted to herself that such a foalish thought was an actual possibility in this situation. “Princess Celestia doesn’t want that to happen though, so she’s tasked me with helping settle the problem they are having. However, I wasn’t able to do this on my own and Rarity suggested that Chrome would be able to help.” Her discovery was easily visible to Rarity and Twilight as they looked on with soft eyes so as to keep the filly calm in the face of such realization. “And you want to know about what happened between Chrome and his brother as a reference?” Pride exploded forth from the filly’s sister as the younger pony caught onto what Twilight was talking about quickly. Normally Sweetie Belle was slow to take things in and understand them; something that Rarity was sure had to do with a confidence issue of some sort. Seeing her sister overcome the mental barrier -if only temporarily- was something the older unicorn would forever remember. “That’s right, but you can’t tell anypony about this.” Nodding as she spoke, Twilight focused her expression into one of authority so as to hopefully assure that Sweetie understood the severity of this new secret. “It is of great importance that nopony know about the princesses problem. Do you understand?” Taking a moment to consider Twilight’s words, Sweetie Belle averted her eyes in obvious show that she was in deep thought. Understanding the situation was the easy part for the filly. Her brow furrowed as inner conflict began to rise over the thoughts pouring throughout her mind. Not wanting to disappoint anypony with her response, Sweetie continued her thoughtful gaze towards the ground for what seemed to be an eternity for the two unicorns watching. Confused, the purple unicorn looked to the filly’s sister who stood with a similar expression of surprise and concern. The last thing Twilight wanted was for the young unicorn to become frightened for the welfare of Equestria. Sure, a divide in the relationship between the princesses could cause a war, but that was something that only the adults should bother themselves with thinking about. Foals had no reason to be burdened with such thoughts and yet here the studious pony had pretty much revealed that the world was pretty much on the brink of war to a filly. In short, Twilight felt as though she had made a mistake in believing the truth was the best thing in this situation. “You’re gonna help Chrome though, right? You aren’t just gonna use him to fix the princesses problem and then never talk to him again, are you?” Surprised by the sudden voice laced with concern, the purple pony returned a wide eyed stare to the worried face of the filly before her. In truth, she didn’t know how quite to answer that. Of course Twilight had every intention to assist the stallion with his conflict, but she couldn’t help but feel insulted by the malice Sweetie laced within her question. However, as the purple pony locked eyes with the younger pony before her, she began to take notice of the concern that was marked across the foal’s face. Seeing this, Twilight came to quickly understand that this wasn’t really a matter of whether or not the filly believed the older unicorn would help; this was a matter of protecting somepony she cared about from harm, a sentiment that the studious pony could sympathize with. “Of course I will. We’ll all help him. It’s just that the problem with the princesses must take priority.” Taking a gentle tone, Twilight spoke her mind freely. She was never going to just abandon the stallion with his problem and the studious unicorn was confident that with her friends his problem would be solved in no time at all. Though bristling with pride over the maturity the filly was displaying, the white unicorn felt a sense of urgency come over her at the mention of their friends helping. Rarity couldn’t help but inwardly scoff that this misunderstanding could easily be avoided if her friend were to take her head out of the books long enough to actually have an active social life. Such would prevent the generous pony from being forced to explain away any of the complications inherent with her friend’s plan. Before either of them could react, Sweetie Belle smiled happily and rushed through the front door of the Boutique muttering under her breath as she went. Twilight would’ve stopped to make sure she was alright, but the white unicorn had stopped the attempt with a glance. Sometimes you just had to accept the actions a pony was taking; such was a lesson Twilight recalled learning from dealing with Pinkie Pie. Resisting the urge to call after the filly with questions as to her sudden departure, the purple pony turned to speak to the white unicorn only to be cut off by the slightly odd expression gracing her friend’s features. “Darling, there is something you must understand before I let you get ahead of yourself with planning your actions out. Though I believe he would welcome the assistance of the majority of our friends with his problem, it would be beyond foolish to as everypony to assist in the matter.” Not wishing to stand about in front of her abode, Rarity led the way into the Boutique and waited for her friend to follow suit. Once more confused, Twilight trotted nervously into the building before using her magic to shut the door behind her. “I’m guessing there’s something else I should know about his sensitivity, right?” Nodding gently, the white unicorn moved away from the door to pick up some papers that had fallen from a nearby table when Sweetie had burst into the establishment. “While his relationships with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie are quite positive, I’m afraid that I must warn against involving Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Such a mistake could be quite disastrous.” Not wishing to explain any further in fear of speaking of something that was not her place to discuss freely, Rarity turned a searching eye to her Boutique and smiled warmly when she spotted Spike curled up on her fainting couch. Before she could utilize the distraction to change the subject, the purple unicorn’s typical question tone broke the silence, “I can understand why Dash could cause an issue, but AJ? She’s one of the nicest ponies in all of Equestria. In fact, I was going to go to her for advice on the subject first. Should I reconsider that?” Annoyed slightly at the unknown interruption, Rarity forced a smile as she tried to impart that this was an area of conversation that was safest to be had with Chrome’s permission. He wasn’t fond of ponies prodding into his personal life without his consent. “I’m afraid so, dear. I would rather leave it for him to explain, but Chrome’s relationship with the Apple family is very negative. And before you raise a hoof in question, he understands that Apple Bloom is too young to understand what he believes her family has done to wrong him.” Knowing full well that such a simple explanation would never placate the studious unicorn, Rarity raised her voice in successful attempt to rouse the baby dragon from his slumber. “Wuh-huh?” Initially unaware of his whereabouts, the young dragon quickly gained composure as he shot up off of Rarity’s fainting couch. Pausing briefly to allow his body to wake up further, Spike began to waddle sluggishly over to the two unicorns. “Hey, how’d it go with Chrome?” Much to Rarity’s relief, the distraction proved to be a successful one as her purple companion’s attention turned fully to her assistant. Similar relief came over Twilight as the dragon spoke the stallion’s name. It seemed that during his time alone at the Boutique the baby dragon had figured out who it was the white unicorn had been talking about earlier. Thus the purple pony felt greatly reassured that there would not be an awkward silence this time. “Less than optimal I must say, but some good did come out of it.” Pain surged through Twilight’s face as she felt her cheek throb at the statement. She had almost forgotten it had happened at all. Seeing his friend’s expression tense for a moment, Spike decided the take the high road and not mention that he could clearly tell that the purple pony’s cheek was slightly swollen from what he was sure had been a hoof impact of some sort. Such an observation confused him slightly as he obviously knew that Chrome was sensitive about stuff, but had Twi really crossed the line in such a way to warrant an attack? He decided to leave that question for later, that is, if he could remain awake long enough. “So, did he have anything to say about the princesses?” Groggy as he was, the baby dragon felt his sense sharpen as the fear reentered his mind over the situation before them. He always disliked conflict and this was one that could spawn countless other conflicts from acts of war. “He could only come to the same conclusion that you did earlier. We need to know more about what Luna’s doing to worry Celestia. Chrome said he would assist us in any way that he can, but there’s pretty much nothing we can do without knowing anything more.” Speaking as though this was an obvious observation, the purple unicorn turned her eyes to a window and sighed silently. She could really use a nice day of sleep. As much as she loved studying and learning, Twilight was no fool to the practice of pacing herself. She had to do things in stride if they were to have their full effect, which meant that she would need sleep before heading out to Sweet Apple Acres to meet Chrome’s brother. If she was to believe the way Sweetie spoke of the stallion, then the studious unicorn was sure she’d need to be at the top of her game to be patient enough to deal with him. Taking the initiative, the purple unicorn trotted back to the door of the Boutique before returning a grateful smile to Rarity. “Thanks for everything. I’ll keep you in the loop as this whole thing develops further.” Waving a hoof in dismissal of the comment, the white unicorn patted the baby dragon on the head before addressing the studious pony. “Think nothing of it darling. I’ll do what I can to help in any way.” Feeling the grip of hunger on her mood, the white unicorn turned her smile to the dragon standing beside her. “And thank you for watching after my Boutique. I’ll be sure to find you a nice gemstone of some sort to repay you for your kindness.” Ignoring the fact that she had forced him to stay behind, Rarity trotted off into her kitchen to satisfy her hunger. Skipping breakfast had been a mistake. “Alright Spike, let’s go. We’ve got a letter to write.” As she spoke the mare rubbed her hurting cheek with a hoof before thinking aloud in what she would later recognize as a mistake to make in front of the joke-prone dragon she lived with, “and I’ve got to make sure Ditzy didn’t break anything this time.”