Staring wide-eyed at her younger sister, Rarity felt wave upon wave of embarrassment. Her face slowly turned form white to crimson as silence reigned supreme and lorded itself over the Princess of Pillows and All Things Fabulous, thus destroying the Mighty Fortress of Pillowdom, the monster, and any possibility of rebellion from the survivors of the monster's wrath.
Several thoughts popped into Rarity's head at that moment, but she went with her first instinct. She let out a shriek and started throwing pillows at her unfortunately positioned sister in a rapid fire manner.
"Holy-" was all the sentient target of the now usurped Princess of Pillows and All Things Fabulous could say before being struck by what remained of the Mighty Fortress of Pillowdom. Her barrage was fierce. Unrelenting. Seemingly endle-oh crap, she ran out of pillows.
Rarity stared at the pile of pillows that completely covered Sweetie Belle. She shed a tear for her departed sister, but the Mighty Fortress of Pillowdom and the Princess of Pillows and All Things Fabulous had been avenged. She lifted her right hand, curled it into a wrist and set it on her forehead, throwing her head back in typical dramatic Rarity fashion. "The Mighty Fortress of Pillowdom shall rise again!" she decreed with a dramatic flourish.
Unfortunately for Rarity, the first thing that rose was her sister. Slowly, as if she were a zombie being re-animated from the dead, Sweetie Belle climbed out of the mound of pillows. Her face sported a huge grin, which for some reason unnerved Rarity. Almost immediately, Rarity lifted her arms in front of her head, bracing herself for the onslaught she was about to receive.
Sweetie Belle began her onslaught, laughing with an intensity and insanity that would make even the maddest of mad scientists question their life choices. As Rarity felt each pillow hit her, she made a mental note to try to talk her younger sister out of drinking coffee in the near future.
Quickly regaining her composure, Rarity caught one of the pillows, much to Sweetie Belle's shock. She narrowed her eyes at her little sister in challenge. "It. Is. On!" She declared excitedly.
The two siblings tossed pillows at each other with all the energy they could muster, causing ripples in the pillow-sheet continuum. The damage was catastrophic. Feathers were flying from the pillows and even a poor innocent bystander got beaned by a pillow! To this day, Opalescence still doesn't trust pillows.
Once the two had spent all of their energy, they nearly collapsed. Rarity used the remainder of her energy to clean the floor, then laid right next to her sister.
"T...thank you, Sweetie...Belle." Rarity said, trying to catch her breath.
Sweetie Belle smiled. "No...no problem..." she blinked. "What did I do?"
"I was clearly out of my mind from being bored." Rarity said, her breath coming back to her. "I can't remember the last time I had such an intense pillow fight!"
Sweetie laughed. "Yeah. Same here. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom have nothing on you!"
Rarity smiled. "Good to know." Realizing that she hadn't spent that much time with sister, Rarity decided to take advantage of this moment. "So...how have you been?"
Sweetie turned her head away. "Okay...I guess." she sighed.
"Are you still having nightmares over the Anon-A-Miss incident?" Rarity asked, a hint of concern in her voice.
Sweetie Belle sighed again. "Yeah. I know me and the girls we warned about it, but I wasn't expecting them to be so...severe."
Rarity ran a hand through her sister's hair as she hugged her. "Guilt can be a very powerful thing, Sweetie Belle. Lord knows Sunset Shimmer has suffered through that many times over."
Sweetie winced at the mention of Sunset's name. She, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom still hadn't regained the entire trust of the student body or even the staff at Canterlot High, and it was no wonder. Not after what they did. "I still can't go a day without feeling horrible over what I did." she said, her voice cracking.
Rarity smiled. "That's understandable, darling, but at least it shows that you're a good person. That you genuinely feel penitent over your actions."
Sweetie sniffled, then cried on Rarity's shoulder. Rarity gently stroked Sweetie's hair, giving her words of comfort as she rocked back and forth. Rarity sighed. The whole Anon-A-Miss mess had a nasty effect on all of us. Rarity thought. But the people who suffered most were the Crusaders and Sunset Shimmer.
Sweetie Belle calmed down after a few minutes, then tightened her hug with her sister. "How long will it take for the rest of Canterlot High to forgive us?" she said, her voice a whisper.
Rarity gave Sweetie Belle a sad look. "Now darling, you know I can't answer that question. That's up to the students and staff, not myself and the girls."
Sweetie Belle sighed deeply. "I just don't like constantly being reminded of what the three of us did."
Rarity smiled. "I understand, but my friends and I are here for you and the girls."
Sweetie Belle sighed deeply yet again. "Can we change the subject?"
Rarity smiled. "Of course darling. What would you like to talk about?"
Sweetie Belle thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I don't know. Anything but Anon-A-Miss."
Before either sister could say another word, they heard the downstairs door close. Their parents had returned. "Girls?" their father called out. "We're home!"
Rarity was about to get up off the floor, but Sweetie held her down. "Sweetie Belle?" Rarity said, a frown on her face.
"Rarity..." Sweetie said, tears in her eyes. "Thank you. I love you."
Rarity felt a lump in her throat. "You're welcome...and I love you too."
The two sisters hugged for a moment, then ran downstairs to greet their parents.