When Rarity returned to her parents’ home, walking drearily into the unlit living room, she expected everypony to be asleep at this late hour, and was rather surprised when she turned on the light to see a drowsy, but very much awake, Sweetie Belle sitting on the couch.
“Sweetie Belle?” Rarity yawned. “What are you still doing up?”
“Waiting for you,” Sweetie replied, giving a sweet smile as she rested her head on the arm of the chair, her arms dangling off the side.
“Were you worried about me, darling?” Rarity softly giggled as she sat down next to Sweetie, who scooched over to make room for her sister.
“Nope,” Sweetie shook her head and affected a bright grin, “just wanted to see you when you came back. Thought it’d be nice for you to see a friendly face when you got home, instead of just an empty house like you’re probably used to back in Canterlot.”
“Oh,” Rarity put a hand over her melting heart, “that’s very sweet of you! Thank you, I truly appreciate it.”
“No problem,” Sweetie chirped as Rarity pulled her in for a side hug.
“Why were you sitting in the dark though?” Rarity asked.
“Uh, cuz if you came back and the light was on, it wouldn’t be dramatic,” Sweetie scoffed, “duh.”
“Ah, of course,” Rarity rolled her eyes at Sweetie’s ‘logic’, and she refused to admit how frightfully similar it could be to her own.
“Where’s Queen Celestia?” Sweetie asked, leaning her weary head against Rarity’s side.
“She checked into a hotel,” Rarity answered and, seeing Sweetie Belle’s pout, continued before her sister could butt in. “She often likes time alone after a mission, to reflect. She also has to write a report.”
“To herself?”
“Yep,” Rarity giggled, imagining Celestia in her hotel room all alone, writing by dim candlelight a letter to ‘dear Queen Celestia’. “Even when she takes missions by her lonesome, she always files reports. I guess she just likes to have them handy, who knows.”
“Hmm,” Sweetie hummed, nestling closer to Rarity’s body and closing her eyes.
“Did you enjoy sparring with her this evening?”
“Yeah!” Sweetie jolted away from Rarity, pumping her fists, with a sparkle in her eye, now appearing to be wide awake. “Did you see us? I totally caught her off-guard one time! Nicked her hand and everything!”
She’s a natural.
The voice of her mother echoed in Rarity’s mind as she answered. “I did see that. You were quite impressive.”
“Yep,” Sweetie nodded, arms crossed and eyes closed in total confidence, “Celestia’s gonna make me her next super special student, now that you’ve graduated or whatever. She’s probably got empty nest syndrome, the poor dear.”
“Oh, is that right?” Rarity said teasingly, booping her sister on the nose. “You’re going to be Celestia’s student?”
“Uh, that’s what I said,” Sweetie scoffed and jerked her head back, “c’mon Rarity, try and keep up.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll be an excellent student,” Rarity yawned and leaned her back against the couch, Sweetie flumphing against the couch’s back as well.
“And an excellent Slayer, right?” Sweetie asked cheerfully.
“Ri—” Rarity paused. She looked at Sweetie Belle, her bright, youthful eyes and her charming little smile, and pondered their father’s words.
Being a Slayer left your mother and I with nothing but a lifetime of regrets.
“Sweetie Belle?” Rarity asked, keeping her tone measured and gentle to be sure she didn’t alarm her sister. “Why do you want to be a Slayer?”
“Don’t ask dumb questions, Rarity,” Sweetie said mockingly, and Rarity wasn’t sure whether to be offended or impressed by her sass. “Slayers get to go on adventures, and fight monsters, and protect innocent ponies! And you get adoration and respect from everypony you meet, too!”
She’s just like Pinkie Pie, Rarity thought, and she didn’t have the heart to correct Sweetie’s misconceptions about what being a Slayer was like.
But she had to.
“Sweetie,” Rarity sighed, “are you prepared to give up everything in order to protect Equestria? I don’t know what our parents have told you about being a Slayer, but it is a life of constant work, of constant exhaustion. It’s worth it, of course, but you need to be prepared to lose everything else if it’s the road you truly want to travel down, because there is no life outside the Hunt.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Sweetie batted her hand dismissively. “I’ve heard that before, and just cuz you’ve turned into a bitter old lady, doesn’t mean I’m gonna. I’m gonna save ponies with a smile on my face, and help everyone I meet, and make everypony’s lives better just by being there!”
“Like Queen Celestia?” Rarity asked with a wry smile, smiling even brighter at the lovely shade of red that Sweetie’s cheeks suddenly became.
“Well,” Sweetie cleared her throat, “something like that, I guess. She is kinda cool, I suppose. And I kinda— I mean, I guess I kinda wanna be like her. And like you.”
“You’re a sweetheart,” Rarity pulled her sister into a hug and kissed her on the head.
She was about to let her go, but then she thought about her battle with the timberwolves, and with the cragadile, and with the quarray eels, and whether it was for her own sake or her sister’s, she couldn’t bring herself to let Sweetie Belle go.
“Rarity?” Sweetie’s muffled voice chimed in. “Kinda smothering me?”
“Oh,” Rarity let out a nervous giggle, “sorry about that, darling. Got lost in a thought.”
“About the librarian, right?” Sweetie said with a devilish grin.
“How do you—” Rarity cleared her throat and stood up. “Well, look at the time! I believe somepony needs to go to sleep!”
“I get it, I get it,” Sweetie hopped off the couch and rolled her eyes as she headed to the bedroom.
Just shy of the hallway, her hand resting on the corner of the wall, Sweetie stopped and turned back to look at Rarity, who gave her a smile and waved.
“It’s really good to see you, Rarity,” Sweetie Belle said. “We’ve missed you.”
“Me too, darling,” Rarity said, trying to hold back her tears until Sweetie was away. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Rarity,” Sweetie Belle yawned, continuing her trek to her bedroom. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Sweetie Belle.”