//------------------------------//
// Pink 
// Story: The Public Life of Sweetie Belle 
// by BronyWriter 
//------------------------------//

Suspended from school because of a fight on day one. How was she going to explain that one to her parents? They had sent her back to school in the first place to reintegrate her back to society and normal life, but now that seemed to be even more of an impossibility than before.

Sweetie Belle trudged back home from school after her suspension with her head held low to the ground. She occasionally heard whispers around her as she walked through town to her parent's house, but she tried to tune them out for the most part. Still, occasionally she picked something up.

"It's Sweetie Belle!"

"What's she doing out around us normal ponies?"

"Probably something evil. I heard that she just got expelled from school for trying to murder two of her classmates."

"Really?!"

"Yes. I think she'll turn out just like her psycho of a sister."

Sweetie Belle glanced towards the direction of the noise to see Berry Punch and Lyra Heartstrings looking straight at her with wide eyes and their heads together so they could whisper rumors to each other. When they saw her looking at them, they took an uneasy step back. Despite her internal warnings, Sweetie Belle walked over to the two of them with a glare. "Why are you saying bad things about me?"

The two ponies looked at each other uneasily. "Uh... w-we're not!" said Berry Punch with a nervous laugh.

Sweetie Belle shifted her gaze between the two of them, glaring daggers at the ponies who used to like her. "You just said stuff about me doing something bad. I haven't been expelled and my classmates are okay."

"Oh... well that's good!" said Lyra with false happiness.

"Why are you saying things about me like I was the one that did something?" asked Sweetie Belle angrily. "I haven't hurt anypony!"

"Well, I--"

"And what did you said about me being around you 'normal ponies'?" she asked. "Am I some kind of freak?!"

"No of course not!" said Lyra. The two were backing up from Sweetie Belle as if she was brandishing a weapon and threatening to go after their families.

With each step backwards that the two took, Sweetie Belle followed up with one in their direction. "I'm only ten years old! What in Equestria could I do to any of you?!"

"Well wasn't Rarity eight years old when she--"

"Excuse me?!" said Sweetie Belle angrily.

"Well it's a fair point isn't it?" asked Berry Punch. "Didn't Rarity--"

"No! You don't get to talk about my sister like that!" she screeched.

Berry Punch and Lyra and exchanged another look, and Sweetie Belle thought she saw traces of fear in Berry Punch's eyes. "Why do you think that I'm gonna do the stuff that my sister did? What makes you think that I would want to hurt anypony?"

Lyra and Berry Punch didn't answer; they just looked uneasily at Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle surmised that they weren't going to answer so she turned around and walked away. As she walked away, she heard Lyra say, "Well I know that I'm going to lock my door tonight!"

Sweetie Belle desperately wanted to turn around and berate the duo some more but she realized that there wasn't any point. She simply did her best to continue ignoring the stares and whispers that she was getting. She knew that even the simple confrontation with Lyra and Berry Punch was worthless in the end. The whole town hated and feared her anyway.
At that moment, her stomach growled and she realized that she hadn't actually eaten anything that day. She looked up to see if there was anywhere that she could get a little snack before heading home and she spotted Sugarcube Corner in the distance. It was as good of a place as any.

It was only a ten minute walk to the confectionery from where she spotted it. She was surprised to see that despite the fact that it was the lunch rush, the building was empty.  

She opened the door to the shop and immediately a feeling of depression washed over her. The building was still brightly lit and the decor hadn't changed at all. There were dozens of tasty treats in the display case under the counter but they all seemed to have been baked that morning, something that was unusual for the confectionery as the morning batches were usually long gone by this point.

However, the real reason that the shop was drenched in a dark mood was the pink pony that was sitting on a stool behind the counter, quietly humming to herself with her back to the door. Sweetie Belle gulped and slowly trotted up to the counter. "H-hello Pinkie Pie."

Pinkie's head looked up and she turned around on the stool to see who had come in. "Hi Sweetie Belle," said Pinkie Pie in an emotionless tone. Sweetie Belle took a step back at the sight of the pink pony. Her face was sunken and it looked like the skin on her head was stretched too tight. There were heavy wrinkles under her eyes, which had themselves lost their shine. Her coat which had always been a bright pink was now dulled considerably and it looked unkempt as well. However, the most frightening thing for Sweetie Belle was that Pinkie's normally bouncy hair was completely flat and hung like curtains. When she saw Sweetie Belle take a step back, she frowned. "What's wrong Sweetie Belle?"

"What happened to you?" Sweetie Belle whispered.

"Same thing that happened to you: I was arrested in the dead of night before I found out that one of my best friends was a serial killer before I watched her execution."

Sweetie Belle's ears flattened under the gaze of the pink mare. "Why do you look like that?"

Pinkie's eyes narrowed. "Why? What's wrong with the way that I look?"

"I...I..."

Pinkie Pie stood up form her stool and leered down at the filly. "Do I look like some kind of a monster to you? Is that it?"

Sweetie Belle took a step backwards, but managed to work up the courage to speak. "Pinkie Pie... when was the last time you smiled?"

Pinkie Pie raised an eyebrow before the corners of her mouth turned up and she gave a twisted smile. It was not one of happiness; it was a twisted perversion of what Pinkie Pie's smile had once been. It was a mere shadow of the happy grin that Sweetie Belle knew and loved. "Is that good?" she asked.

"Pinkie--"

"What can I get for you?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"What?"

"Well, you're here in Sugarcube Corner aren't you? I just assumed that you came in to get something to eat. So, based on that, what can I get for you?"

"Pinkie, what happened to you? The others are sad but they aren't acting like this."

Pinkie Pie's ear twitched but she continued on like she hadn't heard Sweetie Belle say anything. "We have cupcakes, some pieces of actual cake, apple strudel, caramel apples--"

"Pinkie Pie, you're scaring me!"

"Or if you want something other than that, I can whip up something in a flash."

"Pinkie--"

"Is everything alright down here?" asked Mr. Cake who had just come downstairs, carrying Pumpkin Cake on his back.

"Everything is fine Mr. Cake!" said Pinkie Pie, flashing the twisted smile again. Pumpkin Cake whimpered and buried her head in her father's shoulder. "Aww, what's the matter Pumpkin Cake?" asked Pinkie Pie. "Is something bothering you about Auntie Pinkie Pie?"

"Pinkie Pie, please don't do this," whispered Sweetie Belle. "Don't let Rarity's death rule your life."

At the mention Rarity's name, Pinkie Pie twitched a bit but she regained her composure and smiled once more. "Who says that I'm letting it rule my life?" she asked. "I'm perfectly happy with with what I'm doing right now, but what. Can. I Get. For. You?!"

Sweetie Belle gulped nervously. "Just a blueberry muffin," she said quietly.

Pinkie smiled once again and reached under the counter and put a large blueberry muffin on the counter. Sweetie Belle looked at it, daring herself to walk up to the counter and collect the muffin. However, it would mean getting closer to Pinkie Pie. "What's the matter?" asked the eerie baker. "Don't you want your muffin? I made it myself, they're very good."

Sweetie Belle gulped and slowly walked up to the counter to get her muffin. She glanced over at Mr. Cake who looked just as uneasy as Sweetie Belle felt. Sweetie Belle felt Pinkie Pie's piercing gaze grow stronger with each step that she took. She reached the counter and looked up. The pink pony was even more frightening this close up.

Sweetie Belle reached up and took her muffin off of the counter before reaching into her saddle bag to pull out two bits. Pinkie Pie scooped them up and placed them in the cash box near the counter.

"Thank you! It's the only sale we've had today!" said Pinkie Pie.

Sweetie Belle looked at Mr. Cake with a horrified expression. He sighed and nodded. "We haven't had a steady stream of customers for a few days now," he said sadly.

"It'll get back to normal," Pinkie Pie assured.

Mr. Cake nodded again. "I have to go feed the twins," he mumbled before he walked back upstairs.

"I think I have to go too," said Sweetie Belle.

"I understand," said Pinkie Pie. "Be sure to come back soon!"

Sweetie Belle put the muffin in her saddlebag and ran out the door, hoping to escape that world as soon as possible.
When she went out the door, she noticed that the very mood of the town seemed to have changed. It was still sunny, the ponies were still talking to each other happily, but the happiness was almost mocking Sweetie Belle now. How could anypony be happy when Pinkie Pie was acting like that?

She walked over to a bench and pulled out her muffin. She took a bite and immediately spit it out. It tasted absolutely disgusting! Much like Pinkie herself, her cooking was a perversion of what it had been.

She tossed the muffin in a nearby trash can and put her head in her hooves. In its own way, Pinkie Pie's demeanor was the worst thing that had happened to her since Rarity's death. It was certainly more disturbing than the way that she had acted with Diamond Tiara that morning.

She glanced over at her saddlebag and pulled it closer to her. She knew that it was time to go home now. Before she could, she heard a voice coming from behind her.  "Excuse me, are you Sweetie Belle?" asked a male voice behind her. She turned around to see a pair of unicorn ponies looking at her expectantly. One had a camera around his neck and the other had a reporter's hat on.

"Uh...no," she said. "But a lot of ponies think that." She stood up and slung her saddlebag over her shoulder.

"Oh come on, don't take us for fools kid," said the photographer. "We know it's you."

"Fine, it's me. Can I go now?" she said.

"Well just hang on a moment," said the reporter, moving in front of her to block her path. "We know what you're going through, and we want to say that we are sorry for your loss."

Sweetie Belle glared at the two of them, knowing full well why they were there. "I don't wanna do an interview!"

"But don't you want your side of the story to be told to the public?" asked the reporter who, had pulled a notepad and a pencil out of his saddlebag.

"Please go away," said Sweetie Belle who turned around and tried walking away in the other direction but she was blocked by the photographer.

"If the issue is about money, you will be well paid for the interview," said the reporter. "I know that your parents lost their jobs."

"It's not about money," said Sweetie Belle angrily. "I just want to be left alone!"

"But surely you want to tell your side of the story! Ponies want to know, they have a right to know!"

"Go away!" said Sweetie Belle.

"But--"

"I said, go away!" Sweetie Belle shouted as she pushed her way past the photographer and began running as fast as she could.

"Stop her! I promised the boss that I'd get this interview," said the reporter.

"No!" said Sweetie Belle who began running wildly, not even bothering to pay attention to where she was going.

"Come back!" said the photographer desperately. "We just want to ask you a few questions!"

Sweetie Belle merely continued to run. She hardly registered the direction she was running which proved to be a gigantic problem. She turned a corner and found herself in an alleyway bricked off at the end. She had hit a dead end! She turned around to see the reporter and the photographer walking up to her from behind. She backed away slowly, hitting the end of the alley in a few steps. "Look, we just want to ask you a few questions," said the reporter in a placating tone. "We don't want to hurt you, we want to help you!"

"No," whined Sweetie Belle as she shrank back into a corner of the alley. The duo came closer to her, both with looks of sympathy on their faces. Sweetie Belle knew that they were fake, that they were just trying to get a good story. She whimpered as the two of them cornered her.

"Look Sweetie Belle, I just want to ask you a few questions about your sister, that's all. We can give you good money for the story, would you like that?" Sweetie Belle merely whimpered again and the reporter glanced at his notebook. "Okay, question one: What can you tell us about the Rarity that you knew?" Sweetie Belle curled her tail over her body, trying to make herself as small as possible. "Just a few sentences will do," said the reporter.

At that moment, Sweetie Belle's bottom lip began trembling and the reporters looked at each other uncomfortably. "Are... are you okay?" asked the photographer. At that question, Sweetie Belle burst into tears. She began loudly sobbing, just wishing for this nightmare to be over. The two took a small step forward, neither of them quite sure of what to do.

"We need this story," whispered the reporter.

"Look at her, man, does she look like she's gonna give us the time of day?" said the photographer.

"I don't understand it; doesn't she want her story to be told?"

Suddenly, a yellow blur smashed into the ground with enough force that Sweetie Belle was surprised that there wasn't a small crater where it had landed. She looked up and to her total surprise; she saw Fluttershy standing between her and the reporters. Every inch of her, from her flared wings to her aggressive stance, told Sweetie Belle that Fluttershy was more livid then she had ever seen her.

"WHAT THE BUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!" she screeched.

The reporters took a small step back. "We were just doing our jobs," said the reporter.

"WHERE IN YOUR JOB DESCRIPTION DID IT SAY THAT YOU HAVE TO MAKE AN EMOTIONALLY FRAGILE TEN YEAR OLD CRY?!"

"Well we--"

Fluttershy suddenly grabbed the photographer's camera in her teeth and with one sharp tug, she tore it from his neck. She slammed it on the ground before shattering it under her front hooves. "YOU SHOULD BE ABSOLUTELY ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES!" she yelled. "IF I DIDN'T HAVE BETTER SELF CONTROL, I WOULD KICK YOUR FLANKS ACROSS PONYVILLE!"

The two reporters looked very scared now. "We just--"

"I don't want to hear it," said Fluttershy, venom and rage dripping from every syllable. The reporters took another step back. Fluttershy reached into her saddlebag and tossed four bits on the ground. "For the bucking camera."

The two reporters glanced at the money but they both looked too scared to pick it up. Fluttershy continued to glare at them. "Get away from us RIGHT NOW!" she said and with a yelp, the two reporters ran as fast as they could in the opposite direction.

Fluttershy turned around to look at Sweetie Belle and her expression immediately softened. She slowly trotted over to her and sat down next to her. Sweetie Belle looked up at her and saw that Fluttershy was crying a bit too. She wrapped her forelegs around the Pegasus' waist and buried her head in her chest. Fluttershy returned the hug and lovingly stroked Sweetie Belle's mane. "Shh, it's okay," she said soothingly. "I'm here now. They're gone, they're not gonna hurt you."

Sweetie Belle continued crying and Fluttershy tightened her hug. She wanted to say that everything would be okay, that the nasty ponies how wanted to exploit her would stop coming, but she didn't know if that was the truth. She didn't know how to comfort her, how to help her through this dark time. She felt as helpless as Sweetie Belle did.