//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Sweet Sister // Story: A Head Full of Clay // by Squinty Mudmane //------------------------------// The walk back to the Boutique took place in an uncomfortable silence. Rarity trotted along in front with her head held high, maintaining an air of dignity, while Sweetie Belle followed with an extremely dissatisfied scowl on her face. As soon as Rarity had closed the door to the Boutique behind them with a little flare of magic, however, Sweetie Belle could no longer hold her tongue. “Rarity, you’re being stupid! This is no worse than that time we tried zip-lining, or when we tried kite flying!” “And how does that make this any better? I can assure you, Sweetie, if I’d been present at those times, I’d still have reacted the same way as now. There’s a fine line between being bold and being reckless, and you’re skirting on the wrong side of it,” Rarity said firmly, walking over to a nearby desk and going through the drawers. “Rarity, you went into a desert when you got your Cutie Mark! A desert! On your own! That’s way more dangerous than anything I’ve ever done!” “Sweetie Belle!” the fashionista replied incredulously, looking sternly at her sister. “I was dragged through that horrid place—literally, I might add—by my horn! I did not suddenly decide to go there on the off chance that I would discover my talent!” “Well, you’re… you’re still being stupid! And you’re treating me like I’m just a foal! Which I’m not!” Sweetie Belle sat down on her rump and pouted, folding her front legs defiantly. “Of course you aren’t, Sweetie,” Rarity cooed, lifting a band-aid from one of the drawers. “Now let’s just get that little-wittle scwape patched up nicely, shall we?” “Rarity!” “Now now, Sweetie, stop being so fussy. This will take but a moment,” she admonished. “You’re the one being fussy! It’s not even a scratch! How’s a band-aid supposed to do any good?” Sweetie Belle complained, her cheeks flushed red in anger and embarrassment. Rarity frowned as she walked closer, holding the band-aid in a telekinetic grip. “Now you’re just being difficult! Really, Sweetie Belle, I did not think you would throw a tantrum over something as small as this. Now just hold still and—” “No!” Sweetie Belle yelled, pushing past Rarity and running towards the stairs. “I don’t want your stupid band-aid! Just leave me alone!” Rarity spun around and immediately gave chase. “Sweetie Belle! Stop being such a drama queen! Get back here now! Sweetie Belle!” Before her sister could reach the top of the stairs, Rarity snatched her up by the hind legs with a shimmer of magic and levitated her back. The filly thrashed wildly. “Rarity! Quit it!” she shrieked so loudly that her voice cracked. Her horn flared briefly and dully. “That’s quite enough, Sweetie Belle,” Rarity said sternly, dragging her furious sister closer. “I must say, I am very disappointed in you. This is so incredibly immature and—” There was a flash of magic and a sharp slicing sound. A large chunk of elegantly styled purple mane fell almost lazily to the floor. Rarity dropped her sister out of sheer shock and surprise, raising a hoof to where something incredibly sharp had cut clean through the rich curl that usually fell gracefully from the side of her head, leaving only a stubby patch of mane. “Wh-wh-what did…?” she stammered, looking down at her sister with wide eyes, who for her part looked every bit as shocked as Rarity. “I’m s-so sorry, Rarity! I-I don’t know what happened!” Sweetie Belle whimpered pitifully. “I… I need some time alone,” Rarity croaked, running past her sister and up the stairs. Sweetie Belle heard a door slam shut on the floor above her. She wanted to run after her sister, to apologize again and again and try to make her understand that it had been an accident, that Sweetie Belle really had no idea what she had done or how, but she found herself rooted to the spot. She had seen the tears welling up in Rarity’s eyes. She felt awful, unable to take her eyes off the sad remains of purple mane lying on the floor. After several moments of paralyzed indecision, she managed to force one leaden hoof in front of the other up the stairs, until she found herself in front of the door of her sister’s room. She could hear faint sobbing coming from the other side. She gulped and leaned closer to the door. “Rarity?” she called out in a quivering voice. There was no response. “Please don’t be mad at me. I didn’t mean for any of that to happen! I’m sorry, I’m really, really sorry! Please… come out?” Still nothing, though the sobbing grew more muted. Sweetie Belle sat down, her ears flopping dejectedly. She could feel the hot rush of tears pressing at her eyes, but fought to hold them back. She could not break down now. She had to make this right somehow. She trotted back downstairs and headed for the pile of papers Rarity kept at her desk. She took a blank piece of paper from the stack and placed it on the floor before looking back at the colourful pencils strewn on the desk, hesitating for a moment. Is it worth trying to...? Sweetie Belle concentrated and attempted to lift one of the pencils with her magic, but the pencil in question remained unimpressed and immobile, without even the smallest glimmer of magic. She squeezed her eyes shut and focused as hard as she could on the simple task of levitating the pencil to her. Just that tiny distance between her and the desk; surely she could manage that. The pencil quivered slightly, but instead of lifting, it spontaneously combusted and burned to ash in a second, leaving behind a small char mark in the spot where it had been. Sweetie Belle let out a little sigh. She supposed she was lucky that the paper stack had not caught fire too. She grabbed one of the other pencils with her mouth and began to write on the paper. Dear Rarity, Gone to get something to cheer you up. Promise to be back soon. Really, really, really, really sorry. Love, Sweetie Belle She finished off the note by drawing a sad-faced pony at the bottom and went upstairs to place it in front of her sister’s door. Afterwards, she went to her room and emptied her piggy bank, putting her meagre savings in a small satchel. As she went back down, she gingerly picked up the severed mane, doing her best to keep the wavy length of hair intact. She placed it atop a pillow and left it on the desk before heading out of the Boutique, closing the door quietly behind her. Perhaps she could go to Sugarcube Corner and get the biggest, most delicious treat she could afford. It seemed cheap and unworthy to try and buy her sister’s forgiveness with sweets in light of what Sweetie Belle had done, but short of crying her eyes out in front of Rarity while repeating how sorry she was, it was the best idea she could come up with at the moment. The doorbell chimed cheerfully as Sweetie Belle entered the confectionery shop. The scent of baked goods was potent enough for those passing by outside, but inside the store, it hung over everything like a fine, mouth-watering mist, causing Sweetie Belle’s stomach to rumble, even though she was not particularly hungry. A pink earth pony came bouncing in from the kitchen, her mouth smeared with red and green frosting which she quickly licked off. “Hi, Sweetie Belle! You look like somepony who could use a cake or ten. Unfortunately, I just proof-tasted the last of this batch, so you’ll need to wait a bit for the next to be ready!” she announced cheerfully. Sweetie Belle could not help but smile a bit at the energetic pony. “Hey, Pinkie Pie. Uh, I don’t suppose you have something that sort of says ‘I’m sorry’, do you?” she asked hesitantly. Pinkie Pie tilted her head curiously. “Sorry, huh? Hmm, I don’t think so. Why, did something happen?” She let out a gasp and leapt up on the counter, looking down at Sweetie Belle with wide eyes. “Oh no! Did something happen to my super secret balloon emergency stash?” Sweetie Belle blinked in confusion. “Uh, no. It’s for me. Or, no, I mean, it’s for Rarity.” “For Rarity?” Pinkie looked a bit concerned now. It was a bit odd to see on a face that was usually set in an expression of carefree excitement. “Yeah, we—” Sweetie Belle paused for a moment. Well, no way out now. “We had a bit of a fight, and I ended up accidentally cutting off part of her mane.” “Oh. Oh dear.” Pinkie Pie looked decidedly perturbed now. Sweetie Belle winced, her fears confirmed; she had definitely screwed up when even Pinkie could not find a silver lining to the situation. “I didn’t mean to! You have to believe me, it just sort of… happened! One moment we were shouting, the next, swoosh! I tried to talk to her, but I think she was too upset for that, so I decided to go here and get her something.” Sweetie Belle sat down on the floor. “But it was a stupid idea. Cake isn’t going to bring her mane back. And she really likes her mane. I just wanted to do something for her.” Pinkie Pie leapt down to the unicorn filly and gave her a tight hug. “Aww, don’t be sad, I think it was a great idea!” The pink pony smiled encouragingly. “She’ll come around. I’m sure she wants to be best friends with you again as much as you do. Nopony wants to stay sad and lonely for long.” Sweetie Belle hugged back. Even though she doubted it would be that easy to just gloss over the entire episode like that, it still felt nice to have her fears soothed, however slightly. Pinkie Pie suddenly stood up, lifting Sweetie Belle with her and giving the filly a dazzling smile. “Hey, tell you what, how about I make you a bunch of muffins? Then you can take them back to Rarity and share them and eat and talk and become best friends again!” “Uhm, well, if you don’t mind—” Sweetie Belle broke into a little yelp as Pinkie Pie spun around on one hoof. “Yay! You wait right here, I’ll be back faster than you can say ‘Schnootzelgoops’ five hundred times!” Even though Sweetie Belle did not count, she was fairly certain it took a while longer than Pinkie Pie’s estimate before the earth pony returned, carrying a green box with red stripes on top of her head. “Here you go! One batch of nommy-nommy yummy tasty sugarific muffins! That’ll cheer Rarity up for sure!” she chirped. Sweetie Belle opened her satchel and rummaged through it. “Uhm, I’m afraid I only got a couple of bits to—” she began, but Pinkie silenced her by pressing a hoof to her lips. “Bits? Filly please, the only thing I want from you is a big, happy smile!” she said cheerfully, looking at Sweetie Belle expectantly. The little unicorn’s face widened in a warm, genuine smile. “Thanks, Pinkie! You’re so nice!” The pink mare positively beamed with happiness. “That’s just what I was looking for! Come on, I’ll help you get these home while they’re still warm,” she declared, leading Sweetie Belle out of the shop. As they walked, Pinkie continued to talk in what seemed more and more like a ramble than anything else. “Not that there’s anything wrong with cold baked goods, but warm baked goods are just that much more delicious, you know? It’s probably because things usually get warm if you bake them, and since they’re called baked goods and not chilled goods, it’s like, duh, of course they’re meant to be warm! It’s like why moles don’t fly or birds don’t live in water! By the way, have you seen any moles lately? I want to ask one to do a super-speedy-diggy-hole competition with me…” After waving goodbye to Pinkie Pie and assuring her that she would be on the lookout for moles, Sweetie Belle slowly walked towards the staircase inside the Boutique, balancing the muffin box precariously on her back. The dress store seemed more subdued than normal. “Rarity?” she called out nervously. “Big sister?” She heard a door open upstairs, and after a few moments Rarity came down to meet her. She wore a yellow silk pajamas and an elegant wide-brimmed hat tilted at an angle that largely obscured her impromptu manecut. She looked at Sweetie Belle with a mixed expression: relief, concern, slight anger and… fear? Sweetie Belle swallowed a bit. “Uhm… I brought muffins?” she ventured hopefully, doing her best to keep her voice from breaking. Her sister’s expression softened for a brief moment and the corner of her mouth twitched into a slight smile before fading. “I think we need to have a little chat, dear,” Rarity said, moving back up the stairs. Sweetie Belle followed her with a sinking feeling in her stomach. Oh no, she’s still angry and sad. Of course, why wouldn’t she be? I just ruined her mane after acting like a little foal again. Is she going to throw me out? Oh, please don’t send me home, Rarity! They went into Rarity’s room, which Sweetie Belle thought looked remarkably normal compared to… well, what had she expected, really? That it would be a mess with drawers pulled out and mannequins flipped over? She felt guilty for assuming her sister would have reacted in such a manner, and even more so when she noticed the only thing in the room that was out of place, namely the bed pillows stained with tears and mascara. Rarity sat down at the foot of the bed, and Sweetie Belle did likewise, putting the colourful muffin box down next to them somewhat sheepishly. Although Rarity looked rather calm and composed, Sweetie Belle could see that her eyes were still puffy and slightly red. Rarity cleared her throat. “First, let me just—” “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to do anything, please don’t throw me out!” Sweetie Belle blurted before she could stop herself. Rarity gave her a little smile. “I know, Sweetie, and I’m sorry too. As I was saying, I just want you to know that I don’t blame you personally for what happened. Tensions ran high, and… I suppose we both got a little carried away, and, well, accidents do happen.” The unicorn’s voice was carefully modulated and calm. Sweetie Belle blinked a bit. She had expected a reprimand, or an accusation, or a furious rebuke. Not this. “So… you don’t hate me? You aren’t even going to send me to my room?” Rarity shook her head. “You’re my sister, dear. I could never hate you. True, we may get upset and yell and quarrel at times, but I still love you. If anything, I should be apologizing to you. I know I can be a bit… overbearing with you, at times.” Sweetie Belle felt that might be the understatement of the year, but she kept quiet about it. “So you aren’t mad about your mane, either?” she asked instead. “Well, of course I wish it hadn’t quite happened the way it did, but as I said, it was an accident. Truth be told, what had me more upset was that we very nearly hurt each other during that whole affair. Things could so easily have escalated there, and—” Rarity closed her eyes for a moment and swallowed, letting out a slightly shivering breath. Sweetie Belle could feel a lump forming in her own throat. “But luckily that didn’t come to pass,” she added quickly. “And besides, now I have an excuse to try out some of all these hat designs I’ve had lying around.” Her voice took on a lighter tone, though Sweetie Belle could hear the forced cheer her sister put into it. “I did want to talk about something on a related note to that, though,” Rarity continued, biting her lip slightly for a moment. “You are still having, ah, difficulties with your magic, right?” Sweetie Belle lowered her head a bit, her ears drooping. “If you count being a total failure as ‘having difficulties’, sure,” she replied glumly. “I don’t understand it. Whenever I try to do magic, something bad always happens, if anything happens at all.” “Well, I was thinking, perhaps we should try and see if Twilight can offer us any insight on this. I’ll be the first to admit that, apart from my gem-finding spell, my own magic repertoire is limited to just the basics.” “You think she’s got a spell to fix messed-up unicorn horns?” Sweetie Belle asked with a little more snark than she had intended. “Well, surely it can’t hurt to try,” Rarity replied, looking just a little bit offended. “I’m just trying to help you here, Sweetie.” “I know, I know.” Sweetie Belle sighed. “And again, I’m sorry about earlier. I guess I was acting like a little foal then.” Rarity gave her a soft smile. “And I guess I was being too much of a fussy big sister. I promise I’ll try to be a bit less of a control freak from now on, if you try to be a little more, ah, cooperative in return?” she suggested with a wink. Sweetie Belle could not help but let out a little giggle. “You’ve got yourself a deal, big sister!” They both laughed for a bit, and the atmosphere in the room grew noticably less strained. It felt a lot nicer to know that her sister was not angry and sad, or at least willing to move on and extend a hoof in reconciliation, though a tiny part of Sweetie Belle still felt that something had been lost between them, somehow. She could not place a hoof on exactly what it was, though. “Well, what say you that we have a sample of those muffins you brought? They do have the most delicious and enticing smell,” Rarity said, pulling Sweetie Belle from her train of thought. She could find no objection to that, and the two sisters ate in amicable silence. Outside, the sun took on a golden hue as it set, bathing the room in a warm, soothing light.