//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: Change Your Mind // by Scottish Brony //------------------------------// “I got my cookbook right here!” said Rarity in a cheerful tone and opened her saddlebags. Momentarily forgetting she didn’t have a horn, the earth pony stood staring at it for a few seconds before rolling her eyes and lifting it out with her hooves. “Nah, I already know how to make chocolate cake,” replied Pinkie while levitating a mixing bowl over to the kitchen worktop. “Yes... but Sweetie Belle doesn’t,” said Rarity, wishing the unicorn would remember to play her part more, “So let’s have it out for her, hm?,” then she cantered up next to the unicorn and whispered out of the side of her mouth, “And for me... remember?” “Ohhh... oh yeah!” “Now, I just wonder if I, uh, you have everything we need, Rarity?” Quickly scanning the list of ingredients, Pinkie rushed around the kitchen, gathering together what they had with Rarity and Sweetie Belle simply standing and watching her as she zipped around the kitchen magically picking up foodstuffs and placing them on the worktop. “Butter, check! Eggs, check! Self-raising flour, check! Caster sugar, check! Instant coffee, check!” “Instant coffee?” asked Rarity, and looked over the ingredients herself and saw instant coffee granules at the bottom, “Oh yeah! Hm, I didn’t know... I mean, I didn’t see that.” After a little more searching, the unicorn stopped and frowned. “We’re missing a few things,” she said, putting a hoof to her chin. “Yes,” said Rarity, checking the cookbook again, “We need—” Without even glancing at the ingredients, Pinkie listed off what was left, “Just some plain chocolate, plain flour, cocoa powder, and vanilla essence. Oh, and hot water, but that shouldn’t be hard to get.” “Wow, Rarity! How did you remember all that?” asked Sweetie Belle. “‘Cause, ah... well, I...” “Really good memory, I guess,” said Rarity. “Yes, that’s it!” “Yeah! So, about the cake: I guess I could go back to Sugarcube Corner and get what we need,” said the earth pony and began walking towards the kitchen door. Sweetie Belle trotted over to her sister, “Ooh, ooh! Can I go instead? Please?” she asked, looking up at the older unicorn with a hopeful expression. Rarity stopped at the door and smiled, regarding her sister knowingly. She had done this before, “You really just want to go and get some chocolate for yourself, don’t you?” she asked rhetorically. “N...No...” replied the young unicorn, not making eye contact with either of the older ponies. “Well...” started Pinkie, then looked to the unicorn behind the filly for guidance. Rarity nodded. “Okay. You can go instead,” said the unicorn. She couldn’t help but smile at the small grin that appeared on the filly’s face. Rarity mouthed something to her. “...And you can buy something for yourself.” Sweetie Belle’s grin widened into a large smile. “Just remember to get what we need first so you don’t spend most of the money on yourself,” Rarity told her, unconsciously slipping into her ‘big sister’ role, “Hold on and we’ll write you out a list.” This is actually a good idea... thought the former unicorn, It’ll give me and Pinkie Pie a chance to talk... With her schoolbag on and money and the list in a side pocket, Sweetie Belle cantered to the front door, then stopped and half-turned. “Do you two want anything?” she asked. Pinkie inhaled, but Rarity spoke up before the unicorn had a chance to say anything, “No, no, we’re fine. Besides, the cake’ll fill us up.” “Oh... yeah. And, uh... I have to watch my weight,” added Pinkie. Rarity bit her tongue to stop herself responding that statement while her sister was present. “Okay. See you later!” said Sweetie Belle and left, the door bell tinkling at her passing. “What do you mean, ‘watch my weight?” asked Rarity, examining her own form for any signs of flabbiness. “I didn’t mean anything,” protested Pinkie, “It was just something I thought you’d say.” “Yes, but the way you said it made it seem like I think I’m getting...” Rarity found herself unable to say that word in relation to herself. “Fat?” finished Pinkie. The earth pony scowled and muttered, “Yes. That.” “Well, you’re not. You’re very, um... light and curvy...?” asked Pinkie with an unsure smile. “Can we please stop talking about my weight?” “Okay. What do you want to talk about?” “How about you?” “Hmmm. Well, I am kinda pudgy, but you’ll get that way eating sweets like I do!” “Pinkie...” said Rarity, warningly. “What?” asked the unicorn. Then she realised, “Oh, that’s kind of like talking about your weight, isn’t it? Sorry!” “When I said let’s talk about you, that’s not what I meant.” “Then what?” “It’s when I was on my way here. All of these ponies were saying ‘hello’ to me.” “That was nice of them!” “I mean every single one of them. I know they’re all your friends, but do you have to deal with that every day?” Pinkie looked puzzled and said, “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” “Okay, maybe a wrong choice of words. But doesn’t it get a little annoying having everypony say ‘hello’?” “Of course not!” said Pinkie, smiling, “Like you said, they’re all my friends! I’d feel a little annoyed if they didn’t say ‘hello’.” Rarity thought about that for a moment, then gave a small smile and said, “I suppose that’s true.” “Yeah! Oh hey, so what are we gonna do until Sweetie Belle gets back?” “What say we get you started on dresses?” Pinkie’s ears flattened, “Oh... okay...” she murmured. “You’ll have to learn at some point to keep up appearances, darling. Besides, if you become good at it, maybe we could make something together once everything is back to normal?” “Yeah, that could be fun!” said Pinkie, her ears perking up again. “Exactly! Let’s get started, shall we?” Smiling broadly, Pinkie bounced after Rarity, following her to a worktable. As she walked through Ponyville towards Sugarcube Corner, Sweetie Belle found herself constantly readjusting her schoolbag. It had been emptied to leave room for the ingredients — as well as to avoid the possibility of getting her schoolbooks covered in said ingredients — but it felt strange walking around with an empty bag on her back. “Hey, Sweetie Belle!” called out an energetic voice. The unicorn turned to see an orange pegasus with a purple helmet riding towards her on a scooter. The filly came to a stop next to her friend and removed her helmet, revealing an unkempt mane as purple as her headgear. “Hi, Scootaloo,” greeted Sweetie Belle. “Hey! So, what’s up?” asked Scootaloo, hanging her helmet on one of the scooter’s handlebars. She frowned and pointed at her friend’s schoolbag, “School’s not ‘til tomorrow, you know.” “I know. Just going to Sugarcube Corner. Wanna come? I’m going to get some stuff for Rarity and Pinkie Pie; we’re making a chocolate cake.” “Chocolate cake? Nice! Alright, let’s go!” “Let’s get Applebloom, too,” suggested Sweetie Belle as they made their way through the town. “Nah. I just came from Sweet Apple Acres and Applebloom said she was too busy. She was pushing buckets under trees.” “Ohhh, they must be harvesting their apples.” “Yeah. But you know, I noticed something kinda weird about Applejack.” “Weird how?” “I dunno. Like she didn’t know how to buck the trees. And the way she kicked them seemed familiar, somehow.” “That is kinda weird. Speaking of which, Rarity and Pinkie have been acting weird, too.” Scootaloo smirked, “Pinkie Pie acting weird? Yeah, that’s never happened before. But Rarity? What’s going on with her?” “Well, she...” the filly’s mouth twisted as she thought of her sister’s behaviour earlier, “...She was being more like Pinkie Pie, actually.” This made Scootaloo stop. She didn’t know Rarity that well, but she couldn’t picture the prim-and-proper unicorn jumping around, smiling. She frowned, “Now... when you say ‘being more like Pinkie Pie’... how do you mean, exactly?” “I mean what I said. Just being... not Rarity,” replied Sweetie Belle, who had stopped and was waiting for Scootaloo to catch up, “Oh, and you should see the new cape we tried to make for the Cutie Mark Crusaders.” “We got new capes?” asked Scootaloo excitedly, pulling up alongside the unicorn. “Yeah, but the design looks horrible. It’s the same as the ones we have now, but there are green squares at the corners.” The pegasus raised an eyebrow, “Seriously?” she asked, wondering if her friend was joking. “Seriously. I didn’t think it would look good, either, but Rarity said it would. So I trusted her, and...” “Oh, I gotta see this. I mean, it doesn’t sound completely horrible or anything, but still. You got any ideas for something cool?” “Maybe we can try to come up with something new at the club house later if Applebloom finishes early. But come on, I gotta get to Sugarcube Corner. Rarity and Pinkie are waiting.” “Okay, good. Try to keep the fabric flat as it passes through the sewing machine,” said Rarity, instructing Pinkie on one of the basics of dressmaking, “Now, gently press your hoof down on the pedal there. Not too much, but not too little.” Pinkie carefully pushed down on the pedal and smiled when the machine came to life, making a rapid thucka-thucka-thucka sound. She kept the fabric flat as the machine pulled it through. “That’s it. Good,” said Rarity after the machine had stopped, “Then cut off the remaining thread... yes! Now, I don’t expect you to be able to create anything like I do overnight. Hopefully, if anything needs to be done, I can make a stop over here. Just make sure you don’t accept any orders that require several dresses to be made. I may only have time for one or two a week, since I’ll have to be at Sugarcube Corner, too.” “Are you sure it’s not gonna be too much for you?” asked Pinkie. “Oh, I should be fine, dear. I could make most of the orders I get with one hoof tied behind my back.” “Could you do one now?” “Wha... no! I didn’t mean that literally.” “Oh. I was hoping to see that.” Rarity rolled her eyes and said, “Listen, just keep following the guide book and take care of Sweetie Belle for me, okay?” “Okay! She’s safe with me!” said Pinkie Pie, nodding. “I believe that. I mean, you do occasionally take care of the Cake twins...” she trailed off, realising what that meant. She shook her head; surely taking care of the twins couldn’t be that bad? Rarity turned her attention back to the current situation, “Now then, just to be sure you’ve got this down, let’s go over the sewing machine again.” “Again? ‘Kay...” While on the way back to the boutique, Sweetie Belle listened as Scootaloo heartily told her about a ‘totally awesome stunt’ she had done at Ponyville Park. “It took a bit of effort,” said Scootaloo, “but I managed to get my scooter up the chute’s ladder and onto the slide. The trickiest part was getting on without it rolling away from me. I did it, though.” “Weren’t you kind of scared? What if you fell?” asked Sweetie Belle worriedly; the pegasus had said the park was empty at the time, meaning there would be nopony nearby to help her. “Yeah, maybe a little scared... but where’s the fun if there’s no danger?” “I don’t know about that...” “Hey, I made it through fine, right? Anyway, after I got on, I set off down the chute and headed towards the merry-go-round. I grabbed onto one of the bars, let it spin me around, and headed back up the chute. Got some awesome air time!” “Wow! Wish I could’ve seen it!” “Ah, maybe you will, sometime. I’ve still got some fine-tuning to do,” replied Scootaloo, “I don’t want anypony to see it until it’s been perfected.” One thing Scootaloo had neglected to tell the unicorn was that she had landed in the park’s pond after being launched. A few minutes later, they stepped through the door of the boutique. “Hi, Rarity, I’m back!” said Sweetie Belle, “Scootaloo came along, is that okay?” Rarity stopped herself from answering and looked at Pinkie. “Hm? Oh! Sure!” replied the unicorn. “Did you get what we needed?” asked Rarity. “Uh-huh! Can we go make the cake now?” “Absolutely!” After the four entered the kitchen, Sweetie Belle pulled out the ingredients she had bought and laid them on the kitchen worktop. “What can me and Scootaloo do to help?” asked the filly. “Er... well, baking doesn’t need four ponies,” said Rarity, “Why don’t you two go and play and we’ll call you if we need some help.” I should have whispered to Pinkie to say that... thought the earth pony. “Okay! Come on, Scootaloo, I’ll show you the cape me and Rarity made.” “Oh yeah. That,” replied Scootaloo. “That, indeed,” said Rarity once the fillies were out of earshot. “Oh, that cake looks so good!” commented Pinkie, staring at the finished cake with hungry eyes. “Just remember what we talked about,” said Rarity, placing a restraining hoof on Pinkie’s chest, “But I agree, it certainly looks delectable.” “So when do we eat?” Rarity smiled, “I see no reason why we can’t right now. Why don’t you go call on the girls?” While Pinkie went upstairs to tell Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo the cake was ready, Rarity set out four small plates and then cut four slices of roughly the same size. She frowned at the slice on her own plate. There was something about it that was different from the other three. Did I... just cut a larger piece for myself? Surely not. I am rather hungry, but still... She blinked out of her thoughts when Pinkie re-entered. “Ooh, nice!” said the unicorn, looking at the four plates. “Listen,” said Rarity, holding a pronged utensil in front of Pinkie, “I know you don’t normally do this, but I eat cake with a fork.” “Okay, I can do that.” “I just don’t want my coat, or rather now your coat, getting all... hi, girls!” said Rarity, switching to Pinkie-mode when the two fillies walked into the kitchen, then quickly whispered to Pinkie, “Tell them to sit at the kitchen table.” “Alright, everypony,” said Pinkie, “Grab your plates and sit at the kitchen table... please.” “I wish we coulda helped,” said Sweetie Belle as she carried her plate over to the table. “Ah, it wasn’t that hard. I did most of it,” said Rarity, feeling a little guilty, as the real Pinkie did the bulk of the work, but she was trying to act the part of the pink pony. When Rarity sat down, she found herself looking intently at the slice of cake again. To her surprise, she felt the desire to grab it and stuff it into her mouth. No! No. There are limits to how much I’m going to act like Pinkie Pie. I will use a fork like everypony else... she thought, fighting down the uncharacteristic urge. She took a sideways glance at the unicorn and inwardly sighed in relief at seeing her delicately using a fork. While she wasn’t as graceful as Rarity herself, she was good enough. After they had all eaten, and agreed the cake was delicious, the two older ponies stayed in the kitchen to wash up while the fillies left to play outside. “Now remember, Pinkie,” said Rarity, drying a plate, “Sweetie Belle goes to bed at no later than half past ten. No. Later. And when she gets home from school, make sure she finishes her homework. Until she does, she can’t go out to play. And... what else... oh, and don’t let her mess up her room.” “Okay. But couldn’t she do her homework after she comes in from playing?” asked Pinkie. “These were the rules our parents had when I was living at their house and they still are. I don’t see any reason to change them just because she’s staying here for a while. Now, anything I need to know? Like when taking care of the Cake twins?” “Oh, you shouldn’t have to worry about foalsitting them too often. But you might wanna learn how to change their...” she stopped when she saw Rarity grimace, “...yeah. Feeding shouldn’t be hard, either — just make sure their milk isn’t too hot and burp them after. Oh, and play with them! They’re fun to play with! But, if you can’t make them laugh, one thing that always works is getting a sack of flour and pouring it all on yourself. They love that!” “A sack of flour?” Rarity asked dubiously. “It looks funnier than you think. Hey, wanna see?” asked Pinkie, opening a cupboard with a flour sack inside. “No, no, that’s fine! I believe you!” As the day went on, Pinkie practiced dress making while Rarity instructed her. It was only when Sweetie Belle returned that they noticed the sun was setting. “Hi, Sweetie Belle!” said Pinkie, levitating a spool of thread. The filly waved in response. “Goodness, er, wowee! Is that the time?” said Rarity, looking out of a window, “I really need to get back to Sugarcube Corner. So, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow!” “Oh, okay! G’night!” said Pinkie. Rarity bid them goodnight and forced herself to bounce out of the boutique rather than walk.