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Curtain Rise!
Act XVI: Sister Hate
In Fluttershy's cottage, the yellow Pegasus poured a cup of tea for her rainbow haired friend. Rainbow dash picked up the cup and sighed, "Don't you got any coffee around here?"
Fluttershy shook her head rapidly, "Oh no! Never! The last time I had coffee I almost died!"
"Seriously?" Dash replied flatly.
"Really! My heart was going so fast! It was awful! I thought it was going to explode!" Fluttershy said nervously. She put a hoof over her heart and said, "Oh dear, even thinking about it makes me nervous!"
Dash just rolled her eyes and gulped down the cup. She smacked her lips and said, "This isn't gonna be enough caffeine for a Pegasus who stayed up all night flying around to find an evil dragon."
"Don't call him that," Fluttershy whispered softly, barely audible.
"Huh?" Dash asked.
"Oh, um, nothing. . ." Fluttershy said, looking around nervously, "Just, you need to rest Dash. Spike can wait."
"I am NOT resting until I catch that scaly freak!" Dash said angrily, "He's got a lot of nerve torching Sweetie Belle's stage right after she sang a love song! Seriously, who does that! The only reason I didn't Rainboom the Forest was because Zecora would've gotten caught in it!"
"And the animals. Don't forget the animals," Fluttershy said with some emphasis.
"Yeah, whatever," Dash said as she stared the rising sun out Fluttershy's eastern window.
Suddenly, there were a series of knocks on the door. "Coming," Fluttershy said softly as she walked over and opened the door. Outside were Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo. Fluttershy smiled sunnily, "Well, hello there. Come on-."
"HOW DID HE ESCAPE?!" Sweetie Belle suddenly screamed, causing Fluttershy to flinch.
"Sweetie Belle!" Applebloom said accusingly, but this just caused Sweetie Belle to glare back at her. Applebloom was starting to get worried about Sweetie Belle's attitude. She had appeared so content and happy when they all met up this morning, but when they found out that Spike had escaped, Sweetie Belle had become enraged and irritable.
"Ugh! Fine, sorry Fluttershy," Sweetie Belle said with frustration, "We heard Rainbow Dash was here. We want to talk to her."
As the fillies walked in, Scootaloo brightened up quickly, "Hey Rainbow Dash!" she said as she ran over to her role model.
"Hey there Scoots. Good to see ya," Dash said as she ruffled the filly's hair, "Where's the rest of your group?"
"Dinky convinced Silver Spoon and Button Mash to help her make muffins to cheer everypony up after last night," Scootaloo explained, "We heard Spike escaped last night. I'll bet you caught Spike in ten seconds flat, right!?"
Dash laughed nervously and said, "Ah. . .no. Not yet."
Sweetie Belle scowled silently. "I don't believe it. I was waiting for this all night! This was supposed to be when Spike make's his choice. I want him to either be mine or burn! That's his Fate!"
"Also, here's a life lesson for ya, Scoots," Dash said with drowsy eyes and an exaggerated yawn, "Don't stay up all night. Ever. It's not as awesome as you think it is. Besides, you can be much more awesome during the day."
"So, is Spike still in the Everfree Forest?" Applebloom asked nervously.
"I suppose so. Nopony saw him leave the Forest, but he may have slipped through," Dash said.
Fluttershy looked sad and said, "I wish we knew what caused Spike to do all of that."
"Who cares!" Sweetie Belle shouted suddenly, shocking everpony in the cottage, as well as a few animals who had been minding their own business, "Rainbow Dash, you must have found something! Like foot prints, or a scale?"
Dash shrugged, "Sorry, Sweetie Belle. I didn't find a trace of that insane jerk."
Sweetie Belle growled and stared hard into the floor.
Fluttershy gulped as she stared at the angered unicorn, and then she said, "Um, Sweetie Belle? Can you think of a reason why Spike would-?"
"There is no reason!" Sweeite Belle said angrily, "I sang my song, I talked to him backstage, and he spat all of my feelings for him back in my face and started that fire for no reason whatsoever. He's evil. That's it!"
Dash guffawed and nodded, "Can't argue with that."
"Um. . ." Fluttershy said softly, looking off to one side.
"What is it, Fluttershy?" Dash asked.
"Oh. . .well. . " Fluttershy appeared to have something to say, but as she looked at the fuming Sweetie Belle, she shook her head, "Oh, never mind."
"I say we go into the forest and catch Spike ourselves!" Scootaloo said proudly.
"No, kiddo," Dash said sternly. She reached over and patted Scootaloo on the back of the neck, "Sure, you got quite a bit of spunk, strength, and all around awesomeness; but I don't think you're ready to fight off Manticores, Timberwolves, and all the other monsters in the Everfree Forest."
"Aw, come on, Dash! Maybe we can go together! As a team!" Scootaloo said excitedly.
Dash sighed, and she draped a wing over Scootaloo's body, "Scoots. After your little accident with the waterfall, I seriously do not want to risk loosing you again. Got that, kid?"
Dash and Scootaloo looked at each other eye to eye. Dash's eyes were full of caring and seriousness. Scootaloo could almost feel what Dash felt, and found that she understood completely.
"Alright," Scootaloo said, but then she got fired up and jumped around excitedly, "But just wait! One day there's gonna be a whole army of Timberwolves attacking Ponyville, and I'm gonna just zoom around and smash all of them to bits!"
Dash laughed and got up onto her hooves, "Not without me, you won't!" The two Pegasi stood back to back as Rainbow Dash pointed to the imaginary hordes around them. "Now, you take all of those, I'll take all of these, and then we'll close in from both sides and take out the leader!"
Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Fluttershy couldn't help but laugh at the scene. Sweetie Belle, however just watched the pair thoughtfully.
"Just like sisters. . .why does this make me feel . . .angry. . .?"
Rainbow Dash suddenly stifled a yawn and took on a pair of drowsy eyes. "Hey Fluttershy? Mind if I crash her for a little while until I'm rested enough to go looking for Spike again?"
"Of course," Fluttershy said, "But you really should take it easy for a long while."
"Eh, don't worry about me," Dash said, then she turned to the fillies, "You girls just have fun and stay out of trouble. Okay?"
"Don't worry, Dash. It's all cool," Scootaloo said.
"Come on, girls. Let's check up on Dinky and them," Applebloom said.
After leaving Fluttershy's cottage and entering Ponyvile, Sweetie Belle suddenly realized something, and addressed it.
"Aren't you upset about Spike destroying all your hard work?" she asked Applebloom.
Applebloom thought for a moment, then she said, "Well, it wasn't just me who built it. Lots of ponies helped me. But Ah did design it and make it nice looking and everythin'." Applebloom scratched her head, "But for some reason, Ah don't feel angry. More like, Ah'm disappointed in-."
"Spike?" Scootaloo added.
Applebloom sighed, "Ah don't know. Maybe. Or something else. Ah just don't know." The Earth Filly then turned to Sweetie Belle. "But Ah know that Ah'm worried about you, Sweetie Belle. You don't really seem like yourself. You're just so angry and snappy."
Sweetie Belle turned away, not feeling like answering. Luckily, Scootaloo spared her from having to answer.
"Come on, Applebloom. If some crazy dragon tried to roast me alive, I'd be pretty angry for a while too."
"Ah just wish I knew what made Spike do something like this."
"Who cares! He's dead meat when Rainbow Dash fins him!"
Sweetie Belle walked with her head low, not feeling very chipper. She let her friends continue their banters as the walked through the town. She liked it when her friends would go on and on in argument. It gave her the opportunity to go into her own thoughts and simply get lost in her own slowly expanding mind.
"There's something in the back of my head I can't shake. I don't know what it is exactly, but it's there. Is it because of what Spike did? I don't think so. I already know that he's either gonna return my feelings for me or burn just like my stage. It's something else. But why did seeing Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash together remind me? I-."
Sweetie Belle's thoughts were interrupted when she bumped into somepony. The two of them fell backwards onto the ground.
"Watch where you're going!" Sweetie Belle snapped.
"Oh dear, I'm terribly sorry, Sweetie."
Sweetie Belle looked up slowly to see her big sister standing over her, holding out a hoof to pull her younger sister up. As Sweetie Belle's eyes focused on Rarity's smiling face, her brain seemed to partially shut down and go on some bizarre autopilot. She reached out in an almost trance as she grabbed hold of Rarity's hoof, and allowed herself to be pulled back up onto her own hooves.
Rarity smiled as she brushed the dust off Sweetie Belle's fur while using her magic to levitate the fallen bags that had obstructed her view. "There we are. No harm done. I hope you three plan on having fun. Staying positive and all that, I'm sure."
"Well yeah! Rainbow Dash can take care of Spike, and Dinky needs our help to make a whole lotta muffins!" Scootaloo said.
"Ah, glad to hear. Oh, and Sweeite Belle." Rarity bend down and nuzzled her little sister, "If you need anything, or just want to talk to me, just come right into the Boutique and I will drop whatever I'm doing. That's a promise."
Still in her daze, Sweetie Belle nodded wordlessly.
"Alrighty, then. You all have a nice day, then!" Rarity said as she gave a wink and pranced towards the Carousel Boutique with her bags of fashion material.
As Rarity walked off, Sweetie Belle's eyes bore into the back of her head.
Spike sniffed and wiped his eyes. Then he finally said, "Could you. . .convince Rarity that she can still be with me cause I'm more mature for my age?"
"That was for me and Rarity!" Spike shouted in anger as he jumped off the stage. He then turned and watched it burn and collapse.
"Come on Sweetie Belle, let's go!" Applebloom called out. She and Scootaloo had already walked a few yards away from the unicorn filly.
Sweetie Belle nodded slowly, "Yeah. . .I'll catch up. I left something back at home. I'll be there."
"Uhh. . ." Applebloom said nervously.
Scootaloo shrugged, "Come on, Applebloom. Let's go."
Sweetie Belle didn't even bother to watch her friends go. She quickly turned and walked towards her home. She didn't look around at the world around her. She was deep in her own mind, an it seemed to be controlling her body for her.
"It's her fault."
Sweetie Belle felt her anger flare up yet again as we walked silently, her head lowered towards the ground. She felt completely sick to her stomach.
"If it weren't for Rarity, Spike would have love me."
Sweetie's horn sparked as she stomped the ground hard with ever step she took.
"Rarity stole Spike from me! She's not generous! She's the greediest mare that ever lived!"
BUMP!
Sweetie Belle squeaked in pain after walking right into her front door. She stumbled backwards as dizziness clouded her mind. However, as she stood there with a hoof pressed against her forehead, things began to take shape within her mind and become quite clear. Sweetie Belle's green eyes looked to one side to see a rock sticking out of the dirt. She focused on that rock as hard as she could, sweat beading on her brow as her horn sparked more wildly than every before. Then, with a final lurch, Sweetie Belle wrenched the rock free from the ground with her telekinetic grip. The rock turned out to be of decent size, about the size of a baseball. Sweetie Belle admired her first feat of levitation magic, as a very disturbing smile spread across her face.
Still levitating the rock, Sweetie Belle turned around and marched stiffly in the direction of the Carousel Boutique. As she stomped through town, the unicorn filly sang a little song to herself as she went. Throughout her song, she changed her voice between Rarity's and her own. Also, as she sang, the smile on her face slowly turned into an angry frown.
Hello I'm Sweetie bell and I want to play
Hello I'm Rarity, I stole Spikey-Wikey away
So can you tell Spike that you love him not?
So sorry I'm busy so please keep your mouth shut
Do you still hate me?
I don't
Can you please help me?
I can't
Can we do something right now?
You can
I can't
We can't
WE CAN!
No Sweetie! What have you DONE?!
Don't blame me, you were the one!
I don't want to be your sister
Just get out of my life!
Sweetie Belle arrived at the door to the Boutique a pushed it open. The bell rang, causing Rarity to come out of her work room.
"Oh, hello Sweetie. I-," Rarity stopped short when she saw the object in Sweetie Belle's telekinetic grip. "Oh my, oh my!" she gasped, "My goodness! Sweetie Belle! Your magic is coming in strong!"
"Yeah," Sweetie Belle said plainly.
"Oh, Sweetie Belle, I am so proud!" Rarity exclaimed as she ran over to hug her little sister.
"I guess I didn't need lessons after all," Sweetie Belle said with a slight edge on her voice.
Rarity's merry spirits fell slightly when she heard this. She pulled away from Sweetie Belle, who had a slightly dull look in her eyes, although her facial expression was unreadable. Sweetie Belle didn't seem all that excited about mastering levitation magic, but at the same time there was the slight ghost of a smile on the filly's face.
Rarity cleared her throat and rubbed her foreleg nervously, "Oh dear, I am so sorry Sweetie Belle. I had wanted us to take time with this. I was going to plan for a time where we wouldn't get interrupted by my work, believe me. I wanted to be there to see you learn this." Rarity sighed, and she stood a bit taller a sure herself as she said, "Well, I'm here to guide you now Sweetie. All I ask is that if there's anything I can do to make it up to you."
Sweetie Belle nodded. "Yeah. There's is something you can do."
"What is it?" Rarity said in a pleasing tone.
"Hold still."
CLUNK!
The was thrust as fast as possible straight at Rarity's head. It made a solid collision right below Rarity's horn. The older unicorn's head was knocked back into a disturbing angle. She then quickly fell down onto her side and lay still, blue sparks intermittently popping out of the base of her horn.
Sweetie Belle simply stared at Rarity, slightly surprised at how it all had happened so fast. The filly walked over to her sister and sat on the ground next to her. She placed her head near Rarity's and continued to sing her song.
Hello there Rarity, I just got you back
I'm so sorry, I can't believe my sister's attack
I'm not your sister anymore I have said
But Sweetie Belle-
No, Un-sis! Now to me, you're dead!
I'll promise to be nicer
I don't believe you liar!
How 'bout we do something else
Doing what YOU want, yeah right...
How 'bout we'll race together
In the Sisterhooves Social?
You can forget that offer
I don't want you anymore!
"She never changed. She never changed. She never changed."
Sweetie Belle picked up the rock and stared hard at it.
"A race doesn't change anything, she never changed. A race couldn't let me have Spike. . . Spike. . . Spike. . . He'll burn. . ."
Sweetie Belle focused all her magic onto the rock. She concentrated all her power onto four spots on the rock. After an agonizing minute, 4 lines were gouged into the rock. Sweetie Belle then dropped the rock next to Rarity and then walked straight out the door.
As she made her way towards Dinky's house, Sweetie Belle noticed how cloudy everything seemed. She blinked a few times, and things began to clear up. She shook her head vigorously. She felt as if she were in some kind of fog. As she walked on, a small nagging voice popped up in the back of her head.
"What is that? What-?"
As Sweetie Belle concentrated on them, they became loud enough to be heard.
"Racing with Apple Jack was really fun."
"I need to tell that I was Apple Jack all along."
"Why were you racing with me? Tell me, why?"
"Cause someone told me that being sisters is like apple pie."
"That doesn't make any sense, cause I thought that you hated me."
"Don't say those words Sweetie Bell, I love you and I hope you love me."
"If that is true what you said, can you come home and play with me."
"I'll agree to that offer."
"You're my sister, you and me."
Sweetie Belle stopped walking for a second and allowed herself to get slightly lost in her thoughts. She just stood still for a long moment, and then burst out laughing for no apparent reason. Nearly out of breath from her outburst of laughter, Sweetie Belle stopped to take a few breaths before walking on towards Dinky's house. However, she also had to wipe the tears off of her face.
Some time later, Fluttershy pushed open the door to the Carousel Boutique.
"Um, Rarity. You weren't at the spa, and I didn't want to go in without you, because all the fun is having a friend-." Fluttershy instantly stopped speaking when she got a good look at the scene in front of her. After a tense few seconds, Fluttershy screamed and shot back out the door, heading straight for the hospital.
The doctor walked out into the waiting room to see Pearl sobbing quietly into a handkerchief with Fluttershy doing her best to comfort her. Magnum got up and said to the doctor, "Will she be okay? How is she? Please, let us see her!"
The doctor held up a hoof to silence him, and then he said, "Your daughter received a concussion. It normally wouldn't have been too serious, but the assailant also caused a rupture in the magic glands at the base of the horn. From what we've seen in previous cases, the glands can heal in time after the magic is reabsorbed into the body, and she should make a full recovery. Unfortunately, the time it takes for the glands to heal and the excess magic to diffuse out of the brain can take an indefinite period of time, during which she will remain in a deep coma."
Magnum's whole body became cold as he stood in the waiting room. Behind him, he could hear Pearl and Fluttershy sobbing loudly together.
. . .Curtain!