"Aaand… perfect!" Rarity announced, removing her red-rimmed work glasses and holding up a freshly drawn sketch of her newest design. Before she could fully bask in her own brilliance, a deafening crash sounded from below. Rarity blinked, the sketch falling from her aura. "Sweetie?" she called out, heading towards her bedroom door. As she galloped towards the noise, each hoofbeat echoed another crash.
Finally reaching her workroom, Rarity's jaw dropped. Not a single mannequin remained standing. Her sewing machine and table were turned over, spilling scraps of cloth and bolts across the floor. The contents of her shelves, ripped and torn, lied strewn across the floor. Worst of all, her entire fall line was not only knocked off of the clothes rack, it was on fire! In the center of the inexplicable chaos, Sweetie Belle stood upon the sole island of order, struggling to give Rarity a smile.
Galloping back into the kitchen, she grabbed a fire extinguisher and rushed back. Floating the extinguisher near the flames, she put them out with a spray of white fog. Once the smoke seemed to stop, she turned to glare at her little sister. "Sweetie Belle! What in Equestria were you thinking?"
"I-I was just trying to help!" Sweetie Belle said, pointing to the overturned sewing table. "You left stuff out and I was gonna clean it up, but—"
"But what!?" Rarity snapped tossing the empty extinguisher aside. "Did you not get a chance to set more of my creations on fire?"
Sweetie Belle flinched away from the nearby impact of the fire extinguisher. "I-I-I… just wanted to help," she whimpered, her eyes watering up.
"I think you've 'helped' quite enough!" Rarity shouted. "Every time you try to 'help,' I always suffer for it! In fact, I would be perfectly happy to never have you 'help' me again!" She thrust a hoof towards the door. "Why don't you go play with your little friends and leave me be! I most certainly don't need any of your 'help' cleaning this up!"
Sweetie opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a little squeak. Squeezing her eyes shut, tears flowed down her cheeks as she fled the room.
Rarity didn't even flinch as the door slammed behind her. "I swear, Sweetie Belle," she grumbled, surveying the damage.
Sweetie Belle barely made it a few meters from the boutique before her blind run tripped her. Tumbling head over hoof, she landed in a fountain with a magnificent splash. She didn't immediately go up for air; she just floated there, face down in the shallow water. The echos of Rarity's shouts resonated through her mind, despite her best efforts to block them out. If nothing else, the water served to mask her tears.
After several moments, a pair of hooves wrapped around her, lifting her free. The next thing Sweetie knew, her hooves found solid ground.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Sweetie shook herself off, willing her tears to cease. "I-I was okay," she claimed, her voice cracking. She turned to find a soaking wet mailmare drying out her hat.
"I'm glad," Derpy said, plopping her dripping hat on her head and lifting a few soggy letters from her bag. She shook them out, though that didn't really help remove the water. "I saw you fall in, and when you didn't move I was afraid you hit your head or something."
"I-I'm okay," Sweetie muttered. "I wasn't in any trouble…" she said, trailing off. "I-I mean, I wasn't hurt."
Setting the soaked letters back into the bag, Derpy finally looked back at Sweetie. "You don't look okay," she said. "You look like you're about to cry."
Sweetie Belle withered under the scrutiny. "I-I'm fine!" she asserted, her voice sharply rising in pitch. Unable to stand it any longer, she quickly turned tail and set off. "I gotta go!"
Apple Bloom stood in front of an old mattress with a stopwatch in hoof. "Ready!" she shouted above her.
Balancing precariously on the railing surrounding the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse, Scootaloo stood over the mattress. Leaning forward, she let out a shout, "Go!" As she cried out, she leapt up, furiously beating her wings. For a moment, she hovered there in the air. It didn't last long. Even her best efforts gave way, and she plummeted down onto the mattress. Bouncing off, she rolled to her hooves. "How was it that time?" Scootaloo asked.
Examining the stopwatch, Apple Bloom frowned. "Uh, maybe we should take a break."
"What?"
"You didn't even get three seconds that time," Apple Bloom said.
"I'm going again!" Scootaloo defiantly asserted as she started to march towards the clubhouse's ramp.
Apple Bloom sighed. "We've been going at this forever! You haven't gotten anywhere near your best time in your last ten tries!"
Back up at the clubhouse, Scootaloo reared up and put her forehooves on the railing. "I'm not gonna fly unless I keep… trying…"
"Somethin' wrong?" Apple Bloom asked.
"I think we've got a bigger problem on our hooves," Scootaloo said, pointing.
Following Scootaloo's direction, Apple Bloom spied Sweetie Belle approaching. But, something was amiss. She wasn't humming or marching along. Instead, she was slogging along, facing the ground as water dripped down her trembling body.
Scootaloo looked back down at Apple Bloom. "Another fight with Rarity?"
Apple Bloom groaned. "Yeah, probably."
"Any plans for damage control?"
"Not a one," Apple Bloom replied.
"Fun," Scootaloo deadpanned, jumping down next to Apple Bloom.
After several tense seconds, a grumbling, mumbling Sweetie Belle finally approached. She didn't say anything. She just flopped down there in front of the other two Crusaders.
"You, uh, you okay there, Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom gently asked.
Sweetie Belle sat there, grinding her forehooves into the dirt. Her face morphed from distracted annoyance into something of raw anger. "I'm just a screw-up!" she exclaimed, her voice screeching.
Scootaloo tilted her head a bit. "What are you talking about?"
"Is this about yer cutie mark?" Apple Bloom prodded. "I'm sure we'll all find our special talents soon enough." She suddenly perked up. "Oh! Do you wanna go crusadin'?"
"It just seems like every time I try to help somepony, I just screw it up! I make everything worse wherever I go. I bet I'm the reason we haven't gotten our cutie marks! It's because I don't do anything right! I'm just a walking disaster!"
Scootaloo shared a concerned glance with Apple Bloom a moment before turning back to Sweetie Belle. "Hey, you're not the only one that doesn't get anything right," she said, pointing over to the mattress. "Before you showed up I was trying to fly… again."
"Yeah, and she was doin' awful," Apple Bloom said. Scootaloo shot her a venomous glare, to which Apple Bloom gave a sheepish smile.
"Anyway," Scootaloo grumbled, turning back to Sweetie Belle, "the point is that just because things aren't going your way doesn't mean you're some sort of 'walking disaster.' What's the worst that could've happened?"
"I set Rarity's new clothes on fire," Sweetie deadpanned.
Both fillies' jaws dropped. "Wha… I mean, how'd yah manage that?" Apple Bloom asked.
"I don't know! It just happened!" Sweetie Belle shot back.
A moment of silence washed over the group before Apple Bloom spoke up, "I, uh… What I think Scootaloo meant is that there's no need to get all worked up. I'm sure there's lots you're good at."
"But it's not… It's not about what I'm good at," Sweetie Belle said, poking a hoof at the ground. "Every time I do anything it just blows up in my face. Kabloosh!" She punctuated her sentence by spreading out her forelegs to accent the sound of an explosion.
"I'm sure you're just blowing this whole mess way out of proportion," Scootaloo assured.
"Yeah," Apple Bloom agreed. "You're always there for us. We'd be a mess without yah."
Sweetie Belle shook her head a bit. "I just… Whatever," she muttered.
"Come on, Sweetie Belle. Don't be like that," Scootaloo said.
"Hey, I know," Apple Bloom said, smiling. She quickly cozied up next to Sweetie Belle, throwing a hoof over her shoulders. "What you need is something that yah won't screw up, and I know just the thing!"
A short walk away from the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse and Apple Bloom led the other two fillies towards the Apple homestead. There, in front of the barn, several enormous copper pots simmered atop modest fires. Manning each pot was a different Apple. Not only were Applejack, Big Mac, and Granny Smith hard at work, but also a few other members of the Apple family were there helping out, too.
"You can help us here, Sweetie Belle. Today, we're makin' apple butter," Apple Bloom explained, showing the other two fillies the cauldrons. Inside each cauldron simmered a yellow-brown mush that didn't look much different from applesauce. "It mostly just means stirrin' this stuff for hours 'til it's just right."
"Don't forget the spices and love," Granny Smith said.
"Sounds boring," Scootaloo complained. "I mean, I can see how you might get a cutie mark for this sort of thing, but what about me and Sweetie?"
Apple Bloom rolled her eyes as she groaned. "It ain't about cutie marks," she said. "We need to find somethin' Sweetie can do without messin' it up, and there just ain't no way somepony can mess up makin' apple butter." Pulling a stool up next to the nearest cauldron, she took the paddle from Big Mac. She jumped up on the stool. Slowly and smoothly, she drew the paddle back and forth. "All yah gotta do is stir it like this so the bottom don't get scorched."
Scootaloo and Sweetie took over the other two pots from Applejack and Granny Smith. "I still say this seems pretty boring," Scootaloo groused.
Unlike Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle jumped at the opportunity. "Like this?" she asked, standing tall on a stool and using her forelegs to pull and push the stirring paddle.
"Make sure you get down to the bottom of the pot, and get the whole bottom, too," Apple Bloom instructed. "Miss a patch an' it'll scorch. It'll ruin the flavor of the whole pot."
Sweetie struggled to work the heavy paddle before she remembered that she didn't have to do it with her hooves. Letting go, the paddle glowed green as she stepped back. "There, how about that?" she asked, smiling at Apple Bloom as it moved in her aura.
"You're gettin' the hang of it," Apple Bloom praised.
Beaming, she hopped around the kettle. "I really need to thank Twilight for helping me learn how to use my magic. It makes everything so much better!"
"Yeah, I'm jealous…" Apple Bloom peeked over and her eyes widened. "Sweetie Belle! Pay attention!"
Looking back to the pot, Sweetie found the paddle pulling the pot over. It was too late. It started to tip, and Sweetie Belle immediately dropped the paddle and tried to catch the pot in her aura. Unfortunately, a pot full of mashed apples just so happens to be a lot heavier than a wooden paddle. Sweetie's best efforts just weren't good enough and the pot toppled over.
Crash!
It not only fell over, but it crashed into the nearest other pot, toppling them all like dominoes.
Wham!
Bang!
Clang!
Crack!
Finally, it was all over, and not a single pot remained standing. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were left in the middle of a hot, soupy mess. Scootaloo glanced about, Sweetie Belle had her head hung and ears laid back, and Apple Bloom was stuck giving the Apple family an unconvincingly innocent smile.
"Apple Bloom!" Applejack ground out, her eye twitching as she glared at the trio.
After getting the dressing down of a childhood and a very big mess cleaned up, the trio headed down a dirt path back towards Ponyville. "I never heard some of those words before," Scootaloo said.
"Yeah, I hardly ever seen Applejack that mad," Apple Bloom said.
"See? I really am just a walking disaster," Sweetie Belle finally spoke up, her voice cracking.
"Come on, now," Apple Bloom said, nudging Sweetie Belle. "Don't cry. We'll find somethin'."
Scootaloo perked up. "Hey! I know!"
The Cutie Mark Crusaders found themselves on top of a rickety, wooden ramp. Each of them wore a helmet and pads. Scootaloo stood on the lip of the ramp and pointed down. "Okay, this is so simple, even Sweetie Belle can't screw it up."
Sweetie Belle's head fell even lower. "Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom hissed, elbowing the brash pegasus.
"S-sorry," she halfheartedly said. "Anyway! Look here." She pointed a hoof down the steep slope at the raised ramp at the bottom. "You just roll down here, hit the ramp, fly through the air, and land over there on the landing ramp. I like to do tricks, but all you really gotta do is just step down and the wheels'll do the rest!" Pulling up her scooter, she stepped on and stood precariously over the ledge. "It's easy! Watch!"
Leaning forward, Scootaloo started down the ramp. She tucked in and smirked, using her wings to pick up speed. Hitting the lip of the ramp, she launched into the air. She kicked the deck, sending it spinning all the way around before catching it. A split-second later, she hit the landing ramp and skidded to a stop.
"See!" she shouted.
A few moments later, and Scootaloo again stood at the top of the ramp with her friends. "Now, you don't have to do any tricks. Just go down and land on the other side. It's as easy as can be."
"How is this helping, again?" Sweetie Belle asked, looking over the steep edge.
"It's fun, and you can't mess up! Because, even if you do wipe out, it's still awesome!" Scootaloo explained.
Apple Bloom nodded in understanding, though Sweetie seemed far less than enthusiastic. Rolling over to the ledge, Apple Bloom looked down the tall, rickety ramp. Gulping visibly, she squeezed her eyes shut and leaned forward. She shot down the ramp and up into the air. Unlike Scootaloo, she just held on until the scooter hit the landing ramp. After she landed, she just kept careening down the ramp.
"Hey! You gotta hit the brakes!" Scootaloo shouted.
Scootaloo's warning fell on deaf ears as Apple Bloom ran off the landing ramp and into nearby brush. She tumbled head over hoof as the scooter crashed, flipping into the air. A few moments later, Apple Bloom reappeared, dragging the scooter behind her. "I'm okay!" she yelled back at her friends.
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo waited for Apple Bloom to get back to them. "Yeah…" Scootaloo greeted her, rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof. She gave a nervous little laugh. "You gotta hit the brakes when you land."
Apple Bloom glared at her as she pried a twig from her mane and tossed it at the pegasus. "Yeah, good tip."
"Okay!" Scootaloo said, turning to Sweetie Belle and patting her on the back. "Just roll down, then hit the brakes after you land. Okay? But not before. If you hit the brakes before you land, you'll wreck."
"I-i-is this really such a good idea?" Sweetie Belle said. "It seems… kinda dangerous."
"Don't worry about it!" Scootaloo said, giving Sweetie Belle a shove.
Sweetie instantly recoiled, jumping back. She landed safely on the top of the ramp as the empty scooter rolled down the incline. The scooter managed to launch off of the ramp, but it fell short of the landing ramp. Instead, it crashed into one of its support beams.
"Uh, oh," Sweetie muttered as the landing ramp started to violently shake, sending a few planks tumbling down. It suddenly collapsed in a heap, sending boards flying. A few of them crashed into the ramp the fillies were standing on. In turn, it started to shake and heave beneath their hooves.
Scootaloo glared at Sweetie Belle. "Really?"
Crash!
The three fillies pried themselves free from the wreckage. What was once a massive, albeit shoddy ramp, now stood as little more than a pile of planks and splinters. "So much for no way to mess it up," Apple Bloom quipped, helping pull her friends free from the rubble.
"This is just… Augh!" Sweetie complained as she dusted herself off. "I really can't do anything right!"
"Come on now, it ain't… that bad…" Apple Bloom trailed off, surveying the wooden carnage.
"Yeah, it kinda is!" Scootaloo refuted. "Do you know how long it took me to build this?"
"Well, you don't have to worry about it anymore!" Sweetie Belle huffed as she stormed away. "I won't try to help anypony or do anything ever again!"
After punching Scootaloo and giving her a vicious glare, Apple Bloom turned back towards the retreating unicorn. "Come on, Sweetie! Don't be like that!" Sweetie paid her no mind and just kept walking.
Sweetie steadfastly marched through Ponyville, dead-set on getting to her parents house so she could lock herself in her room and never ever come out. Her journey was interrupted as she crashed into somepony. Sweetie hit the ground as letters flew into the air.
"I'm sorry!" Sweetie apologized at the same time as the pony she ran into. Shaking her head and looking up, she found a familiar face offering her a hoof.
"Sorry about that," Derpy said, pulling Sweetie up. "Sometimes my landings are a little… bad."
"No, I wasn't watching where I was going," Sweetie said as the duo scrambled to grab up the letters before they were forever lost to the breeze. After helping the blonde pegasus stuff most of the letters back into the bag, she spied a stray letter flitting away in the wind. "I got it!" she said, firing up her horn. The letter stopped, hovering in a green aura. It swiftly drew back towards Sweetie. She held out her hooves to catch it.
Fwoosh!
The letter burst into flames! Sweetie recoiled, slamming into Derpy. This time, the mailmare caught the filly. "Careful now," she cautioned, watching the letter burn to ashes. Only once the flames were out did Derpy release Sweetie.
"I'm sorry!" Sweetie vehemently apologized as she spun round to face Derpy. "I didn't mean to! I didn't even know I could do that!"
Derpy just smiled at the filly. "You don't need to apologize," she said, patting her on the head. "You were only trying to help."
"But…! Every time I try to help I just make everything worse!" Sweetie confessed. "I'm the worst!"
"Huh?" Derpy asked, tilting her head a bit.
"All the time, whenever I try to help somepony, anypony, I just make things worse for them," Sweetie Belle said, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "It's like I'm cursed!"
"Hey, you know I make a mess of things all the time, too, but that doesn't matter," Derpy said, grinning. "All that matters is that you try to help all the time. It means you have a big, kind heart. That's what really counts."
Sweetie Belle shook her head. "But I ruin everything!"
"Everypony gets mad and sometimes they yell at you, huh?" she asked, her smile never leaving her face. "I know that happens a lot with me, but nopony ever resents me for it. Just remember that, no matter how much of a mess you make, at the end of the day they'll forgive you."
"I'd rather just… actually help when I try!"
"It's the trying that counts," Derpy replied. "Like earlier today when I pulled you out of the fountain. All I really succeeded in doing was getting everypony's mail wet." She pulled a letter out of her bag for emphasis. "It might be dry now, but the ink's all blotchy." Tucking the letter away, she continued, "All I did was mess things up, but what kind of pony would I have been if I had left you there? I really thought you might be drowning!"
Sweetie nodded and sniffled. "I guess."
Derpy smiled wide. "If you try to help somepony and mess it up, they might get really angry with you, but they'll just love you that much more because you tried."
Sweetie just stared at Derpy a moment before lunging towards her, wrapping her hooves around her neck. "I… Thanks, Derpy!" she said, hugging her tight.
Derpy returned the hug, ruffling the filly's mane. "I'm glad you're feeling better." She blinked, before putting on a puzzled expression. "You're feeling better, right?"
Releasing Derpy, Sweetie backed away and gave an emphatic nod. "A lot better, thanks."
"Oh! Derpy! Have ye got me mail, then?"
Both turned to see a red-maned stallion in green. "Hi, Mr. Breezy!" Derpy greeted with a big smile. "I have a letter here for you… somewhere," she said, trailing off as she searched her bag. Blinking, her eyes focus on a black splotch on the ground. Sifting through the ashes, she recovered a single scrap of paper with Mr. Breezy's name on it. "Uh… Here's your mail!" she said, handing the charred scrap over.
He just chuckled, shaking his head. "Didn't lose it this time, did ya, lass? A few more tries and I might actually get a whole letter!"
Derpy laughed as she rubbed her neck. "Sorry about that. I'll get it right tomorrow, for sure!"
"I should hope so!" he said, laughing.
Derpy took wing. "I really should finish my route," she announced, waving down at Mr. Breezy and Sweetie. "You two have a nice day!"
"I will!" Sweetie said, waving in turn. "Thanks again!"
After her talk with Derpy, Sweetie Belle found herself in much better spirits. In fact, she'd already changed her plans. She headed towards Rarity's instead of her parents'. When she actually got there, though, she hesitated to enter. The memories of her sister's rancor cast doubt upon Derpy's assertions.
Is she still mad at me? Sweetie wondered as she stared at the door, not daring to knock or enter.
Before she had a chance to make up her mind, a click sounded as the door swung open to reveal Rarity. She put on an uneasy smile. "I was hoping you would come back today," she softly said, stepping back.
Sweetie swallowed her doubts as she walked in. "A-am I in trouble?"
"No," Rarity replied, drawing Sweetie Belle into a hug. "If anypony should be in trouble, it's me. I didn't mean to be so hard on you; I know you were only trying to help."
A huge smile swept over Sweetie's muzzle as she returned the hug. "Really?"
Rarity pulled Sweetie back to look her in the eye. "Yes, I'm very sorry I snapped at you like that. Tell you what," she said as she got up and started towards the next room, "why don't you help me with dinner? We can make your favorite, if you like."
"Sure!" Sweetie Belle quickly agreed, an indelible smile on her face. She trotted after her with a spring in her step.