//------------------------------// // Chapter 23: Suspicion // Story: New Discoveries // by Phantom Shadow //------------------------------// The storm over Ponyville was one of the harshest ones they had ever experienced. It was more like a hurricane rather than a basic storm; the winds were much harsher and the rain came down heavier than normal. What caught the worry to the citizens of Ponyville was that there was no real explanation to why the Weather Team responsible for the weather decided to have a hurricane; they hadn’t missed any scheduled rainstorms in the past several months. Knowing that there was probably some logical reasoning behind it, nopony really questioned why it was happening, even though they were still a bit worried. The storm had lasted two whole days before it had begun to die down into a light drizzle. Debris from the trees and from some of the houses was all over the roads of town. Surprisingly, there wasn’t any major damage caused from the hurricane, aside from a few window shutters and roof shingles begin torn off. However, the damages were done and nopony was harmed, which was a miracle in itself. Among the damaged houses throughout town, the Carousel Boutique was one that suffered the least amount of damage, despite its grand structure. A few shingles were missing and some of the side panels were slightly broken, but either than that, it remained perfectly intact the entire time. As the rain slowly drizzled down, Rarity walked out of the Boutique, an umbrella hovering over her head via her magic, and looked at the damages done. When she saw that there wasn’t much damage done, she let out a sigh of relief. “Well, at least no major damage was done,” she said to herself as she entered the Boutique, “Now, how does one repair them?” Unfortunately for her, she didn’t know the proper kind of magic to perform the task of repairing her home. As a result, Rarity decided to take a trip to the Ponyville library to borrow a book that would teach her how to perform the necessary magic needed. Rarity walked into the Boutique and hung her umbrella up. She headed up the stairs to see if her sister was willing to accompany her to the library; being coped up in the Boutique for two whole days must have been taxing on Sweetie Belle, Rarity figured. So, she figured heading into town would be good for her. When Rarity reached the top of the stairs, she walked over to her sister’s bedroom and knocked on the door. However, she didn’t hear a single response from her. When she knocked again, she faintly heard Sweetie Belle mumble, “Come in.” The older unicorn entered the bedroom to see her sister, lying on her bed with her back facing her. The moment she saw this, a worried look came across her face. Sweetie Belle had been like this, ever since her break-up with Scott. She hardly left her room and she didn’t really say much when she did. The only times she came out of the room was to clean herself and to eat. Then, she was back in her bedroom, lying there like she was on her deathbed. As a result, Rarity began to feel bad for her, hoping there was something that she could do to help her. “Um, Sweetie Belle,” she said, forcing a weary smile on her face, “I was going to head into town for a little while and was wondering if you’d like to join me.” The filly didn’t turn to look at her, as she mumbled softly, “No, thanks.” “Are you sure,” said Rarity, the smile fading from her face, “Maybe getting some fresh air would be good for you. I mean, we’ve been stuck here for the past two days and...” “No, thanks,” said Sweetie Belle again, not changing the tone in her voice nor turning to look at her. Rarity couldn’t help but let out a sigh, as she approached her sister. “I know this must be hard for you, Sweet’ums, but we’ll get you through this. Things are going to get better, I promise.” The filly said nothing, as Rarity rubbed her back, hoping it would comfort her. Seeing that Sweetie Belle didn’t want to talk, she let out one last sigh and began heading out to the Ponyville library. “Well, that was quite some storm we had,” said Twilight Sparkle. “Ya’ll can say that again,” said Applejack, “Ah haven’t seen a storm like that in a while.” The two mares were inside the library, both of them with smiles on their faces. Applejack had visited the library to see if Twilight and Spike were alright and if there were any damages that she might have needed help repairing. Seeing that everything was in tip-top shape, the orange earth pony decided to head out and see if there was anypony else that needed help. “Well, glad ta see you and Spike are alright,” said Applejack, “I figured somepony might need some help, seeing as a certain Pegasus decided to disappear on us. Speakin’ of which, I don’t suppose you’ve seen Rainbow Dash anywhere.” “That’s funny,” said the lavender unicorn, “I’ve been looking for her myself.” “Well, ah’ve been lookin’ for her, high and low, and ah haven’t seen her,” said the orange pony, “Ah’ve asked everypony in town and no one has seen her.” “Come to think of it, you might want to ask Pinkie Pie,” said Twilight, as she tapped her chin with a hoof, “The last time I saw her was a few days before the storm. I saw her enter Sugar Cube Corner with Pinkie and...” Before she could finish her sentence, the door of the library opened, catching the two ponies’ attention. When they saw Rarity walk in, they both greeted her with a smile. However, the look on the white unicorn’s face told them both that something was wrong. “Twilight, dear,” said Rarity, “You wouldn’t happen to have a book that could teach me how to repair shingles and siding, would you?” “Um, sure, Rarity,” said Twilight, “Hold on.” Twilight called out to her dragon assistant to help her find the book on Home Improvement Spells for Rarity. When Spike arrived with the book, Twilight gave it to Rarity, who put it in her saddle bag. She gave her a small smile, thanked her for the book and left. “What’s wrong with Rarity?” asked Spike, a worried look on his face. “I’m not sure,” said Twilight, “Something bad must have happened to make her look like that.” Applejack had an idea what was wrong with her, but she couldn’t say it out loud and in front of Twilight; if it was about what she thought it was about, she had ‘Pinkie Promised’ not to say anything to anypony. “Ah’ll go talk to her,” said Applejack as she began heading for the exit. “Okay,” said Twilight, as she watched the workhorse leave the library. As she watched her trot to the white unicorn from the window, she let out a small sigh, hoping that Applejack could help her with whatever it was that was bothering her. “Rarity! Rarity!” called out Applejack, as she trotted over to the unicorn. Rarity had stopped walking to let the earth pony catch up to her. “Hey, what’s wrong, sugar cube?” she asked, a worried look on her face, “Ya’ll seem upset ‘bout somethin’. Is everythin’ alright?” Rarity sighed and said, “Everything’s fine, I guess. Sweetie Belle’s not doing too well, but I’m sure you already knew that.” Question marks began forming around Applejack’s head, as she raised an eyebrow and asked, “How in tarnation would ah already know ‘bout somethin’ like that?” “From Apple Bloom, of course,” she said, sighing again, “I’m sure she told you all about what happened a few days ago, before the storm hit, when she and her friends went to meet Scott.” Applejack raised an eyebrow at the unicorn, as she said, “Apple Bloom never met Scott.” “Come now, Applejack. Surely you jest,” said Rarity, “Sweetie Belle went to Sweet Apple Acres with Scootaloo to meet up with Apple Bloom. The three of them went to meet Scott and...” “Apple Bloom did no such thing,” argued the earth pony, “After ah dropped you off at the Boutique, ah went straight home and Apple Bloom was there. She came straight home after school.” Now, it was Rarity’s turn to look confused. “Wait, you mean that she didn’t go with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo that day?” “Go where? What the hay are ya talkin’ ‘bout?” Rarity stared at the workhorse, the look of confusion greater than that of Applejack’s. Thinking about it now, what Sweetie Belle had said and what Rarity had seen didn’t make any sense. Something about the two didn’t add up. “No, no, no, there’s got to be some mistake,” said Rarity, more like she was talking to herself rather than Applejack, “Before you escorted me home, I saw Sweetie Belle walk with Scootaloo towards Sweet Apple Acres. They went to pick up Apple Bloom, I’m sure of it.” “Ah just told ya that Apple Bloom didn’t go anywhere,” interrupted Applejack, “Yer not makin’ any sense.” “That...that’s not possible!” said the unicorn, talking like she was in a trance, “I saw her walking with Scootaloo! They were heading to Sweet Apple Acres! When she came home, she was all wet and muddy from the storm that came! She told me that she was with Scott...” “RARITY!” shouted Applejack, snapping the unicorn out of her hyper-babbling state, “Back it up a few paces! What happened to Sweetie Belle?” Rarity, still a little stunned from Applejack slowly said, “She tried telling Scott how she felt about him and he rejected her.” The earth pony’s eyes went wide, as a look of sorrow came across her face. “Oh no, poor Sweetie Belle! That’s...that’s just terrible!” “However, she went to the schoolhouse and met up with Scootaloo. They were heading to Sweet Apple Acres, but that’s when you stopped me!” Applejack nodded her head, beginning to understand where Rarity was coming from. “After you dropped me off, some time had passed before Sweetie Belle came running in from the storm, all wet and dirty. She was upset, so I asked what was wrong. She told me about her and Scott, that she had gone to see him.” The workhorse raised an eyebrow and asked, “Hold on a sec. Ya mean that Sweetie Belle tried to tell Scott how she felt ‘bout him with Scootaloo there? Why doesn’t that make any sense? Ah mean, it would be one thing if they had picked up Apple Bloom along the way or if she went by herself, but just the two of them? Something seems very fishy about her alibi.” “I don’t understand it either,” said the white unicorn, “But one thing’s for sure, I need to talk to Sweetie Belle about this. None of what she said is making any sense, and if hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t have realized it. Thanks, Applejack.” Rarity offered the workhorse a light hug before making her way to the Boutique to talk with Sweetie Belle. Not sure if she should be looking into it more, Applejack just stood there, confused with what had just happened. A few moments later, Rarity walked through the doors of her home. Without even taking off her saddle bag, she immediately began making her way up the stairs to talk with her sister. When she got there, she knocked on the door and said, “Sweetie Belle, I need a word with you right now!” Much to Rarity’s surprise, there wasn’t a single answer from the other side of the door. She knocked again, this time a little harder than before. Panic began to erupt inside the unicorn, as she opened the door to see why Sweetie Belle wasn’t answering her. “Sweetie Belle,” she said, as she opened the door, “I need to know why you and Scootaloo were...” Before she could finish her sentence, she let out a loud gasp, as she saw nothing but an empty bedroom. Panicking, she entered the room and began looking around for the filly, unsure of why she wasn’t there. As she trotted over to the bed, a small piece of paper had caught her eye. She looked over at it and levitated it in front of her via her magic. It was a note, written by Sweetie Belle, on a small piece of paper. When Rarity read it, her heart sped up, as she let out another gasp. “Rarity,” it stated, “I needed to leave. I’m sorry. Sweetie Belle.” Not sure of what to do, Rarity did the only thing she could do: she left the Boutique and galloped into town, hoping to find out where her sister might have gone.