The Letter
The setting sun signalled the end of business hours for most establishments in Ponyville, including Carousel Boutique. Rarity switched around the sign on the front door from ‘open’ to ‘closed’. For the rest of the night, only her friends would be allowed to enter the shop. Until Rarity had to get her beauty sleep, that is.
The Boutique was quiet, which was odd considering the fact that Sweetie Belle was staying here. Both of the Belle sisters’ parents were out on vacation, again. They really enjoyed travelling together--not that Rarity minded. She found it rather romantic.
In any case, a quiet Sweetie Belle was an unnatural thing. Perhaps she was doing her homework, or simply reading.
Either way it didn’t matter, for just because business hours ended did not mean that the working day had to draw to a close. Designs had to be drafted up, measurements needed to be measured and stitches needed to be stitched. It sounded awfully boring, but for Rarity, it was her passion. Sometimes she’d just marvel at how lucky she really was.
Before anything could be done, however, Rarity thought it best to check on her sister. Just in case, considering how unpredictable fillies can be.
“Sweetie Belle?!” she yelled.
There was a short pause before Sweetie answered. “Yeah?” It was muffled but Rarity could make it out.
“What are you doing?”
“Homework!” Came the definite answer.
“Good girl! Need any help with it?!”
“I’m fine thanks!”
“Okay then!”
With that settled, Rarity began to head over to her work room. Yet just before she entered, she stopped to a halt as another thought came into her head. It is getting rather late...I really should cook some dinner.
Sighing quietly, she turned away from her workshop and trotted into the kitchen. It was clean, thank Celestia. Rarity had banned Sweetie Belle from doing any cooking without her big sister’s supervision after the last farce; all of Rarity’s best friends were needed to clean that mess up.
Rarity shivered as she remembered that sticky mess. Refocusing her thoughts on the present and not the past, she considered options for tonight’s meal. Hmmm...eh. I’ll just make some soup. It’s simple but I cannot be bothered to cook anything else. But which type... Rarity made a thoughtful noise as she scanned the various cupboards for foods, Oh yes! Carrots! That’ll do nicely.
With her magic, Rarity placed a few carrots on the chopping board and levitated a knife. She deftly used the tool to slice through the vegetables with deadly efficiency, creating small, neat slices. In a stark contrast to her almost ruthless cutting, she began to hum a pleasant tune.
After she had all the slices required, she began the task of making the soup itself. Cooking was something of a hidden passion for Rarity. She enjoyed it but she never had the time to do so extensively. It was merely a side hobby to her already big hobby of dress making.
Come to think of it...soup by itself just won’t fill us up. Rarity left the soup bubbling away and retrieved a loaf of bread, already half finished due to previous meals. Using the knife again, she started to slice the loaf, although it wasn’t as quick as the carrots because of its sponginess.
Once the bread was ready, she started piling it onto two simple white plates. A bit of a while after that, the soup was finally ready. Using her magical dexterity, she speedily poured the soup into two white bowls and put the cutlery and food on the kitchen table. Before calling down Sweetie, she added the final touch. Two napkins neatly folded next to the bowls.
“Sweetie Belle! Come down for dinner!” Rarity shouted while admiring her hoofdiwork.
“Coming!” Sweetie replied, and it wasn’t long before she arrived. She trotted in, a spring in her step, and took her seat. Rarity soon did afterwards, giving Sweetie a nod that indicated that they could begin.
Rarity gracefully picked up her spoon using her magic, dipping it into the soup and blowing on it to cool it before finally beginning to eat.
Sweetie on the other hand, simply picked up the bowl by her hooves and began to drink from it was if it was a mug.
“Sweetie Belle!”
Sweetie blinked, putting down the bowl and revealing her newfound soup moustache.
“I have told you before, do not drink your soup in such a brutish manner!” Rarity berated.
“But Rarity, it’s really hard to pick up a small spoon with just my hoof!” Sweetie protested, proving her point by attempting to pick up her spoon. She couldn’t hold onto it for long before it dropped into the soup with a splash.
Rarity sighed, rescuing the spoon from its soupy fate. “Fine fine...just clean up afterwards.”
Sweetie nodded quickly then resumed drinking the soup. Rarity rolled her eyes, focusing on her own meal. “Don’t forget the bread.”
“Ooh, yeah!” Sweetie placed the bowl on the table again and tore into a slice of bread. Rarity grimaced but refrained from saying anything. She was much more refined in her eating, dunking the bread into the soup before eating to give it a little flavour.
The rest of the meal continued in silence but that was due to Sweetie’s ravenous gulping down of the soup. A big belch announced the end of dinner, at least for Sweetie.
“Sweetie!” Rarity chided, wrinkling her muzzle at such a vulgar sound.
“Ooh, sorry. Pardon.” Sweetie squeaked, slipping off the chair and beginning to walk away.
“And where do you think you’re going young lady?” Sweetie turned to see Rarity pointing at the abandoned cutlery.
Sweetie sighed, quickly getting the message. “Fiiiiiine...” she groaned, moving her chair and things to the sink. The filly climbed onto the chair and turned on the taps, using the soap to create a foamy mess in which she could wash.
Rarity nodded in satisfaction and carried on with her meal. It wouldn’t be long though before she stood by Sweetie, joining her in the washing up. The younger pony had to wash by hoof but Rarity used her magic to avoid getting wet.
Sweetie then suddenly lost her grip on her bowl, dropping it into the sink and creating a splash that went over her and Rarity.
“Oops...sorry...” Sweetie apologised, smiling sheepishly at Rarity’s partially wet mane. The mare didn’t look amused.
Rarity was silent for a while but her face did all the talking. Her frown soon wore away, developed into a smile and soon after that, she was giggling. Sweetie took this as a cue to join in, laughing with childish glee. That is, until she got splashed in the face by Rarity.
The older mare only laughed harder and it wasn’t long before Sweetie returned the favour. Soon, a mini water fight had broken out. It was rather stationary though, with the pair simply returning splashes at each other, covering themselves and the floor in water. Although somewhat brutish for Rarity, she had learned to sometimes let moments like these happen: two sisters just having fun and enjoying their company.
The small skirmish ended when the two of them were both starting to get worn out. “Hahaha....oh that was rather good fun.” Rarity blinked, remembering what both of them had been doing before dinner. “Don’t you have homework to do?”
Sweetie’s mouth formed an ‘o’ shape as she realized her school obligations. “Yeah...I better get to it.”
“Mhm. Don’t worry, I’ll clean up things here. Run along now darling.”
“I’m on it!” Sweetie gave Rarity a firm salute, before marching off, much to the amusement of the fashion designer. However, she was first subjected to a quick drying over by Rarity with a towel.
Rarity snickered, shaking her head. “I swear, children these days have twice the energy that I did when I was that age...” she said to herself quietly while drying her mane. She then dried the stained floor with paper towels, throwing them into the bin without lifting a hoof.
Before Rarity started to go to her work room, her ears started to twitch. Someone was knocking at the door. Ever the polite mare, she trotted to the front door and opened it carefully. Standing before her was a light blue pegasus stallion. Rarity had never seen him before, so she assumed he was a new customer.
“I’m terribly sorry but we’re closed. I can, however--”
“Letter for you,” the stallion simply said, handing over said item. It was enclosed in a plain white envelope.
Rarity took the letter, smiling sweetly. “Oh, why thank you.”
“No problem,” he paused, stammering his next words, “My condolences ma’am. Have a good evening.” Then the stallion took off, as if he was never there. He seemed rather hurried to go too...
Rarity frowned, thinking about the stallion’s choice of words. Worry began to form inside of her. Had something happened? Certainly. The word ‘condolences’ was only used for...those times. For the time being though, she tried to keep calm, closing the door and bringing the letter to eye level.
Somewhat reluctantly, she opened the letter and read the words transcribed upon it. Immediately she knew that this letter was meant for her and wasn’t just a missend.
She read on and as she did so, her facial expression changed from shock, to distress and finally sadness. All the while, it felt like something had been ripped from her and could never be replaced. She couldn’t believe what she was reading. She didn’t want to believe. But there it was, clear as day.
After reading, she let out a shuddering sigh. She took in deep breaths, attempting not break down. Her magic faltered and the letter dropped to the ground. Her eyes were watery but when looking around the room, she was thankful for the lack Sweetie Belle.
Rarity frantically paced around, her mind a complete mess. Half of her was shunning away the truth and the other was trying to figure out what the heck to do next. Suddenly her beautiful boutique felt hostile and unfamiliar. She needed to get out.
But to do that, she’d need to lie to her own sister. She couldn’t know about this...not now at least. Not after this pleasant evening. She kept looking between the ceiling and the floor, trying to put on an act. She took in a breath to shout but found herself speechless.
“I...I can’t...” she said lowly to herself, shaking her head. The truth would come out eventually. It always did. The drive to get out, however, was overpowering.
Looking up to the ceiling, she closed her eyes and let it out. “S-Sweetie?!”
For a short moment there was silence. It felt longer to Rarity, convinced that her act had failed.
“Yeah?”
Rarity let out a sigh of relief. “I need to see Twilight for a moment...you’ll be fine by yourself, won’t you...?”
“Don’t worry about me!”
Of all the things she could’ve said, it had to have been that. Hearing her sister’s innocent voice hurt Rarity more than she knew. “I...I’ll try not to be too long...” That was it; she couldn’t bear to be here any longer. She picked up the letter with her magic and cantered out of the boutique with a hurried desperation. She briskly made her way to the library, letter floating alongside her. She didn’t look back.
At any other moment, she would have found the brilliant red of the evening sky beautiful. Now she simply acknowledged it. Not many other ponies were milling about either, so her act dropped slightly.
Once she reached the library’s front door, she smacked it with a hoof. A loud knock resounded from the door, making Rarity flinch a little.
“Oh er--coming!” came the voice of Twilight, followed by the sound of shuffling hooves. Soon the door opened, revealing the purple unicorn. “Could you not knock so--Rarity?” Her annoyance went to concern upon seeing her friend’s face. “Rarity? Are you okay?”
“I...” words easily escaped her. Rarity opted to give the letter to Twilight, who glanced from the letter to her friend.
“Please, come in,” Twilight said softly, standing aside to allow Rarity to enter.
“Is...is Rarity alright?” Spike asked as he entered the room from the kitchen, biting his lip as he saw how upset Rarity looked. “Did something happen?”
“Spike, I think Rarity and I need some time alone.” Twilight answered rather blandly.
Spike nodded rather unsurely. “Yeah...gotcha.” The whelp turned to leave but before he did, he noticed Rarity gesturing to herself with a hoof. Spike closed the distance between them and when he got close, Rarity pulled him into a hug.
She sniffed, the embrace helping to fight back the tears and keep her strong. It wasn’t long before she released her hold over the dragon, although she could have kept him there forever. She gave him a small smile, one which he replicated, but it soon vanished as soon as he entered the next room.
Twilight meanwhile, was reading the letter, small gasps escaping her lips after taking in the information.
Dear Miss Rarity Belle
We regret to inform you that yesterday, between the hours of 18:00 and 19:00, Magnum Belle and Pearl Belle were killed in a carriage accident in Manehattan.
We shall visit tomorrow at 12:00 pm sharp, where we can talk through burial and funeral proceedings.
We are dreadfully sorry for your loss and understand that this news will be very distressing to you, therefore if you feel the need for some support, we would be happy to direct you to the right ponies.
Commissioner Streten Narroh
Manehattan Police Department
Twilight stood there, looking at the paper in disbelief. She re-read it, checking that everything on there was really there. Sadly, it was.
“Rarity...I’m so sorry.” Twilight said with great sincerity, lowering the letter and looking at her friend’s watery eyes.
Rarity opened her mouth to speak but fell short of actually saying something. Instead, she shook her head slowly, eyes trailing down to the floor. She didn’t see Twilight come up to her and warmly embrace her, but she welcomed the gesture anyway. She buried her face into Twilight, fighting back the tears.
Twilight could only stand there, trying her best to comfort her friend. She didn’t know what to say...she didn’t know what she should say. Death was never something anypony can shrug off easily. All she knew though was that she had to be there for Rarity...she wanted to. The two simply stood there together, Rarity’s sobs being the only sound in the room.
After a while, Twilight spoke up, “You can stay here tonight, if you want.”
Rarity shook her head. “Thank you d-darl--thank you Twilight but...I...” she blinked in horrified realization, “I can’t...I can’t leave Sweetie Belle alone!”
“She...she doesn’t know, does she?”
“No! No she doesn’t! I-I have to tell her but...I don’t want to...she’s so sweet...so innocent...she...she doesn’t deserve this!” Rarity cried. She went on to say more but a lump caught in her throat. She tried taking deep breaths to calm herself but they only came out in short and stuttered periods.
“I need to go back...” Rarity continued, breaking away from Twilight.
“I could come with you, if you want.” Twilight suggested. Rarity opened her mouth to answer but instead simply shook her head.
“I’m very grateful Twilight but...we’ll talk tomorrow.”
Twilight nodded slowly. “Okay then...” she trailed off, unsure of what else to say. Saying ‘have a good night’ seemed inappropriate.
“I’ll take leave then...thank you again Twilight. You’re a good friend. My best friend...” Rarity reluctantly walked away with sluggish steps. Before she opened the door however, she turned to Twilight once more. “Do...do you think you can take Sweetie out tomorrow? When the police are here?”
“Yes, I will. But it is Monday tomorrow so I’ll take her to school.” Twilight answered surely. Rarity gave her a small smile and opened the door, preparing to head back. In all her distress, she had forgotten that tomorrow was Monday. That made things a lot easier.
“But Rarity,” the dressmaker froze, “You’ll have to tell her some time...”
“Yes...yes, I know...” Rarity said, not looking back before closing the door behind her. The journey back was slow and lonesome. By now, nopony was out. Once the boutique came into view, the mare sighed. She didn’t want to face Sweetie Belle now; she’d become too curious. So the only viable option Rarity saw was the coward’s way out: sleep.
“Sweetie! I’m back!” Rarity called out as she entered the building, thankful that her voice sounded strong. “I’ll be heading to bed now. I need my beauty sleep, after all.” She would have grinned at her white lie if the circumstances weren’t so dire.
“Okay!” came the cheery voice of her sister. It pained Rarity to hear it.
With heavy steps, she walked up the stairs and entered her bedroom. Opal was sleeping on the bed, her tail wrapped around her body. Rarity merely lifted her off the bed, awakening the cat and causing her to hiss in fury. Rarity didn’t bother to scold her, instead opting to fall onto the bed.
When the bed sheets were over her, she felt a bit more secure. Soon she’d enter the world of dreams...and nightmares. But any thought up nightmare would have been better than living this one. Resting her head on a pillow, Rarity closed her eyes and soon drifted off to sleep.
The house was quiet and dark. From the outside, it looked as if it had no occupants within which was especially strange, considering the time of day...rather, time of night.
Should one have entered the building however, they would have found the young filly sitting in her bedroom, drawing designs for dresses by candlelight. Her bedroom window was open, a weak breeze coming into the room. The walls were painted in a tasteful light purple, the ceiling was simply white and the floor was covered in a pink carpet. Clearly, this room belonged to a little princess, all the furniture grand and royal like. Even the pillows on the violet bed had golden tassels.
The wannabe designer had just finished drawing up a new, beautiful dress. It was mostly white but there was a light blue at the curvy edges. The dress looked like a river, flowing down the plain mannequin pony that she had also drawn. It was simple, yet elegant.
The final touch, of course, was the signature of the designer herself. Pencil in mouth, she scribbled down her name on the bottom left corner of the page.
Rarity Belle
The handwriting was delicate and sophisticated, especially so for a filly her age.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to marvel at her handiwork as a sharp gust of wind forced its way into the room, blowing out the single candle that stood on her small table, plunging the room into darkness.
“Oh darn it! I knew I should have closed the window...” Rarity said to herself, walking over the glass pane. She had no fear about stepping on a toy on her way over, for her room was completely tidy...mostly. The only untidy thing was her ‘design corner’ where her table was. It was covered in discarded paper and pens. She called it ‘organised chaos’. Her parents called it a mess but they didn’t care much for it. It wasn’t their mess. The rest of Rarity’s room was immaculate anyway.
With the window shut, Rarity needed light once more. The candle had kept her warm and without it, the night would be very cold. It was lonely enough, so she didn’t want extra issues.
She had to do everything herself now. Her parents were on vacation together and it wasn’t the first time they had done so either. Rarity could get used to the routine but the hurt and loneliness was a different matter.
Reluctantly, she opened the door to her bedroom and looked out at the dark hallway before her. There were only three rooms up here: her bedroom, her parents’ bedroom and the bathroom.
Whenever the night came, Rarity holed herself away in her bedroom. The rest of the house became unfamiliar and frightening. It didn’t feel like a home then...just a place.
She crept through the hallway and down the creaky stairs. She needn’t have been so quiet but she always was. Anyone could have been in the house with her. Maybe she was being paranoid but...better safe than sorry.
She shivered as she stepped onto the kitchen tiles. This must have been the coldest room in the house by far. Her teeth began to chatter but she pressed on, feeling the kitchen cabinets for the right one. The one with the matches.
The filly smiled when she managed to find the right one and hastily opened it, putting her forehoof instead. Her smile quickly disappeared as all she felt was the hardness of metal. The cutlery drawer.
Huffing quietly to herself, she slammed the drawer and kept searching for her intended target. She banged her hoof on the drawer handles, which hurt quite a bit but it wasn’t enough to stop her.
To her relief, the next one she opened was the right one. She grabbed the matchbox and bucked the drawer close, before galloping back to her room in a desperate hurry.
She slumped against the door, breathing rapidly. She stayed there for a bit, recuperating. Her bedroom was the only room that she could tolerate being in when dark. It was hers and nopony had the right to take it away from her.
When she had fully recovered, she wandered over to her table. Leaning on it, she held up the match box and retrieved a matchstick from within. She furrowed her brows, concentrating as she struck the matchstick against the wax of the box. The first time she had ever done this, she managed to burn herself. It wasn’t major though and the fur had regrown.
The match eventually caught alight and Rarity grinned with delight as she lit the candle. Immediately she felt warmer. Blowing out the match, she leaned her forelimbs on the table and marveled at her work.
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Welcome to this new story of mine that I think is perhaps my best work so far. Now, half of this will take place in present day and the other half is flashback.
So...enjoy!
Oh, fun fact: Streten Narroh is an OC not made by me but instead, the awesome Merc the Jerk.
GO AWAY, YOU EVIL DOWNVOTE!
This story should be nothing *but* upvotes, dah-link! It's fab! 
(Made me cry, but then again, I'm a wimp, lol 
)
(If, um, that's ok with you? 
)
I demand MOAR!
Ooh, I like it! It's a clever idea to make a story out of, particularly in making Rarity a titch overprotective. It fits rather well.
Well written and sweet, I'll be interested to see how this develops. <3
I like how this story is going. It's interesting to think how much the bond between Rarity and Sweetie will grow if Rarity became Sweetie's new guardian.
this should have a tragedy tag.
Ugh, looks like we got some parasprites in our midst...
1609597
Stories can't have the Tragedy and Sad tags at the same time, it's against the rules because they "conflict"
1609826
I don't understand what you're referring to.
1609828 Nonsense I've seen tons of stories with Tragedy and Sad tags at the same time, you must be new here.
1609828
1610039
1610009
Sorry, I could'a sworn that I saw knightly or poul post a blog post about it some time ago :/, I R SMRT
1610044 Well if they did I must have missed it.
1609835
Parasprite is what some bronies call those guys who just go and dislike everything.
While it's not my cup of tea, it's well written like most of your stuff, my amigo.
I like it, it's always enjoyable to rad something dark but I have hopes of a happy ending somehow.
keep the awesome work up :D
any story that involves sweetie is a story I'll look at
1610044 That was Wanderer D. You can find the blog here.
1615596
Thank you, and I was not aware they made it okay. Thank you again :P
1615794 No problem.
One or two pacing issues (you need to make things happen faster), but otherwise interesting.
Ah, a very touching beginning to a promising story! I shall track this.
A beautiful and heartstrings-tunging beginning, keep going!
a beautiful yet sad start to the story