> A Little Bit of Sunshine
>  by SparkytheUnicorn
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Just One More Chance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


A Little Bit of Sunshine


Just One More Chance

Sweetie Belle paced about the Carousel Boutique's polished purple floor. Fabrics flew around her, coated in the familiar pink aura of a unicorn's magic.
"Nope, nope, too flashy, ugh, nope..." the white-coated filly kept the magic flowing from her horn as she nixed fabrics until she found what she was looking for- a diamond checked cloth in soft hues of red and green.
...
"Perfect!" This was Sweetie Belle's first dress she'd made all by herself, and the little pony was sure Rarity would love it.
"Darling, I heard a yell. How's it going? Be absolutely sure that you keep the hemlines straight, unless you want-" Sweetie Belle's older sister gasped. "Oh dear, sweetie, did you remember to make the proper...size alterations?"
"Of course I did! Why would you ask th-" 
"Oh..." the smaller pony's shoulders sank as she took in the sight of her dress altogether.
It wasn't all that bad, in retrospect.
She had done a good job...
on the shoulders?
...
"Don't worry honey, I'll go get my double sided fashion tape and we'll fix this." Rarity smiled and levitated the baggy-fronted, too-long-skirted, dress out of the room as if to not scar the filly any further.
With a grumpy sigh,Sweetie plopped down on the piano bench, dragging a hoof across the keys.
The resulting sound made Opal dash from Rarity's bed into the room where the disaster of sound was taking place so fast Rainbow Dash would have had fair competition.
"I...don't..know..what..I did wrong..." the young white-coated pony played a few corresponding notes. "Hey...that's not bad," she said, then after a few minutes of key-plunking and faintly sung notes Sweetie tried the song out.
"I don't know what I did wrong,
through my sorrows I will write this song,
a melody that will surely make her proud of me,
this pony's got it going in the key of C" 
A bird outside started tweeting, and Sweetie Belle threw herself into B minor and burst into tendrils of golden song.
"Hey, boys, look here
see what I can do,
sonatas and harmonizing 
I can do jazz, too,
you ask me my inspiration
like there's a complex explanation
I'm just a simple pony,
a song by this simple pony,
who tries and tries and tries and tries..." Sweetie Belle played those two notes over and over until she started on a simple final chord:
"Why can't I be perfect like,
can't find out how you're perfect like,
just not a perfect pony...like..you..."
"Oh, darling, that's fabulous! Everybody makes mistakes though...even me." 
The pony almost landed on top of the piano when she heard Rarity from the doorway.
"You've got real talent, Sweetie. You should have told me. I only want to let you be happy, like I am with my friends." A faint sniffle was heard from Sweetie Belle's sister before she burst into dramatic tears, coming up to the curly-maned filly and nearly crushing her in a hug.
"It's okay Rarity. Can I ask ya something though?" Rarity wiped her eyes before nodding.
"Can we throw away that dress?" The purple-maned pony nodded.
"Good, 'cuz it-" Sweetie Belle looked up in shock. "Is Opal using my tail as a scratching pole again? 'Cuz it feels really itchy..." her voice trailed off as she looked down at her flank.
A fresh mark shimmered and then set in: a baby-pink heart with a small purple curlicue on either side, and an eighth note in the center.
"Look Rarity! Are you seeing this! Are ya!? Opal, come here! See! I got my cutie mark!"
"Oh, this is fabulous! Maybe a special occasion dress is in order? Hold still! Let me get the camera!"
And the little pony smiled as the camera flashed.
I fit in now.
...
 5 years later...
Sweetie (with a fair bit of help from Rarity) Belle had finished making the alterations to her friend's dresses. The now-fifteen-year-old pony had picked out the fabrics herself, then built on week by week until she was sure she had everything perfect.
Tonight was the night of the Grand Galloping Gala, and Rarity had herself in a tizzy running around redoing her hair and outfit every five minutes.
"Oh..this outfit absolutely clashes with this hat, my, where's my curling iron, maybe it needs more gems, yes, that's it..."
"Rarity!" The pony yelled.
She had grown significantly taller, and had stopped curling her hair in tiny curls. Along with her cutie mark, she had taken to curling it in long, delicate strands. But she was still an excited little filly at heart.
"The carriage is here, big sis!"
"Oh." The purple-maned pony stopped in the middle in changing into a lavender, lacy dress. "Oh. EEK!"
Her shriek reached newfound octaves as she rushed  around the small boutique muttering "omigosh omigosh omigosh", and finally she rushed into the front of the shop with her hair slightly askew with a big lipsticked grin.
"Where's the coach? Sweetie? Sweetie Belle, this is not funny if you are playing a trick on me.."
The young mare beside her gave an innocent grin. "What do you mean? I just needed you to hold these pins in place for me." She levitated a few pins into a pincushion and offered it to Rarity.
"Fine. Just let me go and get ready, then I'll hold the pins." Rarity gave a "harrumph" then trotted off.
"Coming back any time this century would be nice," the green-eyed pony sang teasingly.
"I heard that!"
"You were meant to," Sweetie Belle giggled and hummed a gentle tune as she pinned a ribbon to a satin, soft, green shoe, looping and crossing the ribbons ballerina-style.
She banished the shoe to one of the hooves of a pony mannequin, then shook her head. "Too simple," the young mare murmured, levitating a piece of gold lace and wrapping it around the shoe."Great." The shoe was sent over to the model holding Applebloom's dress.
Three other shoes were made in quick pursuit, and the two-toned pony's mane bobbed up and down as she glanced over her work. 
...
It was a fairly simple but stunning dress.
Soft red shimmering fabric covered the back, layered on top with a checkered apple pattern. There was an intricate necklace of gold with a tiny apple charm in the center, and the front held a stylish cream collar with a faux lace up bodice with gold strings. The shoes were the last thing to go, and as she worked Sweetie Belle turned to look for the accessory that went with Scootaloo's couture. 
The pony whirled around as she thought she caught a false glimpse of the butterfly pin.
Calling out to Rarity she asked,"Did you let Opal into the design closet? I can't find the thingie that went with Scootaloo's stuff!?!"
"Try searching there, I didn't put her in there with my new clothing line but she might have gotten in there by accident!" her sister yelled back.
The design closet was for no-touch ideas for Rarity, and often someone would be poking around and forget to close it, allowing Opal in the designs.
The closet was three times larger than any regular storage space, and just as dark. Sweetie blindly moved a hoof around, and-
"OUCH!!!"
The young pony retracted the appendage with Opal attached. The cat was hissing and spitting, and Sweetie Belle barely had time to pull off the butterfly clip before Opal launched off her face, giving Sweetie a stone cold glare before turning around a few times and settling for a nap.
"Found it!" Sweetie Belle cried, closing the door with a hoof. She lifted it with her magic, admiring the long, semi-thick strip of bronze with tiny purple butterflies dancing across the top.
The white-coated pony tucked it behind the ear of the mannequin, taking a pair of scissors next and cutting a ribbon to tie in a nice bow. She floated it away on a cloud of magic, for  the dress's final alterations.
This is gonna be so exciting!
...
Scootaloo or Scoot's dress had been a tricky one, as when the pony had seen the initial design she'd balked at it being "too girly". Sweetie Belle, with some firm convincing, had made it so it suited for a formal occasion but still looked "totally awesome".
The dress was made of a deep pink fabric, and shimmered in the lights of the shop. The front was slightly open, with a complex silver trim, and Sweetie had special-ordered a jousting-style helmet and tailplate made out of designer's metal.
Dull but when pounded thin becoming shiny, thin but easy to bend and model, designer's metal worked to the whims of the ever-changing fashion world.
Green eyes zoomed across fabric as their owner selected and trimmed fabric to sew as a ruffly trim under the folds of the fabric. After giving the black laces of the pink shoes a firm tug to confirm firmness, Sweetie Belle sat down with an exhausted sigh. 
Rarity came back looking much better in an elegant blue number and toned down makeup. Levitating the forgotten pincushion off the desk, she put her arm around her sister. 
"Have you started on the decorations for the party, dearie?"
Oh crud.
...
After a few minutes of shoving things in every nook and cranny and hasty decorating, the shop was bare except for Sweetie's dresses and a table with a gigantic punch bowl laden with lemons. Gold (Sweetie's choice) and silver (Rarity) streamers hung around the room, and a few balloons floated around aimlessly.
"When the caterer comes, Sweetie Belle, you have the Bits, right? Oh, the carriage is coming, I should have done my hair in something more simple..." Rarity fussed with her towering hairdo as Sweetie produced a heavy bag of coins.
"Yup. Everything's fine, and can I borrow a dress for the evening? I kinda forgot to work on mine..."
Her sister looked shocked. Then the emotion melded into something else. An I-told-you-so-look...but that didn't make sense.
"Well, I just happened to have an order cancelled, but I don't know if the dress will fit.., ooh and it's too late to tailor it if it is..well go ahead and try it on if you must, sweetie..." the look grew more prominent...
But Sweetie Belle was already digging through the closet.
...
whew
There was no time to make changes, but the dress fit so well it might as well have grown over Sweetie's fur. Rarity had said, "I just knew that pony wasn't going to pick it up, so have it anyway," but Sweetie Belle knew this dress fit too well to be unplanned.
So she had waved and quietly watched her sister disappear into the carriage.
"Gold," she whispered to herself in the giant mirror at the front of the shop.
The dress was gold.
It was short and ruffled, with a little round-the-head band with a tall, pearly feather pouring out. The shoes were elegant, with a small golden yellow gem on the front, and Sweetie Belle threw on her biggest, most excited grin as her friends came in.
"'C'mon guys! We have to get dressed quick before the guests arrive!"
...
Dresses ruffled and accessories were fussed with as the ponies worked on their outfits in the last fifteen minutes before the party.
"Scootaloo, hold still!"
"I don't want makeup! Why doesn't Applebloom have to wear this stuff?"
"Because she isn't done with her hair yet! Applebloom! Finished yet?"
"Ah think ah lost the curlin' iron, Sweetie!"
"Ugh," Sweetie Belle growled, dress swishing around her legs as she clopped over to Applebloom. "Here it is," she said, lifting it up to the dyed orange streak in the filly's hair. Steam drifted up to the ceiling as the strand became curly and Sweetie reached to pull the plug out. Holding the cord gently in a wave of magic, she put away the powders and creams they had busied themselves with, levitating a handkerchief to wipe a smudge of blush off of Applebloom's nose before banishing it to a nearby drawer.
Ding-dong
...
The doorbell of the shop dinged softly and the white-coated pony rushed to open it. 
"Hey Twist. Glad you could come," she cheered, opening the door wider so the tan pony could walk in. She was in a simple yellow number that pooled out behind her, making it look as if her back half was drowning in a puddle as she walked over to greet Applebloom and Scootaloo.
Soon, the guests had almost all arrived, including 13-year-old twins Pumpkin and Pound Cake, Snips and Snails, Dinky, Lyra and Bon Bon's daughter Sweet Sound, and Cheerilee's young niece Bell Blossom.
"Hey, is Featherweight coming? I soooo was gonna beat him at bobbing for apples!" Scootaloo looked disappointed, but then the doorbell rang and her face perked up.
"I'll get it, Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle laughed, already on her way to the ornate purple door, "and tell him he'd better be ready for the competition." Opening the door, she got a rather nasty surprise as her stomach sank into her tail.
I don't like party crashers
...
"Hey Sweetie Dork. I heard there was a party somewhere in this bust of a town. And I thought, who would be so rude as to go all the way to not invite me? I mean, I'm pretty fun. Wouldn't you say I'm fun, Silver Spoon?" The cotton-candy-pink mare stood in the doorway, arrogant smirk running full blast as she turned to the grey pony beside her.
"Um, yeah, I guess," Silver mumbled, and it was obvious that even the disguise of full makeup and a gorgeous silver dress couldn't hide that she didn't want to be here. Badly.
"So I decided there must have been a mix-up and decided to come anyway." The tiara on her head had slipped a little, and she pushed it up with a hoof as she walked in. "Have a good time, Sweetie Dork."
Oh...no...
...
It read a quarter to nine on the pale green digital clock's face. Sweetie closed her eyes as tight as she could, then opened them wide, making pale eggs swim in her vision. 
The tried and true method hadn't worked, and Diamond Tiara was still there, smile still ever so elegant as she spilled half her punch cup on an unsuspecting Dinky. Mind running half crazy since her classmate's arrival, Sweetie Belle meticulously adjusted the streamers and checked-and double checked- that the games were safe and omigosh was Sweet Sound looking sad? No one could be sad at this party. It was all going so well. Well, except for that one streamer 0.07 inches out of place. No. Not out of place. Absolutely clashing with the lighting, and the dresses and the music-
"Oh, are you stressed, Sweetie? Here, try some of this," Diamond Tiara had handed her a plastic cup full of a thick-looking red liquid. 
Now, Sweetie may have been paranoid, but she was certainly not stupid even in this partially dazed state. She cocked an eyebrow at the pony, who simply sighed and patted the pony on the back.
"Chill, Dork. It's just some apple cider. Just take a sip." the pink filly tilted the cup up and Sweetie caught a small swig of the liquid. The hard cider burned her throat and made her eyes sting, hot tears sparking at the edges.
"Awww. Is the little filly willy cwying? C'mon, have some more. It's great for forgetting." Tiara laughed and trotted over to where this stuff had come from: a partially sober Berry Punch, who was swirling a bit of wine in a glass before downing it and giving a dizzy laugh.
The white pony sniffed the cider left in her cup. It had slowed her thinking process down a bit, so nobody could exactly explain her reasoning as she tilted it back and downed it in a single gulp.
Hm...heh. Funny tasting.
...
"Hey Berry. Fix me up with two cups. Hard cider." Berry Punch squinted, as if trying to discern if Sweetie was old enough to do this. Then she shrugged her shoulders and filled two cups up from a bottle, handing them to the filly, fuchsia hooves shaking ever so slightly.
A shaking which became oblivious to Sweetie as she gulped down cup after cup.
"Y'know what, Perry Bunch, just give me the whollllle dang bottle this time." the white pony tossed her mane and was starting to chug the drink-
"Sweetie Belle, you okay? You been drinking a lot of this stuff and Applebloom and I both thought that might be kinda dangerous-" Scootaloo's tangerine hoof grabbed a bottle, and her eyes narrowed as she read the label.
"Applebloom, call Nurse Redheart. And tell her to send an ambulance."
...
"Why? Is summbuddy hurt? You know, you could just tell 'um to take a couple o' rounds of this stuff. It sets your brai...nogg..mind-umm, straight, and guess what, Scoutaloop, it works fine too as a natural laxy-tave. Laxuhtive. Laxy-...you know what, forget it. Just get me 'nother cup. Make it a bottle, actually, Cherry."
Berry Punch's purple-hued irises widened. A night without alcohol had proved her mind scarily sharp, but she swiftly opened a bottle and handed it to the white filly. A bushy red tail intercepted it, and Applebloom picked the bottle up.
"Sweetie, you know what you been drinkin'?"
"Trick question...I think-uhh.. no, it's- I thinks I've been drinking cider. That righ', Snappleboom? Guess I get a prize or somethin'." The pony's bloodshot green eyes traced over the bottle, and her hoof reached out to grab it but this time, Scootaloo got to it first.
"Apple Family's Hidden Cellar Cider-" both ponies glared at Sweetie, curled up in a gold mess- "1987."
"That's strong cider. More than enough to put you out in a couple cups. Sweetie, you're not right just now. Let's just get you to the hospital. I know Rarity won't be happy when she finds out about this, but as a friend and fellow Cutie Mark Bearer I'll shift the blame to see you okay again."
"Whaddya mean? You're talkin' horsey apples again. I'm juz' as right as rain. Now, hand me that bottle." her tail swished in agitation as Sweetie Belle magically pulled the cider into her hoof. "Now, if you justs would take somma this stu..." the filly wobbled a little, but grabbed the beverage just as tight. "What I been meanzin' to say is...is..say, is, um...oh yeah. You guys can't boss me around! I'm tired of everyhorsey telling me that I can't do this, can't do that, stop it, Sweetie Belle, nya nya nya! I CAN DO WHAT I WANT, OKAYS!"
The music stopped mid-song as nearly all of the guests turned to face the now fighting ponies. Sweetie was straining, pulling the cider from Scootaloo in a back-and-forth game of tug of war.
With a nudge of magic, the pony ran, but stumbled and tripped, towards the exit.
...
"And you can go tell Appleboom to stick this cider up her-"
Obviously, Sweetie Belle had meant to do a spell to hurl the bottle at Applebloom, but with all the strain her drunk body had taken it finally gave out. 
Pain.
Fireworks of red exploded behind the filly's shut eyelids. Everything hurt. Hurt to breathe to think stop stop stopstop...
And the last thing Sweetie Belle felt was the tinkling of glass against her wet hoof.
...
Ugh...
...
The pony growled as a wave of agony descended on her as she tried to sit up. The dress stuck to her skin and her mouth was parched.
"Water...cider...anything," she managed to croak.
"Scoots, go and get Applejack, she's awake!" a cup of something cool and refreshing pressed against her mouth and Sweetie drank hungrily. "More," she whispered, trying again to sit up and failing.
"Okay, okay. Geez, how long was she out again?"
"Like, six hours or something." Scootaloo's low voice broke the silence as her tail swished, hiding and showing her cutie mark: a pair of wings with a blue and orange lightning bolt crossed over them. "How you doing, Sweetie Belle?"
"I feel like I got run over by a bus," was all she managed to squeak out.
"You might as well have. We took you to Zecora's after telling Rarity-"
"Aww, really, you had to tell her?" I am so dead, the white pony thought.
"-after telling Rarity what had happened. She said you had lost a lot of blood from all where you broke the bottle-and she said no magic for a week. And you also might wanna to take a shower or something. Zecora didn't wash you off except for your arm and some of your head and honestly, I think you could use it." the sunset-hued pony made the gesture for "stinky"
...!
"Hey, I do not sme-oh, never mind. And Zecora bandaged my arm?"  Sweetie Belle looked at her arm, but all she could see was a neat row of stitches, traveling up her hoof. A wave of sickness rose in her stomach, and Applebloom walked in with a glass of water as her fellow unicorn turned and hurled yellow bile all over the floor.
"Eww, well, I guess that means her systems are workin' on gettin' all that stuff outta her body," Applebloom pulled a rag off of a dresser and nudged it around, cleaning up the mess. "Scoots, go get some fresh bandages. Zecora gave me some herbs to give to Sweetie after 'er body got rid of most of the chemicals." Both ponies trotted out, and this was when the semi-sober pony realized she was sitting on Rarity's fainting couch in the Carousel Boutique.
...
Bit by bit, she dragged herself up, ignoring her throbbing head and the twinges of pain in her right hoof. It was an adventure just to get to the bathroom, and the white pony shed the gold dress and stepped into the tub, letting the cold water snap her back into the present.
...
Dear Princess Celestia,
At a party I was at I found out a few things out about myself.
First, never hire Berry Punch to hand out cider.
Another, your truest friends will never let you hurt yourself, even if it comes at personal cost.
Third, to know when to start listening to your friends is as important as knowing when to stop listening to those who aren't.
It's always good to know you'll have people around you.
They always want to have your back, and to do that you have to be honest and loyal, kind and generous, and always ready for a good, hard laugh. 
Beacause friendship is magic, even if it's in tiny ways we can never explain even in a thousand letters.
and once I found out that, it made my friendship with my fellow Cutie Mark Bearers- Applebloom and Scootaloo- all the sweeter.
Sincerely, Rarity's sister,(and former Cutie Mark Bearer,)
Sweetie Belle
...
"Sis! I finished the letter! Now do I still have to help clean?" Sweetie jade-green eyes became bigger as she stuck out her lower lip.
"Yes," Rarity said, taking the letter and rolling it up. "Here you go, Spike."
Green flames erupted from the young dragon's mouth as the letter's ashes flew out the window of the Carousel Boutique in a wave of emerald.
The Mane Six were helping Sweetie and Rarity clean up the mess from the party, which actually wasn't half bad-except for where Sweetie Belle had spilled a whole bottle of cider.
"Oh come on! I've learned my lesson!" a mop swept around in a tsunami of pink magic as the white pony simultaneously levitated a tablecloth into neat folds and set it on a table.
"Alright, you don't have to help us." Rarity took a feather duster in her mouth as she brushed off a mirror/
"Yes!" Sweetie did a small victory dance but stopped midstep when Rarity announced;
"But you have to play us that song you wrote."
"Aww, okay," Sweetie Belle's pale fur flushed red as she sat down at the piano and stretched to hit the keys.
I am waiting,
for the magic to begin,
somepony told me it was here.
But all I see
Is the friendship
where it began.
Honestly, friendship,
your'e loyal with kindness,
friends with no benefits turned into something this much.
At the end of the day,
in the sun's final rays,
I'll tell you I've learned this much.
And as Sweetie jumped into the chorus, a pale note of the sun gleaming in through the window sparkled on the keys, lighting her talent and everybody else's in the room- just a little bit of sunshine waiting for the right moment to glow.
~fin~