"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity called up the stairs, yawning heavily between the words as her hooves worked frantically at her sewing machine. "Get ready for bed!" She added, her eyes drooping slightly. She had been working for the past twelve hours on this one dress, with hardly any breaks. She was exhausted, and her brain was becoming fried. The dress was only halfway done, due to the fact that there were six layers of detailed fabric on it. It was a very important client she was dealing with!
"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity shrieked, a few moments after she had gotten no response.
"I'm going, I'm going!" Sweetie Belle's hooves could be heard running across the hallway upstairs towards the bathroom, where she would brush her teeth before getting in bed. Rarity sighed heavily, continuing to weave the fabric through the sewing machine. Stitching together the pieces of tool and satan, her legs felt like jello from working so hard.
Finally she finished the long strip, retrieving it from the machine, and placing it upon the mannequin that sat by her full length mirror. Using her magic, she sewed it to the seam underneath the highly decorated saddle. When the piece was secure, she found herself collapsing onto the floor in a thud. Her eyes slowly rolled shut, and within moments she was fast asleep.
- - -
"RARITY!" Sweetie Belle screamed, racing down the stairs full speed. Rarity's eyes shot open, as her younger sister practically tumbled on top of her in a completely panicked state. "FIRE!" The moment the word came from Sweetie's mouth, Rarity was on her hooves. She scooped up her sister with her magic, and took off running for the front door. "What about Opal!?" Sweetie Belle cried, waving her hooves around frantically as she was carried outside.
"I'll get her, but you stay here." Rarity said calmly, hushing her younger sister. Surprisingly, she was being the calm one in this situation. She glanced up briefly towards the windows upstairs, just in time to see her bedroom window shatter. Smoke burst out of it like a bomb had gone off. Thats when she became panicked too.
Running inside, Rarity quickly noticed that the flames were spreading. They were coming down the stairs, and bits of the ceiling looked as if it was about to give way. "Opal!" She called, looking around quickly for her little diva of a white cat. "Opal, darling! I need you to come out now!" Rarity laughed sheepishly, looking under her sewing desk, and inside a partially open drawer. Finally, she found the cat huddled in a pile of fabric scraps. She was immediately scooped up.
Rarity made her way towards the door, when suddenly, bits of the ceiling crumbled and collapsed right in front of her. She screamed, half-galloping backwards to avoid it. She hugged the cat to her chest, squeezing her eyes shut until she knew she was safe from the falling rubbish. When she opened her eyes, she immediately started going for the nearest window. She managed to open it with a heave, throwing Opal outside, before leaping out herself. She coughed frantically, as she tumbled through the grass.
"Rarity! Are you okay?" Sweetie Belle hurried to her older sisters side. Bits of black smoke was staining Rarity's white coat, but thankfully she had made it out unharmed by the fire. The air felt cold, and damp compared to the inside of the boutique.
"I'm all right." Rarity said, clearing her throat and standing up. She turned back towards the boutique, her eyes suddenly filling with tears as she took in the sight. She watched as the dress she had worked so hard on was suddenly gobbled up in flames. Only minutes before, her beautiful shop had been entirely okay. Now the insides of it were lit up by fire.
Rarity suddenly felt Sweetie Belle clinging to her leg, followed by a fit of sobs. Rarity sat down, embracing her little sister, and stroking her mane. "Its going to be okay, Sweetie." She said quietly, a tear escaping her own eye as well. If it was up to her, she would be a mess right now.. But she had to be strong for her little sister.
- - -
Morning rolled around in what seemed like ages. Rarity had pulled an all-nighter so that she could deal with the fire and police ponies that surrounded their home. The foundation was made of nothing but scraps of burnt wood and rubbish, for the fire fighters couldn't put out the raging fire fast enough.
Sweetie Belle spent most of the night cuddled up in a blanket in Rarity's arms, being rocked back and fourth in and out of slumber. She was still shaken up by the experience, and Rarity figured that Sweetie Belle may have been the one to cause it.. But she wasn't about to accuse her little sister. She would find out eventually.
When Sweetie Belle finally awoke, she looked up at her sister and yawned. "Rarity?" She asked in a sleepy voice, snuggling deeper into the blanket. "Does this mean we're going to have to sleep in the park every night?" Hearing this brought tears to Rarity's eyes.
"I don't know Sweetie Belle.. We have lots of friends, I'm sure we can find somewhere to stay until we can build a new boutique." Rarity replied, rocking the young unicorn back and fourth again to sooth her. She managed to put on a soft smile to help her feel better.
"But how will we pay for the new boutique?"
"I.." Rarity hesitated, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. "I don't know.. But I'll find a way.." She made an X across her heart with the tip of her hoof. "Cross my heart."
"Thank you girls for coming." Rarity said softly towards all her friends. They were gathered on a picnic blanket, taking in the warm afternoon sun. Even from here, you could smell the faint scent of smoke coming from the burnt up boutique in the town square.
"No problem. It's mighty unfortunate that this had to happen to ya." Applejack sighed, looking over at Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie who were rummaging through a picnic basket filled with apple tarts.
"Have you worked out any plans for you two to stay with your parents?" Twilight Sparkle asked, using her magic to flip through a book.
"Not yet." Rarity responded, looking down at her hooves. "Sweetie Belle is going to be so disappointed when she finds out we have to move to Fillydelphia for a few years.. I'll have to get a job to pay for a new shop, and--" Tears gathered in her eyes. How was she ever going to find a decent job in Fillydephia? How was she going to survive without her friends?
"Oh Rarity.." Twilight frowned, moving closer and wrapping a hoof around her friend.
"Maybe you could stay in Canterlot with Princess Celestia!" Pinkie Pie gasped, smiling sheepishly. She was obviously trying to make Rarity feel better, but it wasn't exactly working.
"I wish." She responded, sighing.
"I would offer you a place to stay, but.." Rainbow Dash chuckled a bit. "You can't really live on a cloud." She looked around the circle, raising her eyebrow. "Why don't one of you girls offer her a place to stay?"
"Oh, I wish I could! It'd just be too cramped in such a small library." Twilight frowned. "Spike and I barely have enough space!" She turned her head towards Applejack, who was stuffing her face with a fritter. "What about you Applejack?"
"Me?" Applejack swallowed shallowly, suddenly sweating nervously. Rarity at Sweet Apple Acres? Applejack would never hear the end of her whining and complaints! "Oh, Rarity wouldn't like it at Sweet Apple Acres.. Its so.."
"Rustic?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah, rustic!" Applejack agreed, laughing sheepishly. "Besides, I know she likes having her own space, and uh.. Granny Smith turned the spare bedroom into an office for the farm!" Rarity frowned a bit, making Applejack's eyes grow soft. "But uh.." She bit down on her lip, wincing a little bit. "I guess we could make room.."
Rarity's eyes widened, a smile spreading across her face. She leapt up onto her hooves. "Oh Applejack!" She said, linking hooves with the pony and spinning her around. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Uh, yer welcome.." Applejack grinned. It made her happy to see Rarity so excited, and it would save her and Sweetie Belle from needing to move away from Ponyville.. It had to be worth it.. Right?
- - -
"Well, here we are!" Applejack exclaimed, as she lead Rarity and Sweetie Belle into her dusty old farmhouse. "Home sweet home." She turned towards the two. "You can go ahead and make yourselves comfortable." The old fashion wall paper, old creaky wood floors, and dusty rotten apple scented atmosphere made Rarity shutter in absolute disgust.
"You have a-- um--" She cleared her throat. "Lovely home, Applejack." Just saying the words made her gag a little bit.
"Where's Applebloom?" Sweetie Belle asked, bouncing in her spot.
"Well she should be in her--" AJ was interrupted.
"SWEETIE BELLE!" Applebloom shrieked from the hallway, making Rarity jump. Applebloom came galloping out before tackling her best friend in a hug. "This is SO excitin'! We're going to be like sisters, and we get to share a room togeder!"
"I know!" Sweetie squeaked, as they ran off to Applebloom's bedroom together giggling.
"Oh, I'm so happy for them." Rarity smiled softly. "Sweetie Belle is beyond thrilled to be here."
"Well that's just fine and dandy!" Applejack said pleasantly, she looked over at her friend who had saddle bags strapped around her stomach. "What do you have in those?" She asked curiously.
"Just a couple small things that were recovered in the fire." She said, unlatching one of the hooks. "Oh, and Opal." The cat pounced from the bag hissing. She went running over to the couch, hopping up onto it, and curling up in a fluffy white ball. "Hope you don't mind."
"Oh, no, not at all." Applejack winced again. "Make sure to keep her away from Winona.. She's never really been around other small critters before."
"Certainly." Rarity walked over to the couch, latching onto the cat with her magic. Opal immediately dug her claws into the couch, ripping some of the fabric as she was forced from it. "Oh dear! I'm sorry, AJ.. I'll stitch it up for you.."
"No, don't worry about it Rar. We really don't mind if there's a few scratches and bumps here and there!" AJ responded, throwing a blanket over the rip. "There, problem solved! I can take yer bag for ya, if ya'd like. The bathroom is just down the hall if ya want to freshen up before dinner."
"Oh, alright." Rarity responded, unlatching her saddle bags, and handing them to AJ. They walked down the hall together, parting ways as one went in the bedroom, and the other went into the bathroom.
Rarity was craving a hot bath, filled with lavender scented bubbles, and a soft satan towel.. She sighed heavily, staring at the tub shower with a disgusted expression. She was supposed to use that? "Oh well.. I suppose I'll have to make due.." She whispered to herself, shutting the bathroom door and turning on the water fossett. She waited several minutes to let the water warm up, but found herself plunging into an icy cold shower. She shrieked, tumbling back out onto the bath mat in a shivering wet mess. This was going to be a long stay..
