Under the Bed

Under the Bed

Rarity smiled when she leaned in to make sure Sweetie Belle was tucked safely into her bed for the night. The warm summer day had left everything cozy in the boutique as the night soothed it with cool evening breezes. “Time for bed, Sweetie Belle. You shouldn’t leave the window open like that, you don’t want an animal or something to wander in.” she crossed the room, lighting her horn to close and latch the two window doors. “Or Opal to wander out, for that matter,” she chuckled good-naturedly.

The filly tucked into the sheets watched Rarity close the window with big eyes, tucked deep in the mounds of extra pillows. She quickly hid again when the mare turned around. It was hard to even see her. Rarity chuckled a little, rearing up to find her sister and kiss her forehead.

Sweetie Belle squirmed with a cranky moan, turning away from her. It must’ve been a rough day of crusading with her friends, Rarity thought. Usually it was hard to get the poor dear to sleep at all. She was always sneaking sweets or caffeine or something of the sort at odd hours, making it impossible to go to sleep at the proper time. But, with no school during the summer that made for plenty of extra time to run around with her friends, getting into trouble and having adventures as any little herd of foals should. In a way, it made Rarity proud that her sister was such a social butterfly, always trying new things to get her cutie mark. Everypony in town knew her and her two friends from one cutie mark adventure or another.

“Sleep tight, Sweetie Belle,” Rarity whispered lovingly. Her little sister was a loud-mouth sometimes, but now and then she managed to be just so adorable. The white mare felt her heart swell, and she tousled Sweetie Belle’s mane just a little. Another cranky, adorable little moan as the filly buried her face between the pillows. She turned to leave the room, making a quick sweep to make sure no toys or anything sharp was left in the middle of the floor. Walking quietly as she could along the hard-wood floor, she was almost out of the room when she heard it. A quiet little whimpering sound. She turned about. “Sweetie, is that you…?” she whispered softly. Turning around in concern, she slowly wandered back to the plush bed. Rarity was nothing if not rather mother-hen-ish with her sister since the big Sisterhoof Social races. She’d been trying very hard to be there for her. “What’s wrong? You sound awful…” she reared up once more, putting her forehooves on the bed.

A scent touched Rarity’s muzzle that made her nose wrinkle. It was a primal scent, one that you learned when dealing with foals or other infantile creatures. Urine. The stark scent of urine laced with a hormone that her equine brain knew instantly. Fear. Some creatures, ponies included, could smell true terror. What was the matter with Sweetie Belle?

“Ohhh, Sweetie did you wet the bed?” Rarity said, her eyes lidding as her muzzle wrinkled a bit. Something was wrong. “I-It’s alright. It happens to the best of us, now and then,” she tried to be comforting in the filly’s vulnerable moment. A louder whimper was all that could be heard from the foal buried in the sheets and pillows. “I’ll get you some fresh, why don’t you climb down and ball these up for me. We can wash them tomorrow and nopony will know, I promise,” she nuzzled the lump that was her little sister, but got no response other than more whimpering. Rarity’s eyes couldn’t find the little stain of yellow wetness anywhere, but she could smell it like it was marked with orange road-cones. “No need to be ashamed, sweetheart, really,” she said with concern. “I’ll be right back, don’t worry.”

Rarity went out into the hall, past her own room and into the linen closet. Being a seamstress she’d custom-made bed clothes for herself and any pony that stayed in the boutique. Pawing through each design, she found the easter-egg purple ones meant for Sweetie Belle. “There we are then,” she smiled a bit. Levitating a laundry-basket next to herself to take the wetted sheets away, she went back to her little sister’s room. She found the door shut and locked. “Really now, Sweetie, it’s alright. I promise,” Rarity tried to be the understanding big sister she wanted to be. With a flick of her horn’s magic she undid the door’s lock. “We’ll change out the bed cloths and set you right back to bed.” She opened the door and stepped into the dark room, setting the linens and basket next to herself.

Sweetie Belle had not moved, but still lay pressed between the pillows and hidden beneath the comforter. Another light whimper, a tap-tap-tapping noise coming from somewhere in the room. Rarity cocked her head, but couldn’t place where it was coming from.

Rarity stopped for a time, trying to find a sensitive way to go about this. Both of them had their own little temper tantrums now and then, so she’d need to be extra-tender. She wasn’t about to let her little sister sleep in her own… stuff. Clearing her throat a little, she ignited her horn to take away the comforter and lifted it away. Rolling it up into a coarse ball, she dropped it in the laundry basket. She expected to find a wide circle of wet bedsheets, but saw no such thing. Only the tiny little body of the hiding filly pressed mostly up between the fluffy pillows. The tap-tap-tapping sound got louder, making Rarity look around. Was Sweetie Belle tapping at the wall beyond the head of her bed? “Sweetie Belle?” Rarity whispered, turning her ears up and forward. “Sweetie, really, I--!”

“Monster!” Sweetie Belle whispered fiercely, her quivering voice piercing the dark like a frightened piccolo of sound.

“Monster?” Rarity relaxed after a moment. Was that all? “Of course…” she turned and made a show of going into the closet. She pushed the coats back and forth to indulge her little sibling. She peered out the window, and even opened the dumpy pink wardrobe that sat in the corner. “No monsters here, I promise,” she chuckled, showing her.

“Rarity, p-p-please!” Sweetie Belle whimpered. Rarity wondered how she was able to hear her sister so clearly when she was mooshed between so many pillows. She approached the bed with a frown, leaning over the figure. The tap-tap-tapping got louder, more insistent. The mare shrieked when a tiny hoof grabbed her leg from under the bed. “D-down here!” the filly whispered urgently.

Rarity knelt down, confused, lighting her horn. There, lying in a puddle of her own piddle, was a terrified looking Sweetie Belle. Her pupils were little dots and the hardwood floor was making her shake like a leaf. The white mare stared at her tear-streaked face, even more confused. “Sweetie Belle…?” she whispered, tilting her head.

“Rarity, th-there’s something i-in my bed!” The white-faced foal whimpered, hiding her head under her hooves.

Rarity’s eyes flicked upward.

She slowly, gently pulled herself out from under the bed. Her horn gently lit itself with a bolt of arcane energy. A stunning spell, maybe more. She arched her back a little, leaning over the figure buried in the sheets. She reached, touching its shoulder--

“AWWWWWGH!”

The last thing Rarity saw was a set of orange eyes and an unhinged jaw. Rows upon rows of jagged, triangle teeth descended on her as the stunning spell fired wildly past its target and into the ceiling. Sweetie Belle cried helplessly, pulling the sheets down to hide herself.