"I hate this," muttered Sweetie Belle, "I hate this a lot."

She levitated the cup of juice to her mouth, but hesitated to sip. The party that surrounded her made her feel uneasy: mares and stallions were chatting amongst themselves regarding petty matters, her parents were entertaining the guests, as is the duty of the host and hostess, and her friends, to her dismay, indulged in the sickening practice. To the young unicorn, all she could see of the ponies' faces were masks, masks that snickered and mocked each other. What truly disgusted her was that she was wearing one herself, the worse one present in the party to be exact. The purpose of the party was actually pure nonsense in Sweetie Belle's mind: her father's favorite hoofball team had just won the recent Ultrabowl game and is now holding the title of champion for the fifth consecutive time. Sweetie Belle, now suffering a minute headache, tried to force herself into drinking the juice again, only to result in her slamming the cup onto the table.

The noise that the slam made caught the attention of her fellow Crusaders, though Scootaloo had to call Applebloom's attention to it first.

"What's wrong, Sweetie Belle?" asked Scootaloo.

Sweetie Belle stared at both of her friends, enduring looking at their masks; there was no reason for them to see her like this, much less need to worry about her. The thought of them comforting her did bring little light upon the white unicorn's heart, but she resolved that this was her problem and hers alone.

"S-sorry, guys," she said with a somewhat shaky voice, "I'm just a bit worn out, is all."

"Well, ah guess who wouldn't be?" replied Applebloom, "We just took like, what, THREE tests today?"

"Four, actually," corrected Scootaloo.

"No, ah'm pretty sure there were just three; farmin' doesn't count."

"To YOU it doesn't!" said Scootaloo out of annoyance, "You practically know everything you need to learn in that class already!"

"Heh, maybe you're right, Scootaloo. But, if ah weren't there, you and Sweetie Belle wouldn't learn anythin', 'sides some fancy farmin' vocabulary."

Sweetie Belle released a small giggle; it really did warm her heart to be in this group. Tonight, however, she needed to distance herself from this; there was something else happening tonight that was very important to her. Sweetie Belle pushed her cup closer to the center of the table and rose from her seat. "Sorry, guys. I'm just out of it right now. I think I'll just go to bed."

"Oh, okay," said Scootaloo, "Need us to help you up to your room?"

"No thanks. I just really need some shut eye right now."

"Well, if Sweetie Belle's bailing out," said Applebloom, "Then ah'll just bail out as well; this party ain't fun if my friends aren't with me."

"Heheh, agreed," replied Scootaloo, "See you tomorrow, Sweetie Belle!"

She stayed to give her friends hugs and waved to them as they left the party. When they were gone, Sweetie Belle swam through the ocean of ponies in her house to get to her room. On her way, out of meager concern, she searched the party for her parents; she spotted them in the kitchen chatting with their friends: the way their faces formed smiles and their voices bounced their words worsened Sweetie Belle's headache.

"I hate these masks so much," muttered Sweetie Belle before going up to her room.

«(♦)»

Sweetie Belle took the last of her accessories off before checking the night sky: Princess Luna was still hanging stars in the open infinity, which can be inferred as stars shone here and there out of the dark. A gust of cold wind blew into her room, causing Sweetie Belle to slam the window and jump onto her bed. Her headache, she felt, had gotten much worse.

"Should I wait for her?" she asked herself.

The night was still going on downstairs, meaning that it was still too early to go to bed. Thinking of a way to keep herself awake before her visitor arrives, Sweetie Belle went to her closet, opened it and pulled out a dress. The dress was not anything visually special, in fact it actually looked very plain: the main color, cyan, dominated the dress and the only way the dress could create a form was from the single stitch lining it had at the waste area. Despite this blandness, the dress was incredibly precious to Sweetie Belle: it was the first dress she had made. What is more, she made the dress with her sister, Rarity.

"Rarity..." whispered Sweetie Belle.

She sank her muzzle into the fabric and closed her eyes. The unicorn then took a deep breath, hoping to catch a lingering scent left on the cloth long ago. When no relic came, tears leaked out of the mare's eyes. Her hooves shook, her lips quivered and her body sank to the floor. At this moment, Sweetie Belle appreciated the noise the party made for her sobbing started low but soon increased in volume.

"Why is the world so unfair?!" she shouted with a meager voice, "How come everypony else wearing one is fine while us not having any isn't?!"

She laid there for the next few minutes sobbing and constantly inhaling through the fabric. Breathing through the dress did, however, help ease the pain in her head. Despite the level of noise the party downstairs was making, Sweetie Belle managed to focus on the silence of her room and slipped into sleep.

After a few minutes passed, a white light emerged from the air in Sweetie Belle's room. After it reached its peak of shine and disappeared, out emerged a majestic white unicorn mare with purple mane and tail. She looked around the room and noticed her sister lying on the floor. Worry struck the unicorn at first, but then, after seeing what the younger unicorn held in her hooves, the mare gave a warm smile to the sight before her. She lit up her horn and levitated the sleeping unicorn off of the floor and tucked her into the bed with the dress still in the young mare's hooves. The older mare then tucked herself next to the sleeping mare and observed her face: a slight blush could be seen on the young one's cheeks, but one could also see the tears slowly escaping from her closed eyes. The majestic unicorn slowly lifted her hoof and carefully wiped away one of the tears on the sleeping one's cheek, only to cause the sleeping mare to awake from her slumber.

"R...Rarity?" the sleepy Sweetie Belle asked.

"Yes, it's me, Sweetie Belle," replied Rarity, "Did you have a nice nap?"

"Ugh...no. I tried to stay up for you, but I had this headache and I just felt so tired..."

"Oh, my darling. Are you okay?" asked Rarity. She placed a hoof on her younger sister's forehead. "Hmm... You don't seem to have a fever..."

Sweetie Belle released a giggle. "I guess I'm just, you know, lovesick, is all." She gazed deeply into her sister's eyes; they were so beautiful, only to be a mere fraction of the grace that the pony they belonged to had.

"Is that so?" teased Rarity, "Well, I may know just the cure for that, if you're willing to take the medicine."

"Why, of course I'll take it. Doctor's recommendation, after all."

Rarity closed her eyes and slowly leaned her head closer to Sweetie Belle's. Their muzzle's bumped into each other, causing a small giggle to emerged from the two. The two ended their brief disruption and continued to join each other's mouths: Rarity had her top lip above Sweetie Belle's and Sweetie Belle had her bottom lip below Rarity's. They then proceeded to carefully suckle on the other's mouth, teasing each other's desire with the occasional touching of the tongues. Sweetie Belle released soft moans as Rarity poked her lips with her tongue. Rarity did the same as Sweetie licked her sister's teeth. It didn't matter which one gave into the other; both were now mixing their breaths and saliva with the other. Then, Sweetie Belle wrapped her hooves around Rarity's neck, closing the distance between their bodies. Rarity could feel her face getting warm from the heat of Sweetie Belle's breath and chest. Sweetie Belle, on the other hoof, began to fuzzy and light as her sister played with her tongue and caressed her mane.

After a few more seconds of their intimate practice continued, Rarity broke the kiss off, a strand of saliva, shining like silk, remained between her mouth and her sister's. Both the mares opened their eyes and took deep breaths trying to regain their composure.

"R-Rarity," said Sweety Belle as she steadied her voice, "Can you take me with you? I'm so sick of seeing all these masks around me and I'm so tired of wearing my own."

Rarity lowered her eyelids and grasped Sweetie Belle's left hoof with both of hers. "Sweetie Belle," she said softly, "As much as I'd love to whisk you away from your torture, alas, I cannot."

Sweetie Belle's lips started to quiver. "B-but why...?" she asked as her voice became slightly squeakier.

"I care about your future, darling. I want you to finish your education first. I'd never forgive myself if I caused my lovely sister to end up a mare unknowing of the world. I also want you to build yourself; to let you create your own identity."

"Still... I want to be with you every day, every hour, every minute, every second, Rarity!" said Sweetie Belle as her voice increased in volume. "I'm becoming so desperate, even with the letters we send each other. I just want us to be together. Is that so much to ask of the world?!" Tears now flowed down the young unicorn's cheeks. Rarity's heart sank seeing this. She attempted to wipe a few tears away, but her sister's eyes refused to stop.

"Regarding us, it's very hard to get the world to our side," Rarity said with a solemn voice.

Suddenly, a knock came from Sweetie Belle's door. Both of the mares' eyes widened. Rarity slid out of the bed and lit her horn up. The moment that followed amazed Sweetie Belle: her sister started to disappear into thin air. The knock came again, only to be followed by the voice of her father.

"Sweetie, honey, are you okay?" he asked with a stern voice, "I thought I heard you shout."

Sweetie Belle released a cough and straightened herself upright on her bed. She made sure that Rarity had completely disappeared before answering her father. "Y-yes, dad. I just saw a, uh, parasprite fly by my window."

"A parasprite?!" Her father then kicked the door open and vigorously surveyed the room. "Where's the parasprite?!"

"I think it's outside, dad."

"Oh, uh, okay then." Her father scratched his mane before turning to the door. "Well, I'll take care of that pest tomorrow. You sleep tight now, alright?"

"I will, dad."

Her father looked back at her and gave a smile. Sweetie Belle replied with a smile of her own, only for it to cover her clenching teeth.

"I hate that mask the most..." thought Sweetie Belle.

Her father made one more quick glance around her daughter's room before closing the door and running back to the party.

Sweetie Belle released a sigh. She listened for a few more seconds to check if anybody else was outside the door. Finally, she looked around her room for her sister.

"Rarity...?" she asked softly.

Then, Sweetie Belle felt a hoof tap on her shoulder. She gave a little jolt to the unexpected touch and turned to see who the culprit was: it was Rarity. Her sister released a giggle and smiled.

"Wh-What's so funny?" asked Sweetie Belle, her cheeks turning red.

"A parasprite?" teased her sister, "How clever!"

"It was the only excuse I could think of!" said Sweetie Belle with a low shout, "Could you have made up a better one?"

"I guess not."

"So, how did you do that, Rarity?"

"The invisibility spell? Well, I had some time off work and I decided to learn it, just in case something like that happened."

Rarity returned to her position next to Sweetie Belle and embraced the young mare. The two slid under the covers of the blanket, both trying to be as smooth as possible with it. Sweetie Belle's head was next to Rarity's chest and the sound of her sister's beating heart soothed hers.

"Rarity?" Sweetie Belle asked softly.

"Yes, dear?"

"Can you at least stay with me until I fall asleep?"

"Well... I suppose an hour or two wouldn't hurt. I can just teleport to the train station in the morning."

"...thank you..."

"You are welcome, darling."

The two remained in their positions for the remainder of the night. The party below still continued on, to Sweetie's annoyance. Her mood, however, was remedied by the warmth her sister and her body gave off. Sweetie Belle searched for the dress, which ended up behind her after their kissing session, and wrapped it around both her and her sister. Rarity had begun to caress Sweetie Belle's mane, much to the young unicorn's enjoyment. Sweetie Belle closed her eyes and focused on Rarity's heartbeat. It made her drowsy, but she paid that no mind.

"... it sounds so nice..." said Sweetie Belle softly.

"What does, darling?" asked Rarity.

"Your heartbeat. I feel so calm and happy just listening to it."

Rarity's face flushed into a shade of pink. "That is so sweet of you, Sweetie Belle. Thank you."

The night continued on as they were: Rarity running her hoof through Sweetie Belle's curls, Sweetie Belle releasing a gentle coo every now and then and Rarity whispering love poems to her sister, making her blush. After an hour of this continued, Sweetie Belle felt her body become warm and cozy, soothing her muscles and mind. Soon after, she was on the edge of sleep.

"No!" she thought, "Not yet!"

Sweetie Belle knew their time together was running out and resolved to deliver her feelings to her sister before her mind could fade into the night. With the strength she had left, Sweetie Belle faced Rarity, her half closed eyes, struggling to stay open, connecting with her sister's.

With one more final push, Sweetie Belle said, "I love you, Rarity..."

"I love you too, Sweetie Belle..." Rarity softly replied.

Rarity gave Sweetie Belle a smile, a smile so warm and sweet that it washed all of Sweetie Belle's worries away. Sweetie Belle attempted to save the image into her mind. She could not do this, however, for her sight was becoming hazy. Despite that, Sweetie Belle was glad to hear her sister say those words, and they were enough for the young unicorn to accept what the night had to offer her and drifted off to sleep.

«(♦)»

The morning birds' routine music woke the sleepy white unicorn. She rubbed her eyes to focus her vision; she looked around the room in search of her sister. To her dismay, her sister was nowhere to be seen. Sweetie Belle cursed herself for this: being such a heavy sleeper took away from her the chance to say goodbye to her sister.

"Rarity..." she whispered at the thought of her being alone again.

She attempted to rise from her bed when a crumpling noise under her hoof stopped her in her tracks. She searched for the source of the sound; it was a piece of paper underneath the blanket. Sweetie Belle opened the folded note and read its contents. After she finished, she teared up at the message, or rather poem, inscribed on the piece of paper:

To
my sweet;
courageous and joyful.
How I wait for the day at which
you sing me to sleep with your angelic voice.
Till we meet again, my everlasting gem.
Always know that my thoughts
are forever yours.
~Rarity

Sweetie Belle clutched the paper close to her chest. The words, few as they may seem, multiplied the emotions she had the night before tenfold: each syllable tasted divine to the young mare's ears and the message behind them lit a heavenly light upon her heart. She planted a kiss on the paper for each word in the poem and, with care, placed a long passionate one for her sister's name.

She took the paper, along with the dress that she held on to, and placed them in a box labeled "My Beloved and Me". She hesitated on putting the lid on the box, but she persuaded herself into doing so by promising herself to read the poem again in the night.

"Sweetie Belle! Breakfast is ready!" called her mother from below.

Usually Sweetie Belle would be much more depressed knowing that another day without her beloved sister will pass. However, today she was full of zest, zeal and spunk: only a couple more years stood between her and her dream life with Rarity. Most mares would think that that amount of time would seem like forever, but to this young unicorn, high in spirits, felt that only to be a blink of an eye. With that idea in her mind, Sweetie Belle marched up to her door, opened it and, with a beaming smile replacing her fake one, trotted on to start the day.

Author's Note

Woah, what has gotten into me, writing a story such as this!
Nevertheless, a story is a story, all made for a reason or none.
By the way, this was my first real time writing a makeout session so please comment and tell me how I did on that part!
Thank you for reading my story; I really appreciate it.