Sweetie Belle looked through her closet, picking out a piece of clothing for the trip. Rarity had taught her that a mare - especially a young lady like herself - should always look her very best, and they were going to Manehattan! Bridleway, no less! Sweetie Belle figured she had to look absolutely spectacular.
After careful consideration, she chose a simple lavender saddle. She couldn't very well wear a formal gown. And she liked the saddle. Practical, yet stylish. Perfect to look good in front of the ponies that mattered.
She carefully packed it in her new saddlebags, a present from Rarity. Her birthday had been the day before, and she had received new pink ones to replace the old ones that didn't fit her anymore. The other part of her present came in the form of the trip to Manehattan. Rarity was going there on a business trip, for a "very special client" as she put it.
She finished up packing just as Rarity shouted up the stairs that they had to go. Sweetie glanced around her room for anything else she might need. Her brand-spanking-new autograph book! Right! She snatched the sparkly purple notebook with a quill wedged in the spine from atop her dresser and slid it in, then hurried downstairs.
"There you are, finished packing?" Rarity was checking her own bags.
"Yep!" Sweetie bounced up and down.
"Did you pack something nice to wear? This is Manehattan we're visiting after all, I want you to look stunning."
"I packed my lavender saddle."
"Perfect." One last saddlebag scan via a useful spell Rarity had in her arsenal and they were off to the train station. The train ride was boring and took forever, though Sweetie Belle passed the time by daydreaming and practicing her telekinesis. She was jolted out of her most recent fantasy by Rarity gasping.
"Sweetie Belle, look!" They both pressed their faces against the window. The Manehattan skyline was a collage of light and dark, a meteor that had fallen to the earth. The deep purple evening sky was made light purple by all the windows letting light out. It was perfect. Sweetie Belle wanted to live there someday.
"It's gorgeous." Sweetie Belle whispered in awe. They continued to ogle the light show that was Manehattan in the distance until the conductor shouted that they were approaching the Manehattan station.
The two sisters scrambled for their bags and filed out of the train. They both brushed themselves off before Rarity slipped a necklace inlaid with a amethyst jewel around Sweetie's neck.
"What's this for?" Sweetie asked as she instinctively tried to bat away Rarity's telekinetic touch.
"Making sure I know where you are. The gem is enchanted with a tracking spell that lets me know where you are at all times. I don't want to lose track of you. Now, let us be off."
They walked at a slow but steady pace through the Manehattan streets, to a small cafe where Rarity would discuss fittings and dress stuff with her special client. Sweetie Belle knew a good bit of this conversation would be dedicated to small talk, but it was still exciting to meet a Bridleway star, one she hoped to join the ranks of one day.
Eventually they made it to The Silver Mug, where a few ponies were enjoying their late night coffee or tapping away at the keyboards of "computers", new devices that had recently hit the market.
Rarity ushered Sweetie Belle over to a table. "Idina! Idina, hi!"
Sweetie Belle looked up to see none other than her idol and main inspiration, Idina Marezel, sitting at their table. A slim, icy blue unicorn mare, her braided blonde mane went down to her chest, with her tail done very similar to Rarity's. She looked up, and saw Rarity and Sweetie Belle. Her cerise eyes lit up with a smile.
"Rarity, dear, how are you?" The two unicorns touched horns as a sign of greeting. Idina looked at Sweetie, who was staring open-mouthed. "And you must be Sweetie Belle."
"Y-you...you know my name."
Idina laughed. "Well, of course I do! Rarity's told me all about you. You sound like quite an interesting filly."
Sweetie's heart threatened to burst with pride. Idina thought she was interesting! Idina waved a waiter over.
"Could you get something for this little filly and her sister? What would you girls like?" She asked, turning to face the two again.
"A coffee for myself, just a touch of sugar and milk." Rarity answered, smiling graciously.
Sweetie Belle didn't answer until Rarity poked her. "Huh? Oh, I'd like some chocolate milk, with whipped cream, if that's okay." She looked to Rarity for confirmation, who nodded. Rarity pulled out some bits, but Idina stopped her.
"Don't. I'll pay." She dropped her bits in the waiter's shirt pocket, who nodded and headed off to the kitchen.
"That's wonderful of you, Idina." Rarity smiled. She pulled out a notepad, ink, and quill. "Now, about your dress..."
The two older mares got to talking about Idina's commission, while Sweetie Belle sat awestruck that Idina Marezel was sitting at the same table as her and knew her name.
About an hour passed, during which Sweetie grew less and less awestruck and more and more bored. She swung her legs back and forth like pendulums, trying to keep busy.
Then she realized the meeting was nearly over, and they were just finalizing details. Apparently they had discussed quite a bit by letter. She glanced at her sister's sketch. It was a beautiful silky number, with a long train. It looked like something an ice queen would wear.
"So I'll come by your apartment and we'll do those custom fittings?" Rarity motioned for Sweetie Belle to move, and she swept her sketch and writing materials into her bag.
"That sounds wonderful." Idina smiled. She turned to Sweetie Belle. "Your sister's told me you were interested in acting as a future career?"
"Oh, yes!" Sweetie nodded. "I wrote and directed a play once. It wasn't very good, but..."
"Who cares if it was good?" Idina waved aside the comment. "What matters is you're that much better at what you've set out to do. Besides, sucking at something is the first step to being good at something."
Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow. "I though you were born to be good at something. Isn't that the purpose of cutie marks?"
Idina gestured to her own mark, a film reel. "Sweetie Belle, do you think I was instantly good at acting the first time I tried it? The answer is no, I wasn't. I had one face for everything, one tone for everything, body language was my mortal enemy, and I was the laughingstock of my drama class. But I kept going. You know why? Because acting was my dream, and if you don't chase your dreams, you won't catch them." Idina's eyes sparkled with passion.
"You were? But you're like, the best actress ever!" Sweetie Belle waved her front hooves in the air for emphasis.
"Nopony who's 'the best ever' starts out that way, Sweetie." Idina took a sip of her coffee. "A dream is just a wish your heart makes, instead of your head. And unlike head wishes, you have to work to make your heart wishes come true." She prodded Sweetie Belle's heart. A letter materialized in front of her, and a cerise glow instantly snatched it up. She opened it and read it. She sighed. "I have to go. See you both tomorrow afternoon." She got up and began to walk off.
"Wait!" Sweetie Belle snatched her autograph book and pen out of her bag and ran after Idina, stopping at the corner. "Can I have your autograph?"
Idina's eyes softened. She took the book and pen, opened the book to the first page, and signed her name. She paused, then scribbled something else. She handed the book and pen back to Sweetie Belle, then walked off.
Rarity ran up to Sweetie Belle, panting slightly. "What were you thinking, running off like that just for an autograph! You scared me!" Rarity scolded.
"I know. I'm sorry." Sweetie Belle said simply. Rarity sighed.
"Don't do that again, alright?"
"Alright."
A tired Sweetie Belle slid into bed, snuggling under the hotel blankets. She got out her autograph book and read what Idina had wrote under her name.
A dream is a wish your heart makes.
Author's Note
I was in a philosophical mood. Don't ask.
"A dream is a wish your heart makes." -Walt Disney
