"Spike! Come in here!" Twilight Sparkle yelled down the stairs in the Royal Oak Library. Nighttime was descending upon Ponyville, and Twilight had some leftover business after the incident. Rarity's abuse of the Inspiration Manifestation spell had led to her entire day being ruined from having to run around and fix everything with Princess Cadence and Princess Luna. Now, there was one thing left to attend to.
"What is it, now, Twilight?" Spike moaned as he came up the stairwell.
"I need you to dispose of this book," She said, hovering a familiar pink patterned spellbook. It was the one he had eaten earlier that day, and had given Rarity the power to do what she did. Spike recalled the uncomfortable removal process, but was quick to put the disgusting thought out of his head. He reached up and grabbed the book out of the air, and Twilight instructed, "I don't care how you do it, just get rid of it. I'm sick of seeing it."
"No problem!" Spike confidently responded.
He took the book downstairs and outside the library. Setting it on the ground, he gave a big intake of air, and blew fire at the book as hard as he could. When the smoke cleared, he gave a smirk and looked down, only to see the book still intact on the ground. Grumpily, he picked it back up, and tried to rip it in half. He pulled down on the pages, feeling his masculinity lower as he failed to tear out a single one. Angrily, he threw it at the garbage can, and it bounced off. He suddenly got an idea, and with it, he grabbed the book off the ground and went back into the library.
Standing at the edge of the balcony, under the moonlight, he looked out as far as he could to see if anypony was watching. The coast was clear, so he pulled back, and tossed it as hard as he could off the balcony. "There, that oughta do it," Spike said, proud of his solution. He turned back and yelled inside, "I got rid of it, Twilight!"
"Thanks, Spike. You're my number one assistant," Twilight happily responded. The two of them then went up to the loft, and went to sleep.
Meanwhile, outside Carousel Boutique, Rarity was standing in the doorway, calling out to her little sister. "Sweetie Belle, where are you going?" She yelled, watching Sweetie walk away from the store.
"Oh, I'm just gonna get some air." Sweetie Belle responded.
"It's almost bedtime!"
"I won't be gone long!"
"Well, hurry back when you're done."
"I will, don't worry!" Sweetie said to Rarity, who was closing the door. She set off on a walk around the block, looking up at the stars, holding her small saddle bag with a juice box. The night air was cool and refreshing, and a slight breeze blew on her small frame. As she got further down the road, she decided to stop and sit for a moment and enjoy the atmosphere. She closed her eyes and listened to the noise of the crickets, the buzzing of fireflies, the sound of pages flapping as something soared through the air. "Wait, what's that sound?" She wondered aloud, before suddenly-Smack! She was struck by a book slamming into the back of her head. "Ow!" Sweetie whined, slightly dazed by the suddenly literary attack. She turned around to look at it, and saw it was pink with a pattern on it. Angrily, she stomped on the cover, but was confused when it didn't injure it at all. She got closer, and picked it up with her light green magic, sitting back down on the ground. She opened it up and began reading.
"Inspie-Insperate-Inspurr-ashun Maney-fist-shun." Sweetie said aloud, confused at the big words of the title. Despite her shortcomings with pronunciation, she continued reading, "From in the head to out in the world, every thought to action. Hold close this book and through its spell, you'll start a chain reaction." She gave a little yawn between sentences, failing to notice a sickly green aura leaking out the book, "Pro-jesting forth whatever beauty you see. Only when true words are spoken will you finally be set free." She began to feel a little funny, but didn't think anything of it. "What a weird book," Sweetie said, "I wonder what it means." Tired, she picked it up and set it inside her pack, alongside the juice box. Looking up at the sky, she realized that she had to get back to Rarity's house soon, so she bolted down the road.
Arriving back at Carousel Boutique, she knocked on the door. Rarity quickly opened it and said, "Finally, you're back! I was beginning to worry." She continued, "Now, go brush your teeth and go to bed, tomorrow's Friday and you have school." Sweetie Belle did as she was told, and went to the bathroom. She reached up to the sink and pulled out her toothbrush and toothpaste, and unscrewed the cap to the little tube. She gave a squeeze, but nothing came out. She tried again, but still nothing. Annoyed, she put it back on the sink and wished she had another tube. Sweetie leaned down into the sink to get a sip of water, not noticing the slight glow her horn was giving off. There was a flash, and she quickly leaned up and beheld another toothpaste container where her's had been.
"What?" She asked to nopony in particular, "Where did this come from?" Slowly, she reached down and picked it up, and found that it was, indeed, regular toothpaste. Shrugging it off, she squeezed some out onto her toothbrush, and set to cleaning her teeth. When they were all brushed, she rinsed her mouth out and wiped off any remaining paste with a towel. Turning off the lights, she left the bathroom and proceeded down the hallway to the bedroom. She called into Rarity's room, "Goodnight!" and was responded with a loud snore from her big sister. Sweetie Belle gave a little giggle, and went back to her room. When she got there, she crawled under the sheets, giving a slight yawn, and turned off the bedside lamp. Very soon, she fell into a lovely sleep.
The next day she walked to school, carrying the book in her saddle bag, and met up with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo along the way. The three of them chatted about their plans for the weekend. "Me and Applejack are gonna be busy bucking apples this weekend," Apple Bloom said, slightly upset that she'd have to miss out on crusading.
"Well, I got some great ideas for new stunts to try!" Scootaloo boasted, "I'd be glad to stop by and show you some." Apple Bloom grinned at her friend's comforting words.
"I'm spending the weekend with Rarity," Sweetie Belle said, "and she'd probably agree to come over for a bit."
"Some plans! You three are the biggest dorks." They turned and faced Diamond Tiara, who had started following them. She sneered, "My daddy's taking me to a fancy restaurant tomorrow, where I'll meet his important friends."
"You'll have to give them my apologies," Scootaloo retorted, before turning back around. "Come on girls, let's go." The trio continued along their way, trying to ignore Diamond Tiara's constant taunts. As they walked to school, with Scootaloo on her scooter slowly moving forward, they hoped Diamond would eventually give up and leave them alone. Unfortunately, she did not, and kept pestering them, even as they passed the halfway mark to the schoolhouse.
Sweetie Belle was annoyed with Diamond, but did her best not to show her frustration. Instead, she began imagining her shackled to a big rock, with a strip of duct tape covering her mouth. She gave a little chuckle at the idea, and felt happiness slowly course through her. Unbeknownst to Sweetie, her horn began to glow as she imagined the picture, and there came a flash from behind them. Suddenly, Diamond Tiara's insults were cut off, and the three fillies gave a sigh of relief. They continued on to school, assuming she had finally gotten bored.
From behind them, muffled screams came out from behind a grey mask covering Diamond Tiara's mouth. She struggled to move around, failing as her legs were now chained to a large boulder that had appeared out of nowhere. Cold sweat began to pour down her cheeks as she watched Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle leave her in the shackles. She watched them all the way until they reached the schoolhouse, where they turned in and disappeared from her view.
"Hello, everypony! Please take your seats." Cheerilee said, happy to start class for the day. "Now, let me just get attendance and we'll begin," she said, beginning to list off names of students as they called back. She got through most of the list, before pausing for a moment to ask, "Diamond Tiara? Has anypony seen Diamond Tiara?" There was a moment of silence from the class, as nopony had seen her, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders had selectively forgotten about their meetup with her earlier. Finally, Cheerilee marked her down as absent and set her list down on her desk. "Now, today we'll be learning about slope-intercept form. The first thing we must know is..." She started, delving into the wonderful world of graphing lines.
Sweetie Belle started to get bored, and began tuning out Cheerilee's lecture. She slowly felt herself nodding off from the lesson. Just as a small snore escaped her mouth, she felt a prodding in her side. Turning her head, she noticed a note being passed to her from Silver Spoon, and took it up with her mouth. Unfolding the scrap of paper, she looked on it and saw that it was a drawing of Cheerilee. A rather unflattering one, depicting her in a dunce cap and rapidly producing gas. The picture was crudely drawn, but Sweetie couldn't help but laugh at the thought of a gassy teacher. Her horn lit up again, and there a fast flash of light. She continued laughing, despite feeling magic course through her, tickling her a bit.
Cheerilee stopped her lesson abruptly, as her vision was obscured by a big cone covering her eyes. She threw back her head and knocked the hat off, and began to walk over to the giggling filly who she assumed put it on her. "What is so funny, Sweetie?" She said, hints of anger showing, "I'll have you know that this stuff is important, and you shouldn't-" There was a loud noise that came erupting from Cheerilee's rear, cutting her off mid-sentence. She began to blush, as students started covering their nostrils to avoid the stench. Embarrassed, she said, "Excuse me," and walked back up to the front of the class. Sitting down behind her desk, she continued, "Now, Sweetie, you better start paying attention or else-ah!" Her flatulence once again escaped her, and she sunk down, hiding behind her table in shame. Students began giggling at her total butt malfunction. Uncomfortably, she leaned her head up and opened her mouth to speak, only to close it when she passed gas yet another time. Cheerilee then gave up, and quietly squeaked, "I think it's a good time for recess."
All the fillies and colts in class zoomed out the door, laughing at Cheerilee's gassy outburst. She, meanwhile, was running off to a local outhouse in hopes of relieving herself. Sweetie Belle ran over to a tree, hoping to get some privacy. She sat down, and began to think to herself. "The picture came true..." She said to herself, "But only after I saw it." Thoughts began to race through her head, trying to piece together any connection between the drawing and reality. She remembered a funny feeling coursing through her when she saw it, and her mind turned towards the book, and she quickly snatched it out of her saddle bag and read the opening phrase again. "From in the head to out in the world, every thought to action. What does that mean?" She tried to figure it out, wracking her brain to make sense of it, but to no avail. Then, she had an idea. She dashed over to the outhouse where Cheerilee was rapidly releasing toxic fumes from her hindquarters and began to bash on the door.
"Occupied!" A strained voice called from within.
"Cheerilee, I need your help with some reading condensation." Sweetie Belle said, trying to sound like a good student.
"You mean 'comprehension,' Sweetie Belle," Cheerilee groaned. She continued, "So, what do you need help with?" Sweetie Belle reread the opening phrase to her. From inside, Cheerilee made a few humming noises as she considered what it meant. Eventually, she came to a conclusion and said, "Well, I'd say that 'from in the head to out in the world' means that somepony's thoughts come to life, and the second line, 'every thought to action,' supports that meaning."
"Really?" Sweetie Belle squeaked, "That's interesting." She made sure to emphasize that last word to sound innocuous. "Well, I gotta go, thanks Cheerilee!" Sweetie yelled back as she ran off towards the tree.
"Before you go, can you get me some help? I'm feeling really woozy and I could really use it." Cheerilee called from inside. In response, there was silence. "Hello?"
Back at the tree, Sweetie Belle began thinking hard about what Cheerilee said. "Thoughts come to life... So, when I saw the note, I thought about it, and it happened." She said aloud, starting to sound like a crazy pony from how much she was talking to herself. "Maybe I should try it out, to make sure." She gazed around the playground, looking for something to test her hypothesis. Something shiny caught her eye, Scootaloo's scooter, parked innocently by the bushes. Putting the book back in the bag, she picked up her things, and started to sneak around all the other foals.
She carefully approached the scooter, as if it was about to explode, and sat down next to it. Once again, Sweetie scanned the area to make sure that nopony was looking. When she was absolutely positive, she turned back toward it, and focused hard on it. Using her imagination, she pictured the scooter with big wheels and fire designs painted on the body and handlebars. After concentrating for a few seconds, she started noticing a tickling feeling spread throughout her body. She opened her eyes and saw an incredible light. It vanished shortly, and when it cleared Sweetie saw that her vision had come true. The scooter now was decked out in wheels that were clearly too massive for it, and it appeared as though somepony had added fiery decorations. She backed away from her creation slowly, and made a huge smile as the realization dawned on her.
"I can create anything!" She shouted, her eyes glowing a bright green, slightly off their natural color. Some ponies turned and looked at her like she'd gone mad, and she shrunk back down a little as her eyes turned back to normal. "I better keep this to myself," Sweetie Belle said to herself, "at least for now." She stood up, confidence in her eyes, and decided that she should do something for her friends. Turning her head, she pictured the door to the schoolhouse with a little note on it, and felt the magic again as her horn glowed. Soon, there was a scrap of paper attached to it in reality.
The note read "School is cancelled early today, signed Cheerilee." It was a perfect rendition of Cheerilee's signature, right down to her strange way of writing double L's. Admiring her talented execution, she called to her classmates so that they could read the note. Cheers erupted from the group of kids as they quickly nabbed their things from inside and began to zoom home, calling goodbyes to each other for the weekend. Satisfaction growing in her, she grinned at the happiness she caused. After picking her own things up, she set off to Rarity's house to enjoy her day off.
As she trotted down the road, Sweetie couldn't help but hum a tune to herself. Her great sense of tone and rhythm made it easy, and she let her mind wander while she focused on the music. Gazing about, she made little imaginary pictures in her head to fit the tune. Passing by a tree, she hummed a playful little melody, and walked on by, not noticing that she had accidentally transformed it into a giant cake. Birds whose nests were in the branches began to struggle and fight against piles of icing, while squirrels ate through what was formerly the trunk. Sweetie Belle, meanwhile, continued skipping along to her own beat as her song changed to a fast-paced rock and roll in her mind. Ignoring the sound of something collapsing behind her, she wandered by Granny Smith, flashing her a smile. When she was out of sight, Granny suddenly was enveloped in a bright flash of light, and began to blast riffs from a guitar that she now had around her. Soon, a drummer and a bassist appeared from nowhere, and began to jam with her. Sweetie Belle stopped her humming, and looked back. She almost jumped in surprise at the rock concert and the crowd that was gathering around it. Hoots and screams came from the audience as Sweetie turned back around.
"I should be more careful," She said, "I don't want to make unnecessary changes." Sweetie Belle then tried to clear her head of all thought, and broke out in a sprint to get to Rarity's home, ignoring the sound of a trumpet joining the band.
Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle was taking a walk with Spike. The two of them calmly paced along the route, stopping for a second as a little white filly zoomed by in front of them. Twilight called out to her, "Hey, wait! Where you going?" The girl didn't say anything, or even look at her. Confused, the duo continued along.
"Kids these days, huh?" Spike said, trying to make conversation.
"I wonder what that was all about," Twilight wondered aloud, ignoring Spike's question. "By the way, how did you get rid of that book?" She asked.
Spike froze, realizing he hadn't come up with an excuse for what happened to the book. "Well..." He stammered.
"Well what?" Twilight said, beginning to glare at him.
"I, uh..."
"Yes?"
Spike sighed and decided to come clean. "I threw the book off the balcony." Twilight's stare grew more intense as she prepared to give an incredible lecture to him, but before she could, he said, "I'm sorry."
Twilight lessened the force behind her glare, and calmed down slightly. "Well, alright. But you still have to find it and get rid of it properly, before somepony finds it and-" She said before abruptly being cut off by a scream. The two of them looked to where it came from, and began to run over to it. Upon arrival, they found a huge boulder in the middle of the road, accompanied by the sound of somepony crying. Walking around it, they came across Diamond Tiara, chained to the rock with shackles on all four hooves. There was a piece of duct tape on her face, with a hole that had been roughly bitten out of the center. "Diamond Tiara!" Twilight yelled in surprise. Quickly, she ripped off the rest of the tape, causing Diamond to wince a little.
Diamond Tiara turned and faced her, tears streaming from her eyes, and started screaming "Get me down, get me down!" He legs flailed slightly in their bonds.
"Easy, easy," Twilight said, stroking her hair to calm her down, "Spike, help me break these chains." The two of them made an attempt to break them off of the stone, but found them merged into it. She came up with another idea, and turned to Spike. "I need you to melt the iron." Spike agreed, and ran up to the shackles, slowly breathing in air. "Now, Diamond, it's going to burn a little, but I'm going to use my magic to try to cool you down, okay?" Diamond Tiara nodded her head as she watched Twilight's horn light up and cover her hooves in an icy aura. Spike reared back, then leaned forward and blew fire quickly upon the iron bar. Despite the freezing magic covering her leg, she still felt extreme pain as the molten metal touched her skin. She began to cry some more, eliciting more comforting words from Twilight, who lifted up the scalding hot liquid around her leg and placed it onto the dirt. One by one, they removed the rest of the bonds. Twilight carefully levitated Diamond off of the rock and placed her down on a soft spot of grass. Her skin had been horribly charred and burned, but she was glad to finally be free, despite the extreme pain.
"Thank you, thank you so much!" Diamond cried into Twilight's hooves.
"You're welcome," Twilight said, comforting her as Diamond nursed her own burn wounds. "Now, can you tell me what happened?"
Diamond Tiara sniffled, tears dripping down her face from the pain. "W-well, I was t-talking to some friends..." She paused to catch her breath, "a-and all of a sudden there was a bright flash, and, and, and when then I was chained to the rock."
"Did you see anypony suspicious, or anything out of the ordinary?" Twilight asked, leaning down next to her. Diamond Tiara shook her head in response. "That's okay. Now, let's get you to a doctor," Twilight said, standing up as Diamond murmured something. Lighting her horn up, she picked up the little filly with her magic, and laid her down on her back. They set off towards Ponyville Hospital.
Somehow, Sweetie Belle managed to make it to Carousel Boutique without creating anything. She knocked on the door and called inside, "Rarity, I'm back from school!" A few seconds later, she heard Rarity's hooves clopping towards the door.
"Sweetie Belle, what are you doing here so soon?" Rarity asked, opening the door to allow her entrance.
"School dismissed early today!" Sweetie Belle cheerfully said happily imagining the situation.
"Oh really? What's the occasion?"
Sweetie Belle paused for a second, and turned around and replied, "Um, Cheerilee was just in a good mood." Rarity gave her a look of doubt. "What, don't you believe me?"
"Skipping class isn't good for little fillies, and neither is lying to their sisters," Rarity scolded. Sweetie Belle recoiled back slightly. "Now, you better have a good reason, or else I'm marching you straight back to that school, young missy."
"But I'm telling the truth!" Sweetie Belle complained, "Here, let me show you the note." She turned towards her bag, and imagined an identical note to the one she had made on the door of the schoolhouse. Sticking her head inside, she masked the flash of light from her horn and pulled out the little slip of paper. "Look at this," she stated through clenched teeth. Rarity picked up the note and read it carefully. She looked at the note, then back to Sweetie, then back at the note.
Finally, she said, "Okay, I believe you." Sweetie gave a sigh of relief as her sister put the paper down on a table. "Sorry for being like that," Rarity said, "I was just concerned about you."
"It's okay," Sweetie Belle murmured. Then she tried to change the subject by saying, "Yesterday was weird, huh?"
"Yes, it was," Rarity replied. Yesterday had been when she used the Inspiration Manifestation spell and gone a little mad with power. "You know, I was-"
"I wonder who caused it," Sweetie cut her off, thinking about some of the dresses in the foyer could be improved. "They must've really hated Ponyville if they tried to ruin it like that," She turned around to her sister, who was looking slightly worried. "Oh, sorry. What were you saying?"
Rarity gazed down at the ground, avoiding eye contact, and said, "It's nothing."
"Well, okay. I'm going upstairs to play," Sweetie Belle happily announced, grabbing her bag off of the floor and dashing away. Rarity felt a twinge of guilt come over her.
"Why didn't I tell her it was me?" She thought, “She deserves to know.” Exasperated, she picked up some clothes that were leftover from the incident. Stacking them up in a closet with the rest of the magically created outfits, Rarity considered selling them on a discount rack. The pile of dresses touched the ceiling of the little room, and she barely had enough space to close the door. "These dresses are hideous." While she moved things around, she began to hear some noises from the second floor. At first, they were ignored, but then they started being accompanied by the sound of giggling and a few shouts. Eventually Rarity grew suspicious, and decided to check out where it was coming from.
Heading up the hallway, the noises grew louder as she got closer to Sweetie's room. Rarity slowly walked up to the door and pressed her ear against it, listening for them. They stopped for a moment, and she turned the handle and stuck her head inside. Gazing around, she was taken aback by what she saw. Sitting around a miniature table was Sweetie Belle and some stuffed animals, most of which she couldn't recognize. From the looks of things, there was a pretend tea party happening between them. Suddenly Sweetie turned towards her and asked, "What is it, sis?"
Rarity just stood there for a moment before answering, "Just seeing what you were up to." She walked into the room, noticing other changes that had been made to the room. There was new bright pink wallpaper, covered with hearts and figures of dancing ponies. The bed was covered with a big blanket, with purple and lavender streaks reaching from top to bottom. Confused, she asked, "Is it me, or is something different here?"
"Nothing's different, it must be your imagination," Sweetie Belle quickly replied. "Or mine," she said, giggling to herself.
"Well, whatever that means, I'll let you get back to your tea party." Rarity said. She turned around and heard another sound. Craning her head around, she saw a huge teddy bear in the corner. "Has that always been there?" She asked, pointing to it with her hoof.
"What?" Sweetie asked, before looking to the spot, "Oh, I made that." Rarity gave her a stare of absolute confusion. Slowly, she backed out of there, and went to her inspiration room to work on outfits. Sweetie Belle proudly looked at her creations, smiling as she gazed around the room. "I knew Rarity would be supportive, she's a good sister," She mused, "now, how about a train set..."
Several hours after checking in on her sister, Rarity still had concerns about what had been going on. She knew Sweetie Belle didn't normally have that many toys, and even the ones she already had looked different. "Maybe I've been working too hard lately..." She considered to herself. The drone of her sewing machine filled the room as she joined two fabrics together. "Or maybe she did make them, but when?" She said, looking away from her work. Watching the clock strike another hour, she felt a strike of her own on her hoof. Reeling around, she quickly pulled it back from the needle, bringing along one of the fabrics. "Ugh!" She yelled in frustration. Turning off the machine with her magic, Rarity made her way to the bathroom to get a bandage.
"Are you okay?" came a voice from behind her, causing her to jump in surprise. Sweetie Belle leaned in through the doorway with a concerned look on her face. "I heard you yelling."
"Yes, I'm fine," Rarity said, "I just poked myself with a needle." She moved closer to Sweetie as she came inside. "Don't worry, Sweetie," Rarity said, "I'll be fine. Now, what do you want for dinner? It's too late to cook anything."
"Oh, don't worry!" Sweetie squeaked with joy, "I already made dinner, for the two of us!" Running at a speed comparable to Rainbow Dash's flying, Rarity zoomed into the kitchen, arming herself with a fire extinguisher. She picked up the nozzle with her magic, and scanned the room for any smoldering masses. To her surprise, there were none, and she put it down in confusion. A minute or so later, Sweetie Belle trotted into the room. "You must be hungry!"
"B-but..." Rarity stammered out.
"The food's over here!" Sweetie said excitedly, pointing towards the table. On it sat two large bowls filled with fruits and vegetables. A big jug of juice and an enormous platter of cupcakes sat around them. She placed a book onto a seat on one side of the table, then jumped on it and gestured for Rarity to come join her. Rarity just stood in the middle of the kitchen, staring at the spread while Sweetie began to chomp on an apple.
"How did-when could-you can't..." Rarity stumbled on her words.
"Are you coming or what?" Sweetie said with a mouthful of fruit. "Did you not want salad or something?"
Shaking her head, Rarity came over to the table and sat down. "Where did this stuff come from?"
"I told you, I made it." Sweetie replied, picking up a cup of juice in her dark green magic. Nervously, Rarity reached down and took a bite of a fancy carrot stick. It was absolutely scrumptious, and she started eating it quickly. She started eating faster, consuming apples, oranges, cupcakes, whole glasses of juice. Finally, Rarity stopped and laid back in her chair, grossly satisfied. "You must've been really hungry, Rarity," Sweetie Belle said, "I wish I could've had some."
Rarity burped, then covered her mouth in embarrassment. She looked down at the ravaged feast, and felt a little guilty for eating so much. "Sorry, Sweetie, it's just that it was so good..." She said, trailing off.
"I'm glad you liked it!" Sweetie Belle cheered.
Rarity made a goofy smile, and looked over at the clock on the wall. Sitting upright, she realized how late it had become. "Sweetie, thank you for the food, but it's getting close to bedtime."
Sweetie Belle started complaining, "But it's only nine! And it's Friday! Can't we stay up a little and talk?"
"Sorry, Sweetie, I have work tomorrow."
"But I'm not tired." Sweetie Belle whined, suppressing a drowsy yawn. "I could stay up all night." She said, trying not to drift off to sleep on a full stomach.
"Come on, let's go clean up for bed." Rarity said softly, rubbing Sweetie's head with her hoof. The two of them went upstairs to brush their teeth, and Rarity bid Sweetie Belle goodnight as she left her in her room. Rarity went back to her own room to get into bed, and soon started snoring. Sweetie Belle, meanwhile, dozed off in her own bed, and began dreaming of various toys and stuff she could create. She thought of stuffed animals, bikes, miniature carts, and all sorts of fun things fillies liked.
The next day, Rarity was working on a dress design. Though she remained focused on her work, she still wondered what those noises were from yesterday, and why she had heard them all night. As she scratched a sketch of a hat down on some paper, Rarity looked around to see if Sweetie Belle had gotten up yet. It was the weekend, so she was allowed to sleep in for a while. Work persisted, despite her lack of full concentration. Suddenly an earsplitting scream echoed throughout the house, and Rarity quickly took notice and ran to check on Sweetie Belle. Down the hallway she went, coming up to Sweetie's door and beginning to knock on it. "Sweetie, are you okay? What's the matter?" She called inside.
"Rarity, help!" Sweetie cried from inside, "I can't control it!" Rarity tried to push the door open, but found it being blocked by something on the other side. Angrily, she rammed into it, causing it to become ajar, and a load of toys fell out of the opening. Forcing it further open, she began to dig through the mountain of stuff, feeling rubber tires and bits of plastic catch her coat as she tore into it. "Hurry, it won't stop!" Sweetie screamed. Finally, Rarity came out on the other side of the pile, and found the room swarming with dark green magic as Sweetie Belle ducked on the bed. She run up next to her, narrowly avoiding a falling pony doll. The pile shuddered and shook as it grew, and Rarity dived onto the bed as part of it collapsed. She grabbed Sweetie Belle and hugged her tightly, to calm her down.
"Sweetie, what's happening?" Rarity yelled through the noise. Sweetie sniffled and looked up to her sister, and suddenly the noises slowed down. She hugged Rarity back, and began to thank her for coming to her aid. "What was that?" Rarity asked her.
"I'm so sorry, Rarity!" Sweetie cried into her chest, "I couldn't stop thinking of stuff and it just kept coming..."
"It's okay, it's okay..." Rarity whispered, stroking her mane, "I'm here for you, don't worry." The noises slowed down to a stop as she comforted Sweetie. Looking down, she noticed Sweetie's eyes giving a faint glow that vanished quickly. "Now, Sweetie, do you mind telling me what it was?"
Sweetie leaned back slightly, sitting down on the mattress. "Okay..." She reached down and picked up the book where she had left it under the covers. Rarity's eyes shrank when she recognized it. "When I went out the other night, I got hit by this book coming out of nowhere," Sweetie said.
"What?" Rarity said, looking over Sweetie's head for any injury, "Were you hurt?"
"No, I'm fine," Sweetie responded, "but I read the book, and then I just held onto it since. It's weird but it makes me feel like I have to have it with me."
Rarity's concern grew. "That book's dangerous, Sweetie," She said "I better get it away from her before things get worse," she thought to herself.
"No, it's not," Sweetie said cheerfully, "it's made my magic stronger, and it gave me the power to make anything. Besides, how would you know?" Rarity leaned down closer to the book, but Sweetie pushed it behind her. "What're you doing?" She asked, her cheer beginning to fade as Rarity made advances towards it.
"Just let me see it." Rarity said, making a worried smile.
"No," Sweetie Belle replied, her face turning grim.
"Please?"
"No."
"I only-" Rarity started while reaching towards it with a hoof.
"Rarity, I said no!" Sweetie Belle yelled in anger, clutching it against her back.
"Sweetie Belle, I am your big sister, and I think-" Rarity began again.
"Oh, I get it now," Sweetie Belle cut her off again, "You're jealous!"
Rarity looked at her like she had gone completely insane. "That's ridiculous, Sweetie."
"No it's not!" Sweetie roared, her eyes starting to brighten, "You're jealous that I have a cool new spell! You just want to take it so everypony can see how great you are with it!" Rarity used her magic to lift up the book out from behind her. "Hey, give that back!" Sweetie screamed, clawing at the air as it was levitated to Rarity.
"I'm doing this for your own good, Sweetie," Rarity grunted as Sweetie swiped around her towards the book. Annoyed at her own short height, Sweetie turned away from her and pouted. "Honestly, I don't know what's gotten into you," She lied while looking up in a snobbish manner as Sweetie stood up on the bed. "Whatever it is, I'm taking you to Twilight so she can-" Pow! Rarity was abruptly cut off as she felt two little legs crashing into her side. She lost her breath for a moment, and dropped the book onto the bed as she was pushed onto the floor from the force. Pain resonated through her body as she collapsed down. Slowly, she got back to her hooves, and saw Sweetie hold onto the book tightly, her eyes glowing in an intense glare. "Sweetie Belle!" Rarity yelled, "You're not keeping that book!" She ran in front of the doorway. "Now, give it to me!"
"No!" Sweetie Belle screeched, clutching it tighter. "It's mine!"
"Sweetie Belle." Rarity said angrily. Sweetie's eyes darted about the room, looking for a means to escape while Rarity drew closer. Finally, she spotted the open window. Biting down hard onto the book's cover, she dashed towards it and jumped out. "Wait, no!" Rarity screamed in horror as she ran up to the windowsill. From outside, there was a spectacular flash of light from below, and Rarity looked down. Then, she looked up as she saw Sweetie begin to soar away on a large white pair of wings. "Oh, Sweetie..." She murmured, "this isn't going to end well..."
Sweetie Belle clumsily flew through the skies, feeling the daylight beam down on her head. "Stupid Rarity," She murmured to herself through a mouthful of book. Unevenly flapping her wings, she crashed through a cloud, then another, and finally landed face-first onto the ground. "At least I still have the book," She said, conjuring a fancy little bag for it. Then, she got an idea. "I know what I should do," She said, "I should show off my power, Rarity’ll get so jealous when she sees how popular I become!" After securing the pack around her neck, she looked around and saw that she had landed near the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres. In a huff, she started towards the orchard, but paused to look at the sign. "Hm...It could use a bit of fixing up." She considered to herself. Shrugging it off, she continued, changing the sign to have heavy, flashy neon lights in the shape of an apple as she went onward.
Walking around the trees, Sweetie gazed up at the delicious fruits in them. She sat down in front of one, and picked up an apple off the ground. Upon turning it over, she found a big bruise where it had hit the ground. "That's not a problem," she said, confidence in her voice. Using her powers, she fixed the apple, making it rounder, juicer, shinier, and bruise-free. Then, she took a big bite, and savored the delicious taste as she chewed.
"Hey Sweetie Belle!" A familiar voice yelled to her. "I thought you were with Rarity," it continued, revealing itself to be Applejack, "did something..." She trailed off when she came close. "...Sweetie Belle, you-you have...."
"Yep!" Sweetie confirmed, "I got wings!"
"Well, congratulations. I think," Applejack stammered, "I don't really know what to say." She thought to herself, "How did that little filly get wings?" She started to walk away, when Apple Bloom ran up to her.
"Hey, is this where we're bucking apples?" She asked Applejack before noticing her friend and grinning, "Oh, hey Sweetie Belle, did ya' come to help?"
"No, just getting away from Rarity," Sweetie scowled, "I can't believe her sometimes." Apple Bloom's smile faltered as she noticed the wings. Sweetie Belle looked over at her as she slowly backed up. "What is it?"
"Applejack, what happened ta' Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom whispered into her sister's ear.
"I don't know, Sugarcube, but it's probably not good," Applejack replied softly, "Do you reckon it's why Granny didn't come home last night?" The two of them looked over at the alicorn filly as she made a silly smile, then back to each other. Applejack began to lead Apple Bloom away from Sweetie, but turned around to say, "We're going to work in the western field today, so you should probably head out." Sweetie gave a look of concern, then her eyes caught Applejack's hat, and a thought sprung into her head. Her horn began to glow, along with her eyes, and the two sisters began to back away in fear. "What're you doin', Sweetie?" Applejack asked, showing a nervous smile. There was a bright flash of light, and suddenly her hat was replaced by a bright purple top hat. She gulped as her horn continued glowing, but quickly reached down and picked up Apple Bloom and ran, just as her bow transformed to be bigger and much more frilly, covered with lace and glitter.
"Wait, where are you going?" Sweetie called to them as they dashed away, "I was just trying to make them look nicer, sheesh." She walked back out of the farm, not noticing the heavy sign collapse as she passed by it. "Where to now..." She thought, before hearing her stomach growling. "I should get some breakfast," She decided, then looked around and saw nopony. "I really gotta stop talking to myself."
Sweetie Belle walked through Ponyville's streets, noticing places which could be improved all over the place. "I better get started early," she said, ignoring her earlier advice to herself, "starting with..." She scanned the area for whatever she thought needed her help most. Then she spotted an orange filly slowly pushing herself forward on a scooter with heavy wheels. "Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle announced. The filly turned her head towards her as Sweetie ran up to her.
"What...is it...Sweetie?" Scootaloo panted, struggling to move the scooter with her tiny wings. Sweetie realized immediately what her friend needed, and began to light up her horn. Scootaloo stopped for a moment to look at her friend, and gasped in shock as she saw her eyes begin to glow along with her horn. She began to feel magic running along her back, and, with a bright flash, her wings expanded. They grew fast, to the size of an adult pegasus's wings, but they did not stop there. They overcame her in height, reaching the size of Oak branches, with feathers like palm fronds. As the spell slowed down, Scootaloo's legs buckled, then collapsed under the weight of the massive appendages. While she fell down, they folded over and covered her entire body, enveloping her in an orange mound. Sounds of muffled cries for help came out from underneath them.
"No thanks are necessary," Sweetie Belle said cheerfully, the magic fading from her appearance. She proudly stood next to her for a second, looking expectant of something. A few seconds later, her prideful look vanished as she still waited. "Though some would be nice," Sweetie said, glaring at the pile of massive feathers. Groaning, she walked away from Scootaloo, ignoring the hooves that were desperately pulling at the ground as she tried to crawl out from under her wings. "I gotta do better than that, it seems," Sweetie mumbled, "Now, who else needs help?" Once again she cast her gaze around town. Spotting a big line at Sugarcube Corner, she felt her stomach grumble again. "Perfect, I'll help with the line, then get some breakfast," She mused to herself, her mouth salivating at the thought of food.
Passing by the line, Sweetie Belle headed up to the counter, ignoring the cries of annoyance from the waiting patrons. From behind the counter, Pinkie Pie called out to her, "Hey Sweetie Belle! Sorry, but you have to wait in line like everypony else."
"What's this line for, Pinkie?" Sweetie Belle asked her, still standing in front of the counter despite the protests.
"It's one of the busiest days of the year, everypony wants to get the leftover treats from the fair," Pinkie replied, giving the pony in front a cupcake, "Now, can you go? I really have to get all these orders!"
Sweetie Belle looked at the crowd of ponies, all impatiently waiting for their turn to buy some food, and realized something. "Relax, Pinkie, I have a plan," She said, her horn and eyes beginning to glow once more.
"What do you plan on doing?" Pinkie Pie asked while taking in bits. She hadn't bothered to look at Sweetie, and thus failed to notice her radical change in appearance. Shortly, flashes began to appear on tables around the restaurant, huge platters of cakes, cookies, and various other treats coming from nowhere. The ponies in line quickly noticed the food, and soon left the line to flock to it. Pinkie Pie looked up and saw them leave, group by group, all with the free snacks in tow. "Hey, wait, come back!" She called in panic, "You gotta pay for those!" Her words fell on deaf ears to the ponies as they abandoned the store.
"Pinkie, what's the matter?" Mrs. Cake's voice rang from behind the counter. Pinkie Pie gulped in fear. "Oh, good, you got everypony!" Mrs. Cake said, coming into the room from the kitchen, "How much did we make?"
"Uh-heheh..." Pinkie nervously chuckled, "Well..." She looked into the cash register and counted the bits from the few sales she had managed to make. "...Six," she squeaked, shrinking back from her manager's proud gaze.
"...Six?" Mrs. Cake asked, her smile beginning to falter, "As in, six hundred bits?"
Pinkie Pie tried her hardest not to break down in front of her boss. "Nope, just...six," she said, putting on an awkward smile. Mrs. Cake's smile vanished entirely, becoming a look of disappointment. "You're not...mad are you?" Pinkie asked, hoping to calm her down.
Mrs. Cake glared at her employee. "I'm not mad," she replied, hiding her frustration, "but I am going to go talk with my husband about this."
Pinkie Pie gave a sigh of relief, knowing that she wasn't as angry as she thought she would be. "What're you gonna ask him?" Pinkie happily requested.
"Just how much we need to dock your pay to make up for this," Mrs. Cake said, leaving the room. Pinkie Pie's stare went from cheery to blank in seconds. Sitting down, she kept up her glare before finally turning it to Sweetie. She almost exploded in anger at the little filly, when she noticed her eyes and horn glowing.
"Sweetie Belle," Pinkie Pie started.
"Jeez, I helped all those ponies and not one of them thanked me for it," Sweetie said to herself. "Oh, what is it, Pinkie?" She said, happily turning towards her, expecting her to give appreciation for her deed.
"Have your eyes always been so...Glowy?" Pinkie Pie asked, confused.
"Huh?" Sweetie squeaked. She turned her attention to the glass display case and noticed her eyes still shining bright green. "That's weird, they usually stop glowing after I make something."
Pinkie Pie gave her a stare of annoyance. "Maybe you should get out of here," She said, pointing to the door, "before something bad happens." Sweetie Belle started to say something before she was abruptly picked up by Pinkie and tossed onto the doormat outside.
"What's gotten into her?" Sweetie grumbled, much like her stomach, "I was just helping." She turned towards a puddle, and remembered that her eyes were still glowing. "Maybe the book says something," She said, pulling it out of her bag with her magic. Opening it up, she reread the lines. As she gazed upon its pages, she felt something emanating from the book, and almost thought the pages glowed. It failed to give any answers, but it did make her mind seem a little fuzzier, and she started to think more egotistical thoughts. Shrugging off the weird feeling from the book, she decided to think about what could make her garner more appreciation for her magnificence. An idea suddenly came to her, and right when it did, her mind created it. Soon she was wearing a magnificent crown, much like Princess Celestia's, and her mane and tail began to shimmer majestically on their own. "Ponies are sure to see me now!" She yelled maniacally as her eyelid began to twitch. Ecstatic with her own brilliance, she began to laugh, still sitting on the doormat. A few ponies began to move away from the crazy filly as she giggled in place.
"Sweetie Belle!" Somepony called out to her. Smiling unnaturally widely, she turned towards where she heard her name. She saw Princess Twilight Sparkle running up to her with Spike trying to catch up. She took a bow as they drew close. "Have you seen anypony suspicious? Spike lost a-" Twilight began, cutting herself off when she noticed Sweetie's wings, crown and hair. "Oh no! They got to you!" She yelled. Spike, huffing in heaves of air, finally reached Twilight as she turned to him. "Look, they're sending a threat!" She said.
He looked at her strangely. "How...is that...a threat?" Spike asked in between gasps.
"See? She looks just like Princess Celestia," Twilight said, pointing to Sweetie, "They’re trying to imply that Celestia's like a foal to them!"
Spike's desperate need for oxygen paused as he gave her a look of absolute confusion. "Twilight, that's completely ridiculous," he said, finally catching his breath, "Also, is it me, or are her eyes glowing?"
"You may not see it, but I see it clear as day!" Twilight announced, ignoring Spike's question. She turned towards Sweetie, who had started to nervously twitch in her spot. "I'm sorry this happened to you Sweetie," She said, showing empathy for the little filly, "we'll find whoever did this, then we'll get you back to normal." She gestured to Spike, and took off running again in search of the mysterious user of the book. He groaned and set off after her, mentioning something about glowing eyes as he dashed off.
Sweetie Belle sat on the doormat, her eyes flickering from side to side as ponies went about their business. She stood up, and her vision darted to a spot in the main road. "Wasted space!" She cried, beginning to light up her horn again, though now it was much more intense. Focusing really hard, she made an enormous flash right in the middle of the street. A massive, two hundred foot tall Ferris wheel appeared as the light ended, and ponies all around gathered to look at the massive carnival ride that was now blocking their path. "Yes, good, good!" She screamed at them, "I'll take your adoration at once!" She stood up and struck a pose, her hair flowing in the wind with the sun shining brilliantly off her crown. When nopony came to appreciate her for her large addition, she peeked an eye open and started to burn with rage. "You don't like it?!" She screeched, her horn beginning to glow. In her mind, others were being mean, and she felt like she had a dark cloud hanging over her head. Harsh winds began to blow as her power started physically affecting the space around her, a green aura slowly starting to appear around her. All around her, ponies set about running and screaming as rocks and bits of wood from Sugarcube Corner's walls were flung through the air. Spotting a scared grey filly out of the corner of her eye, she turned and forced her to stop with her magic, making her scream.
"Please let me go!" She begged, tears forming in her eyes and being swept away by the wind.
"Silver Spoon, I bet you wanna see Diamond Tiara, don't you?" Sweetie Belle asked, her pupils shrinking as her glowing irises consumed them. Silver Spoon nervously nodded her head, hoping that she'd let her go if she agreed. "Let me bring her here!" Sweetie cackled, clearly having lost all remains of sanity.
Meanwhile, in Ponyville Hospital, a nurse came into a young patient's room. "Hello, Diamond, I'm just here to check in on your bandages," she said, putting on a smile for the filly. Looking over, she noticed the window shaking from the harsh winds outside. "Crazy weather today," she murmured to Diamond, who was waking up from a nap with a little yawn. Coming closer, the nurse carefully examined the gauze wrapped around her legs, lifting each one to make sure they hadn't been bled through. Diamond Tiara winced as she was inspected, her skin having become sensitive to pain. The nurse leaned down at the bottom of the bed to write down the results of her inspection on her chart. While she wasn't looking, a bright flash came from underneath the sheets and Diamond Tiara vanished into thin air. "Your burns are showing signs of improvement," the nurse said, "I expect you'll be all better..." She trailed off, seeing the empty bed. "...Soon?" She finished in confusion.
Diamond Tiara suddenly found herself being held down next to Silver Spoon as Sweetie Belle stared intensely at them, a massive grin on her face. "Oh, Diamond Tiara!" Sweetie said, turning her attention to her, "Those bandages look terrible, let me help!" Diamond Tiara screamed as she noticed the crazed filly begin to remove her bandages with her magic. Letting the gauze fly away in the wind, Sweetie released the two fillies, then grabbed them in her forelegs. "You look great!" She asked, her green eyes beaming light onto them. The two girls cried out in fear as they shielded their own eyes from the intense glare. Sweetie's deranged smile grew crooked as they shouted at her. "Isn't this what you wanted?!" She yelled through the noise. In response, they slowly shook their heads, though it was hard to discern from how much the rest of their bodies were quaking. Angrily, Sweetie Belle faced away from them, her grip loosening as she lost her focus. Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara took the opportunity to wiggle out of her hold and run. Spotting them dash away, Sweetie Belle's anger rose, and as did the strength of the storm.
Sweetie Belle began to huff in frustration. She turned her attention to a house, and before even considering otherwise, it grew four spindly legs and started to meander around, eliciting more screeches from the panicked townsponies. The wind blew harder around her, and the thin sticks that had served for the building's legs buckled, before finally collapsing in the middle of the road, a terrified family running out of the remains. Looking around, everywhere she spotted suddenly faced transformations. A tree became plated with gold, a folded out chair gained teeth and started lashing out at ponies, a moving orange pile found itself with heavy crystal decorations placed upon it, and so forth. Eventually, the entire street was wreathed in whatever she imagined it. She cackled in satisfaction, waiting for the applause of her peers that never came, when she heard a voice calling out.
"Sweetie Belle, where are you?!" Rarity cried, running around while hiding from flying debris, "I know you're around here somewhere!"
Sweetie Belle snorted in anger, then dashed towards an alleyway. Ignoring the wooden boards snapping off the walls around her, she quickly thought of something. Concentrating hard, she summoned several bright flashes in the small space. When the light cleared, Sweetie found herself staring at a squad of Sweetie Belles, all with a blank expression. There were noticeable differences between her and the clones, such as them having normal eyes, and lacking the shimmer her hair had. "Rats!" Sweetie cursed, looking down slightly, "I only meant to make one! Oh well." Turning back towards the crowd of copies, she ordered, "Go to Rarity and say hello, then she'll leave me alone." The group mindlessly nodded to the filly, and then set off. Most ran into the streets and went aimlessly around, bumping into things, while others took flight with their tiny wings. "When she finds those clones, she'll assume it's me, and then she'll leave me alone!" She said to herself while making an evil laugh, although it came off more as an evil giggle. Sweetie Belle then started flapping her own wings, and flew up to a cloud, far into the sky, holding the book in tow with her magic. Sitting down on the fluffy spot, she listened to her stomach grumble in hunger again. Tired of it, she summoned a milkshake in a tall glass, and quickly began to drink it, watching the streets from high above with her now pure green eyes.
Rarity continued her desperate search for Sweetie Belle through the tornado-like weather. "She's gotta be around here," She murmured to herself, dashing about the streets. Suddenly a white little filly wandered out from under a table, and Rarity beamed a smile of relief. "Sweetie Belle!" She cried, snatching her up with her magic. Sweetie Belle flashed her a blank look.
"Hello, Rarity!" Sweetie replied, her expression unchanging.
"Please, let me get help from Twilight," Rarity said, reaching out to hug her sister, "I know you don't want me to, but this has gone too far!"
"Hello, Rarity!" Sweetie said, looking up at Rarity. Her smile started to fade as she hugged the filly. She realized quickly that something wasn't right. The filly was unusually soft, and didn't feel like a real pony. Backing away slightly, she took a close look at her. Carefully, she leaned down and pushed a hoof against Sweetie's chest. To her horror, it started to plunge inside, a hole forming around her leg as it continued inwards. Finally, she felt the cold rush of air as it breached through her stomach, her leg fully extended inside her chest. Rarity, having been staring at the hole, looked back towards Sweetie's face. "Hello, Rarity!" She said, in the same tone of voice as the previous responses, her face never wavering from its blank stare.
Rarity withdrew her leg, feeling something liquid slosh around onto her fur as she retrieved it from the hole. Gagging, she looked straight through, seeing the ground through her chest cavity. Water began to drip from the roof of the passage, leaking out onto the ground as it flowed down. Rarity's nervousness slowly disappeared, as her determination to find her sister got reinvigorated. "You're not Sweetie Belle," she said coldly, then swiped at the poor copy's face. Instead of her hoof bonking off her head, it went clean through, the facade disappearing into thin air. Rarity noticed that the imposter was actually made of clouds, and as she continued to brush it away, she felt splashes as water jumped out from the being. When only a pink and purple bit of cloud remained, it squeaked, "Hello, Rarity!" one final time before vanishing. Her heart sinking from disappointment, Rarity sadly turned her head and cast her gaze into the street. Then, she recoiled back in terror.
Outside of the little alley, over a dozen Sweetie Belles were running amok, crashing into each other and jumping on ponies. A few were floating about, tapping on windows and terrifying the families within. Slowly, Rarity came out of the alley, trying not to be seen. Unfortunately, a piece of bark flew off a nearby tree, the wind carrying it quickly, and bumped her shoulder. Rarity hummed a response, thinking that it was somepony poking her shoulder, but realized her mistake and slammed a hoof over her mouth. Suddenly all the clones stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to her. Then came an incredibly loud sound as they all shouted in unison, "Hello Rarity!" She began to back away from the crowd, her eyes shrinking in terror. Then, every single one broke out in a sprint or mad dive towards her. Rarity turned tail and dashed away, screaming as the army of Sweetie Belles chased her. She was too slow to keep her distance, though, and soon she felt a tackle as one crashed into her, saying "Hello, Rarity!" She tried to shake off the cloud clone, but found herself collapsing as another rammed her, giving the same greeting. One by one, Sweetie Belle's Sweetie Belles piled onto Rarity, drowning out her cries for help by constantly repeating "Hello, Rarity!" Despite the soft feel of the billowy creatures, their combined weight began to crush her as they continued to pounce on her. Struggling to get free, she began to claw at them, her legs becoming sluggish as they quickly got bogged down with water. Tiring out from her attempts at escape, Rarity grimly tried to pull her head back, when she heard something from over all the salutations she was getting.
Suddenly, several Sweetie Belles were knocked aside as a guitar smashed through the pile, the sound of a trumpet blaring a heroic tune spilled through the hole. Soon, more clones were bashed away as a crash cymbal was swung, slicing several. Thinking fast, Rarity jumped out of the pile as her mysterious saviors continued wailing on her attackers with instruments. Somepony rolled a drum through the group, crushing a few, while a bassist gave a mighty heave and knocked her bass onto another few. Eventually, the whole squad had been taken out, and the ponies were completely soaked in water. Rarity, still shaken from nearly being drowned by Sweetie Belles, finally recovered and began to thank them. "Thank you, thank you so much!" She cried, "I was so scared, and-Granny Smith?"
"Hey'ya there, whippersnapper!" Granny Smith responded, her grunge-style makeup melting off of her face. "Me and the band had a fight during a jam session, so we broke up! But we saw ya' gettin' dogpiled by them there pony thingies and thought we'd come give ya' a hoof!"
Rarity stared at the elder pony with a look of pure confusion. "Wha...band...?" She stammered out, her jaw hanging.
"Not a band anymore'm afraid!" Granny said, "Can't be now! Got no instruments!" She gestured to the wrecked guitar and smashed drums. Turning to the rest of the former members, she called, "Now let's go! Can't stand this weather..." Then, the group trotted off down the street, back towards Sweet Apple Acres. Rarity still stood there, trying to fathom what just happened. A few minutes later, the moment was ended when she felt a claw begin to tug on her leg.
"Hello, Rarity!" Spike happily called. Rarity yelped and jumped back in fear, but relaxed when she saw that it was him. "Are you okay?" He asked, "You should get inside."
"Spike!" Rarity said, snatching him with a hoof, "Where's Twilight?"
"She's rescuing some ponies over there," he replied, gesturing to a group trapped in a collapsed cake.
"Oh no, I need her now!" Rarity cried. Looking down at Spike, she suddenly remembered something. "Spike, you saved me the other day from that curse, right?"
"Yeah I did," Spike said, pride streaming through his voice, "Pretty awesome, wasn't it?" He struck a pose to look heroic.
"Yes, of course," She said, ignoring his ego, "But how did you do it, again?"
Spike paused his muscle-less flexing and turned towards her quizzically. "Wait, do you know who's doing this?" He asked, dodging a plank of wood as it sailed past his head. His excitement rose as the mysterious pony's identity was soon to be revealed.
Rarity sighed and looked downtrodden. Closing her eyes, she leaned near him and replied, "It's Sweetie Belle." Spike's enthusiasm vanished, watching tears slowly start to flow down her face. "Please, just tell me how to save her," Rarity whimpered, "I have to fix this."
Grabbing her leg, Spike gave her a slightly reassuring smile. "Okay, I'll help," he said she perked up a bit. Getting serious, he started, "Now, to break the curse, somepony has to be honest about something with them," Rarity nodded her head, asking him to continue, "So, all we gotta do is find somepony who kept something from her, and make them tell the truth! Now, who do we know would hide a secret from Sweetie?" Rarity wiped her eyes with a hoof as she grew calm. She opened her mouth to say something, but suddenly a bright flash distracted the two of them.
"What was that?" She asked, alarmed at the interruption. Looking around for anything that had changed, she waited for Spike to respond as he made some curious noises. Eventually, she turned back towards him and gasped in shock. "Spike, your mouth!" She yelled in surprise. In Spike's mouth, what had formerly been a small set of dragon teeth had been multiplied. He couldn't close his mouth, as they were too large to hold. Spike tried to call for help, but all that came out were strange notes and gasping. Rarity grabbed him in her magic and broke out in a sprint to find shelter. "Just stay here," She told Spike as she hid him underneath a large orange pile of feathers, "I'll solve this." Then, Rarity ran back out into the middle of the road.
She began to look around frantically for her sister, but couldn't see her anywhere. Despair filling her, Rarity cried out, "Where are you, Sweetie Belle?" She began to furiously breathe in and out when suddenly-Boink! She felt something hit the back of her head. While rubbing the spot with her hoof, she looked down and noticed a tall glass milkshake cup, though it was empty. Curiously, she picked it up and checked the inside, smelling traces of vanilla. Instantly, Rarity knew Sweetie Belle had something to do with it, as vanilla was her favourite flavour. Slowly, she craned her neck upwards, and saw a dark cloud float by gently several dozen feet above, another cup falling from it a few moments later. "Oh, how am I going to get up there?" She whined. Looking back down, she noticed the massive Ferris wheel rotating, an operator trapped in a little box at the bottom. "That should do it," Rarity said with a feel of determination returning to her. Then, she broke out in a sprint to get to it.
Several hundred feet upwards, Rarity rode the little carriage as it made its way around the big wheel. As it rose further and further higher, clouds began to pass by in the breeze. She approached the peak of the ride, and prepared herself by casting a spell to allow her to walk on clouds. When another cloud floated towards her seat, she raised the safety bar, closed her eyes, and leaped towards it. Landing softly on the fluff, she lifted her eyelids and started to look for Sweetie Belle, spotting her several yards away. Focusing hard, she used her magic to push her cloud towards her sister's. As she drew closer, she called, "Sweetie Belle!" Sweetie, meanwhile, watched down as she tried to improve Ponyville from above it. Suddenly, when she heard her sister calling, she grew upset, and took a big sip from her seventh milkshake. Rarity pushed forwards faster as Sweetie turned around and blinded her with her headlight-like eyes. Eventually, she crashed the two clouds together, though it was more of a slight bump as they combined.
"Go away!" Sweetie Belle yelled as Rarity trotted across towards her, "You're not getting the book!"
"Sweetie, I don't want the book," Rarity replied, softly, "I want to talk."
"You're just saying that!" She spat back.
"You're ruining Ponyville, Sweetie," Rarity said, sitting down beside her.
"But I'm making everything better!" Sweetie yelled back, pulling the book to her despite Rarity's claims. "It's just those stupid ponies down there who don't appreciate me!" She gave a little pout as Rarity wrapped her foreleg around her. "Stop that!" She screamed, pushing it away as she drank some more, spilling some on her shimmering mane as she tipped the glass with her magic.
"Sweetie, I have something to tell you," Rarity murmured softly. "It's about the book."
"You're not getting it!" Sweetie Belle screamed at her, "I'm using it to make everything how it should be!" She took another sip of milkshake, sloshing it around in the cup.
"Do you really think Spike should have giant teeth, and that a giant storm's going to help everypony?" Rarity asked, piercing Sweetie's argument. Sweetie took a big gulp from her drink again and began to extend her wings. "Don't drink too fast, Sweetie," Rarity said, hoping she wouldn't fly away again. "Now, I know that you think you're doing what's best, but-"
"Shut up!" Sweetie shouted, fully unfolding her wings in a failed attempt to look intimidating, "I know what I'm doing!" With that, she downed the rest of the cup in one go. Giving a glare at Rarity, her horn grew brighter as she began to imagine a fitting way to get rid of her. Suddenly, a cold stabbing pain ran through her head, and she let out a scream of pain. Rarity quickly wrapped her arms back around Sweetie as she clutched her head. Suddenly there were bright flashes all around them. Rarity shivered as a chilling wind blew at them, and snow began appearing in massive piles on the town below. Gasping for breath, Sweetie worriedly opened her eyes and stared down at the frozen town. "Oh no!" She cried, "I worked so hard, and now it's ruined!" Sweetie started weeping while Rarity rubbed her back, trying to calm her down.
"Do you see what I mean, now?" Rarity asked, shaking slightly from the cold.
"Why did you do this?" Sweetie sobbed as snow covered all the things she had made. "Everything was fine until you butted in! Why couldn't you let me do this?" She began to punch Rarity, causing her fur to ruffle in a few places. "I hate you!"
Rarity sighed, and closed her eyes. "I didn't want you to repeat my mistake, Sweetie."
Sweetie Belle shined her eyes sadly on her sister, confused. "What do you mean?" She asked. Her attacking slowed down.
"You know the other day when somepony went crazy with magic around Ponyville?"
"How could I forget?" Sweetie said nervously, "It took me forever to get rid of all those sandwiches." She shivered in the cold, stopping her swipes at Rarity.
"Well, Sweetie," Rarity murmured, "I was the one who did it." Sweetie Belle quickly looked up at her. "I did it using that book."
Sweetie just stared in confusion. "B-but, why didn't you tell me?" She sniffled, starting to cry.
Rarity huffed, shame burning on her snow covered body. "I guess I thought you'd be disappointed in me."
Sweetie Belle began to stammer something out, first with anger, then with sadness, then just sputtered about with her words. She couldn't think of anything to say. Finally, she gave up and looked down on the cloud, accepting the news. Suddenly a glow lifted her up, her eyes shooting open and glowing more furiously than before. Rarity grabbed her floating sister, and watched as a green vapor flowed out of her face for several seconds. In the haste of the moment, the book was let go, and was knocked away into the breeze. Eventually, the flying aura finally ceased exiting Sweetie Belle, and she plopped back down onto the cloud.
"Sweetie, are you alright?" Rarity asked, gripping her sister tightly. Sweetie shook slightly, and Rarity loosened her hold on her. She stumbled around on the cloud for a second, before collapsing at the edge, her vision blurred. "Sweetie, are you okay?" Rarity asked again, her concern growing as she put a hoof on her back. Sweetie's face still showed traces of green, which made Rarity quite worried that she wasn't completely cured. 'Sweetie, please tell me, are you-" She started. Sweetie Belle cut her off however with a sickening lurch as she made a retching sound. Quickly, several quarts of milk and vanilla exited the filly, making a disgusting taste in her mouth. A few seconds later, Rarity heard a faint sound of somepony screaming, but she decided to ignore it and help her sister.
"Ugh..." Sweetie Belle moaned before making one final burp and closing her mouth. She took a hoof and rubbed her eyes for a moment, then looked down. Suddenly, her eyes bolted open and she jumped back into Rarity's arms, screaming.
"It's okay, Sweetie!" Rarity called to the panicking filly.
"Wh-What happened?" Sweetie gasped, shivering.
"Oh, Sweetie," Rarity said, pulling a hoof through her hair, "You just had an accident, that's all."
Sweetie nervously looked around, noticing her long, flowing hair stained with milk, and felt something sticking on her back. Shaking, she gazed downwards at the icy town, and slowly began to recollect what had happened. "Did...Did I do this?" She asked a few seconds later, Rarity still holding onto her tightly.
"Yes, you did," Rarity whispered, "but it's okay, it's over." She lit up her horn and began to push downwards on the cloud, taking it to the ground. She turned towards Sweetie Belle, and noticed she had started weeping into her chest. "It's okay, it's okay," she whispered continually, "just let it out..."
Eventually, the cloud reached the ground, and Rarity hopped off, picking up Sweetie Belle in her magic and placing her back down. The snow had stopped while riding the cloud down, but it still remained everywhere. Scanning around, Rarity noticed some ponies coming out of their shelters, shaking from the cold. In one spot, she saw a pink foal just standing stock still in a pile of snow with an absolutely satisfied expression on her face. Applejack was also going around, helping other ponies out of wreckage while wearing a stylish hat. Finally, her scanning stopped when Twilight Sparkle came running up to her. "Oh my goodness, are you two okay?" She asked, noticing the few battered spots on the two of them from the wind and Sweetie's punching. Rarity looked at her friend and gagged slightly, seeing the remains of a milky white liquid stuck in spots in her mane.
"Yes, we're fine," Rarity said, "just a little shaken." Twilight gave a sigh of relief.
"That's good, and I think that the spell stopped," Twilight replied, looking a bit disgusted at the mess in her hair. "Still, I wonder who caused it," she said, making a nervous smile.
Sweetie looked down in shame. "I'm the one who did it, Twilight," She whispered, closing her eyes, "I'm sorry."
Twilight's smile faded. Her expression shifted between various emotions quickly. From confusion, to sympathy, to anger, to curiosity, and back through. Eventually, she stopped, and slowly murmured, "It's alright," through gritted teeth. Sweetie Belle looked hopeful for a second as she expected forgiveness. "But," Twilight began, a devious grin appearing on her face, "since you're an alicorn now, you'll have no problem doing one's work." She picked up a nearby broom and dropped it on her head. "Now, get to work," She commanded before leaving to help a filly who was trapped under her own wings.
Sweetie Belle focused and lifted the cleaning tool with her weak, light green magic. Sighing a bit, she set to sweeping away the debris from the road. Then, she noticed a second broom alongside hers, held by a deep blue aura. Looking up, she saw Rarity giving a happy face, and her face perked up. "Thanks, sis," Sweetie Belle said, and the two sisters went down the street, sweeping alongside each other.
Meanwhile, somewhere far away, there came cries from inside a small building. "Hello? Is anypony out there?" Cheerilee called, "The door's stuck, I've been in here for two days, can somepony hear me?" She gave a little shiver as cold wind blew in through a hold in the wall. "Just wait it out, Cheerilee, help is coming..."
Author's Note
The original due-date was three weeks ago. My schedule-slipping abilities know no bounds.
