A Mother's Touch

   “Sweetie Belle? Can you come here for a second?” Cookie Crumbles yelled up the stairs.

   “Yeah, Mom?” Sweetie Belle asked as she descended the staircase.

   “We have something to talk about, Sweetie Belle. About this summer.”

   “Okay, Mom. Go ahead.”

   “This summer . . . We’re going to Manehattan, Sweetie Belle."

   “Sweet! That’s awesome Mom! When are we going?”

   “Wait, Sweetie Belle. What I mean is, your father and I are going to Manehattan. Alone.”

   “By yourselves? Oh, okay. That’s cool. You guys deserve some time alone.” She was already starting to think about what she was going to be able to do over the summer with no parental supervision.

   “I’m glad you're so understanding, Sweetie Belle. So I don’t have to do my whole speech?” She smiled.

   “Nah, that’s fine. But if you spent a long time working on it, you can do it if you want.”

   “You’re funny, Sweetie Belle.” Sweetie started to head back upstairs, waving with her tail. “Hold on, we’re not done, Sweetie.” Sweetie stopped and turned around. “We haven’t talked about where you’re going to be staying.”

   “What? I thought I would just stay here.” Her plans for the summer were already beginning to crumble.

   “You can’t stay here alone for three months, Sweetie Belle!”

   “But, Mom . . . I’m twelve years old!”

   “I know.” She had Sweetie’s number better than she thought she did. “It would be too expensive to hire a foalsitter for that long, and I don’t want some stranger looking after you anyway. So you’ll be staying with Rarity.”

   Sweetie paused for a moment, and formed a picture of the new situation in her head. She was going to be spending the next three months with Rarity. Suddenly, freedom from supervision became the least of her concerns. However, she tried not to show it.

   “Yeah, that’ll be okay, Mom. I’ll stay with her over the summer. Is that all?”

   “For now. We’ll talk about it some more later. You can go back to your room. Have fun. We’re having spaghetti for dinner so don't spoil your appetite with all the junk food I know you have stashed up there.”

   “Okay, Mom.” Sweetie smiled and dashed upstairs and then went to her room. She had to think about what was going to come. She was incredibly excited about getting to spend the entire summer with Rarity. She dreamed about her often. This was going to be her opportunity! She decided to take a look at herself in her full-length mirror. She was, for the most part, a normal twelve-year-old pony. Her mane was a little curly, but not too much. She was a little shorter than most, but not too short. A little skinny, but not out-of-the-ordinary. Nothing that would ruin her chances with Rarity.

   “Ooh, this is going to be great!” She ran her hooves through her mane, then she rubbed her hooves to feel her fur. Pretty soft for a kid her age. She turned around to get a look at herself from behind. Her tail was in pristine condition: fluffy and soft. She took great pride in my tail. That stripe down the middle always looked great. She turned away from the mirror and jumped on her bed. She laid on her back and placed her forehooves behind her head, looking at the ceiling. The possibilities of the summer slowly opened themselves to her. It wasn't what she had originally hoped for, but this summer looked like it was going to be one to remember. She had a feeling that it would take longer than usual for school to get out this year.

***

   The days and weeks dragged by. Sweetie spent every day anxiously awaiting summer’s arrival. Her parents bought train tickets for Manehattan that left on the first of June, the Monday after Sweetie got out of school. That meant that once school got out, she had a weekend to wait before she got to be with Rarity. When summer finally did arrive, said weekend seemed as long as the two months of school. Sweetie spent most of the time that weekend getting ready. She had as much stuff packed as her mom and dad did! She was bringing books and her stuffed white tiger. She made sure that her tiger was buried deep in her bag, because she didn’t want Rarity to think she was too juvenile, but she really didn’t want to leave it home.

   Sweetie hardly slept at all that weekend. She would lay awake in bed just picturing Rarity. It was still amazing to her that she got to spend an entire summer with the most beautiful pony in the world! They were actually going to do stuff together! They would go shopping, go see plays, maybe even go swimming! She decided that her friends from school would have to endure a summer without her. She wasn't planning on leaving Rarity’s side at all this summer!

   Finally, Monday morning came. Sweetie’s parents’ train was leaving at noon, so they were going to drop Sweetie off at Rarity’s about nine. (They lived a long way from the train station.) Sweetie was already awake when they came to wake her up at seven-thirty.

   The fifteen-minute ride to Rarity’s house seemed like an eternity. She was anxious beyond belief. She kept fiddling with her hooves and trying to keep  from sweating. When they arrived at her boutique, she was almost hyperventilating. She looked at the two-story house where she was going to be spending the summer. Either it was bigger than she thought it was, or her being nervous made it seem enormous. She gulped and got out of the carriage.

   She picked her large suitcase out of the trunk and grabbed the backpack that I put her books in. She swung this around her shoulder and took another look up at the house. She felt like she was going to strain her neck. She started lugging her suitcase up to the front door.

   Sweetie’s mother rang the doorbell and Sweetie stood there, waiting for it to open. She went over what she was going to say. She had written a whole speech, to make sure things got off to a good start. “Hi, Rarity. I’m looking forward to spending the summer with you. Thank you in advance for taking care of me while my parents are gone.” That would be sure to impress Rarity. Things were going to be perfect.

   Then, Rarity opened the door. Her long, beautiful mane was cascading down the back of her neck. She had a wonderful smile on her face that made Sweetie want to melt. She said hello to her mother and father and then looked at Sweetie, smiling congenially.

   “Hello, Sweetie Belle. You look very nice today.”

   Sweetie smiled sheepishly. She tried to say what she had planned, but the words died in her throat. She couldn’t bring herself to say it. So, after a moment's pause, she shakily managed to say, “Thanks.” She mentally kicked herself for being unable to get her nerve up.

   Rarity then invited them inside. They sat down in a room near the entryway with three large couches. Sweetie thought it must have been meant to be used for sitting around and talking.

   “Thank you so much for taking care of Sweetie Belle while we’re gone,” Cookie Crumbles said.

   “Oh, it’s no trouble at all, dear. I’m happy to look after the little darling.”

   Sweetie blushed and smiled again.

   “You have the address for where we’re going to be, right?” Hondo Flanks asked.

   “Yes, yes . . . You’ve made sure that I know your entire itinerary. In my opinion, you've planned this out much too carefully! You need to just do some things on a whim! And don’t worry, Sweetie Belle’s in good hooves with me.”

   “We know. But you can understand that we’re a little nervous leaving our girl for three months!”

   “Of course I can understand. Speaking of that, though, you should probably get going. You need to get to the train station early. It takes longer to check your baggage.”

   “You’re right, you’re right. We shouldn’t drag this out. You have all the information you need and Sweetie Belle’s got everything she’ll need for the summer. But if she realizes she’s forgotten something, you’ve got a key to our house, so you can just go get it.”

   Cookie Crumbles and Hondo Flanks headed to the front door. Rarity and Sweetie followed.

   “Be good for Rarity , honey. Do whatever she tells you.” Cookie Crumbles bent over and kissed Sweetie on the forehead.

   Sweetie was a little embarrassed. “I will, Mom, don’t worry.” Her mother gave her a big hug. It looked like she was more worried about Sweetie being alone than she was.

   Hondo Flanks patted Sweetie on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, Sweetie. We’ll be back at the end of the summer.”

   “I know, Dad. I’ll be fine.”

   Cookie Crumbles and Hondo Flanks went out to the carriage. Rarity and Sweetie stayed in the doorway. Rarity had her hoof around Sweetie’s shoulder, trying to comfort her. Sweetie guessed that she didn’t know that she didn’t really mind that her parents were leaving. But she didn’t mind Rarity’s hoof around her. Their parents got in the carriage and were off while Rarity and Sweetie waved at them from the doorway. They waved until the carriage had disappeared in the distance.

   “Well, why don’t we go back inside, eh, Sweetie Belle?”

   “Okay.” She didn’t seem able to talk very loudly to Rarity. She was still nervous.

   When Rarity shut the door behind them, she said, “Alright. Before we get settled, are you hungry? Did you eat any breakfast this morning?”

   “Not really. I had some orange juice . . ." In truth, she was starving. “I was kinda nervous this morning.”

   “I can understand. Have you been away from Mother and Father before?” She misunderstood the cause of nervousness. But that was fine with Sweetie Belle.

   “Not really. I stayed with our grandparents for a week once, before they died. But that’s it.”

   “I see. Well, if you’re hungry, let’s get you some breakfast. Then we’ll get you settled into your room.”

   Rarity started leading Sweetie through a room, presumably towards a kitchen. Gradually, Sweetie began to detect a familiar scent in the air. It was very pleasing, but she couldn’t place it quite yet. Rarity seemed to notice Sweetie’s sniffing, and said, “I guessed that you’d be hungry, so I made pancakes.”

   That was what Sweetie was smelling! She recognized it immediately now. Pancakes were one of her favorite foods! She smiled widely as they walked towards the source of the delicious odor. She figured she had better say something. “I really like pancakes.” She felt so stupid afterwards, though.

   “Really? Well, that’s lucky. Pancakes are my favorite things to eat for breakfast. I make them quite a bit. Looks like we’ll be having a pretty good time this summer."

   They entered the kitchen, and there was a little breakfast nook to the side. It was a round table surrounded on three sides by big windows looking out onto her deck and her backyard. On top of the table was a huge pile of pancakes and maple syrup. Sweetie was salivating at the sight of it.

   “Here, have a seat.” Sweetie started to get her food, but Rarity interrupted her. “Don't worry about it, I’ll get it for you.” She put some pancakes on a plate for Sweetie and then set it in front of her along with a jug of maple syrup. “In case you want some more,” she said. “But be careful, you don't want to get any on your nice fur. You look very nice in a tie, Sweetie Belle.”

   Sweetie blushed noticeably and grinned. “Thank you.” With that, she started eating. Rarity sat down opposite her and took some pancakes for herself. Sweetie was torn between concentrating on eating her food and simply gazing at Rarity in adoration. She was very careful not to get any syrup on herself, though. Rarity started talking to her, and she was only able to answer in one or two words. She still wasn’t quite comfortable. When she realized she wasn’t going to be able to find out much about Sweetie at the moment, she started telling Sweetie about herself.

   After a while, they had both eaten their fill of pancakes. “Thanks, that was wonderful.” Sweetie said, quietly. Then, without warning, I burped. I was so embarrassed! “Excuse me!”

   “That’s okay. How about you get settled? Follow me and I’ll show you your room.”

   Again, they started trekking around the house. They went back to the entryway to get Sweetie’s bags, and then they went upstairs. Rarity was ahead of her, and she had a perfect view of Rarity’s tail flicking back and forth in front of her. Her butt was great, but Sweetie thought Rarity so wonderful that she would never had said something like her "butt." Sweetie was in love.

   They walked around upstairs for while, then Rarity opened a door to what Sweetie assumed would be her bedroom for the next few months. But when she looked in, it didn't look like any bedroom she knew. It was huge! This room looked like it was as big as her house! She stood in the doorway, open-mouthed. There was a huge, king-size bed in this room! She also saw that it had a bathroom attached to it. There was no way this could be her room!

   “Is this my room?” she asked, hesitantly.

   “Yes, it is, Sweetie Belle. It’s right across the hall from mine. I hope you like it, it’s the second-biggest room in the house. I save it for special guests. And you’re pretty special, Sweetie Belle.” Sweetie blushed again. “Well, I’ll give you some time to get settled. If you have any questions, I’ll be right across the hall. Oh, and one more thing; for the next three months, welcome home.” She leaned down and kissed Sweetie’s cheek. Sweetie blushed bright crimson and grinned sheepishly.

   “Thank you.” Rarity walked out, leaving Sweetie alone with her stuff and a gigantic room where she would be residing for the next three months. This was amazing! But she was resolved to get things ready in her room as quickly as possible so she could spend some time with Rarity. So she set about setting out all her toiletries and organizing her books. She finished by setting her stuffed tiger on the bed. She'd need some bravery to start acting normal around Rarity, she decided. She paused to look at herself in the mirror. She smiled at my reflection. She was looking pretty good, even though her mane was still a little too long. Then she went across the hall into Rarity’s room. She entered to see Rarity sitting at a desk doing some writing. She smiled as she saw Sweetie come in.

   “I see you’ve changed. More comfortable, now?”

   “Yeah, I am.”

   “That’s good. But don’t worry, I still think you’re cute.” Sweetie blushed again. “So you’re all settled in?”

   “Yeah, thanks.”

   Rarity looked at the clock. “Well, it took you a while to get your room in order, how do you feel about some lunch?” Sweetie subconsciously started running her hooves through her mane.

   “Yeah, that would fine. I’m kinda hungry.”

   “Alright, Sweetie Belle, follow me.”

   They walked back downstairs and stopped in a room with a couch. She told me to sit down. Sweetie smiled at her. “I’ll be right back.”

   As Rarity left, Sweetie was suddenly overwhelmed with how great this summer was going to be. Rarity was being so nice to her. And the house was amazing. Her room was gigantic. She started feeling a little more relaxed.

   In a moment, Rarity came back and sat down next to me and handed me a plate with some chips and a sandwich on it. Sweetie noticed that the crusts were cut off. She looked at Rarity a little puzzled, but Rarity just smiled and gave Sweetie a soda. Sweetie thanked her and started to eat. They sat there while Sweetie ate her sandwich. It was really good. Rarity was kinda treating her like a little kid, but Sweetie didn’t really mind. Any attention coming from Rarity was okay by her.

   Once Sweetie had finished her food. she gathered a little courage and said, “Thank you, Rarity. That was great.”

   “I’m glad you liked it, Sweetie Belle.”

***

   “Why don’t you just go change into your pajamas?”

   "Cool! But what about dinner?”

   “I ordered a pizza.”

   “Awesome!”

   “Normally, I would have made one, but I didn’t have the time this afternoon.”

   “That’s fine, I’ll go change.” Sweetie went back up to her room and dug her flannel pajamas out of her drawer and then set about taking care of her mane. She combed it a couple of times, and her tail quite a few times. In the end, she looked pretty good again. She walked downstairs and Rarity was sitting on the big couch. She smiled when Sweetie came down.

   “Hi, Sweetie Belle. Cute pajamas.”

   In spite of herself, Sweetie blushed. “Thank you.”

   “The pizza should be here any minute.”  Right after she said this, the doorbell rang. It was the pizza. Rarity brought out some plates and simply set the box on the coffee table.

   Sweetie sat back and relaxed while she ate the pizza.

   By the end of the time they had finished the pizza, Sweetie realized she was feeling kind of tired. She yawned, and Rarity had her lay her head on her lap. So Sweetie lied on her lap while Rarity stroked her mane.

   She must have dozed off a little, because suddenly Rarity was looking down at her. “Did you have a nice little nap? You’re adorable when you’re sleeping, you know.”

   There was a knock at the door.

   “I'll get it,” Rarity offered. She walked out of the room and to the front door. Opening it, she saw a couple of the Princess' royal guards standing on her doorstep. “Good afternoon, gentlemen. What can I do for you today?”

   “Miss Rarity?” one of the guards asked.

   Rarity nodded. “Yes, that's me.”

   “I'm afraid we have some terrible news, ma'am.”

   “What's going on, Rarity?” Sweetie Belle asked, appearing beside her older sister along with Spike.

   Based on their gloomy expressions, Rarity guessed that the “terrible news” had something to do with her parents. Turning, she levitated a sack of bits over to Spike. “Here, Spike. Why don't you go to Sugarcube Corner and treat yourself to some sweets?”

   “Sure,” Spike cried, grabbing the sack and running off.

   Rarity sighed in relief and turned back to the guards. “Now you can tell me. Is it about my parents?” She prayed to Celestia that it wasn't.

   The guards nodded.

   “Oh,” Rarity said, raising an eyebrow. “And what about them?”

   “They're . . .” The guard swallowed hard. “They're . . . dead, ma'am.”