A Mother's Touch

   Rarity didn't hear anything else the guard said after that. His words went in one ear and out the other. All she heard was gibberish, intelligible talk. She felt as if somepony had ripped out her heart and set it aflame, then trampled on it, yet somehow she felt her heart beat faster. Her breathing became heavy, making her chest hurt and making it hard to breathe.

   “Is there anypony you would like for me to contact?” the guard asked.

   “No,” Rarity breathed out. It was so barely audible that it might as well have been a whisper.

   The guard nodded. “We're terribly sorry, ma'am. If there's anything we can do, please let us know.”

   Rarity nodded slowly, watching them go before shutting the front door. She turned to look down at Sweetie Belle, who seemed to be having a hard time processing what she’d just heard. At long last, Sweetie spoke.

   “Rarity?” she said hesitantly. “Weren't . . . weren’t our parents' on their way to Manehattan when they left?”

   “Well . . .” Her hooves were trembling. “Well, yes . . . they were . . . But that doesn’t mean . . . it doesn’t . . .” She couldn't even bring herself to say what it almost assuredly meant.

   Sweetie knew it was true. She threw her hooves around Rarity, the only source of comfort she could think of.

   “Rarity . . .” Sweetie was fighting back tears, but not quite succeeding. “Mama . . . Daddy . . .”

   Rarity tried to hush her, but she wasn't in much of a better condition than Sweetie was. She rubbed Sweetie’s back as she cried on her shoulder. “Hush now, Sweetums . . . It’s okay . . . Everything’s . . . okay . . .” To Sweetie’s surprise, Rarity lifted her, one hoof under her rear, the other holding her head against her shoulder. While Sweetie sobbed into her shoulder, Rarity carried her up the stairs. “I'm . . . sure that . . . that if we just wait until tomorrow morning . . . everything will be cleared up, and everything will be fine. I’m sure they just got the wrong address. Don’t worry, Sweetums . . . It’s okay . . . It’ll be okay . . .”

   They went into Sweetie’s room, where they sat down on the bed. Rarity kept hanging on to Sweetie and started rocking back and forth, quietly hushing her.

   After a few minutes of sobbing, Sweetie gradually started to calm down. The shock of what she had heard was wearing off. She didn’t know for sure that her parents were dead. The guards might have simply gotten the wrong address. Rarity was right. Things would turn out okay. Once Sweetie had calmed down, Rarity set her down on the bed beside her. She looked Sweetie in the eye and ran her hooves through her mane.

   “Now, Sweetie, we don’t anything for sure. There are probably dozens of trains between here and Fillydelphia. We don’t know that was our parents’ train. They’re probably already in Fillydelphia, and since it’s nearing nighttime over there, they’re probably already asleep. Don't worry. We should just wait until tomorrow when we can find out more. Now try to sleep, Sweetie. Good night.” She kissed Sweetie’s forehead and walked out, turning off the light as she left.

   Sweetie got into bed and tried to rest. The bed was unbelievably comfortable, but she wasn’t really thinking about that. Her mind kept wandering to her parents. She couldn’t help feeling that they were dead. She tried not to think about it, but she couldn’t help it. She started crying again, but not as bad as before. Nevertheless, she was very tired. She fell asleep whimpering.

   That night, Sweetie had a very strange dream. She was in a dark room. Really, she was just more or less standing in blackness. There was nothing around, literally. She was all alone. She called out for her mom and dad, but nopony responded. She felt very cold and sad.

   Sweetie woke up the next morning to a very strange feeling. Something seemed wrong, but she couldn’t tell what it was. Her room was warm, what, with it being summer and all, but she felt chilly and a little damp. It took her a minute to realize what it was, and she couldn't even believe it when she figured it out. She had wet the bed! She hadn’t done that in years!

   Sweetie simply sat there, staring at the spot on the covers in utter disbelief when Rarity walked in. She looked up at Rarity with wide eyes. She moved her mouth to try to explain, but she couldn’t manage to say anything.

   Rarity looked surprised for a minute, but she quickly regained her composure. “Why don’t you change and take a quick shower. I’ll take care of this.”

   It was then that Sweetie noticed Rarity looked very tired. Maybe she hadn’t gotten much sleep last night. “I . . . I’m sorry . . .” She hadn't mean to do it! It was an accident.

   Sweetie got out of bed. Her crotch was soaked. She was terribly embarrassed. The dark spot around her crotch made her accident obvious. She couldn’t think of anything else to say, so she went into the bathroom.

   Sweetie couldn’t stop crying while she showered. She wasn’t that concerned about how she wet the bed, though. She was too busy thinking about her parents. Regardless of that, wetting the bed was very embarrassing. At the time, she’d been focused on her parents. She had basically given up hope that they were alive. Granted, nothing had really convinced her; she just felt it.

   Sweetie dried off after her shower and began crying again. She looked in the mirror and examined her reddened eyes. She noticed her mane was messed up. Despite everything, she took a comb and spray and fixed it up. She then took to caring for her tail for a minute. It felt good to do something to distract her from what was going on.

   She went back into her room. She noticed that Rarity had changed the sheets. Rarity was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring downward. She looked up when Sweetie walked in. She didn't even have to say anything. She confirmed what Sweetie had already felt was true. Sweetie could see it in Rarity’s eyes. Sweetie ran over to her and hugged her tightly. Rarity patted her back and they both cried. Their parents were dead.

***

   The rest of the day was mostly a blur. Rarity was busy working on filling orders, meaning Sweetie was left with nothing to do. It was just as well seeing as how she didn’t feel like doing much anyway. She sat on the couch in a ball of self-pity while she flipped through a magazine. The weather outside matched her mood; it had gotten cloudy and it’d started raining. That would have made her feel worse, but she felt just about as lousy as a pony can feel at the time. During the day, she wondered what was going to happen to her. Without her parents, where would she go? She didn’t have any other family that she knew of, besides maybe Rarity. Both of her parents were dead. Her last grandparent had died two years ago. Thoughts of foster homes and orphanages terrorized her.

   That evening, Rarity came out of her inspiration room to talk to Sweetie, who set the magazine aside. Rarity’s cheeks seemed almost as tear-streaked as Sweetie’s did. Rarity sat down on the couch next to Sweetie and started to talk. “Sweetie, I got something in the mail today from Mother and Father’s lawyer. It was  about . . . well, about you.” She looked at Sweetie and smiled a little. “I bet you’ve been trying to figure out where you’re going to stay now. It’s a good thing Mother and Father thought about that kind of thing. I bet you’ve been thinking about it all day.”

   Sweetie nodded.

   “Well,” Rarity continued, “I’m sure they thought about a lot of different options, and they decided that they wouldn’t have wanted you to be raised by strangers in a foster home. If it’s okay with you, it’s been decided that I will take care of you.”

   Sweetie was struck dumb on the spot. It appeared as if there was a silver lining! Of all the terrible fates she had thought of that day, she had never once imagined that she would get to stay with Rarity. That made her feel a little better. Rarity was right, too. Living with Rarity is what her parents would have wanted. Rarity was a wonderful pony, and she could provide everything that Sweetie would ever need. It was the best news she could have received!

   Sweetie started crying again. She thought Rarity might have misunderstood her actions because she asked, “Is that all right with you, Sweetie Belle?”

   Sweetie leaped on Rarity’s lap and gave her a big hug. “Of course it is, Rarity!” Sweetie was crying pretty hard while Rarity rubbed her back with her hooves, but Sweetie was smiling.

   Sweetie went to bed with mixed feelings that night. There was going to be a funeral service for her parents. She wasn't looking forward to never seeing her parents again, but it was going to be pretty good living with Rarity. Of everything that could have happened to her, that was the best thing. She was going to be spending a lot of time with her favorite pony. She was worn out, so she fell asleep fairly quickly.

   That night, Sweetie had another dream. It started out the same as the one the night before, all dark and cold, but while she was calling out for somepony to help her, Rarity came out of nowhere and picked her up in her hooves. She cradled Sweetie in her hooves and rocked her back and forth. She felt very happy in Rarity’s hooves. She felt safe and comfortable.

   Sweetie woke up to the same sensation she’d woken up to the night before. She realized quickly that she had once again wet the bed, but there was something else. She had been sleeping with her hoof in her mouth! She pulled it out and tried to figure out what to do about the bed. Two nights in a row? Surely Rarity would get upset this time. Once could have been an accident, but not twice. While she was trying to figure out what to do, Rarity walked in. Sweetie had to admit, she had very good timing.

   Sweetie started to stammer out an explanation, but couldn’t get beyond, “I . . . but . . . I . . . this . . . I . . .” She felt so ashamed.

   Rarity didn’t react very much. She had carried in a black dress, which she set down on a chair beside her. “Oh, dear.” She bit her hoof and shook her head slightly. “Take a quick shower and put this dress on. I’ll clean this up.”

   Sweetie got out of bed silently and took the dress into the bathroom.

   She mentally kicked herself while she showered. What did Rarity think about her? Rarity couldn’t possible let this go by unnoticed. Two nights in a row was not an accident; it was a problem. But what was going on anyway? She’d never wet the bed before. It’d been at least eight years since she’d wet the bed. It wasn’t fair. She wondered about how Rarity would punish her. She got a little scared, but she didn’t think Rarity could really be that mean.

   She got out and took a long time getting herself ready. She made sure her coat was neat. She combed her mane half a dozen times. She worked on her tail until she was sure it was perfect. She wasn’t in much of a hurry to get to where she was going. She started putting on the dress, but she stalled when she got to the sash. She couldn’t tie it. She thought about maybe going to ask Rarity for help, but didn’t think she’d know how to do it. Rarity had probably assumed she could tie it herself. She walked out to ask for Rarity’s help.

   Rarity was sitting on the bed again (she had changed the sheets) and she was wearing a black dress. She looked at Sweetie as she walked in. “Um . . . Rarity . . . can . . . can you help me . . . with the . . . with the . . . sash?”

   Rarity smiled a little and walked over. She knelt down in front of Sweetie and tied it. She was pretty good at it. “There you go, Sweetie.”

   Sweetie thanked her.

   “I’ll go fix you your breakfast,” Rarity said. She pecked Sweetie on the head, then left the room.

   After a while, Sweetie went downstairs. Rarity was waiting with breakfast: cold cereal. Granted, it was Sweetie’s favorite kind (Sugar Hoops), but she had her hopes set on some of Rarity’s cooking.

   “I’m sorry, Sweetie,” Rarity said, “I just didn’t have any time to cook anything.”

   Sweetie tried not to be noticeably upset, but she thought Rarity could tell she was disappointed. “It’s okay.” Even to herself, she didn’t sound very convincing. She sat down and sullenly began to eat. Rarity didn’t say anything, and neither did Sweetie. It was a very depressing meal.

   After they had finished, the two of them departed from the Carousel Boutique and started heading towards the funeral parlor in silence. Sweetie was trying with everything she had not to cry. She had cried enough yesterday. She had decided that she wouldn't cry anymore. Upon getting to the funeral parlor, they saw a large crowd of ponies who knew their parents. Some of them Sweetie vaguely recognized. There were a lot of ponies talking in the entryway, mostly about what a tragedy it was. Dozens of ponies came up to Sweetie and Rarity and said how sorry they were and offered their condolences. Sweetie knew she’d met a few of them before, but she couldn’t remember anypony’s name at the moment. The only ponies she recognized were Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, their parents, Rarity’s friends, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo. Through all that, Sweetie didn’t cry. When the service began, and ponies began to speak about how great her parents were, she didn’t cry. When Rarity went up to speak and she talked, she didn’t cry. When Mayor Mare came up and spoke, she didn't cry. It was hard. She wanted to cry, but didn’t.

   There was a small meal paid for by Rarity, and then everypony left. When they parted, Sweetie was told again how sorry everypony was. Sweetie was sorry, too. Rarity and Sweetie walked out of the cemetery. They were both ready to go home. Before they left, however, Rarity turned to Sweetie and said, “It’s okay if you want to cry, Sweetie.” Her kind words finally broke Sweetie. She started crying. She couldn’t help it at that point. All the sadness she had built up during the day was being released. Rarity hugged her until she was done.