Sweetie Belle awoke to the sound of Rarity pounding on her door. "Wake up!" she called. "Wake up, or you will be late for school!" Sweetie Belle got out of her bed, taking a look at her open closet. She nodded, then went over and added a new tally-mark to her calendar. Another night nightmare free...that makes ninety-three days! she thought, excited. This really does work! "Come on Sweetie!" Rarity said, right outside of Sweetie Belle's room.
"Coming!" Sweetie Belle responded, trotting out of her room with a smile on her face. "What's for breakfast?" she asked. Rarity motioned to a pancake sitting on the table.
Sweetie Belle sat down at the table and ate hungrily. "Well, somepony's hungry!" Rarity noticed. Sweetie Belle just nodded. "Okay, Sweetie, I need to talk to you about something. I know that you will want to go Crusading with your friends, but there is something that you have to do first: clean out your closet."
"But-" Sweetie Belle tried to make an argument.
"No buts! It has gotten to the point that there is no room for any clothing!" Rarity seemed completely terrified by the thought of no room for clothing.
"Fine," Sweetie Belle said, her voice dejected.
"Alright! Time for school!" Rarity called.
"Coming!" Sweetie Belle called from the kitchen.
"Have a wonderful day at school, and remember to tell Scootaloo and Apple Bloom that you will be busy tomorrow!"
"Got it!" Sweetie Belle called.
School went as usual: Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon being huge bullies, Cheerilee trying to get them to understand the Pythagorean Theorem, lunch, more bullying, planning for crusading, reading, and Lessons on How to be a Good Pony the last fifteen minutes of class.
When Sweetie Belle got home, she was famished. She went into the refrigerator and saw her dinner sitting on the top shelf. She ate her cucumber and tomato sandwich as if her life depended on it. After, she was exhausted. She went into her room and got ready for bed. Once ready, she found Rarity downstairs stitching up a dress.
"Well, aren't you tired!" Rarity said when she saw Sweetie Belle all ready for bed.
"Yeah, I guess," she responded. I just don't want to have to clean my closet tonight...one last night of definite good dreams! she thought.
"Good night, Sweetie Belle!" Rarity said, nuzzling her on the cheek. "See you in the morning, darling."
Sweetie Belle trotted into her room. Well, since it's only 7:30, I suppose that I can start looking through my stuff. She pulled out the kite that she had broken while trying to become a professional kite-flier. Putting this aside, she pulled out a golden butterfly painting. I think that that's from my art class? she wondered, not quite remembering. Sweetie Belle continued to pull things out of her closet; most were broken, some were whole, and even less she could recall where she got/made them. After about half an hour, she went to bed, thinking about how wonderful life was.
On the edge of her closet lay a broken picture frame with a picture of her family in it.
Once in bed, Sweetie Belle fell asleep immediately.
Sweetie Belle lay in her room at her parent's house, listening to them argue with Rarity. They fought quite often, usually because her parents wanted to leave, and Rarity was trying to talk some sense into them. At least, that's what Rarity told her when she asked.
"Do you want her to be taken away?!" Rarity yelled.
Her parents mumbled a response.
"Yeah, well, the Foal Protective Service will be here for her if you don't shape up." Rarity replied her voice disgusted.
There was more inaudible yelling and talking.
"YOU DON'T WANT HER!?" Rarity's voice was thunderous. "YOU DIDN'T WANT ANOTHER FOAL? YOU DIDN'T WANT FOALS AT ALL? THEN MAYBE YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE CAREFUL! YOU KNOW WHAT? i DON'T CARE! YOU BETTER GET YOUR BUTTS IN SHAPE, OR I WILL SUE YOU FOR CHILD ABUSE! i MIGHT AS WELL BE HER MOTHER, AS I DO EVERYTHING FOR HER, YOU HEAR ME? EVERYTHING!" she stomped up the stairs.
"Sis'" Sweetie Belle asked.
Rarity's face softened when she saw her little sister. "Yes, Sweetie?"
"D-do you really think that they're gonna take me away?" she asked.
Rarity shook her head. "Not if I have anything to do with it...I'm almost eighteen, so we can almost leave this place."
"Why haven't you left already?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Because of you, silly!" Rarity nodded. "Come on, let's get some sleep." She led her sister into her room, tucked her in, and fell asleep next to her.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
A few months later, after Rarity's eighteenth birthday, Sweetie Belle walked into her sister's room, ready to give her a picture of a golden butterfly that she made for her birthday. She walked in, and saw her sister laying on her bed, crying over something. When Rarity saw her, she tried to hide it, but it was too late. Sweetie Belle had seen what she had been crying over: a picture of a family of four, smiling and happy. It took her a moment to realize that it was her family. It almost brought her to tears. Rarity informed her that she would be moving away to Ponyville. That business was better there, that she could come. Sweetie Belle quickly agreed, not wanting to have to travel with her parents, constantly being ignored. Rarity walked down the stairs to inform their parent of the decision that they had made. Sweetie Belle quickly grabbed the picture with the broken glass, cutting herself in the process. I guess that family comes with pain, she thought.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Sweetie Belle had a box that her father had made for her. It was white with a lilac-colored lid. She wanted to bring it to Ponyville with her, but her parents wouldn't let her.
"This is our property!" they had said.
"By that idea, I am your property too!" Sweetie Belle yelled.
"We wish! Then, we could own slaves that could take care of your lazy ass!" Rarity rushed down the stairs to find Sweetie Belle staring at her mother in disbelief. "Y-you called me an ass," she whispered.
Rarity turned on her mother. "Mother, that is unacceptable! You cannot simply call your daughter an ass." Her tone was venomous.
"Damn you Rarity! Damn you and your motherfucking sister!" their mother screamed. She grabbed the box with her horn aura, and smashed it into the ground.
Rarity stared at her mother in disbelief. "I DISOWN YOU!" she screamed. "I AM LEAVING AND NEVER COMING BACK!" Rarity galloped up the stairs. Her mother and father left the room. Sweetie Belle was left alone in the ashes of her family. She looked at the box on the floor and cautiously picked it up, putting it with her picture.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Sweetie Belle was in her new room. It didn't have much yet, but it was improving. She laid her "memories" in the very middle of her closet, hoping that she could forget about them.
She heard her sister scream. It then turned into words that sounded like, "Back....jnbj.....vile beast...." Sweetie Belle a=obviously couldn't hear everything that her sister said, but it was clear all the same.
"Another creepy crawler in the Boutique!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, not all that surprised. She went over to the kitchen, where her sister was. "What is it this time?" she asked, her voice bored.
"Oh, it was horrible! A cockroach! In the kitchen! But worry not, I killed it with that painting over there!" she motioned to a painting that lay on the ground by the stove.
Carefully picking it up, Sweetie Belle saw that it had been a picture of their old house. Most of it had been ripped, but most was still intact. She brought it up to her room and laid it on top of the rest of her memories. "Family, forever!" she mumbled, "Yeah...sure....
Sweetie Belle awoke from her nightmares in a cold sweat. They seemed to fill the air with the stench of sorrow. Sweetie Belle looked at her closet, and saw broken glass glimmering in the early dawn. She got up, and walked over to her closet. She grabbed the door and closed it, opening the doors to her future.
