Out of Style

by MahoganyMlp

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Sweetie Belle, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 2875

It's been a year since they got their cutie marks. A year since they disbanded. They realized the only reason they were friends was because they didn't know their special talents. Princess Twilight thinks otherwise, but what's she have to say

It's been a year since they got their cutie marks. A year since they disbanded. They realized the only reason they were friends was because they didn't know their special talents. Princess Twilight Sparkle thinks otherwise, but what's she have to say?

Huge thanks to CrystalMelody_Kc for both the cover art and prereading and CowgirlVK for prereading as well!:pinkiehappy:

Note: The CMC are teenage mares in this fic.

Published 2015-01-27 02:00:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-01-27 02:00:02 UTC

When We Go Crashing Down We Don't Come Back Up Everytime

Sweetie Belle,
Meet me in the library wing of the Friendship Palace at noon for a lunch conference. I patiently await your arrival.

Your Former Mentor,

(Princess) Twilight Sparkle
P.S. Try not to call me 'Princess', everypony calls me that, it's getting quite annoying.

That's all the note said. Earlier, Rarity had come up to her room and had given her this letter. Sweetie Belle had been setting up for a morning of vocal drills. Until, that is, Rarity burst into her room telling her there was a message from Princess Twilight herself.

"So?" Sweetie Belle had responded, "What does that have to do with me? Isn't Princess Twilight one of your 'besties'?"

"She says she wants to speak with you, dear. And it's formal. If she had wanted to chat with me, she would've just came over and rang the doorbell." Rarity explained.

Sweetie Belle just groaned and said she'd look.

Now, having read the letter over and over, she didn't know why the princess was asking for her. There was no clue except it gave the hint of being a formal lunch meeting.

"Sweetie Belle! Come downstairs!" Rarity's overly cheerful voice chimed.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT???" Sweetie yelled, not wanting to leave her precious vocal session.

"Come try on the frock I made for your meeting!"

Why was Rarity always so happy? It was starting to bug her. "Okay FINE! Ughhhhh!" She trudged down the stairs, towards the boutique's main foyer.

"I'm here, gosh. What did you-EW! What the Tartarus is that awful thing?!"

The 'frock' was more of a gown, really. It was tight around the front and poofed out at the skirt. The purple silk was embroidered with pink swirls and the hems were lined with diamonds. The delicate fabric used for the skirt was tripled, making it rather large for a small pony such as Sweetie Belle.

"That 'thing' is your new dress. And I worked hard on that, mind your manners Sweetie Belle." Rarity exclaimed with an indignant sniff.

"It looks like it was made for a little filly." Sweetie stated, but received no reply from Rarity.

"So do I try it on or what?" She asked after a while, her horn preparing to lift the piece of clothing off her sister's mannequin.

"Fine, fine, go ahead." The elder sister still seemed most offended.

Sweetie Belle levitated her new gown and slipped into a changing room to try it on. After a few minutes, she came back out with it wrapped around her small frame.

"Oh!" Rarity gushed, completely forgetting about Sweetie's earlier behaviour, "It's a perfect fit! And it matches your mane and coat just so! However, you'd best get going, your meeting's set in half an hour. You wouldn't want to be late, would you? Now move along." She rambled, not even giving Sweetie a chance to reply.

"Okay, okay, I'm going, I'm going! Geez! Bye Rarity!" Sweetie Belle stepped out the front door.

A moment later, Sweetie was walking to the castle in her (ugly) silk gown which was making her hind legs feel sweaty.
As the palace loomed into view, Sweetie Belle picked up her pace, not wanting to be late for her first ever, real meeting with the princess.

When she approached the gates,"Who're you?"

Sweetie looked up. An orange pegasus stallion looked down at her kindly. Way to kindly, I obviously can't associate myself with him, she noted. His armour labelled him as a member of the royal guard.

"Uh, I'm Sweetie Belle, Princess Twilight has requested a meeting with me." She told him, even though she didn't want to talk to him at all.

The stallion checked a list, "Oh yes, you're here for a lunch meeting?"

Stalker much? "Yes sir."

He smiled, pulling open the gates, "Come on in, Miss Sweetie Belle. Have a nice lunch!"

"Err, thanks?"

Because the palace was well organized and simple, just like it's owner, Sweetie Belle was able to easily locate the library wing. This was also due to half the palace being the library wing.

Sweetie walked into the wing and sat down in front of the small table that was set up near the entrance. A moment later, a lavender alicorn galloped over and sat down across from her.

"Sorry, I'm late. I was so caught up in the newest Daring Do book, I lost track of time! Again!" Twilight apologized.

"It's fine. I just got here too. Anyways, what did Your Highness want to talk about?" Sweetie asked, remembering, for once, to properly address the princess. It better not be about the CMC's fallout. That's one thing I'm not about to tell the world.

"What did I say about calling me that?"

"Nothing," Sweetie Belle replied nonchalantly, holding out the note.

"Hmm… try not to call me princess, it's annoying…" Twilight mumbled, "Huh! You're right, I missed that. But don't call me that either ok?"

"Sure Twilight. So what did you want to talk about?" Sweetie repeated.

"Actually, it's about Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. But how about we get some food first?" As she spoke, two daisy sandwiches materialized on the plates in front of them.

"So, what about them?" Sweetie flattened her brow while chewing on a bite of her sandwich.

"You know, ever since you got your cutiemarks you wouldn't talk to each other as often as before, right? It's been a year since that happened and now you hardly speak at all!" Twilight didn't wait for a reaction, "You used to go home with each other all the time after school and now you girls are always alone. Applejack, Rainbow Dash and your sister have all been worried about you three. AJ says Apple Bloom is coming home early and doing more than enough chores for her age and Rainbow says Scootaloo is coming to 'hang out' with her almost everyday now instead of once a week!" She took a breath, "They're worried that you might not have friends."

Sweetie Belle interjected, "Hey, woah, we have friends! And we're still friends! Why would they think we don't have friends?" She asked incredulously.

"I meant as in a close friend. Somepony you can confide with if you need help. Somepony you can share secrets with and not have to worry about them telling anypony. Somepony who will stand up for you." The princess explained.

Wow, when did Twilight get so cheesy?"Can't Rarity just do all that stuff for me?"

Twilight sighed, "You said yourself that Rarity hardly has time for you. I know, and you know, it's because her job keeps her really busy. But she won't always be there for you. That was my biggest mistake as a filly. I thought I didn't need friends because I had an older brother, Shining Armour. And I had books. Lots and lots of them. Anyway, once my brother went off to the cadet training, I was all alone. It was then when I started getting bullied for being smart." She paused, hesitant to share the rest of her story, "Ponies would call me names, hurt me, and I'd always be the last one picked to be part of a group or team. Before that, my brother was there to tell them off if they did that but he wasn't that year. It wasn't until he finally came home for Hearth's Warming Holidays did he find out what was going on. He then immediately put a stop to it. And you know what he told me? He said, 'I won't always be there for you, Twily. It sounds awful, but sadly, it is true. There's gonna be one day when I'm gone and it's just going to be you against the world. Twily, I know Equestria's an amazing place and under the rule of Celestia is the most peaceful country in the world, but someday, that will change. There are creatures that aren't at all nice, and when I'm not there for you, what're you gonna do?' And then he hugged me and left to board the train back to Canterlot. It was the strangest, yet most meaningful thing he ever said to me. I've kept it with me until now. Look at where that advice got me! A few years ago, when I first met your sister and my other friends, I found the answer: make some friends."

Sweetie laughed, "Ha! What are the bullies thinking now? They bullied PRINCESS Twilight!"

"I meant, I want you to make some friends." The alicorn restated her previous thought.

Sweetie Belle looked up from her sandwich, "I already told you, I do have friends!"

"Ok you know what? This is getting us nowhere. Let's just cut to the chase. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom need you. They won't admit it, but Rainbow told me that if she's busy on one of the days Scootaloo wants to hang out with her, Scoots will spend the rest of the day doing things really, you know, the opposite of how she normally does them. Without interest, almost. You know how horrible that is to watch. Apparently Dash is the only pony that she'll act like she used to around. And that was only because she didn't want Rainbow to think something was wrong. But she was found out."

"And what does that have to do with Apple Bloom?"

"Apple Bloom..." Twilight murmured, "Like I said, she's always coming home to the farm as soon as school lets out. She doesn't even go into town if she doesn't have to for Celestia's sake! I know she likes Spike and they're pretty good friends, but Spike's a dragon! She should have friends her own species too!"

"Cool. But why would I have to help them? Why can't one of them be the one to 'mend us back together'?" Sweetie Belle suddenly took on an attitude, "Oh I know. Is it because I might be easier to convince? I'm that much of a doormat, huh?"

Twilight gasped, "Sweetie Belle! Who taught you to speak like that? I ought to tell Rarity about your behaviour!"

"Oh you didn't know? We did Cutiemark Crusader bad mouths! Looks like that tactic had some use after all!"

"WHAT?! You have to stop this right now!"

Sweetie snickered, "Or else what? You'll tell my mommy? Hate to be a sour pickle but my mommy's not home! And she won't be for quite a long time!"

Twilight sighed and took a deep breath, "Sweetie Belle," she said calmly, "tell me, why are you suddenly talking like this?"

"Oh, I think maybe I've suddenly received this gift of an attitude after the CMC's fallout?" Sweetie replied. "It's true, just ask Rarity. Go on, ask her."

"Alright. Well, we've got to do something about this, don't we?" Twilight shifted on the cushion, getting herself comfortable.

Sweetie Belle, on the other hoof, was starting to get quite frustrated. Why wasn't Twilight getting mad at her? It was annoying! She was doing all she could to get into trouble and out of this conversation, but it seemed like the princess just wouldn't back down! Sure, she was a bit surprised when Sweetie took out her secret weapon but… she started to back into a different character.

"Sweetie Belle? You alright?"

Sweetie stared into Twilight's eyes. She carefully gathered her thoughts and began speaking, "I've changed, Twilight. You know that, right? I'm no longer the sweet little filly that was made fun of everyday by some meaningless, heartless bullies. I'm no longer a foal who cries at the single thought of a problem. I've found my talent and it really doesn't have anything to do with those of my friends. I'm starting to see your point that we aren't as close anymore, us CMC, but we are bound to drift apart at some point. There are those ponies that slip into your life, make it better or worse, then slip back out. You'll still remember them of course, like a shadow in the back of your mind, but they're nothing like the ponies that are your," The filly halted, searching for the right term, "forever crew. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo just aren't the forever crew, I guess. We only became friends because of our lack of talent, remember? Now that we have them, I don't suppose we have any use hanging out in that old clubhouse anymore."

Twilight looked about to protest, but Sweetie Belle held up a hoof.

"I know what you're about to say, I know, you, my sister and the rest once had the Elements of Harmony to keep you together but now, even when they're gone you're still friends. You are all bound by magic. All those times you've defeated evil, Nightmare Moon, Discord, Sombra, Tirek and so many more, I can't even count. That only tightens your bond. What have Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and I done that's significantly marked by magic and is displayed as a stained glass window in the Royal Canterlot Castle itself? Nothing. We didn't even earn our cutiemarks at the same time. Which was the whole point of our friendship."

The alicorn was shocked. Shocked to hear Sweetie Belle was such a good speaker. But most of all, shocked that her little student, who used to be inseparable with her buddies, did not wish to be close to them anymore. Her jaw hung slightly ajar.

Sweetie sighed, "I guess that's it. Bye Twilight." She got up and adjusted her dress, "Thanks for having me over." She started towards the door.

Only then did Twilight snap out of her trance, "Sweetie Belle!" She cried, with a hint of déjà vu in her voice.

The not so little unicorn turned around, "Go on, yell at me for being rude. I'm not gonna say anything."

"Did you know you're a really good emotional speaker?" The princess blurted, then covered her mouth with a hoof, "Ok, never mind that. I guess you're right. I've never had many friends before this but I understand. I really do."

"This doesn't mean I don't want to still be friends with them or anything, y'know? Just not as close as we used to be…" Sweetie trailed off, leaving Princess Twilight Sparkle of Friendship stunned on her cushion, with a half eaten daisy sandwich in her magical grasp. And that's how the young princess stayed for a very long time.

"Maybe she's right… Just maybe… you don't have to have the same best friends all your life. Maybe there's more to friendship than forever…"

Dear Princess Celestia,
I know I haven't written in a while, and I sincerely apologize. However, today I learned a very important lesson, or fact of friendship.
One of my students, Sweetie Belle, who is also Rarity's sister and was part of the Cutiemark Crusaders. As I have mentioned already in the past, the CMC have decided to split apart. That is the reason I summoned Sweetie Belle to my palace. I wished to bring the Crusaders back together. It seemed they wanted the opposite.
For the most part, the meeting was uneventful, but then, Sweetie became angered, for whatever reason I do not know. I was going to talk to her about her behaviour but she cut my off. With the most meaningful speech, I must say. She told me that not all friends must stay close, some were only meant to be in part of your story. Of course, there are the friends who stick with you until the end, whereas most will leave you in the conscious world but still stay, and I quote, like a shadow at the back of your mind.
I've always thought that whoever is your friend, will remain your friend for eternity. It seems I was wrong. What Sweetie Belle told me was not only a friendship lesson, but also a fact of life.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship

Author's Note

Hey guys!
I have a few things to note but first of all, thank you so much for reading!
Secondly, I started this story back around last November but I only completed it a week ago when I really took in the meaning of Style by Taylor Swift. You see, I started this before listening to her song, but lost interest after a while. The true nuance of Style really inspired me to finish this.
Lastly, I wasn't actually sure whether to have the CMC get back together or not.:unsuresweetie: True, when I first started this fic I'd wanted Sweetie Belle to write a letter or something to the others, telling them they needed each other or something cheesy like that... But then I realized it could go the other way as well. I was torn apart until I got to a section where I couldn't continue the first plan or the whole fic would crash down and become crappy... So I went with the second option and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!!
Again, thanks for reading and please tell me what you think!

Peace out!平:heart:
~Mahogany

EDIT: Change in formatting :)