Rarity hummed a gentle tune to herself as she sat upon her boutique’s front room couch, running her magic through fabrics and threads. With a last stroke of her needle, she held up her work for inspection and gave a satisfied nod.
The sound of the door creaking open alerted Rarity, prompting her to follow the sound. However, she did so with a smile, knowing it could be a potential customer walking in.
“Hi, Rarity.”
Rarity smiled for real. She knew that voice.
“Hello, Sweetie! How was school today?”
“Fine.”
Sweetie slumped her saddlebags off, dropping them on the floor near the door. Not bothering to look at her sister, she began trotting away, each hoofstep echoing through the room. Rarity cocked her head, already sensing the tension that had been brought in.
“Sweetie, are you alright? Is something the matter?”
“I’m fine.”
“You can tell me if something’s upsetting you.”
“I said I’m fine.”
Third time in a row something’s been fine. Pushing herself onto all fours, Rarity set a brisk pace after the young filly, reaching her before they touched the staircase that lead to their bedrooms. She set her hoof on Sweetie’s shoulder before putting on her designated ‘motherly’ voice.
“What happened in school today?”
“Nothing. What makes you think something happened?”
“Oh, nothing in particular. I just ask what happened every day, don’t I? Anything interesting happen?”
“No… Just another boring day.”
Rarity allowed herself a soft smile.
“I think I know that feeling. Haven’t you mentioned sometime that today was painting day at school? You were looking forward to that, weren’t you?”
“…Uh-huh.”
“And how did that go?”
Sweetie didn’t answer immediately. She continued staring ahead, shifting her gaze from the stairs to the floor to the window on occasions. Finally, she shrugged and sighed before trying to break away from her sister.
“It was fine.”
Rarity frowned, but she made sure not to let Sweetie see it. Watching her trudge up the stairs, Rarity only waited a second before following behind.
“Did you paint anything you like?”
“No—I mean yes. I painted.”
“Really? I’d love to see it.”
“It’s drying at school.”
“Well, then you’ll just have to describe it for me. What is it like?”
As they set hooves down on the top steps, Sweetie made pace for her room. Rarity just continued to follow the young filly.
“It’s… colorful. I mixed a lot.”
“Really? What is it of? Perhaps a landscape? Or maybe a portrait of the princess?”
“It’s nothing. I think Miss Cheerilee called it abstract.”
“That’s wonderful, Sweetie.”
“It’s alright.”
“Did you paint it all by yourself? Or did you have help from friends? I’m sure they…”
Rarity trailed off, her eyes catching the slight flinch her sister had at the words. Within moments, her confusion shifted into understanding. There it is.
The sisters entered into Sweetie’s room, but hesitated once stepping hoof inside. Sweetie glanced around left to right and right to left, eyes slightly widened, before returning to her dreary cloud. She hopped up onto her bed and settled down on her side, face half buried in her pillow. Sitting on the floor beside her, Rarity set her fore-hooves on the bedside.
She gave an experimental touch of her hoof, pushing a strand of Sweetie’s curly hair out of the filly’s face, and inwardly nodded when her sister didn’t try to push her away. Sweetie never made eye contact.
“Sweetie? Could you tell me more about your painting? How did that go?”
“…My friends painted their own stuff. We all painted our own stuff.”
“Is that right?”
“Mmhm. But we were doing it for fun. We could still help each other out.”
Rarity said nothing. Sweetie was the one talking.
“I did my painting. It was alright even though it wasn’t finished yet. One of the colts saw mine and looked at it for a minute.”
“Yes?”
“Mmhm. He… said it was alright. Said there was a spot I missed here or a color I could add here.”
“And what happened next?”
Silence.
Rarity remained quiet, still running her hoof through her sister’s mane. Although she never looked directly into her sister’s eyes, she could still see the glistening. Sweetie heaved a shuddering sigh.
“T-then… I got… mad at him.”
“…?”
“I-I told him I didn’t need his advice. I was doing just fine.
“Then he got mad at me a-and told me he was just trying to help. Then I-I…”
Rarity heard the sniffle, but it didn’t surprise. She’d been counting the minutes ‘till she heard it. She backed away an inch, drawing back her hoof to reach under her sister’s chin. Lifting it up, Rarity did nothing more than keep eye contact.
“You can let it out, dear.”
Sweetie remained wordless. Then she sniffled. Then she cried. Latching onto her big sister in a hug, she sobbed into her shoulder. Her stream of tears matted both of their manes, but neither cared.
“I-I yelled at him. And he yelled back. We yelled mean things at each other until Miss Cheerilee b-broke us up.”
Rarity’s hoof ran though Sweetie’s mane, rubbing the back of her neck.
“I feel so bad! Why did I do that, Rarity, why? I-I-I got so angry when he was just trying to help me. Why did I do that?”
“If I could tell you why, I would, trust me. But I don’t know why. I think only you can know for sure.”
She choked on her own breath, her sobbing only harsher.
“Rarity, what do I do, what do I do? I feel so bad!”
“You could apologize.”
Sweetie sighed.
“I did. After Miss Cheerilee told us to stop. I felt bad right then, and I really meant it when I said I’m sorry. B-but he…
“He apologized too. H-he tried to take some of the blame and say he probably acted rude about it. But no! I-It’s my fault! He wasn’t that rude! I just overacted, and I’m sorry.
“I don’t think he knows how sorry I am.”
Rarity took in a deep breath and let it out, trying not to let Sweetie notice. Her sister didn’t cling to her so tight anymore, just hanging around her neck.
“If you don’t think he knows, then why not make sure he knows? Do something meaningful?”
“I don’t even know him… Never spoke to him before. It’s probably not even a big deal to him. It’ll just look weird if I try to apologize again…”
She sighed.
“Rarity, why does this have to happen?”
“Sometimes we make mistakes, Sweetie.”
“But that’s just it. Why do we have to make mistakes? Especially these stupid, silly, petty ones. Ones that are so small we shouldn’t even have made them?”
“That’s… just the way we are, dear. It’s what makes us who we are.”
Sweetie broke away from her sister’s grasp, laying her head back onto the pillow. Her eyes stared at nothing in particular. “I think if everyone stopped making silly mistakes, we’d all be a bit happier.”
“…Sweetie?”
The filly rolled over, facing away from her sister.
Rarity pushed herself straight up as she set her hoof down on Sweetie’s shoulder.
“Sweetie? I want you to know something… I know you’re upset, and I know you wish you could make things right. But hear me out.
“Know that at the end of the day, when all is said and done, and all things have come to pass, everything… is going to be alright.”
“…”
“…If you need me, I’ll be downstairs knitting, alright? I love you, sister.”
“Love you too.”
Rarity turned tail and made hoofsteps for the door, but not before pausing as her sister spoke.
“Thanks, Rarity.”
“…You’re quite welcome.”
She left the room, careful to shut the door, and a smile on her lips.
