He Who Lets Light Fade

It was no secret that Ponyville was FAR from being a fancy place. Dirt paths, houses with straw roofs, and a farm just down the way. However, if somepony were to step into the Carousel Boutique, they could be excused for thinking that they were teleported right to Canterlot. Regal and comfortable, it was clear that no expense was spared to give this place its signature flair. Flair, of course, was Rarity's specialty, and she adored every minute of adding it to the clothes she made here. At the present time, however, she was not making clothes, but rather making sure that her guest was as comfortable as possible. She had heard what had happened to Rainbow Dash, and she was NOT going to have Leo worry about hurting her. Sure, she was worried about herself, too, but the poor stallion's mind was probably wracked with worry. The Bard was sitting on a couch that somehow seemed more comfy than the clouds he was on yesterday, waiting for Rarity to return from the "powder room", as she called it.

"How is this even possible? You'd think clouds would be the most relaxing thing to lie on in the whole world, and then you have this couch that just takes that way of thinking and SMASHES it."

"Rarity said that it's an import."

He looked over the arm of the couch to see a tiny white filly standing there. If he remembered correctly, her name was...

"Sweetie Belle, right?"

"Yep! I'm about to go to school, but I'm waiting for Rarity."

"You wanna say goodbye to her, right?"

"Mmhmm. That's what sisters do! Do you have any sisters?"

"One sister and one brother."

"Did they come with you from your world?"

"Yep. We didn't even know we were related until...well, certain things happened?"

"What things?"

Before Leo could think of something that wasn't "my people all died except for my friends and we were thrown into a sicko's game", Rarity came downstairs. "All right, Sweetie Belle. Ready for school?"

"Yep! Leo was just about to tell me how he met his siblings!"

"Really? I didn't know you had any. Oh right. Sweetie Belle, I'll see you later!"

"Goodbye, Rarity!"

With that, Sweetie Belle left the boutique, leaving Leo and Rarity alone. Rarity immediately said what was on her mind. "I'm sorry about your siblings. Losing them when your world was destroyed must have been hard."

"What? Rares, you got it wrong. They're players of Sburb, too. You've already met them."

"What? I didn't know that! Why didn't you tell us?"

"We were all made by ectobiology. It's a really complicated thing and it would take too long to explain. But yeah, maybe Zach could have told you all about that without making it mind numbing."

"So, who are they?"

"Topaz and Carl. I was surprised as heck when I found out. I mean, Topaz and I lived in separate countries, and Carl was on the other side of mine."

"And the others?"

"Randall's related to Valerie and Amber, Zachary's related to Rita and Kylee, and Sam's related to Pierce and Skyla."

"Interesting. Well, one good thing about that horrid game is that it brought you all together."

"Yeah. That, and I got to weaponize my fedora."

"How did you do that?"

"Complicated stuff. But all you need to know is that I'm wearing a flying guillotine."

"...I see."

There was an awkward silence as the two couldn't figure out a way to follow that up. However, Rarity thought of a question. "When you learned you were related, what did you do, exactly?"

"We agreed to make up for lost time. Be the sibs that we couldn't be before. But we had no clue what siblings did that friends didn't do, too. We still don't know."

"Well, that's easy, darling!"

Leo looked at her in confusion. "It is?"

"Certainly! You don't do anything that friends wouldn't do!"

"...what. Rarity, that makes about as much sense as Pinkie."

"A brother or sister is like a friend, but you just feel closer because of your relationship with them. Everything is your blood tells you that they mean something more to you than other people, and you have to honor that! You don't have to do anything different aside from know what they are to you."

Leo looked like he had been told the secrets of the universe. It was clear that this was something that he had worried about for a long time before they arrived in Equestria. He lunged forward and wrapped Rarity in a hug. "Rarity, you're a genius!"

Rarity went red in the face. "Oh, darling, I was only speaking from experience. There's no need to shower such praise on me."

"Just try and stop me, madame."

She went even redder. "Oh, stop it!"

"Ha-ha, okay. We don't need to make this something it isn't." He backed away from the hug. "But hey, seriously, thanks."

"You're most certainly welcome darling. Feel free to come to me for help anytime."

He chuckled at that. "Rarity, if I came to you every time I needed help, you'd tear your mane out."