Happiness Never Breaks
“Sweetie Belle, honey, it's time to get up."
"Wha…? But, I don't wanna…"
My sister sighed.
"A year and a half of complete chaos, and always being alert still hasn't changed you, has it?"
"I kinda spent my years before sleeping in…" I responded despondently, sitting up in bed.
When I was younger, I had always tried to find a way to skip school. Today, however, I seriously did not feel well, but I decided to get up; missing school over being sleepy was too much.
"Breakfast will be ready in five minutes," she said, leaving the room.
I stood up, and looked at my reflection in the mirror behind the door. I truly looked like a mess: my hair was sticking out at wild angles, my eyes looked slightly swollen, and as I placed the back of my hand against my forehead, I thought my skin was on fire.
The day before a storm had trapped me, Applebloom, and Scootaloo inside our tree house. We found shelter in the wooden shack, but the storm continued for hours. We had gotten bored, and began a game of Truth or Dare. As luck would have it with me, I had been dared to run out of the treehouse, and jump into the stormy waters of the pouring rain.
The water wasn't all that rough, and the rain wasn't that cold, but I was forced to wear wet clothing for the rest of the day, until the rain stopped. By then, the sun had set.
Sighing and regretting my choice against Scootaloo's dare, I retreated to my closet, and pulled out my usual white dress. I put it on, and attempted to comb my hair into -- at the very least -- a more respectable matter.
Feeling very sluggish, I stumbled into the kitchen, and sat at the table where my sister was already sitting. She had set my breakfast plate out for me, but I merely ran my fork through the food with no intent of eating it. Not out of malice or anything, I just didn't feel like eating right now.
After a few minutes had passed, she stood up.
"Sweetie Belle, is something wrong?" she asked, walking over and placing a hand on my forehead.
I shook my head.
"Stupid Scootaloo… I'm never gonna listen to her again."
She looked at me, confused, but didn't question it as she moved her hand away from my forehead. I should've picked truth.
"Go back upstairs, Sweetie. A day off wouldn't hurt, just don't do anything reckless." She took my breakfast plate away, then turned and smiled at me. "Go rest up."
I smiled weakly at her, then got up and traipsed my way back up the stairs to my bedroom. I changed out of my dress and into more comfortable clothing, then flopped back into bed. I had little energy, and felt really weak. I simply laid on my back, my eyes not really focused on anything but staring at the ceiling.
School was probably starting right about now… and those two were probably wondering where I was. I turned my eyes and looked out the window, from which I could see the school perfectly, picturing Applebloom saying something like, "What a lazy bum." I smiled, and fell asleep.
* * *
Jerking awake suddenly, I huddled into my blankets and coughed. It was probably around noon, and the sun was shining uncomfortably through the window. I shivered despite the warm sunlight spilling into the room. Still wrapped in my blanket, I got up and headed out of my room towards the family room, where it was much less bright.
I found my sister curled up in a comfortable chair in the family room, making some type of outfit. She looked up as I walked in and flopped onto the couch.
"Wow, you really don't look well," she said, standing up and kneeling next to the couch.
I shook my head, and sniffed. Getting the flu was rare for me, and I resented myself for having such a stroke of bad luck. She sighed, and smiled sadly at me.
"Just stay here, I'll bring you something," she said, straightening up and heading into the kitchen.
I nodded and curled up on the couch. I sighed, wishing I felt at least a little less terrible than this. She walked in with two steaming mugs, a bottle of a strange, blue liquid, and a damp cloth. She set the items down on the coffee table.
"Sit up," she said, sitting down on the couch beside me.
I had no energy to protest. I hated that blue medicine as long as I could remember. It tasted terrible and left a rather gross feeling but I was in no condition to argue so I sat back up, still tightly wrapped in my blanket. I reached for the spoon myself, but she snatched it, then poured out the medicine.
"Rarity, I can do it myself," I said in a groggy voice.
"I know," she said, smirking and holding the spoonful of medicine in front of me. "But you look like you could use some help. It's been awhile since you've been sick."
I snorted, and then covered my mouth as my laugh ended in a painful cough. I lowered my hand as my coughing stopped, then closed my eyes and opened my mouth, feeling childish but not overly embarrassed.
I swallowed the bitter, burning blue liquid and quickly took the steaming mug from my sister's hands. I swallowed the cold, herbal tea, and it began to soothe my inflamed throat right away.
"So now we know what your weakness is: the flu bug," she said with a slight smirk.
I lowered the mug and gave her a reproachful look. She laughed.
"I'm kidding, Sweetie. Here, place this on your forehead if you want." She handed me the damp towel.
"Thanks, but I'm fine for now," I said, and took another sip of the tea. She gazed at me but didn't lose her smile.
"How did you manage to stay so energetic all the time?" she asked.
"I had to stay like that, everyone needs happiness everywhere. It can be hard at times sure…sometimes it can be quite difficult," I said. "Applebloom and Scootaloo sometimes would remind me that things aren't always bad."
"Who's the most happy?"
"Huh?" I raised an eyebrow at her.
"Applebloom or Scootaloo. Who was happier?"
I pondered for a moment, but was slightly surprised she was inquiring me about my friends; I had thought she wasn't interested in what they did at all.
"I'd probably say Scootaloo," I answered a moment later. "She's more energetic then Applebloom is. Although, she can be just as happy to."
"You never really talk about your other friends, though," she stated.
"Well, I have quite a few."
"Tell me about that one kid... Bads was it?"
"It's Babs, sis."
"Is she actually a nice girl? When I see her, she always seems... mean."
"Well, she is nice enough. She can be a little too... rough in my opinion, though…" I remarked, remembering my overuse of body language as I spoke. I allowed myself to smile. "She tried to take one of my drawings from me."
"She did?"
"She's from a tough place, sis. She takes whatever she wants or anything she sees fit."
"Did she attack you to try and get it?"
"No. She asked for it, and I handed it to her."
She gave me a confused look like the one from earlier.
"Then, how do you still have it?"
"She's not that bad, she only wanted to see it so once she saw it, she gave it back to me."
"Oh? That's good."
"When we play pirates, I was the prisoner at times."
"She made you a prisoner too?"
"No, no, that was Applebloom that kept me prisoner, not Babs."
"How many pirate ships were you on?!"
"Two. Well, three if you count Applejack."
"Applebloom worked with her, didn't she?"
"Yeah. It was really fun, though, after we took over their ship."
"You captained a ship?"
"Nah, I left it to Scootaloo. I was having too much fun 'flying'."
She chuckled as I said that.
"I bet you were having the time of your life 'flying' around."
"Yeah… I really want to go back. It has to be soon, though."
"Why?"
"Because it’s for kids, and anyone in highschool are the bad guys. So sorry, sis, guess you won't learn to fly," I said, smirking at her.
She smiled back.
"What about when you were playing at the beach as a dolphin?"
"I was a shark, sis."
"No, from what Applejack told me, you were half-dolphin. She said you had a fin on your butt-"
"Hey, it has its uses!" I heatedly replied.
"Oh, like what?"
"I used it to scare Applebloom once when she was swimming around… I made her think a shark was about to get her."
"Ah, how useful."
I took another sip of my tea, which was progressively making me feel less tired.
"Were you sad?"
"About what?"
"About everything. You having to end all of your fun."
"It was sad but I wouldn't be disappointed since I knew I would see them again the next day."
"I still can't believe you can be so energetic, but I'm not surprised."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, sweetie."
I didn't understand what she was referring to but before I could ask once more, she asked,
"But it's not completely over, is it?"
I stared at the tea in my mug. I had never bothered to ponder the future: I had been much too busy just playing with my friends to fully think about it. Now, though, I was sitting here, not completely healthy at the moment but nonetheless happy, and… doing nothing. Now, however, I had the time to think, actually sit down and think, to ponder what could become of my future, and to be scared. She spoke again.
"You don't have to worry about the future just yet. Your friends are still with you."
Almost subconsciously, I placed my right hand in front of me, feeling my heart beating. She showed no reaction, but I knew she was feeling the same way.
"As long as you and my friends are with me, my journey isn't over," my voiced allowed, to no one in particular.
She shifted closer to me. I moved my hand away from my chest and looked at her. We both gazed at one another, and a moment later, I found myself in her arms. She held me close and stroked my hair.
I knew that I would have to go out into the world, and this time, I would have to leave my childish antics behind. Yet, here I was, thirteen soon to be fourteen, I would have to take on many challenges that adults had to and still would go through, or would fail in life. I would definitely miss her when that day comes, but I wouldn’t be scared or worried. I was capable to care for myself, and I had the ability to help a handful of others as well.
"Sweetie Belle, I am so proud of you," she said. "You never give up, and for that you will always achieve what you want, what you aspire for. You have a strong heart that will never be lost, no matter how much life tries to take it. Your journey will begin one day, but it will begin in the way you want it to be."
I listened to her words, and shut my eyes tightly to keep my tears in, but smiled. My friends had always praised her, though at the time, I thought it was because of her clothing. Now I realized why; she was a special woman, one who probably had the same strength as I did, and when she had to deal with life head-on, she would probably have surpassed them all as well.
We sat for a few moments, holding each other, and then she released me. She took my cheeks into her hands, and placed a kiss on my forehead.
"Feeling better?"
I nodded.
"Thanks."
She smiled at me, then got up and headed towards the kitchen.
"I'll make you some soup for dinner. Our parents should be home soon. After that you can head off to bed if you want."
I nodded again as I watched her leave into the kitchen. Before she was gone from the room though, I called back out to her.
"Hey, sis?"
She stopped at the doorway and turned to face me.
"Yes, sweetie?"
I smiled back at her.
"Thank you... For everything. And...I love you."
It was rare that I would ever say that. It's not something to be said lightly either. She smiled at me, and at my uniqueness, maturity, and courage. I was proud to be her little sister and earn her love and praise.
"I love you too, Sweetie Belle."
