Rarity may have hated being out in the rain, but when she was safely inside the Carousel Boutique, she always longed for the days that she heard the soothing sound of raindrops pattering against her window. It would help her think during her process of designing a new line of fashion, when she was practicing a new spell to help in her dressmaking, and it was the most helpful in lulling her to sleep like a lullaby.
That was what was happening at that moment. Rarity lay in her bed, listening to the sound of the raindrops that had been falling since earlier that morning, and trying her best to get to sleep. Unfortunately, the white unicorn just COULDN’T shake the feeling that something was horribly amiss in the boutique at that moment.
Something involving a certain white, pink-and-purple-maned filly.
Rarity knew what sense she was feeling, and she felt guilty every time it was active. All it did was serve to remind her of a secret that she longed to, but couldn’t, tell that same young filly. Rarity sighed. She hated keeping secrets at all from her friends and family, something that was selfish in her opinion, but she just couldn’t help it sometimes- she had her reasons for secrets, too.
Soon, the sense got too strong to ignore, and Rarity found herself slipping out of bed and putting on her nightrobe. Opening her door, she slipped out into the hallway and made her way to Sweetie Belle’s room. When she got there, she moved her mane from her ear and pressed her ear to the door. Sure enough, she heard the one sound that she was afraid to hear: Muffled, but still audible, came the sound of a filly quietly sobbing.
Rarity knocked softly and opened the door, “Sweetie? Are you alright? What’s wrong?”
The young filly immediately popped into view from beneath the bundle of blankets that she had been hiding underneath, looking anxiously at Rarity, “N-nothing, Rarity!”
“Sweetie…” Rarity gave her a pointed look, lighting her horn to illuminate the room as she went and sat down next to her bed.
Sweetie shook her head, “I’m fine, sis. Nothing to worry about. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
“Sweetie, I know you were crying, I even heard it from the other side of the door. What’s wrong?”
Sweetie gave in, and immediately latched onto Rarity in a hug, “I had a nightmare. A bad one.”
“What was it about?” Rarity held Sweetie Belle firmly, stroking her mane with a hoof.
“I-I-,” Sweetie Belle took a deep breath, “I was alone. Mom and Dad were both gone for good, and you went with them…you didn’t even look back at me...”
Rarity raised an eyebrow, still holding her, “Sweetie, do you really think I would ever leave you? I’m NOT like m- OUR parents, and though I’m busy sometimes I’d NEVER abandon you, and go off to some far-off place without you.”
“I guess not.” Sweetie wiped a tear away, sniffling, “It was still scary, though…”
Rarity kissed the top of her head, near the base of her small horn, still rubbing her mane gently, “Do you want to sleep with me, tonight?”
Sweetie Belle nodded, a small smile on her lips that Rarity knew was a familiar sign: Sweetie Belle would never pass up an opportunity to spend time with the fashionista, and after Rarity had gone so far as to get herself covered in mud to make the white filly happy, Sweetie Belle appreciated time with her older sister even more than ever before. Even though she was busy, and didn’t seem to notice her, Rarity secretly adored it when the filly wanted to spend time with her and even help with her- if only she could put aside her career more often.
“Come on, dear.” Rarity wrapped a hoof around Sweetie’s withers and guided her out of the room.
When they reached her bedroom, Sweetie didn’t immediately run to jump on the bed but stayed pressed close to Rarity as they approached it and the older unicorn pulled back the covers. Only then did Sweetie climb onto the bed, with Rarity following, and as soon as Rarity had laid down and pulled the covers back over them, Sweetie immediately cuddled up close and buried her face in Rarity’s chest fur. Rarity smiled, always welcoming the filly’s company on nights such as this, and gently wrapped her soft forelegs around the smaller unicorn.
Rarity had washed and brushed her mane earlier that evening, and hadn’t bothered to put it back into its usual style, instead letting it hang down her back at its natural length, which was actually quite long- the silky strands of royal purple reached all the way to her hooves in fact, and if she had brushed it just right it would’ve actually resembled a longer version of Fluttershy’s sakura pink mane. Her tail was a similar story when it was undone from its curls.
Sweetie Belle absolutely loved it when Rarity’s mane was like that, because it helped her see a side of the older unicorn that only she knew about- a side that honestly did not care for looking prim and proper all the time. Plus, Rarity’s naturally hanging mane provided her with the coziest blanket next to a pegasus wing (not that she would tell Scootaloo that. The orange filly loved to boast enough as it was). That being said, Sweetie wasted no time after Rarity’s hooves surrounded her and immediately reached up to the pull the fashionista’s mane over her. It was so long that it covered both of them and Rarity didn’t even feel a painful jolt to her skull as Sweetie tugged it over them, snuggling firmly right between Rarity’s forelegs after she did so.
There was a long silence, and now that Sweetie Belle was safe and comfortable in her arms, Rarity smiled and gave a contented sigh, nuzzling the filly’s head as she returned to listening to the rain outside.
“Hey, Rarity?”
“Goodness, Sweetie Belle,” Rarity, annoyed, looked down to see that the smaller unicorn was still awake and her glowing green eyes were looking up at her, “shouldn’t we be getting some sleep?”
“Sorry,” Sweetie Belle looked away, ashamed, “I just forgot that even though it’s Saturday tomorrow, you still have work. Why can’t you take the weekends off like I do?”
“The adult world doesn’t work like that, I’m afraid,” Rarity responded sadly, “though if it did, I’d spend every moment of tomorrow with you.”
“Would you mind doing this all day?” Sweetie asked, gesturing to their mane-blanket, “because I wouldn’t. I’d stay like this all day if I could.”
Rarity chuckled, “That’s an idea, but what did you want to ask, darling?”
“Oh, right,” Sweetie Belle looked back up at her, “I was wondering a few things?”
“Like?”
“Well, my birthday was a few months ago, and I started thinking about the two of us, but then something just came to mind.”
“What is it?” Rarity asked, curious.
Sweetie poked her belly, and then her own, “Why do we look a lot alike?”
Rarity froze, definitely not expecting that question from out of the blue, “W-Whatever do you mean?”
“Well,” Sweetie thought for a moment, an admittedly cute expression on her face, “we both had grayish-white coats, and we both have purplish manes and tails.”
“Genetics, Sweetie.” Rarity responded, hopefully not too quickly, “they can be quite difficult to understand.”
“I know that, sis, but I thought you inherited your parents looks, yet,” Sweetie Belle thought for a moment, “aside from Dad’s white coat, I’ve got nothing in common with them. You look more like them than I do. You have Dad’s coat and Mom’s mane.”
Rarity shrugged, though her insides had broken out in a cold sweat, “I guess that’s true, but I don’t really know what I can tell you, darling.”
“Okay.” Rarity inwardly sighed with relief as Sweetie dropped the subject.
“Was there anything else?” Rarity asked, curious despite how nervous she was.
Sweetie was silent for a moment, then, “How did you know that there was something wrong earlier? From the way you said it, you made it seem like you knew I was crying before you heard it.”
“I know you were crying, I ‘even’ heard it from the other side of the door.”
Horseapples. Should’ve worded that better. Now Rarity had DEFINITELY dug a hole for herself. She wondered if she should just reveal everything to Sweetie, but she knew that she couldn’t, lest she ruin what she had at that moment. She had to get out of this, and then get Sweetie Belle to go to sleep before she asked a question that left Rarity with no choice but to tell her everything. Sometimes, she really did curse Sweetie Belle’s random curiosity.
Perhaps I can tell her a half-truth? She’ll just think I’m being a good big sister that way, right?
“Intuition.” Rarity responded calmly, choosing her words, “I just...felt that something was wrong with you, so I wanted to make sure.”
The unicorn filly was silent.
“Sweetie?” Rarity asked, shaking her.
“I’m awake.” Sweetie said, her voice sounding...thoughtful. Oh no, you don’t. Sorry, Sweetie, but no more questions.
“Well, you really shouldn’t be. There’s no school tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean you should be out and about with only a few hours of sleep. Don’t you usually have plans with Scootaloo and Applebloom on Saturdays?”
“Yeah, but not tomorrow. Scootaloo went with Rainbow Dash to see the Wonderbolts perform in Cloudsdale, and Applebloom has to help Applejack on the farm all day tomorrow.”
Rarity knew where Sweetie was going with this, and she felt guilty for not knowing, “I see. Let me guess, dear: you were wondering if you would like us to spend time together, tomorrow?”
“Do you not want to?” Sweetie sounded disappointed.
“Of course I do! It’s just, well,” Rarity thought for a moment, pulling the younger unicorn closer to her in thought, “I really have some orders I need to work on. I’m sorry, Sweetie.”
“No, no, it’s okay.” Sweetie said, pulling away from Rarity’s embrace though she remained under the blanket of Rarity’s mane, “I’ll think of something to do, I guess.”
Rarity felt guilty. Sweetie had just wanted to spend time with her, and once again, work had gotten in the way. That was life, she figured, but..., “You can help me if you want.”
“That’s okay,” Sweetie shook her head, yawning, “I’m a...horrible…dressmaker…”
As if hit by a sleeping spell or hypnotism, Sweetie’s words became more quiet and she yawned. In seconds, she was snoring in a peaceful sleep, wrapping Rarity’s mane around her more tightly.
Rarity waited for a moment, to see if the young filly was really asleep. She knew that Sweetie Belle was a light sleeper sometimes, so she had to make sure that she wouldn’t notice if she moved. Slowly, she retrieved her long mane from her grip, and brought the covers over her in the same split second so Sweetie wouldn’t feel cold. Once Sweetie was tucked in comfortably, Rarity got up out of bed.
She couldn’t help it. After Sweetie Belle’s sudden questioning, she had to have one glance at ‘it’.
She walked over to a dresser next to her vanity, the bottom drawer of which was sealed closed with a spell that only responded to magic- her magic, specifically. Removing the spell, Rarity opened the drawer, and pulled out the photo album that lay inside. leafing through the many pictures of her, Sweetie Belle, and their family, Rarity finally found the photo she wanted to see and pulled it out. Sweetie Belle’s questions had threatened her secret, and it had made Rarity feel the urge to just HAVE to look at that picture in particular.
It showed a slightly younger Rarity, her mane disheveled and an expression of great happiness, mixed with a lot of exhaustion, on her face, laying in a hospital bed and smiling at the other pony in the photo: a small, newborn unicorn filly, bearing a white coat with a hint of pink-and-purple mane on its head, being held lovingly in her arms.
Oh, Sweetie, how will I even be able to tell you…?
“Rarity?”
Rarity jumped with a yelp of surprise, and she tossed the photo back in the open drawer before turning to see Sweetie had crept up behind her, wide-awake and observing her with a look of concern.
Like this, apparently...Actually, maybe not?
“You have tears in your eyes.” Sweetie asked, coming closer, “What’s wrong?”
Okay, maybe yes...
“Nothing!” Rarity shook her head, and tried to force a smile.
Sweetie Belle didn’t buy it, judging by the way her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Instead, she looked at the open drawer and pointed to it, “What was that picture?”
“It was-”
Rarity paused, stopping herself.
“What?”
“Nothing. It was nothing.”
“Sis, it can’t be nothing!” Sweetie sad, exasperated, “You’re crying, and you were crying over a picture. What was it?”
Rarity sighed. She hadn’t expected it to happen tonight of all nights, but it seemed that she had no choice. She had to tell Sweetie the secret. If not now, then it would be much worse if Sweetie found out on her own.
Rarity pulled the photo out of the drawer again, and looked Sweetie in the eye, “Just...don’t hate me.”
With that, she gave the photo to Sweetie and walked past her back to the bed. With a defeated sigh, she climbed in and lay down, her mane trailing behind her and spilling over the edge of the mattress as she turned away from Sweetie.
“Hate you? Why would I-” Sweetie paused, having finally looked at the picture. Rarity knew how smart Sweetie was, and how quickly she would be able to put two and two together. All she had to do was look in a mirror, and then at Rarity, to have every piece be put into place.
Sure enough, after a minute Rarity felt the younger filly’s eyes at the back of her head, accompanied by a long silence.
“You hate me, don’t you?” Rarity asked, “You hate that I’m your mother?”
No response. Rarity knew that Sweetie Belle was still in the room as she could still feel her presence.
“I’m sorry, Sweetie, I really am. I should’ve told you a long time ago, when you were just old enough to understand.” Rarity sniffed, tears rolling down her cheeks, “But just know I tried to always be there for you. My parents knew, from the moment I first laid my eyes on you, that I would never want to risk giving you up to a lousy foster parent, but would have a hard time balancing my job with my personal life. They were quick to offer to take you on as my younger sister. I agreed, despite how much as I wanted to keep you and raise you myself…”
Rarity sat up, still facing away from Sweetie Belle, “Your first spell, your first steps, I saw it all, but I didn’t deserve to have that honor. I feel like I gave up too quickly, despite how hard I knew it would be. Even that one day, when you said your first word, I couldn’t help but feel guilty- you crawled up to me, pointed at me, and said ‘mama’. I know your grandmother corrected you afterwards, but I guess you can claim that you were right all along.”
“I’m sorry, Sweetie,” Rarity suppressed a sob, “I lied to you.”
“No you didn’t!”
“Huh?” Rarity turned around, only to be met with a white blur that hit her in the chest and knocked her backwards onto the bed. When she recovered enough to register what had happened, Rarity looked down only to see the top of a curled pink-and-white mane as Sweetie hugged her tightly. Rarity wrapped her arms around her beautiful daughter, surprised at the affection. Wasn’t Sweetie angry?
“I didn’t what?”
“Lie to me. You never lied.” Sweetie’s muffled voice responded, her face buried in her mother’s pearl-white coat, “You called yourself my sister, but I always saw you as more BECAUSE you were there for me. You never once neglected me, never once told me to get lost unless you were REALLY mad. You loved me, wanted me, spent time with me and I don’t think any less of you at all.”
“But I-”
“What? Failed as a mother? No, you didn’t.” Sweetie looked up, and the two of them looked tearfully into one another’s eyes, “I love you, mommy.”
Rarity’s jaw opened and closed, but no sound came out for a moment, “But I...I kept it from you, Sweetie, a secret that you should’ve known.”
“You were crying because of it, right?” Sweetie sniffed, nuzzling her head under Rarity’s chin, “And earlier, you knew that something was wrong, and you never ignored it. And here we are, because you wanted to see if I was okay.”
“But that doesn’t-” Rarity’s next protest was stopped by a hoof placed against her lips.
“I don’t care what you say,” Sweetie Belle smiled, still with tears in her eyes, “because there’s no way I’m going to hate you. Ever.”
With that, Rarity gave in to her daughter’s acceptance, and she hugged her foal tightly to her chest, tears of joy streaming down their faces. After awhile of just sitting there, basking in each other’s company, they both laid down again before Sweetie Belle cuddled up against Rarity.
“Maybe that’s what my nightmare was trying to tell me.” Sweetie wondered, “I was afraid of you leaving, most of all.”
“Perhaps.” Rarity leaned down and kissed her daughter’s forehead, before Sweetie Belle took her long mane in hoof and wrapped the blanket of purple hair around them both.
“Maybe that’s also why I love your mane so much,” Sweetie suggested with a yawn, “did you...you know…?”
Rarity smiled, rubbing her daughter’s back while also holding her protectively, “The day you were born, not five minutes after being in my arms, you started shivering. Even with the white blanket you were wrapped in, you were freezing, so I improvised.”
“Heh, and they say that Pegasus wings are the most comfortable…” Sweetie said, pressing even closer, “I don’t know about that…”
Not too long after, she was asleep. In a moment, Rarity found herself drifting off as well, but not before she finished singing the lullaby she had once sang for her daughter shortly after her birth:
In my arms, here you lay
Soft like a cloud, smile bright as day
I will be here, I will love you
I will care for you, your world won’t be gray.
Perhaps the orders she had tomorrow could wait after all...
Author's Note
This is just a short little oneshot that I wrote a while back before Fimfiction, and its been sitting in my G-Docs for a while. I was mainly inspired to write this after reading Dear Sweetie Belle by Jade Ring, a couple of images from Sisterhooves Social, and Lust by Taialin (particularly where Rarity describes her manestyle).
I'm still baffled by how well my first story, Together Again and Forever, was received by a lot of you, so many thanks to everyone who left a like and a comment. That being said, I don't expect any oneshots I post like this to be as well received, but if they are, I think it will definitely inspire me to keep writing more on this site. Thanks again to all of you, and I hope you are all having a happy 2017 so far!
(NOTE: Just so no one accuses me of stealing, the short lullaby at the end is my own writing. "Hush Now, Quiet Now" just didn't seem enough, so I tried improvising.)
