Helping Somebody Beat Her Fearby EvictusChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 1Rarity was in her room silently sowing a dress for an order. While she was working on the order Sweetie Belle came with her shoes soaked. Rarity looked at her and saw that Sweetie Belle looked very uncomfortable. "It was raining earlier today. You probably stepped into a puddle if I'm correct." Rarity said to Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle nodded. Rarity frowned. Your going to track dirt into the boutique. You should remove your shoes and your socks, I don't really want to clean the floor after I cleaned it the other day." Rarity said. Sweetie Belle got wide eyed at Rarity's response. Rarity became concerned and dropped her dress. "Sweetie Belle what's wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost, Tell me what I said that has you freaked out I need to know, And again seriously remove your shoes I don't want to scrub the dirt off the floors." Rarity said. Sweetie Belle spoke. "I will not take my shoes or socks off." Sweetie Belle said quietly. Rarity raised an eyebrow as she couldn't believe her sister was refusing her. That would not stand with her. Rarity spoke. "Don't you start arguing with me Sweetie Belle, It will take a days to clean up your footprints if you wear your socks, Take them off right now." Rarity said. Sweetie Belle took her shoes off and shrugged at her. Rarity saw that Sweetie Belles socks were muddy as well. "Sweetie Belle take your socks off, Please don't start arguing with me today, Just take them off please." Rarity said. Sweetie Belle stood there with a shy expression on her face. "I can't...." Sweetie Belle said. Rarity was stunned. She had no idea why Sweetie Belle couldn't. Rarity wanted to know what was wrong with her sister taking her socks off. "Why not? Take them off right now, I'm not messing around." Rarity said as she started to get upset with her sister. What in Equestria was going on with Sweetie Belle? She needed to find out. Sweetie Belle finally spoke. "I have a fear of going barefoot, I can't go barefoot! I can't do it, I've never admitted this, I know your going to laugh at me but it's true! I just can't do it!" Sweetie Belle said. She started to cry. Rarity was upset that she made her sister cry. She had no idea she went over to her sister to comfort her. "Sweetie Belle I'm so sorry, I had no idea you felt like that, I didn't mean to harass you if that's what you felt like I was doing, I promise you that I won't make you remove your footwear anymore I promise." Rarity said. Sweetie Belle shook her head. "No I want to beat my fear. I want to enjoy going barefoot! I'm sorry I acted like that I was just scared, will you please help me Rarity? I won't know how to beat it unless somebody helps us, Is there anybody in Equestria who would?" Sweetie Belle asked Rarity. Rarity thought about it and spoke. "Twilight could help, She knows everything about every fear in Equestria, she has knowledge of anything, we can ask her." Rarity said. Sweetie Belle hugged Rarity and spoke. "Can we please do that, I want help." She whined. Rarity nodded and they both walked to Twilight's place. When they got there Rarity knocked on the door franticly. Twilight answered and Rarity blurted out her problem immediately. "Sweetie Belle has the fear of going barefoot, We need your help!" Rarity said. Twilight was startled by Rarity's sudden outburst, She looked at Sweetie Belle who blushed, Twilight stepped aside and allowed them to enter. "Come inside please." Twilight said. They went inside and Twilight closed her place. Twilight offered them to sit down by her. Twilight faced Rarity and spoke. "How long has she had this problem? Do you know why she has a fear of it?" Twilight asked. Rarity shrugged as she responded. "It just came up today. Her shoes were muddy and she refused, I pestered her and she removed her shoes but she still refused to remove her socks and told me she was afraid to do it, I don't know how to help her, I thought that maybe you could help." Rarity said to Twilight. Twilight nodded and thought about it. She spoke. "Sweetie Belle do you want to overcome this fear?" Twilight asked. Sweetie Belle nodded frantically. Twilight nodded and spoke. "Alright Rarity here is the deale, the only way I could see this being helped is that....if I drop every thing and try to help her go barefoot no matter how long it takes. Even if it takes months we should try. But that's up to you to." Twilight said. "I want that then. I want you to help Twilight. Please help me." Sweetie Belle said. Twilight nodded and spoke. "Well then I guess we better get started, Sweetie Belle the only way for you to be comfortable going barefoot is if we are barefoot also. So you wouldn't be the only one without footwear. We will do it as long as it takes for you to get rid of your fear and I want to make it absolutely clear that we are not forcing you! It's your choice to bare your tootsies. If you decide not to then tell us and we will stop bothering you." Twilight said. Rarity nodded and spoke. "Thanks That's right Sweetie Belle if you don't want to we will both stop helping you but if you do then we will help you. Twilight should I pay you for your time or...." Rarity asked. Twilight shook her head no. "No of coarse not. You two are my best friends I'll help her for free. I don't mind." Twilight said. Sweetie Belle hugged Twilight. Twilight hugged her back. "Thanks you two. Don't worry. I'm absolutely sure I want to do this. Please help me." Sweetie Belle said. Rarity and and Twilight nodded. They all stood up and walked outside and went to Rarity's place. Chapter 2When they got to Carousal Boutique Rarity and Twilight immediately took off their footwear and went barefoot as that was the only way that Sweetie Belle could be comfortable going barefoot. Sweetie Belle noticed this and realized how much they were going to try and help she was grateful but she still wasn't sure if it was going to succeed, Rarity sat down by Twilight and Twilight talked to them both. "I'm only here to help Sweetie Belle over come her fear. I'm here as a friend not a therapist the only difference is I'm going to try and encourage Sweetie Belle to go barefoot so please treat me like you always treat me, I don't want you to two to be uncomfortable." Twilight said to them. Rarity understood what Twilight was saying and spoke. "Thanks Twilight I appreciate this." She said to Twilight, Twilight just blushed and waved it off as she didn't mind, Sweetie Belle smiled and hugged Twilight as she spoke to her friend. "Your the best Twilight." Sweetie Belle said, Twilight smiled and shrugged, she knew that she was going to have a difficult time convincing Sweetie Belle to go barefoot but she was going have to push the issue if she was ever going to succeed, Sweetie Belle released the hug and sat by Rarity as they cuddled and watched television, Twilight smiled as she watched them. They just hung out like how they usually do but Twilight was going to add moments for them to talk to Sweetie Belle and try to convince her through various professional means, Twilight knew that she was going to have to have one of those moments soon but she had to bring it up with Rarity, she looked at Rarity and motioned her to the other room. They both went into the bedroom and Twilight brought up what she was going to do in order to help Sweetie Belle overcome her irrational fear. "So here is what we're going to do, The ways I'm going to help Sweetie Belle are take her aside and we'll both gently try to talk to her about her fears and try to get her to open up about it more. And what I want to do is that a bit later during dinner I want to begin this. But I'll always stop it of she becomes to upset. I'll never take it so far that she gets overwhelmed." Twilight said. "I understand Twilight, I know that this is what we must do for her." Rarity said to Twilight. Twilight nodded and they went back out to the living room. Rarity and Twilight watched tv a bit more while Sweetie Belle talked to them for a bit as they hung out. Soon it was dinner. "Sweetie Belle what do you think about having ham for dinner?" Rarity asked. Sweetie Belle shrugged and responded. "Sure I won't mind." She said. Rarity went to make a ham casserole. After finish cooking it she called Sweetie Belle and Twilight for dinner, they both went to eat. Sweetie Belle knew that Twilight was going to talk to her during dinner about her fear as it was the most convenient time to bring up Sweetie Belle's fear as she was going to be in the same room as they were. Sweetie Belle sat at the table and they all talked about how school was going and how Sweetie Belle's friends were and gossiped about news in the town, This went on for a while but Twilight knew that it was time to bring it up, She finally brought it up as she spoke to Sweetie Belle. "So Sweetie Belle what is the main thing that you worry about in your fear of being barefoot? Are you afraid of how they look or is it something else?" Twilight asked. Sweetie Belle started to sweat as she knew that Twilight was trying to get her to beat her fear. "I um.....I fear that people will laugh at my feet because they will be grossed out if I'm at a sleepover and I have my footwear off...or I'm barefoot and in the water and something bites me....I.....I...." Sweetie Belle said as she started to stutter, Twilight touched Sweetie Belle's hand. "Don't walk in water you don't feel is safe but if it's clear water and there's nothing in it then you won't have to worry, You could always look or stay out of it, That's easy, That doesn't have to stop you from being barefoot at home, If your barefoot at home nobody will laugh at you." Twilight said. "But neighbors might laugh at me if they drop by." Sweetie Belle said trying argue back but Twilight shook her head as she knew that nobody would do that as most of Rarity's neighbors were nice and wouldn't care what Sweetie Belle was doing. "That's silly to suggest, why would they care what your doing when they have their own stuff to worry about, nobody would laugh at you especially if they were in your place visiting Rarity." Twilight said. Sweetie Belle was running out of reasons to list. She knew that Twilight was right about every single reason Sweetie Belle listed. She knew she was being irrational but she still couldn't get over her fear. "I....I don't...I don't know! I can't do it! It's to scary!" Sweetie Belle said. Sweetie Belle was getting a bit nervous as Twilight addressed her problem to her point blank in a nice manner. "It's not scary at all, you have no reason to be afraid, me and Rarity are barefoot, there is nothing to be afraid about, you might even enjoy it." Twilight said in a gentle manner. "It's okay Sweetie Belle she's just trying to help." Rarity said as she calmly touched Sweetie Belle's arm. Twilight noticed that she should drop it and try next time. She had a breakthrough, Sweetie Belle thought about what Twilight said and Twilight knew Sweetie Belle was thinking about Twilights statement. They both went back to happy subjects but Twilight knew that the moment they had at dinner was very important for Sweetie Belle. She decided to back off the subject until they had another moment tomorrow. After dinner Rarity set up a guest bed for Twilight. "Thanks Rarity, I'm going to help Sweetie Belle, I know I had a breakthrough today I just know it." She told Rarity, Rarity nodded and spoke. "Thanks for agreeing to do this, we should try again after she gets home from school tomorrow." Rarity suggested. Twilight nodded as she agreed with that plan. "That's sounds good, if that doesn't work then I'm prepared to stay here for as long as it takes to convince her. Sweetie Belle will still go to school and you both can still live your lives just once in a while we will keep trying." Twilight said. "Thanks Twilight." Rarity said to Twilight. Twilight smiled and nodded as she got on the bed and took her pajamas out, Rarity and Twilight said goodnight to eachother and Rarity closed the guest bedroom door and then waited before she got started to get Sweetie Belle ready for bed. Soon Sweetie Belle's bedtime came so she got her pajamas on and brushed her teeth and then Rarity tucked her in. "I'm sorry I kept refusing today. I want her to help, it's just I get scared." Sweetie Belle said. Rarity smiled and kissed Sweetie Belle's forehead. "Don't worry about it Sweetie Belle, we will deal with it in the morning, I love you, sweet dreams." Rarity said in a gentle manner. Sweetie Belle giggled and responded. "Goodnight big sis." Sweetie Belle said, Rarity turned off Sweetie Belle's light and closed her door and went to bed herself, she hoped that they would have a breakthrough tomorrow and if not she knew that Twilight will be there for a while. Chapter 3The next day Sweetie Belle went to school while Twilight and Rarity went to work. A few hours later after they all had finished their day working and going to school they came home, Sweetie Belle knew that Rarity and Twilight was going to try and help her again, She felt bad for having the fear as she knew Twilight was trying her hardest to help her, Twilight and Rarity immediately removed their footwear and went barefoot while Sweetie Belle hugged them both. "How was school Sweetie Belle, if you have homework you should get it over with so you won't have to deal with it later. That would be the smart thing to do. I would do it that way if I were you, ill help you if you need it." Rarity told her. Sweetie Belle nodded understandingly as she understood what Rarity was talking about and Rarity kissed he head and sent her sister off to do her homework, while Sweetie Belle did her homework Twilight spoke to Rarity in the bedroom about how they were going to bring up the issue to Sweetie Belle once again. "I'm going to try to talk to her to see if I can get her to be barefoot again, but not until we are all sitting down. We have to make sure we do it at convenient times and we have to bring it up as gently as possible so she won't get to upset over us helping her with her fear." Twilight told Rarity. Rarity understood what she was saying. "Alright, we will do it right after she finishes her homework." Rarity said. Twilight nodded. Soon Sweetie Belle finished her homework and went out to the living room to see Rarity and Twilight sitting on the couch, she gulped as she knew that they were going to try again. "Sweetie Belle, we are going to try and get you to be barefoot again. We are here to help you, that's why she is here, you must listen to us both, we know it's scary but please believe me when I tell you that your feet will be much more comfortable bare as they would get fresh air. You need to get over your fear." Twilight told her. Sweetie Belle became nervous but she tried to push it aside for now to allow Rarity and Twilight to help her. "But then my feet will be bare and the carpet will be sensitive, How will I prevent that happening to my feet!?" Sweetie Belle said as she responded to them, Twilight was expecting this response but had a response prepared for it as well. "Yes but only for a little bit, after that it will not bother you as much, we promise you will like going barefoot, you might as well be an avid bare footer, after his but we won't know for sure until you beat your fear and even if you weren't then that would be okay as well." Sweetie Belle stuttered she looked at them smile warmly at her, she didn't know how to respond, Twilight watched the session unfold to make sure that it didn't get overwhelming for Sweetie Belle, if it did then they would end the session and try again but for now they continued to wait for Sweetie Belle's reaction. "No I can't do it! People will laugh at my feet if I'm barefoot somewhere." Sweetie Belle said. Twilight tried to push the issue though which made Sweetie Belle even more nervous than she already was, "You can do it. We believe in you, there is nothing to be afraid of, nobody is going to laugh at you and nobody will tease you, thats a ridiculous idea to think that will happen. Your feet will feel so much better. You just have to try it. I promise it will help." She told Sweetie Belle. "No I can't do it! It's to scary!" She told them. This is when Rarity spoke up to talk to her sister to try and help Twilight in helping Sweetie Belle overcome her fear. "Sweetie Belle, we are both barefoot, if anybody laughed at you for being barefoot anywhere Rarity would help you or I would find out and stand there barefoot with you, are you seriously going to miss out on parties in the summer where some people go shoeless while your baking in your shoes? That shouldn't happened to you, you should be brave enough to go barefoot." Twilight told her. Sweetie Belle tried to respond. "It would be to overwhelming to be barefoot there, there would be to many people staring at me." Sweetie Belle said. "No there wouldn't, if people are barefoot there then you should feel comfortable being barefoot there, what if your shoes and socks got wet and you had to take them off, you should just take them off without worrying about anything." Twilight told her. Sweetie Belle looked at both of them as Twilight calmly tried to convince her. "I-I....it will still be.....I just....I....I...." Sweetie Belle tried to say as Twilight had another good point, Sweetie Bell couldn't say anything as Twilight had her trapped. She started to breath heavily. "So you should bare your feet and join us, there isn't anything to worry about as you'll fit in some of the times, other times no but those other times you can just avoid, C'mon Sweetie Belle just try." Twilight told her. "No I can't do it its all to much alright!" Sweetie Belle said franticly. Twilight ended the session before Sweetie Belle got overwhelmed. She sat down and Rarity and Twilight comforted her. "It's alright Sweetie Belle, we are just trying to help, we will continue tomorrow." She said. Sweetie Belle slowly calmed down and nodded. Rarity gave her a glass of milk. She drank that and they waited for her to calm down. Once she did calm down they talked about other things they knew they would have to try again tomorrow though. Chapter 4The next day Sweetie Belle went to school like usual as she did that everyday, Rarity went out to run some errands but before Rarity could get out the door to run some errands though Twilight stopped her so she could talk to her about Sweetie Belle, She needed to tell Rarity something important that she was going to try. "Listen Rarity, I think we've been going to slow at this, We need to help her beat her fear but we have to do it in a way that's efficient, I hope she overcomes this fear but if we continue at this rate she won't be able to do it." Twilight told her friend. Rarity understood as she went out for the day as well as Rarity. They went about their day as they worked, After school Sweetie Belle hung out with her friends for most of the day but then went home along with Twilight and Rarity when they got home Twilight and Rarity were sitting at the kitchen table. They talked to Sweetie Belle and hung out with her, They also watched a movie with her to pass the time, Soon Sweetie Belle brought something up that she had been wondering about. "When did you become a barefooter Twilight?" Sweetie Belle asked her while she smiled, Sweetie Belle really wanted to know this fact, Twilight chucked and Rarity smiled as she sat there. "When I was a teen, it was a while ago, It wasn't till I was an early adult did I start doing it from time to time." Twilight said as she smiled at Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle smiled back at her and responded. "I wish I was like you girls, I wish I had the courage." Sweetie Belle said. Twilight knew that this was the perfect time to confront Sweetie Belle about her fear, She nodded to Rarity. She spoke to Rarity's ear. They both left the room. "I think what she needs...is for us to confront her, we should expose her to the reasons of why this fear is illogical to her, make a case about why her fear is silly and point out that it's completely illogical, I'll do the talking." Twilight said. "But she will get extremely distressed about it and that will cause her to get upset, You don't want to upset her! I don't want to upset her either" Rarity said to her best friend. Twilight shrugged. "I know that Rarity but we have to do it, we have to do it several times, It's the only way, and this time if she gets overwhelmed then I'm sorry but we must keep at it for a bit, if she gets to overwhelmed then we will stop." She told her. Rarity understood, They both sat by Sweetie Belle and Sweetie Belle looked at Twilight with an uneasy expression. Rarity turned off the tv. "Sweetie Belle why are you afraid of being barefoot?" Twilight asked Rarity's sister. Sweetie Belle responded to Twilight's question with caution as she had no idea where this was going to go. "Because I would be embarrassed that I would be showing my feet in public. Even at home I would be scared because I'm afraid people would laugh at me." Sweetie Belle said. Twilight then used that statement to prove a point. "Why? The only people who are here right now are me, you and your sister. Nobody else is here to stare at your feet it's just us besides we aren't going to stare at your feet either. Nobody would laugh at you anyway." Twilight told her, Sweetie Belle started to sweat as Twilight tried to reason with her about her fear while she did exposure therapy. "Nobody would even bother to look down at there, that's false and you know that, some business will do if you walk in without shoes but not at parks they will stare at your feet." She told Sweetie Belle. "No, that's false!" Sweetie Belle argued with Twilight, Twilight shook her head and responded to Sweetie Belles's defense in order to break down why her fear was silly in front of her. "Your denying it, I want you to see your problem, You are going to confront this right now, No more stalling, Im going to try and be as gentle as I can but I have to be tough as well, If we don't succeed we will try again tomorrow and we will continue until we succeed. We want you to face this problem, It is false that people would laugh at you for being barefoot, We aren't going to laugh at you neither is anybody else." Twilight told her. "But their are bullies, What if those people come along and tease me for being barefoot?!" Sweetie Belle responded to Twilight. "Then you tell on them and they will get in trouble for it and stop teasing you about it. Besides you don't have to do it outside if you don't want to. Nobody is going to force you to be barefoot outside...ugh... look you really don't have anything to fear, there's nothing there in your mind to fear, Your fear is not plausible Sweetie Belle, It's irrational and I won't stop till you see that your fear is irrational." Twilight said. "It's not irrational....because....I don't.....wait I...." Sweetie Belle started to say as she was starting to stutter as she tried to argue with Twilight. Twilight knew that Sweetie Belle was truly stuck and that she was going to realize that her fear was irrational some day. Twilight then backed off and they then ended the session as she didn't want to overwhelm Sweetie Belle. For the rest of the day Sweetie Belle hung out with Rarity while she thought about what Twilight said and knew that she was right, She calmed down for the day but knew that Twilight was right about her problem, She went to bed as she knew that tomorrow she will have to face the aspect of her phobia. Chapter 5The next day Sweetie Belle went to school while Rarity and Twilight held a little meeting in the kitchen. They were at a critical point in Sweetie Belle's therapy. They had to continue the momentum. They couldn't stop no matter what. Rarity worked to fill out orders for her customers while Twilight fan her library. Soon Sweetie Belle came home and hung out for a while and then Twilight came over. She knew that Sweetie Belle was going to bare her feet eventually but she didn't know when that would be. She was going to hold another critical session of exposure therapy. She also had something else in mind but she didn't bring it up until Sweetie Belle would come home. Soon when Sweetie Belle came home Twilight decided to start the session immediately. She was going to make Sweetie Belle face her fear yet again but this time she was going to try something a bit different. She was making progress as Sweetie Belle was thinking about what Twilight and Rarity have been saying to her about her fear. Twilight and Rarity sat in the living room and when Sweetie Belle came home she was shocked to see that they were going to try again earlier than the other times they have been doing it. Sweetie Belle was already tired from work but now she knew she was going to be further tired from the therapy session. "No please don't do this." Sweetie Belle begged. Twilight shook her head. Twilight took a chair and put it in the middle of the living room. She had Sweetie Belle sit in it with a gentle expression. Sweetie Belle was nervous but sat in it anyway. Rarity and stayed quiet but let Twilight do the talking. "Sweetie Belle have you been thinking about what I have been saying?" Twilight asked her. Sweetie Belle nodded silently as she wasn't sure what Twilight was going with this. She tried to keep calm. "Answer my question that I had asked you Sweetie Belle. Have you been thinking about what i have said to you all this time that I have been helping you?" Twilight said. "Yes Twilight." Sweetie Belle answered. Rarity watched the moment from the side as she wasn't sure how Sweetie Belle was going to take this. Twilight continued with the treatment. "I have been thinking about this and I have decided that you need to be exposed to what fears you the most. Your not going to like it one bit when you find out." Twilight told her. Sweetie Belle knew where she was going but tried to push the feeling away. Twilight signaled Rarity to get what she was talking about earlier. Rarity went to get it. "What are you going to do?" Sweetie Belle asked. Twilight frowned as Rarity walked back with a pedicure tray in her hands. Sweetie Belle tried to get out of the chair but Twilight stopped her in a gentle manner. Rarity set the tray down and went over to Sweetie Belle and stood by her while Twilight sat in front of her. "No! Don't do this!" Sweetie Belle begged. Twilight spoke to her. "I'm sorry Sweetie Belle I don't want to do it this way but we aren't going to make any more progress with the other way that we have been doing. This might be unprofessional to get into to early but we are not going to solve your problem by talking to you everyday. From now on your getting regular pedicures to expose you to what you fear the most." Twilight said. "No! Don't I don't want to look at them!" Sweetie Belle said. Twilight looked at her. Sweetie Belle started to breathe heavily but they tried to get Sweetie Belle to calm down. Twilight spoke to her. "Why don't you want to look at them?" Twilight asked as she confronted her. Sweetie Belle shook her head franticly. "Because I'm afraid! Why are you doing this to me!?" Sweetie Belle yelled franticly. Twilight shrugged and untied Sweetie Belle's shoes. Sweetie Belle wriggled around in the chair as she went wide eyed. "You shouldn't be afraid. That's irrational to be afraid. We aren't trying to overwhelm you Sweetie Belle but we are doing this because we love you and we want to help you." Twilight told her. "No! I don't want a pedicure! Let me go!" Sweetie Belle yelled. Twilight stopped untying Sweetie Belle's shoes and looked at Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle tried to calm her breathing. Twilight needed for Sweetie Belle to calm down so that she didn't overwhelm her to much. "Your fear is irrational. There is nothing to be afraid of. I'm not going to hurt you. You shouldn't be afraid of your own feet. Nobody should be afraid of their own feet. We tried going slow but I came to the conclusion that this is how Im going to get results." "Get me out of this chair right now! Don't you even laugh at my feet!" Sweetie Belle said. Twilight waited for her to calm down. Sweetie Belle calmed down as she knew that it didn't start yet. That was when Twilight removed her shoes. Sweetie Belle saw her socks and was getting more nervous but she knew that she had to beat her fear and that she was the one to agreed to Twilight helping her. "Sweetie Belle please listen to us. There is nothing to fear at all. It's just a phobia that you can beat. You must listen to me. We are not going to laugh at you. That is an irrational thought to think that. Why would anybody laugh at you because of your feet? Haven't you even been barefoot at the beach?" Twilight asked. Sweetie Belle knew that Twilight had a very good point. She couldn't respond. Twilight finally removed her socks and Sweetie Belle hyperventilated. Twilight waited for her to calm down. Sweetie Belle averted her eyes and Twilight gave her a pedicure. Sweetie Belle squirmed in the seat as she was forced to be exposed to her fear. Twilight smiled at her. Sweetie Belle couldn't believe that she was barefoot. She felt like she was having a nightmare but even though she felt like this she also thought that the pedicure was kind of nice. Twilight and Rarity stayed silent as they worked on giving Sweetie Belle a pedicure. Once it was done Sweetie Belle was released and put her socks back on immediately. Even if she was still afraid she liked the pedicure. "How do you feel?" Twilight asked. "Conflicted. I liked the pedicure even though I was afraid and I felt like it wasn't that bad to be barefoot..." Sweetie Belle said. At that moment Twilight was able to celebrate real progress with the two sisters they knew that Sweetie Belle was definitely going to beat her fear. Chapter 6A day after Sweetie Belle's pedicure Sweetie Belle went to school while she tried not to be distracted by what happened to her at home and came back to her place. She was thinking about what had happened and how Twilight and Rarity had a really good point about her fear. She was even exposed to her fear through a pedicure, She wondered if she was still going to be afraid of being barefoot or if the pedicure cured her phobia. When she finished school she saw that the chair was being set up for her to get a pedicure. She was scared but she knew that this had to happen or she would never get over her fear of being barefoot. She realized what Twilight and Rarity were going to be doing from now on, They both spoke to her in a gentle manner as they made sure that they didn't scare her as they didn't want to do that or it would make their efforts difficult and they needed to finally help Sweetie Belle beat her fear. "Sweetie Belle from now on your going to be exposed to your fear through pedicure each day until you see that your fear can no longer have an excuse to exist in you, You won't have a good reason to fear feet, We are going to rid you of this no matter how much it takes, We're sorry but we have to do this Sweetie Belle." Twilight told her. "This is for your own good sis. We have made very good progress with helping you try to beat your fear with exposure therapy and now we have to finish what we started, Now get in the chair." Rarity said, Sweetie Belle instantly got into the chair and Twilight removed her footwear, Sweetie Belle squirmed in her seat as they removed her socks only this time she was forced to look at them longer. She sat there as Twilight and Rarity exposed her to her own fear of feet which was what she was so afraid of but she was questioning herself over why she was afraid of feet which was helping Rarity and Twilight succeed in helping Sweetie Belle beat her fear, Twilight looked at her as she got out the supplies "Now you do you fear feet or your own feet? You shouldn't. Nobody is going to laugh at you for your feet being bare Thats very silly to fear being barefoot or feet themselves. We aren't laughing at you and other people won't either, I promise Sweetie Belle, What are your other reasons?" Twilight asked her as she confronted her. "I......I...Ah! Ah!" Sweetie Belle shouted as she watched Twilight as Twilight gave her a pedicure while facing her about her fear, She needed to do this for Sweetie Belle's sake if Sweetie Belle was ever going to beat her fear. Sweetie Belle's breath beat heavily as she couldn't divert her attention from her feet as they got a pedicure. Sweetie Belle couldn't answer, She really couldn't give a good defense of her fear as there wasn't any defenses or excuses that she could use and that made her stunned, She knew that Twilight was right. She also didn't understand why she was still afraid of them after her phobia being exposed to her and her being reasoned with over her phobia. Sweetie Belle just couldn't think of anything to say to Twilight or Rarity about her fear about her fear of being barefoot. She couldn't defend it or offer excuses anymore about why she was afraid of being barefoot as Twilight and Rarity have both debunked her fears and exposed her to her fear. She just finally answered Twilight with a sheepish shrug, Twilight nodded as she knew that she had accomplished what she was trying to do. "I guess there wasn't anything to be afraid of, I-I was just scared because.....that people might laugh, I was being irrational and I shouldn't have been irrational of it as that was dumb of me to be irrational." Sweetie Belle said. "And are we laughing? We have told you that nobody will laugh at you. You have to believe us because we are telling the truth. Going barefoot is good for your health as well and it feels nice. Are we laughing?" Twilight asked her. Sweetie Belle shook her head no. Twilight nodded and spoke. "And how do you feel now that your feet are bare?" Twilight asked Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle looked at her feet and realized that it was pointless to put her footwear back on now. It was pointless to continue being scared of being barefoot as she was now fully exposed to it. "I'm not freaking out anymore I guess. I felt like I was going to faint for a few moments but then I didn't which was strange to not feel like I'm going to faint." Sweetie Belle said. Rarity was shocked that Sweetie Belle had gotten over her fear in a matter of only a week. It was now the weekend. Twilight and Rarity let her go. "Thank you for helping me overcome my irrational fear girls, It means a lot to me that you helped. At first I thought you two would fail but then I realized that it's not that scary, Thank you." Sweetie Belle said, Over the next week Sweetie Belle was exposed to pedicures by her sister and each day her fear degraded. Twilight congratulated Sweetie Belle as she realized that Sweetie Belle didn't need her help but her and Sweetie Belle still hung out as friends. Sweetie Belle would always remembered that she was helped by Rarity and Twilight. Sweetie Belle became an avid barefooter, when she told Rarity and Twilight that she was a barefooter now and that she loved going barefoot Rarity and Twilight congratulated her as they were so happy that they got Sweetie Belle to beat her fear and ey were happy that Sweetie Belle was a barefooter.
Chapter 1Rarity was in her room silently sowing a dress for an order. While she was working on the order Sweetie Belle came with her shoes soaked. Rarity looked at her and saw that Sweetie Belle looked very uncomfortable. "It was raining earlier today. You probably stepped into a puddle if I'm correct." Rarity said to Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle nodded. Rarity frowned. Your going to track dirt into the boutique. You should remove your shoes and your socks, I don't really want to clean the floor after I cleaned it the other day." Rarity said. Sweetie Belle got wide eyed at Rarity's response. Rarity became concerned and dropped her dress. "Sweetie Belle what's wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost, Tell me what I said that has you freaked out I need to know, And again seriously remove your shoes I don't want to scrub the dirt off the floors." Rarity said. Sweetie Belle spoke. "I will not take my shoes or socks off." Sweetie Belle said quietly. Rarity raised an eyebrow as she couldn't believe her sister was refusing her. That would not stand with her. Rarity spoke. "Don't you start arguing with me Sweetie Belle, It will take a days to clean up your footprints if you wear your socks, Take them off right now." Rarity said. Sweetie Belle took her shoes off and shrugged at her. Rarity saw that Sweetie Belles socks were muddy as well. "Sweetie Belle take your socks off, Please don't start arguing with me today, Just take them off please." Rarity said. Sweetie Belle stood there with a shy expression on her face. "I can't...." Sweetie Belle said. Rarity was stunned. She had no idea why Sweetie Belle couldn't. Rarity wanted to know what was wrong with her sister taking her socks off. "Why not? Take them off right now, I'm not messing around." Rarity said as she started to get upset with her sister. What in Equestria was going on with Sweetie Belle? She needed to find out. Sweetie Belle finally spoke. "I have a fear of going barefoot, I can't go barefoot! I can't do it, I've never admitted this, I know your going to laugh at me but it's true! I just can't do it!" Sweetie Belle said. She started to cry. Rarity was upset that she made her sister cry. She had no idea she went over to her sister to comfort her. "Sweetie Belle I'm so sorry, I had no idea you felt like that, I didn't mean to harass you if that's what you felt like I was doing, I promise you that I won't make you remove your footwear anymore I promise." Rarity said. Sweetie Belle shook her head. "No I want to beat my fear. I want to enjoy going barefoot! I'm sorry I acted like that I was just scared, will you please help me Rarity? I won't know how to beat it unless somebody helps us, Is there anybody in Equestria who would?" Sweetie Belle asked Rarity. Rarity thought about it and spoke. "Twilight could help, She knows everything about every fear in Equestria, she has knowledge of anything, we can ask her." Rarity said. Sweetie Belle hugged Rarity and spoke. "Can we please do that, I want help." She whined. Rarity nodded and they both walked to Twilight's place. When they got there Rarity knocked on the door franticly. Twilight answered and Rarity blurted out her problem immediately. "Sweetie Belle has the fear of going barefoot, We need your help!" Rarity said. Twilight was startled by Rarity's sudden outburst, She looked at Sweetie Belle who blushed, Twilight stepped aside and allowed them to enter. "Come inside please." Twilight said. They went inside and Twilight closed her place. Twilight offered them to sit down by her. Twilight faced Rarity and spoke. "How long has she had this problem? Do you know why she has a fear of it?" Twilight asked. Rarity shrugged as she responded. "It just came up today. Her shoes were muddy and she refused, I pestered her and she removed her shoes but she still refused to remove her socks and told me she was afraid to do it, I don't know how to help her, I thought that maybe you could help." Rarity said to Twilight. Twilight nodded and thought about it. She spoke. "Sweetie Belle do you want to overcome this fear?" Twilight asked. Sweetie Belle nodded frantically. Twilight nodded and spoke. "Alright Rarity here is the deale, the only way I could see this being helped is that....if I drop every thing and try to help her go barefoot no matter how long it takes. Even if it takes months we should try. But that's up to you to." Twilight said. "I want that then. I want you to help Twilight. Please help me." Sweetie Belle said. Twilight nodded and spoke. "Well then I guess we better get started, Sweetie Belle the only way for you to be comfortable going barefoot is if we are barefoot also. So you wouldn't be the only one without footwear. We will do it as long as it takes for you to get rid of your fear and I want to make it absolutely clear that we are not forcing you! It's your choice to bare your tootsies. If you decide not to then tell us and we will stop bothering you." Twilight said. Rarity nodded and spoke. "Thanks That's right Sweetie Belle if you don't want to we will both stop helping you but if you do then we will help you. Twilight should I pay you for your time or...." Rarity asked. Twilight shook her head no. "No of coarse not. You two are my best friends I'll help her for free. I don't mind." Twilight said. Sweetie Belle hugged Twilight. Twilight hugged her back. "Thanks you two. Don't worry. I'm absolutely sure I want to do this. Please help me." Sweetie Belle said. Rarity and and Twilight nodded. They all stood up and walked outside and went to Rarity's place.
Chapter 2When they got to Carousal Boutique Rarity and Twilight immediately took off their footwear and went barefoot as that was the only way that Sweetie Belle could be comfortable going barefoot. Sweetie Belle noticed this and realized how much they were going to try and help she was grateful but she still wasn't sure if it was going to succeed, Rarity sat down by Twilight and Twilight talked to them both. "I'm only here to help Sweetie Belle over come her fear. I'm here as a friend not a therapist the only difference is I'm going to try and encourage Sweetie Belle to go barefoot so please treat me like you always treat me, I don't want you to two to be uncomfortable." Twilight said to them. Rarity understood what Twilight was saying and spoke. "Thanks Twilight I appreciate this." She said to Twilight, Twilight just blushed and waved it off as she didn't mind, Sweetie Belle smiled and hugged Twilight as she spoke to her friend. "Your the best Twilight." Sweetie Belle said, Twilight smiled and shrugged, she knew that she was going to have a difficult time convincing Sweetie Belle to go barefoot but she was going have to push the issue if she was ever going to succeed, Sweetie Belle released the hug and sat by Rarity as they cuddled and watched television, Twilight smiled as she watched them. They just hung out like how they usually do but Twilight was going to add moments for them to talk to Sweetie Belle and try to convince her through various professional means, Twilight knew that she was going to have to have one of those moments soon but she had to bring it up with Rarity, she looked at Rarity and motioned her to the other room. They both went into the bedroom and Twilight brought up what she was going to do in order to help Sweetie Belle overcome her irrational fear. "So here is what we're going to do, The ways I'm going to help Sweetie Belle are take her aside and we'll both gently try to talk to her about her fears and try to get her to open up about it more. And what I want to do is that a bit later during dinner I want to begin this. But I'll always stop it of she becomes to upset. I'll never take it so far that she gets overwhelmed." Twilight said. "I understand Twilight, I know that this is what we must do for her." Rarity said to Twilight. Twilight nodded and they went back out to the living room. Rarity and Twilight watched tv a bit more while Sweetie Belle talked to them for a bit as they hung out. Soon it was dinner. "Sweetie Belle what do you think about having ham for dinner?" Rarity asked. Sweetie Belle shrugged and responded. "Sure I won't mind." She said. Rarity went to make a ham casserole. After finish cooking it she called Sweetie Belle and Twilight for dinner, they both went to eat. Sweetie Belle knew that Twilight was going to talk to her during dinner about her fear as it was the most convenient time to bring up Sweetie Belle's fear as she was going to be in the same room as they were. Sweetie Belle sat at the table and they all talked about how school was going and how Sweetie Belle's friends were and gossiped about news in the town, This went on for a while but Twilight knew that it was time to bring it up, She finally brought it up as she spoke to Sweetie Belle. "So Sweetie Belle what is the main thing that you worry about in your fear of being barefoot? Are you afraid of how they look or is it something else?" Twilight asked. Sweetie Belle started to sweat as she knew that Twilight was trying to get her to beat her fear. "I um.....I fear that people will laugh at my feet because they will be grossed out if I'm at a sleepover and I have my footwear off...or I'm barefoot and in the water and something bites me....I.....I...." Sweetie Belle said as she started to stutter, Twilight touched Sweetie Belle's hand. "Don't walk in water you don't feel is safe but if it's clear water and there's nothing in it then you won't have to worry, You could always look or stay out of it, That's easy, That doesn't have to stop you from being barefoot at home, If your barefoot at home nobody will laugh at you." Twilight said. "But neighbors might laugh at me if they drop by." Sweetie Belle said trying argue back but Twilight shook her head as she knew that nobody would do that as most of Rarity's neighbors were nice and wouldn't care what Sweetie Belle was doing. "That's silly to suggest, why would they care what your doing when they have their own stuff to worry about, nobody would laugh at you especially if they were in your place visiting Rarity." Twilight said. Sweetie Belle was running out of reasons to list. She knew that Twilight was right about every single reason Sweetie Belle listed. She knew she was being irrational but she still couldn't get over her fear. "I....I don't...I don't know! I can't do it! It's to scary!" Sweetie Belle said. Sweetie Belle was getting a bit nervous as Twilight addressed her problem to her point blank in a nice manner. "It's not scary at all, you have no reason to be afraid, me and Rarity are barefoot, there is nothing to be afraid about, you might even enjoy it." Twilight said in a gentle manner. "It's okay Sweetie Belle she's just trying to help." Rarity said as she calmly touched Sweetie Belle's arm. Twilight noticed that she should drop it and try next time. She had a breakthrough, Sweetie Belle thought about what Twilight said and Twilight knew Sweetie Belle was thinking about Twilights statement. They both went back to happy subjects but Twilight knew that the moment they had at dinner was very important for Sweetie Belle. She decided to back off the subject until they had another moment tomorrow. After dinner Rarity set up a guest bed for Twilight. "Thanks Rarity, I'm going to help Sweetie Belle, I know I had a breakthrough today I just know it." She told Rarity, Rarity nodded and spoke. "Thanks for agreeing to do this, we should try again after she gets home from school tomorrow." Rarity suggested. Twilight nodded as she agreed with that plan. "That's sounds good, if that doesn't work then I'm prepared to stay here for as long as it takes to convince her. Sweetie Belle will still go to school and you both can still live your lives just once in a while we will keep trying." Twilight said. "Thanks Twilight." Rarity said to Twilight. Twilight smiled and nodded as she got on the bed and took her pajamas out, Rarity and Twilight said goodnight to eachother and Rarity closed the guest bedroom door and then waited before she got started to get Sweetie Belle ready for bed. Soon Sweetie Belle's bedtime came so she got her pajamas on and brushed her teeth and then Rarity tucked her in. "I'm sorry I kept refusing today. I want her to help, it's just I get scared." Sweetie Belle said. Rarity smiled and kissed Sweetie Belle's forehead. "Don't worry about it Sweetie Belle, we will deal with it in the morning, I love you, sweet dreams." Rarity said in a gentle manner. Sweetie Belle giggled and responded. "Goodnight big sis." Sweetie Belle said, Rarity turned off Sweetie Belle's light and closed her door and went to bed herself, she hoped that they would have a breakthrough tomorrow and if not she knew that Twilight will be there for a while.
Chapter 3The next day Sweetie Belle went to school while Twilight and Rarity went to work. A few hours later after they all had finished their day working and going to school they came home, Sweetie Belle knew that Rarity and Twilight was going to try and help her again, She felt bad for having the fear as she knew Twilight was trying her hardest to help her, Twilight and Rarity immediately removed their footwear and went barefoot while Sweetie Belle hugged them both. "How was school Sweetie Belle, if you have homework you should get it over with so you won't have to deal with it later. That would be the smart thing to do. I would do it that way if I were you, ill help you if you need it." Rarity told her. Sweetie Belle nodded understandingly as she understood what Rarity was talking about and Rarity kissed he head and sent her sister off to do her homework, while Sweetie Belle did her homework Twilight spoke to Rarity in the bedroom about how they were going to bring up the issue to Sweetie Belle once again. "I'm going to try to talk to her to see if I can get her to be barefoot again, but not until we are all sitting down. We have to make sure we do it at convenient times and we have to bring it up as gently as possible so she won't get to upset over us helping her with her fear." Twilight told Rarity. Rarity understood what she was saying. "Alright, we will do it right after she finishes her homework." Rarity said. Twilight nodded. Soon Sweetie Belle finished her homework and went out to the living room to see Rarity and Twilight sitting on the couch, she gulped as she knew that they were going to try again. "Sweetie Belle, we are going to try and get you to be barefoot again. We are here to help you, that's why she is here, you must listen to us both, we know it's scary but please believe me when I tell you that your feet will be much more comfortable bare as they would get fresh air. You need to get over your fear." Twilight told her. Sweetie Belle became nervous but she tried to push it aside for now to allow Rarity and Twilight to help her. "But then my feet will be bare and the carpet will be sensitive, How will I prevent that happening to my feet!?" Sweetie Belle said as she responded to them, Twilight was expecting this response but had a response prepared for it as well. "Yes but only for a little bit, after that it will not bother you as much, we promise you will like going barefoot, you might as well be an avid bare footer, after his but we won't know for sure until you beat your fear and even if you weren't then that would be okay as well." Sweetie Belle stuttered she looked at them smile warmly at her, she didn't know how to respond, Twilight watched the session unfold to make sure that it didn't get overwhelming for Sweetie Belle, if it did then they would end the session and try again but for now they continued to wait for Sweetie Belle's reaction. "No I can't do it! People will laugh at my feet if I'm barefoot somewhere." Sweetie Belle said. Twilight tried to push the issue though which made Sweetie Belle even more nervous than she already was, "You can do it. We believe in you, there is nothing to be afraid of, nobody is going to laugh at you and nobody will tease you, thats a ridiculous idea to think that will happen. Your feet will feel so much better. You just have to try it. I promise it will help." She told Sweetie Belle. "No I can't do it! It's to scary!" She told them. This is when Rarity spoke up to talk to her sister to try and help Twilight in helping Sweetie Belle overcome her fear. "Sweetie Belle, we are both barefoot, if anybody laughed at you for being barefoot anywhere Rarity would help you or I would find out and stand there barefoot with you, are you seriously going to miss out on parties in the summer where some people go shoeless while your baking in your shoes? That shouldn't happened to you, you should be brave enough to go barefoot." Twilight told her. Sweetie Belle tried to respond. "It would be to overwhelming to be barefoot there, there would be to many people staring at me." Sweetie Belle said. "No there wouldn't, if people are barefoot there then you should feel comfortable being barefoot there, what if your shoes and socks got wet and you had to take them off, you should just take them off without worrying about anything." Twilight told her. Sweetie Belle looked at both of them as Twilight calmly tried to convince her. "I-I....it will still be.....I just....I....I...." Sweetie Belle tried to say as Twilight had another good point, Sweetie Bell couldn't say anything as Twilight had her trapped. She started to breath heavily. "So you should bare your feet and join us, there isn't anything to worry about as you'll fit in some of the times, other times no but those other times you can just avoid, C'mon Sweetie Belle just try." Twilight told her. "No I can't do it its all to much alright!" Sweetie Belle said franticly. Twilight ended the session before Sweetie Belle got overwhelmed. She sat down and Rarity and Twilight comforted her. "It's alright Sweetie Belle, we are just trying to help, we will continue tomorrow." She said. Sweetie Belle slowly calmed down and nodded. Rarity gave her a glass of milk. She drank that and they waited for her to calm down. Once she did calm down they talked about other things they knew they would have to try again tomorrow though.
Chapter 4The next day Sweetie Belle went to school like usual as she did that everyday, Rarity went out to run some errands but before Rarity could get out the door to run some errands though Twilight stopped her so she could talk to her about Sweetie Belle, She needed to tell Rarity something important that she was going to try. "Listen Rarity, I think we've been going to slow at this, We need to help her beat her fear but we have to do it in a way that's efficient, I hope she overcomes this fear but if we continue at this rate she won't be able to do it." Twilight told her friend. Rarity understood as she went out for the day as well as Rarity. They went about their day as they worked, After school Sweetie Belle hung out with her friends for most of the day but then went home along with Twilight and Rarity when they got home Twilight and Rarity were sitting at the kitchen table. They talked to Sweetie Belle and hung out with her, They also watched a movie with her to pass the time, Soon Sweetie Belle brought something up that she had been wondering about. "When did you become a barefooter Twilight?" Sweetie Belle asked her while she smiled, Sweetie Belle really wanted to know this fact, Twilight chucked and Rarity smiled as she sat there. "When I was a teen, it was a while ago, It wasn't till I was an early adult did I start doing it from time to time." Twilight said as she smiled at Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle smiled back at her and responded. "I wish I was like you girls, I wish I had the courage." Sweetie Belle said. Twilight knew that this was the perfect time to confront Sweetie Belle about her fear, She nodded to Rarity. She spoke to Rarity's ear. They both left the room. "I think what she needs...is for us to confront her, we should expose her to the reasons of why this fear is illogical to her, make a case about why her fear is silly and point out that it's completely illogical, I'll do the talking." Twilight said. "But she will get extremely distressed about it and that will cause her to get upset, You don't want to upset her! I don't want to upset her either" Rarity said to her best friend. Twilight shrugged. "I know that Rarity but we have to do it, we have to do it several times, It's the only way, and this time if she gets overwhelmed then I'm sorry but we must keep at it for a bit, if she gets to overwhelmed then we will stop." She told her. Rarity understood, They both sat by Sweetie Belle and Sweetie Belle looked at Twilight with an uneasy expression. Rarity turned off the tv. "Sweetie Belle why are you afraid of being barefoot?" Twilight asked Rarity's sister. Sweetie Belle responded to Twilight's question with caution as she had no idea where this was going to go. "Because I would be embarrassed that I would be showing my feet in public. Even at home I would be scared because I'm afraid people would laugh at me." Sweetie Belle said. Twilight then used that statement to prove a point. "Why? The only people who are here right now are me, you and your sister. Nobody else is here to stare at your feet it's just us besides we aren't going to stare at your feet either. Nobody would laugh at you anyway." Twilight told her, Sweetie Belle started to sweat as Twilight tried to reason with her about her fear while she did exposure therapy. "Nobody would even bother to look down at there, that's false and you know that, some business will do if you walk in without shoes but not at parks they will stare at your feet." She told Sweetie Belle. "No, that's false!" Sweetie Belle argued with Twilight, Twilight shook her head and responded to Sweetie Belles's defense in order to break down why her fear was silly in front of her. "Your denying it, I want you to see your problem, You are going to confront this right now, No more stalling, Im going to try and be as gentle as I can but I have to be tough as well, If we don't succeed we will try again tomorrow and we will continue until we succeed. We want you to face this problem, It is false that people would laugh at you for being barefoot, We aren't going to laugh at you neither is anybody else." Twilight told her. "But their are bullies, What if those people come along and tease me for being barefoot?!" Sweetie Belle responded to Twilight. "Then you tell on them and they will get in trouble for it and stop teasing you about it. Besides you don't have to do it outside if you don't want to. Nobody is going to force you to be barefoot outside...ugh... look you really don't have anything to fear, there's nothing there in your mind to fear, Your fear is not plausible Sweetie Belle, It's irrational and I won't stop till you see that your fear is irrational." Twilight said. "It's not irrational....because....I don't.....wait I...." Sweetie Belle started to say as she was starting to stutter as she tried to argue with Twilight. Twilight knew that Sweetie Belle was truly stuck and that she was going to realize that her fear was irrational some day. Twilight then backed off and they then ended the session as she didn't want to overwhelm Sweetie Belle. For the rest of the day Sweetie Belle hung out with Rarity while she thought about what Twilight said and knew that she was right, She calmed down for the day but knew that Twilight was right about her problem, She went to bed as she knew that tomorrow she will have to face the aspect of her phobia.
Chapter 5The next day Sweetie Belle went to school while Rarity and Twilight held a little meeting in the kitchen. They were at a critical point in Sweetie Belle's therapy. They had to continue the momentum. They couldn't stop no matter what. Rarity worked to fill out orders for her customers while Twilight fan her library. Soon Sweetie Belle came home and hung out for a while and then Twilight came over. She knew that Sweetie Belle was going to bare her feet eventually but she didn't know when that would be. She was going to hold another critical session of exposure therapy. She also had something else in mind but she didn't bring it up until Sweetie Belle would come home. Soon when Sweetie Belle came home Twilight decided to start the session immediately. She was going to make Sweetie Belle face her fear yet again but this time she was going to try something a bit different. She was making progress as Sweetie Belle was thinking about what Twilight and Rarity have been saying to her about her fear. Twilight and Rarity sat in the living room and when Sweetie Belle came home she was shocked to see that they were going to try again earlier than the other times they have been doing it. Sweetie Belle was already tired from work but now she knew she was going to be further tired from the therapy session. "No please don't do this." Sweetie Belle begged. Twilight shook her head. Twilight took a chair and put it in the middle of the living room. She had Sweetie Belle sit in it with a gentle expression. Sweetie Belle was nervous but sat in it anyway. Rarity and stayed quiet but let Twilight do the talking. "Sweetie Belle have you been thinking about what I have been saying?" Twilight asked her. Sweetie Belle nodded silently as she wasn't sure what Twilight was going with this. She tried to keep calm. "Answer my question that I had asked you Sweetie Belle. Have you been thinking about what i have said to you all this time that I have been helping you?" Twilight said. "Yes Twilight." Sweetie Belle answered. Rarity watched the moment from the side as she wasn't sure how Sweetie Belle was going to take this. Twilight continued with the treatment. "I have been thinking about this and I have decided that you need to be exposed to what fears you the most. Your not going to like it one bit when you find out." Twilight told her. Sweetie Belle knew where she was going but tried to push the feeling away. Twilight signaled Rarity to get what she was talking about earlier. Rarity went to get it. "What are you going to do?" Sweetie Belle asked. Twilight frowned as Rarity walked back with a pedicure tray in her hands. Sweetie Belle tried to get out of the chair but Twilight stopped her in a gentle manner. Rarity set the tray down and went over to Sweetie Belle and stood by her while Twilight sat in front of her. "No! Don't do this!" Sweetie Belle begged. Twilight spoke to her. "I'm sorry Sweetie Belle I don't want to do it this way but we aren't going to make any more progress with the other way that we have been doing. This might be unprofessional to get into to early but we are not going to solve your problem by talking to you everyday. From now on your getting regular pedicures to expose you to what you fear the most." Twilight said. "No! Don't I don't want to look at them!" Sweetie Belle said. Twilight looked at her. Sweetie Belle started to breathe heavily but they tried to get Sweetie Belle to calm down. Twilight spoke to her. "Why don't you want to look at them?" Twilight asked as she confronted her. Sweetie Belle shook her head franticly. "Because I'm afraid! Why are you doing this to me!?" Sweetie Belle yelled franticly. Twilight shrugged and untied Sweetie Belle's shoes. Sweetie Belle wriggled around in the chair as she went wide eyed. "You shouldn't be afraid. That's irrational to be afraid. We aren't trying to overwhelm you Sweetie Belle but we are doing this because we love you and we want to help you." Twilight told her. "No! I don't want a pedicure! Let me go!" Sweetie Belle yelled. Twilight stopped untying Sweetie Belle's shoes and looked at Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle tried to calm her breathing. Twilight needed for Sweetie Belle to calm down so that she didn't overwhelm her to much. "Your fear is irrational. There is nothing to be afraid of. I'm not going to hurt you. You shouldn't be afraid of your own feet. Nobody should be afraid of their own feet. We tried going slow but I came to the conclusion that this is how Im going to get results." "Get me out of this chair right now! Don't you even laugh at my feet!" Sweetie Belle said. Twilight waited for her to calm down. Sweetie Belle calmed down as she knew that it didn't start yet. That was when Twilight removed her shoes. Sweetie Belle saw her socks and was getting more nervous but she knew that she had to beat her fear and that she was the one to agreed to Twilight helping her. "Sweetie Belle please listen to us. There is nothing to fear at all. It's just a phobia that you can beat. You must listen to me. We are not going to laugh at you. That is an irrational thought to think that. Why would anybody laugh at you because of your feet? Haven't you even been barefoot at the beach?" Twilight asked. Sweetie Belle knew that Twilight had a very good point. She couldn't respond. Twilight finally removed her socks and Sweetie Belle hyperventilated. Twilight waited for her to calm down. Sweetie Belle averted her eyes and Twilight gave her a pedicure. Sweetie Belle squirmed in the seat as she was forced to be exposed to her fear. Twilight smiled at her. Sweetie Belle couldn't believe that she was barefoot. She felt like she was having a nightmare but even though she felt like this she also thought that the pedicure was kind of nice. Twilight and Rarity stayed silent as they worked on giving Sweetie Belle a pedicure. Once it was done Sweetie Belle was released and put her socks back on immediately. Even if she was still afraid she liked the pedicure. "How do you feel?" Twilight asked. "Conflicted. I liked the pedicure even though I was afraid and I felt like it wasn't that bad to be barefoot..." Sweetie Belle said. At that moment Twilight was able to celebrate real progress with the two sisters they knew that Sweetie Belle was definitely going to beat her fear.
Chapter 6A day after Sweetie Belle's pedicure Sweetie Belle went to school while she tried not to be distracted by what happened to her at home and came back to her place. She was thinking about what had happened and how Twilight and Rarity had a really good point about her fear. She was even exposed to her fear through a pedicure, She wondered if she was still going to be afraid of being barefoot or if the pedicure cured her phobia. When she finished school she saw that the chair was being set up for her to get a pedicure. She was scared but she knew that this had to happen or she would never get over her fear of being barefoot. She realized what Twilight and Rarity were going to be doing from now on, They both spoke to her in a gentle manner as they made sure that they didn't scare her as they didn't want to do that or it would make their efforts difficult and they needed to finally help Sweetie Belle beat her fear. "Sweetie Belle from now on your going to be exposed to your fear through pedicure each day until you see that your fear can no longer have an excuse to exist in you, You won't have a good reason to fear feet, We are going to rid you of this no matter how much it takes, We're sorry but we have to do this Sweetie Belle." Twilight told her. "This is for your own good sis. We have made very good progress with helping you try to beat your fear with exposure therapy and now we have to finish what we started, Now get in the chair." Rarity said, Sweetie Belle instantly got into the chair and Twilight removed her footwear, Sweetie Belle squirmed in her seat as they removed her socks only this time she was forced to look at them longer. She sat there as Twilight and Rarity exposed her to her own fear of feet which was what she was so afraid of but she was questioning herself over why she was afraid of feet which was helping Rarity and Twilight succeed in helping Sweetie Belle beat her fear, Twilight looked at her as she got out the supplies "Now you do you fear feet or your own feet? You shouldn't. Nobody is going to laugh at you for your feet being bare Thats very silly to fear being barefoot or feet themselves. We aren't laughing at you and other people won't either, I promise Sweetie Belle, What are your other reasons?" Twilight asked her as she confronted her. "I......I...Ah! Ah!" Sweetie Belle shouted as she watched Twilight as Twilight gave her a pedicure while facing her about her fear, She needed to do this for Sweetie Belle's sake if Sweetie Belle was ever going to beat her fear. Sweetie Belle's breath beat heavily as she couldn't divert her attention from her feet as they got a pedicure. Sweetie Belle couldn't answer, She really couldn't give a good defense of her fear as there wasn't any defenses or excuses that she could use and that made her stunned, She knew that Twilight was right. She also didn't understand why she was still afraid of them after her phobia being exposed to her and her being reasoned with over her phobia. Sweetie Belle just couldn't think of anything to say to Twilight or Rarity about her fear about her fear of being barefoot. She couldn't defend it or offer excuses anymore about why she was afraid of being barefoot as Twilight and Rarity have both debunked her fears and exposed her to her fear. She just finally answered Twilight with a sheepish shrug, Twilight nodded as she knew that she had accomplished what she was trying to do. "I guess there wasn't anything to be afraid of, I-I was just scared because.....that people might laugh, I was being irrational and I shouldn't have been irrational of it as that was dumb of me to be irrational." Sweetie Belle said. "And are we laughing? We have told you that nobody will laugh at you. You have to believe us because we are telling the truth. Going barefoot is good for your health as well and it feels nice. Are we laughing?" Twilight asked her. Sweetie Belle shook her head no. Twilight nodded and spoke. "And how do you feel now that your feet are bare?" Twilight asked Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle looked at her feet and realized that it was pointless to put her footwear back on now. It was pointless to continue being scared of being barefoot as she was now fully exposed to it. "I'm not freaking out anymore I guess. I felt like I was going to faint for a few moments but then I didn't which was strange to not feel like I'm going to faint." Sweetie Belle said. Rarity was shocked that Sweetie Belle had gotten over her fear in a matter of only a week. It was now the weekend. Twilight and Rarity let her go. "Thank you for helping me overcome my irrational fear girls, It means a lot to me that you helped. At first I thought you two would fail but then I realized that it's not that scary, Thank you." Sweetie Belle said, Over the next week Sweetie Belle was exposed to pedicures by her sister and each day her fear degraded. Twilight congratulated Sweetie Belle as she realized that Sweetie Belle didn't need her help but her and Sweetie Belle still hung out as friends. Sweetie Belle would always remembered that she was helped by Rarity and Twilight. Sweetie Belle became an avid barefooter, when she told Rarity and Twilight that she was a barefooter now and that she loved going barefoot Rarity and Twilight congratulated her as they were so happy that they got Sweetie Belle to beat her fear and ey were happy that Sweetie Belle was a barefooter.
