The lights inside the Carousel Boutique were dimmed as Rarity worked. Her hooves were up on a table, eyes glancing over a large sheet of fabric, as her horn guided a pencil across its surface. The only noises in the building were the occasional displeased hmphs (when the pattern didn't turn out as planned), or excited whinnies (when it did go as planned). Time flew by as Rarity worked, and when she finally glanced up at the clock, all the pins held in her mouth tumbled down to the ground.
"Oh my." She mumbled to herself, trotting up the stairs two at a time.
Upstairs from the boutique and workroom was their home. It was quaint, though – of course – decorated to perfection, and the colours of the rooms changed with the seasons. Now that it was winter, the entire building had been decked out in rose taupe and ash gray. Only the finest shades for the season, Rarity thought as she came to stand in front of the one door that simply did not go with the décor.
Rarity had allowed Sweetie Belle to decorate her own room how she chose, a decision she was coming to regret. Now, every time she went past her room, Rarity had to face a pink door with large, gaudy purple letters, spelling out her younger sister's name. The designer inside Rarity cringed, but the elder sister in her simply knocked twice on the door with her hoof.
"Sweetie Belle?" Rarity asked, before her horn lit up, magic turning the doorknob. "Sweetie Belle, darling, it's time for school."
Rarity entered the darkened room, her first action to open up the blinds with a glance. Outside wasn't that much lighter, but it allowed her to see the room. Underneath the bed – in summer colours of all things – was a small bundle.
"Come on now, Sweetie Belle." Rarity coaxed, coming to stand beside the bed. The lump in the bed shuffled and then sneezed.
Rarity leaned forward to hook her horn under the covers, lifting it up so she could peek underneath.
Sweetie Belle stared up at her through half-lidded eyes. "Hey Rarity." She said, voice cracking. The younger unicorn turned her head away to cough into her hoof.
"Are you alright?" Rarity asked, concern pulling in her brow as she removed her head from the covers. Rarity used her magic to pull the blanket back over Sweetie Belle's head, who yelped and tried to huddle in on herself. "Come now." Rarity said in her stern, motherly voice, placing her hoof just beneath Sweetie Belle's horn. As soon as she did so, Rarity flinched back, the heat a shock to her unsuspecting hoof.
Once released, Sweetie Belle immediately curled back up under the covers.
"I told you not to go jumping in the lake with those friends of yours." Rarity huffed, again having to lift up the covers with her horn just so she could see her sister's face. "Now look what's happened."
Sweetie Belle gave her the most pitiful look Rarity had ever seen, and the elder unicorn sighed. "Well, there's no way you're going to school like this." And Sweetie Belle at least had the decency to hide her pleased smile in her hooves. "I'm going to make you something to eat, and you'll be staying in bed all day so you get better. Do you understand me, young lady?"
"Yes Rarity." Sweetie Belle chimed, and if it weren't for the following coughing fit, Rarity may have scolded her further for looking so pleased about her day off.
Rarity eyed up the bundle until it sneezed, and then left the room.
–––
If there was one thing Rarity could admit she was, ah, less than perfect at, it was parenting. Sweetie Belle was easy enough to get along with (all she ever really needed was someone to wake her up in time for school and keep her company when she wasn't out with her fellow Crusaders), but she had never been sick before. Sick! How was she supposed to deal with this?
"Think, Rarity." She said aloud to herself, standing in the kitchen, magically going through her drawers to find a cookbook. There had to be something completely perfect for curing a cold – it couldn't be that hard, could it?
Rarity flicked through the pages of the book. "No," for chocolate cake, "no," for a pumpkin pie, "no," for a daisy sandwich, "no," for a vegetable so – "yes, of course!" Rarity cheered, shaking her mane, quite pleased with herself. Vegetable soup, it was perfect: warm, hearty, and filling.
Smug at her evidently perfect choice in meal, Rarity began to assemble all of the necessary ingredients. She wasn't a star chef, but she wasn't as catastrophic as Pinkie Pie could be. Rarity's kitchen stocked the basics, and she could make them work. Thankfully, all ingredients for her recipe were quite common – it was essentially just vegetables and some stock. And even luckier for her, the steps were simple. Throw it all in a pot, turn it on, and cook it.
Maybe this whole parenting business was easier than she thought.
Rarity took a moment to check herself out in the kitchen mirror – what heathen household did not contain a mirror in every room, after all? – before there came a knock at the door. Tossing her hair, Rarity flashed her mirror image a smile, before going to answer it.
Though the Carousel Boutique was closed, she did get a regular house call every morning. Rarity opened up the door just as she reached the landing. "Good morning, girls."
Scootaloo sat on her scooter, and Apple Bloom had her hoof raised to knock on the door again. "Oh, hey there, Rarity." The youngest of the Apple family drawled. "We were jus' lookin' for Sweetie Belle." Scootaloo emphasised that point by flying up and trying to look around Rarity's body.
"I'm sorry, Sweetie Belle is ill." Rarity said, watching as Scootaloo, disappointed, dropped back down to the ground.
"Well… will she be better tomorrow?" Apple Bloom asked, twisting her hoof in the dirt. Rarity cringed. How could anypony do that to their body? Even as a child, she should have a greater appreciation for herself. Must be Applejack's teachings – that silly pony would rather go out in the dirt than get a manicure, and the very thought of it made Rarity shudder.
"If she gets enough rest today, she should be." Rarity said, not actually sure how long it took for these sorts of things to clear themselves up. On top of Sweetie Belle having never been sick before, Rarity hadn't either. Going in the water was far too uncouth for her (parading swimsuits by the side, however, was not), and during the winter season she had an almost constant attachment to sanitiser.
"Okay." Scootaloo chimed, brightening up at that knowledge. "C'mon Apple Bloom." She tossed her head in the direction of the trailer attached to her scooter.
Apple Bloom hopped back into place, looking strangely lonely without Sweetie Belle beside her. "Tell Sweetie Belle t'get better."
Rarity smiled at them both. "I will. Have a nice day at school, girls."
"Cya later Rarity!" Scootaloo yelled, firing up her wings, and they were both off before Apple Bloom had a chance to do more than wave.
–––
Rarity carried her work upstairs so that she could continue cutting out her new design. Soon enough the entire top floor filled up with the homely smell of soup, and Rarity found her own stomach growling in anticipation. No noise had come from Sweetie Belle's room, and the bundle under the covers hadn't moved the many times Rarity had been in to check on her. Opal had, at one point, gone in to sleep on Sweetie Belle's bed, but had apparently been dislodged by a violent sneeze and left. Her skulking down the hall had not gone unnoticed.
"Sweetie Belle." Rarity knocked on the still-open door with her back hoof, watching as the lump under the covers jumped up. "I bought you something to eat, come on." Two bowls floated behind Rarity, steam coiling up from the broth within.
Sweetie Belle's head poked out from the covers, ears drawn against her skull. "I'm not that hungry." She said, sheepishly looking down at her hooves.
Rarity tsked. "Now, now, you'll feel much better once you eat." One bowl floated over to hover in front of Sweetie Belle. The other followed Rarity as she climbed up onto her sister's bed. "Come on, I'll eat with you." That thought, at least, made Sweetie Belle perk up. She sat up on her bed, taking control of her bowl to hold it in front of her face. Though her magic wasn't as good as Rarity's yet, Sweetie Belle was still able to hold up most small items within a few metres of her body. Anything beyond that was just a work in progress.
Once Rarity had arranged herself, comfortably lounging on the small-unicorn-sized-bed, Sweetie Belle came to curl up next to her. Rarity smiled to herself, nudging the back of Sweetie Belle's head with her muzzle, their horns briefly touching. Sweetie Belle snuggled further into her.
"Now, eat up." Rarity instructed, pleased to hear a quiet slurping noise coming from beside her.
–––
Two bowls soon come to rest on the table beside Sweetie Belle's bed; one empty and one mostly empty. Sweetie Belle rolled over so she could face Rarity, meeting her older sister's glance with a hopeful look. "Rarity." Sweetie Belle began, her tone long and lilting.
Rarity raised a wary eyebrow. "Mm?"
"Could you, I mean…" Sweetie Belle looked away, as if embarrassed, before gathering her resolve. "Could you tell me a story?" She obviously lacked the confidence to say it at a decent, audible level, and so Rarity took a minute to decode the rushed mash of words.
"What? Well… I, I suppose so." Rarity said, brow furrowing. She didn't know any stories – Sweetie Belle had never asked her for one before. But with how she looked up into her eyes, awkwardly hopeful, how could Rarity say no? As if that wasn't enough, Sweetie Belle proceeded to sneeze everywhere, groaning miserably afterwards.
So, stories… this was probably something more down Twilight's avenue. She did live in the library, after all. The only books that Rarity ever read were fashion related, and as much as Sweetie Belle tried to help her in the boutique, she doubted her sister would care about what Sapphire Shores had been wearing at her last concert.
Rarity cleared her throat at last, tossing her mane with aplomb. "I'll tell you about a special pony who lived on the Neighle River." If at all possible, Sweetie Belle's eyes grew, and she stared up at Rarity with enthusiasm. "So, there was a very special pony and her name was Sealight. She wasn't a young filly like you, she was a big, grown up mare, but there was something different about her. She didn't have a cutie mark." Though Rarity's start was awkward and jilted, Sweetie Belle still latched onto her every word, gasping at the cutie mark of her fictional heroine – or lack thereof. "And all the other ponies on the river used to make fun of her. They used to call her names."
"Like Blank Flank!" Sweetie Belle chimed in, excited to contribute before realising that she herself was lacking her cutie mark.
"Yes, of course. Just like that." Rarity nodded, before continuing. "And… and so Sealight lived up on a hill, away from the river. She only left to go get food from the market, and even then she wore a cloak to keep the other ponies from spotting her. It wasn't even a nice cloak either," Rarity added, shaking her head and scrunching up her nose, before getting back on track. "And so one day, Sealight was up in her house and it started to rain. It rained and rained, for a whole three days. This pony had always loved the rain and the water, but she was simply too afraid to go out and play in the river with all the other ponies.
"On the third day of the raining, Sealight heard some neighing outside. She peeked out her front door, keeping her rump hidden." At this moment, Rarity flicked her tail over Sweetie Belle's flank, almost teasingly. The younger unicorn blushed, shuffling on the bed. She made a point of prodding Rarity with her hoof to get her sister back on topic. "Once she went outside, she realised all the other ponies in town were in trouble, because the Neighle River had started to overflow." Sweetie Belle gave an appropriate gasp at that moment. "In the river she spotted a tiny head, but it kept getting pulled under the water. There were some Pegasus flying over trying to help, but the wind in the storm was too strong for them to fight. At that moment she forgot that about her missing cutie mark, and she ran down to the river. None of the other ponies noticed as she jumped in the river, swimming out to go save the young filly."
As her story went on, Rarity almost began to believe in it herself, gesturing elaborately to an enthralled Sweetie Belle. "She was such a strong swimmer, even though she'd never been brave enough to do so before. In a few minutes she had gotten to the filly and picked her up on her back, swimming her over to the shore. All of the ponies started to cheer as soon as she came out, gathering around her and the saved filly.
"'Thank you so much' said one of the ponies, the mother of the small filly who had been saved.
"'That's okay' said Sealight sheepishly, as she started to back away from the group of ponies. When she turned around to find a way out, though, she noticed that there was something special on her flank." Rarity said, and Sweetie Belle jumped to her feet.
"Her cutie mark! Her cutie mark!" She proclaimed, bouncing on the bed.
Rarity smiled. "Yes, it was her cutie mark." She said, placating the excited filly. "It was a picture of waves with a star in the very middle, and when all the other ponies saw it they were jealous of how beautiful her cutie mark was."
Sweetie Belle's eyes were sparkling excitedly, and she sent a curious gaze down at her flank – just in case.
The elder of the two sighed. "Sweetie Belle, dear, do you understand the point of the story?"
"It means that you have to take risks to get your cutie mark!" Sweetie Belle started up her bouncing again, but at Rarity's sceptical look, she paused. "… right?"
"Not exactly, Sweetie." Rarity said as carefully as she could. "It just means that you have to wait and your cutie mark will come."
"But I don't want to be old when I get mine." Sweetie Belle whined, dropping her head. "I'll have to live up on a hill then."
"I bet you won't be old, nor will you have to live up on a hill." Rarity assured her with a smile, nuzzling her.
Sweetie Belle returned the gesture, though she still looked disappointed. Whether that was from missing the point of the story, or the realisation that she might be old by the time she got her cutie mark, Rarity didn't know.
"How about you come downstairs with me and help me work on some new designs?" Rarity said at last. Sweetie Belle was probably the clumsiest of all helpers – even Opalescence was more helpful, and most of what she did was sleep. But seeing her bounce up on the bed, illness all but forgotten, Rarity didn't really mind.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Sweetie Belle chimed, jumping off the bed and running off down the hall.
Rarity followed slower, stretching out her cramped legs. Sweetie Belle appeared in the doorway, shifting from hoof to hoof. "Come on, Rarity!"
"Coming." Rarity said, ensuring her mane and tail were in order before following her sister out into the hall.
"I want to draw a dress, and I want to help you cut the fabric, can I help you cut? And can I pick out the colours? Oh, please, Rarity, can I?"
