A Mother's Touch

Chapters

The Standby Guardianship
The Bad News
Sweetie's Decision
Sweetie's Confession and Rarity's Acceptance

The Standby Guardianship

There was something in the back of Rarity's mind that was bugging her, a constant, persistent little nagging feeling that was buzzing in the back of her skull. Despite feeling groggy as she got out of bed, she had the feeling that today held some significance, yet, at least at the moment, she couldn't recall why. She must have figured that a hot cup of coffee would do the trick in helping her remember, because she soon found herself seated at her kitchen table, holding said hot mug in her hooves, and taking little sips here and there, licking her lips and letting out a tiny moan of appreciation as the hot, sweet coffee burned her lips and tongue and traveled down her throat. Naturally, the coffee did its job in waking her up, making her more alert, yet it did little to improve her memory. So, she was left with no choice but to aimlessly look around the room while she sipped her coffee.

Her ears perked up, hearing a faint thud just outside her front door. She smiled. Ah, good. The morning newspaper had arrived. At least she would be able to get some reading done while she drank her coffee. Stepping out of the room, she quickly retrieved her paper, then sat down at the kitchen table, flipping it open with her magic while she took yet another drink of her coffee, once again licking her lips. She flipped through its pages, trying to find something of interest, something that would catch her eye. Unfortunately, there was little to nothing of interest in the newspaper, at least not today. She folded the newspaper up, lying it atop the kitchen table. She sighed, lifting her mug to her lips. Somewhere in the room, Opalescence meowed.

She wasn't particularly hungry, leaving her with little to do but to take a shower as soon as she was done with her coffee. Once she'd brushed her teeth, she stepped into the shower, taking a moment to adjust its temperature before closing the curtain, shrouding herself in darkness. She let out a soft sigh of content, letting the hot water wash over her body while she used her magic to deposit a few dollops of shampoo onto her open hoof. . . . .

Her shower completed, and feeling nice and squeaky clean as a result, she went downstairs to her workroom and started working, humming a merry little tune, the beating of the needle as it bobbed up and down, punctuating the fabric as she steadily ran it through her sewing machine, providing the tempo, the beat, to her tune. She always found listening to music, or simply humming a happy little tune to herself, immensely relaxing as she worked. She pondered on this for a moment or two, supposing that it had something to do with her upbringing. After all, her childhood home hadn't exactly been deprived of music. Very often in her childhood, she found herself merrily listening to her mother sing while her father played piano. Pretty soon, once she had undergone some singing training from her mother, she had started to join in alongside her mother. The singing had only gotten better once Sweetie Belle had been born, up until Rarity had moved out to go to university in order to undergo training in the fine arts of fashion designing as a means of starting her fashion career.

Mind you, she wasn't exactly inept when it came to designing, nor was she ignorant about the proper way to thread a needle, as she had, in her youth, been instructed how to properly sew, knit, crochet, all thanks to her mother, who was a part of a knitting club that was stationed in Ponyville, where she had met one of her best friends, Suri Polomare. The two had been inseparable up until Suri had moved to Manehattan to make it big as a fashion designer, while Rarity was resigned to remain in Ponyville with her mother and father and little sister.

Likewise, she had always had a strong passion for the arts, most likely due to the fact that her father was, in addition to being a buckball coach as well as a veteran player, an aspiring artist. However, once he became a pony that was more concerned about the well-being of his family than his career as an aspiring artist, he had sadly been unable to finish any paintings; he would begin one, only for something to come up, which would then hinder him from completing his piece. There was only one that he had actually finished, a painting of his youngest daughter, his baby girl, Sweetie Belle. As such, Rarity hadn't been deprived of the arts, as was the case with music. Soon thereafter, she had begun being instructed in drawing, her father congratulating her by saying that she was a born natural.

Recollecting the painting her father had done of Sweetie Belle caused the nagging feeling in the back of her mind to come back full-force, once again causing Rarity to think that today held some sort of significance, something very important. But, for the life of her, she couldn't recall what that was. She groaned, stopping her sewing for a moment to rub at her temples, the mental anguish of trying to remember what it was about today that was so important producing a headache. She took a few steps back away from her sewing machine, clenching her eyes shut, continuing to rub at her temples in the faint hope of doing so would cause her headache to dissipate. However, this did little to nothing to soothe her headache, and she was forced to retreat to the bathroom to retrieve some aspirin, washing the pills down with a few gulps of water from the faucet, letting out a relieved sigh upon rising up to stare at her reflection in the mirror. There. Perhaps that would make her headache go away.

Going back to her workroom, she resumed her work, continuing to stitch and sew, looking over at the sketch that was pinned up on the wall out of the corner of her eye, making sure that she was following the sketch to the letter. She smiled to herself. While her work was not in any way easy (as a matter of fact, it was quite difficult at times), she still enjoyed it immensely. When she was busy working, nothing else mattered; when she was working, she could easily forget about all of the worries and troubles that plagued her outside her workroom. Here, she could relax.

For the next few hours, she busied herself with her work, stopping every once and a while to fight the urge to sketch an outfit as soon as the idea entered her mind, wanting to complete the outfit she was currently working on beforehand. She stopped long enough to fix herself something to eat, only to go right back to work as soon as she was done eating.

Hours later, she sighed to herself, having completed her work for the day. Closing the door to the workroom, she started to make her way to the kitchen to fix herself something to drink as a means of celebrating a job well done. She gasped suddenly, falling forward, having fallen over something. She flailed her hooves out in front of her in an attempt to catch herself. Her hooves slid out from under her when they made contact with the floor, making her regret having had them mopped earlier in the day, causing her to slam her chin against the floor, the jolt hitting her chin and going all the way up to her horn, making her teeth chatter. Groaning, she sat up, rubbing at her sore chin, turning her head to look back over her shoulder, only to discover that she had tripped over Sweetie's soccer ball. The instant she laid eyes upon this ball was it that the nagging feeling came back with a vengeance and it was in this moment that realization suddenly struck her, her eyes going wide and her mouth dropping open in shock as the realization materialized in her mind, making her thoughts come to a screeching halt when she remembered why today held such a huge significance.

The soccer game! Sweetie's soccer game! She closed her eyes and groaned to herself. How could she have possibly forgotten!? She stomped her hoof in frustration, mentally slapping herself, wishing that somepony would physically slap her across the face for her slip-up. She spun her head around, glancing behind her to look back at the clock on the wall, only to frown in disappointment when she realized what time it was. It was currently half-past nine in the evening. Had she really been working that long? She had a mistake to correct, regardless of what time it was. Without hesitation, she ran towards the front door, wrenching it open with her magic along the way, heading towards her childhood home the instant she locked the front door.

It took Rarity very little time to reach the home of her mother and father, in spite of the fact that it was on the outskirts of Ponyville. Her legs ached, begging her to take a moment to stop and rest, but she pressed on, determined to correct her mistake. She started up the steps of the front porch, stopping to catch her breath and smooth out her mane. She inhaled deeply through her nose, letting out the breath slowly through her nostrils, then, with her magic, gripped the doorknob and turned it. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the family cat, Nikki, staring at her while the feline sat on her haunches to the side. Turning towards the cat, Rarity said, "Hey, Nikki, how bad is it in there?" The cat did not offer a response except for a meow, leaving Rarity to sigh. She took Nikki's response to mean, "Good luck." "Yeah," she replied, turning back towards the door. "I'm going to need it."

Stopping to once again take a deep breath, she finally opened the door, the scent of tonight's dinner hitting her nostrils the instant she did, filling her with nostalgic memories of her time spent in this house as a child. From the scent, she deduced that tonight's dinner had been one of Sweetie's favorites, whether in response to her team winning or losing the soccer game was unclear. She stepped forward, silently closing the front door, not wanting to draw attention to herself. Up ahead, just beyond the small amount of stairs before her, was the archway to the kitchen, in which her mother, Cookie Crumbles, was currently busy washing dishes. She forced herself to step forward, going up the stairs. Just to her right, in the living room, sitting on the couch, was her father, Hondo Flanks, currently busy reading the newspaper. She started towards him, ducking down behind the couch and crawling her way towards the archway that joined the dining room with the living room, only standing back up to her full height once she'd made it past her father and the coast was clear. Her eyes nervously looked to the left to see that her mother was still preoccupied. Stepping forward, she started to strike up a polite conversation. "Boy, something sure smells go ––"

Her mother pounced on her instantly. "You promised her, didn't you, Rarity?" she growled, storming into the dining room and glaring at her eldest daughter. "Why did you go and do that, Rarity!?" When she received no response, she sighed, rolling her eyes and turning to walk back to the sink, where she continued to go about the task of washing dishes by way of rinsing off a recently washed plate. "Rarity, how many times do I have to tell you? If you're not going to be there, don't say you're going to be there." She made her way back to the dining room, snatching a plate from Rarity that the unicorn was offering to her with her magic, ignoring Rarity's comment ("Here," she said), while she continued to rant and rave. "You know how I knew you promised her? She kept looking at me and your father up in the stands and, I don't know, around the fiftieth time, I realized that she expected you to be there."

She sighed, beginning to wash the recently acquired plate. "Rarity, I don't care if you get too busy or if you flake out on me." She seemed to reconsider this statement because, after a pause to think about it, she added, "Well, I care, but I'm your mother; I raised you, I chose to, I'll deal with it." Walking back to the dining room, she continued, still looking peeved: "She didn't choose this, Rarity. You know" – she sighed – "one of these days, Sweetie Belle is going to score her very first goal, and you're not going to be around to see it, just like you never saw her with the measles, or the time she got her hoof stuck in the sewing machine." Her daughter opened her mouth to speak up, but she cut her off. "You know, those things only happen once, then they're gone." Yet again, her daughter attempted to speak up, only to once again be thwarted. "Don't, Rarity! You've said enough!" She stormed off past the unicorn, turning to the right and starting down the hall that was just beyond the archway to the kitchen.

Rarity followed her, saying, "Mother, if you'll just listen for a moment, I could explain it to you."

Cookie Crumbles turned, sneering at her daughter as she barked, "Don't explain it to me! It wasn't my soccer game you missed!" And with that, she stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door shut.

Rarity sighed, looking down at the floor, feeling like she'd royally messed up. She'd broken a promise, a Pinkie Promise at that. She had promised Sweetie that she would be at that soccer game, even if her very life depended upon it, and she hadn't fulfilled that promise. She'd chose instead to work rather than attending her little sister's very last soccer game before the summer began. She stomped her hoof, gritting her teeth, clenching her eyes shut, feeling angry at herself for her stupidity.

Opening her eyes and lifting her head, Sweetie's bedroom was just beyond her. Her legs feeling like lead, she forced herself to walk forward. Pressing an ear to the door, she waited to hear something, anything, but heard nothing. She wasn't sure whether or not Sweetie was still awake. With it being so close to summer vacation, it seemed likely that she was still up, and far less likely that she was asleep. With her magic, she opened up the door, stopping after it was open only a crack to peek inside, but the room was so dark that she couldn't see anything, except for a small sliver of light, most likely coming from the other side of the room, as indicated by the reflection of the light on the wall that was within her field of vision. Pushing the door open the rest of the way, she stepped inside silently, gingerly closing the door, stopping to take a look around the room. As she'd presumed, there was a small amount of light coming from one side of the room. On this side of the room was Sweetie's bed, where the filly currently was, using her various blankets and bed sheets and comforter as a makeshift fort, using her horn as a makeshift flashlight, a book laid out open in front of her.

Though tentatively, Rarity approached her. "Hey, how did you guys do?" She took a seat on the floor beside the bed.

"Got killed," Sweetie Belle replied, not looking up from her book.

Rarity sighed. "Listen, Sweetie Belle, darling, I'm really sorry that I didn't make it. I really am." Sweetie turned a page in her book. "I remember when I was your age, I wanted to be a fashion designer. I mean, I just wanted to be a really great artist, seeing my work brought to life through the magic of sewing and stitching." She smiled. She crossed her forehooves on top of Sweetie's bed and rested her chin on top, watching her little sister for a moment before speaking up yet again. "This is something that I've been thinking a lot about lately, I've been giving this a lot of thought." At this, Sweetie looked up at her. "You, me, Mother, and Father, we pack our bags and we head to Manehattan and we have a real family vacation throughout the summer." She began sweeping her hoof through the air and shook her head as she said, "No work. No crusading. No magic. No hanging out with friends. Nothing!" She rested her hoof atop her other one again. "Just you, me, Mother, and Father relaxing and enjoying each other's company."

"Hold on," Sweetie spoke up. "No using magic or hanging out with friends?"

Rarity frowned. "Yeah, I was thinking about that too." She scratched at an itch on her nose. "Maybe we can practice a little bit of magic, and see about hanging out with a few of our friends over the summer, if they're available." She cleared her throat. "So, how did the game go?"

"Got murdered. I thought Spike was going to blow a gasket. You should've seen Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon . . ."

Sweetie Belle sighed and rolled over onto her side, watching the sunset beyond her window, causing various shades of purple, yellow, red, and orange to be cast over the shadows of her room. She watched the shadows dance for a moment or two, before flopping back down on her pillows and staring up at the ceiling, whilst her forehooves rested folded together over her soft tummy. After a moment or two, she reached over and grabbed hold of one of her favorite stuffed animals – a plushie in the likeness of a certain purple dragon that Rarity had made for her and had presented to her as a birthday present one year. Holding the stuffed dragon in her hooves, she stared up at its beady green eyes. "Maybe I should try to spend some more time with Rarity this summer. What do you think, Spike?" She squeezed the stuffed dragon. Other than a tiny squeak, no audible answer came out of the creature. Nonetheless, she nodded her head and grinned. "Yeah, I think so too."

"Talking to inanimate objects again, I see," a voice rang out.

As if jolted awake, Sweetie's eyes popped up and she sat bolt upright in bed, her head swiveling around as if on a spring as she searched for the source of the voice. The pony whom this voice belonged to soon made their presence known as they strode into the room, allowing a rosiness to overtake Sweetie's cheeks as she blushed. She looked down in a futile attempt to avoid having to make any eye contact with her mother. "Hi, Mom."

Cookie Crumbles sat down by her youngest daughter. "Sweetie Belle, we have to talk about something. We need to talk about what we're going to do this summer."

Despite her prior embarrassment, Sweetie lifted her gaze towards her mother, making eye contact with her for the first time since she'd walked in the room. "Okay, Mom. Go ahead." Without realizing that she was doing it, she cast a longing look towards Spike the stuffed dragon.

"Sweetie Belle, we've been talking with Rarity and we've decided that we're going to Manehattan this summer."

“Sweet! That’s awesome Mom! When are we going?”

“Wait, Sweetie Belle. What I mean is, your father and I are going to Manehattan. Alone.”

Sweetie's demeanor changed, this time adopting that of a child who had just had their hopes and dreams dashed to pieces. Her ears flattened against her head. She cast yet another glance down at her bed as she mumbled, "Really? By yourselves? That's . . . okay, I guess. You guys deserve some time alone." She glared up at her mother. She didn't even bother getting her hopes that she would be able to go on this one; her parents always dropped her off at Rarity's while they went on their vacations. Even so, she was already starting to think about what she was going to be able to do over the summer with no parental supervision.

Cookie Crumbles scooped up Sweetie into her hooves and cradled her in her lap. "I'm glad you're so understanding, Sweetie Belle.

Sweetie snorted in anger, crossing her forehooves over her chest and fixing her gaze towards her window. "How come I never get to come!?"

"Don't take it personally, dear," Cookie Crumbles said, running her hooves through Sweetie's mane. "I promise you'll get to come with us on the next vacation."

Sweetie rolled her eyes. She'd known better than to get her hopes up this time around, too. An angry growl escaped her lips after her mother leaned down and planted a tender kiss on her forehead.

"So, I don't have to go over my whole speech?"

“Nah, that’s fine. But if you spent a long time working on it, you can do it if you want.”

“You’re funny, Sweetie Belle."

"So, is that all you wanted?" She squirmed in her mother's grasp.

“Hold on, we’re not done, Sweetie.” Sweetie stopped squirming to get out of her mother's Hooves and looked up at her mother. “We haven’t talked about where you’re going to be staying.”

“What? I thought I would just stay here.” Her plans for the summer were already beginning to crumble.

“You can’t stay here alone for three months, Sweetie Belle!”

“But, Mom, I’m almost eleven years old!”

“I know.” She had Sweetie’s number better than she thought she did. “It would be too expensive to hire a foalsitter for that long, and I don’t want some stranger looking after you anyway. So you’ll be staying with Rarity.”

Sweetie said nothing, only continued to glare at her bedroom window. If anything else, it was at least warm and comfortable in her mother's hooves, and she felt so safe.

"Cheer up, Sweetie. Like I said, you'll be spending the summer holidays over at Rarity's until we get back from our vacation. Doesn't that make you happy?"

"Yeah, that’ll be okay, Mom. I’ll stay with her over the summer. Is that all?"

"For the time being, yes," Cookie Crumbles replied. "Anyway, I think I've kept you away from your toys long enough. We'll discuss more when Rarity gets here. For now, I need to go finish dinner. We're having potato soup tonight, so don't spoil your appetite with all the junk food I know you have stashed up here.” Cookie Crumbles slid off the bed, the springs beneath which creaked underneath her weight, and took her leave, closing the bedroom shut behind her.

At exactly the stroke of seven o' clock sharp, there was a knock at the door, signaling the arrival of a visitor that Sweetie was sure could be none other than Rarity herself. The knocks came in five quick successions, each one equal in volume.

The front door was just being opened shortly after Sweetie arrived at the front door. Her father had already beaten her to it and was currently giving Rarity a hug. She glared and gritted her teeth. What about me, she bitterly thought. Didn't she deserve some affection too? Perhaps the trio hadn't seen her and thus, needed to be reminded that she was in the room. She took a deep breath and cried, "Hey!"

All talk ceased and an awkward stillness filled the room as three sets of eyes fell on the glowering little filly standing before them. Her expression quickly changed from one of frustration to one of guilt, as if she was afraid that she would be chastised for yelling. She took a cautious step back, but nonetheless, the angry tone to her voice wasn't lost on anypony present. "Do I get a hug or not!?"

"Oh, of course, Sweetie Belle," Rarity replied, making her way across the room to her little sister. She wrapped her hooves around Sweetie and held her close. "I'm sorry, darling. I didn't see you there."

Sweetie said nothing.

"How have you been?" Rarity asked, finally pulling away from her little sister. "I hope you've been staying out of trouble."

"A little," Sweetie replied, grinning guiltily.

Rarity sighed in disappointment. "Just be sure not to get into too much trouble while you're staying over at my place. Speaking of which" – she cast a questioning look towards her mother and father – "when is that, exactly?"

"Pretty soon," Cookie Crumbles said. "You're sure you don't mind watching over Sweetie Belle for the week while we're gone?"

Rarity blinked. "I'd much prefer if we all went together."

"I'd much rather spend the week with you," Sweetie said, nuzzling Rarity's side. She was pushed away by Rarity. "Besides, it's only for a week. I'll still get to spend the summer holidays with Mom and Dad. And anyway, it's Manehattan. I'm sure you'll be on your way there with a new fashion line or something, so it's no big deal if I don't get to go now. I can always go later."

Rarity gave her parents a pleading look. "Can't you get somepony else to do it?"

"Aw, come on, Rarity," Hondo Flanks replied. "You're more than qualified for the job."

Rarity sighed irritably and gritted her teeth. "I guess that means I have no choice in the matter, do I?"

"None whatsoever," Cookie Crumbles stated.

"How delightful," Rarity muttered through gritted teeth, sneering.

"Well, I'm glad that's settled," Cookie Crumbles spoke up. "Now, why don't we all go into the kitchen and have something to eat?"

Dinner went by in a slow manner. The four ate slowly as they made small talk around the table, talking about their upcoming plans for the summer and of memories past. Sweetie Belle took the opportunity to get as close to Rarity as possible.

During the meal, Cookie Crumbles whispered to Rarity, "Rarity, honey, as soon as Sweetie Belle's put to bed, there's something your father and I need to talk to you about."

Rarity looked over at her, wearing a confused expression. "About what?"

"Well, it's about Sweetie Belle," Cookie Crumbles said.

"What about Sweetie Belle?"

"You'll find out later." She turned to Sweetie Belle and said, "Finish up and then you need to go brush your teeth. It's nearly your bedtime."

Sweetie glanced over at the clock on the wall and gave her mother a disbelieving look. "But it's only nine thirty, and it's not a school night. I should be able to stay up as late as Rarity."

"She's not a growing filly," Cookie Crumbles replied. "You need your rest."

"But I was going to stay up with Rarity tonight."

"Sweetie Belle, you heard me."

Sweetie nodded. "Okay." She picked up her plate and extended it towards her mother. "Can I have some dessert now?"

An hour later, Sweetie Belle had been put to bed and Rarity, Cookie Crumbles, and Hondo Flanks had all gathered in the living room, each sitting on the sofa. Rarity sat on one side, across from her mother and father, while her parents sat on the other side. It was obvious that her mother and father were uncomfortable; her mother was breathing heavily, while her father's face looked wan, making him look rather ill.

Taking a deep breath, Rarity asked shakily, "So, Mother, Father, what is it you wanted to talk about?"

For the longest time, Cookie Crumbles and Hondo Flanks had been avoiding eye contact, looking at anything besides Rarity, as if afraid making eye contact with her would get the conversation started. At Rarity's question, they looked over at each other first before meeting Rarity's gaze.

"Rarity," Cookie Crumbles started, "you know you and Sweetie Belle are the most important things to us. We gave up a lot for not only her, but for you as well. Remember I took a second job so you could go to fashion school?"

Rarity smiled and nodded her head, remembering fondly how her parents had encouraged her to go to music school instead, stating that she had quite a knack for singing, but she had followed her passion for fashion despite their objections. In spite of this, they had supported her nonetheless.

"I'm sure you know of Applejack and the situation with her family," Hondo Flanks said. "How their parents are dead."

Rarity raised an eyebrow, suddenly getting a queasy feeling in her stomach, a feeling that told her that she was not going to like where this conversation was going to go.

"Well," Cookie Crumbles said, "that got us thinking. You see, we're not going to be around forever, and, in the event that something should happen to us, we want to make sure that Sweetie Belle is well taken care of."

Rarity swallowed hard. "Why are you talking like this? S-Stop it!"

Hondo Flanks smiled sympathetically. "It's something no one ever wants to think about, honey," he said, "but it's something we need to consider. You see, Sweetie's going to be need somepony to take care of her if the worst should come. Which is why we're meeting with our lawyer tomorrow to issue a standby guardianship."

Rarity blinked. "A standby what now?" She thought she remembered hearing something about that months ago, as well as being investigated and interviewed for it, but couldn't be sure.

"It's a legal document that grants you custody of Sweetie Belle in the event that we're unable to take care of her, like if we were to, Celestia forbid, become gravely ill or pass away," Cookie Crumbles explained.

"We need you to come with us to sign on it," Hondo Flanks said. "Oh, and bring Applejack with you while you're at it."

Once again, Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Applejack? Why Applejack?"

"Well, for one thing, we need an alternate caretaker if you're unable to take care of Sweetie Belle for any reason," Hondo said, "and word around Ponyville is that she's quite reliable. I'm sure she'd have no problem with taking Sweetie in if you weren't able to take care of her, for whatever reason. I mean, the two of you are like sisters, for crying out loud. Besides, she has experience with kids, I'm sure she'd love to look after Sweetie in your absence."

"Mother, Father, this isn't . . . your way of telling me that you've become ill, is it?"

"Of course not, darling," Cookie Crumbles said. "We're perfectly fine. For Celestia's sake, we're going to Manehattan this summer."

"Don't remind me," Rarity muttered through gritted teeth. Sighing, she nodded her head and said, "Very well, then. Applejack and I will meet you here tomorrow."

Cookie Crumbles suddenly frowned. "Rarity, dear, what if someday there came a tomorrow when we were apart?"

Rarity smiled. "As long as we're apart together, we shall certainly be fine."

"Yes, yes, of course," Cookie Crumbles said, nodding her head. "But if . . . if we weren't together . . . if me and your father were . . . somewhere else?

"Oh, but you really couldn't be, as I would be quite lost without you," Rarity said. "Why, who would I call on those days when I'm just not strong enough? Or brave enough?"

"Well, actually ––" Hondo Flanks started.

Rarity went on as if she hadn't heard him. "And who would I ask for advice when I didn't know which way to turn?"

Hondo Flanks tried again. "Rarity, we ––"

Once again, Rarity pressed onward. "We . . . we simply wouldn't be," she said tearfully.

Hondo Flanks sighed. "Oh, Rarity . . ."

Rarity gave a small yawn.

Cookie Crumbles dropped down to the floor and approached her daughter, sitting down in front of her. "If ever there's a tomorrow when we're not together, there's something you must remember," Cookie Crumbles said.

Once again, Rarity yawned, though this one was bigger and louder than the last. "And what might that be, Mother?"

"You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

Rarity chuckled. "Oh, that's easy. We're braver than a bee, uh, longer than a tree, and taller than a goose . . . or, uh, was that a moose?" Her eyes drifted shut.

Cookie Crumbles giggled. "No, Rarity. You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." She gently tapped Rarity's nose. "But the most important thing you must remember is" – she picked Rarity up and set her in her lap and began rocking her back and forth as Rarity began drifting off to sleep – "even if we're apart, I will always be with you. I will always be with you. I will always be with you . . ."

"Ah'm not sayin' that Ah'm not flattered that yer folks think highly of me," Applejack said as she and Rarity walked towards the latter's former home, "but Ah don't feel right takin' care of somepony else's kid. 'Sides, it ain't like yer folks are goin' to die any time soon. And even if they do, Celestia forbid, you'll be there to fill their hooves."

Rarity nodded her head. "I suppose so. Ah, we're here." She lifted a hoof and rapped on the front door of her mother and father's home, taking a few steps back and standing beside Applejack, waiting patiently for the door to be opened.

After a while, Cookie Crumbles greeted them at the door. "Applejack!" She gave said pony a hug. "So glad you could make it!"

"Ah appreciate the opportunity, but Ah don't feel right about this," Applejack said.

Cookie Crumbles gave her an understanding nod. "I understand, dear, but you understand we have to be prepared for the future in case the worst comes to pass. Besides, what would we do if Rarity weren't there to take care of Sweetie Belle?"

"Everypony here?" Hondo asked, walking out the front door. Smiling and nodding his head in approval, he said, "Good, let's get going then." He closed the door and locked it, then started leading the group to their lawyer's office.

Throughout the trip, Rarity and Applejack talked to each other with Cookie Crumbles and Hondo Flanks in front of them. They became so invested in their conversation that they didn't notice when Rarity's parents had come to a stop, causing the two of them to bump into both of them. They were led inside and the proceedings were soon underway, with the lawyer explaining just what a standby guardianship was to both Applejack and Rarity in explicit detail, right down to all of the legal jargon that came with it, none of which either one of them were able to follow, but they nodded their heads and simply acted as if they had a shred of knowledge about what he was talking about. Afterward, a form was presented to them. First, Cookie Crumbles and Hondo Flanks signed their names, followed by Rarity and Applejack. Whereas the signatures of Rarity and her parents were written quite nicely, Applejack's was quite sloppy, given that she was an earth pony and was therefore forced to use her mouth to write. Her signature was readable nonetheless.

The whole ordeal had taken just a little over an hour and upon exiting the office, it was noted by Hondo Flanks that lunch was just around the corner, leading him and his wife to offer Rarity and Applejack the chance of being taken out for lunch. At first, Applejack politely declined, stating that she didn't feel right about taking them up on their offer, but they insisted, and Applejack soon found her objections crumbling at the promise of food, if only to satisfy her own hunger. Once again, she walked behind the happy couple, talking with Rarity.

"So, uh," Applejack said, "did ya happen to understand a word of what that guy was sayin'?"

Rarity shook her head. "Not at all, darling."

Applejack sighed in relief. "Oh, good, so it wasn't just me. That guy didn't make a lick of sense."

Rarity nodded her head. "Too right." Her nose suddenly collided with her father's rear, having not paid attention to where she was going since she was talking to Applejack. She rubbed her sore nose, taking a few steps backwards. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Applejack nursing her own sore nose. She smiled to herself.

The four were quickly seated and their drinks were jotted down. Rarity ordered tea. Cookie Crumbles ordered a coffee. Hondo Flanks ordered a soda. And Applejack ordered an alcoholic beverage. Noticing the odd looks from the others, she asked, "What?" Her question went unanswered as the three of them looked down at their menus to decide what they wanted to eat, leaving Applejack to glance down at her own menu, only for her eyes to go wide at the pictures of some of the selections. "Oh, my! Everything looks good!" She lifted a hoof to wipe at her mouth, having started to salivate. Looking up with a smirk, she asked, "Is there any chance we could just order one of everything on the menu?"

Hondo Flanks laughed while their drinks were brought to them. He smiled at his eldest daughter. "I like this pony, she's a funny gal."

Applejack grinned and tipped her hat at him. "Thank you kindly, sir." She took a swig of the bottle of liquor she'd ordered, licking her lips and letting out an, "Ahhh . . ."

"Applejack, dear, do you drink often?" Cookie Crumbles asked.

"Mother," Rarity hissed, sneering.

Applejack shook her head, appearing not to be offended by the question, despite how personal it was. "Ah don't get to drink too often, seeing as how Ah'm so busy on the farm and all. Ah try not to drink around Apple Bloom. Ah am her older sister, after all, gotta set a good example."

"Very responsible," Hondo Flanks said, nodding his head and taking a sip of his drink.

"Speaking of Apple Bloom," Cookie Crumbles said, "how is she doing, Applejack? Sweetie Belle talks about her all the time."

"Does she now?" Applejack inquired, raising an eyebrow. "Well, ain't that somethin'? As a matter of fact, Apple Bloom just got done workin' on a play o' hers, something about a love triangle between our friend Twilight, Princess Luna, and" – her expression hardened – "that showboatin' snob Trixie."

"I believe Sweetie Belle was supposed to play the part of Princess Luna, wasn't she?" Cookie Crumbles said. "She and Apple Bloom were rehearsing constantly."

Applejack nodded her head.

"And you were perfectly fine with your sister kissing another filly?" Hondo Flanks asked, once again taking a sip of his beverage.

"Oh, stop it, Father," Rarity chastised, smacking his foreleg. "You and Mother have been trying for months to get me and Applejack together. I dare say that this whole standby guardianship thing was yet another ploy to get us together."

"Well," Cookie Crumbles said, "you two do make an adorable couple."

Applejack blushed while Rarity glared.

"Besides," Hondo butted in, "you two fight like an old married couple."

"We do not," Rarity objected.

"Weren't you two fightin' like cats and dogs during Twilight's first sleepover?" Hondo asked. "Remember, Rarity, you told me about that."

"Well . . ." Rarity blushed. "Y-Yes, that's true, but we made up."

Hondo smirked. "Did you kiss her too, Rarity?"

"Father!" Rarity growled.

Applejack snickered behind her hoof.

Rarity cleared her throat. "The point is that whole ugly mess is all behind us, and we're practically like sisters now, aren't we, Applejack?"

Getting her laughter under control, Applejack said, "Yep, that's right. It's fittin', Ah guess, seein' as how Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are practically like sisters too."

"You know, Applejack," Cookie Crumbles said, "if Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were to go into business together, they'd make a killing. With Apple Bloom's talent with writing and Sweetie Belle's singing ability, there's no telling where they could go."

Rarity sighed. "I really wish she would embrace that side of herself instead of trying to be like me all the time."

"Oh, come now, Rarity," Hondo Flanks said. "You should feel proud that your little sister idolizes you so much that she wants to be like you when she grows up."

"It's not that I don't want her to try new things, Father," Rarity said. "I just don't think it's a good idea for her to ignore the special talent that's right in front of her nose."

Their waiter arrived at their table yet again to take their orders, though Applejack had a bit of a hard time picking one. At Rarity's suggestion, she got the stuffed crescent rolls – crescent rolls stuffed with asparagus and other vegetables, served with ranch dressing. The group continued to chitchat with one another, thankfully avoiding the topic of romance and relationships, much to Rarity's relief. A basket of yeast rolls was placed at their table to tide them over until their food arrived, and Applejack wasted no time whatsoever in helping herself to some, completely covering one roll in butter and eating over half of it in one bite.

Rarity chuckled. "Applejack, don't fill up on the bread."

Applejack shook her head and gave her belly a few loving pats. "Oh, don't worry about me, Rarity. Ah could eat this whole basket and still have room for lunch and dessert." She gave a bashful grin at Hondo Flanks and Cookie Crumbles. "We Apples are kinda well-known for our big appetites. Workin' on a farm will do that to ya."

"Well, in any case, please don't attempt it," Rarity said. "I believe the last thing Mother would want is you throwing up in her flowerbeds."

Whatever the others didn't eat, Applejack ended up eating. Rarity was a bit uneasy about her friend's appetite, fearful that her mother and father would deem Applejack something of a pig due to how much she was eating; if anything, the two seemed to be enjoying watching Applejack stuff her face, leaving Rarity to drink her tea and make conversation with her mother and father while Applejack stuffed herself.

It was while they were finishing up and getting ready to leave that Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared, hopping up on the table, looking excited as she exclaimed, "Applejack! Rarity! Thank Celestia I found you! You gotta come quick! Mrs. Cake's new baby has just been born! Mrs. Cake's new baby has just been born! Come on! We gotta go! You gotta hurry! We gotta get to the hospital now! See you there!" And like a rocket, she was off, causing the group's manes to be tossed in the wake of her exit.

"What . . . just happened?" Rarity asked, reaching up with her hooves to fix her mane.

"Ah think Pinkie wants us to meet her at the hospital," Applejack replied. "Something about the new baby being born."

Rarity gasped, her eyes lighting up as she squeezed her cheeks in excitement. "The Cakes' baby has just been born?! Well, why didn't you say so, darling?! Let's go!" She grabbed Applejack's hoof and took off down the street.

Over her shoulder, Applejack called, "Thanks for lunch!"

Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy were all gathered around the window of the nursery room by the time Rarity and Applejack arrived. They squeezed in between Twilight and Fluttershy, peeking into the room along with their friends.

Looking over at Twilight, Applejack asked, "Can you believe the new baby's finally here?"

"Cup Cake and Carrot Cake must be so proud," Twilight said.

"I wonder if it's a filly or a colt," Rarity added.

At the other end of the line, Pinkie Pie had her face pressed up against the glass, staring excitedly into the room. "I wanna see the new baby pony! I wanna see! Which one is it?!"

Inside the room stood Mr. Cake, who looked as if he had seen better days; his usually well-groomed mane was in strands, his bowtie was left untied, hanging limply off his body, and some additional hair was growing around his cheeks and chin. His eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn't gotten much sleep in the past few hours, probably as a result of helping Cup Cake during the birthing process. He stood between two cradles, one holding a bundle wrapped up in a pink blanket and the other holding a bundle wrapped up in a blue blanket. From the right, he pulled back the sheet as he said, "Meet our son, Pound Cake." His comment was met with a series of, "Awws" from the ponies behind the glass. He turned to the cradle on the left, removing the sheet as he said, "And our daughter, Pumpkin Cake." Like her brother, she stretched her hooves and let out a cute little yawn. Unlike with Pound Cake, this was met with a series of confused looks from the others.

"Two new foals for me to play with?" Pinkie asked, grinning. She gasped. "That's two-two-two times the fun! This is the greatest day ever!" She suddenly disappeared, only to reappear in the nursery, wearing a birthday party hat and a party blower in her mouth. Throwing her hooves up in the air she cried, "We need to celebrate your birthday, babies, 'cause you were just born today! Whoo-hoo!" She took in a breath to blow the blower, but was stopped by Nurse Redheart.

"Shh!" she hissed. "The babies are trying to sleep."

"But I was just ––" Pinkie objected.

"Shh!" She started to walk off.

"But ––" The blower fell from Pinkie's mouth.

Nurse Redheart turned around sharply, sneering, and hissed, "Shh!"

Once the nurse had walked off, Pinkie stepped around and stood between the two new twins. Grinning, she broke into song. "Happy, happy birthday to you and you today."

Nurse Redheart appeared once again to utter a silent, "Shh!" before tossing Pinkie out of the nursery. She bounced in the room behind her friends.

Applejack watched Pinkie for only a moment before turning her attention back to the twins inside the room. "Now how in thunderation is one of them twins a unicorn and the other one a pegasus?"

"Easy," Mr. Cake spoke up. "My great-great-great grandfather was a unicorn, and Cup Cake's great-aunt cousin twice removed was a pegasus. That makes sense, right?" His eyes darted back and forth around the room.

"Aw, yeah," Rainbow Dash spoke up. "Just you wait. Once little Pound Cake there gets his wings going" – she pointed to her own wings – "he'll be all over the place!" She zoomed about the room, coming to a stop with her limbs outstretched and a big smile on her face.

"And be careful around Pumpkin Cake," Twilight advised.

Rarity nodded her head in agreement. "Baby unicorns get strange magic surges that come and go." She recoiled, recalling how much trouble she and her parents had had with Sweetie Belle when she had been that age, all of the damage she had done, which had all been purely unintentional of course.

Mr. Cake bent down to tuck Pound Cake in, only for Pinkie to suddenly pop up, holding a birthday cake in her hooves. "Quick!" she cried. "Make a wish and blow out your candles, which is easy 'cause there are zero candles! You are zero years old after all!"

"Shh!" Nurse Redheart hissed.

Pinkie jumped, causing the cake she was holding to become smeared all over her face. She gave Nurse Redheart a sheepish grin.

The Bad News

Diamond Tiara anxiously paced the school yard waiting for the afternoon bell to ring. Thanks to a certain so-called pal of hers, namely Scootaloo, Diamond was forced to stay home from school today and she was itching for revenge.

Yesterday during lunch, Diamond was debating on starting a food fight and she held a glob of peanut butter in her hoof, poised and ready to fling at the nearest loser she could find. Unfortunately, she chose her attack position in front of the schoolhouse door and she got booted in the back with it by an unaware Scootaloo. The sudden surprise of being hit with the door caused Diamond to carelessly fling the peanut butter away and it soared over her intended target and instead nailed Miss Cheerilee right in the face.

Diamond knew it was useless to hide or try to talk her way out of it because Miss Cheerilee would never believe that it was just an accident. So, she just stood there awaiting her normal punishment of detention. However, Miss Cheerilee was more upset about this than usual and gave Diamond a one-day suspension from school on top of the detention scheduled for the weekend.

This infuriated Diamond, but she couldn't do anything to Scootaloo at this point. Instead she followed Miss Cheerilee to get the note she needed to take home to her uncle. Of course Diamond protested trying to explain, but her uncle wouldn't hear it. He was unhappy with his niece's behavior and told her that she had to stop clowning around in school and start taking things seriously or she'd be held back. He sent her to her room so she could think about what she had done. This is not how a rich filly should be treated, she'd thought angrily to herself as she stormed up the stairs. "It's not fair!" she'd shouted from her bedroom door before she slammed it shut with such force the whole house seemed to shake in her rage.

Diamond Tiara sat down heavily on her bed and grumbled about how stupid and unfair all of this was and that Scootaloo was really going to get it come tomorrow. Although Scootaloo had no clue that Diamond Tiara was standing on the other side of the door and didn't mean to hit her, it still made Diamond Tiara feel good to pass the blame onto somepony other than herself. Logic told her that if she hadn't been trying to start a food fight to begin with this never would have happened, but logic like that didn't work on Diamond Tiara.

The next day was slow and boring and any other filly would have welcomed a day off from school, but Diamond Tiara couldn't enjoy it this time. All that was on her mind was revenge and the only way she knew she could get it and fully satisfy herself was if she creamed Scootaloo after school. It was crude and simple, but very effective. A good pounding is what that goody-goody deserved and it would be enough to appease Diamond Tiara as well.

At about two-thirty Diamond Tiara exited her home and walked quickly to the schoolhouse and she waited there, leaning against a tree, forehooves folded tightly against her chest. The bell finally rang promptly at three o' clock and from outside Diamond Tiara heard Miss Cheerilee say, “Class dismissed,” This was quickly followed by the class erupting in applause, the sound of papers being thrown in the air in celebration before all of her fellow classmates came galloping out the door, with Cheerilee reminding them to do their essays over summer break. For the first time since yesterday, Diamond Tiara actually perked up. She snickered and slapped her hoof into her other hoof a few times and stepped forward, away from the tree, so she could wait for Scootaloo to exit the building. A slow, sinister smirk spread across her face as she spotted her prey and she strode forward to confront her.

Sweetie Belle was at Scootaloo's side as usual and she noticed Diamond Tiara first. "Umm . . . Scootaloo, I think Diamond Tiara's looking for you, and she doesn't look too pleased."

Scootaloo turned and stopped in her tracks as she watched the bully heading her way, scowling. Scootaloo rubbed at her neck and tried her best to smile. "H-hi, Diamond Tiara. Listen, I'm really sorry about what happened yesterday. I had no idea that you–"

"Can it, you flightless chicken! I'm not here to hear any sob story from you. You're going to get it for getting me in trouble with Miss Cheerilee and my uncle!" She then quickly reached forward and grabbed the back of Scootaloo's head and reared her hoof back, ready to strike. Sweetie was about to jump in and try to stop her, but the look on Diamond Tiara's face alone told her that it was best to stay out of it. "Say your prayers, blank flank," Diamond Tiara snarled.

Scootaloo squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the pounding she knew she was going to get when a voice made her jump. "Come on, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, quit playing around with Diamond Tiara. We've got a Crusaders meeting to get to. We don't have all day." It was Apple Bloom coming to get her friends to take them to their clubhouse to have their Cutie Mark Crusaders meeting before she went to the theater for a play rehearsal.

A smile crept across Scootaloo's lips, for she knew she was saved. Apple Bloom may not have been a complete angel, but at that moment she might as well have been. Diamond Tiara was frozen in her tracks, her hoof was still gripping the back of Scootaloo's head and her hoof reared back for a punch, but a goofy look was slowly spreading across her face as she stared at Apple Bloom. Scootaloo couldn't help but laugh quietly to herself. She knew how smitten Diamond Tiara was with Apple Bloom and this was exactly what she needed to keep from getting a beating.

"Come on," Apple Bloom barked. "I don't have time for this!"

"C-coming, Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo managed to choke out, then looked to Diamond Tiara. "You don't want to do this, Tiara. Apple Bloom will be late for her play if you beat me up now, and you don't want that, do you? Make her late, I mean."

"Huh? Why, ummm, no. I mean, I don't care about that . . . I just changed my mind, that's all," Diamond replied calmly and shoved Scootaloo away. She then turned and transfixed her gaze on the beautiful farm filly standing in front of them. She sighed dreamily, making Scootaloo smile more and Sweetie nudged her in the ribs as a sort of congratulations on the save Apple Bloom had unknowingly given to her.

"Well, see you in town tomorrow, Tiara," Scootaloo softly commented and made her way over to Apple Bloom. Diamond Tiara blinked and trotted after her, not willing to let Apple Bloom out of her sight. Scootaloo flinched upon hearing the hooves of Diamond Tiara clopping on the ground behind her. Doing her best to ignore the bully, Scootaloo approached Apple Bloom and the two of them started to walk off, but there was Diamond, grinning stupidly at the two of them.

Apple Bloom frowned and looked at her. "And what do you want?" she grumbled.

"I j-just wanted to say hi, Apple Bloom, and that you look nice today," Diamond Tiara stammered, giving her the best smile she could muster. Sweetie Belle just rolled her eyes and Scootaloo almost gagged seeing how sappy Diamond Tiara became around Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes and regarded Diamond Tiara carefully for a moment, making Diamond shudder. She waited for a smart-ass comment or an insult, as was so common with Apple Bloom. However, much to everypony's shock, especially Scootaloo's, Apple Bloom gave Diamond Tiara a warm smile and gently said, "How nice. Well, hello to you too, Diamond Tiara."

Diamond Tiara blinked. She felt like everything around her stopped, including her heart. Apple Bloom was never nice to her. If Apple Bloom was being nice, Diamond Tiara would have normally assumed it was fake and forced, but not this time. This time it felt sweet and sincere. She swallowed hard and stared at Apple Bloom for what seemed like forever. If only Apple Bloom would give her a chance, then she'd know how great of a pony she really was.

"I'll see you later, Tiara," Apple Bloom said softly, snapping Diamond back to reality. "Say goodbye to your little friend, Scootaloo,"

Diamond Tiara grinned slightly and waved, then watched sadly as Apple Bloom and Scootaloo walked away with an embarrassed Scootaloo hanging her head.

"You really got it bad for her, don't you?" Sweetie asked as she moved to Diamond's side.

"Can it, tubby," Diamond shouted and turned around, almost ready to slug Scootaloo's chubby friend. "I don't know what you're talking about, so just forget it."

"Alright, whatever you say." Sweetie blinked in confusion, wondering why Diamond wouldn't just admit that she liked Apple Bloom. It was nothing bad, but of course Diamond Tiara would make it out to be the end of the world.

Sweetie suddenly jumped upon hearing Apple Bloom bark, "Hey, Sweetie! You comin'? We got rehearsal this afternoon!"

Sweetie simply shook her head and replied, "Sorry, Apple Bloom, but I've got plans this afternoon."

Apple Bloom just rolled her eyes and continued walking with Scootaloo.

Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle smiled, seeing Spike approaching the schoolhouse. She hopped up and down when she approached Spike. “Hey, Spike!”

The little dragon chuckled and inquired, “You happy to see me, Sweetie Belle?” He spotted Scootaloo and Apple Bloom walking off. “Can I give you a lift home?”

Sweetie Belle nodded her head and said, “Thanks, I'd love to have you walk me home.”

"Great!.” His face brightened up. “Okay, let's go!”

The two of them started walking.

Upon arriving at Carousel Boutique, they went to her bedroom where she collapsed on her bed, sighing in content.

“Will you be all right here by yourself?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yeah, I think so. I think I'm just going to lay down for a nap or something.”

“All right. I'll see you around, then. I should get back to the library. Have a nice summer break.”

Once Spike had left, she rested her head on her pillow.

It was quiet when Rarity entered the Carousel Boutique. She stopped in the middle of the Boutique, suddenly noticing how silent it was. She listened carefully for any sign of Sweetie Belle's presence. She decided to go ahead and go to Sweetie Belle's bedroom to make sure that her little sister was there.

In spite of her worry over her sister's safety, she walked quite slowly up the stairs and down the hall. Upon reaching Sweetie Belle's bedroom door, she knocked lightly a couple of times and pressed her ear to the door, awaiting an answer from her little sister. She received no response, forcing her to knock yet again, louder this time. Still no response. Finally, she called, "Sweetie Belle? Are you in there?" Hearing no response, she checked to see if the door was unlocked and, upon finding out that it indeed was, wrenched open the door and walked in. She stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted Sweetie in bed, sleeping.

She didn't want to, but she was practically forced to wake her up from her slumber. If Sweetie Belle took a nap during the day, she wouldn't feel like going to bed when she needed to. Walking up to the bed, she lifted a hoof and gently shook Sweetie Belle. “Sweetie? Sweetie Belle, wake up.”

The little filly stirred in her sleep, rolling over onto her other side. She smacked her lips and opened her eyes, jumping up when she saw Rarity looking down at her.

“Sweetie Belle, are you hungry? I could whip us up something real quick, if you'd like.”

“Hmm . . .” Sweetie Belle put a hoof to her chin in thought. “Come to think of it, I am kind of hungry.” She lied back down and threw the covers over her head. “Call me when dinner's ready.”

Rarity walked down to the kitchen.

Upstairs, Sweetie Belle lied on her back on her bed, staring at her plushie that she held in her hooves, known as Itty Bitty Kitty, a stuffed cat that Rarity had given her as a birthday present one year. It had originally been Rarity's.

She rolled onto her side and held the stuffed kitten close to her chest, sighing heavily. Even if she and her sister didn't get along quite well, she had to admit to herself that she was looking forward to the fact that she's be staying with Rarity all week next week.

It wasn't long before Sweetie Belle was called down to dinner. Reluctantly, she left her stuffed animal behind and ventured downstairs to the kitchen. Rarity was already seated at the table with her bowl of noodles in front of her. Directly across from her sat Sweetie's own bowl of noodles. The little filly sat down at the table and started eating.

“Did you get home okay?” Rarity asked.

“Mm-hmm,” Sweetie Belle replied, her mouth full of noodles. She imagined that she must have looked kind of silly with several strands of noodles dangling from her lower lip. She slupred them up and swallowed, making Rarity cringe. “What?”

“Really, Sweetie Belle, we need to work on your etiquette.”

Sweetie nodded and attempted to eat the noodles more “ladylike” this time. She cleared her throat upon swallowing and flicked back her mane with a hoof,

Rarity smiled. “You need to get in bed early tonight. Mother and Father will be here tomorrow afternoon to pick you up.”

Once dinner was over, Sweetie went and brushed her teeth. Afterward, she climbed into bed and read a book, waiting for Rarity to come in and wish her good night. Her older sister did so an hour after she had climbed into bed. Sweetie set her book aside on her nightstand and laid down, pulling the covers up to her neck.

“All right,” Rarity said. “Get a good night's sleep.”

Sweetie smiled up at her. “Thanks. Could you give me my doll, please?”

Rarity levitated Itty Bitty Kitty over to her and examined it. “You still have this old thing?”

“But of course.”

Rarity leaned forward and took a whiff, only to jerk her head back in disgust. “Ugh! Good heavens, Sweetie Belle, when was the last time you had this thing washed?”

Sweetie tapped her chin with a hoof in thought. “I can't remember.”

“Well, obviously, it's been a while. This thing is an absolute mess. There's bits of stuffing falling out, the left eye needs to be resewn on. Sometime next week while you're here, I'll set to work on fixing this old thing.” She finally allowed the doll to land in Sweetie's hooves. “Anyway, good night. Sleep tight.” She leaned down and pecked Sweetie on the forehead.

“Don't let the bed bugs bite,” Sweetie finished.

Rarity winced at the silly rhyme and turned without another word to Sweetie, flicking off the light and shutting the door as she exited the room.

Sweetie Belle was up bright and early the following morning. Rarity was seated at the kitchen table, sipping a mug of hot coffee, when Sweetie Belle walked in. The pair said nothing to each other while Sweetie Belle prepared herself a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice. It wasn't until Sweetie was seated at the table and eating that Rarity decided to strike up a conversation.

“So, how did you sleep?” Rarity asked.

“Fine,” Sweetie replied, eating a spoonful of cereal. “And you?”

“I slept just swimmingly." As Rarity gently patted her head, she added, “I wish we could go with them. I mean, this is Manehattan we're talking about.”

“Oh, believe me, darling, I wish we could too, but I have orders to fill, and you have an essay to write, remember?”

“Can't you take off for just one week?”

“Sweetie Belle, you know I can't do that. Who would be here to fill the orders? No, I simply cannot allow myself to fall behind. I must stay here and work if I wish to get these orders filled. Besides, we don't have train tickets. They're quite impossible to get on such late notice.”

Sweetie sighed. “Well, I tried,” she muttered.

“Are you all ready to go back to Mother and Father's for the weekend?”

Sweetie nodded. “Mm-hmm.”

“You'll be sure to stay in touch, won't you?”

“Of course. Though, maybe it's better if I just stay here?”

“What?! But that would mean that Mother and Father would have completely wasted their time coming down here! Why in Equestria would you want to stay here?!”

“I night as well since I'll just be coming back here on Sunday.”

Rarity beamed and gently patted Sweetie on the head once again. “Nonsense! You need to spend time with Mother and Father before they leave on their vacation, and make sure to be a good filly for Mother and Father. Now go upstairs and brush your teeth. I'll let you know when Father and Mother have arrived. In the meantime, I'll be busy working.”

Sweetie sighed and rolled her eyes, walking out of the kitchen. “When are you not busy working, Rarity?” she wondered out loud. “Don't you ever take a break?”

Later that morning, Rarity walked in Sweetie Belle's room. “Sweetie Belle? Would you mind doing a favor for me?”

The little filly turned her head from her book to look at her older sister. “What?”

“Would you be willing to model a dress for me?” Rarity approached the bed that Sweetie was lying on. “You're the only one small enough to fit in it.”

Sweetie rolled her eyes. “All right.” She set her book aside and followed Rarity. She was perplexed when Rarity led her to Rarity's bedroom instead of downstairs to the inspiration room.

“Lay down here,” Rarity instructed, pointing to a mat resting on the floor.

Sweetie stared down at the mat, then looked up to say something, only to see Rarity rummaging around in her closet. She did as she was told and waited patiently for something to happen, although she was still confused as to why Rarity had taken her here.

“Ah, found them,” Rarity cried. She levitated a package of diapers and set them beside Sweetie Belle. 'Just hold still and this will be over before you know it.” She must have guessed that Sweetie was going to put up one heck of a fight because she put a hoof on Sweetie's chest, holding her down, while she removed one of the diapers from the pack and began unfolding it.

“Rarity, what the–” Sweetie cried.

Rarity cut her off. “This will just complete the ensemble, dear. Don't worry. You won't be wearing it for long, just for a little while. And then you can take it off as soon as we're done.”

“I still don't understand.”

“Well, you see, a client of mine is wanting me to design some clothes for foals. Hence, why I asked you to model for me. Won't you look so cute?”

Sweetie smacked her hoof away. “No! I don't want to–”

“Sweetie, please, just do this for me. I promise this won't take long.”

Sweetie sighed and folded her hooves. “Fine.” Begrudgingly, she watched as Rarity fastened the diaper on her.

“Now, follow me,” Rarity instructed.

The diaper rustled audibly when Sweete rolled over onto her stomach and got up on her hooves. The thickness of the diaper on her flank made it a little hard to walk, given that the padding was causing her to waddle. Nonetheless, she followed Rarity downstairs to Rarity's work room. There was a frilly pink dress that was levitated over to her and she was instructed to put it on. Rarity helped her do so and once she had done so, Rarity popped something in her mouth. She suckled on it for a few moments before realizing that it was a pacifier. Upon doing so, she immediately spit it out and gagged. “Ugh!” She glared up at her sister. “What are you doing putting a pacifier in my mouth?! Wasn't the diaper humiliating enough?!”

“This is just to complete the look, darling,” Rarity replied, sticking the pacifier back in Sweetie's mouth.

Sweetie sighed and went back to suckling the pacifier. “All right.”

Walking past Carousel Boutique at that moment were none other than Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Featherweight, the latter of which had his camera with him.

Turning to look in one of the windows, Silver Spoon gasped and put a hoof to her mouth. Reaching behind her, she tapped Diamond Tiara. “Hey, Diamond, take a look at this!”

The rich filly walked up beside her best friend and gazed inside the store, only to lose herself in a fit of giggles. “This . . . this is . . . priceless,” she cried, panting while she guffawed. “Poor little Sweetie Belle is wearing a frilly pink dress, a diaper, and sucking on a pacifier.” She laughed. “I didn't know she was into that sort of thing.”

“Hey, Featherweight,” Silver Spoon called. “Get over here and get a few shots of this!”

The little colt did as instructed, snapping pictures of the humiliating scene taking place inside Carousel Boutique while Diamond Tiara and Silve Spoon were having the time of their lives, rolling around on the ground and laughing hysterically.

“You look great,” Rarity said, beaming at her little sister. “My client is going to love this!”

Sweetie Belle, whose face was beet red from embarrassment, was inclined to disagree.

A knock was heard at the door.

“Oh,” Rarity cried. “That must be Mother and Father!”

Sweetie's eyes widened at this revelation. Mother and Father were here already? Oh, no! She couldn't allow them to see her like this. Through the pacifier still in her mouth, she asked, “Can I take this dress off now?”

“Oh, yes, of course,” Rarity replied, heading towards the door. “Thank you again, Sweetie Belle.”

“You're welcome, sis.” She took the time to glance at herself in the mirror. She couldn't help but blush at how babyish she looked, especially with the diaper on and the pacifier in her mouth. She turned around, her rear pointed at the mirror, so that she could see how she looked from behind. She had to admit that she looked positively adorable. She couldn't deny that fact. Her diapered rump looked especially cute.

“Sweetie Belle's just upstairs,” she heard Rarity say. “Let me go get her.”

Hastily, she spit out the pacifier and proceeded to get the dress and diaper off her as fast as possible. This was easier said than done given that she had yet to learn how to learn even the most basic of magic spells. This unfortunately left her with no choice but to use her Hooves and mouth. It took a while, hut she managed to get the diaper and dress off. Upon doing so, she made sure to carefully put the dress back where she'd found it while the diaper and pacifier were left discarded on the floor. She let out a sigh of relief as she headed to the front of Carousel Boutique to greet her mother and father.

Sweetie Belle was somewhat reluctant to leave with her mother and father. Part of her didn't want to leave because she didn't want to be away from Rarity. Nevertheless, after a tearful farewell between the two sisters, the family left the Boutique, leaving Rarity all alone.

Walking back in the Boutique, she suddenly became aware of how eerily quiet the Boutique was without Sweetie Belle around. Walking to the room where she usually worked, she began to miss her little sister's high-pitched laughter, her high, squeaky voice. For how annoying she was, that little filly really did bring an air of life to the Boutique, and Rarity found that she was missing her little sister more than anything else already.

Sunday morning came. Sweetie’s parents’ train was leaving at noon, so they were going to drop Sweetie off at Rarity’s about nine. (They lived a long way from the train station.) Sweetie was already awake when they came to wake her up at seven-thirty.

The fifteen-minute ride to Rarity’s house seemed like an eternity. She was anxious beyond belief. She kept fiddling with her hooves and trying to keep from sweating. When they arrived at her boutique, she was almost hyperventilating. She looked at the two-story house where she was going to be spending the summer. Either it was bigger than she thought it was, or her being nervous made it seem enormous. She gulped and got out of the carriage.

She picked her large suitcase out of the trunk and grabbed the backpack that she put her books in. She swung this around her shoulder and took another look up at the boutique. She felt like she was going to strain her neck. She started lugging her suitcase up to the front door.

Sweetie’s mother, Cookie Crumbles, rang the doorbell and Sweetie stood there, waiting for it to open. She went over what she was going to say. She had written a whole speech, to make sure things got off to a good start. “Hi, Rarity. I’m looking forward to spending the summer with you. Thank you in advance for taking care of me while Mom and Dad are gone.” That would be sure to impress Rarity. Things were going to be perfect.

Meanwhile, inside said boutique, resitng in bed with her sleeping mask on, Rarity mumbled in her sleep. “Oh, are those sweet carrot pancakes I smell?” She gasped. “Mmm! How divine!” She smacked her lips. “The aroma . . . spiced warm apple cider.” She sniffed the air. “Ahh, and the smell of . . . smoke. Smoke?!” She sat up in bed and fiddled with her sleeping mask to get it off. Once she had done so, she looked around the room. “Smoke?!” She sniffed the air yet again, just to make sure she was indeed smelling smoke.

Screaming, she frantically tried to get out of bed, tripping over her comforter as she did so. Getting to her hooves, she bolted out the bedroom and down the hallway. She was running so fast that she hadn't bothered to take the stairs one step at a time and thus, ended up plummeting down the flight of stairs until she reached the bottom, landing face-first on the floor. Despite her position, she could tell that this was the area where the smoke was the strongest, thanks in part to her sense of smell, so the source of the smoke had to have been coming somewhere around here.

“Rarity,” a voice cried. “Ugh! You ruined the surprise! I was gonna serve you breakfast in bed!”

Lifting her head, Rarity looked over to the right to see Sweetie Belle standing in the middle of the kitchen with smoke emitting from the stove. She got to her hooves and walked in the kitchen, glaring down at her little sister. “Sweetie Belle! What in Equestria–”

“Well, good mornin', Rarity,” a voice cried.

Rarity jumped and turned, seeing her mother and father standing near the kitchen table. “Father! Mother!”

“I'll have you know that Sweetie Belle here cooked this yummy lookin' breakfast all on her own,” Hondo Flanks, her father, said proudly.

“I figured,” Rarity muttered. She leaned down and examined a glass that looked like it was full of ash or soot or . . . something. She sniffed it, only to realize that it was orange juice. “I didn't know you could burn juice.”

“I've been giving her lessons,” Cookie Crumbles told her. “I wouldn't be surprised if she's got a cuite mark in fancy cooking by the time we get back from our vacation.”

"Vacation?" Rarity questioned. "Is that this week? As in 'starting this very instant' this week?!"

Sweetie placed a bowl of bubbling black goo on the table.

"Let me guess: apple sauce?" Rarity asked.

"Nope," Sweetie replied. "Toast!" She beamed at Rarity and said, "“We're gonna have the bestest time two sisters could ever have,” Sweetie Belle squealed happily, hugging Rarity tightly. “I'm gonna go grab the rest of my stuff from Dad's wagon.” She zoomed out the door, leaving Rarity alone with her parents.

Said unicorn cleared her throat and said, "So, now, when you say 'a week' . . . is that, um, seven whole days?"

"And six nights, I know!" Cookie Crumbles said. "Such a short time to spend with your little sis."

"You gonna eat that?" Hondo Flanks pointed to a burnt crumbled heap on a plate.

Rarity pushed the plate towards him and he seized it as she said, “But I've got such a long to-do list,” Rarity complained. She sighed. “Oh, well. I suppose 'spend time with your sister' will just have to be added to the list.”

“You'll look out for her, won't you?” Cookie Crumbles asked, looking worried.

Rarity nodded her head. “Always, Mother. You have no reason to fear leaving her with me. You can have faith that she'll be safe with me while you're gone.”

Cookie Crumbles smiled and gently nuzzled her oldest daughter tenderly. “Thank you, Rarity. Such a dear.”

Despite how childish and awkward the moment felt to her, Rarity couldn't help but return the nuzzle. The moment was ruined, however, as a loud crash was heard. Both females turned to see Sweetie Belle beaming at them with her luggage in front of her.

"Just a few necessities," she said.

Rarity's long, beautiful mane was cascading down the back of her neck. She had a wonderful smile on her face that made Sweetie want to melt. She gave a proper hello to her mother and father and then looked at Sweetie, smiling congenially.

“Hello, Sweetie Belle. You look very nice today.”

Sweetie smiled sheepishly. She tried to say what she had planned, but the words died in her throat. She couldn’t bring herself to say it. So, after a moment's pause, she shakily managed to say, “Thanks.” She mentally kicked herself for being unable to get her nerve up.

Rarity then invited them to the living room They sat down in the room near the entryway with three large couches. Sweetie thought it must have been meant to be used for sitting around and talking.

“Again, thank you so much for taking care of Sweetie Belle while we’re gone,” Cookie Crumbles said.

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all, Mother," Rarity said. "I’m happy to look after the little darling.”

Sweetie blushed and smiled again.

“You have the address for where we’re going to be, right?” Hondo Flanks asked.

“Yes, yes," Rarity replied. "You’ve made sure that I know your entire itinerary. In my opinion, you've planned this out much too carefully! You need to just do some things on a whim! And don’t worry, Sweetie Belle’s in good hooves with me.”

“We know. But you can understand that we’re a little nervous leaving our girl for three months!”

“Of course I can understand. Speaking of that, though, you should probably get going. You need to get to the train station early. It takes longer to check your baggage.”

“You’re right, you’re right. We shouldn’t drag this out. You have all the information you need and Sweetie Belle’s got everything she’ll need for the summer. But if she realizes she’s forgotten something, you’ve got a key to our house, so you can just go get it.”

Cookie Crumbles and Hondo Flanks headed to the front door. Rarity and Sweetie followed.

“Be good for Rarity, honey. Do whatever she tells you.” Cookie Crumbles bent over and kissed Sweetie on the forehead.

Sweetie was a little embarrassed. “I will, Mom, don’t worry.” Her mother gave her a big hug. It looked like she was more worried about Sweetie being alone than she was.

Hondo Flanks patted Sweetie on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, Sweetie. We’ll be back at the end of the summer.”

“I know, Dad. I’ll be fine."

Cookie Crumbles and Hondo Flanks went out to the carriage. Rarity and Sweetie stayed in the doorway. Rarity had her hoof around Sweetie’s shoulder, trying to comfort her. Sweetie guessed that she didn’t know that she didn’t really mind that her parents were leaving. But she didn’t mind Rarity’s hoof around her. Their parents got in the carriage and were off while Rarity and Sweetie waved at them from the doorway. They waved until the carriage had disappeared in the distance.

“Well, why don’t we go back inside, eh, Sweetie Belle?”

“Okay.” She didn’t seem able to talk very loudly to Rarity. She was still nervous.

When Rarity shut the door behind them, she said, “Alright. Before we get settled, are you hungry? Did you eat any breakfast this morning?”

“Not really. I had some orange juice . . ." In truth, she was starving. “I was kinda nervous this morning.”

“I can understand. Have you been away from Mother and Father before?” She misunderstood the cause of nervousness. But that was fine with Sweetie Belle.

“Not really. I stayed with Grandpa and Grandma for a week once, before they died. But that’s it.”

“I see. Well, if you’re hungry, let’s get you some breakfast. Then we’ll get you settled into your room.”

Rarity started leading Sweetie through a room, presumably towards the kitchen. As they entered the kitchen, Rarity said, "Now, let's get that kitchen all cleaned up."

Sweetie wore a confused expression. "Cleaned up? But we haven't even eaten yet."

"Well, now, Sweetie Belle, I appreciate the gesture, but we simply can't eat this breakfast; it's burnt."

Sweetie eyed a plate containing some black mush and said, "It's not that burnt."

Rarity smiled and placed a hood on Sweetie's chest. "Never fear, my dear, I'll get a proper breakfast going."

"Can I help?" Sweetie's face lit up in excitement at the idea.

"Oh, er, of course, er, in one moment, Sweetie Belle. Let me just get things started."

Gradually, as Rarity cooked, Sweetie began to detect a familiar scent in the air. It was very pleasing, but she couldn’t place it quite yet. Rarity seemed to notice Sweetie’s sniffing after a while because she said, “I guessed that you’d be hungry, so I made pancakes.”

So that was what Sweetie was smelling! She recognized it immediately now. Pancakes were one of her favorite foods! She smiled widely as she walked towards the source of the delicious odor. She figured she had better say something. “I really like pancakes.” She felt so stupid afterwards, though.

“Really? Well, that’s lucky. Pancakes are my favorite things to eat for breakfast. I make them quite a bit. Looks like we’ll be having a pretty good time this summer."

Despite the fact that Rarity had cooked her favorite breakfast, Sweetie was still displeased about something, as was evident on her face. "But, Rarity! I thought you said I was gonna help!"

Rarity suddenly frowned. She'd been so busy cooking that she'd completely forgotten about letting Sweetie help her. To save face, she said he hastily, "You are! You... can... put the garnish on the plates."

Sweetie looked down at the counter see some parsley lying there. "You mean this parsley?"

Rarity nodded her head.

Taking said parsley in her mouth, Sweetie approached the table. Being too little to reach the top of said table, she stood on top of a chair and hovered over her plate while Rarity hovered over her.

"Okay, now, easy!" Rarity said. "It has to be just right! No need to rush. No! That's too slow. Careful! Back up! Looking for perfection here . . ."

Unfortunately, Rarity's hovering over her made her only nervous, so nervous that she ended up losing her balance and falling. "Whoa, whoa!"

There was a crash, sending both Yes falling to the floor. The parsley fell from Sweetie's lops and fluttered down onto Sweetie's plate.

Rarity smiled. "Not . . . bad," she said.

There was a little breakfast nook to the side next to the kitchen. It contained a round table, surrounded on three sides by big windows looking out onto her deck and her backyard. On top of the table was a huge pile of pancakes and maple syrup. Sweetie was salivating at the sight of it.

“Here, have a seat.” Sweetie started to get her food, but Rarity interrupted her. “Don't worry about it, I’ll get it for you.” She put some pancakes on a plate for Sweetie and then set it in front of her along with a jug of maple syrup. “In case you want some more,” she said. “But be careful, you don't want to get any on your nice fur. You look very nice with your fur so well-groomed, Sweetie Belle.”

Sweetie blushed noticeably and grinned. “Thank you.” With that, she started eating. Rarity sat down opposite her and took some pancakes for herself. Sweetie was torn between concentrating on eating her food and simply gazing at Rarity in adoration. She was very careful not to get any syrup on herself, though. Rarity started talking to her, and she was only able to answer in one or two words. She still wasn’t quite comfortable. When she realized she wasn’t going to be able to get much conversation out of Sweetie at the moment, she started telling Sweetie about how her fashion career was going.

After a while, they had both eaten their fill of pancakes. “Thanks, Rarity, that was great.” Sweetie said quietly. Then, without warning, she burped, making her feel extremely embarrassed. “Excuse me!”

“That’s okay, Sweetie Belle. How about we get you settled in? Follow me and I’ll show you to your room.”

Again, they started trekking around the house. They went back to the entryway to get Sweetie’s bags, and then they went upstairs. Rarity was ahead of her.

They walked around upstairs for awhile, then Rarity opened a door to what Sweetie assumed would be her bedroom for the next few months. But when she looked in, it didn't look like any bedroom she knew. It was huge! The room looked like it was as big as their parents' house! She stood in the doorway, open-mouthed. There was a huge, king-size bed in the room. She also saw that it had a bathroom attached to it. There's no way this can be my room, she thought.

“Is this my room?” she asked hesitantly.

“Yes, it is, Sweetie Belle. It’s right across the hall from mine. I hope you like it. It’s the second-biggest room in the house. I save it for special guests, and you are pretty special, Sweetie Belle.” Sweetie blushed again. “Well, I’ll give you some time to get settled. If you have any questions, I’ll be right across the hall. Oh, and one more thing; for the next three months, welcome home.” She leaned down and kissed Sweetie’s cheek. Sweetie blushed bright crimson and grinned sheepishly.

“Thank you.” Rarity walked out, leaving Sweetie alone with her stuff and a gigantic room where she would be residing for the next three months. This is amazing, she thought. But she was resolved to get things ready in her room as quickly as possible so she could spend some time with Rarity, so she set about setting out all her toiletries and organizing her books. She finished by setting her stuffed doll on the bed. She'd need some bravery to start acting normal around Rarity, she decided. She paused to look at herself in the mirror. She smiled at her reflection. She was looking pretty good, even though her mane was still a little too long. Then she went across the hall into Rarity’s room. She entered to see Rarity sitting at a desk doing some writing. She smiled as she saw Sweetie come in.

“I see you’ve gotten settled in. Feeling more comfortable now?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“That’s good, but don’t worry. I still think you’re cute.” Sweetie blushed again. “So you’re certain you're all settled in?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Rarity looked at the clock. “Well, it took you a while to get your room in order. How do you feel about some lunch?”

Sweetie subconsciously started running her hooves through her mane. “Yeah, that would fine. I’m kinda hungry.”

“Alright, Sweetie Belle, follow me.”

They walked back downstairs and stopped in a room with a couch. She told Sweetie to sit down. Sweetie smiled at her. “I’ll be right back.”

As Rarity left, Sweetie was suddenly overwhelmed with how great her summer was going to be. Rarity was being so nice to her, and the house was amazing. Her room was gigantic. She started feeling a little more relaxed.

In a matter of minutes, Rarity came back and sat down next to Sweetie and handed her a plate with some chips and a sandwich on it. Sweetie noticed that the crusts were cut off. She looked at Rarity a little puzzled, but Rarity just smiled and gave Sweetie a soda. Sweetie thanked her and started to eat. They sat there while Sweetie ate her sandwich. It was really good. Rarity was kinda treating her like a little kid, but Sweetie didn’t really mind. Any attention coming from Rarity was okay by her.

Once Sweetie had finished her food. she gathered a little courage and said, “Thank you, Rarity. That was great.”

“I’m glad you liked it, Sweetie Belle.”

“Why don’t you go change into your pajamas?”

"Cool! But what about dinner?”

“I ordered a pizza.”

“Awesome!”

“Normally, I would have made one, but I didn’t have the time this afternoon.”

“That’s fine, I’ll go change.” Sweetie went back up to her room and dug her flannel pajamas out of her drawer and then set about taking care of her mane. She combed it a couple of times, as well as her tail quite a few times. In the end, she looked pretty good again. She walked downstairs and Rarity was sitting on the big couch. She smiled when Sweetie came down.

“Hi, Sweetie Belle. Cute pajamas.”

In spite of herself, Sweetie blushed. “Thank you.”

“The pizza should be here any minute.” Right after she said this, the doorbell rang. As soon as she retrieved the pizza, Rarity brought out some plates and simply set the box on the coffee table.

Sweetie sat back and relaxed while she ate the pizza.

By the end of the time they had finished the pizza, Sweetie realized she was feeling kind of tired. She yawned, and Rarity had her lay her head on her lap, so Sweetie lied on her lap while Rarity stroked her mane.

She must have dozed off a little, because suddenly Rarity was looking down at her. “Did you have a nice little nap? You’re adorable when you’re sleeping, you know.”

While things between Sweetie Belle and Rarity were off to a great start, things between them quickly became rocky. It seemed to Sweetie Belle that she couldn't do anything without her older sister getting onto her. She had tried cleaning up Rarity's inspiration room only for Rarity to yell at her for doing so. She had tried drawing Rarity a picture, only for the mare to throw a fit about the fact that Sweetie had used all of the baby blue sapphires, which, according to Rarity, were very rare. It had finally escalated to a huge argument between the two when Sweetie had asked Rarity if she'd be interested in taking part in the Sisterhooves Social, with both of them agreeing that neither one of them needed a sister before Sweetie had stormed off and gone to Sweet Apple Acres to spend the day with Applejack and Apple Bloom.

Rarity, having calmed down and seen the picture that Sweetie Belle had drawn for her, realized her mistake and finally found Sweetie at Sweet Apple Acres, roasting marshmallows with Applejack and her younger sister. Rarity had tried her hardest to reconcile with Sweetie Belle, but her efforts proved to be in vain. Sweetie insisted that Applejack be her new older sister, officially emancipating herself from Rarity's guardianship. It was only after a heartfelt talk with Applejack that Rarity finally decided to take part in the “uncouth” activity known as the Sisterhooves Social.

Once she had finally reconciled with Sweetie Belle, it had been a fun day for both of them. They had baked a pie togeter, played in the rain, and done a number of other things like braiding each other's manes.

Now Rarity walked in the room that Sweetie Belle was in, her mane adorned in a series of small bows. Sweetie's was as well, but not as many. Eyeing Spike sitting a couple of feet away from Sweetie Belle, quill and parchment at the ready, she cleared her throat and said, “Very well, then. What should we write to the Princess?”

“I'll start,” Sweetie Belle offered. She turned to glance at her reflection in the mirror behind her, beaming. “Having a sister is just about the bestest thing in the world, but it sure isn't the easiest.”

Rarity walked up and stood beside her, appearing in the mirror as well. “I agree that being sisters is a wonderful thing, but it takes teamwork. Sometimes it's about compromising. Sometimes it's about accepting each other's differences. But mostly it's about having fun together, even if it means getting your hooves a little bit dirty.”

“A lot dirty,” Sweetie Belle corrected.

“A little bit dirty,” Rarity argued.

“A lot dirty.”

“A little bit dirty!”

Fearing that an argument was about to ensue, Spike approached them.

“A lo–”

“Hold it, hold it,” Spike cried, getting in between them. “How about 'a medium amount of dirty, not too little, not too much, just right?'”

Sweetie Belle and Rarity looked at each other before smiling and cryig in unison, “Deal!” They broke out into a fit of laughter that was only broken by a knock at the door.

“I'll get it,” Rarity offered. She walked out of the room and to the front door. Opening it, she saw a couple of the Princess' royal guards standing on her doorstep. “Good afternoon, gentlemen. What can I do for you today?”

“Miss Rarity?” one of the guards asked.

Rarity nodded. “Yes, that's me.”

“I'm afraid we have some terrible news, ma'am.”

"“What's going on, Rarity?” Sweetie Belle asked, appearing beside her older sister along with Spike.

Based on their gloomy expressions, Rarity guessed that the “terrible news” had something to do with her parents. Turning, she levitated a sack of bits over to Spike. “Here, Spike. Why don't you go to Sugarcube Corner and treat yourself to some sweets?”

“Sure,” Spike cried, grabbing the sack and running off.

Rarity sighed in relief and turned back to the guards. “Now you can tell me. Is it about my parents?” She prayed to Celestia that it wasn't.

The guards nodded.

“Oh,” Rarity said, raising an eyebrow. “And what about them?”

“They're . . .” The guard swallowed hard. “They're . . . dead, ma'am.”

Sweetie's Decision

Rarity didn't hear anything else the guard said after that. His words went in one ear and out the other. All she heard was gibberish, intelligible talk. She felt as if somepony had ripped out her heart and set it aflame, then trampled on it, yet somehow she felt her heart beat faster. Her breathing became heavy, making her chest hurt and making it hard to breathe.

“Is there anypony you would like for me to contact?” the guard asked.

“No,” Rarity breathed out. It was so barely audible that it might as well have been a whisper.

The guard nodded. “We're terribly sorry, ma'am. If there's anything we can do, please let us know.”

Rarity nodded slowly, watching them go before shutting the front door. She turned to look down at Sweetie Belle, who seemed to be having a hard time processing what she’d just heard. At long last, Sweetie spoke.

“Rarity?” she said hesitantly. “Weren't . . . weren’t Mom and Dad on their way to Manehattan when they left?”

“Well . . .” Her hooves were trembling. “Well, yes . . . they were . . . But that doesn’t mean . . . it doesn’t . . .” She couldn't even bring herself to say what it almost assuredly meant.

Sweetie knew it was true. She threw her hooves around Rarity, the only source of comfort she could think of.

“Rarity . . .” Sweetie was fighting back tears, but not quite succeeding. “Mama . . . Daddy . . .”

Rarity tried to hush her, but she wasn't in much of a better condition than Sweetie was. She rubbed Sweetie’s back as she cried on her shoulder. “Hush now, Sweetums . . . It’s okay . . . Everything’s . . . okay . . .” To Sweetie’s surprise, Rarity lifted her, one hoof under her rear, the other holding her head against her shoulder. While Sweetie sobbed into her shoulder, Rarity carried her up the stairs. “I'm . . . sure that . . . that if we just wait until tomorrow morning . . . everything will be cleared up, and everything will be fine. I’m sure they just got the wrong address. Don’t worry, Sweetums . . . It’s okay . . . It’ll be okay . . .”

They went into Sweetie’s room, where they sat down on the bed. Rarity kept hanging on to Sweetie and started rocking back and forth, quietly hushing her.

After a few minutes of sobbing, Sweetie gradually started to calm down. The shock of what she had heard was wearing off. She didn’t know for sure that her parents were dead. The guards might have simply gotten the wrong address. Rarity was right. Things would turn out okay. Once Sweetie had calmed down, Rarity set her down on the bed beside her. She looked Sweetie in the eye and ran her hooves through her mane.

“Now, Sweetie, we don’t anything for sure. There are probably dozens of trains between here and Manehattan. We don’t know that was Mother and Father's train. They’re probably already in Manehattan, and since it’s nearing nighttime over there, they’re probably already asleep. Don't worry. We should just wait until tomorrow when we can find out more. Now try to sleep, Sweetie. Good night.” She kissed Sweetie’s forehead and walked out, turning off the light as she left.

Sweetie got into bed and tried to rest. The bed was unbelievably comfortable, but she wasn’t really thinking about that. Her mind kept wandering to her parents. She couldn’t help feeling that they were dead. She tried not to think about it, but she couldn’t help it. She started crying again, but not as bad as before. Nevertheless, she was very tired. She fell asleep whimpering.

That night, Sweetie had a very strange dream. She was in a dark room. Really, she was just more or less standing in blackness. There was nothing around, literally. She was all alone. She called out for her mom and dad, but nopony responded. She felt very cold and sad.

Applejack wiped the sweat off her brow and gazed proudly at the baskets that lied underneath the tree, full to the brim with fresh, juicy apples. Propping one of them up on her head, she proceeded to the house. She jumped when Rarity suddenly appeared in front of her.

“I need to talk to you, now,” Rarity cried.

“Well, I–” Applejack began. She was cut off in mid-thought as Rarity grabbed her and dragged her to the nearest barn. When she came to a stop, she angrily swatted Rarity's hoof away and glared at her. 'Con sarn it, Rarity, what in tarnation–” She stopped when she saw the expression on Rarity's face, causing hers to soften considerably. “Hey, ya okay, sugarcube? Ya look like yer about ta cry.”

Instead of answering, Rarity fell against Applejack's chest and wept while the latter gently patted and rubbed her head, whispering words of comfort.

“There, there, sugarcube,” Applejack said gently. Picking Rarity up, she carried the unicorn over to a haybale and set her down. “Now, why don't you tell me what's wrong with you? What's goin' on?”

It took over a half hour for Rarity to compose herself to a point where she was able to tell Applejack all about finding out about the fact that her parents were dead.

Reluctantly, even though she knew it had to be asked, Applejack asked, “Does Sweetie Belle know?”

“Oh, yes, she knows,” Rarity sniffled and dabbed at her eyes with a few strands of her curly mane.

“Ah can tell you from experience that somethin' like this ain't easy to cope with, Rares, especially for somepony's as young as Sweetie Belle."

“That's what I'm worrying anout. How did Apple Bloom react when you told her that her parents were dead? How did you deal with it?”

“There's no right or wrong way of dealing with the death of a loved one, sugarcube, especially a parental figure, at least not that Ah'm aware of. We waited quite a while ta tell 'er. Shoot, Ah was just a little foal when they passed away, them bein' my Mom and Pop, of course.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, Ah was still going through the grieving process by the time Ah told Apple Bloom. Ah was so torn up that Ah had a hard time talkin'.”

“So, how did she react when she found out?”

Applejack thought for a moment or two, pacing back and forth. Sighing, she sat down in front of Rarity. “Poor thing was so upset. We tried talkin' to 'er about it, but that just upset her more. But Ah figured It'd be best if she heard it from us than anypony else. If Ah can offer a bit of advice: Don't try to push Sweetie Belle to talk to you about it. She'll probably be mighty upset for the next couple of days, so give 'er some time ta cool down and then try talkin' to 'er. Be calm and nonjudgmental. Don't raise your voice. Don't criticize her. Try to be as supportive as possible and watch what ya say.”

Rarity nodded her head, mentally jotting down all of the pointers that Applejack was giving her. “Got it.”

“What about the funeral?” Applejack asked Rarity. “What are ya gonna do then?”

The marshmallow unicorn sadly shook her head. “Oh, I hadn't thought of that. Bi Still have to plan for that,then don't I?” She stared at the ground, her head in her hooves while she continued to sit on top of the haybale that Applejack had placed her on.

Applejack sat down beside her and gently patted her back. “Don't worry, sugarcube. We'll think of something. Do the rest of our friends know?”

“No. You're the first to know. I figured that, with your experience with this sort of thing, you'd know what to do.”

“Well, Ah ain't an expert by any means, but Ah hope Ah was able to help ya a little.”

Rarity nodded. “You were. Thank you.” She leaned forward and nuzzled Applejack gently. “Should I tell the rest of our friends?”

“Well, that is really a matter of family, but if ya really need yer friends to help ya through this, we'll be more than happy to help y'all.”

“Thank you again, Applejack. I'd best be going.”

“See ya later, sugarcube. If ya ever need anythin', let me know.”

“I will.” While not completely satisfied with how the conversation had turned out, she was at least happy that she had shared the tragedy with a friend. She had been able to get some things off her chest and had been able to get some advice about what the next step should be, that being planning the funeral. Though Applejack had given her some solid advice on how to go about coping with the Denise of her parents, as well as help Sweetie cope with it,, she figured that actually approaching Sweetie about it and talking about it together with her was going to be hard.

After arriving home, she went upstairs to check on Sweetie Belle. The little filly was still sleeping soundly in her bed. Once she knew that Sweetie was safe and sound, she went to her room to do some thinking. Pacing back and forth, she wondered exactly how she should go about planning for her parents' funeral, or whether she should even have a funeral for them at all. No, not going through with the funeral would be a terrible idea, and she didn't want Sweetie to be upset at losing out on the chance to say her final goodbyes to their parents. Before she knew it, she was mentally battling with herself about what she should do.

Her rational side said, “Go ahead and go ahead with the funeral. It's for the best. It's important that Sweetie Belle get the chance to say goodbye to Mother and Father. She deserves at least that much.”

Her emotional side said, “But I don't want to put her through any more emotional distress than she's already been through. She's only a child. Children shouldn't be worried about having to lay their parents to rest, especially a filly at her age. She should be laughing and running around and having fun with her friends, not trying to cope with the death of her parents. No, it's best if I just put it off until she's older, that way she'll be able to cope with it better.”

“You really think being older makes one more capable of dealing with the death of a family member?” her rational side asked. “If anything, having her go through it right now would help with the coping process. After all, she's not stupid. She's been knwon to be quite intelligent for a filly her agem I'm sure she'd be able to find a good way to deal with the boss of her parents. Apple Bloom has been through this same thing. Surely she would be able to help Sweetie Belle out."

“Still,” she argued, “thank Celestia that Mother and Father insisted on her staying behind. Yes, she does have her moments where she can be unbearably annoying, as all children can be, but I still love her a great deal and I'm thankful that she wasn't involved with the accident.” She shook her head. “I should Grant her the chance of getting to say goodbye to Mother and Father properly rather than not going through with the funeral. Ugh!! What in Equestira is the matter with me?!! I'm a terrible, terrible big sister! First I completely forget about going to her soccer game after promising her I'd be there, then I spend a whole day doing nothing but constantly getting onto her over trivial matters! Oh, Rarity, you are so stupid sometimes, you know that?!”

“Exactly my point,” her rational side said. “If you truly loved your little sister, you would let her say goodbye to Mother and Father and help her through the coping process. That's what you're here for, isn't it?”

She nodded her head. “Well, yes, but I don't want to ruin the rest of her vacation by dropping a huge weight like that on her hooves. It can wait until after vacation, can't it?”

“But by then, all of Ponyville will probably know and everypony she comes into contact with will be telling her how sorry they are about her loss, and she'll be upset that she didn't get the chance to say goodbye to Mother and Father. Besides that, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo will probably ask her how she's doing since their death. She has friends that she hangs out during the summer, doesn't she?”

“Yes, but Apple Bloom is busy putting on a play and Scootaloo at some kind of summer camp in Cloudsdale. Sweetie's helping Apple Bloom with her play by acting in it, but even then, that will only provide a small distraction from the death of her parents.”

“You have to let her attend her parents' funeral and allow her to go through the grieving process by doing so. It's the right thing to do. If you don't, it means you don't love her.”

“But I don't want to upset her any more than she already is. I just couldn't live with myself knowing that I had brought the great weight of saying goodbye to Mother and Father for the final time onto her. Making her have to go through the ordeal of saying goodbye to her parents would completely destroy her whole world. Does not making her go through that mean that I love her too? After all, I would be saving her from a lot of heartache and pain by doing so.”

“Depriving her of the chance to say goodbye to Mother and Father would only hurt her more. Yes, letting her go through with it will hurt, but not as much as it will if you deprive ehr of the chance to say goodbye to her parents and go through the grieving process. So, are you going to help your sister through the grieving process?"

She shook her head. “I don't know, I'm still not sure. Maybe, but I'll need some time. Perhaps I should give myself some time, if just to get my thoughts together, before making funerla preparations."

“Very well, then.”

Sighing, she headed off to the kitchen, feeling the need to calm herself down. “Where's that vanilla oat swirl ice cream?” she asked, looking in the fridge.

Sweetie woke up the next morning to a very strange feeling. Something seemed wrong, but she couldn’t tell what it was. Her room was warm, what, with it being summer and all, but she felt chilly and a little damp. It took her a minute to realize what it was, and she couldn't even believe it when she figured it out. She had wet the bed! She hadn’t done that in years!

Sweetie simply sat there, staring at the spot on the covers in utter disbelief when Rarity walked in. She looked up at her older sister with wide eyes. She moved her mouth to try to explain, but she couldn’t manage to say anything.

Rarity looked surprised for a minute, but she quickly regained her composure. “Why don’t you change out of that soggy diaper and take a quick shower. I’ll take care of this.”

It was then that Sweetie noticed Rarity looked very tired, making her think that maybe she hadn’t gotten much sleep last night. “I . . . I’m sorry . . .” She hadn't mean to do it! It was just an accident.

Sweetie got out of bed. Her crotch was soaked, making her feel terribly embarrassed, especially sinxe the dark spot around her crotch made her accident all the more obvious. She couldn’t think of anything else to say, so she went into the bathroom.

Sweetie couldn’t stop crying while she showered. She wasn’t that concerned about how she wet the bed, though. She was too busy thinking about her parents. Regardless of that, wetting the bed was still very embarrassing. At the time, she’d been focused on her parents. She had basically given up hope that they were alive. Granted, nothing had really convinced her; she just felt it.

Sweetie dried off after her shower and began crying again. She looked in the mirror and examined her reddened eyes. She noticed her mane was messed up. Despite everything, she took a comb and hair spray and fixed it up. She then took to caring for her tail for a minute. It felt good to do something to distract her from what was going on.

She went back into her room. She noticed that Rarity had changed the sheets. Rarity was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring down at the floor. She looked up when Sweetie walked in. She didn't even have to say anything. She confirmed what Sweetie had already felt was true. Sweetie could see it in Rarity’s eyes. Sweetie ran over to her and hugged her tightly. Rarity patted her back and they both cried. Their parents were dead.

The rest of the day was mostly a blur. Rarity was busy working on filling orders, meaning Sweetie was left with nothing to do. It was just as well, seeing as how she didn’t feel like doing much anyway. She sat on the couch in a ball of self-pity while she flipped through a magazine. The weather outside matched her mood; it had gotten cloudy and it’d started raining. That would have made her feel worse, but she felt just about as lousy as a pony could feel at the time. During the day, she wondered what was going to happen to her. Without her parents, where would she go? She didn’t have any other family that she knew of, besides maybe Rarity. Both of her parents were dead. Her last grandparent had died two years ago. Thoughts of foster homes and orphanages terrorized her.

That evening, Rarity came out of her inspiration room to talk to Sweetie, who set the magazine aside. Rarity’s cheeks seemed almost as tear-streaked as Sweetie’s did. Rarity sat down on the couch next to Sweetie and started to talk. “Sweetie, I got something in the mail today from Mother and Father’s lawyer. It was about . . . well, about you.” She looked at Sweetie and smiled a little. “I bet you’ve been trying to figure out where you’re going to stay now. It’s a good thing Mother and Father thought about that kind of thing. I bet you’ve been thinking about it all day.”

Sweetie nodded.

“Well,” Rarity continued, “I’m sure they thought about a lot of different options, and they decided that they wouldn’t have wanted you to be raised by strangers in a foster home. So, if it’s okay with you, it’s been decided that I will take care of you.”

Sweetie was struck dumb on the spot. It appeared as if there was a silver lining! Of all the terrible fates she had thought of that day, she had never once imagined that she would get to stay with Rarity. That made her feel a little better. Rarity was right, too. Living with Rarity is what her parents would have wanted. Rarity was a wonderful pony, and she could provide Sweetie with everything she would ever need. It was the best news she could have received!

Sweetie started crying again. She thought Rarity might have misunderstood her actions because she asked, “Is that all right with you, Sweetie Belle?"

Sweetie leaped on Rarity’s lap and gave her a big hug. “Of course it is, Rarity!” Sweetie was crying pretty hard while Rarity rubbed her back with her hooves, but Sweetie was smiling.

Sweetie went to bed with mixed feelings that night. Just before she had put her to bed, Rarity had told her that there was going to be a funeral service for their parents tomorrow morning. Sure, she wasn't looking forward to never seeing her parents again, but it was going to be pretty good living with Rarity. Of everything that could have happened to her, that was definitely the best thing. She was going to be spending a lot of time with her favorite pony. She was worn out, so she fell asleep fairly quickly.

That night, Sweetie had another dream. It started out the same as the one the night before, all dark and cold, but while she was calling out for somepony to help her, Rarity came out of nowhere and picked her up in her hooves. She cradled Sweetie in her hooves and rocked her back and forth. She felt very happy in Rarity’s hooves. She felt safe and comfortable.

Sweetie woke up to the same sensation she’d woken up to the night before. She realized quickly that she had once again wet the bed, but there was something else: She had been sleeping with her hoof in her mouth! She pulled it out and tried to figure out what to do about the bed. Two nights in a row? Surely Rarity would get upset this time. Once could have been an accident, but not twice. While she was trying to figure out what to do, Rarity walked in. Sweetie had to admit, she had very good timing.

Sweetie started to stammer out an explanation, but couldn’t get beyond, “I . . . but . . . I . . . this . . . I . . .” She felt so ashamed.

Rarity didn’t react very much. She had carried in a black dress, which she set down on a chair beside her. “Oh, dear.” She bit her hoof and shook her head slightly. “Take a quick shower and put this dress on. I’ll clean this up.”

Sweetie got out of bed silently and took the dress into the bathroom.

She mentally kicked herself while she showered. What did Rarity think about her? Rarity couldn’t possible let this go by unnoticed. Two nights in a row was not an accident; it was a problem. But what was going on anyway? She’d never wet the bed before. It’d been at least eight years since she’d wet the bed. It wasn’t fair. She wondered about how Rarity would punish her. She got a little scared, but she didn’t think Rarity could really be that mean.

She got out and took a long time getting herself ready. She made sure her coat was neat. She combed her mane half a dozen times. She worked on her tail until she was sure it was perfect. She wasn’t in much of a hurry to get to where she was going. She started putting on the dress, but she stopped when she got to the sash. She couldn’t tie it. She thought about maybe going to ask Rarity for help, but didn’t think she’d know how to do it. Rarity had probably assumed she could tie it herself. She walked out to ask for Rarity’s help.

Rarity was sitting on the bed again (she had changed the sheets) and she was wearing a black dress. She looked at Sweetie as she walked in. “Um . . . Rarity . . . can . . . can you help me . . . with the . . . with the . . . sash?”

Rarity smiled a little and walked over. She knelt down in front of Sweetie and tied it. She was pretty good at it. “There you go, Sweetie.”

Sweetie thanked her.

“I’ll go fix you your breakfast,” Rarity said. She pecked Sweetie on the head, then left the room.

After a while, Sweetie went downstairs. Rarity was waiting with breakfast: cold cereal. Granted, it was Sweetie’s favorite kind (Sugar Hoops), but she had her hopes set on some of Rarity’s cooking.

“I’m sorry, Sweetie,” Rarity said, “I just didn’t have any time to cook anything.”

Sweetie tried not to be noticeably upset, but she thought Rarity could tell she was disappointed. “It’s okay.” Even to herself, she didn’t sound very convincing. She sat down and sullenly began to eat. Rarity didn’t say anything, and neither did Sweetie. It was a very depressing meal.

After they had finished, the two of them departed from the Carousel Boutique and started heading towards the funeral parlor in silence. Sweetie was trying with everything she had not to cry. She had cried enough yesterday. She had decided that she wouldn't cry anymore. Upon getting to the funeral parlor, they saw a large crowd of ponies who knew their parents. Some of them Sweetie vaguely recognized. There were a lot of ponies talking in the entryway, mostly about what a tragedy it was. Dozens of ponies came up to Sweetie and Rarity and said how sorry they were and offered their condolences. Sweetie knew she’d met a few of them before, but she couldn’t remember anypony’s name at the moment. The only ponies she recognized were Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, their parents, Rarity’s friends, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo. Through all that, Sweetie didn’t cry. When the service began, and ponies began to speak about how great her parents were, she didn’t cry. When Rarity went up to speak and she talked, she didn’t cry. When Mayor Mare came up and spoke, she didn't cry. It was hard. She wanted to cry, but didn’t.

There was a small meal paid for by Rarity, and then everypony left. When they parted, Sweetie was told again how sorry everypony was. Sweetie was sorry, too. Rarity and Sweetie walked out of the cemetery. They were both ready to go home. Before they left, however, Rarity turned to Sweetie and said, “It’s okay if you want to cry, Sweetie.” Her kind words finally broke Sweetie. She started crying. She couldn’t help it at that point. All the sadness she had built up during the day was being released. Rarity hugged her until she was done.

The sun was starting to set by the time they got home. (Sweetie had slept late that morning.) Rarity and Sweetie went inside and read for a little while. It started getting late, and Sweetie was beginning to yawn. Rarity walked in and sat down on the couch, then she turned to Sweetie. “Sweetie Belle... we have to talk about something.”

“Yeah?”

“Well . . . it’s about your . . . bed-wetting.”

Uh-oh. Here it comes. Sweetie gulped. “Rarity, I swear it’s never happened before! I’m so sorry!” Rarity shushed her.

“Sweetie Belle, I understand. Don’t worry, I believe you.” She picked Sweetie up and set her little sister in her lap. “You’ve just been through a very traumatic experience. It’s perfectly understandable for you to have some problems adjusting. I’m not mad, and I’m not going to punish you.” She smiled, and nuzzled Sweetie’s nose. “However, we do need to do something. I’m running out of sheets. I think, Sweetie Belle, that the best solution would be for you to wear something to protect the bed until you get over this. Namely, diapers.”

Sweetie shot straight up. “Diapers!?” Rarity hushed her and had her lay back down in her hooves.

“I know you don’t like the idea, but you have to understand that we have to do something, and I think that’s the best way to protect the bed. It’s okay, Sweetie Belle. You’ll only wear them until you get over this problem. It’s not a bad thing, Sweetie Belle. You’re not a baby or anything!”

Sweetie didn't notice Rarity’s explanations, though. Her reaction to Rarity’s proposition wasn’t exactly the way she interpreted it. She was just surprised, not upset. In fact, the idea seemed somehow appealing. She didn’t understand why, so she quickly rationalized that it was the only way to protect the bed and the sheets. Rarity was looking hopefully at her and she decided to agree, though she tried to make it sound like she didn’t want to do it. “Okay, Rarity. I guess you’re right. I'll wear the diapers."

“I’m glad you agree, Sweetie Belle. If you’re ready, let’s get you prepped for bed.”

Sweetie nodded. Despite how late she’d slept, she was a tired little filly. The whole experience of going to her parents' funeral had been pretty taxing.

They walked up to Sweetie’s room. Rarity asked Sweetie to sit on the bed while she went and got a few things. While Sweetie waited, she tried to figure out why this wasn’t upsetting her. She didn’t reach any conclusions before Rarity came back with a lot of stuff.

“Okay, Sweetie Belle. Stand up for a second.” Sweetie did, and Rarity laid a plastic mat on her bed. Something seemed very wrong about this, but Sweetie couldn’t put her hoof on it yet. “Okay, now sit there, Sweetie Belle." Sweetie did.

That’s when Sweetie realized it. Rarity was going to diaper her! She yelped in surprise and tried to push Rarity’s hooves away. “Hold on, Rarity! I didn’t know you were going to put it on me. I thought I was going to put it on!”

Rarity grinned at her. “Sweetie Belle, I can’t imagine you’ve done much babysitting, right?”

“Well, I haven’t done any.”

“I thought as much. I also bet you don't even know how to put a diaper on. Am I right?”

“I . . . I didn’t really . . . think about that.”

She nodded and smiled. “That’s okay, Sweetie Belle. But you’re going to have to let me put this on you. You can't do it, and if you try, it could leak and that would defeat the whole purpose, right?”

“I . . . guess it would.”

“Right. Now just sit back, and this will be over in a minute. And there’s no need to be embarrassed. I’ve changed your diapers plenty of times back when you were a little foal when I was babysitting you while Mother and Father were out of the house. There’s nothing I haven’t seen before." Rarity giggled and Sweetie blushed bright red. “And besides, it's very mature of you to be so willing to try to find a solution to your problem.” Sweetie acquiesced, and laid back.

Sweetie stared at the ceiling. She was about as embarrassed as she figured she could be, but some weird part of her didn’t mind this. Rarity took a bit of talcum powder (baby powder as Sweetie knew it) and sprinkled it on Sweetie’s crotch. Sweetie yelped, but Rarity didn’t notice. Then she picked up the biggest disposable diaper Sweetie had ever seen. She lifted Sweetie’s legs with her magic, and slipped the diaper under Sweetie’s butt, like a baby. Sweetie was impressed at her strength. Rarity threaded her tail through the tail hole. She let Sweetie’s legs down and taped up the diaper. Once Sweetie was in it, she started to absorb the feelings. Her seat was padded, and there was material bunched up between her legs, and she could feel the padding on the inside of the diaper against her skin. It was strange, but somehow familiar. The talcum that wafted up to her nose as she kicked her legs about, trying to get comfortable with the bulkiness of the diaper between her legs, was a little comforting.

While Sweetie sat there absorbing her feelings, Rarity pulled one of her blue T-shirts over her head. “I think it’s a little warm for you to wear your flannel pajamas, don’t you? I imagine you were a little hot the last two nights.” She was right; Sweetie had been warm. “Well, climb into bed, Sweetie Belle.” Rarity tucked her in, and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “Goodnight, Sweetie Belle.” She left and turned out the lights.

All Sweetie had was the half moon coming in through her window. As she often did late at night, she began to think about the general nature of things. Her parents were gone, and she was dealing with their deaths. She was going to live with Rarity from now on. And at this moment in time, Rarity had her in diapers. A certain part of her screamed at how wrong it was for her to be in diapers, but part of her didn’t mind. Part of her kind of liked the idea. She was trying her best to ignore it, but it was persistent. She was arguing with herself. She was arguing about whether it was good that she was changed by Rarity. Part of her enjoyed being changed like that, but not in a sexual way. She felt safe. She felt comfortable. She felt taken care of. She reached down and felt the front of her diaper. It was very soft; padding on the inside, plastic on the outside. It was very strange to be wearing that and a T-shirt and nothing else. She giggled for a second at the thought of being a baby again and being taken care of by Rarity. That idea seemed very pleasing to her. She chuckled and grinned, then laid back and went to sleep.

Sweetie had another dream that night, but she didn't remember it. All she remembered was feeling very safe and happy. That was the feeling she had when she woke up. She noticed immediately that she had her hoof in her mouth again. She popped it out and noticed that she wasn't feeling wet like before! She was very happy until she touched the front of her diaper and noticed that she was indeed wet. It just felt different because she was wearing a diaper. She stepped out of bed and went to the mirror. She looked at herself: her blue T-shirt stopped right above her diaper (which was sagging slightly) and left a bit of her tummy exposed. The pale yellow color of the diaper indicated that she had used it for its intended purpose. Coincidentally, the color of the T-shirt she had on could only have been classified as "baby blue." She chuckled.

She smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She wasn't embarrassed at all. She put her hoof back in her mouth and started sucking on it, watching herself in the mirror as she did so. She closed her eyes while she sucked on her hoof. And then she realized she had to go to the bathroom again. Well, she figured, seeing as how she was wearing a diaper and it was already wet . . . She fought with herself for a minute. Her rational side said, “What are you thinking? Are you going to wet that diaper voluntarily?! Why?” But her other side just said “Oh, it’s okay. It’s already wet. A little more won’t hurt it.” Eventually, she gave in.

The feeling was really kind of nice. Her urine hit the inside of her diaper and spread out around the surrounding area, making it very warm. She closed her eyes and sucked on her hoof again while she wet her diaper. When she was finished, she looked in the mirror again and noticed that her diaper had started to sag slightly more. Once again, she was caught by a weird urge; she decided that it might be fun to get down on all four of her hooves and try crawling. So, she crawled around her room for a minute and it was fun! Her T-shirt was hanging down and she couldn’t stop from smiling. Just for fun, she decided to see what she looked like without the T-shirt on. She threw it off and looked at herself in the mirror.

She loved the way she looked in the mirror. The best part was she could see little bits of white fur on her inner thighs, just below her diaper. She got on all four of her hooves again to see how she looked from behind. Her curly two-toned tail stuck out of the hole in her diaper and she couldn't help but chuckle at how she looked. It was then that she decided that she liked wearing diapers, and acting like a baby. She didn’t know how she reached this decision, but she did. She started imagining herself in babyish positions. She felt good doing it. And as soon as Rarity came back in, she was going to tell her, and she hoped Rarity wouldn't think she was crazy.

Sweetie's Confession and Rarity's Acceptance

There Sweetie Belle was, on all four of her hooves, diapered rear end pointed at the mirror, in an obviously wet diaper, waiting for Rarity to come in. She had just made the decision that she liked diapers and she was waiting to tell Rarity. It was mere moments after she had made this decision when Rarity walked in.

Rarity was obviously surprised to see Sweetie in that position, but she quickly recovered. “I see you’re up, Sweetie Belle. I didn’t expect you to be awake.” She sat down on the edge of the bed. “I see the bed’s dry. How ‘bout you?”

Sweetie hadn’t moved since Rarity entered. Her mouth was slightly open and her eyebrows were almost as high as they could go. It was shocking to see Rarity actually enter the room and be there when she was diapered, and wet, for that matter. It took a few moments for her to realize that Rarity had asked her a question and she was expected to respond. “Uh . . . Uh . . . n . . . n . . .” she stammered. “No.” She finally managed to say that she was wet. That was a step.

“That’s okay, Sweetie Belle. I didn’t really expect you to be dry. But at least the bed is okay.” Rarity paused and smiled at Sweetie Belle. “What say we get you out of that wet diaper before you get a rash?"

Sweetie’s mind was going crazy. She knew that she wanted to tell Rarity that she liked this, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She guessed she should have expected to be a little apprehensive. She guessed she didn’t want Rarity to think she was weird or something. She just couldn't say what she wanted to say.

All she could manage was a small, “Okay,” while she stood up. Rarity stood and patted the bed, motioning for her to lay down. She did, and even though a very big part her inside was screaming, “Tell her! Tell her!” she remained silent. She bet she blushed rather noticeably as she set her padded rear on the mattress. She couldn’t be sure, but she wouldn’t have been at all surprised if Rarity was thinking to herself, What was she doing? Why did she take her T-shirt off?

The plastic on her butt crinkled as she shifted on the bed. She stared up at Rarity as her older sister prepared to undiaper her. She was sad, but she couldn’t bring herself to do anything to stop it. As Rarity undid the tapes, it seemed to Sweetie that time was moving at an agonizingly slow rate. The sound made her wince. It was all she could do to keep from whimpering.

When Rarity raised the front of her diaper, the rush of cold air on her privates made her gasp. Rarity, probably thinking she was scared or embarrassed, soothed her as she grabbed both of Sweetie’s ankles in her magic and lifted them. Then, she removed Sweetie’s diaper, carefully guiding it along her tail. When she set Sweetie’s rear down on the soft comforter, Sweeie missed the padding she got from the diaper. She went totally limp.

Rarity took a warm washcloth and wiped off Sweetie’s crotch. She felt like she was going to die of embarrassment, not only because Rarity was treating her like a baby, but she wanted Rarity to do it. She loved it! Even so, she was still coming to grips with the decision that she had made.

Rarity frowned as she put her hooves on Sweetie’s shoulders. Sweetie stared up at her. She said, “Sweetie Belle, I know this all very hard for you, but there’s something we have to do today.” She paused. “We have to go to your old home and decide what things you want to come here.” Even though the prospect of going back to her house terrified her, Sweetie tried not to make any reaction. “I’ll put the rest of it in storage, but we can’t just leave it all there . . .”

Sweetie nodded slightly. “Okay.” Rarity patted Sweetie on the shoulder and started to leave. She had in her magic a plastic bag containing Sweetie’s wet diaper. “Come down soon, and we’ll have breakfast. Then we’ll have to leave.” She shut the door behind her.

Sweetie was alone. She sat down on the bed and thought about what had happened. What went wrong? she thought. She was so determined to tell Rarity before she came in, and then when she did come in, Sweetie had frozen up. She couldn't say anything at all, much less confess something of that nature. Was she afraid Rarity was going to think she was crazy? Was she afraid Rarity wasn’t going to accept it? Whatever the reason, she simply couldn’t talk about it. She had to get her courage up to tell Rarity. She had to.

After her inner monologue, Sweetie went downstairs. Rarity was waiting with breakfast: cold cereal.

After they had finished, Rarity said it was time to go to their old home. All Sweetie could do was sigh and say, “Okay.”

Together, they walked back to their old house. As soon as they started up the pathway, Sweetie knew that this was going to be tough. Just the sight of the house brought back memories that tugged at her heartstrings. Rarity wiped Sweetie’s eyes and Sweetie followed her up the walk. Rarity still had her key to the front door that their parents had given her just before they had left for their vacation. She unlocked it and walked in. She stood just inside the doorway and said, “Just look around for a while and tell me what you want to move to our house.”

Sweetie cringed. Rarity had said, “our house.” She had to remind herself that she was living with Rarity now. The home before her wasn’t her house anymore.

Sweetie looked around. This house had been her home for nearly ten years. She’d lived in it with her parents and Rarity her whole life. She saw the corner where she’d dump her saddlebags after school. She saw the couch where she and Rarity would sit together while their mother read them stories. She saw the table where they’d eat dinner every night.

Memories of what had happened in this house came flooding back to her. She remembered her mom cooking dinner in the kitchen. She remembered her dad sitting in his chair reading the paper. She looked out a window and saw the tree house her dad and her had built together last year when she was nine. She remembered the time she’d gotten beaten up at school and her mom had covered her with Band-Aids and antiseptic. She remembered the big fuss her parents had made on her first day of school.

Then she saw a picture lying on an end table of her parents, Rarity, and her. She couldn’t have been more than two in that picture. She was naked except for a diaper and her parents and Rarity were holding her together. She picked up the picture and stared at it. They were so happy. Rarity and her were so happy. A few stray teardrops fell on the picture and then she started crying full force.

It was just hard to imagine that they would never be happy again. Her mom would never cook dinner again. Her dad would never help her with her homework again. They’d never sit with her on the couch again. They’d never scold her, never praise her, never do anything again. They were gone. They were dead. She clutched the picture to her chest and sobbed some more. Rarity came and put her hooves around her. Sweetie guessed Rarity knew it wouldn't do any good to try to comfort her, seeing as how she was staying silent. Through her tears Sweetie managed to say, “The pictures. I want all the pictures. All the photo albums, all the pictures . . . I want to keep them.”

Rarity nodded and said, “Okay. We’ll take those.” Since she didn't make any immediate action Sweetie realized Rarity was probably going to have them picked up later. Sweetie guessed they probably couldn’t have gotten everything back in just her saddlebags anyway.

Still holding the picture, Sweetie wiped her eyes and started looking around again. There was a small clock on the mantle she had gotten for her mom last Mother’s Day. She remembered how much her mom had loved it. She was always cleaning and dusting it to make sure it was shiny. She liked that clock so much. “I want to keep that clock, Rarity. The one on the mantle.”

“Okay, Sweetie.”

Sweetie kept on looking. On one of the bookshelves, she saw a pair of her baby booties that her parents had bronzed. She’d always made fun of them for doing it. It seemed to her that it was a silly thing to do. Now she realized they only did it because they loved her and wanted to remember what she was like as a baby. It symbolized to her the love they had for her. “I want the booties . . . on the bookshelf.” She sniffled. “The bronzed ones.” She didn’t need to specify since they were the only ones there.

Rarity nodded silently.

Sweetie suddenly remembered something that she wanted. She walked to the kitchen and started rummaging through the cabinets and drawers. She had no idea where it was, but she knew they hadn’t thrown it away. It had to be here somewhere. Then she found it: a small, old, ragged apron. She used to wear it when she was little and she “helped” her mom fix meals. She didn’t know why she remembered it. She hadn’t worn it since she was about six, but she had to have it now. “I need to keep this . . . I used to . . .” She paused. “I used to wear this when I was little . . .” She wiped her eyes again. “When I would . . . help her fix dinner."

Rarity held Sweetie’s shoulders. “Okay. We’ll take that.” She stopped and took a breath. “I know this is hard for you, but we have to do this. Be strong.”

Rarity was right; this was hard. Sweetie nodded to show Rarity that she was doing okay. She figured that she’d found everything she needed downstairs, so she decided to go upstairs and look there. When she was about halfway up the stairs, she noticed something at the top of the stairs that she hadn’t noticed in a long time. It was a painting her dad had done of her when she was four. She was smiling. Clutched in her hooves was her little stuffed bunny, Mr. Bun. It was so realistic. Even though he’d gone into business, her dad had always wanted to be an artist. He didn’t paint very often after Sweetie was born. This was the only one she could remember him finishing.

She had walked by it everyday and she’d just gotten used to it being there. She hadn’t paid any attention to it for Celestia knew how long, but now she noticed it. She saw what she had meant to her parents and how much they had loved her. “Th-that painting. Dad painted it . . . I . . . I . . .” She couldn’t even talk anymore.

Rarity said, “I understand, Sweetie. We’ll get that too.”

Seeing the painting made Sweetie remember her stuffed bunny. Her parents had given it to her when she was very young. She’d had it for as long as she could remember. She carried it around everywhere she went until she was six, then she stopped because other kids made fun of her. She had to find it. She went into her room and into the closet. She dug around in the back for a while until she found an old cardboard box. She set down the apron and the photograph, and opened it. Inside was exactly what she was hoping for; a collection of stuff that she had used when she was younger. She found her old baby blanket, her old night-light, and a bib. The box was stuffed with memories. She kept digging through it until she found her stuffed bunny.

She picked it up and looked at its worn fur, its button eyes, its resewn seams, its forlorn look. Everything about it came rushing back to her. All the years she’d spent with it clutched in her hooves, dragging it along with her everywhere. All the nights she’d drifted off to sleep with it resting on her pillow. All the times she’d cried into its fur.

Finally, she broke down and began to sob. She hugged the bunny tightly and rocked back and forth. The tears ran down her face. She couldn't do anything to stop it. Rarity knelt beside her and wrapped her hooves around Sweetie. She kept whispering that it was going to be all right and rubbing Sweetie’s back. Sweetie kept crying hysterically for a few minutes until she calmed down.

While she sat there sniffling, Rarity kept Sweetie in her hooves. She wiped the tears from Sweetie’s cheeks and smiled at her. She looked so loving, so caring, Sweetie couldn't help but smile back. She didn’t know whether it was because she had found everything she wanted from her house or she didn’t want to look around anymore, but she didn’t want anything else.

“Rarity? That’s all I need. We can go now.” She expected Rarity to ask her if she was sure that was all she wanted, but she didn’t. Instead, Rarity said, “Okay.” and then helped Sweetie stand up. She guessed Rarity understood.

They walked together back downstairs. Rarity kept her hoof around Sweetie’s shoulder the whole time until they went outside. In her saddlebags, Sweetie held the apron, the photograph of her family, and her stuffed rabbit.

They walked back to Rarity's house in silence. Sweetie kept staring at the picture of her parents. She missed them so much.

Upon getting back to the boutique, Rarity went upstairs and Sweetie went to the couch. She set her things on the coffee table and laid down. She kept staring at the old photograph. At first, she kept her eyes on Rarity and her parents. They looked so young, so happy. Gradually, her focus drifted to herself. She looked happy too. She must have been almost two when the picture was taken. She couldn’t help staring at her diaper. She figured she must have subconsciously made a connection between the diaper and being happy. She didn’t have any worries back then. She didn’t have anything to make her unhappy. She was completely carefree. She wished she could feel that way again.

She started to long for that carefree happiness again. That comfort, that safety. She had tasted it that morning when she enjoyed the infantile feelings of the diaper. She wanted it back. She decided to get it, right then. She wiped the tears from her eyes and went to go find Rarity. She took her rabbit with her.

It took awhile for her to find Rarity; She had to check a couple different rooms before she saw her sister sitting in her inspiration room, working on something. Rarity saw her come in. “Hi, Sweetie Belle. How are you doing?”

“I’m okay,” Sweetie said. She must not have looked it; her mane was messed up; the fur on her face was covered with dried tears; and her eyes were all red and puffy from crying. She paused for a minute. She started to talk, but she hesitated. This was going to be tougher than she thought. She looked down at her hooves. “Rarity?”

“Yes, Sweetie Belle?”

Sweetie bit her lower lip as she considered the magnitude of what she was about to say. Once she said it, it was out there; she couldn’t take it back. She could still back out of it and have Rarity continue to think that she was sane. Who knew how Rarity would react once she told her? She could always say no. She could stop wanting to take care of Sweetie. She could send Sweetie somewhere else.

Thoughts like that kept running through Sweetie’s head, but then she glanced up and saw Rarity smiling at her. She realized then that Rarity would never send her away. Her smile was so loving. Rarity would never stop taking care of her. She was slightly reassured by Rarity’s smile, so she bit the bullet and said it.

“Can I wear diapers?”

Sweetie looked down at the floor again. She had said it. It was out there. She couldn’t take it back now, no matter how much she wanted to. She had crossed that line. The pause that occurred after she said it was absolutely agonizing. She couldn’t bring herself to look at Rarity.

“What’s that Sweetie Belle?”

Rarity was surprised by her request, Sweetie Belle figured. She assumed Rarity thought she’d misunderstood her. But she couldn’t yet tell how Rarity had reacted. She was forced to repeat herself. “I want to wear diapers.” There was an empty feeling in her stomach and the back of her neck was all prickly. Even though she knew Rarity would never do anything to hurt her, she was absolutely terrified. Waiting for her reaction was hard.

"But you do, Sweetie Belle. Remember, we decided you’d wear them to bed.”

“I know, but I want to wear them . . . all the time.” She felt so dirty. She felt weird and sick and crazy. She thought about what she was asking for and she wondered if she hadn’t indeed gone off the deep end. She was ten! What possible reason could she have had for wanting to wear diapers? She felt like she was about to start crying again. In retrospect, she was surprised she didn’t just wet herself right there; it might have helped her argument anyway.

Rarity walked over and knelt down in front of Sweetie. She raised Sweetie’s chin so she was looking her in the face. Rarity had a confused and slightly concerned expression on her face. “Sweetie Belle, why do you want to wear diapers?”

Sweetie was so embarrassed. It hurt to look at her sister. She wanted to turn away so badly. She wanted to run away. She wanted to say, “Just kidding!” and have it all be over. But she couldn’t. She had started this and she had to follow it through to the end, whatever end that may have been. She said, “Well, this morning . . . when I was . . . wearing . . . the diaper . . . I felt . . . felt kind of . . . comfortable . . .” She bit her lower lip again. “I felt . . . safe . . . I . . . I don’t know . . . I felt happy.” There were tears were welling up in her eyes again.

Sweetie gave in. She closed her eyes and she started crying again. She couldn’t stand it. She couldn’t take it anymore. She felt bad just looking at Rarity. She mumbled softly, “I’m sorry.” But Rarity wrapped her hooves around Sweetie in the biggest hug she had given her yet.

“Oh, Sweetie Belle, it’s okay . . . It’s okay, Sweetie Belle. Don’t be sorry, it’s all fine . . . Don’t worry.”

Sweetie wrapped her hooves around Rarity’s neck and continued to cry. She was so ashamed.

Rarity picked her up and laid her in her lap. “Dry your tears, Sweetie Belle. Don’t cry, it’s all going to be fine, Sweetie Belle. Don’t worry.”

Sweetie’s breathing was coming in short gasps now, but she followed Rarity’s advice and rubbed her eyes. She looked up at Rarity, wondering what she meant.

“I’m sorry I scared you, Sweetie Belle . . . I was thinking. You see, I was just a little surprised by what you said.” She chuckled a little. “But I think I understand what you want. I can understand why you'd think that.

“You’ve just been through a very traumatic experience and you want to escape from all your cares and worries for a little while. That could have been partly to blame for your bed-wetting. If what you want is to be babied, then what kind of sister would I be to keep that from you? It’s such a simple, innocent request, too. So don’t be scared, Sweetie Belle. If diapers are what will make you happy right now, then that’s what you will get.”

Sweetie Belle was ecstatic. All her fears had been dashed. This had lived up to her greatest hopes for how Rarity would react. She almost couldn’t believe it. “Y . . . you mean it?”

Rarity smiled at Sweetie and gave her another hug. “Of course I do, Sweetie Belle! Do you want to start right now?”

Sweetie was stunned for a second. “What?”

“Do you want me to put a diaper on you right now?”

Even though this was exactly what Sweetie had been hoping for, the actual, real prospect of being diapered again was a little scary. She guessed this was what she wanted, so there was no time like the present. She nodded slowly. “Y . . . yeah . . .”

Rarity picked Sweetie up again. “Okey-dokey, little sis.” She grinned, and they walked off towards Sweetie’s room.

The whole way there Sweetie was wiping the tears from her eyes. The walk was an interesting one. She was anxious to be diapered, but there was a part of her that didn’t want it. Part of her was clinging to her adolescent self-sufficiency. Part of her didn’t want to have to rely on anypony for anything. The more “adult”, the more “mature” part of her wanted to get by alone. Part of her was afraid of being let down, but she looked at Rarity, and all of those fears were assuaged.

They came into Sweetie’s room and Rarity set Sweetie on the edge of her bed. “Lay down, Sweetie Belle. I’ll be back in a minute.” She left, presumably to get Sweetie’s diaper.

Sweetie stared at the ceiling and clutched her stuffed bunny. She licked her lips in anticipation as she imagined what was to come. The part of her that wasn’t looking forward to this kept getting smaller and smaller as she began to understand that this was what she really wanted. She closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh of satisfaction.

In a few moments, Rarity re-entered carrying a very distinct collection of objects. She set it down beside Sweetie on the bed and then turned her attention to Sweetie. All Sweetie could do was watch her actions with wide eyes, in a state of disbelief. She paused and looked at Sweetie. “You’re sure this is what you want, Sweetie Belle . . .”

Sweetie nodded slowly and hugged Mr. Bun.

Rarity nodded. “All right.” With that, she reached for the baby powder and began to sprinkle it liberally on Sweetie’s diaper area. The scent was thick and homey. Sweetie relaxed immensely as she inhaled the babyish smell. Rarity began to rub it in and Sweetie didn’t feel the least bit embarrassed. She was too caught up in being cared for. After Rarity had done Sweetie’s front, she rolled Sweetie over onto her side so she could powder Sweetie’s rear too. She made sure to get the small area above Sweetie’s tail as well as her cheeks. Before she rolled Sweetie onto her back, she took the diaper and spread it out beneath Sweetie so Sweetie would roll right back onto it.

Once Rarity did, Sweetie felt the padding beneath her and she heard the crinkling plastic. She closed her eyes and let the feelings overtake her. As she did so, a wide smile gradually grew across her face.

She opened her eyes slightly to see Rarity smiling down at her. She spread Sweetie’s legs apart and raised the front of the diaper. Once the diaper covered Sweetie’s crotch, she began to get the feelings of safety and comfort she had had this morning. The sounds of the tapes being attached were like sweet music to her ears. Once it was done, Sweetie was safe and secure in her diaper. Somehow, her hoof crawled up to her lips and she began to suck on it.

She hugged Mr. Bun and let out another contented sigh. Just as she was lost in euphoria,

Rarity lifted Sweetie up again and set her on the floor. Sweetie relished the feeling of being diapered. The bunched up material between her legs, the pressure, the crinkling plastic. It was great! She continued to suck happily on her hoof. Her change had left a small amount of powder on the bed sheet, which Rarity noticed. She said, “Well, I’m going to have to get you a plastic sheet to lie on. Or something . . .” She rubbed her chin while she got lost in thought for a moment. Her pondering, speculative look almost frightened Sweetie for a minute, but it passed and she smiled at Sweetie again.

"Well, Sweetie Belle, I know it’s a little late, but how about we get some lunch?”

Sweetie smiled and nodded. Rarity led the way back downstairs. Sweetie had a little trouble at the beginning of the walk because of the added bulk of the diaper. By the time they made it to the kitchen, she had basically gotten the hang of it. She sat down at the table in the little breakfast nook, enjoying the padding beneath her. She set Mr. Bun aside so she would be ready to eat.

Rarity said, “Just give me a minute to fix you something . . . In the meantime, this should tide you over.” She gave Sweetie a small bowl of applesauce, which Sweetie loved. “I hope you like it.”

Sweetie didn’t waste any time. She immediately dove into the bowl. At the rate she was eating, she finished it in moments.

Rarity came over and chuckled at how fast Sweetie had eaten. “I’m glad you liked it . . . but, hold on . . .” She took a napkin and wiped Sweetie’s face. It seemed Sweetie had missed her mouth a little while she was eating. When Rarity had her cleaned off, she smiled. “There we go. Now I’ve got a little something ready, let me get it.”

She came back with a plate that had a crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwich, chips, a glass of milk, and a banana cut into slices.

Sweetie said, “Mom used to cut bananas that way . . . She’d call them banana pennies.” She closed her eyes and sighed. Rarity came up beside her and hugged her. Then she kissed Sweetie’s cheek. Sweetie started to eat and Rarity went back to the kitchen.

In a few minutes, she came back with a salad and a diet soda. Sweetie remembered that on the first day she’d been over, Rarity had given her a sandwich and chips, but she'd given her a regular soda then. Why Rarity had given her milk now, she didn’t know, but she liked milk, so she didn’t mind. Rarity quietly munched her salad while Sweetie ate her food, not quite as quietly. Something about being diapered had an effect on her table manners.

Sweetie finished her glass of milk about halfway through the rest of her meal (her sandwich had too much peanut butter and not enough jelly) and Rarity refilled her glass. She thanked Rarity, who returned to her salad. They hadn’t really talked at all during the meal. Sweetie didn’t know whether the silence was uncomfortable for her, or she just wanted to say something, but she felt like she needed to talk.

“Rarity?”

She swallowed her bite. “Yes Sweetie Belle?"

Sweetie hesitated slightly. “Are you . . . sure you’re okay with this? I mean, you don’t think I’m weird or anything, do you?”

Rarity smiled at her. “Of course I don’t, Sweetie Belle! I think the way you’re reacting makes perfect sense. And as long as you need me, I’ll be there for you. Whatever you need. You have no reason to feel embarrassed or ashamed about anything. All I want is for you to be happy."

Sweetie blushed. How could she be uncomfortable with herself when Rarity was so kind and accepting? She smiled and said, “Thank you, Rarity.” She got back to her meal. Rarity finished just a few minutes before she did, but the mare just sat there and watched Sweetie eat. When she had finished, Rarity took her plate and placed it in the dishwasher.

“Sweetie Belle, how about this afternoon we take a nap?”

“Okay, Rarity.”

“You can go on up while I finish cleaning up.”

She ran up to Rarity’s bedroom and climbed into bed. When Rarity came into the room, she laid down beside Sweetie and patted her on the head and motioned for her to come closer. Sweetie scooted close to her so they could share the pillow. Rarity had Sweetie lay her head in her lap.

Sweetie brought her hindhooves up to her chest, wrapped her tail around herself, and began to suck her hoof. Rarity gently stroked Sweetie’s mane as she whimpered and tears dripped down her face. She remained with her head in Rarity’s lap and her hoof in her mouth. She was comfortable that way.

Later in the afternoon, Sweetie got a familiar feeling. She had to pee. Reacting as she normally would have, she started to ask Rarity if she could get up to go to the bathroom. She popped her hoof out of her mouth and said, “Rarity, can I––” She stopped herself when she remembered her current situation. Rarity didn’t know what she was going to ask, though.

“What’s that, Sweetie Belle?”

“N-nothing, never mind.” She started sucking on her hoof again as she returned to trying to get back to sleep. She thought she heard Rarity chuckling a little, but she could’ve been mistaken.

“Okay, Sweetie Belle. If you say so.”

Even though Sweetie was trying her best to get back to sleep, her attention was directed elsewhere. She was having an unexpected difficulty with wetting herself. She had done it before, but that was different. That was when she’d been alone in her room, when she was awash with babyish tendencies. Now she was laying on the lap of her new caretaker, who a very small part of her was still trying to convince that she was tough and self-sufficient.

She furrowed her brow in concentration as she tried to let it go. Gradually she began to suck on her hoof more strenuously. And yet she produced no results. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t do. She knew she had to, but she couldn’t do it. She guessed she wasn’t quite ready yet. But then she got an idea. She got off Rarity's lap. Rarity looked at her curiously.

“Excuse me a minute,” she said around her hoof. Since she hadn’t bothered to take her hoof out of her mouth, it wasn’t quite that intelligible, but Rarity understood. She started to walk out of the room.

“Do you want me to take your diaper off?” Sweetie turned back and shook her head. Rarity misunderstood her actions. She thought Sweetie was going to the bathroom. Well, she was in a sense. But all Sweetie needed to do was be by herself for a few minutes. She wasn’t going to the actual room where most ponies go.

All she did was leave the room and turn the corner. She had entered some type of reading room or a small library or something, but that didn’t matter. She was alone for a minute, which was what she needed. She sat down right there on the hard floor. The padding under her behind reminded her of her condition. She closed her eyes and started sucking more thoroughly on her hoof. She pictured herself as she’d seen herself in the mirror that morning: wearing nothing but a wet diaper. She pictured herself as she was in the painting her dad had made. She pictured herself as she was in the photo with her parents and Rarity.

That did it. No sooner had she created that image was it that she began to wet. A smile crept upon her lips and she released a contented sigh as the warm, wet feeling spread over her crotch. She could feel the diaper absorbing the liquid as she released it. The wetness spread over the front of her diaper, sank down below and pooled a little at the bottom. Then she had finished.

She pushed slightly and felt how moist the material was inside.

Having done what she set out to do, Sweetie returned to the bedroom. Rarity smiled at her when she entered. Sweetie had not been gone as long as Rarity had expected, and as she came back Rarity understood what Sweetie had done. She patted the spot beside her. Sweetie laid back down, laid her head on Rarity’s side, and curled herself back into the ball she was in before. Rarity gave Sweetie a little pat on her diapered behind and winked at her.

After a few minutes had passed, Rarity slid out from under Sweetie and laid her sister’s head on a pillow. Sweetie didn’t even move to help her; she just let Rarity manipulate her how she wanted. Once Sweetie was comfortable again, Rarity said, “I’m going to get dinner started, okay, Sweetie Belle?”

Sweetie nodded in acknowledgment from her position on the bed. She left for the kitchen while Sweetie continued to snooze on. She was suddenly reminded of her stuffed rabbit, Mr. Bun, which she realized she had left in the breakfast nook when she had eaten her late lunch.

Just as she had almost decided to go out and get it, Rarity came back in the room. She said, “Before I go get started, I meant to ask you: is there anything I can get you?”

Sweetie nodded. “Can I have my bunny?” She had taken her hoof out of her mouth briefly to ask, but then she immediately replaced it.

Rarity smiled warmly. “Sure thing, Sweetie Belle. I’ll get it.” She left for the breakfast nook, and came back a few moments later with Mr. Bun. Sweetie extended her free hoof to accept it, and Rarity gave it to her. She clutched it close and felt better. Rarity came back over to the bed to sit down.

“I think I’ll get dinner started in a little while. Sit up for a second, Sweetie Belle, and I’ll slide in.” Sweetie sat up, and Rarity took her place by Sweetie’s. Immediately after she had settled in, Sweetie laid her head back on her side and that’s where she stayed. Rarity’s loving hooves held her close. She could feel the warmth of Rarity’s body. She could feel Rarity’s slow, steady breathing. She could even feel Rarity’s heartbeat. Even though her eyes were closed, Sweetie could feel Rarity looking down at her.

It was in this position that Sweetie realized it: her parents were gone, but they were looking down on her and Rarity. They loved them, and they wanted them to be happy. Rarity would make sure Sweetie was happy. Rarity loved her, too. She was safe in Rarity’s hooves, in her care. Sweetie didn’t have to worry anymore. She felt a great release of tension. She snuggled closer into Rarity’s side.

Sweetie didn’t know for how long she slept. She was cuddled in Rarity’s side with her eyes closed, clutching her stuffed bunny and sucking her hoof. She didn’t dare move. She was so comfortable. They just sat there for a few minutes, Rarity running her hooves through Sweetie’s mane. Sweetie wanted to cry again, but this time for a different reason. She didn’t quite understand it. She was so happy. It was such happiness that she didn’t really know how to react. She felt like she wanted to cry, but she didn’t.

After what must have been thirty minutes of that, (it went far too fast for Sweetie’s taste – she wanted it to last forever) Rarity sat up and lifted Sweetie up. Sweetie opened her eyes. “I should go get started on dinner,” she said. “But before that, what say we get you changed?” She smiled and gave Sweetie a kiss. Sweetie hadn’t even had to tell her that she needed to be changed.

She carried Sweetie up the stairs and into her room. She laid Sweetie down on her bed again. She watched Rarity intently while she hugged her bunny and sucked on her hoof. Rarity had left the diapers and the powder next to Sweetie’s bed the last time she had changed Sweetie, so they were right at her disposal. Rarity undid the tapes on the sides and lowered the front. The smell of urine was quite noticeable even though it was mixed with baby powder, but Rarity (thankfully) didn’t seem to mind.

The air was chilly on Sweetie’s damp privates. Rarity got a look on her face like she had forgotten something, then said, “Hold on, Sweetie Belle. I’ll be right back.” She left Sweetie there, exposed and cold, but not embarrassed. Sweetie fidgeted a little as the cold air tickled her crotch, but Rarity returned quickly.

Rarity had in her magic a washcloth. She was going to use it to wash Sweetie’s diaper area. It was wet with warm water, and felt very nice on Sweetie’s chilled loins. She made sure to get every bit of exposed skin, which prompted a soft yelp from Sweetie. Once she had cleansed and dried Sweetie’s front, she rolled Sweetie onto her side and pulled the diaper off, sliding her tail through the hole.

She cleaned the lower part of Sweetie’s bottom, which had gotten a little wet. Then she got the little bit of fur between Sweetie’s legs and let her roll back. Then she got the baby powder. She powdered Sweetie’s front and was very careful to rub it in everywhere, then she rolled Sweetie once again and powdered her rear. Before she set Sweetie’s butt down again, she unfolded a new diaper underneath it.

As Sweetie’s bottom came to rest on the soft padding of the diaper, she smiled. Rarity spread her legs apart and pulled the diaper up to cover her front. She fastened the tapes and Sweetie was once again safely diapered.

Rarity put her hooves underneath Sweetie and lifted her up. She set Sweetie on her back and started to walk out. “Let’s get some dinner,” she said.

Once the actual dinner had been prepared, Rarity carried Sweetie down to the kitchen and set her in the chair. It was an interesting feeling; the warm, soft padding under Sweetie’s bottom and the cold, hard wood under her upper thighs. She sat for a minute, hugging Mr. Bun and sucking her hoof, while she waited for Rarity to get their dinner.

She came back a few minutes later with two big plates of spaghetti. “I hope you like spaghetti,” she said. It seemed to Sweetie Belle that Rarity had the uncanny ability to always select her favorite foods. Maybe their parents had told her before they’d left. Sweetie squealed with glee as Rarity set it in front of her. She set her stuffed rabbit aside and grabbed a fork just as Rarity placed a large glass of milk beside Sweetie’s plate and a basket of rolls in the middle of the table.

Sweetie started eating right away and with very little concern for what Rarity thought of her behavior. By the end of the meal her entire face and front were covered with spaghetti sauce and bread crumbs, and she had a big milk mustache. Rarity chuckled, and her laughter made Sweetie notice what she looked like. She grinned sheepishly, but she didn’t feel embarrassed. She didn’t need to.

Rarity said, “In the future, I think we should get you a bib.” To her surprise, and probably to Rarity’s too, Sweetie nodded her head vigorously at the suggestion. She guessed it would have at least saved her front in this situation. In its current condition, she hardly thought it was salvageable. While Rarity cleared the table she let out a small burp. Afterwards, she said, “’Scuse me.”

When the table was cleared and the dishes were taken care of, Rarity came back and knelt beside Sweetie’s chair. With a rag, she wiped Sweetie’s face and chest clean. She smiled and ruffled up Sweetie’s mane. Sweetie giggled. “Grab your rabbit and follow me. I’ve got something I want to show you.” She walked off. Sweetie took Mr. Bun and ran after her.

They walked through a few hallways and rooms that Sweetie hadn’t been in before until they stopped in a room that faced west and had a large plate glass window. The sun was just setting and the image it presented was very pretty.

“Have a seat, Sweetie Belle, I’ll be right back.”

Sweetie plopped down on the hard floor and crossed her forehooves. She stuck her hoof in her mouth as she gazed at the gorgeous sunset. She glanced down and admired her attire, or lack thereof. She enjoyed wearing her diaper so it was visible. She was comfortable with that.

Rarity came back in a few minutes with a large pillow. It must have been large enough for Sweetie to lay on fully stretched out, without any of her hanging off. She set the pillow on the floor and said, “Have a seat, Sweetie Belle.” Instead of walking, Sweetie got down on her hooves and knees and crawled over to the pillow. She sat down and sank a little into its soft stuffing.

The pillow was so comfortable! The covering was silky smooth and it provided the perfect amount of softness and support. Sweetie relished the sensations the case made against the back of her thighs.

Rarity walked over to another side of the room, where there was apparently a piano that Sweetie hadn’t even noticed until just then! She sat down at the piano and uncovered the keys. Immediately, she started playing some beautiful classical piece. Her hooves just danced across the keys; it was so amazing that Sweetie’s mouth dropped open in astonishment. After she had finished, she turned and smiled at Sweetie. “I take it you didn’t know I played the piano.” Sweetie shook her head slowly.

She took a book of music from a shelf next to the piano and opened it. She turned a few pages and began to play again. This time, she started singing along. Her voice was so beautiful. Sweet and soft, but full.

When she finished Sweetie clapped loudly.

Rarity smiled, “Thank you, Sweetie Belle.” Then she started playing again.

Sweetie almost melted as she listened to the words being sung to her by somepony so close to her. Considering how she’d felt for the past few days, this was the exact opposite feeling. She felt so completely safe, so free from worry, so loved, so contented. She felt like Rarity would take care of her forever. She was completely free from worry, just like she wanted.

After her childrens’ song montage, Rarity moved on to some stuff that Sweetie didn’t know as well. It was music that their parents had listened to, Sweetie remembered. Rarity played song after song as the sun sank on the horizon and the room was hued dark red. She kept playing as the sun vanished, and the room was illuminated only by the light of the moon coming in through the large plate glass window.

A lot of the time while she was singing, Sweetie didn’t even hear the words. She would get lost in Rarity’s voice. It was so beautiful. Sweetie would listen to her sing more than she would listen to what she was singing. But it was all so beautiful that it didn’t matter. The message of the songs always came through even if she didn’t hear.