Tick, tick, tick...
“And that is why my Dad…”
Tick, tick, tick...
“I love my Granny because…”
Tick, tick, tick...
“I have two Aunts who…”
Glancing at the clock on the wall as the seconds ticked by, Sweetie Belle sighed. This week was a very special one; Parent’s Week. She sat in her chair for the past 3 hours; Listening to half of her classmates go before the chalkboard and read reports about how great their Moms and Dads were. Come on, you stupid clock! I want to go home!
DING DING DING
The voice of Cherilee sounded throughout the room. “Alright children, such wonderful reports! Let’s give a warm thank you to Filthy Rich, Granny Smith, and Scootaloo’s aunts; Mrs Holiday and Lofty.”
Gesturing to the four along the back wall, Cherilee smiled warmly as she continued. “Thank you so very much for coming in, you’ve raised some wonderful fillies. Tomorrow we will listen to the reports of Cindy, Tom and Sweetie Belle. Don’t forget to make sure to let your parents know they may attend. “
Clapping her hooves together in her ever joyful tone, Cherilee shouted out. “Class Dismissed!”
***
Sweetie Belle was lost in thought as she trotted home alone to the building known to all as Rarity’s Boutique. I don’t really know anything about my parents.
BUMP
“Ouch!”
Sweetie Belle fell to the ground, nursing her horn. She had been so lost in thought she hadn’t paid attention to where she was going and smacked horn first into her front door. Tears began to well in her eyes. Moments later, the door opened to reveal Rarity looking quite concerned. “Sweetie Belle, dah-ling are you alright?”
Before she could even answer, Sweetie Belle found herself picked up and carried inside by her sister, who immediately sat her on a wooden stool. Her voice was filled with concern. “Tell me what happened, where does it hurt, Sweetie?”
Tears streaming down her face, Sweetie Belle pointed to her horn. Without hesitation, Rarity leaned down and gave her horn a gentle kiss. As she did so, she brushed her sister’s tears away with her hoof. “Tsk tsk, that won’t do at all Sweetie, no more tears. I’m here for you. I’ll make it better.”
Sweetie Belle sat there in silence as her tears stopped flowing. Rarity calmly spoke to her as she pulled some gauze and a tube of ointment forth, from Zecora. “Hold still, this may feel a bit cold, dah-ling.”
Delicately she rubbed the ointment onto the horn of her sister, causing Sweetie Belle to shiver. It is cold! Yikes!
Quickly, Rarity began to wrap the gauze bandage around the horn of her sister; making sure not to make it too tight and smiled. “There you go, Sweetie, how does that feel?”
Sweetie Belle smiled happily; the pain had vanished, leaving a cool sensation. “Much better. Thanks sis!”
Rarity nodded, her words as warm as a hug. “That’s my brave Crusader. Leave that on until tomorrow.”
Slowly the unicorn mare rose and trotted towards the kitchen to turn on the stove. Her gentle tone could be heard where Sweetie Belle still sat. “Now then, how about you tell me about your day while I make us some supper?”
Rushing into the room, Sweetie Belle sat down in one of the wooden chairs and began to recount her day to Rarity. “Today during recess Applebloom, Scootaloo and I….”
Rarity continued cutting up some fine green stalks, mincing them, as she listened and responded. Chop Chop Chop “Oh wow, that sounds like quite the adventure.”
As she levitated the now minced stalks in with the leafy cabbage in the pot, Rarity asked her about her latest assignment. “What’s your homework for tonight, sweetie?”
Sitting at the round kitchen table, Sweetie Belle rattled of her assignments. “Ponyrithmetic; we are studying minuses, Also study my vocabulary words for the spelling test.”
Rarity nodded and approached the table, levitating a plate of steaming cabbage and dandelion greens accented with buttercup heads. “That sounds like quite a lot, would you like some help from your big sis?”
The tiny filly’s eyes shined with happiness. “Yes, please!”
Rarity placed the dish in front of her with a warm expression. “Alright then, after you’ve eaten, we will go over it together.”
Sweetie Belle began to eat eagerly as Rarity watched. The voice of the young unicorn was one of confusion however, as she looked at her big sister. “This is delicious...um sis? Where is yours?”
Rarity just laughed and said. “Oh dah-ling, I’m not hungry. Had a big lunch, you see.”
Her little sister seemed to accept that answer and once more began enjoying her plate of greens. As she did so, Rarity turned back towards the stove and pretended to be interested in cleaning it. The smile faded from her muzzle and a look of grimace appeared on her face, as she tried to ignore the pain of her own empty stomach. Can’t be helped, she needs it more than myself. Besides, I just need to finish Celestia’s order by sunrise tomorrow; then I’ll have enough to pay off those bills and buy some more food.
“Sis?”
I’ll just have to work a bit later than I intended. Alright girl, suck it up, put that smile on your face and help her with her homework. Turning back around to face Sweetie Belle with a warm and comforting smile, Rarity asked in a gentle if not flowery voice. “Are you all done and ready to start your homework, Sweetie Belle?”
***
For the past few hours Rarity sat with Sweetie Belle at the kitchen table explaining how minuses worked and going over all 20 of her vocabulary words.”Alright, what does generosity mean, Sweetie?”
Sweetie Belle scrunched her face, thinking hard. “Um...That means giving without...um without giving thought about what’s in it for the giver?”
“Very good! Now what is a synonym for generosity?”
The tiny filly was silent for a moment while Rarity looked at her with an encouraging smile. “Selflessness!”
As a response Rarity gave her a huge hug, causing Sweetie Belle to giggle. “Good job. Oh sweet Celestia, it is quite late. Off to the washroom with you. Time to brush your teeth. Go on now.”
***
Much later; after a story-time and being tucked in by Rarity. Sweetie Belle lay snugly in bed, asleep. The house was quiet and all was peaceful. Sweetie Belle sat bolt upright drenched in cold sweat as her dreams of happiness turned into a nightmare. After heavily breathing and eyes darting around the room for a minute, Sweetie Belle climbed out of bed to find Rarity. Her sister was always there to help her conquer her fears. She stood before her sister’s bedroom door and light tapped on it with her hoof. At her touch the door swung inward, revealing an empty and unused bed. “Rarity?”
Where is she? Wait...what’s that noise?
Her ears perked up as she heard a rapid, machine-like sound coming from downstairs. Quietly, she crept down the stairs to see what it was, her own fears now replaced with child-like curiosity.
Slowly she crept down the stairwell, stopping on the middle one and observing the scene below her. Her big sister lay unconsciously sprawled over her work desk. Surprisingly, as Sweetie Belle finished coming down the stairs to inspect the scene further, she noticed Rarity’s horn was still glowing; even though she was unconscious. The sewing machine was being fed fabric and the material was still being measured. It was quite bizarre to observe. Rarity was sewing in her sleep. Sweetie Belle gave a small giggle. I knew she was obsessed with fashion, but this is ridiculous!
Inching even closer, trying to get a better view, taking care not to wake her big sister she saw it. A single sheet of parchment peeking out from under Rarity’s mane. Her curiosity now burning throughout her very being, Sweetie Belle slowly reached for the mysterious parchment. As she did so Rarity murmured. “Soon. She’ll be here soon. Ugh, the base is not wide enough for that flank of hers...zzzzz…”
Smirking in amusement, Sweetie Belle carefully began to read the hornwritten parchment; having pulled it carefully from beneath her unconscious sister:
Mrs Rarity, this is your last chance to pay back what you owe. Please send payment immediately by tomorrow’s closing. If payment is not received, we shall have to take this before the Princess in court. While we appreciate your business, we will do what must be done. Sincerely, Karen.
INVOICE
THIRD NOTICE
24x Bolts of Pink Cotton… 600/ea.
24x Bolts of Sky Blue Cotton...750/ea.
…
As Sweetie Belle read down the list her eyes grew wider and wider as the cost escalated into numbers she didn’t even have the slightest inkling how to read. Looking back to her sister, Sweetie Belle noticed a pair of parchment slips pinned above the sewing machine. Leaning carefully towards it, the filly read the following on the first one:
Customer: Princess Celestia
Order: 245 Maid Outfits 750/ea
1 Silver Nightgown 8000 bits
65 Tuxedos 550/ea
65 Bow ties 85/ea
Time Allotted: One Month
Glancing at the second slip, she noticed this one had all but the Silver Nightgown crossed off. She sat down and pondered the entire situation for about five minutes until it hit her. This wasn’t the first time Sweetie Belle had seen Rarity like this. For the past month, when the unicorn filly had come downstairs for school, she had noticed Rarity passed out in front of the sewing machine. The more she thought about it the more pieces of the puzzle seemed to fall into place. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her leave the house this month. I mean she is always helping me with my homework and making sure I’m taken care of, but she is always here at the boutique. Has she been working on that order non-stop in addition to helping me?
Slowly getting up from the floor, Sweetie Belle quietly began making her way back to her bedroom, her thoughts running rampant as she went over it. She voiced these thoughts in a quiet whispering manner. “She always cooks me dinner, makes sure my homework’s done, reminds me of brushing my teeth and washing my hooves.”
She slowly climbed the stairway, still pondering her thoughts to nopony in particular. “She supports my goals, always there when I get hurt to make it better. When I get scared, I can run to her for comfort. The more I think about it, the more she seems less like my sister and more like…”
A flash of inspiration appeared in Sweetie Belle’s eyes as she rushed to her room and sat down at her desk. Frantically she jotted down her thoughts as an hour passed. Her hooves stained with ink from the inkwell, she proudly, by candlelight reviewed her work. “Perfect.”
Now excited about what class tomorrow would bring, Sweetie Belle crawled back into bed and forced herself to go back to sleep.
***
The sun gleamed in through the window of Cherilee’s Classroom. Sweetie Belle stood before the classroom, her anxiety beginning to build. Where is she? Staring at the back of the classroom, the young unicorn, stared in distress at the empty spot along the wall of parents. Please let her get here in time! “..And that is why I love my mommy!”
As Sweetie Belle had been sweating, Cindy and Tom had both finished their reports. The poor filly’s face fell in dismay; Rarity wasn’t there and she was up next. I guess she wasn’t able to… These morbid thoughts were completely washed away as the classroom door flew open and a very disheveled, very out-of-breath form of Rarity in true dramatic fashion, rushed through it. “Sweetie Belle!”
Sweetie Belle stared at her in shock, a huge smile appearing upon her face. Rarity’s mane was completely in disarray; her fur was ruffled, and it was quite clear she hadn’t taken time for grooming. The alabaster unicorn was panting heavily as though she had run non-stop to the school rather quickly. Yet, despite all this she wore a smile. As everyone stared at her in disbelief, she smiled and panted out. “I’m here...huff, huff...You...huff...Got this!”
Cherilee stood there in shocked silence. On one hoof, this was Parents Week and Rarity was well known as the sister of Sweetie Belle. On the other hoof however, it was just as well known how meticulous Rarity was about her appearance, and for her to not have taken the time to brush her mane must mean this meant quite a bit to her. I wonder why. Cherilee could always just wait until after class to discuss this with Rarity, besides her curiosity got the better of her. Turning to Sweetie Belle she asked. “Sweetie Belle are you ready to present your project for Parent’s Week?”
Sweetie Belle who had been trembling with nervousness, now grinned brightly and announced proudly. “I am. I wrote a song for my project.”
Clapping her hooves excitedly, Cherilee exclaimed.”Oh how wonderful, does this song have a title?”
The words of Sweetie Belle echoed throughout the classroom. “It’s called, I Don’t Call her Mom.”
Admist the expectant silence that followed, the unicorn filly poured every ounce of heart into her soft voice as she began to sing.
I don’t call her mom,
But she’s always there for me.
During storms the thunder crashes,
And she holds me com-for-ting,
All of my fear with a hug so gent-ly.
You see,
I don’t call her mom,
My sister, Rar-i-ty~
She is always there,
To greet me after school,
We hang out and fight alot,
Like sisters always do.
Then as the daylight dims,
She cooks upon the stove.
Delivering a dish,
Made with all her love.~
I don’t call her mom,
But she’s always there for me.
During storms the thunder crashes,
And she holds me com-for-ting,
All of my fear with a hug so gent-ly.
You see,
I don’t call her mom,
My sister, Rar-i-ty~
She helps me with my homework,
And is always there to help,
Whenever I may get hurt,
Or just plain feeling down.
There to wipe my tears away,
Ever gent-ly.
And so I stand here,
and sing this song for her,
My sister,
Rar-i-ty.~
She is not my mother,
Yet is the best one ever.
Sacrificing all for me,
She means so much more,
Than I let her see,
I don’t call her mom
But-She is.
My sister,
Rar-i-ty.~
The song came to an end as silence encompassed the classroom. The parents against the wall stood quietly as tears welled in their eyes. Even Cherilee was silently tearing up. Sweetie Belle looked at Rarity. Her sister stood there, tears streaming down her face with pride, as she remembered what she had awoken to.
***
15 minutes ago
Rarity slowly opened her eyes. “Ugh..what time is…”
Her voice broke as she noticed a small, little yellow parchment folded up near her hooves. Slightly confused, Rarity sat up and unfolded the parchment to read the following:
Sis,
This week is Parent’s Week at school. I know you are my sister, but it would mean Equestria to me if you could be there for my project I did on my mother. Please come to the classroom by noon. That’s when I will be presenting my project to the class…
“Love your sister Sweetie Belle”
Rarity finished reading the note out loud as she looked at the clock, her eyes widening. It was 11: 45; her sister was about to go on! “Hang on Sweetie Belle! Your big sis is on her way!”
Without a second thought, she rushed out the door, completely forgetting about anything but being there for Sweetie Belle as she had been; for the past 2 years of the young filly’s life.
