The day was beautiful, as always. It started with the nearby rooster calling, and that always began the basic, morning routine for Sweetie Belle.
The filly sighed, her hooves hanging over the edge of the bed. Forcing herself onto the cold, carpet floor of her bedroom, she heard clear birdsong from her window. All her worries swept away with the water as she jumped into the shower, imitating the bird's call.
Nothing said 'happy' more then a clean Sweetie Belle.
For a moment, Sweetie Belle just stood there, letting the warm water soothe her. Her hoof reached out and pushed the bottle of shampoo towards her, spreading the rose-scented bubbly substance around her mane and tail. She let it settle before washing the suds away.
Sweetie Belle sighed, her coat dripping with a lavender-scented jelly-like liquid. Her hoof bumped the body lotion when she reached for the brush. The filly watched as the lotion slid down from her coat and onto the floor of the shower.
When she was done with the process the water had become cold. She nudged the handle, turning it off, and realized that she would need a towel if she didn't want get the floor wet as well. Rarity would get quite angry and Sweetie would have to clean it up.
Her mind stayed there for a moment. Rarity. She was the bestest sister Sweetie could ever hope for. She smiled and imagined Rarity doing the same.
Sweetie wiped the dripping water off onto a fuzzy, pastel-pink towel and continued to let her mind wander. She knew that deep in her heart there was a little hate for her sister. Yes, she was jealous of her sister's beauty and grace. The filly quickly threw the thought away, since hate was one of the worst things in life. Rarity was only trying to teach her valuable lessons as the Element of Generosity.
"There's no problem in being beautiful, only that you remember to stay beautiful on the inside, too." Rarity said to her one day before school, placing a bowl of cereal before Sweetie Belle for breakfast. The filly would nod and smile. She didn't really understand, yet comprehended anyway. It was something she couldn't really explain using words.
Sweetie Belle giggled, her hoof reaching for the floor of the bathroom. Her mane was flattened, but it was beginning to poof up from the hair dryer she had used when lost in her thoughts. Her coat was a little soggy but not thoroughly wet anymore. It would dry naturally as the day went on.
As Sweetie Belle trudged through the rooms, noticing how quiet it was. She knew there was school today, but usually Rarity would wake up early and make her breakfast. Since Rarity already finished school, she could sleep in. But she didn't.
"If you want to be successful you have to remember your responsibilities," Rarity said to Sweetie Belle a month or so ago when she told her she forgot to do her homework, "I won't be harsh on you, but you have to remember that you get hurt when something like this happens."
"But what if I don't want to do my homework? Or schoolwork, at that?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Now, Sweetie, sometimes you have to accept your responsibilities and do what's right. For you, morally. It helps you become a better Sweetie Belle."
Sweetie sighed. All those times with Rarity were so very fun, so she decided to move in with her. Rarity refused at first, but ended up agreeing in the end. She didn't seem to mind taking the responsibility of caring for her.
And so she had been living in Rarity's shop ever since.
The young filly sighed happily, skipping along the edge of her hooves. However, she was still curious where Rarity was since the boutique seemed so empty... Her curiosity was pushed to the back of her mind. Sweetie was only a filly...She didn't think of the possibilities...
Suddenly she stopped. Her smile turned into a delicate frown, and she sniffed the air lightly.
She smelled smoke, and everything happened so fast.
Sweetie Belle tried to say something, but her mouth was glued shut. She only felt one thing: panic.
Fire.
The filly ran. It was a slow pace...but enough for a little filly to get away and not fall from exhaustion. Not now. Sweetie couldn't risk that.
Fire. Panic.
The smoke was rising fast. The fire was spreading. That burning, threatening fire. Sweetie Belle quickly picked up her pace as it started to slow and cool from the wind Sweetie's running was creating...but not enough for the entire fire to stop completely.
Fire. Panic. Run.
Sweetie couldn't resist the menacing thoughts that were blasting into her mind like fireworks. Soon she was running...running quickly....and couldn't stop herself from thinking where Rarity was. She needed to save her, that was all she knew. But Sweetie Belle didn't stop...she couldn't... The filly thought of how disappointed Rarity would've been of her... The Element of Generosity's little sister wasn't generous enough to risk her life for somepony else.
FIRE. PANIC. RUN.
She was galloping with all her might. The fire was faster than she'd expected, but she was close to the boutique exit. Sweetie couldn't believe it, but she was both happy and distressed. The smoke was making it harder and harder for her to breathe...the fire warming her back to an unbelievable heat rate...and she was almost there...almost...
FIRE! PANIC! RUN!
Sweetie was at top speed now. Her heels may have been on flame from how fast she was running...quicker than Applejack at a rodeo... Her life was depending on this. She may fail if she wasn't swift enough.
FIREPANICRUNFIREPANICRUNFIREPANICRUN!!!!
She shoved the door open to the boutique, but the fire reached her hoof...she could feel it. Nopony was even close. She fell onto the floor unwillingly. The filly could hear her pain in the distance.
"SWEETIE! RUN! Sweetie, save yourself!"
Somepony shoved her away from the smoke and fire. Sweetie forced her eyelids open so she could see who it was. A blur of smoke surrounded her, but just barely among the dancing flames she could see a white mare with a curled purple mane and a panicked expression suddenly engulfed in the fire.
And then everything went black.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
The sound continued repeatedly, and to Sweetie's ears, it seemed to never falter, fade, or stop.
Of course it didn't.
Sweetie Belle couldn't see anything at first, but that was because she never wanted to
open her eyes. She felt around with her hoof before realizing that she couldn't do anything that way. The filly finally opened her eyes and immediately burst into tears as she remembered what had happened.
Rarity. Rarity. Rarity. What had become of her older sister?
She sighed, and examined the room she was in. Sweetie was lying on a flat, white hospital bed, wearing a plain white hospital gown. It itched a lot, but she was too curious about why she was there to really care.
A familiar pony, Nurse Redheart, she remembered, came into the room with a clipboard and pen in her hooves. She turned her head, noticing that her young patient awake.
"Good, you're awake," she spoke in a monotone voice, one which spoke words Sweetie could predict.
"Um...yeah, I'm awake."
She seemed to be hiding something behind the boring tone. Sweetie could obviously tell that she was crying. After all, her eyes were brimmed with red; the nurse didn't try to conceal it in her expression after realizing Sweetie had noticed, sitting with eyes filled with curiosity and worry, and soon the mare that was supposed to be strong in situations of despair had silver tears lining her eyes.
Sweetie knew that the nurse had a big heart for patients, but the filly was curious as to what exactly happened. She knew Nurse Redheart didn't cry that often in her years of work.
"What happened, nurse...pray tell?" the young filly spoke, recalling the fancy choice of words her sister used. She hoped they would make the nurse feel better.
The nurse hesitated. She took a tissue from a pocket of her uniform, and wiped her tears. When she finally spoke, her voice was shaky. "...are you ready?"
That was a bit peculiar to Sweetie Belle. She wasn't sure how she should answer. "Ready for...what?"
"There w--" she started, then after glancing at Sweetie, she shook her head and cut off her words abruptly. "N-nevermind, I...I can't."
The filly's eyes widened and she was quick to refuse, "No! I'm ready. Really."
Nurse Redheart's expression softened, and she smiled as if she was sad for her, to Sweetie's surprise. Her hooves made clicking noises on the floor as she approached Sweetie Belle's bed.
"Do you remember anything, Sweetie?"
The filly gave her a questionable look.
The nurse sighed. "Do you remember anything of what happened before you... awoke?" Nurse Redheart tried to give a small smile, but Sweetie could still notice the sadness in her voice and expression. She figured that she was trying to make Sweetie Belle more comfortable.
The young unicorn took the hint gratefully, and explained. "I think I was dreaming. I woke up, took a shower, and walked around, then there was a lot of smoke and I almost didn't make it to the door but something, or someone pushed me. And then I saw..."
She couldn't continue. Her eyes widened, thoughts racing through her mind, and Sweetie couldn't find her voice.
"Regular morning process, I suppose?" Nurse Redheart asked, changing the subject quickly.
"Yeah."
"Do you want me to tell you?"
"Tell me what?" Sweetie pretended not to be too worried, though she was almost completely sure she was terrible at hiding it.
Redheart sighed for the umpteenth time. She pushed back her mane with a hoof and tried to smile once again. It faded right away. The nurse's eyes gleamed innocencently, but she seemed to be quite depressed.
"I'm ready, Nurse. Trust me," Sweetie answered seriously, "Please, I'm curious."
The nurse sighed, looking at the ceiling, then back at Sweetie Belle.
"Do you love your sister, Sweetie?" She asked, her voice shaky.
Sweetie Belle nodded. "Of course!" The white filly replied, "I love her more than anything."
The nurse bit her lip. "I hate this, I hate this," she muttered, then looked Sweetie in the eye, "Th..there was a fire in Carousel Boutique. The police rescued your body from outside the shop, and looked almost everywhere for your sister.They were just about to give up when they found your sister, Rarity. However...her body was burnt beyond repair."
Sweetie Belle held back tears; she knew that if she cried the Nurse would not go on. The filly decided to fade away her emotions minutes, and nodded at Nurse Redheart, signaling her to keep going.
"We sent you and Rarity to the hospital at once, and you still had a pulse. Rarity, unfortunately..." She paused, unable to put it into words. "Ponyville has lost one of its best ponies, and Equestria one of the Elements of Harmony."
Sweetie tried, but she couldn't hold back her tears any longer.
The nurse noticed this and shook her head. "I knew I shouldn't have told you," she sighed, "I feel like I've committed a crime, making you cry like this. You weren't ready."
"N-no! I...I'm sorry, nurse...it's just..." She sniffled and moved her hoof to wipe away her tears, "It's kind of hard for me, okay? But I'm okay now."
Nurse Redheart nodded. "I--I'll let you have some time alone. You need to rest," she quickly turned and walked away, closing the door slowly behind her.
A minute later, the older pony's shadow disappeared from the door.
Sweetie looked around, making sure there was nopony nearby. It was completely quiet in the room, the air fresh but dusty. She didn't care about that though; the filly could already feel the tears dampening her fur.
Sweetie Belle dug her face into the pillow and cried for the rest of the afternoon.
Author's Note
Thanks to BlueDragonIsAwesome for the fabulous manicure (no just kidding ;)!) Thanks to BlueDragonIsAwesome for proofreading and editing, which is awesome. Go watch him, he deserves it!
