Sweetie Belle lifted her hand, trying to block the sunlight from hitting her squinting eyes.
“Dang it. The sun’s in the worst possible spot.”
“You’re welcome to hop down if you’d like.”
“No, I’ll be fine. The sun’ll go down any minute now.”
Rarity smiled down at her sister, wrapping her arms even tighter around the younger girl’s waist as Sweetie Belle gripped harder onto her elder sister’s hand. The sunset would have been beautiful if it weren’t for the specific path it took on its descent. Sweetie Belle’s face cringed as she held up her spare hand, doing her best to keep the sunlight from blinding her retinas, but there was no way she was going to leave the safety of her sister’s lap. She had been waiting all day for this moment, and she wasn’t going to let a little bit of sunlight ruin her evening right off the bat!
“You know, I’m not going anywhere,” Rarity began. “You can hop back on later when it’s easier to see.”
“That’s OK. Let’s just… pick the other side of the bleachers next time, OK?”
The elder sister chuckled softly, bringing down her face to nuzzle their cheeks together. Sweetie Belle quickly giggled from the feeling of her sister’s long, purple hair brushing against her ears, causing her breathing to pick up despite her heart slowing down into a relaxed, gentle rhythm.
If only every day could be like this. Most days, the two of them wouldn’t get to spend much time together, at least not time as just the two of them. Usually, once the bell released all of Canterlot High from their typical school day, Rarity had plenty of obligations to either her band, her fashion side-hustle, or just social responsibilities that involved hanging out with her friends. To be fair, Sweetie Belle had her own friends that required her time along with being one of the school’s “crusaders,” a group dedicated to helping kids find out what they were good at. They both loved what they did, but at the same time, the two of them relished these little moments without friends, without interruptions, and without responsibilities.
Finally, the sun descended a little further over the horizon, giving the younger sibling a chance to lay her head back into Rarity’s shoulder, interlocking her smaller fingers with those of her sister’s. “Hey, sis?”
“Hm?”
“When did you first realize that you liked me?”
Rarity raised an eyebrow with a cocky smile. “And who says I like you?”
“Uhhh, you do. Every day. Actually, I think I have a text somewhere that can prove it. Hang on.”
While Sweetie Belle searched her belongings, however, Rarity began to snicker. “And how do you know that I’m not just telling you that I love you as one sister to another?”
The younger sister rolled her eyes. “Do I really have to bring up Valentine’s Day?”
Immediately, Rarity’s mouth hung open while Sweetie Belle turned around to give her a smug smile, relishing the embarrassed look on her sister’s face. The two of them had decided earlier that year that the two of them would make homemade valentine cards for each other, and although Sweetie Belle’s was well-made and covered in glitter, it didn’t hold a candle to Rarity’s confession of love, along with a hand-drawn picture of the two of them in wedding dresses. The smaller sister leaned in closer, her pompous grin spreading wider along her cheeks while Rarity leaned away, swallowing hard while her cheeks continued to burn brighter.
“That was… erm… a joke!”
“Then why is your heart beating so fast?”
Again, Rarity continued to stumble over her words, but Sweetie Belle simply cuddled closer against her sister’s chest, feeling the soft bump of her hastening heartbeat against her face. Just as the younger girl was about to doze off in her sister’s embrace, however, she was gently woken by the subtle sensation of Rarity’s long fingernails softly tracing against the arch of her back, sending tingles up her spine.
“I guess I really am bad at pretending, aren’t I?” the elder whispered.
“Yeah, but that’s OK. At least this way I know you always mean it when you tell me you love me.”
Rarity chuckled again, raising her hand to run through her sister’s hair while the other held Sweetie Belle’s waist. “Does that mean you love me too?”
Suddenly, Sweetie Belle pulled her face out of Rarity’s shirt to give her a stern scowl. “You’re asking me this after we’ve been dating for how long?”
A sinister smile crept up on Rarity’s lips, making the younger girl gulp. It was time for payback, wasn’t it?
“You tell me. You’re the one who counts how many days it’s been since Valentine’s Day.”
“Rarity! That’s personal!”
“How many days has it been, Sweetie Belle?”
The younger sister turned her face away bashfully, grabbing onto the hem of her skirt while shrinking into her shoulders. “T-two hundred and twenty one…”
Just as Sweetie Belle was about to cover her face in embarrassment, though, Rarity craned her neck down and placed a soft kiss onto the younger girl’s head. Sweetie Belle wished that the two of them could have more days like this, but she knew that she needed to enjoy these little moments while she still had time. It wasn’t like their relationship was going to end anytime soon--Sweetie Belle would make sure of that--but at the same time, Rarity was just a few months away from finishing high school. What would happen after that?
Sweetie Belle was ecstatic when she found out that she’d be able to attend the same school as her sister. Even though she was only a sixth grader, Canterlot High was a small enough school to where it could allow grades six to twelve, but even still, this meant that this would be the first and last year she’d ever be able to spend attending the same school as her sister. She’d spent countless nights worrying about Rarity going off to Manehattan to study fashion design, a dream the elder sister had had since she was Sweetie Belle’s age. It was hard enough just getting to spend time with her with all of the responsibilities the two of them had already coming between them. What would happen once she finally went off to college?
“Rarity… is it alright if we have the talk now?”
“No, I’ve already told you. That's something for mother to discuss with you.”
“Huh? No! I’m talking about us, dumb-dumb!”
The older sister’s eyebrows rose in confusion. “Us? Sweetie, whatever did you want to talk about?”
“Just…” Sweetie Belle breathed a sigh of frustration. “You know how you’re going to be finishing high school in a couple months? I know you wanna go off to Manehattan to be a bigshot fashion designer, and I don’t want to be selfish, but…”
Just as the younger girl felt her heart beginning to sink, however, Rarity’s arms suddenly pulled her in close again, her fingers running through Sweetie Belle’s hair, gently caressing her back before reaching back up to repeat the process. She almost felt angry that Rarity had this power to calm her down, like even if she wanted to be upset, Rarity would just comb through her hair and make all of her worries temporarily disappear.
“I know,” the elder replied. “I’ve been thinking about that too.”
Sweetie Belle lifted her head in curiosity. “And? What have you decided?”
Sadly, though, the older of the two exhaled a deep sigh, looking up towards the sky as the stars gradually began to emerge above them. “I wish I knew. Honestly, when I told you my feelings exactly two hundred and twenty one days ago, I expected you’d treat it like a joke. The last thing I ever expected was--”
“For me to have feelings for you too?” Rarity didn’t reply. Instead, she continued to stare up at the evening sky, her eyes beginning to scowl as the conversation became even more somber. “I get it. Can you imagine the cow mom would have if she found out we were dating?”
Finally, Rarity’s eyes descended down to her sister’s. “Oh, I can just see it now. ‘After all those times I asked you to take care of her while your father and I were on vacation! Maybe I should have been hiring a sitter the whole time!’ Maybe then they’d actually bring us on one of their little excursions next time.”
Sweetie Belle giggled into her hands before holding her shoulders up, trying to drop her voice an octave lower. “‘This is no way for a coupla young ladies to behave! Didn’t I tell the botha you that you’re not supposed to fall in love until after you’re married?’”
Suddenly, the once quiet bleachers erupted into a loud laughter that caused their stomachs to ache, probably calling attention to anyone still on the school grounds. Once the two of them had finally quieted down, however, Sweetie Belle found herself resting her head on Rarity’s shoulder like a pillow, grabbing onto her opposite shoulder with her thumb rubbing up and down her clavicle.
“So…” the younger sister began, biting her lip hesitantly. “You still don’t know what’s going to happen to us after you leave for college?”
“Oh, Sweetie, I wish you wouldn’t put words into my mouth like that. I haven’t even been accepted yet! Besides, even if I am, I’ll still have plenty of time to decide on whether to accept the offer or not.”
“You’ll get in.” Sweetie Belle breathed a deep sigh, adjusting herself to a more comfortable position on her sister’s lap. “And when you do, I want you to go.”
Another silence befell the two girls as Rarity slowly propped her chin on top of her sister’s head. “You know it’s not that easy for me, right, Sweetie Belle?”
“I know, but I just don’t want you to miss out on your dreams all because of me.”
Suddenly, the elder girl smirked, lifting her head up again and leaning back to look her sister in the eyes. “Sweetie, I certainly appreciate you sacrificing your own motives for my sake, but becoming a successful fashion designer isn’t my dream.”
Sweetie pulled her face away, tilting a confused eyebrow. “Huh? But it’s all you talked about a year ago.”
“Well, a year is a long time, darling. I’ve grown a lot since then; not as much as you, of course.” Rarity booped the younger girl on the nose, making her giggle as Rarity held her closer again. “To be honest, I’ve done a lot of thinking, and even though I would like to travel to Manehattan to learn fashion design, it’s not exactly what I’d call my dream.”
“If that’s not your dream… then what is?”
The older girl chuckled again before tilting her sister’s chin up towards hers, and with her eyes slowly closing, Rarity placed a soft, gentle kiss on top of Sweetie Belle’s forehead, making the earth stand still for two whole minutes. The entire time, Sweetie Belle held onto her sibling’s hands, gripping them as tight as she could, like she could force out all the feelings in her chest if she tried hard enough. Even though she knew that Rarity loved her with all her heart, there was no way that love could ever compare to how important she was to Sweetie Belle.
Then, once the older girl’s lips lightly pulled away from the middle schooler’s forehead, she had the most beautiful smile of any girl Sweetie Belle had ever seen. Honestly, she couldn’t believe that out of all the people in the world, she was the one Rarity fell in love with.
“My dream is to be with you for as long as possible,” the elder sister whispered, making Sweetie Belle’s heart beat so fast that her hands started to shake. Then, as the high schooler interlocked their fingers once again, all of Sweetie Belle’s nerves began to calm down, giving her the exact feeling that made her fall in love with Rarity in the first place. “Hopefully for another two hundred and twenty one days.”
Sweetie Belle giggled. “Or you could just marry me.”
Suddenly, the older girl’s face flushed a deep shade of pink, but even despite the obvious embarrassment, she never once stopped smiling. Instead, she just wrapped her younger sister in a tight hug, the kind that reminded her that she was safe, and no matter what was going on in the world around her, everything was going to be OK.
“Does that mean you liked the wedding dresses I made in your Valentine’s Day card?”
“Kinda… buuuuut I think you definitely got the prettier dress. Sorry, but it’s against the rules for anyone to have a dress prettier than the bride’s.”
Rarity tried to scoff in offense to hide her smile. “And what? I don’t get to be a bride in this scenario?”
“Come on. Remember when we went to Twilight’s brother’s wedding and you got to wear that pretty bridesmaid dress? You don’t get to do that two weddings in a row.”
“You were the flower girl!”
Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “I was one of the flower girls. It doesn’t count if Applebloom and Scootaloo were there too.”
“Oh really?” Rarity responded with a cocky smile, pulling her hand in front of her face and counting on her fingers. “Let’s see. Along with the dress I was wearing, there was Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy--”
“Nope! I still get to wear the prettier dress. It’s in the rules that the younger one always gets to look prettier. Sorry, Rares. Better luck next time.”
As Sweetie Belle patted her sister’s hand in condolence, the older sister raised a playful eyebrow. “And just where might one find these rules of yours?”
“The library.”
“Oh, really? I think it’s still open, actually! Why don’t the two of us head over there right now and--”
“WAAAAIIIT!”
Just as Rarity began to pull Sweetie Belle off of her lap, however, the younger of the two urgently grabbed her sister by the shoulders and pulled her back down onto the bleachers. Then, as Sweetie Belle began to exhale in relief, the elder girl laughed condescendingly into her palm. “Suddenly you don’t feel so confident in your answers anymore, it seems.”
“No, it’s not that.” The purple-haired girl tilted her head in confusion. “It’s just… I don’t wanna go… Not yet, at least.”
Rarity waited a moment for her sister to continue, then breathed a deep sigh. “Sweetie Belle, you know we can’t be out here for much longer. It’s starting to get dark out! Mother and Father will be worried sick.”
“I know, but… just a little while longer?”
The high schooler was halfway off of her seat by the time Sweetie Belle made her request, but after a few moments of pensive silence, the older girl finally pulled her skirt out of the way and fell back down onto the bleacher beneath her. “Alright,” she said, “but only until the sun goes down all the way.”
“What?! But it’s already twilight!”
“Sweetie Beeeeeelle.”
The younger sister glared at the older before looking off to her side, folding her arms with a pout. “But it’s different when we get home! I feel like we always have to put on an act. When can we just tell them that we’re girlfriends already?”
“Whenever you have the courage to tell Father that we’re more than just sisters.”
“...So never?!”
Rarity giggled hysterically into her hands. “You know, if the two of us end up getting married, it’s going to be pretty hard to hide it from them, especially once they get the wedding invitations.”
“Yeah. I guess Dad’s gonna be the one paying for everything, after all.”
“Oh? And you don’t think I’ll be able to handle it with my bigshot fashion designer job?”
Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “Rarity, it’s cute that you think I’m patient enough to wait until you finish college before I marry you.”
“...How soon do you think we’re going to get married, Sweetie Belle?”
“Depends. When are you free? I have Saturdays open! Plus that’s when my friends are out of school, so they’ll be able to come too! Oh, wait. We should probably think of some venues too, huh? I was thinking something like on top of a big mountain by the ocean where you can see all of Equestria! What do you think?”
The elder sister laughed quietly, running her fingers up and down the younger girl’s back, but suddenly, her smile began to diminish, followed by a tight hug where Sweetie could no longer see her face.
“Sweetie Belle… Do you ever worry?”
“Worry about what?”
“About how your friends would react if they knew about us?”
Finally, the younger sister forced her way out of her sister’s tight embrace, looking her square in the eyes before shaking her head. “My friends would probably think it’s weird at first, but if they’re really my friends, I know they’d be OK with it.”
“I… see…” Rarity frowned at first, but then, getting a sudden wave of confidence, she gave the younger sibling the biggest smile at her disposal. “If that’s how you feel, then I have a proposition! Since you’re so adamant about getting married, what if the two of us had a… rehearsal?”
Sweetie Belle cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“Like a practice wedding! I could make the dresses, we could find a nice, quiet location, and we could play out what we’d like our future wedding to look like!”
“Yeah! And I could get some rings from the crane machine at Sugarcube Corner!”
“It could be something for just the two of us, a moment we could share for the rest of our lives!”
“Yeah! Oh--Uhhh, Rarity? Before you get started on making those dresses, could we do a raincheck? I just remembered that the crusaders actually need me this weekend. Official business. You know how it goes.”
The elder sister chuckled quietly, bringing her sibling into a tight squeeze that Sweetie Belle returned with equal force. “Of course, Sweetie Belle. Just tell me whenever you’re ready.”
The younger girl smiled, breathing out a long deep sigh before finally muttering the words she’d been feeling all night.
“I love you.”
Then, with one more smile, Rarity placed another kiss onto her sister’s head, nuzzling their faces together and sighing femininely as the sun finally descended beyond the horizon.
“I love you too, Sweetie Belle.”
