Sweetie Belle

Carousal Boutique, soon after meeting in the clubhouse.

"The stitching of the threads worked out quite well and the skirt's texture is simply divine..."

Rarity was inspecting a dress she had just finished making in her office. The fifth one in a row, to be exact. As expected from my fashion-loving sister, the outfit looked beautiful, stunning even! It was a dress that, like the others, was perfect for one of those fancy ballroom parties. This worked out perfectly for us, given the task at hand. Once the newly made dress was carefully placed on a mannequin, Rarity exclaimed out of excitement;

"We only just got started and we've already produced ensembles that are simply magnificent!"

The newly adorned mannequin was standing with four others, each one showing off its own equally stunning dress. The colors and patterns on display were a feast to our eyes, to say the least! Between the two of us, however, my big sister was enjoying the sight the most. With a satisfied titter, she declared;

"We just need to make three more dresses that fit the requirements and they can be sent off to Filthy Rich for his soiree for tonight."

We looked at each other with anticipation in our smiles as she showed me genuine gratitude;

"Oh, Sweetie, I would have been terribly stressed out over the deadline were it not for your timely assistance!"

I rushed over to give her a big hug that she was quick to reciprocate before telling her truly;

"I know how great you are at tailoring, but I figured you could use the help."

I tightened my hug just a little before releasing her from my grip. I looked up at her as she explained with a more serious glare and tone of voice;

"Now, my little gem, the clock is ticking on that deadline and we cannot afford to rush our work too hard, or else the quality of the outfits will fall to ruin. Now more than ever, us working together will be crucial. Can I count on you to keep doing your part as we reach the home stretch?"

I saluted her while declaring with a level of confidence that Scootaloo would appreciate;

"You bet I will! We've got this!"

"We most certainly do," she responded in agreement while giving me a loving smile. With that, we got right to work, but as I ran to get some fabric rolls, the hardly subtle sound of Rarity's loud stress-filled voice rang out throughout the office;

"OH MY STARS! It is 3:00PM right now and the soiree starts at 9:00PM tonight! Filthy Rich expects the dresses at 8:00PM at the latest!"

Right when she finished saying that sentence, every part of my body froze up as the weight of the deadline fell upon my mind with the force of an old cartoon anvil, minus the humor. Just then, an old and terrible memory flashed in my mind for half of a second:

Rarity knelt down at the right side of my bed.

Her smile was full of sisterly love and warmer than the snow outside.

But, she could not hide her sorrowful tears...

Stars help me, I was not going to let her cry again that night!

With renewed vigor, I rushed over to my big sister and told her with gusto;

"Don't forget, we're doing this together! So, I know we can pull this off!"

Before I spoke, she looked terribly worried and was about ready to scream again. But my words had eased her stress enough for her to recollect herself and smile gratefully at me. With a quick nod, she replied;

"Thank you, dear. I needed to hear that. Now then..."

She then struck a pose ripped right out of theater that was filled with determination and declared dramatically;

"Let us make fashion!"

Just like with the previous dresses, I helped Rarity make the remaining batch in all sorts of ways: getting her tools and supplies as needed, double-checking the provided measurements, modeling the outfits that were around my size, cleaning up after her messes, and so on. I even got to draw my very first concept art for a dress, and it was the first one of the batch we had left! This one, according to Rarity, was meant for a girl who was a bit older than me, so I didn't have to worry about drawing for a really tall outfit. Now, I was pretty good at drawing (the movie club's logo being one of my finer creations), so I knew I could make concept art for my sister. Given the schedule we were on, though, I had to be quick about it! Rarity was making art for the same dress, so she had to work fast as well. Once we were done, we could compare our art and pick the best drawing we could work with. We got done at around the same time as each other, so no one had to wait on the other. We showed each other our finished drawings and, before long, Rarity started making her comments;

"I must say, Sweetie Belle darling, your first concept art is far better than I expected!" she remarked with a smile. To say I was thrilled would be an understatement. As tempting as it was for me to brag about my work, I thought it best to stay humble in this case. It was true that my piece was a solid depiction of the dress that was soon to be made, but I knew from looking at her own artwork that she had made the better drawing! She took some time to give each piece a closer look using her keen detail-oriented eyes. I waited with bated breath for a good ten seconds before she made her decision;

"Clearly, either drawing would serve as an effective reference for our work. However, I see no harm in giving your artwork a shot."

Now, I was even more tempted to brag! Thankfully, I chose instead to give Rarity another hug for being so nice.

We spent roughly six hours working hard on the dresses. Rarity, as I expected, was meticulous with her tailoring, always making sure that every key detail in each dress was just right. She was still a bit stressed at first, but once she got into the zone, her mood quickly shifted into a positive one. With a twinkle in her eyes, she sewed, cut, stitched, measured, and ironed with skill and pure enjoyment. All the while, I was helping her anyway I could. Yeah, it was tough work, and I didn't get to draw any more concept art, but the joy I felt from assisting my big sister and my drive to finish my club's crusade kept me going. At some point during our work, Rarity started to sing softly under her breath. I couldn't hear all of the lyrics, but I did catch a verse one time when I was giving her a small, closed box of spare sewing needles;

"Thread by thread, stitching it together..."

Oh, how I wish I was able to hear that whole song! Note to self: ask Rarity to sing it for me at some point.

Approximately 1:30PM.

One time during a school day in CHS, Mr. Doodle told us about Murphy's Law. The law was simple: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. It sounded interesting to me, but I didn't take it too seriously at the time.

I really should have, because right now, Mr. Murphy was having a good time at mine and Rarity's expense!

The patterns for the first of the three dresses were being cut out and prepped by Rarity, while I was trying to grab a roll of fabrics from the fabric shelves. Granted, my sister had enough fabrics at her disposal to finish up the dress, but I figured it didn't hurt to prepare for the next one early. Of course, Opalescence had picked that specific moment to climb up onto the shelf above me and knock over every single roll that was on it. Rapidly. Before I could blink, I was buried under falling rolls that landed on the ground with multiple loud crashes. Some of them had managed to roll along the floor while unraveling. I could hear Rarity gasp in shock from her table as all of this happened. By the time the storm of clothing material had ended, the only part of my body that poked out from the newly formed pile was my dizzy head, which wobbled around for a while. My head was hurting, but nothing was broken. Rarity, understandably concerned, checked in on my health;

"Oh my goodness, darling! Are you okay?" she exclaimed out of worry as she ran over to the pile and began to dig me out. My answer was simple, to the point, and laced with dizziness;

"I've been fabricated..."

Yes, that was an unintentional pun. I was delirious, shut up! Even in the state I was in, I could feel that cat's wide evil grin.

3:35 PM

By this time, we had finished the first dress and we were making progress with the second one. Rarity was getting ready to sew with the sewing machine when she asked me;

"Sweetie Belle, could you be a dear and grab the measuring tape? I may need to check this beauty's sizes after this."

Feeling dutiful, I ran over to the table that I knew had the measuring tape on it. What I didn't know until I looked there was that Opalescence was also on that table, holding the tool in her mouth. Specifically speaking, she was holding the metal tip of the actual tape that the tool contained, which caused the tape to be pulled up slightly while the tool rested on the table. Glaring at the mischief in that cat's eyes, I instantly recognized that if I made any sudden movements, the feisty feline would not react well. Not willing to let some pampered feline deny me a well-earned redemption, I took a diplomatic approach;

"Hey there, you beautiful treasure of a cat," I began as sweetly as I could. To be clear, I wasn't really lying, for I truly loved the little furball and she was no ugly pet. I simply didn't mention the fact that she could be a pain in the butt when she wanted to be, which was most of the time! She looked at me with her head tilted slightly to her right, which was my cue to ask as carefully as I could;

"It would be lovely if a cat as wonderful as you could give me that measuring tape."

Opal was a loyal cat, but she had a big ego. So, appealing to that ego seemed like the smart thing to do. The cat stood on the table as still as a furry gargoyle. Thinking that this was my chance to claim my prize, I slowly reached for the measuring tape's steel container with my right hand. It was when I grabbed it, however, that I fell into Opal's trap. She turned around, leaped off of the table, and zoomed around on the floor of the room. She ran so fast, in fact, that by the time I had realized what she was trying to do, the tape had reached its maximum length, which allowed her to pull me hard and fast before I could release my grip on the tool. Needless to say, my entire upper body had suddenly become very familiar with the table's wood, especially my face. Thankfully, the force behind Opal's pulling had resulted in me losing my grip on the container, causing it to fall onto the floor before moving back towards her while taking the tape back into itself. The cat had the good sense to drop the tape before the container could reach her, for I did not hear any sign of her getting hurt as I sulked in pain on the table. My face was gonna sting for a while after that. Rarity, having noticed the commotion as well as Opal's pulling of the tape, was quick to chastise the feline for her poor behavior.

Later that night, 7:30PM

We were cutting it close, but we managed to get all of the dresses made and ready for that night's party! Now, they were all carefully folded and stashed away in sealed packages that were stacked on top of each other in the boutique's main lobby. Although, it did take me a couple of tries to fold some of them "in the proper manner" as Rarity had put it. That girl could be really particular about fashion stuff. Maybe a little too particular, but the results spoke for themselves: the dresses were beautiful when they were finished! After we took a moment to bask in our success, she grabbed her smartphone from the cashier's desk and told me quickly while swiping through what I assumed was her contacts list;

"I must inform Filthy Rich of our readiness and he'll send one of his people to fetch the ensembles."

Once the call was made, all we had to do was clean up the mess we had made and wait. I took this moment to stand near one of the shelves in the lobby, to the right of Opal, who sat in her lovingly decorated cage. I looked down to check on her, only to catch her drinking her milk from her little bowl in clear silent indignation. She then looked up and gave me a glare filled with pure annoyance. I looked back at her with a wide smug grin and satisfaction in my eyes. Take that, kitty cat! A mere seven minutes later, a truck had arrived at the boutique and a tall muscular guy who I figured was the person Filthy had sent walked into the main lobby. Once we pointed out the stack of sealed packages, he went right to work on taking them to the truck. Two minutes later and the truck's flatbed was carrying the secured goods as the guy drove off to his destination. Once we were sure that all was well, Rarity and I high fived each other, gleeful over our success. Before I could react further, however, she exclaimed happily;

"Now then, darling, we must prepare with haste if we are to at least be fashionably late to the party!"

That threw me for a loop! From what I could recall, Filthy Rich's parties were strictly invite only! Confused, I asked her;

"Wait, we're going to that party? Together?!"

With a politely restrained giggle, she explained with a warm smile aimed right at me;

"Why, of course, my little gem! I was planning on going to the soiree myself, but after seeing you work so hard to help me in my time of need, I could hardly deny you a chance to join in on the festivities."

My confusion turned into absolutely joy that I expressed by rocketing over to my generous big sister and giving her a hug so big and tight that it made her yelp in surprise! I then yelled out excitedly;

"THANK YOU SO MUCH!"

She replied by hugging me back in a much gentler fashion before we broke up the hug and ran for our bedrooms to get our own dresses ready. Rarity was, is, and always will be, a wonderful sister!

Filthy Rich's Party, at the Filthy Rich Estate. 9:01 PM

We had just arrived at the party while wearing our chosen outfits, fashionably late of course! Rarity went for a stylish outfit that bore her traditional purple and white color motif, while I chose the ensemble I once wore during the Fall Formal Incident. This night, I figured, gave me a chance to attach a new happy memory to that outfit. The butler, who introduced himself as Randolph, welcomed us with the politeness and class that I expected from a person in his position.

Of course, the best examples of a butler I could think of at the time were the ones from Rarity's Film noir flicks and Wadsworth from the movie Clue, but that was better than having nothing to work with!

Thankful that Randolph did not seem like the blackmailing, murderous type, I watched him and my big sister have a quick talk before he guided us to our table. The party was held in the large dining room of the estate, which was filled with round tables and tall seats that were all really fancy and good looking. Each table had this snow-white cloth draped over it, with plates made of porcelain material, clear glass cups, and assorted silverware placed on the cloth in an orderly fashion. Hanging from the center of the ceiling was this beautiful and ornate chandelier that was painted gold. It also doubled as a ceiling lamp that kept the room lit with lovely lighting. The floor was adorned with a lavishly decorated carpet that covered the entire area. Hanging on the walls were all sorts of old fancy paintings that further revealed the wealth that Filthy's house was rocking. I sat down on my seat, with Rarity sitting at the side opposite mine. I looked around to get a feel for the party. As expected, all of the folks in attendance were rich people wearing expensive suits and dresses while looking and acting as self-important as possible. Some of them were kids who had their parents with them, but they looked to be just as arrogant. Holding back the urge to groan out of pure annoyance, I took a closer look to see if there was anyone I could recognize. It took me all of two seconds to catch sight of the one rich person I wished I never had to be around:

Spoiled Rich. Wife of Filthy Rich, member of the Canterlot School District Board of Directors, and the living embodiment of snobbery.

More annoyed than I was a moment ago, I was about ready to sink into my seat in the hopes of making myself as hard to see as possible when my eyes caught sight of a small group of string players. This group was playing on a white clothed stage at the corner of the room that was to the right of Spoiled's table. It consisted of six musicians, most of whom were playing on violins and violas. But, there was one lady who was playing on the cello that stood proudly in the center of the stage. I was quick to recognize who this lady was just from seeing her black hair and bowtie. Knowing that Octavia Melody was at the party too made me want to cheer for her right away and her beautiful cello-playing was just as encouraging. Rarity seemed to notice my rapidly growing smile as well as its source, for she told me with a soft voice and a knowing grin;

"Calm yourself, darling. It would be quite rude to make a scene in places like this."

Her words were enough to keep me from yelling at the top of my lungs, but I was a little upset at her for not letting me show love to my friend. Still, she had a point. So, after taking a breath to calm down, I settled for listening to the string players perform while paying close attention to the cello. I did not recognize the song that was being played, but it sounded lovely to my ears. Within a minute of listening, I was beginning to lose myself to the music. But, unlike with DJ-P0N3's powerful wubs, the string music was tempting me with a journey of peace and relaxation. I was about ready to embrace that journey from the comfort of my seat when Randolph spoke to Rarity and me;

"Pardon the delay, miss and miss. Shall I interest you two in drinks?"

Coming out of my music-induced stupor quickly enough to not come off as dazed and confused, I looked over at Rarity, who told him with her unique brand of grace and class;

"Why, of course, good sir. What do you have for us?"

The butler, with a nod, noted to us with similar propriety;

"We have a fine assortment of beverages to choose from. All of which are non-alcoholic, with respect to the younger guests present tonight. We have Mattha, Mazamorra, Chicha Morada, and Fizzy Apple Cider."

The first three drinks sounded to me like they had fit perfectly in a fancy party just from hearing their names! That last one, however, was not only entirely out of place in my mind, but also very familiar! I saw Rarity's face show immense surprise upon hearing of that drink as she immediately investigated;

"Fizzy Apple Cider, my dear fellow? You mean from the Apple Family?" she asked with surprise in every word. Randolph responded with contrasting calmness;

"Indeed, miss. It was a personal choice made by Mr. Rich. A drink rarely seen in wealthy circles, true enough, but I'm told that it is an enjoyable family-crafted delicacy with a memorable first sip."

Well... who was I to look a gift horse in the mouth?! Without hesitation, I told him excitedly;

"I'll have some of that cider, please!"

"As will I, sir," Rarity calmly declared with a polite smile. After nodding at us both, Randolph took our glasses and left the table to handle business elsewhere. My sister and I giggled softly to each other before she noted;

"I must say, Sweetie, that was quite the pleasant surprise."

I nodded in agreement before asking her;

"I wonder what made Filthy Rich, of all people, want to add an Apple Family drink to this party?"

"Perhaps, he has a fondness for the beverage? Goodness knows, it is quite delicious," she noted in response. A minute or so later, the string player's song had ended, which allowed the partygoers to give them a loud yet dignified applause. With an approving nod from Rarity, I joined in on the applauding while giving that cello player one of my bigger beaming smiles. While the rest of the players bowed to the audience in a slow respectable manner right away, the cellist had stopped herself from bowing for a moment when she took notice of me. Her dignified smile, which was shared with her fellow players, grew noticeably brighter before Octavia bowed as well. Once the applauding had ended, the players performed another piece as I went back to talking with Rarity.

After a few minutes had passed, Randolph had returned with our now filled up glasses and passed them over to each of us. He then asked;

"What would you two like to eat?"

After we made our orders and the butler walked away again, we started to hear commotion that was coming from the dining room's door. Like the other attendees, Rarity and I looked over at the door to find that Jet Set and Upper Crust had arrived with who I had guessed were Jet's parents. Now, this was not the first fancy party I had been to, thanks to Rarity's love for such events. So, I had seen Jet and Upper in a couple of parties in the past. It also helped that, as a Wondercolt, it wasn't hard for me to hear about them being Crystal Prep students. Thankfully, those two hadn't caused CHS any problems. So far. Knowing that this was not the time to engage in school rivalries, I maintained my polite behavior as I watched the pair and their chaperones be guided by Randolph to a table to the right of the door. It was then that I had noticed something interesting about Jet Set: there was what appeared to be white tape wrapped around his right elbow! This was a detail that I could hear the partygoers gossip about in hushed whispers that he seemingly paid no mind to. The whispering reminded me of what many a Wondercolt had once done within earshot of Sunset and, frankly, it annoyed me. Regardless, I saw no need to upset my sister by causing a ruckus. So, while wondering what could have happened to Jet, I returned my attention to Rarity and took a sip of my drink. As usual, the first sip was the fizziest, much to my delight. I had a funny feeling that a certain bow-wearing friend of mine had a hand in making the party's cider, a feeling that made the drink even more delicious to me. I enjoyed the music and cider for barely another minute when commotion came from the dining room door again! Rarity and I looked over to quickly see someone who neither of us would have expected to find here.

We saw Scootaloo, clad in her Fall Formal Incident attire, walking through the room with confidence in every step!

Her two aunts walked by her sides, with Randolph guiding them all to a table. The table in question was the one that was directly behind ours. My friend quickly noticed me on the way to her seat and promptly ran over to where I was at. Her smile beaming with excitement, she practically pounced upon me with a tight hug while exclaiming;

"Sweets! I had no idea you and Rarity were gonna be here!"

I could almost feel my sister's approving grin as I hugged Scootaloo back and told her just as excitedly while not caring at all about public decorum;

"Rarity and I had no idea you were gonna be here either!"

We could hear the rude whispering of gossip from the nearby partygoers, but that did not matter to us. We were friends and we were proud to show that truth to all! Once we broke up the hug, Scootaloo ran over to her table to sit with her aunts. Her seat, conveniently enough, was placed just behind mine and was close enough for the two of us to talk from table to table. After the trio had ordered their drinks, I asked my friend;

"So, how did you bag an invite to this party?"

Scootaloo, true to form, looked back at me with that confidence-filled smirk that Rainbow Dash would be proud of before telling me the story. Needless to say, I had a lot of fun at that party with my friends and sister. Yes, I did put in good honest work to help make those dresses. But, I would not have had such a wonderful time that night if it weren't for my generous big sister Rarity.

Author's Note

Generously helping people can produce some unexpected results.

But, how did Scootaloo, of all people, get invited to that fancy-shmancy shindig? Stay tuned for Part 3 and you'll find out!

Fun-fact: The noted drinks with the fancy names are all real life beverages! You can look them up, if you want.

Crusade Bio #11 - Rarity

Full Name: Rarity Belle

Nickname(s): Rares (mainly from Applejack)

Student Status: Enrolled

Grade Level: Sophomore

Closest Relatives: Cookie Crumbles (mother), Hondo Flanks (father), and Sweetie Belle (younger sister).

Friends: The Sonic Rainbooms, the CMCs, Octavia Melody, DJ-P0N3, etc...

Description: A beautiful young lady who carries herself with poise, sophistication, and class, Rarity can come off as stuck up and snobby to most newcomers. But, underneath the high-class exterior is a good-hearted woman who is well-known throughout CHS for her generous spirit, willingness to help others, and superb tailoring skills. Running the Carousal Boutique clothing shop in Canterlot City, Rarity takes great pride and joy in providing her customers with the most fabulous ensembles she can craft. As part of the Sonic Rainbooms, she serves as the keytarist and emotional center of the group who will happily lend an ear to her friends whenever they need support. She also has a lovely relationship with her younger sister, Sweetie Belle. Sure, they'll argue from time to time, as sisters tend to do. But, she won't let such things drive them apart, for she holds her little gem close to her heart.

Of course, Rarity's deep love for all things fashion can give her a bad case of tunnel vision, especially when faced with a situation that has little to do with fashion. While she is capable of managing her emotions under normal circumstances, when something goes wrong that affects her personally, she'll take it quite personally. Yes. Rarity can be a narrow-sighted drama queen. But, when someone needs help and she can provide it, her beautiful heart shines through like a sparkling diamond.