It's Not A Dream If It's Real
“Wake up, Sweetie Belle. This is our stop.”
The young filly opened her eyes when she heard Rarity’s voice calling her name and gently nudging her. Sweetie peeled away from the window and followed her sister as they exited the then-motionless train.
Both siblings were quiet during their long trot back to Carousel Boutique, though for different reasons. Between already having to get up early to catch the train to Canterlot and helping Sapphire Shores prepare for her performance, Rarity was exhausted, despite it only being midday.
Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle was still processing the unnerving premonitions Princess Luna shared with her, especially regarding Rarity’s headdress.
“But why?” She pondered. “Why am I still thinking about this when it was just a dream?”
It made no sense for Sweetie to keep dwelling over events that didn’t happen. Yet for reasons that eluded her, the premonitions continued to linger.
Except, those reasons didn’t elude Sweetie Belle at all. She knew exactly why she couldn’t let it go. It was—-
Her train of thought was then interrupted by the sound of the doorbell, signaling that they had finally arrived home at Carousel Boutique.
“Home sweet home,” Rarity chimed as she turned around to face a despondent Sweetie Belle.
“Sweetie Belle?” The elder unicorn inquired, puzzled by the lack of responses from the filly. “Is there something on your mind, darling?”
There was a part of Sweetie Belle that desperately wanted to lie and brush her silence off as exhaustion. She had little to no desire to have a conversation at that moment. However, the last 24 hours proved that keeping those feelings bottled up would only exacerbate things.
No, she had to come clean with Rarity. Maybe she wouldn’t feel better about it, but at least she would be able to get it off of her chest.
“Well… yeah,” Sweetie Belle finally answered, breaking the silence. “There’s been a lot on my mind lately.” She trotted over to a nearby vanity.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Rarity probed, her confusion giving way to concern for her sister.
Sweetie Belle nodded her head, effectively permitting Rarity to canter towards the younger unicorn. Using her magic, she levitated a nearby stool and sat beside Sweetie Belle.
“Tell me what’s on your mind, Sweetie.”
“I’ve been thinking a lot about what happened last night,” she sighed. “Remember when I said that the idea for the dolphin stitching on the headdress came to me in a dream?”
“Yes.” The older unicorn recalled with a nod.
“Well, that’s not the only thing that came to me in a dream,” Sweetie added. “Princess Luna visited me last night.”
“That’s wonderful, dear,” Rarity chimed in. “I’m guessing she showed you the dolphin in your dream, correct?”
“That and more.” A smile crept onto Sweetie Belle’s face when she nodded, though it quickly faded.
“She showed me how wrong I was about… everything. She’s the one who showed me that you only wanted to help me. And then…”
“And then what?” Rarity gently encouraged her to continue.
“Then she showed me what happened when I ruined the headdress.” Tears began trickling down Sweetie’s face while she described the details of her dream. “I’m so sorry,” she sobbed, wrapping her forelegs around the older unicorn.
“Oh, Sweetie…” Rarity was quick to return the embrace, and she gingerly held her sister against her chest.
“But you wanna know what scared me the most?” Sweetie Belle paused, craning her head up to look directly at her older sister. “Me.”
Rarity only grew more perplexed and concerned as Sweetie Belle continued, but she opted to bite her tongue for the moment.
“It scared me because I was the one who almost ruined everything.” The filly shed more tears, spilling them onto Rarity’s coat. “And anything that might have happened to you and your life afterward would’ve been my fault.”
More teardrops ran down Sweetie’s cheeks, followed by a few sniffles. “No more of your dresses, no more Element of Generosity? That would’ve been on me, too. And knowing that it was me who caused all that pain and hurt? It was horrible. I was horrible.” She buried her face in Rarity’s chest and sobbed quietly.
“You’re the furthest thing from horrible,” Rarity insisted.
“Maybe I’m not horrible,” she conceded, a hiccuping sob escaped Sweetie’s throat as she looked Rarity in the eye. “But... I don’t think I can be good.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t you get it, Rarity? I’m not good. I’m not good at finding my talent— - it’s not writing plays. I’m not a good daughter, or a good friend, or a good sister. I’m—-”
“Sweetie Belle!” The older unicorn cut the filly off, appalled at hearing her sister say such dreadful things about herself. “You know that none of this is even remotely true, right?”
“How can you say it isn’t true after what happened last night?” Sweetie Belle asked dejectedly.
“I can answer that question with another question,” Rarity mused. “Why did you feel so horrible about this vision you saw?”
Sweetie Belle almost looked offended at the question being asked, as if the answer itself were obvious. Nevertheless, she took a deep breath and began to answer.
“Because I don’t like hurting ponies, and I definitely don’t like seeing ponies I care about being hurt. So seeing myself hurt somepony I care about? It was… scary.” She instinctively tightened her grip around her elder sister. “And I never ever want to feel that way again.”
Rarity chuckled at the remark. “Well then, it sounds to me like you have a good heart and you care about the well-being of others. That's something that I don’t think a horrible pony would be capable of doing, no?”
“No, I guess not.” Sweetie Belle assented, a smile growing on her face. “You know what? Yeah. You’re right.” She beamed, nuzzling her sister’s chest. “Thanks, Rarity.”
“Anytime, darling.”
The two sisters sat there for several more moments, locked in each other’s embrace.
