Please Eat
Written by KingSombraTheTyrantRuler
"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle called, beaming with happiness. "I'm so glad you finally agreed to having a movie night with me. It's been forever since we've had one of those."
The white unicorn smiles back at her sister, hiding the true way she felt about this. "Indeed, it has been too long."
"Do you want to get the snacks or should I?"
Rarity pondered over it for a few seconds. If she got the snacks, she would be able to get something that wouldn't be too...bad, something that wasn't just refined carbohydrates and sugar. But Sweetie Belle wouldn't like that. And she would know just what was happening. And she would tell their parents, who would -
No, Rarity didn't want to think about it. She would not let that happen ever again. And if protecting herself meant letting Sweetie Belle choose the snacks, even if it meant that she had to let someone else take control...She had to do it.
"I'm feeling a little tired, actually. How about you get the snacks, and I'll set up the place?"
Sweetie's smile was unsuspecting as she nodded. "Sure. You'd probably set up things much better than I could. Alright, I'll quickly run to the store and be back."
"Be careful," Rarity calls, as the filly heads out with a few coins. As soon as Sweetie Belle left, her carefully designed facade fell.
"I can't do this," she whispers to herself, a lump in her throat. "What was I thinking, saying yes like that? I should have made some excuse,... Now - now I'm going to have to actually eat whatever Sweetie brings back, all so she won't be suspicious of me, and who knows what that filly will bring... This will ruin everything..."
She takes a deep breath. And then another. Maybe she's making a mountain out of a molehill. Maybe Sweetie Belle won't be able to find anything that bad. Maybe, just maybe, she might be able to not eat any of it. Yes, she could pretend to have a few here and there, but actually have Sweetie Belle herself finish the entire thing without realizing it.
Deciding to take her mind off the matter, the fashionista makes her way towards the living room to set it up. She arranges a few cushions atop a mat on the floor, and then adds a few more pillows as well as a blanket to make things cozier.
She was just about to see what movie her sister had picked out when the front door opened and the filly came in, bearing a few bags of shopping on her back.
"Oh my, Sweetie. Just what have you done, cleared out an entire section of the shop?" Rarity asks, horrified.
"Don't worry Rares, it's not that much. I didn't really know what flavor of crisps you'd like, salt, barbecue, seafood or spicy, so I decided to get a can of each. And I got some popcorn and marshmallows too," Sweetie reassures her sister, taking each item out of the bag as she spoke.
This has the opposite effect on the fashionista, who picks a can up, pretending to examine it, but in reality searching for the caloric content. To her dismay, the can was taken out of her grasp before she could properly scan it.
"Let's try some of each," Belle suggests. "Could you get that crisps bowl we usually use?"
Rarity is both relived and angry that her sister hadn't let her see the calories, but nevertheless, gets the bowl. “Here it is,” says Rarity, and her sister simultaneously cuts open both of the packets and empties them into the bowl. Sweetie Belle gets a few packets of other flavors, and also adds them. Rarity fidgets slightly, pawing at the ground nervously.
It's okay, breathe Rarity, breathe. It’s not like you’ll have to eat all of that. Just pretend to eat. She takes a few breaths, but her legs still tremble as she walks to the living room with her sister.
“So, what movie are we watching?” Rarity asks curiously, as they both settle down onto the pile of cushions on the floor.
“There’s this movie I’ve been wanting to watch for a while,” says Sweetie, her tone giving nothing away as she turns the TV on and as she puts in the dvd, adds "I actually just rented it yesterday."
She presses the unpause/pause button, and Rarity gulps as the video begins to play, showing a young, if not a little on the chubby side, filly wearing a pink jacket, and holding a ladybug. She's seen this movie more times than she can remember, and it's always made her feel so guilty about what she's done. What she's doing.
"Sweetie," she begins, but the filly merely points to the screen, and grabs a few crisps in her magical grasp. Rarity takes a single crisp with her hoof, because her magic was still too weak to work properly, but doesn't actually eat it. She holds on to it and leans back, watching as the filly continues talking in Swedish.
Rarity admires the graceful, thin figure skater who shows up in the next scene, doing magnificent tricks on the ice that Rarity found impressive. The unicorn grabs a tissue and hides her crisp in it, breaking it and then pretending to chew, and reaching for another so that Sweetie Belle wouldn't get suspicious.
They're nearing the end of the movie now, and Rarity almost cries as Stella leans over the motionless Katja, whose body had finally given into her exhaustion caused by practicing the same trick again and again whilst running on no fuel whatsoever. "Katja! Please wake up!" Stella shouts, and Rarity feels her heart breaking, remembering how Sweetie had found her in a similar state.
Rarity lay motionless at the bottom of the stairs, her graceful form laying in a crumpled heap. Her white coat was even paler if possible, and Sweetie Belle tapped her sister's shoulder several times, but failing to wake her up. "Rarity! No, please don't be dead, please wake up!" she cries out…
The white mare wipes her tears, and glances at her sister to see that she too, is crying. "Please eat, Rarity," pleads Sweetie Belle. "I know it's getting bad again, but please eat before it gets too bad. Please, I don't want you to..." Her voice breaks, but she swallows and continues, "I don't want you to die."
Rarity hugs her sister, tears now freely falling from her eyes. "I'll try, Sweetie," she says, in a broken voice, and crying harder, reaches for a crisp and bites it.
Author's Note
I've been wanting to publish this for a long time, but never felt satisfied enough... Don't forget to vote/like, comment, share and favourite!
