Sisterhooves Social

Pony's Log Number 205: A sibling is a very special blessing. No matter how bad things get between the two of you, no pony should ever take them for granted...

The sun had risen high into the sky and the birds began to chirp outside the Carousel Boutique as Rarity was still snoozing peacefully in her bed wearing a green sleeping mask. She was currently mumbling in her sleep as some smells started to float into her bedroom.

"Oh...Are those sweet...carrot...pancakes that I smell?" Rarity mumbled in her sleep and then gasped, "Mmm, how divine, num-num-num-num. The aroma...spiced apple cider..." As Rarity continued to enjoy the smells, the aroma had become darker wisps of smoke that started to fill her bedroom.

"Ahh, and, the smell of...smoke..." said Rarity as she sniffed and then it clicked in her head, "smoke? Smoke?!" Rarity then woke up with a start. She screamed as she tumbled out of bed with her blanket still stuck on her back end and the sound of a smoke alarm could be heard. Rarity charged out of her bedroom so quickly that she tumbled down the stairs.

"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. Rarity lifted her sleeping mask from her eyes to see the fuming filly. Her kitchen was a mess. Some dirty pots were on the counters, one pot from the stove was spewing out the black smoke and filling the ceiling with it.

"Rrgh, you ruined the surprise!" Sweetie Belle grumbled, "I was gonna serve you breakfast in bed!" Rarity just sighed to herself.

(main theme)

Rarity wasted no time pulling off her sleeping mask, causing it to go flying above Sweet Belle's head. The little marshmallow filly was still fuming as Rarity marched up to her, ready to give her little sister a piece of her mind over the mess in the kitchen. All the while, Rarity had failed to notice that there were two ponies sitting at her dining table. The first, whose name was Hondo Flanks was a marshmallow colored stallion with brown mane, mustache, and tail. He was wearing a floral shirt with a tourist straw hat. Across from him was a mare named Cookies Crumbles, she was light pink mare with dark purple mane and tail. She was wearing a red top with white bottoms and had a sun visor in her mane.

"Well G'mornin', Rarity!" said Hondo Flanks, causing the marshmallow mare to freeze in her tracks.

"Father! Mother!" said Rarity in surprise as she turned to face them.

"I'll have you know that Sweetie Belle here cooked this yummy lookin' breakfast all on her own," said Hondo Flanks as Sweetie Belle set down a vase with lavender flowers in it. He gave her a supportive rub of her mane with his fore-hoof. Rarity just looked at the various plates that had various types of badly burnt food.

"I...figured," said Rarity slowly as Mario entered inside examining a checklist with his magic and his work glasses on his nose.

"Hey, Rares, I just picked up that extra supply order you wanted and..." Mario froze when he saw Sweetie Belle and two other ponies he had never met before, "...umm...am I interrupting something?" As much as Mario had grown in socializing with ponies, he didn't need long to see the resemblance between the older ponies and his two best friends. For some reason, meeting parents always made him feel rather shy, as well as a little jealous. The two elder ponies just looked at him curiously.

"Rarity," Cookie Crumbles exclaimed, "Did you get married and not tell us?"

"WHAT?!" Mario and Rarity exclaimed in shock and Mario blushed deep red.

"Mom, you know I'm too young to marry my prince!" Sweetie Belle remarked.

"Sweetie Belle!" Mario and Rarity repeated.

"For crying out loud...they are just my best friends is all," Mario explained, "I work for Rarity as her assistant part time at the Boutique and I've told Sweetie Belle were only friends!"

"Well I still like you anyway," said Sweetie Belle, "you are very cute and handsome." Rarity and Mario looked annoyed. Mario wasn't really annoyed as Sweetie Belle for liking him, but rather that she said it in front of her parents. Mario didn't want to deal with overprotective parents (or brothers for that matter...but that's another story). As for Rarity, she always got annoyed and irritated when Sweetie Belle gushed over him, but Mario still couldn't get Rarity to say why. Their parents just chuckled.

"Young love," said the male pony, "My name is Hondo Flanks and this is my wife Cookie Crumbles, as you can guess, we're Rarity and Sweetie Belle's parents."

"Nice to...meet you." said Mario as he noticed the burnt food on the table, "Enjoying breakfast I see..."

"Eeyup, I made everything myself," said Sweetie Belle proudly as Rarity sniffed a glass that had something burnt in it.

"I didn't know you could burn juice," Rarity remarked.

"I knew a pony who knew how to burn ice cream," said Mario, "don't ask how...they just did it." Rarity discreetly rolled her eyes.

"I've been giving her lessons," said Cookie Crumbles, "I wouldn't be surprised if she's got a cutie mark in fancy cooking by the time we get back from our vacation." Mario was just stunned.

Her mother taught her how to cook like this? he thought, And Hondo is actually enjoying food this brunt? Either the food tastes better than it looks or he REALLY loves and supports his wife.

Mario went to take a bite of some pancake and nearly choked at how dry and burnt it was as he swallowed it down.

Oh yeah...Hondo REALLY loves his wife, quite...admirable actually, Mario told himself, But...I gotta teach Sweetie Belle how to cook properly in the near future.

While Mario had his train of thought, Rarity was still baffled that she had apparently forgotten about her parent's vacation trip.

"Vacation? Is that this week?" Rarity exclaimed, "As in "starting this very instant" this week?" It was then Sweetie Belle put a bowl of some burnt slop on the table.

"Uurh, let me guess: apple sauce?" Rarity asked.

"Nope, toast!" Sweetie Belle answered as Mario's jaw dropped but no one took notice, "We're gonna have the bestest time two sisters could ever have! I'm gonna go grab my stuff from Dad's wagon." Sweetie Belle then made her way out of the kitchen.

"Need a hoof?" Mario asked.

"Mario, I need you here," said Rarity quickly, stopping him from following the young filly, "So, now, when you say "a week"...is that, um, seven whole days?" Mario looked at her indignantly. This hadn't been the first time Rarity seemed reluctant to having Sweetie Belle around.

"And six nights, I know!" said Cookie Crumbles, completely overlooking Rarity's hesitation, "Such a short time to spend with your little sis."

"You gonna eat that?" Hondo Flanks asked before Rarity could respond to her mother. Rarity just said nothing and pushed the plate towards her father as Mario waved a hoof to say no.

"But I've got such a long to-do list," said Rarity quietly to herself, "Oh well, I suppose "spend time with your sister" will just have to be added to the list."

"You make it sound like having Sweetie Belle around is such a huge burden to you," Mario whispered, "Don't you remember that you hired me to..."

"Yes, I did hire you to get work done around here," Rarity retorted, making it clear she wasn't interested in hearing what Mario had to say about the situation, "Now will you please take care of those supplies you got for me and put them away at once?" Mario glared before taking his leave when they heard a huge crash nearby. It was then Sweetie Belle reappeared with a huge load of luggage.

"Just a few necessities," Sweetie Belle remarked. Rarity just smiled sheepishly to her parents as Mario chuckled.

"And I thought you were the only one who over packed," said Mario, earning a dirty look from Rarity and he sighed, "I'm going. I'm going." But before he did, Mario did help Sweetie Belle get her luggage to the guest room first (at Rarity's expense). Mario just ignored that fact that Rarity glared at him for doing so.

As Mario continued his work in the main room, Rarity and Sweetie Belle waved their parents goodbye as a taxi cart took them away with the honk of a horn. The two sisters then headed back into the boutique and into the kitchen.

"Now, let's get that kitchen all cleaned up," said Rarity.

"Cleaned up?" Sweetie Belle protested, "But we haven't even eaten yet."

"Well now, Sweetie Belle," said Rarity as she burnt food on the table, "I appreciate the gesture, but we simply can't eat this breakfast; it's burnt."

"It's not that burnt," said Sweetie Belle.

"Never fear, my dear," said Rarity as she headed over to her stove with Sweetie Belle behind her, "I'll get a proper breakfast going."

"Need a hand?" Mario asked as he peeked inside as Sweetie Belle smiled.

"Don't you have those patterns to cross-stitch for me?" Rarity asked not turning around.

"They're done," said Mario.

"What about the fabric ironing?"

"You never said anything about that," said Mario skeptically.

"Well I am now," said Rarity regally, "Now hoof to it." Mario just snorted as he left. He never minded extra work, but he didn't like that Rarity was doing it just to keep him and Sweetie Belle apart. She seemed to do that alot whenever Sweetie Belle was staying over. Sweetie Belle just looked back at Rarity, who was grabbing various items from the cabinets and pantry with her magic.

"Can I help?" Sweetie Belle asked, making Rarity freeze for a moment and look at her.

"Oh, er, of course, er, in one moment, Sweetie Belle," Rarity stuttered trying to think of what to say and then gets an idea, "Let me get things started." Sweetie Belle just sat quietly on the floor and waited...and waited...and waited. Rarity didn't just get things started. She made it her mission to finish everything herself, from the cooking, to the cleaning, and even setting up the dining table. Mario had even tried again to help himself, or at least give Sweetie Belle something to do, but Rarity dismissed him once more. Mario just glared at her before walking away. The way Rarity shunned poor Sweetie Belle was really starting to get under his fur. Even Sweetie Belle lost patience.

"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle complained, "I thought you said I was gonna help!" The older marshmallow pony flinched as she was busy mixing something in a bowl.

"You are!" said Rarity as she struggled to come up with something, "You...can...put the garnish on the plates."

"You mean this parsley?" Sweetie Belle asked as she eyeballed the tiny leaf skeptically before grabbing it in her mouth and headed towards the table. Standing on a stool chair, she leaned over a plate with some eggs on it.

"Okay, now easy!" Rarity injected rather frantically, "It has to be just right! No need to rush. No! That's too slow. Careful! Back up! Looking for perfection here..." All the while poor Sweetie Belle was getting flustered, her body was shaking a bit from feeling so stressed and sweat was falling down her forehead. She nearly fell into the table but managed to lean back to save herself, but Rarity's fussing made her wobble a second time.

"Whoa, whoa!" Sweetie Belle cried out as she fell into the table, knocking it and everything on it minus the tablecloth off of it with a crash. Rarity just looked at her annoyingly until the garnish floated gently onto the plate of eggs. Apparently, they had escaped the crash unharmed as Sweetie Belle stood up.

"Not...bad," said Rarity as Sweetie Belle just eyed the plate blankly. Mario had seen everything before getting back to work.

No wonder Sweetie Belle messes up so much Mario told himself, It's like Rarity wants her to fail...I'd mess up alot too if I was put under such pressure. In fact, I actually was... Mario just shook the feeling off as he continued his work quietly. It wasn't much longer before the two sisters had managed to eat something for breakfast and Rarity cleaned up the kitchen...alone. She had just finished when she saw the time on the clock and gasped.

"There are some things I must attend to," said Rarity as she headed out of the kitchen towards Sweetie Belle, who was just washing the floor with a bucket of soapy water and a small brush in the corner of the main room, "Can you take the dirty towels to the laundry room?" Sweetie Belle looked up as the towels were dumped on top of her.

"No problem," said Sweetie Belle as she pushed the basket into the laundry room, "I'll make myself useful."

"I can give you a hand Sweetie-"

"Actually, Mario," Rarity interrupted as she shoved a long list in his face, "I need these things picked up from town and I want them picked up now!" Mario discreetly rolled his eyes before rolling up the list, putting on his beret (he had gotten accustomed to wearing that hat whenever he went out nowadays), and heading out of the house without another word. Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle had just entered the laundry room and found a sweater sitting above the wash bin and got an idea.

As the sun was now hanging high in the sky, Rarity stepped outside of her boutique and found Sweetie Belle hanging up the laundry to dry. Then she gasped at what she saw hanging with the laundry.

"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity exclaimed as Sweetie Belle was putting up some more towels to dry.

"I told you I'd make myself useful," said Sweetie Belle proudly, "Surprised?" Rarity was surprised, but not in the way Sweetie Belle had hoped.

"Am I?" said Rarity as she rushed past the filly, "You washed my incredibly expensive one-of-a kind designer crocheted sweater! Do you know how hard these things are to come by?"

"What's the big deal?" Sweetie Belle asked as she followed Rarity to where the sweater was hanging.

"The big deal is that in the heat of the sun," said Rarity, "Wool..." As if by Rarity's command, the sweater became a tiny sweater, "...shrinks."

"Oh. Sorry," said Sweetie Belle sadly.

"Nng..." Rarity grunted as she turned away, feeling her temper start to boil, but manages to keep herself together and regain her composure, "Well, back to work. I must create." Rarity stepped into the bucket of water that was nearby.

"Sorry," said Sweetie Belle sadly as Rarity just glared at her.

"Huh. Stay out of trouble, okay," Rarity told her, taking a step forward, and then glared at her again, "Please?" Rarity then walked back inside.

"I just wanted to do something nice for my sister," Sweetie Belle mumbled to herself. She headed inside as she pushed the bucket of water with her head. Later on, Sweetie Belle was just sitting on the floor rubbing a fore-hoof on it. Rarity had been busy for quite a while now and Mario still hadn't returned from his long list of errands.

"Raargh, I'm so bored!" said Sweetie Belle as she walked back and forth with her hind legs and dragging her head across the floor, "When is Rarity gonna finish her work? And when is Mario going to be back? Assuming Rarity doesn't give him something else to do today..." It was then she made a thought bubble appear with Rarity inside of it.

"Stay out of trouble, okay?" Rarity said before her thought bubble popped. Sweetie Belle was quite for a moment before she noticed some sheets of paper and crayons just sitting on a table.

"I never got in trouble for drawing," said Sweetie Belle as she grabs a crayon with her mouth and began to draw something, "Hmm, this needs something..." Sweetie Belle then noticed a chest filled with blue gems in it. Sweetie Belle smiles and gets an idea. She had just finished her project with Rarity came down holding some fabrics with her magic.

"Hi, Rarity!" said Sweetie Belle excitedly as she pushed her art project before the older pony, "I made this special drawing for y-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" Rarity screamed before heading over to the now empty gem chest, "Oh no! Did you use these gems?!" It was at this moment Mario had returned and set his beret on a hat rack with his magic.

"Well, yes, but I know you'll have more in your work room," said Sweetie Belle, crouching low since she knew Rarity was upset.

"But, but these are extremely rare baby blue sapphires!" said Rarity, "I need them for an outfit for an extremely important client!"

"Oh, sorry," said Sweetie Belle sadly.

"Sweetie Belle, what am I going to do with you?" Rarity said with a sigh as Mario stood nearby with an indignant look on his face...at Rarity, not Sweetie Belle.

"Oh!" said Sweetie Belle as she hopped around Rarity and Mario, "We could paint together, we could ride bikes, play chess, sing a song, catch frogs, pillow fight-"

"That's not what I mean!" Rarity snapped as she walked away.

"Oh," said Sweetie Belle, looking rather disappointed.

"In all respect, Rares," said Mario, "This chest is set up specifically for unneeded excess gems. They were free picking to anyone who wants use them! If you wanted them for your projects, you should have taken them out and...MMMPH!" Mario was cut off when Rarity shoved his pair of what he now called "shovel hooves" into his mouth. She had him keep them there so she could wash them between uses.

"Be quiet and put these on!" said Rarity, "Now we have to find some more of these gems!"

"I'll go with you and help!" said Sweetie Belle, taking a few steps forward.

"No!" Rarity snapped, making Sweetie Belle stop in her tracks and lowered her tone, "No thank you. You can help but picking up these papers and stacking them, neatly. Put the pens and pencils back exactly where you found them, and please find something to do that doesn't create a large mess for me to clean up!" She turned to her assistant, "Mario, quit wasting time and come along." Mario just spat out the claws out of his mouth and went to put them on.

"Geez Louise," Sweetie Belle muttered as she stomped away, "can't I do anything right?"

"You can," said Mario before glaring at the door, "Just little miss prissy won't let you. Don't you worry, Sweetie Belle. When I can find the right moment, Rarity and I are going to have a unicorn to unicorn talk about how she's been acting with you." Mario gave her a wink before making his exit from the shop. Sweetie smiled for a moment before walking sadly towards another room. She peeked inside to find the room an absolute mess. Sweetie Belle smiled.

A couple of hours later Rarity and Mario arrived back at the boutique with saddles bags loaded with more blue sapphires. While Rarity had a pleased look on her face, Mario was looking very irritated. Not only had he failed in finding a moment to speak to Rarity regarding Sweetie Belle, but Rarity had made it her mission to complain about the little filly during the entire gem hunt. Sometimes Mario even wished he could have stayed underground so he wouldn't have to listen to Rarity grumble. She didn't even stop when they had found enough gems either.

"Sweetie Belle! I'm back," said Rarity but received no answer, "Sweetie Belle?" Rarity began to look around and then peeked into what was her workroom and gasped as she jumped into the air. Everything had been cleaned up so the place was now sparkling. Mario peeked inside as well.

"Hey, it's about time this place was tidied up," Mario remarked.

"Surprise!" said Sweetie Belle cheerfully as she jumped out from behind the mannequins.

"My-ee-bleh-My inspiration room!" Rarity exclaimed in disbelief, flinching twice as she looked around, "What did you do? What did you do?" Rarity didn't hesitate to get into Sweetie Belle's face.

"When I saw the big mess in your room, I thought I'd clean it up for you," Sweetie Belle explained.

"This wasn't a mess!" Rarity protested in a panic, "It was organized chaos!"

"Yeah right," Mario remarked, "Do you know how many times I can in here to find you crying on your sofa cause you couldn't find anything in here? I say Sweetie Belle did you a favor!"

"I was just about finished planning my new fashion line," Rarity continued to complain, not even listening to Mario, "and, and you, you, you went and, and you-and you put everything away!"

"But every time I make a mess, you get upset!" Sweetie Belle protested. Mario nodded in agreement with a stern look on his face. He couldn't tell ponies how many times he and Twilight had fought over a similar issue, especially when she would make messes and get on he and Spike's case for not cleaning it up.

"But this was my mess in my house!" Rarity, "and now I have to start over!"

"But, I thought it would make you happy!" said Sweetie Belle, trying to explain herself. That seemed to be the last straw for Rarity's temper.

"Happy?! Happy?!" Rarity exclaimed, getting in Sweetie Belle's face twice, jumping into the air, and then grinding her teeth as she struggled desperately not to explode. Mario walked up to Sweetie and stomped a hoof between them. He gave Rarity a glare that meant one thing: say one more word and I'll make you regret it. It was few seconds later Rarity managed to recompose herself.

"I just need some alone time," said Rarity quietly before turning her back on Sweetie Belle. The little filly walked sadly away, feeling worse as Rarity huffed at her as the left. Mario hadn't left the room, feeling inside that enough was enough.

"Rares..."

"Please make me some tea at once," Rarity told him in a deadpan tone with her back against him.

"We need to talk..." Mario continued sternly.

"NOW!" Rarity snapped as she used her magic to toss him out of her workroom and slammed the door. Mario groaned as he landed on his back end. He growled at the shut door behind him before heading into the kitchen.

Outside, Sweetie Belle was just moping about until she noticed a pink flyer being held by a familiar yellow filly with cute yellow eyes and red mane.

"How's the sleepover at Rarity's going?" Apple Bloom asked cheerfully. Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes and pouted for a moment.

"Why, it's smashing!" Sweetie Belle answered, imitating Rarity in a mocking manner before walked away pouting.

"Huh?" said Apple Bloom puzzled as Sweetie Belle climbs onto the base of a statue and sat down.

"I just wish we could do something special together that didn't include me goofing anything up," said Sweetie Bell. Apple Bloom went up to her and showed her the pink flyer again.

"The Sisterhooves Social!" Apple Bloom explained, "Applejack an' I do it every year! You an' Rarity can compete against other teams in all these neat events!" This lifted Sweetie Belle's spirits a bit.

"That sounds like the perfect way for us to hang out," said Sweetie Belle excitedly, "Rarity will think it's an excellent idea."

"What a ridiculous idea," said Rarity, instantly turning Sweetie Belle's smile upside down, "A contest at Sweet Apple Acres? It doesn't...sound...very...clean..." Rarity made a face as she grabbed something from her desk. Mario, now in a very bad mood, just rolled his eyes at the elder marshmallow pony.

"So, what, now your back to hating messes?" Sweetie Belle snapped angrily.

"Sweetie Belle, watch your tone!" said Rarity snootily, "I am still your big sister."

"Then start acting like one!" Mario retorted angrily.

"Right!" Sweetie Belle added in agreement to both their comments, "And any sister who cares about her sister goes!"

"Sweetie Belle...! Honestly!" Rarity protested, "Playing silly little games in the dirt is just...uncouth! With or without a sister." Rarity walked away from Sweetie Belle. The little filly was in the verge of tears, but she felt something more than disappointment...

...it was anger.

"Well then! Maybe, maybe I'll try the Sisterhooves Social without a sister!" Sweetie Belle retorted, trying to stay strong and not cry, "In fact, I think I'll try the rest of my life without a sister!" Sweetie Belle's voice gave a definitive squeak as she jumped into the air to make her point. Rarity gasped.

"Oh, I'm the one who's ruining your life? Really?!" Rarity shot back angrily, "Have you looked around at this place? I'm the one who'd be better off with no sister!" Mario gasped silently as he felt his own temper boil.

"Well it looks like we finally agree on something!" Sweetie Belle yelled as the two sister glared at each other, "Neither of us needs a sister!"

"Deal!" Rarity shouted.

"Deal!" Sweetie Belle shouted back, "Goodbye, un-sister!" Sweetie Belle stomped out of the room as Rarity watched her leave before turning away with a huff. Mario just stayed put for a moment, giving Rarity a very stern and angered glare as he walked up to her.

"Rares..."

"Mario I'm not in the mood to..."

"QUIET!" Mario snapped angrily as Rarity turned around in shock.

"I beg your pardon?!" Rarity exclaimed, taken aback by his harsh tone.

"Forgive my disrespect, but this is something that needs to be said," Mario told her sternly, "you have done plenty of selfish things over the time I've known you, but this is the worst!"

"Excuse me?" said Rarity, looking a bit offended by the remark.

"I'm talking about the way you treat Sweetie Belle," said Mario, "Ever since I started working for you, I see the way you unjustly treat her. At first I stayed out of it, but that little filly is more than just some fan girl to me now. She's a dear friend of mine and was there for me just like you were when Twilight broke my heart! I love her just as much as I love you. But every time she's here you set her aside like she one of last year's fashions!"

"Well have you seen what she does when she tries to help?" Rarity protested angrily.

"That only happens because you don't give her a chance!" Mario retorted fiercely, "I saw how you were acting when she tried to set that garnish! She only toppled the table because you stressed her out! Back when I was a filly, the Canterlot Elite would do the same thing to me. I was so nervous around them I ended making more mistakes trying to be perfect and trying to please them. I couldn't tell you how many events I made a mess of because I tried to be helpful but all they would do is complain and criticize me."

"Well, I'm sorry if you felt that way, Mario," said Rarity dismissively, "but this is completely different situation."

"Exactly!" Mario continued, "You shouldn't have to be treated that way by your own family! I know for a fact nopony ever treated you that way so I don't know what gives you the right to treat Sweetie Belle in such a manner! I might be used to your fussy nature but that doesn't mean Sweetie Belle should be forced to put up with it. She needs room to grow and time to learn how to do things correctly and become a refined young lady. If you keep shunning, pressuring, and criticizing her, those accidents are never going to stop and she could lose all of her self-confidence, which is what nearly happened to me! How can she learn from her mistakes and get better at being helpful when you don't let her learn? I give her room to breathe and learn and she never has a problem working with me. And she's quite confident in her abilities because I actually encourage her! We haven't had any major accidents or incidents when we work together!"

"So just take her then!" Rarity shouted, letting her temper slip, "If you want her for a sister, then you are more then welcome to take her out of my life!" Mario was taken aback before he gave Rarity a hurt look as she snorted at him angrily.

"I can't believe you just said that," said Mario quietly. Rarity just turned her back on him without another word, breathing heavily to calm down.

"I'm taking the rest of the day off," said Mario, keeping a stern look on his face, "I need to see if it's even possible for somepony like me to adopt Sweetie Belle if that is what you really want. I can't work with you right now." Rarity just said nothing as Mario left the room, but then poked back inside.

"And I will be telling Hondo and Cookie about all of this," said Mario, "I need their approval for the adoption anyway!" Rarity's demeanor looked worried for a bit but then she went back to pouting as she heard the door to her Boutique was slammed shut.

"Tattletale," she muttered.

As for Sweetie Belle, she had made her way back to Sweet Apple Acres. She was just laying on a hay stack as Big Mac and Applejack were pushing them about. Sweetie Belle had told Applejack what Rarity had told her.

""Uncouth"?" Applejack exclaimed as she stopped pushing her hay stack, "She said the Sisterhooves Social was "uncouth"?" Applejack jumped over her hay stack to approach the marshmallow filly as Apple Bloom popped out of a basket of apples.

"Yeah! Uncouth?" said Apple Bloom as she ate her apple and belched afterwards, "Wait, what's uncouth?"

"It's not just the Social," said Sweetie Belle, "She think I'm uncouth."

"Honey, Rarity thinks everything's uncouth," said Applejack sympathetically.

"What uncouth?" Apple Bloom asked again.

"It means uncivil," Applejack explained, "Y'know, bad manners."

"BELCH!" Apple Bloom burped loudly.

"Exactly," Applejack answered, "Sweetie Belle, just give Rarity some time. She'll come around. Sisters always do." Applejack and Apple Bloom just smiled and nuzzled each other.

"Not sisters like Rarity," Sweetie Belle remarked bitterly as she looked away, "Even Mario tried to defend me, but she wouldn't listen to him either." That did worry Applejack a bit, but she knew Sweetie Belle needed more help at the moment.

"Come on, now," said Applejack, "Apple Bloom and I got some chores to finish up on. Maybe you can help!"

"You sure you want me to help?" Sweetie Belle asked, "I just mess everything up!"

"Oh, come on, that's just stinkin' thinkin'," said Applejack, "Mario says you help him out all the time. He never says you mess things up." The orange pony then picked up a bad apple that had a worm in it.

"Watch," said Applejack as Apple Bloom grabbed a bucket. Applejack then tossed the bad apple towards the yellow filly, who caught it inside her bucket. Applejack then sent another with her tail and Apple Bloom caught it again. They both start to laugh and chuckle happily with each other as Apple Bloom continued to catch apple after apple in her bucket.

"Good there, Apple Bloom! Whoo!" Applejack cheered as they continued to laugh some more and enjoy themselves. Sweetie Belle just looked at the two with confusion written all over her face.

"This is a chore?" Sweetie Belle asked confused.

"Since we can't sell the bruised apples," Applejack explained before bucking another apple to Apple Bloom, "we gotta collect them for all the pigs to eat."

"It's a lot of work," Apple Bloom added as she set the bucket down and used her flank to rebound an apple into it, "so we make a game out of it. Wanna try?"

"Um, okay," said Sweetie Belle timidly as she stood near a bucket. Applejack bucked an apple towards her. The apple ended up smacking Sweetie Belle hard in the head, the apple getting stuck on her horn.

"Ow!" Sweetie Belle groaned as she rubbed her head, "You're right, it is hard work."

"That's why we do it..." Apple Bloom began.

"Together, "Applejack and Apple Bloom finished as the orange pony held the yellow filly close to her. Sweetie Belle couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

"Huh. Rarity never wants to do chores together," Sweetie Belle muttered to herself.

Back at the boutique, Rarity was still fuming about her workroom as Opal was just snoozing quietly on the floor.

"Ugh, all that work ruined," Rarity continued to complain, "thanks to Sweetie Belle." She then walked over to her drawer and found that everything was in order and easy to find.

"Oh my. It's usually a big mess in here," said Rarity and then gasped. "I-dee-a!" Within a few minutes Rarity had easily completed a collection of outfits and had them displayed on the mannequins. Each outfit was the color of the rainbow.

"This is genius!" said Rarity, "I shall call it "full spectrum fashions"! If Sweetie Belle hadn't..." Rarity then suddenly stopped herself from letting Sweetie Belle have any credit and cleared her throat.

"Well, no matter," Rarity said dismissively as she pulled the outfits off of the mannequins, "She still shouldn't have touched my things without permission." A thought bubble then appeared above her head with Mario inside of it, glaring at her.

"Sweetie Belle did you a favor and you know it!" the Mario in her thought told her.

"Oh!" Rarity snorted as she popped her thought bubble and gave a loud hmph as she went back to work.

Meanwhile, Applejack was placing some clusters of grapes inside of a wooden container.

"Apple Bloom! You're up!" Applejack called as the yellow filly bounced over and onto her sister's back. Sweetie Belle watched as Applejack launched Apple Bloom high into the air so the little filly landed inside the wooden container. Apple Bloom then began to stomp about, allowing her to fill up a jar placed underneath a pipe.

"You're...making...grape juice?" Sweetie Belle asked puzzled and then gasped, "Rarity would call the fashion police on me if I got grape juice anywhere near her precious outfits."

"Well, that's silly!" said Apple Bloom a she dived into the grapes, causing a glop of them to splatter all over Applejack.

"Apple Bloom..." Applejack said under her breath.

"Please, Applejack," said Sweetie Belle, raising her fore-hooves in Apple Bloom's defense to try and block the orange pony, "she didn't mean-" But Applejack went around the marshmallow filly. Sweetie Belle watched with worry as Applejack dived at Apple Bloom.

"Whoa!" Apple Bloom cried out as she and Applejack tumbled into the grapes with a splat. Then Apple Bloom started laughing as Sweetie Belle looked inside.

"How d'you like them grapes, y'little whippersnapper?" Applejack teased as she gave her little sister a hoofnoggie on the head. The both of them now covered in grape juice.

"That tickles!" Apple Bloom protested as she laughed. Sweetie Belle just smiled as the two played in the grapes together.

At the boutique, Rarity had taken her new outfits into the laundry room.

"Now to get these fabrics washed for my fabulous new line," said Rarity when she noticed her now shrunken wool sweater and huffed, "Ooh, my favorite sweater...I just can't believe that Sweetie Belle..." Rarity's train of thought was interrupted as Opal gave a very loud cat yowl. She had apparently stepped on the cat's tail. Rarity then got an idea as she grabbed the shrunken sweater and put it on the white cat.

"Oh, Opal-wopal!" Rarity told her in baby talk, making the cat glare at her, "It's as if Sweetie Belle knew the sweater was perfect for you." Rarity then went back to being indignant.

"And Sweetie should consider herself perfectly lucky that this thoughtless mishap turned out alright," Rarity huffed. It was then another thought bubble appeared with Mario inside it.

"She only was trying to help you with the laundry," said Mario in her thought bubble told her, "It was an honest mistake and you still managed to make the best of it. You are so ungrateful..."

"Get out of my head!" Rarity snapped as she bucked the thought bubble away with her hind legs and stomped away with a huff.

Back at Sweet Apple Acres, some sheep were baaing as they stampeded through the farming grounds. Applejack and Apple Bloom were working together to keep the heard together.

"Apple Bloom!" Applejack called out.

"Got it, sis!" said Apple Bloom as she bumped a sheep back in line. It wasn't much longer before they easily made the entire heard run right into their pen. Sweetie Belle was most impressed.

"Wow, it's as if they were just one pony," said Sweetie Belle.

"Yee-haw!" Applejack and Apple Bloom said at once as they high-hoofed each other.

"Way to corral some critters, sis!" Applejack remarked.

"You coulda just a-a-a-asked," said one of the sheep as Applejack shut the gate with her hind legs. Sweetie Belle just watched them walk away with a frown on her face.

"Rarity never high-hoofs me," Sweetie Belle to herself.

Rarity was now working on one of her new outfits, placing the blue sapphires onto it.

"Perfect!" Rarity told herself as she examined her work, "Just one more, and this ensemble is fini!" She then noticed that both hers and Mario's saddle bags were empty, which reminded her why she had to get more blue sapphires in the first place.

"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity groaned loudly, "Where's her silly little arts and crafts project?" Rarity soon found it and was more than willing to tear off the gems glued to it when she saw the picture. Rarity gasped as she placed a fore-hoof to her mouth and her eyes began to water. There before her was a drawing of herself and Sweetie Belle surrounded by a beautifully crafted heart that was coated with the blue sapphires. It was at that very moment that Rarity suddenly realized just how awful she had been acting all day. What she had said to Mario earlier began to haunt her mind.

So just take her then! If you want her for a sister, then you are more then welcome to take her out of my life!

Rarity had never felt so guilty in her entire life. It was then Mario had finally returned. He used his magic to pull out a document and set it next to the project. Rarity just looked at the document with devastated eyes.

"Here it is," said Mario bluntly, "Just sign on the dotted line and Sweetie Belle will be out of your mane forever." Rarity only looked at the document for a second before she grabbed it and ripped it into tiny pieces and tossed the scraps behind her.

"Oh, Sweetie Belle! My one and only sister! What have I done?" Rarity lamented as she leaned over the arts and crafts project, "All the time I could have spent with you was wasted complaining and wishing you were gone! Woe is me!" Rarity then crouched into the floor and began to cry dramatically, but before Mario could comfort her, she stopped crying.

"No! I must get her back! I must!" said Rarity as she stood tall and determined, "As Celestia is my witness, I shall never be sisterless again!" Her moment was interrupted as she heard somepony chuckling near her.

"And what might I ask is so funny?" Rarity asked indignantly. Mario just smiled.

"Thank goodness," he replied.

"Huh?" Rarity asked puzzled.

"I was hoping you'd finally realize how you were acting," said Mario, "I really believe that you never wanted to Sweetie Belle out of your life for good."

"I...didn't..." said Rarity quietly, "I never wanted to...I didn't mean...oh, Mario you were right about everything. I did shun her, criticize her, and I did take her for granted. I didn't take the time to help her learn things and expected her to figure things out...like I did. I have been destroying her self-confidence. I really am a selfish pony."

"You may have acted like one," said Mario gently as he gave Rarity a hug, "but you're not a selfish pony. You are known for being the element of Generosity. You just got a little too caught up in your work that you forgot what is really important, which is friends and family."

"I guess I did," said Rarity, "And Mario if I might say something to you..."

"Rarity, trust me," Mario interrupted, "I never wanted to raise my voice at you. It was only because I saw you doing something wrong and you kept cutting me off. I don't ever want to have to raise my voice at you again."

"Fair enough," said Rarity, grateful that issue had been addressed and settled quickly, "but...I wanted to apologize for trying to keep you and Sweetie Belle apart."

"Are you really worried I'm gonna hurt her?" Mario asked, "I already told her straight up that we are just friends and that I'm in love with Twilight. Heh...She's been giving me dating suggestions on how to make Twilight fall in love with me. Some ideas are a bit over the top, but others have actually been rather helpful." Rarity giggled.

"Didn't know Sweetie Belle was into matchmaking," Rarity remarked, "In fact, I bet I would have known how much we have in common if I...had spent more time with her. But my point is that I pushed you both apart because I was jealous. You two seemed to work together so well and never have mishaps like I have with her and...I guess I just wish Sweetie and I could work together like that..."

"You just got to give a chance," said Mario, "and remember, nopony can create perfection the first time around. Perfection and fabulousness..."

"...comes from time, persistence, and trail and error," Rarity finished, realizing she had taught that to Mario when he first started working at the Boutique, "I just got to set things right. After all, persistence is my middle name!"

"I thought it was Tabitha?" Mario asked.

"No, no darling, Tabitha is just a dear friend of mine and make delicious cookies," Rarity replied, "but were getting off topic. Will you help me find Sweetie Belle so I can set things right?" Mario smiled.

"I am at your service," Mario replied, making Rarity smile. However, it was already nightfall before they found Sweetie Belle. Apparently she was sitting with Applejack and Apple Bloom as they roasted some marshmallows over a campfire. Rarity gasped when she saw her little sister with them.

"Sweetie Belle!" said Rarity as she walked up to the little filly, "Oh, Mario and I have been galloping all over looking for you. I-" Rarity was then taken aback as Sweetie Belle turned her head away and snubbed the elder marshmallow pony. Applejack and Apple Bloom just exchanged worried glances at each other.

"Oh hello, un-sister," said Sweetie Belle, "what are you doing here? Better be careful you might get some dust on you." Rarity was still rather stunned by her remark as Applejack and Apple Bloom looked at each other again. Rarity glanced over towards Mario, who just waved a fore-hoof, encouraging Rarity to speak up.

"Oh, Sweetie Belle," said Rarity sadly, "I want to apologize. I am not better off without a sister."

"I'm not better off without a sister either," Sweetie Belle replied, keeping a stern look on her face, "Spending the day with Applejack and Apple Bloom made me realize that."

"Oh, Sweetie," said Rarity as she put a fore-hoof on the little filly, "you don't know how happy I am to hear-" Rarity was then cut off when Sweetie swatted away her hoof.

"And that's why I'm adopting Applejack as my big sister!" Sweetie Belle announced.

"What?!" Rarity exclaimed dramatically.

"What?!" said Applejack in stunned.

"What?!" Apple Bloom repeated in disbelief.

"Wah?" Mario added, feeling taken aback by the announcement himself as Sweetie Belle rushed towards the orange pony and hugged one of her fore-legs.

"A sister is someone who loves and takes care of another sister," Sweetie Belle explained, "Applejack's a real sister." Rarity was agape before narrowing her eyes at Applejack. The orange pony just looked rather sheepish in reply.

"Easy Rares," Mario said gently as he placed a hoof on her back, "remember, if a pony wants to be loved and can't find it from one pony, they will go looking for it elsewhere." Rarity's expression softened a bit, but she still felt rather upset at the idea of Sweetie Belle replacing her, even if she had given the filly every reason to do so.

"H-Hold on, Sweetie Belle," said Applejack, "don't get ahead of yourself now."

"Yeah, I wanted to adopt you," said Mario jealously.

"Ahem!" Rarity said with a glare.

"Oops...heh...sorry," Mario said sheepishly and feeling rather embarassed he had said that aloud.

"Besides," Apple Bloom protested as she held one of Applejack's hind legs, "She's my big sister!"

"Yeah, um-" Applejack stuttered as the two fillies started a tug of war over her.

"Or maybe," Sweetie Belle suggested to Rarity, "she should be your sister, so she could teach you what a good sister is supposed to be!" Rarity began to stare Applejack down again. The orange pony was growing more uncomfortable by the second.

"Heh, um, actually, I-" Applejack continued to stutter as Apple Bloom looked rather indignant.

"But I don't need lessons on being a good sister," Rarity protested a she knelt before Sweetie Belle in a pleading position, "I-I promise. Listen! I'll show you how to cook my favorite quiche! Or, or, I'll show you the proper way to beautify your mane. Won't that be fun? Hmm?" Sweetie Belle just glared.

"Hm! You want me to go home with you," Sweetie Belle retorted as she walked at Rarity, making the older marshmallow pony back up a bit, "so we can do what you wanna do?"

"Uh...yes?" Rarity answered with a sheepish tone.

"Momma mia..." Mario groaned as he hoof-palmed his face. Even he knew that was the wrong answer.

"Just forget it!" Sweetie Belle snapped before stomping away. Apple Bloom and Applejack just watched the filly walk off before the former turned to the latter.

"We're still sisters, right?" Apple Bloom asked for reassurance. Applejack gave her a nod before the yellow filly walked away as well. Rarity just walked up to Applejack feeling rather upset with Mario at her side.

"Well, that apology went swimmingly," Rarity said sarcastically, "Applejack, why do you have to be so good and make me look so bad?"

"Oh brother," Mario remarked and shaking his head disapprovingly at her. Applejack just chuckled.

"Oh Rarity," said Applejack, poking her with a fore-hoof, "once again, you're thinkin' about yourself. Bein' sisters is a give and take. You've been doing a whole lotta takin', but you haven't been doin' a whole lotta givin'." Rarity just looked away for a moment.

"But of course I give," Rarity retorted, "I give lessons. Reasonable demands."

"We're not!" Mario protested sternly, getting a death glare from Rarity.

"Easy there Mario," said Applejack, "I got this. Why don't you go see how them fillies are doing?" Mario nodded and left the two ponies to talk thing out.

"As I said before being interrupted, I do give," Rarity continued.

"But ya never give in," said Applejack, poking her once more, "bein' sisters is like...apple pie. You can have amazin' apples, and you can have a wonderfully crispy crust, but only together you can have the perfect apple pie."

"But apart, all we are is just a pile of mush and some crumbly dry mess..." said Rarity as she began to understand what Applejack was getting at and gasped, "I know what I need to do. I just hope it isn't too late!" The rest of the night was busy ironing out the minor details to the plan, but Rarity was confident that their plan would work.

The day of the Sisterhooves Social had finally arrived as a pair of balloons floated above the grounds for the big event. Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle had just arrived. Both of the apple siblings were also wearing handkerchiefs around their necks. Mario was also with them.

"Thanks for letting me come with your guys," Mario said excitedly, "I might not get to participate in any events, but I'm happy to support my friends."

"Yer quite welcome," said Applejack, "And don't you worry about a thing, Mario. This event may be for sisters, but there plenty of family fun for everypony." Sweetie Belle then noticed some ponies at a pie eating contest. A pair of sisters has managed to finish their pies before the other team, earning a blue ribbon. The winning team was very happy while the losing team looked rather dejected.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing Rarity isn't here," said Sweetie Belle before mimicking the marshmallow pony, "Do I see "uncouth" written all over this contest?" Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Mario just look at her sadly for a moment until they come up to a nearby pig pen.

"Look at the size of that pig!" Apple Bloom pointed out as they noticed two pigs with blue ribbons on them.

"He sure is a cutie," Applejack remarked.

"That's the last word Rarity would use," said Sweetie Belle before mimicking Rarity again, "Oh my, what a repulsive monstrosity! That thing needs a head to toe makeover!" Sweetie Belle brushed one of her curls to fully emphasize her impersonation. The two Apple siblings and Mario exchanged some worried looks until they heard the sound of a horn tooting in the distance.

"It's almost time!" said Applejack excitedly.

"Well, you two have fun," said Sweetie Belle sadly, "Sure wish I had a sister to run the race with."

"Sorry about that Sweetie Belle," said Mario as he gave her a hug, "I tried to see if they would let me participate for your sake, but...they wouldn't allow it." Mario gave Applejack a discreet wink. It was then Applejack placed a handkerchief around Sweetie Belle's neck and plopped her Stenson hat on the marshmallow filly's head.

"Huh?" said Sweetie Belle in surprise.

"You do now!" said Apple Bloom excitedly as Applejack smiled.

"AB and I figured since we do this every year..." Applejack began.

"I'd let you borrow my sis so you can give it a try!" Apple Bloom finished.

"Sister for a day!" said Applejack.

"No way!" said Sweetie Belle excitedly as a checkered patterned cloth with apples on it appeared behind her.

"One. Day," Apple Bloom reminded her sternly, poking Sweetie Belle with a fore-hoof to bring her back to reality. Sweetie Belle then rushed over to give Applejack a happy hug.

"One. Day," Apple Bloom repeated again. Mario just hugged Apple Bloom close to calm her down when they all heard the screeching of a microphone.

"Is this thing on?" Granny Smith asked Big Mac as she was fidgeting with the megaphone while sitting in her rocking chair, even turning the thing around so she was speaking out of the wrong end, "I don't think this thing is on. Hello?" Big Mac then whispered into Granny Smith's ear.

"What is the- e- oh!" Granny Smith mumbled, "You have to say so. Confangled modern doohickeys." Granny then smacked the megaphone so she could speak into it correctly,

"Now, the event you've all been waiting fer! The Sister Soci- The Socialhooves-" Granny Smith struggled to say the name of the event as the other ponies looked at her puzzled. It was also at this time Applejack, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Mario were walking by, "Oh, dabnabbit, you know, the big race. We have five teams this year fer the event! So y'all head on up to the finish line, y'hear?" Big Mac then pulled the elder mare's rocking chair back and whispered into her ear again.

"Eh?" she said before realizing her mistake before speaking into the megaphone again, "The start line! That's what I said!"

"That's us," said Sweetie Belle excitedly as she and Applejack approached the starting line. Apple Bloom quickly startled Sweetie Belle by getting into her face again.

"One. Day," Apple Bloom said again sternly before saying in a peppier tone, "Good Luck!" The yellow filly than zipped back to Mario, who just gave her a skeptical look.

"Was that really necessary?" Mario asked her.

"Wishin' em good luck?" Apple Bloom said puzzled until Mario raised an eyebrow at her. Apple Bloom just sighed.

"Guess I just don't want to lose my sister," said Apple Bloom. Mario smiled as he pulled her close for hug.

"You won't," said Mario, "besides, in exchange, you get me for the day. So...not a bad trade off."

"But I thought you were Sweetie Belle's prince?" Apple Bloom asked, failing to hide the jealousy in her tone.

"We are just friends Apple Bloom," said Mario, "Just like us. She's not the only little filly who I consider a friend and care about you know. There's plenty of love to share." Apple Bloom felt better and snuggled his fore-leg as the other sister pairs got ready for the race.

"And may the best sisters win!" said Granny Smith as she rocked back and forth on her chair. The other races knelt forward to get ready, "On your mark...get set..." Then Granny hit the megaphone so the mouthpiece poked her eye, "Gooooooooo!"

And they were off! The first obstacle was a shallow patch of mud. Most of the other ponies leaped right over the mud while Sweetie Belle hippy hopped across in a cute manner. Applejack mistimed her jump and yelped as she fell into the mud.

"You okay, Applejack?" said Sweetie Belle worried as the orange pony, now completely coated in mud, simply jumped out and they continued down the course.

The second obstacle were some stepping buckets. Other ponies tried to walk through them one hoof at a time. One pony fell forward and knocked down a bucket, making some spectator ponies sitting in the stands cringe. As Applejack and Sweetie Belle arrived, Applejack used one hoof at a time for each bucket as Sweetie Belle cutely hopped from bucket to bucket with ease.

The third obstacle was three hay stacks set up in two stacked rows. The other ponies had no problem jumping up to the top row and then jumped off. Applejack was able to do the same, but Sweetie Belle wasn't as good a jumper and was dangling from the edge of the bottom row.

"Applejack, help!" Sweetie Belle called out. Applejack wasted no time, reaching out to the little filly. After some stretching, the mud covered pony managed to toss Sweetie Belle over the haystacks and they were able to keep going.

Next was the pie eating. One pair of sisters were already munching away as Applejack and Sweetie Belle stopped, flipped the pies out of their tins and into the air, gobbled them up in one bite, and then took off.

Then came pushing a hay stack over a designated distance. One pair of sisters were hard at work pushing as hard as they could as Applejack and Sweetie Belle easy scooted the haystack over the line and headed toward the next challenge, which was filling a jar with juice. One pair of sisters were still busy filling up their wooden container when Applejack and Sweetie Belle arrived. Applejack tossed all the grapes into the wooden container at once and then helped Sweetie Belle jump inside. Sweetie Belle stomped about, quickly filling up their jar with the juice, before they placed it at the drop off point and went on their way.

Next was the apple tossing task. One sister was busy tossing one apple at a time towards her younger sister as they caught them in the bucket. Sweetie Belle quickly put the bucket into her head and charged off as Applejack launched all the apples at once. Sweetie Belle looked back and smiled as she easy caught all the apples into the bucket, except for one. But that last one was easily recovered as Sweetie Belle perfectly mimicked Apple Bloom rebound trick.

"You can do it, sister!" Sweetie Belle shouted as Applejack charged forward without a word and Sweetie Belle was right behind her.

The final task involved the ponies carrying an egg towards a basket using their noses. One pair of sisters struggled to keep their eggs balanced. They ended up bumping into each other and dropping them. Applejack and Sweetie Belle decided to carry a single egg together and easily deposited it into the basket and headed on their way. Apparently, they only needed to get one egg dropped off and not two. They then began to hippy hop away until a another pair of sisters zoomed past them, causing Applejack and Sweetie Belle to spin about. They quickly recovered and took off to catch up to the other pair of sisters as they cleared a wooden hurdle. The finish line was fast approaching with only one more wooden hurdle to jump over. The four ponies were side by side as they launched into the air landing and creating a large dust cloud. When the cloud cleared, Applejack and Sweetie Belle had landed just short of the finish line and the other sisters had managed to cross over the other side. They were quickly given the blue ribbon and carried off by the pony spectators. Despite not winning, Applejack and Sweetie Belle were still smiling. However, why were Applejack's eyes suddenly blue?

"Ooh, so close!" said Apple Bloom as she came up to them, "You almost won!"

"Second place isn't bad for your first ever run, Sweetie Belle," Mario added, "Well done!"

"Thank you, Applejack!" said Sweetie Belle happily, "You were amazing! I don't even care that we didn't win. This was so much fun!" She jumped at her to give the muddy pony a heartfelt hug, but as she did so, Applejack's hat fell off and underneath...was a marshmallow colored horn?!

"Huh?" said Sweetie Belle as she saw the horn sticking out of the mud. "Applejack" just tapped her head as Sweetie Belle removed the mud from the older pony's flank, revealing a familiar triple blue gem cutie mark and marshmallow fur.

"Rarity?" Sweetie Belle said in shock as the marshmallow pony gracefully removed the mud coating her and smiled. Sweetie Belle was stunned.

"Wait, where's Applejack?" Sweetie Belle wondered until a deep breath heard near the patch of mud as the real Applejack surfaced from the mud.

"I don't get it," said Sweetie Belle in complete confusion. Applejack chuckled as she joined the group.

"We switched places over at the very first mudhole," Applejack explained as she shook the mud off her own coat.

"So, we did the whole competition...together?" Sweetie Belle figured out.

"That we did, little sister," said Rarity, "Well, except for the start line." Sweetie Belle noticed that everypony else was smiling.

"You mean...you were all in on it?" Sweetie Belle asked as the other four ponies all nodded.

"You did this for me?" Sweetie Belle remarked, deeply touched as her eyes watered.

"Us," Rarity corrected, "I did it for us."

"Indeed she did," said Mario, "While Rarity may act a bit high-matintance, she is more athletic than she is given credit for. With you as her motivation, she was able to master all of Applejack's tricks in just a one morning."

"Wow..." said Sweetie Belle im amazement.

"You see?" said Rarity as she gave Sweetie Belle a hug, "We are apple pie!"

"Huh?" Sweetie Belle replied puzzled.

"Uh, I'll explain later," said Rarity.

"She just means that you two can cooperate and work together," said Mario.

"Exactly," said Rarity, "It's...also why I was trying to keep you and Mario apart. I was jealous of how well you two worked together and had fun. I realized that I was the reason why we struggled to work together and why you seemed to keep making all those mistakes. I'm sorry, Sweetie Belle."

"Well, if you wanted to spend time with us, you could've just said so," Sweetie Belle pointed out, "I spend more time with Mario because despite the workload you give him because he takes the time to acknowledge and listen to what's on my mind. You always seemed, in your words, too in the zone to want to listen to me."

"Well, I make sure we can come up with a compromise so you won't feel so ignored anymore," said Rarity, "in fact, Mario, you said you helped Twilight reorganize her schedule so she didn't feel so stressed out. Think you can help me do the same so I can have more time for my little sister?" Mario smiled.

"It would be my pleasure," said Mario, "as a wise fashionista once taught me, no matter how successful you become, nothing it more valuable than your family." Rarity and the others nodded in agreement.

"For now, I think we deserve a celebration!" said Rarity.

"Yeah!" said Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle as the bounced up and down excitedly.

"Where?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"The spa, of course," Rarity answered.

"Oh, Rarity!" Sweetie Belle chuckled as she, and the apple siblings were on their backs laughing.

"No, I-I-I'm serious," Rarity retorted but just glares at all the laughter.

"Rares, you just spent a good hour getting a free, organic, all natural mud bath," said Mario, "You don't need a spa treatment. You're coat and mane are looking better than ever!"

"Seriously?" Rarity asked skeptically as Mario smiled and nodded. Rarity glared but then chuckled.

"Either you need glasses or you're a very sweet colt, Mario Star," Rarity said quietly with an eye roll but still smiled.

"He's just that sweet," Sweetie Belle replied, "Why else do you think I like him?" Rarity giggled in agreement.

"Twilight, you better come to your senses and realizes how wonderful Mario is or you're going to hear it from both me and Sweetie Belle!" But Rarity said that to herself.

Later that week, Rarity and Sweetie Belle were spending some quality time together. They had each tied several ribbons into their manes and were enjoying themselves as Spike sat nearby. They were going to send the Princess a letter about what they had learned. It was true the Princess had only required this from Rarity, but Sweetie Belle had asked if they could write it together, which Rarity heartily agreed.

"Very well then," said Rarity, "What should we write to the Princess?"

"I'll start," said Sweetie Belle as she looked at herself in the mirror, "Having a sister is just about the bestest thing in the world. But it sure isn't the easiest!"

"I agree that being sisters is a wonderful thing, but it takes teamwork," Rarity continued, "Sometimes it's about compromising. Sometimes it's about accepting each other's differences. But mostly, it's about having fun together. Even if it means getting your hooves a little bit dirty."

As Rarity recited her part of the letter, the two sisters can be seen hanging laundry together as Opal walks by. Another time, Rarity finds the kitchen smoke alarm going off again, but then smiles as she sees that Sweetie Belle, despite being dirty, managed to bake a perfect pie. They are then seen playing dress up as Sweetie Belle make a snarky face while copying Rarity's outfit, making them both laugh. Lastly, they can both be seen splashing through muddily puddles on the rain. Even Rarity, wearing a green handkerchief around her neck and her mane soaked, is enjoying herself when she sees Sweetie Belle in a tree branch and dives into a puddle of mud in front of her.

"A lot dirty," Sweetie Belle corrected.

"A little dirty," Rarity repeated.

"A lot dirty," Sweetie Belle said more firmly.

"A little bit dirty," Rarity said in the same tone.

"A lo-"

"Hold it, hold it!" Spike retorted as he pushed the two marshmallow ponies apart, "How about "A medium amount of dirty, not too little, not too much, just right"?"

"Deal!" said Rarity and Sweetie Belle as they scooted close together again with large smile and a hug. It was then Mario entered the room.

"I brought some tea and some freshly made chocolate chip cookies for you two," said Mario.

"Oh why thank you, darling," said Rarity as Sweetie Belle whispered something, Rarity gave a brief devious look before giving Mario a casual smile.

"Mario, Sweetie Belle and I feel like you're missing out on all the fun," said Rarity.

"Oh, it's no problem at all," said Mario, "You two deserve your one-on-one time together."

"Oh but we insist you join us," said Sweetie Belle as Rarity sandwiched up and pushed him forward. Mario tried to resist but he soon realized he had been ganged up on. Soon, he found himself sitting on a display platform as Rarity tied ribbons into his tail and mane. Sweetie Belle was applying an excessive amount of makeup on his face. Spike was on the floor laughing himself silly.

"What do you think Rarity?" said Sweetie Belle as she finished with the blush.

"Oh, he looks fabulous!" said Rarity, "He could be a model in my next fashion show."

"He would look rather smashing in your latest couture," Sweetie added, trying to mimic Rarity, as they both laughed. Mario was miserable.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Mario asked in a deadpan tone.

"Because we love you," Sweetie Belle answered simply.

"And we didn't want you missing out on all the fun," Rarity added as the two girls laughed again. Mario just rolled his eyes.

"I gotta start hanging out with some colts," he muttered to himself.

What is worth bring the two sisters together? Mario would say yes, but it certainly came at the cost of all his pride and dignity...

...from time to time.

For newer Brony and My Little Pony fans, Rarity's voice actor is Tabitha St. Germain. Hence the joke of Rarity's middle name.

The cookie joke actually comes from a 2012 Brony-Con where Claire Corlett, Sweetie Belle's voice actor, said that Tabitha would bring cookies when the she and other CMC actors did their voice recording sessions.

Peace Pony Fans!