>Sweetie Belle had been having a very difficult time these past 6 months >Dad and Mom's death was the first major blow >it was so sudden and out of nowhere >the two of them decided to go on a 'second' honeymoon to Italy >nothing out of the ordinary, Dad and Mom went on romantic getaways all the time >what she wasn't expecting was for them to not come back >there was a malfunction in the fuel tank on the airplane, which caused it to crash into the middle of the ocean after it ran out mid-flight >no one survived, and it was all over the news >it was like the rug had been out from under her, and Sweetie felt she like was still falling >she cried herself to sleep for weeks >Rarity tried to help, but it was obvious her older sister was just as shaken up in her own way >her friends tried to help, but it didn't really work either >after the funeral, things seemed to get even worse >Rarity tried to hide it from her at first, but she couldn't afford to keep up with the mortgage on their parent's house >Sweetie came home from school one evening to find Rarity on the phone talking to the bank about payment options and percentages and a whole bunch of other money-related stuff she didn't understand. >her sister tried to put it off by selling a lot of their parents' belongings, and then some of her own non-essentials, but that only lasted for a few months >the simple fact was that Rarity just didn’t make enough money >Sweetie was absolutely terrified when she came home from school one evening to find Rarity waiting at the kitchen table to talk to her >was this it? >were they going to be homeless? >that’s when the 14 year-old girl was thrown for another loop when her older sister told her that they were going to be moving in with their brother, Anonymous >it took her a moment to remember that they actually had a brother >not that she could be faulted for this >he was Rarity’s fraternal twin, but Sweetie herself only had a few vague memories of him from when she was 4, after he returned from military school >he’d moved out a few months afterwards, and then she never saw him again >she remembers asking about him, but her parents and Rarity would always get cagey for some reason >she remembers sometimes seeing mail with his name on the return address, but she was never allowed to see it and she was pretty she they just tossed it into the trash >now Sweetie is willing to admit she’s not the most observant girl, but even she could take a hint >Anonymous was someone not to be talked about >she didn’t know why, but it hadn’t seemed important enough to pursue >until now that is >Rarity had no option but to ask their estranged brother for help or else the two of them would be sleeping in her car for a while >which reignited Sweetie’s dormant curiosity on the matter >”Why don’t we talk about Anon anyway?” she asked >Rarity was quiet, as if contemplating how to answer the question >”Did he do something bad, and that’s why he was sent to military school?” she continued. >her sister paused, and slowly nodded without saying a word. >Weird. >”Why wasn’t he at Mom and Dad’s funeral?” >Rarity sighed, “Because they never responded whenever he tried contacting them after he moved out. He probably assumed he wasn’t allowed to go.” >”What did he do that was so bad that they didn’t want to talk to him again? If they sent him to military school and let him come back, wouldn’t that be enough?” >Rarity’s lips thinned, and she took a sip from her coffee mug, ”That’s… something I don’t have the right to tell you. Honestly I’m just as guilty as he is but he was the only one who was really punished for it. But it’s better that you don’t know. We were both different people back then.” >Ugh. >”Well, what CAN you tell me about him?” >She wanted to ask more in that line of direction but it was honestly shocking enough that Rarity had brought him up in the first place. >From there she learned that her older brother was married, and that he worked as an insurance salesman >His wife was a fashion designer like Rarity >They lived in the next town over, which was only about an hour away, so Sweetie could stay at her current school as long as she was willing to take more than one bus or a quick train ride to get there >That was nice >But most importantly, SHE WAS AN AUNT AND NO ONE TOLD HER?! >her brother and his wife have a one year old son and no one thought that was important information to share with her?! >That just brought up further questions in the girl’s mind >Sure, if Mom and Dad had issues with Anon, that was one thing >But to take that so far as to not even mention or go to visit their grandchild at all? >It seemed uncharacteristic of their parents. They were nice people! … Right? >Either way, her life was changing in a big way and she didn’t know how to feel about it. >Currently she was sitting in the back of Rarity’s car as they drove over to see their brother for the first time in ten years. >Even with having sold many non essentials, the car was cramped with luggage and uncomfortable but her curiosity allowed her to endure it. >in contrast to Canterlot City, the place she’s spent her whole life thus far living in, Ponyville was practically the embodiment of the stereotypical small town >it was named for the several prominent horse ranches that the rest of the town was built around >the suburbs were beautiful to look at in the warm light of a Saturday in Spring, honestly these were the kind of houses she wanted to live in when she was an adult “We’re just about there. All I need to do is turn here and…” >they turned down a road named Chandler Street according to the signs, and stop in front of a cozy-looking pale blue house with a tree on the front lawn >on the front door was 404 >404 Chandler Street, huh? >That’s where they’d be living from now on. >Rarity pulled up in front of the house, coming to a stop. >Sweetie got out of the car as soon as the door was unlocked, wanting to stretch and get the stiffness from sitting so long out of her body. >*KER-ACK!* >Rarity cringed, “Please don’t do that in public, Sweetie. It’s so unladylike.” >the younger sister pouted, “Like you aren’t stiff from the car ride too?” >”That’s why I said ‘in public’. Now go ring the doorbell while I work on getting our things out of the car.” >”Kay’.” the lavender-and-pink haired-girl replied, walking over up to the front porch >She rang the doorbell >*DING DONG* >”Coming!” a male voice came from inside the house >she heard footsteps approaching the door >And then it opened, revealing a tall, vaguely familiar-looking man >His hair was brown like Dad’s but his eyes were the same shade of green as hers >This lined up with what little she remembered. This was her brother Anonymous >He just stared down at her for a moment, before a smile broke out on his face. >”Hi, Sweetie. Geez you got big since the last time I saw you.” >The fourteen year-old beamed up at him with a smile of her own, “I was only four back then.” >He laughed, “True. Where’s Rarit-?” >”Anonymous?” >there was a sudden tension in the air that Sweetie was confused by. >Rarity walked up right next to her, pulling a suitcase behind her. >the two of them looked at each other quietly. >Seriously, what the heck happened before she was born? >This doesn’t make any sense without context. >”Hey, sis.” he offered in greeting. >”You look well.” Rarity gave back, her face giving nothing away. >”Thanks… Uh, do you need help with the bags?” her brother asked. >That’d be lovely.” >Sweetie was starting to get annoyed with this >”Oh come on! This is the first time you’ve seen each other in ten years and you’re both going to be so stiff with each other?” she complained, putting her hands on her hips. >”Look, we don’t-” >”It’s not like-” >Sweetie wasn’t hearing any of it, “I don’t know what happened, unless either of you want to tell me?” >the expressions on their faces were a solid no on that end, “Still, it can’t have been THAT bad if Rarity was willing to call you and you decided to take us in, right?” >”Anon, is that your sisters?” a female voice called from inside the house. >he turned back to respond, ”Yes, dear! I’m just gonna help them with their bags!” >”Oh wait, hold on. Let me come see them!” she responded >a blue-haired woman in a purple outfit walked up behind him with a smile on her face. >her brother’s expression seemed to brighten at her entrance, “Right, right. Sweetie Belle, Rarity, this is my wife Coco Pommel. Coco, these are my sisters.” >”It’s nice to finally meet you, and I’m sorry about what happened to your parents.” She greeted. >Rarity shook her head, “There’s no need to apologize, and it’s nice to meet you as well.” she smiled in return. >Sweetie beamed at her sister-in-law, “I love your outfit. It’s really cute!” >Coco giggled, “Thank you. Let me show you where the guest room is so you know where to put your things.” >The guest room had only one bed, meaning her and Rarity would have to share. At least it was a twin size, so they wouldn’t be TOO cramped, but it’d still be a tight fit >The one closet and dresser drawer certainly wouldn’t be enough to hold all of their clothes, so most of them were staying in the luggage. >Since they were riding in the car for a while, and it was an hour past noon, it was time for lunch. >But that wasn’t really important to Sweetie. >No what was REALLY important to Sweetie was finally getting to meet her nephew >So as soon as she was finished eating she politely (read:eagerly) asked if she could see him. >Anon was hesitant, but Coco was glad to show her the nursery. >”Awww….!” she cooed down at the baby as he stared up at her in curiosity from his crib, gurgling. >He has the same green eyes as her and his father, but his mother’s blue hair. >She has to resist the urge to scoop him up into her arms and cuddle him. >Despite what Rarity thought, Sweetie DOES know what restraint is >Even though they were family, they were practically strangers to each other. >For now at least… >Sweetie looked back up towards Coco, “What’s his name?” she asked. >”Albert Swell.” her sister in law responded. >Sweetie looked back down at the baby with a smile, “Hi Albert, I’m your Aunt Sweetie. Nice to meet you!” >the baby of course, didn’t care about her introduction. >what he cares about was the pretty hair dangling in front of him >so he did what any baby would do and reached for it >unfortunately for Sweetie, it took her a bit too long to realize what was about to happen >”W-Wait, no-OW OW OW!” Sweetie cringed as her nephew began to pull her hair relentlessly >he even laughed as he did it! >Sweetie immediately decided he was a little monster who deserved to be thrown into the deepest, darkest pits of Hell >clearly his mother was barely any better, Coco politely trying to muffle her own laughter but failing horribly. >She did at least help her break free from her son’s grasp >The rest of the day was just… normal. They took the time getting to know each other since they’d be living together for the foreseeable future, but aside from that? It was just being guests at someone else’s house. >When asked how they met, Anon and Coco told this adorable story about how he came into the men’s clothing store she was working in at the time, wanting to buy a suit for an upcoming job interview. >Everything went normally up until she started ringing him up. One of her coworkers came back from lunch and brought her a coffee >Then someone bumped into her, causing her to spill the coffee all over the suit he just finished paying for >Coco’s former boss, an absolute bitch of a woman, screamed at her in the middle of the store and very nearly fired her on the spot before Anon came forward that it didn’t need to go that far as long as he got a replacement, since it was an just accident and all >the boss begrudgingly accepted that >turns out Coco remembered that because the next time he came in that store a few months later, she thanked him profusely and asked if she could make it up to him. >it didn’t matter to Anon but she insisted, so he jokingly asked her for a date >he didn’t expect her to say yes, and the rest was history >Like, that is just GOALS. >Sweetie hoped she met her future husband in such a magical way >Rarity’s expression seemed oddly brittle, which was another weird thing. >while Anon seemed perfectly relaxed with Sweetie, her seemed constantly on edge with Rarity >it made Sweetie think back to what Rarity said earlier >that she was just as guilty as he was in whatever happened, but Anon was the only one to get punished for it by Mom and Dad >Was he angry at her because of that? Because Rarity got away with it? >Sweetie resolved to get to the bottom of this, no matter what. >It shouldn’t take their parents dying to get her two older siblings to actually talk to each other >But she knew she wouldn’t be able to do it alone. So as Rarity showered that evening, the young girl sat on their bed with her phone and began texting Apple Bloom and Scootaloo >the Canterlot High Movie Club would sort out this family drama like nothing else!