"Do you think Sweetie Belle will be civil enough if we keep her on the northern side of the Town hall?" Rarity froze with the table card half folded in her magic, then turned to Applejack. The temperature in the room fell a couple of degrees as she asked, "Civil enough?" "Well, uh..." Applejack's eyes darted around the kitchen. Escape plans were formed, evaluated, and then discarded at a speed that would have made Twilight proud. "Are you implying something about my sweet, little sister?" Soon it would be freezing, and yet Applejack felt sweat forming. And then only the honesty move was left. Applejack looked down on the table, on the pile of unfolded cards, on the guest list and on the green check mark near Sweetie Belle's name. "It's... You see... Well, Applebloom should be on the southern side, but she can't be too far from the central table with Scoots, and, well, after the last time—" With a snap, the card finished folding, then floated down on the table. Applejack suspected that the edge was straight enough to cut if not handled with proper care. At least it was less sharp than Rarity's tone. "And we both know that last time it was only Sweetie Belle's fault." Well, honesty went both ways. With a sigh, she admitted, "No, it wasn't, and I didn't want to say that. It's just, you know, Granny Smith will be there and Applebloom will be good. Sweetie, on the other hoof..." "Sweetie Belle will be on her best behavior." A white hoof rose to touch Applejack's shoulder. The tone mellowed out. "I sent her a letter where I was quite explicit about what I expect from her. And I'm sorry, I know you didn't mean anything with what you said. If I have to be honest, it's something that has been bothering me too for quite a while now. And you know how I can become when I'm frustrated." Applejack grabbed another unfolded card and stared down at it. "This is stupid." "I agree, but it is as it is, and we can't do much about it. They are our little sisters, but they are also grown mares. At least legally, even if I have half an idea of debating that with Twilight." Rarity stood up and turned to the stove. "Do you care for a cup of tea?" "Yeah, thanks. The black one you let me try last time, please." "It was called Keemun. I think you could at least learn the names of what you like." "Keemun, got it. I promise nothing about remembering it." Applejack put the card back. "Maybe we can tan their hides. I think that's a big sister right. Should be in the law, somewhere." A kettle floated on the stove. "Tempting, but let's be realistic. Did you ever do that to Applebloom?" "No. Not even after the Peppermint Incident." A visible shudder ran down Rarity's back. "Right, Do you think it would help doing it now?" "We can try." Applejack sighed. She seemed to do it a lot lately, and almost every time Applebloom was involved in it, it seemed. "No, I don't think it would do anything. Could be satisfying, though." "One expects a bit more maturity from them. Scootaloo is getting married, at this point in life they should be beyond such foalish fights." "Maybe we can ask Scoots where to put them." Rarity turned around and glared. It was a well-trained glare, it hit all the right highs and lows necessary to make it effective and quite final. "You won't do such a thing. The poor dear is stressed enough as she is. We promised we'll help, and we will do everything in our power to do that. Even managing siblings that should know better." "Got it." Applejack leaned back and looked up at the old wooden beams on the ceiling. "Can we finish with the other invitees before we go back to this? Maybe we can ask Pinkie if there's some kind of Party Pony trick for this stuff." Rarity floated a couple of cups out from the cupboard. "We can, Celestia knows there are enough other things to do. But we'll have to find a way, sooner or later." Applejack huffed. "I know. It's just... They're driving me nuts. They're so damn stubborn." Rarity smiled briefly, then walked over to Applejack and gave her a peck on the cheek. "They are. One wonders where they got that from."