As the new day began in Ponyville, many of the ponies in town couldn't help but notice an unusual amount of guards around the town. While none of the armored ponies had much interaction with the residents, the majority of the guards surrounded the usually quiet barracks and jail. Any pony that tried to get a close look as to what was going on was promptly turned away, and even the pegasi found that they were ordered to avoid flying anywhere near the building. Any pegasus choosing to ignore the warnings were quickly intercepted and were threatened with having their wings clipped should they not heed their first and final warning. Princess Celestia was taking no chances with what was due to happen today.

For the most part everypony quickly learned to stay away from the heavily guarded building, though the curiosity of what was going on still dominated their minds. There were only eight citizens of Ponyville that knew what was going on; Flitter and Cloudchaser obviously knew, as well as Twilight and her four remaining friends. And then of course there was Rarity.

With her head hung low, Twilight walked towards the barracks alone. A layer of gray clouds hung over the barracks due to the weather pegasi unable to clear the skies over it due to the no-fly zone, but it also set the mood of what was about to go on inside. Twilight wished that her other friends could have come with her and help offer her support, but Princess Celestia had placed Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy under lockdown while Rarity's trial was under way. Part of her decision to do so was to prevent them from interfering with the trial, but mostly it was out of pity and to spare them the pain of watching one of their close friends be punished for her crimes. Celestia wished that she didn't have to bring Twilight into this process but as the bearer of the Element of Magic she was needed here to help begin the healing process.

The guards allowed Twilight Sparkle access into the barracks and one of them escorted her to the briefing room. All the desks and chairs had been removed from the windowless room, and Twilight walked up to the only other pony in the room.

"Princess, isn't there any other way?" she asked Celestia.

Celestia shook her head. "I'm sorry, Twilight, but this is the only way that she may redeem herself. The only other option is death, but I think we both wish to avoid that." she said solemnly. Twilight nodded sadly, still not liking the solution that Celestia had sent her in the mail last night but at least there was a chance of Rarity redeeming herself one day. The young alicorn took her place next to her mentor, and Celestia nodded for the guards by the door to bring in the prisoner.

The doors opened and Rarity was brought in. The white unicorn had her legs shackled, enough slack in the chains for her to take short steps but not enough for her to run. A glowing red ring sat at the base of her horn, suppressing any magical spells that Rarity tried to cast. Her eyes were slightly red from the lack of sleep and crying she had been doing ever since she was imprisoned, and Twilight felt her heart break at the sight of her friend. Celestia, however, noticed a hidden yet dangerous glint in the unicorn's eyes and sighed. She had thought about changing her sentence to a lighter one, but Rarity's attitude solidified her original plans for punishment. Rarity was brought to a halt in front of both princesses, four guards flanking her on both sides. She gave a slight bow to them in hopes that her politeness would help sway their decision, but unfortunately for her Celestia was firm on her sentence.

Princess Celestia nodded in acknowledgement before she began the formal sentencing. "Rarity, you have been brought here today to answer for your crimes against not only your fellow ponies, but against one of the Princesses of Equestria and your close friend." Celestia said sternly. "There is no need for you to go through a trial by judge and jury as your guilt is beyond argument. Your selfish actions have not only torn the lives apart of an innocent pony and dragon, but you have betrayed and split your friends apart and you have rendered the Elements of Harmony useless for the foreseeable future."

Rarity gulped, her mind having not quite comprehended the magnitude of damage she had caused until she now heard it aloud. She looked over at Twilight in hopes that her friend would have some sort of good news for her, but Twilight averted her gaze when she saw Rarity looking in her direction. Rarity's heart sank at her friend's refusal to make eye contact with her, and she knew now just how horrendous she had been.

"Rarity, your accomplishments and assistance to Equestria and ponies everywhere have not been forgotten, but what you have done cannot be overlooked and forgotten." Celestia continued. "Just the act alone of attacking Princess Twilight Sparkle is punishable by death, as was selling a young mare to the Diamond Dogs and condemning her to a life of slavery."

Rarity was scared. It seemed almost as if Celestia was planning on executing Rarity for her crimes, and she was close to being correct. As close as Rarity and Celestia had become over the years, especially since she was the bearer of the Element of Generosity, Celestia still had pushed for Rarity's execution as her actions were absolutely unforgivable.

Celestia let her words sink in before she continued. "However, you will not be executed. Not yet. Princess Twilight Sparkle has begged for me to spare you, and at the expense of my and Princess Luna's judgement, we have decided to spare your life for now."

Rarity couldn't believe her ears. "Really? Oh, thank you! Thank you! she cried out, but Celestia held up her hoof for her to remain silent.

"That doesn't mean you won't suffer for your actions." Celestia said darkly. "You will instead be put through a rigorous test to see if you truly do wish to change yourself and be forgiven for your actions."

With a nod to the guards, the guard ponies unshackled her hooves but left the magical suppression ring on her horn. They backed away from the prisoner and stood by while Celestia's horn began to glow. Unsure of what was going on, Rarity looked around puzzled but quickly looked down as she began to loose feelings in her hooves. She cried out in surprise as she saw that her legs were being encased in what appeared to be diamonds, and as the small stones began to grow larger and merge together they immobilized her knees and then thighs. There was no use in struggling as the heavy diamond encased her body and tail, and soon had encased her entire body from the neck down. She could only stare at the two princesses in horror as Twilight's horn began to glow and suddenly shot a beam of magic straight at Rarity's head. "W-what's going on? What is this?" Rarity cried out in horror.

Celestia didn't stop the diamonds from growing and communicated to Rarity through thought. 'You will spend the next fifty years trapped in this diamond prison. You will not starve or suffocate, but you will be made to watch as your fellow ponies continue their lives without you. They will not miss you, they will not talk about you, and they will not remember you. Your friends, your family, your acquaintances... they will all have their memories erased and not have a single memory of you, and you will see how happy they are without you in their lives. At night you will be shown the horrors and atrocities you have committed, over and over. Only when those fifty years are complete will you be freed from your prison, but you will be tested as soon as you are free. You must prove that you are truly sorry for what you have done, and if you somehow do show it you will still be banished from Ponyville and having any contact with anypony you once knew. You will live the rest of your life alone somewhere I decide when the time comes. However, should you show no remorse for your actions you will face your original punishment and be executed immediately for what you have done. Either way, the memories of everypony you knew will not be restored. No one will remember you.'

Rarity was horrified by her punishment, but the diamond prison had closed around half of her head. "Twilight, help me! Please! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" she cried out, but Twilight turned her head away. She couldn't stand to see her friend being condemned to a delayed death and quickly brushed away her tears.

"I'm sorry, Rarity." she said quietly. Rarity took one last breath as the diamond shell finally closed around her and froze her in suspended animation, a single tear frozen on her face.

The room was quiet for a long time, both princesses hurting inside that they had to do that to a pony they both considered a friend. Twilight finally broke the silence. "She'll be okay in there, right?" she asked as she stared at the frozen unicorn.

Celestia nodded. "Yes, she's perfectly safe in there. Though she is frozen and cannot use any of her senses her mind is still alive and aware of everything."

Twilight approached the giant diamond and placed a hoof on the giant gem. Though it was a warm day outside the diamond was almost ice cold and caused her to withdraw her hoof immediately. "Fifty years is a long time." she said. "Do you think she'll pass? Do you think she'll regret what she's done?" Twilight asked sadly.

Celestia shrugged. "I honestly have no idea." she said. "But it won't matter. She will be dead to everyone she once knew and cared about. Her sister will become an only child and you and your friends will still share your special bond, but now without Rarity."

"Wait a second, me and... you're going to wipe my memory of her too?" Twilight asked in horror.

Celestia's horn glowed as she nodded slowly. "I'm sorry, Twilight, but it's for the best." she said before a flash of light enveloped Twilight's vision.

Author's Note

Well... fack... sorry that took so long to complete.

Okay, so not the greatest of endings, especially if you're still a Rarity fan after reading all of this. But at least Spike and Flitter get their happily ever after. If you like where this story ended, STOP NOW. DO NOT READ THE NEXT CHAPTER.

Next chapter? You may notice that there is another chapter after this one. That chapter is the real ending. However, it will enrage most of you. It seriously will. But it was the original ending that had been my plan all along. So again, only if you really, REALLY want to know what da fack is going on should you dare to read it...