Broken Hearts and Livesby Lunar DeviantChaptersFifty YearsFate Can be FunnyGoodbyeFissuresFifty YearsAuthor's Note If you haven't read Broken Hearts and Diamonds I highly recommend you use the link in the story description and read it first, it is adult and it is pretty rough, but this story will make much more sense if you do, at least read the chapter entitled "Punishment" if you want to avoid the adult/brutal stuff for some context. Fifty Years In the darkness of a dungeon hall deep under Canterlot Castle the royal pony sisters walked in silence only broken by the clopping of their hooves against the damp stones. A small ball of light floated before them, illuminating the way and their faces as the two immortal princesses made their way towards a room neither of them had entered in half a century. “Sister…” Luna began softly, “I really think I should insist that we summon-“ “I have already decided that Twilight will not be joining us, sister.” Celestia answered in a stern tone. She didn’t even bother to look over at her darker sibling the way Luna continued to glance over at her. “You plan on an execution then?” Luna tempted her sister’s wrath once again. The sun princess sighed in an annoyed tone before she responded, “I am a pony of my word. She will get her chance to prove that she is truly sorry, as promised.” The two of them slipped back into silence and soon enough the end of the hall came into view of the floating ball of light. The heavy wooden cell door was the only thing breaking the pattern of stone, and a shimmering blue light softly escaped from under the heavy mass and extended a few scant inches into the hall. Both sisters stopped in front of the imposing barrier. There was no knob or handle, there was no keyhole, there was not even a window; just a massive thick wall of wood that fit snugly into the frame. For a few quiet moments they just stared at it; until Luna cleared her throat, spurring Celestia’s horn to glow with an aura that surrounded the door for a brief moment. When the aura faded the mass of wood swung open silently as if it had been freshly installed that day, rather than stubbornly shut for the past fifty years that it had been. The royal sisters stepped into the windowless cell and looked upon the object that was the purpose of this trek into the bowels of the castle. In the center of the cell was a pool of glowing blue water, only an inch or two deep, from which the shimmering glow was coming from. Its light cascaded over every surface inside the cell due in large part to what stood in the center of the pool. It was like a statue, the pony made of diamond, standing in the shallow, glowing water. The diamond-mare was frozen with one leg bent up and her head back with mouth wide; pleading to avoid some horrific fate. It reminded both princesses of that day fifty years before, the last pleading cry of the convicted mare. Luna shuddered while Celestia glared at the statue. The mare’s diamond body turned the glow from the still water into a shifting shimmer and it almost seemed as if some of the glow came from within the statue’s body itself, rather than the water. The room remained so still and cold, even with the royal sisters, that Luna’s unease began to grow. She wished that the statue would just move, the curly mane shift, or the similarly curled diamond tail wave, but the grotesque statue did neither. “We will wait.” Celestia answered her sister’s unspoken question, “Fifty years I promised, and fifty years she will get, to the moment the transformation was complete.” The night princess shifted uneasily to the decree, but she did not challenge her sister’s resolve. The two of them watched the floating orb of light as it slowly drifted away from them and towards the statue over several long minutes. They watched as it passed through the shimmering diamond surface and into the frozen mare; its light refracting and spilling tiny slivers of rainbow across the small cell. When the ball of light reached the center its intensity exploded, and for a moment the royal sisters saw nothing but bright colors flood their vision. The light faded and the statue was gone. In its place a mare, white coat, purple curled mane and tail, blue eyes, the sight of her flooded Luna with memories and Celestia with anger. The former element of generosity stood silent in the pool of water, blinking as if she did not believe she was once again flesh and blood with the ability to move. “Rarity.” Celestia spoke loudly, and with no small attempt to hide the animosity in her tone to remain formal, “The time has come, your fifty year imprisonment is complete and your final fate is to be decided.” Luna was shocked and confused when the unicorn turned her blue eyes on the two of them. Those eyes that had once been so lovely were changed. She looked as she had the day she had been turned to diamond, but her eyes no longer carried any luster; they looked dull, she was not sure if they showed a broken mare or a bored and uncaring one. Celestia continued, “As promised you are being given the chance to prove to me that you are truly sorry for the crimes you committed and earn a banishment in lieu of execution. Now is your chance to speak, are you sorry for what you did?” Rarity’s dull eyes locked on the royal sisters unblinking and silent for long moments. Her lips parted and shut again and again, with no sound issuing from between them, and for a few moments Luna thought that perhaps the ability was gone from the mare, and she looked up at her sister worried, but Celestia was only watching Rarity sternly. “My family is dead.” Rarity finally uttered. Her tone was not sad, it was just a statement of fact, as if she was just asked the most trivial of knowledge, “They died not knowing that I watched them grow old; not knowing that I existed at all.” Luna’s face fell and her heart ached. She had knew this day was coming, she had thought she had prepared herself to see through a dramatic show of sorrow and regret, she expected the Rarity that they had encased a half century ago, not this mare, not this pony that sounded already dead inside. Celestia, it seemed, did not share her sister’s reaction. Her stern look did not waver as she scolded the unicorn, “That is not what I asked. Are you sorry for your actions?” Rarity’s eyes shifted to look directly into Celestia’s own, and that’s when Luna realized that the unicorn had not been looking at the two of them, she had been looking through them, seeing something in her mind beyond the little cell and her still to be decided fate. “No.” Rarity answered in the same flat, dead tone. Both of the royal sisters were taken back visibly by the response. Luna’s ears fell and she had to look away from the pitiful pony as her heart wept for the mare she once knew; Celestia looked confused caught off guard, and for a moment her façade of stern business faltered as she looked upon Rarity with pity. Celestia quickly reminded herself of why Rarity was here and hardened her resolve to shoot back, “No?” “I was sorry at first.” Rarity admitted, “Once I got over feeling sorry for myself. I regret what I did, but I do not feel sorry. I am not sorry. I have suffered enough to not need to be sorry.” Celestia was enraged, while Luna was in pure shock. Neither of them had expected this in any of their mind’s simulations of this moment and were finding it hard to make sense of it. Rarity continued as she turned to face the two princesses, “I have had fifty long years of watching those I love live and laugh and be happy without any knowledge that I exist, without any memory of any good or bad time they had with me. Every night I watched what Flitter suffered because of me in every last, little detail. I watched her suffer at my hooves by night, and by day I saw her live and love with the dragon that I coveted. Neither of them remembered me either.” The unicorn sat in the glowing pool as if the ice cold water wasn’t there at all. The curls of her tail, preserved in diamond all these years, died quickly once submerged. “I watched each of my life long best friends get married, have families, grow old and most of them die happily and peacefully without me beside them to see them through, not even knowing that I watched over them and wished them all the best.” “I watched the horrors I had committed, but the horrors of what you did to me in return made them pale in comparison. I had her raped, I sold her into slavery, and I took Flitter’s pride, her virginity, her dignity. You took absolutely everything from me, and everything I gave, from everyone I gave to.” As Rarity spoke Luna began to take step after slow step backwards. The speech was bad enough without the dead monotone that the unicorn spoke in. “I want to say I would switch fates with Flitter, but the truth is, there is no pony that I would ever wish this fate upon. Even if she had stolen Spike as I had convinced myself before; even if I hated her to my core, I would not wish this upon her. If either of you had any mercy, any pity at all in those cold hearts of yours, you would have killed me. The fate you have handed me is one worse than death. In death my sister could have grieved for me, for my bad choices and for my loss. In death my friends could have enjoyed the good memories, and lamented the sad ones. You erased me, you made it as if I had never been born, and then made me watch as the world kept spinning, unaffected. A constant reminder that I was nothing; that I am nothing; and that now, I am less than nothing. I am not sorry, any debt I owed has been paid for far beyond ten-fold. Execute me. It will the only mercy you have shown me. Let this torture be finished.” Celestia’s lips parted in a pained grimace as she found it horribly difficult to keep her composure. She was torn between grief, regret, and fury. “We spared you at your friend’s final request.” She hissed through tightly grinding teeth, “It seems you don’t appreciate the mercy you were shown. This is meant to be a punishment, and if you desire the easy way out you will not get it.” Luna broke her silence as she softly murmured “Sister…” and reached out to place her hoof on Celestia’s shoulder, which the sun princess promptly pushed off with a wing. “Bring her to the court, sister, if she is to be executed it will be very public and very slow. She will learn her lesson before the end.” Celestia almost growled as anger won out within her. She turned and stormed out of the cell into the dark hallway and back up to the castle proper. Luna was almost in shock. Her sister’s wrath was something she had hoped to never see again. The princess of the night turned her eyes to the poor, pathetic husk of a pony that looked like the Rarity she had once known fondly. The unicorn just sat in the dimly glowing water, her dull eyes unfocused, her mind somewhere, anywhere but the small, dark, damp cell. Luna felt horrible, she felt hollow and sick. She had not given Rarity much thought these past fifty years, thinking the unicorn’s fate had been similar to her own on the moon. Now she realized how wrong she was. She had to look away from Rarity, even though the former element obviously did not see the alicorn. We tortured this poor pony… For fifty years we tortured her and never gave it a second thought! Luna thought to herself with disgust. Fate Can be FunnyIt took almost an hour for Luna to lead Rarity from her cell and up through the castle passages to the castle proper. Part of that was due to a stop in Luna’s personal washroom to allow Rarity at least some time to prepare herself, though the unicorn just took the opportunity to use the bathroom and drink some from the tap. The curls had not returned to her tail even after it dried and Rarity declined to have it re-curled. When the two of them entered the great court the room was already filled with ponies in the wings whispering about the mysterious criminal that had the sun princess so worked up. None of them knew who she was, only that she had been imprisoned in the dungeons for many years now. None of them recognized the former element, of course, when she and the princess entered, and some seemed puzzled. Rarity appeared a young mare, nowhere near fifty, much less older. Rarity ignored the crowd and just walked up to the steps before the thrones. Luna passed her to take her seat as the unicorn, much to the disapproval of Celestia and the ponies gathered, sat on her haunches right on the royal carpet. “Stand, criminal.” Celestia ordered while Luna took the seat to her right. Rarity lifted her head to look up at the princesses as she answered dismissively, “I have stood for you princess, for the last fifty years. I think I will enjoy sitting while I can.” Luna’s ears dropped as she looked over to her sister. She didn’t like seeing Celestia angry, and she looked absolutely furious at the uncaring unicorn. “I vote banishment from Ponyville.” Luna said softly, knowing that her sister would be upset, but she just couldn’t bring herself to go along with death after all they had put the poor pony through. Celestia looks scandalized at her sister for a few tense moments before she is able to force out, “If that is how my sister feels, then she will be banished to the badlands.” Luna was shocked, “The Badlands?” she asked, “But sister, the terms were just banishment from Ponyville or death” Celestia nodded, “Yes, but I also said that she would live out her life alone in a place of my choosing.” She answered, accenting the word ‘alone’ to make her point, “I think she will be very alone in the badlands.” Luna looked at her sister with pleading eyes, she wanted to be merciful, allow Rarity a place in one of the pony cities, where she could have a chance to build herself a new life. The badlands, that was almost a death sentence in itself. Celestia, did not look like she was going to budge, however, and Rarity did not seem fazed by it, “I have one last request before my banishment” she said, “I want to visit my sister’s grave. I need to say goodbye before I go.” “You don’t have a sister.” Celestia answered coldly, to the shock of Luna and the sudden hiss of whispers in the wings. She frowned at her sister not only in disapproval but not understanding why Celestia was being so cruel. Rarity looked down at her hooves and for the first time since being freed of her diamond prison showed emotion. Wet drops fell on her hooves, though she didn’t shiver, shake or sob; she just cried quietly. “Then I would like to amend my request.” Rarity said after a few moments, looking up with wet eyes full of contempt that Luna, unfortunately, felt was justified. Rarity, however, did not amend her request with words, but with actions. She suddenly shot up and charged at a Pegasus guard. The magic damper ring was still firmly on her horn, but while it was useless for magic she lowered her head and obviously was intending to use it as a spear. She never got far enough however, as Celestia’s magic surrounded her and stopped her in her tracks before she was even in range of the guard’s spear. “Kill me! Get it over with and just let me die!” The unicorn screamed, the dam broke and she sobbed horribly as she struggled in the grip of the magic, still trying to charge the guard and force him to spear her. “Haven’t I earned death! Have you not an ounce of mercy?” Luna reached up to bush away a tear from her face. She took in a few firm, deep breaths before she said sternly and loudly, “Sister, I ask you to recuse yourself.” Cerlestia looked at her sister, once again scandalized, so much so that her magic faltered and she dropped Rarity from where she floated a good ten feet off the ground. There was a thick thud as the unicorn hit the floor of the hall. Rarity just remained in a heap and sobbed bitterly and mumbled incomprehensibly to herself. “What?” Celestia demanded. “I don’t know why you are so upset, but it is obvious you are letting your personal feelings override your better judgment.” Luna answered firmly, though she softened and went quiet to say to her sister alone, “Please, go calm yourself, trust me to see that justice is done.” Celestia looked from her sister to Rarity and back again before she angrily rose from her throne and began stalking off, leaving with, “Remember little sister, she broke our laws and Twilight’s heart.” Luna nodded as it finally made sense to her. Celestia held a grudge over the pain Twilight had felt for Rarity’s fate. Both of the royal sisters had felt the pain of each and every pony when they erased their memories of the unicorn all those years ago. The pain of her most faithful student had obviously soured in Celestia over the years. Once Celestia had left the hall Luna motioned for her guard to get Rarity up. Two of the armored bat ponies took the sobbing unicorn under each foreleg and helped her sit as the princess spoke, “Unicorn. You have paid for your crimes in full. You will be allowed to visit the grave of the pony you ask, but I must impress upon you: it will be a short goodbye, and then you will be banned from ever setting hoof in Ponyville again, there is nothing there for you any longer.” Rarity’s sobbing slowly stopped as she looked up at Luna with confused, bloodshot eyes, while the princess continued, “You will be placed in an apartment in Baltimare at the expense of the royal treasury. There you will be provided with the basics of life with which to start anew and prove that you have reformed.” It took a moment, but Rarity was able to quietly murmur, “Thank you, princess.” “The lieutenant,” Luna added while motioning to the bat pony holding Rarity up on the left side, “Will accompany you, escort you and assist you until such time as I deem you fit to live on your own.” The bat pony she referred to saluted with his free hoof to make it clear he understood and accepted his charge. Rarity had fallen silent again and her eyes were once again unfocused, seeing something other than the room she was in. “Do you understand, Rarity.” Luna asked and snapped Rarity back to reality. “Yes Princess.” Rarity answered. The answer gave Luna hope; that dead tone in Rarity’s voice, for a moment, was gone. She couldn’t place what the new sound was, but at least it was something. “Take her from this place. She knows where the grave is, take her to it and give her no more than fifteen minutes for her goodbye, then see her to Baltimare.” The lieutenant saluted again to the order and took Rarity from the other bat pony. He led her from the hall and quickly from the castle to carry out his task. After they had gone Luna’s eyes lingered on the far doors and while the ponies in the wings moved more into the hall proper to restore normal business she murmured softly, “Good luck.” GoodbyeThe bat pony lieutenant had only managed to get Rarity to the castle steps when she lost her legs beneath her. He was forced to huddle with her on the steps as she sobbed bitterly. “Ma’am, you’ve been granted a pardon.” He said softly, thinking that perhaps she had not understood the sentence handed down to her in the manner in which it had been handed down. Unfortunately, his words did not stem her sobbing, in fact, she wrapped her forelegs around his neck and hugged him close, weeping into his shoulder. The bat pony didn’t know what to do, such displays of emotion were near unheard of among bat ponies. The two of them sat there long enough for one of the night watch carriages to be brought around before Rarity ran out of tears to cry and finally regained her composure. “Thank you…” she murmured in a voice hoarse from all the crying, “It’s been decades since I had a good cry.” The lieutenant nodded and nothing more was said as he helped her into the carriage. He sat next to her as the other bat ponies, harnessed to the carriage, took off, and they left Canterlot behind. The flight went quietly once Rarity has explained where they were to land. Rarity looked at the floor of the carriage with that unfocused stare and for the most part did not move while the lieutenant looked over at her time and time again, but kept his silence as long as she was going to keep hers. Luckily the flight was mercifully short from high in Canterlot down to a small hill just outside of Ponyville dotted with a few gravestones. Rarity was jostled out of her trance-like state when the wheels touched down. It was still morning yet, and the grass shimmered with dew as she stepped down onto it gingerly. The feel of grass beneath her hoof, she had almost forgotten it. “Lieutenant, I understand if you have to watch me. All I ask is that you do it from the carriage, I’ll be close enough for you to see.” Rarity said as she situated herself on the ground. The bat pony nodded, but Rarity had already began to walk towards the stones. This little graveyard had not existed when she had been arrested, but she had seen it so many times in the magic of her prison that she found where she was going with hardly an awkward glance. She found the one she was looking for easily enough, it was one of the two tombstones that faced out from the hill, towards Ponyville, rather than the other way around, it had been one of the first to be placed here. The first tombstone read. Sweetie Belle Loving Wife Loving Mother ‘Sorry Button, I ran out of Lives’ Rarity’s vision went blurry with new tears she was just barely able to hold back. She looked at the tombstone next to Sweetie's and had a small laugh. Button Mash Loving Husband Loving Father ‘It’s okay Sweetie, I did too’ Rarity turned back to her sister’s grave with a small, melancholy smile playing on her lips, “Good morning Sweetie Belle…” She started, her voice cracking as she tried her hardest to maintain her composure as tears began to stream down her cheeks again. “You don’t know who I am, but I know who you are. I could never forget a sister like you. You grew up to be such a lady, I was… I am so proud of you.” Rarity’s words were broken by a hard sniffle, and she was forced to look up at the sky and calm herself before she could look at the tombstone again and continue, “I won’t waste our time with wishes. I just wanted you to know…. You have a sister, and she loves you very much. I wanted you to know, I was watching you, every day. I laughed with you when button proposed. I was excited with you when you got the news. I cried happy tears with you when she was born, and wept with you when she…” “I cheered for you every time you went on stage. I… I…” words failed her as she dropped her head and lifted her hoof to place it gently over Sweetie Bell’s engraved name, “I love you so much Sweetie. I want you to know, the answer to that question you would ask yourself all the time. It’s yes. You were a wonderful mare; you were a great wife, and a perfect mother. You made everyone around you so very, very happy; even the sister you didn’t know you had.” Rarity took in slow, wavering breaths as she tried to be strong. It was the last time she would ever see Sweetie, and she couldn’t break down! Not now. A hoof touched Rarity’s shoulder. She hadn’t even heard the lieutenant approach, “I’m sorry miss, I would grant you all the time you need, but the princess ordered only fifteen minutes.” He said as softly as he could. She nodded as she took her hoof back, kissed it, and placed it back on Sweetie’s name. “Goodbye.” She whispered before she got to her hooves and followed the bat pony back to the carriage. They were quickly climbing back into the air and Rarity looked over the side, watching that tranquil little hillside until it was completely out of sight. “I hope it was enough time.” The Lieutenant offered as Rarity sat back down inside the carriage and her eyes fell back to the floor once again. Rarity didn’t answer. Of course it wasn’t enough time, but it wasn’t his fault, the time she needed, the time Sweetie needed, had passed years ago, and back then Rarity was nothing but a cold statue in the dark. FissuresIt was well into the afternoon by the time the carriage made it to Baltimare. The four bat ponies pulling them set down just outside the train station and soon Rarity and the Lieutenant were out. The five of them had a few quick words as Rarity looked around. She had been here before, but that had been over half a century ago, and the city had grown since then. There were many more high-rises dotting the skyline, and the harbor, which before was only a handful of piers, now stretched as far as she could see into the distance. She was so entranced by how much the city had changed she didn’t notice when the carriage flew off. “Shall we?” the lieutenant asked as he stepped up next to her. Rarity nodded and they set off from the train station deeper into the city. Rarity didn’t look over at the bat pony, but she did ask, “Do you have a proper name, lieutenant? Or should I continue to address you by your rank?” “Palus” he answered, and when she lifted her head he answered before she could ask, “It means the plains of the moon.” Rarity nodded, satisfied, as they walked among the tall buildings of the city she barely recognized. “Do you have a preference on accommodations miss?” he asked. “Preference?” Rarity perked, it had not even occur that her she would have a choice in where she lived, but being asked she had to admit, “My preference would be a long time ago in a place far from here, but that is not an option.” Though when she noticed the bat pony’s concerned look she quickly added, “Wherever is fine, Palus.” Palus nodded as he led her through the streets of the large city, “Believe it or not, I was born here, I assume that’s why Princess Luna chose me to assist you.” He said, trying to make idle conversation. Rarity’s ears turned in his direction, so he knew she was listening, but her eyes spent more time on the pavement than anywhere else. Rarity followed Palus through several streets from the train station before they turned onto a large boulevard and his chatter was broken with “Ah, and here it is.” Rarity took in a gasp when she looked up and saw the high-rise. The building was one of the tallest in the city and there was a sharply dressed bell-pony that held the door open for them as they walked into the entry hall and up to the nearby counter. “Palus, really, there is no need for extravagance.” Palus ignored her as he spoke to the pony behind the desk, “I need to see a list of the units you have available for immediate move-in.” The mare in the suit jacket looked up with an annoyed look, obviously about to dissuade the stallion of his notion that he could so quickly move in, but at the sight of his armor and his added, “Accommodations will be paid for by the treasury by decree of the Princess of the Night.” In a rather formal tone. The mare nodded got up to find the information he requested. Rarity’s attention left the two while the mare shuffled through papers to look around. This entry was very elegant between the marble floors, the hanging tapestries and the giant chandelier in the center of the room. Fifty years ago she would be excited to be staying in such a place. She would be entranced by all the fancy materials, but instead, now, the room felt cold. She wanted to appreciate the marble, but the reflective white surface struck her as empty. It was not as if the room was actually empty, there were more ponies here than just Palus, the reception pony and herself. Ponies were coming and going even as she stood there contemplating the place. She looked up at the chandelier, hoping that it would give the room the warmth that the marble seemed to be sucking from the space. She tried to appreciate the elegant light fixture. She wanted desperately to appreciate the shapes and the colors. It was like staring at a giant gathering of icicles. She squinted as she looked even more desperately, but the more she looked the more she swore there was no crystal up there, embraced by the intricate metalwork, but instead ice that had been fashioned into it instead. She opened her mouth to get Palus’ attention, but before she could speak a pony caught her attention in the corner of her vision. When she looked down she wanted to scream, but nothing came out. There, in the center of the room…. “Flitter?” Rarity muttered so quietly she wasn’t sure if she had spoken aloud or in her head. “Why?” Flitter asked, it was a voice, a tone, a pain she had heard every night for years, “What did I ever do to you?” Rarity closed her eyes tightly and shook her head, she didn’t want to see Flitter again, especially not how she saw her now, lying there in the center of the room with those hurt-filled eyes and soaked in… “Ready?” Palus asked as stepped up next to her, a key hanging from his wing, “Ma’am? Are you okay?” he asked, concerned when he saw that Rarity’s eyes were tightly shut. She opened her eyes again at the sound of his voice. Flitter was gone. Rarity looked around frantically for a moment, but the mare was gone. She took in and released a shaky breath before looking to the bay pony and faking a smile, at least after all the years she had not lost the ability to make a smile look genuine, “Sorry, reminiscing, I guess I got a bit lost in memories.” Palus nodded before leading the way over to the lift and offering for Rarity to enter first. When she was inside and the grate door was pulled shut she looked again at that spot in the center of the room. It was so vivid, so clear, Rarity would swear that flitter had been there, but how would no one else have noticed a mare in that state. How could she look the same after all this time? Rarity was silent as Palus led her out of the lift, passing the apartment doors on either side for the one at the very end of the small hall. He took the key from his wing to his teeth and opened the door with a soft click. She walked past him and through the door as he stood back, she was surprised to see the unit was fully furnished, and very nicely at that. The window curtains were pulled and light poured into the lounge while giving an amazing view of the Baltimare skyline and out over the bay in the distance. “Not a penthouse, but I suppose a floor from the top is just as well.” Palus spoke, obviously proud of his choice. He shut and locked the door before walking up to Rarity and asked, “Is it to your liking?” She turned her eyes from the amazing view and back to the elegant, expensive furniture, “Its… excessive.” She said softly, to his look of disappointment. “I thought that after all these years, a bit of comfort would make you happy.” Rarity laughed bitterly at the stallion, “I’m a horrible criminal, and you’re concerned with my comfort?” she spat at him, anger suddenly bubbling up in her. “That doesn’t matter. You have been pardoned.” He insisted. “So I’m pardoned, so what? I have no life, I don’t even exist!” Rarity stiffened while she screamed, not even realizing that she was screaming until the words were out of her mouth. “Then why am I taking to you if you do not exist?” he responded calmly. She huffed angrily, trotting a few paces forward in her aggravation and looking over her shoulder at him as she answered, her voice rising in volume rapidly, “Why are you talking to me indeed! Why are you even here Lieutenant?” Palus was a bit confused as he answered, “I do as ordered, Luna wants to see you rehabilitated.” “So she sends a solider, a stallion?” she continued to scream, her vision tinted red and all her mind went wild with memories of what she had done and began drawing wild conclusions about the princesses and, “You think me a fool?!” Palus took a small step closer as he tried to speak as soothing as he could, “Please, miss Rarity, calm down.” “Why? Is that why you’re here? To make me docile? Why are we here in this fucking place?!” “Rarity” She looked out the window again and didn’t see the city. Her eyes saw Flitter, as she had seen her for the countless nights previous. In that alley, in the diamond dog cave. She saw the poor mare’s face. She screamed shrilly and stomped her hooves. Palus tried to take another pace closer to the angry mare and insisted, “Why don’t we get you to bed, Miss Rarity? We can discuss it in the evening when we are rested and calm.” She stopped stamping her hooves and spat, “If that’s what you want then do it!” Setting her stance wide and locking her legs while lifting her tail and shifting it aside, presenting herself. “What are you doing?” He asked, very confused and retreated a few steps. “Bed, right? It’s no less than I deserve, I suppose. If this is what you want, then fucking take it!” Tears streamed down her face as she screamed. “That’s enough, you need to calm d-“ Palus began as he moved to walk up beside her and extended a wing to push her tail back down, but he never finished as she suddenly reared up and bucked his wing, an explosion of pain in the limb dazing him for a moment. “Do it damn you! Do it or I’ll… I’ll break every damned thing in this fucking cathouse!” She screamed as she walked around the room and began bucking and breaking everything she could, frames on the wall, lamps off tables, when she bucked the table her legs began to bleed from the sharp, shattered glass surface. “Make it hurt! Make me pay! I’ve waited fifty fucking years! Make us even you fucking bastard!” Rarity was so absorbed in her delirium she didn’t notice the bat pony regain his wits and come up behind her, she was about to buck another table when she was suddenly yanked up onto her rear hooves, one of Palus’ forelegs around her neck, squeezing tightly. “Shhhh…” Palus hissed softly into her ear as he squeezed the breath from her. Rarity tried to scream and struggle and fight him, but he held her fast and soon the edges of her vision began to blur. “Calm, Miss Rarity. Shhhhh…. Sleep, we’ll get you help, but for now, sleep.” He whispered into her ear, soft and calm. She tried to scream as everything went grey and out of focus, but no sound came out. Rarity gave one last firm struggle against the stallion guard’s firm grip before her body went suddenly limp and her world fell into darkness.
Fifty YearsAuthor's Note If you haven't read Broken Hearts and Diamonds I highly recommend you use the link in the story description and read it first, it is adult and it is pretty rough, but this story will make much more sense if you do, at least read the chapter entitled "Punishment" if you want to avoid the adult/brutal stuff for some context. Fifty Years In the darkness of a dungeon hall deep under Canterlot Castle the royal pony sisters walked in silence only broken by the clopping of their hooves against the damp stones. A small ball of light floated before them, illuminating the way and their faces as the two immortal princesses made their way towards a room neither of them had entered in half a century. “Sister…” Luna began softly, “I really think I should insist that we summon-“ “I have already decided that Twilight will not be joining us, sister.” Celestia answered in a stern tone. She didn’t even bother to look over at her darker sibling the way Luna continued to glance over at her. “You plan on an execution then?” Luna tempted her sister’s wrath once again. The sun princess sighed in an annoyed tone before she responded, “I am a pony of my word. She will get her chance to prove that she is truly sorry, as promised.” The two of them slipped back into silence and soon enough the end of the hall came into view of the floating ball of light. The heavy wooden cell door was the only thing breaking the pattern of stone, and a shimmering blue light softly escaped from under the heavy mass and extended a few scant inches into the hall. Both sisters stopped in front of the imposing barrier. There was no knob or handle, there was no keyhole, there was not even a window; just a massive thick wall of wood that fit snugly into the frame. For a few quiet moments they just stared at it; until Luna cleared her throat, spurring Celestia’s horn to glow with an aura that surrounded the door for a brief moment. When the aura faded the mass of wood swung open silently as if it had been freshly installed that day, rather than stubbornly shut for the past fifty years that it had been. The royal sisters stepped into the windowless cell and looked upon the object that was the purpose of this trek into the bowels of the castle. In the center of the cell was a pool of glowing blue water, only an inch or two deep, from which the shimmering glow was coming from. Its light cascaded over every surface inside the cell due in large part to what stood in the center of the pool. It was like a statue, the pony made of diamond, standing in the shallow, glowing water. The diamond-mare was frozen with one leg bent up and her head back with mouth wide; pleading to avoid some horrific fate. It reminded both princesses of that day fifty years before, the last pleading cry of the convicted mare. Luna shuddered while Celestia glared at the statue. The mare’s diamond body turned the glow from the still water into a shifting shimmer and it almost seemed as if some of the glow came from within the statue’s body itself, rather than the water. The room remained so still and cold, even with the royal sisters, that Luna’s unease began to grow. She wished that the statue would just move, the curly mane shift, or the similarly curled diamond tail wave, but the grotesque statue did neither. “We will wait.” Celestia answered her sister’s unspoken question, “Fifty years I promised, and fifty years she will get, to the moment the transformation was complete.” The night princess shifted uneasily to the decree, but she did not challenge her sister’s resolve. The two of them watched the floating orb of light as it slowly drifted away from them and towards the statue over several long minutes. They watched as it passed through the shimmering diamond surface and into the frozen mare; its light refracting and spilling tiny slivers of rainbow across the small cell. When the ball of light reached the center its intensity exploded, and for a moment the royal sisters saw nothing but bright colors flood their vision. The light faded and the statue was gone. In its place a mare, white coat, purple curled mane and tail, blue eyes, the sight of her flooded Luna with memories and Celestia with anger. The former element of generosity stood silent in the pool of water, blinking as if she did not believe she was once again flesh and blood with the ability to move. “Rarity.” Celestia spoke loudly, and with no small attempt to hide the animosity in her tone to remain formal, “The time has come, your fifty year imprisonment is complete and your final fate is to be decided.” Luna was shocked and confused when the unicorn turned her blue eyes on the two of them. Those eyes that had once been so lovely were changed. She looked as she had the day she had been turned to diamond, but her eyes no longer carried any luster; they looked dull, she was not sure if they showed a broken mare or a bored and uncaring one. Celestia continued, “As promised you are being given the chance to prove to me that you are truly sorry for the crimes you committed and earn a banishment in lieu of execution. Now is your chance to speak, are you sorry for what you did?” Rarity’s dull eyes locked on the royal sisters unblinking and silent for long moments. Her lips parted and shut again and again, with no sound issuing from between them, and for a few moments Luna thought that perhaps the ability was gone from the mare, and she looked up at her sister worried, but Celestia was only watching Rarity sternly. “My family is dead.” Rarity finally uttered. Her tone was not sad, it was just a statement of fact, as if she was just asked the most trivial of knowledge, “They died not knowing that I watched them grow old; not knowing that I existed at all.” Luna’s face fell and her heart ached. She had knew this day was coming, she had thought she had prepared herself to see through a dramatic show of sorrow and regret, she expected the Rarity that they had encased a half century ago, not this mare, not this pony that sounded already dead inside. Celestia, it seemed, did not share her sister’s reaction. Her stern look did not waver as she scolded the unicorn, “That is not what I asked. Are you sorry for your actions?” Rarity’s eyes shifted to look directly into Celestia’s own, and that’s when Luna realized that the unicorn had not been looking at the two of them, she had been looking through them, seeing something in her mind beyond the little cell and her still to be decided fate. “No.” Rarity answered in the same flat, dead tone. Both of the royal sisters were taken back visibly by the response. Luna’s ears fell and she had to look away from the pitiful pony as her heart wept for the mare she once knew; Celestia looked confused caught off guard, and for a moment her façade of stern business faltered as she looked upon Rarity with pity. Celestia quickly reminded herself of why Rarity was here and hardened her resolve to shoot back, “No?” “I was sorry at first.” Rarity admitted, “Once I got over feeling sorry for myself. I regret what I did, but I do not feel sorry. I am not sorry. I have suffered enough to not need to be sorry.” Celestia was enraged, while Luna was in pure shock. Neither of them had expected this in any of their mind’s simulations of this moment and were finding it hard to make sense of it. Rarity continued as she turned to face the two princesses, “I have had fifty long years of watching those I love live and laugh and be happy without any knowledge that I exist, without any memory of any good or bad time they had with me. Every night I watched what Flitter suffered because of me in every last, little detail. I watched her suffer at my hooves by night, and by day I saw her live and love with the dragon that I coveted. Neither of them remembered me either.” The unicorn sat in the glowing pool as if the ice cold water wasn’t there at all. The curls of her tail, preserved in diamond all these years, died quickly once submerged. “I watched each of my life long best friends get married, have families, grow old and most of them die happily and peacefully without me beside them to see them through, not even knowing that I watched over them and wished them all the best.” “I watched the horrors I had committed, but the horrors of what you did to me in return made them pale in comparison. I had her raped, I sold her into slavery, and I took Flitter’s pride, her virginity, her dignity. You took absolutely everything from me, and everything I gave, from everyone I gave to.” As Rarity spoke Luna began to take step after slow step backwards. The speech was bad enough without the dead monotone that the unicorn spoke in. “I want to say I would switch fates with Flitter, but the truth is, there is no pony that I would ever wish this fate upon. Even if she had stolen Spike as I had convinced myself before; even if I hated her to my core, I would not wish this upon her. If either of you had any mercy, any pity at all in those cold hearts of yours, you would have killed me. The fate you have handed me is one worse than death. In death my sister could have grieved for me, for my bad choices and for my loss. In death my friends could have enjoyed the good memories, and lamented the sad ones. You erased me, you made it as if I had never been born, and then made me watch as the world kept spinning, unaffected. A constant reminder that I was nothing; that I am nothing; and that now, I am less than nothing. I am not sorry, any debt I owed has been paid for far beyond ten-fold. Execute me. It will the only mercy you have shown me. Let this torture be finished.” Celestia’s lips parted in a pained grimace as she found it horribly difficult to keep her composure. She was torn between grief, regret, and fury. “We spared you at your friend’s final request.” She hissed through tightly grinding teeth, “It seems you don’t appreciate the mercy you were shown. This is meant to be a punishment, and if you desire the easy way out you will not get it.” Luna broke her silence as she softly murmured “Sister…” and reached out to place her hoof on Celestia’s shoulder, which the sun princess promptly pushed off with a wing. “Bring her to the court, sister, if she is to be executed it will be very public and very slow. She will learn her lesson before the end.” Celestia almost growled as anger won out within her. She turned and stormed out of the cell into the dark hallway and back up to the castle proper. Luna was almost in shock. Her sister’s wrath was something she had hoped to never see again. The princess of the night turned her eyes to the poor, pathetic husk of a pony that looked like the Rarity she had once known fondly. The unicorn just sat in the dimly glowing water, her dull eyes unfocused, her mind somewhere, anywhere but the small, dark, damp cell. Luna felt horrible, she felt hollow and sick. She had not given Rarity much thought these past fifty years, thinking the unicorn’s fate had been similar to her own on the moon. Now she realized how wrong she was. She had to look away from Rarity, even though the former element obviously did not see the alicorn. We tortured this poor pony… For fifty years we tortured her and never gave it a second thought! Luna thought to herself with disgust.
Fate Can be FunnyIt took almost an hour for Luna to lead Rarity from her cell and up through the castle passages to the castle proper. Part of that was due to a stop in Luna’s personal washroom to allow Rarity at least some time to prepare herself, though the unicorn just took the opportunity to use the bathroom and drink some from the tap. The curls had not returned to her tail even after it dried and Rarity declined to have it re-curled. When the two of them entered the great court the room was already filled with ponies in the wings whispering about the mysterious criminal that had the sun princess so worked up. None of them knew who she was, only that she had been imprisoned in the dungeons for many years now. None of them recognized the former element, of course, when she and the princess entered, and some seemed puzzled. Rarity appeared a young mare, nowhere near fifty, much less older. Rarity ignored the crowd and just walked up to the steps before the thrones. Luna passed her to take her seat as the unicorn, much to the disapproval of Celestia and the ponies gathered, sat on her haunches right on the royal carpet. “Stand, criminal.” Celestia ordered while Luna took the seat to her right. Rarity lifted her head to look up at the princesses as she answered dismissively, “I have stood for you princess, for the last fifty years. I think I will enjoy sitting while I can.” Luna’s ears dropped as she looked over to her sister. She didn’t like seeing Celestia angry, and she looked absolutely furious at the uncaring unicorn. “I vote banishment from Ponyville.” Luna said softly, knowing that her sister would be upset, but she just couldn’t bring herself to go along with death after all they had put the poor pony through. Celestia looks scandalized at her sister for a few tense moments before she is able to force out, “If that is how my sister feels, then she will be banished to the badlands.” Luna was shocked, “The Badlands?” she asked, “But sister, the terms were just banishment from Ponyville or death” Celestia nodded, “Yes, but I also said that she would live out her life alone in a place of my choosing.” She answered, accenting the word ‘alone’ to make her point, “I think she will be very alone in the badlands.” Luna looked at her sister with pleading eyes, she wanted to be merciful, allow Rarity a place in one of the pony cities, where she could have a chance to build herself a new life. The badlands, that was almost a death sentence in itself. Celestia, did not look like she was going to budge, however, and Rarity did not seem fazed by it, “I have one last request before my banishment” she said, “I want to visit my sister’s grave. I need to say goodbye before I go.” “You don’t have a sister.” Celestia answered coldly, to the shock of Luna and the sudden hiss of whispers in the wings. She frowned at her sister not only in disapproval but not understanding why Celestia was being so cruel. Rarity looked down at her hooves and for the first time since being freed of her diamond prison showed emotion. Wet drops fell on her hooves, though she didn’t shiver, shake or sob; she just cried quietly. “Then I would like to amend my request.” Rarity said after a few moments, looking up with wet eyes full of contempt that Luna, unfortunately, felt was justified. Rarity, however, did not amend her request with words, but with actions. She suddenly shot up and charged at a Pegasus guard. The magic damper ring was still firmly on her horn, but while it was useless for magic she lowered her head and obviously was intending to use it as a spear. She never got far enough however, as Celestia’s magic surrounded her and stopped her in her tracks before she was even in range of the guard’s spear. “Kill me! Get it over with and just let me die!” The unicorn screamed, the dam broke and she sobbed horribly as she struggled in the grip of the magic, still trying to charge the guard and force him to spear her. “Haven’t I earned death! Have you not an ounce of mercy?” Luna reached up to bush away a tear from her face. She took in a few firm, deep breaths before she said sternly and loudly, “Sister, I ask you to recuse yourself.” Cerlestia looked at her sister, once again scandalized, so much so that her magic faltered and she dropped Rarity from where she floated a good ten feet off the ground. There was a thick thud as the unicorn hit the floor of the hall. Rarity just remained in a heap and sobbed bitterly and mumbled incomprehensibly to herself. “What?” Celestia demanded. “I don’t know why you are so upset, but it is obvious you are letting your personal feelings override your better judgment.” Luna answered firmly, though she softened and went quiet to say to her sister alone, “Please, go calm yourself, trust me to see that justice is done.” Celestia looked from her sister to Rarity and back again before she angrily rose from her throne and began stalking off, leaving with, “Remember little sister, she broke our laws and Twilight’s heart.” Luna nodded as it finally made sense to her. Celestia held a grudge over the pain Twilight had felt for Rarity’s fate. Both of the royal sisters had felt the pain of each and every pony when they erased their memories of the unicorn all those years ago. The pain of her most faithful student had obviously soured in Celestia over the years. Once Celestia had left the hall Luna motioned for her guard to get Rarity up. Two of the armored bat ponies took the sobbing unicorn under each foreleg and helped her sit as the princess spoke, “Unicorn. You have paid for your crimes in full. You will be allowed to visit the grave of the pony you ask, but I must impress upon you: it will be a short goodbye, and then you will be banned from ever setting hoof in Ponyville again, there is nothing there for you any longer.” Rarity’s sobbing slowly stopped as she looked up at Luna with confused, bloodshot eyes, while the princess continued, “You will be placed in an apartment in Baltimare at the expense of the royal treasury. There you will be provided with the basics of life with which to start anew and prove that you have reformed.” It took a moment, but Rarity was able to quietly murmur, “Thank you, princess.” “The lieutenant,” Luna added while motioning to the bat pony holding Rarity up on the left side, “Will accompany you, escort you and assist you until such time as I deem you fit to live on your own.” The bat pony she referred to saluted with his free hoof to make it clear he understood and accepted his charge. Rarity had fallen silent again and her eyes were once again unfocused, seeing something other than the room she was in. “Do you understand, Rarity.” Luna asked and snapped Rarity back to reality. “Yes Princess.” Rarity answered. The answer gave Luna hope; that dead tone in Rarity’s voice, for a moment, was gone. She couldn’t place what the new sound was, but at least it was something. “Take her from this place. She knows where the grave is, take her to it and give her no more than fifteen minutes for her goodbye, then see her to Baltimare.” The lieutenant saluted again to the order and took Rarity from the other bat pony. He led her from the hall and quickly from the castle to carry out his task. After they had gone Luna’s eyes lingered on the far doors and while the ponies in the wings moved more into the hall proper to restore normal business she murmured softly, “Good luck.”
GoodbyeThe bat pony lieutenant had only managed to get Rarity to the castle steps when she lost her legs beneath her. He was forced to huddle with her on the steps as she sobbed bitterly. “Ma’am, you’ve been granted a pardon.” He said softly, thinking that perhaps she had not understood the sentence handed down to her in the manner in which it had been handed down. Unfortunately, his words did not stem her sobbing, in fact, she wrapped her forelegs around his neck and hugged him close, weeping into his shoulder. The bat pony didn’t know what to do, such displays of emotion were near unheard of among bat ponies. The two of them sat there long enough for one of the night watch carriages to be brought around before Rarity ran out of tears to cry and finally regained her composure. “Thank you…” she murmured in a voice hoarse from all the crying, “It’s been decades since I had a good cry.” The lieutenant nodded and nothing more was said as he helped her into the carriage. He sat next to her as the other bat ponies, harnessed to the carriage, took off, and they left Canterlot behind. The flight went quietly once Rarity has explained where they were to land. Rarity looked at the floor of the carriage with that unfocused stare and for the most part did not move while the lieutenant looked over at her time and time again, but kept his silence as long as she was going to keep hers. Luckily the flight was mercifully short from high in Canterlot down to a small hill just outside of Ponyville dotted with a few gravestones. Rarity was jostled out of her trance-like state when the wheels touched down. It was still morning yet, and the grass shimmered with dew as she stepped down onto it gingerly. The feel of grass beneath her hoof, she had almost forgotten it. “Lieutenant, I understand if you have to watch me. All I ask is that you do it from the carriage, I’ll be close enough for you to see.” Rarity said as she situated herself on the ground. The bat pony nodded, but Rarity had already began to walk towards the stones. This little graveyard had not existed when she had been arrested, but she had seen it so many times in the magic of her prison that she found where she was going with hardly an awkward glance. She found the one she was looking for easily enough, it was one of the two tombstones that faced out from the hill, towards Ponyville, rather than the other way around, it had been one of the first to be placed here. The first tombstone read. Sweetie Belle Loving Wife Loving Mother ‘Sorry Button, I ran out of Lives’ Rarity’s vision went blurry with new tears she was just barely able to hold back. She looked at the tombstone next to Sweetie's and had a small laugh. Button Mash Loving Husband Loving Father ‘It’s okay Sweetie, I did too’ Rarity turned back to her sister’s grave with a small, melancholy smile playing on her lips, “Good morning Sweetie Belle…” She started, her voice cracking as she tried her hardest to maintain her composure as tears began to stream down her cheeks again. “You don’t know who I am, but I know who you are. I could never forget a sister like you. You grew up to be such a lady, I was… I am so proud of you.” Rarity’s words were broken by a hard sniffle, and she was forced to look up at the sky and calm herself before she could look at the tombstone again and continue, “I won’t waste our time with wishes. I just wanted you to know…. You have a sister, and she loves you very much. I wanted you to know, I was watching you, every day. I laughed with you when button proposed. I was excited with you when you got the news. I cried happy tears with you when she was born, and wept with you when she…” “I cheered for you every time you went on stage. I… I…” words failed her as she dropped her head and lifted her hoof to place it gently over Sweetie Bell’s engraved name, “I love you so much Sweetie. I want you to know, the answer to that question you would ask yourself all the time. It’s yes. You were a wonderful mare; you were a great wife, and a perfect mother. You made everyone around you so very, very happy; even the sister you didn’t know you had.” Rarity took in slow, wavering breaths as she tried to be strong. It was the last time she would ever see Sweetie, and she couldn’t break down! Not now. A hoof touched Rarity’s shoulder. She hadn’t even heard the lieutenant approach, “I’m sorry miss, I would grant you all the time you need, but the princess ordered only fifteen minutes.” He said as softly as he could. She nodded as she took her hoof back, kissed it, and placed it back on Sweetie’s name. “Goodbye.” She whispered before she got to her hooves and followed the bat pony back to the carriage. They were quickly climbing back into the air and Rarity looked over the side, watching that tranquil little hillside until it was completely out of sight. “I hope it was enough time.” The Lieutenant offered as Rarity sat back down inside the carriage and her eyes fell back to the floor once again. Rarity didn’t answer. Of course it wasn’t enough time, but it wasn’t his fault, the time she needed, the time Sweetie needed, had passed years ago, and back then Rarity was nothing but a cold statue in the dark.
FissuresIt was well into the afternoon by the time the carriage made it to Baltimare. The four bat ponies pulling them set down just outside the train station and soon Rarity and the Lieutenant were out. The five of them had a few quick words as Rarity looked around. She had been here before, but that had been over half a century ago, and the city had grown since then. There were many more high-rises dotting the skyline, and the harbor, which before was only a handful of piers, now stretched as far as she could see into the distance. She was so entranced by how much the city had changed she didn’t notice when the carriage flew off. “Shall we?” the lieutenant asked as he stepped up next to her. Rarity nodded and they set off from the train station deeper into the city. Rarity didn’t look over at the bat pony, but she did ask, “Do you have a proper name, lieutenant? Or should I continue to address you by your rank?” “Palus” he answered, and when she lifted her head he answered before she could ask, “It means the plains of the moon.” Rarity nodded, satisfied, as they walked among the tall buildings of the city she barely recognized. “Do you have a preference on accommodations miss?” he asked. “Preference?” Rarity perked, it had not even occur that her she would have a choice in where she lived, but being asked she had to admit, “My preference would be a long time ago in a place far from here, but that is not an option.” Though when she noticed the bat pony’s concerned look she quickly added, “Wherever is fine, Palus.” Palus nodded as he led her through the streets of the large city, “Believe it or not, I was born here, I assume that’s why Princess Luna chose me to assist you.” He said, trying to make idle conversation. Rarity’s ears turned in his direction, so he knew she was listening, but her eyes spent more time on the pavement than anywhere else. Rarity followed Palus through several streets from the train station before they turned onto a large boulevard and his chatter was broken with “Ah, and here it is.” Rarity took in a gasp when she looked up and saw the high-rise. The building was one of the tallest in the city and there was a sharply dressed bell-pony that held the door open for them as they walked into the entry hall and up to the nearby counter. “Palus, really, there is no need for extravagance.” Palus ignored her as he spoke to the pony behind the desk, “I need to see a list of the units you have available for immediate move-in.” The mare in the suit jacket looked up with an annoyed look, obviously about to dissuade the stallion of his notion that he could so quickly move in, but at the sight of his armor and his added, “Accommodations will be paid for by the treasury by decree of the Princess of the Night.” In a rather formal tone. The mare nodded got up to find the information he requested. Rarity’s attention left the two while the mare shuffled through papers to look around. This entry was very elegant between the marble floors, the hanging tapestries and the giant chandelier in the center of the room. Fifty years ago she would be excited to be staying in such a place. She would be entranced by all the fancy materials, but instead, now, the room felt cold. She wanted to appreciate the marble, but the reflective white surface struck her as empty. It was not as if the room was actually empty, there were more ponies here than just Palus, the reception pony and herself. Ponies were coming and going even as she stood there contemplating the place. She looked up at the chandelier, hoping that it would give the room the warmth that the marble seemed to be sucking from the space. She tried to appreciate the elegant light fixture. She wanted desperately to appreciate the shapes and the colors. It was like staring at a giant gathering of icicles. She squinted as she looked even more desperately, but the more she looked the more she swore there was no crystal up there, embraced by the intricate metalwork, but instead ice that had been fashioned into it instead. She opened her mouth to get Palus’ attention, but before she could speak a pony caught her attention in the corner of her vision. When she looked down she wanted to scream, but nothing came out. There, in the center of the room…. “Flitter?” Rarity muttered so quietly she wasn’t sure if she had spoken aloud or in her head. “Why?” Flitter asked, it was a voice, a tone, a pain she had heard every night for years, “What did I ever do to you?” Rarity closed her eyes tightly and shook her head, she didn’t want to see Flitter again, especially not how she saw her now, lying there in the center of the room with those hurt-filled eyes and soaked in… “Ready?” Palus asked as stepped up next to her, a key hanging from his wing, “Ma’am? Are you okay?” he asked, concerned when he saw that Rarity’s eyes were tightly shut. She opened her eyes again at the sound of his voice. Flitter was gone. Rarity looked around frantically for a moment, but the mare was gone. She took in and released a shaky breath before looking to the bay pony and faking a smile, at least after all the years she had not lost the ability to make a smile look genuine, “Sorry, reminiscing, I guess I got a bit lost in memories.” Palus nodded before leading the way over to the lift and offering for Rarity to enter first. When she was inside and the grate door was pulled shut she looked again at that spot in the center of the room. It was so vivid, so clear, Rarity would swear that flitter had been there, but how would no one else have noticed a mare in that state. How could she look the same after all this time? Rarity was silent as Palus led her out of the lift, passing the apartment doors on either side for the one at the very end of the small hall. He took the key from his wing to his teeth and opened the door with a soft click. She walked past him and through the door as he stood back, she was surprised to see the unit was fully furnished, and very nicely at that. The window curtains were pulled and light poured into the lounge while giving an amazing view of the Baltimare skyline and out over the bay in the distance. “Not a penthouse, but I suppose a floor from the top is just as well.” Palus spoke, obviously proud of his choice. He shut and locked the door before walking up to Rarity and asked, “Is it to your liking?” She turned her eyes from the amazing view and back to the elegant, expensive furniture, “Its… excessive.” She said softly, to his look of disappointment. “I thought that after all these years, a bit of comfort would make you happy.” Rarity laughed bitterly at the stallion, “I’m a horrible criminal, and you’re concerned with my comfort?” she spat at him, anger suddenly bubbling up in her. “That doesn’t matter. You have been pardoned.” He insisted. “So I’m pardoned, so what? I have no life, I don’t even exist!” Rarity stiffened while she screamed, not even realizing that she was screaming until the words were out of her mouth. “Then why am I taking to you if you do not exist?” he responded calmly. She huffed angrily, trotting a few paces forward in her aggravation and looking over her shoulder at him as she answered, her voice rising in volume rapidly, “Why are you talking to me indeed! Why are you even here Lieutenant?” Palus was a bit confused as he answered, “I do as ordered, Luna wants to see you rehabilitated.” “So she sends a solider, a stallion?” she continued to scream, her vision tinted red and all her mind went wild with memories of what she had done and began drawing wild conclusions about the princesses and, “You think me a fool?!” Palus took a small step closer as he tried to speak as soothing as he could, “Please, miss Rarity, calm down.” “Why? Is that why you’re here? To make me docile? Why are we here in this fucking place?!” “Rarity” She looked out the window again and didn’t see the city. Her eyes saw Flitter, as she had seen her for the countless nights previous. In that alley, in the diamond dog cave. She saw the poor mare’s face. She screamed shrilly and stomped her hooves. Palus tried to take another pace closer to the angry mare and insisted, “Why don’t we get you to bed, Miss Rarity? We can discuss it in the evening when we are rested and calm.” She stopped stamping her hooves and spat, “If that’s what you want then do it!” Setting her stance wide and locking her legs while lifting her tail and shifting it aside, presenting herself. “What are you doing?” He asked, very confused and retreated a few steps. “Bed, right? It’s no less than I deserve, I suppose. If this is what you want, then fucking take it!” Tears streamed down her face as she screamed. “That’s enough, you need to calm d-“ Palus began as he moved to walk up beside her and extended a wing to push her tail back down, but he never finished as she suddenly reared up and bucked his wing, an explosion of pain in the limb dazing him for a moment. “Do it damn you! Do it or I’ll… I’ll break every damned thing in this fucking cathouse!” She screamed as she walked around the room and began bucking and breaking everything she could, frames on the wall, lamps off tables, when she bucked the table her legs began to bleed from the sharp, shattered glass surface. “Make it hurt! Make me pay! I’ve waited fifty fucking years! Make us even you fucking bastard!” Rarity was so absorbed in her delirium she didn’t notice the bat pony regain his wits and come up behind her, she was about to buck another table when she was suddenly yanked up onto her rear hooves, one of Palus’ forelegs around her neck, squeezing tightly. “Shhhh…” Palus hissed softly into her ear as he squeezed the breath from her. Rarity tried to scream and struggle and fight him, but he held her fast and soon the edges of her vision began to blur. “Calm, Miss Rarity. Shhhhh…. Sleep, we’ll get you help, but for now, sleep.” He whispered into her ear, soft and calm. She tried to scream as everything went grey and out of focus, but no sound came out. Rarity gave one last firm struggle against the stallion guard’s firm grip before her body went suddenly limp and her world fell into darkness.
