All My Chess Pieces

Rarity bounces as she walks to Spike's cabin. She hasn't been this happy in a long while. Faith is safe, and Rarity's found her sister and her boyfriend. That morning, Spike had said that he had a surprise for her and had invited her to come to his cabin to see. Rarity feels giddy from the anticipation, and in the last stretch to reach Spike's cabin, she practically leaps.

When she reaches the cabin, she pushes opens the door and skips inside. She's about to call for him, when she hears a voice that, quite suspiciously indeed, is not Spike's. Said voice is also, equally suspiciously, female.

"I've wanted to tell you this for a while, but I guess I never had the courage," the feminine voice says, "I... I love you! Like, a lot! I have for a while!"

Rarity's heart freezes, and her blood boils. She races inside his room, but what she sees makes her stop in her tracks.

It's Spike. Kissing her sister. And she's kissing him back. It takes a second for what's going on to register in her mind, but once it has, the realization hits Rarity like a rock of betrayal, anger, and sadness.

"Nice surprise," Rarity comments snarkily.

Spike and Sweetie pull apart.

"Rarity!" Sweetie squeaks.

"Wait Rarity-" Spike starts, but before he can finish, Rarity has flipped him off and sauntered out the door.

Once she's out, Rarity collapses on the ground and waits for the tears to come. They never do. She waits for the long hard clench of sadness, but it never comes. She waits for the deep-seated feeling of anger, but it never shows up. All she feels is numbness. Pure cold numbness.

It is in this numb stupor, that Rarity gets up and starts walking. To where, she doesn't know. She wonders why she doesn't feel anything. Before the war, she would have snapped and started crying. Before the war, something like this would have killed her inside. But now? Rarity mostly feels empty. A sort of empty numbness with no emotion. Rarity wonders if that means she doesn't truly love Spike. Rarity doesn't have the answer to that question, and yet somehow, she doesn't care. Not even the thought of Spike fills her with any emotion at all. She supposes that she never really did love him. And somehow, she's okay with that.

Rarity stops walking to realize that she is in front of a weapons shelter. She walks inside, still having no idea why she's here. She walks over to a row of guns and picks one up. She holds it in her hands, the metal as cold and lifeless as she feels.

"Hey, you can't be in here," a voice calls to her.

Rarity snaps her head towards the voice. It's coming from some poor, skinny, freckled boy, far younger than Rarity. Without even thinking, Rarity raises the gun and fires. The boy falls to the floor like a broken doll.

Rarity stares at the bleeding corpse and something lights in her stomach. Not remorse... but glee. That was... fun. Oh so very fun. Fun to watch someone bleed out, knowing that fear of you is the last thing they'll ever know. A smile creeps onto her face. The smile widens. It widens until it's a full laugh. Rarity throws her head back and laughs and cackles with glee.

She's still laughing when she turns to pick out some more guns and knives. She still laughing when she leaves the weapons shelter. She's still laughing when she exits P.A.R.T.Y. grounds. She's still laughing when she gets to the woods outside. She's always the victim, always the one people inflict pain on. Now it's her turn to be the one to inflict pain. It's time for some fun.