The Se7en

Twilight observes the never-ending barren wasteland in front of and all around her. A slow, steady breeze bites at her exterior, but she remains unaffected by the bitter chill. She sighs and lowers her head.

“This is not a particularly welcoming place, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight raises her head and comes face-to-face with Princess Luna. Rather than bow in respect, she simply lowers her head and closes her eyes once again.

“Where are we?” Luna asks.

“Years ago, I was trapped by a spell of Starlight Glimmer’s, forcing me to witness one bad future after another. This place was the final such future.”

Luna looks all around, seeing nothing and no one all around as Twilight continues.

“I had witnessed wars, invasions, devastation of all kinds. I had thought this place was the worst possible outcome for ponykind … and right now, I would willingly spend all eternity here, if it would undo the last three days I and my friends have had to endure.”

“So then it is true …”

Luna’s terse comment causes Twilight to again raise her head and make eye contact.

“Two nights ago, I saw strange images from a number of dreams emanating from Ponyville, many of which revolved around Pinkie Pie. And last night, I heard a scream of anguish … I believe it was Rarity, but she had woken before I had a chance to intervene. I have grave fears about what has actually happened over these past few days, but I need you to fill in the details.” Luna again looks around the area. “The setting you have chosen does seem appropriate.”

Twilight takes a deep breath and exhales. “Someone is murdering the Elements of Harmony … someone is murdering my friends.”

“ ‘Friends’? As in, more than one?”

“First Pinkie Pie, then Spike. Then last night we found Rainbow Dash, killed in her sleep. And just tonight, my work was interrupted by Apple Bloom and her friends … they had discovered Applejack’s body in her field.”

Luna attempts to embrace Twilight, but backs away upon receiving no movement or emotion in return.

“I’m drained,” Twilight coldly states. “I have no more tears in me left to cry for my friends. All I have is numbness now … numbness to the senseless deaths of everyone I care for. And the worst part is, I know there’s still three murders to come, and I don’t know if I can stop them.”

Luna takes several paces around the area, processing the information Twilight has given her.

“Have you no indication as to who is behind all this?”

“None,” Twilight responds. “Applejack suggested that Starlight wasn’t actually reformed, but … I just can’t believe that.”

“Starlight … the same pony who caused this reality, correct?”

“She’s trying to help me recreate the time-travel spell that led me here in the first place.” Twilight muses for a moment. “Right now my head is probably face-down in a book; once I wake up, me and Starlight will continue our work.”

Luna frowns. “Don’t be so quick to wake up; your mind needs to be recharged. And I am concerned about this ‘time-travel’ spell you wish to recreate … the side effects could prove more harmful than you realize.”

“Seriously!?” Twilight instinctively snaps, before realizing who she is addressing. “I’m sorry, Princess Luna,” she says in a non-threatening tone.

“No need to be,” Luna replies.

“It’s just that … for everything that’s happened these last three days, I just can’t imagine anything Starlight and I could do that would make things worse.”

“Well … there’s this,” Luna says as she again inspects their surroundings.

Twilight follows Luna’s gaze into the nothingness around them. “I have to try,” she states with total resolve.

“I understand … but tread carefully, for all of Equestria’s sake.” Luna turns away. “My sister will be visiting you today; we are at your service in this time of need. I must go now; I wish to inform Rarity and Fluttershy of our plans before morning comes.”

Luna’s horn glows as a rift forms near their surroundings. She begins to walk towards the rift.

“Wait!”

Luna turns back to Twilight. “What is it?”

“What about the Elements themselves? What’s to become of them?”

“My sister knows more about the Elements than I, so you will be better served addressing that question to her tomorrow … but I know that the Elements have been around for many centuries, long before you and your friends became their bearers. They will remain, long after all this has passed. But for now, concern yourself with the present. And again, I am sorry for everything you’ve been through.”

Twilight runs up and embraces Luna, who holds her for just a little while longer.

Upon reaching her sister’s boutique, Sweetie Belle notices the ‘Closed’ sign hanging from the inside. Her horn glows as the door quietly swings open; she steps through as the door closes just as gently.

She looks around the main area; a place that would often see numerous potential customers sampling the wares is now eerily deserted. Unfinished designs lay set out among various maneiquins, a few now spotting a cobweb or two. “Rarity?” she calls out half-heartedly, unsure what to make of the scene.

She reaches the staircase and walks up to Rarity’s private room. Nudging the door open, she sees her sister sprawled out over the bed, her eyes closed and her forelegs hanging over its edges. She starts to take a step, but retracts her hoof upon seeing broken glass shards lying near the dented frame of a magnifying glass.

“Rarity?” she innocently asks again. Her sister responds with a low moan. “Are you OK, sis?”

Rarity opens her eyes and sees her sister standing in front of her. She takes a breath and sighs.

“It’s not often that one gets real-life news from one’s dreams.” Sweetie Belle gives her sister a puzzled look as the latter continues: “Luna came to me last night. She told me about Twilight’s and Starlight’s idea … and she told me about Applejack.”

A realization hits Rarity, who suddenly gets to her hooves and leaps out of bed to embrace her sister. “Heavens, I didn’t even consider what you went through. I can’t imagine how you felt after last night.”

“Well, I still have you. Actually …” Scootaloo looks down at the ground. “… Apple Bloom and Scootaloo reminded me as much this morning.”

The two exchange glances, Rarity now appearing surprised as her sister picks her head up and continues: “I feel terrible for both of them, but I can’t help but sense a bit of envy from the others, since they each lost someone so close and I haven’t.” Sweetie Belle turns away. “At least, not yet.”

“Oh, dear Sweetie Belle … we can’t live the rest of our lives in fear or dread. We have to move on, and …” She looks around the room. “Well, I should probably listen to my own words more often.”

“What’s with the broken glass?” Sweetie Belle asks.

“Well, I couldn’t get back to sleep after Luna’s appearance and news. I tried reading to ease my mind, but as I was reading and reflecting … well, it’s obvious that I’m no Shadow Spade, the little good I’ve done so far with our own plight. I guess I let my frustrations get the best of me; I threw my magnifying glass against the wall and my book into the corner. After that, I really don’t remember much.”

Rarity sighs; her horn illuminates as a broom and dustpan hover over to the floor and sweep up the glass shards and broken frame. “Last night’s news may have been the hardest yet for me to take. I know it’s odd, considering how little Applejack and I had in common, but among all my friends, I felt closest to her.”

“So how do you move on, after losing everypony that’s close to you?”

Rarity muses for a moment. “You remember who you still have. I still have Twilight and Fluttershy … and I still have you.” She forces a weak smile as the rest of the debris is cleaned up.

Starlight snaps her head out of an open spellbook as she wakes up with a start. Blinking, she glances at a clock. Four-fifteen??? Realizing how long she had been unconscious, she leaps out of her chair and lands on her hooves …
… right in front of Princess Celestia.

Instinctively, she kneels, bows her head and closes her eyes. Moments later, she raises her head and opens her eyes; the scowl on Celestia’s face fills her with concern.

“I apologize, Princess Celestia; I wasn’t expecting to see you here …” As she speaks, she notices Celestia’s horn radiate as a piece of parchment hovers over to her. The parchment is rotated to face Starlight, who quickly recognizes the ‘no equals’ symbol she had posted as a reminder of her past.

Underneath the symbol are unfamiliar words, “THEY DID THIS. ALWAYS REMEMBER”.

Starlight opens and closes her mouth in an effort to explain the message, with no sound emanating from her. The parchment flutters to the floor as smaller objects are levitated in front of her … a set of syringes, one of which contains a small portion of liquid and whose needle is stained in red.

Starlight inspects the syringes, then looks back to Celestia’s face; her expression unchanged from before.

“I … I don’t understand,” Starlight starts to plead. The syringes drop to the floor as she feels her own body being enveloped by a spherical aura. She sees through the wall of the bubble that now encases her that Celestia is leading her out of her room. She begins to pound on the interior of the wall, to no avail.

Celestia silently trots through the hallways, Starlight’s confinement in tow, until she reaches the main library. Starlight notices two security pegasi awaiting their entrance, likewise showing no emotion; she also notices the empty shelves of books lining the walls; the majority of tomes now residing in a large pile in the center of the room.

“I don’t understand,” Starlight again cries out, her voice unable to penetrate the bubble. She sees Celestia give a nod to the guards, who start to move tomes off the pile. Quickly, they uncover a purple wing.

“NO!” Starlight screams as more books are moved, soon revealing the crumpled body of her mentor. She bangs on the bubble with no effect. “WHO DID THIS???” she cries out, nopony hearing her pleas.

Her bubble hovers to a corner of the room, where pages had been torn out of a particular tome and shredded to bits. The shards had been arranged to spell out a word:

LUST

Starlight gasps, sorrow quickly turning to fear. “I DIDN’T DO THIS! I’M INNOCENT!” she screams; no attention is given.

The bubble pulsates as it quickly shrinks around her. She feels the surface of the bubble pierce through her body as her head begins to throb. She crashes to the floor in a heap, the guards rush to her and tie her up. She tries to explain, but is unable to utter any sound; she concentrate on trying to use a spell, but is unable to cast anything. Bound in place, she can only observe as Celestia turns to face her.

“The silence and magical inhibition spells are for our security,” she states coldly, no inflection in her voice. “I will take no further action against you today, but what I have found here disturbs me in a way I have never felt in all my centuries of life. You will be taken to Canterlot, and you will be questioned … and if you have done what I believe you have done …”

Celestia turns away in disgust as she gives orders to the guards. “Take her away … and let nopony know what you have seen. I need time to determine how to break this news to the populace … and I need time, for myself.”

The guards solemnly and silently escort Starlight away from the scene.

The cobwebs had been swept away.

Unfinished designs had been moved off the showroom floor.

The dilapidated state of the boutique was now a not-so-distant memory.

Having toiled over what felt like several hours, Rarity plops down on a couch, taking deep breaths as her sister inspects the work done in the main area.

“Goodness, I let things go quickly,” she admits out loud before sighing. “Life refuses to take a break, no matter how much one needs it.”

“Do you feel like opening the store now?” Sweetie Belle asks.

“It’s probably much too late to do so,” Rarity replies. “Anyway, I can’t forget about my duties to my friends … as much as I would like to do so.”

Sweetie Belle glances at a clock. “Is your clock running a bit fast?”

Rarity’s head perks up. “No, why do you ask?”

“Your clock says it’s eight, but it’s still broad daylight outside.”

Rarity snaps to her feet and looks out the window. She sees a number of ponies looking to the sky with inquisitive expressions. “That is odd, why wouldn’t Princess Celestia …”

She stops mid-sentence as a number of unpleasant thoughts enter her mind. “Sweetie Belle, wait here; do not leave the boutique. I need to check in on somepony.” She quickly bolts out the door, heading for Twilight’s castle.

There’s no WAY any harm could have come to the princess … could there? Maybe that time spell Twilight and Starlight were working on … did they freeze time in error? But then, wouldn’t I be frozen in time too? But if not that, then what? …

Minutes later, Rarity arrives at the castle. Her horn lights up as the door opens. “Twilight?” she calls out as she enters. “Starlight? Anypony here?” Hearing no response, she cautiously walks through the main foyer. She notices the door to the main library open and trots towards it.

As she gets to the entranceway, she lets out a gasp and instinctively drops to the ground in deference to Princess Celestia; the latter turns her head, eyes Rarity, and slowly gets to her hooves. Celestia then turns to face her penitent subject …

“I bid you not to bow … I am unworthy,” she says.

Rarity looks up and sees Celestia’s watery eyes. “I don’t under—” she starts before the horrifying realization falls on her. “… no, you needn’t say anything,” she states in a cold, monotone voice. “Where … where is she?”

Celestia indicates the pile of tomes, now only partially covering Twilight’s broken body. Rarity treads carefully towards the pile and nudges away a number of books. She eyes Twilight’s cutie mark, finding a tell-tale pinprick in the vicinity. “Which sin was indicated,” she asks.

“Lust,” Celestia responds.

Rarity shakes her head. “That doesn’t make any sense,” she states. “But I suppose it matters not; there’s only two sins left, and only Fluttershy and myself remaining.”

“I’ve had Starlight Glimmer taken into custody,” Celestia notes, causing Rarity to turn to her.

“Starlight?”

“We found a set of syringes next to her, along with evidence of motive … I’m afraid Twilight put her faith in the wrong pony.”

“But … that cannot be,” Rarity says as she shakes her head. “Starlight was assisting Twilight to recreate a time spell, to undo everything that’s been done over these past several days.”

“All in an attempt to get close enough to Twilight to administer the poison,” Celestia counters. “We will have a trial, to be sure … but if found guilty, I need not tell you the consequences.”

Rarity looks down, unable to speak.

“I cannot even begin to know how you must be feeling,” Celestia starts, “but heed my advice: take at least a little solace that this is over … you and Fluttershy no longer need to fear such a fate as your friends have fallen victim to. Go to Fluttershy … more than anypony, she will need your assistance in this time of need.”

Rarity nods.

“I need to prepare a speech for Equestria, to try to explain why their newest alicorn princess is now dead. It will be the toughest speech I’ve ever had to create; I do not know when it will be ready, but I ask you not to speak of today’s deeds before then. Tell Fluttershy … and your sister and her friends, as they should be informed as such … but no other.”

“I will,” Rarity says.

“Then as a final request, I ask that you leave me in peace … for a little while longer.”

Rarity nods and slowly backs away, closing the door to the library as she departs.

Dinner at Fluttershy’s cottage is a subdued affair. Seated around a table, the host would look from Rarity to the three Crusaders, each of whom would glance at the others as they supped on simple fare.

“So … is it really over then?” Sweetie Belle asks the group.

“If it’s true what Celestia believes with regard to Starlight, then yes, I suppose so,” Rarity responds.

“Too late,” Apple Bloom mutters; Scootaloo nods in agreement while matching the former’s scowl.

Fluttershy opens her mouth to speak but cannot think of an appropriate follow-up, leaving Rarity to turn to the foals and address them.

“I won’t pretend to know how you both must feel, but know that everypony who died was family to me and Fluttershy as well. What we lost over these past several days cannot be made up over the course of a lifetime … yet we have no choice but to carry on, if for no other reason than to honor their legacy.”

Apple Bloom pushes her plate away. “Ah ain’t hungry,” she says as she leaps off her chair and slinks away, with Scootaloo following her lead.

“Wait for me,” Sweetie Belle pleads as she rushes off to join the others, leaving the two mature ponies alone.

“I don’t know what to do about Sweetie Belle,” Rarity admits to Fluttershy. “It feels like Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are bonding over the loss of their sisters, and they’re leaving my sister behind because I’m still here.”

“I’m sure they’ll come around in time,” Fluttershy replies. “Would it help if I watched over all of them overnight?”

“Actually, it would … after all this, now I have to think how to honor the memory of all our fallen friends. To tell the truth, I don’t know where to begin.”

Fluttershy thinks for a moment. “If you need inspiration, perhaps we could experience an event that tied the others together.”

Rarity tilts her head. “You have something in mind?”

“Well … there’s a plateau that overlooks the tree-lined path for that ‘running of the leaves’ event. Remember that one time Rainbow Dash and Applejack competed in that race, and Twilight ended up finishing ahead of both of them? And Pinkie Pie and Spike announced the whole thing?”

“That was years ago, Fluttershy … and neither of us were even there.”

“Exactly … maybe taking in the scenery, putting ourselves where all of them were … maybe something there will give you that ‘a-ha’ moment.”

Rarity turns the suggestion over several times. “I don’t know if there’s much there … but I don’t have anything better in mind.”

“What if I brought a picnic and we had the foals with us? I’m sure they would like a bit of normalcy, wouldn’t they.”

Rarity’s thoughts turn to her sister. “That would be nice … I really shouldn’t be surprised by your kindness,” she says with a chuckle. “All right … I’ll meet you on the plateau at around what, maybe eleven?”

“That would be perfect,” Fluttershy replies. “Now go home … I’ll take care of the others.”

“Thank you again,” Rarity says as she rises from the table. “I suspect the two of us will be closer than ever after all this.”