Rarity's Revenge

With that one statement, it felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. If Phoenix’s magic was not keeping them alert, some of the ponies would have passed out, but as soon as it became clear that Rarity wanted to reveal the true nature of this entire experiment, he chose to keep them all conscious.

“So, one of us is going to die??” Jet Set exclaimed.

“No, you’re all going to die,” Rarity smiled. “and you’re all going to Tartarus.”

“But… but… you said you only need one soul!” Diamond Cutter pleaded.

“Yes, but I needed four additional bodies to create the sacrifice, therefore, the rest of you get to be additional tributes,” Rarity snorted as an image entered her mind. “think of it like a tip for good service.”

There was an uproar of despair, much to Rarity’s delight. Her smile twisted into a malicious, toothy smirk as she locked eyes with Starlight.

“You want friendship? Acceptance? A place in a society where you feel like you belong?” Rarity asked her. “Tartarus is full of evil, cruel, wicked ponies such as yourself – and now you will all burn together!”

Rarity burst forth with an orchestra of demented, wicked laughter. If Starlight could speak, she’d tell the cackling mare that she would also end up there for what she had done today, but given her clarity regarding what she owed to the demon, it was obvious that Rarity must already know that. Starlight had a feeling she’d end up in Tartarus after what she had done to the elements of harmony, but she did not expect it to happen this way, or this soon. Her body was in perpetual agony from both internal and surface level trauma, her eye hurt so much it felt like it was going to fall out of the socket in a splat on the floor, and her lips were tearing no matter how little she tried to move them. Looking back at the Friendship Test, she wondered if the participants suffered as much as she currently was. Of course, she enjoyed watching those ponies endure physical and mental destruction, but she was starting to think that she had gone too far – however, not nearly as far as Rarity had now gone. Starlight looked at the butchered ponies around her, wailing and shouting in disbelief, then glanced down at her own mutilated figure. Her horn had been savagely removed, her bones magically altered to allow the attachment of six additional limbs – four back legs and two forelegs – and even her skin and hair ached significantly.

“Now, dear, I’m going to unchain your forelegs, but don’t even think about attacking me or attempting to run away,” Rarity warned. “I have all my bases covered…”

Run away? I probably can’t even walk… Starlight thought to herself.

With her forelegs free of the muscle-numbing pain of the chains keeping her held up like a puppet, Starlight attempted to stand up on back legs that were not hers. She shuffled off the hospital bed and promptly fell over. Phoenix used his magic to enhance Rarity’s work on the arteries and veins within the various limb reconnections, fusing and healing them to their pre-mutilated state, as Starlight tried to pull herself up. Rarity’s eyes and frenzied smile got wider and wider, and she hopped excitedly in place while watching Starlight successfully move her additional limbs. Starlight felt dirty. Violated. She looked at the ponies who had their legs removed and stitched onto her, and quickly regretted doing so. The horrified, despairing, disgusted, nauseous expressions that stared back at her would no doubt haunt her for the rest of her life… however long that was.

“It’s beautiful!” Rarity squealed. “A perfect replica of Sleipnir!”

“You have exceeded expectations, my love,” Phoenix nodded admiringly. “and you have proven yourself a truly diligent student; I am proud of you.”

Rarity’s eyes sparkled at his praise and she nuzzled against him.

“Oh, gag me…” Diamond Cutter spat.

Without even looking at the defiant stallion, Rarity wrenched his mouth open with her light blue magic and chopped his tongue off with the nearby bolt cutters. Diamond’s mouth began to fill and then overflow with blood as he gurgled in agony. Lavender Bloom felt her gag reflex twitching as vomit poured from her at the sight of the river of blood flowing from Diamond’s mouth.

“Even so, I cannot send ponies to Tartarus alive; they will need to die first.” Phoenix mentioned to Rarity.

“You could always just release us from your magic,” Jet Set snapped, exhausted from the bodily trauma he’d suffered. “I’m sure that’s the only thing keeping me alive right now.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Phoenix grinned.

“Does this mean that you’re volunteering to go first?” Rarity goaded.

Jet Set and Upper Crust exchanged an exasperated glance. They were both so tired, and although the pain was ebbing slightly, they could never re-enter high society as they were – not even if Rarity or Phoenix opted to let them live. For all that they’d been through, it was their vanity and fear of being reviled that led them to believe that they would be better off dead. The two ponies nodded in unison.

“Very well.” Rarity retrieved two more scalpels and trotted over to them.

In an act that she considered merciful; Rarity unlocked a restraint on each of their beds so that they could hold hooves as they condemned themselves to Tartarus. She felt some pity for them as she magically wielded both implements and simultaneously carved a magic array onto their chests, mumbling an incantation under her breath. Jet Set placed a hoof over Upper Crust’s, as they both flinched in pain at the scraping of metal on their skin. Once the circular pattern became outlined in their own blood, Phoenix flicked his forked tongue at them, and smouldering embers drifted over to them like ash on the wind. The second the embers touched their skin, the two of them burst into a ball of flames.

They wailed and screamed as the fire consumed their bodies and the air filled even more with the stench of searing flesh. Diamond Cutter and Lavender Bloom looked away. Lavender couldn’t even cover her nose with her hoof as she was still restrained, while Diamond tried to force his muzzle into his bloody shoulder, preferring the copper odour of blood to the smell of roasting ponies. It didn’t take long for their bodies to be utterly consumed, and Starlight felt tears falling as she observed them cremating from the corner of her eye. From the corner of her other eye, she could see a shadow lurking on the other side of the window that looked into the room.

Phoenix blew upon the pile of ashes that sat where Jet Set and Upper Crust once were, and they dissolved into nothing.

“I was hoping we could do that ritual darling,” Rarity said calmly, as if it were an everyday occurrence. “it was fascinating!”

“You’re insane!!” Lavender squealed.

“Well duh! That’s what happens when you endure severe psychological trauma,” Rarity started, glaring at Starlight Glimmer. “isn’t that right, sugar plum?”

Starlight nodded in response, tears falling freely.

“So, how would you two like to go? I could make a few precise cuts and bleed you out, or perhaps buck you to death? But I’m not nearly as strong as dear Applejack was,” Rarity asked, as Starlight heard the distinct sound of hooves stomping from beyond the window. “I’m sure Phoenix wouldn’t mind burning you, but that wouldn’t be much fun since we’ve already done it once.”

Lavender Bloom snivelled faintly. Since Diamond Cutter had been subject to an impromptu glossectomy, it was down to her to choose how they would die. Not how she pictured today going at all.

“Were we really such awful ponies that we deserved this torture?” Lavender squeaked.

“Your callous gossiping about me behind my back led to a boycott which could have cost me my business, my reputation, my livelihood, and by extension, my ability to provide for my little sister,” Rarity explained. “after what happened to my friends, I couldn’t even care for Sweetie Belle properly; the Apples kindly took her in – they were grieving Applejack’s ‘disappearance’ and having Sweetie around was good for Apple Bloom’s spirits.”

Phoenix once again put one of his wings around Rarity for comfort.

“I wasn’t planning to go this far with just you two, or even with Jet Set and Upper Crust, but in the aftermath of the deadly thought experiment we were put in by Starlight, I have become a cold, cruel mare; intolerant of any minor disrespect and more than willing to take violent action to get my revenge,” Rarity confessed. “I know I will go to Tartarus for my evil deeds, and I have further shamed the element of generosity by being so murderous and brutal, but seeking vengeance on behalf of my friends is far more important than my immortal soul – a more deserving pony can have my element, I am prepared to spend eternity suffering if it means doing justice for the beautiful mares that I loved.”

In that moment, Starlight Glimmer realised that maybe there was something magical about friendship, if the least justified survivor of her test was so willing to go to these lengths on behalf of her friends. Did she have this attitude before the test? Or was the test the catalyst for her realising how important her friends truly were? It was, however, too little too late for her to make any kind of amends with Rarity – mainly because her mouth had been sewn shut.

“In your defence,” Phoenix intervened. “you have been generous to the Apples, giving them a good amount of money every month to care for your little sister, and you have been generous to me also; no other unicorn has given me as many tributes as you have.”

“Thank you darling,” Rarity whispered as she blinked back tears. “now, onto the task at hand; I need an answer Lavender Bloom – pick your poison.”

“Cyanide.” Lavender said.

“That’s not what I meant, but that could work too.” Rarity replied, her head tilted.

She meandered over to the cart and rooted around the box on the bottom shelf. Rarity had prepared for this as best she could, anticipating whatever tools or equipment she may need, but she couldn’t remember if she brought any poisons with her. The vials clicked together as she lifted them to read the labels.

“What do you know? I did bring the cyanide, and not just any cyanide,” Rarity levitated the vial and stepped over to Lavender Bloom and Diamond Cutter, still strapped to their hospital beds. “I painstakingly had this distilled from zap apple seeds – you wouldn’t believe how long it took to get this much poison using that method – but it smells just as sweet as the zap apples!”

“I really didn’t need to know that.” Lavender complained.

“Just shut up and drink it then!” Rarity snapped. “You’re wasting everyone’s time!”

Lavender hesitated, then drank half the vial. Rarity took the vial and shoved the remaining contents down Diamond’s throat. Within a few minutes, both ponies began violently coughing and choking; Diamond began throwing up blood and multi-coloured bile while groaning in agony. Lavender’s whole body started shaking and she scrunched her eyes closed as she struggled to breathe.

“Oh, by the way, did I mention that it was hydrogen cyanide?” Rarity beamed. “As in, highly flammable?”

As if the difficulty breathing, nausea and extreme pain weren’t bad enough, it was about to get much worse for the two dying ponies. Phoenix once again intervened, and with a flash of his dark crimson aura, the cyanide ravaging their bodies set alight. Starlight watched in horror as the ponies began to emit smoke as they were being both poisoned and now burned from the inside out. They both seized in place and writhed in excruciating pain, their manes and tails soon fell out, their coat singed, and their skin started to tear. To add to the horror, their eyes appeared to be melting and the flames ripped through the tears in their skin and set fire to the outside of them. Their agonising cries were soon silenced, but their bodies continued to burn like dried kindling. Phoenix made sure to keep the fire burning until they were nothing but ashes, and once again, blew those ashes into nothingness.

Rarity became aware that the dictation device was still recording and opted to turn it off before the next part of the sacrifice. As much as she would’ve loved to document Starlight’s final moments, doing so would implicate an innocent party to anyone who heard it. Although the recording was meant for Phoenix, there was no way of knowing if it would end up in another pony’s hooves.

“I suppose you’re wondering what’s going to happen to you?” Rarity asked, placing the deactivated recording device back on the cart.

Starlight nodded.

“Well, I invited someone very special to join us for this final part.” Rarity gave a shrill, high-pitched whistle.