All Silent In Manor Archambeau

Chapters

Sweetie Belle I
Sweetie Belle II
Rarity I
Rarity II
Sweetie Belle III
Rarity III
Sweetie Belle IV
Rarity IV

Sweetie Belle I

“What is the meaning of life?”

“Are we just a footnote, an object for someone’s own selfishness?”

“Is a cutie mark all that we are, a singular talent with only one purpose?”

It had just turned noon, the rays of the sun bolstering throughout the nearly clear baby blue sky, shining for the denizens of Ponyville. In the center of the town, around the giant water fountain, the market stalls that were set up early in the morning, were now rushed as a goods sale was promised the mayor after a lengthy winning campaign. Lines of ponies stretched all around, forming a sort of maze that made it had to exit let alone enter the grounds, a young mare was walking with her friends, saddlebags filled with a random assortment of produce, a unicorn, pale white coat, curly pink and purple mane, with green eyes that usually glistened in the sun’s rays if they weren’t caught up in deep thought.

“y’all alright there Sweetie Belle?”

An earth pony trotting alongside her, yellow coated, curly red hair, and red eyes that had absorbed the light of the sun that had beaten down from the sky above, had asked the unicorn, concerned for her wellbeing.

“I’m fine, Apple Bloom, nothing that needs worrying about,” the unicorn had sighed.

In truth, she wasn’t, but it was questions that had slowly been plaguing her for years. Ever since her and her friends' cutie marks had appeared, the hardships that had led them to that path and those after, she never really had time to truly think about herself. Not questions of “why am I here” but questions more lined with “who am I” and “where did I come from”. Purpose had been obvious to her ever since the mark had covered their flanks, helping others discover themselves, but now that the amount of ponies that had issues finding themselves had dwindled, she found herself thinking about life, her life specifically.

She knew absolutely nothing about her family, for all she knew her older sister, Rarity, and herself were the only living members, but the questions still beckoned her everyday for years, she just didn’t know how to go about asking her elder. Years and years have the same questions echoed throughout her mind, deep thought has caught up with her everyday life, wanting to burst but cannot figure out a way to escape.

“She’s thinking about it again,” an orange pegasus mare on the opposite side, fuchsia colored mane, had stated. “For someone smart, you’re really struggling on this one.”

“Well that’s not-”

“No no, Scootaloo’s right, Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Belle interrupted the earth pony, who had tried to come to her defense.

“It’s been years since they sprouted in my mind, and yet I still can’t think of ways to ask her. What was it like for you, Apple Bloom?” she asked with a sigh exiting her uncharacteristically monotone voice.

“I just asked, simple as that,” Apple Bloom began, “All I was ever told by Granny was ma parents were a gift from the stars, it weren’t till we went out searching that we finally got answers.” she said, dragging her hooves along as they dredged forward through the crowded market area.

“So persistence was the answer for you, huh?” Sweetie Belle thought long and hard, wishing that it had that easy for her to manage.

“You just need ta go at it, no really way of tryna go about it fancy like, I reckon if you start searching, y’all will find it!” Apple Bloom said, putting a hoof on Sweetie Belle with an encouraging expression.

The day went on with lines emptying, finally able to make it out of the perpetual maze that had invaded their space. The stalls began closing with the sun ever so slightly lowering, leaving an orange strain of light off to the horizon line, the three mare friends sat by the fountain staring off into the slowly darkening sky, saddlebags set down beside them.

“I should get back, gotta help Applejack close up since Big Mac was out for the day,” Apple Bloom said, hugging her friends. She started to move along, carrying her saddlebag off with her, but stopped to look back, she gave a wave, smiling, yet still concerned for the mental state of her unicorn friend and began to trot off.

“She’s right you know,” Scootaloo began, a somber look plain on her face as she leaned on the fountain, “just thinking about it isn’t going to get you anywhere, you need to act on them if you really want to know, not saying you have to now, but looking at what waiting around for a sign as been doing to you, I would do it sooner than later.”

The unicorn was taken aback by her words, she hadn’t expected something too profound to leave the mouth of the pegasus, but at the same time, this was in line with her daredevil nature she had when they were but fillies. Sweetie Belle gave a soft smile and nodded, still sitting looking to the sky.

“You’re right, sitting around has gotten me nowhere fast,” she finally stood up and looked at the orange mare, a gentle smile painted on her face. She walked up to Scootaloo and hugged her tightly, “thank you, the two of you have been there for me when times were low, even sifting through the years with my seemingly inane thoughts.”

“Uh, no problem, you’ve done the same for us,” Scootaloo said, at first tense due to the sudden hug but relaxed and hugged back.

“Tomorrow will be the day, maybe my mind will finally ease up,” Sweetie Belle chuckled as she started, her horn glew as she levitated the saddlebag onto her back, beginning to move with new found confidence.

“Tomorrow will be the day,” ran through her every thought as she continued on the path that led to her home. It didn’t take long to reach her home but it had already become dark, the moon glowed just above the treeline. After a few minutes of trotting, she had returned home, she lived in a two story building that ran as both a house and a retail store for high end fashion that her sister had run. Usually throughout the day the details of the cylinder like structure flared but was obscured by the night, all except for the glow from the tower above.

“She must still be working, she’s been at it all day,” Sweetie Belle thought to herself as she opened the door. The interior flared with different shades of pink that a patterned throughout the walkway, diamond and floral patterns decorated the walls with pink drapes adorning them, mannequins a fixed the walls, garbed in the handcrafted dresses that her sister was known for, a runway ran opposed to the mannequins, the building truly gave off a “bigger on the inside'' sense. A meow greeted her as the white house cat rubbed on her leg, purring with tender love, she reached out a hoof and petted the cat, showing affection back.

She then walked past all the glamor that the front had to offer and moved towards the more simplistic kitchen. Nothing too special about it, cabinets had a limited stretch on the far left above another limited set below with a sink fitted in, a dining table opposite of it, the spectacle was visible to passersby while the modesty was left to the eyes of friends. She sat the saddlebag on top of the table and began to magically sort the produce she had purchased at the market stalls, putting them away, and then making her way upstairs. As she approached the top of the stairs, a humming and rhythmic noise could be heard, slowly raising in volume as she inched her way up, masking the clanking of her hooves. A faint light shone through a cracked door at the top of the stairs, where the sounds had been coming from, she peered through and could see her sister hard at work with a sewing machine on the table in the middle of the room, her bedroom, where she had made all her dresses. She was ever so careful, taking a slow and steady pace as she finely stitched the fabrics for whatever ensemble she was creating.

She looked away, a little worried about the lack of sleep her sister had suffered, and moved gently down a darkened hallway left of the room, she turned right to a door and opened, she closed the door and sighed, her bedroom had changed very little over the years, her bed and bedframe really being the only to had gone through something as significant, doubling in size, besides that, everything stayed the same. Same old daffodil carpet, checkered green and beige flooring, and the pink walls that ran throughout the complex.

She shuffled over to her neatly made bed and planted her head on her pillow out of exhaustion, her brain needs to unload, she wants to know where she came from, and hopefully, she will get the answers she seeks from her sister.

“Tomorrow,” she thought to herself as she drifted off to sleep.

A family she had wished for, a painting of them hung over head, a father, white, mustached, with a brown colored mane, a mother, magenta, with a pink and purple mane, and her sister Rarity, as white as her, with a purple stylized mane, eyes were not visible on the portrait. She continued to stare longingly at it, it started to melt ever so slowly, dripping on the ground below, puddles turned into streams, streams turned into a river, the river turning into a roaring ocean, she struggled as the waves repeatedly pushed her under, further and further into a dark deep with no end to be found, she took her finally breath as she sunk below.

Sweetie Belle II

She gasped for air, her muzzle lifting off her pillow with a panic, the sunlight flooding her room as the sewing machine sounded, as if nothing had change. She panted hard as she flipped herself over, staring into the ceiling. She had dreamt about family before, but not like this, it was a sign, it was as if Luna herself was guiding her, leaning an ear and encouragement, she needed that, it was fuel to the fire that was but a flicker, now a blazing inferno, she needed to attend to chores first and ready herself, she had brushed her teeth, at breakfast, cleaned all over the boutique, and finally got the mail, Pinkie Pie had sent a letter addressed to Rarity, and then there was a mysterious letter, only addressed to Ms. Archambeau. Sweetie Belle looked curious at the letter, never had seen the name before but she understood the meaning of it.

“Bold, daring,” was this the original owner of the complex, Sweetie Belle could’ve sworn that no one had ever lived there before Rarity and herself, yet another question that awaited Rarity as she began to ascend back up the stairs, horn flared, gripping the letters. As she stood at the door, she took an air of confidence and entered, the hum and thumping of another piece of fabric being tended to by Rarity as she worked the sewing machine encaged the almost soundproof chamber, she had slammed the door to see if Rarity would at the very least jump in startlement, to no avail, Rarity continued, moving her hooves slowly away from herself, pushing the fabric through, making sure it is eased in, letting no room for errors. Sweetie Belle made her way to her sister, eyeing the room as she did, it was pretty much the same as the front of the boutique, minus the runway, graphing paper laid about or wad wrapped in the left corner of the room, mannequins lined the walls with strips of cloth decorated them, a dressing station was hobbled together in the upper right corner of the room, and bed laid in the upper middle of the room with her table being dead center, facing the doorway.

Rarity looked a tired mess, her purple mane was unkempt, bags upon bags formed under her eyes, and she looked thinner than usual, this almost made Sweetie Belle not want to trouble her sister but instead convince her to take a break, her mind was made up, her mind hungered for answers to the unspoken questions that had festered inside her for several years. She bolted forward and thumped the table, her forehooves crashing down on the tabletop and startled the sleep deprived mare out of catatonic state. Rarity jumped back, emitting a squeak, with the sewing machine chaotically hammering into the fabric, essentially ruining the creative flow she had going, now having to start from scratch. She stopped the machine, catching her breath before she spoke.

“Careful darling, you could’ve gotten hurt,” she began, shouting. “And look at what you did, you have ruined my nouveau modèle de robe!”

Sweetie Belle took a deep breath in, she began to shout a flurry of questions.

“Who are we?”

“Where did we come from?”

Who are our parents?”

And who is Archambeau?”

Sweetie Belle shoved the letters in Rarity’s face. She looked past Pinkie’s letter and stared blankly at the name of the other, “Archambeau”. Her ears fell back, her eyes widened in what could only be described as fear.

“W-where, when did you-” She tried to form a sentence but couldn’t find the words, she looked at Sweetie Belle in a panic.

“Burn it,” Rarity had shrieked.

“Burn it like the rest!”

Sweetie Belle was taken aback, as of lately, a couple of ponies close to her have been acting not like themselves. She had dropped the letters onto the table with Rarity quickly snatching it in an attempt to rip it.

“No,” Sweetie Belle yelled, with the glow of her horn, she took the envelope from her elder sister, hiding it beside her torso, now feeling a mixture of confusion and fear.

“Rarity, you’re going crazy,” she said in a shouting yet concerned voice. She began to shake a bit, Rarity took notice and tried to calm herself.

“You need a break, you’re working yourself to the bone!”

With the state Rarity was in, you wouldn’t think she’d be able to manage tears, let alone a teardrop, but she started to sniffle, tears leaking out the side of her eyes, a continuous stream flowed down her face to the end of her chin, dripping onto her table.

“T-take it and rip it up, or burn it, I just want it gone, please…” Rarity said in a shaky voice.

Sweetie Belle began to back out of the room, not wanting to trouble her sister anymore than she already had, her ears drooped down.

“P-pinkie sent a letter too, looks like an invitation, m-maybe you should go, I don’t know what this Ms. Archambeau did, but I won’t bother you more than I have, I’m sorry,” she said, saddened by both the fact she hadn’t gotten the answers she had so desperately wanted and that she had basically gave Rarity a panic attack.

She couldn’t understand why the letter had caused such distress for her older sister, had this pony hurt her in the past? What did this pony mean to her? What was their history? She had asked her questions, but gained only more with no answers given. She made her way out of the boutique and trotted off, she sat on a bench next to town hall, her horn still grasping onto the letter. She had thought about complying to Rarity’s demands, seeing how it had affected her, but curiosity had taken over any rhyme or reason, she was still a child at heart.

She carefully tore open the letter, making sure as to not ruin the envelope, she tucked it under her flank so the wind wouldn’t take it, she took out a folded piece of paper. The paper was stamped with a weird symbol that she couldn’t recognize, some sort of bird in the middle, wings spread out as if it was about to take off, below it on each side were two roses with thorns attached, they weren’t blooming and instead, limped over, opposite to each other, above the bird were two blooming rose buds, pointing inwards at the bird’s head. Sweetie Belle examined it before unfolding the piece of paper and began to read it:

“Dear Rarity,

As I lie on my deathbed, I wish to convene with you. I have lived a life of sin and will justly rot in hell for the horrid crimes I have committed, what I had done to you cannot be forgiven and mere words cannot accurately derive the meaning I am conveying. I would like to see you for what will probably be the last time and I would also inquire with you to bring my daughter so I may look upon the woman you had raised in solitude. We need closure, if not for me, then for the child you were burdened with. I truly did love you, even with the mistakes I have led. You remember the location of the manor from my last correspondence I hope, if you wish not to see me off, I would understand.

Sincerely yours,

G. Archambeau”

Sweetie Belle’s mouth dropped, surprised at what she had read, if she had read correctly, Rarity had a secret child, hidden from her. More questions rattled her brain, when did this happen? Was she married at one point? How old was the filly? What manor?
New questions rose, but she couldn’t go to her sister for answers, not at the moment, not after what had happened, she still worried, but the quest for longing had grown greater than before. She needed help, she could only turn to those she trusted, her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders, Sweetie Belle shoved the took the envelope and shoved the paper sloppily back in as she barreled towards Sweet Apple Acres, it had gotten late and she hoped Apple Bloom would still be up, if not, she would wait in the old treehouse for her. She slowed her pace once she had partially reached the front door to Apple’s home, out of breath, breathing heavily as her hooves clamped on the stairs, she began banging violently on the door, a light switched on the inside as the door opened gently, causing Sweetie Belle to cease her hoof mashing. An older mare, nearly the same age as Rarity popped her head out and stared with a tiresome expression, her coat was light orange, her mane was almost as yellow as Apple Bloom’s coat, and her tired eyes were a green that felt like it could’ve deposit light if they were not so weary.

“Sugar cube, it’s late,” the mare had started, fighting the urge to sleep right there on the spot, “what brought y’all down here at this time of-”

“There’s no time to explain right now,” Sweetie Belle had interrupted, with an excitable shout, “is Apple Bloom awake?”

“No, she fast asleep, but I can help if-”

“No need, I will just wait in the treehouse till morning, will you tell her I’m here when she wakes up?” The unicorn had asked in a duty bound and quick pace.

“I reckon I could but-”

“Okay thanks, goodnight!” Sweetie Belle interrupted for the last time as she made a beeline to the treehouse.
The orange mare had blinked twice before quietly closing the door, flicking the lights back off as she made her way back to bed. Sweetie Belle had climbed up the ladder and opened the hatch, allowing herself entry in the treehouse, little had changed, the same lay out from when she was younger, only more withered with a slight dust collection in a few spaces, their old sleeping bags laid on the ground of the treehouse, she took two and wrapped herself with them, using the third as a makeshift pillow and she dozed off into the night.

A faint wind, voices that could not be heard, unrecognizable faces, anger, red.
Sweetie Belle’s eyes had opened, a shimmer of light barely broke into the treehouse, it was a cloudy day, maybe rain later on, a sweet smell caught her nose, the scent stayed with her until she followed it, she sat up and turned her head to the right, seeing a fresh plate of apple fritters and Apple Bloom, devouring her own plateful. Apple Bloom snapped her head back to look at the pale unicorn with her cheeks puffed up from her stuffing herself silly. She roughly swallowed and began to speak with a questioning tone.

“Just what in the hay is goin on,” she said, “Applejack told me y’all were tryna buck fer apples the way y’all banging on the door, what gives?”

Sweetie Belle had started stuffing her face with the delicious treat, mimicking Apple Bloom in the process. She gulped it down and spoke thunderously.

“Rarity has a secret child!” She squealed, excitement and uncertainty bounced around her noggin.
Apple Bloom took a moment to process the accusation Sweetie Belle had made, puzzled and astonished at the very thought.

“But how do y’all know?” She asked.

Sweetie Belle’s horn lit as she whipped the letter out from under the makeshift pillow and unraveled it, and floated it over Apple Bloom’s face so she could read it for herself. Her eyes glided over the parchment, curiosity and concern growing with every second, guesses to what the letter entailed stewed in the yellow pony’s mind as she looked back at her friend.

“I think she was married at some point, but divorced afterwards,” Sweetie Belle stated, froffing at the mouth with intrigue as she now folded the paper neatly.

“How did she react when y’all showed her the letter?” Apple Bloom asked, curiosity at its peak.

“She flipped out, saying “burn it like the rest”, the unicorn said, bolstering a bewildered look as she failed her forehooves about, imitating her older sister.

Apple Bloom rubbed her chin in thought, as to wipe away any crumbs from her tasty meal, she had, like mostly everypony else had, known Rarity for her dramatic outburst, but the way Sweetie Belle had put it, there might be more to this story than what either of them had initially thought. She put her hoof down and tilted her head towards the parchment beside them, taking in the crest that was engraved on it, an odd symbol she had never seen before; it was foreign to both fillies but had a sense of seminal importance.

“”y’all figure she eloped with a rich stallion when she was younger?” Apple Bloom had questioned.

“That there symbol, I don’t recall ever laying eyes on it before today, maybe it’s some form of royalty, like a lesser known family,” Apple Bloom said, eyes glued on it with intent.

“That had crossed my mind when I first saw it, Rarity was also croning with the more well endowed of society, but I still don’t understand why she hid this,” Sweetie Belle said, questions screaming louder in her head as she took a forehoof and rubbed on her temple.

“Maybe cuz she was embarrassed,” Apple Bloom said with a more “Aha” attitude as if she was slowly putting the pieces together in her head.

“It said he hurt her, maybe he cheated on her while she was pregnant, and she may just be overreacting just a tiny bit,” Sweetie Belle added to Apple Bloom’s notion.

“She was working on a dress for days, with little to no remnants of sleep, could’ve been a driving factor to her more than unusual outburst!” Sweetie Belle continued, as if she had a eureka moment.

“So are we gonna find her, yer niece I mean?” Apple Bloom asked, ready for a new adventure with her friends.

The farm life had been slow recently, harvest wouldn’t be for several months, and she was aching to really stretch her legs to what possibly could lead outside Ponyville. They both stood up with a determined look etched on their faces. They took off into town to look for their third member, and set off to the unknown as Sweetie Belle’s search for a family leads her to a path that is beyond herself.

Rarity I

She could hear the front door slam as her sister ran out, the sound had echoed throughout the boutique as Rarity just sat in a pence silence, her white coat, which could’ve been mixed up with silk, was now wet with profuse sweat drenching her entirely, she was shaking with shock, eyes widened and her tear ducts swelling as she stared blankly done at the now mangled cloth on the table below her. The threads, which was once finely weaved into the fabrics of what was going to be a new dress design for a client, now tangled into itself, strings stretched and pinched it into a crumpled mess with tangible tears that left it in ruin, it was ruined, all of it, she had thought the name Archambeau was behind her, no letter had appeared in years, why now? Why after she fully had her life together, after the pain and struggles she endured, the beings she had faced with her friends, her name being known across Equestria from her clothing lines, why, of all things did this had to come back around? Metaphorically biting her hind-hooves, an aching pain she hadn’t felt in a long time, what did HE want?

She pushed herself away from the table and stood up off the old wooden chair she sat upon, still shaken from the events that had transpired, she wobbled carefully over to the drow at her bedside, it was white with a golden handle fixed into the middle with a purple diamond right above it, she took the handle in her mouth and pulled it slightly, peering inside. On the inside, sharing the same coloring as the outside, a liter of junk, crumbled papers, pill bottles, and letter stuck out like a sore hoof, her horn ignited, pulling out one of the pill bottles that had rattled a bit in her magical aura, she had gave little thought to if it had expired, her last usage being whenever the last of the letters had arrived so many years ago, the lid twisted and popped off as she took two small green pills and downed them without the use of water to aid them going down. She went back over to her table, pushing her chair in as she sat back down, taking in the senere as she patiently waited for them to work, the pink of the room, every different shade had turned different hues of gray, the floral patterns that had danced around walls seemed faint, and everything had seemed distant to her, all except the table, blueprints filled with random designs of garbs had taken up most of its space with the the now mess of a machine taking the rest, her eyes drifted off to the side, another letter, Sweetie Belle must’ve forgotten to take it with her, her horn glowed as she took it up and examined the crude writing that had spelled out her name, the only name she wants to be ever known by, “Rarity”. The hoof-writing reminded her of Pinkie Pie, then she suddenly recalled Sweetie Belle mentioning something about her during the incident, she tore the top off and was immediately pelted in the face with a poof of confetti, definitely Pinkie, she unfolded the parchment that was hidden inside of the envelope and began to read aloud, calm enough to not have a shaky voice presentable:

“Hiya Rarity!

I know you’ve been reeeeeeeeeally busy lately, I have too! You remember Cheese Sandwich and the kids, a handful I’ll tell you that, just the other day one of them had gotten stuck in the cookie jar at Sugar Cube Corner, I’m pretty sure it was Cheese Sandwich but he could’ve very much so placed one of the little sillies in there and place the blame on them, can you believe that?! I’m rambling, I don’t know how I manage that on a piece of paper, back to what I originally was going to say lol. DJ Pon3 is having a rave just outside of Ponyville tomorrow and I know you could use a break from all the needles and dresses, I know I could use one. Anyways I just wanted to see if you would come and party hardy with me! don’t worry about directions, it shouldn’t be hard to miss! Would love to hang out like the good old days, if you don’t wanna then I completely understand, sticking with schedules is very important, yes indeedee. I hope to see you there if you can!!

With much lovie love!

Pinkamena”

With what happened moments ago and her work essentially on hold, a sabbatical sounded nice, a way to take her mind off of THAT. Not realizing it, the sun had already set, her stomach grumbled as it had yearned for consumption, she hobbled down the stairs as she made her way to the kitchen, the pinks of the walls returning, she felt the effects of the pills, they still worked after all this time, she entered the kitchen and took a look through on of the shabby cabinets that hung over head, the cabinets had chips and crack that the brown paint couldn’t even begin to hide, and a rustic gold knob was builting in, the kitchen had been needing remodeling but she hadn’t found the time to hire someone, crafting and detailing dresses for a numerous occasion had ate up her time, using her magic, she opened the cabinet and looked at the assorted food that had laid before her, a little smirk grew on her face, thinking of her beloved sister but soon faded when she remembered how she acted, she took an apple out and closed the cabinet. She admired the apple meticulously, taking in the sight, no blemishes were found and it was perfectly rounded, an Apple Family Red Delicious, the Apples were always known for their apples, their contribution to homes of ponies had them rubbing elbows with the Rich family, though never being able to relish in the spoils of their labor, money went to the farm when it came down to it, she took a bite, chomping down on it, savoring the flavor as the juices dripped down to her chin, she grabbed a napkin and wiped, seeing how unlady like she was and started to eat it more prim and proper, still allowing herself to take in the crispness of the apple with each crunch.

When she had finished her snack, she tossed the core into the neat near empty white trash bin that had stood on the far left right next to the sink. She traversed back up the stairs and made a right from her bedroom heading towards the bathroom, the clop of her hooves bouncing off the barely luminescent hallway until she finally had reached the entrance, pushing the door open and switch on the light fixture that dangled from the ceiling, the walls and floors were a basic pink with rose pink floral patterns stretching all over, brush pink columns with watermelon pink diamond patterns lined the bathroom a few feet apart from each other, starting at the floor and ending at the very top of the ceiling. An integrated sink with a mixture of basic green and olive color waves cabinets laid along the wall on the left, outstretched, ending near the pink door leading in. The sink was on the far end of the cabinets, pink with a black faucet, pink rimmed with pink knobs on the right and left for hot and cold respectively.

Two sets of cabinets hung overhead of the sink, sharing the green and olive colors with the ones below, they were a foot apart from each other and had a green inverted floral pattern that had swirled towards each other, almost forming a heat. Below the cabinet on the right was a pink tabletop with the leg of it being fuschia, bush pink towelettes with strips of watermelon pink at each end of them sat on top of the table, stacked in a pyramid. A fence pattern, bubblegum pink, had lined the bottom of the walls with the pink of the wall colliding with it, a built in pink shelf on the wall housed numerous amounts of bottles, ranging from shampoos to bubble baths and next to it right below was the bathtub, white interior with a fuschia exterior, pink floral patterns adorning it, like the sink it had a black faucet with a pink rimmed tip and pink knobs on each side representing hot and cold. A taffy pink curtain hung around it, draping down from a green and olive twisted rod above the tub. A fuchsia table stood next to it, holding an assortment of candles. Two bubblegum pink windows were sorted above the tub right next to the built-in shelf and the cabinet right above the sink, it held an oval shape with swirls coming from the top of it with black window panes crossing it.

She walked past a green and olive twisted mirror that had been laying against the first column by the door and the integrated sink cabinet, but stopped and eyed herself. She had gotten slimmer than she originally thought due to the lack of eating, her coat that had been drenched from her profuse sweating earlier had become more coarse, and her mane, once purple and beautifull curled, was now fringed and matted, and her eyes had bags upon bags, contributed to the sleepless hours she had spent recently. Maybe Sweetie Belle had been right, maybe she did overdo it, she has been diving into projects without a second thought to herself and maybe going out with Pinkie tomorrow would truly be a more refreshing experience than any past events that had transpired. She walked over to the shelf and, using her horn, pulled a lavender bottle of bubble bath and a white bottle of a two-in-one shampoo and conditioner bottle and then shuffled on over to the tub.

She set the shampoo bottle down on the table beside the tub and turned the knob left of the faucet, admitting steam as hot water began to fill the tub, pouring the bubble bath in while it did so. As the water level rises, foam bubbles formed and took the entirety of the tub, she switched the knob, turning the faucet out so as to not spill the tub’s contents. She then levitated the shampoo bottle and dispersed it all over herself and began to clean herself. Once she felt her coat return to its silky state, she laid down in the tub, exhaustion finally hitting her like a freight train.

She fought with herself, trying not to let sleep take a win, at least not while she soaked. She closed her eyes for just a second and then widened them, it had appeared she had won, but something felt off, she couldn’t necessarily feel herself, or she could but it was more of a numb sensation that had befell her, maybe exhaustion really took a toll on her. Rarity reached over to the plug of the tub and yanked it to release the water so she could get out, she tried to pull herself up, but her hindquarters wouldn’t move an inch, nor did the water descend down, in fact, it felt as if it was rising more.

Now, with panic growing by the minute, Rarity struggled vigorously to escape, trying everything, even magic to get her out of this predicament with the water overflowing, splashing and pouring onto the floor below, flooding the bathroom. Miraculously, the water had seemingly stopped overflowing and she had stopped moving, water and foamy bubbled continued pouring onto the floor, but with a steady flow that slowly started erupting into a waterfall as air bubbles began to rapidly by her hind-hooves, panic arised in her again as she resumed her attempted escape from her comfinds. The water rippled faster and air bubbles started forming more by the second as something finally JUMPED out with a great splash of water, adding more to the flood. A wet, matted brown furried arm had penetrated through the water, its paws were blackened and razor sharp were its yellowed nails.

Rarity had let out an ear piercing scream as it grabbed her by the mane, forcing her down a dark abyss. She struggled to swim up but couldn’t find the top, air bubbles streaming from her mouth as she did so. She looked down trying to see the creature that had dragged her down, but found nopony there. With a final breath, her eyes closed as she sank further down into the depths, her last thoughts being about Sweetie Belle and how she wished she could tell her the truth, even though it was hard for her.

Regaining consciousness, she jumped out of the water, using her forehooves on the rim of the tub to support her as she coughed up water that had a soapy taste to it. In fear, she looked around the bathroom crazily and then looked down, taking her forehooves as fast she could, feeling for the bottom of the tub. It took her a few seconds to recognize it and once she did, she leaned on the back of the tub and took a breath of relief, it had just been a weird dream.

She quickly drained the tub and got out, taking a towel from the table next to the sink and dried herself off before she started to clean the floors of the bathroom with the new found adrenaline that the dream had sparked. Once she finished, she went to her room and pulled out a quill, bottled ink, a piece of parchment, and an envelope out of the drawer next to her bed, sat down and began to write. She wrote to her client, the one whom she was crafting the dress for, that she wouldn’t be able to finish it, semi-lying about circumstances being brought into her life that she had to deal with, of course she actually wanted to deal with the events that happened prior but in her own time, she wasn’t ready to relive the past just yet, and if the dream from moments ago was an indication, she wanted to take her mind off it for some time.

Rarity stamped the envelope and moved back over to the drawer, pulling out the pill bottle but this time making her way to the kitchen for a cup of water to wash it down. She pulled a glass cup from the cabinet above and switched the faucet of the sink on and back off in rapid succession, popping another two green pills and quickly gulping them down, chasing it with the water. Once she finished, Rarity then took a washcloth that had laid next to the sink and began to clean the rim, she had put the cup back in the cabinet when she was done and retreated back to the bathroom and retrieved a brush from the cabinet that sat above the sink, sat in front of the mirror and started to brush it.

She grimaced at almost every single stroke as the bristles attempted to glide through her purple rats nest of a mane. It took quite some time making sure her mane looked luxurious as it had once before. When finished, she pampered her mane with resolve, feeling satisfied with her work, she had put the brush back in the cabinet and returned to her room, made her bed, and fitted herself from the top, so as to not ruin her efforts. She was sitting up in bed, not yet back to a tiresome state, an eerie feeling tugged on her as if she felt somepony was watching her, the bedroom door slowly crept up, the dark void in the somewhat purified by the light from the bedroom, yet the blackness developing around it still gave a sense of uncertainty, a sounded enclosed, something had crawled in her room.

She lifted the covers over her face like a frightened filly and hoped for whatever it was to go away. She could hear the sounds of a four legged creature crawling closer and closer, her breath heavy, still not wanting to flip the covers off her head, it had stopped for a moment… and suddenly it pounced on the end by her left hind hoof and gave a meow. She threw the covers off her and looked, both relief and displeasure plastored her face and she saw the female house cat, Opalescence, white with a gray tipped tail and gray eyelids, she had a fuschia collar with pink buttons and bubblegum pink dandelion in the center of it with a gem in the middle that, when light hit it, shined like a disco ball, the white long fur perched on top of her head nearly defied gravity had a bubblegum pink bowtie that held it up. She was grooming herself as Rarity began to scold her.

“Opale deary, you almost scared mommy half to death!” She said, an unapproving look filtering her face.

Opale stopped and stared, her yellow eyes caught in Rarity’s before she had finished grooming herself, she walked up and rubbed on Rarity’s forehoof, giving affection and looking for pets in return. Rarity’s expression melted away as she began to pet Opale.

“Aww, I can’t stay mad at you for long, it’s like you love to play silly games darling,” she said as she giggled, rubbing her left forehoof, starting from the top of Opale’s head and ending at her tail in a stimulating motion, the unicorn rinsed and repeated her petting until she scooped Opale up into a hug, Opale of course not being too happy with it, tried to push away before being sat back down next to the white mare. Rarity gave a yawn, tiredness coming back to her after being prolonged. She clanked her hooves together and the light of the room slowly dimmed as she rolled to her side and shut her eyes, sleeping the night away.

Rarity II

The white unicorn’s eyes slowly opened, she gave a yawn as she sat herself, blinking several times before her eyes had adjusted. She looked over to the left of her, Opale wasn’t there, a putrid stench wafted in the air, punching her nose with an odorous fist.

“Goodness gracious!” She shouted with no one around to hear.

“”when was the last time your litter box was clean?”

Rarity threw the covers off and began to descend from her bed. As her hooves left the bed and leaped onto the floor, a squish like sound came from underneath her and the smell got worse, she lifted her right hind hoof and gave a sigh as a sticky liquid dripped off back down to the puddle of urine below. She hopped on her good hooves over to the bathroom, grabbed another towel from the pile and with her horn, levitated the shampoo bottle from the table by the tub, she turned the knob and let the water flow for a few minutes as she meticulously washed her hoof, once finished she levitated the shampoo to the built in shelf, along with the bubble bath that had still sat on the table.

Rarity then went over to the integrated sink and pulled out cleaning supplies from the cabinets below, a brown cleaning brush, a sponge, a bucket, and cleaning solution. She gathered everything in the bucket and lifted it with mouth grasping the handle. She walked back over to the bedroom and began to clean the urine next to her bed. While cleaning, Rarity took a gander under the bed, seeing a cubed shape, she took a more melancholic attitude as she finished up and used her horn to bring out the cubed object, an old crumpled brown box, of which the brown lid of it failed to contain. She gave the lid a little flick with her hooves and stared blankly into it, still keeping a look of melancholy.

In the box was a bunch of letters scattered about, all addressed to one Mrs. Archambeau, Rarity never actually burned any letters, but these were the few she kept in the boutique. She rummaged around, not even knowing what she was searching for, until it stuck out through all the letter that were piled in, she yanked it out using her horn and stared at, a warm smile growing on her face as she looked at Sweetie Belle’s birth certificate and the baby picture attached to it. She was proud at what a mare she grew up to be, glad that she hadn’t stayed there, glad to have kept him away for as long as she could, with the last thought, her face grew a bit sour, she sloppily shoved the box back under, but kept Sweetie Belle’s birth certificate until she went down to the kitchen and made herself a fruit salad.

She placed the birth certificate on the table as she used her horn to open the many cabinets the strung about the kitchen, grabbing a bowl, a knife, a spoon, and a random assortment of fruit, she began with cutting the fruit up, then tossed them into the bowl, brought the bowl to the table and sat down to enjoy her low effort meal the sun blared through the window in the front of the house, lighting the kitchen with its brightness, it was the afternoon, and Rarity had gotten a little too much sleep, but nopony could blame her, several days with no rest, she was surprised to get up at all.

She quickly finished eating and dashed back up the stairs to finish getting ready for the rave later, sure raves weren’t really her style but she would do anything for a fresh mind and fresh air. She hurried to the bathroom and grabbed a wide array of makeup and started to apply them. When she was done, the mare marveled at herself, her pink highlighted cheeks severely glowing, her lips hot pink, and her eyelids shined purple with glitter fluttering with every stroke of light. She made way to the changing section of her room and tried on numerous dresses. After a while, she settled on a rose pink dress, nothing too flashy but shockingly enough, she didn’t mind one bit.

She ventured back to her room and grabbed the letter she had written to the client, made her way downstairs and went out the front door as she made her way down to the Ponyville Post Office, not cleaning up after herself. The pale unicorn trotted into town after a few minutes, the sun beating down on her. She looked to the sky, no clouds had been placed by the pegasi, that got her wondering about Rainbow Dash, which transitioned to her thinking about all her friends, it had been some time now since she had last seen them that the prospects of seeing at least ONE of them had perked her up even more. She passed by a multitude of buildings, some houses, some shops, all holding the same color scheme, light tan walls with a light brown foundation that held its entirety, and green straw roofs, some only a story high while some were two stories, some even reaching three. Most of the buildings shared the same shape to one another, cubed with windows fleshed out, while others seemed like the construction workers were trying to play a game of Jenga, double stacking roofs on top of each other.

She continued walking about, a variety of colts, mares, fillies, and foals all either walking in crowds or off lounging to the side, intentionally loitering on business property. Some sat down at the many strenuous outdoor cafes, and why wouldn’t they? On a sunny day like this, most ponies would want to stretch their legs out or be with friends, if given the opportunity. Making her way through a large crowd, that had huddled around one of the many lamp polls that had lined the dirt roads, staring and murmuring to one another about the poster that was plastered on it, an ad, promoting DJ Pon3’s Night Night Rave, happening tonight at ten o’clock PM and ending “when nopony could dance their flank off anymore. It had the DJ’s cutie mark, a black slanted beamed eighth note, flanged around and colliding with two records, smashed and inverted on opposite sides to each other.

“The pony had a knack for music, but not so much in graphic design,” Rarity noted to herself as she began to move through the crowd of technicolored equines, finally ending at the front of the Ponyville Post Office.

It didn’t share space with the other buildings, in fact, it was a little out of the way of town. It shared the same light tan walls that other complexes around it had and the same wooden foundation, the roof had turquoise, largo teal, and navy teal tiles dispersed randomly throughout it with a roof hip to match, held up by the same wood that made up the foundation. An large envelope, pale green with red highlights that led to a red seal that held the head of a pony that faced the left, was held on top of the roof hip, held in place by wooden rods, painted black, the back of it was stretched out, undoubtedly to keep packages stored before sending them out.

If the giant envelope wasn’t enough, the line of ponies with various packages standing about was a clear indication that she was in front of the post office. She stood in line, horn holding the letter in a magic embrace, after an hour of waiting, and the line moving slightly, she sighed with a copious amount of irritation building up.

“Excuse me darling, but could you allow me to move ahead of you?” She began to ask,tapping the purple coated colt ahead of her.

“I have to meet up with a friend as soon as possible and I really need to have this message delivered,” Rarity waved it in his face in hopes that he would comply.

The sun was starting to set, and she was growing antsy by the second.

“If it’s a letter, why didn’t you just drop it off in one of the many post boxes around town?” The colt questioned, coming off a bit rude and tired, no doubt from standing for quite some time.

Rarity had blinked twice at the response, realizing she must’ve still been out of sorts, she turned around and ran back towards town, wondering what else she may have forgotten in the wake of her both clouded and absent mind that had been running amuck as of late. She slowed her pace as she entered back into town, taking in the scenery again, this time with the street lamps lit with fewer ponies in the surrounding area, and post boxes on most corners that she hadn’t noticed at first. A blue arched rectangular shape with the same pony head on either, only this time white instead of red. Rarity walked over and tossed in the nuck, located near the top and then started up her trek to intercept Pinkie Pie at Sugar Cube Corner, like she had planned from the beginning.

She made it just in time, Pinkie was standing next to the candy cane like poles on the pink stepway of the confectionery palace, fiddling around with the locks. She vaguely resembled the pink earth pony she once knew, she was a little more rounded, her cotton candy mane was tied into a bun but you could still easily see the frigid mess that was on top of her head. She carried around the same amount of bags under her eyes and stress developed on her face, but she still kept that same old Pinkie Pie smile, suggesting the adaptation that had taken place, molded by years of parenthood. Must’ve been hard years, especially with her children being miniature versions of her, not to mention her husband.

Rarity had thought this but with the life she had lived thus far, she couldn’t judge her, at least she seemed happy. Rarity wasn’t happy, sure Sweetie Belle had been a gift from a horrid bygone past but the pain never truly left, it’s why she drowns herself in work. Always working, if it wasn’t work, it was with her friends dealing with world ending phenomenons, but that had calmed down over the years, she only had her work, it’s what really kept her sane. Either the work or the pills, which it had been years, before a few days ago, that she had taken any, she is slipping.

She reassured herself that this is precisely what she needed, besides, she already dolled herself up, even if it wasn’t with her usual flash, she wasn’t just going to turn around now. The pale mare coughed, attempting to gain the pink mare’s attention. She jumped, looking like she was floating for a moment, her eyes then met Rarity’s and they beamed with excitement as she let out an excitable gasp. Smiling from ear to ear, she ran over, reaching speeds akin to Rainbow Dash’s, and grasped her tightly, hugging and spinning Rarity until dizziness took over for just a bit.

“Hey hey hey Rarity,” Pinkie Pie began, now setting the pale unicorn down, putting a hoof around her as she ushered them both towards the raving that would be happening any moment.

“How have you been you been well I hope I was hoping for us to get together at some point but with the child it’s like time just slips through your hooves and this is- I’m rambling, sorry, force of habit.”

“Tis quite alright Pinkie,” Rarity said, her ears finally catching up to the words of the pink pony.

“I will say that I could be better, a lot of things had come up recently and I figured it was time for some fresh air. I'm glad I was able to accompany you to this, um, rave.”

“Honestly didn’t think you would come,” Pinkie replied, taking a calmer than usual demenner.

“I know this type isn’t usually your type of thing, but I thought it would be one of the only chances we would get to see each, what exactly made you want to come? I know it isn’t just for fresh air.”

Pinkie eyes her from head to hoof, taking note of how thin Rarity had gotten, to her it was obvious how she was trying to hide whatever was going on in her head.

“A lot,” Rarity answered, her face tensed in seriousness.

“I would rather not get into it, it’s a long story, and I’d rather unwind then go through it.”

“I think I understand, well I’m always here to talk, even when I’m not, you can always send a letter!” Pinkie Pie said, a caring and comforting expression painted her face.

“Have you heard from the others?” Rarity asked, curious on how they were.

“The only one I’ve interacted with for the past year or so was Applejack, her and you of course.”

“I’ve heard from them alright,” Pinkie responded.

“Fluttershy has been busy with her cottage, her and Discord started an animal clinic and I’ve been bringing Gummy there whenever he gets sick or if he needs a check up. Rainbow Dash has been busy with the Wonderbolts, being the new captain and all.”

That had taken Rarity by surprise, it wasn’t that she didn’t believe Rainbow would be able to do it, it’s that this is the first she has heard of it, then again she barely leaves out unless it’s for business these days.

“You already know what Applejack has been up to, and Twilight has been doing her best as new ruler, she still is struggling with Luna’s job, just now understanding the dream aspect, not yet being able to do much.”

They continued walking, music growing louder with each step as they finally made it to the rave, just as it started

Sweetie Belle III

Their hooves clamped in a rhythmic manner on the dirt road as they headed straight for Ponyville, determined to reach their third member to eventually begin their search. Sweetie Belle didn’t much like the fact she was going behind Rarity’s back, but she wanted to know more, she only had her sister in her life and a family in her mind, she wanted that to be a reality, no matter how her possible divorced husband wronged in the past, the letter was all she could go off of, a daughter, a niece, a family that had been hidden from her for unknown reasons, and she wanted to get to the bottom of it and maybe even meet her.

She looked at her earth pony friend who ran beside her, matching her speed and softly smiled. She didn’t know how she got so lucky, ending up with friends that would stick beside through thick and thin. It had seemed like yesterday that they had stuck up for each other at Diamond Tiara's Cute-ceañera, without even knowing each other at the time, sure they’ve had their ups and downs, but friends haven’t? she was almost always able to count on them.

Shaking the thoughts out her mind, the unicorn looked forward with a more serious expression as they entered Ponyville, only to stop at a screeching halt. The streets of Ponyville had been more packed than usual, the two mares tilted their head in unison, curious on the happenstance that had befell the town. A top on Sweetie Belle’s right shoulder sprung her to life, she looked over to be greeted by an orange coated, fuschia maned pegasus that had flown over to them when she took notice of their whereabouts. Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom’s eyes beamed, happy to have not had to navigate through the army of colts and mares in their wake.

They had clapsed onto each other for a moment, hugging in a warm embrace. Glad to have had the gang all grouped together, they then got up and walked some distance away from the crowd with Sweetie Bell catching Scootaloo up to speed on the letter and their speculations to the possibilities they held.

“So we only really have this letter to go off of, would that make investigating a little more difficult?” Scootaloo began to question, leaning up against a random building that had stopped at, fore-hooves crossed.

“You said it yourself, Rarity pretty much said she burnt the rest, so there isn’t much we garner from this besides the words of a dying pony.”

“Yes but Rarity was hysterical,” Sweetie Belle said in retaliation, sitting on the ground next to the pegasus.

“Being dramatic is her usual schtick, especially when exhausted, so I don’t really believe her.”

Y’all calling her a liar?” Apple Bloom asked, standing in between both ponies.

“Well she did keep this type of info to herself, wouldn’t that be good grounds for such claims?” Sweetie Belle asked, giving a more passive aggressive tone as she looked up at the yellow earth pony.

“Fair enough, I guess,” Apple Bloom shrugged, being reminded of that little tidbit.

“There’s got to be more, more than just this one,” Sweetie Belle started, staring down at the ground beneath her for a moment in thought, until she stood up, lightbulb glowing overhead.

“I think I know where we should start, come on girls!” She said as she took off with haste.

Without time to question, the other two follow suit, speeding off with the unicorn. It had now turned night as the ponies made it to their destination. Their ears had perked up as music had played low in the distance, they wondered about it for a second before putting their heads back into the game. They had noticed the door to the boutique had been left on locked and proceeded to push it open, it had let out a low but elastic creak that reverberated off the walls of the emptied apparel shop. They had then split up to cover more ground with Sweetie Belle making her way upstairs, a gnarly smell made her girned as she had reached the very top, she looked to the right.

Right next to the bathroom door down the hallway, Opale’s litter box laid, it hadn’t recently been cleaned, she groaned, planning to deal with it later. She turned to the left and went straight for her room, opening the door, and pulling her saddlebag out just in case they were able to gather anything. She proceeded towards the kitchen to retrieve a plastic bag from one of the cabinets of the integrated sink. When she entered, she was greeted by Apple Bloom, who was about to come upstairs to get her.

“I found something y’all are going to want to see,” she said, using her left fore-hoof to gester to the complete mess on the dining table.

A piece of paper had stuck out of the dirty dishes that had piled on the table. Her horn had lit as she took the paper and eyed it carefully. It was a birth certificate with the name “Serenade Archambeau” in bold ink, and the birth date, July ninth, eight hundred thirty eighth, located directly at the bottom with the place of birth being at the very top, no hospital name was stated but the town was, “Briehoof”. After a quick examination, Sweetie Belle undid the button on the right side of the saddlebag, slid it in and then secured it, she then used her horn to levitate the dishes over to the sink and sat them in the bowl of it.

She gazed down while getting a plastic bag and noticed that Opale’s food and water bowl were completely empty, this made her wonder, since clearly Rarity was down here, judging by the mess she left, did she even realize to take into consideration the needs of the house cat, as soon as that thought had came, it crosses her mind that she had admittedly been doing the same thing for a couple of days now, she levitated the water bowl over to the sink, quickly switching on and off the cold water, and placed the now full bowl down.

From the cabinet she pulled out a plastic bag, a box of kitty litter, and the cat food that had been placed there some time ago. She poured the cat food into the food bowl until it was filled to the brim and left the bag out, in case Rarity came back to her senses. Sweetie Belle had turned around, bag and kitty litter floating next to her, and noticed that Apple Bloom had vanished from her line a vision, thinking she had went off to search another part of the boutique with her not having heard her leaving the room, she went back upstairs and started cleaning out the litter box, she levitated the box over, opened the bag and began to pour the content down, making sure to not make any unwelcome mess. She tied the bag and sat the box back in place, now pouring in the kitty litter, again, making sure not to spill anything.

Her ears lifted high as she hears shuffling coming from her sister’s room, she left the kitty litter and bag behind as she peered into the room, it was pitch black, except for a yellow glow, that was shifting slightly with each shuffle, until it had looked towards where Sweetie Belle had been, giving a meow as the lights switched on. Revealing Opalescence, who had gone back to pawing at something underneath the bed. Sweetie Belle stared at the bed top, Rarity wasn’t there, this would be easy then. The mare had walked over to the left bedside, taking the white house cat, wrapping her fore-hooves around her and had set her on the bed, taking note of the now dried stain next to her.

She heard the clamping of multiple sets of hooves climbing up the stairs and she made her horn glow and peered under the bed, finding an old and recently clawed box. The door opened wider as Scootaloo and Apple Bloom burst into the scene, all the while Sweetie Belle had pulled the box out and set it next to Opale, the cat jumped as she was cleaning herself and gave the box a bap before continuing to cleanse herself.

“I couldn’t find anything,” Scootaloo began, watching as Sweetie Belle flicked off the loose lid of the box.

“And I’m sort of starting to feel uncomfortable going through your sister’s belongings, and I know tha-”

She was cut off when an audible gasp escaped the unicorn's lips. The box held a numerous amount of things, most importantly, letters that held the same symbol as the letter she had pulled from the mail.

“I knew it!” Sweetie Belle shouted in excitement.

“I knew there was more and you didn’t want to believe me,” She said pointing a hoof at Apple Bloom.

“I never said I didn’t,” She retorted.

“And y’all are acting like a filly.”

“We got to bring these back to the treehouse, the whole box,” The pale mare began planning out the next day.

“We can all sleep up there and then search through it in the morning!”

“But the sleeping bags in there won’t fit us, I’ve seen y’all struggle to rest wrapping three of them around y’all self,” Apple Bloom stated, starting to yawn from a day of investigating.

“Plus it’s very late and I don’t want to make that long trip over there,” Scootaloo said, adding onto the earth pony’s comment.

“Hmm, you’re both right about that,” Sweetie Belle began, yawning as if it was on queue.

“You both can sleep over then!”

“You both can share my bed and I will sleep here for tonight, I should have an extra blanket in my chest,” she said as she sat the box on the ground.

They both agreed and exited to the right of the room, opening and closing the door in the next room over. Sweetie Belle gave a tired stretch before tucking herself in with Opale curled next to her, she began to close her eyes, until she realized the front door was still unlocked, she then promptly went and locked it, she turned but then thought “what if Rarity came back?” She turned to the door and then turned back.

“If she left out, I’m sure she would’ve taken a key with her right,” She thought out loud.

“Then again she might still be weary from those sleepless days, ugh!” She groaned loudly, not knowing what to do.

She fought with herself back and forth until a new thought ranged out.

“What if someone tries to break in?”

That thought overtook every other argument in her head, that was her voice of reason, Rarity is a very popular pony, so what if? She turned and went back to Rarity’s room and tucked herself back in with Opale still curled up in the same spot, her eyelids gilded over slowly and then shut, taking in long slow breaths as she slept the night away.

Rarity III

The music bumped loud, loud enough to rupture somepony’s ear drum. DJ Pon3’s wub machines vibrated with every bass that burst, ponies huddled around the center stage dressed in more erroneous garbs flailing around glow sticks and limbs in what they would refer to as “dancing”. Rarity stood at the end of the dance floor with Pinkie dancing her way in, she turned to the pale unicorn and took her by the hoof and dragged her in with her.

They made their way to the middle with Pinkie dancing her flank. Rarity stood there, not really knowing how to move with the crowd, she didn’t really understand how to dance to the music, she started growing anxious. Remembering she never did bring her pills with her. She then started shaking slightly, a tap on her shoulder made her jump and turn, a purple colt with a black mane danced, gave a twirl, and presented her with an orange pill.

“Hey,” he began, shouting at the top of his lungs.

“You seem kinda tense, this should perk you up!”

She shyly eyes the pill in his outstretched hoof, taking in the orange hue of it. It's been years, she couldn’t, not again, but she wanted it. A flash happened that only she could see, the white mare looked down and froze in confusion, her long slender legs had turned into stubby ones, she looked to the side of her and saw that her body had also changed, becoming tiny, and her cutie mark, the three diamonds, were gone. She looked back at the colt, only this time, it wasn’t him. The colt had been replaced with a familiar yet foreign creature, it was tall, towering over her with its strong presence, its fur was dark brown, grimmy, matted, with a black powdery substance caked on it, its face wasn’t much of a face, the same brown dirty fur clung to it, its eyes were pitch black dots on each side of it, and it had a black button nose.

No mouth could be found, and ears stood up on top of it with the ear on the right being partially messing. Its right arm outstretched in a similar manner to the colt, its paw was blackened with yellow razor sharp claws that held out a red balloon.

“M-mr. Fuzzybottom?” Rarity asked, her voice was high pitched as if she was a filly again, in fact she was.

The creature gestured for her to take the balloon, she wanted to back up, but an invisible wall had been placed behind her, boxing the filly in, feeling like she had no other choice, she slowly reached out her mouth, taking hold of the balloon. Flashing back to the rave as she swallowed the pill, slowly starting to feel different. Twenty minutes in and she had now turned into a party pony, mimicking the movements of the other dancers, laughing, and grinding the dance floor. A colt took notice and danced her way, his coat was orange and his mane was baby blue, he grinded up against her and something in her made her feel stimulated.

She pointed back over to the purple colt, who took note and finned his way through the crowd, meeting up with the white mare and her new friend, offering two more orange pills. The creature offered another balloon. They popped the pills at the same time, only for Rarity to feel the same forty minutes later, still aroused and grinding on the orange colt.

Pinkie Pie was observative her friend’s behavior with growing concern enveloping her. Once she saw the unicorn walk over to another pony, this time being offered a small multicolored square paper, she walked over and dragged Rarity out of the party.

“I’m taking you home,” Pinkie Pie stated, the unicorn’s purple tail caught between her teeth as she pulled her away from a sticky situation.

“Pinkie please,” Rarity began to plead. She wanted it, she needed it, she wanted to forget for a single moment.

“Oh no, I think you’ve had waaay too much, and those colts just want to-”

“PINKAMENA!” Rarity yelled, anger developing, catching the earth pony off guard as she dropped her tail and looked back.

“I do NOT need a chaperone, you can’t just walts back in my life without a single notice after a long time… I just want to forget, just leave me be.”

Pinkie’s ears went back and her eyes widened as she flinched at Rarity’s words. The unicorn turned back into the army of dancing ponies and back to the mare with the square paper, leaving Pinkie alone as she sat watching her friend self-destruct in front of her very own eyes. The unicorn walked back over to the green mare that had the square paper, she held her tongue, placing it right on the middle of it, closing her mouth and getting back to the orange colt, dancing, until her vision started functioning weird.

Everything started to see far away, as if she was falling down a tunnel, the colt came up and kissed her, but she couldn’t feel it, could barely see it, as her vision kept thinning out, until she could see nothing but pure darkness.

—---------------------------------------------------------

Pure darkness, that is what she found herself in, the unrequited black of the box she laid in. She got up, only to find herself back in her filly state, she tried speaking, no words would come out, she tried to use her horn, still nothing. She walked over to one side and hugged the wall, tracing around, trying to find a switch or something to alleviate the pitch black of the surrounding area.

She felt around for a minute until she found a lever, she used all the force her tiny body could muster and pushed up. Lights flickered on, she turned to see the room wasn’t empty, or at least it felt like it was before, the once box turned into a tunnel with carts filled with ores and gems laying about, it was a mine. The filly began to wander, taking in every ridge and crevice, the filly thought she had found the exit, a white flash had put her in the same exact place, only this time it was different.

The clanking of iron striking rock and mineral, something she hadn’t heard in a long time. She looked around again and stumbled on a strange sight, foal sized mannequins were littered in a large opening in the mining system, they wore rustic chains, shackles, and hardhats with pickaxes laying next to them, the clanking still going on, but how?

She began to walk again, but quickly stopped and turned to the mannequins again, she gasped when she noticed they were now staring at her, their bodies turned facing her. Another white piercing light was behind them, shining bright, blinding her for a second, having to shield her eyes with her hooves until they adjusted. When the unicorn had unshielded her eyes, she was now in the middle of them, the clanking still persisting, echoing. As she moved towards the light, Rarity took note of the mannequins looked.

They were more fleshy up close, visible bruises displayed randomly all over them, their nonexisting eyes cutting her soul, the shine of their furless coat, and the cut of point between limbs and torso dripped a black liquid. She gulped as she continued moving through the ranks. She could hear scraping behind her as she passed them, they were staring her down, as she had reached the light, she turned to see them all looking at her, the clanking had stopped.

A cracking sound replaced it as it grew louder and louder, the limbs of the mannequins twisted and mangled, the middle of their face had parted, revealing two rows of sharp teeth. They slowly crawled over to her, one by one yelling “why!?” The clanking started back up, they kept screaming “why!?” Rarity stepped back with each inch that they covered, they kept screaming “why!?”

She tripped and fell into the white light, falling and then nothing. She laid on her back, a soft silk covering half her body, cushioned all around, she was in bed. Still a filly, Rarity sat herself up, this was… this was her childhood bedroom, only it really wasn’t. None of her finely designed dressers nor mirror, only her bed, the door, and the closet.

Her bedframe was carved by hoof, every little detail elegantly etched into it, floral patterns strung around the dark mahogany wood, the curved legs of the bed held it up by almost a foot, it had a roof over it, the dark room blurred the detail of it.

A bang was heard from the closet, a creak followed straight after. Rarity hid herself under the covers, hoping this would end soon. An hour passed, no more sounds had entered the room, she flipped the covers off her face, locking around the dark room, the closet door was open, the pitch black of it, the unknown, that made her more scared.

What if something was there? What if nothing was there? What if something came out? What if nothing was there?

A huge hump formed underneath the covers, her pupils shranked, her heart sank, she could feel it breathe on her stomach, she didn’t want to, she didn’t want to look, but something compelled her. She slowly lifted the covers, revealing the dirty face of Mr. Fuzzybottom.

He was hunched over her, paws holding her tiny hind-hooves down, claws digging deep. Her blood streamed from the puncture wounds, she wanted to scream but couldn’t, only a gust of air came out of her lung with face contorted with horror. A tearing sounded penetrated her ears, a slit on Mr. Fuzzybottom’s mouth turned into a gash, black liquid leaking out and a cracking noise chased it, as his face ripped open, black liquid splashed on Rarity’s face, entering her mouth.

Just like the mannequins before, he had rows of sharp teeth that had the black liquid oozing off of them and on Rarity’s stomach, she wanted to fight it, to fight HIM, but she couldn’t move. She kept trying, she wouldn’t move. She panicked, still wouldn’t budge.

A long red rope flopped out, half of it still in the makeshift mouth, it was his tongue, he dragged it across her stomach, lapping up the dark liquid, she blinked.

Mr. Fuzzybottom didn’t have a mouth again, and the black liquid had disappeared. Fear still stuck on her face, she was still unable to move. He reached his blackened paw and caressed her cheek, before suddenly YANKING her hair, dragging her down into the bed. She dropped into a fiery inferno.

Still unable to scream as she falls, sweat pouring off her body. Rarity jumped up sweating, she looked down at herself, she was a full grown mare again. She looked around, she didn’t recognize where she was, it was dark and junky, that was all she could tell. The unicorn looked back down, the gray cotton sheet was drenched under her, she looked to the left of her, the orange colt was laying, sleeping, also sweaty.

“Was because I-” She paused, thinking about Pinkie, how she was trying to help, but she pushed her away because of the drugs that had called her name. They whispered in her ears, beckoning her to indulge in them.

She never wanted to touch these substances again and yet she wanted more, she hated it, yet loved it, disgusted yet enamored. She wanted to beat herself up but the euphoria she had prospered just as much. Dreams, memories, merging together, they made her relive them, for that she hated them, but this feeling, the pure ecstasy that lofted around her, bellowed in her soul. She wanted more, she needed more, she didn’t want more. She pulled herself in, taking her hind knees in a hugging embrace, wrapping her forehooves around them, tear streaming, her laughing to herself, the colt from before, passed out, was sprawled out next to her, limbs hanging out the covers of the bed they had shared. She hated herself for tonight, loving every moment of it, self pity continuing throughout the night, a night of bliss and sorrow that could get even better and even worse, she continued to sob quietly into the night, not knowing what was instored for tomorrow, she loved it, hated it, hated HIM as he stood in the dark corner, watching, black buttoned eyes staring throughout the night.

Sweetie Belle IV

Sweetie Belle awakes, wrapped in her sister’s blank, she tries to blink the tiredness from her eyes with little progress being made. The rancid smell of the garbage bag is what brought it to fruition, and the grunts, that were closely followed by the sounds of the bag being dragged, caused her to finally get up, the saddlebag slipping off her as she did. She had forgotten to take it off before sleeping, even though she thought she had, she then promptly tripped over the box that she had set beside the bed, still not fully awake but getting there. As she got to the door, Sweetie Belle could hear a thumping sound, it grew lower with each thump as the bag was being pulled down the stairs.

She cracked the door open and popped her head out to see Apple Bloom carefully walking backwards down the stairs, the tied bag in her mouth with Scootaloo directing her at the bottom of the stairs, making sure her friend was safe and so the content in the bag didn’t burst at the seams. She took a seat at the door, bringing a hoof to her eyes, rubbing the little bit of sleep that had still lingered in them. She stood back up, fully exiting the room, making her presence known to the two mares.

“Morning!” Scootaloo yelled at the bottom of the stairs full of energy, still ushering the earth pony down, turning to not take eyes off of her.

“You forgot to take it out last night and we couldn’t stand the smell anymore, so we decided to take it out.”

“Still don’t know why y’all couldn’t have done the dirty work,” Apple Bloom said in a not so cheery mood, letting go of the bag for a second to speak.

“Y’all got wings and can fly so y’all really-”

“Eyes on the prize Apple Bloom,” Scootaloo interrupted, noticing the bag beginning to slip.

The yellow mare quickly grabbed a hold of it and began slowly descending the stairs. When she made it to the bottom, with no incidents occurring, she dragged it through the front of the boutique, the pegasus held the door and motioned her forward as Apple Bloom moved through, disappearing to the side of the building and reappearing shortly after, a disgusted look engraved on her face, feeling as if the prolonged odor had now effected her breath.

“Y’all do the dishes since I had to bury my muzzle in that,” she said, smacking her lips, trying to get the taste out.

“I’m going to wash my mouth out.”

Apple Bloom journeyed back up the stairs, brushing past Sweetie Belle as she came down, on her way to help Scootaloo with the dishes that were piled in the sink. Pulling a washcloth from the cabinet underneath, Sweetie Belle began washing the various items that had been placed in the sink previously while Scootaloo would put them up. She got to the last bowl but noticed something clung to the bottom, she removed it and placed it to the side as she finished cleaning.

Sweetie Belle picked it up, it was a picture, now distorted from the water, but she could make out what appeared to be a baby, or at least what she assumed was a baby.

“Is this my niece?” She asked out loud, catching the attention of the orange pegasus next to her.

She walked over, craning her neck out to see.

“It’s kind of hard to make out,” Scootaloo said, squinting her eyes at the picture.

“But if you look hard enough, it sort of looks like you.”

“Huh,” Sweetie Belle expressed, now squinting, trying to envision the pegasus’ claim, all she could really see was the pale white coat and the toothless smile.

“I think you’re just imagining things, unless you’re talking about the coat of course.” She said, confident in how she thought she was right.

“Umm, I guess, was this with the birth certificate?” Scootaloo asked, scratching her head with her right forehoof.

“I think so, why else would it have been mixed up with the stuff on the table?” Sweetie Belle questioned, now surveying around it, looking for any possible clues.

After a second she found something, the initials “S.A.” on the bottom left of the back of the picture, the same birthdate as the certificate was written next to it, only confirming that the photo must’ve been with it.

“What y’all gawking at?” Apple Bloom said, walking into the kitchen after her extensive mouthwash session.

“Sweetie Belle found a pic of her supposed niece,” Scootaloo answered.

“There must be more in that box, this can’t be all there is,” Sweetie Belle said, still staring at the picture.

“What if y’all find something, but it isn’t what y’all are looking for?” Apple Bloom asked, genuine concern for her friend sparking.

“What do you mean?” Sweetie Belle asked out of curiosity.

“Like what if the search takes us in another place or what if y’all do like the answers that come from it?” Apple Bloom had put that thought in Sweetie Belle’s mind now.

It wasn’t something she gave much thought to, but even with that, she still wanted to know. Whatever she could get hooves on had to amount to something, she just knew it. They already knew her mind was made up, though the outcome was important, the search was on the same level, maybe even higher in some regards.

“The first one, the first letter, it’s still at the treehouse, we should take whatever we found there, box and all, and see what we can dig up,” Sweetie Belle, looking up at them when she finished collecting her thoughts.

“Alright, I reckon since it’s daytime it wouldn’t be a problem, plus we actually got some energy in us now,” Apple Bloom replied.

“Great, let’s get our bearings and go!” Sweetie Belle said, racing upstairs, grabbing her saddlebag and the box.

They passed through town, heading towards Sweet Apple Acres. They ran past Applejack and Big Mac, who were hauling a cart of apples to sell at the market, not saying a word. When they got in the treehouse, Sweetie Belle made room and dumped the contents out onto the floor, a metallic clink resonating throughout their current residence. They all looked over to see a small golden ring, one that looked to barely fit the young unicorn. In the mix of the pile next to it held an assortment of letters, each having the weird crest that had now been associated with the name “Archambeau”.

They had ripped through most of them, but they all held the same information from the first discovered one except that the writing had been better. The pile also contained a myriad of hospital billings, some saying “Rarity Archambeau” while others simply said “Rarity”. They still had little gain from the info gathered, only names and billings that led back to before Twilight had ever entered Ponyville. It wasn’t until they found the last letter that had actually found something of substance.

Tearing through the envelope and taking the parchment to eye level. This letter had a mixture of the same material as the others but with a bit more to it, it had asked the wellbeing of both Rarity and his daughter, Serenade while also mentioning a figure that had caught Sweetie Belle by surprise. Mr. Archambeau had asked about the Rich family. The three mares had looked at each other, mouths gapped as Sweetie Belle’s twisted into a smile.

“Finally, another lead!” She said in a victorious holler.

“Judging by the crest, we already assumed that Mr. Archambeau was a wealthy pony, but if the Rich family is being mentioned, this just confirms it.”

“But that’s just one thing, and an unimportant one at that,” Scootaloo said, trying to make a point.

“Not necessarily,” Sweetie Belle interjected, posing herself as she put her thoughts into words.

“The Archambeau’s were wealthy and they talked about the Rich family, they must’ve had dealings with each other, maybe an investment was made into whatever they were doing under then name, maybe Filthy knows something.”

“Maybe, it’s the only thing we’ve garnered from this Scoots, it’s worth a shot.” Apple Bloom stated, siding with the white unicorn.

“Alright then, I just want you to prepare for the worst, this could-”

“Why are you acting like this?” Sweetie Belle asked, interrupting the pegasus who was visibly concerned for her.

“Well, for a long time now, you’ve been obsessed with all of this, just knowing you have some form of family out there, I know that this has been on your mind but what if there is still nothing?” Scootaloo asked.

“What are you saying”?

“I’m saying that your hopes are up, there’s nothing bad about that, but nothing is absolute, the way that you’re seeing things might not be the way they are. This could end worse than it started, what if it’s bad, what if Rarity hid this for a good reason, what if there’s a reason that the name Archambeau hasn’t been at the forefront of pony society since way back when? We only got a sliver of info from any of these letters, and then there’s the medical records.”

“What about them?” Sweetie Belle asked, a serious tone filtering throughout herself.

“Have you actually read them?”

The orange mare grabbed one of the medical papers from the pile.

“This one right here's a prescription for Mirtazapine, and this one,” Scootaloo said, reaching out and taking another.

“This one is a prescription for anxiety medication.”

“Mirtazapine?” Sweetie Belle tilted her head, confused.

She never saw her sister take any form of medication before, in fact, this is the first she had heard of it.

“It’s used against a number of things, like depression and has been known to be used by ponies with PTSD,” Scootaloo said, staring intensely at the unicorn.

“What are you sa- actually, how do you know that?” The white mare asked, confusion reaching a boiling point.

“It pretty much said it on the paper, but that’s not the point,” She steadied herself, letting her stance be known.

“The point is that she has been through a lot, judging by her reaction a couple of days ago, all of…. this, and the fact she probably hasn’t been home since then, I’m with you all the way, we both are, but there’s clearly a lot more to this than your sister overreacting, I know Apple Bloom thinks the same thing but doesn’t want to voice it because she understands what you are trying to accomplish, but you can’t just be thinking about yourself on this.”

She went over and placed a hoof on her shoulder, giving a kind smile.

“Like I said, we’re with you and we will go with you to see Filthy, but when we are done, we got to find your sister, you two have a lot to talk about and she has been gone for a while now, we got to make sure she’s safe.”

Sweetie Belle teared up, this never came to mind, what had happened to her sister so long ago that would cause all of this? She still wanted to know, but not as much anymore, this had caused her sister pain and she didn’t know it, practically ignored it, passing it off as nothing but a dramatic outburst when it was more like a cry for help, a cry of fear, a cry of pain.

She looked up at both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom who both had placed a hoof on both of her shoulders, smiling, giving her their full corroboration, they knew she still needed to know and they will be right beside her no matter what.

“T-thanks girls,” Sweetie Belle said, softly smiling back with tears still dribbling from her eyes.

“That’s what friends are for, I’m just glad Scoots said it, I wanted to bu-”

“I get it,” Sweetie Belle interrupted Apple Bloom, pulling both her and Scootaloo in for a tight hug that lingered for moments.

“No matter what happens, I still got you two…”

Rarity IV

A month had gone by since that very night, missing pony posters had been placed in town, hoping for even the littlest of glimpses of Rarity. She had hid herself away, not wanting to face anypony, she had cut away her purple mane and hid her eyes to not be found, shame had encompassed her entire being, she wanted to go back to how things were before but she couldn’t. No matter the pain she had or is causing to those who care about her, she just wanted to keep chasing that high, trying to escape the past, even though it always came back, haunting her.

Mare and stallion had interchanged most nights in various forms, taking different positions in the bed they had shared as the ghostly unicorn sat, staring at the corner and crying. He wouldn’t go away, it was like his presence had grown exponentially, always watching, his black button eyes stabbing into her own. The same dream kept tormenting her through the nights, the mines, the mannequins, the bedroom, HIM. There was no real escape, but that didn’t stop her from looking with every pill she got hooves on. Everyday and every night, it had turned to routine at this point, get strung up with a stallion or mare who provided, wake up in bed with them, and sob her eyes out, she wanted to stop, she needed to stop, but she couldn’t.

She got up from the bed of her latest hook up and quickly went to the bathroom, not being able to hold back the vomit that had been brewing in her now malnourished stomach. She threw her head back, it violently came down, aiming in the sink, barfing mostly liquid with only a few chunky bits swimming in it, she had barely been eating, her energy only cultivating when an orange pill popped into her mouth. She looked at herself in the mirrored cabinet, her face had slightly sunk in, little stubbles of her once luxurious mane were patched sparsely, and bits of her now boney body shown through.

The once enigmatic mare was now reduced to something so pitiful that even she didn’t even want to look, but he was always at her side, never doing anything malicious, just standing beside her, staring, as if his gaze forced her into situations that she would’ve never wanted to be found in. Whenever she looks in a mirror, she sees him, standing there, beckoning her. If she had died instead of her, would the outcome have been different?

This question had pondered her mind whenever she was sober enough to really think. Sickness had taken both of them, leaving her with a monster that she couldn’t stop envisioning. She wanted to die, but the thought of Sweetie Belle kept her from taking drastic measures, though she was already dying on the inside. She looked back down at the puke filled sink, her eyes were dull, sensing that something was amiss, these days something always was.

The chunks began to glisten in the cheaply lit room, shining in a variety of colors, they had turned into gems, rubies, diamonds, sapphires, sparkling, reflecting, her filly was shown, a rainbow gust blasting past her. The outside air was disrupted by it, the clanking of metal on stone was heard in the distance but had stopped when the filly was hoisted in the air, dropping back down with a magic white flash. Rarity lazily got back onto her hooves and looked behind her, there it was, her cutie mark, her destiny, his legacy. She looked over to her left, Mr. Fuzzybottom stared back, the lifeless button eyes glued to her flank, another balloon at hand.

She took it like always, but this time she stared at her reflection, a hurried hastened expression painted it, not matching the more somber look she held. She was flung over her own shoulders and she raced off from a big structure that had been set ablaze. Mr. Fuzzybottom just sat and watched it burn, she looked over to one of the windows, seeing a small brown teddy bear, sitting and watching as the building began to cave in and crumble. The mannequins gave chase, screams of terror elevated with every stomp of her hooves as they hit the cobblestone road that led away. Giant crystalized spiders led the charge, but she realized they weren’t heading for her, just in her direction.

Up ahead were the gates, the exit, the so-called freedom they had all longed for. That damned symbol that had hung overhead on the golden archway, a white dove, wings spread out in flight, the flowers that surrounded it, and the blue backdrop, all shining from the fire in the background. A maneless pale unicorn stared down at her, sadness consuming her, she woke up, a new room, new pony, new dream, same routine.

She hugged her hind hooves, this time no tears came, she was growing used to it, she didn’t want to, but felt as if there wasn’t any choice in the matter. Thoughts of the boutique, her hard work, came to mind, all that she had built will more than likely start breaking if it hadn’t already. She then thought about Sweetie Belle, the lies she had spun, trying so hard to keep her from the truth, maybe she should’ve told her when she was younger, but she was already bullied at school for not having a cutie mark at the time, why put another stigma on her? Another label to be thrown at her. She didn’t care about staring at the corner of the room anymore, she knew he was there, watching.

Another week, another bing, more hiding. She remembered when dresses and adventure had taken up most of her mind, now she had reverted back to a mess that HE made. She wanted to blame him, HER, and herself for how she’s turning out, but how could she? One had died years ago, the other was either dead or dying, and she is still here, doing this to herself. He was a monster but even monsters could die, she just couldn’t let go, and for that, she couldn’t blame herself, no blame could be placed on anyone, so she unknowingly blamed everyone. Her friends for living life, her clients, anyone she could, for her inability forget was held back for a good chunk of her adulthood, but was at the breaking point the day Sweetie Belle started questioning.

Another day, another bing, another pony, same outcome. She wandered the streets of nighttime Ponyville, not knowing if it was in her head or not, he followed close behind her, it had rained earlier, she could see him from the puddles she stumbled passed. She didn’t know what she was doing, just walking, no real direction, not anymore. She kept walking, even when she made it outside of town, she just kept moving, her tired hooves balancing her body, she was lighter than usual, yet she felt heavy, as if she was weighed down by an intangible force. Shame and guilt was her compass to nothingness.

She stopped and stared into a puddle, seeing her filly self crafting the first dress she ever made, it was for her mom. It was designed with the family crest in mind, red, white, and blue with a gold trim that layered the edging. She could see her passing it off to her mother, or what she thought was her mother, it was her, the Rarity from before all of this. Her mane was as beautiful as ever and her figure was more defined, but HE was next to her, Mr. Fuzzybottom had his claws wrapped around her in a more warm embrace, matching wedding rings on both his paw and her horn, he wasn’t covered in soot or ash, but was clean and kept, he actually resembled a teddy bear.

As the filly passed the dress over to her mother, their horns lit, intertwining, the mother rapidly started to drain the life in her, coughing violently as she began to wither away. Next to her, Mr. Fuzzybottom grew darker and matted, his paws turning black, and an ear partly rotting off. A fire lit underneath them, steadily ingesting them, Mr. Fuzzybottom extended a now blackened paw, a new balloon appearing out of nowhere, popping from the flames as he began to melt.

She can see a hoof reaching out of the flame, unburnt, a familiar voice called out, everything stopped, everything went pitch black with muffled voices resounding, then silenced. A great light had cut through her lids, she reluctantly opened them slowly. Rarity’s eyes take a minute to adjust, laying on her back, a pillow where her head rested, a white blanket covering all but her forehooves, a long tube from her left forehoof connected to an IV, the table next to it, plastored oak with a white, held a blue vase, an assorted bouquet was homed in it.

She was in the Ponyville Hospital, she looked to the right where the window had been, seeing the light from the sun, the blue in her eyes had returned by degree.

“She worried y’all know,” a familiar southern accent came from the far right of her, speaking somberly.

She tilted her head forward to then gaze upon the light orange mare that had sat on a gray chair, her cowboy hat covering her eyes. Rarity beamed, placing her head back down on the pillow.

“Why’d y’all have to make her worry like that, make us worry like that?” She said, a twinge of her true emotions breaking through.

“Missing for a whole month, A MONTH! And y’all just randomly turn up basically on our front porch, leaving us a mess while y’all do Celestia knows what!” She began sniffling and panting, her anger, sadness, and joy culminating into one outburst.

“I-I’m sorry,” Rarity shakenly uttered, tears leaking down each side of her face.

“My life hasn’t always been glamorous dear, a good bit being horrendous, I feel back into behavior that was forced upon me by my father, but there is no excuse for what I have put you through, what I have put everypony through, I-I’m.. truly s-sorry Applejack…” She started breaking down, finally letting all her pain out, the pent up emotions that had only slipped in spars.

Applejack looked up, ear flat and her teary green eyes widened, she had never known her before Rarity had came to Ponyville way back when. She walked over, consoling the white unicorn as she wailed, sniffling beside her as she held her tightly.

“I-I want my daughter… can you please bring her to me… please?” Rarity asked, sniffling as her wailing came to an end.

“D-daughter?” Applejack lifted her head, still sniffling.