Author's Note

I just wanted to mention that this takes place when the CMC are teens, so they look as they do in the show when they're grown up!!

The Confession

Rarity's hooves felt heavy as she waited in the boutique. Uncertainty had begun to stir in her belly as she had finalized her plan, but if there was any hope of giving Starlight what she deserved, she had to go through with this.

She'd given Sweetie Belle the message to go get the other crusaders that morning, and now she was impatiently pacing inside the boutique.

I can turn back. There's still a chance. I could just say I need their help with reopening the boutique.

These thoughts were nothing more than that, thoughts. As the door creaked open and she saw the three mares, Rarity came to terms with what she had to do.

"You asked for us?" Apple Bloom asked. Her face was creased with stress, along with Scootaloo. The guilt grew stronger, and it threatened to overwhelm her as she met the yellow mare's orange eyes.

"Yes," Rarity admitted slowly.

"I'd prefer it if this was quick," Scootaloo said, her tone impatient as she shut the door. "We have ponies to look for."

"Yeah," Apple Bloom put in. "With Spike leaving a couple months ago to search somewhere else for Twilight, we have less eyes helping look." Her gaze narrowed and she glared at Rarity. "Especially since you spend all your time moping."

Rarity swallowed nervously. Her hooves suddenly no longer felt heavy, but weak and unable to hold her weight. "That's... precisely why I called you here."

Sweetie Belle titled her head curiously while Scootaloo's ears fell back against her skull. "What do you mean?" the orange pegasus demanded.

"Are you finally helping?" Apple Bloom asked hopefully before Rarity could respond.

"...No," Rarity replied, which earned her a frustrated huff from Apple Bloom. "But I do need to tell you something about their disappearance."

"Did you find something?" Apple Bloom asked quickly, her eyes growing wide as she leaned closer to the unicorn. "Something that hints to where they are?"

"Please," Rarity said, waving her hoof to shoo the earth pony back. "Just listen."

Apple Bloom fell back to stand beside her friends. Sweetie Belle's gaze betrayed her curiosity and urgency, the same thing the other two were more open about showing. Rarity drew in a breath.

"You..." She paused before letting out a sigh. "You're not looking for anything."

Scootaloo angrily stomped her hoof while Sweetie Belle bristled and Apple Bloom let out an offended cry. "What are you talking about?" Scootaloo demanded. "Of course we're looking! Are you saying we aren't doing a good job?"

"No, of course not," Rarity protested. "You three have done a very good job, I'm proud of all of you. But... that doesn't change the fact that there's nothing to search for."

Silence filled the boutique. A few moments passed before Apple Bloom spoke up again.

"Talk, dammit!" she yelled. "You can't just keep being ominous. Give us answers! Those are our sisters!"

Rarity winced. "My apologies, darling," she said slowly. "But this isn't exactly... easy news to bear."

A fire roared in Apple Bloom's eyes as she slammed her two front hooves on the ground. "What happened to my sister?" she screeched.

"Starlight Glimmer captured us," Rarity explained quickly before the mare's rage could grow stronger. "She imprisoned us somewhere and performed a series of tests. They were all horrible and deadly. I- I was the only one who survived."

The crusaders erupted in cries of rage.

"You let us believe they were alive!" Scootaloo shouted.

"Why didn't you tell anypony?" Sweetie Belle demanded.

"My sister is dead and you refused to say anything?" Apple Bloom shrieked, tears pouring from her eyes. "What is wrong with you?"

Rarity felt a sting at their words, but she wasn't surprised. She'd expected this reaction.

"How did Applejack die?" Apple Bloom demanded, lunging forward and grabbing Rarity's shoulders. "What did you hide from us?"

Rarity gently pushed the sobbing pony away. "Applejack and Pinkie Pie died because of Starlight," Rarity explained. "Starlight's spell that kept us imprisoned killed Applejack when Rainbow Dash tried to attack Starlight, and Pinkie Pie was killed by a toxic laughing gas that caused irreversible damage."

"And the others?" Scootaloo demanded angrily, her own eyes watering.

Rarity felt her hooves tremble a little. There was no going back now.

"I contributed to their deaths," she admitted. "And I... directly killed Fluttershy."

"You killed them?" Sweetie Belle shrieked. "No wonder you've kept it a secret, you're a murderer!"

"You killed Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo hissed. "How could you?"

Another reaction Rarity had expected. Like she previously thought, grief paved way for only what you believed and not common sense.

"I contributed," Rarity murmured. "I didn't directly kill her."

"And how do we know that?" Sweetie Belle snarled. "You were apparently able to kill Fluttershy with little to no guilt, so how do we know you didn't kill the others?"

Anger rose in Rarity as her sister said this. Unable to control herself, Rarity shot a burst of magic and trapped the three friends in a blue orb of magic. The mares froze, then cowered back in fear. Rarity stamped her hoof on the ground.

"I do feel guilty!" she cried. "Why do you think I've kept it a secret for so long? I was too ashamed to face what I've done. They were my best friends. Of course there's an overwhelming guilt!"

She stomped closer to the orb. Her sister attempted to light her horn, but Rarity's magic was stronger than hers. She glared at the crusaders with narrow eyes. "But now I'm fixing it," she snarled. "That's why I've consulted in you three. I can't take Starlight on alone, but with help I can avenge my friends." She sighed and stepped back, releasing the crusaders. "I'm not asking for your forgiveness," she went on. "I'm asking for your help."

The trio exchanged glances. Scootaloo wiped her eyes and narrowed her gaze as she looked at Rarity. "Why should we help you?"

"I know why you'd be reluctant," Rarity told her. "I would be, too, had I been told what you have been. I've hardly been able to live with myself. But somepony needs to do something. Afterwards, I'm leaving my fate in the hooves of the princesses. Don't do this for me, do it for your sisters and your friends."

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo hesitated, but Apple Bloom stepped forward, clearly convinced.

"I'll do it," she announced. "I'll help, but this is nowhere near to meaning that I'll ever forgive you."

Rarity dipped her head gratefully. "I don't need you to," she reassured the farm pony. "Thank you."

"We're in, too," Sweetie Belle announced.

"You better be telling the truth," Scootaloo hissed. "You better take whatever punishment the princesses deem necessary."

"I promise you, I will," Rarity promised.

"So, what's the plan?" Sweetie Belle pressed. "What are we going to do?"

"Well first, we need to gather a couple extra hooves," Rarity replied, tapping her muzzle thoughtfully. "And I already have a good idea of who."

"Who? Who?" Apple Bloom pressed.

"One is your brother," Rarity told her. "The rest are Zephyr, one of the Pie sisters, Shining Armor, and the princesses themselves."

"The siblings of the lost ponies," Sweetie Belle said in awe. "That's a great idea! No pony will be angrier than them."

"Wait," Scootaloo said quickly. "We have to go to Canterlot to talk to Shining Armor, right? Starlight has a friend there, doesn't she?"

Rarity perked up at the orange pegasus's words. "Sunburst! Scootaloo, you're a genius!"

"I have another idea, too," Scootaloo added. "Somepony who will be even angrier than Zephyr Breeze."

Three pairs of eyes lit up with realization and hope.

"Discord," they said in unison. Scootaloo nodded.

"Scoots, that's a great idea!" Apple Bloom cried, lunging forward and hugging her friend tight.

"I agree," Sweetie Belle chirped, joining in on the hug.

Rarity couldn't help but smile a little. Desperation for revenge had sparked ideas in Scootaloo's mind that she hadn't even thought of herself.

"Sunburst is skilled when it comes to magic," Rarity pointed out as the crusaders broke away from each other. "That's the reason why he got his cutie mark, the whole reason why Starlight became bitter in the first place."

"Five ponies with magic on our side will be more than enough," Sweetie Belle said excitedly.

"Two of which are the most powerful ponies in all of Equestria," Apple Bloom put in.

Rarity cringed. "I wouldn't be too confident about that. Starlight is almost as strong as an alicorn when it comes to magic."

"Almost," Apple Bloom pointed out. "Which means she's not quite there yet."

"It has been six months," Rarity murmured, but the trio wasn't listening. They were galloping toward the door. Apple Bloom flung it open and turned to look back at Rarity.

"Come on!" she cried. "We need to go get Big Mac!"