"Twilight! You simply must see this!" Rarity yelled into the windows of the treehouse. It was a perfect Saturday morning, and she already had to listen to Rarity's new blab about... whatever.
"Mmmpf..." Twilight groggily arose and went over to the window. "C'mon Rarity... it's the weekend..."
"You live in a library! Plus, you have practically nothing to do all day! Come!"
"Yeah, sure, just... wait a bit..."
She got up, washed her face, and went down.
"What is it?" Twilight asked.
"You will not believe what I've just bought!" Rarity was prancing around like a schoolfilly.
"Um, why?"
"Look!" She unhooked her saddlebags, and levitated a blue crystal in front of Twilight's eyes.
She stared at it's immense beauty. It caught the sunlight and threw it back, only more beautiful than before. It shone like a thousand stars melted into a silver nectar. It was clear as the sky and deep as the ocean. It was perfect in any and every way.
Twilight stared at its mirrored surface. "It's... beautiful, but don't you have like, millions of those?"
"No! You do not understand!" Rarity threw her head back and carefully put it down on a stand. "Simply look at its clarity! And I've inspected its structure, and I must say. Flawless!"
"Um, Rarity, crystals grow in a predetermined structure, so it's impossibl-"
"No, you don't understand. Its cut I mean. I haven't found a single flaw in its surface! Which is quite... odd, now that I think of it. But you haven't heard the best of it yet!"
Twilight rubbed her tired eyes and sighed. "...No, no I haven't..."
"It grants whoever carries it three wishes!"
"Marketing lies. Only an Alicorn could do that."
"I have yet to test it, but it's a pretty nice gem anyways. It was from Zebras, he claims."
"Hmm. Then it's plausible, I suppose. They have some pretty magical ponies. Still, why do you care? It's not like you need more ge-"
"Twilight darling, you do not understand! He had it at a shockingly low price, and plus, I never save any gems for myself. The only gem that I ever got to keep wasn't mine- it was the Fire Ruby from Spike. A wonderful gift, I assure you. Don't you think the two colors will match perfectly?"
"I suppose. So um, why are you here?"
"If the wishes really were real, do you know how amazing that would be?" She jumped up and laughed with glee. "I'll go tell the others, and see what it'll do at Sugarcube Corner. See you in a few!"
"Wait, who said I was comi-"
Rarity slammed the door behind her and ran wildly off, brandishing her new treasure up high.
"Wow! That's super-duper awesome, Rarity! What if it actually works! You know how amazing that would be?!"
For once, Rarity was about as bouncy as Pinkie Pie herself.
"I know, right!"
"You could ask for like, a giant cupcake! Or a huge diamond! Or a giant cupcake made of diamonds!"
"Hm, I'll consider it. But I'll probably be asking for something more like success in the industry, or-"
"But that would be bad. You'd go all psycho with your diamond cupcake! Oh, I remember that. That was really scary, because you were all grey, and yelling at everypony, and I was too, but that doesn't really matter."
"Um... thank you, Pinkie."
Twilight finally arrived. She pushed the doors open and sat down. "What did I miss?"
"Nothing you would wish to see. Anyways, now that we're all here, let's see if it works!"
"Um, if you won't mind me for asking, uh, what are you going to wish for?" Fluttershy mumbled.
"Hm, well, I'll just ask for something simple first, to see if it works at all." Rarity lay a white hoof on her chin and though. "What do I need... Oh! Sweetie Belle said she wants some more magic textbooks. She's getting pretty good. The things are dreadfully expensive, however. Yes, that will be it."
"Um, Rarity, I run a library."
"With textbooks?"
"...Touche."
"Aha! I win again. Now, how did he say to wish? Ah, right." Rarity closed her eyes, aimed one hoof at the sky, and pointed the crystal to the ground with her other hoof.
"I wish for Djehuti's textbook, Advanced Spells, volume three."
She opened her eyes, and watched as the crystal pulsed with light, before it faded out. The gem felt lighter in her hooves now.
Rainbow Dash looked around. "Ha! I toldja nothing would happen. What did you expect? I don't see it now, and I bet I never will."
"Patience, Rainbow. The merchant said that it wouldn't be instant, and it wouldn't be conspicuous. I might be just cleaning out the attic when I find it, or something of the sort."
"Marketing lies..." Applejack mumbled.
Twilight smiled. "I know, right?"
"Girls, come on. Trust me! It will arrive soon enough..."
Brrring! Brrring! Brrri-
"Shut up, alarm clock."
Rarity slammed her hoof onto the confounded machine. "I mean um, please, silence yourself!" If her friends knew of this, there would be no end to their ridicule. There's a very strict image she must uphold for her clients.
She got up. Sweetie Belle had already left for school, so it was just her, Opalescence, and all day to work. She'd just had the best idea for a green dress, with its flourishes and stuff.
It had been two days since her wish. Nothing had happened since then. The only thing that was out of the ordinary was Applejack asking for fashion tips. That was quite odd. Rarity never thought of her as the type to even care about it at all.
Rarity felt full of energy today, unstoppable. Today was the day she would finally piece that amazing dress. She had all the supplies, bought at the Forum yesterday. Everything was set.
She sat down at her table. Damn, this coffee is good. It has all these subtle flavors interlacing, to form an entire microcosm that-
The doorbell went off, a tone nearly as annoying as the alarm clock.
It wasn't business hours yet. Who could it be?
Rarity levitated open the door, and in stepped a brown stallion, shrouded in a black trench coat.
"I take it you are Rarity?" He said in a gruff voice.
It sent a chill through her spine. "Oh, um, yes. That would be me. May I help you?"
He looked down. "I'm Watching Eye, I run the local precinct. How do I say this... your sister's Sweetie Belle, right? So, last night, Ms. Dash was taking her home, with her friends. And all of a sudden, a drunken stallion comes out of the bar on the corner.
"So, he was swinging a bottle madly, trying to sweet talk Ms. Dash into something. She, of course, declines, and he gets mad and starts swinging a bottle madly. One of my boys sees this, and goes over to get him to scram. Drunken bastard just pushes him aside, and starts charging at the kids. He hit them into the river, and, well, the rocks took care of the rest..." he sighed. "She's dead. Your sister's dead. And her friends are too."
Rarity's accent faltered. "...Wh- wh- what are you- I... Sweetie Belle... This can't be for real, can it?"
The stallion simply took his saddlebags off and took something out. "When the bodies washed up onshore, there wasn't much left of them. But we did manage to get this..."
It was Sweetie Belle's saddlepack, dampened, but in pristine condition.
"I'm... sorry that we couldn't do anything. He's getting tried in court tomorrow." He dropped a card on the table. "You're welcome to attend..."
With that last note, the police colt left, as quietly and quickly as he came.
She felt tears welling up, and looked down at the saddlebag with disgust. It was perfect. Too perfect. Her sister had died, yet this was as clean and new as the day it was tailored by her own hooves.
Biting back tears, she lifted it onto the table, and opened it.
There were a few pencils, a notebook, and tons of other things. But among them all, one glaring giant stood out.
Piled in the center of it all, the price tag still on its colorful, perfect, too-perfect cover, was Djehuti's magic textbook, "Advanced Spells", Volume Three.
Rarity was overcome with grief. She had killed them all. Just from a stupid wish, that wasn't even hers.
The glowing crystal looked more like a knife in her hooves now, its sharp points catching the light and throwing it fiercely.
How could this happen...
She threw the confounded gem away from her. It clinked on the ground and rolled under the table. Rarity fell to her knees and threw her face into her hooves. She wept freely, the tears blocking her vision.
She didn't know how long she was there. She didn't know how long it took. But she once looked back up, and out of the corner of her eye, the gem glowed.
Its hue had turned a ghastly red, like innocent blood spilled fresh. It continued to pulse and dilate with a malevolent light, tempting her with its riches. "You can fix this," it beckoned. "Two wishes are yet to be invested..."
Rarity tried to resist. She lifted her hooves to block its piercing gaze, but the lights it cast on the walls simply grew to overtake her. Its blood hues flooded the room as she slowly turned to face it.
She knew she couldn't. There was too much anger she directed at that crystal. It was her enemy, and to bear it would be like to mix fire and water. It would never fit, it would never work, there would be endless chaos.
But... what about Sweetie Belle? They are dead because of her own folly and arrogance. She had to try, if it meant saving them.
Yes, Rarity had her mind set.
Slowly, she got up, eyes never breaking from the crystal. With one quick sweep, she held it above her head, and uttered her second wish.
"I wish that Sweetie Belle, her friends, and Rainbow Dash were alive again..."
The crystal glowed, its red hue growing ever more and more powerful, and a crackling in the air was heard before it subsided, its power gone.
Rarity sighed with relief.
They would be back... they would be alive again.
They wouldn't stay dead...
Rarity secluded herself mostly for the week after the fated second wish. She swore that she would never again show her face until she had fixed that which she had wronged.
But it would be fixed, no matter what, as long as she waited. She could wait diligently for days or years, no matter the weather, no matter the toils.
Every day, she would wake up, and sit in front of the door, awaiting the one day that her sister would come home. She would- there was no way for this to fail.
One wish worked, of course the second would.
Her friends would sometimes come to look for her.
She would feign mourning, something quite easy to do after all that had happened. While the crying was fake, the sorrow wasn't. It never was. It never would be.
Rarity woke up one morning to the sound of knocking on her door. She looked outside from her second-story window. The fog was thick, and she heard the heavy drops of rain, but the clock said it was about nine-o'clock in the morning.
Could this be it? Could Sweetie Belle finally have come home?
She was full of excitement, and ran down as fast as she could. Rarity flung open the door, and nearly died of horror.
In front of her was a... monstrosity. It was the deformed figure of a pony, made entirely from parts of different bodies. It took her a while to realize what horrible thing she had done.
It had Sweetie Belle's horn, Rainbow's left wing, Scootaloo's right, Applebloom's tattered mane, and a body stitched together crudely like a patchwork scarecrow.
It dripped blood as it walked- a slow, irregular undulation.
It moaned with an unworldly tone- a chilling cry that rang of bloodlust.
What had she done?! This horror couldn't be her friends. She knew it. This hideous creature was simply of their bodies- not an iota of their soul, or anypony else's in it.
She screamed in terror. The foul creature smiled back. She felt like dying of fear. The creation wasn't her sister, but it would want her as much as her real sister would.
It lunged for her. Rarity ran, and clung the crystal to her heart. It had turned a rotting shade of dark black.
She ran out of Carousel Boutique. She knew where Twilight's house was. She had to outrun it. She had to have enough time to make her wish.
She looked back- a near fatal flaw.
It was shambling over as fast as it could, its legs boneless, but still moving. In her shock, Rarity tripped, but managed to recollect. She saw the bright lights of the library up ahead.
Rarity burst through the door, and bolted it behind her.
"Lock the entrances! Now!" She yelled at Twilight.
She knew an emergency when she saw it. Twilight did as she said, her magic quickly swerving everything shut.
Rarity lay her body on the couch and tried to recollect her breath.
"What's the matter?" Spike yelled, coming downstairs.
"I- the wish- I..." She sputtered, unable to form any coherent sentences.
"You don't look so good, Rarity..." Twilight said. "You look like you've seen a ghost! You're even paler than before... Can I do anything to help?"
Just then, a knocking came at the door.
"I wonder who that could be?" The librarian said. She walked over. "Normally ponies stay in when-"
"No! You can't!" Rarity yelled in despair. She pleaded for Twilight to stay away.
The knocking continued, steady as ever.
"What? Is somepony after you?"
"No, b- yes! Don't let them in!"
The knocking continued, steady as ever.
Spike wasn't completely lovestruck for once. He knew he had to stay focused. "Are you sure you don't want to hide, or-"
"You can't hide from it! It will-"
The knocking stopped.
The door had opened by itself.
Rarity frantically yelled her final wish.
The crystal fell out of her now-limp hooves and shattered on the floor.
Twilight and Spike looked to the door, dumbfounded. Nothing was there. They looked outside. Nothing was there. Twilight scanned with her magic. Nothing was there.
They turned around and screamed.