It was a dark and stinky cell. Sweetie Belle could not see the hooves in front of her face. The smell was so bad that she almost passed out multiple times. But she could hear everything going on outside.
Spike was in the cell as well, but he would always be rattling on the bars in an attempt to get out. "Let us out of here!" He would scream. Nopony came down to shut him up. After the fifth time, Spike gave up and sat in a corner.
Sweetie Belle wanted to know where her sister was. The voices outside were from both mares and stallions, but none sounded like Rarity. She remembered the good old days, when she would be in Rarity's house while she worked. She imagined herself back in Carousel Boutique. Rarity was making another dress, specifically for Sweetie Belle. It was very elegant and covered in sequins. The dress was a bright light blue with waves stitched into the sides. "Try it on, Sweetie." Rarity said happily, and Sweetie Belle wore it. It fit her body perfectly as it flowed down and onto the floor. As she moved, it swayed as if the wind were blowing.
But, that would never happen. Not anymore. Sweetie Belle was in a cell in the ruins of a strange city, filled with dangerous ponies. She didn't know how long she was in the cell due to the never-changing sky. Ponies would come down every so often with loaves of bread, or cold soup. It would always taste disgusting or cold, but Sweetie Belle and Spike ate it all the same. Sweetie Belle bit into the hard bread and took a while to swallow it. She wanted to spit it back out, but her tummy said otherwise.
Eventually the cell doors opened. A stallion was there, holding the door. "Time to go." He said gruffly. Sweetie Belle couldn't see his face, but she didn't have to be told twice. Spike followed closely behind as she passed under the stallion's arm. He smelled even worse than the cell, which made Sweetie Belle question what that stench was. "If you run, you won't get far, so make it easy on yourself." He said as she exited the room.
The light outside made Sweetie Belle close her eyes quickly. It took a while for her eyes to adjust. She was still in Las Pegasus, although it was in an area she had never seen before. There was a giant open space right in the center of ruined buildings, covered in dirt and containing one solitary stone table in the center. There were ragged ponies surrounding the open land, both mares and stallions, fillies and colts. They all looked like common folk, survivors. Sweetie Belle could see earth ponies and pegasi, but no unicorns.
The crowd parted in one section, revealing stronger stallions trotting to the stone table. They were carrying a mare, her head covered by a bag. When they got closer, Sweetie Belle could see that it was Rarity they had. She began to run to her, but the stallion who freed her grabbed her by the tail. "What did I say about running?" He said in a coarse voice.
Sweetie Belle sat, helpless as she watched the stallions throw Rarity onto the stone table and place her hooves in chains. The hooded pony Sweetie Belle had seen before was standing at one end of the table. The crowd cheered and hollered until he brought up a hoof to silence them.
"Now!" The hooded pony began. The entire area grew so quiet that Sweetie Belle heard her own heartbeat. "We are the chosen! Ever since that day when the skies rained fire, we were the ones who survived! We may have lost family, friends, and loved ones, but we continue to live! We were chosen by the gods to carry on in this world!"
"What gods?" Sweetie Belle asked aloud. The stallion hit her. "Shut up and listen to him speak!"
The hooded pony continued as he lowered his hood. He was nopony Sweetie Belle knew. The stallion had one long scar on the left side of his face. His mane was gray and withering.
"After living on our own for a while, growing our ranks with those who believe in our cause, the gods decided to descend on this world themselves! They killed our dear princesses! And that's when we realized their purpose - to feed on those who use magic!"
"Those who did not carry magic within them soon realized that they were the true chosen! All unicorns began to fear for their lives, and thousands became prey for the gods! Soon after the incident, we as the chosen decided to help appease our gods and offer them all unicorns we could find!" He removed the bag from Rarity's head, revealing a frightened pony underneath. The crowd began to boo at the sight of the unicorn, too busy to notice that there was one among their ranks.
"Now! The gods brought their minions in this city a few days ago, searching for any source of magic to feed on. Even though we are chosen, we still need to appease them, to make them our friends! As such, I will be offering this fine young unicorn to the gods! May they take her and give us their blessing!"
The crowd roared and began to chant and yell. "Kill her!" "Take her away!" "Leave us and kill the unicorn!" Sweetie Belle began to cry and attempt to run to save her sister. Spike was the one who held her back this time, although he looked as if he wanted to go down there himself.
Rarity was screaming as the hooded pony turned right to her. "Don't worry, darling." He said as he caressed her cheek. "Your sacrifice will save thousands of earth ponies and pegasi. We will be able to live in harmony with our gods. Don't you see how tremendous an honor that is?"
Even when her life was on the line, Rarity never stopped being dramatic. "I will never let you do such a thing! Just let me go, now!" She tried thrashing about, but the chains were tightly kept. The hooded pony laughed.
"It is up to our gods to decide her fate, not us!" He yelled, quieting the crowd. "We must wait for them to appear and judge this pony!"
Sweetie Belle looked horrified. If the Sleipnir come here...if the BIG ones come here...Maybe they'll take these bad ponies themselves and leave Rarity!
The hooded pony pulled out a small knife. "However, we must draw them here!" He turned to Rarity and sliced a small line along her hind leg. Rarity began screaming again. "I ask you to use your magic! Use it or I will cut you again!" The unicorn resisted, causing the hooded pony to cut her on her other hoof. He stabbed right into the center of her cutie mark and sliced down her leg. He didn't stab deep - he didn't want to kill her - but there was no doubt that it gravely hurt her sister.
"Please, stop!" Rarity screamed, but the hooded pony only laughed. "I will stop if you accept your fate. Use your magic and call the gods to us!"
"You want me to use my magic, huh?" Rarity said in between breaths. Her blood was bright against her white fur. "Fine!"
Her horn began to glow blue as the knife the hooded pony held was lifted right out of his grasp. With a sudden twist, the knife sunk right into the hooded pony's shoulder, dropping him down and causing an out roar from the crowd. The other stallions nearby were about to respond when the hooded pony stopped them.
"No!" He said as he coughed. "Let the gods judge her. They are on our side."
The crowd was suddenly hushed when the sky grew dark. The clouds rumbled and gathered together, as if by magic. Magic. Sweetie Belle could hear the sky roar again as the ground began to shake. Ponies in the crowd began to cheer their false gods.
"They have come!"
"They have heard our prayers!"
"We will be saved!"
Sweetie Belle lowered her head. They are all blind, and I'm just a filly. Another roar brought Sweetie Belle's head up.
There it was. The giant Sleipnir descended from the clouds. She wasn't sure if was the one that ate Luna, or Celestia, or even Rainbow Dash. She didn't care. It was here, and somepony is going to die. I just hope it is not Rarity.
The beast cut through the air and landed with a thud around the stone table. He towered far above and looked down on all the cheering ponies around.
"Oh, great and powerful god!" The hooded pony was able to get back up despite having been stabbed. "We give you this unicorn as an offering! Let us establish peace!"
The Sleipnir looked at him for a moment, then spoke. His voice was booming and made all of the ponies shudder and grow silent. He spoke in a language nopony could understand. Purple mist emanated frrom his mouth as he did so. His voice was so trembling that Sweetie Belle dropped down and shuddered herself.
"What did he say?" One of the stallions called out.
Before anypony could respond, the Sleipnir swayed his head towards Rarity. She screamed as he did, but soon his head passed right over the bleeding unicorn. Instead, the Sleipnir targeted the hooded pony, who realized what was going to happen and began to run into the crowd.
"No!" He yelled, pushing other ponies out of his way. The Sleipnir arched back and charged forward, opening his mouth to collect any ponies in the way. He managed to pick up a good dozen, including the poor hooded pony, before floating back up into the air. The ponies all around began to scream and scramble as the Sleipnir roared. Smaller beasts emerged from the clouds and charged right into the crowds.
Ponies were run down, eaten, and attacked by these beasts. Rarity was still chained to the stone table, bleeding out and passed out. The others paid no attention to the unicorn, busy fearing for their own lives. This was Sweetie Belle's chance to save her sister.
"Spike!" She yelled as she ran to the table. Spike ran closely behind. The Sleipnir were flying in all directions, biting and bucking anypony in their way. The giant Sleipnir circled above like a true god. Sweetie Belle ducked under ponies tossed in all directions, and jumped over dead bodies. Eventually, she reached her sister among the chaos.
"Rarity! I'm going to get you out of here!" Sweetie Belle began to cry as she pulled on the chains, but it was no use.
"Sweetie..." Rarity quietly said. She had a slight smile on her face, as if she were about to give up. "Thank...You have to get out of here...leave me..."
"I won't!" Sweetie Belle's horn began to flash green as the chains were all uplifted from the stone table. It was done with such force that the chains flew skyward, braking off of Rarity's hooves. The projectiles flew up and struck one of the Sleipnir, knocking it right out of the sky.
The nearby beasts stared at the source of magic and screeched, braying as they fell upon Sweetie Belle and Rarity. Spike jumped up and struck one of the beasts with his claws. He got a direct hit on the face of a Sleipnir, knocking it away. Rarity got up and motioned for the the others to run.
Around them, the other ponies were either dead or being chased. Some of the stallions put up a fight, but they were killed all the same. The giant Sleipnir still flew above. Before Sweetie was able to make it away from the scene, the great beast flashed purple.
Everypony froze in place, including Sweetie Belle, her sister, and Spike. She couldn't move, but struggled to get herself free. She could feel herself being pulled back to the stone table. Other ponies were pulled as well. This made the ponies easy targets as the Sleipnir sprang upon them. Sweetie Belle could hear the cries of mares, fillies, and even stallions as all fell to the beasts. I won't die like this, she thought to herself as she used her magic again. She managed to free herself from the grip as she dropped to the ground. She used it on Rarity and Spike as well, freeing them from the Sleipnir's spell.
Right as she did so, a great light flashed once again. When it cleared, there was nopony else left on the field besides the dead. The Sleipnir must have teleported the living bodies away from the area. The air was filled with cries and moans of the dying ponies, but Rarity didn't stop to help them. "Let's go!" She said as she ran. Sweetie Belle followed.
Rarity left a trail of blood as they ran through the streets of the city. "I should have known they were still here..." Rarity said, wincing after every step. Her legs were not badly cut, but she had bled out enough on that table. They made it to the Applewood sign before Rarity collapsed.
"No!! You're going to be okay!" Sweetie Belle said as she held her sister. Rarity looked very pale; she had lost a large amount of blood. "I can...I can fix this!" Sweetie Belle wanted to find something to use as a bandage...She would not let her sister die now.
"It's okay." Rarity calmly said. She had a smile on her face as she said it. Sweetie and Spike cried as they tried to press the wounds and stop the blood.
Rarity began to laugh weakly. "I've done my best to protect you, but in the end, it was you who saved me. I'd rather die here with my sister and my friend, than as a sacrifice. You have to be strong, Sweetie Belle. You have to do what I couldn't...Survive." Even in the end...
Sweetie Belle sobbed. "I won't! I won't let you die! You can't leave me, Rarity!"
"Can you...can you sing me a song, Sweetie Belle?"
The filly closed her eyes. Singing? I haven't tried singing since...
The words that came out of her mouth were the first words she could think of:
Hush now, quiet now.
It's time to lay your sleepy head...
When she finished, Rarity had another smile on her face.
"You know, you have a wonderful voice. Please, share it was everypony. Let them know that my sister has the voice of an angel."
"Not an angel..." Sweetie Belle sobbed. However, she thought about it long and hard. Maybe she should sing; it was Rarity's last request. She will not let it go unfulfilled.
"I will. I will sing everywhere I go!" Sweetie Belle said. "I will sing songs of everything I saw, and everypony I knew and loved! I will!"
Sweetie Belle's flank began to glow, and a warm light enveloped the filly. She screamed, but nothing harmed her. When it faded away, Sweetie looked at her flank to see a...a cutie mark! It was a pink heart-shaped note, outlined in purple. It was very beautiful, and Sweetie Belle was overjoyed to see it.
"Rarity, look-" Sweetie Belle turned to show her sister her achievement, but Rarity was gone. Her eyes were closed and her breathing stopped. Sweetie Belle cried long and hard into her sister's fur along with Spike.
"Rarity..." Spike tried to say something, but he couldn't. "...I will protect your sister now. For you."
Sweetie Belle looked at her sister one last time. She looked peaceful, as if she were in a better place now. She is in a better place now...away from all of this. The Element of Generosity was still hung around the unicorn's neck. Sweetie Belle unhooked and put it on herself. "I will keep this safe for you now, sister."
Rarity was given a proper burial in front of the Applewood sign. Sweetie Belle searched the area for something that could stand as a tombstone, and found a small wooden post. She dug it into the ground where Spike carefully buried the body. Sweetie Belle and Spike stood side-by-side for an eternity, staring at Rarity's final resting place.
There was a gentle breeze along the Applewood sign. The orange sky turned a dark red as Sweetie Belle finally turned to move on.
"Where are we going to go? What will we do?" Spike asked solemnly. Sweetie Belle was not sure what to do now. She wondered if the others were still alive. There was no way to tell if anypony besides Twilight was still okay.
"We have to write back to Twilight..." Sweetie Belle said, and made her way back to the city. There was a shop near the Applewood sign, which luckily had writing supplies. Sweetie Belle sat down with Spike to write a letter:
Twilight Sparkle,
We received your letter. Sorry for writing back so late...something bad has happened. We are currently in Las Pegasus. Rarity was captured by some ponies in an attempt to offer a sacrifice to the Sleipnir...well, they came and attacked most of the ponies. Rarity...Rarity died as a result. I am currently with Sweetie Belle, and we are not sure what to do. We want to go to the Crystal Empire, but it is too far and too dangerous.
I hope everything is okay with you.
Spike
Spike sent the letter on its way as Sweetie Belle began to cry again.
"Come on, Sweetie Belle!" Spike said, trying to cheer her up. "We can go anywhere you want to go."
"I want...I want to go home." Sweetie Belle said with a sob.
Spike frowned. "If only we could."
The two started walking out of the city, for hopefully the last time. As she went along, Sweetie Belle started to sing another song. Her voice, however, was shaky and sad as her words echoed into the heavens, for all to hear.