She Kills Monsters

by chiko

Diamond Tiara

Sweetie Belle needed kindness. That was the conclusion Rarity drew.

She was still processing the information, reeling even. She wanted nothing more than to hold her little sister close and tell her it was okay. That she was valid. That her feelings were valid, that it was okay that her sister loved women, and that she deserved love. To love. To be loved.

Yet she never had the chance.

She didn’t even know until now, a year removed from her sister’s passing in a confusingly encoded diary that masqueraded as a children’s game.

Could I have done something? Was I unapproachable? She stared down at the pages upon pages of the painful phrase scrawled onto paper. She hoped, prayed that it was just therapeutic venting and not some burning self hatred that she couldn’t extinguish.

She’d never have the chance to ask which it was.

Bells snapped Rarity out of her trance. She looked up from her desk, finding a pair of teenage girls at the entrance of her boutique. Her body seized for a moment as she recognized the two.

It was them. It was Sylvia and Diana. No scales, no size. Just two teenage girls in her shop. They were clients. They were people, yet they were still monsters.

“My daddy wants updates on the dress,” Diamond Tiara announced, marching right up to Rarity’s desk. The other girl followed closely.

The dressmaker plastered on a smile. “Ah, good to see you. Your dress should be on the mannequin by the window. Just be careful with it. I haven’t attached all the detailing yet.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she hummed, walking behind the partition. “Daddy’s out of town, so I’m gonna send him a few pictures.”

“That’s alright, darling.” There was a bit of venom in her voice. It went unnoticed. Rarity glanced over to the other girl, who was staring at the picture on her desk. “Is something the matter?”

The girl looked down at her shoes. “I’m sorry about your sister.”

Rarity swallowed. “Thank you.”

“We had choir together." She fumbled with her hands. “We sometimes stayed after class to help each other practice.” It looked like she wanted to say more. "Sweetie Belle was... a great singer."

Keep her name out of your mouth.

“Silver!” Diamond Tiara cried from the partition. “Help me zip up my dress.”

“Coming!” she squeaked, hurrying over to aid her friend.

Rarity turned back to her work but found it difficult to focus. Her hands refused to cooperate, and all she could picture was the pair of girls who mercilessly bullied her sister. It took every bit of self control she had not to throw them out.

She sighed and took a long drink of water.

Eventually, the pair of girls returned. Diamond brushed past her. "My dad will email you what he thinks."

On their way out, Silver knocked over the business cards from her desk. "Sorry!" she yelped, before kneeling and picking them up.

Later that night, Rarity received an email.