> Last Hope
>  by yoshiXII
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“If you move at all, I’ll stab you. You got that?”
Rarity remained passive on the chair. She wondered how she got there. All she remembered was that she was trotting along the alleys of Ponyville, trying to find materials for her next masterpiece. Then, dull pain followed by darkness. Now she was sitting on a chair in a dark room with at least seven ponies threatening her.
“See this, Rarity?” The same stallion held up a microscopic chip to her face. Rarity squinted, though she couldn’t recognize it at all. “This was implanted in you and your friends during the flu shot.
“The thing you might not have known is that it’s actually deadly. Once it goes into your bloodstream, it can make its way into your brain. There it remains in a stasis until a signal transmits. But once the transmission occurs, the chip signals all of the lysosomes in the cells to self-digest the cell simultaneously. You would be dead within seconds. Worst is, the chip will stay for your lifetime, so there’s always the threat of immediate death. Fortunately, the signal is very specific and only we know the frequency.”
“So you’re telling me that you implanted this in me,” Rarity spat bitterly. “But why?”
The stallion shifted his weight. “Let’s just say that this is blackmail. We need your help and there’s no way you would accept without some...motivation shall we say.”
“What’s the deal?” Rarity asked, not wanting to know the answer.
The stallion looked around the cottage at the other ponies gathered. “Is the room bugged?” he asked. The other ponies offered no answer and only shrugged.
The stallion whispered into Rarity’s ear. Rarity’s eyes widened and her expression was one of utmost horror. “You ponies are monsters! Why would you do this?”
He sighed. “Let’s just say that this would benefit us immensely since we do get quite the few clients. It’s either this or have you and your friends die. Which one will you choose?”
Rarity looked around nervously. “Can you give me a few days’ time to think about this? This is quite the proposition.”
The ponies around her started talking. Silently they came to an agreement. The stallion said, “Yes, but you will be observed. If you tell this to any other pony, we will have to transmit the signal. It can be spread throughout Ponyville, so there’s no escape.”
Rarity bit her lip. “Fine, have it your way.”
The stallion chuckled. “You know, we thought that you would choose this option over your friends dying. It’s almost like you’re betraying them.”
Rarity shot him a dirty look. “If you ponies had a heart, you might be able to understand my hesitation.”
He shrugged. “I understand. I used to have a life too. But right now, it’s your move. Our ponies are already depending on you.”
“This is absolutely wretched. I can’t believe ponies like you exist.”
“We’re the reason modern society exists, ma’am.”
> Explanation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applejack struggled to open her eyes. She could feel that she was flat on the ground, yet she couldn’t remember why she was there. As her eyelids flittered open she was only confused further.
In front of her was white emptiness littered with dark specks of dust levitating in mid-air. It was hard to say when the white floor met the white horizon. This world seemed to have held its breath, standing as if stuck in time. Not even the specks seemed to be moving.
Applejack felt intrusive, like her presence interrupted the natural flow of this world. Where was she? She stood up and tapped the floor experimentally. It was solid. She wondered how such a place could be created.
“Ah, there you are Applejack,” Rarity mused as she trotted behind her.
Applejack whirled around. “Rarity? Where are we?”
Rarity sighed and looked deeply into Applejack’s eyes. “Dear, we’re in what I like to call the Spirit World. This place has been suspended in limbo for all eternity. No one knows where it is or how it came about, but it’s here.”
Applejack shook her head. “So, how did we get here?”
“Well,” Rarity said, averting her eyes, “I suppose that I might’ve drugged us both. Do you remember?”
Applejack gasped. The restaurant on the top of the hill. The random date with Rarity due to the pony dating board. The wine. The wine.
“Ah was drugged?”
“Yes, I suppose so. I should explain.” Rarity quickly told Applejack about the blackmail against herself and her friends.
Applejack looked disbelievingly at Rarity. “So you’re saying that we could die at any second.”
“They allowed me a few days to think so I didn’t know what I could do. Should I take their deal, or should I try to rescue my friends? They told me that they would keep watch on me so I wanted a drug that would allow me to talk to my friends and I asked my pharmacist.”
“Wait hold on, Sally,” Applejack said. “What’s the deal?”
“Oh, it’s nothing you would want to hear,” Rarity waved off. “I decided against it even if it jeopardized my friends. It was that bad.
“Anyways, she suggested that I implant this drug within each of my friends. Apparently, even the maker of the drug isn’t sure of its function but it’s a powder that can be applied to beverages. It’s supposed to transport the taker into this world, though it’s only the taker’s subconscious that gets transported. Think of it as a blank slate for people to meet.
“Well, the drug only lasts a minute, but in this world it lasts an entire day. The reason I brought you here was so that I could tell you what was going on or else you would have protested and fought against me. I didn’t want to leave you in the dark and just base your trust on my honesty. You see, right now, I have some paid bodyguards waiting to escort us to the hospital where Nurse Redheart can perform surgery and extract the chip from our brains.
“And I only wanted the drug to last a minute because otherwise the ponies following me would find out. Right now, it just seems like we both had a momentary lapse and within a few moments we’ll be able to say that we weren’t hungry and wanted to leave. They can’t stop us from entering the hospital because the bodyguards can overpower them and make sure they can’t transmit any signal.
“I also didn’t want to have our friends all out on a dinner to get drugged because it would seem too conspicuous to the ponies. They could potentially intercept us before the bodyguards arrive and then they could transmit the signal. It had to work as a date because I seem like the type to ask my friends out. Any questions?”
Rarity peered at Applejack who was scratching her head with her hoof. Rarity sighed, this was exactly like she expected. She knew that Applejack wouldn’t be able to believe that such horrendous deeds exist.
“So you’re saying,” Applejack began, “that this was a better option than your deal? Musta been quite the doozy.”
Rarity bit her lip. “Yes, it was that or you guys dying.”
“Well, Rares. Ah...Ah...”
“Yes?” Rarity asked, wondering what she was going to ask. Hopefully she grasped the concept and wouldn’t ask something st-
“Ah love you.”
Rarity’s heart skipped a beat as she looked straight into Applejack’s eyes. What she saw was pure honesty. After being so worried about Applejack’s questions and bewilderment, this came out of the left field.
“Ah just figured that if we might be able to die, that I would tell you.” Applejack blushed and started focusing more on her hoof that was tracing across the surface. Her heart raced as every moment passed by like hours, waiting for the answer though resigned to the inevitable.
“Well...” Rarity struggled to find her words.
“Spare me, Rares,” Applejack lamented. “Ah know that you wouldn’t give thought to a country gal.” Tears silently fell onto the ground, disappearing into it. She wished she had her hat now so that she could hang it over her face, but she had to suffice with just turning around and staring down at her hooves.
“No!” Rarity shouted, a bit louder than she meant it to. She closed her eyes, trying to see how she felt about the farmer. A part of her kept saying that Applejack was too uncouth and rough to even consider. But an overwhelming part of her admired Applejack’s supple muscles rippling beneath the skin. That beautiful blonde mane that flew freely. Her gorgeous flank adorned with three succulent apples. Her honesty.
“I love you too, Applejack.”
As Applejack turned around in surprise, Rarity’s lips met hers. After the initial shock, they both calmed down and closed their eyes, enjoying the moment. The kiss was tender, yet firm as though they never wanted to part.
Part they did and they looked at each other with wonder. They kissed again, this time with more ferocity and passion. Their tongues danced between their mouths as Rarity pushed Applejack to the ground. As they broke off again, Rarity licked her lips and glanced at the sexy mare spread out before her.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Rarity asked, suddenly afraid.
Applejack nodded and their moans filled the still air for the rest of the day.
> Realization
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rarity smiled at her lover as they lay there drenched in sweat. She relished in the moment, even though she knew they would leave soon. She looked sadly as they both turned into black specks.
Once their entire body turned into the specks, it hovered there for a second before darting back into the white sky, vanishing.







Rarity opened her eyes.
“Dammit, Agent Gems, this was your last victim.”
She sighed. She knew what was coming.
Applejack looked to see that they were sitting in a table outside an eerily vacant restaurant that still had its staff waiting inside peering anxiously at them. The moon shone brightly on their position at the top of the hill. She looked to the table right next to them to see the stallions.
There were two of them sitting there while four ponies lay unconscious on the ground between them. Doctor Whooves and Prince Blueblood. They gazed expectantly at Rarity and Applejack.
Applejack glanced back to Rarity and was shocked to see her sobbing. “It wasn’t meant to be this way!” Rarity yelled.
“You knew fully well what the deal entailed,” the Doctor stated monotonously.
“I’m sorry Applejack,” Rarity said softly.
“Ah, I see you didn’t tell her yet,” Prince Blueblood chimed in.
Applejack looked furiously at them. “Ah ain’t gonna let you two hurt her.”
“This wasn’t part of the deal. You said that if I did your bidding, that my friends would be unscathed. Then you send me her.” Rarity waved at Applejack.
“After Applejack, we would’ve left you alone,” the Doctor said. “Think of it as a final test of your loyalty to us. And you were so close. All you had to do was keep silent for the rest of your life.”
Applejack looked between them in bewilderment. “What was the deal? And why are there bodies on the ground?”
“We dispatched these ‘bodyguards’ Rarity sent after us.” Prince Blueblood looked bored, checking his hoof. “I still can’t believe she wouldn’t tell you the truth. Rarity would you like to do the honors?”
Rarity shot daggers at them. Then, she turned around to look at Applejack. Her eyes were bloodshot and her mane was ruffled. “I’m sorry, Applejack.” She gazed downwards at the table.
“You see, I accepted the deal. I didn’t have a choice. I didn’t want my friends to get hurt.” Rarity’s words came out in a rush.
“Slow down there,” Applejack said, “What was the deal?”
Rarity winced. “The deal was...to kill ponies. I was their assassin.”
Applejack’s eyes widened. “Why would you do that?”
“I didn’t know better. They promised me that they would not have you guys killed. They needed me because they wanted a witness. I would go on dates with a stallion and the waiter would implant the poison in the drink. I would merely say that the pony had a heart attack. I was actually one of many mares to do this since they didn’t want it to be conspicuous.
“When I said that they contacted me a few days ago, that was a lie. It was a year ago. I’ve been doing this for an entire year. I’ve seen...twelve ponies killed.”
Rarity closed her eyes, knowing that Applejack would be repulsed by the mare she loved. But when she opened her eyes again, she found understanding in Applejack’s eyes. “Ah believe you, Sugarcube. What you did was honorable.”
Then her eyes turned steely as she faced the stallions. “But why did you guys want to kill ponies in the first place?”
“Applejack, there’s an entire business for this,” Doctor Whooves explained. “Rich ponies pay us handsomely to exterminate a select few ponies like you. Some stallions known as Flim and Flam want you dead because you are the leader of Sweet Apple Acres. With their primary competitor out of the way, they would take over the farm through various contracts and start a monopoly. Our industry is known to many ponies who know to dig deep for information. We have thrived for centuries this way. It’s what comes natural to us.
“But tell me Rarity, what were you planning on doing?”
“Since you signed me up for Applejack, I went into a rage. How could they sign me up to witness my own friend being killed? So I paid some bodyguards and explained my story to Applejack. I wanted help the rest of my friends too, but...I was afraid for Applejack. I should’ve known the bodyguards wouldn’t stand a match against you guys.”
Prince Blueblood smiled. “Ah, love. How blind it makes ponies. I remember spreading the rumor of Napoleon’s wife. Quite the impact, though not as much as I expected.”
Applejack stood up and walked to Rarity, holding her head against her chest. Rarity’s tears were dried by the hair. “Ah don’t get it. Why didn’t you just kill all six of us at once to get me?”
Doctor Whooves chuckled. “Believe me when I say this, Applejack. We actually have morals. We want to spare as many lives as possible.”
“Jus’ how many of you folk are there?”
The Doctor counted in his head. “Around forty.”
They stood there in silence, contemplating what it all meant. It seemed as though the nighttime creatures were quiet as well. It was as if time stood still.
“So what’s going to happen to us, then?” Rarity asked muffled, not wanting to know the answer.
“Oh, that. I suppose we’ll have to kill all six of you then. I brought this along with me.” Prince Blueblood pulled out a device with a red button in the middle. “It can activate the signal back at our headquarters automatically.”
“You can’t be serious. After all that I did. Twilight, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Fluttershy are innocent.”
“I’m sorry it had to end this way. But you two are too much of an inconvenience.”
Rarity drew back from Applejack. They looked solemnly at each other.
“So this is it, then,” Applejack said. “Ah just want to know that even though you made a bad decision, that Ah still love you.” Tears dripped silently down her cheeks.
“And I love you.”
They kissed.
Prince Blueblood pressed the button.