Rarity opened her eyes and found darkness. She stood up and stretched her sore body. A pale blue aura came from her horn, revealing a large pile of rocks. How convenient for the entrance to be blocked. Looking above her, she saw that the rocks piled to the ceiling. With no other options, she turned around to find a new exit. What she saw made her eyes grow to the size of saucers. Embedded in the floor and walls were gems of every colour. Reds, browns, blues, purples, and pinks all were within the walls.
“Sweet Celestia!” she yelled. “So many beautiful gems! All mine for the taking.” She began to trot into the cave staring at her glittering surroundings. Diamonds, and sapphires, and rubies, oh my! There’s tourmaline, and tiger’s eye, and even beryl too! And is that… YES! Citrine! I must remember where this is so I can use them for my dresses. Rarity’s eyes were sparkling as hundreds of designs came into her mind. Off in the distance she could hear a voice. It sounded like… her own? She stopped and listened closely.
“We’d been BFFs forever, and we didn’t even know it!” the voice said. Something seemed off about the voice. It was an exact copy of her’s. Rarity galloped towards the source, her voice echoing off the walls. After a few moments she reached a turn. Beyond the turn was a glow and the source of the voice.
“Please tell me I did not forget the plates,” the voice said. A gasp soon followed. “I did! I totally forgot them. Of all the worse things that could happen, this is THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!” The voice then started to cry. Why am I hearing my own voice? Rarity turned around the corner and gawked at the sight. In front of her were large crystals forming a wall. The crystals were projecting her memories. One of the images showed her and Fluttershy preparing for Photo Finish’s visit. Another showed her falling during the Young Fliers Competition. Another showed her creating the Gala dresses and singing. Rarity slowly walked forward taking in the sight.
“What is all of this?” she asked. She stopped in front of one of the crystals and saw herself writing a letter to her friends. The Rarity in the image turned her head and looked at her.
“This,” the image said. “is your life darling.” Rarity jumped back in surprise. The background that her reflection stood in faded away to blackness. The Rarity in the crystal turned to face Rarity.
“Who are you?” she asked. The reflection smiled at her.
“I’m the voice of your desires,” it said. “Everything that you have done is because of me. Whatever you wanted, I helped you get.” Rarity opened her mouth to ask more questions, but her reflection held up a hoof stopping her.
“There is something though,” the reflection said. “something I can’t help you acquire.” The reflection’s horn gave off a pale blue glow and the images changed. Three images replaced the ones that were present. All of the images had Rarity in them, and she was close to another pony. Each of those ponies were her friends. In one of the images both she and Twilight were wearing custom monogrammed robes and having a spa treatment. In another, she was singing a love song to Fluttershy. Above that image, she and Rainbow Dash were… intimate. Rarity stared at all of the images in awe.
“Out of all the things you want,” the reflection began. “I can’t help you acquire love.” The images merged together and formed an orange earth pony. Rarity was very familiar with this pony, it was the one she loved. The reflection looked at Rarity with sad eyes.
“It hurts doesn’t it?” it asked. “Watching the pony you love go off gallivanting with somepony who is unworthy of her?” The image of the single pony split into one of two ponies. This had a pale blue pegasus stallion with his wing wrapped around Applejack. The two of them were sharing a loving gaze. Tears welled up in Rarity’s eyes.
“Yes,” she cried. “Yes it does hurt. Why are you showing me this? Why are you tormenting me by showing me the fairy tale ending that I can’t have?” Her reflection’s expression softened.
“I’m making up for what I failed to do,” it said. “That way, you can have your fairy tale ending.” The image again changed. In it, Applejack was wearing chain mail with her cutie mark in the mail’s center. On top of the chain mail was a cape that matched Rarity’s eye colour. Standing in front of Applejack was Rarity. She was wearing a pale blue dress that flowed down her body. The two were staring at each other with love in their eyes. Applejack then gave Rarity a deep kiss. The Rarity watching the image stared in shock. The reflection smiled.
“If you want,” it began. “you can have this. You can be a princess with Applejack as your knight in shining armour.” Rarity just stared at the image, words having failed her.
“However,” the reflection said. “nothing is free in this world. There is a price.” Rarity didn’t care though. A smile was on her face and happy tears flowed from her eyes. This was her chance. She could finally live happily ever after. She could be happy with the pony she loved.
“Whatever the price,” she said. “I’ll pay it.” The reflection gave her a coy smile. All the crystals around Rarity shattered. Each one broke into small pieces and they rained down on her. The only one that remained had her reflection in it. For a brief moment, the reflection’s eyes turned into cat like eyes.
“Wonderful,” the reflection said. The reflection disappeared and the crystal rippled like water.
“All you have to do is walk through this threshold,” her voice echoed around her. “and your new life will begin.” Rarity touched the crystal, ripples pulsed from where her hoof stood. The crystal felt cold, yet warm at the same time. She pushed herself deeper into the crystal, happy thoughts swimming in her mind. Wait for me my love. I’ll be there soon.
Rarity entered the crystal into her new life. She was entering a life where she could be happy, a life where she would be loved, and a life where she herself could not love another.