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// Victory, But for Who? 
// Story: You're All Alone, Sweetheart 
// by TheApexSovereign 
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I walked back to Discord, feeling like I just ripped a piece of my own soul out. I couldn't bring myself to look at Rarity in the eye. She faintly whispered, "Sweetie Belle...." Before choking on a sob. 

Discord gave his trademark grin and Trixie rose her eyebrows in surprise, like she really thought I'd pick my sister. "I'm sorry, Rarity." I kept my back turned to her. "But I can't pick my own desires over Equestria." I turned to see she was crying softly, her friends gathered around to console her. 

Rainbow Dash, being the hothead that she is, flies up and says, "Well we're still standing here! So if you want to get to the Princess, you're gonna have to go through us!" She pounded her chest to show she was physically talking about herself. 

Trixie humorously rose an eyebrow at the six ponies, aside from Fluttershy still comforting Rarity, entering a battle pose. Rainbow Dash was the only one that looked ready to fight. The others seemed reluctant. And like a miracle, the battered and beaten Princess Celestia landed several feet beside the Elements, near a chipped edge of the rooftop. She glared at us with fresh tears streaks going down her face. She looked different. Like, she seemed tired and worn out. The heavy panting was a dead giveaway. 

"Princess Celestia?" Twilight whispered. 

The alicorn winked at her, like they had some sort of secret plan. Just the very sight of her made me want rip her throat out, and she knew it. I ran towards her with my face twisted in a scowl and Holy Arms extending from my horn. 

From the corner of my good eye, I saw a cyan blur rushing towards me, then get blasted back by an orange energy beam. Discord yelled, "Hold off the Elements as long as possible! We're so close!" A choir of hooves rushed towards them as I neared the Princess. 

She looked at me with disappointment in her glossy eyes, like I was making a bad choice. The sound of magic being cast and hooves connecting with flesh was heard in the background. 

The Princess took one last desperate stand to stop me; she fired a stream of wavy yellow energy from her horn. I swerved around it and swung my head to the left. The tip of Holy Arms sliced through her left foreleg, almost cutting it clean off. She collapsed to her side, gasping in pain. 

She looked up at me with reddened eyes. "Please...." She whispers. 

I rose my horn, about to strike once more, when I suddenly heard Rarity's voice. "Sweetie Belle! Please don't make me do this!" What's she talking about? No! No distractions, I'm so close now!

I swiped my sword of light through her once unconcealed wing, nearly amputating it. Blood poured from her wound onto the fine marble rooftop. She was actually crying now. The Princess Celestia was crying. This is turning out to be more fun than would've ever dreamed of. 

Rarity begged once more, "Please Sweetie, I'm begging you!" I ignored her. 

I brought up my head, charging up one last mighty strike. I brought my horn down with exerted force. Just as the Holy Arms began to slice through her neck, splaying blood over her cream colored coat, something like a freight train hit me, knocking me clear off my hooves. I landed on my back with the assailant standing above me.

Warmth was felt sliding down my neck. I opened my bruised eyelids and found Rarity standing over me, tears brimming her eyelids and her horn covered in a thin layer of blood. My blood. It took me only a second to realize that she punctured my neck with her horn. Though the wound wasn't deep, I knew I'd only last a couple minutes tops. 

Rarity placed both hooves over my wound, crying softly and whispering to herself repeatedly, "I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry..."

I can't believe she actually did that though, killed her own sister. I wouldn't have done that, not at this stage. But Rarity did. "Is this what it takes?" I whispered, using much energy to do so. "Is this what it takes for you to actually hold me again?" I felt tears starting to slid down my coarse cheeks. 

Rarity ran a bloody hoof through my lanky hair, pushing it aside, and gently kissed me on the forehead. "Please don't think like that." She whispered. "I want our last memory together to be a good one." Her voice cracked on a sob.

I felt a knot in my throat tighten. "Okay..." I muttered before breaking down into tears. Rarity hushed me and she set her head over mine, like we always used to do. At this point, I noticed the fighting has stopped. Everypony was probably watching us. But I actually didn't care. 

I got what I always wanted: Rarity truly loved me. It's like all the pictures I drew in my coloring book, except this is reality. 

And I managed to kill Princess Celestia! Sure, I won't be alive to see it, but a utopia will be born. Equestria's free....

Twilight Sparkle was heard tearfully crying out, "Princess Celestia!" 

And a familiar, melodic voice strenuously said, "It's okay my little ponies, nghn, I'll be fine." 

My reddened eyes shot open. I used all of my remaining energy to sit up and see the Princess struggling to get back up. 

I started screaming like a maniac. "NO! NO, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!" A new round of tears blurred my vision. "THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!" Blood sputtered out of my mouth. 

My sister, with tears pouring from her eyes like a waterfall, looked into mine. She gently placed her blood caked hooves on my shoulders and slowly set me back down on my back. All the same thoughts were running in my head. I can't believe I failed! Everything I've done was for nothing! This was just one whole pointless journey!

Rarity sat her haunches on my stomach and rubbed the side of her face against mine. I coughed up more blood that splashed up to my sister's face. She didn't seem to mind at all. My face was probably an even more disgusting concoction of blood, tears, and scars. 

But in the end, Rarity really didn't care. Trying to keep me alive as long as possible, she placed her hooves over my punctured neck. I felt the warm blood seeping under and dripping to the cool stone rooftop. 

My sister's tears splashed down onto my face. "Sweetie Belle," she began, taking a pause to sniffle, "you're the most important thing in my entire life, and I don't know what...." She took a deep breath, trying to hold her composure together, "I don't know what I'd do without you." Her affectionate smile shook, the bottom lip quivered. The whole time, her beautiful blue eyes were focused on me. 

"I know this...pretty speech won't make up for all the years I've neglected you. And I'm sorry." She took a deep, shaking, breath. "I'm sorry that you had to live such an awful life.....And I'm sorry for that." She couldn't hold back any longer. She cried the hardest she ever have in her entire life. Burying her face into my small torso, her cries of sorrow ached my heart. The release of choked sobs made me feel numb. I feebly rose a hoof and ran it through her silky purple mane. 

In between dying coughs and tears I said, "It wasn't an awful life," She looked up at me with reddened eyes, anticipating my response. "I had you for a sister." I gave a wobbly smile and began to choke on my own blood. 

I began to feel the warm blanket of death slide over me. Rarity got off my stomach and wrapped her forelegs around me and held tight. "I love you so much Sweetie, and I'm sorry for everything." I took one last glance at her bandaged flank. 

"I'm sorry to-to-" I couldn't breath, my lungs felt constricted. Slowly, my vision darkened until the last voice I heard was Rarity's, though I couldn't understand what she said. 

I was glad the last thing I heard before I died was her. And in my book, that's better than any utopia. And I didn't die alone. I died beside a loved one. 

My big sister, Rarity. 





Rarity gently placed Sweetie Belle's body back down on the pavement. Everybody, even Rainbow Dash, even Celestia silently wept for the tragic filly. The Great and Powerful Trixie levitated a blue silk handkerchief under her eyes, wiping the mascara running down her face. 

Discord was the only one not shedding tears. He looked rather shocked. He gave an amazed sigh and said, "Wow, you actually killed her." 

Rarity's sorrow was replaced with newly found anger. "What are you talking about!? You never cared about her! If you did, then you would've done something about it! You could turn the roof into ice, my horn into dust, transport Sweetie to some island but you didn't, did you? You never gave a damn about her." She marched over to her friends, who all gave silent nods of condolences. 

The demon's face twisted into a hideous scowl of hatred. "You know what?" He spat. "You're right. I didn't care. You and your hubris egotistical race makes me sick!" His marble yellow eyes gazed up and down Rarity's figure. "I refuse to live in this society of conceited fools like yourself." He threw his arms in the air. "Come on! Do it! I'm serious, I won't run, do it! Turn me to stone and continue to live your petty life of self indulgence!" 

He teleported beside Twilight's tiara and reappeared over her head, placing it behind her horn. Discord stood before the Elements and made a target appear over his chest. "Fire when ready, ponies!" 

They glanced at eachother, thinking this is some sort of trick. But they could tell from the look of the enraged demon that he was deliberately doing this. He wanted to be defeated. "Come on, do it!" He impatiently tapped his foot. "I don't even want to be in your kind's presence, all your talk about friendship and harmony makes me gag!" 

The ponies complied. The ascended into the air, all firing the shapes of their Elements, intentionally missing Discord. They were bathed in a white orb that fired a rainbow into the air. It arched back down, twisting and turning, barraging the god of mischief. He was turned to stone from the feet up. He didn't scream. He didn't fight. 

And when the technique was over, Discord's statue was him with his arms folded and a passive expression on his face. 

Everypony waited in silence, overlooking the carnage engulfing Canterlot. Trixie bowed her head to the Elements and Celestia, not saying a word. 

The princess limped over to her and said, "You do know banishment will not condone your sins." She hinted at execution. 

Trixie nodded. "I know." She whispered, sounding like she was about to cry. 

Twilight Sparkle placed a hoof on Rarity's back, who was staring across the rooftop at Sweetie Belle's serene carcass. "It'll be okay, Rarity. We'll help you get through this." Her friends joined her at her sides, even Celestia. 

"You girls are the best friends a pony could ask for." The unicorn said. 

Celestia wrapped her good wing around the group, encasing them in it like a blanket. "I know what it's like to lose a sister, Rarity. Luna will be greatly missed throughout Equestria."

Twilight's panged heart glanced up at the shattered moon and back down at the demolished Canterlot. "What'll happen next?" 

Celestia looked out into her setting sun. "Now we have to rebuild, tell the public what happened." 

Rarity stared at the mighty goddess with pleading eyes. The princess knew what she was asking. "What happened to Sweetie Belle was a tragedy in itself. She was corrupted by neglect and lies, and we payed the price. I won't lie to the public Rarity, but I will tell them about your sister's tragic downfall and not spare any details." 

The pony of generosity nodded in compliance. Together, the group of eight looked out into the sunset hidden behind the scorched mountains and smoke rolling into the sky. 

But we all now this isn't over yet. Nothing ever is. Because everything in life is just another chapter in a really long story.