It was a month later. Rarity and Twilight sat in the Carousel Boutique, sharing a cup of tea, as they had done all those weeks ago. Circumstances had been very different then.
It was a carefree Rarity that sat before Twilight now, laughing and joking with her friend. That thought made Twilight smile more than the joke that Rarity had just told about the owl seamstresses.
There was a knock at the door, and Rarity excused herself to answer it. She returned with the late edition of the Canterlot Times.
“I asked Rainbow to get it for me. She owed me a favour,” she said, answering Twilight’s questioning look.
“Ah. It was, erm…”
“Fletch’s trial today. Yes, dear, it was. Shall I read to you?”
Twilight nodded.
Pegasus Prisoner Found Guilty
The trial of the notorious pegasus criminal, Juniper Berry, came to its conclusion today. After almost a decade of blackmail, smuggling and extortion, the pegasus was found guilty on all counts and sentenced in a trial that was delayed by a successful escape attempt a month ago.
In his summary, the right honourable judge Juris Prudence stated that Mr Berry was a criminal for whom only the worst punishment would suffice. Calling him “The worst of the worst and the lowest of the low,” the judge went on; “You ignored pony law for your own gain. You fostered a criminal empire within Equestria with no regard for anypony other than yourself. The extent of your crimes is shown by the sheer number of witnesses who came forward to testify against you.”
Mr Berry, who stood accused of twenty-five counts of smuggling, thirteen counts of blackmail and extortion, five counts of murder, one count of kidnapping and fifteen counts of intent to cause grievous bodily harm, is believed to have committed far more crimes than those he was indicted for.
However, a lack of evidence in many cases led to the prosecution only pursuing a limited number of charges. Mr Berry was found guilty on all counts and has been sentenced to exile and life imprisonment in the infamous maximum security prison located in the area of the Frozen North.
The news came as a spokespony for the Guard revealed that they had no further leads on the whereabouts of Mr Berry’s sister, Trixie, who aided him in his initial escape from the Canterlot dungeons, but the Guard reiterated (read more on page five.)
The two ponies were silent for a long time after that. Finally, Twilight spoke.
“So that’s that.”
Rarity glanced at her.
“Indeed. Although I can’t believe they didn’t apprehend Trixie.”
Twilight shrugged, and seemed unconcerned.
“I had to leave her to come and help you guys, and she was gone by the time the guard got there. I wouldn’t worry though Rarity; it’s me she’s after.”
Rarity smiled.
“And if anypony can deal with Trixie, it’d be you, dear. Very well, I shall try not to worry. She will be back though. One day.”
“I know. I’ll be ready.”
They sipped their tea, in silence once more. Then Rarity, who had been chewing her lip for the past minute, turned to Twilight.
“Twilight, I have a question.”
“What is it Rarity?”
“It’s about Fletch. In the maze… in the maze, I could have left him. I wanted to leave him. I almost did. I wanted him to pay for everything he’d done.”
“But you saved him.”
“I did. Even if it meant giving my life, I knew I couldn’t leave him to die.”
“So, what’s your question?”
Rarity sipped her tea, and then placed the cup gently down on the saucer.
“What is generosity? I give everything I can, whenever I can. I would have given my life to save Fletch, but would that not have, in reality, been extremely selfish? I would have left all of you behind, Sweetie Belle on her own, all to save someone who probably didn’t deserve it.
“And all these problems stemmed from me wanting to make money for Sweetie, to make her dreams come true and to make everyone proud of me. If I were less generous, would we have had no issues at all? Would I not even have considered his offer?”
Twilight looked slightly stunned.
“You mean you planned to use those dragon scales… for Sweetie? For us?”
Rarity nodded. Twilight continued her voice quiet.
“Not for yourself.”
She looked up and met Rarity’s eyes.
“Rarity, at the end of the day, the Element of Generosity does not govern everything you do. You can’t expect to give and give forever, and spend every moment trying to work out if what you’re doing is really the most generous thing.
“You should have saved Fletch. Not because it was generous of you to do so, to potentially give your life, or anything like that, but because it was the right thing to do. Equally, you shouldn’t have considered his offer, no matter what your intentions.
“Rarity, if you girls have taught me anything since I came to Ponyville, it’s that you need to follow your heart. Stop second guessing yourself.”
For the third time, there was a long silence. Twilight concentrated on the birds chirping and singing outside, away from the now tense atmosphere. They seemed more real to her.
“You’re right, Twilight.”
Twilight was brought back to reality.
“Hmm?”
“About everything. I’m sorry for being so foalish.”
She smiled and Twilight smiled back, moving over to her and drawing her into a hug.
“Lesson learned?”
“Lesson learned,” Rarity replied, “and understood. Do you think everpony else has a crisis of conscious as regularly as we seem to?”
Twilight laughed.
“Who knows? I think it’s a part of life.”
She looked at the clock on the wall.
“Come on, Rarity. Pinkie won’t wait forever.”
Rarity groaned in an exaggerated manner.
“Another party?! I’ve barely recovered from the last one.”
The two unicorns left Rarity’s home and set off towards Sugarcube Corner, glad that, even after all that had happened, life was back to normal once more.