//------------------------------// // Infinite - Jondor // Story: Flarity Group Collab // by Jondor //------------------------------// Written by: Jondor Rarity was dead. She knew she was dead from the instant she pushed off from the ground and put herself in the path of the runaway cart. She didn’t want to die, but it had to be done. Time had stopped for her in that one instant. She could still feel the weight of the wheel crushing her into the pavement. Though, it was odd that she couldn’t feel the pavement. Soon enough, all the pain was gone. In fact, all feeling was gone from her body. She supposed dying was like that. Though she wondered why she was still thinking. Perhaps there was something to the notion of an afterlife. It was clearly not a world of touch, but she had other senses; it couldn’t hurt to try. She opened her eyes. Rarity found herself floating in an infinite starry void. In the inky blackness, her white coat shone brilliant as a star, though there was nothing to illuminate with her radiant light. “Hello?” The sound of her quavering voice echoed, though there was nothing for it to echo from. “Congratulations, my little pony.” As her warm voice spoke the words, Celestia herself faded into view before Rarity’s eyes. “Princess Celestia? Am I dead?” “Of course not, Rarity. You did come very close, but you are quite safe now.” Celestia smiled wide as she dipped her head to give Rarity a reassuring nuzzle. “But, where are we? What are we doing here?” A thousand other questions swam inside Rarity’s head. “I’m sure you have many questions, my little pony, but I believe somepony else has some business first.” As she opened her mouth to speak, Rarity was swept up in the embrace of two large yellow wings, and felt a pair of lips press down against her own. Their horns softly clacked together as they kissed. “Oh, Rarity,” Fluttershy cooed, “you were so wonderful. That was so brave of you to save those foals. It was so scary, though. I almost couldn’t watch.” A nearby ethereal, glowing rectangle showed Rarity leaping into the path of the heavily laden cart. She watched herself push a wagonful of blissfully ignorant foals to safety before the cart barreled down on her. A brilliant purple light surrounded her body as the cart hit, and suddenly she was gone from the scene. “You have proved yourself to be the most generous pony in Equestria, Rarity. To be willing to give up your own life to save strange foals in a strange city, even though you struggled to carry on as the last of your friends to ascend to princesshood. Rarity, I am proud.” “So am I. I love you, dear.” Fluttershy’s eyes were full of tears as she kissed Rarity for the last time as a unicorn. “It doesn’t hurt, I promise.” Rarity felt the hot spark of magic spill from her horn, whipping around her curly mane, engulfing her body in a torrent of magic. She felt the spark enter her chest, pass through her nervously beating heart, and attach to her back. All was white noise, white light, and numb feeling for a long moment, until she felt her hooves touch down again on solid ground. She opened her eyes to see her lover and her four other friends smiling wide at her as she unfurled her wings.