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// I'll Be There For You 
// Story: A Shadow Hangs Overhead 
// by BronyWriter 
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Janice smiled at Rarity as her and the two doctors led her through the facility. "You're going to be okay, Rarity," Janice said. "We're going to do our best to make sure that you're very comfortable."

"Okay," Rarity whimpered. She hung her head and flattened her ears, doing her best to hide in her mane. She chanced glances around her, and saw large white rooms, many of them filled with foals talking to other doctors or playing with each other. She even saw one where a group of foals a few years older than she was were sitting in chairs in a circle in front of a doctor who was saying something that Rarity couldn't quite make out. 

"We'll show you to your room then we're going to ask you some questions to get started, okay, Rarity?" said Dr. Mind. Rarity lightly nodded. "Good. I assure you that your room is comfortable."

Dr. Redheart opened up another door, and the four of them walked through, revealing a long row of white doors. The four walked up to one with the number seven on it, and Redheart opened it. When she saw what was inside, Rarity couldn't help but shudder. It reminded her a little of the cell she had been forced into after her arrest. However, there were some differences. The bed was an actual bed, and not just some cot hanging on the wall. The sink was her height, and there was even a bookshelf in the room. Dr. Mind led Rarity inside and placed her sewing book on the shelf. 

"I know it isn't much, but it's comfortable. If you wish we can have some things brought from your home to here so this place can seem friendlier." He turned his head towards her with a smile. "Would you like that?"

Rarity weakly nodded, her eyes still scanning the room. Part of her wanted to run, to see if she couldn't make it out of the institution and back to her parents before they could catch her. They could move somewhere else if she managed to to do that. The thought that this would be her room for who knew how long was unsettling to her, but she didn't move. They'd catch her if she ran. 

Dr. Mind took a deep breath and herded Rarity out of the room. "Okay, it's getting late, but Dr. Redheart and I would like to talk with you a little bit before you go to bed, is that okay?"

"Uh-huh," Rarity squeaked. 

"Good." Dr. Mind looked over at Janice. "I think we're good here. You can contact her parents to say that she's settled. Ask if they want to bring some of her things over here too." Janice nodded and walked back through the door to the hallway. The two doctors led Rarity into a side room and directed her to a chair. Mr. Redheart shut the door behind them, and the two sat down across from Rarity. Dr. Mind opened up a folder and took out a pencil. 

"Now, we just want to ask you a few questions, okay?" said Dr. Mind. "We've heard a few reports, but we'd like to know what your perspective is on what happened today, okay?" 

Rarity wiped her eyes and took a deep breath before diving once more into her story, recounting the events of the entire school year before the goings on of that day. It was almost a routine after telling Celestia what had happened, and she was grateful that the doctors didn't say anything. It made the whole thing go much faster. She didn't want to tell it anymore. It would only have to make her think about what she had done, and why she was here. 

When she finished, the two doctors took a minute to jot down a few notes before looking up at her. It was Dr. Mind who spoke up first. "So, Rarity, I know these are difficult questions, but I need you to answer them truthfully. When you said that it felt good to kill Dug and Kicker, what did that mean to you?"

Rarity whimpered and flattened her ears. "I..." Rarity sniffled and wiped a fresh round of tears from her eyes. "I'm not sure why it felt really good. When I hit them with the rock, I felt really strong. I felt a new feeling that I hadn't experienced before, and it was really nice for me."

The two doctors exchanged a look, but didn't say anything further on the subject. The both shut their folders and stood up. "Well, Rarity, it's late. We'll talk some more in the morning, but I think right now the best thing for you is to get a good night's sleep, okay?"

Rarity nodded and the two doctors led Rarity back to her room. The moonbeams were shining through the small window in Rarity's room, bathing it in an eerie glow until Dr. Mind turned the lights on. He took Rarity's horn blocker off, allowing her to use her magic to bush her teeth with a toothbrush that had been provided for her. Once Rarity was finished with that, she was directed to her bed. Dr. Redheart pulled the covers back, allowing Rarity to slide under them. She pulled them over Rarity and tucked her in, giving her a gentle kiss on the head and a warm smile. 

"We'll talk to you some more tomorrow, okay, Rarity?" she said kindly. "Just try to get some rest, okay?"

"Okay," Rarity squeaked. 

The two doctors smiled at her and exited the room, shutting the door behind them. Rarity flinched when she heard it lock, and her mind came to the realization that this was little different from the prison cell she had spent most of the day in. Sure the bed was more comfortable and the doctors were trying to make it so that it seemed less like a cell, but she was certain that she was still a prisoner here. Still, she figured that she might as well get some rest. If this was where she was going to spend a good portion of her life, she might as well try to get used to it now.


*  *  *  *


"How are you doing, baby?"

Rarity smiled and leaned into her mother's chest. "I'm good, Mommy. They're all very nice to me here."

Rarity's mother nuzzled the top of Rarity's head. "That's wonderful."

Rarity's smile faded, and she returned her mother's nuzzle. "They... they don't let me play with other foals, though. They..." Rarity squealed and tensed up when the memory forced its way into her brain. 

Murderer. 

They called her a murderer. 

And I thought I was nuts. We have a real life murderer right here.

Watch out girls, we'd better be careful around her. She might bash our brains in.

I heard she ate part of the newborn foal she murdered. What do ponies taste like, murderer?

She didn't play with the other foals anymore. 

Rarity sniffled and relaxed as her mother hugged her tighter. She looked up at her father who was still staring blankly at her. She gave him a small smile, which he returned. "Rarity... I have a little errand to run, okay? I'll be back in twenty minutes." Rarity and her mother frowned, but they didn't stop her father from walking out of the private room the three of them had been directed towards. 

Rarity's mother sighed and shook her head. "Magnum..." 

Rarity flattened her ears and looked up at her mother. "Mommy... does Daddy hate me now?"

Pearl's eyes widened, and she vigorously shook her head. "No, Rarity! No! Your father and I talk every day about you, and believe me when I say that he misses you very much. He doesn't hate you at all." Pearl looked back at the door. "He's just... sad that those ponies had to take you away. That's all. He's sad because of them, not you."

"Okay." Rarity leaned back into her mother's chest, her heart admittedly warmed a little.

Only a little, though. 

In truth, Rarity had been told that frequently by her parents when they had come to visit over the past week. Her father was just sad that she had been taken away. That's why he was blank like that. Still it had been a week since she had been institutionalized, so Rarity began to wonder if he was really just sad, or if he was beginning to hate her for what she had done. She had confided such fears in her doctors, but they assured her that he loved her all the same. 

"Rarity..." Rarity looked back up to her mother. "I need you to be very, very honest with me." Rarity's mother set her down a few hooves away from her. "Are they treating you right here? Have they hurt you in any way? I know that those beastly foals have, but have your doctors?"

Rarity's eyes widened and she shook her head. "Mommy, I told you that they've been very kind to me."

"You could tell Mommy if they hadn't been, couldn't you?"

Rarity quickly nodded. "They're very nice to me, Mommy. E-even though I'm a murderer, they don't want me to feel sad. They want to help me."

"Rarity don't call yourself that!" Pearl snapped. She swept Rarity into another hug and squeezed her tight. "It was self-defense, okay? Both of them were self-defense! You don't have any bad feelings, you didn't enjoy it, and you're not a murderer, okay?!" Rarity whimpered when she felt tears drip onto her head. "You're a good filly. They were going to hurt you, so you stopped them. Even the second one who everypony thinks you murdered was going to beat you up after you hit the first one." 

"Mommy--"

"They wrongfully imprisoned you, Rarity!" Pearl let out a sob and began rubbing Rarity's back. "Th-they just misunderstood what h-happened. That's all it is! Now they have you calling yourself a murderer when you're not! Y-you're a good filly!"

Rarity flattened her ears in an attempt to block out her mother's words. Every day this happened. Every single time her mother visited her she said the same things. All Rarity knew to do was wrap her forelegs around her mother's waist and nuzzle up to her. She could only sit there in her mother's forelegs and let her mother cry herself out. It was time for that now. 

Her mother didn't finish crying for quite a while, and by the time she did, she had resumed merely stroking Rarity's mane. "You're not a bad pony, Rarity, and you're not a murderer. If anything those bad foals who were going to hurt you are the murderers here. They took everything from you!" 

And I took everything from them, Rarity thought. She dared not say it out loud for fear of upsetting her mother even more, but deep down she knew it was true. She was the evil murderer here, not Dug or Kicker. 

Rarity's ears perked up when she heard the door open up behind her. Her father was back from whatever errand he had to run. She turned her head to greet him, and saw that he brought somepony back. Rarity broke out into a wide grin when she saw who it was. 

"Cheerilee!"

Rarity's mother let her go, and Rarity ran over to her friend. The two ran up to each other, and Cheerilee wrapped Rarity up in a crushing hug that Rarity eagerly returned. "I was so scared for you!" Cheerilee moaned. Rarity's eyes widened when she felt tears drip onto her shoulder. "Everypony is so sad at school, especially Teacher. Her boss thinks that he should fire her for what happened, and a lot of the parents think so too!"

"They can't do that!" Rarity insisted. "She didn't do anything bad." Rarity flattened her ears and leaned against Cheerilee's shoulder. "I'm the one who did everything bad. I should have told Teacher that they were being meaner."

"It isn't your fault, Rarity. It's all their fault. They were going to hurt you." Cheerilee nuzzled Rarity's cheek. "I miss you, Rarity. I miss playing with you at school. It's not been as fun without you for anypony."

"I'll try to come back soon." Rarity returned Cheerilee's nuzzle. "I'll try to come back so it can be like it was before. We can get together and play lots when I get out, okay?"

Cheerilee broke away from the hug, and looked into Rarity's eyes. "But when will you get out? They aren't keeping you here forever, are they?"

Rarity shook her head. "Princess Celestia promised that they wouldn't. She said that I can come home someday, but she didn't tell me when."

"I'll come see you every day that I can until then!" Cheerilee put a hoof on Rarity's shoulder and gave her a small, sad smile. "You didn't deserve this, Rarity. They were the mean ones. They deserved to be in here so they could have learned not to be so cruel to ponies." Cheerilee's lower jaw quivered. "This isn't fair. None of this is any fair at all!"

"I know." Rarity wrapped her forelegs around Cheerilee's shoulders. "Promise you'll come visit every day you can?" Cheerilee nodded and returned Rarity's hug. Rarity looked up at her father and smiled at him. "Thank you, Daddy. I missed her."

Magnum returned Rarity's smile, and Rarity was delighted to see a hint of genuine happiness behind it. He reached out and patted her on the head. "You're welcome, Rarity."