//------------------------------// // Amethyst Shine by blackrosedarkness // Story: Ripples // by BronyWriter //------------------------------// *Note: Amethyst Shine (my OC) is not the same pony as Amethyst Star a.k.a. Sparkler (background pony) Just wanted to clear up any confusion. ^v^ Amethyst Shine stared at the object in her hooves. Her light blue-violet coat was stained and her purple and sapphire mane was disheveled. Her eyes, normally a vibrant rose color, were now red and puffy. She had another nightmare. Amethyst opened the box in her hooves and stared at its contents. Truly the most amazing piece she had ever crafted, an intricate silver necklace, spotted with tiny pieces of dark amethyst and on the front, three perfectly cut light blue diamonds. The necklace sat in a box lined with purple velvet, Amethyst Shine had spent almost a year on it. Her profession was jewlery making, but she couldn’t have gotten off the ground without her help, it was the reason she moved to Ponyville anyway. Rarity taught her that jewel finding spell, given her advice on how to convince ponies to buy her merchandise, and Rarity had even told her customers at Carousel Boutique about her small little jewelry store! Amethyst adored Rarity’s work and only wanted to match Rarity’s skill for dressmaking with her own skill of jewelry making. Amethyst Shine just stared at the necklace box. As she thought about her mentor and inspiration, new tears began to form, “I...I thought… How…? Why…?” It had been a week since she had read the papers, Rarity, the same pony who helped her get to where she was, had been a serial killer for fifteen years. Fifteen. Years. She had killed dozens of ponies, and had been given the needle that morning. It crushed Amethyst to hear the news, “Were you going to kill me? Did...did it ever cross your mind? I...I trusted you! I trusted you and now you’re dead! You were a murderer all this time!” Amethyst threw the box across the room. The necklace stayed intact, unbroken from the many, many times she had thrown it across the room. The dents in her wall proved that. Now Amethyst regretted putting that protection spell on it, she wanted it to shatter, to break into tiny pieces like she did when she found out… But she couldn’t bring herself to remove the spell, that necklace was her greatest work. It had taken her two months to accumulate enough pieces of amethyst and another month to break them into small enough pieces so they would fit perfectly in the intricate, curling silver, which had taken her three months to get right. The diamonds were the hardest. Four months to find, another month to cut perfectly, and three weeks to make them sit perfectly. She was going to give it to Rarity as a thank-you present for all the help, and now… Amethyst Shine wrapped the necklace in her light blue aura, she pulled it closer and held the box close to her. Another tear fell on the box, “Could I have done something? Could I have helped her?” The diamonds simply shined in the dim light of Amethyst’s bedroom, providing no answer to the questions she had asked. Amethyst sighed and closed the box, gently placing it on the little table next to her bed. She began to pace around her room, muttering to herself, “Night Rose has tried to get me outside for the past two days, she wants to talk to me about what happened.” Amethyst shook her head and stared down at her hooves, ”Oh, Rose. I’m sorry. I took your cousin to visit Rarity, and now she’s dead. I should have done something, I thought they would get along with Morning Bloom being so into fashion back in Canterlot. But when she said Rarity’s dresses were “unremarkable” and “mediocre” … I didn’t think Rarity would kill her! I didn’t know… It’s all my fault! I’m sorry, Night Rose! I’m sorry, Morning Bloom! I’m sorry, Rarity! I’m… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” Amethyst collapsed onto her bed. She had spent the last few days crying, panicking, and going through fits of rage, and now more tears were being added. She couldn’t believe that under that kind and generous exterior was a killer, a cold-hearted murderer. Amethyst heard the rumors, some say she murdered a little filly and her mother and then stuffed them and put them in that basement of hers. Ugh… That basement. Amethyst wanted to hurl just thinking about it. She heard enough about it to last a lifetime, blood and knives everywhere, pelts adorning the walls, it was disgusting. Amethyst turned over and screamed into her pillow, “How could you?! I thought you were a good pony!” Amethyst continued to sob into her pillow, “It’s all my fault… I should have noticed something, I should have helped her! If I hadn’t been so stupid, maybe more ponies would still be alive. Maybe Rarity would still be here.” Amethyst laughed to herself, “She could walk into the shop and be like ‘Oh, hello Amethyst. The shop looks wonderful!’ and I would say ‘Oh, it’s nothing. By the way I got you something.’ and she would try not to take it saying, ‘Oh no, darling. You didn’t need to get me anything.’ and I could pull out the necklace like, ‘It’s just a little something for helping me out.’ and she would find it to be so beautiful and promise to wear it every… e-every… Oh Rarity! Why?! Why did you do it?! Why?!” Amethyst began to sob into her pillow again, “Why, Rarity… Why…” After she calmed herself down a bit, Amethyst stood up and walked into her kitchen. Tea. That’s what she needed. A nice soothing cup of tea and then she would go to bed and everything would be better in the morning. She placed the kettle on the stove and looked at the picture on her wall. There she stood. Amethyst and Rarity standing in front of the newly opened Diamond Destinies. Night Rose had volunteered to take the picture. Amethyst had such a big smile it looked like her head would split in two, and Rarity looked as refined and elegant as ever, a bright smile plastered onto her face. Amethyst stared at the photo for another moment before turning back to the cupboard. She looked through her collection of tea leaves and blends and settled on a special jasmine tea. It was imported from Neighpon and it was her favorite blend. She held the cup close, taking in it’s aroma and the warmth it provided. Memories came flowing in, memories of a time from before the world knew about Rarity, before Morning Bloom came to town, a time when Amethyst could enjoy a cup of tea with her friend and mentor on a cool spring day. Rarity had actually been the one to give her this tea, she was such a generous mare. She always had been. Amethyst sipped her tea as she continued to look at the picture on the wall. She eventually sighed and removed the photo from the wall, placing it face down on the table. She didn’t come down here to think about Rar- that mare. She came down here to try and relax so she could go back to bed. She glanced at the clock over the stove, 4:30. Amethyst sighed and began pouring herself another cup of tea when she heard a little bell ring. She had installed a bell that would ring whenever someone opened her mailbox so she would know the the postmare came. It was a little early for the mail to be dropped off, but she decided to check it anyway. She pulled out two letters from the mailbox and took them inside. She opened the first one and began to read, “Dear Amethyst, how dare you go on like nothing happened. You probably knew about this all along and that’s why you don’t seem to care. You were probably in on the whole thing, how many bodies are in your basement, huh? Blah, blah, et cetera, et cetera.” She threw the letter in the trash. She had gotten about twenty letters accusing her of something simply because Rarity was her mentor in the realm of fashion. She got everything from death threats to ponies claiming to have evidence connecting her to all of Rarity’s murders. Amethyst was hesitant to open the other letter but did so anyway. Dear Amethyst Shine, I know you’ve probably been going through a lot. I never knew Rarity as well as you did, but from what I hear she used to be really nice. I know the town is giving you a hard time because of what she did for you, but you shouldn’t feel bad. You didn’t do anything wrong, it was all Rarity’s doing. After all, how were you supposed to know? Since you won’t return my calls I decided to drop this in your mailbox. Amethyst, it’s okay. I know what happened to Morning Bloom wasn’t your fault, you had no idea that would happen. Yes, I am very upset about my little cousin being murdered. No, I am not mad at you in anyway. Please, just come by and talk to me. It won’t do you any good if you never speak to anyone again. Please, Amethyst. I need my best friend back. Your friend, Night Rose Amethyst folded the note and put it on the table. She would have to go see Rose later, after she got some more sleep. Night Rose was right, nothing would bring Rarity back, and nothing would change what she had done. Amethyst would only get worse if she stayed home moping to herself, she wasn’t the only person who lost someone in all of this. Amethyst sat on her couch and continued to think about everything, “I’m sorry for making you worry, but I’m going to get better. I’m going to go see my friends and put this all behind me. I’ll probably go see Sweetie Belle, too. She probably needs a friendly face with everything going on, that sweet innocent filly. I know how much you hate it when I get depressed, so I’m putting the past behind me.” Amethyst picked up the photo one last time and smiled for the first time in a week. “Goodbye, Rarity.”