//------------------------------// // I'll Always Love You, Blossom // Story: A Mother's Duty // by Rated Ponystar //------------------------------// A Mother’s Duty By The Rated Ponystar Edited and based on the KillerRarityVerse by BronyWriter Chapter 7: I’ll Always Love You, Blossom “The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.  She never existed before.  The woman existed, but the mother, never.  A mother is something absolutely new.”  -Rajneesh For the first time in a long time, Sweetie Belle wanted her big sister. She didn’t care anymore about what Rarity was or wasn’t. All she wanted was her to come home, hug her, and tell her everything was going to be okay, just like she used too as a filly when Diamond Tiara made fun of her, or she got upset for failing to get her cutie mark again. They would hug each other, sometimes eating cookies and milk while Rarity just stoked her head and kissed her on the forehead. It was those memories that made Sweetie Belle forget that her sister had been a serial killer. Serial killer. Was she doomed to always be haunted by that for the rest of her life? Everything had been changed by it: her life, her friends, family, and now her daughter. Everypony was caught in the web of Rarity’s sins, maybe even all of Equestria. Like ripples on a pond, no area of the water was left untouched by her sister’s horrible deeds. She lost so much when Rarity was caught and executed, but she gained it all back in the form of her daughter. Now I’m going to lose her... I’ll lose everything again... Sweetie Belle though, sitting on her bed, curled up in a ball. Nopony took the news of Blossom being locked up forever well. Everypony wanted to give her sympathy, but Sweetie didn’t want it. Comet was the worst to take in the fact that she would never see her big sister again. Sweetie Belle felt it was personally her responsibility to tell Blossom’s father and sister the news. Rolling Thunder broke down and cried while Lilly stood there in silence. Comet, however, overheard everything. She screamed and even attacked Sweetie Belle, saying she was a bad mother for letting this happen to her daughter, and wailed that she wanted her sister back. The little filly got one thing right, she was a bad mother. Sometimes, Sweetie wondered if everything that had happened to her was one big dream. That she was still a little filly, searching for her cutie mark, sleeping in her bed while having the worst nightmare of her life. And when it was over she would wake up, see her sister alive and well, and there would be no secret passageway to a murder room. But that’s what it all was. Merely a dream. Another knock on the door snapped her out of her stupor, but she ignored it. She didn’t know who it was, nor did she care. All she wanted was to be left alone, but it looked like it wasn’t going to happen when she heard the door smash open. Hoofsteps came up the stairway until she heard the door open for her room. Wrong place, Sweetie Belle thought as she rest her head upon her sister’s sheets. She hadn’t come into this room in a long time, but it felt like Rarity’s spirit was still with her. The door opened for the room she was in, and Sweetie Belle saw someone she hadn’t seen in years. He was much taller, handsomer even, with a long traveling trench coat on his back that showed the evidence of his many travels. He looked at her with understanding green slitted eyes as he walked forward on his two feet, scaled tail behind him. “I... I heard...” Spike said, tears streaming down his eyes. “I was at Appleloosa. I read on the news. I-I’m so sorry, Sweetie.” She leapt from her spot on the bed and hugged Spike as tight as she could, crying on his scally chest. He rest his head on her ruined mane and nuzzled her. “I’m sorry. I should have been here for you, for all of you, all those years ago I should have stayed.” “You had your reasons. I don’t blame you,” Sweetie Belle whimpered, but deep in her heart she wished she had stayed. No other person had defended her or understood her pain like Spike did. “But... why?” “I loved Rarity,” Spike muttered, closing his eyes. “Despite what she did, I still loved her. It... hurt seeing her die like that with her name dragged into the mud. And when I saw you suffering I thought I could protect you with the others, like Rarity would have wanted.” Spike clenched his fists. “But I just couldn’t stop thinking about her. About Rarity. I left because... I wanted to forget all this pain. This suffering. I wanted to forget her because I wanted to heal my heart again.” He looked into her eyes, guilt emanating in them.  “But then I heard what happened with your daughter and you, and I ignored it because I felt like if I got back involved it would hurt again, but now I see that the pain will never leave me. Just like it hasn’t left you.” He hugged her again. “I’m sorry, Sweetie Belle. I should have been here. I never should have left.” Sweetie Belle just held onto the sobbing dragon, until she guided him to the bed and they sat down. “Did you see Twilight yet?” Sweetie Belle asked, holding Spike’s claws in her hooves, “she’ll be thrilled to see you.” “I came here first. I think you needed it more,” Spike muttered, wiping his cheeks. “... do you remember what happened when we were sixteen?” “... you mean on the anniversary of Rarity’s death?” asked Spike to which Sweetie Belle nodded. Blushing Spike answered, “I managed to sneak some alcohol and the two of us got drunk and... we...” “Made out while crying. You whispered Rarity’s name while doing so,” said Sweetie Belle, sighing. “Even though you thought I was somepony else, it made me feel somewhat loved; a way to help with the pain.” She looked at Spike and whispered, “Can you help me again? Tonight? Even if it means nothing... I just want to feel something.” Spike stared at her before slowly taking off his coat. He reached over and kissed Sweetie Belle, holding her tight as he pressed her down on the bed... *** It was midnight by the time Sweetie Belle woke up next to Spike beneath the covers. He leaned closer upon his chest and held him tight, like a warm, scaly teddy bear. She had no regrets what they did, even if there was no true love behind it. She laughed, cried, screamed, and begged while Spike treated her like a priceless treasure. He was soft, gentle, yet fierce. “You still awake?” asked Spike, caressing her mane. “Yeah,” Sweetie Belle muttered, bringing the covers closer to her. “Spike... what am I going to do? In two days I’ll see my daughter for the last time. If I die, I’ll never see her again. If she dies, I’ll have to bury her like I did with my sister. I want to save her, Spike. I really do.” “You're her mother, Sweetie Belle,” Spike whispered. “What do you want to do?” “I want to end her suffering.” Sweetie Belle sniffled as tears fell down her cheeks. “I want her to find peace and to not suffer anymore. I want my little foal to be free again. Life has been so hard for her...” And then it finally hit Sweetie Belle. Her eyes opened as her mind went through a single idea that began to form up in her mind. It was simple. And it was the only way she could do the right thing for her daughter. Closing her eyes, she wiped away the tears and cuddled next to Spike. “And I think I know how to save her.” “Sweetie?” asked Spike, but was silenced with a kiss. “Shh, it’s okay. I’ll tell you when I get back,” Sweetie Belle whispered, closing her eyes. “Let’s just pretend... that everything is peaceful... just for tonight.” Spike nodded before closing his eyes as well. Sweetie Belle sighed as she hugged onto Spike tighter. *** Never had Sweetie Belle been as nervous as she was now. Her entire body was shaking and she was breathing heavily. Sweat could be seen dripping down her brow as the guards gave her the final clearance to pass. She was grateful that none of them seemed suspicious of her, most likely just chalking it up to her distress from the sympathetic looks in their eyes. She had only just entered the halls when she saw somepony already waiting for her. Princess Celestia walked over to Sweetie Belle and bowed her head. For a long time, there was silence between two as Sweetie Belle glared back at her with narrowed eyes before she sighed and lost all sense of anger in an instant. It was all going to be over today, so there was no point in hating the princess any longer. “I know I have said this to you many times, Sweetie Belle, but I will say it one more time,” Celestia said as she lifted her head, a tear dripping down her cheek. “I am so sorry. I failed you. I failed Joyous Blossom. There has been so much suffering for the two of you, and, despite my power, I was helpless against it. Neither of you deserved what happened to you. None of it all.” “Princess...” Sweetie Belle walked over and placed her hoof on her shoulder. “It’s okay. I’m not angry anymore. You did your best, but I guess even you can’t fix everything.” “It’s a lesson I am learning bitterly,” Celestia whispered as she stepped back to allow Sweetie Belle entrance into the halls. “Go see your daughter. Take as much time as you want.” “Before I go, can I ask one favor?” asked Sweetie Belle, holding her breath. This was it. If she didn’t get it now for her plan to go through then she would have to improvise. “May I have my daughter’s horn? Something to remember her by?” Celestia didn’t answer at first but soon nodded as her horn glowed a bit before the horn materialized in the air. Sweetie Belle carefully took it with her magic and cradled it it was a newborn foal. A small smile stretched across her muzzle. “Thank you.” “It is no trouble,” said Celestia. She turned around and made her way for the exit. Sweetie Belle, knowing there was no coming back with her plan, suddenly cried out a question she had always wanted to know for years, but never had the courage to ask. “Celestia! Did you... did you ever regret executing my sister?” The princess stopped in place, her face staring at the doors across the room. “I have never regretted the execution of The Ponyville Bucher.” She then turned around, her eyes as gentle and soft as the sky above. “But I do regret the death of Rarity, The Element of Generosity.” That was all she had said before leaving the room. Sweetie Belle stared at the retreating princess before she too turned and left. *** The situation was the same as before. Her daughter was wrapped in chains, straight jacket and all, with the armed guards ready at a moment’s notice. Thankfully, none of their spears were on her daughter, most likely because she looked already dead in the eyes. Sweetie Belle sat down and looked at her daughter, whose focus was on the floor. She seemed so lifeless, like there was nothing left of her. Was this one of the personalities in charge? Or was she simply numb from all the drugs that had been pumped inside her to keep her calm? Sweetie Belle didn’t know, but she didn’t care either. Moving her chair forward a bit more, Sweetie Belle caressed her daughter's cheek, hoping to find some sort of reaction, but her daughter’s eyes refused to look at her. “Blossom? Do you know how much I hated my life before you were born?”Sweetie Belle cooed, soft and gentle as if she was telling her another tale before bedtime. “There were so many ponies that hated me and my parents simply because I was the younger sister to a murderer. They thought I must have known about all the deaths, or even played some part in it. I knew why they were blaming me. They wanted somepony to take the blame. Somepony to take the fall since Rarity was already dead.” She shivered, remembering all the times mobs of ponies tried to kick her out of town, or taunt her to do something criminal so they could just be proven right. “I had my friends, Spike, and even my sister’s friends help me at every turn, but there were times when I just... couldn’t take it. Times when I just hated everything, including my sister. Times when I did stupid things like get drunk, get in fights, or dress up like my sister on Nightmare Night to avoid getting pranked. That lead to more problems. “Even after I accepted my sister’s sins, even after it all started to die down, I was never happy.” Sweetie Belle leaned over and kissed her daughter’s forehead. “That was until I had you.” Blossom slowly lifted her head. “When I learned I was pregnant from a simple drunken night, I was ashamed at first, but then when I gave birth to you I felt something I hadn’t felt in a long time. Hope.” Sweetie Belle smiled, remembering the day she delivered the little filly of hers into the world. “You were so sweet. So innocent. I didn’t care about anything else other than being the best parent I could be for you.” Her smile waned. “I always remember the days raising you. Teaching you how to walk and talk. Making you giggle and rock you to sleep. I was happy. After such a long time of being miserable I was happy because of you: my little Joyous Blossom.” Her smiled faded a bit more. “But life is cruel. And soon enough history repeated itself, despite my best efforts and worries. I was gonna lose you again and I couldn’t let that happen.” She nuzzled her daughter’s cheek. Sweetie Belle could see some life growing in those dead eyes. “I let myself suffer for you. To let you have a life, but you still suffered. I wasn’t able to protect you from the world and I’m so sorry, Blossom. I’ll never forgive myself for making you become this... this shell of your former self.” With tears in her eyes, Sweetie Belle hugged her only daughter and laughed. “I’ll always love you, Blossom. And I promise you will never have to suffer anymore. Because I’m going to be a mother again. And I’m going to save you.” “Mom?” Blossom whispered, speaking for the first time. Sweetie Belle kissed her on the cheek and smiled. “It’s okay, Blossom. Just sleep...” Using her magic, Sweetie Belle levitated Blossom’s horn. “... sleep and be free.” Before any of the guards could react, the horn was stabbed into Blossom’s neck. *** This can’t be happening. Please tell me this isn’t happening! Celestia screamed in her head as she rushed down the halls with speed unlike any other. She was almost to the palace when a guard had told her what had happened with Blossom and Sweetie. She didn’t want to believe it, she had to see for herself. A loud crowd of doctors, nurses, and guards stood in her way as she made it to Blossom’s room, but they quickly made way for her. Entering the room, Celestia felt her heart leap at what she saw. Her guards stood there in stunned silence, staring at the scene with just as much shock as her. There she saw Joyous Blossom, eyes closed forever, with her own horn impaled on her blood covered neck. Holding her was none other than the murderer and mother of the departed unicorn, who gently stroked her mane with a smile. She softly sang a tune that everypony knew: “Hush now, quiet now. It's time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now, quiet now. It's time to go to bed.” “Sweetie Belle...” Celestia collapsed onto her haunches in horror. “Why?” Sweetie Belle simply smiled and said, “I’m her mother, Celestia. Only I could end her suffering.”