Final Talk
Rarity awoke to the feeling of somepony holding her hoof. She tried to move, but the sharp pain in her side put a stop to those thoughts. She slowly opened her eyes and saw her mother beside her, both of her hooves grabbing Rarity's own. Her face was red and puffy from crying. Rarity gently nuzzled her mother's leg.
"Momma," she whimpered.
"Rarity?" Her mother's eyes widened and she looked to the opposite end of the bed. "Magnum, Rarity's awake!"
Rarity felt somepony grab her other hoof, and she turned her head to see her father on her other side. She smiled weakly at him. "How bad do I look?"
"Not too bad, Rarity," her father said, giving her his best attempt at a smile. "She didn't hurt you as bad as she could. They got the knife out and gave ya a blood transfusion. Thirty six stitches."
"And Sweetie Belle?"
"She's resting. Doctors put her under a sleep spell. She was kind of hysterical once you passed out when they were taking you out of your home. She needed six stitches for her cheek."
"Oh," Rarity said quietly. "But she'll be okay?"
Rarity's father gave her a comforting smile. "Of course she will. She'll get the stitches out and see that you're gonna be fine, and she'll be okay."
"Let me know the instant she wakes up," Rarity said, nuzzling her mother's leg again. "I think we both need to see that the other is okay."
"Of course, Rarity!" her mother said. "She should be up soon. They just wanted to help her calm down."
Rarity nodded and chose to continue nuzzling her mother's leg. Her mother adjusted herself so that she could wrap her forelegs around Rarity, being careful to avoid her side. Rarity's father put a hoof on her back and began rubbing it. The two stayed like that for a few minutes before the door to her room opened and Princess Celestia walked in. Her parents didn't make a move to bow, but Rarity managed a smile.
"Hello, your majesty. Sorry I can't bow but," Rarity chuckled humorlessly. "I can't exactly get up right now."
"No need, Rarity," Celestia said, moving closer to her bed. "I am merely here to discuss what has occurred. As I'm sure you expect, Annie has been arrested. She's currently sitting in a holding cell in the Ponyville police station. She's awaiting transfer to a Canterlot prison..." Celestia sighed and flattened her ears. "Where she will spend the rest of her life."
Rarity's stomach twisted into knots in a way that had nothing to do with her stab wound. She sniffled and tears began falling from her eyes.
"I see." Rarity cleared her throat. "She won't be institutionalized? I was."
"What you did was different," Celestia said. "You took self-defense a step too far under duress. This was pre-meditated. She told me everything. You weren't attacking her once you had gotten Sweetie Belle away from her. She went into your home and foalnapped Sweetie Belle with the intention of hurting you both, which she did. She will, of course, receive whatever help we can give her while she's in prison, but based on what she did and why, that's where she needs to be."
"Oh," Rarity mumbled. "Is it possible to talk to her?"
"I suppose so. As her accuser, it is your right to talk to her." Celestia tilted her head. "Are you angry with her?"
Rarity closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Of course I am," she said quietly. "I've been trying to leave her alone for a long time, and even when she said those things to me in the papers, I was content to leave her be. I wanted nothing more than for the two of us to go our separate ways."
"And now she's gone too far," Celestia said sadly. "I do not believe there is anything we can legally do for her. We will, of course, do everything that we can to help her emotionally and mentally recover from the past decade. I feel that I am remiss in that I did not do it before now."
"I wouldn't blame yourself, Princess Celestia. I doubt she would have accepted your help anyway." Rarity closed her eyes and sighed. "When I have talked to her, she's revealed that she didn't really care for how you handled my case. She thinks you should have executed me that very day."
"I'm glad I didn't." Celestia smiled at Rarity and put a hoof on her bed. "You've gone on to do great things, Rarity. You deserved more than what you received."
"But she does too!" Rarity insisted. "Don't you think that she could have had a better life if it weren't for what happened that day? Or today, for that matter? I hate her, Princess Celestia. Hurting Sweetie Belle brought that about, but I don't want to hate her. I just wanted her to leave me alone."
"And now she will," Celestia muttered. "As I said, though: we will do whatever we can to help her through this."
"Of course." Rarity opened her eyes and stared directly at Celestia. "If you can help her in a way that will make keeping her in prison for the rest of her life unnecessary, please do. She deserved better than what happened to her."
"I will try," Celestia responded. "Who knows? After seeing how far you've come, she could do the same. I do not like doing things like this to my subjects, but she brought it upon herself."
"I don't suppose I can disagree, even if I wanted to," Rarity mumbled. "But I do wish that we didn't even have to come to this point."
"As do I, Rarity. As do I."
* * * *
"Now stay off your hooves as much as you can for at least another week. Beyond the exercises I've prescribed, only move around when you must. I would suggest being around other ponies as much as you can, so if it would be easier to stay at your parents' house until you recover, then that would be a good idea. Change the bandages once a day, and come back at once if the wound re-opens or starts to get infected."
Rarity smiled at Dr. Stable and shifted in the wheelchair that the hospital had lent her. "I'll be sure to do all of that, Doctor," she said. "After the week we've had, I think spending time together as a family would do us good."
"I agree," Dr. Stable said. "Go spend some time as a family to recover together. Just don't tear your stitches open, okay?"
"I would rather avoid that if at all possible," Rarity agreed. "Celestia knows that I'd rather avoid being back here, if it's all the same to you."
"Well, we don't want you back here either," Dr. Stable said. "So you go on and get some rest. I personally think you'll do just fine."
Dr. Stable went back into the hospital, leaving Rarity and her family to head on home. Rarity's mother pushed the wheelchair forward, while Sweetie Belle and her father walked on either side of Rarity. Sweetie Belle's face was bandaged to hide the stitches, though she would likely get them out in a week or two.
The family walked back to their home in silence, none quite sure of what to say. It had been determined that Rarity would stay with her parents and sister until she recovered. Rarity's father had arranged for some of her projects to be moved to his house until Rarity was capable of leaving.
On the whole, the family didn't talk much. Merely what they felt they needed to say. Nopony spoke a word about what had happened with Annie, something Rarity appreciated. She didn't want it to burden Sweetie Belle anymore.
That night found Rarity lying on her bed, doing her best to not move so as to not aggravate her wound. She opened one eye when she heard the door open. Sweetie Belle walked in, her ears flat and her head low. Rarity slowly reached a hoof out to her and gave her a comforting smile.
"Hello, Sweetie Belle. How are you?"
Sweetie Belle shrugged and sat down next to Rarity's bed, nuzzling her outstretched hoof. "Okay, I guess."
"I'm glad. I know that couldn't have been an easy thing to see." Sweetie Belle shook her head and allowed Rarity to stroke her mane. "Do know that I only said those things to keep her from hurting you. I didn't know what else to say. I just wanted to get you out of there."
"I know," Sweetie Belle whispered. "I don't think you're a bad pony like that mare said, but it still scared me when you said those things. It hurt when she cut me."
"Of course," Rarity said. "But you were very brave, Sweetie Belle. When I got you away from her, you ran and got help immediately. I'm proud of you."
"Thanks." Sweetie Belle leaned her head against Rarity's bed and sniffled. "When I was going to get help, I didn't make it too far before she came running after me. I thought she'd killed you and was gonna kill me next. I didn't know she was crying for help until she got closer to me. I guess somepony saw me bleeding and got the nearest police officer. One got over to me before Annie got too close. I grabbed his leg and got blood all over it, but he didn't seem to care that much. He picked me up and put me on his back to keep me safe, I guess."
"I'm glad he did. I want you to feel safe."
Sweetie Belle looked back over to Rarity, her eyes wide and watering. "Princess Celestia said that mare isn't going to ever be let out of prison. She's not gonna come back for us?"
"Of course not, Sweetie Belle!" Rarity said, drawing Sweetie Belle as close as she could. "Even if she wasn't going to spend the rest of her life in jail, I truly believe that she wouldn't come after us again. She regrets what she did to both of us. She'd make it right if she could. She's very sorry."
"I guess." Sweetie Belle paused for a moment before continuing. "You don't have to go see her, do you? You can just forget all about her."
"I'm sorry, Sweetie Belle, but I'm afraid that I do, just for one conversation. I need to put that part of my life behind me completely. I need to talk to her one last time. Things have been bad between us for too long. I want one last chance for the two of us to part ways without too much resentment."
"But you said she was sorry. Why would she feel angry with you?"
"No, not her, Sweetie Belle." Rarity took a deep breath. "Me. I want to talk to her to see if I can make it so that I don't resent her anymore. Or at the very least so that I can start down that path. You saw what holding on to anger can do to a pony. I don't want to have that hanging over my head anymore. What happened that day when we were fillies can never be taken back, but it can be put behind us."
"What if she yells at you?" Sweetie Belle asked. "What if she gets angry with you again?"
"I doubt that will happen, but if it does, it's her choice. I can't control how she feels about what happened, but I can control how I feel." Rarity's comforting smile returned. "But don't worry, Sweetie Belle. She can't hurt you or me anymore, physically or emotionally. I'll make sure of that."
* * * *
"Now, as Annie's accuser, you have as much time as you desire to talk to her. Two guards will be in the room at all times for the safety and security of you both. She'll be hoofcuffed, so I doubt she'll try to attack you. No physical contact is allowed."
"Thank you officer," Rarity said. "I don't think you need to worry about either of us breaking any rules. I think we're both too tired of this for that."
"I agree. Once this is over, I think Equestria as a whole can completely move on. We need that."
"I agree as well."
Rarity slowly walked next to the prison guard of the Canterlot Correctional Facility, doing her best to not put any weight on the side where Annie had stabbed her. The guard had offered to let Rarity lean on him, but she declined.
The guard opened up a door with a magical lock and stepped aside, allowing Rarity to enter first. Rarity walked into a rather plain room, with the only contents being a table and a pair of chairs. A guard stood watch by the door opposite Rarity.
"Just let us know when you want to end the meeting," the guard next to Rarity said as she gingerly sat down on one of the chairs. "You can end it at any time."
"Thank you, officer. I don't know how long I'll be here, but... I likely won't come back."
The guard nodded. "I understand. She's on her way and should be here any moment. I'll leave you to it."
"One more thing, officer," Rarity said, stopping the guard just as he began turning around to leave the room. "Her sentence... is she still getting life in prison, or has Princess Celestia reduced that?"
"She's still in for life, as far as I'm aware," the guard said. "Maybe Princess Celestia will pardon her or reduce her sentence at some point, but I find it rather unlikely based on what she did. First degree attempted murder charge on an Element of Harmony plus assault and kidnapping of a minor. I can't see her getting pardoned for that."
"Very well," Rarity muttered. "I'm not entirely surprised."
"Are you upset with her sentence?" the guard asked with a frown. "Did you want her executed for what she did or something?"
"No, not at all!" Rarity said, her eyes widening. "If I had my way, she'd spend time in an institution like I did. I'm the one who hurt her in the first place. If I hadn't..." Rarity sighed and flattened her ears. "I don't suppose it matters now. I'm here to talk with her one last time. What ifs aren't going to change anything about the situation."
The door on the opposite end of the room opened, allowing the guard escorting Rarity to take his leave. Rarity turned back to the door just in time to see Annie being escorted in. Rarity mused that Annie had looked better. She wore an orange prison jumpsuit with the number 042505 sewn on the front. Hoofcuffs secured her fore and hind legs. Her eyes were bloodshot, as though she'd spent a long time crying. When she saw Rarity, she whimpered and stopped in her tracks, but the guard behind her nudged her forward. Annie reluctantly shuffled towards her chair and sat down on it, allowing her escort to take a position on the other side of the door.
Annie and Rarity sat in silence for a few minutes. Rarity stared at Annie as though studying her, while Annie looked down at the table. Rarity opened her mouth to speak, but stopped when Annie spoke first.
"I take it you're here to yell at me. To tell me that I deserve this. Heck, maybe you wanted to see Princess Celestia chop my head off. Maybe that's what you think I deserve. You--"
"Annie, stop it." Annie's gaze flicked up to Rarity, but she didn't raise her head to make eye contact. "I'm not here to yell at you. I'm not here to tell you that I'm going to talk to Princess Celestia to see if she'll execute you."
"But you do hate me," Annie muttered.
"I..." Rarity sighed and ran a hoof through her mane. "Yes, Annie. I'm sorry, but I do."
"It's okay." Tears began dripping onto the table. "I hate myself, too. I'm sure all of Equestria does. I mean, why wouldn't they? You're a big hero who saved Princess Luna. Without you, we wouldn't be having this conversation because we'd all be dead from eternal night stuff. I'm just a bitter pony who couldn't leave well enough alone and hurt an innocent filly." Annie raised her head slightly. "That is what the papers are saying about me, isn't it?"
Rarity shrugged. "Honestly, Annie, all of the years since my mistake happened, I've probably picked up a newspaper three times, if that. I certainly haven't seen one since what happened the other day. For all I know, there hasn't been a single story about it."
"Doubtful," Annie muttered. "They're probably doing nothing but talking about it."
"I can't say, but I will say this for you: of all of the ponies in Equestria, how many of them do you think truly understand what you're going through right now? I daresay that the only other pony who has the slightest idea is sitting in front of you now." Annie raised her head a little more, enough so that she could make eye contact with Rarity. "I emotionally damaged you and I killed Dug and Kicker. I spent six years in a mental institution while the press ripped me apart. Books were written, I was analyzed from every angle by the public, and every day I had to talk about it with doctors and psychiatrists. I know what it is like to hate yourself for hurting other ponies, Annie. I know that nothing that I can say will really help all that much."
"Why would you say anything to try to help me?" Annie whispered. "You already said that you hate me."
"Yes, I do at the moment. I'm angry with you, Annie. What you did to my sister was absolutely inexcusable." Despite herself, Rarity felt her anger rising. "First you hurt her by telling her what I did that day just to spite me, then you hurt her by breaking into my home and cutting her with a knife! I was never going to just let you go, Annie. I would have contacted the police the moment I had an opportunity!" Annie flinched back and let out a single sob. Rarity forced the glare off of her face and took a few deep, calming breaths. "I know I have every right to hate you, and I cannot forgive you right now, Annie. Do know this: I will try. I can't find it in myself to forgive you today. I can't find it in myself to forgive you tomorrow. I may not even find it in myself to forgive you in five years. However, if that is the case, I will spend those five years trying as hard as I can to do so."
"Why?" Annie sniffled and wiped her eyes with a foreleg. "Why would you forgive me? I didn't forgive you."
"And look where it got you," Rarity said simply. "Look where you've ended up. But even if I never forgave you and it never led me to do anything against you, why would I let my anger rule my life? I want to move on from this, Annie. I've been trying to escape that day for almost thirteen years. It's draining to be this scared and angry. If I hang onto these feelings, it's not just going to affect me. It's going to affect my sister and parents and friends. I can't do that to them.
"Beyond even that, is one last thing: you didn't deserve what I did to you. It's my fault that you even had those feelings to begin with. Yes, you tormented me, yes, you chose to hang onto those feelings yourself, but at the end of the day, I killed Dug and Kicker. Your actions were a reaction to that. I can't pretend that you're blameless, but I also won't pretend that I am either. We've both been wrong." Rarity slowly got to her hooves. "I hope you can forgive me for what I did. I will work as hard as I can to forgive you. It will take time, but I truly believe that I can get there."
With that, Rarity nodded at the guards behind Annie. One nudged Annie up, and the other opened the opposite door for Rarity. She walked out the door, doing her best to hide her tears. Just as she reached the door, she spared one last glance at Annie, then turned her head to walk out. She would never see Annie again.
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Props to Rarity for being the bigger pony. Excellently handled, BronyWriter.
6857988 Damn straight. I mean... holy shit talk about a verbal BEATDOWN. Go Rares.
You know... I only have one complaint with this fic.
My complaint being that it would be better if you had more things in the story to gap out the main events. Not exactly big things, just small things to give a little breathing room before getting back to the main focus.
With the story being like it is, it feels repetitive to the point of seeming redundant in how the same issues keep being re-iterated with barely a few paragraphs since the last time it was brought up.
But I like it otherwise. I'd definitely take it over "The Word is Fear". While meaning as little offense as possible, I couldn't even stand to read that one even a quarter of the way through. That fic made Joyous Blossom go up on my wall of "characters who are whiny little brats" right along side Conner from Assassin's Creed 3
Is that a title drop?
Eh... close enough.
Also, *that
6858038 Roll credits *ding*
6858021 ... Are you talking to me or to BronyWriter? Because I don't see what this has to do with what I said.
So, is this the end of the story, or do we have more to come?
6858039 I just noticed that it's marked incomplete. I'll keep tracking this in case you decide to give us an ending that causes depression.
Again.
6858064 More.
6858082 Me? A depressing ending? Pshaw, I say! George Bernard Pshaw! When have I ever done that, especially with this series?
Just out of curiosity, is that "anymore" as in "no longer" or "any more" as in "any further?" It changes the meaning of the sentence a lot.
That's a very limited angle.
6858139 f***. Why do all of my typos have to be like that?
6858187
I'm not complaining, though. I got a nice laugh out of that.
Freudian slip, maybe?
6858053
Ah... ooops, that was meant towards BronyWriter. I think I somehow addressed you by accident.
The following year, a musical version of 'Annie!' opened on Bridleway.
It was... different to the version we know.
I feel bad for both of them at this point honestly.
Have that hanging
Hey dawg I heard you like AUs so I wrote an AU of an AU so you could be outta this world while you're outta this world!
fathomingtheocean.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/tumbler-you-keep-using-that-word.gif
I'm pretty sure Rarity is NOT a lawyer. She may be the one pressing charges, but she's not the lawyer responsible for proving Annie did what she did. That would be Rarity's lawyer, they would be the prosecutor.
6858187 I'm thinking of reading this, but first I have to know, this isn't going to end up like The Secret Life of Rarity is it? I don't think I can take another tragedy fic.
6860391 Fixed.
6860829 Nope. This one stays on the straight and narrow and has a quite peaceful, although not entirely happy, ending. It's quite different from TSLOR - and on that note, I've loved this story. It's a very realistic what-if, and it's amazing just how much changes from a single moment.
Edit: Just realized this might not actually be the ending. Oh. Erm. ???
I have one complaint with this chapter. Despite Luna Making an appearance she dose not say anything. At all. Literally the only thing we see from her is her entering the room, that's it. She is never mentioned again in that scene. Celestia could have entered the room on her own and it would not have made a difference.
I cant help but find that to be somewhat disappointing.
6866221
Agreed. I honestly forgot she existed in this chapter until you pointed that out, and I re-read the section.
On a seperate note, we should get some Luna time with Rarity. If there's anypony who can sympathize with Rares it'd be Luna from her stint as Nightmare Moon. And they'd be good for each other. Maybe not shipping in this, but friendshipping.
6869296 Oh, I have plans for the two of them for sure.
6869345
Awesome! I look forward to it ^_^.
I love how this series is just alternate universe after alternate universe, exploring all the different paths that could have happened after that moment. It's just so cool!
I just realized something that would be pretty neat while catching up on this story: We have killer Blossom and killer Rarity, but what about killer Sweetie? Could possibly even be a continuation branch from this one after it's done where Sweetie, being traumatized more then she lets on after Annies attack and her being helpless in it develops the same hunger for 'power' that the Rarity did in the killer branch. Combine a horrible event where her life is endagered by an older pony she can't fight against willing to murder her and her sister in cold blood and a reason for her to lethally defend herself against a foal in school(maybe DT or another bully taking it too far in an isolated location, shoot the kid of one of Annies delusional supporters might even work with a OC for the role) and you got a good setup for a useable plot.
Of course that would be boring since we already read about Rarity when she didn't get caught and a Sweetie clone of that story might be a bit dull, so maybe Rarity sees the subtle signs when Sweetie gets home having gone through such an event that shes still trying to get over years after... but instead of turning Sweetie in Rarity trys to help her keep it under wraps after Sweetie explains she wanted to before hand, and Rarity knowing that not even Celestias mercy would save a willing killer let alone the sister of a killer from execution(or the public for that matter if she isn't executed) doesn't want to lose her younger sister while blaming herself for Sweetie becoming a killer as well.
Could be a bit like Dexter really, Rarity may have the experience going through the same thing when she was younger but shes not a therapist and getting Sweetie professional help would only lead to her getting caught and eventually executed. So the next best thing to keep her sister safe would be make sure she DOESN'T get caught, give her rules and limitations for who or what to kill and keep things from getting to out of their control. Rarity would realize that without professional help her sister isn't going to recover like her, she realizes Sweetie would get hooked on how powerful she felt and decides to in laymans terms "pull a henry" and teach Sweetie a code to kill by in order to keep her safe... we all know that Rarity would sacrifice herself or 100 others if it meant keeping her little sister safe, and the story could play off that sisterly devotion.
It's not too unbelievable and would be a new twist on the serial killer Rarity verse. Might just be me that likes the idea but im sure some others out there might like it as well so thats why I posted this
....Well let it be known on this fine day, BRONYWRITER FINALLY WROTE AN ENDING THAT DIDN'T MAKE YOU WANNA CURL UP INTO A BALL AND CRY YOUR EYES OUT!... Finally! thank you!! I loved this... I can finally read this last piece of "The Killer Rarityverse" and end on a happy note!.. man I'm feelin' good tooooday...
wait...wa...wa...wait... it's incomplete... DON'T RUIN THIS FOR ME YOU MOTHER******
I will admit it, I like this way more than the original story. Death is a part of life sure, but redemption and forgiveness are more in line with the actual MLP universe. Look as Starlight Glimmer, she tried to rewrite history, and she was forgiven in the end. No point in making everything have a sad ending, it make you look like a one trick pony.
I know what I just did, I regret nothing!
I completely missed that this updated...
man this took me on so many emotions. anywho this was a good place to end it, although i almost wish there where more
then again thats why the AU is a thing lmao
7220978 It's... not over, you know. I hope to get a chapter out today, actually.
7221333 HHHHOLY CRAPP
OKAY SEE I DONT TEND TO CHECK DATES ON THESE IT FELT LIKE IT ENDED
SORRY
IM NOW SUPER HYPE FOR SAID CHAPTER
IM SO SORRY
//if it helps i always assume all fics i read are a tad bit old because i got into the fandom quite....late as one might say, but whenever theres a really good one i find they dont always tend to update ever again lmao
7221333 Still hoping for that chapter. BTW, PLEASE do not make this a downer ending again!
"Just as she reached the door, she spared one last glance at Annie, then turned her head to walk out. She would never see Annie again."
Hrm, is this a statement of expectation from Rarity's point of view, or is this a statement of fact from the narrator? Because it would feel odd if we never see her again, as it feels like there's still a little more to possibly do with that subplot down the road.
it might be nothing, but i'm curious why you chose 042505 as a number. if we interpret is as a date, we get april 25th, 2005. is the date pertinent? doing some searches, the most likely answer i can come up with are an article about a prosecutor charging 2 people for the same murder. would that be any kind of reference or nod to it?
As much karmatic justice as this is I do kinda feel bad for Annie. And honestly I don't really see the point of therapist and doctors helping Annie recover in prison when she has no future waiting for her out there. At least with Rarity they were prepping her for being released back into society eventually, what good with doctors do for Annie, even if she's cured it'll be all for naught without a due sentence.