A Gem Unwrought

by Yinglung

Chapter 6

The white mare felt tugged by something.

Groggily opening his eyes, he stretched and tried to see where he was.

It was dark. Not even the darkest corner in the Everfree was that dark. It was the total lack of light, and he could not even see himself.

“Did Nightmare Moon win... regardless of what I’d done?”

He gazed around with tiredness. But then he shook his head. “No, eternal night would have a moon, at least. This place is darker than a ditch.”

Breathing in and out for a few moments, he muttered. “So… is this death?”

He ruefully sighed. Shakily, he said on the verge of tears. “I’m so sorry, Rarity. I’m a failure, and I ruined your life. You have such a bright future before you, and I turned it into ashes and dust.”

“Now dear, fret not.”

The white mare shot up with shock. He definitely heard a voice. Whose voice it was, he could not tell yet, but it rang clear in his mind.

“Yes, I’m talking to you, darling.”

“R- Rarity? Are you Rarity?” The white mare said hopefully.

A few chuckles came through, but there was no concrete answer. It did sound like Rarity, but he was not entirely sure. He also didn’t know if he had mistaken, but the chuckles had more sadness than mirth in them.

Still he said. “Rarity, I’m Spike! Thank goodness you’re here, I was worried sick! Now where is this place, huh? How do we get out?”

“… Are you?”

The white mare was bemused. “H- Huh? What? Am I what?”

“Listen to yourself, dear.”

“To myself…?”

The velvety voice of his beloved mare again rang in his head.

The other voice gently cooed and asked. “Is that the voice of Spike the Dragon?”

The white mare looked agog, and he retorted. “W- Well, that’s your voice because I’m in your body, Rarity.”

Another bout of soft chuckles was heard. “Alas… It seems that my desperate action was not only warped, but too much of a success.”

“R- Rarity, stop saying vague things in that strange tone, you’re confusing me!”

“Alright. I’d be frank to you. You’re not quite exactly Spike, I’m afraid.”

“What? What are you talking about, Rarity? Who else can I be if I’m not Twi’s number one assistant?”

“Why, you’re Rarity, of course.”

“… Ha, ha ha. Funny joke, Rarity. But I think that we should make jokes after we get out-”

“I see that you still don’t believe me.”

The other voice sighed. “What do you remember before you come into this situation?”

“I- I was sweeping the Cutie Map clean in Twi’s castle, of course!”

“… I see.”

The white mare frowned, as he thought he heard a faint hint of a sniffle. The voice quickly picked itself up and said. “I did not expect us to meet so quickly. There’s much amiss in your mind; some are intended, and some are not.”

“Please, Rari-”

“Please don’t call me that anymore, dear.”

The white mare was startled. “Y- You’re not Rarity?”

After another belabored silence, the voice said. “I am you.”

“You’re not making sense, Rar- I mean, uh…”

“You’re only what I hoped to be Spikey-wikey, dear. But I’m afraid it’s just a pipe dream of mine.”

“… What… what are you…?”

“Spike… I always teased him so.” The voice began, seemingly shifting her attention away from the conversation.

The white mare’s head shot up with a stunned expression, and it continued.

“I knew that he loved me. I always did. And I’m ashamed to say, I enjoyed it… perhaps a little too much. He was devoted to me, entirely caught up in my entire being. Although he merely loved me for my look at first, he grew to love me as a mare eventually. And yet, I saw him as my adorable plaything, keeping him at a hoof’s length, because I loved to be showered with his attention.”

The voice audibly gulped. “And I’m afraid that once I let go off my veneer of ladylike aloof, he would treat me as simply a gem in his pile of treasure, no longer worthy of but the briefest glance.”

“N- No! I’d never do something like that!”

The voice paused. “This is but wishful thinking on my part, dear. As I said, you’re not him.”

“W- Why?! Why don’t you believe me? I’m Spike! The bona-fide dragon assistant!”

“Spike is dead, dear.”

The white mare was stunned silent.

Did- did she just say that I’m dead?

“Don’t you realize? You’re not Spike. You’re just forcibly remolded in his image.”

The ostensibly neutral tone of the voice turned shaky and breathy. “Spike was a brave dragon. He gave his life away so that the brutish intruder of the Castle might not lay harm to the Element-bearers, and specifically me, or make use of the Cutie Map for her nefarious purpose.”

The white mare listened to the shocking words, memories hidden began to reform and resurface in his mind.

“… A dragon, whose feelings she so long toyed with, perished in her own hooves with a satisfied smile, knowing that he had protected his beloved mare. A seamstress was left with a shattered heart and barely drying trails of tears. She took the cold, unbreathing form of her beloved dragon, and turned to the vile but potent promise of dark magic."

The white mare gasped, while the voice sounded increasingly resentful. "Dark magic is by nature exacting. It demands sacrifice, and the generous mare was only too willing to give. Unfortunately, dark magic is also twisted, for it pretend to accomplish her wish to bring back the dragon, but in truth, the dragon could never be brought back in the first place.”

“… Th- This is not true. This is impossible!”

The white mare cried out in abject despondence.

“I’m not a mere mockery of Spike! I- I’m- I… I am… not…”

His legs felt weak, and he finally buckled in a spiral of utter despair.

“Now now.”

Another voice, this time unmistakably the youthful voice of Spike the dragon, rang through the strange dark space. Not only was the shaking white mare stunned at hearing it, the other voice which had been talking with him sounded surprised as well.

“W- Who are you?!” The first voice called out in shock.

“What you’ve said is too grim, too upsetting to him, isn’t it? Not to mention it’s not right. I’m way too young to just quit the stage.”

The white mare was now thoroughly confused. “W- What’s happening in here?”

The second voice continued to the first voice regardless. “You misunderstood the portent of the spell. Dark and ancient it might be, it’s not malicious. It’s seldom used because it’s something that causes effects that are utterly unpredictable, as it basically unhinges space and time just try to pin, drag and bring someone back.”

The first voice was silent at first, but it turned inexplicably emotional, even with a hint of uncontrollable anger. “But how do you explain that? That caricature of-”

“Easy peasy. That is not me, nor you. It’s both.”

“… Are you telling the truth?” The first voice sounded shaken. "But I saw in the..."

It emanated a mixed sense of hope and desperation in its words. “Alas, I’m too hurt and broken to be lied to again.”

“How about you find out yourself?"

"... How?"

"Can't you feel it?" The second voice youthfully chuckled. "The pulse of Harmony, having been quickened by an unmistakable act of great generosity. An act that was powered by a unique magic that is distinctly draconic."

"..."

"Come, and guide him back to his temporal anchoring. It is calling him.”

The white mare blinked. Still barely understanding anything the two voices were talking about, he could only wait.

However, a head-splitting headache suddenly descended, and he let out a painful yell. It was as if he was being peeled away from atop, his vision swam and throbbed.

The darkness in front of his eyes quickly gave way to even more consuming darkness of unconsciousness, and he passed out again.

--------------------------------------------------------

The white mare woke up again.

His eyes fluttered open. The surface he was lying on was cold and smooth.

Location and comfort were his last concerns, however. He was still paralyzed by what had transpired in the space of his mind.

Two streams of memories meshing around each other in his mind as one unsegmented whole. It should feel alien and bizarre, but it somehow did not. He gradually realized. He was a product of hope, desperation and compromise. Not entirely a boy drake, not a unicorn mare either, he alone bore a legacy of two.

Checking himself for any injuries, he was surprised that he was white as new. With a whimpering sigh, he stood up unsteadily and took a look of his surroundings.

Trying to get down from the table he found himself on, he was shocked to see that he was literally standing on a circular table on a large pedestal.

It was a large, bluish-purple circular slab of glittering stone, sitting upon a pure white rectangular block of marble. And surrounding it was a large rhombus-shaped room with a sharp tip at the top. There must be some magic involved, because the room was as bright and white as day despite that there was no lamp. The walls were also pure white, but on it was also a continuous stripe of encrusted aquamarine gems, letting out a brilliant band of blue.

The platform was high, and he was very cautious when she tried to climb down to the floor.

When he slowly walked towards and reached what appeared to be a door, he was shocked and appalled to discover that there was no handle of any sort. He frantically searched, and there were no mechanisms to open the door either.

Now fully skilled in using innate unicorn magic, he attempted to use telekinesis to drag the door open. But the door was as heavy as a gigantic boulder, and he could not move it by even a little bit.

Defeated, he slumped down against the door and sighed. But then he immediately heard something – someone talking with a group of people.

“… No way…”

“Twilight, a- are you sure this is the right place…?”

Twilight is outside? He thought with a stunned look.

“Yeah, Twilight… This is in really bad taste.”

“Eeyup, sugarcube. If we’re mistaken, that’d be terribly disrespectful.”

“B- But it should be here! My magic tells me so!”

“Twi, I know you’re already a Princess of Friendship and all, but your magic has failed on you so many times, not even I can count it off my claws on all of my limbs.”

A round of chuckles rang round, slightly defusing the taut atmosphere.

“S- Spike!” The voice of Twilight sounded flustered and embarrassed.

She protested. “The magic of Harmony is not going to tell lies to me! It must be here!”

After some silence, a raspy voice replied. “Well, Twi… If you’re so sure about that…”

“Ah don’t think she would mind… right?”

After a nervous silence, a soft voice that barely penetrated the wall said. “We’ll give her our proper respect in either case.”

“Proper… respect…”

The youthful boyish voice muttered. “I… uh…”

“Spike… if you don’t feel comfortable…”

“… No, I can handle it. Let’s open the door, Twi.”

The white mare heard the words, and quickly scrambled away from the heavy door, backing himself against the marble block at the center. This was when he finally noticed that the circular slab behind him looked oddly familiar.

With a heavy tremble and grinding sound, the door slowly opened inwards.

Into his sight revealed the five mares that he knew and loved, plus the small purple dragon. Their gazes invariably fixated on the dual appearance of the Cutie Map and the white mare, who was grinning uneasily back at them.

The group froze entirely. The white mare gingerly said. “… Hello?”

Rainbow Dash let out a scream of horror, and shot out of the room in near-sonic speed. Applejack also galloped out of the room with a swift back trot, hiding outside the room and behind the white wall with a terrified, shaky glance. Pinkie Pie tugged behind Fluttershy in fear, but she then noticed that the pink maned pegasus had already passed out.

Among the shocking scene of battle royal, only Twilight and Spike remained where they were.

“T- This can’t be…”

The white mare scratched his cheek and said. “I am-”

Twilight let out a grunt and began to charge up her horn. The white mare noticed the abrupt change and immediately rolled to the side. A blast of magic landed on where he was standing, swaying a bout of dust in the air.

Spike was horrified. “What the hay are you doing, Twilight! That is Rarity! She’s back!”

“That isn’t her! She must be a changeling spy! Rarity… Rarity’s been no more! Not since she gave her life to take down the Nightmare and return Luna to her sanity!”

“Twilight! I’m Rarity!”

The white mare gasped and quickly yelled. “Please, don’t create another episode of drama like we two did in the library during the first night we met!”

Twilight was stunned. “… What?”

Spike hurriedly said. “See! That is something that only we three would know!”

The white mare touched his forehead with a sigh. “What a greeting, Twilight dear.”

Twilight already galloped forward and tackled the white mare with a deep hug.

“Are you really Rarity?” She asked in between sobs.

“I- I am…” The white mare mouthed reflexively. At least, Twilight was not exactly wrong.

Spike was also in tears. “Where have you been in these two years?! W- We’ve all missed you! I... I...!”

“Two years?!" The white mare quivered at the news. Two years... it was also the time the battle in the Friendship Castle occurred, at least in his time. "I… I don’t know. The last thing I remember was teleporting all of you away and igniting the blast as a last resort.”

"Thank Celestia..." Twilight then held her head in intense shame. "I- I am so sorry for everything. I should never have doubted your intentions... I screwed it all up! I have been patching up in your honor by striving in my friendship missions thereafter."

"Twi, it's definitely not your fault-" The white mare ached at the misassigned self-blame from the purple unicorn, as he was the one who tampered with time with dire results.

"Thanks to the grace of Harmony you're brought back to us... Finally I can apologize to you in person." Twilight shuddered in some apprehension, and again sniffled.

"... No more apologies, darling." He finally exhaled, and stroked the mane of the purple mare gently. "Just tell me that in my absence, you all still love and treasure each other as dearest friends, and guard Equestria as her stalwart protectors. This would already soothe me."

Twilight looked up, her eyes glistened in appreciation and some pride. "What you have done was the ultimate example of your Element, Generosity in self-sacrifice. It drives me forward and gives me purpose in my friendship journey every day. I think this is why, despite there is no longer a physical wielder of Generosity, we still managed to solve every Friendship problem we've encountered so far, and I even eventually become the Princess of Friendship, no doubt with your blessing. You must have been watching over us from the endless meadow above, huh?"

"My my. I think that would require me to have actually ascended to a higher plane of existence, wouldn't it? I'm too young and pretty to just quit."

Twilight chortled, but Spike finally could not hold it and hug the white mare's leg with much sorrow. The hurt on his face was all too apparent. "Rarity! Why... Don't you know that I..."

"I'm so sorry to just... go away like that, Spikey-wikey. I never envisioned that things will turn south so badly. You must've been distraught..." The white mare winced, and then squeezed out the best gentle smile he could offer, even though it was evidently bittersweet. "And I know... I know all about that."

Spike looked both surprised and somewhat unsure, but his doubt was soon assuaged by a powerful hug from his once-loved mare. All his queries seem to have melted away in comforting bliss.

The white mare suddenly thought of something, and hurriedly asked Twilight nearby in clear worry. "Oh dear, Twilight. My darling dear sis-"

"Sweetie Belle, isn't it?" Twilight seemed to have anticipated the question, and she tried to put up a reassuring smile. "She was indeed quite shaken by your abrupt... departure, but I did my best to ensure that she could adjust well afterwards. She's now living in with us in the library, it's the smallest way we can give thanks to you."

"I... see. Thank you so much for taking on the monumental task of taking care of a delicate filly like Sweetie, Twilight. I must-"

"So... so... you aren't a ghost, are you?" A suspicious voice interrupted the emotional scene.

The cyan prankster had tentatively returned, but seemed to be still doubtful of her eyes. "And not a prank with very good execution but very poor taste?"

"Come now, Rainbow. I'm alive as ever. It will certainly be a true demonstration of poor taste to continue doubting my survival and insisting on the veracity of my demise."

The white mare looked around and added wryly. "... in this prematurely-built mausoleum of mine, no less. Admittedly, it's quite exquisitely built, I could not ask for more."

"No, sugarcube. There's certainly more to come and more to ask for." Applejack trotted forward, finally blooming into a smile.

"Sure, sure, Rarity!" Pinkie Pie looked absolutely delighted, her own grin was splitting. "This is totally a super-duper-best-ever-out-of-this-world whale of a whooping resurrection! This calls for-"

"Now Pinkie, you shan't use the word 'whale' even in loose association with a fine lady like me." The white mare, though, snickered without a hint of accusation. "But a party to celebrate seems like a good idea to kick things off again. Two years... there is quite a blank in time, hmm?"

"We have all the time in the world this time, Rarity." Twilight smiled.

"A- And... Rarity..." Fluttershy, having recovered a moment ago, quietly tugged at the white mare.

"Hmm?"

The yellow pegasus shifted timidly, and finally said. "I'm just... so happy to see you again."

"Me too, Fluttershy. Me too."

"I... I..." Fluttershy stuttered. "You... always were the one inviting me to the spa. This time... let me... um..."

"Sure thing, darling." The white mare preempted and replied graciously, to the relief of the yellow mare and the collective mirth of the group.

He then looked up one last time at the interior of the alabaster monument. There was much to catch up, much to patch up, and much to heal. Some secrets were still not revealed, and others not yet found. And a façade he seemed obligated to uphold, just as what he had been doing for his friends in full imitation of Rarity's mannerism.

However, what had happened in the future-past, and even who he had become, suddenly all seemed ultimately inconsequential, when compared to the contagious laughter of the assembled friends and loved ones here.

Such is the allure of love and friendship in an imperfect world, isn't it?

- Fin -

Author's Note:

TBA: A Gem Unwrought: After - An SoL story

Comments

[Kuairu]

Whoa. Were you meaning to add an ending to this story like this one?

[Yinglung]

8628905
Yes. The ending sat in my manuscript because I was pondering whether I should go on or not. At the end, I think it appropriate to conclude it thusly and leave any bittersweet slices of life to a potential sequel. One that will come up after I tie up the other loose ends in my repertoire of fics.

Thanks for asking!

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

The voice audibly gulped. “And I’m afraid that once I let go off my veneer of ladylike aloof, (aloofness) he would treat me as simply a gem in his pile of treasure, no longer worthy of but the briefest glance.”

"I'm so sorry to just... go away like that, Spikey-wikey. I never envisioned that things will (would) turn south so badly. You must've been distraught..." The white mare winced, and then squeezed out the best gentle smile he could offer, even though it was evidently bittersweet. "And I know... I know all about that."

[Aether Spark]

This is a good story but I'm all twisted up about what they were talking about in the end...

I don't understand, sorry could I have a detailed easier explanation as to what happened