Fulfillment

by Amaranthine Thought

old Chapter 8

Rarity was busy in her home, making something. It was slow going, but she was determined to finish it.

She had never made anything like it before, but she was going to make it perfectly. Not one flaw. She had already had to restart three times, but she wasn’t going to stop until it was done, and done perfectly.

The finest of her materials. The absolute best of her stitching and embroidery. All of her emotions. All her own work, and only her work, even when somepony else might be able to do it better.

It was a tapestry. A tapestry of Sweetie Belle. The finest of memorials that Rarity could make by herself.

She heard a knock at her door and hesitated. If it was one of her friends, then she might not answer; there had been a few too many arguments as of late.

But she decided to go and see. She would eventually smooth things over with them. She was certain of that.

She opened the door, and saw a young filly. With white fur, and a dark purple mane that had been cut to almost nothing, with bandages around her barrel and walking with the aid of a simple support tied to one hind leg. Another bandage was wrapped around her forehead, the center of it a little dark.

“Hi.” she said, smiling at Rarity.

“…Do you want to come inside?” Rarity asked, making no indication of what she wanted.

Gentle nodded, and Rarity let her inside.

“I never finished the story.”

“You didn’t.” Rarity said as Gentle struggled to get on the couch. She watched for a moment, and then Gentle stopped and looked over at her.

“Can… Can you get me up?” she asked.

Rarity nodded, and with the greatest care, lifted the filly up and deposited her on the couch. Then she sat down, not close at all.

Gentle watched her with a tiny smile.

“Can I have some tea?” she asked. Rarity smiled and left for a moment to return.

With one cup. That she gave to Gentle.

Gentle giggled. “Rarity!”

“What?”

“… I want to show you the end. I can tell you the rest of the story on the way there.”

“Lead the way. I will follow.”

---

After Sweetie’s horn was taken, Emptiness brought her back with her. She was…

I kept her alive as best I could. Tried to stop the bleeding, used potion to try and heal her. I did keep her alive as Emptiness gloated about her stolen victory. I was mad, enraged at her, but I was helpless. I was always helpless against her.

She controlled me, and I knew it.

After claiming a new victim, Emptiness sorted her horns. She changed them often; there were too many for her to wear all of them. She would take a few hours to choose new ones, and it was as I was caring for sweetie that Diamond looked at us.

She was… bloated and…

---

“Please don’t.”

“Alright.”

---

Diamond was hurt, really badly. I had thought she had just… stopped thinking altogether to escape the pain, but when she saw Sweetie, I saw… She started thinking again. Feeling again.

“Swe… Know… he… help.” she choked at me, the first words she had spoken since Emptiness had taken her. I turned to see her, and she was staring at me. Determined. Ready, though for what, I didn’t know.

“Help… me… st… stan… stand.”

I wondered, but went to her, and struggled to lift her for… reasons. I did get her to her… hooves though.

She nodded at me, and then turned and stepped toward Emptiness. I wondered what she was doing.

She just slowly walked forward, and then, with all the strength she could muster, she grabbed Sweetie’s horn, and threw it at us.

I grabbed it, and Emptiness glanced over.

She stepped forward, only for Diamond to grab her and stop her.

It was still early enough. I had been healed by Emptiness often enough that I knew what to do. I turned away and splashed potion on Sweetie’s head. Then I stuck her horn back on, and hoped.

She stirred as Diamond screamed. I saw her… fighting Emptiness. Grabbing her legs, tripping her, and biting. It wasn’t doing anything to Emptiness, but it was stopping her for a few moments.

Emptiness was getting very upset, and then, as I watched, Emptiness killed her. Stabbed her with a horn and shook her off of her leg.

Then she turned to us just as Sweetie was getting to her hooves, her horn back where it should be.

Sweetie blinked at Emptiness, saw Diamond, and then looked at me. I tugged her away from Emptiness, but she didn’t move on her own.

“You won’t escape.” Emptiness said. “I’ll find you again. I’ll take your magic again.”

“Run Sweetie! She can’t find you in the forest!” I yelled, but Sweetie wouldn’t move, staring at Emptiness.

“I’ll never stop my hunt.”

“Sweetie!” I said, trying and failing to push her away.

“If I run, she won’t stop.” Sweetie said, and touched my shoulder, stopping me. Her eyes were… understanding and slightly sad.

“She’ll only get more. More ponies will suffer like I did. Like you did.”

I was shocked. How did she know? “… How..?”

“I… I just do. It’s in my horn. It’s time for this to end.”

Then Sweetie turned to look at Emptiness. She nodded, and walked toward her, her horn starting to gently glow.

Emptiness was surprised, unmoving as Sweetie went to her. I could only stare. Then Sweetie looked up into her eyes, horn still glowing, and glowing brighter. I think her eyes were glowing too.

“You want magic. But you can’t take it, it doesn’t work like that. You can steal it from others, but you’ll never have it yourself.”

“What do you know?” Emptiness said, glaring. “Centuries of work will succeed. It will work.”

“No it won’t. Magic can’t be stolen.”

“But it can be given.”

“And you won’t ever take it ever again.”

“Because I’m going to give you mine.”

Emptiness’ eye widened, and Sweetie touched her with her horn. And everything went white. A blinding light.

When I could see again, Sweetie was surrounded by white. Like an aura. I saw the ghosts race into it, laughing as they went and vanished into it. And I saw… I saw her, like she used to be. Emptiness was… she wasn’t always black.

I saw her look at me. She was crying. But her eyes were sane. They weren’t mad. I… I hadn’t seen her eyes, her real eyes, for three centuries. I couldn’t say anything. I don’t think she could say anything. If she had… it would only make things worse. She turned away and disappeared in the light without a sound.

“Diamond!” I heard Sweetie call. It was like she was far away even though she was right there.

“Diamond, this way, this way!”

For a moment I saw Sweetie reach out and pull Diamond Tiara toward her. Diamond was sobbing, rubbing at her eyes with one hoof, but she was normal. Like she used to be.

“It’s fine. It’s over, there’s no more pain. No more pain.” Sweetie said, patting at her. Diamond looked up at Sweetie, still crying. Sweetie hugged her and then gently pushed her away, “That way, go that way. I’ll be right with you.” Then she looked around.

“Gentle!? Gentle, can you hear me?”

“Sweetie?” I asked, confused and crying. I… I sort of knew what she was doing.

“I… I hear you Gentle. Listen to me. I need you to do a few things for me.”

“Sweetie, what are you doing? Come… come back.”

“I can’t Gentle. But listen to me, and promise me that you’ll do this for me.”

“Everything needs to end. And it won’t end until everything is buried. The right way too, not just dumped somewhere. All the horns, Emptiness… and me and Diamond.”

“Go back and tell Rarity what happened. Tell her everything. Every night, and everything that you know. Tell her that Emptiness is gone, and that she’s never going to come back… that… that I’m never going to come back.”

“And tell her that I don’t hate her! That I’m not mad at her.”

“That I love her just as much as I always have. And make sure she knows it!”

“I, I will!” I yelled.

Sweetie nodded, and I saw two of her. One turned to walk into the light, and one fell and collapsed on the ground.

And then the light was gone, and I was alone. Diamond and Sweetie’s bodies lying on the ground, unmoving.

Emptiness, lying on the ground, unmoving.

I didn’t know what to do. I was alone for the first time in centuries. Truly alone.

I spent two weeks in the forest fearing that something was going to happen to me. I felt vulnerable and afraid. It took time for me to build the courage to go and visit you.

I should have gone the first day.

You know the rest.

---

Gentle finished as she and Rarity headed through the Everfree, and soon, they came upon a small clearing.

The scene was just as Gentle had described. The untouched forms of Sweetie and Diamond near each other, and the black mass of Emptiness nearby. It was like they had just died seconds ago, not weeks.

“She saved us.” Gentle whispered.

Rarity walked to Sweetie, and stared down at her.

She had a smile, and looked like she was sleeping. They all did. Even the simply monstrous form of Emptiness.

In the sunlight she was… horrible. Large gashes covered her, open wounds that only showed that she was black inside and out. Her fur was a matted, tangled, mess, the horns stuck to her the only color she had. They did nothing to help her appearance and only made it far worse.

They no longer bled.

Rarity didn’t truly notice, still staring at Sweetie. After a moment Gentle carefully walked next to her.

“She’s truly gone.” Rarity said. “I know that. I mourned her already.”

“But… thank you Gentle. I… I needed to see this. I needed to see her, one last time. Even if it is only like this…”

Rarity ran one hoof through Sweetie’s mane, a few tears in her eyes.

“You were a real little hero Sweetie. For a week, you fought. For a week you kept us all safe at such a heavy cost…”

“I won’t let it end so quietly. You aren’t going to be buried in the woods with only us to mourn you.” Rarity raised her head and stared up at the sky above.

“I am going to make everypony know what you did for us all. Everypony is going to know this story. No matter how long it takes.”

“I’m going to get you a statue, a glass window, or maybe even a star. Maybe all of them. Nothing too great for… for my tiny hero.”

“I’m… I’m so sorry that it ended like this.”

Rarity closed her eyes, and for a moment, just a moment, she might have heard something. Like somepony screamed to be heard from an unimaginable distance.

I love you Rarity!

Rarity smiled even in her tears, her eyes still shut. “I love you too Sweetie. I’m going to miss you.”

Rarity felt Gentle lean against her, and after a moment she glanced down at the filly. She seemed lost, and sad.

Rarity gently, carefully hugged her, and after a moment, Gentle grabbed onto her, crying her own tears. They stayed that way, looking at the fallen forms for some time, both with their own thoughts.

The nightmare was over.

And all that was left was to bring it into the light.

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[Wolfren]

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