Sweetie Belle stared at the unmoving form that was her sister, hoping that what she was seeing was a dream but knowing that it was not. Her big sister Rarity, the pony that she had looked up to her entire life, was dead. She had spent her last moments of life singing to Sweetie Belle the lullaby that she had sung to her so many times when she was a filly. 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 pushed on the glass that separated her from her sister as the executioners moved about her sister's body, doing whatever official stuff they needed to do. Behind her, Twilight and her friends moved to leave the room with Scootaloo in tow.
She felt a hoof on her shoulder and she turned around to see her parents, both looking more broken and helpless than they had ever been in their lives. "Come on, Sweetie Belle," said her father. "Let's go home."
"But what about Rarity?" Sweetie Belle whimpered. "What's going to happen to her?"
"I don't know," said her father. "But we can't stay here. We'll figure out what will happen with her soon, okay?"
No, it wasn't okay. Nothing would ever be okay ever again. Nopony could ever fix the hole in her heart that her sister's execution had made.
She followed her parents as they slowly trudged out of the observation room. Her mother was weeping beyond belief and her father... well, his expression was helpless. He had always been the kind of stallion who had prided himself on being a leader for his family, who knew what to do in a lot of situations. It didn't seem to apply to the execution of his firstborn daughter.
Sweetie Belle's head hung so low that her muzzle nearly touched the ground. She left a trail of tears in her wake. She glanced to her left and registered that the door nearest to her was the execution room. Her sister was on the other side; or rather, the body that used to be her sister.
She bolted to the door, ignoring her parents as they called out to her, hoping that she would stop. No, nopony was going to stop her now. She pushed the door and was thankful that it swung open, allowing her inside. The first thing that caught her attention was the table. She couldn't see her sister's body, but her perfectly styled tail hung over the edge, as lifeless as its owner.
She heard the guards beside her whisper something to each other, but they didn't make any effort to stop her. She was glad that even if they had taken her sister from her, they weren't going to stop her from giving her one last goodbye.
Resolutely, she walked up to Rarity's body and put her front hooves on the the table to balance herself. Her eyes met Rarity's gaze and that alone almost made Sweetie Belle break down completely. Her eyes had always been so full of life, so vibrant, so full of expression. Now they were completely devoid of anything. They were completely empty, and they would remain so for the rest of eternity.
Sweetie Belle reached out and stroked her sister's perfectly styled mane. Even in death she looked as beautiful as she always had. Her body was still warm when Sweetie Belle placed her hoof on Rarity's foreleg. It still felt warm. Death had not yet taken that from her.
Sweetie Belle leaned in and quietly kissed Rarity on the forehead, just below where her horn used to be. "Drifting off to sleep, the exciting day behind you. Drifting off to sleep let the joy of dreamland find you," sang Sweetie Belle to her lifeless sister, hoping that finishing the lullaby would somehow wake her sister up and they could all go home and be happy.
Rarity didn't move and Sweetie Belle resumed her silent tears. She reached a hoof over to her eyes and closed them. Now she could be sleeping. "Goodnight, Rarity," whispered Sweetie Belle. "I love you more than anything."
With that, Sweetie Belle put her front hooves back on the floor and silently walked out of the room. She turned back to see her sister one last time before following her parents out of the station.
* * * *
The ride back to Ponyville was dead silent as the train moved through the land. Each of the ponies in the car was feeling unbelievable grief at Rarity's execution, and they stewed with their own thoughts as the train ride went on.
Pinkie Pie's mane and tail were both deflated and now hung like curtains instead of their normal bouncy state. Her pink coloration had lost its brightness as well and she sat in a corner, rocking back and forth.
Rainbow Dash had Scootaloo in her forelegs and the orange filly had her forelegs wrapped around her idol's waist, clinging desperately to the last bright spot that she had in this world. Neither was shedding tears as neither had any tears left to shed.
Twilight had Spike wrapped in a hug, and the young dragon was holding on to her in the same way that Scootaloo held Rainbow Dash. He was shedding tears while Twilight merely looked contemplative.
Fluttershy was hiding in her mane and crying softly. Sweetie Belle knew that she still didn't fully understand all that had happened in the past few days or why it had happened at all. All she could really comprehend, although she didn't want to, was that the friend that she was closest to in the group wouldn't be meeting with her anymore. They wouldn't have any more weekly spa sessions, they wouldn't go back to one of their houses for tea, nothing. She was gone forever.
Her father had her mother wrapped in his forelegs as well. She was resting her head on his shoulder and both were crying silently.
Applejack and Big Macintosh were away from the main group and they were in the back of the car comforting Apple Bloom. All three of them were crying as well and it really hit home with Sweetie Belle that even the normally stoic Big Macintosh had tears streaking down his face, though not to the extent of the others.
The silence continued for another hour before Applejack stood up and walked over to the main group. "So... what now?" she asked.
Twilight shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "I suppose that we just..." She sighed and shook her head. "No, I don't know."
"Did Princess Celestia say anythin'?" asked Applejack.
"I talked to her briefly before... that and she used it as an opportunity to disown me as her student. I'm not her protégé anymore," said Twilight. Applejack gave a soft gasp of shock but Twilight merely shrugged again. "Once she found out that I knew about what Rarity was doing I really didn't expect anything else. None of us are getting a prison sentence for this though. But overall, that's pretty much the extent of what Celestia said."
"Oh Twilight..."
"I'm just a normal old librarian now," said Twilight, her voice faltering slightly. "No more advanced studies, no more letters to the princess, and no more Elements of Harmony either. I'm just the town librarian."
"Is Ponyville going to hate us?" asked Rainbow Dash.
Twilight shrugged. "I imagine that they won't hate you, Fluttershy, or Pinkie Pie because you genuinely knew nothing about any of this. They don't need to know that Applejack and I knew anything either so I think they'll move on pretty quick in terms of suspicion of us."
"Will they hate us?" asked Rarity's mother fearfully, looking up from her husband's chest.
Twilight looked at her sadly. "I can't say for sure since you really didn't know either, but... yes, I think they will blame the three of you somehow, you two especially."
"But we didn't do anything!" Rarity's father insisted.
"I know that," said Twilight. "We all do. But they'll blame you for how Rarity turned out."
Rarity's father groaned and he shook his head. "It isn't fair," he said. "None of this is. It isn't fair that we have to suffer for what Rarity did, it isn't fair that Rarity was forced into a position where she had to kill in the first place, none of this is fair to anypony!"
"I know," said Twilight. "But we can't do anything about it."
Sweetie Belle looked up at Applejack and touched her foreleg with her hoof. "Applejack, what's gonna happen with me, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom?" she asked.
Applejack sighed. "Ah ain't gonna stop you from seein' Apple Bloom. You weren't responsible for any of this and Ah don't want to punish you for stuff that Rarity did. As for Scootaloo, Ah can't say."
"Why not?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"Because Rarity is the reason that Scootaloo is an orphan. She killed her parents then dropped her off at the orphanage as a young filly."
Sweetie Belle looked at Applejack in shock. "Rarity killed Scootaloo's parents?" Applejack nodded. Sweetie Belle looked back at the orange filly who was clinging to Rainbow Dash. Sweetie Belle wanted to go over to her and comfort her, but there was simply no way that Scootaloo would want to be around her right now. She would likely look at her friend and see only her sister.
She hoped that Scootaloo wouldn't hate her so much that she never wanted to talk to her again.
* * * *
The train reached Ponyville a few hours after midnight, and the eleven ponies and one dragon departed and immediately went separate ways. Sweetie Belle saw that Scootaloo was sleeping on Rainbow Dash's back, and that Rainbow Dash was flying towards her cloud house. Sweetie Belle hoped that Scootaloo could at least get a good night's sleep.
Sweetie Belle's parents walked in the direction of their house and Sweetie Belle followed them. Part of her wanted to go back to Carousel Boutique - it was technically her house now, after all, but she knew that the royal guards would undoubtedly still have the place locked down tight. However, Sweetie Belle still planned to begin living there as soon as she possibly could.
As it was past midnight, the streets of Ponyville were empty so the trio of ponies didn't run into anyone as they walked back to their home. As soon as they were inside, Sweetie Belle walked up to her room and shut the door. She didn't want to be around anypony right now.
She laid down on her bed and looked around her room. The various objects inside looked foreign and unwelcoming to her in the darkness. She almost felt that she was in some stranger's house. She felt that she belonged in Carousel Boutique with Rarity.
Sweetie Belle closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep. She remembered something that Rarity frequently said to her about how things always looked better in the morning after a good night's sleep.
But things wouldn't look better in the morning. Things would never look better ever again.
Instafave! Poor Sweetie...
SEQUEL!!!
YAY!
I'm curious to see what will unfold.
You never disappoint!
Sequel... yay
Also, I hope Celestia's actions come back to bite her... maybe discord escapes and nopony will wield the elements of harmony because the element bearers are either dead(Rarity) or refuse to(The rest)
There ya go! Good work with the feels, you definitely made it full of sorrow, and all round rather morose. Just what I expected! Can't wait to see what you have in store for us in this story, although that Tragedy tag makes me excited for what you have up your sleeve!
You upload SO fast! dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Spitfire_dayum.png
No dark tag on this one eh? I take it that means Sweetie Belle won't be Rarity 2.0.
1266874 You never know. I don't 100% know either. If I learned anything from writing The Secret Life of Rarity it's that the story leads you. I do have stuff planned (including a pretty awesome ending if I do say so myself) but one never truly does know...
First off, The Secret Life of Rarity was a great read, and i'm glad that it appeared in my filtered search queue. That being said, I have one complaint, and it's fairly minor or major, depending on the perspective you look at it from. You wrote that Twilight was no longer Celestia's protege, and that there would be no more dealings with the Elements of Harmony. Celestia wasn't the one who connected the individual ponies to their respective Elements, it was the spirit of the Elements. They still represent the Elements, regardless of Twilight's position.
I haven't read the rest of this series yet, so perhaps this may be touched on at some point, but I was simply voicing my opinion. Looking forward to finishing this series!
>>Sanryn
That may not be the case. Twilight wasn't referring to Celestia taking away the Elements, she was saying that they could no longer wield the elements as a whole, with the Bearer of Generosity dead. But if we know anything, it means that the Element of Generosity will find a new bearer. I bet it'll be Sweetie Belle. I'm just putting this down, so I can say I called it later.
1921494 Celestia: *Rage*
I'm sad.
I legitamately cried and I'm sad and I hate you for making me sad and you'e brilliant and I adore you for beng able to make me sad and I hate how you took a guilty pleasure slasher fic/character study and made it tearjerking and I love and hate you for that and this is composed horribly because you're brilliant and you made me sad.
Congatulations, you utterly magnificient bastard.
2510457 I agree with you. First he kills the fashionista, than writes a tale on her little sister that is also sure to capture our attentions? *turns to the author, smiling and with tears in eyes* you bastard, you did it to us again: you wrote a damn good fic.
i feel so bad for the five remaining element holders and of course applebloom and scoots, but the pain sweete must be going through hurts me as well once again you entrance me with your tugging at the heart strings.
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I experienced the three 'Oh's
Oh look a sequel!
Oh, a sequel.
Oh my feels... a sequel...
Why in any of the stories where one of the elements die, its always Rarity? Rarity is one of my favorite ponies! Why does she have to die?
Truly...
The world is wretched. Let's face it.
There will, as the good fashionista has said, always be filth. And in this world, with so much filth, you ponies insist on bringing even more pain in supposed retribution because you can't tolerate the actions of one.
By Ten, how many times must this cursed history repeat? Wherefore can you not see that it serves no purpose to punish a single entity with ending who will cause more misery for her beloved simply by vanishing?
I grow. So. VERY. Weary. Of this~
I shall read on.
Faust damn it! You made me cry my manly tears ALREADY!!! WHY?!?
Starting off on a somber note. That really hits me where I live.
3219991
Wait a moment there, are you saying that murderers should go unpunished for their actions simply because it would make anyone they knew sad? Yes, terrible things will continue but should people stop eating because they will continue to be hungry in later time? Should one cease to feel joy if they know that sometime it will end? Should one give up on their life because it will one day stop? If I understood correctly, you are saying that criminal acts should be overlooked because they grow redundant. Well, that is rather concerning.
3312876 I beleive that, while murders should not go unpunished, no one deserves death. Not even the murderer. In my eyes, being put in a mental institution is fine, but sentencing death makes you no better than the murderer.
im having a huge issue reading this without crying.....
Ya know, I really expected since the show hints that singing is Sweetie Belle's talent that when she finished the lullaby she would have earned her Cutie Mark. I honestly thought it was gonna happen. I'm kinda sad it didn't because it would have totally make things even more messed up. Getting her Cutie Mark at her sisters Execution. Maybe I'm just more messed up than I thought.
Oh I forgot to mention I love The Secret Life of Rarity and am very much so looking forward to reading this story and the sequel to this one.
If you get around to reading my comment I would love to know your reaction, if you don't want to post it you can PM me
goddamn here we go!
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choo choo all aboard the feels train
I love how you ended the last story, and I equally love how the sequel picked up right where it left off. I am so afraid for Sweetie Belle right now.
Man, the last story was so sad that I had to wait a few weeks before beginning this because I was afraid I might sink into some deep depression if I continued . I just hope I can finish the whole trilogy this time.
I just had a thought... maybe this is what sparked Pinkamena's whole murdering spree....
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, NOT THE FEELS!
Goddamit. Started reading right after finishing the prequel, and broke down crying again.
Fuuuuuuuuck...
*next chapter*
What was that? I couldn't read through my tears
So, going from the mind of a killer to the mind of their closest friend.
I never thought of Rars as the best pony, nor the worst pony.
How can the author that brings joy like The TDverse and Celestia gets Mugged, also bring this? I ..I...I don't know what to think anymore. You have broken me, BronyWriter
"The ride back to Ponyville was dead silent."
Taken her foreleg? I guess it's important if you wanted to revive her, but otherwise I don't see how her foreleg is that important.
LAUGH YOU SAD PEOPLE, LAUGH!
DAMN IT BRONYWRITER!! I KNOW YOUR TRYING TO GIVE ME MY SOUL BACK! I DON'T WANT IT! THAT WHY I THREW IT OUT IN THE FIRST PLACE!
You should've started it in a later timestream, so that I don't have to be so near to tears and my soul. ( I just finished the first book.)
You are an amazing writer to make me get so close to tears.good job keep up the good work
6284474 Thank you, that was much needed...Now to return to sinking into a deep depression, next chapter
If the ponies do anything to sweetie and her parents. I'm giving them the image of raritys basement and telling them they have 10 seconds to run before they become paste
7108682 As the downvoters are thinking, that isn't punishment enough for them. If anypony, or thing hurts Rarity's family just for being Rarity's parents/sister, the proper way to handle it is to bring Rarity back from the dead and help her slowly torture them to death.
It's been awhile since I've read this, but on we go!
The whole thing with Rarity being executed was sad. Don't get me wrong, she deserved it for killing over 100 ponies but still she was a victim of circumstance. It's also sad that because Twilight knew that Rarity was a serial killer that she was disowned as princess Celestia's student. Other than that the whole story before this one was good and so far this one is shaping up to be the same.
I actually made a new profile just to comment and mention that this is one of my favorite fanfic series I've ever read. It's up there with Fallout: Equestria and its spinoff Project Horizons
You created an incredibly heartbreaking universe, well contained within the canon. No, it isn't the best writing I've seen in my life, but when you captivate your audience this well, and give us a reason to be invested in the outcome not just of the story, but of the characters themselves, that really doesn't matter in the slightest.
The biggest of hat tips to you, BronyWriter. I first read this story when I was 16 or so, and returning to it now, at 21, even knowing how this and the entire series ends, I am still just as invested in the conclusion.
Maybe it's nostalgia, but I prefer to consider a true testament to your abilities to insert your readers into this universe, and I appreciate that more than you could ever know
Fave now, cry later.