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*slow clap*
Hell of a ride. I guess they did have a happy ending after all (or well, it seems that way XD).

Wow! That's heck of a lot of forgiveness

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21-wordcount from the word forgive. I actually removed a line from Pinkie Pie about forgiveness. The line is this:
"What is worst? An orgy of forgiveness, or asceticism from the unforgiving? For to forgive blindly without repentance is not to absolve the immoral, but to punish the discipline of the virtuous."

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Damn English majors

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I'm actually a philosophy major, right now taking my Masters in Education. English is actually my second language and I really, really hate literature classes btw.

.....MY FUCKING GOD!!!! you sir are making me hurt....you need ro put more i really hope this isnt the real end i need more!!

Hrm... still not honestly sure how I feel about this ending, to be fair. On the one hand, the only real way it could have ended, after the canonical conclusion where Rarity survives. On the other hand... damn I still kinda wish she hadn't. I just feel bad for poor Cadance, in the end, though at least her colt's okay!

for that!

Well, you've done it. You made it so that I could forgive this version of Rarity, and just feel happy for her and AJ. Wonderful story, bravo.

Bravo Wellspring, what a fantastic read, so much feels, my favorite tearjerker story on here, it was a real wild ride, i hate rarity for all the time she was a horrible bitch and she broke her friends, but i love her for the fact she really care for Applejack, and Applejack was wonderful in this as well, i know a lot people probably felt that Applejack love for Rarity was a little to obsessive, but i like her determination, and that just made this ending so much better, i must admit i'm a sucker for happy ending, and this one was just genius, it show that even if your do horrible things past, it is possible to make things right, i just hate how black & white(simple) people think about this, if a characters does good thing, good things should happen to them, but if a character does bad things, horrible things should happen to them, because they don't deserve to be forgiven. that one of the reason i love this story, it show a huge level of forgiveness, and the was fantastic :) I really hope you get up to 10k-viewcount, i really would love to see a sequel to this masterpiece. two thumps up.

While a good read and a favorite story, the epilogue needs a bit of editing. It feels a tad too overworked, and the occasional typos and grammar errors are jarring.

I can not get over your writing style its just amazing. Also I just love your verson of pinkie i can't put it in words as to how this is a very unique portrayal of her character. And the rarijack i just love love rarijack its so hot.

Bravo. Bravo

... I swear if you were to put this in a book format and publish it I'd be one of the first to support you and buy it.

4459812 Background pony was sad, but it dragged on for long enough and with many irrelevant parts that the impact was lessened. It's still one of my favorites, mind, but it's not nearly as good as Ptolemy or this.

Really thought-provoking, and mind capturing story. Would recommend and definitely re-read it myself. I seriously could not wait to get to the next chapter to see what would happen next!

Thank goodness for an ending to the ending The chapter 'What A World. What A World,' certainly left my imagination to wander the realm of, "what's next?" So...I don't know....Thanks! :3

The 'A/N: Acknowledgements, Deleted Scenes, Alt. Endings, etc.,' cleared up some other thoughts, especially in regards to Shining Armour's motive, which felt like it hadn't been described fully. Having a story from a single point of view would have its unique challenges. I believe you have done really well in that regards; in creating and extending Rarity's character into a more mature/villainous role. Additionally, maintaining that character; so different, so memorable, unbelievable and believable (you're already effecting how I'm writing, hahah.) Well done on this impressive and massive story!

Chapter 5 of this story is the single most brutal peace of literature I have ever read. That said, the manipulations in this story had me joyously cackling like a madman at the mastery of it all. I love a good story about a Magnificent Bastard and boy did this story deliver. That you managed to arrive at something close to a happy ending is nothing short of phenomenal.

Congradulations, this story is a masterpiece

Yeah, no offense, but I don't much like this story:

Applejack is annoyingly gullible and stupidly devoted for no adequately explained reason. No, really, it's not ever explained precisely what she loves about Rarity. I've seen folks with unrequited crushes and love before, but never one so utterly blind to reality. Why is she not able to see what's right in front of her face? It really irritated me.

Shining cheating in such a manner goes against just about everything we know about him. He and Cadence seem to be sincerely happy with one another, but there is little evidence that he pedestalizes and worships her like some sort of deity. Even when mind controlled, he was willing to talk back when pressed on an issue that was personally important to him by (who he thought was) his bride-to-be. From what we can see, the two share a loving and healthy but not worshipful or slavish relationship.

Cadence is not a Purity Sue to end all Purity Sues. She gets angry, she fights back, and she does not stupidly forgive and forgive and forgive even while the villains are on a rampage. Ask Chrysalis (flying over the horizon) and Sombra (exploded) if the pretty pink Princess of Love won't bite when pressed. Her behavior in this fic doesn't make her look tragic, just annoying moronic and terminally naive. Even in the happy huggy sugar land that is Equestria, forgiveness requires repentance. Her actions in this story endanger herself, which is bad enough, but also her husband and her totally innocent unborn child. I really disliked her portrayal here.

And, of course, Rarity here is just an unlikable bitch and a serious Karma Houdini. Seeing villains get away with their unprovoked assaults on the innocent profoundly irritates my sense of justice. And yes, she got away with it, minor self-inflicted punishment notwithstanding. Even Darth Vader had the decency to die trying to do something good for once to be redeemed, and I thought he was let off way too lightly.

So, yeah, gonna dislike this story. I was just really turned off by the whole thing.

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No offense taken. I'm happy you still took the time to read the fic. And, for that, I thank you

Hey Wellspring,
This story is a true diamond, not a rhinestone!
I love how you fleshed out Rare's character.

-frozen

I really enjoyed this well written story. My biggest complaint is tied into my favorite aspect from this story, that of Rarity's character. She comes off as a wonderfully written text book case of a true psychopath and it was fun to read from this point of view. Her ability to understand and manipulate emotions whilst unable to genuinely feel any of them. She is able to establish close friendships but feels no remorse as she annihilates these friends. She hits like every bullet point of the disorder. My problem stems from what appears to be her guilt after the shocking reveal to AJ of her relationship spanning betrayal. I can not believe a character who would terrify and traumatize a creature like poor flutters ( and not only not feel guilty but hate FS for her weakness ) and attempt to crush the life out of a pregnant mare with a light fixture could then be concerned for AJ's feelings. In every other instance she shows a complete and utter lack of empathy.
I believe Rarity's confession during the wedding still rings true in that that she either feels trapped/cornered disgusted by how hollow and hostile the situation she has fought her way into actually is. And the stronger ending would be where Rarity completes the suicide attempt with her final act of contrition - removing herself so Applejack could move on.
As it stands you end up with this untreated severely antisocial pony shuffled right back into the fold.
Don't get me wrong I love this story, and Rarijack is my favorite pairing. Its just that sometimes when you push something far enough, to remain sensible somethings gotta break.

Simply wonderful! Such and amazing story from start until finish.

This story was truly a treat to read. Thank you for providing it for all of us to read.

I must say, your interpretation of Rarity throughout this story reminds me of this video right here. (02.02 - 02.51)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIrRwXn-h80

Anyway, once again, Thank you for the read!

Wow.... at first I wasn't sure to contine reading it because characters feelt out of character... I'm glad that i keept reading because this history literaly keep me awake reading it for many nights because how awesome it was. I literally cancelled apointments to keep reading your story. Thanks a lot for this masterpiece, and thanks a lot for sharing it

This story was utterly outstanding. I am a writer seeking to break into publication and I was absolutely delighted to be able to break down and appreciate everything that made this novel great. This might be the single best work of fan fiction I have ever read, and the plot and characters are so well realized I was completely taken with their portrayals.

I thought, before finding this, that fan fiction was a "lower form of writing" In that it had the setting and characters already spelled out for the writer, but you have single handedly struck down that notion.

The only downside is that I will find it difficult to find a work of competing sophistication and complexity elsewhere on the site.

You can has review!

I have to agree with Snake Staff with the end of their comment. The forgiveness of Rarity/Lapis is an absolutely soul-crushing ending to this, and honestly what really seems to make this more of a tragedy than anything. We don't need to know why AJ was initially attracted to Rarity because she implies it fairly well and it's well-written to the point that the reader doesn't have to be spoon-fed it. But that Rarity and Shining Armor (yes, because chapter five and other horrible, terrible events still happened) get away with everything? I understand that Cadance tries to be forgiving in the face of her brutal victimization and that does happen with some people who have been savagely attacked by real-life monsters as a coping mechanism. However, by the end of this story she's (still!) married to a rapist and somepony who has a dark, abusive half to the good knight she sees. And it's sickening. Yes, it's clear Cadance probably never found out about the horrible rape of Rarity at Shining's hooves, but the ending for Shining Armor and Rarity feels absolutely deplorable when this was otherwise as sweeping epic of drama and darkness. We never get any justice, and the characters that remain faithful, beloved, or pained by everything that happened to them are the ones really suffering from tragedy here. (Not to mention that by the end, Applejack isn't any different from a pony version of Carole Ann Boone, but with such an overt battered girlfriend signs to the point she checks off basically every box for a blackmailed, psychologically abused partner.

I wanted to love this story (though, maybe not "love" considering where it spirals to tonally, y'know?) and I absolutely adore your writing, but the ending just smothered that so spectacularly, and I honestly didn't see that coming. This story so blatantly (eventually) rewards some of the most fascinatingly vile villains that I can't give this a vote - good or bad - and I can't say this is a story I'd be willing to recommend anyone. And this is by far probably the best story that I've come across to flip-flop like that. (And considering there don't seem to be more of your tragic heroes and villains stories after I've managed to go through this one, I'm pretty bummed.)

(There's also tags for subject matters like rape, violence, profanity, etc. that you really might want to look at and consider slapping on this story.)

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Except no one here is Alejandro, they're either way too forgiving or pathetic.

Rarity is Rubi
Shining Armour is Hector
Princess Cadance is Maribel
And Applejack is just a cunt