Applejack leaned back in her chair at the dinner table and scanned her family. They had previously been discussing Blossom and how she seemed to have disappeared again, and it worried her. Big Mac and Apple Bloom were similarly worried, but Apple Seed seemed strangely quiet. The farmpony was no idiot and knew when something was wrong with her niece, but hadn't pressed her on the issue during the conversation. However, she knew that having gotten no answers from her siblings meant that it was time to see what Apple Seed knew.
She leaned forward again and looked her niece in the eyes. "Apple Seed, y'all have been real quiet tonight. Is there somethin' that you'd like ta tell us?"
Apple Seed flinched back, obviously surprised at having been addressed about it as her aunt hadn't included her thus far. She shifted her gaze between her aunt, uncle, and mother, all of whom were giving her their undivided attention. The young mare forced a weak smile on her face. "W-Why would y'all think a thing like that?"
Applejack frowned. "Because we've been talkin' about where Blossom might be right now and you haven't said one word about it. You don't even seem particularly worried."
"Ah am worried!" Apple Seed insisted. "It's just..." Apple Seed bit her lip and flattened her ears as she looked away, further solidifying in Applejack's mind that Apple Seed knew exactly where Blossom was.
"Apple Seed," she said sharply, "where is Blossom?"
Apple Seed opened her mouth, but just as she did the group heard a knock on the door. Apple Seed breathed a small sigh of relief that the pressure had been taken off of her for the time being as Apple Bloom had gotten up from her chair to answer the door. The youngest Apple sibling opened the door and gasped when she saw who was on the other side. "Sweetie Belle!" she cried.
Instantly the other three were on their hooves and rushing to meet the recently released mare. Apple Bloom had already wrapped her in a crushing hug and was crying tears of joy. "They let ya go!" she said happily.
Sweetie Belle gave a small smile and returned the hug. "Yes, they let me go."
"Well that's just wonderful!" Applejack cried. "What happened?"
At Applejack's question, Sweetie Belle's small smile faded away and she burst into tears, something that startled the three elder Apples. "Sweetie Belle, what's wrong?" Apple Bloom questioned. "Yer free now, you and Blossom can be together again!"
At the sound of her daughter's name Sweetie Belle only cried harder. Applejack rushed over to the distraught mare and wrapped her in a giant hug as well. "Shh, it’s okay, sugar cube, we'll find Blossom and then you two can be happy together like before."
"No!" Sweetie Belle wailed. "B-Blossom's gonna die!"
"Now don't be talkin' like that," Applejack scolded. "Ah know that none of us know where she is right now, but we'll find her and get her back to ya Ah promise!"
"She's in Canterlot," Sweetie Belle sobbed. "She gave herself up for me, she took my place!"
The four Apples fell silent at Sweetie Belle's words, none really sure of how to handle what Sweetie Belle had told them. All save one. The corners of Apple Seed's mouth were turned up in a small smile and she almost looked relieved. Her expression didn't escape Sweetie Belle's notice and the mare's sorrowful expression hardened into a glare filled with maternal rage. "You," she growled, "you killed her."
Apple Seed's eyes widened and she took an uneasy step back. "Ah... Ah didn't kill her, Ah just told her ta do the right thing!"
"That wasn't your place!" Sweetie Belle snarled. "What happened after their deaths was our choice, not yours!" Sweetie Belle pushed Apple Bloom and Applejack away and stood up. "She's gonna die now and it's all your fault!"
S-She killed them!" Apple Seed replied, tears now rolling down her face. "She betrayed you when she let ya take the fall for her! You didn't do nothin' wrong!"
"That was my decision!" Sweetie Belle snarled. "I had only just gotten her, I was not going to see her put down like I saw my sister put down, and now I have to because of you!"
"Sweetie Belle, did Blossom kill Fire Ruby and Golden Necklace?" Applejack asked quietly. "Were you innocent the whole time?"
"Yes!" Apple Seed insisted. "Blossom told me that she had killed them, a-and she betrayed you!"
"They were going to kill her!" Sweetie Belle screeched.
"They didn't kill you," Apple Seed whimpered as she backed against the wall. "Ah just thought that--"
"Yeah, well you thought wrong!" Sweetie Belle said angrily. "Now they're gonna kill her, a..." Sweetie Belle's eyes filled with tears again and she collapsed onto her haunches. "And it's your fault. I was okay where I was, and she's very sick. She needs help, not the needle."
The four Apples watched in silence for a moment as Sweetie Belle continued crying on the floor. It was Applejack who broke the silence and put a hoof on Sweetie Belle's shoulder. "We need ta go ta Canterlot, then," she muttered. "If you can make the princesses see it yer way, Blossom can get better and she doesn't hafta die."
"Ah'll make sure her pa and sister know," Applejack said. "They can meet us there."
Sweetie Belle whimpered and slowly pushed herself to her hooves. Applejack was right, they needed to go to Canterlot to beg for Blossom's life.
* * * *
Blossom sat in the corner of her cell in the palace, shivering from fear more than the drafty conditions. She had not had her horned removed... yet, but the guards had put a nullifier ring on it to prevent her from using any spells. Of course, it wasn't as though she would want to escape. If she did they would hunt her down, probably to the ends of the planet. She was a murderer, after all.
She sighed sadly and looked up at the small bed in the cell where, sure enough, Rarity was lounging. The gash on her head was gone, but so was her smug demeanor. In fact, she looked strangely contemplative. Blossom scoffed quietly and shook her head. "I thought that you'd leave me alone once I was in here," she muttered. "I can't kill for you anymore. My horn is blocked and I'm chained to a wall in a dungeon, there's no way I'm getting out of here."
Rarity sighed. "No, I suppose not," she mumbled. "I'm still unsure of why you would thrust this upon yourself, though. I mean, you are literally built to be Equestria's greatest serial killer. If I had your powers I would never have been caught by anypony, why would you throw all of that away?"
"Because I'm not a murderer," Blossom said quietly. "I never wanted to hurt anypony."
"But I know you felt that feeling that I did," said Rarity as she sat up in the bed. "I know that you know how wonderful it was and how powerful you felt!"
Blossom shook her head. "I didn't feel powerful. I didn't feel like I could do anything. I actually felt like I wasn't in control of myself and that really scared me, Aunt Rarity. I didn't like that feeling."
"But you followed it anyway," Rarity pointed out. "You bashed their brains in with a rock and they stopped bothering you, and everypony else, forever!"
"And look where I've ended up!" Blossom cried as she motioned around the cell. "I'm about to die for what I did! That..." A single sob escaped Blossom's throat. "That makes me afraid, Aunt Rarity, I'm really scared."
Blossom blinked once and when she opened her eyes, Rarity wasn't on the bed anymore. She was standing in front of her with a kind, but sad, smile on her face. She sat down next to Blossom, and wrapped her in a hug. The warmth and love behind the hug told Blossom beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was not the Rarity that had tormented her waking life. "So was I when my time came," Rarity said soothingly. "I won't pretend that I left this world with my head held high and courage in my heart, because I didn't." Rarity gently nuzzled Blossom's head and began stroking her mane. "Blossom, you are a better, braver pony than I ever was, or could ever hope to be. If this is your end, I know that you have the strength to be brave when your time comes."
"But I'm scared, Aunt Rarity," Blossom whimpered. "I'm scared that I'm going to Tartarus."
"Oh Blossom," Rarity whispered, "Tartarus is for evil ponies like me, not scared ponies who did bad things because of that fear. If I'm right about what kind of mare you are, you will see paradise."
"I lived a lie for ten years!" Blossom retorted. "I let my mom suffer in my place while I went free. How is that not evil?"
"You accepted a sacrifice that your mother made for you," Rarity explained. "Was it the right thing to do? I suppose not; but you were just a scared filly who didn't know what to do."
"I still am," said Blossom quietly. "I don't want to die, but there is still that part of me that does."
Rarity frowned and cocked her head slightly. "What do you mean, darling?" she questioned.
Blossom sighed and leaned her head against Rarity's chest. "Aunt Rarity, I... I'm tired. I'm just tired of all of this. I'm tired of being afraid, I'm tired of living in your shadow, I'm tired of that sick part of my brain continuously telling me to murder ponies, I'm tired of the princesses, and I’m tired of making ponies sad..." Blossom lifted a hoof to wipe away tears that had formed. "After everything that's happened over the past few months, dying would be like going to sleep after a long, bad day. If I'm in prison for the rest of my life, it's going to be Tartarus for me anyway. I couldn't stand day after day of therapy, of my mind telling me to kill my therapist or anypony else who come within my reach, I couldn't stand not being to see the sunlight anymore."
"You would still be able to see your family," Rarity pointed out.
"Behind bars? In a small room under constant surveillance?" Blossom shook her head. "Every time they'd see me they'd just be sad. It'd remind both of us of what we used to have. On one hoof I have a life of misery, sorrow, and the constant stress that I'm going to hurt somepony. On the other, I die in a way that's just like going to sleep after a long day. When I think about it that way..." Blossom looked up to see that Rarity had gone and she was alone in her cell once again. A small smile formed on her face and she began walking over to the comfort of the bed.
"Dying doesn't really sound all that bad, now does it?"
GODDAMNIT! UPDATE THIS NOW! PLEASE!!
2464316 He says two seconds after I publish the latest chapter...
2464322
I'm a fast reader
2464331 So you want me to publish chapter 28 right now?
2464337
PLEASE! I need to know the end!
This is just a fantastic story. I am completely hooked and I have no idea where this story will end up.
HA! I do believe I know where this is going, and I like it! Of course, who knows, you may just spring one of those infamous BW plot twists...
fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/049/8/6/plot_twist_dance__by_yondamoegi-d4q4pfl.jpg
2464337
Now! I have to go to bed soon anyways, but I need it now!
2464337
PLEASE! I can't wait!
Dakota.
2464322
It is indeed a short chapter kinda compared to your last few.
Really good nonetheless though! <3
Dakota.
Blossom no please don't think that way! Though after everything I can see why she would. I don't think Sweetie Belle will ever forgive Apple Seed if Blossom dies though. Please update fast!
2464366
if the chapter is posted tonight, i'd wait all night.. :D
Dakota.
Awesomesauce. I can scarcely wait for the next installment in this epic. Wonderful work, though I know the end is going to bring manly tears. Thanks for the quick update, now it's time for bed.
this story is more addictive than cocaine.
And soon everything will come to a end.
Bronywriter is my crack.
2464331 Please teach me your secrets of how to coherently read a few thousand words in matter of seconds. I need to finish reading my history textbook for the next test, ya know.
2464337 Just to bugger with the others, no. Put the story on hiatus and write a Fallout:Equestria sized chapter to end it all.
Ch 28/Epilogue
2464958 Nope. If you think it is too similar I can change it up a bit, though.
Somehow you just keep getting better. I commend you good sir. Happy or sad, I can't wait to see how this story ends.
Yet another sad chapter, though makes sense... and oddly enough, these aren't seeming to faze me anymore. Probably cause I have a strong hunch on how this ends, even if I don't realize it as I'm reading. //dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/shrug_Twilight_future.png
Anyway, hoped once the truth came out, somepony would be mad at Apple Seed, and I was right! //dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Sweetie_Belle_lolface.png Though not everyone it seems or more who I had hoped, but eh. Dunno how Apple Seed's gonna make it up to her former(?) sister, if we get to see Blossom's family getting to see her. And good that we get to see sorrowful Rarity again, regretting the fallout her family's had with her actions when she was still alive... I can't help feeling would be more epic or whatever if they charged in just as the execution was about to happen, but I imagine you're not going to be that way, since Canterlot's not that far from Ponyville and didn't give a time as to when she'd be executed, probably once again to keep us in suspense, I'm sure. Man, I can't wait for the final chapter(s) to see how this plays out, if we get to see Blossom in the far future if she'll survive this little dilemma... or will refuse the help she'll be offered to get, once they tell her that Rarity or her head has been pushing her to kill, yet she doesn't WANT to. I REALLY hope we don't have to wait too long, as this is just getting more sad and interesting, and I really hope you don't kill off Blossom, even if this is the only story/series she exists in. Looking forward to the next (as I doubt it's the finale, unless you say it is) chapter!
2464967 hmm? It says "Rarity's words were cut off when Blossom let out a snarl of anger and swung a nearby tree branch into the side of Rarity's head. The older mare gasped and hit the ground, blood pouring from a large wound where the branch had connected.
Blossom stared down at the limp form of her aunt for a few seconds before, to her horror, Rarity let out a little chuckle. "Didn't that feel wonderful?" she whispered.
Rarity's words were cut off when Blossom let out a snarl of anger and swung a nearby tree branch in to the side of Rarity's head. The older mare gasped and hit the ground, blood pouring from a large wound where the branch had connected.
Blossom stared down at the limp form of her aunt for a few seconds before, to her horror, Rarity let out a little chuckle. "Didn't that feel wonderful?" she whispered." In the previous chapter. It does copy the same line.
Everytime you update I get little happy butterflies because I love this story. I love all of them from rarity to sweetie belle to blossom. You make me happy ^^,
Ahem. Thy princess approves.
2465018 Sho 'nuff. Fixed.
Uf! that's a relief. I thought i was the only who think in that way, but unfortunately, that's the same way you took for the past 10 years, the easy and cowardly way. Death, anyone can die, that's very easy. The hard thing is to live for others, especially if you live by your mother. She suffered for her sister and your blame for almost 30 years, it's time someone finally gives a joy in her life. But well, at least this time will be your own decision.
2465029 thank you. I hope other readers also appreciate it.
You know, unless you can give this story a very uptight twist ( ), i think that giving her the needle will be the happiest ending you could give to Blossom's story.
Vats that Rarity? Kill them all?
Nope I'm gonna turn myself in
So the most tragic end would be the happy end: Blossom is set free anf forced to live her entire life scared, being spied on by the princesses, and constantly tormented by Rarity's ghost. I get the feeling that isn't what you have in mind though.
Here is a wild prediction: Blossom pushes for the death penalty, the Apples manage to convince Celestia not to, and Blossom ends up free. Apple Seed and Blossom get in a fight, Blossom runs off and kills herself. Sweetie kills all the apples for revenge, and gets the needle. Everypony is a serial killer and everpony dies.
There are probably only 1-2 chapters left so I can post something relevant when I see how it ends.
Didn't the princesses change the law so that no one can ever get the needle again about 10+ chapters back?
I think that means life in prison for this.
I'm still voting for the needle.
2465775 No they changed it to get age restrictions and situations taken into account. Equestria still has the death penalty and would still have executed Rarity, though probably not as quickly, but they definitely would not have killed Sweetie Belle or Blossom for what happened at the end of the preceding story. Blossom could still very well die for this, though.
2465578 What makes you say that?
2465839
Oooh, then there's still hope for the ending that I'd like to see ...
And has anyone ever told u that u update really fast?
You made quit a build up to the end, I look forward to seeing what it'll be. Im fine with pretty much any ending, a sad one because it would match the tone of the trilogy, a happy one because finally there is hope and optimism, or bittersweet because the combination of the two.
2466906
I'm so sorry I had a bad day so I was feeling philosophic and forgot that I shouldn't say those kinds of thIngs. Ive deleted the comments, thanks for setting me straight.
Again apologies to everypony.
2466938 Thank you for deleting it. I'm sorry if I was hard on you, but that comment really got to me as I've known someone who did that. Hope things in life go better for you.
2466945
I should be the one apologizing, I didn't think about how my actions would affect others, that lesson probably needs to have it's own MLP episode before I can finally get that through my head. And may life go smoothly for you as well.
nuuuuuuuuuuu
I think the ending is going to make me cry. If it does, I will just love it even more.
The end is nigh one way or another
I say you write another story about comet
don't kill blossom please!!!
I think Blossom is the manliest girl I've seen this far...housewife Kamina excluded.
T.T