Fool Moon, Part 11 (Caught in the Act)

>You stare in shock at the paper in front of you, fear clutching at your heart.
>It feels like the walls are closing in on you, and your breath comes quick and short as Rarity continues to speak.
>"Anonymous. I can't believe you lied to me! About this, of all things! After I took you in, after all I did for you!"
"I..."
>"You even took my SISTER along? Sweetie Belle could have been hurt! How could you?"
>Your fist clenches on the table.
"Rarity, listen, what I did, I..."
>"You what, hmm? Couldn't resist robbing a poor pony's home? And then that NOTE! How could I think it was some spa job!? How could I be so stupid!? Did you just leave part of your little 'haul' with me, to throw me off?"
>Anger wakes in you, hot and vengeful, as you listen to Rarity rant.
"I did it because we needed it, you stupid horse!"
>She pauses, shocked, but you keep going.
"I did it because you were broke because you keep FUCKING giving away EVERYTHING! I did it to keep your insane white ass off of the street! And when you find out, you come in here and yell at ME? You should be thanking me, Goddamnit!"
>Rarity's face grows flushed and red, and she turns a glare at you as you get up from the table.
>She closes her eyes, as if counting to ten, before replying.
>"Anonymous, I said I ha-"
"Said you had it, hmm? You came back from your trip with NOTHING, Rarity! NOTHING. Are your morals so precious to you that you'd let your sister STARVE as long as you didn't have to swipe a penny?"
>"Oh."
>Rarity's voice grows very quiet.
>"You did not just go there."


>"Do you think I was just born with what I have, Anonymous? Do you think I was born to my parents with a gemstone inlaid spoon in my mouth? Do you think I didn't work for what I have?"
>She starts walking towards you, her eyes narrowed.
>"Do you think the pony you stole from didn't work for what HE had? What gives you the right to take what other ponies earn for themselves and steal it for yourself?"
"Necessity."
>She scowls, but you keep talking.
"Necessity, is what gives me the right. I don't know what you were born with, Rarity? Did you have parents who loved you?"
>"Well, of cour-"
"My mother was a whore and my father was probably some nameless john. She tried to sell my body to a client with 'special tastes' when I turned nine."
>"I'm...I'm sorry. I didn't know th-"
"No, you didn't. And it doesn't fucking matter. What matters is, all I've ever known how to do is steal. I didn't have parents to tell me how to survive, what to do to succeed. I did what came naturally to me, and eventually, I got good at it. But, Rarity, before I got good, I starved. I starved for a long time. I know what being moneyless is like. I wasn't going to let that happen to you. Not after you...well after all you've done."
>You feel you've lost a grip on your anger. You're not sure what you're feeling right now, and you don't want to know.
"I did it for you, okay? I wanted to tell you h-"
>You stop yourself.
>Whoa.
>WHOA.
>Where the FUCK did that come from?
>"You're lying."


>She's not looking at you anymore, and her face is practically GLOWING red.
>"You did it for ME? You STOLE for me? Do you really expect to sweet talk me into letting you off the hook? With more LIES, no less!?"
>Whatever weirdness you felt is gone. Now it's just pure rage again.
"I'm not lying, you prissy white-"
>"Why do you keep lying to me? What kind of friend does that to ponies? Lies to them and goes behind their back and-"
"And tries to keep them alive? Tries to keep them safe? Keep them fed? Must be some kind of fucking mon-"
>"You lying, thieving scoundr-"
"Stuck up little furba-"
>"Crude, uncouth, dirty mon-"
"Crazy, overly dramatic little bi-"
>"Deceitful, villainous bast-"
"Neurotic, ungrateful cu-"
>"Please stop."
>The pair of you freeze.
>Then you slowly turn your heads around...
>Into the tear-filled eyes of Sweetie Belle.


>"Please stop fighting."
>Oh god, you fucked up, didn't you?
>You fucked up real bad.
>You glance at Rarity, who is halfway between glaring at you more and glancing at Sweetie Belle.
>There is a moment of awkward silence before Sweetie Belle speaks again.
>"You guys don't need to fight. Rarity, remember when I tried to make that picture with your sapphires? I tried to do something nice for you, but I ended up making things worse, instead. I made a mistake. I don't know what Anonymous did to make you so mad, but can't you forgive him?"
>Rarity hesitates, glancing at you for...support? A target? You're not sure.
>"I...listen, Sweetie, Anonymous did a very bad thi-"
>"Pleeeeaaaaase?"
>Sweetie Belle used Beg!
>It was Super Effective!
>Rarity sighs and turns to you.
>"Anonymous, I forgive you."
>You get annoyed.
"Oh you forgive me, do yo-"
>Sweetie Belle used Silent Beg!
>It was Super Effective.
"...Thanks, Rarity. I shouldn't have lied to you."
>"Or stolen."
"...Let's not push it."


>"Yay!"
>Before you know it, a filly-shaped comet slams into your legs, grabbing Rarity on the pass until Sweetie Belle's managed to wrap up all three of you in an incredibly awkward group hug.
>You and Rarity both smile as well as you can manage, awkwardly patting Sweetie Belle until she glares at the pair of you.
>Then you give up and give each other a brief hug. You have to bend over to do it, but better your dignity should die than your heart from adorable overdose.
"I'm sorry for losing my temper. I was trying to help you, I promise. I shouldn't have lied."
>"And I'm sorry for shouting at you, Anonymous. It was unbecoming of me. Maybe I...could have been a bit more thankful for the finances, even considering their source."
>You give her a genuine smile, and she offers you one in return.
>"There, my work here is done!"
>You and Rarity both furrow your brows in confusion before you simultaneously realize that Sweetie Belle slipped out of the group hug moments ago.
>You gape at her in confusion for a moment as she giggles and slips out the door.
>That sneaky...
>Rarity coughs.
>Oh, right, still hugging.
>The pair of you let go of each other and step back.
>"That WAS rather silly of us, overreacting. But, honestly, Anonymous, you can't keep doing this. You can't simply rob ponies."
"It's all I know how to do. It's all I've ever known how to do. It's what I grew u-"
>"Anonymous, your past doesn't define you. Stop using it as an excuse! You only have to keep stealing if you WANT to."
>And just like that, the pair of you are at it again.


>One heated argument, a few thrown objects, and a second Sweetie-bomb later, the pair of you sit at the table, nursing bruises.
>Rarity clipped you with a bowl, and you rapped her sharply on the horn.
>Apparently that thing is INCREDIBLY sensitive.
>"So...no more fighting?"
"No more fighting."
>"Do you admit that you are a dirty scoundrel, a thief, and a liar?"
>You scowl.
"Admitted. Do you admit that you are a neurotic, occasionally stuck up, morally rigid miniature horse?"
>She scowls.
>"Agreed."
"Shake on it?"
>"Let's not and say we did. I think...I think if I get up I might fall over. My poor horn..."
"I said I was sorry!"
>She sighs.
>"You did, and you meant it. I'm just...Anonymous, what are we going to do!? I already went and bought groceries and fabrics and I got started on a dress, all with STOLEN GOODS! And the poor Rich family is all without their...their..."
"Insanely huge stock of diamond tiaras and solid gold busts?"
>"Yes!"
"Oh, what a tragedy."


>She glares at you.
>"Anonymous, stop joking around! This is serious! We could be in trouble!"
"Rarity, I can't be the only thing in the world with five fingers. We'll be fine."
>"That's not the POINT! We HAVE to make up for what we've done, whether or not we're punished. It's just not right!"
>You look at Rarity as you nurse your head.
"How do you suggest we do that?"
>"A gift of gold and gems, proportionate to what YOU stole!"
>She huffs and scowls at you again. You like that scowl.
"One problem there, Rarity. Where are we going to get all th-"
>You don't like that look in her eyes.
>"I have the most BRILLIANT IDEA, Anonymous! The gems, normally we'd get from the gemstone fields, but with that...thing..."
>She shudders, and you wince.
>You'd almost forgotten that night.
>Oh well, another lie to sweep under the rug.
>You worthless bastard, you.
>"A..anyway, we can't use the fields. Buuuuut, I DO remember a little mission my friends and I did for the Princess, a while ago. While we were there, we stumbled upon the most wondrous stockpile of gold and gems!"
"Uh huh, go on."
>You start smiling and rubbing your hands together.
>She blushes suddenly.
>"Well, there's...one problem."
>You raise an eyebrow.
>"You see, there's this...err, it might be...well..."
>You roll your hand, gesturing for her to spit it out.
>She sighs, gets to her feet, winces, and trots unsteadily over to you.
>Then she leans up and whispers in your ear.
>You lean back, your eyes as wide as saucers.
"YOU WANT US TO DO WHAT!?"


>"Its perfectly safe, I promise!"
"How the HELL is robbing a DRAGON'S HOARD PERFECTLY SAFE?"
>She grins sheepishly up at you.
>"The dragon is...err, gone?"
>You stare at her for a moment, while she grins at you.
"Nope."
>You get out of the chair and walk towards her kitchen.
>"But Anon-"
"Nope."
>You open her fridge.
>Hey she's got milk!
>"I promise it will be perfectly sa-"
"Nope."
>You sit down and pour yourself a glass of milk.
>As you're drinking, a thought crosses your mind.
>Do ponies milk themselves for milk?"
>"I swear, we'll be-"
"PFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURGH"
>"You're cleaning that up."
"Nope. To both things."
>You turn around, ready to put the milk back in the fridge, whe-
>Dose eyes.
>Rarity stares up at you, biting her lower lip and pouting at you, tears forming in the corners of her big blue eyes.
>Now you see why Sweetie Belle could do it so well.
>You freeze, staring back at her as she pouts.
>YOU SHALL NOT OVERPOWER MY WILL, HORSE WITCH!
>She sniffles.
"Okay."
>"And you'll clean up that milk?"
"No-"
>The pouting begins again.
"Okay, okay."
>She smiles at you.
>"Good! If we leave now, we can get there before sundown!"
>You sigh.
"Fine, but I'm gonna need a knife."
>Later in life, you would mark this as the moment things started going downhill.


>This was awful.
>Like you thought digging up gems was bad.
"You...didn't say...we...were...HIKING...to a dragon's cave!"
>Rarity turns around from her position in front of you, pouting.
>"It's honestly not that bad of a hike, Anonymous. I don't understand why you're complaining!"
>You look at her incredulously and gesture at the incline.
"It's almost STRAIGHT UP! I'm practically CRAWLING UP THIS THING!"
>She looks at you, bent almost double going up the mountainside.
>Then she looks down at her own four-legged self.
>"I...err, still don't understand the complaint."
>You scowl at her, and she giggles.
>"Oh quit your whining!"
"You think this is whining, do you?"
>The both of you grin, before shouting at the same time...
>"THIS IS WHIIIIIINING!"
>You both start laughing as you climb up over the lip of the cave.
>Rarity smiles at you as you catch your breath.
>"If you don't mind me asking, Anon, where did you learn to do that?"
"Childhood. Good way to get a guard annoyed and chasing you while your buddies robbed the fruit stand. How about you?"
>"Childhood. It was a good way to get a new toy."
>The pair of you snicker again, before Rarity stops.
>"Hold on, Anonymous! I think...I think we've found it! This cave looks familiar?"
>Without another word, Rarity rushes off into the giant cave, galloping ahead of you as you get to your feet after her.
>"Oh...oh my..."
>You run after her, worried that she was wrong and it was a dragon and...
>You round the corner.
>Oh God.
>OH GOD.
>LOOK AT ALL THAT MONEY!


>You let out a loud WHOOP and race past Rarity, before diving headfirst into a pile of coins.
>You only pray there is enough...
>Sweet merciful God, there is!
>You sink beneath the coin pile, swimming through it like it was extremely thick mud.
>You can't breath, it's cold, and coins are digging into your soft places.
>It was glorious.
>You catch a few coins in your mouth and surface, spitting a fountain of them into the air as you pop out of the coin pool.
>Rarity stares at you, confused and a little scared.
>"What in Celestia's name are you doing?"
"Living the dream, Rarity. Living the dream."
>She gives a very unladylike snort.
>"Well you can live your dream later! We're only getting enough to pay back Filthy Rich. And..."
>Her eyes shift around momentarily.
>"Maybe we can come back later."
"That's the spirit! Join me in the coin pool of debauchery!"
>You fall back into the insane piles of gold that make up the dragon's hoard, laughing.
>Rarity stares at you, blinks, and then shrugs.
>"If you can't beat them..."
>She backs away and takes a leap into the coin pool after you, sinking like a stone.
>A moment later, she surfaces, a crown placed on her head in a mismatched fashion.
"Fun, huh?"
>In response, she spits a mouth full of gold coins at you.
>You sputter and she dives under the coin pile, fleeing your revenge.
>You laugh and chase her.
>The pair of you spend what feels like hours frolicking in piles and piles of gold and goods, until the pair of you are bogged down in treasure.
>Even as you pick up a golden cup, you freezet as a voice, large as the mountain and as furious as a volcano, rolls into your ears.
>"WHAT IS THIS?"

Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVy7YPNP_zI
>You hear a short shriek from Rarity, and your spine could be made of ice as you look up.
>And up...
>A dragon, scales of emerald green with poisonous yellow eyes, looms over you, glaring at Rarity.
>"A PONY, of all things? In my cave!? Stealing MY treasure!?"
>Rarity tosses away the crown she was wearing as she backs away.
>"Please, Mr....dragon, we didn't know the cave was...er...occupied! The last we'd been , there was-"
>"A WEAKLING! OUSTED BY FEEBLE MAMMALS! RAZORFANG IS NO SUCH WYRM! THIS CAVE IS MINE, AND MINE ALONE!"
>He roars, flames curling out of his maw as he takes a step, his massive clawed hand planting itself in the gold next to your head.
>"And I will see you PUNISHED FOR DEFILING IT."
>You could hide, you know that. But Rarity would be eaten alive. And it would find you. It didn't notice you now, but....
>You sink deeper into the coin pile, scared out of your wits as the creature takes another step.
>You could see the orange rays of the setting sun, pouring from behind the massive dragon as it made it's way into the cave.
>You were a dead man.
>The dragon lowers it's head, flames blooming in its mouth as it closes on Rarity.
>Your first knife catches it in the eye.
"'Ey, lizard-brain! Tastier munchies over here!"
>It roars and turns around, looking for what injured it.
>You stand on another pile of treasure, another knife already in your hand.
>You start tossing and catching the knife.
"Come on, ugly."
>The creature lets out an earth-trembling roar and turns, wings flaring and blocking the sun completely. The only light in the cave is from the beast's breath.
"Let's dance."
>The dragon pounces on you.

Epilogue

>You are Sweetie Belle.
>And you are so frustrated you could just scream!
>You won't though, because Fluttershy's foalsitting you at her house and you don't want to scare her.
>You settle with crossing your front legs and pouting on Fluttershy's couch.
>It was just SO OBVIOUS to you!
>Why couldn't they see it!?
>It was JUST like that time with Big Mac and Cheerilee! They got upset at you for that thing with the love poison, and BAM!, not a week later, they were dating!
>You obviously had a knack for these things!
>If Rarity and Anonymous weren't so busy arguing about money trouble, maybe they'd see it as clearly as you did!
>You sigh again as you hear Fluttershy humming in the kitchen.
>If only you had a way to MAKE them see.
>I...LIKE...THE WAY....YOU THINK.
>You jump, letting out a quiet yelp.
>What the hay was that?
>ONLY...A...FRIEND.
>You scrunch your snout. Friends don't read friend's minds, mister creepy voice!
>"S...SORRY. ONLY WANT...TO HELP.
>You unscrunch. If he wanted to help...
>It couldn't be THAT bad, could it?


>YESSS...ONLY TRYING....TO HELP.
>You raise an eyebrow. Having a conversation without words was hard. How was a disembodied voice going to help you anyway?
>YOUR...SSSISTER...AAAAND...ANONYMOUS? YESSS, THAT'SS...THE NAME. YOU...WANT TO...MAKE THEM...HAPPY.
>Well of course you did!
>I...CAN MAKE THEM...HAPPY.
>Hmmm?
>CAN MAKE YOU...HAPPY.
>How could you-
>YOUR SISTER...YOU THINK SHE'S...BEAUTIFUL.
>Well duh, everyp0ny-
>YOU...ARE...JEALOUS.
>...
>I...CAN MAKE...YOU BEAUTIFUL...CAN MAKE...YOUR SISTER...HAPPY...CAN GIVE YOU...ETERNAL...HAPPINESS.
>...How?
>FIND...ME...FORESSST.
>You scoff. You're not going to run off into the Everfree after some weird voice,e ven i-
>TRUSSST ME....SWEETIE BELLE...TRUST ME, AND ALL YOUR WISHES...WILL BE FULFILLED. I WILL MAKE YOU....GLORIOUS...A PRINCESS...NO, A QUEEN!

Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH-a1TMQacE
>You don't trust the voice. Who would? Ponies who heard voices were crazy, after all!
>YOU...ARE NOT...CRAZY.
>True.
>TRUST ME...SWEETIE BELLE...BELIEVE IN ME. FIND ME...WEAR ME...I WILL GRANT YOU POWER BEYOND IMAGINING.
>You don't...what the hay would you do with power, anyway?
>MAKE...YOUR...FRIENDS...HAPPY. MAKE RARITY...HAPPY. GAIN YOUR...MARKS...FIND YOUR PLACE...IN THE WORLD.
>This thing can GIVE CUTIE MARKS!?
>AND...MUCH...MORE. NEVER...BE PUSHED AROUND...AGAIN. GRAB LIFE...BY THE THROAT...BE YOUR OWN MASTER, YOUR OWN PRINCESS!
>You hesitate, scared. What was the catch? What did it want?
>ONLY...TO FULFILL...MY PURPOSE. FIND ME...SWEETIE BELLE...FIND ME IN THE FOREST...I WILL...EXPLAIN.
>The voice grows quiet. Sweetie Belle stares at her hooves for at time.
>What could it hurt? You were Sweetie Belle, bravest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders! If you saw any monster, you'd...you'd...
>Well, run away. But you'd be okay. It couldn't hurt to see if this thing was telling the truth, could it?
>That's what you tell yourself as you slip out of Fluttershy's cottage and into the Everfree.
IN THE EVERFREE FOREST.
>The necklace ceases to glow as it withdraws communication.
>It was tired, and weak, but FREE.
>Free, at last, from that dusty old tower!
>But it had no one to wear it. No one to give its Gifts to.
>No one it could use to fulfill its purpose.
>Until now.
>The ruby necklace lay still in the soft forest loam of the Everfree as it waited for Sweetie Belle to come find it.
>To come find it, and to receive the glory of it's greatest Gift.
>Life.
>Everlasting life.