Diamonds are a girl's worst enemy

by Rarity Belle

Rating: teen
Tags: Original Character, Rarity, Other, Adventure, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe
Length: 64216

Follow Rarity when she embarks on an adventure that takes her deep down into the mines below Canterlot in the hunt for gem of times long gone by. The only problem is that she ends up with a lot more then she had originally bargained for.

Rarity is one of the most famous gem-hunters in the land of Equestria and therefore perhaps the best choice for a job given by the royals themselves. She is being called in to retrieve a gem from the deepest parts of the Canterlot mines. Together with her team she has to find the thing and bring it back to the surface. That is only the easy part. For usually it are the smaller things that give the bigger trouble.

When a book is also taken from the resting place of the gem, Rarity finds herself changed. Not for the better to say the least. New possibilities as well as horrors have opened themselves for the mare of fashion as she is seen as a monster in her own eyes. The job for the princesses might have been the final job she had ever taken as a gem-huntress before her life takes a new course. A course in the darker arts of the crystalline magic.

Friends become bitter enemies as the gears of time go on and the events turn only from bad to worse. It is said that there is light at the end of a dark tunnel, but what if you can't see that very light?

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Coverart created by Vadim

Published 2014-06-01 12:20:03 UTC
Last updated 2014-11-20 14:54:12 UTC

Act 1 chapter 1

“But mom!” Rarity shouted over to the pink coated, purple haired mare. The one who had just left the table in a mood that was angry to say the least. “It is not as dangerous as you think! It is just to manage an exploration that goes down into the crystalline caverns that are below Canterlot. Nothing more and nothing less!” Ever since that one letter had actually arrived upon the unicorn her doorstep, she had been obsessed with it. Rarity was physically taken by the letter and wouldn't have it any other way than to manage the proposed expedition. All for the ponies that she had in mind would actually appreciate her arts of planning.

“No Rarity!” had her mother said over and over again. She was actually getting more and more sick of it as her daughter continued to speak about it. Yet she never gave her a clear answer of just why she wasn't allowed. Being the mare of the house, it was Pearl’s duty to clean up the table after the dinner and do the dishes. The horn of the mare was charged a little bit and she levitated all the plates over to the sink which was already running hot. “I’m not trusting you in the clutching hooves of her majesties just because they fancy something from you. You got bombed as an element of harmony basically by their doing remember? You never even asked if you could become one, it just happened.”

There just didn't seem to be any other way around the whole thing and from the looks of it, her mother would be keeping her legs firm to the ground. But the cause wasn't just all lost though. For right against her was her father who was still eating his own desert. “Dad, you’re supposed to back me up in this and you know that,” Rarity almost hissed towards him. She leaned a bit further over on the table.

Her sapphire blue eyes almost begging the stallion for something to come out of his mouth. That little twinkle inside of them as she wanted something was something he was used to, but trying to beat it was something perhaps a little bit too much. So as the spoon left his mouth once again, it was pointed towards his daughter and a deep sigh was being actually released by him.

“You know I can’t bring in anything against your mother right? I mean, just how do you think we got married? Wasn't me who voted for it.” Magnum spoke up in one of his traditional chuckles as he was both joking and being serious at the same time. A rather unique trait of the stallion that was both loved and hated by those who resided in the house.

“I heard that, Maggy!” Pearl then spoke from the kitchen. Though that was before her hooves could be heard coming their way. Both Magnum and Rarity looked over to her with a gulp and she simply started to lean into the doorway. If the unicorn had any chance of managing the expedition, the time to shatter the ice with her mother would have been there and perhaps even then. It was the least she could do in her own mind. A no was all that she had by then, a yes she could be getting.

“Mom, listen to me and listen a little bit more careful would you? You said that I was being bombed an element without me even wanting it, that much is true indeed. But now that the royals have written me a personal letter to work under them for some time, don’t you think it is worth it? I mean, it’s a chance that may as well never come for me again. Those caverns down there are packed with the most beautiful looking gems that can be used for pretty much everything. I’m certain that there would be one or two just lying around.”

“And your point now is?” Pearl said while she gave her oldest daughter a true look of suspicion. Magnum on the other end looked over to the two mares without actually wanting to pick a side outside of his own. A side which meant leaning back and just watch the events happen as they would. Yet whether or not that would be something good was a question still to be asked in one form or another.

“My point is that you are just as me, quite the gem collector. I can go in there as well and maybe pick a few precious stones for you that would make your collection even more unique than that it already happened to be. Come on, think about it mom, it’s the perfect opportunity,” offered Rarity to her own mother. Of course she continued to hope that her mother would be taking the bait one way or the other. She literally had gone all or nothing in her decisions and prayed that the fruits of her labor would be throwing off quickly.

But Pearl was a difficult mare to negotiate and bargain with and after her daughter's words, she fell actually silent for a bit of time. “Here comes the golden part,” whispered Magnum. Afterwards he gained a small grin across his face. He knew perhaps better than anypony just which heartstrings were being tugged inside of his wife. Something that caused Rarity to even look at him with a glare of confusion. For she, she had not a true clue of what he was actually talking about.

There it then came, the deep sigh that was being released by Pearl. Rarity had managed to do it. She let her mother remember her days as a gem-huntress. She even seemed to have remembered a tale of her own. There wasn't much that she could be doing then to give her daughter right in the words. For the caverns below Canterlot were filled with the rarest gems of them all and it was the only place of the so many where she could have been, she had never gone to.

“Alright then missy, I give you my allowance to go but remember this, we share the gems equally in a fifty/fifty rate,” Pearl then spoke to her daughter. She walked up to her oldest filly and smiles towards her. “Oh and, one last thing really. Be safe down there would you?”

Rarity couldn't believe the words that she had heard coming straight out of the mouth of her mother. Everything that she could have expected to happen and it was just that. Finally, after days and days of almost constant nagging she finally had gotten her mother so far to actually let her go and do something else for once other than just sitting in the boutique and making fancy clothing.

Yet little did the unicorn knew that the trip she was about to make was one that would be changing her life. With the letter that would be returned to the princesses had Rarity basically signed a deal with the devils from Tartarus.

Act 1 chapter 2

A couple of days later was Rarity busy with packing both her bags and suitcases for the expedition she had agreed on to manage. Though just to be certain of any case that might come up, she was reading through the contract again and again. Her eyes went constantly from left to right as she took every single word towards her. All while she continued to pack with the help of her magic. Deep in thought did seem the unicorn to have been. Who could truly blame her for the fact? It wasn't every week that she would be making a trip towards one of the most amazing cities in the land whatsoever. The mare had to play her part really carefully in the meeting with the royals themselves.

Rarity was even so deep sunken within her thoughts, that she didn't even heard the front door opening and closing again. The chime of the bell was clearly heard through all of the building but never given a response to. Not even when a light set of hooves was heard upon the stairs she bat it an eye. All that she had eye for was the document and the sheer reward.

For there was one thing in the terms and conditions that was never explained to her nor given to her. And that thing happened to be just what on earth she had to be doing down there. No real or clear goal was given as to what the team would be looking for. It wasn’t given to her directly given in the letter at least. That was another thing she had questions about, there was already a team assembled to go on the trip. Yet there weren't any names or professions given to any of them.

As clear as the letter was, just as vague it also happened to be. It happened to be something that had been getting more on her nerves than anything else the royals had ever send and spoken to her. Causing confusion was the thing that the two of them were really good at and figuring the puzzle out would be something perhaps a little bit more than somepony was able to chew.

“This is just getting ridiculous and you know it. But the prizes that are waiting down there, the riches to be seen and the stones to be collected, it has to be worth it. Not to mention, if they weren't in the need for a stone expert, why would they even bother trying to get me?” Rarity thought to herself aloud. Then she finally lowered the document and looked over towards the collection of gems that she had collected over the years. A smile grew on her face when she looked to their wonderful beauty. They ranged from just a simple sapphire to one of the most brilliant diamonds in the world. Rarity had inherited that one from her mother just so much that they were as two drops of water.

Not just the need to want such precious stones for herself but also the sheer appreciation for their forms and colors were given to her. Each of those stones had a massive story behind them even before Rarity managed to get her hooves upon them. Yet the tale she could be telling of how she got them was just as interesting for certain. For most of them weren't just bought out on a market or anything like it.

Instead were most of them gained through expeditions much like she was about to undertake then. Perhaps that was why the royals needed her, her experience was unmatched and only a few would have been able to top her. Under whom happened to be her very own mother. Though she would have immediately declined the offer as soon as she had gotten it.

---

While Rarity was looking over the glass shelves with all of the precious stones, there was one thing that she almost saw immediately in the reflection of the glass. Her little sister stood in the door opening with a tilted head and rather confused expression. Obviously she had heard the words that were spoken by Rarity yet didn't seem to be understanding one bit of them. She couldn't be blamed for it as she was just a filly.

The older unicorn turned herself away from the stones and towards her sister with a smile. “Hello there Sweetie, what brings you here if I may ask?” Rarity asked her while the distance between the two of sister was being closed bit by bit.

“Well, you know how it is my time to stay with you right? But, you’re packing for something. Mom gave you the rights to go?” Sweetie spoke to her. She looked her sister straight in the eyes and wanted to know if it was just a yes or a no that was being given.

But as soon as Rarity gave a gentle nod with her head, everything in the world crashed for Sweetie Belle. “Don’t, don’t go Rares! I don’t want you to be crushed by a falling rock or anything. Or, or a team member who suddenly turns against you because of the greed! You know how it goes, right? You have been in the situations more than once!” Sweetie exclaimed before she hugged one of her sister’s forelegs. The concern was something that even Rarity could be feeling and she was right on a couple of points. Although she had to admit that Sweetie seemed to be overreacting a bit.

Though Rarity had actually thought that things would have been going that way anyway. So the only thing that she could be doing was to wrap her other leg around her little sister to complete the hug and her eyes closed themselves slowly. “Sweetie, I have been on many expeditions and I know more than well what to do in case if somepony tries to double cross me. Trust me, I can become quite angry when you make me to it. Don’t you worry about anything, for everything is going to be just fine.” Rarity had reassured her sister as she slowly started to rub the back of the filly.

“But, but what if…something does go wrong? You’re prepared then aren't you?”

“I always am, I’m always about three steps ahead of everypony around me and they know it. Besides, I have enough experience to see when somepony is thinking about double crossing me. But what has been troubling your mind the most? As your words don’t speak the whole truth.”

“I…” Sweetie began as she once again looked up to her sister. “I have dreams Rarity, nightmares about you. Something about you…will change when you go in there, so please, please, please don’t go in there.”

It were words that definitely caught the unicorn by surprise. She wasn't expecting them whatsoever, not from her sister at least. Though the other side of the spectrum was the little fact that Rarity knew those kind of dreams would be plaguing her little sister. “Sweetie, Sweetie, Sweetie, you’re thinking too much about old me that you fail to see the fun that can be had during those times. Remember a couple of days ago when you were out with your friends? Sleeping under the starry night, telling one another stories just for fun, imagine my trip to be like that. Quick, and easy.”

The words did seem to manage to calm the filly down by a little bit, yet the doubting and dark messages of her nightmares were still greatly with her. “Don’t worry too much Sweetie and I’ll be back home even before you know it.” Rarity added with a wink before she nuzzles through the mane of her sister. “Besides, you’re going to be having to spend a couple of days with aunt Twilight, you might pick a thing or two up from her as she practices her own spells.”

Once again were it words that never truly had been suiting the filly as much as would have liked. But whenever Rarity was having an idea or a thought, it was best to just let her go on it and allow her to see where it would end up. “Okay sis, have fun,” replied Sweetie as her last words. After which she tightened the hug just a bit more and released a tear or two as Rarity continued to nuzzle through the mane.

“That I will, Sweetie,” the older mare spoke in a whisper. It was just before she gave a small kiss upon the top of her sister’s head.

Act 1 chapter 3

When the train finally rolled out of the station and Rarity had waved to every last pony that was still standing on the thing, the mare was finally having some time for herself. That was until it would arrive in the massive city that was the capital of Equestria itself. It did hurt the mare a little bit that she had to leave everypony behind in the manner that she did, but it was all for a better cause in her eyes. Still she had been able to give them all her goodbyes and even a massive group hug was given by just about everypony present. Her family and friends all had come to wave her out and the thoughts continued to linger through her mind as the train continued to pick up the speed.

Slowly but surely did all of the stress that was given to her fade away into nothing else but a rather simple and single thought they were all compressed in and that thought was then moved to the back of her head were it would be safely stored. The unicorn snuggled up a bit up against her seating before she felt herself losing the grip of reality more and more. Bit by bit she was falling more into a sleep up to the point she actually was just that. Rarity had fallen asleep on the train that continued to race towards Canterlot.

Thoughts and dreams all crossed her mind with a relative ease and all of it seemed to have been just so pleasant and rather wonderful. Though it might also have been something that had to be done with the landscape they were racing past and the sun that shone weakly on her seat. All of it added to just a nice little time in the train.

That was until she was woken up by something not even she knew. All of the sudden did her dreams faded out and the grasp of reality became as thick as ever once again. With a small jump on her seat had the mare opened her eyes again and looked around. Her eyes went over the window to see the landscape racing by before they turned themselves back over to the insides of the train.

“Ticket please,” was then being said to her. It was something that caused the mare to blink a couple of times before she finally understood just what was being said. Rarity’s eyes were turned over to the origin of the voice and she looked straight into the eyes of a brown coated stallion wearing an official train company vest. Without a doubt, it was the ticket collector.

“O-One moment please,” said Rarity to buy herself some time. She then reached inside of her blue colored jacket. It was a nice and comfy little jacket that the unicorn preferred to use as she traveled towards the massive city. Unlike Ponyville were most ponies would be walking in true equine fashion –which was being almost naked– Canterlot had a different look upon that. Everypony wore something up there and the last thing that Rarity wanted was to stick out from that view model like a sore hoof.

“Ah, here we go,” she spoke up to the stallion before she gave him the ticket. He took it calmly over from her and looked over it with the eyes of a hawk for a second or two before he made a hole into it.

“Hope you will be having a good time up there and, sorry for the rude wake up,” he said to her as he returned the ticket and made a respectful nod with his head.

“It doesn't matter dear, you need to do your job anyways so I can’t blame you,” Rarity replied to him before she released a small giggle in response. Once again did the stallion gave her a nod before he then continued upon the travels throughout the train.

Though with the unicorn finally awake again, it was truly impossible for her to fall asleep once more. So the only thing that she could be doing was to just sit back and enjoy the view that was racing past her. Not many could actually blame her for doing so, as the weather was beautiful and the landscape albeit rushed still had this wonderful charm to it.

“Almost like a painting if you ask me. Heh, maybe a new form of art? High speed passing by? Wouldn't be surprised if that already had been made up by somepony in that city.” Rarity chuckled to herself in that moment. She then leaned her head against a hoof whose elbow was being set against the bottom of the window.

It was a thought that was just as crazy as she happened to be actually. But something in her mind also said that it could be working. As the everyday things that perhaps only a few truly could be appreciating, were always the most beautiful things around. “Might give painting a chance, when the time is truly there.”

For the rest of the trip she remained rather silent, even for her own liking actually. Of course there was the occasional talk to somepony who seemed to have recognized her from some place and those were genuinely nice little moments for her for certain. Even if they were just getting a little obnoxious due to the sheer rudeness that some carried. But it wasn't anything that the unicorn couldn't deal with.

The brakes of the train finally set themselves in and they rolled towards the platform of Canterlot Station. The time had arrived to disembark from the long trip that she had. Both the bags and suitcase were being levitated from their little compartment. The sapphire blue rimmed eyes of the unicorn looked over all of the ponies that were trying to get out as first and the mare made the wise decision to wait just a little bit.

With Canterlot being the final stop for the train before it would return back to the Frozen North, she could be taking her time until most of the ponies had already left the train before she would be finally going. A thing that caused her to depart from the carriage without a problem whatsoever.

Though the things she needed to be doing first was to actually check in by her hotel before she would be going towards the meeting that would be held in the early evening. Judging by the time that was displayed by one of the many clocks of the station, Rarity would be having all the time in the world to wait for that to happen.

“Suppose I can stroll down the busy streets here for a little bit. Maybe do some window shopping, or actual shopping. Got to be careful with bits though.” Rarity giggled to herself while she left the platform and the station as a whole. The hotel was the first thing that would be done before just strolling around in the massive city without a care. Only to have the meeting begin after that.

A meeting that would hopefully clear some question for her while still being in her favors. A hard thing to ask from one of the royals alone, let alone if the both of them are present.

Act 1 chapter 5

Rarity looked up towards both princess Luna and Celestia. But only after the words had echoed calmly through her ears. Her eyes were just staring for a few seconds as a deep exhale was being made through her nostrils. “Proceed if you please, your highness,” Rarity then spoke to them. She allowed Celestia to continue her story.

“Thank you. As we said, this gem is something even we thought to have lost throughout the ages. And if we have to be honest with you, the retrieval of this artifact of Equestrian history might become one of the greatest unspoken legends ever,” said Celestia while she kept her eyes upon the unicorn in a decently calm manner. The last thing she wanted was to erupt in anger, or cause it.

Not that it helped a bit for the unicorn herself as she still had to deal with a constantly circling Luna around her. It worked upon her nerves to say the least. Though her face never actually showed any sign of annoyance whatsoever. On the other hand she still wasn't too happy with the fact that it was a retrieval mission and the fact that it would be unspoken wanted to make her turn away almost immediately and on the spot.

Though one doesn't simply deny a request from the princesses, especially when asked against an element of harmony. Perhaps that was why it looked so easily for her mother to decline the offer and for her just a nightmare. Yet it was quite the unique opportunity that she was granted and perhaps a way to come in the right light of the royals themselves.

“So… do you know what exactly this gem happened to be or..?” Rarity questioned the both of them. She naturally wanted to know the finer details of everything. Though the answer she would be getting from Luna, would remain just as vague as before.

“We do not know just what kind of powers are truly hidden within the gem itself. But if the power is indeed a great as we think that it is, we must make certain that it doesn't fall into the wrong hooves. For from the scans that we have done, there is something precarious about this specific gem. It’s not a natural one.”

That alone was more than enough for Rarity to turn her attention full towards Luna. “Not natural, you mean it’s ponymade? But from what era would it have been to lay under the mountain?” Rarity couldn’t believe her ears. All the gears in her head turned and twisted in a hope.

“We think that it is from a time so far gone and forgotten, nopony that’s still alive would be remembering it. I don’t think even my sister and myself would have been able to physically been there,” added Celestia into the mix. Luna had decided to jump into the air and spread her wings.

With some grace had she began to hover on the spot. Though she never took her eyes off of Rarity for some reason. “Now that’s quite the interesting thing you are having there, I do have to admit that much,” replied the unicorn to the two of them. She took a small step backwards. It wasn't a step that was made out of fear, but more so to get both Luna and Celestia back in her field of view. “But I’ll ask you again, how long has it been according to your measurements?”

---

Though once again wouldn't she be receiving any straight answer from the two of them. “We can’t be certain just when the gem had been forged. We can only estimate the time that it had been lying in the mountain. And that time was right before the downfall of the three kingdoms that eventually formed Equestria,” answered Celestia to her. The alicorns were never straight forward.

Her one visible eye made steady contact with those of Rarity while she said her words. Only to see the sheer shock coming into them from the second that she spoke them. It seemed to have been literally and physically impossible that there was any sort of gem that would have been that ancient. It was a fact that caused the head of the unicorn to spin itself around multiple times.

Twitches in her hooves were gained as Rarity started to pace up and down on her spot. Something in her mind just wouldn't made her allow to believe the words that were spoken. Something was left out by the two of them. Something rather crucial that she needed to come up soon enough if she perhaps wanted to hear slices of the truth. “But that makes it ten thousand years old, at least. But… how could it have been that nopony has ever found it before? There must have been millions of gem-hunters before me, before my mother even,” exclaimed Rarity while she continued her pacing without an end.

Then it came to her mind. That one burning question that was making its way towards her tongue. That one question from which she needed to have a reply on whatsoever. A single and simple question that could make the royals fall from their stands. “Which then begs the question for the both of you, why haven’t you even felt the thing before, hm? If it indeed such a powerful and ancient gem and with you two being the most powerful beings in the land, just why haven’t you found or felt it yet?”

It was a question that was truly rightfully asked in the moment and the princesses themselves had perhaps the perfect answer for it. “The rocks down in the Canterlot mines are ancient, they bounce off magic like you on a trampoline, lady Rarity,” replied Luna to her. That was before she chuckled to herself at the thoughts that were crossing her mind.

“Our magic had been bouncing off of the surrounding long before it could even reach the gem. We suspect that ever since the changeling attack during the wedding, the explosions that were created by them caused the structure to be changed and therefore allowed our magic to finally sense its presence,” added Celestia with a sadness in her tone.

The words seemed to have been more believable than anything else the royals had told her before. Though there were still some question on her mind and even though she bought the explanation given to her, she didn't hesitate to ask the remaining questions that were troubling the mind. “Seems reasonable enough, if you ask me. Suppose the reason of why you called me this late was because you had to be certain before you would send a team down there. Which brings me to my next question, what does this gem actually do? What sort of magic does it contain?”

“Now there’s a fact not even we can figure out. Magic of the ancient days is a lot different than the magic we are using now. So basically, where it comes down to is…”

“That you have not a single clue what it does?” Rarity then questioned. She got a simple nod of both of the princesses. “Just great, anything else I’ll be needing to know before I go and meet my team for this road to madness?” The sapphire blue rimmed eyes looked towards both of the alicorns with an expression that seemed to have been quite everything but happy. A thing the two princesses could truly understand from a mare like herself.

Act 1 chapter 6

“There is in fact a little matter that you should be worried of. Something has nestled itself deep inside of the caverns. Something that was most likely awaken when the changeling queen attacked up all that time ago,” Celestia said to the unicorn with a clear voice. She even gained the concern in her voice. Luna on the other end continued to hover around the room until she dropped her body back to the ground. Only the sound of her shoes echoed through the room for a moment.

The wings were tucked back against her body and she began to walk down the steps and towards Rarity. The unicorn herself was having a bit of trouble to keep her attention on both of the mares and therefore made the decision to leave Luna. The eyes focused themselves simply on to Celestia herself as the question rolled out of her mouth. “And just what might it actually be that has been awoken down below?”

“Some would be saying it’s the beast below, the very thing on which we all depend in one way or another. But the reality of the situation is perhaps a little bit more light hearted. To a certain extend and degree that is,” said Luna while she walked past Rarity. She then went up on the steps of the throne itself. “We believe that another hive has nestled itself right in the cavers or that they have awoken from there. We don’t have a true clue on which of the two it is and quite frankly, we don’t even want to know.”

“And that is where me and my team are going to be fitting in, don’t we?” Rarity muttered up. She eyed both of the princesses for some rather good reasons. Their safety was literally hanging in the life and those two would always keep something hidden. The last thing Rarity wanted was to die in those caves. “So we are not only battling the caves themselves but also changelings if they are in a bad mood. This job is getting more and more beautiful the more I hear about it.”

The sarcastic words of Rarity seemed to have had little to no impact on the royals themselves as they had expected her to give such a big mouth towards them. Not to mention the fact that they knew that she wouldn't be able to decline their offer and the reward that would be given to each of them was something that would make it worthwhile as well. If they managed to survive that was.

“I think that my sister and myself have told you more than enough for the trip that is about to be made. Meet us both here again tomorrow morning at ten. Then you will be able to meet your team and descend down into the depths of the caverns.” Celestia said as her horn coated itself in the magical golden aura.

Rarity would have nodded to the appointment that had been made before she turned her body back around and started to walk towards the opening door of the throne room. Yet even when she walked away from the two of them there was something deep inside of the mare that was chewing upon her. Something spoke to her that even then there were still secrets left out for her. But she didn't wanted to either accuse or speak it in public with the royals or anypony else.

For it was a trouble on her mind and it was best left that way. And slowly but surely she left the throne room for what it was and ventured through the hallways of the castle itself. The sea of thoughts continued to just ravage through her mind like it was nothing while the worst of the worst eventually did surface. It weren't the most pleasant of thoughts and she rather discarded them in favor for a couple more happier thoughts. Even if it mean thinking back to the time she had spent for nopony else than the royal pain of the family, prince Blueblood himself.

---

The door of the hotel swung open and Rarity trotted inside. She seemed to be without a care in the wide world. Her little vest was removed from the body with the help of her magic. It was levitated over to a chair in the room and placed over it. While she seemed relaxed on the outside, inside her mind did the storm never seemed to have calmed down. “I’m going to need a long, steaming hot, bath,” the mare mumbled to herself. Rarity made a turn towards the bathroom and opened the door with a flick of her horn. Having lost her clothing already, she made the room a bit more helpful for her by placing a towel on the ground.

Only to then step right into the tub and lay calmly down into it. Before she even knew it were the hairs of her tail being met by the warm waters that were used to fill up the bath. Rarity closed her eyes as she placed her forehooves on her chest and a deep sigh of satisfaction was being released through her mouth. “This, this is just marvelous.”

Even with the waters still rising and slowly claiming the mare as theirs, the tab was turned to a halt by one of her hindhooves. The unicorn slid herself a bit further into the waters. The chin barely made a contact with the flat surface of the waters as she kept her eyes closed. All that she wanted was to relax and have the thoughts come to a standstill. Just that little bit of rest before she would be going to bed was all she asked for.

Not to mention the little fact of going to bed clean from the sweat that had been produced during the day itself. It was a minor bonus for her at the moment but still one. Deep in- and exhales were being made by the mare before she felt it finally happening. The moment where she had been waiting for so long.

The whirlwind that was her mind, managed to calm itself down to let her enjoy the bath that she happened to be in. And what was joy that was for both Rarity and her mind.

It would have been many more minutes later when Rarity had removed herself out of the tub. She had wrapped her body in a towel and could be found leaning against a windowsill. Her eyes glanced out of the window and down towards the still busy streets of Canterlot. With the cool breeze that came through the vent above the window tingling her senses, Rarity couldn't help herself but to giggle softly. It was quite the pleasant little view that she had gained from window peeking.

But the one thing that she truly desired was staring right at her back. The unicorn turned herself around before she fell back on all four of her hooves and calmly walked towards the bed as the curtains closed themselves. Among the darkness in the room was the only thing that could be seen, her light blue colored magical aura. But in the end had even that faded out of existence. She had made herself comfortable in her bed in order to sleep through the night.

Act 1 chapter 7

When the sun rose itself up over the hills and mountains of the land of Equestria, did some of the rays managed to peek through the small cut that had been left in the curtain of Rarity’s room. With the greatest of care had it managed to creep up to her nose which then started to twitch a little bit in response to it. The twitch was more than enough to cause a sneeze to leave the unicorn which opened up her eyes widely.

Without a warning was Rarity just rudely awoken by the sun itself. A loud moan was the first thing that followed up after the sneeze. Both of her forehooves were brought over to her eyes and they began to rub them at a gentle rate. While she did the motions, the body of the unicorn rose itself up from the mattress and assumed a sitting position. The forehooves were then used to remove the blankets from her body which was followed up by a yawn as she left the bed. Rarity was considered to be a lot and many, but the one thing she definitely wasn't was being a morning mare.

“Just get this blasted thing over as soon as you can, would you?” she muttered to herself. Rarity walked into the bathroom to prepare herself for the events that were to come. That day would have been the one when she would be meeting not only her team of fellow explorers, but also that they all would be thrown into the literal depth of the situation. Perhaps it was a thing that caused the mare to be nervous or even a bit frightened. Yet as she looked in the mirror there wasn't any form of emotion that could be read from her face. All that it really and truly told was that she wanted to go back to bed right there and then.

Yet going back wasn't something that she could be doing even if she wanted or even desired. The duties of the day had called and fallen upon her. So she just had to answer to them as she normally would have been doing. Whether or not the mare was happy about it was another fact and piece of the puzzle.

Minutes would have come and went before the unicorn appeared once again out of the bathroom. She wandered a bit through the room without aim. She wore the same vest as she did the day before but would be changing her outfit when the time was there. And that very outfit was simply being placed to rest within the suitcase she had with her. Not many ponies knew exactly what happened to have been inside of it. And that was exactly how Rarity happened to like it.

The less ponies that appeared to be knowing about her whereabouts and the equipment that she used –outside of her horn, or course– the better it all was in the mind of the mare. With a exhale taken through her nostrils and one last glance given to the rising sun that could clearly be seen through the windows, the time was there.

Her eyes simply looked through the window for a moment or two as she gained a gentle smile across her lips. “Today promises a lot of things. But what is certain, is that the topside will be having an amazing day indeed.” Rarity spoke to herself as she turned herself towards the door of her room to make the departure and leave for the castle of Canterlot itself.

---

When the unicorn had arrived again at the castle was she yet again mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the place. Even though that she had been to and through the massive place more than once due to other events, yet every single time it was a new mystery when she entered. Something about the place itself always managed to have captured her magic and attention.

Even when she walked back into the throne room, the mare was again taken by the sheer vastness of the place. She looked her eyes out just before the bells in the towers started to chime. In her mind she counted the times that the chimes had been made and the eventual number she landed upon was ten. The exact time that was agreed upon by the royals and Rarity.

And before she even knew it were the two princesses teleported straight into the room and smiled towards the mare. “Fair lady Rarity, it is such a pleasure that you could be making it here today,” said Luna before gave a nod towards Rarity herself.

“We shall be cutting straight to the chase from here on outward. You will be meeting your team shortly and then you have to prepare yourself for the descend downward. I do hope that you are having everything you will be needing with you. Because I think that you will be more than needing it,” replied Celestia to her. To which she got a nod in response.

“That would be perfect, yes. I’m also taking it that the team has been informed already about what is going to happen and what we are about to face?” Rarity then replied towards the princesses. She could only hope that they had already explained the situation so that she didn't had to bring the rather difficult words.

“Naturally we did that. Each of them knows exactly what they will be expecting from the trip down there,” added Celestia before she gestured her hoof over to a side door. “They are waiting for you in there, milady. I think that they are dying to meet you as well.”

Rarity nodded to the words before she made a bow before the two royals and then silently walked over to the door. Everything was going through her mind, she could be meeting literally any and every pony that was living in the land. But she continued to keep her mind open on the events that were going to be happen.

When she slowly made her way up to the door, the unicorn opened it with a hoof and took a deep inhale as more of the square room was being revealed. And on a couple of chairs she noticed the ponies that would be joining her for the journey.

Three stallions and one mare were being revealed to her as she continued to travel through the doorway. Her eyes peeled each and every pony that was present carefully before the door was being closed behind her. “This is going to be interesting,” she whispered to herself while she came even closer. “Good morning gentlecolts, milady,” spoke Rarity to them with a smile of her own. “The name is Rarity and I shall be your guide on this expedition.”

Those words alone caused one of the stallions to erupt out in a chuckle that he almost fell straight out of the chair. “Is there something funny?” Rarity asked him in a polite tone as she walked up to him.

The brown maned and blue coated stallion looked straight into the eyes of the mare before he gained a grin across his lips. “Lassy, yer ain't the type of pony to be going down there. We be needing more from the likes of hers instead of yers,” the stallion spoke up towards Rarity and pointed over to the green coated pony.

“You will be surprised here mister, what if I told you that you were talking against one of the most impressive gem-huntresses in the land?” Rarity than taunted to him with a smirk and charged up her horn. And the moment that he noticed her magic charging did the wings of the stallion spring open widely. “Good. Now, I would like to know all your names before we are going down there.”

“Name’s Velvet Fashion, miss,” the earth pony mare spoke up. She then she nodded her head towards Rarity.

“Drawn Brush,” one of the unicorn stallions said to her.

“Brush Drawn,” the stallion who sat next to him spoke up who also happened to be a unicorn. And it was something that caused the unicorn mare to look to the both of them and finally realized the similarities. The both of them had the same color pallet going on but reversed from one another. One had black mane and a white coat, while the other had a white mane and black coat.

“I take it that you two are twins from one another?” Rarity spoke to the two of them. The two of them nodded towards her words and a soft ‘ah’ was being released by the mare. Eventually she turned herself over to the pegasus and smirked towards him. “And what’s your name?”

The pony gulped a little bit before he managed to speak his words out towards her. “R-Rare Thinker, lass.”

“Good, very good. Velvet Fashion, Drawn Brush, Brush Drawn and Rare Thinker, I would say that it is time to suit up as we are going down there right now,” the purple maned unicorn spoke up before she grinned towards all of them. It was then that she charged up her horn. It had begun.

Act 1 chapter 8

A deep sigh had released itself through the mouth of Rarity. She and her team stood in the caverns that stretched far below the mighty castle. She had seen a sight that wasn't all too pretty to begin. A sight that actually horrified her to degrees only the most severe cases could. Which was something that didn't add to the mood to begin with either. For they had been wandering down the stairs for what seemed to have been an eternity already.

For in the cavern itself could the lights be seen among the darkness. Lights that went up in pretty much every single shape and form there was imaginable. Lights that danced around among the darkness in near perfect symphony. Those managed to scare nopony more than Rarity herself. While the rest of the team was already gathering the torches for some form of light, the unicorn shushed them. Something else could be lurking at them, hunting them.

Confusion was the thing that struck each of the ponies. All of them looked in silence towards her and then back to one another. Whatever she could have meant, they had to stop doing what they were working on and just keep quiet. Which was luckily something they all did. None of them knew just how the caverns worked or even how the gems down there worked. But if there was one pony in the company that knew it, it would be the gem-huntress herself.

“Why can’t we make a light here? Is something the matter?” Rare Thinker questioned in a whisper loud enough for the mare to hear it. While their eyes had slowly grown accustomed to the dark, they could hear the hooves of the mare turning and they all looked straight into the sapphire blue eyes she carried. Eyes that almost looked like they were cut from the most exquisite sapphires themselves.

“Because, master Thinker, the torches that you will be lighting up will consume the oxygen in this very cavern. We do not know how this place is stretching and for all we know, the way we came is the only way out, meaning there won’t be any ventilation at all. You want us all to suffocate to death before we manage to get to our target, hm?” Rarity had spoken her words in a stone cold, yet highly professional voice towards him. She did happen to have a point on the matter. The eyes looked stern among the darkness while the other ponies just gulped deeply towards themselves.

Whether the stallion liked it or not, he had been in set in the sights of Rarity and a prime target. “C-Course not, lass, I just, hadn't thought about that little fact,” he pleaded for himself in the vague hope that she would be letting him go. Yet the opposing fact happened to have been the truth.

“Didn't thought of the fact, master Thinker? And when would you have realized it then, when the air was running out? No, we’re going to do it another way. Masters Drawn and Brush, you happen to know any illuminating spells?” Rarity then asked towards the two unicorn stallions of the company. The both of them nodded and allowed their horns to be covered in the magical aura. The aura of Drawn happened to be green whereas Brush had gotten a more yellowish color to it.

Yet above their horns appeared two orbs which then were emitting their lights wonderfully. The third pony who would conjure up such a sphere of light would be Rarity herself. Who seemed to have been quite pleased with the fact that there were three unicorns there that could be shining lights through the darkness. “Right then, shall we go?”

When the company continued to travel down the cavern, it was Rarity who kept a rather close eye on the gems. She didn’t seem to be paying that much attention to the road ahead. Though managed to continue down the path without a hitch. It was a little fact that was picked up by Velvet, who first glared a little bit confused at the scene. Yet then decided to talk to the mare with the blue light. Velvet had to know more about it all.

“Miss Rarity, can I talk to you for a second?” she dared to ask after trotted up next to the mare. The attention of the ivory mare was then taken away from the gems themselves and unto the mare herself. Her eyes still as stern as ever yet there was a kindness to be found deeply within them.

“Go right ahead, my dear, speak the matters that are upon your heart,” said Rarity before her lips cracked a small and genuine looking smile.

It was an excuse for Velvet to finally open her mouth. Now she could speak the matter that had been troubling her since almost the beginning. Words perhaps couldn't describe how thankful she was in that little moment. “I see you constantly looking at the gems, as if… well, how do I say it?”

“As if they are poisonous plants?” Rarity had suddenly interrupted her. It was a little something that caused the earth pony mare to jump a little bit. Yet then she gave a small nod to the fact. It was actually as Rarity herself had thought that it would have been. Another deep sigh left through her nostrils before she shook her head gently.

Then her eyes looked dead serious into those of the other mare and her words left the mouth. “Some of these gems possess a power I haven’t seen in years. Neither my expertise nor my mother’s had been fully able to figure out how it came to be. But some of these gems around here are magically enhanced by nature itself.”

“But, but that’s dangerous! We should warn the others straight away!” Velvet exclaimed in a whisper. She didn't wanted to alarm the other unnecessary though. The mare she had some very good reasons for that. Though in response kept Rarity it more towards herself and simply pointed to the stallion that was Brush.

The eyes of the mare looked over to him in an almost shady manner before they went back over to the unicorn mare. “I’m not sure, if I follow you here.” Words that caused Rarity to chuckle softly to herself as she could explain the matter perhaps better than anypony around there.

“Let’s just say that you might want to stay away from mister Drawn over there. It can happen any minute now,” said Rarity. It felt like she was waiting for the moment to happen. The moment in which everything would be going down for the stallion himself. Yet instead of warning them, she allowed the games to be played by the rules of nature.

“Hey guys, do you mind if I take a little bit of this wonderful amethyst, you know, as souvenir?” Brush Drawn then brought forth. It were words that caused both of the other stallions to first look at one another for a moment or two before they gave their approval.

Though just when the stallion wanted to walk away and collect his prize, it was nopony else but Rarity who turned herself around fully and stomped one of her forehooves firmly into the ground. “I wouldn't do that, if I were you. Nasty things shall happen on my word.”

The words that the mare spoke certainly got the attention of everypony that was there, yet few actually dared to say anything against them. “And what if I just do it?” the stallion in question replied to her. She could see it in his eyes, the greed of a unicorn and powerful gems. A situation she had been numerous times before getting a control over herself.

“Because, there are no amethysts here.” That caused all of the ponies to just stand there in bafflement. Each of them had some knowledge of gems and how they looked like, but something like that hadn't any of them expected. “You’re mesmerized, master Drawn. Master Brush, if you please would restrain your brother, the last thing we need is a psychopath on the loose down here.”

“And how do we know you aren't mesmerized and want it all for yourself?” Brush Drawn replied in the tone of a snake. It was a legitimate question to be asked of course. Weren't it for the simple fact that Rarity was a gem-huntress.

“Because I have been looking at the gems and their formations for quite some time now, there’s foul magic in play here. Miss Fashion, if you would set up our camp here… I think that we will be staying here for as long as necessary,” said Rarity in a calm and collected tone.

And then it happened. The battle between Rarity and Brush Drawn had erupted. A battle that would have determined who of the two would have been the toughest in their mind before the muscle would take over. The other two stallion walked away from the circle that the two had entered while waiting for the attacks to begin.

The calm before the storm was often the most agonizing thing to live with. Though seeing it happen to his twin brother, almost proved to have been too much for the poor Drawn Brush.

Act 1 chapter 9

Drawn Brush almost looked in total horror to the scene. Both his twin brother and Rarity continued on circling around one another. The tension between the two ponies could be felt clear. Combined with the limited light that was in the cavern they were in, it was about to cut in an instant. A thing that Rarity knew more than well enough, yet didn't wanted to admit it.

The stallion on the other end of the spectrum kept his eyes upon the mare. All while the orb of light began to fade over his head. A fact that Rarity noticed and caused her to blink just once before she dared to speak up her words. “When the lights are going out, the truth on the matter shall be revealed to us all,” the unicorn spoke in a near stonecold voice. A voice that caused all of the others to look up literally baffled to her. All of them were surprised on the fact that she could speak such dark words in such a tone.

Though it was only Velvet Fashion who actually managed to collect all of her guts together. She was the only one who dared to speak against that of Rarity herself. “How can you speak those kind of words in a place like this!?” she exclaimed in anger while almost wanting to interfere with the circling duo. Yet there was a part inside of her that didn't make her do it. It couldn't be fully explained by her and that was perhaps for the better.

It left Rarity with a lot of explaining to do, all in the time that they still would be having to save their team member. Time that she most likely wouldn't be having at all. “Miss Fashion, I will make this quick, if that’s fine with you. All the gems around you, are magically enhanced as I told you before. But the spells cast upon these are far darker than you usually encounter them. I think that the thing we are looking for is actually causing such an intense reaction deep inside of the gem.”

“But, that can’t be, they are just shiny rocks!” the older twin exclaimed straight away. He couldn't believe the words that Rarity had spoken and neither could Rare Thinker. Though he made the wise decision to keep his comments to himself.

“That is where you happen to be wrong, my dear stallion,” Rarity then replied. She took her eyes off of Brush Drawn for a mere second. “Gems aren't as dead as the rocks they are found in, especially these. They taunt you, lure you in with their sheer beauty and when you try to take one home… the guardians wake up. It’s a game, it’s all a big game! Look around you and look carefully out of the light. Tell me what you see.”

Those very words managed to have gotten every single soul that was still sane to look at one another in the utmost fear. Never in their lives as mercenaries had they been standing up against something like they were then. Rare Thinker himself was the first one to take his attention away and look over to the darkened walls outside of the light from the horns.

And what he managed to get in his eyes was something not even his wildest dreams could have imagined. “Crystalline giants,” he spoke up in a mere whisper. A whisper that was echoed through the cavern. One that thus returned to the four other ponies. Whispers that caused the older twin and the remaining mare to do the exact same thing.

On the walls in the darkness they could see it. The sheer crystalline outline of a pony that was embedded in the very rocks. One that was at least four times their size. “Rumors spoke about them in legends and myth, but what are they doing here? They should have been up there, in the Frozen North,” added Rare Thinker. He couldn't wrap his head around the facts he was presented with.

“These are older than those of the Empire, my dear, these are from a time where even the princesses were still fillies themselves,” replied Rarity to them. Then she noticed just how little light there was still left on the horn of Brush. “It’s going to be tight,” she added in a whisper just audible for herself. She would be cutting it down to the wire in order to save the stallion from his madness.

“And why, haven’t you told us before that these things roam here?” Velvet spoke up, questioning her in her methods. She always was the quiet and polite mare for certain, yet hated to be left in the dark when it came to information. She would be doing literally everything in order to make sure that she would get the right pieces, before it was too late.

“Simply because of the fact that I didn't even knew they were here until I looked further into the darkness. I wanted to warn you all, but master Drawn here, seemed to have been gotten ahead of me,” was the answer given by Rarity.

---

Speaking of Brush Drawn himself, the younger twin had kept himself silent during all of the talking. All in the hope that they would be forgetting about him. Sadly for him though was the fact that Rarity never took her eyes off of him. Yet in the darkness that he would be creating soon enough, the time was perhaps there to reunite him with the beloved amethyst that he had ‘seen’ before.

“Lights out!” bellowed Rarity only a second before the horn lost its magical aura. Thus went the cavern completely dark. Rarity’s horn then followed suit before even the horn of the elder twin quickly discharged itself. Silence was the thing and emotion that took over. All while the tension could be felt even more and the blade that was next to it came closer and closer to break it.

Nopony dared to even speak a word as the crystal outlines of the giants were even more visible than before. Fright soon made his way into the minds of the other members of the team. The thing they caught in their ears were the galloping hooves of the younger twin who made his way over to the gems as fast as he could. The rest of them could simply pray in silence.

Trembles and roars did suddenly travel through the caverns while the rocks began to fall off of the outlines. The pieces that had fallen off actually revealed more and more crystal that laid underneath it and it shone like the sun. Two of the crystalline giants had revealed themselves and their heads swung over to Brush Drawn. The eyes of the giant ponies themselves almost acted like massive searchlights and thus the stallion was easily found among the dark.

“So the plan is..?” Drawn Brush asked. He didn't wanted to see his brother being crushed.

“Get your brother out of here as soon as we can, confuse the giants into bashing into one another and from there… set up camp to treat him,” said Rarity before the others gave a nod to her. They knew what they had to be doing and didn't really seem to be liking it. Basically they would be the bait for the things. Yet the caverns were built in such a way that a head on collision between the two things was perfectly possible. It was a long shot for certain but it was all they had.

Both Rare Thinker and Velvet Fashion knew they were going to be the bait for the two giants. They both tried to get their attention by throwing rocks at them just to get that. Which, whether they liked it or not, actually got fairly quickly. The stomping hooves of the heavy beings turned themselves towards the duo and their dance of death could begin.

While all of that was going on, both Rarity and Drawn Brush hurried themselves over to the place where the younger twin had been taken out the gems. “My, precious,” could they hear him say before looking at one another. The stare that was exchanged between the older twin and the unicorn was unusual to say the least. Yet the both of them knew that they had to jump on him if they wanted to have any chance for him to survive.

So within a mere second had the older twin tackled his brother and forced him to the ground. Which actually caused Brush Drawn to lose the gem he was holding and Rarity immediacy charged up her horn. The gem was placed back on the spot where it was taken from before she restrained the stallion with magical straps and wraps.

That was one problem dealt with and one remaining.

The two ponies looked over to the stomping giants that were chasing down both Thinker and Fashion. Their eyes had lit up the ponies among the dark and couldn't see further than that. The two of them were galloping as fast as they could towards one another before changing their course in the last possible second. From there on outward, one could only hope.

The crystalline giants continued to rush forward as well and wanted to make the turn. Yet instead they made a massive head bash into one another. A head bash that was so powerful, it caused both of the heads to crack and creak before shattering down to the ground. Their heads were off, but would the body stop as well?

Act 1 chapter 10

All of the ponies were anxiously looking towards the two crashed giants. They could only pray that their strategy had worked. None of them even as much dared to breathe during those long seconds. Even though the creatures had lost their heads, there was still doubt whether or not it actually had managed to kill them. They could only hope that it did, yet their expectations were kept low.

Which was actually a good thing as they both then took steps backward from one another. All of the crystals that made them up fell down to the ground, where it either shattered or recollected. But Rarity’s eyes were firmly focused upon the giants. Their hope was running thinner than anything and the prayers were silently already made in her mind.

Though then the moment came there where they had been waiting for. The moment where both of the giants fell down to the ground with a loud crash. A crash that caused each of the members to lower their ears against their heads and turn away from the dust that sprung up.

“Whatever is still sleeping in this cavern, has been woken up now…” Rarity commented in response after everything had died down. Even though their location might have been given away, the corpses of the giants could still be made of use by her and the team. “We shall set our camp up by them, it’s the safest we will be for whatever else roams outside,” she added.

“You sure ‘bout that lass?” Rare Thinker questioned to her. He didn't buy any of the mare her words. But once glance of her dead serious eyes actually managed to change that fact. “Okay, okay.”

---

In the time that seemed like hours were the corpses of the crystalline giants turned into a rather comfortable camp for the ponies on the expedition. The lights of a magical orb flooded the whole place with a wonderful and harmonious light. One which was meant to keep any peeking eyes away from them. Whether or not that fact actually worked had been remained to be seen in the eyes of Rarity. Yet she had a different set of problems in the moment that troubled her much more.

The younger twin brother was still caught in the magical straps and under the influence of the magic that had been haunting through the cave. It wasn't going to be anything simple or easy but the deed had to be done. Both the unicorn and Drawn Brush had a look to one another. At the same time had sapphire coloring coated itself of the horn of the mare.

“If there was any other way to help your brother, I would have done it. But this is the only spell I have in my own personal arsenal that will guarantee him to come back from this state. You sure you want me to do it, it’s painful to watch, I’ll tell you that right away,” said Rarity in a soft and sympathetic tone towards the stallion.

Drawn on the other end released a deep sigh before the eyes closed themselves. The pounding of his mind was something that continued to happen. Suddenly was the fate of his little brother laid in his hooves. The choices he was standing for weren't the best ones, that much he knew. Yet losing his only sibling in the world thanks to a job they both had accepted, he couldn't allow. In the end of everything was there only one answer that he could have given her. “Do it, do whatever you need to be doing and make sure he survives. More I don’t ask from you.”

Rarity nodded calmly to the words before her eyes looked down towards the tied up Brush. “I’m so sorry that you managed to be captured,” she spoke up before releasing the charge. The stallion himself wanted to spew out some words before it all happened, yet the chance wasn't given to him. The sparks of magic touched all over his body and the screams of agony were released.

Screams that caused both Rare Thinker and Velvet Fashion to cringe a bit as they were leaning against one of the crystal legs. “I don’t understand why we can’t just leave him here, he’s gone mad and nothing can ever bring him back from that. She is just too stubborn not to accept that very fact,” the stallion muttered to himself before a growl of annoyance followed suit.

Velvet thought that he was having a rather fair point on the matter. Yet she didn't found it her place to actually question the matter as it was going on. She just hoped that the stallion himself would have been able to get out of the madness he was thrown in and become his normal self again.

Minutes past over into hours before the shock therapy of Rarity had ended. She nodded towards the older twin. Whatever she had done, she thought to have managed it nicely. She had healed the younger Brush Drawn from the insanity of the caverns themselves. That in and of itself a feat not to brag about lightly. “He requires some sleep, lots of it in fact. I suggest that we shall be doing the same,” said Rarity to the older twin who gave her a nod. “Mind to cook us some dinner?”

That caused a small smile to be cracked on his face before another nod was given to her. “Certainly miss. Just give me what we can spare for today.” And with those words spoken had the job of creating the dinner for the four still awake ponies begun. It would have been soon that the warm scents of the food had entered the noses of the other ponies and the waters ran into their mouths.

None could wait for the delicious crafts that were being made. Yet in the corner of their eyes they all kept a firm look to everything that could be seen. For every now and then there was the feeling of being spotted by something that lurked in the darkness. Feelings of terror that crawled up in them as a stone cold shiver down the spine. Yet none actually looked it up or anything.

“Master Thinker, you shall be having the first watch of the night, don’t let your attention fall down for anything,” commanded Rarity after the dinner had been consumed. Though the feelings had grown even more towards them. Something inside of the cavern had awoken with the crash of the giants, yet none were certain of just what. Though the ivory coated unicorn was having some idea of just what the beings might have been. She made perhaps the foolish decision not to tell any of the others as she didn’t wanted to cause unneeded panic.

The stallion nodded to her words and assumed his position on top of the fallen giants. From there he could be watching all over the cavern and keep a near perfect eye on anything. At least that was what he thought. For hours after all of the others had fallen deep into a slumber of their own, even he couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore and fell asleep. That was the near perfect opportunity for anything that was spying on them.

From the shadows they came. Two creatures that were easily the size of Rarity herself. They both stepped almost silently over the ground and through the camp. The holes in their legs and the glistering of the wings in the faint light that the orb still irradiated gave away just what the beings were. Changelings from the highest ranks. Yet where Rarity had encountered those of Chrysalis before, these were not falling under her reign. For instead of the blue eyes, these were having a deep orange set.

Even though the mare looked to be asleep, one of her eyes had itself constantly peeled on the creatures that were scurrying around their camp. “And so it shall begin,” she mumbled silently to herself. The eye quickly shut itself right after it caught a hoof being placed right before it.

Act 1 chapter 11

The decision of keeping the fact that they were spotted silent had been one of the heaviest that had fallen upon the ivory coated unicorn so far on the expedition. In the next ‘morning’ had every single member woken up without a real problem. Not only that, they also seemed to have been more than ready to hit the road. Even the younger twin seemed to have come back from his delusions. It was a small fact but one that satisfied the unicorn the most if she had to be honest with events. They were ready to find whatever else was lurking in the darkness of the caverns.

And that was exactly what Rarity feared. Whatever else remained hidden from her hawk like eyes was something that frightened her more than anything in the moment. She may have never revealed it to any of them, she may have kept her courage high and dry for the time being. But even an expert gem-huntress like herself knew that around every corner there could be surprises that they rather didn't come across. It was a risk that needed to be taken in order to do their job right. Rarity released a deep sigh as she leaned a bit more against the leg of the crystalline giant and closed her eyes for a minute or two.

“Miss Rarity, are you alright?” the voice of Brush Drawn could be heard in her ears eventually. It was a voice that in and of itself was more than enough to knock the mare back straight into the reality they were in. With a gentle shock did she came back. Rarity’s eyes were forced open faster than anything else. They first scanned the ground that laid in front of her before they made their way up to the stallion himself. Only to end up looking him straight in the eyes.

It was a surprise for certain, though whether or not it was a good or a bad one still had to be discovered. “Oh, yes. Just, just fell a bit asleep really,” replied Rarity to him before she managed to hoist her body back up. Some of the bones snapped themselves back into their respectable places which caused the mare to moan and groan gently. “A-Any who, how far are, are we able to go yet?”

“According to the words of Rare Thinker, we happen to be yes,” the stallion returned to her before she gave him a small but thankful nod. The time to continue moving on had fallen before them and the last thing Rarity wanted was for any of them to be left there.

So she made her way up to the head of the convoy and charged up her horn to cast the light spell once more. It was more than enough to get the attention of every pony that was down there and they all fixed their eyes upon her. “We shall go further into the caverns within five minutes. Whatever lies even deeper inside of here, I can not say. Those giants even took me by surprise so I suggest that we make the second leg a quick one. I do not know how far it still is or how difficult it shall become. So let’s get a move on it.”

While the words themselves might have been everything but encouraging, the team did feel the same way about it. They just wanted to get it over with as soon as they possibly could. Even the caverns and the halls themselves were just an eerie place to be. None of them could believe at that point that Canterlot was built right on top of the place they were going through. It was a place of horror. It was a fact that they constantly had to remind themselves of. If any of the horrors down there would have made it topside, Discord’s dream of eternal chaos would have become a reality.

All four of the other team members packed their stuff and strapped themselves with saddlebags for the second trip that laid ahead. None knew how long they were going to walk and none knew just what they would encounter. The levels of care were raised even more thanks to the unfaithful events of Brush Drawn and they all had listened carefully to the warnings of Rarity about it. Because the last thing they needed was a repetition of what already had happened.

---

With the progression of time itself had the company found its way through the caverns. They even thought they were getting a bit closer to the object that they were looking for. The hints were certainly there that they went to a place that seemed to have been a lot bigger as they traveled more downward. Some spoke of an evil lair, others about the room of treasure. But Rarity never knew for sure unless she had seen it for herself.

Which was exactly the thing that happened around the next turn. They traveled with the path in silence before they laid their eyes upon something that was both horrible as well as magical at the same time. None of the members could have even imagined that a thing they were looking at did even exist. None of them even wanted to believe the fact as it was presented for them.

Before them laid something carved out in both the rock and the gems themselves. Gems that irradiated a vile orange coloring, almost as if they were actual lights. Something that caused the horn of the unicorns of the expedition to discharge almost completely. The structure itself seemed to have been more than fine to house anything though it was when they looked better, each of them had to take a step or two backwards. The entirety of the room was revealed to them, including the terror.

What they were all looking at was nothing else but the resting place for the insect-like changelings. Every last cavity that was cut out in the wall was filled with one of them and there were literally thousands of them. Thousands of changelings had taken their refuge under Canterlot and appeared to have been asleep. Velvet Fashion released a deep gulp as her eyes followed the gem that irradiated the light all the way to the top before she looked to the sheer ceiling.

“There’s no way we can pass that in silence,” Rare Thinker whispered as silently as he could. “If you are actually thinking about crossing this, for a gem, I declare you mad, lassy.”

“You better start doing that, because that’s exactly what I am planning to be doing. Feel free to stay back here and enjoy the view, master Thinker. Anyone who is ready, it’s now or never. They are asleep and we should proceed now,” commented Rarity with a stern, whispering voice.

“Can’t you at least look for another road?” the pegasus stallion tried to reason with her in the hope for a better aftermath. Though it was Rarity he was talking to That mare could be truly as stubborn as a mule, especially when she had set her sights on something she wanted.

“If you want to stay here for another week, maybe so, yes,” the unicorn replied to him in a sharp tone before her head turned itself back to the sleeping creatures. “It’s the only way I have seen so far.” It must have been a certain charm that the made had to herself, for not even five minutes later had almost everypony agreed about crossing the grounds that laid before them.

Silence had taken over the team of ponies. They tiptoed their way through the chamber that was filled to the brim with nothing else but changelings. All of them seemed to be hibernating, sleeping and overall just be inactive. Silence had become their biggest ally in that very moment and they did everything to make sure it would stay that way. Rarity walked up front and her eyes never were given a rest. She knew where the exit laid as it was just as obvious as the entrance.

It were the creatures that she was worried about. One wrong move against anything and they could be running for their dear little lives as well as fear for it. She would be bringing the company to the other end. Yet she had forgotten one little fact, they also needed to return through the same places to make the quickest getaway. A fact that would continue to haunt her deeper than she could realize.

But the saying goes that first things, needed to be done first. In their case it was getting across without ending up with every last of the bugs awoken. So far so good, but for how long?

Act 1 chapter 12

Silent as the night itself had the company managed to sneak its way through the sleeping nest of changelings. None of them knew how they actually managed to do it, yet somehow they didn't woke up a single one of the bugs as their exit came right into view. Nopony knew where it would be leading them, though the thought of someplace better than they were was all there in their minds.

Of course did the chance exist that everything could have been going wrong as soon as they turned around the corner. It was a haunting thought for certain. But also one they just couldn't discard as being unhelpful. They weren't in territory where the laws of the ponies applied. They were in the domain of the changelings and crystalline giants. Two species of beings who had their own rules and happily crushed anything that didn't live by them. Friendly wasn’t a word they knew.

Terror was the emotion that was surging through most of the members of the group. All while Rarity herself was almost constantly looking back and forth between all of the walls. One mistake and it would all have been over, that much she knew. Yet none of them wanted to go down without a final stand.

With the silence in their hooves had they managed to get finally across. Velvet Fashion gave one last look into the chamber before a shudder came to her spine. Seeing the changelings sleeping like that against the walls was already more than enough for her to get creeped out. She wasn't the bravest nor the strongest, but she did happen to be one of the wisest of the bunch.

It was Rarity who first walked into the new hallway with a pounding heart. She looked whether or not the coast was actually clear for them to proceed further. Brush and Drawn remained behind together with Rare Thinker, who released a quiet sigh in silence as he took a rest against the side of the cavern. None of them wanted to talk but their thoughts were all on the same place.

The eerie silence in which the ponies found themselves was only made even more creepy, thanks to the horrible sounds that the sleeping bugs made. That annoying hissing while drops of saliva fell down to the ground, at the moment there was no other sound they heard. It were bugs, beasts even, so much manners weren't that much expected.

Eventually had Rarity made her returned. She gestured with her head that they needed to follow her. A thing they would be doing without much a question towards her. They all wanted to leave the place and the chance was finally there. The group of ponies turned into the other hallway and the further they stepped away from the sleeping changelings, the more the desires to talk arose in each of them.

In the end it was the unicorn herself who dared to break the deadly silence with a rather happy announcement. “If you like to talk, you can talk all you like but keep the volume down. We don’t know what lays around the next corner,” she said to each of them. Her motions never ceased, she continued her trotting as if nothing had happened before.

A massive sigh of relief was given off by each of the members of the team and the conversations erupted in a bit of a whisper. The ivory coated unicorn didn't exactly knew what they were saying yet she didn't care about it either. She had the way ahead to take into her account and therefore couldn't be bothered less with simple small talk as it was done by them.

---

Minutes passed by before another light gave itself away in front of them all. Rarity managed to get the ponies to a stop as she narrowed her eyes to witness. None of them knew what it could possibly coming from though the thoughts were already terrible. “What do you think it is?” Rare Thinker spoke up before he turned his attention towards the unicorn.

“If I would have known it, I would have told you. But now it can be anything we have dealt with so far…or something we have never seen in our lives,” replied Rarity to him. The fright was being heard within her own tone. She really and honestly didn't knew just what it was that they were looking at. For all they knew, they could be walking straight into a trap.

All that they know for certain was that they were looking at an orange light that came out of the end of the cavern. All of them began to fear that some kind of new crystalline giant would be waiting for them on the opposing side or that they had stumbled upon the throne room of the changeling ruler. Both terrifying for certain, yet nothing could prepare them for what was really inside of the room. Another room which they sadly had to pass through.

“It really is out of the frying pan and into the fire now, ain't it brother?” Drawn Brush spoke up before the other twin simply gave a silent as conformation. Yet that very nod actually confirmed the terror that miss Fashion had already been fearing since they had started.

“Proceed with caution and keep yourself quiet, if you value your life. We don’t need another rehash of the troubles with the giants. They are slow, blind and whatever you do, do not touch any of the gems around here,” explained Rarity in a demanding, but also rather humble tone for a change. She was concerned about something. She was truly concerned about the well-being of her team.

---

So with caution and their abilities all set on sharp, they managed to proceed through the cavern. With the tips of their hooves they all walked towards the light while the thoughts began to haunt them. The darkness behind them was an excellent cover for an ambush unseen. It was a thought that each of them tried to suppress to the best of their abilities. Some managed, others needed a bit of help with it. Even though they suppressed it, the tingle atop their coat made them realize the danger.

Yet there was nothing in the world that could have ever been able to prepare them for the horror that they would be facing around the corner. For in the second that Rarity peeked her head inside, the rest of the body suddenly followed. The entire team gasped for air before they made the rather foolish decision to follow her blindly.

The end of their company could have been reached there, they could be facing the elite guard of the changelings for all they knew. Yet instead where their eyes fixed on something else. Something monstrous. Something that was truly gruesome to watch and behold.

“Mother of mercy…” Rare Thinker dared to speak up as he looked at the contraption.

“The stories, are true,” Velvet Fashion whispered before she released a deep gulp.

“The missing ponies…” Brush Drawn then said.

In front of them was a machine-like structure. A thing that seemed to be made out of organic material and filled with orange colored sacks. Sacks that held a pony in each of them. Liquid had filled the things as a cord was attached to a facemask on the pony. There was no doubt about it all and Rarity dared to say what was on everypony’s mind. “Conversion center…”

Myths and many legends once spoke about changelings being able to harvest ponies. After which they would convert them literally into kin of their own. Yet those tales went back to the time when Nightmare Moon roamed the lands. All conversion centers were destroyed in the time after it. Yet one managed to survive all that onslaught. And if one did, how many would there be left?

“The poor souls never stood a chance,” whispered Rare Thinker. His eyes focused themselves on a pony who was already halfway converted. The process seemed painful by the way that the eyes were shut. None of them could imagine how it felt to make the transition from pony to changeling.

A shudder went over each of their spines before Rarity found a way out. A way that was leading them straight through the chamber. “Let’s go, we can’t save them, not anymore.”

The rest of her team followed and once more they tiptoed through the place to get the hell out. They suddenly all knew what they had signed up for and weren't particularly pleased with the outcome that was given to them. Yet they did place their faith in Rarity even though some didn't wanted to admit that little fact.

Though when they were almost at the end, one of the sacks began to move violently. Each of the ponies looked up. They shot their eyes towards it with a horrified expression. The cord that was attached to the mouthpiece seemed to be growing longer and tangle itself around the poor soul. What happened next was something none of them wanted to see, just before the silence in the sack returned. As if nothing had happened.

Act 1 chapter 13

The group of ponies had seen the impossible three times already on that very trip into the mines. In their minds they feared that a fourth was bound to happen. Third time was the charm after all, as the saying went. Which was a fact in and of itself given that the most horrible surprise came last. None of them could even think about the conversion machine of the changelings. It was something they wished that nopony of their time wanted to behold.

Though they needed to venture deeper into the place. That very thought alone actually caused the emotions to be mixed. Some didn’t wanted to venture further yet the group always managed to bring them right back where they belonged. With Rarity still at the helm of their vessel, it could be going literally into any and every direction.

“We are getting closer, I can feel a new tingle in my horn. One unlike any of the other gems around here,” said Rarity to them. Then she pointed her horn into multiple directions. She wasn't a gem-huntress for nothing. The ability to find gems proved to be most valuable for the entire trip. From the moment since they came down there she wasn't leading them, she was guiding them.

Her horn –or better said: her magic– was leading the ponies right towards the gem. Sadly enough it had chosen to take the shortest route to it and thus allowed them to see the horrors of the changelings. It was a fact perhaps best left unspoken to the other ponies and the horn of the unicorn charged itself up to a degree that the aura became clearly visible.

They were already a good distance away from the chamber and in the dark hallways everything looked like it could collapse upon them at any moment. “I just hope that luck is on our side,” whispered Rarity to herself. She continued to point her horn in different directions.

The whispers were caught by the ears of the others without a doubt. Though they made perhaps the wise decision to not go into them. They had to fully trust upon Rarity from there on out. If they were to be able to find the gem they were set out to, who better than the ivory unicorn herself?

Perhaps the trust was placed a bit too high in her. Yet they had nothing else to fall back upon. It was trusting her, or end up somewhere in the cavern or conversion machine. Two sights that none of them wanted to see happen to them.

Pacing up and down before the place was the only thing that happened. Rarity herself was walking up and down the hallway as her horn continued to hum like a metal detector that had found something. The only problem was one little thing. “There is nothing here!” she exclaimed in a whispering anger. “There is nothing in this place that even remotely resembles a gem from the ancient times! All I see is just, rock, rock, and rock!”

All of them felt the same way though. And it was Rare Thinker who had already spoken that her magic had failed to see the difference between gems and stone. A comment that almost caused the lady to punch him right in the face. If it weren't for Velvet Fashion and the twins, blood would have been spilled already. The two couldn’t stand one another, even if they tried.

None of the ponies afterward dared to bring in something against the unicorn while they did happen to have certain suggestions as to what could have possibly been the matter. Even if they sounded ridiculous to say the least.

The ivory lady then began to tune her spell a lot more refined. With stern eyes she continued to walk up and down the hallway. Somewhere in that place was the gem hidden from them all. She could sense its very presence clearly yet couldn't seem to figure out just where it happened to be.

Frustration was rising within the mare her body before she finally came to a standstill in the middle of the hallway and turned her head towards one of the walls. The horn’s aura suddenly began to fade the more she walked towards the wall. “Interesting, very interesting indeed,” she spoke before her body made a turn and she walked to the opposing wall.

There kicked the horn back into action where it began to shine brightly again. Suddenly there was the feeling of realization that rushed itself through the unicorn. She knew where the thing laid and what kind of obstacle they still had to come across. “Oh now that’s clever indeed. Very, clever.”

“W-What is, miss Rarity?” Velvet Fashion questioned to her. She looked towards the mare with an expression of both wonder and terror. Something had sparked Rarity, something devious.

“Double wall.”

Suddenly did everything make sense to the ponies. In that one second they all understood just what was going on and why Rarity’s magic failed. Turned out that the solution on the matter was actually a lot easier than some of their plans had seemed to be. “Well, do you know how to open it?” asked Brush Drawn of her. He calmly walked over to the mare, hoping she had the right answer.

“Master Drawn, I do happen to have a couple spells yes, if you want me to wake up the entire changeling army that rests here.”

All of the sudden turned the face of the stallion both white from shock and red from embarrassment. “Oh, yeah, well, in that case. It might be better if we take it easy then.”

“Thank you,” Rarity added before she began to inspect the wall a bit more and up close. Something about it just didn't seem right in her eyes. “This wall, doesn't look solid if you look at it close enough. Whatever happens next, don’t interfere and follow if it works.”

“How do we know if it works?” Rare Thinker then spoke up as he had raised an eyebrow towards her methods.

“Trust me, you will see it when it happens,” grinned Rarity back to him. Her horn discharged itself and she took a couple steps back from the wall. Her eyes began to focus themselves upon the one spot where she thought it was possible. “Alright then, here goes nothing. Geronimo!” And then she just galloped straight towards the wall.

---

Everypony would have declared her crazy and thought that she would straight up crash into the wall of stone. Yet the thing that happened in reality was something that surprised them all to the very bone. For Rarity didn’t crash up against the wall, instead she was swallowed by it. She had disappeared out of the very fabric of reality and moved straight through solid rock itself.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I think that’s quite the clear signal. Here goes nothing!” the eldest twin spoke to them. It would be fractions later that he also rushed through the wall. Followed by his younger brother and the only mare of the group.

It only left Rare Thinker out in the open who was still hesitating. Only to rush himself through when he heard the eerie sounds of the changeling echoing through the darkness.

Everypony shook their head before they looked up and saw just where they happened to have landed. A room that was filled with the slime of changelings against the walls and bits on the floor. Their worst nightmare had become a reality, that the changelings would have discovered it first. Yet there was still hope for them, for on the pedestal, it stood spinning and humming softly.

“The gem of the ancient times,” said Rarity in a soft voice. That was before a grin came to her face. “Any of you know what that gem is or does?”

In response could they all just shake their head. They didn't have a single clue on the fact of what it was. Though what they saw was a gem made up out of three different colors. Blue, red and green could be found all together in a wonderful gem.

“That is the gem that actually managed to bound the three races back in the ancient times after the events we celebrate as Heart’s Warming Eve to this day. A gift from all three races, for all three races. The red represents the unicorns and their wisdom. The blue is from the skies where the fierce pegasi soar freely. The green is from the ground that the earth ponies live on and execute their strength on,” explained Rarity to them. Her voice had filled itself with a certain joy.

The tale itself was something wonderful to listen to for certain, but Rarity still had one more fact that she had to tell each of them. “A magic unknown to our lands has been stored inside of that very gem. Perhaps it is why we live in harmony itself these days, but in the wrong hooves it holds the power to destroy everything.”

The unicorn began to stroke her mouth and chin. The time was actually there to take it and bring it back to the princesses, if she could even grab it that was. It were the marks of the changelings that worried her more than anything.

Act 1 chapter 15

“Run?! Run what way, lass?!” Rare Thinker yelled towards Rarity. The company of ponies wanted to know the finer details of their hasty escape, if there were any to begin with. Their eyes went all over the place in the danger of the moment. Even though the cavern was still empty, they knew their time was going to be very limited if they wanted to make it out alive.

Though when Rarity needed to answer the question, she gave pretty much the impossible one to it. The one they feared the most. The one they least expected. “The way we came!” she shouted. Then she wanted to gallop off. It seemed like madness itself when the others thought about it. Galloping back to the entrance the way they came just seemed like suicide to all of them.

“What makes you think we will be able to get there?!” Drawn Brush yelled to her. Though moments later they all kicked themselves into high gear.

“Because it is the way we know that will be working on order to survive. I don’t want to be running through this whole place, just to die in a dead end, master Brush!” replied Rarity harsh. She did have a point. The changelings probably knew just how the whole place worked and looked. The company had only seen the route they came. While it was more than possible for them to find another way to get out, the dangers were there that they perhaps couldn't.

“But it means we have to go back through their sleeping chamber, won’t they be still there?!” questioned Brush Drawn. His horn was lit up like a torch to provide some form of light. The creatures knew they were there somewhere, so their cover was already blown. Or so he thought.

“No, they will all be awake and searching for us. I can only hope that all of them have taken up the orders to find us and thus leaving the place empty,” replied Rarity to him. She allowed her own horn to shine in the magical aura and provided a secondary light for the group.

They galloped as fast as they possibly could. Yet there came the dreaded corner that housed the conversion center. Each of them sprinted like the wind past it. None of them wanted to even see the horrors again. They didn’t wanted to see their own doom. The group was being hunted by the changelings that seemed to be coming from literally all over the place. The sounds of their hisses and the buzzing of their wings was highly annoying to say the least, but also terrifying. Even though they didn't saw any of the bugs crawling around, they knew they were around there somewhere.

The eyes almost constantly looked up from left to right as well as up to make certain there wouldn't have been any surprise attack on them. They have come that far, they wanted to finish it. Even the pegasus of the group had that thought on his mind. Each of them wanted to return home and be done with it all once and for all.

---

The more they galloped through the cavern, the more the orange lights had become clearly visible to their eyes. They were close by the place they had only sneaked through hours before. Yet there was also something else. Something that caused Rarity to pull upon the breaks. That action would stop every pony just in time before they would turn themselves around the corner.

All of them were taken by a rather massive surprise about the fact as the unicorn shushed them quietly. “Listen, listen closely,” Rarity then spoke up. Her eyes turned themselves from left to right, she had heard something that the others didn’t. The other ponies looked a bit confused to her though. They couldn't understand what she meant with her words.

Only when they began to listen to the sounds around them was the horrifying discovery made by all of them. The entire caverns had fallen silent. All of their eyes suddenly opened themselves wide and they stared at a nodding Rarity. Caution had to be given. It was impossible to tell where the changelings were from that moment on.

Sadly enough didn't the company look upwards. It was on the ceiling of the cavern they were in that the hungry beasts had collected themselves for the meal of five ponies. Though the silence was maintained from both side. That was until one of the creatures dropped some saliva right upon the mane of Brush Drawn.

The stallion wiped it away and wanted to look up to see where it came from. “Don’t,” the unicorn said before she gave him a stern look. She seemed to be knowing more than enough just where the creatures that hunted them were. The time to go had fallen upon them there and then. “Let’s go, move everypony. Back to where we came from,” she spoke in a silent whisper. Then she trotted around the corner. A corner from which everything could be popping behind and that was the massive fear that the mare had.

When she eventually did dare to look around, the situation itself was rather different. Different from the events as she had pictured them. Gone were all of the changelings while the lights still burned bright. With both the book and the gem was Rarity the key subject in the matter. She knew they wouldn't rest until they discovered her and possibly ended her life to get the thing back.

The rest of the team also quickly turned around the corner. Though Rare Thinker couldn't help it but to look behind them. The fear of being followed by bugs the size of himself was a terrifying thought to say the least. “And now?” Drawn Brush squeaked while he wanted to know the finer details of the plan. A plan that in and of itself would be become madness itself.

“The giants… We have to wake the giants somehow. It is our only chance of getting out of here without a scratch and you all know that.” It was a plan of utmost absurdity and all of them knew it. Sadly did all of them also knew that they alone weren't enough to handle themselves against an army of changelings and their maddened king.

“It’s the only option that we have for it. We have to do it!” Brush Drawn commented. In that moment had they all set it on a running once again.

Through corridor and hallway of stone they galloped. All in order to make it back to the place where it all started. The very place where they fought off the two giants. Though there wasn't any guarantee that there would be any more left outside of the two they managed to end. It was a bold move made by a desperate mare.

“Desperate times ask for desperate measures. Let’s do it, lass!” Rare Thinker eventually spoke to her. Even he saw their only options fade away and coming up with the same mad idea. For once he was standing at the side of Rarity and the lot of them rushed back inside of the chamber.

The gems themselves were still shining as beautiful as ever with their massive, hypnotic glare. Everypony remembered how the younger twin got seduced by them only a day ago. It seemed daft to even work, perhaps too daft that it might actually work.

It was their best shot for certain but one as fragile as their bodies. “Look for another way out, blast one if you have too. We need a back-up place in case something goes terribly wrong!” shouted Rarity while the sounds of hisses and buzzes once more returned within their very ears. Their final stand would have been made there and then if they were to die.

In the entrance way they could be heard galloping, flying and even wall climbing. Thousands of changelings were coming their way and the group of ponies all curled together and near one another. The time to see whether or not their plan would have worked was there. There was no way back for any of them.

Act 1 chapter 16

There they eventually came. All of them poured out of the hallway with the hundreds of them at once. Each of them were looking for the ponies of the company that had taken away their king’s precious gem. The creatures wanted to make them all pay for their deeds by ending their precious lives, or throw them before the mercy of their king. The only problem was that even the creatures were in an area they were not allowed to come. The one place that they feared to thread.

Not even the changelings themselves were allowed to enter the land that was originally from the giants themselves. The very reason was easily discovered when the creatures themselves all of the sudden fell in nothing but silence of their own. They slowly made the realization of just where they had come to hunt. Some were already gulping a bit. Their eyes went from left to right while they wanted to get out as soon as possible.

But it was all just too late already. Out of the crystals they came with a roaring power. The crystalline giants who hadn't been woken up from anything, reacted almost immediately to the smell of the changelings. Massive, hulking bodies of crystal suddenly blocked the way of the creatures and they were trapped like rats in a box. Even though the changelings themselves were near infinite in numbers, the giants had the power to mow them all down in a split second if they wanted.

The siege beneath Canterlot had begun. The team of ponies could only watch as to how the events would pack out. None of them were certain about the fact if it was going to be favorable for the giants or the bugs. It was just unknown and they really didn't wanted to figure out personally.

The eyes of Rarity went into every direction and stopped at one point. To her right she noticed something none of them hadn't seen in days by then. Something that could be leading them straight into freedom. “Look over there!” the mare whispered happily. She had nudged her head towards the something.

Even though most of the others were scared, they still managed to look into the direction. Just one glanced caused them to not believe their eyes. They must have been playing a tick with them. “Is that, what I think it is?” Velvet Fashion questioned before she focused her eyes a bit more.

There wasn't anything wrong with the eyes of the ponies, for they were looking right into genuine sunlight. A hallway that was blocked off by the body of a giant had hidden the place when they were first there. A massive sigh of relief was the thing that made its way through each of the ponies before they heard the massive roar of the giants.

All of their eyes turned themselves back to the hulking figures that were covered in the filthy bugs. One way or the other they still tried to defeat a being that was made out of nothing but solid crystal. Luckily they didn't knew the manner in which Rarity and her team managed to bring two of them down. The danger would only rise if they would have managed to figure it out.

Even though they needed to get away, just rushing over to the place didn't seem like a good idea either. Caution was still something that was highly needed. The team didn't wanted to be crushed by one of the giants, or swept away, as they also preferred to be doing exactly that.

The battle between the giants and the changelings was something that was a quest of might and a show of pure, awesome power. The bugs themselves couldn't do anything against the might of the crystalline giants. The battle was pretty much one sided.

“We have to get out of here or we are being crushed no matter what. How do you think they will react when the changelings are all gone and discover the murders of their own kin?” Rare Thinker questioned aloud. Then he stood up and looked at the distance that needed to be traveled. “One quick gallop should be more than enough to make it and you all know it.”

Even though Rarity wasn't truly able to agree with his words, she still saw the right in them. There was only one way they could be doing the job and that was just to run like hell. “Alright then, let’s do it. Everypony, go. Just go!” Rarity spoke to them all. It took them only a second or two before they were all galloping towards the light of the wonderful sun. They could smell their escape almost.

The only problem happened to be that some of the changelings that were knocked back by the hooves of the giants, actually ended up against the wall the ponies were hiding. With their last bits of strength they managed to sniff out the trail and resume the chase. Half a dozen hungry changelings had set in the hunt once more. Half a dozen of which the group became aware of quicker than expected. Rarity had gotten them in her sights and she dropped down to the rear.

“Quickly now!” Rarity spoke when she had formed the rearguard of the company. She was the only one shooting some magical bolts at the creatures just to be able to fend them off. They were that close to the surface or at least out of the caverns as a whole, they wouldn't give up at all. In the end had Rarity forced her eyes to be shut as she galloped through the portal of light. One could only imagine of the thoughts that went through her mind at the moment of it all happening.

The softness of the grass was to be felt against her belly and legs while the gentle breeze of the wind managed to mess a bit with her mane. She didn't knew where she was, whether it would have been either the gates of heaven or the real world. Either of the two seemed to have been just wonderful to be at.

---

Though the dreamy state was quickly turned into a reality. It happened when she caught the horrified hissing of the changelings as they made their retreat. Quickly sprung the eyes of the mare open and she looked all around her. The sights that she saw were some she never even had expected to be seeing again. For all around her was the wonderful valley of Canterlot. A place where both serenity and calm dominated and the air always happened to have been fresh.

Rarity assumed a more sitting position before a smile was being cracked upon her face. A smile that slowly would have gone over into a small laughter from the adventure. Every bit of stress and caution could be dropped as she knew that it was over and all of them were still there. “Oh dear me, that is going to be quite the tale to tell when we get back home.” The mare then allowed her body to drop itself back into the grass where a deep and rather content sounding squee left from the deepest part of her soul.

The unicorn of grace, fashion and gems was more than happy to be right on the solid ground of the world itself. All while the sunlight fell upon her coat. Many of the team members actually followed her example. All of them thought that their rest was something well earned. The troubles of the cavern, the gem and the princesses would soon be over. Which only left the mysterious book that had fallen into the unicorn’s possession. A book of which the royals themselves didn’t need to know its very existence of.

Act 1 chapter 17

It was early in the evening when the group of ponies made their return into the castle of the royals. Rarity had made the decision to drop the book off in the hotel that she stayed for the time being. She had planned to stay a couple of days more after the whole events had taken place. Though the plans could be cancelled thanks to the book that she had come across. Only time would have been able to fully predict just what would happen to her.

First things first, as the saying always went. The group of ponies walked through the castle in silence. They made their way towards the throne room of the princesses themselves. The thoughts lingered all over the place for them all. From the hordes of changelings that they saw, to the first glance of the wonderful gem they caught in their eyes. Everything of the trip was something that was rather of both interest as well as horror. Something that caused a few to have a bit of a problem with actually being able to cope with all of the events.

In the end did they all stood before the closed set of doors. The ones that were leading to the very throne room Rarity gave a look and a smile to each of them. While it was more than true that the whole of team was having so their fair share of differences with one another, they still were able to work as a powerful team in order to actually stop the menace that could have taken over. Almost, had they stopped the changeling king. For he could still roam through the caverns below Canterlot itself. That was the only real problem that still lingered around.

“Her majesties’ the princesses had been expecting the five of you,” one of the guards spoke to them. Then he opened the door for them all, granting them access.

With the grand doors of the palace that finally opened, each of the ponies looked once more into the wonderful throne room before their eyes finally caught the royals themselves sitting almost oddly calm upon the throne. Rarity was the first pony to enter the room followed by the twins while Velvet Fashion and Rare Thinker became the rear guard.

They almost appeared to be like a set of proud warriors who returned from a battle of some kind. A little fact that was true in a way if thought about deeply enough. The unicorn in front began to charge up her horn calmly. The saddlebag at the side of her body was being opened and the ‘marker’-like gem was taken out of it. Even from their distance they could see that the royals themselves were actually very pleased with the result of the expedition.

Once the group stood before the throne, they all made a deep and respectful bow before the mares of the day and night. Both Luna and Celestia looked down upon the ponies with a content look in their eyes before the words were spoken to them. “So it seems that you have succeeded in the task that was given upon yourself. We almost thought that the caverns had become your tomb,” replied Celestia to them all. Only after that did her eyes focused themselves upon the gem.

---

All of the ponies came back up and looked to both of the mares as Rarity took over the word. “There had been a couple rather close calls for certain your highness.”

“So it is true then, the changelings have awoken inside of the underground hive,” said Luna. There was a deep sigh that left through her nostrils. “Only a changeling is able to make such a terrible noise when it awakes.” A shudder travelled over her back, confirming any kind of fear that she had.

“Not just the changelings, your highness,” Velvet Fashion then dared to speak up. The eyes of both the mares then turned itself over to the other unicorn of the company and almost looked at her with a genuine confused or not understanding gaze.

“Miss Fashion, would you please tell us more?” Celestia replied to her. All of the sudden she was standing right in the spotlights of the entire throne room. There was a deep gulp that was released by her throat. The mare tried and gathered all of her guts. For as much as those still were there. Inside of her head she tried to formulate the right sentences of the words to speak.

“Well, o-outside of the changelings, there also have been… well, we have seen myth become true. C-Crystalline giants.” Upon the mere mentioning of the words became the faces of the princesses themselves nothing but sheer white. They had expected pretty much everything to come out of the mare her mouth except that word. Or better said, those words.

The horn of Celestia herself began to coat itself within the magical aura. She took the gem over from Rarity who then discharged her own horn. She gave the two of them a respectful nod before Luna signaled in some servants. “It will be matter out of your hooves to handle with, my sister and myself will be needing to look at these giants ourselves. You shall receive your share for the trip as well as the retrieval of the gem,” the princess of the moon replied to them.

“If I may ask, your highness,” Rarity said after she received her bag of bits from the servant. She thanked him with a nod before the attention was given back to Celestia and the question asked. “What will you be doing with the gem?”

The question was of course fairly asked to the royals. Though the answer was one not even they seemed to be truly knowing. “We shall lock it away in a place where nothing will be able to get its hooves on, for the magic it contains is far greater than any alicorn. You, milady Rarity, must have felt its power when you took it,” said Luna. She then stood up and walked off of the steps.

It was indeed more than true for Rarity that she felt how powerful the gem was. Perhaps it was just better to leave the matter to rest and return to her beloved little home in Ponyville. It was in fact a plan each of the ponies had, to return home and to their loved ones. Each of them gave one another a hug and said their goodbyes before the journey home would be undertaken.

---

In the dead of night did the creaking door of the Carousel Boutique open. The unicorn herself stepped through the doorway with a smile upon her face. She was back home once more and the scents of her house were the first thing to have entered her nose.

Everything had come to a good end and she even was a book richer. A book which she would let Twilight examine after having read through it herself at least once. The candles inside of her home began to burn gently as she dropped her bags next to the table in the living room. The mare herself assumes her place in a chair where she makes herself rather comfortable and closed her eyes gently.

With the passage of mere minutes she had sunken into a deep sleep. A sleep deeper than anything she had ever been through before. While the dreams she would be having were almost everything but pleasant. For that very night she would be haunted by a nightmare whose very meaning should have been taken as a warning, instead of an average, run-of-the-mill dream.

Act 2 chapter 1

With a forceful motion were the eyes of Rarity opened. And almost immediately was her horn charged and primed. It took her less than a second to call upon an emerald made claw. One that served as a sharp extension of her hoof. She sat panting in the chair, streams of sweat traveled down her forehead. The mare could swear that somepony had been watching her, right in front of her.

With her horn still charged and her mane waving within the powers it created, the eyes would have looked for anything that could been a possible burglars, or other figures that were unwelcome in her home. Though the only thing that she found was an empty home. Which was something that was both a major relief as well as a curse at the same time for the unicorn.

A deep exhale was released through her mouth before she made herself a bit more comfortable in the chair. All of her muscles slowly lost their tension. The magical aura almost disappeared from her horn. The emerald claw –which were in fact just three sharp talons– retracted itself before it began to stroke her chin in a calm manner.

The eyes of Rarity turned from hunted to confused. The thing she had dreamed about the previous night had to be the blame for the facts. Horrible nightmares that caused her to act in the real world. “Nightmares,” she whispered to herself. Then the emerald claw was taken away from the chin and just held before her eyes. The attention that was given to the object was more than enough to make her lose track of the world around her once more.

“Been a long time since I ever had those, has Luna forsaken me? Or didn't she happen to have the time to calm my racing thoughts? So many possibilities, or perhaps a warning hidden within them? Who can tell and who shall ever know,” spoke Rarity to herself i doubt. The horn completely discharged itself then. What followed was that the emerald claw disappeared as well. It didn't melt nor did it retract right into her flesh. Instead it became power that traveled with the wind.

---

The crystalline arts of magic was a branch of magic only very few could actually preform. Rarity was one of the few ponies that lived in the land that day. One of those able to do it. Not even her mother had access to such a powerful branch of the arcane. Perhaps it was a sick act of fate? That therefore she also became a gem-huntress in the first place? One could only guess.

Even though the crystalline arts are something wonderful as it allows one to summon gems and morph them into any shape, it is also something dangerous. As it can morph the gems into any shape.

Special teachings had to be given to the ivory mare in order to make certain that everything would be ending well for her. For there isn't any more danger to be found then by pony who carries such powers yet doesn't know how to properly use them.

Eventually had Rarity managed to hoist herself out of the chair. The mare would have made some breakfast for herself. Only to return into the living room of the building and dropped herself on the sofa. With the adventure behind her and the nightmares still fresh in her mind, there wasn't much else she even wanted to be doing. A day off wasn't too much asked in the moment for certain.

Yet somewhere in her mind she was reminded to the book that was still lingering around her place. A book of which she got the sudden desires to read through even though it perhaps wasn't allowed. Curiosity was the thing that managed to capture the unicorn as her horn gained the aura once more.

That same light blue aura appeared around the book itself and before she knew it, could it be found right in her face. A deep exhale was being released by the mare after she had leaned back into the cushions of the sofa itself. Her eyes gently looked over the cover for a couple seconds. “What can you possibly be?” she whispered to herself, “what secrets do you house within yourself?” Although the answer itself was something that she knew as one of the best.

For the only way to gain any form of answers upon her question, was to delve straight into the madness that the book could be containing. Whether it would have been something worth like a diary from one of the smiths who made the gem, or just some piece lost by a captured pony, she would be in for quite the something interesting.

And so was the first page opened. All of the sudden did Rarity knew exactly just what the book happened to be. “A spell book,” she whispered to herself. It was dead on the bits. Upon the first page alone could the arcane symbols be clearly seen. To any other pony they seemed just to be scribbled signs of doom. Though to a unicorn, they revealed themselves.

They wanted to be learned by a unicorn of any kind, as if they had their own life. And therefore they began to hum softly and rotate upon their place on the paper. It was just absurd in and of itself that magic had to be taught that way to begin with. Weren't it for the little fact that next to the swirling arcane symbols a small explanation could be discovered about what it did.

The humming tunes of the spells didn't do the mare all too much as she did quite enjoy yet never hummed along. If hummed along, the spell could nestle itself right inside of the mind of a unicorn and thus be ready for usage.

Yet out of the entire book there seemed to have been one little spell that caused the mare to be looking up even stranger than usual. One spell whose very ability was not readable anymore. The words had faded with the progression of time yet showed an image of a pony in a wonderful crystalline dress.

Everything seemed to have been more than perfect in the moment, weren't it for the fact that Rarity could differentiate what was white magic and what was black. The tunes that entered her ears were diffidently black. “Even though it might boom my business, what’s the price I have to be paying in order to do so, hm? Sacrifice my soul or something?”

The thought was ludicrous to say the least but not entirely uncommon in the world of magic. Magic was and always would be a powerful force that only a very select few could fully understand and perhaps even master. “Twilight,” was then whispered over the lips of the mare. Then her ears began to listen deeper to the humming tomes.

The deeper she listened to it, the more she made the realization that it was actually the same, or almost the same, as a song she heard often in her foalhood. One that happened to be one of her favorites. That alone was more than enough to scare the unicorn almost right to death. If a spell of the black magical arts laid that close to a song she loved, chances would be there and perhaps even imminent, that she would be humming it.

There was perhaps only one thing that she could be doing in order to sort everything out before it comes to a mess. There was only one pony in the whole of Ponyville who would be able to even consider to help her with the problem she had. “Sparkle.”

Act 2 chapter 2

The book was being shut right before her face. Then it was being levitated over to towards a set of saddlebags that hung somewhere in the main hall of the building. Rarity didn't really had the desire to leave her home so soon after having returned to it though. Yet the situation she had entered actually caused it to be that she had to leave her home. Perhaps it was an innocent tome that she had seen, but what if it was something a lot bigger and a lot more dangerous?

The sounds of the tome and that of the music from her foalhood laid dangerously close to one another. Too close for her liking to be exact. Rarity knew that accidents laid in a small corner. The unicorn herself discharged her horn and left the sofa for what it was. Her body hauled itself over to the main hall where she dressed herself for the small little trip.

Even though it was only a couple streets towards the tree library of Twilight, the clouds were dangerous enough to erupt at any given moment. Arriving with a wet coat was about the last thing that Rarity would have needed in the moment of time. So with a raincoat to protect her coat and the saddlebags strapped around her body, the unicorn would have left the comforts of her home and entered the wide outside world.

The silence in the streets was the first thing that she noticed before her eyes turned themselves up towards the threatening clouds. Everything made sense all of the sudden and she wasn't happy with it. “I just hope it remains dry for a little bit longer,” she whispered to herself before starting the gallop towards the tree library.

One way or the other would she discover just what the secrets of the book were. If she would like them was another question. And then the door of the boutique was being closed behind her and the small journey towards perhaps the most impressive building in the whole of Ponyville had begun.

---

Luck happened to have been on the side of Rarity. The clouds hadn't broken up while she had knocked upon the door of the library itself. Even though everything could still go wrong in a split second. A fact on which the mare had to remind herself on almost constantly.

The door got opened by the mare of the house. One who then gave her friend a warm and welcoming smile. Without a word spoken from Rarity did the other mare take the word right upon her. “Rarity, please come in further. No need to chat around with the weather about to burst now is there?”

The other unicorn had to confirm that train of thoughts. Rarity simply walked into the impressive hollowed out tree, while Twilight closed the door behind her. “May I ask for the reason of this visit though?” she asked of her friend. Curious as she was, she also held her suspicion.

“I hope you aren't working on something important, I have something that might be of interest for you, as well as needing some information.” The serious tone in which Rarity spoke her words caused the other unicorn to twitch her ears gently. She could almost smell what Rarity needed from her. The scent of despair always seemed to linger around the ivory mare for some reason.

The raincoat got removed from the body and was gently hung up on the wall before both of the mare made their way right into the living room. The saddlebags were kept close to Rarity as they both sat down in chairs as the cup of tea was already set ready.

“Were you, expecting somepony else?” Rarity then asked of Twilight. She felt herself becoming a bit uncomfortable due to the cups and steaming tea inside of them.

Twilight herself released a small giggle in response before she shook her head. “No, I did that in the seconds you took yourself to undress. But please tell me what the matter is.” It wasn't something on which Rarity could and perhaps ever should answer with the truth. While it was more than true that Twilight knew about her trip to the caverns, everything else remained a mystery.

“Well, you see,” began Rarity while she recollected her mind on the events, “a couple of days before, I went on a trip to the old castle of the two sisters. When I was looking through the library I came across a rather interesting book. A book that contains both tomes of the white and black arcane arts.” She lied it all together, Twilight didn’t had to know the origin of the book. Not yet.

Those words alone caused Twilight not only to raise an eyebrow, but also to lean a bit more forth in her chair. The words that Rarity spoke were certainly of interest to her. Yet she never had come across such a book herself. Then again it did happen to be that the library in the castle was enormous. “And you have this book in your possession, right here and now?”

To that question could Rarity only nod, as it was more than true. “I do have it with me, yes, in my saddlebag right now. But before we do anything, there is something else that you must know. Something that is actually the reason I’m here.” Her horn allowed itself to be coated within the blue magical aura. The cup was brought over to her lips and a gentle sip was taken out of it.

“If it has something to do with Spike, I’m afraid I can’t really help you any further. He is living his own life now and you know how puberty has struck him. Left him actually on a trip to the mountains to let him cool off,” replied Twilight to her.

“Became that bad?” Rarity asked. She remembered the last time she had seen the teen-aged dragon. Even though it was a nice meeting, she could feel his urges more than ever.

“I’m afraid so.”

“This hasn't anything to do with Spike luckily, no, it’s something in the book,” continued Rarity. She placed the cup back on the table and revealed the ancient book of spell tomes. The book was slowly levitated over towards Twilight, who caught it within her own magical grasp. “The one part that really worries me is marked with a bookmark.”

“Do you mind if I first read through the book as it is right here and then go that part of yours?” Twilight asked before she placed her own cup back on the table. She looked to Rarity with a seeming neutral expression upon her face. It were words that of course caused the other unicorn to raise an eyebrow at first before she shook her head calmly.

“No, no, not at all. Go right ahead. Best to prepare for anything, now isn't there?” replied Rarity before she released a giggle from her throat. Twilight nodded to the words and opened the book at the first page. The ivory white coated mare could only pray on a good result afterward. Even though that most likely wouldn't have been the case at all.

The silence took over the library as the pages of the book were flipped almost every few seconds. Rarity herself continued to take gentle sips of her tea while she kept her eyes peeled upon her friend. While also listening gently to the tunes of the tomes.

Act 2 chapter 3

Seconds turned into long and lasting minutes, which on their own turn almost became an hour. All long before Twilight finally rose her head back up from the book. She would have looked over to her friend with a smile. “I don’t know how you have managed to find this beauty in the library of the princesses, as the magic here goes further back than any of them. This book is written in the ancient times themselves, just after the merging of the kingdoms to form Equestria, I dare to say,” said Twilight with a smile before she gave the book back to her friend.

“Well, the castle itself is quite ancient too, as you know, so who knows how it ended up there? But did you found anything interesting, if I may so bold to ask?” Rarity’s curiosity was burning ever so deep and vividly within her. She wanted to know what Twilight had discovered upon the matter that was haunting her, yet the mare knew she had to take her time. Time and patience were always two things that she placed high within her being for whatever reason.

“That is more than true indeed, Rarity, the castle is almost as old as the princesses are. Perhaps they got the book as a gift from an old friend,” the other unicorn replied to her. After which she managed to crack a smile. “As for your question, I haven’t really discovered anything that can be classified as something terribly dangerous. Although the book itself is written in ancient tomes and language. Few know the tongue of the three races combined. That is why it took me so long.”

“All fine and such, Twilight, but what are they about, what do they cause, what is their effect?” asked Rarity almost hesitantly. She wanted to know whether or not it was a ticking time bomb that she would be taking back into her home. Not to mention the sheer fact about her own tome that kept on lingering deep inside of her mind.

“From the looks of it, it is a book that speaks about the creation of many things. Spells that can be used together with a master of the crystalline arts to make the most wonderful things. Weapons of decoration, armor sets unlike anything seen before, dresses for the highest ponies of society. It’s a building book, a learning guide for those who want to take their art to another level then shooting shard of crystal at the enemy,” explained Twilight calmly.

It was a major and massive relief for Rarity to hear that the book didn’t contain the dangers that she thought that it would be possessing. It still left her own personal matter wide open though. A little something she still had to fall back upon, weren't it for the fact that she was being interrupted by some sounds that came from the upper floor.

“Oh yes, I think I forgot to tell you but,” began Twilight again. That was just before they were both interrupted by the sounds of something rushing down the stairs. Before either of the mares even knew it, there was third pony in the room. One who had jumped next to Rarity and began to snuggle up against her.

The situation was unusual to say the least but not uncomfortable. The pink and white mane of the pony gave away just who it happens to be that had ‘attacked’ Rarity. She calmly wrapped one of her forelegs around the pony and smiled lovingly. “Hello Sweetie.”

“Hey sis!” Sweetie exclaimed in happiness before she snuggled up even more. “You’re back! You told me you would come and here you are.”

“Hmhmhm, Sweetie my dear, I do always come back remember,” replied Rarity before she gave a small kiss on top of her little sister’s head.

“I, should have kinda warned you, Rarity, she has been waiting every single day for your return actually,” apologized Twilight before she rubbed a hoof to the back of her head. After that she almost let out an embarrassed squee.

“It doesn't matter, Twilight, I hope she had been a good little filly to you though. Have you been one, Sweetie?” Rarity then asked almost in a serious tone towards her little sister. The filly looked up and into the eyes of the older mare before she formed a smile.

“I have been! Honestly!”

It took Rarity a couple seconds of looking straight into the eyes before her own lips curled up into a smile. She then gave a single nod with her eyes closed. What followed a giggle that from her and she pulled her sister a bit closer. “I believe you, Sweetie. But could you leave me and aunt Twilight alone for just a bit more time, we have some things to discuss with one another. Go and pack your bags, then I shall bring you home afterward and tell you about my adventures.”

The face of sweetie suddenly lit up in utmost delight. She wanted to hear about every single trip that her sister made. Rarity could tell it in a way that she would have been there during everything. It was perhaps a little hidden secret about the mare, the fact that she was a great story teller. A secret that not many ponies seemed to know or expect from a lady like her.

Within seconds and without a word had the filly removed herself out of the hold of the mare and rushed back up the stairs. All with a speed that actually left the other mares staring at the thin air for a second and then to one another.

“Do you..?” Twilight began before Rarity’s mouth opened up to interrupt her.

“I gave up a long time ago.”

“Ah.”

And so the silence fell between the two mares. They tried to recollect their mind on the subject that they had spoken about before. All of the facts and figures needed to be placed straight in their minds before they would continue doing anything.

“So basically what the book does, according to your words, is being a guide for smiths who want to use their magic for a profession instead of just blunt force in the army? Correct me if I’m wrong here though,” Rarity then asked. She couldn't really believe that it would have been something that simple or easy for that matter.

“That it indeed seems to appear in my eyes. Mind that I am not an expert in the language of the three ancient races so some words might not have been translated in my mind correctly. Though with the surrounding words, I’m pretty certain it is safe to say that it indeed a smiting guide,” answered Twilight in all of her honesty.

That was a major relief for Rarity. She knew that there wasn't much she needed to fear about the book anymore. That was with the exception of one little fact, of course. The fact that the tune of her song still lingered somewhere deep inside of her mind. That was the last thing she needed to have clarity on. The last thing she wanted clarity on, actually.

Act 2 chapter 4

Rarity felt that the question was needed to be asked. The feelings continued to crawl up against her. Those very same feelings were everything but comfortable for her body. The unicorn had started to shift a little bit upon her seating. With a deep sigh she finally managed to actually ask the question that had been lingering in her mind since she had read through the book itself.

“Twilight, the bookmarked area, what can you make out of it?” the unicorn then asked with a blunt tone. She began to prepare herself for the answer that would be coming. Whichever answer would be coming, was perhaps a better phrasing for the moment.

Both fear and calm placed themselves deep inside of her mind. She had no clue as to what Twilight would say. The neutral look upon her face never gave away anything. Which meant that it could still be going in literally any direction. For Rarity did the time seemed to have been hours since the asking of the question whereas for Twilight herself it were mere seconds.

When the mouth did finally open to speak up the answer, Twilight’s entire face remodeled itself into a more serious one. Yet also one where the concern was readable of. “That spell, Rarity, is one of the only spells I highly suggest of that you don’t speak up. Not even I can decipher what it really does. The dress you see is a disguise for what it really is, or carries. I simply do not know what, how, why or when. My knowledge is simply too limited to understand what it says,” she answered.

Those were the exact words that the unicorn didn't wanted to hear out of the mouth of her friend as it meant it was dangerous. If even Twilight didn't knew about it, there was perhaps only one force in the land who could. And going to them was about the last thing she wanted to be doing. “That is quite the interesting feature indeed. I shall keep myself to that promise,” Rarity eventually replied with a nod.

Though it wasn't enough for Twilight though. She had to be absolutely certain that Rarity would never be able to speak the tomes inside of her head. Therefore thus learning the mysterious spell. It had danger written all over it and one mistake could change fate forever. “I don’t need your promise of it, Rarity, I need your word and you know it. If this thing is as dangerous as I think it is, I don’t need any other hooves on it. I don’t want the thing in my house as it is where some groups might expect it to be,” the mare said with a serious glare.

“Twilight, since when did you became so… paranoid, I almost dare to say,” asked Rarity to her in return. She rose an eyebrow towards her friend and couldn't really believe the things as they were going on. Yet perhaps it was for the better that she kept dumb for the time being. For even mares like Twilight, who are close to being insane, could change through the gears of time.

“It has been there all my life already really,” replied Twilight before she curled up one side of her lips to form a smirk. “Anything else you would like to talk about before Sweetie Belle comes rushing back down?”

---

It took the unicorn a couple of seconds before she finally came up with another subject. One that had also been lingering inside of her mind since the discovery of it. “What do you know about the crystalline giants, if I may ask?” the gem-huntress then dared to ask. It was a question that caught Twilight by surprise as she gasped a couple times for air.

“N-Not as much as I would love to know about them. Rumor has it they can only be found deep inside the caverns of the Frozen North. Bodies made out of pure crystal and being five times bigger than a normal pony,” was the answer that Twilight gave her.

“What if I told you, I have seen seven of them?” Tthen the eyes of Twilight went just wide. She couldn't have believed it ever that Rarity had seen such mythical creatures on her trip. “In the Canterlot mines they took a rest, not even the princesses knew they were there.”

“Well, it, it is to be expected really, their radiation of magic isn't something that is particularly high as they are just walking hunks of compressed rock,” commented Twilight before the sheer bafflement could be found again in her eyes. She just couldn't believe it that Rarity had the privilege to see such a terrifying and majestic beings in the flesh.

“Trust me, you don’t want to meet them the way we did. But they are quite the amazing feature of magical beings yes. Though what they are doing here, any ideas?”

“Oh Rarity, those things can be as old as the day the monarch of Equestria was first formed. I truly do not have a single idea as of how such beasts could have come into the Canterlot mines. My best guess is during the time of the Windigo’s reign they moved to there. Outside of that, there is nothing,” said Twilight while the gears in her head spun.

All of the sudden there came a rather stupid idea in the mind of Rarity. An idea so stupid that it possibly could have worked. “What if you ask the royals to manage to capture one and shrink it down, to a size that it can be kept as a pet?”

In response shook Twilight almost immediately her head and released a sigh. “That won’t work I’m afraid, they are used to being bigger than us. Becoming suddenly a lot smaller would only do more harm than good,” answered the librarian. Then her lips cracked up into a smile again. For the sounds above their heads returned once more.

Sweetie Belle was coming and she was more than ready to go back home with her sister. “Looks like your sister is ready,” the mare said before she released a small giggle of her own.

“From the sounds of it, she indeed happens to be, yes,” replied Rarity. She got out of her chair with some effort. The mare stretched all of her legs and allowed her neck to crack a bit.

The two mares walked up to one another and wrapped their forelegs around the other to form a tight hug. “It goes you well, Twilight, may we see each other soon enough again,” said Rarity to her friend. She gave a small and friendly kiss upon the mare’s cheek.

A cheek that turned red from a blush as an embarrassed giggle made its way out of her mouth. “I hope we can do that soon enough yes. But you know time can be, right?” she replied before the hug was broken and Sweetie came storming into the living room. She was more than ready to go back home.

“You coming Sweetie? And don’t forget to thank aunt Twilight.”

Act 2 chapter 5

“Thank you aunt Twilight, for everything,” said Sweetie Belle. Then she gave a tight hug to the other unicorn. With one last cuddle given from the both of them was the time to go back home there once again. Perhaps a little saddening fact for the little unicorn, but she knew that everything had to end eventually or perhaps one way or the other.

Rarity was already dressed in her rain gear while the saddlebags held the book closely at her side. She nodded to her little sister and gave a smile to Twilight before she opened the door. “You gave me your word, Rarity, I am expecting you to keep yourself on it,” whispered Twilight after she had moved in closer to the ivory mare who returned her a simple nod.

“I know I did, Twilight and I do tend to keep it. But I can’t promise it because it is just so close to a song I used to sing as a filly.” Those words flapped out of her mouth before she even knew what was going on. All of the sudden it felt like she had betrayed her very reason of coming to Twilight. Who on her own only raised an eyebrow.

“Then I pray that you might never hum one wrong note from that song,” Twilight then almost hissed through her teeth. Rarity understood the message straight away She gestured her head to Sweetie that it was time to leave. The other pony almost darted out of the tree library and began waiting for her sister.

“Thanks Twi, for everything,” she said just before making her departure as well. She walked up to Sweetie and together they would return to the Carousel Boutique.

“Right Rarity,” whispered Twilight to herself. There was a deep sigh that got released through her nostrils. Perhaps she was looking at the whole situation a little bit too harsh. Or perhaps she was looking at it with a right eye for the matter. It was quite impossible to tell really nor did Twilight wanted to tell. “Suppose that only time now can decide whatever shall become of you. I pray for a good ending, but judging the weather.”

Twilight never had been the superstitious mare but the dark weather and Rarity’s word combined with the book all began to add into a formula of sheer disaster within her mind. It would have been more than true that only time would be able to tell the tale that needed to be told. “Still no rain…” she then commented upon the weather and gave the mares one last wave before retreating back into her home.

---

“Wait, wait, wait, what do you mean, there is no profit, Rary?” Pearl spoke after they all came by from the laughter. The unicorn had told her story inside of the cavern perhaps a little bit sweeter than it originally had been and her mother had figured out there weren't any gems that were retrieved.

“Honey, you heard her words right, all of them were corrupted,” addressed Magnum. He recalled the spoken words rather clearly. While it was only partly true though. Sweetie on the other end laid giggling on the couch. She had almost curled herself up next to her sister while she imagined herself and her friend fighting the giants.

“I do suppose you are having a point there. Shame, I wanted to widen my collection a little bit. Been years since I have last been into those mines,” commented Pearl. Then she released a giggle of her own. The story was still a very good one though.

“There’s a reason for that honey,” her father said. With his hoof he began to stroke though his wife’s mane. Something that caused her to look at him with a raised eyebrow and a look that the daughters knew out of thousands.

“Are you saying I’m too old to crawl down such a dungeon?” she then almost teasingly asked the stallion, with a grin clearly visible upon her face. None of the family members could hold themselves anymore and erupted out in a chuckle. Just the situation where Magnum had managed to work himself was golden to say the least.

Not that he cared that much about it though, for he went along with the events just as easily. “I’m not saying you’re old, I’m just saying there are reasons. What they are, is up to you to discover but I think, if you look around this room you will be finding that answer.”

“You sly, sly little devil that you are,” returned Pearl in a little sensual tone. After which she giggled and relaxed her body a bit in the sofa. Rarity and sweetie couldn't help themselves but to giggle at the scene before they both shook their head a little bit.

“So,” Magnum began to change the subject. “What will you be doing now Rary?”

“That is actually a question I still haven’t really thought about yet. Perhaps I shall be going back to the boutique and finish some of the things I have started. Or I just stay here for the night. Depending on whether or not it rains,” replied Rarity to her father. She felt her little sister almost falling deeply asleep next to her.

“Well, from the sounds of it, it is still dry. But the clouds have been so threatening today already, that I don’t even know whether or not it even shall rain,” her father then relied. Pearl stood up and walked over to the worn out Sweetie and carefully picked her up within her magical aura.

“I’ll bring her to bed, Rarity, you should be doing the same. Any second here, is a second closer to the erupting of the storm.” Those words were more than true and the unicorn knew that fact very well. So there was only one more thing that she could be doing. Telling her parents goodbye and make the crossing back home.

---

In the bedroom of the boutique had the fire illuminated the place as Rarity finally had come back home. A deep sigh of comfort was released through her nostrils as the saddlebags were removed from her body. The book itself was taken out of them and placed upon the desk as something for the following morning.

When she closed all of the curtains and wanted to tuck herself in, the sounds could be heard falling upon the roof and the window. That unmistakable ticking of the drops of water the poured down from the skies. A small smile grew upon the face of the mare when she snuggled up in her bed.

She had been home before the storm erupted and was a couple of experiences richer. Though one thing still continued to chew heavily upon her mind. The very fact that the most cryptic spell in the book stood that close to the song of her foalhood. It would be something that could have driven her mad for certain.

The head gently laid itself upon the pillow. Her horn charged itself up one more time. All of the fires extinguished themselves before the final blue light also disappeared from existence. She needed her sleep to regain some of her strength. She needed her sleep more than anything in the moment and would have loved to just sleep through the other day. A fact, or a wish, that never would have been granted to her though.

Act 2 chapter 6

The eyelids of the unicorn had opened themselves with force. The ears twitched and turned into almost every direction that they were allowed. Her body was set right up in the bed while the horn had charged itself up once more to full power. Her chest moved rapidly up and down. While yet another emerald claw was made upon her foreleg, the rumbles of the thunder strike that hit from the skies could still be heard clearly.

Ever so slowly had the unicorn managed to collect her senses again. The head hung itself low and the claw disappeared into dust. The eyes would have been closed while the curtains were gently opened by the remaining bits of magic. It almost would have seemed like that a watery line appeared below the eyes, yet the tears she wanted to cry never happened to flow down from her cheeks.

With herself being a famous and sometime ruthless gem-huntress, did it happen to be thunder that was more than enough to get her back into the state of mind of a foal. It was a fright that originated from way back in her foalhood. It was a fear from which she never had learned to actually deal with the troubles that it gave. Not to mention the manner in which she draw her emerald claw. It was a maneuver not done because of the faint of heart.

The thoughts brought her back to times long gone and forgotten as the hooves wiped the unfallen tears out of her eyes. The head focused itself upon one of the windows while a deep sigh was left through her nostrils. Everything suddenly came back to her. That horrible experience that almost had cost her her precious life.

---

The fires were crisping while the team was peacefully asleep under the starry night. It was Rarity had volunteered to keep the first watch of the night. She had led the expedition to reclaim perhaps one of the most treasured unicorn artifacts and a thing that was thought to be a mystery forever.

Which it just happen to have been the very case. For they slept outside of the temple that was considered the very birthplace of the unicorn race. Many lives were already lost during the trek and the last thing she wanted was to lose even more.

With her shift almost being done, the unicorn couldn't keep her eyes open for that much longer. Though the tension between her and another team member had been walking high ever since the discovery of the thing not existing. She was cautious. She knew that anything and everything could happen. Yet the power of the sleep managed to get her in its clusters and slowly did the mare fell asleep near the campfire.

Only to wake up again from a screaming pain that went through her back. Something had been cutting right into it and the moment she opened her eyes, all of her team had been galloping away in fear. “Mutiny!” she had screamed out at each of them before the wound on her back became more apparent.

There wasn't much that she could be doing outside of the fact to just hoist herself out of the troubles she had gotten in. Gems were being conjured up to act as medical supplies while she worked with mirrors. Rarity had been one of the luckiest mares in the world that the knife didn't went straight through her spine.

---

The thoughts were dispatched again. The actual rescue was something far worse than what she had done. Yet that incident had left her careful at night and caused her to become a light sleeper. Not even friends or family had to come too close to her and always pronounce who they were, otherwise only Celestia did know what would happen to the poor souls. Of course were the urges to kill every last member of the team ever since still lingered deeply within her mind.

Yet she knew one thing that they didn't. They had taken her bounty yes and were perhaps living their lives as they wanted, but they had to look always over their shoulders and pray that the mare wasn't following them. When her hoof went over the hidden scar upon her back, a shock of realization went straight through her body which caused her to both winch and hiss. “Death, is the easy way out of this mess,” she hissed to herself with shut eyes.

It happened to have been a credo that she silently lived by. Not even her little sister knew that the events had happened and her coat perfectly so there wasn't all too much trouble in the fact of sweetie finding it out.

Of course did her parents knew exactly what happened. It was the risk that a gem-hunter in general had taken upon itself. The profession took many risks with it and even though her parents had much rather preferred the fact that she remained a tailor, her true calling had kicked in whether it was liked or not.

The unicorn managed to hoist herself off of her bed. Rarity then slowly made the journey over towards the bathroom. There where she would be taking a long shower to begin the day. Even though it was true that her boutique had opening times, it was far too early in the morning to receive any clients. Most likely had the weather to do something with the fact of it. Though when the mare looked upon the lock in the hallway, there was another realization that went through her. One that caused her eyes to widen themselves again.

“Seven in the bloody morning, goodness me,” the mare muttered before she disappeared within the walls of the bathroom. What followed was the fact that the sounds of pleased sounding moans were released by her. Both the warm and steaming waters of the shower made their way over her body. With her magic was she able to was almost wash every single inch of her body which generally just helped on the fact of being a clean mare.

Especially when she hadn't taken a good shower after her return from the Canterlot mines. It may have seen a bit of the behavior of a ruffian to not shower after such an exhausting experience, but she simply didn't had the time for it in the past days.

---

When Rarity eventually stood back inside of her bedroom, there was a deep and content sigh that left though her mouth as her eyes looked upon her majestic gem collection. Years had she worked on it in order to get it to the levels of beauty that it happened to be. She was mighty proud on it. A smile grew across her face before her eyes were gently tucked towards something else in the room.

The book that laid calmly upon her desk almost seemed to be calling her name for whatever reason. Rarity couldn't truly place it of just what it happen to be, but she just took it to herself and then left the master bedroom for what it was.

Together with the thick book she walked over to the main shop area of her home and turned the sign from closed over to open as the door got unlocked. The day had begun for her and it became apparent to her that it would be a very slow day. The rain kept on pouring out of the skies without an end. Something that caused the unicorn to groan deep. She spoke one line she hated to say, “one of those days.”

Act 2 chapter 8

Her lunch was consumed, the mare of grace wanted to continue working upon the gala dresses for her friends. The plate was set back upon the table for the moment. Though the situation happened to be that she was sitting comfortable in her sofa. She still had a cup of steaming tea to enjoy. Her mind wanted to hurry and get everything over with, while her body wanted to take things slow and easy. It was a silent struggle that went on inside of her.

The tomes of being able to build anything out of the crystalline magic echoed within her ears. Almost as if they wanted to be learned by her. Yet the mare herself never gave it any hearing. Although she had to admit that some of the spells did sounded quite helpful to her. She could expand her business all the way through to the Crystal Empire and make actual crystal dresses for the crystal ponies. It was a good idea for certain, weren't it for the fact that sometimes things wouldn't always go as planned.

In the end was the book finally closed again. The mare took a sip from her tea with a gentle smirk. Something inside of her already saw a future in which her dresses had pretty much dominated the Empire. Every last pony walked in at least some design of her. A wonderful dream indeed.

It happened to be just a massive wishful thinking and she knew it better than anything else. Still, it was the thought that counted. The very thought that had kept her going with her business for years already. Yes she was a gem-huntress but she also was a leading tailor in Equestria. A fact she would never have said about herself under any circumstances whatsoever. Another giggle went through the mare before she finally stood up and walked towards the kitchen.

Rarity enjoyed her little time off. But the risk always stayed there that she would be taking too much time off. It was the risk of being the only boss and employee of the store. She could do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. Both a blessing and a curse for every single company that was out there.

---

In the meantime and across town had Twilight Sparkle nestled herself within her study room, where the books were flung before her eyes and set back on the shelves. The entire study just looked like a mess and the mare herself stood on her hindlegs. The massive amounts of magic that were surging through her horn could even be seen around each of her hooves. It swirled around like electric currents that at any moment could be zapped away into any direction.

The currents themselves walked from the hindhooves all the way up to the horn, tingling every muscle along the way. Whatever the unicorn happened to be doing, it required massive amounts of concentration. The eyes were still firmly closed. Both moan and groan could be heard rather clear from her mouth. The physical strain she had placed upon her body was unlike anything she had ever done before.

The power of the arcane that surged through her body became too much for the mare. All of the sudden was the horn undone from its light and the currents that traveled both up and down disappeared into just thin air. Twilight fell back down to all four of her hooves and shook her head calmly. Only to follow it up with a massive rubbing to the head. “Ugh, that was not supposed to happen. Why did Celestia even ask me to perform such a thing in my own library? Why was I stupid enough to even do it?” the mare questioned to herself. She then walked back to her own desk.

Sparks of arcane power still left her hooves with every step she took, but couldn't be doing that much harm. Once she had taken her place within the chair did the eyes open themselves again and she stared right into a book. A book with a picture of the pose she had assumed just seconds ago.

“There must be something within this that I have missed, right? Every particle of my body should have been in harmony with the tree, meaning I would have become its very heart and could expand,” mumbled Twilight to herself. She gave a shake with her head. “The magic of life is complicated and perhaps only Celestia and Luna know what is going on with it. Perhaps only they are able to actually do it. Still, I have come so far already.”

It would have been a massive shame for Twilight if she would have gone and stopped there. Though she was truly aware of the powers that some of the arcane magic’s knew. The power to create life was also easily used to destroy it. If she had succeeded in becoming the heart of her home for even five minutes, it could have been destroyed in seconds if her thoughts weren't right.

The unicorn shook her head. Both of her forehooves were placed under the chin. The eyes were torn away from the book and they just stared out of the window. They didn't look to anything outside of the endless void that her mind was in. It didn't matter to her much of what she would be seeing.

Perhaps an answer, perhaps another question that needed an answer upon. All of those little things just went straight past her in the moment. What really mattered to her was that she would get to know the spell she wanted to cast so eagerly. Yet it seemed that for the first time in her life, she wouldn't have been able to cast one without a lot more research.

For even the book that she was going through didn't exactly call upon facts and figures. Life magic wasn't an exact science at all. It was different every single time and for every single being. A fact which Twilight knew a bit too well. So with one last annoyed sounding growl stood the mare up from her chair and charged her horn up again. A massive cleanup of the study was required and she was the only one home.

---

Back in the boutique of Rarity, the mare had herself just finished washing her plate and cup and wanted to continue working upon the dresses when the inevitable happened. The tunes that were left from her throat were those of that very same song she knew all of her life. But even after having heard it for so long and often, even a mare like Rarity could still get some chord wrong when it was being hummed.

The only way she knew that she was deep into the troubles was when she stood in the living room and her horn suddenly began to charge itself up. “Oh no…” exclaimed Rarity as she knew what she had done. Rarity had taught herself that one spell she wasn't allowed to. Though there still was time to cancel the spell once and for all.

Her tongue went over the hoof and the saliva was traded over between the two things. Usually the liquid would have been able to cancel any magical power that was surging through the horn. Yet that time it happened to be different. Rarity wasn't casting a spell, she was learning one. Learning a spell always required a lot more magic in order to work and that tiny bit of spit wouldn't have made a difference at all. Rarity would get to know the effects of the mysterious spell.

“Oh no, no, no, no!” Rarity exclaimed. She felt the powers going through her body and was forced to place all four of her hooves firmly to the ground. Whether she liked it or not, she would discover firsthoof just what the spell would be truly doing.

Act 2 chapter 9

The charge around the horn became too much for Rarity to handle. She knew that she was in the deepest trouble. It wasn’t something she would have come out of that easily. Everything up to that point appeared to have been just so easy in her life. She tried everything in her might to make certain that the magic stored wouldn't be cast. Sparks of her own magical power had begun to travel over to the body which caused her to spasm a bit upon the spot. She wanted to gallop so much and hard through the boutique to release some of the energy. Though doing that alone would have been more than enough to actually release the charge itself.

Powers that were unknown and far greater than the unicorn raced through her very being. Her heart started to beat at twice, if not triple the normal speed. The eyes closed themselves firm while the screaming of agony filled the room. The magical power inside of her horn had become too much for her to handle. She was a gifted unicorn for certain, but some things were even too much for her to counter and this was one of those things. The power that went through her whole being at the point was unlike anything ever seen or heard.

The humming tunes of the spell right inside of her ears couldn't be ignored anymore. The mare knew that better than anything. There was only one way to escape the hell she was in and that was to throw herself into the next. It had to be done, the spell had to be cast if she didn't wanted to be torn apart atom by atom by the powers that went through her body.

Not even the words she wanted to speak were able to come out of her mouth. There was only one thing that she could have done in order to save herself. The head pointed itself straight up while the tears streamed down over her cheeks. For the first time was Rarity in a pain that she hadn't been gone through since a year. Perhaps the pain she was suffering in the moment was worse than everything combined through the course of her life.

The casting of the spell was the only way to relief the pain. What would be coming next couldn't possibly have been that painful. That was the train of thought on which the mare went as everything happened. Rarity could have only hoped in the moment, hoping for the best.

The time to carefully think through her decisions just wasn't there as everything happened in mere seconds from one another. “I’m so sorry!” Rarity eventually screamed out. Then the arcane explosion happened. The spell was cast and the horrors could begin.

The entire living room of the boutique turned itself into a blue color. The light of her magic shone straight into every last corner there was. Nothing would have been able to save her. For it was that very light that also happened to have been a shield. Nopony could have interfered into the events as they were about to begin. Rarity had left one well and was falling into the abyss of the other. Whether it was for the better or worse she couldn't confirm, only speculate.

All the power had left the horn in that massive explosion of arcane power. The hooves were too weak to even move her one step to either the right or left. The head lowered itself in a defeated manner before a deep gulp was made by her. The next thing that happened was the fact that hunks of crystal locked her legs upon the spot they stood. She couldn't be going any other way other than there. Could it have been a spell to trap ponies within a crystalline hold? Rarity hoped so.

The tearing eyes looked at the hunks. She just couldn't believe the facts as they were presented to her. Everything suddenly became both blurry as well as sharp in her eyes. It was unexplainable for certain. The thunder continued to roll outside while the rain kept on pouring out of the heavens high.

---

The ground below her hooves began to tremble and rip before two holes appeared on either side of her body and in front of her. Those she could see clearly. Little did Rarity knew that even behind her, there were also two holes emerging where the exact same thing would have happened to her. The sapphire blue eyes looked to the holes and she could only guess as of what would possibly have been coming out of them.

Anything went through her mind, from the most innocent of creatures to the most harmful to dark tentacle. Thoughts that made her frightened clouded her entire judgment and she just didn't wanted to see what happened. The head lowered itself and the eyes were closed forcefully.

If she had looked to the events as they were going down, Rarity could have seen that four columns of the purest crystal and diamond rose themselves up. The rose under a tremendous roar of ancient power out of each of the holes. Four columns that looked threatening in and of themselves yet didn't seem to be as solid at a second glance. Something about them made them actually wobbly. As if they were made out of millions and millions of shards held together by nothing but magic.

Which was exactly the thing they were. Those four columns were just that, millions of shards connected by a magical glue. Something that would be given them an extreme flexibility and for Rarity only more pain.

Because at the end of each column appeared a knife like end and the trembling of the ground slowly stopped. The eyes of the unicorn opened themselves in fear. They went up on the two things before her. She saw immediately what the plan was going to be and just gave it up. There was no way she could avoid what would be happening next. Only prepare herself on the pain that she would be receiving.

And there they then went. Each of the columns went in perfect harmony of one another. They bend themselves over the unicorn. Mere seconds later had they all crammed their sharp knife right into her back. The mare thought that she would die from the pain alone. Rarity wanted to scream it out yet wasn't given the opportunity.

The sheer levels of pain couldn't even be spoken about. It felt like the knife that once pierced her back, but then a thousand times worse. And to make the matters even worse, each of the column’s top actually melted in the first millisecond that it had pierced the skin. The hot, liquid mixture coated itself around two vertebrates in her back. Two of them, one half for each column had fused itself right into her body.

Rarity was captured by the power of the gems and hoped that they wouldn't just rip her apart. Her wish was granted to some degree, for only her mind was torn apart and the intense heat that the things produced caused the mare to black out on the spot. Nothing could have prepared her for the pain, nothing could have prepared her for the darkness that followed.

And nothing in the wide, wide world could have ever prepared the unicorn for the reality of those four crystalline columns. Whatever they had done to Rarity, she would only have been able to find out when she would wake up, if she would wake up at all.

Act 2 chapter 10

Hours had gone by since the events had managed to capture Rarity at the highest time of misfortune. Hours had gone by since the fusing of the crystalline columns and her very spine had happened. Hours had gone by and she still hadn't woken up. Though that fact was something that would change itself in the moment of choosing. For above the little town had the weather still been going strong. The pegasi had one little surprise in store for the whole place, a terrible one.

Without a warning was there one massive burst of lightning that traveled out of the skies. It just rushed at an incredible speed towards the land. The place of impact was nowhere else then the square before town hall, which fortunately was already emptied out. It wasn't the flash that scared the ponies though. It was the near deafening and roaring thunder that followed up not even a second later that did the trick.

Ponies all over the town and far outside of it all shocked up and walked to their windows in the hope to catch as much as a glimpse of what was going on. Of course they didn't saw anything, but it did work as a very good wake-up call for anything that was still vastly asleep.

All of the sudden did the eyes of Rarity open themselves up in shock and she began to inspect her surroundings. No scent of smoke, no sign of any fire that had been erupting. From the looks of it was she safe. That was until she looked upon her location and shook her head ever so lightly. Nothing in her being could even as much as understand as of why she happened to be lying on the ground.

“W-What have I done in order to end up, here?” she asked to herself before the terrible pain in her back returned. A pain that was only a small shock, but powerful enough to make her turn her head around. The sights that then fell into her eyes would have been a literal eye-opener for her. For as she looked over on her back, it became quite literally apparent that she wore one of the most beautiful dresses she had ever seen within her entire life.

A dress that was made out of the purest diamond and crystal shards connected –if not tailored– together with a magical connection. It was a true beauty to look at, weren't it for the single fact that she had seen the design somewhere before. Both enjoyment as well as fear suddenly filled up the unicorn. There was no more recollection of how she had gotten the dress and just where she had seen the picture of it before.

The wildest of thoughts suddenly raced through her mind. Though only a deep gulp showed any of her worry on the outside. Her face became static, almost as if she had seen a ghost and she eyed even whiter than it normally was. Something was terribly wrong and she knew it. Rarity just couldn't yet pinpoint it.

Though she did still lay down on the ground and couldn't move her body one bit. The weight of the dress was something that came literally crashing into her being. She felt just how the shards pressed themselves up against her coat. Another gulp was being released by her mouth. The head turned itself back for a better inspection.

Her face looked deadly pale before she tried to hoist herself even upwards from the floor. Though the strength wasn't there in her own hooves. Instead she needed help from something, or anything to do just such a simple task. It seemed impossible for her for certain but that was the situation as it was.

In the silence of the moment did the horn charge itself. The unicorn tried to speak a levitation spell upon herself. A spell that failed actually the second that it was fired. The eyes closed themselves again as she gave up on the matter. She needed to regain her strength through another manner in order to figure out just what had happened to her.

Though the answer was perhaps a lot closer than originally thought it was going to be.

For all of the sudden did the weight of the dress decrease itself. A heavy clunk could be heard upon the ground. As if something in the shape of a crystalline giant’s leg had stomped itself into the ground. The mare could have been called a liar if she had said that it didn't make her curious one bit. Though to make the matter even more interesting, there was a second one that did just the same.

It was impossible for the mare to keep her eyes shut any longer. A thing that was actually amplified by the fact that the front of her body actually rose itself upwards. Yet the most interesting fact had to have been as if she tried to control her own legs. Or better said, a new set of legs.

Once more did the terror fill up the unicorn as she had not a clue of what was going on yet doubted to whether or not she had to open her eyes. Yet in order to confront the situation as it was, the mare had to open her eyes and see the horror for herself. That was a fact that even she knew deep down to the core of her being.

So with a deep sigh that was being exhaled, all four of her legs had set themselves firmly back upon the ground. There was only one thing that she had to be doing. One thing that terrified her.

---

The eyes got opened widely and they stared right at them. Each of the eyes got the near perfect view. The saw something that not even Rarity could have come up, even if she wanted For in the carpet of her living room stood the crystal column with a change to it. The very end had formed itself as a three jointed talon that was taking up most of her weight and pressed it down unto the floor.

Though the surprises didn't end there. When she followed the direction the thing went into, it ended up right in her back. The eyes of the mare went wide when she realized that not one, not two, but four of those things sprouted out of her body as if they were nothing.

“No, this can’t be, this can’t be true. A, a minute ago there was this wonderful dress!” Rarity exclaimed. She began to tremble upon her legs once more. Though when her body shook, there was another fact that she then realized. There was one of the crystalline arms that was staring to the back of her head. Except where it was thought to have felt unnatural, it felt like she was in control of the things. They weren't anything that the arcane arts themselves commanded.

Instead they were commanded by the brain and will of the unicorn herself. All four of the claws made their way towards the face of Rarity. The mare had one great and deep look at each of them. The fear was still readable from deep within her eyes as she knew she had broken her word to Twilight.

But not only that, she had also realized just what the spell did in its fullest. Those four crystalline arms that she had gained, were the dress she wore a minute ago. All of the sudden did everything began to make sense. That sudden realization scared the living daylight out of her. She took a couple of steps back before her will bend each of the arms straight into the ground.

A deep and loud scream of utter agony and emotional troubles filled the living room of the boutique, while the thunder continued to roar like a hungry beast.

Act 2 chapter 11

“No, no, no, no!” exclaimed Rarity in utter denial of the situation. Nothing in her entire being could have ever even for a second believed, that what was on her back, was the actual reality of the world. There had to be a different explanation for the fact. The crystalline arms morphed back into the dress. They weren't needed anymore and that was what scared the mare for the most part.

They were weapons of mass destruction, yet hidden in something so elegant and innocent. It terrified Rarity even more that she began to walk laps around her living room. Thoughts poured into her mind much like the rain to the ground. Every hit felt like that of a massive sledgehammer that hit against her skull as the next idea was even more absurd than the previous.

It was madness itself in which she had dropped herself. Rarity wasn't happy about the fact at all. A deep growl left through her throat while she tried to keep up with a logical explanation for the events. But who was she actually kidding about the whole of the thing? There was no escape of the truth, there was nothing that she could be doing to ease her fate up anymore.

“That spell, created you four,” mumbled Rarity before she looked out of the window. Even among the darkness of the night did the skies still lit up like the sun was shining. The flashes of lightning were so powerful and so energetic that it didn't matter whether it was night or not. A deep huff then left from the mare as she spoke her final words on the matter. “Like the monster of doctor Frankenstein, awoken by lightning,” she commented on the matter.

Rarity shook her head a couple of times in order to hopefully get everything back in her mind while she knew there was only one option left to do. Of course she could have looked through the book in the hope to find a reversing spell, but reversing spells in general were already difficult to come by. And if they were there, Twilight would have said that they were there so if Rarity would accidentally cast one, the effects could be reversed. Right? …Right?

The ivory unicorn shook her head again. She took even as much as glance over to the book and knew that there was only one way in which she could be solving the mess she had gotten herself in. She hated to break it to the other unicorn, but her help was required perhaps more than ever in the moment.

For Rarity it felt like it was a life or death situation. Perhaps that was even the case. Who wasn't to say that the crystal fusing that had caused the arm to connect to her spinal column, wouldn't expand further and thus create a literal crystal pony? It was a thought that seemed to have been going a bit far-fetched though. Yet she already looked like a villain straight out of a Mare-Do-Well comic. It scared her more than anything and the seconds were ticking away for her wellbeing.

The unicorn rushed over to the fireplace and the horn charged itself up to send the message. Her only hope was that her friend would have been able to reach her in time before anything and everything would have been too late.

---

In the meantime was Twilight still working on the re-shelving of her study room. All of the books were in the need of a new home. All while she also read through a couple of them. It was interesting to say the least, that a mare like herself was still working deep in the night in order to get everything right. Perhaps it was just a little habit of hers that she wanted to have it right before going to bed.

Perhaps she was just an oddball in the room and preferred to have kept it that way. Nopony could tell for certain and it didn't matter one bit to the unicorn. As long as her study got cleaned up, she was happy. So books by the dozen were carefully set into the right places before the next batch was stored someplace else.

It had been going like that for almost the moment she had taken her attention away from the spell that was practiced before. Everything needed to be tip top and in a library, that was something easier said than done. Though eventually the mare had done it. Everything was stored nicely and sorted either by series, alphabet or author.

A deep but content sounding sigh was released through the mouth of the mare. Then her lips curled themselves up into a smile. She had done it and Twilight couldn't be more proud upon herself.

In order to celebrate the event finally being done, she wanted to make a cup of hot chocolate and then go straight to bed. Though the events would have taken quite the bit of a different turn because of the fact that the fires in her fireplace were burning. Those fires hadn't burned in ages and Twilight knew immediately that something was wrong. Yet what the situation happened to be, was something not even she could tell.

The mare rushed herself over to the fireplace and ignited her own horn in order to catch anything that might have been calling out for her. The face of Rarity slowly emerged into the fires and she began to ramble something truly inaudible due to the haste. If there was something to slow it down, Twilight would have done that. But there wasn't such a feature in the communications manner they spoke.

“Help me Twilight, you are my only hope now,” were the last words to have been spoken by the mouth of the unicorn. Then the face disappeared again. Of course did the mulberry mare knew straight away just what had happened. She could only hope that it wasn't true. But that was just kidding herself. She knew more than well that it happened to be: the spell was being cast by Rarity.

“You foolish idiot of a mare. You had even given me your word and now you do this to me,” muttered Twilight just before she hoisted herself in her raincoat. The mare left the library for what it was. Her bed had to wait, there were more urgent matters that needed to be done. Matters that involved one of her best of friends.

---

Not even the quarter of an hour later were both of the unicorns standing in the boutique’s living room. Twilight was the one who darted around the crystal dress. Thoughtful moans and groans did leave her mouth. She tried her best to identify the features it carried. Though whatever she did, it remained empty within her mind. “This is indeed the dress from the picture yes, but what is the thing that has scared you the most? I mean, it is just a dress,” said Twilight to the other mare.

Not even she could believe that the dress, especially one crafted like that, could have ever held the power to become a weapon of some sort. Could it have been that she had just read the sign differently? The chance seemed that way.

“No Twilight, this dress is not what it is seems. It is as you said, a disguise for something. Take, take a step back please.” Rarity looked into the eyes of her friend with a dead serious look. Twilight had no other choice than to obey the words without a second thought on her mind and Rarity almost stomped each of her hooves firmly against the ground.

Curiosity had already taken over Twilight. She stroked her chin a bit and awaited the events to come. Anything could have been revealed to her.

Slowly but surely did the dress start to move bits around. Then it just tore itself to pieces. All of the shards formed the crystalline arms in a matter of seconds. The sheer amount of violence that went in the process was something that even shocked the mulberry mare herself.

Moments later stood Twilight eye to eye with them. The four arms that were connected to Rarity’s back. Two of them remained below her body while their claws almost constantly opened and closed themselves. The other two only held their claws open and remained always above the head of the mare. Twilight was simply fascinated by them and the lack of sleep caused her to not think all that straight anymore.

She wanted to inspect them, dissect them and find out just what they actually were. Even if it meant that she had to harm Rarity in the process. “Well, what can you make of these?” the ivory coated mare then asked with the fear audible in her tone.

Twilight responded in the only way she knew. Her horn calmly charged itself up to cast a spell of some sort. “If I only knew, Rarity, if I only knew,” she answered.

Act 3 chapter 1

The glance in the eyes of Twilight had slowly turned itself from friendly and helpful, into something that was perhaps better left unspoken. Not even Rarity managed to noticed the little fact. Her eyes also continuously looked over her crystalline limbs. Out of everything that could have happened during that very storm, it was just the thing like that which would do the trick.

The scene was a bit of an ironic thing though. The thunders outside still rumbled and the rain continued to fall down. Almost as if a mad scientist was looking at the latest creation that had been made by it. That was the very look Twilight had gotten straight into her eyes. She wanted to know how it all worked. How was Rarity able to even manage such a feat of magical powers?

Nopony in the land would have been able to command four extra arms without actual help. While it was true that limbs sometimes were amputated with crystalline ones and thanks to a magical circuit acted just like the real thing. It was a science that really had developed itself in the past decade as the practical uses became more interesting for pretty much everypony.

Yet it was Rarity who had managed to gain entire new limbs. “Simply fascinating,” said Twilight. After that, there was a massive grin that went across her cheeks. The mad look within her eyes then got noticed by the other unicorn as the eyes finally looked deep into one another. “I don’t know what else to say, outside of the fact that I want to study them both deeply and thoroughly.”

Those very words caused a chunk to get stuck in the throat of Rarity. One of her most trusted friends and Ponyville’s greatest mind was really proposing such a horrid thing to her? The ivory mare knew just well enough how some of the experiments of Twilight went and they weren't pleasant to say the least.

A big deal of fear grew within Rarity’s very heart. Which caused the arms to snap their claws before they were punched into the ground. “W-Where was that good for?” questioned Twilight before she blinked. She was removed from her dreams and thoughts. The reality of the situation kicked back in and suddenly she realized that those things meant business, dangerous business.

While the other mare continued to look over the arms with the greatest of interest, Rarity just wanted to get rid of them by any means necessary. “I gave you my word, Twilight, and I broke it. Look where it brought me to. Is there anything you can do, to get rid of these things?” she asked in a saddened tone. One of the arm came back up and slid itself before Rarity’s eyes.

It was perhaps the question on which Twilight had hoped for so long. Finally there was a legitimate manner in which she could be conducting her own experiment on the unicorn. Everything slowly fell right into its place for the mare. There were still bridges to be conquered, but one at a time was doable.

Twilight could be found watching over the rear two arms of the mare. Both of her ears twitched from the question. Her head gently rose itself up along the arm as the mad look in her eyes turned even madder. The grin only became wider as the horn was already slowly charging itself up. “Oh Rarity, I have found perhaps the best of plan just for you. It requires time, yes. But I do dare to say that when brought to sleep, you won’t be noticing that much of it, do you?”

Sudden and ominous thoughts surged through the mind of Rarity when she heard the rather sinister sounding tone of her friend. It was a tone she was everything but used from the other mare and gulped calmly before her body turned itself around. All four of the arms reassumed their more peaceful position as they looked one another deep in the eyes.

Denying the facts was not an option, having them constantly in the crystal dress disguise was something that could be done. Though that solution would only have bought her a bit of time instead of what she really required. Rarity knew that the things went straight in her back and that removing them wouldn't have been that easy as first thought.

Though she wanted to keep living her life in a rather normal manner. She didn't wanted to think about the practical applications of the arms in her field of work. She wanted to remain the true and natural beautiful unicorn that she once was. If it meant she had to suffer, there was only one way she could react to the words. “Do it, Twilight. Do it before these very things become nothing else but my downfall,” was all that she had to say about it.

And to those words could Twilight only smirk even deeper. The horn charged itself up fully. “Oh Rarity, I shall give you the best treatment that there is for them.” Everything did fell nicely together for the other unicorn as she had the anomaly of life right where she wanted to have her.

In a flash of light had it happened. Under the rumbles of the thunder they disappeared from the boutique as a whole. Twilight had teleported herself and Rarity to someplace else where in Ponyville. A place which Rarity would never actually see as she was both subdued and knocked out by a secondary charge from the mulberry mare’s horn.

---

Hours had already gone by as Twilight released a deep groan of the greatest annoyance. She thought that the job would have gone easy and smooth, but who was she kidding with that? It was a straight up nightmare to get her job done. Twilight took a couple of steps backwards in order to watch over the construction that she had made.

Each of the crystalline arms was suspended right in the air by a levitational field. Rarity herself laid on an operating table with her belly down. The set up was ingenious, that much had to be given to Twilight. Although the successes that she wanted to book didn't really happen to be that. The mare gave a deep shake with her head before the sweat was removed from her forehead. Out of everything she could have discovered already, there was nothing. Almost nothing, actually.

“So what do I know about those things now, hm?” she muttered to herself. The mare walked back up to her subdued friend and looked at the attachment points of each of the arms. The unicorn once again saw how they entered Rarity’s back. It seemed almost as if they always had belonged there for some reason. No blood, no massive scars, no open wounds even.

“Only the highest degrees of temperature are able to be such a thing. Though that means they never cut themselves through the skin, they burned their way through.” It was perhaps the biggest shame that she never had taken the book with her and that decision regretted the mare deeply.

Twilight gently shook her head before she moved her eyes up to one of the arms. She watched how the magical sparks traveled through the very center of the thing. It was how they were powered for sure, it worked just like any other augmented crystalline limb. Yet the fact that these were everything but natural limbs was still baffling her.

Amazement and excitement both rushed through the unicorn. She wanted to figure more out about them. She wanted to know so much more about them and perhaps wouldn't stop before everything was solved. No matter that costs it would carry with it. Everything pays its due to the devil in the end, though sometimes it is taken with interest.

Act 3 chapter 2

Twilight slowly but surely managed to lose the very track on the time. She had been thinking on and on about Rarity’s condition. She had been working so hard that she had completely forgotten just at what time the next shot of magic needed to be given to keep the mare knocked out. That happened to have been the greatest of problems for the mare.

“So they are actually fused straight into her back, now that’s going to make quite the bit of complications,” she mumbled to herself after having used her magic as some sort of x-ray. The two vertebrae on which the crystal had tangled themselves became clearly visible to Twilight. At that point could she could only imagine the physical stress.

“But that means, they are tapped right into her nerve center!” the mare then exclaimed. In an instant did she wrote it down in her notebook and gulped deep. Twilight had expected anything and perhaps almost everything to happen. But the one thing she didn't expect, was the fact she had just uncovered. Everything she had thought about suddenly laid in nothing but shambles. Her four hooves brought her back to the single chair.

Her body dropped itself almost abruptly into it before she rapidly shook her head from side to side. She just couldn't believe the facts as they were presented to her. No tome in the entire arsenal that she knew was powerful enough to actually cause such a thing to happen. Nothing that she knew was even capable of doing something like that.

It was then that it hit her. Almost as if it came straight out of the blue, it managed to hit her right in the head. Her hoof was slapped upon the forehead before a yelp of pain and a groan of annoyance left her. Suddenly began everything to make sense. “It’s how they used to build things in the ancient days!” she spoke up to herself.

It seemed to have been rather absurd that such things were used for construction, but their purpose really was that. “They just aren't supposed to be spoken on unicorns, that’s the whole trouble with it.” Then Twilight recalled the image of the pony that wore the dress in the spellbook. That one little detail that was so easily missed, became the biggest suspect.

The image was recalled with almost every bit of power that Twilight had in her mind before it drove back before her eyes. That one little image she had warned Rarity about dazed back before her eyes. And those same eyes looked for the one thing that would have made the biggest difference. The image was blurry for certain, but the detail she was looking for was there. Or perhaps better said, wasn't there.

“It’s never supposed to be cast upon a unicorn! Only earth ponies used to walk around with those things. How else could they have created such amazing architectural features in the ancient times?” It all made sense all of the sudden. The book itself was a book of smiting with gems and seemed to have come from the ancient times.

“How couldn't I have seen this any sooner?!” yelled Twilight to herself as she stood back up from her chair. “But every spell, must have a counter spell of some sort, right?” It was a wishful idea for certain, weren't it for the fact that a lot was left unknown about magic from the ancient times. It was a field of expertise few knew about and Twilight didn't happen to be the one for it. The challenge she thought would have been easy, suddenly got a lot harder. Not to mention the fact that it also became a lot more dangerous.

Twilight’s attention was then focused upon one of the lower claws. Her horn calmly charged itself up once more. The magical aura gently coated the pieces of the claw itself before peeling them back to see just how they worked. A small arcane shield appeared underneath the hooves of Twilight. It brought her up to the height she had to be. She wanted to conduct an experiment.

Her eyes looked at each and every single shard of crystal near the end. Everything was in the perfect harmony with one another. At least from the looks of it. No space was wasted. With every bend, they just shrunk or expanded to some degree. The sheer flexibility of the things was something never to have been expected from a material like crystal or diamond.

Sadly that also meant the little fact that they were just about the hardest material that could be found in Equestria. Cutting through it with a saw certainly wouldn't have helped nor would lasers have done the job.

Removing the arms was something that proved to become the biggest difficulty for Twilight. Something she perhaps never would have been able to do on her own, or with the help of someone. A deep sigh went through her mouth. The eyes continued to focus upon the claw instead of anything else. Despite the horror, it had still sparked the interest of the mare.

They were just a beauty to look at in her eyes. Twilight could see just how powerful the things actually were. The sheer amount of physical force behind them and the ability to actually get a hold on something was amazing.

---

There just happened to have been one little problem for the mulberry mare. The ever so little fact that Rarity herself had come out from her sleep. She still laid still on the table and not a motion was made within her body or the arms. But the thing that did start to go and ramble on, was her mind. All of the thoughts of the things that Twilight could have done to her rushed themselves through the narrowed channels.

Fear struck in her heart once again. The horrors became a little bit too realistic for her liking. Something about the facts as they were, didn't seem to add up in her mind. Of course it were just anomalies caused by something else in her mind. Though that little fact never seemed to have been able to stop her. A frightful unicorn could make odd jumps.

Which was especially true for Rarity herself. With the feelings coming back to her body, including the arms, she felt the magic of Twilight tucking itself against one of them. Highly annoying as it was, it was also frightful. The sheer danger of one of the claws actually snapping would have felt to her as breaking a hoof.

Painful to say the least. That was something she wanted to prevent at all cost. And no matter the cost itself. Slowly but surely had one of the arms managed to undo itself from the levitational field it was place in and silently moved its way towards the back of Twilight’s head.

The other unicorn was still working eagerly on the other arm’s claw. She didn't notice that threat that was coming her way. It was only when her eyes focused themselves upon an odd reflection in the diamonds and crystals themselves that her eyes suddenly went wide.

“Oh no,” she managed to speak up before time slowed itself down to a crawl. Seconds became like minutes while a beating heart could easily be heard in her mind.

Act 3 chapter 3

When the realization came to Twilight that she was about to be attacked by one of the crystalline arms, there were only split seconds that would dictate her actions. The arm itself rushed itself forward like a spear and the claw remained closed. With her heartbeats audible and beating in a slow manner, the unicorn had allowed the shield below her to fade away.

What happened next was the fact that she fell to the floor. The arm rushed itself over the other, missing its originally designated mark. The only problem of the actions happened to be the fact that not only did the shield disappear but also the arcane fields on the other arms.

With three thuds did the things fell down to the floor as well. Twilight knew she was in big trouble. Yet the body of Rarity didn't seem to be moving whatsoever which meant she still wasn't fully back. “Talking to her isn't going to work,” the mare muttered to herself. It was then that she took a couple of steps back. It was surprisingly easy for her to crawl back on her hooves after the drop. Yet she kept a keen eye on each of the arms for good reason.

Her horn was still fully charged and ready to fire when needed, if needed. Though once she managed to hit the wall with her bum, there was the realization came in. The room could perhaps be a bit too small for an all-out fight to be held within. Not that she wanted to have a fight to begin with, though that was the thing it looked to have become. There wasn't much else that she could be doing other than to place herself in a protective shield and hope for the best.

It was a coward's retreat for certain yet it was the only option that she had in the moment. She didn't wanted to hurt a dear friend of hers despite the madness still flowing through her. Nor did she wanted to end up dead for a cause she had little to nothing with. So when the shield was placed around her, the eerie waiting game began.

---

Seconds seemed to have been minutes as nothing happened. None of the arms moved nor did Rarity seem to have awoken further. Perhaps it was just an anomaly in the spell that would have almost cost Twilight her life. The chance was unlikely, but she had thrown that word out a long time ago. Everything made sense for a reason to her, no matter how small it would have been.

Yet eventually and perhaps even finally did the four arms came back to life. The four of them punched their claws straight into the ground at first. Then the gems all shifted up again in order to rise up. The sight that was presented to Twilight was the fact that the four arms were looking straight at her with a glare of nothing else but death itself. Somehow those very things could even emote or express emotions.

“I-Impossible,” stuttered Twilight before she shook her head. It wasn't possible for those things, right? It just couldn't have been possible in her eyes. Nothing seemed to have been making much sense out of it and she was almost about to be giving up. Weren't it for the fact that one of the things suddenly rushed itself over to the shield and punched it.

Of course it got deflected off of it right away. But it didn't stop another from doing the same. And in the matter of seconds were all four of the things hammering upon the shield. A shield that lost its intensity with every hit that was being made. They were originally used for construction perhaps, but they also proved to have been excellent weapons of destruction. It scared the mare to death for certain. Twilight didn’t wanted to admit it, but her friend had turned into a monster of some sort.

Her eyes went all over the place as the cracks appeared within her shield. The time to repair it just wasn't there because of the rate on which the arm hit it. There was only one option that was left for the mare to do and it happened to be one that she rather didn't take.

---

In the meantime and in the mind of Rarity, every last fiber of her brain was filled with anger towards the other mare. She wanted to take down the other mare by any means necessary, just to prove her point. Though that happened to be the battle inside of her mind, which happened to be the point she was trying to prove? Which battle did she really needed to fight?

While it was indeed more than true that Rarity was a world first gem-huntress who always stood firm on the ground, that was on matters that she knew more than well. The whole events as they were packing out before her closed eyes was something she had zero experience with. And zero experience was the thing that always put her straight into doubt. She could be standing as solid as a mountain while also be as desperate as water running for a place to join its kin. It was a complex mare that she happened to be. A thing that didn't always play out right in her favor.

Both being able to become rock solid and jelly was one of her unique points in personality for certain. But it also the biggest curse there was. And Twilight found herself right in the matter where Rarity knew nothing about. Which resulted in her lashing out not because she knew it. But because of the fact of what she thought was best for her.

The arms had managed to shatter the shield of Twilight. The mare looked in horror and the arms declared it was open season. Each of them lashed out towards the mare in order to either harm her or actually end her life. There wasn't much that the mulberry unicorn could be doing outside of the fact of launching a couple dozen blasts from her horn while she galloped through her lab.

Leaving the place was not an option. That would have meant that Rarity needed to be left alone. That was a thing she never, ever would have done. Even if it meant that her own life was taken right at risk, it was a lot better than the imaginable alternatives that could happen.

“Come and get me, I say!” yelled Twilight after she had fired yet another blast towards the arms. Three of them rushed towards her. Yet the mare avoided them by giving some surprising acrobatic tricks. Twilight would have jumped from one arm to the other, before landing on the third and then made her way to the ground. The only problem was that there were three arms instead of the usual four.

In the moment that she placed her hooves back on the floor, the fourth arm did came rushing forward and managed to get a hold on Twilight. The unicorn gasped in surprise. She tried to undo herself from the claw that was coiled around her leg. Though the thing never let go. It instead caused her to stumble or trip over it.

What happened next was unavoidable in any case. The mulberry mare fell straight towards a sink that stood in the little lab. She bashed her head against it with a loud thud. Her entire body went numb as it fell to the ground with another thud. The wound upon her forehead was located just below her horn. It slowly began to bleed as the arms retracted themselves.

There she laid, lifeless and motionless. Twilight Sparkle seemed to have come to her end. Not by fighting some monster or defending the land she loved. Instead she seemed to be killed by a friend who she loved perhaps more than she should have.

Act 3 chapter 4

It was the sound of the thud against the ground that knocked the ivory coated mare straight back into the world. The eyes opened themselves wide and the expression that was to be found within them was frightened. She was utterly and terribly frightened of the events as they had gone down. She didn't knew what had happened, but it couldn't have been anything good.

Her crystalline limbs made the return back to her where they almost calmly hovered right in front of her face. The sapphire blue eyes of the mare looked at them as if she had seen a ghost. They were still there. Of course they were still there. She had chased Twilight in order to not have them cut off in the first place. It was difficult for the mare to actually understand just what was going on.

One part of her mind wanted them gone, while another wanted to have them stay. Though the most eerie of things had to be the fact that the second thought wasn't her own. It was a thought that raced through her mind, but she wasn't the original thinker of it. Could it be that these, have their own intelligence? she questioned herself. Then there was a deep shake given with the head. There was a time and place to think about such things.

Yet where she happened to be, was neither of them. The mare had to look around and see what happened to everything with her own eyes. She knew that it was going to be a sight she rather didn't see but just felt like her eyes needed to have at least glanced over it once.

It was the deeper inner struggle that caused the unicorn to sigh deeply. Her eyes lowered themselves back to the table on which she laid. She wanted to glance so much, but somehow all of her muscles just went straight into lock whenever she tried to turn her head. Almost as if she was too afraid to see what laid there. Which she in fact, actually was.

Rarity was terrified to witness the crimes she had commenced against Twilight, let alone what her arms had physically done to her. It was difficult for the mare to even begin to understand just how much the struggle would consume her. A struggle that could have driven her to madness.

---

Eventually and after literally minutes were the arms crammed back into the ground. With force had they hoisted Rarity up from the table. If her own body denied her the fact of looking, perhaps her new limbs would be giving her the option. Slowly but surely did she rose and turned herself towards the scene of the crime. Her sapphire blue rims were revealed to the world once again as they slowly opened. She awaited anything and everything to fall within her eyes, no matter how horrible.

When her sight fell upon the horrible scene, tears almost immediately sprung into her eyes. Rarity just couldn't believe that what she had done to Twilight. There were only a few set of words that could be spoken by her in that moment. “I, I killed her. I k-killed her,” she whispered to herself in sadness. Her eyes remained stationary upon the lifeless body. The arms lowered the body of the unicorn to the ground. But she just wasn't able to stand on the ground herself.

She was shaking like a filly who had a nightmare, except that her nightmare was the cold reality. A hoof was brought over to her mouth in order to cover it as the tears gently began to roll off of her cheeks. Rarity just couldn’t believe it that she had killed one of her most dearest friends in the entire world. It was just a concept she couldn’t wrap her head around whatsoever.

“Murderer…” whispered Rarity all of the sudden. The words came just after the hoof was placed back on the ground. Her crystalline limbs didn't even move one bit as the sheer cruelty within the tone would silence anything. “I, I need, I need to get out of here, and fast.”

Her eyes glanced for one last time over the bleeding body of Twilight. She was nothing more than a body that laid lifeless on the floor. No respiration, no heartbeat, not even the tiniest sparks of magic could be seen coming from her. If Rarity only had known that Twilight was just knocked out, instead of dead. The ivory unicorn turned herself quickly around and began to look for a way out.

There was desperation that struck her before she opened the door of the lab by almost breaking it in half. She needed to get out of the place and with luck the library was still abandoned. The arms turned themselves back into the dress as the mare reached the living quarters and looked for the entrance. “I’m sorry Twilight, I’m so, so sorry,” she spoke to herself. Her eyes looked one last time towards the laboratory.

Only then she just disappeared straight into the night and wanted to go no place else but her home to think about her future. Certain things just couldn't be done anymore and that very thought scared the living daylight out of her. In the dead of night she walked over the stone cold ground of Ponyville while her legs were still shaking. Her life as she knew it, had completely changed.

---

Though the closer she came to her home, the more the realization of the situation managed to kick in. If she would have gone home, that would have been the first place that the guards would be looking for her. She would only be having herself cornered in such a situation and therefore perhaps needing to live her time in jail.

If there was one thing that Rarity would have refused to be doing, it was going to live her life in jail. “No, I need to get out of here as soon as possible,” said Rarity to herself. Then her eyes turned over and into another street. A street that was so perfectly straight and long that it looked straight into outskirts and even to the forest that everypony feared.

“The Everfree Forest,” she mumbled before her dress merged back into her arms. “There where the monsters roam free.” All four of them placed their claws upon the ground and hoisted the mare up in the air as the look of dedication grew within her eyes. “There, where the queen of tyranny, is nature itself. There, where I shall make my new home.”

It was a bold and idiotic plan for certain. Though Rarity couldn't think straight anymore. In the time that she had gotten her crystalline arms and left the Golden Oak library, her mind had been descending down the path of madness more than ever before. She wasn't used to such levels of insanity. Those very same levels managed to take over her body faster than anything.

With the arms doing the walking for her, Rarity kept her eyes straight and firm upon the woods which she would be making her new home. There wouldn't have been any goodbye’s, just her straight up disappearance. Of course did she thought about her family and remaining friends but the story of Twilight experimenting on her and actually vaporizing her before the spell killed herself would have been a lot more believable story.

Even though it sounded like madness itself already. Rarity’s mind had come dangerously low and she almost didn't feel any more mercy for the death of Twilight. It would have sounded odd and definitely crazy, yet it was the truth. Something deep inside of her mind had snapped completely and messed up with her morals, beliefs and behavior. Gone was the lady of grace, she was replaced with something terrifying and dangerous, as well as unexpected.

Act 3 chapter 6

Every night must eventually come to a closure and even that night wasn't an exception for Rarity. Even though she wanted to have it that way perhaps a little bit more than usual. She didn't wanted to continue to travel forwards in time. Instead she wanted to redo the events that had led up to the mess she had managed to get herself in. She wanted to redo everything and so perhaps keep her beloved friend actually alive. Of course it was only wishful thinking, but it was all that she had.

It was everything that she had within her body and mind, that reminded her of the mare she was before the whole events crushed her down. It may have seemed like a lot of self-pity and many would have agreed upon the fact. Though few ponies in the land had actually taken the life of something, especially something that they loved. It was that little fact that actually separated her from perhaps the rest of the world whether she even liked it or not.

When the morning sun gently shone its light upon the face of Rarity, her eyes opened up for the first time since she had closed them. The eyes looked straight into the weak rays and every single fact seemed to actually have been rushing over towards her. Every last single fact just came back like that and knocked her straight upon the head. There was no more lady to be found within herself. There was only one thing that could be found within her. The thing she had changed in during the night and the thing which she always would have been from that day onward.

“I’m nothing anymore, nothing but a diamond limbed monster!” she growled to herself. Then her eyes glanced straight into the pond. The arms had uncurled themselves and even they gazed with her down into those waters. The anger suddenly almost came dripping off of her face as a low toned growl left her throat. She wasn't just angry, but she was enraged.

All the wires inside of her head stood at the point of snapping as time went on. She had become nothing more but a massive, ticking time bomb that was just waiting to go off. Nopony knew when it would happen, it was just certain that it would happen. There was nothing in the world that could change that. And eventually, after a mere minute of looking at her even image in the waters that everything snapped. Every last wire inside of her head caused a bit of a shock.

A shock which in and of itself caused the mare to black out. Her body felt numb at the shore of the pond as the eyes were fallen shut again. Her mind was destroyed and needed to be rebuild, in the way nature saw fit for that. Her appearance had changed forever, but slowly would her entire psyche change as well. Gone would have been the Rarity everypony knew her as. And in would have come the crazed personality she carried with her through the ages.

---

Though all the way back in Ponyville had a much more matured Spike returned to the library. He looked a bit surprised to the fact that the door was standing open. “What in..?” he questioned before he entered the place. Where he had expected to encounter perhaps some burglars or stolen goods, he got a surprise he never dared to think about. Everything still stood in the manner that he knew it was left in. “Nothing taken, nothing brought in, then why?” he spoke up in a much lower tone before his eyes made a round through the room.

Yet then he seemed to be noticing it. That one little detail that Rarity didn't cover up so nicely when she was making her escape. That busted door that would lead to the laboratory. The eyes of Spike went wide. He gasped a bit for air in fear. This wings almost spread themselves before he rushed down to the place and wanted to see. To see for himself just what troubles were to be found.

He ran down the stairs to the basement and stopped in the door opening. Her green eyes looked all over the place before they finally found the mare lying on the ground. “No, no, no, no, Twilight, what have you done?!” he exclaimed to her. Then he made his way over to her and picked her up in his hands. Calmly he began to listen for any sign that could have meant that she was alive.

Faintly he could hear her heart beating at a slow rate, she was still alive. Though the question was for how long. There wasn't any time to think about what could have happened, she needed medical attention and she needed it right there and then. So Spike did perhaps the only thing that he was actually able to do. And that was to rush her straight to the nearest hospital in town. It was literally his only shot if he ever wanted to see Twilight back on her hooves again.

---

The day had gone by slow as the clock tower hit two in the afternoon. Spike the dragon had been pacing up and down the room of operations. Behind it were the doctors working on Twilight since the moment that she was brought in. Growls of annoyance were released through his mouth which usually followed up by little flames.

Many ponies actually gulped at the sight of him and tried to avoid him just because of that. He could understand why, but just didn't care in the moment to explain. All that he cared for was for Twilight to become better again. Whatever they were doing back there, it better would have been good. Even though violent thoughts raced through his mind for what he could do when they failed, he also knew they would have done their best.

It was just a massively difficult situation in which the dragon had gotten himself. Eventually he just gave up on everything and took place in a chair before simply starting to wait again. He wanted, if not needed, to know the results so badly. He wanted to know whether or not Twilight would actually survive the ordeal she had thrown herself into.

In the end did the doctor finally came out the door and walked over to the near dozed away dragon. “Master Spike, I presume?” he spoke to him. The dragon himself released a couple of snorts and yawns before he attention was fully back.

“S-Sorry for that, but yes, that’s me,” replied Spike. Then he prepared himself for the worst possible news that could have been told to him. Every last fiber of his very being had prepared itself for the words that she hadn't made it. Though instead, he received a bit of a different set.

“Miss Sparkle has been treated by our top doctors and she will make it. Everything shall regulate itself again after we are done the operation.” He couldn't even have spoken a single word further as the arms of the dragon were hugging him tightly of utter joy. Those very words were literally the best things he could have ever hoped for.

Though the doctor on the other end, wasn't the biggest fan of hugs. So he teleported himself out of the hold and looked at Spike with a serious look. “There is only, one problem. One of her legs has been crushed by a weight we haven’t any clue of. Therefore we have send her to our top specialists in Canterlot where they would treat her further.”

Those words caused the dragon to raise an eyebrow and almost look actually baffled. What did the unicorn mean by those words? “But you just said that she would make it, w-what’s wrong with her, doc?!” spike then spoke up as he wanted to know the details.

“I’m afraid that, miss Sparkle will have to undergo an amputation of a limb. And the best place to do that is Canterlot itself. If you would hold on tight for a moment.” What happened next was a flash from the horn of the doctor before the entire world in the eyes of Spike seemed to becoming nothing more but dripping water and to be released with black space.

Nothing but the eternal darkness and one tiny little point of light could be seen. A light that was almost calling him to come. Calling him to come and see his beloved mother once more.

Act 3 chapter 7

Slowly but surely did the light return to the eyes of Spike. A deep groan was being released from the soul. He hoisted himself back upon his legs. The teen-aged dragon had not a single clue of whatever could have happened to him, though he did have a little idea or two. The throbbing of his head managed to maintain for a bit longer before he rubbed the spots in the hope to calm it down.

It was something that was a bit more aimed towards of wishful thinking than anything else really. Though he couldn't complain that much about it. His eyes adjusted themselves to the levels of light and when they saw sharp again, he saw an oddly comforting sight for sore eyes. For within his very eyes he saw nopony else but Twilight in a hospital bed. The only catch was that it seemed like she was both vast and deeply asleep. Still, the scene managed to grow a smile upon his face.

It was only then that he also noticed another pony who was standing next to the bed. A mare who was dressed in white with her mane nicely flung backwards and a set of glasses upon her nose. The mare turned her attention calmly towards the dragon before a smile formed itself upon her face as well. “I was already wondering when they would send you,” she spoke to him with a smile.

Those words left Spike a little bit baffled. “You mean, that I have been expected? W-What happened to begin with?” He had not a clue about anything or anyone anymore at the moment. His joy of seeing Twilight safe had actually prevented him from realizing the facts as they had happened. Which in and of itself actually caused the questions to slowly arise.

“You might want to sit down for that, sir. For it happens to be quite the tale that I need to be telling you then.” Spike could only obey the words said to him. He glanced over to room before he dropped within the nearest chair. He would be awaiting the news then. The other mare calmly walked up to him as she thought about how her words could best be spoken. “When miss Sparkle here was teleported over to Canterlot, you soon enough followed as her aid, or close relative should I say. One to keep her comfort in the dire time of need. For, I am not sure if they told you this already, there are some things they couldn't get done in Ponyville.”

The mare removed the glasses from her nose. She looked straight into the eyes of the dragon with a serious glance. It was unbelievable that somepony could even look that sternly into someone else’s eyes. “They, told me something though,” Spike then replied as he tried to recall his mind.

“And that being, if I may ask?” the mare asked with a genuine curiosity.

“Amputation of her leg?”

The mare gave a nod with her head to confirm the thoughts. He was right on the bits. Though the process as it was going to be, still remained unknown to him. That was where she came in. There was a small sigh that was released through her nostrils. Then the truth of the matter was revealed. “Her leg indeed needs to be amputated yes, and she shall receive a prosthetic. But since this is the princess’ personal protégé we are talking about, just a stick or another leg won’t do it for her.”

That was the moment where Spike had to interrupt on the matter. He noticed that something was just completely off and even dead right wrong with the procedure as it would have followed. “You are not going to give her a special treatment just because she is in good with the princesses! I won’t allow that,” he growled to her.

“If you just let me speak out here for a moment, there is a reason behind it all.” Spike just released a deep huff in response before allowing the mare to continue. “Thank you. The reason behind it, is because a normal prosthetic doesn't give the freedom of a real leg and a stick well, nothing. I think you’re aware of the pirates of old wearing those. There is something we can do about that, to give her back the entire leg. But it will also be something heavy on your department. Gem prosthetic.”

The heart of the dragon almost came to a standstill when he heard those words. Something inside of him just made his stomach turn and twist into pretty much every single way that was known to ponykind as uncomfortable. He ate gems all day long, devoured them by the dozen. Whatever the doctors had planned for Twilight, he needed to learn to behave himself. “T-Tell me a bit more, before we continue or do anything else.” It was perhaps the best solution he could have come up with in the moment. For his lack of information on the matter, really let him touch in the dark.

The doctor understood the words he spoke. She began to explain just what she meant with her words. Slowly but surely it became clear that they wanted to make a mold of Twilight’s leg in order to replace it with one made out of amethyst and through a set of magical currencies they could make it act like an actual leg. As if the leg itself was never amputated to begin with.

---

“That, that is certainly some heavy stuff indeed, doc,” commented Spike before he wiped the sweat almost from his forehead. Something about the words had of course worried him and that same expression was readable from the mare her face.

“Knowing, and judging your teeth, that you actually eat crystals or gems in general, I think there only rests me one question. Would you be able to contain yourself, for her?”

“I would go through Tartarus for her. If it means that I need to kick off from one gem, then so it be. But, it brings dangers with it, doesn't it?” returned Spike to her.

The doctor couldn't lie, there were indeed dangers linked to the operation that didn't come from the dragon. “There are always dangers I’m afraid. But it is the best for her if she wants to continue doing what she loves to be doing. So, as heavy as it sounds, the decision has fallen upon you. You may decide what will happen to her. How she shall be treated.”

It was as if somepony dropped a massive weight upon his shoulders without a warning. All of the sudden he had the fate of Twilight in his hands. Never in his entire life had he ever come close to holding such power and responsibility. It terrified the dragon actually. The fear that came to his eyes was something that was highly understandable and he couldn't have been able to hack the rope.

The decisions that were asked of him were simply too much. “I, I need parchment and a quill, I need to write to somepony and I need to do it now. She, she can remain like that for a little while, right?”

The doctor nodded to his words once more and a massive sigh was sent through the room by the dragon. Mere minutes later was the message for that one special pony send away within the fires of Spike’s breath and the wait could begin. For there was only one pony in the land allowed to actually make that decision, and it wasn't Spike’s to make. Spike would have been one of the last beings in the land that should have been allowed to give such a responsibility to his adoptive mother.

Act 3 chapter 8

The doctor had left the room and Spike had moved himself out of the chair. He walked towards the bed of Twilight. The dragon never left his guard down near her and calmly stroked over her other forehoof. It may not have seemed like much, but the head of the mare had turned itself into his direction. To him it was a sign that she actually had enough knowledge of the world to know that Spike was close to her. It was something that truly comforted the dragon as he released a smile of joy and never stopped his motions.

Hours he would have sat there while stroking the hoof of Twilight. Just to have her fur going through his talons was a feeling that couldn't be matched by much in the world. His mother laid there, the very mare who had raised and educated him. He was a teen-aged dragon and could be pain in the ass sometimes, but his heart still remained on the right place. As it always had been.

The scene was calm and oddly pleasant for the dragon. He had even moved a chair near the bed to place himself in before slowly losing a grip of the world itself. The dragon himself leaned against his mother’s head and they gently touched one another. Sweet words and memories were whispered in by Spike which sometimes actually caused him to chuckle softly before a shake was given with his head. It were genuine moments of both happiness as well as comfort. It was odd for Spike actually, but he liked it a lot more than he thought he would have.

---

In the meantime and back in Ponyville had Sweetie Belle come back home from school. She dropped her saddlebags in the hallway just like any other day. “Mom, you seen Rarity today?” the young mare asked to her mother. Pearl was busy in the kitchen when she heard the question. It was something that caused her to raise an eyebrow at first. She hadn’t expected the question at all.

Yet then there was a little realization that went through her mind. Everything was dropped or put away for a moment. She then made over to the hallway. The sheer bafflement upon her face was something that Sweetie Belle hadn't seen in a very long time. “Something wrong, mom?” she dared to ask. Somehow the young mare knew that it would be trouble that laid upon the horizon and she could only pray it wasn't her doing. Or perhaps Rarity had gone on yet another trip of hers? She just didn't knew.

“It’s odd, I haven’t seen her either actually. Usually she comes by for whatever reason, but I haven’t seen her,” commented Pearl. Then her eyes assumed a gaze of infinity within them. “Perhaps she had to leave for another trip of hers, you know things are going within the fashion world right?”

Sweetie knew how harsh and late the world of fashion could have been. All thanks to the words her sister spilled upon the matter, but that soon after a trip, she just couldn't believe it. That, or she didn't wanted to believe it. “Don’t mind it too much Sweetie, I’m certain she will be back in a couple of days.” Pearl tried to reassure her youngest daughter the best she could. Then she gave her daughter a small ruffle through the mane and a warm smile.

The young mare giggled softly before she hurried herself up to her room in order to begin upon the assigned homework and close the day off. A thing that many more ponies would be doing. Though perhaps the truth hidden from the family was a lot better than knowing the madness in which their older daughter and sister had fallen into.

Then again, the knife is known to slice on more than just one side.

---

Back in Canterlot had Spike almost fallen asleep next to Twilight when the door finally opened up again. His eyes sprung open and darted all over the place before they finally found the right spot. In the door opening itself stood the figure that would be making the final decision. Nopony else then the mentor of Twilight herself had arrived: princess Celestia herself.

Spike smiled a little bit before he spoke his words in whispers. “I’m glad that you could have come, princess.” The princess herself appeared without any of her royal attire nor was her mane or tail flowing with essence. It was one of those few times in which she just was casual. And casual was just about what was needed in the situation.

The mare closed the door behind her. She walked over to the bed and calmly signaled Spike to stop his stroking. The two of them had words to exchange and they perhaps wouldn't have been the easiest to explain. Spike himself stood up from the chair after having given Twilight a small kiss upon the forehead.

“The call seemed urgent but I also happened to be in a meeting I couldn't get out of, which explains my delay. Spike, could you tell me the exact reason of why you called me here, your note was… poorly written,” said Celestia to him. She pulled a bit of an odd face towards the dragon. Clearly she wasn't used to see him writing that poorly as he did in that letter.

“It’s, it’s easy explained. I had to write it while holding the parchment in my hand,” explained Spike. All of the sudden did of the puzzle pieces fell upon the right places for Celestia. “But, the thing is that, the doctors here want to amputate Twilight’s leg and replace it with a gem prosthetic. You can already see, where the problems arise.”

It was a matter that only deepened the mental strain on the princess her thoughts. But she still had to be completely honest in the matter. “I do see where it is able to lead to I’m afraid. Perhaps it’s something that can be worked around with though. You…”

Before she could speak any further word, Spike interrupted her with a nod. “I can kick myself off of those gems to prevent any harm from happening,” he said. Then they both looked over to the body of the mare. Twilight laid there so peacefully, so unaware of the world itself.

“Do you have any idea as to how this possibly could have ever happened?” Celestia then asked of him. It was the question that needed to be answered at one point in time for certain yet also happened to be the one question in which Spike didn't have any form of answer to.

The dragon hung his head before he gently shook it with closed eyes. “I wish I knew it, princess. But when I found her, there was nothing that I could have done, nor was there anything I saw that could have caused it, outside of a busted door. Maybe she stumbled, but I don’t think that.”

“No, Twilight stumbling down the stairs, I don’t see that happening either, not at this age at least. But I presume you want me to take the final decision on the matter? Whether or not it should be done?” Celestia then spoke to him. Her tone was one filled with sympathy. She knew the massive decision that Spike stood for and she began even to question herself if she could do it in his shoes.

Spike simply gave a nod without a sound before the moral debate opened up within the princess. Silence had taken the both of them over for the time being. They both thought about what was the best thing for Twilight, although they both did knew exactly what the answer would be.

“Spike, would be so kind to inform the doctor’s to prepare an operation room? The procedure shall be done.” It felt like a nail was being struck into the wood of a coffin for the dragon, but if it was the only way, so it had to be done. He left the room for what it was and it gave Celestia the time to do something rather unorthodox. Looking straight into the memories of her protégé. Or at least, that was the thing she actually considered doing.

“Whatever must have happened to you, my sparkling star?” Celestia questioned her student.

Act 3 chapter 9

Celestia took a couple of steps backwards . Then her horn discharged itself and she shook her head a couple of times. Nothing in every single fiber of her body could have ever believed the facts as they were placed within the mind of Twilight. “No, but, but that’s impossible,” the princess whispered to herself. The final sparks of her arcane power faded out of existence. She had done something that nopony needed to knew from her. Something that needed to remain top and top secret.

For the thing that the mare had done, was something that stood right up against the very laws of Equestria. Even as a princess, she wasn't allowed to do it. Though she did it in order to figure out what happened. For the time to wait on Twilight and get to know what happened just wasn't there in her eyes. So the only thing that she could be done was to actually look straight into the memories of the unicorn and pick out the memories one by one.

It was a crime that went against even the most basic principles of privacy itself but there really wasn't any other option. And the fight that she was witnessing was everything she didn't had expected. The alicorn continued to shake her head a couple of times before a deep sigh was left through her nostrils.

“What have those two gotten themselves into now?” she spoke in a strange tone. One that sounded as if both Twilight and Rarity had managed to work themselves into troubles once again. The thoughts continued to linger within the mind of the mare as there was some sort of solution needed in order to resolve the problem.

Of course did Celestia knew exactly what kind of spell had been used, but she also knew that there wasn't any counter for it. Instead she needed to rely on something a bit more basic, a pretty face and a very, very good lie. She would have wanted to take a different route on the facts as they were but the events just didn't allow her.

“So it shall come to be then. That the course of our history changes once more at the eleventh hour. Why can’t things just go normally for once? Just for once?” she said in a questioning tone to herself. Then did the click of the door do its turn within her ear. The alicorn of the sun turned her body around and looked right into the eyes of Spike who gave her a smile.

“They are preparing her room now, shouldn't take too long before she will get the operation. Are we, allowed to watch?” the dragon asked her in a tone that reminded her of a little baby dragon. Even though he had grown up so much, could be just about the biggest douche there was, he still had his heart right where it always belonged. Even if it was on just a couple occasions.

---

Hours came by and went. Spike was pacing up and down the door that was leading to the operation room. He had gotten his answer to the question in quite the harsh manner when the doctors had closed the door right before his nose. Celestia on the other end had taken a seating and was calmly sipping from her cup of tea.

On the outside did the alicorn look calm, like she was peace incarnated actually. But inside of her mind was the war being waged. A war that would continue on the matter of just what she could be possibly doing with both Twilight and Rarity. Thoughts about darker times did surface within her for certain. Those time were long forgotten and best left to be buried. No, she thought that there needed to have been an easier, more peaceful manner to make certain that the two wouldn't cause any more trouble together. The question just remained on the fact of what that happened to be.

Thoughts came and went before she eventually laid it to rest. The time to decide would be coming on another date as the operation was nearly finished. Which was something that actually came to a massive relief for Spike himself. His heart had been beating right in his throat through the entire procedure and only when the nurse told them that Twilight was able to get them for a visit, he released the deepest sigh of relief yet.

“Does he, usually smoke that much?” the nurse asked to the princess. They both looked to the massive amounts of calm, black smoke that left through his nostrils. It was even an amount that had gotten Celestia surprised. Not even the alicorn herself had ever seen such an amount to have come out of him.

“Well, not from what I am used to. But, we are talking about his adoptive mother here so… it might explain a thing left or right,” replied Celestia with a small smile. The nurse gave an understanding nod. Then she led both of the alicorn and the dragon to the recovery room where Twilight had been placed.

There she laid, in the bed with her body raised up a little bit to assume a more sitting position. One of her forelegs still laid still as the other gently stroked it. All three of the beings entered the room calmly and the nurse then left them again. “Hey Twilight, how are you feeling yourself?” asked Spike while the smile only seemed to have become bigger upon his face.

The unicorn herself couldn't believe the facts as they were and she kept on stroking her gem leg. Yet slowly but surely did the head raise itself upwards and looked over to the two of them. “I, feel oddly well. Even though this leg isn't supposed to be there, it feels like it does.” Twilight explained to the both of them.

To which Celestia had actually the near perfect response. “That’s because it is actually part of you. Due to the results of your, incident, they had to amputate your leg. No magic in the land would have been powerful enough to heal it back to its original state. This is what we call a gem prosthetic, it looks like your original leg and even acts the same.”

“That, that is all fine and such princess,” Twilight then continued as she looked over to her mentor, “but who gave the permission to do so? You, Spike?” Suddenly was her attention turned towards the dragon. The one who she had taken under her care since he was nothing else but an egg.

Yet the dragon pointed back over to Celestia and slowly did the puzzle pieces feel upon their rightful places. “Now it starts to make sense. Still, it should take me a few day to learn how to walk with this, right?” added Twilight.

“It’s powered by magic!” Spike then exclaimed. He dropped by Twilight’s side and continued to once again stroke her foreleg. Twilight released a small giggle in response before finally cracking a smile on the matter. Finally did her signature smile stand at her lips again. A relief for everypony.

“They actually are, my young student. Your magic has the ability to power your leg. It functions as the nerves and muscles to move the crystals around. Magic always flows through a unicorn even when the horn isn't charged, meaning that you don’t have to worry about it.”

“So, when can I, or may I, walk again?” Twilight then asked before she wrapped her fur covered foreleg around the shoulders of Spike and pulled him in closer.

It was a difficult question to answer for Celestia as most ponies took a month to learn everything. Yet Twilight had actually managed to amaze her more than once already. “I would dare to say perhaps a week.”

“But how did..?” Spike then spoke up before the gaze of Celestia turned into one of the most sour expressions she had ever given. She knew the truth on the matter and it wasn't one that needed to be shared. Twilight understood it right away while Spike actually felt uncomfortable because of it.

Lies had to be spoken when the one pair of friends, would slowly turn into both bitter and mortal enemies of one another.

Act 3 chapter 10

The days had slowly crawled by in the woods of Everfree. Though Rarity had somehow managed to build herself a rather good and even comfortable looking treehouse. It seemed to have been impossible to do, but combined with her magic, the crystalline arms themselves and her still creative mind had succeeded upon something that was thought impossible.

She did make herself a shelter high up in the treetop. The unicorn could be living her days until the time was there to pass on. Everything that she had left behind, seemed to have left her cold. She didn't care anymore about her little sister, she didn't care anymore about her mother, her father, the rest of her friends even. She didn’t even care about her own body anymore.

The situation had become a lot more terrifying to see as the unicorn of grace sat down on her chair and allowed herself to be coiled up by the arms. She was a prisoner of her own mind without actually knowing it. For the step down to the road of madness itself was usually taken without much knowledge to the person who became it. In their eyes it seemed to have been normal.

The psyche of a pony was something always would fascinate even the most brilliant of scholars as it would always find something. Whether that something would have been either good or bad actually remained to be undiscovered in the moment. But for Rarity it was definite bad. Gone was her lady side and replaced with something else.

The head of the mare rose itself towards the window which actually had the moonlight shining right through it as she suddenly spewed her words in an eerie tone. A tone of actual and utter darkness, but also one without any mercy. “I have ended her life, I’m nothing but a stone cold killer, is that what my destiny always had in store for me? How does that part fit right into your grand scheme of everything, Celestia? Luna?” were the words that she said.

Rarity spoke her words almost as if the princesses themselves were there with her in the room. She knew that they could be hearing her in the middle of the night, she practically gave her location away to the both of them. Yet the question that could remain was the one of why? Why would she doing such a thing in the first place? Did she wanted to be captured and brought down before the throne? Or did she wanted to spill more blood?

Nothing the land of Equestria could have been certain just what motives would be driving Rarity from that day onward. In the end stood the mare up again. She had released a deep sigh through her nostrils. The time to gather her dinner had fallen upon her once more. Living in the woods of Everfree hadn't just her personality, but also her manner of eating.

The arms were gently uncurled before they hoisted the unicorn up and they left the wooden building for what it was. With a determined look in her eyes she walked down the vertical trunk of the tree as a menacing grin slowly grew itself upon her face. A grin that eventually led over to the most wicked laughter that she had ever given.

A sound so uncomfortable and filled with madness that it caused the birds in the nearby trees to spontaneously flee the branches they were on. Birds flew into almost every possible direction before the arms finally placed the mare back upon the ground.

---

All the way in Canterlot was somepony watching over the night as it should have been doing. For nopony else then princess Luna was looking through her telescope after she had seen the flock of birds that left all the sudden. It was really a matter of timing that brought the events together. For she had wanted to return to the throne room earlier yet something in her mind spoke to stay.

The voice of her sister had managed to bury itself inside of Luna’s subconscious and asked her pretty much the impossible. But it paid off in a big way. The birds flying away was something that caused the attention of Luna to be focused upon it.

Through her telescope had she managed to witness the last members of the flock to leave before her horn allowed itself to charge up. “There must be something that managed to scare them off that big,” said Luna to herself. Her powers of the night were something not many would have ever expected as there just wasn't much information about it. Though one of her spells allowed her to zoom in even further with her telescope.

While the other allowed the alicorn of the night to look straight through the trees and watch the signs of any living being around there. And that was exactly the thing she needed to be doing, or perhaps wanted to be doing? Not even Luna could tell anymore what was the will of her sister and her own. The two souls had intertwined with one another so much in just such a short amount of time, it was literally impossible to tell who controlled who. If they were controlled in the first place to begin with.

It was a matter that drove the mare perhaps over to nothing else but just sheer madness. Though there wasn't anything she could do against it. It was the way it was whether it was liked or not. Yet there wasn't much that could have ever prepared the princess of the night for the sights she would be seeing through the thing.

One of the eyes closed itself when the horn was discharged. The other eye gently looked through the glasses and into the far distance. Only to see an event taking place. Or better said: somepony walking through the forest, that she never had expected. The mare immediately took a step or two back before she shook her head a couple of times. “But, but that’s impossible, right?” she questioned herself as the images were recalled in her mind.

What she had seen was nopony else but Rarity who wandered through the woods of Everfree. Yet the thing that she didn't notice were the crystalline arms. For some reason, those didn't give off any heat sources as that was the mode with which Luna was looking. “Lady Rarity within the forest of Everfree? That can’t be possible, right? I mean, what does she have to search there in the first place?” Luna was confused to say the least. It made everything but sense to her mind.

It were questions that were on their rightful place for certain. Though perhaps it was also better that Luna wasn't watching anymore. For the thing that Rarity did next, was something no pony should ever have been a witness of.

---

“Come out, come out, wherever you are, I’m just a little hungry,” said Rarity in a sick tone. Her eyes went from left to right. She had opened the hunt on something, that much was certain. The Everfree was wild, untamed and never had much help from the ponies so regular food was perhaps a bit difficult to find. Though the one thing of which the forest had plenty of, happened to be the one thing ponies disgusted.

“There you are!” she then spoke. In a split second had one of her arms reached inside of a set of bushes. The claw could be heard closing around something and the squeaking if a little critter filled the air around her. Slowly but surely did the arm retract itself in order to reveal the catch to the mare. A mare who showed her unbrushed teeth wide.

Teeth that were covered in bloodstains. Rarity had resorted to the one type of food that was considered disgusting for any pony. She had begun eating meat, uncooked, raw, bloody and above all fresh, meat. The critter was slowly squeezed to death like a snake that tightened the grip with every exhale before it was dropped to the ground. Then she began upon her feast.

Act 3 chapter 11

The blood stains could still be seen at both sides of her chin as the head of Rarity finally raised itself up from her meal. Almost every last bit of flesh that was unto it was consumed by her and all that was left was basically a skeleton picked clean. Perhaps it was best left unanswered as to how the transition from a full on herbivore to a full on carnivore had been made by her. All that needed to be known on the matter was that she ate meat, that was it.

Back in Canterlot had Luna been following the events through her telescope. The alicorn was both shocked as well as horrified by seeing the results of the late night snack. She happened to be disgusted from it, to say the least. Though Rarity wasn't the only one who enjoyed the taste of flesh. That very same taste even came back into the mouth of Luna.

Her other persona enjoyed it perhaps a bit more then she should have. Nightmare Moon herself was known for feasting upon the flesh of the innocent back in her days of reign. A past that Luna regretted with every single fiber that made up her entity. Though dwelling in the past wouldn't have helped her in any way.

A ludicrous Rarity wouldn't have helped them in any other way. Yet the words of her sister spoke that she shouldn't engage in a battle. That she just had to leave the mare going about. That she had a plan of her own. The two of them were communicating through their thoughts as it was the only thing they could do in the moment.

“I still don’t get it though, how can a mare from that status, fall down and become that insane, that quickly?” whispered Luna to herself. Though in that moment had she lost the track of the unicorn. Gone was the mare as she had gone into a place where not even her eyes could see it. Yet when her vision was turned back to normal, it slowly all began to make some sense to her.

“Our old castle? What do you plan to find there, milady?” said Luna calmly. She removed her eye from the thing and just watched over the skies for a moment. The calm they carried was nothing but an illusion and she knew that. There was always a calm before a storm and that night was no exception. Luna could feel it in the tips of her wings, something was about to happen.

“Grah, there really isn't anything that can go normal in this land for once, can it?” The alicorn of the night wandered back into her room before she allowed her eyes to drop upon the desk with a rather dreamy expression. “I know, I know sister. It is just, don’t you get tired from it as well… Wait, are you proposing? It might work, for their sakes.”

The words that were exchanged were spoken verbally but entered the mind of the other without a sound in the outside world.

---

While Celestia was still with both Twilight and Spike, and managed to actually keep the conversation going with the two of them, she also happened to be talking to her very own sister. Although their conversation came to an end pretty quickly as the hooves of the celestial alicorn were firm into the ground. She had an idea and wouldn't deviate from the course she was about to sail.

“So, when may she go home, princess?” asked Spike while a questioning gaze could be found within his eyes. It was a question rightfully asked. The princess felt that she had to answer it. Weren't it for the single fact that she didn't had a clue as of when Twilight was allowed to return to her library. She could have only hoped that it was rather sooner than later.

“I think the better question would be when the doctors allow her to go home, Spike,” replied Celestia with a calm tone. She then lowered her behind into a chair. “The events as they happened are indeed unfortunate, Twilight, there is no denying in that. But at least you are still among us. An arcane blast of that magnitude have caused lots of more harm in the past.”

Twilight nodded to the words as she remembered the very lie that needed to be spoken in order to conceal the truth from Spike. He still had a massive crush on the ivory unicorn and the truth itself would have devastated him. It was as discord himself once said, that a lie was easier to take.

Yet deep in her heart it still felt wrong that she had to lie to her son. “I am aware, princess. The massive surges I was working with were indeed found in books I got from the ancient castle. I just didn't realize things would be going wrong that fast,” she explained as an argument to confirm her story even further.

Yet Spike didn't really care about it, he was just glad that Twilight was still there. It sounded cliché but it was just how he felt on it. “Doesn't matter Twi, at least you know that you shouldn't be doing it again, right?” His tone sounded so upbeat, so ignorant even. It almost brought a tear to the eyes of Celestia. A tear that couldn't decide that it actually wanted to be. One of joy, or of sadness.

Luckily for her it didn't made its way over to her cheek and neither of the being actually questioned it. Though she did turn her head away from the scene for just a moment. She had to take a little moment to herself before a deep sigh was released into the direction of Everfree. The place where Rarity was going on a rampage.

---

It was deep within the bowels of the old castle that there was nothing save from the rage. The rage that was surging through the unicorn of grace and fashion. Nothing would have been spared. Rarity had managed to work her way over to the very room where they had discovered the elements of harmony. Once more did she look towards the altar of stone. A deep growl left through her mouth as her eyes had been narrowed.

All along the room were the marks of the claws clearly visible. Though the price was destroying the thing that once united each of them. It was some sort of spiritual revenge or vengeance for the mare. As if she could undo time itself by destroying it. All four of the arms were positioned in a threatening pose as the huffs were released through her mouth.

“It’s all your fault, you know, it’s your own bloody mistake that you ended up dead. Or perhaps I should give the blame to that good for nothing mentor of yours,” exclaimed Rarity in a roar of pure anger. The madness had consumed her very being. The path of reason was nowhere to be found. Yet perhaps that was the best thing to have happened to her. For that way she wouldn't feel any mercy as her horn charged itself up and fired the shot straight into the middle stone orb.

The destruction of the altar of harmony had begun. The unicorn wouldn't stop until everything in it was destroyed. Pulverized into nothing more but just gavel and dust, that was what she wanted to make from the past. From her past, from their past.

Act 3 chapter 12

Time had passed by just about a week. There still wasn't any sign from just where Rarity could have gotten off to. Twilight had returned to her home and was getting quite used to her new, crystallized leg. Although the thick thud upon the floor every so often as it made a step was something that she just couldn't get used to whatsoever. Every operation came of course with a cost and hers, well hers didn't seem to be that bad to begin with.

Yet it didn't just stay by Twilight or the family who realized that Rarity had gone. Everypony in the whole of Ponyville knew that she was gone by that point. There were rumors that reached from the most insane to some rather likely yet none of them had it ever near the right end. Perhaps it was also better that way as the truth would only hurt a lot more.

They could guess all they wanted as to where Rarity had gone to, but nopony dared to confirm nor deny it. Not even the family did have any answers for any of the ponies that knocked upon their door. The answer always would have been the same, that they needed to look over to the boutique and not their house.

Luckily did most of the ponies understand the answer. But there were always some that needed to be removed at the charge of a horn. Pearl wouldn't take anything from anypony as soon as the tone began to go down into something that she didn't like. And she had every single right to do so. For it was her daughter’s business, not hers.

On one morning did Sweetie Belle woke up with a feeling of something not being right. Yet she also felt as if she needed to go someplace she had forgotten. It wasn't school nor was it homework, so just what was it that guided her in the moment? A deep groan was left through the mouth before her body dropped itself back on the bed and the eyes closed up again.

“I don’t wanna get out!” she spoke a bit louder than intended. Sweetie had turned her body around to face the dark wall of her room. Even with the sun that shone inside of her little room, she wanted to remain in bed and just continue on sleeping. The young mare felt like she hadn't gotten any sleep that very night. She felt like thoughts had kept her awake for the longest of time.

Though the thoughts continued to tuck against her for whatever reason. For some reason that she couldn't explain, it continued to speak to her to get the hell out of bed and do something. It was the whole ‘do something’-part that actually caused the mare to sink deeper into her very thoughts. All the way up to the point where she just threw the blankets off of her body and stepped out of bed.

A groan of deep annoyance was left through her mouth once again. After that was the door to the bathroom being opened with a hoof. Some quick refreshments were on their place. Perhaps a splash of water to the face would actually help her remember what she had forgotten.

So said, so done, a splash of cold water was thrown right into her face of the young mare. It send a massive shock through her entire system. The water did have the desired effect, she woke up a lot easier and better. The young mare shook her head a couple of times before the towel was placed over her face. And only when it was removed, the shocking face of realization was revealed.

Sweetie Belle looked to her even image within the mirror and couldn't do much else then gulp before she spoke the words. The words of the place she had forgotten. “The gala!” Without a second to spare did Sweetie gallop out of the bathroom and rushed down the stairs faster than she had done in her entire life.

The Grand Galloping Gala was on the mind of pretty much everypony who would be attending the massive party. From all over Equestria were the ponies of high society invited to come, as well as the bearers of the elements of harmony. Though that year there would also be a second group of ponies joining them, the three members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Whatever Celestia had cooked up in that mind of hers, she would have been in for a surprise of a lifetime. Whenever the crusaders were gathered at some place regal, the chances were pretty high that they would do something to blow some more excitement into it. Perhaps that was just the plan, to redo the gala when the elements first came? Nopony knew for certain.

The fact that Sweetie Belle was after, happened to have been her dress. Rarity herself would have been making it specially for her. Though with her recent departure, the looks threatened to have been that it just wouldn't be done in time. So the only way to finish it was, was to do it herself. And that was where she was called for. To finish the dresses herself.

Sweetie did knew a little bit of sewing yet was far from the levels of expertise where Rarity was at. Still, she knew that she had to give it her best shot. For how much that ever would have been worth it. “Oh it’s going to be hell today.” Sweetie spoke up inaudible to just herself as she began to think how far her sister would have been done with the dresses for both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom.

---

In the meantime had Twilight been enjoying her breakfast that was made by Spike. She stood ready at the point of walking her way through Ponyville. Even she had the gala on her mind as the date drew itself near. She and her friends were all ready and set for it, but something was missing and that very something was nopony else but Rarity.

It drove her mad that Rarity even could have done such a thing to her. Though she had caused it herself. They were both to blame for the situation as it was. Yet it went unspoken for manier pony. When the door of library fell back in its lock, Twilight calmly looked over the morning skies before a small smile grew upon her face.

The light itself shown through the leg as if it was nothing and caused a rather beautiful play of light on the ground. It was something caused her to giggle softly as her attention focused itself upon it for a moment. Only to then continue what the doctor had ordered, a round through the town in order to keep the joints working and not becoming stiff.

When she walked into the street where the boutique stood, the mulberry unicorn couldn't help herself but to increase the pace of her trotting a little bit. She wanted to know whether or not Rarity had already returned or if something had ever happened in the meantime.

Though her hopes were soon enough crushed given the fact that everything still was dark. “What did you think Twilight, that she would actually return after what she did to you?” Her eyes were moved over to the amethyst leg as her expression turned literally sour. Even though it was medical wonder, it also happened to have been a curse for the mulberry unicorn.

With a growl had she stomped her crystalline leg into the ground. Twilight turned her eyes back to the boutique. The horn charged itself up in the magical aura. She wanted to ignite the whole building. Though somehow managed to find control over herself. The thoughts of revenge on Rarity shouldn't have been there in the first place. She needed to get them out, one way or the other.

Act 3 chapter 13

Finally was the time for the party upon the land of Equestria. Finally was the time to bring out the most beautiful dress out of the wardrobe, to listen to the most wonderful music that the land had to offer, or dance to it even. Finally had the event of events for everypony who was a bit of somepony come to a start. Finally, had the Grand Galloping Gala begun and everypony seemed to have been enjoying themselves so far.

Even the five friends were present. Though all of them wore their original gala dress. They said that it was some sort of honor to Rarity. That, and they really didn't happen to have anything else in their own wardrobe that could even represent such an event. Each of the friends smiled when they entered the massive ballroom where the event was held. Lightly put was the fact that they were all just baffled by the sheer size.

Their first gala was already enormous, but this one was about two, maybe even three times bigger. “The royals have literally spared no expenses, eh Twi?” said Applejack just before she let out a gentle chuckle.

“No, they indeed didn't, makes me wonder for a bit why though,” replied Twilight to her. Though it seemed that she couldn't keep her augmented leg still. It constantly shifted over the floor. She was nervous for some reason, the mare couldn't explain it whatsoever but she just happened to be. Almost as if a life depending decision would fall upon her later that evening. It was a thought that she needed to get out of her system, rather sooner than later.

“Well girls, what do you think about it?” Fluttershy spoke up before her was turned to their back and she spoke up to three, up until that point unseen, younger mares. Whether it was liked or not, they had to make their appearance next to the older mares and did so with a deep gulp coming from their throat. Neither of the three was actually being used to such events and they really didn't wanted to make themselves a laughing stock.

So next to Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie they appeared, the three members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders had finally arrived as well. All three of them wore an actual fixed gala dress that was started by Rarity but finished by Sweetie. Her knowledge was luckily big enough to finish what had been started, even though it didn't resemble the original design that much anymore.

“It’s not what I expected from a party,” said Scootaloo at the sight. Though she listened to the classical music that entered her ears.

“Last time you were here, it was a bit more lively, right?” Apple Bloom commented on it. She began to notice that everything seemed to have been rather dead. Sweetie Belle was the only one who remained silent and simply looked over the events as they took place.

“While that is more than true, Apple Bloom, but we did cause it ourselves a little bit.” Twilight giggled when she remembered the events from their first gala. She couldn't help it but to shake her head during it before she gave the signal that the three of them were allowed to leave their company. “If you want to, that is.”

The three younger mares nodded to the words and signaled one another to do something, if not anything to get out of the boring mess they have managed to get themselves into. It was everything but they had expected from the gala and most likely would be joining up with Fluttershy in the garden. There where the air wasn't polluted from all the party ponies.

Pinkie on the other end began to hop over to the dance floor and before anyone could say anything, she was gone. “Well, Ah reckon that’s that, see you gals later. If yar need me, Ah’ll be over there, near the fountain,” said Applejack before she left the group as well. She was then followed by a silent Fluttershy who slid herself through the crowd in order to reach the gardens.

Which then only left Rainbow Dash and Twilight together. Neither of the mares really had any plans for the evening and decided to just walk a bit over the floor and see what kind of interesting things would be coming their ways.

---

Though the thing that they would be seeing was something that neither of them ever could have actually expected. For in another room they stumbled upon a crowd of ponies who were looking at one pony in particular. Neither Twilight nor Rainbow had a clue as of to whom they were looking and like the herd mammals they were, they decided to follow.

In their eyes came a mare who wore a wonderful crystalline dress and a coat as white as snow. The mind of Twilight let the alarm bells ring like never before. She knew almost right away just who that very mare happened to be. The clunking of her hoof against the ground was something easily heard and the ponies actually made steps aside to let the two mares pass.

All of Twilight’s fears and horrors could becoming more than true in that one, single moment. If that one unicorn had even the audacity to come to the party after everything that was done, there would be live in the brewery without a doubt.

Yet when the pony was revealed as a whole, both Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle were given perhaps the biggest surprise of the entire evening. For the mare in the dress wore a mask that made the entire face literally unrecognizable. Even though they knew it wasn't allowed, the two of them tried to discover whether or not there was a cutie mark of any kind.

Much to their surprise, there wasn't any. “E-Excuse me miss, but who in the wide world of Equestria do you happen to be?” Twilight then spoke up as she wanted to know the finer details of everything.

The mare in the crystalline dress didn't shy away from the question at all. Instead it almost seemed like she was embracing it to answer. If it was indeed Rarity who was under that mask, the motions wouldn't have been so smooth or refined. “The name, my dear lady, is miss Mystery, my identity I prefer to keep hidden from the folk around me as well as those higher up.”

“Right, and I’m going to become the princess of friendship one day,” muttered Twilight as an insult towards the other mare. A mare who made the wise decision to not continue upon the subject. “But, I thought you were somepony else. Somepony who recently got out of my life.”

“It’s understandable, when one we loved goes missing, we might think to see him or her in the strangest of places. Milady, may you enjoy the evening.” Mystery spoke up before she turned her body back around to speak with a couple of other guests.

Twilight and Rainbow walked away from the mare. Though they continued to speak about it for a little while longer. That was up until another pony who was rather unexpected stood before them. Both of the mares looked at the shiny golden horseshoes before their heads went up the legs, body and eventually met the eye. “Princess Celestia!” Twilight quickly acknowledged before they both made a polite bow before her.

“My faithful student Twilight and Wonderbolt trainee Rainbow, it’s such a pleasure to meet you two here. Although, if I may miss Dash, could I speak to Twilight in private for a moment?” the princess spoke to them after she had come up from her bow. Rainbow nodded and left the two in peace. She wanted to find out where the Wonderbolts themselves could be found.

Suspicion had raised itself within the body of Twilight. Though not because of the fact that Celestia wanted to talk to her. But more on the matter that she seemed to be knowing just who happened to be this little ‘miss Mystery’. She knew it almost for certain. Though to confirm her thoughts, there was little to know proof. “What do you wish to discuss with me, princess?” Twilight then asked as the two of them walked over the floor of the event in the hope to find a quiet little spot.

“Something that requires, your intellect. But also something that will change things up quite the bit,” were the only words the princess spoke about it at first. Naturally was Twilight’s curiosity taken by them.

Act 3 chapter 14

Time came and time went after the gala. Days had turned into a near month and a half after the massive event had taken place. Twilight woke up pretty much as every other morning. With her mane being a complete and utter mess did she rose up from her bed. She opened the curtains with her magic. The massive beams of sunlight all of the sudden rushed themselves straight into her room and into her eyes.

It was a little mistake that she almost all of the time seemed to actually make, yet was one of the very few things in the wide world that actually caused her to wake up properly. The unicorn released a deep groan where even Spike was intimidated by. The dragon still laid in his basket. Only then did the mare leave her bed and the signature thud stomped itself unto the floor.

“Another day, another study,” the mare mumbled to herself. She also gave a deep yawn before she disappeared from the bedroom. Spike on the other end remained vast asleep and released a snore left and right before his wings acted like a secondary blanket to block out the light.

Twilight didn't mind him staying in bed that long, at least no anymore. She had so many troubles actually getting the teen aged dragon out of bed once, that she had lost more time doing that than anything else. It was perhaps a lot better just to let him be and wake up at his own time. He needed discipline for certain, but needed to teach it to himself. Even though a thing like that seemed to have been rather impossible.

The day itself crawled forwards at a literal snail’s pace before the unicorn had eaten her lunch and finished yet another book on the arcane arts. Yet something within her mind continued to chew upon her spirit for some reason. The talk with Celestia was something had fallen really heavy upon her. Not to mention that little miss Mystery she encountered during the party. She wanted to tell the world, her friends, her family even just who it was. Never could actually get herself to do it.

Did she found it disrespectful to do? Did she thought that she would be seen as a liar as she knew what happened to Rarity? Those were just two of the questions that raced through the mind of the mare before a deep sigh was released through her nose.

Yet despite everything, there was also something that caused her to have become more paranoid than she ever had been in her entire life. She knew that Rarity was out there, and that she was powerful. Perhaps even too powerful for her to handle. There wasn't much that she could be doing in order to actually survive an assault. Which resulted in her almost constantly looking over both of her shoulders.

It really was the last thing that she needed with everything combined. Yet in her library she felt safe from any harm that could come. Even though it was the place where the events happened, she felt just safe there. Why wouldn't she be? It was her home after all. It was supposed to be the safest place in the whole of Equestria for her. As safe as it could actually get around a mare like Twilight Sparkle to begin with.

The books were lowered and stored on their respectful places before a deep sigh left through her mouth. The unicorn was mentally tired of pretty much everything and the usual joy that she would have gotten out of her studies just wasn’t there anymore. “Maybe a walk will do me good.”

---

So said, so done. A couple of minutes later did the mare found herself standing outside of her library. Twilight then took a deep inhale of the fresh air that hung over the town. It did calm her mind to a certain degree. She continued to take the steps towards a place she was all too familiar with.

Street and lane was being crossed by her legs before they finally came to a standstill and the eyes looked over the one place where she thought to never return to. The infamous Carousel Boutique was still as empty as it was in the times gone by. Only times when there was actual life within it was when Sweetie Belle wandered about. Judging the looks, that didn't happen to be the case when she came by. A shame perhaps, for the building always had charm to it.

All of the sudden there was a shock of pain that went straight through her leg. A shock that caused her to winch upon the spot. A deep hiss was being released by her mouth before the eyes looked down to her crystalline leg. It was truly unknown to her just how the thing managed to start acting like that, yet the only place she knew in order to get an answer, was the place she really didn't wanted to go.

Not even the doctors could have helped her with the thing as their knowledge was even too limited. “The castle in Everfree, might have an answer,” muttered Twilight to herself. After which she set her sights upon the treetops that stuck out above everything. “The only place that holds every answer in the universe. …Almost.”

Not even the unicorn herself knew just why she would be going to the ancient castle so often, perhaps it was because of the massive library that was still in one piece after all those years? Or perhaps it was just the atmosphere? Nopony could tell but it certainly did have a charm to it not many places had.

So with her leg nearly stomping on the ground with every step that she took, Twilight made her way calmly to the edge of the quiet little town. There she stood still. Her eyes looked over the massive line of trees that marked the border of the Everfree. Even though she had been to and in the place so many times already, every time it was always a question whether or not she would actually be able to come back.

Even though she knew the way inside of it, there were still things that not even she knew about the thing. What horrors and creatures did else lay within those green walls. And if she laid lurking around somewhere. It was the most obvious place for a pony on the run to hide and Twilight knew that fact better than anypony else. A clash with her, almost seemed to have become unavoidable from there on outward.

---

Yet high in the skies and upon a white little cloud laid a pegasus. A pegasus who was actually lurking down unto Twilight herself. Without a word did the cerise eyes looked with suspicion towards the mare. Something told the pegasus that the unicorn was up to something. And whatever it was, it never could have been anything good.

Only then did the unicorn continue to walk forward and into the forest. Which meant that the pegasus had lost the contact with her. All while Twilight began to doubt her decision of entering the woods. Whatever would have laid there, whatever she would have discovered, nopony would be able to know whether or not it was for the better, or the worse.

Act 4 chapter 1

Lying in wait, like a predator hunting for its next prey did Rarity lay deep within the tree vegetation of the Everfree Forest. She was just waiting for anything to have come her way and thus having enabling her to make the hunt possible. All four of her crystalline arms had managed to attach themselves against the trunks of various trees.

Trees from which she even managed to move herself silently. The eyes of the unicorn were as sharp as a hawk. They were known for picking up even the smallest of details. A feature really appreciated by her. It did help her with the hunt. Her teeth were slowly revealed as a massive grin formed itself across her lips. She could have been sitting there for hours already, but she didn’t care.

Gone were the near perfect straight teeth and in came the razor looking ones. The change from herbivore to carnivore had caused the effect to her sadly enough. Almost every last bit of the Rarity that once roamed the lands had been gone and replaced with something that was just completely off of the world. And Twilight was walking right into her spun webbing.

The mulberry unicorn herself wandered through the woods without that much of a care visible in her eyes. Naturally did she keep her eyes open and the ears perked. Even the smallest amount of sound that could be heard anywhere could have already been the difference between life and death in the forest. There were even rumors of species, or better said: subspecies of ponies that were thought to have been lost a long time ago.

Myth and legend had always surrounded the place, but never seemed to actually scare the mare off. If anything, it only peeked her interests even more. As crazy and sickening as it may have sounded to some ears.

Twilight would have just continued her journey towards the ancient castle of the two sisters. Though unknowingly to her was the fact that Rarity made that exact move as well. Where Twilight approached from the south, Rarity came in from the north. Neither of the two could have possibly even known that they would be coming there as the wind blew to the east.

The both of them had a scent that couldn't be mistaken by anything. If either one of them smelled it, troubles would have risen up and the greatest battle of their lives was then about to begin. Yet when the eyes of Twilight looked up and towards the skies, they caught a sight that was less pleasant than anything else. “The clouds become darker, the calm before the storm that is about to erupt. I have to make haste,” she mumbled to herself before kicking her legs into a higher gear.

She wanted to reach the castle preferably before the rain would have been starting to drop upon her head and thus resulting in her getting an extra shower that day.

---

Rarity on the other end relied on using her arms to move through the treetops. Yet she looked with a glare of death towards the ground. She was hungry and almost everything made out of meat would have been good enough in her mind. The unicorn was completely lost and confused by both grief, sadness and anger. She was more dangerous than anypony could have ever expected it from her.

Yet she wasn't completely silent. Here were low tuned growls that constantly left her mouth together with a little panting here and there. Her crystalline claws never seemed to fail in order to coil themselves up around the trunk of a tree before she came to a stop.

With a maddened look within her eyes had she looked over to the castle that laid in front of her. All of the sudden there was this little twinkle within her eyes that could be seen as creepy. For an idea had crawled up into her mind that was everything but pleasant. Not to mention the fact that a flash of lightning suddenly filled the air.

A flash that was soon followed up by the rumble itself before the first drops of rain were met upon her nose. “The storm has come,” she spoke softly to herself. The eyes managed to tear themselves away from the skies and just began to look over the castle.

There she discovered perhaps the biggest enemy that she could possibly have gotten in all of recent times. For approaching the castle itself was nopony else then Twilight Sparkle. “What are you doing here?!” Rarity exclaimed in a whisper before she shook her head. “You, you are…” In a second had her face turned into one that had seen a ghost.

In her case did she indeed had seen a ghost. A ghost with a new leg of some sort. The hatred all of the sudden continued to flow through her body as she thought it was a way of the higher forces to punish her for the deeds. She was everything but happy about it and wanted, if not needed, to figure out just what the case happened to be.

---

In the meantime had Twilight been just wandering through the castle and shook herself dry. While Rarity may have gotten the first drops of rain from her side, Twilight had already been venturing through a little bit. A cold shiver was sent down her spine before a gentle groan left her mouth.

She didn't wanted to go straight to the books and read about what could be done for her leg. Instead she gained the sudden but also burning desire to go to a place. A place where it all began. The place where it all began. Her body had began to walk through the halls of the broken castle. All while the thunder continued to roar on the outside.

Inside she was safe, inside she felt safe, inside there was nothing that could be touching her, inside she could find the answer that she was needing. Inside, she could walk into troubles. Room after room was being passed before the unicorn finally stood in the doorway that was supposed to be leading to the altar of harmony.

Yet in her eyes she caught a sight that was unusual to say the least. For just one of the orbs that held the mythical elements was broken. Curiosity struck the mare more than anything and she decided to walk up closer to it. The feeling of something that was about to happen began to surge through her body before a shake was given with her head.

She needed to focus herself upon the facts as they were, not what could still happen. Her eyes calmly looked over the other orbs and slowly began to realize just which one was broken. “Oh no…” Twilight managed to mumble out before she turned around. Her eyes looked all over the place in the hope to get a glimpse of the being who had done it.

She looked into every possible direction, except the one above her.

For on the ceiling of the room she had hidden herself. Using her limbs as massive anchor points, she looked from an upside down perspective to the ghost of yesterday. It couldn't have been possible that she had survived. Yet the mare did seem very much alive. Not to mention that crystalline limb of hers.

They didn't differ that much anymore in those sapphire blue eyes. They were almost equal to one another. Weren't it for the only single and ever so little fact that she happened to have been more dangerous.

And then it just happened. The mare closed her eyes before all of the claws released their hold. With that was the mare dropped to the ground. Falling through the air caused Twilight to look up and follow the other being. Though where it was thought to fall flat on the ground, the arms quickly reacted and in a split-second they acted like cushions for their wearer before coiling themselves up around the mare.

“And so it begins, doesn't it?” Twilight spoke aloud just before another roar of the thunder was given. The calm was over and the storm was being unleashed in its full force. Both literal and figural. The final confrontation between the two friends was about to begin in that moment.

Act 4 chapter 2

Twilight continued to look at the ball of crystal before she finally began to realize just what was going on in its fullest. She knew that it was Rarity, of course she knew that. There was no doubt about that to begin with even. Yet what still boiled in her mind was just the question of why? To her it seemed like it was nothing more but a dream. She didn't feel herself in the real world anymore actually.

Fantasy had taken almost taken her body over until she realized one rather important aspect, she didn't know Rarity’s state of mind. It was a fact that frightened her more than it originally should have and she released a gulp in the process. There were a couple of steps that were taken back by the mare before she touched the foot of the altar with her bum.

It was in that little moment that she began to realize that she was trapped. The only way to get out of the place was to fight her way through. But Twilight wasn't completely without reason. She wanted –if not needed– to know why one of her best friends in the entire world had basically left her for dead. She deserved that to know for herself.

Yet she also knew that the crystals would be able to block any kind of magical spell that she had within her arsenal. So the only thing that she could do was to wait. Wait for the beast to be released. To stand face to face with the horror that Rarity became in the aftermath of their experiment.

Slowly but surely did the crystalline arms remove themselves from their master. One by one they crammed themselves into the ground while the hissing roar came from the mare. It was a sound that Twilight had never heard from Rarity before. She became frightened. Yet she knew that if she showed any piece of her fear towards the maddened unicorn, everything would be just over.

She had to keep herself tough as she looked over to the ivory white colored body with the messy purple hair. “What happened to you?” she dared to ask with a strong tone. Though where she thought that the question was inaudible, it was actually spoken up in her normal volume.

That very question caused the head of the mare to rise up and the eyes looked straight into one another. The things that Twilight saw were horrible to say the least. Not to mention the fact that they still looked, or screamed, that they had seen a ghost. Yet in return got Rarity the idea that it was the real Twilight who stood there.

The real Twilight had somehow managed to cheat death itself. Not that it filled her body or mind with anything of glee. Instead it only continued to fill her anger. For the fact that she had gone both crazy and into hiding while it wasn't truly necessary. Yet there was nopony else to blame for that, outside of herself.

Her lips then moved themselves away from the teeth by being pulled up and that allowed Twilight to see the horrid truth. “No,” was all that she could bring out. Then the eyes took an even deeper and better look. It was impossible for the unicorn to even begin to understand the changes that her friend had gone through.

The blood stained teeth, the jagged teeth themselves even, this was no longer the friend that she knew and loved. This, was a monster straight out of a Mare-Do-Well comic. “You look like you have seen a ghost, Rarity,” Twilight eventually dared to speak. Even though her tone sounded tough and prepared, she had not a clue as of what the other mare would be doing to her sooner or later.

---

Yet despite her monstrous appearance and actual lack of any decency, Rarity still seemed to be able to talk in her normal manner. “That’s because of the rather simple reason that I have seen a ghost, Sparkle,” Rarity huffed out to the other mare. The arms loosened themselves from the ground and assumed a bit more of a peaceful position.

The mares never lost their eye contact. Though those very same eyes were growing with nothing but hatred. Hatred for one another given the deeds that were once done to them. “You left me for dead in my own library. It is because of you,” the mare spoke up before she stomped her gem leg into the ground and growled loudly, “I’m needing to walk with this thing!” It didn't happen often that Twilight herself became angry about something, but Rarity had managed to do just that.

“You didn't breath, you didn't even move at the time. I thought you were dead, suppose I am not a cold blooded murderer after all,” replied Rarity in a stone cold tone. She turned her body away from Twilight. “You know, I have been thinking about certain things left and right thanks to my time here.” Twilight saw how the eyes of Rarity closed themselves for just a moment.

“And that being?” Twilight questioned to her friend. She had to admit that she didn’t had a clue of what Rarity meant. She didn't even wanted to believe the words that were spoken in the first place to begin with. Yet then she noticed a little thing about Rarity’s posture. The fact that she was walking, starting to circle towards Twilight.

The unicorn understood immediately what the plan was and began to circle with Rarity. Resulting in both of the mares walking around while still keeping their eyes firm on the other. The flashes of lightning shot past the windows as the rain hailed against it. “Everything that ever happened in my life, can be brought directly into contact with nopony else then you. Things that I personally never wanted to do or even have. I never wanted, to become an element…yet you bombed me to it.”

“What is your point?!” Twilight exclaimed before she noticed that Rarity was standing before the altar of harmony with a grin.

“Noticed anything missing? I resigned!”

Those words caused the eyes of the other unicorn to widen themselves. She couldn't even comprehend them. After everything that the two of them had done, they would be parting like that. It was just absolute madness and Twilight didn't even knew on which facts to focus herself on. The one that her friend had turned into a monster, said friend tried to kill her, or that Equestria was now left defenseless.

“Y-You can’t! E-Equestria needs, the elements,” stuttered Twilight to her. Then she reached for her head. Yet on the other end of the spectrum was Rarity laughing like a true maniac. She almost found it amusing to torture the mare even more for whatever reason.

“Oh I can, it was hard to break the shield, but once that orb fell down on the ground and got smashed, well, allow me to put it this way: run, for you dear little lives,” returned Rarity before she rose up on the arms and just casually hung in the air.

“Your necklace, is still intact though. …But without the stone, rendered powerless.” Silence took the mare over as she continued to quickly tie every single knot together that was still there. Only to come down to perhaps the most horrible conclusion that there was.

Two mares of power, one in the arcane arts and the other in the crystalline, were standing against one another and ready for any- and everything. The events leading up to last deed were nearly unspeakable. Their very friendship was about to be obliterated into nothing but the same dust they walked through from time to time. Equestria without the elements of harmony would have become a paradise for any power-hungry force that wanted to overthrow the ponies.

Yet little did either of the mares knew, that the biggest forces in the land knew that for a long time already. Nor was it a coincidence that Rarity and Twilight faced one another on that particular day. Everything went according to plan, a plan that must never be spoken of by any being.

Act 4 chapter 3

Minutes had the two ponies been talking to one another while circling in a dangerous manner. With the rain and thunder not slowing down in any way, shape or form, Twilight began to fear that the only outcome of the events would have been a battle between her and her friend. Or better said: ex-friend.

The hateful words that Rarity spoke up in her deluded mind were everything but kind against her or for her. Yet even though Twilight had almost been killed by her, she still wanted to give the unicorn a second chance. It was an accident and she knew that. Rarity never had been that tough when it came to blood, so it was only logical that she fled. Yet it didn't change the fact that she still was insane. The sheer amount of insanity that rushed through her was unimaginable.

Not even the logical and reasoning voice of Twilight could have ever gotten through her thick skull. The only thing that was left to do, was for Twilight to accept the facts as they were. The fact that Rarity herself had turned into a villain of a comic book. As odd as it may have seemed, it was just the truth.

Every reason to get the mare back to earth as it was, was thrown right aside as the firm believes of Rarity always seemed to get the upper end. It was something that annoyed Twilight perhaps a little bit more than it originally should have, but it was the way she worked.

A deep sigh was released through the mulberry unicorn’s nostrils before the eyes tore themselves away from Rarity. They gently looked out of the windows to the black cloud covered land. The storm would continue to rage on, endless and violent. Much like she had seen Rarity in her actions and way of speech.

There were little things that gave almost everything away from her changed psyche to Twilight. The way she walked wasn't refined, but seemed to be more brutal. The way she spoke her words wasn't smooth, but near stuttering. Many wouldn't have been able to notice these very tiny things. But Twilight did. For even she had changed.

Ever since her talk with princess Celestia at the gala, there also was a change in her. One best left undiscovered for the crystalline limbed unicorn. “It was you, wasn't it? At this year’s gala.” Twilight then spoke up. It seemed a bit odd to bring up the fact, but she had always believed that it was Rarity from the first second.

“You clever, little, pony,” hissed Rarity through her teeth. It was indeed her who was at the gala all that time ago. There was no need to keep denying the facts as they were for Twilight. She was perfectly capable of discovering every last little secret there happened to be. “It was indeed I who happened to have been there. Morphed my little babies here right into that beautiful little dress.” It was already more than clear that she had grown fond of her arms, for it was the first time that she even called them like that. Only more trouble could be knocking on Twilight’s door and that was just about the last thing she needed.

“Makes your words becoming the truth. That when somepony left, you might see it in strange places,” countered Twilight to her. That was before a grin went across her face. From her point of view, she had set Rarity check and perhaps even mate. Yet there wasn't much in the world they knew that could actually have prepared her for what would be coming next.

Rarity released a deep grin before she finally lowered herself upon her arms and nodded to the words. The arms then released the ground and assumed their more peaceful position as she spoke her words. “They indeed were the truth, for believe it or not, even I was surprised when I first saw you. A ghost of yesterday, I encountered that very day. And it was only today that that lingering thought was confirmed. Months I have been doubting to know whether or not was actually you.”

Then she suddenly assumed a fighting stance as the claws snapped shut a couple of times and the horn charged itself up. “But don’t worry all too much, little Sparkle, for I may not have succeeded the first time, I won’t make that mistake twice.”

---

It were those very words that caused the mare didn't expect and took them as a direct death threat. It was something caused her to lose faith in the fact that the effects on Rarity’s psyche could ever have been reversed. And for that, there was only one option that could be done in order to make sure she wouldn't harm any other ponies. “I really didn't wanted to do this Rarity, but you leave me with no other choice,” growled Twilight to her once-friend.

“Ha! I’m actually delighted to be hearing that, bring it on.” The horn of Twilight allowed itself to be cast within the magical aura. Both of the mares were ready to fight it out once and for all. The eyes managed to find one another again and they locked on. For just a small period of time did time itself actually slow down. Seconds seemed like hours as both of their beats were beating in sync and the memories of one another played themselves out before their eyes.

Memories which both of them actually enjoyed at one point or the other. Yet in the moment they despised them. Rarity released a low growl whereas Twilight had to fight back the tears. It was difficult for her to accept the truth, but it was even harder to unleash the plan that was planned. Time then returned to its more normal state and one thundering roar from the weather marked the beginning of the end.

The mares were given the freedom to do whatever they wanted, for their final stand had begun. They both had reasons to be kept alive and keep on living. Yet they wanted to end the other.

Twilight started to galloped towards Rarity, who in return did the same. Though the ivory mare used her arms to gain even more speed. Their horns did both release a blast of magic that was unexpected for both sides. For where they thought the other would release a blast, they formed either an arcane sword or crystalline sword right on top of it.

The sights alone were interesting to see. Though they became more curious when the mares crashed against one another and had their swords in a lock. Both Twilight and Rarity looked each other deep in the eyes as they tried to push the other away. Both of the two ‘horn-swords’ were incredibly powerful as their source was the actual magic each of the unicorn’s possessed.

“So we are still going to do this honorable?” asked Rarity to her. She continued to give her everything.

“Now that I know what you are… there is no more honor in your deeds,” replied Twilight with a stone cold and calculating voice. It was actually precisely where Rarity had hoped for and with one swoop she managed one of her arms to hit Twilight and fling her into the air. Though Twilight wouldn't be going down that easily and teleported herself out of harm’s way.

With a poof she stood on the orb of magic on the altar and looked over to Rarity with a stern expression. “I should have expected it, from the likes of you.” Only then did the sword on her horn fade away and much to her surprise, so did Rarity’s. It could only have meant one thing and that was that it would have become a brawl of hooves and crystal limbs.

With an elegant jump did Twilight made her way back into the area. With that, battle continued. Rarity received blow after blow from Twilight’s amethyst leg while the arms continued to punch the other mare. It was incredible that they could both hold so many hits and not go down. It was thanks to their own magic as well as the adrenaline that was pumping through their bodies that they managed to keep going.

Neither of the unicorns wanted to give up. They both wanted to win for different reasons. But one thing they did have in common was that they wanted to end their torment from the other. That was the only fact that made the mares even more dangerous for each other.

Act 4 chapter 4

The battle had been raging on for minutes between the two unicorns and the peak was nearing. Rarity seemed to have been inexhaustible given the fact that she could use her arms to save energy. Twilight on the other end had received hit after hit and was at the very verge of collapsing. Their friendship had been shattered and the plan of the princesses was the only thing that was capable of keeping both of the mare ‘together’ in a sense of the word.

Twilight managed to avoid an incoming arm. Though there was another that punched her right in the stomach. The impact had sent her flying for the ground. Rarity herself jumped a couple of hooves away before using the arms to land back on the ground without an effort. The unicorn grinned like a maniac before she licked her lips.

She could almost taste the very victory that she had claimed over Twilight. “One, last, thing” said Rarity while her opponent tried to struggle back up on her hooves. With some coughing and even gurgling of blood she managed to crawl back up. A spit filled with blood and saliva was shot towards the ground before Twilight focused her eyes back on Rarity.

The other unicorn had charged up her horn and was summoning a crystalline sword to end the life of Twilight once and for all. “You, old, hag,” she managed to speak up towards her. The voice was desperate but she had a little trick up her sleeve. Twilight always had.

“What did you call me?” Rarity asked before the summoning was complete and she rose upon her hindlegs. The two upper arms were then used as a support for the rest of her body as the blade itself slid its way over her left forehoof. “Old, hag, were the words I heard coming out of your mouth, Sparkle.”

Slowly but surely was the distance between the two raging mares closed. All the way to the point where the edge of the blade was held against Twilight’s very chin. She had almost done it, one more thrust forward and the blade would have pierced through Twilight like butter. Finally would she have been able to truly kill the mare who had caused her so much trouble.

Yet something inside of her eyes actually showcased an odd sense of mercy. Somewhere deep inside of her eyes it could be seen of just a split second of time. That eternal doubt on the fact whether or not taking a life was something worth it. It was a fact that was even noticed by Twilight who quickly came up with the idea to get her the advantage.

It would have been nothing but a last ditch and desperate attempt to get the unicorn under her control, is not knock her out. Unknown to Rarity was the fact that she had been taking way too much time in order to end the life of the mare. Which meant that she was vulnerable. While the two upper arms were there for stability, the other two just dangled there.

It was then or never, thought Twilight to herself before she closed her eyes. A deep but quick exhale was taken by her. Which was followed up by a trick of her body unlike anything before. She did a flip upon the spot and before Rarity could lash out, both of Twilight’s hindlegs were kicked against one of the arms.

Almost in an instant had Rarity lost her balance and fell down to the ground. That gave Twilight the time to greaten the distance between the two of them. In the end, she stood there with a deep pant being released by her mouth as the streams of sweat traveled past the sides of the face. “Only one thing left to do for you,” returned Twilight before her horn charged itself up again.

“You devil!” growled Rarity to the other mare. She crawled back up and prepared herself for another attack. Though the only problem was that Twilight had already cast the spell. And soon enough, Rarity would realize it was too late. As the ground started to tremor and each of her arms was actually forced towards it.

“W-What have you done?!” she managed to bring out as her sword laid under her field of view. Not to mention the little fact that even her own legs felt like concrete against the stone. All of her limbs were just too heavy to be moved by herself.

Twilight didn't spoke a single word. Her horn discharged itself and the stern look upon her face became more apparent. Slowly but surely was the distance once again closed between the two of them. Yet Rarity wouldn't go down without a fight and called upon all of her magic to release a massive blast to her ex-friend.

The bright blue colored magical aura hummed like mad as sparks traveled over the entire horn and her forehead even. “You worthless piece of horse shit!” yelled Rarity to Twilight. Then the blast itself was released. A column of magic was send over towards the mare who simply blocked it with a shield of her own. Out of the blue fires it created she then emerged without a single scratch.

The shield dropped itself while the eyes remained focused upon the other mare. But where Rarity had missed her sword, Twilight had seen it all of the time. Only when she placed her amethyst hoof on it, did the eyes of the ivory mare turn down. And it was in that moment that the realization of defeat came to her. She could have ended Twilight long before all of this, but didn't. Now that carelessness, had become her downfall. Not to mention whatever fate the mulberry unicorn had in store for her.

“Don’t, you dare,” whispered Rarity. Her eyes looked back up to the mare. She thought that Twilight would stab her with her own sword as it was the only real weapon that was lying around. Though instead something else happened, the thing was kicked away from either of their reach and the horn of the mare charged itself once again.

“Oh trust me, dear, I’m not going to stab you with your own sword or anything. You almost killed me once, I won’t give you that favor, bitch. For the fate that I shall be giving you…” The amethyst hoof them positioned itself under the chin of Rarity and pushed the head back up so they looked into one another’s eyes yet again.

The unicorns exchanged glares of pure hatred to one another. No more friendship could be found within either of them. They had become the most bitter enemies of one another. “Is keeping you alive. To keep on living with your troubled mind and thoughts. For today, you saw a ghost.”

Those words almost caused the respiration of Rarity to stop completely, just the sheer shock that they carried within them was something she never could have expected, nor wanted to have expected.

“You… You..!” were the only words Rarity managed to say before the charge of Twilight was released. What followed was the mulberry unicorn laughing like a little devil before Rarity’s entire world went both black and numb.

What really happened was that every last bit of magic that she carried within her arms was being absorbed into a storage container outside of her body. Though that sudden loss in power caused Rarity to black out. That wasn’t before she noticed how Twilight faded out of the very fabrics of reality itself. She stood there, and then she was gone again.

Everything in her knowledge was then tested, whether she had seen an actual ghost which then meant that she had killed Twilight. Or was it just a trick from the unicorn to place her upon the wrong trail. It was impossible to tell for certain, nopony could be answering the questions that rose through her blackened mind.

Questions are there to be answered, but some would have been best unanswered.

Act 4 chapter 5

Slowly but surely did the eyes of Rarity open themselves again. But the place she was in, was everything but she had expected to have ended up. Her ears slowly twitched when she caught the rain and thunder going on outside yet her vision was still blurry. An arcane light was shining down her eyes which caused her to turn away. Though eventually she even dared to be looking at the surrounding she was in, and discovered the slow horrible truth.

The place she happened to be in was a room not much bigger than a cell used in the Ponyville guard station. Though something told her that it wasn't the Ponyville guard station for some reason. Her body rolled itself off of the bed and the mare looked around her. The walls with the one door were all black. Something that already eliminated any possible hiding spots for the mare. Thoughts began to course through her mind, wondering about many things at once.

It was only when she turned herself around towards the window that the reality of the situation became apparent. She didn't even wanted to believe it that she had ended up in a place like that, but it seemed like she did. A deep growl was left from the soul of her body before she tried to call upon the arms. Something that didn't really work before she noticed the crystalline dress she wore. “What are we getting to this time?” she muttered. Then she tried to charge up her horn.

Once again there was not a single spark of magic that came to her command, her reservoirs were just as empty as previously in the battle against Twilight. Though upon that memory along did the eyes narrow themselves. “You couldn't have brought me here!” she hissed through her teeth before her bum placed itself back on the bed.

The place where Rarity had ended up was in the maximum secured mental asylum of Canterlot. Only the craziest of ponies would have gotten the chance to end up in there. It was a place many even denied the existence of even. A place so filled with lunatics, that most of the villains Mare-Do-Well fought against, were based upon actual inmates of the place.

It was of course an insane idea already, but it was the actual truth of the matter. As sickening as it sounded or seemed to have been, it was what it was and there was no other way around it. Rarity had ended in the biggest lunatic bin that there within the borders of Equestria and she knew it.

Whatever they would have told her family, she could only hope that they thought she had passed away. The glare within her eyes remained upon the utter insanity that she was boiling with. That was all while plans of escape were already thought about. But if the rumors of the underworld had to be believed, there wasn't a way out of the place no matter how hard one tried. Once locked in there, one would be there until death came for them.

It truly was a fate worse than death that Twilight had given to her. That much she had already discovered. But the matter still remained standing for her to a certain degree. Of course the doctors in the place would try to help her, they always would be doing that. But she found herself a rather special case and therefore didn't even wanted to be helped out.

---

Days slowly had turned into weeks that she had been locked inside of the mental institute. There was nothing to entertain herself outside of her own thoughts. Thoughts of experiments that she could be conducting on her own one way. Perhaps that they would release her one day but the chances were small. She still was just as insane as when she was brought in.

“Doctor, what a pleasant surprise to see you here,” said Rarity when a stallion entered her cell. The time for the talking was there once again and even though she didn't have her arms, she was still a deadly femme fatale due to her charm. “If I may ask, what brings you here today?”

The stallion himself remained standing in the door opening before a deep sigh was released through his nostrils. “Milady Rarity, would you drop the formalities and show me exactly who you are,” he replied to her. Obviously every single pony in the asylum was already informed about her behavior. They all seemed to know what exactly she was hiding from them.

Though that also meant that some of them were still in for quite the little shock. For the mare then turned her expression down to a much more serious one before a growl was released. Not because of the that he spoke his words, but just because one little word instead. One word that caused her to shudder inside. One word to which she doesn't wanted to be reminded off anymore. “Listen to me, herr doctor, the name is no longer Rarity. Consider yourself lucky I am cut off from my magic, or you might have seen the truth about me. Doctor, Rare-opus is the name I now carry from this point onwards,” said Rarity before she rose upon her hindlegs. She wanted to make her posture seem even more intimidating for the stallion.

Yet the doctor didn't gave it all too much attention. He wanted to know the finer detail of everything. He wanted to know one little thing in particular. One thing that might actually have been rather important. “And why did you came to that name decision? You have been saying it against the guards for some time by now but nopony has asked you why. So I do it now, why?”

It certainly was a question that caught the mare completely off guard. Then she dropped back to all four of her legs. Which then resulted in her pacing up and down within the walls of her cell. The silent sounds that she made as the gears turned in her head were perhaps already more than enough for the stallion to get to know the thing.

Yet he wanted to hear it straight out of her mouth to classify just how far she was gone. And finally did the words came from her mouth. “It’s because of my extra limbs. This dress, when given the chance forms four extra limbs that I can control. As for the title of doctor, doctor.” Suddenly she turned her eyes over to the stallion with a smirk.

“It’s because of the likes of you. Ponies who think they can treat me, get me knocked back on the straight path and such. It’s a mockery because you do not see when something fails. I have seen ghosts and goblins in my days of wandering within the caverns below the land. Never expected to become one of them. Out, now.”

It was a command that was better heeded by the doctor. He then left her alone once more. She was a cunning mare, smart and sharp. But still as insane as the day that she was brought into the asylum. An asylum whose very leader had actually a rather special interest in the ivory unicorn.

Nopony truly knew why, but most could already guess it. Rumors did their turn by both the doctors, guards and other inmates but the two never even heard one another. Which made the case perhaps all the more interesting to say the least.

Yet when the doctor was gone, the unicorn herself turned over to the window before she released huge howling roar towards the weather outside. Her eyes looked over to the clouds that were as black as the night before she hissed her words through the jagged teeth. “This isn't over Twilight, even in death you still shall be coming to your end by my hooves and claws. You just wait until I have found a way out of this cursed place!”

Her words were both tough and strong, hiding the broken bits and pieces of her mind. Rarity was a strong mare once, but ever since the collapse, it was only getting worse. Time would be the deciding factor of just when, how and why she would lose her mind completely and become more beast, than sentient being.

“Every soul makes a deal with the devil and when he comes to collect his debt, interest shall be taken when the time is due,” were the last words she growled towards window. Her body turned itself away from the light.

Act 1 chapter 4

All of the clocks inside of Canterlot struck upon the fact that the hour had fallen once again. Four chimes were being made by the bells to indicate the time. For Rarity it was more than enough information. She had been shopping through the busy streets of the metropolis perhaps for a bit more than she would have liked to spend on her trip to begin with. A fact that came because her eyes that weren’t able to let some of the fabric just lying around like that. The unicorn knew that there were still were some minutes left that she could return to the hotel and drop off her things.

Which was exactly the thing that she did. Almost like a pegasus that galloped in order to take off, so fast ran Rarity through the streets in order to make it back to her room. Once the key was finally inserted into the hole and the door being opened for her did she took a deep inhale of the wonderful scents of the place. It was a little habit that she had when it came down to it. An unusual habit for certain but she couldn't complain about it whatsoever.

The bags were simply placed next to the queen sized bed as the horn of the mare discharged itself and she took out a fob watch out of a pocket. The mare looked at the time and knew it was almost there. The meeting with the princesses was about to begin though she still had just that couple of minutes before they would actually start. Something that relieved her a little bit.

Rarity’s eyes looked through the window and towards the castle that was standing on top of the hill. Her lips then slowly but surely curled themselves up into a smile before she gave a nod to herself. The watch was closed again and slid right back into the pocket before the mare left her room. The door fell back in its magical lock and the unicorn simply rushed out of the hotel and towards the castle itself at a calm pace. The last thing she wanted was to arrive out of breath and sweating like mad.

Yet on the other end she couldn't bare it to arrive late as well. She was going for a meeting with nopony else then the two highest princesses of Equestria. A fact that could be causing her to squeal in delight if she didn't remember how to behave like a true lady. And that was something a lot harder than it seemed for the unicorn.

---

In the meantime and in the throne room of the castle were both Luna and Celestia present. They were looking out of the window and towards the skies themselves. “Have faith, sister of mine. I’m certain that lady Rarity will be able to help us in our dire moment of need,” said Celestia herself in a calm, collected tone. She then turned herself around and walked back towards the throne.

“That’s my worry, sister, what if she fails on this quest? What if she doesn't have it in her like we thought that she would have? She may be the daughter of a famous gem-huntress, but that doesn't mean she inherited the same skills as she did,” replied Luna while she remained focused upon the world as it was outside. Though her eyes looked further, further than she ever had gone before. They weren't just staring at the skies, they were staring straight into space itself.

All of the bodies that were present deep in the skies could she feel. All of their motions and patterns like the thoughts in her head. It was only a shame that she couldn't see their colors. “I am only hoping that we didn't send her straight to her death Celestia, it would be a terrible shame of we have to let her join the stars of those past away. Her team is disposable of, you said that yourself but Rarity herself, she needs to live no matter what. If anypony can bring it back, it's her.”

Obviously the trip that was going to be made wouldn't be the most friendly one and it was a fact that both of the alicorns knew about. And as always there would have been details left out on purpose to soothe the ponies that were sent out into the wild. Some called it ridiculous that the royals were acting that way but there wasn't a single soul in the whole of the land that would have been able to make a difference to the two of them.

When Rarity finally arrived in the throne room, she happened to be precisely on time and the doors were being shut behind her. The unicorn turned herself around in order to see just was going on and even released a soft ‘hm’ in response. Though when her head turned itself back towards the throne itself, she caught the sight of both princesses being present in the fullest of glory.

“Fair lady Rarity, it’s a pleasure that you have accepted our invitation to guide an expedition down into the Canterlot mines,” spoke Celestia to her with a smile.

The words were a little bit confusing for the mare as she looked over to the alicorn with a tilted head. “I thought I would be managing it, not guiding it.”

“But with your expertise on the subjects of the gems, your team would be in the best of hooves with you personally down there, right? You know how some of the gems can be poisonous and are actually known to kill ponies faster than any living animal in the whole of Equestria.”

The words were hitting hard against the unicorn as she approached the two princesses even closer. Something about them kept on bugging the unicorn but she had not a true clue of the thing that they wanted from her down there. “Let’s say that I indeed be going down with this team of mine, of which I’m certain you have already assembled for me, what would be the thing that I’m looking for. Or better said perhaps, what we will be looking for? Because between us three, if it is a simple exploration mission, you wouldn't call in the help of a gem-huntress.”

It were words that caused both of the alicorns to chuckle a little bit in a good way against her. Luna simple gave a nod to confirm the words that were spoken by Rarity while Celestia actually replied to them. “What we be needing from you, is to guide an expedition down deep into the Canterlot mines and retrieve something that was thought to be lost long ago. Deep under the very soils that is Canterlot itself, lays a gem whose value can’t be determined. Whose power is nearly unimaginable.”

Before either of the royals could be speaking any further about the duties that had to be done, Rarity would have simply interrupted Celestia. But only when the lady noticed a break in the speech. “Hold one moment here, alright? So basically, what you want me to be doing is to go down there and retrieve this all powerful gem for the two of you?”

“That is very correct, fair lady,” replied Luna to her. She was the first to raise from the throne. “That is indeed what we desire from you and your team.” The lunar alicorn then gently walked down the steps of the throne and started to circle around Rarity in a rather calm manner.

Even though it was calm looking, the nerves could still be felt inside of a pony. But Rarity always had been a bit of a special case when it came down to it. “Make the reward higher by twenty percent, and we have a deal. I want my whole team to be insured in case something happens in this retrieval mission. We don’t want any kind of nasty, accidents.”

Celestia simply gave a nod that the terms were acceptable for her, even though Rarity could hardly believe it. There was something that the royals didn't told her. Something dangerous had been lurking inside of those caves and she preferred to not knowing what.

“Shall we continue then, lady Rarity?”

Act 1 chapter 14

Rarity had been doubting for the longest of time already, whether or not she should have to pick up the gem of the ancient times. A gem that powerful perhaps wasn't best suited for the hooves she carried. Though if she would leave it there, the chance was there that the changelings themselves would use it as a weapon of mass destruction upon Equestria. Enabling them to topple it into nothing but chaos, death and destruction. A grimmer future she couldn’t predict.

None of the other team members even dared to be speaking a word against her. The very doubt was clearly readable within her eyes. Time was the thing that she needed in order to proceed with caution. Perhaps a time that she didn't happen to have, especially in the time that everything was going on. Who could possibly knew that there weren't already changelings marching their way or even waiting for them back on the outside of the wall itself?

It was a rather tough situation that they all happened to be in. Yet none wanted to rush it whatsoever. Slow and steady won the race for certain. Rare Think began to pace gently up and down on his spot. His eyes were closed and he muttered inaudible words to himself. Brush and Drawn looked to one another before they gave a nod and simply remained standing there like statues.

Velvet Fashion on the other end looked to everypony that was there and she released a deep sigh through her nostrils and shook her head. Only to then return back to watch the show happen as Rarity had taken the first step forward.

---

Gone was the doubt from her face, gone was the doubting look within her eyes. And in had come the looks of determination. She knew what she wanted to do –if not needed to be doing. She had been set out by the very princesses of Equestria to reclaim the gems of the ancient times. And that job was exactly the thing that she would be doing.

Even to the point if it meant that she had to risk her life for it. Anything was better than a destroyed Equestria in that moment of time. Step by step she walks up to the pedestal. Her eyes focus themselves deeply captivated by the multi colored gem. The shape of the thing was unusual to say the least as well. Almost like a sign out of a horror story she had once heard. A tale about an magical engineer who had to stop an invasion of horrible deformed zombie-ponies. A tale that managed to shudder her and the cause of the infestation was looking her straight in the eyes.

The shape of the thing called a ‘marker’ wouldn't be forgotten that easily by her. “It is all or nothing, Rares, there is no middle road and you know that fact just as well as I do,” she spoke up against herself. Then it was her head which dropped slightly. The new perspective that she then got from the place was something that even caused her to see something different.

In her eyes she caught something that looked like the back of a book. Both of her eyebrows rose themselves up at it. The horn allowed the thing to be covered within the magical aura. With a gentle levitation spell was the thing brought into the light and it was indeed a massive book that she had picked up. Yet there wasn't any title that could be read upon it.

“I take this as a little souvenir for Twilight, after I looked through it myself, perhaps.” Rarity giggled up to herself before she placed the dusty old book next to her body. Then the eyes turned themselves back up towards the gem itself and another deep sigh was being released through her mouth. That ever doubting decision on whether or not to take it, was still lingering somewhere in her mind. The doubts never seemed to cease fully from her mind.

Yet the question remained though: she was a gem-huntress afterall. So why would she ever be having trouble with picking up a gem and bring it to those she promised it to? It was just a matter of business for her and that was how she should start to see the fact. The mare gently shook her head in order to get every fact straight in her head before the hoof began to reach out.

With the greatest of care would she have coiled her hoof around the artifact. The tingling of the magic could be felt surging through her body. A sensational feeling that gave her the illusion that she was invincible and almost undefeatable. The harmony of the three races burned within her heart, it was a feeling that was amazing to say the least.

Though the feeling was broken the moment the gem itself was taken off of its pedestal. From then it just turned into an ordinary, three colored gem that didn't hold much value. Rarity could only hope that the princesses happened to be having such an altar just in case. Although the answer was most likely not.

All of the sudden it seemed like time was standing still for her and her alone. The world around her wasn't the cavern anymore she used to be standing in. Instead she saw a world overrun by nothing but changelings. One burning to its very foundations. It was horrible to watch the future play out like that and the greatest wish that the mare had was for it all to stop there and then.

Which it luckily did and she took a couple of steps back with the gem firmly in her hoof. “V-Visions, future… We have to go, now!” Rarity exclaimed to the team. The mare turned herself around and galloped towards the doorway they came through. None of the other ponies even understood a thing of what was going through Rarity but they did follow their lead.

A wise decision for somewhere deeper in the caverns, had the ancient demon awoken.

---

In the deepest and blackest part of the entire caverns were the two bright orange eyes opened before a deep roar left the throat of the being. It noticed that something was wrong and off, a thing that shouldn't have been taken was gone. Revenge was the emotion that filled the creature. The mouth opened itself wider and the orange light even managed to come right out of the throat itself.

Yet only then was the horn charged up and the face was revealed. A face too rough for any female looking equine meant that this thing had be male of gender. From the looks, it was a changeling king. Beings more ferocious than the female counterpart and would be doing anything to get his way. Suddenly the dangers of both Canterlot as well as Equestria had risen through the roof.

“Find them, slaughter them, bring back what belongs to me!” the deep and growling voice of the king growled. Then there was a column of fire that left the mouth. He was breathing actual fires of rage on his very throne before the children under his command woke up.

Their hissing and flapping of the wings could be heard for miles beneath the surface and even the company heard all of the sounds coming their way. Life and death were standing on the line as each of them looked at one another as well as the caverns.

“What do we do now Rarity?!” Velvet Fashion exclaimed in a high pitched voice. She was truly terrified for the things that could happen. The things that would happen to them.

But Rarity shared her concern. She had only one answer. “Now, we run for our lives! Run!”

Act 2 chapter 7

While the heavy rain continued to pour down from the heavens above Ponyville, Rarity looked through the window of her shop. She could see that there was literally nothing that would make the storm come to an end. As far as the eye could reach it was covered in nothing but the black clouds. The unicorn knew more than enough about them. She knew that the storm would at least hold on for perhaps a day or two without a stop whatsoever. The moaning and groaning that she could be doing wouldn't have been something that would be helping her through the day whatsoever.

So the unicorn of both grace and fashion had to find a new manner of spending the time through the storm. The eyes of the mare slowly continued to look through the clouds, all in the vague hope to find any sign of the pegasi that were high up in there and unleashing the storm. Though the clouds themselves were so thick and so dark of color that it was impossible to glance through. She doubted that even with one of the most powerful illuminating spells that were known to the unicorn race wouldn't have been enough to make it through the pack.

“They are up there, I can guarantee you that much, but where remains to be the question left to be answered,” muttered Rarity to herself. The eyes made their way down to the ground in the hope to see some form of life down upon the streets. She didn't gave herself much of the chance though. The sapphire blue rimmed eyes fell down upon the street that she lived in. A street that was literally deserted from life itself.

Nopony played out on the street, nopony walked through it, nopony even showed itself before the very windows of the houses. Everything that could have made the street a ghost street had been checked in the mind of Rarity. Everything was just deserted. “Now there’s a sight you don’t see often,” the mare chuckled to herself before she tore her attention away from the sight. The eyes made their round through her shop.

Hours had already gone by without any pony having gone into it. Most of them were just galloping through the storm to get to their destination. The famous Carousel Boutique didn't happen to be on that spot sadly enough. Of course found the mare it a major shame that they rushed by like that yet she still could understand the situation.

Not that it did help her situation much though. Another deep sigh was released through her mouth as the mare moved slowly back towards the counter of the shop and the thoughts continued to grind themselves. Thoughts about all sorts of events which then got suppressed just as quickly again because she didn't wanted to remember herself on it. One of those things happened to be both the song and tome from the spell.

What followed was a near growling tone towards herself. Everything just went so slow for her liking in the moment and that was never a good thing. That was until she came to a little realization of a fact that happened to be lying around the counter. Her eyes fell upon a golden ticket.

A golden ticket of which she was just so familiar with yet at the same time just as alien to her. All of the sudden there was this massive shock of realization that went through the mare. She knew exactly what she had to be doing to kill the time.

---

Not much later could the unicorn be found tinkering within the workshop of the boutique. In front of her stood six mannequins and behind those a picture of one of her friends in a previously worn gala dress. “The Grand Galloping Gala is only a month away from now and I still haven’t gotten around doing these for them,” mumbled Rarity just before she looked vividly to each of the pictures.

“Each of them represents them yes, but just rehashing the idea isn't my style and surely they won’t appreciate that. …Not even going to ask what they want for those things this year.” The events of a previous gala were still stick deep in Rarity´s mind. Such an event wouldn't be quickly or easily forgotten by anypony actually. All of the stress rushed through her mind for one mere second before the eyes closed themselves off from the world.

Only to imagine what works of beauty would fit best for each of the mares during the gala. Imagines sparked up right inside of the mind of the mare as slowly the six mannequins were filled to the brim with the most beautiful of dresses. Dresses of which she thought that they were the best for each of them. Where they that year not only represented their personality, the mare had taken the dangerous step to also incorporate the very element they represented. There was a fine line between making it elegant and just bragging about it. That very line was one the unicorn didn’t wanted to cross at all yet wished to stay upon as close as possible.

It was a new challenge and she loved it. No magic happened just yet as each dress first needed to be fully thought out by her mind before they were being drawn. Speaking of the next step in the process, that was pretty much what Rarity went to do. With a nod given to herself were the eyes opened again and the horn charged itself up within the magical aura.

What happened next was the fact that she levitated both a sheet of paper and a piece of charcoal in the air. And then she just began to draw. Lines were made, erased and retraced in order to make the near perfect dress for that year's gala.

Rarity was completely back in her element. She did what she loved doing most and nothing could be stopping her. Almost, nothing.

---

For as the hours passed by slowly, her stomach began to rumble more constantly. The signs were pretty obvious. Even though she didn't wanted to take a break, Rarity had to take one. The magical aura gently disappeared from her horn. The sheet of paper was laid upon a desk to rest. With a gentle hum in her tone did the unicorn travel back to the living room where she took place in a chair together with the book.

Why she had taken that cursed book with her again was unknown to her. Perhaps she wanted to learn some of the tomes that were inside of it, perhaps she just needed something to get her mind off. Nopony could be knowing it for certain and as her eyes traveled over the pages while the lunch was being consumed, few even wanted to know it.

Outside did the rumbling of the thunder continue though it didn't scare the mare anymore. She had grown quite accustomed to the sounds through time itself. Only the really quick bursts of lightning and thunder managed to get her out of her concentration. Outside of those, there was almost nothing. And perhaps did that happen to be the greatest danger of all.

Act 3 chapter 5

The moon was standing high in the skies. It actually managed to shine its light into a pathway along the vegetation that continued to lead the mare into the depths of the forest. She didn't wanted to go to the castle of the two sisters though. She didn’t wanted to go to the castle that was rotting in the gears of time. It was a castle she knew almost from head to hoof but demolished by time. It also happened to have been a place that could have been easily searched if necessary.

No, what Rarity needed was another place to hide herself from the events. Perhaps a burrow deep under the ground, or a treehouse made in the thick vegetation of the leaves high up in the treetops above her. All kinds of those ideas just surged through her mind. The mare walked through the woods themselves. Ideas of madness and insanity fueled her mind. They made sure she kept on going like she did. She would never return to her old life.

She never would have been able to return even if she wanted. She had changed too much in those few little hours before everything went to hell. Yet the time to drop in sorrow or sadness just wasn't allowed. For the woods of Everfree were a harsh and unforgiving place where the right of the strongest being always counted. Rarity did happen to be aware of the creatures it housed and was ready to face them if needed.

Miles and miles she wandered through the deserted woods. All without having encountered even one living thing, or one thing that was even awake to begin with. The moon showed her the pathway to walk and she seemed to be trusting it for some reason. Perhaps princess Luna was trying to help her in a strange way, or it was just a fool’s luck that she managed to have found it. Whichever may have been the case, Rarity was quite content with the events.

Though even her luck eventually had to run out. The path would have led her straight through a massive opening within the woods. Yet when the mare looked even closer, she could see something even more terrifying. A manticore walked around the place and began to sniff the air.

There was no more doubt in the mind of Rarity, the creature had got her scent she needed to fight for her life. Every last bit of the pony she once tried to be was dropped and her mind went straight into survival mode. With a careful yet eerie calm trot did she walk up to the creature and prepared herself for the fight of her life. As did the manticore.

Arms flew through the air before punches were delivered by one another. Rarity avoided the talons of the manticore like they were nothing. Then they were blocked by her crystalline arms while the horn charged itself. Something done in order to release a near countless barrage of magic. The fight had been going on like that for minutes by then. Rarity could feel herself becoming exhausted. The troubles happened to have been that she wasn't the mare for fighting at all.

Yet it was the unicorn who actually went on with the duel. There was only one more thing that she could do and with the way the beast itself had positioned itself, it was the only way. The manticore had thrown himself almost right on top of Rarity. Yet her arms managed to capture the forelegs as well as the scorpion tail. The beast was locked in the arms and tried to drag the mare across but she had a rather firm grip on the ground.

With her one arm still free and her magic out, there was only one thing that could be done. All of the sudden was the final arm thrust forward, straight into the chest of the creature. The claw had disappeared deep into the flesh. That was before it retreated again with something in it. It took the manticore a couple of seconds before it went completely numb and dropped to the ground. Lifeless it simply laid there as the arm dropped the very heart of the beast.

Two kills on one evening, the psyche of Rarity wouldn't have gone forward on it. Though she had to push onward. Her eyes looked to where the moonlit path went to and made the decision to follow it before there would be anything else heading her way.

Rarity continued to walk down the moonlit path after having defeated the manticore in the opening. She panted like mad while her arms were even used to keep her straight up. Never in her life did she had to exhaust herself that much. The king of the Everfree was it often called and she could see why.

Pants and coughs were done by the mare every so often. She continued to stumble forwards with every little bit of power that was left in her body. Her magical reservoirs were emptied and her muscles sore from the fight. She happened to have become a rather easy prey for any timberwolf that could be lying straight upon her path. A little late night snack of fresh meat. Yet the looks in her eyes never had vanished. If anything, they just increased in their sheer insanity. Rarity wouldn't go down that easily after having slain one of the beasts.

Though even in the end did the mare had to take a rest of some sort. She needed to calm down and start to think about pretty much everything there was. Even if that happened to have been perhaps one of the biggest problems there was.

---

Eventually did the moonlit path stop al of the sudden. It had ceased near a little pond. A pond that fell straight into the eyes of the unicorn who calmly rose an eyebrow. She had heard of mythical ponds that could emerge in the woods of Everfree to those who needed it. But she couldn't believe that that one was actually meant for her. Who could have been able to tell the fact from fiction when it came to myths in the first place?

The mare gently approached the site. Then she dropped herself on her belly. Both of her forelegs calmly let their hooves touch the water. The head lowered itself on them. A deep sigh was released all of the sudden from her body. All while the eyes closed themselves. The arms were gently curled up around the body as yet another line of tears grew below her eyelid.

The time for sorrow and sadness had finally fallen upon her and every bit of misery of the situation was poured out under the bright moon. The silent crying that she did went almost unnoticed to the life within the woods and perhaps that was something for the better.

Yet inside of her mind did everything deteriorate even further. Slowly but surely was her persona of a lady released even more. That old persona would have been replaced with something that was unseen by anypony before. A nature that would have been able to survive the woods of Everfree. A pony who wouldn't have been bound to the rules of society.

The horses of old always had their traces hidden within the ponies. All that was needed in order to unlock their wilder nature, the nature they actually had before any form of society had ever been established had returned into the mind of Rarity. In the common tongue though, she would just have been called nothing else but criminally insane. Yet there was nothing that could prove such a feat there.

The eyes of the unicorn remained shut for the biggest moments in time as a deep sigh was once more released through her nostrils. She knew she had killed Twilight, there wasn't any other way around it. She was a stone cold murderer and the arms were her tools. Twilight was just dead, plain and simple like that. That was the strain of thought that continued to haunt her through the rest of the night, whether she would have liked it or not.

Act 4 chapter 6

While the screaming and ranting of the unicorn could be heard by all of the other cellmates, some of them were a lot more colorful than there was originally thought of them. All of Equestria’s most insane cases were locked up right inside of that very facility. Ponies with mutations or powers better left unspoken by any sane mind. Either way, they all were there because they had one little thing in common with each other. They were all classified as criminally insane or just completely insane.

Few of the ponies actually gave a hearing to the words that Rarity screamed. Most of them were more interested in the banging of her hooves against stone as they punched the walls for the last time, only to be followed by a near sobbing. Some of them looked to one another with a smirk, as if they knew exactly what they could and perhaps would be doing to the poor mare. If luck was standing on their side.

Though the mind of the ivory coated unicorn had finally snapped, it had finally broken among the walls of her cell. The beast would be replacing her. The Rarity that even the inmates once knew was gone. Only to be replaced with the most maddening form that the unicorn could have ever taken. Every single soul could have spoken of luck that she didn't had her magic to her. Otherwise there was no keeping control of her. Then again, she would have gotten out a long time ago.

Yet hidden among the darkness of one of the many unlit hallways could the clanking noise of an artificial leg be heard. Its echo pure as sunlight, thumping through it. It was a warning for all those in the asylum that the ruler and master of the place was somewhere near them. A pony who could be deemed just as insane as those who have been locked inside of it.

The sounds came all of the sudden to a silent hold The head slowly turned itself towards the noises made by Rarity herself. In a flash of lightning was the body of the doctor revealed for only a split second though the head remained in the shadows. What was seen though, was the white lab coat that was worn over the body as well as the amethyst leg. Only one pony in the land had such a prosthetic item attached to the body and the criminals shook their head as they returned deeper into their cells.

Upon the face of the boss grew a smirk that slowly turned itself into a deep laughter as the trotting continued. The body disappeared further and further into the madness until the words echoed back. “I like to see you try, doctor,” was spoken in a terrible teasing tone. One that would have made any inmate just wanted to choke the mare right where she stood.

“I’d like to see you, try.”