“Darling, I thought you used to live in Canterlot. And you've never been to the King of Pranceshia mall?”
“Well, I usually preferred to hang out at the library.” the lavender pony replied as she entered the enormous building. “I found I could learn so much there. Plus, I was a lot less social back then.”
“Then you have sorely missed out, dearie.” the snowy unicorn stated. “I think you’ll enjoy yourself here. There’s something for everypony! Anyways, you needed to take a break from your studies. You’ve been cramped up in that library too long.”
Over the past month or so, Rarity had taken each of her friends to her favorite mall, which happened to be one of the biggest malls in Equestria. As she had already taken everypony else at some time or another, she had eventually found herself asking Twilight to join her on a trip. However, the lavender alicorn was not known for taking breaks from her constant studying. Despite the fact that she no longer had to report her studies to Princess Celestia, Twilight still could rarely be found without her nose in a book or an experiment or in testing a new magical sell.
Fortunately, Twilight was as friendly as she was studious, and while it had taken a while for her to finish her project, (a study for a new type of animation spell,) she had finally agreed to accept Rarity’s offer. The two mares were now trotting through the mall, with Twilight’s wings drawing more than a few stares.
“Um… why does everypony keep looking at me?” Twilight asked with an awkward grin.
“Well, you are a princess, darling.” Rarity answered. “You’re bound to draw a few stares. I know everypony in Ponyville has gotten used to you, but this is Canterlot. They still have only ever really seen you at royal celebrations and events.”
“But I don’t like it.” Twilight sighed. “I don’t want to be treated differently just because I’m a princess doesn't make me better or anything.”
Rarity remained silent and looked awkward. She knew that many Canterlot ponies did tend to judge by appearances, but it wouldn’t be helpful to reiterate that.
“Why don’t we look into this store?” Rarity asked, trying to change the subject. “I’m sure Neighdstroms will have some fabulous outfits that you will just die for.”
***************************************************
“How about this, Rarity?” Twilight asked, holding up a sensible, plain blouse and skirt in muted colors. “I think it really speaks about who I am.”
Rarity pursed her lips as she looked over the outfit. “Darling… while I admit, black never goes out of style, and that grey blouse is quite becoming… it just seems… well, it could use a little, you know… flair!”
Twilight looked over the ensemble. “Mm, you’re right.” she mused. “Maybe a little ribbon to tie my mane back with….”
Rarity sighed. “Well, it’s your decision.” she conceded. She shrugged to herself as she remembered that, while Twilight’s sense of fashion was decent, it tended to be very… minimalist.
“I like it.” Twilight said with a smile. “I think I’ll get it.”
“Are you sure you don’t want one of those lovely ensembles?” Rarity asked, pointing towards an attractive and glamorous red dress.
“Why would I want that?” Twilight asked. “I mean, if I wanted something fancy, I can just go to you. Your stuff is a lot better than that. I mean, you are a leading fashion designer. Even Sapphire Shores gets her outfits from you.”
Rarity looked surprised. “Um… thank you, Twilight.” she replied, blushing slightly. It suddenly occurred to her why her other friends may not have been so enthusiastic about dress shopping with her. While Rarity herself enjoyed the thrill of exploring new styles and designs, her friends had custom tailoring. Admittedly, to someone not as interested in fashion as herself, that would seem to outweigh any store-bought item.
“How about we look over those designer saddlebags?” Rarity suggested. “Perhaps you’ll find something you like there. After all, a princess has an image to keep up, you know.”
***************************************************
As the two ponies trotted out of the store, Twilight looked about excitedly. Even as a Canterlot pony, she had never seen so many stores and shops in one place.
“Ooh! Look at that!” Twilight exclaimed, pointing towards an arcade. “I haven’t been to one of those in ages!” She turned towards Rarity. “Isn’t that the arcade you and Rainbow went to?”
“It certainly is.” Rarity exclaimed. She looked at Twilight’s excited face. “Do… you want to go in, darling?”
“Well, if you wouldn’t mind….” Twilight replied with a hopeful grin.
Rarity gave Twilight a smirk. “Well, I daresay you’ll have to do your best to outdo me.” she answered.
As Twilight excitedly dashed inside, Rarity followed at a more stately pace. All those flashing lights and noises reminded her of what she pictured Las Pegasus might look a bit like.
“Well, I had fun with Rainbow here last time.” Rarity admitted to herself. “It’s not so much my style, but I’m sure it could still be enjoyable.”
But as Rarity saw the game Twilight was heading towards, her heart sunk.
“Over three hundred games in this place, and she has to pick Dance Dance Marevolution.” Rarity groaned.
***************************************************
“You win!”
Rarity shrugged at Twilight as the victory title flashed on the white mare’s screen.
“Sorry, dearie.” she replied.
Twilight gave a cheerful smile. “That’s okay. I had fun anyways.”
“You lose!” Twilight’s screen shouted.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Although do they have to make it scream it out?” she sighed.
“Pitifully!”
“Is that really necessary?” Twilight asked.
“Sweet Celestia, your dancing STINKS!!!” the machine screamed.
“Hey!”
“Please, do NOT try again!”
“Stupid machine!” Twilight growled, kicking the arcade game.
“Help! Help! Arcade game assault!”
“Maybe we should go somewhere else, darling.” Rarity tactfully suggested.
“Good idea.” Twilight snorted. “Before I’m tempted to use a transformation spell on that dumb hunk of junk.”
“It takes one to know one!”
***************************************************
“Eeeee hee hee!”
Rarity sighed as she followed Twilight into the Barns and Neighbles bookstore. She had been hoping to save this for last, but it hadn’t take Twilight long to locate it on the mall directory, and once she had, there could be no stopping her.
“Well, perhaps we’ll manage to go to some other stores sometime before closing.” Rarity mumbled to herself.
Twilight was excitedly browsing the bookshelves, doing her best to remain quiet despite her excitement.
“Rarity, Rarity!” she cried. “Look! They have Quantum Singularities and Their Universal Impact, The Revised Pony’s Guide to Proper Grammar, Star Swirl the Bearded and His Impact On Modern Magic, oh, it’s just so exciting!”
“That’s… nice, dearie.” Rarity replied with an awkward grin. “If you need me, I’ll just be reading over some of those fashion magazines over there.”
“Are you sure you don’t want a copy of Equestrian Pathology? Veeery informative!”
“I think I’ll do just fine, dear.” Rarity replied. “You go off and enjoy your books.”
As Rarity walked off, Twilight began to look over the books. But as she looked closer, she noticed that something was amiss.
“Alphabetically organized?” she mused. “Hmph. That’s kind of a beginner’s way of doing things. I’ll just help them out a little.”
She began to rearrange the books, moving them hither and yon.
“Nothing like the Dewy Decimal System to improve the organization of the written word.” Twilight said to herself. “Dewy Drops was a genius, that’s for sure.”
***************************************************
Rarity was sipping a hot chocolate, browsing over a section of her magazine in which Fleur-de-lis explained her diet and workout routine. It was only when Twilight’s cries reached her ears that she looked up. When she did, she rather wished she hadn’t.
“What do you mean, I’m not welcome here!?” Twilight exclaimed irately as she was being led out. “I was helping organize your shop! It’s a veritable mess!”
“Ma’am, I know you meant well, but now I have no idea where anything is!” the shopkeeper exclaimed. “It’ll take me hours to put everything back!”
“But I even made you a card catalogue!” Twilight exclaimed, holding out a tall pile of cards.
“Ma’am, this is a bookstore, not a library!” the storekeeper replied. “And until you can leave my books where they are, I’m asking you to leave! I don’t want any more of your help!”
Rarity got up and went up to Twilight as the lavender mare stomped off in a huff.
“What happened, darling?” Rarity asked.
“Gross uneducated narrow-mindedness, Rarity.” Twilight snorted. “Hmph. Didn’t even have A Study in Pegasi Thermodynamics.”
***************************************************
“Oh, don’t let that whole bookstore thing spoil our whole day, Twilight.” Rarity said gently. “I’m sure there are plenty of other places you could enjoy.”
“Well… I suppose.” Twilight sighed. She looked over at one of the stores. “I guess I could use some nice candles to freshen up the library.”
Rarity suddenly cringed as she saw the store Twilight was approaching.
“Tell you what, darling. I know where there’s a wonderful candle store just down the road.” Rarity suggested. “I’ll even go down there and get you a whole bushel of candles myself.”
“Oh, thank you Rarity, but I wouldn’t want to put you through all that trouble.” Twilight replied. “Besides, there’s a candle store right here!”
As Twilight walked in, Rarity moaned to herself.
“Just keep calm, Rarity.” she told herself. “Twilight is the most responsible pony you know. What could go wrong?”
As Rarity trotted in after Twilight, she noticed that the clerk took one look at her, then looked about hastily. Apparently she still hadn’t gotten over the incident from Rarity’s last visit.
“That crazy-looking guy with the antler and goat horn isn’t going to show up again, is he?” the clerk asked nervously.
“I certainly hope not.” Rarity replied. “Although I hope you can act a little more civilly. That last problem was an accident, after all.”
“Whatever, lady.” the clerk grumbled. “Just keep out of….”
“Aaaa… choo!”
“… trouble.”
Twilight gave a little shriek as the candle before her sprouted fur and spider’s legs and began to scurry after her.
“Sorry!” she squealed. “I was trying to cast an analysis spell to determine the materials in the candles, and that sneeze caught me off guard, and I guess I just kind of accidentally cast a different sort of spell instead….” She grinned awkwardly. “I can fix this!”
“Please… don’t.” the clerk groaned, obviously trying to restrain herself. “Just… leave.”
“But I can….”
“Just… leave.” the clerk repeated between gritted teeth.
Twilight and Rarity trotted out, watching as the clerk tried to tackle the mutant candle.
“Well, she seemed huffy.” Twilight mumbled. “I wonder what’s bothering her?”
Rarity sighed. “I’ll tell you later, dearie.”
***************************************************
As the two ponies Trotted through the mall, Twilight suddenly gave an elated squeal.
“Oooh! Lookie, Rarity!” Twilight exclaimed with glee. “They have a Reins Workshop!”
“A what now?” Rarity asked as Twilight trotted up to the store.
As Rarity approached, she saw a bunch of tiny little model ponies and monsters, all intricately hoof-painted. Many of them were rather grotesque, and all of them seemed armed for some sort of battle.
“Darling, might I ask… what exactly are those… things?”
“These are Marehammer models.” Twilight explained, staring at the tiny little models. “You see, you build up your armies, designing and customizing them, and then you send them into battle against one another! It has lots of rules and dice and math and other fun stuff like that.”
“Well, couldn’t they use something a little more… pretty?” Rarity asked, looking over a particularly atrocious model. “Sweet Celestia, what in the wide world of Equestria is that?!”
“That’s an Elite Chaos Twisted Flankchomper.” Twilight explained, pointing towards a beast that looked like a shapeless mass of writing mouths and eyeballs. “The Chaos beings tend to be pretty ugly, especially the Twisted classes. If you want something prettier, try something from Braytonia or some of the Woodland Deer units. High Deer tend to have silly hats, but they do have some serious advantages in magic.”
“Ah, looking over the troops?” a unicorn pony asked. He had a tan coat and a Cutie Mark of a pair of dice, and his head was maneless. His tail and small beard were auburn, and her wore a red shirt with the words ‘Reins Workshop’ printed over the pocket. “My name’s Dice Toss. Can I help you two ladies with anything?”
“Yes, please.” Twilight replied. “I was just wondering, do you have the latest copy of White Horse?”
“Just got it in yesterday!” Dice Toss replied. He levitated over a magazine with a picture of a pony on the front who was clad in the bulkiest, spikiest, most frightening suit of armor Rarity had ever beheld.
“It’s got a view on some of the latest new models.” the attendant went on, flipping through a couple pages and showing them to Twilight, who listened with rapt attention. “The Caribou Ice Cannon is pretty sweet, and the Vampony Lords have the new Bellman of Tambelon unit. And the Ponorcs have their new Berserk Boyz units. And then of course the Lunar Empire has just gotten the long-awaited Nightmare Tamer.”
“I’m more of a Solar Dominion fan.” Twilight replied. “Do you happen to have anything in that range?”
“We sure do!” Dice Toss exclaimed, flipping a few pages and pointing towards a few models which looked like ponies made of fire.
“The Celestial Flame Spirits.” Dice Toss said with bravado. “These units are the guardians of the Eternal Solar Flame, and they have the Scalding Armor ability, which adds a point of damage for every armor point the enemy has, assuming of course it’s metal armor.”
“Ooo!” Twilight gushed. “They look amazing! Do you have any in stock?””
“You’re in luck! We still have a couple left!” Dice Toss exclaimed. “I had trouble keeping those things on the shelves, they’re getting bought up so fast!” He then turned towards Rarity. “So, do you play, too?” he asked. “You strike me as more of a Saddle Arabian Knights type. We have some Desert Djinn models we just got in. Or maybe you’re a Crystal Kingdom fan. That’s our hottest new line. Those Crystal Prism Warriors are pretty darn impressive.”
“I’m just here as a friend.” Rarity replied politely. “Frankly, I’m a little lost as to what everything is here.”
“Well, feel free to browse.” Dice Toss replied cheerfully. “I’ll head into the back and see if I can’t find those Celestial Sun Spirits.”
Dice Toss left for a couple minutes, then came back with a box with the Celestial Flame Spirits pictured on the front.
“Oh, this will be so amazing!” Twilight cried. “By the way, do you have tournaments here? It gets kind of old having to go to Manehatten for most of them.”
“We have some pretty big tournaments here from time to time.” Dice Toss replied. “I’d love to have you drop by. By the way, have you ever played Animated Mode?”
“No! I’ve always wanted to!” Twilight exclaimed. “You mean you have full tournaments with magically animated models right here?!”
“That’s the idea!” Dice Toss replied.
“Eee hee hee!” Twilight squealed, clopping her front hooves together as she pranced on her other two. “I’ve been working on a new animation spell, you see. Instead of providing the object with a generic puppet-like animation, it animates the object to fulfill and act out its function. So if I use it on a broom, the broom will begin to sweep up dirt! This will make my units so much more interactive, so that they act out basic personalities!”
“Ha! That’s amazing!” Dice Toss exclaimed. “Care to show me it?”
“Well… it’s not exactly finished….” Twilight replied uncertainly.
“Aw, come on!” Dice Toss pleaded.
“Well… I guess I could try it on just one model….” Twilight stated.
Her horn lit up as she focused her magic on a Ponorc model. There was a flash of magenta light, and a swirl of sparks.
As the sparks cleared, the three ponies saw the small painted figure hopping about, looking rather angry.
“It doesn’t look all that friendly.” Rarity noted.
“Of course it doesn’t. It’s a Ponorc.” Twilight replied. “They tend to be rather aggressive.”
“Ha!” Dice Toss exclaimed. “That is amazing! Can you teach me that spell?”
“Well, I haven’t fully perfected it yet.” Twilight admitted. “I need to make a few more tests before I can instruct others on how to use it. After all, when one uses animation spells, one must be very careful.”
“Um, darling….” Rarity interrupted. “Not to be rude, but I think that there is a teeny problem with your spell.”
“What?” Twilight asked, turning around.
Suddenly, she gasped. The Ponorc had collided with a few of its allies, and now they had come to life as well.
“Oops!” Twilight exclaimed falteringly. “That wasn’t supposed to happen. Apparently touching one another causes the animation magic to brush off!”
“Cool!” Dice Toss exclaimed.
“Well, that was unexpected.” Twilight stated. “I should put them back to normal before we end up with a tiny army on our hands.”
Her horn flashed again, followed by more sparks and a loud crash.
The crash was from the game table the models sat upon, as its legs broke. And now, sitting atop the table, were five life-sized Ponorcs, looking angry and confused.
“What in Equestria did you do?!” Rarity shrieked. “Twilight! Change them back! Use that fail-safe spell you learned!”
Twilight tried casting the spell, but though it provided a very interesting lights show, it had no effect on the Ponorcs.
“It’s not working!” Rarity shrieked, shaking Twilight. “Why isn’t it working?!”
“I… don’t know.” Twilight stated. Then a look of realization came over her face. “Oh. Oh dear.”
“What?” Rarity cried.
“That animation spell… it was sort of… well… I may have tried to add a little chaos magic?”
“Chaos magic?!” Rarity screamed.
“I thought I could control it!” Twilight exclaimed.
“Oh, that would explain why they got so big.” Dice Toss mused. “Chaos magics are extremely unpredictable. Mixing regular magic with them can have unusual effects. I wondered how you managed to add basic personalities using conventional means.”
“Stop being fascinated!” Rarity screamed at Dice Toss. “We have a crisis on our hooves! Who knows what could….”
“Hey, pony lady!”
Rarity turned to see one of the Ponorcs staring at her.
“Are you addressing me?” she replied curtly. “Because a polite pony would refer to me as ‘miss’ or ‘ma’am’ or even ‘madame’.”
The Ponorc sneered. “Shut big mouf, pony lady. Where is your treasure?”
“I don’t happen to have any.” Rarity replied. She turned to Twilight. “Why did you have to make them so rude?”
“Lies!” the Ponorc cried. “You have shiny gems on your hiney!”
“I beg your pardon?!” Rarity exclaimed in an offended voice.
“Shiny gem mark means you has treasure!” the Ponorc bellowed. “Give us now! Or we feed you to Squigtrotters!”
“I do not have any treasure with me, you inerudite ruffian.” Rarity exclaimed huffily. “My talent happens to be fashion.”
“Hey, you maggots!” another Ponorc cried. “Check this out!”
The Ponorc touched another model with his hoof. Suddenly, it flashed and grew, becoming a gaunt vampony.
“What isss going on here?” the vampony hissed.
“Ha!” the Ponorc cried. “We touch toys, toys become allies!”
“We raise army!” another Ponorc cried. “Get all the treasure we want!”
“Simpletonsss.” the vampony hissed. “We could raise up an army to conquer this entire land!”
“Yeah! Waaaaaugh!” the Ponorcs bellowed.
As they began to touch as many of the evil models as possible, Twilight tried to attack one of the Ponorcs, but it merely grabbed her.
“You stay out of way, floppy-winged pony.” he growled. “Or we feed you to Squigtrotters.”
Unfortunately, Twilight’s attempt to stop the animation process drew the attention of the vampony.
“Look at her.” he hissed. “Wingsss and a horn. She isss a princessss!”
“Princess?” the Ponorc growled, grinning nastily. “She make good prisoner. We get big moneys for her!”
“Oh, no you don’t!” Twilight shouted. With a flash, she teleported out of the Ponorc’s grip.
“Seize them!” the vampony shrieked.
The Ponorcs closed in around Twilight, Rarity, and Dice Toss, now with more unpleasant monsters in their ranks.
“Not today, boys.” Twilight replied. Her horn flashed, and the three ponies disappeared.
***************************************************
When the three ponies reappeared in a nearby candy store, they were met with a horrific sight. The entire mall was being overrun by oversized toys, and to make matters worse, the animation spell didn’t seem to apply only to toys and models. Ponnequins were galloping about in their stylish outfits, animated pieces of furniture were dashing about randomly, and even a herd of hayburgers were bouncing past. Ponies were running and screaming all about. All in all, it was total bedlam.
“This is bad.” Twilight exclaimed. “This is so unbelievably, extraordinarily, enormously bad!”
“Well, what are we going to do?!” Rarity exclaimed.
“I don’t know about you,” Dice Toss cried, “but I’m hiding in here until somepony stops this madness!”
Twilight looked at Rarity. “Well… I guess it’s up to us.”
“But darling, your magic didn’t work against them!” Rarity exclaimed. “How can we stop them?”
Twilight shook her head. “I don’t know. I need some way to reign in the chaos magics. Oh, if only I had the Elements of Harmony with me!”
Rarity looked thoughtful. “Twilight, go get them.” she ordered.
“Are you crazy?!” Twilight shrieked. “What will you do in the meantime?”
“Well, what other choice do we have?” Rarity asked. “You could teleport out and bring them here to fix this mess! Unless you want to go tell the princesses?”
At the mention of the princesses, Twilight’s face blanched.
“Elements it is.” she conceded.
“I can look after myself, dearie.” Rarity assured her. “I survived everypony else’s crazy antics here, I’m sure to survive this one.”
Twilight looked back at Rarity. “Rarity… I’m sorry I ruined this. Ruined everything.”
“I know you are, dearie.” Rarity said softly. “Now go. Go!”
Twilight turned, disappearing in a flash of magenta light. Rarity turned, just in time to see a group of Ponorcs raiding a Pondora jewelry shop.
Her eyes narrowed. “Oh, it… is… ON!”
***************************************************
Rarity dashed through the mall. Subduing the Ponorcs at the jewelry store had just made her the target of a great deal of dangerous monsters which were now pursuing her.
She dashed into one of the nearby stores, looking for a place to hide. She found that she was in a toy store. Dashing over to one of the little playhouses, she dove inside and shut the door behind herself.
“Oof! Find your own space!”
Rarity turned to see a tan pegasus with a curly white mane and a Cutie Mark of a stuffed doll.
“This is my toy shop! Go find your own place to hide!”
“So sorry.” Rarity replied. “It’s just that I have a few monsters tailing me, and I don’t want them to know where I am.”
The pony sighed. “Okay, fine. Just stay quiet.” She then looked over Rarity, narrowing her gaze. “Have I seen you before?”
“Maybe in a fashion magazine.” Rarity replied. Normally she would have bathed in the recognition, but at the moment she was rather distracted. “I’m Rarity.”
“Ooooh yeah.” That’s where I saw you before.” the mare replied. “You were that mare who came in with that crazy cowpony who wrecked my store.”
Rarity flinched. Of all the toy stores in the mall….
“Sure wish that pony was here now.” the mare mumbled. “Do you have any idea what’s going on?”
“Erm… a spell got out of control.” Rarity replied, peeking out one of the little windows. “My goodness. Those monster toys are overrunning everything. I do hope Twilight get’s back soon.”
“Twilight? As in, Princess Twilight?” the mare exclaimed. She narrowed her eyes again, then they grew wide. “Sweet Celestia! Now I remember! You’re one of the Elements of Harmony!” The mare clopped her hooves excitedly. “Thank goodness! You’ll set everything right soon, right?”
“Well, as of the moment, I’m waiting for Twilight to fetch the Elements of Harmony.” Rarity replied. “Frankly, I have no idea what to do.”
“Who was the dodo who started this, anyway?” the mare asked. “Who would make a spell that only animates monsters?”
“It doesn’t only affect monsters.” Rarity explained. “The spell transfers on contact. It could animate virtually any… thing….” Her voice trailed off as an idea came to her mind.
“You… what’s your name….”
“Rag Doll.”
“Rag Doll.” Rarity stated. “I need you to help me collect some toys, while I go capture one of those fiendish creations. I think I have a way to stall these monstrosities until Twilight gets here with the Elements.”
***************************************************
“I don’t get it.” Rag Doll exclaimed as she and Rarity collected a large pile of toys. “All the furniture and stuff seems to be on the monsters’ side as well. What makes you think this will be any different?”
“Because the spell is made to make an object act out its function.” Rarity replied. “But it has some glitches. Apparently other traits can get transferred on contact as well. That’s why the toys keep growing to life size, because the size is being transferred as well. But the furniture and such is at the size it was normally meant to be, and so the magic doesn’t affect it.”
“That still doesn’t explain why the monsters are being helped by various appliances.” Rag Doll stated.
“Well, I’m no magical expert,” Rarity answered, “but the way I see it, the monsters have a built-in basic morality alignment. Since they are monsters, the spell makes them act out their functions as monsters. But things like furniture and such don’t have a morality alignment, and so they gain the morality of the thing which animates them. My hope is that a toy with a different morality won’t be affected by that.”
Rarity levitated up her captive: a hayburger that was angrily snapping at her. She levitated the burger over towards a royal knight action figure.
“With any luck, the knight will retain his good morality, and perhaps even be able to transfer it to other objects.” Rarity explained.
As the burger touched the toy knight, there was a flash. Suddenly, standing before them, was a life-sized soldier.
“I sure hope you’re right about your guess.” Rag Doll mumbled.
The knight turned towards the two ponies. Rarity bit her lip nervously as it strode towards her.
The knight stared at her for some time. Then, breaking the silence, it spoke.
“What are my orders, fair maidens?”
Rarity breathed a sigh of relief. “We need you to help us.” she replied. “We’re going to need an army.”
***************************************************
A group of Ponorcs had surrounded a young mare, and were advancing towards her ominously.
“You! Give us your treasure, pony! Or we feed you to Squigtrotters!”
“You certainly are ponies of one idea, aren’t you?” replied an elegant voice behind them.
The Ponorcs turned around, and their eyes grew wide with fear. Standing behind them was Rarity, and behind her was an entire platoon of knights, not to mention a few fans, a swarm of donuts, a ponnequin in a formal suit, a waterbed, and a great assortment of other unusual animated allies.
“I order you to stand down!” the knights all said at once with mechanical precision.
“Will you take me to the Gala?” a giant doll asked.
“Time to Power Pony up!” an action figure cried.
The Ponorcs looked nervously at one another.
“Sound the war horn!” one of them bellowed.
One of the Ponorcs blew into a horn. The loud noise resonated throughout the mall. Swarms of monstrous minions began to swarm towards them.
“You want fight, prissy pony?” the lead Ponorc growled. “You get one! Waaaauuuugghhh!”
“Chaaaaaarrrrge!” Rarity cried.
The two armies dashed towards one another. As Rarity lead the charge towards the legion of evil animated beings, everything seemed to go into slow motion. Her mane flowed behind her as she charged into the fray, shouting a battle cry. Past her head, toy arrows and suction darts shot past, as she dodged them with deft agility. She raised her hooves in the martial arts pose she had been taught so long ago. For some reason, heroic music was playing over the intercom.
As Rarity leapt into the fight, her hooves whirling with the moves of a karate expert, one thought pervaded her mind:
“This has to be the most absurd thing I have ever done.”
***************************************************
The battle raged on. It had been going on for a full hour now, and both sides still seemed to have barely been diminished. Rarity continued her assault with a furious determination. She was covered in suction marks, syrup, hummus, and candle wax, and her mane was an absolute mess, but despite these terrible wounds, she refused to retreat.
“My lady!” one of the knights cried. “You have done your duty! Fall back, and let our stylists take care of you! We can handle this!”
“Never!” Rarity growled. “These uncouth barbarians shall pay for their crimes! They destroyed that Marices, all those innocent, defenseless ensembles, and now they… shall… PAY!”
Suddenly, a flash filled the mall. In a blaze of magenta light, five figures appeared within the Radio Stable.
Rarity sighed in relief. “Thank goodness. She’s back.”
The unkempt unicorn galloped into the shop, approaching her friends.
“I am so glad to see you.” she replied. “And not a minute too soon, either.”
"Sorry." Twilight apologized. "It took me a while to round everypony up."
“Woah.” Rainbow Dash gasped, looking around at the surrounding battle. “And I thought I caused a lot of trouble.”
“Oh… my.” Fluttershy squeaked.
“Woah, nelly.” Applejack breathed. “Looks like this time the toys really are goin’ crazy!” She bucked back a group of cackling toy balls with rubbery protrusions as they leapt at the ponies.
“This is SO AWESOME!” Pinkie Pie squealed, bouncing in the air. “An enormously huge save-the-entire-mall-from-evil-toys-and-appliances battle! Best. Mall. Trip. EVER!”
“Alright girls, we need to set this right!” Twilight exclaimed. “Rarity, here’s your Element.”
Rarity strapped on the jeweled necklace. As she did, light enveloped the six ponies. Their Elements began to emit their own unique rays of light. A rainbow linked them together, swirling about the ponies as they levitated into the air.
There was a flash of multihued light that spread across the entire mall. For a moment, all was color.
Then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone.
And suddenly, the mall was filled with something that it had not heard for some time.
Quiet.
***************************************************
As the ponies looked out, they saw the ground strewn with ordinary, harmless toys and furniture. Ponies were traipsing about and crawling out of their hiding places. As they mulled about, each musing as to just what had happened, Twilight turned towards Rarity.
“Rarity… I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean to….”
Suddenly, a flash of light filled the mall, lighting it up as bright as lightning. All the ponies gasped as the light cleared, and from it emerged the graceful figure of Princess Luna.
But her normally stern face was now even more severe. As the ponies all bowed, Luna looked about with her imposing gaze.
“We sensed that chaos magic was present here.” she exclaimed. “We came as soon as we could, but it appears that much havoc hath already been wrought.” She struck the ground with her hoof. “Now, who here knows who cast such a spell? Who is responsible for this bedlam?”
From a candy shop, Dice Roll emerged. “Y-your Royal Highness.” he stuttered. “I believe I know who is responsible.”
There was murmuring from the crowd. Twilight gulped as her friends turned towards her worriedly. She stepped forwards out of the shop as Dice Roll spoke up.
“It was… well, I don't want to be a tattletale, but… um… it was….”
“It was me.”
The crowd gasped in surprise as they turned towards the mare who had spoken, but they were not nearly as surprised as Twilight was as she watched Rarity step in front of her.
“I cast the spell.” Rarity stated firmly. “I was trying to show off my skills, but they got… out of control. I tried to undo it, but I couldn’t control it. If it wasn’t for my good friend, Twilight Sparkle here, I would never have gotten this under control.” She bowed her head. “I… am truly sorry. I never meant for this to happen.”
As the monies all began to murmur, Princess Luna gave Rarity a stern glance.
“Meet me in the palace. All six of you.” she uttered.
***************************************************
“Rarity, I can’t let you take the blame for what I did!” Twilight exclaimed as they stood in the palace hall. “It was my fault. Seeing you take the punishment in my place would be more than I could bear.”
“Darling, I must.” Rarity replied, though she was trembling as she said it. “You are a princess. You have an image to keep up. If I make a mistake, it will all blow over eventually. But all eyes are on you as the newest princess. If they found out what you did… well, you would lose their faith. That’s something I cannot allow to happen.”
Rainbow Dash gave a low whistle. “Rarity, I have gotta admit, that was about the coolest thing I’ve ever seen you do.”
“I’m with Twilight on this one.” Applejack put in. “Rarity, that was about the most generous act I’ve ever seen, and that’s sayin’ a lot comin’ from you, but it ain’t right fer y’all ta take the blame. Twilight and the princesses go way back. They’ll work something out.”
“Indeed we will.”
The six ponies gave a startled jump, quickly bowing as Luna entered the room. Beside her, Celestia strode along gracefully.
“Thou art a very good friend, Miss Rarity.” Luna stated with a smirk. “Though your ruse was hardly enough to fool one with centuries of experience, it was very touching.”
“Y-you knew?” Rarity gasped.
“We have been about for a long time. We are not easily deceived.” Luna replied with a smile.
“And it proves your generous spirit.” Celestia added. “You were willing to take the fall for your friends. That is the mark of the truest of friends.”
Then, Celestia turned towards Twilight. “And as for you, Twilight….” she said sternly.
Twilight gulped.
Celestia stared very hard at Twilight. Then her gaze relaxed, and to the others’ surprise, she smiled.
“You still have a lot to learn.” Celestia stated. “Almost as much as I had to when I was your age.”
Twilight looked up at Celestia hopefully. “So… does this mean you forgive me?”
“Well, you aren’t totally absolved from your actions.” Celestia replied. “But as it was an honest accident, I think I can be lenient.”
Celestia raised her head. “Princess Twilight, for your actions, you are to help instate the Standardized Bookstore Organization Act.” She gave a chuckle. “Some of these bookstores are just so poorly organized.”
Twilight’s face lit up. “I won’t let you down, Princess!” she exclaimed, giving a salute.
Rarity sighed with relief. “I’m just glad things ended up all right in the end.” she exclaimed. “But still, what about the enormous mess?”
“We have a cosmically powerful spirit of chaos in our service who seems to have way too much free time on his hands.” Luna smirked. “We do not believe that it shall be difficult.”
“And as for you, Rarity, I shall personally see to it that you do not receive any infamy from this incident.” Celestia stated. “I think you’ve been generous enough already, without having to take all that bad press.”
Luna then turned to Celestia.
“And sister… I believe there is still one last matter to settle?” She held out her hoof expectantly.
Celestia sighed, dropping a hoofful of bits in Luna’s outstretched hoof.
“Um… what was that all about?” Applejack asked.
“Oh, nothing.” Luna replies with a chuckle as she and Celestia turned to leave. “Now then, be on your way. We shall see to it that Discord repairs the damages shortly.”
As the six ponies left, Luna gave a chuckle. Leaning close to Celestia’s ear, she whispered, “I told you it would be her.”
“Just because there’s a magical spell gone awry does not mean Twilight is always behind it.” Celestia whispered back.
“Well, I figured my chances were at least fifty-fifty.” Luna stated.
“Luna!” Celestia exclaimed, while Luna giggled and trotted off.
***************************************************
“Rarity… I’m sorry.” Twilight said softly. “I know I’ve said it before, but… well, let’s face it. Causing an uprising of animated toys, furniture, and other items is not exactly your average mess-up.”
“Oh darling, it’s all water under the bridge.” Rarity replied as the two ponies trotted past the mall. “Besides, the first time I did anything with you, I was helping you hunt down a possessed princess in a haunted forest. I never expected life to be boring when I became your friend.”
“But… what will all those ponies think of you?” Twilight asked.
Rarity shrugged. “For once, I’m glad that my fame hasn’t spread too greatly.” she replied. “Odds are, nopony will remember this incident in a month or two. After all, stranger events have happened, and we do seem to get some magical threat or another rather regularly. It shall all blow over soon.”
“Well, I want to make it up to you.” Twilight exclaimed.
“Darling, it is not necessary.” Rarity answered. “You are my friend. That is reward enough.”
Twilight smiled warmly. “Thanks, Rarity.” She then gave a little chuckle. “Still, maybe a week in Prance will make things better?”
Rarity stopped dead in her tracks. “Wh… what? Really? How?”
“Princess, remember?” Twilight replied, unfolding her wings. “I know just how much you would love to visit Prance, and I figure after you did something so big for me, well, I guess I should kind of return the favor.”
Rarity’s face lit up. “Very well, Twilight. I’ll accept on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
Rarity put a hoof around Twilight’s shoulder. “That you come along with me.”
Twilight hugged Rarity in a friendly embrace. “I would love to.”
As the two friends parted, Twilight looked over at the mall. They could already see a certain draconeqqus floating over the place, cleaning up the remains of the rampant armies with his magic.
“Well… at least it ended up okay.” Twilight sighed.
“Hey! It’s that mare with the four left hooves!”
Twilight whipped about to see a familiar arcade machine standing in the parking lot, shouting at her.
“Is that dancing, or are you just in pain? It’s only fair if you are, because your moves are making everypony else suffer!”
“Discord!” Twilight shouted.
The chaotic figure waved from over by the mall. “So sorry, Twilight, I must have missed that one!” he exclaimed in a rather less-than-sorrowful voice. “Could you be a dear and get it? My hands are full.” He held up his hands, and a heap of furniture and toys appeared in them, demonstrating his point.
Twilight sighed, well aware that the cosmic demigod was hardly struggling with his duties.
“If bad dancing was a crime, you’d be on your way to Tartarus!”
“Will you excuse me a moment?” Twilight asked Rarity.
“Of course, dear.”
With a shout, Twilight began to chase the arcade machine about, firing bolts of magic from her horn.
“I’m going to revert you it it’s the last thing I do!”
“Just so long as you don’t try to dance again!”
“Get back here!”
“Help, help! Somebody save me before she zaps me, or worse, starts dancing!”
Rarity sighed, chuckling as she shook her head. Life would never be boring with Twilight around, that was for sure. Be it rampaging toys, evil demons, living forests, or entrancing dolls, Twilight did seem to draw trouble. Any friendship with her would undoubtedly be chaotic, and perhaps even dangerous. But Rarity wouldn’t trade it for all the jewels in Equestria. After all, it was worth the trouble.
Author's Note
And thus ends another trip to the mall!
Many of the "At the Mall" stories have some basis in my own experiences at the mall. "(Though thankfully they were less chaotic.) There was a Games Workshop in the mall I used to visit, and we would always visit it. Dice Roll was based off of the one guy who worked there.
