Rarity settled into her seat, adjusting her armored body so she could sit comfortably for an extended period of time. Thankfully it seemed as though this seat was one Celestia favored as it was a bit more reinforced than the last one. That particular chair hadn't been made for the increased bulk of someone in armor, and who was alicorn sized.

This was perfect, had an end table sitting next to it, perfect for holding a sandwich or some tea or perhaps both. The view was nice from her position near the back of the room, wall situated directly behind the seated pony. A bit of adjustment insured that the rest of the seating was angled nicely, hiding the fact that she had moved everything to her liking.

The room was empty, so no one was there to complain about her moving. Either way, Rarity doubted that anyone would mention it, given especially since it looked nice this way. Not quite as nice as the view, though that was hard to beat.

Overlooking the still chaotic gardens being slowly reclaimed from the forest, there were plenty of colors save for the omnipresent green of the trees. After a long glance out the window, Rarity looked back at the room, noting that there was just enough seating for everyone. Whenever they woke up that was, as the sun was only now poking its first tentative rays through the canopy above.

Enjoying the quiet, Rarity relaxed, her mind churning over how best to discuss the next part of her story. Her musings were interrupted when Luna knocked once and immediately entered the room. The alicorn’s shoulders relaxed, and a soft smile came to her face the moment she laid eyes on Rarity’s seated form.

“You certainly are an early riser,” Luna remarked, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. “I didn't think you would be quite so eager to start another session discussing your adventures, at least so soon anyway.”

“Yes, well. I don't require much sleep anymore, so I thought I’d stop by a bit earlier and get everything ready,” Rarity replied.

Luna nodded, her gaze slowly moving about the room. “The twilight tea room. An excellent choice.”

The room lived up to its name, with the walls closest to the floor being a dull purple but slowly transitioning to gold when it reached the ceiling. This transition between night and day was prevalent everywhere, from the chairs to the tables to the decorations adorning the walls.

“One of the few original rooms to survive, thanks to a preservation ward. It may be a bit on the nose, and a bit gauche as you might say, but I’ve always liked it,” Luna remarked aloud.

“Yes, well, sometimes being bold can be misconstrued as being blunt or brutish when in reality you are merely being honest,” Rarity added.

Luna nodded. “Very fair.”

The pair was quiet for nearly a minute while Luna looked about the room, clearly deep in thought. Rarity wanted to offer some compliment, or start a conversation, but held back as something odd caught her attention. For a moment, Luna’s body seemed to flicker ever so slightly, as if she was wearing a glamor or some other minor illusion spell. Knowing how rude it was to ask for such details, Rarity kept that information to herself.

“I bet no one’s even here yet,” whined the distinct voice of Rainbow Dash from beyond the room. “We should all go back to sleep.”

“You heard the guard, Luna and Rarity are here. Besides, we saw her parents walking up and she wasn't with them,” Twilight retorted.

“Would you two quit gabbin and just knock on the door already?” Applejack interrupted.

“Oh, right,” Twilight muttered.

Before the purple alicorn could actually do so, Rarity cut her to the chase by opening the door with her magic.

“You may come in,” Rarity greeted, extending a hoof towards the open chairs.

Predictably, Twilight was first through the door, the alicorn wearing a rather sheepish expression on her face. The rest of her friends were close behind though, filing into the room and quickly finding spots while Twilight remained standing.

“Before we uh start. I was hoping to apologize for yesterday,” Twilight began.

Rarity blinked. “And what would you have to apologize for?”

“We,” Applejack interrupted. “We're hoping to apologize for not quite being as supportive as we would have liked.”

“Some of us were a bit caught off guard by how bloody that story ended,” Pinkie Pie murmured barely loud enough to be heard.

Fluttershy nodded alongside Pinkie Pie.

“Well, I’m sorry to say that things don't get much better from here. In fact, I’d say its only going to get worse. Much worse,” Rarity declared.

“Oh… oh my,” murmured Fluttershy.

“I can spare you the more grizzly details but I can't avoid them all,” Rarity continued.

“Surely there is some way to politely sidestep the worse of it,” Luna offered.

“I will do my best, though I will not sugarcoat what Discord did to me. Everyone needs to hear what that monster put me through,” Rarity replied.

“Well it's not like he put the crotalid there,” Spike spoke up.

Rarity spun on the small drake, flashing him a dangerous glare. “It's hardly relevant if he put that beasty there. I would not be in that situation if not for him.”

“R-right, s-s-sorry,” Spike muttered, slipping behind the couch in order to avoid Rarity’s gaze.

“Apologies darling,” Rarity quickly exclaimed. “You may all defend him if you’d like though I’d prefer if you kept such opinions to yourself if that may be the case.”

Fluttershy seemed a bit defeated but other than that no one had any complaints, or at least had the bravery to speak them anyway.

“So,” Rarity began. “When will Celestia be joining us?”

“She won't be,” Luna replied. “She trusts me to relay her the most important parts while she and the under council handle the day-to-day management of the country.”

“You mean those buncha jerks that tried to fine Twilight for saving their lives from Tirek?” Rainbow Dash demanded.

“I did blow up that one guy’s mansion though,” Twilight murmured halfheartedly.

“He is a jerk,” Fluttershy whispered.

“Treated his servants like trash too,” Pinkie Pie added.

“Yes yes, lord Spoon is not exactly known for being kind but unfortunately he is quite wealthy and is a disturbingly good coordinator,” Luna sighed. “Plus, try as I might, Celestia still relies on him too much to be rid of the old codger. So… where were we going with that?”

“The bourgeois must be eliminated for true freedom to rain?” Applejack offered.

“I mean that too, but I think Rarity was about to begin her tale,” Luna exclaimed.

“Before you begin just let it be known that we were sorry for not being as supportive. I know I speak for everyone when I say that we will do better, and try not to be as judgemental. Especially without hearing the whole story first,” Twilight proclaimed.

The rest of Rarity’s friends, including Spike, all nodded to varying degrees of enthusiasm.

“I appreciate it darlings but don't push yourself. I have unfortunately grown rather used to violence, blood, and the like so I’m afraid I don't think much of my tale,” Rarity added.

“We can handle it,” Pinkie Pie proclaimed.

The door opened suddenly, and the familiar face of Sweetie Belle poked inside. “Oh, there you guys are. Hey mom, dad. Rarity’s over here!” Called the young mare.

Walking inside, she was joined a moment later by Rarity’s parents, one of whom was rather flush with embarrassment.

“I coulda sworn it was on the east side,” muttered Hondo. “Musta gotten mixed up somewhere.”

“Next time we are stopping and asking for directions,” Cookie declared, holding up a hoof and cutting her husband off before he could speak. “And I don't care about your pride. This is exactly like our second honeymoon all over again.”

Rarity chuckled. “Welcome, Sweetie, mom, dad. Have a seat, I was just about to begin.”

The three newest arrivals did just that, plunking down in a rather luxurious loveseat just big enough for the trio of Belles.

“Did I miss anything?” Sweetie Belle asked, glancing at Rainbow Dash.

“Nah, you haven't missed anything sport,” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

Rarity merely rolled her eyes. “Now then, if everyone is ready I am going to pick up after I regained consciousness.”

“That was after the whole crotalid thing, right?” Twilight asked, the alicorn having pulled several quills, an ink well, and numerous sheets of paper from an extra-dimensional storage space.

“Yes,” Rarity answered. “I woke up far from my little base camp, and though I was initially quite happy to be inside finally, my mood would soon sour.”

Rarity awoke groggy, and barely able to grasp what was going on or where she was. That only changed slowly as more and more of her senses returned to her.

It started with her hearing which picked up what sounded like beeping and hushed conversations in a language she didn't understand. After that she felt a bed under her, a blanket over her, and a pillow beneath her head. She then smelled the distinct aroma of chemicals used to purify the air, as well as the heady aroma of plastic.

Opening one eye, she looked up to find that a large pair of mechanical arms hovered over her head. Exposed joints were covered with plastic sheathes, and at the end, there were four metal fingers extended but currently immobile. Closing her eye, she breathed slowly in and out, taking stock of her body while resisting the urge to panic.

She felt like she was on the verge of mana burnout, though her magic did at least feel normal now. Whatever had been plaguing her had been expelled, or burned away, allowing her well to slowly refill. The process was slow but steady, her reserves already fairly topped off despite how little time she felt as though she had been out.

The headache she had felt coming on before falling unconscious was still there, but thankfully not nearly as bad. Her entire body ached, her mouth was dry, and everything else generally felt fairly terrible, though at least there wasn't much pain. After she was certain she wasn't suffering anything worse than a particularly bad hair day, she opened her eyes once more. This time she was greeted with what looked like an array of marble-like eyeballs at the end of a mechanical arm.

“Ahhh!” Rarity screamed, lurching off the bed.

The fall to the ground was longer than she would have liked, and though winded by the sudden impact, Rarity scampered away as quickly as possible. Her hooves hit the polished metal floor and carried her across the room, directly into a nearly invisible window. As she slumped to the floor, having lost what little dignity she had left, Rarity peered out to find that several bipeds were only a few feet away.

All that separated them was nearly a foot of transparent glass harder than any metal Rarity had ever felt before. Though mostly obscured by lights pointed at her containment cell, the fashionable mare could see a few of them. Most were tau, a few lacked the distinct blue skin and lack of nose, but were generally the same body structure, if a bit taller on average. Each one wore a similar get-up as to the scientist that Rarity had seen before, though not quite as thick.

“Wait, is uh… Fio’La Fi’rios Arah okay?” she asked, suddenly standing up.

The mare was proud of herself for having remembered his name despite only being told once. Though that pride was somewhat hampered by the fact that she was fairly certain she knew the answer to that question. Still, she waited, staring down a confused biped that had been working on a machine that sat below her cell.

“Repeat,” came a monotone voice from above Rarity.

“Is Fio’La Fi’rios Arah okay?” Rarity pressed.

There was a slight commotion amongst the bipeds before finally, the voice returned.

“He has passed,” it responded.

Rarity sniffed, the mare barely holding back tears. She had only known the male for minutes, but she knew that he had been a good person.

Not wanting anyone to see her cry, Rarity looked back at the room she had woken up in and found that it was indeed a cell. There were no entrances, no exits, and very little in the way of furniture save for the bed which sat in the center. Save for that, there was also a tiny end table made for someone quite a bit taller than her and had deep enough drawers that she could nearly sleep in one.

Other than that there was just a trio of mechanical arms and the strange mass of metal eyes that hung above the bed. Other features were sparse, though Rarity noticed two things that were off, one was a bit more obvious than the other. A section of the ceiling had a large panel on it, which was likely how she entered the room in the first place.

The other was a weapon mounted on the outside of her cell. Sitting on a seethrough plaque, Rarity recognized it as the strange weapon the other tau had been using on the crotalid. It hung at just the right height for Rarity to read the words inscribed into the plastic at its base.

“In service of the greater good,” Rarity whispered.

Pushing that odd bit from her mind, Rarity continued her inspection of the surrounding area outside her cell. She couldn't see much due to the lights shining in on her still, but what she could see was a bit at odds with her current domicile. The clean lines and simplistic architecture were forgotten and replaced by a dark grey bordering on black boxes.

These bulky machines had green displays that flickered under the low light of the space just outside of Rarity’s cell. As if on a pedestal or stage, these workstations sat below Rarity, allowing their operators to gaze up at her should they feel the need. They mostly kept to their work, however, with the exception being an unusually tall creature that Rarity hadn't seen before.

Standing a full head above the other aliens, this one wore a dark scarlet robe edged in gold and made to appear gearlike. A deep hood hid the majority of their features though when it stopped to look at Rarity, she was able to see the creature’s face. Or at least she assumed it was a face, as there was only a flat expanse of metal adorned with blinking red devices and two long tubes where a face would normally be.

Shuddering in disgust, Rarity unconsciously stepped back, eyeing the strange thing on the other side of the glass. Standing on four metal legs much like a spider, it also had two arms like most bipeds, though one seemed to be a mass of metal cables that squirmed with a mind of their own. From a large metal, backpack extended a mechanical arm with two large pincers on one side and a large glass tube half filled with a glowing green liquid.

“Someone’s had quite the terrible makeover,” Rarity muttered to herself.

The robed metal monster spat what sounded like a blurb of electronic gibberish mixed with what noise over the speaker. Then it stalked away, its metal legs clanking loudly against the grated floor. The sound was incredibly unpleasant, and immediately put Rarity even more on edge than she had been before.

Which was an achievement in itself.

“Would someone please fetch me Shas’La Ka’Mais Bun’ur?” Rarity paused. “I think I said that right. Anyway, he should be able to clear this whole mess up in no time.”

It took only a moment before a familiar face became visible on the other side of the glass. The tau leaned down and spoke into a microphone. A moment later his translated voice came through the speaker above Rarity’s head.

“There is no confusion miss Rarity. You have been placed in containment for the safety of the staff and personnel of this base,” declared the machine.

“What? I’m no danger to any of you. Why I’ve never even…” Rarity’s comment died on her lips the moment a memory flashed through her mind.

The image of the crotalid’s corpse was thrust to the forefront of her thoughts, transporting the mare back in time. The smell of burnt flesh, blood, and mud-filled her nostrils to the point of bursting. She could hear the cries of the injured kroot, the dying tau, and the soldier yelling commands over the confusion.

Then she was back in the cell once more, confused, shocked, and more than a little disgusted.

“My goodness. I killed that poor thing,” Rarity murmured.

“I’ve been told this is common for psykers though I’ve only ever seen it happen once on the battlefield. That was before last week,” came the voice.

Rarity looked down at the tau in confusion. “Last week? How long have I been out?”

“A little over six days. It would have been less but we had to pump your stomach, filter your blood and clean out all the parasites you had,” remarked the tau.

“Excuse me. I do not have parasites,” Rarity declared, crinkling her nose in disgust.

“Not anymore,” replied the tau after the translator had a chance to do its work.

“The water. Boiling it didn't clean it enough,” Rarity murmured.

“That is the most likely probability. The critters on this moon are strangely hardy. Enough of that though, I have something to say,” even through the translator, the weight of Shas’La Ka’mais Bun’ur’s words weighed heavily on Rarity.

“You likely saved my life, and you made an effort to save the life of Fio’La,” he began. “As such I grant you my weapon. With that, my honor is restored, and my conscience clean. I leave you now in the capable hands of I-V S3I/H8T, our chief biologist.”

“Wait, wait!” Rarity called, but the tau had already turned and left.

In his place stood the towering, metal spider creature Rarity had seen earlier.

“Final medical examination will begin momentarily. A question period will follow, proceed by live testing of subject’s psionic aptitude,” declared the grating, slightly feminine tone of what Rarity assumed was the spider creature. “Advise rest.”

“What, what are you talking about? Hello? Who are you?” Rarity shouted.

The spider creature was already striding away, quickly vanishing amidst the bright lights shining in on Rarity.

Left with nothing else to do, Rarity retreated back to the bed, silently hoping that this all wasn't going to end up quite as terribly as it seemed it was going to.

Author's Note

This is part of the 12 days of christmas, head over here to keep track of all the cool stuff coming down the pipes. If you want to ensure I can afford to keep doing stuff like this, consider backing me over on Subscribestar or Patreon.