“Sweet mother of Luna.” Rarity whispered as she surveyed the scene in her master bedroom. Both Dash and Twilight were lying on the floor, breathing shallowly. Dash had bruises and even some cuts on her hooves, as Twilight lay in a pool of liquids. Rarity hit Vinyl on the head once more, making an effort to do it silently. Then she levitated Twilight to the bathroom while the DJ began to mop up the carpet.

The sun rose from the hills above Ponyville while one purple mare slowly opened her eyes. The pain was familiar, but the guilt she felt was not. Tears travelled down her cheeks as the reality of her situation dawned upon her. Only after thirty minutes alone she managed to convince herself to come out, only to be greeted by Rarity, and a kitchen table stacked with milk, cereal, and OJ.

“Oh Celestia, Rarity, what have I done?” Twilight cried as she hugged her friend. She felt cold and alone.

“The main thing is that you are alive. We will fix this together, I promise you.”

“Where is Vinyl?”

“She is cleaning my master bedroom. It’s going take a while.”

“And Dash? Will she be alright?”

“She will be alright. She was taken to her home in Cloudsdale. What she will think of Bass, that is something we don’t know for now.”

“How did you get her there?” Twilight inquired.

“I flew her there.” a voice replied, as a black alicorn entered the kitchen.

“Princess Luna! I… I am so sorry!” Twilight wept again, this time holding her head in shame.

The Moon Princess curled her hoof around Twilight, and it seemed to calm the purple unicorn down.

“I came as soon as I heard the news from Miss Rarity. We need to train you, to control the beast inside you as soon as possible. Dash could have gotten really hurt, and she is the object of your love and desire. I shudder to think of what would happen if you met Trixie, or someone else who gets on your nerves." Luna explained, as Twilight grabbed her hoof in support.

“But how can I train when she...is me?” Twilight asked as her guilt was subdued by her inherent curiosity.

“You seem to forget that I am the one who controls the dreams of everypony, including you. I will teach you how to face her inside you and Rainbow Dash’s nightmares. If you overcome her there you will control her here as well. Sadly, you are in no shape to endure that kind of magic, so we will have to wait a few days before we can start. I will visit you in your dreams when your body is fully healed.”

“Wait, Dash’s dreams too?!”

“Unfortunately yes. Allow me to explain. When you are fighting this curse from the very beginning, you tend to categorize its
various forms into subgroups. We have ponies like Vinyl, who I like to call Thrill Seekers. They are ponies who before the curse seeked a life of adventure and fun. The curse makes them reckless and borderline psychotic if they don’t feel the thrill of near death experiences. Luckily for Vinyl, she survived to subdue that monster inside of her. Then there is ponies like Rarity, or the Attention Seekers. They were never too much of a center of attention before the curse, so after the infection they become vain and selfish to the point that they will even attempt to murder the ones who stand in their way of success and popularity. And the third kind, is you. Control Seekers are those who were always in search of controlling every detail of their lives. These individuals, I am sorry to say, are the most dangerous. Their inner monster becomes treacherous, vile and just plain evil. They are the only ones who make Thralls for themselves out of their friends. ”

“Thralls, you mean like lifeless husks brought to life?”

“Yes and no. Thralls like these used to be the cursed ones friend, until they implanted a personality inside them that slowly but surely makes them nothing more than devoted slaves to their creator. I am afraid that after hearing what happened last night that Bass Canon might have implanted such a personality into Rainbow Dash, and the only one who can remove is the creator herself. Since you are that pony, only you can subdue it in her dreams before it is too late.”

“What about Bass until then?” Twilight asked with a stutter.

“Don’t worry. The only good in last night is that she will stay fed for at least a month. One can only hope that we will never have to face her in this shape.”

Both Luna and Twilight exchanged looks and sighs. Twilight didn’t have time to learn about the real Luna yet, but she somehow felt like she was secure with her, and that with her on her side she could overcome this plague that had almost ruined her life.

“I must depart now, or my sister might grow suspicious of my whereabouts. I will see you soon Twilight.” Luna said, and flew away out of the main window.

After a moment of silence, Rarity moved closer to Twilight and placed her hooves on her shoulders.

“I know this might sound too much to ask for, but you need to act like nothing has happened when you are near somepony else then me, Vinyl or Luna. Dash must not know it was all you last night.”

“I’ll try.”

Meanwhile, Dash began to wake up in her home. She felt as if she had been hit by a freight train. Slowly she managed to curl out of bed, only to see scars on her hooves and some nasty bruises all over her cyan fur. But her inspection stopped when she saw the collar around her neck. Dash noticed a little note was attached to it and began to read it.

To my dearest Toy,

Hope you are still alive! I hate it when my toys break after the first time. The collar sure did look nice on you that night. Don’t worry, nobody but me and you can see it. Also, you can’t take it off, nor tell anyone about last night, since I totally implanted a new personality for you to enjoy, that will prevent you from doing so. How cool is that? Feeling oh so evil right now. Her name is Toy, but I guess you know that by now. I will come back in a month or so, or maybe even sooner! Until then sleep my plaything, and just let Toy eat you from the inside out.
Your Mistress, Bass Canon

Dash threw the note away, both in disgust and fear of what was coming next. She needed help, but she couldn’t ask for it. Her only hope was to find a way to fight this demon inside of her alone, and the only place she could find some information was the town library. She just hoped Twilight could help her.

“We can do that later. Toy wants to play first." the voice in Dash’s mind echoed. Its desire was intense and its ideas were simple. It wanted pleasure and submission to Bass.

Dash squinted and placed her hooves on her head as if to squeeze the fiend inside her out of existence. After she realized the sheer absurdity of that idea, she wobbled into her bathroom to at least look presentable enough to reach Twilight's home. The collar kept getting in the way, forcing Dash every time to acknowledge its existence. After a tense 10 minutes the cyan Pegasus opened her house door, only to be assaulted by a flying mail package.

“Oops! Sorry there Dash!” Derpy cried with her usual innocent look.

“I'm fine Derpy. Is the package for me at least?” dash replied, scratching her nose.

“Yup! The custom made latex Wonderbolt suit …MPH” Derpy yelled, forcing Dash to shut her mouth shut.

“Quiet you crazy pony! Just because one of your deliveries opened in front of us with last year’s model, doesn’t mean
everypony on the block needs to know!” Dash whispered. The sting of irony hit her as she remembered last night. Her situation was far worse than some neighboring pony finding out she was buying kinky versions of the Wonderbolts uniforms online.

“Sorry Dash, I forgot. Hey is there something different about you today?” Derpy inquired, which made Dash freeze in her tracks.

“I… changed my hair?”, Dash replied to her best abilities.

A tense stare from Derpy ensued, only to be followed by her usual carefree expression.

“Yeah, it could be that.”

“Anyway, I am kind of in a hurry here Derpy, so if you will excuse me…” Dash replied, and flew away haphazardly.

“Weird pony.” Derpy concluded, as she went on her route through the rest of Cloudsdale.

Rarity and Twilight finished breakfast, and Vinyl returned from the boutique as well.

“I have seen things, horrible things.” Vinyl said as she levitated a glass of OJ to quench her thirst.

“Not helping Twilight here Vinyl.” Rarity replied, as she and Twilight were sitting on the couch in the main room.

“Wait, I just thought of something! If we can see Changelings in their real form, why didn’t you two warn us about their queen posing as Princess Candace?” Twilight shrieked as the realization of that situation happening.

“About that darling... Well to be honest, I was scared. I was scared of revealing our existence to Celestia. I informed Luna straight away, and we did fight them when they revealed themselves.” Rarity tried to explain herself.

“But my brother could have died! And you just stood there as I tried to save him!” Twilight attacked Rarity, as all the frustration of her ordeal began to channel into this row.

“I assure you, we would have gotten involved if her influence had gotten out of hand.” Vinyl interrupted, breaking apart the two mares.

“It was a risk we were forced to take! I know it must feel selfish of us, but a deal is a deal.” Rarity concluded as Twilight’s rage subdued.

“I, I think I understand. That must be the reason Luna constantly kept me on my guard during my investigation.” Twilight remarked, as new pieces to the story she thought she knew were added.

The three mares enjoyed the company of each other, and more juice, for the rest of the morning. A smile kept coming back on Twilight’s face as the horror she was faced with was driven to the back, even for a little while. Spike returned from Sweet Apple Acres, after having spent the night there.

“Hi Twilight. Hey Vinyl. Hello Rarity!” the dragon cried, pausing only briefly to change his voice to a more manly tone when speaking the name of his not so secret crush.

“So how was your time at the farm?” Twilight asked.

“Alright I suppose. It feels nice to change the scenery now and then, but I think I will be staying here for a little while.” Spike explained.

“Oh sure, no problem. It is your home as much as it’s mine.” Twilight smiled, but secretly she feared for her little friend. What if he were to find out, or worse, if Bass would do something sinister to him. She knew she would never forgive herself if that would to happen. As the dragon began to look suspicious at her false grin, she tried to change the subject.

“Anyway, I do have some things I need to get in town. Can you please clean the kitchen while I’m gone?”

“Sure, no problem! I'll get right to it.” Spike replied, and went into the kitchen.

Vinyl, Rarity and Twilight were now at the door of the master bedroom. Two of the mares were in shock, while Vinyl was grinning.

“So, do you like it?” Vinyl asked.

“Where is my bed?! My carpet from Saddle Arabia?!” Rarity shirked.

“Well, I couldn’t get the stains out, so I dumped the furniture. Why, you don’t like your new stuff?” Vinyl asked, faking innocence to the best of abilities.

“You gave me a naked mattress and a toilet carpet? What were you thinking?”

“What, I thought of all the ponies, you would enjoy the quaint style.”

“This is not quaint, this is just…” Rarity growled, about to say something profane when the front door opened.

“What's not quaint sis?” Sweetie Belle asked, as she returned from school.

“Oh Sweetie! How was school?” Rarity asked, as Vinyl smiled, having gotten out of trouble.

“Oh great! We tried to get our spaghetti art cutie marks but Snips got his head glued to the wall and Miss Cheerlie had to take the glue away." Sweetie Belle told her sister in her typical giddy voice.

“I would love to stay and chat, but I do have some homework before I can go out and do some crusading! Also, sis, you might not want to let Miss Scratch do your bedroom, it looks like a dump.” Sweetie belled told her sister as she walked into her room.

“You don’t say.” Rarity grumbled and Vinyl got the head bonk she deserved.

Soon the mares were sitting at the table together and hot tea was being levitated to their cups. Vinyl was about to take a sip when her head jolted and she began to run out of the boutique.

“Octavia is going to kill me! I will see you later girls!” she screamed, and ran out.

After Twilight and Rarity locked eyes in confusion, Twilight asked her friend.

“Can you tell me how you became a Sister? Maybe it will help me fight my demon as well.”

Rarity sighed as a picture levitated from a bookshelf nearby. Twilight looked at it, only to find a mare that seemed familiar, but yet not all that much. She had Rarity’s eyes, but her coat was rugged and had a brown hue. The main was frizzled and pinkish.

“Twilight, I would like you to meet Rare Item, owner of “The Helping Hoof” pawn shop. You may also know her by her nickname, Rarity.” the white unicorn said to her purple friend.

“You, a pawn shop owner?”

“Yes. My parents didn’t really love it. They knew that I had talent at making clothes, but my looks and the feeling of not living up to my creations kept me from making it in the fashion elite. I managed to get by, but with a little foal on the way they were stretching their budget, so at that time something had to change. And it did, after the music box came in.”

“Music box?”

“Yes. It was left on the front porch one morning. I was surprised, but all I saw was a nice profit deal. I went into my private area, and opened the contraption. Needless to say, I got more then I bargained for. I can still remembered as it echoed through every fiber of my being. My coat, as yours did, became white, and my mane turned blue-purple. I felt so beautiful, and...well.. downright sexy. I had never felt like that before in my life, and I was getting drunk on the sensation it provided me. That night, I must have slept with four mares and two stallions. And I kept calling myself Vanity.”

Rarity shivered, and Twilight tried to comfort her friend.

“It was awful. I was so full of myself. I would take personal pleasure of beating down on ponies who I thought were less beautiful than me. I would wake up as me, only to learn how Vanity had dissolved the dresses of all the other mares on some party and then kissed their stallions, so she could prove to them that she was better. I felt all alone, like I was a monster. Thankfully, Vinyl was DJ-ing at one of the parties. She noticed me and managed to drag me away from a group of mares I had just verbally assaulted. She took me in and with her and Luna's help I managed to subdue Vanity. I had to go through the same training as you, but luckily I had not endangered a friends mind like in your case.”

“And how did you defeat Vanity?”

“Well we did fight with magic, and I must confess we did have a intimate moment as well, but ultimately I willed her into submission. I would love to explain it to you in great detail but I can’t for some reason. I am sure Luna can help you with that part.”

“But you did beat it, unlike Vinyl?”

“Yes. The curse did take it’s toll on me. I wasn’t strong enough to subdue the effect of Vanity so that I can switch back to my old look, and I can be borderline drama queen and vain from time to time. I did defeat the main culprit, but parts of it’s evil will forever remain in my blood.”

“What about your parents, and Sweetie Belle?”

“I managed to convince them I am their daughter and that this look was just so I can sell my products, which is the truth to some extent. As for Sweetie, she remembers me as Rarity, not Rare Item. That is probably for the best anyway. ” Rarity sighed.

“Did you ever find out who placed the music box?”

“Sadly no. Even Luna didn’t find the perpetrator. My only hope is that poor fool didn’t know what they had when they left it.”

“Well, I am glad to call you my friend, Rare Item.” Twilight hugged her Sister.

“The funniest thing, I still own that pawn shop! We should visit it when we are in Canterlot. ” Rarity laughed, wanting to change the subject.

The two mares enjoyed the remaining tea and then Twilight headed back to her humble little tree. A nice book would be just what she needed to relax, she opened the door to her house, only to find one cyan Pegasus standing next to Spike.

“Oh hey Twi! Can you recommend me a book about curse lifting? I need it for a friend of mine.”, Dash said casually.

Twilight began to sweat as the collar shined in the candle light inside the library. She could read the label quite clearly, as it read Toy in big capital letters. She could also see the tight bond it was making around Dash’s neck. The darkness was coming back, and Twilight began to prepare herself.

“Well isn’t this convenient?” a now familiar voice echoed inside Twilight.

“No, not this time!” Twilight replied

“We will see…”

Author's Note

And we are back! Hope you like Rarity's story, and things get a little dicey with our front mares.