Malignant

The next morning, I woke up unintentionally early. That being said, I barely got any sort of sleep. How could I? Things had been hectic recently, and I couldn’t help but worry about my new friends. What if they were tortured? What if they were imprisoned and starving? What if...

No. Don’t go there.

My friends, as well as the Princess of the Night, agreed to meet at the library at around seven anyways, so I guess sleep was never an option. Well, when you’re Celestia’s student, it’s not really expected.

Pinkie Pie was the first pony to appear at the door. And to be quite honest, I am not very surprised considering we just learned that she ‘doesn’t sleep.’ I heard that was extremely unhealthy for ponies. ESPECIALLY those who eat sugar as much as the cotton candy pony does. As if on cue, Pinkie suddenly whipped a cupcake out of nowhere and took a gratuitous bite into it. “Cupcake?” she asked with her mouth full, holding out the other half to me.

“Er...no thanks, Pinkie. I’m good.”

“Suit yourself,” she said with a shrug. CHOMP. Ancient history.

Much to my surprise, by the time that Pinkie had even walked through the door, I had already packed all my things that I would need in my saddle bags, which were still visibly worn from my last excursion. A delightfully non-sugary breakfast followed, which somehow Pinkie had the appetite to also partake of. Spike was always a pretty handy chef.

Next to arrive was Fluttershy. Celestia above, Pinkie must’ve eaten one too many cupcakes this morning, as she was chatting a mile a minute. Again. Fluttershy was yawning excessively. I’m sure she had to get up earlier than everyone else considering that she had to feed her animals before she would even consider leaving.

Applejack soon followed suit. Not surprisingly, she arrived precisely on time. Always dependable, that one. She also brought some much appreciated apples with her. We all munched appreciatively as we waited for our party to finish gathering.

Rarity showed up very soon afterwards. This time, she actually packed accordingly, unlike most times. She gave everypony an ecstatic hug. It seemed like the early morning had no effect on her, unlike Fluttershy.

Almost moments after Rarity trotted through the door, I felt an unmistakable feeling of power within me, almost like a draft.  I smiled as I turned my head to find that Luna was standing mere feet away from me, grinning at the sight before her. I could tell she was rather eager to begin. Understandable, considering that Celestia’s only getting sicker by the minute.

I made a quick count of the ponies (and dragon) in the room. Unfortunately, we were still one pony short. Unsurprisingly, that one pony just so happened to be a certain rainbow-maned, athletic, lazy pegasus.

“Did anypony tell her what time we were meeting here?” I inquired, glancing at all the ponies in the room.

“She was here when we discussed that last night...” Fluttershy whispered, barely at an audible level. Well, that’s great. Once again, Rainbow Dash was late.

“Ugh. We don’t have time for this!” I said exasperatedly.

“I must concur. Time is of the essence,” Luna added worriedly.

“Right. Don’t worry, Princess. I’ll only be a minute.” I exited the building and stood just outside my front door. Closing my eyes, I concentrated and willed my magic forth. I thought carefully of Rainbow’s house. With a bright purple flash, I teleported.

Ah, yes. Rainbow’s front porch. A familiar sight...wait, why is it getting farther away? Oh, right. Clouds. I forgot about that. Quickly casting the cloud-walking spell on myself, I teleported yet again. Much better.

I barged right through the front door and walked hurriedly towards her bedroom. Unsurprisingly, there was no trace of Rainbow anywhere. Upon entering her bedroom, I was not surprised in the slightest to see her still sleeping, snoring quite loudly in fact. Suppressing a snicker, I threw off her sheets, levitated her onto my back, and loudly shouted: “up and at ‘em, sunshine!” And with that, I teleported straight back to the library.

The ensuing hilarity was quite amusing. As soon as I arrived back in the center of the library, Rainbow Dash finally appeared to realize that she was no longer in bed. She also must’ve thought she was being foalnapped or something. In a panic, she jolted awake, shot off of my back, slammed straight into the ceiling, cursed loudly, nearly took off Fluttershy’s head, did a barrel roll, and then careened into the wall rather firmly and probably painfully. She slowly slid down the wall, a slight squeaking noise accompanying her movement.

Of course, such a commotion immediately drew everypony’s attention, and at once we all begin to snicker. “Hehe...y’all right there RD? Heh...looks like somepony slept in a wee bit...” Applejack managed, trying to restrain her laughter.

“Mrrflgrlk.”

“Ah’m sorry, what was that? Ah can’t hear ya over th’ sound o’ yer face makin’ pretty with th’ wall.” That was the straw that broke the proverbial pony’s back. We all burst out into full-blown laughter and started rolling on the floor. Well, except for the Princess. She definitely smirked in amusement, though.

Rainbow finally managed to dislodge her face from the wall with a soft *pop*, but the brilliant red flush across it only made us laugh harder. “Sorry...overslept...” she mumbled quietly, still flushed brighter than a tomato.

Luna, after remembering that this was the second time that Rainbow Dash had been late in the last ten hours, immediately changed her facial expression after catching Rainbow’s glance at her to a rather unamused one. “Rainbow Dash, this is no small matter. I would appreciate it if you handled the situation with the severity it warrants.”

“Sorry, Princess,” she mumbled, clearly still thoroughly embarrassed. “Won’t happen again.”

“See to it that it does not.” The Princess turned her gaze back to the rest of us, waiting calmly for our laughter to die down. Which it quickly did. “Are we prepared, then?” she asked.

I nodded my head determinedly. “It would seem so.” My friends replied in a similar manner. The Night Princess gave an amused smirk as her horn slowly turned a dark azure. The shining glow almost blinded all of us in the room as we were fully enveloped. I felt a very cool sensation make it’s way down my spine. I shivered as I was forced to hold up a single hoof to cover my eyes.

There was a bright flash, and then nothing.

A few moments later, I felt another chill. Instead of it being that of a chill, it was more of a balmy sensation. I was instantly taking much fresher breaths of air. Before I even opened my eyes, I felt the atmosphere around me change.

The silence of the Library was also substituted with the clamor of hooves on a stone surface. In my excitement, I quickly opened my eyes. The buildings that almost seemed to shine in the sunlight met my gaze, and I suddenly felt the cement pavement under my hooves. Obviously, we must be in one of the more developed parts of Manehatten. I’m sure that Covette knew all about this area, as we all knew about her habits as a filly.

“Just as lovely as I remembered!” Rarity exclaimed, her eyes literally shimmering as she gazed upon everything. Pinkie was more concerned with the amount of shiny things than the actual architecture and culture. Rarity proceeded to admire some of the more classy ponies who began to walk past us, their noses rudely in the air. Upon spying the Princess, however, they quickly paid their respects before hastily continuing on their way.

I wasn’t in the mood to sightsee. We had a mission, and frankly the more time we wasted, the more nervous I became. Who knew where the Sins were now? What if they were potentially in danger?

“Where is the objective, Rarity?” Luna abruptly asked, and everypony turned face her. Rarity wasn’t expecting her name to be called so suddenly, so she hesitated slightly before answering.

“Uh...I believe it is at L'endroit Qui en Jette, a local fashion boutique and frequent host of such events. It is...this way I believe,” the unicorn stated rather meekly as she pointed in a seemingly random direction before trotting down the street deeper into the heart of Manehatten. With nothing better to do, the rest of us followed.

“Yo, Rares,” Rainbow Dash spoke up from her position hovering above us.

“Yes, dear, what is it?” she replied somewhat absent-mindedly, still busy navigating the rather busy streets from memory.

“What time is this fancy-shmancy dealio going down at?”

Rarity rolled her eyes and huffed. “The fashion show,” she replied, putting extra emphasis on her words, “will be at seven o’clock sharp. However, I imagine the setup for such an exquisite event will take considerable time and effort. If Vanity is there, we should be able to find her just by sticking around all day.”

“Ooh! Are we going to be super secret spies?” Pinkie asked excitedly.

“That’s a good point. How do we plan on gettin’ in?” Applejack asked, looking down at herself. She wore a telltale frown on her visage.

“Darlings, please. It will hardly be difficult. It’s a public event in a public location!” Rarity replied exasperatedly.

“Perhaps Pinkie Pie has the correct idea,” Princess Luna spoke up from the back. Our group paused and all turned to listen. “We do not know what Malignant has done to Pride. It is possible she may see us as enemies now.”

I frowned in concentration as I pondered this new development. “Is that actually a possibility, Princess? Vanity was our friend before this whole mess happened. What could possibly change that?”

Luna’s features darkened and her gaze took on a faraway look. “The thing known as Malignant has many powers. Manipulating ponies’ minds is one of its favorites. It took us a long time to find the ponies we needed so we could cure them of its poison and locate it. It delights in turning friends into foes, families into squabblers, spouses into murderers... We need to be cautious. We need a plan.”

“I agree,” I spoke up quickly. After all, plans were my specialty! “What if only a few of us snuck in? Obviously we couldn’t all waltz in without making a scene,” I thought out loud.

“And what will the rest of us be doing while you guys get all the fun? Huh?” Rainbow Dash spoke up.

“I concur with Rainbow Dash,” Luna added. “The more sets of eyes we have, the better.”

“We could always pretend to-” Fluttershy began to whisper but was cut off.

“But we’re the Elements of Harmony! We’ll draw attention to ourselves! Malignant could be watching!” I protested vehemently.

“Ah agree with Twilight,” Applejack spoke up. “We need ta do this slowly an’ carefully.”

“BOOORING!” Rainbow interjected. “I say we bust down the doors, snag Vanity, and high-tail it out of there! Malignant won’t even know what hit it!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity protested. “You couldn’t possibly-”

“Well maybe I am!”

“We could still-” Fluttershy was cut off again.

“Of all the ruffian suggestions to make-”

“Rainbow, that there’s th’ craziest idea Ah ever heard.”

“Well I think it would be fun! Fun fun fun!”

“Girls!” I attempted to restore order. “This isn’t helping!”

“Oh yeah? Well who cares? We’ll be in and out before you know it! Or at least, I will.”

“No really, we could-”

“That don’t matter none-”

“Brute! You can’t just do something like that!”

“STOP IT! ALL OF YOU!” Luna boomed, causing everypony to slink back, slightly ashamed. Suddenly, her tone and gaze lightened considerably. “I believe dear Fluttershy was attempting to speak.”

We all meekly turned to face Fluttershy. How is it that this always happens? She really needs to speak up more. “I think it would be best if we all wore disguises. After all, it is a fashion show...”

“We think this is a marvelous idea,” the Night Princess affirmed with a nod.

Suddenly, Rarity’s face lit up. “Ideeaaaa!”

Rainbow, Applejack, and I all groaned and facehoofed.

“Hmm...well unfortunately I had limited supplies and I’ll admit it was a bit of a rush job but it will have to do,” Rarity muttered thoughtfully to herself, looking us all over.

‘Rush job’ was an understatement. We looked like we were headed to the Grand Galloping Gala! I surveyed the room, spotting Pinkie and Fluttershy talking amiably to each other, Rainbow and AJ standing about shuffling their hooves and looking decidedly uncomfortable in their respective garments, and Luna, who had reverted to a dark blue unicorn in order to look inconspicuous, eyeing her garment appreciatively. As for myself, I was rather impartial to fancy garb. I had to admit though, Rarity really outdid herself this time.

“What about you, Rarity?” Rainbow asked with a slight edge to her voice. “How come you aren’t wearing all this frou-frou junk?”

Rarity smiled and tossed her mane. “Because I, dear Rainbow Dash, am going to run intelligence.”

“What does THAT mean?” Pinkie asked excitedly, popping up out of nowhere. Rarity hardly batted an eyelash, though.

“Darlings, please. Somepony has to be able to ask around without attracting too much attention. As a regular among the fashion community, it shall come as no surprise that I would be in attendance. I can ask away without any problems at all!”

Luna nodded appreciatively. “A sharp mind as always, Rarity. This is indeed a good suggestion. As for the rest of us, we need to act like we’re a part of the show so we may examine the areas closed off to the general public.”

“But Princess,” I began. “Isn’t there a list of attendees? We’d be caught for sure!”

The Night Princess simply smiled. “Leave that to me.”

“Great,” Rainbow moaned. “Not only do we have to wear these ridiculous outfits, but we also have to pretend to be in a fashion show,” she complained, finishing her statement in an amusingly nasally voice. Rarity glared at her but said nothing. “How could this possibly get any worse?”

“This isn’t funny. At. All,” Rainbow intoned in a dangerously low voice. We all did our best to hold in our snickers, but it was difficult. The wolf whistles weren’t helping either.

“Hey there, you colorful beauty!” a voice called from across the street. “You got plans tonight?”

Rainbow’s cheeks flushed even more and she hung her head, falling into step next to Applejack in an effort to hide herself. The clopping of our hooves on the pavement mixed in with that of several rather snooty ponies that were also on their way to the show.

We stepped into the surprisingly well-lit and spacious boutique to see a veritable horde of ponies milling about. In the middle of the room a large catwalk was currently being assembled. Lights were being set up, wires run, speakers dragged about, and almost everywhere I looked there were mares wearing exquisite dresses. I could’ve sworn I spotted DJ-Pon3 somewhere in the crowd.

Off to the side I spotted a very official-looking table with a few stylishly dressed ponies seated at it. There was also an impressively long line of mares wearing the finest in fashion before it. I suddenly felt a tad underdressed. Nudging Rarity, I pointed it out. “That looks like the sign-in table.”

“Indeed,” she replied. “Better get in line.”

“You really expect them to just let us in?” I asked Rarity, swishing my dark lavender dress cutely. I have to admit, I looked quite stylish. It was quite plain, but was still laced with some sort of golden fabric that felt somewhat like silk. On the end of the dress itself were actual rubies. It amazed me that she either had all the materials beforehoof or was able to acquire them quickly and cheaply. Rarity is quite the talent.

Suddenly, Luna spoke up to my right. “I already said, leave this to me.” I looked at Rarity in confusion but she simply shrugged. We decided to let the Princess handle things as she saw fit. “Fair Rarity,” she continued. “I think it best if you begin your task. I shall handle the entrance of the others.”

“Of course Princess,” Rarity replied. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. “Oooh! I spy Hoity Toity over there! Let the snooping begin!” Quick as a flash, she was gone. Applejack rolled her eyes and Rainbow facehoofed. Fluttershy looked like she wanted to melt into the floor. Pinkie was nowhere to be found. I wasn’t worried about that though. She’d turn up.

In what seemed like no time at all, it was our turn to step up to the table. Luna cleared her throat and stepped forward, an air of importance about her. “Apologies my good sir, but you will not find our names on your roster this evening.”

The attendant raised an eyebrow. “Oh? So why should I admit you and your group?”

Luna’s horn glowed, and a piece of parchment suddenly materialized out of nowhere. “Because myself and my comrades are members of the palace staff, and very much wished to participate in the events this evening. Unfortunately, due to some...bureaucracy, we were unable to register before the deadline. However, I’m sure you could make a small exception, just this once.”

The attendant’s eyes quickly scanned the sheet, finally alighting upon Luna’s own royal signature. “You and which comrades?”

Luna gestured to us. “Why, these fine girls, of course! Strike a pose ladies!” As one, the five of us posed in our new dresses, Pinkie popping up out of nowhere with a huge grin, as usual.

He broke into an easy smile. “Of course we can. Anything for her Royal Highnesses’ personal staff. Developed an interest in fashion, have we?”

“Indeed. After so much interaction with the nobles, it’s hard not to get an eye for such things,” Luna replied easily.

“There’s just one more detail, I’m afraid. The matter of the, ah, entrance fee?” the attendant continued hesitantly.

Luna simply floated out a small sack of bits. “I believe that should do. Anything else?”

The attendant smiled again. “Nope, that will do it! Please feel free to head backstage, and have a wonderful evening ladies! Oh, and send the Princesses my regards!”

“Will do!” Luna replied cheerily, stepping into the hallway that would lead to the backstage areas. We all hastened to catch up. “Alright girls,” she began. “Time to begin! Everypony split up and keep an eye out for anything suspicious.”

“Right!”

The interior of the building was pounding with some sort of electronic beat that the models on stage trotted to perfectly, practicing their routines for the big show. Everypony seemed to be simply minding their own business as we followed the Princess, although I’m not sure to where, exactly. The mares on stage shook their hips provocatively as they began to show off their accessories and clothing. The way a few of them moved actually reminded me a little bit of Aphrodite.

I tried to think about where any of the Sins might be. Vanity would be backstage, undoubtedly preparing for her performance. Chances are, she’d doing something that pertains to her looks. Maybe one of them actually might be watching the show? Covette, maybe. Aphrodite...I had no idea where to look for her if she was here. One never knows with that mare.

I weighed our different options. We would have to split up in order to maximize the effectiveness of our search. We’d have to check the dressing rooms, backstage, and the seats for the audience at the very least. Princess Luna halted at an intersection of hallways and turned to face us. “We must now begin our search.”

“I agree, Princess. If I may...” Luna nodded her head approvingly. I cleared my throat. “We need to check all the major areas first. Remember, we don’t know who exactly we’re looking for. I think it would be best if we split up and searched the dressing rooms, the backstage area, and the area around the stage where the audience will be.”

“A sound plan, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna agreed. “I shall search the backstage areas. I will be able to get past any security issues we might encounter.”

“Um...I’ll go with you, if that’s okay,” Fluttershy mumbled quietly. “I really don’t feel comfortable being close to a...stage.” We all winced as we remembered her experiences as a model.

“Very well, fair Fluttershy! We shall be a team.”

Applejack quickly volunteered. “Ah guess I’ll search the dressin’ rooms,” she said, raising a single hoof into the air.

“I’ll search the bathrooms!” Pinkie stated before eagerly speeding off down the hallway.

“Meet up with Applejack when you’re done!” I called after her, rolling my eyes as I did so. “I guess that leaves Rainbow and I to check out the busiest area. Maybe we’ll spot Rarity and see if she’s learned anything.

“Aww yeah!” Rainbow crowed. “This’ll be a breeze!”

“Let’s meet back here in an hour to report our findings. If any of us spots any Sins, have one of your group follow them and send the other to find the rest of us. Understood?” My friends and the Princess all stated their affirmations. I hoped Pinkie would have the good sense to talk to Applejack.

With that, we all disbanded and went our separate ways. The hunt was on!

Wow! The bathrooms in this place are so awesome! They’re all shiny and clean! Oh! It reminds me of my grandparent’s house where I used to spend the weekends as a filly! Needless to say, I was rather ecstatic when I wandered out of the bathroom after I finished...ahem, relieving myself. Immediately upon exiting, I looked at my surroundings. Everything was excessively bland to me, the hallway walls and the floor were a dull white that almost made me want to get to painting.

What was I supposed to do when I was done? Twilight had yelled something to me...something involving Applejack? Oh, right! I needed to find her!  OOH! I love treasure hunts! Especially when the prize is one of my bestest friends! I eagerly set off. After all, I had to get a new high score! I’m a level eighty-four paladin, you know.

It was easy for me to find the dressing rooms. There were tons of signs plastered all over the place! High score, here I come! After knocking on multiple doors, and getting very angry responses from managers and a few of the models themselves, I started to wonder where exactly Applejack was. The dressing rooms were only hallways and doors. Maybe she disappeared inside one of them?

Eh, I don’t know!

It was rather noisy, but I didn’t pay too much attention to the ponies who were causing it all. They seemed busy, since they were running up and down the halls as if they were in a great hurry. I’m not too sure, but I felt as if I walked around that place forever! I was actually starting to get a little nervous for Applejack’s sake.

I spent what seemed to be a few minutes just wandering around, looking for anypony that I happened to know. Eventually, I came to the end of the hall, where I had the option to go right, where even more dressing rooms resided, or left, towards the stage. “Hmm...” I pondered, bringing a hoof up to my chin. Well, Applejack said she’d be in the dressing room areas. It might not be a good idea to leave unless I check where she said she’d be first. With a small giggle, I eagerly headed right.

Although, everything seemed quite the same. I even saw some of the same mares from before. A bright yellow one was magically levitating a lavender dress down the hall, an orange pegasus was talking to someone on some sort of walkie talkie, an azure mare was checking herself out in the mirror-

...Wait.

“Oh, wow!” Vanity said to herself, swishing her long, salmon dress from side to side as if she was doing a little dance. The dress was lined with rubies that sparkled every time the lights happened to catch it. Her tail was curled dazzlingly, although her mane still looked the same as usual. “This dress compliments me perfectly!” she announced as she talked to herself. I couldn’t contain my excitement.

“VANITYYYYYY~” I screeched as I almost jumped on top of one of my bestest friends. I must’ve accidentally scared the wits out of her, as she let out a loud shriek. For some reason, the rest of the ponies in the hall seemed to ignore our loud antics.

I continue to stare endlessly at the blue mare admiring herself in the mirror. Wow, this is getting boring. She’s been doing this for the last hour. She’ll try on a simple dress and talk to herself about how gorgeous it looks, before changing into another one and repeating. Oh well, fine by me. My only instructions are to keep an eye on her, and to keep her out of trouble. So far, so good.

Wait, who is that? Some...overly hyperactive pink mare? Huh. Well, I’m sure she won’t do much. Might as well just let things be. I flip a few of the snakes on my head behind my shoulder, as they were getting a little rambunctious. After double checking to make sure I can’t be seen, I coo to my snakes, before going back to idly watching the two converse.

I wrapped my forehooves around her as she cursed and squirmed, trying as hard as she could to get out of my grasp. “Oh, it’s so great to see you again! After you disappeared and all! We were all really scared!”

“Let go of me!” Vanity hollered, before forcefully shoving the puffy pony off of her. Vanity fixed her dress and cleared her throat, regaining her composure before once again speaking. “Anyways, ‘see me’? What the hay are you talking about?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. I did exactly the same thing.

“Well, you just disappeared along with the rest of the Sins. We had a feeling that one of you would be here. Princess Luna is even here as well!”

...W...what? What is this pink mare talking about? S-She brought the Princess to speak with Vanity? Why would she do that? It only makes my job much more difficult. That’s it. I need to figure out who this mare is, and who else she brought along. I guess the best thing I could do right about now is sit back and listen...

“Luna? No offense, but I never took her as one that had an eye for modeling. Either way, leave me alone. I’m busy,” Vanity grunted, waving a hoof at me. Huh? Whoa, she sure is acting weird today...

“Are you kidding? We’re good friends! Along with Twilight and the rest of the Elements of Harmony! We’ve been searching for you and the rest of the Sins! Hold on, I’m going to go get them!” I said. I must’ve said it rather fast, as Vanity just tilted her head, before shrugging and turning back to the mirror as I swiftly ran back the way I came, getting ready to round up my friends along with the Princess.

Oh boy! I was so excited!

No...

No! There’s no possible way! Malignant lied! I didn’t sign up for this! I was told that I’d be doing some babysitting, I was never told that I’d have to go up against some sort of magical force that could deteriorate me in a matter of minutes!

The pink pony...she brought the elements, along with the Princess, just to look for Vanity? Along with the other Sins? Why? Ugh, this isn’t right. I was told that if Vanity was in danger, that I was to eliminate all threats immediately, but I’m hesitant. If I go up against all seven of them, I’ll surely be exterminated myself!

I have no choice. With a screech, along with a poof, I go to deliver the news to Malignant.

It took me a little while, but I had finally managed to round everyone up. I ended up running around the whole place a few times, but after finding my friends, along with Luna, we all made our way for the area where I last saw Vanity.

“You’re sure you saw Vanity around here somewhere?” Twilight asked, looking left and right at her surroundings, taking in the exact same sights that I did earlier. I gave her a heavy nod and a grin.

“Of course! She looked exactly like her! She looked very pretty too in the dress she was wearing! It might’ve just been the lighting, but I don’t think she remembered me.” I admitted. Okay, I’ll say it, it disappointed me just a little bit, but maybe she was just having one of those forgetful moments. Yeah! Of course! Psh, I’m silly, thinking like that. Twilight looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

“What do you mean she didn’t recognize you, Pinkie Pie?” Luna asked, furrowing her brow at me.

“Well, she didn’t seem to know who I was, or what I was talking about. She was just being weird, I guess.”

Rainbow Dash mumbled something to herself, resulting in Applejack punching her in the shoulder. Dashie let out a sharp cry before glaring at the apple farmer.

Eventually, we reached the corner where I saw Vanity the last time, and to my unrelenting glee, she still happened to be there. This time, her dress was a oceanic blue with wavelike embroidery near the end of it. She was giggling madly to herself. “Oh yes! This is the one!” She mused as she posed in front of the mirror, getting different angles of herself.

Everypony cantered over to her, calling her name and expressing their concerns. Although Luna stayed back, actually giving Vanity some breathing space. The rest of us forgot, and I think we all scared her a bit.

“Gah!” she shrieked, taking a few steps back. “Don’t touch me! What do you all want!?” Vanity proceeded to fix her dress, as it had dragged across the ground for a split second. After wiping the dirt off, she turned to us.

“Vanity?” Rarity said, a slight frown appearing on her face. “We’ve all been looking for you everywhere. Do you not remember? You disappeared from my house just the other night.” The amount of  confusion and annoyance on the mare’s face was staggering. Vanity lifted up her nose prudefully.

“I...I have no idea what you’re talking about! I have no idea who you ponies are! Now please go away! I have a few more dresses to try on,” she huffed, turning around to look back at herself in the mirror, completely ignoring our saddened faces that reflected off of it.

Rarity was crestfallen, and more than a little confused, and I was SO VERY tempted to run over and give her a hug. But since now really wasn’t the time, I decided that I would save it for later. And to make it up to her, I’m going to give her one of my world famous “Super-Duper-Deluxe Hugs.” Patent pending.

“I was afraid of this.” Luna suddenly sighed, causing every single one of us to turn to her. I had a bad feeling about this. Nopony noticed, but my leg twitched four times, which meant that we were about to get bad news. I kept the fact to myself, however. No need to bum everypony out. I’m sure that Luna was about to spill the beans anyways.

“What? What is it? Why doesn’t she remember us? What the heck is going on here?” Rainbow Dash asked in rapid succession. Luna simply stared disapprovingly at Rainbow, while I could see Twilight visibly roll her eyes. Maybe she didn’t like Rainbow’s tone?

“Princess Luna, can you please explain what’s going on with Vanity?” Twilight asked. With a brief nod, Luna obliged. The news must be really bad, but she continued to stare at us directly as she spoke.

“She is not herself. Surely you all notice?” There was a collection of nods. I felt three shivers on my left hoof. Without wasting a moment, I quickly hopped to my right. Just as the same orange pegasus from earlier almost narrowly missed me. She almost smacked right into Fluttershy, but luckily she saw the pony coming before I even felt the shivers.

Luna continued. “Malignant must have cast a spell on the Sins. To me, it seems like she has been put into a trance. Since she is considered to be Pride, she is required to be...” Luna paused mid-sentence as she thought. “Prideful...of herself. It seems there’s also some sort of memory spell that is preventing her from accessing her memories.” I could almost see the gears inside of Twilight’s mind turning before she smacked her forehead.

“How do we snap her out of it?” Rarity eagerly asked, turning back towards the Sin, who was still daintily looking herself up and down in the mirror.

“I...I am not sure. Malignant is a force that does not like to be reckoned with. The spell is going to be very difficult to break,” she replied. I could detect a hint of sadness in her voice. Well, time to step up!

“I have an idea~!” I sang. I already had the song lyrics in my head. I heard a groan come from just one of my friends. Probably Dashie. She was in a pretty bad mood today. I took a deep breath.

“We can get through this, if you truly wish

All we need to do is sit down and think!

We do a little dance and turn our thinking caps on

And then we find a solution by the end of this song!”

I grinned to myself, as I had just finished jumping around the room as I sang. I still had the jumping tune in my head that had been playing in the background. Everypony seemed to take my advice, except for Rainbow Dash, who was currently rubbing her temples.

“Well...what if we simply snap her out of the trance?” Fluttershy commented. I saw a few light bulbs go off amongst our group. I’ll be quite honest, I was more than clueless at this point.

“Like Luna said, the trance prevents her from accessing her memories. So, what if we have her regain her memories? Maybe that’ll just snap her out of the trance entirely,” Rarity added to Fluttershy’s suggestion, which was apparently where she was heading with that anyways.

“That could work. But...how do we have her remember what we went through?” Twilight asked, deep in thought. Luna simply shook her head.

“The actions of what happened in the past do not matter, only the feelings of which were had,” she replied, staring distractedly at Vanity. Luna squinted her eyes just barely.

“We could try dumping water on her,” Rainbow suggested. Nopony deigned to give that a proper response.

Twilight’s face suddenly lit up. Clearing her throat, she trotted up to Vanity confidently, a small and friendly smile plastered on her face. She tapped Vanity on the shoulder, who irritably turned around. “What? What do you want!?” Vanity almost shouted.

“Vanity, look, I know you don’t know us, but you have to listen to us. You’re one of our best friends, you helped us save all of Equestria-”

“Let me stop you right there,” Vanity said, holding up her hoof bemusedly. “I don’t have any friends, nor do I want any.”

“Well, we’re your friends whether you like it or not, and we all care about you. You helped us save Equestria from the recent changeling invasion, you were the first to sacrifice yourself inside the castle and give into your pride. Come on, you have to remember!” Twilight almost begged. For a split second, I think I saw Vanity frown, but she quickly closed her eyes and shook her head, before that same prideful smirk appeared on her face.

“Psh. Friends with the likes of YOU all? As if! You have the wrong mare, now why won’t you just leave me alone!?” she screamed, her anger only seeming to rise. Vanity’s eyes skimmed us, and when they landed on me, I gave her a caring smile. It may not always seem like it, but even a simple smile at the right time can do wonders.

Twilight sighed, her head dipping. Surely she was not giving up this easily. Rarity’s eyes suddenly widened as she appeared to remember something. She took out what seemed to be a scrap of paper and slyly put it in Twilight’s view. She eagerly whispered something in her ear, and I saw Twilight’s head vigorously pop up not even a second later.

A determined smile returned to her face as she stepped back up to Vanity, who was a little confused as to what was currently going on. “Vanity, I’d like you to take a look at something,” Twilight said, handing the little paper over to her. It took me a moment to realize that it wasn’t paper at all, but a photograph.

Vanity furrowed her eyebrow as she stared down at the picture in utter confusion. The picture was of her, and her best friend, standing shoulder to shoulder, outside of their apartment building in Ponyville. Ennui rested a hoof on Vanity’s shoulder, as they both smiled grandly at the camera. “W...What is this?” She trembled.

“That is your best friend, Ennui. You and her currently share a place in Ponyville. Don’t you remember the times you had with her? The changeling nest? Moving into the apartment? She was your best and most likely only friend, at least for a time. She cares for you, and you have to remember her,” Twilight pleaded. I could tell that she meant it from the heart.

“More importantly,” Rarity pressed on, sensing that Vanity’s defenses were on the verge of crumbling. “Ennui is the one who finally helped you release your pride. She was your first friend. And you even allowed her to pull the occasional prank on you, since it was all in good-natured fun. A truly prideful pony would never allow another to demean them in even the most juvenile of ways.”

That had a visible effect. I smiled at Rarity’s excellent choice of words. Luna nodded proudly. The others leaned forward in anticipation.

“I...” Vanity’s eyes almost seemed to water. “...Ennui?” Upon uttering those words, a dark purple mist oozed from her facial orifices. Her nose, mouth, ears, you name it. The mist gradually drifted upwards and began to collect. In a flash, Luna sprang forward, her horn aglow.

“You shall not have this mare any longer Malignant! Be gone, I say!” There was a blinding flash of light followed by a sharp crack, and when I opened my eyes the mist was nowhere to be found. Luna stood off to the side, looking slightly tired and also a bit worried. But my attention quickly returned to the cerulean mare.

Vanity shook her head, and I began to smile just a little bit wider. “Twilight? Guys? What’s going on?”

I let out a low groan of agony as I slowly sank to my knees. I made no effort to resist, it would be the epitome of an exercise in futility.

“So...let me get this straight...” the figure before me muttered darkly. There were many terrifying aspects of the...thing known as Malignant, but probably the most frightening of them all was how it never, ever raised its voice. At this point, being shouted at would be preferable to the venomous undertones it was currently using.

“Not only did you fail the simplest task you’ve been handed in a millennia, but you also did so without offering the slightest bit of resistance?” it hissed darkly.

I trembled slightly as I prepared my response. If it was not to its liking, I would no doubt not see the sunrise tomorrow.

Hmph. As if I watch sunrises.

“My lord...the Elements of Harmony were there. They knew that Vanity was there. I know not how. And, more than that...Princess Luna was accompanying them.”

There was a silence. It seemed to stretch on for an eternity. I hardly dared to breathe as I awaited my potentially final judgement. I decided to continue my case. “My lord, you know that I would never actively oppose your will. But if I had stayed in an attempt to defy her, I would not be standing before you now. This you know; we of the lesser circles stand no chance against the Princesses themselves. I felt it best to inform you of the dire circumstances before I could be found out.”

I heard it scoff. “You think you are so clever...”

I gasped as the pain suddenly intensified. Where before it had dwindled to a low, burning sensation, now it spiked through my very core, threatening to shatter my being into a thousand pieces.

So this was it, then. I was to die. Right here, right now.

I heard it release a long-suffering sigh. If I could have, I would have rolled my eyes. “You have no idea how difficult it is to find competent subordinates these days...a pity the Royal Sisters were so brutal those many millennia ago...” I failed to repress a scream as the grip tightened, threatening to crush my essence. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t even think straight. The light was fading...

And then, like the sudden lifting of a blindfold, the pain was gone. I collapsed on the ground, gasping in agony. I almost couldn’t believe the sudden change of events.

I was to be spared.

“As such, I will simply let you off with a warning. This time...” it added ominously.

I struggled to stagger to an upright position as quickly as I could, desperate to show my gratitude. “Th-thank you, my lord...” I panted out, my body still occasionally spasming as the pain died away.

I looked up to see it smirk slightly. “You are to find her. Follow her. Stay out of sight. I expect a report on her whereabouts every evening, as well as your observations on those who accompany her. Do this until I contact you with further directives.” It leaned forward to look me in the eyes. I shuddered as I stared into those inky black pits. “Do I make myself clear?” it whispered.

I nodded frantically. “Yes, my lord! Clear as crystal!”

“Good,” it cooed, turning away. “You may go now.”

Something stayed my body, though. One final question that I dared to ask. “My lord...what of the Princess?”

It paused. At first I thought I had angered it, but when it turned around it was smiling malevolently. “You are correct. You do not stand a chance against her, pathetic as you are.” The smile dwindled slightly. “She suspects something. But then again...” The smile returned as it chuckled mirthlessly. “She always suspects something...”

“Leave the Princess to me. Avoid her at all costs. That is all. Leave before I change my mind.”

This time, there was nothing preventing me from hurrying out of that wretched place. When I was finally away, I allowed a smirk to cross my features. The Elements, and their Princesses, wouldn’t even know what hit them.

Tartarus was unleashed.