Chapter VI

Cloudsdale was beautiful, that was a given. But as they approached the puffy white metropolis, Rarity realized just how beautiful the city amongst the clouds was. It was midday, and the sun cracked through the clouds, sending dusty rays of light through the city. The buildings were smooth and white and far above them, Rarity saw the massive storehouses laden with snow.

The chariot touched down on top of a snowy white hotel. They were at least twenty stories from the ground; of course they were staying at a five star hotel. A staunch white Pegasus stood waiting by the landing pad. Twilight stepped from the chariot and the Pegasus bowed.

“Good to see you your majesty.” His voice had an intonation that indicated authority. “Your trip was agreeable?” Twilight nodded.

“Absolutely. Tell me, what have we set up for today?” He paused, evidently caught off guard by the immediate shift to business matters.

“Well, there is a meeting with the board of directors over the expansion of weather reserves in an hour.” He smiled proudly. “Then I have arranged for dinner with the Wonderbolts, they’re staying here for a show in the morning.” Twilight didn’t seem to hear him.

“Anything thing else?” She asked, flipping through her calendar.

“Oh, no your majesty, the majority of the meetings and et cetera will take place tomorrow and the rest of the week. I apologize if I didn’t make that clear.” He bowed his head.

“It’s all right, I just wanted to see what we had tonight.” Twilight said agreeably. He returned to his first state of amiable explanation.

“Of course, well.” He held up a key “Here is the key to your room, I thought you might appreciate the penthouse suite.” He said with a proud smile.

“Oh thank you Cirrus.” Twilight looked back to Rarity. “You don’t happen to have two do you?” Cirrus had evidently not been informed about a third guest. The stallion bit his lip.

“Er, well, you see.” He started.

“Oh it’s fine.” Rarity hopped off of the luggage. “I can take the couch.” She froze, they probably wanted a separate room because she wasn’t supposed to be in the queen’s suite. “I mean, I can do whatever.” She added quickly.

“Are you sure Rarity?” Twilight asked.

“Oh yeah, I can do whatever.” Twilight shrugged and took the key from the Cirrus.

“Guess we just need one room.” Rarity was shocked, Queen Twilight didn’t mind sharing a room with her!

“Ah, excellent, this way!” Cirrus lead them down a flight of stairs and into the building.

It was a five star hotel, Rarity knew that by the attire of the bellhops, well, that, and the rainbow river running down the spiral staircase. The penthouse suite was magnificent, even in all her years of design, Rarity had never even gotten close to staying at the penthouse suite of anywhere. Two rooms large enough to hold twenty ponies each formed a sort of Y, the center of which was a kitchen and living room. After Cirrus departed, Twilight fell onto the couch in the main room. The Alicorn closed her eyes and heaved a great sigh.

“Ok, so I’m going to get cleaned up then go meet the advisors.” She opened her eyes. “You two handle the bags, and I’ll be back in like two hours for dinner.” She stood. “Ohhhhh, I don’t want to have to go to that meeting right now.” She sounded like a weary old pony and Rarity felt sorry for the stressed queen.

“Right, you got it.” Spike affirmed. “Rarity, want to help me with the bags?”

“Yeah, sure.” The two reached the door. Rarity turned, Twilight was splashing water over her face at the sink. “Hope everything goes well.” She called to her friend.

“Yeah, me too.” Twilight said emptily.

Back at the chariot, a small horde of bellhops had descended to recover the luggage. Spike fought his way through them.

“Watch it, out of the way, hey, move!” Maximus and Praetorian had apparently left for their next engagement of bodyguarding the queen, leaving Rarity and Spike to control the mass of diligent stallions. Spike rose on top of the chariot.

“Ok! Nopony take anything anywhere but to the penthouse suite. If you mess it up, I’ll tell Queen Twilight.” He finished menacingly. Rarity chuckled, he was a sight, the little secretary to the queen, attempting to hardball stallions twice his size.

The bellhops worked silently, like a stream of ants, disintegrating the pile of bags and papers and shuffling it noiselessly to the room. When the procession was finally completed, one bellhop, evidently the spokepony for the group, walked forward.

“Pardon my interruption, but we’ve finished your task.” The stallion stated blankly. Rarity and Spike exchanged glances.

“Uhh, yes, well, thank you my good man.” Spike dropped an unsure claw onto the pony’s back. “You’ve done me a great service.” The bellhop stood motionless before them. It occurred to Rarity. She lifted his left fore hoof and slapped a five into it.

“There you go, have an agreeable evening.” She smiled to him and motioned to the door.

“Pardon the interruption ma’am, but that comes out to be less than fifty cents for each of us.” She looked over his shoulder. The rest of the bellhops were right outside the door with the same blank expression.

“Mm, well, I’m sorry, but I can’t afford both a room and a payroll of bellhops. Now please be on your way.” The new Rarity would deal with a problem the right way, with simple logic and wit. Yet the spokespony did not move. The new Rarity could wait as long as he could. In a moment, Spike caught on.

“Oh, I’ve got some money, how many of you are there?” He piped up.

“Spike.” Rarity began.

“Thirteen.” Answered the bellhop over her. The secretary dug through his wallet.

“Will fifty cover it?” Rarity had to keep herself from slapping the money out of his claws.

“Fifty three would make it even.”

“Oh, sorry, all I have is a five.” Spike paused. “Oh well, consider the rest a tip.” He handed the unsightly amount of money to the bellhop, who bowed to the two and strolled from the room. Even the new Rarity really wanted to kick the shit out of that smarmy bellhop.

“You know Spike, that might not have been such a great idea.” She said as the door closed. He shrugged.

“Well, what was I supposed to do?”

“He does that to every patron, and he still makes a salary on top of that. You could have let him leave.” He pursed his lips.

“Well.” He rubbed his head. “He was nice about it, and I’m not in any problem with money.” She started to say that there were thirteen bellhops with that same quality now, but caught herself. The new Rarity was going to let this go, no matter how much she wanted to say. Rarity looked about the elegant room.

“So I’ll take the couch?” She asked.

“Hey, I can go on the couch, I’m a lot smaller.” He offered.

“Oh no, I’m not putting the queen’s secretary on the couch in the room I’m sharing with her, no thank you.” She said, beginning to laugh. He agreed, and for a time, the two went about unpacking.

Rarity had set up her travel makeup kit on the lamp table and was starting to make her fold-out bed. Tomorrow was Thursday, they would tour Cloudsdale. Friday was the day she was taking them to the Crystal Cafe, maybe they could go flying or something during the day. Saturday would be whatever Twilight wanted and Sunday, well, Spike could suggest something. The new Rarity went to work formulating a strategy on demonstrating her maturity to the queen.

“WHERE’S THE CROWN?!!” Spike hollered from his room. Rarity rushed into the bedroom. The dragon had ransacked all of the bags and boxes, and belongings were strewn about.

“I have no idea! Isn’t it with the other stuff?” Rarity asked, her blood beginning to chill.

“N-no, I checked three times.” He took a gulp. “It’s not there.” Rarity’s mouth went dry.

“Where did you see it last?” She asked, terror beginning to creep over her. He threw his arms into the air.

“I had in on my lap in the chariot! I musta set it back with the other stuff…” His voice dropped off. They looked at one another and Rarity punched the bellhop call button by the bed.

“Alright, I’m going to talk to him.” Spike said angrily as they waited for the Pegasus. In a minute’s time, there was a knock and the same light grey stallion stood outside their door.

“What can I help you with?” He asked congenially.

“You!” Spike shouted. “Where did you put the crown?!” The bellhop looked at them in puzzlement.

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Spike was livid.

“Yes you do! You unpacked all our stuff! You and thirteen other guys brought down our bags and Queen Twilight’s crown. Now where is it?!!” The bellhop was genuinely confused.

“Sir, I can assure you that we’ve never met before.” He said calmly. “Now if you would like to file a missing property-”

“NO I WANT YOU TO GET US THE CROWN!” Spike yelled. The Pegasus continued to act as if they had never met.

“Sir, I am going to have to ask you to keep your voice down, now if you want to file a report over some alleged missing property, I will be more than happy to help you. Otherwise, I have other matters to attend to.” Spike became an unhealthy shade of purple and he stared in outraged disbelief at the Pegasus. “If there’s anything else I can help you with, don’t hesitate to ask.” There was a slight pause, then the grey pony bowed and departed. The dragon stood staring out the empty door.

“Rarity.” His voice was quivering. “This is not good.” He turned to her, his pupils were contracted and his breathing was shaky. “We just lost Celestia’s crown, which is now Twilight’s crown.” The fullness of the problem washed over Rarity and she dropped to a chair. “I literally don’t know what I’m going to say to her.” He looked out the door, as if he were imagining the horrid fate that await him.

“S-she didn’t take it with her?” Rarity asked in a cracking voice. He turned angrily on her.

“NO!!! The last person to touch it was either that guy or one of his friends.” He cried. “And now they’re just going to deny we ever met. Twilight’s coming back and when she gets here she’s going to see that we lost her crown in less than ten minutes.” He collapsed on the bed beside her, tears were forming in his eyes. “This was supposed to be fun for her.” The new Rarity watched helplessly as he closed his eyes and began to cry noiselessly. “I thought that if I made some appointments in Cloudsdale then she would want to go on a trip.” He sobbed. “She’s only here because I rearranged her schedule.” Tears streamed down the dragon’s face and soaked into the white linen. Rarity rose and walked out the open door. “Where are you going?!” Called the heartbroken dragon.

“Out.” Replied old Rarity.

Rarity was jostled and knocked about as she approached the front desk.The lobby was filled with bellhops. A gawky looking stallion wearing an absolutely ridiculous round hat sat behind the gold desk.

“May I help you?” He asked courteously.

“Yes, I was looking for a grey stallion, he was my bellhop you see, and well, I need his personal touch on a matter.” She said primly.

“Shure, what did he look like?” Asked the attendant.

“Well he was a grey stallion, with I think a bell for a Cutie Mark.” She looked around, there were countless ponies who matched that description.

“Uh, you’re going to need to be more specific, we have a lot of those.” Said the hospitality worker.

“Line up all the grey bellhops.” She said directly. He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Excuse me?”

She leaned across the desk and tucked a twenty into his suit jacket.

“Here’s the deal, you can take that money and do what I say. Or we can go less pleasant means and then you can do what I say.” She advised. He stared at her for a few seconds, then turned to a small microphone on his desk.

“Uhhh, can I get all the grey bellhops up front in a line? Grey bellhops, line at check-in please.” He looked at her uneasily. “They should be here in a sec.”

In a few minutes time, a small line of about twenty grey and off grey Pegasi gathered in front of the desk. Murmurs ran up and down the line and they looked around in confusion. Rarity scanned the offerings, her pick was at the far end, standing near the elevators. She marched up to him.

“Please escort me to the pool good sir.” She commanded politely. He cocked his head in bewilderment.

“What?” She clamped a hoof onto his shoulder.

“Take me to the pool please.” She hugged the stallion close and dragged him to the elevator. The other ponies watched them in bemusement. She punched the up button.

“Uhhhhhh, is that all you need miss?” Came the perplexed voice of the front desk attendant. The gold doors slid open.

“Yeah, I got what I need.” Rarity replied as she stepped into the elevator. The doors slid closed and the two lurched upward. The grey stallion turned to her.

“Hey, look, I understand you are upset over possibly losing some property, I can assist you in-” She pressed the halt button and the room jerked to a stop. “What are you doing?!” He asked in surprise. She turned to him.

“Last normal question: Where is the crown?”

“Look, like I told your friend-” Rarity slammed the stallion against the wall of the elevator and held her arm across his throat.

“Listen to me shithead.” She hissed. “You can fool a lot of ponies with your bullshit, but I ain’t no tourist, and we both know it was you up there.” His eyes went wide with terror.

“Ma’am, please, I don’t know what bellhop allegedly took you-”Gripping his mane tightly, she threw him face first into the doors of the elevator.

“Stop it with that.” She growled. He held his hooves up in pleading defense.

“Please don’t ma’am! I don’t know-” Rarity squatted down beside the Pegasus.

“You stole something that’s worth more than my life, I’m not in any position to cut my losses. I’m here to show how polite and cultured I can be to my friend.” She pressed a button and the doors slid open, revealing a mildewed brick wall. “Now I’m gonna scrape your face off and we’ll see if you can recall what didn’t happen ok?” She struck another button and the wall began to slide by. He jumped up in sheer horror, but old Rarity pinned his arms and held him against the floor. “This is gonna hurt, I can promise you that.” Rarity said as she stared meanicingly into face of the petrified pony.

He broke in a few seconds.

“Ok ok! I was there, but I don’t know which guy took the crown.” She shoved his prone form inches from the scraping wall. “SHIT! ALRIGHT! I CAN GET THE CROWN! JUST DON’T KILL ME!” He shrieked.

“We’re going to get it.” Rarity whispered into his ear. “You’re taking me to it.”

As it turned out, it was in the basement. Rarity held the roughed bellhop by his ear as they ventured into the dank underbelly of the building. The room was massive, dark, and humid. It smelled of industrial detergent and starched clothing. Steam rose in clouds and puffs from tent-like clothes draped over clotheslines. What better place to hide a stolen crown than in the hotel’s laundry? The bellhop brought her through the misty maze of drying sheets and towels to a wooden door that was rotting from the moisture. He stopped and Rarity shook him.

“Open it.” She ordered.

The bellhop shakily opened the door. Inside was a small room filled with ironing boards and a few ponies were pressing shirts. Her captive led her over to a wheeled bin draped with sheets. He began to rifle through the large container. A yellowish Pegasus, with a square cut mane and build of a freight train noticed the pair.

“Allen, what are you doing?” He asked in a testosterone laced voice. “Allen” looked up anxiously.

“We, uh” He looked to Rarity, who was still holding his ear. “May have accidentally taken something of hers, she just wanted to see if it might have somehow gotten into here.” The yellow pony looked over the white mare.

“I’m pretty sure whatever she’s looking for isn’t there.” He said dubiously. Rarity tightened her grip on Allen’s ear.

“Hehe, she seems pretty convinced.” He laughed nervously. The bulky pony walked toward the two.

“Allen, it isn’t in there.” He pointed to Rarity. “You should get back to your room.” Allen, apparently perceiving the yellow Pegasus to hold a worse fate, turned to Rarity.

“Look, he runs the laundry, he would have seen it.” He pleaded. “It’s best for everypony if you just go back to your room.”

That yellow pony could, and would, turn her into mincemeat if she persisted in searching. Rarity knew Twilight would understand, Spike had honest intentions and Rarity was just an unrelated guest. The crown had been stolen when no one was looking, and been scurried away before she and Spike had noticed. Twilight probably wouldn’t blame new Rarity.

She loosened her grip on the sweating thief.

“You are right, if you” She motioned to the yellow pony. “Didn’t see it, then I guess it isn’t here.” Allen took a deep breath and pulled himself from the bin. The yellow pony continued to watch her with suspicion.

With a flick of her horn, Rarity snatched the iron from the hooves of a nearby worker and brought it beside the face of her hostage. Allen struggled in newfound panic and Rarity squeezed the small pony to her.

“Yet I still have a hunch we’re going to find it, despite what you think.” She said in a low voice. The yellow pony lunged towards her. She held the steaming black surface of the iron dangerously close to Allen’s face. “BRING IT!” She bellowed in terror. “YOU’LL TAKE ME BUT HE’S GONNA GET REAL UGLY!” her voice rang with fear, but Rarity held her ground. The yellow pony halted a foot from her.

“Maurin, she’s crazy, let her have it!” The squirming bellhop implored. Maurin considered the struggling pair.

“You are far from where the police will find you.” His eyes locked with hers. He said in an equally low voice. “Nopony here will notice if you go missing.” He said darkly.

“Yeah? They gonna notice if half his face is fried?” She whispered back. “You’re gonna kill me, I don’t doubt you there.” She craned her neck toward the laundry pony. “But you and he are gonna hurt for it.” She steadied her grip on the rusty iron. “Come on, I’m ready when you are.”

Maurin gazed at her, his eyes burned into hers. Old Rarity awaited her fate, she had nothing to lose. In a second, Maurin kicked the bin over, stained cloth and fabric tumbled across the floor. The unmistakable glint of a royal crown shone from beneath a cream stained napkin. Releasing Allen, Rarity scooped the heavy ornament up in her arms. The grey bellhop stumbled toward Maurin, who was studying the white pony.

“You are out of your mind.” Maurin snickered. “You are far from home and still thinking you can boss anypony around.” Rarity threw the iron to the ground.

“Well, I got what I needed.” She replied.

“But you have nothing to stop me from taking it back.”

Rarity had already reached the door before he finished speaking. The decayed wood splintered apart as she struck it at full speed. Maurin was moments behind her. She ran blindly forward, where the hell was the elevator? The maze of uniform sheets and clothing rose up all around her. Rarity sprinted ahead, she heard the massive laundry pony galloping up behind her.

Swerving around a corner, she struck the side of a washtub and stumbled headlong into drying bedspread. The soaking blanket engulfed her and dropped her to the ground. She fought against the waterlogged weight, but it seemed anchored to the floor. Maurin ran around the corner and screeched to a standstill. Rarity watched from a small opening in the blanket as he scanned for her. She held her breath as he looked for her, his eyes ran across her fallen form which was obscured by the formless blanket.

“You can run little lady” He said between breaths. “But you can’t hide.” He started toward her. Rarity held her breath. Maurin stepped forward onto the squishy bedspread. His hoof dug into her belly and Rarity fought back a scream. He looked around, each glance twisting his heavy weight into her insides. Rarity started to feel dizzy from the pressure. The yellow pony took a few agonizing moments to survey his surrondings. In a moment, Maurin stepped down and dried his soaking hooves on a nearby towel. Satisfied with his search, her pursuer walked back the way he had come. The room became quiet

Rarity’s blood had begun to throb in her ears and she released her pent-up breath in a loud burst. Her stomach hurt horribly and the world seemed to tilt around her. She waited a few minutes, the cooling blanket sucking the warmth from her body.

Finally she decided that her pursuer had given up and she struggled out of her wet prison. The bedspread made the loudest of slapping and sucking noises as she heaved it upward. Rarity wordlessly cursed the noisy fabric and rose to her hooves. She clutched the bulky crown and started creeping for what she hoped was the way out.

It wasn’t. And for the next twenty minutes, a horrified and nauseous Rarity sneaked around the laundry looking for the wall with her escape. Her stomach was tight and bruised, the steam made her lightheaded and Rarity hoped she wouldn’t lose consciousness in the nightmarish maze. She saw the red lettered sign for EXIT glowing on a nearby wall. She slipped toward her escape, in her haste she overlooked a black rubber cord hanging from an ironing board that stood before her. Catching the cord, her leg jerked the resting iron to life and the metal tool hopped from the table. It struck her flank, just below her Cutie Mark. The live iron seared into her white flesh and she screamed in agony. Both the iron and the crown fell to the concrete floor with a metallic clatter as she stumbled to the ground.

Pulling herself to her hooves, Rarity recovered the fallen crown and limped desperately toward the elevator. She heard galloping. It started over near the door she had broken and sounded as if it were moving directly toward her. She pounded against the closed doors of the elevator as Maurin closed in. He was probably fifteen feet away when the doors opened and she rushed inside. Rarity dashed inside of the elevator. She turned, he was literally within arm’s reach. Her arms rose in fright and the rim of the crown slammed into her face. It knocked her to the back of the elevator and fell to the carpeted floor.

Head spinning from the impact, flank burning, stomach knotted and her stamina drained by terror and exertion, Rarity lay sprawled helplessly across the floor. Exhausted and strained, the unicorn was trapped in a tiny elevator with a monstrous stallion, she would go no further.

“P-please just kill me quickly.” She whimpered.

She knew it was over. Poor Twilight and Spike would never know what became of her. The crown would disappear along with her. This was the last of her.

Her eyes were closed, she knew Maurin was hovering over her, his cold breath chilled her sweating skin. Rarity heard nothing, he was waiting to scare her again when she opened her eyes. A few seconds of silence passed between the two. She opened her eyes to just a slit, from the dim darkness of her vision, she made out the ceiling of the elevator, Maurin wasn’t above her. An air vent breathed cold AC onto her. Trembling and moments from fainting from fear, Rarity pulled herself up.

She was in an empty elevator. The doors were closed and the crown lay on the floor. The jagged spike at the top was coated with blood, which had splattered over the entirety of the crown. She frantically surveyed her body. Burned, bruised, beaten, but not bloody. A thought came over her, he had hit the crown. Rarity dropped again to the floor, the nausea gripped her and this time she couldn’t stave it off. Feverish and reeling from dizziness and breathless overexertion, Rarity vomited onto the tasteful floral patterned carpet.

Spike had been crying, crying for a while it appeared. His eyes were red and he hadn’t moved from the bed. He leapt up as she entered.

“Oh my God Rarity!” The battered pony staggered into the suite carrying the crown. She held a hoof to his mouth to indicate the need for silence.

“This it?” She asked, her triumphant smile reeked of vomit and Rarity knew Spike was more concerned about her.

“RARITY! What happened?! Are you all right? Oh my God, your flank!” She again put up a hoof to silence him.

“I got the crown and I’m fairly sure nopony is dead, please.” She became lightheaded again. “Clean this off.” She handed the crown to the dumbfounded dragon. “I need to take a shower, Twilight can’t see me like this.”

“But, but, but what happened? Rarity! You’re hurt bad!” she shook her head.

“It looks worse than it is.” Although she believed the opposite to be true. “Listen, Spike, it’s an unpleasant story, but it’s done. I’m fine, clean off the crown and put it where it should go.” He stood aghast at the injured mare. She didn’t have time to get him going, she needed to make sure the queen didn’t see her like this.

Drawing a bath, Rarity grabbed a container of Epsom salts and shook it into the tub. The warm water ran over her body as Rarity sunk shakily into the bathtub. Upon reaching her burn, the mellow aquatic therapy transformed into molten hell and she ground her teeth together to avoid crying out in pain.

Forcing herself into the white ceramic bowl, Rarity triaged her wounds. A red and horseshoe shaped bruise had raised on her belly. She delicately tested the injury. The skin was taught and warm, that was probably a good thing, right? Nothing had broken or burst right? She reclined in the tub, the 95% of her body not burning from salt rather enjoyed the soothing water. She wiped the blood from the cut the crown had caused her, which was thankfully minor. She felt her head, a small lump had formed under the cut and she had a mild headache. Her vision was fine, she could think clearly, it was probably just a knock. Next was the burn, Rarity twisted her neck to avoid turning her leg. Ah shit, that was a serious burn. A large patch of blackened and swollen skin shaped like a spade stood out on her thigh. She brushed her hoof along the area, it flaked away, leaving a raw red patch. It also hurt like hell. Rarity closed her eyes and bit her lip as the howling fury of a third degree burn sang on her hip. In a few seconds the pain receded and she thought about what to. Makeup for the cut, any dress would cover the bruise, the burn would ensure that it was a long dress. She only had one and that was supposed to be for the Crystal Café. Old Rarity didn’t plan her injuries well did she? Well, maybe the bruise would go down and the burn avoid infection if she stayed in the water for a little bit.

Rarity took a full breath, the first she had taken since she had left on her ill-fated mission. Her mind released from the flight or fight drive and she began to comprehend what had happened. Holy shit, she had almost been killed. Her wounds stung a little more as her heart raced with that thought.

Allen was probably never going to venture past the 12th floor again. What about that Maurin? Rarity shuddered with dread as she recalled how close he had come to her. Was he dead? He hadn’t yelled in pain. A sickening thought crossed her mind that he had impaled himself on the crown and his mutilated corpse was now being found by the other workers of the laundry. Would they figure out what kind of weapon had been used? Could they trace it back to her? She shook her head, there had to be more than just a stolen crown down there, nopony was going to call the authorities. God damn, Rarity heaved a heavy sigh, she was still shaking from her standoff. Just, God damn, what the hell had she been thinking? Old Rarity was more than a drunk, apparently old Rarity also had problems backing down from a fight. Seven months ago this would not have been an issue. What happened?

She sank up to her chin in the saline water, it didn’t matter, she just needed to focus on becoming presentable now.

The water felt a little cooler when she opened her eyes again, how long had it been? She heard a door close. Somepony walked into Twilight’s room.

“Hello? Spike? Rarity? Where are you guys? We’re eating dinner in like thirty minutes!” Twilight called.

“Just a minute!” Rarity replied. “Just, uh, getting fixed up for dinner! She rose out of the water and the cold air bit into her burn. “Shit!” She whispered loudly.

“Is uh, everything ok in there?” Twilight asked through the door.

“Yeah, just, be a dear please and get me my makeup bag. I seem to have forgotten it.” New Rarity politely requested. In a few moments Twilight again knocked at the door. Rarity opened it a crack and took the small case. “Ah yes, thank you so much.”

“Yeah, uh, where’s Spike? His room is locked and he should be getting ready.” Oh hell where was Spike?

“IIIIIIIIIIIIIII’m sure he’s somewhere.” Rarity said as she dusted her cut.

“Well, he better be getting ready.” Twilight said in irritation. “I’m not going to miss a dinner because he forgot his suit.”

After ten minutes of makeup, the new Rarity emerged wearing a towel.

“Just getting my dress.” She said as she casually walked by the changing Twilight. Rarity rooted through her suitcase, and dug out the dress. It still fit well and the stitching held, she was still proud of her work. Rarity looked herself over in the mirror, perfect. With her spotless dress, stellar makeup application and normal gait, one would never assume she had been on a violent search for a stolen crown recently. She turned and saw the queen.

Twilight was wearing a breathtaking dress, rich dark swirls of violet crisscrossed across onyx fabric. The dress fell to Twilight’s hooves and morphed about as she walked. Dark and mysterious, the dress was obviously inspired by Luna.

“That’s marvelous.” Rarity breathed. “You look dazzling.” Twilight blushed.

“Aw, thank you. Yeah it’s from an old chest back at Canterlot.” Spike peeked out of his room.

“You aren’t going to need your crown right?” He asked. Twilight giggled.

“There you are! No of course I’m not going to need it, this is just a little dinner. Now come on, we’re almost late.” Spike exited his room and joined the two. He wore the cutest little blazer Rarity had ever seen. Yet she remained respectful of the secretary.

“A grand outfit for a distinguished secretary.” New Rarity said sober appreciation. Twilight giggled.

“See Spike? It’s not silly.”

“Yeah well, I think it itches.” He said in annoyance.

“Well just think about how cool it will be to meet the Wonderbolts!” Twilight reminded him as they exited their suite.

That took Rarity back, she thought of Rainbow Dash, who was probably sitting reading a book or working on her model or engaged in some other activity that was completely backward to her interests. She should have smashed into their room once Cirrus mentioned the Wonderbolts were in town. She should have pleaded with Queen Twilight to please please please let her eat with them. She should have wanted to tour the reactors with them. Now she lived alone and cut manes. Now she didn’t even fly. What happened?

There was a “Closed for cleaning” sign on one of the elevators and Rarity shuffled them toward the stairs.

“Why don’t we take the healthy route?” She suggested quickly.

Dinner was served in a classic marble dining hall on the third floor of the hotel. Before they were even seated, Rarity was formulating her strategy. Small complements, nothing formal, just keep it casual. The new Rarity analyzed her targets. Cirrus was talking with some waiters, he was just the head of the hotel, but she made sure to treat him as an equal. Always use “your majesty” with Twilight and don’t say anything cute about Spike. Now the Wonderbolts…where were they? No matter, they were probably just fashionably late, and thus, temporarily irrelevant. Rarity took her seat, and sipped her water in moderation. Let the dinner commence.

Fifteen minutes passed, and her water was nearly gone. A waiter soon refilled her glass. Cirrus and Twilight were talking on some boring laws or something and Spike was still itching. The doors swung open and two ponies strolled in. Soarin’ and Captain Spitfire wore their light blue flight suits, evidently they had not intended to be fashionably late.

“Apologies for our lateness, we were held at tomorrow’s course.” Spitfire said as she approached the table. Soarin’ swaggered up to the table and took a seat next to Rarity.

“Hey there, I’m Soarin’.” He talked like Rarity thought he would, like somepony who assumed too much of himself. She held out a hoof politely.

“I am Rarity, a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He grabbed it and shook it roughly, giving no thought to the proper action (a light, one point five second kiss on the top followed by a complement to her perfume).

“Great meetin’ ya.” He said brusquely. “You look great.”

Rarity doubled her resolve, even if he didn’t know proper etiquette, she did and the new Rarity wasn’t going to get tripped up by a prideful Pegasus. Spitfire took a more dignified approach and pulled out a chair next to Cirrus.

“Hello Queen Twilight. It’s good to see you.” The captain said with proper respect. Cirrus clopped his hooves and dinner began.

Four courses, Rarity made sure to use each one to demonstrate proper manners. The new Rarity was in her element and she deftly navigated the minefield of possible dining blunders. She ate for her size, used her napkin, and made certain to refuse any dishes that might stain if spilled. Despite her best efforts though, Rarity found it hard to keep the food down. The bruise pounded sickeningly with every swallow of hay and oats she took, but the new Rarity forced down the food and made not so much a grimace to indicate her suffering.

The conversation sat on Twilight and her new queenship.

“So how is it being queen?” Asked Spitfire between bites of wild oats. Twilight considered this for a moment.

“Well, not really something I envisioned doing.” She began. “It’s been tough obviously, the recession has made things very slow in terms of finances since banks don’t loan so much.”

“You got a lead on the bomber?” The room fell silent. The new Rarity nearly dropped her fork. Soarin’ had gone where nopony had dared. He had asked about the Blast. Twilight thought for a moment.

“Well, most of that is classified. But there are some leads, there is a civil war going on beneath the Rail Mountains. The diamond dog nation of Mohs is currently engaged in a domestic war, the president is pointing fingers at the rebel faction as possibly having a motive.” She spoke a LOT more casually than the new Rarity would have assumed. The Blast was heavily taboo as far as Rarity was concerned and she had not expected anypony else to think differently.

“I would imagine the death of our great Celestia has affected the bureaucratic process quite a bit.” Cirrus mused as he took a sip of water. Twilight nodded.

“Yes, she had a way with things that I can only try and mimic. The workings of the government are not used to another Alicorn.” Rarity could scarcely believe that they were talking about the Blast so casually. Was every pony this relaxed about it? Soarin’ continued to push the envelope.

“I’d like to find the guy, I’d show him justice.” He muttered. Spitfire shot him an expression that said to shut up. The room fell silent. Cirrus pushed at his salad.

“Has Princess Luna ever been by?” He asked. Twilight shook her head.

“No, she.” Twilight sighed here and set her fork down. “Went missing the day of the explosion, last reported sighting of her was about 4:37 in the cafeteria below the castle.” The room became deadly quiet as all of the ponies thought about the dark princess and the unspeakable possibility of her involvement with the murder of her sister.

“You know, we’re really just here to see the rainbow reactors.” Spike said abruptly. Cirrus smiled at the dragon.

“They are truly magnificent, a wonder to behold. They pump out more rainbows than the sixteen obsolete plants we ran before.” He gave a grateful nod to Twilight. “Your decision to allow their construction was very generous. As promised, they are more efficient and safer than the outdated plants.” Twilight nodded.

“Good to hear, you made a convincing case for new technology and I look forward to touring the facilities.” The queen said kindly

“Well rainbows are good, but they don’t scream across the sky shooting lightning. Some things you just can’t outsource.” Spitfire said proudly.

“Pardon my interruption but where are the rest of the Wonderbolts?” Rarity jumped in at a safe point, to avoid appearing silent and thus impolite. Spitfire laughed.

“Getting ready for the show. We’re terribly committed to practice and it takes quite a while to take just a few runs.” She answered. Soarin’ nodded.

“Yeah, we just came ‘cause we’ve been doing this the longest.” His mouth was full of greens and each word puffed out leaves like a confetti machine. Rarity was in safe waters and she pressed her polite conversation.

“I imagine it must be very cold up there, do your uniforms insulate you against the wind?” She asked, taking a perfectly timed bite of salad. Spitfire considered this for a moment.

“Well yes and no. During a performance or race you really don’t feel the cold, but the uniforms don’t really provide much in terms of warmth.”

“Ah, that would make sense. How many of you are there?” Rarity asked, wiping some excess water from her lips.

“Wonderbolts you mean? Hmm, I’m trying to remember, thirty six I believe. Yes, thirty six.” Spitfire answered.

“How often do you train?”

“You mean for events or just in general?”

“In general I suppose.”

“Every day, we have a minimum of 2 hours of flight each day.”

“Do you-” Rarity noticed she was the only pony asking any questions. “Oh, forgot what I was going to say.” She said quietly. A silence fell over the group, and Rarity squirmed under the awkwardness of the moment. Stupid move trying to force a conversation, what had she been thinking? New Rarity hoped she hadn’t looked too foolish.

They were served a dessert of alfalfa ice cream and it was Cirrus who broke the stillness.

“I know Twilight and myself are both going to be attending to some state affairs in the morning.” He gestured to Spike and Rarity. “But would either of you like to see the show? I can arrange for front row seats if you’d like.” He offered.

“Oh yeah, the Wonderbolts are sweet!” Spike said excitedly. Soarin’ grinned to this and a small smile slid across Spitfire’s face.

“Hey, you wanna go backstage little man?” Soarin’ asked Spike. “You can kick it with the whole crew!” Rarity guessed Spike didn’t like being called little man, but the dragon didn’t seem to mind.

“Yeah that’d be awesome!” He said eagerly. “I can’t believe I’m going to meet the whole team of Wonderbolts!”

The two Pegasi and the dragon spent the rest of dessert engaged in a conversation regarding the air show and what sort of aerial acrobatics would take place.

Rarity found herself smiling at Spike’s enthusiasm. He spent half his time running inane errands for Twilight and the rest of his time trying to make her and everyone he could happy. She was glad he was genuinely enjoying something. Spike deserved to be happy.

As they stood to leave, Rarity felt the sharp stab of her bruise against her food swollen stomach. God, how had she eaten so much? Evidently Soarin’ and Spitfire needed to get back to their flight crew, as the two rose and bowed to Twilight.

“Good to see you Queen Twilight. I am glad Equestria is in your hooves.” Spitfire said formally. Soarin’ poked Spike’s shoulder.

“See ya tomorrow little man.” He winked to the secretary and the two Pegasi departed.

In a few minutes, the three prepared to depart as well. Cirrus began to talk to Twilight about some boring state thing or whatever as they walked to the door and Spike pulled Rarity aside.

“I need to talk to you about the owncray.” He whispered. Rarity thought frantically, what could have happened?

Back at their room, Twilight changed from her dress and got ready for bed. In a minute she poked her head out of her room.

“I’m really tired, I’m going to get some sleep, can you two keep it down?” She asked in exhaustion.

“Yeah, sure, no problem, hope you sleep well.” Rarity said with a smile.

“Night Twilight.” Spike said softly. She didn’t reply and simply closed the door.

Spike brought Rarity into his room. Producing the crown from beneath his bedsheets, he motioned for her to look closely. It was cleaned, it looked fine, and oh hell there was a dent. Rarity swallowed, the very tip of the gold spike was pushed inward a little bit. No pony in existence would ever notice such a small blemish, yet they both knew Twilight would spot the damage instantly.

“Rarity, what happened with the crown?” Spike asked gravely. “How did it get dented?” New Rarity didn’t have a particularly good explanation for the actions of her older counterpart.

“Look, I was getting it back from the guy who stole it. And he somehow impaled himself on it.” She admitted.

“What?!!” He whispered loudly. “Is he dead?! Is this a murder weapon?!”

“No no no, he’s probably not dead. And it was a complete accident, more his fault than mine. Look Spike, nopony is going to have a problem with this, he’s not going to say anything ‘cause it’s Twilight’s crown and we’re not gonna say anything.” An idea came to her and she continued. “We’ll find a goldsmith tomorrow and get it fixed. I’m going to say that I burned my leg ironing my dress and I got the bruise from falling onto the end table after I burned myself.” She pulled the plan together. It was actually possible that they could pull it all off without Twilight finding out. “I think if we-”

“Rarity, this is what I was talking about, that whole trouble thing.” Spike said unhappily. Rarity stopped short. He was right, he was absolutely right. She hadn’t shown any maturity.

The reality dropped onto her and her imagined progress fell apart. She couldn’t stop being old Rarity, no matter how many dinners she went to or how many times she avoided protesting bullshit, she was still old Rarity. She fucked things up, couldn’t keep herself from fighting and wasn’t the kind of pony to take on a royal vacation. Everything she had done was just a pathetic attempt at proving something that wasn’t true. She was still the angry and foul-mouthed unicorn embittered over the loss of her business.

“I’m, sorry Spike.” She said quietly. “I’m not good at this, I guess I need to accept that. Sorry for making things worse.” She couldn’t look him in the eye and she dug the soft carpet with her hooves.

“What? That’s not what I care about. I’m saying that this is something that could really hurt Twilight if she found out.” Spike said in confusion. He knelt down and looked into her face. “Wait, what do you mean?” She sniffed back a tear.

“I’m nothing like who I should be, I’m a rude and undignified pony who never makes things better. I just fuck everything up without thinking.” She cried softly.

“What? No you’re not! Rarity, I love you, I mean, like, you’re really fun to be around.” He cleared his throat. “Don’t mean I love you, you know.” He took her face in his claws. “Why do you think you’re such a bad pony?” She wiped away some tears, which began to run her makeup.

“I swear and I can’t behave and I’m selfish. I screwed up at dinner.” She said miserably.

“No you didn’t, and you’re not undignified. You handle yourself fine.” He looked her in the eye. “You’re really fun, more fun than anypony I know. Yeah, you misbehave and get angry and I won’t stop you from trying to improve on that, but you aren’t a bad pony. If anything, I like you more now.” He smiled. “Look, this afternoon, you went and got that crown back, you risked your life for something that would have been a huge shame for the Queen of Equestria, that’s pretty noble. I bet that you would have been too scared to do that before the Blast!”

“You said I make trouble, I look for it and that’s why I shouldn’t come with you.” She pointed to the dented crown. “Trouble!”

“Rarity, I said that because I was worried you might get into a fight or something. But for the few hours we’ve been here you’ve done nothing but be a help to me and Twi. You obviously want to act more mature, and so far you have, what gives you the idea you’re on any path but the right one?” Rarity found herself without a response.

“I, just feel like I’m not as ladylike as I was.” She said quietly.

“Aw, Rarity, you’re still very well-behaved when you want to be. Tonight was good, you didn’t seem out of place, really, I didn’t see anything from you but proper etiquette. You’re still a beautiful lady, even without your accent.” A faint smile crossed her face.

“Thanks Spike.” She whispered.

He looked to the crown.

“I’m really worried that Twilight is going to figure out some part of what happened this afternoon. That’s what I meant by that trouble thing.” He explained. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Well, we have excuses for my injuries, they’ll heal a bit overnight, I guess, hopefully. We can find a jeweler to work on the crown tomorrow, I know of a few who won’t ask a lot of questions.” He nodded.

“All right, if you think you can get the work done quickly. I guess that we might be able to keep her from finding out about it.”

They sat on his bed for a time. Rarity felt exhausted and it felt good to just sit with the dragon.

“Didn’t know you liked the Wonderbolts so much.” She said after a bit. Spike rolled his eyes.

“Yeah I don’t, that Soarin’ guy is an idiot and I don’t really care about meeting the rest of them. But Twilight is worried that I don’t have any interests and I don’t want her to have to worry about me.” Rarity giggled.

“I never really saw you as the Wonderbolt type.” Her giggles faded and they sat again in silence. “You really care about her.” She mused.

Spike had been born to Twilight, he was her number one assistant. He had almost lost his mind when an owl had taken his place serving Twilight. He thought of little except what would help or benefit her.

“What about you?” She asked. “What are you gonna do when she isn’t going to need so much help?” His answer came quickly.

“It’ll be awhile before that happens.”

Rarity lay in bed, her bruise had long ceased to hurt and she gazed into the blackness. The crown was dented and she needed to make sure the jeweler she took it to didn’t try and steal it, or ask any questions. She wasn’t sure if such a jeweler existed and she was definitely not sure if Twilight would buy her thin explanations of her wounds. The plan was haphazard and more than implausible.

Yet despite all of the misfortune and likely trouble ahead, Rarity was happy. Her life was improving, she was becoming more like former and respected self. She was staying with the Queen of Equestria in a penthouse suite of a five star hotel after all.

Spike was really right, she could still be courteous and proper. New Rarity wasn’t a lie in the least. She rolled over on her side and the bruise and burn simmered with her movement. No matter what, she was improving.

It was already 8 in the morning when Rarity awoke. Spike was eating some oatmeal and reading the morning paper in the kitchenette.

“Mmmph, Twilight still here?” The unicorn asked sleepily. He shook his head.

“Nope, she left for some sit downs with Cirrus. You better get cleaned up, you have to get the crown to the jeweler and then meet me at the stadium for the air show.” He said, hopping from his chair and tossing his bowl into the sink. Another great day of running errands for shitty old Rarity. BUT, she caught herself, another day of improving.

She sauntered into the bathroom to freshen up. A nasty green film had formed over her burn. That had to go. Rarity grit her teeth and scraped the membrane away. She nearly screamed in pain at the vicious sting. For a few moments she caught her breath then turned to her bruise. Ugly, red and defined, it would remain largely unseen if she remained on four hooves, a feat that new Rarity could manage with ease. She downed a slice of toast and a banana as she and Spike made their way to the lobby.

“Alright.” Spike handed her four hundred bits and a saddlebag containing the dented crown. “Get it fixed, no questions asked, no trouble.” He said on the steps of the building. She nodded.

“Got it, no trouble this time. See you at the air show.” She confidently relayed.

Cloudsdale was full of jewelers, it was full of designer clothing stores, it was full of imported furniture emporiums. Rarity walked along the clean white streets and took in the city, Cloudsdale was rich. She passed Pegasi schools, glancing into the windows, Rarity saw the fillies and colts gliding through halls and shunning the floor entirely. Things were different up here, that was certain. She had lived in Cloudsdale for a long time, but every time she visited the levitating city, it never failed to dazzle her. The old adage was entirely correct, there was something about Cloudsdale.

His name was Brilliance, and he could fix the crown. Brilliance was a small pony, smaller than her even. He was entirely white and his eyes were such a clear aqua that there was hardly any contrast to his form. He had fixed tens of broken brooches and necklaces for Rarity over the course of their business partnership. He wouldn’t ask any questions, their past assured that.

During her years at the Academy of Advanced Arts, Rarity had opened a little jewelry to help support herself along with Brilliance, another student. After her four years of school, she moved back to Ponyville and opened the Carisol Boutique, but Brilliance had found his life in the colorful and glittering rocks. They had fallen out of touch, but of course they were still good friends.

The store sat on a small cloud all by itself and Rarity walked the familiar bridge to the entrance. Still the same old cheap brick building the stallion had taken a liking to. She rapped on the glass door. No doorbell, he liked the quiet. It was a young purple stallion who answered the door.

“Can I help you?” He asked in a teenage slur. Rarity stood for a second, unsure of her destination.

“Um, yes, I’m looking for Brilliance, is this the right place?” She asked in bewilderment. The stallion looked back into the shop.

“Daaaaaaaad, there’s a customer for you!” He hollered. “Eyaah, come on in.” The colt invited unenthusiastically. Entering the building proved that it was in fact, the same shop. Bracelets and necklaces and rings and all manner of gem encrusted accoutrements were on display in clear glass counters. Beauty in the form of jewlery, that was Brilliance’s passion. The jeweler walked out of the back room. He wore his grease stained work apron.

“Thank you Adam.” He saw her. “Oh my stars, is that you Rarity?” He rushed to her. “My goodness, it is you!” The petite white pony hugged her. “How have you been? It’s been so long!” He looked to “Adam”, who was picking his nose. “Hold my calls and no disturbances.” The jewler commanded.

Brilliance took her to the back room, his workspace. It hadn’t changed a bit, tools were scattered about the wooden bench and a few watches and chains sat in various states of repair.

“My goodness! Rarity! You look so different!” He said excitedly. She blushed a little, it still sounded weird when everypony said that.

“Yeah, just had a little something that needed fixing and I thought I’d drop by.” She said with a smile.

“Tell me how you’ve been!” He said eagerly. “Last I heard you were working with HT on some collab, did it sell?” She hadn’t told him. There were lots of ponies who had no idea what had happened to her, but she really thought she’d told him.

“Yeah, I just sorta went in another direction with that whole plan.” She explained tenuously.

“Well how is the Boutique? Haven’t seen any mind blowers lately, are you planning something big?” She rubbed her neck.

“A little, it’s been pretty hectic down in Ponyville.” He nodded.

“Absolutely, I’ve heard they’ve been having a bit of a time with the economy.”

“Yes, it’s been quite rough, but I was coming up here on a visit with a friend.” She chewed her tongue Tell him this was the real crown or pretend it was a knock off. “And she seems to have dented her crown, I was wondering if you could do a patch up? Something in an hour?” The stallion cocked his head.

“A crown? Let me take a look. Don’t see a lot of those, are you making them come back in style?” he asked good-naturedly.

“Haha something like that!” She laughed as she slid the crown from her saddlebag and stood it nervously on the bench before him. He went white, or at least, a whiter shade of white.

“My God.” His voice was breathless and reverent. “This is the Celestia’s royal crown, four hundred years old.” He licked his lips and looked to her in pure disbelief. “How did you get this?”

“Well, my friend is Twilight Sparkle, she’s here on some business and she wanted a little dent taken care of.” Rarity tried her best to make it sound less absurd.

“Queen Twilight Sparkle?” He started to tremble.

“That’s her.” He stepped away from the gold headdress as if it were an accursed idol.

“S-s-s-she wants it fixed by me?” He stammered in fright. Rarity shrugged as if it were a small matter.

“Yeah, she asked me to take care of it, she just wants it done before this afternoon, she has a little reception she has to make.” He fell to a chair, overcome with disbelief.

“You recommended me?” He looked up at her with a mixture of betrayed trust and astonished flattery. Rarity smiled appreciatively.

“I needed somepony who knew what they were doing, and who wouldn’t ask any embarrassing questions. And somepony who I trust not to steal it.” She added jokingly. He sat for a few moments, alternating his gaze between her and the crown.

“What is the problem?” He asked finally. Rarity showed him the dent on the tip.

“Right here, she said it fell out of the case awhile back. Can you pound it out or whatever in under an hour?”

He squinted at the blemish.

“It should be a relatively simple process.” He said slowly. “But this thing is archaic, how much does she know about current gold finishing techniques compared to four hundred years ago?” Rarity thought for a moment, that sounded like some pretty esoteric knowledge…what else did Twilight possess?

“Ahhh, I’m sure it’ll be impossible to tell!” She said optimistically. Brilliance looked at her in fear.

“Is she going to have me executed if she can tell?” Rarity laughed.

“Of course not! And I have full confidence in you!” It wouldn’t be his life if she found anyway.

“Oh..kay.” He said slowly.

Brilliance was an artist, like her. For the four years she had worked with him, she had seen a wunderkind develop. As his head took that familiar rightward tilt, Rarity saw the white stallion enter his reserved little world of cabochons and karat grading.

The process was looked anything but simple, his tool chest was soon emptied across the small bench and Rarity watched in fascination as the jeweler carefully worked on the priceless treasure. Brilliance knew exactly what he was doing.

She smiled to herself, this was the Brilliance she had almost married during their years of work together. She had readied herself to propose to him, even borrowed a diamond engagement necklace of his in preparation. But something in her stopped short, something in her had told her to look to the future. To pursue her pipe dream of opening a fashion store in the hick town of Ponyville. She had shied away from marriage, of course Brilliance never found out about her feelings, proper Rarity had never let anything slip. They had gone their separate ways as good friends. The two had accomplished their dreams, each had run the business they loved. Except only the jewler was still in business.

“Alright, this is what I can do.” Brilliance said waveringly. He held up the crown and Rarity peered closely at the tip. Smooth and slick, the point was perfect.

“That’s amazing, just like new, er, I mean, exactly four hundred years old.” She said appreciatively.

“There’s striation in an upward curve, honestly, there’s not a thing I can do, I’m sorry.” He said gloomily. The point was flawless, absolutely and completely flawless. Rarity hugged the master jeweler tightly.

“Oh Brilliance, that’s just how I remember you. Always apologizing for perfection.” She unbanded the bills. “What is perfection running for these days?” He refused the money.

“No, not at all. I nearly tanked this business only to have your savvy mind save it, I couldn’t charge you for stealing. And for Queen Twilight’s crown.” He looked back at the finished crown. “Please, if you do anything, tell her I was happy to help.” Rarity smiled, he hadn’t changed even a little.

“Just doing it for fun.”

“That’s why I work here.” He said happily. She motioned to the door.

“Speaking of which, ‘Adam’?” She asked sarcastically. He laughed.

“My son, his name is Adamite, after the mineral. You should meet the mare, she’s got her hooves full with us. Oh, are you free for dinner?” She shook her head quickly.

“Sorry, I have to get back to the queen.” She paused. “Well, uh, thanks for the fix, I’ll be sure and recommend you again if she needs any more help.” He smiled.

“Please, avoid any jobs that will raise my blood pressure, the doctor has enough of a chip on his shoulder these days.” She giggled and he walked her out.

“It was good seeing you Rarity. You are still as beautiful as the day you strolled out of my life.” Brilliance said as they reached the bridge. She blushed to this, a little bit of her crush returning.

“Are you sure there isn’t anything I can do to repay you?” She asked wistfully.

“Actually, there is one thing, can you make a dress for my mare?” Her blood ran cold. “Nothing flashy” He chuckeld. “But just a little something to let her know I care.” She thought frantically for an excuse.

“Well, you see, I’m pretty swamped, there’s a lot going on.” She stammered. He nodded.

“Of course, I know you’ve got a lot on your plate running such a professional operation. Your visit is enough, I appreciate you dropping by.” He said understandingly.

“It’s just that, things are so busy you see.” She guiltily attempted to explain her refusal. “And I wouldn’t want to commit to something that I might forget or take years to complete.” He nodded again.

“It’s entirely fine, keep up the good work.” Brilliance gave her a hug before starting back to his little shop. “Good seeing you Rarity, please come by again!” He called.

Rarity watched him enter the little store. Seven months ago she could have said yes without a second thought. Seven months ago making a single dress would have been effortless. What happened?

The stadium was packed, where the hell was Spike? Rarity looked to and fro, the colorful waves of ponies sitting around the bottomless arena shimmered with movement. In a front row seat far below her, she saw the disinterested dragon picking at his arm scales. Hacking her way through the pandemonium, Rarity kept close guard on the bundled crown, its misadventures were over. A tremendous roar thundered through the stadium and the white pony watched the trail of black smoke and thunderbolts dissipate into the air, she couldn’t even see the damn Wonderbolts when they performed. Spike was engrossed in his arm scales and she slipped into the seat beside him.

“So what’d I miss?” She asked casually.

“Whoa, when did you get here?” He asked in astonishment.

“Ah, you know me always sneaking around.” She said with a toss of her mane. “Although you were too spellbound by the performance to notice.” He sighed and tossed a scale over the edge of the stadium.

“I mean, they’re cool and all, but how do people get this obsessed over such a one-sided and pretty unspectacular thing?” He asked. She shrugged.

“Because everybody else is? Cause it’s made out to be something great? Fans of this kinda thing usually go for the fandom and the fun of it, not the actual thing itself.” She pondered. He sighed and leaned back in his chair.

“I’d like it a lot more if it weren’t so overblown.” He said tiredly. She laughed.

“Then they wouldn’t be the Wonderbolts would they?” He sat up suddenly.

“You got the crown right?” She smiled breezily.

“Nothing to it, looks perfect, guy didn’t even charge.” He let his breath out and sat back down in his chair.

“Ok, good, it looks fine right?” she nodded. “Ok good, Twi has a tour of the warehouses tonight and she needs it then. We just need to get back in place by five.” Rarity grinned.

“We get to enjoy the show!” Spike groaned and leaned back in his chair again.

The show wasn’t actually that bad, Rarity like a lot of it. The Wonderbolts were talented and they screamed through the air and looped and spiraled like some kind of magic spell. But as she slowly deafened from the screaming crowd and watched the same mindless tricks performed over and over again, she began to wonder if there was anypony who felt like she did. That overappreication of a work makes it much less appealing.

The performance lasted a few hours and Spike and Rarity began to count the number of times he could scrape a scale before it fell off. By the time they left the stadium, Spike’s arm had several patches of bare pink skin interspersed among the rich purple scales.

“Well that was great.” Spike said sarcastically as they climbed the steep and painfully long stairs out of the stadium. The stadium was virtually empty, as the rest of the spectators had been afforded an easier exit via their elevated seating.

“Heh, you shoulda asked what everypony else thought of it, I’m sure they’d love to tell you.” Rarity laughed as they hiked up the severely inclined stairs. A brilliant flash of blue exploded before them and knocked Rarity back down the stairs. She tumbled backward down the incline and caught a glimpse of the yawning gap of the bottomless stadium below her. She screamed and grabbed wildly at a seat to stop herself from tumbling down the stairs and over the guard rail. Catching herself, she held on for dear life.

“Little man! You ready to go backstage?” Soarin’ was number one on Rarity’s newly written kill list. Rising unsteadily, Rarity climbed the several feet back to Spike. Her flank stung from the fall and her heart pounded in her chest.

The dragon was prying himself from the railing, evidently he had not expected the Pegasus’ surprise entrance either. Soarin’ was waiting patiently at the top of the stairs. He did not seem to notice the near death experience he had just authored via his ballistic arrival.

“Hey! You want to come too?” The dangerously inconsiderate Pegasus asked upon seeing Rarity approach.

“Fu-”

“Haha of course! Rarity here loves you guys! She was just telling me how much she wanted a group autograph!” Spike said loudly. Rarity didn’t even have to look at him to know he was grinning. Evidently he wanted her to share in his suffering.

“Well all right then! Which one of you wants to ride with me and which one wants to walk?” Rarity was already at the top of the stairs by the time Soarin’ was done speaking. “Ok then!” He laughed as Spike climbed onto his back. “Just go to the end of the walkway and somepony will get the door.” He called to her as he and Spike breezed by. Rarity looked down the long concrete walkway ahead of her, there was a little door on the far wall. She started towards it.

The distance was about a fifth of a mile, and it felt like it. Her burn sizzled in agony and each step pumped more blood to the already seething injury. Finally, after what felt like a marathon, she reached the far wall. Smooth white marble with a simple grey door, it did not appear to be a “backstage” of anywhere. She was sore and her flank burned with exertion as she clopped a hoof on the blank metal door; Soarin’ would die a horrible death if this was a joke or a mistake. A couple seconds passed and she knocked with all her might. Nothing happened. Rarity stood for a few moments, her flank hurt and she really wanted to go back to the hotel. After five or so minutes she knew nopony was coming.

That was it, she was leaving, Spike could meet her at the hotel and Soarin’ was going missing in the morning. She gave the door a vicious buck as she turned.

“Hello? Somebody knock?” The voice came from behind her. She looked back. An orange mare poked her head out of the door. Rarity ran back toward the pony.

“Yes! Do you know where the Wonderbolts are?” She asked in irritation. The orange pony flicked her head in amusement.

“Yeah, right in here.”

Incredible as it seemed, backstage with the Wonderbolts was actually kind of cool. The orange pony, Gale, introduced her to the group. The crew were lounging around and refueling after their performance. They were more laid back than Rarity would have thought. Standing and talking with the uniformless Pegasi in a normal manner, Rarity found herself succumbing to the dumb awe that surrounded celebrities.

She soon found Spike and Soarin’ amidst the athletes.

“Heyhey! Rarity, you made it! You didn’t have any trouble finding the place didja?” The Pegasus asked as she reached the pair.

“Well.” New Rarity decided not to hold the lengthy trek against him. “Not really.”

“Did that autographed flight suit make it to you?” Spike asked.

“What?” She had forgotten about the autograph.

“Oh yeah.” Soarin’ dashed off and returned in a second with a grey flight suit. “This isn’t a uniform, Spit doesn’t let us give those out. But it is a windsuit from the same brand, so it’s pretty much the same thing! Hope you like it!” The grey garment was covered with the signatures of the team and Soarin’ offered it to Rarity. He uncapped a pen.

“All that’s left to do is make it out, I just need to grab Spit, she still hasn’t signed it.” Soarin’ said, waving to the lead coach. “You want your name right?” He asked Rarity.

“All right, we need to get back to the hotel. Finish up the meet and greet and let’s shove off.” Spitfire said briskly as she reached the pair. Soarin’ gave the pen to the instructor.

“She wants it signed.” He looked to Rarity. “Just your name?”

Rarity thought for a moment.

“N-no, can you say ‘To RD’? No wait, make that ‘To Rainbow Dash’.” She blurted out. Spitfire shrugged and scribbled her name on the garment along with the inscription. She handed the suit to Rarity.

“Ok, good seeing you two, sorry to leave but we have to get back to the hotel. Soarin’ show you the way out?” The stallion nodded.

“Yep, just take the way you came. Good seeing ya little man!” He said, giving Spike another pat on the shoulder.

The group of Pegasi lined up at a door leading into the sky and began to shuffle out. In a matter of moments, the entire Wonderbolt armada dove out the portal and into the blue beyond. The room was littered with paper cups half filled with electrolyte drinks and protein chews. Spike looked to Rarity.

“Well, that was abrupt.” He said. Rarity looked at the flightsuit, it had been signed by all of the Wonderbolts and inscribed by Spitfire. Maybe Soarin’ wasn’t so bad.

Rarity sprawled onto the couch. Her legs were shot, it had been a LONG walk back to their room.

“Fuuuuu-” Her flank burned along with her belly and the word slowly slid from her mouth. She noticed Spike. “Uuuun meeting those guys. Just wish the walk back didn’t kill so much.” He chuckled.

“You had them make it out to Rainbow Dash.”

“You were drinking a sports drink and you haven’t run more than half a mile in your life.” She retorted. He began to laugh.

Twilight entered the suite, she looked tired.

“Hey Rarity, hey Spike. What’s-” She looked back to Rarity in shock. “What happened?!! Did something happen at the air show?” Rarity jumped up, she had forgotten that Twilight hadn’t seen her injuries.

“No no no, nothing like that. I was just ironing my dress yesterday and I caught my leg on the stupid cable and then I fell forward and my hoof sorta caught on the table.” Rarity made an outrageously implausible motion depicting her grievous accident. Twilight stared at her.

“Are you ok? That burn could get infected. Did you have it looked at?” Rarity nodded.

“Yep, dropped some rubbing alcohol on it.” Rarity said casually. “It’s just skin, I mean a skin injury, like not deep.” The Alicorn watched Rarity.

“If…you’re sure.” Twilight said slowly. Spike inserted himself as a diversion.

“Hey, got your crown for tonight! Can we come?” He asked cheerfully.

“No, it’s a closed door meeting…talking about legal issues for Cloudsdale.” Twilight was still looking at the burn. “Rarity-”

“Oh don’t worry at all, we’ll be fine, we’ll order a pizza or something. Tomorrow I have a surprise for you! You better not have evening plans.” Rarity grinned. “It’s something fit for a queen.” Twilight narrowed her eyes, she was the very essence of suspicious.

“You…didn’t get into a fight?” She asked bluntly. Rarity shook her head.

“Ha, this is the new Rarity, I’m making it a point to avoid violence.” Rarity said confidently. Twilight nodded slowly.

“Alright, if you say so.” She took the crown from Spike. “I’m going to be late, you don’t need to wait up for me.” Thankfully she didn’t seem to notice anything unusual about the headdress as she placed it atop her head. “Be back later, don’t stay up too late Spike.” She called from the door. It wasn’t a joke, but the secretary made it one.

“Haha! I’ll try, but you never know with Rarity!” He called jovially as the door slid closed.

“Shit, I don’t know if she bought it.” Rarity said anxiously. “I mean, what do you think she thinks?” She looked back at the dragon. Spike was crestfallen.

“We’ve been here two days already and we’ve done nothing. Twilight’s always working. We can’t make it a good time for her if she’s always gone.” He said unhappily. Rarity put her arm around the discouraged dragon.

“Look, I think we should take her to the Crystal Café tomorrow. We can talk about fun stuff, eat some really good food and with two of us she’ll have to liven up. Let’s order some room service and make plans for what we want to do tomorrow.”

They made plans, they were going out for breakfast in the morning, there was a little Cloudsdale tour service that they’d take to see the sights. They would stop for lunch, something light, salad probably, they needed to save room for dinner. They’d have their tour guide drop them off at the Crystal Café, at which point they would surprise Twilight with a top floor table that overlooked the whole land. It took them two orders of pizza and gemstones to perfect the plot. But eventually, Spike conceded that they could brighten Twilight’s trip.

“So, you think we can keep her from doing work for an entire day?” Spike asked as they sat reviewing.

“No doubt, we’re going to keep her busy and she has to have gotten all the important stuff out of the way already.” Rarity proudly thumped her chest. “With you and the new Rarity, she can’t avoid having a great time.” Her bruise began to hurt a little. All new Rarity had to do was not fuck anything up.