With a heavy sigh, Rarity slumped into the chair only to immediately correct her sitting position so that she looked as regal and perfect as possible. Who would have thought a fashion show would be so tiring? Oh she loved it, she loved every single last stress filled minute of it, but the small talk afterwards left a hole in her heart. For once, she found herself missing Pinkie's upbeat insane parties – though she'd never admit that out loud. Still, these were the higher echelons of society and so she was forced to keep a polite smile on her lips as she took hollow compliments. Couldn't these ponies see the numerous flaws in her dresses?

"Miss Moonlight!"

At the cry of her face name, Rarity turned around and for the first time that night a real smile appeared at the sight of the grey earth pony. "Octavia, a pleasure to see you again. And please, call me Moonlight."

The cellist wore the same dress she had commissioned all those days ago and though there were still imperfections that Rarity was sure she could fix given enough time, it did look stunning on her. Walking on all fours as she was, there was no hint of the informal shorts underneath and – if the unicorn was willing to stroke her own ego a bit – it did not look out of place in this mass of high society. Beside her strolled a mint green mare with pale cyan mane that had white highlights. Her eyes were bright orange and while her dress was simple in comparison to the others, the embroidery along the edges were exquisitely done though and the hem line was perfect.

"And who is your darling friend?" Rarity tried her best to keep her shock at seeing Lyra at a formal party without Bon-Bon out of her voice.

"Oh! Please excuse my manners, this is Lyra Heartstrings. Lyra, this is Moonlight the designer of that perfect dress you so adored on the runway."

We shook hooves.

"A pleasure. But the dress is hardly perfect. Why, I must admit to being jealous of the designer who made your particular dress Miss Heartstrings. Why, the embroidery is absolutely marvelous and that trimming! Not to mention how it accentuates your figure perfectly. May I enquire as to who designed it?"

"Oh... um... I..." Lyra looked around nervously before saying softly, "I didn't actually buy it. Bon-Bon did and all I know is that she bought it in Ponyville."

Rarity's eyes widened in shock. There was only one fashion designer in Ponyville and now that she thought about it, a week before Nightmare Moon's return Bon-Bon did come around to have a dress designed. But... surely not. There was no way this dress could have been made by her.

"And please Moonlight, there is no need to be modest." Octavia nervously filled in the silence that had been left. "Your fashion line was absolutely stunning. Why, there are already rumors of Hoity Toity personally loving the line."

"Huh? Oh! Sorry, my mind was elsewhere." Rarity gave a fake laugh and smile. At their questioning look, she expanded, "Just thinking I should visit one of my old friends who lives in Ponyville. It's been an age since I have been there."

"You've been to Ponyville?" exclaimed Lyra rather shocked.

"Of course. It has such a rustic charm to it and the peacefulness coupled with nature fills me with ideas."

"I don't remember seeing you there before." The musically inclined unicorn's eyes narrowed. "In fact, I don't remember seeing you at any of Pinkie's parties."

"Well... er..." Rarity's eyes darted from side to side before resting on the white unicorn in purple tinted glasses scoffing down food by the plateful. "I hired Vinyl Scratch didn't I?"

"So that's her name." A twitch of the ear was all the signal Rarity gave of hearing Octavia's whisper, but she stored the knowledge away for future reference.

"Yes, but she's one of the most well known DJ's in Equestria, everypony has h-"

"That is enough you two." A pair of hooves forcibly separated the two mares. "Continue this argument and we will draw attention to ourselves. I am personally more interested in why you decided to hire this... DJ of yours. Such uncouth behavior is not particularly suited for such a high class venue and that's not even mentioning the music she played. I swear my head is still ringing from the noise that she calls music. You took a real gamble bringing that one along."

"Well, I felt h-"

"Hey! Lyra, whatcha doing here?" The white unicorn stumbled over and slung an arm around Rarity's shoulder in an attempt to stay on her hooves. "And who's your hot friend?" She looked over her glasses at Octavia. "Make that hot friends. Think you can set me up?"

With a brushing motion, Rarity pushed Vinyl off her shoulder resulting in the poor, slightly drunk mare to crash onto the ground. "I'm sincere apologies Miss Octavia, it seems I was mistaken in my choice of musician."

"Oh come on," pouted Vinyl from the floor, "it was a compliment!"

"I don't know..." Lyra peered down at her friend. "What do you think Octavia?"

"Hm..." The earth pony tilted her head to the side.

"I can get you VIP passes to my next gig."

"Why would w-"

"Deal!" Faster than we could blink, Lyra had hauled the flirt onto her feet. "This is Octavia and Moonlight who you've already met since she hired you."

"B-"

"Lyra..." Octavia's tone was low and menacing as she cut Vinyl off.

"Hey, come on Octavia." The unicorn backed up slowly, eyes darting from side to side. "Do you know how famous Vinyl is? She's like you in the DJ scene rather than classical."

"Oh, is that so?" Something akin to a predatory grin appeared on the grey mare's muzzle.

"Yep, sure is Octy!" Octavia's ear twitched at the use of the nickname. "You're looking at the hottest piece of flank on the market right now."

" 'Octy'?" If anything, her grin became even more predatory and when she spoke it was a smooth as silk. "Well then Miss Scratch do you partake in fine wines? There is rather fantastic selection today and I'm sure you wouldd enjoy them immensely." Before the DJ could say anything, she was being dragged off.

"Oh dear," whispered Rarity. "This is not going to end well for her."

"I can have a cab here within a minute," said Lyra.

"I doubt it'll be that bad."

"You obviously don't know Vinyl then. Trust me."

The two unicorns watched in silence as Vinyl was dragged across the room by her ear followed by her drinking something that caused her face to turn completely red before racing over to the punch and dunking her entire head under in an attempt to stop the burning. All the while Octavia was smirking her head off.

"You sure about that?"

"I forgot why I never take Vinyl to these functions. She either gets slapped, drunk or insults everypony within hearing range. I'll go grab us a ride. Just make sure the children don't destroy anything." Rarity sighed before realizing she had just asked Lyra of all ponies to keep others out of trouble. Lyra. She resisted the urge to slam her head against the nearest available surface.

The sound of shattering glass filled the air. "Too late. I say we just run," said Lyra before adding with a giggle, "Well at least she makes things interesting. If you hadn't invited her long I would have."

"Don't let Bon-Bon hear you say that. You know how she is about these high society functions and quite frankly, I'm surprised the dear hasn't rubbed off on you more."

"And how do you know so much about us?" Her face was suddenly in Rarity's personal space. "Just who are you?"

Rearing back in surprise, Rarity tried to back away only to find herself trapped against the wall and a very pissed off Lyra. "Well... er... you see..." Out of the corner of her eye, the disguised unicorn caught a glimpse of the clock and she gasped. "Oh dear me, it seems like I have an engagement right now. Very sorry, but I'm afraid I must leave."

She managed to take one step to the right before Lyra slammed her hoof against the wall. "You're not going anywhere."

Bang!

Lyra's head snapped over to Octavia and Vinyl who had just managed to knock over a table spilling food everywhere. In that split second of distraction, Rarity managed to slip under the outstretched arm and was already out the door. The chilly winter air hit her like a ton of bricks, but gritting her teeth, she ran through it and the scheduled rain. Under the twilight of the day she was soon hidden amongst the shadows cast by the looming buildings.

Taking a couple deep breaths, Rarity calmed her thundering heart before uncoiling her hair, letting it fall limply to the side. Shaking it out, she reformed it into an upper class bun favored by those in Manehatten before creating a second illusionary disguise to slip over the already active on. Though it strained her to maintain both at once, it was no more difficult than pulling an all nighter then sitting an exam the next morning. With a darker hued coat, a brand new cutie mark and a pink mane plus tail, Rarity trotted out from under the shadow and licked her dry lips.

"This darn rain will give meh a cold." Tilting her head to one side, she contemplated her accent before nodding in satisfaction. It would have to do.

Looking around to make sure Lyra wasn't near, Rarity began making her way to the park in the south western side of the city. When she told Lyra she had somewhere to be, Rarity was being completely honest, she did have somewhere to be. Glancing up at the pseudo-sun, she broke out into a gallop – no doubt ruining her manicure in the process. She was late, so very late and for once she couldn't afford to be late.

Taking more turns than probably necessary, Rarity finally stumbled into the park. How much of the liquid clinging to her body was rain and how much was perspiration was something Rarity did not wish to dwell on. All she wanted right now was a nice warm bath, a decent romance novel and some classical music to wish away this dreary weather, but nooooo here she was in the middle of a storm, stomping through mud, drenched in sweat and alone. The things she did for Equestria.

Moving off to the edge of the park, near where the reserve was, Rarity settled down under a particularly large oak tree and waited patiently. Here she could see the main entrance and here it was impossible for anypony to sneak up on her without crashing through the bush. It was also a relief to see other ponies out and about despite the torrential rain. There was even a couple by the fountain, kissing under an umbrella as they snuggled close for warmth.

A sigh escaped.

Would she ever find love like that? A stallion that would sweep her off her hooves. But who was she kidding, here she was stuck in the middle of a semi-secret war. Love would be selfish of her – no matter how much she longed for it, Equestria would always come first. She would give her life for it.

A muted flash of light drew her out of her thoughts. There in front of her was a note. Scanning it quickly, she set the note alight and stayed exactly where she was. As if she was stupid enough to go wandering off to the factory district where she could be ambushed with ease and killed with no ponies around. They were going to play by her rules or not play at all.

A couple seconds later, another letter appeared in front of her. Like the first note, it soon ended up as ash being blown away in the wind. Did they truly believe she was an idiot? Sure she enjoyed fashion, gossiped on occasion, and actually bothered to take care of her mane and coat, but that did not make her an airhead. The mere fact that they had waited for thirty minutes after the meeting time and was even out here communicating with a single unicorn told the fashionetta that they needed to communicate with her. That they needed her. This whole dance was to see how much she needed them and if they could push her around – the usual high society tactics so often employed.

Clenching her teeth to stop them from chattering, Rarity drew her dress around her body in a vain attempt to keep some warmth for herself. After another minute in the cold though she was reduced to shivering. It took another second for her to remember the modified shield spell developed by Twilight herself that blocked out the rain and wind. Sighing happily, Rarity settled back down and dredged up the warmth spell all unicorns learnt at school from her memory. Almost immediately, her chilled limbs stopped shaking as she pumped magic into the spell.

At the sound of approaching hoofsteps, she readied three different spells designed to incapacitate in addition to four shield spells and a telekinetic wave. She may not be Twilight Sparkle, but after years of working in fashion where the ability to manipulate a dozen complex items simultaneously was practically a requirement, holding eight different spells was child's play. Though she wasn't a betting mare, Rarity had no doubt she could match Twilight in the focus department of spell casting.

"You are one stubborn mare." Rarity's ear twitched at the unmistakable hint of French accent. "Now you will come with me."

"Bonjour monsieur, but y'all must think Ah'm an idiot to follow a complete stranger on a day such as this one." She looked past the unicorn straight at the couple by the fountain. "Especially since ya bought reinforcements. Now Ah organized a meeting right here, right now over a week ago and if y'all not ready that is not mah fault."

His hazel eyes narrowed. "You need us."

"Au contraire mon petit poney, it is obvious that your little resistance is the main one in this fabulous city and yet you are who has come to the place of my choosing." A fake smile appeared on Rarity's face, but her eyes was as hard as steel. "No doubt you've verified mah claims of being part of the group that was involved freeing Captain Spitfire by now so there's no need for all this political maneuvering."

"What you told us was common knowledge."

With a toss of her mane, Rarity stared down the stallion before her. "The facts are thus, we will be setting up a base in Manehatten and there is nothing you can do about it. We are extending a hoof in partnership to you so we don't end up tripping each other up. Furthermore, we have no intention of disbanding your group, rather if you accept you will be acting as our base in the city."

"Hang on a minute, we will be acting as your base? Don't be ridic-"

"Dewy, I'll take it from here," said the light blue unicorn with a crescent moon cutie mark suddenly appeared. "I apologize for my subordinate's behavior madam, but we merely wished to take this conversation to somewhere private."

"But sir-"

"You're Midnight Sparkle, Twilight's father and astronomer," recited Rarity from memory. "I have a location set up, the others are free to come as well and if there are any other invisible unicorn's I'd appreciate it if they appeared."

"You've heard of me then."

"We tried to locate you after Nightmare Moon came to power in an attempt to move you our base, but you weren't in Canterlot and we had no idea where you vanished too."

There was a pulse of magic and Rarity tensed up, easing a bit of magic into her horn to make casting her spells faster. At Midnight's own tense expression though, it was obvious it wasn't one of their ponies. A spy then.

"Hey! Let go of me!" A mint green unicorn was unceremoniously dumped in the middle of the muddy ground. "Er... hi?"

"Lyra," groaned the disguised unicorn as she facehoofed.

"You know her?" asked Twilight's father.

"Yes. She must have followed me here."

"Excuse me sir," said the French pony. "But might I suggest we get out of the open? You are far too exposed."

"For somepony whose daughter is Twilight, you are not very smart are you? Coming out here without a disguise was pure stupidity." I glanced down at the Lyra's sheepish smile and rolled my eyes. "And that's not even commenting on you my dear."

"Lead the way then." Midnight gave an exaggerated bow for good measure.

Nodding, Rarity dispelled the dome that was holding out the water and wind resulting in a sudden torrent that left them all chilled to the bone. The group walked on in silence for the howling gale and the downpour made it impossible for their voices to be heard. Although it took much longer than usual to reach the abandoned house, they still made it there within the half hour and despite initial troubles closing the door, it was eventually firmly shut and multiple warmth spells cast.

"Okay, you know who I am and you obviously know my daughter," began Midnight as he wrung water out of his mane. "So the question is, who are you and how do we know we can trust you?"

Giving them an enigmatic smile, Rarity dropped both illusionary layers simultaneously and watched with smug satisfaction as their jaws hit the ground. "How do you know you can trust me? Because darling, I'm being hunted by Nightmare Moon herself."

"Rarity?" Lyra just stared at the white unicorn with wide eyes. "Dear Celestia... That... That's..." Her eyes suddenly narrowed. "Just who are you? I doubt Nightmare Moon would offer such a reward to a fashion designer in Ponyville."

"Ponyville? My daughter was sent there just before Nightmare Moon appeared." Suddenly all eyes were trained on Rarity. "I think we deserve some answers."

An appraising glance was cast over all those present. "I believe I shall tell you in good faith. We six fought Nightmare Moon on the day of her return and failed hence your daughter's captivity. I suppose you can consider us Princess Celestia's specialized taskforce, formed to take down the usurper and return the throne back to the Princess." There was a pause as she considered her own words. "Yes, that is simplest terms of thinking about it."

"You're bucking me," growled that rude French unicorn from earlier. "Do you truly expect us to believe six fillies attacked Nightmare Moon, lost, survived and that they're some special secret unit? Buck. That."

"I expected better from you Encore," whispered Midnight. "Did you not see the spell she cast out in the rain? A modified shield spell. Tell me, does that sound like something any filly could come up with? Modifying spells are dangerous and one wrong move can blow up in the caster's face. Personally, I'd like to see you modify a spell and see how well you come out at the end of it all."

"Well I di-" Clearing her throat, Rarity squashed what she was going to say. "It wasn't that difficult. But that's unimportant – do we have a deal or not?"

"Yes." There was no hesitation. "How do we contact you?"

"Lyra knows how to find me." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lyra's lips curl up in the tiniest of smiles just as she expected. "But first things first, let us see your hideout and we can plan from there. I will need to know your supply situation, your income, number of members, how you vet those who wish to join for a start. Also if you're in contact with any other resistance groups that would be most helpful..." Rarity's voice trailed off into the twilight as she rattled off item after item.

Sometimes sunshine is all that's needed to bring a bit of brightness into somepony's life. Of course, in a world without that wondrous light, contemplating the countless ways it contributes to society was a tad depressing. Also, according to Pinkie – and this is one of several secrets of her superb baking, (though with her you can never be sure) its sudden loss had a severe impact on the quality of her cooking. Apparently, a pinch of sunlight sweetens the batch without adding any extra calories. Some part of Pinkie Pie hoped that her paintings of Princess Celestia's cutie mark could bring such a pinch of that pleasure to the ponies who saw it.

With a soft hiss, the party pony pulled out the empty paint canister and placed it back within her saddlepack. Carefully bringing out a canister of red paint, it slipped from her hooves and hit the ground with a crack. Scrambling over, the baker carefully examined the glassy surface and to her eternal relief not a line could be seen. Quickly slotting it in place, she finished off the symbol before dismantling the entire thing and slinging the cello case onto her back.

"I'm sorry miss, but you'll have to come with me," said a stallion from behind her with absolute authority in his voice.

Fear cascaded through Pinkie's body as though she had just seen a banshee. Licking her dry lips, blue eyes darted from side to side, taking in every last detail of the alley she was currently in. Estimating the distance between to the dumpster and ladder above it, Pinkie's eyes darted over to the half crushed mirror sticking out of the rubbish bin and made a rough guess as to the distance between herself the and cream guard behind her. Smiling in satisfaction, she dashed to the right and before the guard could even blink, Pinkie had leapt, kicked off the dumpster, wrapped her forearm around the ladder and swung herself up onto the fire escape stairs. Still on her hind legs and still carrying her Pinkie Patented Portable Paint Canon, she raced off taking two steps at a time.

A shrill whistle echoed through the city and by the time she was three stories up, a pegasus could clearly be seen a block away. Four stories up and the earth pony finally made it onto the stairs. Five stories up and Pinkie could make out the pink mane of the pegasus and her dusky orange coat. Bursting out onto the roof, Pinkie ran across it as fast as her hooves could carry her.

Blue. The pegasus' eyes were blue.

There was no pause, no hesitation. The party pony fully flung herself off the edge without a second thought. She hung in midair, wind billowing through her mane and the ground miles away. Then with a thud, she landed on the neighboring roof. No speed was lost.

"Why do you insist on running?" The sudden intrusion made Pinkie misstep. "Running doesn't solve any problems, you know that."

Swerving around a ventilation shaft, Pinkie managed to dodge a swipe from the pegasus. Once more she leapt and once more she made the jump. Sliding down the slopped roof, Pinkie grabbed hold of the guttering and expertly slide down the side of the roof. Above her, the pegasus dive bombed straight down.

"Then again, I can't say I'm particularly surprised. Running is all your good for." The sadistic laugh echoed through the hollow of her mind. "Running from the farm. From your responsibilities. From your past. Maybe your cutie mark should have been a pair of shoes."

Halfway down the wall, Pinkie bunched up her hind legs underneath her. With a solid kick, she sailed backwards, back flipping effortlessly to crash through the window. Ignoring the pain, she flattened herself against the wall and closed her eyes. A second later, her left hind leg began to cramp – imminent tackle. Slinging the contraption off her back, Pinkie swung with all her might. The crack shattered the silence like a sledgehammer slamming into stained glass and the impact from the blow left her arms numb.

Pinkie Pie stared down at the crumpled pegasus in shock.

"Well, well, well... it seems like I was wrong about you. We really aren't so different are we?"

"No..." The earth pony stumbled out of the room and down the stairs.

"Yes," hissed back Pinkamina.

"No!"

With trembling hooves, Pinkie clutched her head. With shaky breaths she closed her eyes once more and found the memory. The one starting with the guard finding her in the alley and ended just a couple seconds ago. Then with a precision that came from years of experience, she cut it away and sealed it within some deep dark recess of her mind. Immediately a second memory began constructing itself. One where she had pulled out a party canon and cake. One where the two of them and the pegasus partied into the night. One where they all became friends and everypony stumbled away with drunken smiles on their face.

"Run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me for I'm Pinkie 'Party' Pie."

But Pinkie was happy, she bounced along the road. New friends. She had made two new friends that night. Weirdly enough, she couldn't remember their names, but one was a pegasus with pink mane and dusty orange coat while the other was an earth pony with a cream coat and pale red mane. Maybe she'd see them some day. Wouldn't that be super?

And that, was how Equestria was made.

1. My goal is to free Celestia. Anything that gets me closer to that goal is morally justified.

"What are you waiting for Twilight Sparkle?" Her voice was a seductive whisper in my ear.

2. I need to get close to Nightmare Moon so I can find out where Celestia's imprisoned.

Looking up, I couldn't help, but sneer at the quivering wreck in front of me. If the mere concept of death terrified him so, he shouldn't be have been painting slogans that denounced Nightmare Moon. Or rather, he shouldn't have been caught doing it. Hopefully, the ponies Applejack and the rest of them recruited were tougher than this one. If not, Nightmare Moon will get all the information she wants within the minute.

3. By breaking my morals I will appear to be broken thus closer to my goal. Evidence: She has given back limited use of magic after my first kill.

Levitating the knife in front of me, I examined it in the dim light, watching it catch my reflection. I didn't bother looking at the colt's cutie mark. I didn't bother looking at his mane color or his coat color. I didn't even bother remember his name. There was no point in pretending that by remembering him I would somehow make my act more moral – that by remembering the faces and names of all these ponies, it would somehow make me a better than one who was numb to it all. Thoughts like those belonged in novels.

4. Therefore, killing this pony was morally allowable.

I didn't give myself time to double check my own logic or to argue against myself as I had trained myself to do. The dagger sliced through the pony's throat without a bit of hesitation. Some part of me was horrified that the blade didn't even shake in my grasp, but the majority was pleased at the control I had over my emotions. I watched with a bored expression on my face as blood poured forth from the wound, coating the pony's chest in a slick layer of red.

"Well done Twilight Sparkle." She said that in same manner she'd order somepony to be decapitated. "Now you will kill the mare." Before I could make the cut, her magic restrained me. "Slowly. You will make it as slow and painful as possible."

Stopping myself from screaming during one of Nightmare Moon's torture sessions was easier than keeping the look of disgust off my face. The question now was, if I did what she asked, would it tip her off? My dagger rose higher, quivering slightly as my emotions interfered with my concentration. Shoving my emotions down, I let cold unyielding logic take over. And yet still I hesitated.

But really, what difference will one more death make?

"I'm going to need proper tools then." Although I knew I had said those words, it was as though I was watching everything from the outside. As though it was all a dream.

"You will work with what you have." Her yellow eyes watched me with a closely guarded expression. "Get creative."

My first cut was next to her right eye. Close enough to make her edgy over loosing an eye, but not so close that it'd actually cause any real damage. Stabbing my dagger into his stomach, I cast my eye over the dungeon looking for anything I could use. Walking over to the door of the cell, I examined a particularly rusted section. With three shift bucks, I had four sections of rusted iron bars at my disposal.

"Isn't it a shame Celestia left the dungeon to degrade to such a condition?" Each spike was levitated as I took careful aim. "I mean, sure, she didn't need the Canterlot dungeons, but still. If she had maintained it I wouldn't be able to do this."

Each spike slammed into her outstretched limbs. The scream she gave turned my fur white and I was glad that Nightmare Moon couldn't see my face. Pulling out the dagger, I ran it over her feathers, cutting them off. Clipping her. Taking the sky from her. Not that it mattered considering she was going to be dead soon. Turning away, I felt the cut slice across her stomach. Entrails spilt onto the floor making walking difficult. But the problem was, I didn't need to see the end results of my torture to know exactly what it looked like. I knew it would haunt my dreams, but by this stage another nightmare made no difference.

In the opposite cell, I could see the unicorn's look of utter disgust, shock and hate. Already I could see what I was going to do to him. How I'd kill him with a thousand cuts. How I'd let his magic heal him up after each slice only to inflict more. How I'd keep it up until his magic ran out, until his coat had turned red from the blood, until he was nothing but cuts. And then I'd walk out the cell and let him bleed slowly to death. I could see every single pain I'd willingly inflict all for the sake of one pony. All for the sake of Equestria.

It was just another sin after all.