It was almost evening by the time Rarity’s carriage had arrived in Birminghoof.

The journey here had taken hours, which Rarity had used to think about what had happened back at the village. She had a lot of questions about her father’s decision to allow conscription. However, the more Rarity thought about it, the more obvious it became that her father, Lord Belle, wouldn’t have done it without a very good reason.

He wasn’t a pony who broke his word under the usual circumstances.

As soon as the carriage had pulled over in their family manor’s inner yard, Rarity jumped off. Dismissing Lotus, she trotted into the house. The guards barely managed to unharness themselves from the carriage to catch up with their lady.

The few servants Rarity met on her way through the corridors threw her surprised glances — they knew she wasn’t supposed to be back yet. Rarity paid them no mind, however. Even though her face was an impassive mask, the mare was feeling nervous as she approached her father’s office. Her father wouldn’t be happy with her leaving the village without his approval… On the other hoof, he had taught her to be the future leader of their House, and a true leader shouldn’t be afraid to make their own decisions.

Soon, Rarity had stopped in front of his door. She didn’t even bother to ask anypony if her father was home. With all the chaos that was likely going on after what had happened with the king, Lord Belle was probably stuck at some meeting. He was a member of the High Council, after all.

Maybe I should go to my room for now… No, I’m simply stalling.

Pursing her lips, Rarity rapped on the door. Her father’s low, deep voice asked for her to come in — he was home, after all. Rarity ordered the guards to wait outside. Taking a deep breath, the mare pushed the door open and entered, holding her head high.

“Ah, dear daughter,” a white-coated stallion, the owner of a thick, brown mane and mustache, greeted her. “I’m glad you received my message so quickly.”

Rarity raised her eyebrows, a bit thrown off by her father’s words.

“Your message?”

Lord Belle frowned.

“Yes, I sent you a courier this morning. Did you not meet him?”

“Eh, no, I didn’t.”

Her father leaned back in his chair, giving his daughter a calculating look.

“So you decided to return on your own, then.”

Rarity steeled herself.

“Yes, father. I wanted to talk about something very important—”

“You didn’t get pregnant, did you?” he interrupted the mare, flickering a glance at her belly.

Rarity went into a coughing fit. This wasn’t the question she’d expecting to hear today.

“Of course not, father!” Rarity exclaimed, pretending to sound indignant. “Why would you think that?!”

“Your little adventures are no secret to me, filly,” Lord Belle told her, chuckling. “I don’t mind it, as long as you’re careful not to damage our House’s reputation. After all, I didn’t miss a tail myself when I was your age.”

Rarity stared at her father in shock. She had always been careful in her choice of partners — all of them had been nobleponies themselves, wishing for the same thing as her — discretion. How could her father have learned that? So embarrassing…

“Well, it has nothing to do with that, father, so please let’s drop the subject,” Rarity said with her cheeks burning red.

“As you wish, daughter,” Lord Belle nodded, putting on a serious expression. “What is it that you want to discuss?”

Clearing her throat, Rarity explained what had happened in the village. He listened while his face remained impassive. She finished with describing the villagers’ reaction to the conscription.

“…So that’s why I’ve come here. It was quite a bad decision, so I wanted to hear your reasons for making it myself. And who’s that new regent, by the way? I thought Prince Blueblood was the heir.”

“He is,” the lord confirmed, “But the High Council voted in favor of appointing Everlight as the regent until the king recovers.”

“Everlight?” Rarity gasped. “Well, that’s unfortunate.”

Everlight had been her House’s long-time enemy. He used to be the king’s opponent on the High Council as well, while Lord Belle had always supported the king. Rarity knew that Everlight had always rooted for a retribution war against the griffons. It seemed that with the king out of the way, they were implementing their plans at last.

“When it became known that the king had been poisoned, a lot of his old supporters in the Council switched sides,” the lord shook his head in dismay. “Should have expected that, of course. I was forced to accept the proposition of expanding our army and thus increasing conscription.”

“I understand, father,” Rarity nodded. “Is there any hope for the king’s recovery?”

“He was poisoned by Deathsong,” her father said, drooping his ears. “It’s highly unlikely that he recovers, which is why the Council’s decision to make Everlight a regent is highly questionable. In fact, I have little doubt that Everlight was the one to arrange the whole thing in the first place. His claim that Twilight Sparkle, the new Court Mage, was the one who poisoned the king is ridiculous. The king had known the mare since her fillyhood.”

“Twilight Sparkle, you say?” Rarity asked. The name sparked her memory as she finally realized why the mare she’d bumped into in the inn’s bathroom had seemed familiar. Rarity had been present at the ball following her appointment a month ago!

“Yes,” her father confirmed. “She has allegedly escaped, but I’m sure that Everlight just killed her off in secret.”

“Actually, that might not be the case,” Rarity said thoughtfully. She told her father about her short interaction with the mare back at the village.

“Well, that’s surprising,” Lord Belle said, rubbing his chin. “She actually did escape. That doesn’t change anything, though. With the resources Everlight now has, he will find her sooner or later.”

“I guess,” Rarity sighed. “What’s going to be happening now, father?”

Lord Belle was silent for some time.

“Only time will tell, but I’ll do my best to bring Everlight down.”

“Well, here we go, Dawn,” Spinach announced needlessly, as if Twilight couldn’t see the towering mountain of Canterlot with her own eyes.

Her home.

Twilight broke off her gaze and turned her attention to the earth pony. Three days had passed since the unfortunate encounter with the robbers, but even considering their forced delay to tend to Twilight’s injuries and the times they had stopped for rest each night, Twilight had reached Canterlot twice as fast as she would have on her own.

“Thank you!” Twilight smiled as she jumped off the cart.

Beaming, the mare reached into her saddlebag with her magic. Ten golden coins — ten bits each — flew off in a neat line, stacking themselves in front of Spinach. He watched the money wide-eyed.

“Here are your bits, like I promised.”

Blinking fast, the farmer threw a nervous glance around and then grabbed the bits in his mouth, securing them into his own saddlebag. He grinned at Twilight.

“I’ve never held that much money at once,” Spinach told her. Twilight knew quite well how he felt. “Well, is my job done? I can get you to the city’s gate, if you want.”

“No, thank you, I’ll be fine on my own,” Twilight waved her hoof. “I really need to stretch those legs.”

“Have it your way.”

The two said their goodbyes and went into opposite ways, each having gotten what they wanted.

Twilight sighed. The mare had gotten used to Spinach’s presence for the last three days. They had exchanged a lot of stories that had made Twilight know him a bit better. Usually, she didn’t interact with ponies on such a level — not even with the king — since she would be far too busy with her studies.

The only exception was her big brother.

Shining Armor was a city guard in Canterlot. He had been promoted just after Twilight had gone to Birminghoof to be the Court Mage, so now he was in charge of his own unit. Even though not much time had passed since Twilight had last talked to him, she missed her brother.

It would be torture not to be able to visit Shining Armor while staying so close, but Twilight didn’t want to risk it. Everlight probably had somepony watching him just in case. She hoped it was all the regent would do to her brother. He could ruin his career — or worse — with a wave of his hoof.

I guess I won’t see him until this mess is over, Twilight sighed. If it’s ever over at all…

With her mind mulling over those thoughts, Twilight approached the city’s outer gate at the very bottom of the mountain. A sturdy stone tower was placed at both sides of the wooden gate, reinforced with iron bars. It guarded the only road leading to the beautiful city above. The path had been carved into the side of the mountain, which was hard to climb if you had no wings.

Twilight saw four guards posted outside. The guards were currently busy with some earth pony pulling a cart, but as she approached, the earth pony had been let through the gate, having shown some papers.

That made Twilight’s heart beat faster. What if she needed some special permission to get inside? She hadn’t heard of that before, but she had never actually been outside her home city. Her flight to Birminghoof had been the very first time she’d left Canterlot.

Thankfully, the guards paid no mind to a lone unicorn passing through the gate.

A few hours later, a panting Twilight passed through the second gate. One of the guards threw her a quick look that caused her heart to drop down to her hooves, but with Twilight’s disguise nopony was able to recognize her.

Once she had gotten further away from the gates, she could finally relax. She was in Canterlot.

As she trotted on the main street, Twilight looked around in search of some place to stay. It was the first thing she had to take care of before her next move.

The second one — getting to the library — would be far more complicated. As far as Twilight knew, the library was open to the general public, but only students with a special pass were allowed into the closed section where all the rare books were kept. If she wanted to succeed in her task, that was where she needed to be.

Twilight’s hooves were loudly clopping on the paved road. Walking through Canterlot was a pleasure, especially in contrast to Waterhoof or even the capital itself. Stores and shops of every kind were on the main street. The buildings were built in the same elegant style, each of them looking well-cared for. Her eyes caught a sign of a bookstore, but she forced herself to walk past it — she wasn’t likely to find the books she needed inside.

Soon, Twilight had found some inn. This building was one level taller than the ones around it — its upper floor looked newer than the rest. Pushing the door open, she entered the lobby and made her way to the counter. A unicorn in a bowtie greeted her there.

Twilight asked the pony if they had any rooms available. They did, but the price for them boggled Twilight’s mind.

“Fifty bits?” she gasped.

“Yes, Miss,” the clerk confirmed, frowning. “We provide the best service in Canterlot.”

“I see,” the mare nodded thoughtfully.

Twilight could afford the place, of course, but staying for more than one night would be far too costly. She had spent a lot of bits on reaching Canterlot quickly, but Twilight didn’t know how long it would take to find the information she wanted. Turning around, Twilight left as the clerk watched her back in amusement.

“Tourists,” he chuckled when she was out of earshot.

This place is perfect!

Twilight had wandered through the city for quite some time until she found this new place. It was in the poorer part of the city, but even so the neighborhood was in a better state than Waterhoof’s center. The inn she had chosen had rooms for a reasonable price, so Twilight had booked one right away for a whole week forward.

Dropping her heavy saddlebag on the floor, Twilight crashed on top of the bed and just lay there for a couple of minutes, giving her hooves some deserved rest. While her body relaxed, her mind was working to solve the problem facing her — the library.

Twilight would have no trouble getting inside, but how was she supposed to sneak into the closed section? Even if she did, how was she supposed to do her research while worrying about being discovered at any second? Only the best students would get access to it, so an unknown pony would be like a thorn in their eyes.

Those were the questions she hadn’t found the answer to yet.

It was still far from the evening, so Twilight planned to visit the library right after she got something to eat. Maybe an answer would present itself once she saw the possibilities with her own eyes.

The library’s building was on Starswirl Academy grounds, so Twilight would have to pass through a security post. She used to pass here every day for years, but she had been a student back then. Twilight had no idea if she needed some special permission to get inside without being one, but she knew for certain that the library was open to the public, so it should be logically possible.

Twilight was stopped by a security pony as she approached the gate. The mare tensed up, having recognized his face. She hadn’t had any interaction with him beyond exchanging greetings, so he shouldn’t be able to recognize her with her disguise on, hopefully.

“State your business, Miss,” the pony asked flatly.

“I’m visiting the library,” Twilight told him, making her voice lower just in case.

The stallion’s bored expression didn’t change as he nodded, acknowledging Twilight’s answer. He produced a journal out of his saddlebag.

“Sign here, Miss,” the pony explained, pointing at the opened page.

Twilight calmly grabbed the quill he had offered, writing her fake name and signature under countless others. Nodding in satisfaction, the security pony gave her a pass in form of a simple card with a green stump on it.

“Don’t forget to sign out on your way out,” the security guard warned her.

Tucking the card into her own saddlebag, Twilight thanked him and was on her way.

The path led the mare through a small park full of decorative trees and neat bushes, and soon she was standing in front of the building. She could have found it with her eyes closed, having been there countless times before — the last time had been a little over a month ago.

It towered over Twilight dozens of feet high, with two imposing pillars on both sides of the door. They were holding a rectangular roof above them. A statue of Starswirl the Bearded — the wizard who had founded the library as well as the Academy itself — was placed on a pedestal in front of the stairs to the library.

Twilight greeted the statue with a nod like an old friend as she trotted past it.

Opening the door with her magic, Twilight entered. A large hall with tall rows of shelves filled with thousands of books was waiting for her in here — and that was just the public section. The other, closed wing had even more books! Twilight took a deep breath, enjoying a familiar smell.

The Royal Library in Birminghoof was good, but it didn’t compare to this place.

Twilight looked to the counter, expecting to see the old librarian, but a young unicorn stallion with a dark blue coat was in her place. After a moment, Twilight recognized him as one of her ex-classmates — Midnight Star.

The mare frowned, not sure how to feel about the replacement. She’d been hoping to see the old librarian again, even if she had to pretend to be somepony else. The old mare who had been here before would always know where to find the book that Twilight needed. On the other hoof, she would also have been more likely to recognize Twilight, having interacted with her on a daily basis.

Twilight noticed the stare Midnight was giving her as she approached.

“Here’s my pass,” she said, showing him the paper.

The stallion flickered a glance at it and nodded, continuing to stare at Twilight.

“Is there something wrong?” Twilight asked, lowering her ears.

“N-no, it’s fine,” Midnight waved his hoof, blinking a few times. “You can pass. Enjoy the library, Miss…?”

“T— Dawn! My name is Dawn,” Twilight said, cursing on the inside for her near slip.

“Enjoy the library, Miss Dawn. If you need any help, I’ll be here.”

Nodding, Twilight walked into the first row. She went directly to the opposite side of the hall, where the door to the closed section should be. She tried it, but it was closed, of course. Only the librarian had the key to open it. Perhaps she should attempt to steal it somehow—

Wait a second, I don’t need a key to get through the door. I can just teleport myself to the other side!

Twilight’s enthusiasm lessened when she remembered the loud pop that would accompany the spell. Even if she were to replicate the spell successfully, everypony would be alerted to her presence. Although if she combined the teleportation with a sound dampening spell… That might work.

However, she still needed to find a way to do her research in peace. Unfortunately, Twilight couldn’t simply borrow the books, even though she needed to go through them in peace in her room at the inn — each book in the closed section was marked with a tracking spell that would alert the library if you tried to take them without notice.

I’ll just hide here until the night, Twilight decided. I’ll have plenty of time until it opens again tomorrow.

A small obstacle in that plan was that Twilight didn’t know a sound dampening spell yet, but she was in the greatest library Equestria has ever had. It wouldn’t be a problem to find a book on sound magic. Throwing a glance at the shelf number, Twilight located the section she needed. Orientating herself in the library had been easy for her once she had learned the classification system years ago.

Twilight quickly found the right book and proceeded to the reading chamber. She would have to read the book here instead of checking it out, since she didn’t exactly have the credibility. The chamber was quiet, despite a bunch of students occupying most of it. The only sound was a shuffling of papers as everypony was concentrated on their work, with some scribing some notes into their scrolls.

Twilight had missed this so much.

Dropping her saddlebag on the floor, the mare settled at one of the empty tables, putting the book in front of her eyes. Time flew as she read through it page by page. Eventually, Twilight had finished the theory part and had gotten to the practical one. Taking out a scroll, she began writing down the instructions to try it back at the inn.

A hoof touched her shoulder.

Twilight yelped, almost falling off her chair.

“We’re closing for the night, Miss,” the librarian told her. “Sorry for startling you.”

“Ah, yes, of course,” Twilight nodded rapidly. “I’m so sorry; I got a little caught up in all this.”

Midnight stared at her intently. Twilight looked at herself to make sure that her dyeing spell hadn’t stopped working or something, but she still looked like a blue-coated mare to an outsider. Her glance moved further down.

Oh no…

Her saddlebag was lying on the floor by her chair, exposing the telltale stars on her flank. Twilight groaned, slapping her forehead.

“Is— Is that you, Twilight?” Midnight asked.

Rarity gingerly stepped down from the carriage, trying to keep herself from wobbling on her hooves too much. Flying… ugh!

Two pegasi had flown them from Birminghoof to Canterlot in a span of a few hours, but Rarity would have rather spent a week on the road. Her father, however, had thought it was too dangerous to use the road in their situation and Rarity had had to agree after some consideration.

“Wow, that was so delightful!” her little sister — Sweetie Belle — shrieked, jumping off to the solid ground. “Can we do it again?”

Rarity sighed at her sister’s unladylike behavior.

“Sweetie, please,”Aloe said, stepping down from the carriage next, “That’s not how a lady is supposed to express her joy.”

“Aw, you’re so boring…” Sweetie Belle pouted.

Rarity kept silent, letting Aloe do her job. The mare had been hired to teach Sweetie Belle some proper manners, after all. Besides, Rarity was feeling far too dizzy to deal with her sister at the moment.

“Lady Rarity, are you okay?” Lotus asked her quietly, making sure that nopony else would hear them.

“No…” the mare shook her head. “I feel like I’m going to be sick.”

She glanced around and threw up into a garbage can near the bench. Thankfully, the flight station was empty save for their little group, so nopony else noticed her mishap.

Breathing in and out, Rarity waited until her stomach calmed down. Lotus hastily produced a paper towel, so she could clean her muzzle. When Rarity was done, she flickered an embarrassed smile to the others.

“Let’s go home now,” she said, leading the way. Everypony, including the two bodyguards, followed her.

The station was close to her family’s cottage in Canterlot. The place was used for their summer vacations. Of course, none of Canterlot’s balls and social events thrown by small, local noble houses compared to the capital’s, especially in autumn season, so Rarity wasn’t excited about spending the upcoming months in this city.

But there were more important things on the plate right now.

Lord Belle was going to form an opposition to Everlight. Since the regent had already proved how ruthless he could be by poisoning the king, he could easily have attacked her father by doing something to either her or Sweetie Belle if they had remained in Birminghoof.

At least the weather here is nice, Rarity thought as they made their way to the cottage. Not that I’ll get much chance to enjoy it.

It was indeed much warmer here this time of year than it was in Birminghoof to the north. Cloudsdale, one of the great city states of the pegasi, hovered in the skies near Canterlot, so the city hired them to control the weather around it. Birminghoof had no such luck.

Lotus and Aloe, being in Canterlot for the first time, seemed to enjoy the city a lot. They kept staring around while the group was making its way through the streets. Rarity had to admit — the city did give a much better first impression than Birminghoof. Sometimes she wondered why the capital hadn’t been moved back here, just as it was centuries ago.

Soon, the group was outside a small cottage in the middle of the noble district. Most of the district remained empty in autumn. Those nobles who could afford to have a cottage here used it for vacations, while their main estate was somewhere else. One of the reasons why her father thought it was a good place for them to hide was that Everlight didn’t know which cottage was theirs. Such information was very hard to get by because the powerful nobles were fond of their privacy. The district even had its own gate, so it was hard to enter here for an outsider.

Rarity opened the door with her key and let Silver Armor inside. The guard made sure that nopony was laying an ambush, while his partner stayed with the rest. A few minutes later the guard yelled at everypony to enter.

Rarity trotted in first.

“Thank you, darling,” the mare smiled, brushing her flank against his body as she passed.

Rarity suppressed a smirk, noticing his tail twitch. The rest of the ponies entered the cottage right behind her, so she put on a neutral expression.

The cottage had gotten a bit dusty after months of staying empty. While both maids worked to bring it back to a livable condition, Rarity enjoyed a relaxing hot bath. As she lay there, soaking in the tub, she thought about the serious problem she was going to face in the coming days — boredom.

Her father had strictly forbidden her and Sweetie Belle from leaving the cottage. Personally, Rarity thought it was a little excessive — nopony was likely recognize her in this city — but her father had been unbending.

After Rarity had left the bath, she found Lotus in her bedroom putting sheets on the bed.

“Do you feel better, Lady Rarity?” the maid asked, without interrupting her work.

“Yes, quite,” Rarity said, flashing a grin. “Thank you.”

Rarity sat on the floor and simply observed her reflection in her shining hoof until Lotus was done. The mare turned around, raising her eyebrows in question.

“Do you want something, Lady Rarity?”

“Oh, I was wondering if you knew of anything we could do to pass the time,” Rarity said, caressing her wet mane with her hoof.

“Oh,” Lotus drooped her ears, “Lady Rarity, don’t take it as an insult please, but I’m not into mares…”

Rarity giggled. “That’s not what I meant, darling. I was asking if you have any hobbies that we could enjoy together. Besides that, of course.”

Lotus’s cheeks reddened.

“I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions,” the maid giggled as well. “But I’m afraid I don’t really have any hobbies.”

“That’s too bad…”

“Surely you have some, Lady Rarity?”

“Of course I do,” Rarity smirked.

She fell silent for some time after that, trying to remember when the last time had been that she had done anything besides going to another ball or choosing a new dress to wear. Nothing came to mind.

“Well, actually I don’t,” she sighed. “That’s why I hoped you would help me.”

“Do not worry, Lady Rarity,” Lotus consoled her, touching her shoulder. “We’ll find something together.”

Twilight was sipping a hot coffee.

She and Midnight were in a small cafe on the street, adjacent to the Academy grounds. It was filled with students at this time, but they had managed to find a free spot. Midnight was sitting at the opposite side of the table from her with a cup of tea.

Twilight was telling him the story behind her disguise. There was no point in keeping it a secret after the librarian had recognized Twilight. She didn’t know what she was going to do if he didn’t believe her, but so far Midnight had been listening attentively, hanging on Twilight’s ever word.

“I’ve got to say — that’s pretty insane,” Midnight stated after she had finished. Twilight gave him a worried glance. “I mean, I think you’re telling the truth, of course. I won’t give you up to authorities or anything.”

“Well, it’s a big relief to hear that,” Twilight chuckled as she took another sip of coffee. “Anyway, how did you end up as a librarian? Weren’t you planning on going to Birminghoof yourself after you’d graduated?”

Midnight sighed, drooping his ears. “I don’t want to talk about it…”

“Ah, okay,” Twilight nodded. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I’m sorry, it just makes me feel bad,” Midnight shrugged. “I’ll tell you later.”

“It’s okay,” Twilight assured the stallion.

They sat in silence after that, simply finishing their snacks.

“This Everlight seems like a terrible pony.”

“Yeah…” Twilight’s ears fell flat. “I’ll make sure he pays for what he’s done, though.”

Midnight raised his eyebrows.

“You will? Is there anything I can do to help?”

“There actually is,” Twilight flickered a smile. “I need to get to the closed section of the library.”

“Why?” Midnight asked.

Twilight thought for a moment and then shook her head.

“I have to do some research,” the mare said simply.

Despite Midnight being her ex-classmate, Twilight didn’t know him all that well. He seemed friendly, but she wasn’t sure she could trust him with her plan. While there was no choice but to tell him about the king’s poisoning and her role in it, Twilight had kept most of the details to herself. For example, she hadn’t mentioned Blueblood’s help at all.

“Well, I guess I can let you in there,” Midnight shrugged, rubbing his chin. “One of the few perks of being a librarian. Come to the library tomorrow.”

“I was actually thinking of tonight,” Twilight said, finishing her cup. “The students would question if some unfamiliar mare appeared in the closed section.”

“I don’t know about tonight, Twilight,” the librarian frowned. “I mean, we’ve already left. Wouldn’t it seem suspicious if I suddenly returned with somepony else so late?”

“Oh, yes, right,” Twilight nodded. “I hadn’t though of that.”

The two discussed the situation and soon came up with a solution. Twilight had considered it before, but with Midnight’s help it was going to be far less risky. However, they needed to wait until tomorrow to implement the plan. Twilight wasn’t happy with the delay, but it was the best way.

Standing up, Twilight paid the waiter and together they walked out onto the street. Midnight offered to walk Twilight to whatever place she was staying, but the mare refused — she didn’t want to reveal her location. It wasn’t that Twilight thought the librarian was going to rat her out, but she felt calmer that way.

“See you tomorrow then,” Midnight waved his hoof.

Twilight waved back and they parted their ways.

It was getting dark, but as she trotted on the brightly lit streets, she wasn’t afraid of any muggers. Canterlot was safe enough even for nighttime strolls. Twilight used to do go out simply to clear her head in the middle of the night after another hard study session. Even if she were to encounter anypony with ill intentions, Twilight was confident in her abilities.

She would simply teleport away.

Twilight reached her room in the inn without encountering any trouble. Taking her notes from the library, Twilight jumped onto the bed and laid them out in front of her. She wrote quite a lot.

Even though she didn’t have to do it anymore thanks to the help that Midnight had promised, Twilight was still going to practice the sound-suppressing spell. Even if she didn’t use it to sneak into the closed section, the spell would be a useful thing to learn. Besides, she hadn’t spent hours studying the book to simply dismiss it.

Good thing Twilight had filled herself up with coffee — it was going to be a long night.

Rarity and Lotus had tried everything from playing cards to painting pictures, but nothing seemed to interest the lady. At least not enough to keep her entertained for long. Lotus was getting a bit desperate, but she refused to give up.

“Have you ever tried sewing, Lady Rarity?” she suddenly asked.

“Sewing? Really?” Rarity rolled her eyes. “My cutie mark is three gemstones, not a needle, darling.”

Lotus drooped her ears slightly but kept a smile on her face.

“Well, I saw a sewing machine when I was cleaning up…”

“Ah, that one,” Rarity said flatly. “My mother bought it for Sweetie Belle last year when she thought she would get a cutie mark in sewing. She didn’t, obviously.”

“So you have never tried it yourself.”

“Well, no,” Rarity shrugged.

Beaming, Lotus dashed out of the room. The mare returned a few minutes later, carrying the thing on her back. Rarity grabbed it in her magic and gently put it on the floor. She regarded the machine with a critical eye.

“That looks complicated.”

The sewing machine was pretty new, having been used just a couple of times in the past. After Sweetie Belle had abandoned that activity, the machine had been put into a cupboard here in case she ever returned to it.

“Can we make a dress, please?” Lotus asked, rubbing her front legs against each other. “I’ve kind of always wanted one, but we could never afford it.”

“I can buy you a dress if you want, darling,” Rarity told the surprised mare. “You’ve certainly deserved it.”

“Thank you for the offer, Lady Rarity, but you’re missing the point,” the maid smiled. “I want us to make a dress together. It could be something fun for us to do.”

Rarity didn’t agree with Lotus’ definition of fun, but she didn’t say no. The maid looked so hopeful and it wasn’t like Rarity had anything better to do.

“Sure, we can try…”

It took the two of them an hour to learn how to use the machine properly. The mares were taking turns with sewing pieces of fabric together. Surprisingly, Rarity found herself to be enjoying the process, even though they were still as far from making an actual dress as could be.

“This is actually fun,” Rarity noted, levitating a rickety sheet she’d just finished, looking it over with a critical eye. “Though I think we desperately need some books about dressmaking.”

Lotus giggled.

“Definitely. Do you have any of those in the cottage?”

Rarity shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. But there’s a big library in the city. We could find something in there.”

“We, Lady Rarity?” Lotus looked up in surprise.

“But of course, darling,” Rarity glanced at the maid. “Did you think I was going to sit inside of these four walls forever?”

Lotus flickered her ear. She didn’t like her lady’s words. If the lord found out about that, they both would get in a lot of trouble. And he was going to find out for sure — the guards wouldn’t keep quiet even if Lotus and Aloe would.

“But Lady Rarity, what about the guards?” Lotus asked.

“I’ll handle the guards, dear,” Rarity flickered a cocky smile. “You and Aloe must keep Sweetie Belle occupied in her room for at least an hour. I should be done by then.”

The guards were easy to find — the two unicorns were playing cards in the dining room. They stopped their game when Rarity walked into the room, turning their heads towards her. The lady waved her hoof, allowing them to continue as she approached, taking a seat next to Silver Armor. His partner, Blazing Shield, was sitting opposite to her.

The stallions looked at her nervously and Rarity winked.

“Please, continue your game, boys. I just want to watch.”

“As you wish, Lady Rarity,” Silver Armor shrugged, dealing his cards.

The game went by for a few minutes when Rarity made her first move. Raising her hindleg under the table, she gently touched Blazing Shield’s crotch. The guard twitched, dropping his cards on the table. Silver Armor looked at him in surprise.

Blazing Shield stared at the mare wide-eyed, his mouth agape. Rarity could feel the stallion’s member growing under her hoof. Flickering a smile, she started to rub his crotch with her pastern.

At this point, Silver Armor had finally noticed what was going on.

“Lady Rarity, what a-are you doing?” he asked, stumbling as she caressed his chest with her front hoof. “We can’t do—”

“We can and we will, darling,” Rarity interrupted Silver with a kiss, without stopping her hoofwork on his partner.

Blazing Shield sat there with his face bright red. His forelegs were firmly pressed against the table, while his hard cock was being rubbed by Rarity’s soft pastern. The bodyguard had no idea how he was supposed to respond to a situation like that.

The kiss with Silver lasted for ten long seconds until the mare disengaged. “Don’t you like me?”

Having said that, Rarity climbed onto the table. She turned her rear to Blazing Shield, raising her tail. He raised his eyes to her exposed marehood with the same dumbfounded expression. Rarity giggled at his reaction.

“Don’t be afraid, darling, it won’t bite you,” she said, shaking her hips in front of his face. “Though you can bite it.”

The guard looked her in the eyes and Rarity could see his desire clear as day. He was barely holding himself back. What he needed was a little nudge.

Winking her pussy did the job.

Leaning forward, Blazing Shield stuck his muzzle into her wet folds, biting it slightly. Rarity yelped in surprise — she hadn’t expected the stallion to take her words quite so seriously. Then he started licking. Rarity’s knees twitched as she tried to keep them steady, while the guard’s tongue caressed her sensitive clitoris.

Through sheer force of will, Rarity turned her attention back to Silver Armor. The stallion was clearly excited if his stiff cock was any indication. Rarity knew just what to do with it. Leaning down, she took most of his length in her mouth. Bobbing her head up and down continuously, she was speeding up with each pass. Silver Armor put his hooves into her mane, letting out a quiet moan.

If he’d had any thoughts about refusing this, they were all gone by now.

That continued for a few minutes, when Rarity suddenly stopped just as she felt his member starting to twitch. Silver Armor looked at her, crunching his eyebrows. He was so close!

Panting heavily, Rarity grinned.

“Sorry, darling, but I think your friend deserves it more.”

Ignoring the guard’s growl of frustration, Rarity jumped off the table, interrupting Blazing Shield’s diligent work on her marehood in the middle. As much as she’d been enjoying his nimble tongue, she needed something more now.

Glancing back at Blazing Shield, Rarity raised her eyebrows.

“Well?” the mare shook her hips suggestively.

The stallion didn’t need to be asked twice. Throwing an apologetic look at his grumpy partner, the guard jumped off the chair and stood up behind Rarity, laying both of his hooves on her flank. Rarity gave him an encouraging nod.

He mounted her eagerly.

Even though she’d been waiting for it, Rarity gasped when his large member entered her so roughly. Thankfully, his tongue had made her folds wet enough for his whole length to slide inside without much discomfort for the mare. Holding her flank steady, the stallion began rocking his hips back and forth like a maniac.

Rarity bit her lower lip as each of his thrusts went deep enough to hit her cervix hard time and again, making the mare moan lustfully. It was a bit painful at first, but the pleasure quickly washed it off. She bent her weakening forelegs, barely keeping herself steady under the weight of the stallion leaning on her.

Silver Armor watched the two with a grim expression. He had regretted his earlier decision to turn Rarity down, but he hadn’t really believed that she’d been serious back then, thinking it had just been a test of his professionalism. Only later had he realized his mistake…

Rarity, in turn, couldn’t think of anything at the moment but the large member ravishing her insides. The unicorn guard seemed to have a stamina of a true earth pony as he pounded her relentlessly. Not a lot of nobleponies Rarity had been with in the past could compare to him. She was already feeling an orgasm building up in her lower belly, while Blazing Shield continued to hit her like a hammer from the inside. When his dick began to throb, Rarity realized it was time to stop.

Straightening her forelegs, Rarity pulled herself forward, but the stallion clenched his hooves on her flank, thrusting forward furiously. Resigned, Rarity allowed him to cum inside — she had taken an anti-pregnancy potion anyway.

Having achieved release, Blazing Shield let her go. Her pussy was dripping, dampening the coat on her legs. Both ponies were panting heavily, but Rarity hadn’t managed to actually cum yet, which had left her on edge. She stepped from one hoof to another, rubbing her hips together.

Rarity turned around, throwing a thoughtful glance at the gloomy Silver Armor. Perhaps she’d been a bit too harsh on the poor bodyguard. Being in a generous mood — but mostly because she hadn’t been fully satisfied — the mare made a decision.

“You deserve something for your patience,” she said, smiling to Silver. His eyebrows shot up. “I’m ready for round two.”

It was an unexpected twist for Silver Armor, but he wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. Grinning, he jumped onto the floor and took his position behind Rarity, waiting for his member to become erect again.

As soon as it did, he thrust it into her like the other guard before him. He was much more gentle than Blazing Shield, however, moving slowly and steadily, while caressing her body with light touches of his magic. Rarity quickly found the pleasant feeling of an approaching orgasm returning with new force.

She prevented herself from finishing too quickly, waiting for the stallion to reach her level of pleasure. Silver wasn’t making it easy, however. Each of his moves seemed to be determined to make her orgasm first, so Rarity finally gave up.

Squinting her eyes shut, the mare whimpered as a hot wave of pleasure overwhelmed her senses. As she was shaking in bliss, Silver Armor was holding her on her hooves with his magic. He added a couple of final thrusts and finished himself. As his horn sparked, the spell holding her disappeared and both fell to the floor.

“Wasn’t it fun, boys?” Rarity asked after a minute of silence, breathing heavily on the floor.

Her tail was twitching in the afterglow of one of the best climaxes she’d had in months. Her pussy was sore, but the experience had been worth it without question. Silver Armor, who was still lying on top of her, grunted something in response. He stood up, helping the mare to get up on her hooves as well.

“I’ve never fucked— I mean, had sex with a mare as good as you, Lady Rarity,” Blazing Shield said. “Though I certainly wasn’t expecting that.”

Rarity chuckled. “Hadn’t your friend told me about my offer?”

The two guards exchanged glances.

“I thought he was just pranking me…”

“I told you I wasn’t,” Silver Armor sighed.

“Of course, everything that has happened here would be our little secret, okay?” Rarity smiled. “I imagine my father would be pretty angry at you if he found out.”

Both guards nodded in agreement.

“My lips are sealed as well,” she told them, grinning fully. “By the way, tomorrow I’m going on a bit of a trip to the city. I’m sure you wouldn’t mention that to my father?”

Silver Armor tensed up. “But the Lord ordered—”

“I know what he did, darling,” Rarity booped the guard on his muzzle. “That’s why I don’t want him to know anything. Is that okay with you, boys?”

The guards exchanged another look and nodded. It wasn’t like they had any other choice. Rarity had them by the balls, so to speak. If they prevented her from going outside as Lord Belle had ordered, she would definitely tell him about what had happened between them.

However, the truth was that Rarity wasn’t going to tell her father anything even if they did stop her, but the guards didn’t need to know that.

“One of us should still come along,” Silver Armor said. Rarity frowned. “If something happens to you while you’re out there alone…”

“Well, I guess that’s reasonable,” Rarity sighed after some consideration. “As long as my trips outside stay between us.”

“Of course, Lady Rarity.”

“Excellent,” Rarity beamed. “We’ll discuss the details in the morning.” She glanced at the mess on the floor, scrunching her muzzle. “And please, do clean up before my sister comes here.”

Having said that, Rarity walked out of the room. She was pretty exhausted and desperately needed to take a shower. Despite the mess her coat was in, Rarity had a smile of satisfaction on her face — everything had turned out just as she had hoped.

That was an NSFW scene here in the end. The "sex" tag is finally justified now. I hope it was done well, just like the rest of the chapter.

Tell me what you think in the comments!

And as always, thanks Purple Smart2 for his great editing work.