Rarity sat on the edge of an extravagant veiled bed and gazed down at the gleaming young prince as he lay sleeping. She hovered over him anxiously, watching for the slightest sign of wakefulness. His coat gleamed with a steely grain and his long mane sparkled like a wave of silver blades. Despite his formidable visage, he was thin and youthful... his face had an aristocratic look, and he wore large, bookish spectacles with one cracked lens. His metal facade did nothing to hide the warmth and softness of a living body... for Prince Gallium was a member of the Crystal Empire's nobility. One of the last, in fact.

You've been asleep for so long, Rarity thought as she dabbed a moist cloth against his forehead. Rest a little longer and everything will be set right again... I promise.

The door opened and slammed shut in rapid succession, and Rarity looked back across the bedroom: Applejack and Pinkie Pie were frantically upending expensive crystal-carved furniture in front of the double doors.

"What's going on?" said Rarity. "You were supposed to keep her busy!"

"Mighty sorry," Applejack said, "but there's just no talkin' to that mare. She ain't exactly the patient sort."

Pinkie Pie took out a power drill and began fastening metal slabs against the door frame. "I tried everything!" she said, "the fireworks, the wrapped presents, the dessert buffet... she didn't even notice any of it! I worked so hard to throw her a welcome-back party, and she refused to even look at the pin-the-tail-on-the-pony game!"

Rarity stared, shocked, at Applejack. "What have you done!? You promised to remember your manners!"

"We didn't get a chance!" Applejack shouted back. "She burst right through the front door and immediately started swingin' a lance around! She didn't even give us a chance to speak our minds!"

"But Rainbow Dash isn't back yet," Rarity said. "We need more time! We need to—"

A deafening impact blasted against the other side of the door. The makeshift barricade of furniture shuddered, and the screws in the metal slats rattled loose slightly. They could hear a voice on the far side, shouting furiously.

Applejack shot Rarity a look. "There ain't no more time. It's now or never."

Rarity bit her lower lip and glanced about the room, trying to ignore the relentless quaking of the battering ram. She slid off the edge of the bed and stood up. "Stay by the door, and get ready to surprise her. I'll make one last effort to talk some sense into her."

Applejack and Pinkie Pie did as they were told. Seconds later, the door exploded open in a shower of broken furniture and splintered crystal. A silhouette charged through the dust, standing tall and proud: the mare was half again their height and clad in a full coat of gleaming armor that had been carved whole out of giant gems. There was a massive crystal lance hitched to her side, made of the same hardened stone. She flipped up her visor to reveal the shimmering face of a crystal pony... an elegant beauty marred by a scowl of intense fury.

"You dare enter my home?" she spat. "You dare intrude on the resting place of my beloved prince!?"

Rarity tried to match the knight's stance, despite the flutter in her stomach. "Delilah, please! You must listen to reason! Your beloved is—"

"Me? Listen to a pack of lowly thugs such as yourselves!?" Delilah reared up on her hind legs, then slammed her front hooves on the floor. The stamp sent a shudder throughout the entire tower. "I will run you through and trample you into dust for this impertinence!"

Rarity stepped forward and shook her head. "No, please! You don't understand!"

Without another word, Delila lowered her lance into position and charged towards her. Applejack dove at her crosswise and twisted around at the last moment, slamming both hind hooves against Delilah's side. The impact rang against her armor like a giant bell and Applejack tumbled back from the recoil, yet Delilah's stance barely shifted at all.

"You would strike at me from the shadows?" Delilah roared. "Such cowards!"

Pinkie Pie loaded the last of a series of creme-pie catapults. "Hey, we tried doing this the friendly way! You won't even let us help you when you need it the most!"

"Help? How could you possibly help the indomitable Diamond Duchess!? You cannot imagine the quests I have undertaken!"

Pinkie Pie grabbed the trigger rope in her mouth and gave it a yank.

"Brilliant Cut!" the Duchess cried out with the piercing, clarion tone of an opera singer. She swept her lance sideways with blinding speed: an arc of coherent light sliced through each of the catapults completely, and cleaved through the heavily fortified wall behind them. When the arc faded from view, they saw Pinkie Pie pressing herself flat against the floor with the uppermost parts of her mane and tail shaved flat.

"You call yourself a duchess?" Rarity called out. "A real member of the nobility would listen to reason!"

"Reason?" Delilah spit on the floor and fixed her with a hateful glare. "You trespass in my tower, you insult my honor, and you threaten my beloved prince? There can be no reason for what you have done!"

Rarity glanced briefly at the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of Rainbow Dash's brightly colored mane in the distance.... no such luck. "And what of your actions?" She shouted. "You've waged a one-pony war against your own kingdom! How many wizardly vaults have you plundered? How many academies and libraries have you laid to waste?"

The Diamond Duchess stamped an armored hoof. "Those artifacts are mine by right! My need of them is greater than you can imagine!"

"Oh, we know exactly what you need them for... and I think you're nothing but a vain and selfish old mare! All you care about is yourself!"

"How dare you!"

Delilah lowered her head to charge once more, But Rarity's horn flared with a magic spell. A bolt of royal purple light streaked out at the Duchess and reflected off her gemstone body like a mirror, returning to strike Rarity dead center. She gasped as her own spell pulled the veils off the bed and yanked the curtains from the window, entrapping her in a giant knot of silken cloth.

"Fool!" the Duchess said. "You know nothing of the Crystal Pony's true nature!"

Applejack cleared her throat. The Duchess turned to look, and saw Applejack kick at a nearby bucket and mop: the bucket landed on her head, and she clinched the mop against her shoulder like a lance.

"Ah think that's enough chatter from ya'll. Why don't we settle this proper like?"

"A challenge?" she sneered. "Far be it from me to decline. Prepare yourself, whelp!"

The two mares reared up and charged towards each other, weapons at the ready. Applejack's mop-handle glanced off the Duchess's chestplate, while her opponent's pure diamond lance missed its mark completely.

"Well well well!" Applejack chuckled. "Looks like somepony's a mite rusty! You sure you don't want to do a few practice rounds first?"

Rarity bit her lower lip. Sweet Celestia's mane... she thinks she's doing well.

Delila snorted, and charged again. This time, Applejack's mop missed its target and Delilah's lance struck true: the tip shattered Applejack's makeshift bucket helm into splinters and went on to miss her head by a hair's breadth. Applejack skidded to a halt and touched her forehead in shock. She looked back, and saw the Diamond Duchess grimly turning around for a third pass.

"Lan' sakes," Applejack whispered. "What have I gotten myself into?"

Applejack swallowed hard, readied her mop, and charged one last time.

"Cannonbaaaaaall!"

A nearby stained glass window shattered apart as Rainbow Dash burst into the bedroom, tucking into a mid air somersault as she came to a halt. Her spectacular entrance distracted the Duchess for just an instant, but Applejack remained focused: the end of her mop struck dead center and shattered her opponent's ornate crystal breastplate in two.

Delilah skidded to a halt, desperate to cover herself up as the front of her armor disintegrated. "No! No!"

Rainbow Dash held up an shining crystal bottle. "Hey, girls! Sorry I'm late. It took Twilight forever to figure out all the alchemical stuff."

Delilah gasped in shock. "The Miracle Medicine!"

Applejack pointed at the bed. "The prince is right over there! Give it to him!"

The Duchess swiped her lance at Rainbow Dash, but she dodged the wild swings easily.

"That medicine is mine! I've spent the last century questing for a cure! I must have it!"

Rainbow Dash whipped through the air, with the Duchess in hot pursuit. With mere seconds to spare, she popped the cork and splashed the contents all over the sleeping Prince Gallium. "One wakeup call, coming right up!"

The bedroom flooded with a cascade of light and warmth. The Prince's body glowed from within, and shafts of light flooded from his eyes as they opened. They all watched in awe, but none were quite so stunned as the Duchess herself: she stared, utterly transfixed, as her beloved stallion awakened.

The light faded abruptly, and the prince fell back onto the bed. He stretched his back and cricked his neck before looking around the room. "Oh... oh, I say. What a peculiar..." He paused to look at the cracked lens of his spectacles, then promptly took an undamaged pair from his coat pocket. "...What a peculiar dream. Where am I? Who are you strange ponies?"

Before any of them could answer, Delilah spun away and covered her face with her hooves. "No! Don't look at me! You mustn't!"

Gallium's eyes focused. His expression sharpened. "Delilah? Duchess Delilah!?"

Her tears dripped to the floor. "No please... don't look!"

Gallium stood up and approached her regardless. He touched her chin and turned her to face him. Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie all gasped as they saw her without her frontal plate armor: there was a deep fracture that ran through her translucent body like a ribbon, down through her neck and all the way to where her heart would be, if she had been an earth pony.

"Delilah... it is you!"

"I didn't want you to see me... not like this. I couldn't bear the thought of being broken and ugly."

Gallium adjusted his spectacles. "I remember, now... you ran away, years ago."

"Centuries," Rarity said, kicking herself free from the last of the knotted veils. "She loved you dearly but believed you could never be together. It finally broke her heart, and she put you to sleep centuries ago so she would have time to search for a cure."

Applejack shook her head. "And it's been even longer, if'n you figure that the Crystal Empire just plain disappeared for more than a thousand years. You've both been gone an awful long time."

"Why?" Gallium whispered. "Why didn't you just tell me the truth? What possible reason could there be for us to stay apart?

"You are a prince," she said, "and I am merely a duchess... we could never be married. I thought if you saw me like this, scarred and ugly, that you'd have no desire to even visit me. I wanted to be pretty again... for you."

"Delilah, you should be pretty for your own sake. Not for somepony else." The Prince stepped close and touched her cheek. "And besides, I'm a prince: I can marry whoever I want. And most importantly of all, I don't care how you look. I loved you because you were brave and strong and just."

Her eyes widened. "You did!?"

"I still do," he said. "And besides... you are pretty. Even as you are, I think you're the most beautiful mare in the empire."

She gazed into his eyes, lost in the moment. Without warning, Pinkie Pie popped up beside them and hugged them both close.

"Aww! You know what this calls for? Cinnamon marble-loaf! There's a whole buffet waiting downstairs! Whaddya say?"

Prince Gallium nudged his spectacles up. "I am feeling a little snacky. Is there lemonade?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course there is!"

"But... but... how!?" the Duchess shook her head. "How did you ponies find the Miracle Medicine? I've spent over a hundred years questing for it, and I never even got close!"

Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. "While we were investigating your crazy rampage, we just happened to find a certain Prince's private library, where we just happened to find an alchemy lab... that just happened to have a machine that makes Miracle Medicine. It took Twilight a little longer than we expected to get it working, and Fluttershy took forever to find all the special ingredients in the Sapphire Forest... and of course, I had to fly it here as fast as I could. I think we did a pretty good job, considering."

"You've gotta believe us," said Applejack, "The prince was workin' on a cure for you ever since the day you left!"

Delilah turned to him. "You were?"

"Actually..." The prince opened his coat and took a bottle from an inside pocket, identical to the one Rainbow Dash had brought. "That's why I visited your tower in the first place. But you put me to sleep before I could say even a single word."

She stared at the bottle, bewildered. "You mean you had it with you all this time? Right here!?"

The Prince shrugged. "You've really got to let me finish my sentences more often."

Delilah turned around and gave the four ponies a sheepish look. "All this time I've been such a fool... you all worked so hard to bring us together, and I gave you nothing but grief. Can you ever forgive me?"

Pinkie Pie nodded. "Of course! Just promise to loosen up a little, and have fun every now and then."

Rarity walked towards her, levitating the broken halves of her once-magnificent armor. "You were a great and noble hero, once: the 'Indomitable Diamond Duchess' was known far and wide as the bravest defender the Crystal Empire has ever known."

"And they'll need you now more than ever," Applejack said, "what with all the dangers that keep poppin' up on your doorstep. I jest know they'll be happy to see you're back to your old self again."

"Thank you," Delilah said. "Oh, thank you all so much! I never should have judged you poorly because of your opacity. Please, name your reward—anything at all—and I swear it shall be yours!"

Applejack took off her straw hat and held it against herself. "Aw, shucks. We were happy to do it."

Rainbow Dash did one last mid air flip before landing on the floor "We're not in this for the reward. It's what we do!"

"You're absolutely sure?” said Delilah. "Surely there must be something I can offer you."

Rarity stepped forward and bowed her head formally. "All we ask is that when you return to the Crystal Empire's royal court, please look upon the land of Equestria as an ally."

"And a friendly neighbor," Applejack said. "If you ever need a cup of sugar, or anything else, don't hesitate to come knockin'!"

The two crystal ponies shared a look, then offered the mares a bow in return.

"Your generosity is a sign of both honor and nobility," said Prince Gallium. "The Crystal Empire may be slow to make new friends, but it never forgets them."

There was a moment of quiet as they all looked at each other.

Rainbow Dash tilted her head and stroked her chin. "...Hey."

"Yes?" said Delilah.

Dash pointed at the vial. "That stuff can cure anything, right? Anything at all?"

"The Miracle Medicine can restore any malady of the mind, body or spirit," Gallium said. "It is a mystical elixir without parallel."

"And all you have to do is pour it on somepony...?" Dash stroked her chin again. "So is that bottle up for grabs? I mean, if you don't need it anymore—"

Rarity shot her a glance. "Dash, this is no time to be greedy."

Delilah turned to the Prince. "You said before that you still find me beautiful just as I am. Was that the truth?"

"Absolutely," he said. "Without a doubt."

Delilah took the bottle and passed it to Dash with a smile. "Then here is your reward. I pray that it brings joy and health to somepony you love."

Dash hopped up and did a midair somersault. "Score!"

"But you must use it wisely," said Gallium. "I can always make more, but the process is very time consuming. It is a limited resource."

"Yeah yeah," Dash said, "I got it already."

Applejack cleared her throat. "...Dash? What do you have in mind?"

"Oh, don't you worry about it... I know exactly where this is going to end up."

Derring-Do rushed about her cluttered loft apartment, stepping over stacks of old newspapers and piles of old laundry as she searched. She snatched up a set of keys, a wallet, and a little black book and stuffed them in a small designer purse. She rushed to her dresser table and looked in the faded, dusty mirror, taking yet another moment to examine her outfit: she was wearing a pleated grey dress with green accents, clinched around the waist with a formal corset-saddle. Her wide-brimmed bonnet was edged with fine lace and had a dark green ribbon tied around it. She leaned close to the mirror and checked her makeup: a faint layer of rose-pink lipstick, some understated eyeliner, and a modest puff of blush on each cheek. The ensemble was formal and modest, but did a good job of accenting her natural colors: it was almost impossible to find a seamstress who could do anything at all with a khaki-mustard coat and a grayscale mane.

A loud ringing came in through the window, and Derring-Do rushed over to look: the cobblestone streets of Canterlot were crowded with both carriages and ponies, and the local citizens were all dressed in traditional Canterlot fashion. She saw one carriage in particular parked in front of the building: a uniformed stallion stepped down from the coach seat and waved up at her, then tapped a hoof against the empty space on his ankle where a watch might be worn.

She waved back at him, snatched an attaché case from the couch and ran for the exit as quickly as she could without ripping her dress. She climbed down the rickety, claustrophobic stairwell and came out into the first floor of the bookbinder's shop beneath her apartment. The coach stallion was already inside and waiting for her.

"Terribly sorry, Rosewood," she said, "the dress was late coming back from the cleaners."

"We are going to be on time!" he said. "One cannot be merely on time for the university's annual charity dinner! Anything less than half an hour early is an insult!"

"I know!" she snapped. "You said the same thing last year, and the year before that!"

She rushed to the exit, but Rosewood stopped her before she could move past him: he adjusted her bonnet and re-tied the ribbon completely, then fluffed the ruffles around her shoulders.

"There. Now give me a smile."

She smiled at him.

He winced. "I told you to practice in the mirror! You've worked in a university for thirteen years and you still haven't learned to smile convincingly?"

She let out an exasperated groan. "It's on my to-do list! Do you have a speech for me?"

He passed her a folded up piece of paper. "And don't lose it: it's the only copy I have on me. You'll just have to memorize it on the way. "

"It's barely even ten lines," she muttered, "and I probably won't even need it. Honestly... all this fuss for nothing."

"It's not nothing," said Rosewood. "The entire administration is attending this charity dinner. The Dean is going to be there to speak about our project itinerary for the entire upcoming year. There's even a rumor that somepony's being considered for tenure! You can't afford to just call in sick for those sorts of announcements!"

Derring sighed. "I know, I know. Let's just get this over with."

Rosewood left the storefront and held the door open as Derring stepped out, and a sky-blue pony with a rainbow-colored mane tumbled out from behind the carriage and threw a water balloon directly at Derring's face. She stood stock still, eyes wide, as icy-cold liquid dribbled down her neck and soaked into her dress.

"Guess what?" Rainbow Dash said. She reared up on her hind legs and pointed both forelegs at her. "You just got Miracle Medicined!"

"What?"

Dash dropped down on all fours again and brushed her hoof casually against the front of her chest. "I know, I know... no need to thank me. It's all in a day's work for your biggest fan ever!"

Derring squinted at the pegasus. "Have we met? Rainbow... Splash, was it?"

"Rainbow Dash, actually." She let out a giggle. "Hey, I guess I really am Rainbow Splash today! Get it? Splash?"

Derring stared at her blankly.

Dash stepped close, smiling broadly. "It wasn't just a water balloon... it was full of Miracle Medicine! It cures what ails ya, body, mind and spirit! Your wing will be working again by the end of the day! You'll be able to fly again, and you can stop being such a horrible, cranky grouch all the time!"

Derring's brow furrowed slightly. She looked back at her own right side, and a faint look of wonder crept over her face. By now a small crowd had paused to watch the sopping wet mare.

"Well you're not gonna be able to fly with that ridiculous getup! Who wears a saddle over their wings, anyways?" Rainbow Dash ran over and pulled at Derring's corset saddle, ripping the dress in several places and exposing her right side to public view: the crippled limb was bound with bright white bandages to keep it from flopping about. Dash ripped the bandages off completely, and Derring glanced about with embarrassment as the crowd gawked and gasped at her disability.

"Who cares what they think?" Dash said. "Go on! Try and move it!"

Derring looked at her with a strange mixture of anger and fear. Eventually, she tensed her body with effort and scrunched her eyes tight.

"There ya go," Dash said. "Don't give up! Don't—"

Derring let out a cry of pain and her broken wing twitched like a dying thing. She fell to the ground and laid on her side, desperate to relieve the pressure. The crowd gasped and retreated a step.

"No-no-no," Dash said, "it's fine, it's fine. It's like a muscle cramp... you just need to work the kinks out. Here, lemme—"

Dash took hold of her wing and forcefully unsheathed it. This time, Derring's cry was a blood-curdling scream of utter agony: her pupils shrank to tiny dots and she thrashed about on the ground violently.

Dash pulled back. "Oh... wow. Yeah, this'll take a little more time than I thought. You know, I'm a registered athletic therapist. If you give me a month or so, I'm sure I could—"

Derring-Do looked up at her. She was gasping for breath and streaked with tears, but her face was twisted with hate and fury. "If you ever touch me again, I will trample you within an inch of your life, do you hear me!? An inch!!"

Rainbow Dash frowned at her. "Do you know what I had to go through to fill that water baloon? You could at least say thanks!"

Even from a prone position, Derring-Do leaped upright in a blink. She let out a furious scream and swiveled her whole body around to deliver a roundhouse kick with both of her hind legs. Dash had scarcely a moment to look dumbfounded before the kick connected: she sailed through the air and crashed through the plate glass window of a fine furniture shop across the street. Flashing stars and chirping birds obscured her senses for a few moments, and then everything faded to darkness.

A few minutes later, Derring-Do and Rainbow Dash lay on a pair of cots on opposite sides of a barred cell in Canterlot's Royal Police station. They both stared at the bars for several minutes, bitter and silent. Rainbow Dash's eye was ringed by a brightly colored bruise, and Derring-Do's formal outfit was torn and ripped. The officers had allowed her to re-bind her crippled right wing, but had confiscated her purse and attache case.

They watched as a pair of uniformed royal guards walked down the corridor, checking the rows of empty cells. Voices drifted in from the front office, too quiet to make out.

Derring-Do ran a hoof back along her mane, but it did nothing to smooth out the untidy mess their scuffle had caused. "Creamy zucchini orecchiette," she muttered.

Rainbow Dash sniffed slightly and scratched her nose.

"Parmesan polenta steaks, with heirloom tomato-corn salad." Derring paused to untie her bonnet and examine it's crumpled top. "Al forno conchiglie with five cheeses... chilled ginger-mango soup... four-year-old peach cider..."

Dash scowled at her. "Is that all you can think about? A fancy dinner? Do you even care about archeology at all?"

Derring threw her bonnet to the floor and leapt across the room, tackling Rainbow Dash with alarming ferocity. They grappled together until they fell to the floor, at which point Derring began throttling her.

"I was supposed to sit between the Mayor of Manehattan and the Gryphon Diplomat from the Towering Isles! You've ruined my career, you ignorant, addlepated nincompoop! Do you hear me? Ruined!"

She continued to bobble Dash's head back and forth, even as the royal guards unlocked the cell doors and rushed to pull them apart.

Author's Notes:

This story follows the events of "Biased and Incomplete". As a one-shot, I was convinced that it had no need of a sequel. However, ideas have a way of stubbornly sticking in the mind and (as all writers know) the only way to exorcize them completely is to put them on paper. This continuation will address many of the issues that were left unanswered in the original, but adds a healthy dose of action and adventure.

This will be the first time I've submitted an unfinished story, and I'll be posting new parts approximately whenever I feel like it. The chapters are short and quick to facilitate rapid consumption, and I promise the story has a concrete ending planned out in advance. Thank you for reading, and please let me know what you think in the comments.

And for those you wondering about the title: Of course she dies at the end.