In a sunburned Equestria, Rarity leads the pleasant life of a clothier in the tiny town of Spurhoof. She’s got a successful business, a capable assistant, and the respect of the place she’s called home for six years. Maybe she never achieved her foalhood dreams of fabulosity, but at least she’s comfortable. What more can a mare ask for?

Then a band of outlaws decide to pay Spurhoof a visit, and their leader’s eye has settled upon Rarity. Soon she’ll have to fight not only for her life, but maybe her very soul. Will her diamond turn dull under the hot Equestrian sun, or will adversity make her shine all the brighter?

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Now featured on Equestria Daily.

Inspired by Fallout: Equestria and the song Bulletproof Heart by My Chemical Romance.

Other stories inspired by music:
Escape
Ordinary World
Bed of Roses
Drops of Jupiter
How to Save a Life
Forgive Me, Friend
Time for Tea

A big thanks to my brainstorming fellow and ever-awesome friend SorenPixels, who has helped me ponder the plans for this story since its inception.

Additional kudos to Danger Beans and Cerulean Voice for their help with the first few chapters.

Big thanks to the fantastic author Viking ZX for taking time out of his busy schedule to be my Alpha pre-reader.

Last but certainly not least, my gratitude to my gang of Beta pre-readers: Babroniedad, Lord-Commander, Merc the Jerk, Snowybee, Soge, and Wanderer D!

I was not prepared for the absolutely stunning world building or the incredibly well done characters. [...] This is a work of absolute art. — Equstarte Marine Sebaste

Reading and re-reading (and re-reading) this story was an amazing experience. It will always be one of my favorites! — Wanderer D

I dare say this is a masterpiece of the fandom. — FanOfMostEverything

It's a gorgeous, vivid-drawn setting you've crafted for this, and it hits its gritty Western beats and epic scope with aplomb. Rarity's character journey in this is a stellar one, and her gradual sink into (and recovery at the brink of) [...] darkness was wonderfully and believably told. — Carabas

Cover art commissioned from the fantastic bakki, with title work generously donated by Novel-Idea.

Life may be one of the longest experiences we'll ever get, but it's also one of the hardest. We each have our own personal issues, struggles, challenges, tragedies, and there could be even more ready to drop on us at any given time.

You will always have to accept what has transpired, you have no control over it. But what you do have control of, is how you'll let it affect you.

Four ponies will be tested with this lesson as they head off to save Equesria's magic, for they are the only ones left in Equestria that still possess any.

This is a 'Final Fantasy' crossover that'll be much like my 'Legend of Zelda' one as you don't need to know anything about the franchise in order to enjoy the story. The Final Fantasy elements will be pushing this story along, as there'll be plenty of common themes and characters that are associated with the franchise (some will be the species/monster and some may act like certain characters).

My basic concept is to make a 'My Little Pony' story that comes out as if it was meant for a 'Final Fantasy' game.

This will be present tense in 3^rd person pony. HOWEVER, I won't have any inner dialogue and instead only focus on feelings and emotions of the characters.

Story takes place almost 2 years after the MLP episode, 'The Ending of the End'.

While checking the ward spells in her palace's library, Cadance discovers a strange letter sent to King Sombra by someone she didn't know existed, from a nation that never existed. The search for answers sends her and Twilight, along with their friends, on a journey to uncover certain secrets of the past, only to realize that secrets abound in the present, and at the center of it all, there is one particular truth that very important ponies would very much like to keep a secret.