//------------------------------//
// Part 3, Chapter 3 - Speech 
// Story: Just a Phase 
// by HorseStories 
//------------------------------//

'You can't be serious.'

Sweetie Belle couldn't believe her ears. Judging by the expression on Scootaloo's face, neither could she.

'Well, why not?' Rarity seemed remarkably calm. 'There's no law against political lobbying. I have more money than I wish to detail. And if they wish to accuse me of being a fillyfooler myself - well, I believe my somewhat regretful marital record will shut them up.'

Sweetie Belle opened her mouth, but before she could respond, Rarity continued. 'Sweetie Belle, please. For these past 12 years, I have not only feared you dead, but that your passing would be at my own hooves. Meanwhile, I fought tooth and hoof to enter Canterlot high society, only for ponies to sniff at my work because of my sister. Are you actually asking me to choose them over you?'

Sweetie Belle didn't respond. She couldn't.

Rarity's mind was made up. 'I love you, Sweetie Belle. Never forget that. One day, I hope we'll be able to see each other openly again. But I know now you can't just wish for something to be so. You have to fight for it. And fight I shall.'

'Thank you for visiting me tonight, Sweetie Belle. I cannot help but think it must be fate you decided to visit me on tonight of all nights.'

Sweetie Belle frowned. 'Why?'

Rarity giggled. 'Commander Nettlekiss wasn't visiting me just to catch up. He's looking for a promotion - some big snooty Canterlot position, I gather. I am to speak at a Canterlot dinner this week, and he wished me to throw in a few comments in his favour. Rumour has it Celestia herself will be in attendance. In return, I would have been allowed to design the Royal Guard's uniforms for the next season. I may have to make some adjustments to my script.' A mischievous look danced in her eyes, and all of a sudden, she was a decade younger.

The sisters embraced each other one final time. Rarity opened her mouth as if she had something else to say, but she was interrupted by a sudden, harsh rattling at the door.

'Town Guard! Open this door immediately!'

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo froze. Rarity seemed unfazed. 'Just one minute, darling!'

Turning to Sweetie Belle, she took a concerned glance at her chipped horn. 'Can you get yourself and Scootaloo out of here?'

Sweetie Belle nodded. 'What about you?'

Rarity flashed her a dazzling smile. 'Getting myself out of tight spots is a habitual talent of mine. Go, quickly!'

A million thoughts flashed through Sweetie Belle's mind. There was so much to say and so little time with which to say it.

'Open the fucking door right now!' Nettlekiss sounded unhinged. Flustered, Sweetie Belle seized ahold of Scootaloo by the wing and the pair disappeared in a flash of light.





Before Rarity could even reach the door, a burly Stallion crashed through it, sending broken shards of wood and splinters everywhere. Nettlekiss strode in, his steely eyes scanning the room. Seeing only Rarity, he immediately rounded on her.

'Where are they?' Nettlekiss snarled. Rarity didn't flinch.

'Who?'

'You know who! Your fillyfooler sister mare and her crippled friend! I know they were here, I overheard you, don't even try to deny it!'

Rarity returned the hateful gaze Nettlekiss had affixed to her. 'If you are referring to Scootaloo, I would appreciate if you would not refer to my close friends which such derogatory language. With regard to her Unicorn friend, I'm afraid you're mistaken. I've never met Sky Star before in my life. She most certainly is not my long lost sister. I assure you, I would recognize her.'

Nettlekiss looked like he was about to have a heart attack. Turning to his stallions, he gestured wildly to the room at large. 'Tear this place apart, and don't stop until you find them! I will be taking Miss Rarity into custody on the grounds of... of...'

'Of?' Rarity queried sweetly.

'Of... aiding and abetting a fugitive from justice!' Nettlekiss proclaimed triumphantly. 'Your sister is wanted on several counts of crimes against nature. You can come quietly, or I can escort you. Your choice.'

In the end, Rarity deigned to come quietly. 'Custody' transpired to be the adjacent room, empty aside from a table and two chairs. Nettlekiss seated himself opposite her. Both ponies eyed each other coolly, sizing each other up. Rarity spoke first.

'I wonder how this will affect your promotion, Commander? Having such a prominent fillyfooler sympathiser involved in your campaign will no doubt be embarrassing.'

Nettlekiss sneered. 'No scandal on earth could blot out one-millionth of the prestige I will earn for snaring another one of you fashionista sodomites. And I thought Hoity Toity was a good catch!' He cackled at the memory. 'Oh, don't be so sanctimonious. After all, you were the first one who brought it to my attention. Oh, how the mighty have fallen!'

Rarity stiffened. 'You tricked me. You said there were therapies... cures! Not... that!'

Nettlekiss spat on the floor. 'He's cured now. And with Celestia as my witness, your sister will join him. It's only a matter of time before we catch her now what city she's in. A simple DNA test should confirm who she is.'

A guard leaned into the door frame. 'They're not in there, sir. Should we dispatch a search patrol?'

Nettlekiss leaned back on his chair, a wide smile on his lips. 'Make that ten.'





Sweetie Belle wasted no time. The second they landed. she took off, Scootaloo hot on her heels.

They raced through the streets of Fillydelphia, their surroundings blurring into nothing but indiscriminate streaks of colour and light. Sweetie Belle had only one place on her mind, one mare.

Sweetie's worst fears were confirmed when she arrived at the shop. The front door had been smashed in, and covered with a notice from the town guard. Premises raided as part of an ongoing investigation.

Blood pounding, Sweetie Belle tore past the notice and entered the shop, shouting at the top of her voice. 'Amethyst! Amethyst!'

Scootaloo grabbed her before she could shout a third time. 'Quiet! They'll be looking for us, don't make it easy!'

Sweetie Belle shook her off, glaring. 'What am I supposed to do? Nothing?'

'You need to get out of here!' Scootaloo shook her head. 'I'm sorry, but Sweetie, if you keep looking for her, they'll just catch you both. Trust me. You have an emergency bag?'

Hesitantly, Sweetie Belle nodded, then shook her head. 'It doesn't matter! I'm not leaving without Amethyst, end of discussion!'

'Sweetie Belle, you've got maybe a few minutes before the Town Guard figures out this is the first place you'd go. Maybe they're on their way now. Just grab your bag and go! You won't be Amethyst any favours by getting yourself caught too!'

Sweetie Belle hesitated, torn. Scootaloo grabbed her and hugged her tight. 'It's been so good to see you again, Sweetie. You don't know how much I've missed you. But everything everypony has sacrificed to get you here is going to be wasted if you're caught tonight. So, please, just go. Get out of here. Before you can never leave again.'





'Sir?'

Nettlekiss turned to see a guard standing in the doorway. 'We got one of them.'

Scootaloo looked tired, grumpy and irritated. 'This better have been worth waking me up for. I have to open a shop tomorrow.'

Nettlekiss eyed Scootaloo with some distaste. 'And Sweetie Belle?'

'Nothing so far. We've searched all the administrative districts twice. I'd wager she's left the city, maybe even the country by now. It'll be hell to find her. We still have her partner in custody, but she's not cooperating.'

A vein twitched in Nettlekiss's forehead. 'Fine. Continue sweeping the city limits. Anything else?'

The guard looked away. 'You've got a visitor.'

Another mare entered. Her blue mane was cut short, and her eyes rested behind a pair of almost comically thick glasses. 'The name's River Lane. Attorney at law. I'm here to see...' Theatrically, she peered at a piece of paper with a name scribbled on it. 'Miss Rarity. I understand she is being detained here.'

Nettlekiss snorted. 'I don't think so. I'm not having her pull some voodoo legal trick out of her-'

'The law,' River Lane interrupted, 'Mandates that all freeborn Equestrian citizens enjoy the right to counsel. Failure to provide said right can result in charges being thrown out of court. I'm sure you're aware of this, Commander.'

Nettlekiss swore. 'Very well. It changes nothing. I will interrogate the cripp... pegasus in the meanwhile.' Rising to his hooves, he motioned for Scootaloo to follow him. For the first time, Rarity spoke. 

'I'm willing to cover her legal fee, if she's willing to accept it. That won't be a problem, will it, River?'

River Lane adjusted her glasses. 'Not at all.'

If looks could kill, Nettlekiss could have cleared the room. As it stood, he opted to instead violently slam the door on the three of them. River Lane sighed theatrically, then seated herself on the now-empty chair. 'Moron. No, don't explain, I heard the whole sorry story from one of his guards downstairs. I'm not even going to ask how much of it is true. I've never seen such a flagrant disregard for the legal process. I'll speak with Nettlekiss and get him to see reason. Anything else?'

Rarity nodded. 'I actually wanted to let you know something. I intend to destroy my career and reputation as explosively as possible this week, so I foresee a lot of litigation coming my way. Do you want in?'

River Lane's brisk demeanour wavered slightly as a smile played upon her lips. 'Am I to assume this is related to the scandalous accusations about your sister?'

'Most definitely.'

'Then count me in.' Rising to her hooves, she nodded towards Scootaloo, whose mouth was agape. 'Evening.'

River Lane swept from the room. The muffled sound of discussion between her and Nettlekiss quickly grew until both ponies were all but screaming to be heard over the other. Rarity turned to Scootaloo. 'Is she safe?'

Scootaloo nodded, seemingly in awe. 'Oh, yeah. She said she knew someplace in the mountains she could hunker down for a while. You should have seen her emergency bag, it had wigs, colour contacts, everything. I don't know where she's going after that.'

Rarity breathed a sigh of relief. 'Thank you, Scootaloo. Just... thank you. So much.'

Scootaloo eyed her wearily. 'Are you... are you going to be all right, Rarity? This must be... hard.'

Rarity smiled, and ruffled Scootaloo's mane. 'Oh, I'll be fine. In fact, I'm feeling better than I've felt in a long, long time.'






One Week Later


Nettlekiss hadn't been underselling the dinners clientele. Senators, Chancellors, and even Celestia herself was in presence. She flipped through the new speech she had prepared. It was a little rough around the edges, but it came from the heart. That was enough.

Of course, Nettlekiss had fought hard to have her disinvited, but this was Celestia's party, not hers. Although after tonight, she doubted she'd be attending any more of Celestia's parties. From across the room, he could do little but glower at her. Rarity had returned his murderous stares with a elegant smile. 

She had had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach the whole night. At first, she'd been unable to place it, but then she realized it was fear. For years, she had lived a comfortable, predictable life. She knew how each day would start and end. That was, after all, how you sold well. By being predictable. Stockholders liked predictable, marketers liked predictable, and the public liked predictable. The only ponies who liked spontaneity were artists, and Rarity wasn't an artist. She was an institution.

Tomorrow, she might wake up to find all her friends had abandoned her. She might lose everything she owned, wake up homeless, despised and ruined. She might even wake up in a prison cell. One thing was certain - life would never be the same again.

From her seat, she silently listened to an wealthy aging stallion ramble on about Nettlekiss. She had been offered a seat next to the princess, but she had politely declined. Instead, that seat was now occupied by the ambassador to the Griffon Empire.

As the speaker drew to a close, Rarity shuffled her speech one final time. She was up. An attendant took to the stage to announce the fact.

'Mares and Gentlecolts, we hope you're having a pleasant night. We will now hear a few words from Rarity, one of Equestria's most prominent fashion designers.'

Rarity was greeted with a smattering of applause as she took to the podium. A hundred or so weary faces greeted her. They'd not be bored of her for long. 

'Good evening, mares and gentlecolts.' Her voice was perfectly pleasant, yet not without a slight edge to it. 'It's so good to have the opportunity to speak tonight, especially in front of so many prominent individuals. I have a lot on my mind, so I do hope you'll excuse me if my speech takes a little longer than I originally intended.'

No response. The ponies in front of her looked bored. Even Celestia's eyelids drooped imperceptibly. Rarity pressed on, regardless.

'Today, I want to speak about something close to me. That is... the matter of my dear sister, Sweetie Belle.'

The effect was instantaneous. a murmur rippled across the crowd, who now seemed to hang onto her every word. Rarity hadn't mentioned Sweetie Belle since her disappearance. Even Celestia blinked, as if she didn't quite believe what she'd heard. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nettlekiss's jaw drop.

'The past twelve years have been the hardest of my life. I have suffered socially, artistically, and most of all, emotionally. Not just because I lost a sister. Because I lost a part of myself.'

Silence. The crowd looked sympathetic, but Rarity knew that sympathy was for her. They couldn't care less about Sweetie Belle.

'Sweetie Belle, however, was not the victim of circumstance, or accident. She was not lost to natural causes, nor taken in any criminal act. She was taken from me by a nation which has, for millennia, systematically deprived it's citizens of their inalienable right to express their love for members of the same sex through laws targeted to persecute and intimidate these individuals into silence, and, failing that, to incarcerate and torture them into non-existence. Laws which I stand here today calling to be repealed.'

For a few, sweet, precious seconds, a shocked silence hung over the crowd. Then, there was uproar.

Several diners simply rose and left. Others - Nettlekiss amongst them - rose to shout abuse at the stage. A few said nothing, simply shook their heads in disbelief. Celestia simply stared dispassionately at her, as if daring her to continue.

She was less than a twentieth of the way through her speech, but Rarity knew there was no way she could shout over the baying crowd, which had begun to advance upon the stage. Several burly Royal Guards stepped forwards to surround her, though Rarity noticed a few held back, contempt in their eyes. The barrage continued.

'Fillyfooler!'

'Pervert!'

'Degenerate!'

'You see!' There was no mistaking the booming voice of Nettlekiss. 'We forgive her for the crimes of her sister, and what do we get? A deviant who seeks to subvert our values, to corrupt our youth, to change our nation!'

A cheer rose across the room. Rarity locked eyes with Celestia, the only pony in the room who had yet to voice her opinion. In response, the princess rose to her hooves.

Celestia's voice cut across the room like a hot knife through butter. Instantly, all competing voices were silenced. 'Peace. This display demeans you all.'

The ponies in front of Rarity immediately sunk into a deep bow at their leader's words. Rarity, meanwhile, remained standing.

Celestia ignored them, instead fixing her attention on Rarity. 'I do not appreciate my good will being hijacked to pull some form of political stunt. Please leave, or I will have you escorted out by the Guard.'

At her word, two Royal Guardsmen appeared by her side. Rarity glared at them. 'I'd like to finish my speech.'

'That will not be possible.'

Anger bubbled up inside Rarity. Before anypony could stop her, she hurled the speech at Celestia, who was knocked off-balance slightly by the stack of paper, falling to one knee. 'It's worth a read.'

The flustered princess blushed red with anger. 'Take her away!'

Rarity was seized by the Guards, and roughly dragged away. The last thing she saw before the princess disappeared from sight was a triumphant Nettlekiss helping her to her hooves, a barely disguised grin on his face.





The guards gave her a few kicks when they'd dragged her onto to street, but overall, she could have had it worse. She was barely limping at all by the time she arrived at the Carousel Boutique.

The next week passed like a blur. Twilight was the first to visit.

She hadn't come in, even when invited. Instead, she had simply hovered in the doorway, before asking her question. 'Is it true?'

Rarity nodded. 'Yes.'

Twilight shook her head pensively. 'I didn't want to believe it.'

And with that, she had simply turned and left.

Fluttershy was next. She, too, didn't believe the stories she'd heard, but had reacted far more sympathetically. Still, she had declined to join Rarity on her crusade - which Rarity could hardly fault her for. 

As for Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Applejack, Rarity simply never saw any of them again.

Of course, there was the mail. So much of it, the post office had to assign Rarity her own mailmare. Most were variations of the same, outraged mares and stallions denouncing her and declaring they'd never buy another one of her dresses again. It was to be expected. Rarity's name had slipped from billboards. Every one of her orders had been cancelled. But she wouldn't have been able to honour her obligations anyway.

Rarity spent almost every waking hour making phone calls, scheduling interviews, responding to inquiries. At first, the only papers willing to print her were tabloids, gutter press who'd like nothing better than to squeeze a few bits out of a shamed fashionista's dying career. Rarity didn't care - as long as her voice was out there, it didn't matter.

Then came the offers to appear on radio shows. Her voice had become too big to ignore, and now plenty of ponies was looking to knock her down a few pegs, mostly obscure conservative commentators, real red-blooded stallions who could shout as long and as loud as she could. With each segment, her fame grew, multiplied and spread.

Her major epiphany had come when she was discussing the legal minutiae of a lawsuit from one of the many groups claiming to represent Equestrian morality with River Lane. The media, she reasoned, was invested in the status quo. To combat this, she had to create an alternative, something that would not only sell, but send a message.

The first print of Shine magazine was seized by the courts under obscenity laws. To her everlasting credit, River Lane had not won the series of prolonged legal battles that followed, she had done so with a poise and grace that was utterly absent in the prosecution. The first print had sold out in hours. The second print sold within a similar timeframe, even though it had printed ten times as many copies.

Now, it seemed for every letter she received denouncing her, she received one supporting her. Ponies would spit at her in the street, yet others would greet her warmly, shake her hoof, thank her for her work.

Rarity was never at rest. There was always an interview to take, a speech to give, a protest to march at. Years passed, yet every day she seemed younger. As cliché as it was, she knew she had found the calling in life. It was to help society's unfortunate. To be generous.

And after a life of catering to the whims of the spoilt, pampered elite of Canterlot society, she was thankful for every day she spent doing it.