A New Harmony

by The-rogue-shadow


Chapter 10

Rarity poked her head outside, the warm sun felt good on her face. She took a deep breath; the fresh air filled her lungs. She slowly began to put her hoof closer to the boundary between the tent that had become her sanctuary and the outside world. As it got closer, her heart started to race and her breathing became more rapid. She quickly pulled the hoof back; as though she was scared that something would be attack it. Rarity walked back to her workstation, deciding to bury herself in her work instead. The sounds of laughter and battle mixed together outside were to Rarity muffled, almost as if she was hearing them from underwater. She looked around at the others in the new research tent. They were all mares, Rarity having dismissed all of the Stallions on her team, which had the unfortunate side effect of diminishing the research team from fifty strong to only fifteen, including herself. One of the unicorns came up to her, holding out a piece of paper. Rarity shivered as her sense of déjà vu made her think of Tinker again. Princess Celestia had assured her that he was being severely punished, but she felt no comfort in that. Even after six months, Rarity couldn't help but feel… dirty. Her mane had become dishevelled, as had her tail. She had suddenly realised that grooming was unnecessary, and it attracted attention that she did not want. Rarity looked at the piece of paper, a simple design to improve the insulation of Pegasus armour. Since it was the beginning of winter, Rarity approved the design immediately.
"Thank you." She said very quietly, smiling a short smile at the unicorn. "You did a great job." Rarity had begun to praise her team more and value them for their work. She did so because she was afraid of angering them to a point where they might hurt her. Rarity turned back to her work; a new set of arrows that resisted wind, allowing for archers to still be just as effective in the high winds brought about by winter. She coated them in a special compound she had created; it reduced friction, thereby reducing drag on the arrows. Rarity felt a hoof on her shoulder and screamed. The other pony screamed as well, causing the rest of Rarity's team to come running, worried about their leader and friend.

"Pinkie! I thought I told you not to sneak up on me!" Rarity said breathlessly, upon realising the owner of the hoof. Pinkie Pie, recently woken from her telepathy induced reprogram and slumber, just smiled.
"Oh I'm sorry Rarity, I forgot. Everything's changed so much since I've been gone. I mean, just look at Twilight's eye. Creepy." Pinkie Pie said, bouncing around Rarity. Pinkie seemed back to her normal self, but Rarity still had her suspicions. The image of Pinkamina was still fresh in her mind, and it scared her.
"Yes, well… That's what happens in a war. There are casualties, some large, some small and some… that ponies don't want to talk about." Rarity told her, making Pinkie stop. Pinkie hugged Rarity.
"I'm super happy to be back to normal so I can help my friends." She said. Rarity smiled, glad to have her friend as well.
"Pinkie, I've been meaning to ask but… Do you remember anything from when you were… you know?" Pinkie's ears lowered down to her head and she suddenly became very serious.
"Rarity, I have a perfect memory. One hundred per cent recall. I have actually been studied by pony psychologists because of it. It helped my family get through one particularly bad winter when we couldn't harvest our rocks. They paid my father to allow them to study my memory systems. It was fun. But it's also a curse. Yes I remember when I was Pinkamina. I remember everything. But to be honest, the one image that stands out in my mind is Rosethorn." Pinkie explained. Rarity felt sudden concern for the party pony. A concern that made her forget her own troubles for the moment. She listened intently as Pinkie described Rosethorn. Every detail brought to life by Pinkie's natural ability to speak. Rarity saw Pinkie's eyes well up, and then remembered what the doctor had said.
"You have to limit her exposure to strong emotions. Otherwise it may cause her to regress back to Pinkamina." Rarity quickly changed the subject.
"Isn't Derpy getting big?" she asked, causing Pinkie to stop crying. She looked at Rarity in confusion. Then smiled, oblivious.
"Oh I know. That was the best news ever when I woke up; I was all like WOOOOO HOOOOO! And hugged her and then hugged the Doctor, not just because of the big news but also because he saved me and now I'm so so happy." Pinkie said all in one breath. Rarity smiled awkwardly, glad that the crisis was averted. They talked for a while longer. Rarity just glad to have a friendly face around, it put her at ease, and the fact that it was Pinkie made it all the better. After an hour or two, Pinkie finally left, and Rarity continued with her work.

Rarity went to bed that night next to her workstation, as was her custom nowadays. A small dagger nestled under her pillow, ready to be used at a moment's notice. Her dreams as always began the same; she is in her boutique. The feeling of soft, flowing fabric of a dress under her hooves, as she sews up the final touches. Sweetie Bell comes galloping over, smiling a big smile. Her cutie mark shines on her flank.
"Rarity there's somepony at the door looking for you."
"Is it a client?" she asks. Sweetie Bell shrugs. Rarity walks down the corridor, which seems to get longer and longer. She eventually reaches the end, a silhouette greets her.
"Hello and welcome to Rarity's" she says pleasantly. The stranger steps into the light.
"Hello, Celestia's pet." Says Tinker. Rarity runs the other way, fearful, just wanting to get away. She bursts through an open door. Inside the room are a bunch of ponies and griffins, all pointing at her.
"You killed us Rarity." They all say as one. Rarity shakes her head.
"No…No. I didn't kill anypony. I was stuck in the lab with nerd ponies." She pleads to the group for forgiveness. The groups just points at her, chanting 'Murderer, Murderer.' Rarity curls up on the ground, shaking her head. They group closes in on her. Then the crowd opens up, and Sweetie Bell walks toward her, her face hidden in shadow. Rarity reaches out to her sister.
"Murderer." Says Sweetie Bell, a light fits her face, and only a skull greets Rarity, who screams.

Rarity woke up screaming, her sheets were drenched with sweat and her face was wet with tears. She looked out the window at Princess Celestia, who was only beginning to raise the sun. Rarity got out of bed, slowly, still exhausted. She rubbed her eyes, clearing away the tiredness and the memories that had arisen to the surface. She got back to work as soon as she could, purely for the sake of a distraction. Another hour passed before the other members of her team arrived. Rarity paid no attention to them, feeling once again that she was listening to the world from under the water. She sat quietly during the day, slowly coating arrows with her special compound. A few designs were signed off on, and the day proceeded like any other. But Rarity still couldn't escape the dreams. Another night passed, more sweat, more tears. Rarity awoke the next morning, looking out the window at Celestia.

'Whatever it takes, I'm going to get past this.' She vowed to herself. Later that day, she had finally finished the stockpile of 'Winter arrows' and sat back, feeling a sense of accomplishment. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Black Diamond walking past. Rarity jumped up, galloping over to the door but couldn't bring herself to go through it. Instead, she just called out his name. Black Diamond walked over, his face was a mixture of surprise, concern and happiness.
"Hello Rarity." He said quietly, afraid of scaring her. Rarity smiled, and invited him in. They sat down, Rarity sat a bit further away than she used to. But reminded herself that before today, she wouldn't have sat next to him at all, let alone invite him into the tent. Sheepishly they talked. Black Diamond obviously not wanting to upset her, which Rarity appreciated. Black Diamond left smiling, and Rarity gave herself a silent cheer, having taken the first step towards getting past her nightmares. The next week saw Rarity meeting black Diamond every day for lunch, and feeling more and more confident when she had done so. But she was still ashamed that she couldn't even take one step outside of her tent. One day after Black Diamond left, Rarity saw the Doctor walking over and an idea formed in her mind.
"Doctor, Doctor." She beckoned from her doorway. The Doctor walked over, smiling.
"Hello Rarity, it's nice to actually see you after such a long time. Oh wait, that sounded really insensitive, I'm sorry I'm just a little stressed with Derpy getting close and still fighting a war…" the Doctor kept talking until Rarity physically stuck her hoof in his mouth.
"Doctor, I need your help, can we talk?" She asked. The Doctor nodded, following Rarity into the tent. She led him in between some shelves, before looking around to make sure no pony was listening.
"Doctor. I understand you have certain abilities. Like with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie." she said. The Doctor nodded.
"Yeah, telepathy. What are you getting at Rarity?" The Doctor asked, his eyes narrowing.
"I… need you to help me… forget… things." She said finally. The Doctor closed his eyes, sighing.
"Rarity, I understand that this has been difficult for you but if I did that, you may lose a big part of yourself. I just don't know if it's the right thing to do." Rarity got angry, poking the doctor in the chest.
"The right thing to do! What part of my life lately says that I care if I lose myself? It's already been taken from me!" Her voice slowed as she pleaded with the Doctor;
"Doctor please. Haven't you ever had a memory you wish somepony would just take away. Please Doctor, help me get past this. Please." Rarity's eyes welled, as the Doctor's head dropped.

"Okay Rarity, but you have to let me in. Any resistance and I may not be able to control what memories are taken." He placed his hooves on either side of her head, as Rarity tried to relax. Rarity could feel him inside her mind, as he started back at the event and worked his way to the present, destroying almost all traces of her fears, her insecurities and her doubts. The doctor finished, removing his hooves.
"Okay Rarity, it's done, you still get the general gist of what happened, but now that your mind has no record of it, it will just seem like you imagined it. You will replace the lost memories with new ones, most likely happier. But be warned, I don't have any idea what this will do to your personality." The Doctor said, as Rarity closed her eyes, dazed and confused. Flashes of new memories forced themselves to the front of her mind, before fitting into place where the others had been destroyed. Rarity smiled, as though nothing bad had ever happened, her confidence returned and she started to run towards the door.
"Thank you Doctor, I have a lot of catching up to do with my friends." Rarity stopped at the door, poking her head out, feeling the cold winter's breeze on her face. She placed one hoof outside, then another, and another. She laughed, before galloping out the door towards the main tent, and her friends. She realised about halfway that she still remembered most of it. But now, she just didn't care. She had moved past it. The Doctor hadn't done a thing.
"Thank you Doctor, you trickster.' She thought.