Twilight groaned, rubbing her horn after spending most of the day helping reverse the effects of a certain cursed tome her assistant had freed from the Castle of the Two Sisters. She'd been relieved to find out it'd been destroyed, as had Celestia and Luna. Understandable, given they'd sealed it away in their castle due to the difficulty doing so. They'd never considered the idea of just feeding it to a dragon.
The Princess of Friendship gave a blink, noticing a cup of tea being pushed up next to her. She turned to see Spike standing next to her, looking down at his feet. “Spike?”
“Just wanted to say I was sorry, I shouldn't have been so snarky earlier...I really didn't know what that thing was...I just wanted to help Rarity after seeing her so sad about her contribution to the festival falling flat. It got out of claw really fast and I should have just told her the truth from the beginning. I didn't mean to make you and the Princesses have to spend the entire day fixing it...” the baby dragon muttered, the full weight of everything having had time to sink in.
Twilight stared for a moment...then smiled and hugged him. “I forgive you...I mean it's not like I haven't created a gigantic mess that nearly destroyed the town out of good intentions before...multiple times...” she said with a blush. “I was just in a bad mood...”
“I don't blame ya...” Spike replied, giving a small smile. “I'm just glad I saved Rarity from it.”
“You and me both,” the Princess replied, giving a shudder at the idea of having to stop Rarity with that tome's power by force. Granted, they had a 'reformed' Discord who could probably have handled it...but this was Discord. Unless Fluttershy guilt-tripped him into it, he would probably be watching with a bowl of popcorn. Twilight was 90% sure that's what he'd been doing anyway. “I'm proud of you for telling the truth.”
“Thanks...”
“Just next time you want a spell book to help somepony, just ask, I always have at least five on hoof...” The Princess replied with a smile.
The two hugged and just relaxed after that stressful mess and be glad it was over.
Later that night on the outskirts of Ponyville, a bush pulsed with an glowing green, eerie light.
Across town, Rarity laid in bed, tossing and turning in bed. Imagines running through her head that she wasn't supposed to remember. Her horn sparked with the same green magic, first randomly...then slowly matching the same pattern and speed as the light across town.
Twilight laid in her bed the next morning, deep in a well-deserved and much-needed slumber. Spike curled up in his bed nearby. Everything calm and peaceful...until somepony knocked extremely loudly and repeatedly on the front door of the library. The Princess gave an irritated groan.
“I'll get it...” said Spike with a yawn, getting up and heading off.
“Thanks Spike...” the groggy Princess replied, trying to get back to sleep. And she did...
“TWILIGHT!”
Just in time for Spike to yell at the top of his lungs.
Twilight gave a frustrated growl, throwing her pillow aside and flying down from her loft bed. “What is it?” she asked, trying not to sound too grumpy despite her lack of rest. She landed at the door next to her assistant, looking out to see Mayor Mare...and the main street made of gold behind her, several buildings made of crystals, and lots of panicking ponies running around, some into objects due to being blinded by the highly reflective street.
“Princess, it's happening again!” the distressed politician replied, looking every bit as frazzled as Twilight.
“...We have to find Rarity,” Twilight muttered, staring with her eyes wide, Spike hyperventilating beside her. “Now!”
“I don't understand! I destroyed the Inspiration Manifestation and broke the spell! Why would Rarity suddenly start doing this again?!” Spike asked in a panic on Twilight's back as she flew as fast as her wings could carry her, Ponyville more or less exactly the same way it had been yesterday: thoroughly 'fashionable' in the eyes of the corrupted Rarity. Though close examination showed that the designs were quite different, as if freshly imagined rather than recreated. Twilight's horn hurt just looking at it and contemplating how she'd fix it this time.
“I don't know, the Princesses said last time somepony had used it and the spell was broken they were free and didn't relapse,” Twilight replied, trying to think of what might have gone wrong. “I even x-ray spelled your stomach to make sure...and also saw somedragon snuck some midnight treats, but that's not important right now.”
The duo finally landed at Carousel Boutique, Twilight hammering away at the door the moment they arrived.
“One minute!” called Rarity's typical melodic voice.
“She doesn't sound like she's all corrupted again...” Spike replied, blinking in confusion.
“Rarity! It's an emergency! It can't wait!” Twilight yelled with as much urgency as she could manage.
“Oh alright, but be warned, I haven't finished making myself beautiful yet...”
The door opened and Spiked screamed at what answered the door, hiding behind Twilight's head.
The mare in a exfoliating mask gave a flat look in return. “See, I told you! Now whatever is a matter?” she asked...then her eyes widened in horror as she saw the state of the town. “...Oh dear...”
“How could I be doing this, darling?” Rarity asked, in Twilight's science basement hooked up to the same machines Pinkie had been previously while trying to figure out her Pinkie Sense. “I'm obviously not going insane and turning this entire room into beautiful jewels and gold!...It could seriously use some redecorating...”
“That's why I'm running tests,” Twilight replied, examining the paper being printed out by the scientific machinery closely and analytically. “There's a bit of residual magic, but not nearly enough for you to have done all of that or that'd normally worry me...”
“Then can you get this thing off my head before it messes up my mane?!”
Spike was pacing back and forth nearby. “Maybe she sleep walked and that's when it happened?”
“I do not sleep walk!” Rarity exclaimed, turning her nose up insulted.
“Normally not, but you're normally not influenced by an evil magical artifact,” the local Alicorn replied, rubbing her head. “It's definitely a possibility...Are you sure you don't remember anything while you were under its influence?”
Rarity's eyes darted back and forth for a moment, eyes falling on Spike for a moment. “Of course not, darling...”
Suddenly, the door flew open as Rainbow Dash burst in in a panic...in a fluffy, pretty, red dress. If nothing else it was a different design than yesterday. “Twilight! Rarity's gone crazy and put me in a dress again!” she exclaimed, then blinked, in confusion looking at Rarity. “Uh...wait, how'd she get here so fast?”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Wait, what do you mean so fast?”
“Yeah, she did it like 10 seconds ago,” the cyan pegasus replied, before she noticed everycreature in the room looking completely panicked. “Am I missing something?”
“Okay, so if Rarity was in your basement the entire time, who did this?!” Rainbow Dash asked, trying to get the dress off as the group headed towards where she'd seen Rarity last.
“...You actually do look good in a dress, darling,” Rarity sheepishly admitted, running along next to Twilight. “I was thinking of making you a new dress more your style...”
“Maybe Discord's doing this just to be funny?” Spike asked, riding on Twilight's back. “Or Chrysalis?”
“No, unless Discord took the time to perfectly match his magic to the Inspiration Manifestation's magic signature,” Twilight replied, trying to process the situation. “Which doesn't sound like Discord and Chrysalis isn't this powerful! This is the same magic Rarity was using!”
The group slid to a stop underneath a cloud with a Rainbow Dash shaped nap imprint in it.
“I was taking a nap right here on this cloud, then boom! I'm in a dress,” the cyan pegasus explained, flapping up next to the cloud.
“Did you see Rarity?” Twilight asked, carefully scanning the surrounding area but seeing nothing...well, except for things transmuted into gold, jewels, and other 'fashionable' objects.
“Yeah! She was right over here!” Rainbow called, dashing over and pointing to an ally way.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
“That sounded like Roseluck and her friends!” Rarity exclaimed.
The trio ran down the ally, coming out to find all the 'Flower Trio's' flowers turned into gold and jewels.
Twilight used her wings to hide Rarity behind her to avoid the easily panicked mares...well, panicking more than they already were. “Let me guess, Rarity?”
“Yes! She came and turned all our flowers into this!” Roseluck exclaimed, the red maned pony and her friends mock fainting.
“...Why exactly is that horrifying?” Spike asked flatly.
The trio raised their heads and blinked.
“Where did she go?!” Twilight interrupted before they could answer.
“That way!” Daisy screamed, pointing down an ally where a shadowy figure watched with glowing green eyes before turning and running.
“Get her!” Rainbow Dash yelled, the group dashing after the figure. As they entered the ally, the figure managed to stay ahead of them.
“Rainbow! Flank her from the left!” Twilight whispered. The pegasus nodded, flying off and circling around from that direction. Rainbow dove at the figure the moment they came out of the ally...but the figure jumped right as Rainbow did, landing on the mare's back and jumping off as the others tried not to trip over the downed pegasus.
“Ugh, how'd she do that? It's like she knew what I was going to do,” Rainbow Dash muttered, rubbing her head as she got back to her hooves.
Twilight flew up and took aim with her horn while Rarity noticed and controlled a few pieces of fabric to entangle the figure. A beam fired and fabric surged forwards...but the figure nimbly dodged both and fired a green magical beam into the road in front of them, blinding them as it turned into radiant gold. When they were finally able to see, the figure was already running.
The group continued chasing, coming to a three-way path made by three buildings side by side with alleys between them. “Spike! You and Rarity go that way!” Twilight ordered. “...Sorry, Rarity, until we figure this out I can't leave you alone.”
“I'm with you on that one, darling,” said Rarity, understandably distressed as Spike jumped on her back. “Spike, if I turn out to be evil or possessed...do what you have to to get back to Twilight...even if it messes my mane...”
The little drake's eyes widened as Rarity took off. “Wow...this is serious...”
“Rainbow! You go left, I'll go center!” Twilight ordered, the cyan pegasus nodding before they both took off in their respective directions.
Twilight continued pursuing the ally way, but found nothing on the other side but a normal street...until she saw a flash coming from nearby and teleported. Appearing above, she saw the figure transforming a building into purple crystal. She let gravity take its course and dove, expecting the figure to try and evade and be ready...but they didn't, and instead was blindsided, allowing her to flying tackle them to the ground.
“Alright, who are you?!” asked Twilight, pointing her horn down before even getting a close look at her target...then gasping when she actually did.
Looking back at her was indeed Rarity's face, down to the exact detail with the one exception of the glowing green eyes of the Inspiration Manifestation.
“Rarity?”
“That's right, darling! And I'm not going to let you or anypony else stop me from making this town as pretty and fashionable as it can be!” the green-eyed Rarity said, as maniac as she was the previous day. Twilight quickly had to move her head several times to dodge point blank magical beams that turned several birds into gold statues. She jumped back and launched several stun spells at her attacker. The fashionista merely fired back, her spell bolts actually tearing through the Princess's and forcing her to dodge.
The two finally got into a beam struggle, which to Twilight's shock she began to lose. “Either yesterday look more out of me than I thought...or that tome is far more powerful than I thought...” she muttered, straining...
Until a rainbow blur slammed into Rarity and flew her into a wall, pinning her to it.
“Rarity! That's enough!” Rainbow Dash yelled.
“Enough of what?”
“Huh?” the cyan pegasus turned to see Rarity galloping up with Spike and skidding to a stop with wide eyes.
“There's two Rarities?!” asked Spike in disbelief, looking between them. “It's like a good dream gone bad!”
Rainbow pulled a hoof back and glared at the green-eyed Rarity. “Alright, who are you?! Chrysalis? Discord?! Some new bad guy?!”
“Darling, I already told you,” the impostor said, suddenly turning into pure green magic and surging around as Rainbow punched only to hit the wall where her head had previously been. The magic reformed into Rarity's form and blasted the building, turning it into solid gold. It was intangible just long enough for Rainbow's hoof to phase into it and get stuck. “I'm Rarity!”
Twilight rained energy beams down on the second Rarity, only for her to turn into green energy and evade without looking back before flying off deeper into Ponyville.
“What just happened?!” Rainbow Dash asked, struggling to pull her hoof free from its trap.
“And why are there two of me?!” Rarity asked, reasonably panicked.
The lavender Alicorn flew down, putting her magic into reversing the spell and free her friend. “...Spike, when Rarity was freed, you said that the magic flew off her, right?”
Spike gave a start. “Yeah, why?”
“...The magic would normally return to the book when the spell was broken before, but without a vessel, it must have had nowhere to return to...”
“So what? That thing's some kind of monster that was sealed in the book?” Rainbow Dash asked, rubbing her hoof.
“I don't think so...The Inspiration Manifestation isn't the book, it's the magic inside it you invoke when using it. And like any spell it can only do what it's ordered to do, even if it did have some rudimentary will of its own. It's like the Alicorn Amulet: a corrupting artifact that takes an aspect of its user and makes it all consuming,” Twilight replied, tapping her chin, then looking into town worriedly. “It's supposed to return to the book when the spell is broken to finish its function. Without a place to return to, the spell must be going haywire. So it's just continuing the last thing it was ordered to do.”
“Which is to beautify the town,” Rarity admitted, looking guilty...perhaps a little more so than Spike expected.
“So it assumed your form to continue...The fact it's doing what you wanted proves it doesn't have an actual goal or motive of its own, but it may have enough intelligence to act on its own to prevent us from stopping it...”
“This is all my fault!” Spike shouted, looking like he was on the verge of hyperventilating. “If I'd just told Rarity what I thought, this wouldn't have ever happened!”
“Spike, you couldn't have known destroying the book would do this,” Twilight replied reassuringly, but couldn't help looking back to the town worriedly as she heard more ponies screaming about whatever change the doppelganger was doing. “But the tome is too powerful to stop with brute force...”
“So maybe get another book and trick it into going inside?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“...That just might work...”
“But how do we trick an evil Rarity clone into going into a book?” Spike asked.
Rarity tapped her chin. “I may have an idea, darlings...But I do believe Twilight won't like it.”
“So, are we sure this is going to work?” asked Rainbow Dash, the group hiding in a bush as they looked out at the bait. In the middle of the road was the most hideous looking book any of them had ever seen, with garish clashing colors, a ripped, torn cover, and pages haphazardly and barely stuffed inside.
“If that entity is beautifying anything I see in need of it, there's no way it can resist it,” Rarity said confidently. “That book is now the most hideous thing in a five-mile radius...I can hardly resist trying to fix it just looking at it.”
“That poor, poor book...” Twilight muttered in horror.
Spike merely gingerly patted his guardian on the shoulder. “It's for the greater good.”
The Princess sighed. “I know...there's a spell on it, once she uses her magic on it, it will suck her into it. It's a spell used to make magic tomes to begin with and should work perfectly. The spell has a range of 100 feet, but that shouldn't be an issue unless she somehow can see it clearly from a mile away...”
“So all we have to do now is wait,” Rarity said with a smirk.
The group sat in the bush, watching carefully for a few moments for any sign of the doppelganger. And watched. And watched.
“...Maybe she's on the other side of town or something?” Rainbow Dash asked, quickly growing bored.
Before a beam of green magic suddenly came out of nowhere and turned the book into a beautiful, gold encrusted one.
“What?!” Twilight asked, looking down a nearby ally where the false Rarity stood, 101 feet away.
“You can thank me later, darlings!” called the impostor before running off.
“My wonderful plan failed!” Rarity lamented. “...Though the book does look good.”
“So maybe we can just throw it at her when she's about to fire?” Rainbow Dash suggested, still hoping for a way to end this quick.
Twilight went over and examined it. “She disabled the spell...it's almost like she knew what would happen...”
Rarity looked uncomfortable as a thought entered her head. She shook it to get it out.
“Maybe call the Princesses?” Spike suggested, noting this was beginning to get very out of hoof.
Twilight shook her head. “They're on a diplomatic meeting they had to reschedule yesterday to fix this last time!”
“Okay, new plan, let's just go grab the Elements and blast her!” Rainbow Dash said with a growl as she punched her hooves together. “Even if she sees that coming, good luck protecting herself from that!”
“Rarity did say she wanted to 'beautify' Equestria at the end, so this does kinda qualify as a 'threat to all of Equestria'...” Spike pointed out thoughtfully.
The Princess of Friendship gave a sigh. “I don't like using the Elements if we don't have to, but this does seem like a situation where it's the best option. Rainbow, get Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, I'll go get the elements and meet you in the town square!”
“So the Rarity who was turning Ponyville all fashiony yesterday was Rarity but the Rarity who's doing it today isn't Rarity, but the evil spell Rarity used pretending to be Rarity?” asked Pinkie Pie as the group met up in the beautified town square.
“...Yes...” Rainbow Dash asked, trying to wrap her head around what was just said.
“So is this Rarity our Rarity or the Rarity that looks like Rarity but isn't Rarity?” asked the pink mare pointing to Rarity.
“...Really?” asked the fashionista flatly.
“You never know...unless we dye your fur pink, make your hair rainbow colored, and your Cutie Mark a heart with a rainbow to tell you apart.”
“...That's oddly specific and feels strangely familiar...though I would look pretty.”
“Good, that means it really is you!”
“...Am I the only one who's confused?” asked Fluttershy in her normal shy tone as Rainbow Dash held her head like she was getting a headache.
“..Can we please move on before mah head explodes?” asked Applejack, rubbing hers.
“Alright, I've got the Elements!” Twilight called as she teleported in, floating the magical objects to her friends. “Let's find this thing and let it have it!”
The group jumped hearing a scream, prompting Twilight to quickly teleport them. Appearing out of the magic flash, they manifested at the edge of town as the entity turned another building, one of the last unchanged ones, to fancy crystal, gold, and jewels.
“Alright, let's show her what friendship can do!” Twilight ordered, the group charging up the elements, floating into the sky in a bright light. Opening their eyes as they glowed white, they let loose the powerful beam of rainbow magic into the sky before it came crashing down on the entity...who didn't seem to pay much attention to the incoming beam.
The wave of energy spread out over everything, reverting the entire dark magic altered town back to its normal, simple self before fading to white.
The group floated back down, smiles all around as the energy faded. “See? All it took was a friendship powered rainbow and everything's back to normal,” Rainbow Dash said confidently as she opened her eyes...and her jaw dropped. “W-What?!”
The impostor stamped her hoof in annoyance, unharmed. “Well, darlings, you've undone all my hard work! Now I'm going to have to fix it all over again!” the unhinged clone replied. Then gave a mad chuckle. “Which means I get a new canvas for my creativity!”
“But...but...but...HOW?! The Elements can beat Discord, why didn't they work?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in disbelief.
“Yeah! The 'Elements don't work' is an overdone cliché!” Pinkie Pie called angrily.
“...It's Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie...” muttered the cyan pegasus.
“This doesn't make any sense,” Twilight muttered, then gave a yell as the impostor began to fire beams wildly, turning everything in sight to 'pretty' things. Rarity screamed as a beam hit her...and made her look exactly as Pinkie Pie had described.
“Hmm...this isn't a bad look for me...” Rarity admitted, the look seeming somewhat nostalgic. That is before she had to scream and duck under another stray beam, this one having been aimed at complete random...which sent Twilight crashing to the ground when a stray shot hit her wing and turned it to gold.
“Twilight!” everyone screamed, rushing to her.
“I'm okay...But why didn't the Elements work?” the Princess muttered.
“Maybe because she looks like Rarity?” Fluttershy suggested, trying to support Twilight's now much heavier wing.
“That wouldn't make sense unless somehow it made the Elements think Rarity was using the Elements on...” Twilight replied...then noticed for a moment the entity seemed to ripple and destabilize, it's shadow seeming to stretch out from it. Looking back at their Rarity and that Rarity, for a moment their expressions were identical...but perhaps the impostor a bit more guilty. Before it snapped back and continued its berserk rampage, turning more and more of the city, even ponies, into crystal, glass, and gold. “...herself...”
The Princess shielded her friends from more berserk beams, shield cracking. “Spike, what was the incantation of the spell? The exact incantation!”
“Oh! It was 'from in the head to out in the world, every thought to action. Hold close this book and through its spell, you'll start a chain reaction, projecting forth whatever beauty you see. Only when true words are spoken will you finally be set free,'" Spike recited, hiding under Twilight's wing as more beams continued to fire. “When I told the truth, Rarity set free!”
“But that's just it: you didn't cast the spell!” the Princess replied, looking to Rarity. “Rarity, Spike told the truth, but you cast the spell. It might have separated the spell from you, but maybe you have to tell the truth to be freed!”
Rarity gasped, eyes darting back and forth. “Me? Darling, whatever gave you that idea? Why would I be lying?”
Twilight cringed as another beam slammed into her shield and further cracked it. “Think about it! It knew everything we were going to do before we did it...except when I attacked it alone in that alley! The Elements didn't work on it even though they work on Discord! And just now its expression was exactly like yours! It even made you like exactly as Pinkie Pie suggested we do! It's still connected to you somehow!”
The fashionista shot a stunned glance at her friends, then to Spike...then screamed as the shield broke and the next blast was aimed right at them. She cringed and finally forced words to come out. “Alright! I admit it! I remember everything I did while I was using that horrid thing!...I just...I just pretended not to! There! I admit it!”
The entity seemed to freeze in place, rapidly glitching out.
“But why would ya do that?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Because...I was afraid of what everypony would think of me...what Spike would think of me...the idea I could be so easily controlled by temptation...Everything I did while using it was something from my imagination,” Rarity replied, looking around them at the transformed buildings...and ponies. “...But there are things that are wonderful in your head that should never exist...all that spell did was let all of mine out and silence the part that should know better...I'm sorry but...my image sometimes means too much to me...I'm so sorry darlings.”
“...I kinda already knew you always wanted me in a dress,” Rainbow Dash admitted. “But we understand this kinda thing, Rarity. You didn't have to lie.”
“We all make mistakes...and we forgave Trixie for the Alicorn Amulet, so of course we'd forgive you,” Twilight replied, smiling to her friend as Rarity teared up.
“And like anything could make me hate you, Rarity,” Spike continued with a blush, causing Rarity to give him a nuzzle.
Suddenly, the image of Rarity...smiled, seeming at peace before it became a shadowy figure and slid down to the ground, moving across it and connecting to Rarity's. The image of Rarity collapsed down fully and merged with her shadow until nothing was left but a writhing mass of green magic.
The mass seemed to contort and grow, firing random beams and transforming the ground under it into random imaginings, going completely berserk without any controlling consciousness behind it anymore...
“Oh no you don't!” Twilight ordered, the group once more powering up the Elements and letting them loose.
The rainbow washed over the berserk dark magic and slowly but surely burned it away to nothing like a shadow vanishing in the light before once more cleansing its spells from Ponyville.
The group slowly floated down...before everyone hug tackled Rarity.
“And this is why Ah say honesty is the best policy,” Applejack said, but gave Rarity a reassuring smile.
“And while I don't always agree, darling, when it comes to our friends, we really should...” Rarity replied with a small smile as she pulled Spike close. “Though this did give me some inspiration for some new designs, want to help me make them the old-fashioned way?”
“You know it!” Spike replied.
'Today I learned that even when we make mistakes, even when our darker sides come to the surface and hurt those we care about, it's important to be honest...if you're true friends they won't think any worse of you,' Rarity wrote in the journal before closing it and turning to find Spike bring in another haul of Gems for her outfit. “Alright, darling! Let's get started!”
The End.