“Zoooooooony! I… I’ma have another Frostpeak Fizz. With extra fizzzzzzz.” Rarity trailed off dramatically on the ‘z’, arching her arm through the air as she did so. Zuny buried her face in her paw before passing over the drink.
“I wish you could see how you’re acting in the morning.”
“Me too,” Rarity agreed. “I bet it would be hilarious.” She grabbed the drink with her magic, shakily bringing it to her lips and drinking without the use of her hands.
“Damn, I can’t get used to seeing you do that.” Reneris tilted back her mug and took a large swig. “Glowing shit floating around just weirds me out.”
Rarity pointed her hand at Reneris drunkenly. “You’d be really uncomfy if you visited where I’m from, then,” she slurred. “No hands there, just hooves, so unicorns use magic for eeeeverrything. Shit floating around everywhere.” She paused. “Well, not literal shit. That’d be gross.”
“So what was it like where you’re from? Floating shit aside?” Sydreol pressed, leaning back in his seat. He sipped his drink slowly, watching Rarity with amusement.
Rarity drained the rest of her glass in one gulp, setting it down loudly. “Zoooooooony!" she called, unaware that the felyne was standing right next to her, “Howzabout… a glacial vodka?” Zuny gave her a side eye and cautiously handed over the mixed drink, which Rarity picked up with her magic and took a large sip of before turning back to Sydreol.
“Ish quiet an’ colorful. Lotsh of ponies there, earth ponies, they’re the ones that don’t have horns or wingsh…”
“Wings?” Interrupted Cinnamon. “There are ponies with wings?”
“Ahm getting to that!” Rarity poked Cinnamon in the chest with her glass, spilling some of it. “There’sh ush unicornsh, an’ then there’sh the pegashushushesh. They got the wingsh. They do shtuff with weather an’ move cloudsh and shtuff.”
“They… make weather?” Sydreol looked confused, sitting forward in his chair. “How the hell does that work?”
“How the fuck should I know?” Rarity slurred. “I’m not a pegashushush. They just do. Their cutie marksh ushually give ‘em a good idea what they’re besht at.”
Reneris almost snorted her ale, coughing as she set her mug down. “The fuck is a cutie mark?" she demanded. "That sounds like the most pathetic thing I’ve ever heard of!”
“Hey!” Rarity glared at her. “Those are part of our identitiesh! Don’tchu be mockin’ em!”
Reneris scoffed. “What, you’ve got one, too? What are they, anyway? Some happy little trinket you carry with you?”
“Ish not a thing, dumbash.” Rarity stood up, wobbling much more than slightly. “Ish a mark that appears by itshelf when we dishcover what we’re meant to do with our livesh.” She pulled down the side of her pants, exposing the mark on her thigh, and probably a little more than she intended, causing all present to freeze in place. “Shee? Minesh three diamondsh because I can find jewelsh and I’m shuper good at making thingsh with them. It meant my deshtiny wash being a fashion sheziner.”
Cinnamon tilted her head. “So how is it that you’re such a great hunter? Did you change talents when you came here or something?”
Rarity paused.
“Whashu mean?”
“Well, since coming here, you haven’t been doing fashion stuff, you’ve been stomping monsters and learning weapon skills like crazy. Jorahn says he’d swear you’ve been using the switch axe for years with how well you do.”
Sydreol leaned forward. “She’s right. If I had to pin a destiny on you from what I’ve seen, it sure as hell wouldn’t be fashion. Nice ass, by the way.”
Rarity ignored the comment, staring down at her thigh.
“Fuck.” Her eyes teared up. “Did my talent acshly change? Ish not shupposhed to change. My life… my meaning… my calling… ish it different now? What if I go back home? Can I go back home? Will I need to find shtuff to kill? Am I going to have the urge to hunt shtuff forever?" she buried her head in her hands. “Zuny…” she mumbled, “can I get the strongest drink you have? Whatever it is, I don’t care.”
“Are you sure?” Zuny hesitated. “You’ve had a lot already…”
“Right now I don’t care if they carry me out of here unconscious,” she lamented.
“I’m not letting you get that far.” Zuny scolded.
“I’m not that far gone yet, Zuny,” Rarity said. “Keep ‘em comin’.”
Zuny sighed and handed over a tall glass, which Rarity took and greedily gulped, shivering as the alcohol assaulted her senses. “Thanksh. I needed that.”
“So those things just show up on their own, then?” Reneris interjected.
Rarity nodded. “I def… defnit… for sure didn’t put it there.”
“That’s some crazy ass shit.” Reneris waved Zuny over. “Zuny! ‘Nother dragon ale!”
Zuny slid the drink across the bar toward Reneris and Sydreol reached out and grabbed it, quickly guzzling half the mug, then laughing like a madman while Reneris fumed.
“You fucking ass! You can pay for my next drink for that one!”
“Nah,” Rarity waved them off. “Tonight’sh on me, guysh.”
They all stared at her for a moment, then Sydreol spoke up. “Nice of ya, but that’s the booze talking. Not going to let you make decisions like that drunk.”
“Nuh uh. Not making that decision drunk, I planned that earlier. Tell ‘em, Zuny.”
Zuny looked up from washing some glasses. “She’s telling the truth. She told me before you all started that she was paying for everything. Even paid way too much up front and told me to just give her change at the end.” She filled another mug with ale and handed it straight to Reneris this time.
“Well, thanks a lot, then. That’s incredibly generous of you.” Sydreol commented sincerely. He considered Rarity for a moment. “So… you prefer switch axes?”
“I guesso? I mean yeah, I really do likem.” Rarity confirmed. “I’m not sure why, just… you get an axshe, and a shord, and get to asplode shtuff when you dishcharge the shord.”
“Crazy,” he muttered. “I could never get the hang of those things.”
“Wha?” Rarity gaped in puzzlement. “You dunno how?”
“Nope. I usually use heavy bowguns, long swords, great swords, and hammers. For some reason, switch axes always gave me problems. I’m not the only one, Lycadran hates them. She can’t use ‘em for shit.”
Rarity’s face scrunched in distaste. “She’sh a bish.”
Reneris raised her mug. “I’ll drink to that!”
Cinnamon cheered. “To Lycadran being a bitch!”
Sydreol laughed, raising his own stolen mug of ale. “May she have a dung bomb misfire in her pack!”
Rarity’s glass joined theirs, “An she‘sh a shtupid bish, too!" she added, forgetting that’s what they were toasting in the first place.
They returned to their seats, grinning into their drinks, though Sydreol soon adopted a more thoughtful expression. “Rarity.”
She was busy trying to use her magic to drunkenly stack cups on the table with Cinnamon, both of them giggling like children when the cups inevitably fell over.
“Rarity!”
“Hmm?" she looked over slowly, blinking several times in an effort to focus.
“Holy shit, you’re wasted. I’m not sure why I’m bothering to bring this up since you probably won’t remember it, but in case you do, I might as well. About Lycadran.”
“You mean bishface.” Rarity corrected.
“No, I mean Lycadran,” Sydreol said. Rarity pouted and stuck her tongue out at him. “Look, I know you hate her, and she hates you. And yes, she’s a bitch. But she’s also one of our hunters, and she works to keep us all safe, too. And, like it or not, chances are you’ll need to work with her at some point. I guess what I’m saying is that you’re not going to stop her from being a bitch, you’re not even going to necessarily get along, but you are going to have to find a way to at least coexist without ripping each others’ throats out. Keep that in mind.”
Rarity gave Sydreol a dirty look before going cross-eyed after several seconds. She blinked, then turned to Reneris. “Renny! Syd’sh making my boosh tashte bad with hish shitty convershation.”
“Yer glass has been empty for the last five minutes, kid,” Reneris replied in amusement.
“Oh.” Rarity stared into her empty glass for close to a full minute silently. “Zooooony…” she began.
“No.” Zuny said firmly.
“Shit,” Rarity whined. “Celestia dammit, I’m a grown mare, I can handle it.”
“You keep saying ‘Celestia’ all the time,” Cinnamon pointed out. “Is that the name of a god or something?”
“Nah,” Rarity shook her head around floppily, making her mane go askew. “She’sh one of our prinshesheshesh. She movesh the shun. Our other main one movesh the moon.”
There was a poignant silence that followed that statement, then Sydreol put a palm to his face. “I can’t honestly tell if she’s serious or if she’s so drunk that she’s talking out of her ass and making up random shit. I doubt we’re going to learn any new, interesting, reliable information about our new friend here any more tonight, other than her alcohol tolerance, and I think that’s about at its limit.” He stood, wobbling slightly himself, but still well within his senses. “C’mon Rares. Let’s get you home.”
“Hey! Cyr called me the shame thing! That’sh.. that’sh my nickname back home, too. Hehe, ‘sfunny how evrybody callsh me that.” She stood with extreme difficulty, then pitched forward into Sydreol, nearly knocking him over. “‘Mshorry…” she mumbled into his chest, her muzzle pressed completely into him.
“Don’t worry about it.” He helped her up, bending low to try putting her arm over his neck.
“Ok, shit, that ain’t gonna work. You’re way too short for me to do that to ya. Gonna throw out my back walking you home like that.” He looked her over, then sighed. “Alright, just bear with me on this. I’m gonna just have to carry you, I think.”
Rarity looked at him incredulously. “You can’t be sherioush.”
He stared down at her in his arms. “I’m going to let you go. If you can stand by yourself and walk two steps, I’ll say you’re ok to walk next to me. If you can’t even walk two steps, I’m just carrying you and saving myself the trouble.”
Rarity narrowed her eyes. “Fine. I’m not ash think ash you drunk I am. I can walk jusht fine.”
“Ok. Prove me wrong.” Sydreol let her go, and she promptly collapsed on the ground. Cinnamon and Reneris erupted in a chorus of laughter, and Sydreol just stood there with his arms folded. “I’m waiting.”
Rarity floundered about, attempting to find some semblance of balance, until she finally was able to decide where gravity was pulling her hooves and that the surface under her was indeed the ground, and she managed to shakily place her hooves under her and stand. She looked smugly at Sydreol. “Told you sho, ashhole.” She confidently picked one hoof up, placed it in front of her, and fell forward spectacularly, meeting the floor in a cataclysmic crash that she would definitely be feeling in the morning.
“Medic…” came the pitiful voice from the floor.
“Done fooling around, now?” Sydreol asked impatiently.
“Yesh…” she groaned.
“Good. Now just hold still.” He scooped her up, cradling under her rear on one arm and her back on the other, while she held onto him for added stability. “Now for the most awkward walk ever. Just try not to move too much, ok?" he looked down at Rarity, only to find that she had completely passed out in his arms and was now sleeping peacefully. “Well, I guess that makes it much less awkward. Alright guys, I’ll be back later after I drop her off, don’t drive her tab too much higher while I’m away. I want to at least see it if you’re going to do it.”
Reneris and Cinnamon laughed and toasted him as he disappeared into the night, carrying Rarity with him.
**********
“Ugh, Cyr. Seriously, the coffee and paper smell is seriously not helping this morning,” Rarity grumbled. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead miserably as she sat in Cyradel’s laboratory, waiting to find out why the scientist had called her so soon that morning.
“Hm. I would’ve thought some coffee would be welcome in the morning,” Cyradel mused.
“Any morning but this one,” Rarity groused. “Tell me, Cyr, ever had a hangover before?”
“Um, yes?”
“No, you haven’t.”
“Oh. That bad of one, huh?”
“I will never do that again,” Rarity swore.
Cyradel laughed. “Until next time. You had fun, I’m sure.”
Rarity’s ears folded back and she winced. “Don’t laugh. It hurts. Now, why did you want me here?”
“Oh, right. Yes, I suppose I should get to the point. I called you out early in case you wanted to get started today, assuming you were willing to help. I inspected the pukei pukei you hunted, and, though it was remarkable, I wasn’t able to discern any specific characteristics setting it apart from a regular specimen. So, I was hoping we could send you out on a series of hunts in varying environments to gather aberrant specimens that we’ve received word of in order to see if we can find some link between them that will shed some light on what’s causing the issue. Is that something you think you could do?”
“That… that’s a tall order…” Rarity admitted.
“I know it is, and I hate to ask it of you, but there is literally nobody else we can ask it of. You obviously don’t have to, but if you don’t, we won’t be making any progress until some other solution presents itself.”
Rarity considered the proposition for a time while Cyradel watched her with bated breath. After an agonizing wait, she finally nodded. “I’ll do it. Who knows how long it may take for another solution to come along? It could be years, and Celestia only knows what damage these things could do in the meantime.”
Cyradel squealed in joy and jumped forward, giving Rarity a large hug, much to Rarity’s chagrin.
“Ugh, Cyr, stop right now unless you want me to puke on you! Get off me!" she pushed the overenthusiastic scholar away quickly and clutched her stomach uncomfortably for a moment, before settling down considerably. “Ugh. Close. Too close.”
“Sorry about that. And the noise, that probably hurt, too.”
“Yes. Yes it did.” Rarity said, nonplussed. “So, you said you’ve already had reports on the monsters you want me to look into?”
“Mhm!” Cyradel skipped over to her desk and retrieved a set of papers to review. “There’s been a sighting of a barioth in the mountainous areas, a diablos in the desert, an odogaron in the caverns, and a tobi kadachi in the forest.”
“Wow, that’s… um… quite the list,” Rarity said nervously. “And you want me to hunt all of them?”
“Ideally, yes.” Cyradel confirmed. “One other thing I’d like to request: I’d like you to take Lycadran on a hunt with you.”
Rarity scowled. “You really are trying to make me throw up, aren’t you?”
“No, it’s because we need all our hunters in top form and working together, and as long as she suspects you of being evil, she’s going to be pretty ineffective as a team player. And the only way for her to stop suspecting you is to have her come with you and see you’re not up to anything.”
“I suppose you’re right about that.” Rarity sighed. “Ok, but don’t expect her to go along willingly, either.”
“I don’t; Leonys is having a similar talk with her already.”
“Oh joy.” Rarity took the papers that Cyradel was offering her. “Can I borrow your hunter’s guide so I can read up on them before I go?”
“Sure thing. A little heavy reading for the road.”
**********
“Alright, Reneris, would you be able to make a hammer for me out of the pukei pukei materials I brought back?” Rarity requested.
“Sure could, kinda surprised though. After last night I figured you’d want a switch axe.”
“Last night? A switch axe? Why would I want…?” Rarity’s expression registered pure confusion.
“You don’t remember, do you? You were that plastered?”
Rarity held her head as she tried desperately to remember - what had they been talking about that involved a switch axe? Her eyes clenched shut in concentration, then opened slowly. “I remember talking about hunting being my new talent, and switch axes being my favorite. I also remember being really upset.”
“Bingo. You were blubberin’ on about destiny and shit, but if you ask me, just do what you enjoy and what you’re good at, no matter what your ass looks like. Now, did ya still want a hammer?”
Rarity steeled herself, took a deep breath, then got back to her task at hand. “Yes, please. I think I’m going to tackle the diablos first, so I think a hammer would be the best way to go.”
Reneris nodded. “They’ve got some thick skin and hard horns. Plenty for you to pulverize.”
“Is there any way you can incorporate any ice elements into it?” Rarity asked.
Reneris gave her an appraising eye. “You really did your homework, didn’t you?”
“Well, I’d prefer to not die, if it’s all the same to you.”
“Yeah, I’d prefer that, too. I need to make sure I keep you around, you’re more entertaining than Syd when you’re drunk. Plus, he never pays my tab. Thanks for that, by the way.”
“Think nothing of it, I wanted to go out and have a good time without worrying about watching our pocketbooks, and Leonys was more than generous with paying me, so I just passed it along.”
“Mhm. Alright then, that sounds… stupid enough to me, but I ain’t complaining.”
“Back to topic, I was going to ask if you could make any armor or decorations that could enhance abilities that would be beneficial when wielding hammers. Are there any that come to mind?”
“For fighting a diablos?” Reneris rubbed her chin. “I could make you some stuff that makes you more likely to stun it if you land blows to its head.”
“That sounds amazing, could you do that?” Rarity said in amazement.
“I ain’t fuckin’ finished yet! Shit!” Reneris shook her head. “Just thinkin’ out loud! There’s also just all around strength enhancing, or some that can cause your attacks to cause the monsters to tire faster. Others can increase the likelihood of breaking parts like horns or fangs. Don’t get yer hopes set too high, though. You can’t get everything at once.”
“Aww,” Rarity whined. “Still, it’s incredible that you can do any of that.”
“Yeah, I’m amazing and all that shit,” Reneris said impatiently. “What do ya want me to focus on? I can probably get two sets squeezed into what I make for ya.”
“I think stunning things and improving strength would be the most beneficial, if you could prioritize those, please,” Rarity requested.
“Got it. Give me an hour or so, I’ll have ‘em done.”
“An hour?” Rarity gasped in shock. “You can make them that fast?”
“When I don’t have unicorns hanging over my shoulder asking me stupid questions, yes,” Reneris said grumpily.
“Gotcha. Hint taken,” Rarity confirmed.
“Yep. Go get yer shit together, grab a bite to eat, I’ll be done by the time you’re ready.”
“All right, thanks. I’ll need to find Lycadran, anyway. I need to team up with her for this hunt, apparently.” A sour expression flashed over her. “At least this will give me the chance to get her off my back.”
“Hey, there’s some positive thinking. Good for you. Now let me get to work. The longer you stand here yapping the longer it takes me to make your stuff.”
“Right. Leaving now.”
**********
A large assortment of items lay spread throughout Rarity’s home, and she reviewed them carefully. This isn’t a camping trip or a short excursion you’re packing for. You’re planning for a life or death encounter. There are no second chances. Make sure you have everything you need. If there ever was a time for you to channel your inner Twilight and become obsessive-compulsive about checking and rechecking lists, now is the time.
An upbeat tune played throughout the house from the music box perched on Rarity’s bed stand as she reviewed her stock. The vast array covered her entire table, a good portion of her counter, and her entire bed: potions, antidotes, nulberries for curing blights, dried sushifish, demondrugs and armorskins, various traps, dash juice, dried rations, a large assortment of utility tools and knives, whetstones, her book on how to craft items, and a variety of raw materials in case she needed them.
Thank Celestia for Twilight’s enchantment on my bag. I dare say it gives me a leg up on the other hunters, having the ability to pack such a huge amount with me in such a small space, while keeping it light enough to carry. She never would have guessed it would have been used like this, though. She looked at all the knives and tools she needed to pack. Good thing she made it virtually indestructible, too. She smiled slightly. I’ll have to thank Sweetie Belle for blowing up the first one Twilight made me when she was trying to get that nuclear chemistry cutie mark. If I ever get home, that is.
A slam of the door announced that Cinnamon had returned home, and Rarity wheeled around at the sudden noise to see the felyne staring agape at the piles of medicine and tools around the house.
“What the hell is all this? You do realize that we’re going on a hunt, right? We don’t get to take a bunch of suitcases with us. You could probably fit, I don’t know, maybe like a tenth of this into a bag, if you’re lucky.”
“That’s funny,” Rarity mused. “I already had this all packed in my bag. I just took it out to make sure I had everything, and I was just about to put it back.”
Cinnamon looked at her flatly. “What.”
“Oh, nothing. Don’t worry about it,” Rarity trilled with a coy smile. “You just wait right there, I’ll finish packing back up and we can get going.” She began depositing items in her bag, making sure Cinnamon noticed that she was putting things in that by no means should have fit. “Are all your things together?" she asked sweetly.
“Uh, y-yeah…” Cinnamon stammered as she watched Rarity push a large hunting knife that was twice the size of the bag inside, only to have it vanish without a trace. “H-how…?”
“Good!” Rarity cut her off before she could ask any questions. “We’ll have to make sure we stop for some food before we leave, too.” By now over half the items in the room had disappeared into the bag.
Cinnamon scratched her head. “I don’t…”
“You know,” Rarity interrupted, “I have Reneris making me some new gear. Maybe she could make you something, too!” Three quarters of the items were gone.
“I’ve already gotten some new stuff,” Cinnamon said with a slightly panicked whine in her voice, “but seriously, how…”
“Did you hear that they’re making us go with Lycadran?” The last of the items went into the bag. “Ugh, of all the things they could do, I think that is the most awful…”
“FOR FUCK’S SAKE ROWRITY, HOW IN THE HELL DID YOU GET ALL THAT IN THAT STUPID LITTLE BAG?”
“What? Oh, this?" she smiled innocently, holding up the bag with one finger. “My friend cast some magic spells on it. It can hold a lot more, makes it very light, and it’s super durable. Really, though, no need to yell. You just need to ask.”
“Argh!” Cinnamon threw her paws in the air in frustration. “You’re a pain in the ass!”
“Maybe,” Rarity smirked, “but at least I’m a fun one.”
**********
A steely stare and an impatient growl were all that Rarity and Cinnamon received when they approached the canteen after they finished their preparations. Lycadran sat at the counter, an empty plate in front of her, fully armored, a hunting horn and her gear slung over her back. It appeared as though she was ready to leave, and had been for quite some time.
“Taking your sweet time, I see,” she huffed. “Bad enough they’re forcing me to go with you, but it’s obvious you’ve barely ever hunted before. You have absolutely no self discipline like a normal hunter would.”
“And you have absolutely no civility like a normal human would, so I guess we’re even with having to put up with each other.” Rarity countered, sitting down and turning to the menu. She scanned it momentarily, finally having begun to learn its contents.
“Zuny, could I get a wyvern tail and diced steak with cudgel onion?”
“Sure thing, coming up!”
Lycadran made a scoffing noise, causing Rarity to turn back to face her.
“So you don’t even have your gear together yet?”
“Not yet, Reneris is making me a new weapon and armor right now, actually. She should be done shortly.”
“Hmph,” Lycadran harrumphed. “At least it’ll be better than the shit you had before. I don’t know what you have up your sleeve for when we get there, but I’d prefer not to get killed because you can’t handle yourself. I would assume that even if you’re controlling or in charge of these things, once you start fighting them, all bets are off, so you’re going to need good gear.”
Rarity had to bite her tongue to avoid starting a yelling match at the mention of Lycadran’s conspiracy theory again, but luckily for her, her food was delivered at that moment and she had an easy distraction from the remark.
“Well, as soon as you get your equipment from Reneris, we can head over to the wingdrake posts and set off.”
“Wingdrake?” Rarity stopped eating to offer a puzzled glance at Lycadran. “What’s that?”
“Fuck, you’ve never even heard of those?" she shook her head. “How clueless can you be?”
“You know, I’m still kinda new around here,” Rarity said defensively. “Still kinda learning the ropes, here. Of course I’m clueless about some stuff.”
“Fine. Allow me to educate your stupid ass. Wingdrakes are a way for us to travel to places that are just too far to walk or are less accessible. They’re flying wyverns that we grab onto using grappling lines, then hang onto as they carry us to our destination.”
“We just dangle off flying monsters on ropes?” Rarity gasped.
“If you want to put it in overly simplistic terms like a moron, yes,” Lycadran said derisively. “In reality, it’s more like we harness them and ride a hanging saddle.”
“Oh.” Rarity quietly went back to eating, avoiding any and all further eye contact.
Lycadran continued, “All I can say is you try to pull any shit, and I’m taking you down. I told Leonys as much, too.”
“You know, for a person that hates me so much, you certainly seem to want to talk to me a lot,” Rarity snapped. “Do me a favor. Hate me properly by not talking to me.” She then turned back to her meal and resumed eating.
Lycadran eyed her with contempt. “Fine. Take your time stuffing your face, then get your equipment. When you’re done, I’ll meet you by the posts. Your cat will know where they are.”
“I’m a felyne, not someone’s pet, bitch,” Cinnamon growled. “I don’t know why you feel the need to be disrespectful to everybody, but it gets really old, really quick.”
“Just meet me there soon. Don’t keep me waiting too long.” Lycadran turned on her heel and strode off, leaving the pair fuming behind her.
“Can we please let the diablos gore her?” Cinnamon pleaded. “Just a little bit?”
“We can’t just stand by and let it happen, Cinnamon,” Rarity scolded. “Now, if it happens on its own, then it’s just a happy accident. But no, we can’t just let it happen.”
“I’m not sharing my potions or healing items with her crusty old ass, either.” Cinnamon huffed.
Rarity laughed as she finished off the last of her meal. “No, I doubt I will, either.”
**********
The sounds of hammer blows ringing across the town had died out while they ate, and Rarity and Cinnamon made their way to Reneris’ forge shortly after finishing to see if Rarity’s equipment was ready.
The smith was resting beside her anvil, and as they approached she hailed them both with a single finger.
“Oh great, it’s you two. Can’t give me a moment’s peace, can you? I get finished and you’re here within minutes. What were you doing, waiting around the corner? Fucking impatient asshats. You’re lucky I like you guys or I’d smash your shit out of pure spite.”
“I wasn’t waiting impatiently for my gear, I came by because I missed seeing your radiant face, Reneris,” Rarity said in her best flatteringly placating voice.
Reneris stared at her for a moment, then picked up her hammer and held it dangerously close over the armor. “Try me,” she said viciously.
“Ok, ok,” Rarity conceded quickly, holding up her hands defensively. “We just finished eating and came over to see how it was going! Is that better?”
Reneris lowered her hammer. “Fine. Smartass. Here ya go, just finished it all, try it on. Make sure it all fits and stuff.”
Rarity picked up the hammer Reneris was offering, admired it fondly, then gave it a couple practice swings. “I approve. I approve very, very much.” She grinned wickedly, then smiled at Reneris. “Thanks.”
“No problem. Now try on the armor, make sure it’s the right size and all.”
Rarity picked up the various pieces, eyeing them suspiciously as she did so.
“Something wrong?” Reneris questioned as she watched Rarity’s hesitation with the armor set.
“No… I mean, it’s just that… well…” Rarity shuffled uncomfortably.
“Out with it already.”
“You’ll be mad.”
“No I won’t.”
“You will.”
Reneris stared at her hard, then she smirked. “I promise with flying cupcakes or some shit.”
Rarity laughed. “Ok, I can’t argue with you on that.” She sighed. “It’s just that it’s extremely mismatched, and some pieces are… well, just plain out ugly. I know that they’re made from monster parts, but it’s just… painful to wear something that I know looks horrible.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake. Well, good thing that you’re getting used to pain. When I’m making armor based on abilities, I have to focus on the monster parts involved, not the look of the finished piece. So, if it takes something from a different monster entirely, that’s what you get, and you deal with it. So, sorry, but not really.”
“I know. I’m sorry I brought it up, and thanks for making these for me. I just wish they looked a little better together, is all.”
“Don’t worry about it. Maybe we’ll get lucky and the monster’s die laughin’ at you.”
“Oh, shut the hell up.”
Reneris and Cinnamon both broke out laughing as Rarity turned red at the comment, standing there wearing her armor and wishing she could hit them both with her hammer and get away with it.