//------------------------------// // Rarity's plot // Story: White on Black // by TheSexyMenhir //------------------------------// White on Black Ch.14 “Rarity’s Plot” The lift was little more than a basket suspended from a heavy chain. It rose through the darkness of the caverns beneath Canterlot, probably powered by ponies pulling a winch, or by magic depending on how much had been spent on it’s construction. Staring over the edge of the basket Spike could see only darkness surrounding them on all sites. The ride felt strangely surreal, with the soft moaning of the chain as the only hint that time was passing at all. “I’m sorry,” Spike said, his voice meek as it otherwise only was when Twilight caught him with his hand in the gem jar. Chrysalis said nothing, she just looked at the young drake with an unreadable expression. “It was just, that I was so tired of Twilight treating me like a slave all the time,” it flooded out of him. Chrysalis just watched him. “I mean, I’m her assistant but that doesn’t mean that I’m her gopher. Always she sends me off to get all her stuff, ‘Spike bring me my quills’, ‘Spike, get me the encyclopedia’, ‘Spike banish that strange transdimensional monster’. Who does she think I am?” Spike ranted, causing Chrysalis to raise an eyebrow. “Okay sure, she does pay for the place I live, but that doesn’t give her the right to act like she owns the place. Only because she buys my food, she doesn’t have to act like I owe her my life... even if she did cause me to hatch...” Spike’s voice trailed off as her tried to remember what point he was trying to make. Chrysalis still watched him, her eyes never leaving his face. Spike let his shoulders slump. Of course that wasn’t the reason he did it, not really anyway. “Erm... Chrysalis?” Spike asked, stumbling over the foreign sound of the changeling queen’s name. Chrysalis didn’t say anything and just continued to watch him, her face the usual mixture of contempt and cynicism that she normally showed the world. Spike swallowed but after a few minutes he gathered all his courage and asked the question that had been bothering him for the last few days, “Chrysalis, do you love my m... princess Celestia?” Chrysalis continued to stare at him for yet a while longer than she sighed. “She’s the best thing that ever happened to me. Not only has she done all she could to make the hive survive but she also has shown me a new take on life, one which I had never even imagined beforehand. She’s given my race a future, one where we don’t have to live as parasites,” she elaborated, each word coming slowly as if she were struggling to find the right words. “You haven’t answered my question,” Spike replied. Chrysalis stared at him again. That was the question, wasn’t it? Did she love her? She turned her head away from the astute little dragon, avoiding to look him in the eyes. Several minutes they sat there in the basket, rising through a sea of nothingness, both of them lost deep in thoughts. Then a sliver of a smile crept across Chrysalis face. A wave of relief washed over her, as she finally found the answer to a question that she didn’t even know she had. She turned toward Spike and said, “Yes. Yes, I do.” Now it was Spike’s turn to stare at the queen. He waddled over to the queen and closed his arms around her foreleg. It took Chrysalis a few seconds to realize that he was trying to hug her. “Welcome to the family... Mum.” Chrysalis stood there dumbfounded. Awkwardly she lay her other hoof around the little baby dragon. --- A self indulgent smile crept across Steel Aegis face as he watched the plaza. “Maybe I’m officer material after all,” he thought, mentally patting himself on the back. He had had his doubts when he first had been promoted, and his experience with the element bearers had done nothing to alleviate his worries, but now things were starting to look up. Ever since he ordered the gate guards to break up the protests, the plaza had been quiet and peaceful. He stuck his chest out as he felt the gaze of the townsfolk around him. In this troubled times it was important to show presence and strength... at least that was what his father had always told him when he talked about his own service, back during the griffin civil wars. And who knows, maybe if he showed that he was a capable stallion his superiors would notice... Maybe - a pleasant shiver went down his spine as he followed this train of thought - maybe there would even be an official recommendation. For a short moment he imagined the proud look on his fathers face when he’d show him the officially looking piece of paper with the seal of the royal guard. Yes, he could feel it in his blood, this was the time for him to prove himself. He turned towards his men, twenty unicorn guards in the prime of their life. Such an special moment deserved a little something, a bit of flair. “Erm...” He cleared his throat. At times like this Shining Armor had always held a little speech for his subordinates, usually something about honor or duty, just something to remind them what they were doing this job for. The unicorn guards pried their attention away from the glaring masses for a moment, to look at their CO. “My fellow soldiers...” Steel Aegis began, only to grow more and more aware of the twenty pairs eyes that were looking at him. “Erh....” he stammered. “....” said the guardsponies still staring at him silently. “... keep your eyes open,” Aegis muttered, although it might have been “the artichoke has spoken” as well. It was hard to tell the way he whispered it to his feet. Steel Aegis made a hasty retreat towards the gate barracks, leaving twenty slightly confused guards behind. Okay maybe memorable speeches weren’t his forte, but the newly appointed sergeant was still very confident that being assigned to gate duty was the best thing that ever happened to him. After all what could possibly go wrong? --- Twilight looked at the list that floated in front of her. “I think that’s it,” she said, as her eyes wandered from the scroll to her four friends that surrounded her. Pinkie and Applejack were covered in batter and flour, but proudly they held a bundle of notes in their hooves. It had taken them quite a while and a few more borderline edible meals, but finally they had compiled a list of dishes that accustomed changelings and ponies alike. The actual preparations were child's play now. Fluttershy was surrounded by a plethora of woodland critters, only their pale blue eyes betraying the true nature of the transformed changelings. Twilight was a bit worried that the yellow pegasus looked as if she had just faced a long and arduous battle, after all, how much work could rearranging a bit of furniture possibly be. Rainbow Dash tried her best to hide her excitement about the upcoming wedding. After she had finally shed some of her worries about Chrysalis, she had grown more and more restless, unsatisfied by her position as a simple messenger. In the end she had sought out some of her acquaintances from the weather team and the academy, and now she was proud to tell Twilight that no bad weather could possibly plague the wedding ceremony. Unhappily Twilight looked at the conspicuously empty spot besides Rainbow Dash. In the last few days they had seen less and less of Rarity, but when Twilight had mentioned it to her, she had assured her that the dresses would be ready for the wedding. “Yup, seems like we got anything,” Twilight repeated. “Ah sure hope so, Ah’m plum tuckered out after all this stress,” Applejack admitted trying to dust some of the flour out of her coat, only succeeding in spreading it more evenly. “It will be nice to get back to my cottage when the ceremony is over,” Fluttershy added. The changelings had tried their best to accommodate her, but they were no replacement for being with her animal friends. “Well then let’s go and tell Celestia, I’m sure she will be just as glad to hear this,” Twilight said, with a big smile on her face. As the five mares left for the dining hall, Pinkie was the last to leave the room. She looked back into the empty room and gave nobody in particular a big smile. “Silly Twilight, of course we’re still missing something. There hasn’t been a musical number yet.” With that she turned around and closed the door. --- Rarity sat in a workshop in upper Canterlot. Vertex’ influence, or rather Blueblood’s money, had gotten rid of a lot of the trouble she had encountered so far, and before long she had secured a place for her to work. She gave a final tuck to the dress that she had just finished, it was Chrysalis wedding gown. Still she couldn’t help but glance at the other dresses that formed a neat pile in on corner of the room. Usually she preferred blue and white colours, but this particular project had required black... black and green. If Vertex kept her (his?) word the runway would be ready as soon as she gave the word. Hundreds of flyers had been sent to just about any influential person in Canterlot, and in just a few hours it would be time to see if her plan worked out. Of course she wasn’t so mad to assume that fashion alone would be enough to change an entire nations mind, but that wasn’t what she was trying to do. All she needed to do was plant an idea, a thought: What if we use the changelings for our cause? Appealing to their heart would probably be useless, but if the nobles would see an opportunity to profit from the situations, they would soon forget about driving the changelings out. She pushed the dress away, and turned towards the helpers (both changelings and ponies) she had hired. Their sewing machines clacked in a steady rhythm and slowly a very special kind of magic found it’s way into Rarity’s brain. As she raised her voice it was not the fair trained voice of “lady Rarity” but the shrewd and slightly cunning voice of Rarity of Ponyville, the mare that had created a business with her own two hooves. We must hurry now Let me show you all how to turn this into a show with much flare Made from smaragds, black silk and things of that ilk dresses made with uttermost care I’ll make the nobles see not the changelings plea but the chances on which they’re missing out So pick up the slack let’s keep this show on track Until only one question remains: Will it be in or out? Of that I’ll leave no doubt. Appease the nobles while I show them changeling style All hostilities just won’t seem worthwhile Will it be top or flop? I’ll make the opinions swap The clothes show, what this is all about Let’s leave them wowed Will it be in or out? Quickly the stallions and mares, and changelings of either gender gathered up the clothes, and  in a near flawless choreography and followed Rarity as she made her way for the show hall.