Equestrian Epoch: Final Hope

by Michael_Ravencroft

Third Sign: Part 3

Twilight Sparkle was currently resting in her bed, well, her version of resting. Which consisted of sitting up in her bed and jotting down notes on floating parchment paper, she seemed deep in thought, even though her stomach made many attempts at trying to distract her with the threat of vomiting. Still, Twilight believed as long she focused on something else, the queasiness in her stomach wouldn't have time to get the better of her. It was at that moment the door to the bedroom opened, Bright Blade entered and groaned when he saw his marefriend.

"Twilight what are you doing," he asked.

"Just trying to figure something out," said Twilight nonchalantly.

"You know you should be resting, you've been –" Twilight shot him a warning glare. Reminding the stallion that the next word, while one that accurately described what had been happening to her, was a forbidden word that brought up certain things best left were they remained. Bright thought for a moment and chose his next words carefully. "Not feeling well these past few weeks."

"I know, I know, but I have to figure this out, the book just added a new verse and pages, and you know what that means."

"Unfortunately…" Bright Blade trotted closer to Twilight's bedside and took a glimpse at what she was writing. "Centaurus Elementus…?"

"Those were the words you and I spoke when Rainbow Dash and Applejack transformed. This can't be a coincidence. First the Elemental Armor, and now this new form that had powers that could revival one of those Envoys, it's got to be connected," said Twilight.

"I don't get it, why now, why not back then when we were fighting for our lives against Tikara Balak and the Elements of Darkness. Why didn't this new power appear then," asked Bright, a bit agitated that they had this great power and could not use it earlier.

"Maybe it's because we weren't ready." Twilight noticed the confused look on her coltfriend's face. "Think about it, as powerful as AJ and RD were, do you think they would've been able to handle that much power before?" Twilight started go deep into thought, the gears in her mind grinding, trying to figure out what this new power meant for their team. "I have theory…"

"I'm listening."

"What if the Armor was preparing us? The Elements of Harmony were forged by Epona, the goddess of light, from her divine power and life force. Maybe the Elements still retained that divine power. If so, then there would be no way for us to handle it, we weren't ready, more specifically, our bodies and souls weren't ready!"

"So the Armor was conditioning us for when we could use that Centaurus power?"

"Exactly," announced Twilight. "Mind you though, it's just a theory, so far only Applejack and Rainbow Dash have been able to use it. We'll have to wait and see if the rest us are able to access it, only then will my theory be proven correct."

"You know you're cute when you're playing scientist," said Bright.

"I am a scientist, thank you very much," she huffed.

"Oh excuse me, Professor Twilight." Bright Blade bowed to the mare, smirking up at her.

"Shut up." Twilight used her telekinesis to throw a pillow at the cheeky stallion, hitting him square in the face. A few feathers escaped the pillow covering her coltfriend's face and making him splutter and rub them off. All in all the whole thing made Twilight giggle.

"Well at least I succeeded," said Bright.

"In what exactly?"

"Making you laugh."

Twilight playfully rolled her eyes. "That is so corny." She then reached out her left hoof, to which the stallion took, drawing them both closer to each other. "But you're my corny stallion."

"And you're my adorkable mare."

"I hate it when you call me that."

"Really?"

"No."

The stallion and mare drew in closer, on the verge of their lips meeting in a loving kiss. Their eyes started to close with every inch they closed in. That's when it happened.

Twilight's eyes shot open and she drew back, quickly placing her hooves over her mouth. Bright Blade looked offended for a few seconds, but then quickly realized what was happening. Twilight scrambled out of the bed and zipped into the bathroom faster than Rainbow Dash with her armor on. The door quickly slammed behind her, cutting off Bright Blade from going and helping his marefriend. Before he could call her name Bright could hear the sounds of Twilight vomiting. Even though he wasn't sick, hearing anybody throw up makes you want to as well.

"Twilight c'mon and let me in so I can help you!"

"I don't need *vomit* help! It's just an upset stomach, nothing mo*vomit*!"

"An upset stomach that lasts for three weeks?"

Whatever response Twilight was going to say was lost when she yet again regurgitated into the toilet of their bathroom. Bright Blade wore a deadpan expression.

"That's it; we're going to go see Dr. Cure All tomorrow, and that's final."

Bright Blade could hear Twilight try to muster up a response to stop him, but he knew four magic words that would stop the mare dead in her tracks. It was the ultimate veto, to which no sound argument the intelligent mare could come up with would stop. This was his secret weapon, his greatest sword, stronger than any shield, and ten times as lethal as any attack spell.

"I'll tell Princess Celestia!"

It got real quiet.

Works. Every. Time.

Bright Blade was about to leave, but at that moment Twilight came stumbling out of the bathroom, leaning against the doorframe for balance. She then glared at her coltfriend, scowling at bit; she then raised an accusatory hoof at the stallion.

"You suck Bright Blade…"

"Love you too Twi."

It was Saturday when the airship pulled into the docks at Manelan. Many of the passengers had fallen asleep since it was night time when they left the mainland. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie watched as the giant ship smoothly landed, ponies on either side of the ship cast out lines to the ones standing on the docks, to which they then tied the ropes to large weights to anchor the ship in place. It was actually fun to watch since neither of them had ever been on an airship, or been this far away from home. It was a little scary for Fluttershy, but knowing that their friends would greet them made it easy.

It was then that her aquamarine eyes fell on her companion. Pinkie Pie, although smiling happily, still seemed a bit on edge. Fluttershy had found her reaction to leaving Ponyville odd; although this is Pinkie Pie we're talking about, this was still pretty odd, especially with the way she acted before they left. That's when she shook her head.

No Fluttershy, you can't be distracted! Remember that you need to find out if Pinkie Pie is…is…oh dear this may be harder than I thought…

Even though Fluttershy made a promise to Twist about finding out if the pink pony was into mares or not, the whole thing still made her feel uneasy. It wasn't like it was a normal conversation topic, and there were very few ways to find out if she was…well…at least, ways that wouldn't get either of them in trouble with anypony.

The gangplanks were finally let loose and all the passengers were allowed to disembark. Due to the events of recent months, the two mares had taken to bringing their Elements along with them everywhere they went; even now the ancient items were in their saddle bags. The mares quickly searched the crowd, knowing that Rarity was going to meet them when they landed, but the thick crowd was making it quite hard to do so.

"Hey, there's my favorite mares!"

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie looked up, and gasped in joy when they saw who it was.

"Ballista," they shouted at the same time.

The cerulean mare pointed her hoof down at the ground, indicating where they were to meet. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie quickly moved through the crowd and found both Rarity and Ballista, all smiles as they waited for their friends.

"Belli!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

The pink earth pony zoomed right for the pegasus mare, bowling her over, ending with Pinkie standing on her hind legs while she embraced Ballista in a tight hug.

"I happy to see you too, Pinkie Pie," gasped Ballista. At that moment she heard a couple of cracking sounds coming from her back, to which black maned mare relaxed and moaned in content. "Oooh, thanks Pinkie, I needed that."

Pinkie released her captive, "No problem, anything to help a friend."

Meanwhile, both Rarity and Fluttershy were enjoying friendly nuzzle.

"Fluttershy darling, it's been too long," said Rarity.

"But we just saw each other at the wedding a few months ago," said Fluttershy.

Rarity scoffed at the remark, "A few months in this business is equivalent to twenty years," she joked.

"C'mon girls, let's go and catch up."

Rarity, Pinkie, Ballista, and Fluttershy were currently seated at quaint outdoor café, enjoying a sip of Manelan style tea, which had quite the invigorating taste to it. All the while the mares caught up on past events. Pinkie and Fluttershy were especially interested in Ballista's foal and how she was doing.

After the waiter brought them their tray of sweets, along with a fresh pot of tea, the conversation decided to take a more serious turn. Rarity hated this, true she was delighted to see her friends, but not under false pretenses.

"What is it Rarity, are you okay," asked Fluttershy.

"What…Oh yes dear, I'm fine." You always could read my mood couldn't you Fluttershy. "Well…in truth everything is not fine, it's quite a mess right now."

This seemed to grab the other three mares' attention, Rarity never did tell Ballista as to why she needed her as a model, but better now than never she supposed.

"What's wrong, did you chip your hoof, did you forget your anniversary, maybe you forgot your birthday – no that's silly – did you forgot Spike's," rambled Pinkie Pie.

"No Pinkie, although, compared to this current dilemma, those would be more preferable." Rarity sighed heavily, readying herself for what she was about to say. "I've lied to you, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie. My offer to have you join me in Manelan for a vacation was nothing more than a ruse, for you see I am in desperate need of your help, you too Ballista."

"Does this have to do with that, ahem, incident yesterday?"

"The very same, you see, the models that I had picked out to debut my latest works during Fashion Week have grown ill and are unable to perform next week."

"Oh Rarity that's awful," said Fluttershy.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you can find other ponies to model your clothes, I mean, who wouldn't want to," said Pinkie Pie, trying to lift her friend's spirits.

"It's not that simple I'm afraid. The agencies all over Manelan, indeed in all of Cavallo, are under contract with the other designers, which means, as it stands, I am without any pony to showcase my latest designs, it could well set me back, if not ruin my career…"

"Is there anything we can do to help, Rarity," asked Fluttershy.

"Actually, much to my chagrin, I had ulterior motives for asking you to come here other than a vacation…To put it bluntly, I would like you three to model my latest designs next Friday during Fashion week," said Rarity.

"M-M-Model…"

"Say what?"

"Now this makes sense."

Rarity fidgeted with her teacup, she didn't like having to bring her closest friends all the way out to Cavallo under false pretenses, but she knew that it was the only way for them to clear some time, she'd even put up their families in her home, she had the room. The fact that the two of them came here alone was actually a blessing in disguise.

"I realize that it was a bit underhoofed of me, but…"

"I'll say!" Rarity, Fluttershy, and Ballista turned to Pinkie Pie, who looked very upset by this turn of events; it was a surprising sight considering her normally joyous and happy attitude. "You call us out here to have a vacation, but you only did it because you needed models!?"

"Well, yes, but I –!"

"I don't want to hear it! I have responsibilities Rarity, to Pound and Pumpkin, and to Sugar Cube Corner! I just can't drop everything like that, I mean, it would one thing if we had brought our kids along, but I'm the one taking care of them!" Pinkie sat up from the cushion and started walking off down the road.

"Pinkie Pie, wait, where are you going," asked Rarity.

"I'm going back to the docks to buy me a ticket for the earliest flight back to the mainland," she said without even turning around to acknowledge the unicorn mare.

Rarity looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown, she knew this plan wasn't a very good one, but she couldn't risk them saying no, now it just may have cost the fashionista her friendship with Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy quickly sat up as well and flew after the pink mare.

"Pinkie Pie, stop," said Fluttershy as she landed in front of her.

"No Fluttershy, I'm heading back to Ponyville. Aren't you mad at her, she lied to us!"

"I am a little upset by it, but that doesn't mean I'm going to abandon her when she needs our help the most! Pinkie Pie, of all the ponies in Equestria, you should be behind this, you never turn down a chance to help your friends and make them smile," scolded Fluttershy.

That seemed to strike a chord with Pinkie, she was right, she always did her best to help other ponies, to make them smile and be happy. But still… "What about the shop, and the twins, I don't know if I should be away from them for a whole week…"

"Pinkie Pie, Twist can more than look after both Sugar Cube Corner and the twins, plus, it's not like she's alone. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo will probably stop in and check on her, and I'm sure Big Mac and the children will pop by, if not for something to eat, then just to visit. So don't worry Pinkie, they'll be fine," assured the cream colored pegasus.

Pinkie sighed in defeat, she was right; they'd be alright for a week without her, probably, maybe…

Seeing that the issue had been resolved, Fluttershy redirected Pinkie back towards the table. Finding Ballista consoling Rarity, she wasn't crying, but she seemed ready to burst into tears at any moment. Pinkie Pie felt a pang of guilt in her heart, how could she have done that, and to her one of her best friends too.

"Rarity…"

The unicorn mare's head shot up, apparently just now noticing Pinkie's presence.

"Pinkie Pie…I'm sorry, truly, I never meant to cause you such stress. If you really want to return to Ponyville I'll go back to the depot and request that you'd be on the earliest flight back to the mainland, with my sincerest apologies."

"It's okay, you don't have to. I didn't mean to make you sad, I just, I don't know…Anyway, I'll help you Rarity, you can count on me!" Pinkie Pie saw the look on the fashionista's face, her smile was returning little by little. "But, next time, just ask."

"I will, I promise that I'll never do anything like that again, and I fully intend to treat you all to the time of your lives when this is over!"

"Pinkie Promise?"

The others couldn't help but giggle, and Rarity couldn't resist it either, after all, she had a lot to be happy about.

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my ey– OW!"

The other mares winced as they watched Rarity accidentally stick her hoof in her eye before closing it.

"Do you need an eye patch," asked Pinkie, said eye patch in hoof.

"No, no, darling I'll be fine."

"Where exactly did you get that?" Ballista asked.

"I have eye patches stashed all over Equestria, in case of eye patch emergencies," said Pinkie matter-of-factly.

"I thought they were just in Ponyville?" Fluttershy asked.

"Nope, EVERYWHERE, along with rubber chickens, any and all musical instruments, sneezing powder, balloons, oh and Party Cannons, couldn't forget those. And, hmm, what else…?" Pinkie started to scratch her chin with her hoof, trying to remember what else she stashed around world.

Ballista leaned in towards Rarity along with Fluttershy in order to whisper.

"She's been busy, it seems," Rarity spoke.

"I didn't even know she had that much hidden, actually, I didn't know that she did in the first place," said Fluttershy.

"Forget Knight, maybe she should be in the espionage division of the Royal Guard." Ballista shivered for a moment and then shook it off. "Why did I just get a cold feeling up my spine?"

It was at this moment at all three mares came to a unanimous decision, it was far better to have Pinkie Pie as your friend, rather than your enemy, and they thanked their lucky stars she wasn't in charge of anything more…shadowy.

~~~
"And how would you know?"

Because I'm the writer Pinkie, I made up the story and – Damn it Pinkie Pie don't break the fourth wall in the middle of a serious story!

"But nothing's happening yet."

I'm getting to some serious stuff soon, just wait!

"Okie-Doki-Loki."

Going to have to remember to patch that breach later…Sorry about that folks that shouldn't happen again, hopefully, but I'm not holding my breath. Anyway it's now time for a scene transition/time skip!

It had been a long and slightly grueling three days for the Carousel Boutique Team. Many hours were spent redesigning and refitting the dresses to add certain flares that would match their models. The staff at the studio were ecstatic about their replacement models, many knew Fluttershy by reputation along with Pinkie Pie, Ballista was regarded as a diamond in the ruff, coming off as a bit masculine, but she did have a ladylike grace and beauty if done right. And of course when Rarity's staff learned that she would be joining in the modeling work, their jaws almost literally fell off.

Today was a kind of day off, mostly for Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Rarity was working with Ballista on her runway walk. Apparently for all her grace in combat, when it came to strutting her stuff on a catwalk with dozens, upon hundreds of ponies watching your every move and silently judging you, she needed work, a lot of work. So in the meantime, Fluttershy and Pinkie decided to take a stroll around the city.

Currently they were coming up on the Paso Feno Cathedral, it was awe inspiring, a gothic styled Cathedral which was a work of architectural art. With one-hundred and thirty-five spires, marble statues of lined most of the front and sides of the structure. Most were of famous ponies of the past, whose contributions and reputation withstood the passage of time. On the main spire were two gilded bronze statues of the Royal Sisters, Celestia and Luna.

When they entered the Cathedral the two mares took note of the stunning stained glass windows that perforated the interior and exterior. Once upon a time, this place was used by locals to offer up prayer and worship to the goddesses of night and day, but, at the behest of Celestia and Luna, they were asked all over to not worship them as gods, telling them that they were simply a gifted race of pony that wished to help and guide the other tribes. Of course back then they said that to stop the worshipping, they were goddesses, but they didn't want to be revered as such. So here it stands, like others, a magnificent cathedral now turned tourist attraction.

Even with all this history, culture, and artwork before her, Pinkie Pie still couldn't stop thinking about Ponyville, more to the point, should couldn't stop thinking about Pumpkin and Pound. Her emotions were quickly picked up on by her friend, who was in a bit of a pickle herself, since she was charged with the task of finding out her friend's orientation and preferences when it came to stallions and mares.

I hope they're doing alright, did I leave the oven on, I think I did!? Oh wait, no I didn't, false alarm. But did I remember to check and see if the register was filled with change!? Pinkie thought for moment. Never mind, I did. Maybe…maybe this was a mistake…

"Pinkie Pie, are you okay," asked Fluttershy.

"Who – what – where – huh?"

"I was just asking if you were alright. You seemed to be deep in thought."

"Oh, yeah, sorry for spacing on you Fluttershy, I just have a lot on my mind," said Pinkie.

The pink party pony started to trot off further into the cathedral, with Fluttershy following close by. Even while steeped in her little funk, Pinkie was still able to admire the grandness of the old structure. She made a mental note to bring Twist and the twins here one day on a family vacation, on Rarity's tab of course. Wow, that was strange, I thought of Twist as family. Well duh, she is, of course she is. Twist's like an aunt to Pumpkin and Pound, and she's a real knockout!

There was a long pause within her mind.

Did I just say that Twist was a "knockout!?" Yep, I did, but she is. I mean, she was cute when she was filly, but now, wow. Half the stallions in Ponyville come in just to see here…that irritates me a bit? Oh well, Fluttershy looks nervous about something; let's find out what is so I can help!

"Hey Flutters, a bit for your thoughts," she asked.

Fluttershy let out an "eep" that echoed through the rotunda.

"Oh um, it's just…" Fluttershy let out a heavy sigh, whatever was eating her, it sure seemed serious. "Pinkie Pie, there's really no way for me go about this or to phrase in any other way, so I'm just going to come out and ask." Steeling herself, Fluttershy spoke, "Are you into mares or stallions please don't hate me!" The cream colored pegasus closed her eyes, wincing, ready for the possible verbal accosting from her offended friend.

Pinkie Pie placed a comforting on her friend's shoulders, smiled wide at her, bringing the shy mare out of her scared state.

"Of course I don't hate you, it's just a question, and as for my answer, both."

"Both?"

"Both."

"Both…"

"Both."

"BOTH!"

Pinkie Pie nodded.

"Oh my…um, I wasn't expecting that…I…okay. So I have another question," asked Fluttershy.

"Shoot."

"Since you don't care about whether they're a stallion or mare, what kind of qualities are you looking for in a…relationship?"

Pinkie Pie sighed once again, her gaze drifting towards the podium where the preachers of old would speak to the crowd.

"Fluttershy, you're asking me this because Twist has a crush on me, aren't you?"

It was as if the universe itself came to a grinding halt. Well, Fluttershy's universe anyway. How did Pinkie know, she never brought this up till now, and she never even mentioned Twist's name! This was, this was, it didn't even make sense! Now Fluttershy knew how Twilight felt when the unicorn tried to figure out the pink mare's mysterious Pinkie Sense.

"H-H-How did you know, I never said a word!?"

"Itchy belly."

Fluttershy was now confused.

"When my belly gets itchy, it means that somepony in the room has a crush on another pony, or it means I laid down on poison ivy leafs. And since there wasn't any rash, it was the ladder."

"But how did you know it was Twist?"

"Because the majority of the time that it happened it happened when it was only Twist and I in the room alone," said Pinkie Pie. "And, to answer your next question, yeah, I like like her too."

Fluttershy was dumbfounded; she was flabbergasted, she was every word you could think of to describe how surprised she was. All the time she spent worrying how she was going to ask this party machine how she felt about a mare who had ask her to find out about her feelings on her behalf. And now, in a short time span of just one minute, thirty seconds, said party machine just completely and without hesitation, told her all she needed to hear. But still, there was one thing that bothered her.

"So, you know Twist has a crush on you, and you like Twist the same way. Why haven't you said anything to her, she's worried about how you might react if she told her feelings!?"

"Because I can't…I'm, I have to take care of things."

"What do mean?"

Pinkie's ears flopped down and her mane and tail were losing a bit of their curly fluffiness. "You know this, but when the Cakes died they left me everything, even their foals. I promised myself that I would do everything I could to make sure Pumpkin and Pound grew up happy and smiling, and that they continued to have a place to live. That's why…I never really tried to date anypony, I tried to keep myself focused on Sugar Cube Corner and the twins, but that's when I started to notice Twist…At first, when I offered her a job at the shop, it was so that I could help her sell her treats to other ponies. As the years went on, I saw just how much fun she was, and the twins really love her too. When she got older, I started to notice just how beautiful a mare she was becoming, and like I said, I knew she had a crush on me."

Fluttershy was still not following.

"It sounds perfect Pinkie, you love Twist, and she loves you. Pound and Pumpkin are already attached to her, so having the two of you together would only make everything better," said Fluttershy.

"But what if it doesn't work out, and something happens to where it makes working together hard for us both, she'll have to quit and leave…Pound and Pumpkin would be sad…and so would I…"

Fluttershy, no longer able to stand the sad expression of her friend, brought the pink mare into a hug, wrapping her forelegs around her tightly. Pinkie Pie was a bit startled by the sudden embrace, but after a moment she wrapped her forelegs around Fluttershy's midsection. As the two mares held each other, the sun light started to shine through top of the rotunda, the warm light washed over them, as if it sought to rid them of the sadness. Soon they released each other; Pinkie Pie's mane and tail were quickly inflated back to their original fluffy curliness.

"Thanks Fluttershy."

"Don't mention it, and Pinkie, I promise you that letting Twist know how you feel about her will make the both you happy. Trust me."

"I do, plus, the author wouldn't let anything that bad happen in this story, right," said Pinkie with a coy smile.

~~~~
Pinkamena Diane Pie, I swear by all the powers of the cosmos and holy deities of yore I will take this cupcake and – *CENSOR* – right up there and – *CENSOR* – so much that even a carrion crow won't touch it you pink – *CENSOR*!
~~~~

"What author?"

"Oh nothing, c'mon let's go and get something to eat, all this saddy-waddy stuff made me hungry, la, la, la, la~" Pinkie started to hop towards the exit.

Fluttershy wanted to inquire further about what she meant, but decided against it, feeling she might be opening a can of worms better left closed. The two mares were now outside, and at that moment, they heard a beeping sound. The sound persisted, making both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie look around for its origin. It wasn't until Pinkie Pie put her ear to Fluttershy's saddle bag that she was able to determine what it was.

"Flutters, I think your Iris Caller is beeping."

Fluttershy used her left wing to open the lip of her saddle bag. She then reached in with her hoof and saw that her Iris Caller was indeed beeping. She placed around her neck, the item automatically securing itself. She then pressed on the crystal to answer it.

"Hello, this is Fluttershy speaking."

"Fluttershy, you and Pinkie Pie have to get back here quick!"

"Spike, what's going on!?"

"Rarity will give you guys the details, I'm busy with something related, again, hurry!"

Wasting no time, Fluttershy took the air while Pinkie Pie followed suit on hoof. Both wondering what kind of emergency they were about to stumble into.

[center***Night Time, New Location***]The gauntlet had been thrown, the challenge issued, the battlefield chosen. Rarity expected something like this to happen, not this soon, not this close to the day of the fashion show. There was no choice; they had to meet the threat head on if they were to have any hope at winning, victory needed to be assured. The mares and dragon suited up, dawning their apparel for the coming fight. The road leading to the field of battle was long; the night air was unsteady as if the tension had tainted the usually sweet smelling aroma it naturally carried. Soon they were flanked by many others who had also gotten the summons.

And there it was their destination, the place where bloody battle would be waged. Their transportation had come to a halt, the occupants steeled themselves, this was going to be brutal, for this was their chance to land a preemptive strike, but at the same time it could easily turn against them and cause irreparable damage. The doors opened, and they exited.

Rarity and Spike were the first to leave the carriage. Spike sported his black tux, red bowtie, and fire ruby flower, neatly secured to his lapel. Rarity was wearing her sparkling pink dress, with a V neck drop; she also had on her pink sparkling foreleg covers, and to finish it off she wore her fire ruby necklace clasped around her neck, a matching set, for a matching couple. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were second to exit, wearing their Grand Galloping Gala dresses that Rarity recreated for the occasion. Ballista was the last to exit, not particularly one to wear a dress, she instead wore her finest uniform. Silver with gold shoulder pads and cuffs, a white sash looped around her from left shoulder pad to the other side. Pinned to the sash were her various medals for her service, on the either side of the sleeves was a sword and two flaring wings on both sides, her symbol for the rank of Captain.

With an affirming nod, the group of five entered the manor before them. The door attendants welcomed them to the manor, and extended their thanks on behalf of their hosts. Inside, within the large mansion, they were being led to their destination where the true battle would be held. Finally they made it, a grand ball room filled with many high society elite. Many of whom Rarity and Spike recognized, along with others they didn't. They slowly descended the stairs, staying close together. Rarity held an intense gaze, hiding it behind a mask of elegance and a lady like smile.

Spike had left his wife's side and slowed his pace to join the other three mares behind them.

"The way Rarity described this thing, I thought we were about to enter an underground fight club," whispered Ballista.

"Don't be fooled Ballista, this is far from a nice little social gathering." Spike warned.

"What do you mean, Spike," asked Pinkie Pie.

"Unlike in normal settings, where if you want to start something with a guy in a bar you just slug him and brawl, this is a socialist elite way of fighting. Your armor is the mask you put on, hiding your real emotions as to not give an edge. Where a jab and light hearted insult are just as damaging as sword."

"Oh my," squeaked Fluttershy.

"So then why did Rarity even agree to come to something like this," asked Ballista, both intrigued and worried about why her friend would show up to such a fight.

"It happens often, a high class pony throws a party, like this one, inviting all their friends, frienemies, and just plain enemies, so that they can find a way to damage their reputation. It's really a lot of cloak and dagger stuff. The way to win is to get the last word in, to verbally flog your opponent till they're left with nothing to say and are forced to bow out. An absolute win is when you can get the other guy to completely lose it and create a scene. The first part of the game is the invite, not showing up is the worst thing you can do; it allows them time to work the room. Rarity was hoping something like this wasn't going to happen, since word of the models she had originally got around, somepony's trying to derail her and slander her as quickly as possible," explained Spike.

"Whoa, sounds like a war for assassins or something," said Ballista.

"Why would anypony want to do something like that, parities are supposed to be fun, so that everypony can smile and laugh, not insult and be mean to each other!?"

Spike could tell that Pinkie Pie was taking this personally, he couldn't blame her, and Pinkie's special talent was making other ponies happy through either crazy shenanigans or big wild parties. Seeing that your special talent could be used in such a perverse and cruel way really riled her up.

"I know Pinkie, but the fashion world is like this. Rarity knew that going in; she took all the bad, along with the good."

"Well, at least some of them look like they don't mean Rarity any harm," said Fluttershy.

Fluttershy's words were true, Spike watched as his wife was surrounded by familiar faces. Ponies that the both of them had met numerous times over the years, but all was not well, Spike's keen dragon eyes peered to the other end of the ball room, spotting the hosts of this little soiree. He watched as Rarity built up her army, as the opposition did the same, both sides steadily moving down the line, working their way to the center of the room where they would meet in combat. Spike had his arms crossed, he knew the plan, keeping the others close to him, and far from Rarity, but just close enough to enter the fray, for their friends were their secret weapon, and it would do no good to reveal their hand early.

Soon it came, Rarity was now at the middle, so too were her opponents. There were three of them, all unicorns. The first unicorn was Upper Crust and her husband Jet Set. The third was Glory, standing in the middle, being brandished as their main weapon.

"Jet Set, Upper Crust, it's been far too long," said Rarity.

"Indeed it has, so sorry we missed you last year in Prance," said Upper Crust.

"Quite alright, it was a fabulous event."

"So, how are things going, getting ready for the big day," asked Jet Set.

And there it was, the set up, Rarity knew it was coming. Now she just needed to bait them, spring the trap and reverse it when the time was right.

"Things are coming along, could be better though, but peachy all the same."

"Oh, will that's good, I was starting to get worried."

"Why's that darling…?"

"You know the rumor mill, ponies are saying that you won't be able to showcase your designs on our scheduled day, the nerve of such ponies, spouting nonsense when they have no evidence to back it up," said Glory, feigning contempt.

And I wonder who started those rumors. "Well…I am sad to say…that it is true." Many of the posh ponies nearby gasped, right on cue. "It would appear that my models have taken ill and won't be able to perform come Friday…"

The three unicorns before her wore shocked expressions, but Rarity's discerning eyes could see beyond the mask they wore. For all their practiced emotional expressions, they could not hide their true emotions from her eyes, nor from their own. For it was in those conniving eyes of theirs that she could see the glint of sadistic pleasure, they were savoring her fake despair, and were waiting to go for the kill. All just as expected. I guess it's true what they say, the eyes really are windows into the soul. Rarity listened to the whispers of the crowd; already the word was spreading, their suspicions proving to be correct.

"Well that's inconvenient, but I'm sure you'll be able find suitable replacements from another agency," said Upper Crust, pretending to show concern.

"Unfortunately all the agencies models are unavailable at the moment, many of them are bound to their individual designer's contracts, and therefore cannot be hired until Fashion Week is officially over I'm afraid…"

They were loving this, they knew there was no way that the fashionista could squirm her way out of this. Many a time had she made the impossible possible, coming back from the brink just in the nick of time, but now things were different. Rarity Unicorn would not be able to fix this, this was not some loss of material, designs, or equipment, this was a more detrimental blow than any of that combined could hope to recreate.

"Oh Rarity that's awful, and dreadfully unfair, I was looking forward to Friday…now it seems you'll have to bow out, don't worry love, things will be alright," said Glory as she tried to sooth Rarity, emphasis on trying.

It was time. "I appreciate your sentiments Glory, you as well Upper Crust, Jet Set." Rarity perked up her smile returning tenfold. "But they aren't needed as I am not bowing out just yet!"

"Oh Rarity please, there's no need to put on a brave face, sometimes things just happen that you can't control," said Jet Set.

"Yes, unexpected things do happen, and they can cause wrinkles in any best laid plan. If there's anything I've learned in all my years of dealing with the unexpected, it's that when such events arise you must look to the friendships you've made, to those whom you hold near and dear to you. And that's exactly what I've done! Oh Spike~"

The crowd behind Rarity parted as the handsome dragon made his way towards her. Flanking him were Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Ballista, the ballroom was filled with cacophony of whispers, ooohs, and awes. The four assembled around Rarity, Jet Set and Upper Crust brandished their weapon, now it was time for Rarity to do the same.

"Allow me to introduce to you to my friends. This is Fluttershy, or you may know her better by her title as Knight of Kindness." Rarity moved on. "Pinkie Pie, the Knight of Laughter, and one of the most energetic mares you'll ever meet in your life." Last but not least. "And this is Captain Ballista, Captain of 504th Aerial Squadron from during the War of Darkness, and just as close a friend." Rarity moved away from her friends to stand more proudly near the center. "Without further ado, I like to introduce you to my new models for this Friday's show!"