“It’s alive! IT’S ALIVE!”
Doctor Rarity flung her hooves up in ecstasy, her lab coat trailing behind her like a great pair of wings. The creature on the slab still jerked convulsively beneath the sheet from the aftereffects of the lightning strike. The creature’s horn glowed a brilliant lavender visible even through the heavy cloth and suddenly the restraints holding it to the table were ripped away with an audible snapping of metal. The creature turned its body sideways, rear hooves dangling over the side of the slab even as its forehooves pulled the obscuring sheet away from its head, revealing, revealing…
…The most beautiful creature Rarity had ever seen. A coat of purest lavender topped with a dark purple mane. A single stripe of pink bisected the mane, perfectly situated to accentuate the spiraling horn that marked her as a member of the unicorn tribe. Large, luminescent eyes sparkling with intelligence and wit stared back at her, filled with the innocent curiosity of a newborn taking in her first sight of the world. Rarity stepped forward without thinking, laying a hoof on her creation’s cheek. The creature’s eyes swiveled to regard the limb. She leaned her head to one side, causing the hoof to slide across her cheek. She seemed to enjoy the sensation and looked back to the source of it. Rarity could feel the creature’s breath on her face, warm and still warm with the spark of life itself. Their eyes locked, creator and creature, and with that contact came a connection that transcended petty details of social norms and customs.
“W-Who am I?” the creature said, the first words stumbling from her unused throat like a toddler taking her first steps. Rarity smiled and lowered her hoof, placing it beneath her creation’s chin in a loving gesture.
“You are Twilight Sparkle. I am Rarity. I created you, and you are perfect.”
“Twilight Sparkle,” the creature said, feeling the shape of the name in her mouth. “Rarity,” she breathed, as if tasting her first sweet.
“That’s right darling. I made you to be—”
The sound of a heavy door being flung open reverberated through the lab. The bucolic, ill-bred voice of her assistant cut through the moment.
“Mistress! Ah’ve got bad news!”
“Not now Applejack!” Rarity said curtly, never once taking her eyes from Twilight for so much as an instant. “Whatever it is, it can wait.”
“But Mistress!” the up-jumped peasant pleaded in her rustic accent, “The townspeople are all outside the gate and shouting something fierce! They’re saying y’all have sinned against Celestia and that they’re comin’ to stop you!”
“What?!” Rarity cried. “No! Not now! Not in my moment of triumph!”
Rarity rushed to the window of the lab and threw it open, heedless of the driving rain outside. From it she could see a mob of ponies gathered in front of her estate, brandishing torches and pitchforks. A sudden burst of lightning further illuminated the scene and Rarity was able to make out one particular cerulean form hovering above the mob, exhorting them onward with wild hoof gestures and angry shouts. Rarity’s eyes narrowed.
“Rainbow Dash. I might have known.”
Rarity turned to see that Twilight had gotten off of the bier. She swayed awkwardly as she took her first hesitant steps towards her creator. Her lavender eyes were wide and frightened. The poor dear could clearly tell that something was wrong.
“What is happening?”
“Somepony is coming,” Rarity explained hurriedly as she closed the windows. “Somepony bad. She wants to take you away from me, but I won’t let her. Come darling, we must away!”
Rarity gave Twilight a quick kiss on the cheek before striding purposefully towards the open laboratory doors. The perfect purple pony blushed adorably at the gesture of affection, her face darkening even more as the innocent mare felt the white unicorn’s long tail brush lovingly against her flank. She stood frozen in place as she tried to cope with the strange new feelings that were rushing through her all at once and so she was the only one who saw the blue missile descending through the torrential downpour outside. She screamed as the window burst inward, sending an explosion of a broken glass flying into the room. Rarity spun to see a blue pegasus with a prismatic mane standing in front of her beloved. A lightning bolt illuminated the vile brigand from behind, reflecting off her myriad garish earrings and piercings. The pegasus narrowed her one eye that was not hidden behind a patch and guffawed evilly.
“Halt! In the name of Duke Blueblood this vile experiment is at an end!” The ruffian leered at Twilight wickedly. “Though methinks he’ll find a use for this pretty morsel after all!” she said as she seized the precious purple pony in a headlock.
“Release her!” Rarity cried, levitating various sharp instruments from around her workspace and hurling them at the intruder with pinpoint accuracy. Rainbow Dash twisted Twilight in front of her like a living shield. Rarity changed tacks and sent her makeshift weapons arcing around to catch the pegasus from behind, but the momentary delay gave Rainbow Dash all the time she needed to spring into the air, dragging a terrified Twilight aloft with her. Before Rarity could initiate another plan of attack Rainbow Dash flew up to the massive device hanging from the laboratory’s ceiling and gave it a good hard buck. The unwieldy machine turned on its pivot and let loose a bolt of pure electricity that Rarity barely dodged. It ricocheted off the stone floor and rebounded off the wall, then the ceiling and back down again. Rarity smelled smoke and looked up to see a tapestry catching fire. Rainbow Dash laughed wildly.
Rarity gave a most unladylike snarl and seized a table with her magic. With a mighty mental heave she sent it hurtling towards her foe. The agile pegasus dodged easily and gave another laugh as she tightened her grip on her hostage.
“Careful, Rarity! You wouldn’t want to hurt your precious creation.”
“Damn you, you fiend! Have you no heart?!”
More laughter bubbled forth in reply. “There’s no shortage of perfect flanks in the world. What does it matter if I ruin hers?”
A shriek of tortured metal audible even over the storm came from outside. The sound of hooves pounding on stone followed, drawing nearer. Rarity did not need to look to know that the mob had forced the gates. She glared at her nemesis.
“More of your dupes?” she spat.
Rainbow Dash sneered. “An awesome pony like me always has followers. You should be used to that by now.” She stopped hovering and started flying backwards towards the window. “You should know by now that there’s nothing you can make that I can’t take from you!”
Twilight squirmed desperately in her abductor’s grip. Rarity knew that she had to think fast. She would never catch up if the prismatic rogue made it outside. Thunder boomed again and the still swinging device hanging from the ceiling powered on again in response, sending another blast of destructive energy flying across the room. It struck the outer wall of the lab, sending out a cloud of dust and shattered stone. Rainbow Dash juked to avoid one of the larger fragments and coughed as she breathed in some of the detritus.
Rarity saw her chance. A blue aura surrounded one of the jagged hunks of stone that remained in the wall as Rarity reached out with her telekinetic grip. Suddenly there was a loud crack as it ripped free of the remains of the wall. Rainbow Dash turned just in time to see the makeshift club swinging at her face. The roundhouse blow caught her completely off-guard and sent her flying back into the machine dangling from the center of the roof. As Rainbow Dash’s grip weakened from the shock Twilight bite down hard on one of her captor’s forelegs and suddenly the purple mare was in a freefall. She shrieked as she saw the hard stone floor rushing up to meet her. An instant later she felt something soft and white enfold her, bearing her gently downwards. She opened her eyes to see that the shroud she had woken up under had wrapped itself around her. She looked across the room to see Rarity’s head bent forward in concentration as she levitated her down safely. She came to a rest at Rarity’s hooves.
“Thank you, oh thank you!” Twilight cried as she threw her forehooves around Rarity’s neck in a grateful hug. Rarity patted her back comfortingly, then drew back, her face a mask of anger and wariness.
“You’re welcome darling, but we’re not safe yet.”
As if on cue the machine activated again. A blast of azure-white electricity descended straight down into the laboratory floor. Stone and dust flew everywhere as the column of heaven’s harnessed fury blew a hole straight down to the floor below.
Rarity looked back to see the door to the lab blocked by raging flames. She gulped, then took Twilight by the hoof.
“This way dear!” she said as she sprinted towards the opening. Twilight followed, and together they dived down to the floor below. A purple bubble popped into being around them midway down, slowing their descent. Rarity looked at her companion and smiled.
“My, you are a fast learner, aren’t you?”
Twilight blushed adorably. “I want to learn everything you have to teach me, Mistress!”
“And you shall darling, you shall,” Rarity assured her.
Above, Rainbow Dash rubbed her eyes as she waited for the dazzling effects of the artificial lightning bolt to fade. Her vision cleared just in time for her to see something small and sharp moving very fast up into the machine. It struck the device right in the center of its projector and smashed through to its innards. The lightning projector began to spark and smoke. A voice from below caught her attention.
“Do you know what happens to a pegasus who gets hit by lightning?” Rarity asked mockingly. “The same thing that happens to everything else!”
Rainbow Dash’s head jerked back up just in time to see the device explode, sending streaks of electricity flying in every direction. She tried to scream, but the current forced every muscle in her body rigid as it streamed through her. The force of the blast threw her bodily out the window to land sizzling on the cobblestones of the courtyard below.
Rarity looked down at Twilight. “After all the times she’s come crashing in through the window it’s good to finally see her defenestrated.” Twilight giggled approvingly.
There was the sound of iron-shod hooves striking wood, and with it the front doors to the mansion came crashing in. Rarity and Twilight looked up to see the angry mob begin to pour into the foyer where they stood. Rarity took Twilight’s hoof in her own.
“Together forever, darling.”
Twilight nuzzled her back. “Until the end.”
They held each other as they calmly waited for the inevitable.
†
Wild techno music began to blare, and the Avenging Death Slayer of Doom leapt into action. She rushed into the entrance to the labyrinth, body held low to the ground to present as little of a target as possible. As she came to an intersection she caught a flicker in the corner of her eye and hurled herself into a forward roll. She came up in a crouch, right forehoof raised and pointing at where she had caught the motion from. The strange device around her foreleg beeped and buzzed as it sent a steady stream of coherent light down the hallway. Here and there dust caught it and it was visible against the strobing lights that provided illumination to the otherwise darkened maze. She saw the laser light splatter uselessly against the far wall. Nopony was in sight. The Avenging Death Slayer of Doom sighed in frustration.
The Avenging Death Slayer of Doom felt a sudden vibration on her hind leg. Her eyes widened in shock as she realized what that meant. She threw herself into another forward roll down the hallway, veering left and right as erratically as possible to throw off her attacker’s aim. She came to a halt a few feet short of the corner at the end of the hallway she had just fired down and scrambled on her hooves and knees the rest of the way to safety. Boisterous laughter rang out behind her, audible even over the loud music.
The Avenging Death Slayer of Doom clambered back onto her hooves. She panted from the sudden exertion, but she knew from the sound of hooves galloping across the corridor she had just fled down that there was no time to rest. She snaked her right foreleg around the corner and fired her laser blindly, then scampered down further into the maze without waiting to see if she had hit anything. She heard something large crash into a wall behind her as she hurried away, turning randomly down whatever pathway seemed promising whenever she came to an intersection. Finally she came to a stop, panting. She cocked an ear but heard no sounds of pursuit. Had she thrown her adversary off her trail? Or was it just the damned techno beat making it impossible to hear anything?
She started back down the way she came. She favored her right foreleg, ready to bring it to bear at a moment’s notice. She turned each corner suddenly, bringing her sidearm up and ready to fire each time. After repeating this three or four times she began to grit her teeth in frustration. Where was—
The Avenging Death Slayer of Doom froze as she heard a faint snickering behind her, just barely audible over the electronic noise that some ponies called music. She started to freeze, then forced herself to relax. She had to play this just right…
The Avenging Death Slayer of Doom rolled to one side, grunting as she smashed into the cardboard wall of the labyrinth. Coherent light flashed across the space where she had stood a moment before, shining blood-red against the floor. The Avenging Death Slayer of Doom spun around and returned fire, mentally backtracking the beam’s trajectory to deduce where the shooter must have been standing.
The Avenging Death Slayer of Doom found herself firing at empty air. She gawked for a moment, then scanned the hall behind her for any signs of her quarry. Before she could complete her sweep she felt the harness across her chest begin to vibrate like crazy. A buzzer sounded, and suddenly the lights and music both stopped. The maze was dark for a moment, then more mundane illumination powered on. The Avenging Death Slayer of Doom raised her head and glared upward.
“No fair Rainbow Dash! Using wings is cheating!”
Rainbow Dash landed and folded her wings theatrically. “Never said I wouldn’t!” she said cockily.
“The rules said no magic!” Twilight Sparkle countered. “Pegasi fly using pegasus magic!”
“That doesn’t count!” Rainbow Dash snapped in reply. The two glared at each other for several seconds. Twilight was the first to break.
“You’re impossible!” she giggled.
“I know, I know, it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. I’m just that amazing. So, best two out of three?”
†
The two ponies were still laughing as they walked out of the arcade together. Twilight gave the cerulean pegasus an affectionate punch on the shoulder.
“This has been a great day Rainbow Dash. I had no idea they even had a place where you could play laser tag in Ponyville. How did you get the whole arcade reserved for us?”
“It’s new,” the brash pegasus replied. “And the owner may have owed me a favor for rescheduling a few storms while she was getting the roof fixed,” she added as she buffed a hoof on her chest and held it out for inspection.
“Well however you did it, I had a wonderful time. I can’t wait to see what you have planned ne—“
Ponies have very sensitive hooves. Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle may not have had the connection with the natural world that their earth pony friends had, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t feel the ground trembling beneath their feet. They looked at each other, then jumped as they heard the sound of wood being splintered by something heavy. They looked in the direction of the impact and saw something large and gray hopping up and down atop the remains of a cart.
Twilight squinted slightly. “Is that…?”
“It can’t be,” Rainbow Dash said at about the same time.
The heavy object started rolling towards them ponderously, thumping loudly each time one of its irregular sides made contact with the dirt road.
“Tom?!” the unicorn and the pegasus shouted in shocked unison.
It was Tom. Rainbow Dash hadn’t actually been there to see Tom herself, but Applejack had been more than happy to give her a detailed description between guffaws of laughter after the business with Discord was over, and Twilight didn’t think she could forget the damned boulder if she tried. They stared in slack-jawed amazement at the now animate rock. Twilight was the first to regain her senses.
“He—it’s speeding up,” she noted in a slightly frightened tone of voice. A moment later she felt a pair of hooves wrap around her midsection from above and suddenly she was being pulled up and away from the accelerating death stone. It crashed into the front of the arcade a few seconds later, smashing its way through the front of the building and continuing as its inertia built. The sound of expensive machinery being smashed to pieces echoed from inside. As the two ponies listened to the destruction a new voice called out from the direction Tom had appeared.
“Twilight! Darling, are you alright?”
Rainbow Dash and Twilight turned to see Rarity galloping down the street, a long cape billowing behind her. She came to a stop in front of the devastated arcade and struck a dramatic pose.
“Vile miscreant! How dare you threaten my friends?”
“Rarity!” Twilight shouted. “Be careful!”
Rarity looked up and gave Twilight a wink.
“Don’t worry darling, I have things well under control.”
As Rainbow Dash and Twilight watched in confusion Rarity began to charge her horn. Tom came rolling slowly back out of the arcade. Rarity lowered her head.
“Treacherous rock!” she cried as she levitated something shiny out from under her cape. “Take this! And that!”
The shiny object whipped out straight for Tom. It struck the animate boulder once, twice, three times, sending stone chips flying with each strike. Rarity leapt to one side as the boulder picked up speed, landing adroitly even as Tom went crashing into the front of the building on the other side of the road. She gave Twilight another wink.
“Diamond chisel,” she explained. “Never leave the Boutique without it.”
“Uhh, Twilight, what’s going on?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Not sure,” Twilight responded. “But I have an idea. Fly me in closer.”
Rainbow Dash shed altitude, bringing Twilight closer to the hole in the storefront. As they drew near Twilight closed her eyes and raised her head in a gesture of concentration. A lavender pulse issued from her horn. As the light swept over the boulder it began to slow, sliding to a stop a few feet into the storefront. Rarity blinked.
“Oh, good show Twilight,” she said with a nervous giggle. “I... didn’t know you could do that.”
“It’s a basic dispulsion spell,” Twilight said absently as Rainbow Dash lowered her to the ground. “But who in the hoof would want to animate Tom of all things?”
“Oh who knows?” Rarity said hurriedly. “You know how things are in this town.”
“And what’s with the cape?” Rainbow Dash said suspiciously.
“Oh, this old thing?” Rarity said. “Just something I threw together.” She watched as Twilight began to inspect the boulder. “Twilight, what are you doing?”
“Tracing whoever cast the spell to cause all this,” Twilight explained as she charged up her horn again. “This should take just a second…”
Lavender light flashed again, and suddenly the image of three glowing diamonds appeared on the side of the boulder. Twilight and Rainbow Dash turned to regard their friend. Rarity raised a hoof to her mouth.
“Hehe...Oops?”