Rarity sat on her couch. What to do? She couldn't go to the dig site today. Rainbow Dash had said it was closed off for security reasons. As much as she liked her dig site, she didn't ever even consider putting herself in harm's way. After all, she was a respected archaeologist. She didn't just go putting her life at risk, no matter how important the site may be.
She had told Sweetie Belle to go and do something in the city. So she was all alone now. Maybe a walk would do her some good.
She packed a small lunch and then set out the door. She decided to go to the city, since there was bound to be something worth buying there. She had her money, so why not? After all, a little shopping now and then is good for one's self.
The road was long and tiring. Why did she have yet to buy an automobile? It would be so much more handy in these situations. Her hooves were sore and she was getting hot, despite the nice weather. In the dig site, she usually worked in her tents, or under the sun but not moving to much. Out here, it was hot. She didn't mind getting a little dirty as the dust rose from the ground and settled on her dress, but she didn't care for discomfort.
As she was complaining in her mind, she came across a small bag. Naturally curious, she grabbed the bag and peered inside. It held about ten bits, not much to somepony like her, but to the common folk, it was a nice sum. Who would have left it lying on the ground?
She placed it back on the ground, not wanting to take what wasn't hers. As she turned around to leave, something wrapped around her front legs and body. She look down to see a rope, like a lasso or something. She struggled against it but it pulled her down to the ground. She looked up to see three thugs, each one carrying clubs, slowly approaching her. She gulped. This wasn't good. Despite being tied up, she was still able to move her back legs and managed to kick the first stallion that tried to approach her.
He reeled back as his friends laughed. “This one has some fight to 'er!”
The other one spoke in a low, guttural tone. “It'll make it all the more enjoyable while we have fun with her.”
Rarities eyes widened. They didn't want her money, they wanted... Oh no!
She tried to struggle again, but this time they tied up her back legs as well. “You ain't goin' no where, pretty.”
She tried to scream but one of them gagged her. She had never felt so helpless in her life, nor more terrified. She began to cry as they moved in.
Her eyes jolted open when she heard a loud bang. She looked around to see one of the stallions stumble backward, a large crater in his chest, blood and bits of flesh falling to the ground. Rarity turned her head from the sight to see the other two thugs looking around, trying to find where the attacker was. Another bang. One of the stallions fell down, a hole going right through his head.
The last one tried to run, but was caught by a lasso. Rarity almost laughed at the sight. He struggled, but to no avail. Then Rarity saw her savior.
An orange mare, dressed in a trench coat and holding a shotgun, a smaller revolver strapped to her waist. She walked up to the struggling thug and rolled him onto his back. He immediately stopped when he saw a shotgun pointed at his face.
“Please!” He cried. “Don't kill me. We can work something out!”
His face was shredded to pulp as the shotgun unloaded its content into his head. Blood and flesh flew everywhere, causing Rarity to turn her head and shriek in disgust. She opened her eyes to see one of his ears fall right in front of her. She screamed again, trying to get up but being held down by the ropes.
The orange mare pulled out a knife and cut her bonds. As soon as Rarity was able to stand up, she jumped away from the carnage. The orange mare simply reloaded her shotgun then took off.
Rarity watched for a few minutes. That was... odd. She just walked off, simple as that, no words or anything. Her brain tried to make sense of what just happened. She had been assaulted by thugs, then saved by a mysterious orange mare. Who was she?
She tried to find where she was, but the orange mare had disappeared from sight. Rarity decided to continue toward the city of Avolan. She picked up her dropper purse then finished the trip. The whole time she was thinking about that mare. Who was she? Why did she save her? What had just happened?!
She was soon at the gates. They were massive, two bronze slabs, each one about five feet thick. They both had some intricate design on the front, not like symbols, just patterns. She knew they took about a minute to open and close, and so far nothing had breached them.
She went through the gates and into the city. It was bustling, since today was a Sunday. Ponies were going back and forth, going about their business, whether that be selling goods, buying goods, or simply talking with others. There wasn't a lot of room on the streets, leaving only the back alleys or some sidewalks left open.
Rarity decided to start by eating her lunch. It was high noon, and after her startling incident, she was hungry. She found a small table, just away from all the stalls where she could eat her meal and still observe the vendors.
She pulled out a small sandwich, not a hay one, but a leaf one. Perfect for a lady like herself. Her mind wandered back to her attack as she chewed on her food. It wasn't the first time she had seen a pony get killed. A few had died while working excavation sights she was at as well, so that didn't really bother her. It was more the fact they were mostly blown apart, and shown no mercy. Even though she was the subject of their attack, she was still willing to show mercy. But the orange mare showed none. That was what really bothered her.
She pulled her mind away from the past events. She watched as the ponies bought, sold, and traded various items. She wanted to know who was visited more often, who had more variety, and so on. She saw a blue earth pony stallion trading food with some black vendor. She saw a yellow pegasus mare haggling some poor old vendor for some mechanical goods. There was even two unicorns arguing over some book. It was almost amusing to watch.
Her mind began to wander back to her attack. Not knowing how else to help clear her mind, and having finished her lunch, she got up and began to shop. She didn't actually buy anything, but it was always nice to browse.
By about two in the afternoon, she was ready to go home. She left for the gates, careful to stay out of the crowd. They always got more intense by two to four. She was almost out of the city when she was stopped by a stallion.
At first she thought she was being attacked again, but then she recognized him as a royal guard. He held out a piece of paper. “A message from her Highness, Emperor Celestia.”
Rarity took the paper and opened it as the guard left. She read it out loud, though not loud enough to be heard.
My Dear Subject Rarity,
Something of dire importance has come up, and I now require your assistance. Please arrive at the castle in two days. It is of utmost importance.
And do not worry, I really mean you, and there will be others as well I have called.
Sincerely, your Ruler,
Empress Celestia
Rarity did a double take. The Empress? Wanted to see her? This was beyond anything she had ever imagined. She was wanted by royalty! This was a dream come true! This was incredible!
She was so happy that she skipped down the road back to her house, completely oblivious to the fact that the dead bodies were gone. She couldn't help it! She was going to meet royalty! She had tried all her life to get into the higher circles, yet she never could. Now, she had a shot!
She got home and shut the door. She had to pack, she had to prepare! She had a lot to do before she was ready to leave. And she only had two days!
Rainbow Dash sat in the sun, resting. She had told Rarity that the site needed to be closed for security reasons. Like the nitwit she was, Rarity believed her. So now Rainbow Dash had the whole day to do whatever she wanted. So she chose to rest.
She had been lying there for about an hour when she decided to go do something. She got up and headed toward the city. She heard that the market was always crazy on a Sunday.
The flight there was mostly uneventful. She flew high, she flew low, she did some tricks, but other wise it was just boring.
Until she ran into a trio of dead bodies. She landed to get a closer look. She wasn't afraid of anything dead, since it was kinda her job to explore dangerous caves full of things that wanted to kill you. But it was they way they were killed.
She found one stallion with a hole in his chest, big and pooling with blood. She could see his internal organs, most of which had shrapnel in them. She found another one with a hole in his head,, a gray matter on the dirt beside it. Finally, she found the last body. In place of a head, it had a pile of flesh, bones, and blood. That was kinda gross. She determined he had died from a shotgun, but who could be so cruel?
She shrugged her shoulders. Not her deal. Then again, she should at least give them some respect. She found a small ditch and hauled all three of them to it, minus the ones head, of course. She kicked some dirt over them, and, satisfied she had done her best, took of toward the city.
When she got there, she didn't do much. Sure enough, it was packed like hell, but she didn't care. She wasn't much for shopping anyway. But maybe someone had a tale for her to chase after. It sure beat hanging around this hole.
She asked around, but no one had anything to say. Maybe she could try the higher levels in this city. Wasn't that how it worked? She looked around but it all seemed the same. She tried to find some one who looked more important. No such luck.
She was about to leave when a royal guard stopped her. “A message from her Highness, Empress Celestia.”
He handed over a piece of paper then turned to leave. “Wait!” Rainbow Dash called out, but it was too late, he was out of earshot.
She looked at the paper in her hand. What was it? She opened it up and read it out loud.
My Dear Subject Rainbow Dash,
Something of dire importance has come up, and I now require your assistance. Please arrive at the castle in two days. It is of utmost importance.
And do not worry, I really mean you, and there will be others as well I have called.
Sincerely, your Ruler,
Empress Celestia
Rainbow Dash folded up the message and threw it to the ground. Well, if the Empress wanted to see her for something important, that was bound to be more interesting that what she was doing now, right? She flew back to her makeshift cloud house. Scootaloo was reading a book, so she decided to catch a few Z’s before she her daily flight workout.
With a nod of her head, she was asleep, already dreaming of what the Empress might have in store.