//------------------------------//
// Act 1 chapter 10 
// Story: Diamonds are a girl's worst enemy 
// by Rarity Belle 
//------------------------------//

	All of the ponies were anxiously looking towards the two crashed giants. They could only pray that their strategy had worked. None of them even as much dared to breathe during those long seconds. Even though the creatures had lost their heads, there was still doubt whether or not it actually had managed to kill them. They could only hope that it did, yet their expectations were kept low.

        Which was actually a good thing as they both then took steps backward from one another. All of the crystals that made them up fell down to the ground, where it either shattered or recollected. But Rarity’s eyes were firmly focused upon the giants. Their hope was running thinner than anything and the prayers were silently already made in her mind.

        Though then the moment came there where they had been waiting for. The moment where both of the giants fell down to the ground with a loud crash. A crash that caused each of the members to lower their ears against their heads and turn away from the dust that sprung up.

        “Whatever is still sleeping in this cavern, has been woken up now…” Rarity commented in response after everything had died down. Even though their location might have been given away, the corpses of the giants could still be made of use by her and the team. “We shall set our camp up by them, it’s the safest we will be for whatever else roams outside,” she added.

        “You sure ‘bout that lass?” Rare Thinker questioned to her. He didn't buy any of the mare her words. But once glance of her dead serious eyes actually managed to change that fact. “Okay, okay.”


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In the time that seemed like hours were the corpses of the crystalline giants turned into a rather comfortable camp for the ponies on the expedition. The lights of a magical orb flooded the whole place with a wonderful and harmonious light. One which was meant to keep any peeking eyes away from them. Whether or not that fact actually worked had been remained to be seen in the eyes of Rarity. Yet she had a different set of problems in the moment that troubled her much more.

        The younger twin brother was still caught in the magical straps and under the influence of the magic that had been haunting through the cave. It wasn't going to be anything simple or easy but the deed had to be done. Both the unicorn and Drawn Brush had a look to one another. At the same time had sapphire coloring coated itself of the horn of the mare.

        “If there was any other way to help your brother, I would have done it. But this is the only spell I have in my own personal arsenal that will guarantee him to come back from this state. You sure you want me to do it, it’s painful to watch, I’ll tell you that right away,” said Rarity in a soft and sympathetic tone towards the stallion.

        Drawn on the other end released a deep sigh before the eyes closed themselves. The pounding of his mind was something that continued to happen. Suddenly was the fate of his little brother laid in his hooves. The choices he was standing for weren't the best ones, that much he knew. Yet losing his only sibling in the world thanks to a job they both had accepted, he couldn't allow. In the end of everything was there only one answer that he could have given her. “Do it, do whatever you need to be doing and make sure he survives. More I don’t ask from you.”

        Rarity nodded calmly to the words before her eyes looked down towards the tied up Brush. “I’m so sorry that you managed to be captured,” she spoke up before releasing the charge. The stallion himself wanted to spew out some words before it all happened, yet the chance wasn't given to him. The sparks of magic touched all over his body and the screams of agony were released.

Screams that caused both Rare Thinker and Velvet Fashion to cringe a bit as they were leaning against one of the crystal legs. “I don’t understand why we can’t just leave him here, he’s gone mad and nothing can ever bring him back from that. She is just too stubborn not to accept that very fact,” the stallion muttered to himself before a growl of annoyance followed suit.

        Velvet thought that he was having a rather fair point on the matter. Yet she didn't found it her place to actually question the matter as it was going on. She just hoped that the stallion himself would have been able to get out of the madness he was thrown in and become his normal self again. 

Minutes past over into hours before the shock therapy of Rarity had ended. She nodded towards the older twin. Whatever she had done, she thought to have managed it nicely. She had healed the younger Brush Drawn from the insanity of the caverns themselves. That in and of itself a feat not to brag about lightly. “He requires some sleep, lots of it in fact. I suggest that we shall be doing the same,” said Rarity to the older twin who gave her a nod. “Mind to cook us some dinner?”

        That caused a small smile to be cracked on his face before another nod was given to her. “Certainly miss. Just give me what we can spare for today.” And with those words spoken had the job of creating the dinner for the four still awake ponies begun. It would have been soon that the warm scents of the food had entered the noses of the other ponies and the waters ran into their mouths.

        None could wait for the delicious crafts that were being made. Yet in the corner of their eyes they all kept a firm look to everything that could be seen. For every now and then there was the feeling of being spotted by something that lurked in the darkness. Feelings of terror that crawled up in them as a stone cold shiver down the spine. Yet none actually looked it up or anything.

        “Master Thinker, you shall be having the first watch of the night, don’t let your attention fall down for anything,” commanded Rarity after the dinner had been consumed. Though the feelings had grown even more towards them. Something inside of the cavern had awoken with the crash of the giants, yet none were certain of just what. Though the ivory coated unicorn was having some idea of just what the beings might have been. She made perhaps the foolish decision not to tell any of the others as she didn’t wanted to cause unneeded panic.

        The stallion nodded to her words and assumed his position on top of the fallen giants. From there he could be watching all over the cavern and keep a near perfect eye on anything. At least that was what he thought. For hours after all of the others had fallen deep into a slumber of their own, even he couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore and fell asleep. That was the near perfect opportunity for anything that was spying on them.

        From the shadows they came. Two creatures that were easily the size of Rarity herself. They both stepped almost silently over the ground and through the camp. The holes in their legs and the glistering of the wings in the faint light that the orb still irradiated gave away just what the beings were. Changelings from the highest ranks. Yet where Rarity had encountered those of Chrysalis before, these were not falling under her reign. For instead of the blue eyes, these were having a deep orange set.

        Even though the mare looked to be asleep, one of her eyes had itself constantly peeled on the creatures that were scurrying around their camp. “And so it shall begin,” she mumbled silently to herself. The eye quickly shut itself right after it caught a hoof being placed right before it.