//------------------------------// // Act II - 14 - Under Construction // Story: Harmony's Warriors: Iron Mare (Revised Version) // by Avenging-Hobbits //------------------------------// Act II: “Who Are You?” Chapter Fourteen: “Under Construction” The sound of laughter filled Rarity’s ears as she staggered along in the dark. The only source of light was from the gem in her chest, which shone out against the dark, illuminating the path ahead, which looked vaguely like a hallway with some kind of liquid pooled on the floor below. All around her, were thousands upon thousands of tendrils and tentacles, all reaching out, clawing at her as she ran. She continued to run, her hooves reaching out blindly, desperately trying to feel her way out of this place. “Run all you want…” a cold, sadistic feminine voice spoke, it’s words practically oozing out from wherever the source of the voice was. “This is my domain, and I do what I wish with those who enter.” Rarity tried her best to ignore the words, pulling her ears back as tightly as possible and simply running faster. There had to be some sort of escape method, somewhere to go to escape from the incredible sense of fear and panic that surrounded her. “Oh, frightened are we?” the voice asked, it’s tone now dripping with a menacing glee. “Well, let’s make you a little more comfortable, shall we?” Rarity suddenly felt the tendrils wrap around her ankles like a vice, sending her sprawling forwards. She coughed as the gooey, oil like surface surged upwards, wrapping around her wrists, keeping her pinned. It was almost as if she were caught in tar. She struggled to keep her face from being sucked into the mire, frantically panting and struggling. “Wha-what is this?” she panicked, looking around frantically. “What’s going on?” The laughter that came in response was haughty and malicious, like some sort of evil queen from a storybook watching her subjects suffer. “‘What is this’? Don’t play dull Miss Belle. You know exactly what this is,” Rarity’s eyes widened as the black tar-like substance surrounding her slowly started to shift and morph, pooling together and raising above her to form a towering, black alicorn. Her mane spread out behind her, flowing and ebbing like the midnight sky. Her turquoise eyes were pierced by cat like pupils, and she looked down at Rarity with vicious glee. “This, my dearest Miss Belle, is the result of your precious little endeavours. A soulless, destructive tar that sucks everything inside of it. It is all the pain, suffering, and anguish your work has caused, manifested before you now!” The alicorn’s eyes widened slightly, catching sight of the light of Rarity’s diamond. “Oh, what is this? Some little trinket you’ve crafted? Oh I simply must take a closer look.” Rarity tried to protest, but was cut off by the alicorn’s magic shooting out and wrapping around the diamond. Rarity then felt an excruciating pain explode in her chest as she felt the diamond being forcibly removed. It was like having open heart surgery without any anesthetic while having boiling lava poured down her chest cavity. She gasped and choked, letting out a cry of pain as the gem was ripped out. Immediately, her vision began to swim and she felt her heart flip flop in her chest. Rarity looked up, seeing that now the alicorn was inspecting the gem closely. “Hmmm… interesting,” the alicorn mused, rubbing her chin. “It seems this little trinket is distinct from the others...almost as if it was made for an entirely different purpose -- something other than just mindless warfare. A way of escape from the mire of your existence?” she glanced down at Rarity, who merely reached towards the gem desperately. While her vision faded in and out as the pain slowly consumed her. The alicorn simply grinned. “Well, we can’t have that can we?” The alicorn smiled wildly, showing off her viper like fangs as she took the gem in her magic, and, without so much as a flinch, crushed it in her grip. Rarity let out a sound of protest, which only to provoke a peal of laughter from her tormentor. “Oh, it seems I’ve struck a nerve. Well, sorry to break it to you darling, but you belong here. You’ll never escape, you’ll never be able to break free from this place. This mire is a part of you, and it will never go away. I hope you enjoy your stay.” The alicorn turned, steadily striding away from Rarity, who still pawed at the mire, desperately trying to drag herself towards the surface. “Goodbye now!” the alicorn laughed, flickering her wrist, causing the ooze to come alive again and drag Rarity into it’s oily depths. ////////////////////////////// Rarity bolted upright in bed, panting heavily. She could feel her bedsheets clinging to her tightly, sticky with her own sweat. She blindly fumbled for the lightswitch, desperately flicking on the light next to her bed. You’re alive… you’re alive… you’re okay, she thought in a panic, her hoof darting up to the gem on her chest. Oh thank Celestia… it’s still here… it’s still here... “Ra-Rarity? Wha…?” came Sweetie Belle’s sleep-addled voice, and Rarity turned to see that, indeed, her sister was still next to her, now rubbing her eyes sleepily. “Why are you awake?” Rarity swallowed. “Uh… nothing, nothing… just a bit of a nightmare is all. Go back to sleep.” “Are you sure? How bad was it?" Sweetie added, shifting to better face Rarity. Rarity simply shook her head, subconsciously pushing her bang out of her eye. “It’s okay, I’m used to it. I had a few back--” she halted, the memory of sleepless nights hunkered in the dark, dank corner of a cave causing her chest to tighten. Her breath quickened slightly, and her hoof gripped the sheets a little tighter. A hoof reaching up to her caused her to blink, and she turned to see Sweetie Belle, obviously tired, but still deeply concerned, looking up at her. “Are you sure everything's okay? You look scared. Do you wanna talk about it?” she asked, causing Rarity to hesitate. “Uh… no, no it was nothing worth talking about. It’s over, don’t worry yourself. Anyways, you should get some sleep, we’ll probably have quite a bit of work ahead of us tomorrow.” Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow, but did not object before giving a small nod and going back to sleep. Rarity sighed and rolled over, hoping that the worst was behind her. But sleep still evaded her. Try as she might, Rarity could not get the image of the dark alicorn out of her head; her eyes, her laughter, the pain... The pain was the worst part, as even as she rested a hoof on the diamond she could still feel it shatter within the intruder’s grasp, her chest collapsing in on itself. ////////////////////////////// Rarity shuffled along towards the laboratory, sleepily rubbing away any remnants of exhaustion from the night before. After telling Sweetie Belle to go back to bed, Rarity herself had attempted to follow the same advice. It wasn’t easy. Maybe it was just general lack of proper sleep since returning home, or just her nerves, but the nightmares had continued, on and off, throughout the night. In the end, she had to resort to a sleeping pill to practically knock herself out, which, while granting her a dreamless sleep, also meant that she woke up incredibly groggy. She’d nearly fallen asleep in the shower this morning, only being woken by her horn slapping into the ceramic as she started to fall over. She’d then gotten dressed, just a simple set of work clothing - no use getting anything expensive dirty - and was now dragging herself towards the kitchen. Just focus on the suit, Rarity. Don’t let your insecurities get the better of you. They haven’t before, so why let them start now? she told herself, pouring herself a shot of jet black Criollo Coffee. If anything, the hyper-caffeinated drink would most likely restore her to working capacity. She took a sip, the sharp flavor almost instantly chasing away any sleepiness she might have had. “Ah… that’s the stuff…” she murmured, turning and starting towards the laboratory. I wonder where Sweetie Belle is? she mused, having noticed that the bed had been unoccupied when she had woken up. She headed towards the living room, half expecting the young filly to be sitting on the couch, absorbed in whatever television show or hyper-animated anime the filly considered entertainment. However, the living room was empty. Rarity furrowed her forehead. Where are you? She walked along the hallway, arms crossed and eyebrows lowered. Sweetie had to be somewhere, since-- “Feel your body melt!/Mum to mum to mad to dad!/Dad diddly office!/Dad diddly office!--” She halted, the music catching her ear. She took two steps back, turning to face the door to her workshop, which had been left slightly open. Rarity opened it completely, heading down the stairway and into the workshop. Sitting on a stool, hunched over the worktable and with a welding torch in her hooves, was Sweetie Belle. Rarity lowered her eyebrows again, flicking the music off with a flicker of her horn. “What are you doing?” Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically. Sweetie halted mid-weld, turning the torch off and turning around. She lifted the welding visor, a large, self-aware blush spreading across her face. “Um… hey, Rarity… nice to see you awake,” she said, meekly waving as Rarity walked up to her. “Why are you welding without supervision?” Rarity asked incredulously, taking the welding torch from her sister’s hooves and setting it on the table. Sweetie self consciously wrung her hooves. “Well… I… kinda figured…” “Yes?” Rarity pressed, leaning forward slightly. “Out with it!” Sweetie took a deep breath. “The reason I was in here was because I thought you were having a rough night and that you needed the rest so I figured I’d at least try to get some basic work done on the suit I only just started welding, I mean I added some bearing grease on the joints of the glove, but that’s it really I didn’t really want to upset you oh please don’t be mad!” she then quickly shied away, her eyes shut tightly. Rarity opened her mouth to speak, before halting. She took a deep breath. New start. Got to be more understanding. Just count to ten... She counted silently, then let out a long sigh. "Sweetie… just… don't do that again. At least, not without telling me first. You could have hurt yourself. Drastically. Understand?" Sweetie opened her eyes, blinking briefly before speaking. "So, you're not mad at me?" Rarity shook her head, rubbing the bridge of her muzzle. "No, no, I'm not mad… just… frustrated." Sweetie hung her head. "Oh." Rarity felt her heart sink at the sight of her sister looking so sullen once more. She exhaled, dropping her hooves from her face. "However, I suppose your heart was in the right place, so I can't really fault you for getting a tad over enthusiastic." She looked over the half assembled gauntlet. "And I suppose for a first timer, your welding work is serviceable." Sweetie blinked. "Really? You think I did good?" she inquired, her tone hopeful. Rarity nodded. "I suppose so, yes. I'll probably have to redo it though, if only to be absolutely sure it works properly, but yes, I suppose you did a fine job for your first try." She gave Sweetie a gentle tap on the shoulder before moving to pick up the welding equipment. "However, I feel it would be best to have the blueprints on screen, yes? That way we don't make a mistake and force ourselves to do a ton of unnecessary work, right?" Sweetie shrugged. "I guess..." Her sullen expression floated away and was instead replaced by the look of someone who was willing to learn, if somewhat insecure. Rarity noticed her expression, and smiled down at her. "Look, Sweetie, no need to be so tentative anymore. Just relax, watch and learn." Rarity reached over to the computer screen that was bolted to the wall. She pushed the button, and the screen flickered on. "Now, let's see… blueprints, blueprints… show me the blueprints..." Rarity muttered, slipping her reading glasses on her face, opening and closing folders on the touchscreen busily. The screen however, flickered on and off erratically. "Stupid monitor," Rarity grumbled. Sweetie meanwhile, raised an eyebrow. “Um… Rarity…” Rarity huffed. “What?” She continued to fight with the touchscreen, which continually shorted out or flickered every few seconds. “Do you feel that weird buzzing at the base of your horn too? I’ve been feeling it ever since you came in.” Rarity paused, glancing down at Sweetie. “What ‘buzzing’?” Sweetie pointed to her horn. “Right here. Ever since you came in.” “Ever since I got here? Really?” Sweetie shrugged. “Well, okay, to be a little more accurate, I’ve only been feeling it ever since you started the computer.” Rarity paused. She looked up at the computer screen. She lifted a hoof to her chin, rubbing it slightly. Maybe… she took a step back, and the screen, which had previously looked as if someone had rubbed a magnet all over it, cleared up, reverting back to it’s normal color scheme. Rarity took another step forward, the monitor once more started to fuzz up. Rarity’s eyebrows raised. “I need to test something. Find me some mithril!” she called out, standing up from her chair and rummaging through the several dozen drawers and toolboxes that lined the walls of the workshop. Sweetie raised an eyebrow. “What’s ‘mitral’?” “No, it’s pronounced ‘mit-th-rill’. It’s a special kind of metal crafted by draconian smiths for various purposes. It’s very strong, very light, and has special properties. I need to test a theory,” Rarity answered, busily going through drawers. “Where is it, damn it!” she grumbled, “It’s shiny, and looks like silver. Should be in a container labeled ‘mithril’! I always label things!” Sweetie looked around, hopping out of her chair and scanning the labels on the wall. She figured that if what Rarity was saying was correct, then it would logically be with the M’s. “So how do you spell it?” she called back to Rarity, who was now hunkered under a worktable, searching through the series of drawers built underneath. “M-I-T-H--” “Here it is!” Sweetie chirped, spotting the drawer labeled ‘Mithril’ in clear printed text. She hopped up, opening the drawer and reaching inside to pull out a large sheet of what seemed to be really shiny chain linked metal. Rarity flew over, looking it over, seemingly inspecting it. “Excellent. Where was it?” she asked, and Sweetie simply pointed up at the drawer. Rarity blinked briefly, before shrugging. “Well, remind me to make the label more clear,” she said, striding over to the table and laying the sheet of chain link out on it. “Alright then… if my theory is correct, I’ll just need to hold this in front of my chest, and it should block the ambient mana energy from affecting the monitor.” As she spoke, she lifted the sheet of mithril in front of her chest, simultaneously reaching over to turn the monitor on. The monitor turned on, seemingly none the worse for wear. She slowly lowered the sheet, and, just as she’d figured, it started to once more short out and warp. “Wha-ha-ha-ha!” she giggled, flicking the monitor off and happily setting the sheet of mithril on the worktable. “I knew it! The gem we made is so powerful, that it’s causing massive ambient mana disturbance!” “So that’s why my horn was buzzing?” Sweetie asked, and Rarity nodded. “Yes. I do wonder why I didn’t sense it though. That is odd…” Sweetie rubbed her chin. “Maybe it’s because the gem was a part of you. Maybe, since it’s using your own mana energy, it’s like you're standing inside a bubble or something?” Rarity raised an eyebrow. “How so? Why a bubble?” “Uh… I guess because it’s as if the mana is like a bubble around you. Everypony else is bumping into the bubble, but since you’re inside the bubble, you’re not feeling what everypony else is feeling?” Sweetie looked up at Rarity expectantly, shrugging slightly. “I mean… that’s the first idea that came to my mind.” Rarity blinked, surprised at her sister’s insight. “That actually makes quite a bit of sense… good eye.” She gave Sweetie a quick rub on the head. “Now, just how do we make it so I can cover the diamond, but still work comfortably. I mean, it’s not like I can just strap the mithril to my chest with duct tape.” Sweetie rubbed her chin. “We could make it a vest. You know, like what police officers wear to protect themselves from bullets. Maybe something like this,” she reached over, grabbing a nearby pen and paper, and quickly drafting up a sketch. It wasn’t exactly the most precise sketch, but it got the point across surprisingly well. It was a rather simplistic design, just a vest with some buttons to keep it on. Rarity picked up the drawing. She never knew Sweetie was such a draftspony. “This is… really good. Since when could you draw like this?” she asked, looking down at Sweetie, who simply shrugged. “Mom made me take art classes. Said it was a useful skill.” Rarity nodded slightly. “I see… well, this is useful to us. I think it would work quite well actually.” She then looked back down at Sweetie. “There is one thing though. I think it would be rather uncomfortable to just put the metal straight on wouldn’t it? We should have something under the metal, to help support it and to make sure I don’t chaffe.” “You mean like an undershirt? We can stitch the metal onto some kind of fabric.” “Neoprene. What you want is neoprene. It’s nice, durable, lightweight, and is a great insulator. Let’s see if I have a bit lying around…” Rarity once more started scanning for the right material. “Ah, here we are, neoprene.” She pulled on the roll of black material, rolling it out until she reached a length she deemed suitable. With a flicker of her horn, she detached the length from the roll, floating it over to the work desk. “Now, let’s get to it then, shall we? I take it Mother made you go to fashion school?” she asked, already running a ruler along various points on the neoprene. Sweetie nodded slightly. “Yeah… I hated it.” Rarity smiled. “Well, you and me both then. But at least it gave us one particularly useful skill, didn’t it? We’re our own tailors now.” Sweetie shrugged slightly. “I guess so yeah.” Rarity give Sweetie a wink. “Excellent darling. Let’s make ourselves a vest then.” And with that, the duo set to work crafting the vest. ////////////////////////////// “Alrighty then, time to test this out properly I suppose,” Rarity said, slipping the gauntlet on. On her chest was the vest that Sweetie and herself had made. The official name for it was the ‘Ambient Mana Diffusion Vest’, but Sweetie just called it ‘The Vest’. It had been a little awkward for Rarity getting her measurements all in order, since she realized she’d lost a good five pounds since the last time she measured herself. Well, getting captured by terrorists will do that, she mentally figured, not really wanting to worry herself on such matters. Anyways, she’d tried for years to lose that extra five, and here she was, five pounds lighter. I guess that was one good thing to come out of all that, she thought with a hint of sarcasm. On her foreleg, and hooked up to her diamond arc, was the complex repulsor gauntlet for her hoof, which, once they could access the blueprints on the computer without issue, was a relatively easy build. Sweetie, meanwhile, sat to the side, a concerned look on her face. “What is it Sweetie?” Rarity asked, noticing Sweetie’s expression. Sweetie motioned her head towards the gauntlet. “You sure that’s safe? Like, shouldn’t you be sitting down or something, just so that you don’t get blown back?” Rarity gave a gentle scoff. “Blown back? Sweetie, you’re getting worried over nothing. This is simply the stabilizer gauntlet. If I tried flying without one, every time I flexed my ankle I’d be sent flying all over the sky. This is perfectly safe, just watch.” With those words, she charged her horn, sending an extra boost of magic through her diamond reactor, which caused the end of the gauntlet to erupt in an explosion of energy, sending her flying backwards wildly. Sweetie flew over, propping a dazed Rarity upright. Rarity simply looked at Sweetie, before letting out a sigh. “Well… that was a miscalculation.” ////////////////////////////// Rarity now was hunched over, connecting a rat's nest worth of cables and leadwires to the complex repulsor assembly that was attached to the repulsor boots she wore on her hooves. They had been ‘borrowed’ from the automaton she'd been working on before her unexpected detour, which had been lying in the corner of the lab, gathering dust for almost five months. The one advantage to the suit design was that it was based more or less on the automaton, which made gathering parts much easier than having to build everything from scratch. They were only temporary ones, granted, meant more to test out the repulsors Rarity had crafted, but they served their purpose, and now was the time to test them. “Rarity? You ready?” Sweetie asked, peering out from behind the tripod mounted camera, eyebrow slightly raised. Next to her, ready to be prepared at a moments notice, was a fire extinguisher. Rarity jerked her head away from the random corner she’d found herself staring at, Sweetie’s question snapping her out of her mind’s wandering. “Yes, quite. Is the camera ready?” She moved to clip another one of the various safety leads to the boots. “Yeah, everything’s ready.” Sweetie nodded, adjusting the camera slightly and peering through the lens. “Just waiting for your signal.” Rarity nodded, clipping the final lead into place and then standing back up. “Right then, no time like the present.” She cleared her throat, looking directly into the camera, giving Sweetie a quick nod to have her start recording. The button was pressed and the bright red light signified the camera was recording. Rarity smiled confidently, giving the camera a wave. “Good afternoon! Today is October 2nd, 2009. Today we shall be running the first test on the brand new BelleTech repulsor boots, with neural controlled gauntlet mounted controllers,” as she spoke, she motioned towards the respective parts, which included a simple headband that had a series of lights going around it, and the large gauntlets on her arms. "The power source is this, my chest implanted Mana Reactor, which is currently running at…” she looked down to an foreleg mounted power sensor, which kept track of how much energy the gem was putting out. “... three gigajoules, which was exactly what I predicted it would.” She then shifted her weight slightly, the boots making a heavy metallic thump as she did so. “Alright then, independent movement without aid of power suit is acceptable, if a tad awkward. Most likely just because I’m not used to this,” she gave the camera a quick smile again. She straightened up again, swallowing and wetting her lips slightly before speaking. “Alright, we’re going to start off rather simple. We’re going to set the repulsor output at one percent, and we’ll see what happens.” She gulped, closing her eyes, and, with a preparatory breath, lit her horn, sending the mana energy flowing forth as she mentally squeezed the trigger. She felt the slightest bit of a jolt as the boots lifted her less than an inch off the ground, and her ears caught a muted boomph. She opened her eyes, her eyebrows instantly lowering as she glared down at the boots. “That’s it?” she shouted, glaring down at the boots in bafflement. “That should have given me at least six inches!” she huffed, crossing her arms in frustration. Sweetie peered out from behind the camera, giggling slightly. “Maybe you should go on a diet.” Rarity simply glared back, and Sweetie was quick to clamp her mouth shut. “I’m going to ignore that statement, and instead continue with the focus of this operation, which is figuring out these gauntlets.” She cleared her throat again before continuing. “Alright, next test is going to be at twenty percent, and let’s hope we actually get a result, and not just a half-flanked little puff of air like last time." She once more straightened herself out, moving to adjust the control gauntlets slightly. “Alright then, test two, at twenty percent in three… two… one… IGNITION!” There was an explosive roar, followed by a deafening whoosh as Rarity was sent flying more than twenty feet, tumbling, spinning and cursing up a storm before she slammed like a battering ram into the far wall. With a vaguely comic whine, she slid down to the floor with a crash, landing on her back, face staring up at the ceiling. A small cloud of exhaust drifted from the boots, which still glowed with energy. “... ow…” Sweetie didn’t waste a second, instead bolting from her position by the camera, fire extinguisher at the ready. Within a fraction of a second, she was at Rarity’s side, eyes wide as dinner plates. “Ohmygoshareyouokay?!” she squeaked in one breath. Rarity simply nodded dumbly before moving to rub her now very sore head. “Yes, mostly.” she groaned, blinking several times before looking directly at Sweetie. “Twenty percent, that was?” Whatever Sweetie’s reply might have been was drowned out by the sprinkler overhead going off, dousing the two in fire retardant foam. “I’ll take that as a yes.” ////////////////////////////// After taking a break to get the fire retardant foam off their bodies, Rarity and Sweetie returned to the lab. Rarity was quick to strap on the boots again, and motioned for Sweetie to set the camera up again. “Alright then,” Rarity began once the camera started recording, her tone determined. “We’re going to give this another go. Hopefully we’ll hit the nail on the head and have actual success, and not just another chance at a concussion.” She cleared her throat once more as she faced the camera again. “Test two. I’m going to charge up my horn, as always, since it seems a small jump of magic is needed to charge the repulsor batteries, so to speak. We’re going to try this at five percent, see what happens.” With that, she once more repeated the process of closing her eyes, lighting her horn and starting the repulsors. With a jolt, her body was launched up and she let out a yelp as she quickly moved to turn on the palm mounted stabilizer repulsors. Sweetie let out a shout of her own as she turned tail and scampered out of the way as Rarity went keeling over ahead. After several seconds of dramatic veers and turns, Rarity found herself finally coming to a rather shaky hover in the middle of the workshop. “Wha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” she cheered, smiling broadly. “We have achieved liftoff!” As she spoke, she waved her hooves slightly, causing her to go veering to the left wildly again. “Whoa!” she cried out, managing to end up floating over two or three worktables, sending the piles of paper on them scattering and flying about wildly. She was able to regain control however, and once more ended up in a hover, now much more stable. “Alright then…” she said, looking around for Sweetie. “You can come out now Sweetie, I think I’ve got a handle on this.” “You sure?! I don’t want to get accidentally fried!” she heard Sweetie call out from a hiding place somewhere in the workshop. Rarity nodded. “Yes, yes, I’m sure.” Sweetie peaked out from behind the table she was crouched under, before stepping out more properly, dusting herself off as she did so. Her eyes widened as she saw Rarity floating in mid-air, a proud, content smile on her face. “That is… AWESOME!” Sweetie squealed with joy, hopping into the air. Rarity puffed her chest out slightly. “Well, if I do say so myself, yes, it is quite wonderful. Now…” she looked down at the ground. “Time to cut the power.” With that, she flared her horn again, causing the magical flow to reverse, and go back into the source, which was the gem. Her proud smile however, vanished as she dropped out of the sky like a ton of bricks, landing on the ground with a crash. In a strange, déjà vu experience of the previous crash, Sweetie came rushing to Rarity’s side, only to have them both get soaked by the fire extinguishers. ////////////////////////////// Rarity was hunched over the right leg of the suit, welding torch in hoof, busily assembling it. Sparks flew about wildly, while, across from her, Sweetie sat hunched over a thick textbook with the name “Artificial Intelligence Programming for Dummies”. “Rarity, don’t you think you should have some kind of automated co-pilot or something?” Sweetie suddenly asked, causing Rarity to flip the visor up and look at her with a raised eyebrow. “Sweetie, I don’t think that’s really an issue right this second. Don’t you think we should get the suit’s hardware fully functional before installing software?” Sweetie shrugged. “Well, isn’t flying without wings kinda hard? I mean, without wings, you can’t really control the air, and if you’re going to be using rockets, wouldn’t you need a stabilizing system? And if you need a stabilizing system, wouldn’t that mean you’d need something to keep it on balance? Something like a co-pilot? That way, you can focus on whatever job you're doing, and not have to worry about all the other stuff the suit is doing?” Rarity blinked before smirking. “Sweetie, do stop being smarter than me. It’s getting rather embarrassing.” Sweetie’s eyes widened slightly and she seemed to deflate slightly. Rarity instantly realized her flub and was quick to start shaking her head. “I meant that as a joke, Sweetie. Relax. You make a good point. We’ll see what we can do about some sort of operating system for the suit. Goodness knows we’ll need something to aim the weaponry when we get around to making it. But right now, we’ve got to build the actual suit itself. One step at a time, am I right?” Sweetie nodded slightly. “Yeah, okay then.” Rarity smiled again, dropping the visor back down in front of her face and returning to welding. The sound of a buzzer however, reached her ears soon after, and she paused, her ears flicking about. “Was that the door buzzer?” she asked aloud, only to be greeted by the same buzzing noise. Her brow furrowed slightly. “Yes… it is. Sweetie,” she looked over to Sweetie. “Can you get that for me?” Sweetie glanced at the textbook she was currently reading, before slipping off her chair. “Sure thing, Rarity.” Rarity gave Sweetie a quick grin before once more returning to her welding. Sweetie meanwhile, smiled broadly. She felt as if she was floating on air. Her sister had spent an entire, uninterrupted day with her! And to top it off, they’d been working together on something, without any nasty fights or mean words between them. It was a new world for Sweetie and she loved it. She practically skipped up the steps, and danced down the hall, singing an idle tune at random. She turned towards the front door as the buzzing sounds grew louder and more insistent. She peered through the peephole, and was greeted by the sight of a middle aged unicorn stallion with a mustache and monocle. She unlocked the door, opening it with a smile. “Hello, Mr. Pants!” she chirped, only to notice the stallion’s expression sour somewhat. “I really do prefer to be called Fancy, darling,” he replied, scrunching his nose ever so slightly. “As charming as it is to once more be blessed with your presence, I really was hoping to see your sister. Is she home?” he asked, peering down at her like one of her frustrated tutors. Sweetie shifted uncomfortably. “Um, well, yeah, but--” “Excellent!” Fancy proclaimed, pushing past Sweetie and stepping inside the house, placing his overcoat on the coat rack. “I have urgent business with her that cannot wait, so I really must see her.” Sweetie followed behind, the stallion’s pace being unexpectedly fast. “But, Mr. Pa--Fancy, Rarity told me--” “That she’s busy? Of course, she’s always busy. Fillies like yourself can’t differentiate between ‘working’ and ‘busy’, but to a stallion such as myself, it is painfully obvious.” Sweetie stammered. “But--” “But nothing darling,” Fancy replied, waving her away. “Run off and watch whatever it is you fillies watch these days, while me and your sister partake in some important grown-up stuff.” By this point, the two unicorns had already reached the workshop doors, and Fancy popped it open, Sweetie letting out a sound of protest as he did so. He strode down the stairs, head held high, only to come to a halt when he saw Rarity hunkered down and welding something. “My, my, my, the golden goose is already making another egg?” he chuckled, and Rarity’s ears bolted to attention. She spun around, simultaneously pulling a tarp over something and lifting up the visor and giving him a surprised expression. “Wha? Fancy, what are you doing here? I thought you were tied up with the board?” “Well, Written Script arrived today, saying that you’d sent him over. So, I figured I’d take it upon myself to update myself on your recovery process.” he replied, walking up to the worktable. “Also, the board has been wondering what you’ve been up to these past few days.” As he spoke, he lifted up the tarp. Underneath was what seemed to be some sort of robotic arm assembly. He raised an eyebrow. “What is this? New project?” Both Rarity and Sweetie shot there eyes towards the robotic arm, and Rarity was quick to slide her rolling chair over. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just that silly little automaton I was working on before…” she flicked her eyes down towards the glowing diamond in her chest. “Before my improvised vacay,” she added, her voice wavering slightly. She then slid the tarp back over it rather pointedly. “But you can’t show them that yet, it’s really quite a hunk of junk. Just a way for me to pass time before the next great idea is all. Nothing much.” She then gave Fancy a big grin and a slap on the back. “Hmm…” Fancy responded, smoothing out his suit slightly. “What are you doing with it exactly? Improving it? What?” Rarity opened her mouth slightly. “Well…” “We’re turning it into modern art!” Sweetie piped up, catching both Rarity and Fancy’s attention. “Yes!” Rarity added almost instantly. “What?” she said immediately thereafter. “For my class!” Sweetie casually walked over to the pile, and hopped up on a nearby chair. “We’re taking the automaton Rarity was making, and turning it into a beautiful robotic sculpture!” she said, sounding as though she had rehearsed the line several times. “It’s going to be a symbol of how old, ugly and clunky things can be made into something new, creative and beautiful.” She puffed her chest out slightly and smiled proudly. “Clunky? Old? Ugly?” Rarity replied, her face an ocean of confusion. Sweetie simply nodded in response, giving Rarity a wink. “When it’s done, it’s going to be a scale model of the Evangelion Unit A-1, which represents hope.” Sweetie continued, now smiling contently. “How poetic,” Fancy responded, his voice flat. “But Rarity, I do believe you should be focusing on something a tad more… important, shall we say, then a simple cartoon show?” “Cartoon?!” Sweetie countered, obviously offended. Rarity was quick to slide her chair over to Sweetie, giving her a quick pat on the back before motioning for the door. “Sweetie, why don’t you go on and have some lunch. I’ll be there as soon as I’m done speaking with Fancy. We’ll get…” “Pizza?” Sweetie asked quizzically, and Rarity was quick to nod. “Yes. Pizza sounds good. We’ll go with that. Now, hurry on now.” She gave Sweetie a nudge. “But--” “Go.” Rarity ordered and Sweetie let out a groan, slithering out of her chair and ambling towards the door, muttering as she did so. Both Fancy and Rarity watched her leave, Fancy looking noticeably unamused. “I now understand why you were so reluctant to spend time with her. She is very annoying.” Rarity shook her head. “What? No, actually. She’s actually very smart if you give her a chance.” Fancy simply let out a slight sound of dismissal. “I noticed that you resolved that little buzzing issue…” he flicked his eyes at the gem as he spoke. “I wager it’s that little vest I see peeking out from under your shirt?” Rarity arched an eyebrow for a second before nodding. “Oh yes! The horn buzz Sweetie told me about. It’s simply an Ambient Mana Diffusion Vest. Think of it as insulation so my computers aren’t fried everytime I step close to one. I will say I’m quite shocked you didn’t mention it before, that surely must have been quite annoying for you, Fancy, your horn has always been so sensitive.” She let the last word roll off her tongue slightly, giving Fancy a roguish eyebrow wiggle. Fancy simply rolled his eyes, the memory of that one time always having been a favorite way for Rarity to get him to leave. The darn thing was that it always worked. He let out a sigh, sinking to sit. “You’re never going to let me forget that are you?” he huffed, and Rarity simply nodded. Fancy let out another sigh, and adjusted his monocle. “Well… it does seem like you’re right back on the saddle. Board will certainly be happy to hear that.” As he spoke, he slipped his magic under the table, placing a small, circular device underneath it and pressing the small button on it’s surface. “I will be certain to tell them. I suppose I’m constraining your precious muse by my mere presence?” Rarity nodded again. “Yes. Yes you are. Now, go tell the board to stop hassling me.” Fancy held up a hoof. “I will, but on one condition.” Rarity huffed, rolling her eyes slightly. “What?” “You let me show this little vest to the board. You have to give them something after all, or else they’ll get like a hungry dog.” Rarity shook her head. “No. Not now at least. Just give me a little bit more time.” Fancy groaned. “How much more time?” Rarity shrugged, brushing her bang out of her field of vision. “Just more, Fancy. I can’t give you a date or anything like that. I have issues to sort out.” “Issues? Still? What are you going to do, climb up a mountain and start living with monks?” Fancy countered sharply, causing Rarity to flinch slightly. “No… I just feel that giving the board anything right now is an unwise decision. Or don’t you remember that leak I mentioned? The one filtering our weapons to terrorists?” Fancy rubbed his forehead. “Are you still hung up on that?” Rarity nodded resolutely. “Yes. I am. I do believe the fact that those monsters who captured me used my own weapons against me is something worth getting hung up about. Why do you think I sent Written Script there? Somepony has to be investigating that, or do you just want me to file it away and forget it?” Fancy’s expression became muddled, and he muttered something under his breath that Rarity couldn’t quite catch. He eventually let out another long sigh, before starting towards the door. “Fine. But let it be known that today the company filed an injunction against you. They want to take you out of the system. I shot it down however, but I promised I’d give them something in return, something to prove that you’re still a, quote-on-quote “valued asset.” Their words,” he said gravely, causing Rarity’s face to grow somewhat pale. “Now, just give me that vest design, and I can work towards making sure the board doesn’t try making that decision again,” Fancy pressed. Rarity didn’t respond at first, she was too shocked by the information. “Are you sure there isn’t another way?” she asked, still unable to comprehend how the company that she had built herself, with her own hooves no less, was now trying to get rid of her. Fancy simply shook his head. “If there was, I wouldn’t be here,” came his answer. Rarity sighed heavily, closing her eyes and rubbing her temple. She reached a hoof across the worktable, picking out the vest sketch from the pile of blueprints and sketches scattered about the table. She handed it over to Fancy, and waved him away. “There. Hopefully that will feed their hunger for now.” She pointed towards the door. “Now leave. I have to get back to work.” Fancy silently folded the paper, and placed it in his breast pocket. “Alright then. I’ll make sure Written gets all the help he needs.” He then turned and walked out the room, closing the door behind him and leaving a frustrated and confused Rarity behind. ////////////////////////////// Fancy closed the door of his office quietly, silently moving towards his desk, which, in the center of which, sat his computer. With the press of a button, he turned it on, typing in the passcode without a second glance. After a brief pause to allow the computer to properly boot up, Fancy was greeted by a brand new folder appearing on his screen marked “Rarity’s Project”. He smiled, opening the folder and scrolling through the contents. Inside, were dozens upon dozens of blueprints and designs, all from Rarity’s personal data banks. “Yes, it does seem that little bug was a worthwhile investment…” he chuckled, pleased to now know exactly what Rarity was up to at any given time. “Now then, my dear Rarity, lets see what this 'modern art project' really is,” he added with a chuckle. And all without her being the wiser.