Rarity panted and gasped as she ran down the hallway. She ducked into a corner and panted heavily to catch her breath. Her ears perked as she heard yelling from the distance and peeked around the corner. She gasped as shadowy figures of ponies carrying what looked to be pitchforks and torches.
She turned back and galloped down the hall again. The only thing she was thinking of was running and getting as far away as possible. However, the further she tried to run, the louder and closer the yelling increased. Rarity turned her back to see the crowd was closing in on her and she tried to run faster.
“OOF!” she grunted.
Rarity collapsed to the ground as she ran into a wall she didn’t see. She groaned as she got up and noticed that there was no door at the end, or at either side. The sound of embers crackling and the light of fire caught her attention as she turned and saw a large group of angry ponies.
“There she is!” a pony accused. “It’s the monster!”
Rarity stepped back into the wall. “No! I’m not a monster!”
“She certainly looks like one!” another pony shouted.
“Burn her now!”
“Hang her!”
“Kill her before she uses her dark magic on us!”
Rarity stomped her hoof and had tears in her eyes. “I’m not some monster!” she cried out. “I’m still me!”
“That’s not what we see!” A pony held up a small mirror.
Rarity looked into it and gasped as she looked at her nightmare form in horror. She backed up into the wall again and shook violently.
“Please! I’m not like that!” she pleaded. “You don’t understand!”
“We don’t need to hear your lies!” yelled a mare. “Let’s get her!”
“Yeah! Burn Rarity!”
The crowd closed in, torches raised. “Burn Rarity! Burn Rarity! Burn Rarity!” they chanted.
“No! Please!” the unicorn begged as she closed her eyes.
“Rarity!” another voice shouted.
Rarity gasped as she flailed her hooves and looked around the room. There were no torches, no angry ponies, or hallway. She turned her head and saw Lip Balm and the other models looking at her with concerned looks. The unicorn took several deep breaths and leaned back into the chair she was sitting in.
After a moment of silence, Lip Balm timidly asked, “Um . . . are you okay, Miss Rarity?”
She leaned forward and slowly nodded. “Yes. . . I’m just thinking to myself,” she muttered. “Were you saying something to me?”
“Well when I checked on you, you were asleep,” said Lip.
“I apologize for that,” said Rarity. “I’m just tired is all. With all the planning and work I put into this, you would be too.
Lip Balm nodded. “That is true. Well I was asking what you thought of our routine.”
Rarity rubbed her eyes. “You were fine,” she answered.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” wondered Eye Liner. “You’ve been acting odd since Hoity’s announcement.”
“I’m fine, darlings,” Rarity assured. “I just have a lot on my mind now.”
The door suddenly knocked, catching everypony’s attention.
“Come in,” ordered Rarity.
The door opened and Spike walked in. “Hey, Rarity,” he greeted. “How’s it going with the show preparations?”
The unicorn smiled a little. “Good so far, Spikey,” she stated. “What brings you here?”
“I passed Applejack in the hallway and she said to go meet with you,” he replied. “She said something about you wanting to see me?”
Rarity felt a bit of relief and she sighed contently. Your timing couldn’t be more perfect, Spike, she thought. “Um. . . yes, I have been kind of thinking of you for a little bit. What do you say we both talk together.”
“Excuse me, Miss Rarity,” Lip interrupted. “What about our practice?”
Rarity looked at the models. “Why don’t you all take a break?” she offered. “I would like to speak to Spike alone.”
“But we’ve only been practicing for a little over an hour and a half,” said Hair Brush.
“You’ve all been working so hard though,” said Rarity with a smile. “Take a break and get some food. I’ll see you all back here in an hour.”
The models all looked at each other and just shrugged indifferently. They waved farewell to Spike and Rarity, who also waved goodbye, and left the room.
As soon as the door shut and the sound of hoofsteps faded, Rarity turned to Spike with a panicked look on her. “Spikey, we have a big problem,” she frantically said. “There’s little time to explain, so I’ll give you the short run of it.”
The dragon raised an eyebrow. “Wait a minute,” he objected. “Applejack told me you wanted to talk to me about what happened on the train.”
Rarity bit her lip and mentally cursed herself. She took a deep breath. “Spikey, that’ll have to wait,” she stated.
“Why does it have to wait?” he wondered.
“Because the show will now start much later,” answered the unicorn.
Spike looked a bit surprised. “Later? How so?”
Rarity explained to Spike about the announcement Hoity made and the trouble with the stage. The more Spike listened, the more worried he became. When Rarity was finished, the dragon’s eyes were wide and he was tapping his claws nervously.
“Holy guacamole,” he shockingly said. “What do we do now? The show starts in four hours and we got no idea on how to make nopony see you.”
“I know,” said Rarity, sorrowly. “I do wish Twilight were here instead of seeing Trixie. She’d know what to do.”
“Why don’t you just pretend you’re sick?” offered Spike. “You could say you aren’t feeling well enough to be part of the show. Or maybe just slip off unnoticed. We could make a run for the train station before the sun sets.”
“I can’t do that, Spike,” said Rarity as she shook her head. “If I did one of those things, it could hurt my reputation and credibility as a fashion designer. Besides, I’m already too deep into this show to just back away now.”
“Well then what do we do?” wondered Spike.
Rarity rubbed her head for as she thought. A minute later, a thought occurred to her. “I got it,” she answered. “I need you to get the others around here. Maybe we can all figure out something before the show starts.”
Spike nodded. “I’ll get to it. I guess you can think of something to do while I’m gone. Maybe by then, you’ll have an idea and we’ll see what we can do with it.”
“I will, darling.” Rarity watched Spike open the door, but another thought hit her. “Spikey, wait!”
The dragon turned around. “Yes, Rarity?” he asked.
“We’ll talk about the train thing later, I promise.”
Spike smiled at her. “You got it, Rarity. And don’t worry, things will be okay.” He opened the door and walked out the room.
Rarity slumped into her chair and sighed. “I certainly hope so, Spikey.”
Suri marched down the hallway with Bit Bags and Golden Rule by her side. She looked over at Bit and said, “If my memory serves me right, I think I remember seeing those ponies the last time they were in Manehatten. I know there’s that pride-parade of a pony and that yellow pegasus, but who else?”
Golden held out a small photo that showed six mares posing in a photo with Princess Celestia in front of the castle. “This photo from the Gala will tell us who to find. It shouldn’t be too hard to find these six, especially with how much they stick out from the rest of these ponies here.”
“So any ideas on how to get them out of the way?” asked Suri. “We were told to keep it inconspicuous.”
“We could lead them into a trap,” Bit chimed in. “Take them somewhere deserted and then knock them out.”
Golden Rule rubbed her chin and nodded. “I do like that idea. I believe we should also tie them up and throw them in a closet, that way they don’t escape.”
“I believe I did see a supply closet in the back area of the building,” said Bit. “I saw some stagehooves pull out some rope and a couple of tools. Perhaps that’s where we can take them.”
“Good idea,” Suri praised. “Now we just need to figure out how to lure them.”
Golden looked over and gasped. “Look over there!” she pointed towards the opposite side of the room. They group turned to see two pegasi flying around, one of them coughing.
Rainbow hacked and gasped. “Ugh! Fluttershy, next time you suggest we check out something let me know if there’s something like that!”
The yellow pegasus rubbed her hoof on the floor. “Well I thought it was a nice place,” she timidly said. “You didn’t need to be so rude to the salespony.”
“Well I told him that I didn’t want any of that smelly stuff,” protested Rainbow. “He should’ve known to take no for an answer.”
“That’s still no reason to be so rude to him,” said Fluttershy.
“I’m a future Wonderbolt, not a pony who likes to play dress-up,” Rainbow shot back. “I’m just glad that I didn’t get a whole lot of that stuff on me, and that none of the Wonderbolts saw me.”
As the conversation continued, Golden Rule raised an eyebrow. “A future Wonderbolt?” she wondered.
“That’s what I heard,” replied Bit.
Suri felt something click in her mind and a sinister smile formed on her. “I got it!” she proclaimed.
“Got what?” wondered Bit.
“Just go to that supply closet Bit saw and grab something hard,” ordered Suri. “I’ll meet you two back there with our suckers.”
Bit and Golden looked a little unsure, but nodded anyway and trotted down the hall. Suri turned her attention to Rainbow and Fluttershy. She straightened her mane and trotted over to them.
It’s showtime, she told herself.
Suri approached the two mares who were still talking to each other. “Excuse me, miss,” she said in a fake, kind tone.
Both pegasi turned to Suri, and Fluttershy let out a gasp. “Oh, my, it’s security,” she shakingly said. “We weren’t being too loud, were we?”
“It’s not that,” said Suri. “I couldn’t help but hear about your friend talking about the Wonderbolts.”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, and what about them? Are you a fan too?”
Suri shook her head. “No, I just wanted to say that one of them is actually here in the studio.”
Rainbow did a double take and looked shocked. “Are you serious?” she wondered. “There’s a Wonderbolt here?”
“Yes. I think her name was Spitfire,” said Suri.
“I didn’t know Spitfire was into fashion,” said Fluttershy.
“Um, well she has a cousin who’s a fashionista,” Suri quickly responded.
Fluttershy rubbed her head, saying hesitantly, “Well that sounds nice.”
The pink mare nodded. “Anyway, I believe that she was talking about somepony that looked like you.” She pointed to Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow gasped. “Oh, my gosh! Did she say if I was finally going to be a full time Wonderbolt instead of a part time one! I’ve been waiting so long to be one!”
Suri smiled deviously. “Why don’t you follow me to where she is and you can ask her yourself?” she offered.
Rainbow smiled like as if she got the best Hearth’s Warming gift ever. “Aww yeah!” She pulled Fluttershy to her side. “Come on, Fluttershy, we’re going to see this Wonderbolt. I just hope she doesn’t mind me smelling like rotten eggs or something.” Before she could respond, Fluttershy was pulled by Rainbow.
Suri nodded. “Follow me then,” she ordered.
Rainbow and Fluttershy followed Suri down the hallway. The further they went down it, the quieter it got, and the less ponies were around. Fluttershy couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated.
“Um. . . it’s certainly a long way to where Spitfire is,” Fluttershy said. “Are you sure this is the right way?”
“She wanted to be left out of the crowd,” answered Suri. “She doesn’t want the rest of the public to know she’s here.”
Rainbow smiled. “Well hopefully she won’t mind a visit from the biggest Wonderbolt fan.”
“I’m sure she won’t,” Suri assured.
Eventually, the three ponies made it to a lonely hallway, with only two ponies wearing security uniforms standing on each side of a door.
“So this is the place I take it?” wondered Rainbow. She looked around the deserted hallway. “She certainly chose a quiet place.”
“Just go knock on the door and when it opens, she’ll be so surprised.” Suri looked at the two ponies, Bit Bags and Golden Rule, and nodded. They nodded back and each put a hoof behind their back.
Rainbow trotted over and knocked on the door loudly. “Hey, Spitfire!” she called out. “It’s me, Rainbow!”
No response came.
The blue pegasus tilted her head. “Captain?” she asked.
No answer.
Rainbow turned to Suri. “I don’t get this,” she said. “Is she not in?”
“Oh, she’s in alright,” said Suri in a sinister tone. “Just open the door and see for yourself.”
Rainbow looked a little unsure, but shrugged it off. She opened the door to see various ropes, metal poles, light bulbs, bags of sand, and various stage lights.
“Hey, what’s the big idea?” she demanded.
“NOW!” ordered Suri.
Rainbow turned around and saw a large metal pole swing toward her. The pole hit her square on the head and she became very disoriented. She tried to stay on her hooves, but another swing from the pole ended up with her on the floor and seeing nothing but darkness.
Suri laughed coldly. “Good work you two,” she proudly said. “We got them knocked out.”
“Well, only one,” said Bit.
Suri stopped laughing and looked at Bit with anger on her. “Don’t tell me the other one got away!” she barked.
“It’s not that,” Bit quickly said. She pointed to the side, where Fluttershy was lying on the ground. “She just gasped and fainted. We didn’t even hit her once.”
Suri looked over at the yellow pegasus with disbelief. “. . . Huh,” she nonchalantly said after a few seconds. “That was a bit anticlimactic, but it still got the job done.” She looked back at Golden and Bit. “The two of you tie up the two and gag them. Then, empty the sandbags and stuff them in there and leave them in the closet.”
“Got it!” the pair said in unison.
Suri snickered and rubbed her hooves. “Two ponies down, three to go.”
Applejack could hear her stomach rumbling as she walked. She looked around the cafeteria and saw various foods. From tiny hay sandwiches to cake slices that were very tiny, the food made the farmer even more hungry. But as she looked at the prices for the food, Applejack’s jaw nearly dropped. She shook her head and walked away.
Her stomach growled again. “Ugh. Who in tarnation would pay fifty bits for a plate of small hay sandwiches?” she wondered. “I could probably buy enough food for the rest of the week that price.”
She trotted over to a nearby table and slumped into the chair. “I think the next time I come to such a fancy place like this, I’m bringing my own lunch.”
Applejack looked around the room and groaned to herself. “I can’t take it anymore,” she whined. “Where’s a carrot-dog vendor when you need one?”
“Did you say carrot dog?” a mare chimed.
Applejack turned around and saw a pink mare in a security uniform. “Uh. . . I did,” she said. “Why do you ask Miss. . .?”
“Rule Enforcer,” said the mare. “I couldn’t help but hear you and I wanted to tell you there’s actually a vendor nearby that sells them.”
“Well where is it?” wondered Applejack. “My stomach is growling louder than a bear after hibernation.”
“Follow me then,” ordered Suri. “This vendor sells carrot-dogs that will knock you out.”
Suri lead Applejack to a set of double doors and opened them. After the doors closed, the hallway fell silent, save for the sound of hoofsteps.
As Applejack trotted along, she couldn’t help but feel a little suspicious. “So where is this vendor?” she wondered. “It’s certainly in a weird place.”
Suri stopped in the middle of a four way intersection, and turned towards the farmer. “Actually, we are here,” she coldly said. “Now it’s time to eat.”
Applejack looked around. “But there ain’t nopony here. And what in tarnation do you mean by it’s time to–AAH!”
Before Applejack could finish her sentence, she felt a sharp pain as something hit her in the head. She fell to the ground and felt her head pounding. She moaned as the world around her faded away, and saw nothing but pitch blackness. From behind the farmer, there were two ponies, each carrying a metal pipe in their hooves.
Suri snickered sinisterly. “Well done you two,” she said. “We were able to get her easier than those two pegasi.”
“Shall we bound and gag her, and then throw her in the closet too?” asked Golden.
“Of course,” replied Suri. “Now hop to it, both of you.”
“Yes, ma’am,” said Bit as he saluted. The two picked up Applejack and carried her away.
Suri smiled smugly to herself. “Three ponies down, two to go,” she told herself. “This is all too easy.”
“Happy birthday!” a group of ponies exclaimed.
The sound of party horns, cheering, and clapping filled a large room as confetti rained down. A large yellow cake with sprinkles all over it was placed in front of an eager green colt. He blew it out and everypony cheered again.
As the cake was being served, a red mare noticed a pink mare bounced next to her, and she turned towards her. “Thank you again for helping throw this party, Miss Pinkie Pie,” she said in a sincere tone.
“Oh, it was no problem!” she joyfully said. “I was especially happy to help my super duper close friend!”
The sound of an accordion playing caught both mares’ ears and they turned to see an orange coated stallion with a poofy brown mane playing it. Pinkie looked on at the stallion and sighed dreamily at him.
“Well, I think you two are definitely the perfect pair,” said the red mare.
Pinkie broke out of her trance and looked over. “Oh, he’s a wonderful and cute party planner! I’m just sorry about what happened earlier with one of his party favors.”
The mare chuckled. “Oh, I think the kids have made good use of it,” she said. “By the time the party is over, it should all be but gone. Besides, anything that remained, your friend would clean up for free.”
“Well that’s how–” Pinkie gasped and her knees buckled. Her head was suddenly pounding like as if it was hit with something heavy. She groaned in pain and felt her back ache as well.
“Miss Pinkie, are you alright?” asked the worried mare.
Pinkie got up and rubbed her head. “I’m not sure,” she said rather quietly. “I feel like something. . . bad is happening.”
“Bad?”
The party mare nodded. “Yeah, like as if something horrible is happening to my friends,” she said. “I think they’re in big trouble.”
“What’s going on here?”
Pinkie looked up and saw the orange stallion. She reached up and hugged him. “Oh, Cheesey!” she exclaimed. “I’m so super sorry, but I have to go! My Pinkie Sense seems to be telling me my friends are in trouble!”
Cheese smiled reassuringly. “That’s okay, Pinkie.” He reached into a sack he had and pulled out five orange orbs. “If you’re going to help your friends, maybe these will help!”
Pinkie gasped. “But these are the–”
“I know,” Cheese said.
“But these things are–”
“Dangerous, but could be helpful,” Cheese interrupted again.
Pinkie bit her lower lip. “Well. . . if you’re sure, I’ll try it,” she said.
“After what happened earlier, I’d say they’ll help,” said Cheese. “I can handle things from here, Pinkie.” He leaned in and quickly pecked her on the cheek, making both ponies blush. “You. . . um, go help your friends, okay?”
Pinkie smiled widely and nodded frantically. “I will!” she confidently shouted. “Tell the birthday colt I said happy birthday!”
The party mare hopped off out the door, with Cheese watching and sighing contently. The red mare trotted next to him.
“She’s certainly an interesting mare,” she said.
Cheese nodded in agreement. “That she is,” he said. “She’s certainly a special pony.”
Blueblood and Heavy Duty trotted down the hallway. The two ponies looked very pleased, but a little tired.
“Everything should be good now,” said Heavy. “I’m just glad the wiring wasn’t completely blown, or else things could’ve been much worse.”
“You did well,” said Blueblood. “Now let’s just hope that incompetent excuse of a mare did her job the right way.”
“Sir!”
Both Heavy and Blueblood turned to see Quick Note running towards them. The gray stallion saluted.
“What do you have to report?” wondered the prince.
“Nothing really new, to be honest,” answered Quick. “Rarity seems to be just practicing the routine, but yet she seems nervous and almost afraid about something.”
Blueblood raised an eyebrow. “Afraid?” he inquired.
“Maybe something happened to one of her dresses?” Heavy input.
The prince waved a hoof and narrowed his eyes. “It’s none of my concern,” he said. “We need to find Su. . . I mean, Rule Enforcer, and see if she’s done her part.”
“You called?”
The group turned around to see Suri, Bit, and Golden each looking rather pleased.
Blueblood smirked. “I assume from your expressions that your mission was a success?” he inquired.
“Well, for the most part, yes,” said Suri, sounding a bit hesitant.
The prince looked puzzled. “For the most part? What do you mean by that?”
“We managed to capture three of Rarity’s friends, but haven’t found the pink one, nor that purple unicorn anywhere,” Bit answered rather nervously.
Blueblood bit his lip and narrowed his eyes a bit. “Do you mind telling me why you haven’t found them?” he threatened.
“We just can’t find them,” said Golden. “We all looked around for an hour, but didn’t see them.”
“It’s possible they didn’t come,” Suri suggested. “I mean, that pink pony would stick out like a sore hoof and be easy to spot. That unicorn would’ve been a bit more tricky to find, but we would’ve seen her eventually.”
Blueblood rubbed his chin. “I’m not sure,” he said. “Are you sure you looked everywhere?”
“Positive,” said Suri. “We even looked around the area where Rarity and the other fashion designers were practicing their models’ routines.”
The prince closed his eyes in concentration. “Well. . . if they aren’t here, I guess we shouldn’t have to worry about them getting in the way,” he said. “Is there anything else to report?”
“There is actually,” Quick spoke up. “I was checking on Rarity earlier, and it seems she has another friend with her.”
Blueblood’s eyes perked. “Another friend?” He turned towards Suri. “I thought you said you couldn’t find those other ponies anywhere.”
“Sir, wait,” Quick pleaded. “It wasn’t either of those two. It wasn’t even a pony.”
“Then what was it?” wondered the prince.
“It was a dragon.”
The group was silent for a few minutes as they took in the response. Some of them looked confused, while others seemed unamused.
Blueblood, looking rather annoyed, sighed. “Explain yourself,” he ordered.
“Well there’s this purple dragon that’s been talking to her for a little bit,” he said. “I didn’t get to hear the conversation, but I did see the two of them talking to each other.”
Blueblood raised an eyebrow. “Hmm. . . I think I’ve seen this dragon before,” he muttered.
“Aside from him though, I didn’t see either that pink pony, nor this purple unicorn,” said Quick.
Blueblood gasped and said, “Oh, now I remember!”
“Remember what?” wondered Golden.
“That dragon belongs to my aunt’s so-called student,” he said. “He just does nothing but nap, do some work, or just act like a common peasant.”
“Should we try to capture him?” Suri inquired.
Blueblood rubbed his chin for a few seconds before shaking his head. “I don’t think so,” he said. “He’s only a tiny dragon, so he’s no threat to us. Besides, what’s he going to do? Blow a few sparks at us?” He laughed to himself at his own joke.
“So what now?” asked Heavy.
The prince smirked deviously. “The time to plan is just about over, and it’s time we finally put it to action.” He looked to his left. “Bit, Golden, you two are to go to were our ‘friends’ are and make sure nopony is allowed into the room you left them in. Quick, you need to get back to your position. Make sure to keep me updated. Heavy, go and get several of your ‘associates’ to assist us, and tell them to come prepared. Suri, you’re with me. Got it?”
“Got it!” the group said in unison.
“Then let’s move out,” ordered Blueblood. “Time is. . .”
“. . .running out!” cried Rarity.
She looked up at the clock and saw it was quarter til five. It can’t be that late into the day already, she thought to herself. I could’ve sworn it was just barely past three.
“Miss Rarity?”
The unicorn jumped and gasped. She looked up at Lip Balm looking concerned. She let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, it’s just you,” she muttered. “What do you need?”
“It’s close to showtime,” said Lip. “The girls and I were wondering if we could just go get ready for the show.”
Rarity sunk into her chair and slowly nodded. “Go ahead,” she said in a hollow tone. “I. . . I’m just tired, and need time to think to myself.”
Lip stared at Rarity for a moment before nodding back. “Very well,” she said, and turned to the other models. “Let’s go, girls.” Lip Gloss trotted to the door and opened it.
“Whoa!” a voice cried out.
The models yelped and Rarity got up. “What happened?” she wondered. She looked down and saw on the floor near the doorway a small purple dragon. “Spikey! Are you okay?”
The dragon got up and rubbed his nose. “Yeah, I just didn’t expect the door to be opened on me like that,” he said, sounding a little nasally. “I was actually hoping to talk to you.”
“Well the models were on their way out, so we can talk privately.” Rarity looked over at the girls. “Go on please,” she ordered.
The models looked a little unsure, but they left the room and closed the door.
Rarity turned to Spike and grabbed him. “Spikey, where are the others?” she wondered. “I thought you were going to get them.”
The dragon bit his lip and looked down. “That’s just it,” he dejectedly said. “I looked all over this place, but I can’t find them. I even asked around for where they were last seen, but they were nowhere to be found.”
Rarity’s heart sank and could feel her heart racing. “Oh, no!” she cried. “What am I going to do!? The show starts in an hour and I don’t know how I’m going to avoid being seen in my other form!”
“Calm down, Rarity!” Spike reassured. “We still got a bit of time left. Let’s think this through and maybe we can figure out something together.”
The white unicorn sighed and felt a tear roll down her eye. “Spikey. . . you’re so kind to always try to be so optimistic, but there’s nothing we can do now,” she sorrowly replied. “Perhaps that whole running away thing wouldn’t hurt after all.”
Spike looked shocked. “Come on, Rarity,” he said. “We just need to–” The dragon was cut off by the sound of a door being rapidly knocked. He looked over at the door. “Who could that be?”
Rarity sighed. “It’s probably one of the models,” she said. “They must’ve forgotten something. Go ahead and open the door, Spike.”
The dragon nodded and walked towards the door. When he opened it, he gasped.
Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Who is it, Spikey?” she wondered.
No response.
“Spikey Poo?” Rarity turned around and nearly yelped.
At the door was Twilight, looking a bit exhausted and embarrassed, but next to her was a blue unicorn mare with a white mane and a grayish blue streak going through it.
Spike was the first to speak. “. . . Trixie,” he said in awe.
Twilight rushed in and noticed Rarity. “Um. . . sorry I’m late,” she said. “I lost track of time when Trixie and I were talking to each other. When I saw it was nearly five, we both rushed over here.”
“Twilight, forgive my rudeness, but what is she doing here!?” demanded Rarity, as she pointed at Trixie.
The blue unicorn’s eyes narrowed. “If you must know, Trixie was invited by Twilight to see this show,” she haughtily said. “Twilight was kind enough to buy a backstage pass for somepony like Trixie.”
“But. . . but what about. . . you know,” suggested Spike. He pointed over at Rarity.
Twilight shook her head. “Spike, I assure you and Rarity have nothing to worry about,” she said. “Trixie hasn’t said anything about what happened in Ponyville.”
“Trixie is a changed mare after all,” said the magician. “Besides Trixie knows what it’s like to be seen as an outcast.” Her confident smile faltered a bit.
Twilight embraced her. “Well you’re doing much better now,” she said.
Trixie blushed a little. “Trixie thinks you’re right,” she mumbled.
“Uh, not to interrupt this whole thing, but we got bigger problems,” said Spike.
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on?” she wondered.
Spike and Rarity each explained how the show got delayed so late and how their friends are now missing. By the time they were finished, Twilight looked a little panic stricken and her eye twitched a little.
She took several deep breaths and paced around. “Okay. . . so the show is delayed and the others are nowhere to be found,” she quietly said.
Spike rubbed his arm and looked worried. “That’s just what–”
“So what do we do now!?” Twilight suddenly shouted. The rest of the group jumped in surprise. “We got less than an hour, the sun sets in a little bit, and all of those ponies will see you, Rarity!”
“We know, darling,” said Rarity in a defeated tone. “I may as well just give up and leave this place while I can. Maybe I can make it to the hotel before the sun sets.”
“I don’t know Rarity,” said Twilight in a worried tone. “There’s too much traffic around and the streets have been getting crowded. You could transform in the open and ponies will think you’re actually Nightmare Moon.”
Rarity lowered her head and sniffled. “Then it’s over,” she croaked. “I'm trapped with nowhere to go, and ponies everywhere will think I’m a monster instead of just me.”
Spike grabbed Rarity’s hoof. “Don’t worry, Rarity,” he gently assured. “I’m sure Twilight has an idea.”
The white unicorn, despite feeling helpless, couldn’t help but feel a little comfort from her dragon friend, and smiled at him. She looked up at Twilight. “Do you have any idea?” she wondered.
Twilight lowered her head and shook it. “I’m afraid I don’t,” she said. She looked over at Trixie. “Do you have any ideas?”
The magician shook her head. “Trixie has nothing,” she said. “Trixie has no tricks up her sleeves or anything to help your friend.”
Spike, who was scratching his head, felt something click inside him. His eyes widen and he smiled. “That’s it!” he cried out confidently.
Rarity looked over at Spike. “What’s it?” she asked.
Spike put a claw around Trixie. “You’re a genius,” he stated.
Trixie couldn’t help but blush a little “Trixie is not sure what you mean,” she said hesitantly.
“Twilight, do you remember how you beat Trixie the last time she came into Ponyville?” wondered the dragon.
The blue unicorn gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes. “Trixie is standing right here you know,” she seethed.
“Spike!” scolded Twilight. “Don’t embarrass Trixie like that! She’s not like that anymore!”
The dragon shook his head. “That’s not what I meant!” he shot back. “What I mean is do you remember how you beat her the last time you two had that duel.”
Twilight looked annoyed, but didn’t open her mouth this time. She instead thought back to that fateful duel she and Trixie had.
Let’s see, she thought to herself. I remember the Alicorn Amulet, but I don’t think that was it. There was how I was outcasted. Accepting Trixie’s apology. There was also Zecora, but I–
Twilight suddenly felt something click in her head and gasped. She looked at Spike with a proud look. “Spike, I think I get where you’re going with this,” she said.
“Will somepony tell me what’s going on?” demanded Rarity.
“Trixie would like to know too.”
Twilight looked at Rarity. “We need to ‘trick’ the audience into thinking you’re on stage,” she answered.
Rarity quirked an eyebrow. “Trick the audience?” she wondered. “I’m a fashionista, not a stage magician.” She looked at Trixie. “No offense, darling.”
“None taken,” said the blue unicorn.
“We just need to get some paint,” said Twilight. “Rarity, I need you to do a quick manestyle.”
“But for who darling?” asked Rarity.
“For Trixie,” said Spike.
Both Twilight and Trixie looked at the dragon with surprised looks.
“Why her?” wondered Twilight. “I was actually going to volunteer myself.”
“No offense, Twilight, but I think Trixie is a much better choice for this plan.” Spike looked at the magician. “How would you like to put on a different kind of show tonight?”
Trixie raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Trixie is listening,” she said.
“Alright, Twilight needs to get some white and purple paint,” said the dragon. “Then. . .”
Outside the room, another pony who had their ear pressed against the door moved back and looked shocked and distraught.
Oh, no, the pony thought. What have I done? We’re making a big mistake. The pony ran off down the hallway. I got to tell Prince Blueblood about this before it’s too late!
Bit Bags let out a yawn. “Ugh. . . this is getting really boring,” he said. “I’ve had more fun listening to some of my executives in a business meeting.”
“Will you stop whining?” wondered Golden in an irritated tone. “We just need to stay here long enough for business to be taken care of.”
“Well you gotta admit this isn’t exactly the most exciting thing when taking down some demonic spirit,” said Bit.
“Just hold on a bit longer,” said Golden. “Once the prince has done his part, we can all go on easy street.”
“I never heard of that street,” said a chipper voice.
Golden and Bit gasped and stumbled back. They felt their hearts racing and a chill run down their bodies. They looked over and saw a pink mare with a goofy smile on her face.
“Who the hay are you?” wondered Golden, who sounded irritated. “And how did you get here anyway? This is a restricted area.”
“I’m Pinkie Pie, and I was wondering if you’ve seen my friends around,” said the pink mare. “Have you seen them?”
Bit opened his mouth to speak, but Golden put a hoof over his mouth and pulled him aside. “Isn’t that one of the ponies we needed to find?” she whispered.
Bit looked over at the mare, who was humming a tune to herself. “She does seem to resemble one of them,” he whispered back. “She’s certainly an odd pony. How did she manage to evade us for so long?”
“I don’t know, but just follow my lead,” whispered Golden. “We’ll have a surprise waiting for her.”
“Is it a surprise party?” whispered a voice.
Golden nodded. “Yes, it’s–AHH!” Both she and Bit screamed as they noticed Pinkie had come between the two of them.
Golden panted and narrowed her eyes. “Don’t do that!” she scolded.
“Sorry!” Pinkie chirped. “Can we find my friends now?”
Golden smirked. “Of course we can,” she said coldly. “Let my associate and I step into our boss’ office and tell them what we’re doing.” She looked over at Bit and nodded. He nodded back and reached for the doorknob.
“Aww thanks!” said Pinkie. “Why don’t I give you guys something for helping a pony like me?”
Golden looked at Bit and raised an eyebrow. “Gift?” she wondered. “What kind of gift?”
“These!” Pinkie announced. She pulled from her mane two of the orange orbs.
Golden looked confused. “What are those things?” she asked.
“They look like pineapples,” said Bit.
Golden stared at him with a deadpanned look on her.
“Well it does to me!” he objected.
“They must be foreign ones then because I’ve never seen a pineapple like this before,” said Golden.
“And I am getting hungry,” said Bit. “I could use a good snack right now.”
“Here you go then!” Pinkie handed over a pineapple to each pony. “Enjoy!”
Bit trotted over to Golden and looked at her. They both shrugged.
“Well this was rather nice,” said Bit. “But why don’t we first help find your friends?”
“Before we do, I just have one thing to say,” said Pinkie.
“And that is?”
“Say cheese!”
Golden was flabbergasted. “Um. . . che–”
Before Golden could finish her sentence, a rather loud boom echoed and shook the hallway. Pinkie Pulled out an umbrella from her mane and opened it in front of her. The sound of splattering went on for a few seconds before it stopped and the sound of dripping cheese echoed.
Pinkie lowered the umbrella and saw Golden and Bit, saved for their eyes and part of the nose, were covered in an orange like substance. The sound of angry muffling could be heard, but the party mare payed no mind. She instead opened the door and found her friends were bound, gagged, and lying on the ground, but looking visibly shaken.
“Hi, girls!” Pinkie greeted.
Rainbow muffled loudly and inched towards Pinkie. The pink mare reached down and ripped the duct tape off her face.
“Ow!” cried Rainbow. “Pinkie, I’ve never been so happy to see you!”
“Aww thanks, Dashie,” said the party mare. “Did those meanies hurt you girls?”
“You could say we all got a splitting headache from them,” groaned Rainbow. “What was that boom we heard though?”
“Just a surprise for them,” said Pinkie.
“Well hurry and get us untied!” ordered Rainbow. “Something is really rotten around here.”
“Oki doki loki!” said Pinkie as she saluted. She quickly went around the room and untied and removed the duct tape from their mouths.
Applejack stretched and groaned. “I gotta hand it to ya, Pinkie,” she said. “You may not be the most down to earth pony in Equestria, but you sure know when to pull for us when we need you the most.”
“Yeah, yeah, let’s save the congratulations for later,” said Rainbow. “We better go find Rarity and tell her what’s going on.”
“I just hope Twilight hasn’t been attacked like us,” said Fluttershy
Applejack nodded and adjusted her hat. “You said it partner. Let’s hightail it out of here!”
The group galloped out the door and down the hallway, but quickly stopped at the orange mess in front of them. Rainbow, Applejack, and Fluttershy looked dumbfounded by the gooey mess, and could hear the sound of Bit and Golden mumbling angrily.
Finally, Applejack asked, “Pinkie, what in tarnation did you just do?”
“Well I’d make a joke about it, but it’d be cheesy to you guys.” Pinkie laughed at her own joke. She looked at the others, who didn’t look the least bit amused.
“That’s not what I meant,” said Applejack. “What did you use to trap those varmints in. . . whatever this is? It certainly couldn’t have been your Party Cannon.”
“First of all, you girls need to lighten up,” said Pinkie. “Secondly, you can all thank Cheesy for this!”
“Cheese?” wondered Rainbow. “Like Cheese Sandwich?”
“The one and only super duper cutie. . . I mean, awesome guy!” said Pinkie.
Applejack’s jaw nearly dropped. “What in the hay made him want to make something that did this?” she asked.
“Well it was supposed to be like an emergency cheese dipping sauce grenade in case any party ran out of it,” said Pinkie. “He tried it out earlier, but it made a big sticky mess.”
Rainbow groaned and shook her head. “I think he needs to throw this idea away. We’ll deal with those two jerks later. Let’s get moving!”
The blue pegasus tried to lift her leg, but felt something heavy hold her down. She looked down and gasped.
“Pinkie! Look what your little gift did!” she yelled.
The group looked down and gasped as they saw their hooves were in some of the cheese that spilled onto the floor. Applejack grunted and huffed as she tried to lift one leg up, but she couldn’t do it.
Applejack glared at Pinkie. “The next time I see Cheese, remind me to buck him into next week.”
“Don’t worry, girls!” said Pinkie, sounding a bit nervous. “It’s cheese after all! We just got to eat our way out!” She leaned down and began chomping at it.
“Eat our way out!?” barked Rainbow. “That’ll take an hour maybe!”
“Well if we do it fast enough, we can get out sooner,” said Applejack. “I guess we got no other choice.” She leaned down and munched on the cheese.
Rainbow looked around at her friends eating and sighed to herself. “Well if you can’t beat ‘em, eat ‘em I guess.” She joined her friends in chewing up the cheese.
Rarity hummed as she pulled away the last hair curler. She looked at the mane in front of her and smiled. She clapped her hooves together and announced, “It’s perfect, Trixie!”
“Trixie demands to see how she looks,” said the magician.
The white unicorn levitated a mirror over and held it in front of Trixie. She saw that her own mane was no longer silver, but purple and curly like Rarity’s. Her body was also completely white, with a three diamond mark where her cutie mark was supposed to be.
Twilight put down a white paint can and brush and wiped her forehead. “That should definitely do it, Trixie.”
Trixie looked herself up and down. “Well, Trixie thinks that while white isn’t exactly her color, she does look just like your friend.”
“I’ll say,” said Spike. “You do look a lot like Rarity. You even look almost just as beautiful as she is.”
Trixie smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Oh, is some dragon falling for the charm and natural beauty of the Great and Humble Trixie?”
Spike flinched and twiddled his fingers. “Well. . . what I mean is. . .” he muttered.
Rarity bit her lip and felt her blood boil. Charm and natural beauty? she thought. She better not be thinking of doing anything with Spikey Wikey.
“What do you want to say, Spike?” Twilight asked, sounding a little angry.
The dragon waved his hands. “Whoa! I was just joking!” he shouted.
Trixie laughed and shook her head. “Trixie was just joking with you,” she said. “Your kind words are appreciated, but you are not Trixie’s type.”
“Um, same here,” said Spike.
Twilight let out a sigh. “Thank goodness,” she muttered.
“What did you say, Twilight?” wondered Spike.
The lavender unicorn turned and laughed awkwardly. “I was saying thank goodness that Trixie was um. . . able to fool Spike like that,” she quickly said. “If you were able to make Spike believe you were Rarity, then you should be able to fool everypony else.”
“Twilight is right,” Rarity agreed. “However, you need to drop that whole third person speaking thing. I do not speak like that at all.”
Trixie scoffed and waved a hoof. “That is no problem for Tr. . . um, . . . I. . . erm. . .” Her voice trailed off and she looked a little discouraged.
“Me, is the word you’re looking for,” said Twilight.
The magician smiled softly. “That’s exactly what I was thinking,” she said. “It’s no problem for somepony like Tr. . . I mean, me.”
“AHH!”
“Rarity!” Spike cried out.
He and the others looked over and saw the white unicorn was in pain and clutching her stomach. She panted as she felt some black smoke completely cover her.
Twilight looked at the clock and saw it was six. “Oh, no! It’s sunset!”
“What does that mean?” wondered Trixie.
“It means Rarity is about to–”
A rather loud poof interrupted Spike.
“–Transform,” he finished.
The smoke cleared and Rarity emerged in her nightmare form.
Trixie stood there in shock. She backed up a few steps and accidentally bumped into Twilight. She turned and her face touched hers, but both quickly looked away and were blushing.
“Um. . . you don’t need to worry, Trixie,” assured Twilight. “Rarity may look like Nightmare Moon, but she’s still her old self.”
“That I am,” said Rarity. “I guess it’s a good thing we just finished in time. The show is about to start.”
A loud knock suddenly came from the door, making the group jump a little in surprise.
“Miss Rarity?” a stallion’s voice asked. “It’s time for the show to start. All fashionistas are to report to the backstage for being chosen who gets to go first.”
Trixie looked at Twilight who mouthed at her to say something. She cleared her throat. “Tri, um, I mean, Rar, no that’s it, I mean, I shall be out,” she said in a haughty accent.
“Are you okay?” asked the stallion. “You sound a little. . . off.”
Rarity bit her lip nervously.
“Just trying to sound my best is all,” Trixie said.
“Well you need to come now,” ordered the stallion. “Miss Finish is welcoming everypony to the show right now, and she wants to get things going when she’s done.”
Trixie looked at Twilight, who nodded back at her. She began to walk towards the door, with Spike and Twilight following her.
Twilight turned to Rarity. “Stay in this room,” she ordered. “Once the show is over, we’ll find the others and get you back to the hotel without anypony seeing you.”
Rarity nodded and pointed at Trixie. “Just make sure she doesn’t do anything that would hurt my reputation, or anything that would raise suspicions.”
“We’ll try to make sure,” said Twilight. “I’m sure the show will go off without a hitch.”
“You have nothing to worry about,” said a confident Trixie. “You have the best showmare in Manehatten to help you.”
“Let’s get going then,” said Spike.
Rarity heard the door shut as her friends left, and let out a sigh as she sat down.
High above the stage, Blueblood, Suri, and Heavy Duty were trotting carefully across the stage walkway. The prince looked down and saw Photo and Hoity were giving their opening speech about the show. He scoffed at it and continued onwards.
“We’re here, sir,” whispered Heavy.
“Excellent,” whispered Blueblood. “I got the remote on me to make sure there are no accidents like before.”
Suri sighed and rolled her eyes. “At least I was able to stop Rarity’s friends from getting in the way.”
The prince looked down at the audience. “Did you remember to get some of your men in here?”
Heavy nodded. “Some are posing as security guards, while others are in the audience as mere spectators. When I give the order, they shall assist in killing Nightmare Moon.”
“Very well,” said Blueblood. “We’re all set then.”
“I’ll keep watch,” said Heavy.
“Same here,” said Suri.
“You do that,” said Blueblood. The sound of ponies clapping echoed. Both Blueblood and Heavy saw Photo and Hoity were trotting off stage.
The prince smirked. “It’s showtime,” he said.
In the backstage, everypony was checking the dresses, applying makeup to the models, and some were shouting orders to do certain things. Trixie stood around and checked herself in the mirror.
“Psst! Trixie!” a voice whispered.
The showmare turned her head and saw Twilight and Spike near her.
“What do you need?” she asked.
“Are you ready?” wondered Spike. “They just finished the opening speech and are going to get the show underway.”
“Ready as Tri. . . I mean, I’ll ever be I guess,” said Trixie. “You just watch me do my magic and I’ll have this competition won for your friend.”
“Miss Rarity!”
Trixie turned around and saw a brown stallion holding a clipboard.
“Can Tri, um, I help you?” she wondered.
“You are going to be the first fashionista to show off your designs,” said the stallion. “Please have your models follow you and prepare to showcase what you’ve got.”
“Um. . . sure,” said Trixie. “Rari. . . I mean, we shall be there immediately.” Trixie waited until the brown pony turned and walked away before looking at Twilight. “What does Trixie do now?” she wondered.
“Just act natural,” said Spike. “All you gotta do is show some of Rarity’s dresses on the models, and that’s it. Don’t go too far when presenting them though.”
“Trixie shall try,” said the magician.
“Miss Rarity! You’re on!”
Trixie turned and shouted, “Coming!” She galloped off towards where the models were.
Spike looked at Twilight. “You think she’s got this?” he wondered.
“Well she is a beautiful showmare,” said Twilight.
“What’d you say?” wondered Spike.
Twilight flinched. “Um, I said she was a really good showmare,” she said. “You said she was the one who would fit the role, and I think she can do it.”
“Well the quicker this is over, the faster we can go find the others,” said the dragon. “Let’s go get a better look to make sure everything goes fine.”
Twilight nodded and followed him.
The spotlights dimmed as a blue pony trotted onto the stage. He picked up a microphone and said, “Fillies and gentlecolts! You’ve most likely heard of our first fashionista’s exploits! She has designed dresses for the Grand Galloping Gala! She’s one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony! Give it up for Ponyville’s very own, Rarity!”
The pony stepped aside and the crowd applauded wildly. As the curtain opened, a large explosion echoed and smoke filled the stage. The crowd watched in awe as they saw a white unicorn emerge looking triumphant. The crowd applauded wildly while Trixie bowed.
“What a big opening for a fashionista from a small town!” said the blue stallion. “May we please see her models please?”
Techno music started playing over the speakers and filled the auditorium. One by one, the models stepped out, albeit some were coughing by the smoke, but quickly regained their composure and strutted down the stage. The crowd muttered some impressive remarks from the design, to the colors, and the overall construction. There were cameras flashing and some applause coming from the crowd.
The blue pony approached Trixie. “Amazing!” he announced. “Tell us, Miss Rarity. What inspired you to make these dresses like this?”
Trixie’s stomach flipped and felt a shiver run down her spine. “Um. . . inspiration?” she wondered nervously.
“Of course! Every fashionista has some form of inspiration!”
Trixie looked around and saw the crowd staring at her. Trixie doesn’t mind attention, but not like this! she thought to herself.
Spike and Twilight watched from the side, and looked fearful.
“Oh, no!” shouted Spike. “What do we do now?”
“I’m trying to think, Spike,” said Twilight, sounding a bit nervous. “Maybe we can try to signal her about what to say.”
Spike tried to look at Trixie and let out a frustrated sigh. “That pony is blocking her though,” he said. “We can’t do anything.”
Twilight rubbed her head and said, “I can only hope Trixie can find a way out of this.”
The blue pony put his microphone near Trixie. “Come on, Miss Rarity,” he urged. “Why don’t you tell the crowd about what drives you? What makes you?”
“Um. . . well. . .” Trixie noticed the crowd was starting to mutter and look a little restless. She couldn’t help but gulp a little.
On the catwalk, Blueblood smirked and looked at Heavy. “Get ready to aim,” he ordered. “We got ourselves a sitting duck.”
“Yes, sir,” said Heavy.
Blueblood looked back at the stage and snickered to himself.
“Your highness!”
The prince yelped and looked up to see Quick Note looking distraught.
“Idiot! what are you doing!?” he seethed. “Your shouting is going to give away our position.”
“Sir, we need to stop this plan, now!” said Quick. “We made a big mistake.”
Suri looked confused. “Mistake?” she wondered.
Quick nodded. “Yes! It’s about Rarity,” he said.
“What about her?” wondered Blueblood.
“She was never Nightmare Moon at all,” said Quick. “I overheard a conversation from her about how she transforms at sunset, and that everypony will think she’s a monster. She was never possessed by Nightmare Moon at all. This is a big misunderstanding!”
Blueblood, Suri, and Heavy stared at Quick for a couple of seconds and said nothing. Blueblood turned away and snickered silently at first, but it grew into laughter. Soon, the group joined in and laughed. Quick stared in disbelief and shook his head.
“It’s the truth!” he objected. “We need to stop this!”
Blueblood stopped laughing and looked at his assistant. “You know, Quick, you can be so gullible,” he sinisterly said. “Do you really buy that so-called story?”
“Sir, please, we really messed up!” shouted Quick. “Let’s get out of here right now before we’re caught!”
“I came too far to fail,” said Blueblood. “The plan shall not change.” He looked at Suri. “Restrain him at once.”
Quick narrowed his eyes. “No!” he shouted. “I won’t let you do this!”
He dived towards Heavy, who was still holding onto the stage light, and knocked him over. The light moved upwards and to the right side. Quick tried to wrestler Heavy away, but Blueblood was quickly on him. He pulled at him and tried to get him off.
“What are you doing!?” demanded the prince. “You’re going to ruin everything!”
“Stopping. . . you. . . from. . . this!” Quick grunted.
Blueblood wrapped his hooves around Quick and successfully pulled him off Heavy. They fell back onto the catwalk, which shook a little. Suri grabbed onto the guardrail to balance herself and saw something that made her gasp.
“The remote!” she cried out.
Blueblood gasped and looked to see the remote falling. He pushed Quick off of him and tried to dive for it. Suri leaped for the remote and extended her hooves out to catch it.
“I got it!” she shouted.
“Get outta my way!” Blueblood ordered.
Suri looked to see that Blueblood was just below her, and that she was about to fall on him. The prince tried to move out of the way, but it was too late. Suri landed on him, causing both ponies to grunt in pain. Blueblood watched as the remote fall onto the ground.
“No!” he yelled.
The remote landed on the catwalk, but the button landed upside down, making a clicking noise.
“Miss Rarity, we’re waiting,” said the blue pony.
Trixie nodded and opened her mouth. “Well. . . you see. . .”
The lights suddenly dimmed and the music became disjointed until it died out. The crowd whispered to themselves as the lights flickered wildly.
The blue pony raised his mic. “Some technical difficulties, everypony,” he said. He then noticed that there was no echo or feedback coming from the mic. He smacked it around. “What’s wrong with this?” he wondered.
Spike looked around. “Twilight, what’s going on?”
“I’m not sure, but stay by me,” said the lavender unicorn.
Spike’s ears perked up. “Do you hear that?”
The room echoed with a loud humming noise, with the crackling of electricity. The crowd started to scream in fear while others looked around. Suddenly, the whole room became pitch black. The room feel eerily silent as the crackling intensified and sparks started flying around the ceiling.
Before anypony could do anything, a loud crackling boom emitted and a lightning bolt shot from the spotlight. The bolt hit a wooden pillar in the backstage area, which exploded and caught fire. The auditorium fell into chaos as ponies were screaming and running away. The lights flickered back on, which allowed everypony to see. Many of them were running towards the door to get away, and security tried to keep things calm, but to no avail.
Spike held onto Twilight. “What was that!?” he asked sounding scared.
Twilight looked around and gave no answer. She looked at the stage and gasped at a pony lying on the ground. “TRIXIE!” she cried out in horror.
She galloped over to the showmare, with Spike following behind.
Rarity hummed a tune to herself as she sat in her room. As she lied on the couch, she let out a sigh. “I do hope Trixie is pulling this off,” she said. “I guess Twilight was right that she changed after all. Perhaps when this is all over, I’ll make Trixie some new robes and a hat for her show.”
The room suddenly went dim. Rarity sat back up and looked around.
“This is just like what happened earlier in rehearsal,” she said. “What’s happening now?”
As soon as she asked that question, a loud boom echoed which made Rarity yell and fall off the couch in surprise. She got back up and dusted herself off.
“Good heavens,” she said. “What was that?”
She trotted to the door and opened it slowly. She looked around and saw nopony in the hallway. She did hear something coming from down the hallway, and decided to go take a look. She trotted down the hall at a brisk pace, with the noise becoming louder.
“Is that. . . screaming I hear?” she wondered. “Did some accident happen again?”
As Rarity picked up the pace, a dark thought crossed her mind. “What if one of my friends was hurt? What if it was. . . Spikey?” An image of the dragon lying on the ground and not moving flashed before her eyes. A mixture of fear and determination coursed through her as she gritted her teeth. “No! Nothing shall happen to Spikey Poo!”
She galloped down the hall at a fast pace until she reached a door that had a sign saying, BACKSTAGE: AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY. She busted down the door with her hooves and saw the whole place was in chaos. Everypony was running away in fear and were unaware of the tall, black mare nearby.
Rarity paid no heed to them as she ran towards the main stage. She gasped as she saw Trixie lying on the floor, with an upset looking Twilight and worried Spike near her.
“Spikey!” she cried out.
The dragon looked up and saw the black mare. “Rarity, what are you doing here!?” he shouted. “You need to get out of here before somepony sees you!”
“What was that!?” she yelled.
“I said for you to–”
A loud cracking noise suddenly rang out. Rarity felt something hot land next to her. She looked down and saw it was a piece of burning wood. She then looked up to see a piece of the pillar was cracking and falling towards her. Without a second though, Rarity leaped forward and out of the way of the wood as it crashed down. She got up and looked back to see the area was covered in debris and fire.
“WHAT THE BUCK IS THAT!?” a voice boomed.
Rarity froze and slowly turned her head. A pony was pointing and staring at her. The yelling and screaming died out as the remaining ponies remaining turned their attention to the stage and saw the black mare. Some of the ponies looked shocked, and others had fearful looks on them. Rarity felt paralyzed as she felt her heart racing and her mind racing. She stood there and looked around nervously.
“. . . Oh, no,” muttered a fearful Spike.
“You can say that again,” said an equally fearful Twilight.
Blueblood pushed Suri off of him and noticed that most of the screaming had died down. He got up and looked below to see Rarity shaking nervously while everypony else was staring at her.
The prince smirked. “Gotcha,” he smugly said.