//------------------------------// // Pancakes and Diamonds. // Story: Leading the charge. // by Watercolor the Pegasus //------------------------------// Rarity lay upon her bed, staring mindlessly at the ceiling. The bedroom she was in was just one of-surprisingly-many guest rooms in Applejack's house. It wasn't much. Just a little wooden room with a single bed and a single dresser. It was still a place to sleep, though. That was all Rarity needed. However, she had been unable to sleep all night. She instead had laid awake with troubled thoughts. Most of those thoughts revolved around the events of yesterday. The group had now met a strange Griffon by name of Gilda. Rarity...quite frankly was not sure what to make of Gilda. She couldn't really tell what she was like, seeing as how when they met her, Gilda had been mentally and physically exhausted. Rarity was sure she was nice, though. After all, she had been friends with Rainbow when she was a filly. Surely she couldn't be that bad. Right? "STUPID PANCAKES! AUGH!" Rarity shot up at the sudden outcry, and got up out of bed. She headed towards the door, pulled it open, and went down the hall towards the stairs. She trotted down the stairs to see a very upset Pinkie in front of the stove, with two half-cooked pancakes stuck on her head; one on the top of her head, somehow sinking halfway into her mane, and the other sliding down her face. "What's with all the ruckus?" Rarity turned to see that the rest of her friends, including Gilda, had come down the stairs, as Rainbow rubbed a hoof against her drowsy eyes. "Did somepony get hurt?" Fluttershy said, looking sympathetically towards Pinkie. The pink mare let out a low groan. "No. But I was trying to make some pancakes for you guys, but I made them too light and airy, so when I tried to flip them, they shot up and stuck to the ceiling! Then when I yelled at them 'STUPID PANCAKES' they fell on my head!" Rarity blinked. "Oh." "Don't worry 'bout it Pinkie." Applejack said, walking over to the stove and turning it off. "Ah got some leftover pancakes in the fridge we can heat up." Pinkie gave a tense sigh. "I know. I saw them. But I really wanted to make you guys something myself." Applejack placed a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "It's alright, Pinkie. Ah appreciate the thought." Applejack then turned to the fridge and pulled open the door. She pulled out a plastic box filled with multiple pancakes, and pushed the fridge door closed with a back hoof. She set the box on the counter, before turning back to the other ponies. "Who wants some?" Rainbow, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Gilda, all raised their hooves and claw, crying "I do!" in unision. Applejack nodded, popping off the lid of the box with a single pull. She set the lid down, before turning to Rarity. "What about you, Rarity?" Rarity shook her head. "No thank you, Applejack. I'm not really all that hungry." Applejack nodded, pulling out a few pancakes and throwing them on a plate. As Applejack popped the plate into the microwave, Rarity thought it over in her head. She had the unbearable urge to do something...but she couldn't figure out what. Finally, she realized what she wanted to do. "Actually, Applejack, if you don't mind, I do have a question." Applejack looked up from pulling a jug of syrup from the fridge. "Do you happen to have any unused fabric? I'm just itching to make an outfit of some sort." Applejack set down the syrup, and smiled at Rarity. "A' course Rarity. Ah think there's some old fabric that we don't really use in the basement. The door's out back." Rarity smiled wide. "Thank you greatly Applejack." Rarity turned towards the door, walking over and pulling it open with her magic. She walked outside, letting the door close softly behind her. She turned and walked around the barn, looking up at the towering red walls and the smokestacks above. The sky would have been a clear crystal blue, brimmed with the soft pinks and oranges of a morning sunrise, if not for the gray smoke spreading overhead. Rarity let out a sigh of exhaustion. The lack of sleep last night had only served to wear her out more, along with the events of the last few days. To say the least, the events of recent times had been rather interesting. She had planned to just go out on a lunch break for some hayfries that first day. Being attacked by six Crystal Soldiers and having to be rescued by Rainbow Dash hadn't exactly been on her schedule. No, that was an understatement. Being attacked by Crystal Soldiers wasn't on her schedule for any day. And she never thoughht it would be. But now, possibly being attacked was a constant risk. And every moment they spent in one spot, only increased that risk. Rarity cleared her thoughts as a wooden door in the ground came into sight behind the barn. She stood in front of it, staring down at the wooden boards, and the single round metal handle. She tugged at the handle with her magic, and pulled the door upwards and away from her. She looked down the long stairway, and into the pitch black darkness below. She gulped, and lit a light spell, before slowly descending the stairway. Rarity flinched as her hooves suddenly hit the dirt at the bottom. She looked around at the dimly lit basement, with shelves holding wooden boxes along the wall, and the various boxes on the floor. Rarity slowly stepped forward, continuing to examine the space around her. "I didn't realize the basement would be this...dirty." Rarity's voice echoed through the dark room, only causing her to shudder more. The cold and clammy air made her coat and mane feel wet and sticky. Rarity cringed as her hoof hit something wet. She looked down to see a patch of mud beneath her hoof. She let out a whimper of discomfort, and lifted up her hoof, shaking off what she could of the wet and sticky mud. Rarity looked around again, hoping desperately that she could just find those old fabrics. Rarity let out a gasp of delight as a box came into sight with the lid slightly off, revealing fabrics beneath. Rarity smiled as she pulled the lid completely off. She looked inside at the old, dull-colored fabrics, and frowned slightly. "I was expecting some...not as old fabrics." Rarity sighed, as she pulled out a pile of folded fabrics in her magic. "Oh well. I suppose this will have to do." Rarity stared at the fabrics for a few moments more, until she noticed that something seemed off. She glanced upward, and realized what was off; the light of her horn had grown more powerful, and was shining with a bright sky blue light. Rarity's concentration broke, and the fabric fell from her grip, as her magic seemed to pull her forward. Rarity let out a yelp as the grip went from a pull to a violent drag. Rarity growled a bit as she attempted to dig her hooves into the ground, which only seemed to make her magic pull her stronger. "Augh! What are you doing? I thought I had control over you long ago!" She truly thought she did. She recalled all the times as a filly when her magic would randomly break out and pull her every which way, before stopping and leaving her stranded somewhere in Equestria. Her parents always tried to figure out what it was, but up to this day it was a mystery, even to Rarity herself. Rarity groaned again as her magic continued to pull her further back into the deep basement. Rarity whimpered softly, pressing her eyelids shut. Why, oh why, did it have to be a rock! Rarity yelped as her face slammed into the dirt wall. Rarity fell back down on her haunches as she rubbed her throbbing horn. A slight shock hit her hoof, and Rarity looked up to see her horn had lit once more. Rarity groaned with frustration. "WHAT IS WITH YOU!?" Rarity growled again, before something at her hooves caught her eye. She looked down, and saw a single gem, glowing from beneath the ground. Rarity blinked as another gem lit next to it. Then another, then another, then another. Over and over, Rarity looked up with wide eyes as an array of gems of all different shapes and sizes and colors illuminated beneath the ground around her, a beautiful and wonderful display of diamonds. It was all so gorgeous. Rarity looked to the box next to her and saw it held a set of shovels. Rarity grabbed one in her magic, careful not to lose the spell that was revealing the gems, and moved it towards the gems at her hooves. Rarity pushed it into the ground, and pulled back. A chunk of the ground was lifted away, along with a set of diamonds. Rarity smiled wide at the sight, and pulled the gems out, setting them next to her. She pushed the dirt back into the hole, and dug the shovel towards another set of gems. She kept going and going, making sure every gem was grabbed. Oh, this is all so beautiful. ...Wait...why didn't my magic do this before? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "EVERYPONY!" The group of five in Applejack's living room all jumped as the door slammed open. Rainbow Dash shot upward, slamming her head into the ceiling. Applejack almost fell off the couch from the vibrations. Pinkie's mane shot upward and caught in a giant pile of frizz. Fluttershy screamed and pushed her head into the pillows with her back half sticking out and upward. Gilda simply sat up straight and turned towards the door. In the doorway, Rarity stood with a giant grin on her face. "You will not believe what I found!" Pinkie frowned at her mane, while attempting to pull it back down. "Umm...fabric?" Rarity scoffed. "Well, of course. But, I also found much more than fabric." Rarity stepped into the living room, revealing the assortment of gems behind her. The group gasped with excitement and shock. "Wow, Rarity." Applejack said, getting down from the couch and walking towards her. "How did ya find those? Ah've had that there basement fer years, and Ah've never seen any gems." Rarity levitated the gems and set them down on the small table in front of the couch, as a slight frown grew on her face. "Yes, well, um...that's the thing. You know how when we were fillies, my magic would always go crazy at random, pulling me every which way?" Applejack rubbed a hoof to her chin in thought. "Ah think so." Rarity nodded slowly. "Well...I think I finally found what it is."