Rarity, POW

by Amethyst_Dawn

Intermission: Last Stands, New Love.

Rarity's teeth shone brightly in the torchlight as she glared at the hated figure that now stood in the doorway. Hitter grabbed one of the torches, and walked towards the bunks, yet stopped as Rarity leapt down and stood protectively between him and Octavia.

"That's far enough, cur!" She spat, eyeing him in mistrust. He seemed hurt by her actions, and she saw a silver shine in the corner of his eye.

"Why do you hate me so much, Rarity?" Hitter asked, his voice cracking ever so slightly. "All I ever wanted to do was purify all of Equinity, and help us, the master tribe, to grow. Surely, you cannot blame me for wanting the best for our ponies?"

"You think killing off thousands of innocent ponies is for the 'Greater Good', and you wonder why I hate you?" Rarity hissed, the tone in her voice was one of pure hatred, and carried a deadly sound nopony had heard from her before. "You killed my friends, and you expect me to forgive you just like that?"

Hitter levitated the torch to a far corner of the room, and lit another, and another, and another. Soon, the entire room was brightly lit, burning Rarity's eyes. She felt a clicking on her forehead, and her eyes adjusted just enough to see her Horn-Lock collapse to the floor.

"Come with me, and I'll let you personally make sure your friend here makes it to the safety of Equestria." Hitter offered, gesturing to Octavia.

Rarity considered the offer, and looked up to him.

"It's a deal." She stated after barely a thought, much to Octavia's horror. "But, what happens to me?"

Hitter smiled softly. "You get limited freedom, and I'll see if I can't persuade you to the light."

"Very well," Rarity said bitterly, "but first, I need to make sure Octavia is indeed safe at her home..."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Rarity ducked behind the wall beside mansion window, holding a spellrifle in her hooves. It had been several months since they taken Grainwood in, and she had accepted seven more refugees in time. But they had let down their guard, and the last one was followed. Fortunately, they had been able to easily disperse the Pegasi that were attacking them, and managed to retrieve some weapons in the process.

The Spellrifle was an interesting construction: operating in similar in function to our own human rifles. Only instead of bullets, it functioned by using a bar of metal that could be charged with Unicorn Magic. And since Rarity was the only adult Unicorn in the mansion, they had to all be in the same room to fight. The constant reloading took a toll on her, and was fighting collapsing from exhaustion.

Even as they fought on, she couldn't help but overhear Phoenix and Bagpipe talking on the other end of the window.

"Bag, did you ever think we'd go out like this?" Phoenix asked. She could hear a tremble in his voice that brought tears to her eyes.

"Nay, laddie." Bagpipe commented. "This i'n't going to be yer end. You and yer marefriend are too import'nt to this country to die here. I have a feelin' you two might even be the pair that stops this war, the rest of us are onl' 'ere to help you."

"Bag," Rarity called sternly, "you better not be thinking of doing anything stupid!"

Bagpipe shook his head, feigning ignorance. "Nay, lass. In all me born days, I've never done a thoughtless thing."

A bolt of fire whisked past Rarity's ear, and struck the wall in front of her: alighting another section of the house into flame. She quickly span around, and shot several rapid bolts out the window. Three soldiers had fallen from her attack before she ducked back. She was trying her best to fight on, but this firefight had lasted three days already, and she didn't know how long she'd be able to fight anymore. She felt ready to collapse, and just as she was wobbly enough to do so, a strong scent penetrated her nostrils.

Phoenix had ducked in beside her, holding up a large mug of jet-black coffee. She graciously took it, and thanked him before she downed the black liquid, and immediately felt energy coursing through her veins.

She looked between Phoenix and Bagpipe, who had now taken shelter behind an overturned table. "Are the children in safety?"

"Yes, ma'am." Bagpipe called. "I'd say where they are, but I don't want those pigeons outside to overhear. Let's just say they're a li'l dirty."

Rarity paused for a second in thought, but shrugged of her concerns. Hiding the children in the graves wasn't the worst place he could've thought of: he might have hid them in the attic, or the basement, come to think of it. Neither of which would work all that well, with the house both on and under fire.

Before she could think any more, there was a thunderous boom outside, followed by a searing heat in the room as Rarity found herself blinded, and flying through the air. She felt herself land on the dirt with a crunch, and looked up to see the cause if the horrible explosion.

A large, wheeled cannon was aimed directly at the house, and had fired into the room where she had taken refuge. She tried to stand, in order to flee, but only succeeded in wobbling to her knees.

"The Unicorn is down, open fire!"

She looked up, and saw seven unicorns focusing their magic into the barrel of the cannon. It aimed towards where the other refugees had hidden themselves, and charged up.

What happened next was nothing but a blur.

She heard a massive bellow of "NO!", and heard spellfire coming from the air. When she looked in the direction of the call, Bagpipe was running full speed towards the artillery as bolt after bolt was shot into him mercilessly.

"Ready!"

He charged the massive cannon as it swerved towards him.

"Aim!"

He leapt into the air as his primal yell drowned out all other noise easily.

"Fire!"

He dove forward as the barrel started to glow, and with a cry of "RUN!" he had plugged himself into the cannon: sealing it completely.

There was a blinding flash, and Rarity felt four tiny hooves embrace her as the deafening thunder caused her to scream in agony. To her, the noise was so loud that all she heard of it was a tense ringing, but it stung her ears like nothing else could. She felt herself be lifted off the ground, and heard the screams of several ponies as she was carried away.

After looking up to see the house engulfed in flame, she blacked out.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

She opened her eyes, despite their groans of protest, and found herself sitting next to a crude campfire in the middle of a dark forest. On either end beside her was Grainwood, and Seamist. And in front of her was the one who had obviously risked his own life to make sure they had all gotten to safety...

Phoenix.

His mane was a tattered, singed mess, as was his coat. He was bleeding slightly from several scars, and a single hole through his foreleg shone with cauterized blood. His eyes were focused on the fire as he was roasted a few alfalfa sausages.

As she looked at his scarred face, and then into his shining eyes, she felt her heartbeat accelerate dramatically: and her face seemed to burn like fire.

'Uh oh...'

She turned her face away, and hoped that her limp mane hid her growing blush well enough. She criticized herself for this predicament. How could she not have seen this coming? This was something she was not prepared for in the slightest! She didn't have her dresses, she didn't have her fainting couch- mostly thanks to those darned Dotsies burning their house down -she didn't have anything to prepare herself for this!

"Nice to see that you're awake, we'd begun to worry after the third night."

'How long has his voice been so smooth?'

"Y-yes, I guess I just... dozed off." She offered weakly, before a thought slapped her in the face. "Did... any of the others make it out, Phoenix?"

Phoenix looked her in the eye, and his dark expression told it all. Rarity' head drooped, and the heat in her face subsided. Where would they go now?

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Rarity tore up inside at the sight of the Princesses before her, still as beautiful and regal as ever. Hurriedly, she shooed Octavia over to them, and tried her best not to cry as the mare hesitantly obeyed. Hitter stood beside her, and she swore she saw a small smile of sincerity on his cheek before he quickly hid it.

"Your friend is safe, Rarity." He muttered. "I hope you'll honor your side of the deal?"

Rarity smiled politely, despite her stomach's protests. "I'm your prisoner, and you may do with me as you wish."

"You make it sound like I'm going to have my way with you, Rarity." Hitter chuckled, turning her back towards their dirigible with a hoof. "I assure you, I hold nothing but the best intentions at heart. I only seek purification."

'... Sometimes, a small impurity can be beneficial, Hitter...' Rarity mused as she climbed aboard, stealing one final glance at her homeland.

Author's Note:

Yes, I know I don't usually do intermissions, but I wanted to give you guys something to chew on while I figure out what to do next.

I do know which direction the story is going in, I just don't yet know how to get there yet. And no, I'm not giving out any spoilers!

(t might be quite a while until the next update.

Until Next Time, God Bless You!
~Amethyst Dawn.

Comments

[Rainbow Spectrum]

I loved it, cant wait for more!

[Amethyst_Dawn]

7466550
Thank you! I hope you enjoy what I have in store.... *Evil Laugh*

[Amethyst_Dawn]

7476160
D'aww, thanks!