Diamond Dogs
Chapter IV - Diamond Dogs
Earlier that same day...
For Fluttershy, life had pretty much went back to normal for her after she had left Rainbow Dash and Twilight to do whatever it was they were doing with these so-called “Stands”. It’s what she normally did. Lately in these past two to three years of her life, a lot more stuff than she thought would have happened to her did in fact happen. A lot of weird, supernatural stuff had come into her life ever since Twilight became her friend. Most of the time, she just accepted it and moved on, going about her life as she always had.
So, to Fluttershy, that’s all the subject of Stands was for her. It was just another weird thing from Twilight that had become a part of her life. She had expected it to just, pass her by like most of the rest did. It seemed like it was only affecting Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Besides the constant fear that her friends might get hurt that she always had in the back of her mind, there was nothing for Fluttershy to worry about.
As such, Fluttershy was out having a normal day out with Rarity and Pinkie Pie. The trio was in the middle of enjoying a lunch together at one of their favorite local cafés. It was a pleasant spring day, with the morning having just given way into the afternoon. Fluttershy and her friends had gotten a great seat where the building was blocking out most of the sun from their eyes, and the pink umbrella above them was keeping the rest at bay.
“So, darling,” Rarity inquired towards Fluttershy as she gently stirred her tea with a spoon. Her cheese rigatoni was nearly all eaten up, and her cream of chicken soup had long been cleaned out. Well, as much as one could do with a spoon. A lady never slurps, after all. “It’s been a week since you’ve gotten back from your trip with Discord, and yet I still have heard nothing at all about it.”
“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie agreed with Rarity while she slurped down a rather long spaghetti noodle. Sauce splattered all over her face as she washed the pasta down with a hearty swig straight from her bowl of chicken noodle soup. To top it all off, she managed to cram half a breadstick inside of her mouth, and still somehow manage to swallow it all in one gulp. This proved to me much to Rarity’s disgust. “Where did he take you? Did he take you down to the deep pits of Tartarus? Or to a center of the universe? Or even a parallel dimension where we’re all on four legs?!” The pink haired mare gripped the table with excitement.
“Oh no,” Fluttershy chuckled as she cleaned the crumbs from her toasted tomato basil panini off of her face with a napkin, “Nothing like that. We just went to some of his favorite places to go in Equestria. We went to some Jazz Clubs that played wonderful music. He took me to Ink Blot World. Oh, and he even showed me some of the places where his magic still lingers. Which, explains so much about Las Pegasus.”
“Wait a minute!” Pinkie exclaimed as she jerked straight up from her seat, disturbing all of the china and utensils sitting atop of it. She leaned across the table and looked straight into Fluttershy’s eyes mere inches away from her face. “You got to go to Ink Blot World!?”
“U-Um, yes?” Fluttershy stuttered as she blinked nervously.
“Lucky!” Pinkie Pie pouted as she slid back down into her seat. Rarity cast a disapproving glance her way, before shaking her head and magically using a napkin to wipe away all of the crumb and sauce around Pinkie’s mouth.
With a sigh, Fluttershy straightened herself back up. In truth, there was more to her trip with Discord than just mere sightseeing and merriment. Discord seemed a little disturbed. He tried to play it off as some random ponies giving him the stink eye, but Fluttershy knew him well enough to know when he was lying. Discord, defeated, told her that he learned of something from his past that had resurfaced that was rubbed him the wrong way right now.
While he wouldn’t tell her what it was, Discord did make it a point to ask if Fluttershy had noticed anything out of the ordinary lately. To this question, Fluttershy truthfully answered no. However, that was before she had first experienced these Stands with Rainbow Dash. Had this been what Discord was asking about? She hadn’t seen him since, so she had no way of knowing.
“Well it certainly has been a pleasure with you joining us for lunch,” Rarity told Pinkie Pie, bringing Fluttershy back to the present. “Fluttershy and I are off to the spa now for our regular appointment. Would you care to join us? I know you don’t have an appointment, but I could probably convince Lotus and Aloe to squeeze you in with us.”
“No thanks,” Pinkie Pie replied matter-of-factly. “I mean, spas are fine and all, but I already know how I want to spend my afternoon. At da club!” She stood up and struck a cheesy gangster pose, which soon prompted the three friends to laugh among themselves.
“We’ll see you tomorrow then,” Fluttershy softly said as she put her part of the bill on the table. Pinkie and Rarity did likewise and the group split up. Fluttershy and Rarity went in the complete opposite direction of Pinkie.
It was nice to just have normal days. Of course, they weren’t out of the ordinary for Fluttershy by any means of the imagination, there were still a bit too much extraordinary days for her comfort. And with what Discord said to her on her vacation, a spa day was just what she needed to take her mind off of all that.
As per usual, she and Rarity arrived five minutes early. It wasn’t that they did this on purpose, it was just a habit of theirs to arrive slightly early. Most of the time it ended up being by complete accident. Which was fine by the two of them. They would either be taken right in into their treatment, or get a few minutes to sit and chat with each other in the lobby while they read the magazines laid out there.
The lobby had a natural radiance too it, filled with serene lighting and light colors that gave the room an inviting atmosphere. The aroma of spa products wafted from the entryway to the first stages of treatment, mingling with the smell of lotus flowers. The spa felt calming and inviting, just as one should.
Rarity and Fluttershy were immersed deep in a conversation already when they walked in the door. The lobby was barren except for Aloe, who stood at the counter. The spa owner leaned on the tabletop, resting her arms on it. She didn’t acknowledge the two mares for a few moments, staring at a book as the two walked in.
After a few moments, Aloe glared at the two customers as they made their way over to the empty seats in the waiting area. As she stood up to approach them, she quickly shut the book and stood up, hurrying over to them.
“Ah, Rarity, Fluttershy,” The lone sister greeted them, standing over the pair and looking down at them with her hands behind her back. “Right on time. It is so to see you. Come, I’ve already prepared the hot tub.” She instantly grabbed Rarity and Fluttershy by the wrists and dragged them through the door.
“Already ready?” Rarity commented. “Why darling, you must not be very busy today at all if you’ve set up the bath just how we like it already,”
“Oh yes,” Aloe replied without hesitation as she dragged the customers down the empty hall. “I’ve prepared it specially just for you two. Right in here,” She opened a door and lead the patrons inside.
Inside, the hot tub was indeed already prepared for them. There were so many bubbles inside of it that it was impossible to see that actual bath water below.
“You are always such a dear,” Rarity complimented as she and Fluttershy went behind the divider to disrobe. Aloe since had left the room to check on something. Both Rarity and Fluttershy wrapped towels around themselves and donned them as they walked across the room to the tub. Being only in the presence of each other, the two of them let the towels around their torsos drop to the ground before stepping into the bath on opposite sides.
The two spent a few minutes letting the warm mineral filled water draw the toxins out from their bodies. The experience was always very calming, and both mares were completely relaxed in a matter of minutes.
As time went on, Aloe had failed to return. At this, this wasn’t a problem, given the fact that she likely had to prepare the further steps of their treatment. Yet after having no contact from her for ten minutes, Fluttershy felt a sense of worry creeping up on her.
“I wonder where Aloe went off to…” Fluttershy spoke up with a hint of worry, “She’s been gone an awful long time…”
“Oh, don’t worry about her right now,” Rarity replied without opening her eyes to look to Fluttershy, “I’m sure she’ll be right back.”
Fluttershy slowly nodded, “Alright, Rarity…” She slowly leaned back into the water, but she couldn't relax. So many strange things had been happening, and the little things like this were beginning to get to her.
Another five minutes passed with no sign of Aloe. Fluttershy’s worries compounded when she began to notice that something about the water felt, off.
“Rarity,” Fluttershy asked as she tried to settle herself inside of the water. “Does this bath water feel a bit, odd to you?” Maybe it was Discord who had put on her edge, or the events with Twilight as of late. But, she felt like she should be alert of some looming danger, even if that danger was nonexistent, “Kind of, thicker than normal?”
“Oh, I’m sure that’s just something to do with the copious amounts of bubbles,” Rarity dismissed Fluttershy’s concerns as she pushed the bubbles away from their body so they weren’t completely obscuring her. “I mean look all of this. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say this entire tub was filled with them.” She shared a small laugh with Fluttershy. Just as Rarity was getting comfortable inside the admittedly thicker than normal bath water, Aloe finally walked in to check on them.
“Is everything alright with your bath?” Aloe asked, looking straight down with at the two of them. She didn’t seem to even acknowledge her rather long disappearance.
“Everything’s just perfect as usual darling,” Rarity assured, “Thanks for asking. Though, I must ask. Is everything alright with you today? You seem a little, tense?”
“Tense?” Aloe inquired. “Yes, you could say that I’ve had a few, problems lately. Problems pertaining to customers. Customers who have been making made a great deal of trouble for my sister and I.”
“Well I can empathize with your pain out of experience,” Rarity confined with Aloe.,“Just last month I had this one client who for whatever reason spilled wine on the dress that I made her during the party she wore it at. When the stain wouldn’t wash out, she demanded a refund from me. The nerve!” Rarity sighed and rolled her eyes with a pained grin on her face.
“Yes, some customers have quite a nerve.” Aloe agreed as she walked to the thermostat on the other side of the wall to check on it. “They have the nerve to think that the they are above consequence. The nerve to think to that they can just waltz around and everything will just be fine after committing a reprehensible deed.” She balled her hand into a fist and clenched it tightly, before slowly calming down and uncurling it.
“Um,” Fluttershy asked, slightly concerned. “It sounds like you had a bad experience recently. Do, you want to talk about it?”
“Talk about it?!” Aloe shouted. Then she slowly turned around, a deep scowl on her face directed towards the two friends inside of the hot tub, “I believe you two know plenty of what is my problem.”
Rarity and Fluttershy were about to express confusion and clarify that they did not know any such thing. However, they were cut off by the loud cries of burning pain that were coming out of their mouths when all of the bubbles surrounding them in the hot tub turned to hot steam. The pair tried to climb out and flee their hot assault, but they found that they were trapped inside of the tub, unable to move their lower bodies at all.
After a thirty-second-long assault of steam, which felt much longer from the intense pain it caused the two of them, Fluttershy and Rarity bent over, tearing from pain as they panted rapidly. The heat had scalded their eyes and rendered them unable to see. When they cleared up, all of the bubbles were gone. The water was gone as well and was replaced with solid metal.
Fluttershy’s mind was filled with confusion. This was clearly magic that had just happened to them. And from how Aloe was acting, it was equally as clear that she was the source. But, Aloe wasn’t a magic user. A non-magic user using magic…Slowly Fluttershy turned her head towards Aloe and gasped.
“A Stand!” The yellow pegasus shouted, “You have a Stand!”
“A what?!” Rarity cried in confusion, still wincing from the burning pain on her skin.
For a second, Aloe froze, staring at the two trapped women with a surprised expression. Slowly, said expression turned to a straight face, and then to a small scowl.
“I see you know more than I gave you credit for, Fluttershy,” Aloe said in a low tone as she crossed her arms. “Now, I am also certain you know the answer to what I’m going to ask you next: Where is my sister?”
Both of the prisoners of the hot tub looked up at their captor with confusion. Rarity more so than Fluttershy because she didn’t even know what a Stand was. These looks only served to anger Aloe even more.
“Your sister?” Rarity inquired, feeling frightened by these developments that she couldn’t explain, “Lotus? We don’t know! We just assumed she was taking the day off or something.”
“Do not play foolish with me!” Aloe shouted. The steam in the air turned to solid cement pieces that rained down painfully on Rarity’s head. “You and Princess Twilight Sparkle have taken my sister! Tell me where she is and I won’t harm you any further!”
“Aloe, listen to me!” Rarity pleaded, groaning from the bruises on the top of her head. “I’m telling you that we have no idea what you are talking about! We haven’t seen Lotus since we came here last week!”
Fluttershy felt panic begin to bubble within her, sweat beading on her forehead. She couldn't move in this metal; she was encased fully from her collarbone down! The water had seemingly turned into metal the second that it’d begun to boil. If this was a Stand like Twilight had mentioned, then what had it done to them?
Aloe’s gaze darkened as she slowly curled her hands into fists, “I see I will have to take more extreme measures to get the answers I want out of you...” Aloe sighed angrily. She wasn’t even attempting to listen to reason. Rarity began to think that she was absolutely convinced that she and Fluttershy had something to do with Lotus’s disappearance.
With heavy stomps, Aloe approached Fluttershy. Some invisible force pulled her up from where she was bound. The metal around Fluttershy suddenly became liqurious, letting Aloe pull her body up through it.. Yet, even when she was pulled out, there was still metal around her wrists and ankles, binding them together.
“You will break the easiest. I will get the answers I desire soon enough!” Without another word, Aloe left the room, followed by Fluttershy as she was dragged by the invisible force that pulled out up. The timid pegasus looked back at Rarity’s eyes as Aloe led her from the room. Fear flowed deep inside of her, and she didn’t even have the ability to resist, due to her bindings.
“Aloe, stop!” Rarity shouted, struggling as much as she was able to inside of the solid metal that she had somehow found herself encased in. Only from her shoulders up was she not entombed. This didn’t give her much room to try and move her way free. “Don’t you dare hurt her! She did nothing wrong! Neither of us did! But if you are going to hurt anyone, hurt me instead!” No response came. Either Aloe was deliberately ignoring her, or she and Fluttershy were already well out of earshot.
Rarity looked desperately around the spa room for something, anything that she could levitate towards herself and free herself with. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much that would prove even remotely useful in that task. Among the items in the room were soaps, shampoo bottles, bubble solutions, extra towels, and complimentary luffas. Rarity wasn’t desperate enough to even entertain the notion of using one of those objects.
Then Rarity remembered that she had brought her things with her into the room and left them behind the divider. Most importantly, her purse was among those things. Retrieving it would prove to be a difficult task however, since using telepathy on something she couldn’t see was a challenge, if not an impossible one. So, the divider would have to be moved first if she wished to retrieve her designer handbag. Rarity struggled to look over her shoulder, being able to see the barrier just on the edge of her vision. That would have to be enough.
Taking a deep breath, Rarity let her eyes and horn glow white and focused all of her energy around the divider. She grasped it with her aura and enveloped its energy around the object tightly. Grunting, Rarity roughly threw the divider towards the wall, and loud crash confirmed that Rarity had been successful. She exhaled and panted for a few seconds.
Next, Rarity made use of a spell Twilight had managed to teach in order to keep an eye on Sweetie Belle while she worked. This spell increased the size of her field of vision by about ten percent. This ten percent was more than enough to see her purse, take hold of it, and drag it towards her. Again, she exhaled and panted to catch her breath as soon as the bag was right in front of her. Magic took a lot of energy to use if one didn’t exercise with it regularly. Especially so if one was under pressure, like Rarity was at the moment, since magic comes from one’s mental state.
But Rarity didn’t have a moment to waste on catching her breath. She used her magical abilities to open her purse without the use of her hands and hold it open for her to peer into. She rummaged through the contents with her magic, shuffling around items until she finally found the one she desired: her nail file. Rarity realized that this was a long shot, but it was likely the only object in this room that would even have a chance at cutting her out of this metal prison.
With all the desperation of someone with their life on the line, take for instance, Fluttershy, the magic user scratched the file on the metallic surface in front of her. She pressed down as hard as she could, gritting her teeth and squinting her eyes as she violently rubbed the abrasive surface against the smooth one. She drew a circle around herself with it, desperately hoping that she would at least be making a small dent by doing so. But when she opened her eyes, she saw nothing but small filings around her; most likely from the file and not the metal. Screaming in frustration, Rarity pushed down even harder with her magic. This caused the tool to snap in half.
Rarity watched in silence as both halves fell to the ground with a clang in front of her. That file was, no matter how small it might have been, her only hope in this situation. Now, both were broken. The hopelessness of Rarity’s situation soon set in on her. Giving up hope caused Rarity’s mind to wander on just what Aloe might have been doing to Fluttershy while she was uselessly trying to escape from here. Her vivid, detailed thoughts soon gave way into despair. Despair paved the way for sorrow.
Filled with sorrow, Rarity held her head low and cried. Tears flowed from her eyes and dripped onto the metal below her. She sniffed with every new dark fantasy of what Fluttershy was going through at this moment passed through her mind. She felt useless. She had failed to do anything in order to even prevent this from happening to Fluttershy. Deep down in her soul, Rarity felt the despair of knowing this was her fault.
Even though she was so wrapped up in her pity and sorrow, even though that she was so busy crying that she shouldn’t have heard it, Rarity did. Rarity heard the small metallic clang in front of her. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and instantly the tears stopped. Laying in front of her was the nail file. Only, it was whole again. As if it had never been broken. Rarity’s astonishment and confusion far outweighed her sorrow after seeing this sight.
“What did you do that for?” A high pitched, gravelly voice from behind Rarity scolded, causing Rarity to jump from shock.
“What do you mean?” A similar, yet different voice responded. “She was crying because her file broke.”
“No, you idiot,” A third voice growled. “She’s obviously crying because she’s stuck in there.”
“Well shouldn’t we do something to get her out then?” Yet another voice asked.
“Who is there?” Rarity shouted, addressing whatever the sources of these voices were. “Who are you? Show yourselves!”
Even though a lot of bizarre things had been happening to Rarity today, she was still not prepared for the sight she was greeted with. Four small creatures ran out from behind Rarity and into her line of sight. Each one looked small enough to fit in the palm of her hand. They looked to be made of cloth and rags that were stitched together in various places, and each one was wearing a different colored vest made of felt. Their rough and jagged appearance was a lot similar to that of Diamond Dogs.
“It was us ma’am,” The one on the far left told Rarity. It was slightly taller than the rest. Its vest was green and he wore a collar that read “Lennon”. Pultruding from its back was a needle, pin downwards, along with a seam ripper. All four of the canines had them in fact.
Rarity was not sure what to make of the sight she was seeing. Of all the sights that she had seen in her life, this was by far the most unexplainable one she had seen so far.
“And, were you the ones that, fixed my file?” Rarity knew that there were more important questions she should be asking right now. Like, if these things could help Fluttershy, or whether or not she was crazy at the moment. But that was the first thing that came to her mind, and thus, became the first thing she asked of these creatures.
“Yes!” The second one in the line, to the right of Lennon enthusiastically told her. Its vest was orange and its collar’s tag read Cartney. “It was me, who did that actually, ma’am. I sewed it back together.” It pulled the needle from its back and held it tightly against its body.
“Sew?” Rarity raised an eyebrow, coming closer and closer to the conclusion that she was in fact going insane. “What, you mean, like fabric?”
“Fabric, yeah, yeah,” The third one, with a blue vest and a collar reading “Harrison” agreed while rapidly nodding its head. “But, not fabric. File. We sewed the file.”
“I SEWED THE FILE!” Cartney insisted while stamping one of his forelegs.
“The point being,” The last one, who was wearing a red vest and collar tag that said “Starr” sighed. “We can sew anything together like it was made of fabric. The two pieces of the file, in this case.”
Somehow, even though the evidence was right in front of her, as well as the fact that more impossible things have been happening today, Rarity met this claim with a bit of skepticism. Maybe it was because sewing was something that hit so close to home with her. She understood the ins and outs of the craft so deeply that a claim like this was nearly impossible to register in her mind.
“Did, I do good ma’am?” Cartney sheepishly asked.
“Hmm, the file?” Rarity raised an eyebrow at it. “Oh yes, now it’s in perfect condition to NOT GET ME OUT OF HERE!” She gritted her teeth and resumed her fruitless struggle against her metal tomb.
“You heard the lady!” Lennon ordered, “She wants us to get her out of there!”
“But, she said that the file is not getting her out of there,” Harrison pointed out.
“You idiot!” Lennon growled before hitting Harrison over the head. “You got to learn to read between the lines!”
“She didn’t write anything though,” Cartney informed the group, earning him the nice reward of a punch from Lennon similar to the one he gave to Harrison.
“You all don’t just look like Diamond Dogs,” Rarity muttered, “You behave like them too.”
“Just separate her from the metal already,” Starr sighed as he put one hand to his face and used to other to remove the seam ripper from his back. No holes were left in the fabric they all appeared to be made from when the rest followed suit.
“Just what do you intend to do with those?” Rarity asked, not too confident on the situation.
“Why don’t you be quiet and just watch?” Lennon retorted. “Or do you not want out of there?” He didn’t wait for Rarity’s answer, however. He and his three companions took their seam rippers and got closer to Rarity. Each of them took a different point, and then suddenly jammed the tools right at where Rarity and the metal met.
Rarity flinched and closed her eyes, about to cry out in protest. But, she felt no pain. There was no stabbing sensation that a sharp object had been thrust into her skin. Nervously, Rarity opened her eyes, and was surprised to see that the cloth mutts had somehow managed to get the tips of the rippers between her and the metal. Not only that, but they were moving around in a circle while dragging the tools. There was no sound of metal scraping against metal. They appeared to be functioning as a normal seam ripper would in fabric. When they got to the point where the next one from them clockwise started, meaning their combined efforts had made a complete circle around her, each of the Diamond Dogs pulled their rippers out and stood back.
“There you go,” Starr announced confidently as he jabbed his seam ripper into the ground and leaned against it. “You’re separated from the metal.”
“Just what are you talking about?” Rarity began to ask, before she suddenly felt, looser. She felt less constricted. Rarity felt free from her prison somehow. She wasted no time act on these new feelings. Even though she previously couldn’t move them at all, Rarity now was able to lift up her arms and just slip them out through the metal. Not only that, but she was able to push up and free herself from the hole she was in. It felt like it wasn’t even touching her at all. Finally free, Rarity raised her arms triumphantly before realizing she was just in the hot tub. She quickly ran over while covering herself and grabbed a towel to wear.
“While I do not fully understand what is going on right now,” Rarity admitted. “I thank the four of you deeply.” She looked at the door, not wanting to stay in this room and leave Fluttershy at the mercy of Aloe. She looked back down at the four Diamond Dogs at her feet. “Can I rely on the four of you to help me rescue my friend?”
“We’re yours to command,” Lennon informed her, bowing his head slightly. With one eye he looked up at his companions, hit the nearest one over the head, and they did the same.
This was more than satisfactory for Rarity. She ushered them out of the room and the five of them searched the empty halls. Rarity opened the nearest door and peaked in. The room was another empty hot tub room. No sign of Fluttershy and Aloe. Cartney, Harrison, Starr, and Lennon all ran from door to door, surprisingly able to open them and look inside the rooms, but only looked back with a shake of their heads.
“Figures,” Rarity sighed. “She probably wouldn’t be keeping Fluttershy on the same floor as me. Most likely somewhere in the basement. Follow me.” Though she didn’t care whether or not the dogs would actually follow her. Nothing was going to stop her from saving Fluttershy. Luckily, they did follow Rarity.
Seeing as the basement was much smaller than the ground floor, there wasn’t much to search. Even then, Rarity knew almost exactly where Fluttershy would be. It was so cliché that there was no way it could be anywhere else. She ran past all of the doors in the basement hall and straight door at the end of it, which led into the boiler room.
Sure enough, like a mildly entertaining January action movie, Aloe had Fluttershy in a chair and tied to the inactive radiator. The spa tender at least had the decency to wrap her in a towel beforehand. Though that seemed to be all the luxuries Rarity’s friend was given by her captor. Her eyes were stained with tears both past and fresh. Her skin was red, as if it had endured repeated exposure to intense heat. Fluttershy was squinting her eyes shut, doing her best to hold back tears.
“I do not understand why you continue to resist me.” Aloe commented as she crossed her arms. “All you need to do is tell me where Twilight has taken Lotus and the pain will cease.”
“B-Because,” Fluttershy stammered through the pain. “I’m telling you the truth! I don’t know where your sister is! And Twilight didn’t take her!”
This response did not seem to satisfy Aloe in the slightest. Suddenly, a new figure appeared right next to her. It stood a few inches taller that Aloe. Wait, it wasn’t standing, it was floating slightly off the ground. This figure’s body was entirely a pale shade of teal. What looked like soap bubbles littered its body, clustering together for form arm guards, shin guards, and a helmet over its otherwise stoic face. Aloe was not fazed by this figure appearing in the slightest.
Aloe then snapped her fingers. As soon as the sharp sound rang through the air, the bubble figure plunged its hands into the steam, closed its fist, and pulled out a white solid chunk. It immediately pressed it right against Fluttershy’s bare skin. She shrieked as she was burned by it. She failed to hold back the tears as she struggled and thrashed against the radiator, trying desperately to get away. The figure squeezed the object harder, and it turned into pure steam.
This was too much for Rarity to take. Fluttershy was being hurt right in front of her eyes. This was enough to make her feel like the radiator that Aloe was operating. Part of her wanted to run in there at that very moment and punch the spa worker right across the face. But, the more rational part noted that figure turning the steam solid. Whatever it was, it clearly was more than a match for Rarity on her own.
“I don’t know what that thing in there is,” Rarity whispered as she bent down to address the Diamond Dogs, “But, it looks like it’s somehow creating solid steam to use to burn Fluttershy. I suspect that it’s also what was behind the water in our hot tub suddenly turning to solid metal. Regardless of whether or not any of that it true, taking it head on seems like it would not be a wise idea at all. Do you think you all can manage some sort of sneak attack?”
“You can leave it to us!” Cartney declared in a slightly loud voice, which resulted in three simulations clocks to the head from his companions. He rubbed his head and growled lowly, before sprinting into the room with Starr and Harrison. Lennon jumped up on Rarity’s shoulder to watch the three of them with her.
Despite how fast they were running, the Diamond Dogs made no sounds when they ran across the hard tile floor. That, coupled with their small size, made them practically undetectable to Aloe, who was much too preoccupied slowly making bubbles with her strange companion. As such, the dogs were able to enact whatever they were planning unnoticed.
Starr and Harrison ran to the side of the radiator opposite to Aloe and began to scale it with relative ease. They used this to jump onto a pipe that was hanging from the ceiling and connecting to the radiator. While they ran across the pipe back towards the door, Cartney was running behind Aloe to the wall across from the door.
Using his seam ripper, Starr began to tear through where the pipe and the ceiling connected. At the same time, Harrison pushed his needle through the pipe with relative ease. He looped it around as if he was threading it and then threw it across the room towards Cartney. Cartney caught the needle, threaded it through the wall, and then threw it back to Harrison, who threaded it through the pipe on last time. This coincided with Starr finishing ripping the pipe from the ceiling. Holding his needle tightly, Harrison jumped from the pipe down towards the floor. Starr grabbed onto his back as he did so.
The actual thread woven through the eye of Harrison’s needle was too thin to see from a distance. Despite this, Rarity was able to tell that there had to be some sort of sturdy string that had followed the path that the needle had. Starr and Harrison were not plummeting at the rate of someone falling from such a height. Instead, they were being lowered down on the needle. Rather quickly, but not as fast as if they were in freefall. Rarity could visualize string that was leading from the pipe to the wall. She could see the string tightening in her mind as it pulled the pipe closer to it, causing it to swing down and collide with Aloe, knocking off her feet, before sticking to the wall.
As Aloe laid on the ground, Rarity didn’t even check to make sure she was full incapacitated. She instead immediately ran over to Fluttershy, quickly dropping to her knees as she frantically began to tug at the knots surrounding her.
“R-Rarity!” Fluttershy gasped as she opened her right eye, the left swollen from the steam, “W-What are you doing here?”
“I came to get you, darling!” Rarity shouted quickly, her fingers fumbling about on the rather expertly tied knots, “I’m, gah, these knots….”
“M-Miss Rarity you need to get out here! When Aloe wakes up…”
“I know, I know, but I can’t leave you behind with her either!” Rarity continued to try to undo the rope, but without much success, “Gah! Starr, I need you!”
Turning quickly, Starr acknowledged her with a, “Yes ma’am!” He ran over to Rarity, climbing up the leg of the chair and then using Rarity’s arm to perch on her shoulder, “What do you need from me?”
“I need you to help me get Fluttershy free!” She grunted as she tugged on the knots, “Can you get her out the same way that you did my own bonds?”
“Alright, leave it to me!” Brandishing his seam ripper, Starr jumped off of Rarity’s shoulder onto the ropes. Aloe had tied them tightly around Fluttershy’s torso, and he quickly jammed the ripper into where Fluttershy’s towel met the rope. He quickly ran around Fluttershy clockwise, dragging the ripper along with him until he met where he’d started. He climbed down the ropes and did so to the bottom of them, then hopped back onto Rarity’s shoulder.
“Uhm... Rarity..?” Fluttershy turned to look back towards the chair and how she’d seemingly been freed from the ropes, only for Rarity to reach forward and grip her shoulder.
“There’s not time for questions, Fluttershy! You need to get out of here and call the authorities!” Rarity looked her up and down.
“B-but, what about you?” Fluttershy stammered, but the sound of steam being released around both of them interrupted her.
Suddenly, the room was filled with billowing hot steam. Rarity and Fluttershy were blinded by the sheer force of it, the heat of it burning their skin as it touched them. Both mares cried out in anguish, trembling as they fumbled about for a safe spot from the onslaught.
In the middle of the steam was a small patch of air, where Aloe stood with an expression of pure rage. Her white hair band was torn and her hair was ragged from hitting the ground. A large red gash on her right temple bled slightly from where Rarity’s Diamond Dogs had caused the pipe to fall on her. Whenever the steam would get near her, it would turn to water and fall to the ground. This created a small pocket where there was no steam.
“She’s she’s liquifying the steam around her so she wouldn't get hurt!” Cartney cried out to Rarity. Lennon and Harrison retreated towards Rarity instinctively, while Starr stayed perched on her shoulder.
“Why…. why you two…” Aloe’s voice was filled with pure unbridled rage, a sneer crossing her lips, “You two lie about taking my sister… then you attack me just to cover up your own hides?!” Raising her hand, Aloe squeezed her palm shut, more steam bubbles exploding around the two, “I’ll just have to KILL you, Rarity!!!”
“Fluttershy, get out of here NOW!” Rarity shouted, pushing Fluttershy towards what she assumed was the direction she came in, “Get out of here and get help!”
“B-But, Rarity!!” Fluttershy gasped in terror, but the hissing of steam caused her to shout in pain and run. After Rarity was sure that she was leaving, she turned to Starr.
“Starr, follow Fluttershy until she gets out of the building!” She ordered, “And, make sure she gets her clothes before she does!”
“Yes ma’am!” Starr shouted to be heard over the hissing of steam. He quickly jumped off Rarity’s shoulder and ran silently down the hallway after the retreating mare.
The burning sensation against Rarity’s skin continued to grow as Rarity opened her eyes painfully to take in her surroundings. From the faintest silhouette, Rarity could see Aloe’s shape near the radiator, and the floating figure beside her had its hand around the small spout of steam. It was constantly grabbing solid steam and throwing it into the room, where it would turn back into gas. Rarity could safely assume Aloe was planning to burn Rarity with her steam grenades until it was too much for her to take.
Rarity had to think fast. Normally, it’d take at least an hour for a radiator of that size to fill the room with steam from such a small opening. Yet with Aloe using her ability solidify and throw the steam around her, she was significantly speeding up the process. Rarity’s knowledge of steam was minimal, but she could assume that the room was already two-thirds full of the boiling hot steam already, and it was continuing to build as she stood.
Despite knowing she needed to stop the steam to directly incapacitate Aloe, said steam was already so thick that Rarity was unable to see the radiator anymore. And even worse, how would she be able to stop the steam once she got there?
Rarity’s analytical mind suddenly realized something, “Dears, did you three say that you could sew together anything? Metal too?”
Cartney nodded, “Yeah, yeah ma’am, we can sew together anything!”
Lennon pipped up to add, “We put your file back together earlier, remember?”
Grimacing with the revelation she’d forgotten such a crucial detail, Rarity turned in the vague direction of where she knew the radiator was. She could recall how these Diamond Dogs were able to weave invisible strings together and cinch them tight. If they could do that…
“Lennon, Harrison!” Rarity shouted, “I need you to sew the opening to the radiator shut!”
Nodding rapidly, the two figures quickly drew their needles and ran across the floor of the room. Harrison brandished his tool and separated from Lennon, who continued to run straight. The two seemingly knew where the radiator was, and best of all they were silent in doing so.
However, Rarity wasn’t given much time to stand and wait for her Diamond Dogs to do the trick. Before she knew it, a teal fist crashed into the side of her ribs, sending her stumbling backwards. Rarity cried out in pain as she tripped and fell, smacking against the wall with a grunt.
“I don’t know who you’re talking to…” Aloe’s voice rang out, followed by the teal fist gripping Rarity by the neck and lifting her off the ground, “But I’m going to have to ask you to SHUT UP AND LET ME KILL YOU!”
Rarity’s eyes bulged as she was strangled by the teal figure. While the figure wasn’t particularly strong, it was still enough to take her breath away. The seamstress tried to grip the figure’s hand, but her hands seemingly went right through it.
“Ma’am!” Cartney, whom had been at Rarity’s feet, saw his master being strangled and jumped into action. Brandishing his seam ripper, Cartney leapt up Rarity’s form, climbing up the towel until she’d reached Rarity’s throat. Gripping the ripper, Carntey plunged the tool between Rarity’s neck and the figure’s hand, running along where its hand was ‘connected’ to Rarity’s neck.
As Cartney dragged the ripper back to where he’d begun, Rarity’s neck and the figure’s hand ‘separated.’ Rarity slid to the floor, coughing as she rubbed her neck.
“What?! How did you?!” Aloe’s voice rang out as Rarity looked up. Rarity felt all of the steam in the room turn to water that cascaded down onto her. Now there was no steam in the room that obscured her few. She saw that Aloe stood before her along with the figure she’d seen earlier floating beside her with its hand still outstretched in a gripping motion.
Cartney was hanging onto Rarity’s shoulder, still holding his seam ripper. Seeing this, Aloe’s gaze darkened as she pointed directly towards the small figure.
“You… You have a Stand, just like me?!” Aloe sneered, “You lied about my sister, attacked me and you had a stand the entire time?!” The spa worker growled, “You bitch!”
“A Stand?” Rarity blinked, turning to face Cartney. The Diamond Dog simply shrugged his shoulders, “What’s a Stand?”
“Don’t act like you don’t know now you lying whore!” Aloe drew her fist back, “You’ve had a Stand this entire time and you hid it from me!”
As Aloe plunged her fist down towards Rarity, Rarity’s many months of self-defense training in preparation for her trips to Canterlot and Manehatten kicked in. She dodged to the right, narrowly missing Aloe’s attack. She gripped the wall with her left hand and used it to drag herself up to her feet, before backing away from Aloe with her fists raised to protect herself.
With her attacks failed, Aloe’s rage only burned brighter as she snarled, “Fine then, you want to fight?! Then I’ll fight you!” Aloe’s fingers opened and then closed into a fist, “THEN BURN!”
However, as Aloe expected more steam grenades to be thrown, nothing came towards Rarity. Aloe’s expression turned into one of confusion as she turned, looking towards the radiator.
There, Harrison and Lennon stood atop of the valve, the metal having been squeezed shut. Rarity could sense the invisible threads that they’d used to pull the valve shut, like cinching a patch onto a pair of pants.
“There’s more of them?!” Aloe turned on her heel, looking towards Cartney and then back to Harrison and Lennon, “Whatever, WHATEVER! They’re all small and can’t possibly hurt my Slippery When Wet!” Aloe slowly let out an evil chuckle, “I’ll kill you yet, Rarity!”
“Dears, come here!” Rarity waved to Harrison and Lennon, who nodded and plunged their seam rippers into the radiator, sliding down to the ground with them. Once there, the two ran across the floor, narrowly avoiding Aloe’s stomps as they made their way towards Rarity, who had finally found the exit and begun to run down the hall.
“GET BACK HERE!” Aloe shouted, running in pursuit. Rarity gasped in fear as she felt Harrison and Lennon finally crawl up her back and onto her shoulders, hanging there along with Cartney.
“So, what’s the plan here?” Lennon spoke up, “That ‘Stand’ thingy she has looks dangerous!””
“We should just keep running! She can’t catch us if we just keep running!” Cartney suggested, earning him a knock on the head from Harrison.
“Idiot, she’ll just keep following us if we do that!” He turned to Rarity, “So what is the plan?”
Rarity was running as fast as she could, and as such her thinking was hampered. She had no idea what was happening here, only knowing that these ‘Diamond Dogs’ were the only way she was going to escape Aloe and her Slippery When Wet.
“I think running right now is the best option, darling!” Rarity panted, seeing the stairs back up to the ground floor in front of her, “We have to make sure Fluttershy got out alright!”
“Hah!” Cartney smirked, knocking Harrison over the head, “My plan was the best!”
“Hey, don’t you hit me!” Harrison growled, turning to knock Cartney as well. The two began to clock each other over and over in a match to see who was better at plan making.
“Stop that right now!” Rarity huffed, turning to face their bickering. She was only a few meters away from the stairs, “We need to focus on getting out of-”
Suddenly, Rarity lost balance and tripped onto the floor. But it wasn’t the floor as she knew it. It was some sort of liquid. It was the same color as the floor, but it wasn’t solid. Then it was again. Just as quick as the floor had become liquid, it became solid again.
Rarity was on her hands and shins at the time, attempting to get up. The parts of them that were submerged in the liquid floor were now trapped in the once again solid floor. Grunting, Rarity struggled to try and get up, but couldn’t hope to make the tiles budge.
Frustrated, Rarity turned her head around to see Aloe standing above her. She had her foot raised high above Rarity’s back. As Aloe prepared to stomp her foot on Rarity’s back, the mutts had finished separating her hands from the floor. Aloe brought her foot down onto hard tile as Rarity darted forward and towards the nearest room.
As Rarity looked around, she realized that she was a in a massive storage room. Boxes of spa supplies were stacked to the ceiling, along with trays and various towels. A sink was imbedded into the wall, along with a washer and dryer across from the sink.
Gripping the sink as she dragged herself to her feet, Rarity grunted as she coughed. She was cornered now. Aloe and Slippery When Wet would be entering the room any minute now. There would be no escape. This was to be the final confrontation. Rarity looked around the room, trying to formulate a plan. In her mind, she attempted to figure out an effective way of utilizing the room’s contents, as well as the ability of her so-called Stands.
“I hope you don’t mind me cleaning up a little,” Aloe announced as she walked into the room. She aggressively had Slippery When Wet knock over a stack of boxes whenever one was in her way. “We get numerous customers a day, so it only makes sense that we keep such a large stock on hand. Everything from shampoos, to therapeutic mud, massage oil.” Slippery when wet picked up a box beside it. “And of course, bleach to disinfect all of the towels the customers love oh so much.” The box turned to gas.
Rarity’s eyes widened at the mention of bleach. If she had turned everything into the stockroom into bubbles, then that meant some of the bubbles would be made of bleach. That meant if she popped one…
“Yes,” Aloe grinned at Rarity’s fearful realization, “I see you understand what I am implying? In case that is yet another lie, let me explain thoroughly. My Slippery When Wet has the ability to change the state of anything it touches. Solid to liquid, liquid to gas, gas to solid. Normally to do this, you would have to give or take away so much heat from an object. Of course, Slippery When Wet can just change the state directly without need for any heat.”
“However, that doesn’t mean that it is not able to use heat.” Aloe continued, waving her hand through the gas around her. “Normally when it changes something to a gas, it simply turns to gas with no change in temperature. But, as you saw with my little, sauna session with your friend, Slippery When Wet is able to bring an object to the heat it would need to naturally be in such a state.”
“Do you know what happens when you burn bleach Rarity?” Aloe asked. “There is a label on the bottle that tells you to keep it away from open fires. Why? Because when it is burnt, bleach turns into a toxic gas, capable of suffocating you to death. These boxes are unfortunately not labeled, so even I do not know which ones contain bleach. And Slippery When Wet needs to touch the object in order to bring it to a higher temperature.”
Slippery When Wet punched the box next to it as hard as it could. The cardboarded singed and evaporated to reveal plastic bottles of shampoo. These bottles started to bubble and evaporate as well. The contents inside followed suit and the air began to smell a lot more fragrant.
“So forgive me if I keep you waiting for longer than need be. Eventually I’ll achieve the results I desire, however.” The gas turned directly to liquid once it got close to Aloe, still forming a pocket that kept her from breathing it in. “Once I have disposed of you, I will find the yellow one again and learn where my sister is.”
The Stand did not let in its destruction of boxes. Every second that passed a new box was turned to hot gas. More shampoo, sizzling oil, and hot mud filled the air. In this situation, the abilities of Aloe’s Stand seemed to be far more useful than Rarity’s.
But that did not mean Rarity would give up hope or cease trying. She was an artist. Art is making the most of what you have. Using what you are given to make something truly beautiful. Anyone who could not manage that did not deserve to call themselves an artist. Rarity was an artist and would find away with nearly nothing to work with.
Rarity decided to take a look at what she did have to work with between dodging boiling soap. Lennon, Cartney, and Harrison were all scampering frantically around the room, trying to find something to sew together or take apart. But nearly everything was being turned to gas. And even then, the only things in the room were made from cardboard and plastic. A few times Harrison tried to leap at and bite Slippery When Wet’s ankle, but he was simply kicked away. The only things inside this store room that weren’t made of a flimsy material were the sink, washer, and dryer.
Instantly Rarity’s mind sparked with a thought. Sinks, washer, water, pipes. Pipes in a multitude of directions, hanging from every which way. She had a string of sorts at her disposal. Rarity knew what she wanted to do, what she had to do to end this. The only problem was, she couldn’t even begin to think of a way to vocalize her plan, much less shout it out and order it to her Stands.
“Lennon,” Rarity shouted as she jumped back as hard as she could, narrowly avoiding boiling mud. “Is there any way I can assume more direct control of the sewing process?”
“There is,” The Diamond Dog said as he skidded to a halt in front of Rarity. “But it’s got some drawbacks to it. And we need all four of us here. And Starr is…”
Just as Lennon was about to finish his statement of Starr not being there, Starr came running in the room, shouting for Rarity.
“Ma’am!” The mutt shouted frantically. “Ma’am! I’m sorry ma’am, I tried but I…”
“Never mind that now!” Lennon barked. “All you mutts, front and center this instant!” Starr instantly stood at attention and soon after Harrison and Cartney came running towards them. Once all four of the Diamond Dogs were present, Harrison tossed his needle and ripper up to Rarity. “Alright, this is how you get more direct control. Just do what comes naturally.”
Before Rarity could even ask what he meant, the four of them leapt up into the air towards her. She was about to cry out in protest, before an urge came over her. Instinctually, she ripped through the cloth canines, turning them all into much more fabric than they should have been made of, with much more ease than there should have been for such a task. Then, still in the instinctual trance, she had her arm dance through the fabric. She just let her mind go free and her body move on its own. Soon, Rarity found herself sewing the shape of a much larger dog. She had woven the four dogs into a single one.
This new dog, who was now wearing a white vest, and had a silver collar reading “Beatle”, was a lot more feminine in appearance. Rarity had never seen a female Diamond Dog before. It’s body was curvier than a male’s, and its face was unmistakably female, yet it still looked rough, ragged, and made of cloth. Rarity finished the process by tossing the needle and ripper to it, which grew bigger for its hands.
“There you go,” Beatle announced in a gruffly feminine voice. “I’ll now obey your thoughts as if they were command. A couple warnings though. I can’t move more than two meters from you now, or sew anything farther away than that. And anytime I get hurt, you’ll get hurt in the same way. Keep that in mind, and I hope you know what you are doing.”
“That is good to know dear,” Rarity nodded. “But kindly be quiet and let the artist work. I would not have asked for this if I did not already know how I intended to use it.”
Aloe had not just stood idly by however, while this transformation took place. She’d patiently waited for a huge cloud of gas to congregate in front of her. Aloe cried out in anger and had Slippery When Wet strike as many of the boxes as it could.
“Intend to do something?!” Aloe growled, apparently having been listening to Rarity’s side of the conversation with her stand, “Well I intend to do something too! YOU WON’T GET THE BEST OF ME, RARITY!”
With that, Slippery When Wet’s fists suddenly began to blur, punching at every box that was in front of it. Molten shampoo, burning hot boxes and charred towels came flying towards Rarity, in far greater quantities than before. Despite not being lethal, the gas cloud was incredibly hot.
However, As Rarity began to dodge, she felt something far more, instinctual about her movements. It similar to when she began to design her dresses, letting her musings take light on a page without her putting that much conscious effort into every stroke of her pen. While she felt the same as usual, her body seemed to move more reflexively.
However, that was until Rarity heard a small hissing noise. Aloe’s eyes widened and her mouth sharpened into a grin, “HAH! It’s over Rarity! My Slippery When Wet finally has you cornered!”
Rarity turned to face Slippery When Wet’s fists, just in time to see a box evaporating. The contents splattered to the floor, carrying the unmistakable smell of bleach. However, it was only a moment later that the puddle began to froth, bits of it turning slightly yellow. Rarity stepped back as the the puddle continued to froth, which could only mean one thing: evaporation.
Aloe’s grin only grew as the yellow fumes began to rise, hitting the ceiling and spreading out across it. Her own face was still protected inside of her own pocket, while Rarity was left in the open to the deadly gas. Aloe’s fists slowly opened and closed as she taunted in her victory.
“I learned this when I was a younger spa worker: you only have maybe three minutes before the fumes begin to corrode your lungs!” Aloe cackled, “But before that your eyes will dry out and burn, and say goodbye to your sense of smell! This is for Lotus, Rarity! BURN FOR LOTUS!”
As the fumes rose, Rarity slightly bent over, keeping her head below the fume line. She turned to look at Aloe, then back up to the fumes. Beatle mirrored her stance, holding the needle close to it and the ripper out in front. The puddle continued to burn up as more fumes were released, making the layer above Rarity even thicker.
However, Rarity did not panic. In her mind, she already knew what she had to do. Without saying a word, Beatle raised its needle in the air, and then suddenly spun around with it. Rarity held still as the needle wove between her eyelids, nostrils and lips, weaving the invisible thread between them. Then, with a swift yank, Rarity’s eyes, nostrils and lips were sealed shut.
Internally, Rarity forced herself to stay calm. She’d acted without having to think of this first, and it was just what she needed. This way, the fumes wouldn't get to her body and wouldn't kill her. Of course, this now meant she couldn't breathe either, nor could she see or smell anything. But for the moment, she was safe.
“W-What the hell did you just do?!” Despite two of her main senses being cut off, Rarity could hear Aloe’s startled gasp, “Y-You just sewed your face shut! You’re insane!”
Rarity wanted to say something in return, but undoing the string would mean undoing it around her eyes and nose too. Instead Rarity took a moment to reorient herself, and think. She was facing Aloe, whom was standing in front of the wall adjacent to the washer and dryer. If she was going to end this properly, she needed to do something fast before her lungs ran out of oxygen.
Darting forward, Beatle brandished its needle, staying silent as Rarity held the weapon. With two large strides, Rarity had crossed the duration of the floor. With Beatle, Rarity could ‘sense’ the wall in front of her, and that was all she needed to implement her plan.
Drawing its arm back, Beatle plunged its needle into the wall. However, rather than clanking into the concrete, the needle phased through it. Rarity could sense it entering into what she’d needed to get to all along: the pipes.
Thanks to the perception the needle granted her, Rarity was able to feel where the pipes went. Still holding the needle, Beatle began to move forward, dragging it along and weaving the string inside of the metal pipes. Rarity, knowing about the range of Beatle, moved along with it.
As Rarity was about to pass the washer, her right foot suddenly began to burn. Molten hot shampoo had been shot at it, and without her ability to see and her attention focused on her plan, it was a direct hit. Had Rarity’s mouth been able to open, she would have yelled out in pain.
“Stop moving you little bitch!” Aloe growled, “Stop moving so I can make you burn!”
Just as Aloe finished her sentence, Rarity heard the slightest noise coming from the right. A spray of hot, liquid towels came flying at them, but Rarity wasn’t able to tell the angle. As such, she was forced to jump backwards, avoiding the attack just in time for a burning sensation to fill her left shoulder.
While Rarity couldn't see them, a splattered towels had landed on the left shoulder of Beatle. Beatle’s earlier warning about damage being transferred to her flashed in her mind, but she couldn't stop now. Aloe had hurt Fluttershy badly, and she needed to pay for what she’d done to her. That, and if she stopped now, she’d likely be burned to death by molten spa supplies.
Without a moment to lose, Rarity darted forward, still weaving the needle through the wall. Her lungs were beginning to burn from lack of oxygen, and she felt it in her gut. Yet she didn’t stop, still weaving her plan along with her needle, hearing splashes of Aloe’s attacks hitting all around her. It took all she had to jump and dodge, and even then bits of mud or shampoo continued to splash onto her legs.
Even still, Rarity couldn’t stop; she wouldn’t stop. Instead, as she felt her needle touch the end of the pipe, she had Beatle yank the tool out from the wall, still dragging the string along with her. Then, without warning, she suddenly turned tail and ran straight towards Aloe, Beatle right behind her with needle in hand.
Having expected her to continue forward, Aloe’s eyes widened as she saw Rarity turn to her, and, just as Rarity knew she would, drew Slippery When Wet in between her and Rarity. She and Beatle charged towards both master and stand, the positioning of her needle making every indication that she was about to try to stab Aloe.
However, at the last second, Rarity stopped dead in her tracks, just short of punching Slippery When Wet. Beatle, however, continued to run, holding the needle as he lapped around Aloe and her stand. Aloe’s confusion gave Rarity just enough time to jump backwards as Beatle ran a second time around Aloe and Slippery When Wet. Once done, Beatle returned to Rarity. Then, as Aloe turned, Beatle suddenly reared up and threw the needle, making contact where it had first struck the wall.
Then, with Rarity leaping to the right of Beatle, Beatle reached out and gripped the invisible string. Giving it a massive tug, the string through the wall, pipes and around Aloe and Slippery When Wet tightened up. The force of the string caused Aloe to shriek as both she and her stand flew towards the wall, tightened to it by Rarity’s stand. And, as she found, the string held Slippery When Wet’s fists down against the wall, preventing her from striking any other boxes.
Beatle quickly tied the string off to itself, keeping Aloe and Slippery When Wet against the wall. Then, as Aloe opened her mouth to speak, Beatle drew its fist back and delivered a hard punch right to Aloe’s jaw, a clean uppercut that made her shriek in pain.
“A lady never punches someone unless it is the most dire of situations,” the string through Rarity’s face receded, opening her mouth up to speak, “But when she must, she is sure to end it in one swift motion!”
“Y-You!” Aloe tried to jerk up to attack, but the string holding her to the wall was wrapped tightly around both her and her stand. Neither had the strength to break it apart, leaving them trapped there.
“A lady also knows how long it takes for smoke to fill a room!” Rarity pointed a finger at Aloe, “Clearly you’ve never had breakfast with Sweetie Bell! By now your bleach will have dissipated in the room and into the hallway!” Beatle stood behind Rarity, holding its needle tightly, “The net I’ve woven around the pipes is too strong for you to break. If you try to struggle in any direction, the pipes will attempt to join in a hundred different ones. You’ve lost Aloe!”
Despite how pointless it was, Aloe continued to struggle and thrash in her invisible bindings. She was beyond the point of forming words. She pulled and cried incoherently, glaring at Rarity with pure hatred in her eyes.
Rarity stood over her fallen foe as Beatle deformed back into its four original parts. Together, all of them gazed down at Aloe. Rarity knew she should have been feeling hatred, contempt, or even satisfaction while looking at her. But deep in her heart, Rarity could only feel pity at the sight of her.
“I’LL KILL YOU!” Aloe shouted, finally able to form sentences again. “YOU AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS! YOU TOOK MY SISTER! I’LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU! ANY OF YOU! YOU’RE ALL…”
“Aloe, stop!” Fluttershy shouted from the entrance to the room. She was fully clothed now, looking straight across the room with a firefly determination in her eyes. Everyone in the room was speechless. Even Aloe, who had somehow ceased her thrashing and shouting.
“I thought I told you to make sure she got out of the building safely,” Rarity whispered to Starr.
“That’s what I was trying to tell you before you sewed us together,” Starr explained. “There wasn’t much I could do to make her leave.”
Wordlessly, Fluttershy marched directly over to Aloe as she sat there bound together with the wall. Rarity wanted to protest, but couldn’t bring herself to. The pegasus knelt down and looked Aloe, who was gritting her teeth and glaring with the hatred of a thousand suns back at her. This didn’t phase Fluttershy, however, as she took her by the face and gazed directly into her eyes.
“You need to calm down,” Fluttershy said calmly but sternly. “This isn’t right, this isn’t like you. You need to calm down and remember. You need to remember that we’re your friends and we would never do anything to hurt you.”
Not once did Fluttershy break her stone gaze into her former tormentor’s eyes. Slowly, her expression of anger and hatred faltered. Her face steadily morphed into a blank stare. Rarity could have sworn her eyes were playing tricks on her; but she thought she saw a bracelet suddenly appear on Aloe’s wrist, before shattering. After that had happened, Aloe passed out.
~~~
“I cannot even begin to tell you how sorry I am!” Aloe sobbed on the office room table as she sat across from Fluttershy and Rarity. Whatever spell she had been under, it was clearly broken thanks to the powers of Fluttershy’s stare.
“It’s quite alright darling, we assure you,” Rarity tried to console the spa worker. In truth, she did still feel contempt for the pain she had caused both her and Fluttershy. But she knew that grudges got nobody anywhere. “It clearly was not you who was doing that to us darling.”
“It must have been some other Stand User,” Fluttershy offered. She had no choice but to explain what Twilight had told her to both of them. Two more Stands that appeared without warning. Twilight was definitely not going to like this. “Maybe, you could try to remember what happened before you were hypnotized like that?”
“I simply cannot!” Aloe groaned as she gripped her temples roughly. “All I remember is getting down the last customer two nights ago with my sister, and then, blacking out. When I woke up, I was convinced that Princess Twilight had kidnapped her and that you knew where she was.”
“Well, that certainly doesn't offer us much help at all.” Rarity sighed. “But Fluttershy, you said about these, “Stands”, Rainbow Dash had also acquired one out of nowhere?”
“Mmmhmm,” Fluttershy nodded. “And Twilight said it's not something that’s just supposed to happen.”
“I certainly can say I wasn’t born with the ability to summon these Diamond Dogs.” Rarity declared. “I didn’t even know what a Diamond Dog was until two years ago.”
“I can say similar about Slippery When Wet,” Aloe added. “On top of thinking Lotus was kidnapped by you, I suddenly just knew about it when I woke up. Do you think it's safe to say that whatever put me in that spell is also what is responsible for our Stands?”
“I don’t know for sure,” Fluttershy admitted. “But, I get the feeling this isn’t the last we’ll hear of this.”
~~~
Alone in a quiet room, a figure sat, looking at a red bracelet on his wrist. On said bracelet was a charm. Inside of the charm was a picture of Aloe’s face. The bracelet sat among many other on his right arm, each with a different charm and face imprinted on them. Each one pulsed with a distinct energy, but only one was pulled up to the front of his wrist.
At first, the figure didn’t notice as a tear formed inside the spherical jewel. The jewel trembled before the tear deepened, almost as though it was fabric being cut across the center. After a few seconds, it shattered into fragments too small to see. The figure had just turned his head to see the band fade, something that caused his eyes to widen.
“It seems my friend wasn’t successful?” He said aloud to himself. His lips curled into a small frown, the bottom lip quivering slightly. He paused and lingered on his thoughts, before rotating the bracelet to look at another charm. This one had an image of the town’s local DJ, Vinyl Scratch, on it. “Well, maybe my other friend will have more luck?” Slowly, his frown moved back into a pensive smile.
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
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Heh, and now I’m interested. Though a part of me wants to blurt our stand ideas.
9575711
Well not that it wouldn't be appricate. But this part is nearly written. I've got all Stands already picked.
Does that mean it's too late to suggest Journey as a Stand?
9748936
For this part, yes, unfortunately.
For the future, I could definitely use Journey as a name
Celestia & Luna needs to be informed yesterday of a sociopath running lose and target the Nation.
Guess in time all mane six and Soike get a Stance?