Man in Green
Deep within the halls of Castle Bleck, Rarity’s little resistance was doing nicely. They had left the kitchen a while back and were now staying in a series of what appeared to be storage basements. Rarity knew of four separate cells, one of which Fluttershy was currently leading.
Rarity skipped between the black boxes where ponies were walking, talking, guarding, and sleeping. It had taken several days, but overall, the ponies finally felt safe here. None of Nastasia’s goons ever came down this far, the hypnotized ponies didn’t patrol here, and beyond that, they had food. It was no kitchen, but canned beans and rice were wonderful when you were very hungry.
Which didn’t mean there wasn’t the occasional treat, far from it.
Today is a good day, Rarity thought, beaming at the ponies around her. She’d just received word that they’d performed a successful raid on one of those Metarex weapon lockers, crippling the enemy in that area of the Castle and obtaining some weapons for themselves. Rarity could never bring herself to use the little flak guns, but she wasn’t going to complain if others felt the need. Even better, apparently O’Chunks himself had come to stop them, and they’d defeated him! A rousing success for the good guys.
She tossed her mane back and started whistling a tune to herself. They’d build up their number, take more and more away from the Count, and eventually storm his center of power themselves. Granted, that final goal was a long way off, but she was feeling good about it.
“Yahoo!” Luigi called, jumping back into the resistance cell. “Mission was a success!”
“Excellent!” Rarity called. “Did you get anything out of it?”
Luigi shrugged. “We blew up a castle wall. No weapons. But we did see that-a orange guy!”
“Our mysterious benefactor, again?” Rarity scratched her chin, pondering this. “Well, how about you let your team get some rest. You and I need to talk—I was just about to have dinner, will you join me?”
“Uh… sure!” Luigi said.
With a disarming smile, Rarity led Luigi to the table in the back of the resistance cell. There was a single candle burning on it for light—though if she was being perfectly honest, the white flame that burst from the tar-black cylinder was a lot more creepy than the mood she was going for. It would have to do.
“I’ve got something special for my number one agent,” Rarity grinned, pulling a can out from under the table. “Canned mushrooms.”
Luigi’s eyes widened.
“I’m afraid it won’t be the same as the fresh morsels from your world, but no doubt it’s better than beans and rice?”
Luigi nodded vigorously, reaching out for the can.
“Patience! Let a lady cook it first!” Rarity popped the can open with her magic. From nearby, she floated out two plates with beans and rice on them, laying the mushrooms on top. Carefully, she used a heating spell to warm the two plates up until they were steaming. “There, a meal fit for kings!”
Luigi stabbed a mushroom with a fork and put it in his mouth. His smile vanished.
Corking a brow, Rarity took a mushroom and placed it in her mouth. Now, she was not an avid fan of mushrooms to begin with, she saw them as a strange sort of food that mixed unfortunately with other flavors, but on their own they could be decent. When she put the poor excuse for a mushroom into her mouth, her experience was far worse than that of Luigi. Barely keeping control of her gag reflex, she spat the shroom onto her plate, staring at it as though it had killed her family. “By the Stars…” Composing herself, she fixed Luigi with an awkward smile. “It appears… as though canned mushrooms are inferior.”
“Mama mia…” Luigi rubbed his head. “That’s an understatement.”
Rarity levitated the mushrooms off both of their plates, leaving just beans and rice. “Well, I guess our dinner is just going to have to be plain, now isn’t it?” She cleared her throat, taking a bite of the bland but palatable beans. “So… Luigi, how have you been enjoying your missions?”
“Oh, it’s been-a great to be the hero for once! Usually it’s-a my brother who gets all the glory, y’know? And he’s a great guy and all, but…”
“Shadows are hard to get out of.”
“You know what it’s-a like?”
Rarity shook her head. “I know what it’s like to cast a shadow. My sister has many amazing talents and brilliant friends, but… let’s just say people tend to see me when they look at her.” Rarity’s eyes dropped. “I do hope she’s doing okay without me.”
“I bet she misses you—but that she’s also striking out on her own!”
Rarity gave him a “really?” look.
“I-I mean I could be wrong and u-uh…”
“Luigi, Luigi, calm down, it’s okay.” She held out her front hooves to put him at ease. “Though for future reference, when talking of a lady’s family, implying that they’re better off without her is generally not the way to go about it.”
“O-oh I’m so sorry, I—”
“Luigi, I know what you meant.” Rarity chuckled. “Others may not be so understanding, is all I’m saying.”
“...Let’s be honest here, when is another lady ever going to talk to me one-on-one like-a this?”
“Luigi!” Rarity gasped. “Darling, I’m sure you are a strapping young man with a magnificent mustache. You’ve mentioned you’re close to the princess of your world, correct?”
“Well… more like Mario is. I’m just… there.”
Rarity shook her head. “Hmph! She doesn’t know what she’s missing. If I ever get to their world I will give them a piece of my mind by spinning the tales of Luigi, resistance warrior.” She fixed him with a coy smile. “That is, assuming you don’t mind.”
“N-no, not at all!” Luigi sat back, stroking his stache. “Luigi, resistance warrior. I think I like-a that.”
“It suits you w—”
“Intruder!” A pegasus shouted, flying through the area, screeching. “Intruder!”
Rarity stood bolt upright. “Everyone scatter! Get to the other cells!” She turned to the pegasus. “Who is it?”
“Nastasia!”
Rarity’s stomach sank like a stone. There was no effective strategy against Nastasia. She could turn you to her side with a flash of her glasses. Even Mimi could be countered by clever movements and jeering. Nastasia was just untouchable.
“Let’s go,” Rarity told Luigi, gesturing that he should get on her back. Rarity, you are in a life or death situation, don’t get all flustered. Once he was on, she took off.
The resistance may have prepared for this several times, but the majority of them were simple, easy-to-panic ponies that forgot everything about drills in the moment of attack, running in random directions and into boxes. Rarity winced as she ran by some dazed ponies. She couldn’t help them—she needed to escape. If she was taken, she wasn’t sure Fluttershy could step up to the plate and be the leader of everything.
Ironic, she thought, I spent most of my life trying to be an important pony, and now that I am I hate what it makes me do.
She and Luigi ended up being the only ones running through the frozen goods section of storage. It looked no different from the rest of the castle, black as ever, but Rarity could see her breath as she ran between the racks filled with far-too-old cheeses that hadn't been touched in months.
In front of them stood three hypnotized ponies. They charged.
Rarity whipped out a laser spell, hitting the only unicorn directly in the horn, canceling any spells he may have had at his disposal. Luigi jumped off her back, smacking a mare in the head with his wooden hammer. The pegasus flew into the air and dove at Rarity. She raised an arcane shield, expecting to have to deal with an impact, but Luigi jumped into the pegasus with enough strength to knock the wind out of her.
Luigi landed back on Rarity’s back. She needed no further encouragement to gallop away at full speed. She smiled to herself. He really is such a capable fighter with that jump of his. You wouldn’t think jumps would be so helpful, but...
“Stop right there, ‘K?”
Rarity skidded to a stop a yard from crashing into Nastasia. “H-how did you pass us!?”
“I know the castle.”
“Poppycock!” Rarity swore, lowering her head in anger. “We’ve mapped this entire area out to the penny, there’s no shortcut around.”
“Allow me to rephrase. I know the castle, so I know the precise point to portal to.” She held out her hand, demonstrating her ability to generate Void portals. “You’re coming with me, ‘K?”
Rarity placed a shield in front of her and Luigi’s faces. “No.”
“Yeah!” Luigi hefted his hammer. “W-we’re a-gonna take you on?”
“Um, cute, but useless.” Nastasia flashed her glasses. Rarity dropped to the ground, losing her shield. Luigi’s hammer fell with a dull clatter. “Now, who do we serve?”
“Hail Bleck!” Luigi shouted, robotically.
Nastasia turned to Rarity. “Who do we serve?”
Rarity opened her eyes, startling Nastasia with their soft magical glow, the same dark purple as her mane. As she rose to her hooves, a faint outline of a purple diamond pulsed in front of her neck.
“Not you too…” Nastasia growled.
“What’s the matter, darling?” Rarity grabbed Nastasia’s collar in her magic. “Can’t handle an Element of Harmony?”
Nastasia struggled to release herself, but her physical strength was nothing compared to Rarity’s magic.
“I bet Rainbow Dash and Applejack have given you such a fun time, haven’t they?” Rarity tilted her head with a soft smile. “How many insults does Rainbow spit at you each day?”
“S-save me,” Nastasia grunted.
“Yahoo!” Luigi called, in a decidedly non-robotic fashion. He picked up his hammer and swung it right at Rarity, grinning in delight. Rarity deflected it with a shield, summoning her magic blade and dropping her grip on Nastasia.
“What… did you do to him?” Rarity asked, stabbing his hammer and throwing it away.
“Certain individuals are particularly suited to the service of the Count,” Nastasia said. “It appears as though your man in green is one. Just give up now, ‘K? I’ll take you to your friends and you can all enjoy the last time in existence locked up together.”
“No!” Rarity shouted. She used her telekinesis to deflect a jump from Luigi, turning to Nastasia with her blade. “I’ve had enough of this! You kidnap us, jail us, force us to fight one another, and apparently the Count was serious about destroying all worlds!” She shot Luigi in the stomach with a laser, barely even looking at him as he toppled backward. “...And you take new friends away.”
Nastasia took a step back.
Rarity looked down, a shadow covering her eyes. “I can’t let this continue.” Grinding her teeth, she charged Nastasia, aiming for the neck.
Nastasia ducked under the blade, shaking slightly. “Um, think about what you’re doing, this, um, won’t look good on your record!”
“Do you think I give a flying feather!?” Rarity leaped into the air, making it look like she was attacking from above when in reality she was slashing at Nastasia’s legs.
Nastasia let out a harsh yell, falling to her knees.
“You disgust me,” Rarity spat.
“F-for making you do terrible things?”
Rarity paused. “Yes.” She twisted her blade around, aiming for Nastasia’s neck once more.
A pony tackled Rarity from behind—some random hypnotized earth pony. Rarity dissipated her sword, too afraid of accidentally hurting him in the scuffle. As she threw him off, a pegasus appeared, diving at her. She shot back, but a unicorn shot her in the back.
Nastasia still couldn’t stand up, but she allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief anyway. “Look, good sob story, great speech, but that’s not our modus operandi right now. You’re coming with me.”
“I… will never…” Rarity was pinned by three ponies at once.
“Yeah, my army of hypno-ponies kinda say otherwise.”
“Ergh…” Rarity struggled under their weight but was unable to move. “I…”
“Everypony off!” a familiar voice shouted. With a burst of blue-green magic, every pony on Rarity was tossed into the air, leaving her free. Looking up, she saw her saviors: a white stallion with a blue mane and a pale pink unicorn with a horn sparking with far more energy than Rarity could ever muster.
“Shining Armor! Starlight!” Rarity beamed. “I thought…”
“You thought wrong!” Starlight said, sneering at Nastasia. “What now, hypno-psycho?”
“You.” Nastasia reached for her glasses.
“Hah! No.” With a flash of energy, Starlight teleported herself, Shining Armor, and Rarity somewhere else within the castle. Lifting her head high, Starlight smirked. “I’d like to see her hypnotize through that.”
“Good work,” Shining said, though his voice didn’t sound as happy as his words.
“Anyway, so much for joining up with the rumored resistance,” Starlight chuckled sadly.
“There’s… another cell,” Rarity said, sniffing. “Fluttershy’s there. I… I can take you.”
“Thanks…” Starlight stooped down, lifting up Rarity’s face. “Rarity, what happened?”
“Just… she got me to do terrible things and…” Rarity looked down. “She took a good friend.”
“We’ll get them back,” Starlight promised. “We’ll get them all back.” Glancing to Shining armor, she gave him a smile. “Even Cadence.”
He didn’t look like he believed her. At the moment, Rarity couldn’t blame him—she didn’t believe Starlight either.
~~~
“Timpani, why? Why do you avoid me?”
“Ow… OW! Unhand me!”
“Huh? You’re crying! Why? Timpani, you must tell me what has happened!”
“It’s nothing… Don’t worry about it… Just forget it…”
“Oh no… Timpani, is my father behind this?”
“I’m… I’m just an ordinary girl. No matter how much I love you, we must part.”
“Timpani, I…”
“This is goodbye, Blumiere. There’s no other choice. This is our fate…”
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Oh man, even the background ponies are beating O'Chunks now. Poor guy...
"A-finally. Some real-a fucking food!" (...Would Luigi swear? I don't know. Maybe if he was mushroom starved enough...)
Welp, it looks like Rarity cooked a Mistake by... mistake. Not that she had good ingredients to work with...
Didn't you get an entire adventure last game? This era was around the time Luigi got to do things for once. Still, I guess compared to 'Mr. Video Games' himself...
Apparently poor Daisy is non-canon. ...Is there even a Paper Daisy? Probably not, come to think of it...
Huh. Rarity and Luigi. Not quite as good as Twilight and Data, but... For a man who claims to hate ships you sure are very good at coming up with interesting pairings.
Ha! Classic NPC behavior. I'd sure they'd be flailing their arms wildly, if they had them. It really is just like having an army of Toads...
Come on, Rarity! Everyone knows that 'just jump on them lol' is the greatest weapon in any hero's arsenal! How many worlds have been saved by heroes whose only move is the ability to briefly leave the ground? (There's a joke about Balan Wonderworld here but I haven't played the game so... *shrug*
She took a shortcut! (funny skeleton noises are heard in the background)
Ah, Luigi... You tried, buddy. At least Rarity is holding up. Ish.
There comes, in a lady's life, a certain point where she is no longer willing to put up with things and act in a polite and rational manner. Apparently, for Rarity, that day is today. You go, girl!
ok maybe don't go that far yikes
Oh hey, the OP characters have arrived. Sweet.
A mare after my own heart, that one. Couldn't have said it better myself.
Well... things could be going better. We lost Luigi! What are we supposed to do without him? Sure, Starlight and Shining Armor are here, and not only are they both strong magic users but also much better equipped to actually resist Nastasia and her mind control, but... Luigi! He's green! Starlight isn't green! For some reason, I get the feeling that being green is really important... Either way, it looks like the Resistance at Castle Bleck isn't gonna make ground anytime soon.
A forced parting of lovers, separated by 'fate'... but fate has even more cruelty in store.
Well, this is starting to get exciting! Rarity's getting a bunch of time to show off all her best qualities, of which I approve as she's my second favorite of the Mane 6 behind Rainbow Dash, and it's nice to see Starlight and Shining Armor made it this far. Hopefully the power of
lovefriendship will get Luigi out of Bleck's clutches but I'm not optimistic.Bring on Mr. L!
NEVER FEAR... THE CAVALRY IS HEAR....
I'll just show my self out...ok
ok
... uh oh, she only needs one good shot at starlight,
Hey the mane 6 are immune at least.
There's a golden statue on the Daisy Circuit that says it's sooner than you may think.
And yeah, Rarity's always been one of the more... pragmatic Bearers. She's willing to do some terrible things to give others a chance. Without any pliable minds in the area, Nastasia is just a secretary... but she knows that, and she's never without assistants of her own. Still, if anypony can deprogram brainwashed minions, it's Starlight.
In the meantime, the Green Thunder rumbles on the horizon...