Rarity has risen to the highest stretches of the fashion business and high society, but she's found that not all is as it seems. In the corners of cocktail parties all over Equestria, dark conversations are found. Eventually, Rarity can take no more of this, and begins reporting back to Celestia in secret while delving deep into a world she had no idea was so intertwined with her life's goal.
How much of herself is she willing to give up to protect the throne and, more importantly, Twilight Sparkle? The life of a spy is a dangerous one indeed.
A canon story in the Rites of Ascension Expanded Universe! Artwork by Violet Squiggles. Author's Notes, including proofing credits, can be found here.
Chapters (5)
excellent, I really can see Rarity making a great spy. looking forward to more.
Um, the hall closet?
Good start though I like it!
Oh I am loving this so far.
Badass Rarity is badass.
While is not the first time I've seen Rarity portrayed with a darker second job, her role on The Empty Room comes to mind, it is the first time I've seen it done both in a way I could see happening and for a reason I could see canon Rarity working for. An interesting read, will be tracking it.
8 thumbs up and only 2 views how does that work?
Acid doesn't melt.glass. that's why we keep it in glass bottles.
Absolutely loved it!
HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY HORSEAPPLES! Rarity is a total badflank.
"Put factory seals back on bottles" indeed. Talk about mundane but awesome. Ordinarily, I'm not that big a fan of fic's where Rarity is the protagonist, simply because she's not really a pony I particularly care for. Congratulations on shattering the mold. You kept Rarity in character, and then at the same time turned her into a totally awesome spy. She even got a Bond One-Liner. This is a story I will definitely be following. I do hope that it eventually converges with the main Rites story.
take a moustache
A very awesome start! Rarity as spy is a common theme, but you've pulled it off magnificently.
I still want the next chapter of Rites though...
"Rarity indulged herself by exposing a sly, even lethal, grin. "Put factory seals back on bottles."
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/rsz/mlfw1681_large.png
1545664
Magic acid! That stuff will eat through anything that doesn't have a counter-ward.
Woo! This is as awesome as you said it'd be. I have duly thumbs-upped it and shall keep it on fav for future updates.
Great start to the story, I can see how Rarity could have a job like this. I really enjoyed her means to take down the other spy and I am interested in how this will meet up with Rites story.
Given how quickly Rarity regained her composure this probably isn't her first kill. Twilight has top level security clearance as Grand Mage now so her finding out about Rarity's side job is probably inevitable. Finding out that one of her best friends has been risking life and limb for years against cold blooded spies and assassins in order to protect her will likely result in another guilty freakout. Its just a question of which story the scene is going to be in. And how is Applejack the Element of Honesty going to react to the fact that Rarity has been engaging in cloak and dagger wetwork?
Very well done! I love your characterization of Rarity - This is going to be good
1545812
i.imgur.com/yJ3y3.png
1545698
Was napping when they posted this. (Figures.)
Rites now updated.
1545895 - yea... reading now! MOAR!
Rarity is a badass and a troll. Also she would make a superior Bond villain considering she could get away with the actual lecture without getting killed.
Daayum! Badass Rarity! Love it!
Rarity is Spy!
(Sorry, had to be done)
Definitely gonna' keep an eye on this.
-Minty
awesome, i was right, i knew i would like this! even though i normally hate rarity centered stories...
Your stoies/updates never disapoint!
1545664
Hydrofluoric aciddl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Rarity_lolface.png
YEEEEEEEEEES!!!
1546128
That unicorn ain't one of ours!
Gold dissolves too, in some acids.
1546559
What did they store it in before plastic was invented?
Well, I'd feel really bad if I was Rarity. Murdering your enemies isn't very classy even if might be your only option other than being killed by them. You'd think she'd use something that she'd have the option of counter-acting, but I guess not.
1547246
Lead or platinum
1546559
Considering the hazardous materials cutie mark on my OC, I should have remembered that.
1547422 Also, your argument of acid not melting something that isn't Teflon is rendered invalid by the existence of this stuff.
Awesome!!!!!!
) But considering this'll tie in with Rites, and how awesome that whole scene was, I'm looking forward to this. 
Normally, I'd skip stories with Rarity as the main character (nothing against her, but she can't really hold a candle to Fluttershy and Twilight
Also, where is the Thanatos Tear a reference from? I feel like it's from a game like Tales of Symphonia but I'm not sure.
1547766
So far as I know, it's not a reference to anything
But who knows, might coincidentally be similar to some other named item from something. I don't remember it from a Tales game though... and I am a Tales fan!
1547706
I hadn't made an argument about Teflon. Doesn't make that acid any less horrifying, though, so thanks for that.
CvBrony, you once again impress with your ability to create a believable backstory and motivations for your characters.
Bad-flank Rarity is awesome. She's probably going to be so jealous of Twilight's wings and mane when they come in though.
Keep up the brilliant work.
1548331
Thank you!
This is a brilliant start to probably the only Rarity focused fic I will ever give my full attention to Cv. Looks like it is getting a fair amount of love too, glad to see you get further recognition for your wonderful writing. Rarity in this story is very much believable, and the twist with how she disposed of the other agent was something that I didn't see coming until it happened. A most superb story that I will look forward to just as much as Rites!
If I hadn’t gotten this from anypony but Princess Luna herself, I’d imagine I’d be joining you.
Should be either "had gotten ...", or "hadn't gotten this from Princess Luna herself". As it is, Rarity basically said that only Princess Luna's spell would fail to protect her.
1548580
Dangit, that was one of the...
This is actually a slightly out-of-date copy of DI, folks. A couple of minor errors and very small changes were made in between this one and the more recent one. I thought I had updated this one, but it looks like things got mixed up. Expect tiny changes over the next few days. Nothing super huge though.
I apologize for that, Fan.
Very interesting. And I'm glad to see the writing continue, here and in the main storyline. Now I just wonder what Pinkie and Fluttershy have been up to all this time.
lol, no problem. I point these things out to notify people to fix them and they get fixed -- mission accomplished, everyone's happy, yay!
1548657
I hope you enjoyed the story aside from the little mistake there
What did everyone think of the BBCode header? I'm still trying to make a good one for Rites.
1548810
I thought it was pretty good. Nitpicking, the spacing of the letters comprising 'Intrigue' is just a little too exaggerated and makes it look closer to a series of letters than a word. I also think that the header looks better under the dark scheme than the light scheme.
But that's looking for problems, my first impression of it was very good.
1548810
The spacing of "Intrigue" is a little bit silly looking.
1545812
I see what you did there
Love this, the sophisticated facade above the spy battle was executed wonderfully.
Also, will this be a companion story parallel to Rites in chronology or will it be scattered and shorter?
1549504
Thank you very much! :)
To answer your question, much like Rites' eventual format, we'll see a few missions Rarity undertakes, and there will be time gaps between them. This will not be as long a story as Rites, but future missions will reveal more of what's going on in the world and will tie more clearly into the events of the main story.
-Cv
1549508 Great, I love espionage and intrigue when executed correctly and you have done so masterfully.
1547876
For more scary things found in chemical labs[1], go here.
Wonder at things like an isowurtzitane... with six nitrogen substitutions... each of which has a nitro group hanging off of it. Amazingly it doesn't explode when someone sneezes in a nearby town.
Or a synthesis that involves taking a fluorine/oxygen mixture and heating it to 1000K.
[1] Or the ruins that once were chemical labs.
1549955
Oh dear lord. I thought my working with acetylene regularly was bad enough. Still, my OC's cutie mark is the hazard designation color-diamond, so I like knowing this stuff!
This is my new favorite fic darling!