Beasts and Burdens

by Metool Bard

Rarity's Wrath

Beasts and Burdens Chapter 10:
Rarity's Wrath

"RARITY!"

A familiar cry echoed through the tunnels, and Rarity's ears perked up.

"That sounded like Sweetie Belle!" she gasped. "Twilight, we have to hurry!"

Twilight gave her friend a quick nod, and the two of them picked up the pace. They didn't have to travel much farther before they heard other noises coming from above their heads.

"Sweet Celestia, what is that racket?" Twilight puzzled. "It sounds like there's some sort of battle going on up there."

"Battle?!" Rarity yelped. "You mean poor Sweetie Belle could be...?"

"I'm afraid so," said Twilight. "The Canterlot Royal Guards are probably looking for the Chimera, just like we are. If they caught up to it..."

"Wait, wait. I don't get it," said Spike. "Why would the Chimera go above ground? Wouldn't it be able to avoid the guards if it just stayed down here?"

Twilight bit her lip. "I don't think it wanted to hide."

"What do you mean?"

"The Diamond Dog said something about breaking into Tartarus," explained Twilight. "The Chimera is bad enough, but if all of the other creatures broke out, well, I don't need to tell you what would happen."

"That's very interesting and all, darling, but we don't have time for this!" Rarity shouted, her eyes wide with panic.

"Right, sorry!" Twilight apologized hastily. She then took a better look around the cave. "There. I found a hole to the surface," she said, pointing with her horn.

"Perfect," said Rarity. With that, she leapt up towards the hole. However, there was no solid footing for her to climb on, so she slipped and fell back to the ground. "Um, Twilight? Do you think you can lend me a hoof?"

Twilight rolled her eyes and smirked. "Of course," she said. She then used a levitation spell to give Rarity a boost.

"Thank you, dearie," said Rarity. "Listen, I'll go after Sweetie Belle. You handle that Tartarus business."

"Wait, what?!" exclaimed Spike. "You want to take that thing on alone?!"

"I kinda see her point," Twilight mused. "The Chimera is probably using itself as a distraction. We can't play its game. But still, I don't like this, Rarity."

"Twilight, I want you to trust me," Rarity said, giving the her friend a serious look. "Remember, I handled the Diamond Dogs on my own. I can handle this, too."

Twilight paused for a moment and then nodded. "Alright, Rarity. I trust you. But, please be careful."

"I will, dearie," said Rarity with a somber nod of her own. "You be careful, too." And with that, she climbed to the surface with the help of Twilight's magic.

***

When Rarity arrived at the surface, it was complete and utter chaos. The Royal Guards managed to recover from the ambush, but the Diamond Dogs were still going strong as the two sides continued to duke it out. In the midst of the chaos, Rarity spotted a rather nasty-looking creature leering down at a familiar white filly. She wasted no time galloping over.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, YOU BRUTE!" she yelled.

Sweetie Belle's eyes went wide and she jumped for joy. "Rarity! You found me! Oh, thank goodness!"

Curious, the Chimera turned to face the older unicorn. The goat head smirked.

"So you're this Raaaaaaaarity the filly haaaaaaaas been taaaaaaalking about," it said. "We imaaaagined you to be a biiiit more intimidaaaaaating."

"You want intimidating? I'll give you intimidating!" said Rarity with a snort. "You let my sister go right now, or I'll make you regret it!"

The lion head snickered. "Look around you, foolish mare. None of those soldiers even came close to hurting us. What makes you think you have a chance?"

"You're holding my sister hostage," said Rarity flatly. "That's more than enough for me."

"What a sssssssweet sssssssentiment," said the serpent head with a mocking chuckle. "But are you sure we are the onesssssss you should be fighting?"

Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"As we speak, a pack of Diamond Dogs are digging a tunnel straight to Tartarus," said the lion head. "Once they break in, they'll be able to free the great Orthrus, who will conquer Equestria. Now that you know this, maybe you should go and stop them. Of course if you do that, we can't guarantee your sister's safety."

Sweetie Belle felt a chill go up her spine. Was that monster really forcing Rarity to choose between her and Equestria? Was that why it brought her along? Did it know this would happen? She closed her eyes and began to cry, worrying about what would happen.

Rarity, however, was unfazed. "Don't worry, Sweetie. I'm going to save you. And this uncouth rapscallion is not going to stop me!"

Sweetie Belle stared at Rarity, not sure how to feel about her sister's choice. Meanwhile, all three of the Chimera's heads roared with laughter.

"You muuuuuuuust be joking! You would really choose your siiiiiister over aaaaaaall of Equestriaaaaaaaa?!" the goat head guffawed.

"Equestria has been saved from worse than what you have planned," said Rarity, stomping the ground with her hoof. "And besides, I've had it up to here with you and the Diamond Dogs using my sister as a means to hurt me! I am not going to stand for it any longer!"

Seeing the seriousness and fury in Rarity's eyes, the Chimera stopped laughing and adopted a battle position of its own. "Fine. You wish to danccccccce? Let usssssss danccccccce," said the serpent head.

Rarity's eyes narrowed. "You will rue the day you crossed me, you ruffian."

"You will rue the day you crossed us," the Chimera's lion head corrected, arching its back and pawing the ground. "That is, you would if you were going to survive this bout. But, it seems that your sister will just have to watch you fall."

That verbal jab stung Rarity, who was now even madder than before. "Oh, it. Is. ON!" she proclaimed as she charged straight for the Chimera, and it for her.

Comments

[Metool Bard]

1943478 It was a calculated decision. If they both took on the Chimera, the Diamond Dogs would get to Tartarus. Twilight knew that, and she also had Rarity's reassurance that she'd be okay. There's more to this as well, but that'd be giving the game away.

As for the rest of the Six, well, I simply couldn't find a way to fit them into the narrative. I did play around with the idea of having them all investigate when Sweetie Belle was first kidnapped, but I couldn't really make it believable, so it ended up just being Twilight and Spike.

[canius]

Go Rarity go
Take em on
I love that Pic of the story ....

[OmniFox]

KICK THEIR CANDY *****!!!