It's Rarity's turn to save the day! But is she up to the task?
Rarity has always been one for beauty. Creating it and helping others finding the beauty in themselves are what she's all about. But when a a new monster begins attacking boats near the city, will Rarity and her new ability be enough to stop it?
Nighttime in Canterlot was beautiful. The city lights against the dark sky gave the city an air of magic to it. Even on a boat just outside the city, two sailors couldn't help but admire the view.
"City does sure look nice from here, don't ya think?" One of the fishermen asked his friend.
"Yup! Just like a giant disco ball."
They continued to look out at the city from the simple wooden boat. They had decided to do a little night fishing before heading home but found themselves entranced by the view of the city from their spot on the river. Their bait case shone brightly in the moonlight.
The two men were so entranced by the sight they they almost didn't notice that the water was getting choppy until one of them almost lost their balance.
"Woah! What the heck?!"
While peaceful and steady mere moments ago, the river was now running rampant now as waves spilled huge amounts of water into the boat. Both fishermen were struggling to chug it out, keep their equipment from falling over, and keep themselves from falling in all at the same time.
"What in the world is going on here!?"
They were both so busy, they failed to notice a large dark shape forming below the surface. Suddenly a shadow fell over them and the two fishermen looked up to see a giant purple claw sticking up from the water.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
As they screamed like little girls, the hand reached over, plucked up the shiny bait box, and went back down below. The dark shape disappeared and after a few moments, the water settled down and all was as it was before....aside from the two freaked out men and their missing bait.
"W-WHAT WAS THAT!?"
"I don't know....but that thing stole all out bait!"
The fisherman could only give his friend a flat look.
"Really? We could have died and your worried about bait?"
"What? It was quality bait! Now how are we supposed to catch something?"
His friend could only facepalm before rowing them back to shore.
They next day brought out a beautiful morning... almost as beautiful as Rarity herself.
After a night of well-deserved beauty sleep, she shut off her alarm clock and stretched gracefully before starting her daily ritual of beautification to prepare her for the day.
Hair perfectly styled? Check.
Make-up properly applied? Check.
Gorgeous outfit that she herself designed? Check.
After a quick look over in the mirror, Rarity decided she was ready to grace the world with her presence. She grabbed her backpack and went right down to breakfast, where she found the rest of her family already waiting for her, as always.
"Well look who's finally up! Good morning sunshine!" Her father, Hondo Flanks, greeted her cheerfully. He was a man of about average height with the same pale skin as his daughters. His brown hair was topped by his favorite straw hat. As always, his mustache had bits of food stuck in it.
"Good morning father. Good morning mother. Good morning Sweetie." Rarity greeted each in turn as she sat down...only for her eyes to widen at the array of burnt food laid before her.
"Err...what is this?"
"Isn't it great? Your little sis got up early and made breakfast all by herself today! Those lessons I've been givin' her have really been paying off!" Her mother, Cookie Crumbles, beamed with pride for her younger daughter. She was a woman of plus size proportions along with pink skin and purple hair styled in a beehive. Like her husband, they shared Rarity's blue eyes.
"Oh..really?"
"Yup!" Sweetie Belle nodded, her pink and purple curls bouncing. "I decided to show you guys how good I've been getting. So..what do you think?" She looked at her sister, eagerly awaiting her answer.
Rarity eyed the...food?...skeptically. "I didn't know you could burn applesauce." She said, eyeing a bowl of burned liquid.
"That's toast!" Sweetie corrected her sister cheerfully, not seeing Rarity's disgust.
"I see..." Rarity couldn't decide what made less sense: that someone could actually mange to burn every breakfast item on the table, or that her parents actually seemed to enjoy her sister's cooking.
"Well...um...as much as I'd love to try this...delectable meal...I'm afraid I promised to...meet my friends before class!" Rarity grinned nervously.
"But what about breakfast?" Cookie asked.
"Oh I'll pick up something along the way. Come along Sweetie!" After bidding their parents farewell, the sister made their way to Rarity's car and were off to school.
After picking up a bagel and some tea, Rarity and Sweetie Belle arrived at Canterlot High, ready to start the day.
As Rarity walked to her locker, it was hard not to notice the stares of admiration she got from many students, boys and girls alike. When Rarity flipped her perfectly curled hair, a student fainted. Rarity took these stares in stride, as she was used to getting them from people.
As she opened her locker, several notes fell out and onto the floor.
"More love notes?"
Rarity turned and smiled when she saw Sunset Shimmer. "Oh yes darling, this happens from time to time." Together they gathered up the various confessions of love and Rarity put them away to reply to later.
"Must be nice always having people admire you." Sunset said in good nature.
"Oh trust me darling, it's not all it's cracked up to be." Rarity sighed, remembering the various heartbroken expressions of people she had politely declined. Rarity closed her locker and was about to walk away when...
*Wham!
She and Applejack collided straight on and AJ's coffee was spilled all over Rarity's nice outfit.
"Whoops! Sorry Rares!" AJ apologized.
"My outfit is ruined!" Rarity despaired over her sullied clothes.
"It ain't that bad! Here, let me help.." AJ began to go near her.
"No thank you!" Rarity declined sharply and made the motion to push Applejack away when....
*Whoosh*
"Whoooooaaaa!"
...A large diamond-like shield popped up from her hands and pushed AJ all the way down the hall before disappearing. AJ ended up slamming into some lockers and was fine aside from some dizziness from the impact.
Rarity and Sunset just stood there, not believing what they just saw.
"Rarity...did you..?"
Rarity just blink and looked down at her perfectly manicured hands in wonder.
The girls were gathered together in the lair in front of the Element's case; where the Element of Generosity was glowing in a steady power.
"So this means..." Sunset said, turing to Rarity.
"You have your superpower!" Pinkie cheered, giving Rarity one of her signature hugs.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? Again!?" Rainbow shouted to the heavens....only to notice the nasty looks she was receiving from her friends. She immediately put her arms behind her and smiled nervously while blushing. "Uh...I mean, good for you Rares." she said, giving a nervous chuckle.
"What's with all the shouting?" Celestia asked as she and Luna entered.
"Rarity got her power!" Sunset informed them. Luna put a finger to her chin in thought.
"Does it have anything to do with what the students were saying happened earlier?"
"Well...yes." Rarity blushed. "It was an accident, truly! Applejack accidentally spilled coffee on me and I made a diamondy thing appear out of nowhere, which normally I'd be excited about. I mean, the facets were just perfect, and the—"
"Rarity" AJ shouted to get her back on track.
"Oh, sorry. It knocked Applejack over and then it disappeared!"
"How unusual..." Luna wondered. "Can you try making one again? And this time hold it still?"
"Alright..." Rarity held out her hands and focused, and just like before a giant diamond like shield appeared. Unlike before, Rarity focused on keeping it in place.
"Incredible.." Celestia uttered as everyone gathered to examine it.
Twilight tapped it with her finger. "It appears to be incredibly durable, just like a real diamond!"
"Oooh! It's shiny! I can see my reflection!" Pinkie then proceeded to make goofy faces in it and laughing at them.
Rarity then began experimenting with it, turning it sideways and moving it up and down. Then, after finding a clear path, moved it forward only for it zoom ahead and sliced itself into a wall, breaking a small decorative statue.
Seeing the stern looks from her Principal and Vice Principal, Rarity blushed, grinned nervously and made the diamond disappear, leaving only statue remains and a long, thin hole in the wall.
"Well aside from some... focus issues, I'd say you've got a good handle on it so far. We'll work on it today during training." Luna said.
"On to other matters...the mayor has asked for your assistance again." Celestia informed them, much to their surprise.
"What's going on?" Twilight asked.
"There have been several reports lately of a creature inhabiting some of the rivers nearby. It hasn't done any real damage and nobody has been hurt yet aside from some frightened fishermen and some stolen objects. Bait, fishing poles and such. Since you girls have garnered a reputation for handling situations such as these..." Celestia trailed off, as everyone understood what she meant.
Twilight went into thought, recalling everything she knew about water creatures. "Do you think it might be some kind of river monster?"
"But river monsters aren't native around here." Sunset said, recalling her knowledge of the subject.
"Maybe it came from the Everfree Forest?"
"That is a possibility." Luna included. "We want you girls to investigate right after school. We'll inform your club teachers and coaches of your absence. Right now it's time for you girls to head to class." gestured towards the door.
"Sweet! More monster fighting!" Rainbow cheered on her way out.
"We're not going to fight it unless we have to Rainbow. Hopefully we can just figure out why it's here and get it to leave peacefully." Twilight explained, causing Rainbow to groan.
"Oh, the poor thing's probably just lost and scared!" Fluttershy teared up imagining the poor creature being far from it's home and family.
"Oh! Oh! This is going to be so much fun!" Pinkie said excitedly.
"I just hope it won't get too messy. It took me forever to find the right outfit after today's...incident."
AJ rolled her eyes at her friend's behavior. "Oh come on Rarity! I told ya I was sorry! Besides, you tossed me into a wall right afterwards. So, we're even."
And so the girls went throughout the day attending their classes while mentally preparing themselves for what's to come.
Right after the bell rang, the girls loaded themselves into Rarity's care and into Fluttershy's van and went off.
"I spent training and lunch doing calculations regarding the sightings..." Twilight explained once they were on the road.
"Nerd..." Rainbow whispered.
"...and all the data I've collected points to the river going into the Everfree as our best chance of locating the beast. Most of the sightings are around that general area and if it is from the Everfree, that's the only point where it can come and go." Twilight pointed to the map and directed Rarity and Fluttershy to the closest spot they could go.
Once they got to the area, Twilight asked AJ to unload her equipment from the back of the van.
"What is all this stuff?" Aj asked, carrying several stacked boxes with ease.
"Of just some fishing poles, bait and other things the creatures been known to go after. I figured we could use it as bait."
"And the rest?" Rainbow eyed them suspiciously.
Twilight just grinned. "I'll show you when we get there."
After several minutes of walking, the girls finally reached the spot Twilight had picked out. AJ set the boxes down and Twilight went over to one of them and unpacked it, still grinning.
"Girls, I'd like to present to you...the creature finder 2000!"
Twilight held up what looked like a metal brief case. The others just stared at her, unsure of what to make of it.
"Huh?" was all Rainbow managed to get out.
Twilight opened the case, revealing it to be some sort of laptop-like device with a screen, several buttons and a long stick attached to a cord.
"I came up with it myself a while back to track life underwater. And now I'll finally get to use it!" Twilight squee'd and began setting it up near the river's edge.
"I must admit Twilight, that is extraordinary!" Rarity said, amazed at what her friend had come up with.
"Thanks! I invented it a while ago to help whenever my dad took Shining Armor and me fishing." Twilight finished with the case part of it and them promptly dropped the stick part into the water.
Hours passed and Twilight's device still picked up nothing. I was getting late and the sun was beginning to set.
"Ugh! This is so boring!" moaned Rainbow, who was laying on the ground. The other girls were bored too and were trying to find ways to fill the time as well: Fluttershy was playing with some nearby squirrels, Pinkie and Applejack were playing a card game, Rarity was doing her nails and Twilight was reading a book on sea creatures.
Twilight looked up to respond, "I warned you it was going to take a while before anything came up. Creatures like these tend to keep to themselves deep in the water and rarely come up to the surface. Even when they do, it might be awhile before they come up again."
Rainbow rolled her eyes and sat up, "When you told me we were going to fight a sea monster, the last thing I expected was just sitting around waiting for it to show up! Can't your nerd machine make it come faster?"
"Honestly Rainbow," Rarity spoke up, "You could at least find something useful to do while we're waiting. I myself managed to come up with several new design ideas and touch up my manicure!" She showed off her freshly done nails.
"Yeah, 'cause that's going to be so helpful when this monster guy shows up!"
"She's got a point there Rares." Aj spoke up from her game.
"Well excuse me for wanting to look good while fighting against who-knows-what!"
"GIRLS!" The girl stopped their bickering and focused on Twilight. "I know your bored but right now fighting isn't going to help us! Right now all we can do is wait and hope it shows up."
"In the meantime..." Rarity pulled out a shiny compact case, set it down near the river's edge, and opened it up. "We can do makeovers! A lady always looks her best even while facing danger!" The case had several racks of lipstick, nail polish, blush and so on. Rainbow and Applejack just groaned.
"Seriously Rarity? I doubt this things going to care is out eye liners smudged or not!" AJ said. "Every time something like this happens all you can do is think about clothes! This is just like at the Battle of the Bands!"
"Well I'm sorry if I just wanted us to look fabulous while we saved the world!"
"Ugh! How can the element of Generosity be so superficial? Even your power is just making shiny things!"
"SUPERFICIAL!? I'll have you know..." As Rarity and AJ argued, the other girls tried to calm them down. Twilight was just about to go over and help when she suddenly got a strange feeling and went back over to the device. Nothing happened for a few seconds when suddenly a giant dot appeared on the monitor.
"Uh, girls..."
They were too busy to hear her as the dot travelled towards them.
"Girls..."
They still couldn't hear her as the dot moved ever closer.
"Girls!"
Still shouting as the dot approached....
"GIRLS!"
That did get their attention and they turned towards their panicked and annoyed friend.
"Finally! It's..."
Before Twilight could explain, something tugged on the cord attached to the machine, pulling it in. The girls just stared in open horror.
For a moment everybody just stared at where the machine had just been.
Then...
"AAAAAAaaaaaahhhhhhh!" Rarity's high pitched shriek echoed through the air, causing the girls to hastily plug their ears in discomfort.
"Rarity!" Aj scolded.
"Sorry." Rarity said, blushing with embarrassment.
"Stand back and get ready!" Twilight commanded and they did just that. Rainbow and Aj were getting ready to fight why Fluttershy looked like she was getting ready to run.
Suddenly a giant purple reptilian claw emerged from the water! I reached over to Rarity's make-up case...
"STAY AWAY FROM MY COSMETICS YOU FIEND!" Rarity shot a blast of magic at it. The claw recoiled but quickly recovered and it for the case again.
Applejack seized the moment to pounce on it. She managed to use her strength to pull it slightly more out of the water before the claw managed to flick her away.
"Applejack!" Twilight cried out.
"Ah'm ok!" Aj reassured from wherever she had landed.
The girls assaulted the giant claw with several blasts of magic. This managed to drive it back slightly....before a SECOND claw emerged from the water and began swatting at them!
"Look out!" Rainbow dashed and knocked Fluttershy out of the way just before a claw came swinging at them.
"Thanks"
Twilight was so focused on blasting at one claw that she didn't notice the other one until it was too late!
"Aah!" Twilight flew back a little before landing on the ground. Rarity immediately ran over to her.
"Darling are you alright!?"
"Yeah..I'm fine." Twilight rubbed her head and Rarity helped her to her feet.
Now free of the girls, the claw swiftly grabbed the case and disappeared yet again under the water. The river soon calmed as the creature swam off.
The girls quickly reconvened.
"Is everyone alright?" Twilight asked in concern. The girls, slightly bruised and worn, nonetheless nodded.
"I can't believe we let it get away!" Rainbow groaned.
"And it took you machine too..." Fluttershy nodded sympathetically at Twilight.
"Not to mention my new make-up case!" Rarity added.
"Ugh! Seriously Rarity? We were attacked by a sea monster and all you can think about is you makeup?" Aj stared accusingly at Rarity.
"Well I'm sorry that unlike some people, I actually make an effort to look decent every day!"
"Why you..."
"GIRLS!" Twilight shouted. "Now is NOT the time to argue. Now is the time to come up with a plan! Thankfully I though ahead about losing the machine." Twilight pulled out her phone and began pressing some buttons. "I put a tracking device in it just in case this happened. And...here!" She held out her phone and the other girls saw and red dot beeping on a map. "Now we'll be able to track the creature back to it's home!"
"Awesome." Rainbow cheered.
"Smart thinkin' Twi!" Aj complimented.
Twilight looked at her phone again and frowned.
"Only problem girls...the signal is coming from underwater." The girls stopped celebrating and just stared.
"Slightly less awesome." Pinkie said.
The girls were quiet as they took a few moments to think up a plan.
Twilight finally spoke up, "Well..maybe I could look up an underwater breathing spell and..."
"Actually darling..." Rarity politely interrupted. "I might have a solution..."
The girls were soon under the water...inside a giant bubble made of diamonds. Inside Rarity concentrated on making the ball move and float as Twilight began reading off directions from her phone.
"Alright, ah'll admit...this was a pretty bright idea Rarity." Aj sighed.
"Thank you Applejack. As you can see I am capable of thoughts beyond beauty and fashion."
"And thanks for teaching me this neat air spell Twilight!" Pinkie said as she used her magic to create a small ball of swirling air.
"Just try to focus on keeping it going. It's the only reason we have fresh air in this thing." Twilight looked back to her phone. "Okay, we're almost there...the should be a cave just up ahead to the right..."
Rarity moved the ball as Twilight said and soon enough there was a cave right in front of them. Rarity moved them through it until they reached a surface of some sort.
Above the water, they found themselves in a pool of water in a giant cavern. Rarity quickly disassembled the bubbled and the girls quickly jumped onto solid ground.
Once they were all safe they looked around and were stunned at what they saw...
The cave, despite being the home of a sea monster, a surprisingly well decorated.
Several shiny metal boxes decorated the wall while fishing poles were placed together to form several sculptures while fishing lines were hung from the ceiling and walls like streamers. There were also several pieces of regular furniture that were a bit battered such as two couches, a coffee table and a massive comfy chair. And that was from just what the girls could see.
"Oh my..." Fluttershy gasped.
"Well....ah sure as heck wasn't expectin' this..." Aj declared, wide eyed.
"huh...not too bad for a monsters lair..." Rainbow added, looking around.
"Well I certainly must give them props for their creative decorating skills." Rarity said, appraising the decorations.
"Now what in the world is going on here." A new voice added as a giant shadow fell over the girls. They turned, startled as the creature approached them. It was long, snake like body with purple scales with a lighter shading along one side. They had a long snout but the most surprising thing was their impeccably styled orange hair and mustache. They eyed the girls suspiciously and he waited for an answer.
Finally Twilight stepped forward and spoke up...
"Um.. excuse us sir...we were wondering..." She wasn't exactly sure how to go about this, until Rarity interrupted her.
"Oh my stars! I must say, you are simply marvelous! Oh just look at you! Such lovely luminescent scales."
The monster was taken aback. "I know."
"And your expertly coiffed mane."
"Oh, I know, I know." He said, nodding along.
"Your fabulous manicure."
"It's so true!" He gasped.
"Not to mention your knack for interior decorating!" She gestured around the cave.
"Oh yes! it's so hard to make do with such drab supplies but I manage to work with it!" He was smiling now. "Please excuse my manners. My name is Steven Magnet."
"Steven?" Rainbow asked incredulously. "Seriously?" She promptly received an elbowing the rib courtesy of Aj.
"My name is Rarity and these are my friends." She quickly introduced the girls one at a time. Once this was over, Twilight spoke up again.
"So..Mr. Magnet..."
"Oh just call me Steven sweetie."
"Ok..Steven. Are you the one stealing supplies from all those fishing boats?" She asked cautiously.
"I'm afraid so. Wait...were you the ones at the river edge just a few minutes ago?"
"Yesserooni!" Pinkie declared, not noticing the scathing looks the others were giving her.
Steven sighed. "Well, I must extend my sincerest apologies, I just thought you were some nasty beasts or something. They certainly turn up often around here."
"Oh thats alright darling. No one was seriously hurt. Now, why are you stealing these supplies?"
"Well...it is kind of hard to find proper decor at the bottom of the sea or in a spooky forest. And ever since I arrived here i've had no one to talk to or visit. I had to resort to taking whatever caught my eye. I am so sorry about that, I honestly just thought they were junk!"
The girls looked around and indeed they realized that most of what Steven had taken were shiny enough to be seen through the water.
"Oh and allow me..." Steven reached behind and pulled out Twilight's machine and Rarity's makeup case and handed them back to their respective owners. "Again I offer my sincerest apologies. I had no intention of stealing or scaring anybody. I just wanted to make this place feel a little more...homey."
Rarity, though happy to get her makeup back, couldn't help but feel sorry for him, realizing that he was lonely and just wanted to at least make his home feel comfortable. Her eyes lit up as an idea occurred to her.
"Steven, I might just be able to help with your decorating situation."
"How?"
"Just help us remove and gather all the stuff you've taken and I'll show you. They did just that and soon all the supplies were gathered, organized, and ready to be taken back to land.
"And now...to take this cave from drab to FAB!" Rarity quickly made several small diamonds appear and began her work. The others watched in amazement as she used them to decorate the walls, create small sculptures, string them around the cavern and even created a ginormous chandelier! By the time she was done, Rarity looked exhausted but the cavern looked amazing. It was now shiny and colorful and even the drab furniture looked newer.
"Wow..." Aj said in amazement.
"This...looks....FABULOUS!" Steven exclaimed, checking out his new abode. "The style, the feng-shui..."
"It's so SHINY!" Pinkie cheered.
"Yes indeed!" Steven turned to Rarity, smiling with tears in his eyes. "Rarity you are a miracle worker! In all my travels I have never come across anyone who can do all this!"
Rarity, catching her breath, replied, "It was no problem sir. Bringing out the inner beauty is what I'm all about!"
"Now that your home is finished...do you mind coming with us to return all the stuff you've taken?" Twilight asked.
"Oh of course! Just lead the way!"
After explaining his actions to the Mayor and apologizing to the fishermen he scared, Steven swiftly returned the supplies. Thankfully the fishermen didn't hold a grudge and quickly forgave him, as no major damage had been done. The Mayor even gave him permission to visit...provided he give a heads-up and try not to scare or steal from any more boats which Steven happily agreed to.
The girls decided to celebrate with a sleepover at Pinkie's house.
"Hey...Rarity?" Aj asked.
"Yes darling?"
"Ah just...wanted to apologize for the hard time ah gave ya earlier. Acusin' ya of being shallow? Ah had no right to say that. Your eye for beauty actually helped us out there."
"Yeah.." Rainbow joined in, a sorry expression on her face. "You actually managed to help us out today. Plus, your power is pretty cool. I mean, making diamonds and throwing them at monsters! How awesome is that!"
Rarity giggled. "Apology accepted darlings. Though there is something you two can do to make up for it.."
"What?" The two tomboys asked.
"Maybe...let me design you some outfits and model them at my next fashion show?" Rarity smirked while AJ and Rainbow looked panicked before sighing.
"Deal!" Both girls said before smiling.
"Excellent! Because while we were waiting earlier I came up with some outfits that are bound to fabulous on you two..."
While Rarity talked, Rainbow and AJ smiled at their friend, knowing that this was her way of expressing she cared about them. The girls had a good time and felt ready to take on whatever came next.