Very Rude Behavior

This has been the absolute worst trip ever!

Now I have dealt with some vile creatures and rather rude behavior before but this really takes the cake!

I cannot even begin to start with how terrible things have been since these brutish trolls attacked the boat I was sailing on. I am only so very fortunate that things have recently started turning around for me, otherwise I wouldn’t even be writing this. Oh it feels so good to have my precious diary back! Twilight told me to take a journal with me on this trip but I told her, ladies do not keep journals, ladies keep diaries. Still her suggestion was quite welcome.

Oh but everything before now has been just awful!

And I sincerely doubt that a small bit of kindness from one troll is going to suddenly turn this whole “trip” around. Oh I hate even calling this a trip anymore, it’s an insult to even the worst trips I’ve been on before this! I haven’t felt so upset in ages, my mascara isn’t even running because I don’t have any to wear!

Well, I suppose I shouldn’t be so cynical, I would know better than most that a tiny bit of friendship and kindness can go a long way. And I have made some other friends. I might be exaggerating a bit about how terrible it’s been lately since only now can I write down and truly vent out my feelings.

But my mane too though! It looks terrible! If there is one small thing I’m happy about it’s that no one I know can see me in this awful situation. That doesn’t bring me much comfort though, things are just dreadful.

I think I’m feeling a headache start to come on too, this is the worst.

The one positive is that I have at least recently been able to exercise my artistic passion and created, if I may say so myself, a brilliant new piece of work. Truly even such terrible circumstances can not stifle my creative genius. I only wish that the local… couture (and I use that word very lightly) was more inspiring. But that’s partially why I was able to create something so great! A diamond in the rough if you will. That something so beautiful can now be found even here of all places-oh Rarity-I continue to impress myself.

Oh but how I’ve dawdled on now, I could go on talking about the fashion trends and culture of this dreadful place forever but since it’s been so long since I’ve been able to write in you my dear diary I should probably fill in some gaps. If nothing else Twilight would like me to keep a record of what’s happened.

Where do I even begin? So much has happened in a short time, diary, it’s difficult for me to gather my thoughts.

I suppose the beginning would be the best place to start. My last entry in you was right before I stepped on the boat so I don’t need to write again about how Twilight told me about this “whole new land” she learned about from some of the Storm King refugees and Hippogriffs. Oh but here I am prattling on about it anyways, I just have a penchant for talking. Or writing I guess in this case.

And Twilight loves her double and triple-checking… oh, I suppose I might as well start from a little further back.

So as you know, diary, Twilight came and told me that Princess Celestia had heard about a new island that was a bit west aways from the Storm King’s old domain. Twilight wanted to go and visit it herself but the dear is just so busy nowadays. So it seems instead she got the idea that maybe I would want to go. And just how right she was! A new exotic locale? Getting to be the first pony from Equestria to see it all, and to see what their fashion is like too? Romantic! Marvelous! I was so excited. And truth be told I had been stuck in a bit of a rut when it came to my work here, I thought some new inspiration would really do me some good.

Oh how foolish I was.

Next time I should make sure that wherever I’m going is not truly and completely unknown and only just a little unknown. Because I would like to know that horrible things aren’t going to happen to me where I’m going thank you very much.

But I would like to note again that the dress I just made recently is absolutely fabulous. Don’t want to forget that.

In hindsight I, and especially Twilight, should’ve realized that there would likely be some sort of bad reason for why an island so close to where that horrid Storm King lived managed to escape his control. But I’ll get to all that in due time, for now I want to at least follow things as they happened. After all I’m writing this probably just for Twilight’s sake and I think she’d appreciate it if I did things in the correct order and didn’t jump ahead and around and any other ways I can think of.

~~Once this whole situation is over though and I’m back home I’m going to shut myself in my room and eat buckets of ice cream until I pass out.~~

That’s a little embarrassing, I don’t want anyone else reading that.

So as it was, getting back on topic, I was functioning as something of Equestria’s ambassador to this new land and country. Although obviously none of us would say it was as official as all that, it was more or less supposed to be a vacation for me while at the same time I’d learn about this place and its inhabitants.

Oh and learned a great deal I have. Hmph!

I also was supposed to tell the ones living here about Equestria but things really haven’t gone so well for that. I doubt they’d be interested anyways, horrid trolls!

~~Well I have met some friendly~~

Stop getting ahead of yourself already Rarity. Diary I think you’ve waited enough, as things were I had just tucked you into my saddlebag (the one I stitched myself with the rather lovely heart emblazoned on it, I really love that one) while the sailors were helping to get the rest of my luggage onto the boat and to my quarters…

“I really cannot thank you enough for this, you are a set of true gentlemen.” I told the hardworking stallions helping me with my things, and decided to give them a little something extra with a fluff of my mane and a slight fluttering of the eyes. Such nice ponies earned a bit of appreciation and there’s nothing wrong with playing coy and getting to show off a bit at the same time.

Plus I had taken extra time to look nice for this trip.

“It’s no problem at all, Miss Rarity.” The darling was blushing as he said that. I suppose it just can’t be helped if I have that effect on ponies.

Anyways he and the other two deckhands were currently handling my luggage, just the essentials as always, while I walked up top to get a feel for the boat. From what Twilight said it would be at least a few days that I would be calling this boat home. It certainly was a bit nicer than the little dinghy Applejack, Pinkie Pie and I had used back for our little get together a while ago.

This boat had more than one deck after all.

It’s a little difficult to display sarcasm well just from writing in my diary. I feel like too much inflection is lost. You can’t see it but I’m rolling my eyes, I’ll simply have to try my best!

Either way the boat was a large one by my limited standards, more reminiscent of that flying ship owned by Captain Celaeno but just without the balloon. The bridge and captain’s quarter’s were raised up along the back with a huge mast and sail rising up from the middle of the boat. I would say I’d feel a bit dizzy if I was in the crow’s nest up there. From what I saw there were three levels besides the raised bridge, top deck, passenger and crew quarters, and storage.

Yes I may have gotten a bit bored and went wandering around while I was a passenger. What else was I supposed to do? I’ll tell you that the bowels of a ship are not the best place for making dresses and like I said I was in a bit of a creative rut anyways. The drab and spartan interior was not helping in that department. It wasn’t even an hour after I had been led to my room that I was praying that where I was going would finally help those creative wheels in my head start turning.

The captain was a polite pony too… oh dear I can’t recall his name. Oh how awful of me! Let’s see, he had a ship’s anchor as a Cutie Mark, I do remember that! My apologies captain but I shall be referring to you as Anchor in my diary, at least until I hopefully remember your name.

“I hope you’ll find our ship adequate for your trip.” Captain Anchor said to me as we were preparing to finally leave the port.

“I’m certain I will, you and your crew have been excellent so far if I may say so.” I said with a gracious smile, and it was the truth.

The captain nodded in appreciation, he was a well-built stallion, although not quite as bulky as Big Mac, with a powdery grey mane and a white coat. The white cap and the vest he wore accentuated his look quite nicely as well.

“Should be a four day trip from what we’ve heard. The hippogriffs gave us a map of theirs so we know right where we’re going, please tell me if we can accommodate you further in any way.”

I giggled a bit, he was almost being too helpful, I didn’t want to impose on anyone or be a bother. “Oh please, please, you don’t need to do anything like that. I can take care of myself.”

Now if this was Canterlot I may not mind having some ponies wait on me but this was different.

Of course though maybe the captain wasn’t just being polite, there were no other passengers on this ship nor was it carrying any sort of cargo like it normally would. It had essentially been commandeered for the task of ferrying me to this island. I assume we were all going to have time to kill on the journey there since this was hardly a normal job for them either and there likely wasn’t much for them to do with their ship being turned into a passenger liner with only one passenger.

But no matter, soon after I parted ways with the captain and made it down to my ~~room~~ cabin, where my bags had already been placed thanks to the rest of the crew. I could watch through my cabin’s porthole while we pulled up anchor and began to sail away, in only a few minutes the coast of Equestria had started to disappear.

Like I said I quickly became bored.

My sketchbook lay blank on the table next to my bed. I didn’t even want to look at it. Just a bad reminder of the creative doldrums I was caught in.

~~Teehee, “doldrums”, Rarity perhaps you are a bit more of a nautical mare than you think.~~

Rainbow Dash and Applejack would laugh if they read that.

Unfortunately a walk topside didn’t help with anything either as there was simply nothing but ocean all around us. This was no pleasant cruise on the lake or downstream boat ride, just calm waters as far as the eye could see. I suppose I should be grateful there isn’t a storm or any sea monsters.

Actually that rather stylish sea monster I met back when Twilight first came to town and all this Element of Harmony business started would be a welcome sight to see. Alas I doubt he lives around here.

So I merely stood at the bow of the boat, waiting as time passed, looking at nothing and trying to draw up even the tiniest of ideas for a new dress or fashion line. And that was how I spent my first day.

Oh, excuse me, wasted my first day.

I hope my tone is more apparent now?

I did sleep well though, the rocking was minimal and the bed was adequate I suppose. The second day followed much the same as the first, I wandered around, I tried to busy myself by rearranging my luggage and all the necessities I had brought with me, when it was time to eat I spent it with the captain and his crew (sans the helmsman of course but I made sure to say hello to him later) and we talked and talked about trivial matters. They were interested in why I specifically was going on this journey and they wished me well after I told them. I don’t think they cared too much about what I was doing actually but they were polite enough not to show it and at least act interested and friendly. I’ve had enough experience with ~~snobs~~ the upper crust in Canterlot to know when a pony is just acting polite instead of being genuine.

Later that day I went to look through the old dresses and sketchbooks I had brought with me. You see I wanted a sample of Equestrian fashion to show off to the beings of this new land, and what better sample than some of my own designs? I will also admit that I was trying to see if looking at some of my old work would light a spark in me but unfortunately it did not.

Then the evening of that second day I went above deck to the bow of the ship to watch as we sailed on to our destination. It was quite beautiful seeing the ocean at twilight hours with the sun glistening off the surface of the water. I saw a few seagulls or some other kind of sea bird flying up above, Fluttershy would know for sure, and I spotted a few dolphins swimming alongside our boat for a little while before they left us. They’re quite beautiful creatures, maybe I should do an ocean theme for my next dress?

Well either way the sun set soon after and I walked back below deck to try and conquer my boredom.

I failed and instead spent the time wishing I at least had Sassy or Coco to talk to about possible fashion trends on this unknown island. But of course they’re both being darlings minding my stores so it’s not like I could’ve brought them anyways. Maybe when I get back I’ll go work at Rarity For You for a bit, a change of pace and scenery from the usual could be just what I need if this trip of mine doesn’t amount to much.

After exhausting myself a bit further I decided to turn in for the night, another rather uneventful day spent on the boat. I put my facemask on and some concealer, unfortunately no cucumber slices, and tried to sleep. I’ve heard that the salty air of the ocean can wreak havoc on a ponies mane and fur too but I simply don’t have the facilities on this boat to properly take care of myself.

I would need to work extra hard to look as good as possible. I want to make the best first impression as I can.

Thinking those thoughts I drifted off to sleep.

It was the third day when this horrendous affair began.

“Enjoying the view?” Captain Anchor asked me as he came to stand at my side, it was shortly after breakfast and I had walked up to the bow of the boat again, watching as we sailed over the calm ocean. The only commotion being the breaking in the water from the boat going through it.

“Oh yes, although I would be lying if I didn’t say it got a little repetitive.”

The captain chuckled good-naturedly at that. “Well if you’re a pony like me who loves the sea then being lucky to get such calm and nice waters for your whole trip is a blessing. Won’t be hearing us complain.”

“But of course, I’ll just be happy when we get closer to land. It will be nice to see something else on the horizon instead of just more water. And as you know, captain, I’m quite excited to visit this new place and meet whatever creatures inhabit it and open up a discourse between them and Equestria. Hardly any ponies get to do something so special, I’m sure this will be a lovely little trip of mine.”

It was a few seconds after finishing up that little speech to the captain that the both of us spied a dot on the horizon. It had just come up from out of view.

“What’s that?” I asked the captain as I squinted at it, it was simply a dark little blur to me at the moment. Could’ve been a rock jutting up out of the water for all I knew.

The captain raised his hoof over his eyes to block out the sun as he too looked at the object. “It’s no errant rock, it’s moving, not a sailboat either since it’s going against the wind.”

“Perhaps it’s from our destination?” I mused. “After all they must be quite the seafarers if they’re centered around one island out here.”

Captain Anchor chewed on his lip, as I watched him I don’t know why but I got a foreboding feeling, he seemed worried about this vessel that had appeared before us.

“Is something wrong captain?”

“No, probably nothing, it’s just that they’re coming directly for us.” He frowned as he turned back towards the bridge, I followed him along with a bit of a worried frown of my own on my face. “Whoever lives out there didn’t know we were coming right? We had no communication with them beforehand?”

I nodded along and tried to answer as best I could. “Yes, I was to be the first contact between Equestria and whatever this new country is.”

“Maybe it’s just a coincidence but I want to see if this other boat keeps following us.” He stepped onto the bridge with me on his heels and spoke to the helmsman, who thanks to his vantage point had already seen the approaching ship. “Turn us to starboard, let’s see if they change course to meet us.”

The helmsman, whose name I do recall as being Fair Wind, saluted and changed the direction of our ship. Now we were heading sideways, the wind only catching part of the sail as we tested whether Captain Anchor was right to be worried or not.

As it turned out, he was.

The approaching ship changed direction to match us. Captain Anchor and Fair Wind shared a look but nothing more was spoken. So a bit nervously I decided to voice my thoughts.

“What now?”

Captain Anchor just shrugged as he kept his eyes on the other ship. “Nothing, they’re moving faster than us so we can’t really do anything. Just have to hope they’re giving us a friendly welcome.”

While the other ship got closer I began to make out more details about it, it was a fair bit larger than our own and had no sails, the exterior was painted a threatening black color and it seemed that from its sides extended dozens of oars. The boat was powered by rowing, I was surprised that they were faster than us with that but I do suppose it has the advantage of not needing wind. Must be dreadfully hard work for whoever is rowing down in that ship though.

I frowned a bit further, the boat was heading to cut us off and come up alongside us. They’d definitely force us to stop. I did not like this, not one bit.

The captain had gathered up the rest of the crew and had them on deck, the sail had been raised and we were now just slowly drifting while this new imposing ship rowed next to us, its sides towered over ours, if there was anyone on deck up there I was unable to see them at the moment. All of us could do nothing but wait for whatever it was our interceptors were planning to do.

It was then that several grappling hooks were tossed from on top of their boat to ours, the ropes were pulled taut and latched onto our railing. Now unless we cut those ropes we were stuck. Captain Anchor did not take kindly to that one bit.

“Hey! What in Celestia’s name do you think you’re doing?!” He yelled up at whoever just threw those ropes.

They didn’t bother to reply. Instead I saw five shadows jump from the other boat onto ours. And I tell you, I nearly gasped and fainted from what I saw right then and there, it was ghastly!

I had never seen creatures like these, not even when we had been in Klugetown. They were large, with thick brown hair covering their whole bodies, and they had the physicality of a Minotaur (however if I’m being honest Iron Will is the only Minotaur I’ve seen so I have no idea if he’s the standard or not) without the backwards bent legs. I would say they looked rather apeish. Their arms were long, long enough that their knuckles nearly dragged across the ground. Oddly as well were their heads, their necks instead of rising up from their shoulders jutted forwards from their chest, making the crown of their head not rise above their shoulders, giving them all a hunched over appearance. The five as well all had yellow eyes with beady black pupils staring at us.

Oh but it wasn’t any of that that bothered me. It was what they were wearing!

All of them had on these absolutely awful gray pants. They looked to be made of nylon or some other low quality plastic. Dreadful! I can hardly stomach sleeping in a sleeping bag made out of nylon. I don’t know if those pants are their uniforms or (and I shudder to think this) casual attire that they’ve chosen to wear but I hope that not every one of these creatures has such poor fashion sense.

Well before I could get too caught up in thinking about their clothes though, Captain Anchor stepped towards them.

“Explain yourselves! What are you doing?”

He did a good job of not being intimidated even with these creatures towering over him by a fair bit.

The five did not seem interested in answering to him though, the central figure (I’m assuming the leader of this little boarding party) raised his hand at us. “More ponies. Take them inside and shackle them.” His voice was guttural but at the same time strangely high-pitched, totally unfitting of his appearance.

At the word “shackle” however we all realized that things were about to go badly. The captain and his crew got in a circle to protect me, quite gallant of them I must say, while the other four creatures besides the one that talked came at us.

Now, the captain and his crew were all tough and hardy ponies, but these creatures were something else. It’s like they didn’t even feel it as Anchor pummeled them with his hooves, their bodies must’ve been nothing but muscle under that thick fur. And all it took for them to pacify the captain and the others was a single solid thump on their skull from one of their strong fists. Then their eyes turned to me.

You know of course that I do not consider myself a fighter, I surely can and have defended myself in the past and can get rough when the situation calls for it but I still do not possess such a combative nature like Rainbow Dash nor do I have in my head a library of offensive magical spells like Twilight or Starlight. But I was absolutely not about to take this sitting down.

“You terrible things! How could you do this?” I shouted at them, my horn glowing. I was the only unicorn on the boat, they obviously knew what ponies were but perhaps they didn’t fully know what a unicorn was capable of. “Unlatch our ship from yours and leave at once!”

The four that had assaulted the crew just blinked at me.

Finally the leader started walking towards me.

“I’m warning you! I don’t know who you are or why you’re doing this but this is simply horrid manners you’re showing. I am on official business from Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight of Equestria. Do you know who they are?” The leader seemed unperturbed as he stopped in front of me, my head barely coming up to his stomach. “I assume you are denizens of the island we were traveling to? I hope that your behavior is not the standard for your people.” I finished with a quick fluff of my hair, had to show them that I had class and standing.

And then you would not believe what he did next.

He reached his arm up and pinched my mouth shut.

Yes! He did! How unbelievably rude!

“Pony should quiet down.” The vile brute told me.

Well now that was it, my eyes narrowed in anger and I fired my magic right into his face! Only to then look on in shock a moment later when he was completely unaffected. Yes I know these creatures are strong and my magic not the best but it still should’ve done something! He didn’t even have to rub his eyes or anything, it was like my magic had just completely fizzled out on him.

Now he turned back to his comrades. “Grab the others, I’ll take this one.” And he removed his hand from my mouth and instead grabbed my back, carrying me alongside him.

“Well I never! Unhand me this instant!” I yelled and heckled as much as I could, smacking my hooves against his side and leg, but he didn’t take any notice or was just completely ignoring me. The other four creatures grabbed the captain and the rest of the crew and jumped up back to the deck of their boat. “I am friends with the Princess of Friendship you know?! You are painting a very poor picture of yourselves!” The despicable brute that restrained me continued to ignore my words as he got to the edge of our boat and jumped back up to his as well.

I hope things get a little better from here on out, because this has just about been the worst possible way to start a trip.

Unpleasant Travels

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I was carried kicking and screaming, in as ladylike and dignified manner as possible of course, below deck into their ship along with Captain Anchor and the others. Who were sadly still unconscious from the thumping they had taken earlier. We were deposited into a cramped and dark cell with manacles chained to the wall of the ship, the beasts were not gentle at all in affixing them to our hooves, it scraped horribly I tell you!

My captors hadn’t spoken another word since so I had no idea what they were up to, but I could tell that this ship wasn’t moving at the moment so I assume they’re pillaging whatever they can find from our boat before they go back to where they came from on this one. Unfortunately taking us with them as well.

As far as I could tell we were the only other captives on board though, the rest of this large ~~shipboard dungeon~~ brig looked empty, although it was too dark for me to see all the way into it I heard no other sounds coming from other possible creatures in distress. I wonder if the rowers were more of the creatures who had captured us or were prisoners forced to row the boat for them? Oh it would be just awful if they expected me to do something like that.

I simply sat there swaying with the ship for a good while longer, every now and then I could hear noise from up above as some of those creatures moved around or went back and forth from their ship to ours. It was to my horror that I realized that all my dresses, sketchbook, and diary were going to be taken by these things and done who knows what with. Furthermore they were likely upset that our ship didn’t have much in the way of actual cargo, I really hope they treat my possessions well. I can’t imagine they would care about my dresses though. Is that even a bad or good thing? They might accidentally tear them with those grubby hands of theirs. And if they do think they’re valuable then they’ll probably sell them and I’ll never see them again!

Of course knowing that even such fashion-blind creatures can see greatness when it’s right in front of their faces would be a fair consolation prize.

I was ruminating over everything when I heard a sharp sound from outside. It sounded like a tree branch splitting in two, there were unfortunately no portholes for me to see out of but I have to think that it was the sound of them scuttling our ship. I feel so bad for Captain Anchor and his crew, it’s my fault that they’ve gotten caught up in all of this in the first place. Not only being captured but having their beloved ship destroyed, I’ll be sure to talk to Twilight and Princess Celestia about how to compensate them when I’m back home and safe. I was a little fond of that ship as well, even though it could’ve definitely used some decorating.

Soon after hearing the sound of our ship being scuttled our floating prison began to move. It was surprisingly smooth, the rowers must’ve been working in perfect unison. I sighed and leaned back against the cold bars of the cage, trying to just catch my breath and calm myself down. What an absolute disaster everything was.

“Dreadful, dreadful, dreadful...” And now I was talking to myself. Hardly the first time I’ve done that, but still. At least I’m not crying uncontrollably.

I can’t really tell if we’re moving faster than the sailboat or not, the Captain said this boat was faster but it’s not like I have any idea how to gauge such things. If it is faster it should take us under a day to get back to their island as long as they don’t make any other stops. Unless these are just some unaffiliated pirates, which also I’m not sure would be a bad or good thing. Good in that it would mean that this whole new civilization isn’t like/doesn’t condone this, bad in that we could be going anywhere and nobody knows about it. We could be going right to yucky Klugetown for all I know. Ugh, horrible.

Times like these I really wish I had my friends here with me.

I don’t mean that as in I wish they were captured and chained up to. I mean it as-oh you know what I mean.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack would’ve at least put up more of a fight than I did. I remember beating up those Changelings at Shining Armor and Cadence’s wedding but these things were a lot bigger! And I am of course a lover, not a fighter. ~~Regardless of my current relationship status.~~

After pointlessly musing on my poor luck when it came to romance for a solid five minutes I started to think about if I should try to wake up the captain and crew or not. It’s not like they were just asleep, they were knocked out cold, maybe it wouldn’t be safe for me to just shake them awake or whatever, they could have a head injury after all. Still I should probably do something, it would be good to fill them in on what happened. Although I wasn’t looking forward to telling them what I suspect happened to their ship.

It was just a matter of some poking and prodding and a few whispered words in their ears to rouse the seaponies into wakefulness. They were a bit groggy, and some of them were groaning and holding their heads while they rolled over and tried to get up but eventually the whole group was nice and coherent.

And decidedly not happy.

“This is unbelievable!” Captain Anchor said after I had told him what happened after he and the others were knocked out. “To think that such a thing could happen! And did no one who knew of these creatures really have any idea they behaved this way? The Hippogriffs knew nothing at all?” He paced the few inches he was able to in the cramped quarters as he vented his frustrations.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know anything either.” Even though he wasn’t talking to me I still tried placating him.

“What do we even do now?” One of the other sailors, Kingbolt if I recall correctly, asked.

Unfortunately again I had no answer for this question. I may not be Twilight but as an Element of Harmony and somewhat of an unofficial Equestrian Ambassador I should try to take charge and figure out how to get us all out of this mess shouldn’t I? I took care of myself when the Diamond Dogs nabbed me and I can do it again now.

The Diamond Dogs were rather… dim-witted though (and yes that is the nicest way I can put it). These creatures I’m not entirely sure about.

“We may have to wait until we actually arrive at wherever it is we’re going.” I spoke up. “Even if we could break these chains and get out of this cell we’d still be stuck on their ship, and truthfully after what happened earlier I don’t exactly fancy the idea of another fight with them.”

“Are the rowers other captives too?” Fair Wind asked.

“I don’t know.” I couldn’t do more than frown and shrug. “I’m sorry but when they were bringing us on board I didn’t even see where the entrance to the rowing level would be.”

“I’d have to imagine that if the rowers were prisoners like us then they’re probably chained and locked up as well.” Captain Anchor said. “And if not then that’s likely dozens more of those creatures we would have to deal with. Not a pleasant idea.”

“For all we know the rowing is automated.” Kingbolt ventured. “Or some kind of spell.”

That would maybe make things even more complicated. Even if we escaped and overpowered these creatures on this boat I doubt any of us would know how to operate it and I certainly didn’t have the magical ability to move all those oars at once. We’d just end up stranded. The more and more we talked about our situation the better waiting and seeing seemed. It was a dangerous bet but I really didn’t see us having any other options, especially since I doubt we’d even be able to get out of these darn chains in the first place.

“Rarity, how long were we out anyways?” The Captain asked me.

“Two hours maybe? They spent a fair amount of time looking through the ship before we started moving again.” I answered to the best of my ability, in hindsight I probably should’ve been keeping track a little better.

Captain Anchor sat down and thought for a bit. “I doubt it’ll even take them twelve hours to get to our destination at the speed this thing goes.”

He was right, and if this boat isn’t just some lone group of pirates there were probably a number of other boats just like this one that patrolled the waters around their country. We were likely already deep behind enemy lines. The mood was getting sour as the rest of the crew realized our bad situation and just how unlikely escape was at the moment. Pinkie Pie would be better suited for it but I suppose I should try to cheer them up too, or at least reassure them that not escaping now doesn’t mean giving up.

“Let’s not all get so down in the dumps.” I tried to help with things a little. “At least we’re all still okay. I don’t think we have to worry about being in danger anytime soon, if they wanted to hurt us they could have. And we’re all together too. That’s something to take solace in.” It’s the kind of thing that would always help when me and my friends were in some terrible situation after all.

“I guess Rarity is right, I don’t think we should just sit here and worry about what we have no control over.” Fair Wind said.

Captain Anchor nodded. “We should probably try and relax and even get a little rest if we can.”

And so it was that we sat like that for the rest of our time on their ship. We kept the conversation light and not focused on our present situation, I regaled them with stories of my friends and some of the adventures (and misadventures) I had been on while they told me of some of the sillier encounters and jobs they had had. I did rest my eyes for a little at some point but as expected I couldn’t get a wink of sleep. As it was we all just tiredly rested as the boat rowed on, cruising to its destination, our destination, and whatever unfortunate, unpleasant, outcome awaited us. This is really not how I expected this trip to go.

It didn’t take long, relatively, before the boat started to slow down and we could hear a new set of noises from outside. From above deck as it sounded like those creatures were moving around, doing who knows what, and from outside the ship as there seemed to be an equal amount of activity going on around us. The unfortunate lack of any windows meant we were all still in the dark at this point though. Finally after another minute or two longer our boat came to a complete stop, the other ponies and I got ready to inevitably confront those brutish creatures again. Wherever we were I’m sure they’re planning to offload us here.

“This is it, I’m not saying get ready to fight but be prepared for anything.” Captain Anchor said to the rest of us.

I could only nod, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen either but I certainly wasn’t going to just lie down and let these villains have their way for long. I could hear them as they came walking down from the deck to the locked door that led to this brig.

Oh, I probably look terrible right now, this is just awful. I hate not being seen at my best.

The keys turned in the lock and I was sadly greeted with the ugly sight of those same five creatures that had captured us. The captain and crews eyes narrowed at them and they tensed up, I as well stood and braced myself for whatever was coming next.

I couldn’t differentiate between them by appearance but I recognized the one who had grabbed me when he spoke up. “Relax ponies, no harm will come to you.” He said not so reassuringly. The leader then motioned to his cohorts and they came to our cell, unlocking it as well.

“You stay back, the others come out first.” One of them said to me as they began to undo the chains that affixed the others to the wall of the ship.

“Hold on, none of us are going anywhere without Miss Rarity.” Captain Anchor said as he stepped between me and the one undoing the chains.

“She is coming with you as well, just separate.” The leader said from outside the cell. “Ponies are all leaving the ship.”

“It’s fine Captain, let them do as they will for now.” I said to him. He begrudgingly seemed to accept that. Again it was nice to know that he was a gentleman.

Eventually the captain and his crew were unchained from the wall and taken out of the cell… where they were promptly fitted into new chains. Ones that chained up all four of their hooves, preventing them from running, and were also all connected to each other so they had to walk in a straight line together. After that I was taken out of the cell and given my own set of new manacles around my legs and kept behind the others. All of us ponies were then led out of the brig by the creatures, with the one who had taken us from the cell in the first place bringing up the rear.

Our party went up the stairs and finally came out on deck, once more I could take a breath of fresh air. After that I finally took a look around. I was not exactly pleased by what I saw.

The first thing I noticed was how dark the sky was, black clouds endlessly stretched in every direction, it was the middle of the day but it looked terrible outside. After finishing my look at the sky I saw we had docked at a large port, many other ships were anchored next to ours and dozens, maybe hundreds, of those creatures were milling about and doing whatever their business was. At the edge of each side of the harbor dark, rocky peaks rose up, cutting off this area from the rest of the island it seems. Shortly past the docks a town sprung up, it looked rather old-fashioned, similar to what I had heard of Trottingham. Or at the very least closer to Ponyville or even Canterlot in architectural style than Manehattan or one of Equestria’s other more modern cities. As I squinted my eyes further I noticed that it even had cobblestone roads and oil lamps lining the streets. Another thing I noticed was that of the mass of creatures around us they almost entirely only seemed to wear pants. I believe I saw some vests and hats as well but for the most part it was just the same low-quality pants as our captors wore. Awful.

Speaking of our captors, they led us down a ramp to the docks where we were then marched to a large building that stood right at the edge of the water. It didn’t have any exterior walls though, just a roof and numerous pillars along the edge to hold it up. It seemed to be some sort of check-in station for all the ships that docked at the port and whatever cargo they were carrying. We were led into the large area that served as its floor space and forced to just stand around while the leader of the ship went to talk to another creature sitting behind a desk. I saw many other creatures from boats doing the same, some seemed to be arguing quite a bit with whoever they were talking to and others were carrying large sacks of what I assumed to be money with them and passing it off to the ones sitting at desks. Most didn’t seem to pay any attention to us. It seems ponies in chains were a common enough occurrence here, sadly.

After what felt like ages the leader came back with a different creature, this one’s fur was a shade darker than the others and he wore khaki pants instead of the ugly grey ones that our captors wore.

The leader pointed at us. “You’re going with this one now.” He said, glancing at the new creature. “Don’t cause any problems, there’s nowhere for you to escape to anyways.”

And he walked by us without another word, gathering up the other four creatures that had come off the boat with us and walking back with them.

It seems we had been sold already.

“Come.” The darker-furred one said to us. His voice was much deeper than the ship’s leader and very gravelly, I almost winced when I heard it.

Captain Anchor however wasn’t going to just come willy-nilly like that.

“Come where? Do you even know what you’re doing capturing us like this?” He asked indignantly, stomping his hoof on the ground.

The creature was unamused and unimpressed. “I’m transporting you to the castle, I work for the head slaver, the castle always needs more slaves. No more questions, ponies.” He lightly smacked Captain Anchor on the head and pointed him to march forward. No-nonsense this one.

The crew and I almost fought back and caused a scene after that slap but the Captain just scowled and shook his head, surrounded by all these creatures it was probably the right call. So again we walked with this new one, still chained up, to wherever this “castle” was. I wanted to ask how far but I didn’t want to get slapped either. Brutes.

And “slaves” he said. So there it was, that really was to be our fate here.

He led us out from under the building to the street, it was far wider than the average street I had seen from up on the ship’s deck, probably because it was used as the main thoroughfare for the docks. ~~Mr. Dark Fur~~ Our new captor took us to a set of three wagons that were roped together and had two more of the creatures standing by them. Each wagon had a cage on its back as well. Joy.

The captain and crew were loaded onto the first wagon while I got the second all to my own. I don’t know if it’s because I was the only unicorn or the only female but that’s how it went. The two other creatures then pulled us along while their boss walked alongside us. We weren’t going into town though, instead we turned around and started going to the end of the street that paralleled the docks and harbor. It looked like the town was ensconced by nothing but rocky peaks but there had to have been a small road that led somewhere if that’s where we were going.

At least I didn’t have to walk anymore.

As expected after no more than a few minutes we got to the outskirts of town and started going up a well-hidden road, it took us up between the rocks before depositing us out onto a ridge that overlooked the town and led back further and further into the island inhabited by these ghastly creatures. It was such a dreary looking place, I can’t imagine it being much better even when it isn’t completely overcast. Just sharp mountains and rocks everywhere. I couldn’t see any beautiful forests or valleys anywhere.

But in the distance I did see something rather spectacular start to rise up.

A castle. The castle. It looked to be built right on top of these sharp, uneven, peaks. Made of black stone the walls rose up so high and spread far enough that I couldn’t see where they ended, dozens of towers and spires pierced the sky, some square shaped, others circular, some connected by bridges and hallways and many stand-alone, huge buildings and halls stood enclosed behind the walls, stretching far back enough that I had no idea where the actual castle grounds ended. It was a massive complex that dwarfed Canterlot Castle, and although it was not as beautiful and warm-looking it had its own intimidating artistry to it. Some buildings and spires had large stained-glass windows dotting them, thick drum towers stood at the corners of curtain walls to dissuade any attacker, and the only entrance I saw, the one we were going towards, was blocked by a gargantuan iron gate that was who knows how heavy. At the tops of the walls lining the gate were dozens of twisted stone statues, gargoyles, done up as an array of vile looking beasts. Manticores, vicious dragons, bug-bears, and so many others.

For the first time in my life I was not exactly happy to be going into a castle.

Not like I had a choice though, the gate opened up through some mechanism I’m completely unaware of and our wagons were pulled inside. There were a number of guards on the inside by the gate, dressed in full plate armor, but we just went right by them. While I saw some doors that looked like they led right into the buildings of the castle our wagons instead went down a little further to a large archway that led under and through a portion of the castle to a courtyard of some sort on the other end. Maybe they didn’t want slaves or dirty wagons in the main part of the castle.

Either way we ended up in an ugly gravel covered courtyard, where I noticed there were several other unattended wagons and carts, and the three creatures that had been transporting us here in the first place pulled us out of the wagons and took us marching towards a large wooden door at the far end of the courtyard. As I looked around I noticed that there were no other doors or windows at ground level here, it seems this was meant to be an out of sight area for the castle, probably because it was a little ugly. I mean that’s why I would keep it out of sight if it was my castle.

The creatures led us through the door and into a hallway, it seemed to be a passage for servants to use as they made their way through the castle, I saw cabinets and trolleys filled with cleaning supplies and laundry. The castle itself on the inside was rather clean and brightly lit so that was one positive of the situation. We were taken up a spiraling staircase to another wide hallway, this one looked more like a common hall that any would enter. It had a high ceiling and even some chandeliers and artwork lining it, they were all rather dull and uninspired though if I may say so. Everything was too uniform. At the end of the hallway was a gate of iron bars and behind it I could see two doors, one to the right and one to the left, each guarded by a pair of the creatures. Another creature sat between the doors at a desk, he seemed to be watching us intently as our dark-furred captor led us down the hallway.

When we reached the iron bars he pulled a key out of his khaki pants and opened them up. Turning around to fix us with his beady eyes he waved us on in.

“Welcome to the slave quarters.”

I frowned, how ghastly.

The bad didn’t stop there either as the creatures separated us, dragging me to the door on the right while Captain Anchor and the others were pulled to the one on the left.

“Hey! What’s the big idea? We’re not letting you separate us from Miss Rarity!” Captain Anchor yelled out as he struggled against the creatures.

I as well tried squirming my way out of their grip but they were far too strong. “Vicious things.” I muttered under my breath.

“Quiet down already, one side is for male slaves, the other, female. No mingling.” The creature that sat behind the desk said without getting up or bothering to give us any more notice.

“No! It’s our duty to make sure she’s okay, I’m not letting you do this!” Captain Anchor said as he tried kicking one of the guards in the gut only to have his leg stopped and a hand clamped over his jaw, he was carried struggling through the door and disappeared from my view along with the others.

“Captain!” I cried out, only to feel my mane tugged on as one of the guards on my side yanked me past the door to the female slave quarters, shutting it in my face.

And now I was alone.

I Am Not A Maid!

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The hall I now found myself in was much narrower, much less clean, and sparsely lit with damp lights overhead. There was no longer any art or potted plants, just cold stone that endlessly extended in front of me. The creatures prodded me forward and had me stop next to a large wooden bin on the side of the hallway, there they reached down and unclasped the manacles around my hooves, tossing them into the bin. It seems there was no longer any point to me being chained up now that I was in here.

“I suppose it would be too much to expect that the slave quarters are as well maintained as the rest of the castle?” I sarcastically asked the creatures with me.

And as I had learned already from my short experience with them they were very good at ignoring others.

I huffed in annoyance and walked down the hallway, I didn’t know how far I had to go or what my personal lodgings would be like when I found them but hopefully they at least had real beds for their slaves. It seemed counter-intuitive to not at least make sure your slaves were in good enough shape to work.

With any luck they had a nice bathroom and a mirror too. I need to see how I look already.

I came to a turn in the hallway that opened up into a large circular room. To my left in the middle of the wall was a set of plain wooden double doors, while to my right immediately opposite that the room extended to another gate of iron bars, beyond which I saw another creature sitting at a desk and then yet another set of iron bars, closing them off from both me in here and whatever that part of the castle was on the other side. The creature at the desk had their back turned to me but they looked a bit different than the others I had seen. Thinner, more lithe, a female one of them perhaps? Did she look over the female slaves? I wasn’t sure if I should talk to her or try the doors but considering she was behind more locked bars and wasn’t paying any attention to me in the slightest I figured the doors were the best bet.

I took a few seconds to tidy up my mane before going to the doors and pulling them open. I really wish I had a mirror and some mascara to apply but the situation is a bit too unfortunate for that.

“Well, I guess this is where I’ll be staying.” I couldn’t help but voice my thoughts out loud as I surveyed the large room and its many occupants in front of me.

It actually was a rather nice room, the walls and floors made of a well-polished white marble with numerous ferns to pretty it up, it was large enough to comfortably hold a few hundred ponies if necessary as well. There were a number of benches and fluffy chairs to sit on and in the middle of the room were dozens of pillows and blankets to use. On both sides of the rooms were more doors that I assume led to actual bedrooms and more private areas.

And then of course there were the other slaves who were here.

Many ponies, but also griffons, hippogriffs, a few young female dragons, and many creatures who I recognized from Klugetown and other places but did not know the names of. It seems my captors had no single preference when it came to who they enslaved.

“Um, hello there.” I waved, always would like to make a good first impression.

I didn’t get much of a reaction, a few glances, a few raised eyebrows, but most simply ignored me and went about their business beforehand. Either just resting or chatting with each other. Obviously this wasn’t the friendliest group and if I was a little less peeved myself I’d probably understand that their situation probably led to them not having the best manners. As it was though I was vaguely annoyed and insulted that I received such a cold welcome. You’d think they’d be more receptive, the slaves should stick together and help one another should they not?

But instead I was just standing there unsure of what to do next until I heard someone call out to me.

“A new arrival huh? Well, welcome to your new home.”

I turn to look at the voice that spoke to me and saw a pony, a unicorn with a white coat just like me, but she had a yellow mane and tail with a single orange streak going through it, blue eyes just a shade lighter than my own, and a Cutie Mark of a sunrise. Her mane was rather pretty but it didn’t look like she did anything with it, a shame, ~~with a little care and the right shampoo and styling she could really be something.~~

Oh I’m getting off-topic.

“Well at least someone is polite enough to say hello.” I said to her.

“I just happen to be the most recent one here before you, figured it’s the least I could do, nobody gave me much help when I first got here.” The pony grumpily looked at the rest of the room, some of the occupants at least had the shame to embarrassedly avert their eyes.

“Thank you for that, my name is Rarity by the way.” I told her, fluffing my mane as I did. Because yes of course I have to.

“Daylight Gleam, pleased to meet you.” She held out her hoof for a shake which I graciously accepted. “So how’d you end up here?”

“Well I was, and still am I suppose, a diplomatic envoy meant to open up relations with this country.” I was smiling proudly at first when I said I was a diplomatic envoy but as I finished up my face fell, there is simply no possible way I’m going to be able to do my job. And I don’t even know if I want to do my job anymore. Yes, yes, friendship is magic and all that but really. These creatures were. The. Rudest!

“Bad luck there.” Daylight Gleam said as she smiled awkwardly at what I was supposed to do. “So what happened? Although I can guess that it’s probably similar to what happened to me.”

I sighed and rubbed at my temples. “About a day out from this island our ship was accosted by one of theirs and some of these creatures captured us. We were chained up and imprisoned in their ship and eventually brought here.”

Daylight Gleam was nodding along as I explained what had happened to me. “Yep, just about the same thing happened to me.” She put a comforting hoof over my shoulder and started to walk us to the door on the right side of the room. “Come on, there’s some baths to tidy up in through here, and the beds too if you wanna get some rest after.”

That sounds absolutely wonderful.

“Thank you, again.” I said as I walked beside her. As we walked through the doors I decided to ask her the obvious question. “So you were also attacked by these creatures while out on a boat?”

She grimaced, her eyes wandered a bit before she decided to settle with looking at the ground. “It’s, uh, kind of a dumb story. You see a little while back my two idiot friends decided to get married-”

I couldn’t help it, at the word “married” my eyes lit up and I squeed in delight.

“Married! Oh how wonderful, what was the ceremony like? How was the wedding dress? Do you perhaps have any pictures of it?”

“Woah, hold on now!” She pushed me away from her and started shaking her hooves. “It wasn’t that big of an affair or anything, you need to calm down.”

I giggled in embarrassment, she was right, I just got a little over-excited there.

~~I wish I was married.~~

“Sorry, sorry. But, um, you were saying then?”

“Yeah.” She rolled her eyes at me. “As I was saying, my two friends decided to get married and they were going to have their honeymoon be a romantic cruise. Well they invited me along, the three of us have been lifelong companions and they said it just didn’t feel right to leave me behind. I felt a little embarrassed and I really didn’t want to be a third wheel but a cruise also sounded like a fun way to relax too so I decided, what the hay?” She sighed as she continued on. “Unfortunately, my friends are idiots, they missed the cruise’s departure and I was stuck, absolutely alone, on a romantic cruise for couples. One unfortunate storm later that blew us off course and we get attacked and enslaved by these guys.” She finished as she waved a hoof in the air, gesturing at the castle around us.

“I’m terribly sorry, that’s a rotten bit of bad luck yourself.”

She shrugged. “I think it’s my punishment for spitefully wishing something bad would happen to all the lovey-dovey couples on the cruise.” Daylight Gleam looked me in the face. “Oh yeah, you called them “creatures” didn’t you? You don’t know what these things are yet do you?”

My eyebrows rose. No, no I did not know just what exactly these creatures were.

“I’m afraid I don’t, they haven’t been the most talkative of creatures I’ve met in my life.”

“Heh, that’s the truth.” She smirked. “But anyways, these things are called Trolls. This whole island is their kingdom.” She looked up a bit at my horn. “So how good are you with magic by the way?”

Now I just raised a single questioning eyebrow. “I’m alright I suppose, I’ve never considered myself particularly skilled in magic though. Why do you ask?”

“Just wondering, I was gonna say not to get any funny ideas if you think you’re pretty strong. Magic doesn’t work on these guys.” She shrugged as her eyes narrowed, seeming to think about something. “Learned that the hard way.”

“Magic doesn’t work on them? That’s quite unusual.” Although now that she mentioned it I was reminded of what happened back on the boat, it really was like my magic just didn’t do anything to the troll.

“How do you think the trolls managed to maintain their independence despite being so close to the Storm King’s old domain?” Daylight said as she pushed open another door, leading us into a surprisingly opulent looking bath. “Here we are, I’d suggest cleaning up and getting to rest pretty quick, there’s probably gonna be plenty of work for us all tomorrow.”

I groaned in discomfort. “Ughhh, please don’t remind me.” I made sure to drag out the groan, she had to know just how opposed I was to all of this after all.

Daylight Gleam just giggled at my dramatic flair though. “Sorry but there’s not much you can do about it.”

I pouted a bit but as I looked around the bath my mood lifted a little. There were a few bubbling tubs off to one side, meaning that we at least got hot water on demand, and I saw shelves of combs and brushes that should work moderately well to maintain my mane with. Although unfortunately it didn’t look like there was much else in the way of mane care around. A series of sinks and one long mirror stretched along the opposing wall, I walked towards them to test them out. A single gold (obviously painted) faucet stood at each sink with two knobs beside it, a quick turn gave me either cold or hot water to wash my hooves and face with.

“Could be worse.” I grumbled satisfactorily.

Peering down I opened up the cabinets under the sink and was rewarded with stacks of soap and towels of all sizes. Looking back over at my companion I asked if she would like to join me while I took a quick dip.

“Miss Gleam? Care to join me while I freshen up?”

The only other slave who I had a friendly rapport with just shook her head though. “No thanks, I’m already freshened up myself. I’m going to be heading off to bed, see you tomorrow morning.”

I let her go and decided to take a good look at myself in the mirror. Ugh. Unacceptable. I looked decidedly average, still quite good for most but not nearly good enough by my own standards. Unfortunately I could do no more than frown, it would be best to clean up a little bit first so I turned around and sunk into one of the baths.

Mmm, now that felt good. Oh it worked wonders on my joints and my hooves after being cooped up in that cell and forced to wear those chains. Now it still couldn’t compare at all to Ponyville Spa but it was still a lovely feeling compared to everything else I had to deal with the past day.

I spent entirely too long in the polished tub, almost falling asleep, before I managed to pull myself out and dry off. A… short… time later spent brushing and combing my mane and I was out of the baths and ready to get a good night’s rest.

“This. Is. Unbearable!”

I complained to Daylight Gleam as I relentlessly scrubbed at some unknown stain in the white carpet beneath me. No matter what I did or what combination of cleaning materials I used the stain simply wouldn’t go away. Now I would like to say that I was rather confident in my cleaning abilities, mostly when it came to clothes yes but still, however this was not the type of hard work I was made to do. And furthermore I was rudely woken up, completely interrupting my much needed beauty sleep, by some trolls and pushed along here with nothing but a small bowl of thin gruel for breakfast so I was already in a foul mood from the start.

Apparently some soiree was held here last night, it was the chambers of someone called Duke Tulepule and now we were being forced to clean it up. This castle was absolutely massive, Daylight Gleam had told me that the King and the rest of the royal family lived far away from where we stayed in the slave quarters while numerous other lords and nobles lived inside and close to the castle as well. A bit of an odd arrangement to me, not like how it was in Canterlot and the royal palace at all but to each their own I suppose. And they loved their parties. From what I heard it was nothing but party after party and the slaves were always being made to clean up afterwards or occasionally serve as waiters and waitresses during the party.

At least they didn’t put on any new chains. But then again why would they need to? What would I even do? Where would I go? They didn’t even bother putting chains on the griffons or other creatures that could fly. And so we were still all stuck here with nothing to do but obey.

Horrid.

“Yeah it’s what I’ve been stuck doing since coming here too.” Daylight said with resignation.

“I simply cannot believe that this is what those despicable trolls are going to have me be doing!” I huffed indignantly. “My talents could be put to far better use!”

She raised an eyebrow at me. “Uh, you seem more upset that the work isn’t to your liking than the fact you’ve been enslaved.”

“Darling. Please.” I responded to her. “It is the principle of the matter. It is a gross misuse of me to simply have me be a… a maid! I have so much artistic skill to offer! They could have me doing anything and yet here I am cleaning up stains! It’s just disgraceful.”

“Cleaning duty is better than farm duty at least.” She shrugged as she sprayed some kind of solvent on the couches she was attending.

I looked back at the wicker basket I had lying beside me, full of not just rags and sponges but also bottles with cleaning solutions in them. Although having no idea what they were I didn’t know what would be best to treat this stain. And I still had no idea what the stain itself was so at best I would just be randomly attacking it! How do they expect me to clean like this?!

Sighing and rubbing at my temples as I pushed the basket away I decided to sit back for a second to relax. Looking around at the décor I was somewhat disappointed with what I saw. The drapes were a pretty purple color but utterly plain with no special trim or detail on them, there were numerous vases of flowers arrayed around the room but in such a… practical and mechanical manner. It was too calculated, there was no flair or spontaneity. Even the flowers in the vases were arranged too perfectly to be pretty, every arrangement was exactly the same with how they were put together too. I was just sad looking at it all because it could be so much better. With just a little creativity this suite could be so much more, I can already picture in my head how I would spruce things up if I had the chance.

Small chance at that though.

Even the only painting in the room was similarly disappointing. A mere portrait of who I assume to be Duke Tulepule himself. The painting was well enough of course on a technical basis but that’s all it was. Where was the real art?

Drab. Droll. Dreadful.

If I was at least somewhere pretty this would be a lot easier.

“Yoohoo, anybody home?”

I was snapped out of my musings by Daylight Gleam poking me in the shoulder. Shaking my head I got back up and levitated a rag to the stain I was attempting to work on.

“Yes, yes, sorry. I got a bit distracted thinking of some things.”

“Just don’t let the trolls catch you slacking off. And we really do need to get this room looking spotless by the end of the day.” Daylight said as she affixed me with a somewhat worried look.

I felt a bit bad and a little embarrassed that she felt the need to look at me in such a way.

“I’m going to go gather up the sheets from the bedrooms, you keep working on that stain alright?” She said to me as she walked on by.

“Yes, of course. I’ll find some way to get rid of this.” I responded as I gave this decidedly stubborn stain a glare. I wonder if Twilight knew any magical cleaning spells?

Grabbing one of the random bottles of liquid in my basket I decided it might as well be the best place to start. The blue liquid sloshed around a bit as I pointed the squirt nozzle at the rag I was levitating and pulled the trigger. Now that my rag was wet with… whatever this was, maybe the stain would finally come out. I tried using both my hooves this time and really scrubbed at it, I wasn’t letting this dumb stain beat me even if this whole situation was absurd and unfair!

Oof, now I was sweating. I think I overexerted myself. My body was not made for this kind of work. Where was Applejack when I needed her?

I wiped a bit of sweat from my brow and looked over the other cleaning supplies I had. Grabbing two of the other bottles I poured a little bit from each of them onto the rag and started using my magic to grind the rag into the stain. I don’t know what I’m doing but I’ll make it work. I made sure to go in concentric circles so not even the smallest little dot on the outside of the stain would be left over. This may not be my preferred work but my attention to detail misses nothing! It took a little while longer and the liquids I had squirted onto the rag had become a frothy foam but at last I had seemed to vanquish the stain.

Unfortunately now as I held up the rag it seemed like the area of the carpet I had been scrubbing was a slightly different shade than the rest. Oops.

“Well the stain’s out.” I see it as a success.

“Rarity? Are you finished?”

I looked up to see Daylight Gleam walking towards me while levitating a massive amount of sheets in front of her. Were we going to have to wash all of those ourselves too?

“Here, darling! I took care of the stain but let me get all of this out of your way.” I replied to her and gathered up the bottles I had been using into the basket.

“Thank you. I’ll take these sheets down to the laundry, can you go around the bedrooms and the rest of Duke Tulepule’s chambers and just fluff things up? Make it look nice and all that you know?” She asked me without looking in my direction as she carried the sheets to the front door of the Duke’s chamber.

“But of course, now that is at least certainly something I can do. This place will look far better than it was even before the party once I’m done with it.” I said proudly. And it was true, I’d make sure to tidy everything up perfectly.

“Uh huh, good luck. Once you’re done just talk with the troll waiting outside and they’ll direct you wherever you need to go next. See you later, Rarity.” She said as she pulled open the door with her magic and walked out, sheets and all.

Now as I was left alone I trotted over to the bedroom she had come from. I hadn’t seen inside the Duke’s room before now and I was wondering if perhaps he had a slightly different décor from the rest of the chamber in there. Perhaps something a little more personal or expensive for his private viewing? But as I peeked in my hopes were dashed. Same old same old. A plain bed, the same drapes along the window, and at the foot of his bed was a table with the same kind of vase and the exact same flower arrangement as every other. Oh how I wished to rearrange those flowers into something more aesthetically pleasing! However I knew that would likely end poorly for myself.

Instead I fought back my urges and tidied up. The table that held the vase was at least nice, mahogany I think, as I dusted it until it was sparkling. On the far wall from where I came in there was a large wardrobe, it must be for the Duke’s clothes, or his wife’s maybe. Was he married? I had no idea. I wanted to peek inside to see what kind of clothes a duke wore here but again perhaps that was a bad idea.

Oh but I just had to!

I pulled open the wardrobe with an ecstatic look on my face. What goodies awaited?!

It was full to bursting with various clothes hanging from one rack, I giddily giggled as I pushed through them, seeing everything the Duke had to offer. Hm, it was mostly rather plain coats and undershirts. Function before form I suppose. Maybe dukes were expected to wear a standard outfit. Perhaps it was considered crass for any of the nobility to not wear certain clothes. I felt up the material of a few of the coats, it was high-quality to be sure but in the end that just means it was wasted in my opinion. Like everything else here it could be so much more. A pity.

“I’m finally inspired to do something great again after seeing all the wasted potential here and yet I haven’t any opportunity to create.” I said to myself. What a sad turn of events this has been. My creativity has been sparked but what could I do about it now? How I wish I had a sewing machine in front of me.

After pouting for a bit longer I finished up my cleaning and got ready to leave Duke Tulepule’s chambers, making sure that his clothes and everything else were exactly like they were before I had started snooping around. I was tired but I still had to carry my basket of cleaning supplies, I just hoped that the laundry Daylight Gleam had gone to was close by, or that there was some sort of lift to make going throughout the castle easier.

Exiting the chamber I looked to my side to see a single troll that had been standing outside the whole time. He must have the patience of a royal guard. I believe Daylight had earlier referred to him as one of the overseers of the slaves.

“Excuse me, I’ve finished up my work.” I said to him. “Could you direct me to where my companion went to?”

His head and the beady eyes in it slowly turned to look at me without any change in expression or emotion. “Change of plans, you go back and rest now. You’ve been switched to kitchen and farm duty tomorrow.”

I forced the biggest, fakest, smile possible onto my face. “Lovely.”

Nor A Farmer!

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I was absolutely sick of peeling potatoes. I can’t even tell how many hundreds I had peeled already this morning but I was just sick of it. They had woken me up before the crack of dawn, bad enough already, and marched me down into this kitchen with a dozen others and set us to work. Now I was side by side with a surly griffon, peeling and peeling and peeling. At least it was better than chopping onions. I had unfortunately already had to force my way through that before we started on the potatoes.

And as I looked at the massive barrels of carrots next to the potatoes I had a rather good idea of what I’d be peeling next.

My hooves were sore and starting to get calloused. As I looked at the griffon next to me I almost wished I had the strong talons she had just so I had an easier time with all this. But griffon talons weren’t as pretty. It would just take a long spa treatment and hooficure to get everything back to normal once I returned to Ponyville. Oh, the thought of it is almost overwhelming.

I had to be a little careful with the peeler I was using so I didn’t accidentally cut myself. And the potatoes kept slipping out of my hooves, peeling them was such a bother. Some of them were so rough and misshapen and they had those eyes on them that made peeling them take even longer. I can’t believe how exhausted I was just from chopping onions and peeling potatoes.

There were a few trolls watching over us all, how I wish the shoe was on the other hoof and they had to do all this tedious labor. I’d really like to give them a piece of my mind but I don’t think the other slaves here would appreciate that.

“You’re slowing down, pick up the pace!” The ~~gruff~~ rude griffon said to me.

I simply frowned, not wanting to start a fight. And my mind had been wandering a bit as it tended to do so I focused back on the task of peeling potatoes. It didn’t take long to get back into the groove, as troublesome as it was I had become quite good at peeling these potatoes by now. As long as I didn’t let my irritation get to me it would be alright.

Hopefully I wouldn’t have to do this again anytime soon.

Hopefully I would get out of this dreadful place soon.

After about another half hour we finished with the potatoes and just like I thought, moved on to the carrots. These were at least a lot easier to deal with than either the potatoes and onions but there were still so many of them.

Grab a carrot, peel it, and then it goes on to the ones washing all the vegetables. Repeat over and over until the carrots were all gone too. Oh right, and discard the skin. The repetitiveness was getting to me in such a way that I was just automatically going through the motions but somehow was still worried I would accidentally miss or forget to do something. My mind was turning to mush. Just a jumbled mess of onions, potatoes and carrots. How many hours had I been doing this now? There weren’t any exterior windows in here, I had no idea what time it was. The company wasn’t good for conversation either, which really could’ve made this all easier. My mind is wandering again and I can’t even help it! It’s just too tedious. Here’s hoping I don’t make any mistakes or slow down again so my griffon neighbor doesn’t get upset with me.

It did take quite a long time again but we managed to get through all the carrots. And that was it for the vegetables so I’m not sure what I would be doing now.

Suddenly a shadow fell over me and I looked up to see one of the trolls standing behind me and the griffon. He raised his hand and pointed to a sink at the far end of the kitchen away from us.

“Cleaning duty. Wash all the plates and utensils. Then clean the floors.”

I was just about ready to explode. After all that work I had just done I was hoping for at least a little break, but to go right to cleaning up?! This was ridiculous. I was already so tired and my hooves so beat up and now I had to clean everything up too! Oh, my poor hooves were going to get so pruny on top of everything else now too. And cleaning the floors! I had by far enough of that yesterday. At least the kitchen tile would be far easier to deal with but this was still a large kitchen, there was so much ground to cover. My patience was truly wearing thin at this point.

My griffon friend didn’t seem to share my anger however, she simply nudged me along to the sink and all I could do was bite my tongue and get started.

Of course after about five seconds of scrubbing the first dish I simply had to voice my frustration to her.

“Do you really not have a problem with all of this?”

She scowled but didn’t stop cleaning her own dishes. “You get used to it. Some of us have tried to escape or fight back before but the trolls are pretty ruthless in managing us, and as I’m sure you’ve noticed considering how much you like to talk they’re also good at ignoring complaints. At least the slave quarters are nice.” She finished, shrugging.

I sighed, yes the trolls definitely didn’t let things get to them as easily as the Diamond Dogs. Although I have been holding back quite a bit from complaining too much… vocally… we’re so far from Equestria I just don’t know what to do. I can’t simply walk home after nagging them all into submission even if that was possible.

I don’t like to call it nagging in the first place either.

Well my conversation with the griffon ended rather quickly, she didn’t want to continue and I didn’t want to bother her. We continued to scrub and stack plates and clean the knives and peelers and what else had been used this morning. All this dirty water, if I accidentally cut myself on a knife it would be horrible. I did a good job though, I wasn’t going to give the trolls any excuse to extend our work. Every plate was sparkling by the time I was done with it and the utensils were good enough to use again immediately. Rarity always outdoes herself.

Right after finishing up though I felt a dry rag thrown against the back of my head.

“Now clean the floors!” The troll bellowed as he kicked two buckets of water with mops in them at us.

If I was about to explode earlier now I was REALLY about to explode.

Instead despite the steam that was surely coming out of my ears I grabbed my mop and started cleaning the floor. Oh you better believe my face was red though. The other slaves besides me and the griffon were organizing and putting things away before they left to do whatever, we had to mop around them and unfortunately not everyone was considerate enough to avoid places we had already cleaned so our work took a bit longer than it should have.

Mopping up the floors with soapy water first and then cleaning all that up until it was spotless and dry. My muscles were so sore and smelling all that cleaning solution, whatever it was, had started to make me woozy. My hooves were trembling as I finished up drying the last bit of tile with my rag and I had to sit down for a second.

“Oh dear, I’m really not made for this.”

My griffon friend rolled her eyes at me. When I saw that I huffed at her.

“Well sorry for not being used to this kind of work, not all of us can have such sturdy bodies you know?” I told her.

“Yeah, yeah, relax, I didn’t say anything.” She said. “You’ll toughen up eventually anyways.”

“Hmph, I certainly hope I’m not here long enough to toughen up.” That would be awful.

“So you’re already working on your great escape plan? Maybe you can let me in on it? I’d really appreciate that.” She said to me with a condescending smirk.

“I could do without your sarcasm you know. And when did you become so talkative? I would’ve liked that more when we were working to pass the time.”

She just shrugged. “Down time.” She hooked a thumb over her shoulder and I looked to see the troll that had previously given us work directing the other slaves to their new duties. The two of us were left with a moment to rest.

I rubbed my eyes before stretching my back. “What’s your name? I’m Rarity, from Ponyville in Equestria.”

“Gertrude, from Griffonstone. Haven’t seen it in a long time even before I got stuck here though.” She said with another apathetic shrug.

It was obvious to me that she had quite the story behind her life, but it was doubly obvious that she had less than no intention of sharing it. Well fine then, I wouldn’t ask her about it either and we could go back to saying nothing to each other until the troll overseer came back over and sent us off wherever.

My stomach rumbled and I blushed in embarrassment, refusing to meet Gertrude’s eyes.

“You get a short break but then it’s back to work.”

I spun around to see the troll overseer walking towards us. He pointed at Gertrude. “Griffon, it’s masonry work for you. You know where to go.” Gertrude scowled but walked by the troll without a word, then he turned to me. “As for you it’s the orchards and farms for now. Follow me.”

I recall when I briefly attempted to help out at Sweet Apple Acres to impress Trenderhoof. In hindsight I now wish I spent more time there to prepare myself for all of this.

Apples. So many apple trees I couldn’t believe my eyes, I don’t think even Sweet Apple Acres has this many, it was incredible. And we were still within the castle grounds too. I didn’t really know anything about apples, sorry Applejack, but I didn’t think they grew in a place like this. I looked at the strange gray soil beneath my hooves, fitting in with the color of the mountains the castle was built on and around. It did not seem like the fresh and healthy soil that fruit liked. And yet here in front of me thousands of strong looking trees stood, each with hundreds of apples hanging from their branches. Red, green, golden, pinkish, the sheer variety was certainly greater than what the Apple family had.

I wasn’t given much more time to look though, after the kitchen overseer had brought me down here another troll pointed me towards the trees. They had numerous buckets stacked up for the apples, wagons to carry the buckets when they were filled, and ladders to get up into the trees and pick them. At least the troll who managed the apple orchards was not so gruff and angry as the kitchen overseer had been. He actually smiled! Yes, the first troll I had seen smiling and actually looking happy. From what I could tell he seemed to really love apples. He politely and calmly explained to all of the slaves that we would be picking the apples and sorting them by type into the buckets. Why couldn’t every troll be nice like him?

Hm, I don’t want to sound like I’m growing fond of them. Just one having manners hardly excuses everything else.

“Make sure you separate them by color, different apples are used for different things, and I take my apples seriously.” The troll said to us. “Apples are our favorite fruit, you can’t find them outside of the castle. That’s what they mean to us trolls.”

So now the rest of the slaves and I were getting a cultural lesson on trolls from him?

“Now get to work, and none of you better try sneaking one either!” He said that rather jovially though.

I went with the other slaves into the seemingly endless rows of apple trees, grabbing some buckets and pulling along a ladder with me I climbed up into the first open tree and started picking. A pony behind me was manning the wagon, pushing it along and gathering up the filled up buckets in this row of trees. It seemed like an easier job than what I was doing. Picking these apples was as tedious as peeling those potatoes.

Applejack would probably be rather jealous of me right now though.

The work was slow going however and I was already tired even before coming out here, sweat was dripping from my brow and I bet I looked like a right mess! At least it wasn’t hot out, the sky was still dark and as dreary looking as it was the last time I saw it directly. It almost looked like it was perpetually going to rain but I hadn’t seen nor heard a single drop in the few days I had been here. At least my magic was still good enough to pick the apples that were out of reach of my hooves, although eventually I’d run out of energy to do that too.

“Please, please, let this be the last thing I have to do today.” I said to myself.

At last finishing up with that first tree I grabbed my ladder and moved on to the next, the pony with the wagon grabbing my buckets and stacking them with the rest. I sighed and rubbed my forehead to try and alleviate some of my stress before climbing up and starting the whole process over.

~~I was getting sick of apples very quickly.~~

I was getting sick of doing this work very quickly.

The thing was I couldn’t even tell how late in the day it was because of the sky, I had no idea how long I had been awake or how long I had been out in this apple orchard. Was it almost time to retire soon or was it hours away?

After going through maybe ten trees I heard a whistle blow.

“That’s enough!” I looked to see our smiling troll walking through the rows of trees, but this time there were five other trolls walking with him and carrying an assortment of bags and farming tools I only vaguely recognized.

“Good job with the apples, the slaves with the wagons will take them back to the castle’s storehouse. The rest will continue out here, seeding the soil past the orchard with corn.” At that the other five trolls started handing out bags of seed to some slaves while others were given shovels and various other kinds of groundbreaking tools to till and move the soil.

I ended up with a shovel in my hooves.

With mouth embarrassingly open in aghast surprise I looked up at the troll who had handed it to me.

“You can’t be serious, darling.”

Unsurprisingly, I was ignored.

And so I was forced to dig holes in this rough, unforgiving soil while another pony stood beside me dropping seeds into them. Considering this other pony was a stallion I feel like it would’ve been fair if our positions were reversed. It also would’ve been gentlemanly if he at least offered to switch but of course I had no such luck there either. Instead I dug a small hole, stepped back a few feet, and dug another in a straight line. What a joyful activity.

This area of the castle grounds was completely open, unlike the orchard that was covered in trees. I suppose it must’ve been seasonal farmland that wasn’t always in use. Of course I had no actual idea, I wasn’t a farmer. But really, the area this castle stretched was gargantuan, looking over my shoulder I saw the walls rising in the distance and beyond those were yet more towers and buildings, it must’ve simply been another part of the castle rather than its limits. Just how much was there? Looking forward I saw what Daylight Gleam had described as the royal family’s portion of the castle, a massive castle within a castle that stood on the higher peaks of the mountains, with walls and towers coming down from it that made up the rest of the castle. It looked like one single fortress standing up there and looking down on the rest.

Shaking my head I got back to work, it was at this point that my seed carrying companion decided to speak up.

“Lovely day out isn’t it?”

My eye began to twitch.

“My village sent me out into the world to spread the word about our newfound way of life that preaches equality above all. I ended up finding myself here but the trolls unfortunately haven’t been too receptive to the truth of equality.” He continued on despite me not responding to him, I wasn’t even really paying attention.

“That’s a shame.” I automatically said.

“Yes, truly, the Word should be heard by all. I even brought my scripture here with me but it was confiscated. Luckily I’ve memorized it all by heart, would you like me to tell you about it?”

He continued to prattle on and on while I didn’t listen. I don’t even know what he was talking about, I was too busy digging holes and just nodding along to whatever he was saying.

“My name’s Lemon Squeeze, what’s yours?”

“Rarity.” I said without even looking at him.

“Great! If I ever see you again we can talk more about the Word. I’d love for as many to see the infallible truth of our gospel as possible.” He said cheerfully, I could hear the smile in his voice.

Needless to say that cheerfulness just made me angrier and I completely stopped talking for the rest of the hole digging while his inane chatter continued despite my lack of response in any way. Is it hypocritical of me to do this after complaining about Gertrude not talking much? Whatever, I’m angry, I don’t care.

The digging was getting to be more difficult since I was already tired and my legs felt like jelly. The soil was dry and tough and didn’t feel like something crops would grow well in but I still made as many holes as I could.

After a while another troll came by with a wagon pulled by two more ponies. He threw a large bag out of it at mine and Lemon Squeeze’s hooves.

“Spread this fertilizer and when you’re done with that come back to the orchard, there’s firewood for you to chop.”

Well this was just fantastic, now I got to go back over all those holes I dug and the rest of this ugly soil and spread fertilizer. What a lovely way to spend my day.

And that’s how the next two hours of my life were spent. I went around with Lemon Squeeze, first dropping big clumps of fertilizer and then spreading it all evenly over and around the holes I had dug. Looking around me I saw the other slaves doing the same, I had no idea how long it would take to grow but eventually there would be a large cornfield out here. Oh but after that I was hardly done. Now it was time to chop wood!

Fine! Bring it on!

I got a splinter.

I have never chopped wood with an axe before and I intend to never do it again after today. This. Is. The. Worst. I am so tired, I can’t even feel my legs, I have blisters all over my formerly perfect and lovely hooves, soon they’ll be covered in rough callouses if I keep doing work like this, my mane is matted with sweat, I don’t even have any mascara or eyeliner, I haven’t had a real meal in days, my rest has been continuously interrupted, and everyone is just so rude and apathetic.

I want to cry.

But I refuse to let these trolls see me like that! No, absolutely not! I refuse to let this get to me, I have been through so much in my life and I’m not about to breakdown from some work that Applejack would call a “normal day”.

It was difficult and I slowed down quite a bit but I finished up with the firewood that had been placed for me, dropping the axe I nearly collapsed to the ground right next to it as well. Panting so heavily that it was uncouth I desperately needed some rest and a bath. In either order.

A shadow fell over me again that day and I looked up to see one of the trolls standing over me.

“Good work pony, now report to the rock quarry.”

“Rock quarry?”

My exhausted body was led to the far side of the castle grounds I had been working in. At this part of the castle a large hole had been dug into the ground and rocks were mined and taken out of the earth, large cranes carried pallets that held who knew how many tons of rocks from deep within and deposited them on the edge of the quarry, peering inside I saw dozens of slaves moving and towing rocks onto fresh pallets. Some tugged them with ropes or carried them on their backs, others pulled wagons overflowing with rocks from tunnels even deeper inside the quarry or pushed smaller wheelbarrows full of rocks. I saw some slaves, ponies, hippogriffs, etc. cutting and picking at the rocks and walls with pickaxes, trying to get them down to a more manageable size for moving while simultaneously expanding the quarry. There were rope pulleys and lifts to get from one level of the quarry to another while stacks of hardhats and racks of pickaxes and other tools sat at the top, ready for any new slave to grab when they were forced to work in this dreadful place.

I looked up at the troll who had led me here, I will note his patience, he had no problem with me not knowing where to go so I will categorize him among the very few slightly more polite trolls I have met so far.

“I… I’ve been working all day you know. I was up before dawn working in the kitchens and I haven’t had a single moment of real rest.” I tried to explain to him that I really couldn’t work anymore, there was just no more energy in my body. I needed my beauty sleep! “I’m not really built for such hard labor either you know, just look at me!”

The troll shrugged. “Not my call, come, down to the quarry.” He pushed me along with one of his strong arms.

I wanted to scream.

We walked to the nearest lift and I was made to grab and equip a hardhat, luckily I knew how to wear one without further ruining my mane, and a pickaxe. The troll came down with me so I suppose he must be here to observe things or perhaps watch over me specifically, I was new after all, maybe they were making sure I actually worked or were trying out what I was best at. Well if that was the case they should’ve had me sewing or fixing up clothes and tapestries.

The lift lowered to the bottom of the quarry and the two of us stepped out, I was taken to a pile of large rocks that had been piled in a corner of the quarry, there weren’t many other slaves around, all of them were doing their own thing, most of them ferrying more rocks out of the tunnels at this level. As I looked at the rocks piled up before me I was filled with trepidation, the pile was huge, two, maybe even three times my height.

With pickaxe in hoof I turned to my troll watcher.

“And my job here is what exactly?”

“You are to break apart these rocks into smaller rocks.” He said simply.

My jaw dropped, I turned disbelievingly from him back to the pile and then back at him again.

“All of them?”

“All. Yes. I would get started soon if pony wants to be finished by the end of the day.”

No. Absolutely not. This. Was. Absurd!

I dropped the pickaxe and yanked off my hardhat, throwing it down onto the ground where it bounced off and rolled to between the trolls feet.

“No! No, no, no! I refuse! Do you have any idea how absolutely ridiculous this is?! I can not do this after everything else I was forced to do today, I am not some workhorse whose body is made of muscle. I am a lady. And I am not some slave who can be ordered around to do whatever! I have been trying to keep patient and not vent my frustrations for I at least was hoping you would all have the sense to treat me well enough, but clearly I was wrong! You are all the most absolutely rude and ill-mannered creatures I have ever met! This is patently absurd! I am not going to be lifting a single hoof for you and the rest of you trolls ever again! You will not get anymore work out of this pony! None indeed. I am tired, I am sore, and I will not debase myself any longer!” I stamped my hoof in anger, holding my head up high in as dignified and proud a manner as possible. I meant everything I said, I don’t care about the consequences, they won’t have me working for them after this!

The troll just stared at me impassively for a few seconds before leaning down, face close to mine.

“Pony doesn’t want to work any longer?”

I glared at him. “No! Pony doesn’t want to work any longer!”

He continued to stare with a frown on his face for a moment longer before responding. “I think you should see some things before you make such a decision.”

Fighting Pits

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I was in part of the castle I had neither seen nor heard about before now. Led by the troll that had initially taken me to the quarry we had been walking together for the last half hour, away from the quarry, back into the castle, and through a labyrinth of corridors and down flights of stairs until we now were walking through a cold stone hallway only barely lit up by weak torches overhead. I was worried, scared, and apprehensive, but curious at the same time. I knew well from my experience with the trolls who captured me that any one of them could easily overpower me and that they weren’t afraid to get physical either, but this one decided to show me something instead that would apparently change my mind about refusing to do their slave labor anymore. My mind was imagining all sorts of scary situations, and I couldn’t help but think that deep down in the castle was a likely place to hold the dungeons or whatever other nefarious things these trolls could come up with. He must think that whatever is down here would convince me that it’s better to just work than try to rebel. We’ll see.

“Um, excuse me, but is it going to be much longer?” I was still quite tired and my hooves were aching with each step.

“Not much further now.” He said without turning to look at me. “We’re almost at the stadiums.”

“Stadiums?” I questioned but he didn’t respond. As always the trolls were exceptionally good at ignoring whatever they wanted.

This corridor we were going down was cramped by troll standards, two of them could never stand side by side in it, and I can’t imagine that this was the sole path to anything super important. Looking around I noticed quite a few cobwebs in the corners. Ew. I wasn’t absolutely certain but as my troll guide led me on I believe the corridor was slightly sloping downwards. It seemed odd to me if that was the case, we had already gone down plenty of normal stairs so why not just add some more? Whatever the reason I hoped we got to these “stadiums” soon, if only so I could stop walking and rest my tired hooves.

Dim light after dim light kept passing me by overhead, casting shadows through the corridor and adding to the already eerie nature of this area of the castle. I have to think we were most assuredly underground at this point, despite the castle being built on such uneven ground and over and around mountain peaks we had already started at almost ground level and had gone down enough stairs. If we were underground now though then the castle was even larger than I thought, it could have a whole set of underground tunnels and rooms spread throughout it, possibly even doubling its size.

That was a worrying thought as well honestly, how many trolls and slaves lived and worked here? The slave quarters I now resided in couldn’t possibly be the only ones now could they?

Before I knew it the corridor had opened up, getting wider and wider until it deposited us into a large oval room. The lighting was much better here, a ring of torches lined the ceiling giving us a steady and even light, my troll friend didn’t slow down in the slightest so I had to keep pace with him but I still took the time to look around the room while I walked. It seemed there were eight other passages out of the room, all placed at even intervals, some of them immediately became stairways going down or up while others were corridors just like the one the two of us had come out of.

And directly in front of the one we had came out of was the largest opening of all. I couldn’t see far inside it due to the lack of lighting on the inside but it seemed to go fairly far. And of course this is where we were going. Looking at the top of this new tunnel I saw a spiked gate that was currently receded into the ceiling and I assumed could be lowered at a moments notice to block the tunnel off completely.

I gulped but continued on with the troll.

There were only a few sporadic torches on the walls of this tunnel, Celestia only knows why, it seemed to make no sense to me other than to scare people. Did trolls see well in the dark? Maybe they didn’t need any more light than this.

It wasn’t long that I started hearing noises coming from the end of the tunnel, peering down it I saw a bright light far in the distance, the tunnel’s end. As we got closer the noises became clearer, it sounded like yelling… no, not just yelling but cheering. And a lot of it. We were still far away from the tunnel’s end but the noise was starting to become overwhelming. It was cacophonous. Yes, that’s a good word for it.

“I’m assuming that cheering up ahead has to do with the stadiums you mentioned?” I had to raise my voice to make sure he heard me.

“Yes, you’ll see what’s going on soon.” He said.

Well at least he decided to be polite enough to respond.

The light at the end of the tunnel was growing brighter. I wasn’t sure what awaited me but I steadied myself and made sure to not let my discomfort and exhaustion show. Or at least I tried my best to. I didn’t want to appear weak and I certainly didn’t want whatever was coming to scare me. I would never give them the satisfaction of knowing that this “scare” that I’m sure he’s going for worked. I won’t let it get to me. I was still Rarity after all and I had an image to protect!

Not like these trolls knew anything about that. But even so I must always look as good as possible and not show any unseemly behavior!

Such as letting these trolls make me their obedient slave.

We were almost there, I decided to speed up a little so I was side by side with the troll as we left the tunnel, the cheering drowning out the sound of my hooves clacking along the stone floor. Thanks to the sudden change in brightness as we exited I had to squint my eyes for a second. As I opened them back up I saw that we had entered into a large underground cavern, the roof and walls was smooth dark blue rock while the ground was simply dirt, but that was hardly the most eye-drawing part.

The troll and I stood on a raised pyramid overlooking it all, multiple ramps and stairways led down from it into the rest of the cavern and the various stadiums filling it up. Yes, the stadiums, I was reminded of how we conducted the Equestria Games (although none of the multiple stadiums in here were quite as large as that single one), I saw six different circular arenas with hundreds and perhaps even thousands of trolls filling up the various stands and watching whatever took place in them. We were too far away for me to tell exactly what was going on in them but I could see some small figures in the center of the arenas doing who knows what.

“Welcome to the stadiums.” My troll said, lazily gesturing to it all. “You seem smart enough to have realized that I brought you here to change your mind about not working, here’s what is done with the slaves who refuse to work.”

He started walking down the central ramp, one of the stadiums was directly ahead and I had to assume that’s where we were going.

“Yes, I did.” I replied as I started walking after him. “I must admit I’m surprised you’re bothering with trying to change my mind at all though.”

He looked back at me with an unreadable expression, or perhaps his emotions were written plainly on his face and I just didn’t know how to tell what trolls were thinking.

“Not all of us like the way things are done around here. I didn’t bring you here to scare you, I did it out of kindness. It’s better if you just keep working like a normal slave.” He went back to looking forward at the approaching stadium. “Come on, it’s not uncommon for personal slaves to be brought to watch by trolls of a higher stature, and I’d prefer if you changed your mind quickly. I don’t particularly enjoy being down here myself.”

My brow knitted in consternation as I looked up at him. “You are… much kinder than I’ve come to expect from you trolls.”

“There are plenty like me. But we can’t do anything about it either, the King and High Priest decide all.” He shrugged. “I just want you to know that things could be worse, the slave quarters up in the castle for you are a nice enough place to live.”

Now at that I frowned.

“Yes, but I’d still be a slave.”

The troll looked down at me and this time I could see a bit of sadness in his eyes. “We’re all slaves to some degree here.”

I was about to respond when he spoke up again. “Here we are.”

Indeed we were. The stadium was made of stone and had many entrances throughout its perimeter, there was no guard or anyone to take admission so I assumed any troll was able to freely enter. And since whatever was going on inside was well underway the two of us walked in alone. This entrance did not go directly to the arena where the event was being held but instead turned and twisted around the whole stadium, with branching paths going up stairs to the stands or to private viewing boxes. My troll guide took us up several flights of stairs to the very top of the stadium, obviously the closer seats were all taken, and he probably didn’t want to get many questions from other trolls about what I was doing here with him. He said it wasn’t uncommon for those with “higher stature” to bring slaves, he must be too low of station for it to be normal for him.

As we went out into the stands I noticed that there weren’t even individual seats in this part, merely planks of wood pushed together. Rather crude if I must say. And of course I must. Anyways the two of us sat down by the stairs and I finally got my first good look at what was going on in the arena below.

The first thing I noticed was that the arena floor was sand, not dirt like the rest of this massive underground chamber, the next thing I noticed were the two ponies facing off against each other. Despite the distance my eyes were able to make out quite a bit. Both were clearly earth pony stallions and one of them was an orange colored pony with a sandy mane and tail and a black scarf wrapped around his neck, the other was a larger grey pony with a deep brown mane and tail. By larger I don’t mean fat you know, he was just a bit bigger than the average stallion, reminiscent of Shining Armor I would say. The grey stallion’s face… I wouldn’t ever say it was handsome but he had bright eyes and a cheerful look about him despite the situation he was in. Quite the opposite of the orange stallion who had a hard, almost mean, look on his face.

Both of them were carrying round wooden shields and holding sticks.

“Pardon me for asking, but what exactly is going on in here?” I asked my troll friend with a raised eyebrow and a fair bit of worry.

“It’s a fight. What else?” He replied simply.

My jaw dropped. “You’re forcing them to fight?! That’s barbaric!”

He raised a finger to his mouth and shushed me, looking around with slight nervousness. “I don’t mind you voicing your opinion but you should be quieter.”

Well I couldn’t exactly argue about that, luckily the other trolls were all far more occupied with the fight.

“And yes.” He continued. “I told you I don’t like all of this either, but I wanted you to see what awaits slaves who refuse to work for us. They become entertainment.”

“This is horrible!” I spat out. “So you just make them fight each other for fun?”

“Or wild beasts that have been captured. Or troll warriors. Whatever people want to see.” He at least had the decency to look ashamed as he simply shrugged again at his society’s way of life.

I was simply aghast at such barbarism. Sure ponies like to compete and some of it can be a little rough but this was just madness to me. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, but I had to watch. I had to see what these poor slaves were forced to do. I feel like I owed it to them. And if we’re being honest I wanted to see what I might be in for.

At least they didn’t seem to be using lethal weapons or anything, but that was hardly a consolation.

I watched as the two ponies down below paced around each other while the crowd of trolls hooted and hollered at them, wanting to get to the action as quickly as possible. Well they didn’t have to wait long. The orange stallion lunged at the grey one, making several quick thrusts with his stick that the grey stallion either deftly dodged or turned aside with his shield. But the orange pony was relentless, he kept jabbing at any open spot of his opponent, forcing the grey stallion to constantly move or block and not get in an attack himself.

The orange pony still couldn’t actually land a real hit though, I really had no clue what a skilled fighter looked like but the grey one seemed to be having an easy time dealing with his opponent’s attacks. Still the orange pony was clearly used to this kind of rough work, he didn’t look tired at all and he seemed to realize he wasn’t getting anywhere, his attacks broke off and he started warily pacing around the grey stallion, eyeing him and trying to find a new way to attack.

But this time he didn’t have the opportunity as the grey stallion suddenly swung into action. He brought his stick in a wide arc at the orange stallion’s hooves, causing him to jump back to avoid the attack. As he jumped he also jabbed out with his own stick, trying to pin the grey stallion’s weapon to the ground. But the grey stallion was too quick, pulling his weapon back and lunging forward at the orange one again, this time the two of them traded blows with each other. Sticks bashing against stick or shield. It had turned into a simple brawl and I started to grimace at the ferocity of it.

If they were using something like swords or spears…

No, no, I didn’t even want to think about that. Horrible. Just horrible.

With a loud thump the grey stallion’s stick landed in the middle of the orange one’s chest, I could practically hear the air knocked out of his lungs from up here. He stumbled backwards wheezing and wildly waving his stick to fend off the grey stallion.

The grey stallion for his part didn’t press the attack, merely stood back and waited for the orange pony to collect himself while all the trolls watching cheered. Well, it was fairly plain to me at this point who was winning and who was losing. I just hoped that things wouldn’t go too far. I mean… it couldn’t possibly be to the death could it? That’s just unthinkable, even for these trolls.

The orange stallion stopped his wheezing and hacking but still looked winded and a bit weak. He held up his stick and shield and waited for the grey stallion to attack again.

I could tell even from up here that the grey stallion was smiling as he went in to attack, I found that I was at the edge of my seat, hoping nothing too serious would happen.

Just as the grey stallion got within striking range however he tripped. My jaw nearly dropped in surprise and the trolls watching seemed flabbergasted as well.

He slid over the sand to right beneath the orange stallion, who quickly got over his own surprise and brought his stick down in a quick strike to the head of the grey stallion. I winced, shutting my eyes, the blow was surely strong enough to knock the poor grey stallion unconscious. At the sudden eruption of more cheering I opened my eyes to see the orange pony standing in the middle of the arena, waving his stick sword high in the air in victory while his downed opponent lied behind him.

A gate opened up at the arena floor and a group of trolls came out, some of them guided the orange pony back with them while the others put the grey one on a stretcher and carried him back as well. At least he would be getting medical attention. I was very grateful to see that.

“That was… awful.” I said to my troll friend.

“It’s every day down here.” He replied.

Again I could only grimace. “Well, thank you for showing this to me. But I still don’t wish to simply roll over for your leaders. I have a bit too much pride for that.” Normally I would’ve put on a more haughty tone but I was feeling a little drained from everything.

“We’re not done yet.” He said as he simply stared at me.

“Pardon?”

“That’s not all I wanted to show you. Now you can see how they live when they aren’t fighting. It’s a far cry from the slave quarters you’re used to.”

It certainly was.

These were not living quarters. This was a dungeon.

It was dark and cold in here, even less lighting than those corridors we had walked through on the way here. I saw cells full of unruly slaves forced to fight because they refused to work. Some allowed to roam freely behind their bars while others were chained to the wall. Honestly I wanted to cry but even more than that I didn’t want to let the trolls guarding these slaves see that. At least they seemed to pay me no mind as I walked with my guide.

There were many slaves down here, ponies, griffons, lots of those fish and lizard looking creatures I remember seeing in Klugetown, and to my surprise even a few yaks. I wished so hard that I could just free them all, grab the keys from who knows where and lead them running out of here. But that was just a pipe dream.

We walked by the cells for a bit longer before I saw something even more surprising than the yaks. The two ponies who had been fighting just now were sharing a cell and seemingly chatting amicably with one another. Raising an eyebrow I went over to speak to them, heedless of what my guide or the trolls guarding the cells might think.

The grey one had some gauze wrapped around his head but otherwise looked fine while the orange one was accusingly pointing his hoof at him and muttering something I couldn’t quite hear.

“Excuse me?” I spoke up as soon as I got to the cell. “But are the two of you alright? I’m sorry to just come out of the blue like this but I happened to see your fight and...” I trailed off.

They looked over at me; the orange one had a suspicious look on his face but the grey pony was smiling warmly at me.

“First time seeing a fight?” The orange one asked me. “Did some noble bring you down here to show you how kind he is for keeping you in some posh room upstairs?”

I frowned. Now partially it was at his rudeness since I just came over to see if they were alright but the other part of me frowned at how he was halfway correct. Still I wasn’t about to let my slight annoyance get to me, these ponies were forced into these horrible fights so it was only natural if they had a bit of a bad attitude.

“Just ignore my friend here.” The grey stallion said as he threw a hoof over the orange one’s shoulders. “He’s always grumpy. He could use a bit of sympathy for new slaves now couldn’t he?” The stallion winked at me.

I giggled in response. At least he was polite.

“I’m grumpy because I’m sick of you throwing fights on purpose.” The orange one said as he shrugged off his friends hoof.

“Oh please, that could’ve happened to anyone.” The grey one avoided looking directly at both of us.

“Liar! You always do that! I can take a hit you know.”

“And I can take them even better so why not?” The grey one condescendingly patted his friend on the head as he winked at me again.

My amusement at their back and forth was starting to wear thin though. I was glad they were okay but I wanted to talk to them some more about what it was like down here.

“Apologies for butting in again but is this how things normally are down here? How long have you been slaves, too?”

The grey one gave me an appraising look before responding.

“Sorry for the lack of seriousness, Miss Rarity, but allow us to introduce ourselves first.” He nodded towards the orange stallion. “This is my recent friend Birdseed, who has been stuck here for a little over a month.” The orange pony, Birdseed as I now know him, grunted in acknowledgment. “And I-” The grey stallion said as he gave a slight bow to me. How gentlemanly. “Am Harlequin Black, pleased to meet you.”

“Well it’s a pleasure to meet both of you as well.” I gave my best smile to the both of them. Birdseed was an appropriate name, as I glanced at his Cutie Mark and saw that it was a bag of overflowing seeds. Oh wait, I still didn’t have any make-up on. And my mane was still down. This is a terrible first impression by my standards.

“You shouldn’t be taking this so lightly though.” Harlequin Black said to me, his smile no longer on his face. “You’re down here because you said you would refuse to work, correct?”

I shuffled about nervously. I wasn’t entirely sure how to respond, the situation did seem a bit serious.

“You don’t want to be down here.” He continued. “It’s better for you to be up there, you can do a lot more good.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, arching an eyebrow. Did he just suddenly decide to get mysterious?

“You’re quite the special pony you know. And there are always new opportunities up there. I know you may not want to work because of your pride and all but believe me it’s better than being stuck down here with us and forced to fight.”

“So I’ve heard.” I said.

His smile returned. “You make friends fast though. You’ve already made a few I’m willing to bet and now you’ve got two more down here. And you’re strong. Keep being yourself and tugging along, it’ll all be alright.” He winked again. “I’m sure you’ve noticed that not all the trolls are so bad?”

I glanced back at the troll who had brought me here. He was politely staying a ways away and not listening in on our conversation. I turned back to look at Harlequin Black.

“Yes. Yes, I have.”

“Good, keep that in mind. It’s the first step.” His smile grew wider. “Now you should get along back up to the main part of the castle. It’s far too dark and dreary for someone as regal as you to be down here.”

I laughed and tossed my hair back. “Yes, well...”

Birdseed rolled his eyes at our conversation. “Weirdos. You’re always saying weird stuff...”

I scowled at him. “Now you could be a little more appreciative of others. I did come down over here to see how you were doing after all.”

He grumbled and scratched the top of his head. “Fine, I’m sorry. There?”

“Apology accepted.” I ever so graciously accepted his not totally sincere apology. “I do hope I can help you out of your situation soon. Then we can all get back to our normal lives.”

“My normal life is what brought me here.” Birdseed flatly said.

“Oh. Well whatever is it that you do?” I asked him.

His eyes started shifting about and he fiddled around with the scarf around his neck. “I’m a… freelance worker. I suppose you can consider me hired help. I just do whatever odd jobs people need done.”

“Oh yes, that’s quite accurate.” Harlequin Black said, snickering at some joke I was not privy to.

“Well either way it was nice meeting you both.” I said as I started to walk away from them. And it was the truth despite their eccentricity. I felt better now. More assured of myself. I was still upset at the conditions down here and what other slaves had to go through but I felt invigorated too. I’m not exactly sure what good I can do up in the castle but if anything helps me getting out of here and saving the rest of the slaves you can bet that I, Rarity, will work towards it with all my heart.

“Farewell.” Harlequin Black said, waving to me as I turned from him and went back to speak with my troll friend.

“I’m ready to head back up now.” I told him.

He looked down at me with a somewhat hopeful expression. At least I think it was. I still couldn’t exactly tell what trolls were thinking or anything.

“Have you decided to work? Do you understand how much worse it is down here?”

“Yes. But more than that I want to show my appreciation to you for doing all this, thank you.”

He seemed surprised and was at a loss for words. Standing stock still with wide open eyes.

“By the way what would your name be, my good friend? I am Rarity. And it is simply proper for friends to know one another’s name I must say.”

The troll stood still for a bit longer, perhaps not sure if he should accept that offer of friendship with a pony slave. But eventually his mouth opened up. “Tyluck. My name is Tyluck, Rarity.”

I smiled. “I hope we see each other again up there, Tyluck.”

High Society

View Online

It was a rather good night of sleep I had.

Curled up in my surprisingly nice bed in the slave quarters adjacent to my friend Daylight Gleam. Gertrude as well I tried to call over but she just ignored me and walked away. Oh well. I’ll stay positive, I’m sure I can crack her shell soon enough. ~~Are griffons born from eggs?~~ It would be nice to have another friend up here who I could chat with. Unfortunately after yesterday I realized that aside from Daylight my next closest friendship here was with Tyluck. I needed to get along better with the other slaves and associate with them from now on.

Now I woke up with a big yawn, stretching as I made my way out of the covers. I do wish I had my sleep mask though. Unfortunately that was confiscated along with everything else I had brought with me by those dreadful… pirates? Is pirates the right word? Maybe I should just say slavers.

Also “stolen” is probably more accurate than “confiscated” as well.

Oh but enough of that. I wanted to stay more positive than I have been.

“You didn’t really seem like much of a morning person.”

I looked to my side to see Daylight Gleam getting up and neatly making her bad with her magic. It still did surprise me that the trolls were apparently fine with us using our magic for normal things. Even if it doesn’t affect them directly there’s still quite a lot a skilled unicorn can do.

“Yes well, I’ve decided to do a lot more seizing of the day so to speak. I don’t wish to simply sulk and complain about things anymore. Now I’m going to start doing for real.” I smiled proudly at her. But then I had to look up at the ceiling as I pondered for a second. “I just don’t know what at the moment.”

“Well good luck. With whatever it is you’re doing, I guess.” Daylight said.

I smiled at her even if she was being a bit sarcastic. It was just her personality and I know she didn’t mean anything bad by it. But now it was time to make friends with the other slaves. Maybe I could really liven things up around here and lift everyone’s spirits?

“And just how is everyone else doing this bright morning?” I asked cheerfully to the other slaves around me, all of them in some stage of waking up.

For my efforts I was rewarded with a few glares and annoyed “shut ups”. Of those who chose to respond at least. Many just ignored me outright.

“Uh, you know if you’re trying to make friends I think if you’re gonna do it like that it’s just gonna backfire. There’s nothing an upset person hates more than a cheerful person.” Daylight said to me.

Pinkie Pie could do it. In fact I think she has done exactly that several times in the past.

But I couldn’t say Daylight was wrong either. Most of the slaves in here were in a rather foul mood and it’s not like I had any right to blame them. However I would still try to get on their good sides, just because we were stuck in here and doing the troll’s work doesn’t mean we can’t make the best of it. I’ve always been able to make the best of a bad situation and I have the clothes and magazines back home to prove it!

“So what do you think we’ll be doing today?” I attempted to make some small talk with Daylight.

She just shrugged apathetically. “Who knows? The same thing as always most likely. Cooking, cleaning, farming.” She knitted her eyebrows. “I should have said cultivating, dang.”

I giggled. She was at least fun to get along with. Although I think part of it was her putting up a tough front. I can’t imagine anyone would be perfectly okay after the combination of what happened with her friends and then being enslaved by these trolls.

“Miss Gleam.” I asked gently. “Pardon if I’ve forgotten but how long have you been here?”

She raised an eyebrow at me, probably suspecting that I had an ulterior motive. “Not very long honestly. Just a couple weeks.”

“Well even just that is quite a while to be stuck like this. Are you… holding up well?” I asked it as nicely as I could.

Her eyes widened a bit. I thought maybe I had gone too far and she’d get defensive but then she just started laughing, drawing the attention of quite a few other slaves.

“Heh.” She said, wiping an errant tear from her eye. “You-You really don’t need to worry about me. I’ve been in a lot of trouble of before. But thanks for asking. You just worry about yourself, okay? I was a fairly cynical person but I’ve learned to keep an optimistic outlook on things. I’m doing fine here for now, even though I’d like to leave.”

I smiled at her. I suppose I’d just have to take her word for it.

Then out of the corner of my eye I saw an errant strand of hair poking out. Ugh, way to remind me of how I don’t even have the right product to get my mane to normal here. I should head to the baths and at least clean up a bit before getting started on the rest of the day.

Oh the water felt so good. Of course I had taken a long dip the night before to ease my aching joints and muscles but now I could really savor the experience since I wasn’t feeling so beat and exhausted this time. The shampoo and such they had here wasn’t anything special, just enough to get clean- but it worked wonders for the state my mane was in. That went the same for the brushes and everything else we had here. The bare minimum to stay clean and in good shape.

I lounged in the bath for a bit longer than I should have, at any moment some trolls could come in and shuffle us off to work and I’d really prefer to have the time to get to know some of my fellow slaves better. So as much as I didn’t want to I stepped out of the bath and dried myself off… and spent a bit of time doing my mane as best I could.

But after that I went right back out to see how everyone was doing. Daylight was sitting on her bed with her eyes closed. Meditating? And I saw Gertrude talking with a group of griffons and two young dragons.

Have to start somewhere.

I walked over to Gertrude’s group with a pleasant smile on my face. Hopefully she wouldn’t just ignore me and I could break the ice with them.

“Good morning, darlings.” I said as I walked up to them. They at least all turned to look at me so I was considering this a good start. “I’d like to-”

The sharp screeching of a whistle being blown interrupted me.

All of the slaves turned to the entrance of our sleeping area. There a group of female trolls stood. I could tell because of their slimmer frames and more angular faces as opposed to the round faces that all the male trolls seemed to possess. Also they liked to wear either burgundy or maroon pants. This was a bit unusual though, normally they would just walk in and assign jobs to us.

However as I looked around I saw that the other slaves didn’t seem very surprised so perhaps this was a fairly normal occurrence.

The trolls scanned over the crowd of slaves before walking among us and pulling out a few at random. One of the troll’s eyes landed on me and they walked over to me, looking me up and down as if appraising me. It was rather off-putting if I may say so.

“You’ll do well.” She said to me and then looked at the two dragons in Gertrude’s group. “You two as well, come.”

We did as she beckoned, following her back with the others. I decided to muster up a bit of courage and ask what this was all about.

“Excuse me, miss… troll. But can I ask what we’re being gathered up for?”

Without turning back to look she responded. “Marquess Tivbald is holding a party. He needs extra caterers and waiters. You look like you take care of yourself better than the other slaves, we need ones that look good and clean.”

Naturally I was a bit flattered. And as I looked behind me at the dragons, and I mean really looked for the first time instead of just paying them a glance, I could tell that they also seemed to take care of their appearance. They were a bit bigger than Smolder although I would say their height came to just a bit below Ember’s. One pink and the other a fiery red. Obviously still adolescents. The slaves that had been gathered up by the other trolls were all a bit on the pretty end too. I was happy to see Daylight Gleam would be joining me tonight, at least that would make one friend to talk to. Although we probably wouldn’t get the chance to speak so much if we were going to be passing out hors d'oeuvre’s and drinks.

Also I have to admit that I was quite excited to get the chance to see what a high-class party among the troll nobility looked like. I had seen and been a part of many of the finest parties in Canterlot but this was a whole different culture and people. Oh I hope their nobles and leaders are more regal and well-mannered than the common troll.

And their dresses! The clothes! Surely there would be something magnificent here? Something that would set my passion aflame! There had to be at least one troll here who wore something different, something creative, something with pizazz, something that would stand out in a sea of conformity and dull tradition. Just being able to see something like that would make this whole situation far easier.

We were grouped up by the door and led out of the slave quarters by the trolls, I assume there was some work to be done in the kitchen or some sort of etiquette training to go through before the actual party. I took this moment to sidle up next to Daylight Gleam and see what she thought.

“Have you done this before, darling?”

“Meh, once last week. Like I told you the trolls are always holding parties. Sometimes they need extra help.” She said. “It’s just a Marquees and not a Duke holding a party this time so I doubt it’ll be that big though. The party I catered at before was held by Duke Tulepule in the castle’s main ballroom. That was a really busy night.”

“Considering the size of this castle I suppose its primary ballroom must be quite the spectacle?”

“Oh yeah, and it was filled up completely with trolls. They had dancing, music, and enough food to feed a city.” She told me. “Actually it was pretty fun compared to what I usually have to do around here. Music was boring though.”

“Well I’ll be the perfect example of nobility at this party. To me anything less would simply be improper even if they are the ones who have enslaved me.” I told her while turning up my nose and giving an exaggerated smile.

She giggled at my behavior. “Yeah that sounds like you. And this would probably be the worst possible place to throw a fit anyways. I think they’d really punish you for that.”

I grimaced slightly. “Yes, I don’t plan on causing a scene of anything.”

“You know some slaves have been handpicked by high-ranking trolls to become their personal servants. If one of them sees you looking good and acting all regal maybe it’ll be the same for you and you won’t have to do anymore hard labor.” Daylight said.

“I suppose it would be quite a bit better. So what, do they just became their maids or butlers then?” I asked her.

She shrugged. “Dunno, I guess something like that. But they get to live in their own private quarters and don’t have to do the dirty work anymore.”

“Sounds perfect for me.” I said with just a touch of a fake haughty voice.

Daylight playfully rolled her eyes at me. It seems she already knew me well.

We ended up being taken into some kind of fancy staging room. Since the party was most likely not starting until this evening we still had many hours before it began. Although I could be wrong, it was quite possible the trolls had a different way of doing things. We had also all been given a nice little black bow-tie to wear. Sometimes the simplest of accessories can go a long way.

There were numerous tables in here covered in plates, glasses, napkins, bowls, and unopened bottles of most likely some sort of alcoholic beverage. The walls and floor of the room were immaculately clean and painted a variety of shades of orange and yellow, clicking my hoof against the floor I believe it to be marble. There were no torches in here but instead candlelit chandeliers that hung overhead. At first I thought it was quite fancy but I quickly realized the chandeliers were just made of brass and painted with a shinier golden finish. No tricking my eyes when it comes to luxury.

Now the trolls had us all standing in a line, I should also mention that there were a number of male slaves here and not just the ones taken from the female slave quarters; while one of them instructed us on how to behave during the party.

“You will not say anything unless directly spoken to. You will carry around the plates you’re given and when you need to get more food you will return here to this staging room to refresh your plates. Do not talk with one another, do not simply wander around, if you are tired do not let it show, you must be like moving statues. No smiling, no frowning, keep a neutral expression.”

I was already struggling to keep from frowning. It seemed they wanted us to be “there but not there”. Not sure why I expected anything more.

I couldn’t even pass the time by speaking to Daylight or the others so I couldn’t use the occasion to get to know anyone better. Lovely. Perhaps the trolls will at least have some juicy castle gossip for me to listen to, that could make the evening much easier. I didn’t fancy just floating around groups of trolls while they grabbed whatever food I was carrying.

My thoughts were interrupted as the trolls began to shuffle us along to the various tables, we had to learn what every single morsel of food we would be carrying is as well as how much to get each time we came back in. Some things went in bowls or came on their own mini-plates so we had to be sure to drop those off at the table set aside for dirty dishes. It seemed we would also have to carry back any dirty dishes we saw lying around or given to us by trolls at the party. I shuddered at the thought, please let them have good table manners and not eat in a slovenly way.

Finally, after hours of training, preparation, and making sure we weren’t going to screw anything up, the party’s start time had arrived. We were all taken to a large oaken double door, it was opened up for us by a troll and we stepped out into the ballroom with our designated dishes and trays. At first we stepped into an area blocked by a velvet curtain that was set up so no one could see us directly enter and exit the room, but stepping past that I got my first look of the ballroom and party.

My breath was taken away.

Momentarily forgetting to keep a stony face my mouth hung open at the sight before me.

The room was cavernously large, held up by a huge set up pillars running its length. The entirety of the floor, walls, and ceiling were covered in magnificently done artwork displaying a variety of landscapes, battles, and what I can only assume to be important historical events to the trolls. From the ceiling hung a dozen brilliant chandeliers, gems and crystals dotting them all over. The tables were all draped in a red velvet tablecloth with an extravagant centerpiece while the chairs were intricately carved ebony wood with the plushest cushions I had seen. At the end of the room and situated in an alcove a band played slow paced and calming music.

I was in awe. This was opulence, this was splendor, this was extravagance! And from what Daylight had said this wasn’t even their biggest and grandest ballroom!

My giddiness almost overcame me, I just wanted to go and inspect everything up close but then my sense caught up with me and I stopped myself. Steadying my breathing my face became an impassive mask. I was the perfect example of a living statue.

My composure almost broke when I looked out over the crowd of trolls to see what kinds of clothes they wore.

I don’t think I’ve ever been so disappointed in my life.

I knew- yes I knew- that these trolls did not have much creativity anymore. Everything seemed to be stuck a certain way. Kept standard. But I had hoped that maybe I would see something special here, something that would set the artist’s passion aflame inside me! And yet what was I greeted with?

Conformity! Laziness! Unoriginality!

Every female troll, every single one of them, was wearing the same dress! With only the slightest of changes in color, hem, or maybe a little bit of extra embroidery put in. Sure there was a wide variety of earrings but that hardly made up for it. And the men all just wore the same boring tuxedo!

How?!

How can a people with such vast luxury be so completely ambivalent towards fashion? So… so… clueless! It defies all logic! All reason! Are none of them bored? Do none if them want to stand out? Look special? Wear something new and different?

I don’t understand!

If it wasn’t for how improper it would be (and the likely punishment) I would have started to cry.

So instead of venting like I really, really, wanted to do I began to do my job and started making rounds around the party and the various groups of trolls. I was currently carrying a large silver tray on my back, balanced by my magic; that held a number of flute glasses filled with a bubbly drink that smelled like apples. It was called apple fire and unlike juice or cider this had a red coloring to it. How odd. If I could take any home I’m sure Applejack would get a kick out of it.

I had to walk around to any groups of trolls I saw but since I couldn’t speak to them I just sort of had to hover there or titter around a bit until they noticed me. Occasionally one would snap his fingers and beckon me over but for the most part I just made a circuit around the ballroom.

I was getting quite bored.

Now if I could at least say “Would you like a drink?” that would make things much easier. And frankly I think it would be quite sensible if I was allowed that. But no. No talking. Hmph!

Occasionally I saw Daylight Gleam walking around as well, carrying a tray of miniature pastries. Her expression seemed even duller than my own surely was. Now that we were well over an hour into the party I can see what she meant by the music at her first one being boring. It was even starting to put me to sleep, classical doesn’t need to be so slow and boring you know! Even when it came to music the trolls had no taste. They could really use Pinkie Pie to liven this party up.

The two dragons were sticking together, carrying plates of bread and chocolate dipped strawberries respectively.

I probably shouldn’t be letting my eyes and mind wander like this but I couldn’t help it. Nothing to talk about and hardly anything to do. What did they expect!

Well now I’m getting indignant and frustrated again even though I was trying to stay positive.

“Caterer, come here.” I suddenly heard to my side along with the repeated snapping of fingers to get my attention.

Turning my head I began to walk over to the one that called me, a troll standing with another near one of the pillars holding up the great ballroom. The one who had called me looked normal at first but then I noticed on the fur that I could see beneath his clothes were numerous streaks and speckles of white. It was unusual, I had not yet seen a troll that wasn’t one solid color. And none of them had been white either. The troll he was standing with… well to put it as politely as possible I will call him “large”.

And his largeness was because he was fat.

There. I said it. Hmph!

When I got there the two both took a glass off my tray but before I could leave the one with the white streaks stopped me.

“Stay, more will be joining us soon.”

I could only do as instructed but I’d probably need to go back to the staging room to get more glasses after this. Since I was forced to just stand there I decided to listen in on their conversation. Maybe I could at least achieve my goal of hearing some good gossip. Although the white-streaked troll had a rather mean look about him, most trolls looked rather impassive but he had a fierceness about him that made me slightly uneasy.

“Any news on the Nuckelavee?” White-streak asked his large friend.

“It’s gone out east past the Griffon Lands finally.” Fat Large troll replied.

“Hmm, good, it will be a long time before it ever comes back here if at all.” I don’t know what they were talking about but White-streak seemed very relieved to hear this. “I was getting tired of cleaning up its messes. Troublesome monster.”

“Yes, good to have it out of our hair. The King was getting quite frustrated you know?” Large said in what I could tell was a bit of a condescending way.

But he mentioned the King, I wonder if he personally knew him?

White-streak snorted. “Everyone was getting impatient, I don’t need you to thumb your nose at me when all you do is sit in this castle. At least the Storm King is gone now too.”

Large just nodded at that. I already knew these trolls didn’t have a good relationship with the Storm King back when he was still around.

“Well I heard you also rounded up some good fighters down in the pits?” Large asked.

At that White-streak frowned. “More or less, most ponies don’t put on very good fights. And the one who can keeps losing fights on purpose. My punishments aren’t getting through to him either.”

“Hah! Seems you have your work cut out for you, can’t let slaves be getting the better of you now.” Large chuckled at him.

“Feh!” White-streak grumbled, annoyed at his acquaintance.

They prattled on about nothing for a few minutes longer while I stood there like a statue. Eventually their others joined them, I was surprised to see that of the new group one of them was a griffon dressed in rather immaculate clothes. He was old and walked alongside one of the trolls. A personal servant like Daylight had mentioned? The new arrivals all grabbed a glass of the apple fire I was carrying and White-streak said I could go back to walking around the ballroom. Well first of all I made way for the staging room, there were only a couple glasses left on my tray so I should definitely get some more.

But as I made my way through the crowd of trolls one of them bumped into me. Luckily my magic was on point enough to not let anything drop but I still ended up stumbling into one of the chairs at a table. I must’ve looked like a klutz, so embarrassing.

“Ah, apple fire.” I looked up to see a troll seated in the chair next to the one I had hit.

He reached a hand forward and plucked one of my last glasses from the tray. As I watched him I noticed that he had a bald patch in his fur right between his eyes that my own eyes were unconsciously drawn to. Unfortunately he had seen me staring for that brief moment.

“Something catch your eyes, slave?” He asked with an even tone but I had to assume he was angry underneath it.

“No, not at all.” I said, looking at the floor.

“Hm.” He hummed. “I don’t believe I’ve seen you at a party before. Are you new? And raise your head.”

I did, looking him straight in the eyes. “Yes, I only came here a few days ago.”

“I see.” His eyes began looking up and down my body. “You look like you take better care of yourself than most slaves.”

My brow furrowed and I raised my head in a bit of defiance. “My personal appearance is very important to me. I do the best I can with the meager amount I am given.” I couldn’t help but let a bit of venom seep into my voice, despite the problems it could cause me.

He didn’t seem to mind though, merely raising an eyebrow at me. “It seems you have more of a sense of style and class than your fellow slaves.”

“Indeed!” I remarked. “I am Rarity, and I can tell you that I also certainly have enough class to note the blandness of this party.” Oh dear. It just slipped out.

“Quite so.” Was his simple response.

It appears I lucked out.

“Here, have this.” He pulled from the table a slice of bread with some sort of spread on it and offered it to me. “You must be hungry and tired from waiting on us all so long. You won’t get much else tonight.”

“Well thank you.” I said, happily taking the bread in my magic and eating it. Delicious. “It’s nice to know that there is at least one troll in this entire ballroom with some manners and civility.”

Oh dear.

He gave a small chuckle in response to what I said. “Quite so again. But best be careful about who’s in earshot next time you say something like that. And don’t be thinking I’m so sentimental, you’re quite amusing so I gave you a gift. No more and no less.”

I frowned a bit but there was nothing to really say about that at this point. “Well still, thank you. Now if you’ll excuse me I must be getting back to replenish my supply of apple fire.”

“Normally a slave can’t excuse themselves anywhere but I’ll let you go just the same.” He said, an amused smile spreading on his face. “Enjoy your time at the party.”

I was unafraid to narrow my eyes at his sarcastic quip before giving a “harumph” and turning to go back to the staging area. This night was turning out to be both a boring and annoying affair and I had no idea how much longer it would go on. At least I had the taste of a good side dish on my tongue now. I thought about how that troll had said that I seem to take care of my appearance better than most slaves, if only he could see my true self he’d be stunned! As I am now I am like an unpolished diamond (still a diamond of course) not even close to my fullest potential!

Oh well, I thought as I finally walked back into the staging room. Back to work.

Rental

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“How much longer is this going to take anyways?”

“Well darling, if you would just stop fidgeting we’d be done any moment. Now stop moving and keep your head facing forward.”

I sat behind Gertrude while taking a brush through her feathers, doing my best to tidy her up. It took far too long of me pestering her but she finally gave in and let me style her… not hair or mane. Fluttershy would probably know the right term but I really wasn’t sure. Anyways here I was now getting things in order. She had so many feathers out of place and errant fluffs it took forever but now I was almost done. Soon she would look like she just came out of a professional salon. I had her feathers all neat and preened. Not literally.

Her talons could use a bit of a filing but there wasn’t one around. And she might want to keep them that sharp.

But this was good! I was becoming friends with Gertrude and I’m sure now I could get to know the rest of her friends and actually liven things up around here. Just because we’re slaves doesn’t mean we have to be cynical about the whole affair.

That sounded better in my head.

Still though the fact of the matter is that there was no reason for us not to be friends and get along. We were already being forced to do this garbage work by the trolls, it didn’t make sense to make each other miserable or wallow about in the slave quarters ignoring and avoiding each other when we should be making the best of our time here. After all, this was our sanctuary and it should be a happy place. Even though we could be called on at any time, while we were in here it was our place to be free.

I wonder if the trolls would allow me to decorate?

“Ta-da! I’m finished!~” I said to Gertrude as I brushed the last of her feathers into place. “Now you go look in the mirror, I’m sure you’ll notice the difference immediately.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Gertrude said with a roll of her eyes as she got up and went to check herself out.

“Okay then!” I turned around to her other friends who had been sitting by watching. “Who’s next?” I said with an eager smile on my face.

Now I wasn’t exactly sure how styling a dragon worked so I ended up just scrubbing down both their scales with a heavy brush to get out all the grime and dirt. A quick bath later and they both positively sparkled! Although they told me that dragons prefer being dirty and roughing it I waved their concerns aside. Spikey-wikey certainly loved being clean and pampered after all. I’m sure these two will come to love it too.

The other griffons were much easier to deal with and it went a lot faster than with Gertrude since I had some experience now. Rarity you continue to impress yourself. There was also one hippogriff in her group of friends, a young lady who introduced herself as Soleil. What an absolutely lovely name. And this was interesting because touching her up and everything was like working on both a pony and a griffon at the same time. Soleil’s sky blue coat and yellow mane were a diamond no longer hidden in the rough when I was done with them. It was a great experience to get to style her.

Gertrude and her whole group of friends were looking positively lovely now and I would like to say that I was now friends with them as well. I’m not sure if they would totally agree with that statement but I’m still saying it!

“Trying to increase your popularity?” Daylight Gleam said as she walked up to me after watching my work with amusement.

“I do enjoy being the center of attention after all.” I replied without missing a bit.

“Heh, you’re a real character you know that.” She playfully nudged me in the shoulder.

“Really though I’m doing this for everyone.” I said more seriously to her. “I think it would be a great service to raise the spirits of everyone in here and try to get them all to be a little friendlier with each other.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, I don’t really mind but I don’t disagree.”

“Well not everyone enjoys being a lone wolf like you, darling.”

“You know I was never really a lone wolf until I first came here.”

We talked like that for a while longer. About nothing really, she mentioned being a semi-retired treasure hunter. I had no idea how one is a semi-retired one of those but I didn’t press the issue. I told her about my love of fashion and burgeoning business empire. Yes I am calling it an empire because soon it will be even grander. There will be a Rarity in Vanhoover, Las Pegasus, and Baltimare soon enough!

Getting off-topic again.

Daylight was a pleasant pony, she told me about some of the silly misadventures she and her two childhood friends had gotten into and why they became explorers and such in the first place. In return I told her about my lovely little sister.

Oh Sweetie Belle. I really do miss her but I am not going to be throwing anymore fusses over her again. I respect her maturity, she isn’t a baby anymore. On that note though I hope all is going well with Sassy and Coco too.

I know Twilight and everyone else well enough to know there’s no need to worry about them.

What would happen if the Cutie Map suddenly called me though? I hadn’t even thought of that. Well I’m sure it knows I’m currently indisposed. Somehow. I swear that thing has a mind of of its own.

I hoped to soon be able to talk freely with every other slave like this. Especially if I can convince Gertrude to pay her kindness forward and act nicer to the other slaves. And next time I have to go out and work at the farms or the quarry maybe I can make some friends with the male slaves, maybe one of them knows Captain Anchor and the rest of his crew and I can contact them again? That would really put my heart at ease as well. I don’t think the trolls will mind me doing all this either, if we’re happier we’ll be more productive and less likely to complain or refuse to work wont we?

Wait, the way I say that makes me sound like I’ve been conned into keeping up slave productivity. I promise it’s not like that.

Also I have not given up on getting out of here, I am simply realizing that I can not leave so easily. It is an unfortunate reality that I may be stuck in this castle for a while longer. However I have kept an open mind and I do agree with the friend I made down in the fighting pits that not all the trolls are so bad, they just have a rotten leadership and regime that seeps down to the rest. Hopefully there are a number of good trolls sympathetic to the slaves in higher places. And if not maybe I can convince them to be.

Somehow. If I ever get the chance to really spend a lot of time with them instead of just offering them drinks at a party.

“Daylight, do you think if I keep doing my work without a fuss the trolls will let me redecorate the slave quarters? I can already picture what I would do with the flowers.” I asked her.

She raised an eyebrow at me. “Uh, doubtful. They make sure we’re well taken care of but that’s about it.”

“Hm. Next time one of the ladies comes in to see how things are I’ll ask her anyways.”

“You do that.” She said ambivalently. I don’t think the décor was a big deal to her. As impossible of a thought as that was to me.

And what would you know but just as I was wondering about getting to know higher ranked trolls better and speaking about improving things here did opportunity come knocking.

It was just like before. The same female troll came into our room and started scanning over the slaves. But this time there were no others with her and her eyes solely came to rest on me. I had no idea what to expect as she came marching through the beds and other slaves. Did I do something wrong? Did she have some sort of job for me? I couldn’t imagine what they might specifically want me for. Well if they knew how great I was with fashion and how stylish I was I could think of a few things but they didn’t know that. So I stood there, trying not to look worried as I met her eyes and waited for her to come and get me.

“Did you do anything back at the party?” Daylight whispered to me.

“Not that I can recall.” I said back to her through clenched teeth.

Finally the troll’s big plodding steps brought her right before me. I looked up at her work weary face with those beady, yellow eyes.

“Is there anything I can do for you, darling?” I asked as innocently and normally as possible.

She beckoned me with one finger. “You’ve been asked for by Duke Terluff. You’ll be his personal attendant for the next week. And perhaps again if he feels you do a good job. Now come, pony.”

My eyes widened, I looked over at Daylight Gleam who was similarly shocked. But she merely shrugged at me when I gave her a questioning look. The other slaves as well were a mix of confusion and surprise. Gertrude had come out of the bath and was giving me a grin, I don’t know if she was happy for me or if there was something I was missing. I didn’t know anything about this “Duke Terluff”. I haven’t even met him!

“A-Alright.” However it’s not like I could say anything else. Our female troll overseer turned to leave and I followed her out the door. I was aware of all the eyes of the other slaves on me as I left.

She didn’t say anything more as we walked together, me following behind her at a fast pace to keep up as thoughts raced through my mind. Truly the silence from her was a plus as I didn’t really feel like starting a conversation. I was intrigued but worried at the same time. Thanks to the sheer size of the castle I had a long time to gather my thoughts and wits about me. It took a good thirty minutes of walking, climbing stairs, and passing guards and checkpoints but we eventually reached a portion of the castle I hadn’t been at since my first day of cleaning with Daylight.

The difference between this part of the castle and where the slave quarters were located was like night and day. The whole castle was relatively nice and well taken care of but this part where the nobles lived was like the best parts of Canterlot Castle. Everything was so polished and bright even with the lack of good weather outside. There were numerous statues of what I assumed were past troll leaders or other historical figures, stained-glass windows that rose up the entirety of the wall, fountains whose waters ran across the floor in streams carved into the stone, and all manner of plants and flowers. I will say that this was the closest I came to being impressed with the trolls sense of style.

I say closest because the fact was that it was just constantly the same thing everywhere in this part of the castle. There is such a thing as too much and if you don’t change things up a little bit it gets stale.

We ended up going higher up in the castle than I’ve ever been before. We passed Duke Tulepule’s large suite a while ago and it made me wonder if this Duke Terluff was more powerful and influential than the average Duke. Or it could just be that there were that many Dukes living inside the castle and where they had their residence’s didn’t matter at all.

I was getting a little tired of walking up so many stairs though so I hope we were close.

And I hope Duke Terluff was nicer than the average troll. But I wasn’t holding my breath for that one.

Truthfully I was getting a little more agitated again as we continued our walk. Although this seems like the perfect opportunity to make some friends and connections in high places I was sick of being pulled around by these trolls and forced into whatever work and situation they wanted. Not only did I want to help every other slave but I certainly had the obligation to at least save Captain Anchor and his crew. And yet here I am about to become some personal maid or whatever for a troll while they’re likely in the rock quarry or something breaking their backs!

I was happy to not have to be doing hard labor but it just made me feel guilty too.

As we finished climbing up one flight of stairs; instead of turning to go up the next one my troll guide turned the other way and walked down a new hallway. Perhaps this was the level Duke Terluff lived on? I looked past the troll to see what was ahead and saw a rather fancy looking door. It was huge, taking up almost the entirety of the wall at the end of the hallway, and was painted white with golden vines all across it. There were also two troll guards flanking it that wore full plate armor. Well even if I can fault their style I can’t fault the trolls love of extravagance.

My slaver walked up to the doorway with me at her heels. But before opening it she looked down at me.

“Remember, do not speak unless directly spoken to. And be on your best behavior. You should probably have realized it by now but causing a problem here would be worse for you than normal, pony.”

I didn’t gulp. I didn’t want to show any fear or worry to her. So I simply nodded.

The great door was pulled open and I walked into a new domain. It was a wide circular room with the same kind of artwork and architecture (as expected) as I had seen in the rest of this area of the castle, but at the far end from where we walked in there was a large double staircase leading to a secondary level that had three doors along it. Without another word my guide walked towards the stairs and I followed. There were two other trolls in the room, a pair in expensive looking tuxedos standing to the left of us. One of them raised an eyebrow at me and I can’t help but feel that there was a look of disgust on his face.

Again I didn’t show it but that did increase my worry by a bit.

They didn’t say anything either or attempt to stop us so we continued on up the stairs to the center door. This time instead of simply opening the door the overseer knocked first.

Almost immediately a yell sounded from within. “Enter!”

She opened up the door but didn’t go in, simply holding it open for me and beckoning me inside. I suppose this is where we parted ways.

Looking as dignified as possible I marched into the room, head held high, no fear on my face, eyes half closed to give an air of indifference and calmness. The effect isn’t as good without the eye shadow or curled eyelashes but still.

Immediately though I noticed a few differences about this suite than what I had normally come to expect from trolls.

The décor was… off. Flowers and bouquets haphazardly stuck in vases with no style or pattern to them, the floor was marble tile that had seemingly random squares painted gold and silver, a large painting of a fire-breathing dragon was hung up along the back wall and the furniture was relatively plain compared to what I had seen from the higher ranks of troll nobility. Normally I would consider such a room supremely ugly and the decorator a complete hack but after everything else in this castle the strangeness was a welcome change. At least it had personality and uniqueness. Even if it was quite improperly utilized.

There were several doors leading to other rooms or closets maybe. And as I stepped further in I noticed an opening in the wall to my left, leading to a far larger living room with multiple couches and chairs and a brick fireplace built into the wall.

To my right I heard some plodding footsteps. Looking and steadying myself to prepare for the encounter with the Duke I saw a closed door that the sound was coming from. With a click and a creak the knob was turned and the door opened.

My eyes widened in surprise. “You!”

“Heh.” The troll with the bald spot between his eyes amusedly let out a small laugh. “For all the class you like to appear to have you’re rather impolite when greeting such a high noble aren’t you?”

I stiffened. Now, my annoyance at this troll from the other night was still there. But I was quite aware he was intentionally egging me on and teasing me and that combined with my lack of desire to end up thrown in a dungeon made me swallow any snarky or sarcastic comments I wanted to throw back at him. So instead I stood up straight and put back on my most regal of faces possible without proper mane and facial treatment.

“My apologies, it is a pleasure to meet you again.”

“I bet.” He said, rolling his eyes. “No need for that here, I didn’t call for you because I wanted some boring statue around.”

I frowned. “You must be Duke Terluff then?”

“The very same.” He answered. “Surprised?”

I bit my lip as I looked at him with that amused smirk on his face. “Not entirely. It makes sense now that I think about it.”

He nodded slightly. “You’re new, had anyone told you that some nobles grab their own personal slaves?”

“Yes, my friend had told me that. And at the party I saw an older griffon accompanying some trolls. I imagine that’s what he was.” I told him. “So that’s what I am to be now? Your maid or whatnot? Being at your beck and call and doing whatever you ask of me.” I couldn’t help but let a small amount of indignation into my voice.

However his smile only grew a little wider. “We’ll see. I have only rented you out from your normal duties for the next week. So many things I think might be amusing turn out to be a disappointment.”

At that I let out a small huff of anger, my eyes narrowing. “So I’m just a source of amusement for you? Is that how you feel about all the slaves?”

“It’s dreadfully boring in this castle.” He answered simply while walking further into the main room and taking a seat at the central table. “Besides I did need a new attendant, my previous one unfortunately passed away last month.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” My anger slightly gave way to a bit of sympathy, both for the old attendant and the Duke.

“He was old, it was just his time. A peaceful passing in his sleep at least.” Duke Terluff said while he motioned for me to also take a seat at the table with him. “He wasn’t a slave either. You’ll be the first slave I make my personal attendant. And no, I wouldn’t say you’d be doing much maid work. You don’t look the type anyways.”

“Well, thank you.” I said icily as I took up the offered seat.

“You should thank me. I know I’m saving you from quite a bit of work.” He had me. That same teasing smile was on his face as he said that.

Despite my pride I didn’t fight him on the issue. But I did roll my eyes, I felt I at least had to do that. “Yes. Thank you.”

“Good, good. I’d prefer us to have a nice and friendly relationship. Hopefully after the week is up we’ve both had a good time and I’ll extend your service.”

If I could come up with a phrase for how he’s speaking to me and what about I would say it’s “polite condescension”. He obviously is doing it on purpose too. I don’t know if that makes him better or worse than the trolls who just sneer at slaves or don’t care about us at all.

“So what exactly will my work entail?” I asked.

“General things, busywork mostly I would say.” He shrugged. “You will keep track of my schedule, accompany me and act as my secretary while I’m working and meeting with others, take notes and memos when directed, greet guests for any parties I host. Your station will be a bit above the other slaves and the servants I employ, I will have you direct their duties as well. And perhaps most importantly you will also help my wife with anything she needs or asks of you.”

“Oh, you’re married?” I said with honest delight in my eyes. “That’s lovely. And I really mean it, I’m quite the romantic.”

“Good luck of romance here.” The Duke said. He stood up and went to a cabinet that rested along the back wall underneath the dragon painting and picked up a picture frame. “Here, my wife.” He handed it to me.

They seemed quite lovey-dovey in the photo I thought as I held it in my magic, affectionately holding one another with wide and genuine smiles on their faces. I found myself smiling and “Awwing” at the adorableness of it. His wife was a bit larger than most female trolls but hardly of the same size as that one troll I had seen at the party.

“Try to embarrass me less, I just wanted you to see a picture of her so you’d recognize her.” He said as he quickly plucked the photo out of my magic, the slightest amount of red on his face.

My my, so the Duke has a bit of a weakspot for his wife. How sweet!

“Well anyways, there’s no work for you today. I want you to spend the rest of the day acquainting yourself with my home. Your quarters are attached past the kitchen and laundry through the living room there.” He said, pointing at the next room over with the fireplace. I suppose somewhere in there is another hallway leading to the kitchen. “It would be good for you to come to know my home like the back of your hand. Or hoof in your case I guess.”

I gave him a flat and unamused look. “Thank you for the elaboration.”

“Heh.” He chuckled at my reaction. “You can go to your room for now, there are leftover work logs and notes from your predecessor, it would be best to read them.” He got up from his chair again and went back to the door he originally came through. “I have much to do now, I’ll be in my office.”

“I shall see you later then, sir.” I said politely, already acting my part.

He seemed to get that it was a joke though. Chuckling more as he opened up the door to his office and retreating inside.

“Well then.” I looked around the “house” of Duke Terluff again. “Hm, I should have asked him why he decorated it in such a way.”

Besides that I had no more to do other than what was suggested. Namely exploring the rest of the home and finding where everything is. My first stop was of course my own new room, which was surprisingly luxurious on its own. A large bed (which made sense since it was previously for a troll) my own furniture, desk, cabinets, and most importantly!~

My own shower!

Still this wasn’t the time to just ogle it all and laze about; as much as I wanted it to be. I assumed anything work related would be in the desk drawers so I got to snooping through it. I hope anything personal was removed, I wouldn’t want to peak at something like that.

It was hours later after getting to know the place when I had retired for the night and already slid under the covers that I had suddenly remembered Duke Terluff saying his previous servant had passed away in his sleep. I sincerely hope this isn’t the same bed.

Dress For Success

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Despite the assurance that I wouldn’t be doing much actual maid work the next morning I still found myself folding sheets and cleaning around the place. At least it wasn’t too messy and the Duke apparently had not hosted any parties in a long while. That still didn’t make me feel any better as I packed the last bit of newly cleaned linens away in the closet. My magic was made for creating, not cleaning, and I was getting tired of using it so exhaustively throughout this large manor. Can it even be called a manor when it’s built right inside a castle? It’s certainly large enough to be one. The only downside to the Duke’s and all the other nobles residence’s here was that they had no outside area of their own. No yard or place for a pond or garden. Of course even if they did they’d likely all look the same and it would be just one more thing for me to get aggravated over at the boringness of it all.

I still hadn’t seen Duke Terluff’s wife either. I wonder if she was away somewhere or if she had some other business to take care of. She certainly wasn’t with him at the party either. I’d definitely like to meet the woman who he seemed to so genuinely love.

Now, although I had finished up with all the sheets and dusting off the furniture and sweeping the floor there was one last item on my cleaning schedule that I was absolutely dreading. I stared at it in horror last night when I saw it on the previous attendant’s list of duties that had been left behind in his room.

“Oh dear Celestia! This is disgusting!”

Clean out the drains.

Yes I unfortunately found myself cleaning and unclogging every shower drain in Duke Terluff’s home. It was horrific. Trolls have quite a bit of fur on them and it’s rather shaggy and rough. This translated to lots of clogs in drains and huge disgusting balls of hair I kept pulling up and throwing in a trash bag one after another.

I almost threw up more than once. I didn’t even want to look in the mirror to see how green my face was. At least there was a lot of cleaning supplies-and ones that were well labeled-and more than enough air-freshener to keep the bathrooms and showers smelling good enough.

I had a little trouble at times with things since the trolls are quite a bit larger than ponies like me. Everything is scaled up and I look like a foal sitting in one of their chairs.

Finally finishing up with that disgusting bathroom work I went back into the main living room and took a short break. Duke Terluff was still in his office and hadn’t given me anything specific to do yet so I figured since I had done what was on my cleaning list I could take the opportunity to relax. As I lied there on one of the large couches facing the empty fireplace I remembered that I really needed to find a time to ask him about his odd design choices in here. Even the couch I was on was a deep velvet red that was unlike what I had seen in Tulepule’s suite and around the rest of the castle. It reminded me a bit of my favorite couch back home, the thought made it more comfortable although it couldn’t substitute for the real thing.

My relaxation was unfortunately interrupted by the Duke loudly throwing open his door, walking out into the central room and then over to the entryway to the living room. I noticed he was carrying a satchel bag and he was clearly looking for me.

I hopped off the couch and went over to greet him.

“Hello, Duke Terluff. I take it you need me for something?”

“Yes. Consider it your first official piece of work for me.” He said while thrusting the bag towards my face. “I have an appointment coming up with someone that I can’t miss but these need looking over as soon as possible. I require you to take the papers in this bag to an associate and get him to sign off on the documents. Then bring them back here immediately. No lollygagging either, I want to see how seriously you take this.”

It was obvious that asking about his decorative sense would have to wait.

“Of course, I’ll have it done with no problem.” I said while taking the bag in my magic and affixing the strap around me.

“Good, here are directions to my associate. And my personal seal is also in that bag in case anyone tries to stop you. Just show that to them and that’ll be the end of that.” He foisted over a small piece of paper with directions on it to me that I also took. And at least he was caring enough to make sure I didn’t get in any trouble.

He was probably more concerned about his documents though.

“I’ll be back in a flash.” I gave him a confident smile and a swish of my hair while I walked towards the door, hearing that small chuckle he seemed fond of giving behind me.

The directions were very detailed and this part of the castle was rather open and straightforward in the first place. Not just a labyrinth of halls and corridors. It was brighter as well and I saw more trolls walking about on business of their own. Despite a few stares and mean looks none of them tried stopping me or bothering me about what I was doing. A slave on an errand up here must not be the most surprising thing to see.

My thoughts drifted towards the bag I was carrying and what was inside it. It was likely something that had absolutely nothing to do with me but I couldn’t help to be curious you know? After all it was something important enough to require immediate attention. But I wasn’t about to start rifling through it, I at least have enough sense and self-control to not do that.

Curiosity killed the cat after all.

Sweetie Belle had better be taking good care of Opal.

Oh dear, what if Sweetie Belle tries cooking while I’m gone? I hadn’t even thought about that. Oh please let someone with sense be around to stop her.

Because my mind was elsewhere I almost ran straight into a troll as I rounded the next corner. If he was a high ranking noble that could’ve ended very poorly.

“Please excuse me!” I apologized profusely to him as I walked around his large frame. My poor pride, to think I’m constantly debasing myself like this!

“Feh, slave.” The troll spat out and walked on by.

~~I blew a raspberry at his back.~~

I almost blew a raspberry at his back but such a thing would be unladylike. Either way I frowned at his rudeness and tilted up my nose at him. Just because you’re nobility or royalty doesn’t mean you should act or talk in such an uncouth way to others. In fact I would say you should hold yourself to a higher standard and be as polite and helpful as possible. Blueblood!

I now found myself in a large but narrow room, the ceiling was made out of vaulted glass that kept out the sound of the rain pounding on it. I had no idea it was even raining outside until I saw this. To my right and left were seemingly endless rows of doors. The room was made of three levels and as far as I could see the doors stretched all the way through it on each and every level.

As I glanced back at the directions I was given this was certainly the right place. Now the only thing I needed to do was find the right room, and thankfully the Duke had written the exact floor and room number down for me as well.

“3-18.” I mumbled aloud to myself. And a quick look assured me that all the even number doors were on the right, now it was just a matter of taking the stairs on up.

On the second level the doors were spread further apart from each other and on the third level even more so. Seems the third floor was for the largest and likely most important rooms. I had to walk down the balcony quite a ways before I made it to my stop, even here right below the glass ceiling the heavy rain made no noise. But it was quite pretty to look at.

Now the question was do I knock or simply enter.

Well I was here on official business from Duke Terluff and these clearly were not private residences so I merely opened the door the same as if I was entering a store back in Ponyville. There was a large desk right in front of the entrance but no one sat behind it. In fact as I looked about the room I didn’t see anyone or hear anything. There was another door at the end of a hall behind the desk but that could lead anywhere.

Did I speak up? I have been told repeatedly to not speak unless spoken to but again considering I was on business from the Duke I doubt anyone would get too upset.

“Hello? Anyone?” I called out but there was no answer. Frowning, there was nothing more I could do but try that backdoor. I couldn’t just drop off these documents, they needed to be signed and returned per the Duke’s orders. And this was definitely the right room.

I walked past the desk and down the hall to the door, this time I did knock on it.

“Enter.” A gruff voice called out from inside.

So I did as I was told and pulled open the door. Only to find myself in a rather unfortunate situation.

The white-streaked troll from the party sat behind a messy desk, outside of his tuxedo he didn’t look like a noble at all. His harsh eyes rose from his paperwork to look questionably at me. The rest of the room was full of overflowing file cabinets and mounds of folders and papers stacked up on the floor, I had no idea what he did but it was obvious that White-streak was a very busy troll.

“A slave.” It was not a question but a statement White-streak made as he said it and stood up out of his chair. “What brings you here?”

I didn’t show any shock or worry to him as I walked towards his desk despite the uneasy feeling he gave me. No troll would see such weakness from me anymore. When he stood up I noticed he was wearing simple tan jean pants and a large open coat that showed off much more of his marred fur. With clothes like those he seemed even more out of place among the high-ranking trolls of this castle. Was he even nobility at all?

“I have some documents from Duke Terluff for you. He says it’s urgent that you look over and sign them.” I told him as I pulled the papers from my bag and set them on the neatest portion of his desk that I could find.

He glared at me. “Hm. Urgent is it? Those Dukes think everything they do is more urgent than the rest of my work. Of anyone elses work.” He picked up the papers all the same though but kept his eyes on me. “I don’t recall seeing you before. A new lackey for Terluff?”

You have indeed seen me before. Is what I really wanted to say but felt it was better to not antagonize him. Luckily I was able to stop my eyes from narrowing in disdain at him too.

“Yes, I have just recently been brought in by him to replace his previous attendant.”

“Hope you enjoy busy work.” His voice had none of the playful teasing or sarcasm that Duke Terluff’s did. White-streak was pure spite and barely restrained malice.

Hah. I’ve gotten good at reading trolls moods and faces.

He started flipping through the pages, eyes scanning over them quickly. I had no idea what was written on them but he seemed to only be skimming the documents.

Suddenly a short barking laugh broke out from him. “Hahaha, really now?” He said as he stopped on one page with a nasty smile on his face. “Good. I needed some excellent news like this. I hope these fools never learn.” He reached a hand to a drawer beneath his desk and opened it, fumbling around inside it before pulling out a large rubber stamp and ink pad. “Haven’t had an enjoyable hunt in ages, but more abolitionists will be a fun change.” With a lick of his lips he stamped the page he was looking at and put the documents back in order.

“There, you can take this back to Terluff and tell him I’ll get started immediately.” White-streak was grinning at me as he handed the papers to me.

It was unsettling to put it lightly.

“Thank you.” I took the documents back with my magic and put them in the bag. I wanted to spend no more time with this troll if I could avoid it. I don’t know what his business was or what he was talking about but it didn’t sound pleasant at all. I nodded to White-streak and turned to exit his office.

“Enjoy the rest of your life here too by the way.” He called out as I was closing the door.

I do not like that troll.

My way back to Duke Terluff’s home was even less eventful than when I was on the way to White-streak’s office. Perhaps it was an off-season for most but there were hardly any trolls wandering about and moving through the castle. I saw plenty of guards at their posts and slaves on cleaning duty that I gave a sympathetic eye to but for the most part this castle always seemed relatively empty for its gigantic size.

As I made my way up the stairs to the Duke’s home I could hear muffled noises through his front door. It sounded like some sort of argument was going on in there. I could make out Duke Terluff’s voice and he seemed particularly agitated. Well there was nothing I could do about this.

I quietly opened up the door and lightly stepped inside, not wanting to get caught up in whatever was going on. But unfortunately it was happening right in the central room around the table I had first sat at and spoken with the Duke so there was no avoiding it or making myself unseen.

The Duke was yelling at another troll who I had never seen before. This one had a smaller frame but was still certainly male, he wore glasses and had a somewhat mousy and peevish look about him. Even if he wasn’t cowering before the Duke at the moment I don’t think he’s the type of troll that would ever have intimidated me. Also of note was that the Duke’s wife was here as well, I unfortunately did not know her name even though I most certainly should have asked about it, she stood away from the two by a set of double-doors on the opposite side of the room to the living room with a dismayed look on her face.

Her eyes turned to me as I slowly and quietly walked into the central room from the entryway, the Duke and other troll not taking notice of me yet as the argument continued. The both of us now watched them.

“I have asked this job of you because I heard you were the best, but what do I find? Boringness! Laziness! Derivative, unoriginal work!” Duke Terluff yelled at the other troll. He then turned and picked something off the table.

A dress.

“How? I ask you how can my wife shine and stand out in the crowd when she is wearing the same thing as everyone else? I wanted something new and exciting for her and yet all I received was a slight alteration of the maiden’s traditional gown!” He waved the dress in the tailor’s face. “Can you only make one thing? Is it impossible for you to do anything else you ignoramus?!”

As I looked closer my eyes were able to pick out that the dress the Duke was thoroughly unsatisfied with was almost a carbon copy of the dresses I had seen the female trolls wearing at the party.

“There is no true beauty in this thing! This tired outfit! I wanted something special and unique that could make my wife the unparalleled pearl of Tulepule’s next stupid ball, not to even mention the Grand Festival!”

While I did not agree with how mean he was being to the tailor I did indeed find myself agreeing with and silently nodding along with the Duke’s complaints. I understood where his passion was coming from.

The tailor hesitantly reached a hand forward to examine the dress. “P-Perhaps if I change the embroidery from gold to silver...”

Duke Terluff’s eyes lit on fire. “Grrrr! Get out! Get out you incompetent dredge!” He threw the dress to the ground while he started pushing the beleaguered tailor down the hall to the front door. “The only work you’ll ever see from me after this is when I need a new glove to smack you across the face with!”

I averted my eyes but heard the loud slam as the tailor was thrown out of the Duke’s home.

This was something of an awkward situation for me to be in now.

Heavy footsteps came to my ears and I looked to see the Duke’s wife leaving through the door she was by with a look of dismay on her face. I wasn’t sure if she was upset due to the dress or her husband’s outburst but I doubt she was happy with either.

The Duke also then came back and roughly pulled out a chair from the center table, sitting down in it and putting his head in his hands.

As I stood there, completely unnoticed by the Duke, I got a very presumptuous idea in my head.

“Duke Terluff, if I could be so bold.” I said while taking a step towards him.

His head shot up, surprised that I was there and even more so that I was talking to him while he was clearly upset. The look on his face made me slightly nervous. I had clearly overstepped my bounds.

“What?” He said simply. No playfulness was in his voice at this point. “If you got the papers signed just leave them and return to your quarters.”

“It isn’t that.” My eyes glanced between him and the dress on the floor. “It’s just… I was wondering if perhaps I could make a dress for your wife?”

His eyes widened in sheer befuddlement and confusion.

“You? What do you know about designing and making clothes?” The tone of his voice clearly expressed skepticism and doubt of my abilities.

But now it was my time to shine.

“Well.” I said simply and with my usual air of confidence and regality as I trotted over to the mistreated dress and picking it up with my magic, looking it over bit by bit, checking out every fold and stitch of it, feeling the material with my hooves. “I can tell that the silk this dress is made out of is of an exemplary quality, the stitching and needlework as well is superb, the technical skill put into the dress is second to none. It’s just that the finished product itself is… so boring.”

“Yes!” The Duke exclaimed as he suddenly rose from the table, greatly surprising me and knocking over his chair. “Exactly! Everything here is so boring and unoriginal. So tired! So plain! My fellow trolls wouldn’t know new and exciting if it came up and hit them in the face!”

Now this was an exciting reaction.

“I’ve noticed.” I said with a grimace on my face as I thought of all the repetitive art, fashion, and interior decorating I’ve seen in this castle.

“Bah! You think you have it bad do you?” He said while dismissively waving his hand in the air. “I’ve lived here my entire life! How do you think I feel? Tradition, conformity, and fear have destroyed my people’s creativity and ability to think for themselves. It’s a hard truth I’ve had to learn. Surely one with such keen eyes as your own has seen how I style my home? The randomness? The tackiness of it all? It’s on purpose so I at least have the privacy of my own home to retreat to when the boring sameness of the rest of the castle gets to be too much.”

Well now that did finally explain some things.

“At one point we were truly great, how do you think we constructed such a magnificent castle and all the art inside it after all? But now we’re an empty shell. A shadow of our former selves.” The Duke sadly shook his head and picked his chair back up, sitting in it with a deep sigh.

I didn’t really know what to say at this point. I didn’t want to be disingenuous and say things like how I’m sure the trolls can still be creative and amazing and stuff like that when for the most part my feelings towards Duke Terluff and the rest of the trolls were quite negative. And I had no idea about their past history so how could I comment on that either?

Luckily I didn’t have to be the one to start the conversation again.

Duke Terluff’s head turned to look at me again. “Can you truly make a dress for my wife?”

I flashed my most winning of smiles.

“Duke Terluff. Not only can I make a dress for your wife but it will make her shine like the sun and sparkle like diamonds. And I assure you that is no simple bragging on my part. All eyes at the next ball will be drawn to your wife. I promise you that.”

Yes, this was me in my element.

“Very well.” Duke Terluff rose from his chair, giving me a hard and serious look. “I’ll allow you to make a dress for my wife, can you make it in time for Tulepule’s next ball?”

“When is it?” I asked.

He held up three fingers. “In three days.”

I scoffed. Holding a hoof up to my mouth and giggling. “Duke Terluff, please. That is more than enough time for me.”

“Heh.” He chuckled in amusement. “I hope so. Regardless, I’ll give you access to any material and tools you require. Anything you need to make this dress you shall have.”

“Thank you.” An excited smile broke out on my face, for sure there was a fire burning behind my eyes. Yes. I would make the most fabulous dress these trolls had seen. For the first time since coming to this castle I felt truly alive again. My spark had been reignited in me. “First of all may I please see your wife? I’ll be needing to take her measurements.”

Mrs. Terluff turned out to be quite nice and very appreciative of my offer to make her a dress for the ball. Her fur was of a lighter shade of brown than I had seen on most trolls, in the end I decided on a lilac colored silk for her dress. Duke Terluff brought me to an empty office on the bottom floor of the room where White-streak’s office was as well, it seemed that quite a few of the rooms in here were vacant. For the first day I merely set things up and got the necessary supplies to make the unparalleled dress I spoke of. Sewing needles, a sewing machine, all the possible fabric I would need, a desk, mannequins, paper and pencils for sketches, before long I had turned that little office into an almost passable studio. I continue to impress myself.

And now came the main event.

Everything was ready for me to work my magic. It felt so good being at this point and filled with inspiration for the first time since even well before I was rudely enslaved and brought here. Now I could truly be “Rarity”.

I wasn’t used to creating a dress with these proportions in this style but I was happy to accept the challenge. No. I loved the challenge. If it was harder to create then it would only be more beautiful when it was finished.

It was wonderful to be caught up in the zone again. So focused, so devoted to this one act of creation. My Cutie Mark was not about creating clothes but it was my outlet that allowed me to shine beautiful radiance upon this world. And shine I did and shall continue to. I remembered what I was thinking about back on the boat, how the sea almost inspired me to create a sea-themed dress but it just wasn’t quite enough to start the fire in me. But now that inspiration was all there.

At the hemline I wove a pattern of dolphins jumping from the waves.

At the wrists I inlaid a series of deep amethysts in an overlapping scale pattern like the scales of a purple sea serpent.

At the neckline and collar I put fluffy mauve-colored feathers reminiscent of the down and wings of seabirds.

And right at the center of the neckline a single brilliant light blue sapphire to draw the eyes.

I sewed a lighter, almost transparent, wave-pattern throughout the rest of the dress, creating a wearable lilac ocean.

Yes. This was good. This was Rarity.

The island kingdom made a sea-themed dress absolutely perfect. I had created fashion once more. True art. True beauty. I didn’t even hesitate in thinking about how when Mrs. Terluff wore it it would draw all the attention of the ball to her. It would fit her perfectly and look magnificent. Both dress and troll would bring out the fullest potential in each other, I was certain of it.

“You look tired.”

I shrieked in a very unladylike manner and fell right off the stool I was sitting on.

“Ohhh...” Rubbing my flank I looked up to see Duke Terluff holding back a chuckle as he looked at me. With a frown I stood back up and dusted myself off. “I suppose I was a bit absorbed in my work. I didn’t even hear you enter.”

“Actually that’s rather reassuring to me. Clearly this is something you take seriously and have been putting a lot of effort into.” Duke Terluff said as he walked around my desk. “Do you even know what time it is?”

No, I did not. Only now did I realize how heavy my eyelids felt.

“Time to rest I do say.” I said. “There’s still another day until the party, correct?”

“You’ve been working too hard, the ball is tonight. It’s very early in the morning though so you should have plenty of time to rest for it.”

“So I will be accompanying you and your wife then?” I was not entirely surprised since I had seen other slaves accompanying their masters previously but I wasn’t sure if Duke Terluff would care to bring me. And I have to note that despite using the word I really loathe the association that Duke Terluff is my master.

“Of course, you’re my personal attendant after all. And not only will I be showing off my wife but you as well.” He said with a grin.

I raised an eyebrow at that. “You’ll tell the other trolls there that I was the one who made the dress?”

“But of course!” He exclaimed grandly and clapped an almost painful hand onto my back. “Credit where credit is due and all that but also I’m going to love to see the looks on their faces when they learn such a stunning dress was made by the slave that is the new right hand of Duke Terluff.”

“Well I’m glad your intentions are noble and selfless.” I said with enough sarcasm to fill a lake and shrugged his hand off.

“Hah! I’m glad I brought you to work for me, you’re just as amusing as I thought you would be.”

I ran a hoof through my mane to try and straighten it out. “You trolls certainly hold a lot of parties though.”

He snorted in annoyance. “Duke Tulepule thinks that just because he doesn’t have anything to do that no one else is busy either. But of course it would look bad if we didn’t all show up to every single party he threw. It’s annoying.”

“I can see how the noble life might get a little tiring in that way.” I was just placating him. I could never get tired of that life.

“Saving face and keeping up appearances is obnoxious.” He shook his head. “Enough of all this for now, come back to my home and rest. I think I know you well enough to know you’ll want to be in top form for the ball.”

Now it was my turn to chuckle. “I’d say you’ve a good understanding of me, yes.”

The ball approached and I was incredibly excited to have my dress and hard work shown off. It would almost be as rewarding as making it in the first place and finally having that creative passion again. And I would get to bask in the glory as well. I wouldn’t have to wait on any trolls with a tray of food balanced on my back, I wouldn’t have to clean up afterwards, I wouldn’t have to worry about speaking without first being spoken to. Finally these trolls would see the talent they’ve all been wasting, finally they might show some respect to a lowly slave and perhaps just maybe I could start to turn my time here around.

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It was time.

After resting for a good few hours and spending the next few hours after that getting ready the three of us made our way to tonight’s ball. For the first time in a long while my mane and tail were perfectly curled and had an exquisite shine to them. I still unfortunately had no access to makeup but thankfully I already had a pretty enough face underneath it all. As I would happily tell Applejack or Rainbow Dash after any snide remark they might make I did not need makeup, I simply used it to enhance my already lovely and beautiful features in the same way an expertly crafted dress does.

What I did have on though was a pretty golden necklace, graciously gifted to me by Mrs. Terluff as thanks for the dress. I sadly had no dress of my own to wear but I would have to make due without one. If I perhaps had a little more time I could’ve made one for myself but I spent all the time I had on making Mrs. Terluff’s dress perfect. Also I’m not sure if the Duke would approve of me also having such a fancy dress, for all I knew it would be frowned upon by the other nobles as well if they saw a slave wearing such a thing.

The Duke wore a sharp tuxedo. It was the same one I had seen him wearing at the previous party and was likely very similar to if not completely the same as what most of the other nobles would be wearing.

Forget making myself a dress if I had the time, I should’ve made something for the Duke too. Now the both of us are going to look completely outclassed by his wife. Even just spending a little time to find the right jewelry and accessories for him would’ve done wonders but now he’ll just be out of place when standing and dancing with her. A shame, I’ll have to fix that for next time.

“Tulepule is holding this party in the Great Hall, it will be packed with nobles of every rank and station.” Duke Terluff explained to me. “If a Marquess or someone of even lower rank was holding the party I doubt I would’ve attended in the first place but since Tulepule is an… equal I must.”

I almost giggled at his displeasure of using the word equal but I wanted to maintain an aloof look.

“But you went to the party held by Marquess Tivbald?” His wife spoke up.

Duke Terluff grumbled, shifting awkwardly. “You were away, I was bored.”

Was that a hint of red on his cheeks? How precious!

“Besides I suppose it was good that I went to that party, if I hadn’t I never would’ve met this one.” The Duke said and pointed a finger in my direction. “So it all ended up worth it in the end. And hopefully this ball will be even better after they all see your new dress.”

“Duke Terluff I assure you.” I said to him as I trotted along at his side. “This gown will captivate every troll in attendance. It will be the center of attention for the night, no question.”

“I’ll admit I was-” He coughed. “Impressed when I saw my wife wearing your dress.”

Darling you were floored when she came out in my dress. I wanted to say but instead just smiled and raised a knowing eyebrow at the Duke.

But there was something else I was wondering about. “Is this Great Hall you mentioned the castle’s largest ballroom? A friend of mine mentioned that she catered a previous party held by Duke Tulepule there.”

“Indeed it is.” The Duke answered. “Tulepule holds a few smaller engagements in his personal residence but whenever he decides to have an actual ball it’s always in the Great Hall. I wouldn’t be surprised if this friend you mentioned was catering for it again.” Terluff started scratching his chin as we walked. “Since it’s a large event even the lowest of Barons is likely to be there.” He glanced down at me. “I don’t think I’ve told you this but it would be helpful for you to know, only Dukes and Marquess’ are of a high enough rank to actually live in the castle. Earls, Viscounts, and Barons all live around the outer castle grounds or further out in the kingdom.”

“Thank you for informing me. Truthfully I am rather interested in your society, even if I have been too preoccupied with other things in my time here to really learn about it.” And I really was. Part of it was for Twilight’s sake but learning about the nobility and royalty of any nation was quite interesting to me for obvious reasons.

“We can talk about that later. I’d like to conserve my energy for now since if your boasting isn’t overblown I’ll likely have a lot of talking to do at the ball.” The Duke said and looped an arm around his wife’s, walking arm in arm with her now while I had to quicken my pace to keep up.

I was so excited, I could hear the murmuring of other trolls now as we made our way to the party. Already as we walked down another guarded hallway did the normally so stoic guards turn their heads and gawk at my magnificent dress. Now I was thinking though that we should’ve had his wife draped in some large coat so no one would see her dress until we were in the party and surrounded by others. But I suppose this was alright, waves of gasps and shock would make their way through the party as we walked into the Great Hall. First the trolls arriving with us would see it, then the ones by the door, and finally all the rest inside would be drawn towards us.

We turned another corner and came into a much larger room that already had several other parties of trolls in it, all walking the same direction. I looked down to our destination to see a positively massive set of wooden doors wide open that led into an even larger room. The Great Hall to be sure, there were many trolls loitering about the doorway.

As the three of us started walking along with the others, not even trying to draw attention to ourselves, I already heard the whispering begin. I could feel the eyes on us, the fingers being pointed as everyone noticed what Mrs. Terluff was wearing. Looking up at them I saw both the Duke and his wife smiling happily. They knew the effect they were having as well.

More and more heads turned to us as we made it to the door. I’m surprised no one has come up to ask about the dress yet, perhaps theses trolls were of a lower rank and it would be against etiquette for them to come running up to the Duke and his wife.

“See darlings?” I said to the two of them. “What did I tell you, all eyes are on you.”

It was obvious to see why too as I looked out at the dresses other trolls were wearing. The same boring design that I saw at the last party with only the slightest modifications and changes between some of them. We would simply stand out even if the dress I had made wasn’t as wonderful as it was, just the color and other differences would’ve been enough.

It almost makes my hard work feel like a waste. Would they have been captivated by just anything as long as it was different? I hope not. I really poured my heart into this dress.

No, I shouldn’t be so cynical. Regardless of how it’s received or why the fact is I still made an amazing dress and my satisfaction with myself is just as important as anything. That’s what it means to have artistic integrity and holding yourself to a high standard. Which I always do.

The crowd practically parted right down the middle as we made our way into the party proper. For the first time I was able to take a look at the Grand Hall and I was not disappointed, it really lived up to its name. It was similar to the previous party’s hall but the scale was so much… grander. There were numerous fountains and large statues of armor-clad trolls, a full orchestra played music from the side, and a long chain of tables held an absolute banquet of food on them. Naturally the downside to this splendor was all the slaves I saw being forced to cater the food and wait on trolls. At the moment I saw a few faces I recognized but no one I was close with.

“Well this is quite wonderful.” I gave the simple platitude to Duke and Mrs. Terluff. Truthfully after we had shown off the dress I wanted to see how my friends were doing.

We had made our way through the throng of trolls, coming out to just before the main dance floor. Naturally most of the dancing had stopped when Mrs. Terluff’s dress came into view.

I think it’s quite indicative of how static troll society was that a single dress (as good as it may be) can provoke such a reaction among them all. They truly were starved for something new and innovative. At first they all continued to stay their distance, simply whispering back and forth among each other and scanning over every inch of the dress with their eyes, none wanted to take that first step and Duke Terluff was more than happy to keep them wondering on the edge of their seats.

“What is that?” Came a loud voice to my right. “What in the name of the King is that?”

I looked to see a dumbstruck troll lumbering towards us, he was older looking than Duke Terluff and with a much darker shade of fur, almost black.

“Duke Tulepule, lovely party you’re having.” Duke Terluff said with the smuggest of grins to the other approaching duke.

So finally I got to see Duke Tulepule. He continued to stare in awe at my dress as he walked towards the three of us, hands held dumbly out in front of him as if he was planning on grasping it as soon as he got close enough.

Duke Terluff stood in front of him. “Now now, let’s not get carried away. I know my wife’s new dress is marvelous but I think you can abide by “look, don’t touch” can’t you?” He asked, cheekily.

“Yes, yes of course.” Tulepule said in embarrassment, coughing into his hand. “But this dress… it’s unlike any I’ve ever seen.”

“Quite different isn’t it?” Terluff grinned. “I had it specially made for my wife. The traditional dress simply didn’t do her justice.”

I couldn’t help but giggle. His grandstanding was silly enough but his exaggerated sweetness for his wife got me too.

However my giggling caught the attention of Tulepule.

“And what’s this? You decided to bring a slave to my party?” He raised an eyebrow at me, obviously not fond of my presence here.

“Heh.” Terluff chuckled and clapped a hand along Tulepule’s back. “Prepare to be even more impressed, but this slave of mine is the one who made the dress.”

Tulepule’s eyes widened in shock as I stood there smiling with my head held high.

“Truly? Your slave made this?” He clearly couldn’t believe it. Really it was a little insulting. Not just for me but they obviously didn’t expect much from any slaves or seem to know or care about where we came from.

“Yes, I discovered her talents and had her make this gem for my wife.”

Oh you liar.

“I can’t believe it.” Duke Tulepule kept looking between me and the dress while more trolls came closer and surrounded us. “It’s just so… I don’t even know what to say about it. Not only is it so beautiful that words can hardly do it justice but you say a slave you found made it? My word.”

Now I was about to take a risk here.

“It is quite the wonderful dress isn’t it?” I exclaimed to Tulepule and all the other trolls and trotted over to stand in front of Mrs. Terluff. “It was difficult to create something worthy of Mrs. Terluff’s beauty but I believe I did a good job. The ocean that surrounds your kingdom brought forth so much inspiration as well, I have to thank you all for allowing me to see such a magnificent place and being given this opportunity.”

I knew they would love all that praise I just heaped upon them. Any spoiled and oblivious group of nobles would. Considering how I spoke of his wife I don’t think Duke Terluff would mind me interjecting as well.

“Yes, and while all this talking is good there seems to be quite the lack of dancing going on.” Duke Terluff said. “I think my wife and I will go get things started up again since we are somewhat at fault for things slowing down. If you have any questions about the dress I’m sure Rarity would be more than willing to answer them.”

He took his wife by the hand and walked to the center of the dance floor. Showoff. He was loving every minute of this.

Well. It’s not like he was wrong about my willingness to talk about the dress. And now I didn’t have to worry about taking the focus away from his wife since they were doing their own thing.

As I watched though I was quite enraptured by their dancing. Despite their physique and size the two of them glided across the dance floor, hand in hand, arm in arm, twirling around like a couple of professionals. It was even more impressive with the way my dress flowed along and it was hardly just my eyes that were captured by the rather lovely display. Duke Terluff and his wife danced in the center of a sea of trolls watching every movement. He went to the very center to maximize his exposure and he knew it. I was proud that my dress not only had such a fitting model for it but also one who knew how to show off it and its charms perfectly. The other trolls would be talking about this the next morning and likely many days after, it would probably be the prime topic of discussion at the next party and they would all be wondering if the Duke’s wife would be wearing her majestic dress again if she and her husband deigned to show up.

“How did you come up with it?”

I was shaken out of my musings when I heard the voice of Duke Tulepule next to me, thanks to my lack of awareness I hadn’t noticed that a fairly large group of trolls had formed up around me as well.

I fluffed up my mane and batted my eyelashes at the Duke. I was not going to let myself look like a simple slave here. “I’m a fashion designer back home, this is just natural to me. As I said, I was inspired by the sea and seeing a whole new world when I was brought to this castle. Duke Terluff supplied the exquisite materials and I worked my magic on them to create what you see now. I must say I’m quite proud of it. It’s something I wouldn’t mind putting in any of my stores, although adjusted for ponies of course.”

“Stores?” Duke Tulepule questioned while the other trolls standing around continued to hang off our every word, likely nobles of a lower rank. “You are an entrepreneur then?”

Raising a hoof to my mouth I let out a playful giggle. “But of course, I’ve established my brand all across Equestria. Part of why I was so upset when I was brought here was that you all didn’t even give me the chance to show off my talent, I’m glad that’s been corrected now though.” I waved my hoof towards the dancing Duke Terluff and his wife.

“Yes, well...” Tulepule stuttered as he looked on. “I don’t think any of us expected this of a slave.”

The way he said that almost made me scowl at him but I was able to stop myself. Still I was quite angry, especially since so many were being forced to work here right now.

“I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised seeing just what I can do. This was only one dress after all.” I said in return.

“Just one?” Another troll from the crowd spoke up. “Will not the Duke’s wife be wearing this to the next party and the Grand Festival too?”

“Goodness sake, of course not darling!” I walked up and playfully batted his arm. “While this dress is lovely, if it’s for a new occasion I would certainly create an all new dress for her. And especially for the all-important Grand Festival as well. The dress I make for her for that occasion will put the others to shame I assure you.” I didn’t really actually know anything about the Grand Festival.

“You have more ideas for dresses?” Duke Tulepule said.

“Of course! I’m simply brimming with them!” And it was true. The one good thing about this whole misadventure was I finally had ideas pouring through my head again.

Tulepule took the time to look at the dancing Duke Terluff again. “I must admit then that I’m jealous of Duke Terluff for having you in his service. And your dress is such an unusual thing to see… we don’t have things like that. It’s always been the same way for generations, I’m not even sure we could come up with something like that if we wanted to anymore.”

I flashed him my most winning of smiles. “You’re lucky that I’m here then. Now you can see something new and exciting, something that changes the status-quo, shakes things up. I really hope you all enjoy, I aim to please.” I said to the other assembled trolls, turning in a circle to meet all their eyes.

They started talking amongst themselves while I stood there as proud and regal looking as possible.

And since I always look proud and regal it wasn’t too difficult. Once again I wish I had a dress to wear too though.

Duke Tulepule was nervously tapping his fingers together as he watched Terluff and his wife dance. Perhaps he didn’t like being showed up or was just surprised at how captivating they were. As the questions aimed towards me stopped I too began to watch them again.

“Come now, that’s enough about me and my part in making her dress.” I said to the nearby trolls to grab their attention. “Now you should be watching it in motion, see how it complements her physique and flows along with her dancing.”

I got their attention back on the two dancers and walked to the edge of the dance floor, my entourage of trolls following me.

Now that feels good.

Duke Terluff and his wife were the sole trolls on the dance floor, everyone either too engaged in their dancing or too worried about being overshadowed to join them. Time to change that. We watched the two stars dance for a second before I spoke up again. “Well? What about the rest of you? I think it would be quite the honor to dance with them wouldn’t you? As the Duke said there seems to be a tragic lack of dancing going on.”

Some of the trolls started shuffling about at my words, beginning to join in the lovely dancing. A few looked embarrassed and others were still watching either me or Duke Terluff. I suppose they wanted to see what we would do next.

I decided then to do something rather brazen. Let’s see just what I can get away with.

“You know I’m quite thirsty, I haven’t had anything to eat or drink so far at this lovely party. Would one of you dears be so kind as to get me a glass of apple fire?”

Oh the nerve of me! I had to work to keep myself from laughing at my own display. That a slave would say such a thing to them, I may have completely overstepped my bounds but if my gut feeling was right they were quite taken with me. What I just said was something so absolutely rude and improper for a commoner, servant or slave to say to such high-ranking nobility but I wanted to assert myself. I wanted them to see that I held myself just as highly as they did.

And I wanted to see if I could get away with it. Let us see just how much respect they have for me, how much they are willing to get in my favor or how afraid they are of losing it. If seeing what I can do has overridden their prior senses or not.

“Of course.” One of the trolls to my right said, snapping his fingers and gesturing at a griffon slave carrying a tray of drinks identical to the one I carried at the party I catered.

The slave came up and dutifully stood in front of the troll, who plucked a single glass from the tray and handed it to me.

I am truly great, aren’t I?

And I feel like I honestly deserve this after everything.

“Thank you, darling.” I said to the anonymous troll and took the glass in my magic, bringing the rim to my lips and taking a single elegant sip. It tasted positively delicious! Overwhelmingly of apples but with a spice to it, some sort of kick and a hint of cinnamon. I was going to enjoy slowly sipping it for the rest of the night.

I stood there watching the amount of trolls on the dance floor grow, but Tulepule noticeably stayed put. Perhaps he didn’t have a wife or she was absent but either way he just continued to watch Terluff and his wife. Despite the size of the Great Hall the whispers about my dress had spread to every corner already and more trolls were congregating in this one area. A thick forest of trolls now crowded around the dance floor watching and appraising my dress. I saw many fingers pointed at me and whispered conversations surely about the magnificent slave dressmaker. Almost as many as there were who kept their eyes glued to Duke Terluff and his wife. I suppose it was only fair that they were still the main attraction. Seeing that dress for the first time was likely a shocker for them all and they wanted to drink in as much of it as they could.

Next time I would have a stunning dress on too.

For now I stopped paying strict attention to the dancing. I listened to the boring music for a bit, looked at the architecture and the paintings, watched the various other congregations of trolls as they partied and conversed with each other, watched the slaves serving food and drinks. I glanced to my sides to see all the nobles standing huddled around me. Perhaps I was coming one step closer to being able to do some actual good here.

I was still a slave, but not just any slave, and I would continue to prove my worth and uniqueness in the future.

I think things were finally turning around here for me.

Talk of the Town

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The party lasted for several more hours. Having no access to a clock since coming to this castle (I wondered how they even told what time it was) I was unsure of just how late at night it was. From the few windows we passed by as our little group made its way back to Duke Terluff’s home it was apparently completely pitch black outside. Always this place had a dark and dreary look to it and I suppose with the heavy storm clouds above that the light from the moon and stars was blocked out just as much as the light of the sun was during the day.

It had taken a while for us to disentangle ourselves from the other trolls at the party but Duke Terluff was finally able to convince them that his wife needed rest and they would speak more about my dresses and capabilities at the next party. So already I was becoming a hot topic. Terluff didn’t do or say anything more after this, we all left while Tulepule continued trying to ask us questions. I believe my employer, a far easier term for me to say than master, was quite smart about this. He would let the rumors and talk of the new dress his wife wore made by his new slave of all things naturally progress and make its way through the castle. Duke Terluff was certainly prideful and had a bit of an ego but this would make him come off as more humble.

I was surprised as well that he managed to hold himself back on singing the praises and virtues of his wife.

Now I usually wouldn’t be glad to leave a high class party like that but being surrounded by all those trolls still made me a little nervous even if I had started to get them wrapped around my hoof. And next time would be so much better since the Duke and I will both be wearing fantastic outfits instead of just his wife. Oh I can’t wait! At least I know that Tulepule holds a lot of parties, and whatever the Grand Festival is I know it’s coming soon as well.

I’m not sure what exactly Duke Terluff will have me do now, if I’ll continue to be his personal assistant or if he’ll have me just on dressmaking duties. I really hope it’s the latter. I already know what I want to make next, a matching tuxedo and dress for the two of them. I’ll make something for myself too that isn’t as eye-catching. As much as I would like to I’m certain that Duke Terluff wants himself and his wife to be the star attraction.

There were quite a few trolls who had left the party with us, all following from behind and continuing to talk behind our backs. Naturally it was all good things though. I mean how could anyone disparage a dress I made? It’s just not possible. They kept watching us for as long as they could until their own paths took them elsewhere. I’m almost surprised that some didn’t follow us right to Duke Terluff’s door.

The moment the door was opened and we walked back inside I let out a small and unladylike groan as I stretched my body to get any bits of soreness out from all the standing I did today. I was a bit tired.

“Hm, I think that went rather well. Don’t you?” Duke Terluff said to me while his wife leaned against him.

“Absolutely.” I replied with a smile. “They loved the dress, you were the center of attention while you danced and they’ll surely be talking about it for weeks!”

I was quite proud of myself.

“Yes.” Duke Terluff chuckled. “This will bring me much prestige and notice. Nobles of all sorts will be begging me to attend their parties and functions.”

I cocked an eyebrow at him. “I thought you were busy and didn’t like attending all these parties?”

“Exactly. I’m going to get so much joy out of refusing them. Hah!” He barked in laughter while I rolled my eyes. “We’ll be such a hot commodity that I’ll have enough power to refuse even another Duke’s invitation if I feel like it, after all they’ll be clambering over each other to have us at their parties. I can manipulate things quite well to my desire by showing favor to who I want when I want now.”

“Quite devious of you.” I said flatly.

His wife meanwhile nuzzled him and excused herself to the bedroom while he wished her a pleasant night’s sleep. When she was gone he turned to me and scoffed.

“Oh please, I have no desire to do anything ill-intentioned. I just don’t want to be held hostage by castle etiquette and all that nonsense anymore. Especially when my wife isn’t even around to join me for the parties.” He said and stretched his back, making an audible popping sound as he breathed deep.

I hummed to myself as I walked over to the table and took a seat. “Also you said “we” and “us”. I take it you’re including me in that?”

“Of course.” He took the seat across from me. “You’re going to be the real topic of conversation after all. Especially when they see that you can make another dress as great as that one. It’s good to know that your bragging wasn’t misplaced when you said your dress would captivate everyone at the party.”

“I do not brag, I sell.” I said with mock-indignation. “I’m happy to know that you’re not forgetting about me though.”

A greedy smile broke out across his face. “Credit where credit is due after all. And besides, they’re even more marveled by the fact that you’re a slave who can make such dresses. And you’re my personal slave. That hard work you do and the final product reflect very well on me.” He stood up now and walked to the door leading to his bedroom. “It’s always going to be “us” from now on Rarity. You can get started on a new dress the first thing tomorrow morning.”

And then he retired for the night and I as well lifted my tired hooves to my quarters. The Duke gave me much to think about but for now I wanted to also catch some sleep. The last few days have been very busy and if tonight was any indication those busy days weren’t about to stop.

First thing in the morning was no joke.

I suppose Duke Terluff didn’t need much sleep because I was still tossing and turning under my covers when I heard a knock on the door.

“Just one moment!” I called out and tidied up a second before answering. Normally I would like to shower and do up my mane before I allowed anyone to see me but I doubt I had the time for that nor would the Duke appreciate me not answering him as swiftly as possible.

Making sure my mane was at least straight I pulled the door open and saw exactly what I expected to see.

“Ready to work?” Duke Terluff asked.

“As long as it’s doing something I love.” I replied. Really though, it may have been far nicer to be making dresses than cleaning or working on the farms but I was fully aware that I was still a slave. Even one that may have a little bit of power of her own now. And I knew that as… pleasant… as he could be Duke Terluff was still mostly just using me for his own ends. I knew he wasn’t evil or anything and I believed him when he said he didn’t have any bad intentions but that didn’t mean he was good exactly either. He could stand to be a lot nicer and more sympathetic you know? Still, I would call him a friend at this point.

“You really hyped yourself up last night. I’m not sure what public event we’ll be going to next but I thought you’d want to get started on your next creation as soon as possible.” The Duke said as the two of us walked through his home to the front door. “I had heard others saying you said you would make something brand new for my wife, something new for every occasion?”

“You heard right. And not just your wife but I’ll design something for you and myself to wear next time as well.” I pulled open the door with my magic as we got to it and stepped outside, the Duke following me. I turned my head to look back at him as we walked. “Also I’ve been meaning to ask you but just what is this Grand Festival you mentioned? I’ve heard others talking about it as well.”

Duke Terluff scratched under his chin for a bit before replying. “The Grand Festival is, as you can probably guess, the most important celebration of the year. It’s a single large holiday and festival that lasts several days and it’s one of the few times the King and High Priest will appear in public for an extended period of time instead of staying inside their personal palace.”

“My, that does sound quite important.” I thought about what he said about the King and High Priest. Tyluck told me that they decided everything here but I hardly heard word about them otherwise and from what Terluff just said it sounds like they almost totally detached themselves from the rest of the troll kingdom.

A far cry from Celestia. Comparing any other ruler to Celestia is already unfair but from what little I knew of the King it truly seemed like no contest.

“So what actually goes on at the festival?” I pressed.

At my question Duke Terluff just shrugged. “Anything. Everything. The typical dances and parties, parades, operas, plays, mock historical battles, gladiator matches, a fair is held in the central castle grounds where merchants from all over the island gather to sell and advertise their wares. It’s the only time of the year when they’re allowed in the castle. The Grand Festival has no set schedule and it’s been known to end early or drag on occasionally.”

“Well it sounds like quite the event in any occasion.” So it wasn’t just a simple party like the Grand Galloping Gala. It seemed to combine all sorts of holidays and events I could name from Equestria into one massive celebration.

After that our conversation ended for the moment and we merely kept walking to my new office. I’m not sure why he was coming with me in the first place, I knew the way and he certainly didn’t think I would try to run off somewhere now did he? On another note it was kind of silly of me to think of this as my new office. I did not plan on staying here for long. It was a temporary workplace, no more and no less.

“Is there a reason you’re coming this way too? I don’t think you’re just escorting me.” I asked after getting a little more curious and too bored of the silence.

“I have business to attend to here since you no longer have the time to run errands for me. Funny that I decide to get a slave just for this kind of work and immediately the situation changes, maybe I should find another one. Or just a hire a new normal servant.” He said.

“I see.” A thought struck me. “So you’ll just be leaving me to my own devices here?”

“Try not to sound too happy.” He chuckled. “But yes, I rented this office for you to use however much you wanted or needed. Create whatever clothes you can, I don’t even mind if you spend the night there instead of returning to my home as long as you’re working.”

“It will be nice to have at least a little freedom.” I said through narrowed eyes. “You don’t have to worry about my work though, fashion is my passion after all and I enjoy the opportunity to create all new kinds of clothes.” And there was no place to run to.

“Next time I need you I’ll come calling.” He looked back at me and said. “Who knows when that will be so if you want us all wearing something nice-”

“Darling, please.” I cut him off. “As I said there is absolutely no need to worry about my dress-making capabilities.” And even less need to worry about my dress-making desires.

The conversation stalled out again and we made our way silently to the large room that contained mine and many others offices. I wonder what Twilight and the others would think of me rising up and overcoming all the hardship in this kingdom just by making dresses, they’d probably be impressed. Although I can also see the eye-rolling from Rainbow Dash and Applejack in my head already from when I’m telling them what happened here. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie will be much more supportive. I still haven’t gotten that far though, I don’t know if I can change things here or at the very least get away but there’s still a lot of work to be done before I’m back home and laughing with my friends about this whole affair.

Maybe if things go particularly well I can open up a real shop here one day specializing in troll clothes and fashion.

When we got to our destination Duke Terluff nodded farewell to me and went up the stairs. I wonder if he was going to White-streak’s office? Meanwhile I simply walked along the bottom floor until I reached my office, I heard a lot of noise coming from behind the other doors down here, things must be busier than they were before Tulepule’s party last night. Before I opened the door I looked up at the glass ceiling to see what it was like outside. Raining yet again. Not sure what else I expected.

The sun and all the good weather of Ponyville didn’t help me out of my creative funk back before this trip so what was the matter with rain and dark clouds? Maybe I’ll make something with a weather theme? Either way it was time to actually get to work. I had a sketchbook to jot down ideas in if anything really good came to mind.

So I opened the door and entered my one true sanctuary here.

Boxes overflowing with all kinds of fabric, my desk with scattered papers all over, the sewing machine I was given, all sort so supplies lying on the floor or shoved into cabinets.

Organized chaos. Just the way I like it!

Now I needed to make an even better dress for the Duke’s wife, the sharpest and most dapper suit for him, and something equally stunning for myself. And that was just the beginning. I should start planning for the Grand Festival too, it sounds like I should make the most luxurious dresses possible for it but I don’t have any solid ideas yet. Likely it would take a bit of time and a lot of thinking before I was satisfied with anything for it.

It just occurred to me that I didn’t ask when exactly the Grand Festival was. Soon was all I knew.

Maybe if I had the time I could make a few prototypes or even some full dresses and display them at the Grand Festival’s fair? That would be delightful and allow my work to be seen by even more. Even just some detailed drawings might be good to show off.

Enough of that for now. I was getting ahead of myself again. I need to focus on the here and now and make the dresses I promised. The images and ideas were all swimming there inside my head but actually getting them down onto paper and then making them was another story. The inspiration was there but turning a theme or an idea into an actual dress took some work. A word is not a dress. Ocean, castle, rain, island, order, tradition, new, different, all of it was forming something in my mind and I had to take the choice details and ideas and see what I could do with them and how I could turn something abstract into something real.

But I’ve been in this situation before many times. I knew I could do it again. I wouldn’t have made it not just my job but my life otherwise.

The bright side of this trip has been seeing a new culture, as dull as the current state of art and fashion is here that doesn’t mean I can’t get a good idea or suddenly be struck with inspiration by something bad. And that’s essentially all that’s happened here. I just need to find a way to make something that takes the culture and home of the trolls and turn it into an amazing dress or three.

Hours passed with me just sitting at the desk, working my magic.

At least I believe it was hours. As I had noticed, just like seemingly everywhere else in this castle, there was no clock on the wall.

The sudden growling of my stomach alerted me to the fact that I hadn’t eaten anything yet today. Looking at a cabinet along the wall I spied the basket of apples that had been placed there by Duke Terluff several days ago. I had no idea what the shelf life of an apple was (sorry Applejack) but they were the only thing around so it’s not like I had a choice. It was good to get off my stool and stretch my hooves for a bit too, sometimes standing up and pacing around can help the creative juices flow better.

Mm, the apple was delicious. ~~The trolls really did love them and had quite a knack for growing them.~~

They didn’t compare in the slightest to apples from Sweet Apple Acres.

As I finished up my small meal I was about to get back to work when something startled me, causing me to yelp and jump up in surprise.

There was a knock on the door.

Who could that be? Why would anyone be here? It certainly wasn’t Duke Terluff, why would he ever knock, but who else knew I was in here? I was a little worried. The Duke wasn’t around to vouch for me and I didn’t have his seal on me. If they’re guards or some high-ranking troll and they just walk in here and see a random slave doing who knows what they might think I don’t have permission to be here. I’d really like to avoid any misunderstandings.

The person outside knocked again, quieter, almost nervously.

Well ignoring them could end poorly too. The door wasn’t locked and if they decided to open it themselves they might get irate at why I didn’t say anything when I was here.

I’m stuck between a Hydra and an ugly dress.

“Come in?” I finally squeaked out.

Upon my answering the knocking the door was opened up and a troll walked in. He was rather squeamish looking and hi eyes darted about all over the place. He looked more uncomfortable and worried than I did.

As he stood there wringing his hands together anxiously I realized he was not about to speak up first.

“Can I help you?” I asked, getting into business mode.

He jolted up and affixed me with his wide eyes. “Ah, yes, sorry...” The way he was speaking was quite unlike how any troll had spoken to me so far. “Pardon my intrusion but you are the one called Rarity correct?”

“I am, yes.” I answered warily. What was this all about?

“Good, good. You see, I am Earl Tsalim. I had heard talk that the personal slave of Duke Terluff was responsible for making that wondrous dress his wife was wearing at the party last night.” The Earl shuffled about as he spoke, his eyes shifting away from me as if he was worried about staring at me for too long.

“I did indeed. Talk travels fast around here.” I was surprised that already trolls were asking enough about me to find this office.

“That’s great news, I came here as quickly as I could.” Earl Tsalim walked forwards to be standing right in front of me. “Could I please have you make a dress for my wife as well?”

My mouth dropped open in a very undignified manner.

“You’ve come here to commission a dress?”

“Yes of course. I simply have to have one. I know it may be rude of me, and quite frankly a bit above my position, but please! After seeing your dress and the way everyone else reacted to Mrs. Terluff I must have the same for my wife!” He responded frantically.

A smile slowly grew on my face. I coughed and turned around, strutting to my desk.

“Well darling, I’m flattered that you are so interested and I would love to make a dress for your wife.” I looked back briefly to see him practically jump with joy. To think that an Earl, a troll noble, was acting this way around me. Acting like I was above him in station, I had no idea the power and respect I would gain so quickly. Oh I’m sure part of it is because of Duke Terluff being so far above him as well but to think any noble would act so nervous and respectful to a slave is unreal! “However I must also tell you that I have clothes to make for Duke Terluff first.” Earl Tsalim deflated slightly. “And I would need the measurements of your wife before I could make anything for her in the first place.”

His face was getting rather gloomy.

“Rest assured though.” I said before he could say anything back. “I’ll gladly do it, if you would like to bring your wife here I can have her measurements taking and see for myself just what kind of dress would perfectly complement her. You’re the first one who’s asked this of me, it’s the least I can do.” I gave him my best wink.

He brightened up considerably and smiled. “Thank you, thank you!” He started bowing his head as he backpedaled to the doorway. “I’ll bring her by as quickly as possible, thank you so much!”

Without even looking at it he twisted the doorknob and backed up out of my office, bowing and thanking me the whole time.

“My.” I said to myself in a rather shocked state when he was gone. “He bowed to me. An Earl just bowed to me.”

It seems I was simply too valuable. If even a mid-ranked noble was acting like that around me, so nervous and worried I’d be offended, things were turning around for me even faster than I had expected or even ever thought they would in the first place! Is it the good life for me now? I thought that as I went back to sitting on my stool, poring over my sketches and ideas. No matter where Rarity was she always impressed and made it to the top! That’s called genuine skill, class, and drive.

Oh and humility too.

I was awoken by the sound of my office door opening. It seems that once again I had fallen asleep at my desk after working too hard. What time was it? I had no idea how many hours had passed or even when I fell asleep in the first place. It felt like the next morning but I couldn’t be sure.

Wearily blinking the sleep from my eyes I saw that it was Duke Terluff who had entered, he was carrying a bag with him.

“Duke?” I yawned. “I’m afraid it’s far too soon for all of our new clothes to be complete, although you’ll be happy to know that I’ve settled on the final designs for them.” I gave him a proud smile.

“No, I didn’t come here for the clothes yet. I haven’t even accepted any invitations to parties yet.” He waved dismissively as he came up to my desk. “Actually I’m here because I have something for you.”

At the Duke’s smug grin I raised a questioning eyebrow. A gift? An order? It was difficult for me to tell if he was teasing or being genuine right now.

“What is it?” I asked with a hint of apprehensiveness.

“Just a gift, something I had Berten retrieve for me just now.”

“Berten?” Who?

Duke Terluff fixed me with a puzzled look. “I suppose you didn’t get his name but you visited him a few days ago, you had him sign those documents for me.”

He was talking about White-streak. So that was his name. Rather curious, this was the first time I had heard of a troll whose name didn’t start with a T. I wonder why?

“I see. Yes, I know him. So what did he find for you?” Now I was very curious.

And with a smile Duke Terluff reached inside his bag and pulled out something wonderful.

You.

My beloved diary.

“H-H-How?!” I was thunderstruck.

He scoffed. “Please, something like this is easy enough for a troll of my connections. It was easy to find the ship you came in on and what had also been found with you. None of us new what was yours exactly aside from this, since your name is on it.”

He handed you to me and I happily grabbed you and held you close to my chest. Oh how I missed you! I was so happy to have my most precious diary back.

“I… Duke I really can’t thank you enough.” I said, tears welling up at my eyes.

“Come on, don’t say anything like that...” He looked quite uncomfortable and embarrassed. “None of that sentimental silliness here.” The Duke coughed into his hand. “Well anyways, there are more recovered things back at my home that you may want to look at. I have no idea if any of it is yours or not. And we may not have everything that was taken from you either, some of it was probably sold under the table or in other discreet ways such that even I can’t find it all.”

“I understand.” I might be more upset normally but I was just so happy to have you back. “It’s alright, just this really helps me.” I wiped my eyes with a hoof. “Thank you, Duke Terluff.”

“What did I say about that...” He rolled his eyes and turned to leave. “You can come back whenever you’re ready.” And with that he left.

I put you down on my desk and just stared for a second. My emotions all threatening to overflow at once.

“Well.” I grabbed one of the pencils I had been using for sketching with my magic and levitated it in front of my face. “Time to get writing.”

The Good Life

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Now that I’m looking over things I feel like I was maybe slightly overemotional when I first started writing. Oh well, I also wanted to capture what I was feeling at the moment and I feel like I did a pretty good job of that. Things are truly looking up for me now though. I really can’t convey how grateful I am to Duke Terluff that he would do something like this. I hope my dresses and makeup and everything else I brought with me were recovered. If not I would have to live with it but that would be okay since I at least have my precious diary back.

So since I’ve caught up to current events I wonder what I’ll do now? I suppose I’ll just keep writing everything important down at the end of the day. Maybe I’ll keep you close by and not write again until I’m on my way out of here? Twilight is going to want a detailed record of events and I really don’t want to lose you again. All I know for sure is I’ll cover everything I can.

Hmm.

*Note to self: Remember to actually white-out the crossed out lines

It was later that day (it was indeed the next morning after I had fallen asleep once more at my desk) after I had finished up writing down everything that had happened to me so far that I made my way back to Duke Terluff’s residence to see what else he had found from the ship. I was ecstatic at first but I didn’t want to get too excited, there were more than just my personal belongings on that ship so who knows what the Duke had scrounged up.

Still I rather giddily hopped my way through the castle along the way. Not even minding if any trolls saw me despite how awkward and embarrassing it might look.

I quickly made it to his chambers to find him and his wife at the center table with a number of boxes piled around it. Oh dear, I hope none of my dresses were thoughtlessly stuffed inside these boxes. Please let them at least be folded first. I gave both Duke Terluff and his wife nods of greeting and went to work on opening up the nearest box.

“Oh, this is great! I hope my things are still in good condition.”

“Remember, they might not be there at all. Don’t get your hopes too high up.” Duke Terluff said rather pessimistically.

Or if I’m being fair, realistically.

Most of the boxes turned out to be filled with random supplies and tools or other things taken from the boat. In fact all but two were like that. Of those last two boxes one was just as I feared, torn, crumpled, and ruined dresses haphazardly thrown in without a care in the world. It was almost enough to make me cry. I had to close that box and push it far away, unfortunately there would be nothing more for it but the trash. The last box however did at least have one thing that made me happy.

My old sketchbook!

A bit unneeded now but I was still happy to have it back. Some of the old designs and ideas jotted down in it could be helpful. Despite everything else I really couldn’t help but feel that things were finally coming up Rarity!

I was the “In” thing now in the castle. Everyone who was anyone knew about me and what I could do and they all wanted to get their hands on me. Some were jealous of me working for Duke Terluff and wanted to be able to say they had my services as well, others just wanted a good dress. And some more simply wanted my company for the prestige it would give them. The Duke was more than happy to oblige any requests and he allowed me to do as I pleased, knowing how well it reflected on him. He wanted others to see him as a rather magnanimous figure. And as a consequence I became a powerful figure despite my status. The trolls hung off my every word when it came to fashion and design now, I could and was influencing anything possible.

It didn’t escape my mind that I could use this power for selfish and perhaps even mean ways. If I said something negative about another noble, or even Duke Terluff (not that I would ever do such a thing), the trolls who now greatly respected and needed me would do nothing more than agree. They would do anything to please me at this point. I could ask for whatever food or luxury I wanted.

To put it simply I was now living the good life.

The new dress for Mrs. Terluff was done. As was the Duke’s suit. My own dress was coming together nicely but I decided to put that aside for the moment to focus on what Earl Tsalim wanted. He was kind enough to bring in his lovely wife, Tsaree, which made it even more apparent to me that I still had no idea what Mrs. Terluff’s name was. Anyways she was an absolute doll and was so excited to have me making a dress for her. It seems the both of them thought that I would never do something like that because I was used to the company of Dukes and doing my work for them.

As if!

I would always be there to help others, no matter their station. Which is something of a silly thing to think about in this situation since Earl Tsalim and his wife were most assuredly far above almost every other troll in the kingdom. Even when it came to nobility he was still above the Barons and Viscounts as I learned. The trolls used a bit of a different system than Equestria.

Tsaree had dark fur bordering on black so I went with a deep red velvet for her. She also was already on the thin side so I really wanted to enhance that look, a form-fitting skirt did well to that effect along with a wide belt around the stomach. This was less of a flowing, extravagant, gown like I had made for Mrs. Terluff and more of a “professional” piece. It was sharp and eye-catching, it made her look strong and imposing if she kept a straight face. I had noticed that she had rather piercing eyes and a brow that made her look angry even though she was supremely polite and demure. Still I designed it off appearance and if there was a theme for this outfit it would be “In charge”.

“I think you’ll love it, darling.” I told her as she came by with her husband a day later to pick it up. “Don’t hesitate to ask for my services again.”

“Thank you so much, it already looks wonderful.” The shy Tsaree said as she bowed her head even further than her husband liked to.

“We’ll be sure to come by again and if you need anything from us all you need to do is ask, Lady Rarity.” Earl Tsalim said as they both backed out the door.

Lady Rarity.

Now I like the sound of that!

Perhaps I was letting this get to my head a little bit. But who cares! This is amazing!

“Lalalala~.” I started singing to myself as I went around my office. You wouldn’t even recognize it compared to when I first started working in here. Now I had mannequins, dividers, even more rolls of boxes and fabrics and accessories strewn about, and anything else I wanted. A flower vase with an arrangement featuring a heavy use of roses that I designed myself sat on the center of my desk. A fresh basket of the trolls finest apples sat on my cabinet with a card saying they were a gift from Viscount Tihud, a noble who I had never even met.

There was a long list of work orders on my desk that I could get to now, although I wanted to finish my own dress first. It seems many had gotten wind of Earl Tsalim brazenly coming to my office and asking me directly to make a dress for his wife and since then I’ve had many others asking me the same. I can’t really refuse but honestly I don’t think I even want to. The ideas just keep coming, it takes a lot of hard work, time, and effort to make each thing but I know they’re being appreciated. Better to have too many dresses to make than too little.

I had used silk and velvet already, now it was time for satin, chiffon, and crepe!

Wasn’t I lucky to be in a place that had a full inventory of everything a professional, high-class, fashion designer needs?

Lucky minus everything else about being stuck here.

The one downside to being this popular and already having so much work to do was that I would occasionally be interrupted by someone else coming by to place an order or ask me for something else. Getting interrupted when I’m in the middle of working my magic and “in the zone” can be very disruptive. Still, I was the pillar of politeness and understanding. I wanted the trolls to think as good of me as possible.

I wonder if I could have a painter come in here? This was almost an acceptable studio for me to work in and that might just send it over the edge.

Actually instead of a painter I think I would like to do it myself. I’ll ask Duke Terluff for some paint and brushes and really make this office shine! Hm, but I have so many orders to complete so maybe that would be a bad idea. Did Twilight ever invent a cloning spell? Probably.

Enough of that, I sat back on my desk and got out my sketchbook. Time to finish the last bits of detail on my dress. I would probably need to make up one or two prototypes before it was just perfect, and I didn’t have a ponyquin to put my dress on while I made it so it was doubly difficult. I’m going to have to put more effort into the drawing board and the initial stitching than I normally do.

Let’s get to work!

The day after I finished my dress I was invited to do some interior decorating for Marquess Tivbald. His personal quarters were not as large as Terluff’s or Tulepule’s but they were still quite grand. And just as boring as most others I had seen. He allowed me to go about my business, looking through the rooms, checking out what he currently had decorating everything, examining the flooring, painting, etc.

Obviously this was not my normal forte but my talent and skillset could be applied to anything like this. I can easily make anything fabulous.

Marquess Tivbald nervously watched me the whole time, perhaps worried that I would take offense to something or insult his aesthetic sense. Well I certainly didn’t like it but saying anything bad about this would be the same as insulting nearly every noble’s home. Was I supposed to complain about the same boring drapes I saw nearly everywhere else? Was I supposed to admonish him in particular for simply copying everything and not even trying to go his own way when the same could be said of all the other Dukes, Barons, and so forth?

I’m glad he respected me but I wish he would be less nervous, you asked for me to help you darling there’s no need to worry. I’m going to be as pleasant about all of this as possible. I do honestly and eagerly wish to make his home the best and prettiest it can be.

“First things first.” I said as I wheeled about to face the Marquess. “I’m going to be getting you new curtains for every window in here. Red with gold trim, it will be a powerful and majestic look. How does that sound?” It was just a courtesy to ask, I knew well what he would say.

“Splendid. It sounds perfect, Lady Rarity.” Tivbald responded.

So even he was calling me “Lady” Rarity. I wonder if any Dukes would?

I smiled at him. “Wonderful. After that I was thinking we could paint a pattern on your walls, down at foot level, just something like dots or stars going up and down in a pattern. Something to give the place a little extra flair.”

The fidgety Marquess just nodded along the same as always. I could say we should start smacking holes in his walls with a sledgehammer and he’d probably agree to it. I think maybe that nature of the trolls may be what has contributed to the stifling of creativity and development of any new fashion and art in their kingdom. A pity. But at least it allowed me to really exercise my vision to the fullest, I didn’t have anyone saying they didn’t want this or that, they all respected my ability and knew that I knew better. Haha!

It was many more hours that I worked on and thought up ideas for redecorating his expansive chambers. Naturally this wasn’t something that could be done in a single afternoon, I’d have to keep coming back over several days to fully plan things out and get the actual work started. It would be a fun project to do on the side while I make more dresses.

The day after I started doing the decorating for Marquess Tivbald I was invited to spend the day with Duke Tulepule. He didn’t want a dress made or anything he just wanted me to spend time with him and accompany him to any functions and events. Seems he was interested in getting to know the new big deal better, or perhaps just wanted others to know he could call on me whenever he wanted and I was happy to accompany him. I wasn’t sure if Duke Terluff would be okay with me just spending the whole day with Tulepule but when I asked about it he just shrugged and said it was no big deal. I was busy with work but this was hardly an offer I could refuse. Terluff said Tulepule wasn’t busy like he was so I wondered if the day would just be spent partying or whatever else Tulepule might like to do in his spare time.

At the time I was supposed to meet up with him two armor-clad guards arrived at Terluff’s front door saying they were sent to escort me. Actually this made me a little nervous but I suppose Tulepule just wanted to treat me with importance and didn’t want me getting waylaid.

We peacefully made our way through the castle until coming to Tulepule’s door, at which point I knocked on it and was greeted by the party loving Duke once more. He swung it open with a smile and I was dismayed to see he was wearing the exact same suit he had on at the previous party. Why couldn’t he just ask me to make him a new one? Perhaps I should offer if the opportunity comes up today.

“Duke Tulepule, a pleasure to see you again.” I greeted him with a warm smile and a toss of my mane. I had spent extra time this morning making it look perfect, even using a new shampoo giving it the smell of roses.

“A pleasure to see you as well.” He waved me inside. “I hear some are even calling you Lady Rarity now.”

I giggled and tried to play down my happiness at acquiring that title as I walked inside. “Oh please, it’s rather silly isn’t it?” Try to appear humble, Rarity.

“I was surprised as well but you’re very respected now. And even more appreciated, you’re seen as irreplaceable by many and they wish to treat you the best they can.” Tulepule said as we walked past his foyer and into his large living room.

There was that overly white spot on the carpet that I had vigorously scrubbed a stain out of. I’m ignoring that.

“It’s nice to hear something so positive.” I said to him, leaving out “Considering the rest of my situation”. As I looked around the rest of his home it was clear that there wasn’t any party going to be held here today. “So just what did you have planned for us to do today? I didn’t hear of any big parties going on and I doubt you just want to sit here and chat.”

“Quite so.” He grunted as he sat down on his couch, stretching out his arms. “This was just to meet, I have a small get-together with some other nobles that I’d like you to attend with me, we’ll leave in a minute. And later today I have some entertainment planned that I hope you’ll find enjoyable.”

Entertainment? Whatever could he mean? I was a bit intrigued and the excitement was plain to see on my face.

“Well I’m excited about it already.” I told him.

“Good, good, I’m looking forward to it as well.” Tulepule said as he rested and stretched his body for another minute or two before getting back up. “Shall we?” He beckoned me to walk by his side as the two of us left his residence.

He told me on the way we were just going to a small parlor in a private area of the castle where a few of his friends were gathered. These ones apparently had been unable to attend his big party where Mrs. Terluff wore the dress I had made for her. So having missed out on that they asked if they could personally meet with me and see what all the fuss was about. If I knew that before coming here I would’ve at least worn a hat or some jewelry, not my new gown of course since that needed to be first debuted at a big party but at least something with a little style and luxury would’ve been good to throw on.

“So will any of these friends of yours be wanting to commission a dress?” I questioned him.

My question was met with a shrug. “Perhaps, they haven’t seen what you can do though, only heard about it.”

I suppose that would have to be a satisfying enough answer at the moment.

As we continued to walk through the castle I noticed that every other troll or group we passed by would steal glances and whisper about us. Now they had something new to gossip about. The trolls loved their gossip. Hm, that’s the pot calling the kettle black I do suppose.

Well it made me happy that I was still stirring up conversation like this, when they stop whispering is when I have a problem.

The further we walked the less trolls I saw though, and the windows along the outer wall of the castle went from being normal glass to stained. I had never been along here yet and it was rather pretty looking. Of course it would look even more pretty if it wasn’t again raining outside. Unlike the room my office was located at the glass here didn’t block out the sound of the rain pounding against it either. The sound of my hooves along the stone was almost completely drowned out. I don’t dislike the rain and I might even find something like this calming if it was a different situation but not when I’m about to enter a private function with some trolls I’ve never even met before.

At the corner of this hallway I spied a lone door, the corner bulged out in a semi-circle with the door in the middle. Perhaps one of the circular towers along the castle wall was situated right at this corner.

“There’s our destination.” Tulepule said from beside me, turning slightly to walk towards the door.

When he reached it he pulled it open without knocking and we entered a large circular room with a single window facing out towards the mountains that surrounded the castle. A candle-lit chandelier hung from the ceiling above a thick, square carpet that had been lain over the stone floor. A few tables and chairs were thrown about randomly for any who wished to use them, all in all it was a fairly unimpressive room. For simple get-togethers and nothing more it seems.

Adding to the furniture and decorations in the room were a small group of trolls, including one I recognized.

The large one who had been conversing with White-streak (or Berten apparently) at the party I had catered where I first met Terluff and got drawn into all of this. He eyed me with an unimpressed look on his face that I returned with my best smile and half-closed eyelids. Because that’s how Rarity does it.

“My, so this is the one we’ve all heard so much about?” A female troll with a light, almost tan-colored, coat of fur said as she walked up to me. “Charmed to meet you, I am Mrs. Toolis.”

“Charmed as well, Mrs. Toolis.” I replied. “As I’m sure you all already know, I am Rarity.”

The greetings continued like that and the day as well was filled with the same sort of conversation I’d been having with all the nobles lately. They wanted to hear about my fashion sense and how I made such amazing dresses and I was more than happy to oblige. Tulepule was sure to remind them all that it was at his party where I first showed up with Duke and Mrs. Terluff. And I told them about my office and how if they ever wanted a dress of their own or anything else they were more than welcome to it.

A servant brought in some beverages and snacks at one point, upon which the subject of their love for apples came up. One of them offered to have their personal chef bake me an apple pie and I was only too gracious to accept. On the condition that they at least let me take their measurements for any clothes I might want to make for them in the future.

Honestly it was such an ordinary little gathering and way to spend the afternoon I hardly have anything else to say about it. The large troll (Duke Tylark as I learned) stayed polite but standoffish the whole time, from some of the looks I caught him giving me I had to assume that he did not care much for slaves regardless of how unique and fantastic they might be.

Yes I am being humble. Can’t you tell?

Either way after a few hours Tulepule said we had another function to attend to and the two of us said our goodbyes. As we walked through another portion of the castle he turned to me.

“Now that the fuss is out of the way we can get to the fun. I’m sure you’ll find what I have planned more enjoyable than standing around talking to a bunch of stuffy nobles.”

Obviously he didn’t know me very well but I was hardly going to say that.

After much more walking we made it to a large room in the castle where a good deal of other trolls were also milling about. At the far end of the room was a large iron gate but behind it all I could see was empty space, an alcove of some sort. Again once I appeared the eyes of many fell on me and the conversation noticeably shifted. Something I recognized proudly, walking along astutely with Duke Tulepule.

“So darling, just what are we doing here?” I asked him.

“This is just to take us to our destination.” He said, pointing at the gate. “It’s starting soon.”

Right as he said that the iron gate rose up into the ceiling and the crowd of trolls moved into the space behind it, the two of us along with them.

Now what was going on here?

I stood there in this crowded area, almost smushed between Duke Tulepule and other trolls. At least they all bathed well but this was still getting stifling. When all of us had entered this second room the gate came back down again and I heard a massive clang as if some sort of heavy machinery locked into place and then the very floor we were standing on started to descend.

Oh, this was a lift.

“Surprised?” Tulepule asked from beside me, a small smirk on his face.

“A little admittedly.” I said while the walls creaked around us.

So where were we going? I wanted to ask but I doubt he would tell me, he still wanted it to be a surprise. All of these trolls were likely going to the same place to see whatever this “entertainment” was. What would a bunch of trolls be going to see that was down wherever this lift went?

Down… beneath the castle?

I stiffened, my eyes going wide.

Oh please don’t let this be going where I think it is.

With everything going on around me I had practically forgotten. It had been a while and I’d been so busy climbing the social ladder, rediscovering my passion and creativity by making new clothes for the trolls. Enjoying myself as best I could here. And at the same time forgetting about everyone else and what other things were going on in this castle.

The lift came to a stop, another iron gate at the bottom opened up and the procession of trolls and I entered a long walkway. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel, getting closer and closer as I gulped nervously.

And finally when we reached it I saw that I had arrived in the same cavernous chamber that Tyluck first took me too. Right in front of us stood a large circular stadium, its doors opened as the trolls arrived and everyone began piling into it.

“I hope you enjoy the coliseum.” Tulepule said to me. “I don’t come down here too much but I felt something more exciting would be a nice change of pace for both you and I.”

An uneasy expression was frozen on my face, thankfully he couldn’t see it. “I’m sure I will.” I said monotonously.

The Duke and I made our way to a private viewing box he had reserved for the day. It stood just above the first level of benches that lined the fighting grounds. He had two comfortable looking chairs for us to sit in compared to most others who had to use the hard wooden benches. Comfort was not on my mind though. Was I going to have to watch this? Could I even say I wanted to leave? He’d be offended and upset, and if he asked why I wanted to leave could I hold back from telling him how barbaric and disgusting I thought all of this was?

No. I’d just have to sit here and stomach my way through it.

“It’s a whole evening’s worth of fights for us to see.” Duke Tulepule cheerfully said. “Some slaves and beast contests to start and then a confrontation between our two champion troll warriors to cap it all off! A splendid event if I say so.”

I absentmindedly nodded along, eyes glued to the sand of the coliseum.

I hope there weren’t going to be any pony slaves fighting. Was it bad of me to think that? I really didn’t want any slaves to be fighting. I wonder if the two I met last time would be involved again.

The stands were filled out quickly. Hundreds of trolls were going to be watching. The murmuring from them all was creating a cacophonous racket that I sorely wished I could drown out. I wanted to just cover my ears and bow my head but it would be unseemly if I did. How could they enjoy watching this so much? How could they be okay with pitting two poor slaves against each other? Tulepule too, I thought he didn’t seem so bad, just a bit indifferent. But he thought I would want to see this? He likes watching slaves forced to fight against their will? Was he just that oblivious?

The cheering of the crowd peaked and I looked out to see two heavy doors on either end of the stadium opening up. To my dismay a pony holding the same wooden shield and stick as I had seen before came out of each of them.

I recognized the one to my right, that gray pony who I had met. Harlequin Black I believe his name was? And the other to my left…

My breath caught in my throat.

“Captain...” I whispered out, eyes fixed on Captain Anchor as he walked across the sand of the arena.

What am I doing.

What am I doing?

How could I just sit around up in the castle, comfortably living like a princess and doing whatever I wanted when this was going on? Did I let the luxury and status get to me so badly? Captain Anchor, Harlequin Black and Birdseed, Daylight, Gertrude, everyone else…

I watched the two fighting ponies as they stood in front of each other, prepared to do battle. I couldn’t blink. I sat at the edge of my seat. If Duke Tulepule was saying anything to me I didn’t hear him. While I watched them as the fight was about to begin I swear that gray pony briefly turned to look right at me, he was still smiling the same as I remember. It looks like he hadn’t stopped being optimistic.

But I had stopped doing anything to help the other slaves or escape this place.

The rest of the day passed by in a daze. I remember watching the fights with a glassy unfocused look, responding automatically and superficially whenever spoken to. Finally when it was all over we went back up the lift and I said farewell to Duke Tulepule and went back to my office.

My office. A prison cell that I had tidied up. No more of this prancing about with troll nobles. It was time for me to get serious about helping those who needed it. I had power now, I had influence and respect, I knew I could do something even if I wasn’t sure what yet or how far I could go. For all of my friends and the other slaves that I carelessly forgot about while I got swept up in the excitement and splendor of high society, selfishly getting to do what I want while the rest of you were worked to exhaustion, I’ll make it up to you. I promise.

A Beautiful Heart

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“Duke Terluff, I was perhaps wondering if I may have some assistants to help me with my work?”

It was a simple enough request. The very day after the one I spent with Tulepule I marched back here to Duke Terluff’s home and asked this of him. Considering all I had done for him and the support he had given me in the past I was hopeful that he would agree to this. After my epiphany yesterday I would no longer push my and the other slaves predicament into the back of my mind. There was a lot of work to be done and I don’t mean making dresses.

My plans for the future might be a little extreme, some would even say delusional, but fail or succeed things were going to start here.

He raised an eyebrow at me as he sat at his mahogany table.

“You didn’t seem to have a problem making everything yourself before. What’s changed?” He asked. It was certainly a fair question.

Luckily I had the truth on my side. Even if my actual reasons for wanting assistants were different.

“I’ve had quite the increase in dress orders, more arrive every day and I simply don’t have the time or ability to make them all myself when I put in as much effort and care into each one that I like to. If I did want to make them all alone I’d have to sacrifice quality and originality and then what would be the point?” I said. “My dresses get so much acclaim because of their unmatched style and appeal. My value would plummet if I started putting out inferior products.”

He thumbed his chin as he went over my words in his head. My argument was sound so what would he have to complain about?

Finally he shrugged. “Eh, alright. We can find some for you whenever you want. As long as your shelf life is maintained it’s fine.”

I don’t exactly like how he so casually refers to my “shelf life” but I still smile at his words.

“Thank you, and you don’t even have to worry about doing anything yourself.” I said. “I already know who I want to help me.”

“What do you mean?” The Duke raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know any servants or where you can find any trolls with tailoring experience.”

With my fake giggle I playfully shook my hoof at him. “Darling, please, what I mean is that I’m going to go get some of my fellow slaves to come help me. It’s the least I can do for them after all. If I can do something nice and take care of my work at the same time that’s quite a win isn’t it?”

“Hah, I suppose.” He chuckled. “Fine, I’ll notify the slave overseers and you can head down there later and grab whoever you want. You’d probably get along better with slaves than troll servants anyways.”

“I agree.” The smile left my face as I gave Duke Terluff a more detached look. “And it really will be so good to save some friends of mine from the simply awful work they’re forced to do. I truly have to thank you again for bringing me into your employ in the first place and sparing me from all of that as well.”

It was clear what I said had made him uncomfortable. Despite his stated distaste for sentimentality and carefree nature the Duke had a true heart to him, he couldn’t love his wife so much if he didn’t, and he didn’t like to be reminded of my actual situation and the reality of what the slaves had to do now that he had gotten attached to me. He was never so callous and mean as some of the other trolls in the first place and his persona had warmed considerably further as we spent more time together.

“Yes, well...” His eyes shifted about and he fidgeted in his seat before waving me away. “Go on then.”

But he’d still rather ignore anything troubling than have to deal with it.

There was no point in bothering with that at the moment though, that would come later. For now I had some friends to visit and apologize to. I just hope none of them were very upset with me for essentially forgetting about them. I mean, I would be.

So as it was I was now standing in front of my old bed back in the slave quarters, surrounded by the old familiar faces of Gertrude, Daylight Gleam, Soleil, and the two young dragons whose names I did not know. When I first walked back into the room and greeted everyone I was met with much the same reaction as I had gotten when I first arrived here. Apathy. Only these few, er, friends of mine let’s say, actually came up to see me. Or perhaps chew me out, I was just sort of awkwardly standing there for the moment.

“Darlings-”

“How was it?”

I was instantly cut off by Daylight questioning me on my time with Duke Terluff. I coughed nervously and my pupils darted all over.

“It was… nice?” Did I tell the truth? Would it just make them more upset?

“Just nice? No way, I bet it was way better than having to go around doing whatever dumb work they tell you to do today.” The pink dragon said.

“Yeah! I bet it was super exciting, you probably had a lot of fun right?” Soleil said with a smile on her face.

I was a bit perplexed by her eagerness. “Well I’ll admit it was very comfortable and-”

“Oh I knew it!” Soleil exclaimed. “You’re so lucky!”

As I looked at each of their faces I saw a surprising lack of malice aimed towards me. I thought they’d be jealous or upset. At the very least indignant that I had just disappeared into luxury while they toiled about in the kitchens and on the farms.

“Aren’t any of you mad at me that I abandoned you?” I had to ask.

“Abandoned us?” Daylight said incredulously. “No one thinks that. Who wouldn’t choose to be a Duke’s servant over doing normal slave work?”

“Yeah, seriously.” Gertrude said. “No one’s going to hold anything against you, I’d do the same thing and unlike you I wouldn’t even feel bad about it.”

I saw Daylight roll her eyes at that.

“You’re really not angry?” I said, actually trembling a little. I was so relieved but so overwhelmed at the same time. I had been beating myself up over this and I was prepared to weather anything they said and beg for forgiveness. Was I just being over-dramatic? I didn’t think I would get such a warm reception from them.

“Of course not!” Daylight Gleam reached forward and hugged me. “Sure I’m maybe a little peeved that you didn’t even notice me at a few of the parties and events I was catering at but so what? Am I supposed to judge you for enjoying the good life and getting to do what you love?” She held me by the shoulders and looked into my eyes. “Stop with the moping, you’re here now because you care and that’s what matters. Right?”

What a nice bunch of creatures I’ve met.

“Yes, yes you’re absolutely right.” I wiped away the bit of water that had welled up in my eyes. “In fact the reason I’m here is going to make things even better too.”

“What do you mean?” Gertrude asked.

“Well.” I started, flourishing my mane. “I didn’t come down here just to say hello and possibly beg for forgiveness, I came because I wanted to help you in the same way I was helped. I want all of you to be my assistants and help me with my new work. That’s the excuse at least. Truthfully I just want to do as much as I can for all of the slaves, starting with you.” I looked at their mix of confused and surprised expressions with a smirk on my face before a sudden thought struck me.

“Oh that’s right!” I exclaimed, looking at the two dragons. “I’m terribly sorry darlings, and this is rather inconsiderate of me to not know this, but what are your names? I don’t believe I ever caught them.”

The two looked between themselves for a second before responding.

“Um, I’m Cinder.” The fiery-red one told me.

“And I’m Spine.” The pink one said.

“Well, Cinder, Spine, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” I stuck out a hoof for them to shake.

The two young dragons shrugged and took it one at a time. There, now I felt a bit less bad for not getting to learn their names earlier. To be honest I still knew nothing about them or Soleil but that can’t be helped right now. Baby steps.

“So aside from us helping you out with whatever it is you do, what do you mean by you want to do as much for the slaves as you can?” Daylight Gleam asked me, regarding me with a curious look.

“Oh, well that’s simple. I’m going to free all the slaves.”

Very simple. Right?

The reactions of my friends were as I expected. Mouths hung open in shock in the cases of Soleil, Cinder and Spine, a dull unamused look with a single raised eyebrow from Gertrude, and a worried look from Daylight Gleam as her nose wrinkled while she chewed on her lip. At least they didn’t just laugh me off right?

“Hold on one second.” Getrude said, raising a talon as if to pause me. “Can you repeat that?”

“As I said. I’m going to free all of the slaves.” I said just as calmly and certain as before.

A groan escaped the griffon’s mouth as she dragged her hand down her face. “You’re nuttier than my brothers. And you’re serious aren’t you? How are you even planning to do that?”

“Uh, I’ll admit I’m a bit curious about that part too.” Daylight Gleam said as she raised her hoof like a student wanting to be called on. “It’s not like I planned to stay here forever or anything but I was always just going to try and find my own way out after learning enough about the trolls and the castle to escape.”

“First off, yes, I am absolutely serious.” I told the gathered ones while looking straight into their eyes. “Secondly I am not entirely sure how I’m going to do it. But I will do it. I’ve done and been a part of things far greater than this, I’ve gotten through far bigger troubles, I know I can do anything I put my mind to.” I gave them all my most sincere of smiles. “Especially with a great group of friends supporting me.”

“This is all sort of coming out of nowhere to me.” Soleil spoke up. “But I didn’t want to spend my whole life here so eh, I’m all for it.” She shrugged.

“Excellent!” I clapped my hooves together.

“Oh for the love of...” Gertrude rolled her eyes. “Soleil, really now?”

“I feel like it’s worth a shot.” The hippogriff responded.

“What is worth a shot?! She just said she doesn’t have a plan.” Gertrude was being rather negative about our chances but she wasn’t exactly wrong with what she was saying either.

“Darling, calm down already.” I walked up to the griffon to put a calming hoof on her shoulder. “At the moment I just want us to stay positive and work towards the goal of freeing everyone else and escaping. We’ll take it one step at a time, and while I’ll admit to not knowing exactly how we’ll accomplish the big goal I’ve got some ideas to get us started. I’ve made some friends in high places you know and just a little bit of friendship can go a long way.”

She scoffed. “You think any trolls will help you?”

“No. I know some will help me.” I responded bluntly. “When you’re willing to show some kindness, generosity, and friendship to others you’ll be surprised how much of it you’ll get back. I know that from experience.”

It was true after all.

“Oh that’s-”

Gertrude was cut off from whatever she was about to say by Daylight Gleam.

“I agree with Rarity.” The eyes of the others here turned to her now. “I mean, not like we were doing anything else anyways? I think we might really be able to do something here. And it’s good to stay positive and work towards a certain goal than just saying “maybe” day in and day out.”

Gertrude groaned again and turned to look at Spine and Cinder to see what they thought.

The two dragons looked at each other and then faced Gertrude, shrugging. “We’re up for it.” The two darlings said in unison.

That was the last straw for my griffon friend, she threw up her arms in exasperation. “Alright, whatever! I guess I’m the crazy one here. Let’s just do it then.”

“Hooray!” I shouted in glee, actually giving her a bit of a hug. “Glad to see you’ve decided to join us.”

“Ughhh.” Gertrude was being a bit overly dramatic in her annoyance. I absolutely know where she’s coming from though so really it just made me feel more attached to her than anything else.

“Now that that’s over.” I said to my little group. “We shall be moving out to my private office. Let’s go!” I cheerfully stuck my hoof in the air and began marching out of the room.

That went much better than expected. Everyone was so nice and understanding, I was feeling better about our chances at succeeding already. Things would be better from here on out, I would never forget what I needed to do and I would really change things here. It wasn’t just about me escaping anymore or rescuing Captain Anchor and his crew. I was going to save everyone because that’s the right thing to do. I could never live with myself if I returned home without putting a stop to all of this.

First of all though we had a lot of dresses to make in time for Tulepule’s next ball. All of my respect and prestige would go flying out the window if I didn’t do this and then we’d be in quite the pickle. I need to still have a spot in the high society of the trolls.

Now let me tell you. It was not exactly easy teaching a bunch of creatures who had absolutely no knowledge of the finer points of tailoring and a lack of finesse in general. And a lack of care in a certain griffon’s case. But I did my best to get them to an adequate enough level to at least do busy work and take care of the little things. Just having someone to clean things up or hold something or find something for me while I was busy was a lot of help. The six of us were doing a fairly nice job all in all I think. It actually makes me yearn for the opportunity to do this with my friends back home, sure they might not see what would make it so fun but I think it could be a great friendship exercise/lesson. All of us working together to make a wonderful dress or two?

Oh my! Now that I think of it that would make a great lesson at the school. I wonder if Twilight would go for it? I’d love to see what all of my students put together.

“So like, what are we doing after this?”

I was interrupted from my daydreaming by Cinder’s question. The darling was organizing some of my errant fabric, she had a bit of a lost expression on her face but she wasn’t doing too bad anymore.

“Glad you ask.” I said. “After we get settled in here and get the ball rolling on the dress orders I have to make I shall introduce you to my benefactor, Duke Terluff. And there’s a favor I’ll be asking him for that I think will make you all quite happy.”

“Kind of already happy enough to be out of doing normal slave work.” Soleil said while she swept the floor… I suppose that didn’t count as normal work to her?

“Yes but this will be a real treat, you’ll see.” I winked at my friends. I’m sure they’ll love what I have in mind.

The rest got back to their various tasks while Gertrude scarfed down an apple. Might as well let her. She wasn’t being a pain at least. Could use some more help but oh well, the others were getting into a groove and I suppose that would have to do for now. I was able to get a lot of extra work done on my sewing machine thanks to the free time they enabled. However before I really could get back into my work I remembered something Gertrude had said earlier.

“Gertrude?” I called to her, she looked over at me and raised a questioning eyebrow. “You mentioned having brothers didn’t you? How are they? I happen to have a little sister myself, she can be a bit of a hassle sometimes but I’d never give her up for anything.”

I really wanted to get to know her better. All of them. And having some small talk while we worked would be nice too.

The griffon shrugged. “Who knows? Haven’t seen either of them for years.”

“Oh...” My disappointment was obviously visible since Gertrude sighed and decided to continue.

“But yeah, my older brother Godfrey and my younger brother Gilbert. Sorry to say but Godfrey was always a jerk, and he hated Griffonstone. One day he flew over the mountains to the east and no one ever saw him again.” I was fairly certain she held herself back from saying “Good riddance” at the end there. “Gilbert was alright. Kind of weird and dumb but fine to get along with, he decided he wanted to go adventuring too though and he flew up north right into Bug Bear territory. Haven’t heard from him since either.”

“I see.” Although it wasn’t exactly the happiest of conversations I was glad that we were all able to learn something new about her.

“What about the rest of you?” Gertrude said to everyone else in the office. “Got any brothers or sisters or is it just us two?”

“Only child.” Daylight Gleam said.

“Orphan.” Soleil said. Oh dear, I feel bad for the poor girl. She doesn’t really seem bothered by it though.

“The two of us are only childs. But we were raised together so we’re basically sisters.” Cinder said, throwing an arm around Spine’s shoulders.

Good, good, everyone was getting to know each other and becoming better friends already!

Now I was planning for us to do some more work before we walked over to Duke Terluff’s home but as it turns out that was unnecessary. Duke Terluff didn’t even bother knocking, just opened up the door to the office and walked right in. All the work in the room stopped, it was apparent that none of my friends knew this was Duke Terluff, he could’ve been anyone to them. He gazed across all of them without speaking up first either, appraising them.

But I just merrily smiled and hopped off my stool, trotting up to him.

“Duke Terluff, a pleasure for you to come by.”

“Yes, I wanted to see how things were going. And who you decided to grab for your assistants.” He wasn’t paying any attention to me as he spoke, still looking from slave to slave.

“Well as you can see things are coming along swimmingly. I have no doubt that we’ll be able to complete every dress I’ve been hired to make.” I said proudly.

“That’s good, and you have one of your own now as well correct? I wanted you to accompany me to Tulepule’s upcoming ball.” He asked me.

Now let’s see if I can convince him of a certain favor. I wanted to talk about this with him in private but since he came here might as well.

“Actually I put my dress on the back-burner to focus on on what I needed to make for other nobles. The design is complete and I know what I need to do with it but I haven’t actually finished it yet.” I told him and then began to look around the room absently, feigning as if I was in deep thought. “You know… this makes a good opportunity for me to bring something up with you I was wondering about. Since there are certain supplies I need replenished to finish my dress and the others.”

Duke Terluff’s eyes narrowed, it seems he was aware that I was getting at something.

“Oh? And what would that be?” He asked while he cupped his chin in hand, staring down at me.

I gave him an innocent look and smile in return. “I would absolutely love it if you authorized me to leave the castle so I can personally purchase the materials I need.”

There was silence for a moment. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Daylight Gleam and Gertrude exchange an uncertain look with each other. Duke Terluff’s expression didn’t change at all as he kept looking at me, I was drawn to that bald spot between his eyes so I wouldn’t have to look at the beady pupils piercing into me.

“You’re really quite bold aren’t you?” He finally answered.

“Well, I feel I’ve more than earned the right to a simple excursion.” I really think I did.

“I can just order what you need, you know.”

“Or I can go get it myself. What’s the problem?” I was getting quite brazen now and I can only imagine how glued to us the eyes of the others in the room were.

Duke Terluff snorted. “Hah, typical of you isn’t it? Fine. I’ll authorize you to go to the same port town you initially arrived at, they’ll have the best selection of things.” He gave me a hard look. “You’ll be going with an escort of guards though just so you know. They’ll be just as much for your protection as they will be to keep an eye on you.”

“I expected as much.” I said with a shrug, tossing my mane over my shoulder. “But I’m sorry, I misspoke earlier. What I meant to say was that I wanted you to authorize all of us to leave the castle for this errand.”

Again there was silence, I saw Soleil’s jaw drop in astonishment that I would ask that.

After a moment there was a low rumbling from Duke Terluff, his shoulders were shaking-

And he broke out in laughter.

“Hah!” He guffawed loudly in my face, holding his belly as the laughs wracked his body. “You’re too much sometimes! Hahaha!” After a moment longer of me standing there patiently waiting for him to finish he finally started to calm down. “Rarity, you always surprise me. I’m never bored when things involve you. That impertinence of yours is rather hilarious, I think you may have let your recent fame and fortune get to your head a little bit.”

“Hardly, darling.” I responded with an over the top frown and looked away from him, closing my eyes. “I think I’m acting exactly how I should be for someone in my position.” I smiled and winked at him.

“Feh! You’re lucky I’m nicer than I thought I was!” He clapped me on the back stiffly enough that my knees buckled. “Very well, you can all go. But there will be even more guards to accompany you and the trip won’t be for more than a day at most.”

“Oh thank you Duke Terluff!” I happily jumped up and clapped my hooves together. This is going to be wonderful!

The Duke rolled his eyes and turned to leave the office. “Stop thanking me so much.”

“I can’t believe this is actually happening.” Daylight Gleam said as we sat side by side in a carriage on its way to the unnamed port.

The six of us were now being escorted to our destination. Duke Terluff had taken care of everything and left me with a sizable amount of money to pay for whatever I needed and then some. I feel like I could practically buy the whole town with the massive chest that was sitting in the middle of the carriage. Which would be useful since I also planned to buy some extra materials and maybe some gifts for my new friends if I saw something that fit them. Although I would likely have to make it myself considering the trolls lack of style and boring fashion. Either that or get lucky and find something that had been pillaged from somewhere else. I think a bow would look great on Daylight. A scarf for Soleil maybe? A beret would be perfect for Gertrude. Spine and Cinder were a little harder for me to think of something good for. Maybe vests?

“I’m with you on that one.” Gertrude said in reply to Daylight.

“See? You should all trust in me now, right?” I said to them. “I’m very good at getting what I want.”

“If he said no would you have thrown a hissy-fit and started crying?” Gertrude snidely grinned at me.

I huffed at her. “Of course not.” At least not in front of them.

Before the conversation could take another turn there was something I had been meaning to ask now that we were out of the castle.

“So for those of you who can fly, and by that I mean all of you except for Daylight I suppose, why have you never tried to just fly away from the castle?” I figured there was a reason but no one had ever actually confirmed anything.

“Tried it on the first day I was let outside for some work.” Gertrude answered immediately. “You can probably guess that they have ways of keeping any slaves from escaping or else we would’ve been gone a long time ago. They don’t use chains or anything like that because they don’t need to.” She cracked her neck and leaned forward. “First off those stormy clouds that are always above head here aren’t safe for traveling through, so you always have to stay low enough where you’re completely visible from the ground. And the mountains that surround the castle are full of all kinds of monsters that the trolls only keep away from the main roads and castle itself. Last of all I don’t know how but they have some way of tracking us, I didn’t make it more than a few hours before some blimp was chasing after me and then they just shot a big net out of a catapult and that was the end of that. Heard the same story from other griffons, pegasi and whatever. No one’s ever even made it to the coastline from the castle.” She shrugged apathetically. “And with the guards we’ve got with us right now I doubt we’d get anywhere if we tried to escape here either.”

“Well I never intended us to escape here, we’ve still got everyone else to save after all.” I said, sitting back and ruminating on what Gertrude had said. The trolls sounded over-confident in their ability to catch runaway slaves, they couldn’t possibly organize enough forces to chase after multiple fliers, especially if they went in different directions, could they? A tracking ability sounded problematic though.

Would we be able to leave? Would I be able to free all of the slaves and safely get them out of here? Or perhaps would something different need to be done?

I was again interrupted from my musings by the carriage pulling to a stop. A moment later a troll guard opened up the door in the back of the carriage for us to exit.

“We’re here.” He told us. “You will all be staying together to make it easier. We will be guarding you the entirety of the trip.”

Guarding us and handling us to make sure we didn’t escape. But no matter, it was time for shopping!

Friendship Is Magic

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As I stepped down from the carriage onto the cobblestone road I immediately noticed many pairs of troll eyes looking at me and my little group. More than a few odd looks, more than a few rude looks. But many others just went about their business, not caring about the random group of slaves that just arrived in town from the castle escorted by a large contingent of guards. As with anywhere else busy people kept on with their work.

This was going to be so much fun! I looked around at the buildings surrounding us. Large wooden stores and businesses that stretched down each and every road. As I had instructed the ones pulling the carriage we were to be brought to the largest clothing store and now it was time to head inside.

“Right, everyone stick with me, I may want to have you model some things but for the most part I already know what I’m looking for.” I said to my friends and walked onto the sidewalk. In front of me was a red-painted building with big glass windows in the front that allowed me to see a massive amount of racks and shelves positively filled with clothes and fabrics of all sort.

The sign above the door read “Tornet’s Emporium”. Wonderful!

“We’ll be starting here!” I cheerfully said to my companions and pulled the door open with my magic, letting us all inside.

To my dismay but not quite surprise the clothes were the standard I had come to expect from the trolls. Lots of very plain and ugly pants, some vests and coats, nothing with any style to it. Most of it was just the same thing over and over again but in a multitude of colors. Except the “multitude” was actually only shades of brown, tan, gray and black. I just don’t understand.

Still there was quite a lot of raw materials and other supplies here that I could use. If I wanted to find anything good that was already made I’d probably have to look at a store that sold things directly brought in from their pirates. Or maybe just rummage through a warehouse or whatever they used for storage before things were taken or sold off elsewhere.

A shame. I couldn’t even have anyone here do some modeling just for fun. In the end I just got a few rolls of fabric. Gertrude carried them into the carriage and we moved on to the next place.

“You know I never cared much about clothes but that store was pretty boring wasn’t it?” Soleil said as we made our way down the street.

It was good to know that even people with a lack of knowledge about fashion could see that.

I also decided to let the part about her not caring much about clothes go for now. I’ll get her in a nice dress later.

“It’s something I’ve noticed all over with the trolls unfortunately.” I said to her. “Another good thing about what I’ve gotten to do lately is that I’ve managed to bring style and flair to the castle while enjoying myself at the same time. And I plan to keep doing that while we free all the slaves as well. Win win!” I finished cheerfully.

And I believe I knew them well enough by now to tell that both Gertrude and Daylight were rolling their eyes without even having to see them.

I had our guards take us to wherever things were first taken after they got processed at the docks. It was a bit of a winding journey down the roads of this town, there were unfortunately no windows in the carriage that Duke Terluff had selected for us so I couldn’t look out and see what the rest of the town looked like or anything. I wonder what the average troll house looked like? Architecture can often be an inspiration for fashion and art.

The carriage stopped again and we found ourselves at the far end of the docks, rows of warehouses were all that stood here. The troll guards deposited us at the nearest one. It must be for the newest stuff brought in.

There was a rather gruff and scraggly troll arguing with our guards about letting us come in here and doing as we pleased. Must be some kind of dockmaster or overseer. Whatever his position was, orders from a duke likely outweighed whatever he wanted.

“That’s a big building, we just looking for whatever now?” Gertrude asked.

“Well I hope they have things organized in there, that would make it a lot easier.” I responded.

It was more likely they had things put together by date though and from where they came from rather than what it actually was. That could make it problematic to find anything I wanted. And I still didn’t know how they handled the storage in here without opening it up, so let’s get on with it.

“Can you be dears and open up this warehouse for us?” I asked a pair of the guards.

The two nodded to each other and went to retrieve a key from the scraggly troll. The large sliding doors of the warehouse were chained together and needed to be unlocked first. After the key was obtained from the overseer the chains were removed from the handles and our guards pulled both of the heavy doors to the side to allow us to walk in without a problem. It was nice that the guards could act so gentlemanly, even if it was just because of Duke Terluff’s orders.

I primly strolled inside with my friends following me and looked around the interior of the warehouse.

“Oh dear.”

Just as I feared. Mountains of boxes and crates thrown everywhere, and some things that were too big for boxes just left out in the open. No direction to anything, no signs or dividers to separate anything, not even any individual packing labels on the boxes to see what was inside without having to open them up.

“Whew, good luck going through all that.” Gertrude whistled from behind me.

I turned and gave her an unamused look. “You seem to be under the impression that you won’t be helping the rest of us out with that.” I grinned at her. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

The poor griffon’s face fell. “Ugh, seriously? We really doing this?”

“Yes darling, I want to see if I can find anything good.” I walked forward to the nearest pile of boxes before speaking to everyone else. “Now I know this isn’t going to be very fun and I promise we won’t do it for long but let’s see what we can find, shall we?”

Everyone joined me in sifting through the warehouse. It was an absolute treasure trove of knickknacks, junk, refuse, and just about anything else you could think of. I even found a cabinet full of old dictionaries. However that ended up here I have no idea. The most recent arrivals were to the front of the warehouse and earlier ones to the back but that was hardly helpful since there was no other distinguishing factor between any single box or pile. How many ships came in and deposited their ill-gotten cargo here? I can’t remember how many I saw when I first arrived at this port all those days ago but I remember there being more than a few.

I used my magic to pry open a crate that upon inspection was filled with unassembled tables. What a find.

That’s me being sarcastic again by the way.

Soleil had flown up to the tops of some stacks to see if there was anything up there while Spine and Cinder riffled through a series of filing cabinets placed along the wall of the warehouse. Gertrude lazily and half-heartedly pushed her way through some boxes, I’m fairly certain she wasn’t actually looking at anything. Daylight was carefully perusing through the boxes near the front of the warehouse. It was good to know I could at least count on her to be diligent.

“So we’re looking for nice clothes right?” Soleil said as she floated above me. “Cause all I’ve found is some ratty old sheets and a pair of boots.”

“Yes or just some nice material.” I said back up to her. “What we got at the emporium was good but I’d like to see if I can find anything that isn’t normally available at a store.”

I didn’t tell them that I was looking for gifts for them too.

“Feels like you could’ve just had Duke Terluff get all this.” Gertrude said as she opened up a sack lying on the floor to inspect its contents.

“Of course, but then none of us would’ve been able to go on this fun little outing now would we? I think a little rummaging is a fair price to pay for getting to leave the castle and enjoying some alone time together without having to worry about being interrupted by the trolls and marched off to do whatever.” I frowned at her continual cynical attitude but made sure to keep any venom out of my voice. It was better to treat someone like her with positivity than just get in an argument. I get in enough silly arguments with my friends back home.

“Fine, fine, sorry for being such a complainer.” She waved me off and kept looking through things.

Score one for Rarity!

I giggled. “I only jest, darling. We’ll be able to relax and chat on the trip back too and everything.”

After that I got back to my own searching. The sheer amount of unmarked boxes made this a daunting and almost pointless task but I wanted to at least find something that made this little detour worthwhile. I kept popping over box after box and peering inside to see nothing of any value. Random items like pencil holders, hammers, rope, notebooks, etc. I’ll check a few more boxes but by then the others will have probably become tired and bored enough that we should just stop.

I used my magic to pull over a relatively new looking box and opened it up. At first it looked like a whole bunch of nothing again but as I was rummaging through it I finally found something!

It was a little black bow. It would look absolutely perfect on Daylight Gleam. Perhaps positioned right behind her horn or maybe tilted off to the side? Whichever way it complemented her perfectly, finally I had one gift down. The others it would look like I would have to make myself, oh well, no matter for me, it would just take a bit of time since I had so much other work to do first.

For now I deposited the little bow in a bag I found, I didn’t want to give it to Daylight just yet, we needed to be somewhere with a mirror so she could see how it looked on her. I’ll give it to her back at my office.

“Alright darlings, just a little more and then we’ll stop!” I shouted to everyone.

Most just said “okay” and waved back at me but Gertrude gave an exaggerated sigh of relief. I rolled my eyes in response even though she couldn’t see me.

We spent a few more minutes looking through things in our immediate area before stopping and leaving the warehouse, our guards were more than happy to shepherd us back to the carriage and leave this place. I was the last to get on but before I did something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. A wagon pulling into the warehouse district. It was the same kind of caged wagon that transported me and Captain Anchor and his crew to the castle, the cage on back of this one had two figures that reminded me of an old friend. Capper, I don’t exactly know what your people are called but I’d like to see you again. The two cats were held in chains and looked despondent. New slaves no doubt. I don’t know where they were going or what work was intended for them but I hope things turned out okay for the two.

I would make things turn out okay.

But for now it was time to return to the castle.

“Okay, you can open your eyes now.”

I held Daylight Gleam in front of the mirror and watched as she opened her eyes and saw her gift resting on her head, the black bow slightly off-center so that her horn didn’t obstruct it from the front. It fit in so well with her blonde mane and alabaster coat. Like I said when I first met her she would look very good if she just put in a little extra effort with her mane, and this accessory would go a long way.

She smiled and turned her head back and forth to see it from every direction. “I love it, thank you Rarity.”

“No need for that, I owed you after all.” I turned to my other friends as they watched the two of us. “That goes for you all as well, unfortunately I couldn’t find anything quite as fitting for you while we were at the port so I’ll be making it myself. It will just take a bit of time.”

“You really don’t have to do something like that...” Gertrude grumbled, rubbing her head in embarrassment. She obviously wasn’t used to receiving gifts from others.

“Speak for yourself, I can’t wait to see what Rarity has in store!” Soleil said, quite a bit happier. “I mean just look at what she can make! I’m sure whatever you’ve thought up for us is gonna be beautiful.”

“Dragons don’t usually wear any kind of clothes but if it’s a gift I’m not gonna say no.” Cinder said with a shrug and Spine nodded along beside her.

“Thank you dears.” I said to them all. “However now there isn’t a lot of time for that, we have quite a bit of work to be doing.”

I set them up with their jobs and got started. There was a long list of orders to fulfill and I had something else I wanted to do today the moment I finished what I had planned. While I sewed and sewed and sewed for the nobles I also looked towards my dress hanging off the slapped together ponyquin I had made. A black and dark blue outfit that screamed “Untouchable Royalty”. The flowing end of it, the high collar and puffy shoulders. I would look very good in that. More than good but strong and belonging. The design was inspired by this castle and island after all. I hope others would be able to see that.

There were only the smallest amount of alterations and finishing touches I needed to make on my dress, and then I would pay Duke Terluff a visit.

For several more hours that day we worked until it was well into the evening. I could tell that the others were getting tired aside from Gertrude who had quite the constitution. Spine in fact was just sleeping in the corner while Daylight’s eyes were staying open less and less. I suppose this would be all for today. With one last push through my sewing machine I hemmed up the bottom of the latest suit I was working on and then stopped.

“Alright, we’ve all had a very busy day. Let’s get some sleep shall we?” I said to them.

Gertrude wiped her forehead and cracked her back, stretching her wings wide. “Phew, not as much trouble as masonry work but still.”

I used my magic to pull out some sheets and blankets from the cabinets that I had Duke Terluff get me when I told him I would be having more people working in here. Daylight helped me set them up in the empty back of the office while Cinder woke up Spine and brought her over.

“Now you all enjoy your rest.” I told them with a bright smile. “It will be busy tomorrow too.”

“You sound like you’re not sleeping yet?” Gertrude asked me.

“I’m not. I have one last piece of business to take care of tonight.” I grabbed my dress from the ponyquin and began putting it on. “Don’t wait up for me, I could be a while.”

“Uh, okay?” Gertrude wasn’t sure what I was going on about but she wasn’t about to bother. Daylight and Soleil had already passed out on the blankets behind her and she wanted to retire as well. With a shrug she turned away from me and I left the office.

Let us hope this goes well.

In my new dress I looked stunning and by far the best I had looked since arriving at this castle. Normally I would not want to wear it before a party but I wanted to be at my best for this. Also I enjoy looking just as good outside as I am inside.

The walk was one I had taken many times now, only passing a few guards who tried their hardest not to stare at my dress. The familiarity of walking to and from my office and Duke Terluff’s home was comforting. If I was wrong and had misjudged things this could be the last time I would be taking this walk. I was certain that wouldn’t be the case though, I knew what I was doing. And I believed in Duke Terluff.

Within a few minutes I had arrived at his front door, as always I didn’t knock, simply entering on my own. Technically I still lived here after all.

I kept my breathing even and steadily walked down the hallway into that first room with the big table. No one was sitting at it but Duke Terluff was definitely home.

“Duke Terluff?” I called out. “It’s me, Rarity, are you here? I’d like to talk to you about something.”

I heard some shuffling coming from his office, seems he was up late working.

“Rarity?” His voice was muffled behind his door but I could hear his feet thumping on the ground before he threw open the door to his office and walked out. “What are-”

He stopped as he saw me in my fantastic new dress, eyes going wide in surprise.

“Oh, I see. So you’ve finished your dress? And the others you had to work on as well I assume? You’ll be a smash hit at Tulepule’s next party for sure.” He said with a grin.

“I certainly will be but that’s not actually the reason I came here to talk with you tonight.” I replied, any smile absent from my face.

He was confused and a bit put off I could tell. First off I think he noticed I wasn’t being playful or sarcastic right now, just blunt. And he likely wasn’t used to being talked to like that. Secondly he preferred things fun and carefree and wasn’t much for the serious stuff. He was a passionate fellow, it’s part of what I liked about him. But this had to be done.

“What is it?” He asked slowly.

“I’ve come to talk to you about my status and the issue of slavery.” Just throwing it out in the open.

The Duke grimaced, eyes looking this way and that, anywhere but me. “And?”

“To put it simply, I want you to help me end it.”

He stood there for a moment. Silent. Frozen.

“Normally I would laugh.” He finally said. “But I don’t think you’re making a joke this time.”

“I most certainly am not.” I gave him a pitying look. “Sorry to put you on the spot like this though.”

Duke Terluff scratched the back of his head and with a heavy sigh took a seat at his table. “Although I would like to help you, I don’t have that power. Even as a duke. The best I can do for you is keep you as my personal attendant, and you can keep making your dresses and gather as much power and respect as you want. But you will never stop being a slave or be allowed to leave this place. I’m sorry.” He motioned for me to join him at the table and I did, making sure not to wrinkle my dress. “You are… my friend. I won’t put on airs or try to act aloof about that anymore. I enjoy your company, my wife likes you, you’ve done a great service to me many times over now. And I would like to grant your wish and free you from this place but it’s just not possible.”

I closed my eyes and breathed in. Then out.

“Duke Terluff, you’re misunderstanding me. I didn’t say I wanted you to free me. I said I wanted you to help me end slavery. In its entirety. I want to free every last slave in this castle and bring down the whole system.”

He stood up in shock, knocking over his chair. I winced at the loud sound as it struck the tiled floor.

“Are you mad?! What could possess you of such an idea? To even mention something like that is a crime here! And it’s frankly absurd to even hope for!” He shook his balled up fists in my face, a mixture of anger and pure disbelief written on his features.

But I was not backing down.

“I want to do it simply because I have to. I can’t stand knowing this place exists as it is and treats all manner of creatures so terribly.” I bluntly said to him.

“How could you think I would help you with this?” He stood in front of me, his large troll body towering over me. “I could have you thrown back in the slave quarters or down in those dreadful stadiums for saying such a thing to me, you know?”

“Yes, you could.” I agreed. And then gave him a friendly smile. “But you wont.”

“And why not?!” He practically shouted down at me.

“Because you’re a good person.”

He just about deflated like a balloon.

“You can’t just say that like it’s true… and even if it is it doesn’t just solve everything.” He pulled out another chair and sat back down limply, like a wet towel tossed over a shower rod.

“I think I’m a fairly good judge of one’s character.” I said as I stepped down from my chair and put a hoof on his knee. “You have been nothing but kind and fair to me since we met. And anyone who loves their wife as much as you can’t be so bad.”

Duke Terluff blushed, looking away in embarrassment.

“You may have turned a blind-eye to unpleasant things or been oblivious to them but who can blame you for that?” I continued on. “I even became enraptured by the good life here and forgot myself for a time. It happens.”

“But so what?” He started up again. “Even if I don’t agree with things you’re asking me to turn my back on and essentially go to war with my own kingdom.”

“Duke Terluff.” I stared into his beady eyes with my big blue ones. “How many good nights of sleep will you be able to get after this if you don’t do anything to help? You couldn’t just go back to ignoring it all again. It would eat you up inside, knowing that things are wrong but doing nothing to change them. If there was something like this going on in Equestria you could bet that I would do everything in my power to make it right.”

He turned from me and planted his elbows on the table, burying his head in his hands.“I’ve had abolitionists hunted down in the past too.”

I coughed. “Yes, well...”

The duke raised his head. “I do want to make things better. I’ve always wanted to improve things here, but I was too lazy and too caught up in having fun.” His eyes looked off to the wall, avoiding my gaze in embarrassment. “Until I met you.”

“Until we became friends.” I said, my voice a proud smile.

“I love my home. And my people. But we could be better, couldn’t we?” He asked no one in particular his gaze unfocused.

“I… I think so, yes.”

And I did. Terluff, Tyluck, they and others were proof of it. The Changelings changed from being monsters to benevolent creatures, Starlight changed, Discord of all people changed. I think the trolls could change too. However this was a bit different. This was a society and culture that we were trying to change.

“Duke Terluff, I told you before that I initially came here as a sort of ambassador from Equestria. Sent to learn about you and your country. I think we would be glad to set up relations with you when you’ve fixed the problems.”

He pulled his head back out of the clouds and stared at me, a sad look coming onto his face as he registered what I said.

“But all we’ve talked about is still just a pipe dream. I can’t do anything to end slavery here. I’d be arrested or just executed for trying to bring up the subject. This is the way things have always been here, it’s part of our kingdom. The King and High Priest would never in a million years change things.”

A smirk came onto my face.

I walked away from him to the room with the fireplace, standing in front of it and making a show of looking as noble as possible.

“Duke Terluff, my dear friend, you’ve misunderstood my intentions again. I know full well that we can’t just talk our way through things here. Even the highest nobles are bound to the King’s orders aren’t they? And tradition and conformity holds an iron grip on so many. Drastic change is in order. It’s going to be a revolution, darling.”

Stressful Couture

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“So what about him?” I said, pointing to the name of a troll baron on a long piece of parchment.

“No good.” Duke Terluff replied. “He’s an opportunistic coward who would go straight to the King if he heard about what we were planning to do.”

“Finding more friends isn’t exactly easy.” I grimaced as I looked down the sheet that listed every troll noble and their rank, we had been poring over it all day so Duke Terluff could enlighten me on who might be friendly to our cause.

“I told you there won’t be many who would directly support us, and if anyone said something publicly… well, that would be it for them.”

“So all we’ll really be getting is people saying they support or agree with us in private but won’t actually do anything unless we’ve already won?” I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Pretty much.” He shrugged.

I sighed, leaning back in my chair. The two of us were in his private office, having discussed this and our plans all day while I had my friends do the finishing touches and some minor work on my last dress orders. Tulepule’s next ball was in two days but as much as I needed to keep up appearances I had bigger things to worry about now. Now that I and Duke Terluff were actually plotting the overthrow of the old system and the end of slavery after all.

“There’s really only a single opportunity for us to do anything too.” I said. “The Grand Festival, when the King and High Priest both come down to mingle and celebrate with everyone else. Otherwise how would we even get to him?”

“We can’t, the royal family, the High Priest and all his closest subordinates stay in their private fortress that’s locked away from the rest of the castle. You’ve seen it haven’t you?” He asked.

I didn’t answer. I remembered when I had been doing farm work, looking up at that far mountain peak and seeing the private sanctum of the King. A castle within a castle where the only way to get inside from the rest of the castle were heavily guarded bridges.

“So that’s it then, we have to do something at the Grand Festival. There’s no other way.” I said plainly.

“Yes. The question is what? And just how peacefully things can go.” Duke Terluff sat back, he still wasn’t exactly happy to be plotting like this.

And I wasn’t sure what either. We didn’t have much time to prepare and we hardly had any allies or people who could even remotely be called allies. I had my connections with some nobles but would any of them help? Doubtful. At least Duke Terluff had all the necessary insider information when it came to other nobles and their sympathies and ideals. I was friends with some other slaves and could likely set up communications with many others, if I could visit Harlequin Black and Captain Anchor down in the stadiums perhaps they could introduce me to the other slaves down there and an eventual revolt could be planned? Gertrude had been here for a while and knew a lot of the slaves still working in the castle, maybe I could do the same through her. It would be a good idea regardless to set up relations with as many of the slaves in the castle as I could.

What would the guards do? Would they fight for the King regardless or if we somehow took control would they just listen to us now? It was good at least that hardly anyone seemed to actually like the King, they just followed him because that was the way things were. But he spent all his time in his own castle I doubt most nobles would ever consider the King an actual friend or anything or would support him out of more than just obligation and tradition. Maybe the other nobles would like someone more public and friendlier taking up rulership? Regardless of what they felt about slavery or certain other things.

“I’m getting tired thinking about all this.” I said as I rubbed my shut eyes, “Maybe we should just enjoy Tulepule’s party first, take the time to relax.”

“Sounds fine to me.” Duke Terluff nodded before sighing. “I still need to tell my wife everything. Or maybe I shouldn’t bother her about it.”

I couldn’t help but giggle at how quickly his thoughts went to his wife.

“Yes and I need to get back to my office and see how things are going. I’ll probably need to finish up a lot of the work myself.” I have faith in everyone but Gertrude to be doing a good job. It’s just that I happen to have very high standards.

“A lot of good ground was covered, at least we got started.” I hopped off my chair and opened up the door to his office. “I’ll see you again before the party.”

“Of course.” He smiled at me.

It was then that there was a knock on the front door. Duke Terluff scowled and stood up, grumbling under his breath about more work doubtlessly piling up. I wondered who it was too and I followed the Duke as he walked past me out of his office to the front door. Hopefully it wasn’t something that would take up too much of my friend’s time.

He made it to the front door and pulled it open, upon which a surprising sight awaited the two of us.

There was a rather sharp looking troll dressed in a suit and surrounded by four guards. I had no idea what was going on and glanced up at Duke Terluff to see a similar look of confusion on his face.

“Termyne? What are you doing here?” Duke Terluff asked. So he at least knew who this was.

“Duke Terluff.” This “Termyne” fellow gave a slight bow. “I am here on order from the High Priest, he has heard of your slave and wishes to request her services. Is she-” It was then that he finally noticed me standing by Duke Terluff’s side. “Oh, hello. Your name is Rarity, correct?”

“Yes, it is.” I said and slowly walked up to him. “The High Priest wants something of me?”

“He has heard from others that Duke Terluff has a slave that makes wondrous clothes. He wants you to make a dress for his wife.” Termyne told me.

Well. This was unexpected. I think I could hear Duke Terluff’s jaw hit the floor from behind me.

“I’m… I would be honored.” I was too shocked to say anything else. My own mouth and eyes were embarrassingly wide open.

“To be honest you didn’t really have the option to refuse.” Termyne said.

I had figured as much but he didn’t need to say that.

“Hold on.” Duke Terluff said, gathering his wits back and walking up beside me. “She still has other work to do and she was planning on accompanying me to Duke Tulepule’s next party, when will-”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to forget about all of that.” Termyne rudely cut him off. “The High Priest requests her presence and abilities now. She’ll be able to return whenever she finishes the dress. That’s it.”

Duke Terluff narrowed his eyes at Termyne and his fists shook in anger but it was clear he couldn’t go against something the High Priest wanted.

“Duke Terluff, it’s alright. My friends will have the dresses for the other nobles finished, I’ll simply have to join you at the next party.” I placed a hoof on his hip to settle him down.

He growled but didn’t say anything more to Termyne, instead just looking down at me. “Just be careful in there. Don’t act all haughty and brazen with the High Priest like you do with me, in fact don’t speak unless spoken to at all. For your own good.”

I frowned but nodded. I got the feeling that being myself would end up with me biting off more than I could chew.

“The Duke is right. Speaking out of turn or saying anything that can even be slightly construed as rude or improper in the castle of the royal family and the presence of the High Priest is a quick road to being executed.” Termyne said.

Not exactly comforting.

“Well thank you for the warning at least. I suppose we’ll be leaving now?” I asked.

“You are correct. Come along with me.” Termyne gave a small nod to Duke Terluff and made an about face and started walking away, his guards going with him.

“Good luck. I hope to see you back soon.” Duke Terluff said to me.

“I hope to be back soon.” I said. Only a little bit worried. “Could you please go tell the others what’s happened?”

“Of course, you should run along now.”

I gave him a last, uncomfortable, smile and trotted off to walk with Termyne. To the private castle of the King and his closest trolls.

Naturally this was not a part of the castle I had been to before. Our small party stood in front of a large doorway, the walls leading up to it were lined with more troll guards than I had seen anywhere else. But they all merely stood to the side, clearly knowing who Termyne was and allowing him and the rest of us to go this way without a problem. The four guards Termyne had brought with him now walked forward and began to push the door open. The thing was truly massive I have to tell you. Several feet thick at least, it slowly slid across the ground as they pushed and a familiar sound came to my ears.

The pounding of rain on stone. This door led directly outside. No, more than that, it led directly to one of the bridges that would take us to the private castle. The six of us now walked through the door and let it close behind us, we were under a large stone overhang that momentarily protected us from the rain and allowed me to see that the storm was fierce outside today. As expected I suppose. There were a few other trolls that had already been standing under this overhang before the door was opened and one of them came up to us and opened up a large umbrella over mine and Termyne’s head.

And by large umbrella I mean large even by troll standards. It was like a canopy or tent over me.

Now that we had that, Termyne started walking down and across the bridge. The troll holding the umbrella for the two of us halfway out of its cover and not minding that he was getting partially soaked. It was a long ways before we would get to the King’s castle, a long way for us to just walk down this simple stone bridge while the rain poured down around us.

It was at this moment that despite the loud rain and the fact that I should be practicing on keeping quiet that I decided to let my curiosity get the better of me and ask about Termyne.

“So what do you exactly do here anyways?”

If he was surprised by my sudden question he didn’t show it. In fact he was so silent and kept walking as if he didn’t hear me that I thought for a moment that he wouldn’t respond. But then he opened up his mouth.

“I am to the High Priest what you are to Duke Terluff. A personal assistant. His majordomo. I facilitate business within their castle and direct other servants and slaves.”

And he was not one for small talk as he clammed up immediately after that. So we made our way through the rest of the rain in silence, the gate of the castle getting closer and closer. I was already feeling a little bit stressed, more anxious than when I finally decided to tell Duke Terluff about my desire to free the slaves. The opportunity to make a dress for the wife of such an important figure was wonderful but the rest of the situation was just too nerve-wracking.

I acted as calm and collected as I could when we finally made it to the entrance to the King’s castle. The door swung open for us through some unseen means and we walked inside and out of the rain. And now I really had to be careful.

“I will now take you to the chambers of the High Priest.” Termyne said and beckoned me to follow him.

“Thank you.” I now decided to take a look around the private castle I was in. In general the architecture and art were the same as always but the atrium we were inside after just stepping out of the rain was quite impressive. A massive room that looked like its ceiling stretched all the way to the top of the castle, with a staircase winding around the walls and landings that could deposit us off at any story.

So of course we ended up having to walk to the highest story. Things were quiet in here, quieter even than the emptier parts of the main castle and I saw a far fewer number of servants and slaves going about their business. Trying to pass some more time while we made our climb I attempted to engage Termyne in small talk again.

“So I’m getting the chance to make a dress for the High Priest’s wife? That’s pretty incredible now that I think about it. Perhaps next I’ll be designing one for the Queen?”

Termnye glanced down at me, his face an unreadable mask. “I suppose you haven’t had reason to learn yet but there is no Queen. Females can hold no rank, she’s just “The King’s wife”.”

What an abhorrent system!

I wisely didn’t say that aloud. And I wisely would continue to keep my thoughts to myself when we made it to the High Priest.

From the ceiling hung a positively gigantic chandelier that put every other chandelier I had seen in my life to shame. All the lights, candles and crystals that made it up could make ten impressive chandeliers of their own, it spanned practically the entirety of the ceiling. In the future I may wish to make a smaller copy and see if Princess Celestia or maybe even Twilight would like it installed in their castle’s. Drinking in the illustrious sight of it took my mind off how tiring it was to walk up all these steps, I almost didn’t notice when we finally arrived at the top.

There was but a single hallway, down we walked towards an ornate wooden door with large golden knockers and handles. Termyne however didn’t knock, simply opened it up and walked inside. His guards stayed behind but I walked in with him.

The room was surprisingly mundane. Very utilitarian. Plain tables and chairs, simple mauve paint on the walls, hardwood floor, a lack of art or sculptures. Quite different from the chambers of the nobles I had seen. From this sitting room there was only one door in front of us that must have led to the rest of the High Priest’s residence, I could hear shuffling from behind it that was coming closer and closer.

“Do not speak unless directly asked a question.” Termyne quietly said from beside me.

I had no chance to respond as the door was pushed open and a rather elderly looking troll walked into the room. He wore a simple red robe and strode toward Termyne without even looking at me.

“Is that the one?” His hands trembled as he spoke.

“Yes sir, she is the one.”

The High Priest (at least that’s who I assumed he was, I mean who else could it be?) nodded repeatedly and slowly turned back around as if he was taking care to not move in the wrong way.

“Good, good.” He continued to completely ignore my presence as he walked back to the door he had come from. “You know where to take her, it’s all set up, if she doesn’t do a good job then execute her.”

“Of course.” Termyne bluntly affirmed.

Oh dear.

I was a little put off at how simply Termyne responded. Did he really not have a problem with that? What an awful person if so. Was the High Priest not even going to care about the final product as long as others said it was as good as the rest of the dresses I had made here? And how would any of you know if I did a good job or not?! Before I came here you wouldn’t know good fashion from a torn up potato sack!

Good thing I didn’t say that aloud too.

After going back down several flights of stairs I was locked, yes, locked, in a room overflowing with an even grander assortment and selection of materials and instruments to make a dress than Duke Terluff could offer. I was given a picture of the High Priest’s wife, the dress she wore to the previous Grand Festival of which I was assured still fit her perfectly, and the order to “Hurry up”.

You can not rush art.

The nerve of them.

The darling I was making the dress for appeared far younger than her husband with a lustrous brown fur. After seeing her picture and remembering the simplicity of what the High Priest wore and how he “decorated” his room I decided to go a different direction than the previous dresses I had made. Her gown would be a simple but elegant and beautiful white silk with golden trim and a golden flower pattern all across it.

White and gold fit together extremely well as our dear Princess Celestia proved.

Of course while I did come up with the general idea for the dress very quickly the finer details and the process of actually making it was far more difficult. The reason being that you can’t just force art either, you can’t just expect me to make something amazing with a snap of your fingers. As talented and creative as I am it simply does not work that way. I need the right inspiration, the right passion and moment. To sit me down like this and tell me to make a beautiful dress or else is actually very stifling and counter-productive.

I need to make art and fashion on my own terms for it to be truly wonderful.

Thankfully however I am still me and I believe myself to be great enough to overcome these problems. I wouldn’t be the best dressmaker and fashion designer in Equestria otherwise.

No I do not consider that bragging.

I started finishing up the design for the dress, it would have a frilly bottom half and a longer than usual train. Add that to the white color and it would come off a bit like a wedding dress. Now I wasn’t sure what sort of timetable I was on but I figured they wanted it done relatively soon. And I wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible for a multitude of reasons as well. However despite that desire I would not rush my creation for not only the fear of being executed but for my pride as an artist.

I was already going to miss Tulepule’s ball for certain anyways. But this was also cutting into the time we needed to prepare things for the Grand Festival.

At least I wasn’t still stuck with a creative dry spell like I was before coming here. Then I’d really be in trouble. The High Priest’s attitude and lack of appreciation towards me really put a damper on things but I wasn’t going to let that get to me either.

By the looks of things the sewing machine I was to use had been completely untouched thus far, brand new just for my use, so I began feeding the material through it and getting started on the dress. Quite a lot of it would need to be hoof-stitched. I needed to find the right gold thread for the flowers and I was going to use quite a lot of sequins to really give it a shine. This dress would not be as busy or as eye-catching in my opinion as many others I had made but it would exude a simple beauty and classiness from it.

I stayed up all night working as hard as I could on it. Thinking up new ideas and discarding them just as quickly. Despite the fatigue setting in I kept up my work, keeping my eyes practically glued to the dress beginning to take shape in front of me. Yes, my magic was working. I could feel that this dress would be great when I was done with it.

Not like I should ever be doubted.

And if they didn’t think it was good enough for their poor taste well then it’s their loss! I would not go quietly, in fact I would throw the biggest tantrum they had ever seen! You had better believe it!

Certainly they would be able to see the magnificence of this dress though. I saw from looking in a mirror that I had bags under my eyes, it was likely morning and I assumed I would get a check-up from someone at least once a day. The dress wasn’t finished yet but already its beauty should be apparent. I believe it would only take me one more day to complete it. Whether I would be sleeping at all or not while I worked on it was another question.

Hardly the first time I found myself so caught up in my work that I didn’t sleep. In fact that happened just recently.

“Is it coming along well?”

I looked up from my work, startled. Termyne was there, standing just inside the door. I had been so focused on my work I didn’t even notice him come in. Hardly the first time that has happened either.

I blinked a few times and shook my head to try and get some of the sleepiness away before I responded. “Yes it’s going well. I believe I’ll have it finished within a day.”

“Good. And it will be of exemplary quality of course?” Despite his tone not changing at all I couldn’t help but feel I was being mocked.

“Every dress I make is of exemplary quality. You will all find no reason to complain.” I responded with just a touch of attitude.

“You should be careful how you speak.” He walked forward and surveyed what I had done so far. “But I confess that I don’t understand any of this. I’ve never paid half a mind to what we wear and I don’t see why the High Priest cares about getting one of these so-called amazing dresses he’s heard have been taking the castle by storm.”

“Is that really how the rumors are going?” I happily jumped up, fatigue forgotten as my delight at hearing such news made my eyes sparkle.

Termyne stepped back, put off by my sudden exuberance. “So I have heard.” He fixed me with a bemused look. “That has nothing to do with this though, I’ll be back tomorrow to see the finished product then. Please do not disappoint us.”

It was at this point that I would’ve stuck my tongue out at him as he left if I wasn’t such a sophisticated person with a high level of etiquette.

I really wanted to do it though.

The High Priest was really not a pleasant troll in the slightest. He held up my dress in his hands and looked it all over, inspecting it to see if it came up to his standards and taste. As if he knew what he was doing at all. I mean really? What does the High Priest know about fashion? Is he just putting on a show to come off as a more learned and noble troll than the others? There were only guards in here besides me and Termyne in the first place. Who are you trying to impress?

Did you need to see if it was proper for your wife to wear? That I could at least understand.

I really wish I could speak all of this aloud.

“Is she to be executed?” Termyne asked him.

Why would you ask that?! Don’t put the idea in his head! Do you want me to be executed?!

The High Priest kept turning over and looking all over the dress without responding. He held it rather close to his face, I wonder if he couldn’t see well. I really hoped he didn’t accidentally tear it or anything. Not just for my sake but because it would be a crime against fashion to ruin something so nice.

He finally stopped moving it around and snorted, clearing his breath. “No. I like it. It will look good on my wife, you can send her back to Terluff.”

“Of course, sir.” Termyne bowed and I practically fainted in relief.

The next few minutes were a daze as the High Priest retreated into his room and I was led by Termyne down the stairs to the doors of the royal castle.

“You can find your own way back of course, and there are guards stationed at the end of the bridge to open up the door for you.” He turned to leave but stopped and briefly glanced back over his shoulder. “I suppose you’re a rather lucky slave all in all.”

You know what? I didn’t like him either.

As I left the royal castle I noticed that the rain had let up, something that I was grateful for. Now it was just a simple walk back to Duke Terluff’s home and we could get back down to business. In fact I think I just came up with a great idea for what we could do at the Grand Festival.

However as I started walking across the bridge I noticed something that almost made me freeze.

White-streak, Berten, was walking down the bridge to the castle. Well there was simply no way of avoiding him. We’d walk right by each other. I tried not to make my apprehension apparent, I didn’t even look at him any further, just keeping my eyes forward and not focusing on him. If he was paying attention to me I didn’t notice.

Finally the two of us met side by side, I heard a brief chuckle come from him but he kept walking. Neither of us gave anymore notice to the other. I would be glad to get back into the castle, back to Terluff and my other friends. This has been stressful enough already.

Sewing The Seeds

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My office was now crowded as Duke Terluff and the other slaves all stood together as we planned our next move. I already told Gertrude that we would be spreading the word to the other slaves that they should be prepared at the Grand Festival. And later today I would make a return trip to those dreadful stadiums beneath the castle with Duke Terluff so I could set things up with the slaves down there. Right at this moment however I was going to tell them all about the actual plan for the Grand Festival I had just recently come up with.

“So are we really doing this? Cause this seems kind of nuts.”

Or Gertrude could interrupt me right off the bat.

“I mean, I’m impressed that you actually convinced this guy to join in on this.” She said, hooking her thumb at the nonplussed Duke Terluff. “But like… what are we doing?”

I sighed. I did enjoy Gertrude and it was good to have a contrarian voice in these situations, less you not see a problem that could’ve been avoided, but I’d like it if she had some faith in me as well.

“Gertrude, if you would let me speak first I’ll explain things to you. We’re all preparing for the Grand Festival as I’ve already told you. And I’ve now finally figured out just what we need to do at it.” I smiled and paused purposefully to let them register what I had said and stir up anticipation. “We are going to hold… a fashion show!”

My proclamation was met with silence, raised eyebrows, and confused faces. I was a little disappointed at their reactions.

Daylight Gleam slowly raised her hoof.

“Yes, Daylight, you heard correctly. A fashion show.” I knew what she was going to ask.

“Uhh...” Gertrude started.

“And yes Gertrude, I am serious.” I narrowed my eyes at her and everyone else. “Allow me to explain.”

“Please do.” Duke Terluff scratched his head in befuddlement as I was once more interrupted. “I’m a little concerned at this point that a fashion show is your grand plan.”

I closed my eyes and rubbed them in annoyance before getting back to the task at hand. “Okay. As Duke Terluff told me, the King and High Priest only ever leave their private castle during the Grand Festival. At which point they’ll come down and engage with the other nobles and partake in things like plays and other events going on. Correct?” I asked Duke Terluff.

He nodded. “That’s correct.”

“Right. So what I plan to do is put on a large fashion show that they and the many other nobles will come see. I got this idea after I made the dress for the High Priest’s wife and he seemed to like it a good deal.” I smiled to myself this time, pleased with my success. “Anyways, at this fashion show we will have all of our allies there. All of the nobles who side and are sympathetic with us, all the slaves we’ve brought in, and any guards Duke Terluff can buy. Once I give the signal we shall peacefully subdue the King and High Priest along with any other antagonistic nobles and… that’s it.” I finished, shrugging.

“That’s it?” Gertrude repeated.

“Yes. That’s it.” I gave her a nervous smile. Now that I’ve said it all I feel a little embarrassed.

“So I’m assuming these allies you’re talking about are the ones you still need to get on our side? Cause I’m pretty sure we don’t have any actual allies right now.” Daylight said with an inquisitive look on her face.

“That’s right.” I answered. “We need to get everyone we can on our side before the Grand Festival. I’ve already talked with Duke Terluff about this too, once we’re done with our conversation here we can move on.”

“Is everyone just going to take a coup like this sitting down?” Soleil asked.

This time it was Duke Terluff who spoke up. “The King and High Priest are not exactly what one would call popular. But most nobles and trolls in general don’t really care, things are pleasant and stable and tradition has been bred into us so no one does anything. Most would be unaffected if the King was deposed, they’d just go on with their daily lives. If we force the King to renounce his power and already have a fair few nobles on our side everyone else will fall in line without a care in the world. Aside from a few who will also need to be imprisoned.”

That last sentence from him brought a certain white-streaked troll to mind.

“That’s not all that will be happening the day of the fashion show either.” I started again. “All of the slaves will break free and also join us at the palace grounds, giving us something of an impromptu army and further allowing us to subdue any resistance. We will all see to it that every slave in this castle knows what’s coming.”

“If every slave stopped working and fought back at once they’d have a real difficult time of putting the rebellion down regardless of how our part goes.” Daylight said to herself as she rubbed her chin.

“How are you going to let every slave know when they need to revolt?” Cinder asked me.

“We’ll tell everyone to revolt on the day of the fashion show, as long as the King and High Priest and most of the nobles are already at the castle grounds nobody will know what’s going on until its too late. Depending on when exactly during the day we hold the fashion show we can tell the slaves when the time is right.” I answered. “I know it’s not the most precise way of handling things but we don’t really have a way of communicating with each other long-distance and most of us are going to be at the fashion show.”

“Besides-” I continued. “I know some ponies that are held down in the fighting pits and I trust in them being able to coordinate things when the time comes.”

There was more silence as everyone looked around again, trading glances, seeing what each other thought, before Gertrude finally just gave an exaggerated sigh and shrugged.

“Meh, works for me. Let’s do it.”

A lovely and sparkling smile broke out across my face. “Wonderful! Everyone else feel the same?”

I was greeted with a variety of noncommittal shrugs and whatevers. Good enough for me!

“Excellent, alright everyone, the six of us are going back to the slave quarters and spreading the word about this. Duke Terluff has already gotten permission for us to come and go from there as we please.” I said to my fellow slaves before addressing Terluff. “Meanwhile I want you to start bribing any guards you can, just so long as we know they’ll listen to you and not the King. And later today we’ll head down to the stadiums to meet with the slaves down there. Everyone got that?”

Again, shrugs. Not the most enthusiastic group.

I sighed. “I’m going to take that as a yes. Now let’s get moving.”

It was good that Gertrude was so well known and had spent a lot of time as a slave in this castle, otherwise I don’t think we’d have gotten far when it came to convincing the other slaves of anything. I’m certain we’d just be ignored or told to buzz off or laughed at if we told anyone our plans. But Gertrude got everyone to listen to us and take things seriously.

The six of us were back in our old sleeping quarters and currently talking to an assembly of all the other slaves that were here at the moment and not out working. After this we’ll be heading out to the farms to reach those slaves.

“Are you nuts?”

I was getting a little tired of hearing that and variations of it though.

“Yeah I know it sounds crazy too but I really think we should give it a shot, I think Rarity’s got the right of things.” Gertrude spoke up in my defense to the garishly lime-green pony that asked that.

“It doesn’t just sound crazy it sounds dangerous.” A portly griffon said, which got many mumbles of agreement.

“Well yeah maybe a little.” Gertrude admitted, tilting the beret I made for her. “But it’s worth it don’t you think? I mean do we all really wanna be stuck here forever? It’s risky but I’d rather try and fight back and get out of here than just do nothing. Are you all saying you’d rather just live in these slave quarters for the rest of your lives?”

That got a wave of ashamed and downtrodden looks to wash over the gathered slaves. Many looked between each other as if hoping for some backup or to be validated. But there was just silence as they couldn’t deny or ignore what Getrude had said.

“But like, what are we actually doing?” Another pony slave asked. “You just said that you were gonna start some revolution during the Grand Festival. What are we going to do?”

“Hopefully you don’t have to really do anything.” I said. “Just stop whatever work you’re doing and leave the castle to come down to the grounds.”

“What about the overseers? What about the keys for anyone who’s still locked in here.” The griffon who spoke up earlier asked.

It was good that I actually did have an answer to this. “The trolls won’t have as much manpower in the castle during the Grand Festival, as Duke Terluff told me most will be participating in the festivities themselves. And as for the keys Duke Terluff will use his connections to either acquire them or have guards simply come here and forcefully open the slave quarters up.”

There were more mumbles throughout the crowd of slaves as they mulled things over. It seems they were more happy knowing they at least didn’t have to really do anything themselves. And that there was far less danger than they initially thought.

“If every slave rises up and revolts at once the trolls can’t really do anything.” Daylight said. “They rely on our labor, even if things go south at the Grand Festival what are they gonna do? They can’t just stop having us work at the farms or the quarry altogether or anything like that. You all don’t have to worry about any sort of big punishment. Rarity is taking all the risk here. And the few of us who will be standing right there with her. You don’t need to worry so much.”

I shot my good friend a smile as thanks for her support.

“It’s like Daylight says.” I said. “I don’t want to put anyone in danger, I’m going to be front and center for this and I’ll shoulder all the blame even if it fails.”

“But we definitely won’t fail.” Gertrude said as she put an arm over my shoulders.

It was good to see she decided to give this her all now that she’s made her decision. Even if she is just putting on a show to try and convince the others, which I suspect is what she’s doing.

There was an air of trepidation among the slaves but it was quickly broken by the portly griffon.

“I guess… if Gertrude says it’s good then that’s good enough for me too.”

The rest of the griffons nodded and grunted in agreement. The other slaves also seemed to relax and be put at ease. It was like that trepidation had been replaced with a wave of relief. Now it seemed everyone was content to follow what Gertrude and I were saying, even if they may not have been totally on board their worries were still assuaged. Yes, I did believe I could count on them for when the time came.

“We’ll be returning here periodically until the time comes to keep you updated on how things are proceeding and when exactly things are going down.” I said and then made a quick bow. “I thank you all for believing in us. I know we can do this together.”

“You wanna do what now?” The troll who watched over the apple orchards asked me as I told him I wanted to talk to and meet with all the slaves currently working out on the grounds.

“I’m aware everyone is quite busy but this is also important. I just need to talk with the slaves and I don’t wish to be bothered by anyone else while I do it.” I showed him the seal of Duke Terluff that I had brought with me. “As you can see I have been granted the authority to do this by Duke Terluff.”

The troll scratched his head for a bit, looking worried.

“Well… okay.” He finally said. “But there’s a lot of work to be done so please don’t take up too much of their time.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” I wondered if he got the sarcasm as I walked down the rows of apple trees.

“That seal really comes in handy.” Soleil said from behind me.

“Truly, we’re lucky Terluff is a Duke and not a lower-ranked noble.” Daylight Gleam said.

I could only smile and voice my appreciation to Duke Terluff in my head. While most of the nobles now knew me well and would allow me to do, well, pretty much anything lest they lose my favor the average troll and worker here in the castle was still unfamiliar with me. So the seal really came in handy in getting around situations like this. I may have been “Lady Rarity” at the parties and events of nobles but down here I was just seen as another slave still. And it would’ve been even more odd and suspicious if Duke Terluff accompanied us here himself so his seal would have to do.

Now we could talk with the slaves who were working, and hopefully spread the word to a good deal of the male slaves that were down here. I’d also really like to see if Tyluck was working out here today.

“Same old, same old huh?” Cinder asked with Spine as always quietly following behind her.

“Yes, I want you girls to all do just what we did up in the slave quarters.” I said. “This will be especially important since it’ll be our first chance to spread the word to the male slaves.” I stopped for a second as a thought crossed my mind. “Also if you could ask any male slaves if they know any sailors who recently came in I’d appreciate that, I’d like to learn what happened to the kind ponies who were originally accompanying me on this journey.”

I already knew what happened with one of them and I planned to see him shortly.

“You got it.” Soleil said, giving me a salute.

“Thank you.” I smiled at my friends. “Now if you could take care of things here there’s someone in particular I’m going to go looking for.”

Daylight raised an eyebrow but didn’t question me about it. “Sure I guess. Go right ahead.”

“Thank you, darling.” I waved goodbye to them all and let them get started on talking with the working slaves while I sought out Tyluck.

The orchard was just like how I remembered it, an endless expanse of trees all in tidy rows that covered this part of the castle grounds. The soil and weather looked just as ugly and unwelcoming for fruit but that apparently was no problem. I wonder if I went further into the grounds I’d start seeing sprouts of corn shooting up from where I had planted all of them. Or maybe it was still too early for that. Either way for now my head endlessly went back and forth as I looked down each row of trees for the first troll friend I had made here. There were plenty of slaves out and in them doing what I once had to do, it made me feel grateful for what I had now and made the desire for me to help them all grow even bigger.

I knew my friends were taking care of things here and I didn’t see Tyluck so maybe he was somewhere else.

Well, time to take a bit of a long walk.

The dreadful looking rock quarry was just as I remembered it. And the slaves who broke their backs from the difficult work required in were much as I remembered as well. It was a sad place and one I was very happy to know would be changing after we finished things here. There were some troll overseers and workers managing things right now but I didn’t see Tyluck just yet.

“Oh, where is he?” I walked to a different part of the quarry’s edge and looked down inside.

And there he was.

With a pickaxe in hand he was working along two pony slaves to smash up larger rocks down on one of the various levels of the quarry. Grabbing a hardhat from one of the racks up here I made my way down to speak to him.

“Tyluck!” I called out when I had reached him. He stiffened in surprise and recognition of my voice and turned around to see me walking towards him.

“Rarity? What are you doing down here? I haven’t seen you in ages, I thought maybe you had...” He trailed off, whatever he might have worried about what happened to me clouding his head.

“No, no, not at all. I took what you showed me close to heart.” The other two slaves were now watching us with a puzzled expression. “Thanks to you I’ve actually had quite the fortunate turn of events here, that’s why you haven’t seen me working or anything.”

“I see, that’s good.” A smile broke out across his weary face.

A smile I was more than happy to match but one that quickly became a frown. “But… what are you doing down in here?”

His feet shuffled about for a second before he responded. “I requested it. I didn’t like the idea of just herding slaves around and watching them work while they did nothing, I couldn’t really stomach it anymore after meeting you.”

I had given him a hug before I even realized it.

“Please, this is embarrassing...” I could only imagine how uncomfortable this was for him but I couldn’t care less. Let the other baffled slaves look on too.

Finally after far too long I broke the hug. “Tyluck, you have no idea how happy I am to hear that and see you again.”

“I’m happy to see you too. And I’m glad to hear things have been going well for you, but why are you down here now?” He asked, his head tilted in confusion.

I gave him my most confident smirk and tossed my mane back. Yes I did have to do that, it was part of my style. “Tyluck. You once told me that everyone here was a slave to some degree. Would you like to change that?”

Three times now I’ve been down here and I don’t like it any better.

Duke Terluff and I made our way through the dungeonesque basement of one of the stadiums where he assured me not only Birdseed and Harlequin Black resided but also poor Captain Anchor (I was going to learn his real name again and remember it this time). We passed by numerous other slaves again, just like when I first came here with Tyluck, only now I didn’t look at them sadly but was instead filled with resolution. Once I met with the others that would be the final seed in my plan. My friends down here would spread the word to the other fighters and things would be getting ready for the Grand Festival on all fronts.

Finally we reached the cell and ponies I had been looking for. I broke from Duke Terluff’s side and quickly ran up to the bars, throwing myself against them.

“Captain!”

He was there with Birdseed and Harlequin Black, the three of them all sitting together. When he saw and heard me he shot up in surprise and also rushed over to the bars.

“Miss Rarity! Are you alright?” He asked.

I couldn’t help but break out laughing. “Am I okay?” I said between bouts of laughter. “Darling, I should be asking you that. You’re the one behind bars you know?”

“It was our duty to take you here safely but everything went wrong right from the start.” The Captain sighed and shook his head. “I’m glad it seems like you’re doing alright.”

“I’m doing more than alright. I came down here today to see how you were doing, and also to discuss some things with the three of you.” I looked over his shoulder at the other two who had walked up as well.

“The guards won’t be bothering us while we’re down here so take as long as you want.” Duke Terluff said from behind me.

Captain Anchor shot him a dirty look that I did not miss, I’d have to do something about that.

“Thank you, Duke.” I said. “Now Captain, how long have you been down here? And what about the rest of the crew?”

“Not too long.” The Captain frowned. “I just got sick of doing their work up there, I wouldn’t stand for it anymore and got sent down here. Probably wouldn’t have gone so well if it wasn’t for this fellow here.” He nodded back at Harlequin Black. “As for the rest of the crew I haven’t seen them since, they’re probably still working up in the castle.”

As he finished up he took another look at Duke Terluff and held his gaze on him for a while.

“You’ve made some strange friends by the look of it.”

“Miss Rarity seems the sort who is quite good at making friends.” Harlequin Black spoke up from the back, coming up and smiling by the side of the Captain. “I pegged her as the kind from before I even met her, Captain Anchor.”

Wait, what? His name actually is Anchor? Hah! I impress myself in ways I don’t even intend!

“So why are you down here again? I’m getting kind of bored of the touching reunion.” Birdseed said as he idly scratched his nose.

I shot him an annoyed look but I suppose that it was about time to get down to business.

“Well I might as well put this as plainly and simply as possible. I’m staging a revolution.” I told them.

Captain Anchor’s eyes widened in surprise, Birdseed sneezed and started hacking up a lung, and Harlequin Black just stood there smiling as always. I guess their reactions were fair but a little more confidence would’ve been appreciated.

“You’re what?!” Captain Anchor asked in shock.

“Duke Terluff and I are going to overthrow the troll leaders and free the slaves.” I said, smiling. “Simple as that. I came down here because I wanted to fill you all in on it and get your help. And truly, you don’t need to be so shocked or worried, we do have an actual plan and I have other friends who have already helped get the ball rolling.”

“I’m sorry it’s just… a surprise. I haven’t seen you in a while and then you come down here with a troll Duke and tell me this? It’s a lot to take in.” He held his head as if a headache was coming on.

“I don’t really believe it myself.” Birdseed cynically said.

“Believe it or not you two, it’s happening.” I reassured them. “During the upcoming Grand Fesival we’re going to take down the King and High Priest.”

“And what is our part in this?” Harlequin Black asked.

You know maybe I’m just being funny but that ever-present smile on his face gave me the suspicion that he already knew what I was going to tell them but was still asking for the benefit of the others.

“I want the three of you to let the other slaves in here know what the plan is, get everyone ready for the big day when it arrives and then break out of here. Then you’ll all come charging up to the castle grounds. Now I don’t think you’ll need to fight or anything, but I’m hoping your appearance will dissuade any who think of supporting the King as well as showing that their system has just collapsed and it’s a full on revolution and not some minor conflict that can just be brushed aside.” I told them. “You’ll be joined by other slaves in the castle as well. And speaking of that I did have another little job that you might have to do.”

“I’m listening.” Captain Anchor said although I wasn’t sure how sold he was on this idea of rebellion yet.

“Duke Terluff will establish the timetable for sure after we have our part fully planned but I want some of you to go through the castle right before I start things off at the Grand Festival and gather up and direct all the slaves in there to the grounds.” I said.

“So the fighters down here will already be free and can just run out on their own at the right time?” Birdseed asked.

“Yes, I trust in you all to have things prepared.”

“You’ve literally only met me twice.” Birdseed huffed in annoyance.

“And I can tell you’re someone capable who also wants to get out of here. Is that correct?” I icily responded to him.

“Just ignore him, Miss Rarity. He’s always in a bad mood.” Harlequin Black said, giving me a wink. “You can rest assured that things down here and in the castle will go swimmingly. I’ll start spreading the word and then once you have the timing down just come back here and tell us.”

“Thank you.” I gave each of them a smile. Even Birdseed. “Well, I’m glad you’re all okay. Duke Terluff and I need to return now and set things up on our end. And you won’t have to worry about the guards on the big day either.”

I gave the typical pleasantries to the three ponies in the cell and Duke Terluff and I made our way out of the stadium basement and slowly back to the castle and his residence. Hopefully with the connections made with some of the male slaves at this castle I could find the rest of Captain Anchor’s crew as well and make sure they were okay. Things were still in a risky stage right now and Duke Terluff and I really needed to actually get the fashion show authorized and set at an exact time and day. But now things were rolling our way, and I would make sure it all worked out.

Well They're Not Wrong

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It had been a while since I felt this relaxed. Tired, to be sure, from all the work that had to be done and all the running around the castle in preparation but I still felt good. Things were proceeding smoothly, everyone was happy and Duke Terluff was working with Duke Tulepule to get authorization for the big fashion show. Everything was coming up Rarity lately!

And of course even though the fashion show was a facade that doesn’t mean I’m not going to seriously make dresses for it. In fact I need to be even more serious about this! It doesn’t matter what the King is like or how long the show will go on, I have an opportunity to display my designs to an entire kingdom here! You bet that I’m going to work extra hard to make the best clothes I’ve made in my life. I’ll make a beautiful dress especially for Getrude, Soleil, Cinder and Spine, so the trolls can see a wide variety of styles and forms. I’ll make more dresses for trolls to model, suits for the men as well, this will be the grandest fashion show I’ve ever put on!

I was currently sitting in Duke Terluff’s office waiting for him to come in and jotting down some ideas and sketches on my notepad in the meantime. The thought of getting to make a full ensemble for each of my friends here was making me positively ecstatic! Especially since I don’t often get the chance to make clothes for anything other than ponies. Besides all the dresses and suits for trolls I’ve made here lately that is.

“This is going to be fabulous.” I started speaking out loud to myself. “I almost don’t want to start the revolution just so the show can go off without a hitch.”

Incidentally I also kind of sort of hoped that Duke Terluff didn’t get the show scheduled for the first day so I could enjoy at least a little bit of this Grand Festival before everything goes crazy. I mean after what I had heard of it it was a pretty exciting thing to look forward to. What was a troll play like anyways? I had never seen one, the nobles here only commissioned dresses, took me to parties or in that one unfortunate case down to the fights. So getting to enjoy a little something different but equally extravagant and cultural had a lot of appeal to it.

Right as I was thinking my completely unselfish thoughts I heard the front door open up and Duke Terluff begin to plod his way down the hallway to the office.

As he slammed open the door in a somewhat over-exuberant gesture I greeted him with a happy smile and questioning tilt of my head.

“Welcome back, things go well with Tulepule?” I asked.

He smiled. “Quite so. Not only is the fashion show assuredly going to happen with the two of us pushing for it but he even came over to our side happily enough when I told him of the real plan.”

I squeed and clapped my hooves together. “Good! He never seemed like a bad person or anything, just a little ignorant. I’m glad he’ll be on our side when the revolution begins.”

“He hardly cares as much as you might hope.” Duke Terluff snorted. “When I told him what was going to happen he just shrugged and said that as long as he could still throw parties whenever he wanted he didn’t care what happened.”

I had to roll my eyes at that. “Well it’s better than nothing I suppose. We don’t know what time the fashion show will be held yet?”

“Not yet. A lot of things for the Grand Festival are still being decided on. Once the schedule and number of events has gotten more solid we’ll get notice of when you can put it on.” He answered.

Good to know. Now that Duke Terluff was back and we had discussed all that it was just about time for me to get back to my office. There was going to be a lot of work to do now. Gertrude isn’t going to be happy to hear it but I’m going to have to have us all work twice as hard to make sure everything is good and ready for the show. Since now the fashion show is certain to go on though I can use it as an excuse to not take any more new dress orders from nobles. I’m sure they’ll understand.

As I got out of my chair there was a knock on the door.

Again? I hope it isn’t a nothing dreadful job from Termyne or the High Priest.

Duke Terluff groaned in annoyance and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I swear, as if I wasn’t busy enough with my regular work, and now all this other planning, of course someone knocks on my door who is doubtlessly going to pile more work upon me.”

I giggled at his complaining as the two of us left his office and headed for the front door.

“Might as well see who it is, it could always be good news for once you know?” I said, giving him a smirk.

“Feh.” He grunted as we made it to the front door and the Duke pulled it open. “Who is-”

His words, and any of mine that might have been on my mind, died in our throats. Standing there in front of us was Berten and behind him was a squad of guards dressed fully in their plate armor. The Duke and I looked on at the party in front of us for a second. Surprised, scared, and confused. Finally Duke Terluff regained his composure and looked Berten straight in the eye.

“Berten? What business do you have here?”

The white-streaked troll glanced down at me for a second before glancing back up at Duke Terluff. Slowly his mouth opened up in an evil, sadistic smile.

“Duke Terluff. You’re under arrest on suspicion of abolitionism.”

Needless to say this was a very bad thing. I sped through the hallways of the castle towards my office, foregoing any sense of class or sophistication as I ran like I was in a race. By the time I opened up the door and stumbled my way inside my breathing was ragged and my mane in disarray. But for once my personal appearance was not important.

“Rarity? What’s wrong?” Daylight Gleam asked from her position seated at my large desk as she knitted patterns on a dress.

The dear had gotten absolutely wonderful when it came to fine details like that. Oh but that’s not important right now either.

“We… have… a… problem!” I gasped out between breaths.

“What is it?” Gertrude glided over and supported me, guiding me over to a chair. The rest were all watching me with worried looks on their faces.

I caught my breath and held a hoof up to my head, it was painstaking to even have to deal with this. “Duke Terluff has been arrested. They made up some charges about him wanting to free the slaves in the castle.”

My friends all shared a look with each other.

“But… he is trying to free the slaves.” Gertrude said.

“Yes but they don’t know that!” I snapped, rolling my eyes. “Someone is clearly trying to frame and take down Duke Terluff for whatever reason. I mean if they actually knew what was going on or had proof of it I think the both of us would already be done away with.”

“So you think an enemy of the Duke’s just made something up to try and get him arrested with?” Daylight asked.

“Exactly! That brutish troll who did the arresting certainly wanted to take me as well but he knows the influence I wield at the moment so he didn’t want to take the both of us under false charges.” I huffed in anger at the thought of Berten. “If he had any excuse or had gotten wind of what we were planning he would have gladly arrested me as well. But he didn’t, only Duke Terluff was the target.”

“You know you keep calling them false charges but they’re not really false.” Cinder said while picking at her ear.

I glared at her. “In the first place it’s the principle of the matter, darling. Secondly we have to help him anyways! Not only is he instrumental to what we’re doing but he’s a close friend.”

“This could also be problematic if other troll nobles on our side hear about it.” Daylight Gleam said. “They might get worried that the jig is up so to speak and might try to throw Terluff under the carriage. I wouldn’t put it past some of them to come forth and say that Terluff and you came to them speaking about rebellion and freeing the slaves.”

“I certainly hope not… but if they were afraid that Duke Terluff might rat them out to try and save his own skin… oh dear, this could make everything unfold if we don’t take care of it.” I said.

The silence in my little office was deafening. I didn’t even know what to do now. Who of the trolls could I go talk to that I really trusted and could actually help with this? None. The closest was Tulepule or one of the other minor nobles we had brought into our fold like Earl Tsalim but I couldn’t count on either of them for this. Not for certain at least. We had been working so hard, the fashion show was going to happen and everything should’ve gone right as it should have but now it feels like it’s all been snatched away from us. And why? Because some other troll has a personal vendetta against Duke Terluff? If only I could find out who’s really behind all of this.

For the moment all I could hope for is that the undeniable lack of evidence for Duke Terluff’s supposed abolitionist leanings would be enough to get him off the hook. But a cynical part of me thought that the troll’s justice system was likely not so fair.

As the six of us silently mulled things over there was a knock on the door to my office.

You know I’m getting a little sick of random knocks and trolls dropping in unexpectedly.

“Come in?” I said a little bit hesitantly as I wasn’t sure if things were about to get worse or not. The others crowded around me, looking to see who might be popping in and probably just as worried that perhaps someone was coming for me now.

The door opened up and in walked a troll I was unfamiliar with. He wore glasses and a simple gray suit and had a rather detached aura about him. After looking between us all and blinking a few times he spoke up. “Lady Rarity?”

I stepped forward. “Yes, that’s me. What is it?” He did not seem like he was here for a dress.

“Ah, yes.” He walked towards me. “I come on behalf of Mrs. Terluff. She had just heard of her husband’s incarceration and sent for you, she wishes you to join her where he is being held.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Of course! Yes! Please, lead the way, I wish to see the both of them.”

“Excellent, right this way please.” He turned and began to head out the door.

Before I left to follow him I turned back to my friends. “I’m sorry to ask this of you but please just keep working on the clothes for the fashion show, we can’t waste any time on it. And if any more trolls come in here asking for a new dress just refuse them and tell them all work is being put towards a special event at the Grand Festival.”

“You got it, Rarity.” Gertrude saluted, an action mimicked by Soleil.

I gave each one of them a bit of a sad smile before leaving the office. “Thank you, dearies.”

Possibly due to his status as a duke the place Duke Terluff was being held was less of a dungeon and more of a one-room apartment. It was slightly cramped with me, him and his wife inside it but we would have to make do. At the moment I was standing in the corner of the room and watched as Duke Terluff reassured his wife that everything would be alright. I’m not sure how much either of them believed that but it was sweet that he wanted to assuage her worries.

After a few minutes he gave her a kiss on the cheek and politely pushed her towards the door, telling her he had important business to discuss with me. She gave me a nod as she stepped out, ever mindful of her position. Something which actually annoyed me a little bit but one problem at a time please.

As soon as she left Duke Terluff turned to me with a sigh. “So obviously this is quite bad for the both of us.”

I grimaced. “I’m glad you haven’t lost your sense of humor over it at least.” I walked up and put a reassuring hoof on his arm. “On the plus side this is clearly a farce, if anyone actually knew what was going on the both of us would… well, probably be in a far worse situation. Someone just spread some lies hoping to get you convicted of whatever the crime is.”

“Unfortunately it’s not going to be difficult for the arbitrators to decide me as guilty.” Duke Terluff sadly looked down at me. “Just the suspicion of holding pro-abolition sentiments can ruin me or get me imprisoned for life. And even if there’s no real evidence of me doing anything there’s one thing that Berten and whoever started this in the first place can use against me.”

“And what is that?” I asked curiously.

“You.” Duke Terluff replied simply, a great sigh emanating from his entire body. “They can just show everyone how well I’ve treated you. And your friends. And with that easily convince others that I hold sympathetic views towards the slaves.”

He was certainly right about that. I may be a detriment to him in this situation. It wasn’t difficult to show how well I’ve been treated by Duke Terluff, or how he had graciously helped out my friends as well. Not to mention that even though no one knew what it was for we had all been making suspicious movements throughout the castle lately to get things ready for the Grand Festival. These arbitrators may not be able to find proof that he was actually going to do anything but convicting him of suspicion of abolitionism seems like it would actually be very easy.

Now if this place was fair and just, merely suspicion of it wouldn’t be as huge a deal. But again something tells me the trolls don’t have the kindest justice system.

“At least we both know that this is the work of some other party.” I said, trying to think of something positive. “Perhaps we can figure out just who it is that sent Berten after you? He didn’t do it on his own did he?”

“Certainly not. I have a few enemies I can think of, and Berten wouldn’t do anything on his own.” Duke Terluff replied. “There’s definitely someone who first told Berten to do this. I’m not sure if he knows the truth and is just playing along or honestly thinks I’m guilty though. He probably doesn’t care either way.”

“Are there any enemies you can think of that would benefit from you going down, or that have an association with Berten?” I asked him.

Duke Terluff folded his arms over his chest and closed his eyes, thinking deeply. Now I wished I knew more about all the other nobles here instead of just having the cursory knowledge that I did. And even among the nobles I knew I hadn’t heard anything about a grudge against Duke Terluff. Even the ones I didn’t like or get along with just seemed like your average jerk who was rude to slaves rather than ones that had a personal grudge or anything.

“There are a few that I can think of.” Duke Terluff’s voice suddenly broke through my thoughts.

He rubbed his chin while he spoke. “One that fits the bill more than others is another Duke who I’ve never gotten along with, Duke Tylark. We do much the same work and he’d love it if I was disgraced or worse to make himself look better. In fact he’s probably been jealous of me lately because of you and all the extra prestige I’ve gotten because of you. The two of us have been very popular in the castle ever since Tulepule’s party as you know.”

I nodded along as he told me, taking it all in. And Tylark? I feel like I had heard that name before somewhere.

“We’ll know for certain it’s him if he shows up at my hearing later.” Duke Terluff continued. “He’d have no reason to otherwise unless he was the one who planned this whole thing.”

“Hearing?” I asked.

“Yes, tomorrow I’ll have a hearing with the arbitrators, Berten, and anyone else of importance to ascertain my guilt. And since these are nothing more than rumors it’ll probably just be “witnesses” or whatever worm Berten has dug up to say that I’m trying to free the slaves.”

“And you think Duke Tylark will show up to that?”

“Yes. He’ll want to watch and make sure I go down in flames from the audience.” Duke Terluff turned to me. “You should also show up to the hearing and watch him, honestly the hearing is just going to be a circus and we have just as much of an opportunity there to turn things around on him. If we can convince the arbitrators that these rumors of me being pro-abolition were started by a jealous rival it’s going to be Duke Tylark who suddenly finds himself in trouble.”

Sounded like a good enough idea to me. “So how do we find out that it was him who started the rumors?”

Duke Terluff grinned. “We don’t. Like I said this is going to be a circus, a show. Neither side is going to have any real evidence so we just have to be more persuasive and charismatic than the ones attacking us. And Tylark is going to want to keep his participation a secret so he won’t be able to directly fight back at first without exposing himself. Berten is going to have to be the one to convince the arbitrators of my guilt, and nobody likes him.”

What a surprise that is to hear.

“So for now we simply go to your hearing tomorrow and try to pin the blame on Tylark or whoever the odd one out is there?”

“Yes. We’re lucky that on such short notice they won’t have found or called for any of the nobles we’ve been talking with about our plans.” Duke Terluff said. “When we get to the hearing I’ll categorically deny everything and you can back me up.”

I can’t say our plan was very thought out or a particularly great one but it was all we had at the moment.

“Alright, what now?” I asked, wondering if there was anything more.

“Nothing until tomorrow.” Duke Terluff shrugged. “I think you should get some rest, go back to your office and tomorrow once the hearing comes about we’ll send for you again. Don’t bring any of your friends though, it wouldn’t look good for me if so many slaves I’m friendly with showed up.” He grinned as he said that.

“Well you’re probably right about that.” I winked. “Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow. I hope everything goes well.” I couldn’t help but feel a little morose about everything that had happened.

“Don’t worry.” Duke Terluff reassured me, looking into my eyes with his beady yet confident ones. “We’ve come this far and a silly farce like this is hardly enough to stop me. I like getting my way as you should know well by now.”

I did indeed.

Following our conversation I retreated back to the office, where instead of getting any rest I proceeded to make clothes until I simply collapsed from exhaustion. I liked throwing myself into my work to take my mind off things. The others were a little concerned but I told them everything would be fine and we made a lot of progress on the clothes that we’d be featuring in the fashion show.

The fashion show that was most certainly going on. I’d make sure of it today.

And just as Terluff said, the following morning another errand boy came to bring me to the hearing. While we walked to it I mulled some things over in my head, anything I could do to help, evidence I might have, something that I could say. But it didn’t amount to much. Like he had said we were just going to be putting on a farce of our own in the end it seems.

But that name. Tylark, Tylark. I know I’ve heard that name before but I can’t quite place where. If only I had a face to go with it I’m sure I’d remember. A duke that also was associated with Berten whose name was Tylark… it was nagging at the back of my mind.

“Has Duke Terluff said anything to you? Is the hearing already starting or is there still some time?” I decided to ask my guide.

He seemed surprised that I was talking to him but he answered all the same. “He asked me to gather you because it will be starting soon, an hour at most, the arbitrators and Berten are all ready.”

“Thank you.” I told him. Hm, we wouldn’t get much time to prepare before things actually started. I had no idea where exactly this hearing would be held but apparently it was going to be in a place large enough for an audience to attend. It must be somewhat of a public thing if that was allowed in the first place.

It didn’t take much more of walking through the castle’s corridors before one more turn brought us to a wide hallway with a single set of double-doors at the end. No guards at these doors unlike many of the others in the castle, instead they were already open and I could see a fairly large crowd mulling about inside the room.

“In there.” My guide told me as he came to a stop. “I am not attending myself but Duke Terluff and his wife are already inside.” With a bow (I still love being bowed to despite being a slave) he left.

I walked through the open doors into a fairly large and circular room. The ceiling was a glass dome very high up from the floor, like the room where my office was the glass it was made out of must’ve been soundproof because the torrent of rain pounding on it was completely silent. There were four different sections of benches making up one half of the room while the other half was an open space with a large raised desk at the back that had several trolls sitting behind it and two guards flanking it. I spied Berten standing by a table in the open half of the room, adjacent to another table where Duke Terluff sat behind. Quickly I began trotting my way over to him, looking around to see if his wife was seated anywhere. A number of trolls took note of me, some I recognized and some I did not.

There were quite a few in here who I was sure would be friendly if not outright sympathetic to me and Duke Terluff. I saw a couple who I had made dresses for and were certainly ones who would not want to see me or Duke Terluff punished. Something else I noticed was that there were hardly enough trolls in here to fill up the benches, this was an important event but with how fast everything happened and how unadvertised it was most probably either couldn’t come on such short notice or didn’t even know it was happening.

And as I was making my way to Duke Terluff something caught my eye.

Or rather someone. A rather large someone.

“Duke Tylark, now I remember.” I said under my breath so no one else could hear.

The very large troll I had first met while catering that first party, where I had also initially met Berten and Terluff, and then again at the private soiree Duke Tulepule took me to where I was formally introduced to him. He sat in the front row of one of the sections of benches with an amused look on his face. Quite eager of him. As I recall he did not seem to care much for me when I officially met him while with Tulepule, obviously not a fan of slaves.

And someone who apparently must have been quite jealous of the waves Duke Terluff and I were making. His happy appearance here more or less proved he was the one behind all this. To think that he supposedly not just heard about what had happened to his rival but also had the time and opportunity to come here and watch. I couldn’t wait to turn the tables on him and cast those very actions of his in a suspicious light.

I didn’t speak to him or even act like I had seen him as I walked on by to Duke Terluff.

“Good morning.” I greeted my friend. “I take it you’ve noticed who’s gotten themselves a front row seat?”

“Oh yes.” He said. “I think we both know for sure what’s going on here now.”

“Indeed. So the arbitrators are the ones up there?” I glanced towards the raised desk.

“Yes, in a moment Berten will present his suspicions to them and I will defend myself. Fortunately or unfortunately that’s really all there is to it.” He shrugged and sat back in his chair. “Also despite your popularity I recommend not speaking out of turn here. If you have something you think we can say or do come and whisper it to me first.”

I nodded along but there wasn’t anything I had come up with yet. Unfortunately it would be so easy for Berten and Tylark to make Terluff look suspicious, we had to convince the others that Duke Terluff had no love for the slaves and that Tylark just made this all up to take him down.

How could I help? I really had to think of something.

First of all I sat down in an empty chair next to Duke Terluff, organizing my thoughts. There wasn’t much time for that though as the crowd in the room began to quiet down and take their seats while Berten strode to stand right in front of the arbitrators.

“Arbitrators.” He said, voice loud enough to carry to at least the first row of benches in the room. “I come here to state that Duke Terluff is a traitorous abolitionist, his actions and behavior lately could only be construed as such.” He gave the two of us a smug grin as he finished.

Vile troll.

“To me it’s clear after seeing how Duke Terluff treats his personal slave and her friends that he is far too sympathetic to them, he has given them too much freedom and even gives them free reign of the castle to go about any such business even if it is unrelated to his work.”

So he did know that we had been running all throughout the castle but he didn’t know exactly why.

“He even goes to the stadiums down below to have suspicious talks with the fighters and workers down there. Obviously something is afoot. Duke Terluff is an abolitionist, at the very least he is far too kind to the slaves. Something that can not and should not be tolerated.” He finished up, clasping his hands behind his back.

All in all it was very flimsy but I would not be surprised to learn if trolls had been found guilty of worse things for less here.

I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see Duke Tylark grinning on the bench, looking like he was struggling to hold back laughter. Well I’ll give you plenty to laugh about soon.

“Duke Terluff’s actions are suspicious indeed.” A sharp voice cut through my thoughts and I looked to see the troll sitting behind the center of the desk speaking, he was elderly looking with a gray tint to his fur. Must be the head arbitrator. “Duke Terluff, do you have anything to say for yourself?”

My friend stood up and placed his hands on the table in defiance, first giving a threatening glare to Berten before looking towards the head arbitrator.

“This is nothing but a series of lies and made up rumors to make me look bad. I have no such sympathies. Arbitrators, I am being unjustly attacked without any evidence purely to bring me down.” He confidently said to the whole room.

“So you say.” Berten spoke. “But even now you bring that slave of yours you have so elevated here?” He pointed straight at me and as much as I wanted to fiercely glare back at him I knew that would look bad at the moment.

“She is my personal assistant, no more and no less. Many nobles have slaves working for them in the same way she does for me.” Duke Terluff responded to his accusation.

“Again, so you say.” Berten countered. “But how many trolls treat their slaves so well, how many allow them to do what you have allowed her to? Given them so much? Shown them so much kindness? That pony there alone is proof enough of your impropriety.”

To my and Duke Terluff’s dismay the arbitrators seemed to be seriously considering what Berten was saying.

“None of that means anything.” Duke Terluff angrily said to him. “As many of the others in this very room can tell you, my slave has done a great deal of work for me. I repaid her with favor but there was nothing else to it than that. She made a dress for my wife and I allowed her to make dresses for others as well, partly out of gratitude and admittedly partly out of my own selfish desire to have something that gave me power and influence over others. But that is no crime. And any farcical idea of me being an abolitionist or having a friendlier relationship with her and any other slaves is pure fantasy.”

There was some murmuring among the arbitrators and trolls in the audience but Berten didn’t miss a beat.

“Fantasy you say? Well I say that even the chance of corruption like yours should be stamped out.” He smiled cruelly at me and Duke Terluff. “You are, despite all of your denying, clearly sympathetic to the slaves. No chances should be taken with such a thing.” He glanced at the arbitrators sitting behind their desk. “Should it?”

Oh dear, this wasn’t going as well as I thought it would. We need to turn this around on Duke Tylark soon. But how? If Duke Terluff just suddenly started accusing Tylark they’d think he’s just wildly trying to change the subject and save his own skin.

What do I do?

Berten was using me against Terluff, and all of the arbitrators seemed to be convinced that the duke treated me in a far more favorable way than was appropriate.

I needed to convince them that this wasn’t the case.

And I think I know how.

“You’re all being rather presumptuous about things aren’t you?” I said as I hopped out of my chair and walked to the middle of the room, standing before Berten and the desk.

I could only imagine what Duke Terluff’s face looked like right now but it brought me no small measure of satisfaction to see how surprised Berten was. Oh he did not expect this at all. The murmuring and hushed conversations of the trolls in the audience grew louder at my actions and the arbitrators as well looked aghast and seemed a moment away from cutting me off. So better not give them the chance.

“I think I would know better than anyone how Duke Terluff feels, forced to be at his side as I am.” I said with no small amount of vindictiveness. “And I can not sit here and listen to you say that this troll is sympathetic or kind to me at all.” I shot back a slightly angry and fearful look at the Duke that I was sure the trolls watching would see. “From the day he first brought me into his service it has been nothing but work, that “gratitude” he showed me by giving me an office and letting me make clothes was nothing but to further his own ends. There are no kind words from him, no true appreciation. He belittles and insults me whenever he pleases and is always certain to remind me of the position I am in.”

I faced the arbitrators now. “I simply couldn’t bear to hear one make such bald-faced lies about Duke Terluff, he is a selfish slave-driver who works me to exhaustion, even now I and the other slaves he had come to assist me are being forced to make an endless parade of dresses. There are many who could tell you this.”

For a second I let myself look out over the audience, meeting some of their eyes with a sad expression on my face.

“Any sympathy I tried to get out of Duke Terluff was rebuffed, he cares nothing for slaves like me. Less than any of you do.” With a stamp of my hoof I tightly shut my eyes and stuck my nose in the air, fake tears welling up at the corners of my eyes.

There was silence for a moment, and another.

Finally it was broken by Duke Terluff himself.

“As you can see it from my slave herself, there is no such friendliness between us. Any slave I treat in a supposedly “good” way is just a means to an end for me.” Duke Terluff sat down with his arms crossed over his chest, satisfied and proud.

A few of the arbitrators were speaking between each other when Berten finally reacted in anger to the show I and Duke Terluff had just put on.

“No! Do not believe this silliness!” He wildly waved his arms around, upset at the changing atmosphere of the hearing. “She’s clearly lying! Of course they would both lie to save their skins, think of all she has to lose by Duke Terluff being imprisoned or executed!”

He certainly had the right of things but I had one more plan.

“I am not lying, Duke Terluff sees slaves as nothing more than tools at best.” I said, walking away from Berten and the desk and back over to my master. “You want proof of his vileness? Well, am I not being out of order? Have I not just insulted him and spoke out of turn here? Doing things no slave should do?”

Berten looked at me with angry concern, wondering what I was getting at. Others were also confused, but Duke Terluff looked at me with a blank and almost shocked expression, his mouth half open.

“It seems I should be disciplined for my transgressions. And as my master, he should be the one to do it, should he not?”

I stood beside Duke Terluff, stiff, unmoving. Eyes facing forward and my face a perfect expressionless mask.

In the next instant I both felt and heard a loud crack as the back of Duke Terluff’s powerful hand struck me across the face. I was sent reeling on the ground, in pain, desperately clutching at my face as real tears this time leaked from my eyes. Hissing and shaking in agony I stood up on trembling hooves and obediently walked back over to his side. No longer sitting in a chair but instead on the cold floor next to him.

Things were up to Duke Terluff now, I would no longer be speaking.

“As you can now plainly see-” To his credit as an actor his voice did not waver at all after hitting me. “There is no sympathy here.”

The Duke stared down Berten before casting his eyes across the audience. “This has been nothing more than a setup by a jealous enemy of mine to attempt to discredit me.” With an accusing finger he pointed and shouted at the large Duke Tylark in the front row, who had been sitting with his mouth wide open in surprise ever since I had been hit. “Duke Tylark! It’s obvious he’s the one who is trying to take me down by spreading false rumors and telling Berten I support abolitionism!”

Duke Tylark was blindsided, not expecting this sudden reversal at all. “W-What are you talking about!” He sat up out of his seat while his eyes darted about nervously.

“You’re the only one who not only has to gain from this but also personally knows Berten and could feed him these lies. And here you are so conveniently to watch it all unfold.” Duke Terluff smugly grinned at him before turning to Berten. “Well Berten? Was it not Duke Tylark who first came to you with these “rumors” about me? Arbitrators, I think it’s truly Duke Tylark who has much to answer for.”

“No!” The large Duke shouted. “This is preposterous! I-”

“So that’s how it was!” Duke Tylark was suddenly cut off by Berten. “To think you would come to me with such blatant lies about Duke Terluff all in the hopes of ruining his life for your own benefit!”

Duke Tylark stared in shock at Berten and I couldn’t help but grin. It was just how Duke Terluff and I thought things would go, now Berten was throwing Tylark under the carriage once he saw that things were going in a bad direction. He was going to try to come off as an innocent patsy and blame the whole thing on Duke Tylark.

“That’s not-” The sweaty and practically hyperventilating Tylark was cutoff again by Berten.

“Quiet! Look at how you’re acting, you’re clearly guilty! Anything you say now will just make things worse for you.” He snapped his fingers and the guards by the raised desk went to stand by him. “Arrest Duke Tylark and imprison him in the dungeon, his hearing will come later.”

The two guards now went to Tylark and grabbed him by the arms, practically having to drag him out of the room as his whole body hung slack, he looked close to passing out from terror. As everyone else in the room watched on he tried to proclaim his innocence and plead for Berten to stop this.

“This isn’t right! I didn’t do anything, Berten! P-Please, this is wrong! Terluff is a traitor!”

The other trolls watched him with a mixture of disappointment and embarrassment.

Meanwhile I and I’m sure Duke Terluff as well took a small amount of amusement from the fact that he was absolutely right.

But now that that was done with I rubbed my painfully throbbing cheek, it was most certainly going to be bruised and I would have to get some makeup to conceal it. At least Duke Terluff knew what I wanted him to do. I suppose that’s “friendship” for you. Wincing in pain I barely saw out the corner of my eye Berten giving the both of us a nasty look as he followed Tylark out the door. Well too bad for him.

“I’m sorry.”

It was just a whisper but I still heard it plainly from Duke Terluff. Obviously he couldn’t do or say anything more at the moment in the middle of the room with the arbitrators still right there.

“It’s okay you know?” I whispered back. “It was my idea and after all I’m the one who’s responsible for getting you caught up in all of this.”

He nodded slightly in acknowledgment “When we get back to my home you should rest some more, I’ll get you some ice.”

I couldn’t help but giggle slightly under my breath. “Rest? Please. We’re both still busy.”

Quite Busy

View Online

There were two days left until the Grand Festival. Things had been quiet since the hearing and no other noble or Berten had caused any trouble for us. Duke Terluff spent the day after the hearing having a romantic outing with his wife while I spent an inordinate amount of time in front of a mirror to make sure my face was unblemished. Daylight and the others had been a bit shocked at my appearance when I first came back but were relieved when I explained the situation to them.

Now once more the six of us worked tirelessly to complete the lineup for my fashion show. Duke Tulepule had come by yesterday to tell me that the fashion show was scheduled for the evening of the second day of the festival and he was going to make certain that it was advertised as an event the King and High Priest would have to come to.

Today would be a busier day than normal since despite all the work that still had to be done for the dresses and other clothes I was making it was more important to let all of our comrades in arms know just when the fashion show was happening. I would have to go and meet with everyone again to give them the timetable of events and tell them just when they need to act.

Duke Terluff had also set things up with a sympathetic overseer of the male slaves and now I had a direct line to them as well. I was happy to learn that Captain Anchor’s crew was alright. We had convinced them to fake not working any longer to get them down below in those fighting pits with Captain Anchor and now they would be part of the revolt down there.

“I’m starting to get sore over here.” Soleil said from her workstation and stretched her neck.

“Well me too but we’re almost done with all this.” Gertrude said to her. “Sorry Rarity but I’m gonna be really happy when I don’t have to make clothes anymore.”

“Ditto on that.” Cinder said while Spine nodded in agreement.

Daylight Gleam just gave me an apologetic smile and a shrug of her shoulders.

I huffed at their disregard for my career and hobby. “Please darlings, you just have no appreciation for fashion because all you’ve done is the busy work side of things. What if I helped you come up with your own designs and we made them together? I’m sure I could get you to love fashion.”

“Another day, maybe.” Gertrude chuckled. “I promise I’ll enjoy the fashion show at least.”

“Well we’ll all enjoy that.” I said. “But perhaps not just for fashion-related reasons.”

There was a round of smiles and knowing looks from my friends. The excitement in the room was palpable, we were so close now and nothing could stop us!

“Since you all know what to do here I should probably get started on visiting our other friends. I’ll be back here later tonight and we can put the finishing touches on everything together.” I said.

“Go on then, we’ll hold down the fort.” Daylight Gleam said.

With a smile and a wave of my hoof I left the office to go meet with the others. It was a good feeling, knowing that this would finally be over, that every poor slave would be set free and all of my new friends would be okay. And not only had we not had any trouble from Berten or any others it was in fact pretty much the opposite, since the hearing a number of nobles who weren’t even in on our revolutionary plans came to apologize to the Duke and I and express their favor.

I wonder if they’ll be happy or upset when they see what happens at the festival?

While I walked to the slave quarters I took curious note of how many trolls I passed gave me a wide berth, and whenever I made eye contact they would bow their heads and show me reverence. It seems after the hearing and word about it spread I was actually even a more respected and possibly even feared figure. They had all heard what happened to Duke Tylark when he tried to bring down Terluff and I, no one wanted the same thing to happen to them.

Of course being my pleasant and friendly self I gave them all happy smiles and waves. I’d be giving ponies a bad name otherwise.

One of the trolls I passed by happened to be an overseer who I had worked under before Duke Terluff took me in. He looked worried to see me but I just walked on by with a playful giggle.

“I’m hardly going to bite, darling.” I told him.

He still wanted nothing to do with me and I continued to make my way alone to the entrance to the female slave quarters. The first gate of iron bars that blocked them off were currently unlocked and so I just walked inside. The female troll behind the desk that sat in the middle of this dividing area recognized me well by now and there was no need for either of us to say anything to the other, she rose out of her chair and unlocked the second gate behind her and I walked right on into the slave quarters.

Pushing open the doors and waiting for them to swing back shut behind me I announced my arrival. “I’m back, everyone!”

There were a number of hellos and waves, some other greetings, generally smiles all around. Not a great reaction but better than before at least. The slaves were certainly happier to see me than the last few times I came in here.

“Can you all gather up here, please? I have some important news!” I said to them.

It was nice that they listened to me now so I didn’t have to have Gertrude here. Soon enough a whole assembly of every slave in the female quarters was standing before me.

“Alright ladies, good news, in two days the fashion show I told you all about last time is going to happen!” I happily told them, and was pleased to see quite a few new smiles and excited murmuring among them.

“Yes you all know what that means now.” I grinned. “We know for sure when we must act.”

“So everyone is going to revolt and break out of here at the same time?” A griffon asked me.

“That is correct. The fashion show starts in the evening, I have it on Duke Tulepule’s word that it will begin right as night falls. So for all of you that means that as soon as it’s night time you do your part. I and my friends will take care of everything else at the festival.” I told them.

“We’re really getting out of here?” A pony asked with hesitant hope.

Now who could blame her for not wanting to get her hopes up? A lot of what I was saying probably sounded too good to be true. I had no idea how long she or any of the others had been here but now all of the sudden I’ve arrived and I’m saying it’s going to be over? I felt for them all, I truly did.

“Yes. I promise.” I answered.

I gave them all the most genuine and sympathetic smile as I could. “I’ll see you all again in two days. When we’re free.”

Birdseed was as grumpy as ever but I didn’t even mind since now I got to reunite with Kingbolt, Fair Wind and the others. It was good to see them all doing well and they were just as happy to see that I was okay. I didn’t have all the time in the world to chat with them though so a longer reunion would have to wait until later, right now I was here on business.

“Oh joy, what news does our beloved savior have for us today?” Birdseed sarcastically asked.

“Stop that.” Harlequin Black playfully smacked him on the head.

“Thank you, Harlequin.” I said and stuck my tongue out at Birdseed, who just grumbled and rubbed his head.

Duke Terluff was able to set things up for us down here so that the fighters were already practically free (little did the nobles who still came to watch the fights know) as all the guards and overseers who worked here were paid off or brought to our side. Harlequin Black and the others had made their rounds through every group of slaves and let them in on things as well. Now they were just waiting for the Grand Festival and their time to bust on out of here.

So suffice to say they were not standing behind the bars of a cell this time but were pleasantly out in the open under the stadium with me. A lot of the other slaves who had been down here were mingling about, some recognized me but I had never spoken with anyone else here, they really only knew me through Harlequin Black and the others.

“But you are here to tell us your plans, right?” Captain Anchor asked.

“Yes.” I replied, a happy smile on my face. “The fashion show will happen on the night of the second day of the Grand Festival, right as it begins you all already know what to do. I don’t think you’ll face much of any resistance considering that most guards will be out at the festival and not in the castle and so many of them are with us now anyways. And if things all go as planned there shouldn’t really be anything you need to do once you’re out, I should have everything already taken care of on my end.”

Captain Anchor frowned a bit and kicked at the dirt beneath his hooves. “I still don’t know how much we can trust that troll friend of yours...”

“Darling, please, none of this would be possible without him.” It’s not like I couldn’t understand why the captain had such a distaste for Terluff and all the other trolls but it was still upsetting to me, Terluff was a good friend of mine now. “I promise he can be trusted, you’ll see.”

The captain shared a look with his crew before turning back to me. “Alright, I guess I’ll trust you on this. Not much of a choice anyways.”

I stepped forward to give him a hug, really they all could use a big Pinkie Pie-style group hug right now. “Thank you.”

“You’ve done some great work here, Rarity.” Harlequin Black said off from the side. “I knew you could do it.”

“Well I have you to thank for planting the idea in my head.” I told him. This smiling pony that stood before me was still quite the enigma, I wasn’t sure just what he was thinking but he was always friendly and did nothing but help us all.

“You’re the one who brought it all together though. Slaves and trolls, no one but you could’ve done it.” He gave me a wink.

I decided I might as well accept the praise and bask in the glory and fluttered my eyelashes at him. “Yes, well, I am rather special aren’t I.”

I’m fairly certain that I saw Birdseed roll his eyes out of the corner of my eye but I didn’t make a fuss over it.

“So you will make sure everything is timed right and coordinated down here?” I asked Harlequin. “Since you’re the one that’s been going to all the other fighters I’m counting on you for this.”

“No need to worry, I’ll make sure everything happens just as planned, no matter what.”

It was said in the same tone and with the same smile as always but I feel like there was something he was getting at that he wasn’t telling me. But Captain Anchor was still here and I knew I could trust him to pull through. And honestly what happened in this huge fighting pit didn’t have anything to do with what I would be doing at the fashion show, not really at least as long as everything went well, it was more for the benefit of the slaves down here than anything else.

“Yes I bet everything goes off perfectly without a hitch. Because plans never go awry or anything like that.” Birdseed said from the side.

I was about to respond to his snide remarks when we were all interrupted by something else.

“Exactly! Pony gets it!” A huge yak said as he came up behind Birdseed, another right on his heels. “Plan will go off perfectly cause yaks here and yaks best at everything!” The two yaks stepped to Birdseed’s sides, putting him between them and started stomping the ground, causing Birdseed to be shaken about like he was in the middle of an earthquake.

He looked absolutely miserable.

Oh well.

“Yaks will smash trolls! Yaks will smash trolls!” The two chanted in unison while Birdseed struggled to stay standing. “Pony friend will join us!”

Harlequin Black and the crew looked on in amusement with me for a time, it was nice to have some moments of levity before things got serious. Since the yaks didn’t seem to be settling down anytime soon I decided that I might as well take the opportunity to say goodbye for now to the others. I still needed to get back up to my office and my other friends to make sure the dresses are finalized. With a fond farewell and trades of good luck (since the next time we’ll be seeing each other will be after this whole adventure is over one way or another) I left the basement of the stadium and returned to the actual castle. Good luck Captain, and Harlequin, and the crew, the other fighters, and even you too Birdseed.

My friends stood by the mannequins that were fitted with the lineup for the fashion show as I stalked past each and every one of them. My expert divining eyes searching over every inch, thread, and seam of the clothes we had spent our time making and preparing for this most special of occasions. As I wanted, my friends were all wearing the clothes that I had made for them too. Even though they wouldn’t be modeling anything at the show (the hearing and the day I spent after it had thrown away my plans for that) I wanted them to look as nice as possible.

Dukes Terluff and Tulepule would both provide the models for these dresses while I officiated the event. Soleil, Spine and Cinder will be passing out drinks in the crowd, always staying close to where the King and High Priest are sitting. Gertrude and Daylight will be helping me behind the curtain, making sure each dress is on correctly and that they’re all taken care of.

But enough about that. I still had clothes to inspect.

We had all done an excellent job. Although I don’t think any of the outfits made for the fashion show are quite as spectacular as some of the ones I put so much more individual focus and effort into they are still great and I would be happy to include them in any one of my stores. The trolls especially will be awed by what the six of us have put together.

And yes I do intend to give my friends full credit, they’ve come a long way in their skills despite their fairly apathetic views to the art of the dress and I would never have been able to do all of this without them.

“Everything is looking good so far.” I said as I continued to slowly circle each dress and closely appraised them. “I don’t see any mistakes or hanging threads. Stitching is at least adequate across the board as well.”

“You taught us well.” Soleil said proudly, petting the scarf wrapped around her neck.

“And as I said I would like to be able to teach you even more.” I said without taking my eyes off the dress I was currently examining. “In the future I hope.”

Not only had we made a variety of different styles and clothes for all sorts of creatures instead of just trolls (most of which unfortunately would not be modeled at the show now) but I had even made sure to use every sort of material I could get my hooves on. The best velvet, satin, silk, chiffon, and cashmere as well for things like sweaters and shawls. It’s a shame I wouldn’t be bringing back anything I had made here to Equestria. I won’t even be able to take pictures of any of it, my sketches and notes will have to do I suppose.

“Good enough for your fashion show?” Daylight asked with a playful grin on her face.

I giggled a bit. “Barely. You know how high my standards are.”

This would be one of the most important events I’ve ever put on in my life and even if the actual clothes themselves were not the important part, even if they just had a small role to play and some… cynical folks might even call them superfluous I could just not allow myself to do something major like this and not throw my all into it. My pride simply didn’t allow it. The artist in me didn’t allow it, not when I had so many ideas in my head, so much inspiration and the capability to make anything I wanted right in front of me.

“Are you about done looking things over cause I want to rest already.” Gertrude said, yawning into her talon. “I mean, if there’s anything more we gotta do before the show I’d like to know now.”

“Oh Gertrude, you always know just how to try my patience.” I responded to her in jest. “It looks like we won’t have any last touch ups or fixes to do but I’m still looking things over.” I tapped a hoof to my chin for a second. “But I suppose I can understand where you’re coming from.”

With a smile I turned to my five friends. “You can all get some rest, if there is anything that needs to be done I’ll take care of it. You’ve earned it.”

Gertrude pumped her fist in the air while Daylight raised an eyebrow.

“Are you sure?” Daylight asked. “We can always do more, it’s not a big deal. I wouldn’t want you exhausting yourself either.”

“Hey if she’s offering don’t try and dissuade her now.” Gertrude said to Daylight and gave her a bit of a stink-eye.

“I’m absolutely sure, darling.” I stepped between her and Gertrude and put a hoof on each of their shoulders. “Consider it a gift. And besides even if I need to stay up a little late myself there’s still another full day before the Grand Festival. Tomorrow we can all relax. Now hurry up you five! Get some sleep, Rarity’s orders!” I shepherded them to their beds that still crowded my small office and turned back to go finish my looking over of the outfits for the fashion show.

“Relax” tomorrow I said. I’d try.

How Was Your Day?

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With one last day before the Grand Festival and the start of our revolution I decided that it really would do us all well to just relax. As I had seen to last night the dresses were completely finished and the fashion show was completely planned out, everything was ready and everyone knew exactly what they were doing. So instead of worrying all day about what might go wrong and being anxious I and all my friends were not going to think about that kind of stuff one bit. Instead we were all enjoying ourselves in Duke Terluff’s home, getting to sit on his comfortable furniture and eat and drink whatever we wanted while chatting with each other.

It reminded me of spa day with my friends back home. Minus the spa. Perhaps the spa would be my first stop when I got home, after checking in with Sweetie Belle of course.

Duke Terluff and his wife were both with us as well, I was happy to see them partaking in the fun and really getting along with everyone else. His wife was reticent as always but she was enjoying herself. And Duke Terluff joked and ribbed with Gertrude as if they were old friends, it was charming if not a bit weird to see.

“And so there I was, stuck with the golden idol, surrounded by locals with absolutely no way to talk my way out of things, and my friends nowhere in sight to help me.” Daylight was currently regaling us about one of her old treasure-hunting adventures. Rainbow Dash would probably get a kick out of this.

“So what happened? How’d you escape?” Spine asked, the quiet dragon was so totally intrigued and on the edge of her seat that she was surprising me and Cinder.

“Well if I could teleport it would have been easy but instead I just got lucky.” She grinned sheepishly and started rubbing the back of her head. “The locals were a really superstitious folk and right as they were about to attack me there was an earthquake. It scared them and sent them running for the hills so I was able to escape and find my friends again, just in time to save them from the tar pit they had somehow gotten stuck in in the meantime.”

“Wow. Sounds like that was a really tiring day.” Soleil said.

“One of many I’ve had.” Daylight chuckled uneasily. “I had hoped to have things be more relaxing after I retired from that but then this all happened.”

“Uh, sorry about that… I guess.” Duke Terluff chimed in.

“Don’t worry about it, not like I ever blamed anyone in particular.” Daylight just shrugged.

“Yeah unlike me she’s not the type to hold grudges.” Gertrude said and playfully elbowed Duke Terluff in the side.

“Speaking of you Gertrude you must have plenty of stories to tell? Anything interesting you want to share with the rest of us?” Daylight asked our griffon friend.

“Ehhh...” Gertrude scratched her head under the beret I made. As I knew from earlier with her she wasn’t much for talking about her past.

“Come on Gertrude, Spine and I have known you the longest and we still don’t really know anything about you. I mean we only just learned you had brothers because of when you told Rarity about them back when we headed into town.” Cinder said.

“Yeah come on! Let’s hear a griffon story!” Soleil joined in.

Gertrude seemed thoroughly embarrassed and uncomfortable but I was hardly going to save her. She might as well loosen up a little more. There were plenty of embarrassing stores in my past I’d like to keep hidden but I’m sure she must have something she’d like to share about herself. In part it was because we had been so busy but I just didn’t know these five as much as I wanted to, now that we had this whole day to just spend like this it would be a good opportunity to rectify that.

“Come now Gertrude.” I said. “I’ve never shied away from speaking about myself, you must have some small anecdote to tell us about?”

“Ughhh, fine.” Gertrude finally relented. “But I really don’t have anything interesting to tell. Griffonstone was a mess before I left it and nothing ever happened there. Since my brothers had already left a long time ago I finally decided to up and leave too, not like there was any reason to stay.”

She crossed her arms and shifted in her seat, trying to get comfortable.

“So you all know how the Dragon Lands are right to the south of Griffonstone right? Well when I first left Griffonstone I… uh… didn’t.” She blushed in embarrassment. “And so I ended up flying straight into the middle of dragon territory, all alone and having no idea what I had just done. I wasn’t some stooge looking for adventure like my brothers either, I just wanted to go somewhere else. But what followed was weeks of me being chased by dragons and trying not to get eaten.”

As she finished up she covered her face and sighed deeply.

“Pff! Hahaha!” Cinder started laughing, holding her belly and kicking her feet against the couch. “You mean you just flew right into dragon territory without even knowing?!”

Gertrude’s blush deepened and she glared at the dragon. “It was my first time leaving home okay? Sue me. I didn’t see any dragons until I was already a ways in, not my fault there weren’t any flying about where I was.”

I couldn’t help but also giggle at her story. “I’m sorry Gertrude but you must admit it’s rather funny.”

“So what happened next?” Cinder asked, wiping a tear from her eye.

“Nothing much. I flew and flew until the dragons didn’t feel like chasing me anymore. After that I ended up in all kinds of places. Mostly got into a bunch of trouble and got chased around by monsters or bad guys wherever I went.” Gertrude shrugged. “In fact the reason I got enslaved here was because I was trying to get away from some debt collectors after making a… couple of poor decisions. And not knowing where I was going again my wings took me here and the rest is history.”

Gertrude rested her chin in her talon and seemed to ponder something for a second. “Honestly I think I really just have bad luck. I don’t think anything I’ve done qualifies as an adventure or much of a good story, just a bunch of misadventures. Wonder if it’s the same for my brothers.”

“Well I hope things turn out for you better after we all get out of here.” I said.

The griffon just shrugged at my words. “Eh, I’m sure I’ll get by regardless anyways.” But then she scowled and her eyes narrowed at Soleil. “And since the hippogriff wanted to hear a story so bad I think it’s only fair that she shares one in return. So, Soleil, got any interesting stories from back home?”

Unlike Gertrude Soleil didn’t seem bothered at all about being put on the spot.

“I don’t mind sharing but there’s not much to share. I never really did anything special, just hung out and messed around with the other kids from the orphanage.” Soleil said, leaning back in her chair.

“I’m sorry to hear that you’re an orphan, dear.” I said with sincerity. It’s something I’ve been meaning to do for a while now.

“Not a big deal.” She said nonchalantly. “Not like I know what I’m missing and I’ve had a good life anyways.”

“A good life?” Daylight asked disbelievingly. “You do realize you’ve been a slave for however long right?”

“Yeah and things could still be worse.” Soleil’s carefree attitude was somewhat inspiring in a way.

“I guess so.” Daylight relented, not bothering with raining on Soleil’s parade.

Gertrude however wasn’t quite done. “Come on Soleil, you have to have something that you’d like to tell us about? Even just something dumb that happened when you were a kid.”

“Well we occasionally did some mischievous stuff, just the kind of stuff kids do and all.” Soleil said. “And then there was a lot of chaos when the Storm King started doing his thing, I wasn’t really paying attention to what was going on and all that, and long story short I ended up lost at sea and found by trolls. And now I’m here!”

“You’re awful at telling stories.” Gertrude just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“You’re not the best either you know?” Daylight remarked.

Gertrude just glared at her while the rest of us laughed. Duke Terluff chuckled along in his usual way as well, finding great humor at Gertrude’s expense. Even his wife joined in a little bit. How nice it was that we could laugh like this together. I never would’ve thought such a thing was possible when I first came here, my opinion on not just the trolls but most of my fellow slaves was rather low. And here we were now. I know Gertrude wasn’t really bothered by any of this joking either, she could take it just as well as she could dish it out.

“Since it seems like we’re all sharing today how about our two dragons tell us something about themselves?” I asked, moving us on to a new subject.

Spine’s ears perked up and she looked to Cinder, who merely gave her a shrug in response.

“Well-” Cinder began. “We’re kind of like Soleil I guess, there isn’t really anything to tell. We grew up around a bunch of other dragons and most of them were jerks. Dragons like us need to prove we’re tough and can handle the rough lifestyle but we didn’t get any respect cause the two of us are still young.”

“And short.” Spine cut in.

Cinder deflated, dragging her palm down her face and sighing deeply. “Yeah… that too.”

Now it was Cinder’s turn to receive a round of chuckles and giggles.

“Anyways.” She started again. “The two of us have always been together so when I got the bright idea to go adventuring off somewhere to beat up some monsters and prove myself I just had to drag Spine along with me. And here we are.” She grimaced and sent an embarrassed glance at Spine. “Sorry about all this by the way. Guess I know how the Duke feels too.”

“Just like Daylight said, don’t worry about it. I don’t hold anything against you.” Spine said. “I’d rather be here with you than back there all alone anyways.”

How sweet.

“Okay fine but dragons don’t hug so don’t expect anything mushy like that.” Cinder said to her friend and crossed her arms.

I shot a quick glance to Duke Terluff, who quickly looked away. Coward. He should stop fronting already and embrace his nice side. Not like he isn’t already sweet and mushy with his wife.

“You got anything to say, Duke? Any stories to tell?” Gertrude asked him.

He coughed into his hand and looked about nervously. “Mm, nothing interesting really. At least nothing that would be appropriate for this discussion. I was born into my position like the other nobles and have spent my whole life in the castle. And frankly I’d rather not talk about my past duties and work considering how it often relates to your predicaments, I don’t want to put a damper on things.”

The Duke folded his arms across his chest and leaned back. “As I’ve told Rarity many times I find this castle to be very boring and there’s not much to say about my life inside of it, my wife and I go to parties, work, and relax. It was dreadfully stale before I met Rarity.” He smiled at me.

“Darling I still don’t see how you could ever get tired of such a glamorous life… aside from the bad fashion and decorations.” I said. “But I at least could always fix that on my own of course.”

“Yes, yes, enough about how great you are.” Duke Terluff dismissively rolled his eyes at me.

The others started snickering and I could only huff in annoyance.

“So what about you then?” Daylight finally asked me. “I’m sure you have a lot of stories to tell. And we all already know how much you love talking about yourself.”

“Hmph.” I closed my eyes indignantly. “There is nothing wrong with liking to let others get to know you. I am simply a passionate person who enjoys the attention.” I opened my eyes back up and gave my friends a smile. “As for stories, oh yes, I have plenty of those to tell.”

Now that was the truth if there ever was one. So told and told I did about all the fun adventures I had been on with my friends before coming here, it was a lovely experience getting to entertain my new friends with these old tales. While also making me look as good as possible of course. Not that that was difficult in the first place. Since no one else apparently felt like talking about themselves any more I spent the next few hours carrying the conversation myself. It was easy enough with everything that’s happened to me since Twilight first arrived in Ponyville.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying it as I regaled them. I left out any parts that were embarrassing for me and basically ended up telling my whole life story until late into the evening. They all seemed impressed with how much I’ve done and all that’s happened to me, Soleil though said she was glad that her life was mostly a lot quieter than mine. Well I wouldn’t hold that against anyone.

I was going to miss everyone when this was all over.

“Well it’s a big day tomorrow.” I said after a long evening of talking. Sitting up and stretching my whole body I couldn’t help but let a yawn escape from me. “I think we should probably call it a night and get some rest. How’s that sound?”

“Works for me.” Gertrude said and similarly stretched her wings, hopping off the couch she was on.

“Yes, it’ll be important that we’re all at the top of our game.” Duke Terluff said, also rising from his seat and nudging his wife who had fallen asleep without me noticing.

“We have the first day of the festival where we can just mess around I guess. But you probably want to use that to get everything ready and make sure it’s gonna go off perfectly?” Daylight asked me.

I hummed to myself and scratched my chin, thinking.

“Actually I wouldn’t mind seeing what the Grand Festival has in store, I’d like to see the plays and other events Duke Terluff mentioned, and what kinds of things merchants bring to the castle to sell.” I said. “Maybe we can spend most of tomorrow together having some fun too?”

“Again, works for me.” Gertrude shrugged.

“Yeah let’s party!” Soleil said and ecstatically pumped her fist in the air.

“Considering it’s a troll festival I don’t think they’ll be too keen on us “partying” or being very exuberant.” Daylight Gleam hesitantly put down the hippogriff, a pitying smile on her face.

“Be that as it may I can still make sure you enjoy yourselves.” Duke Terluff said. “I’ll make sure no one causes any trouble for you that first day and I can guide you through the events if you want.”

“I think we have our plan for tomorrow then!” I said. “But that’s enough for now, come along then, let’s get back to the office to sleep.”

Duke Terluff looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “You don’t want your bed here?”

I smiled at my benefactor but shook my head. “It’s a lovely bed but I’d like to be with the others. Thank you, Duke.”

“Suit yourself.” He shrugged and began to lead his wife by the hand towards their bedroom. “I’ll see you all early tomorrow morning.”

The six of us left his home and went our way back through the castle to my office. It was quiet this evening and there was no more than the usual guards out, no noble off doing some last-minute work or slave running an errand. The six of us walked slowly and quietly, tired from the day spent talking and needing rest. I welcomed the thought of sleep right now. My throat was a little sore from how long I spoke and a good night’s rest before things began tomorrow would be good.

Finally we had made it back to that large room that was now all too familiar. But there was something out of place this time.

“Hey Rarity, there’s something on the door to your office.” Daylight Gleam said.

It was true, it looked like an envelope had been tacked on the door.

Gertrude plucked it off the door and eyeballed it. “It’s addressed to you.” She said, handing it to me.

I took the envelope in my magic and looked at it. Sure enough, my name was written on it.

“It’s probably just a job request some noble left, you all head inside and I’ll join you shortly.” I told them, ushering my friends through the door while I opened up the envelope.

What it contained was quite the surprise. I’ll transcribe it here:

Dear Rarity,

Harlequin Black here, sorry to not tell you this in person but things are just easier this way. Anyways I’m not needed here anymore so I’ve taken my leave. Don’t worry about the revolution, Birdseed and Captain Anchor will make sure things go off without a hitch down in the coliseums and I know you’ll do your part perfectly as well. It was nice meeting you, you’re a wonderful pony. We likely will not be seeing each other again much to my disappointment. So goodbye, I wanted to say that much to you at least since you deserve to know that I’m going. I have other things to attend to unfortunately and those who need my help. You and the rest will be fine without me.

Your friend,

Harlequin Black

P.S. If you remember, if you see Starlight’s friend Trixie anytime soon can you tell her to start packing extra fireworks for the near future? That would really help me out, thank you.

P.P.S. Tell Birdseed to stop being such a grouch and be a good pony already. One can make up for past mistakes as you well know.

What a peculiar pony.

The Grand Festival

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Compared to the normal relatively desolate state of the palace grounds they were now absolutely bustling with activity. The extensive grounds were covered with an array of tents, stalls and stages that thousands of trolls swam through. I was not as in awe of it as the first time I had seen the castle itself nor some of its larger halls but this was still as if an entire fair had been brought to the city of Canterlot, the size and spectacle of it was that immense. It was amazing how it had all sprung up so quickly too. The merchants set up their stalls in their area while the more leisurely activities had their zone. While I’m sure my friends wanted to go see some of the games and other fun stuff I wanted to see the merchant stalls first, that was just as fun to me.

It was strange to think it would all be over tomorrow.

But forget about that. I promised this would be a day of fun and I meant it.

“So trolls put on plays here? I kind of wonder what a troll play is like.” Soleil said from beside me as our large group wandered down the hastily made temporary roads for the Grand Festival that stretched all throughout the grounds.

“Forget about some play. I want to see a joust.” Gertrude said before cocking an eye at Duke Terluff. “You said you had jousts right?”

“Yes. Troll warriors ride the large wild boars found at the southern tip of the kingdom for the jousts.” Duke Terluff nodded.

“You know there was jousting back in the Crystal Empire north of Equestria too.” I chimed in. I guess jousting was a popular sport.

Daylight Gleam yawned as she looked out over the paths and I went to stand beside her. My first friend here. I don’t know if I’ve adequately conveyed how helpful it was to have her there with me from the beginning. And she’s been just as helpful ever since. The only other pony in our group but aside from that first day where she told me how she ended up here I didn’t learn much about her until just yesterday, it was funny to think that despite how standoffish she was at first I ended up knowing Gertrude the best of everyone. Daylight however seemed disinterested in what was going on at the festival. Perhaps she just wanted it to be tomorrow already so we could get this whole thing over with.

“Anything in particular you’re interested in?” I asked her.

“Hm, not really.” She answered. “I’m more hungry than anything.”

“We have plenty of apple dishes if you’d like some of that?” Duke Terluff asked.

“Oh yeah!” Soleil shouted. “Apple pies, apple turnovers, apple juice, sounds great!”

Applejack would’ve enjoyed this festival. Rainbow Dash too considering the jousting. Twilight would love to see another culture’s ways, Pinkie Pie all the fun and partying that was to be had out here today. I’m sure even Fluttershy could find something here she would enjoy. They would’ve had to get used to the whole being slaves thing first though.

“So it’s a bite to eat first then? Lead the way, Duke.” I said and our party followed Duke Terluff as he led us down the paths that wounds through and between all of the stalls. There was no rhyme or reason to how things were set up besides the general areas being separated, it seems that whoever found a spot they liked would put up shop there and that was that. It led to a rather chaotic state of affairs.

In short order we found ourselves in a large circular clearing surrounded by a variety of stalls and tents and filled up with benches and tables. Trolls sat by the dozens all eating together. We were most definitely the odd ones out even though there were numerous slaves working here and others that were personal attendants of some trolls. More than a few heads turned to look at our out of place group that merrily walked around without a care in the world. It was obvious that most of the trolls here didn’t know who I was or the situation of our group but Duke Terluff’s presence was more than enough to halt any confrontations.

After we sat down all it took was a snap of the Duke’s fingers and we had food placed before us. Gertrude and Soleil had absolutely atrocious eating habits. Oh well, it was a festival after all and I might as well allow them to enjoy themselves.

I still sent quite the glare at Gertrude after a large belch from her.

“Ahh~” Soleil sighed in satisfaction after filling up her stomach. “That was delicious. Where to now?”

“Well if we’re going to see some of the entertainment I’d prefer something a little quiet after eating that much.” I said.

“How about a play then?” Daylight suggested and turned to Duke Terluff. “Are there any being put on now?”

“There should be.” He said. “If you’re all not too weighed down from overeating we can head over to where they should be performing now.”

“Very funny, I could eat twice as much as this.” Gertrude said as she pushed herself off the bench, wheezing in exertion. “Ugh, maybe half as much again.”

We made our way from the dining area, and I use the term dining loosely considering how rustic it was, and headed over to the entertainment section. Already I could see some large theaters, stages, and open air halls. Right at this moment Tulepule was somewhere among these stages. One of them would be used for our fashion show tomorrow. Duke Terluff has given him the “honor” of getting everything ready, he loved a spectacle after all and said he would gladly make sure the show would be perfect.

I hope it didn’t rain tomorrow. That would delay everything if not outright ruin a lot of it. Looking at the sky I saw that while it looked as dreary as ever it wasn’t quite as dark as it got when it would be raining here. Considering the commonness of rain here and the timing of the Grand Festival I wondered if maybe it was put on at this time because they knew it actually wouldn’t be raining these few days?

Anyways the eight of us were once more led by Duke Terluff to a large auditorium where we were told that a play was starting up in just a few minutes. Because we had gotten to it relatively late our seats weren’t the best but we still had an adequate view of things.

“Can’t say I’ve ever seen a play or whatever. Dragons don’t really do that.” Cinder said.

“I’ve seen a number. But I’m intrigued about what a troll play will be like.” I said.

Duke Terluff sighed and sunk in his seat. “Don’t get your hopes up.”

I suppose I should have expected that.

The play was… oh dear Celestia it was boring! It was just two trolls on stage talking to one another the whole time! I’m not even exaggerating! Gertrude and Cinder fell asleep, Soleil dumbly looked on like she was hypnotized, Spine just seemed confused. Daylight was the only one who seemed to take some interest in it. I have no idea how.

“That was… something.” I said to everyone as the play ended and we got up from our seats. Despite watching the whole thing my mind was a blank mess of what actually happened in it.

“Okay!” Gertrude said. “Let’s do something exciting now, huh?”

“There’s a large melee that should be being held about now.” Duke Terluff said.

Ugh. Fighting.

“Please tell me there aren’t any slaves involved with that?” I asked.

“No, no, this is just for troll warriors.” He answered, shaking his head.

“Good, that sounds like my kind of fun.” Gertrude said. “Let’s check it out.” She gave a joking glare to Duke Terluff. “Also some warning on how boring that play was gonna be would’ve been nice.”

The Duke just shrugged. “Wanted you to go into it with eyes open.”

I will admit that despite my distaste for fighting the “melee” as it was called proved to be far more exciting to watch. It was rather brutal but the warriors used blunted weapons specifically made for entertainment purposes so that made it not quite as bad. Gertrude and Duke Terluff seemed to practically get in a competition on which of them could cheer harder while the fighting was going on, that scene was more amusing to me than the actual melee itself. Cinder and Soleil got really into it too but Spine and Daylight seemed a little bored. I don’t know how Daylight was apparently enjoying this less than the play but that’s how it was.

The jousting was much more fun for me but the wild boars were absolutely ghastly. Huge beasts the size of manticores. I can hardly believe that the trolls were able to control and ride them like they did. We saw tilt after tilt until there was finally a solitary victor and Gertrude gloated over the fact that the one she was rooting for won instead of who Duke Terluff was rooting for. They’re like children.

Since we wanted to wind down a bit after all that Duke Terluff took his wife to a professional portrait painter and the rest of us spent the time waiting in an adjacent tent listening to a small orchestra’s performance. The music was very much the same as what was played at the parties held in the castle, that is to say boring and slow, but I didn’t mind so much at this point. In its own way it was calm and relaxing.

“I’m surprised we aren’t getting more stares or anyone trying to start something with us.” Daylight Gleam said from the seat next to me.

“Meh. They probably just figure we have to be here for an important enough reason or something.” Gertrude shrugged.

“Let’s not dwell on it, darlings. It’s such an unpleasant topic. For now just sit back, relax, and enjoy the music until Duke Terluff and his wife are finished.” I said.

“Okay, but what are we doing after this?” Cinder asked.

I shrugged. “I, if none of you mind, would like to go the merchant’s section of the festival. I know it will probably be boring for you but you got to have quite a bit of fun watching the melee and the jousting didn’t you?”

“Fine with me.” Soleil said after a moment of consideration.

The others didn’t mind either, even Gertrude didn’t make a fuss considering we had spent the past few hours doing what she wanted to do. My friends were content with appeasing me for a little bit even if they will likely be bored out of their minds while I see what kinds of things are sold and advertised here. And who knows, maybe there will actually be a vendor that interests them.

It still took a little while for Duke Terluff and his wife to be finished but once they rejoined us we made our way to the merchant’s area. I personally found it much more fun than the “entertainment” parts of the Grand Festival. There really were all kinds of things being sold here. Funnily enough one of the first things I noticed was a stall selling fabrics manned by the same tailor Duke Terluff had thrown out of his home before I took over the job of making his wife’s dress.

The quality of fabric was quite nice, I could’ve spent hours looking through this one stall but I doubt my friends would appreciate that too much. Alas, I merely browsed and we went on to another vendor.

“What are these? Lanterns?” Gertrude said as she held up what was indeed a lantern while we made our way through another tent selling wares.

“Congratulations on finding the tent of trinkets.” Duke Terluff said as he walked by a row of scented candles and candle holders.

“There’s nothing wrong with knickknacks as long as they’re tasteful.” I huffed at them. Really now.

Ooh, they had lavender scented soap here too. Some rather nice picture frames, mirrors, wallpaper, lamps. Not bad. All in all I couldn’t help being reminded of that one swap meet we had all gone to a while back. The quality of the goods here was actually quite high though, the King or whoever probably only wanted the top merchants to be able to sell at their Grand Festival after all.

Despite the variety here though it really was just a tent full of things you would find at a flea market. I feel like if anyone actually bought something here they would look decidedly low class. Especially if it was a noble. So after a couple more minutes of browsing we moved on to the next place.

“I have a friend back home who would absolutely love this.” I said to the others as we walked down rows of bookcases filled with all manner of… well, books.

“Never been much of a reader.” Soleil said as she drew her fingers across the volumes while she walked by.

“There’s usually always something interesting in old bookstores.” Daylight Gleam said as her eyes traveled up and down the bookcases. “Obviously now’s not the best time to find something you like but next time you see one I’d say give it a shot. Fiction or non-fiction, just gotta find something that catches your interest. Even if it’s just cause of a cool cover or title.”

Twilight would certainly agree with her.

“Books are boring.” Gertrude yawned, causing Daylight to roll her eyes.

“Why am I not surprised you think that?” She said to the griffon.

Their friendly argument continued as the rest of us kept looking through things, and from the bookstore we went to a large outdoor area that was showing off all sorts of potted plants and everything else needed for gardening. Was a little odd to me considering that the trolls living in the castle had no way to garden themselves. The grounds seemed to be entirely for the farms, orchards, and now this festival, and their personal residences didn’t afford them a garden.

I saw one more tent that seemed to be selling a wide variety of paints, knowing that my friends would have no interest whatsoever in it I told them to just keep looking through the gardening area and I’d be right back to join them.

The owner of the tent didn’t pay me much mind as I entered although I couldn’t help but think that he must be surprised to see me walk in all by my lonesome self. Unfortunately right as I began perusing the large selection of paints (chalk white and eggshell white are very different) a very unwelcome voice called out to me.

“Well. Look who it is.”

I turned around to see Berten standing there, glaring at me through narrowed eyes from the entrance to this aisle of paints.

I didn’t know what to do, I was afraid of course but I didn’t want him to know that so I stood still and returned his gaze, my expression an unchanging mask. I would not be the first to speak up again. Let him say what he wanted to say if it was so important.

Finally he seemed to run out of patience and grumbled. “You slave, you got lucky.” He stalked towards me until we were almost touching. “I know you’re up to something and I’m going to enjoy throwing you and Duke Terluff into the dungeon as soon as I get the chance. You may have been able to temporarily fool some of the arbitrators with that little show but I know there’s more going on, Tylark wasn’t just making things up even if he didn’t know it. I’ll drag you and all your little friends out into the light and put a stop to it.”

He glared at me some more, trying to make me flinch.

But I would not give him that satisfaction.

“Feh, dumb pony.” He spat on the ground next to me and turned to leave, walking out of the tent.

You know what? I’m really going to enjoy seeing the look on his face tomorrow when he realizes how outmatched he is.

The second day of the festival had arrived.

It was the big day. The main event. The grand finale!

And it started with me frantically running around backstage making sure everything was ready. I would not have my fashion show disappoint in any way shape or form even if it was not the main purpose of what was going on today. Tulepule had fortunately turned out to be quite capable in getting everything together and ready for me at least but I still needed to make sure the dresses were in top form and all the models knew exactly what to do and how to show off the best.

Everyone else was here too, getting ready. Cinder, Spine and Soleil were going to be “caterers” in the crowd while Gertrude and Daylight would be helping me back here with the models. Duke Terluff and his wife would be sitting in the stands close to where the King and High Priest would be seated. Everyone would be waiting for the right moment when I announced our revolution in the middle of the show.

The guards at the show that had been bought by Duke Terluff would take care of the King and High Priest’s personal guards while the slaves catering the show (and the rest of the festival for that matter) would also join up with the guards and subdue/intimidate the unfriendly nobles Duke Terluff had marked.

It would hopefully be a quick and pleasant coup without any fighting or violence. With the unpopular King and High Priest deposed the trolls could do whatever they want after. Terluff and Tulepule along with the allied and sympathetic nobles would start a new government, one far kinder that totally abolishes slavery. Yes, I do completely trust them to do this. They’re my friends.

“I’m hungry, can’t we just jump the King and whoever as soon as they show up?” Gertrude whined.

I sighed and shook my head. “Gertrude, please. I am not losing the opportunity to show off my work like this. Besides it will be better if they’re all settled in and surrounded anyways.”

Gertrude scratched her head and sheepishly looked away. “I feel like your priorities might be just a little self-serving right now.”

Daylight Gleam coughed from behind me but I chose to ignore that.

“Really now.” I said. “After all I’ve done you can’t allow me a little bit of glory and satisfaction before the thimble drops?”

“No, no, you’re right.” Gertrude rolled her eyes.

“That’s what I thought.” I giggled and winked at her so she knew I was joking. But honestly nothing I was doing was going to put anything at risk after all. And I had put so much work into the fashion show I was hardly going to let that all go to waste. I may have been a little selfish about all this but it would be fine in the end, we were all about to become free after all. I enjoyed spectacle and wanted to end things appropriately, so what?

Tulepule had gotten us a good stage for the show as well, it was large and functioned just like an actual runway would with a broad stage at the back and the middle part that extended out into the crowd where the audience could sit around and watch from. Lights ran down the entirety of the stage so even in the darkness all would be seen clearly. The King and High Priest had seats reserved that sat right at the end of the runway. I’d be looking right at them when I walked down there.

For now the curtain was still down but once it was raised the models and my fashion line would be revealed and the show would begin. For a multitude of reasons I couldn’t wait!

“The King should be arriving soon and then the show starts right?” Daylight asked me while she helped dress one of the troll models.

“Exactly.” I said. “It’s almost evening so according to Duke Terluff and Tulepule he’ll be here very soon.”

I’ll peek out from the curtain in a second and see if everyone is settled in for the show.

“Well here’s to good luck then.” Gertrude said as she tied the laces on the back of a model’s dress.

“It won’t be luck that wins the day here, it’ll be friendship.” And fashion. But I left that out. Gertrude just shrugged at my words but Daylight gave me an encouraging smile

The models and dresses totaled one dozen and it’s a testament to my great skill that every single outfit has turned out so well. Since it was almost time we were getting them set up in order and making sure they all would walk out at the right time and take things slow enough so the whole crowd would get plenty of time to see each dress. I was starting with a very vibrant and eye-catching red ensemble. It would make the crowd’s jaws drop for sure. The King must’ve seen the dress I made for the High Priest’s wife but let’s see how he reacts to even grander work from me?

All in all the actual display of my troll fashion line would be over fairly quickly and then I would take center stage. So Gertrude and the rest really didn’t have room to complain.

A voice cut through my silent musings. “I’d say it’s just about time.” Daylight said.

Indeed, it was evening now. The King and High Priest should be here. Telling Gertrude and Daylight to finish up their work I trotted over to the side of the stage and just barely peeked out the edge of the curtain to see the audience. Hundreds of trolls were in attendance, more than I had seen at any single play or concert yesterday. It made my pride swell of course. In that sea I could make out slaves and servants going through the crowd while carrying plates of food and drink. Armored guards stood at attention around the seated nobles, their stony faces betraying nothing. Duke Terluff and his wife sat pleasantly in their seats as if waiting for just any other old show to begin.

Lastly my eyes centered in on the most important attendees.

It was my first time seeing the King. He was an imposing looking troll, wearing a simple white cape and a large gray-iron crown that almost made me throw up from the fact that something so ugly was on the head of royalty. His wife sat beside him and they were ringed by his own set of royal guards, who I hoped wouldn’t put up a fight when things began. The High Priest, his wife, and that troll Termyne were also all seated next to the King and his wife. As I noticed with great joy the High Priest’s wife was wearing the dress I had made.

So it was time. In the castle and down below in the stadiums the revolt was likely just beginning already.

“Alright girls.” I said, turning to Gertrude, Daylight and the stoic models that had been lined up. “Let’s get this fashion show underway!”

With a nod to the stagehands the curtain was raised.

Immediately there were waves of gasps and “oohs and ahhs” from the audience. I smiled in delight as my models took to the stage, perfectly flaunting and showing off the excellently designed dresses I had made as they walked one by one down the runway. From behind it all at the back wall of the stage I looked out to gauge the reactions of the nobles and especially the King and High Priest. Most seemed to be absolutely enraptured by the presentation, there was clapping and murmurs of delight throughout the crowd and many more who sat with their eyes glued to the models and clothes, too awed to give any other response.

“Seems to be going well.” Daylight said from beside me.

I only nodded in agreement, too focused on the show to make conversation. Soon it would be time for me to head out there.

The High Priest didn’t seem to be paying much attention but it may have partly been due to his age, he seemed tired. The King however seemed particularly interested, leaning forward on the edge of his seat so he was practically climbing out of it. I was quite flattered that he liked what he was seeing so much. It almost, almost, made me feel bad for what was about to happen. But really, it’s not my fault that he and this place are the way they are.

Half of the models had finished their lap up and down the runway, the show was a hit and I was anxiously waiting for the big moment. The atmosphere in the crowd was one of respect, wonder, and delight and it only grew and grew as each new model took center stage.

I started shaking a bit. Nerves were getting to me.

“Hey, calm down.” Gertrude saw and laid a comforting wing across my back. Daylight Gleam joined in with her hoof.

“Everything’s gonna be fine, right?” Daylight winked at me.

Yes, yes it would be. I just had to go out there and do my thing. I’ve never shied away from something like this in the past have I?

The last model was finishing up her round now, she was on the return trip down the runway and already the crowd was cheering and clapping in appreciation. Clearly they wanted more. I knew there were quite a few “friends” of mine in that crowd, noble allies of myself and Duke Terluff who were waiting for us to make our move but didn’t know exactly what was coming next.

There were shouts for an encore, shouts for more, shouts for all the models to come out again and put everything on display once more. Maybe if I had more time this show could’ve gone on for hours. I could’ve had even more dresses to show off and then some.

As it was, the last model made her way back here and the runway was left open for me.

“My time to shine.” I said and shared a smile with my two friends before walking out there, the lights now illuminating me as I went down the runway.

The nobles knew who I was and that I was responsible for all of this, even the King and High Priest knew it. I can’t imagine they were happy with a slave doing this and now walking out here like I was (in fact I was almost certain the High Priest did not approve of me at all) but even they knew how valuable I was and how so many respected me.

As I made my way to the end of the runway where I would be standing before the King and High Priest I noticed a certain troll out of the corner of my eye.

Berten was sitting in the crowd as well, in stark contrast to the other trolls here he was glaring at me with his arms crossed over his chest.

Let him.

The crowd was quiet as I finally made my way to the end of the runway, the King and High Priest practically right in front of me.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.” I stood up tall and projected my voice as well as I could. “I would like to thank you all for coming out here to see my show, especially the most esteemed of you of all.” I gave a smile and a quick bow to the King and High Priest. “I take a lot of pride in my work and it warms my heart that you would all come to see a fashion show put on by a lowly slave such as myself.” There were some surprised looks and murmurs of discontent in the crowd after I said that, they were surprised I would bring this up. “Yes, just a lowly downtrodden slave unfairly oppressed by this kingdom along with so many others.”

Now there was just plain shock. The King and High Priest stared at me in open confusion, Termyne on the other hand was glancing around nervously as if he understood that something wrong was going on. Out of the corner of my eye I even saw Berten staring at me with pure unbridled rage.

“However I have made many friends here, else I would not have been able to put on this show.” I continued. “I have found many trolls, nobles and otherwise, who want to change things and make this kingdom better for all.”

Termyne was motioning the royal guards to come over to him and with a quick glance I saw Berten rise from his seat and try to elbow his way through the crowd towards me.

No matter. My friends were already in position.

“I just wanted to say that my name is Rarity, and I along with my friends and some of the wonderful trolls I’ve met here could simply not abide by the way things are anymore. Right this moment it’s already changing.” I stared down at the King and High Priest with the most pleasant of smiles. “My status as a slave is no more.”

There was a somewhat awkward pause as despite the murmuring and the movement of many in the crowd quite a few didn’t seem to grasp the situation just yet. Including the glassy-eyed King and High Priest.

I coughed. “In other words it’s a coup and the slaves are rebelling.”

That did it.

Generosity

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Now as it turns out overpowering guards who spend most of their time just standing around and pacifying a mostly oblivious King is fairly easy. If there were any other nobles who objected the vast number of slaves that poured out onto the grounds from the castle just moments after I finished my little speech certainly helped to change their minds too. The High Priest and King still didn’t fully seem to grasp the situation until Duke Terluff came up to them and told them they were being deposed, at which point they were escorted away by our bought off guards while Termyne and Berten ended up in chains after… some unruly behavior from the both of them.

And so that’s how it was. The nobles who were allied with us cheered and I found myself hoisted up into the air by Marquess Tivbald. He carried me on his shoulder so all could see and I was applauded by my friends and those who knew me, you can’t even begin to imagine how good this all felt. Everything went perfectly and everyone was okay. The show was a hit, the plan went off without a hitch, and now things would finally change here.

I was no longer a slave. No one was.

Duke Terluff seemed surprised at how simply things ended and even I’ll admit it went much smoother than expected. It was good of us to plan to have so many of our friends around and the extra slaves to show up, and on that note that must mean everything on their end and inside the castle must have gone perfectly as well. I suppose most of the trolls truly were apathetic to how things were going. And it’s not like they really needed the slaves from what I had seen either. It just made things a little easier for them. They still had their own warriors to watch fight each other, still had their own servants and plenty of able-bodied workers that would have to replace the slaves in the castle. It wouldn’t be so bad.

What would go on at the rest of the Grand Festival now? I imagine most of the vendors and merchants would just stay here and continue selling what they could but I’m not sure if the rest of the scheduled entertainment would still be held. Now the former slaves were all out here and wanted to enjoy themselves too, things were probably going to be a little chaotic over the next couple of days.

On the plus side the sky looked a bit nicer than normal.

A sign of things to come? It was almost poetic, I love it!

It was still night though, the evening had dragged on thanks to all that happened and I was getting tired. After everything I was exhausted and could really use some rest. I know my friends could as well, especially since it would be our first night as free creatures again. That would feel good.

Tivbald had let me down a while ago and I was now standing there on the stage watching the celebration and night take a life of its own. Most of the nobles were still clearly uncomfortable around all the slaves but I saw a good number who were at least trying to be friendly with each other. Of course there were a number of other nobles who had been marked by Terluff as ones that would likely need to be removed from their positions. But I didn’t really want to think about that right now. The tough part was over, now should be the time for rest and merriment.

“Still basking in your glory?”

Daylight Gleam had come up to stand beside me without me noticing, Gertrude had gone out into the crowd to meet up with Soleil, Spine and Cinder and bring them all back here.

“I suppose. But I already had my moment in the sun, I’m just happy things are over now.”

“Amen to that.”

I stepped down off the runway as Gertrude and the others came to join us, Daylight following me. Despite the thick crowd and my importance in what had just happened everyone was so absorbed in their own thing now that no one paid me any mind. For once I think I preferred things that way.

“How are you girls feeling?” I asked my friends. “Tired?”

“A little bit. It’s been kind of crazy lately and now that it’s all over I feel like I’ve crashed.” Cinder said.

“Yeah I feel like the wind’s been taken out of my wings.” Gertrude chimed in.

I was about to respond when a new voice cut in.

“Hope that doesn’t mean you’re too tired to celebrate with us for the rest of the night.” It was the familiar voice of Captain Anchor and I happily turned to see him, his crew, and even Birdseed walking towards us.

“Captain! It’s so good to see you.” I trotted forward and warmly greeted him before my eyes roamed over the other crew members. “And the rest of you as well.”

“I’m just happy that everything worked out, thanks to you. I guess we can leave anytime we want.” The Captain said to me. His eyes then turned to Daylight and the others. “These your friends?”

“They are indeed. Won’t you girls introduce yourselves?”

Greetings went all around and we took a seat near the stage, talking about nothing and catching up. As much as I wanted to curl up in a nice bed this was still a good way to spend the night too. The other members of the crew thanked me for everything and we reminisced about Equestria and just what we would need to do when we got back. And on that note.

“Any of you are welcome to join us on our trip back if you want, whenever that’ll be.” Captain Anchor said to my friends.

Daylight Gleam was the first to answer, politely shaking her head. “Thank you but I’ll be going somewhere a bit out of the way for you, I need to find my friends.”

As she said that I suppose it finally struck me. This would be goodbye for most of us.

“Yeah I’m gonna have to decline on that offer too.” Gertrude said. “I’ve been thinking about it and I wanna head back to Griffonstone, so I’ll be flying out that way.”

“Spine and I are gonna be going back to the Dragon Lands. We’ve got a doozy of a story to tell now.” Cinder said, playfully elbowing Spine in the ribs.

Lastly Soleil spoke up. “I’m going a different way too, Mt. Aris isn’t too far from here but it’s still not on your way at all.”

“Huh. So we’re all headed somewhere different?” Daylight Gleam voiced my thoughts and a silence spread between the six of us.

I didn’t really want to say goodbye to any of them. We had become such good friends in the short time we knew each other and there was so much more I wanted us to do together. The Captain and the others awkwardly shifted about, not wanting to break the silence while the six of us brooded. What were the chances that we’d see each other again? Not high to be sure. I hadn’t even thought about the fact that we would most likely be saying goodbye at this point, like I didn’t even realize it despite how obvious it should have been to me.

“You won’t be able to go anywhere for now anyways so no sense getting all torn up just yet.”

The voice of Duke Terluff cut through all of us as he walked out of the crowd to stand by my side.

“What do you mean?” Captain Anchor asked with a raised eyebrow. “Not that I’m suspicious of you or anything, not anymore at least, but why can’t we leave?”

Duke Terluff just dismissively waved his hand. “It will take a day or two before everyone else in the Kingdom gets notice of what’s happened here and we’ll need some time to call off the raid ships that patrol our waters. As well as the sky patrol. Take the time to relax and have some more fun together.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Gertrude shrugged.

I had to agree with her, and it was good to know that we’d at least get to spend some more time together before we had to say goodbye for good. However more fun could come later.

“That does sound all well and good but if I’m being honest I’m rather exhausted at the moment, and it’s gotten pretty late, I think I’m ready to turn in for the night.” I said to everyone.

Duke Terluff smiled. “Of course. I’ll still be staying up for a long while with all the work that needs to be done but you deserve a good rest. You all do.” He made a sweeping gesture with his arms and looked over my friends and the recently freed Captain and his crew. “Feel free to use my home as if it was yours. It’s the least I can do.”

Captain Anchor smiled. “Thank you.”

I think I just saw the birth of true friendship and a burgeoning relationship between the trolls and Equestria. How nice it would be if we became friends with them like all the others.

There was more than enough room in Duke Terluff’s large manse for us all to retire in. Hm. Duke? I wonder if he’ll be keeping that title, or any of the nobles for that matter. I’m not sure how much will change. Well whatever, it’s not something I have any stake in at this point. While I slept in my bedroom the others took a variety of spare rooms and couches for their own. I can’t remember if anyone actually invited Birdseed but he still came too and crashed in front of the fireplace.

With everything that had happened it didn’t take long before I fell asleep. And after finally succeeding here and saving everyone and no longer having everything else to worry about you had better believe it was the most pleasant night of sleep I had in a long time.

The next morning I was woken up by Duke Terluff knocking on my door. “Morning” may have been a bit inaccurate since it was clearly past midday, I slept for a while.

With a great yawn I greeted him. “How are things? Was last night productive?”

“Very.” He said with a smile. “We made sure to make word spread quickly, I’m certain if you all want you’ll be able to leave by tomorrow without any problems.”

“Good.” I breathed out before stopping myself. “I mean, not like I’m not going to miss you or anything like that...”

He laughed heartily and clapped me on the back. As hard as always. “Please. Like you need to explain? I know how much you want to get home. But if it makes you feel any better I’m going to miss you too.” He blushed in embarrassment and looked away.

I smiled up at my troll friend. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were being sentimental right about now.”

He grunted in annoyance and turned to leave my room. “Whatever, enough of this. You’ve still earned the right to do whatever you want until you leave, your friends are already up so I was thinking you might want to go back and see some more of the festival. Most of it is still going on as normal.”

“Thank you Duke, that sounds wonderful.” It would be a good way to cap off my stay in this kingdom, being able to enjoy the rest of the Grand Festival without anything hanging over my head. Me and my friends could just be carefree and have some fun, I knew Soleil would approve. And this would be the first time the Captain and the others would get to enjoy themselves like this too.

That settles it! Time to get everyone together and rock the festival!

Or it would have been time for that if Duke Terluff was not incorrect about something. Gertrude was still asleep and absolutely refused to wake up, she was being worse than Opal right now. I’m also amazed her incredible snoring didn’t wake me up sooner. Soleil and Cinder took turns poking her cheeks until she finally got up from her slumber while I had some tea with the Captain and Birdseed.

While I again brought up some more mindless chatter with the Captain about what he and his crew had been doing since I last saw them I happened to notice Daylight Gleam out of the corner of my eye seemingly meditating alone on a couch. I wonder what she was up to?

Excusing myself from the two stallions I wandered over to her.

“Daylight? Anything wrong?” I asked her. I didn’t know why she was being so asocial right now.

“Hm?” She peeked open an eye. “Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about how I had been working on a spell to escape from here back before you arrived but kind of stopped practicing it when all of this started up. My special talent always revolved around “light” and I can do a pretty decent camouflage spell but it doesn’t really work too well in broad daylight when you’re moving. I’ve been trying to make myself actually invisible by bending light but haven’t had much success with it, good thing you came along or I’d still be stuck trying to get it to work. I made a little progress so maybe it’s something that will come in handy in the future but for the most part it’s been a bust.”

“Certainly sounds like something that could be useful, especially in your… line of work.” I said uneasily as I remembered just what it was she did before coming here. Would probably be best to make sure she and Birdseed didn’t get too well acquainted.

Daylight chuckled and smirked at me. “You don’t have to worry about anything like that.”

Before I could respond a disgruntled noise came from behind me.

“Hurgh! Whazzat?!” Gertrude pawed away at the two poking her as she fitfully woke up, tumbling off the couch she was resting on and ending up in a messy heap on the floor.

She lied there motionlessly for a few more moments before speaking. “Can someone tell me what time it is?”

I rolled my eyes. “Far too late in the day to just be waking up, dear.” Yes, yes, I know.

“Ugh, whatever.” She got up and shook the sleep from her eyes. “Anything going on today? Why’d you all wake me up?”

“The festival is still going on and we have time to kill before we’re ready to leave. Let’s go have some fun again, Duke Terluff said it’ll probably be like another day or something.” Cinder told her.

My griffon friend shrugged apathetically as she was wont to do. “Kay. Festival was fun enough that first day I guess. No more boring plays though please.”

“You’ll get no complaint from me on that.” I told her.

So we all started to get ready to head out to the Grand Festival again. And by all I mean not just my friends but the Captain, his crew, and Birdseed as well this time. We would be quite the party. It certainly made me feel better that I’d be able to spend this last day with everyone instead of us all just leaving and going our separate ways immediately. Although I don’t really know how much everyone else will enjoy the shopping and entertainment left at the Grand Festival. I liked the merchant’s area well enough but I can’t speak for the others.

“Anything you need is on my tab.” Duke Terluff spoke up as he walked back into the living room from wherever he had gone off to after leaving mine. “If you want to do anything, or see anything you’d like to eat or buy, it’s on me. Go crazy.”

“Wouldn’t it be more accurate to say it’s on the King’s tab now?” Gertrude smartly cracked at him.

Terluff dismissively waved her away. “You can take my offer or not you know?”

I stepped between them to preemptively stop another verbal sparring match. I didn’t want us to be stuck in this room forever after all. “Thank you Duke, that’s a very kind offer. I think we’re all about ready to go now?” I asked, looking around at the others and getting nods and other affirmations in return. Turning my attention back to Terluff I asked him if he would be joining us. “Are you going to be enjoying the festival today as well?”

Unfortunately my friend just shook his head. “No, I’m still far too busy getting things in order. There are some things I need to do to make sure all the slaves can leave here safely and I need to specifically procure a ship for you to use tomorrow.”

“Well that’s good at least.” Captain Anchor said as he walked over to us. “I’m sure me and my crew can handle anything you find for us, it’s not like we really have any possessions or anything to bring back either.”

Actually there were quite a few things I could think of that I wanted to bring back home but I didn’t want to bring it up if it would be a bother.

“I’m trying to find something large enough to take back all of the ponies that want to go to Equestria at once. There are quite a few.” Duke Terluff said while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Captain Anchor was about to say something when he was interrupted.

That was happening a lot this morning.

“Less talking more fun! Come on! Let’s go to the festival already, pleeeease?” Soleil whined, clearly at the limits of her patience after waiting for Gertrude to get up and now this.

“Uh, sorry.” The Captain said in apology. “I guess we don’t need to talk about this right now, today was for fun right?”

“Quite so.” I said and headed towards the front door of Duke Terluff’s home. “Come along everyone, we have one last day here all together so let’s enjoy the festival as best we can!”

What can I say about the Grand Festival and what we did to enjoy ourselves at it that I haven’t already? We had more apples. And even though Duke Terluff had said things were mostly going on as normal I was still surprised at just how correct he was, it was even weird to me that most didn’t seem to mind about what had happened to their King and High Priest. Like they didn’t even know about it. I can’t imagine how different it would be if Celestia just suddenly got deposed. I suppose I was correct in my assumptions that no other trolls really had any love for them and they just went along with it because “That’s how things were”. And now they were fine with their new leadership. Well I can’t say that’s perfect but maybe Duke Terluff can make them care about being better people?

“I wish there were like, games and stuff to play you know?” Soleil said as we walked through the crowded festival.

“Games? What are you, four?” Birdseed rudely said to her.

Gertrude and I both silenced him with a glare while Spine patted Soleil on the back.

Oh, right. I have something to say to Birdseed. I almost forgot.

“Birdseed? A moment if you please.” I slowed my steps to match pace with him while the others continued on. He regarded me with a suspicious look which I couldn’t actually say was surprising but I still think he’s a bit too paranoid and cynical. “Harlequin Black asked me to say something to you.”

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Oh, did he now? Where’d that guy even get off to anyways? He just up and disappeared right before the Grand Festival.”

“Honestly I have no idea either. But he left me a message and he wanted me to tell you to essentially stop being such a grump and doing bad things. Now I don’t entirely know what he means by “bad things” but considering your admittedly shifty nature I imagine it’s rather unpleasant stuff. So for the sake of a friend who helped us out of this situation I hope you might consider changing your ways?”

The orange pony clicked his teeth and for a moment didn’t respond, I continued to just stare and drill my eyes into him until he finally spoke up again.

“I’ll let that certain bad decisions in the past have gotten me in a heap of trouble, this whole slavery business being the latest, but I have my ways and I do what I want to do. After today we don’t have to see each other anymore so just forget about it.”

And that was that. Maybe if I was Twilight or Fluttershy I could do a better job but it was difficult helping people who didn’t want to help themselves. And it makes me sound bad but I didn’t want to have to do something like that today anyways, I wanted to relax and enjoy myself instead of dealing with someone like Birdseed. So I did.

For the rest of the festival everything negative was pushed out of my mind. Our minds. As we simply made the best of the occasion. Like we planned we avoided the plays but did watch a few more concerts and musical performances. Gertrude of course dragged us to watch another fight, Captain Anchor turned out to be quite interested in that too though. I’ll never understand it. And then after that I naturally dragged everyone around the various stalls and tents that were selling all sorts of items and wares. This time I wasn’t bothered by a certain white-streaked troll either while I looked at the paints. To my own surprise though the only thing I ended up buying was a lone scented candle, I didn’t want to just throw around the Duke’s money and the candle would be a good souvenir to remember the kingdom by. The good parts of it.

“Maybe it’s just me but things feel livelier and happier out today.” Daylight said while we walked down one of the impromptu roads of the festival.

“Probably has to do with all the slaves out having fun too.” Gertrude said.

I think I have to agree with her on that. Seeing the smiling faces of all the former slaves certainly makes for a much warmer atmosphere at the Grand Festival. Especially considering to my surprise how well and easily some of the former slaves and trolls seemed to be getting along with each other. I think I saw the overseer of the apple orchards amicably attending the joust with a number of those who previously worked out on the grounds.

“So time for food? Cause I could eat an entire pie right now.” Gertrude said, gaining my attention again.

“Sounds good to me.” Cinder shrugged. None of us had any objection so off we went back to find something nice to eat.

This time we didn’t get near as many odd looks. Refreshing. I let my friends do the talking while I just ate and listened in, relaxing and taking it all in. The day was getting late so we probably wouldn’t be out here for much longer.

“I kind of wish there was more to do instead of just looking around.” Soleil said.

“Well you could have bought something?” Gertrude replied to her.

“Meh, I don’t really care about any of this stuff.”

“Careful what you say, you might offend Rarity.” Daylight smirked as she said that, giving me a playful look.

I didn’t rise to the occasion though. Instead just rolling my eyes and waving her off.

“I think it’s gotten too late for anything like a fight or race or whatever now.” Captain Anchor said. “Looks like most are getting ready to finish up, maybe there are some late night shows we could still see? I don’t have a schedule or anything.”

“Whatever happens happens.” Gertrude shrugged. “I’m fine just hanging out together.”

Yes, so was I.

As we were finishing up our meal I saw another rather heartwarming sight. Tyluck walking around the festival with some of the ponies from the quarry. I decided not to bother him, less he get embarrassed again, and let him spend time with his new friends. It was good that things turned out so well for everyone. Some work still needed to be done but I think just that one sight shows that the kingdom is headed in the right direction.

The rest of the day was spent much the same and eventually we all once more retired to Duke Terluff’s home. This time Birdseed didn’t join us, I have no idea where he went off to. I didn’t know whether to feel happy or sad about that.

When everyone else was settled in and ready to rest Duke Terluff came and beckoned me into his office. Raising an eyebrow in question I decided to go with him and see what he wanted to speak of.

The office held quite a few good memories for me now, much had been planned here. I took my seat and waited for the Duke to step behind his desk and seat himself as well.

“So what is it?” I asked. I’m not sure why he needed to speak in private with me.

He coughed into his hand before speaking up. “Well first off all I wanted to tell you that arrangements have been made for you to get back home. We have a ship and everything for you that you can use tomorrow, it’s just a short carriage ride back to the port you originally came in at.”

I was happy. But as the sad smile on my face showed I was also torn that this really meant it would be goodbye for all the new friends I had made.

“Thank you. I suppose tomorrow is goodbye then.” I said to him.

He nodded. “I’ll miss you, but that’s also why I wanted to talk to you. I know you originally came here as an ambassador of sorts so I was hoping when you get home you can help us reach out to your leaders? If you could also help me set up a way for me to send letters to you or whoever else I need to that would be great.”

“Of course, I’d be more than happy too. You see my friend Twilight happens to be the Princess of Friendship, I can make sure any letters you send get right to her.” I beamed at him.

Terluff shifted uncomfortably in his seat, looking a little dismayed.

I cocked an eyebrow at his behavior. “What’s wrong, darling?”

“Well...” He started. “That title, “Princess of Friendship”, I hope everything that’s happened to you here doesn’t make her mad at us. Not too much at least. I want us to have a great new relationship with your home… I want you to be our first friends after everything you’ve done for us, Rarity.”

I smiled in understanding at him and reached forward to put a reassuring hoof on his arm. “Duke Terluff, you don’t have to worry about that at all, Twilight is a very forgiving and understanding person. Yes I’m sure she’ll be a little concerned with the way things were here but now that you’ve honestly changed and are looking to better yourselves she’ll be nothing but happy.” I winked at him. “And of course I’ll be putting in a good word for you.”

The Duke smiled and reclined in his chair. “Thank you, again. For everything.”

After that I went to go sleep in my bed here for the last time.

And the morning came quickly.

It was a quiet morning, everyone knew what was to come and there was a not quite somber but still placid atmosphere over the whole group. The carriage ride we took to the port town was similarly quiet, Captain Anchor and Duke Terluff were the only ones talking with one another and that was just about how to work the particular ship we would be getting.

Before long we had made it to the docks and the carriage deposited all of us in front of the ship I would be getting on. But not with my new friends.

Duke Terluff, Daylight Gleam, Gertrude, Spine, Cinder and Soleil all stood there waiting for us to head off. My friends all wearing the clothes I had made for them.

Behind me and the Captain there was a simple ramp leading up to the large ship, at the moment many other former slaves were already using it and heading onboard. It felt strange that things were going to be ending so simply after all the chaos we had all been through. However before I could start my farewell speech or do anything else, Cinder beat me to it all.

“Well I won’t make this any more awkward than it already is. Might as well be the first ones to head out.” Cinder said, waving at me and flapping her wings to hover above the others. “Spine and I’ll be flying back to the Dragon Lands now, see ya.” Spine then waved and joined her and the two of them quickly flew off into the sky, the cloudy weather obscuring them quickly.

And just as quickly, Gertrude started up as well.

“Pff, I wanted to be the first to fly out looking cool like that.” Gertrude shook her head as she waved after them. “But yeah, I’m going too, bye.” And before I could even say anything Gertrude had flown off too.

Well that was all rather abrupt. I know dragons and griffons aren’t generally for the sentimental stuff that we ponies love either but still. Taking my eyes away from the vanishing speck of Gertrude I looked back at Soleil and Daylight.

“Are you going to just suddenly up and leave before me too?”

“Nah.” Soleil said with a shrug. “I was actually gonna hang around in this town for a while longer. I wanted to check out some shops and stuff.”

“I’ll be leaving shortly but not before you.” Daylight said.

I sighed. “Alright then, I wanted to have a big group hug but since half of us are already gone we can forget about that. And I don’t want to keep the ship waiting with how many are anxious to get home.” I stepped back with the Captain and crew as we walked onto the boarding ramp. “Goodbye Daylight, goodbye Soleil, goodbye Terluff.” I said, waving at all of them and trying my hardest to keep the tears from welling up in my eyes.

“Bye bye!” Soleil happily waved back.

“See you later!” Daylight Gleam smiled at me.

“Goodbye, Rarity.” Duke Terluff stoically stood there, just the smallest of smiles on his face.

And I stepped onboard the large ship with the others and began my journey home. It was… a good trip.

.
..
…

The purple Alicorn’s eyes intently roamed over each and every word as she read the last page of Rarity’s diary. Rarity meanwhile sat across from her, sipping on a cup of tea and waiting for her friend to finish reading. Just as she had expected, Twilight was able to get through it all very quickly and now she was certain her inquisitive friend would have a number of questions for her after reading about her journey in the troll kingdom.

With a final pause as she finished up Twilight looked back at Rarity from over the top of the diary and raised a single eyebrow.

“Are you sure you didn’t embellish anything?”

Rarity gave a mock gasp of indignation at Twilight’s question. “Darling, please! That is a one hundred percent accurate record of what happened!”

Twilight’s gaze did not change. “Pinkie Promise?”

Rarity coughed and turned away. “Maybe later...”

With a roll of her eyes Twilight closed the diary and levitated it back to her friend. “Still though, thank you for writing it all. I received King Terluff’s letter already too and I’m looking forward to meeting him on his first visit to Equestria next month. This’ll be just like when we first became friends with the yaks or the changelings!” Twilight finished with excitement, a happy smile on her face.

“Yes, I’m looking forward to seeing him again too.” Rarity said, tucking her diary away back in her saddlebag. “Well I must be getting off now though, I have a lot of dresses to make. My trip simply filled me with inspiration and the ideas just keep coming!”

Twilight giggled at Rarity’s enthusiasm. “Have fun then, don’t forget you still have classes to teach though.”

“Of course not.” Rarity hopped off her chair and started to head her way out of Twilight’s castle.

“Oh Rarity, one last thing!” Twilight called out to her.

The unicorn looked over her shoulder, giving a questioning look to her friend. “What is it, darling?”

With a somewhat smug look in her eyes Twilight grinned. “You forgot to white out the crossed out lines.”

Rarity Gets Enslaved

by MagicS

Very Rude Behavior

Unpleasant Travels

I Am Not A Maid!

Nor A Farmer!

Fighting Pits

High Society

Rental

Dress For Success

New Fashion In Fashion

Talk of the Town

The Good Life

A Beautiful Heart

Friendship Is Magic

Stressful Couture

Sewing The Seeds

Well They're Not Wrong

Quite Busy

How Was Your Day?

The Grand Festival

Generosity