When fashion businesses start getting picked off at night one by one, Rarity decides that enough is enough.
Something odd is happening all over Equestria.
Las Pegasus, Trottingham, Manehattan, Vanhoover... in one place after another, fashion businesses go up and not two weeks later they go down. Always after dark, always no trace left other than a burnt-out -or swiftly leading to such- husk of a building.
When Coco Pommel comes to her place for sanctuary, Rarity decides that enough is quite enough.
With Twilight's help, she undergoes a little transformation of her own, to root out the cause of these incidents. Thus is a hunter unleashed, and she is on the prowl. With the aid of Prisma Glow, they become a nigh-on unstoppable force.
The question is, will they be able to stop it themselves? ------------------------------------------------------------------
Contains: Primal fury, violence, possible dark themes.
Anthro tag is for optional bipedal form. Don't worry, they'll be on all foours most of the time.
Truth is, something terrible was happeninng. All across Equestria, one fashion franchise goes up, not two weeks later it goes down, literallly in flames! No evidence ever left behind, exceptscorched materials and sometimes open flame.
By the time whatever it was came to Manehattan, Coco Pommel was long gone, hoping to take refuge with an old friend
Trotting stealthily through Ponyville, she made her way to the building shaped like a merry-go-round. Looking both ways, she knocked on the door. She shook like a leaf while she waited.
"Coming~!" said the proprietor of the place in a singsong tone.
When the door was opened, the typical slogan was uttered. "Wellcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, unique and magnifique! Can I- Oh! Coco! What brings you here?"
"Hi, Rarity. I wish I could have come on... more pleasant terms. Can I come in?"
"Of course, darling. Come in! Come, come!"
The beige mare entered tentatively. "I do hope that i'm not interrupting..."
Rarity waved that off. "Think nothing of it, dear. Tea?"
Coco smiled. "Please. What kinds do you have?"
"Hmm... let's see...." Rarity mused, looking through the cupboard. "I have Ginseng, Raspberry, Rooibos, Blueberry, Peach, Mango, Chammomile, Orange Pekoe, Oolong, Honey Ginger, Green, Rainbow, Allspice, Lemon Verbina, Lemongrass, Dandelion and Burdock, Puritea, Serenitea, Immunitea and finally... Rari-tea!" she quipped at the end, causing Coco to laugh aloud..
"I think I'll stick with the Serenitea. With honey, if you don't mind." she said, smiling in earnest now.
As Rarity put the kettle on, she asked, "So. What brings you to my humble abode?"
Silently, Coco slid a sheet of paper across the table.
Coco Pommel.
I'll skip the pleasentries. We want your property. You're going to give it to us. Or you're going to die. You see, we seek world domination and will stop at nothing to get it. I suggest you leave town. Tonight. Get out and leave everything behind... we good. If you don't, or get a burst of courage... we level the place and everything inside. You included. Your choice .
Choose wisely.
Drake
Just as Rarity finished reading, the kettle went off, startling her. As she trotted over to get it off the burner, she said, "Looks like you have quite the pickle on your hooves. You were wise to come to me."
Coco nodded. "Yes, and i was hoping that I could stay here for... a few days? Maybe a couple of weeks?"
"Of course, darling." Rarity said, "Mi casa es su casa, as they say. Stay as long as you like."
"Thanks, Rarity. I'll find a way to pay you back."
"Think nothing of it, dear. After all, you are my friend, and I am the element of generosity."
So it was that Coco stayed at Rarity's home. She helped with the alabaster fashionista's workload, and things were peaceful for a time. Unfortunately, one day Coco awoke to see a scarlet envelope on her bedside table. The seal upon it was in the form of a dragon's head
"Oh, no!" she exclaimed softly, holding her front hooves to her mouth in fear.
Tentatively opening the envelope, she read the contents.
Coco Pommel.
Nice try, but it won't be that easy.
We know you have the rest of your most valuable pieces. Leave them at the post office, addressed to your boutique. We mean business.
-Drake
With that, Coco broke down in tears. ---------------------------------------------------------
Later reading the letter, Rarity would have been livid if she wasn't already as white as they come. She looked to Coco with fire in her eyes.
"Of course, you realize this means war. Threaten me, fine. Threaten my business, marginally understandable. Stalk my friends, break into my home and blackmail them? You get on my shit list."
"I'd say it's time for a bit of payback, wouldn't you?" a voice said from above, startling both mares.
"Rainbow?" Rarity queried, "Whatever are you doing here?"
"It's spa day. Remember?"
"Oh. Right." Rarity replied. She was so occupied with Coco that she'd completely forgotten!
"I'd say that this takes priority, however. In fact, a little birdie told me of the next potential target. It's somewhere in Manehattan, where a bunch of famous designers and hoity-toity types are gathering tonight to discuss the problem. Maybe we can do a bit of snooping, hmm? Counter any troubles that might occur?"
"I couldn't agree more, darling. I think I know just what to wear to this... soiree."
Walking over to her room, Rarity reached under her bed and withdrew a briefcase. "I was hoping I'd never have to use this." she said under her breath.
Inside of the briefcase was a bracelet of sorts, enchanted by Twilight and herself (along with some other ornaments, but that later). If she put this on, she'd become a hunter; a slayer. It would increase her magical potential, make her stronger, tougher. But it would also unleash her more.... wild side.(1)
Thing is... once on, she might not want to take it off.
She shook her head, dispelling that concern. 'No. Worry about the maybes later.' she thought to herself, 'This must take priority. What those ruffians did cannot stand. I simply must do this.'
Sliding the bracelet on, Rarity began to feel energy building within her. Her usually violet, coiffed mane spiked, streaking with multiple colours. Her muscular structure shifted, favouring physical activity over mental. Then it corded tightly. Enough to become less apparent, but not enough so to hinder movement.
Next, her ears were pierced with silver studs, five each. Each of these would increase her toughness, further reducing the damage she took by 7% each, for a total of 70%. As she was now, she could possibly take a crossbow bolt with minimal damage. Luck favours the prepared, after all.
The next touch was the jacket, which fairly sprouted from her coat. This would increase her agility to the point that she would be able to leap from building to buiding or run allong walls, also decreasing any fall damage to the point of near nullification. Not to mention allowing her to run rings around any attackers. It would also shift to any form that she desired.
The form that she rode now didn't have nearly the power that her Rainbow Power form did, but wouldn't require the aid of her friends to unlock its full potential. It had other functions aside from the above, but we'll get to that.
The transformation complete, she looked at her changed body in a nearby full-body mirror. She felt powerful. Invincible, even.
Nodding to herself, she exited the room, shifting the jacket into a dress that went with her new made-do. This would allow her to fit into the crowd in Canterlot without drawing suspicion.
Briefly, she checked on her sister, who was sleeping still.
'Good. Would hate for her to get in harm's way.'
Re-entering the main room, she saw none other than Prisma Glow chatting with Coco.
"Alright, darl. It's time for action. Let's kick it." she said confidently.
"Try to keep up." Prisma quipped.
Before leaving the house, Rarity reached into a secret panel. She entered a code and flipped a switch. Shutters slammd down over the windows, the entire structure shifted subtly. Now there would be no intrusions without her say so. Coco would be safe indoors, as would her sister. Since it was summer break, she doubted that her sister would encounter any trouble. Well, any more than usual.
"The hunt is on, babe." She told the prismatic mare.
Prisma Glow and Maxi(1) were heading to the meeting in manehattan. Maxi quickly summarzed the plan. "We get in, schmooze a bit and when the villains of the day come, we lay the smack down, but keep one of the buggers alive for questioning. And then, well... we'll see. Capisce?" she exposited
"Completely, dear." Prisma replied, nodding once quickly. "Now, as I understand, there will be a bunch of vain fashionistas and supermodels who are equally full of themselves. Nothing "super" about either. Well, maybe supercilliousness, but hey."
"Unfortunately, we'll have to deal with it. For now. Hopefully the action will happen soon enough." Maxi said, adjusting her dress.
"Well, time to make an impression. I'll take the models, you take the modelers."
Maxi nodded and the two entered the building. Looking around, the two could clearly see that this place used to be a mall, of sorts. There were multiple floors, each teeming with the elite. On the two lowest levels were the earth pony designers. On the top were the pegasi (mostly models), who suffered from Rincewind Arcology Syndrome by their very nature(2).
Prisma, of course, flew upward to meet with the classy pegasi. Maxi, meanwhile, would chat up the members of the other two subspecies.
I scanned the area as I was winging upward, as was my way. On the second level, -the "primary food court", apparently, if you could still call it that- there were some unicorns that were poking around, occasionally grabbing a bite to eat from one of the repurposed stalls. I'm pretty sure that I saw Fancy Pants and Fleur-De-Lis among them, too.
Occasionally there were pegasi who would glide down to snag some munchies themselves, hence why I was more careful and leisurely with going up. The less attention I brought to myself, -and thus the disapproval of the other "guests"- the better.
On the third floor, some shops were still open, servicing those that went in and out with an occasional trinket or bauble(3). Everything looked pretty high-quality. The businesses there must be making bank off of the party-goers.
Flying to the top floor, I saw several pegasi and a few unicorns. They seemed to be chatting amiably, awaiting the meeting proper. There was also a long table nearly covered with food, though nothing as lavish as the second tier selection. I suppose it made it easier than making them fly back to the second level. A quality versus convenience issue, I suppose.
There was also an assortment of games going on, from things you'd find in an arcade (like racing games, fishing games, claw games, etcetera) to things you'd find in a casino (Blackjack, Poker, Roulette, and so forth).
Among the fourth tier highborns there were a few celebrities, such as Star Blast, Peal Splash, Ceruleanne, Boom Mike - and that was just the pegasi! Truly I was rubbing withers with the elite!
Since Pearl Splash was nearly alone at one of the aforementioned roulette tables (only one other pony being there, the dealer -who had a cutie mark of aa roulette wheel- aside), I flew over to her, beginning a conversation, bidding a few tokens myself (betting on red, to start). This version had two balls going at once.
"Lovel evening, isn't it?" I queried.
"As it happens, it is!" she replied, smiling. "Prisma Glow, I presume?"
"Black 15, Red 7!" the dealer exclaimed
I was surprised that my reputation had spread this far, but schooled my expression, doing a Corner bet (that is to say, betting on 1, 3, 34 and 36. Four and six were my lucky numbers, but I wasn't going to tell her that, certainly). "You presume correctly. Pearl Splash, I believe?"
"Indeed! So, what brings you to a place like this?"
"A little birdie told me that this was a place that classy ponies were gatherinng. Thoought I'd see why."
"Red 19, Red 3!" The dealer called, then doled out eight tokens to me and eight to Pearl. We placed new bets
Pearl nodded. "Hm. Well, surely you've heard of the attacks on fashion franchises, recently?"
"Who hasn't?" I repllied.
"Well, we're gathered to see what can be done about it. Hopefully something can be done."
"Red 27, Black 17!" This time I'd won douly. I was starting to get a feel for this wheel, betting on a double street, the balls rollng again.
"Red 12, Red 19!" Another win for both of us!
"Lucky, aren't you?" Pearl said, concentrating more deeplyon the game.
"Only slightly more than you." I returned, also concentrating further.
The next few rounds went similarly, My pile of bits grew further, modestly, but Pearl's did too. Deciding to quit while I was ahead (and nobody suspecting me), i cashed out and moved on, bidding Pearl a good day while scooping my winnings into my right saddlebag.
Next I went to a poker table playing a variation on Txas Hold 'Em: Pot Limit Okolahoma. (4)
Sitting at the tale there were also a cybernetic pegasus (who had a cutie mark of a computer), a Diamond Dog who looked surprisingly intelligent (he was also wearing a trenchcoat, and rocking the look, i daresay), a muscular looking unicorn (who had a cutie mark of a flexed foreleg), and a gryphon wearing a simple -yet stylish looking- denim jacket.
Sitting down at the table, i greeted them all. "Gentlecolts..."
While Prisma was mingling on the upper floor, I was chatting up some of the upper class on the lower floors. Among them were Fancy Pants (and his wife, Fleur De Lis), Photo Finish, Sapphire Shores, Sharp Shears (a stylist of some renown in Manehattan), Close Knit (designer of form-fitting clothing from Trottingham) and nd more of the like. All were worried for their businesses, but came nonetheless.
I got many a compliment on my manestyle, So I was swift to return the favour. Photo Finish insisted on taking a picture, even when I reminded her that I'd already made the front cover of her magazine for this very style.
Suddenly, there was a sharp tapping sound. We all turned our attention to Suri Polomare, who had miniature cameras floating around her. Prisma glided down to come to a stop beside me.
"Hello everycreature. I know that i'm probably not well liked due to my past shady actions, and for that I apologize. But this is a serious time, and we can better handle this together than we can alone."
"Why should we trust you?" one pony spoke up.
"Because I'm telling the truth. Look, I likely rubbed you the wrong way in the past, whoever you might be. But if we're going to make it through this, we need to work together, as corny as that may or may not sound. Also, I've caught a look -or five- at who these jokers really are."
Fancy Pants queried curtly, "Oh?"
"Yeah. It's a group of gryphons and diamond dogs. They're always led by a gryphon brute; someone who keeps them in line. They wear forest green outfits and their symbol is a crimson fire. They come in groups of ten or so at a time."
"How do you know all of this?" Fleur asked.
"In the past I moonlighted as a ninja. A fairly good one, too. Ever since my business was torched, I have an excuse to scout the city. And no, I haven't been spying on any of you, before you ask. (5) Anyway, I can say with fair confidence that they're likely to try to stop this from happening. And soon. But together we have an actual chance. Furthermore-"
As if on cue, the door was blown open, a group of about fifty green-coated toughs coming through the now-gaping hole. Lastly was a large bronze-hued gryphon, who looked quite serious.
"Arrite." he said in a stereotypical Manehattanite accent, "I'm Gladius, and this is essentially a stick-up. Disperse quietly -without any jewelery ya might 'ave- and none o' yas has ta get 'urt."
Prisma and I shared a glance and nodded. We stepped forward.
"And what makes you think we'll do what you ask?"
"Ask?" the leader said, "I'm COMMANDING you to do it. And also-"
Prisma interrupted, "Really? I don't-"
HEY! I'm talkin' 'ere! Anyway, show 'em, boys."
Each of them brought out what was clearly a firearm of some sort. My keen sense for detail told me that they were magically charged, likely with charged crystals. Deadly if used correctly. We couldn't waste any more time.
"Any last words?" one of the diamon dogs asked, grinning.
Taking on bipedal stances, Prisma and i began to be girded with armour. Mine was a white metal of diamond-liketoughness, but still allowed for freedom of movement. In fact, it was designed to boost my mobility and defense. As a finishing touch, an array of blue crystals began to spin around me. Had I more time, I would have made something more intricate, but this would do for now.
Finished, I exclaimed, "Bright Jewel!"
Prisma's transformation was somewhat more complicated. First her dress became more form-fitting, hardening into light armour. Her extremities were then covered, with gauntlets and metallic boots. Then her wings were covered by a shiny metal A helmet with a more horselike design covered her head and a chestplate finished the design. Overall, I had to say it was definitely quite gorgeous, while still being functional. focusing my sight, I could see the runes etched into the different parts of the outfit. It was made to guard the body while enhancing strength and mobility.
Her transformation finished, she called out: "Spiral Pegasus!"
Looking round, I could see several other ponies taking on alternate forms. I could see the Power Ponies, among others.
Prisma grinned underneath her helmet. "So. Any last words?" she said, throwing the diamond dog's words back at them.
