" Popo dear, how much we still need for that wheel ?" Rarity asked to his trusted aide.
" Still a little, young lady ."
" Well, hurry up, this place is not the best ."
Due to a broken wheel, the carriage of Rarity had stopped a few minutes in a neutral zone of the south of Equestria, known for the activities of bandits and deserters.
Rarity was nervous, and she was afraid that someone had assailed or rob or abused of her, but with four diamond dogs as bodyguards there was nothing to worry about.
But, you know, Rarity is Rarity , the drama queen and lady of wordiness.
" Have you done !? " asked nervously Rarity to the poor diamond dog, " I saw something move over there, and there, and even there too ! "
" Almost miss Rarity, just wait a very little and I'm done ! " said nervously.
" Quick, quick, quick ! "
In a jiffy, the diamond dog repaired the wheel, and the journey of the quintet was able to continue.
Less than half an hour later, finally in the territory of the changeling, Rarity sighed in relief, and began to harness of its diamonds, precious gems and fine clothes created by her.
Iràscor's Fortress was clearly visible from the carriage, and under it the city lights.
" Halt ! " shouted a changeling guard, situated on a small hill, " not a false move, or we're gonna impale you all with our crossbows ! "
" We are members of the Shattered Diamonds, and we bring with us Rarity, our lady ." said one of the diamond dogs .
That said, the changelings let their guests go over.
To get to the castle, Rarity had to come down from her carriage, soiling her sumptuous clothes.
After doing an infinite number of ways to manifest her disgust, she walked toward the fortress.
A tide of changeling tried to sell her junk, trying to get in exchange a few coins or, even better, an emotion, but the magnificent mare didn't want anything, since she knew that she could afford better.
Shortly after, once out from the crowd, the mare arrived at the base of the long, winding stairway that went up to the top of the Crooked Peak.
With a few moves of teleportation, Rarity came suddenly on the top, to the door of the gloomy and dark fortress of Iràscor.
" Yuk, these changelings ." Rarity began to complain, " never have an ounce of style ."
After entering into the cold fortress, she found no one there, except spiders and crawling insects .
While going into the big and tall corridors of the fortress, a shiver of tension crossed the back of the mare .
That place, so bleak and shabby, was a match to the old castle of the two sisters, and and the voice who said that that place was inhabited by ghosts didn't help .
Sure, Rarity had never been afraid of ghosts and undeads, but after what happened years ago, the cause for which Nova was born... she preferred to be more cautious.
A noise, suddenly, caught off guard the elegant lady of the Shattered Diamonds, a harsh sound, a thud, come from behind her.
After quickly turning, she saw that a large piece of stone fell to the ground, possibly falling from the ceiling.
Once having made a snort, Rarity began to look for Iràscor.
She tried first in the larger rooms, then in the bedrooms, but he wasn't there .
So, she decided to go into the only place where anyone with a minimum of sanity wouldn't go for anything: the dungeon.
The stairs, in solid polished stone, were all wet and cold, and as she descended everything became increasingly cold and wet, and the floor seemed less and less made of stone and more... viscous ?
" Oh crappy crap !" screamed Rarity in the long tunnel made of green slime, as her voice echoed, " oooh, my poor hooves ."
" My poor antennas, you mean ." said from behind her Iràscor with his usual annoyed tone.
Rarity, taken aback, turned around screaming in panic, and when she saw the hideous face of the changeling she could only scream and fussing even more, covering herself with mud from the head to the hoof.
Iràscor remained there to observe her for a quarter of an hour, with the look of someone tired and nervous, then he stop that whining with a mighty cry of anger, imposing her to stop yelling.
The mare stopped immediately and still trembling, only to realize the presence of his "colleague".
"...uhm... it was somewhat..." stammered Rarity all red on her muzle.
" Embarrassing and irritating ? Very ." retorted Iràscor, for then pull her out of the slime and advising her to follow him .
" No, excuse me, is that I've never seen... you know... you in the face."
" Then make this moment as historic, because it will be the last time you see it ."
A few minutes later, Iràscor led Rarity in what looked like a sanctuary, with the statues of three changeling queens.
The first, who Rarity recognized immediately, was Chrysalis, while the next to her, largest and more impressive, had to be Erestra, the Progenitor, and the third ...
" Who is that ? "
" She ? Cucoonia, one of the victims of the Solar Purge. The one who looked more like me ."
Iràscor began to tell another time the tragedy of the Solar Purge, which happened much time ago, before Nova, before Celestia.
Before the unification of Equestria.
" You know what I remember most of all, of that day ? The heat . That day, the sun fell from the sky, and fell straight upon us changeling. I saved myself thanks to my sisters, but only one survived. "
Rarity could only stand mute and melancholy, feeling the regret in the voice of that old, strong changeling, who showed no signs of old age.
" Anyway, why did you come here ?"
" Uh... oh, right," Rarity said, as he took the letter, " one of our spy gave me this, but ... I don't understand anything ."
" Show me ." said, after made levitating with his magic the letter, Iràscor, " Uhm... this language is not new to me."
" I would like to see the opposite, my dear friend, is changeling !"
" I must correct what you said. It's ancient changeling ."
Iràscor told Rarity that it would take a couple of days, before he had translated the message, and advised the elegant mare back to her cove.
So, all disgusted, Rarity had to go back across the long muddy tunnel, and re-passed for the long corridors of the fortress, still feeling observed.
Once out, she saw her bodyguards heavy panting on the ground, after they had managed to climb all the steps, from the city to the top of the mountain.
" Come, my darlings, let's go back home ." said, smiling and with her usual tone Rarity
The four diamond dogs began to make verses of discontent, despairing at the thought of having to redo the whole staircase.
After getting off and have recovered, they asked Rarity to stop at least a few minutes, before returning to the cove, and Rarity said that she did not mind, as long as it wouldn't be for too long.
Hours later, the guards had not yet made return, and Rarity was starting to get paranoid, since the local changeling kept looking at her strange.
Thus, the mare went in search of her dogs.
She searched them everywhere, going from pub to pub, from inn to inn, and never find them, as long as a bartender told her that he saw a group of diamond dogs directed to the "lustful holed ".
The local brothel.
Rarity races, on the tip of war, to the brothel.
Once inside, a changeling approached her, offering her some odd jobs for a sumptuous price and, in response, Rarity said that mares (or whatever could be defined as female changeling) were not his kind.
In reply, the changeling turned into an attractive stallion, with... such a dote .
Rarity felt embarrassed, at first, but then regained her composure and, after stating that she was not there to please her needs, she asked another changeling if he had seen his guards.
" Of course I saw them." said the changeling, " They've demanded the best... workers that we have, able to transform into anything, for a lot of time ."
" Oh ... and where they are now ?" asked politely, but with a tone of anger in his voice, the mare.
" Upstairs, on the second floor, in the last room down the hall ."
Rarity got under way, angry and tired, and quickly climbed the stairs.
Once arrived in the rooms of her bodyguards, she found them all over the beds, while copulating with the prostitutes who had paid all turned into female diamond dogs... and something else.
After retrieving his guards and giving them even a lesson or two, they walked to the carriage.
" Hey, you, wait ! " yelled the changeling who was at the entrance, " you haven't taken your coupons ! Next time you spend there two for the price of one ! "