S4E08: Unwelcome Reunion

'''With Canterlot now under Hellgate's control, ERAC moves to meet his demands lest he make good on his threats. Four Bearers of the Elements of Harmony remain, but one of them is still at large. The hunt for Rarity begins...'''

Plot Summary
The day following Hellgate's siege of Canterlot, Wolfgang summons the Special A Unit to the war room, where he reiterates the main points of the previous discussion. Namely, that they will give in to Hellgate's demands for the chance to strike. He dispatches the A Unit to gather the remaining four Bearers, three of which have been accounted for and the fourth, Rarity, of whom still needed to be found.

Arachnos took Executioner to look for clues at the Ponyville crater, while Terminos went with Kanako to Fluttershy's cottage and Oneiros went to Sweet Apple Acres. Oneiros managed to recruit Applejack with little trouble, but Fluttershy needed more convincing. Pinkie Pie simply appeared at the crater shortly after Ketsueki and Melody of G Squadron arrived to lend support.

The three groups reconverged and Melody discovered what appeared to be three graves behind the ruins of Carousel Boutique. They were fresh, relatively speaking to the surroundings, and one was open and empty. Executioner stuck its horn in one of the full graves for a DNA sample and came out with Rarity's father. It was assumed his wife was next to him. But the open grace puzzled everyone, as for who it could have been for and what happened to the body of that person.

Some hoofprints led them back inside the burnt ruins of Everfree Forest, where they came across a blood-splattered clearing with a hut in the middle and trees covered in sickly splotches of color. Organs and decapitated heads were layed out in an organized fashion along the exterior as if they were decorations. Executioner examnined the itnerior of the hut, only to be rushed by a fleshy mass. It let out a screech and then fled, and A Unit, believing it to be a Sayan, chased after it.

Melody used a lightning bolt and hit one of the branches instead of the creature, setting Everfree on fire yet again. Still, this worked to their advantage as it caused the monster to trip over itself, where it was pinned down and Ketsueki delivered the final blow, shearing off its skin. It was soon learned that it was not skin at all, but rather a large mesh of animal hides facing the wrong way. A unicorn covered in blood popped out, still as manic as ever. Her body was given a quick clean, revealing her to be Rarity. She was immediately transported back to ERAC HQ to undergo examination, both to determine if she was a Sayan, and if not what trauma she may have endured.

As the A Unit waited for the results, Aurion began to inquire about the new arrival carried in my doctors in hazmat suits, and he was brought up to speed on the situation. He began to show signs of distress, but Wolfgang interrupted the conversation before it could progress further. Wolfgang revealed that, as far as they could tell, their Rarity was the genuine article, but her mind had been forcibly altered, being the cause of her madness

Wolfgang explained that she saw the world "backwards," perceiving a fleshy exterior even on cold hard metal, and likewise would probably see actual guts as beautiful things, explaining the "decor" of her hut. Only the Sayan was capable of such a thing, though the question of why the Sayan would do this was brought up. Wolfgang had no answer and could only theorize that it might have been an experiment. He did say that Rarity was being examined to see if she may have given the Sayan anything it could use against them. He then asked Arachnos if he could produce something that could allow Rarity to see things for what they really are, and Arachnos walked off, presumably to try despite the short time limit.

Soundtrack

 * 1) Opening - Main Theme (Sonic: Time Attacked)
 * 2) Briefing - Main Theme (Battlefield 1942)
 * 3) Applejack - Applejack's Stage (My Little Pony: Fighting is Magic)
 * 4) Fluttershy - Fluttershy's Stage (My Little Pony: Fighting is Magic)
 * 5) Pinkie Pie - Pinkie Pie's Stage (My Little Pony: Fighting is Magic)
 * 6) Blood Hut - Tension Before a Confrontation (Metroid Fusion)
 * 7) "Sayan" Encounter - Phantom ~ UNKNOWN (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destines)
 * 8) "Sayan" "Battle" - The Executioner (Umineko no Naku Koro ni)
 * 9) Rarity Uncovered - Rarity's Stage (My Little Pony: Fighting is Magic)
 * 10) Tense Atmosphere - Sector 1 (SRX) (Metroid Fusion)
 * 11) The True Culprit - Phantom ~ UNKNOWN (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies)
 * 12) Ending Theme - Dream a Dream (Pop It Don't Drop It edit)

Trivia

 * Rarity's madness of seeing a fleshy world is directly taken from Saya no Uta
 * It should be noted that in the case of the protagonist of that story, Fuminori, his condition was the result of a botched surgery. Though, Saya would eventually perform an experiment on a neighbor, producing the same effect.
 * This episode, as well as the following two, were originally planned to be one episode. However, SDM decided that there would be just too much happening in one episode and as such split it into three parts, saying it was better to have three episodes running short than one episode having too much crammed into a single timeframe.