Sunset followed exactly where Starlight mentioned the beauty pageant was located, and arrived at the building as expected. She was now thinking of what she could potentially do with Rarity to continue spending time with her, assuming she wasn't directly involved with the event. As she entered the building with neon decorations, Sunset was able get a clear idea on where everything was, due to the signs laid out in the main lobby. One door led to a hallway connecting to the auditorium, where the main event was taking place, while another door was connected to a break room, where Rarity presumably already finished her meeting, as it was now empty.

While approaching the main hallway, Sunset stopped as she began hearing a voice in the distance, likely coming from another room on the other side of the building. As she distinctly heard the voice saying, 'Since you're no longer my fashionista, make sure you don't mess up my show, or you're fired!', something about the voice legitimately sounded familiar. It began to remind Sunset that the name 'Valencia' seemed like someone she met in the human world, but she had honestly forgotten who it was after a while. Regardless, it certainly sounded like whoever said this was incredibly pompous and demanding. Though to Sunset, she didn't really pay too much mind, since she was mostly here to see the show with Rarity, as admissions were free.

Although Sunset was initially thinking of simply heading toward the auditorium, she heard another voice crying behind her near a backdoor she didn't notice before. In the far corner of the lobby, Sunset trotted over to another passageway which was marked with a sign reading 'Fashionistas only!' in front. Sunset wasn't wanting to trespass, but the concern and urge to do so was growing heavily, as she began recognizing it was actually Rarity crying. It didn't sound fake or anything minor, she could begin to hear Rarity crying severe tears of heartbreak. Thinking nothing more to it, she simply decided to go on ahead, since she was technically be considered a fashionista for helping Rarity design that vest earlier.

Hearing Rarity seemingly heartbroken for whatever reason, Sunset realized she definitely couldn't enjoy the show with this knowledge. Plus, she believed that since these ponies were now her friends too, it was her responsibility to help ameliorate their struggles as best she could, much like her human friends did for her. Sunset entered the back hallway which eventually brought her to a dressing room. Thankfully, since the building's security guards were currently on break, she was able to go all the way in without any trouble, but eventually found Rarity curled up on the floor all by herself. Seeing how seemingly mentally damaged Rarity appeared to be, Sunset knew something tragic must've happened, to where she began questioning her friend.

"Rarity?" Sunset asked with concern. "I heard you crying severely when I entered the building. What in Equestria happened here?"

"Oh… Sunset?" Rarity looked up to her unicorn friend. "So glad that you could make it here after all. It's… it's nothing, don't worry about it, just know that I'm perfectly fine and that nothing's wrong at all."

"Come on, Rarity." Sunset said after raising an eyebrow. "I know that is far from the truth. Please, let me know what's going on, I can help you get through this."

"Well…" Rarity began, before sniffing more. "Did… did you remember I mentioned that before we came to Manehattan, the leather vest we worked on was for my important client, Miss Valencia?"

"Yes… how did that go?" Sunset questioned with a little hesitation.

"She hated it." Rarity moped. "It was a complete disaster. After finishing up my meeting and presenting the attire to the Madame, she went on and on about how giving her something small and made of leather would end up making her look cheap and unappealing, as she instead wanted the most perfect and ambitious dress in Equestrian history. She then chastised me for attempting to pull a quick one with her, and that because of this, she'd never or order anything from me ever again. To make things even worse, she didn't even end up paying me for what I came up with and demoted my position in her show. I went from her main fashionista to the pony who'll simply shower confetti on her during the event."

"That's terrible!" Sunset said shocked and angered. "Didn't you say that she never specifically asked for a dress? Just something that would make her look nice at this beauty pageant? And to top it all off, she also cut your crafting time by a whole week without even letting you know until the last minute?"

"Well yes." Rarity replied. "But in her eyes, the vest did not make her look nice, and she mentioned that she would've expected me to know the order would've been for an ambitiously marvelous dress design. As for arriving a week early, she mentioned that good fashionistas should be expected to deal with plan changes, regardless of how severe they may be. She has the best connections around Manehattan, so I would understand she'd be too busy to accommodate for my needs. I guess she was right, I really am nothing but a failure. She still mentioned at the very least, showering the confetti will still give me a small chance to persuade her into recommending my line."

Upon hearing the extent of what this Valencia pony had seemingly been putting her friend through, Sunset immediately felt she had to step up.

"Rarity, no." Sunset frowned. "This isn't right at all. If she didn't specify what she wanted to order, then that's on her and not you. She should still be very much paying you for your efforts to compensate the trouble you went through, especially if she h wanted something nice to wear for herself and gave you less than a day to do so. It sounds like to me, she's simply using you, if she's not even going to pay you a single bit after this is all over, but only payment in exposure. That is the absolute most selfish thing anypony could ever do. Not caring for the extent of how much somepony sacrifices for them, basically taking them for granted at all times, just like… I used to do myself with Princess Celestia."

"No no no, please don't say that of the Madame, Sunset." Rarity insisted. "She has much more power over the fashion business than anypony else in Equestria, even surpassing myself and Miss Pommel combined. It is now my duty to stay on her good side, as it could still guarantee business for a good, solid while."

"Please, hear me out, Rarity." Sunset begged. "You are most definitely going about it all wrong. I don't know who this Valencia pony is, but from what you've described of her, I can definitely understand her true intentions. She is most certainly taking advantage of you, and once she's finished, she'll simply toss you aside like garbage. I'm only trying to look out for you, since I used to do free comic book art for others myself. I deeply regretted it when they kept treating me badly despite all I sacrificed for them. I just really want you to understand, there's a huge difference between doing something nice for a friend, and letting yourself be taken advantage of."

"Miss Valencia?" Rarity asked with confusion. "I think you misunderstood, Sunset. Miss Valencia and I have known each other for a while now, and she's simply the manager for the Madame during this beauty show. The pony whom I've been describing is the Madame of Manehattan. Nopony seems to know her actual name, so we typically always just refer to her as 'The Madame', like I've been doing. Miss Valencia was simply the client who ordered from me, but it was the Madame who demanded her to not pay me."

"Oh, gotcha." Sunset replied. "But still, whoever this Madame is, I still can't wrap my head around how she's been treating you. I knew back when I helped you finish that vest, you were certainly a pony of passion for your hard work. After everything you've described of the Madame, I'm appalled from the position she's put you in. I think the best choice here would be to simply abandon the show and refuse any further demands from the Madame until you get paid in full."

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid that ship has sailed." Rarity sighed. "Everything you've just advised me on, I was actually thinking of doing just that. But now, I'm most certainly between a sewing machine and power outage. The Madame made it clear that if I ditch the show or refuse to shower the confetti, she'll purposefully use her connections to talk badly about my services. I'm guessing she knew I would be unhappy for this treatment she's given me, and is using this as a way to prevent me from retaliating. I just can't take that risk, since business at Carousel Boutique had been even slower than usual for some reason."

"I see…" Sunset empathized with Rarity's dilemma. "There's got to be some kind of way we can beat this Madame at her own game, or I'd be afraid she'll keep doing this with not only you, but anypony else she orders from."

Before Sunset or Rarity could reflect on the entire situation, the aforementioned manager had then opened another door to find Rarity. Sunset turned around and finally remembered who Miss Valencia truly was after one look at her. Just as Rarity had alluded to, she was that influencer who had somehow gotten a magical phone, Vignette Valencia, back during Sunset's trip with her friends to Equestria Land. Although Sunset was more focused on winning a rigged ring toss game with Twilight at the time, she was still able to remember what Vignette did to her and her friends. Trapping them all in a seemingly inescapable place similar to Juniper's mirror, only to find out later they were simply teleported to a white room at the carnival. Remembering this, Sunset decided to tread lightly if this Vignette was bad news as well.

"Hey, Rarity?" Vignette said with sorrow. "I'm really sorry with the way my boss has been treating you. I only started working as her manager recently, and had no idea she treats her fashionistas this way. I really wish I could spread a good word about your business after the show, but Madame's not allowing me to, since she gets the final say on your business's quality."

"It's fine, darling." Rarity responded. "It's certainly not your fault when she basically threatened to make your life miserable if you used her money to pay me for that vest. Honestly, firing you if even one bit was missing from her bank account? But it's not like either of us has a choice, due to how powerful the Madame is in the fashion market."

"I'm pretty powerful in the clothing market too." Vignette reflected. "But unfortunately, Madame still outranks me, and my influence on the market could absolutely plummet if she becomes displeased. Plus, I really do need this job as her manager, since I'm behind on rent for my home here in Manehattan. I just can't take any chances."

Hearing this conversation, Sunset began to feel bad for Vignette as well. Understanding everything, she could see that both Vignette and Rarity were practically in the same boat, being forced to work for an overbearing tyrant and blacklisted if they attempted to go against her. It also didn't help that she was like this with the students of CHS when she first entered the human world. Sunset wanted nothing more but to help out, so she decided to join in on the conversation to come up with ideas toward a solution.

"Miss Valencia, was it?" Sunset addressed. "You mentioned you're an influencer on the fashion market, right? Have you considered sharing a story to everypony, documenting the horrid treatment the Madame had put both you and Rarity through?"

"Well, I'm both a fashionista and marketer, but I'm afraid attempting to expose her is out of the question." Vignette replied. "Earlier after I saw how badly she treated Rarity, I confronted her about it and even brought up the idea of sharing what I just witnessed to the ponies of Manehattan. Unfortunately, she called my bluff when mentioning I have no proof, and that she'll just end up denying all the allegations, along with firing me, and making sure I'll never get a job in fashion ever again. I'm already in huge financial trouble as it is, I have no power against somepony with as many connections as Madame."

"You're so brave for attempting to stand up for me, even during your troubled times, Vignette." Rarity replied. "But as it stands, it appears that we just don't have any other options. I'll pour the confetti for her to stay on her good side and possibly get decent reviews for my business, and you'll have to keep working as her manager to ensure you won't get evicted."

"Yep, I'm afraid that's just how things are going to roll." Vignette said, sadly. "If only there was something we could do to come out on top in this battle. With how well known Madame is in Equestria, there's just nothing we can seemingly accomplish if she'll constantly hold the bad reviews over our heads."

It was at this point, Rarity and Vignette felt absolutely defeated, almost sure that they'd have to do the Madame's bidding, whether they liked it or not. Sunset however, kept analyzing the situation, while also being rather touched at how much nicer and caring this Vignette was toward Rarity. This motivated Sunset to do anything possible to help them both defeat the Madame and not end up with miserable lives. She kept on brainstorming, understanding the Madame's advantages to potentially come up with a way those could be used against her. Eventually, she decided to reflect on her own personal memories back in the human world, but realized that her experience with defeating the human Vignette didn't really seem comparable to the current situation.

However, she was on the right track with reflecting back on the past, as she soon recalled another unpleasant memory. Way back when Princess Twilight and her own future human friends utilized the magic of friendship after Sunset had turned into a raging she-demon, she was engulfed in a powerful rainbow tornado that ultimately defeated her. Upon regaining consciousness as she begun to hear Twilight's voice from within a deep crater below the ground, she always remembered how powerful Twilight's words were after she reverted back into a human.

"You will never rule in Equestria." Sunset recalled Twilight saying this to her atop the ground. "Any power you may have had in this world is gone. Tonight, you've shown everyone who you really are. You've shown them what is in your heart."

The reason Sunset recalled this moment so well was because of the impact it had on her life, as it was the pivotal moment she decided to truly accept taking friendship more seriously, like Princess Celestia would've wanted all those years ago. She definitely also remembered crying and begging for forgiveness from everyone shortly after, which everyone at CHS eventually ended up giving her. But the main reason she decided to reflect on this particular memory was because it seemed the absolute most relatable to this dilemma. Twilight's words were correct, in the sense that the Madame would have power over nopony if they were somehow able to show everypony else who she truly was. Sunset finally had an idea to solve everything, as she noticed Vignette hugging Rarity, trying to comfort each other.

"Rarity? Vignette?" Sunset addressed the two ponies. "I think I've thought of a way to help the both of you out of this."

"Well, I guess you could explain your ideas." Vignette replied. "But again, I'm not so sure I'd be confident in doing it."

"Same here." Rarity moped. "I need my good business reputation, and Vignette needs a way to pay her rent."

"Okay, so let's break down the Madame's strengths here." Sunset began explaining. "We know she has a powerful influence on the market, connections all over Equestria, and an overall good reputation to the community, is that correct?"

"From what I've heard of her, yes." Vignette confirmed. "That's actually why I decided to fill in as her pageant manager when I saw she seemed like a reputable pony. I sure feel like a fool after seeing how she treated Rarity."

"And you mentioned that you wouldn't feel comfortable writing a bad story about her since you'd have no proof to the public to back up your claims?" Sunset questioned.

"Well, we don't really have a proper way to expose her, since the building does have security guards lined up by the Madame's room, and they won't let anypony near there, not even Vignette nor I." Rarity elaborated. "I do recall one time, Applejack's friend, Rara, had a slimy manager, some stallion named Svengallop. Twilight was able to magically record his true colors and broadcast the recording to Rara, helping her finally see his true intentions. However, despite being proficient in magic, I actually don't have the knowledge of how to use my magic to record ponies like that. And considering the show is starting soon, it'd be too late by the time we find Twilight to help us. Even then, I can't imagine we should inconvenience her, since she's already likely got tons of royal duties on her plate."

"I feel like I've been taught such a spell by Princess Celestia." Sunset said, somewhat amused at how alike she and Twilight were, likely due to having the same mentor. "But unfortunately, it's been a long time since I've done it, and I'm only recently getting used to being able to use magic again. I don't feel completely confident in reliably pulling this off, and we only have one shot at getting proof of her showing her true colors before the show."

"That's what I was afraid of." Vignette said as her ears drooped in sadness. "I'm in charge of the building, and know for a fact the Madame's room does have a recording booth nearby. But unless we can somehow get past the guards blocking the entrance to that hallway, we aren't going anywhere."

"A recording room and security guards?" Sunset brainstormed. "I think I have a solid plan on how we can outsmart the Madame. As long as you two are committed to the plan?"

Sunset, Rarity, and Vignette all huddled together to quietly whisper every bit of detail regarding this plan. By the end, Rarity and Vignette were both astonished by what Sunset had proposed, and agreed to go along with everything.

"My word, Sunset!" Rarity exclaimed. "You're absolutely brilliant for being able to come up with all this! She'll never know what hit her!"

"Agreed!" Vignette said with approval. "The only real drawback is, while Rarity will continue to have her business, I'll be out of a job. But I've decided at this point, I'd rather become homeless than lift another hoof for that pompous boss of mine. I'm in!"

"Terrific!" Sunset said, happy to hear her plan sat well with the two ponies. "We might only have one shot at doing this, but as long as we stick to the plan completely, we'll be absolutely sure to prevail in the end. Now let's get this party started, it's time for us to steal the show."