Blood Diamonds

Chapter 9: The End

My body... it hurts. Rarity felt the cold floor underneath her, and her muscles shuddered at the mere thought of lifting herself up. Her horn was stinging like a thousand wasps, and when she breathed in, it felt like her lungs were on fire.

“Wake up,” a mare’s voice said. It sounded familiar, but Rarity couldn’t place it right away.

She slowly forced her eyes open, squinting in the light that filled her vision. She opened her mouth to speak, and felt it filling up with some delicious liquid. “Swallow,” the mare said again.

Rarity did as she was asked, and her eyes darted towards the speaker. She nearly spat out the next mouthful of the liquid when she saw just who was feeding her.

“Relax!” Lady Ivory Star sat right beside her, pouring blood inside Rarity’s mouth from a small flask. “And don’t you dare spit it out; blood of a gryphon is hard to come by!”

Rarity gulped it down and felt pleasing warmth spread through her body. “What–”

Ivory filled her mouth up again before she could continue. “What happened? You saved my life and destroyed all my plans both at the same time. That’s what happened.” Her lips curled upwards. “I’m grateful, even though I know you didn’t do it because of any sympathy towards me.”

Rarity looked away, sending the last of the liquid in her mouth to her stomach. “How am I alive?”

“Something I’m wondering about too, to be honest. The spell you used shouldn’t have been able to resist what Lord Prism cast. As for why nopony finished you off afterwards, neither side had a reason nor desire to.”

Rarity moved to sit up, but when the ever present pain increased, she reconsidered. “What happened to Lord Prism?”

“Dead. I killed the fool right once you pushed me out of the way.” She grinned. “You managed to get out of your bond somehow and then lied about the Elements. A genius way to turn everypony against me.”

Rarity frowned. Prism was dead? She’d never wanted that. He had been one of the few vamponies she’d considered decent. Yet it was me who pushed Lady Ivory out of the way, wasn’t it? Would the list of ponies she killed, directly or not, never stop growing? She looked back at Ivory’s smiling face. “Why are you being so nice to me? Gryphon blood, smiles, and compliments? If it wasn’t for me, you’d be half-way to ruling Equestria!”

Ivory sighed and shook her head. “He would’ve attacked me anyway sooner or later; you just gave him an edge. He’d never have gotten over the idea of me controlling the Princesses. Maybe the fight would’ve ended in my favour, and maybe he’d have ambushed me when I least expected it, and my corpse would be littering the floor instead of his. Who knows? I’m being nice to you because you saved my life, and because sometimes there isn’t anything else to do besides to laugh, or to cry. And I’ve always preferred laughter.”

“What do you mean?”

Ivory pressed her lips together. “I suppose you’re too young to see the irony of the whole situation. I was saved by somepony who was supposed to be my enemy, all my possible rivals are dead, but there’s nothing left to govern” – Rarity managed to lift her head up a bit and saw that the floor was covered with bodies and only few vamponies were still standing – “and last but not least, a young filly like you becomes more powerful than all the vamponies in the world in the end.”

Rarity flinched when she was called a filly – she was a grown mare! – but then her brain processed the rest of the sentence. “You don’t mean...?” Her eyes drifted towards the ritual circle.

“She’s over there,” Ivory said, pointing towards the corner of the room. There, surrounded by dead bodies, stood Princess Luna, breathing heavily and turning her head from one side of the room to another. “She woke up not too long ago and killed several more of us just because. Then the desire for blood kicked in, and she quickly discovered that vampony blood doesn’t quite suit her. While she was throwing it up on the floor, I managed to calm her down a little. Still, I wouldn’t advise anypony to approach her without a good reason to.”

“But still! You said that–“

Lady Ivory chuckled. “Yes, you jumped in just when the binding was finishing up. Congratulations – what I didn’t achieve in over a thousand years, you did by accident. Do you see now what I mean by irony now?”

Rarity’s jaw dropped. “I... I–I–I...”

“Let’s go say hello, and order her to stop killing everypony that comes near, shall we? My servants are already few in numbers, and I doubt I’ll have the opportunity to replace the fallen ones any time soon.”

Rarity shook her head. “Wait... What exactly happened after I went unconscious? Did you really win? If so, then what happened to my friends?”

Lady Ivory scratched her head. “Well, not much. The battle’s been raging on for a while longer – I wanted to repeat the ritual and bound Princess Luna to me this time, but then I found out that I simply didn’t have the means for that. My forces were decimated, and there weren’t enough unicorns to manage it. When I realised I just can’t win, I yielded. I think everypony was glad the fight was over. I got to keep my surviving servants, and they got promised I wouldn’t bind you. Not that it would matter – I’d still have to supply enough magic to bind Luna in order to do that. Still, it’s enough for them to leave me alone.”

Rarity brows shot up. “You mean you won’t get punished for what you did? And again, where are my friends?”

“Punished? By who? The rest of the high council is dead, and none of the survivors have the gall to demand anything of me. The Society’s broken beyond repair anyway, so I suppose we’ll just each go our separate way. As for your friends, they are tied up in some other room, guarded by your rogue friends.” Ivory scrunched her muzzle. “Why you would associate yourself with such filth, I have no idea. Don’t you know they’ll turn into rabid beasts sooner or later? If they didn’t already of course; the way they fought would suggest it.”

“I had no idea they were rogues! Or even vamponies, for that matter.” Rarity furrowed her brow. “I think I know who’s behind all this, although I don’t understand the motives. Let’s go to Princess Luna first, however. She looks absolutely dreadful!”

Lady Ivory nodded. “No wonder. She still didn’t get her first taste. I think you can imagine how tormenting that must be for her.”

She could. Berry Punch had to pay with her life for Rarity to get that ‘first taste.’ The fact Princess Luna didn’t storm out into the streets in a rampage must have required an admirable amount of restraint. Amount that has taken its toll, by the looks of it – Princess Luna seemed ready to spring at anypony in her reach, her eyes locking onto them like a bull prepared to charge, the stars in her mane seemed dimmer, like they were in shadow – however nonsensical that was – and drops of saliva fell to the floor from her mouth. Truly a disgrace.

“Are you sure she won’t attack us?” Rarity whispered.

“Don’t worry. You felt the magic of the binding yourself, no? You know one can’t combat it.” With that, Lady Ivory pushed her forward.

Princess Luna looked at Rarity with a scowl. “We remember thee. Thou art a bearer of an Element. And a traitor.”

Rarity bowed half-way, then straightened up, and then bowed again, her face turning crimson. Princess Luna was obviously of a higher rank than Rarity, but Rarity was now technically her superior, even though she didn’t feel the part at all. So should she be bowing, or...? What was I thinking? Of course I have to bow!

Princess Luna seemed to notice her little dilemma, as her scowl grew deeper. “What dost thou want? Speakest! If thy demise didn’t cause Ours, be assured thy corpse would have already bitten the dust.”

“I... um...” Rarity bowed again, her teeth clattering. “I came to ask you to stop killing us.”

“Thou darest order Us around? Us, the Princess of the Night?” She snorted. “Very well, We hath no choice but to obey, yet be certain that Our vengeance for this heinous disgrace shall cometh one day.”

“But... But I...” Rarity could practically feel Luna’s scowl burn on her skin. “I didn’t want to...” She looked back on Lady Ivory, but she just waved her to continue. “I wasn’t ordering you around. I mean I was, but I didn’t mean it like that. I just... I... I’m not a traitor!”

Luna rolled her eyes. “Thou shalt receive thy just punishment in due time.”

“That’s not fair! I’ve never done anything to you; I even helped in saving you from being Nightmare Moon!” Rarity could feel hot tears pushing themselves into her eyes as she gritted her teeth. How was any of this her fault? She tried helping the Princess to the best of her abilities, and this was how she’s repaid?

“Thou and thine ilk have infected Us! Even as Nightmatre Moon, We never descended so low to even consider working with ye. And now We are enslaved? For this, We shall never rest until ye are all obliterated.”

Rarity turned around and walked away from her. This is so unfair! I’m a victim just as much as she is, or does she think I asked for any of this? She swept her tears away when Ivory came near.

“Do you see now why I wanted to keep her leashed so much? There’s no negotiating with her, she just wants to destroy us.”

“There has to be something we can do!” She looked back on the Princess, who was still staring daggers at her. “Right once she’s released, she’ll kill us, and I can’t keep her bound forever.”

“Why not?” Lady Ivory smiled at her and laid her hoof on Rarity’s neck. “Think about it. There’s literally nothing you have to do – the spell will last forever without any need for maintenance. Just forbid her from telling anypony she’s bound and similar things, and we’re all safe.”

Rarity shook the hoof off and frowned. “To have her enslaved? I thought my opinion was clear on the matter.”

“I wouldn’t call it ‘enslavement.’ She wouldn’t have to do any kind of labour and would be free to continue governing Equestria together with her sister,just as before. The only thing you’d limit her in would be raining destruction onto our species, and isn’t that a good thing?”

“I... I sup– Wait, no!” Rarity scowled. “I know where you’re going with this – convince me to make a little step back now, and another one later. It’ll be easier every time, correct? And before you know it, Princess Luna will jump as you command. That’s your agenda; that’s why you’ve been so pleasant to me! If you can’t control her yourself, you’ll try to do it through somepony else.”

“Nonsense!” Ivory frowned back at her. “Anypony can see that releasing Luna is pure foolishness!”

“Perhaps it is.” Rarity nodded. “But I’ve been acting pragmatic for far too long. Every time there was a choice I had to make, I chose what looked like it’d bring the most advantage to me instead of others. And look where it got me – I nearly died trying to save someone who only seeks to manipulate me! Do you know how many ponies would still be alive now if I just wrote to Princess Celestia right at the beginning, when I was turned? All of this could’ve been avoided! It’s time to do what’s right.” Rarity moved towards Luna.

“You’ve got to be joking.” Ivory caught her hoof and forced her to stop. “If you release her, there will be many more dead – everypony in this castle, including your friends! You don’t want those to die, do you?”

“I trust Princess Luna will judge us fairly, when she sees I mean no harm.”

“You’re crazy! Naive and crazy, just like Prism! She flat out stated she’ll kill you and every other vampony not two minutes ago. You can’t release her!”

Rarity shook her hoof out of her grasp and continued her advance towards the Princess. “Watch me.”

She was about ten steps away from her goal, when Ivory, her face completely red, caught her hoof yet again. “Wait!”

“I have decided.” Rarity didn’t even turn back to face her.

“I know, and I don’t want to die because of your foolishness. I want to bargain with her.”

Rarity looked at her and cocked her brow. “Do you really think you have a chance? You’re as guilty as one can be, and you’re also the one who turned her.”

“That might be right. But I also have something she wants. More than anything else right now.”

“Really?” Rarity leaned closer. “And what is that?”

“Now why would I tell you?” Ivory frowned at her. “I had grand plans with her; this has just been my backdoor. Just stand back and let me talk.” She didn’t even wait for Rarity to agree and marched straight to Luna. “Your Highness, I have a proposal for you.”

Luna smirked. “Thou comest to beg this soon? Pathetic, especially when it cometh from a noblemare. There is nothing thou canst do that would make Us spare thy life.”

“Is that so?” Ivory smiled like a filly about to do some mischief. “What about curing you from your... condition?”

Luna’s ears perked up and so did Rarity’s. “I thought there wasn’t any cure for that!” She whispered to her.

“For you, there really isn’t; too bad,” Ivory whispered back and pushed Rarity aside.

“A cure for this?” Luna tilted her head. “That is unheard of. What dost thou have in mind?”

“You see, Your Highness, you’re not really a vampony. At least not yet.”

Luna let her fangs slide out. “Art thou serious?”

Ivory gave out a shaky laugh. “I know it can seem like everything is lost now, but there is still a chance for you. I’ll tell you everything if you just give me your royal word that you won’t hurt me. Not now, not ever.”

Luna narrowed her eyes. “We accept, but if this is a lie, We shall make sure thy suffering will be the longest.”

Ivory nodded. “Your Majesty is wise. And fortunate – you haven’t had your first feeding yet. Vampony blood doesn’t really count in this regard. If you don’t taste any regular blood for about a week or two, the infection in your veins will weaken and be destroyed by your body before it truly takes root. The only thing that’ll remain after it will be the fangs, and you don’t really have to slide them out anyway.”

Princess Luna completely dropped her defensive posture and instead looked at Ivory wide eyed. “Is... Is that true?”

Lady Ivory nodded. “One week, two at most. It’ll be hard to resist your urges, however. So hard, in fact, that the last pony attempting this that I know of had to chain himself in a dungeon.”

“’Tis bad... but good news nonetheless. If what thou sayest is true, We shall keep Our word.”

“Wonderful.” Lady Ivory bowed and turned back.

“Wait,” Rarity said. “What about me?”

Ivory threw her another one of her beaming, fangy smiles. “You can die for all I care. Didn’t you just say that you won’t mind, if that’s her decision?”

“Yes, but...” Rarity furrowed her brow. “Will the binding still work after she’s cured?”

“But of course not – vamponies only. Changing your mind now?” Lady Ivory winked at her and trotted away.

Not really. “Your Highness.” Rarity walked closer to the princess and bowed all the way to the ground.

“Yes?” Luna no longer looked like she was about to tear her into pieces using her newly-grown fangs, but her scowl remained.

“I came to plead for myself and my friends. None of us ever had anything to do with this attack; in fact we tried to help you. You were bound to me by an accident, and I promise to release you.”

“Don’t promise. Make it so.”

“I... I think I have a better idea, Your Highness,” Rarity said in a shaky voice. “If I ‘ordered’ you to not consume any blood, the magic would help you resist your... hunger. After those two weeks, the magic would stop working completely and you’d be free.”

Luna slowly nodded. “’Tis a good plan. But how can We trust thee?”

Rarity frowned. “I’m afraid you can’t. There’s nothing I can do to prove my good intentions, but if I really wanted to control you, why would I even bother fooling you?”

Luna nodded again, this time faster. “Very well; We agree. Yet thou askest for something in return. A royal pardon for thou and thine friends? How do We know ye are all innocent?”

Rarity took a deep breath. “We aren’t.” Luna cocked her brow, and Rarity continued, “I’m a murderer. I admit it. Just yesterday, I killed another vampony, although on the ord–”

“Was the vampony a traitor?”

“Uh... well...” Rarity scratched her head. “He was bound to Lady Ivory, but–”

“Then thou art excused. Whether he served willingly or not, he endangered Us and Our realm. He had to be stopped.”

Rarity sighed. “Sadly, this is not the end of it. Even if I don’t count the vamponies, I still killed somepony.”

Luna frowned at her. “Murder is an act most foul. Why would the bearer of an Element sully herself so?”

“I couldn’t resist. I was freshly turned, just like you now, and the voice in my head had–”

“What voice?”

Rarity’s brow shot up. “You don’t hear it? It whispered dark thoughts to me, telling me the secrets of dark magic and trying to manipulate me into doing terrible things.”

“The beginning of corruption by dark magic.” Luna scrunched her muzzle. “Our mind is well protected against such things ever since We returned from the Moon. Thou shouldst seek treatment posthaste!”

“I already did, but what was done was done.”

Luna put a hoof on her chin. “Hmm... It would be wrong of Us to judge thine acts when influenced by such a blight. We were not judged either, after all. Is there any other crime thou hadst commited? Hadst thou infected anypony?”

“Heavens no! I’d never do such a thing to anypony.”

For the first time ever, Luna smiled at Rarity. “We forgive thee then. With joy even, as punishing a bearer would have been a tragedy for Our land. But are thine friends innocent as well?”

Rarity felt her stomach clench. “Let’s... Let’s solve one thing at a time, please. I’ll ‘order’ you not to consume any blood, and then I’ll bring my friends.”

When Luna nodded, Rarity said the order and quickly trotted towards where Lady Ivory told her Pinkie would be. She left the throne room, which was already filling up with the stench of the dead bodies, and tried a few rooms in the main hall. Most of them were empty, some served as improvised infirmaries for the injured, and in the last one she finally found her friends. Or at least what was left of them.

Pinkie Pie was sitting on the bedside next to Aloe, who was bleeding from a large wound in her side. Lotus was sitting on the opposite side, holding her sister’s hooves and whispering something into her ear. On the other side of the room hid Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, their hooves tied together by a strong rope.

I forgot to have Lady Ivory release them! Rarity mentally slapped herself. No matter, I can do that later – I’ll just go to her with Princess Luna, and–

“Rarity!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “Oh my gosh, are you alright? They wouldn’t let us near you because we’re ‘rogues,’ and we had to take care of Aloe.” She leapt towards her and pulled her into a hug.

“Yes, Pinkie, I’m alr– Are you crying?”

“S– Sorry.” She swept her tears away with her hoof. “It’s just that I’ve already lost several friends today, and when I saw you lying there, I thought... I thought...” The rest was drowned in sobs.

“Yes, well,” – Rarity squirmed out of her embrace – “that’s actually something I wanted to ask you about.” She held Pinkie’s head in her hooves and forced her to look her in the eyes. “Pinkie, did you turn these ponies?”

The sobbing stopped and Pinkie gulped. “It’s... it’s not like they mind.”

“By Celestia, Pinkie!” Rarity threw her hooves up. “Why in Equestria would you do something like that?”

“I just wanted some friends.”

“You’ve got to be joking.” Rarity facehoofed. “You were turned yourself. You know what it’s like. Why would you do it to anypony else? And how did you even bind them?”

“I didn’t. They’re free.” Pinkie smiled. “I know everypony in town, and I knew exactly which of them would like this.”

“Like this? They’re... We are forced to feed on the blood of others for sustenance. Why would anypony in their right mind like this?”

“We’re also forever young, very powerful, and heal quickly, silly.” She giggled. “You should look at the pluses too sometimes. Every last one of them thanked me afterwards, right, Lotus?”

Lotus nodded and turned back towards her sister.

Rarity took a deep breath. “I still don’t understand. They have to drink blood now and hide their nature from everypony. Not to mention the voice in their heads.”

“Lotus and Aloe both always wanted to look as good as they do now – it didn’t really take a detective to see that. Mayor Mare wanted to prolong her life, so that she’d have the time to experience more things in the world than just paperwork.” She frowned. “I guess she won’t now.”

“She died because you brought her into this! Who else didn’t survive today? I remember seeing Daisy and Golden Glory here earlier; are they dead too? What did you promise them?”

Pinkie cowered a bit. “Daisy was really depressed. She didn’t know that Rose was bound to Lyra, only that she died. Just like a number of her other friends. She was sad and scared, because she knew that it could’ve been her if she was at the wrong place at the wrong time. After she was turned, she was strong and no longer afraid. And Golden Glory... she, um... liked vampony novels and was into long strolls in the night. She said it was awesome and wasn’t mad at me at all.”

Rarity sat onto a nearby chair and put her face into her hooves. “Oh, Pinkie... How could you be so irresponsible? You’ve got no idea about the mess you’ve gotten yourself into.” She sighed. “Is there anypony else you turned?”

“Thunderlane and Crescent Moon. He... He died too.”

“Seven ponies.” Rarity sighed again, this time louder. “You turned seven more ponies just because you ‘wanted friends?’ Pinkie I... I don’t know what to say, this is so unlike you. And the things you’ve just said, about how great it is, it almost sounds like...” Rarity’s head shot up from her hooves, and her eyes dug into Pinkie’s. “You didn’t destroy the voice in your head, did you?”

When Pinkie remained silent, Rarity stood up. “Did you?”

“No. And you should be glad!” Pinkie returned the stare. “If it wasn’t for me, all of us would be standing there in that room, bowing to that stuck-up vampony! Or why do you think Applejack is still safe and sound? Who took care of the vampony in the library? And do you think those other vamponies attacked just once? There was at least a dozen of those attacks! Thunderlane had to stay in Ponyville because of how badly they injured him when they attacked Fluttershy. We didn’t manage to repel them that one time.”

Rarity’s ears drooped. “I didn’t know that. You should have just... Still.” She scowled at her again. “The voice. Can’t you see how it manipulates you? Haven’t you noticed that change in your behaviour? You’re quick to anger and resort to violence easily. You were never like that before. At first, I attributed it to all the stress, although it didn’t quite fit, but now it makes perfect sense.”

“I am?” Pinkie recoiled. “Now that you talk about it, I did notice... No.” She scowled back at Rarity. “The Voice has only been helpful ever since Twilight cast that mind protection spell on me. I can let it do its work at any time, and The Voice knows it. She’d never try to take over again.”

“‘She?’ Pinkie, do you have any idea what it is?”

“Well... no. Do you?”

“It’s the dark magic corrupting your mind! Just think. It made you turn seven innocent ponies, solely because they might appreciate it early on. And now they each have their own voice – the corruption spreads.”

The scowl on Pinkie’s face broke up. “But... we protected you.”

“And I appreciate it, I really do, but this good deed was only to convince you not to get rid of it, I’m certain. Please, Pinkie, let Twilight’s spell run its course.”

“But–”

“Do it for me, Pinkie. Please.”

Pinkie looked at her like a cornered animal, her eyes big like plates. “But it helped me so much. We’ll be discovered without it.”

“Don’t worry.” Rarity smiled at her. “Princess Luna will give you a royal pardon if you convince her you’re innocent. Just get rid of it.”

Pinkie very slowly nodded, her eyes dilated like she was thinking on something else.

“Stop talking to it and just destroy it!”

Pinkie nodded, quickly this time, and a soft, purplish glow appeared around her head. She took a few breaths and hung her head low. “It’s gone. For real this time.”

“How do you feel?”

“Better. Like there’s more space in my head now. And sad.”

“Sad?”

“She became... a friend of sorts to me. Not a friend you’d have fun with, but... we were close.”

Rarity patted her on the back. “It’ll be alright, Darling. But now I need you to be strong, we’re going to Princess Luna.”

———

One day later

“...and that’s more or less all that’s happened,” Rarity said, sipping her tea.

Around her sat Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Twilight, each of them listening to the story and throwing in their own tidbits.

“What I don’t understand” – Rainbow Dash said – “is how you managed to survive that super-spell.” She turned towards Twilight.

“Well...” Twilight scratched her chin. “From the description you gave me, I’d guess he used the larger globular magic condensation projectile. Nothing too fancy, but when it’s just the power of impact you’re going for, it’s one of the better ones. Rarity, on the other hand, used the Riverdancer’s Veil, which is one of the weakest spells in the protective category.”

“Well she already told us it shouldn’t have stopped it!” Rainbow sighed. “I didn’t ask for a lecture, just for an explanation.”

Twilight giggled. “Right. Well, to put it simple, the ‘strength’ of a spell is measured by how efficiently it can use the magical energy the unicorn supplies to it. Since Lord Prism probably didn’t use an underpowered spell, Rarity must have provided an enormous amount of magical energy to stop it.”

“And where did she get that? I mean this is Rarity we’re talking about.” Rainbow turned towards the mare in question. “No offense, but it’s true. Twilight is the magicker here.”

Rarity nodded, continuing to sip her tea.

“Magician.” Twilight cleared her throat. “Anyway, while Rainbow should think more before she speaks, she’s right in a way. Even I’d have had a very hard time pulling off what you did there, which means you must have had a boost from elsewhere.” She leaned in. “My bet is the binding ritual. Remember how I was surprised there was no magic discharge when Pinkie released you? Magic doesn’t just vanish, it has to go somewhere. It probably chose to lie dormant in your horn until you used it.”

“Hey, wait a second. Does that mean I can use spells now?” Rainbow laughed. “I wanna learn a lightning bolt! Imagine – me, flying through the cloudless sky, and then suddenly bam! Lightning all around me! Oh my gosh, that’d be so cool I can’t even to describe the overwhe–“

“Sorry to break your fantasy, Rainbow,” Twilight said, “but no. You can’t cast any spells, since you have no way to utilise it. It’ll just lay stored in your body, doing nothing. Don’t worry, it’s harmless.”

Rainbow crossed her arms and pouted. “That’s so lame.”

“How long do you think until my horn recovers?” Rarity asked. “It’s still a bit sore.”

“I really don’t know how it is with vamponies, but my guess would be around half a week. I mean, you said you heal fast. Anyway, there’s one thing I think we still have to discuss.” Twilight looked into each of their eyes. “How are you going to feed? I can’t possibly sustain all of you, plus the ones Pinkie turned.”

Rainbow snorted. “Way ahead of you. While you all babbled about how great it was Princess Celestia wasn’t mad or whatever, I asked her about it.”

“You did what?” Twilight shot up from her chair. “I was to do all the talking! You have no idea about how to talk to or address her, you could’ve offended her, or... or...”

“Re-lax. I didn’t insult her or anything. Just asked her if I could get a snack somewhere.

“You asked her what?”

“Not my fault! Pinkie sucked half of Ponyville, Rarity got mouth-fed gryphon blood, and Fluttershy gorged herself on my delicious self. All I got was a lousy glass of something green, and then they were all like ‘go to the throne room, hurry!’”

“Rainbow...” Twilight facehoofed. “How... how did she react?”

“She laughed and told me that I have to wait, and that ‘Surely there will be ponies patriotic enough to donate blood for the good of the realm.’”

Rarity cocked her brow. “I thought she asked us to keep this all a secret?”

“She probably won’t tell them what the blood is for, only that it’s needed.” Twilight sat back down with exhalation.

There was a while of silence, filled only by the sound of teaspoons hitting the porcelain. “So...” Pinkie shuffled her chair closer to Twilight’s. “What happened when Princess Celestia wanted to have that ‘private word’ with you? Or is it a secret? In that case don’t tell us. Unless it’s a secret but you don’t know it is, in which case you can tell us, since you don’t know that you don’t know it’s a secret and think it’s just a regular piece of information that you can tell to anypony.”

“I guess I can tell you. But it’s nothing interesting.”

“Oh, never mind then.”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “Just tell us, Darling. You looked very distraught when you came out of that room.”

“She told me she was very disappointed.” Twilight sank in her seat. “Not just a little, but very, very disappointed. She said that I should’ve sent her a letter, and that she’d have resolved everything quickly and nopony would have gotten hurt. I thought she was going to stop being my tutor for a while...” Twilight reached for a hoofkerchief and blew her nose.

“But she didn’t, right, Darling?”

“No. She said that she knows I was afraid for you, and that it was her fault for not preparing me for this kind of situation. Somehow, that felt even worse.”

Pinkie stepped over and hugged her. “Aww, come on, Twilight. It’s fine. It’s over. Definitely this time. The princesses now know what’s up.”

“I sure hope so, Pinkie. I don’t think Princess Celestia would forgive me if I messed even more stuff up.”

“Cheer up, Darling. This is supposed to be a celebration – we’re all in this together, and there are no secrets between us. Just like before.”

“Um... Rarity?” Fluttershy raised her hoof like she was still at school. “Does that mean we can tell Applejack?”

“Well, uh... I don’t think...”

“We can’t.” Twilight ended Pinkie’s embrace and looked at Fluttershy. “The whole town is going to talk about this new wave deaths, no matter what excuse they’re told. And we all know how much of a bad liar Applejack is; it’s better if she doesn’t know for now. Maybe later, when things quiet down a little.”

Fluttershy nodded and turned her gaze towards her tea.

The terrace’s door opened and in trotted a waiter carrying a plate with five glasses of champagne. “Your drinks, miladies.” He put them on the table, bowed, and left.

Rarity clapped her hooves together. “Time for the toast.” They stood up. “On us, girls. Let the future be at least as good as the past was. With the exception of this month, of course.”

The cling of the five glasses carried itself through the afternoon’s air, marking the end of this unpleasant business. Or was it just the beginning?

The End