The Enchanted Library

by Monochromatic

Rating: teen
Tags: Discord, Alternate Universe, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Rarity, Romance, Adventure, Twilight Sparkle
Length: 337883

When one fateful search through the Everfree Forest leads Rarity to a secret library inhabited by the spirit of an ancient alicorn princess, she realises that it may be time to start believing in fairy tales.

Everypony enjoys myths and ponytales, even if they know such things aren't real. Alicorns fighting against a spirit of chaos? An ancient princess trapped in a library under a tree, waiting to be found? Quite enchanting and fantastic tales yes, but nonetheless as fictional as Daring Do and other such stories. At least, that's what Rarity used to think.

She doesn't anymore.

Dedicated to Annuska for being as amazing a writer as she is a friend.

Now a physical book!!!
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Based on an old oneshot.
Chapter Art by Arctic Waters // Graphic Design and Typography by Swan Song.

Published 2015-02-14 16:40:02 UTC
Last updated 2017-06-14 05:24:20 UTC

~ Act I ~ 01 ~ The Library in the Forest ~

Author's Note

It is recommended that you read this with a High Contrast Dark or Ultra Dark formatting setting so as to better experience the artworks and typography.

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters. Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

You're alone.
You're on your own.
So what, have you gone blind?
Have you forgotten what you have and what is yours?

~ King by Lauren Aquilina

~ Act I ~ 01 ~ The Library in the Forest ~

Rarity did not believe in fairy tales.

As much as she loved to read them, she knew no dashing savior would come and sweep her off her hooves, she knew no dragons guarded kidnapped damsels in distress, and she was positive the tale of The Princess in the Library was nothing but a myth.

Her younger sister, however, begged to differ.

“Once upon a time, in Equestria’s distant past, there were four princesses, not just one.”

Sweetie Belle’s voice drifted up from the floor below, speaking in what she must have considered the appropriate volume for such a legend. “The four princesses ruled over the land with wisdom, compassion, and boundless love.”

Just like her sister, Sweetie Belle was an avid lover of adventures and fairy tales. Rarity had lost count of all the times the filly and her best friend, a pegasus named Scootaloo, had trashed her boutique trying to get their cutie marks in adventuring.

Walking down the stairs of her home, Rarity reflected on how she’d heard the myth so many times she could practically recite it from memory. It had, after all, once been her absolute favorite fairy tale as a filly.

“The two eldest princesses, sisters as beautiful and immortal as the sun and moon which they raised, ruled the kingdom in unison. With a coat of pale pink and a rainbow-colored mane, the eldest sister governed the sun. She raised it every morning, bringing forth the day for her ponies to play and bask in its light. She encouraged learning and teaching above all else, hoping to inspire her ponies to strive for greatness.

“The younger sister ruled over the moon,” Sweetie read on. “She brought forth a seemingly endless blue night, coated with stars that watched over her ponies. Her task was to care for them as they slept and guard their dreams from frightening nightmares.”

“Wasn’t the moon princess the older one?” came Fluttershy’s voice.

“No…? Your version must be wrong, Fluttershy,” Sweetie replied, and Rarity didn’t need to be there to see the filly’s eyes rolling.

When she finally reached the kitchen and peeked inside, she found her sister reading from a book on the kitchen table, Fluttershy beside her.

Sweetie cleared her throat. “The third princess was a mare who ruled over the fields of crystal. She had a love for her ponies so deep it nurtured the land, bringing joy and warmth to even the coldest of beings. You know, some versions say she was actually Princess Denza’s ancestor,” she added. “Anyway, the best part…”

Rarity smiled. It seemed somepony was learning from her big sister’s flair for dramatics.

“The Princess in the Library.”

After a dramatic pause, Sweetie pressed on. “The fourth and youngest princess, though not as skilled in governing as the others, possessed magical skills unmatched throughout the kingdom and a love for knowledge more boundless than all the questions held by the universe. Even long into the late hours of the night, while all other souls slept, the sound of her quill scratching against her scrolls was the endless melody that filled the castle’s library.

“Her only companion, besides her beloved books, was rumored to be a fearsome creature who loved her greatly and was greatly loved in return.”

However, Rarity recited to herself in unison with her sister, the world strives toward balance: for everything good in the world, there must be an evil…

There lived in Equestria a Spirit of Disharmony who sought to remake the world into his very own playground. He cared for nopony but himself, and the only laughter he brought forth was his own as he turned ponies into twisted versions of themselves.

At one point, the princesses worked together, and managed, through discourse and diplomacy, to tame this wild monster. They made peace, and the Spirit of Disharmony was appeased for a time.

Life went on. The four princesses ruled in peace and harmony, and the Spirit was allowed some mischief as long as nopony was harmed. That was until, one terrible day, a great offense was made toward the Spirit of Disharmony and calamity befell the land.

“Sweetie, that’s a nice story, but we really have to start getting ready,” Fluttershy gently reminded.

“But the part where he traps them is coming up now! The poor princess, with a forest around her, and trapped in her library… FOREVER!” Sweetie Belle stomped her hoof on the table for emphasis, startling the yellow pegasus pony. “And you know what they say about her?” she continued, lowering her voice and glancing conspiratorially from side to side.

“I-I think I’d rather not…”

“They say that if you press your head against a certain tree in the Everfree Forest…” Sweetie Belle climbed on top of the table. She slowly moved toward Fluttershy, maneuvering around the fabrics and ending up standing directly in front of the pegasus. “If you listen veeeeery carefully, you might be able to hear…” Without warning, she loudly stomped both forehooves on the table. “…HER SHRIEKS OF DESPAIR!”

“Sweetie Belle! Get off of the table this instant!”

Standing under the frame of the kitchen door, Rarity scowled at her younger sister and her atrocious lack of manners. It didn’t help that Sweetie Belle was standing all over the fabrics she needed for her upcoming spring line. “Honestly, even Opalescence behaves better than you do!”

The filly, miffed at having her storytelling interrupted, climbed down from the table.

Fluttershy bit her lip. “Rarity, you’re sure that the search won’t be in the forest, right?” she asked, ears flattening against her head. “I don’t want to have to protect the children from… shrieking ponies…”

“Come now, darling, it’s just a fairy tale. You don’t really believe there’s a ghost under a tree in the Everfree Forest, now do you?” Rarity asked, sitting next to Fluttershy and ignoring Sweetie, who’d lifted her hooves to her face in imitation of a shrieking, tortured soul. When Fluttershy replied with a very subtle nod, Rarity shook her head and focused on gathering up the cloths on the table. “Well, I certainly don’t believe it, but nonetheless, I promise you that nopony will be hiding in the forest this year.”

“Aw… This is why you shouldn’t have organized Seeking Night this year. You’re no fun at all…” Sweetie Belle lamented, resting her chin on her hooves. “Why couldn’t I live in Hollow Shades? They always have theirs in the forest.”

“That’s because Hollow Shades doesn’t have timberwolves living in their forest,” Rarity pointed out, floating a quill and notebook over from the kitchen counter. She then pointed the tip of the quill toward her sister. “Would you like to be chased by timberwolves on Seeking Night?”

Sweetie Belle looked away, mumbling under her breath. “I’d like seeing you chased by tim—”

“Rarity is right, Sweetie Belle,” Fluttershy chimed in, trying to appease the tension between the two sisters. “It’s much safer to organize the search in town, and it is much more fun. Remember the time the Apple family organized it?”

“But I want to look in the Everfree Forest! I told Scootaloo you’d organize the search there!” Sweetie Belle protested, banging her hooves against the table. “What if the reason no one has ever found the library princess is because everypony’s too afraid to look in the Everfree Forest?”

“Sweetie…”

Sweetie Belle banged her hooves against the table again. “I’m serious! Think about it! Ponyville doesn’t have a proper library! We just have the books we can borrow from Town Hall. What if the princess’ library was our library, but we lost it because the Spirit grew Everfree around her?! Huuuuuuh?!”

“I really don’t have time for this,” Rarity said, writing down a list in her notebook. After a moment, she glanced up at a clock hanging on the wall and gasped at the hands pointing directly downwards. “It’s six already?!”

She quickly got up from the table and trotted toward the kitchen’s exit, her notepad floating behind her. “Fluttershy, darling, I have to check the rest of the preparations. Please have your group waiting outside town hall at seven o’clock sharp! And make sure Sweetie Belle and her friends don’t canter off into the forest!”

“You’re no fun, Rarity!”

“Tough!”

Nopony knows for certain what brought such anger to the Spirit of Disharmony. Some legends say he wished to take over the kingdom, while others claim his peace treaty with the princesses was broken when they denied him a simple request. After his initial anger had subsided, he apologized to them, claiming his intent to overlook the transgression he felt had transpired. The princesses, clever and wise as they were, doubted his sincerity and tasked themselves with retrieving the only magical weapons that could defeat him.

However, when they reached the hiding place of the magical gems, they discovered they had been stolen by the Spirit. He scattered the precious gems across the land, leaving them only the one that rested inside the crown of the youngest princess.

The kingdom in peril, the four princesses devised a plan to find the stolen gems and defeat the villainous Spirit of Disharmony. The princess of love and kindness was to stay in the capital’s castle, ruling in the others’ stead and preventing fear and discord from entering the hearts of ponies. The other three princesses set off on a journey to retrieve what had been lost, traveling in three different directions around the kingdom.

Unbeknownst to them, he followed them during their quest and plotted against them.

Rarity made her way toward the front door and stepped out of her boutique, taking in a deep breath at the sight of the setting sun. Time was running short. She only had one hour to make sure the preparations for the yearly celebration were in order, and she’d be damned if she let all her hard work go down the drain. It wasn’t every year she was selected to organize Seeking Night, after all.

Ponyville was not the trendiest of Equestria’s towns, and Rarity was determined to change that. Preparations had gone quite smoothly, at least. The couple running the local bakery had been in charge of the food for after the event and had somehow finished it all in time despite being only two of them. The weather, too, was perfect for the event, even if Diamond Dusk hadn’t cleared the clouds as fast as he said he could. She knew nopony in Equestria could possibly clear the sky in “ten seconds flat, Rarity!”

Trotting through town, she was pleased to see all the decorations were already in place. Strings of purple and orange lights decorated the walls, as well as paper lanterns bearing four cutie marks: a full moon, a sun partially covered by a cloud, a ruby heart, and a book. It was impossible to know the cutie marks of the four princesses of legend, so every Equestrian town had come up with their own interpretations.

“Rarity!”

Turning around, Rarity noticed a light pink unicorn galloping toward her. A crown and auroral wig were bouncing on the mare’s head, and Rarity was aghast to see the yellow cape she’d made dragging on the ground.

“Spring!” Rarity exclaimed, waiting until Spring Showers caught up before starting her scolding. “Darling, honestly, you need to be careful with the costume! The bottom is dirty now.” She lit up her horn and used a spell to clean the cape, then adjusted the collar and silver horseshoes she was wearing. The shoes were embedded with several circular yellow gemstones Rarity had found herself.

“Ah, sorry, Rarity. I’m a bit nervous,” she admitted, adjusting the crown and wig. She then glanced toward the sun-and-cloud-shaped cutie mark on her cape and gulped. “I’m hiding between the music shop and the grocery store, right?”

“Correct!” Rarity said, levitating a satchel from her saddlebag, filled with gems to give to Spring Showers. “And don’t forget your ‘Elements of Harmony.’”

Spring took them and nodded. After a moment of silence, she spoke up again. “You know, I’ve wanted to be the sun princess ever since I was a filly.”

Rarity smiled. “I’m sure you’ll be a fetching Princess Sunny.”

The first to succumb to the Spirit’s ploy was the elder sister, the strongest one.

He knew she’d have to be the first one to take down. The Sun Princess valiantly fought against the Spirit from dawn until dusk, ultimately letting her guard down when the Spirit lied and said he’d already gotten to her sister. Her brief moment of weakness allowed him to trap her in a cave near a raging waterfall, cursed to live for eternity as a spirit in a place none were ever to find.

But that wasn’t enough to satisfy him.

“Princess Celestia!”

At the sound of the voice, the two mares turned around and saw a pink earth pony mare hopping joyfully toward them. Rarity had never seen her before, and she was certain she’d remember somepony with such a… poofy manestyle, but it seemed Spring knew her, judging by her waving.

“Her name is Celestia,” the pink pony continued, stopping next to Spring and admiring the cape. “Or, at least that’s what we call her back home.”

Ah yes. Just as the cutie marks of the princesses were left to the imagination of each city, so were their names. Truth be told, Rarity thought “Princess Celestia” was much more regal sounding than “Princess Sunny,” but who was she to change a Ponyville tradition? It could be worse, I suppose. I could live in Fillydelphia and have to call her “Princess Sunshiney.” Brr.

“Pinkie Pie!” Spring exclaimed, smiling broadly at the mare. “I didn’t know you were staying in Ponyville to see the celebration! I thought you went back home to Hollow Shades yesterday.”

Pinkie shook her head, giggling. “Nope! I’m staying for a few more days,” she explained before turning to Rarity and sticking out her hoof. “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie, and you must be Rarity! Springy told me all about you and the super hard work you’ve been doing with the celebration!”

Rarity smiled amiably, lifted her hoof, and was treated to the most effusive hoof-shake she’d had in several weeks. “A pleasure to meet you, Pinkie Pie. I’m delighted you’re staying in Ponyville for the festivity! The more the merrier, as they say.”

As she greeted her, Rarity noticed Pinkie wearing something around her neck. A black circular pendant hung from a silver chain, a crescent moon painted in its center. How pretty, she thought, remembering the residents of Hollow Shades were quite fond of the Legend of the Four Princesses, but most especially the Moon Princess.

“Pinkie’s a traveling party organizer and baker. She has this cute stand that she wheels around all over Equestria with her supplies,” Spring explained. She smacked her lips together and added, “She’ll throw you a massive party and make you the best cake in all of Equestria while she’s at it.”

Pinkie hopped in place several times, nodding earnestly. “You should stop by later! I’ll be at the fair next to the apple bobbing! Fish an apple and I’ll make a cupcake with it!”

“I’ll be sure to stop by,” Rarity replied, turning to her saddlebag and taking out her notebook. “For now, I must press on. I still have to check up on the other two princesses and the Spirit.” She glanced at Spring. “Please don’t forget that you need to be in your hiding place at eight o’clock on the dot.” When Spring nodded, Rarity smiled at the two mares. “I’ll see you after the event, then.”

She turned around and trotted off, now lost in her thoughts. Had she brought enough emeralds? If not, she could always… tearfully sacrifice a few gems from her personal collection.

It wasn’t until several moments had passed that she realized Pinkie Pie was trotting next to her, a big smile on her face.

When Pinkie noticed Rarity watching her, her eyes lit up. “So! How does Seeking Night work here?”

“‘Here’? I assumed the festivity was the same everywhere?” Rarity asked, keeping a lookout for the princesses or spirit.

Pinkie rolled her eyes with a giggle and shook her head. “Well, we won’t know that until you tell me, silly!”

Rarity laughed. “Yes, I suppose not. In Ponyville, we separate the foals into several groups, and then they have to go ‘find the three lost princesses.’ Once they’ve found one, she is to give them two gemstones. The first group to collect all six gemstones from the three princesses must go to the town hall and give them to the last princess,” she elaborated. “However, if a group runs into the Spirit and are unable to solve his riddle, they lose two gemstones.”

“Ooooh! Then it is like back home!” Pinkie exclaimed, apparently pleased. “My best friend Lullaby says that everypony is really awful at finding the real princesses, so I’ve been doing my best to find them just to prove her wrong!”

“At finding the real princesses…? Well, er, I’d imagine that’s because they aren’t real,” Rarity pointed out, reminded suddenly of her young sister. How many ponies really believed there were princesses locked away all over Equestria?

“Of course they’re real! If Lullaby didn’t have to stay back home, she’d help look for the princesses, too.” Pinkie shrugged and sighed sadly for a moment. Before Rarity could question her, the sad expression was wiped away, and her chipper disposition returned. “Still, it’ll be fun! Last year, in Fillydelphia, one of the fake princesses brought along three puddi—”

“Rarity!”

Rarity turned away from Pinkie and saw Snowy Cinder, a blue pegasus mare, waving at her in the distance. She was wearing a fake white horn over her dark blue mane, a dark blue cape bearing the cutie mark of the Moon Princess and silver horseshoes embedded with circular blue gemstones. An elegant black silver collar decorated her neck as well.

“Ah, finally,” Rarity said, waving back at the mare. “Here comes Princess Selene.”

The younger sister was the next to fall victim to the Spirit’s ploy. With but a spark of her horn, a mountain was born. She took refuge in a cave within her mountain, waiting for nightfall so as to contact her sister through dreams. Unwittingly, she allowed the Spirit to attack her in the dark. He cast a curse on her and trapped her forevermore in the cave as a spirit.

This was the first night ponies learned about true nightmares.

“Princess Luna!” Pinkie exclaimed, clapping her hooves excitedly when the mare joined them. She trotted in circles around Snowy, nodding her approval at the costume, then stopped and pressed her forehoof to the necklace’s pendant. “Oooh, Lullaby would love this!” She turned to the seamstress. “Did you make this one too, Rarity?”

“But of course! I made all of the costumes, except for Booky. Cheerilee and the children took care of that,” Rarity said while making last minute adjustments to Snowy’s costume.

“Booky” was Ponyville’s name for the princess trapped inside the underground library. It was tradition for the school foals to design her costume, much to Rarity’s dismay.

Thick square glasses, a plaid skirt decorated with books, a white dress shirt with a pocket protector, a bowtie, and a bag full of mathematical books; if the Princess of Knowledge was actually real, one could scarcely imagine how horrified she’d be at the fashion disaster they called her costume.

Rarity certainly was.

She took two satchels out of her bag—a purple one and a white one—and floated them over to Snowy. “Here you go, darling. The white one is yours, and since you’ll be near Sunset Twinkle, could you give her the purple one?”

“Sweet Denza, her costume is really something else.” Snowy giggled, taking the two satchels before sighing wistfully. “I don’t think Smoky Cinder and I have laughed that much since Mayor Mare tripped on her way to the podium during last week’s town assembly.”

“Oh, if you’re going to see her, can I come with you?” Pinkie asked, letting go of her necklace. “I like seeing all the costumes!”

“In that case, I’d better meet up with Mayor Mare.”

Time was running out, and Rarity still had to make sure the politician was all dressed up and ready to go. “The event is about to start, and it won’t be long before the children are all gathered around Town Hall.”

Hopefully, that included Sweetie Belle and her little friend. Rarity was quite fond of Scootaloo, but… she was sometimes a bit too supportive of Sweetie Belle’s ideas. Nevertheless, as excited as the filly had been to “look” for Princess Booky, Rarity knew her sister would never be brave or foolish enough to actually wander into the Everfree Forest with her friend.

She hoped.

The youngest princess sought out the answers in the pages of her beloved books. She hid in a secret library of her own design, buried underneath a growing oak tree in a barren land betwixt a small village and a mountain. However, mere days before she planned to leave on her quest, a nearby villager revealed her location to the Spirit, who had been disguised as a traveling pony.

Thirty minutes later found half of Ponyville gathered in front of Town Hall, where Rarity watched from behind the curtains as “Princess Cadance,” also known as Mayor Mare, greeted the groups of foals all raring to get started. A little farther away from the crowd, she could see older ponies touring the different little stands that had been mounted earlier that day. All kinds of treats, souvenirs, and games were available to those who were no longer young enough to partake in the festivity. The smell of cotton candy, roasted chestnuts, and other sweet delicacies wafted through the air. Laughter and shushes came from the crowd, mixing in with the music a local DJ was providing.

A little farther south, she spotted a quaint stand next to the apple bobbing. She couldn’t help but be impressed by how fast Pinkie took out tray after tray of cupcakes, brownies, and cookies from under her stand. The number of ponies waiting in line for her treats, however, was more impressive still. Maybe the Cakes should consider asking her to work at Sugarcube Corner.

“Now, as you all know, if the Spirit catches your group, he’ll take away two Elements, and you’ll have to go get them again,” Mayor Mare explained, pointing to the white stallion next to her, who was wearing a fake claw and fake paw on either forehoof respectively. Mayor Mare adjusted the pink wig on her head before asking, “Any questions?”

While the mayor answered the foals’ questions, Rarity took a moment to search for the group Fluttershy would be supervising. She could hardly wait to see the excitement on Sweetie Belle’s face at the surprises Rarity had prepared for the event. She scanned the crowd and finally found her dearest friend Fluttershy looking… unusually excited?

The yellow pegasus was jittering in place, barely paying any attention to the foals gathered in a circle around her. She absentmindedly played with her mane and kept glancing toward the market behind her, as if searching for somepony. If Rarity didn’t know Fluttershy so well, she would have shrugged off the mare’s odd behavior and moved on with the event—except she knew her friend as well as the bottom of her hoof.

And that behavior could mean only one possible thing.

She immediately turned her gaze to the foals crowded around Fluttershy. Every group was supposed to consist of nine foals and one pony. Through narrowed eyes and with growing anger, she counted: one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven.

“Oh, that filly’s never going to hear the end of it,” she hissed, using every ounce of willpower in her not to scream out Sweetie Belle’s name loudly enough for all of Equestria to hear.

If those fillies went into the Everfree Forest…

She didn’t even want to think about what that could mean. Timberwolves, manticores, cockatrices; she was starting to regret having asked Fluttershy what creatures could be found in the forest. Maybe she’s stuffing her mouth with cupcakes. Yes, that had to be it. Sweetie Belle had a sweet tooth unrivaled in Ponyville, and she was most certainly sitting somewhere with a rightfully earned stomachache.

With as much discretion as possible, she left her spot behind the curtain and trotted down the podium toward Fluttershy, ignoring the questioning look the crowd gave her. If it were possible, Rarity had no doubt her friend would have shrunk to the size of a mouse the second she saw the unicorn approaching her.

Fluttershy’s voice was barely above a whisper when the mare reached her. “R-Rarity, I—”

“Not now, darling.”

She pulled Fluttershy away from the crowd so as to talk in private. Thankfully, the foals were too occupied listening to the mayor to notice anything. “Let’s find them first, then we’ll talk.” As heartfelt as they’d be, there was no time to stand there listening to Fluttershy’s apologies. “When was the last time you saw Sweetie?”

“A little before the ceremony started. She and Scootaloo said they only wanted to get a quick snack, and they seemed so hungry. Diamond Dusk has been helping me look for them but…” she drifted off, lowering her ears and bowing her head. “I’m so sorry, Rarity. I shouldn’t have—”

“Fluttershy, darling, it’s not your fault. You are not her nanny, and if Sweetie Belle decided to disobey and run off, there’s nothing you could have done to stop her. Trust me.” She looked back toward the podium and was relieved to see the mayor still rambling on about the legend of old, meaning they still had a few minutes left before things got too complicated to talk. She sighed and rubbed her forehead with a hoof. “I’ll look through the stands firs—”

“Fluttershy!”

The two mares turned around and saw a blue stallion galloping toward them. “I looked everywhere,” he said through heaves and huffs, trying to catch his breath once he finally caught up to the mares. He noticed Rarity and his face fell. “Oh, uh, hi Rarity…”

Rarity sighed. “Hello, Dusk. Fluttershy’s just finished giving me the low-down, and I’m very grateful you’re helping us find my sister and her friend.”

Dusk swallowed hard. “I looked in the marketplace and there was no sign of them. I also went into town, stopped by your boutique, and then asked around and…” He went silent, ears lowering as he avoided Rarity’s gaze.

“And…” she prompted.

“And… last time somepony saw them, they were talking with a stallion about going to…” He looked up at Rarity. “…the Everfree Forest…”

Fluttershy placed her forehooves over her mouth, eyes growing wide. “Oh no!”

Rarity felt herself go weak at the knees. Sweetie Belle was in the Everfree Forest, completely alone save for Scootaloo. The filly barely had the magic to lift a broom; if something attacked them, they wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Zecora… Has anypony seen Zecora?” she asked, trying to keep her breathing steady and calm. “She always arrives late to the festivities. Perhaps she’s still in the forest and found the girls.”

“Yes! She might not have left for her trip yet!” Fluttershy chimed in, a little more hopeful now that Rarity had reminded her of the herbalist’s existence.

Rarity nodded. If Zecora had found them, then everything would be fine. “Right, then. I’m going to go look for them before something terrible happens.” She turned to Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, please discreetly explain the situation to the mayor and keep an eye out in case the fillies return.”

Dusk took a step toward her. “Rarity, wait. I’ll go with you. It’s not safe there.”

“No, don’t. Please take this,” Fluttershy interrupted, giving him the little satchel where she and her group of foals were supposed to store the gems they received. “I should go with her. It’s my fault they ran off, so it’s only right. Can you please take my place in the event?”

Dusk nodded and took the satchel.

“Fluttershy, are you sure?” Rarity asked, receiving a firm nod in reply.

“Of course.” She paused. “I think.”

Wicked as he was, the Spirit entered the unguarded library and attacked the young princess, taking away her physical form and leaving her to eternally watch over the books she so loved. Not yet satisfied with what he’d done, he stood next to the tree and transformed the barren land about it, destroying the small village in the process.

He raised his left claw and summoned a dangerous forest to hide the oak tree, hoping to plunge the mare into darkness and despair. He raised his right paw and imbued the fallen branches with life, creating howling beasts of wood and fright to deter wandering ponies from venturing within and finding the princess.

The Everfree Forest was perhaps one of the most frightening places Rarity, or any Ponyvillian, ever had the misfortune of going into. It would require a vitally important reason for anypony to step hoof in there, such as visiting the local herbalist—or finding two lost fillies.

Her saddlebag thumped against her as she and a terrified Fluttershy trekked across the forest, trying quite hard not to think of the distant howling. Beams of moonlight filtered in through the trees, creating disconcerting shadows all around them. The smell of musty leaves and rotten wood permeated the air, and the ground discolored her once pristine white hooves with mud and twigs. Oh, how she wished she had brought boots. If it dried up, the mud would be an absolute nightmare to take off.

Part of her felt guilty for worrying about such frivolous things considering the circumstances, but idle, frivolous thoughts kept her mind occupied and away from painting terrible scenarios of what harms could befall her sister. She glanced beside her and realized Fluttershy was trotting very closely to her, the pegasus’ eyes jumping from one thing to the next like a critter frightened by its own shadow. Nevertheless, all things said and done, Rarity was impressed by her friend; they’d been walking through the forest for at least forty minutes now, and the timid mare was holding up pretty well.

If only she didn’t wince and shush Rarity whenever she called out her sister’s name.

“Not so loud!” Fluttershy whispered, frantically waving her hoof in a quieting motion. “The timberwolves mig—”

“Fluttershy, if I don’t call their names, they’re never going to hear us, and we’ll just be wandering around aimlessly,” Rarity scolded, rolling her eyes. Clearing her throat, she called out Sweetie Belle’s name again, a little quieter if only for the sake of Fluttershy’s already cracking nerves.

“What if they’re already back in Ponyville?” Fluttershy continued, maneuvering around the rocks and questionable mounds of dirt. “Maybe we should go back and che—”

“Diamond Dusk already promised to come look for us if they came back,” Rarity pointed out, looking through the seemingly endless rows and rows of trees, and hoping to catch a glimpse of light grey or orange—or both at the same time, preferably. She was so busy looking to either side, in fact, that she failed to notice she was headed straight for a large hole in the ground.

“What if he gets lost trying to find us?” Fluttershy pressed on, looking at her sides and also failing to notice the absence of ground several feet away.

Rarity sighed. “Fluttershy, you really are not helpi—” Her words turned into a panicked screech the second she fell in the hole, landing on her rump a few feet below.

“Rarity!” Fluttershy gasped, standing over the edge of the hole and looking down at her friend with horror. “Are you okay?! Rarity?!”

With some difficulty, Rarity got up from the hard ground, grinding her teeth in pain. “I’m all right, darling. I think…” She stood up and used her hoof to dust herself off. Some night I’m having…

Looking around at the hole, it was as if somepony had pushed down on the ground and formed a perfectly circular depression. She turned away from Fluttershy and was greeted by an immense oak tree, covered with vines and foliage, sitting right in the middle of the hole.

“What did this?” Fluttershy asked, staring up at the oak tree and then down at the hole it was surrounded by. “Or who? This isn’t natural, is it?”

“I haven’t the faintest,” Rarity murmured, trotting toward the tree and then around it. Finally, when she reached the other side, directly opposite where she’d fallen, she concluded it must be around fifty feet wide and a few feet deep, the tree standing perfectly in the center. As Fluttershy said, this was somehow too perfect to be natural. How bizarre… She looked up at the tree and saw… A window?

To her surprise, there was what looked like a small, half-open oval window near the top of the tree. Why was there a window there? How could there be a window there? She took another step toward the tree but quickly backed away when her hoof landed on something sharp and pointy. She immediately looked down and levitated the offending object: a tarnished metallic black tiara.

“R-Rarity?” Fluttershy called out from the other side of the tree.

“Just a moment!” she called back, turning around the tiara and inspecting it more closely. What in Equestria was tha— Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard two very familiar screeches in the distance. She dropped the tiara and ran toward the source. “Was that the girls?!”

“I think so!”

With Fluttershy’s help, she climbed out of the hole and they both rushed off, headed toward the location of the shrill screams. Please be safe, please be safe, please be safe, she thought over and over, her heart about to beat right out of her chest. A few minutes of running, and they came to a halt upon reaching a small, dilapidated house. The door had been torn off its hinges, and a tree had grown out in the middle, pushing through half of the roof in the process. There was a single rectangular window, cracks and holes spread throughout the dirty glass.

Why on earth was it there in the middle of the forest?

“Go away!” a small voice called from inside the house. “There aren’t any ponies in here!”

“Yeah! And besides, ponies aren’t tasty to timberwolves! They t-taste super yucky!” another trembling voice added.

Rarity took a step toward the house. “Timberwolves?”

There was a moment of silence, and suddenly a single orange face appeared in the window, staring out with wide eyes. “Oh, it’s not timberwolves!” Scootaloo exclaimed, pressing her face against the window and looking visibly relaxed. “It’s just Fluttershy and Rarity!”

“Rarity?!” A second face appeared on the other side of the window, took a look at Rarity and screamed, quickly hiding again. “That’s even worse than timberwolves!”

“Oh, you bet it is,” Rarity hissed, stomping her way to the house. She walked through the door and into the single-room building, finding two cowering fillies on the other side. She trotted toward them, avoiding a rotting wooden table, and used her magic to lift the two fillies by the scruff of their necks. “Do you two realize how worried we were?! Oh, just you wait until Mother and Father hear about this…”

“We’re sorry!” Sweetie Belle helplessly exclaimed, defensively crossing her hooves in front of her chest. “Please! We just wanted to look for the princess so we’d get our cutie marks in princess finding, and then we found this house, and we were investigating, but then there was a scream, and then we thou—”

“I’m not even remotely interested in your excuses!” Rarity hissed, turning around and trotting off, the fillies levitating around her.

While the two friends continued throwing excuse after excuse, Rarity took a moment to look around the place. Papers, ripped fabrics, and all kinds of rudimentary-looking objects were strewn across the floor, and a tree had practically grown through the house. In contrast to the mess, however, two plates and glasses filled with dirty water were neatly set on the table, and the linen on the single bed was perfectly intact, as if someone had made the bed earlier that day. Old, decaying books were tidily lining a nearby bookshelf, and faded, damaged paintings hung on the walls. It felt to Rarity as if the inhabitants of the mysterious house had just up and left one day without taking any of their belongings with them.

She exited the house and unceremoniously plopped her two forlorn prisoners down on the ground. “Fluttershy had been looking forward all year to being group leader, and you two went and ruined it for her!”

“Oh, well, I wasn’t that exci—”

“Ruined it!” Rarity reaffirmed, stomping her hoof and silencing her protesting friend. She glared at Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo and pointed her hoof at Fluttershy. “Apologize this instant!”

The two fillies turned to Fluttershy and bowed their heads. “Sorry, Fluttershy…” They turned to Rarity. “Sorry, Rarity…”

Rarity merely harrumphed in reply whereas Fluttershy smiled kindly at them. “I’m just glad we found you safe and sound,” she reassured, patting both their heads affectionately. She then turned around and brightly exclaimed, “Now we can go back!”

“Aw…”

Rarity was about to agree with the idea, but images of the window in the tree and the odd tiara flashed through her mind. Her curiosity had been piqued, and now that they had come all this way, surely it wouldn’t hurt to quickly go back and take the tiara, right? A good thorough cleaning should have it looking brand new.

“Wait a moment. There’s still something I’d like to go see,” Rarity said. She looked around and saw a light in the distance. Perfect. “Look, Zecora’s hut is over there, and she seems to be home. Why don’t you and the girls head back to Ponyville, while I go fetch Zecora once I’m finished with what I have to do?”

“But, what do you have to do?” Fluttershy asked, her previous chirpy disposition all but gone. “Rarity, I don’t like this. Please, let’s go back together…”

Rarity smiled at her. “Fluttershy, darling, I won’t be long. Really. Besides, there are some things I need to discuss with Zecora. I’m not sure how long it’ll take, so I’d rather you return home so Mayor Mare won’t be too worried.” She turned to the two fillies, who looked back at her with twinkling eyes and ecstatic smiles. “And before you ask, no, you cannot come with me.”

“Aw…”

With reluctance, the pegasus and fillies trotted off toward town. Fluttershy kept looking back, biting her lip and throwing Rarity a sad expression, as if pleading for her to reconsider. Instead, Rarity simply smiled and waved her off before turning back and trying to retrace the path toward the great oak tree.

It took a good ten minutes, but she managed to find it again. Cautiously, she dropped down into the hole and trotted around the tree until she reached the side with the window. To her surprise, when she looked up, she found a small black owl sitting on the windowsill.

It looked back down at her curiously, tilting its head to the side, and hooted several times. It was odd, but the owl’s presence gave her some comfort. Rarity smiled at it before resuming her search, and after a minute, she let out a small “ah-hah!” as she found the tiara once again.

“Hello, lovely,” she purred, taking a hoofkerchief from her saddlebag and using it to wipe the dirt off the tiara. “Wait until you’re all cleaned up! You’re going to look fabulous with the ensemble I’m planning.” Another hoot from the owl distracted her and she looked up at it, reminded of the other thing she was curious about.

Her eyes traveled down the bark of the tree, hoping to find another window or clue to the tree’s odd nature. Finally, near the bottom, she noticed a rectangular object stuck to the bark. After putting the tiara inside her saddlebag, she made her way to the tree, the owl watching silently from above. She realized there was some sort of metal commemorative plaque nailed onto it, but the inscription was hidden beneath a few layers of dirt, dust, and mud. Since her hoofkerchief was dirty already, Rarity used it to carefully wipe away the filth, and after a few delicate strokes, the words on the plaque became visible. When she squinted her eyes to read them, she felt her heart skip a beat.

PONYVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Donated by Princess Twilight Sparkle

Sweetie Belle’s earlier words echoed in her mind: “Think about it! Ponyville doesn’t have a library! We just have the books we can borrow from Town Hall. What if the princess’ library was our library, but we lost it because the Spirit grew Everfree around her?!”

Rarity stepped back. “That… That’s impossible…”

With the three princesses trapped throughout the land, and the Elements to defeat him lost forever more, the Spirit returned to the kingdom’s castle and told the last princess of the terrible fate that had befallen her beloved friends. As his final act of villainy, he cast a curse upon her, proclaiming that neither she nor any of her bloodline would be able to find the trapped princesses—and even if they were indeed found by another, the princesses would never be freed from their prisons.

Once the Spirit left the land in a whisk of smoke, the princess ordered the knights of the kingdom to search for the missing princesses and spread word of the tale, for hope remained as long as the sun and the moon rose and fell with each passing day.

It couldn’t be real, but at the same time, there it was, and it made sense. She looked toward the house, abandoned as though nopony had bothered to take their things… or maybe they simply didn’t have time to take them.

Could the old legends be true? She looked down at the ground, her heart beating thunderously in her chest. Was… Was she truly standing atop a lost library, forgotten to the ages? But where was the entrance? And… did she want to go in? Did she even dare?

What if there really is the ghost of a princess waiting inside? She shook her head. No. Don’t be silly, Rarity. There’s no such things as ghosts trapped in libraries, or evil spirits. I’m sure there must be a logical and reasonable explanation for this. She knocked her hoof against the tree to check if it was hollow, but it sounded solid.

So, where was the entrance?

With a few steps to the side, the ground beneath her hooves changed from soft dirt to… wood? She looked down and, brushing loose dirt away with her hoof, realized she was standing on… a worn-out wooden trapdoor. She took several steps back and stared at the spot, her mind a complete blank. After a moment, it felt to her as if some external force had taken over her body and now coaxed her into using her magic to swing the trapdoor open, its hinges creaking after appearing not to have been used in… months? Years? Maybe even centuries?

She rested the door against the tree, looked down the newly opened path, and saw a spiral staircase descending and fading into the darkness. Throwing one last look back at the light behind her, she took a deep breath and started down the staircase, trotting down for a while before reaching the entrance to a pitch black tunnel. The only source of light down there was a circular beam coming down from the ceiling and, when she stepped beneath it, she looked up and found that a smaller opening had been hollowed out in the ground and the oak tree. From the end of the small upwards opening, the owl looked back down at her, hooting several times.

“Ah, we meet again,” she replied, watching as the owl jumped out the window and into the opening. Once out, it flew in circles above Rarity for a moment before landing on her back and hooting once more. “Well, as they say, the more the merrier!” she exclaimed, turning back toward the end of the tunnel and feeling much more confident with a companion, albeit a curious one, now preening its wings on her back.

She lit up her horn to illuminate the path down the tunnel, eventually stepping out into a pitch black room, and as she entered, the scent of ink and old books filled her nose. Trotting around the room, she illuminated a couple of desks with several books lying on them, some open and some closed. There was a quill dipped inside an owl-shaped inkwell filled with fresh ink and next to it lay an open parchment where somepony hadn’t finished writing what appeared to be a dissertation on magic telekinesis.

The more troubling question was, where had the fresh ink even come from?

She moved away from the tables and deeper into the room, coming face to face with several rows of bookcases.

“It’s real,” she whispered, mostly to herself but nonetheless receiving a hoot in reply from her companion. Of course, there was no way of knowing if this was the library from the fairy tale, but there was no question that she had indeed found a secret library. “Sweetie Belle was right…”

How big was the library? What lay hidden under the darkness surrounding her? How she wished her horn could illuminate the entire room. Judging by how long it had taken her to reach the bottom of the stairs, it was safe to say the room must have been of a tremendous size.

She trotted to the wall, and illuminating it revealed a large black mark, almost as if someone had thrown a bomb at it. Not only that, but it was pockmarked with scorched holes and scars.

On a nearby table, there sat a lone dark blue candlestick holder with four branches. The candles inside each branch were in immaculate condition, as if they had never been lit or had never fallen victim to the passing of time. Rarity was tempted to light them, but refrained. The longer she looked at it, the more she was taken over by a growing sense of unease. She couldn’t help thinking it was ridiculous, but it felt to her as if the candelabra was somehow watching her.

Perhaps it’d be best to move along, Rarity.

She turned away from the table and continued exploring what she could see of the library. In front of one of the rows of bookcases, she found a large basket, a pillow and folded blanket inside it. She didn’t give it much thought, however, and instead proceeded into one of the rows of bookcases. Once inside, she squinted at the books, trying to read the names on the spines. It was admittedly difficult with the meager light her horn produced. She stopped and picked a book at random, opening it to the first page.

“A Study of Dreams and Magic: Volume Nine,” she read aloud to the owl, who simply hopped up onto her head and curiously peered down at the book. She rifled through the pages for a minute, reading a few sentences here and there. “I wonder if there’s any books on gemstones,” she thought aloud. It wasn’t too much of a stretch to assume there must be exceedingly rare and valuable books hidden away in the library. Perhaps she could borrow one? “Come on,” she said, putting the book back in its place. “Let’s try and find some.”

And that’s when she felt it.

It was like a prickling sensation at the back of her neck, and with the sensation, she could feel her heartbeat accelerate exponentially. In that moment, hoof still resting on the spine of the book she had just pushed into the bookcase, Rarity had the very strong impression that she was being watched by something other than the owl on her head. Despite her best intentions, she thought back to Sweetie Belle’s impression of a shrieking, tortured soul. In that moment, she was too scared to even blink, staring at the book in front of her and vividly aware of the owl’s claws on her head and the prickling sensation on her neck.

She had to look.

Before she could even take a deep breath, Rarity zoomed herself around and looked out into the dark hallway, relieved to find nothing. She looked to the other side and was greeted again by pure, ghostless darkness. She took the withheld deep breath and exhaled it slowly. “The Legend of the Four Princesses isn’t real, Rarity,” she whispered to herself over and over as she continued her path down the hallway of bookcases. Every few seconds, she’d stop and look around, and after making sure that there was still no princess to be found, went on her way.

The owl had hopped down onto her back and now entertained itself by playing with the strap of her saddlebag or hiding inside Rarity’s curly tail and allowing itself to be carried around by the mare. Rarity found herself slightly less scared and very grateful that the small owl was still with her. Surely, if there really was a ghost, the owl would have already fled. Unless…

She stopped.

Unless the princess had taught the owl to lure unsuspecting ponies into her library of terror. She lifted her tail and looked back at the creature trapped within her curls. The owl blinked twice and hooted at her before trying to escape its confinement. Rarity smiled and rolled her eyes. She shook her tail slightly to help the owl free itself, and once it was out, it quickly took back its spot atop her head. It wouldn’t bode well for her mane, but she admittedly preferred the company over the manestyle.

She walked for several more minutes before stopping again to look at the books. “Let’s see… What would a book about gemstones even be called?” she wondered aloud, tracing her hoof along the spines of the books. She leaned in to better illuminate them with her horn, but again it was little help to her, and she muttered to herself regrettably, “I can barely see a thing. Why didn’t I take that candelabra?”

The moment she finished speaking, the owl flew off her back and up toward the ceiling, disappearing into the darkness. “Wait, come back!” she called out, wishing that she had Fluttershy’s ability to communicate with animals. “Shoot…”

She turned back to the books but froze in place when she heard a loud sound from the other side of the room. She looked up and, after a moment, the black owl appeared from the darkness, struggling with the candlestick holder in its claws.

“Why, thank you!” Rarity exclaimed, grateful to see her new friend once more.

The owl flew over Rarity and, without warning, let go of the candelabra. Before Rarity could catch it and prevent it from shattering against the floor, the candelabra stopped in mid-air, a raspberry-colored aura surrounding it.

“What…”

The candelabra, which was floating sideways, now straightened itself, and one by one, the four candles lit up. It floated down to where Rarity was and set itself next to the book she had been looking at. The owl flew back down and sat on Rarity’s back while she stared at the levitating object with horror.

How was it doing that? It was obvious that somepony was levitating it, but there was no one there save for her, and she highly doubted the owl could do any magic. Her thoughts went back to the princess of legend, and she felt the prickling sensation in her neck anew. Deciding that perhaps mysterious floating candlestick holders was where she drew the line, Rarity began to back away from it, but for every step she took, the candelabra got closer, as if it were following her.

“Shoo!” she hissed, waving it off with her hoof. As she trotted backward, she glared at it, almost as if trying to convince whoever was levitating it—and herself—that she was not afraid of or intimidated by it. Of course, all of her built up courage went down the drain the moment her rump collided against a table and the dusty vase on it came tumbling down to the floor with a great big thud.

Rarity let out a shrill scream and ran off into the maze of bookcases, frenetically trying to find the exit and spurred into running faster by the fact that the candelabra was still floating after her. It certainly didn’t help that, when she looked at the bookcases as she ran, she had the misfortune of seeing somepony on the other side through the gaps in the books, running at the same speed she was. For a brief moment, the figure turned to look at Rarity and left imprinted in the unicorn’s memory the image of two penetrating violet eyes.

Finally, after an eternity of running and screaming, she saw the entrance of the library in the distance. The only thing standing in her way to freedom were three towers of books stacked directly in her path to the door. Fortunately, it was only a matter of quickly maneuvering around them and running into the tunnel.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t see a thing in the dark, such as the owl flying beside her or the books on the floor. With a yelp, she tripped over the large tomes a few feet away from the towers of books and rolled forward until she collided with one of them. Her saddlebag opened during the impact, and its contents—a fashion magazine, some makeup, loose sheets of paper, and the tiara—came flying out.

Before she could react, the three towers tilted toward her, and she could only cover her head and wait for the inevitable rain of dictionaries, encyclopedias, and textbooks.

She waited.

And waited.

And waited some more, until half a minute had gone by—though it felt like an eternity—and she had yet to be mercilessly pummeled into unconsciousness by an army of knowledge. She opened one eye and looked up to find the books floating in the air, each one enveloped in the same magical aura as the candelabra. It wasn’t until she looked away from the books that she finally saw her.

A mare, standing on top of a bookcase, staring intently at the floating books. It was still too dark for Rarity to make out much more than the fact that she had wings, a luminous horn, a glittering mane, glowing violet eyes, and a tiara atop her head. In other words, she looked quite like a princess.

“Star,” she said. “Light, please.”

Rarity had been so transfixed by the sight, she almost didn’t realize the mare had spoken. The candelabra circling Rarity floated up toward the ceiling and came to a stop right on top of the maze of bookcases. There was a bright flash of light and a wide-eyed Rarity watched as the candelabra transformed itself into an enormous chandelier. One by one, each candle ignited itself until a hundred lit candles illuminated the ceiling. Then, the magical aura surrounding the chandelier blinked twice, and the light coming from the candles intensified and filled the room with light.

Rarity could only look around in awe.

Rows and rows of bookcases were spread out in front of her. At the end of the room, she could see a silver spiral staircase, leading to a floor below where there were presumably even more books. Some walls were lined with additional bookcases, reaching all the way up to the ceiling, which must have been at least forty feet tall. The walls that weren’t covered with bookcases were decorated with beautiful paintings depicting all kinds of things: a castle that looked a lot like the one in Canterlot; the sun; the moon; and a guard of the royal army. There were also several greyscale paintings, including one of a baby dragon sleeping, and one of the library itself.

Of course, nothing in the library was nearly as stunning as the mare living in it.

The Princess in the Library.

An ethereal aura surrounded her pale lavender-colored coat, which had a sheen that rivaled Rarity’s own after a full day at the spa. To Rarity’s envy, her sapphire-blue tail and mane with violet and rose streaks not only quite literally flowed with magic, but also seemed to be sparkling. Her wings were now tucked neatly to her sides, she wore a gold collar and gold horseshoes, and on her head rested a gold crown studded with sapphires and a magenta star-shaped gem that looked exactly like the cutie mark on her haunch. It was only when Rarity saw the princess’ cutie mark that she looked further down and realized she was floating over the bookcase, and not standing on it.

Oh dear…

The small black owl landed on the bookcase, right next to the princess, and hooted twice at her. A spark of magic shot out from her horn, and the books floating above Rarity zoomed away and disappeared inside the maze of bookcases. Rarity could only guess they had been put back in their respective places. Once the books were gone, the princess blinked twice, and after the second blink, her eyes returned to normal.

And so, as years and then centuries passed, the words of the Spirit rang true and the princesses were never found, their tale becoming lost to the ages and nothing more than a bedtime story for foals. There are those who still believe in the tale, however, and beg for all to listen closely to the sounds of the forest.

Perhaps, if one does, the sound of a quill scratching against paper will be heard from inside a hollow tree, the youngest princess still inside, waiting to be found.

And Rarity did indeed find her.

And when the Princess in the Library turned to look at her with a wary but inquisitive gaze, and when the princess with naught but her gaze ensnared Rarity into the twists and turns that made up her dark past…

Then Rarity believed in fairy tales.

~ Interlude I ~ A Research Log ~

“Tell me, wandering traveler, what do you seek? A roof over your head or a friend to converse with? We have naught but a few houses and a dozen apple trees, but you are welcome to our homes and our food.”

“I seek the Princess of Knowledge. I have heard rumors that she has a library around these parts. I bring information on the one she seeks.”

“The Princess of Knowledge? You are mistaken, wandering traveler. No princess of any kind has set hoof in our town for a very long time.”

“Oh? Perhaps, this crown might change your mind. It was given to me as a way to prove my good will.”

“…Her library is under our great oak tree. May you help the princess, wandering traveler, for all our sakes.”

“Oh, I most certainly will.”

Journal Entry № 413

I do not know how long it has been since I have been here.

Maybe a week or two, but it feels like an eternity. I have not slept since he left, and I have yet to feel any hunger. I wonder if breathing is still a necessity. Am I stuck in a loop between life and death? When I leave, will I go back to normal? Or will I remain in this way? Will I ever find out?

Not without the map.

I have been searching for it everywhere. I looked through every book in the first floor, and every book in the second floor. What if Discord was lying when he said the map was hidden here? If I don’t find that map, I may never see Spike again.

But, if he was lying, then why has Spike not come back? He would never leave me here unless there was a reason he couldn’t come. He would never leave me here alone unless Discord really did…

None of the villagers have come down either, and the earthquake I felt right after he left leads me to believe there indeed may be a forest around my tree—just like he said there would be. Are the villagers all right? Did they escape in time? Do they hear me when I call out? Does anypony hear me?

I still cannot get out. I tried the exit again a few hours—or days—ago, but his translucent black barrier stopped me again. I’m afraid of approaching it to examine it. I’m afraid that it might be gone, and I might cross without the map. I wanted to try and see if I could levitate objects across, so as to ascertain whether the barrier blocks only my body, but I’m worried that my magic is included in his warning. If I leave here without the map and it really disappears, then…

I keep thinking back to the tiara. I was wary when he said it belonged to Princess Luna, but the more I think about it, the more I believe it was really hers. What did he do to her? Was he lying? I find comfort in the knowledge that he will be stopped by Princess Celestia. He cannot defeat her. She will come to find me, won’t she?

He also took my emerald. The one Spike offered me during my annual celebration. That was the only thing I had of Spike, and he took it from me as “punishment for single-hoofedly being responsible for the downfall of Equestria.”

It is not my fault. Even if he says it is, none of this is my fault.

I couldn’t say yes. I couldn’t just give

It does not matter.

I have started assembling my books on ciphers and riddles. The map may be hidden in the words of the books, coded into the lines and paragraphs. I need to find the map. I need to find the map. I need to find the map.

“Obsession can be your own prison.”

That was what he said, and that must be the clue to the riddle. I need to find the map, and then leave and use it to find Spike. I miss him.

Forgive me, Spike.

This is all my fault.

~ Act I ~ 02 ~ The Princess in the Library ~

An eternity seemed to pass by for Rarity as she and the princess engaged in an impromptu staring contest, the little owl looking back and forth between the two mares.

“Are you the Book Bringer?” the princess asked, receiving no answer from the shocked unicorn.

Things were not going the way Rarity had imagined they would. Granted, she had never actually planned on meeting the spirit of an Equestrian princess, but she would have expected more… screaming and soul-banishing. At least she could relax a bit seeing that the princess’ stare was not one of hatred or anger.

It was more a look of curiosity and a smidge of… annoyance? It seemed to Rarity that the alicorn was assessing the situation, which, all things considered, was thus far much better than she’d previously envisioned it. Her soul could have been banished to the pits of Tartarus for trespassing, or she could have been turned into a specter herself, but so far so good.

The princess shook her head.

“No, you can’t be. You were in the cosmology section, and he would never be looking for the wrong thing in the wrong place,” the princess finally said, changing the topic of conversation in a matter-of-fact tone. She paused for a moment, as if waiting for a sign of Rarity’s understanding, but when the confused mare failed to offer such a sign, the princess elaborated: “You were searching for a book on geology in the cosmology section.”

Those were some of the first words the princess said to her, and to possibly anypony else, in several centuries. One might have thought she would have gone for “who are you?” or “what are you doing here?” or the ever-popular “how dare you intrude on my place of eternal slumber, foolish mortal?! Begone!”

Instead, she had opted for…

“—and the books on gemstones are in the geology section, which is the five-hundred-fifty-first class under the Star Swirl Decimal Classification, whereas cosmology is the one-hundred-thirteenth class.”

…a scolding lecture on the Star Swirl Decimal Classification, apparently.

Rarity wasn’t sure how exactly she was supposed to react, or what to say, or what to do. Thankfully, she didn’t have to think too much about it; just as the princess finished her speech, the owl flew over to Rarity, took its favorite spot atop her head, and curiously tapped her ear with its wing.

“Themis!” the princess exclaimed indignantly, floating down onto the bookcase and stomping her hoof against it. “You’re not supposed to get friendly with intruders until I’ve finished questioning them!” She turned to Rarity and asked again, “You aren’t the Book Bringer, are you?”

It took Rarity a bit to process that she was being addressed by the princess, especially when she was still processing everything else about the situation. “Th-the Book Bringer?”

When Rarity shook her head, the princess narrowed her eyes. “If you’re not him, then why have you come here?”

Rarity opened and closed her mouth several times. Wasn’t that the million-bit question? Why had she been compelled to go down into the tree and see whatever it contained? Curiosity had been a large part of it, yes, but there had been something else. The Legend of the Four Princesses had once been the bedtime story Rarity would fall asleep to every night as a filly. Perhaps it wasn’t so much curiosity as it was the little filly inside her, still wanting to rescue the princesses from her bedtime stories.

“For… you?”

The princess furrowed her brow and lifted her hoof, as if to stamp it against the top of the bookcase again. “For me?!” she exclaimed in a deeply shocked and angered voice. But then, her anger faded and made way for a surprised expression. “…For me,” she repeated softly, lowering both her hoof and her ears. She sat down on her hind legs and blinked at Rarity. “Me?” she whispered, putting a forehoof on her muzzle and frowning. “Nopony’s ever come back for me… Except for Disc—”

Rarity never heard the end of the sentence; the princess quickly stood back up and flared her wings, gritting her teeth and glaring. “Why me?” she asked in a cold and defensive voice, her horn starting to glow. “What more do you want with me? How can you be back?! You were defeated!”

“B-be back?! D-defeated?” Rarity backed up several steps over the spilled contents of her saddlebag, levitating the magazine from the floor to use as a makeshift shield. She was too young and beautiful to be blown to smithereens by an angered spirit! “I-I’ve never in my life been here before! I was only looking for my younger sister in the Everfree Forest, and I stumbled into your library!”

“Liar!” the princess snapped, the glow of her magic intensifying. It was then that she looked down at the crown lying next to Rarity, and when she looked at the unicorn again, it was as if her fury had somehow tripled. “Where did you get that?! It is you!”

“No! I found it next to the tree!” Rarity pleaded, shaking her head. “I give you my word! I was just curious!” Her justification, however, went very much unheard and uncared for.

The furious princess stamped her hoof on the top of the bookcase. “Stop lying to me!” she demanded, picking Rarity up with her magic and slamming her into the nearest bookcase as if the unicorn were nothing more than a ragdoll. The bookcase groaned and swayed with the impact, and if Rarity hitting the bookcase full-force and face-first wasn’t enough, the impact loosened a hail of volumes atop her.

Her landing came with a loud thud, dust poofing out from in between the books, and she coughed and wheezed as the dust settled around her. Trying to move her left foreleg brought with it shooting pain, suddenly and sharply enough to cause her eyes to tear up.

“You—”

At the sound of the princess’ voice, Rarity’s eyes flew open and she held her breath, her thoughts running at a thousand miles a minute as she tried to think of a way out, away from the incensed alicorn spirit. She could run to the exit and possibly provoke another attack, or she could remain motionless and hope for the princess’ rage to subside. Neither option sounded particularly appealing, but before she could make her decision, the voice came again.

“Why aren’t you defending yourself? Is this another trick?”

Despite her fear, Rarity finally—and painfully—turned around to look at the princess. The mare stared back at Rarity, her ears and wings strong and flared, but with a hint of hesitation in her eyes.

“W-what?” was all Rarity managed—dared—to get out.

“Why are you here?!” the princess asked. Her voice made it clear that she brooked no argument, but the murderous rage had faded from her posture. “Who are you?”

“R-Rarity!” Rarity blurted out. “I’m not this Discord pony you keep accusing me of being!”

The princess took a step back on the bookcase, wings slowly lowering. “You’re not Dis—? I-I…”

Rarity glanced from the princess to the exit, wondering if she could make it before the alicorn figured out what was going on. Considering her currently distracted look, it seemed that this would be the only chance Rarity would get if she wanted to get out alive. And though having a twisted ankle wasn’t ideal for running away—not to mention her now throbbing headache—fear outweighed the pain, and she decided she’d rather risk another attack than stay in the library for another second. She got up and, biting down a gasp at the pain in her foreleg, made a dash for the exit.

“W-wait!”

Four steps from the tunnel out, the princess’ voice caught up with her, followed in short order by the rest of her, which teleported in front of the exit. Rarity’s path to freedom was blocked, but she wouldn’t give up that easily. Taking a deep breath, she summoned what magical strength she had; likely it wouldn’t do much to a spirit princess, but it could at least give her the opening she needed. Barely cognizant of the fact that she stepped over her discarded items, Rarity focused her magic into a concussive blast that hit the princess square in the face.

As expected, the spell did little more than distract the alicorn slightly. That, however, was enough. Rarity inhaled a deep breath of air, heart beating thunderously in her chest, and rushed not past, but through the princess. She trotted toward the stairs as fast as her injured hoof would allow, but just a few yards away from the stairs, the princess’ voice reached her.

“Wait! Please don’t go!”

Rarity stopped dead in her tracks. Unable to help herself, she looked back and saw the princess standing on the other end of the tunnel. The princess raised her hoof, almost as if to try to step through the tunnel, but when she did, a translucent pink barrier crackled into existence and forced her to step back, her ears falling.

“Please. I’m sorry. Please don’t go,” the princess said to her—pleaded with her—voice cracking.

Rather than respond, however, Rarity turned away. She climbed the stairs two steps at a time and soon enough saw the light of day… freedom.

She let out a long breath of air as soon as she jumped out of the hole in the ground. She had no idea what she had done to provoke the ghost into attacking her, or who this Discord pony was, but she didn’t care. Her wits and strength had been enough.

Knowing she would never again have to go through any of that was more than enough to make up for the pain in her leg. I’ll be safe at home in less than twenty minutes, she thought, trotting toward Ponyville and already visualizing the comfort of Carousel Boutique. And the princess can attack whomever else she so likes, and stay in that library alone for… the rest of eternity…

Despite her best efforts to forget the entire affair, she couldn’t stop picturing the forlorn princess, nor could she stop hearing her pleas to not be left alone. She came to a halt and looked back to the trapdoor, ears pressed against her head and biting her lip.

It… didn’t make sense, did it?

If the princess had wanted to kill her, wouldn’t she have done so the moment she saw Rarity? Moreover, why would the princess have saved her from the towers of falling books? There had been enough encyclopedias to knock Rarity out, and it would have been much easier to get rid of her when she was helpless to defend herself.

Why hadn’t she attacked sooner?

“So you met the princess, did you?”

She turned back to the hatch and found a stallion standing nearby. He wore a dark cloak with a cowl that covered most of his face, revealing only a warm, yet weary smile. What little she could see of his coat was more grey than the ocher yellow it must have been in his youth. Combined with the long luxurious beard, it seemed like he was far past his prime, but still light on his feet, given how far the nearest home was.

Rarity took a fearful step back, prompting the old stallion to raise his hoof. “Don’t be afraid, please! I mean no harm. I often take walks through this forest, and I was merely curious about your presence considering not many ponies dare wander near here.”

“W-who are you?” Rarity asked, taking another step back. What was it with the Everfree Forest and ponies that seemed to have been plucked straight out of fairy tales—literally? Something about the stallion made her think of the princess’ question. “Are you the Book Bringer?”

The stallion laughed. “Is that what she calls me?” He stroked his beard, smiling softly. “How delightfully fitting! My ancestors and I must have brought her thousands of books already! And if these old bones don’t give up on me yet, I may still bring hundreds more!”

Hundreds of books? That meant the Book Bringer—and apparently his entire family—must have been coming for centuries already, yet… “How is it possible she’s never seen you? It was no fewer than ten minutes before she was following me around.”

The Book Bringer tilted his head. “Ah, but you touched her books, didn’t you? You could have wandered around inside the library for weeks, and she wouldn’t have noticed your presence until you disturbed her books.” He looked past Rarity and to the trapdoor. “I’m not surprised, however! Living in that library for centuries and centuries with nothing but those books to keep her company? They are as much a part of her as she is a part of them.

He glanced at Rarity’s hoof when she hissed upon stepping forward. He shook his head and sighed. “Tsk, tsk. Still so quick to judge, aren’t we, Princess Twilight? I suppose that’s another reason I’ve delayed meeting her. I daresay I would have much more than an injured hoof if she thought I was him.”

“Him?” Rarity asked, curiosity about who the princess had mistaken her for piqued now that she was out of harm’s way.

The Book Bringer blinked at her. “Haven’t you figured it out yet?” He stroked his beard again and furrowed his brow. “Now, how did that section go?” Eyes widening, he smiled victoriously. “Ah-hah!” He straightened himself up, cleared his throat and recited: “‘The youngest princess hid in a secret library of her own design, buried underneath a growing oak tree. However, mere days before she left on her quest, a nearby villager revealed her location to the Spirit, who had been disguised as a traveling pony.’”

Of course! Why hadn’t I thought of the Spirit? Rarity asked herself. All of the princess’ accusations and reactions made sense now.

“What a terrible fate to be met with,” he went on. “Trapped in a library alone for the rest of eternity? No way out, and no one to talk with but two owls who can’t answer back? Is that any different from talking to oneself, I wonder? And now the poor filly’s fears have scared off yet another pony.” He sighed again, shaking his head. “What a lonely existence.”

The more the stallion spoke, the more Rarity felt sorry for… Princess Twilight. Could she be blamed for acting so harshly when she thought Rarity was the Spirit? And after that, how contrite she had looked over attacking her.

“Yet you’re still here!”

The Book Bringer’s sorrowful expression had vanished, replaced with an amused one. “Delightful, aren’t they, life’s coincidences? For you to have met Princess Twilight on Seeking Night of all nights? It almost feels like a fairy tale!” His smile grew. “Your very own fairy tale!”

Goodness, that did sound enticing, didn’t it? Her own personal adventure, right out of a novel. Rarity bit her lip and glanced toward the tree. “But…” She looked back to the Book Bringer. “The fairy tale… It doesn’t say a thing about how to free them—the princesses.”

“‘What the Spirit did not know, however,’” the old stallion began to recite, “‘was that, when the lost heirlooms of the Princess of Magic were returned to their rightful place in the depths of the library tree, the spell keeping the princess trapped would be broken, and peace would be restored to the land.’”

Rarity frowned, opening and closing her mouth several times. “B-but… I’ve never heard that part before,” she murmured. “That can’t be right!”

The Book Bringer chuckled. “Ponies, I’m afraid, are rather forgetful creatures, and it has been perhaps more than a thousand years since the events of the tale took place. Things become lost with time, amongst them the truth of what truly happened so long ago. I might venture to say that there must be more than fifty different versions of the tale, if not hundreds more!”

“But then which one is the right one?” Rarity asked, taking a step toward the stallion.

He merely laughed in return. “Why ask me? I wasn’t alive when it happened! I realize I don’t look very young, but I can assure you I’m not that old, filly!” he replied. “However, I luckily happen to know a regretful princess who could tell you what really happened!” He smiled and pointed down at the ground below Rarity. “I doubt she’s forgotten what led to her imprisonment, do you?”

He cleared his throat and adjusted his cape. “I must be off now, however. It’s getting late, and the missus has a ghastly temper when I stay out too late! I often worry she’d like nothing more than to blast the living daylights out of me!” he added with a wink. He cleared his throat again and turned around. “Well, then! Farew—”

“B-but wait!” Rarity called out. “If you know all this, why haven’t you tried looking for these lost heirlooms?”

The Book Bringer laughed. “Oh, I’ve tried! Without much luck, unfortunately. But you…” He smiled and stroked his beard. “I have a tingly feeling you might succeed where I failed, my little pony.”

“But how do you know all this? Why haven’t you eve—”

“Now, now, there’ll be time for that later!” he interrupted, nodding toward the tree. “So long as you continue coming here, then I promise we will see each other again! If not, then I suppose Princess Twilight will simply have to wait for another to help her, won’t she?”

With that, he trotted off, leaving Rarity alone with her thoughts and his parting words. She could leave now and go home to Ponyville, but… she wasn’t so sure she wanted to leave anymore. Could she even leave now, knowing what she knew? She turned toward the trapdoor and stared at it.

“Please don’t go.”

She couldn’t stop hearing it. What if… What if Princess Twilight was still sitting there, waiting for her to come back? Finally, sighing and sure that she must have lost her mind, Rarity used her magic to open the trapdoor and stepped inside.

Crazy is what I am, she thought, going down the stairs as fast as her injured hoof would permit. Delirious, she continued, trotting toward the light at the end of the tunnel. She tried not to think too much of what that expression usually implied.

When she reached the end of the tunnel, she waved her hoof near the entrance and, once no barrier appeared, carefully peeked inside. She found Princess Twilight sitting next to a table in the distance, the owl—Themis, was it?—hopping around and looking at the magazine with interest. All of Rarity’s other items had been picked up and put on the table, as well.

Princess Twilight sighed and levitated Rarity’s magazine, squinting at the cover. “What do you think a ‘Manehattan’ is?” she asked aloud, putting the magazine down to look at Themis, who simply hooted in reply. The princess stared at him for a moment before she picked the magazine back up and, without warning, flung it toward the wall with a frustrated breath.

But just as it was about to land against a bookcase, Princess Twilight stopped it and slowly brought it back to the table, bowing her head and sighing at the same time. Rarity almost felt offended that a magazine was receiving better treatment than she had—but then again, it had cost twenty-five bits, and maybe she was actually grateful Princess Twilight hadn’t damaged it.

“It’s a city,” Rarity said, surprising both the princess and herself with the statement. “Manehattan, it’s a city.”

The princess and Themis both turned and stared at Rarity as if she were the ghost in the room. “You’re… still here?” the princess asked, standing and walking toward Rarity. She opened and closed her mouth several times, apparently at a loss for words.

Rarity cleared her throat. “Ah, yes…” She took a tentative step inside the room, wincing as she stepped on her injured hoof. She noticed Princess Twilight winced as well—hopefully feeling some regret for what she’d done. “I… It’s not every night one meets a… princess!” Rarity continued, hoping her laugh didn’t sound as nervous to Princess Twilight as it did to her.

Princess Twilight merely stared at her with a blank expression.

Deciding to ignore the princess’ apparent shock, Rarity pointed toward her issue of Manehattanite Style: Fashion Week Collection resting on the table. “A ‘Manehattanite’ is somepony who lives in the city of Manehattan,” she elaborated, taking a step back when the alicorn took one toward her. The action did not go unnoticed by the alicorn, who quickly backtracked. After a moment, Rarity continued, “That’s the city’s bi-monthly fashion magazine.”

That seemed to be enough to snap the alicorn out of her trance. Her ears perked up almost immediately at this piece of new information. “Magazine?” She looked down at the booklet and opened it, leafing through the pages with interest. As she did so, Rarity stood around awkwardly for a minute or so until Princess Twilight started speaking again.

“I’ve never seen a book like this one! Where does the word magazine come from? And these illustrations are so vivid. Do your artists use magic to replicate life so well? Is it very advanced magic?” She picked up the magazine and tapped the cover. “What kind of parchment is this made with?” Suddenly, she teleported next to Rarity, nearly scaring her half to death, and opened the magazine again. She showed Rarity a picture of a model posing and pointed at the camera hanging from the model’s neck. “What is this?”

“Er, that’s a photographic camera,” Rarity stammered, suddenly vividly aware of the fact that it had gotten very cold with the princess next to her. “Those ‘illustrations’ are photographs taken with the camera.” She couldn’t help throwing sideways glances at the inquisitive pony, admittedly still not completely used to Princess Twilight’s sudden and drastic change in attitude. Perhaps drastic mood swings were something that came included with the whole ghost-princess package.

Does she still count as a princess if she’s been… dead for centuries? Does being transformed into a spirit count as dying? Princess Twilight certainly didn’t look dead. Weren’t ghosts supposed to be more… transparent, as well as deathly pale?

Princess Twilight nodded slowly. “Photographic camera.” She teleported back to her previous spot next to the table, sat down and then looked back toward the rows and rows of bookcases. “Elara, please bring me fresh parchment!” she called out before returning to the magazine, a large book appearing next to her on the table.

Before Rarity could even ask herself who this “Elara” pony was, her answer came in the form of a loud hoot. Another small owl—a white one, this time—flew up the staircase spiraling up from the floor below, carrying in her claws a worn-out bag with branches sticking out its opening. How in the heavens was that supposed to be fresh parchment?

Once Elara was close enough, Princess Twilight levitated the branches out of the bag, and with a spark of her horn, turned them into three sheets of parchment. She leafed through the pages of Rarity’s magazine and took notes, every once in a while opening her own book to apparently get a reference. She was completely lost in her own world and only occasionally made some comments to Themis and Elara. The latter had landed on the table and now busied herself with taking loose sheets in her beak and piling them together in a neat bunch.

With Princess Twilight completely ignoring her, Rarity took the time to properly look around now that the library was well lit. She was curious about the floor below and wondered just how deep the library actually went. How many floors filled with books and secrets lay buried beneath the ground?

And yet, she felt it would be wrong to explore the library without Princess Twilight’s consent. It was, for all intents and purposes, the princess’ home, and snooping around somepony’s home without their permission was generally considered a rude thing to do.

“Princess Twilight?” she called, trying to rouse the pony from her expedition into the world of modern fashion. Her attempt was to no avail as the princess was too busy writing down something she had read in the magazine. After a minute passed with Rarity receiving no answer or sign of having been heard, she raised her voice a bit and called again, “Er, Princess Twilight?”

Like something out of a horror story, Princess Twilight and her two owls turned to look at her with completely blank expressions. Immediately regretting having interrupted them and fighting the urge to leave right that moment, Rarity tried to clear her throat and asked: “I was wondering if I may take a look around? I’ll be sure not to move anything.”

Princess Twilight looked at the library and then to Rarity. “I… You may,” she replied finally, putting down the quill she had been writing with.

“Then, please don’t let me bother you further,” Rarity quickly said.

The princess had been pretty enraptured in whatever she had been writing, and Rarity didn’t want to be an annoyance that could be swiftly thrown against a bookcase again. She felt some modicum of relief when the princess turned back to the table and picked up the quill, but the relief quickly vanished when the princess looked at her again, apparently at a loss of what to do.

“Enjoy the magazine,” Rarity continued, hoping that would be enough to solve Princess Twilight’s dilemma.

She looked around and caught a glimpse of the staircases at the end of the row of bookcases. That was the place she wanted to look at first. Her curiosity piqued, she trotted off—or would have, if she hadn’t been reminded of her injured hoof. The second she moved, a sharp pain raced up her foreleg, and she let out a surprised, pained gasp.

This was enough for the alicorn to put down her quill. She teleported over to Rarity and was too busy looking at the injured hoof to notice the fear that flashed briefly across the unicorn’s eyes. “Does it hurt much?” Princess Twilight asked, looking up at Rarity with an expression almost bordering on concerned.

“Not at all!” Rarity lied, betrayed by involuntary winces when she trotted in circles to demonstrate how definitely not painful it was. When she stopped, she turned to the princess and laughed nervously as Princess Twilight raised her eyebrow, unimpressed by Rarity’s acting skills.

“I see.”

A book appeared next to Princess Twilight and she used her magic to quickly leaf through the pages. “There’s a healing spell here that should eliminate the pain,” she explained. She finally stopped at a page and squinted her eyes to read the fine print. “Please stay still.” She turned to look at Rarity and her horn started glowing.

Rarity wanted to stop herself, but the second she saw Princess Twilight’s horn light up, she was helpless to keep from closing her eyes and desperately crossing her forelegs in front of herself. “No, no, no! Please, no! I’m fine, please, don’t use your magic, please!” she exclaimed, backtracking despite the pain of doing so.

When she finally looked again, regret washed over her. Whereas Rarity had tried to hide her pain moments ago, Princess Twilight was unable to do so. Her ears were pressed against her skull, and more than outrage or confusion at Rarity’s reaction, there was hurt.

“P-Princess Twilight, I… I didn’t…”

“I understand.”

Just like that, every ounce of emotion vanished from her face. “I apologize,” she continued, the floating book closing instantly and disappearing. Without another word, she teleported back to the table, took the quill and started writing. Or started pretending to write, at least, considering she hadn’t dipped the quill in ink even once during the minutes that passed afterward.

Rarity felt absolutely awful. The princess had only tried to help, and what had she done? Recoiled like a terrified filly. If she left right now, Princess Twilight probably wouldn’t even try to stop her.

“Princess Twilight?” she finally called out. She swallowed hard when the alicorn suddenly stopped writing but continued to stare at her parchment. “I didn’t mean to act that way, especially when you were kind enough to offer that healing spell.”

No answer.

“Princess Twi—”

“It was my fault.”

That was the answer the princess finally gave, and Rarity only felt worse. The idea that she was now defending the action of the princess slamming her against a bookcase was a bit ridiculous, but she felt compelled to do so. “Princess, please, I rea—”

“It was my fault.” The princess was still looking down at her parchment and the quill was still floating in the air. “It was my fault,” she repeated again, giving Rarity the distinct impression that Princess Twilight was not only talking to herself, but that she was no longer referring to what she’d done to Rarity. Once more, the four words were repeated in a whisper, again and again, and again.

Rarity couldn’t bear it.

“No,” she said, loudly and clearly enough that she broke the princess from whatever trance she was trapped in. “It wasn’t your fault.”

Princess Twilight turned to look at her and asked in a curiously quiet voice: “Wasn’t it?” She turned back to the parchment and was quiet for about a minute until she finally put down the quill. “A trade,” she said.

“A trade?”

Princess Twilight looked at her. “You… were looking for a book on gemstones.” She turned back to the magazine. “Wait here.”

She teleported away, and Rarity could hear noises coming from the other side of the room. In the meantime, the two owls flew over to her and each perched themselves on her head on either side of her horn. Since when was her head all the rage with owls? Before she could answer her own question, the princess reappeared a few feet away. A single thick book floated next to her, which she promptly placed beside Rarity.

“That is the only copy available of The Complete Encyclopedia of Precious Rocks. It is the best book on gemstones I have,” she explained. Her horn glowed and a small wooden box filled with cards appeared on the floor.

Upon closer inspection, Rarity noticed the cards were filled with all kinds of information on books. Books that had been borrowed centuries ago, boasting names of ponies, addresses, borrow dates, but not a single one had a return date marked down. Does that mean those books are still out there? She suddenly remembered what the Book Bringer had said.

“What the Spirit did not know, however, was that, when the lost heirlooms of the Princess of Magic were returned to their rightful place in the depths of the library tree, the spell keeping the princess trapped would be broken, and peace would be restored to the land.”

Were… Were those books the lost heirlooms that held the key to the princess’ release?

“The library doesn’t lend books anymore. I used to let ponies take them, but I don’t think they’ll ever bring them back, and my books are the only thi—” She paused. “They’re important to me. But,” she looked at the book she’d left beside Rarity, “I can let you borrow that one, and I will borrow your bo— ‘magazine.’”

Rarity nodded, even though she had barely paid attention to a word the princess had said. There are at least thirty cards in there! Thirty books scattered around Equestria, or even beyond that! How am I expected to fi—

Since when had she even decided she’d go looking for them?

“Good,” Princess Twilight continued. “You still need to fill out a library card, just to make it official.” A new blank card appeared, as well as a quill. She looked down at the card and started to write. “Your name is Rarity, correct?” There was a moment of silence until she looked up from the card and found Rarity still staring quite intently at the contents of the wooden box.

The unicorn had been devoid of thought for a moment, but a peck from one of the owls quickly brought her back to reality. “Reality” meaning “engaged in conversation with a spirit princess.”

“Oh! Uhm, yes,” she replied, watching as the mare nodded curtly and got back to writing.

“Rarity,” she slowly repeated as she wrote. “Residence?”

Another peck to the head screeched Rarity’s train of thoughts to a halt. “P-pardon?”

“Residence,” the princess repeated tonelessly, raising an eyebrow at Rarity.

“Ponyville?”

The princess’ expression hardened. “Real residence, please.”

“Th-that is my rea—”

“Ponyville was destroyed a long time ago and several kind families were left without a home, or, considering that none ever came back for me, I assume worse,” the princess interrupted, an edge to her voice that was sharp enough to make Rarity take a step back. The princess seemed to notice this, and her expression softened a bit. She sighed and scribbled something down on the card. “What lunar month and celestial year is it?”

“‘Lunar month’ and ‘celestial year’?” Rarity asked. Which calendar was that? Rarity tried thinking back and remembered learning in school once that the Equestrian calendar had gone by a different name over a thousand years ago or so. “We… only have months and… Equestrian years,” she corrected nervously.

“You… changed that? Why would… Oh.” The princess went silent, staring down at the quill and card. Without looking up, she quietly said: “What happened to Prin—” She stopped and shook her head.

“What happened to who?” Rarity prompted nevertheless.

Princess Twilight looked up. “Who raises the sun and the moon every day?”

“Raise the sun and moon?”

What did that have to do with— Rarity’s train of thoughts came to a halt yet again as she remembered the fairy tale of olden times.

The eldest princesses, sisters as beautiful and immortal as the sun and moon which they raised, ruled the kingdom in unison.

Oh.

Rarity realized then that Princess Twilight probably had no idea what had happened after her imprisonment. She didn’t know the Spirit had fled the land, nor that the other princesses were… trapped somewhere in Equestria. All she had to go on were whatever books the Book Bringer had brought.

What did Princess Twilight know? What else didn’t she know? And, perhaps most importantly, why hadn’t she asked about the outside already?

“Does somepony raise the sun and moon?” Princess Twilight asked, snapping Rarity out of her thoughts.

“Princess Denza,” Rarity replied, hoping the princess’ next question had to do with what happened centuries ago. “She raises both the moon and the sun.”

The princess looked surprised by this revelation. “Princess Denza?”

Rarity nodded slowly. “Princess Cadenza Armor X. She and the rest of the Armor family have been our monarchs for centuries, and they’ve raised the moon and sun with each generation,” she elaborated. It was tradition that the new ruling princess would lower the sun and raise the moon for the first time during her coronation.

Princess Cadenza Armor the Ninth had died around twenty years ago, and it was then that Princess Cadenza the Tenth—or Princess Denza, as she preferred—became the ruling princess. Rarity had been only a filly when it happened, so to her great regret, she had not been able to attend the event.

“…Cadenza Armor?” the princess repeated slowly. “So Cadance and Shining Armor did manage to…” Her ears fell, and there was something in her expression…

Sadness.

Sadness and pain unlike Rarity had ever imagined somepony could hold in their gaze—more so even than when she had refused the princess’ healing spell. In that moment, Rarity’s curiosity over the fairy tale was washed away and forgotten. The princess’ gaze had become lost, unfocused, distant, but to Rarity, it was clear. Her eyes were windows leading to the soul of a pony forgotten by the ages, and Rarity could only watch and let herself be overwhelmed by an inexplicable and suffocating desire to comfort the alicorn.

But she couldn’t.

“I… I…” Princess Twilight took another step back, blinking quickly.

Blinking back tears, perhaps?

The cards and quill were teleported away and landed on a far-off table, while the princess kept taking steps back. “I… I have to leave,” she stammered, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths. “The return date is in seven days.”

For the first time that night, Rarity wasn’t happy to see the princess back away from her. “Yes, but, Prince—”

“Will you come back?” she interrupted, opening her eyes to look at Rarity. Like before, she seemed to be pleading.

Rarity paused for a moment. “I, I promise, but—”

But the princess was gone, having teleported away the moment she had Rarity’s response, taking with her all the answers Rarity sought. Gone before Rarity could even ask what was wrong, or try and make sense of things.

The two owls flew away and into the depths of the library, no doubt going after their master. Seconds after they left, the magic chandelier floating above flickered and everything around Rarity turned dark. She watched as the lone candelabra hovered down to the floor, illuminating the book Princess Twilight had left. She lifted it with her magic and trotted toward the door, the candelabra floating beside her and lighting her way.

Except…

She stopped, turned and headed for the table where Princess Twilight had left the library cards. The candelabra illuminated the table, allowing her to take the cards and go through them, reading through the names. She finally landed on a card about a book on weather patterns borrowed by a certain Bitterwind Cinder who lived in the… eastern port town? Her memories of school geography were admittedly not very good, but wasn’t the area surrounding Fillydelphia once considered one of Equestria’s major ports several centuries ago?

And hadn’t Snowy Cinder, this year’s Seeking Night’s Princess Selene, moved from Fillydelphia to Ponyville several years ago?

She put the book down, took a blank card, and wrote down the information on it. It wasn’t until she had a perfect copy of the library card that she stopped to think a bit about what she had done and what it meant. Was she really ready to find those books? Could they even be found? And, most importantly, did she even want to find them?

“So long as you continue coming here, then I promise we will see each other again! If not, then I suppose Princess Twilight will simply have to wait for another to help her, won’t she?”

What if no pony ever came to help Princess Twilight? It was these doubts that ultimately forced Rarity to take her new library card and put it in her saddlebag, along with the rest of its contents save for her magazine and the crown. Those, she left on the desk for the alicorn. She instead levitated her newly borrowed book and finally trotted off toward the exit tunnel again, the candelabra following behind.

She stepped into the tunnel and made her way through it until several thuds and the sudden absence of light made her come to a stop. She looked around and saw the candelabra floating on the other side of the entrance. It made a move to go to her, but to her shock, the same barrier that had stopped the princess appeared and did the same to the candelabra. She watched as the candelabra tried again, and again, and again to leave the library only for the barrier to stop it again, and again, and again.

Why hadn’t the barrier stopped her, too?

She felt rather sorry for the poor thing, watching as it tried to follow her out. However, there was not much to be done about it, it seemed, and she finally turned away, lighting up her horn and trotting off until the thuds in the distance stopped. She went up the spiral staircase and out of the tree, closing the trapdoor behind her. It felt to her like she spent at least five minutes staring at the trapdoor before looking up at the plaque hammered on the tree.

Donated by Princess Twilight Sparkle

She lifted her right forehoof and brushed it against the name of the princess, but her thoughts were interrupted and her ears perked up as she heard somepony calling her name in the distance. Hoof still on the plaque, she looked back toward the general direction of the sound. How long had she been gone?

How long until she was back?

Would she even be back?

She let her hoof fall to the ground and turned away from the tree, trotting toward the edge of the hole and climbing out with some difficulty. She cantered toward the direction of the distant calling of her name, ignoring the inner voice that told her to go back to the tree, down the stairs, and into the lost library with its lonely princess.

Memories of the princess kept floating around in her mind. From how she saved Rarity, to how she pleaded for her to stay, to the offer of the trade, and to that last expression that betrayed not only centuries and centuries of sadness, but also a loneliness the likes of which Rarity had never seen before.

A loneliness that would haunt her thoughts when she’d go back home with Fluttershy and Diamond Dusk. A loneliness that would haunt her dreams that night, beckoning her to return to the library. A loneliness that would haunt her to the very core and would take the shape of a promise to return and a single name she’d never again be able to forget.

Twilight Sparkle.

The Princess in the Library.

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters. Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act I ~ 04 ~ The Princess Parade ~

“Shining Armor, I… I don’t think he will surrender peacefully…”

“Princess Celestia wouldn’t do it if she didn’t think it would work, Twilight.”

“But… I’m afraid… If it doesn’t work, Princess Celestia told me I’ll have to… What if I can’t stop him? What if I can’t wield the Eleme—”

“Twily, if it comes to that, you will be able to stop him. And remember, Cadance and I will be here to help you always.”

“An instant camera?”

Rarity smiled and nodded, levitating the camera in the air for Princess Twilight to look at. “A Spectral System Go-Pro, to be exact,” Rarity recited, quoting the salespony she’d bought it from.

Princess Twilight didn’t seem nearly as excited as Rarity felt. Judging by how she’d backtracked several steps, it quickly became apparent she was actually wary of the foreign object. The way her ears perked up and the way she tilted her head, on the other hoof, were clear signs of the fascination and curiosity that the small device evoked.

Just a few snaps and Rarity would have undeniable, irrevocable, and unquestionable proof that Princess Twilight was not a figment of her imagination, thank you very much. Proof tangible enough that she could take it to Princess Denza herself. After all, the trip to Canterlot she and Fluttershy had been planning for weeks was just a few days away, and it would be the perfect chance to get the princess’ help.

She lowered the camera and delicately brushed her hoof against it as though it were the finest Saddle Arabian silk. Honestly, with how much it had cost, it might as well have been.

She floated her saddlebag over, took out the camera’s instruction manual, and flipped through its pages. “I was assured it is the best available model, and that it will take pictures of—” She looked at Princess Twilight and smiled deviously. “—absolutely anything.”

Her sentence barely finished, the instruction manual vanished from her magical hold and reappeared in front of the princess. The parchment she’d been using for unknown words from Rarity’s magazines appeared as well, which the princess added to as she read.

Rarity decided she might as well test the camera out now that her ghostly model was engrossed in her reading. She pointed the lens toward Princess Twilight, looked into the viewfinder and… saw nopony?

“Princess?” she asked, looking up and finding the princess gone. However, after a quick glance around, she spotted Princess Twilight standing next to a wall, wings flared up and staring at Rarity wide-eyed. “O-oh, I beg your pardon, I didn’t mean to frighten you!”

The camera’s lens quickly lowered, and Rarity coughed awkwardly. Perhaps pointing unknown objects at an easily excitable alicorn prone to throwing ponies against bookcases was not the brightest idea she’d ever had.

The manual appeared once more beside the princess. “…Does it hurt?” she asked, glancing back and forth between the camera and the booklet.

Though Rarity understood why the princess would ask that, it was hard to stifle her amused giggle. “Not in the least!” she exclaimed brightly, pointing the lens at herself, smiling and almost snapping another picture. It wasn’t that she was opposed to preserving photographs of her youthful self, but she had a much better idea. “Why don’t you try, Princess Twilight?” She turned to the alicorn and levitated the camera toward her. “Now that you’ve read the theory, perhaps practice will be more interesting?”

Princess Twilight’s expression lit up, and she carefully took the camera within her magical grasp. The fascination with which she looked at the instant camera was something Rarity had an easy time finding adorable, and she would have said as much if she knew the princess better. Princess Twilight, still oblivious to Rarity’s amused gaze, studied the instructions before pointing the camera toward a nearby desk.

With the click of a button, the photograph ejected itself from the camera and into Princess Twilight’s magical grip. She stared at the picture, her eyes wide, for about thirty seconds. “This…” She drifted off and turned toward Rarity, flipping the picture around to show a black square. “Nothing is happening.” She levitated the instructions again and read, her brow furrowed. “Why is it not working?”

Rarity bit her lip, giggling when the princess gave her a helpless glance. Goodness, it was cute seeing the princess be baffled by modern technology, wasn’t it? “Be patient, Princess, it’s not truly instantaneous. Why not give it a little shake?” she advised, doing a similar motion with her hoof.

Princess Twilight didn’t seem convinced, but she nevertheless gently shook the picture before drawing it close to her face, eyebrows scrunched up. As the seconds passed, Rarity’s smile grew as the princess’ eyes widened and her mouth took the shape of an O.

“This is— How did— What magic—” Princess Twilight stumbled on her own words, her thoughts obviously flying at a pace her mouth couldn’t follow. She teleported next to Rarity and showed her the photograph of the desk, still rambling on in stunned, incomplete sentences.

“Oh! What a lovely picture of the desk,” Rarity exclaimed, taking it with her hoof to have a closer look. In reality, only half the desk was actually in frame, but an expert photographer wasn’t simply born as such, after all. “Would you like to take another one?”

Before she’d even finished her question, Princess Twilight was already looking for the next subject of her photograph. “Uhm…” She looked at Rarity for a minute, and the unicorn couldn’t help but strike a dazzling pose. Princess Twilight instead turned away, leaving a disappointed Rarity behind, and pointed the lens at Elara, who was resting on top of a desk.

No matter, I can take plenty of pictures of myself, Rarity thought theatrically, still smiling despite the little pang of disappointment. She watched as the princess took a picture of Elara, and couldn’t stifle a laugh when Princess Twilight furiously shook the picture in an attempt to develop it faster.

The second it did, the princess once again rushed to get Rarity’s “expert” assessment.

“My, how pretty!” she exclaimed, admiring the photograph of a perplexed Elara staring back at the camera. Now that Princess Twilight seemed thrilled by the concept of photographs, Rarity wondered if she ought to finally see about getting a picture of the royal herself. “Princess Twilight, would you like me to take your photograph?” she asked, carefully grasping the camera with her hooves and watching as Princess Twilight’s magical aura dissipated.

“All right.”

Rarity took several steps back, putting some space between them and pointing the camera at the princess. Looking through the viewfinder presented Rarity with an amusing sight: Princess Twilight’s entire body was visibly stiff as she stood, her ears were pressed against her head, and she had one eye closed while the other remained open.

A laugh escaped Rarity and she smiled sheepishly when Princess Twilight glared at her. “Sorry, Princess. Now, relax; I promise you that this won’t hurt one bit.”

Despite her reassurances, the princess still seemed uncomfortable. Ears flattened against her skull, half hiding behind her mane, half ready to flee at the first sign of trouble. Rarity had a more firm hold on the second laugh that bubbled up from within. Whoever didn’t think I was crazy before will most certainly think that I am when I tell them an incredibly powerful spirit is afraid of a camera, she thought with a smile.

“Now, say ‘cheese,’ Princess.”

“Cheese?”

The flash went off and the picture that came out of the camera was nothing short of comical. There she was: Princess Twilight Sparkle, the immortal, captive spirit of the tree library, looking as though there was a fly on her nose. Rarity bit her lip and showed the picture to the princess, who immediately grabbed ahold of it, gazing at it intently for a moment before glaring at Rarity.

“I look ridiculous!” she said accusingly, flaring her wings in apparent agitation.

“I’m sorry, Princess,” Rarity replied, unable to help the few chuckles that came out of her mouth. “Would you… I mean… should I take a few more? I’m sure we’ll get better pictures once you get used to it.”

She was almost afraid that the princess would say no after a minute of silence passed, during which the princess frowned thoughtfully. “All right then, but if I look ridiculous again I will—”

“This time will be much better, Princess, I promise you. Just pretend as though this is for a highly important event, and you would like to present yourself in the best light.”

“A-all right.”

Rarity’s words had a stronger effect on the princess than she expected them to. Gone was the awkward fear that had made the first picture into just a laugh-worthy experience. Princess Twilight circled around on the spot a few times, trying dozens of different poses for half a second each before changing her mind and moving again. She put one hoof in front of the others, flaring out her wings to their maximum length, and took a deep breath. “Right, this is… no, wait…” She flapped her wings twice, giving each of them a once-over before taking another deep breath. “All right… I’m ready.”

Rather than smile, she decided on a serene expression, face framed by her mane, which almost seemed to make a conscious effort to do so. One lock of hair disagreed with the rest and came loose, hanging in front of her left eye.

Whatever Princess Twilight’s intentions had been, Rarity was impressed. She’s quite stunning, isn’t she? It took a minute of gawking for Rarity to finally look into the viewfinder and snap two photographs. Once developed, she was pleased to see Twilight was just as impressive in them as she’d been when posing for them. It seemed the princess, too, was satisfied with the picture she was given, nodding approvingly at it.

Pictures in tow, Princess Twilight quickly trotted over to the table where she’d left the guide and continued reading, giving Rarity the much-needed opportunity to hold her own photographic tour of the library.

“I’ll be right back, Princess,” Rarity announced, trotting off and leaving the alicorn to continue examining the pictures and reading.

If she was to prove to Princess Denza that Princess Twilight was not a figment of her imagination, she’d need proof of not only the princess, but of the library. Feeling much more confident about wandering the library by herself, she went on her own personal photographic tour: the maze, the floating chandeliers, anything and everything she thought would help prove her case. By the time she had finished, Rarity ended up near a small desk hidden away on the first floor, parchments, and quills scattered on it.

“Rarity.”

“Oh!” The princess’s sudden appearance half-frightened Rarity to death, but she was able to collect herself quickly. She cleared her throat and smiled. “Yes, Princess?”

The princess glanced at the camera. “May I borrow your device again?”

“Of course, Princess! Be my guest,” she said, hoofing the machine over to the princess. “I’m delighted you like the camera so much.”

Princess Twilight merely thanked her before teleporting away again, giving Rarity the opportunity to inspect the desk. On the wall hung a calendar and clock, both things Rarity had brought to help the princess get organized and keep track of time. She was pleased to see the princess had already filled in the following week with all sorts of tasks, but one whole day was curiously empty.

She lowered her gaze and found her very own copy of Legends and Myths of Equestria lying alongside several sheets of parchment. Despite Princess Twilight’s negativity, she’d brought the book to the library regardless, hoping to coax the alicorn into releasing any helpful information. She looked toward the parchment and realized they were all annotations, corrections, and questions pertaining to the legend.

In other words, just what she needed.

“Let’s see,” she muttered, squinting her eyes as she read. “Journal entry number one thousand six hund—”

“Rarity!”

Practically jumping away from the table in fright, Rarity turned around and found Princess Twilight behind her again, a particularly unimpressed expression on her face. Oh dear, why did I have to look at her things? Wonderful job, Rarity, you’ve upset the ghost of an overpowered alicorn princess. Do put that in your résumé.

“Pr-Princess Twilight!” she exclaimed, looking from the research notes to the princess. “I— H-have you come to show me your pictures?”

Princess Twilight briefly glanced at the desk before looking back to Rarity and shaking her head. “I…” She looked unsure of how to continue her sentence, and Rarity could have sworn she saw a blush grace the alicorn’s cheeks. “Will you be leaving soon?”

“Relatively soon, yes,” she replied, furrowing her brow. Had… she crossed a line somewhere? “Why? Would you like for me to leave now?”

Princess Twilight shook her head. “No. I just… I don’t know if your camera will be ready by the time you leave.” She looked at the floor and frowned, seemingly upset. “I am having trouble reassembling it.”

Rarity raised her eyebrow. “Reassembling my camera?”

Princess Twilight nodded quietly and signaled for Rarity to follow her. They made their way through the rows of bookcases until they reached a table at the main entrance, on which Elara occupied herself by rearranging the pieces of what had been Rarity’s new and expensive camera a mere thirty minutes ago.

“I thought there would be assembly instructions in the book you provided, but…” She levitated the pieces and gave them a closer look.

“That’s… That’s because… It’s not meant to be disassembled…” Rarity said quietly, watching as Princess Twilight put the pieces back on the table with a crestfallen “oh.”

If all her years in the fashion industry hadn’t helped her perfect the art of the “poker face,” Rarity might not have been able to mask her horror. She felt faint of heart, levitating the broken camera pieces and staring at them. If it hadn’t cost her a thousand bits, she’d have let the pieces fall to the ground instead of slowly putting them back on the table.

“I… I…” She leaned back a bit, her knees faltering but not giving in solely because she did not have a chaise longue to actually faint on. Heaven knew how long the library had gone without a proper cleaning. She took a deep breath and rested her hoof on her cheek. The only possible comfort she found was that Princess Twilight hadn’t known better. Probably. “I suppose there’s nothing to be done… Almost a thousand bits down the drain…”

“A thousand bits?!” the princess asked in shock, glancing back and forth between the disassembled camera and Rarity with a look of complete and utter horror. She waved her hoof wildly in the air, as if trying to figure out what to say. “But you could purchase a… a small cottage near the castle with that!” she sputtered.

Rarity couldn’t help but giggle at the princess’ horror even despite her own. “Not anymore you can’t. I’m afraid the value of bits has greatly diminished in the last thousand years, Princess,” she explained, throwing her camera one last sorrowful glance. It wouldn’t be in her best interest to dwell on it too much, so she quickly moved on to other things.

Namely, her keys to freeing Princess Twilight.

“Right then, I’ll take my cards and be on my way,” she announced, grabbing a stack of thirty cards upon which she’d copied the information to all of Twilight’s lost books. “It’s already rather late, and I promised my mother I’d look after my sister Sweetie Belle tonight.” Since that usually included Scootaloo, it meant she would have less time to pack for the trip.

“Don’t forget my book!” Princess Twilight quickly said, a large volume floating next to her as she trotted behind Rarity.

Rarity blinked. She’d completely forgotten about the book, mostly because it was Princess Twilight who had insisted she borrow it. “Princess, it’s kind of you to allow me to take out so many books, but I’ll be busy packing so I don—”

“Return date is in four days,” Princess Twilight interrupted, forcefully pushing the book against Rarity’s saddlebag. Why was she so insistent on it? And why did the number of days keep shortening? “You will be back from your trip by then, won’t you?”

Rarity nodded, putting the book inside her saddlebag and stopping right in front of the exit tunnel. “I will! Saturday night, to be exact. I promise I’ll make sure to stop by first thing Sunday morning, if that’s all right with you.”

Princess Twilight nodded several times before trotting back toward the table where the camera’s remains were. Rarity watched her levitate all the camera pieces and in a flash, they and the princess disappeared. She’d already become accustomed to the princess never saying goodbye, so she simply shrugged it off and stepped into the tunnel.

“Oh, Rarity, wait!”

Rarity stopped in her tracks and looked back into the library, finding the princess standing several feet behind.

“Yes, Princess?”

Princess Twilight shifted awkwardly for a moment. “Oh, uh… farewell.”

Rarity couldn’t stop herself from giggling. “Farewell, Princess Twilight,” she said, bowing slightly for good measure.

That said, Princess Twilight nodded and teleported away, prompting Rarity to playfully shake her head and continue down the tunnel.

Sunday it is.

The city of Canterlot was quite possibly one of Rarity’s favorite places, if only because of how dearly she longed to live within its white walls.

Sophisticated theatre, exciting races, extravagantly elegant shops, architecturally magnificent restaurants, beautiful gardens, and the top ponies could all be found in Equestria’s capital. Not to mention all the hours of shopping, visiting museums, and just trotting around the city feeling like the crème de la crème. In many ways, being in Canterlot felt like a fairy tale to her, and considering her new purpose behind the trip, she might as well consider herself the protagonist of Equestria’s newest fairy tale.

And that particular fairy tale would begin, like all good stories should, with an audience with royalty.

Three princesses lost to the ages were locked away around the kingdom. Legend told that the princess of the sun was near a raging waterfall, the princess of the moon was trapped inside her very own mountain, and the last princess was locked away inside an underground library.

For now, however, sightseeing was Rarity’s top priority.

Even if she was going to go look for them, her entire existence would not revolve around the princesses. She had a life to keep up with, and as horrid as it sounded, the princesses weren’t going anywhere. She and Fluttershy had a very busy schedule ahead, and she had no intention of spoiling a nice trip with her best friend.

“Oh, Fluttershy! Look at this necklace!” Rarity gasped, pointing excitedly at an emerald necklace on display in one of the stands of Canterlot’s largest flea market.

Rows and rows of stands offering all kinds of objects were spread throughout an enormous plaza. With how crowded the place was, it would take at least several hours to get through them all—not that Rarity minded the crowd, of course. She had brought her best sapphire necklace from back home just for the occasion, and she couldn’t say she didn’t delight in all the mares gawking at it—which she knew they would. Just because she was from Ponyville didn’t mean she couldn’t dress like she was from Canterlot, no?

“Oh, and look at this one!” she continued, pointing at a ruby necklace on display. Nothing like the ones she’d found, but very pretty nevertheless.

When the only reply she received was a giggle, she glanced around and noticed Fluttershy looking at one of the pictures from the library. The pegasus’ giggling made it easy to guess which photograph it was.

“A most graceful princess, isn’t she?” Rarity asked with a laugh, turning back toward the stand. While she couldn’t show that particular picture to Princess Denza for obvious reasons, it didn’t mean she couldn’t keep it for herself. A nice and comedic way to remember the beginning of… my… friendship? with Princess Twilight. Funny, who’d have ever thought I’d call a ghost my friend one day.

Fluttershy nodded, giggling softly. “Very graceful.”

The train ride from Ponyville to Canterlot had been spent subjecting Fluttershy to even more stories about the princess, as well as Rarity’s decision to seek out the other two alicorns. She hadn’t been surprised at her friend’s reluctance at the idea of her traveling through Equestria on a potentially dangerous mission, but the pictures of Princess Twilight had shifted Fluttershy’s apprehension somewhat. As Rarity had hoped, offering real, tangible proof of Princess Twilight seemed to work wonders on getting other ponies to believe her tale.

“After this, we’re going to Floral Faune’s, right?” Fluttershy asked, trotting over and hoofing the photographs back to Rarity. Visiting Floral Faune’s, a store that specialized in the care of wildflowers, had been the only request of the pegasus. Considering their schedule was practically packed with things Rarity needed to do, she’d be remiss to deny her friend’s only errand.

“Of course, darling! And after that, we must stop by that quaint ice cream shop down by Fifth Avenue. I’ve heard the ice cream they make is simply divine,” Rarity said, looking away from the necklaces and continuing on her path.

It was then that she noticed books for sale at a stand further away. Perhaps, if she was very lucky, she’d find one of Princess Twilight’s books!

“I’m going ahead, Fluttershy!” she called back, cantering toward the stand.

The stand, boasting a sign decorated with the title “Winter & Spring’s Travelling Books,” was managed by an elderly pegasus mare. Despite her age, she still retained a vibrant ochre-colored coat, and the glasses she wore gave off an elegant intellectual appearance. The stand itself was simple, which was understandable considering they had to be set up and torn down quickly.

“Oh my, what a stunning necklace!” the mare exclaimed, clapping her hooves together and squinting her eyes to take a closer look at Rarity’s sapphire jewelry. “I’ve never seen any like it!”

“It’s quite unique, isn’t it?” Rarity replied, absentmindedly stroking her necklace while taking a look at the stand’s goods.

At least thirty old-looking books were neatly placed on the stand. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they all somehow turned out to be Princess Twilight’s lost books? Rarity took out her stack of cards and started looking through them, trying to find a matching title with the books on the stand.

“Can I help you, dear?” the mare asked, rearranging the books to help Rarity go through them faster.

“Ah, thank you!” Rarity replied, acknowledging the gesture by smiling quickly at the mare before going back to her cross-checking. “And that’s kind of you to offer, but it’s quite all right. I…” She put down her cards with a crestfallen sigh. “I’m afraid you don’t have any of the books I’m looking for.”

In a way, she couldn’t say she was completely devastated, as it would have been far too much coincidence for a book over a thousand years old to be— A thousand years old? She looked at the book on the stands: worn-out, the leather they had been bound in falling to pieces, the pages stained from use. It had only just occurred to her that there was no feasible way Princess Twilight’s books had survived the passing of time. Even more so if they were scattered across the land instead of carefully preserved.

Rarity’s heart fell. Does… Does that mean she can’t be freed?

“Oh dear, I understand the pain of not finding a book you want, but there’s no need for that sad face! Come, come, let me look at your cards,” she asked, gesturing with her hoof. When a dismayed Rarity did as instructed, the elder mare inspected the cards through squinted eyes. “I’m sorry, dear, I don’t recognize most of these titles,” she said after a minute, but before Rarity’s dramatic sigh left her lips, she continued: “There is one that seems familiar, however!”

“There is?”

The mare nodded, jotting down the title from the card on a stray piece of paper. “Why don’t you come back next Friday? My husband and I will be leaving town soon, but if I find it, I could bring it here when the market returns.”

“Oh, that would be splendid!” Rarity exclaimed, immediately cheering up. “Though unfortunately, I don’t live here. I’m visiting from Ponyville.”

The mare smiled at that. “Ponyville, you say? My husband is very fond of Ponyville,” she said, returning the cards to Rarity. “He goes there once a year to visit. I often wonder if I should go with him since he somehow always leaves a book while he’s there! I sometimes think he’s just giving them away,” she added, shaking her head playfully. “As for the book, I might be able to meet with you tomorrow afternoon, if you’d like. We’d have to set up a time and place.”

“Oh, thank you! How kind of you!” Rarity exclaimed, trying not to get her hopes up too much. She’d get excited once she saw the book, not before.

Minutes later, once the information had been exchanged and a meeting time arranged, Rarity and Fluttershy went on their way. Or would have gone on their way had they not been interrupted by the sound of distant trumpets. Ponies around them gasped in surprise and quickly hurried off, leaving Rarity and Fluttershy to look around in confusion.

“Ah, sounds like the princess is back from her visit to Saddle Arabia!” the elder mare exclaimed. “You better hurry along if you want a chance to see her!”

Before Fluttershy could even express her excitement, Rarity took her by the hoof and galloped away, thanking the elder mare in the process. She had thought the princess would be back already, but there was simply no way she would miss the opportunity to see the princess now that it had fallen into her lap, as it were.

The two mares made their way through the crowds of tourists and locals, all clamoring to get a glimpse of the event. The distant sound of the marching band only got louder and louder the closer they got, drowning out the noise of the excited ponies and Fluttershy’s hasty apologies as Rarity relentlessly pushed her way through the crowd. When they finally reached the edge of the sidewalk, the two mares carefully maneuvered around ponies and watched.

Colts and fillies climbed up on their parents to get a better view of the spectacle, mares swooned and giggled at the dashing soldiers, elder ponies grumbled about the monarchy becoming an excessively loud entertainment show; the excitement of the crowd was contagious to Rarity. All of it added to her already fervent desire to be a part of that world of show and prestige, glamour and glitz.

Soldiers of all ranks and types marched down the streets in orderly lines, led by the blaring trumpets of the royal marching band. All the costumes and uniforms, perfectly crafted, perfectly designed; how she envied the pony in charge of the royal wardrobe. Her heart beat to the rhythm of the soldier’s loud hoofsteps, her eyes glued to the corner of the street in hopes of catching the first glimpse of the royal chariot.

And, with some surprise afterward, she caught herself wishing Princess Twilight could be there to see.

Her thoughts were dispelled, however, by the sound of another loud trumpet and the effusive screams of the crowd, signaling the arrival of the royal couple.

Princess Cadenza Armor the Tenth and her husband, Prince Silver Lance, entered the street sitting on a beautiful golden chariot. Prince Silver Lance, a magnificent unicorn with a lovely blue coat and a pearl white mane, raised his forehoof, his cape falling off his shoulder as he did so. The crowd immediately fell silent in reply, every single eye staring down the couple.

Once all was quiet, Princess Denza stood upon the chariot, and Rarity felt her heart skip a beat. Though Princess Twilight was, well, a princess, she didn’t send chills down Rarity’s spine for the same reason Princess Denza did. She was the princess Rarity had heard of her entire life, the one she had dreamed of meeting and, heavens allow it, work for in the castle, days upon days designing elegant gowns for Equestria’s beloved princess.

“She’s soooo pretty,” sighed a filly sitting by Rarity’s hooves, gawking up at Denza as if she were a porcelain doll.

The princess had inherited her pale pink coat from her mother, and her grandmother before that. It glistened under the sunlight, complemented perfectly by the silver silk cape that hung on her body and covered her cutie mark. Her violet mane was tied up in a complicated-looking bun, hiding away the pink streaks accenting her mane that were only visible on the rare occasions she let it down in public.

Princess Denza smiled brilliantly and waved, cheers of admiration erupting from the enthusiastic crowd—amongst which were Rarity and Fluttershy. The princess and prince waved with all the grace and finesse expected of them. Prince Silver Lance leaned in to whisper something to his wife, and she laughed, nuzzling against him for a second. Oh, how perfect they were, the royal couple.

She would never admit it, of course, but Rarity was oh so envious of them. In a way, wasn’t that the dream of so many mares? How she wished to be in that golden chariot, sitting alongside a handsome prince—the love of her life—waving away at an adoring crowd. How she dreamt of having her prince whisper things in her ears, making her laugh and feel blissful in every sense of the word, in every aspect of her life.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful?

She stirred from her daydream to the sound of a trumpet and watched as the chariot and soldiers continued on their path. Her eyes were still glued to the princess all the way up until the chariot disappeared around the corner of the street. The crowds started to disperse now that the princess and prince were gone. Most wouldn’t see them until the next parade, but Rarity?

Rarity would see them very soon.

Right after visiting Fluttershy’s shop, of course.

“I think we should be close to the plaza the guard mentioned,” Fluttershy announced, leading Rarity inside one of Canterlot’s many alleys. A guard had told them the shop could be found near the statue of The Teacher, but they hadn’t had much luck yet. “He said the statue wouldn’t be difficult to recognize.”

Admittedly, Rarity was not being much help. Her mind kept wandering back to Princess Denza, rehearsing over and over the eloquent speech with which she was going to convince the princess to help… the other Princess. Did Princess Denza believe in the fairy tale? She was a descendant of one of the princesses, was she not? She of all ponies had to be a believer.

“Oh, there it is!”

Fluttershy’s voice snapped Rarity out of her thoughts. She saw they had arrived at a small plaza with a large statue sitting in the middle. The place was oddly empty considering it was tourist season for Canterlot, but Rarity wasn’t complaining. Well, maybe a little, considering it meant nopony could admire her necklace.

Fluttershy immediately sped off toward the shop, leaving Rarity behind. Wildflowers weren’t really her area of expertise, so she decided to take a closer look at the magnificent marble statue. As she got closer to it, she noticed a faint blue magical aura permeating the statue, no doubt to preserve it from any kind of damage.

The statue depicted a beautiful alicorn princess and a small filly. The princess, sitting on her hind legs, looked down at the filly with a kind smile, her wing carefully draped around the younger pony. Though it was marble, the alicorn princess seemed as though she could come to life at any moment.

The unicorn filly herself was looking up at the princess with a bright smile. Curious… She seems vaguely familiar… Rarity thought, tilting her head and squinting her eyes. If it weren’t for the lack of wings, absent cutie mark, and the fact that the filly was actually smiling, she’d have a striking resemblance to Princess Twilight. Perhaps the princess’ manecut was all the rage in olden times. The base of the statues was decorated with several carvings of the sun. There was an inscription on it, as well.

The Teacher

“Nice statues, aren’t they?”

Rarity turned to find a pegasus guard standing next to her. Where had he come from? “Oh, uhm, yes! They are quite nice indeed.”

When their eyes met, he took off his helmet to reveal a dark blue mane that went wonderfully with his dark grey coat. “You must be from outta town. You and your friend seemed kinda lost earlier. You passed by my patrol station twice,” he explained, grinning cheekily. “Three times and I’d have stopped you to ask if you needed help.”

Rarity’s cheeks turned red. Great, she’d acted like a clueless tourist in front of an attractive guard. She certainly was on the right path to meeting Prince Charming.

“Oh, well, it’s been some time since I was here last,” she said, laughing nervously and playing with her mane. “But we found it eventually! No rescuing necessary!” When the guard grinned at her, she turned to the statue before her cheeks became even redder. “The teacher and her student, I suppose. It’s rare to see a statue of an alicorn that isn’t Princess Denza.”

“There’s two more alicorn statues, actually. The Dream Watcher is near here. It’s my favorite.” He paused and nodded toward one of the exit alleys. “I could take you to see it, if you want! And your friend too, of course,” he quickly added.

My, my! Rarity, perhaps you might find your Prince Charming yet!

Rarity raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Oh dear, but didn’t you say you were on patrol? I certainly wouldn’t want to get you into any trouble!”

The guard blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Right… I guess my offer could take place after my shift ends?” he asked, receiving only a giggle in reply. He cleared his throat and played around with his helmet. “So, what brings you to the capital?”

Rarity straightened herself up. “Well, if you must know, my best friend and I had been planning to come for a while now,” she explained. She paused for dramatic effect and added, “And I’m hoping to be granted an audience with Princess Denza.”

His expression shifted into a serious one. “Oh? At what time? I’ll be on guest escort duty tonight.”

“Oh, er, well… I don’t have an appointment scheduled as of yet,” she admitted, shifting uncomfortably when he raised his eyebrows.

“You don’t?” he asked, surprised. “What, were you planning on walking right up to the castle, use your bewitching looks and charm to get yourself an audience with Princess Denza?” he teased, a grin returning to his face.

Rarity giggled foalishly at the subtle compliment. “Perhaps…” she admitted. Truth be told, she had considered taking it to the royal court, but she wasn’t sure she’d like talking about Princess Twilight in front of so many ponies. It would probably be Sunday by the time she’d finished showing the pictures to everypony in the room. “Would you know where and when I may schedule an appointment for today?”

The stallion shook his head and sucked his teeth. “I’m sorry to say it’s too late for today. You can only schedule an appointment at noon. I would suggest you wait until tomorrow and head to the castle before then. The head secretary is always in the lobby during that time, so you just have to talk to her.”

Rarity’s ears fell at the news. “But… My train home leaves tomorrow evening! I would need to see Princess Denza just a few hours after I’ve made the appointment, and that’s practically impossible!”

“Why don’t you stay until Sunday, then? Your friend wouldn’t mind staying here another day, would she?”

As much as Rarity would have loved staying another day in Canterlot, she knew it was infeasible. “I can’t,” she said, shaking her head and sighing deeply. “I’m meeting with somepony back home on Sunday. It would be terribly rude of me to not show up to see her after I promised I would.” She groaned and put a hoof to her forehead. Organizing another trip to Canterlot would be a hassle, and it didn’t help that she’d already spent a great deal of money on… her broken camera.

“Don’t give up!” the guard said encouragingly, putting his helmet back on and winking. “Maybe luck will be on your side!”

“Am I to assume ‘Luck’ is your name?” Rarity asked with her most dazzling smile.

The stallion laughed and shook his head. “No, the name’s Rift Shield. But I’m sure it must mean luck in some language,” he insisted. “I do have to go now, though.” He then bowed to Rarity, eliciting another string of giggles from her, and started to trot away. “Next time we meet, I’ll be the one taking you to the princess, Miss Lost Visitor!”

“I do have a name, you know!” she called back.

“And I can’t wait to find out what it is!”

And with that, Rift Shield disappeared into an alley, missing Fluttershy by less than a minute. The ecstatic pegasus left her store carrying no fewer than three bags filled with all sorts of gardening tools, carefully putting them down on the ground next to the statue and counting the items inside.

Rarity waited until her friend was finished and all was in order to speak up. “Ready to go, darling?” They could go get that ice cream! And maybe stop by the theatre or go for a stroll through the park now that there would be no meeting Princess Denza that afternoon.

“Oh yes! I got everything I wanted,” Fluttershy exclaimed, smiling gratefully when Rarity picked up one of the smaller bags to carry. “I’m sorry I took so long! There were so many things, and the nice shopkeeper kept giving me tips for my gardening.”

“Not to worry, sweetheart! I had the most delightful chat with a rather fetching town guard. Now I understand why all those mares were practically fainting over those soldiers during the parade. And don’t give me that look, I wasn’t one of them!” she protested, huffing when Fluttershy playfully giggled at her. “Now then, let us be off before the line at the ice cream shop gets too long.”

“Shouldn’t we go to the castle first?” Fluttershy suggested, trotting next to Rarity and carefully tying the bags to her saddlebag. “That’s more important than ice cream, isn’t it?”

Rarity sighed theatrically, airily waving her hoof in a dismissive motion. “No castle today, it seems. The guard told me we’ve apparently missed the deadline to schedule an appointment, so I’ll have to go at around midday tomorrow. It’s cutting it a bit too close for my taste, but I really don’t wish to delay this further.”

“Do you want me to go with you?”

Rarity shook her head. “Not necessary, darling, but thank you for offering. It shouldn’t take me long, and I wouldn’t want you missing out on sightseeing because of me.”

It was just a simple procedure after all. Go in, make an appointment, pray that the princess’ schedule is magically free for the day, meet the princess, convince her of Princess Twilight’s existence, make a rescue plan, then go home and have a cup of tea.

What could go wrong, really?

The answer to her question was, unfortunately: Many things.

Just as Rift Shield advised, she headed to the castle before twelve, intent on getting her appointment as soon as possible. With confident steps, she followed the appropriate path until the main entrance loomed in the distance, two guards patrolling by the closed gate.

At the sight, her confidence waned and her steps became less pronounced, less hurried. Her speech, so clear in her mind not even five minutes before, now seemed lacking, faulty, and she couldn’t properly remember half of it. She stopped in her tracks and took out the pictures she’d brought. Though Princess Twilight’s “proper” photograph was inspiring, it was the absolutely ridiculous photo of her that really helped Rarity gain back some of her lost nerves. She put the pictures back in her saddlebag and went on her way, reinvigorated by the princess’ “elegant” expressions.

Unlike Rift Shield, the two guards by the door looked anything but friendly. Either guarding the door was a much less pleasant task than patrolling the city, or she had simply been in luck when she met Rift Shield.

“State your business,” the guard on the left commanded when she approached.

Odd, hadn’t Rift said it was a secretary who would be in charge of making the appointment? Did she have to pass a preliminary test in order to be able to actually have a chance at scheduling a meeting with Princess Denza?

“I’m seeking an audience with Princess Denza. I have… information that might help her with a long-standing… problem?”

“A long-standing problem?” the guard asked, raising an eyebrow.

Rarity didn’t immediately reply. “Er, well…” She realized how ridiculous she would sound if she stated the truth, but she hadn’t come prepared with a good enough lie that would get her the audience. She reached inside her saddlebag and pulled out the photos, glancing back and forth between them and the guard. “Well, I…”

The guard took one look at the photos and exhaled a long-suffering sigh. “Here we go again.” He rolled his eyes, and Rarity swore she could hear the other groan. The two shared a look and the one in front of Rarity asked, “Do you wanna take this one?”

“No way, it was your turn,” the other replied.

The guard let a sigh out and looked back at Rarity. “Come with me.” He led her down a hallway, through a series of doors, and into a room that was plastered with pictures. He pointed at the table and said, “Put ’em right over there.”

The pictures were a mockery of the ones she was holding onto; unfocused, badly printed pictures that could have been Bighoof just as soon as the princess. There were few where an actual mare could be seen, but it was painfully clear the wings they wore were, if not fake, then at least malformed. Just how many ponies had come claiming to have found the lost princesses? Had any of them actually been telling the truth, or had they been brushed aside just like Rarity herself was being brushed aside?

“But I have real evidence!” she protested.

The stallion snorted, rolling his eyes again. “I’m sure you do, Miss. Where’d you find her?” He took one of the pictures from the wall and rudely shoved it toward her. “In the basement of your house?” He put the picture on the table and took another one. “Or maybe she miraculously appeared to you in the bathtub? Or was she hiding under your bed all along? How about you wait for the next pony to stop by claiming she found one of the princesses and compare notes, huh?” He snorted again and shook his head. “Look, Miss, we don’t have time for this, and I can tell you right now that the princess doesn’t either. I’m not sure who you think we are, actually expecting us to belie—”

“I’m not making this up!” Rarity exclaimed, stamping her hoof against the floor. She took her photographs and showed them to him. “Do these look fake to you?! Why on Earth would I make this up?! What could I gain from it?!”

“Beats me,” he grumbled, taking the photos from her hooves and inspecting them. “These are pretty good, I’ll give you that. What’s this supposed to be? A library?” he asked, rifling through the photographs.

“An underground library,” she corrected. “In the middle of the Everfree Forest.”

“The Everfree Forest?! You’ve been wandering around that place? Geez, lady, you must have lost your mind,” he exclaimed, putting the pictures back on the table and snorting at her again. “Why would the princess be there of all places?! And what were you even doing there that you ‘found’ her?!”

Rarity didn’t know how much more she could take of his attitude. She could only hope he wouldn’t push her past her limit.

“An underground library, huh? How magical!” he said, smirking at her in a way she found unnecessarily condescending. “Bet you see her in your dreams, too, huh?” he continued, trotting toward the wall and ripping off a drawing. He shoved it at her, giving her a good view of the childlike crayon drawing of a smiling blue alicorn with a crescent moon cutie mark. “Does ‘Princess Wooona’ stop your nightmares too?”

Rarity bit her lip. Rise above it, Rarity. Rise. Above it. Despite the stallion’s incredibly rude behavior, it was not in her best interests to be uncourteous to him if she wanted his cooperation.

She smiled thinly and gently pushed his forehoof away. “I’m afraid not, but—”

Just as soon as his forearm had been lowered, he raised it again, still shoving the drawing toward her. “You know, this pony’s been sending us letters for years. Maybe we should give you her address so you can ‘find’ the other princesses, huh?” With every word, he took a step toward her, forcing her to backtrack. “Maybe you oughta start a princess-finding club together, hey?”

“Will you ple—”

“Stop bothering us instead? Wouldn’t that be fun?”

When Rarity hit the table, she had finally had enough. “Oh, will you stop that, you oaf?!” she snapped, shoving the guard away with enough force to cause him to tumble him to the floor, stomping her hoof on the drawing when it too fell. It wasn’t until he gave her an incredulous look from the ground that she realized exactly who she’d just assaulted.

The guard looked as though she’d just slapped him across the face, and all things considered, she might as well have. He stood up, tall and intimidating, and narrowed his eyes. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

Rarity backed away, ears clamped against her skull, heart beating in her chest, fear coursing through her veins. Now she’d done it.

…Then again, he had been extremely rude. Rarity stood her ground, gulping hard.

To her dismay, however, the stallion crossed the room and grabbed some black keys hanging from the wall. Oh no, she thought, panicking. He’s not planning on jailing me, is he?! Fluttershy will be waiting for me! She’ll be worried sick! She took several steps away from him, shaking her head pitifully. “Wait, please, let’s not be rash!”

“Should have thought about that before you attacked me, lady,” he barked, opening a drawer from a nearby table and taking out hoof-cuffs. “Maybe you’ll find another princess in the dungeons to keep you company.”

Journal Entry № 2,015

Rarity brought a very interesting device today. It is called an instant photographic camera, and it can make perfectly vivid and realistic illustrations of anything in less than a minute. They are, it seems, extremely costly, however. I disassembled Rarity’s device to further study its mechanics, but I fear Rarity was not too thrilled by my actions.

After that, she left to prepare to go to Canter Capital, which is now called Canterlot. The descendant of Shining Armor and Cadance currently resides there, and though I would have liked to ask Rarity to please bring a photograph, it seems that is now impossible.

Right now, I must fix her device. I need to see what the outside world looks like. Rarity herself seems normal, and she has not mentioned anything unusual concerning her world. The only way I am able to verify my assumptions based on the legend is to have facts, and Rarity is not reliable in this regard. It is not that I do not trust her judgment (though I do have some reservations; as much as it pleased me, I still cannot fathom why she would have returned after I hurled her against a bookcase), but she might be biased. After all, how would she be able to tell if her world is unusual when she might consider unusual events to be normal?

I am also pleased with the other items she brought. The time-keeping device and schedule she gave me have helped tremendously. I have already filled up the next two weeks with activities, and I hope this will help me become organized again. I need to re-organize the library to look for the map. I think I will look for ciphers, since I cannot remember the last time I did so. I will start by looking at the first letter of each paragraph of every book, and perhaps I will find the key. I should have enough time to do it before Rarity returns on Sunday.

The entire day is clear of activities so I can focus on her visit completely. I have several questions I would like to inquire on, and I found some books she might be interested in reading. I hope she will be. I am looking forward to her visit. It’s odd, but I do not remember the last time I looked forward to anything since Owlowiscious and his mate arrived at my library so long ago.

Yet, despite the amount of time I have, Rarity’s device should remain my top priority. I would like to make a few adjustments so it works better than before. I hope she will find them useful.

If there was one place in Canterlot that Rarity had never wanted to visit, let alone sleep in, it was the dark and grimy dungeons of the castle. Sweet heavens, they were so filthy, so cold, so dreary; it must be inequine to subject somepony to a night in such a ghastly place.

She paced around the room, her hoofsteps and mutterings echoing throughout the stone hallways. The mare standing guard kept throwing dirty glances at Rarity; she’d quickly discovered that shushing Rarity only resulted in the unicorn pacing even louder. Though she had the right to remain silent, she stoutly refused to do so.

How many hours had she been there?

It felt like an eternity, and judging by the darkening color of the sky visible beyond her barred window, she knew that it had to have been several hours already. The guards had at least been civil enough to contact Fluttershy to tell her Rarity would be indisposed until the next morning—which happened to be when she’d be let out. At least her friend had promised to sort out the whole affair with the mare from the market.

“Humiliating,” she muttered, gritting her teeth and coming to a stop. “That’s what it was. Humiliating.”

And yet, despite that, her only regret for her actions was that Fluttershy ended up alone in the big city for the night.

Her mind went back to the guard and her blood boiled. That wretched guard hadn’t even let her talk or explain her situation. She’d barely gotten a word in before he started his barrage of condescending assumptions. Who’d even let him be in charge of anything in the first place?

Most of all, more than humiliated and offended, she was frustrated. Just like when Fluttershy hadn’t believed her, but now the frustration was triple-fold. Was that how Princess Twilight had felt for a thousand years, trapped in her library, unable to do a thing to save herself? Or was it worse for Rarity since she had all the means to tell others, but nopony believed her?

Maybe that’s why nopony had ever “found” the princesses before. Had they been brushed away? Forced to give up on the princess they’d found? How horrible, to live with that knowledge for the rest of one’s life and be completely unable to do anything to help.

She sat down, buried her face in her hooves and sighed. “Why am I even doing this?”

That’s the million-bit question, isn’t it?

There in her prison with nothing else to do but get lost in her thoughts, her situation finally caught up to her. Less than a month ago, the idea of a lost princess inside a forest was a notion she would have immediately dismissed as a fairy tale and nothing more, yet today she had planned on convincing the ruler of Equestria that there was a princess inside a library in the Everfree Forest.

Had she let herself be swept up by the sense of adventure of it all? Had she let herself be tempted into lunacy by the idea of embarking on a grand fairy tale? Had Princess Twilight somehow bewitched her into helping?

Princess Twilight…

Why was Rarity getting herself locked away in a dungeon all for the sake of a ghostly princess? A ghostly princess who’d attacked her and broken her expensive camera, no less! Who’d made her spend almost three hours lost in a maze…! Who’d apologized for attacking her… Who’d thanked Rarity for wanting to help… Who had actually stopped her, just so she could say goodbye…

Her mind went back to how charmingly curious the princess had been about the camera, and Rarity could hardly suppress a smile. Of course, the smile disappeared just as soon as it had arrived, vanishing at the thought of breaking her promise to Princess Twilight. The train had likely left already, and she sincerely doubted they’d be able to find seats on Sunday morning or even afternoon trains back to Ponyville.

“She won’t mind, will she?” Rarity whispered to herself, taking her hooves away and staring forlornly at the floor. No, of course she won’t mind. She’ll be so busy with her books and the camera, she’ll hardly notice I didn’t even come the day I promised!

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters. Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act I ~ 05 ~ The Dragon Library ~

“Shining Armor, is it true?! Are you ordering the soldiers back to the castle?! You can’t!”

“Cadance and I have no choice. You saw how the court reacted to the news! We can’t risk throwing the rest of the kingdom into a panic! We have to think of—”

“No! What about Princess Celestia and Luna?! What about Twilight?! They’re out there! You need to send more soldiers to the Ponyville Fore—”

“She’s not there! You told us yourself that she was gone!”

“I, I was wrong! We need to look again! She has to—”

“We’ve looked everywhere! Everypony thinks that he killed them!”

“They’re not dead! She’s not dead! Cadance, you—”

“We… I need to think of the kingdom. It’s useless. You know the curse he put on us prevents us from doing anything to find them! And we already said our foal is due in a few months and—”

“Your foal? Your foal?! You… You’re abandoning them for— You… You traitors! I’ll just find them myself! I don’t need neither you, nor your… foal!”

There was nothing that sparked Rarity’s creativity quite like incarceration. Maybe it was due to the fact that she had nothing to do, maybe it was because her inspiration shone brightest when plunged in darkness, or maybe it was simply that she needed any kind of distraction. It at least also kept her mind busy from the putrid smell of… whatever that black thing in the corner was.

To her great fortune, the tip of the spoon she’d used for her disgusting dinner worked as a stylus, leaving visible white scratch marks on the grey walls. The guard standing by the door would glance at Rarity every so often, grunting in annoyance but obviously not caring enough to stop the unicorn from drawing.

True, the jail-inspired dress design didn’t go well with the rude and explicit messages previous inhabitants of the cell had left, but the place could use some of her artistic décor. She ought to arrange another meeting with Princess Denza, if only to get her to redesign the dungeons. Honestly, they weren’t living in the Middle Ages anymore.

“The lieutenant is coming, Lock!” a voice yelled from outside the room, prompting Rarity’s guard to quickly straighten herself up.

The lieutenant? thought Rarity, briefly glancing toward the room’s entrance before looking away again. Just what she needed. Another guard to come scoff at her for what she’d done, no doubt. Why couldn’t she be left alone?

“Ah, Lieutenant Shield!”

Bracing herself, Rarity took a deep breath, turned to look at her newest visitor, and felt her heart drop. Though he was wearing arctic-blue armor now, Rarity still recognized her “Prince Charming” from the day before. Oh heavens, and that new armor somehow made him look even more handsome. How she wished now that there was a room she could flee to, hide from the inevitably awkward conversation with the soldier, but her jail cell proved very good at its job.

So much for a romantic second encounter…

“No incidents to report, sir!” the mare exclaimed proudly, throwing Rarity a dirty look before turning back to her superior. “Although she has been scribbling on the walls a fair deal.”

Rift Shield glanced at Rarity. It was just for a moment, but long enough to make her uncomfortable and look away. “Thank you, Lock Pin. Could you please open the door?” His voice rang, sounding much less pleasant and charming than it had the day before. “The prisoner is free to go.”

Rarity blinked, looking up and joining the guard in giving him an incredulous look. Maybe he was her Prince Charming yet…?

Lock Pin shifted uncomfortably. “L-lieutenant?” she asked, looking back and forth between Rarity and Rift. “Are you su—” A raised eyebrow from him quickly silenced her, prompting her to grab the keys hanging from the wall. “Er, I mean, yes, sir! Right away, sir!”

To the jangling of keys, the door swung open and the mare stepped back so Rarity could leave. Instead, the unicorn simply stood inside her cell, blinking at the exit. Where was the catch? There had to be a catch, hadn’t there?

“You may exit the cell now,” Rift prompted her after a moment. He then smiled at Rarity and continued, “Unless you’d like to stay another night? I can’t imagine it’s very comfortable in there, but if you’ve grown fond of the place…”

Dear stars, no thank you.

“No, no!”

Rarity hurried out of the cell, not desiring in the least to stay another minute in there. A sigh of relief left her lips when the guard closed the door. She dusted herself off, trying to cleanse her coat of all the dirt, muck, and grime that was abundant in prison cells, but stopped when she noticed everypony staring at her. She opened her mouth to say something, but in the end found that she had nothing to say.

Rift smiled at the guard. “Thank you, Lock Pin.” He glanced at Rarity and nodded toward the door. “We’ll be leaving now.”

After the guard saluted him, he took off, not bothering to give Rarity a second look.

She followed him out of the room in silence, not daring to speak up for fear of getting thrown right back in. His stark change in attitude disconcerted her, but she didn’t have the luxury of going against her potential savior. They made their way through the castle, passing by several other guards who all saluted Rift but looked at Rarity suspiciously. It was as if they all knew she had assaulted one of their comrades. In fact, with how ponies loved rumors, she was certain they all knew who she was.

She tried to admire the castle’s interior as they were passing through a hallway filled with diamonds and mirrors, but found herself unable to focus on anything but Rift Shield. She had no idea where he was taking her, but hopefully it was either to the exit or to see Princess Denza.

Some time later, she got her answer in the shape of two large castle doors. She was quite upset to recognize the two stallions nearby, and she couldn’t help but slow her trot. Rift noticed and turned to offer her a reassuring smile.

“No need to be so quiet,” he said, looking back in front of him. “I’m not going to hold anything you say against you, you know?”

When they reached the two guards, his smile disappeared just as quickly as it had come. He took on a much more intimidating expression and looked at the two stallions, both of them now forlorn and embarrassed rather than intimidating and condescending. They glanced at Rarity before quickly saluting Rift. The soldier who’d jailed Rarity nevertheless did a good job of avoiding eye contact with his superior, his tail tucked between his hind legs.

“Lieutenant…” they said half-heartedly, wincing when Rift’s frown only deepened.

“Spades,” Rift said, briefly looking at Rarity’s jailer before turning to the other stallion. “As a guard, whose values do you and Clubs represent?”

“We represent Princess Cadenza’s values, sir!” Spades replied immediately, drawing himself upright and stomping his hoof against the floor. His words drew a smile out of Rift, but the same could not be said of Clubs, who looked more and more as if he wished he was anywhere else but there.

“Excellent, Spades,” Rift said, turning to look at Clubs. “Now tell me, is provoking ponies into attacking you and then jailing them for responding to said aggression one of Princess Cadenza’s values?”

“N-no, sir!” Spades replied, looking uncomfortably at his comrade.

“But, sir! The mare in her picture! She looks exactly like the statue. It’s impossible for that to really be—” Clubs interrupted, ears pressing against his head at the glare Rift gave him. He took a step back, lowering his head slightly. “Sorry, sir…” He magicked the door open, stepping aside to allow Rarity and Rift passage.

Without another word to the guards, Rift trotted outside. The second Rarity joined him and the doors closed behind the two ponies, he turned to look at her and grinned widely. “So, Miss Lost Visitor, was visiting Canterlot’s dungeons part of your planned tour?” he asked, acting much more like he had the day before. He playfully poked her with a hoof. “Gotta say I hadn’t expected our second meeting to go like this, Rarity.” When she threw him a questioning glance, he clarified: “The guards told me your name.”

Now this is more like it, she thought, following him down the path to the city. She smiled brilliantly at him, brushing a hoof in her mane. “But then you wouldn’t have been able to rescue me from that dreadful place!” she exclaimed, giggling at how Rift reacted by nodding effusively and puffing out his chest. “I am in your debt, Lieutenant Rift Shield.”

“Sorry. I have to go undercover sometimes,” he explained sheepishly, brushing the back of his neck. He looked down at his armor and banged his hoof against it. “This green thing isn’t the most… inconspicuous.”

Rarity laughed and withheld the urge to point out it was arctic blue, not green. “No, I suppose it isn’t.”

They trotted in silence for a bit, reaching the main gates and waiting for the guards to open them. Rarity expected Rift to bid her farewell at that point, but he only exchanged a few words with the guard before stepping out the gates and into the city. Rarity would be lying if she said she wasn’t rather delighted that she’d get to spend a bit more time with her knight in shining armor.

“So, Miss Rarity, considering you spent an entire day locked away, maybe a midnight tour of the city might cheer you up?” he offered, a grin gracing his face. He cleared his throat and took off his helmet, examining it with mild interest. “Not to brag, but I give the best tours in Canterlot.”

Rarity fluttered her eyelashes at him, and felt flutters of something else, somewhere else. “Is that true?”

He grinned. “Soldier’s honor!”

“In that case, I would be delighted.” It wasn’t until after she had impulsively agreed to a midnight tour courtesy of a handsome hunk that a thought occurred to her: Why hasn’t he asked me about Princess Twilight? He knew why she’d been imprisoned, didn’t he? Wasn’t he curious to hear her side of the story? Or was he planning on avoiding the topic altogether? Now, rather than excited, she felt worried again.

Rift was clearly oblivious to the sudden drop in enthusiasm from his companion. “Great!” he exclaimed. He put his helmet back on and looked around, eventually pointing toward a street further down the road. “Look, we can start there. That street leads straight to Moonlight Plaza.”

In the end, Rarity decided worrying served no purpose at that point, and Rift didn’t look at all like he had any ulterior motives except being perfectly nice. She took a deep breath, expelling all her worries, and affected her most dazzlingly charming smile.

“Well then, shall we?” she asked, taking a step in the appropriate direction.

Rift grinned. “Let’s.” He took the lead, trotting down the path before looking over at Rarity. “So, you say you found one of the lost princesses, huh?”

Despite the late hour, Rarity wasn’t surprised to see Canterlot ponies still out and about. Unlike Ponyville, Canterlot was a true beacon of good taste and knowledgeable ponies—idiotic accusatory guards notwithstanding. She let Rift Shield lead her past the many restaurants and socialite opportunities that the lady in her absolutely adored. Nevertheless, there were some things she wanted to—no, needed to—see. She silently bid farewell to one of the few chances she would have to mingle with the Canterlotian nightlife, and followed Rift toward a less-crowded street.

Truthfully, her focus on the ponies and shops was also partially due to the fact that Rift had been much less talkative since she’d finished her tale. She omitted some details, of course—Rift didn’t need to know that Twilight attacked her, for example—and tried to make her story sound more realistic for fear of receiving the same reaction she had before. If a mere guard could get her thrown in jail, she didn’t want to think about what a lieutenant could do.

“So,” he finally said, “the Everfree Forest, huh? Hmm…”

Rarity winced. “You don’t believe me either, do you?” she asked, letting out a long breath. With how things had been going, she didn’t know why she was disappointed.

“It’s not that I don’t believe you,” Rift said carefully, offering a tentative yet reassuring smile. He looked forward and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to find the right words to say. “It’s more that… Well…”

“But surely Princess Cadenza believes they’re real! She has those brut— guards posted to receive information on the princesses! Just because you don’t belie—”

“I never said I don’t believe they exist,” Rift interrupted, leading Rarity inside another small plaza. He trotted over toward a statue and sat down, taking off his helmet. “It’s more that… the Everfree Forest has been searched before. Way before our time, but it was searched by guards back then and… a friend of one of Princess Denza’s ancestors who spent a really, really long time looking in that forest. Yeah, we haven’t looked there in a really long time, but he and the guards would have found her.”

“Then come with me to the forest,” she continued, “and you can see her for yourself!”

If he actually met Princess Twilight, then there was no way in the whole of Equestria he’d refuse to take her to Denza directly. It was a foalproof plan.

“Pfft, come on, I can’t go with you to che— Don’t look at me like that!” he exclaimed. “I can’t just ditch my duties to go check every claim, you know! We’ve been getting claims like yours for years! Besides, I’d need more proof to even consider doing something or going to check.”

“What kind of proof do you need? I brought you photographs of her and the entire library!” Rarity exclaimed helplessly. What, did he want her to bring physical evidence? Maybe ask Princess Twilight to step out of the library and join her on a trip to Canterlot?

Rift looked uneasy for a moment. “Honestly? I… I don’t think anything but actually seeing one of the princesses would convince anyone in Canterlot except for very few ponies. Or perhaps something more tangible like…” He paused for a moment. “Like showing me the princess’ crown, or something like that.”

Rarity groaned, burying her face in her hooves. Bring the crown? How in Equestria was she supposed to do that? The thing was essentially part of Twilight! And even if it wasn’t ethereal, who was to say Twilight would let her take it? Rarity glanced away, distracting her increasingly frustrated thoughts by looking around the plaza.

The secluded square was completely empty, unlike the more popular streets of the city. The façades of the surrounding buildings were all decorated with a moon-and-stars motif, something she had the feeling Princess Twilight would have liked. A few drunken patrons stumbled out of the only open bar and wobbled themselves toward the nearest exit.

Her attention was drawn to the statue next to her, which vaguely reminded her of the statue she’d seen the day before.

Just like the statue of “the teacher,” this statue too depicted a beautiful alicorn princess and a small foal. The colt was lying down on the pedestal, soundly asleep with a smile on his face. The princess sat next to him, her wings spread apart in a circle as if protecting the young foal. All around the pedestal were markings of crescent moons. At least now she knew why the place was called “Moonlight Plaza.”

Just like with the other statue, there was a name engraved on the base.

The Dream Watcher

“You’ve never seen these statues before?” Rift suddenly asked. His brow was slightly furrowed and for a moment Rarity felt very much under some kind of police interrogation. “Really?”

“Never,” she replied, feeling nervous despite the innocent sounding question. “I told you, as much as I’d like, I don’t come to Canterlot often.”

He was silent for a moment, and his expression softened. “They’re in honor of the Legend of the Four Princesses,” he said, turning to the statue. “Or that’s what ponies like to say, at least. On the other hoof, some books on Canterlot history say they were just for decoration, and others say they were made in honor of alicorns who died in battle centuries ago.” He lifted his hoof and brushed it against the statue, narrowing his eyes. “Must be about seven or eight hundred years old.”

“My, quite the expert, aren’t we?”

Rift grinned at Rarity, taking his hoof back. “Told you. Best tour guide in Canterlot!” he exclaimed, pounding his hoof against his chest plate. He returned his gaze to the statue and continued, “There are four in total, actually. The city was supposedly built around them. There’s this one in the Moon Quarter, and this entire area is where all the late-night entertainment places are. Remember the statue from when we met? That’s the Sun Court, which is basically residential and marketplace areas. Then there’s another one inside the castle, and the last one is in the Knowledge District. The public library and schools are there.”

“Oh! I read something similar to that in a guidebook! They didn’t say anything about the statues, though,” she noted, trying to remember any detail her book might have mentioned. “Well, regardless, I think they’re lovely.”

“You know, I can tell you why Clubs reacted to you in the way he did; why he thought you were pulling his hind leg.”

“Clubs? You mean the guard? The very rude guard?” she asked, raising an eyebrow with skepticism. “Forgive me if I withhold my enthusiasm on the subject.”

Rift smiled cheekily at her before nodding toward the statue. “It was because of these.”

Rarity looked back and forth between the statue and Rift, initially not understanding how the guard and the statue were even remotely related. She then remembered the guard mentioning her pictures looked just like a statue. What, did he think she’d just copied the design off one of them? She looked at the statue again.

“Forgive me for saying, but the only similarities between my pictures and this statue are that both ponies have wings and a horn. Am I to believe I’m a sham just because my picture has an alicorn in it?”

Rift laughed and shook his head. “No, it’s not that.” He put his helmet on and trotted off toward one of the alleyways. “Look, it’ll be better if you see it for yourself. If we’re really lucky, maybe Dusty Pages hasn’t closed up the library yet.”

Rarity took one last look at the statue before following the stallion. They made their way through half a dozen more alleys, and Rarity was so preoccupied that she didn’t even notice the larger plaza until they trotted into it. Unlike the Moonlight Plaza, this one was quite a bit larger, and a lot more crowded. Several ponies were up and about, checking out the many shops that, even this late in the day, were still open and serving customers.

Although she had heard that Canterlot’s public library was nothing short of an architectural wonder, she had never seen it before. It had been one of the places she’d planned to visit with Fluttershy if not for her unfortunate incarceration. Now, standing in front of it, she wished her friend was there with her, to be awed by the building the same way Rarity was.

“Here we are!” Rift exclaimed, pointing at the entrance. “Canterlot City’s Public Library!”

The building boasted a classical architectural style and stretched out as far as an entire city block. Its exterior was made of what looked like marble, yet it didn’t so much have a scratch on it, despite the weather. Two stone statues of guards were posted at either side of the stairway leading to the entrance, and the façade of the building was engraved with depictions of scrolls and stars. What caught Rarity’s attention, however, wasn’t so much the building itself as what was literally sitting on top of it.

On the rooftop of the library was a stone statue of a very large dragon. The creature squatted on the roof, facing the street with its large wings half-splayed open. One of its claws gripped the edge of the roof and its tail hung off the edge, the spikes creating a makeshift ladder. Despite its imposing appearance, the dragon wore a peaceful expression, almost as if it was just watching over the plaza. What stuck out to Rarity the most was that it held an oval stone of sorts in its free claw. A gem, perhaps? Dragons loved gems, didn’t they? She remembered reading legends about their infamous hoards, some of which were said to be as large as the entirety of Ponyville.

She could scarcely imagine how long it had taken for the beast to be built, or why had it even been built there in the first place. Dragons were quite possibly the last thing that came to mind when she thought of books and libraries.

“Goodness, what is that doing on top of a library?” Rarity asked, still gawking at the sculpture. She almost wished she had wings so she could fly up and take a closer look at it. She could tell something was written under him on the building, and through squinted eyes read aloud: “‘Semper tē prōtegam.’”

“It roughly translates to: ‘I will always protect you,’” Rift explained, looking at the inscription. “The statue itself is called The Guardian. It was built around the same time as the others.”

Rarity nodded, intrigued by the stone it was holding and trying to figure out its significance. It certainly didn’t look like any important Equestrian symbol, and the other statues hadn’t been holding anything as far as she could recall.

“What is it guarding? The library, I suppose? Or the city?” she asked, picturing the fearsome beast coming to life and defending Canterlot from evil.

“You could say that, but according to some ponies, it’s actually protecting something inside the library.” Rift trotted up the stairs, signaling Rarity to follow him, but upon reaching the front doors and trying the handle, he let out a frustrated groan. “Damn it, Dusty,” he muttered, pressing his face against the smoky window and looking inside. “Nope, looks like she locked up early tonight.”

Rarity followed suit, pressing her own face against the window. Try as she might, it was far too dark inside the library to see anything except for shadows and what looked like the silhouette of a large object in the entrance. She squinted into the gloom… Another statue, maybe?

“Well, it seems like whatever book was supposed to explain your colleague’s behavior is out of our grasp,” she exclaimed, stepping away from the window since she wasn’t having much luck looking inside. Not that any book would have excused him. “I still don’t understand how in Equestria a grey statue of an alicorn could disprove my picture, but alas.” She waited for him to reply, but he simply kept staring into the library, his brow furrowed once more. “Rift?”

“I… I can’t tell if you’re being serious or not,” he said, lifting his forehead from the door and looking at her. Rarity wanted to indignantly ask what he meant by that, but he continued speaking before she could do so: “So, this princess of yours, does she have a name?”

“Twilight,” Rarity replied, thinking of the alicorn as she spoke her name. “Twilight Sparkle.”

What was Twilight doing at that moment, Rarity wondered. What would she do the day after, when Rarity didn’t arrive on time—if she even found a train to arrive home at all? She really, really hoped the princess wouldn’t mind too much…

“Twilight Sparkle?” Rift slowly repeated, falling silent for almost a minute afterward. He lifted his hoof and pressed it against the door. “I… All right, I’ll look into it,” he finally said, stepping away from the door and looking at Rarity. “I’ll help you and your princess.”

Rarity blinked at him.

“You… you will? You’ll help her?” she asked with disbelief, heart pounding in her chest and almost bursting out when he nodded with a smile. Before she could stop herself, she clapped her hooves with giddy pleasure. “Oh, Rift! I don’t know how to thank you! I’m sure Princess Denz—”

“Whoa, don’t get ahead of yourself!” he exclaimed, raising a hoof to halt any further speculation. “You’ll need way more than just photographs to make a case. We have at least a dozen photographs that look just as realistic as yours.”

“But— But you just said that you won’t accept anything but the princesses themselves on a silver platter with roses!” Rarity protested, stamping her hoof against the floor.

Rift raised an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure I didn’t say it exactly like that, but…” He sighed and rubbed his eye. “Look, if you’re really telling the truth, then you should be able to find something to convince me, right? More information on her, on the other princesses, I don’t know. I’m sure Princess Twilight would be glad to give you more info considering you’re helping her and the others escape, right?”

Rarity groaned softly, biting her lip.

Rift’s suggestion would be quite easy if only it didn’t mean admitting to Princess Twilight that she’d been doing exactly what Princess Twilight asked her not to do. Didn’t she want help? Didn’t she want to find the others? It baffled Rarity that anypony would want to spend the rest of their lives locked away in a library for all eternity.

“Very well,” she said at last. “I’ll gather evidence.” She left the entrance and trotted down the stairs, her body feeling heavier with every step and every troubled thought. Without the help of Princess Denza, finding the other princesses could take months or years. Maybe even decades. Was she really ready to potentially spend years of her life searching for lost books and alicorns?

She stepped out into the plaza and looked back up at the dragon. Wouldn’t it be easier if you just came to life and helped me look? she thought, wishing the beast would do something beyond just staring at her with impassive eyes. The longer she looked at it, however, the more she felt like the creature’s eyes and expression were pleading. Wonderful, now even statues are guilt-tripping me into helping Twilight.

“So, should we continue with our tour?”

Rarity looked away from the dragon and found Rift Shield standing next to her. She was tempted to say yes, but she was admittedly tired and disappointed by the outcome of her trip. There was also the fact that poor Fluttershy was waiting for her back at the hotel, and Rarity would be remiss to go out and have fun while her best friend was worrying herself sick over her.

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask for a rain check,” Rarity said, affecting an apologetic smile. “I’m rather tired, and my friend must still be waiting for me.” She turned around and looked in the general direction of the tourist area of the city before turning back to him and fluttering her eyelashes. “Would you mind terribly accompanying me to my hotel? I’m afraid I’m a bit lost.” She wasn’t being completely dishonest. She really only had a very vague idea of how to get back to her hotel, and she didn’t want to say goodbye to her handsome rescuer just yet.

Rift winked. “It’ll be my pleasure, Miss Lost Visitor.”

The next morning was an extremely busy one for Rarity. Between Fluttershy wanting to get some last-minute treats for her animal friends, and the fact that Rarity had to stand in line to acquire the tickets that would grant them passage back to Ponyville, there was barely enough time in the day.

Now, they were standing at the train station, surrounded by ponies rushing with their suitcases while lamenting the fact that she hadn’t been able to get a good look at the statue inside the library. Rift Shield’s allusions had made her curious. What was worse was that the trains were so chock-full of ponies that she had only been able to get tickets for the afternoon train, which made the hour of their arrival far too late to even think about venturing into the Everfree Forest.

Hopefully the princess wasn’t still waiting for her.

“Maybe she’s frightened of the Spirit?”

After Rarity had promised to see Rift again soon and then reunited with Fluttershy, the two mares spent the majority of the next day finishing their duties in Canterlot and discussing all the possible reasons why Princess Twilight would be against finding the others and being freed herself.

Rarity looked at Fluttershy from behind her sunglasses, raising an eyebrow. “The Spirit? The Spirit of Chaos, you mean?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Well… he is still out there, isn’t he? What if she’s afraid he’ll do something nasty to her if she comes out…? Or to the village?” she suggested, adjusting her saddlebag and glancing at the ponies passing by. How unaware they all were of the truth buried in the history of their kingdom. “What if he’s trapped other ponies already?”

“A possibility, I suppose,” Rarity admitted, turning back to the train they’d be departing on in a short few hours. If the Spirit truly had escaped, then she doubted he’d just quit his villainous ways. It felt somewhat anticlimactic for somepony to do, especially after they went through the trouble of physically incarcerating three alicorns.

“What if…” Fluttershy went silent for a moment. “What if he goes after you? After us? Because you’re trying to help Princess Twilight?”

Rarity didn’t reply immediately. The thought had never crossed her mind, in fact. If the Spirit truly was alive, what was stopping him from trying to stop Rarity from freeing the princess? Furthermore, who was to say the reason no one had helped the princesses before was because he was still out there, deterring all those who tried?

“Darling, right now, I believe I have other things I should be preoccupied with,” Rarity said, hoping to change the topic of conversation. She found thinking of her potential demise at the hooves of a miffed spirit of chaos was not a pleasant discussion. “Like, for example, what will I tell Princess Twilight? I can’t tell her I was jailed; that would imply telling her the reason why and admitting I went against her orders.” She glanced at a clock hanging from a nearby pole and looked back at the train. “And I sincerely doubt that she’ll accept ‘I was jailed because you look like a statue’ as a valid excuse.”

Maybe the guard actually believed that Canterlot’s interpretations of the princesses were the real deal, and he was angered that Princess Twilight looked nothing like the Canterlot version. Maybe she could use that as an excuse to give the princess some sort of a makeover. Heavens knew how many stunning manestyles one could do with a sparkling mane like Princess Twilight’s. Rarity bit down a smile at the thought.

“Oh! It’s you!”

The two friends turned toward the voice. To Rarity’s immense pleasure, she recognized the mare trotting toward them as the owner of the marketplace bookstand from the other day. The elder mare seemed to be slightly out of breath, a large saddlebag thumping against her body.

Rarity took off her sunglasses and waved at the elderly mare. “Ah, Miss Scroll Keeper! How lovely to see you!” she exclaimed when Scroll Keeper caught up to her and Fluttershy. She had assumed she’d never see her again, and the renewed hope of getting back one of the princess’ books cheered her up tremendously. “Fluttershy told me you were leaving today, so I thought we’d already missed you!”

Scroll Keeper shook her head. “Our train is leaving soon, in fact, but I saw you here and I had to come over! Your friend told me you had a bit of trouble yesterday?” she asked curiously.

“Ah…” Rarity cleared her throat, feeling her cheeks burning. “Yes!” she said, toying with her sunglasses and laughing nervously. “I’m afraid I was caught up in an unexpected situation, but I assure you it’s all cleared up now! Nothing to worry about!”

Scroll Keeper seemed pleased by the news, smiling warmly at the unicorn. “I’m glad to hear that, dear! Your friend seemed quite worried,” she said, making Fluttershy blush slightly. She turned to her saddlebag and opened it up, rummaging for something inside. “And I bring good news of my own regarding the books you wanted!”

“Y-you do?” Rarity asked, her voice taking on higher pitch due to sheer excitement.

Did she… Could it… Maybe?

Her questions were answered seconds later when the pegasus retrieved a blue leather-bound book from her saddlebag. For a split second, Rarity’s heart filled with joy, but the feeling immediately died when she took a closer look at the book. The rather lengthy tome looked to be in absolute perfect condition. Its design was certainly outdated, yes, but there was simply no way a book over a thousand years old could have been preserved so perfectly after getting passed around and used for centuries.

“Here we are!” Scroll Keeper exclaimed, completely oblivious to Rarity’s less than enthused expression. “Magical A to Better by Camellia the Coset Mage! It took a bit of searching and luck, but we had it amongst the books we brought for the trip! I’m afraid it’s a used book, however. I hope you don’t mind.”

She hoofed over the book to Rarity, who accepted it out of courtesy despite not wanting it anymore. She rubbed her hoof against the leather and, as she’d suspected, it was in near-perfect condition. Probably a new trend to make new books look old-fashioned or some such thing. Might as well glance inside, she thought dejectedly, opening up the book and stopping at the first page, her eyes widening.

Just as Scroll Keeper had said, the book indeed had a previous owner, and said owner had elegantly labeled the top of the page in lavender ink: Property of Twilight Sparkle. Rarity brushed her hoof against the name to check if she was seeing things, but no matter how many times she rubbed her hoof against the page, the name never disappeared.

It’s real…

“I stopped by the Canterlot Public Library yesterday to check something, and I found out that is indeed, as I suspected, a first edition of a thousand-year-old book!” Scroll Keeper declared, pausing briefly to give the two younger mares a cryptic smile.

“But how is that possible?” Fluttershy asked, gingerly taking the book from Rarity and giving it a look-over. “It seems new!”

Scroll Keeper’s cryptic smile only grew at Fluttershy’s remark. “But that’s because it seems to be a very special book,” she began, straightening herself as if wanting to—or rather, about to—give a lecture. “In olden times, books were just as valuable as gold and silver, even more so to some! Those ponies treasured knowledge above all else and owning a book was considered a source of great privilege! As such, some very powerful librarians and bookkeepers would do everything they could to ensure the protection of their books.”

She reached inside her saddlebag again, retrieved a bottle of water, and unscrewed the cap. “Look!”

Before either friend could stop the elder mare, Scroll Keeper poured water on top of Princess Twilight’s book. The water flowed down the bottle, but just as it was about to hit the book, a very thin layer of very light gold-colored magic appeared and repelled the liquid. As far as Rarity could recall, Princess Twilight’s magic was dark pink, not golden. Who had cast that spell?

“See?” Scroll Keeper said, closing the empty bottle and putting it back in her bag. “A protection spell! And a very strong one at that, if it’s managed to last for so long!” While Rarity and Fluttershy continued gawking at the book, the elder mare took out a small bitbag. “And now, if you’re still interested in buying the book…”

Rarity blinked. “Huh? Oh! Yes, yes I am! Very interested, indeed,” she quickly said, taking out her own bitbag and opening it up. She hadn’t brought her life savings, but hopefully she had enough to buy the book. It was a very rare edition, she supposed, but it couldn’t be that expensive. Besides, Scroll Keeper looked like a reasonable mare. “How much will it be?”

Scroll Keeper shook her head. “Well, dear, this is a very rare and magical book, so…” She cleared her throat and put her tucked her bitbag back away. “I’d like something other than bits in exchange for it.”

“Oh?” asked Rarity, her enthusiasm starting to wane. She didn’t have anything else to offer in exchange for the book. What was she supposed to do now?

Scroll Keeper nodded, lifting her hoof and tracing a circle on her chest. “The other day at the market, you were wearing the loveliest sapphire necklace…” she began, oblivious to Rarity’s growing look of comprehension and horror. “I’d gladly take it in exchange for the book!”

No.

That was the first thing that came to Rarity’s mind at the thought of giving away her beloved necklace.

“Ah… My necklace? Well… Hmm…” she murmured, playing with a lock of her mane and trying to think of something else the mare might be interested in. There was simply no way she’d be giving her nec— “Ow!”

Fluttershy had not-so-subtly poked Rarity’s ribs, drawing the attention of the unicorn and giving her an expectant look. “Rarity…”

Rarity looked back indignantly. Oh, so now she wanted to get the book? When three days ago she didn’t even believe Princess Twilight was real? Did she even know how hard it had been for Rarity to find a sapphire of that size? Did she think they just grew on trees? Rarity had slaved over that sapphire! Spent at least an hour making it shine! Spent at least another hour finding the appropriate silver chain to hang it from!

Scroll Keeper took back the book, showing signs of putting it away. “Well, if you’d rather not, I’m afraid I must hurry along, dear! My husband is waiting for me, and our train back home is leaving soon.”

Rarity looked back and forth between her bag and the book, biting her lip. If she didn’t take the book now, she might never see it again. She couldn’t very well afford train tickets to all over Equestria whenever she pleased. But, on the other hoof, her sapphire was so ravishing and valuable and it went so well with Rarity’s coat and eyes…

“Oh… All right…” she relented, digging into her bag and taking out her beloved, cherished necklace. She took one last almost look at it before hoofing it over to the now ecstatic elder mare in exchange for the certainly less-lovely book.

Scroll Keeper immediately put on the necklace, her eyes shimmering with delight. The sight was almost enough for Rarity not to miss her necklace too much. Obviously too excited for formalities, she quickly thanked Rarity for her business and wobbled off, muttering something about showing her husband.

Rarity sighed theatrically and put Princess Twilight’s book away. “That’s that, I suppose…” she murmured, trying to find comfort in the fact that the book should at least cheer up Twilight tremendously. Rarity couldn’t recall seeing the princess smile about anything.

Once the book was safe in her bag, she looked back toward where Scroll Keeper had gone and saw her talking effusively to an elder stallion in the distance. To her surprise, the stallion looked… vaguely familiar. A dark cloak covering most of his body, a long beard… Where have I seen him…? After just few moments of thinking, her heart nearly stopped when she remembered who he was. She had, in fact, met him once already—on the very same night she’d met Princess Twilight.

“So you met the princess, did you?”

The Book Bringer.

She’d completely forgotten about his existence. It was like her mind had solely focused on the princess herself, but not on the other pony who’d coaxed Rarity into giving Princess Twilight a second chance.

“Rarity? Did you hear what I said?” Fluttershy asked, trying and failing to snap Rarity back into reality. She put a hoof on her friend’s shoulder and was promptly ignored as Rarity took a step toward the couple.

“It’s him…”

The sole pony besides Rarity who knew of Princess Twilight’s existence. The sole pony who could help her find the books. The sole pony who knew more than Rarity did. And he was standing on the other side of the station, about to get on a train and disappear entirely from her life.

She couldn’t allow it.

“Rarity! Where are you going?” Fluttershy asked, alarmed at seeing her friend suddenly rush off.

“Wait! Please!” Rarity called, maneuvering around the trotting ponies and suitcases littered on the ground as she practically galloped toward the other side of the station. The elder couple had already started to board, and she was dismayed to see they hadn’t heard her. “Scroll Keeper!” she called, louder now, and was again ignored.

By the time she reached the train doors, the couple was lost in the train, and the conductor inside was burly enough for Rarity to know pushing past him was not an option. She cantered alongside the length of the train, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Book Bringer and his wife next to one of the windows, but no such luck.

She eventually heard the conductor’s last call and the door of the train closed. What was she supposed to do now? Scroll Keeper said they were headed home, but… Rarity stepped away, looking at the dashboard hanging next to the train. There were only two scheduled stops, Neighagra Falls and Hollow Shades, and she knew neither place.

With a heavy heart, she watched the train leave the station, taking with it the only pony who could possibly help her find the princesses. She turned around and found Fluttershy staring at her in the distance, still apparently trying to figure out why her friend had run off like that. After quickly waving at Fluttershy to reassure her, Rarity took out Princess Twilight’s book and opened it to the first page. One last time, she brushed her hoof against the princess’ hoofwriting.

“One down, twenty-nine to go…”

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters. Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act I ~ 06 ~ The Broken Promise ~

Monday morning arrived to the sound of singing birds and… hooting owls?

Back at home, Rarity rolled over in her bed and stifled a yawn. She took off her sleeping mask and looked toward the window, her eyes adjusting to the rays of bright sunlight filtering in. To her surprise, she was met with the sight of a familiar white owl standing on the windowsill, who hooted twice when Rarity looked at her.

Elara? What’s she doing here? Never before had Elara actually traveled out beyond the forest entrance to fetch Rarity. Had something happened with Princess Twilight?

“Elara!” Rarity magicked the window open to allow the bird entry. “Good morning.”

Elara carefully flew into the room, glancing around and making sure to stay far away from the sleeping cat in the corner. She finally settled herself on top of the frame of the bed, blinking twice at Rarity.

“I’m terribly sorry, darling. I had an unexpected hold-up in Canterlot, and I was unfortunately unable to come back yesterday!” Rarity explained, receiving a relieved hoot in reply. She waited as Elara flew down onto the bed and then continued, “How is Princess Twilight?”

At the question, Elara looked down and clawed at the bedsheet without so much as a hoo. That didn’t bode well, did it?

“Is she upset?” Rarity ventured, hoping that wasn’t the case. However, to her chagrin, Elara looked up, hooting softly and nodding her head.

“I see.” Rarity sighed and got out of bed, taking a deep breath. She levitated the saddlebag she’d prepared the night before and put it on her back. “Well, not to worry. As long as she doesn’t hurl me against another bookcase, I’m sure it’s nothing I can’t fix.”

Elara hooted cheerfully, flying up and settling herself on Rarity’s back, safe from the claws of the rousing cat. As Rarity quickly brushed her mane and put on her makeup, she reflected on the owl’s attitude. If Princess Twilight truly was upset, then surely Elara wouldn’t be acting as carefree as she was, would she?

Making sure she hadn’t forgotten anything, Rarity headed for the forest, expecting a quick and uneventful trip.

And yet…

And yet, even though she engaged the owl in a pleasant but certainly one-sided conversation along the way, something about that particular trot toward the library was disconcerting.

It wasn’t so much that the forest still scared Rarity. On the contrary, she had become accustomed to its… eerie beauty. She even recognized certain areas the owls took her through, meaning she’d hopefully one day be able to find the library by herself.

No, what made this particular trip disconcerting was the distinct impression something or somepony was following her. Unfortunately, with the sounds of forest animals filling the air, it was hard to tell if the hoofsteps she could swear she heard were real or not. For the umpteenth time, she stopped in her tracks and looked back into the darkness behind her, but again found nothing and nopony.

She looked up and noticed Elara was similarly staring out at the forest from her perch on a nearby branch, just as she’d been doing a lot during the trip. Surely if she’s stopping every minute to look back as well, it can’t be my imagination, can it?

“Hello?” Rarity called out tentatively. “You know, following somepony without their consent is generally considered a very rude thing to do!”

After her reminder of proper etiquette was answered with silence, she sighed and turned back, signaling to Elara that she was ready to continue. The owl flew up from the branch and continued guiding the unicorn through the forest until they finally reached the familiar oak tree.

Having successfully escorted the unicorn, Elara flew up to the branches of the tree and alighted on one, staring toward the forest and hooing. Rarity looked back briefly, hoping to catch sight of any potential follower, before jumping down into the hole. Once below, she trotted toward the trapdoor and descended into the library.

Here we go, then.

She lingered briefly right before the entrance, bracing herself to face the upset alicorn. Maybe Princess Twilight had gotten over it by now! In fact, Rarity was sure the princess wasn’t even the least bit upset anymore! It had just been one day, after all. It’s not like a whole entire month had gone by or anything.

She stepped inside and found the magic chandelier already in place near the ceiling, illuminating the entire room. The only change was that the light seemed… darker, somehow. Less inviting than the previous times she’d stopped by.

She hoped it was simply her imagination.

“Princess Twilight?” Rarity called, putting her saddlebag down on a table and trotting further into the room, getting lost in the rows of bookcases. “I’m terribly sorry for coming late! There was a hold up in Canterlot!”

She received no answer. Not a sound, not a breath, zilch, zip, nada. Odd, she thought, usually she’d be here by now. Maybe the princess was doing something in the maze? Busy finding a book and definitely not ignoring anypony. Definitely not being upset.

The library was unusually neat, no towers of books scattered about the place. The princess must have really meant it when she said she’d organize the library while Rarity was away. Rarity tentatively prodded at some of the books, hoping they would somehow work to summon the princess as they’d done before, but a few minutes of poking gave no results.

She looked around again. “Princess? Princess Twilight!”

Nothing.

She bit her lip. Nopony greeting her now was really no different than the other times, but… something felt different. The air felt colder, contributing to the already very unwelcoming atmosphere. It’s just my conscience, she reassured herself, continuing her search.

Some exploring later, she finally reached the desk where Twilight had placed all her new things. Unlike the rest of the place, the desk was a complete mess, parchments scattered about and a few books lying open.

She took a closer look at the parchments and found her camera drawn on one of them, as well as a smaller drawing of all its individual components. There were notes on how the pieces fit together, and several proposed new designs.

“Is she trying to fix it?” Rarity whispered, feeling somewhat heartwarmed by the possibility. It had been an expensive device, and the prospect of having it back was a pleasing one.

She glanced at the other parchment and saw her name written in the title. Closer inspection revealed it was a list of questions and concerns Twilight had for Rarity, ranging from personal questions about the unicorn to inquiries on the outside world: what did she like to do, where did she work, what was her position in society, et cetera… It had never occurred to Rarity that Twilight would also have questions for her, let alone questions about Rarity herself. She knew who Twilight was, but she realized that Twilight essentially had no idea who Rarity was, beyond “a pony who’d stumbled into the library.”

She looked up at the calendar and caught sight of the day that had been blank during her last visit. While all the other days were filled with activities, Sunday only had two words written on it…

Rarity’s visit.

Oh.

She looked down at the parchment on the table, reading over the list of questions and pushing away the mental image of Princess Twilight waiting all day for her. There was nothing to worry about. If she hadn’t been able to answer them the day before, she’d be delighted to do so now if it would cheer up the princess. They still had a whole day ahead of them, and she intended to make it count.

Her first course of action was to take the parchment and read the questions over. Or, rather, she would have done so if the parchment hadn’t suddenly disappeared from sight. With a surprised “oh!”, Rarity took a step back and quickly looked around, finding no one in the hallway. Oh dear, had Princess Twilight gone back to her hide-and-seek ways? Should she count to ten out loud? Maybe that pentagram summoning spell wasn’t a bad idea after all.

“Princess Twilight?” Rarity ventured instead. She quickly looked around as she spoke, hoping to catch a glimpse of the princess but to no avail. Ugh. She really didn’t want to resort to throwing another stack of carefully ordered books to the ground, but as Sweetie would be quick to claim, sometimes making a mess was justified. Unfortunately, Twilight having cleaned the library meant there were no stacks of books lying around for Rarity’s easy access.

“Rarity.”

One day, Princess Twilight was going to scare Rarity to death.

The startled unicorn looked around and found the princess standing a few feet away. “O-oh, Princess! There you are!” she said, smiling nervously.

The princess certainly didn’t seem cheerful to see Rarity, but she didn’t seem angry or sad either. Just like Rarity, she appeared to be analyzing the situation—but specifically Rarity. Twilight took a step toward her, narrowing her eyes and looking her over.

“You didn’t come to visit yesterday,” she said at length, taking a step back. Her voice betrayed no hint at emotion, nor did her face. “I thought you might have been injured or attacked.” For a brief moment, her ears lowered. “I was con— Elara and Themis were concerned for your well-being.”

It wasn’t difficult for Rarity to guess the original sentence, but she decided not to act on it. Instead, she put a hoof on her chest. “Oh dear, were they? How kind!” She glanced around, pretending to look for the owls. “I’m terribly remiss to have worried them! It’s nothing to worry about, though! Just a little unexpected probl—”

“Did you bring the book you borrowed?” Twilight interrupted, dropping the temperature in the room by several degrees with her voice alone.

Rarity winced inwardly. That wasn’t a good sign at all.

“Er, yes!” she quickly said, looking into her saddlebag and hovering her hoof over the books, trying to decide which one was more favorable to present. She eventually picked up the book she had borrowed, hoping to save the recovered book as a last resort if the princess’ mood didn’t improve. “Here we are!”

Twilight took the book and magicked it away. No filling up the library card, no “thank you,” no anything. There was an awkward moment of silence afterwards in which neither pony seemed to know what to say. Was it going to be like this the entire time? The looming prospect was less than pleasant to the unicorn. She reached inside her saddlebag and made a move to retrieve the second book.

“Did you enjoy your trip?” Twilight suddenly asked.

“Oh, yes!” Rarity lied, taking her hoof back from her bag. “Very much so!”

In reality, Fluttershy’s presence had been the only enjoyable thing about the trip. She didn’t want Princess Twilight to find out about her time in jail, though, and there was no point in being honest about the trip’s outcome. If she had missed the meeting because of it, she might as well make it sound like it was worth it. “There were so many interesting things there! Like, for instance…”

Talking about Canterlot and the higher Equestrian society was something Rarity could do for hours on end. She could go on and on about the wonders of the capital, just as she was at that moment, embellishing every detail of her story and making Canterlot seem like the most wondrous of places. The glitz, the glam, the everything! She painted a picture of Canterlot Castle for the princess, as well—or rather, what she managed to see of it: the dungeons and a mirror and the crystal-filled hallway Rift had led her through.

She was so enraptured by her own vivid descriptions, she failed to notice the princess’ downcast eyes and drooping ears.

“I really do love Canterlot. You understand why I simply had to stay one day more, don’t you?” Rarity finished with a dreamy sigh, only then noticing Twilight’s shifted expression. “P-Princess?”

“I see,” Twilight whispered, pawing at the floor forlornly. “I always did love home, too.”

And with those six words, Rarity felt like a completely tactless and particularly insensitive foal.

“Oh goodness, Princess Twilight, I— I didn’t mean to— I—” Rarity stammered in a panicked frenzy, putting her hooves over her mouth and shaking her head. Now she’d really done it. And it was far too late to go back on what she’d said. “I’m so sorry! I don’t kno—”

“Do you need anything else?” Princess Twilight interrupted, looking up at the unicorn. “I was busy with something before you arrived.”

“Princess Twi—”

The princess lifted her hoof. “I understand. Why would you want to come back here? Canterlot is much nicer. I do not blame you for delaying your return; who would want to spend time with somepony who threw them against a bookcase?” she asked, her voice as cold and unforgiving as the Canterlot dungeons.

And yet, despite this, Princess Twilight’s face still betrayed one sole emotion: loneliness. A loneliness Rarity had never seen beset the alicorn before.

It was the type that hollows one out and leaves them an empty shell, still moving out of instinct, not desire to do so. How could Rarity hope to understand a type of loneliness she had never experienced? For now, though, she could feel fragments of it in Twilight’s actions, in her eyes, and in her words.

It was almost reminiscent of the day they first met, which already felt so long ago despite being so recent, when Twilight had begged for Rarity to stay. She’d shed all of her defenses, all of her royal persona, to reveal a terribly lonely mare asking for company because she had nothing left. Nothing left but books that couldn’t answer back and memories that had probably already faded away.

“If you do not need anything, Rarity,” Twilight continued, drawing herself up, “I will take my leave. You do not have to come back if you do not want to.”

The calendar, the notes, the questions… Guilt crashed through the unicorn.

Twilight had been waiting for Rarity because she was her only link to the outside, and Rarity hadn’t come. Now, thanks to running her mouth, Rarity had not only made Twilight feel completely unimportant, but that she’d been ignored in favor of everything she’d lost.

When Twilight turned to trot away, Rarity spoke up in an almost panicked voice: “I’m sorry, Princess Twilight! I really am!” In the face of such a mistake, there was only one thing Rarity could do: apologize, truly and sincerely. Apologize because in the end what mattered wasn’t why she hadn’t been able to keep her promise, but the fact that she hadn’t kept it. Twilight turned back to look at her, and Rarity felt reassured enough to continue. “I do like visiting you, Princess. More than you know, I really do. I apologize sincerely for not being here yesterday. I have no excuses to offer.”

The princess’ expression did not waver initially, and Rarity feared her words had little impact, until the lights in the room suddenly brightened. And, just as the lights had, so too did the alicorn’s face brighten ever so slightly, her ears perking up. The expression in her eyes changed from sadness to a feeling Rarity could only describe as… hope? Maybe even sincere belief in Rarity’s words?

Except then it changed again.

“Wait a moment…” Twilight said, narrowing her eyes. She took one step toward the unicorn and whispered: “You… You visited the castle?”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. Hadn’t she spent the entire past hour establishing just that? She was pretty sure she spent at least ten minutes speaking about the interior design of the ancient building. “Yes? Though I already sincerely apologized for delaying my return in favor of sightseeing…”

Twilight shook her head. “No, not that,” she replied, taking yet another step toward Rarity, seeming more imposing by the second. “You mentioned visiting the crystal hallway of the castle, didn’t you?”

“Yes…” Rarity replied carefully. “Well, I mean, it was a rather large hallway filled with mirrors that led from the…” She stopped herself, the word “dungeon” hanging from her lips, before clearing her throat and continuing, “Some part of the castle to the entrance.”

Twilight stared.

A book suddenly appeared next to her, opening up and flipping its pages as the alicorn spoke without actually looking at it. “Canterlot Castle had several large modifications made to it after the ascension of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza the First, following her role in the first Crystal Land dispute.” She seemed to be reciting a passage from memory. “A large hall was added to the original design, decorated with crystal and mirrors. It united the entrance of the castle with Princess Cadenza’s tower, the throne room, and the Canterlot dungeons.” The book pages suddenly stopped on a hoof-drawn illustration of the hallway Rift Shield had led Rarity through.

Rarity frowned, looking back and forth between Twilight and the illustration. “Princess, I don’t—”

“I am sure you noticed this hallway is not the main hallway, and it is not intended for ordinary visitors. As long as nothing has changed since my imprisonment, the only way an outsider of the castle could see this hallway is by either receiving an audience with Princess Cadance—or her descendants—or by going to the dungeons,” Twilight continued. “The only reason you could have seen that hallway is because you were seeking an audience with Princess Denza, which is exactly what I asked you not to do.”

The blood drained from Rarity’s face. “I… er… well…” she stammered, running her hoof through her mane. She needed to think of something to say and fast. After all, for every second of silence that ticked by, Twilight’s glare deepened and deepened. “I-it’s open to the public now!”

Twilight said nothing in reply. Not a sound, not a peep, not a single thing. She just narrowed her eyes even more, and Rarity felt like she was being completely and utterly examined by a ghostly gaze that peered right into her soul.

“All right, fine!” she exclaimed, clamping her ears against her skull. “I was jailed! I was thrown into the dungeons on Saturday and missed the train back home because I was getting intimately acquainted with the filth accumulating there for centuries! That’s why I saw the hallway, and that’s why I wasn’t able to keep my promise!”

Concern washed over Twilight’s face, her ears lowering slightly. “You were jailed?” she asked, her tone much softer than before. It was this very same concern that made Rarity wish, hope, plead, pray that Twilight’s next question wasn’t— “Why were you jailed?”

Two paths lay before the unicorn.

The easy path, which was creating yet another fantastical tale about intrigue and being involved in a theft in Canterlot, hopefully leaving Twilight impressed and reassured.

Or, the hard path, which was telling the absolute truth, cutting the delicate thread that kept her lies together, facing the anger of Princess Twilight, hoping she wouldn’t be thrown against a bookcase, and then figuring out her next step.

“Because the proof I brought of your existence wasn’t good enough to get me an audience with Princess Denza,” she said without—or with just a little bit—of hesitation, trying not to lose her cool as the concern vanished immediately from Princess Twilight’s face. She had made her bed, and now she had to lie in it. “Instead,” she continued, gulping down all desire to go back to option A, “it was taken as if I was playing a prank on the guards so they gave me a night in jail as a lesson.”

There.

It was out in the open now, and all that remained was to face the alarmingly calm storm in the shape of a completely silent princess. Rarity stood as tall and proud as she could, trying not to be intimidated by the alicorn’s blank yet somehow still furious gaze. Rarity was fully prepared for the sure-to-come yelling, but was completely disarmed when Princess Twilight simply teleported away instead without another word, the open book falling to the floor.

Rarity didn’t quite know how to react, blinking at the spot where Twilight had once been. “Princess?” she ventured, receiving no reply. “Princess, please, I apologize for doing this without your permission! Can’t we talk about it, please?” After several more callings of the princess’ name, all of which went unanswered, Rarity sighed deeply and picked up the book with her magic. “Princess Twilight! You’re being ridi—”

“I told you I didn’t want you involved!” the princess’ voice boomed throughout the entire library, almost as if she was everywhere at once. She suddenly appeared atop the bookcase, wings flared and a scorching fire in her glare. “You can’t help me!”

“Why not?!” Rarity demanded, completely baffled by how adamantly Twilight was against receiving help. “You let me go out and find the books! Why can’t I seek informa—”

“Books don’t get you thrown into the dungeon!” Twilight interrupted, teleporting away and reappearing in front of Rarity, forcing the unicorn to backtrack several paces. “For all I know, he’s still out there! For all I know, the only reason nopony has helped me before is because he has trapped them or killed them!”

Rarity had no reply ready for that, but not because she thought the princess was right. If the Spirit was truly out there plotting against the escape of the princesses, then… why hadn’t he stopped Rarity from getting one of Twilight’s books? They were the key to Twilight’s escape, weren’t they?

“But Princess—”

“Don’t you see?!” Twilight continued, steadily becoming more and more riled. “The evidence you have wasn’t even enough to convince the Equestrian royalty of my existence!”

“Because you won’t let me get more proof!” Rarity snapped back, taking a step toward Twilight in an act of insolence she was sure would have gotten her thrown back into the dungeon, so she hoped the library didn’t have one. “How can I be expected to gather more evidence if you won’t tell me anything, let alone allow me to seek information on my own?!” It was clear the alicorn had not expected Rarity to fight back, ears flattening against her head as she stepped away. This, however, wasn’t enough to dissuade Rarity from speaking her mind. She took another step toward the princess, stamping her hoof against the floor. “Why won’t you let me help you?!”

“Because I don’t want anypony in danger because of me! I don’t want that! Not again!” Twilight shot back in reply, stamping her own hoof against the floor, her voice cracking ever so slightly. “Why do you even care?!”

And it was amusing, in hindsight, how Rarity had asked herself that same question before and struggled with the answer, but now it came to her so naturally and easily. “Because you’re my friend, Twilight!” she exclaimed with all the honesty she had lacked before. Because in the short weeks since she’d found the library, she hadn’t bothered to realize that she kept coming back not out of desire for adventure or intrigue, but because she’d found a curious friend in the alicorn.

“B-but, but—” Twilight stepped even further back, apprehension in her eyes replaced by sheer confusion. She opened and closed her mouth several times, her thoughts obviously going much faster than her mouth could keep up. When her mouth finally did catch up, she blurted out in a flabbergasted voice: “But I accused you of being the Spirit! And you only met me… five book-borrowings ago!”

“Princess, last I knew, friendships didn’t have a time condition over when they can start,” Rarity replied. The princess seemed as if she wanted to throw a retort, but couldn’t find one. Taking advantage of Twilight’s difficulties finding words to express herself, Rarity continued, “And I apologize for not keeping my promise as I should have, and for everything else I’ve done. That is not something friends do.”

Twilight kept quiet, looking as if she were trying to process Rarity’s words. “Thank you for apologizing,” she said finally.

“And please believe me when I say I really do want to help you,” Rarity continued, knowing she was again treading on thin ice. “Truly and sincerely.”

“I… don’t know,” Twilight said, getting up and pacing around, mumbling under her breath. It was a strange sight as she kept trotting through the bookcases, something which Rarity still wasn’t quite used to.

While Twilight lost herself in her own thoughts, Rarity looked at the book she’d picked up from the floor. To her immense surprise, the pony marked down as the author was the very same alicorn currently rambling about the dangers of adventuring throughout Equestria in search of long-lost princesses.

Her curiosity awakened, Rarity opened up the book and noticed it was completely hoof-written in elegant lavender calligraphy. She flipped through its pages, picking one at random. It held an illustration of a conference room with a title and description below.

The Garden of the Accord

Commissioned after the end of the First Chaos War, the Garden of the Accord was designed to serve as the meeting place for the four Princesses of Equestria and the Spirit of Chaos.

The meetings were held annually on the anniversary of the end of the First Chaos War. The princesses would offer a small, barren land on which the Spirit was allowed to create chaos, and in return he would act peacefully toward the rest of the Equestrian Kingdom. If he failed to keep his end of the bargain, the Elements of Harmony would be used to turn him to stone or worse.

Several tapestries hang from the marble walls of the room, depicting the events of the war: from the beginning to the defeat of the Spirit of Chaos and the ascension of Twilight Sparkle the unicorn as consequence of her pivotal actions in bringing about the end of the war. Due to a spell created in collaboration between Star Swirl the Bearded and Princess Sparkle, the walls of the room and indeed the entire castle have been imbued with a protective spell against chaos magic. This renders the Spirit’s magic completely ineffective within the castle walls, thus preventing him from attacking the princesses at any time during the Peace Meetings.

The Peace Meetings are no longer celebrated since the start of the Second Chaos Era, which began on the day of the Fifth Peace Meeting, when the Spirit’s request for something other than land was not granted.

“…the ascension of Twilight Sparkle the unicorn as consequence of her pivotal actions in bringing the end of the war.”

Her eyes lingered on that sentence, and Rarity realized she’d always assumed Princess Twilight had, well, always been an alicorn. Rarity turned to the book’s index page and read down the list of contents until she found one that interested her. “Second Chaos War, page four hundred thirteen.”

She flipped through the pages, reached the appropriate one, and gulped. What… What is this?

The words “your fault” had been written all over the page in capital letters. Did… did Twilight write this? But it didn’t look like her hoofwriting at all. She turned the page and found the rest of the chapter plastered with the same accusation over and over. She went back to the first page and tried to read the original text, but she was interrupted when Twilight stopped her pacing to confront her once more.

“Just because you found me does not mean finding the others will be easy!” Twilight pointed toward the calendar hanging above the desk. “It’s been over a thousand years! If even I don’t know where he could have trapped them, how are you supposed to find information as… as…” She took the book from Rarity’s magical grip, closing it and waving it around. “…As lost and irretrievable as my borrowed books!”

Rarity simply stared at Twilight, lowering her hoof; she’d been reaching to get the book back. As much as she wanted to laugh and pat the head of the blissfully ignorant alicorn, she settled instead on an innocent smile as her only response.

The princess seemed disconcerted. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked carefully.

“Oh, it’s nothing!” Rarity replied nonchalantly, running a hoof through her mane and then tapping it against her cheek. “I was simply mulling over whether I should put my bag down somewhere because the ‘lost and irretrievable’ book in my saddlebag is so terribly heavy.”

Princess Twilight did not reply initially, her eyes growing wide. “You… You found one?”

“Now, what was it called?” Rarity continued, lifting her hoof to admire the remnants of the hooficure from last week. “I think it was Magical A to Better by Camellia the Closet Mage?” She used her magic to take the book out of her bag, secretly delighting in the way Twilight’s mouth dropped open like a filly presented with an early birthday present. “Ah yes, it is!” She floated it toward the other mare, smiling her most charming smile. “For you, Princess.”

With how carefully Twilight took the book, one might think she had been given the most precious and fragile diamond in the kingdom. “This…” Her stammered words fell silent when she opened it to the front page and saw her own hoofwriting. She flipped through the pages and started muttering, as if entering a trance. “Maybe… Maybe this is why I can’t find the map? What if the lost books are the key to finding it?” Her questions seemed to be directed at herself, giving Rarity the distinct impression the alicorn had forgotten she was there.

Rarity was too occupied to care, though.

Map? What map? she thought, racking her memory. Neither the Book Bringer nor the legend had ever mentioned a map, but it had to be important if Twilight was looking for it—and even more so if it was related to the lost books. Her ears perked up when she realized that perhaps it was a map for finding the other alicorns.

“A map to find the others?” Rarity asked, taking a step forward to peer at the book, hoping the princess would feel more inclined to share information now that Rarity had given her the lost tome.

“No,” Twilight replied, not looking up from the book. “The map is to find—” To Rarity’s frustration, Twilight cut herself off and finally looked at the unicorn, closing the book and holding it against her chest. “…To help a friend,” she said with visible difficulty.

“You mean one of the princesses?” Rarity asked. After all, as horrid as it sounded, any other friend the princess had before must have already passed away.

Twilight winced. “…No, he’s a… he’s not one of the princesses.”

He?

Though Rarity could tell Twilight did not want to delve further into the matter, her curiosity far outweighed her sense of tact. “You mean to say the Spirit trapped somepony else beside you and the other two princesses?” Now this was new and valuable information. “Who?”

Twilight closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. “No, he didn’t— I’m not sure if he really— He said only the map would—” She groaned and looked away, gritting her teeth. “Will you… Can you please continue looking for my books?” Twilight asked, again with great difficulty. “And…” She took a deep breath of air. “Find information on the others? As long as you feel you are not in any danger?”

Rarity could barely hold in her delight, excitedly stomping her forehooves against the floor. “Princess, I’d be honored to help you. And I will most certainly keep returning your books,” she said, relieved that her part in the fairy tale adventure hadn’t been cut short. She then giggled and fluttered her eyelashes. “Good thing you don’t charge late fees, wouldn’t you say!”

Twilight narrowed her eyes, rubbing her hoof against her mouth. “…Don’t charge late fees?”

“Or at least don’t charge the delivery mare!” Rarity quickly said with a nervous laugh, taking several steps back, suddenly watching all her life’s savings poof away. “Right?”

Twilight didn’t reply, her eyes narrowing even further.

“Wait!” Rarity eeped, shaking her head. “Please don’t charge me with the late fees. I really don’t think there’s enough money in Equestria to even pay for them.”

Twilight rolled her eyes and Rarity could have sworn she saw an amused smile. “I wouldn’t charge you with the late fees, Rarity. You didn’t borrow them,” she said as if it were obvious, teleporting the book away. “It would be unfair for me to do that.”

“Thank goodness,” Rarity said, relaxing visibly. “I’m afraid I’m a little low on funds since buying my new camera.” It wasn’t until after the words had left her lips that she remembered who she was speaking to and about what. “Not that I’m still upset with you, of course!” she quickly added.

Twilight didn’t seem fazed. “Why would you be upset? I fixed your photographic device.”

“You did?”

That was certainly a pleasant surprise, even if she somehow doubted the princess would be able to really fix a camera without any apparent knowledge of how it worked. But then again, beggars couldn’t be choosers, could they? Especially not those without a single bit left.

Twilight nodded. “I have a few minor adjustments to make, but I should not be too long.”

“Oh, well, I have nothing planned so I don’t mind wai—” Her sentence stopped when Twilight’s horn glowed and suddenly Rarity found both of them teleported to the lower floor, standing next to a desk right in front of the maze’s entrance. Chills ran down her spine at the rather bizarre sensation of being teleported. “This works too.”

She noticed her camera sitting on the desk, but as she had anticipated, it didn’t quite look like its original design. Several stray pieces of machinery were lying next to it, and she withheld the need to point out that the device probably wouldn’t work if it wasn’t complete.

“I used spells to modify some of the components. The photographs should be of a much higher quality than they were before,” Twilight began, levitating the camera into the air and giving it to Rarity. She also floated over a piece of parchment listing several simple-enough looking spells. “I also adapted some coloring spells so you can change the chromatic base of the pictures.”

“I see…”

Rarity scanned the camera over before reading through the spells. Monochrome, warm, cool, dark; they all seemed like filters one could find in the new expensive magic cameras Rarity could only dream of affording. She poised the camera so as to take a picture of a nearby bookshelf, but stopped and looked at Twilight instead.

“Why don’t we take a picture together?” she suggested, waving the camera enthusiastically. Before Twilight could even object or agree, Rarity trotted over and stood next to the alicorn, shivering slightly at the abrupt cold that surrounded her. She pointed the camera lens toward them and through her wide grin asked, “Do I cast the spell now?”

“Er, no, after the picture has been taken,” Twilight replied, fidgeting next to Rarity. She lifted her hoof toward the camera. “Perhaps it would be better to take a picture of something else for the—”

“No, no!” Rarity scolded, swatting away Twilight’s forehoof. She cleared her throat and resumed her smiling position. “Very well, are you rea— Princess, you could at least try to look at the camera.”

To Rarity’s annoyance, Twilight was instead looking at the ceiling, eyes wide as saucers.

“There’s somepony else here,” she whispered slowly, moving away from the camera. “Upstairs.”

Rarity immediately looked up, squinting. “There is?” she asked in a hushed voice. “Wait, how do you know that? I haven’t heard a thing!”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “Enchantments on my books alert me when somepony is taking one,” she said. “That’s how I found out you were here the first time you came.” She closed her eyes, her ears completely alert. “They’re in the social sciences aisle.”

So I was being followed! Rarity thought, biting her lip. But who? And why?

“What do we do?” she whispered urgently. “Princess?” After half a minute of no reply, she looked around and found that Princess Twilight was gone. “Oh for pony’s sake…”

Honestly, she thought as she put the camera back on the desk and rushed over to the stairs, was it really necessary to leave me behind? These ponies could prove to be helpful, and knowing how the princess was prone to not-so-friendly greetings, it would have been a much better idea for Rarity to go find them. When she finally reached the upper floor, there wasn’t a sound to be heard, and the chandelier had been turned off. So much for trying not to scare them off.

As quietly as possible, Rarity trotted through the rows of bookcases, using light from her horn to keep a lookout for anypony. “Princess Twilight?”

What if it’s the Spirit? she suddenly thought, stopping in her tracks. Coming to stop me from helping Princess Twilight? She shook her head and continued her search. “No, Rarity, don’t be silly,” she scolded herself. “I’m sure he doesn’t even know about me, if he’s even still alive, that is…”

She stopped again. “But what if it is him? Oh goodness, what if the princess was right?! Maybe he let me find the book just so he’d be sure I was helping the princess, and now he’s come to end my life! Or maybe even worse! Though what would be wor—”

“Rarity.”

Rarity let out terrified gasp, slamming herself against the nearest bookcase and grabbing a book to use as an impromptu shield against certain chaotic death. She turned around and found nopony initially, until she looked up and saw the alicorn standing atop a bookcase. “Princess Twilight!” she hissed once she’d caught her breath. “Must you really do that every single time?!”

Twilight didn’t reply to the question, instead looking up at the ceiling. “The chandelier fail-safe activated, so it wasn’t Elara or Themis,” she informed.

“Chandelier fail-safe?”

“Star is set to turn off when a stranger enters the library,” Twilight explained before disappearing and reappearing atop a distant bookcase.

Rarity stared up at the ceiling, remembering the chandelier had not turned off when she’d entered the library earlier. Did that mean Twilight didn’t consider her a stranger anymore? She smiled slightly, pleased by the realization and momentarily forgetting why she’d gone up in the first place. She was abruptly reminded, however, when several crashing sounds and a scream near the entrance of the library nearly frightened the life out of her.

Twilight immediately teleported away while Rarity took the slower path, maneuvering through the bookcases. When she finally reached the entrance, she found Twilight standing in front of the exit tunnel, the magic candelabra floating next to her.

“They’re gone!” Twilight announced, still staring into the tunnel.

Rarity cantered past the princess and into the tunnel. “Maybe they’re still outside! I’ll be back as soon as I find them!”

“Oh, uhm, wait!” Princess Twilight called. When Rarity stopped, Twilight turned back toward the library and called to Themis. The little black owl appeared a moment later, circling the princess. “Please go with her, Themis,” she instructed before looking toward Rarity. “And, uh, please be careful…”

Rarity nodded. “Of course.”

She rushed up the stairs and out into the forest but found nopony inside the depression surrounding the tree. “Hello?!” she called out, trotting around the tree and again finding nothing. She climbed up out of the hole and moved further away. To her frustration, whoever had come seemed to be long gone. Looking up at the tree, she noticed Elara was gone as well. Had she chased after the intruder?

She looked around the area once more and, when it was clear the intruder would not be coming back, she made her way back to the tree. Trotting down the stairs, she saw the princess still waiting by the tunnel when she reached the last step.

“Did you see them?” Twilight called, moving her head as if trying to see somepony else next to or behind the unicorn.

“No, they were already gone, I’m afraid,” Rarity called back, cantering toward the alicorn. She stepped into the library and sighed. “Elara was absent, as well. Perhaps she followed after whomever came? I wonder wh— Princess… what did you…” Books upon books lay scattered in orderly towers all over the floor, their bookshelves completely empty. Rarity looked back and forth between the unconcerned alicorn and the mess. “Princess, what on Earth did you do this for? The library was absolutely spotless!”

“I have to verify if the new book can be linked to the map,” the princess explained, levitating several tomes over and opening them simultaneously. The book Rarity had brought appeared above Twilight, floating in the air as she started reading the other books. She seemed lost in a trance, until she looked at Rarity and acknowledged her presence once more.

If the princess would be doing research on the map, Rarity hardly expected she’d be included or asked to help. A bit awkwardly, she smiled at Twilight and asked, “Would you prefer I leave you be, then? I can take the camera and come back another day? With no day-long delays this time,” she added with an equally awkward laugh.

Twilight lowered her book, opening and closing her mouth several times. “I…”

“Or I can help rearrange the books after you’ve gone through them?” Rarity suggested, neatly ordering a nearby stack of books with her magic. “Elara hasn’t come back yet, I think, so why don’t we catch up on the time we lost due to my… er, imprisonment.”

Twilight looked back to her book for a minute before closing it and putting it on the floor. She then looked at the unicorn and nodded slowly. “All right.”

Rarity clapped her hooves enthusiastically. “All right, then!” she exclaimed, picking up the book and looking at the cover. “Astronomical Astrological Anomalies by Astronomic Astrology,” she read aloud. She trotted into the rows of bookcases, looking at the numbers, until she remembered her lack of knowledge of the Star Swirl Decimal Classification, backtracked into the lobby, and coughed with embarrassment. “Where does this go, exactly?”

“In the Astronomy section,” Twilight replied, only making Rarity’s blush become even more noticeable.

Silence.

“And that is where…?”

“Class five hundred, division five hundred and twenty, row C, slot twenty-six.”

“Ah, yes! Right,” Rarity said as if she had known that, clearing her throat and looking up at the number on the nearest bookcase. She wondered if maybe the princess had some sort of cheat-sheet for the system or else she’d be there all night. “I’ll be right ba—”

“Hoo!”

Prompted by the sound of the familiar hooing, the two mares turned around to see Elara flying into the library before she touched down next to Twilight.

“Oh, Elara!” Rarity exclaimed. “Where did you go?”

“Elara, did you go after the intruder?” Twilight asked, receiving a hoot in reply. “Where did you lose them?” Elara hooted again and pointed at Rarity with her wing. Twilight furrowed her brow, looking at the unicorn. “Ponyville.”

Ponyville? But who? Only Fluttershy knows about Twilight, and she wouldn’t follow me into the forest like that.

“Are you going back to your home?” Twilight suddenly asked, snapping Rarity out of her thoughts. “Now that Elara has returned?”

Rarity floated the book back down, her ears lowering. “Oh… Oh, I suppose I should…” Truthfully, she wanted to stay longer, but the princess would be busy with her books, wouldn’t she?

As soon as Rarity finished speaking, Twilight immediately got back up and a book appeared beside her. “Oh, then I thought you might like to borro—” She cut herself off with visible difficulty, and the book disappeared immediately. She sat back down and returned to the other book she had been reading. “All right, then. Be careful on your way home.”

“Could I borrow a book, Princess?” Rarity asked, taking a step toward the alicorn. “I’d love to see the book you’d picked out for me!”

Twilight stared at her, apparently unsure of what to say. “O-oh, uhm… I…” The book reappeared, and she gingerly floated it toward Rarity. “It’s just a book on, uh, spells to be used in geology. You’ve mentioned you use gemstones frequently in your designs so I thought you might like this.” The book opened under the influence of Twilight’s magic, and Rarity found several markings had been made with one of the pencils Rarity had given Twilight. “I marked the interesting passages and spells for you. I was planning on showing them to you yesterday, but then you…” She drifted off.

“Then why not show them to me now?!” Rarity exclaimed, taking the book and settling herself next to the princess. “I don’t have to leave right this second, after all! Unless you’d like to keep working on your map, of course. I can always come back tomorrow?” she suggested, getting up again.

Twilight was silent, looking back from her old lost book to the one in Rarity’s hoof. “I…” Rarity was afraid Twilight would send her away, but her fears dissipated when Twilight put down her old book and, with a crack of magic, all the other books on the floor returned to their respective places. “I can show you now,” she offered quietly, taking the book and opening it up to a random page.

“Splendid!” Rarity exclaimed, sitting back down and scooching close to the alicorn. She bit her lip before taking the plunge and confiding, “If I’m honest, I didn’t really want to leave yet.”

Twilight didn’t reply, instead only glancing at the unicorn. She then looked back at the book and cleared her throat. “We should start with this spell,” she said finally, pointing to the illustration of a glowing gem. “It makes gems glow brightly and even allows the caster to spot them through solid rock.”

And as nice as the drawing looked, Rarity thought to herself that in that moment, nothing Twilight could show her in a book would be nicer than the fact that, even if tentatively, the two were now friends.

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters. Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act I ~ 07 ~ The Search For Princess Booky ~

“Today is going to be great.”

Slamming her book shut, Rarity allowed a deviously pleased smile to grace her lips. She spent at least two library visits planning today, and there was absolutely no way it could or would go wrong. Today, she would stop being the only soul to know of Princess Twilight’s existence. Today, she would henceforth be able to face the odd stares with a bit more confidence. Today, she would no longer be crazy.

Today, Fluttershy would meet Twilight, and then she’d believe in ghost stories, fairy tales, and Rarity’s claims.

“Rarity?”

Rarity turned around and looked over to where the princess was sitting, busy reading one of several romance novels Rarity had brought her. Though Twilight had no small amount of books, she’d expressed interest in more modern literature, and Rarity had decided there was no better place to start than romance novels. Light, fluffy, romantic—honestly, what wasn’t to love? The alicorn, in fact, had already made her way through two of the four novels, and she seemed close to finishing the third one.

Rarity knew Twilight would love them.

“Yes, Princess?” Rarity asked in a sing-song voice, running through her mental checklist of questions Princess Twilight might still have about Fluttershy—or her thrilling novels.

“Are all modern novels this predictable?” Twilight asked, looking up at the unicorn with a concerned frown. She levitated one of the other books and waved it around. “The last three have had the same core plots save for a few differences.”

For the sake of her perfect day, Rarity pretended she did not hear that incredibly misguided question. Rarity wasn’t one to point out just how much the princess lacked taste where finer literature was concerned. The poor dear. “Princess, do you have any other questions before I leave to get Fluttershy?”

Twilight lowered the book. “I… Are you sure this is a good idea?” she carefully asked. “Ponies are not usually very… enthusiastic when meeting me.”

“Oh, don’t be silly! It’ll be perfectly fine,” Rarity reassured, waving off Twilight’s worries with her hoof. “You just need to relax a bit more, darli—Princess.” Rarity had slowly been warming Fluttershy up to the idea for the past few days, and it would be difficult for Twilight to make a bad impression when everypony involved knew their part to play. “I’m sure you’ll get along splendidly with her. Besides, there are plenty of books here that might interest her, so if worst comes to worst, you can always bring those up. She’s quite the reader, you know!”

Twilight looked unsure but argued no further.

“All right,” she relented. “You mentioned she takes care of animals? I can compile some books she might find useful.”

“Yes, and she’s very good at it, too!” Rarity replied, looking around the library. Speaking of animals, where are the owls?

“Rarity,” Twilight said, having returned to her enthralling reading, “I notice the protagonists in these books are all similar to yourse—”

“Now, where are Elara and Themis?” Rarity interrupted quickly, hiding the faint reddening of her cheeks by looking around for the two birds. “I was hoping to take both of them with me so Fluttershy would feel more comfortable in coming to the library.”

“They’ve been waiting outside ever since you told them you were leaving—about five chapters ago,” Twilight informed matter-of-factly, receiving a nervous laugh in reply.

“Ah. I forgot.” Rarity cleared her throat and took her saddlebag from a nearby table, putting it on and grinning at the princess. “So! Shall we review our steps before I leave?”

“No talk of the Spirit, only animals and caretaking,” Princess Twilight repeated monotonously, turning the page of her book. She closed it, then took the last one from the stack and turned it around, her brow furrowing deeper with every passing second she read the summary. Eventually, she looked up at Rarity with what could only be described as a look halfway between disgusted and condescending. “Rarity, this is rea—”

“Princess, let’s not judge a book by its blurb, hmm?”

Twilight opened her mouth to protest, frowning at Rarity, before sighing and opening the book up to the first page. “I suppose not…”

“Have fun!” Rarity called, trotting toward the tunnel and out of the library before the princess could further insult her literary repertoire. “I’ll be back in an hour or so!”

She made her way up the stairs and into the forest, finding the two owls huddled together on a branch, enjoying a nice nap. “Come on, you two,” she called, watching as they woke and flew down to meet her. “Fluttershy must be waiting for us already.”

“Today is going to be perfect.”

Aiming toward a “great” day was far too little for Rarity’s standards. She needed the day to go along perfectly if Twilight and Fluttershy were to become friends.

Fluttershy took a drawn-out sip of her tea before putting the cup on the table and looking at Rarity hesitantly. “Rarity, are you sure about this?” she asked, lifting her hoof so as to gently pet Elara, who’d contented herself with eating insects from a bowl while Themis played with the other animals inside the cottage.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Rarity repeated for the millionth time, reminding herself not to let her frustration show. If she wanted things to go without a hitch, she needed Fluttershy to be confident in going, and that required patience and support. “Darling, we’ve been planning this for days! Don’t you want to meet her?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Oh, I do!” But just as fast as her excitement appeared, so it faded away. “But the forest is so dangerous, and… and what about the pony who followed you the other day?” She folded her hooves on the table and pressed her ears against her head. “I don’t know, Rarity…”

Rarity bit her lip. It was true that she’d never found out who the mysterious intruder in the library was, but… “There’s nothing to worry about, Fluttershy! They must have been a lost traveler or some such thing. I very much doubt a pony who’d gone there with the intention of spying or attacking me would have been careless enough to scream or make themselves known as they did.”

Fluttershy did not answer.

“Oh, Fluttershy, pleeeease. There’s absolutely no way we can get lost, and it’ll be perfectly safe!” Rarity insisted, pawing at the table and jutting her lower lip in the most adorable pout she could muster. She was pleased to see Elara, too, was looking at the pegasus with adorable wide eyes, wobbling around as cutely as she could. “Please, please, pleaaaa—”

“All right,” Fluttershy finally said, delicately pushing her teacup away and getting up from the table. Elara cheerfully flew up and sat atop her head, eliciting a giggle from the pegasus.

With a gleeful squee, Rarity stood and cantered toward the door, levitating Fluttershy’s saddlebag and placing it on its owner before putting her own bag on. Themis flew up and landed atop Fluttershy’s back, earning a glare from the bunny who’d been very insistently asked to stay home.

“Do you have the postcard?” Fluttershy asked after she’d finished giving last-minute instructions to the critters wandering around the cottage.

“Yes, yes! I put it in your bag! Come on, darling!” Rarity urged, opening the door and gesturing outside. “Princess Twilight is waiting and we—” Her voice faded to a stop when she noticed that she in fact was not gesturing toward an empty garden, but rather two familiar fillies standing at the door, heavy-looking bags on their backs and their hooves raised as if about to knock.

“Girls! What are you doing here?” Rarity asked, eyeing the two fillies curiously.

“Oh, hello girls!” Fluttershy called, trotting forward. “I wasn’t expecting you so soon!”

The fillies gave a simultaneous downhearted sigh. “Cheerilee said we had to come today instead,” they replied.

“‘Come today’?” Rarity asked, looking back and forth between the fillies and her friend. “Is there something I’m missing?”

Scootaloo did not reply initially, looking at anything but Rarity, whereas Sweetie Belle only said something under her breath.

Their faces fell even further when Fluttershy frowned and prompted, “Well? Aren’t you going to tell her?”

“…Cheerilee gave us extra biology homework as punishment for skipping school last Monday,” Sweetie Belle informed, too ashamed to look up at her sister. “Fluttershy is going to lend us a book for the essay…”

“Well, I’m very disappointed to hear that, Sweetie Belle,” Rarity scolded, frowning sternly at her younger sister, and friend. “That is very irresponsible!”

Sweetie Belle winced. “I’m sorry, Sis…”

“Why would you even skip cla—”

And then it hit her with such force, her anger reached boiling point in a mere second. “No,” Rarity whispered, taking a threatening step toward the two fillies, who reacted by stepping back with confused expressions. Before either could speak up, Rarity lifted her hoof and pointed it at the two fillies. “It was you, wasn’t it?! The pony who followed me!”

Of course! No wonder that scream had sounded so high-pitched! They’d already been following her all day, hadn’t they? They made it perfectly clear they knew she’d been going to the forest frequently! That must have been the next logical step of their incredibly ill-thought-out plan!

“U-us?” the two ponies squeaked, looking at each other with even more confusion than before.

Oh, acting innocent, were they? How daft did they really think Rarity was? As if they were the single most horrid piece of clothing she’d ever laid eyes on, Rarity circled the two fillies, eyes narrowed as she shot accusations at such a rate she didn’t notice Fluttershy gesturing for her to keep quiet.

“I’m amazed at how incredibly brainless you both are! Following me into the Everfree Forest?! I don’t think I’ve—”

Scootaloo shook her head vigorously. “B-but, Rarity, we nev—”

“—ever in my entire life been as foolish as the two of you! I thought—”

“Uhm, Rarity, you—”

“—it was somepony dangerous who followed me into the library! I could have attacked you!” she accused, stamping her hoof against the floor. “Didn’t you learn anything from the last time you went into the forest?! That place is not for fillies to be wandering about, under any circumstance, ever!”

The two fillies remained quiet for the longest time, and it wasn’t until Rarity stamped her hoof again and asked “Well?!” that Fluttershy reacted, stepping next to Rarity and whispering, “It was all-you-can-eat ice cream morning for three bits at Sugarcube Corner last Monday…”

“Oh.”

Oops…

A nervous smile painted itself on Rarity’s face, followed by a stern frown. “Th-that is still very irresponsible, girls! For shame!” she continued scolding, trying to ignore the growing smiles on the fillies’ faces. She patted them both on the head before clearing her throat and trotting away. “Now, do your assignment and we’ll be off! Goodby—”

“There’s a library in the forest…?” Scootaloo asked, turning to look at Sweetie Belle.

Rarity gulped audibly and looked back to the two awed fillies. “No, there isn’t,” she quickly said, trying to sound as convincing and stern as she possibly could. “Now, come, stop stall—”

“I… was right?” Sweetie asked, turning to look at Scootaloo.

Rarity shook her head, gesturing for Fluttershy to help her. “No, you weren’t! I was just being drama—” Her sentence was drowned out by the flurry of questions the two fillies shot at her, practically throwing themselves over Rarity in the process. Her own cries of “no!” were lost amongst “where is it?!” and “is it scary?!” and other gleeful inquiries.

The unicorn got a moment of reprieve only when the fillies jumped away to vividly discuss between themselves their theories on the library and what they would do once they got there and what Cutie Marks in lost-library-finding would look like.

“Girls!” Rarity snapped, finally silencing the two excited ponies. Well, there was no turning back, but if she couldn’t reverse the wheels of time, she could at least prevent the fillies from going to the library. “You are not going into the Everfree Forest again! If there is a library, which I am not saying there is, it is not a place for fillies to wander to!”

“W-why not?!” Scootaloo asked.

“We want to see the library!” Sweetie Belle added.

“And I want to be a queen, but not everypony can get what they want, hm?!” Rarity retorted.

“We would have found it first if you hadn’t sent us away on Seeking Night!” Sweetie said with a huff, sitting herself on the ground and crossing her forelegs. “It’s not fair…”

“W-what about Apple Bloom?! The filly living at the Apple farm!” Scootaloo continued, signaling for Sweetie to get back up, obviously not giving up the fight. “She takes lessons with Zecora, and she and her big sister get to go into the forest all the time!”

“Well, that’s entirely Applejack’s decision, but I am not condoning either of you going into the forest, and that’s my final say on the matter,” Rarity said threateningly, thankfully impervious to the puppy-dog eyes her sister was regaling her with.

“Come on, girls,” Fluttershy added in a much gentler tone, smiling amiably at the fillies. “Rarity is right. The Everfree Forest is very dangerous.”

Sweetie Belle opened her mouth to protest, but she was cut off when Scootaloo’s hoof landed on her muzzle.

“You’re right, Rarity! We won’t go into the forest anymore,” she said, suspiciously serious. The pegasus ignored the curious look her friend threw at her, and instead pushed Sweetie toward the inside of the cottage. “We’re going to do our homework, right, Sweetie Belle?”

Sweetie blinked at Scootaloo before quickly nodding her head. “Yeah! We’re going to do our homework! We don’t want to see the library anymore!”

The two fillies waved goodbye to the mares before stepping into the cottage and closing the door, leaving Fluttershy to stare after them while Rarity placed a hoof against her face and exhaled a sigh so deep, she was sure Princess Twilight could hear it.

“Rarity, you don’t really think they’re going to do homework, do you?”

“Of course not.” She exhaled another long-suffering sigh and took her hoof back. If the fillies hadn’t been the ones who followed her before, now they would be. She looked toward the door and enveloped the knob with magic, ready to twist it open. “I suppose we’ll have to take them with us.”

Fluttershy looked aghast at the idea. “Take them with us?!”

Rarity nodded. “We have to. I can assure you they’ll be going with or without us, so wouldn’t you rather it be with us?”

“But what about…” Fluttershy glanced at the door briefly before whispering, “…Princess Twilight?”

“Well, I…” Rarity said, letting go of the doorknob and rubbing her hoof against her cheek.

While the library itself wasn’t really grand enough to warrant coming back almost every other day, Princess Twilight sure was. If Rarity couldn’t keep herself from going, the two fillies surely wouldn’t either if they met her. And then what would stop them from trying to find the other two princesses? Rarity was an adult who could afford the risk, but Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo?

“Princess Twilight will have to keep herself hidden. They can’t meet her,” she said finally, taking hold of the doorknob again. “We can’t risk them going after the princesses or the lost books.”

Though Fluttershy still didn’t look very comfortable with the idea, she didn’t object further. “All right…”

“It’ll be fine, darling,” Rarity reassured, smiling at the pegasus. “Elara and Themis have always taken me through safe paths, and both the library and its princess are perfectly harmless. The girls won’t see the princess, and they won’t want to come back after that.”

As soon as Rarity opened the door, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo fell face first onto the floor, the aftermath of having been leaning against the door trying to eavesdrop. They got up just as fast as they fell, though, and immediately hugged the two mares.

“You’re the best!” Sweetie cheered before letting go and rushing toward the forest, followed closely by Scootaloo. “Come on, let’s go, let’s go!”

“Ah ah ah! Not so fast, hm?” Rarity called, pulling the two fillies back with her magic. She dropped them right in front of her and lowered herself to their eye-level. “Let us establish some ground rules, shall we?”

“Yes, Rarity,” they groaned, rolling their eyes.

“First rule: you are to stay next to Fluttershy and myself at all times. Second rule: when we get to the library, you will continue staying next to the both of us, as well as refraining from touching absolutely anything in the library. Third rule: you are to do anything we tell you to do, and finally, fourth rule.” Rarity narrowed her eyes and spoke slowly but loudly, “If you break any of the previous rules, I’m taking you straight back to Ponyville and will not design the costumes you requested for your club. Are we clear?”

Once the fillies excitedly nodded, Rarity straightened herself up and looked in the direction of the library. “Let’s get this done, then.”

Her words were drowned out by elated cheers as the two fillies ran off again, leaving Fluttershy and Rarity to chase after them.

Despite her initial reluctance, Rarity thought to herself that as long as she handled everything carefully, the outing shouldn’t bring any problems. It’ll be a quick trip to the library, a quick look around, and that’ll be the end of it.

Today could still go somewhat well.

“It’s so big…”

Four ponies and two owls stood in front of the lost and forgotten Ponyville library: a familiar sight to the elder unicorn, but a relatively new and noticeably disconcerting sight to the other three. Rarity could barely stop herself from staring at her three companions, trying to figure out what they were thinking —Fluttershy, especially.

Scootaloo was the first of the four to trot toward the oak tree, Themis resting on her back and enjoying the ride. She failed to notice the trapdoor, her attention drawn instead toward the plaque hammered onto the bark.

“Donated by Princess Twilight Sparkle,” she read aloud.

As soon as she did, Rarity heard Sweetie Belle softly whisper Twilight’s name with such wonder, it was enough to draw a smile from the mare. Maybe… Maybe them meeting Twilight isn’t a bad idea, after all, is it?

She shook her head. Stop it, Rarity. It’s far too dangerous.

Sweetie looked up at Rarity and tugged her foreleg, drawing the attention of her elder sister. “Rarity?” she asked softly, timidly enough that it got Fluttershy’s attention as well. Sweetie glanced at the tree and asked, “Have you been inside already?”

Rarity giggled. “How else would I know it’s a library, darling?”

“Oh, yeah…”

Rarity lifted her hoof and affectionately brushed Sweetie’s mane. “My, my, a bit scared, are we?”

“N-no!” Sweetie exclaimed defensively, shaking her head and taking several definitely confident steps all the way to the tree and Scootaloo.

Rarity took advantage of the fillies’ absence to speak to Fluttershy privately. “What about you, Fluttershy? You do still want to go through with this, don’t you?”

The pegasus nodded slowly but surely.

Sudden excited yells from the two fillies caught Rarity’s attention, and she noticed they’d found the trapdoor leading into the library. Before they could go in without her, Rarity quickly trotted over. “Wait, girls, I’ll go first!” she exclaimed, opening the trapdoor once the two fillies moved aside. She watched briefly as Elara and Themis flew in first, before carefully stepping down the stairs, issuing several warnings to the fillies and Fluttershy.

“It’s so dark,” Scootaloo said. The faint glow emanating from the tip of Rarity’s horn was their only guiding light.

Stepping into the dark library, Rarity noticed Star was nowhere to be seen. She was secretly relieved by the fact, since a floating magic chandelier was sure to arouse interest in Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Then again, a floating magic candelabra would no doubt have the same effect, wouldn’t it?

“Do you think it’s dark because ghosts hate light?” Scootaloo asked Fluttershy, squinting her eyes and staring out into the room.

“Shh! Princess Booky might hear you, Scootaloo!” Sweetie immediately scolded, stepping closer to Rarity.

“Her name’s not ‘Booky,’ dummy! It’s Twilight Sparkle!” Scootaloo shot back.

Speaking of which, Rarity thought as she looked around the room, where is Princess Twilight? She supposed she should be used to Princess Twilight always appearing late, but for once, she couldn’t risk having the princess randomly appear as she so loved to do.

“I’m going to find a candelabra or something of the sort,” Rarity said, turning to her companions. “Fluttershy, darling, can you look after the girls until I’m back?”

“We don’t need that, Rarity!” Sweetie quickly exclaimed. She cleared her throat and closed her eyes, apparently deep in concentration. Sparks shot out of her horn, and Rarity was proud to see a soft shining glow appear at the top of the filly’s horn. “I did it!” The glow flickered several times, shooting more small sparks that made Sweetie wince, before finally dying out. She looked down at the floor and batted at a nearby stack of books. “Aw…”

Rarity patted her on the head affectionately. “That was very good, Sweetie!” she praised, earning a pleased smile from her little sister. “Just a bit more practice.”

“Wait, lemme read the spell again!”

As Sweetie reached into her saddlebag to retrieve a book, Rarity looked around again. Still no sight of Star or the princess. She saw a normal candelabra nearby and quickly levitated it over, lighting it up with a simple enough fire spell.

“Right, I’m going to find another candelabra to light our way properly,” she announced, setting the lit one down next to the fillies. The faster she found Star, the less risk there was of Sweetie or Scootaloo finding it. She wasn’t certain she was good enough at improv to come up with an explanation for a floating candelabra that didn’t involve ghostly magic.

Fluttershy nodded, glancing uneasily to her side.

By now, Sweetie Belle had taken out the book from her bag. “Easy Spells for Beginning Unicorns: Volume Two,” she read aloud. She then hesitated and pulled out another book. “Or was it in Volume One?” She pulled out yet another book. “Or Volume Four?”

“Geez, Sweetie, how many of these didja bring?” Scootaloo asked, pulling from Sweetie’s bag what Rarity presumed was Volume Three. The pegasus opened up the book and squinted, scooting close to the feeble candlelight and trying to read despite the bad lighting. “Levitating small objects…”

“No, no! I need illumination or fire spells,” Sweetie said, giving Fluttershy one of the volumes before starting to leaf through the pages of another.

With the three of them occupied, Rarity took off into the depths of the library.

“Princess Twilight?” she called quietly, brushing her hoof against the books as she trotted around. She was sure to look back every few moments or so, having learned her lesson on Twilight loving to scare her.

Where is she?

It wasn’t like Princess Twilight to take so long to appear.

Rarity stopped against a bookcase and selected a book at random, taking it out and putting it back into its slot on the shelf several times. “Come on…” She looked around as she did so, but still no sign of the alicorn. There had to be a better way to call Princess Twilight. Playing hide-and-seek every time she stepped into the place was starting to get a bit annoying.

After a few more moments of unsuccessful searching and book fiddling, she headed back, maneuvering around the rows of bookcases until she reached the library’s entrance. To her relief, everypony was still in their place. Fluttershy was busy reading from the book, Sweetie Belle was trying to be as close to the light without burning the pages as possible, Scootaloo looked dreadfully uninterested in reading about magic spells, and Princess Twilight looked incredibly fascinated by whatever she was rea—

Princess Twilight?!

Rarity’s hoof barely reached her mouth in time to muffle her horrified shriek. What is she doing there?! Twilight was sitting right behind Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle, a faint glow emanating from her horn as she read. Rarity could feel panic rushing through every vein in her body.

“Princess Twilight! Fluttershy!” Rarity hissed, waving her foreleg around to no avail.

Oh, what was she going to do? Calling any louder would catch Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo’s collective attention, but her current volume was doing nothing to help. To her further misfortune, the owls were nowhere to be seen, so she couldn’t even use them to get Twilight’s attention.

“Ugh, reading is boring,” Scootaloo said as she turned another page of her book, drawing a very displeased look from Twilight, which would have made Rarity laugh under other circumstances. “Let’s just use the candles and go exploring already…”

“Now, Scootaloo, we need to wait for Rarity,” Fluttershy insisted, looking up from her book and finally noticing the fourth reader. Her mouth opened and Rarity expected a terrified yelp to come out, but was immensely relieved when Fluttershy’s scream was a muted one.

Rarity sighed.

This was certainly not how she had envisioned everything would pan out. Gone were her fantasies of Twilight and Fluttershy meeting under proper, perfectly controlled conditions. Oh well, she should be used to nothing ever going as planned, shouldn’t she?

“Maybe the spell is in the fifth volume,” Sweetie lamented, making a move to put her book away.

“N-no, no! Keep looking, I’m sure it’s there!” Fluttershy squeaked, gently pressing her hoof on Sweetie’s head to keep her from looking up. “J-just keep looking.” She then looked around and finally spotted Rarity, throwing her a pained look. “What do I do?!” she mouthed, glancing nervously at the alicorn who was still entranced in her reading.

“Call her!” Rarity mouthed back.

Fluttershy nodded and turned to Twilight, opening her mouth. Rarity watched Fluttershy’s lips move, but she failed to hear even the teensiest bit of sound actually come out from them. It didn’t help that every time Fluttershy “spoke,” she shrank away from the princess and lowered her voice even more.

Fluttershy, for Denza’s sake…

When the pegasus turned to Rarity again with a helpless stare, Rarity bit her lip and gestured for Fluttershy to poke Twilight for attention. That ought to work… if only Fluttershy didn’t look so horrified by the suggestion.

Fluttershy put her hoof against her chest and shook her head. “I can’t do that!” she mouthed, glancing from Twilight to Rarity.

Rarity rolled her eyes and kept gesturing for Fluttershy to do something, anything.

Fluttershy took a deep breath, steeling herself, and shakily lifted her hoof. Her face turned almost as white as Sweetie’s coat when her hoof went right through the princess, but Rarity was glad to see her friend didn’t faint from shock. This was enough to finally get Twilight’s attention. She looked up at Fluttershy curiously and Fluttershy wordlessly—and shakily—smiled and pointed toward Rarity.

Twilight finally looked toward Rarity and raised her eyebrow at Rarity’s frantic waving. Nodding briefly at Fluttershy as thanks, she teleported away, book and all, and appeared behind the unicorn. “Hello Rarity,” she said, still reading. “I didn’t want to interrupt your friends while they read.”

“P-Princess,” Rarity gasped, still trying to catch her breath from the fright. “What were you doing?!”

Twilight looked up briefly. “Your sister requested help in finding a spell,” she replied, turning back to the book. “And I’d never seen these books! Is your sister very interested in magic spells?”

“Princess! Sweetie doesn’t kno—” Rarity cut herself off, noticing the two of them were still visible to Fluttershy and the fillies. “I need to talk to you in private,” Rarity whispered, briefly forgetting the princess was a spirit as she lifted her hoof to push the princess away. The second her hoof went through the alicorn, a chill ran down her spine and she quickly took it back, shaking off the odd feeling. I’m never getting used to that…

She trotted off, Princess Twilight close behind, and stopped only when she’d reached the other side of the room, far away from the entrance and out of the others’ earshot. Princess Twilight stopped as well, lowering Sweetie’s book and finally paying full attention to the mare.

“I wasn’t expecting you to bring ponies other than your friend,” Twilight continued. “I was waiting for your sister to finish reading so I could lend her a different book on spells. Does she have any more books I could borrow? Yours were a bit… Hm…” She drifted off while looking back at Sweetie’s book, opening it up and missing Rarity’s offended scowl. “Sweet Celestia, these are terrible. I’d like to show her ones that are not only much easier, but far more effective than these ‘spells.’”

Though Rarity didn’t know who this Celestia was, she knew things would be terrible if Twilight talked to Sweetie. “Princess, as much as I appreciate your offer, and I truly do, I think you shouldn’t talk with my sister or her friend,” she said, smiling apologetically.

Twilight looked up and frowned. “…Why not? That is why you brought them here, isn’t it? I thought you wanted me to meet your friends…”

Rarity’s smile turned into a nervous one. “Well, uh, yes! I do, of course, but the… how shall I say it? The offer was extended to Fluttershy only. My sister and her friend weren’t supposed to be here.”

Twilight was quiet, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly. “Why not?” she asked again, an edge to her voice. “You told me before that your sister and her friend first went into the forest because they wanted to meet me, whereas you found me by mistake. Why won’t you let them meet me?” The princess looked down a bit and muttered what sounded like, “I’m not that unpleasant.”

Rarity faltered, not wanting the princess to possibly misinterpret her reasons and think Rarity didn’t want others to befriend her. “On the contrary, Princess Twilight!” she exclaimed as loudly as she could without alerting the others, offering a charming smile. “You’re far too interesting.”

“Really?” Twilight asked, the sarcasm dripping from her words only accentuated by her raised eyebrow.

“Yes, really,” Rarity shot back, rolling her eyes playfully. “Honestly, Twilight, look at yourself! A beautiful alicorn princess literally right out of a fairy tale? Meeting somepony like you must be every filly’s dream!”

“…Really?” the princess asked again, though the sarcasm had all but disappeared. Her ears lowered and her expression softened into one of… hope?

“It was my dream when I was my sister’s age, at least. The Princess in the Library was always my favorite princess from the tale,” Rarity said nonchalantly, remembering hours spent as a filly designing dresses for the lost princesses. “And it certainly doesn’t help that she is also Sweetie’s favorite princess from the legend. If she met you, you’d have a little filly rushing here every single day to be with you. As nice as that may sound, that is why, Princess, she can’t meet you,” she said finally, carefully watching Princess Twilight’s expression. “You wouldn’t really want a filly crossing a dangerous forest all the time, would you?”

“I suppose that makes sense,” Princess Twilight murmured, taking back the book and flipping through the pages, apparently lost in thought. Her ears flickered up and she asked in a curiously soft voice, “I… I was your favorite princess?”

A crimson blush decorated Rarity’s cheeks, but she smiled—if awkwardly—despite this. “Oh! Uh, well, yes, you were!” she informed, suddenly feeling rather embarrassed about the time as a filly she had dressed up as “Princess Booky” for Seeking Night. Well, she doesn’t have to know about that, does she? I don’t think she’d approve of a dress made out of book pages.

“Now we know why I keep coming back! Ha ha…” she continued before clearing her throat. “In any case, I think for now you should remain in hiding unti—” Her sentence was interrupted when the princess teleported away in a rather rude fashion and reappeared atop the bookcase, apparently looking at something on the other side of the bookcase. “Princess Twi—”

The princess lifted her hoof to silence her, and moments later, another voice very near to Rarity spoke up.

“Rarity?” Fluttershy called, suddenly appearing at the corner of the aisle, carrying the candelabra. “Oh, there you are!” She seemed to be looking for somepony else, but after a minute trotted toward Rarity, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle trailing behind her. “The girls were… getting a bit bored,” Fluttershy quickly added.

In other words, Rarity thought, they were going to start exploring whether you liked it or not.

“Didja find another lamp, Rarity?” Scootaloo asked, idly reading the titles on the spines of books. Behind her, Sweetie Belle continued to read from her own book, practically pressing it against her face in what was no doubt an attempt to read with no light.

Twilight remained unspotted by the three new arrivals, still standing high above the bookcase and looking down at Sweetie Belle. When Scootaloo started looking up, she quickly teleported to the opposite bookcase, still focused on Sweetie and her book. Could she even read from up there?

“Oh no, I haven’t!” Rarity said, drawing Scootaloo’s wandering eyes toward her. She brightened the light from her horn a bit more to make up for the lack of light, which led Sweetie to take the candelabra from Fluttershy.

“Okay, let me try again!” she exclaimed, putting the book down, blowing out the candles and focusing her sight on the one nearest to her. She bit down on her tongue, narrowed her eyes, and grunted and groaned as nothing but a few sparks shot out from her horn. “Come oooooon!” she whined, practically glaring at the candles until another spark shot out from her horn and a tiny flame appeared—and died out immediately afterwards. “Ugh!”

“Hey, isn’t this your book?” Scootaloo asked, picking up the book Twilight had unceremoniously dropped when she’d teleported away to the bookcase.

“Now, now, Sweetie, I’m sure you’ll manage one day,” Rarity soothed, taking the book from Scootaloo and floating it inside Sweetie’s saddlebag. She glanced up again to find that Twilight had left. She then relit the candelabra and continued, “Now, why don’t we leave? As you’ve seen, there’s nothing really interesting here besides books.”

“No! We haven’t found Princess Twilight yet,” Scootaloo protested, taking the candelabra, trotting off and turning around the nearest corner, Sweetie Belle following behind with her nose again stuck in her book. “Princess Twilight! Where are you?!”

“Where is the princess?” Fluttershy asked once the fillies had left.

“I don’t know. She was up on that bookcase a minute ago, but now she—” Rarity cut herself off, noticing Fluttershy’s eyes had grown wide and were fixed on something behind the unicorn. “Ah, Princess!” Rarity said, turning around and smiling at the impassive alicorn standing behind. “There you are.”

“Your sister’s technique is hindering her progress,” Princess Twilight informed, re-reading the book Rarity distinctly remembered having put back into Sweetie’s bag. “Her own desperation for the spell to be successful is what’s preventing its success. She needs to properly concentrate and feel the magic flowing within her.” She closed the book and teleported it away, hopefully into Sweetie’s bag again. “She has potential, but it needs to be honed.”

As much as Rarity would have loved to discuss the subject further, she was more interested in other matters. Specifically, the pegasus next to her staring at Princess Twilight as if she were—and indeed was—a ghost. “Er, Princess, if I may interrupt.” Rarity nodded toward Fluttershy. “You’ve met—”

“Fluttershy,” Princess Twilight said, prompting a barely audible squeak from the timid mare. The princess bowed her head, acknowledging Fluttershy’s presence.

It was actions like those that reminded Rarity that Twilight’s generally stoic attitude was, in fact, also due to her being royalty. This was only emphasized further when Fluttershy replied by immediately bowing down. Oh dear, Rarity couldn’t even remember the last time she’d bowed down to Twilight. Had the princess taken offense to it?

“P-Princess Twilight,” Fluttershy greeted her nervously, still bowing down. Probably out of fear more than respect.

Now Twilight looked a bit awkward, glancing from the bowing pegasus to Rarity. “You may rise now,” she said, looking even more uncomfortable when Fluttershy failed to do so. It wasn’t until Rarity nudged her friend that Fluttershy drew herself up.

Rarity looked back and forth between the two mares, expecting them to start talking and become the absolute best of friends. Instead, they just stared awkwardly at each other, occasionally sending Rarity pained glances. The increasingly awkward silence was thankfully halted by the hooting of the two resident owls. Themis and Elara flew down to the trio, settling themselves on Fluttershy’s immediately outstretched hoof.

“Oh, there you are,” Princess Twilight said, obviously relieved at finding something to distract her from that disastrous—in Rarity’s opinion—attempt at conversation.

“They… They live in the library?” Fluttershy asked finally, looking from the owls to Twilight.

“Yes. Elara was born here,” Twilight replied, obtaining a hoot from the owl in question. “She brought Themis here when he was an owlet. He’d been injured outside, and after we nursed him back to health, he decided to stay here.”

As Twilight spoke, Rarity noticed Fluttershy became much more attentive. Twilight raised her hoof and softly brushed it past Elara, sending a chill down her spine which came out as an adorable shivering hoot. What was even more adorable, however, was the giggle it drew from Fluttershy.

“They’re very fond of you,” Fluttershy said, smiling softly at the princess.

Twilight’s ears perked up. “O-oh, thank you. I am very fond of them too.”

Could it be? Where they actually hitting it off? Rarity wanted to kiss both owls for having arrived at the perfect time. Maybe things would still work out even despite Swe— Oh. Rarity looked around, having completely forgotten about the two fillies.

“Uhm, Princess,” she interrupted with reluctance, “I do hate to cut this short, but I think it might be best we take the girls home now, and come back later.”

“Oh.” Twilight nodded. “All right.” She turned to Fluttershy. “Rarity had mentioned you enjoyed books on flora and fauna. Would you like to look at some when you return?”

“Oh, y-yes, please,” Fluttershy replied, once more bowing down low. She then got up and turned around, “I’ll go find the girls…” She bowed again. “Goodbye, Princess.”

Princess Twilight bowed her head in acknowledgment before turning to Rarity. “Are you all right?” she asked, moving back upon finding Rarity standing very close with a very wide grin.

“Sooooo, what did you think of her?” Rarity asked, fluttering her eyelashes. Ah, she couldn’t wait to hear it. Oh Rarity, she was a very delightful pony! So kind and gentle! You truly do have the best taste in friends! Twilight would say, to which Rarity would reply: But of course, darling! Was there ever any dou—

“She was nice,” the princess replied simply.

“‘She was nice’? That’s it?” Rarity asked, deflating a bit. So much for her grand taste. She sighed dramatically and shook her head. “For a pony who reads so much, it’s surprising how laconic you are sometimes.”

Twilight looked indignant by the remark. “But— Well, I mean—” she sputtered, before raising an accusing hoof. “I didn’t have much time to talk to her and make a proper assessment!”

“Come now, I was just teasing you, Twilight,” Rarity said, laughing at the princess’ concerned expression. She cleared her throat and looked around. “I’d better go, then.” She turned to the princess and noticed she seemed lost in thought suddenly. “…Everything all right?”

Twilight blinked, brought back to reality. “Oh, er, yes.” She paused. “It’s just that… that’s the third time you called me by my name without acknowledging my title. You did that when you came back from Canterlot, as well.”

Rarity was aghast by this revelation. “Oh dear, have I?! Princess, how terribly disrespectful of me! I didn’t mean it!” she quickly said, now deeply regretting all the lack of bowing she’d been doing. Goodness, if Princess Twilight still remembered Rarity doing that from the visit before last, that meant she must have been really bothered by it. “I’m very sorry!”

“Rarity, you don’t have to apologize,” Princess Twilight replied. “I wasn’t offended by it or anything of the sort. I just noticed it, that’s all.”

Rarity was having none of that, however. A Princess should be treated with proper respect! “Still, that was not appropriate of me, Princess. Please accept my apologies.” She cleared her throat and continued, “However, I should press on now, so I’ll see you in a few hours. Goodbye for now, Princess Twilight,” she said making sure to bow down. However, when she looked up, Twilight again looked ill-at-ease. “…Is something wrong?”

“N-no, it’s just… Why did you— You don’t have to bow to me, Rarity,” she said, fidgeting slightly.

Rarity raised her eyebrow. “Why not? Fluttershy did! It’s proper etiquette, after all.”

“Well, yes, but you— It’s just odd when you do it,” Princess Twilight replied lamely, looking more than a bit flustered. She pawed at the ground and bit her lip. “You don’t have to treat me like that, Rarity. You’re my—” She cut herself off and hastily corrected, “Just please don’t do that again.”

As much as Rarity would have loved to continue teasing her, she refrained. “All right, Princess. Goodbye for now,” she replied instead, waving playfully.

Princess Twilight acknowledged the gesture by not acknowledging it at all. Instead, she simply teleported away, off to read more books no doubt.

Rarity smiled to herself, shaking her head before trotting off to find Fluttershy.

Twilight still had a ways to go with social etiquette, but foal steps, no? Besides, it would feel odd if the princess suddenly stopped being, well, her. There was some sense of normality now when it came to Twilight and everything she represented, even more so with Fluttershy added to the mix. During her first visits, Rarity had always felt as though Princess Twilight and the library would disappear at any given moment—now she had grown used to trekking through the forest, sure that both were waiting for her. Thankfully, despite this, her interest in the princess and the library had yet to wane. On the contrary, it felt like every visit still had something new or thrilling for her, something to keep her interest strong.

Like screams, for example.

Rarity’s trotting halted when two loud and familiar high-pitched screams echoed through the aisles. That sounds like the girls! There wasn’t anything dangerous in the library, was there? Well, technically speaking there was Twilight, but Twilight had made it clear that she wouldn’t talk to the fillies.

Unless…

The blood drained from her face at the exact same time as a terrifying thought entered her mind. Unless whoever broke into the library came back… For once, she was glad to know that no matter how powerful whomever broke in was, they surely couldn’t outmatch a thousand-year-old alicorn.

“Rarity.”

Rarity’s terrified shriek rivaled—or perhaps even surpassed—the ones from the girls, slamming herself against the wall and looking at Twilight. Her terror soon faded into relief, and after a moment of gathering herself, it faded into anger. “Princess Twilight, I swear to Princess Denza that if you—”

“Are you all right?” Twilight interrupted, utterly failing to care about the heart attack she’d almost given Rarity. She seemed to be inspecting Rarity for any type of noticeable injury, and Rarity would have been more moved if she wasn’t irate.

“It wasn’t me! It was the girls!”

“Rarity!”

It all happened a bit too quickly for even Twilight to react and teleport away. Scootaloo rushed into the aisle, words shooting out of her mouth at a quickfire pace that made her hard to understand. She rushed to Rarity, pulling at the mare’s forehooves, but stopped when her eyes finally found the infamous Princess Twilight “Booky” Sparkle.

Scootaloo’s grasp on Rarity weakened, and she let her forehoof fall to the floor. Twilight did naught but stare back at her, almost as if Scootaloo was the ghost rather than the other way round. This left Rarity to be the only one actually taking action instead of gawking around.

“Scootaloo!” she snapped, catching the startled filly’s attention. “What happened?! Where’s Sweetie Belle?!”

Scootaloo looked back and forth between Rarity and Twilight. “Wait, b-but— Rarity! Look!” She pointed at Twilight, making it clear she didn’t understand why Rarity was completely unfazed by the ghost standing there.

“Focus, Scootaloo!” Rarity said, stamping her hoof against the floor. “Where’s Sweetie Belle?!”

Scootaloo shot Princess Twilight one last glance before going off in hasty explanation. “Sh-she was practicing her spell, and she was doing okay, and I told her I wanted the lamp, so she started looking for one, and then she found one, and she tried doing the spell, but then the lamp floated by itself, and she got scared, and her horn did something weird, and she set a table on fire, and then I—”

“Wait.”

There was silence as Rarity and Scootaloo turned to look at the alicorn. She looked perfectly calm if a bit concerned, her hoof raised slightly. And then— “She what?!” Twilight exclaimed, her wings flaring up, ears shooting upright and expression turning panicked.

Before Scootaloo could even reply, Princess Twilight teleported away, no doubt leaving the greatest of impressions on the poor filly. There was a split-second of silence before Scootaloo’s face twisted into one of pure and utter horror.

“Wait, Princess Booky!” she screamed, galloping away from Rarity and into the maze of bookcases. “Please, she didn’t mean it! Don’t trap Sweetie Belle in the library forever!”

With Scootaloo gone, Rarity took a second to stand there and reflect on the sheer absurdity of her situation. Some ponies had normal lives. Some lived for decades, and even centuries, leading absolutely perfectly normal lives. Maybe she too would have led a similar life. Maybe she did in some alternate universe. Maybe she became a celebrated fashion designer, got married, had some foals, lived to a healthy old age and died surrounded by her loved ones.

And, perhaps later, when she had more than a second to reflect on the situation, she’d realize that a so-called “normal life” sounded, quite frankly, boring.

Thankfully, that was not her destiny. Her odd destiny had brought her to that moment inside a mythical library in a forest in the company of two hysteric fillies, one probably equally hysteric alicorn, one no doubt fainted pegasus, one floating candelabra, and— Her train of thought was interrupted when she saw Star rising up toward the ceiling and transforming into a chandelier, lighting up the entire room.

And so, snapping back to reality, Rarity took a deep, deep breath, before rushing off with a… “Princess Twilight, please, wait!”

By the time Rarity reached the entrance, the fire had been put out, probably by Princess Twilight, though the now-crispy, blackened table Sweetie had set ablaze still smoked slightly. Rarity wasn’t sure that she wanted to know how old the table was. The princess was standing several feet away, scorched parchments floating all around her. She was so busy reading the remains of one, she hadn’t even noticed Rarity arrive.

Ohhh dear… Rarity thought, hoping that whatever was written on the parchments wasn’t vitally important. If it was…

She looked around and finally found the fillies and Fluttershy. The older pegasus remained thankfully unfainted. In fact, she looked much calmer than Rarity would have expected. The same couldn’t be said of the two ponies behind her, clutching onto the pegasus’ hindlegs as they stared at the muttering princess.

Rarity immediately checked her sister for any visible injuries and was half-relieved to see the filly looked scared more than hurt. Her horn seemed to be in good condition, too. It was probable she’d simply had a magic surge after being scared by Star, and thankfully, more than painful, they were just messy—and fiery, apparently.

“Er, Princess Twilight?” Rarity asked, ignoring Sweetie and Scootaloo frantically waving their hooves so she’d quiet down. When Twilight didn’t reply, she trotted even closer and, raising her voice, asked, “Princess? Was there much damage?”

“Yes,” Princess Twilight replied, flatly. “Though it’s nothing I cannot rewrite.” She sighed and turned around to look at Rarity. “May I borrow your book on Equestrian fashion again?” After Rarity nodded, the princess turned back to the parchments’ remains, again seeming to forget the three other ponies in the room.

Or, she forgot about them until Rarity loudly cleared her throat.

Twilight looked up at her and then at last toward Fluttershy and the fillies. It was as if her mind took a minute to process the implications before her eyes widened. She turned to Rarity, at a loss of what to do.

Rarity let out a long sigh. She turned toward Fluttershy, her eyes lowering toward the two fillies still glued to Fluttershy’s hindlegs.

“Sweetie Belle?” she called out, trotting toward the two fillies and older mare. “Are you all right?” she asked, only for Sweetie Belle to quietly nod, still unable to tear her eyes away from Twilight. A few more moments of staring ensued before Rarity decided the unrehearsed show must go on. “Girls,” she began, gesturing toward the princess. “This is my friend, Princess Twilight.”

“She… She’s not going to banish me here forever?” Sweetie asked Rarity, eyes still glued onto Twilight.

“No, she isn’t,” Rarity replied. She turned to Twilight and nodded toward Sweetie. “Isn’t that right, Princess?”

“I would never do that to anypony,” Princess Twilight said, ears lowering and frowning at the filly, almost as if she were offended by the insinuation. “No matter what they did…”

For a moment, Rarity wasn’t sure Twilight was still talking about Sweetie Belle. “See?” she interrupted, not wanting to dwell on the thought further. She used her magic to gently push Sweetie away from Fluttershy and toward Princess Twilight. “However, I do believe an apology for the burnt table is in order, isn’t it?”

Sweetie gulped audibly, taking several shaky steps toward the princess. “I’m sorry I burnt your stuff, P-Princess Twilight.”

Twilight took a step forward, her expression softening, but when Sweetie Belle winced and stepped back in fear, the princess did the same. “I, uh, I accept your apology,” she said finally, looking ill at ease with the entire situation. She looked at Rarity before addressing the filly again. “Your magic has potential, but you need proper training to channel it effectively and”—she glanced at the table—“avoid accidents.”

Well, that turned out better than expected, Rarity thought, glad to see all was forgiven. Silence permeated the room soon after, and she realized neither Sweetie nor Princess Twilight knew quite what to say. Rarity was about to say something to break the ice, but to her pleasant surprise, Princess Twilight was faster.

“You’re Sweetie Belle?” she asked, receiving a shaky nod from the filly. “Rarity has told me a lot about you. She says you and your friend came looking for me once?” She received yet another shaky nod but nothing else, prompting her to, again, look at Rarity. It was clear that foals were not the princess’ area of expertise, but Rarity thought she’d been doing quite well.

“The Princess in the Library was your favorite, wasn’t she?” Rarity asked Sweetie, hoping to use that bond to get things moving.

Sweetie nodded, reassured by her older sister’s intervention. “I helped make Princess Booky’s costume this year,” she said, earning a slight frown from the princess, who repeated her “nickname” to herself under her breath. “A-and Rarity used to dress up as her when she still lived at home with me. She had a dress made of book pages,” she continued, completely ignoring Rarity’s frantic waves for her to be quiet.

The response Rarity feared was immediate. Taking into account all the things that had happened since they met, Rarity had never seen the princess look so indignant before. “You used book pages as fabric for a dress?! Why would you do that?!”

Rarity’s cheeks went crimson. “It was a torn-up old textbook! At least half of the pages were already missing!”

When Princess Twilight opened her mouth to no doubt give a lecture on why Rarity was wrong in every possible way, the lecture was cut short by somepony. The two arguing mares turned around and found both Sweetie and Scootaloo giggling at the scene. Fluttershy, off to the side, looked amused by it all, even if she had a little more composure than the fillies.

Reminded of the second filly’s presence, Rarity gestured toward her. “That’s Scootaloo, Princess Twilight,” she introduced, making the aforementioned filly hold on tighter to Fluttershy. “She and Sweetie Belle are the ones who originally went looking for you. They have a little club called the—”

“Cutie Mark Crusaders,” Scootaloo filled in, finally detaching her hoof from Fluttershy’s hind leg. It had become a habit of Scootaloo to say the name before Rarity could, largely thanks to the times the unicorn had referred to them as the “Cutie Mark Invaders.”

“It’s because we don’t have our cutie marks yet,” Sweetie explained, for once proudly displaying her blank flank, “and we wanted to get one in princess finding!” She suddenly stopped and stared at the princess. “Do ghosts have cutie marks?”

Princess Twilight blinked at her. “Yes, of course,” she replied, before hesitating and looking at her flank to make sure. “It’s practically impossible to lose a cutie mark unless very powerful magic is involved.”

“Oh! Can I see it?” Sweetie asked, trotting toward the side of the alicorn without waiting for permission.

“W-wait, I wanna see too!” Scootaloo blurted out, running toward Sweetie Belle, her fascination with cutie marks trumping her fear of Princess Twilight. When she reached her destination, she puffed out her cheeks in disappointment. “Aw… It’s just a star… I thought it was gonna be scarier…”

“It looks just like your crown!” Sweetie Belle pointed out, trotting back in front of the princess and looking at the tiara on the alicorn’s head.

“Oh, that’s not my crown,” Princess Twilight replied, glancing at the object. “It’s one of the Elements of Harmony, specifically the Element of Magic.”

Rarity furrowed her brow. Elements of Harmony? That sounds familiar… Her eyes widened when she remembered the gemstones she’d used for Seeking Night. The magical gems used to defeat the Spirit! She looked at the crown under a newfound light. If memory of the legend served, it said that the Spirit had scattered all the gems except for one inside the princess’ crown. Why hadn’t she ever thought about it before? Then again… if those were really the only things capable of defeating the Spirit… And they only had one… Gulping, Rarity found she wasn’t so excited about her discovery after all.

“How do you keep it up on your head?” Scootaloo asked. She gestured toward the golden collar and horseshoes Twilight was wearing. “Can ghosts wear clothes? Why don’t they fall off?” She lowered her voice, glancing at her sides. “Can you walk through walls?”

“She can walk through walls,” Rarity answered, unable to stop a grin when the two fillies gasped and stared at Twilight in awe. “It’s quite the sight.”

“Can… Can you walk through us?” they asked, smiling with far too much excitement for somepony who’d just asked… well, that.

Twilight frowned. “Yes, but I’d rather not,” she replied curtly. “As for my regalia, I was wearing it when I…” She faltered, gesturing with her hoof. “…lost my physical form, so I assume it’s become a permanent part of my being.”

“Wait a moment,” Rarity interrupted. “Wouldn’t that mean the Element of Magic is unusable?”

For a split-second, Twilight’s expression darkened. “In theory, yes.”

Had that been another of the Spirit’s intentions by spiritifying Twilight? How were they supposed to stop him then, if he was indeed still out there? There were so many questions with no answers, and it frustrated her endlessly.

“So, uhm, are you dead?” Sweetie Belle asked innocently.

Rarity slammed her hoof on the floor. “Sweetie Belle!” she blurted out, completely aghast by the incredibly tactless question. “You can’t just ask somepony if they’re dead! Where are your manners?!”

“What does it feel like?” Scootaloo added to the question, completely ignoring Rarity’s second horrified gasp. Manners, it seemed, were completely and utterly lacking in the younger generation, and Rarity was going to have a stern talk with her parents in the near future regarding the matter. “Does it hurt?”

“Girls!” Rarity turned to the princess, embarrassed out of her wits. “Princess, I’m so sorry, please forgi—”

“Actually, I am not entirely sure,” Princess Twilight replied, seemingly unaffected by the emotional load behind the questions. Her horn flashed and a scroll appeared next to her, which she unfurled and glanced at as she spoke. “As I’ve said before, the tests I’ve run on myself did not yield any conclusive results. Logically, if I was merely a spirit, my body should have been interred somewhere…” She petered out and read from the scroll briefly before she sent it back from whence it had come.

“But according to Meager Offering’s Research into the Stability of the Soul, a spirit wouldn’t possess the capacity for any emotion besides sadness, anger, or wrath, and while I’ve certainly felt all of those… I’ve also been happy”—her furtive glance toward Rarity did not go as unnoticed as she might have liked, but she shook it off and swiftly continued—“which leads me to conclude that I cannot be dead.”

She paced back and forth in front of the fillies, apparently unaware that she was disconcerting them a little as she phased through the remains of the table every time she turned around. “My current theory is that my entire body is under the effect of a physical shift spell, which essentially means that I am out of sync with the ‘real’ world, and therefore cannot interact with it by any other means than my magic, which doesn’t seem to be affected. I suppose the spell has also affected my basic bodily functions, seeing as I don’t need to sleep or eat.”

Fluttershy, who until then had been listening quietly, cleared her throat. When everyone turned to look at her, she immediately seemed to regret her action, shrinking away slightly, but nevertheless persevered. “What about the Spirit?” she asked. That had been one of her recurring questions, and it made sense that she’d be more concerned about the being who cursed Twilight rather than the after-effect. “Where is he?”

“I…” Twilight faltered, taken aback by the question. “He was defeated…” she replied lamely, clearly not truly believing in her own affirmation. “The princess must have defeated him.”

The princess? Did she mean the other Princesses? Rarity thought back, remembering Princess Twilight mentioning somepony called Celestia. Why did that name feel familiar? She’d heard it before, a while back, but where?

“Then why are you still a ghost?” Sweetie asked.

Princess Twilight winced. “I… I don’t know…” She pressed a hoof against her forehead, looking visibly nervous. “I… I assume he must have been defeated. He said he’d be back the second time he came here, but he never did come back, so I—”

“Wait!” Rarity interrupted, startling the alicorn who’d gotten caught up in her own ramblings. “You mean to tell me he returned here after trapping you?!” Why had the princess never mentioned that before? Just another thing to add to the many things she kept hidden away under lock and key—unless fillies came snooping, apparently. “Why? What did he want?”

“I, I don’t remember. It was before Owlowiscious came, and I had no way to write down the event.” Princess Twilight blurted out, not having expected Rarity to join the impromptu question and answer session. “He came back to try and trick me again, told me that the library wasn’t cursed, and I could leave whenever I wanted, and that there was no map, b-but it was a trick.” She started to pace around again, looking more distressed by the second. It was clear that by this point, she was no longer addressing the other ponies in the room. “I can’t get out, and even if I could, leaving would make the map disappear, and if there was no map, why hasn’t Spike come back for me? He would have come back, wouldn’t he?”

“Spike?” the fillies asked, snapping the alicorn out of her thoughts. “Who’s that?”

Twilight’s eyes widened, almost as if she’d only just realized she’d perhaps said more than she wanted. She took several steps back from the curious fillies, trying to find a way to salvage her situation. “I… I don’t… I…”

This was Rarity’s cue to intervene, as she realized perhaps the questioning had been taken too far. “Thank you, Princess,” she said, loudly and clearly enough to snap Twilight’s attention to her. “I do believe we’ve asked you enough for one afternoon.” She looked at the fillies and offered her best threatening glance, “Haven’t we?”

The fillies’ heads dropped. “Aw…”

Twilight seemed sympathetic toward them, despite her near meltdown seconds before. “Maybe we can talk a little more the next time you come visit?” she suggested, much to Rarity’s dismay considering she’d started that whole day hoping there wouldn’t be a next time. Had Princess Twilight forgotten what Rarity had told her? “I enjoyed answering your questions, and the books you brought.”

“Can we come back tomorrow?!” Sweetie asked, delighted by the princess’ positive response.

“And the day after tomorrow?!” Scootaloo added. The two fillies went on and on until Rarity cleared her throat after they’d asked to come every day for a month.

“We can bring you all our school books!” Sweetie added. “Until we graduate!”

“And I can lend you my Daring Do books!” Scootaloo added, looking through her bag. “I have the first one here… Or do you, Sweetie?” she asked, prompting Sweetie to similarly look through her own bag.

Rarity used the fillies’ distraction to her advantage, trotting over to Twilight. “Princess Twilight?” she whispered. “May I have a word?” It took a moment for the princess to stop watching the books they were taking out, but once Rarity had her full attention, she sympathetically said: “Princess, I hate to say this again, but it’s not safe for them to make the trek to the library every day…”

The princess blinked. “Oh?” She then processed the information, and her ears dropped. “Oh… right.”

Great. Now Rarity felt bad. “I am sorry, Princess,” she said sincerely. “Though I know Elara and Themis would never take us down a dangerous path, I simply can’t ask the owls to stand guard in Ponyville and guide them here whenever they fancy. I already have to figure out how I’m going to get them not to come here with or without the owls…”

“I understand…” Twilight paused and frowned. “Unless… If they come with you, that should be fine, shouldn’t it?” It seemed like she had an idea, but Rarity was honestly afraid of finding out what that could be.

Rarity nodded slowly. “Well, I suppose that would work out.” But then again, she didn’t really want to have to take care of them every single time she came to the library. What if they wandered off? What if they broke something? What if Rarity wanted to talk to Twilight but they interrupted? But if Twilight wanted to see them, it wasn’t right for Rarity to stop that from happening, was it?

Rarity and the princess’ collective attention was caught by an annoyed groan coming from the two small ponies. “Aw, we don’t have it here…” they muttered, closing their bags with an annoyed huff. Though she’d never read them, the Daring Do books were all the rage, so Rarity understood why they’d be disappointed at not being able to share them with the princess.

Maybe it would have gotten a better reception than her sorely unappreciated romance novels, but she had her doubts.

“That’s fine!” Princess Twilight replied, bowing her head as thanks. “Why not bring it in a week?”

“Next week?” Sweetie asked, disheartened. “Can’t we bring it tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? Hm…” The princess rubbed her chin, scrunching up her brow. “Do you think you’ll have enough time to write an essay in one day?” When the two fillies replied with a perplexed look, Twilight’s horn lit up and another scroll appeared. As she unfurled it and read, she elaborated, “This is a complete description I made of Ponyville when it was founded. I take it it is very outdated, so I was hoping you two could help me by writing a new one? And, in a week, Rarity can bring you back here and we can look it over.” She rolled up the scroll and levitated it over to the two. “Here. You can borrow mine to use as help.”

After arguing for some time on who’d carry the scroll and ultimately deciding Rarity should do it, the two fillies nodded enthusiastically, looking even more excited after the princess thanked them. Rarity herself was quite pleased with the excuse—or perhaps serious request?—because that at least meant they wouldn’t be wandering into the forest. Besides, bringing them to the forest once a week wasn’t too bad, was it?

“Speaking of essays, don’t you two have one on biology to write for Cheerilee?” Rarity reminded, earning two groans in reply. Rarity felt like groaning too, admittedly. The princess had barely been able to talk to Fluttershy. There was always next time, she supposed. Or hoped. “We should head home. It’s getting very late, and the forest is no place to be wandering at night. And didn’t you need one of Fluttershy’s books for the essay due tomorrow?”

“Aww…”

“It’s okay, girls. You’ll be back in a week,” Fluttershy pointed out, trying to reassure them that Princess Twilight wasn’t going anywhere.

Rarity noticed Fluttershy hadn’t said anything about wanting to come back herself. She sincerely hoped that today’s unexpected events hadn’t made the pegasus’ anxieties worse. Denza knew when she’d agree to come again without hours of pleading from the unicorn.

“Come on, girls, say goodbye to the princess,” Rarity prompted, nodding toward the alicorn. When the two fillies pouted and made no signs of willingness to leave, she added: “The sooner you finish your own essay, the faster you can start on the one Princess Twilight asked your help with.”

Princess Twilight nodded. “I would be very grateful.”

When the princess spoke up, the two fillies immediately straightened up, acting as if they hadn’t just been pulling their best puppy-dog faces.

“We’ll write a super good essay, Princess Twilight!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, smiling widely at the princess. Considering the previous essays she’d read from the fillies, Rarity couldn’t help but think that one page hardly counted as an essay, but she held her tongue. “We’ll even make it two pages long!”

Rarity half-expected Twilight to say something about that, but she was surprised when the alicorn merely nodded gravely, thanking them again for their assistance.

Scootaloo instead tugged at Sweetie. “Come on! The faster we get home, the faster we can get started on the essay!”

That said, they both hurried off toward the entrance, calling out an enthusiastic, “Goodbye, Princess Twilight!” They made no signs of stopping when Rarity warned them to wait at the entrance, right up until they screeched to a halt in front of the exit.

“Goodness, I’d never seen Sweetie Belle so excited over an essay before,” Fluttershy noted, laughing at the sight of the fillies arguing over who’d be going first into the scary, dark tunnel.

Rarity smiled, turning to Twilight. “I think that makes you a very dangerous force, don’t you agree?”

“Does it?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow. “Essays are not dangerous, Rarity. Ponyville used to be my home, and I simply want to know what happened to it.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt it, Princess, but I wasn’t referring to that,” Rarity clarified, cheerful expression turning into a deadly serious one. “I simply mean that if you are capable of making those two want to run home eager to finish their homework, then heavens knows what else you’re capable of.” Her expression turned back into an amused one when the princess replied with a stare followed by an eye roll.

“Oh, wait! I brought you a postcard, Princess,” Fluttershy exclaimed, reaching into her saddlebag. The aforementioned postcard was a suggestion Fluttershy had made a few days prior, after remembering Princess Twilight’s connection to Princess Denza.

While Fluttershy looked inside her bag, Twilight scooted over to Rarity, looking a bit flustered. “What’s a postcard?” she asked quietly, obviously embarrassed at not knowing what she was about to receive.

Rarity was thrown off by the question, suddenly reminded that Princess Twilight was indeed not of her era. There was something endearing about it, really. “It’s a small card with a drawing or photograph you can send to somepony. You just need to write down the address and you can add a short message if you want. It’s usually for tourists.”

Twilight nodded slowly. “Tourists…?”

“You know,” Rarity said, trying to find the words, “ponies who visit a lot of places. Take photographs everywhere.”

Before Twilight could inquire further, Fluttershy interrupted. “Found it!” she exclaimed, taking out the postcard.

The postcard, still in its wrapper, depicted Princess Denza. Though Rarity hadn’t seen the picture in a few days, it was hard to forget the grace and beauty with which the alicorn carried herself. Standing atop a marble staircase, a long elegant cape that covered her back and cutie mark, but left enough space for her to spread her wings if she so desired. A kind, gentle smile and a mane that flowed in the air. She was a sight, was she not?

With a “thank you,” Princess Twilight carefully took the postcard with her magic, extracting it from the wrapper. She looked at the blank side at first, asking a few questions about it. Why was it so small? Why not make larger versions of these “postcards”? It wasn’t until Rarity politely encouraged her to look at the picture on the back that the princess’ questions stopped altogether.

She looked at a loss for words, staring at the picture and barely managing to stammer out, “This… This is…”

“Rarity told me that Princess Denza is a descendant of your brother. I thought you might like a picture of her,” Fluttershy explained, closing her saddlebag.

Princess Twilight unceremoniously sat down on her hindquarters, still staring at the picture. What must she be thinking? Rarity wondered. She wished the princess were more expressive, yet at the same time, the alicorn seemed to be saying a lot. Princess Twilight’s expression had softened, but more than sadness, Rarity saw affection.

“This is Princess Denza?” Twilight asked quietly, her answer not directed at anypony in particular. Her eyes were twinkling, though whether out of joy or oncoming tears, Rarity wasn’t sure. She hoped for the former, but the idea of the latter only endeared her more to the alicorn. “She looks just like Cadance…”

Fluttershy and Rarity looked at each other, smiling in place of the princess. It was funny how a simple object such as a postcard could mean the world to somepony. It reminded Rarity of all the moments so far when the princess had treated what was a common object for Rarity as if it were something wonderful or fascinating. The magazine, the camera, now this. Perhaps what made it even more fascinating was that Princess Twilight herself breathed new life into these objects for Rarity. If those little actions could bring happiness to the princess, then Rarity felt compelled to do more.

She thought back to her camera, and how the photographs had thrilled the princess. Maybe that’s where she’d start. If the princess couldn’t go out into the world, then Rarity would bring the world to her.

“Come ooooon! What’re you waiting for?!”

The three mares turned around and found Sweetie and Scootaloo staring at them expectantly. Princess Twilight was the first to react, standing up and shaking her head. Once she’d composed herself, she turned to Fluttershy and bowed her head, an action which flustered the pegasus.

“Thank you for giving this to me, Fluttershy,” she said earnestly, glancing at the postcard again. When she looked back, she frowned a bit. “I apologize. I should have assembled books for you to take, but now…” Twilight glanced toward the exasperated fillies.

“Oh, that’s all right,” Fluttershy said, smiling earnestly. “I can come back with the girls next week.”

“You will?!” Rarity exclaimed, her excitement getting the best of her. Immediately afterward, she cleared her throat and stamped her hooves against the floor with lady-like levels of joy. “That sounds like a splendid idea, darling.”

“I’ll make sure to have the books ready for you then,” Princess Twilight added.

Satisfied, Fluttershy nodded. “I’m glad you liked your present,” she said, before bowing down to Princess Twilight. Once she rose up, she trotted toward the girls, looking back to wave at the alicorn. “Goodbye, Princess Twilight.”

“I’ll be right up, Fluttershy,” Rarity called, watching as Fluttershy trotted into the tunnel, followed by Scootaloo and… and… When Sweetie failed to move, instead just staring at Princess Twilight, Rarity sighed and made her way toward the filly. “Come along, Sweetie Belle! Or else you’ll be all alone in that tunnel!”

“That’s okay,” Sweetie replied cheerfully, stepping into the library and sitting herself down. “I’ll wait with the princess until you’re done saying goodbye.” Or she would have done so, had Rarity not picked her up from the floor when she reached her. “W-wait! I still have lots of questions! Five more minutes!” Sweetie Belle protested as Rarity ushered her into the tunnel. “Can’t we sleep over?!”

Rarity rolled her eyes, failing to see the appeal of sleeping on the floor of an ancient and rather cold library. She lit up her horn, illuminating the tunnel and their exit path. “Don’t be ridiculous,” she reprimanded, ignoring Sweetie’s annoyed huff. “You’ll come visit Princess Twilight next week, and then you can ask her all the questions you want.”

“But next week is sooo far away!” Sweetie glanced behind Rarity, reaching out toward the library. Her attempts were thwarted when Rarity levitated her into the air and trotted toward the exit stairs. “Why can’t I come tomorrow?! I can stay up all night and finish both essays!”

“Because I say so, and that’s that.”

It was common knowledge that a big sister’s word was usually the final one, but the appeal of the princess was too much for Sweetie to care about the unspoken law. “It’s not fair,” she muttered, crossing her forelegs and pouting—a comical sight considering she was now floating upside down next to her sister.

When Rarity deposited Sweetie Belle on the third step of the stairs and gestured for the grumbling filly to go up, Sweetie Belle made sure to do so in the slowest way possible so as to properly express her dissatisfaction. Once she’d reached the trapdoor, she pushed it open before looking back down at her sister. “She’s not your princess!”

Most of the time, Rarity tried to act like a proper adult. Sure, she could lose her temper or go into theatrics sometimes, but she was always serious when the situation called for it. This time, however, she allowed herself to forget she was an example to follow. Instead, she decided to be a proper teasing sibling.

“Isn’t she? After all, I did find her first, did I not?”

Sweetie Belle looked as if she’d just been slapped in the face. “I would have found her first if you hadn’t sent me home! And then she’d be my princess!” Knowing she couldn’t hope to win against her sister, Sweetie settled on glaring at Rarity before finally trotting outside, closing the door with a loud and squeaky “hmph!”

Rarity laughed at Sweetie, endeared by her sister’s desire to see Twilight. It was something they shared, after all, and had positions been swapped, Rarity would have had to be dragged out of the tunnel kicking and screaming. Thankfully, that was not the case.

After lingering for a minute to make sure no filly tried to sneak back in, Rarity made her way back into the library. Princess Twilight had now moved over to a nearby table, still entranced by Denza’s postcard. She watched as the princess carefully picked up the postcard to examine it more closely before putting it back down again.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Rarity asked, drawing the attention of the princess. Princess Twilight replied by looking back at the picture and nodding slowly, another subtle gesture Rarity found curiously endearing. When she reached the princess, she glanced at the picture. If only I could have met her, she thought, the princess might be looking at the real thing instead of just a photograph.

“Well, I think today went along quite well, don’t you?” Rarity asked. And it was true, wasn’t it? Princess Twilight had met new ponies, Fluttershy had made a smashing impression with her present, and the fillies wouldn’t be wandering into the forest unaccompanied. There was the matter of the burnt table, however, but that would come later.

Princess Twilight stared at the picture for a bit more before looking up at Rarity. “When will you be coming back?” she asked.

Rarity mulled it over. There had been several customers’ orders she’d neglected because of her now-recurring escapades. “Next week? The same day as the others?” That should give her enough time to finish up early and make her sorely needed visit to the spa.

“Next week?!” Princess Twilight asked, almost as horrified as Sweetie a few moments ago. Her horn flashed and her calendar floated beside her. “But that’s seven days!”

Rarity laughed. “Why, Princess! That’s the same date as the others. What difference does it make if I come back with them?”

“Well, none,” Princess Twilight replied lamely, lowering the calendar. “I just hop— thought that you would come back sooner…”

For the sake of it, Rarity sighed as dramatically as she could. “I suppose…” she began, running a hoof through her mane as if running a mental scan of her very busy schedule. Which it was, but how could she say no to the princess? “I could come by in four days? That should be enough time for me to finish my orders.”

“All right,” the princess replied, looking back to her postcard with a visibly satisfied expression. “Four days.”

Rarity felt like asking if she should take a book, but considering the princess hadn’t forcefully shoved one on her, she refrained from doing so. It was a good sign, wasn’t it? They didn’t need any more silly books tying them together, and frankly, those things could be obscenely heavy sometimes.

“Right, I’ll be off then!” Rarity exclaimed, flashing the owls a smile. When she turned to the princess, she bit her lip. “Farewell, Your Highness,” she said in the most dignified voice she could muster, unable to resist playfully bowing down to the mare. Before the alicorn could say a word, Rarity fluttered her eyelashes and turned around. “Goodbye, Princess Twilight,” she said playfully, looking over her shoulder to wave.

“Wait, Rarity!”

Rarity stopped in her tracks. Please, Princess Denza, let her not ask for me to take an extended encyclopedia again.

She turned back and smiled. “Yes, Princess?”

The princess suddenly looked nervous, regretful of her outburst. “Er… I simply, uh…” She cleared her throat and regained composure. “You can stop calling me Twilight,” she informed the unicorn, nodding her head once as if to reassure herself. When Rarity frowned at the statement, the mare realized her blunder and quickly corrected herself, losing all the composure she’d acquired. “Uhm, wait!” she exclaimed, clearing her throat again. “I meant you can stop calling me Princess Twilight! You may call me Twilight, if you wish.”

Rarity didn’t know what to say in reply. She merely blinked at Princess Twilight, staring her down as if she had grown a second head. “I can?”

Princess Twilight looked more than a bit uncomfortable, probably not having expected that reaction. “Yes, you can.”

And then did Rarity react. “Really?!” she exclaimed, ears perking up and tail almost wagging. It was not a very lady-like display at all, and she’d be ashamed were she not so thrilled by her new privilege. “Are you sure?” First-name basis with a princess?! This was unprecedented in her lifetime! “All right then, Twilight,” she said, as serious as she could, before melting into nervous giggles.

“…Are you all right?”

“I apologize, Princess Twi— Twilight,” Rarity corrected herself, flustered. “It’s just that I’ve never been on a first-name basis with a princess! It’s a bit of a unique experience, and quite… exciting,” she explained. Come now Rarity, this isn’t the time or place to act like a giggling schoolfilly. “Well then, I’ll be taking my leave, Princess Twilight. I mean, Twilight!” She groaned and rubbed her forehead. “I’m not very good at this, am I?”

When she looked up at the princess, however, she found maybe it didn’t matter.

The previous concern on Twilight’s face had all but vanished, after all, replaced instead with an amused smile.

The first she’d ever given her.

“I’m sure you’ll get used to it,” Twilight said, her smile now more teasing than anything.

It was odd, but the sight of it thrilled Rarity more than anything else.

“I’m sure I will, Twilight!” Rarity said, making sure to emphasize the “Twilight” and the lack of title. “Now, I do believe I should take off before Sweetie Belle tries to sneak back in here,” she continued. “So unless you need anything else, Twilight, I’ll be taking my leave,” she said, completely unprepared for the answer she’d receive.

“Well,” the princess said, “if you’re going to say my name every other sentence, perhaps I should revoke your first-name privileges.”

It wasn’t the playful tone which got to Rarity, nor was it the still-present smile. It wasn’t the fact that there was a twinkle in the alicorn’s eyes or that she had tilted her head in a curiously teasing fashion.

What made that statement so unexpected was the playful, soft laughing that accompanied it. Rarity realized she had never heard the princess laugh before, and she was certain she’d never seen the princess look so carefree and happy, even if only for a brief moment. Though Twilight’s giggling was nothing like Rarity’s or even Fluttershy’s, it was still loud and silly enough to spread a warmth in Rarity’s chest and widen the smile on her lips.

“Yes, I see your point,” Rarity said, her smile accentuated by her rosy cheeks.

“Rarity!” Sweetie’s annoyed voice rang in the distance.

“I’m coming!” Rarity called back, rolling her eyes. Honestly, couldn’t they have the courtesy of letting her revel in the progress she’d made with Twilight? She turned to the princess and smiled. “I’ll see you in three days, then?”

Twilight’s smile vanished. “Three days?” she asked, blinking at Rarity. “I thought you said four days.”

“Oh, I did, didn’t I?” Rarity said. “Well, actually, I don’t think I need four days to finish my work. I can come in three days!” She waved her hoof dismissively. “It’ll be easy, really. I’ve pulled all-nighters before and still gotten rave reviews!”

And once more, Twilight giggled slightly. “All right, Rarity.”

And once more, Rarity felt a delighted tingle in her chest, and she wondered perhaps if she was skilled enough to finish her orders in two days. Maybe she could just bring that old sewing machine she had lying around and permanently leave it in the library? Smiling widely, both in reaction to the princess and to her brilliant plan, she nodded firmly and trotted toward the exit. Themis, their guide on the way back, finally made a reappearance, flying onto the unicorn’s back before hooting once at his owner.

When she reached the entrance, Rarity turned back to find the princess looking back at the postcard. “Goodbye, Twilight,” she called out, grabbing the alicorn’s attention.

“Goodbye, Rarity,” Twilight said simply before looking back to her postcard.

Rarity lingered for a few moments before finally stepping into the tunnel, lighting up her horn, and, with a rather goofy smile, making her way through and then up the stairs. Once outside, she found the two fillies heatedly arguing over the design of a cutie mark in essay writing. There was still some light out, which helped Fluttershy feel a bit more at ease about the time. She certainly looked much better than she had when she’d first arrived, at least.

As the four of them began making their way back home, the image of a smiling Twilight was plastered all over the walls of Rarity’s mind. This, in turn, made Rarity smile too, an action which did not go unnoticed by Sweetie Belle.

“What’re you smiling so much about?” the filly asked.

“Oh, nothing,” Rarity replied nonchalantly, smiling as she recalled Twilight’s grin, “I was just thinking about how today was a perfect day after all.”

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters. Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act I ~ 08 ~ The Last Letter of Fritter Cobbler ~

“Very well, Princess. I think I have all I need to be allowed into the castle.”

“You don’t know how long it will be until you return?”

“No, but you shouldn’t worry about that. There is no way to tell the time here, so just pretend it’ll just be a few hours!”

“I can’t do that…”

“You have to try. I have to go now. My brother is waiting for me, and we need to get there before sunset.”

“…Please be careful.”

“Princess, don’t look so distressed. It isn’t as though I’ll never return.”

The “maze” that Princess Twilight had so easily dismissed as a problem—of course it wouldn’t be for a spirit—turned out to be quite an obstacle for anypony who couldn’t walk through walls. And of course, during one of their first visits after meeting the princess, one of the first things Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle did was try to turn that obstacle into a game.

Unfortunately for Princess Twilight, they decided she would be the one to play that game with them, and as Rarity could attest, once the fillies got an idea into their heads, they would stop at nothing to get what they wanted.

Sitting atop the spiral staircase, the three older mares had a perfect view of the twists and turns that made up the maze. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were already inside it, exploring as they waited for their reluctant third player, who looked down at the maze with contempt.

The rules were simple, the game inspired by an idea they got after watching Twilight look for a book Fluttershy had requested: a section would be selected at random, and whoever found it first before the time limit ran out would be the winner.

“Come on, sis! Pick one already!”

“I’m thinking!”

Though it’d been a few months since she’d met the princess, Rarity had yet to bother learning the Star Swirl Decimal Classification System. She didn’t see the purpose of it when Twilight could teleport books to her instantly. Besides, it had probably changed in the thousand years Twilight had been trapped, so she assumed Twilight’s version of it was outdated.

As such, she ventured a predictable option.

“The fashion section!” she called out. It was perfect. Not only did it give them something to look for, but once they did, she could also ask them to bring her a book or two.

“The ‘fashion section’?” came Twilight’s skeptical voice, prompting Rarity to turn around to look at her. The alicorn had been scrutinizing a pair of flashlights Rarity had brought for her, but Rarity’s comment was enough to snap her out of her focused fascination.

“Of course! Who would think that a bad idea? Everypony has at least some interest in fashion, do they not?” Then again, remembering the portrait Twilight had shown her of Star Swirl the Bearded, perhaps the princess had inherited his sense of style. Which wasn’t much of a sense; that is to say, he didn’t wear anything that even remotely resembled something a mare—or perhaps anypony—should be wearing. She looked at Fluttershy and waited for her friend to nod. “Don’t they?”

Before Fluttershy could do anything of the sort, however, Twilight spoke up again.

“Rarity, there’s no such thing as a ‘fashion section,’” she clarified, raising an eyebrow. “If anything, you would be referring to ‘clothing and accessories,’ which is upstairs under number 604.”

“604 is for magical drawings and hazardous materials,” Fluttershy said softly from the side. “687 is clothing and accessories.”

Twilight regarded her with a hint of confusion before teleporting away in a flash of light. There wasn’t even enough time for Rarity to wonder where she had gone, before the princess returned, looking extremely sheepish. “Yes, yes… Number 687, that’s what I meant to say. I just… use number 604 a lot so I…” However, just as quickly as she’d teleported away, she cleared her throat and her expression became accusing as she turned to Rarity and said, “Well, see? Even Fluttershy knows that there is no fashion section! Not to mention that you’ve used the section so much, I even moved it upstairs for you.”

Rarity scoffed. “Well, I’d simply forgotten!”

That said, she looked down toward the two waiting fillies. She only had to venture another guess, and she’d probably be right. How did that saying go again? “Even a broken clock was right twice a day”? She cleared her throat and narrowed her eyes. “How about… etiquette!”

“That’s upstairs too,” Fluttershy said, giggling when Rarity let out a very frustrated sigh.

Honestly, if they knew so much about it, why didn’t they pick out the category? With a huff, she reminded herself that the third time was the charm. “Well, fine! Then how about ‘Equestrian literature’?” she asked, staring at Twilight and expecting the alicorn to correct her again.

“That is in there,” Twilight said.

Rarity blinked. “It is?” she asked, before quickly stomping her hoof against the floor. “Hah! Of course it is!” Satisfied, she turned back toward the fillies. “Equestrian literature! Number…” She turned toward the alicorn, who playfully rolled her eyes and whispered the reply. “Number 820!”

Their goal decided, the fillies settled themselves in distinct corners of the maze and… and waited quite still for a few moments until they turned to look at Princess Twilight expectantly, as did Fluttershy and Rarity.

“Come on, Princess Twilight!” Scootaloo called impatiently. “Don’t you want to play?”

Twilight winced, again staring down at the maze with a mixture of contempt and annoyance. “How can they find that irritating maze fun…?” Though Rarity could understand why the princess would reserve nothing but ill feelings for what the Spirit had done to her precious library, she also knew playing with the fillies might benefit her serious friend more than said friend knew.

“Twilight, you did promise,” she reminded, matching Twilight’s expression with a lightly scolding one. Before the mare could protest again, Rarity pointed toward the fillies. “Think about how excited they’ve been to come visit and spend time with you! And they did pool their allowances together to buy you that deluxe version of the Daring Do collection,” she reminded further, failing to mention that she and Fluttershy had “helped” the fillies with almost eighty-five percent of the cost.

Twilight looked back at her flashlights. “Why did you bring two? They’re identical,” she said, swiftly changing the topic in an unsubtle way. She turned one on and flashed it in her face, wincing slightly.

“So that you have something to go off of when you inevitably disassemble one of them without knowing how to repair it,” Rarity replied nonchalantly, raising her hoof to silence the suddenly indignant mare. “No, don’t look at me like that! Or shall I remind you of the formerly working sewing machine now lying in pieces on a desk upstairs?”

“But I did repair it!” Twilight protested, a very thin blush spreading on her cheeks.

“Oh? And what, pray tell, did your ‘repaired’ sewing machine accomplish, exactly?’”

Twilight looked mortified, pointing at Rarity with her hoof. “You should have told me paper-like material was included in the des—”

“Twilight, it doesn’t matter now,” Rarity said, taking both flashlights from Twilight and nodding toward the maze. Truthfully, she didn’t want to remember that event. A magical sewing machine that acted with a will of its own? Using whatever material it could find to recreate designs given to it? Those poor books. “Now stop stalling and go join the girls.”

The princess sighed in defeat. “All right, all right,” she conceded, teleporting away and reappearing in front of the maze entrance. She looked back toward Rarity, unsure, until a gesture from the unicorn prompted her inside the maze. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked all but enthralled as the maze lifted and rearranged itself around them. To Rarity’s amusement, poor Twilight merely seemed annoyed by it all. Centuries upon centuries of having her books disorganized was understandably not her idea of fun.

“Readysetgo!” Scootaloo yelled the moment the maze set itself down, and she rushed into the fray, glancing at the numbers on the bookcases as she ran past them.

Sweetie Belle started the game with equal enthusiasm, yet Twilight only trotted along, occasionally stopping to take out a book and read a page or two.

“Have you told the princess about our trip to Hollow Shades?” Fluttershy asked Rarity, turning her eyes away from the maze.

“No, not yet. I tried, but she was too enthralled with her Daring Do books,” Rarity replied, thinking it had been a tremendously good idea to get her those books. Though Twilight didn’t look particularly happy right now, Rarity took it that reading them non-stop meant she enjoyed them. “It’s a shame she can’t meet this Professor Awe pony.”

Professor Brazened Awe.

Rarity had first discovered his existence while perusing a magazine at the spa. Rarity’s magazine choices weren’t always Science, Magic, & More!, but the cover had caught her attention—specifically the line claiming “Legends of Equestria explained!” Upon further reading, she had found that rather than actually explaining any legends, the small article was completely devoted to a stallion infamous for his so-called “expertise” on legends and myths. Months ago, Rarity would have been quick to roll her eyes at him, but now…

“I’ve never been to Hollow Shades before,” Fluttershy said. “Are you sure he still lives there?”

“I would certainly hope so. I don’t want to have planned a trip there just to come back empty-hooved,” Rarity replied, watching as Sweetie’s path was halted when a bookcase appeared in front of her. She then turned back to Fluttershy. “Though it makes perfect sense he’d take up residence there. You remember how disappointed Sweetie was she couldn’t go there for Seeking Night? The entire town is apparently quite taken by the whole legend of the four princ—”

She was interrupted by a loud shriek filling the library, followed by a loud and indignant filly’s voice. “Prince-ess! That’s cheating!”

The two mares looked down to find Twilight had just appeared out of a bookcase and scared the living daylights out of Rarity’s younger sister. Twilight started protesting, but both her defense and the game were cut short by Scootaloo.

“Found it!” she yelled victoriously, standing in front of what Rarity presumed was the Equestrian literature section. Her proclamation was met with clapping from Fluttershy and Rarity, but disappointment from Sweetie Belle.

“Aw…”

Twilight, for her part, continued to wander around the maze, still looking through the occasional book. Rarity rolled her eyes, wishing the princess had at least pretended to play along. Oh well, maybe next time she’d be a bit more enthused.

“Well, I think we better leave for now. It’s nearly lunchtime,” Rarity said to Fluttershy before looking back down at the maze. “Come on, girls! Time to go!”

“Already?! But we just got here!” Scootaloo called back, her former joy at winning their game all but gone.

“And Princess Twilight promised to help us with our homework!” Sweetie Belle reminded her sister.

“Darling, you do realize that doing your homework for you is not the same thing as helping, don’t you? No, don’t give me that look! I already saw your completed math book!” Rarity said before Sweetie could respond.

“Maybe we could have a picnic outside?” Fluttershy suggested. Or suggested until she remembered outside was a terrifying forest, and thus amended her suggestion, “Or inside? The entrance of the library has a lot of space, doesn’t it?” Rarity bit her lip, unsure if she wanted to risk getting the library dirty, but Fluttershy spoke up again. “Please?”

“‘Please’?” Rarity repeated, raising her eyebrow. “You want to stay longer, too? My, when did Princess Twilight’s Library turn into the hippest place in town?” She fluttered her eyelashes and grinned at the pegasus. “Does somepony regret all the times she refused to accompany me into the forest? Hmmmm?” she said, widening her eyes accusingly.

Fluttershy laughed softly and rolled her eyes.

Her mood vastly improved by the success Twilight was with Fluttershy and the fillies, Rarity felt benevolent. “All right, I suppose you can stay a few more hours while I run some errands and go get us some lunch,” she called out, to the enthused yells of the fillies. She then turned to Fluttershy, gave her the flashlights, and added, “I’ll be back in two hours or so.”

She felt the impulse to add a “be careful,” never having left the girls or Fluttershy alone in the library, but then again, they were in the company of an immortal princess spirit. Rarity sighed and turned around, telling herself her fears were probably just leftover paranoia from the intrusion a few weeks ago.

If only she could figure out who or what it had been.

Ponyville’s marketplace was crowded as ever, not a surprising thing considering it was nearly lunchtime. Rarity was getting rather hungry, and though the sight of Themis pecking at insects on the ground repulsed her, it somehow also made her feel even hungrier. She reached into her saddlebag and took out her grocery list, scanning it for items still left to buy. She’d covered almost everything—all of them healthy and quick snacks—but she realized that she’d yet to buy anything for dessert. If I don’t bring them something sweet, Sweetie and Scootaloo won’t let me hear the end of it.

Apples struck her as a good choice; they were sweet, tasty, and healthy to boot! Once Themis had returned to his spot on her back, Rarity made her way into the bustling market, searching for Applejack or her brother. Her search was rewarded after a moment when she finally spotted them near the other fruit vendors.

“Applejack!”

The two siblings turned around, and Applejack waved at Rarity.

“Well, howdy, Rarity!” Applejack greeted, smiling widely at the unicorn. “What can I do ya for? Lookin’ to buy some apples?”

“Yes, indeed I am,” Rarity replied. “I’m having a picnic with my sister, and I thought she and her friends might like some apples for dessert.”

“Well, I’d love to sell ya some, but…” Applejack drifted off, glancing at what Rarity realized was an empty cart. “’Fraid we ran out. Sold the last dozen to Miss Cheerilee.”

“Oh, I see. That’s too bad,” Rarity said, rather disappointed. Some apples with chocolate syrup would have been a nice treat for Fluttershy and the girls, but she supposed she would have to look for something else. Was it strawberry season yet?

Her disappointment must have been noticeable, for Applejack quickly spoke up. “Though I was just gonna mosey back to the farm for more apples, so if you don’t mind waitin’ for a bit, I can bring you some,” Applejack suggested. “Or you could even come with me to the farm. Big Mac’s gotta wait here for Golden Orange, and I sure could use some help carrying all them apples!”

Rarity mulled it over. She did want some apples, and she wasn’t in a hurry to get back. The princess and Fluttershy weren’t going anywhere, and neither were the fillies—unless they wanted to experience the worst scolding of their thus far short little lives. Glancing at her back, she could see Themis was in no hurry to get home either, so she turned back to Applejack and smiled, accepting the offer with a nod.

As they made their way toward the farm, the two mares engaged in idle small talk. Truth be told, Rarity didn’t know the farmer all that well, and she doubted Applejack was interested in hearing the minutiae of her own fashionable life. She could always talk about her ghostly friend, but besides having the impression that Applejack wasn’t the type to believe in ghost stories, she didn’t really want to have yet another pony pin her as a crazy cat lady.

It was because of this that, as the farm loomed in the horizon, Applejack’s question threw Rarity off.

“Say, Rarity,” Applejack began, eyes on the winding road ahead, “do you believe in them tales? About a princess in the Everfree Forest? And others locked away in caves an’ mountains and such?”

“I— well, I don’t know,” Rarity hastily replied, wondering if perhaps her secret was out. Why else would Applejack of all ponies ask her such a question out of nowhere? “I suppose there’s some charm in believing such tales, isn’t there? Why do you ask?”

Applejack furrowed her brow. “I… It don’t matter none,” she said quickly, as if she’d changed her mind at the last second. “Jus’ wondering.” By this time, they’d almost reached the farm, and she came to a full stop, narrowing her eyes. “What in tarnation is that filly doin’ now?”

Rarity looked toward the farm and spotted Applejack’s sister, whom she recognized from Sweetie’s school. Apple Bloom, wasn’t it? Thinking back, hadn’t Scootaloo mentioned the filly took lessons of some sort with Zecora in the Everfree Forest?

Apple Bloom was standing outside the house, playing with a stick. When she noticed the two mares, however, she froze up, dropping her stick on the ground. As Rarity and Applejack approached her, Rarity got the odd impression that Apple Bloom was staring solely at her. Probably just my imagination.

“Apple Bloom!” Applejack scolded, suddenly looking quite cross at the filly. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but that doesn’t look like you cleaning out the pens!”

“I was just taking a break!” the filly protested, eyes still glued to Rarity and apparently unable to budge. It was starting to unnerve the unicorn, and the smile she offered did little to dissipate Apple Bloom’s strange behavior. Maybe she’d eaten a bad apple?

“No buts! You’re still grounded, missy! The piglets need a clean pen for this afternoon,” Applejack rebuked. She then turned to Rarity and nodded toward the house. “Granny Smith was makin’ some apples pies ’fore we left, and I’m sure she don’t mind partin’ with one. Bet your sister and her friend would like one too!”

“Oh, that would be splendid!” Rarity exclaimed. She watched as Themis flew off her back and settled on the roof of the house before following Applejack inside, trying hard not to feel Apple Bloom’s stare on her. What’s gotten into that filly? Wasn’t she taught that staring is rude?

Once inside, Applejack closed the door and sighed. “Sorry about that,” she said, guiding Rarity toward the living room. “Granny Smith shouldn’t be long.”

“Trouble with your little sister, I see?” Rarity asked, smiling sympathetically as she took a seat on the couch. “I know how that goes. Sweetie Belle is quite the hoof-full more often than not. She ruined some fabric of mine a few weeks ago, and heavens did I wish I could ground her for it.”

“I’m afraid Apple Bloom did something mighty worse than ruinin’ some fabrics, Rarity,” Applejack said, leaving the room for a moment and returning with two glasses of cider. She offered one to Rarity before sitting down and continuing. “Silly filly just near got herself killed in the Everfree Forest a few weeks back. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my big brother holler at somepony more in his entire life.”

“Oh dear, really?” Rarity asked, understanding why the stallion would have lost his temper. Rarity herself nearly had a heart attack when she thought it had been Sweetie Belle who’d followed her into the forest.

“Yeah, she’s been taking some potion-making lessons from Zecora for ’round a year now, after Miss Cheerilee assigned her some fancy ‘cultural friendship’ project,” Applejack explained. “So she’s been goin’ into the forest twice a week.”

“But I was under the impression Zecora still hadn’t returned to Ponyville?” Rarity asked, remembering how she’d never see the lights on in the zebra’s cottage when passing by. She hadn’t seen Zecora for weeks now—almost since Seeking Night, in fact. Where had the zebra gone?

“She’s been coming back for a few days at a time, but she’s been going to visit a friend of hers a lot. She left us the keys to her cottage so Apple Bloom could keep practicin’ her potion making. Usually, Big Mac and I go drop her off and then pick her up a few hours later, but…” Applejack frowned and glanced toward a nearby framed picture of the filly. “Few weeks back we found the cottage empty when we came back, so we had to go lookin’ for her. I’m tellin’ ya, Rarity, it was some of the worst hours of my life. We finally found her, and the filly was more terrified than a worm in an apple during cider season. Kept going on and on about the library and its princess.”

Rarity nearly choked on her cider. “She what?!” she blurted out, before quickly composing herself and clearing her throat. “Oh m-my, really? The library and a princess?”

Did that mean that the intruder from a few weeks ago was… Applejack’s little sister? If that was the case… how many times had she seen Rarity in the forest? Or even Fluttershy, or now Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo? More importantly, had she told anypony?

“You know, the one from them old pony tales? Seeking Night?” Applejack clarified, unaware of just how intimately Rarity knew the tale. “Said she’d found this underground library, and she saw a princess. I reckon she was so scared, her imagination must’a gone plumb wild.” She then paused and looked at Rarity, deep in thought before sighing and rolling her eyes. “Can you believe she even said she followed you there? Guess it must have really stuck with her, how you were in charge of Seekin’ Night this year an’ all. I mean, I don’t know you all that well, but I know ya ain’t foolish enough to wander alone in that forest if there’s no need for it.”

Well, that explained why she’d asked Rarity if she believed in the tale earlier.

Rarity’s fake laughter had never been more high-pitched. “Me?! Wandering into that awful forest? Darling, don’t be ridiculous!” she exclaimed, nervously shaking away Applejack’s words with her hoof. “That’s just silly! Laughable, really! Wh-what would I even do there? Imagine that! Me meeting up with a princess in a library! What would we even talk about? Fashion in the middle ages?” she continued, trying to forget the extensive debate she and Twilight had over that very topic. “What an adorable imagination she has!”

“It wasn’t my imagination!”

The two mares turned around to find Apple Bloom standing by the door, stamping her hoof against the floor.

“I saw the library!” she continued, turning her accusing—or desperate?—expression toward Rarity. “She went there! I followed her all the way into the library! I’m not lying, I swear!”

Rarity didn’t know what to do. She obviously couldn’t tell the truth, but she felt bad not doing so. After all, she knew from personal experience how awful and frustrating it was to be pegged as a liar or a crazy pony.

“Apple Bloom!” Applejack exclaimed, putting down her glass of cider. “I’m growin’ mighty tired of this! There ain’t no library in the Everfree Forest, and there sure as hay ain’t a princess, either! If you want to be treated like a big pony, then start actin’ like one!” She then pointed to Rarity. “And I want you to apologize to Rarity for telling all those lies about her!”

Apple Bloom hopelessly looked back and forth between the two mares. “But I wasn’t ly—”

“Now, Applejack, I don’t take it personally,” Rarity said, interrupting before an even angrier Applejack had the chance to. “I’m flattered Apple Bloom would associate me with the Princess in the Library. I am quite fond of her… Er, well, h-her legend, I mean!” She smiled amiably at the filly. “I’ll gladly accept an apology, but perhaps we could talk later? You do have chores to do!” she suggested, hoping the filly would get the hint.

Now that she knew Apple Bloom was in on the secret, she very well couldn’t let it slide without saying anything. The last thing she wanted was yet another filly wandering about the forest in the search of Twilight, especially one that didn’t have the guidance of Elara and Themis.

Apple Bloom sighed in frustration, pawing at the ground. “All right…”

Just as Apple Bloom had finished speaking, the door to the kitchen opened and out ambled Granny Smith. “What’s going on out here?” Granny Smith asked, before noticing Rarity. “Fiddlesticks! Applejack, why didn’t ya tell me we had visitors?!” she exclaimed, apparently unprepared for company. She then noticed Apple Bloom still in the room. “And what’re you doing here, young’un? Weren’t you cleanin’ the pens?”

“She should be, but instead she’s still going on about the Princess of Everfree Forest,” Applejack answered before the filly could offer an excuse, giving Apple Bloom another stern look.

“The Everfree Forest?!” the elderly mare exclaimed, throwing the filly a stern look of her own. “Don’tcha know how dangerous that there forest is?! Do you want to end up like Apple Crumble?!”

Apple Bloom looked mortified by the question. “N-no!”

A few moments passed in which Rarity watched the Apples silently, before finally asking with curious caution, “What happened to Apple Crumble?”

“Killed by timberwolves helping his brother Fritter Cobbler more than a thousand moons ago, that’s what!” Granny Smith began, gesturing wildly. “Went mad he did, that Fritter Cobbler, lookin’ for the lost library of the princess. Looked for her until one day, he just plumb gave up and left Ponyville. It didn’t help his brother died ’cause of it. My grandaddy used to say the princess cursed him for rousin’ her from her eternal slumber and stealing her books!”

“Oh, really?” Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow. She found it hard to believe Twilight would curse anypony for waking her up considering she couldn’t even sleep, but she’d easily believe her friend would curse somepony for stealing her books. If she could actually curse anypony, that was.

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Granny, there isn’t a lost princess. Fritter Cobbler was just a pony that went plain crazy, claimin’ the same things as this little one here,” she contended. “He even went as far as saying he was ‘friends’ with the princess an’ everything.”

“He did?” Rarity asked, furrowing her brow.

Odd…

Twilight had never mentioned anypony else finding her save for the Spirit. The Book Bringer claimed he’d never talked to her, and she would have said if other ponies had befriended her, wouldn’t she? It felt like every time she thought she knew more about the princess, she found out she actually knew less.

“Listen here, you little whippersnapper! Fritter Cobbler may have been a no-good thievin’ scoundrel, but an Apple is never a liar!” Granny Smith snapped at her granddaughter before turning back toward Apple Bloom and Rarity. “He stumbled into her library, and he took two books from her.”

Two books were taken from the library? Rarity’s first impulse was to take out the library cards from her bag and immediately look for the name Fritter Cobbler, but she’d run the risk of revealing her secret. “And what happened to the books?” she asked, praying that by some sort of miracle, the elderly pony knew of their location. Two books in one go would be the luckiest day of her life.

“He lost one, didn’t he?” Apple Bloom said, having obviously heard the story before and promptly crushing Rarity’s hope—until the filly continued. “In a house in the forest!”

A house in the forest? Could she mean that decrepit house Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo found during Seeking Night? At least that would be less of a hassle than going through the dangerous forest with a fine tooth comb.

“And the other book?” Rarity prompted. “Surely that one couldn’t have been lost too?”

Granny Smith blinked. “What book?” she asked, before ambling into the kitchen, ranting on about her pies overcooking. She was soon gone, and Rarity made a move to get up, but Granny Smith re-emerged before she had a chance. With her was a pristine, heavy-looking book bound in yellow leather, which she showed to the unicorn. The Culture of Agriculture: Volume One by Summer Fields was written on it.

“This here is an Apple Family heirloom. Still looks brand new. Almost like magic!” Granny Smith said, carefully opening up the book and showing Rarity the first page. “See here?” she continued, throwing Applejack a nasty look. “Fritter Cobbler was no liar!”

And indeed he wasn’t, for written in a familiar and elegant calligraphy were the words Property of Princess Twilight Sparkle. To Rarity’s surprise, however, something else was written under Twilight’s name. It was in much less elegant calligraphy, to be sure, but Rarity could distinctly make out the words I’m sorry, Princess.

Had Fritter Cobbler written that? Maybe not. But if he had… why? What was he sorry for?

Out of instinct, Rarity reached over to take the immensely coveted book, but Granny Smith pulled it back before Rarity’s hooves even had a chance to brush against the object.

Drat.

Precious family heirloom indeed. Now how in Equestria was she going to get that book? She couldn’t very well steal it, nor could she just “permanently” borrow it, could she? If anything, judging by how Granny Smith had reacted when Rarity tried to take the book, she didn’t even think the notion of lending the book out was conceivable to the elder mare.

Granny Smith gave Rarity a wary glance before continuing, “See?! Says it right here, Princess Twilight Sparkle!”

Applejack snorted. “That could be any princess, Granny. And even if it was the ‘princess from the library,’ that’s just fine and dandy, but I ain’t goin’ looking to return that book, an’ neither are you or Apple Bloom.” Applejack threw a pointed look at the filly, then sighed and looked back at her grandmother. “Come on, Granny, enough about that. Are the pies ready yet? I promised Rarity here we’d give her one, an’ I’m sure she has better things to do than sit here listening to us go on about fairy tale nonsense.”

It didn’t take much for Rarity to know the conversation was over, and she tried not to look too disheartened as Granny Smith and Twilight’s book disappeared into the kitchen. A few moments later, the elderly mare ambled back out with a freshly baked pie, the smell of which was enticing enough to dispel Rarity’s melancholy. Perhaps she could return for another pie one day, and by then she’d surely have a plan to get the book. Maybe Twilight had a copy in her library Rarity could switch it out for?

Once she had her apple pie and thanked the elder pony for it, Rarity followed Applejack and Apple Bloom outside. The tension between the two sisters was still palpable, but she knew better than to interfere.

“Listen, Bloom,” Applejack suddenly said, turning to look at her forlorn little sister. “I don’t like yellin’ at you, but I’m worried about you. That forest is dangerous—really dangerous—an’ I don’t want to lose you to some timberwolf ’cause you were out lookin’ for this Princess Twilight.”

Apple Bloom hung her head. “I know… I’m sorry, Sis…”

Applejack sighed. “It’s okay, s’long as you don’t do that ever again.” That said, she turned to Rarity and smiled. “Why don’t you wait here while I go get the apples? I won’t be long and that way somepony can apologize.”

Applejack trotted off, leaving Rarity and Apple Bloom behind. Left alone in such a position, Rarity turned to look at the filly, fully intent on saying something about the elephant in the… farm? As a big sister herself, she had half a mind to scold Apple Bloom. As a pony, she had another half a mind to tell her following other ponies, even into a dangerous forest, was not polite, but…

But Apple Bloom didn’t seem to be looking for a fight or an argument. In fact, with her ears all droopy and her tail between her legs, the filly looked more apologetic than anything. But rather than a “sorry,” the filly whispered, “I… I ain’t crazy, am I?” She looked up at Rarity, almost pleadingly so.

As much as Rarity felt the responsible thing to do would be to lie and confirm the filly’s fears, she still couldn’t shake off her empathy for Apple Bloom and her situation. “Your sister is right. You were very lucky that a timberwolf didn’t find you, or that I didn’t attack you thinking you were one. Do you not realize how dangerous that forest is?” She hesitated for a moment before adding, “From experience, I can assure you she would have attacked you had she felt threatened, and sneaking after ponies is certainly not innocent behavior.”

Apple Bloom shook her head, aghast at the implications, and was quick to defend herself. “But, I wasn’t— I only wanted to—” She fell silent, and her eyes widened. “Wait… She is real! Ah-hah! I knew it! And Applejack called me a liar!” She then glared at the mare. “Why didn’t you say anythin’?! You shoulda told my sis that—”

“That there’s a ghost in the Everfree Forest? Then I’d have yet another pony calling me crazy,” Rarity replied calmly. “Apple Bloom, also from experience, I can assure you no one would believe neither you nor me unless we dragged them into the library and had Twilight shake their hoof. And even then, anypony would be too terrified to even meet with her, especially considering she’s ‘a spooky cursed being.’”

Apple Bloom looked as if she wanted very much to protest but seemed to relent instead. As something else dawned on her, her eyes widened again, now more out of fear than victory. “She’s not going to curse me, is she?”

My, the Apples really were intent on believing Twilight cursed whoever stumbled into her library, weren’t they? While it was true that the day she’d met Twilight, Rarity would have been the first to assume the alicorn was capable of cursing somepony, the idea now seemed laughable. Fearsome Princess Twilight Sparkle, standing atop her bookcase, wings flared, and hexing the unfortunate mortals who dared tread into her abode and put her books back in the wrong place.

Though privately amused by the idea, Rarity knew she would do well to use it to her advantage. “Princess Twilight Sparkle is not in the habit of cursing little fillies, no,” she started, and before Apple Bloom could sigh with relief, she continued, “but she does not condone little fillies wandering around in a dangerous forest either, and I don’t think it would be wise to test your luck with an old spirit, wouldn’t you agree?”

The filly immediately shook her head to convey her understanding.

Not wanting to leave her with a terrifying impression of her friend, Rarity added, “Though I’m sure she will appreciate you believing in her.”

“Really?!” Apple Bloom asked, a twinkle in her eyes. “I wasn’t scared of her! When I saw her! Even with them wings an’ all!” she claimed proudly. “Can she fly? Or does she float around like the ghosts in Big Mac’s scary stories?!”

Rarity giggled. “Well, I don’t know your brother’s stories, but I… Actually, I don’t know if she flies,” Rarity admitted sheepishly. “She mostly just teleports around everywhere and walks through walls when she feels like it. She’s scared me more times than I’d care to remember that way.”

Apple Bloom giggled until her curiosity was drawn toward Themis, who had now returned to his place on Rarity’s back. She trotted over toward him, and in reply, he jumped up to her head, curiously batting at the bow in Apple Bloom’s mane with his wing.

“This is Themis,” Rarity explained, watching as the owl turned around to bat at Apple Bloom’s twitching ears. “He’s one of the owls the princess uses to guide me to her library.” It wasn’t until Apple Bloom’s eyes widened and she tried to look at the owl that Rarity realized that, rather than deterring the filly from going into the forest, she was actually doing the opposite and hastily added, “B-but they only take me there, I’m afraid.” She cleared her throat and gave the filly a stern look. “Apple Bloom, you really must promise you won’t go looking for the princess. I don’t know why you already did so, or how you even found me in there, but as I said, you were luck—”

“Well, you came to Zecora’s house!” Apple Bloom exclaimed almost immediately. “I was gonna answer and everything, and that’s when I saw you! You didn’t even hear me when I called you.”

Rarity’s mouth opened and closed several times, her brow furrowing. “I… what?” she asked, very distinctly remembering not having done that. She would remember if she’d gone to Zecora’s cottage that day, wouldn’t she? “Apple Bloom, darling, I’m afraid that now your imagination has run a little wild.”

“What?! No, it ain’t!” Apple Bloom protested, the shaking of her head almost toppling the poor owl off. “You came knockin’! I saw it! And then when I went outside an’ called, you were standing far away and jus’ started trotting into the forest.”

Though Rarity’s instinct was to once again shrug the claim off, something about it made her slow to do so. “Let me see if I understand correctly,” she said carefully. “You’re claiming that I went to Zecora’s hut, knocked on the door, lingered about, and when you came out to greet me, I was idling by until you called me, at which point I trotted off. Correct?”

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom said confidently, only for her confidence to wave moments later. “But I… You said that…”

“But I what?” Rarity prompted, finding herself afraid of the answer.

Apple Bloom winced, the words having difficulty to come out. “You jus’ said that the owls are with you, but… You didn’t have an owl—not at first, at least!”

“Not at first?”

Now more than ever did Apple Bloom look uncomfortable. She fidgeted around in place, as if she really didn’t want to answer the question. It wasn’t until Rarity asked it again that the filly relented, watching as Themis jumped from her head to Rarity’s back.

“You didn’t have an owl with you when you were at Zecora’s,” the filly repeated, “an’ I just followed you, but then a while later, you had an owl with you, and you weren’t all quiet anymore. Before that, you really didn’t talk at all, you just… walked. It was a bit scary.” For a second, it felt like Apple Bloom was talking to herself, as if trying to piece together the fragmented memories of what she’d seen. “And you were in front of me, but then I heard voices and I saw you in a different place with the owl, but I swear you were in front of me before that!”

There was a sinking feeling of dread inside Rarity’s chest. She knew for fact she couldn’t have been there, but Apple Bloom had no reason to lie. Worst of all, it didn’t feel like she was lying, so if she wasn’t…

“I’m back!”

The two ponies turned around and saw Applejack trotting toward them, pulling a cart filled with apples behind her. Her appearance also marked the end of Rarity’s conversation with Apple Bloom, as well as any hopes of finding out more about her supposed doppelgänger.

“Here you go,” Applejack said, taking out a small bag from the cart, filled with about a dozen or so apples. While Rarity took her bitbag from her saddlebag, Applejack turned to her little sister. “So, no more wanting to end up like ol’ Fritter Cobbler?”

Apple Bloom pawed at the ground. “No…”

“Say, Applejack,” Rarity said, taking out some coins from her bitbag and floating them over to the mare. “Out of curiosity, you say this Fritter Cobbler pony lost the other book inside a house in the forest?”

“Or so Granny says,” Applejack replied.

“Thank you,” Rarity said, smiling softly.

It seemed she’d have to make a quick stop at an abandoned house before going back to the library.

To her misfortune, Rarity couldn’t for the life of her remember where in the Everfree Forest she had found the house Sweetie and Scootaloo had hidden in during Seeking Night. She’d never bothered to go looking for it before, and in retrospect, she realized that it hadn’t been all that smart of her not to. Who knew what other important things might have been lying there besides the potential second volume?

Thankfully, even if she didn’t know where it was, she was friends with two owls who knew the forest intimately. It had only taken a quick detour request, and Themis seemed to like Rarity well enough to indulge her whim.

With a satisfied hoot, he landed on the roof of the familiar dilapidated house. The trek from the tree to the house had shown the unicorn that not only was the house actually not all that far away, but that it wasn’t the only house.

It was, in fact, the third abandoned house the owl had led her to, the previous two both equally close to the library. Though her quick searches inside them had proven unsuccessful, only turning up items and books that had fallen victim to the passage of time, it had served to strengthen Rarity’s developing theory that the original Ponyville had been built centered around the library.

The place was just as she—vaguely—remembered.

The door was still lying on the ground, torn off its hinges; the cracked window the fillies had peeked their heads out of looked even dirtier than before, and the tree that had grown out through the roof was still very much there. She stepped inside and found that the interior had also not changed much. She could see the wooden table was not faring well, and a single touch would send its rotting planks tumbling down. With extra care not to disturb it, she made her way toward the bookshelf that contained the remains of what she supposed were once books. She removed a tissue from her bag and used it to search through their remains. She found not a single thing.

So much for that, she thought, her hope deteriorating. Maybe there was a fourth house somewhere in the forest? She made her way toward the exit, but stopped when her forehoof landed on something hard on the floor. She looked down and noticed that whatever she’d stepped on had been hidden from view by a dirty rug. Oh please, Denza, please please please, she thought, moving the rug aside and slowly revealing an ethereal golden glow… the effect of a magic spell protecting a lost volume.

“Ah ha ha ha!” Rarity exclaimed, victoriously levitating the tome into the air. It looked to be in exactly the same condition as the one the Apples had, if not better, though that might have simply been in contrast with the other books in the decaying house. Oh, Twilight is going to be so pleased, she thought, opening the book to check the name.

Just as with the first volume, Twilight’s ownership had been clearly spelled out on the first page, but this one did not have a second cryptic apology. Instead, there was a carefully folded parchment that would have fallen out had Rarity not caught it in time. To her surprise, it was in pristine condition—no doubt having been protected by the same spell surrounding the book. Nevertheless, she was careful when she unfolded the parchment and read the message written inside.

I’ve gathered up enough evidence, and I believe I know enough to go visit Princess Cadance III. My family does not believe me and refuses to help me, but my brother has yet to lose faith in me. When we come back from Canter Capital in a week, I want to introduce him to Princess Twilight.

Princess Twilight seems enthused by the trip and hopes we will find answers. It pains me to lie to her—especially with how she enjoys my visits. We talk for what feels like endless hours, and her stories on the castle are always fascinating.

Will she be angered at me when she finds out it has not been a few months since her entrapment, but centuries? I could not bring myself to tell her the truth, but she will find out when I get the princess’s help. If she helps us. Her grandmother knew Princess Twilight, so surely she will provide assistance? Princess Twilight is her family after all.

And yet, the royal family has let what happened be forgotten. Why? Ponies have started making a mockery out of it, dressing up as the princesses and having foals look for them. It is like a game, and Princess Cadance III has done nothing to stop it. I want to believe she believes in the legend, but the fear of this being untrue claws at my heart whenever Princess Twilight speaks of her.

I remember the stories Grandfather Apple Crisp told me, of how his parents worked for the royal guard before becoming farmers. Of how he’d met Princess Twilight as a foal, before she was trapped, and before his home was surrounded by foul creatures and dark forest. In his last days, he rambled on about the fabled curse set upon Princess Cadance I; how it spread like a fatal illness throughout the land—even beyond her children—without a cause and without a cure. Was it truly a curse, or was that the name for the desperation Equestria felt at their inability to find the princesses?

Once I come back from the capital with answers, I will help Princess Twilight and the others. No matter the outcome of my trip, I will tell the princess of all my lies upon returning. She deserves my honesty if I want to keep deserving her trust. But I do not think I’ll come back empty-hooved. Princess Cadance III is kind and wise, and I will work with her to help restore our land to the glory Grandfather Fritter talked about.

I only hope the Spirit is not watching me yet.

The more Rarity read, the surer she was of its author. Just to be certain, she took out her library cards and looked through them, her suppositions validated upon seeing his name on the appropriate card.

So, Fritter Cobbler had gone out to seek the help of royalty too, had he? And unsuccessfully so, going by what Granny Smith had told her. At that point, the only one who could tell her more about him was the fabled Princess Twilight Sparkle herself, but despite the progress they had made, Rarity still felt Twilight had barely started to open up to her. By the looks of it, though, Twilight had opened up extensively to Fritter Cobbler. Had she really encouraged him to go meet with Princess Cadance III? Rarity was surprised to find herself a bit indignant at the memory of how reluctant Twilight was to let her investigate.

What did this Fritter Cobbler have that I don’t?

Her eyes focused on the very last line, and she repeated it under her breath. I only hope the Spirit is not watching me yet. Had the Spirit done something to Fritter Cobbler? Had it been as he’d feared, and maybe the Spirit was already watching him even as he’d written that message? It was terrifying to think about.

What if… what if she was being watched too? What if he followed everypony who befriended the princess so as to deter them from helping, or worse?

Oh, Denza. The more she thought about it, the more her hairs stood on end. Could Apple Bloom really have seen another Rarity? Another mysterious pony with no motives but conveniently there at the right time and place, just like Rarity’s encounter with the Book Bringer that fateful night? She’d seen him in Canterlot, but… had she really seen the real Book Bringer?

She thought back to Apple Bloom and despite herself, pictured the scene recounted to her. She could see it clearly: another “her” standing near Zecora’s cottage, her back to the filly. She could hear Apple Bloom’s voice as she called “her,” only for “her” to start walking away in silence, luring the filly away from the safety of the cottage. She could suddenly hear herself—the real her—talking to Elara in the distance. She could see Apple Bloom turning away from the Rarity standing several feet in front of her, and suddenly finding the real Rarity in another spot completely. Finally, with the same terror as if she’d been there, Rarity could perfectly imagine Apple Bloom looking back in front of her and finding—

“Hoo!”

Letting out a blood-curdling scream that probably reached the library, Rarity slammed herself against the bookcase, ready to meet her end at the hooves of her other self. To her immense relief, she found nopony there except for a familiar black owl on the opposite side of the room, the poor thing looking at Rarity with terrified wide eyes as if she’d completely lost her mind.

“Oh, Themis, for pony’s sake,” she muttered, burying her face in her hooves as she tried to steady her frantically beating heart. “There’s no one here,” she continued, trying to convince herself that there wasn’t a Rarity doppelgänger wandering about. The Spirit was gone, gone, gone, and he had no reason to follow her. More than a thousand years had passed since his wrongdoings, and it was ridiculous to assume an ancient spirit would be interested in her. Besides, he would have acted already, wouldn’t he? He would have never allowed Rarity to spend so much time with Twilight if he really was still lingering around the forest.

“H-hoo?”

Rarity looked up to find the owl hovering near her, apparently trying to figure out what had made her scream like that. “I’m sorry, darling, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” Rarity said, folding up the parchment and putting it back inside the book. Once the book was safely inside her saddlebag, she took one last look around for anything she might have missed before exiting the house and following Themis back toward the tree.

When she descended into the tunnel, Rarity was surprised to see there was no light in the distance. She lit up her horn and made her way to the library, finding that Star had apparently changed back into a candelabra at some point during her absence. Perhaps everypony was still downstairs? She put her bag and the apple pie on top of a nearby table and then made her way toward the back of the room. She stopped when she noticed two flashing lights at the end of one of the rows of bookcases.

Quietly trotting forward, she made out two silhouettes: Twilight’s and… Scootaloo’s? The two lights turned off suddenly, and Rarity realized her as-of-yet un-disassembled flashlights were being put to good use. It figured the filly would find showing Twilight how to be scary more important than actually using the flashlights for their intended purpose.

Scootaloo’s flashlight turned on again. “See? You’re supposed to, like, be around a campfire, and then you put the flashlight like this,” the filly explained, demonstrating by lowering the flashlight and shining it upwards on her face, doing her best attempt at a spooky face.

With her back to Rarity, Twilight lit up her flashlight and copied the filly.

Scootaloo continued by putting on an “eerie” voice and saying, “Once upon a time, in an old spooky library…” Her story, however, was suddenly interrupted by Sweetie Belle’s voice, calling her friend to come join her on the floor below. “Oh, uhm, be right back!”

Scootaloo rushed off in Rarity’s direction, leaving the princess to continue turning the flashlight on and off. It wasn’t until Scootaloo was a few feet from Rarity that she noticed the unicorn, but her greeting never came since Rarity quickly gestured for her to be quiet. “Rarity? What’re you doing?” she whispered, confused by the devilish smirk on Rarity’s face.

Rarity merely gestured to the flashlight. “Let me have that for a moment, darling,” she said, levitating the flashlight out of Scootaloo’s hoof and taking a step toward the still-distracted alicorn. “As a ghost, I think that the princess would enjoy a practical demonstration on how to properly frighten ponies with this.” She stifled a giggle upon seeing Scootaloo’s delighted grin, and again gestured for quiet before stalking toward the spectral princess.

It would be harmless, fun revenge for all the times Twilight had very nearly scared Rarity into a heart attack. With every step she took, she developed the plan in her head, watching as Twilight’s flashlight kept flickering on and off. She’d stand behind her and wait ever so patiently, wait until the light disappeared and darkness engulfed the room, and then… Then, the second the light turned on again, she’d strike with a loud but innocent “Enjoying my present, are we?”

She finally reached the alicorn and, as planned, waited for the flashlight to flicker off. Oh, how delightfully amusing, is it not? For once the ghost will be the one to have the life—or, death?—scared out of her. Once the light disappeared, Rarity found containing her giggles was an arduous task. She waited for the light to turn back on. She waited, and waited, and waited, until she was actually starting to get a bit bored. It didn’t help that she couldn’t see anything, either.

Suddenly, the flashlight turned on again, but did not reveal Twilight’s back. The alicorn had turned around and was staring at Rarity with wide eyes, shining the flashlight in the exact way Scootaloo had shown her was perfect for spooky story-telling.

“Hello, Rarity.”

Rarity backed up against a nearby bookcase for the second time that day, her panicked screech drowning out Twilight’s greeting and Scootaloo’s distant laughter. “Twilight!” Rarity yelled, feeling as if her heart was about to beat out of her chest. “What was that for?! Does everypony want to give me a heart attack today?!”

“I don’t know what you mean, Rarity,” Twilight replied matter-of-factly, curiously glancing at the giggling Scootaloo. Once Scootaloo left, she looked back to the still-panting unicorn. “You were standing behind me for about a minute, so I don’t know how I frightened you.”

Rarity turned on her flashlight, pointing it accusingly at the alicorn. “Let’s not talk about this, shall we?” she grumbled, wishing she could erase the blush on her cheeks. “You wouldn’t frighten me so much if you didn’t stalk me around the library like a cat.” She turned around, pointing the flashlight toward the ceiling. A thought occurred to her, and she pointed the light at her friend again, smiling smugly. “In fact, I should bring you one of my cat’s bells so the chime lets me know where you are.”

“I am not a cat.”

“Aren’t you?” Rarity asked. “Sneaking around in the shadows, following ponies who dare trespass, walking atop the bookcases whilst surveying your territory, getting hissy when ponies touch your books… Goodness, you and Opal would be frightfully good friends!” She briefly entertained the idea of teasing Twilight further by asking if she purred or hissed, but settled instead with giggling at Twilight’s expression. Before her friend could again defend her equine nature, Rarity pointed the flashlight toward the ceiling. “Where is Star? I need proper lighting to show you something.”

At the spark of Twilight’s horn, Star finally made her—his? its?—reappearance on the other side of the library, floating up toward the ceiling and resuming the far more elegant chandelier form. The room lit up and Rarity made her way toward the library’s entrance, motioning for Twilight to follow.

Rarity levitated her bag toward herself, watching as Twilight observed with reserved curiosity—kind of like a cat, though Rarity withheld herself from casually commenting on the fact. “It’s something I think you’ll be very pleased to have back,” Rarity teased, eliciting a reaction from the alicorn much more reminiscent of an excited puppy than a reserved feline.

“Have back? You don’t mean…” Twilight faded out, taking several steps toward Rarity and the coveted saddlebag.

“Oh yes, I had quite the interesting chat with some local farmers,” Rarity continued, opening up her saddlebag and looking for the book amongst the foodstuffs and other objects. Upon finding it, she waited a few moments not only out of desire to create some suspense, but also because the book itself reminded her of a question she’d been wanting to ask. “Twilight,” she said, drawing Twilight’s eyes away from the bag and toward her, “does the name ‘Fritter Cobbler’ ring a bell? He had a brother called ‘Apple Crumble.’”

It must have, considering Twilight froze up completely at the name.

It took Rarity tentatively calling her name for Twilight to finally react. “Rarity…” she said carefully, not threateningly, but… It felt as if Rarity had just revealed she’d found out one of the alicorn’s deepest and darkest secrets, and considering the alicorn’s expression, she might have done just that. “How do you know about him?”

“Well, as I was saying, I was talking to the local farmers,” Rarity repeated, aware of Twilight’s penetrating stare, “and they told me the story of their ancestor, Fritter Cobbler, and how he’d happened upon two of your books. One of which was lost in an abandoned house in the Everfree Forest.” She reached into her bag and finally took out the book, watching as Twilight’s eyes grew large. “They mentioned he’d claimed to be a friend of the ‘fabled lost princess in the library’…”

She watched as Twilight carefully took the book, as if it was a sacred treasure. Twilight opened up the book, looking at her own hoofwriting, before flipping through the pages in silence and finding the parchment. “And there’s also that,” Rarity said, hoping the princess wouldn’t take offense to Rarity snooping into her friend’s business. “My curiosity admittedly got the best of me.”

Twilight wordlessly glanced at Rarity before opening the parchment and reading its contents. Rarity expected Twilight to keep her stoic facade throughout her reading, but to her surprise, the princess’s expression kept shifting between surprised and serious.

“Princess Cadance the Third? Centuries?” she whispered, ears flattening against her head. “Grandfather Fritter Apple? He said he was his… elder… cousin…” The words came through gritted teeth, but rather than similarly angering Rarity, they only confused her.

“At the risk of sounding insensitive, didn’t you… Well, didn’t you know?” Rarity asked, watching as Twilight kept reading and re-reading the letter. “Fritter Cobbler even says there that he’d come clean with the lies he’d told once he came back… Didn’t he?”

Twilight did not look up from the parchment, letting silence settle.

“Twilight…?” Rarity asked, worried by the implications of said silence. “Is ever—”

“He never came back,” Twilight replied, still staring at the parchment. “I never saw him again after he left for the capital.” Bitterness, resentment, and all manner of negative emotions soaked her words, just as they did her expression and the manner in which she coldly folded the parchment again.

He never came back?

“What do you mean ‘he never came back’?” Rarity asked, ears alert. That didn’t make sense, did it? Hadn’t Granny Smith said he spent the rest of his life talking about Twilight? It wasn’t as if he’d just stopped visiting after whatever happened with Cadance III, was it? And if he did… What in Equestria happened during that visit, then?

“I… don’t want to talk about it…” Twilight said softly, looking away from Rarity.

This time, Rarity wasn’t able to stifle her disappointed sigh. Could she be blamed? Every time she came close to Twilight opening up to her, the alicorn put up yet another defensive wall. Sometimes she felt like she’d gone so far in her friendship with Twilight, only to be reminded that she hadn’t really made progress at all.

“Well, that’s all right,” Rarity said, trying her best to sound nonchalant. She levitated the apple pie and her saddlebag into the air and trotted off, leaving Twilight behind to her thoughts. “I’m going to get a head start and start the picnic with the girls, yes?”

Surprisingly, Twilight didn’t linger at the table and instead quietly followed Rarity into the depths of the library. Rarity kept to the walls, wanting to quickly pass by Twilight’s main desk so as to admire the Arts & Craft project the fillies had made earlier. When she reached the desk a few moments later, she observed the large cork board that had been hung on the wall, next to the calendar and clock.

On it were several of hopefully dozens of photographs of Equestria that the fillies, Rarity, and Fluttershy would bring for Twilight to look at. For now, only seven pictures hung on the board, depicting out-of-frame and sometimes out-of-focus buildings and ponies from Ponyville, as well as a very nice picture Rarity had taken of Twilight with the fillies. There was also the very first photograph Rarity had taken of Twilight, which still remained the unicorn’s favorite if only for the absolutely silly expression on her friend’s face.

I’ll have to bring her some photos of Hollow Shades, Rarity thought, idly glancing at Twilight beside her. The alicorn was also looking at the photographs, but she had a rather undecipherable expression. Did she not like her first photograph? Honestly, it was cute and everypony had loved it when Rarity showed it to Fluttershy and the fillies.

“He never wanted to give me back my books,” Twilight said suddenly, still staring at the photographs. Rarity turned to look at her and found the princess looking… nostalgic? “It was his way of making sure I’d reappear when he came into the library.”

Rarity opened her mouth to speak up, but she found words to be scarce. It seemed like Twilight did in fact want to talk, and Rarity dared not speak—mostly for fear that the alicorn was talking to herself rather than Rarity, and the barrier between them would suddenly reappear if she pulled Twilight out of her thoughts. As such, she only listened quietly.

“I never hid from him,” Twilight continued, still staring somewhat vacantly at the photographs. “I thought… I thought I could still be saved and that… and that I wasn’t alone. And then, one day, he left for the capital and just never came back. I never found out what happened to him, and it seems I never will.” She had lost any sort of tone from her voice, as if she was reciting from a book. Was this her way of coping? Detaching herself completely?

Rarity wanted to tell Twilight that nothing had happened to him, but would it really help Twilight to know that Fritter Cobbler willingly chose to stop coming?

“Do you think it was my fault?” Twilight suddenly asked, and if she hadn’t briefly glanced at the unicorn, Rarity wouldn’t have been sure she’d been addressed. “I… I asked him to assist me. I asked him to go to the capital. Was this my fault too?”

“Wait a moment,” Rarity began before she could stop herself, starting to put together the pieces of the puzzle. “Is that why you didn’t want me to go to Canterlot? Why you didn’t want me to help you? Because you thought I’d never come back?” It made sense that way. Why Twilight had been so against Rarity helping, why she’d first asked if Rarity was all right when she finally returned.

Twilight didn’t reply at first, only looking down at the floor like a filly caught lying.

“I thought maybe Discord had gotten to him,” Twilight continued.

“Discord?” Rarity asked. She’d been told that everypony thought Fritter Cobbler had gone insane, but that was certainly an odd way to put it.

“Discord is the Spirit of Chaos,” Twilight clarified. She lifted her hoof and made it go through the table. “The reason I’m here. Maybe he attacked Fritter Cobbler as another way to get revenge against me, and I—”

“Revenge? Why?” Rarity asked, remembering the book with the words “your fault” scribbled over and over on the pages. What in Equestria could Twilight have done to bring such a terrible fate upon her?

There was a long silence after her question. Twilight was frowning, seeming to consider whether she should answer or not. She suddenly glanced at Rarity, and the unicorn felt very much intimidated, as if her very soul was being analyzed by the alicorn.

“I made a mistake, Rarity,” Twilight said, her voice as cold as it was calculating. She seemed to be inspecting Rarity for any reaction, and as such Rarity tried her best to look attentive. “I made a terrible mistake, and Discord is making me pay for it by harming everypony I—” She teleported herself on top of the nearby bookcase and looked out toward her library—her lonely kingdom. “I don’t think he’ll ever let me forget what I did. After Fritter left, I… I didn’t want other ponies to come to harm because of me, so I almost never appeared when somepony came into the library—not that it mattered since a few of them ran off if I appeared. In any case, I can’t get out, so there’s no sense in hurting more ponies.”

Rarity took a step toward the bookcase. “You mean there have been others?”

“Of course,” Twilight replied matter-of-factly. “What,” she said, raising her eyebrow, “you really didn’t think you were the first to find the library, did you?”

Rarity felt herself blush. “Well, if you must know, I… did,” she admitted, feeling much less special than she previously had. “Have there been many others?”

“I don’t know, really. I never counted, but it wasn’t many,” Twilight replied, looking back toward the rows of bookshelves. “You were the first pony to appear in the library ever since the Book Bringer started leaving books for me.”

“So… You talked to me because you thought I was the Book Bringer?” Rarity asked, privately thanking the heavens she wasn’t an old bearded stallion.

Twilight snorted at this. “I knew right away you weren’t him,” Twilight said, a small smirk on her face. “The Book Bringer wouldn’t be looking for geology books in the—”

“All right, all right!” Rarity interrupted, rolling her eyes. She now had half a mind to get herself a copy of the silly Decimal System just so Twilight would stop bothering her about it. Honestly, who even had the time to learn the entire thing? “So you talked to me because you wanted to rescue me from the towers of falling books?”

“Rarity, you really didn’t need rescuing from a pile of books falling on top of you,” Twilight pointed out. She then offered a small insolent smile and added, “If anything, the only reason I intervened is because I didn’t want my books to get damaged because somepony wasn’t watching where she was going.”

Rarity harrumphed, flipping her mane. “Well, how fortunate for them you cherish them so, Princess,” she said coldly, ignoring Twilight’s soft giggling. “I’m sure they can continue thinking you’re heroic now that I don’t.” When she turned to look at Twilight, she found the alicorn anew staring into the distance.

“I don’t know why I wanted to talk to you,” Twilight admitted, looking back to Rarity thoughtfully. “I don’t know what made you different than all the others that came after Fritter Cobbler.”

“You don’t?” Rarity asked, a bit disappointed.

“I suppose it was because you seemed kind. I saw how you were with Themis, and Discord would never treat my owls kindly,” Twilight ventured, furrowing her brow. “And you weren’t looking for me either, like the other ponies who came here. You were just… different.”

I was different…?

“Rarity! Princess Twilight!”

The two mares turned around to see Sweetie Belle running toward them. Twilight jumped down from the top of the bookcase, ending the conversation she and Rarity had been having. Rarity herself was still reeling with all the information she’d learned. Perhaps she hadn’t learned what Twilight’s so-called mistake was, but she had been allowed a glimpse into a part of Twilight she didn’t think she’d see for eons.

“Come on, what’re you doing?” Sweetie asked, her eyes immediately gluing themselves to the tasty-looking apple pie. “I’m huuuungry!”

“All right, all right, let’s go,” Rarity said, making a move to pick up the dessert from the desk.

“Oh, wait, wait! I wanna do it! Princess Twilight helped me with my magic earlier!” Sweetie Belle interrupted, placing herself in front of the desk as if her presence was a shield against Rarity’s magic. She then turned to the princess, nearly hopping in place. “Look, Princess Twilight, okay?!”

Twilight nodded, her ears standing straight and her attention fully focused on the filly. “Remember to focus and channel all your magic into the task,” she instructed.

Sweetie Belle nodded, turning to the pie and glaring at it. She stuck out her tongue, biting on it, and after a moment, several small sparks shot out from her horn before they petered out. “W-wait, I can do it!” she said, waving her hoof to maintain the mare’s attention. Groaning a little, several more sparks shot out from her horn and suddenly, the apple pie began to shakily float into the air. “I… I did it?” she asked before turning to Twilight. “I did it, Princess Twilight!”

Twilight’s reaction was immediate. She smiled and approached the filly. “That’s very good! See how it works when you focus and see the action in your mind?” she asked, watching as the shaky pie floated around. Unfortunately, as Sweetie Belle still had a ways to go, her magic suddenly stopped with a poof and the pie would have come crashing down if not for Twilight’s own magic catching it.

“Aw…”

“Now, Sweetie, don’t look so disappointed,” Rarity said sympathetically. “That was very good!”

“Yes,” Princess Twilight reaffirmed. “You were doing very well, and further training will help you levitate for longer periods of time. I could help you more later, if you want.”

It seemed that Twilight’s words were more effective than Rarity’s, for the filly immediately cheered up after hearing them. “Really?!” she asked, before turning to her sister and offering a very smug smile. “Did you hear that? She’s gonna help me be even better than you at magic ’cause I’m her favorite!” she exclaimed. She then took Rarity’s saddlebag and rushed off. “Scootaloo! Guess what Princess Twilight said!”

“My favorite?” Twilight blinked at the spot where the filly had disappeared. “I never really said that, but…”

“Now, now,” Rarity said, sighing theatrically. “We all know your books are your favorite,” she teased, giggling when Twilight rolled her eyes. She took the apple pie and followed after her sister, Twilight trotting behind. “Come along. As fascinating as books are, one must mingle with the common ponies every so often, Princess.”

The two mares went down the stairs, finding that Fluttershy and the girls were already starting to unpack everything for the picnic. Rarity could feel her stomach grumbling, and the apple pie next to her had never smelled more delicious.

“Rarity?” Twilight said suddenly, stopping halfway down the stairs.

“Yes?” Rarity asked, stopping as well and turning back to look at her friend.

“Thank you for still coming back,” Twilight said softly, looking a bit embarrassed by the statement.

Rarity felt a warmth in her chest at the statement, and affection for the alicorn washed over her. “Darling, you couldn’t keep me out even if you wanted to,” Rarity replied, offering Twilight her most dazzling smile. It wasn’t a lie, after all. No Spirit or doppelgänger or anything would keep not only her from coming back, but she was also sure neither would Fluttershy and the fillies would stop visiting. “And thank you.”

“Me?” Twilight asked, raising her eyebrow. “What for?”

“For trusting me,” Rarity replied. “It must have been hard, but I’m glad you trust me enough to tell me all the things you did.”

“Well…” Twilight said carefully, as if weighing the meaning of her words, “that’s what friends do, isn’t it?”

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters. Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act I ~ 09 ~ The Shadow on the Wall ~

“You’re sure that’s what she said she saw?”

“Yes… But I’m certain she must have imagined it! A filly lost in the forest? She could have seen anything out of fright! It’s so dark in there!”

“But, Rarity, how could she have mistaken you? If he’s following you, I—”

“Twilight, think about it. If that was really the Spirit, why would he have led her to me and the library? It makes no sense.”

“Rari—”

“Twilight, please, you’re just worrying over nothing.”

“…Is that really what you think?”

“Yes, it is.”

Hollow Shades.

Rarity stared at the two words on her train ticket, idly stirring the tea she’d bought earlier on her way to Ponyville’s train station. She looked away from the ticket and out the window, eyes following the scenery rushing past.

What answers would she find in the mysterious town? And what would its mysterious professor tell her? Would she be any closer to unraveling the mystery behind Twilight Sparkle, or would she again find herself with more questions than answers?

“Did I tell you how many questions Twilight had for Professor Awe?” she asked, glancing at the pegasus sitting opposite her. When Fluttershy curiously glanced back at her, she replied, “Five hundred eighty-six. Wait, no.” Rarity paused, scrunching her eyebrows and visualizing the enormous stack of papers Twilight had earlier presented her with. “My mistake. Five hundred eighty-eight.”

“Five hundred eighty-eight?” Fluttershy repeated, blinking at Rarity. “How are you ever going to remember them all?”

“By having Twilight condense them into ten questions,” Rarity replied. “Which she… did.” Even if she somehow managed to fit the content of fifty questions into just ten. I could have done without her looking like I’d forced her to throw her books away, though.

“That’s good, isn’t it?” Fluttershy continued. “That she wants to learn more? Didn’t you say she didn’t want to talk about the legend when you first met her?”

“Well, yes…” Rarity said, taking a long sip of her tea. She put it down on the table and looked out the window again. “From what I gather, she’s understandably very keen on knowing where the other princesses might be imprisoned.”

But…

But none of Twilight’s questions had to do with the events that led her to be imprisoned, or even the details of what happened after said imprisonment. It was as though she was only interested in the conclusion, not the development. Funny, isn’t it, how she wants to know everything yet refuses to divulge any information? Rarity could still see the heavy frown Twilight wore upon finding out that Rarity still planned to ask about what had led to Twilight and the others’ imprisonment in the first place.

“Do you think the professor will want to come back home with us once we tell him about Princess Twilight?” Fluttershy asked, pulling Rarity back from the daydream in which she was terrible enough to somehow apply a truth spell to Twilight. Were ghosts even susceptible to spells?

“No, he won’t,” Rarity replied at length, levitating her tea again for another sip. “Twilight made me promise not to tell him about her.”

“She did?” Fluttershy asked, surprised. “But why?”

“Well, I’ve told you how she is. She doesn’t want more ponies to be involved with her because of the Spirit,” Rarity said. Then again, Twilight hadn’t been the one who asked to contact the professor, so Rarity couldn’t really complain about her not wanting to be involved. “I thought she was opening up to others, considering she seems to like you and the girls quite a lot, but…” Her sentence dissolved into a frustrated sigh.

Fluttershy shook her head. “Baby steps, Rarity, baby steps. Princess Twilight still needs to learn to trust us fully before opening up that much,” she said, her wise advice eliciting only a whine from the unicorn.

“Baby steps? It feels more like snail steps, if you ask me,” Rarity complained theatrically. She made sure Fluttershy saw just how deeply she was pouting. “It’s so frustrating.”

“Oh?” Fluttershy asked, giggling. “You didn’t seem all that frustrated when you told us all about how she let you call her by her first name, or how you managed to make the princess so happy and smile just for you.”

Rarity allowed herself her own small smile, remembering how she’d practically bounced out of the library after said event. “You win,” she admitted. “Perhaps I’m not that frustrated.” She noticed Fluttershy’s teasing grin and quickly added, “But you would have been thrilled too if you’d seen her smile after weeks of being ‘Princess Seriousness’! And can you blame me for being excited about being on a first-name basis with a princess?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “No, I can’t.”

“But I suppose you’re right. Baby steps it is,” Rarity continued, leaning against the backrest of the seat. She took another sip of her tea and eyed Fluttershy carefully. “It makes sense you would know to be patient. I bet she’d tell you all about her dark and mysterious past.”

Fluttershy blushed. “I don’t know,” she said. “The princess has been kind to me, but I don’t think she trusts me as much as she does you.” She cleared her throat and got up, glancing toward the door. “Why don’t we go get something to eat? I’m a little hungry.”

The two friends exited the car and made their way down the corridor until a heavenly smell wafted into their noses and brought them to a halt. Was it… pastries? The aroma was reminiscent of Sugarcube Corner on the days the Cakes really put their all into their baked delicacies. Goodness, Rarity had yet to even step inside the food car and she already wanted twenty of whatever was for sale in there.

When they slid open the door, Rarity found the surprisingly familiar source of the smell.

Inside the car, all the other vendors were enviously staring at a single small cart and the two hungry foals standing in front of it. Though Rarity had only met her once, she still recognized the pink pony—Pinkie Pie, was it?—carefully putting the finishing touches of caramelized sugar on the second of two yellow cupcakes.

“There we go!” she exclaimed when the task was done, taking a step back to let her hungry customers admire her work of art. It was quite obvious the mare had a talent for decorating confectionaries, especially if she could make something as simple as a cupcake look so enticing. She then reached under her cart and took out two candied lavender flowers and delicately put one on each cupcake. “That’ll be six bits, please!”

Rarity waited until the foals made off with their delicious-looking treats before clearing her throat. “Are there any of those cupcakes left for two very hungry customers?” she asked, smiling brilliantly when Pinkie Pie looked her way.

“Oh! Rarity!” the mare exclaimed, allowing Rarity a breath of relief at being recognized. Seeking Night had been so long ago, and they’d only spoken for a short while, after all. “What a super duper lucky coincidence! What are you doing here?”

“Well, my friend Fluttershy and I were on our way to get a snack, and we couldn’t resist finding out what that absolutely delectable smell was!” Rarity explained, trotting up to the stall. “Going home?”

Pinkie nodded. “Yep! I haven’t been home for months now,” she replied. “I was having a lot of fun with some ponies near Tall Tales, but I had to come home for supplies!”

“Ah, then I take it you’re thrilled to be returning for even a little while? I’m sure your friends and family will be delighted to have you back!” Rarity smiled. Her exclamation, however, resulted in Pinkie wincing briefly. Or not…?

“Oh… yeah…” Pinkie said half-heartedly, before smiling again and looking toward Fluttershy. “Oh! Hi!”

With that unsubtle change of topic, Rarity suddenly realized how rude she’d been. “Oh! Fluttershy, darling, I’m so sorry!” She cleared her throat and gestured toward Pinkie. “Fluttershy, Pinkie was one of the vendors at the fair during Seeking Night! You know, the traveling salespony I told you about?” she explained.

Fluttershy nodded and turned to Pinkie. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said, smiling amiably at her new acquaintance.

“Nice to meet you too, Fluttershy!” Pinkie exclaimed with much more enthusiasm. “So, two cupcakes?”

“Yes, please,” Rarity said with a smile.

“Coming right up!”

“I had planned on visiting your stand after the event was over, but I’m afraid other things got in the way,” Rarity continued, watching as Pinkie bent down under her cart and brought out a tray with a dozen multicolored cupcakes. There were six white ones, six yellow ones, and six pink ones, all devoid of decoration. A lone dark blue cupcake, carefully decorated with a crescent moon-shaped piece of frosting and countless sprinkles, stood out like a sore hoof.

“Oh, yeeeeeah. Spring Showers told me you went into the Everfree Forest,” Pinkie said, her enthusiasm waning ever so slightly. For a brief moment, she narrowed her eyes and stared at Rarity as if deep in thought. However, before Rarity could question it, Pinkie’s cheerful expression returned like it had never left. “I’m glad that you found your sister, though! That forest must have been suuuuuper scary for her!” And suddenly, the serious expression returned. “Did… Did you find anypony else in there?”

“A-anypony?” Rarity repeated, taken aback by the specification. All the other times she’d been questioned, she’d been asked if she found something, not somepony. She remembered Pinkie having mentioned her belief in the “legend” of the four princesses. “Well, I…”

Curses. She’d finally found the one pony who might be willing to believe her without question, and she had promised Twilight that she wouldn’t say anything about it. Twilight would likely never find out if she did say something, but she had already broken one promise to the princess and had no intention of breaking another—no matter how silly it was. She’d have to negotiate with Twilight when she returned home. How in Equestria was she supposed to get the princess out of the library without telling anypony about her?

“…I’m afraid I only found my sister and her friend,” Rarity finally said.

Her answer must have seemed honest enough, since Pinkie quickly let go of the issue. “So!” she said, rubbing her hooves together. “What d’ya want? I have banana, strawberry, and vanilla!” She winked and pointed toward the pink ones. “Strawberry are the best ones, though.”

Fluttershy was the first to choose after a moment of thinking. “I’ll have a strawberry, please,” she said, giggling when the baker congratulated her on her excellent choice. “What about you, Rarity?”

“I don’t know…” Rarity murmured, the lone decorated blue cupcake still catching her eye. Was it blueberry-flavored? That did sound delicious, and surely Pinkie wouldn’t have it there if it wasn’t for sale like the others. “What flavor is the dark blue one there?”

“O-oh! Blueberry, but that one isn’t for sale!” Pinkie quickly clarified, offering the unicorn an apologetic smile. “Sorry… It’s one I make for my best friend, Moonlight Lullaby,” she explained, lifting her hoof to play with the necklace hanging from her neck. It was in the shape of a crescent moon, and Rarity vaguely recalled having noticed it when she first met Pinkie. “I just leave it there with the others because it looks pretty, and it reminds me of Lulla.”

“Oh, that’s too bad… I’ll have a vanilla one, then,” Rarity decided instead. “Wouldn’t want to deprive Moonlight Lullaby of her cupcake, after all.”

“Is blueberry her favorite type of cupcake?” Fluttershy asked when Pinkie let go of the necklace to get to work decorating.

“Oh, no!” Pinkie replied, starting to add blue fondant to the pink cupcake. “Lulla can’t eat any cupcakes yet, but I always make her a special one so she won’t feel left out!”

Can’t eat cupcakes yet? Rarity thought, raising an eyebrow. What an odd remark. Is she on a diet or something? Goodness, I can’t imagine what kind of dreadful torture that would be, dieting while having a baker as a best friend… Rarity’s eyes lingered on Pinkie’s decorating for a moment before going up to the necklace hanging around her neck. But actually… That moon… She lowered her gaze to the forbidden cupcake and realized the decoration on it was nearly identical to the one on Pinkie’s necklace.

“That necklace you’re wearing… I can’t help notice it has the same symbol as your friend’s cupcake,” she said. “Does it have something to do with the ‘Moonlight’ part of her name?”

Pinkie glanced toward the cupcake and shook her head. “Oh, no! That’s not because of her name,” she explained. “Moonlight Lullaby isn’t her reeeal name, see? It’s just a nickname I came up with for her ’cause the first time I met her, she sang me a lullaby to help me feel better after a really awful nightmare.”

“She sounds nice,” Fluttershy said, smiling at how effusively Pinkie nodded. “You must be very close to her.”

“Yep! She’s my very bestest friend in the whole entire world. Ever!” Pinkie confirmed, putting the strawberry cupcake to the side and taking one of the vanilla cupcakes. “Have you ever been to Hollow Shades before?”

“No, this is our first time,” Rarity replied, watching as Pinkie put lavender-colored frosting on her cupcake, “unless Fluttershy has gone on secret world-saving trips that I don’t know about!” she added, fluttering her eyelashes at her friend.

“Of course not,” Fluttershy replied, giggling. “But I’ve always wanted to go there. I read there are a lot of rare plants that grow in and around Hollow Shades, and there are a lot of nocturnal animals that are awake all the time.” She looked at Pinkie with a hopeful smile. “We’ll get a chance to pick some flowers while we’re there, won’t we?”

“Oh, yeah! There’s a park where ponies can pick all kinds of herbs and flowers! I always get lavender from there,” Pinkie replied, looking up from the cupcake. “Ooooh, I could take you on a tour if you want! I’ve always wanted to be a toury-guidey sort of pony! There’s the big plaza, and the marketplace, and the flora park, and the firepit, and—” Pinkie cut herself off, suddenly realizing she’d left the cupcake half finished. “—and lots of other things!”

“Pinkie, darling, a question,” Rarity said, smiling politely at Pinkie when the mare presented the finished cupcake. Her talk of acting as their personal tour guide meant she must know the town very well, and if so… “Do you happen to know if a certain Professor Awe lives in Hollow Shades? Apparently moved there a few years back?”

To Rarity, it was a perfectly harmless question, but the same could not be said of Pinkie, whose grimace resembled nothing so much as that of somepony who’d eaten a long-expired pastry.

“Oh. The professor lives near the train station on the outskirts of town,” Pinkie said, taking out two more candied lavenders and putting one on each cupcake with visibly less care than before. “He’s a real big meaniepants, though,” she added and then lowered her voice. “A super duper big meaniepants.”

Rarity and Fluttershy looked at each other, raising their eyebrows.

“Is he really such an unpleasant fellow?” Rarity asked, turning back to Pinkie. Yes, the magazine had painted him a bit as a slightly distracted conspiracy theorist, but she hadn’t at all gotten the impression that he was… “a super duper big meaniepants.” Actually, considering Pinkie’s belief in the legend, one would have assumed she and Professor Awe would be frightful friends.

“I… I just don’t like what he says about the princesses,” she replied. “And about Princess Denza…”

Princess Denza? What does she have to do with the legend? Or does he simply have a problem with the monarchy?

“The train will be arriving at Hollow Shades station in fifteen minutes,” a voice interrupted from the overhead speakers. “This is the last stop. All passengers must disembark at this time. Thank you for using the Equestria Express, and we hope your journey has been a pleasant one.”

“Oh! I better start clearing up,” Pinkie exclaimed, ears perked. “Are you gonna visit the professor today? I have to go home, but maybe we can meet up in the main plaza later tonight! I should be done by eight! And that’s when the marketplace is out on the street! We’re gonna have so much fun!”

“That sounds lovely,” Fluttershy said, gratefully accepting the cupcake Pinkie made. She took a small bite and smiled for Pinkie, who’d been carefully watching to see if she liked it. Before taking hers, Rarity took out her bitbag, but Pinkie quickly interrupted, waving her hoof.

“Oh, that’s okay! My treat!” she exclaimed, even after Rarity insisted on paying. She then took out a small piece of paper and a pen, and wrote down directions to both the main plaza and Professor Awe’s house. “Here you go! Now you won’t get lost.”

“Eight o’clock it is then, darling,” Rarity said, taking the paper and the cupcake. Hopefully, the talk with the professor would proceed smoothly, and she’d have all the answers she—and Twilight—needed.

To Rarity’s disappointment, they’d arrived at the proper house only to find the infamous professor had left and would not be returning until tomorrow. Though Fluttershy had been quick to remind Rarity that they had all of the next day to speak to him, it did little to ease the growing frustration the unicorn felt. The professor had answers she needed, and being so close yet so far away hit her harder than she expected. After griping about her terrible luck for a bit, and with little else to do, the two friends decided to get a head start looking around the village.

As they made their way around, Rarity took the time to truly see Hollow Shades, something she hadn’t done when she’d been otherwise busy going through her questions for Professor Awe.

To say Hollow Shades was not eerie would be a lie, but what could be expected of a village immersed deep within a tall forest that was almost akin to the Everfree? Perpetual twilight reigned, and the little sunlight that fought its way through the treetops struggled to reach the ground. It certainly didn’t help matters that Foal Mountain loomed overhead, almost as if it was guarding Hollow Shades from the sun’s reach.

To ward off this perpetual duskiness, elegant torches were scattered all across the village, lit by some sort of never-ending fire spell. Rarity had taken the time to admire one of them up close, and she was surprised to find that many of them, if not all, had a full moon design amongst the carvings on their bases.

This full moon pattern was not reserved solely for the torches, however. Decorative paper lanterns scattered across the village also depicted moon symbols, and more importantly, so did the houses.

The dark blue homes scattered all over the village were the most visible example of Hollow Shades’ fascination with the night. The doors of the houses had all been decorated with a white full moon. The windows, for their part, were all shaped like crescent moons, and patterns made of stars had been engraved all over the walls.

They’d been told by one of the villagers that they were copied from constellations in the sky, and Rarity had found herself with an odd longing for Twilight to be there. Rarity didn’t know the names of the constellations, but she was sure Twilight did and would have been delighted to share. Perhaps, one day, Twilight herself would be able to come see Hollow Shades? Or perhaps they could skip all of that and look at the sky directly?

There were also quite a number of treehouses, built upon the sturdier branches of nearby trees. She imagined they had been quite the success with the local foals. After her immersion in the atmosphere of the town, Rarity finally understood why Hollow Shades had the reputation of hosting the absolute best Seeking Night events.

It wasn’t a secret that Hollow Shades was one of Equestria’s more popular tourist sites—after all, even Sweetie Belle had been terribly envious of Rarity going. It was admittedly alluring to find oneself in the middle of a town that felt plucked right out of a fairy tale. However, what really sold the entire idea was the locals themselves.

Foals, stallions, and mares: all—or most of them—wore a long cloak, though most had the hood down, and some of the unicorns were levitating old lanterns in front of them. They were also quite friendly, greeting each other joyfully—no doubt because the village wasn’t even half as large as Ponyville, so it was easy to know everypony. Their hospitality also extended to the wandering tourists, recognizable by their lack of cloaks, necks draped instead with cameras on straps.

Speaking of which…

Click!

“There!” Rarity exclaimed, watching her camera eject the photograph she’d taken of one of the lovelier constellation designs on a nearby house. She waited for the picture to develop before presenting her masterpiece to Fluttershy. “What do you think? Should I abandon fashion and fulfill my destiny of being a photographer?”

Fluttershy laughed, taking the picture and nodding approvingly. “What constellation do you think it is?” she asked, hoofing the picture back to Rarity and looking at the wall itself.

“We’ll have to ask Twilight when we’re back home,” Rarity replied, giving the camera and photo to Fluttershy for safekeeping inside the pegasus’ saddlebag. She took another look at the moon painted on the door, admiring the care of its brushstrokes. The paint blended seamlessly within itself, and upon closer inspection, she noticed the artist had even gone as far as including the moon’s craters.

“I remember Pinkie Pie told me that the ponies here are quite the admirers of Princess Selene,” Rarity said, still admiring the painting. Though Twilight had mentioned the princess’ real name before—Luna?—it was still hard for Rarity to replace the name she’d known all her life.

“Do you think she might be near here?” Fluttershy asked, glancing around to make sure no locals were near enough to overhear. “Princess Twilight is in a forest, so maybe Princess Selene is in Hollow Shades’ forest?”

Rarity bit her lip. That was a possibility, yes, but… “She’d have already been found, wouldn’t you think?” Rarity pointed out, smiling sympathetically when Fluttershy made a disappointed sound. “Though it’s sound logic, darling. Perhaps we can ask around for more information and see what we find out!”

Rarity recalled that her version of the legend stated Princess Selene—Princess Luna was trapped in a mountain. Of course, she had since grown slightly distrustful of the legend after hers had failed to mention the solution to freeing Twilight or the others. If it wasn’t for the Book Bringer, Twilight might have been trapped in there for the rest of Rarity’s lifetime—or longer.

That was yet another detail on which she wanted to consult with Professor Awe: how to know what was true and what was a lie regarding the legend. Hollow Shades had two very large mountains surrounding it, and she didn’t want to have to dig them out completely unless she was absolutely one-hundred-percent certain Princess Luna would be in one of them.

“Well, I’m sure we’ll find something,” Fluttershy said enthusiastically, encouraged by Rarity’s positivity. “Princess Twilight will be very happy if we come back with news about the other princesses.”

It was almost eight o’clock, however, so the pair decided to finally make their way toward the main plaza. As they got closer and closer, they could hear loud music and all sorts of noise, not to mention the oncoming smell of all kinds of delicious treats.

When they finally reached the place, Rarity wondered how in Equestria they were going to find Pinkie Pie. The plaza was filled to the brim with ponies and stands. Had the entire population of Hollow Shades all decided to gather there at the same time? Street musicians played music that overlapped with the chatter between tourists and locals and the vendors calling ponies to buy their “special discount figurines!” and try their “Hollow Shades–exclusive roasted daisy salad!”

“Look at how crowded this place is,” Rarity noted, standing on the tips of her hooves in an attempt to find their personal tour guide. Pinkie shouldn’t be hard to spot, especially considering her very poofy mane and bright coat should clash with the dark surroundings. “Do you see Pinkie Pie anywhere, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy furrowed her brow. “I think that’s her over there,” she said, pointing toward a secluded spot where a lone hooded mare stood.

The mare was pawing at the ground, but even with the hood on, her pink mane and coat peeked out. And yet, as far as Rarity could tell, something was off about her. The mare standing in the distance kept glancing around, and more importantly, away whenever a local so much as came near her, as if she didn’t want to interact or speak with anypony. She wasn’t acting like she had on the train, and she certainly wasn’t acting as bubbly as she had on Seeking Night.

“Do you think something’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked, noticing Pinkie’s odd behavior as well.

“Let’s find out, shall we?” Rarity suggested, taking the lead and trotting toward the earth pony. “Pinkie Pie!” Rarity called, waving to the mare in the distance and catching her attention.

The change in disposition was immediate. Upon seeing the two mares, Pinkie Pie quickly waved back with renewed enthusiasm, her hood falling off her mane at the same time. “Rarity! Fluttershy!” she called, practically bouncing toward them.

That was certainly a stark change in attitude, Rarity thought, smiling brilliantly to the mare nevertheless.

“I’m so happy you could make it!” Pinkie exclaimed, rushing in to hug Rarity and Fluttershy. “How did your visit with the professor go? Was he a big meaniepants with you, too?”

“I’m afraid the stallion wasn’t even there to begin with,” Rarity sighed, shaking her head. “We’ll have to try our luck tomorrow.”

Pinkie Pie smiled sympathetically. “Aw, well, that’s okay! There’s still lots of fun stuff to do here!” she exclaimed, somehow taking a scroll from inside her mane. She unfurled it and started reading off a list of fun activities she’d apparently planned. “We’re gonna go see the stands, and then try the Hollow Shades roasted veggies, and then buy a nightmare bomb, and then, then— I don’t know! Eee!”

“What about your friend Lullaby?” Fluttershy asked, smiling at Pinkie’s enthusiasm. “Wouldn’t she like to come with us too?”

And just like that, Pinkie’s expression faltered. “Oh, uh… Lulla can’t go out!” she quickly exclaimed, laughing nervously while she toyed with the necklace around her neck.

“Oh? Why not?” Rarity asked. She would have thought that Pinkie would be spending time with Lullaby, especially considering that Pinkie had just returned to Hollow Shades. “Is something wrong?”

“She’s sick at home. She can’t go out yet, but one day I’ll help her get better so she can come out,” Pinkie replied almost mechanically, as if it was a reply she’d given many times before.

Rarity decided not to press the matter, and instead focused her attention on Pinkie’s cloak. “I’ve noticed wearing a cloak seems to be some sort of tradition here,” she commented, raising her hoof toward Pinkie. “May I take a look?”

“Sure!” Pinkie exclaimed, taking the cloak off momentarily so Rarity could have a better look. “Everyone in Hollow Shades has one. I wanted to bring some for you two, but I didn’t have extras…”

“Oh, that’s all right,” Fluttershy said when Rarity didn’t speak up, preoccupied as she was by Pinkie’s cloak.

It was black linen, with a soft velvet lining. A nice design, but Rarity would have perhaps done it differently had she been in charge of making it. Almost without conscious thought, she began redesigning it in her head, until her attention was caught by one imperfect mark on the cloak. Near the hem was yet another crescent moon, this time sewn onto the fabric. Oddly enough, however, the design on the cloak looked messy, unfinished, as if it had been the work of a foal.

She took a closer look and noticed there was some leftover stitching in a perfect circle. Had there been a full moon there before? It made sense considering the emblem of the town, which could only mean Pinkie herself had unsewn it to transform it into a crescent. Curious… doesn’t she like the full moon designs?

“Ya like?” Pinkie asked with a grin, having taken Rarity’s close inspection as a good sign.

“Oh, I do! Very fitting for the town ambiance,” Rarity said amiably, hoofing the cloak back to Pinkie. “Though I must ask… Why does the town decoration have such a heavy emphasis on its nightly theme? Does it have to do with the legend of the four princesses?”

Pinkie giggled. “Well… That’s a spooky story, but I can tell you, if you want…” She trailed off, her amused smile shifting into a sneaky one, obviously trying to create a mood fitting the town. It was sadly ruined by the fact that she was helplessly incapable of hiding her foalish excitement. “Come on! Follow me!” she said, practically skipping off like a filly in a candy store, oblivious to the amused look shared between Rarity and Fluttershy.

The two friends squeezed past the crowd to follow Pinkie Pie into the plaza. Rarity renewed her observation of the surroundings, now interested in the merchandise. The stands they passed were filled with trinkets, which she belatedly realized were all inspired by the legend of the four princesses. She stopped at a stand to take a closer look at the items for sale.

The one she picked had several dozen rows of small papier-mâché alicorns on the counter, which she assumed were Hollow Shades’ interpretations of the alicorns of legend. She immediately recognized the one based on Princess Cadance the First since it was nearly identical to Princess Denza in appearance. The next was a light blue alicorn with white markings and a yellow mane, her sun-shaped cutie mark identifying her as Princess Sunshine. After that came Princess Selene, a black-colored alicorn with a—predictably—full moon-shaped cutie mark.

“Oh! Wanna buy something, Rarity?” Pinkie asked from over her shoulder. She looked at the shopkeeper, hesitating for a second before saying, “Hi, Star Turn!”

“Hi, Pinkie,” he replied, smiling back. “Nice to have you home.”

“These are the princesses, aren’t they?” Rarity asked once Pinkie turned to look at her. “The ones from the legend?” Her gaze finally fell on the last alicorn, and she wasn’t able to stop an amused smile from creeping up her face. She gingerly took in her hoof a white alicorn with a scroll as a cutie mark, and a most adorable pair of glasses on the bridge of her nose. Even Fluttershy was interested, also taking one of the “Twilights” and smiling softly. Maybe they ought to buy one for the real Twilight to have?

“Yep, they are!” Pinkie exclaimed. “That one is Princess Cadance,” she went on, pointing toward the pink alicorn. “Then it’s Princess Celestia, then Luna, and then Princess Twilight!”

“Princess Twilight?” Fluttershy and Rarity asked in unison.

And Princess Luna? Rarity thought. Wasn’t that the very name Twilight had used for the moon princess? Rarity was reeling at all the information. It couldn’t be coincidence, could it? For Pinkie to have Twilight and Sele—Luna’s names right? Now more than ever did she wish Twilight was there to consult with.

“Those names, where did they come from?” Rarity asked, putting down the Twilight figurine so she didn’t break it from the pressure of her trembling hooves. “Who came up with them?”

Pinkie giggled. “That’s what I was gonna tell you, except you stopped to look at the little princesses, silly!” she said, shaking her head playfully. “Come on! I’ll tell you once we get to the statue!” She looked back at Star Turn, and again offered a nervous smile. “Uhm, see you later, Star Turn!”

Star Turn smiled. “Goodbye, Pinkie.” Just as he’d finished his sentence, Rarity could have sworn his smile turned into a smirk as he added, “And do say hello to Moonlight Lullaby for me.”

Pinkie was strangely taken aback by this. “Oh, uh, I will! I will…” She cleared her throat and directed a much nicer smile toward Fluttershy and Rarity. “Let’s go!”

And so the tour continued, Rarity making an extra effort not to linger by the different stands now that her curiosity was so overwhelming. They trotted further into the plaza, still fighting the ponies who insisted on standing in the middle of the path, and finally reached the center of the plaza where they found a large statue of an alicorn princess.

“Here we go!” Pinkie exclaimed, standing under the statue and presenting it with her hoof.

It was unlike any of the princess statues Rarity vaguely remembered from Canterlot. The alicorn—which she assumed to be Princess Luna—was sitting down on her pedestal, her wings and back covered by a long cloak, which the artist had done a tremendous job of sculpting. Her cutie mark was covered by the cloak, but Rarity noticed that a full moon symbol was carved into the stone fabric in the same spot as the crescent on Pinkie’s cloak. Did the residents of Hollow Shades wear cloaks because of the statue, or was it the other way around? As impressive as the details on the cloak were, however, what really struck Rarity was the expression of the princess.

“She looks so sad,” whispered Fluttershy, and Rarity couldn’t help but agree.

Princess Luna looked into the distance, ears resting against her head, and her eyes soft, almost as if in resignation. How could a statue exude such a feeling of resignation and melancholy? The more Rarity looked at it, the more she felt as if somepony was pulling at her heart and weighing her down. Her eyes traveled down the statue and landed on the metallic plaque at the base, the words inscribed on it only worsening the sadness she had started to feel.

Perhaps my fate is to be forgotten, now in dreams as I was in life.

Why would anypony make such a sad statue? she wondered. The ones in Canterlot had been hopeful and pleasant to look at, but this one… It was beautiful, yes, and the carving was exquisite, but the expression… It suddenly hit Rarity like a crashing train just why she felt particularly saddened by the statue: because she’d seen that same expression before. The same expression of somepony who’d lost all hope; she’d seen it on Twilight, when she told Rarity that she would never be freed of the library. Was Princess Luna, lost to all, truly as forlorn and resigned as the statue portrayed her? As Twilight once was and, to Rarity’s discontent, possibly still was?

“Why would they choose to depict her like this?” Rarity thought aloud, horrified at the idea of somepony making a similarly depressing statue of Twilight.

Pinkie, failing spectacularly to notice that neither of her new friends were exactly thrilled by the statue, looked terribly excited to answer the question. “Weeeeell, it’s because—”

“That’s how the founder of Hollow Shades saw her in his dreams.”

Rarity and Fluttershy turned around to find an elderly pegasus mare next to Fluttershy, leaning on her cane while looking up at the statue of the princess. The old mare wore a cloak similar to Pinkie and the rest of the villagers, but Rarity noticed that unlike Pinkie’s, the symbol on her cloak was that of a full moon. So Pinkie did modify hers…

“Oh! Elder Moonshine!” Pinkie exclaimed, rushing over to the elder and offering a gentle yet enthused hug. When they broke the hug, she gestured toward Rarity and Fluttershy, introducing them.

Elder Moonshine smiled warmly at Rarity and Fluttershy. “Visitors are always welcome to our small village. It is not often that we get visits from Ponyville.” She then turned toward Pinkie Pie with a bigger smile. “Ah, I must say it’s good to see you have come home, child. Hollow Shades is not the same without you,” she said. She lifted her cane and used it to gently tap Pinkie’s head. “Have you learned to love and appreciate the town that raised you, rather than skedaddling away whenever you can? Where did Hollow Shades’ traveling baker run off to this time?”

“Tall Tales!” Pinkie exclaimed, skipping in place. “Lullaby sent me there to ask about her sister!”

“Lullaby? As in Moonlight Lullaby?” Immediately the elder’s expression fell, taking back her cane and shaking her head. “Pinkie… We talked about this before… How do you expect the rest of the villagers to take you seriously when…” She glanced at Rarity and Fluttershy, remembering they were, in fact, present, and petered out. “Child, perhaps we need to have another talk soon…”

“Oh, Elder…” Pinkie said, crestfallen. She lifted her hoof and grabbed on to her necklace in a curiously pitiful motion. “You Pinkie promised…”

Elder Moonshine stared at Pinkie, tapping her cane against the ground. “I did, didn’t I?” She let out what Rarity could only describe as a resigned sigh and smiled at Pinkie. “In that case, let us hope Lullaby will be able to use whatever information you acquired.”

And just like that, Pinkie’s expression lightened up again, looking terribly relieved. “O-oh! Oh, she will! She will!” she exclaimed, once more skipping in place. “She’s going to be sooooo happy, Elder!”

The elder grunted. “I should hope so, sending you off to those faraway places.” She then looked back to Rarity and Fluttershy, tapping her cane against the statue. “Now, you were curious about this statue, weren’t you?”

“Oh, yes!” Rarity exclaimed, happy to be able to participate in the conversation again. She glanced at the statue, an image of Twilight again flashing through her mind. “It’s one of the princesses from the Legend of the Four Princesses, isn’t it? Princess Sele— Er, I mean, Princess Luna?”

“Yes, it is,” the elder said, tracing the contour of the statue with her cane. “A long, long time ago, when there was a dark forest where we now stand, the old stallion Hollow Shades lost his way in the forest and was cornered and attacked by bandits. They left him to die with the forest as his resting place and Foal Mountain as his looming tombstone. As such, he let himself be taken by what he thought would be his last sleep, but instead was attacked again by a nightmare of the bandits.”

“Here comes the part with the princess!” Pinkie Pie whispered, poking Rarity excitedly.

The elder chuckled before continuing. “Just when the dream bandits were about to snuff out the last of his life, she appeared.” She tapped her cane against the statue lightly. “The fabled lost princess of legend came to save him in dreams. He later spoke of her immense beauty as she chased the dream bandits away, of her mane made out of a sliver of the night sky and all its gentle loveliness, and of the cloak she wore which she used to wipe him clean of the blood the bandits had drawn.

“Days later, when he’d reached a nearby town, delirious and famished, he would speak of her incessantly, consumed by the dream he’d had of her. He took down trees and built houses for his family, hoping they too would be visited by the princess. When he passed away months later, believed to have gone mad in his last weeks of life, the villagers made a statue to honor him and the dream that had led to the village’s creation. They fashioned a statue of the princess just as he’d always described her: a lonely mare who thought she would never be found.”

“How sad…” Fluttershy whispered, and Rarity wondered if she too was picturing Twilight in the same position.

Rarity looked back at the statue with a different perspective. “Is… Is that true?” she asked. “Did all that really happen?”

“I fear I don’t know. It’s been far too long since the village was founded,” the elder continued, lowering her cane to the ground. “Did he truly see the princess, or did his desperate situation lead him to dream himself a savior? Was it perhaps an embellishment of a far less interesting tale? It’s up to you to decide. Whether it’s true or not, it at least makes quite the story for the tourists,” she added with a grin.

“It’s not a story! It really happened!” Pinkie protested, stamping her hoof against the ground.

The elder frowned, like an exasperated adult confronting a misbehaving child. “Did Moonlight Lullaby tell you that, Pinkie?”

“Y-yes…” Pinkie said helplessly before shaking her head, stamping her hoof again and confidently repeating: “Yes, she did, Elder!”

This Moonlight Lullaby knows quite a bit about the legend, doesn’t she? Rarity thought. Now she wondered if perhaps it would do her good to visit Moonlight Lullaby and not just Professor Brazened Awe. Though if she was sick, would Rarity even be able to visit her? Sales in the boutique hadn’t really been magnificent enough that she could afford a second trip to Hollow Shades anytime soon, but…

The elder grunted, and let out yet another weary sigh. “Pinkie…” She shook her head and tapped her cane against the ground three times. “Well, enough about this old statue. There’s still plenty left to see of our village,” she said, pointing toward some stands in the distance. “Have you tried Nightshine’s roasted vegetables? They’re so good, sometimes I think they’re the reason we get any tourism at all!”

“Oh! That’s a good idea!” Pinkie said, taking a sniff out the air and narrowing her eyes. “They’re over there!” She said goodbye to Elder Moonshine and then bounded off, urging Fluttershy and Rarity to follow.

Fluttershy said her goodbyes to the elder and started off after Pinkie, but Rarity lingered a bit longer, stopping Fluttershy to ask for her camera before telling her to go ahead.

Rarity noticed the elder still standing by, and asked, “Excuse me, Elder Moonshine? The names of the princesses—where did they come from?”

“Who knows?” Elder Moonshine replied with a one-shouldered shrug. “I believe they came from around the same time as Hollow Shades, but there’s no way of knowing for certain. Perhaps ‘Princess Luna’ told them to him?” she suggested, laughing afterwards. Something about it made Rarity uneasy, seeing for herself how little the elder actually believed in the tale.

“So,” the elder said, resting on her cane and looking up at the statue. “Do you believe in the story?”

“I don’t know,” Rarity said honestly. If that had really been Princess Luna, and she’d really been able to communicate with him… “Why didn’t she just tell him where she was? Somepony would have found her already, wouldn’t they?” She was, after all, unlike Twilight, who’d made it a point to stay hidden from ponies who wandered into the library.

“Well, that would mean you would first have to believe in the tale, wouldn’t it?” the elder pointed out. “Let me ask you, if you dreamt of a princess asking you to wake up and rush into the dangerous mountains to ‘save’ her, would you do it? That is, if you even remembered the dream in the first place?”

“I… I would,” Rarity said belatedly. Even if it was with hesitation, after knowing Twilight, Rarity was ready to believe almost anything.

The elder stared at her thoughtfully and then smiled. “Then you would be the second,” Elder Moonshine said, turning back to the statue. “Perhaps the first ponies living here once believed in the legend, but now it’s largely become an attraction for the tourists and foals.” She nodded toward two foals playing, one of them wearing makeshift cardboard wings and a matching crown. “I’d say only the foals in our village believe in the princesses as if they were as real as Princess Denza. But they all outgrow the fairy tale eventually.” She drifted off and glanced toward Pinkie Pie in the distance, showing Fluttershy a dreamcatcher at one of the booths. “Well, all but one.”

Pinkie Pie?

Now that she thought about it, Pinkie had mentioned believing in the legend during Seeking Night, but Rarity had hardly believed her, thinking the earth pony had just been trying to act for the sake of showponyship. I didn’t believe Sweetie either, Rarity scolded herself. She really should apologize to Sweetie for it. If it hadn’t been for her sister’s fervent belief in the Princess in the Library, she might have never gone into the forest, and Rarity would have never met Twilight.

“Pinkie Pie? You mean she…”

The elder nodded. “Tell me, has she told you about a mare named Moonlight Lullaby before? She usually refers to her as Lulla.”

“Yes… She’s her best friend, isn’t she?” Rarity said. “We asked Pinkie why she hadn’t invited her to be with us tonight, but she said—”

“Moonlight Lullaby is sick at home, and though she can’t go out yet, Pinkie will help her so she can come out soon,” the elder interrupted, effectively finishing Rarity’s sentence for her. “Yes?”

“Y-yes, that’s what she said,” Rarity confirmed, blinking at the elder mare. And word for word, too…

The elder sighed, looking at Pinkie sadly. “She seems to like you and your friend quite a lot. Perhaps she might listen to you better than she listens to me.” She paused, as if thinking her words through carefully before finally speaking again. “Moonlight Lullaby isn’t real.”

“I beg your pardon?” Rarity asked, blinking at the mare. “What do you mean ‘isn’t real’?”

“She’s Pinkie’s…” Elder Moonshine faltered, and stared at Rarity in a way that very much made her feel judged and analyzed. After a moment, it seemed the elder had found whatever she’d been looking for, and continued: “She’s her imaginary friend, so to speak.”

“Imaginary friend?”

The elder nodded. “Yes, though Moonlight Lullaby went by a different name when Pinkie was a foal.” She lifted her cane and tapped it against the statue. “Princess Luna, her friend she claimed visited her in dreams.”

Rarity’s eyes widened. “Why, that’s just like the story you told us earlier!”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, young one,” the elder said, again lowering her cane to the ground. “Look at the foals all around you. It’s not rare to hear them waking up their parents to say Princess Luna visited them. We humor them, of course. It helps them sleep at night, to believe the princess is guarding their dreams, and so we humored Pinkie when the little filly would run around town talking about the princess. Of course, then the other foals grew up and the princess stopped ‘visiting’ them, but Pinkie…”

Her expression softened, and she looked toward the ground, burying the tip of her cane in the dirt. “Pinkie is a stubborn child, for good or for worse. Spent all her time telling ponies about Princess Luna and how they had to rescue her. It was a silly quirk at first, but after months and years, ponies grow tired of having a full-grown mare trying to get them to believe her claims. Most of them just ignore her by now, but others…”

She sighed. “Others started making fun of her—the ones she’d grown up with, especially. Came a time where I never saw her with anypony, or I saw them snickering behind her back. A good swing of my cane made them stop, but that didn’t help much, I fear. She acts oblivious to them, but one day Princess Luna was gone, replaced by the eternally ill Moonlight Lullaby. It’s sad, but I understand why she runs off whenever she can.”

“That’s awful,” Rarity whispered, feeling an indescribable compassion for the smiling mare waving back at her from the stands. “Poor Pinkie Pie…” To have been tormented like that? Would that have been her own destiny, had no one ever believed her about Twilight? Rarity thought back to the comment the shopkeeper had made earlier, and she was glad she’d decided not to buy anything from him.

“I want to believe her,” the elder continued, her expression even sadder as she looked at Pinkie in the distance. “But when the questions you asked earlier arise in our conversations, there’s never an answer. Where is the princess? She never knows. It’s hard to believe her when she herself cannot, well, produce evidence of Princess Luna. If she could, even in my old age, I’d follow her to the princess, but…”

“I understand, but I’m sure she appreciates your support nevertheless,” Rarity said, smiling sympathetically at the mare. She finally used the camera to snap a picture of the statue before deciding it was time to move on. “Thank you for everything, Elder Moonshine. I give you my word your trust is not misplaced.”

“I hope not, child,” the Elder said. “You seem like a good pony, and the princesses know Pinkie needs a friend in this town.” She went quiet for a moment before looking up at the statue. “Sometimes I hope Lullaby really is there keeping the poor child company.”

“Rarity!” Pinkie called out to her, unknowingly interrupting a conversation all about her. “The line for the veggies is getting longer!”

“Just a moment!” Rarity called before once more turning to the elder. “I don’t know Pinkie very well, Elder, but even so, I have a feeling that what friends she lacks in Hollow Shades, all her friends beyond the forest more than make up for it.”

“What were you and the elder talking about, Rarity?” Fluttershy asked, throwing away her paper plate. They’d just finished eating the most scrumptious vegetables, which Fluttershy had liked enough to buy a second helping of. “You two talked for a while.”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you, darling. Or not yet at least,” Rarity replied, throwing her own plate away into the trash.

“O-oh, I didn’t mean to pry,” Fluttershy quickly said.

“I know, darling. Believe me, I want to tell you, but I believe it would be best to talk with Pinkie first. It does concern her, after all.”

In reality, Rarity had been planning on asking about “Moonlight Lullaby”—or should she say “Princess Luna”—immediately after joining them, but she’d eventually decided against it. Pinkie seemed to be having a nice time with her and Fluttershy, and the last thing Rarity wanted was to accidentally ruin the night for the mare by bringing up an unpleasant topic.

There was also the fact that she had avoided talking about her conversation when Pinkie asked what the elder had told her. A hint of recognition had shot through Pinkie’s eyes—as if she knew they had talked about her and “Moonlight Lullaby.” It didn’t help that Pinkie stopped trying to press the subject immediately after that, which Rarity assumed meant she didn’t want to talk about the issue.

“Speaking of Pinkie Pie, where did she run off to?” she asked, looking around for the pink pony. She had admittedly been too busy scowling at a stallion somehow fitting an entire plate of vegetables into his mouth at once to pay attention to what Pinkie said before leaving.

“She said she wanted to buy something for us,” Fluttershy replied. She furrowed her brow, biting her lip thoughtfully. “Nightmare bombs, I think?”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Nightmare bombs? My, doesn’t that sound interesting.” She chuckled afterward. “And fitting for a village decorated after Princess Selene!” And possibly actually protected by her…

Fluttershy gulped audibly. “I think it sounds frightening…”

Rarity only smiled, directing her attention toward a nearby merchandise stand. Her eyes landed on an odd-looking shadow creature, the label “Spirit of Chaos” beneath it. She picked it up, pretending she really was capable of defeating him just as easily she could hold the statuette in her hoof. The feared spirit who’d trapped Twilight. What did Twilight say his name was? Discord? Maybe she ought to buy it for Twilight to give her some way to vent the anger she must have toward the Spirit.

“We also have warding objects,” the shopkeeper said, noticing Rarity’s interest in the figurine. He pointed toward two identical necklaces hanging from the top of the stand, the words “Spirit Warding Matching Necklaces” labeled above them. “You can buy one individually, but it’s better to buy the set.”

Rarity levitated the necklaces closer and took a better look. The clear crystals had been carved into a long, slightly rounded shape. “You say they protect from the Spirit of the legend?” she asked, considering the possibility that she might actually need such a thing.

“Yes, ma’am! They’ve had a strong protection spell cast on them, and it works even better if two ponies wear them! You keep one and give one to somepony you care about, and not only does the protection spell keep you safe, but it makes you protect each other, too! And there’s nothing that makes you grow closer to somepony than the mutual fight against a common enemy, right?” he coaxed, no doubt just a ploy to trick foolish tourists into buying more merchandise.

And yet, though Rarity was hardly a foolish tourist, she found herself considering buying the two necklaces. A gesture for Twilight that would make them grow closer sounded rather nice, didn’t it? “What do you think, Fluttershy?” she asked, showing the necklaces to her friend. “Should I get the other one for Twilight?”

“Oh, I think that would be a lovely idea, Rarity,” Fluttershy replied, lifting one of the pendants with her hoof.

“Hmm… Would it?” Rarity continued, taking a closer look at them. “I don’t believe she’d be able to put it on, considering her… condition?” Rarity made a move to levitate the necklaces back to their proper place. “I think I’ll have to get her something else, perhaps.”

“Oh, but I’m sure the Prin— Twilight would love it, Rarity! Maybe she can use it for something else?” Fluttershy suggested. “A bookmark? Or decoration?”

Rarity mulled it over. “A bookmark? I actually quite like that idea!” she exclaimed, taking out her bitbag. One necklace to protect her from the Spirit, and another to… protect Twilight’s books from him?

Once she’d bought the two necklaces, she put one on and then asked Fluttershy to keep the other one inside her saddlebag. Afterwards, they went back to the food stand to continue waiting for Pinkie. As they did, Rarity played with her necklace, trying to imagine how in Equestria the teeny things were supposed to protect her from a spirit capable of ghostifying powerful alicorns.

“What if the Spirit really is following me?” Rarity asked, mostly to herself. It was a very real worry of hers, but she’d said it with such nonchalance, it threw Fluttershy off.

“Th-the Spirit? F-f-following you?” Fluttershy asked, understandably alarmed. As much as the pegasus accepted the legend, Rarity knew the idea of the Spirit still lurking around frightened her.

“I don’t know,” Rarity continued with the same nonchalance. “Do you remember what I told you? About the filly from the Apple farm and what she saw?”

“But I thought we agreed that the poor thing had been frightened into seeing things?” Fluttershy replied, her voice ever so nervous. “Didn’t we? Even Princess Twilight agreed with us.”

“I suppose we did!” Rarity exclaimed, realizing perhaps Fluttershy wasn’t the best pony to talk about those subjects with. Besides, it wasn’t far-fetched to think Apple Bloom had been victim to a fear-induced hallucination or mistake, was it? Rarity had no actual evidence of another “Rarity” wandering about, and the last thing she wanted was to worry Fluttershy or even Twilight needlessly.

“Rarity! Fluttershy!” Pinkie was standing a distance away, motioning for them to follow. “I have everything ready!”

Fluttershy and Rarity followed Pinkie back into the crowd of ponies, and after yet another battle to move through the crowd, they exited the conglomerate of stands and arrived next to an abandoned white house. Right next to the outer wall were several campfire sites, of which several were lit. Rarity couldn’t help but think the heat must be anything but good for the wall’s paint and wondered why in heavens anypony ever thought that was a good place for a campfire.

Three foals were huddled next to one of the lit campfires, the only unicorn of the three floating a large red spherical object above his head. Rarity hoped they weren’t intending to roast and eat whatever that was, considering it looked less than appetizing.

“Look, look! That’s a nightmare bomb!” Pinkie whispered, gesturing for Fluttershy and Rarity to watch closely.

The unicorn giggled for a moment, glancing at his two companions before unceremoniously throwing the nightmare bomb into the fire. The bomb crackled and burst in the heat, spewing some kind of blue smoke. The red flames abruptly grew in size and turned the same shade of blue, much to the foals’ and Pinkie’s delight, Rarity’s surprise, and Fluttershy’s horror.

Well, that certainly wasn’t as scary as I imagined it would be, Rarity thought, finding herself clicking her tongue in disappointment. Her disappointment, however, was short-lived. As the flames flickered and hissed, a blurry shadow emerged from the fire and slithered up the wall, taking the shape of a large pony with leathery, bat-like wings. The three foals huddled together, staring, entranced by the shadow.

Rarity was similarly transfixed, staring at the mostly motionless shadow until the blue flames swirled a few moments later. The shadow disappeared as the fire returned to its normal color and size. The delighted giggles of the foals finally snapped her out of her stupor and brought her back to reality, and, for a moment, she wondered if she ought to bring some nightmare bombs back for Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. The two fillies would probably never get enough of it.

“Wasn’t that fun?!” Pinkie exclaimed, bounding up to the fire. “During Seeking Night, the elder always throws in a really, really, really big one, and the shadow moves and everything!” Pinkie giggled in absolute delight and took out an orb similar to the one the foals had used from her mane. “I bought one for us, too! It’s just a normal smallish one, but it’s still super fun!” When the foals brought out another of their own bombs, Pinkie looked around for a moment before gesturing to a lit campfire in the distance. “Let’s go to that one instead.”

Rarity and a reluctant Fluttershy followed Pinkie to the secluded campfire, where the pink mare excitedly hoofed the red bomb over to Rarity. Rarity took a moment to observe the spherical device, but found nothing special about it. It just felt like powder compressed into a ball. What kind of magic powder made shadows like that? Had some spell been cast on it? Once again, she wished Twilight was there to explain.

Pinkie took out a small paper from her mane and read it over. “Okay, lessee… This one is supposed to turn into a… dragon!” she said, glancing back and forth between the paper and the two friends. “I’ve never seen a dragon before! Have you?”

When both Rarity and Fluttershy shook their heads, she frowned for a second. She almost seemed disappointed that her newfound friends weren’t adventurers. “Do you think they’re scary?” she asked at length. Fluttershy’s loud, uneasy gulp answered for both of them. “I bet they must be the scariest things ever! Brr!”

“I imagine they must be quite frightening, yes,” Rarity agreed.

Though, frankly, she could think of something far scarier than dragons. She had no idea what the Spirit of Chaos looked like, but perhaps that was the very thing that made him terrifying. A creature of such power, hiding himself amongst ponies by taking a new shape when it suited him? Cold shivers ran down her spine at the thought.

If he had—hypothetically, of course—been following Rarity already, had he already shape-shifted and fooled her? How many times had she met him already, talked to him even, thinking he was somepony else? She understood some of the terror Twilight felt. After all, it meant that essentially no one could be trusted—not even one’s self. Had Apple Bloom really hallucinated out of fear? Or… Or had the Spirit perhaps now noticed Rarity’s involvement in the aftermath of the terrible tragedies he caused?

“Okay! You ready?” Pinkie asked, snapping the unicorn out of her thoughts.

“Oh, er, yes!” Rarity replied, lifting the nightmare bomb up in the air as the foal had earlier done. “What do I do exactly?”

“You just throw it in, silly,” Pinkie said, gesturing for Rarity to throw it already. “And then you look at the shadow and cover your eyes with your hooves! And if you scream, it’s even more fun!”

“I see!” Rarity exclaimed, laughing softly at Fluttershy’s apprehensive expression. “Come now, darling, it’s just a toy.”

The pegasus only frowned in reply, taking a step back near the over-excited Pinkie Pie. Rarity looked back toward the crackling fire, feeling rather thrilled by the entire affair. Her mind kept drifting toward Twilight, still wishing the alicorn were there to watch. I’m sure she’d like this, she thought, making a mental note to ask Pinkie where she could buy two or three packages of nightmare bombs. That done, she took a deep breath to increase the suspense, and with a childish giggle, threw the bomb into the fire.

Just as before, the flames burst to life, changing in size and color. Rarity was barely cognizant of Fluttershy’s gasp as a large shadow emerged from the blue fire and loomed over them on the wall, taking the shape of a fire-breathing dragon. Rarity was again transfixed, a soft “ohhhhh” escaping her lips as she took a step closer to the fire.

And yet…

And yet, this time, there was something else that kept her watching. She couldn’t exactly pinpoint what, but there was something about the shadow that was both chilling and beguiling. Before she could properly figure it out, the illusion ended. Over as quickly as it had begun, the flames snapped back into red and the shadow disappeared into the ground—and yet, the chill on her back remained.

“See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Pinkie asked the nervous pegasus standing very close behind her.

“N-no…” Fluttershy said after taking a big, deep breath.

“’Kay then! Let’s keep going!” Pinkie exclaimed, clapping her hooves together. “We still have to see the botanical garden!”

“Oh!” Fluttershy said, brightening up quickly, obviously glad to find a less frightening activity to do next. “Oh, yes. We should go there now. That’s a very nice idea.”

Pinkie nodded and trotted off, Fluttershy close behind. “Ohhh, I have to show you the super secret daisy flowers!” Pinkie’s voice drifted off into the distance, she and Fluttershy disappearing into the crowd of ponies.

Rarity turned away from the fire to follow them, but stopped when she heard a soft hiss coming from the flames. She turned back toward it and to her surprise, the flames once more grew in size and turned blue.

“What’s this?” she whispered, taking a step toward the fire. Had the nightmare bomb not been fully used up?

She watched, waiting for the shadow dragon to re-appear, but instead, the flames flickered again and turned a deep, dangerous purple. This… Is this normal? she thought, turning around to ask Pinkie Pie but realizing her friends were already out of earshot. She turned back to the purple fire, and watched as it hissed and danced, a sign of the oncoming shadow. What greeted her, though, was something infinitely more terrifying than a dragon.

A dark shape slowly slid up the wall, and rather than taking the form of a dragon, it began to resemble the silhouette of a unicorn facing sideways. The unicorn, its edges shifting as if made out of black fire, seemed to be wearing a cloak similar to the ones the locals used. The previous shadows hadn’t moved, but this one’s cloak fluttered as if caught in a breeze.

More than the shadow’s movement, what frightened Rarity to her very core was its glaring, eerie yellow eye, and the three familiar diamond-shaped marks right where the dark unicorn’s cutie mark should be. And just as she noticed the diamonds, the flames flickered once more, and a second, smaller shadow symbol appeared right in front of the unicorn’s horn: a six-pointed star surrounded by five smaller ones.

A symbol she instantly recognized as Twilight’s cutie mark.

Rarity wanted to call out, look away, put out the fire. Anything to make the frightening image dissipate, but she found herself unable to move a single muscle. She could only watch in horror, every inch of her body filling with a suffocating dread, the image of her doppelgänger mixing into the shadow on the wall. The horn of the shadow unicorn began to blur, almost as if it was summoning a magic uniquely its own—a magic able to turn even alicorns into ghosts. It didn’t last more than a few seconds, but to Rarity it felt like an eternity as she waited for the inevitable to happen.

And it did.

The unicorn lifted its hoof, its horn releasing a burst of magic, and in horror Rarity watched Twilight’s cutie mark burst into pieces. Once Twilight’s cutie mark had been completely destroyed, the unicorn lowered its forehoof and shifted. It faced Rarity head-on, the trio of diamonds on its flank disappearing from view. Just when she thought that the worst was behind her, the head of the shadow split in half with a bright yellow light. Rarity felt as if she was going to have a heart attack when the simple line curved upwards at both ends, and she realized that the shadow was smiling. And not just smiling; no, it was smiling at her.

The flames flickered a final time. And just like that, shadow Rarity disappeared back into the fire from which she had risen, leaving the genuine article standing there, too terrified to move. Too terrified to even breathe.

“Rarity!”

Pinkie’s voice snapped Rarity out of her reverie, and she finally found herself capable of moving again. She quickly turned around to find Pinkie and Fluttershy trotting toward her, neither one of them seeming to have seen a single nightmarish thing. Which was all part of his plan… she thought, still feeling as though the silent yellow grin was watching her every move.

It was Fluttershy who noticed something wasn’t right with the unicorn. “Rarity?” she asked, looking with concern at the still-trembling unicorn. “Is everything all right?”

“I… I…” Rarity looked back toward the fire, not sure of what to say, or what she even could say.

Was everything all right? No, it certainly wasn’t.

If she’d been wondering before if the Spirit of Chaos was following her, that terrifying spectacle had answered her doubts in the worst way possible. After all, it wasn’t just that he was after her, but if the shadow’s display meant something, it was that he was still after Twilight too.

If that was the case, would telling Fluttershy put her in similar danger?

“Rarity?” Fluttershy asked again, putting a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder.

“E-everything’s fine, darling. I’ll tell you later, all right?” Rarity said. She smiled shakily at her friend before taking a very deep breath. She noticed Pinkie lingering a few feet away, looking similarly concerned, and so she tried to reassure her with an honest bright smile. “So! Botanical garden, you were saying?”

“Yeah!” Pinkie exclaimed, happy to see Rarity past whatever had frightened her. “It’s super duper fun! And it smells super duper nice, too!”

Rarity nodded toward the stands. “Shall we, then?”

Pinkie and Fluttershy nodded, trotting off once more. Rarity glanced at the fire one last time before following Fluttershy, the terrifying image of her shadow self still vivid in her mind. Moreover, she couldn’t get the image of her doppelgänger destroying Twilight’s cutie mark out of her head.

She stopped and reached up to clutch her necklace, hoping it would protect her. The rational part of her mind told her that, even if it did carry a protection spell, it probably wasn’t adequate to stop such evil. Twilight had been a recurring thought the entire day, and now she wished she could give Twilight her necklace immediately. The idea of that… that… monster doing anything to her… Rarity shivered again and clutched the necklace tighter.

“Rarity! Come on!” Pinkie called, looking back at Rarity stopped mid-trot.

“Oh, er, coming!” Rarity called, finally letting go of the necklace and rushing to catch up.

She couldn’t wait to get back to Ponyville. Somepony had to make sure that Twilight was safe, after all.

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters. Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act I ~ 10 ~ The Party Mare and Her Secret ~

“Princess, do you think the Spirit’s cursed other ponies?”

“I don’t know, but I really hope not. If he did, I’d never… Anyway, shouldn’t you two go home?”

“No? It wouldn’t be a sleepover, then! You know, I bet Sis isn’t afraid of him! She’ll teach him a lesson!”

“…I don’t even want to think of her meeting him…”

“Well, we’re not scared of him! If he tries anything against us, we’ll get cutie marks in Spirit butt-kicking!”

“Spirit butt-kicking…?”

“Princess? Are… Are you scared of him?”

“Well, I…”

“Course she isn’t! She’s already a ghost! He should be scared of her!”

“At this point, I’m honestly more scared of what your sister will do if she finds out you two came here without her permission.”

Three diamonds.

Every stitch on the back end of the freshly bought cloak was placed to imitate its owner’s cutie mark to a tee. The three mares had been working in a small workroom within the Hollow Shades fabric shop for some time now, seated together around a table and surrounded by other tourists who were working away on their own cloaks. Though Hollow Shades residents always marked their cloaks with Princess Luna’s cutie mark, visitors had the option of customizing theirs with different symbols if they so chose.

“Oooooh, I like it!” Pinkie said, watching Fluttershy carefully finish sewing the first of her cutie mark’s butterflies onto her own garment. Fluttershy smiled in reply, obviously proud of her work, prompting Pinkie to turn her attention to Rarity. “And what about you, Rarity?”

“Almost done,” she muttered, still working away at the last blue diamond. When given the choice, she had, for a moment, considered sewing on the cutie mark of her favorite princess, as most of the tourists were doing. She eventually settled for her own cutie mark, however. Goodness knows Sweetie Belle would probably try to steal one inspired by her newfound idol.

“You look better, Rarity,” Fluttershy said, smiling at her friend. She’d been worried for some time now, ever since the nightmare bombs, and though Rarity could tell Fluttershy was still concerned, she appreciated the pegasus’ discretion.

“I feel better, darling,” Rarity said, focusing on her stitching. “I simply don’t know what got into me!”

It was a lie. She knew very well what had happened, and even now, hours later, the image on the wall haunted her, terrified her from a small corner at the back of her mind. Could it really have been the Spirit sending her a message? Was it a warning to back off? Rarity had tried to convince herself she’d been… hallucinating, or delirious somehow; maybe she had simply grossly misinterpreted the shadows? The chill that was fast becoming familiar ran up her spine again. It had felt so real.

Her worries for Twilight still clawed at her, and for once, she wished she had some way of communicating over long distances. What if she somehow ended up indirectly hurting Twilight with her actions? Was that his master plan? If only she could ask Twilight… She’d once heard powerful unicorns of old used spells to contact each other over great distances—maybe Twilight could do something similar?

It was odd, but the more she thought of the alicorn, the more she found herself… missing her company. And worrying about her even more, too. She shook her head, trying to dispel the thoughts. Come now, Rarity, worrying won’t do you any good. Twilight’s an ages-old alicorn ghost, she can defend herself. And… there’s really not much worse the Spirit can do to her, is there?

“There!” she exclaimed, her work finally complete. She got up and tied the cloak around her neck, making sure not to hide the necklace beneath it, before modeling to her friends. “How do I look? Fabulous, I presume?”

“You look great, Rarity!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, taking the chance to stand next to Rarity and compare their cloaks. “And your necklace is really pretty, too!”

“Oh yes,” Fluttershy agreed, nodding and then looking back to her own unfinished cutie mark. “I should hurry up…”

Rarity looked around and noticed a mirror near the back of the room. She excused herself for a moment and made her way over to it, nodding her head approvingly while she admired her reflection. She pulled the hood over her head, initially hoping to find her reflection looking alluringly mysterious, but instead…

Instead, an image of her hooded doppelgänger entering Twilight’s library filled her mind, and she took the hood off quickly as she forced the image out of her mind. “Stop it, Rarity,” she hissed under her breath. I should be focusing on other matters… like Princess Luna, for starters.

Through the mirror’s reflection, she looked at Pinkie Pie helping Fluttershy in the distance.

Pinkie Pie and Princess Luna—or, rather, the “imaginary” Moonlight Lullaby.

Everything pointed to Lullaby being Luna, and yet… Why hadn’t Pinkie told anyone of Luna’s whereabouts? Had the princess perhaps forbidden Pinkie from doing so, just like Twilight had? Honestly, what was it with princesses and not wanting to be found? Her only choice was to question Pinkie about Moonlight Lullaby and hopefully get as much information as she could on Princess Luna’s potential whereabouts.

She made her way back the table and sat down, using her most dazzling grin to catch Pinkie’s attention.

“What’s up, Rarity?” Pinkie asked, folding her hooves on the table and smiling back. “Did you like your cape?”

“I do, darling! Very much so,” Rarity replied, adjusting it properly. She then cleared her throat and similarly folded her hooves on top of the table. “I must say, I find Hollow Shades’ fascination with Princess Luna quite charming!” She paused and focused her sight on Pinkie. “Supposing the legend is real—”

“It is, Rarity!” Pinkie quickly interrupted.

“Of course! So, knowing the legend is real, where do you suppose Princess Luna might be?” Rarity ventured, trying to guide Pinkie with direct questions before moving on to her other plan.

Pinkie’s ears dropped. “I don’t know,” she admitted, and Rarity wasn’t able to detect a single hint of dishonesty in the statement. “But I’m going to find out!”

Plan B it is, then.

If asking about Princess Luna wasn’t going to lead to any answers, then Moonlight Lullaby it would have to be.

“And what does Moonlight Lullaby think of it? Surely she must believe in the tale, too?” Rarity sighed theatrically, putting on a sympathetic face. “The poor dear, it’s a shame she’s sick… Actually, Pinkie, I have to admit, I’m rather curious about you two! Could you tell me more about her?”

“Mh-hm! I love talking about her!” She furrowed her brow in concentration. “…Well, she loves the night! She knows every star and constellation and planet and— I don’t even know how she knows all that! But she can’t see them right now, since she’s sick and all.”

“Oh, of course…”

That did make sense, though.

Princess Luna was—or had been—in charge of the moon, after all. How terrible… If she’s really trapped somewhere, she can’t see the night, can she? It would be like trapping Twilight somewhere without her books. Perhaps that horrid Spirit had shown some kindness to the bookish alicorn.

“But it’s okay! I draw them for her!” Pinkie added, reaching inside her mane and taking out a small booklet.

For Rarity to say she wasn’t slightly concerned that such a booklet could fit inside the mare’s mane would have been a lie. How in Equestria did Pinkie manage to store things in her mane like that? Then again, Rarity supposed she’d seen stranger things. She watched as Pinkie flipped through pages and pages of writing and illustrations until she stopped at a two-page crayon drawing of the night sky, the constellations marked out with white lines.

“Here!” she said, hoofing the book over to Rarity. “Take a look-see!”

“Oh, how cute!” Rarity said, showing it to Fluttershy, who’d momentarily looked up to admire the drawing. “I’m sure Lullaby must have loved this.” She closed the book after a moment, intending to return it, but her gaze lingered on the title on the cover.

Pinkie’s Dream Journal — #87

Hmm… Interesting.

Just as she made a move to reopen the booklet, Pinkie took it back and, to Rarity’s dismay, returned it to the seemingly endless black hole of her mane.

“You keep dream journals?” Rarity asked innocently, hoping to draw out more information on the subject. “How interesting!”

“Yep! Ever since I met Lulla,” Pinkie replied.

“Really?!” Rarity all but shrieked, clapping her forehooves against the table. If she’d been keeping dream journals since she met Luna, then— Oh, Twilight was going to love the information. She then, however, remembered that not only was she a lady, but that she was a lady in a public place. “A-ah, really?” she repeated in a much more socially acceptable volume, clearing her throat and playing with her mane. “Interesting, indeed… Actually, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you meet? I assume you’re foalhood friends?”

Pinkie nodded. “Yep! She was my first friend when I moved here as a filly!”

“Moved? From where?”

“Tall Tales!” Pinkie replied. “I moved here with my parents and sisters when I was a filly. I…” She looked around as if to check that nopony was listening. “I hated it here at first, ’cause it was in the middle of a super scary forest.”

To an adult, Hollow Shades had charm, and it certainly must be the same to foals who’d been born there, but for a filly who’d been forced to move to such a place… Rarity could see why the little Pinkie Pie might have been afraid. She doubted that she herself would have been too thrilled if she’d been forced to live in the middle of the Everfree Forest as a filly.

“Well, I hated it ’til I met Lulla, at least. I had really awful nightmares the first week,” Pinkie continued, not noticing how Rarity’s ears perked up immediately. “She would sing lullabies to help me sleep, and then the nightmares went away.”

“What about the other foals? Did she get along with them too?” Rarity asked. If Pinkie didn’t have any information, maybe the other now-grown foals did.

Pinkie shook her head. “No. Lulla didn’t like them very much.”

“Why not?”

Pinkie looked uncomfortable, making Rarity wonder if perhaps she ought to stop her inquisition, but… she really needed this information.

“She… She thought they were mean to me,” Pinkie replied finally, intently watching Fluttershy sewing. Rarity remembered the elder mentioning Pinkie had been bullied as a foal. “B-but they weren’t! They just like— They just liked teasing me!” she added. “They used to say that I should go back to Tall Tales ’cause maybe they’d believe my tall tales! Hahaha…” Her laughter, unlike previous times, sounded so… fake and insincere.

Rarity felt a knot in the pit of her stomach. “That’s not very nice at all…”

“Lulla used to say that too, but it was all in good fun! They just liked to tease me, really, that’s all!” Pinkie quickly said with a laugh that sounded very forced. Uncomfortable. “Anyway! My parents and my sisters moved back to Tall Tale when I was bigger, but I stayed here.”

“But… Why not go back with them if you didn’t like it here?” Fluttershy asked, apparently having been paying attention to the conversation. “Was it because you’d miss Lullaby?”

“Nope. I did stay for Lulla, but because she needed me. She doesn’t have many friends, and I would never let her be lonely!” Pinkie said, lifting her hoof to hold her pendant. “Lulla is my best friend, and even if helping her can be scary sometimes, some friends are worth fighting the scary stuff for, right?”

Rarity nodded mutely, the earth pony’s words pulling her thoughts away from the conversation at hoof.

Pinkie stayed because Luna needed her, not the other way around. It reminded her of Twilight, in a way. Rarity herself didn’t need Twilight, did she? She could have gone the rest of her life without ever having met her, and Rarity’s life would have been… fine. But Twilight?

Twilight Sparkle, who once acted like a terrified animal that had been wounded too badly to ever trust again, and who now had started to open up, to call others “friends,” to… The image of Twilight smiling flashed in Rarity’s mind, and as she started playing with her necklace, words began to flow out of her mouth.

“I have a friend back home,” she started to say, still smiling at the memory of the giggling alicorn. “She’s rather similar to Lulla. She doesn’t have many friends and she’s…” She paused, idly batting the necklace back and forth. “She is a bit of a… recluse, so to speak, but I’m trying to help change that. Er, well, we are,” she added quickly after noticing Fluttershy.

“Really?!” Pinkie asked, leaning in on the table. “What’s she like? What’s her name?”

“Her name? Uh… Well, actually, I also have a nickname for her!” Rarity quickly replied, trying to come up with a nickname and fast. Quick, Rarity, something memorable from your first meeting… Uh… “Sturdy Bookcase!” It wasn’t until after she’d said it that she wanted to slap herself. Sturdy Bookcase? Really? Didn’t poor Twilight already feel guilty enough about that?

“Bookcase?” Pinkie asked. “I like it! She must love books like Princess Twilight! Is that why you chose that nickname?”

Or because she is Twilight…

“Er, I suppose, but it’s more because she’s rather reserved so she doesn’t like it when I tell ponies her real name,” she added, hoping the excuse didn’t sound as flimsy to Pinkie as it did to her.

“Oh my gosh, she’s just like Lulla!” Pinkie exclaimed, blowing raspberries and resting her chin on her hooves. “She’s so silly! I want to tell everypony about her, but she’s all ‘No, Pinkie, no one must know about us.’ Pfft.”

“Goodness, Twi— Bookcase is exactly the same!” Rarity replied, rolling her eyes. “Honestly, and there are so many entertaining stories about her, I could write at least two books.” She giggled and nudged Fluttershy with her elbow. “Like the movie projector, remember?”

It seemed she did, dropping her sewing needle to join Rarity’s giggling. “Oh yes, that was a lot of fun.”

“It was?!” Pinkie asked, eager to join in on the giggling. “Why? What happened?”

Rarity bit her lip.

It… probably wouldn’t hurt to tell this one little story about Twilight, would it? It was just like telling an anecdote from any other friend! Convinced by her own argument, and her intense desire to relive the highlights of the story, she cleared her throat and donned her best story-telling tone of voice.

“So, when you were a filly, did your teacher ever put on one of those documentaries on the roles of ponies in society?” she asked, trying not to let Fluttershy’s giggling get to her.

Pinkie nodded. “Uh-huh! We saw the one on pegasi and the weather! Except…” She grimaced. “They were super duper boring…”

Rarity nodded. “Oh yes, they were absolutely dreadful! Don’t know why they make ponies go through them!” she agreed before waving it off with her hoof. “But that isn’t the point! The point is that, as I mentioned before, my friend is a bit of a recluse, so she’d never even seen or imagined that something like a projector existed,” she explained, Fluttershy’s giggling finally getting to her. She turned to her friend and gestured for her to quiet down despite her own amused snorts. “Fluttershy, please, I’m trying to tell the story!”

“Sorry,” Fluttershy said, turning to her sewing and failing to hide her grin.

“One day, we asked the local schoolteacher if we could borrow her projector for a day, along with some of her films,” Rarity continued, “and we took it all the way to my friend’s library.”

Truthfully, lugging the projector all the way from the school into the forest and back had been quite the ordeal, but everypony’s enthusiasm had been a great motivator—Rarity herself delighted in watching Twilight’s overblown reactions to the most simple modern technology she was presented with.

“Library?” Pinkie asked, blinking three times. She bit her lip, apparently lost in thought, before shaking her head and then nodding. “Mm-hm… Then what?”

“So, once it was ready, we sat her down in front of it, started it up, and…” She drifted off, the suspense she was trying to create ruined by Fluttershy’s muffled laughing.

“…And?” Pinkie asked, looking back and forth between the two mares. “Did she like it? What did she say?”

“Nothing,” Rarity replied with a devilish smirk. “She said absolutely nothing at all, did she, Fluttershy?”

“Mm-hm,” Fluttershy said, smiling cryptically.

“Aw…” Pinkie’s face fell. “She didn’t like it?”

“Oh, not at all, darling. She absolutely loved it,” Rarity clarified, smiling brightly, still toying with her necklace. “It just took the poor dear around ten minutes to pick her jaw up off the floor in order to speak, is all.”

“That’s great!” Pinkie said, clapping happily. “So she really super duper liked it?!”

By this point, Rarity’s giggling had returned full force. “Oh, goodness, I think she must have watched the same documentary at least twenty times! And she kept pointing out the most mundane details as if they were the most fascinating facts on Earth! It was adorable.”

Pinkie bit her lip. “Lulla doesn’t know about movie projectors, either… Do you think she’d love them too?” she asked, ears flicking up. “Maybe when she— she’s not sick anymore, we could go visit you and your friend.”

“Oh, I think she’d like that very much,” Rarity replied. The look on Twilight’s face if one day Rarity arrived accompanied by Princess Luna… She looked down at her necklace and sighed. “I think that would make her very happy indeed.”

“Aww…”

Rarity looked up to find Pinkie giving her a rather endearing stare, like a foal faced with a little kitten. “Is something the matter?”

Pinkie quickly shook her head. “Nope! It’s just that I’m happy you have such nice friends, like Fluttershy and Bookcase!” she clarified, smiling cheerfully. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so excited! Ever! Even if we just met… once. You two must be very close!”

Rarity laughed. “Well, I don’t know if we’re that close yet,” she admitted, finally letting go of the necklace. Or, well, she didn’t know what Twilight really felt toward her, did she? At least she knew they were close enough for Twilight to consider them friends, but… “I hope we are. I like her very much, at least.”

It wasn’t a lie, but her latter statement got the most unusual response—from Fluttershy. Just as soon as Rarity had finished, the pegasus had let out the smallest of audible giggles—a teasing giggle, which she tried to mask by pretending to focus on the last few stitches of her butterfly. Rarity would have thought nothing of it, usually, but the fact that Fluttershy pointedly turned away with a slightly larger smile when Rarity turned to her, well…

It was Pinkie Pie who spoke first, though.

She looked back and forth between the two mares, eyes widening. “Ooooooh.”

Wait, Rarity hadn’t meant to imply that…

Pinkie raised her hooves to her mouth and, as if she were a filly with a colossal secret, whispered, “You like like her.”

Rarity blinked. “I… like like her?” She processed the sentence in her mind, and perhaps what pushed her into reacting wasn’t the statement itself, but rather that her first thought upon hearing it hadn’t been to deny it, but to consider it. “O-oh, no, wait!” she finally blurted out, definitely not nervous in any way. “It’s not like that at all! We’re just very close is all.”

Rarity’s excitement toward Twilight was purely out of fascination with the legend, not to mention her duty toward helping the princesses now that she was involved. It wasn’t because of any… ulterior motive like…

Her blush intensified, and she restrained herself from shooting her friend a flustered glare.

Where had Fluttershy even gotten such a ridiculous notion? And here Rarity thought she was the one who’d read too many romance novels. She couldn’t even imagine it. Twilight was a ghost, an ethereal being who just happened to be… rather cute when she was fascinated by… well, by most anything. She certainly wasn’t unpleasant to look at, either, and she was incredibly intelligent, and…

And she realized she was doing a very poor job at demonstrating why she didn’t have a crush on the alicorn.

Which she didn’t!

“Finished,” Fluttershy announced, putting down the sewing needle and allowing Rarity to inspect her hard work. Once she’d gotten her friend’s seal of approval, she put the cloak on and stepped back so as to allow Rarity and Pinkie Pie to admire her new cape.

“Ooooh! You look like you live here!” Pinkie exclaimed, as though putting on a black cloak was all it took to look like a Hollow Shades local.

Unfortunately, it seemed Rarity’s conversation with Pinkie Pie would have to be postponed. With Fluttershy’s cloak done, they didn’t have any more reason to linger inside the workshop.

The three mares made their way out of the shop and into the now empty streets of Hollow Shades.

“So, whatcha wanna do now?” Pinkie asked, still eager to continue with her impromptu job of official tour guide. “The shops are closed now, but we can go to the plaza again, or wander in the forest, or go ask Elder Moonshine if she can tell us spooky stories, or—”

“I think it might be best if we head to our hotel, darling,” Rarity interrupted, offering Pinkie a grateful smile. “You’ve been exceedingly hospitable to us, and we wouldn’t want to impose.”

Night had fallen several hours earlier, and Rarity knew they’d have to go to sleep soon unless they wanted to risk missing Professor Awe yet again. It was fortunate they’d already found a bed and breakfast to stay at.

“Aww… That means no super spooky sleepover?” Pinkie said, her mane deflating as did her spirits. “It’s ’cause you wanna see that mean professor, isn’t it?”

Rarity still didn’t understand what was so terrible about the professor. He had seemed pleasant enough in the article she’d read about him, but he must have done something notably awful if somepony as friendly as Pinkie Pie disliked him.

“Why don’t we meet up after our visit to the professor?” she suggested, eager to wipe the sad expression off her friend’s face. “Our train home won’t leave until tomorrow night, so if we finish up early, we’ll have most of the day for you to continue showing us around. What do you think, Fluttershy?” she asked, turning to her friend who nodded in reply.

“Oh yes, I’d like that,” Fluttershy said, smiling at Pinkie.

“Oh! Okay! We can do that!” Pinkie replied, her cheer returning instantly. “How about we meet up at noon tomorrow? Near Luna’s statue?”

“That sounds lovely,” Rarity said.

Now that they’d agreed on a date, Fluttershy and Rarity bid goodbye to Pinkie and trotted off, waving one last time at the pink mare still standing in the street and watching them go. Admittedly, Rarity’s questions about Princess Luna still burned in her mind, and she felt distressed about not knowing for absolute sure.

If she… If she gave Twilight false hope…

She let out a sigh and Fluttershy immediately nudged Rarity with a wing.

“Rarity?” she asked, concern for her friend evident on her face for what must have been the fifth time that night. Rarity decided she really should try and keep her act together, lest she end up making her friend nervous too.

“Sorry, dear. I was just lost in thought,” she said quickly, running a hoof through her mane. She couldn’t go back to Ponyville without knowing for sure whether Lullaby was Luna, and the only way to do so was to confront Pinkie Pie about it. She just wished she didn’t feel as though it was going to be a very… difficult conversation.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Fluttershy suggested, smiling kindly at her distraught friend.

Rarity mulled it over. Telling somepony of Pinkie’s situation and how terribly she’d been bullied wasn’t really a very… tactful thing to do, but it was the possibility of a princess having been found, and she would be confiding in Fluttershy, whom she knew to be one of—if not the—most trustworthy ponies she was friends with.

“Well…”

“It’s about Moonlight Lullaby, isn’t it?” Fluttershy asked, smiling meekly when Rarity’s surprised expression gave her an affirmative answer. “You seemed a bit too curious about her.”

“Ah…” Oh, enough already. She trusted Fluttershy with her life, and she needed to tell somepony or else it would haunt her for the rest of the night.

“Fluttershy, I have a suspicion about her,” she started, realizing how silly what she was going to suggest sounded. “Now, truthfully, it might sound somewhat… crazy, but—”

“Rarity, you say that as if we weren’t friends with a spirit trapped in a library,” Fluttershy interrupted, giggling when Rarity rolled her eyes playfully.

“All right, I get your point,” she said, laughing as well. She took a deep breath, collected her thoughts, and began, “You know how Elder Moonshine and I spoke in private earlier? Well…”

On the way to the hotel, Rarity told Fluttershy everything she knew about Pinkie and her mysterious friend. The pegasus listened quietly to how Pinkie had claimed as a filly that her friend was Princess Luna, to how she’d been bullied by the other foals, and to how Moonlight Lullaby became a nickname for the imaginary friend the entire town said she had.

By the time she’d finished her long story, they’d already reached the hotel, gone up to their room, and Rarity had finished taking off her makeup and other things. She may have gotten a little distracted complaining about how Twilight hadn’t allowed her to mention her existence, but when she sat down on her bed, she was ready to hear Fluttershy’s opinion.

“It just doesn’t make any sense,” Rarity said, stifling a yawn. “Why is she the only one who can see the princess? Are there any conditions to ‘seeing’ her? And when I asked, she said she had no idea where Princess Sele— Luna was. I’d feel inclined to assume she’s lying to protect the princess, but…”

“But…?”

“But if that were true, why would she then claim she ‘believes’ in Princess Luna?” Rarity replied, levitating a brush over and running it through her mane. “Why would she say she believes in her, yet not say where she is? Wouldn’t it help to have evidence of the princess’s existence?” She put the brush down and sighed. Unless Pinkie can’t show proof of Luna? If she says she saw her in her dreams… but then why wouldn’t the princess tell her where she is?

“Don’t worry, Rarity. We’ll understand more when we talk to Professor Awe tomorrow,” Fluttershy said, attempting to soothe the increasingly frustrated unicorn. “And you said you’d talk to Pinkie tomorrow about Princess Luna, didn’t you?”

“I have to, but I just wish… Things would be so much simpler if Twilight were here with us. Maybe she’d know… Well, I don’t know if she’d know if it was the princess, but I just… wish she were here.” Rarity toyed with her necklace, thoughts again drifting toward the alicorn. What was Twilight doing at that moment? Why was she so worried…? “Maybe we should go to bed. All this aimless speculation won’t get us anywhere.”

The two mares lay down on their respective beds, Rarity using her magic to flick the lights out. Unfortunately, sunk in the darkness, her mind started to wander toward its favorite subject whenever she had a brief moment of respite.

Twilight.

It was silly, wasn’t it? The first time, when she left for Canterlot, her only thought regarding Twilight while she was away had been to try and figure out what the story behind her was, but now it was different. Now her thoughts were not wholly consumed by the mystery surrounding the alicorn, but by the alicorn herself, and what she was doing, and how she was feeling.

What was she doing back home in the library? Rarity snorted at her own question. That had an obvious answer: Twilight was probably—no, definitely—reading a book, as she always was when Rarity barged in, announced or not. Except for that one time she’d found Twilight playing with Elara and Themis, and Rarity’s giggling had given away the fact that she was watching.

The memory alone made her feel giddy and she tried very hard to stifle the giggle bubbling up in her throat. She should have taken a picture of the moment instead of cooing at it from afar. Actually, no, she should have taken a picture of how mortified Twilight looked, caught being adorable with her owls. She rolled over again, biting down a large smile.

Goodness, Twilight is rather cute, isn’t she?

“Rarity?” Fluttershy yawned, turning around to look at her friend in the darkness. “Why are you laughing?”

Rarity felt her face grow hot. “O-oh! Sorry, darling, it’s nothing!” she quickly blurted out, clearing her throat and turning on her side to face Fluttershy. “I was only remembering something Twilight did some time ago.”

She was about to wish her friend a good night, but stopped herself the second she heard Fluttershy snort in the same way she earlier had earlier with Pinkie Pie.

“Fluttershy, Twilight is just a friend,” Rarity said, trying to sound stern despite the blush on her face and the hesitation she felt at her own claim. “I haven’t the faintest idea why you keep giggling like that when I mention her, but I’d like that to be clear.”

“I know, Rarity,” Fluttershy replied, stifling a yawn which Rarity was positive was a cover for another giggle. “I just think it’s nice you and Princess Twilight are so close. The princesses are lucky.”

“Lucky?”

Fluttershy sat up, rubbing her eyes. “Princess Luna is lucky to have such a good friend like Pinkie Pie, and Princess Twilight is lucky to have such a good friend like you,” she elaborated.

“Twilight has you too, darling. And Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo,” Rarity reminded her, even if she privately reveled in the fact that she’d been singled out. “You mustn’t diminish the part you’ve played here. You’re just as important as I am in helping her.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Oh, I know, and I’m very grateful for my friendship with Princess Twilight,” she replied, lying back down on her bed and stifling another yawn. “It’s just that she seems to like you very much, and I’m happy for her that you like her very much too.”

“Oh…” Rarity watched Fluttershy for a moment before lying back down. “You say that, but sometimes I wonder if the only thing she likes very much are her books,” she said jokingly, a smile spreading across her lips.

“Good night, Rarity.”

“Good night, Fluttershy,” Rarity said, rolling over, closing her eyes and letting her thoughts wander back to her friend’s claim.

Princess Twilight seems to like you very much…

She let her thoughts cling to that claim, a warmth spreading across her chest, and her blush remaining prominent. She thought about Twilight one last time, wondered what she was doing one last time, hoped she was still safe from the Spirit before allowing her nearly faded mind to ask one last question as it drifted off into sleep.

When did I start caring about that silly alicorn so much?

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters. Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act I ~ 11 ~ The Broken Star ~

“Princess Luna?”

“Yes, little one?”

“Are you scared of the Spirit?”

“Scared? There is not much more he can do to me now, is there?”

“He’s a big meanie for putting you… wherever you are!”

“Sometimes I fear I’d have become a more terrible creature if he’d not put me in here first.”

…Another busy day for Rarity, working away with her sewing machine inside Carousel Boutique. Ponyville could be awfully dull, but today at least she had three dresses to make that were keeping her occupied. Of course, she’d be far more focused if her dear little sister wasn’t interrupting her every five minutes to ask for help with her math homework, and chemistry homework, and dancing homework, and all kinds of other homework.

“Rarity, how would you kiss a ghost?”

Rarity stopped her sewing machine and turned to look at her sister, blinking behind her glasses. She wondered briefly if she had perhaps heard wrong, since that was certainly not a question one should have while reading a math book.

Taking off her glasses, she replied with the only thing she could say to such a bizarre question: “Pardon?”

Sweetie Belle looked up from her math book and, with all the honesty and bluntness of a filly, asked again, “How do you kiss a ghost?” She looked down at her book and tapped it with her pencil. “Wouldn’t it be weird? Like kissing air?” To further prove her point, she puckered her lips and, well, “kissed” the air in front of her.

Foals, Rarity thought, rolling her eyes and putting her glasses back on. Except… Except now the question was burned into her mind. How does one kiss a ghost? Could one kiss a ghost?

“Didn’t you have to go see Twilight?” Sweetie Belle asked, turning back to her math book and nonchalantly flipping the page.

Rarity blinked. “See Twilight?” she slowly repeated, remembering that she did, in fact, need to go see her friend. “Oh! Yes, of course!” She pulled the fabric from her sewing machine and took off her glasses. “It had completely slipped my mind.”

Sweetie Belle giggled. “That’s funny,” she said, smiling devilishly at her sister, as if she knew a very big secret of hers. “You’re always talking about her…”

Rarity shrugged, levitating her saddlebag from the nearby couch and putting it on. “Well, she’s my friend, darling. One is supposed to talk about one’s friends, don’t you think?” she asked, turning around and noticing Sweetie’s smile had only grown wider.

Sweetie narrowed her eyes and said in sing-song: “But you have a crus—”

“In any case,” Rarity interrupted abruptly, finding she didn’t want to hear the end of the sentence, “I have to go. Please do finish your homework, or else you know Mother and Father won’t let you come over anymore.”

“Okay,” Sweetie said, giggling again for good measure. “Have fun!”

Rarity trotted off toward the lobby, took her things, and finally left her boutique, pausing for a moment outside to breathe the fresh air. Would the library still be open to the public? It should only be a five-minute trot, and I know she should be waiting for me, she thought, opening her eyes and…

…and finding the oddest sight.

Further ahead, she saw a pony standing with their back to her, their entire body covered by a hooded cloak. Goodness, why would anypony want to wear such a thing? And in the blazing hot sun, no less? The pony took a step forward, and to Rarity’s shock, the lower bottom of the cloak hitched up and revealed their elegantly curled, purple tail.

That’s… That’s my style! she thought, indignant at the discovery someone had the gall to not only imitate the way she curled her tail, but the color of it, too! If they were going to steal her sense of style, they could at least flaunt it rather than hide it under that ill-fitting cloak.

Before she could say as much, the pony ran off.

“Wait!” she called out, giving chase. Something about them compelled her to follow—and it wasn’t their fabulous tail.

She turned a corner and was dismayed to find she’d completely lost track of them. Fortunately, she noticed Sugarcube Corner in the distance. Maybe they’d run off in there? She trotted toward the establishment, but just as she reached the entrance, she noticed a book lying on the ground. Curious, she picked it up and flipped it open. Every single page was blank, as was the cover.

Odd…

She closed the book and then pushed open the doors to the establishment. The place was unusually empty, devoid of the hungry ponies that always seemed to be milling around, which made it easier for Rarity to look for her copycat. She saw Fluttershy sitting by the counter, waving at her, as well as the owner, but when Rarity looked for her target, it was just as she’d feared: the pony had gone somewhere else.

“Hiya, Rarity!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, jumping up from behind the counter right next to Missus Cake. “What brings you here?”

“Food, I hope! Why don’t you take her order, Pinkie?” Missus Cake suggested, stepping away and trotting toward the kitchen door. “I need to finish cleaning the kitchen.”

“Okie-dokie-lokie!” Pinkie called, waiting for the mare to exit the room before turning back to Rarity. “So, whatcha want? We have cupcakes, or cakes, or cakes shaped like cupcakes, or cupcakes shaped like cake or— Wait, those are the same.” She paused and gasped, slamming her hoof against the counter. “Oh! You should get today’s special! The Lullaby Moonshake!”

“No, that’s all right, darling. I’m not very hungry,” Rarity said, turning back to look at the rest of the patrons.

“What’s that, Rarity?” Fluttershy asked, eyeing the book floating alongside Rarity. “Did you borrow a book from the library?”

“Hmm? Oh! No, I found it just outside here. I suspect somepony must have misplaced it,” she replied, giving the book to Fluttershy for her to inspect. “It’s blank, I’m afraid. I’ll take it to the library later. I’m sure Twilight will find some use for it.”

“I’ve never met her,” Pinkie said, turning toward the counter along the wall and assembling the ingredients for a milkshake. “She’s always cooped up in her library! It’s like she lives there!”

“She does live there, darling,” Rarity said with a giggle. “But I actually came here looking for somepony… Did you see somepony in a cloak come in just now?”

“Hmm…” Pinkie turned around, furrowing her brow and tapping a spoon against her cheek, leaving ice-cream marks on it in the process. “Nope! I don’t remember any mare with the same tail as you coming here! Sorry, Rarity!”

Rarity sighed. “No matter. I didn’t think you— Wait, how did you know she had the same tail as me?”

“There’s something missing.”

“Huh?” Rarity turned toward Fluttershy. She noticed her friend looking terribly concerned, the book opened to the first page in front of her. “Whatever do you mean, darling? I told you it was blank when I found it.”

“There’s something missing,” Fluttershy repeated, carefully brushing her hoof against the page.

“Fluttershy, what are you talking about?” Rarity asked, lifting the book and taking a closer look. How could there be anything missing when there hadn’t even been anything there to begin with?

“Rarity, there’s something missing,” Fluttershy repeated a third time, crossing her forehooves on the table and looking at the unicorn with a worried expression. “Can’t you tell?”

Rarity furrowed her brow, bringing the book closer to her face. “I…” She stared at it for a moment, and she was overcome by the impression that there was something missing. “You know, I think I should go see Twilight now.” She stashed the book in her saddlebag and trotted off, belatedly waving to her friends. “Goodbye!”

It took her what felt like no time at all to reach her destination, though that might have been because her mind was otherwise preoccupied with the unshakeable feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

Twilight’s Library, a great old oak tree, stood proudly in the middle of Ponyville, a symbol of the town’s love of knowledge. Rarity had seen the thing many times before, not surprising given that she’d befriended its librarian, but even the library seemed out of place for some reason.

Forcing the feeling away, Rarity knocked on the door before opening it and going inside. “Twilight?” she called out, closing the door behind her. “It’s Rarity!”

There was no reply.

She called out again to no avail. They had agreed on meeting up, and though the books strewn around meant Twilight had been there, Rarity found only silence greeting her. Twilight would have usually already come out or at least made some sound alerting Rarity to her presence, but… Maybe she’s in her study? If she was reading a new book or something of the sort, it made sense that she’d been far too entranced by it to hear Rarity calling.

“Twilight? Are you in here?” she called, opening the study door but finding it empty, too.

She stepped inside and noticed a lone piece of parchment on the otherwise perfectly uncluttered desk, but just as she got within a few steps of it, she heard a loud sound from back in the other room. She spun and returned, just in time to see the hooded pony opening the door to leave.

“Wait!” Rarity called, inadvertently making the pony rush out. She ran after them, but when she reached the door and stepped outside, the pony was again nowhere to be seen. “What’s going on?” she muttered, heart beating loudly in her chest. And where’s Twilight?

She went back inside the library and, to her surprise, something was different. An object was sitting right in the center of the room, and when Rarity lifted it up to inspect it, she realized it was a gold tiara with a magenta gem, cut in the shape of… Twilight’s cutie mark?

“When did Twili— Eek!”

Rarity’s sentence came to an abrupt end when, for no apparent reason, a crack appeared in the middle of the star and began to spread in every direction. She dropped the tiara and took a step back, watching the gem shatter. Once the tiara looked as if it would break no further, she carefully levitated back it up to examine it again.

“What in Equestria is going on?” she whispered, turning the tiara around and finding the words Princess Twilight Sparkle engraved on the back. “Princess Twilight Spar…

…rity, don’t play with your tiara like that!”

Rarity blinked, thrown off for a moment. “…Huh?” she asked, turning her gaze from the tiara to look at Fluttershy and realizing she was in the middle of a ballroom. She looked back at the tiara and found the words “Queen Rarity” inscribed on it, just as they always had been. “I… I’m sorry, darling, it seems I must have…” She shook her head and put her crown back on, the only jewelry fitting for a queen of her stature.

Rarity, Queen of Unicornia, wisest ruler of the lands that spread between heaven and earth, and widely regarded as the most beautiful unicorn of all time. She ruled with intelligence and grace, and there was not a single pony in her court who would deny her anything.

After single-hoofedly brokering a peace deal between her country of Unicornia and the griffons, who had offered only minor resistance to her charms, Queen Rarity finally had all she needed to unify the world under her rule and put an end to war, forever.

As such, she had thrown a great—no, magnificent—no, grandiose—gala to celebrate the momentous event. Noble ponies of all trots of life had come to attend the event, each offering the beautiful queen as many presents as could fill an entire spare ballroom.

“Oh, Rarity, this is wonderful!” Princess Fluttershy exclaimed, trotting next to Rarity past the dozens of dancing couples, most of whom stopped to greet their beautiful Queen.

“Isn’t it?” Rarity asked, repressing a giggle. Queens did not indulge in childish actions such as giggling, but she was in awe of how splendidly everything was going. It certainly helped that the beautiful music suffusing the air was played by Unicornia’s most famous pianist.

“Your Majesty!”

Rarity and Fluttershy turned around to find the royal advisor, Moonshine, rushing toward them, looking absolutely excited. Of course she was; the entire kingdom was rejoicing thanks to Rarity’s brilliant tactics, if she did say so herself.

“Ah! My dearest advisor!” Rarity greeted her with a dazzling smile. “Come to enjoy the festivities, have we? Tell me, has any stallion asked for your hoof in a dance yet?” she added with a wink.

Advisor Moonshine rolled her eyes. “Oh, Your Majesty, I am far too old for the likes of that,” she said, earning a giggle from the two younger mares. “But I bring great—nay, wonderful—news! After hearing about your dealings with the Griffon Kingdom, the Pegasi and Earth Kingdoms have asked, nay, begged to become client states subordinate to Unicornia!”

“Really? Heavens, that is wonderful!” Rarity exclaimed, taking a pause long enough so the entire room could cheer. She giggled and waved it off. “Hush, hush! There’s no need for that! I am merely doing my duty!” And very well indeed, it seemed!

Once the crowd had quieted down, Rarity and Fluttershy continued on their path, specifically toward the table with all the appetizers, managed by the kingdom’s top baker. The table, which stretched from one side of the room to the other, was filled with all kinds of delicious pastries, each more delicious and mouth-watering than the last.

“Hiya!” the baker greeted them, standing behind the table with a grin.

“Oh, hello, Pinkie Pie!” Rarity greeted back, taking in her hoof an absolutely scrumptious looking piece of deluxe banana cake, covered with chocolate ganache and ten small pistachio macaroons. “Everything looks absolutely delicious!”

“Oh yes,” Fluttershy agreed, taking a piece of carrot cake. “Did you make these all yourself?”

“Nope! My friend Lulla helped me, but she’s sick and couldn’t come to the party,” Pinkie explained, her cheery smile fading just a little.

Rarity finished eating her delicious carrot cake with vanilla frosting before glancing to either side conspiratorially. “So! Pinkie, darling, do tell. What’s the latest castle gossip?” she asked, taking a lavender cupcake topped with lemon buttercream and a candied mint leaf. “I never have the slightest idea as to what’s happening in my own castle!”

“Weeeeeeeell…” Pinkie narrowed her eyes, making sure nopony was listening, before answering, “You know the new librarian?”

Rarity furrowed her brow. “New librarian?”

Odd. She didn’t remember hiring a librarian.

Pinkie nodded. “Yep, her! Well… Apparently she’s super mysterious. They say ponies go into her library, and she appears behind them out of nowhere! Kinda like…” She lowered her voice. “A ghost!”

Fluttershy giggled. “Well, librarians are supposed to be quiet, aren’t they?”

“Not if it means they’re gonna be scary!” Pinkie protested. She then shook her head. “But that’s not the real gossip, sillies! A lot of the castle guards have been going to the library to see her, and apparently she’s suuuuper serious!” she continued, putting on her most serious face. “And all the guards are competing to see who can make her smile first ’cause they think she’s kinda cute!”

“Hm. Shame. They should be competing to make me smile,” Rarity said with a huff, finding herself more annoyed by the idea than a Queen should be. Though, oddly enough, she wasn’t upset with the librarian, but with the guards. And really, it wasn’t the fact that the guards weren’t trying to win her affections that bothered her the most, but rather that they were apparently flirting with… this librarian that was obviously important to her, even if she couldn’t remember what the mare was called.

Why did she care?

“Oh, I’ve heard so much about her,” Fluttershy said, taking her chance at another piece of mint cake. “She’s a bit of a legend, isn’t she?”

Rarity furrowed her brow, more and more interested by this librarian. If everypony thought her so charming, then it stood to reason that, as Queen, Rarity should meet her, didn’t it? She’d simply have to go to the library right away.

“Oh, Rarity, where are you going? We still have so much to do!” Fluttershy exclaimed as Rarity turned to leave, watching her friend trot off into the crowd. “Don’t you want more vanilla cake?”

Determined to meet the infamous librarian, Rarity trotted through the ballroom doors and… into the library, just like that. It had taken no time at all, really, not that she’d noticed since she was too busy wondering why the place was not only completely empty, but completely dark, too.

Some library! She would have expected it to be filled with ponies, especially since she had assumed her kingdom was academically inclined, but alas.

“Hello?” she called out, lighting her horn up to have at least some light to accompany her in the dreary room.

She made her way through the rows of bookcases, and realized that there wasn’t a single book in any one of them. What’s going on here? she thought, once more calling out but receiving no reply. She remembered what Pinkie had said about the librarian creeping up on ponies, and a chill ran down the unicorn’s spine. It didn’t help that she felt like she was being watched, either.

If this was somepony’s idea of a joke… Well, she just hoped they liked her idea of having them spend a night in the dungeons.

She heard a cracking sound and realized she’d stepped on something. She lowered her horn, illuminating the floor, and pulled her hoof back to see that she’d stepped on—and broken—what used to be… a magenta star pendant?

Why in Equestria would anypony ever leave such a splendid thing lying on the floor? She decided to take it, hoping it might still be repairable.

She made her way back to the entrance of the library, and to make matters more concerning, something had changed. A lone book was sitting in the middle of the floor, and looking around, whoever had set it there seemed to be long gone.

Rarity levitated the book to her. Strange, she thought, inspecting the cover, there’s no title or author. She opened it to the first page, hoping to find more information, but just like the cover, it was blank. Why… Why do I feel…She closed the book and opened it again, almost as if expecting something to have suddenly appeared, but—

“There’s something missing.”

Rarity turned around, uttering an eep! and taking a few steps back as she found herself facing an elderly, cloaked stallion sitting several feet away. The lack of a hood allowed her to take a good look at him, and he seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t place his visage.

“Is this book yours?” she asked, gulping when he smiled. “Wh-who are you?”

“I brought it for you. I bring books to those who seek them. It is what you seek, isn’t it?” he replied, before looking around the library. “There’s something missing.”

Rarity took another step back. “What I seek? I’m afraid you have the wrong pony. I do not seek”—she opened the book and flipped its pages, finding them all to be blank—“empty books.” She cleared her throat and repeated her question: “Who are you?”

“I don’t think you’ll find them,” the Book Bringer said, his already eerie smile only growing. “At least, not before he gets to her.”

He…?

“There’s something missing,” he repeated a third time, eyeing the book she’d picked up. “Can’t you tell?”

“I…” Rarity looked at the book, again opening it to the front page. There was something missing, but what? “I… A name, I think? I don’t know.” She looked back at him with a scowl. “There’s a lot of things missing from this library, including the books and the librarian!”

“The librarian? Oh, yes,” the Book Bringer said, scratching his beard and looking around. “She’s what’s missing, isn’t she? The poor dear.”

“Th-the poor dear?” Rarity asked, the blood draining from her face. “What do you mean by that?!” she demanded, taking a step toward him. “What… What have you done to her?!”

The stallion raised an eyebrow, placing his hoof over his chest. “Me?” he asked, clearly offended. His offense was short-lived, however, and his smile returned. “Why don’t you ask her?” he suggested, looking at something—or somepony—beyond Rarity.

Rarity turned around and found another pony sitting a few feet away from her. Like the stallion, she was also wearing a cloak, but a long hood covered her head. It failed to disguise the fabulous purple mane, and didn’t work on the solitary yellow eye that pierced Rarity’s heart with its cold maniacal glee.

“That poor librarian.” The stallion’s voice drifted from behind the paralyzed Rarity, sending chills down her spine, who could in turn only stare in fear at the mare before her. “Tell me, is she worth risking yourself over? Is she worth risking your friends over?”

My friends…?

“Or perhaps, are you worth risking the princess’s own life over?” The Book Bringer laughed and shook his head. “I wonder how long it will take you to regret following your sister into the Everfree Forest.”

Princess…? Everfree Forest…?

It was enough to snap Rarity out of her momentary stupor. She whirled on the spot to face the stallion once more and stepped forward with a glare that could melt ice. “If you think that I’ll let myself be threatened, then I fear you’re sorely mistaken. Speak up! Who is this ‘princess’?! What does this have to do with my friends?”

The stallion merely smiled and tipped his hat to her before getting up. “I’m afraid you’ll have to figure that out for yourself, Queen Rarity.” He bowed toward her and headed for the entrance to the library. “Have a pleasant Seeking Night.”

Oh no, you don’t.

“Stop right there! I’m not done with you yet!” Rarity growled when the stallion didn’t stop, starting after him. He didn’t move very fast and so she easily caught up, reaching out to stop him with a hoof. “I want to know…

…what you mean by…” Rarity blinked, finding herself inside Ponyville’s town hall, standing behind a pair of red curtains. Her hoof hovered close to them, right next to the excited Mayor Mare, who was dressed in a Princess Cadance costume.

The unicorn turned to the older mare. “Wh… What?”

“Ohhh, Rarity! You must be very excited!” Mayor Mare exclaimed, adjusting her pink wig and turning to face Rarity. “You’ve done such a wonderful job taking charge of Seeking Night! It might be the best one we’ve ever had!”

“O-oh, of course!” Rarity quickly said, offering a dazzling—if confused—smile. She cleared her throat and shook her head, the already vague impression of having been somewhere else moments ago vanishing completely.

Mayor Mare turned toward the curtains, peeking out and giggling. “Are the ‘princesses’ all in their places?”

Rarity nodded. “Yes. Princess Selene is near my boutique, Princess Sunny is near the eastern plaza, and Princess Booky is in her library,” she said, ticking off each position as she spoke. It was only belatedly that she realized her mistake. “Wait, no, not library! Near the marketplace.”

“Very well, then. If everypony is in place, I’ll start the event! Why don’t you go enjoy the festivities? You’ve earned it!”

“Yes! I’ll go check up on the stands outside, then…”

Rarity left the town hall through the back door and proceeded to make her way toward the plethora of food stands in the distance, barely cognizant of the screams of foals as Mayor Mare emerged from behind the curtains. What’s wrong with me tonight? she thought, rubbing a hoof against her forehead. Come now, Rarity, it’s not like you to be so nervous.

Rarity allowed her thoughts to wander, her senses lost amidst the wonderful smells coming from the stands. Maybe a few delicious snacks would help clear her mind, and then she could properly participate in the evening’s festivities.

“Rarity!”

Rarity turned around and saw Pinkie Pie flagging her down from her stand.

“Oh, hello, Pinkie Pie!” she greeted her friend upon reaching the stand, smiling widely. “Mmm! This all looks scrumptious, darling!”

“Thanks!” Pinkie Pie grinned, looking down at the counter. Dozens of dark blue cupcakes were lined up, each one carefully decorated with a crescent moon-shaped piece of fondant and countless sprinkles. “They’re suuuper good, I promise!”

“I don’t doubt it!” Rarity replied. They certainly looked so, and she couldn’t wait to try one.

“Why don’t you have one?” Pinkie replied, reaching beneath the counter and retrieving a plate with a lone cupcake on it.

Rarity took the plate and admired the cupcake. Unlike the others, this particular cupcake was lavender colored, and a magenta star made of fondant had been carefully placed on top of it. Something about it lessened the stress she’d been feeling and brought a smile to her lips. How pretty, she thought, finding she wasn’t so keen on taking a bite and ruining the design.

“Pinkie Pie, this is ve— oof!” Her praise was cut short when something—or somepony—slammed into her, causing her to drop the cupcake in the process. “Oh no!” she exclaimed, disheartened to see the fondant star broken to pieces. She turned around to find the guilty party, and came face to face with two fillies.

“Hi, Rarity!” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle called.

“Uh, sorry about your cupcake,” Scootaloo added, glancing toward the crumbled cupcake on the floor.

Rarity sighed. “No matter, I’ll just get another one…” She looked back down at the star, and again a feeling of uneasiness made its way through her body.

“Did you two find lots of Elements?” Pinkie asked the fillies.

“Nope, we’re gonna find something even cooler!” Scootaloo replied. “We’re gonna go into the Everfree Forest to find Princess Booky!”

“Princess Booky?” Rarity slowly asked, thereafter snorting in a very unladylike way. She started to pick up the smashed pieces of the cupcake. “You both know Princess Booky isn’t real, and I know the two of you are smarter than to wander into the Everfree Forest alone.”

“We’re not going alone!” Sweetie protested, stamping her hoof against the ground. She pointed toward a nearby tree and said, “They’re taking us!”

“They?” Rarity looked toward the tree, and rather than finding two… somethings as she’d expected, she found a single black and white owl perched on a branch, blinking back at the four ponies.

The owl wasn’t all that interesting except for its peculiar coloring. She’d seen white owls, and she’d seen black owls, but the coloring on this one was a variety she’d certainly never seen before. It was as if someone had drawn a line down the middle of the owl, then painted one side completely black and the other completely white.

“Oooh, I want to go too!” Pinkie exclaimed, turning to the owl and waving at it. “Can I?!”

Rather than replying, the owl merely flew off toward the distant forest, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle rushing after it. With a call to wait for her, Pinkie was the next to follow, hopping away toward the Everfree Forest.

“W-wait, girls! It’s dangerous in there!” Rarity called, having no other choice but to rush after her friends and the owl. “Sweetie Belle!”

She called out several more times, but none of them paid attention to her, or even listened at all. She supposed she couldn’t really do anything about Pinkie Pie, but she’d have expected Sweetie Belle to at least turn around and acknowledge her—even if the filly had no intention of obeying.

After she’d entered the forest and run some distance, Rarity stopped and realized she had lost track of the others. The tall trees surrounded her, trapping her in a darkness so thick she felt like it was part of a nightmare.

“Girls?” she called out, worried to the point of nausea over her sister and friends. If something happened to them… If they were attacked by a timberwolf, or worse… Rarity would never forgive herself. “Scootaloo?! Pinkie Pie?!” She kept trotting in the same direction she hoped they went, and ended up tripping over a rock and falling on her face. She stood back up, rubbing her aching snout, and called out, “This isn’t funny!”

“We should go home, Rarity,” a voice said. When she turned around, she found Fluttershy behind her. The pegasus was looking out into the distance, her wings folded against her sides as she chewed on a strand of her mane. “Maybe the girls went back to Ponyville?”

“Ba… Back to Ponyville?” Rarity asked, taking a step toward the pegasus who… had always been there, hadn’t she? Whereas her best friend’s presence had always comforted her in the past, it now only added to Rarity’s growing distress. “I… Maybe…” She pressed her hoof against her forehead and closed her eyes, counting to ten and drawing in a deep breath.

“Is everything all right?” Fluttershy asked, turning toward Rarity. “I’m sure we’ll find them.”

“I know, darling, I know. I just…” Rarity drifted off, and looked away. This forest is just giving me the creeps… She started to trot again, gesturing for her friend to follow. “Come on, hopefully they’re somewhere nearby.”

Fluttershy nodded and followed after her.

As she trotted, Rarity had the impression that she knew where she was going, except she had no idea what “where” was. She didn’t know where her sister and Scootaloo were, but she knew that the path she was going on would lead her somewhere. It was almost as if something was calling to her, drawing her deeper into the forest.

“Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo! Pinkie Pie!” Rarity called as loudly as she possibly could, only belatedly having the impression of… having forgotten to call somepony.

“Not so loud!” Fluttershy whispered, catching up with Rarity and gesturing for her to quiet down. “A timberwolf might find us, and we won’t have anypony to help us…”

“Fluttershy, darling, if I don’t call their names, how do you expect them to hear us? Do you want us to just wander around aimlessly?” Rarity scolded, even if she privately held the same fear as her friend. She cleared her throat and called out Sweetie Belle’s name, a little quieter if only for the sake of her already cracked nerves.

And then she saw it.

A large oak tree, covered with vines and foliage, sitting right in the middle of a large circular depression. It was odd, but for some reason, Rarity knew that more than her sister and the others, this tree was what she’d been looking for. Looking at it, she was immediately flooded with… relief? Almost as if she’d reached a safe haven in the middle of the terrible forest she was lost in.

“Wh-where are you going?”

“I’m going to take a closer look, of course,” Rarity said, jumping down into the hole and trotting toward the tree. There was something odd about it, and she felt compelled to investigate.

As she got closer, the comfort the tree had previously afforded her began to wane. She realized she was sure something was wrong, even despite the fact that she had never seen the tree before. She looked up at it and found the bark was perfectly intact, with no holes or anything of the sort. Shouldn’t there be a window there…? No… No, of course not, why would there be a window in a tree?

And yet still the clawing, nagging, burning feeling that something was wrong remained—and, more than that, kept growing and growing. She inspected the tree at eye level and then, without a care for the mud and dirt on the bark, started to clean it off, looking for… something, because something was missing.

When she found nothing, she looked down at the ground and started searching for a… a trapdoor. Because she was sure there should be one, but the more dirt she kicked away, the more leaves she moved, the more she came to realize that there wasn’t, and the more terrified she felt.

She stepped away from the tree, frightened. What’s wrong with me? Why do I feel this way? Why did she feel like somepony was in terrible danger, even though she was sure it wasn’t Sweetie, nor Scootaloo, nor Pinkie Pie? Why did this place feel so familiar yet so horribly wrong?

“Fluttershy? Wasn’t there a trapdoor?” Rarity called, turning away from the tree. She found Fluttershy had left her spot, and looked around for her friend. “Fluttershy…?”

To Rarity’s horror, Fluttershy was gone without a word or sound. If the unicorn had been scared before, now she was absolutely terrified. She gulped in fear and took a step toward the edge of the depression. “Fluttershy? This isn’t funny, and I can’t believe that you of all ponies would think it is!” she said accusingly. “Fluttershy!”

She trotted away from the tree, but quickly stopped when her hoof landed on something hard and sturdy. She levitated the offending object up off the ground: a book.

A book?

What was it doing there?

The cover was devoid of title or author, and when she opened it up, she found every page was completely blank. Rarity flipped the pages back and lingered on the first page, feeling that, much like with the tree, something was missing from the book.

“Hoo!”

Rarity looked up and turned to the tree, hoping to see the owl from before. Instead, she found two owls—a white one and a black one—each perched on a branch on either side of the tree. She took a step toward them, drawn by their familiarity, but at that moment she heard a scream in the distance.

She turned toward it, and the two owls immediately sped off in that very same direction. Rarity dashed after them, the book floating behind her and her heart frantically thumping in her chest.

The leaves crackled beneath Rarity’s hooves as she galloped over them, her entire being now focused on finding the source of the familiar scream. Except… it hadn’t been Sweetie Belle or Scootaloo, nor Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy. She couldn’t place whom the scream belonged to, but she knew they were related to all the missing things from the tree, and to the sense of dread she’d felt building for hours. Puzzle pieces were missing, preventing her from understanding what exactly was wrong.

She came to a halt at a most peculiar but, like everything else, strangely familiar sight.

A small, dilapidated house stood in the middle of the forest, forgotten by ponies but not by time. She gave it a quick look-over, noticing the broken door and the tree growing up through the middle of the roof. Her eyes stopped when she reached the large, cracked window, and she felt for a moment as if her heart had stopped too.

There, on the other side of the window, a hooded pony looked at her. Rarity stood there, transfixed both by dread and fascination, trapped between the fear of staying there and the fear of never finding out what she was missing. She fell back and let out a muted scream when the hooded pony quite literally stepped right through the wall and stopped in front of her.

“You… What are you?” she asked when she somehow found the courage to do so. She took another step back but, despite her desire to run away, managed to stand her ground and grit her teeth at the pony. “What do you want with me?”

The pony did not answer, instead lifting their hoof toward the book floating above Rarity.

Rarity eyed them warily, lowering the book. “It’s blank,” she explained with frustration, taking another step back from the pony. “See for yourself.” She flipped the book open to show the pony as much, but froze when she saw a single sentence on the first page.

Property of Twilight Sparkle

“Twilight…”

In that moment, Rarity finally pieced together what the absent puzzle pieces were pointing to.

She looked up at the hooded pony, understanding as well just who they were, and why they instilled in Rarity a dread and fear unlike any other she’d ever felt. “It’s you,” she whispered, both awed and intimidated by the creature and her knowledge of its power. Yet there was another new feeling that arose within her: a feeling that completely overrode her fears and trepidations when she finally realized who had screamed.

Hatred.

Hatred at the knowledge of what it’d done. Hatred at the knowledge that it was after her and those she loved. Hatred when Rarity whispered Twilight’s name and the Spirit laughed in reply. Hatred when Rarity recognized the laugh, if only because it was the one voice that would follow her wherever she went.

Her own.

“What did you do to her?” Rarity calmly asked, the hatred blazing inside her urging her to step forward. The Spirit only laughed, prompting Rarity to grit her teeth and continue: “Where is she?”

“The princess?” the Spirit asked joyfully, taking off the hood. Rarity gazed into a face she saw in the mirror each day, save for the burning yellow eyes that marked the only difference between her and it. “Oh, I’m dreadfully sorry, darling,” the Spirit said, running a hoof through her purple mane and sending chills down Rarity’s spine. “I fear that—” She giggled and smiled innocently. “Your beloved princess is permanently indisposed.”

Rarity didn’t bother to stay.

She didn’t bother to hurl some choice words at the Spirit, or even to throw the book in her face like she wanted—since, after all, it was a vicious crime that her image was being used by such a vile, loathsome creature. Instead, she acted on what really concerned her and galloped away back toward the oak tree.

She could hear the Spirit’s laugh echoing in the distance, flooding her mind with terrible images of Twilight in all sorts of horrific situations: Trapped under a destroyed library… Deprived of her magic on top of her body… Trapped there completely alone forever… She repelled each one as best she could, reminding herself over and over that Twilight would never let herself fall victim to the horrors of the Spirit ever again.

…Would she?

She finally saw the oak tree in the distance and galloped as fast as she could. She jumped down into the pit, rushed to the base of the tree and flung open the now-present trapdoor, heart beating thunderously in her chest. She rushed down the stairs and into the tunnel, hoping the fact that the library lights were turned off didn’t mean what she suspected.

“Twilight!” she called out desperately, rushing past the entrance. “Twi—! …li…ght…?” She drifted off, her quick pace coming to a halt as she found herself standing not in the foyer of the library, but of Carousel Boutique.

“What in Equestria…”

She heard a door slam behind her, loudly and threateningly, caging her in her own home. She turned around and her confusion quickly became anger when she saw her doppelgänger standing in front of the door, a detestably smug smile on her face.

“Welcome to Carousel Boutique!” the Spirit said in a sing-song voice, fluttering her eyelashes at Rarity while gesturing around the room as though it were truly her own. “Where everything is chic, unique, and horrifique! Oh, wait, no, that’s not it… It’s magnifique.” She put her hoof against her cheek and hummed thoughtfully. “Tsk, tsk, that’s a rather bold claim for you to make, isn’t it? Then again, false advertising is so dreadfully common amongst mediocre designers these days.”

Every word, every syllable that slithered from her mouth repulsed Rarity, disgusted her and made seething hatred poison her every thought, every breath, every move.

“Oh, you know what they say: we’re always our own worst critics,” Rarity hissed, taking a step toward the Spirit. “Where is she?” she asked, for once scarcely interested in discussing her own fashion designs. “I’m warning you, if you’ve done something to her…”

The Spirit rolled her eyes, mocking the unicorn with her every gesture. “Now, now, there’s no need for threats. Your precious princess is perfectly fine,” she said, waving her off with a hoof and yawning as though Rarity were a terribly boring adversary unworthy of her time. “Though…” She put her hoof back on her cheek and bit her lip with a concerned expression. “She won’t be for much longer, thanks to you, Rarity.”

“How dare you,” Rarity spat, blue eyes narrowing and burying themselves like daggers in the yellow ones before her. If only looks could kill. “I would never harm Twilight.”

“Oh, of course not! Not on purpose anyway,” the Spirit said patronizingly, staring down Rarity’s loathing with unrepentant condescension. She began to circle the unicorn, and left behind a perfect identical illusion of herself with every step she took, until Rarity felt like she was trapped in a room full of mirrors reflecting twisted versions of herself.

“You wanted to be the hero!” one of the illusions continued, all of them resuming their perfectly circular walk around the unicorn. Rarity could no longer tell which was the real Spirit, and so she focused on the one that spoke. “Thought you would be the one to save them all, didn’t you? Poor little Rarity, wanting so desperately to rescue the princesses and win Prince Charming’s heart. Oh, wait. There is no Prince Charming here! It’s Princess Charming!” She came to a stop and so the others followed suit. “My, my, what a delicious twist!” As soon as she’d finished speaking, the room filled with mocking giggles, enough to make Rarity sicker than she already felt.

“‘Oh, yes, Princess! I can save you! It’ll be so easy!’” another illusion imitated, flipping her mane and sighing theatrically. “Psh. Don’t make me laugh,” she sneered, turning away from Rarity and starting the circular walking anew. “What, you really thought you’d find the books so easily? That they’d fall into your hooves, no consequences, no threats, just a slightly more elaborate version of the Seeking Night Treasure Hunt?”

“Well, now you’re going to learn, darling,” another one began, and once more they all came to a halt, now looking more threatening and imposing than ever, simultaneously tilting their heads to the side, “what happens when little fillies play at being a hero.”

That did it.

In the back of her mind, Rarity knew she had no hope of defeating the Spirit, yet it wasn’t enough to stop her from trying. She lunged at the one who’d threatened her, set on inflicting any kind of damage, but instead went right through the illusion. Enraged, she turned around with the futile intent of trying again, but found all the illusions staring back at her, their mouths twisted into broad smiles, as if Rarity were a plaything for their amusement.

“You honestly think you can defeat me?” one of the illusions asked, all of them taking a step toward Rarity, forcing her to take one back. A bright yellow aura surrounded their horns, and their current leader took yet another step toward Rarity. “You really aren’t very smart at all, are you, Rare-it-ee?”

Before she could react, the illusions levitated her into the air, encased in their magic. She found she could barely breathe. In one swift motion, they hurled Rarity against a nearby bookcase, her body smashing against it with a heavy thud. She fell to the floor, tears filling her eyes as jolts of excruciating pain filled the rest of her body. She scrunched her eyes together, biting down on her lip in an attempt to stop the cries of pain that would only concede defeat to the Spirit.

“Ra-Rarity?! What’s going on?”

It felt like time came to a standstill.

She knew Twilight couldn’t be there even if that was her voice she’d just heard; she knew the alicorn was trapped in a library, and that no matter how desperately she wished it, Twilight simply couldn’t be there. And yet, just by hearing her voice, Rarity was clouded by an irrational hope that somehow, someway, she’d turn around to see her. And so she opened her eyes and painfully forced herself to look up—and her expression fell with her heart and the tears in her eyes as she found herself confronted not with Twilight Sparkle, but her forsaken doppelgänger staring her down with an almost maniacal grin.

“You poor thing,” the Spirit said, every word dripping with insincerity and false concern. “You really thought she was here, didn’t you? Did you wish your friend had somehow come to rescue you?” She giggled and tilted her head. “Oh, I almost pity you.”

It took Rarity a great deal of effort to stand up, biting down on her lip hard enough to draw blood with every agonizing jolt of pain. “How… How dare…” She cut herself off, gasping in pain and falling to the floor, gritting her teeth in frustration and agony. She heard the Spirit laugh at her, and once again forced her body up.

The Spirit looked impressed, stepping back with a smile. “Well, you certainly are determined, I’ll give you that.” She sighed and turned around, opening the front door with her magic and then yawning loudly for Rarity to hear. “But I’m growing dreadfully bored of you. I have somepony to take care of, and you have a floor to collapse on.”

Rarity knew trying to attack the Spirit again would be foolish, but she refused to let her get her way. She looked toward the door, staring at the freedom waiting beyond it. If she could suppress her body’s screaming desire to give up, she could still run off and get help or go to the library and warn Twilight.

She bolted as fast as her aching body permitted, but when she reached the door, something stopped her and threw her back against a nearby table. She groaned, ears ringing with the Spirit’s laughter, and opened her eyes in time to see a barrier blocking the exit—just like the one at the library.

“What the…” Her voice drifted off, her pain momentarily forgotten. How… How could that be? Why was there a barrier stopping her? Why hadn’t she been able to go past it?

It wasn’t until she tried getting up that she realized why the Spirit was still laughing maniacally. The barrier had launched her against the nearby coffee table, and yet…

And yet, Rarity only belatedly realized she had never felt the impact. The table had gone right through her now-incorporeal chest. She let out a terrified scream and backed against a bookcase, only to let out yet another scream when she realized she hadn’t backed against it, but through it.

“My, I spoke too quickly!” the Spirit exclaimed, shutting the door and clapping her hooves. “Things got interesting again!”

Rarity hadn’t even listened to what the Spirit had said, too disturbed and frightened by her new spectral condition. Her body, aware of its ethereal qualities, struggled to cope and understand what was happening, and spectacularly failed to do so. She tried to breathe, but she could pull forth no air, for how could she when she had no physical lungs? Frightened tears rolled down her cheeks and fell off her face, disappearing into thin air before they reached the ground.

“Now, darling, don’t look so glum!” the Spirit exclaimed, giggling when Rarity slowly turned to look at her with wide eyes. “You should be thanking me! Now you’ll always preserve your… er, rather lacking physi— Eek!” The Spirit ducked, missing the vase Rarity had hurled at her face by barely an inch. She watched as the vase shattered against the wall before turning to Rarity. “Temper, temper! Destroying such a lovely vase in a petty fit? And here I thought you were a lady!”

“Don’t worry, it was on sale,” Rarity snarled. Oh, how she wished Twilight were there, if only so she could make Rarity a list of every single synonym of the word “hate” so she could find which one best described her current state. “What do you want with me?!” she demanded, taking a step toward the Spirit. “Am I… Was I really that much of a threat to you?!”

Had she really been so close to saving Twilight that the Spirit felt the need to intervene?

The Spirit blinked. “A threat?” she asked slowly, processing the question before bursting out in laughter. “You?! A threat to me?! Oh, darling, please! Don’t flatter yourself!” the Spirit exclaimed mirthfully, eventually sighing and lifting a hoof to wipe off a tear. The joy quickly vanished from her expression, replaced by compassion. “No, no, you’re not a threat to me. Au contraire! You have been wonderful help! I should thank you.”

“Th-thank me?” Rarity asked, her heart sinking.

“But of course!” the Spirit insisted, once again starting to circle the unicorn. “You made her vulnerable again! Don’t you see how tremendous that is?! She’d locked herself away from the world! Promised herself that she would never let anypony get close to her ever again! And yet you managed to break down her defenses! Do you realize how deliciously betrayed she’ll feel now because of it? Oh, Rarity, you are smart, after all.”

“She doesn’t need me!” Rarity snapped back, even though the truth behind the statement hurt. Even if she could never see Twilight again, Rarity was not… the last resort. “She has others who will help her! She’s not alone anymore!”

The Spirit stopped, raising an eyebrow. “Doesn’t need you? But whyever would I let her befriend somepony else? Why bother when she already has me?” she asked, taking a step back and flipping her mane. “The lovely Rarity.”

And then Rarity understood.

She shook her head. “No…”

“Oh, yes.” The Spirit nodded, grinning wildly. “I didn’t trap you here because you were a threat. I just needed you out of the way.” She laughed and fluttered her eyelashes. “What, did you honestly think that was my plan? To trap you here, and then saunter off until somepony else found her again? Do you even realize how inefficient that is? No… It’s so much easier to continue on your path!”

“Don’t you dare! I won’t le—”

“Shush, darling!” the Spirit interrupted, shaking her head. “She won’t notice a thing, and I promise I’ll treat her wonderfully. In fact, considering I’m vastly more intelligent than you are, she’ll love me even more!” She giggled and closed her eyes. “Ah, I can see it now. Every day, I’ll visit her and oh, heavens, I’ll—or rather, you’ll—be everything she wants, and one by one, every last defense she has will fall.” She opened her eyes and offered Rarity a sympathetic look. “Isn’t this what you wanted, Rarity? I’ll make you so much a part of her life, she’ll actually believe that you’ll set her free. She will trust you, fully and absolutely, and when she does…”

She took a step toward Rarity, forcing the unicorn to take one back.

“I will break her,” she continued, her voice lowering to a whisper. “I will break her so completely that she will never trust anypony again.” She took another step, and so did Rarity. “She will never leave that prison, and for the rest of eternity, she…” Another step. “…will…” Step. “…blame…” One more, and Rarity was backed up against the wall, the Spirit inches away from her. “You.”

“Never.”

That was the unicorn’s sole reply.

Without warning, she lunged at the Spirit, but rather than stopping there, she galloped past her, headed toward the door. She heard the Spirit mock her, ask how she planned on getting past the barrier, but the truth of the matter was she had no intention of getting past it, or even making an attempt to do so. Instead, she stopped in front of the door, doing her best to use her aching body to block the exit.

“What are you doing?” the Spirit asked, snorting at the unicorn’s futile attempts to keep her trapped with her. “You do realize that I can just trot through you, don’t you?”

“Oh, I know…” Rarity replied, smiling sweetly and reinforcing her stance even if she knew it was futile. “But quite frankly, I don’t care.”

The Spirit trotted toward her, and once more several illusions appeared behind her. The Spirit stood before Rarity, the other illusions arrayed to the Spirit’s sides, their horns once more exuding a magical yellow aura.

“Is that so?” the Spirit asked with a smile, her horn also glowing. “How amusing.” She took another step toward the steadfast unicorn, horn beginning to spark. “But I think I’ve had enough of your interference.”

Rarity didn’t reply. She only took a deep breath and prepared herself for the oncoming attack, trying to remember that stopping the Spirit would not only save Twilight, but her sister and friends as well. Besides, there really wasn’t much the Spirit could do that would be worse than…

“Tah-tah, darling!”

All at once, the illusions and the Spirit unleashed a magical spell at Rarity. She closed her eyes and turned her head away, never moving from her spot, but bracing herself as best she could. If this was to be the end of her, then she’d make sure she’d stand her ground until the end. A loud thunder crashed throughout the room, practically deafening her, and yet she felt no pain.

Rarity stood there for an eternity, silence falling around her. When she realized she was still standing, she finally opened her eyes—and whatever she had expected to see could not compare to the sight that greeted her.

If she had felt no pain, it was because the Spirit’s attack had never reached her, only the one protecting her. Either out of exhaustion, shock, confusion, or perhaps all three, Rarity collapsed to the floor and could only look up in awe at the dark blue alicorn standing between her and the Spirit, horn aglow and gaze fixed on the backtracking illusions.

Princess Selene was far more breathtaking than Rarity had ever imagined.

She stood imposingly, regally, seeming completely unaffected by the attack. Her mane, partially translucent, rippling and sparkling like Twilight’s, seemed to contain the night sky within itself. Her wings, splayed out protectively to either side, served as an additional shield to the unicorn. But, out of all the things that Rarity tried to process about her, the most dazing was her cutie mark.

A crescent moon.

“Wh-what?” the Spirit hissed, taking several steps back and turning around to find her illusions disappearing. For once, she looked frightened, unsure of what to do. “Who are— What are you doing here?!”

The princess took a step forward. “This is my realm,” she replied at length, apparently perfectly aware that the Spirit had taken Rarity’s form. “And I will protect anypony who believes in me from nightmares like you.”

Nightmares? Rarity thought, still staring at the princess. Does that mean I’m… dreaming?

She tried to get up, but grunted in the process and caught the princess’s attention. The princess turned away from the Spirit and finally looked down at Rarity.

Rarity noticed that the princess was wearing a black tiara identical to the one she’d found outside Twilight’s library, and more than that, she was wearing a pendant depicting a familiar symbol: three colored balloons.

Oddly enough, when their gazes met, the princess looked just as surprised as Rarity. “A mare?” she asked, taking a gentle step toward Rarity. She lit up her horn, and Rarity felt foreign magic surround her, but rather than attack her as the Spirit had, the princess instead helped her stand up. “You are the first adult mare to allow me entry into her dreams since…” She drifted off, lifting her hoof to thoughtfully play with her necklace. “Why?”

“You…” Rarity didn’t even know what to say, staring up at the princess like a starstruck filly. “You’re… You’re Princess Selene…”

The princess raised her eyebrows. “‘Princess Selene’? Is that the name you know me by?” She laughed softly, a distinctly sad smile appearing on her lips. “I see,” she said, turning around once more to face the Spirit.

“My sister would find that most amusing.”

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters. Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act I ~ 12 ~ The Professor's Theory ~

Dreams were different for every pony. For some, it was terribly easy to figure out they were dreaming; for others, it felt like a reality where things weren’t quite right, but never wrong enough to alert them to something suspicious.

Rarity was part of the latter group, always relishing her dreams as if they were reality. And yet, despite the fact that the scene unfolding before her couldn’t be anything but a dream, it certainly didn’t feel like one. It was as if she had been plunged into an odd mix of dream and reality. If the alicorn standing before her truly was the veritable Princess Selene, then that was exactly the case.

Her eyes darted back and forth between the princess and the Spirit, finding herself reeling with adrenaline now that she was under the protection of Princess Selene.

Or a dream version of her, at least.

Princess Selene took a step toward the Spirit, as imposing as ever, and the Spirit took several steps back in return, baring her teeth.

With thinly veiled fear, Rarity’s doppelgänger snapped, “You… You think you can stop me?!”

“You… You are but fiction. I need only cast a spell to expunge you,” Selene said calmly, unfazed by the Spirit’s attitude. “It would be a most simple task.”

And yet, despite this, Rarity had the distinct impression Princess Selene was stalling for time. She would have assumed the first thing to do would be to defeat the Spirit, wouldn’t it?

Then why hasn’t she done as much?

“Then why haven’t you done as much?!” the Spirit asked, in sync with Rarity’s own thoughts. Rarity couldn’t help a start and shudder at hearing her own thoughts voiced out loud—and by the Spirit, no less.

The princess did not reply for what felt like the longest time.

Finally, she spoke. “This creature…” she asked, glancing back at Rarity. “What is its true form?”

If the princess’s tone of voice had been kind when she’d first addressed Rarity, it had now changed completely. The warmth was gone from her eyes, making Rarity feel very much as if now she were the evil doppelgänger.

“It-its true form?” Rarity asked, having a hard time maintaining eye contact with the princess’s hard stare. “I… I don’t know…”

The princess seemed unsatisfied by the answer, frowning slightly before turning back to the Spirit. Why was she upset? Had Rarity answered incorrectly? It wasn’t as if she could answer correctly when she’d never even met the Spirit in the first place!

Or so she hoped.

Princess Selene’s horn lit up, sending the Spirit several more steps back. “Show me its true form!” she demanded, stamping her hoof against the floor and sending sparks flying from her horn.

“I don’t know its true form!” Rarity helplessly replied. “I’ve never seen…”

Her voice drifted off just as the Spirit began to change. Rarity watched her doppelgänger carefully: how its eyes shifted, how its teeth grew large. Princess Selene stamped her hoof once more, and the Spirit shape-shifted into the Book Bringer, the sinister glare somehow more threatening coming from him.

Princess Selene grunted, stamping her hoof against the floor again. The Spirit shape-shifted again, but rather than taking the shape of a pony, it turned into a huge white wall with the terrifying shadow Rarity had seen in Hollow Shades. Selene grumbled again, stomping her hoof several more times, the Spirit’s form shifting back and forth between the Book Bringer, the doppelgänger and the wall.

“Enough!” she exclaimed after the fifth repetitive cycle.

A bright and blinding flash erupted from the princess’s horn, forcing Rarity to close her eyes and merely listen to the Spirit screeching around her. When she opened her eyes moments later, she was relieved to see the Spirit was gone.

“I thought perhaps… if you believed in me then it meant you’d met him, but I can see I was mistaken.”

The princess stepped forward into the room, inspecting it for any remnants of the nightmare before turning back toward Rarity. Though her expression had softened, Rarity could tell there was something bothering her.

“Princess Selene? Is the Spirit gone?” Rarity asked, both to ease the tension and to be sure she was safe.

“I told you, did I not? Dispelling nightmares is a simple task, particularly when foals here often have nightmares about him.” The princess looked back toward where the Spirit had been. “I have dispelled more interpretations of him than I care to count, but I suppose this cannot be helped when Hollow Shades thrives off my situation.”

She turned to Rarity again. “You are an odd one, aren’t you?” she asked, and Rarity withheld an indignant expression. “You must truly believe in me if I was allowed entry into your slumbers… Who are you?” Princess Selene looked around the boutique. “This place. What is it? Where is it?”

“This is my boutique in Ponyville,” Rarity hastily replied, not caring that the princess probably had no idea of what or where Ponyville was. Wait, that’s not right… Ponyville already existed when Twilight was free, didn’t it?

Her question was answered by the princess.

“Ponyville? A mare hailing from Ponyville who believes in me?” she asked, slowly and carefully. She regarded Rarity for a moment before looking away. “Curious. It’s been so long, I cannot find the strength within to raise my hopes.” Before Rarity could question her, the princess turned to her and asked in a low voice: “Did you find her?”

“Yes,” Rarity replied instantly, the word rolling out of her mouth without having given her mind a moment to process or understand. She just knew what the princess meant, and who she was referring to.

“Prove it.”

“Twilight Sparkle,” Rarity replied. “That’s her name.”

The princess raised an eyebrow. “Yes. And? Every child in Hollow Shades knows her true name, as they do mine. Luna.” She smiled. “Not Selene.”

“B-but I did find her! I did!”

“Show me, then!”

Just as Rarity was about to ask how, the princess slammed her hoof against the floor, sparks shooting out her horn. The room around them shifted, like ripples on the surface of a pond, but rather than changing, the ripples settled back to Carousel Boutique.

“I see.” The princess’s expression hardened as she turned away. “I had not hoped for much, yet I still feel disappointed.”

“No, wait!” Rarity blurted out, taking a step toward the princess. “I did find her!” She looked around the room, glaring at it, desperately willing it to shift into the library. This was her dream, wasn’t it? Why was it not working to her advant—

The scenery changed, and Luna and Rarity found themselves inside the library.

Rarity quickly turned around, thrilled by her dream finally obeying, and saw an alicorn sitting next to her, staring intently at something amidst the aisles of bookcases.

Too bad it wasn’t Twilight.

Rather than the bookish ghost she’d come to care for, Rarity was staring at the interpretation of “Princess Booky” that she’d seen during Seeking Night. Glasses, ponytail, shirt with pocket-protectors, nasal voice, the works.

Princess Luna wasn’t impressed. “Ah.”

Rarity almost felt like she’d wake up from shame.

The princess sighed and looked away. “Well. There are other nightmares I must atte—” She stopped herself, looking back toward Booky.

Booky looked very worried, standing up and taking a few steps back. The source of her discomfort was revealed a moment later when Rarity stepped out from the rows of bookcases, her eyes flashing yellow and her horn surrounded by some type of black magic.

By this point, both Luna and Rarity were fixated upon the scene.

Rarity watched, mesmerized, as her other self threatened Princess Booky, menacingly approaching her. It felt completely surreal, almost as though there was no real threat since Princess Booky looked, sounded, and spoke nothing like Twilight.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Princess Booky asked, her rump colliding with the wall.

Rather than replying, Rarity’s other self launched a magical attack. It was explosive; a cloud of thick dust burst from the wall when Booky smashed against it, hiding her from view.

Luna reacted first. Her horn began to glow, no doubt preparing herself to end the resurrected nightmare, but just as she was about to launch her spell, something stopped her: Princess “Booky” calling out Rarity’s name. Her voice was different from before, and only when Rarity recognized it did the threat become real.

Twilight Sparkle emerged from the dust, wheezing and heaving, her face and coat marred with dirt and scorch marks. In the time she’d known Twilight, Rarity had seen but a few expressions on the alicorn’s face. Anger, reserved happiness, confusion… She had never, however, seen Twilight’s expression filled with such sheer hatred.

“Twilight?” Princess Luna asked, gawking at the alicorn she had not seen for thousands of years before turning to Rarity, comprehension dawning upon her. “You… You… That’s why…”

Rarity couldn’t be bothered to listen.

“Rarity…” Twilight hissed, her wings flaring up. “I trusted you…”

Even though Twilight’s hatred wasn’t truly for her, it felt like it was. It felt like she was the one who’d betrayed Twilight, and though she wanted to call out and say she hadn’t, she found her words were stuck in her throat.

“I thought you were my friend,” Twilight continued, and Rarity had never been so miserable to hear her laugh. “I guess I was wrong.”

The other Rarity simply smiled, her horn lighting up again. “Goodbye, Princess Twilight.”

Rarity screamed for Twilight to move as she watched her doppelgänger unleash the attack. But rather than an explosion, she heard a very different sound. To her shock, cracks started appearing all over, as if the dream was quite literally shattering into pieces. Her focus, however, could not stray long from Twilight, who’d frozen in place, eyes still filled with unrelenting hate.

“You are waking up!” Luna yelled, and Rarity finally reacted. “The dream is collapsing!”

“But—! I—!” Rarity kept looking back to Twilight despite the sickness she felt at seeing her expression; a moth persistently and knowingly flying into a burning flame.

“Listen to me!” Luna loudly commanded, teleporting herself in front of Rarity and blocking her view of Twilight. Beams of lights shot out of her horn and filled the cracks. “I— I am not able… to use my full powers from where I am. We have only minutes or even seconds before I am unable to keep this dream in motion! You must free her, at whatever cost!”

“But what about you? How do—”

“I do not matter! I don’t even know where I am!” Luna cut Rarity off, her voice louder still. “If you cannot free Twilight Sparkle, then there may be no hope for my sister, and if there is no hope for Twilight or Celestia, there is no hope for me!”

“And what about the Spirit?!” Rarity asked, managing to see her frozen doppelgänger behind Luna. “If I do any more than I have, he might come after Twilight, or me, or my frie—”

“Filly, we have been here for thousands of years, and are all still trapped! Do you not think there is a reason for that? If you have come as far as finding two of us, I’m shocked he has not dispatched you yet,” Luna said, only realizing how harsh her words were when Rarity backed away. As she did so, the entire room began to distort. With a softer voice, yet no less stern, she continued: “If you fear the consequences of your actions, and if you do not wish to be plagued by these nightmares, you must make a choice. Either choose to back out permanently while the Spirit has not yet attacked, or to help Twilight fully and completely, knowing that you may already be in danger.”

“But when Twilight finds out he’s after me, she’ll forbid me from helping!” Rarity replied, gritting her teeth. “She doesn’t tell me anything, she didn’t want me to help initially—it’s like she doesn’t want to be freed!”

It seemed like those words struck a chord with Luna, and for a moment, her spell faltered. When a new, much larger crack appeared, Luna flinched and strengthened her spell. “No. I can assure you she simply does not wish for you to be harmed. You must be close, I assume,” Luna said, wincing. She stepped away, allowing Rarity to see the now-distorted image of Twilight. “But if that is the case, then she too must choose. Either she puts all her faith in you and helps you, or you two will never be truly able to work together to free her, or any of us. But know that if you choose to help her, then we cannot meet again.”

Luna’s spell finally gave in, and the cracks began anew, forming more frequently and in larger sizes.

Even as the princess herself started to fade, she continued to speak: “The fact that you are here means the Spirit may not yet be aware that you have met me. Having met with you once, knowing you’ve found Twilight, is more than I ever hoped for, and… and meeting again would be tempting the Spirit and the luck I thought I did not have. I have already endangered Pinkie by allowing her to seek for the others… I cannot endanger another…”

“W-wait!” Rarity pleaded, watching the entire room distort and blur out. “You can’t just leave!”

Her plea, unfortunately, went unheard, for Luna had vanished before Rarity finished speaking. She called again and again, despite the entire world shifting and cracking around her, until suddenly, it stopped and her eyes flew open.

Awake and covered in sweat, Rarity’s heart thumped loudly against her chest as she gasped for air. Her thoughts ran haywire, and it took her a moment to realize she was not in the library but her hotel room.

“Rarity?”

Turning, Rarity found Fluttershy standing next to her bed, wide awake and looking terribly concerned. Now that she’d been acknowledged, Fluttershy took a step closer to Rarity.

“You were having a nightmare…”

“Fl-Fluttershy,” Rarity said breathlessly, letting her guard down enough that the memories of the nightmare began to filter and dissipate. “I apologize, darling. Did I wake you up?”

Fluttershy shook her head, smiling briefly with relief. “I’m just glad you’re all right now,” she said, lifting her hoof and carefully putting it on Rarity’s shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Did she want to talk about it?

She wanted to, of course, but was it truly the best of ideas to scare her friend by letting her know they most certainly were being stalked by a terrible creature?

“I… I… No, I don’t think it’s necessary, dear,” she said—lied, rather. “Perhaps tomorrow after we’re both a little more rested?”

Fluttershy didn’t look convinced, but did not press on. “All right.” She smiled at Rarity one last time before moving back to her bed to sleep.

Rather than lying back down, Rarity simply sat on her bed, trying to steady her breathing. She had to tell Fluttershy, of course. Maybe not then, but the next day at the latest. If the Spirit was truly and honestly after them, Fluttershy had the right to know…

And the right to refuse to continue helping.

Her dream… Though it had started to fade into fragments that she had trouble remembering, there were parts she remembered vividly. Had that really been Princess Luna? It… it had to have been. What did she mean that there was no hope for her if Twilight wasn’t freed?

It suddenly occurred to Rarity that she’d never really considered not every princess could be freed the same way, could they?

Her mind flashed back to other parts of the dream… The threat that was very viable indeed. Even if Princess Luna hoped Rarity wasn’t being chased, Rarity was sure she was. Her mind inevitably led her to perhaps the most horrible part of the dream, and the one she remembered most vividly: Twilight’s look of betrayal.

“Rarity… I trusted you… I thought you were my friend…”

It made her sick not to be able to wipe the memory from her mind.

She lay back down, closing her eyes to try and get some more sleep. She wished she could meet Princess Luna again, but… well, Luna had been very clear she wouldn’t. Her only other choice now was to wait to talk to Pinkie Pie.

The next morning, after several more attempts at sleep, several more nightmares, and no Princess Luna, Rarity was forced to accept that either Luna’s appearance really had been Rarity’s own imagination, or the princess herself was intent on making sure no more contact was established. Honestly, it wasn’t as if the Spirit was monitoring Rarity’s every single dream and action, was he? It wouldn’t have been too bad if the princess allowed Rarity one more dream with her!

In the end, the only thing Rarity had been able to do was write down what little she remembered from the dream. Most of it had faded away, except for the princess’s final warning and the fact that Rarity had to tell Twilight about the Spirit. Unfortunately, she remembered all the horribly terrifying bits as clear as crystal.

She suddenly understood why Pinkie Pie kept dream journals.

“How are you feeling, Rarity?” Fluttershy asked as they made their way toward Professor Awe’s house. The pegasus had been quite the trooper, patiently helping Rarity through her several nightmares, and never pressing when Rarity insisted they’d talk about it later—which they would; Rarity was going to make sure of it. It just didn’t have to be right that moment, did it?

Rarity yawned, taking a sip of the coffee they’d bought. “Better. Though it might benefit me to take another nap, later on.” Hopefully one with fewer nightmares and more Princess Lunas.

“Oh! We’re here!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “And Pinkie is, too?”

Upon hearing Fluttershy’s comment, Rarity looked up and indeed found the pink pony lingering outside the professor’s house. She seemed preoccupied, idly batting a rock around with her hoof.

What is she doing here? I thought she loathed him?

“Pinkie Pie!” Rarity called out, waving to the mare and watching as Pinkie immediately brightened up. When they caught up to her, Rarity asked, “Whatever are you doing here? I thought we were supposed to meet up later in the day!”

“I, uh, couldn’t wait to see you two again! I woke up at four in the morning to make my cupcakes and my cakes for the day, and then I came here just to wait for you!” she exclaimed earnestly, her slight hesitation betraying her. Pinkie stared at Rarity for a moment and, with genuine concern, asked: “Are you okay, Rarity? You look sorta tired.”

“I feel tired, darling,” Rarity replied, stifling a yawn. In all honesty, she couldn’t even bring herself to be excited over meeting Professor Awe. She simply wanted to get it over with and go home; home being the library, since Twilight was who she really wanted to see. “Hopefully Professor Awe is home today.”

“Oh, he is,” Pinkie replied, her enthusiasm visibly diminishing. “I heard him earlier while I was waiting.”

“In that case, why don’t we meet up in a few hours?” Rarity suggested, smiling amiably. “It would be rather rude of us to make you wait out here for us to finish.”

“Oh, uh, well… Actually, I wanted to go with you!” Pinkie exclaimed, her smile faltering slightly.

Fluttershy and Rarity looked at each other.

“Goodness, I thought you didn’t like him very much?” Fluttershy pointed out, earning a nervous laugh from the mare.

“Oh. I don’t! He’s still a big meaniepants! I just…” She drifted off, her ears drooping. “You’re gonna talk about the princesses with him, aren’t you?”

Suddenly, it felt like all of Rarity’s drowsiness was gone.

“Yes, we are!” she said, trying not to sound too overeager. Figuring she might as well take the plunge, she casually asked, “Why do you ask?”

Pinkie looked uncomfortable as she replied, “It’s just that… he might say some really silly stuff—the bad kind of silly—about the princesses, and I don’t want you to…”

Rarity glanced toward the house. It was unlikely that the professor would suddenly leave, and they could afford a few minutes extra if it meant finally knowing the truth.

From what she could gather, if she had indeed dreamed with the real Princess Luna, then the princess had yet to speak with Pinkie about Rarity. She would have imagined Pinkie would have bombarded her with questions otherwise.

“Pinkie, there’s something I’ve been curious about,” Rarity said, cautiously picking her words and tone so as not to seem hostile. “Yesterday, Elder Moonshine told me a bit about Moonlight Lullaby…”

Whatever cheerfulness remained in Pinkie’s expression vanished instantly. “Oh.” She laughed. A short, awkward, forced laugh. “She did? She promised she wouldn’t…”

That wasn’t good.

“Pinkie, darling,” Rarity continued, offering her warmest smile, “Elder Moonshine told us because she—” She might as well get to the point. “Moonlight Lullaby. She’s Princess Luna, isn’t she?”

“Y-yes. Yes. But you two don’t think I’m making her up, right? You two believe me, right?” Pinkie asked, the smile on her face looking more terrified than happy. Before either Fluttershy or Rarity could reply, Pinkie took a step back, shaking her head. “I’m not making it up! I’m not, I promise!”

Rarity kept smiling, trying to reassure the mare. “Pinkie Pie, I’m not saying we don’t believe you. We just want to know where Princess Luna is.”

“I… I don’t know… She doesn’t know either, b-but I’m looking! I know it looks like I’m lying, but I’m not!” Pinkie didn’t listen to what Rarity said, instead rambling on and on. “Everypony thinks I am, but I’m not! Princess Luna isn’t my imaginary friend! Please…” She lowered her voice, her mane deflating. “I Pinkie promise…”

“I believe you, dear,” Rarity said, genuine and earnest. “And I know you’re doing everything you can to find her.”

“Mm-hm,” Fluttershy added, not missing a beat. “We both believe you. I’m sure Princess Se—Luna is very happy to have a friend like you.”

Pinkie blinked at them, completely in disbelief. “You do?” she asked, and it broke Rarity’s heart to see tears of relief forming in the pink pony’s eyes as a large grin spread across her face. She immediately pulled Rarity in for a hug, giggling all the while. “I knew you believed in them!” Pinkie let go of Rarity and offered Fluttershy a much more reserved hug.

“Does this mean you’ll help me find them?!” she asked, immediately starting to list out in extreme detail all the things they’d do on their adventure. “We can go to Canterlot! And then we can meet dragons! And we can visit the library in Trottingham—”

“I think that we should first focus on the reason for our visit,” Rarity interrupted, finding her mood vastly improved thanks to Pinkie. She nodded toward the house and Pinkie frowned.

“Oh, yeah…” She bit her lip. “Uhhhm… Before you talk to him, I… There’s something I wanna ask?”

Rarity blinked. “Oh?”

“Actually, I can ask later!” Pinkie said suddenly, as if having had second thoughts. “I just… wanted to say that I believe you too, Rarity. I… I wasn’t sure, but now I definitely am!”

Believe me too?

“What do you mean? Believe what?”

Pinkie giggled. “That story you told me about your friend, Bookcase… You said you went to her library, right? Well… I know there isn’t a library in Ponyville! Soooo…”

Oh?

Oh.

OH.

Rarity’s eyes widened. “W-wait!” she blurted out. “I meant—”

Pinkie Pie giggled again. “We can talk about it later!” she exclaimed, hopping past the panicked unicorn and knocking on the door three times.

Moments later, the door swung open and the three mares came face to face with the infamous Professor Brazened Awe. Admittedly, Rarity had imagined him to look the part of a loony old coot, and as such was surprised to find a sharply dressed unicorn stallion. The term “mad professor” certainly didn’t apply, at least.

When the professor simply stared at her, Rarity spoke up.

“Hello! You must be Professor Awe! My name is Rarity! I’m, er, from Ponyville!” Rarity said, composing herself. “I happened to come across a rather intriguing article about you, and I’ve been dying to ask some questions, if that’s all right,” she said, relieved to see him smile.

“Ah, yes, indeed, you’ve come to the right place!” he exclaimed, smiling politely. He glanced toward Fluttershy and nodded as he spoke, “It is not often that I’m visited by forei— Oh. It’s you. A pleasure seeing you again, Miss Pie,” he said upon noticing Pinkie, his tone screaming anything but pleasure.

“Professor Meaniepants,” Pinkie replied in a comically serious voice.

“Have you come to try and convince yet another pony that I’m deluded?” he asked.

Pinkie nodded, smiling widely. “You betcha!”

“Delightful.” He offered Rarity and Fluttershy a weary smile, stepping away so as to let them through. “Please, come in. Fair warning, I recently returned from a trip, so the place is a tad unkempt.”

With grateful smiles, Rarity and Fluttershy stepped into the house, followed closely by Pinkie, who stuck her tongue out at the stallion. Looking around, Rarity thought that “a tad unkempt” had been a rather generous statement.

Walls, tables, and even floors were decorated with all sorts of files and article clippings, all scribbled with writings and annotations. If the professor himself didn’t look like a conspiracy theorist, his abode certainly did a good job of it for him.

“Oh, look!” Pinkie exclaimed suddenly, pointing toward the wall next to Rarity. “It’s Rainbow Dash!”

“Ah yes. The elusive Ex-Captain of the Wonderbolts,” the professor said, walking past Rarity and toward the kitchen. “Allow me to get you something to drink.”

Turning around, Rarity noticed several newspaper clippings on the wall, all linked together by tape. What caught her attention was the first page, boasting a photograph of a cyan mare with a rather… interesting rainbow-colored mane. Several other photographs had been pasted next to the article, all showing the mare in different places, apparently unaware that the photos were being taken: a cave, a gemstone mine, a forest.

Her curiosity piqued, Rarity looked at the article, finding the professor had made several annotations in parentheses.

WONDERBOLTS CAPTAIN CALLS IT QUITS?

To the disappointment of hordes of fans, it was announced during the Wonderbolts’ yearly press conference that Rainbow Dash, the current captain of the Royal Aerial Team, would be abandoning her post as captain until further notice! The pegasus, who was entering her fifth year as leader of the Wonderbolts, did not give much information on her decision. Captain Dash announced that her second-in-command, Spitfire, will take her place for the time being. Afterwards, she reassured her fans that Spitfire would be an “awesome” replacement (though not as awesome as she is, she insisted).

It is currently unknown why she made this decision. However, according to an inside source, it might have to do with an old friend of the Captain.

What a shock, indeed!

Or is it?

It’s no secret to Wonderbolt aficionados that the elusive captain has been absent from a great deal of smaller Wonderbolt events in the past year, something which she used to pride herself on attending when she started out. Who can forget her Delta Speed Maneuver during Tall Tale’s Second Annual Book-a-thon? (Who knew one could juggle so many books while flying at top speed?) Indeed, her last grand appearance was her heroic intervention when a dragon rampaged through Van Hoover.

These events have only added fuel to the already rampant rumor that Captain Dash has been assigned to a top-secret mission, vital enough that she was forced to quit the team in order to completely focus on her task.

If this was truly something in the works for a while now, we can only hope that the former Captain is happy with her decision, and that she won’t make her fans wait too long for her surely coveted return.

While Rarity admittedly didn’t know much about the Wonderbolts, she had read about the dragon attacking Van Hoover, though that event had happened almost a year ago. Hopefully no dragons would rampage across Ponyville anytime in the near future.

“Didja know the first Princess Cadance got the Wonderbolts together a thousand years ago so they could look for the princesses?” Pinkie asked, trotting next to Rarity and glancing over the article. “They’re having a teensy bit of trouble finding them, though…”

“Well, that’s to be expected when there aren’t any lost princesses,” the professor said. He re-entered the room, four cups of tea floating behind him. “Here you are,” he said, levitating one toward Fluttershy and one toward Rarity. He then looked at Pinkie and said, “I’m afraid you finished my vanilla tea last time you were here. You’ll have to settle for black, Miss Pie.”

“Awww… But you always give me vanilla, Professor Meaniepants…”

“Uhm, Rarity,” Fluttershy whispered, taking a sip of her tea. “Doesn’t she dislike him? Why would she come drink tea with him?”

“I haven’t the faintest,” Rarity replied, too preoccupied with something else to bother theorizing about Pinkie and Professor Awe’s relationship. “Wait a minute, Professor,” she said, putting down her cup of tea and frowning. “What do you mean, ‘there is no such thing as lost princesses?’ Pardon me if I’m mistaken, but I had the impression you were an expert on the Legend of the Four Princesses?”

The professor smiled. “I am. You have to be an expert at something in order to disprove it, do you not?” he said, rolling his eyes when Pinkie Pie blew raspberries at him.

“Disprove it?” Rarity asked, glancing at Fluttershy. If Rarity had come all the way to Hollow Shades for nothing, she was… she was going to… “Why would you need to disprove it if you don’t believe that the princesses are real?”

“Oh, don’t misunderstand me,” Professor Awe continued, sitting down on a floor cushion and gesturing for the three mares to do so as well. A spoon appeared in his teacup, which he used to stir the drink. “I do believe that there were once four alicorn princesses. There’s proof enough of it scattered throughout Equestria’s history books, if ponies bothered to do some research.” He took a sip of his tea. “Every myth in this world is based on reality. Tell me—I assume you’re not familiar with the Chaos War, are you?”

“‘The’ Chaos War? There were two,” Rarity corrected immediately, remembering the book she’d found inside the library. “As I recall, when the first one ended, the princesses held yearly meetings with the Spirit so as to appease him, but during one of the meetings—”

“—the Spirit refused the traditional offering of land, and when his new request was refused, he declared war upon Equestria, thus the Second Chaos War.” The professor seemed pleased, if somewhat surprised.

“I bothered to do my research, you see,” Rarity said, smiling rather smugly for somepony who only remembered a few pages of a book.

“So you have.” Professor Awe took another sip of tea and continued, “And then, according to legend, the princesses went looking for the scattered Elements of Harmony, after which the Spirit trapped three of them in caves, and cursed the last to pass away, neither her nor her kin able to find the other princesses. This is all according to myth, of course. I myself aim to prove that the myth is a cover-up.”

Rarity blinked. “A cover-up? A cover-up of what?” she asked, noticing Pinkie’s suddenly grim expression.

“Equestria’s single most successful round of royal assassinations,” he replied. “I believe that ‘trapped’ is synonymous with ‘killed’ in the legend.”

Assassinations.

“Assassinated?” Fluttershy asked, holding her cup closer to her body.

“You think he murdered them?” Rarity asked, skeptical if only because she knew for a fact that wasn’t true.

The professor shook his head. “Not he. They. If my research on alicorns is accurate, then it’s impossible for a creature—God of Chaos or not—to dispose of three alicorns. He had help, and…” He smiled smugly. “…what better help than that of an alicorn herself.”

Rarity’s eyes widened. “You… You can’t possibly be implying that—”

“But I am,” he said, nodding his head, a glint in his eyes. “You can’t possibly tell me it never struck you as odd how three princesses were all struck with terrible fates, but one was let off nearly scot-free?”

Now Rarity understood Pinkie Pie’s disdain for the professor. “Don’t be absurd!” she blurted out, flabbergasted. Not only was he trying to say somepony had wanted to assassinate Twilight, but that it had been Princess Cadance I who’d orchestrated it—with the Spirit?! That was almost as bad as accusing Princess Denza of being in cahoots with him! “Why would Princess Cadance have wanted to murder her… her friends?!”

“Yeah!” Pinkie exclaimed, nodding her head.

“To have her lineage be the only reigning alicorns, of course,” Professor Awe replied without missing a beat.

“But—! But Princess Cadance didn’t get off ‘scot-free’! She was cursed by—”

“Do you have any way of proving this curse is real?” he asked. His horn flashed, and several books appeared on the table. “Miss Rarity, I’ve read thousands upon thousands of variations of the legend. Though the vast majority agree that Princess Cadance was relatively lucky in her punishment, none can decide on this so-called curse.” He pointed to one book. “This one says it only affects her lineage.” He pointed to another. “This one says anypony who speaks her name is cursed as well.” He pointed toward two others. “Those two claim whoever works under her is affected for life.”

He continued, “Think about it, Miss Rarity. How else could he have gotten ahold of the Elements of Harmony if not thanks to somepony who had unrestricted access to them? The only other possible explanation is that they had no Elements to begin with, in which case the first Chaos War would have never been brought to an end.”

“I refuse to believe Princess Cadance would do such a thing,” Rarity said, pushing her cup away.

Honestly, at that point, the only things stopping Rarity from forcing the professor all the way to the library wasn’t so much that Twilight had forbidden it, but that she didn’t want Twilight to know somepony had been foolish enough to claim Princess Cadance I had plotted her death.

“Then tell me this! Why is it that not a single interpretation of the legend I’ve seen offers a solution on how to free them?”

“But they do!” Rarity exclaimed. Granted, she’d been told… the solution, and by a sketchy source, but it counted regardless, didn’t it? “Princess Twilight can be freed by finding the lost books of her library.”

The professor raised his eyebrows. “Really? How interesting! If that’s the case…” He got up unceremoniously and bowed his head. “Can you excuse me for a moment? I need to fetch something.” That said, he trotted off into another room.

“Hey, wait! We’re not done with you!” Pinkie exclaimed, getting up and following after him.

As soon as the professor was gone, Rarity stood up and looked around. “Well! Might as well find some information on our own before Professor Awe comes back to try and convince us that Princess Celestia was probably in on the plot, too.”

“Huh? Rarity! What are you doing?” Fluttershy asked in a hushed whisper, glancing worriedly back and forth between the door Awe had disappeared behind and the stack of papers Rarity was currently snooping in.

“Investigating, of course,” Rarity replied, moving away from the stack of useless papers and glancing at the ones lining the walls. She then turned to Fluttershy and rolled her eyes. “Fluttershy, instead of looking at me as though I were a criminal, could you please look at the other side of the room? I highly doubt Professor Awe would have left us alone if there was something he didn’t want us looking at.”

“All right…” Fluttershy relented, getting up and moving toward the nearby wall, filled to the brim with papers, yellowing newspaper articles, and other memorabilia.

Satisfied, Rarity went back to her snoopi— investigation. Honestly, she’d never read a single detective novel where Detective Saddle Shoes found a damning clue by sitting and waiting around.

“Goodness, who knew there was such a thing as an Anagrams Olympics?” Rarity asked aloud, blinking at the diploma the professor had received in said Olympics.

Rarity tried to imagine such a thing, but her attention was caught by several photos under the diploma, all of them portraying a wide array of subjects: Canterlot Castle, some admittedly hideous black bug-looking creatures, griffons, castle guards, and a photo of Canterlot’s Dragon Library.

“Rarity!” Fluttershy exclaimed, blushing momentarily and sheepishly lowering her voice to add, “I found something! Come look!”

“Ooooh?” Rarity quickly made her way over to Fluttershy, where the pegasus was pointing at a newspaper on top of a stack of books. She levitated the front page article concerning Canterlot Castle’s new head librarian. “My, this is interesting.”

There was a photograph at the beginning of the article, and though he looked much younger, Rarity immediately recognized a grinning Brazened Awe standing in front of the library. Beside him stood a plethora of guards and Princess Denza, who looked a tad too serious for such an event.

“I suppose now we know how he was able to do all his research,” Rarity said, not bothering to read the article. “Judging by how quick he was to accuse the princess’s ancestor, one would think working for royalty would be the last thing on his mind.”

“Look at the article,” Fluttershy whispered. “His name…”

Rarity read aloud: “‘…where Princess Cadance Armor X attended the ceremony, welcoming the stallion Knowledge Quill as the head librarian of Canterlot’s Library.’”

“Knowledge Quill,” Fluttershy repeated. “Why would he change his name?”

Rarity snorted. “Maybe he anagrammed his new one for extra luck in his little Olympics.”

“Maybe he didn’t want anypony to find him?” Fluttershy suggested instead, taking the newspaper from Rarity. “What could have made him want to leave Canterlot?”

Just as Rarity was about to reply, voices were heard in the other room. “Here they come!” she whispered, taking the newspaper back from Fluttershy, putting it back in its place and then rushing off to her former place at the table.

“—Even if Princess Luna would love blueberry cupcakes, the fact that you make one every day for her is hardly evidence that she’s real, Miss Pie,” Professor Awe said, stepping into the room with three books floating behind him, and finding nothing strange in how intently Rarity and Fluttershy were staring at their cups of tea.

“Yes, it is!” Pinkie protested, hopping into the room.

“Rarity, I thought we weren’t doing anything wrong?” Fluttershy asked in a whisper, shaking her head when Rarity politely cleared her throat, catching the professor’s attention.

“Sorry for the delay,” Professor Awe said. He cleared his throat and floated the books into view. “So, you were saying finding Princess Twilight’s lost books was the key to freeing her, if she did exist?”

“Yes, they are,” Rarity replied.

“Well, in that case…” The professor magically opened up the books to their first pages, and Rarity was shocked to see Twilight’s hoofwriting on all three. “I acquired these several years ago. Shall I get my explorer’s backpack and head onwards to adventure?”

Rarity stared at the books as if they were diamonds. “I… Where… How…”

Three books?! All at once?! It was almost too good to be true! “How did you find them?!” She reached out toward them, but the professor floated them away.

“Terribly sorry, but those are not available to peruse,” he informed her, and Rarity had trouble withholding a disappointed whimper.

It had been too good to be true.

Professor Awe cleared his throat and continued, “In any case, there is one other theory about what happened, though one would have to assume the lost princesses are indeed ‘lost.’ If it wasn’t Princess Cadance I who worked with the Spirit to secure the throne, then it must have been her descendants.”

Oh, please.

Rarity could barely hide her skepticism. “Her descendants? But Princess Denza believes in the legend! She even has guards posted for the sole purpose of receiving information about them!” she protested, momentarily forgetting the books.

“Yes, I’m sure those two guards are highly competent in Princess Searching,” Professor Awe dryly replied. “In fact…” He turned to Pinkie and smiled. “Remind me, Miss Pie, how many times have you been there to ‘prove’ the existence of Princess Luna? And how many times has anypony from the royal guard come to verify your claims? Zero?”

Pinkie frowned. “That’s just ’cause they must be super busy!”

He turned to Rarity. “Point proven.” A flash of his horn and an old, worn-out letter appeared, encased in a protective spell. He looked it over as he spoke. “This is the oldest document I have been able to find regarding the legend. It’s written by an apple farmer claiming to have found Princess Twilight.”

Rarity’s heart skipped a beat. “An… apple farmer?”

Fritter Cobbler…?

“And all he does is ask Princess Cadance III why she’s stopped looking for the princesses after her grandmother devoted her life to it.”

“So I see…” Rarity sighed. She then slightly narrowed her eyes and said, “I do have to wonder why you’re so insistent on the guilt of the royal family, Professor Awe.”

“I am a stallion of facts, Miss Rarity. When one has read as much as I have, things tend to stick out. All the facts in our history point to foul play, so unless you can somehow provide—” He looked at Pinkie. “—tangible proof of the princesses’ existence, I stand by my statements.” He smiled and added, “Any more questions?”

In the end, Rarity hadn’t thought of much else to ask, especially since her mood had dropped considerably following his real thoughts on the legend. It seemed like her entire trip had been for naught in the end.

Well, no, that wasn’t quite true.

She’d found three of Twilight’s books, though she had no idea how she was going to get them; she’d learned that there were ponies foolish enough to think ill of Princess Denza; and she’d… well, not found the location of Princess Luna, but found some form of her. And she’d also found out that she was being followed by the Spirit.

Sunset found the three mares at the train station, surrounded by other ponies waiting for their trains back home.

Though she was dying to get to Ponyville, Rarity still had so much to talk about with Pinkie, and her nap a few hours prior had once more failed to produce an alicorn princess.

“Okay, so, I’m gonna look for more information on Princess Celestia,” Pinkie said, pocketing the piece of paper on which Rarity had written down her address. “And when I find any, I’ll write to you and we can meet up to go exploring!”

“That would be the idea, yes,” Rarity said, looking toward the shop in the distance where Fluttershy was standing in line. She turned back to Pinkie, realizing she hadn’t mentioned finding information on Twilight, and then remembered just what exactly Pinkie had implied earlier. “Er, Pinkie, darling? There’s something I need to ask…”

“Did you decide on staying for another night and need a place to stay?!”

Rarity smiled sympathetically. “No. I’m terribly sorry, but Fluttershy and I do have to go back tonight. I have at least six dresses to make by the day after tomorrow.” She cleared her throat and said, “Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask… about… what you said before we spoke to Professor Awe.”

Ever since they’d left Professor Awe’s house, Pinkie Pie had never once brought up her… revelation. Neither had Rarity, for that matter, but she’d only been waiting to see if Pinkie would.

“About how Professor Meaniepants is a huge meaniepants?” Pinkie asked, frowning. “Wasn’t he super-duper rude?! Princess Cadance would have never been mean to the others! And neither would Princess Denza!”

Rarity nodded. “Indeed. He certainly wasn’t what I had hoped. Who knows what other preposterous theories he’d have spouted if we’d stayed longer. Though that wasn’t what I was referring to…”

“Ooooh. You mean about …” She leaned in closer, smiling with excitement. “…Princess Bookcase?”

Rarity smiled awkwardly. “Pinkie Pie, I’m sorry to say that I haven’t…”

Pinkie’s smile faltered. “Oh… I thought…” She narrowed her eyes, almost as if looking through Rarity. “Because you believed in me and…”

Urgh.

It felt wrong to try and say Twilight wasn’t real when Pinkie had confided in Rarity about Luna. Rarity certainly wouldn’t like it if somepony were keeping such vital information from her…

“Pinkie. I believe I met Princess Luna in my dreams yesterday,” Rarity said.

“You did?!” Pinkie gasped. “I—! When?! She didn’t tell me!”

“Well, it was nearly dawn when I woke up. Didn’t you mention you were already up by then?”

Pinkie’s ears fell. “Oh, right…”

Rarity closed her eyes, trying to push away the memory of Twilight being attacked. “I admittedly don’t remember much, but… she said she couldn’t escape without Twilight first being freed… Is that true?”

“That’s what she says. She says only Princess Twilight or Princess Celestia can help her,” Pinkie replied. “She doesn’t really tell me much… She only let me go and start investigating about a year ago ’cause she was scared the meanie Spirit would come after me. I wish I knew more so she’d have more faith, but…”

Well… That did it. Twilight would understand.

Rarity was quiet for a moment before asking, “Pinkie? How well do you know Professor Awe? Is there any way you can talk him into letting me borrow a few things?”

“He’s a big meanie, but he sometimes asks me to come over ’cause I listen to his silly stories, and he listens to mine. He doesn’t believe me, but he never makes fun of me…” Pinkie said. “What do you want to borrow from him?”

“If we want to rescue Twilight, we’re going to need her books, won’t we?” Rarity said, smiling brightly at the mare and her increasingly excited expression. “Twilight told me she has thirty missing books, and I’ve only found less than a dozen.”

“I KNEW IT!” Pinkie exclaimed, hopping up in place before practically throwing herself over Rarity. “I knew you’d found her! I knew, I knew, I knew!”

Rarity laughed, thanks to Pinkie’s contagious enthusiasm. “I’m afraid, however, that I can’t invite you to come visit her yet… I—”

“That’s okay!” Pinkie exclaimed. “I only want to meet her when it’s okay with her! Ohmigosh, d’you think she’ll like me?!”

Rarity’s reply was cut off by the sound of the conductor’s whistling, as well as Fluttershy’s voice.

“I’m back!” Fluttershy exclaimed, a bit out of breath, carrying a cup of tea with her.

“Does Fluttershy know Princess Twilight too?!” Pinkie asked, looking back and forth between the two mares.

“Kn-know Princess Twilight?!” Fluttershy blurted out, giving Rarity a very confused and alarmed look.

“She does,” Rarity said, before turning to Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, Pinkie will be helping us find Twilight’s books.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Fluttershy exclaimed, and Pinkie’s nodding was so effusive, Rarity was worried she’d nod her head off.

The conductor’s whistle sounded again, and the three mares looked toward the nearby train.

“This is it then,” Rarity said. “Fluttershy and I have a long train ride ahead, so we’d best be off.”

A long ride indeed, especially now that she’d decided she’d tell Fluttershy everything on the way home—for better or worse.

The two mares said goodbye to Pinkie, promising to wait for Pinkie’s letter with news of Celestia while Rarity busied herself with trying to find out more information about Twilight, the past, and the Spirit.

Speaking of which…

“Pinkie, I have another question,” Rarity said at the last minute, stepping down from the train after Fluttershy had already disappeared inside. If Pinkie knew Luna, then it stood to reason that the Spirit was after her as well, wasn’t it?

“Hm? What’s wrong, Rarity?”

“Pinkie… Aren’t you frightened?” Rarity asked, feeling suddenly anxious, almost afraid of the Spirit being nearby. “Of the Spirit, I mean. Doesn’t it frighten you that he might be… after you…?”

“Uh-huh! I’m sometimes really scared of him!” Pinkie replied, nodding her head effusively. “I… I only saw him once when I was a little filly, in one of my dreams. He…” She shivered, trying to shake away a bad memory. “He was scary, but…”

“…But?”

“But Princess Luna being all alone is even scarier,” she continued, lifting her hoof to play with her necklace. “The Spirit might be a big meanie, but Princess Luna is my very best friend, and she’s worth fighting scary monsters over.”

“She’s worth fighting the scary monsters over…” Rarity slowly repeated, unconsciously mimicking Pinkie and clutching her necklace as images of her nightmare flashed in her mind. Just as they did, however, they were replaced by her own real memories of Twilight, smiling and having fun in the library.

“You must make a choice. Either choose to back out permanently while the Spirit has not yet attacked, or to help Twilight fully and completely, knowing that you may already be in danger.”

Rarity decided Twilight was worth fighting scary monsters over, too.

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters. Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Interlude III ~ A Filly's Dream ~

A lone hooded filly made her way through a solitary forest, wearing a cape far too large for her small body, which dragged on the ground as she trotted along. Any other filly would have been afraid of the creepy forest, but this little filly knew she didn’t have to be; the single most powerful pony in the entire world was watching over her.

She trotted toward a nearby tree, staring at the hollowed hole near the top. She couldn’t reach it from the ground, of course, nor could she reach the balloons she knew were stashed inside, but then again…

She narrowed her eyes, and inch by inch, the hole started to move down the tree trunk until it was right in front of her. She reached in but, halfway through, decided she didn’t want balloons, she wanted cake. As such, she pulled out the most delicious cake from inside the tree, decorated with cherries and meringue and cookies.

“Mmmm…”

She smacked her lips, looking around for a second before lifting her hoof to steal a cookie. It looked so good, sprinkles on top of sprinkles and chocolate icing on top of more choco—

“Who’s that for, Pinkie? Your friend, Princess Luna?”

Startled, Pinkie turned around to find a smirking colt standing several feet away. In her surprise, she’d dropped the cake, but she didn’t get the chance to mourn it before the colt spoke again.

“Aw, boo hoo. You dropped the cake for your only friend,” he said, laughing and pointing at the cake melting into the ground. “Now how are you going to keep her around?”

Pinkie backed up against the tree, hood falling off and tears brimming her eyes. “I… I… I have a-another one!” she exclaimed, trying to smile and turning around to find… that the hole had gone back up to the top of the tree, which was now several miles taller than it was before. She took a step back, gulping. “Uhm…”

“Dumb Pinkie!” the colt exclaimed, taking a step toward her when she turned back around. His expression had changed from mocking to angry. “Why would the princess be friends with you? You’re not special! She comes to everypony’s dreams, and when you grow up, she’ll stop coming to yours, too!”

“Th-that’s not true!” Pinkie argued, tears still welling. “Princess Luna’s always gonna visit me ’cause I’ll always believe in her!”

“Nuh-uh! What makes you think she wants to keep coming?! You can’t even help her!”

Pinkie shook her head. “Nuh-uh! She’s my best fri—”

She stopped, interrupted by the sound of somepony humming in the distance. Immediately she felt herself relax, standing up straighter now that she’d heard the familiar signal—her nightmare was coming to an end before it could even begin.

The colt, however, looked confused. “Wh-what’s that? Who’s singing?!” he asked, looking around only to find a figure trotting toward him amidst the trees. He backed away as the figure approached, stumbling to a halt as his rump hit a tree. The figure continued to stalk closer until he found himself face to face with a distinctly irritated-looking blue alicorn.

“Pr-Princess Luna!” he squeaked, trying to back farther away.

Without so much as a word to him, Luna sparked her horn twice and the foal vanished into thin air.

“Princess Luna!” Pinkie exclaimed, brightening up considerably and rushing to the alicorn. “You’re here, you’re here!” She sat down on her hind legs and extended her forelegs, giggling when Princess Luna leaned down to nuzzle her.

“Forgive me for my lateness, Little One,” Princess Luna said when she drew herself up again. “The real Dipsy Drops was having a nightmare as well, and it took me longer than expected to attend to it.”

“Oh no!” Pinkie said, placing her hooves on her mouth. “Is he all right? Did it take long because it was a really super-awful nightmare?” Then she lowered her hooves and narrowed her eyes. “Or did it take long because… you didn’t want to help him?” When Luna failed to reply, Pinkie gasped and crossed her hooves, furrowing her brow. “Princess, you promised!”

Princess Luna took a step back, indignant at Pinkie’s scolding expression. “Little One, I would never let a foal suffer from a terrible nightmare!” she protested, stamping her hoof against the ground. She turned her head and mumbled, “Though I am growing very weary of his dreams being utterly horrid toward yo—” She stopped herself and sighed. “For once, I cannot wait for a pony to grow up and stop believing in me so I do not have to enter his slumbers ever again.”

Pinkie looked satisfied. “Okie-dokie! I believe you! Nopony deserves nightmares, not even meanies like Dipsy Drops, right?”

Princess Luna looked to Pinkie and smiled. “Right,” she said, and then her smile turned mischievous. “I can only wish I had not let out a squeak of excitement when the nightmare Pinkie fought back, however.”

Pinkie giggled, standing up. “Do you have to leave again?” she asked, blinking her eyes and dreaming a small staircase into existence. She pushed it next to Princess Luna and used it to climb up onto the princess’ back before standing on her hind legs and letting herself drop on Luna’s head. She placed her forehooves over Luna’s eyes and with a giggle exclaimed, “You can’t leave if you can’t see!”

Princess Luna shook her head, laughing and levitating Pinkie off and floating her in front of herself. “Do not worry. I have already finished taking care of the other foals, and unless adults have started believing in me, I cannot enter their dreams.”

Pinkie gasped, reaching up with her hoof and shaking Luna’s head by her muzzle. “Does this mean… super dreamy playtime?” Her question was answered when Luna’s horn flashed and the scenery around them changed into a playground filled with swings and slides as tall as entire houses. “Eeeeeee!”

She wriggled around until Princess Luna put her down. She then looked at the tallest slide and hopped once, twice, and a final time, jumping high enough to reach the top of the slide. “Bet you can’t jump as high as me!” she called. “Princess Luna! Do your secret voice! The princess one!”

Luna cleared her throat and called out in a voice that made the slide quake and Pinkie’s dream bones rumble: “Dost thou enjoy it when we speak in our royal voice?”

“Yes, I do!” Pinkie called back, riding down to the bottom of the slide and landing on the ground with a soft thud. “I mean, yes we do-eth!” She got up and hopped in place. “Did other ponies talk in the secret voice, too?”

Princess Luna harrumphed. “No. Only Sister and I use it. Cadance and Twilight never did, despite my insistence.”

At the mention of the other princesses, Pinkie clapped her hooves. “Ooooh! I wanna see them in one of your movies again! Pleeeease?”

“‘Movies’? Oh. You mean my memory orbs.” Luna smiled. “I suppose I can. How about—”

“I wanna pick! I wanna pick!”

Luna playfully rolled her eyes. She flashed her horn and pulled a smattering of orbs from the ether, each with hazy pictures playing out behind the milky white of their surface. Immediately Pinkie jumped up and touched one of them, causing it to burst and change the scenery around them.

Rather than a playground, they were now inside what seemed to be an observatory where a second Luna was busy sulking as she stared out the window. Several objects inside the room were floating upside down, and there was a chair that kept switching back and forth between being made of goop and being made of marshmallows.

Pinkie climbed up on Princess Luna’s back, before pulling on the alicorn’s ear and whispering, “Why are you so grumpy? And why’s everything so weird?”

Her question was answered when the door to the observatory slammed open, followed by a unicorn trotting in, her nose stuck between the pages of a book. Behind her floated several dozen other books in an orderly line.

“Ohhhh… I’ve never seen her without wings before!” Pinkie whispered, pulling on Princess Luna’s ear again.

“Twilight Sparkle!” Memory Luna exclaimed, swirling around on the spot and scowling at the unicorn, who was ignoring the irritated princess. “Canst thou please tell Us why our observatory resembles Discord’s abode?! We think We’ve had enough of his chaos for our entire immortal lifetime!”

Twilight trotted all the way up to the desk before putting her book down and finally turning to the princess. “Princess Celestia asked me to investigate to find a way to stop Discord. I replicated his chaos magic so I could look for a pattern,” she explained, giggling and clapping her hooves together. “Isn’t it exciting?!”

“Hardly.” Memory Luna turned back to her window, staring out at the night sky. “Thou thinkest anything our sister says is exciting.” She turned back to Twilight. “Didst thou hear our subjects all saying Celestia wouldst vanquish him?! We could vanquish him as well, and in less time, too!”

“Yeah!” Pinkie exclaimed, forgetting she could not be heard, but drawing a smile from the real Princess Luna nevertheless.

“Princess… we are all doing what we can to stop Discord,” Twilight said, frowning and opening her book. “Princess Celestia would not have asked me to help if she thought she could do it on her own.”

Memory Luna glared down Twilight’s encouraging smile. “Dost thou really believe that?”

Twilight faltered. “Well, I…”

Memory Luna harrumphed and turned back to her window. “That answers our question.”

Twilight sighed. “Princess, I—”

“Twilight!”

Seconds later, a little purple dragon waddled into the room, carrying a large book at least two times his size. “I brought the book you wanted!”

Twilight levitated the book to her desk and smiled widely. “Thank you, Spike! What would I do without you?” she asked, giggling when the little dragon puffed out his chest. She cleared her throat and opened it up to a specific page. After a minute of scanning, she clapped her hooves again, practically jumping in place. “Ooooh, here it is! Look! This might help us defeat Discord!”

She levitated the book and turned it around for Memory Luna to see. On it was a drawing of a very unimpressive-looking grey sphere.

“Twilight Sparkle, We truly hope thou dost not expect us to hurl stones at him as our plan of attack.”

Twilight rolled her eyes playfully and shook her head. “No, Princess! This is something I’ve read about in ancient scrolls from Princess Celestia’s private library.” She turned the book back toward herself and frowned. “It seems to be a magic stone powered by different elemental essences, rumored to be powerful enough to stop anything. I’ve only managed to find out information about one using the essence of magic, but I imagine there must be more? There is not much information about it, and not even Princess Celestia knows a lot about it.”

“Essence of magic?”

Twilight nodded. “I imagine even one must be powerful enough to defeat Discord. If I…” She looked up, her eyes practically shining. Filled with glee, she moved away from her desk, practically jumping around in excited circles. “If I find one, we could bring an end to the Chaos War!”

Memory Luna frowned. “Elements? What about the other ones? What elements? Are they linked to magical beings? Or alicorns?”

Twilight stopped her hopping, biting her lip. “Alicorns…?” She gasped, stamping her forehoof against the desk. “What if the other Elemental Stones are linked to you, Princess Celestia, and Cadance?! The Element of the Sun and the Element of the Moon? And does the Element of Magic bond them together? That might be it!” Her ears dropped. “But… Cadance is an alicorn too, even if she was turned into one, rather than born as one. Does… does her element count?”

Twilight fell silent, suddenly frozen like a statue, and it took Pinkie a moment to realize it wasn’t Twilight who’d stopped talking, but the memory itself that had stopped.

“Princess Luna?” she asked, tapping the princess on the head. “Why’d you stop the movie?”

“I was thinking…” She shook her head, apparently dispelling a bad thought, and looked up at the floating orbs. “Perhaps we should watch a different ‘movie’? I am tiring of this particular one.”

Pinkie climbed up on top of Luna’s head so as to reach the nearest orb, poking it with her hoof and squealing with glee when it popped open and the scenery again changed. She retreated back down to her stellar seat, resting her chin on the top of Princess Luna’s head and holding onto Luna’s ear—not out of excitement or curiosity, but now out of fear.

Rather than taking them to a castle or a room or some lovely place, the memory took them inside a dark and dank place that looked very much like the inside of a cave. There was a translucent black barrier blocking the entrance, and yet despite this, enough light filtered in to allow the filly a good look at a terrifying sight.

There was Luna, sitting on the floor, staring down at her forehooves with an utterly terrified expression. In front of her was a beast that in any other circumstances would have made the filly gawk. There was no good way to describe him: it was like a foal had disassembled different animal dolls and sewn them all together to create a truly unsettling creature.

She’d heard of the Spirit, of course. She’d known he was the reason Princess Luna did not tell her where the others were. She knew Princess Luna was protecting her, but it was hard to fear a creature she’d never seen until that moment. The Spirit hovered over the defenseless alicorn, his lips twisted into a terrifying smile.

“Pr-Princess?” Pinkie squeaked, trying to get her friend’s attention.

Luna, however, was too transfixed by the scene unfolding to hear Pinkie’s terrified voice, or feel the filly desperately tugging at her ear.

“Well, well, well!” the Spirit said when Luna turned up to glare at him. “My dearest moon princess! Why are you looking at me like that? Didn’t you confess to Twilight in a letter that you often felt as invisible as a ghost? Now you are one!”

Memory Luna stood up, baring her teeth at the Spirit and glaring at him through teary eyes.

“Besides, I’m not the one you should be upset at!” he continued, placing his paw on his chest in an indignant motion. “Or hast thou forgotten what thy precious little friend has done? I gave her a perfectly reasonable demand, and she decided to restart the war by denying me what I had been promised! Honestly, I’m the victim here!”

“Reasonable demand?!” Luna spat out. “You dare call that… that charade a reasonable demand?! Twilight Sparkle was never given a choice in the first place! She would never sacrifice the most precious…” She stepped back, her wings flaring. “…Your intent was war from the very start.”

The Spirit laughed, snapping his fingers so confetti fell around—and through—Luna. “Con-gra-tu-lations, Princess! That certainly did take you a while, didn’t it? Celestia was on to me for months before the fifth ‘peace meeting.’ She knew as well as I did that our ‘peace’ was anything but peaceful. Then again, it wasn’t as if she had any way to stop me, now did she?”

“You knew.”

The Spirit snorted. “I knew since the third peace meeting.”

“The third yea—”

The Spirit materialized in front of her. “Yes, the third year, my dear. I must say, bravo on keeping it a secret from me for so long. Too bad your precious newly appointed alicorn princess wasn’t so good at hiding how scared she was of me.”

“Then why wait until now?! Why not just declare war then?!”

“Why?” he asked, slowly, carefully. “I love tricks, Princess Luna! I am the very best at them! And yet…” He leaned in and whispered: “I despise when silly little ponies think they can fool me.” He leaned back and floated up into a horizontal position, his belly down as if he were lying on a bed. “What? Did you think I’d never figure it out? Or that I’d never do something as elaborate as this when I did?” He grinned and fluttered his eyelashes. “Haven’t you ever heard of organized chaos? It can be quite deadly. Or ghostly, in this case!”

When Luna’s only reply was to try and shoot an attack at him, he simply teleported away before reappearing above her.

“Twilight didn’t deserve any of this! We—”

“Princess, you brought this all upon yourselves! Fool me once, shame on me; fool me for three years, my, my, what a shame on you indeed! You really thought I’d sit there and be reformed? Oh, for the longest time, I simply couldn’t figure out how a mere unicorn had single-hoofedly managed to bring me down from the God of Chaos to somepony groveling for your mercy—until I figured it out. Goodness, I couldn’t let you upstage me, could I? How am I doing, by the way?”

He snapped his fingers and an illusion of Twilight appeared, looking quite terrified.

“You should have let her face the consequences of her mistake all on her own. I always knew that little know-it-all wasn’t as strong or intelligent as you all made her out to be, but my, did you trick me into thinking she was. I suppose you had to cover it up, didn’t you, with your hero complex and all? What would Celestia do if anypony knew her precious student had made such a terrible mistake? Or Cadance, knowing her precious sister-in-law had failed Equestria? And you…” He snorted and made a dismissive gesture with his hoof. “You just wanted to pretend you were useful.”

“N-no, that is not—!”

“Unfortunately, I’m afraid I’m all out of tea, and though this has been terribly fun, I still have three more princesses to deal with! So much to do, so little time!” he said, snapping his fingers so a cup of tea appeared in his paw, which he promptly spilled all over the ground. He then threw the cup behind him, smiling when it smashed against the barrier.

“Since you’re too much of a weakling to destroy the barrier yourself, you’ll have to wait until your precious sister or friend come and save you. But don’t worry, I’m sure it won’t take too long for somepony to find them. After all, they’ll be missed, unlike a certain other somepony.” With a sinister laugh, he turned around to leave, but stopped abruptly.

“Oh! Silly me! I almost forgot!” The Spirit snapped his fingers and Luna’s crown appeared in his hand. “I’ll be borrowing this, Princess.” He flung the crown up in the air and clapped when it landed on his head. “This crown will be perfect for fooling those apple farmers into telling me where Princess Twilight Sparkle’s secret library is. Goodness, am I going to have fun with her.”

“NO!” Memory Luna and the real Luna yelled, both taking a step toward the fading-out draconequus.

Memory Luna rushed toward the entrance, colliding with the barrier, again and again and again. “No! Come back! COME BACK!” After her fifth futile attempt, she slid down the barrier, her voice hoarse and terrified. “Sister… Twilight… Forgive me…”

“Sister…” Princess Luna whispered, too immersed in the memory to remember it was a memory, until without warning, Pinkie changed it into an altogether different one. “Wh-what…?”

Luna stepped back. She immediately stopped the memory and relief was apparent on her face at the sight of Pinkie still sitting on top of her, hugging her tightly.

“Pinkie Pie?”

There were a few seconds of silence until Pinkie replied.

“I-I d-didn’t like the mo-movie, P-Princess Luna,” the filly sniffled, burying her face in Luna’s mane and hugging the back of Luna’s head as tightly as she could.

Before Pinkie could use the alicorn’s mane as a tissue, Luna gently pried the weeping filly off with her magic. Luna set her down on the floor, sitting down and wrapping a wing around the filly when Pinkie’s first act was to hug Luna’s foreleg as if her short life depended on it.

“I apologize, Little One,” Luna softly said, looking genuinely distressed by Pinkie’s state. “I… I should have been more careful. That one wasn’t meant for your eyes. Are you all right?”

After the five minutes it took Pinkie to be “all right,” she backed off and rubbed her hoof against her eyes, nodding her head. “Uh-huh…”

“Pinkie Pie?” Luna asked, waiting for Pinkie to look up before smiling widely and saying, “Dost thou know thou art my very best friend?”

The effect was instantaneous.

Pinkie’s eyes brightened up as she hopped in place. “You’re my very best friend too, Luna!” she exclaimed, giggling when Luna leaned down to nuzzle her. She stood up straight and put on the most determined face she could muster. “And, and I’m gonna get you out of here super fast, and no meanie spirit will stop me! I promise!”

Luna giggled. “I will hold you to that promise, Little One.”

Author's Note

Thanks as always to my awesome patrons and my awesome prereaders.

~ Act II ~ 13 ~ The Princess' Request ~

The sun had already set and by Rarity’s estimates, they were due to arrive very shortly at Ponyville station. The moon shone its silvery light over the landscape, the soft rays of light filtering through the window and into the small train cabin.

Rarity, sitting on the right side of the cabin, looked away from the window and toward the pegasus sitting opposite her.

Fluttershy stared out the window, deep in thought, and though she never did say much, she was even more quiet than usual. Her thoughts were a coveted mystery to the unicorn, and yet, it wasn’t difficult for Rarity to venture a guess at what they must be about. It wasn’t every day that a pony found out her best friend had seen princesses of ages past in her dreams, and it wasn’t every day that a pony found out that her best friend and perhaps even herself were the potential targets of a truly frightening creature.

Rarity returned her gaze to the outside scenery. Her eyes idly followed the moon across the sky, and her thoughts felt as scattered and plentiful as the stars in the sky.

She was tired. She was so very tired, but it wasn’t the exhaustion she was used to.

Rarity thrived off exhaustion, thrived off pressure and deadlines, dresses with their stitching finished under the light of morning’s first sunshine. But this exhaustion was not the exhaustion of productivity. Not just because of nightmares that kept her up; it was also because she was frightened. Frightened of what she’d learned, frightened of what Fluttershy must have been thinking, and most of all, frightened of telling Twilight everything, for better or worse.

If this were a book, Rarity thought, the heroine would be celebrating.

But in the book of Rarity’s life, the heroine didn’t feel like doing any such thing. She’d found Princess Luna, a wonderful, amazing feat. And yet the world had never seemed so dim.

An evil Spirit was after her, and if he hadn’t already planned her demise, it would only be a matter of time. Princess Luna had blocked off all contact just when Rarity needed it the most. And now…

Now the search party would be reduced to just… her.

“Fluttershy, I can’t ask you to help anymore,” Rarity said, still avoiding her friend’s gaze in favor of staring out at the stars. It was a reiteration of the thoughts that had been going through her mind for the last couple of hours, and she couldn’t help but vocalize them from time to time. If only to stop herself from going mad. “Not if it puts you in danger.”

“Oh…”

Silence settled over them. Not the silence shared between two friends who needed no words, but rather the one thrust upon two individuals with a terrible decision before them.

“Are you sure he’s after you?” Fluttershy asked again, and Rarity was oddly grateful Fluttershy had not included herself in the group of those in danger.

“Well, if my doppelgänger is any indication, we know at the very least that he’s watching me,” Rarity said. “And if he’s watching me, I can’t risk him setting his sights on you too.”

“Hmm…” Fluttershy looked back toward the window.

“He’s already going to use me to attack Twilight,” Rarity continued, trying to convince Fluttershy of her decision. “I think that’s more than enough ponies my silly adventuring antics will harm.”

Fluttershy looked back toward Rarity. “But you said that was just a nightmare, Rarity.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s impossible.”

In a way, that was the scariest thing about the nightmare, and it was the thought that kept her up. It wasn’t so much the memory of the nightmare, though that was terrifying enough; it was the knowledge that it could come true should the Spirit decide. If he was already using Rarity’s image to trick ponies, what was stopping him from taking the next step?

“But what will you do?” Fluttershy asked, looking livelier than she had the entire trip. “You can’t stay with the princess forever.”

“If it comes to it, the only solution I can think of is simply not seeing Twilight at all. That way, she’ll know that if a ‘Rarity’ comes along, it isn’t me.”

All things said and done, it was a drastic measure to take, but Rarity couldn’t risk Twilight’s life like that. Or the life of anypony else, for that matter.

Fluttershy looked uncomfortable at the proposal, frowning and fidgeting in her seat. “But… how will we help her, then?”

“I don’t know how I’ll help her, but as I said, I can’t ask you to keep putting yourself in danger,” Rarity said, looking out the window and catching sight of Ponyville’s train station in the distance. “In fact,” she continued, turning to look at her friend, “I don’t want you helping anymore.”

Fluttershy looked taken aback. “You don’t?”

Rarity shook her head. “I don’t know if the Spirit is truly after me, but if he is… I simply cannot allow my best friend to risk her life because of something I started. If something were to happen to you, I’d…” She drifted off, finding she didn’t want to actually picture any of the things that could potentially happen to Fluttershy. “You do understand, don’t you?” she asked, even though it really wasn’t intended to be a question.

Fluttershy looked down at the floor, ears lowered. “I do, I suppose…”

Her sentence was cut short by the whistle of the train, signaling their arrival. It seemed like the interruption was enough to silence whatever Fluttershy had intended to say, and Rarity refrained from asking about it.

The two mares took their belongings, trotted out into the hallway, and exited the train.

When her hooves landed on the ground, Rarity initially felt relieved to be back home after a trip that had felt so very long. But her relief was short-lived as she remembered exactly what she had to do now that she was home.

They trotted away from the station in silence, once more lost in their thoughts as they headed toward the center of the town. Despite it still being relatively early at night, the streets of Ponyville were curiously empty, save for a few meandering ponies here and there.

“Do you have Princess Twilight’s necklace?” Fluttershy asked, breaking the silence between them.

“I do,” Rarity replied, feeling the weight of her saddlebag against her. She levitated her own necklace into her line of sight, and wished it actually was imbued with a Spirit-warding spell.

Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly stopped and stared in front of her. Rarity followed suit and noticed a black owl in the distance, hooting and flying in circles as if it were looking for something.

“Isn’t that Themis?” Fluttershy asked.

“Themis!” Rarity called out, drawing the attention of the owl.

At the sound of Rarity’s voice, he flew toward them, landing on Fluttershy’s outstretched forehoof and hooting at her several times.

Rarity frowned. “What’s he doing here? I told Twilight we’d be arriving home tomorrow afternoon.” She noticed Fluttershy looking very serious and asked, “Did something happen?”

“He’s not here for us,” Fluttershy replied. “Elara has been missing for a day now. He’s looking for her.”

“She’s been missing for a day?”

That did not bode well. Twilight was very attached to her owls, and if Elara had been missing for a full day, then the alicorn must be sick with worry—especially considering she couldn’t even go out to look for her pet.

“Themis, could you please take me to the library?” Rarity asked, readjusting her saddlebag across her back. She was getting tired of the weight, but going to her boutique, leaving her things, and then going to the Everfree Forest would be too much of a detour.

“You’re going to the library? Now?” Fluttershy asked, blinking at Rarity. “But it’s almost eight o’clock. It’s not safe to go into the forest at night!”

“Hush, it’s not that late in the evening,” Rarity said, brushing off Fluttershy’s concerns with a wave of her hoof. “I’ll be perfectly all right with Themis guiding me.”

Fluttershy gently shook her hoof, prompting Themis to fly back up into the air. She was quiet for a moment, and then asked: “You are going to tell the princess about the Spirit, aren’t you?”

Rarity thought about it for a minute before shaking her head. “No, I’m not. Not yet, at least. Tomorrow. After all, there’s no point in telling her now when I won’t be able to stay for very long. Goodness knows how she’ll take it, so I better adequately prepare.”

“…I guess you’re right,” Fluttershy relented, looking up at Themis flying around, still searching the vicinity for Elara. “Rarity, what if the princess doesn’t want you to help anymore?”

“Then I suppose I better make the most out of my visit tonight.”

Truthfully, Rarity wanted to delay the conversation about the Spirit because she was scared. Not tired, not unprepared, but terrified of the outcome she could already see coming. When Twilight found out the Spirit was after them, she would probably forbid Rarity from ever seeing her again.

It was curious, in a way, how Rarity was fully prepared to end her visits should it put Twilight’s life in danger, but the mere idea of Twilight being the one to cut Rarity off…

Perhaps the comparison wasn’t really adequate, but it made sense. After all, breakups—even of a platonic variety—were always easier when it was oneself who ended the relationship.

“I’d like to go with you,” Fluttershy said, hesitation in her voice despite the firm request.

“You want to go with me? But, Fluttershy, it’s so late to go out into the forest!” Rarity exclaimed, as if she hadn’t brushed off Fluttershy’s same concerns less than a moment ago.

“I know, but I still would like to go. If things don’t go well tomorrow, I—”

“I understand,” Rarity interrupted, smiling warmly at the pegasus. In the depths of her mind, Rarity understood Fluttershy wanted to say her potential farewells, and who was Rarity to deny her that? Twilight and Fluttershy were friends, and… it made Rarity feel even worse for having asked Fluttershy not to get involved anymore.

Maybe that’s why she needed a day—or night—to think. Maybe there was a better solution.

In retrospect, trotting through the forest with its constant reminders of her nightmare, Rarity realized it might have been a better idea to wait until the next day as originally planned. It wasn’t like Twilight could go anywhere, and Rarity could spend a full day with Twilight before telling her about the Spirit’s interference. She could still turn back and get a good night’s rest.

Or not.

Even if they turned back and headed toward their respective homes, the anxiety would keep her awake—if the nightmares didn’t already. She couldn’t turn back because the more she thought about it, the more she realized she wanted to just get it over with and tell Twilight everything. The fear gripping her heart and mind, the anxiety and panic of anticipating Twilight’s reaction…

Or maybe she couldn’t turn back because she wanted to see Twilight already, for better or worse. With everything that happened, her trip to Hollow Shades had felt eternal, like chapters from her romance novels that dragged on and on, and she just wanted to get back to the part with the love inter—

She cut her thoughts off, rolling her eyes and ignoring the heat crawling up her cheeks. Goodness, Fluttershy and Pinkie really did get under my coat with their teasing, didn’t they?

Dispelling her thoughts, she looked up to find Themis flying in a distracted fashion, looking around into the depths of the forest and hooting occasionally. What could have happened to Elara?

She glanced at Fluttershy, wondering what she was thinking. Would she be able to act as if she knew nothing about the Spirit once they met with Twilight? It would be hard, yes, but for the sake of having a somewhat pleasant evening, she hoped her friend would be able to put on a happy front.

After a while, they finally reached their destination. The great old oak tree stood imposingly in the middle of its depression in the forest, and Rarity was overcome with a strange mixture of both relief and apprehension at the sight of the library—relief because she’d finally arrived, and apprehension because she was vividly reminded of her nightmare.

“Well, here we are!” she exclaimed, discreetly turning around to make sure no hooded doppelgänger was around before taking the initiative and jumping down into the depression.

She waited until Fluttershy did the same, then turned to Themis and thanked him for his help. The owl hooted twice in reply before flying off, presumably to keep searching for his companion. Once he was gone, Rarity and Fluttershy turned back toward the tree and made their way to the trapdoor. Upon reaching it, they found it opened and propped up against the tree; an odd and worrying sight, considering Rarity had made sure to close the door when she left several days ago, and she was positive an owl couldn’t possibly lift it.

“Hadn’t you closed the door when we left?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yes, I did.”

“You did?”

“I distinctly remember having left it clos— Fluttershy?” Rarity turned around, watching her friend practically galloping away from the tree. “Fluttershy! Come back here!”

“You-know-maybe-we-should-come-back-tomorrow!” Fluttershy rambled in a rapid, high-pitched voice. “When it’s daylight and there are no ghosts and no trapdoors and whe— Eek! Rarity!” she shrieked, in vain trying to fight the magic levitating her back to the tree.

Once she had been dragged back next to Rarity, she clutched onto the unicorn and whispered urgently, “What if it’s the Spirit?!”

“I can assure you it’s not the Spirit,” Rarity said, letting Fluttershy go. After receiving a pointedly panicked and skeptical look from Fluttershy, she amended her reply. “Well… I don’t know if it’s the Spirit, but— Fluttershy, will you stop that?!”

After finding herself forcefully levitated toward the tree again, Fluttershy said, “Maybe we can get everypony back home to come help us, and if we’re all together, then the Spirit can’t attack us?”

Rarity rolled her eyes, turning to look at her friend. “Fluttershy, sweetheart, as wonderful as that would be, we both know that’s not an option.” She looked back toward the trapdoor, peeking into the darkness below. “Themis is gone, and while I won’t allow you to wander back home alone, if the Spirit is in there, then Twilight is in danger, and I can’t just leave her all by herself.”

“But, Rarity…”

Rarity offered an encouraging smile. “Fluttershy, you can either wait here until I’m back, or you can come down with me, but you need to make up your mind now.”

Without waiting for a reply, Rarity lit up her horn and began her descent. To her relief, she could hear Fluttershy following behind, though she wished the pegasus wasn’t whimpering so much.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Rarity stared into the tunnel, disconcerted by how dark it was. Ever since she’d started visiting, Twilight would always have the main room completely lit up, or would otherwise instruct Star to wait in front of the entrance. Tonight, there was no light or enchanted candelabra waiting for them.

She slowly made her way toward the end of the tunnel, Fluttershy sticking to her like panicked glue. Once they stepped into the library, Rarity looked around for the candelabra but failed to find it anywhere.

“Twilight!” she whispered as loudly as her own fear allowed.

She turned to Fluttershy and found the pegasus also calling out for the princess, save for the fact that no sound actually came out of her mouth.

Rarity called out several more times in vain, and eventually decided to keep moving on. They made their way into the depths of the library, through the aisles of bookcases, and then Rarity suddenly stopped, Fluttershy bumping into her and screeching in fright.

“Shhh!” Rarity said, gesturing for Fluttershy to be quiet before pointing toward what lay in front of her. “Look at all this!”

Blankets and pillows were spread in the middle of the aisle, some bunched up and others neatly placed. Where on earth had Twilight even gotten them? Surely they didn’t belong to the alicorn? Taking one of the pillows from the floor, Rarity could tell they definitely weren’t thousands of years old.

They were, however, filthy with dirt, dust, and even mud. Whoever had brought them had made sure they got a special taste of the Everfree Forest décor.

“These look just like the ones I have at home. They’re so expensive; I can’t believe somepony would treat them this way.”

“But who put this all here?” Fluttershy asked, her voice a bit louder now that her fear had been pushed to the back of her mind. “Look!” She stepped forward and moved a blanket to reveal several sheets of paper and colored pencils. She picked up one of the papers and showed it to Rarity.

It was filled with drawings, and by that point, Rarity was more confused than scared. She intensified the light of her horn, and upon closer examination, she sucked in air through her teeth.

“…They didn’t.”

“They” were the two familiar fillies in the drawings.

Fluttershy took another paper, depicting the two fillies fighting a creature of some sort. On top of the drawing, in a squiggly calligraphy, somepony had written “Evil Spirit Destroying Cutie Mark Crusaders.”

“Well, I suppose now we know why these pillows look just like mine,” Rarity said sweetly, caressing her hoof against the pillow and then lovingly placing it back on top of the blankets. “THESE ARE MY PILLOWS!”

She jumped over her poor mistreated pillows and rushed deeper into the library. “SWEETIE BELLE!”

“Wa-wait, Rarity!” Fluttershy called out, rushing after her friend. “What am I supposed to do?!”

“Look for them upstairs! I’ll go to the floor below!”

Rarity may have been scared before, but now she was furious. Not only had the fillies disobeyed her, but they’d also nearly given her a worry-induced heart attack by leaving the trapdoor open.

She made her way to the spiral staircases and traveled down to the lower floor.

Just like the upper floor, the entire room was pitch black, save for the glowing, moving maze and the three lights wandering inside it. Two she recognized as the glow a flashlight would emit, but the third pink-tinged light she recognized as unicorn—or in this case, alicorn—magic.

Before she could call out to them, a loud yell interrupted her.

“Star!” Sweetie yelled.

“Swirl!” Twilight replied seconds after, and it was only then that Rarity realized how relieved she was to hear the alicorn’s voice.

“Ooooh! Oh, she’s right near me!” Scootaloo called out in reply.

Rarity watched the beam of light from one flashlight hastening along while Twilight quickly moved in the opposite direction, away from Scootaloo. Was Twilight actually playing with them? Rarity distinctly remembered the alicorn finding games in the maze to be… anything but fun, didn’t she?

She buried her hooves in her face and let out a long sigh. She’d been honestly terrified only minutes ago, thinking the absolute worst had happened, only to find out it had just been because of a silly game.

Talk about a stark change of mood…

“Star!” Scootaloo called again, and suddenly three smaller lights appeared next to her and began circling her. “No, not you, Star! Shoo!”

“Swirl!” Twilight replied.

Moments later, several lights flashed next to her, which Rarity assumed to be the second magic candelabra.

As they kept playing their game, Rarity continued trotting down the stairs, only looking back to gesture to the newly arrived Fluttershy to keep quiet. Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, Rarity got a head start and looked for the entrance of the maze—a difficult task considering it kept moving around.

It took her a while, but she finally found the opening into the maze and trotted in. She began her exploration of the moving labyrinth, waiting for the next voice to call out and give her an idea of which direction to advance in.

“Princess Twilight!” Sweetie’s voice rang out, much closer to Rarity than she’d expected. “You promise you’re not walking through walls?!”

“I told you I’m not!” Twilight called back, the indignation in her voice nearly making Rarity laugh. Oh, she could just see Twilight’s miffed expression.

Rarity trotted several more minutes, listening to another few rounds of “Swirls!” and “Stars!” before she decided it was time to join in on the fun.

She stopped in place, cleared her throat, and then, in the single loveliest sing-song voice she could muster, called out: “Staaar!”

Silence fell in the library immediately after, and she couldn’t help but smile as she waited for her actions to take effect.

“…Which one of you said that?” Twilight asked, the amusement gone from her voice in time for Rarity’s smile to turn into a self-satisfied smirk.

“It… It was you, wasn’t it, Sweetie?” Scootaloo’s voice replied, giving the cue for Rarity to continue her trek down the moving hallways.

“It wasn’t me!” Sweetie called back, unwittingly aiding Rarity in tracking down her location.

“Well, it wasn’t me, either!”

“Well, it had to be you, ’cause it wasn’t me!”

“Girls, wait,” Twilight called out, in vain trying to stop the assaults of accusations the fillies hurled at each other. “Stop arguing!”

As the conversation between the three went on, Rarity continued her leisurely trot, mentally preparing the choice words she’d give Sweetie when she found the filly. She turned a corner and her smile vanished when she finally spotted her little sister in the distance, her back to Rarity as she continued debating with Scootaloo and Twilight.

“Sweetie Belle, stop lying!” Scootaloo called back. “Princess Twilight, tell her!”

Sweetie Belle gasped. “What if… What if it’s the ghost of Star Swirl the Bearded?!” she called out, completely unaware of the unicorn standing behind her, staring her down with punishment in her eyes.

“I highly doubt that,” Twilight replied flatly.

“Frankly, it’s a shame it isn’t him,” Rarity said, loudly and clearly for all to hear and fear, “because you two will need all the supernatural protection you can get to save you from the punishment you’ve earned for DISOBEYING ME!”

Sweetie Belle swirled around, flashing her flashlight at Rarity, her eyes filling with pure terror.

“Ra-Rarity?!” she shrieked, before making the incredibly unwise decision to turn around and run for her life, dropping her flashlight in the process.

“Sweetie Belle! You come back here this instant!” Rarity yelled, chasing after the filly.

In the distance, an also-panicked Scootaloo called out, “Rarity?! You said she wasn’t coming back until tomorrow afternoon!”

“Rarity’s back?” Twilight’s voice followed, the only one of the three to sound excited rather than terrified. “Swirl! Light, please!”

While the candelabra floated up to the ceiling to transform into a chandelier and light up the room, Rarity chased after Sweetie Belle, eventually cornering her into a dead end. The filly backed up against the wall until her rump hit the bookcase, forcing her to hide her head inside her forelegs and await Rarity’s scolding.

Or, she would have had Twilight not rushed through the wall and stood in front of her, facing Rarity.

“Rarity!” Twilight exclaimed enthusiastically. Moments later, after no doubt realizing she was perhaps showing a bit more excitement than she’d like, she cleared her throat and toned it down to a more dignified level. “You’re back early.”

Rather than reply, Rarity took a moment to gaze at Twilight, her expression softening almost entirely at seeing her after what felt like such a long time. She’d been relieved when she’d heard Twilight’s voice, but it could scarcely compare to the relief she experienced upon actually seeing Twilight. Seeing her was instant reassurance that no, she was not harmed, and no, there weren’t any evil Rarity doppelgängers threatening the alicorn.

Well, not yet, at least.

“Yes, I am,” Rarity replied.

“But how did you get here? Did Elara bring you?” Twilight asked, excitement rising in her voice as she looked up, eyes searching the room for the owl.

“No. Themis did,” Rarity replied.

Twilight’s ears flopped down. “Oh… I thought maybe…”

Rarity was about to ask about Elara, but she remembered the topic at hoof when her eyes landed on the filly still cowering behind Twilight. “And it’s a lucky thing he did, or else I would have missed out on this illicit slumber party.”

Twilight blinked. “Illicit slumber party…?” She turned around and noticed Sweetie Belle behind her. “Oh.” She turned back to Rarity, and any remaining excitement vanished, replaced instead with a horrified expression to match Sweetie’s. “Oh no.”

“Oh yes,” Rarity said, taking a step toward Twilight, who in turn took one back, flinching. If she had the time, Rarity would have taken a moment to laugh at the fact that Twilight, of all ponies, was afraid of Rarity.

“Wa-wait, Rarity,” Sweetie pleaded, her fear diminished now that she had a living—dead? spiritual?—shield in front of her. “It’s not what it looks like!”

“It’s exactly what it looks like!”

“Wait, Rarity,” Twilight interrupted, splaying a wing open so as to properly shield the filly. “Please. This is my fault, not theirs.”

Rarity raised her eyebrows. “Your fault? What? Did you call them here?” she asked, her initial surprise quickly giving way to anger. “Twilight! You should know better than to do something like that! They’re fillies! They shouldn’t be wandering the forest alone!”

“She didn’t bring us here! Princess Twilight only sent out Themis to find Elara, and we saw him, and we wanted to help!” Sweetie Belle protested, trotting next to Twilight, apparently feeling a bit braver.

“Y-yeah!” Scootaloo exclaimed, finally having caught up with the others. “Princess Twilight can’t go out and look for her, so we’re gonna do it! We were gonna go look for her now, but then Princess Twilight said we needed to play a game…”

“Play a game?” Rarity repeated, her anger momentarily subsiding. She turned to Twilight with a deadpan expression. “You suggested they play a game in the maze?” she asked, skepticism dripping off every syllable. “Really?”

“Well, I couldn’t very well let them go out alone into the forest this late,” Twilight blurted out in her own defense.

Though Rarity appreciated Twilight’s thoughtfulness, she did not relent in her scolding. She levitated Sweetie Belle and plopped her down next to Scootaloo, furrowing her brow at the two fillies with their heads hung low.

“Even if that’s the case, you two should have known better than to stay here until so late! If you knew I was getting home tomorrow, you could have waited so we could all look for her during the day!”

Rarity placed a hoof on her forehead and sighed. Wonderful, just wonderful. So much for spending some time with Twilight and talking about the nicer parts of her Hollow Shades trip. She supposed she ought to be relieved the fillies were all right, and though she was, she now found herself extremely irritated that her quality time with her friend was cut short.

“I had better take them back home,” she said at length, taking her hoof back and glaring at the fillies once more for good measure. She then turned to Twilight and smiled apologetically. “We’ll come back tomorrow and help look for Elara.”

“Oh,” Twilight replied, her ears flopping down. “All right…”

“Can’t we stay just a little longer?” Sweetie asked, giving her best attempt at her sister’s trademark puppy-dog eyes. “Why can’t we go out and look for her now?”

“No,” Rarity firmly replied, even if she herself probably wanted to stay ten times more than both of the fillies combined. “I’m going outside right this instant to call Themis back, and then I’m taking you two straight back home.”

“Pleeeeeease, sis…”

Luckily for Rarity, Sweetie Belle’s puppy-dog eyes didn’t work on her. However, when Rarity turned to tell Twilight that they’d all be saying goodbye, she was surprised to find the alicorn had been subtly nodding her head alongside Sweetie Belle’s pleading, and it wasn’t until their eyes met that Twilight seemed to realize what she’d been doing, and quickly turned her nodding into a very stern shaking of her head.

“Rarity’s right, girls. It’ll be better to look for her tomorrow morning,” Twilight said, looking at the fillies and missing—ignoring?—Rarity’s playful eye roll.

“Well… On second thought, I do have to sort out the mess you two left upstairs,” Rarity relented before smiling cheekily at Twilight. “And it seems the princess has things she’d like to discuss.”

Her smile didn’t last long. “However, that doesn’t mean what you did was all right. Now, go find Fluttershy and let her know everything is okay, will you?”

Once they were gone, Rarity turned to Twilight, expression softening. “So. Elara is the source of all this, then, is she? Is this the first time she’s taken a while to come back?”

“No, but… She knows I don’t like it when she stays out for so long, and she was just supposed to go get ink. She always comes back, but I asked Themis to go out and look for her regardless… and, well, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo found him instead…”

Rarity bit her lip. “Twilight, if you’re worried, would you like for me to go look for her now? Themis might have more luck if he isn’t searching alone,” Rarity offered.

Twilight frowned, glancing in the direction the fillies had gone. “I…” Eventually, she turned back to Rarity and shook her head. “No… It is late out, and you told me that there are creatures out there in the forest. There’s no use having you go missing too.”

Rarity giggled. “Awww, you do care!” she said, fluttering her eyelashes. “I’m flattered!”

Twilight rolled her eyes playfully, then grew somber again. “Would you go looking for her tomorrow, though, please? I’d go if I could, but…”

Rarity smiled, waving off Twilight’s worries. “Twilight, you don’t have to ask for me to do that. I’ll go looking for her bright and early, and she’ll be back home before you know it.” Rarity said earnestly. “You have my word on that.”

It was a good thing she’d decided not to talk about the Spirit after all. Twilight was probably not in the mood for more bad news.

“Thank you,” Twilight replied, relaxing somewhat. “I appreciate it…”

“Now, how about we go upstairs and I tell you all about Hollow Shades, hm?”

After an extensive cleanup, the three older mares had successfully picked up most of the disaster left in the wake of the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ visit. The pillows were bundled up in blankets, waiting next to the exit to be taken home for a thorough cleaning, whereas the drawings had been placed on the table the three mares now sat around.

“The professor was useless?” Twilight asked, the blank scrolls she’d prepared to take notes on lying empty in front of her. “But you told me he was an expert on what happened to us.”

“He is, but…” Rarity faltered, looking down at the drawing she’d been working on and tapping a blue pencil against the paper. “I don’t know how to say this…”

“He doesn’t believe in us?” Twilight persisted, glancing back and forth between Rarity and Fluttershy, both of whom looked quite uncomfortable continuing.

“He believes the four of you existed,” Rarity clarified, looking up and carefully selecting her words, her hoof idly toying with the pencil. “It’s more that he doesn’t believe you were trapped somewhere so much as he believes you were…”

“…Yes?” Twilight pressed, leaning in and giving Rarity the uncomfortable sight of watching some of the alicorn’s chest go through the table.

“He believes you were assassinated.”

Twilight pulled back. “Oh.” She wrote down something on her scroll, apparently deep in thought, before looking back up with a frown on her face. “But Princess Celestia and Luna can’t be assassinated. Natural-born alicorns are immortal.”

“Only them?” Fluttershy chimed in, looking away from what Rarity was drawing. “You mean you weren’t born an alicorn, Princess Twilight?”

Twilight shook her head. “No. Princess Celestia ascended me sometime after Cadance, and ascended alicorns retain their mortal lifespan… except for…” she gestured at her own incorporeal form. “Well, this.”

“If that’s the case, then it makes sense the only way to defeat you was to trap you all somewhere,” Rarity said, exchanging the blue pencil for a black one.

“It makes sense for him to trap them, but not Cadance and me! A smarter plan would have been to trap Princess Celestia and Luna, and then let me reach the end of my mortal lifespan like he did with Cadance. With the princesses trapped, my freedom wouldn’t have managed to help Cadance defeat him. It doesn’t make sense that he trapped me…”

She buried her face in her hooves and groaned. “The way his planning works makes even less sense than the way his magic does. It gives me a headache, and I’m not sure spirits should even be able to get headaches.” She looked back at her scrolls, scribbling something down. “I guess it doesn’t matter anymore. Princess Celestia defeated him, so he’s gone.”

Her sentence was met with an audible clearing of the throat from Fluttershy, enough to make Rarity glare at her.

“In any case,” Rarity said, hoping to move the conversation far away from the Spirit, “the night before I met him, I had a dreadfully fascinating dream…”

Twilight didn’t reply and instead nodded absentmindedly, her mind still absorbed in the notes she was writing.

“Though nightmare might be a more apt description,” Rarity continued, smiling when one of Twilight’s ears twitched up, signaling she had caught some of her attention. “I had a ghastly nightmare, until somepony put an end to it.”

Twilight finally looked up, her expression indecipherable. “‘Somepony’?”

Rarity nodded. “You know, Princess Selene—or, Luna, rather—was far more different than I had always imagined her. It was quite the surprise to get to meet her personally.” She turned back to her drawing, taking a light blue pencil. “Although, I’m not sure… Does it really count as meeting her personally if it was in a dream?”

“You… You met Luna…?”

“Yes, I did. She told me that she didn’t know where she was, but that the only way to free her was by freeing you or Princess Celestia first.”

“How…” Twilight looked wary, as if trying to decode every word Rarity spoke. “How do you know it was her?” she asked. “You went to Hollow Shades hoping to find information on her whereabouts. What if you suggested yourself into dreaming about her?”

Rarity looked up. “Twilight, do you honestly think I’d be telling you this if I wasn’t one hundred percent sure?” When Twilight bowed her head and shook it, Rarity went back to her drawing. “I understand it might be a bit hard for you to believe, but if you had the dream I did, you’d be convinced, too.”

“But… don’t you have a dream photographic device?” Twilight asked. “Somepony must have invented one already! Haven’t they? And why are you drawing?! This is serious, Rarity!”

“Twilight, I’m merely doing the next best thing there is to having a dream camera, which, by the way, doesn’t exist,” Rarity said, unfazed by Twilight’s words. She put down the pencil, lifted the drawing she’d made of Princess Luna, and showed it to Twilight. “This is the alicorn that I saw in my dreams, give or take a few differences. It’s nothing like a photograph, but I think it works rather well.”

Rarity was no master artist, but she’d certainly done a good enough job if Twilight’s expression was anything to go by; the alicorn stared at the drawing, eyes wide, and got up to take a closer look.

“That… that does look just like her…” she whispered, taking the drawing from Rarity and practically shoving it against her own face. “This is the alicorn you saw?”

“Yes, it is,” Rarity replied. “And I’m not the only one who thinks she’s real. There’s a mare living in Hollow Shades who believes strongly enough in Princess Luna to travel across Equestria looking for you and Princess Celestia.”

“Where is she?” Twilight asked, moving the drawing aside just enough to look at Rarity. “Is she back in Ponyville? Why didn’t you bring her with you?”

“Why didn’t I bring her?” Rarity asked, not having expected that question. “Well, if you’ll remember, a certain somepony explicitly told me that I should bring no one to her library without her permission,” she said, raising an eyebrow. Hopefully now Twilight would realize how silly her rule was. “She left Hollow Shades yesterday to go look for information on Princess Celestia.”

“What?!” Twilight exclaimed, lowering the drawing down further and staring at Rarity as if she’d lost her mind. “That’s ridiculous! Why would you even listen to me?! How are we supposed to find her now?!” Without warning, Twilight began pacing around the table, the drawing floating behind her. “You might have actually found Luna, Rarity! This is the closest we’ve ever been and now this mare might be who-knows-where!”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “Twilight, I’m not daft enough to just let her leave like that. I had to tell her about you, and she offered to go look for clues about Princess Celestia while I stayed here in Ponyville with you and looked for your books.”

“Oh…” Twilight stopped her pacing. “So she doesn’t know anything about where Princess Celestia is?”

“I’m afraid she was as clueless as I was to anything that didn’t concern her Princess, so to speak,” Rarity replied. “And Princess Luna wasn’t much help either. I believe the Spirit might have confined her to dreams since that’s the only way to contact her.”

Twilight shook her head, finally returning to the table. “I doubt it. The ‘Luna’ you saw in your dreams was an illusion she creates of herself. She doesn’t literally transport her physical body into dreams. It’s more likely that her magic is strong enough to leave wherever she is and reach the town. Though… Though that means her barrier has different limitations than mine, since my magic can’t even cross my barrier.

“What about Luna? What else did she say? She has to know the way to break her barrier, doesn’t she?” Twilight picked up her quill again and watched Rarity attentively, ready to take notes. “And what about how she was trapped?”

Rarity faltered. “I…” She cleared her throat, arranging the colored pencils in an orderly fashion. “Well, I wasn’t able to ask her much else, you know. I woke up from my nightmare quite abruptly, and it was hard to fall asleep again. I don’t think I would have been able to manage anything other than a light nap after that.”

Twilight didn’t budge. “Luna can enter all phases of a pony’s sleep.” Her expression softened a bit. “I know you just came back, but you should go back to Hollow Shades and talk to her. Do you still have the questions I made for Professor Awe? I can add fifty more to help guide your dream with Luna.”

Rarity gulped. The conversation wasn’t going anywhere unless she told Twilight the reason she couldn’t visit Luna anymore, and that meant telling Twilight the Spirit may be after her, and… Urgh…

“Well, darling, you know, I think it would be best to wait for Pinkie Pie to send me a letter,” Rarity said, trying hard to ignore Fluttershy’s nervous stare. “Besides, Princess Luna guards the dreams of the Hollow Shades foals. She’s quite busy. I tried contacting her again, but I think she was still trying to…err… process everything!”

Twilight put her quill down.

“Rarity, it’s almost like you don’t want to see her again. Or, maybe…” She narrowed her eyes. “You can’t see her again, because she was just a dream your own subconscious created for you!” Twilight accused, standing up and staring Rarity down as if she’d just solved the crime of the century. “I knew it!”

“I did not make her up!” Rarity protested, similarly getting up and stamping her hoof against the table, unaware of Fluttershy’s increasingly uncomfortable expression.

“Then why wouldn’t she visit you again?” Twilight shot back. “And it can’t be because she was taking care of foals’ nightmares.”

“Well—! Well—!” Rarity faltered, unable to come up with an excuse. “She just didn’t…”

“She just didn’t what?” Twilight pressed.

“She didn’t want to talk to Rarity because the Spirit is after her!” Fluttershy blurted out, the sight of Twilight and Rarity starting to argue seeming too much for her. “And she didn’t want the Spirit to keep going after Rarity, so she thought it’d be safer if they didn’t talk at all until we freed you!”

“Fluttershy!” Rarity exclaimed, aghast by the betrayal. She turned to Twilight, saying “Please, Twilight, just listen for a moment—” but whatever damage Fluttershy’s interruption could do had already been done.

Twilight’s frustration had completely faded away, and instead, she merely stared at Fluttershy with a fittingly ghostly pale expression. Without a word, she took a step back, and it felt like an eternity passed before she finally turned to look at Rarity.

“Is that true?”

There was no use lying. No use in postponing the inevitable, and now that it had come, Rarity found she could see no other way but forward.

“Yes,” she said unceremoniously, with no “ifs” or “buts” or any string of words she could think of to lessen the impact. Twilight was always blunt when it mattered, and Rarity figured she’d appreciate if the topic at hoof was taken in the same way. “Yes, it is.”

“Oh.”

Twilight sat down, though it had looked more as if she’d plopped down, like one would after receiving upsetting or surprising news. She lifted the quill with her magic, and slowly dipped it in ink. After the longest moment, Twilight took back the quill, levitated it over the parchment, and simply floated it there, several droplets of ink falling and splashing on the blank paper.

“Are you sure?” she asked, lowering the quill and starting to write at an equally slow pace.

“I’m… I’m nearly positive, yes,” Rarity confessed.

“Explain.”

With hesitation, Rarity did as ordered.

She explained what she’d seen with the nightmare bomb: the terrifying shadow and the omen concerning Apple Bloom’s encounter in the Everfree Forest. Except, just as she was about to explain her nightmare, she found the proper words lacking in her mind. Probably because she didn’t want to talk about it. As she spoke, she kept rearranging the pencils in different orders, wishing she could do so as easily with the ideas rushing about her mind in a panicked fashion.

“I thought you said that the filly had been seeing things in the forest.”

“I said she was probably seeing things. And it doesn’t matter if she was or wasn’t, Twilight. Princess Luna was right; he’s bound to come after me eventually.”

Rarity looked up to find Twilight still writing, but her pace had increased exponentially, and she realized her friend wasn’t so much writing words as she was scrawling nonsense and squiggly lines.

There was a certain rhythm to her scrawling, as if she were in deep concentration, and Rarity wondered if she could just let Twilight write and write and write, never breaking her momentum and never facing what lay across the threshold of Twilight’s odd processing method.

Taking a deep breath, Rarity spoke: “Twilight? Are you—”

Her sentence was cut short by Twilight herself, who abruptly teleported away, quill and all.

Rarity withheld a groan, turning to look at her other friend, who could only meekly whisper an apology.

“It’s all right, Fluttershy. I suppose getting it over with sooner rather than later is for the best,” Rarity said, standing and looking toward the rows of bookcases. She offered an encouraging smile and nodded toward the end of the library. “Could you be a dear and check on the girls? I think it’d be best that they don’t interrupt us.”

Once Fluttershy nodded and took off, Rarity waited a few minutes before calling out.

“Twilight!”

There was no reply from or sign of Twilight. Rarity got up, calling Twilight’s name a few more times, and headed toward the rows of bookcases. She made her way through them, and opened her mouth to call out again, but stopped when Twilight suddenly trotted through a bookcase and into view, muttering under her breath.

“Twili—!”

And then disappeared through another bookcase.

“—ight…”

Just as Rarity was about to keep trotting, Twilight trotted through another bookcase, made a sharp turn toward Rarity, and probably would have trotted right through the unicorn had she not stepped out of the way.

“Twilight! Will you stop, please?!” Rarity called out after her, rolling her eyes when Twilight made another sharp turn and disappeared into a third bookcase. It took at least five more appearing and disappearing acts for Rarity to finally give up on calling Twilight’s name, and she instead settled on waiting for Twilight to actually stop and talk to her.

“Rarity.”

With a surprised eek!, Rarity turned around to find Twilight standing behind her and looking oddly calm.

“Y-yes?” she asked, relieved that at least now they’d be able to talk.

“I have a plan,” Twilight replied, and then, without another word, teleported away.

“A plan? What plan?” Rarity called out, once more resuming her search for Twilight.

Thankfully, her search didn’t last long, as she found Twilight sitting down next to the table, looking over the scrolls and drawings. Rarity quickly made her way over to the alicorn.

“Twi—”

“Everything is all right, Rarity,” Twilight interrupted, not turning to look at Rarity.

Rarity blinked, confused. “I… Whatever do you mean?”

“Everything is all right,” she repeated, a smile making its way onto her lips when she finally looked up at her friend. “I have a plan.”

“Yes, you keep saying that, dear,” Rarity asked, seating herself on the opposite side of the table and watching as Twilight neatly piled up her parchments. “You have a plan.”

“Yes,” Twilight replied, and with a spark of magic, her parchment disappeared, along with everything else that had been on the table. Looking like she’d thought of the single greatest idea to have ever been thought of, she explained: “You won’t help me find the others anymore.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s a great plan, Rarity!” Twilight continued, a glint in her eye unlike any Rarity had ever seen before. “If you’re not helping me anymore, then Discord has no reason to go after you, and you can keep coming without worrying about your safety, and everything will be all right, and perfect, and great.”

“But what about Princess Luna? We can’t just lea—”

“Luna can take care of herself,” Twilight forcefully interrupted, her tone rising ever so slightly. “I’m sure her friend will be able to help her, and we can just wait here where everything is safe and where Discord won’t bother us and—”

“Twilight, are you even listening to yourself?” Rarity asked, trying to keep her tone level. “The fact that he’s even after me means we’re on the right path! What good would it possibly do to back off now?!”

“Rarity, I can’t be saved! Don’t you see?!” Twilight exclaimed, standing up and slamming her hoof through the table. “If he’s really after you, that means Princess Celestia wasn’t able to stop him, and if she couldn’t stop him, then there’s nothing we can do! If you stop now, he can’t hurt you, and you can still keep visiting!”

“No, I can’t!” Rarity exclaimed, Twilight’s own attitude finally succeeding in blowing away all of her reservations about discussing her nightmare. If Twilight was going to take things to the extreme, it was only fair she did the same. “It’s already too late!”

“N-no, it isn’t! If you stop, you’ll be safe and—”

“But you won’t!” Rarity continued, irritated by Twilight’s utter lack of worry for herself. “He’s already taken my shape to trick ponies! What’s stopping him from turning into me to trick you?! Imagine something happens to me, and not because of him! Imagine one day I can’t come into the library again! What’s stopping him from just taking my place and parading in as me?!”

“He wouldn’t do that!” Twilight protested, indignant. “And even if he did, I’d be able to tell the difference!”

“And what if you couldn’t?”

Twilight looked taken aback. “I… I…”

“I’m the one who insisted on looking for the princesses! I’m the one who put both you and myself in danger, and goodness knows who else for that matter, and I won’t allow him to use my image to harm you!”

“Wh-what do you mean?” Twilight asked in a low tone, as if she sensed the impending ultimatum.

“I mean that as long as that possibility exists, then the only way to make sure you will be able to distinguish between us is by me promising right now to never step a hoof inside this library again. That way, if you ever see me again, you will know for a fact that it isn’t, well… me.”

When Rarity finished, her heart beating wildly in her chest, Twilight simply stared at her, quietly, carefully, her expression indecipherable.

What was going through her mind? Did she care? Did she mind? Of course she would care if somepony stopped visiting her, but would she care if it was Rarity who’d stop? Did it even matter?

These questions and more rushed through the unicorn’s mind as she waited for Twilight’s reply, waited for anything. A sign of understanding, of frustration, of— Of course, it was hard to figure somepony out when they teleported away out of the blue.

“Twilight…?”

Rarity blinked at the spot where Twilight had been before she’d disappeared without a word. At least now Rarity knew for certain Twilight resorted to teleporting away when she was upset.

“Twilight?” she called out, trying not to sound too distressed as she stood up and looked around. “Twi… light…”

This time Twilight hadn’t gone too far away, and Rarity was surprised to find herself in an unexpected and altered reenactment of her nightmare.

Twilight was standing in front of the exit tunnel, wings splayed out and trying to cover as much of the exit as she could. Rarity wasn’t sure how to react, looking at the alicorn with a perplexed expression.

“What are you—?”

“You can’t leave,” Twilight said, and never had Rarity seen her look so serious. “I won’t let you.”

Rarity raised her eyebrows. “You won’t let me?”

“Not if you want to leave like this,” Twilight replied, a slight hint of desperation in her voice, which she tried to mask by reasserting her stance. Her stance, however, faltered when something rather unexpected happened. Her wings lowered and she asked, “What are you…?”

Rarity was giggling.

She couldn’t exactly explain why she was giggling. Maybe it was the belated realization of the extreme solutions both mares had thought of, or maybe it was the realization that, in a delightfully twisted way, her nightmare had been somewhat of a premonition.

Or, maybe, there was something else entirely that made her laugh.

“Twilight,” she said, clearing her throat in an attempt to retain some sort of seriousness. She smiled and pointed toward her friend. “You do realize I could just trot right through you, don’t you?” she asked, echoing the very same question the Spirit had asked in her nightmare.

“I know, but I don’t care,” Twilight replied, even though the hesitation and split-second embarrassed expression pointed to her having completely forgotten her ethereal properties. “If you don’t leave, then Discord can’t trick me by posing as you, and you only have to stay here until I find a way to protect you all from him.”

“I see!” Rarity replied, taking several more steps toward Twilight, each one making Twilight’s resolve falter. “Pray tell, do you have any food here? I realize you don’t eat, but surely you don’t intend on having Elara and Themis start food runs alongside their ink runs? And I sincerely hope you’re not expecting me to graze on the grass outside.”

“Alchemy,” Twilight replied almost instantly. “There’s at least five hundred books with a thousand spells each on how to alchemize food and other edible materials.”

“And you intend on extracting food from…? Wood? Thin air, perhaps?” Rarity asked, fluttering her eyelashes. “And do remember you’ll be serving for four considering the girls are all downstairs!”

Twilight narrowed her eyes and, with a spark of magic, a heavy alchemy tome appeared before her. She magicked it open and started reading, her face hidden behind the book.

Rarity trotted up to her. “Twilight, darling…”

She lifted her forehoof and pushed the book down, revealing Twilight’s face. It turned out that Twilight hadn’t even really been reading, and instead she stared at Rarity, looking and no doubt feeling absolutely powerless.

“He’s taken everything away from me, Rarity,” Twilight whispered, the words escaping her mouth with great difficulty. “My family… My brother and Cadance… Princess Celestia… Princess Luna… Spike… And now even Elara is gone…” She closed the book, letting it gently float down to the floor. “I won’t let him take you, too. I don’t want to lose somepony else…”

“Twilight…”

“I just need one week,” Twilight continued. “One week, and I will find a way to keep you and the others safe from him.”

“One week?” Rarity asked. That didn’t nearly feel like enough time to find a way to stop the Spirit of Chaos…

“I just need one week, Rarity,” Twilight insisted. “I promise this time I won’t let anypony down.”

Rarity smiled, relenting to Twilight’s request. “One week it is,” she said before looking past Twilight and toward the tunnel. “I do hope I’ll be allowed to leave now, at least?” she added cheekily. “I don’t want to have to trot through you.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “You wouldn’t do that,” she said, allowing herself a smirk as she added, “You’re too polite for that.”

“I’m too polite, am I?” Rarity turned around, gasping theatrically and placing a hoof on her forehead. “Alas! My obsession with good manners thwarts my escape yet again!” She turned back to Twilight, rubbing a hoof over her mouth. “Then again, I already did it once before, and it wasn’t that dreadful.”

Twilight took a step back, covering herself with a wing and narrowing her eyes. “You wouldn’t…”

Rarity giggled. “Come on, we have better things to do,” she said, turning around and heading toward the table. Now that the mood had lightened, she was eager to get back to happier topics, trying to forget the looming countdown now hanging over them. “I brought you some pictures I took in Hollow Shades, and I have a present for youuu!”

Once they reached the table, Twilight sat down next to Rarity, her eyes lingering on the necklace hanging around Rarity’s neck. In turn, Rarity reached into her saddlebag and took Twilight’s necklace.

“Voila!” she announced, levitating it toward Twilight. “A matching necklace just for you.”

“Oooh…” Twilight carefully took it in her magic and inspected it.

“The shopkeeper said it’s supposed to ward off the Spirit. Doesn’t work very well, it seems,” Rarity explained, looking back and forth between the necklace and Twilight. “Do you like it?”

Twilight nodded, smiling at Rarity. “I do, but…” She looked uncomfortable for a moment, as if about to make a shameful confession. “I can’t actually wear it.”

Rarity giggled. “I already know that, darling. I thought maybe you could use it as a bookmark for a spellbook or something.”

“Hm… Speaking of spellbooks, you don’t know how to teleport, do you?” Twilight asked suddenly, still looking at her necklace. “I’ll have to teach you.”

Rarity was taken aback. “Teach me? But teleporting requires a magic far more advanced than mine! It would take months or even years of training!”

Twilight narrowed her eyes, humming thoughtfully before looking back to her necklace and leaving the unicorn with the distinct impression that Twilight’s non-verbal reply didn’t bode well for her.

“What do you mean ‘hmmm’?” Rarity asked, alarmed.

“It means I have one week, Rarity,” Twilight replied at length, suddenly teleporting several heavy-looking tomes to her side. “Don’t I?”

“Yes…” Rarity replied, even though admittedly she knew she would probably allow Twilight as many weeks as they could get away with until Twilight found a solution.

Twilight nodded before opening up the nearest book and reading aloud: “Teleportation Spells.” She delicately placed her necklace inside the book and closed it, allowing the pendant to stick out the pages of the book. “There.” She looked up to Rarity and with a smile said: “It might be a good idea to go home soon, Rarity. You’ll need all your energy for what’s coming this week.”

“Oh, dear…”

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act II ~ 14 ~ The Missing Owl ~

“What do you think she’s doing down there?”

“I haven’t the faintest idea.”

In front of the spiral staircase, Rarity and Fluttershy observed the magical barrier cocooning the stairway entrance to the lower floor with curiosity. The barrier had been there since they’d first arrived, and it prevented them from investigating the loud sounds rattling downstairs.

From what Twilight had said the day before, Rarity had been afraid she’d be the only applicant to an intense training regime, but it now seemed like Twilight’s solution had nothing to do with Rarity herself at all.

“Well, whatever it is, I hope it’s better than her idea to keep us all encased in protective bubbles for the rest of our lives,” Rarity noted, turning away from stairs and trotting off.

“Where are you going?” Fluttershy asked, quickly following behind her friend.

“We are going to find Elara, naturally,” Rarity replied at length. “With the explorer’s kit I brought, I’m sure we’ll find her in no time at all.”

“I don’t know…” Fluttershy muttered, earning an eye roll from the unicorn.

“Honestly, Fluttershy! Have a little faith in me, won’t you?” she said, reaching the library’s entrance and turning to her friend. “I’m practically an expert at defeating dastardly creatures by now.”

She was becoming increasingly adept at dealing with odd creatures, even if technically it was Princess Luna who had stopped the evil doppelgänger, but details, details.

“Rarity.”

Rarity turned around, finding herself face to face with Twilight. “Ah! Here you are. I thought we’d have to leave without saying goodbye,” Rarity said, smiling at her friend. “What are you doing down there?”

“Will you be careful in the forest?” Twilight asked, completely ignoring the inquiry. “You only have Themis to protect you…”

Rarity scoffed, waving Twilight’s concerns away with a hoof. “‘Only have Themis’? Please, my survival kit is more than enough! It has everything necessary to deal with anything in that dreadful forest.”

Twilight looked unconvinced, her brow furrowing. “Are you sure? Does it have a lava lamp? That might be useful against the creatures you say are out there, even if the lamp itself is dangerous.”

Rarity blinked at everything wrong with that statement. How in Equestria was a lava lamp supposed to help them, and how could a lava lamp even be dangerous, and how did Twilight even know what a lava lamp was?

“A lava lamp? Dangerous? Why would a—” She cut herself off, frowning for a split second. “Twilight?” she said, smiling sweetly. “Who told you what a lava lamp is?”

“Scootaloo.”

“And what exactly did she say a lava lamp is?”

A scroll appeared in front of Twilight, which she then started to read. “It seems to be a mechanical object that extracts molten lava from under the ground, which is then stored in a special small device that is used for cooking, melting objects and shooting projectiles at high speeds,” Twilight recited.

“Ah.” Rarity stared holes through the scroll. “Darling, may I take a look at that?”

Once Twilight complied, further inspection of the scroll resulted in the fascinating discovery that, apparently, headphones were used for telepathic conversations, egg beaters were used to punish misbehaving foals by tickling them on the stomach, and microscopes were used to intimidate molecules into curing ponies of diseases like smallpox, the common cold, and the highly contagious cooties.

“In any case,” Rarity said, giving the scroll back to Twilight and making a mental note to make several modifications to it later, “my kit has everything we need, as Fluttershy can attest to. Right, Fluttershy?” she asked, turning around to her friend.

However, instead of nodding effusively, Fluttershy merely stared back at her before whispering, “…No…”

Twilight’s concerned voice followed not a fraction of a second later. “Rarity…”

“Twilight! Stop that! We’ll be fine!” Rarity insisted, turning to Fluttershy and frowning at her. “I don’t need your approval to know I’ve come perfectly prepared, so unless either one of you has a better solution as to how to defend ourselves against creatures, my kit will have to— Twilight…?”

Halfway through Rarity’s speech, Twilight had teleported a very hefty-looking book over, which she presented to the unicorn.

“Twilight, this is not the time for me to borrow a book.”

Twilight frowned. “I don’t want you to borrow it. It’s so you can use it in case you get attacked,” she said matter-of-factly. “I already wrote out five copies of it, so I can let you use this one.”

“Oh?” Rarity said, smiling playfully at the alicorn. “I see! So if a manticore attacks me, shall I lecture it on the many uses of negative magic? Put it to sleep with a dissertation, maybe? Confuse it with a pop quiz? Honestly, that’s more your style, but I’m willing to try.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, a light flush decorating her cheeks. “Rarity… My books have a protective field around them, so you can use this as a weapon if you need to,” she clarified. “A similar tome fell on Spi— a friend of mine, and he was unconscious for almost an hour.”

Rarity giggled. “Well, though I do feel sorry for your friend, I really don’t think it will be necessary,” she said, wishing Fluttershy didn’t look so uncharacteristically intrigued by the idea of giving a whole new meaning to the term “book club.” “Now, it’s getting late, and I want to start the search sooner rather than later. Don’t you?”

Twilight reluctantly teleported the book away. “All right… But… please be careful…”

Rarity giggled again, heartwarmed. “Darling, don’t worry. I promise we’ll come back safe and sound.” She lifted her hoof with the intent of brushing back Twilight’s bangs reassuringly until she remembered Twilight was incorporeal. She quickly put down her hoof, clearing her throat and adding, “Unfortunately, we don’t seem to have a way to communicate from a distance, so you’ll have to be patient.”

At this, Twilight furrowed her brow. “A way to communicate from a distance…”

“In any case,” Rarity continued, levitating the bag she’d put her survival kit in, trotting toward the exit, and leaving Twilight to her thoughts. “Onwards to…!”

The Everfree Forest.

A place the entire population of Ponyville—almost—was too terrified to enter.

All manner of horrifying creatures inhabited the forest, crawling and prowling around, waiting for their next foolish victim. Timberwolves, whose howls were enough to give full-grown ponies nightmares; manticores, whose sharp fangs could tear apart any flesh; cockatrices, whose slithering bodies were so silent that one would be miraculously lucky to avoid their stare; and Rarity, whose piercing shrieking voice was enough to scare off all of the above.

“Elaaaaaaaara!”

Rarity and Fluttershy had been looking for their missing friend for at least an hour now, to no avail. Truth be told, she hadn’t the faintest idea of how large the Everfree Forest was, but she felt as if she’d already searched all of it. Twice.

“Rarity, are you sure that will work on timberwolves?” Fluttershy asked, staring at the can of pepper spray she was levitating around.

“For the fiftieth time, of course it will!” Rarity exclaimed, offended.

The pepper spray was part of the unicorn’s Forest Trekking Ensemble, which included but was not limited to: a stylish blue raincoat with extra pockets, an equally stylish waterproof chapeau, two pairs of black rubber boots to protect against the mud, a small saddlebag, a little first aid kit inside the saddlebag, and, of course, the multifunctional pepper spray.

Rarity was armed and ready to fi— What was that noise?

She heard rustling above, and looked up to find Themis flying amidst the trees.

“Oh…” she said, sighing in relief. “Themis! Any sight of Elara?”

Themis flew down and landed atop Rarity’s hat, hooting sadly in reply.

“Where else can we look?” Rarity asked, turning to Fluttershy. “If she were really in the forest, she’d have heard us already. And she can’t be in Ponyville considering she knows where both of us live.”

“Let’s keep looking,” Fluttershy said in an encouraging tone, no doubt because her love of animals outweighed her fear of the Everfree Forest. “Maybe she’s injured and resting somewhere. Animals usually hide and rest for several days when they’ve been hurt.”

Rarity bit her lip. “I don’t think we’ve looked near Zecora’s cottage yet. Perhaps she flew in there for some reason, and now she can’t get out?” she ventured. “Zecora’s still out of town, isn’t she?”

The two mares followed Themis deeper into the forest, hoping to find some clue to the other owl’s whereabouts. As they trotted, Rarity thought back to Twilight, waiting in the library with nothing to distract her but whatever she was doing on the lower floor—doubtless something concerning the Spirit, considering she’d gone as far as forbidding anypony else from going downstairs.

It had only been a day, but Rarity found comfort in the fact that Twilight seemed to be trying quite hard to find a way to keep them all safe from the Spirit. She wished she could do something to help, but Rarity herself wasn’t nearly as skilled as Twilight when it came to magic and the like.

And yet, even though Twilight was so powerful…

Would she really be able to find a solution in just seven days? Wouldn’t it take much more than that? And how much could she even do considering she was a spir—

“Ow!”

Rarity’s train of thought came to a sudden and immediate halt, interrupted by Fluttershy’s sharp cry of pain.

“Fluttershy! What happened?” she asked in alarm as she trotted toward her friend, who in turn was busy looking at the frog of her lifted forehoof. Biting her lip, Fluttershy showed Rarity her hoof, in which the unicorn could clearly see an embedded glass shard.

“See?! I told you to wear boots!” Rarity scolded, magiking the shard out and using a hoofkerchief to wipe away the drop of blood that trickled down. Once she’d cleaned it off, she looked in her saddlebag for a small bandage and placed it over the cut. “There. All better.”

“Thank you…” Fluttershy said, gingerly placing her hoof back on the ground, careful to avoid the spot where she’d stepped on the shard. “I don’t know why there was glass here…”

Rarity herself had no desire to investigate, especially when the ground consisted of drying mud. She could even see the prints her boots were leaving. “Let it be, darling. I can see Zecora’s cottage from here,” she said, trotting off with Themis and leaving Fluttershy behind.

“Wait, Rarity!” Fluttershy called out, alarmed. “Look! An inkwell!”

Rarity turned back to her. An inkwell…?

She quickly cantered back to Fluttershy, and after illuminating her horn, was aghast to discover the shattered remains of the owl-shaped inkwell.

“Themis! Come look at this!” Rarity called, gesturing for the owl to fly down. He and Elara had spent many years carrying inkwells around; surely he recognized it, even if it was shattered into several large chunks of glass.

Themis did as instructed, flying down and landing next to the inkwell for closer examination. As he poked it around with his wing, Rarity found herself very much hoping the owl wouldn’t recognize it. She really, really, really didn’t want to think about the circumstances that could have led to Elara dropping it and then disappearing.

Unfortunately, Themis’s reaction was not the one she’d hoped for.

After a moment’s inspection, the owl’s entire disposition changed, and he flew up into the air, hooting and flying around in a highly distressed fashion. Before Rarity could stop him, the owl was flying off toward Zecora’s cottage.

Oh no…

“Elara!” Rarity called out as loud as she could. “Elara! Where are you?!”

“Rarity, look!” Fluttershy called—and if previous experience was anything to go by, Rarity was almost afraid of seeing what her friend had discovered.

Bracing herself, Rarity turned around and trotted to where Fluttershy was. On the ground, already dried out, were several large paw prints she was horrified to identify as belonging to a timberwolf.

Oh no, no, no, no…

“You… You don’t think she was…” Fluttershy drifted off, gulping.

Rarity shook her head, trying to keep calm. “No, no. Elara is a smart owl, Fluttershy. You saw her fight off the timberwolf that attacked us all those months ago,” she said, trying to reassure both herself and her friend. “I’m sure it’s just like you said, and she’s resting somewhere on a tree until she feels better.”

“B-but, if she’s not… What will we tell Princess Twilight…?”

“Fluttershy, I’m telling you, Elara is fi…ine?”

Rarity drifted off, something else on the ground catching her attention. There was no doubt that the footprints Fluttershy had found belonged to a large creature, but those Rarity had just found looked more like hoofprints.

But whose…?

“Grrrrrrr…”

“Now, Fluttershy,” Rarity said, still inspecting the hoofprints. “I know you’re upset, but rather than growling, why don’t…”

Why did she have the distinct impression she’d lived through this scenario before?

Looking up, Rarity found Fluttershy paralyzed. She heard another growl, and now remembered why she felt such déjà vu. With as much courage as she could muster, she drew herself up and turned around, coming face to face with a putrid-smelling timberwolf.

“Fluttershy, sweetheart,” Rarity whispered, taking a step back in unison with the pegasus away from the curious timberwolf, “this really needs to stop happening to us.”

“Timberwolves aren’t supposed to live in this part of the forest,” Fluttershy squeaked.

Rarity gulped, staring the creature down. It was because of this, in fact, that she noticed something very upsetting—even more than the creature itself.

“Flu-Fluttershy! Look at its snout!”

The timberwolf’s snout was covered in black marks that looked suspiciously similar to ink splotches. The realization of exactly what that timberwolf had been a part of was enough to quell some of Rarity’s terror, and instead fill it with anger.

“You… You…” Rarity said, bravely taking a step forward and ignoring Fluttershy’s frantic whispering of her name. “You MONSTER!”

Just as soon as she’d finished her insult, Rarity levitated the can of pepper spray, and with a war cry that would have done Scootaloo proud, proceeded to spray the timberwolf as if her very life depended on it—which it probably did.

The creature growled and recoiled, shaking its great head. When the can emptied out after a few moments, Rarity stepped back, huffing and puffing.

“Take THAT, you filthy beast!” Rarity said victoriously between heavy breaths. “That’ll teach you to attack my friends!”

Except, rather than run away with its twig-tail between its legs, the timberwolf simply shook its head and acted as if nothing had happened. If anything, it looked angrier than before, taking another step toward them and growling again.

“I thought you said it would work!” Fluttershy squeaked, her voice starting to crack.

“N-now, Fluttershy, I didn’t lie to you,” Rarity said, wishing her voice didn’t sound as squeaky as Sweetie Belle’s. “This happens to be a multi-purpose pepper spray can.”

“Mu-multi-purpose?”

Rarity nodded, taking yet another step back. “Why, yes. Observe.” That said, Rarity let out yet another war cry, lifted the empty can with her magic and…

SMACK!

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

Over and over, a hysterically screaming Rarity smacked the timberwolf’s face with the empty can of pepper spray, as if it was the ugliest piñata she’d ever had the misfortune of encountering. She eventually stopped when the poor can had been compressed and distorted into something that could hardly be used as a weapon.

While the actual spray hadn’t been effective in deterring the creature, Rarity’s valiant—and highly unladylike—violent efforts certainly had. The creature did not run away, but it did step back, collapsing to the floor and covering its head with its paws, groaning all the while.

“You stay away from here, you horrid creature!” she finally exclaimed, hoping it was suffering a very painful headache.

Rarity would have delighted in standing there gloating over the fact that the timberwolves didn’t scare her anymore, but she found she indeed still did fear them when the groaning timberwolf suddenly let out a strangled howl.

Which made several other distant timberwolves howl back in reply.

Oh, that’s not good, is it?

“More are coming!” Rarity said, pulling Fluttershy out of her momentary stupor.

After throwing the empty can at the timberwolf’s face for good measure, the two rushed off, Themis quickly joining them and guiding them to safety—away from the timberwolf and away from their clues to Elara’s whereabouts.

A dozen minutes later found the two mares lying on Fluttershy’s couch, desperately trying to catch their breath despite the fillies demanding to know every detail of their terrifying encounter.

“And then you beat it up with the can?! That’s so cool!”

“No, it wasn’t cool,” Fluttershy interjected, lifting her head from the left headrest so as to look at the filly. “It was very, very, very scary…”

On her side, Rarity closed her eyes and placed a hoof on her forehead. “I am never taking another step inside that forest again,” she declared, ready to stay on the couch and not move for hours on end.

“Yes, you will, ’cause Princess Twilight is in the library,” Sweetie Belle said, a curiously teasing tone dripping from her matter-of-fact statement.

“Well, I certainly won’t be trotting back into Twilight’s library unless it’s with Elara,” Rarity replied, sitting up straight and swinging her hindlegs over the couch with her hooves on the floor. “Fluttershy, are you coming, darling? We’ll only be searching Ponyville for now,” she specified when Fluttershy’s eyes went wide with panic.

Fluttershy opened her mouth to reply, but she was cut short when there were four knocks at the door, followed by a voice.

“Fluttershy? Anypony home?”

Rarity raised her eyebrow and turned to the pegasus. “Applejack?”

Fluttershy shrugged, apparently just as confused as Rarity herself. Still, it wasn’t polite to keep visitors waiting, so she got up from the couch and made her way to the door. Applejack was indeed standing on the other side, smiling cheerfully at the pegasus, but she wasn’t alone. Apple Bloom stood next to her, also smiling brightly, pulling a small wagon behind her, a blanket covering its contents. She noticed Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, and awkwardly waved at them.

“Oh, hello, Applejack,” Fluttershy greeted her warmly. “And Apple Bloom!”

“Howdy, Fluttershy!” Applejack replied, glancing behind the pegasus and nodding at Rarity and the others. “Hope we didn’t catch y’all at a bad time?”

“Not at all.” Fluttershy stepped aside so as to let the two ponies in. “How can I help you?” she asked, glancing at the cart with curiosity, just as Rarity and the fillies were. “Is Winona all right?”

Applejack waved away her worries. “Winona’s doin’ mighty fine, Fluttershy, though we’ve got another critter that ain’t doing so swell. We came by earlier, but you weren’t here.”

“Oh, dear…” Fluttershy said, taking a step toward the wagon. She threw Applejack a pained look. “Yes, I only got back last night…”

Knowing Fluttershy had to tend to the animal, Rarity decided she and the fillies might as well continue with their search and leave Fluttershy to work in peace.

“In that case,” she said, clearing her throat politely and nodding toward Scootaloo and Sweetie, “we’d better continue with our job, hmm? I’m sure an injured animal would appreciate peace and quiet.”

Fluttershy bit her lip, glancing back and forth between Rarity and the cart. “Oh… All right…”

“Perhaps once you’re done, you can continue helping us,” Rarity added, the suggestion alleviating Fluttershy’s indecision. Once Fluttershy nodded, Rarity took several steps toward the door. “Come on, girls, before it gets dark.”

To her mild annoyance, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were still looking at the wagon with interest.

“What kinda animal is it?” Scootaloo asked, looking to Applejack. “What happened to it?”

“It’s an owl, and a miracle, that’s what happened to it,” Applejack replied with a slight frown, unaware of Rarity’s piercing stare. “AB and I got attacked by a timberwolf, and the little thing saved us from it. I’m pretty sure a miracle’s what it’d take to peck at a timberwolf and get away with just injured wings and some scratches.”

Rarity stared at Applejack. “An owl?” she asked, and as Applejack nodded, Rarity slowly directed her gaze to the wagon, already imagining Elara in at least five different terrible states. She felt her stomach drop. “Is… Is she dead…?”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Dead? If it were dead, I wouldn’t be bringin’ it here, now would I?” she asked, shaking her head and glancing toward the cart. “It’s just resting. Timberwolf nearly bit off its wing. I’m not sure it’ll ever fly again, poor thing. But then, I ain’t a vet. That’s why we came to you,” she told Fluttershy.

Oh…

Just as Applejack finished the grim remark, Rarity saw Sweetie, Scootaloo, and Fluttershy all staring at the wagon with the same dread-filled expressions. Like her, they surely weren’t looking forward to uncovering the wagon and finding themselves confronted with a… mangled…

She couldn’t even bear to think about it.

“Let me take a look,” Fluttershy said finally, taking the plunge for everypony in the room. She trotted to the wagon, hurrying before Sweetie or Scootaloo could do the same. When she reached the wagon, she gulped audibly, and then slowly lifted the blanket with her hoof, unintentionally creating an atmosphere of horrific suspense as she finally removed it completely and revealed…

An empty wagon.

Silence settled in the room, all six ponies staring at the wagon. After a moment, Apple Bloom gulped, looking away from the cart and to her big sister, who in return treated her to a very pronounced frown.

“Apple Bloom…”

Rarity offered a polite smile. “Er… Where is she?”

Apple Bloom blinked, looking to the wagon, to Rarity, to the wagon, to Applejack, to the wagon, to Rarity, and finally to Applejack again, regaling them all with the single most nervous smile a filly could muster.

“Er, yeah. That’s another thing,” Applejack said, turning away from the cart and to Fluttershy, offering a smile. “It’s real fond of playing hide-and-seek with us… except without actually telling us we’re playing. She made it all the way downtown one time.”

Rarity blinked at her. “Hide-and-seek…?”

Themis playing hide-and-seek while injured was something Rarity could maybe believe, but Elara? That didn’t sound like her at all.

“Yep! Doesn’t even care its wing’s all bandaged up,” Applejack replied. She then frowned and added, “Also likes Apple Bloom’s inkpot something fierce. Keeps pushing it off the table and trying to take it outside. I thought she was gonna peck my hoof off when I took it back from her.” Applejack sighed, glancing toward her sister and completely missing Rarity’s mortified expression of realization. “Guess we’re gonna have to find it and come back later.”

“Later?!” Rarity all but shrieked, startling Applejack and Apple Bloom. “Later is too late! We need to find her immediately! An owl of her size waddling around Ponyville?! Do you even realize how risky that is?!”

What if a cart ran her over?! What if some foals used her as a plaything?! What if a dog ate her?! Or, worse, what if somepony who was in town for the day adopted her, and now they were on their way back home to some far-off province, where no one could reach them, and Themis and Twilight would be miserable, and Elara would be off living with some dreadful thieving pon—

Well, perhaps that was a bit far-fetched.

“I’m impressed, Rarity! I never knew you cared for animals so much,” Applejack said, giving Rarity a curious expression. “You’re actin’ almost as if it was your cat.”

Rarity blushed. “Ah, well, one must always, er, look out for others, Applejack!” she said, waving her hoof as nonchalantly as she could. “I’m sure her owner must be terribly worried!”

“Her owner?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow. “How d’you know she has an owner?”

Rarity faltered. “I… I, er… I don’t…?”

“Come on, let’s go! I’m gonna get a cutie mark in worrying if we stay here any longer,” Scootaloo interrupted, trotting toward the door and leaving the premises, inadvertently saving Rarity from the awkward conversation.

“She’s right!” Rarity exclaimed, suppressing a sigh of relief and trotting after Scootaloo. Ignoring Applejack’s still questioning stare, she gestured to the door. “Shall we?”

In order to search for the owl, the six ponies decided that the best course of action was to separate into two groups. Applejack had work to do at the farm, so Fluttershy would go back to Sweet Apple Acres with her and look in that general area. On the other hoof, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom would look in Ponyville.

“She met Princess Twilight before us?!”

“Technically speaking, she only saw Twilight before you did,” Rarity replied to her sister, absentmindedly glancing at the nearby stands as they made their way through the marketplace. “She hasn’t met her, and I intend to keep it that way. And she doesn’t know that you two know Twilight, or that you visit her frequently, so you absolutely cannot tell her.”

“But why not?! We’d have found Elara, like, way way way waaaay faster if she knew what we knew!” Scootaloo pointed out, looking over at the filly in question, who was busy practically turning Ponyville on its head searching for Elara.

Privately, Rarity was grateful for the determination Apple Bloom had for finding Elara, especially seeing as how Sweetie and Scootaloo seemed slightly more interested in Apple Bloom than searching every nook and cranny of the town.

“Even if that’s true, I can’t risk having a third filly going into the forest,” Rarity replied, looking to the filly and frowning. “Just because I can defend myself from a timberwolf doesn’t mean you can, Scootaloo.”

“Yes, I can! I’ll buy a can of pepper spray, and then I’ll—”

“No, you will not,” Rarity interrupted, already regretting the example her earlier conversation had set for the filly. That was what she got for gloating over what she’d done, no matter how heroic it might have seemed. “In fact, until I’ve decided the forest is relatively safe again, neither one of you will be visiting the library.”

“What?! But that’s not fair! What about my magic lessons?!” Sweetie protested, coming to a halt and stamping her hoof against the ground. “Princess Twilight was going to teach me to light up my horn!”

“Your magic lessons will have to wait,” Rarity said firmly, coming to a stop as well. “I do believe your safety takes precedence over your magic lessons, Sweetie Belle.”

“No, it doesn’t!” Sweetie shot back. “I’m telling Princess Twilight on you!”

“Sweetie, how’re you even gonna tell Princess Twilight on her if we can’t, like, go to the forest anymore?”

“Well—! Well, I’m gonna…”

Rarity rolled her eyes and continued walking, ignoring the two fillies trailing behind her and arguing over whether it was possible to learn long-distance mind-communication in a day. That’s exactly why she was grateful that Apple Bloom wasn’t under her jurisdiction. Sweetie and Scootaloo were already enough of a hassle. As much as she wanted to protect them, Rarity felt like she couldn’t very well just forbid them from ever going back to the library, especially when Twilight herself was quite fond of them.

On the other hoof, Rarity quite missed the days when it was just her and Twilight. She almost felt like she had the right to privacy with Twilight, especially since she was the one fighting to free her, and she’d found Twilight first so technically Twilight was her princ— friend.

It’s not like I’m keeping her to myself, after all, she thought. I’ve practically tried taking all of Equestria to meet her!

“Sis?”

And I’m sure she enjoys the company of the others, but for all I know, there are things she hasn’t told me because of them! She trusts me, and I’m just helping so that she feels more at ease and less stressed without the fillies running around.

“Rarity?”

See! She needs peace and quiet to finish… whatever she’s doing in the library, and I—

“Rarity!”

Pulled back to reality, Rarity blinked and turned to the fillies. “Pardon?” When they blinked at her, Rarity felt something poking her from behind, and she turned around to find Apple Bloom had joined them. “Oh! Apple Bloom!” she exclaimed, turning around to face her. “What’s the matter? Did you recall something about where Elara might be?”

Apple Bloom didn’t immediately reply, instead throwing Sweetie and Scootaloo a glance. “Can I tell you something over there?” she asked, gesturing to a little spot next to a stand in the distance.

“Oh! Yes, of course,” Rarity replied, clearing her throat and turning to the other two fillies. “Wait here a moment, please,” she said before following Apple Bloom away from Sweetie and Scootaloo. Once they had moved a sufficient distance, Rarity asked: “What do you need to tell me?”

Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes. “Does… Does the owl belong to Princess Twilight?”

Rarity blinked, momentarily taken aback. “…Yes, she does,” Rarity replied, now understanding why Apple Bloom had seemed so desperate to find Elara.

“Can… Can Princess Twilight curse ponies for losing her owls?” Apple Bloom then asked, her voice lowering to a worried whisper.

“Of course not!” Rarity replied, shaking her head. “I told you as much last time. And I can assure you she won’t cur—”

“It’s okay, Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo interrupted, peeking her head from behind Rarity. “Princess Twilight can’t curse ponies! She can only curse lamps and stuff into following you around all the time. She’s kinda lame like that.”

“Princess Twilight isn’t lame!” Sweetie’s voice came, peeking from behind the other side of Rarity. She turned to Apple Bloom and insisted, “Don’t listen to her! She’s just jealous because Princess Twilight likes me better, and because I’m the one who asked her to join our club first!”

“Girls! What did I tell you?!” Rarity exclaimed, not oblivious to Apple Bloom’s increasingly shocked expression. “Shoo!”

“I’m not jealous!” Scootaloo protested, completely ignoring Rarity in favor of arguing with Sweetie. “You’re jealous ’cause she likes me best! She told me my scooter was awesome, and that she thought I was the coolest pony ever! Hah!”

Sweetie Belle gasped, indignantly stomping her hoof against the ground. “That’s not true! Princess Twilight thinks Rarity’s the coolest pony ever!”

That caught Rarity’s interest.

“Really? That vocabulary’s a bit too modern for her… How do you know she thinks that?” Rarity asked, absentmindedly toying with her necklace and stopping only when she noticed Apple Bloom’s elated expression. “Wait, no, don’t listen to them!”

Scootaloo stomped her own hoof on the ground. “Well, once we find Elara, she’ll take us to the library, and then we can ask Princess Twilight who the coolest pony ever is!”

Before Rarity could tell them that nopony was going to the library under any circumstance whatsoever, Apple Bloom finally spoke up.

“I wanna meet her too!” she blurted out, rushing forward and shaking Rarity’s foreleg. “Zecora taught me how to make lots of magic potions! Maybe Princess Twilight will like them?! Can I be in your club with the princess too?!”

“Now, Apple Bloom, I’m sure Sweetie and Scootaloo would love to have you as a Cutie Mark Invader—”

“Crusader!”

“Crusader, but I simply can’t allow you to go to the libra—”

“Please let me meet her! Please, please, please, please, please!” Apple Bloom begged, emphasizing every “please” with a shake of Rarity’s foreleg.

Her pleading chorus was soon joined by the other two fillies, who likewise held onto Rarity and begged to meet Twilight. Rarity would have gladly pointed out that they already met Twilight, but the fact that all three of them were shaking her like a maraca was starting to be very aggravating, and she was forced to brusquely push them all away with a strong jolt of magic.

“Enough!” she yelled, jumping away from the three fillies, away from their grasps. “Nopony is going back to the library, or meeting Princess Twilight, or asking who’s the coolest until we find Elara, and that’s that!”

Truthfully, she still intended on forbidding them entry to the forest until she thought it was safe, but she thought promising them an upcoming meeting would calm them down. To her dismay, however, rather than calm down and obey her, something much worse happened.

The three fillies fell silent for a brief moment, before turning to look at each other in near perfect unison. If Rarity didn’t know better, she would have thought that their intense stares were some sort of telepathic communication. The smiles appearing on their faces certainly didn’t help comfort her, and she had the sinking suspicion that this little meeting would be the cause of a headache at some point in the future.

Nevertheless, before she could do or prevent anything, the three fillies took off, ignoring Rarity’s calls for them to “come back right this instant, or I swear to Denza I’ll tell Princess Twilight, and Fluttershy, and Applejack, and Princess Luna, too, on… all of… you…”

Suppressing a sigh, Rarity lifted her hoof and rubbed the side of her forehead. That was that, then; no use wasting time chasing after them. If anything, now she had to be the one to find Elara before they did, or else the poor owl would be forced to take them to the library in whatever horrible state she was in.

If I was Elara, Rarity thought, closing her eyes, where would I go?

The first option that came to mind was back home to the library, but then she’d have already reached the library, especially if she’d been running off as much as Applejack implied she was. So, why wouldn’t she want to go home yet?

“It also likes Apple Bloom’s inkpot something fierce. Keeps pushing it off the table and trying to take it outside.”

That was it! Rarity realized Elara probably didn’t want to go home without an inkwell to replace the one she’d lost during the timberwolf attack, and she felt oddly heart warmed by the extreme dedication the owl had for her duties to Twilight.

With that in mind, she trotted off, headed toward the plaza housing Inky Owl’s Quills & Scrolls. Unless Elara was still intent on taking Apple Bloom’s inkwell, that was the only other place where she could get what she needed.

It only took a short brisk trot for Rarity to reach the plaza, and she was relieved to see the shop was still open for business. She made her way toward it and, after looking around and failing to find a grounded owl anywhere, stepped inside the establishment.

“Hello? Inky Owl?” she called out but received no reply. “Elara?” she called out next, hoping the owl might be lingering, trying to “borrow” another inkwell.

Further exploration of the store brought her to the frustrating conclusion that though the entrance sign said “open,” the actual owner of the store wasn’t actually anywhere on the premises, nor was Elara. That could only mean that either the owl was back at Sweet Apple Acres, or she’d given up and gone back to the library.

A little worried about leaving the shop unattended, Rarity exited the store and closed the door behind her, hoping Inky Owl would come back soon. She looked around the plaza one last time, then made her way toward one of several paths leading out. Stepping onto the nearest one, her thoughts of the owl were abruptly brought to a halt by a very frustrated exclamation.

“You’re being ridiculous!” a voice said nearby. “You can’t possibly move that by yourself!”

Her curiosity piqued, Rarity continued down the alley, turned at the corner, and was surprised to find Inky Owl looking quite upset. However, she didn’t see just who he was talking to, until she realized he was looking down at the ground. She followed his line of sight, and a great big wave of pure and utter relief washed over her.

She beheld what could only be described as a snowball of bandages with a beak and two big eyes. Truth be told, it was a much more pleasant sight than what Rarity had imagined, even if she felt bad at how amusing she found the sight: poor Elara trying to use her heavily bandaged wings to protect her new inkwell as she glared at Inky Owl.

Rarity made a move toward them, but stopped when Inky Owl spoke.

“I’m sure your master would want me to help you!” he insisted loudly, lifting his hoof and reaching toward the inkwell, only to quickly take it away when Elara attempted to peck at it. “Come on!”

“Hoo!” Elara replied in the most indignant way an owl could.

“Fine! As I said, you’re being ridiculous, but I won’t stop you!” the shopkeeper shot back, stepping away and sitting on his rump, crossing his arm like a stubborn foal would do.

The angry snowball stared at the stallion for a few moments, and after she seemed convinced that he’d stay put, Elara turned back to her inkwell. With great difficulty, she pushed it forward, and then waddled backward, no doubt to gain some momentum and push with an even greater force. Unfortunately, she rolled onto her back when she tripped on a stray bandage, landing with a pained hoot.

At this point, Rarity concluded Elara was very frustrated, because she went off into what Rarity could only describe as a very noisy owl temper tantrum. She felt quite awful for finding the entire ordeal incredibly endearing. All right, I think I’ve seen enough, she thought with a smile, making her way toward the forlorn stallion and the owl currently trying to roll into a standing position.

“See?!” Inky Owl exclaimed in turn, getting up to his forehooves. “You need help or— Don’t look at me like that!” he protested, stepping back when Elara stopped her hooting long enough to twist her head around in a very disturbing manner to glare at him, shooting another hoot at him for good measure.

“Something the matter?”

Inky Owl didn’t look at Rarity when he replied in a miffed voice, “Yes! This owl is incredibly stubborn!”

The incredibly stubborn owl in question didn’t bother shooting him a glare, instead directing her attention to Rarity and staring at her with wide eyes.

“Hello, darling,” Rarity greeted her warmly. “Need some assistance?”

Elara stared at her for another moment before apparently giving up all hope of getting up, hooting pitifully at Rarity instead. At that, Rarity lifted her forehoof, ignoring Inky’s warnings, and gently pushed Elara back onto her feet, only for Elara to waddle two steps and fall onto her face, letting out a muffled hoot.

Once she’d been again put back to a standing position, she waddled around the inkwell and started to push it toward Rarity. Taking the hint, Rarity lifted the inkwell with her magic and placed it inside her saddlebag.

“How… How did you…” Inky stammered, looking back and forth between Rarity and Elara. He finally settled on narrowing his eyes at Rarity. “You must be a fabled owl whisperer.”

Rarity snorted.

“Hardly,” she replied, smiling at him. “I’m not even sure what an owl whisperer is.” She looked back to Elara, using her magic to carefully take off a few extra bandages, resulting in several grateful hoots as Elara walked around, no longer forced into a waddle.

After a minute of stretching her legs, Elara made her way toward Inky Owl, gingerly using her better wing to pat his foreleg. She hooted softly, eliciting a delighted squeal from him, before returning to Rarity and being levitated onto the unicorn’s back.

“I take it you’re friends with the elusive owner of the ink owls, are you?” Inky Owl asked, watching with envy as Elara snuggled into Rarity’s mane. “They must be very fond of you.”

“Oh? What makes you say that?”

“Owls have been coming here for years and years,” he said wistfully, “and not one has ever trusted me enough to let me touch it, let alone carry it. It must mean that they reciprocate the faith their master places on you. Pets usually mimic their masters’ feelings.”

Rarity giggled, lifting her hoof to toy with her necklace. “Well, if that’s true, then the feeling is entirely mutual,” she said, nodding her head in farewell and trotting off, careful not to let Elara fall off her back.

Once they were sufficiently far enough, Rarity spoke up: “You know, Twilight and Themis have been worried sick over you.” She received a hoo in reply. “As have Sweetie Belle, Fluttershy, and Scootaloo, not to mention the ponies you saved.”

Another hoo, sounding much more tired than the last.

“After Fluttershy takes a look at you, I’m taking you back home, all right?” Rarity said, but this time, she received no reply, and a glance at her reflection in a passing window revealed that Elara had already fallen prey to sleep.

Rarity thought back to Twilight, hard at work on trying to find a way to protect Rarity from the Spirit. She thought about what Inky Owl said, and decided that if Elara’s trust in her echoed Twilight’s own trust in Rarity, then she in turn would make sure to keep earning that trust by protecting what Twilight held dear.

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act II ~ 15 ~ The Kitten and the Butterfly ~

It had been nearly a week and a half since Elara had taken up temporary residence at Fluttershy’s cottage. Rarity thought it a testament to Twilight’s growing trust in them that she didn’t protest—too much—at having the owl away from home. Rarity knew how important the owl was to Twilight, though—and so when Elara was ready to go, she wasted no time in picking her up, telling the Cutie Mark Crusaders “no, for the twentieth time, you cannot come along today,” and heading off to the library.

The first thing Rarity noticed—or rather, heard—when she stepped into the library was a series of loud slams coming from the lower floor. They were the exact same sounds she’d been hearing all week, and they only fueled her ever-growing desire to know just what Twilight was doing.

“Twilight?” she called out, but the sounds from below only grew louder and louder.

Humming thoughtfully, she looked down and concerned herself with Elara, who was now waddling into the library, Themis following behind. Rarity had initially wanted to keep Elara’s return a surprise, but it was hard to surprise somepony who liked to appear out of nowhere every chance she got.

“Stay here while I fetch Twilight,” Rarity said, receiving two simultaneous hoots in reply.

Rarity trotted deeper into the library’s corridors, calling out again for Twilight. Every so often, she brushed her hoof against passing books in hopes of summoning Twilight, but alas. Must be on the lower floor, Rarity thought, trotting toward the staircases.

To her surprise, unlike her previous visits, no pink barrier prevented her from descending the stairs. Part of her argued against going down, pushed back against ignoring Twilight’s wishes, but… if whatever she was doing involved protection against the Spirit, then Rarity ought to be allowed to know what was going on, oughtn’t she?

With that in mind, she placed a hoof on the first step, and when no barrier appeared, she descended. Moments later, as the lower floor came into view, she stopped in her tracks to stare, wide-eyed.

As it turned out, the magic maze was the culprit for the loud, almost earth-shaking slams she kept hearing. Rarity knew the maze could be, well, chaotic, but this was an entirely new level of disorder. Up and down, sideways and diagonally, the bookcases zoomed into the air, spun around in a frenzy, and came crashing down with a deafening thud.

Rarity finally found Twilight trapped in the middle of the maze—though “trapped” didn’t really seem accurate. Twilight just stood there, looking like a predator stalking its prey, and she only reacted whenever a bookcase floated up in the air, allowing her to quickly zoom to the next area. If anything, it seemed as though she was looking for something, but… what?

Rarity returned her gaze to the maze, scanning for who-knew-what, and it wasn’t until a couple minutes passed that she saw it. Out of all the erratic bookcases floating around, Rarity noticed one was enveloped with a yellow-black aura, as if overflowing with magic. She noticed, too, that it was moving faster than the others, and where the other bookcases may have tried to block Twilight’s path, this one was actively avoiding her.

“Twilight!” Rarity loudly called out, and finally Twilight looked up at her.

Rarity had suspected that the princess hadn’t been expecting company, and judging by Twilight’s expression, Rarity was entirely correct. However, her staring was cut short when, out of the blue, a bookcase came slamming down in front of Twilight, blocking her from Rarity’s view.

“Will you STOP that?!” Twilight yelled, sounding exasperated.

She reemerged seconds later, but only because she had now resorted to trotting through the bookcases, unceremoniously ignoring the bookcases slamming down in front of her—and, to Rarity’s horror, in one case slamming down through her.

Taking advantage of the moment, Rarity quickly trotted back to the upper floor. Now that she’d been sighted, she might still have time to rush back to the owls and surprise Twilight. Besides, it looked as though she needed the distraction.

Practically galloping, Rarity reached the entrance only to find that Elara had disobeyed her, Fluttershy, and by the look on his face, Themis too. Rather than staying put on the floor, she’d used her newly healed wing to fly up to the table, disregarding Themis’s scowl as she ordered the stray scrolls scattered there.

“Elara!” Rarity scolded, momentarily forgetting Twilight was certainly on her way. “You know you’re not supposed to—”

“Elara!”

Rarity looked around, and indeed, Twilight had teleported to the entrance, thus ruining the… attempted dramatic reveal Rarity had planned. Without even bothering to say “hello, how are you?’” or even offer a “thank you,” Twilight rushed to the table and used her magic to levitate Elara into the air. She nuzzled the owl, which, to Rarity, looked a little odd—her face phased right through Elara. The owl could apparently feel her master’s touch, however, because she cooed happily and rubbed her head against Twilight’s incorporeal muzzle as though it were solid matter.

“Are you all right? Are you feeling better?” Twilight asked when she finally placed the owl back on the table. When Elara nodded and carefully extended her wing in reply, Twilight relaxed visibly and offered a smile wider than she’d ever offered Rarity—not that Rarity cared, of course. “Oh, I’m so relieved…”

“See? I told you Fluttershy would take excellent care of her, didn’t I?” Rarity asked, finally drawing Twilight’s attention.

And, to her surprise, Twilight’s elated disposition didn’t cease. If anything, it was as if she’d forgotten her serious ancient alicorn self, and Twilight moved forward, expressing effusive gratitude to the unicorn while lifting her foreleg to hug her.

Or, attempt to hug her, at least, until she noticed she’d accidentally phased through Rarity. In an instant, a light flush appeared on her cheeks and Twilight drew back.

“Oh, er, sorry,” she blurted out, taking a step back.

“Er, that’s quite all right,” Rarity replied, finding a light blush decorating her own cheeks, too—not to mention a chill running down her spine at, well, having been more or less hugged by a ghost.

Who are you trying to fool? a little, sneaky voice at the back of her mind asked, a little voice that had been making alarmingly frequent appearances. You’re just pleased she hugged you. That’s why you felt chills, isn’t it?

“Thank you, Rarity,” Twilight repeated, thankfully silencing the voice teasing Rarity. Though there was still a blush on her cheeks, it seemed as though Twilight had finally reverted to her serious, normal self and—

And, actually, was the serious Twilight really the… “normal” Twilight? Why did Rarity feel as if she’d just glimpsed not only a wholly different alicorn, but a more real Twilight who had been slowly surfacing over the past months? The more she thought about it, the more she wished she’d been able to meet Twilight before she was imprisoned. Had she been a happier pony? Or was she really just as serious as she was now?

Twilight’s dignified posture didn’t last long, however, and she suddenly slumped forward, apparently forcing herself to relax. “I… If Elara had…”

“Twilight, don’t even think about that. The only thing that matters is that she’s back home, safe and sound,” Rarity said, brushing away Twilight’s words with a wave of her hoof. “Honestly, what really concerns me is whatever in goodness’ name is going on downstairs. Since when has your maze been trying to—well, it can’t actually kill you, but it seems very keen on trying.”

Twilight grimaced. “Oh. That. It doesn’t matter,” she said.

Rarity blinked. “Oh. I see! Well, if you say s—”

“It’s Chaos magic, with a capital C,” Twilight interrupted, because apparently it did matter. Or maybe she just wanted to explain regardless. “The maze is completely enveloped with a Chaos magic field. It’s never done much harm before, except for being very aggravating, but I…” A spark of magic shot out from Twilight’s horn, and a scroll appeared before her, which she unfurled and read. “I was hoping to harness some of the magic to create a detection spell, but it… it seems to be against it.”

“Against it?” Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow. She didn’t know magic itself could be against anything.

“Chaos magic works differently than our magic,” Twilight elaborated, gesturing with her hoof while trying to find the words to explain. “It has a life of its own, and it knows what I’m trying to do with it. One of the bookcases downstairs is the source of the magic, but I haven’t been able to get it to stop moving around.”

Rarity hummed thoughtfully. “I suppose it might be difficult to wrangle a moving bookcase, yes.”

Twilight sighed, teleporting the scroll away. “I have a book I want to show you,” she said, her tone of voice lightening as she trotted toward a nearby table, Rarity following behind. On the table were two large books, one of which she picked up and levitated toward Rarity. “It should work until I can find a way to harness Discord’s magic. If I help you practice, you should be able to learn the spells in a little over a week.”

Rarity looked the book over, brushing her hoof against the cover. It was obviously aged, yet was in perfect condition, like every other book in the library. “The Science of Teleportation,” she read to herself, furrowing her brow. How was this supposed to help? Surely Twilight wasn’t planning to teach Rarity how to teleport in one week.

“Twilight? Isn’t this the wrong book?” she said politely, levitating the book back toward the alicorn. She glanced toward the other book, which was no doubt about simple yet effective magic spells. “I assume that one must be the correct one?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “No, this is the right one,” she replied, pushing the book back toward Rarity. She trotted next to Rarity and magicked the book open. “There are some exercises you can start with today, and tomorrow we’ll formally begin with short-distance teleportation.”

“Twilight, darling, I think you may be mistaking me with somepony possessing astounding magical abilities if you expect me to learn teleportation in a week,” Rarity pointed out, again ever so polite.

Twilight didn’t immediately look back at Rarity, and instead furrowed her brow. After a moment she looked toward Rarity and sized her up, looking somewhat disappointed by Rarity’s less-than-enthused reaction. “Well, maybe a week is a bit of a stretch,” she conceded, turning back to her book. “A week and a half should work, then. Maybe two weeks.”

Well, that was certainly a vast change.

“Twilight, I—” Rarity’s protest was cut short when a piece of scroll fell out of the book. Her curiosity piqued, she picked it up and looked it over. “What’s this?”

Twilight took the scroll in her magic and looked it over. “Oh! Sorry. I was using that scroll earlier as a bookmark. You can put it on the table,” she said, floating the scroll over to Rarity and returning her gaze to the book. “As I was saying, if you train twelve hours a day, we should be able to move on to the next lesson by Tuesday.”

While Twilight rambled on about the necessary magical training, the unicorn entertained herself with reading the scroll. There were some notes on teleportation spells, on earth pony magic, and the last notes were about a… long-distance communication spell?

Now this was interesting. Not to mention useful. And perhaps even within her actual magical capabilities.

“Twilight? What’s all this about?” she asked, rousing Twilight’s attention and showing her the corresponding text on the parchment. “It says you can talk with somepony else through a focus of some sort?”

Twilight took the scroll again and looked it over. “Oh. Er, yes. It was a spell I had been working on before my imprisonment. Something you said last week reminded me of it.”

Rarity waited a moment for Twilight to continue, and when it was apparent she wouldn’t, Rarity cleared her throat and spoke up. “And… when were you planning on telling me about it? I would have assumed a communication spell would be very helpful in our situation,” she said. “Much more so than teleportation, which I probably won’t be able to learn regardless of how many weeks we spend on it.”

“It doesn’t work,” Twilight replied, still looking at the book and only briefly glancing at Rarity. “It’s a modified version of an ancient communication spell that was already barely functional before I tinkered with it. It had a whole swarm of problems and limitations, and even after I was trapped here and tried to reduce them, I only managed to get rid of a few of them. Trust me, I’ve tried to make it work. It just won’t.”

“And what would those limitations be…?”

“For one, the range of the communication is dependent on the power of the ponies using it, and a connection to the magical ether that I still don’t fully understand. However, increasing the area of effect of a spell is quite simple even from a technical standpoint, so in theory, I was at least able to succeed there.”

After a pause, Rarity pressed, “And the other limitations?”

Twilight wasn’t telling her everything. Worse, it felt like the alicorn was making a conscious effort not to mention it at all.

And it seemed as though she was right, judging by Twilight’s flickering flustered expression.

Twilight lowered the book and explained, “Well, we would need to have two nearly identical objects to use as foci for the spell, and we don’t have anything like that.”

Don’t have anything like that? Hm…

“We do, actually,” Rarity replied with a devilish smile, toying with the crystal necklace hanging from her neck.

“Oh… Right,” Twilight said, looking at Rarity’s necklace. After a moment, though, she turned back to her work. “I don’t know…”

“Twilight, we can at least try, can’t we?” Rarity pushed, finding she was having a hard time not raising her voice. Honestly, why was Twilight so adamantly negative all the time? “We don’t lose anything by trying, and frankly, I’d like to have a spell like that! Wouldn’t you?”

Twilight looked taken aback, and Rarity realized she had raised her voice after all.

“I— Well— But—” Twilight blurted out, apparently at a loss for what to say. “All right, fine,” she finally relented. She placed the book back on the table, and with a few sparks of magic, her own necklace appeared next to her, as well as a scroll.

“Thank you,” Rarity said, smiling and stepping back, allowing Twilight to unfurl the scroll and read it.

Actually, thinking about it, she was quite thrilled by the idea of being able to instantly talk to Twilight—not only because that was sure to make the search for the books infinitely easier, but because just the idea sent giddy butterflies fluttering around in her stomach.

“All right, then. We’ll need to cast a primary spell first. If it works, and we have the needed connection, the necklaces will become magic receptacles,” Twilight said, enveloping her necklace in her magic. “It works purely based on our magic aura, so it shouldn’t matter that I don’t have a physical body. As you know, our magic is our very essence, and according to Star Swirl’s Fifth Magic Thermo—”

“Yes, yes! What’s the spell we have to cast?” Rarity interrupted, too excited to care for decorum, or the offended look Twilight threw at her.

“Well, we…” Twilight faltered and flattened her ears against her head. “Rarity, you have to understand that I don’t think it’s going to work, and—”

“Twiliiight,” Rarity whined, rolling her eyes. “Darling, last year I thought you were a fairy tale, and yet here we are! I do believe that, between the two of us, you can afford to have a little more faith, hm?”

Twilight opened her mouth, looking as if she was about to protest, but a sigh came out instead. “All right.”

The first spell wasn’t as hard to memorize as Rarity had anticipated. She knew olden ponies relied mostly on runes, and with Twilight there to translate and dictate, it only took a few minutes to learn properly. Of course, the runes themselves were the easy part. The hard part was actually casting the spell, made difficult by Rarity’s growing worry that it wouldn’t work.

“Now, when you cast the spell, you need to focus on the necklace and the pony you want to connect with. The spell makes it so that you can enter a pony’s mind, and allows them into yours. There won’t be any barriers between our minds.” Twilight instructed, and Rarity could tell Twilight was somewhat nervous. “You need to be…” She faltered again. “You need to be thinking of me, and you need to see me very clearly.”

Rarity nodded, and she felt an odd pressure in her chest. It felt like she was being tested. Of course, it was a test in the sense that they were trying to get a spell to work, but it seemed like so much more than just that. If it worked, it would prove to Twilight that Rarity wasn’t just a pretty face, but that she did, in fact, have good ideas. Not everything she did landed her in the path of an ancient god of chaos or a jail cell. Moreover, if it worked, she just knew she could convince Twilight that they would gather the books and free her.

“On the count of three, we’ll both cast the spell,” Twilight said ominously, and Rarity was proud of how dramatic she was being.

Rarity nodded, levitated the clear crystal necklace in her magic, and waited for the countdown.

“One… Two… Three!” Twilight exclaimed, closing her eyes.

The last thing Rarity saw was Twilight’s horn flashing before she too closed her eyes, mentally repeating the spell she’d learned. As she did so, she could feel the magic flowing out of her horn, and she focused herself on thinking of Twilight.

She thought of her physical form first, insofar as Twilight possessed a physical form. She thought of her violet eyes, and her long mane, and how it seemed to have magic flowing through it. She thought of Twilight’s lavender coat, how it was always in pristine condition, and how she sometimes wished she could brush her hoof against it. The fact that she couldn’t led her to think of Twilight’s incorporeality, which in turn led her to think of what Twilight had once been to her. Not a pony, but a legend of old; a forlorn spirit who attacked anypony who came near her out of fear.

Her first memories of Twilight were of a spirit with a perpetual frown on her face, and yet thinking of the Twilight she knew now, it was surprising to see how far they’d come. From the alicorn who’d been furious beyond words at Rarity’s attempts to help her, to the mare who was now trying hard to find a way to keep Rarity safe despite the odds.

The spell was long forgotten, lost in the torrent of memories that flooded Rarity’s mind. She remembered how hateful Twilight was of the maze, and how not only a week later she was gleefully playing in it with Sweetie and Scootaloo. How she had yelled at Rarity for getting herself thrown in jail, and later how excited she was to finally hear news about Princess Luna.

And more than that, she thought of the little memories, the inconsequential ones in the grand scheme of what they were doing. She thought of all the books Twilight made her borrow, thinking they were a fail-safe way to get Rarity to return; she thought of the moment when Twilight had allowed her to call her by her name, and the silly adorable smile that followed afterwards. All the times she’d shown Twilight something new, like the camera or the projector, and how she’d never seen Twilight look so… so carefree, so unrestrained in her fascination of such mundane things.

Rarity wouldn’t say that her main motivation wasn’t rescuing the princesses, but she found that maybe one of her motives might be making Twilight smile just a little bit mo—

It was with no small amount of shock that Rarity realized she cared for Twilight. As a friend, of course, she knew that—but more than that as well. Twilight was like… like…

Ping!

The high-pitched tone broke Rarity’s concentration, and she opened her eyes to find that the spell was over. Twilight had opened her eyes as well, and they both immediately looked down at their… completely unchanged necklaces. A momentary silence fell upon the room, until Rarity lifted the still-translucent necklace.

“I… Did it work?” she asked hesitantly, only for her heart to drop at Twilight’s expression.

The alicorn was looking at her amulet with her ears pressed against her head and a look that could only be described as distraught. “I thought that— I was so sure—” Twilight sighed deeply and shook her head. “I told you this wouldn’t work.”

“Maybe it just didn’t work this time?” Rarity suggested, trying to find some way to cheer her friend up. She really hated seeing Twilight like this. “I’m sure we could do it if—”

A flash of light caught her eye, and she looked back down at her necklace, which had begun to glow with a dull pink shimmer.

Silence filled the room, and neither mare said a word as they blinked at their respective necklaces. It was Twilight who finally reacted first, looking from her pendant to Rarity as if she couldn’t quite believe what had happened.

“Oh,” she said eloquently.

“It worked, didn’t it?” Rarity asked, holding up her glowing necklace. Surely it had done something. She was quite sure that her necklace hadn’t been glowing before, but the look of astonishment on Twilight’s face was maybe the only reason she didn’t trust what she saw.

“Well, uhm— hmm…” Twilight said, furrowing her brow.

Was that a blush on her face? Had she, Rarity, a normal mare, outsmarted an ages-old alicorn with her predictions? She couldn’t help the smug smile that formed on her face as she let the necklace fall and swing from her neck. “See? I told you it would work! I knew we had that… whatever it is we needed,” she said, giggling when Twilight replied with an even more pronounced blush. “So! What comes next?”

“I don’t know,” Twilight confessed, taking the scroll in her magic and looking it over. She opened and closed her mouth several times, still looking back and forth between Rarity and the necklace. “I’ve… I’ve never been able to get this far before.”

“Well? What are you waiting for, then?” Rarity asked, excitement ringing in her voice. When she tried to take the scroll, her excitement was quickly extinguished and followed by a disappointed whine as Twilight quickly levitated it away. “How does it work? Will I be able to hear your voice in my head? Can you at least pretend like you’re a little excited?”

It was curious, but with a sudden clarity, she understood how Twilight must have felt when faced upon a modern device she didn’t grasp the intricacies of.

“No, it doesn’t work like that. It’s not so much a verbal spell as it is a visual spell,” Twilight explained, waving her hoof around, the opportunity to explain something trumping her previously flustered attitude. “It links the minds of the casters, so whatever one of them is thinking, the other can see it or think it too. It isn’t communicating so much as it is sharing a single mind. Princess Celestia used to have a very fascinating book on the subject, as part of the Celestial Knowledge Compendium, which I should have a cop—”

“Twilight?” Rarity interrupted, smiling softly.

Twilight blinked.

“Yes?” she asked, only for Rarity to playfully flutter her eyelashes and levitate her glowing necklace. “Oh, right.” Twilight looked back to the scroll, apparently deep in thought, but before Rarity could once more nudge her toward doing something, a quill and two large blank scrolls appeared next to her. “Let’s do the first test.”

“The first test?” Rarity asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Now that we have the magic receptacles, either one of us should be able to cast the communication spell. When she does, it should send a signal to the other necklace and the other one can open the link,” Twilight explained, writing something down on one of the scrolls. “The spell isn’t too dissimilar from the one used to link the necklaces.”

Once Twilight hoofed the scroll over, Rarity was quick to try and memorize it. After reading it over several times, she looked back up to Twilight and noticed the other blank scroll still floating around. “What’s that for? Is it for the test?”

Twilight nodded.

“The original spell mentioned in the book talked about a mare who brought to life her partner’s creations. I thought we could use the same basic idea for the first test. You can go outside into the forest, cast the spell, and then think of an image for me to draw,” she suggested, making a quick scribble on the scroll in demonstration. “That way we could test whether the barrier affects the range or not, as well.”

That… sounded fairly more simple than what Rarity had imagined. She’d honestly expected the test to be something akin to… Actually, she really had no idea what to expect of the spell save for being able to communicate with Twilight without limitations whatsoever.

“All right, then,” Rarity exclaimed, enthused despite her ignorance of whatever would happen next.

She turned around and trotted off toward the exit, the scroll with the spell floating before her as she continued working to memorize the spell. Twilight had also added a brief explanation to the scroll, which Rarity read over while crossing into the tunnel. By the time she’d climbed up the stairs and reached the forest, she felt she had a good enough grasp on the mechanics.

The forest was, as expected, devoid of anypony else, and Rarity admittedly had missed being alone with Twilight. If Sweetie Belle or Scootaloo had been present, she’d no doubt presently be fighting over ownership of her now-magical necklace.

Speaking of which…

Rarity gingerly lifted the pink necklace in her hoof, and she couldn’t help but giggle excitedly in anticipation. She gave the spell one final read-over before rolling up the scroll, lighting up her horn, and speaking the incantation under her breath. She waited one, two, three, four, five whole endless seconds when suddenly the necklace emitted a soft glow, just as it had before.

She held her breath in anticipation. The first step had worked, and if Twilight’s instructions were accurate, she’d know Twilight had “answered” her call once the necklace’s glow became brighter. She waited, and waited, and waited, her horn still glowing with magic, and she felt as if she had been waiting for ages.

Hurry up, Twilight…

Why was it taking so long for Twilight to reply? The spell had worked, hadn’t it? Twilight had said that they were good to go as long as the initial contact was established, hadn’t she? Unless… Unless it really didn’t wor—

And just like that, in the middle of her sentence, the pendant flashed once and glowed brightly.

Her mind went blank for a split second, processing the change in color, until she finally let out an excited gasp. It’s working? she wondered, suddenly unsure of how to proceed or what came next. Though her horn still glowed with magic, she didn’t feel any different. How was she supposed to know if it was working?

Without any way of knowing, Rarity decided that the only way to find out was by actually going through with the test. She closed her eyes, biting her lip, and mentally reviewed Twilight’s idea.

An image for her to draw… An image for her to draw…

Rarity’s mind clung to the idea of a drawing, and rather than actually picture something, she instead imagined a single black dot on a canvas. She pictured the dot trailing into a continuous line, as though an invisible quill was elegantly sketching out an image in but a single stroke. She tried to make her vision as vivid as possible, as if somepony were actually watching what she was thinking—which, in fact, was exactly the case.

An instant later, Rarity’s mind was filled with the drawing of a black kitten, its small paw reaching out toward a butterfly. A simple enough drawing, but elegant in its design, if she said so herself.

She held that image in place for several moments, almost like a photograph, and wondered when she should stop the spell. Her answer came shortly afterward when she felt a shift in her magical aura and, opening her eyes, she deduced Twilight herself had broken the enchantment.

Rarity stopped her magic in turn and let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. That was it, then, wasn’t it? If she’d been giggling in anticipation before, now she found herself nervous. Had Twilight stopped the spell because it had worked, or had she stopped it because it hadn’t? Rarity really hoped it was the former.

She really, really hoped so.

A quick trot back toward the tree, and she soon found herself back inside the library, dousing her hornlight as she was drenched in the chandelier’s glow.

“I’m back!”

Twilight was still sitting at the table, as though she’d been waiting for Rarity to return. The scroll was floating beside her, but her drawing, if she’d even drawn at all, wasn’t to be found on the side facing Rarity.

“Did it work?” Rarity carefully asked, making her way toward the alicorn. Twilight’s silence wasn’t very reassuring, but at the same time, she’d probably have said something already if it hadn’t worked. “Did you see anything?”

Twilight glanced back and forth between the drawing and Rarity several times before taking a deep breath and turning the scroll around, staring Rarity down with nervous anticipation.

Though Twilight wasn’t perhaps as artistically skilled as Rarity, the drawing on the scroll was by no means bad. In fact, in Rarity’s opinion, it was perfect. It was wonderful, even, unlike anything she’d ever seen, and she made absolutely no effort at all to hide her gleeful smile at the sight of a black kitten and a butterfly.

“It worked,” Rarity said, simply, unceremoniously, as though she still couldn’t really believe it, because she couldn’t even though she was seeing it.

It worked.

“It worked?” Twilight asked, looking back to the drawing and then to Rarity, and it seemed like she, too, had difficulty believing it. “W-wait, where are you going?!”

“Let’s try it once more!” Rarity exclaimed, rushing to the exit, a bubbly feeling rising up all throughout her body. She had to be sure. She had to be sure, even though she was giggling, and even though she’d seen her drawing on that scroll.

She hadn’t even made it to the stairs before she began casting the spell, and she’d barely just jumped out into the forest when she took her necklace in her hooves and waited impatiently for Twilight’s reply.

“Come on, come on, come on,” she muttered between nervously excited giggles, practically jumping in place and why was Twilight taking so long?! Come on, come on, come on, com—

Suddenly, the necklace flashed, and her thoughts came to a crashing halt, her breath hitching. But just as fast as they had stopped, the cogs of her mind spun back up to top speed, and her chest was filled once more with the absolutely excited, nervous bubbling. In fact, whereas before it had been easy to think up the cat, now she found it so terribly hard to concentrate.

Rarity closed her eyes, focusing on the magic flowing from her horn as she clutched the necklace in her hooves and tried to think of something, anything. Except that it couldn’t be something simple like a kitten; it had to be something so ridiculous, so outrageous, so outlandish, that Twilight could only possibly draw it if Rarity had shown it to her in the first place.

But what? What could she picture, what could she think of, what could she—

A timberwolf…?

No, no, no, too simple, too recent.

A… A… An… elephant…?

Rarity pictured an elephant, like the ones she’d seen in a magazine article on Saddle Arabia. She pictured the massive creature, how elegantly they always carried themselves, and then she pictured it wearing… a ballerina’s tutu… with… oh goodness, it was hard to focus when she was giggling so much…

Come, Rarity, concentrate, she told herself, picturing the elephant in the tutu, and giving it a tiny umbrella as a ridiculous final touch. She held the image in her mind for as long as possible, and again it felt like she’d been standing there casting the spell for an eternity until finally she felt the magical aura shift.

Rarity didn’t trot back to Twilight.

She galloped, descending the stairs nearly three steps at a time, and not even bothering with lighting her horn as she rushed into the tunnel and toward the library. When she entered the room, she was confronted with a much different scene than before. This time, rather than waiting in silence, Twilight immediately stood up, showing Rarity the scroll with a very cross expression.

“Rarity! When I asked for you to think of things for me to draw, I meant simple things! Not this!” she blurted out, displaying her drawing of a hastily sketched elephant with a badly drawn tutu and an umbrella in the wrong place.

And yet, Rarity thought it was the single most magnificent drawing she’d ever seen. She loved it so much, in fact, she wanted to take it, and frame it, and put it on display in Carousel Boutique, and make an entire fashion line based on the drawing because it works, it works, it works!

“It works, Twilight!” she repeated, over and over, taking the drawing away from Twilight and practically skipping around her, as overexcited as a filly. She couldn’t bring herself to stop when Twilight called her name several times, and couldn’t even bring herself to care when Twilight magically forced her to a halt.

“Rarity, please,” Twilight said, but even she couldn’t hide an excited smile, and even she couldn’t force down a giggle.

“It’s your turn!” Rarity all but exclaimed, still clutching the drawing against her chest and using a free hoof to gesture toward the exit. “You leave the library, and I’ll draw something! Come on, off you go!”

Carried away by the unicorn’s boundless enthusiasm, Twilight let go of Rarity and rushed off toward the exit. “I’m going, I’m going!” she exclaimed. It seemed both of them had been so wrapped up in the moment that they forgot Twilight’s situation—until she came to a crashing halt against the pink barrier keeping her trapped.

Immediately Rarity’s enthusiasm snuffed out, replaced instead with worry and guilt. “Twilight!” she exclaimed, taking a step toward the alicorn, whose back was turned to Rarity as she recovered from the barrier’s blowback. “Are you all right?”

Twilight didn’t reply, and Rarity felt her stomach sink. Everything was ruined now, wasn’t it? If moments ago Twilight had forgotten her situation, now she’d been brutally reminded of it and what it had taken away from her.

Except, when she turned around moments later, there wasn’t a frown on the princess’s face, but a small, embarrassed smile.

“I think we should try a different test for me,” Twilight suggested.

Relief washing over her, Rarity allowed herself to smile now that Twilight had made a rebound. Or maybe smile because Twilight herself was smiling, and just seeing the alicorn smile was enough for Rarity to want to smile, too.

Twilight teleported herself next to Rarity, furrowing her brow. “Hmmm…”

“Why not bring the book on the subject?” Rarity suggested, thousands of test ideas formulating in her mind. “Maybe we can borrow from other stories in there? Or you could simply just go downstairs, you know.” Oh, she couldn’t wait to see what Twilight would picture!

“I could, but…” Twilight straightened herself up, donning a serious facade, “Looking at the book might be useful before we proceed, but I think you should go get it, Rarity. Mental Schemas and Spells by Celestia, found in class three hundred, division three hundred eighty, row D, slot thirteen.”

“You say that as if I’m supposed to know where that even is, Twilight,” Rarity replied. She really needed to learn that silly classification system.

“Oh, I know you don’t know where it is,” Twilight replied matter-of-factly. “But I do. In fact, I can clearly see where it is just by closing my eyes.”

Rarity raised her eyebrow, not really following Twilight’s line of thinking. “As wonderful as your memory seems to be, darling, unless you can somehow put that image in my head, I think we’d waste less time if you— ooooooooh.”

And now Twilight offered a little smug smile, levitating her necklace into the air. “Exactly,” she said, her smile only growing when Rarity replied with a string of excited giggles.

Rarity held her breath and watched Twilight’s horn light up, a small flash of magic shooting toward the necklace floating in midair. The necklace flashed once, and immediately did Rarity’s gaze drop down to her own necklace. Nothing seemed to change, and just as she was about to urge Twilight to try again, she heard a soft ping and her necklace emitted a strong, flashing pink glow.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, stamping her hooves against the floor. “How do I answer? Is it the same spell?”

Receiving a nod in reply, Rarity quickly got to the task, lighting up her horn and murmuring the appropriate runes. She felt her horn glow, and when a spark of magic shot toward her necklace, the pink glow became even stronger. Twilight almost immediately closed her eyes, and Rarity followed suit, waiting impatiently for the moment of revelation.

Of course, it was hard to be enlightened when one’s mind was busy reeling with thoughts and ideas. She was looking for Twilight’s message, for anything in the slightest bit foreign, but it was hard to find something she didn’t even know how to look for. Oh dear, what if looking for it was preventing her from finding it in the first place? Was it maybe like meditation, where one had to clear their mind in order to see the… library?

Suddenly, she was seeing an aerial view of the library in her mind, but she couldn’t help but feel she hadn’t thought of it. It was like somepony had implanted an image in her mind, but the more she thought about it, the less she felt it wasn’t her own mind’s creation.

“I… I see the library!” she blurted out excitedly, her closed eyes forcing her to blindly wave her forehoof around.

She didn’t hear Twilight reply to her comment, but it seemed like she would be seeing Twilight’s reply. Moments after her declaration, the image in her mind shifted, and she noticed a soft, raspberry-colored glow enveloping the bookcases. She forgot all about Twilight, all about the spell, and instead marveled at how it felt like—no, at how she knew all those books.

She could see the system in which they were classified, she knew what every book was, what section it could be found in, but more than that, she could see a second, more global classification to it. She suddenly knew why every book was where it was, and she could understand why Twilight herself had organized them in such a way. It was as mind-boggling as it was natural, as if her own brain understood the magnitude of the information pouring into it, but instead of struggling to understand, it was like she was merely remembering something she’d forgotten.

In that moment, Rarity knew the library as seamlessly as she knew each and every one of her dozens of dresses.

And then, the vision shifted again, and the overhead view she’d been basking in plunged into the library. It was like she was trotting through the aisles of bookcases, but not aimlessly. She was headed somewhere, or rather, being led somewhere. Finally, the answer came when the vision stopped in front of a bookcase filled with dozens of books. And yet, despite this, there was one red book in particular that stood out, that begged for her attention and made all the other books dim in comparison.

It felt like the vision stayed in that image for eons, and it only stopped when her entire magic aura shifted, and the vision was cut off as if somepony had flipped a switch.

Finally, Rarity opened her eyes, and only then did she close the mouth she’d left agape and lower the forehoof she’d left hanging midair. She blinked once, twice, thrice, and engaged in a staring contest with the alicorn. Twilight seemed much less shocked than Rarity felt, and at the back of her mind, Rarity supposed it made sense. What was seeing a cat and a butterfly to seeing an entire world of knowledge?

“Did it work?” Twilight asked, carefully, hesitantly, furrowing her brow ever so slightly.

Rarity didn’t reply. She had processed Twilight’s question, but the question itself was lost amidst the now fading images that had flooded her mind. All the information she’d learned was coming undone at the seams, but there was one sensation that remained as clear as crystal: the location of the book, and how to get there.

“Rarity?” Twilight asked again, and Rarity replied not with words, but action.

Wasting not a single second, Rarity sped off, past Twilight and into the rows of bookcases which she’d perfectly known less than a minute ago. She galloped into the labyrinth, scarcely hearing Twilight teleport atop the bookcases and run atop them, eagerly following the unicorn’s trail. She could only think of the tour she’d been led on, and how to recreate it.

Though she had long forgotten the system, her artistic mind had remembered the patterns. While Twilight remembered in numbers, Rarity remembered in colors. She remembered the bookcase with six green books in a row, signaling for her to turn the corner. She remembered the look of the path, and eventually, at the end of her running, she saw a bookcase with a lone red book surrounded by blue and green volumes.

Her gallop slowed to a canter, and she came to a full stop before the daunting bookcase. She felt she needed to stop, needed to take in the moment. It was like the calm before the storm, but “storm” wasn’t the right word, was it? It was like the brief moment of respite before everything changed, before everything shifted, before…

“Well?”

Rarity blinked and looked up to the alicorn atop the bookcase. Twilight was looking down at her, her wings half splayed open, and there was something in her gaze. Hope, but… fear, too? Even now, Twilight kept her distance from atop her throne as she had so often before, as if still protecting herself from… from what?

Rarity didn’t say anything, instead looking back to the bookcase, eyes fixed on the red book. She lifted her hoof and let it stay there for a moment, not so much deliberately creating an air of suspense as finding herself genuinely hesitant to discover the result of their test. Eventually, she finished the movement, and when she placed her hoof atop the red book, Twilight’s very audible gasp drew a smile out of her.

Despite how giddy she felt inside, she settled for an air of composure, delicately withdrawing the book from its place. She brushed her hoof against the cover, reveling in Twilight’s silence, and with incredible satisfaction, she read aloud, “Mental Schemas and Spells, by Celestia the First.” That said, she turned to Twilight, and with the single most charming smile she could muster, levitated the book toward the stunned alicorn.

“I do believe this is the book you were looking for, Your Highness?”

Twilight took the book in her magic, and regarded it with a cryptic expression. She opened it up, but rather than searching for anything inside it, she simply looked back to her friend, still at a loss for words.

“A bit for your thoughts, Twilight?” Rarity prompted, amused by Twilight’s silence.

“I…” Twilight drifted off, sitting up straight and folding her wings down against her body. It seemed as though, for all intents and purposes, she had gone back to her usual reserved self, which was nothing strange except for the fact that what followed certainly was.

A quill and blank scroll appeared next to Twilight, and questions poured from her as quickly as she scribbled them down. “Are you all right? How did it feel? Can you describe it?” she asked, teleporting next to Rarity, already lost to her own world of discovery.

Rarity laughed. “Darling, you do remember you did it too, don’t you?”

“But maybe it’s different from pony to pony!” Twilight blurted out, taking the book and leafing through it. “I should have asked Princess Celestia more about it, but I didn’t because it never seemed interesting. I mean, I always did think it was interesting, but I never thought I’d have somepony to do it with, and—!

“We should run another test,” she declared, still writing on her scroll. She then turned to Rarity, and for a brief moment, hesitation rang in her voice as the excitement ebbed and she asked, “Would you like to try again? We should try again, if you want. Can we try again?”

Once more, Rarity fluttered her eyelashes and asked, “What book shall we fetch next, then?”

And just like that, Twilight’s eyes practically lit up, sparkling with excitement as she let out an excited giggle and then exclaimed the title of a book and its corresponding section and subsection and division and other terms Rarity didn’t quite care for—not because she wasn’t interested, but because Twilight’s smile was miles more fascinating than some dusty old book.

And so, the game began again, and again, and again, because they didn’t just look for one more book. They looked for one after another, from Equestrian Social Dynamics by Tipsy Drinker to Seas and Beyond by Water Float, to everything in between. They soon reached the point where Twilight didn’t even say the names aloud anymore, where the only sounds in the library were the casting of the spells and Twilight’s quill furiously scratching against the now five scrolls she’d conjured up.

For several precious moments in time, there were no looming threats hanging above them, no dangers, no risks, not even a fairy tale or trapped princesses across the land. In that moment, where the only things that mattered were silly books and the giddy laughter filling the library, Rarity and Twilight were two friends having fun, nothing more and nothing less.

“All right, next we can look for Star Swirl the Bearded’s autobiography, and then we can try looking for two books at once, and inside the maze to see if Discord’s magic has nega—”

“Twilight, I think that’s enough book searching for today,” Rarity interrupted, leaning against a bookcase and idly glancing at the dozen books scattered around them. As much as she delighted in delighting Twilight, she’d probably done enough exercise to last her a month or more. “Not everypony here is an immortal ghost who can run for hours on end.”

But Rarity! Twilight’s expression seemed to scream, eyes widening. “Oh… All right,” she said instead, the sight of her lowered ears and disappointed expression almost enough to coax Rarity into another five rounds of their glorified game of fetch.

However, Twilight’s disappointment was short lived as another blank scroll appeared next to her and she once again began to write at a furious pace.

This momentary distraction allowed Rarity precious few seconds of respite, but only from the running. She sat down and silently watched as Twilight wrote and spoke to herself, and she couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

Truth be told, Rarity didn’t care what Twilight was saying so much as the fact that Twilight was blurting it out with an excitement she’d never really displayed before. She had seen a part of this Twilight before, when she’d examined some new modern device, but she’d never seen her quite as unrestrained in her excitement as she was in that moment—and Rarity loved it.

She wanted to see more of this Twilight, too wrapped up in her excitement to let whatever had happened in the past distance her from others. Her thoughts wandered back to the impression she’d had before, that the real Twilight Sparkle was hidden beneath years and years of solitude and withdrawal. And now, after what had happened, Rarity knew she had been right.

And, more than that, she realized that while she’d initially been drawn to Princess Twilight Sparkle, the legend of olde, she now wanted to know more about Twilight Sparkle, the real one, the awkward bookworm whose excitement for knowledge trumped her fear of letting others in.

In the same way Twilight was fascinated by the spell, Rarity herself was fascinated by Twilight. Everything about her intrigued Rarity, from the way she could effortlessly yet awkwardly go from regal princess to inelegant mare, to the way her smile made Rarity want to smile, and how adorable she was when she got excited, and how she cared for everypony, and… and…

In that moment, as a blush crept up her face and her hoof unconsciously reached for her necklace, it dawned on her that everything she felt toward Twilight, all the butterflies in her stomach, all the stray idle thoughts constantly creeping into her mind, the desire to see her and talk to her and be alone with her…

All of these things were things she’d felt toward the last pony she’d seen as more than a friend.

Oh.

“Rarity? Is something wrong?”

Pulled back into reality, Rarity noticed Twilight had stopped writing long ago and now was staring back at her with those violet eyes that always seemed to see into Rarity’s very soul. Her ears were pointed upwards, and the scrolls had been levitated away so nothing would stand between them.

That was natural for Twilight, wasn’t it? To her, everything was something to be studied, analyzed, explored and comprehended, and there was something indescribably chilling about being the sole focus of Twilight’s attention. The library was filled with thousands upon thousands of years’ worth of knowledge, and yet in that moment, Rarity was the single most interesting thing there as far as Twilight was concerned.

Rarity looked away, the flush on her face feeling even more pronounced. “O-oh! I was just thinking about, you know, a matter I had to take care of, but it isn’t important,” she stammered eloquently, letting go of the necklace almost out of fear Twilight would somehow read her mind and the flustered thoughts now rampaging through it.

“A matter you had to take care of?” Twilight asked, and even though she wasn’t looking at her, Rarity could feel the stare, and, curses, it made her blush all the more.

“You know, we really ought to pick these up,” Rarity continued, taking one of the books and changing the topic of conversation with all the subtlety of a brick through a window. And perhaps even worse was that she knew very well Twilight was still staring at her, and she liked being a mystery to Twilight, she liked the attention, and more than that, she liked that it was Twilight who was giving her attention and—

And like a crashing wave, Rarity was hit with the realization that, though she still dreamed of prince charming, somewhere along the way she’d started dreaming of princess charming, too.

“We still need to test the range.”

And, just like that, Rarity was once again pulled back to reality by the sound of Twilight’s voice.

“Th-the range?” Rarity asked, trying her best to look like she hadn’t just finished privately admitting to a potential crush on a thousand-year-old ghost.

“Yes, the range,” Twilight said matter-of-factly, raising her eyebrows. Obviously, she had noticed Rarity had been off in cloud cuckoo land. “As I said before, the original spell only had a limited range. I tried magnifying it, but there’s a chance Discord’s barrier dampened the extended range.”

“You mean we won’t be able to talk from a distance?” Rarity asked, trying to keep herself focused on Twilight’s questions, which was hard now that she was aware of her feelings, and how much she liked Twilight’s voice, and for heaven’s sake, Rarity, you’re not a schoolfilly anymore!

Twilight shook her head. “The barrier prevents my magic from leaving, remember? So it stands to reason that the spell won’t work as well as I’d want it to. There’s a chance it may only extend a mile or two,” she said, rolling up the scrolls and teleporting them away.

“A mile or two? That’s practically nothing!” Rarity exclaimed. “Well, this is disappointing news.” So much for using the spell to find books or talk to Twilight whenever she wanted.

“We can test it later after your exercises,” Twilight replied.

“My exercises?”

“Yes. Your teleportation training. You thought I forgot, didn’t you? That’s what you didn’t want to tell me a few minutes ago,” Twilight informed, the smugness in her expression showing just how right she thought she was.

“Actually, I was thinking of something else,” Rarity said innocently. “I was thinking of how I’d never seen you smile before as much as you did today. I must say, it was quite a nice sight.”

For a moment, Twilight was taken aback, a blush creeping up her cheeks. “Oh… I hadn’t noticed…” she confessed, looking down to the books scattered at her hooves. “I suppose it was just really interesting to get to know you better.”

“I feel the same way,” Rarity reassured, before adding with a smug smile, “By the way, what was that silly condition we needed to ‘pass’ in order for the spell to work? I’d like to know so I can properly gloat about how wrong you were about us.”

“Oh, well, er…” Twilight drifted off, looking at anything but Rarity. “It was a magic factor, really. This spell was made by alicorns originally, so I wasn’t sure you’d have the magical stamina to make it work,” she replied, the stammer in her voice evidence of her lying,

But Rarity didn’t press her on the matter. There would be plenty of time for that, and it really didn’t matter why the spell worked so much as the fact that it worked to begin with.

“It’s too bad, though,” Twilight continued, taking one of the scrolls and, in a curiously dramatic way, so much so that Rarity wondered if Twilight was imitating her, saying, “you aren’t as strong as I thought if you got tired that quickly.”

Initially, an indignant Rarity was going to tell her that yes, it was too bad, boo-hoo. And when she opened her mouth, she still had that same intention, except that…

“Fiiiiiiine,” she sighed as dramatically as she possibly could, if only to show Twilight the proper way to do it. “I suppose we can do a few more rounds since you liked it so much.”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Twilight exclaimed, clapping her hooves on the floor, and only stopping when she realized Rarity was staring at her. She quickly cleared her throat and apologized. “Oh, er, sorry. Let me just finish my notes.”

As Twilight started jotting down more notes on her scroll, Rarity noticed the original scroll lying on the floor. Knowing the second limitation was explained there, her curiosity got the best of her and she carefully picked it up, unfurling it so as to read further along.

Rarity mentioned a communication spell when she was here earlier, the scroll read.

It reminded me of the telepathic spell I had been working on before Discord imprisoned me. I… I want to tell her about it. The range should be larger with the original modifications I did, and she could let me know when she’s arrived safely to Ponyville whenever she leaves the library.

But… I still haven’t been able to eliminate the trust limitation, and I don’t think I ever will. I’ve been reading Princess Celestia’s book on the matter, and it seems that it’s the pony’s mind itself that blocks the spell. It’s a survival instinct, as giving somepony complete and unfettered access to your mind can be extremely dangerous.

Until I figure out a way to bypass this limitation, I won’t tell Rarity about it. I believe she trusts me enough to allow me access into her mind, but… it worries me to think I don’t trust her enough for it to work.

Or, maybe, it worries me to think I might truly trust her that much.

“All right, are you ready?” Twilight asked. She was still looking at her book, giving Rarity just enough time to put the scroll back in its place.

When Twilight finally looked back up, Rarity could do nothing more than offer a sincere and admittedly borderline-smitten smile.

“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked, lowering the scroll. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Rarity tilted her head to the side. “I was only thinking how fortunate I am that you trust me enough to share these things with me,” she said, carefully weighing the meaning of her words, and not once losing her cool despite Twilight’s widening eyes and ever so slight fluster.

“Oh, I feel the same way,” Twilight admitted, slowly, before clearing her throat and looking back to her book, her pleased smile not lost on Rarity. “Right, uhm, let’s start.”

And as Twilight started the spell, biting down an excited smile and closing her eyes, Rarity allowed her own smile to linger on her lips as she closed her eyes and cast the spell.

It was curious, wasn’t it, how fate gave her what she wanted but with little twists. Perhaps she hadn’t fallen madly in love with a dashing prince like she thought she would, and mad love wasn’t the feeling consuming her now, but curiously, there was something much nicer, much more fitting about her growing crush on Princess Twilight despite any subtle uncertainties it gave her. Everything about it was different from what she’d asked for, and yet she found she wouldn’t have it any other way… yet.

At the back of her mind, she knew that much needed to happen before she could even think of what to do about her newfound feelings. It wasn’t necessary to deal with them at the moment, but she didn’t have to completely hide them away either, did she? She could simply let them be, let them be present, grow if they should, and only when the time was right would she think of what came next.

Instead, for now, she would focus on what—or rather, who—really mattered.

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Interlude IV ~ An Untold Bedtime Story ~

Apple Crisp was just a foal when he met the Spirit of Chaos.

It happened on a normal day of a normal week of perhaps an unusual year. To little Crisp, there was nothing wrong with the kingdom of Equestria. The wars his father spoke of late at night seemed unreal, distant, and it felt to the foal as if Lone Tree Valley was the safest place in the land—right after his old home, Canter Capital.

On that particularly normal day, the entire Apple Family had gathered around for an early dinner. Uncle Tinder Apple and Aunt Winter had brought steamed vegetables, cousin Green Apple had brought fried apple slices, Crisp’s parents—Iron Cobbler and Pear Crumble—had made daisy and sunflower sandwiches, and his sister Apple Heart had made an apple pie.

The assorted variety of delicious-smelling plates were already waiting on top of the table, their steamy scents wafting into the air and the noses of seven hungry ponies. They were all sitting around the table, idly fiddling with whatever was in reach.

It was, after all, rude to start eating without everypony present.

“I told you she was too busy to be interrupted with this, Pear. She’s a princess, she does not have the time to waste with our—”

“Iron, I could not care less if she was Princess Celestia herself. She may be a princess, but she is young enough to be my daughter, and no daughter of mine misses breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And then there’s the child, and you want him to travel on an empty stomach?!”

Crisp had heard this discussion endless times before, if only because it took place every single night. Though Princess Twilight wasn’t his elder sister—though he wished she were—Apple Crisp’s mother treated her as such. She was perhaps the only pony who dared scold the princess for staying up until early morning working.

“We are at war, Pear! Our second war in less than a decade! In fact, I should be at Canter Capital helping Captain Armor, not here planting apples! I should never have retired from the gua—”

“If I may,” Uncle Tinder interrupted, drawing the attention of all present toward himself. “Why don’t we simply send somepony to fetch them? Dinner is getting cold, after all…”

Now this… This was something Apple Crisp loved to hear.

“I’ll go get them, Papa!” he exclaimed, nearly tripping onto the floor as he jumped out of his chair.

“Don’t take too long!” Pear Crumble warned, though her warning went almost unheard by the foal who quickly left the house and stepped into the valley.

For five years now, he and his family had lived in the large valley south of Canter Capital. He didn’t quite know why it was called Lone Tree Valley, especially when it was anything but lonely.

There were twelve big apple trees his father and uncle had planted; there was the river that went all the way to Horseshoe Bay, filled with fishes and frogs; there was his house, his uncle’s house, the storage house; and finally, there was Princess Twilight’s library.

Though it wasn’t dark yet, the sun was due to set soon, and Crisp didn’t particularly like wandering the valley at night. Looking to the right, he saw twelve apple trees in the distance, and looking toward the left, he saw Uncle Tinder’s house.

Finally, looking right in front of him, he could see a large oak tree in the distance. He sped off toward it and, as he came closer and closer, he noticed an unfamiliar stallion ambling around it.

That was strange… Crisp’s father had said that no one save for them knew Princess Twilight was in her library, so surely he hadn’t come to see Princess Twilight, had he?

Crisp stopped in his tracks, unsure of what to do. His father had once told him that if he were to see an unfamiliar pony lingering near the library, he should let somepony know right away, but… something about the stallion aroused the foal’s curiosity, coaxing him into continuing his path toward the tree and the stranger.

The unicorn stallion, dressed in a large grey cloak, was oblivious to the recently arrived foal. He was mumbling under his breath, walking in a large circle, dragging a stick on the grass behind him. Driven by curiosity, Crisp trotted behind him, surprised to find a white line left by the stick as it was dragged along.

Suddenly and without warning, the stallion stopped, turned around, and fixed Crisp with his crazed yellow eyes.

“Today’s the day!” he exclaimed with a hearty laugh, forcing the foal to jump back in fright.

“Today’s the day?” Crisp asked, his heart beating fast in his chest. “F-for what?”

The stallion blinked and furrowed his brow. “Or it could be tomorrow. Or maybe even the day after tomorrow. Or maybe even on Monday!” He leaned down and loudly whispered, “Monday is the best day for chaos, you know.” He leaned back up, looked around, and said, “Don’t fall into the hole!” before turning and continuing on his circular path.

Crisp blinked thrice and looked down at the ground, but couldn’t find any hole to fall into.

“Do you like surprises, Apple Crisp?”

Crisp looked back up, startled by the fact this odd pony knew his name.

“She told me all about you! Princess Twilight and I are terribly good friends. I’ve come to visit her,” the stallion explained, alleviating Crisp’s sudden concern. “So, do you like tricks? I know Princess Twilight loves them!” the stallion continued, stopping to firmly dig the tip of the stick into the ground. “She’s quite good at them, in fact!”

Now that was a hard thought to believe. Princess Twilight was by no means a boring pony, but Crisp could barely picture her as playing tricks on anypony, or being good at them, for that matter. That sounded much more like Spike.

Forgetting he was supposed to pretend he didn’t know the princess, Crisp asked, “What did she do?”

The stallion looked up. “What did she do?”

Without warning, he disappeared and reappeared right next to Crisp, much like Princess Twilight could do.

“She tricked me! Me, of all creatures!” the stallion exclaimed, the crazy gleam in his eyes intensifying. “Well, that’s not true, is it? They all tricked me, but she planned it all! She did it all! To me!” As he spoke, the previous mirth in his voice waned, replaced instead with… anger?

It disappeared just as fast as it arrived, though, and the stallion’s smile returned. “And now it’s my turn!” he said. “I have the greatest surprise of them all!” He stopped and whispered, “Do you want to help me?”

Crisp frowned. He liked playing tricks and surprises—especially on his sister—but playing tricks on Princess Twilight was a different thing altogether. It might make her mad at him, and the idea of making the princess upset was not one that Crisp liked.

“It’s a fun surprise?” he asked tentatively, wanting to make sure nopony would be mad at him. “She’ll like it, won’t she?”

“Of course she will,” the stallion assured, waving the foal’s worries away with a hoof. “She’ll love it so much, she’ll spend centuries in her library trying to figure it out!”

The stallion trotted off toward the stick, and then waved for Crisp to join him. The foal quickly obeyed, rushing over and standing next to the stallion.

“Ta-dah!” the stallion exclaimed, pointing at the stick and looking back and forth between it and Crisp. “The forest!”

Crisp fidgeted in his spot, carefully raising his hoof and poking at the “forest.” “Uhm…”

“Now, I need a name,” the stallion said. “The Lonely Forest? No, too dull. Boggly Woods? No, already used. The Forest No One Is Free From? No, far too long.”

“The Neverfree Forest?” Crisp suggested.

“The Everfree Forest! Perfect!” the stallion exclaimed, and Crisp smiled excitedly. “Now, watch carefully.”

The stallion stepped back, and once Crisp did the same, he stamped his hoof against the floor and a yellow-and-black-tinted magic seeped into the stick. After a few seconds, the magic disappeared, and a single small leaf emerged from the tip.

The stallion gave a satisfied nod. “Now, for her bookcases. Maybe I’ll have them float in the air? Or should I turn the library upside down?”

While the stallion offered ideas to no one in particular, Crisp got hard at work in finding a fun thing for Princess Twilight. As much as having bookcases float in mid-air would be fun, it would be very difficult for Crisp himself to reach them, and having the library be upside down would mess up all the books. He didn’t really want to have to help the princess clean them all up.

“Maybe a maze?” the stallion suggested, and at once Crisp responded with a favorable “Oh!”

Mazes were always fun! He could play hide-and-seek inside them with the princess!

However, before he could voice his approval with proper words, his stomach growled, reminding him of the reason he’d left the house in the first place.

“Oh, uhm… I have to go get dinner…” He drifted off, unsure of what to do next, torn between going into the library with the stallion watching, or waiting until the stallion left. He then remembered his mother used to encourage him to help wandering travelers and offered, “Would you like to have dinner with us?”

“Oh, no! I have too many things to prepare for tonight,” the stallion said. He cleared his throat and, after patting Crisp on the head and thanking him for his help, turned around and trotted off, only glancing back long enough to remind Crisp not to spoil the surprise for Princess Twilight.

Crisp watched him leave, and when the stallion was out of sight, he turned to the lone stick. He was suddenly aware of an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach; a sensation he hadn’t been able to process while everything had been taking place.

That stallion… he could teleport just like Princess Twilight, and Crisp told himself that any pony as strong as the princess was probably as kind as her too, just like the other princesses were. Relieved by the thought, and the prospect of a fun surprise to play with the princess, Crisp shook his worries away and trotted toward the base of the tree.

He opened the trapdoor and, after taking a minute to gather his courage, stepped down into the dark tunnel and made his way down the stairs. When he reached the last step, he saw a light at the end of the tunnel, prompting him to take a deep breath and run toward it, hoping to spend as little time as possible inside the darkness.

To Apple Crisp, the library was a safe haven. It was where he spent most of his time, reading simple books, and trailing after Princess Twilight when she did her research. He really didn’t understand most of the things she talked about, but Spike was always there to explain to him.

The first thing he noticed was the large saddlebag in the middle of the lobby, filled to the brim with clothes and books, scrolls and quills. He realized that was the traveling bag that Spike would be taking on his upcoming trip to Canter Capital, which meant that Crisp would get to be the princess’s assistant for a whole entire week.

The second thing he noticed were the scrolls plastered all over the walls, depicting drawings of all kinds of odd-looking stone symbols.

The only one that stood out showed a single stone followed by five horizontal lines. There was a symbol on the stone that he recognized, if only because he saw it on Princess Twilight’s crown every day. Below it, the words “Element of Magic” had been carefully written out, whereas question marks had been written below the other five lines.

The third and final thing he noticed, or rather heard, was Princess Twilight and the young dragon she lived with.

Princess Twilight, as per the norm, had her muzzle buried in a book, her back facing the disgruntled-looking dragon. His arms were crossed and his foot stamped against the floor impatiently. Crisp had never seen Spike looking angry at Twilight, so he kept his presence unannounced in the light of this new encounter.

“Twilight, say it.”

“Spike, have you finished packing?” Twilight replied, avoiding a topic with an unrelated question, much like Crisp had learned she tended to do.

His father had once mentioned a pony called Discord, and when Crisp asked Twilight about it he ended up listening to a confusing and unrelated hour-long sermon on the importance of horn care, regardless of the fact that he didn’t even have a horn to begin with.

“Twilight, I’m not leaving until you say it,” Spike insisted.

The princess closed her eyes and then murmured something Crisp couldn’t understand—and neither did Spike, for that matter.

“Twilight…”

She let out a very audible sigh in reply, and said in a much louder voice: “It wasn’t my fault. There.”

Spike frowned. “Say it like you mean it, Twilight.”

Twilight closed her book in reply, and though she turned around to scold him, her eyes landed on the foal, prompting her irritated expression to vanish instantly. She stood up, her wings unfolding slightly, and offered the foal a large smile.

“Oh! Hello, Apple Crisp,” she said, floating the book away and placing it on a nearby table.

Apple Crisp offered a toothy grin, before waving at Spike. “Are you leaving, Princess?” he asked, gesturing toward the saddlebag, wanting to make sure he had his facts straight.

“Oh, no, Spike is the one leaving,” Twilight explained. “He has to go deliver a few things back at the capital, but he’s coming back tomorrow night.”

Crisp’s ears flopped down. “Oh…”

So much for his week helping Princess Twilight.

“You could at least look like you’re sad I’m leaving, Crisp,” Spike remarked, raising an eyebrow and later smiling at the foal’s flustered assertions that he was sad Spike was leaving for the capital. He was, and no, he did not just want to be Princess Twilight’s number-one assistant!

“How can I help you, Crisp?” Twilight finally asked, putting an end to Spike’s teasing of the poor, flustered colt.

Crisp cleared his throat. “Uhm, dinner has been ready for a while, Princess,” he informed, giggling at Spike’s loud groan.

“Twilight! I told you we were gonna miss dinner again!” he grunted, walking toward his saddlebag. “And Miss Crumble was making my favorite tonight!”

“Finish your packing, then!” Twilight scolded, playfully rolling her eyes. “We’ll meet you there.”

While Spike busied himself with finishing his packing, Twilight made her way toward Apple Crisp, who felt much like a brave and loyal Canter Capital soldier escorting his Princess outside her castle. Maybe that’s what he’d be when he grew up: Princess Twilight’s personal soldier.

Nighttime had fallen by the time they left the library, and a chilly breeze brushed Crisp’s coat when he stepped outside the trapdoor and into the clear valley. He took several steps forward before looking back, quietly watching as Princess Twilight Sparkle emerged from the library, just as she did every day for dinner.

She took one, two, three steps forward before pausing and closing her eyes, taking in a deep breath. Her chest rose and fell with it, her mane gently flowing with the breeze, and a soft smile painted her lips. The colt took a moment to observe her, and he found himself happy to see the princess so relaxed, even if for a moment. She spent so much of her time in that library, and she never ever came out to play. What kind of a life was that? Certainly not a fun one.

“You can see Monoceros from here.”

Twilight had opened her eyes, and now looked up at the twinkling stars above. The colt quickly followed suit, squinting up at the dotted patterns and nodding, trying to seem as if he too knew all the constellations, their shapes and meanings.

“Oh, I like it,” he exclaimed confidently, pointing up at several stars that looked vaguely… monocerific? They looked like several badly drawn circles, in fact, and surely “ceros” stood for zeros, right?

A laugh from the princess, however, signaled that his farce had been discovered.

“Well, I’m glad you do, but that isn’t Monoceros,” she pointed out, lifting her hoof and gesturing toward a set of stars a ways away from Crisp’s circles. She was about to start speaking again, but instead, she closed her mouth and directed her attention toward the lone stick several feet away from them.

Crisp’s heart fell in time with her brow furrowing. Was he about to be discovered?

“Crisp,” she said, slowly, carefully, turning around and taking a cautious step toward the stick. Her horn lit up as well, and her wings splayed out a little. Her entire disposition reminded Crisp of his father when a questionable stranger knocked on their door. “What is that?”

Panic filled the colt’s body, struggling to come up with an answer. He didn’t like lying to Princess Twilight, mostly because he was sure she was powerful enough to read minds, but he certainly didn’t want to ruin the surprise, either.

And so, in the end, he settled with telling the truth—or, some of it, at the very least.

“I planted it, Princess Twilight!” he exclaimed, quickly rushing toward the stick, trying to shield it from the alicorn and her wary gaze.

“You planted it?” she asked, raising her eyebrow, her body language still failing to shift.

“It’s to protect you!” he explained, standing up strong and proud, like his father did back in Canter Capital. “If something tries to hurt you, a big forest will come and hide you for a little while!”

Twilight didn’t seem convinced, at first, still staring at the stick with a preoccupied gaze.

“I promise!” Crisp repeated, and it was true, wasn’t it? The stranger would help Crisp keep the princess safe forever.

At the colt’s insistence, Twilight finally relented, tucking her wings against her body and stepping back. She lifted a hoof and rubbed it against her temple, closing her eyes and letting out a long deep breath.

“Maybe I am just seeing him everywhere…”

Finally, after a moment, she opened her eyes and smiled down at the colt before making her way toward the distant cottage.

Dinner that night went as it usually did, with a few exceptions. On account of Spike’s big trip to Canter Capital, the Apple family had done everything to make the night as memorable as they could.

Crisp didn’t truly understand why they were making such a fuss. Spike had traveled to distant places many times before, after all. It wasn’t like he’d be leaving forever! Maybe if Crisp left for Canter Capital, everypony would make it a special night for him too? Maybe they’d let him stay a bit later at Princess Twilight’s library!

“Princess, I insist! Give me your plate!”

“Pear, for goodness’ sake, let her be! You already fed her five plates of the thing!”

Sitting in his special spot next to the princess, Crisp couldn’t help but giggle at the familiar scene, a fifth piece of pie landing with a splat on Princess Twilight’s place, right next to the fourth piece—which, incidentally, was still untouched.

“That’s very kind of you, Miss Crumble, but I really am full,” Twilight said, politely pushing the plate away and using a napkin to clean away the mess she’d left on her face. Princess Twilight was by no means a clean eater, and Crisp delighted in his mother’s appalled expressions at the alicorn’s table manners.

“I’ll have it!” Spike exclaimed immediately, practically crawling over the table and snatching the piece of pie away. He opened his mouth and dropped the entire pie inside, then leaned back in his chair and let out a satisfied belch. “That was goo— Ow!”

“I will not have you going to the capital with such bad manners,” Pear exclaimed, taking back the wooden spoon she’d bonked Spike with. Her last few words were accompanied by a glance in Twilight’s direction, and the alicorn visibly flinched, no doubt afraid of receiving a bonking as well.

“It’s getting late now, child,” Iron Crumble said, looking at Spike. “You must leave now if you want to reach the capital before Princess Cadance raises the sun.”

As Spike got up to get his things, Crisp looked up toward Twilight and gingerly tugged at her coat. “Princess Twilight?” he asked, waiting for her to look down at him before proceeding. “Why is Princess Cadance raising the sun? Is Princess Celestia sick?”

“Apple Crisp!” Pear said immediately, her voice harsh and alarmed, and Crisp didn’t understand what was wrong with his question until he looked back at Twilight.

For a brief second, Twilight simply stared at the colt, and then her expression shifted. Her eyes widened, her ears drooping, and she did nothing but stare at the colt, making him feel as if he’d asked a terrible question.

Twilight looked down, tearing her gaze from his and closing her eyes. She took one, two, three deep breaths, before whispering something under her breath. After a moment, she looked back up toward the elder mare.

“Princess, please forgive him, he doesn’t kno—”

“It’s all right,” Twilight said, smiling at Pear and then at the confused colt. She cleared her throat and looked toward Spike, who now lingered near the door. “Are you ready?”

Pear sat up suddenly. “Oh! Wait, I made a batch of apple jam for you, Princess!” she exclaimed, looking toward a very large bowl sitting on a nearby table.

She got up from her seat and made a move toward the bowl, but Crisp was faster. “I’ll carry it, Mamma!” he exclaimed, eager to assist and be in charge of anything belonging to the princess.

“Sugarcube, that’s too big for you! You’ll drop it!” Pear said, but her warnings fell on deaf ears, for the colt was already reaching out toward the big bowl.

He stood on the tip of his hindlegs, determined to get the bowl because he was a big pony, and he’d show Princess Twilight just how strong he was. Once more ignoring his mother’s warnings, he used his foreleg to push the bowl toward him. Only belatedly did he realize he wasn’t as strong as he thought when the bowl tipped over, too heavy for him to carry it. With an eep!, he tripped back, the bowl tumbling down and landing on the floor with a crash, the jam spilling all over.

“Apple Crisp!” Pear snapped, scolding the forlorn and jammed colt. “Why won’t you ever listen?!”

“I-I’m sorry, Mamma,” the colt squeaked, feeling not so sorry about the bowl, but more about having failed in front of the princess. He later felt even sorrier when he was forced to pick it up while everypony left to say goodbye to Spike.

It took him a good fifteen grumpy minutes to clean up the mess he’d made, and he barely left the house in time to see Spike leave.

The dragon was talking to a forlorn-looking alicorn, and for a split second, the colt felt envious of the drake.

“Twilight, it’ll be fine. It isn’t like I’m leaving forever. I’m coming back tomorrow night,” Spike said, putting the last of his things on the little cart the Apples had lent him. “I’m more worried about leaving you alone…”

“It’s just one night,” Twilight said, though it felt like she was reassuring herself more than she was reassuring him. Her ears flopped down and clamped tight against her head. “You know how he is, Spike. If… If you see anything… chaotic—”

“I’ll let Princess Celestia know,” Spike finished, nodding promptly.

“Don’t you worry, Princess,” Iron Cobbler said. “The path to the castle is a safe one, and we have guards posted on all the roads. That beast won’t be hurting anypony tonight.”

Twilight looked back and forth between the drake and the stallion before relenting. “All right…”

Spike, reassured by Twilight’s acceptance, let go of the handle of his cart and stepped forward to hug the alicorn, receiving a nuzzle in reply. Crisp looked away, a pang of envy once more coursing through him. It was obvious who was Princess Twilight’s favorite, wasn’t it?

Once the hug ended, the rest of the Apples bid their farewells and returned to the house, leaving only Iron, Crisp, and Twilight to see Spike leave. But, before he did, he repeated the same question he had hours before.

“Say it, Twilight?” he asked, a concerned expression flashing through his eyes. “Like you mean it?”

The princess was silent for a moment, before finally rolling her eyes playfully. “It wasn’t my fault,” she said, almost in a whisper, and yet it was enough for the dragon, who promptly nodded and set off, waving at the ponies.

It wasn’t until Spike had disappeared over the horizon that Iron Cobbler spoke up.

“Princess Twilight, are the rumors true?” he asked, his voice calm and controlled. “That there is no way to stop that beast…?”

“There is a way, Captain,” Twilight replied, still staring toward the spot where Spike had disappeared. “That’s why only Cadance stayed in Canter Capital. Everypony else is looking for the…” She drifted off, looking up toward the night sky. “Spike sent a letter to Princess Celestia a few days ago to inquire about her results, but she hasn’t replied yet.”

“And Princess Luna?”

Twilight looked back down, now at the ground. “I… I still haven’t heard from her, either… I’m going to wait a few more days, and if I still don’t hear anything…” She drifted off again, leaving the end of her sentence hanging in the air.

“We can look for her together!” Crisp suggested, obviously the answer the princess wanted. “Momma says I’m the best at hide-and-go-seek!”

“Twilight,” Iron said, having only briefly smiled at the colt before speaking up again. Crisp was surprised to hear his father address the princess without her title. “If what Captain Armor told me is true, then I agree with Spike. You are not at fault.”

After a moment, Twilight looked at Iron and smiled gratefully. “Thank you, Captain.”

Iron Cobbler yawned, the late hour starting to catch up with him. “Well then, Princess, we better get back inside. My nephew should be arriving from his trip tonight, and somepony should be awake to greet him.” He looked down to his son and nodded toward the distant oak tree, offering a teasing smile. “Would you like to come with me and escort the princess?”

Crisp puffed out his chest. “Mh-hm!”

The three ponies slowly made their way back toward the library. It was odd, but it felt to the foal as if the princess and his father were trotting slowly on purpose. Maybe she didn’t want to go home just yet? Maybe she wanted to sleep-over? They could read bedtime stories together!

But then, he remembered Spike’s question.

If Princess Twilight had done something wrong, then she probably felt bad about it, and nopony should go to bed feeling sad.

Truth be told, though, Crisp didn’t know what to say to cheer her up. He often felt that way, unsure of how to act with the princess, and so rather than words, he gingerly pressed his hoof against her foreleg and patted it thrice.

“Do you want me to read you a bedtime story, Princess Twilight?”

Bedtime stories always made him feel better after a bad day. Surely they’d help the princess miss Spike a little less.

“A bedtime story?” Iron asked playfully, just as they’d reached the base of the oak tree. “Are you trying to get out of going to bed early?”

“N-no!”

“How about tomorrow?” Twilight suggested, interrupting the argument between father and son. “I need to finish some research tonight on the elemental magics and essences of Equestria. Though, you did remind me of something…”

With a spark of magic, a book appeared in front of her, which she offered to the foal.

“Here you are,” she said with a wide smile. “It’s a book on ancient Equestrian myths. Why don’t you read the first chapter, and we can read the second one tomorrow?”

Crisp blinked twice, before looking down at the book. It looked brand new, and on the cover, he saw a wide variety of beasts and ponies in armors. “Just like Papa!” he pointed out excitedly, showing both ponies one of the armored stallions before carefully opening the book and feeling his heart jump.

There, right on the first page, the words “For Apple Crisp, from Princess Twilight” had been written in perfect calligraphy. He could feel his own eyes twinkling as he looked up at the grinning princess.

“It’s for me?! Thank you, Princess Twilight!” he exclaimed, barely giving Twilight the time to welcome him before he practically threw himself at her, book and all.

“It also has illustrations,” Twilight added once the hug ended, her own voice bubbling with excitement. “Princess Celestia illustrated some of the final chapters. I marked them out for you.”

“Can’t we read it tonight?” Crisp insisted, letting out a disappointed whine when the alicorn shook her head.

“Tomorrow,” she said, firmly. “I promise.”

Knowing when to quit, Crisp sighed and nodded, watching as the princess teleported a little saddlebag for him to carry his book in. In the back of his mind, Crisp found comfort in the fact that he’d be seeing Princess Twilight again. After all, the surprise hadn’t started yet.

“Thank you, Princess,” Iron said, bowing his head slightly.

Twilight waved him off with a shake of her head. “No, Captain. Thank you and your family.”

That said, Crisp watched in silence as Twilight lifted the trapdoor to the library, and he felt sad at the prospect of saying goodbye already. Every time he saw her go down the tunnel, it always felt like she’d never come back out.

“Good night, Princess Twilight,” he said with the biggest smile he could muster, holding his book close against his chest.

Twilight, who’d been staring down into the abyss of the tunnel, looked behind her and smiled at the colt. “Good night, Apple Crisp. Good night, Captain Iron,” she said, before looking away and stepping down into the tunnel, the door closing behind her—just like that.

The two ponies stood there for what felt like forever, staring at the trapdoor. Finally, Iron Cobbler hurried them along, and Crisp followed his father, barely glancing at the stick planted firmly on the ground.

“What did Princess Twilight do wrong, Papa?” he asked as they trotted along, the concept of tact something he hadn’t quite learned yet.

The tension in the air went unnoticed by the foal, as did the fact that his father’s expression flickered from relaxed to serious. It took a second, but Iron Cobbler looked down and managed a smile.

“Princess Twilight thought she could carry a big bowl of jam all by herself, too,” the stallion said, carefully, slowly. “And she also dropped it.”

“Oh…” Crisp looked away, toward the blades of grass folding under his hooves. He furrowed his brow and glanced up. “But we can help her clean up!”

“We can,” Iron Cobbler said, glancing back at the tree. “And we will.”

Fifteen minutes went by, and Crisp was already in bed, reading and rereading Twilight’s dedication.

Twenty minutes went by, and he’d already read almost half of the first chapter, even despite the dim candlelight and repeated calls from his mother to “go to sleep!”

An hour went by, and the foal had already fallen fast asleep, face pressed against the pages of the open book.

Two hours went by, and his dreams became a nightmare of dragons and beasts chasing him through an endless forest, and cry as he might, no Princess Twilight came to his rescue.

Finally, two and a half hours went by, and Apple Crisp woke from one nightmare straight into another.

He blinked once, twice, the images fresh in his mind, and glanced around the room. His sister was fast asleep in her bed, and all the adult ponies were gathered around the table, speaking in hushed whispers around the dim light of five candlesticks.

There was a loud knock, and Crisp watched as his elder cousin stepped into the house, his eyes weary from traveling all day, and his back packed with saddlebags containing all kinds of merchandise.

The half-asleep foal watched silently, unable to make sense of the hushed whispers shared between the adults and the teenaged stallion. In fact, the only sentence he managed to make out was because his father said it so loudly.

“A unicorn asked about Princess Twilight?” he asked, but there was an edge to his voice, much like when he was about to scold Crisp for misbehaving.

His cousin, Tattle Apple, visibly recoiled. “Yes,” he said, having forgotten to whisper. “I… On the way to the city, I met a wandering traveler asking about Ponyville and Princess Twilight…”

“And you told him about her?!” Uncle Apple Tinder yelled. “What were you thinking?!”

“B-but, he had Princess Luna’s crown!” Tattle Apple blurted out in his defense.

“He had the princess’s crown?” Iron Cobbler asked, his tone now threatening. He immediately got up and trotted toward his bed, pulling out a sword from beneath it. “This isn’t good. This has Discord all over it.”

“W-wait!” Tattle Apple exclaimed, watching as his uncle made his way across the room and toward the exit. “I-I didn’t mean—! I thought—!”

“I’m going to get the Princ—”

And then, it happened.

It was hard to determine what came first: the deafening crack that filled the valley, or the tremor that shook it, throwing all the ponies down onto the ground.

“Papa!” Apple Heart exclaimed, having immediately woken up and looking around in fright.

Iron raised his hoof, immediately silencing the filly.

And so, a suffocating silence filled the room, the calm before the storm, every pony present frozen in place and waiting. Waiting for the next move, the next tremor, the next something. It seemed, after a minute, that whatever was happening had ended. Slowly, the adults began to rise from the floor, only to be thrown back down when another tremor came—and it did not come alone.

A loud sound filled their ears, and the wooden floor began to crack, splintered by a massive tree growing straight up inside the house, tearing through the roof and nearly taking Crisp’s bed with it.

“He’s here!” Iron roared, scrambling away from the tree. “Pear, take the children and get away from here!” He looked toward Tinder Apple and nodded toward the door. “The princess!”

Tinder Apple nodded, and both stallions rushed out, leaving aunt and mother to deal with the panicked foals.

“Come on, children!” Pear yelled, holding open the door and allowing the children to escape the house.

Crisp watched with horror as the valley, his home, became a forest in front of his very eyes, trees of all sizes growing all around him and plunging him into darkness. It wasn’t a forest like he’d imagined, like the ones in the books Princess Twilight read to him. It was the forest from his nightmares, the forest where Princess Twilight wasn’t there to help, now with howling in the distance.

He hadn’t wanted this.

It was almost instinct that drove him, made him gallop, disregard his mother’s panicked yells for him to come back, and forced him toward the one safe place he knew. Tears filled his eyes as he ran, and with a strangled cry he called out to the stallion, to please come back, that the surprise can end now, Mister, please, please, please.

In the distance, finally, he saw it. The great old oak tree, still standing out amongst the new trees, calling to him and beckoning him to safety. Crisp shut his eyes and galloped as fast as he could, and a small glimmer of hope rose within him the closer he got.

And then, without warning, the ground beneath him disappeared just as he approached the tree, and with a panicked scream, the foal fell down, twisting his ankle in the process. Tears filled his eyes, the unbearable pain shooting up and down his foreleg, and he could barely open his eyes enough to see that the tree had sunk, as if a hole had been dug below it.

Crisp had never been more scared in his entire life. He closed his eyes and thought of Princess Twilight, pictured her face as clearly as he could, helplessly whispering her name.

“Ten deep breaths, Crisp. Whenever you’re scared or nervous, take ten deep breaths.”

And so he did, shaky, fast, panicked breaths, trying to ignore the pain in his leg. He finally looked up and saw the trapdoor in the distance.

“Princess Twilight!” he called out, desperately, helplessly, tears clouding his eyes. “Princess Twilight, please come and help me!”

He heard howling in the distance, louder than before, and he called for her even louder, louder, louder, and louder still, until his throat hurt and until he saw the trapdoor budge.

His heart felt like it’d come to a stop, and with difficulty he stood up, determined to take the steps toward the trapdoor where the princess would emerge any second now. She had come to his rescue, just like she always would.

“Princess Twilight!” he called out, watching as the trapdoor was flung open and out emerged his father. “Pa-Papa!”

“Apple Crisp?! What are you doing here?!” Iron Cobbler gasped, rushing to his son, who clung to him and cried in his forelegs.

“P-Papa, wh-where’s Princess Twilight?” Crisp asked, trying to look past his father and toward the trapdoor. Why wasn’t she coming out? It wasn’t safe, it wasn’t safe! She needed to leave with all of them!

Moments later, another pony emerged, which he recognized as his uncle.

“That barrier!” Tinder Apple exclaimed, stepping away from the trapdoor and looking at it with an almost panicked look. “What is it?! The princess—! That monster—!”

Without hearing his protests, Iron Cobbler grabbed Apple Crisp and threw him on his back. “We need to leave! Now!”

“But the princess—!” Tinder Apple protested. “She’s still in there!”

“We need the other princesses!” Iron Cobbler roared, once more disregarding his son’s screams of protest. “We’ll get killed by those wooden beasts if we stay here!”

“N-no! Papa! No! Princess Twilight is in there!” Crisp protested, weakly banging his hooves against his father before turning back to the tree. “Princess Twilight! Please, come out!”

And, without another word, Iron Cobbler and Tinder Apple rushed off, taking with them the little foal, too injured to try and fight back, too injured to try and rush back to the library and the princess he would never see again.

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act II ~ 16 ~ The Dragon Falls ~

Princess Twilight Time.

The three hours a week the Cutie Mark Crusaders dragged Rarity to the library for their lessons with Twilight, after they’d hassled her into going back on her “no visiting Twilight” rule.

Then again, “dragged her to the library” wasn’t the right phrase, was it? That would imply Rarity didn’t really want to go, when the truth was that any excuse to go to the library was one she’d take.

That was, until Twilight had become convinced that Rarity could learn teleportation in a fortnight.

The unicorn stopped her sewing machine and changed fabrics, idly glancing at the three fillies scattered around the library’s main entrance, all getting ready for Rarity’s trip to Rainbow Falls. Though they wouldn’t be going with her, they’d convinced the unicorn to take some of their belongings to the Traders Exchange.

The Traders Exchange was a yearly event held in Rainbow Falls, where one could trade practically anything for anything else. Rarity herself had attended once as a filly, and she’d be attending once again at Pinkie Pie’s request. Perhaps Twilight’s books might be scattered in the trove of things to trade, the mare had suggested in her letter.

“Come oooon!”

Sweetie Belle, sitting next to a table, was desperately trying to imbue life into a candelabra while Elara watched her sorrowful attempts. The filly had become convinced that a pet candelabra would guarantee anything she wanted from Rainbow Falls. Next to her, Scootaloo busily polished the helmet she wanted Rarity to take, which honestly made her wish Scootaloo had at least used real polish and not spit. Finally, Apple Bloom sat at the other table, immersed in a potions book, vaguely reminding Rarity of Twilight.

In the short time she’d known the princess, Apple Bloom had been quickly taken by the alicorn, trailing behind her constantly. It had become so commonplace, in fact, that Rarity even joked about it, giggling at the filly’s blush when she’d asked her to “please give Princess Twilight some space, dear.”

Except then Sweetie Belle had agreed, saying that Rarity couldn’t trail after Twilight if Apple Bloom was doing the same, and then it stopped being funny.

Speaking of Twilight…

“Wait, where did Twilight go?” she asked, looking around toward the bookcases and finding nopony walking through them.

She could neither hear nor feel loud slams from the lower floor, so it meant that Twilight had at least given up on… whatever she was still trying to achieve with the maze. But, if she wasn’t in the maze, and she wasn’t with the girls, and she wasn’t reading a book nearby, then—

Oh no.

Without another word, Rarity quickly looked back to her sewing machine, turned it on, and kept working on her cape, trying to look as busy as possible before—poof!—Twilight appeared next to her. From the corner of her eye, Rarity saw a detestably familiar book floating next to Twilight, prompting her to try and look even busier.

“Rarity.”

Rarity didn’t look. “Twilight.”

“What are you doing…?”

“Making a cape, darling!” she said, cheerfully ignoring the real reason Twilight was there and instead focusing on her absolutely lovely cape. “I do have a job, you know, and I really must finish before my train leaves in the afternoon. Nopony will want to trade me anything for something half-done.”

“What about your training?” Twilight asked gravely.

Rarity frowned. “Twilight, I already told you I can’t do it. We’ve been at it for weeks, and I’m already behind enough as it is, so that’s that.”

“But I found a simpler spell!” Twilight protested. “Even you have to be able to do this one!”

“Some other time, Twilight,” Rarity replied, trying hard to ignore the implications of Twilight’s comment.

“At least read it once!”

“Twilight, I need to focu— eeek!”

Rarity stepped back, quickly switching the machine off as the alicorn quite literally made herself at home by sitting right in the middle of it, a blank expression on her face.

“Twilight Sparkle!” Rarity shrieked, her voice drowning out the fillies’ snickering. She shook her hoof, trying to rid herself of the creepy-crawly feeling overtaking her. “You know how much I despise you doing that!”

Twilight blinked, her ears lowering ever so slightly. Good, Rarity thought. She should feel bad for interrupting me like that.

Except then Twilight simply tilted her head to the side and with the smuggest of smiles said, “Oh, I know, which I presume is why it’s very effective in getting your attention.”

“You know, Twilight, you’ve become very smug as of late, and I’m not quite sure I approve. And will you please get out from in there!” Rarity snapped, turning away and harrumphing for good measure.

Twilight teleported in front of her friend. “Rarity…”

“No! I am putting an end to this ridiculous charade!” Rarity insisted, stamping her hoof against the ground. “If I have to glare at a wall for another hour again, I’m going to scream, Twilight! Scream!”

“It’s just one spell!” Twilight said, doing that detestably adorable gesture where her ears lowered and eyes widened, and Rarity was practically at her beck and call. “Please?”

Rarity puffed out her cheeks, making a show of her displeasure for a moment. “Does it really mean that much to you?”

Twilight nodded. “Until I can find a way to harness Discord’s magic, I want you to have some way to protect yourself.”

There was a moment of silence before Rarity finally relented. “All right. Since it means that much to you… But just one spell and that’s it!” She took the book from Twilight’s magic grasp with her own and flipped through the pages. “What page is it?”

“Chapter 21!”

Rarity looked up. “Chapter 21? As in, the entire chapter?”

Twilight nodded. “You… do have to read a few more things, as well, in preparation for casting the spell. It’s not too much, I promise!” she added upon receiving a very unimpressed stare. “Think of it as light reading.”

Come on, Rarity, you can read it on the train, and it’ll make her happy, she told herself, holding back a sigh and nodding. “Light reading it is, then…” She looked back to her cape-in-progress. “After I finish my work, so until then, you’re welcome to sit there, outside of the sewing machine, and wait.”

Truthfully, Rarity said that expecting Twilight to leave and help the fillies. Instead, the alicorn did indeed sit there, and decided it was the best time to give Rarity her bi-hourly lecture on the uses of teleportation in daily life.

It was surprisingly effective in helping Rarity finish faster, and an hour of lecture later, she’d completed her sewing, packed her things, and now waited for the fillies to finish their own packing.

“Hurry up, girls! I don’t want to miss my train,” Rarity called, standing near the exit tunnel, a large saddlebag floating next to her. It turned out that she’d slightly miscalculated how much her bag would weigh once she’d added in everypony’s belongings. She still wasn’t sure what magic Twilight had used to somehow fit the helmet inside the bag.

“Here you go, Rarity,” Twilight said, teleporting next to Rarity, a large heart-shaped emerald floating beside her. “This should work.”

Rarity’s eyes widened, carefully taking the jewel in her hoof. “Darling, where did you get this?” she asked, awed. The emerald was easily larger than any Rarity had ever seen before, and she could scarcely imagine how much it was worth.

“A friend left jewels in the library before I was imprisoned. I didn’t want to… have to use any of them, but I need my books, so I hope he’ll understand that I don’t have a choice,” Twilight explained, regretfully looking at the emerald. “If not, at least I still have all his other jewels to return to him.”

He? Rarity thought, furrowing her brow at her reflection on the jewel. It was a grim thought, but he—whoever that was—probably wouldn’t mind, considering no non-cursed pony Rarity knew of could live for a thousand years.

“I’m sure he won’t be upset,” Rarity said, playing along with Twilight’s decision to pretend time did not influence ponies. Still, it was a shame they’d have to trade such a dazzling rock for a book. Maybe Rarity could use her charms to get books in exchange for her lesser sapphires.

“And please be careful about the dragons,” Twilight added, summoning Rarity’s camera to tinker with. “The migratory path of dragonkind is a very fascinating sight in itself, and I wish I could ask you to make a natural observation and its corresponding field report, but if they see the gem, they might…”

“Might what? Eat me? Pfft,” Rarity said, playfully waving her hoof dismissively. “They’re dragons, Twilight. I’m sure they’ve hoarded gems worth far more than this one—no offense to your friend.”

Pinkie Pie’s letter had mentioned the dragon migration would be passing by the northern town, and Rarity hadn’t been in the least worried. After all: “I have no intention whatsoever of meeting any of them. What vicious creatures. Did you know one of them attacked Trottingham recently?”

“Not all dragons are inherently vicious, Rarity,” Twilight replied, her fiddling with the camera slowing. Something in her tone was different, as if she were suddenly on edge. “Some can be very docile and kind, if raised under the right conditions.”

Rarity hummed in thought. “Even so, I’ve never met one personally, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

For a second, it seemed like Twilight intended to say something else, but instead she gave Rarity a rather strange look and turned back to her camera. Rarity stared at her, thrown off by the… sadness her friend had just regarded her with. What was that about?

“Twili—”

“Ready!”

Rarity turned to the library to find the three fillies rushing toward them, Themis flying behind. One by one, the fillies said goodbye to the princess, promising to practice all they’d learned for the next Princess Twilight Time, and asking Rarity to please not take forever to say goodbye to Twilight like always.

“Fluttershy should be visiting tomorrow, I believe,” Rarity said, watching the girls disappear into the dark tunnel. She turned back to Twilight and let out a giggle.

“What?” Twilight asked, obviously failing to see what was so funny.

“Nothing,” Rarity replied in a sing-song tone. She lifted her hoof, meaning to brush away Twilight’s bangs, but refrained upon remembering Twilight’s etherealness. Instead, she placed it over her necklace and said, “I was simply thinking how lovely it is to see everypony so excited to see you. Fluttershy doesn’t even need me to drag her here anymore!” She let out a theatrical sigh. “Soon, you shan’t even need me anymore!”

Twilight shook her head playfully. “Come on. You’re going to miss your carriag— er, train,” she said, gesturing toward the exit.

“See! You’re booting me out already! The scandal!” Rarity gasped, looking away and pretending to have been terribly wounded. Her faux tantrum was short lived, though, ending alongside Twilight’s soft laughter. She looked back toward her friend, and smiled. “Well, Princess, anything else you’d like to discuss before I take my leave?”

Twilight shook her head.

“I don’t think so,” she said, levitating the camera and hanging the strap around Rarity’s neck.

“In that case, I’ll be back in five days,” Rarity replied, making a move to turn toward the tunnel but suddenly coming to a stop. The words I’ll miss you hung on her lips, and she wondered if she dared utter them. She glanced back at Twilight, her mouth slightly open, and…

Oh, come now, Rarity! It wasn’t like she’d never said she missed someone before! She said it all the time, and it was perfectly normal between friends. Why, she’d said it to Fluttershy herself that same morning after their usual weekly get-together. Why would it be any different with Twilight?

“Is something wrong?” Twilight asked, raising her eyebrow.

“No, no!” Rarity quickly exclaimed, regaining her composure. “I was only going to say that…” She drifted off for a second before continuing, trying to sound nonchalant as she charmingly confessed, “I’m going to miss you.”

If her remark had any effect on Twilight, she was doing a very good job at hiding it from her expectant friend. Twilight blinked once, twice, thrice before smiling. “It’s just five days, Rarity,” said the alicorn who had once complained at Rarity not visiting for one whole day. She flapped her wings before adding, “Don’t forget to look for my books! Goodbye!”

And poof, just like that, she was gone, leaving Rarity staring into the empty space she’d left.

Well, that had been rather anticlimactic.

Swallowing her pride, Rarity resolved to look past it and leave the library… but not before a well-deserved imitation of the alicorn.

“Why, thank you, Rarity! I’m going to miss you too!” she mimicked in a high-pitched tone, pressing her hoof against her chest. “Who else will bring me things to disassemble? Who else will answer my mental messages at four in the morning and hear me go on and on about the histo—”

“Oh, Rarity, wait!”

Rarity eeped herself into silence, turning around to look at the freshly reappeared alicorn. “Oh, Tw-Twilight! Er, forget something, darling?” she asked, feeling her cheeks grow hot. She really, really hoped the alicorn hadn’t seen her little display.

Twilight fidgeted for a moment, looking somewhat flustered. “I’m going to miss you too.”

Rarity felt her heart beat faster against her chest, and her stomach was invaded by a swarm of butterflies—not that Twilight would ever know, of course.

“Awww! Thank you, darling! I can’t blame you, really,” she said, letting out a haughty laugh as she brushed a hoof through her mane. “I’d miss me too if I were leaving.”

Twilight snorted, rolling her eyes playfully. “Goodbye, Rarity,” she said finally. “Be safe, and don’t forget your reading.”

“Oh, wait!” Rarity said before Twilight could teleport away. “You never told me what the extra pages I need to read are.”

“Oh! Well, it’s not much. It’s just…” Twilight drifted off and straightened herself, a terribly concealed sheepish smile decorating her lips. “You just have to read chapters one through twenty-one!”

“Chapters one through… Twilight, that’s the entire book!” Rarity exclaimed.

“I know! Goodbye! Don’t forget to do the quiz I left in the back!” Twilight quickly replied before teleporting away just as fast.

“Twilight Sparkle! That is not light reading, and you know it!”

It was already afternoon by the time Rainbow Falls station appeared on the horizon.

Rarity stepped out onto the platform and looked around. The entire place was littered with ponies and the plethora of objects they had brought to trade. With the Exchange beginning earlier that morning, Rarity felt some relief at seeing she wasn’t the only one just arriving.

First things first, I need to find the hotel, she thought, retrieving Pinkie’s letter from her saddlebag. She read it over, skimming through Pinkie’s long greeting to Twilight, spending a minute rereading the newest happenings with Princess Luna, and then finally finding the directions to where they’d be staying.

As she made her way through Rainbow Falls, Rarity kept her idle gaze on the posters posted throughout the town’s walls. Most of them were related to the Traders Exchange, but she noticed that a number of them depicted large dragons and warnings to avoid the mountainside. So there really is a dragon migration, then…

When she finally reached the address, all the way on the outskirts of the town near the cliffs and mountain range, Rarity was relieved to see Pinkie standing in front of a downtrodden, large blue house. Was that where they’d be staying? It certainly looked nothing like any hotel she’d ever seen. There were no other houses nearby and they were so close to the mountainside, in fact, that Rarity could see the entrance to the caves leading inside Yaket Range.

“Pinkie!” she called out, putting the letter away and quickening her pace.

“Rarity! You’re here!” Pinkie exclaimed, enveloping the mare in a hug the moment Rarity was close enough. “I’ve been waiting here for you aaaaaall morning!”

Rarity laughed. “I hope that’s a lie, darling, or else I’ll feel horrid for taking the afternoon train,” she said, placing her suitcases down. “Why didn’t you wait for me inside…” she drifted off, glancing at the house behind Pinkie. “…the hotel?”

Pinkie’s ears jolted upwards. “The hotel?” She looked back toward the house before exclaiming, “Oh, that’s not a hotel, silly! The hotel is in the southeast part of town, but I always stay here when I come!”

Taking one of Rarity’s heavy suitcases and dragging it along on the ground, Pinkie made her way to the door, the suitcase banging loudly against the three steps. Finally, she released it and knocked on the door thrice, Rarity quickly joining her on the porch.

Nothing happened at first, and Rarity was about to suggest knocking again when she finally heard some commotion inside the house. She quickly straightened herself up when the knob began to turn and she was surprised to see a familiar stallion as the door swung open.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake,” Professor Brazened Awe said, narrowing his eyes at the grinning Pinkie Pie. “I should be surprised, but I’m not.”

“Hi, Professor Meaniepants!” Pinkie exclaimed with great cheer. “Did ya miss me?”

“Like a stallion misses his mother-in-law,” he replied with as much enthusiasm as a rock. “Miss Pie, as flattered as I am by your frankly impressive stalking prowess, I have told you a thousand times that there is a perfectly decent hotel on the other side of town!”

“The hotel doesn’t let me bake cupcakes in their kitchen, silly!” Pinkie replied, picking up Rarity’s suitcase. “Come on, Rarity! You can put your stuff upstairs while I take my cupcakes out of the oven. I already put my stuff in our room.”

“You what?!” Professor Awe exclaimed, moving aside so as to let Pinkie in before following her, leaving Rarity alone. “That is breaking and entering!”

“Then why d’you always leave the key under the rug, huuuuh?”

“Th-that’s completely irrelevant!”

For her part, Rarity looked back and forth between the remaining suitcases and the hallway. She tapped her hoof against her mouth, unsure what to do. She didn’t particularly feel comfortable staying somewhere she hadn’t been invited. And didn’t Pinkie and Awe dislike each other? Immensely?

Eventually, the professor returned with the sound of heavy hoofsteps, and stared down at the unicorn.

“Ah, Professor Awe!” Rarity offered him her most charming smile.

“Miss Rarity.”

Seconds of silence later, an increasingly awkward Rarity cleared her throat. “Shall I perhaps persuade Pinkie that the hotel is the best choice then, Professor…?”

The professor frowned, mulling it over. “Frankly, she’s done this so many times, I can’t bring myself to care anymore,” he finally said, moving aside to clear the path. “Make yourself at home. Just please make sure she doesn’t interrupt me while I’m working.”

“Thank you, Professor,” Rarity said, levitating her suitcases and stepping inside.

After closing the door, Professor Awe led Rarity to the staircase. As she made her way up, she noticed several certificates and diplomas framed on the wall, all celebrating the curator of Canterlot’s private library: Knowledge Quill.

That’s right! He changed his name!

But why?

That was the question that roamed Rarity’s head as she left her things in one of the upper floor’s rooms, and continued to plague her even when she descended a dozen minutes later, carrying with her all the items she’d be looking to trade.

The smell of pastries filled her nose, and she followed it all the way into the living room. Much like Hollow Shades, the walls were decorated with notes, plastered newspaper cutouts, and a plethora of books scattered about. Rarity remembered Awe had three of Twilight’s books, so it turned out to be a lucky coincidence she’d be spending time with him. Maybe he too would be interested in a trade?

“I’m ready!” she called out to Pinkie, receiving an “I’m almost done!” in reply.

Rarity took the brief moment of peace to look around, making her way toward the piles of books until her attention was drawn toward a large, odd-looking device in the corner.

A closer look revealed the grey machine was some sort of measuring device. Long sheets of paper trailed down from a tray, filled with all sorts of complex-looking data. The top was adorned with several red light bulbs, and a round receptor of some sort stood in the middle. The front of the machine was branded with the words “Magic Analyzer Device.”

Rarity took her camera from the stack of objects she’d brought down, deciding that Twilight would probably be thrilled to have a picture of it. Once the picture popped out of the tray, she looked around again while waiting for it to develop. Her eyes landed on some stapled papers, the words “CHAOS MAGIC” written on the first in bold big letters, which she lifted to read.

MAGIC THEORY #25
CHAOS AND DISHARMONY

Magic is all around us.

It resides in the earth, the plants, and in Equestria’s populace. Though earth ponies and pegasi have their own individual “magic essence,” magic as we’ve come to know it only resides in the unicorn and alicorn races.

Though my many years as head librarian have allowed me to understand magic to its very core, there are still many types of magic currently unknown to ponykind. Changeling magic, for one, is rooted in a very different organic component than ours. While our own magic is mostly limitless, and does not influence our other body parts, a changeling’s magic is powered by the extraction of social bonds, and the lack of such magic can result in the death of the host.

There is also the matter of CHAOS MAGIC, a type of magic still unresearchable despite its remaining presence scattered throughout the Kingdom of Equestria. Though we refer to it as Chaos Magic, we currently have no way to verify that it truly is just that, but there is enough evidence to confirm my theory.

There is, of course, its presence in the inner levels of Canterlot Castle, where Princess Denza and potentially the Spirit reside. Hollow Shades, too, is full of it. Then, there is the Everfree Forest. Though I am still unable to fully verify its correlation to the magic aura in the castle, it is indisputable that a strikingly similar magic layer permeates the forest.

More to the point, the location of this forest matches the exact location of Princess Twilight Sparkle I’s last confirmed dwelling. Our research on the topic has long marked the princess as deeply involved in magical arts, so it is only logical that an unearthly amount of magic must have been used to bring her down.

The lingering Chaos Magic permeating the forest is nothing more than the gravestone marking the princess’s final resting place.

Our third proof is…

That oaf! He really does believe Cadance assassinated Twilight! And the idea of the Spirit even living in Canterlot Cas─

“I see you’ve found my papers.”

Startled, Rarity quickly turned to find Professor Awe in the room, staring at her with a quizzical expression. Cheeks flushing, she put the paper back in its place and stepped away from the machine.

“Oh, er, I─! I was only interested by this device you have. I thought those might be the instructions.”

The professor shook his head. “No, the only instructions for that machine are in my head,” he said, stepping forward to it while his magic promptly took care of moving his notes away from prying eyes. “It’s a magic analyzer. All one has to do is put a magic-infused receptacle in there, and it will tell you what kind of magic it is, the complexity of the spell, and what the caster’s strengths and weaknesses in magic use are. I’m afraid it’s not working at the moment, though.” He tinkered with the machine for a moment before clearing his throat. “So! Since you’ve been so kind as to read my private notes, may I ask what you thought?”

“What I thought?” Rarity asked, cheeks flushing again.

“Yes. I gathered from our last conversation that you were well-versed in the history of the Chaos Wars.”

Rarity blinked. “Ah! Well, I thought it was quite the interesting theory, Professor. I… admittedly almost never go into the Everfree Forest, but I can’t deny there’s something quite unnatural about the place. However, I do have my doubts.” She raised an eyebrow. “You think the Spirit lives in the castle?”

“I do,” he replied flatly.

“But, Professor! You can’t really think Princess Denza of all ponies is working together with the Spirit! It’s ridiculous!” Rarity exclaimed. “And that her family line assassinated the princesses?!”

“Miss Rarity, the fact remains that I see no three extra alicorns ruling Equestria, so there’s simply no other explanation. Don’t give me that look!” he added when Rarity threw him a pointed stare. “You can’t honestly believe that the princesses are trap—” He cut himself off and sighed, rubbing his temple. “Look. Even if the princesses were trapped throughout Equestria, the fact remains that our kingdom isn’t sunk in chaos. Do you have an explanation for this that isn’t the royal family working together with the Spirit?”

And at this, Rarity stayed silent.

She had no explanation, even if she firmly believed that Princess Denza would never work together with the Spirit… but… the professor’s reasoning created cracks of doubt in her own theory, and now more than ever, she wished she could confer with Twilight. Then again, if any pony would believe in Cadance and Denza no matter what, it would be Twilight.

“I am willing to listen to theories, Miss Rarity, and though I may not agree, I still give weight to Miss Pie’s arguments. On this matter, however, I am resolute. Whatever happened in that war, the Spirit had inside help.”

“But you served Princess Denza! You were the head librarian of Canterlot, for pony’s sake! It says so on your certificates!” Rarity retorted, unable to understand how somepony could have turned against their superior in such a ridiculously exaggerated way.

“Precisely,” he replied simply. “I was one of the few ponies allowed into the inner workings of that castle, Miss Rarity, and the things I saw in there… I may not be powerful enough to harness Chaos Magic into a receptacle so I may study it, but I can at least tell when something reeks of unnatural forces. I am very well aware of the gravity of what I’m proposing, so I can assure you I wouldn’t be doing so unless I was certain.”

Rarity wanted to say something else, to object but… what could she even say?

“Ready!”

And so, the conversation came to an end with Pinkie’s excited exclamation as she bounded into the room with several baskets of cookies and cupcakes. She failed to notice the tenseness in the air, going straight for the professor with a cheerful smile.

“Here you go, Professor Meaniepants! Chocolate and walnut cookies!” she said, offering him the smallest of the baskets. “Thanks for letting us stay!”

“Ooooh, my favorite!” the professor exclaimed, his composure dropping in favor of becoming a foal in a candy store.

“What about you, Rarity? Ready to go?” Pinkie asked. “It’s getting late! We’re gonna miss all the good stuff!”

As much as the unicorn wanted to continue her discussion, Pinkie Pie was right. The more time they spent in the house, the more they were allowing somepony else to make off with what they wanted.

Reluctantly, she smiled and nodded toward her items, all piled up on the couch. “I was just waiting for you, Pinkie.”

“Great! Let’s go!”

Rarity watched Pinkie skip out of the room, and it wasn’t until she was gone that Rarity looked to the professor, his face covered in crumbs.

“May we continue our discussion later tonight?”

Professor Awe cleared his throat, stashing away the remaining cookies and nodding. “If you wish. I stand by what I said, though. I know foul play when I see it.”

The trot to the Exchange went by quickly enough, with the two mares wrapped up in getting one another up to date on the latest happenings. Just as she’d mentioned in her letter, Pinkie had yet to find any information on Princess Celestia, and Rarity herself hadn’t had much luck with the books. She’d hoped that Apple Bloom’s friendship with the girls might do something for getting Twilight’s book from the Apples, but it was starting to seem like achieving that goal would mean getting help from Applejack herself.

Nevertheless, Pinkie Pie didn’t seem at all discouraged by the lack of progress. There was, after all, one particular event that excited Pinkie so much, Rarity might as well have told her she’d freed all three princesses at once.

“And the best part is you bought them from Hollow Shades! The day we met! Eek! It’s like I’m connected to her, too! Are you suuuure I can’t talk to her?!”

Pinkie Pie hopped along the aisles of stands, the necklace bouncing off her chest as she pushed around her trolley of cupcakes and cookies. Ever since Rarity had revealed her new communication accessory to the pink mare, it had been the only thing Pinkie could talk or ask about.

“I’m quite sure,” Rarity replied sympathetically, glancing behind at the little red cart she’d borrowed for all her things. “You’d need to be able to cast magic.”

Pinkie came to a stop, brow furrowing. “Nu-uh! Professor Awe says that earth ponies have a magic of their own!” she exclaimed, closing her eyes, pressing the crystal against her chest and making a ridiculous humming sound.

While Pinkie tried contacting Twilight through earth pony magic, Rarity used the moment’s reprieve to look over her cart and review what she needed to look out for at the Exchange. Let’s see, she thought. I have…

…a helmet to exchange for a Wonderbolt’s autograph; a—non-magical—candelabra to exchange for a musical instrument; three lovely designs to exchange for rare and exotic fabrics; and one large emerald plus several sapphires to exchange for ancient books.

Everything seemed to be in order, save for Scootaloo’s request. Though she knew the Wonderbolts would be monitoring the event as extra security against the dragon migration, it worried her that they might be too busy to, well, give out autographs ─ not to mention she wasn’t sure they’d want a helmet in exchange for one.

When Rarity looked back, Pinkie was still “communicating” with Twilight, prompting the unicorn to politely clear her throat and then quickly step back when Pinkie startled her with a very loud gasp.

“Rarity!” Pinkie exclaimed, dropping the necklace and clapping her hooves together. “I talked to her! I talked to her!”

Rarity playfully raised her eyebrow. “Did you, now?”

“Mh-hm! And you know what she said?” Pinkie looked from side to side conspiratorially, signaling for Rarity to come closer. And closer. And closer. And closer still, until a disconcerted Rarity had her cheek pressed against Pinkie’s. “She said that I’m her best friend!” Pinkie finally revealed, giggling as Rarity scoffed loudly.

“Excuse me, but I am the rightful owner of that title,” Rarity protested playfully, levitating her necklace off Pinkie and slipping it on. Or, at least, I hope I am. I probably am. “Besides, you’re already best friends with a princess of your own!”

Pinkie nodded, resuming their path by pushing the trolley along. “Yep! Being super best friends with a princess is fun, isn’t it?” she asked cheerfully, only for her mirth to evaporate only a second later. “Except they’re trapped in dumb places. That’s not fun at all.”

“Don’t think about that, Pinkie. Just think that they’re only trapped for now, but soon enough, they’ll be out and about,” Rarity replied, letting her gaze wander over the passing stands. “Just think about it! Aren’t you excited to hug Princess Luna?”

“Uh-huh! And you with Princess Twilight!” Pinkie replied and, her tone now distinctly teasing, added, “Except, you don’t wanna hug her, you’re gonna want to kiiiiiis—mmph!”

Despite the flustered Rarity immediately magicking her mouth shut, Pinkie’s teasing giggles still resonated, which Rarity decided to ignore. She had known she’d regret admitting her crush to Pinkie, but it wasn’t her fault the mare was so… so nice and fun. And who else besides Fluttershy would take her seriously if she said she had a crush on an ancient alicorn spirit? She just hoped Pinkie wouldn’t tell Princess Luna, since that might make for an awkward reunion.

“It’ll all be very fun,” Rarity finished, eventually letting go of Pinkie’s mouth if only because the sound of a shrill scream distracted her instead.

The two mares looked around and found a little frightened filly rushing toward a mare near the stands.

“Mamma! Mamma!” the filly called, nearly throwing herself at her mother, clutching her mother’s foreleg and then pointing her hoof toward something in the distance. “Dragons, mamma! Don’t let them eat me!”

“Dragons?” Rarity said aloud, ears flickering down. Though perhaps she wasn’t as terrified as the foal, she still admitted the idea of meeting a dragon did frighten her a bit—or a lot. “But, aren’t the Wonderbolts supposed to be in cha─ Pinkie?” She looked around and only just caught a glimpse of her friend pushing her trolley in the direction the filly had pointed. “Pinkie!”

Rarity followed after the mare, until she came to a large crowd of ponies gathered on the outskirts of the market. She could see Pinkie’s curly mane sticking out from the crowd, and after pushing her way through, she reached the front of the crowd, where the Wonderbolts acted as the only barrier between the crowd and three angry-looking dragons, all as big as a small carriage.

“I already told you, this is pony territory!” the Wonderbolts leader said, taking a step toward the dragons. “You’re not allowed here!”

Luckily for her, Scootaloo’s brief lesson in Wonderbolt’s history had served her well, and Rarity instantly recognized the orange mare as Spitfire, current captain of the team. Flanking her, if she wasn’t mistaken, were Soarin and Fleetfoot.

The larger dragon, a blue lizard with small red wings and horns all over his back, stepped up toward Spitfire, grinning maliciously. “Whaaaaaaat? Why not? We only want to trade with you!” he said, fluttering his eyelashes and looking back toward the other two nodding dragons. “Ain’t that right, boys? We’re innocent!”

“Would you look at them?” Rarity whispered, glaring at the creatures. “Who are they trying to kid? Even Fluttershy is a better actor than they are.”

“This is your last warning,” Spitfire continued, taking yet another step forward, voice leveled. “We don’t want any trouble, so you better go back to the mountains.”

The dragon took another step forward, eyes slitting. “Really? Well, pony, if you don’t let us in, you’re gonna get lots and lo—”

“Pfft! You three?! Don’t make me laugh!”

Simultaneously, the crowd looked around and made space for the newcomer, a cyan-colored pegasus with a rather… interesting rainbow-colored mane. She made her way toward the dragons, and the Wonderbolts stepped aside as she did so.

“Rainbow Dash!” Spitfire exclaimed. “What are you doing here? I thought you were in Tall Tale!”

Rainbow Dash? Of course, the ex-captain! Rarity thought, having found the mare familiar. She didn’t just remember her from Scootaloo’s insistence over getting her autograph, but from the news article at Awe’s house in Hollow Shades as well.

“Nah. Figured I’d come visit you guys, and you’re lucky I did,” Rainbow Dash said, her stare still set on the dragons. “So, what are you pipsqueaks doing here? Don’t you have some sleeping to do in your cave?”

The leader hissed at her, baring his teeth. “Pipsqueak?”

“Yeah! I mean, what are you like, twelve?” Dash continued, flying up into the air above the dragons, disregarding the crowd’s horrified gasp. “You’re just a bunch of teenagers.” She scoffed and landed back on the ground. “I’ve seen real dragons before, and they’re way scarier than the three of you put together.”

“W-well, we’re not scared of you either, pony! Any of you!” the dragon retorted, scratching his claws against the ground. “We know who you are. You’re that pansy team of ponies that obeys that even pansier pony princess. It ain’t gonna look very good if she finds out you offended the dragon race, so you better let us in, or else.”

Rainbow Dash laughed—loudly. “Or else you’re gonna run to Princess Denza? Pfft! I’d like to see you even try to get past the city gates! I’ll bring the popcorn!” When she was met with silence from the dragons, Rainbow Dash replied by taking a step further. “That’s what I thought. Now get lost! I need to find a chain for a necklace, and I’m wasting time here!”

The leader finally stepped back, and scurried away with his friends, but not before issuing a final warning: “We’ll be back! This isn’t the last you’ve seen of us, pony!”

“Great! I haven’t kicked flank for a while, and it’ll be a great workout before dinner!” Once the dragon had left, Rainbow Dash looked back toward Spitfire and said something to her before trotting off.

The crowd began to disperse, leaving Rarity and Pinkie standing there alone.

“Well, that was certainly eventful,” Rarity said, looking toward where the dragons had left and wishing she’d taken a moment to snap a picture. Twilight would have been thrilled by it. “I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to talk down dragons like that.”

“Rarity?”

Rarity looked to Pinkie. “Yes?”

“Didn’t you want Rainbow Dash’s autograph, silly?”

“I did? Oh goodness, I did! WAIT!” she called out, rushing away from Pinkie and in the direction Rainbow Dash had left. She’d already made it halfway through the market before she had to come back and sheepishly take the helmet she’d forgotten.

She spent a good twenty minutes scouring the marketplace to no avail. It seemed the pegasus had disappeared as swiftly as she’d arrived, and to make matters worse, Rarity’s carelessness had cost her the chance of getting autographs from the other three Wonderbolts, as well. She did, however, find all the things that Sweetie and Apple Bloom had wanted, which only made her feel worse about Scootaloo.

“Well, there’s no need to panic yet,” Rarity said, mostly to herself, idly examining some antique jewels at a stand. “The Traders Exchange will still be open tomorrow, and I still haven’t had any luck with Twilight’s books either, so I shan’t lose hope yet.”

“Maybe we’ll be lucky, and more dragons will come tomorrow!” Pinkie suggested.

“Dragons! Bah! Filthy creatures. Can’t stand ’em.”

Rarity looked up from the stand and turned toward the source of the voice. To her surprise, the apparent dragon-hater was a pegasus stallion running what looked very much like a dragon merchandise stand, complete with dragon felt dolls, dragon-shaped cards, jewels of all sorts, and books presumably all about dragons.

Somepony is swimming very deep in the rivers of denial, I see.

“Sure you can!” Pinkie exclaimed, trotting toward the stand with Rarity following soon after. “You love dragons! You have so many cute plushies!”

The stallion snorted. “No. I hate dragons. Most ponies love them, so I trade stuff about them. Why? You want something?” he asked, stepping back and rearranging some jewels on the table. “I got dragon dolls, dragons cards, dragon sweets, dragon books, and jewels that dragons love to eat.”

Considering Rarity didn’t remember any of Twilight’s missing books having to do with dragons, she disregarded them and instead examined the jewelry. Emeralds, rubies, and sapphires of all shapes were neatly displayed, and though she wasn’t interested in trading for them, she could at least appreciate them.

“Wait a second,” Pinkie’s voice came. “This book isn’t about dragons!”

“No, but it was stolen from a dragon,” the shopkeeper replied.

“That’s not nice! What if the dragon really needed to study for an… aerial thermodynamics exam?!”

Rarity looked up briefly, watching her friend poking at a blue tome, before directing her attention toward the felt dolls. She couldn’t deny the craftsmanship was exquisite, and there wasn’t a single stitch out of place. The felt jewels each dragon carried were very well made, too.

“Bah! Dragons can’t study. All they can do is come here every year and bother everypony,” the shopkeeper said, harrumphing for good measure. “And even if they could study, stealing from a thief doesn’t count as stealing.”

“What d’you mean?” Pinkie asked, Rarity only half-listening to the conversation.

“The dragon who had that book stole it from a pony. It says her name right on the first page. Twinkle Sparkles.”

Now that caught Rarity’s attention.

“Twilight Sparkle,” she said immediately, looking up to the shopkeeper.

“Bah! Same thing,” he replied huffily. “Wait, how’d you know that?”

Without waiting for Rarity to reply, Pinkie quickly took the book and opened it up. “Rarity! Rarity, look, look!” she exclaimed, nearly throwing the book in the unicorn’s face so she could see the familiar hoofwriting at the top of the page.

There, in beautiful calligraphy, was Twilight’s name, and Rarity impulsively reached out to her necklace, on the verge of calling her friend just to tell her the news.

“Pinkie! This is wonderful!” Rarity replied, letting go of the necklace and taking the book in her magic. “What would you like in exchange for this? I notice you seem to be quite the jewel collector!” She smiled and fluttered her eyelashes, levitating her sapphires and the large gemstone. “Perhaps I may interest you in these jewels?”

The shopkeeper looked unimpressed. “Lady, I already have enough jewels,” he replied, and an indignant Rarity thought to herself that there was no such thing as too many jewels. “You want that book? You got a dragon scale to trade?”

“A dragon scale?”

“Yep. Those things are sharp like a knife and are worth more bits than all these jewels put together,” the shopkeeper said. “Rare, too. Very few ponies have taken a scale from a dragon and lived to tell it.”

“And you want one of those?”

“Yep. So, you want this book, you better bring me one.”

Rarity stared at him, incredulous. Was he serious? What, did he expect her to walk up to a dragon, wave hello, bat her eyelashes and say, “Excuse me, kind sir, may I rip off one of your scales?”

“But, sir, are you quite sure you wouldn’t want anything else?” Rarity persisted, fluttering her eyelashes and levitating the jewels again.

“Nope. I want the scale, lady,” the stallion said, resolute, taking the book back from Rarity. “I was supposed to take a scale from that dragon, and instead all I got was this lousy book. So, if you want to trade your jewels, you’re welcome to pick anything else, but if you want this book, you know the price.”

Rarity refrained from sighing, instead stepping back and forcing a smile. “Very well! I shall get you your scale, then,” she said, just as resolute as he was, despite lacking any idea whatsoever about how to acquire said scale. “Is there anything you’d like, Pinkie?”

Pinkie shook her head. “Nope! Just the book, like you!” she exclaimed, taking hold of her trolley and starting to push it away. “Come on, Rarity!”

Rarity gave the shopkeeper one last cordial smile before trotting after her friend, her mind already reeling with the options they had.

“So, where do you think the dragons are? I’ll bring them cookies, and I’m sure they’ll give us lots of scales!”

“That will not be necessary, dear,” Rarity said, looking around the market, at the dozens of ponies walking around with all sorts of things to trade. “We’re in the Traders Exchange, remember? I’m sure somepony here must have a dragon scale. We just have to find it.”

Of course, much as things had gone earlier, luck was not on Rarity’s side, and hours later, their day ended with no scale, no Wonderbolts autograph, and no daylight to continue looking. It was frustrating, to say the least, and as they made their way home Rarity started to think that they might actually have to seek out a dragon.

Maybe Twilight will know what to do, she thought, idly staring down at the unwinding path, her hornlight illuminating the way. She felt her necklace thumping against her chest, almost like a clock ticking away the seconds they had left to do the nearly impossible. I’ll call her when we’re back home.

Rarity’s thoughts clouded her mind, and her pace was slow, resulting in Pinkie leaving her behind, too distracted by her own story to realize Rarity wasn’t following or listening. When she eventually looked up, it was with great relief as she saw Professor Awe’s house in the distance. Pinkie too had seen it, judging by the fact that she’d doubled her pace. Lots of cookies and cupcakes to bake for tomorrow, Rarity supposed.

As they trotted on, Rarity moved her gaze toward the mountainside, eyes grazing the narrow paths leading to the large caves decorating Yaket Range. Were those the paths leading to dragon dens, perhaps? Would she have to make her way through them? Even if she’d ventured into caves before while diamond hunting, the biggest threat to her had always been bats, and truth be told, she wasn’t sure she really wanted to face off with a dragon.

After all, those dragons from earlier had seemed enormous to her, and they were just teenagers! If teenagers were so large, she could scarcely imagine what a full-grown dragon looked like. Well, that wasn’t completely true. She could imagine one, considering she’d seen a massive dragon statue back in Canterlot, but… the idea of being in the presence of such a huge creature… massive… just like the one staring back at her from one of the caves…

Rarity came to a complete stop, her heart beating thunderously in her chest. She was nearly at Awe’s house, but the desire to go inside had completely faded, replaced instead with panicked curiosity directed toward the large dragon standing at the entrance of one of the distant caves. Though night had fallen and her eyesight wasn’t as discerning as she’d like, she could make out the figure of the creature, and more than that, she could plainly see it staring right back at her.

She felt much like the mice Opalescence hunted, waiting for the predator to make the first move before she did. Except, unlike Opalescence, the wingless dragon didn’t look as if it was readying itself for an attack.

It was at that moment that Rarity remembered the gemstones in her bag, and a terribly brave but potentially profoundly reckless idea occurred to her. Perhaps… the dragon would be interested in a trade? She remembered Twilight’s words, that not all dragons were vicious, and the thought inspired Rarity to trust her friend and take a step toward the dragon.

“Rarity! Come on!”

Startled, Rarity looked around and saw Pinkie standing by the distant open door, waving at her.

“Just a minute!” Rarity called back, turning away from Pinkie and toward the now-empty cave. “Wait! Come back!” she called, trotting toward the opening, but eventually slowing down her pace, her bravery waning. “Drat.”

“What’s wrong?” Pinkie called, and finally Rarity turned toward her.

“Nothing! I’m coming!” she called back, trotting toward the house, her eyes still lingering on the cave the dragon had disappeared into.

Maybe, if she was lucky, Pinkie would be right and they’d run into dragons again the next day.

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act II ~ 17 ~ The Dragon Thief ~

A dragon scale.

If Rarity were an alicorn like Twilight Sparkle, she supposed getting one would be a fairly easy task. A quickly cast barrier, a few dizzying spells, maybe some teleporting around for added confusion, and she’d be trotting out of the cave with a scale before one could say “advanced teleportation.”

Sadly though, Rarity wasn’t an all-mighty, powerful alicorn, and although she liked to consider herself quite the fighter, her brief lessons in self-defense as a filly could only do so much. Maybe she should have listened to Sweetie when she suggested an industrial-sized pepper spray can. If it worked on timberwolves, it should work on dragons, right?

“Miss Rarity, will you pay attention, please?”

Rarity blinked once, twice, thrice, and she realized she’d zoned out halfway through Professor Awe’s speech. They’d spent most of the past two hours debating the Spirit’s alleged involvement with Princess Denza, but this was hard to do when one pony had no real evidence, while the other side refused to come clean about her little alicorn secret.

“I’m terribly sorry, Professor. Please continue,” she said, clearing her throat and straightening herself up on the sofa, trying to force away her worries over acquiring the book and the scale.

The professor furrowed his brow. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I think it’s safe to assume you won’t believe my evidence until you see it for yourself, and since I cannot give you a free pass into Canterlot Castle…” He put his papers down on the nearby desk. “Maybe we should both retire for the night. Miss Pie rises at a ridiculous hour to make her pastries, so I’d suggest you get some sleep before she wakes you up at the crack of dawn.”

“I suppose so,” Rarity reluctantly agreed, putting away the quill she had borrowed and folding her sheet of paper. She’d made a few notes, mostly reminding herself to ask Twilight about Chaos Magic, but nothing terribly interesting beyond that.

The professor wasted no time saying good night, leaving Rarity alone in the messy living room with her thoughts. Her first concern was finding a scale, or at least something the salespony might want instead. With a theatrical sigh, she lay down on the couch, idly playing with her brightly glowing necklace, mulling over her situa—

Brightly glowing necklace?

“Oh! Oh, wait!” she blurted out, forgetting Twilight couldn’t actually hear her. She sat back up, closed her eyes, and cast the communication spell, excitement bubbling up in her chest.

She and Twilight had tested the range throughout Ponyville and it worked just fine, but this would be the first attempt over such a large distance.

Nothing happened at first, which was the norm. In the times they’d tested the spell, there was always a small moment where their minds needed to acclimate, or so Twilight had explained. Finally, a thought occurred to Rarity, an intense desire to… recite everything she’d learned on teleportation, and to write an entire dissertation on it.

If her eyes weren’t closed, she’d be rolling them.

It seemed she didn’t have to, though, for as soon as she felt the desire to do so, her thoughts immediately shifted into listing all the reasons why teleportation is nothing to roll your eyes at, Rarity!

That was another thing they’d achieved after several uses of the spell.

It had eventually become unnecessary to cast the spell in turns; rather, one simply needed to have more intensity in her thoughts to take control of the “conversation.” As such, Rarity focused completely and utterly on the idea that she had something vitally important to tell Twilight, and mere moments later, she could no longer feel any intruding thoughts.

Thank you, Twilight.

Taking a deep breath, she thought of the matter at hoof, which was her pressing concerns about Chaos Magic. As the concept began to materialize in her mind, new information flooded her. Chaos Magic could do a wide array of things, but it mostly had two purposes: creating chaos and creating disharmony.

Images of the moving library maze flooded Rarity’s mind; she could nearly hear Twilight’s voice, her thoughts showing the chaotic side of magic. However, rather than instill curiosity in Rarity about the magic, another question flowed into her mind, overpowering her completely.

What does the Spirit look like?

The images stopped, as if Twilight herself had been brought to a halt, and suddenly everything shifted, Twilight’s grip on the conversation coming back, but with an added sense of urgency and anxiety.

She—Rarity or Twilight, or perhaps both at the same time—was in the library, but she felt as if she didn’t want to be there. No, it wasn’t that she felt like that; it was more like she was certain she didn’t want to be there. She wanted to expel the memory and the bizarre anxiety it was instilling in her, but she couldn’t.

Though she was aware she was seeing into Twilight’s mind, Rarity felt very much like she forced it upon Twilight, like this was something the alicorn was showing her not because she wanted to, but because the memory had been dragged into the light.

An intense terror gripped Rarity, the feeling that she lost control of her body, like she’d been turned into a ghost, and just as she understood what she was witnessing, the memory shifted and a creature appeared in front of her.

A long, snake-like being floated in front of her, its lips twisted into a wicked smile. It was unlike anything Rarity had seen before, but Twilight had, and now so had Rarity. A draconequus: the Spirit of Disharmony, an amalgamation of all kinds of beasts.

“Listen well, my little pony. I’ve hidden a coded map somewhere in the bowels of your precious library and if you step out of here even once without it…” He laughed, a loud joyful laugh, before bending down and hissing, “It will vanish and you shall never see your friend again.”

Ping!

With a sudden jolt, the vision was cut off, and the magic spell stopped completely. Startled, Rarity opened her eyes, gasping and pressing her hoof against her thunderously beating heart, barely cognizant of her newly formed headache.

Whatever had happened, it hadn’t affected the baseline connection, judging by the necklace’s still-present pink glow. Thank goodness, she thought, letting go of the necklace and taking a deep breath, trying to steady her heart.

Twilight probably stopped the terrible memory herself, and Rarity couldn’t honestly blame her. She felt the impulse to call her again and make sure she was all right, but refrained, thinking the alicorn probably needed some time alone after that.

I’ll just have to call her tomorrow morning, she thought, lying back down on the couch, closing her eyes, and rubbing her hoof against her throbbing head.

In a way, it was frightening to think she now had an image of the Spirit. She wanted to feel relieved knowing what he looked like, but… but knowing what he looked like made him all the more real and threatening. Her only relief was that, as far as she could remember—and she was certain she’d remember such a beast—she hadn’t seen the Spirit in his true form, yet.

The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. Maybe she ought to go back to the problem at hoof, but finding a dragon scale felt just as daunting as learning to teleport.

But I need it and sitting around here isn’t getting me anywhere close to one, is it?

Her mind went back to Twilight’s memory, and the fear she felt when she saw the Spirit. She hadn’t lost her body, but she certainly felt Twilight’s horror at losing hers, and… did Twilight still feel that way, even centuries after? Just the thought of it…

It’s just a dragon, Rarity. Twilight herself said they’re not all inherently vicious, a voice chimed in her head, prodding her on.

And yet she still refused. Just a dragon? What if she found herself at home inside the stomach of “just a dragon”? Who would be rescuing her then, hm? Hmmmmmm?

Why, Rarity! Why would we need rescuing? Why can’t we be the dashing rescuers for once? Oh, just imagine it…

And imagine she did, picturing herself trotting toward the salespony, batting her eyelashes and presenting him with a magnificent dragon scale—a scale that shone like a diamond, no less! Ah, his look of shock! She would revel in it, bask in it, mock it as she walked away with the book and a second dragon scale, because she’d show him she could get more than he ever could!

But that would just be the beginning!

The real fun would be when she’d trot back into the library, the book floating behind her and a lovely scale complementing her necklace. “Oh, Rarity!” Twilight would say, her eyes sparkling. “Wherever did you get that?!” And oh, how surprised, how completely enamored she’d be upon finding out Rarity fought a dragon—no, two dragons! No, three! Full grown too! ─ for her sake! She’d be so taken, in fact, that she’d rush into Rarity’s forelegs and…

And rush through her, actually, but that was beside the point, because the point was that Rarity would get a dragon scale, and it would be…

Magnificent.

Invigorated by her own fantasies of grandeur, Rarity jumped to her hooves, feeling as if she had practically vanquished the dragon already. She made her way to the exit, took her saddlebag, flung open the door, and stepped out into the dark.

The night sky loomed over her, thanks to her very late adventuring. In the distance, she saw the main streets of Rainbow Falls, several houses still lit up and even more ponies trotting around despite the hour. Some late-night preparations for the second day of the Exchange?

But ponies weren’t what she was interested in, anyway.

Dragons were what she wanted, except she found no dragon gallivanting around the cave entrances. Well, no matter, she’d just have to find them herself!

Unfortunately, that was far easier said than done, and the closer she got to the caves, the more her bravery and enthusiasm waned. On second thought, convincing the shopkeeper to take the jewel in exchange for the book couldn’t be that ha─

“No! Twilight is counting on me!” Rarity chastised herself.

Filled with determination, she trotted toward the cave entrance she had seen the dragon disappear into, lighting up her horn as she stepped inside. The ceiling, or what she could see of it at least, was remarkably high up, and she reasoned that this meant her encounters might not be limited to just small drakes.

Making her way into the tunnels, the cave entrance disappeared behind her, and she was very aware of the eerie silence and the endless darkness that surrounded her. For all she knew, a dragon—or any beast for that matter—could be watching her from the shadows.

She trotted in a single direction for an eternity, prolonged even further by her mild fear, until she reached a fork in the road.

“Oh dear,” she murmured, the sound of her voice giving her some comfort as she stared at the three paths awaiting her. Now what? she thought, looking back in the direction she came from.

She obviously couldn’t be truly sure how long she’d been trotting, but she found herself equal parts relieved and annoyed that no dragon had made an appearance. The place should have been crawling with them, what with the dragon migration the next cave over. Frankly, it was actually rather rude of them! She was interrupting her beauty sleep schedule for this; the least they could do was be decent and show up.

Maybe they were deeper in the caves, deeper in the mountain? Would it have killed them to leave a path or trail or something for her to follow?

She briefly entertained calling Twilight for help, but while she toyed with her glowing necklace a better idea came to mind.

Gems were a dragon’s best friend, were they not?

She doused the light of her horn, and as darkness surrounded her, she cast a different spell. Her horn emitted a faint glow, and she felt her magic pulling her toward the left path and toward what she hoped might be a dragon’s hoard.

And yet…

And yet, the more she followed her horn, the more she felt as if the distant gem was moving away from her, and as far as she knew, gems didn’t move of their own free will. And suddenly, the gem stopped moving away—or whatever was carrying it, at least—and instead, it started moving toward her!

Part of her urged her to continue her path and meet it, but the other part was too paralyzed by fear, wondering just what was coming toward her along with the gem. And now, in the distance she could hear…

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The cave shook beneath her hooves and the sound of footsteps echoed against the walls, louder and louder as the seconds passed. Frozen in place, Rarity illuminated her horn and levitated Twilight’s heavy book out of her bag.

If this was to be her last moment, then she’d be damn sure she went out like Twilight would have wanted.

By putting her book to good use.

Finally, when the steps grew loud enough, Rarity waited for the dragon to make its appearance. And she waited. And waited. And waited, and waited, until nothing appeared, so she lowered the book, relaxed her muscles… and a deep voice behind her said:

“Are you done following me?”

Well, if a can worked on a timberwolf…

Letting out a shrill scream, Rarity turned around and flung the book toward what awaited her.

To her horror, she felt her magic aura negated when the creature caught the book in its claw. She quickly stepped back, finding the shadowed figure of a dragon looming over her, its closed claw hovering in the air and the darkness preventing her from making out anything but its shape and eyes.

Without a word to the panicked mare, the dragon opened its claw and squinted its eyes to look at the offending object, “Huh. That’s one way of hitting the books.” He let out a chuckle, obviously pleased by his own joke, but blinked when the paralyzed Rarity failed to do the same. “What? It was funny.” When again Rarity failed to even smile, he frowned, dropped the book in front of her and then muttered: “Well, she would have found it funny.”

Immediately, Rarity grabbed the book, pressing it against her chest and backtracking. “J-just you try eating me, and I swear I’ll—”

The dragon observed Rarity for a moment when her voice faltered. “Eat you?” he asked, lowering his head and narrowing his eyes. “Is that what you think I want to do?”

Rarity took another step back, her rump colliding against the wall, trying hard to stare back into his large eyes. “I-I’m warning you! I am a select high-quality unicorn, and if you want to eat me, you’ll have a hard time doing so!”

The dragon got closer, its breath splashing over Rarity, frightening her into losing control of her lighting spell; her horn winked out. “Select pony? That does sound good, and you are a very pretty pony, lady,” he commented, and only then did Rarity realize her self-esteem was hindering her for once. “Too bad for me then. I don’t eat ponies.” Her brief relief ended as quickly as his eyes turned to slits. “But I don’t like it when ponies follow me. I know unicorn magic when I see it, and my gemstone reeked of it.”

Ah. So that’s why it was moving.

“I-I wasn’t interested in you,” Rarity harrumphed, trying to sound indignant despite the fear crowding her mind. “If you must know, I was seeking out gems, and my spell happened to pick up on your gemstone.”

The dragon drew back, allowing Rarity to let out the breath she’d been holding and relight her horn.

“Well, you aren’t getting my gemstone. I already ate it, so you better look somewhere else,” the dragon said. “And you shouldn’t use books to whack strangers. That’s no way to treat a book.”

Rarity blinked, unsure of how to proceed. Of all the possible conversations she had ever imagined having with a dragon, this certainly wasn’t it.

“It’s not mine,” she said without thinking. “It belongs to a friend.”

The dragon snorted, loudly. “That’s how you treat things belonging to your friends? Gee, lady, I wouldn’t want to be your friend,” he said. “I know somepony who’d whack you herself for treating books like that.”

“W-well, luckily for me she isn’t here, then,” Rarity said, having a hard time imagining a dragon interested in books. Then again, the shopkeeper stole books from a dragon, so maybe they weren’t as barbaric as she imagined? “Or… is she?”

The dragon frowned. “No. I haven’t seen her in a real long time,” he replied, looking back toward the caves. Then, without another word, he began to walk away, his massive tail nearly knocking Rarity down as he passed her.

“Wait! Where are you going?” she called out, putting the book back in her saddlebag and trotting after him. She still needed a scale, and that dragon was the only shot she had at getting one.

“I need to go check on some things,” the dragon replied, not bothering to wait for Rarity. Or so she thought, until he looked over his shoulder to see if she was still there. “Actually, you can help me. Come on.”

“Help you?” Rarity asked, gulping. Oh dear, did she really want to find out what that entailed? What if he meant helping himself to her? Or what if he—

The dragon turned left, tail once more nearly throwing Rarity to the ground. “You’ll see when we get there. Besides, you don’t really have a choice. There’re other dragons here who would love to eat select pretty ponies like you, so you’re safer with me.”

“That’s quite nice of you,” Rarity said carefully, wishing she knew if his kindness was genuine or fake. Was she being led toward the exit or toward a trap? “I was under the impression that dragons loathed ponies.”

“Well, this dragon doesn’t,” he replied. “Just because ponies hate us doesn’t mean we all hate you back.”

They made their way through the caves in silence, only interrupted whenever the dragon looked back, checking to make sure Rarity was still following and warning her to keep close. As he’d said earlier, it wasn’t as though she had a choice, especially when she had absolutely no idea how to get back outside.

“Here we are.”

Finally, Rarity saw a dim flickering light in the distance, and they stepped into a large cavern decorated with several torches and campfires. After a moment, she realized her initial assumption—that they belonged to the dragon—couldn’t be right: they were pony-sized.

“You live here?”

“For now, yeah,” the dragon replied, moving deeper into the cavern toward a dark area in the distance. “I move around, but this is where I keep my stuff.”

“I see.”

Rarity wandered around, unsure of what, exactly, was happening. She approached the largest campfire and found several saddlebags no bigger than her very own. That, the torchlight, and the campfires only served to confirm her suspicion that some pony was roommates with Mister Dragon there.

“So, what’s your name?”

Rarity looked back toward the dragon, and before she replied, he made the most uncouth gargling noise before spitting out a fireball. The fireball shot toward a dark corner of the cavern, set alight a series of torches, and illuminated a very large hoard of gemstones which Rarity could only gawk at.

She trotted toward it in a daze, her mind reeling, his question forgotten. Sapphires, rubies, pearls, amethysts, emeralds, and dozens of other gemstones in all shapes and sizes, that could decorate more dresses she’d ever dreamed of, buy more fabrics than she’d ever been able to afford, buy Twilight more books than the alicorn ever owned.

“Oh my…” she said, taking a large ruby in her hoof, her eyes sparkling nearly as much as the gem itself.

The dragon snorted. “That’s a funny name for a pony,” he remarked, moving toward the hoard. “Don’t get excited, Oh My. Those belong in my stomach.”

Rarity was too mesmerized by the gems to bother correcting the dragon, and instead she continued looking over the hoard, trying to find the largest one. Instead of the largest, though, she felt drawn toward one gemstone in particular: a heart-shaped ruby, nearly identical in shape to the emerald Twilight had given her.

She trotted to it and noticed a perfectly round hole carved on the tip from where a small, broken chain hung. She lifted her hoof toward it, and—

“Don’t touch that,” the dragon spoke up immediately, now next to Rarity. All the warmth was gone from his voice, and for the first time, he sounded how Rarity expected terrifying dragons to sound.

She quickly backtracked, her heart thumping in her chest. “O-oh, I apologize, I…” she said, watching as his large claw reached into the hoard and took the gem. “I saw your chain was broken and I…” she faltered, unable to keep up with her excuse.

“I’m getting a new one,” the dragon replied, his voice still cold, still distant as he placed the gemstone far away from Rarity. Without giving her time to reply, he moved past her and continued to speak. “Look. I need your help with these.”

Rarity trotted to him, right next to a small hoard separated from the rest. It was much, much, much smaller than the gem hoard, and more than that, the gems were mixed up with all kinds of assorted objects, amongst them several familiar dragon-shaped objects.

“Wait a moment, these…” She took one of the dragon dolls in her hoof. “Where did…”

“Some dragons from the northern tribe,” the dragon explained. “You ponies never take good care of your stuff, so they went looting. I stopped them and managed to get some of it back, so now you can go and give it to the owners.”

Rarity blinked, looking back and forth between the items and the dragon. “I see.”

“Great! You’ll do it, then?” the dragon asked.

“Before I answer, let me get my facts in order.” She cleared her throat and said, “Dragons stole these things from the ponies, and you, a dragon, stole them back from the other dragons and now you want to return them to the ponies?”

The dragon nodded.

“I see,” Rarity repeated, looking back to the hoard. “And what, may I ask, is the catch?”

“The catch?” he asked, blinking. “What do you— Oh. Oh, come on! It can’t be that hard to believe I want to give them back!”

“Well, a dragon not eating a pony I’ll buy, but a dragon stealing from other dragons and returning gems to ponies is frankly a bit of a stretch.”

“No, it’s not! I mean, look at them! They’re tiny! They’re not even big enough to be a snack! And have you looked at my hoard?!” He sighed and rubbed his claw against his eyes. “Look, I’d ask somepony else, but she isn’t coming back until tomorrow, and I’d go and do it myself, but—” He gestured to himself and his large body, giving Rarity a pointed stare.

Rarity bit down a giggle. “Yes, I can imagine you wouldn’t be well received. You’re quite the odd dragon, aren’t you?” she asked, now that she had confirmation another pony was friends with him.

“So, you’ll do it?” he asked again.

“I suppose I will,” Rarity said, finally. As ridiculous as it sounded, the dragon seemed trustworthy, and actually… if she returned all these stolen things to the dragon merchant… he’d no doubt be so immensely grateful, he’d give Rarity the book for free!

Though, from what I gather, I wouldn’t be surprised if he still demands the scale in return.

“I’ll take them back,” Rarity repeated, turning to the dragon and smiling, “in exchange for one of your scales.”

The dragon blinked. “A scale? Why’d you want one of my scales?”

Rarity coughed. “I… I want a book from somepony at the exchange, but they asked for a scale in exchange, and I saw a dragon in these caves yesterday so…”

The dragon leaned down, his face a few feet away from Rarity, eyes inquisitive. “You came into the caves looking for a dragon’s scale? And if you hadn’t run into me, were you going to fight them for it, or what? Smack them with the book until they gave in?”

Rarity cleared her throat, cheeks heating up. “If you must know! …That was my plan, yes.”

“Heh. I like you.” He leaned back, smiling widely. “But, what do I get from giving you a scale?”

“I’m already taking these things back for you! Isn’t that enough?”

“Oh. I guess so.” He shrugged. “But I could also just leave them here. Their return doesn’t really affect me anyway.”

“Hrmmm. Fine! Fine. Hold on.” She opened her saddlebag and took out Twilight’s gemstone, levitating it toward the dragon. “I have this to offer in exchange for it.”

The dragon took Twilight’s emerald, moving it right up to his face, his eyebrow furrowing. “This… This…” he said, Rarity watching him with bated breath. “It…” His inscrutable expression turned into a smirk. “Eh, it’s baby dragon’s food,” he declared, throwing the gem back at Rarity.

“Oh, come on! You’re covered in scales! Can’t you part with one?!” Rarity whined. “Pleeeeeeease?”

The dragon frowned, mulling it over. “Fine. Just take these things back, and I’ll ask my friend to bring you a scale,” he offered instead. “She’ll be back early in the morning.”

“…And that’s all you want?” Rarity asked, and upon receiving confirmation with a nod, she smiled. “Very well, I shall!” she exclaimed, levitating the hoard into the air. “Tell your friend to look for Rarity. I’ll be waiting for her near the dragon merchant stand.”

“Rarity,” he repeated. “Thanks for helping me.”

Rarity fluttered her eyelashes. “Thank you for not eating me,” she replied, earning a chuckle from the dragon. She turned around, took several steps, then stopped and realized… “Er, how do I get out of here…?”

The dragon snorted.

“Come on.”

Some time later, Professor Awe’s front door opened and in trotted Rarity, a large bundle of objects floating behind her. Once she’d fit them all inside the hallway, she closed the door and covered a yawn with her hoof.

“I’m back!” she announced, belatedly realizing that shouting her return was hardly a clever thing to do at… two? three? in the morning. “Er, I’m back…” she whispered with a giggle, more to herself than anypony else.

She made her way toward the living room, and after clearing some space on one of the tables, carefully placed the stolen items on it. The entire dragon ordeal had tired her out, and she decided to rest a moment before heading toward the local police station. The owners could deal without their belongings for an hour, couldn’t they? They must be asleep now anyway.

She reached the couch, lying down and closing her eyes, idly toying with her necklace. She thought back to her “conversation” with Twilight, and decided to check up on her crush. It wouldn’t take long, and it would just be to make sure she was doing okay after the… memory of her past.

The magic spell shot out from her horn, and she watched the glowing necklace, waiting for the link to open. She waited quite a while, too, until it became increasingly clear that Twilight wasn’t going to answer, so she ended the spell and furrowed her brow. Perhaps Twilight didn’t want to talk?

Don’t be silly, Rarity. Twilight can’t carry the necklace around, so she must have left it somewhere in the library. You can’t expect her to always be waiting for you to call.

She let go of the necklace and sighed.

I wish Twilight were he—

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the front door slamming open, followed by an anxious and familiar voice.

“She was here! But then I came down and she wasn’t, so the dragons must have taken her!” Pinkie was saying as she barged into the living room, followed by a mare in a Wonderbolts uniform. “And if the dragon took her, then maybe he ate her, and if he ate—” Her eyes landed on Rarity, and she cut herself off for an instant, before tearing up and throwing herself at the unicorn. “RARITY! YOU’RE ALIIIIIVE!”

“Darling, why wouldn’t I be?” Rarity asked, awkwardly patting Pinkie’s back. “I apologize for leaving without telling you, but—”

“There’s been a dragon attack, ma’am,” the Wonderbolt explained, lifting her goggles up onto her head. “They looted the Exchange’s warehouse, and your friend here thought they might have attacked you.”

“I was SO worried, Rarity!” Pinkie continued, still holding onto Rarity. “I thought you tried fighting them for the scale, but they won, and then they took you to their cave, and I’d never see you again, and if I never saw you again, then I’d be super sad, and then—” She threw the Wonderbolt a cautious glance before continuing in a loud whisper, “And then you-know-who would never see you again, and she’d be so sad she’d use all of her books as tissue to wipe her tears and—”

“D-darling, I’m fine, really,” Rarity said, trying to hush her friend. Now that a Wonderbolt was there, it was the perfect opportunity to return the stolen objects and be done with it. “Now if you don’t mind terribly, I need to ta—”

“And then your sister would cry too, and I wouldn’t even be able to help her and Princess Twilight because I don’t KNOW where the library is, and then Luna would be sad and—”

“Pinkie, please! Enough! You’re stain—”

“What are these?”

The two mares fell silent, and turned their gazes toward the Wonderbolt, busy inspecting the collection of stolen items.

Rarity sat up, toppling Pinkie down to the floor in the process. “O-oh! Those are—”

“These things—” The Wonderbolt reached into a small pouch on her uniform and took out a piece of paper, which she unfolded and skimmed. “I knew it! These match the description of the stolen objects!” She turned to Rarity and waved the list in the air. “These are all here on my list! The items that ‘dragons’ were accused of taking!”

“Rarity! You’re a dragon?!” Pinkie gasped, hooves flying to her mouth. She paused and lowered them. “Wait, that’s not right.”

“Wait, it’s not how it looks!” Rarity blurted out, looking past Pinkie’s remark and jumping onto her hooves.

“Oh no? Then why do you have these things, and why were you gone from your house at the same time the warehouse was being looted?” she asked. “Miss, how long did you say your friend here was missing? An hour or two?”

Pinkie, apparently having realized what was going on, quickly jumped to her feet. “Ye-yeah, but she was doing super fun and not-stealy stuff!” she exclaimed, standing between Rarity and the Wonderbolt. “Right, Rarity?!”

“Then how’d you get all these things?”

“I can tell you for a fact I didn’t steal them,” Rarity replied, trying to keep calm and collected. “It was a…” And Rarity faltered, only just realizing that the absurd truth was more likely to get her incriminated than absolved. A dragon returning stolen items? “I-I f… found… I found them!”

“Where?”

“I… I don’t know! There!” Rarity said, gesturing with her hoof. “I was trotting through town, and I found them on the way, so I brought them home!”

“The reserves scanned the perimeter an hour ago, and they warned everypony of what happened.” The Wonderbolt took a step toward Rarity. “Why didn’t you tell them immediately what you found? Why didn’t you get official help?”

The answer, of course, was that she’d missed the warning because she was deep inside Yaket Range, but she couldn’t confess to that, could she?

“I was taking a stroll outside of town! I found them out there, and since I knew they were stolen from the exchange, I was planning on returning them! I just came home for a minute beforehoof, and then you came in, and now I’m being accused of theft!” Rarity exclaimed, indignant.

This is what she got for trying to assist others!

Somewhere she was sure the Spirit was reveling in this, wasn’t he? It was all his fault for locking Twilight away in the first place! “And besides, do I look like I’m enough of a half-wit to leave all the evidence lying around in plain sight?! I mean, honestly!”

“And you didn’t talk to anypony after you found these?”

Rarity felt uneasy, but nodded her head. “Yes, that is correct.”

“Then the only way you could have known they were stolen is because you stole them yourself,” she replied, stashing the paper into her bag and putting her goggles back on. “Come on. You and these stolen goods are coming back with me to the Captain.”

“But—! I promise I didn’t!”

“Ma’am…” the mare said, looking ill-at-ease. “Don’t make this harder on yourself.”

Resisting the urge to shriek herself into frustrated oblivion, Rarity took a deep breath. Rise above it, darling, rise above it.

“Very well, then. This isn’t the first time I’ve been unfairly sent to jail, but if that’s what it takes to prove my innocence, so be it.”

“Rarity?! You’ve been to jail before?! What’s it like?!”

“My dearest Twilight. I find myself writing this letter to you on account of a terrible tragedy. Though I know this will pain you in ways you did not know were possible, I regret to tell you that I, Rarity, have been jailed—again.”

Rarity’s voice wafted into the air, one more added to the multitude of sounds permeating the now-active Traders Exchange, dozens of ponies showing up to see what the fuss was all about.

“You’ll be glad to know, however, that this time, my jail is not a dungeon filled with dirt, dust, and goodness knows what other centuries-old diseases. Can you imagine the irreparable damage to my coat had I stayed there for another night?” she asked, admiring her hoof. She then lifted her gaze toward her “jail,” which in fact consisted of four Wonderbolt reserves posted around her in a square formation. “No. This time, I can at least gaze into the night sky and its eternal starry blanket.

“As I write this letter, Twilight, I truly must ponder the absurdity of the situation. What did they expect me to do? Waltz into the dark streets of this unfamiliar town, where I know nothing of where anything is, and then start screaming at three in the morning? Perhaps an ‘Oh Missus Wonderboooolt! Yoohooo! Where are youuuu?’ would have sufficed?” she continued, ignoring the uncomfortable glances her jailers were giving her. “But alas, darling, it seems that the innocent continue to be”—she glared at the pegasi—“FALSELY IMPRISONED, though you know me: I have risen far above the petty act of holding grudges, as I’m sure you would have wanted. The key to that, of course, is patience. Extraordinary amounts of it, too.

“Sadly, I must end this letter with a hope to see you soon, and if not, a request to start training the owls as carrier birds. Yours sincerely, Rarity.”

“Oh! Oh! Add me, too!”

“P.S.—Pinkie Pie sends her regards as well,” Rarity finished, using her hoof to sign her name in the air, and then turning around to look at her companion, also stuck in the makeshift jail. “Thoughts?”

“I liked it!” Pinkie said with a giggle. “Now we just have to find a way to write it!”

“Pinkie, darling,” Rarity said, stifling a yawn, “It’s late. Why don’t you go home?”

Pinkie frowned. “And leave you here? Don’t be silly! If you’re going to jail, then I’m going to jail with you!”

Rarity smiled, grateful for Pinkie’s presence. A full hour had gone by since she’d been accused of theft, and she could feel the weight of the evening pulling her down. Though she tried to hide it, sleep was clawing its way up her skin, and she was worried she might fall asleep then and there if things didn’t move along soon.

Which, to her relief, might be sooner than expected, if Spitfire trotting toward her was any indication.

“Here we go,” she whispered, straightening herself and taking a deep breath.

“Okay, newbies! Move out!” Spitfire commanded, and at once the four ponies moved to the side, giving Rarity and Pinkie some room to move. “Rarity? Come with me.”

Rarity and Pinkie followed Spitfire across the market and past the bunches of nosy ponies, their eyes fixed on Rarity as she trotted by, their barely concealed gossiping whispers permeating the air. As was expected, Rarity didn’t let them bother her, because she was completely, utterly, and fabulously innocent.

Let them gossip! she thought, because she didn’t care. In fact, she held her head higher up, walked slower, smiled sweetly, because she wasn’t bothered at all by the completely unfounded and mistaken gossip no doubt rushing through the place like fire in a forest.

And yet, she could feel the stares, the judgment, so much so she wasn’t able to distinguish if she was perhaps seeing things that weren’t there. It was getting under her skin, and the more she tried convincing herself that she didn’t care, the more she did, and the more she realized how she hated that stare. She hated it because it was so familiar, narrowed eyes filled with skepticism and disbelief.

“There is no such thing as lost princesses.”

“There is no such thing as the lost library.”

“It’s okay, Rarity,” Pinkie whispered, and only then did Rarity realize she’d been frowning as she trotted by. “Everypony here knows you’re innocent!”

Rarity offered a pained smile. “Thank you, darling.”

They finally reached the end of the line: a small opening in the middle of the marketplace, where several angry ponies argued with some Wonderbolts. Judging by the fact that the dragon merchant was among them, Rarity decided they were the victims of the raid.

Their arguing stopped, however, the moment Rarity made her appearance. One by one, the victims threw her all sorts of glances, but none was warier than that of the dragon merchant himself.

There was a table placed in the middle, all the stolen items neatly stacked on it. Spitfire led Rarity right up to it. She then gestured to the other ponies, and they all trotted up to the table.

“This is Rarity,” Spitfire said, pointing to the unicorn before addressing her. “Is this everything you found?”

Rarity nodded, relieved by Spitfire’s approach. Finally, somepony not jumping to conclusions.

“Where’d you find them?!” a mare asked. “Are you sure that’s everything?! Why don’t you go back and look again?!”

“Yes, maybe you missed something,” an older stallion continued.

“Or maybe the rest is at your house,” a stallion accused.

“Rarity didn’t take your dumb stuff!” Pinkie protested.

“It’s all right, Pinkie,” Rarity quickly said, offering the earth pony a grateful smile before turning to the others. “I can assure you that the rest of your items are not at my home, and there is no point in going back to look where I found them because that’s all there was.”

“Bah!” the dragon merchant said, eyes narrowed. “If you didn’t take anything, then why do you care if we go look? If you’re innocent, we won’t find anything at your house, will we?” His words stung Rarity’s pride, and though she would have delighted in putting him in his place, he said something that shut her up quite quickly. “And it’s convenient, ain’t it?”

“What is, pray tell?”

“Hey! Stop that!” Spitfire said, stamping her hoof against the floor. “We’re not here to get in a fight, got it?”

The merchant looked toward Spitfire. “Bah! I’m not getting in a fight! I just think it’s pretty funny how this mare came to my stand yesterday wanting to trade for a book!”

How funny! I thought that was the purpose of the Traders Exchange! Silly me!

Spitfire frowned. “And? What’s your point?”

The merchant looked back to Rarity. “I’m just saying that it’s mighty funny that she says this here is all there is, and funny enough, the book she wanted isn’t here.”

Time came to a screeching halt.

“You… What do you mean the book isn’t there?!” Rarity all but gasped, looking down at the table and starting to rummage through the objects. “Where is it?!”

“Why are you asking me?!” he shot back, using his hooves to gather up all his things, pulling them away from Rarity. “You should know! You stole them!”

Rarity stepped back, the accusation flying unnoticed right over her head.

The book was gone. The book had been stolen, and if it wasn’t with the objects the dragon recovered, then it meant that Twilight’s book was now in possession of…

Rarity laughed. A small, choked laugh because of course the book was gone. Of course it would have been one of the objects the dragon didn’t recover, because of course nothing could be easy and simple and—

“How did you know they were stolen?” Spitfire asked, suddenly. “Swift Sketch said that’s why she took you in.”

For a moment, Rarity intended on keeping up with her tangled web of lies, but at this point, now that the forsaken book was with dragons, there was nothing to lose, was there? She might as well come out with the truth.

“I know that because I didn’t find them. I lied. Somepony asked me to return them,” she confessed, trying hard to ignore the immediately suspicious looks everypony threw her way—which she admittedly deserved.

“See?!” the merchant exclaimed. “She did it!”

“Lying about something like this is very serious,” Spitfire said, harshly.

“Don’t you think I know that?! But I didn’t have a choice!” Rarity protested. “Had I told you the truth, you wouldn’t have believed me!”

Spitfire frowned. “Try me.”

“You know, you should have kept lying, ma’am,” was the captain’s reply once Rarity finished telling the absolute truth.

“A dragon?! Returning stolen objects?! Who does she take us for?!” the dragon merchant spat, slamming his hoof against the desk. “Bah!”

“It’s the truth!” Rarity helplessly replied. “Why would I make that up?! Even I know it sounds absolutely ridiculous, which is why I lied in the first place!”

“Lied about what?”

Rarity turned around to find that another Wonderbolt had joined the scene, specifically the mare who’d chased away those dragons during the Exchange.

Rainbow blinked at Rarity. “Are you the pony Swift was talking about? Aw man, I thought you’d look more like the bad guys from Daring Do.” She looked to Spitfire. “Did I miss the fun stuff?”

Spitfire frowned, looking at Rarity. “I don’t know if what she’s saying is fun. She says that ‘a dragon’ took these back from ‘other dragons’ and asked her to return them.”

“Ha-ha! That’s a lau…” The mirth faded from her face, and her eyes widened, fixed on Rarity. “Wait, what? Are you for real?”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “Yes, I am ‘for real.’ As I told them, I went into the mountains because”—she gestured to the merchant—“he asked for a dragon scale in exchange for the book, and I ran into a dragon who asked me to return these things for him!”

“What did he look like?” Rainbow asked, her eyes still fixed on her.

“I don’t know! He was large? Those caves are pitch black! I could barely see even with my hornlight!”

“And his name?”

“I don’t know.”

“What about wings? Did he have wings?”

“I don’t know!”

Rainbow groaned. “Don’t you know anything?”

“What did you expect me to do?! Conduct an interview?” Rarity shot back, throwing her hooves in the air. “I was terrified, and excuse me if I didn’t want to sit down for tea and crumpets!” When Rainbow recoiled, Rarity took a deep breath. Raising her voice was going to get her nowhere fast. “If I could bring him here, I would, but…”

And suddenly, she remembered the dragon wasn’t alone.

“Wait! He has a friend!” she blurted out. “A pony lives with him! She was supposed to bring me one of his scales if I returned the things! We just have to find her, and she’ll clear my name!”

And just like that, Rainbow smirked. “Oh?”

“That’s ridiculous!” the dragon merchant spoke up, harrumphing. “A dragon?! Friends with a pony?! Dragons are filthy creatures, good-for-nothing animals! They—”

“Hey! Don’t talk about them like that!” Rainbow interrupted, the smirk gone from her face, replaced instead by an angry scowl. “I owe my life to a dragon!” She then stepped closer to Rarity. “I believe her!”

Rarity blinked. “You do?” she asked, finding herself unable to stop a smile when the pegasus firmly nodded. If an ex-Wonderbolt captain believes me, then maybe the rest—

“Well, that’s good and all, but our things are still missing!” one of the ponies said, his statement met with nods from the other victims. “You’re the Wonderbolts! You should protect us! If she doesn’t have them, then those dragons do! Why can’t you go get our things?!”

“The Northern dragon tribe is one of the most vicious tribes in Equestria,” Spitfire said. “Even if your things got stolen, I can’t risk the safety of my team members by sending them to get them back, because you might not get them back, and the Wonderbolts might lose a member—permanently.”

“What, so we’re just supposed to let them keep our things?” the merchant asked. “That’s my life’s work!”

“I’ll go.”

Silence fell, and all ponies present turned their stare toward Rarity.

She wasn’t quite sure what possessed her to speak up, whether it was her burgeoning offense at everything she’d just gone through, or the knowledge that she needed that book no matter what.

“That place is incredibly dangerous,” Spitfire said, taking off her sunglasses. “I can’t allow you to go there alone.”

“She’s not alone!” Pinkie chimed in, standing up tall. “I’m going with her!”

“I told you, I can’t allow it,” Spitfire repeated, stern and imposing. “I can’t let civilians risk their lives like that. I’m sorry, but you don’t have what it takes.”

“Sure they do!” Rainbow exclaimed, flying up into the air and putting her goggles on. “’Cause I’m going with them!”

“You are?” Rarity and Spitfire asked in unison.

“Yep! It’s gonna be a cinch!” the pegasus continued. She turned to the mares and stallions, waving them off. “There you go! You’re gonna have all your stuff back tomorrow!”

“You’re crazy, Dash,” Spitfire said, rubbing her forehead with a hoof and shaking her head. She then looked back to the ponies and shooed them off. “Come on, get moving! Nothing to see here anymore!”

Once they were alone, Rainbow turned back to Rarity. “Let’s meet back here in fifteen minutes! I’m gonna go get my stuff, and you can get whatever you need,” she instructed before speeding off.

Rarity watched her go, in complete and utter silence, and didn’t get up until everypony save for a few Wonderbolts had finally left. Without a word to Pinkie Pie, she trotted off toward a nearby building, turning the corner, making sure nopony save for Pinkie was there and…

“WHAT HAVE I DONE?!” she wailed theatrically, placing a hoof on her head and leaning against the wall. “I’m doomed! Doomed, I tell you! Dead!”

Pinkie, startled, stepped back. “Wh-what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?! Pinkie! I can’t face off against dragons! Look at me, for pony’s sake! I could barely hold my own against a timberwolf, and you expect me to trot up to Denza knows how many vicious dragons?! What if they love to eat mares?! What if they already ate the book?!” She paused. “Do dragons eat books? WHAT IF THEY ATE THE BOOK?!”

“Don’t be silly, Rarity! Only goats like to eat books!”

Rarity buried her face in her hooves and moaned. “And you’re going too! And if something happens to you, then I’ll—!” She looked back up. “I can’t do this, Pinkie!”

Pinkie nodded. “Yes, you can! Think of Twilight!”

Rarity pointed an accusing hoof at her. “No! Don’t use the Twilight card on me, Pinkie Pie! That is emotional manipulation! That is cheating!”

Pinkie furrowed her brow and shook her head. “It isn’t cheating, Rarity. It’s doing the right thing!” She stepped up and patted Rarity on the head. “Come on! Maybe Professor Awe has something we can use!”

Rarity watched her go. “But… But…”

She took a deep breath. You made your bed, Rarity, and now you must lie in it.

She lifted her hoof, taking hold of her necklace.

You’re going to be the death of me, Twilight Sparkle, and I care too much about you to do something about it.

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act II ~ 18 ~ The Dragon Sacrifice ~

Rarity was absolutely certain of three things.

First, one of the books she needed was currently in the possession of one of the most vicious dragon tribes in Equestria. Second, without those books—and Rarity didn’t know where half of them even were—Twilight Sparkle could not be free.

And third, she had gone unconditionally and irrevocably mad.

Dawn’s first light shone over Yaket Range, slowly washing over the chasms and crevices. The vast majority of ponies were snug in their beds, snoring away their troubles and woes in the night’s embrace.

Rarity, on the other hoof, found herself in the embrace of a different darkness—one that lacked blankets and pillows.

“You’re super sure we’re not lost?” Pinkie asked, the lantern hanging from her neck offering much more light than Rarity’s horn could.

Rainbow Dash, leading the way, stopped and turned around. “For the millionth time, yes, I’m sure,” she said, pointing to the distant light at the end of the tunnel. “We literally just came in!”

“Don’t get anxious, darling. I’m sure Miss Dash knows where to go,” Rarity said, finding her mood vastly improved after a large cup of coffee at the professor’s house. Certainly, she would have preferred a chance at some much-needed beauty sleep, but some things just could not be.

For now, she’d simply have to make the best of her situation.

“So, Miss Dash, you owe your life to a dragon?” Rarity asked, trying to distract herself from the fear bubbling under the surface with idle talk and inquiries. Truth be told, she could scarcely imagine what the pegasus had done to warrant a dragon intervening, but at the very least it must have been quite the fascinating tale. “That is what you said earlier, isn’t it?”

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Dash replied, with all the eloquence of somepony who’d not been expecting such a question. “I went exploring Smokey Mountain as a filly, and I got into a fight with some wolves.”

“With wolves?” Pinkie asked, hurrying along to keep up with the conversation. “Wasn’t that scary? Why would you do that, silly?!”

“Wolves don’t scare me!” Dash replied quickly. “I’m telling you, I was minding my own business exploring the mountains, and they attacked me for no reason!” She fluttered her left wing and continued, “Except my wing got hurt when I fell from— err, when I went exploring, so the wolves got the best of me and… I kinda have to admit I thought—like, just for a second—that I was done for, but then a dragon stepped in and, uh, helped me.” She flapped her wings and exhaled. “It was so awesome.”

“That does sound thrilling!” Rarity conceded.

She’d never faced off against wolves made of flesh, but she’d be lying if she said that in retrospect she hadn’t felt a thrilling rush with the timberwolves—and all by her lonesome, too! Now that was impressive, if she said so herself.

“I must say, Miss Dash,” she continued, “taking into account how quickly you jumped to my defense earlier, might I venture a guess and say that the dragon I met and the one that rescued you as a filly are one and the same? He did seem to have a pony friend, after all!”

Rainbow’s sheepish expression said it all.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Pinkie exclaimed, rushing past the two mares and coming to a stop squarely in front of Dash. “If you’re best friends with a dragon, why didn’t you ask him to come with?”

“I couldn’t!” Dash protested. “I mean, okay, I could, but do you even know how bad a rep he’d get for it? Dragons helping ponies? Seeker’s strong enough to kick the flank of any dragon stupid enough to try anything, but I don’t want the entire Northern Tribe on his tail. Besides,” she added, puffing out her chest, “we don’t need his help.”

Rarity looked back toward the path, hoping that they wouldn’t find themselves in any situation where Rainbow Dash had to retract that bold claim. They didn’t have much protection, and though she wouldn’t go down without a fight, she hardly believed the three of them would last long against a horde of vicious reptiles.

The three mares continued their trek in relative silence, save for Pinkie Pie animatedly detailing a dream she once had where she met a dragon who became her second very best friend. Rarity, next to her, was busy with her gem-tracking spell, hoping it would lead them to the lair of the dragon leader.

But rather than gems and dragons, it led them to something far more dangerous.

“Hey, look at this!”

Rarity looked back, noticing Pinkie had taken off the lantern around her neck to brighten the tunnel’s wall. Rarity dampened her gem spell in favor of an illumination one and she and Dash trotted toward Pinkie.

“Oh my…”

The light brought into view a mural-like image on the wall, drawn in a simple, child-like artistic style and depicting the citizens of Equestria stalked by all manner of creatures. Terrified mares, stallions, and foals ran from trees come to life and deformed animals with hideously long legs. Others appeared to be swimming for their lives in a brown river overlooked by pink clouds almost resembling… cotton candy?

And the drawings themselves… Rarity had the eerie impression there was a slight glow, as if magic permeated every line of ink.

“What is this?” she asked, not really expecting a reply.

“More like who did this,” Rainbow said, stepping back and looking around. “Dragons can’t draw like that.”

Rarity continued to inspect the drawings, attention faltering only when Pinkie suddenly latched onto her foreleg. Rarity turned to her, and was surprised to find the usually cheerful mare looking stricken.

“Pinkie? Pinkie, darling, what’s wrong?” she asked, alarmed.

“Ra-Rarity,” Pinkie whispered, voice trembling and eyes glued to the mural. “U-up there… It’s him…”

Rarity looked back toward the drawing, heart thumping in her chest as she scanned it and found what she was looking for. Right above the drawing of the trees and animals, Rarity recognized a crude depiction of the Spirit of Chaos, laughing gleefully at the ponies’ misfortune.

“Look! There’s more over here!”

Rarity made her way over to Dash, Pinkie following close behind. More drawings decorated the walls, depicting a large bug-like creature with the most hideous crown leading an army of smaller yet equally hideous bug-like creatures. Unlike the first mural, a small portion of ponies were defended by three princesses in this one.

“Look! Look! It’s the Four Princesses!” Pinkie exclaimed, her grim disposition all but vanishing at the sight of her favorite princess. “Well, no, just three princesses.”

“Hah! Now I know for sure dragons didn’t draw this,” Rainbow said, still examining the drawing. “They hate ponies too much to know our history.”

History?

What a peculiar choice of words, Rarity thought. How interesting.

She might have dwelled on it further, if not for noticing even more drawings as she trotted along. The next one in line depicted a large meadow, battlefield of a confrontation between Discord and the four princesses. The Spirit stood on one side, smiling gleefully, and on the other stood three alicorns and the last… wingless princess?

That’s right! She wasn’t always an alicorn…

A lack of wings, however, was not the only peculiar thing about the Twilight Sparkle on the wall. Her Element of Magic was glowing, and more than that, several black circles had been drawn around her, singling her out from everything else.

“Oh, this is where Princess Twilight defeated the meanie Spirit!” Pinkie continued, joining Rarity.

More steps along the way, and another drawing surfaced under the light—and a much more ominous one, at that. A now-alicornified Twilight cowered from a suspiciously friendly looking Discord, his hand extended to her in an apparent sign of goodwill.

What does this mean? Rarity wondered, lifting her hoof to her necklace. Did she dare summon Twilight and ask? She kept trotting, eyes glued to the wall, and stopped when she collided with a hard object.

“Ow!” she yelped with a step back, looking around and finding her aggressor: a floating rock oozing black-and-yellow magic that felt familiar to her somehow. And, more than that, she realized there were even more floating rocks further along the path.

“Are you doing that?” Rainbow asked, glancing back and forth between Rarity’s glowing horn and the glowing rocks.

“Miss Dash, I would hope you’d think I’m smart enough not to strike myself with a rock,” Rarity dryly remarked, turning to the pegasus with a raised eyebrow.

Pinkie bounded up, having lingered back for a few moments, and furrowed her brow. “What rock?”

“What rock?” Rarity asked. “This rock, of… course…?”

To her surprise, when she turned around, Rarity did not find a floating rock, but a floating pumpkin, still surrounded by the odd multicolor magic.

“A… pumpkin?”

Poof! Before her very eyes, the pumpkin changed into a floating plate of gelatin.

“What pumpkin?” Pinkie asked.

Poof! And again, the pumpkin changed into an old smelly shoe, and then a lightbulb, then a plate, and by the ninth transformation Rarity and Dash had already stepped back several paces.

“Rarity! I didn’t know you could change stuff!” Pinkie exclaimed, the only of the three to not have distanced herself. “Can you do me next?!”

“Pinkie, I told you already that I’m not responsible for this!” she exclaimed, wishing very much that she knew who was indeed responsible, and why they were being so… irritating with their choice of magic.

Irritating?

The more she looked at the upside-down cuckoo clock, the more she realized that though it wasn’t any unicorn magic she recognized, it did remind her of the magic surrounding Twilight’s library maze.

So, this is chaos magic, isn’t it? But, if there’s chaos magic here, then… then the Spirit must be…

Rarity took a deep breath, every hair on her coat standing on edge. She reached for her necklace, and carefully stepped further away from the trumpet. She needed to keep calm under this situation, lest she provoke the Spirit into attacking or, worse, alarming the dragons. As much as she wanted that book, she wasn’t about to put the lives of others at risk—especially when she didn’t know exactly what was going on.

“I think… I think it might be best if we go back and ask for the help of your friend, Miss Dash,” she suggested in a hushed voice.

“What? Why? You can’t tell me you’re afraid of these silly rock things? What’s the worst they could do? Turn into pie and smash into your face?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“If you must know,” Rarity continued, “I have a strong suspicion that this might be related to the Spirit from the legend.”

Before Rainbow could question that, Rarity’s worst fear came true in the sound of Pinkie’s panicked voice.

“WHAT?! HE’S HERE?!” she shrieked with a jump, throwing her hooves to her face and loudly declaring that she had so much to live for! And she was going to meet Lulu, and she was supposed to give her a cupcake, but if she’s DEAD, how can she give her a cupcake and—

“Quiet!” Dash interrupted, her own voice anything but quiet as she desperately tried to muzzle Pinkie with her hooves. “Forget the Spirit, you’re going to turn us into dragon food by screaming like that!”

And so the two mares went back and forth, completely ignoring Rarity’s attempts at shushing both of them. They didn’t need panic and screams, they needed help, but the dragon who could help them was Denza knows where and Twilight—

Twilight!

Twilight Sparkle was infinitely better than nothing, and if anypony knew a way to stop or defend the others against the Spirit, it had to be her. Turning her back to the two other mares, Rarity closed her eyes, cast the spell and waited, and waited, and waited, until finally a ping alerted her to the successful connection.

Rarity was quick to mentally go through what had happened, hoping it would be enough of an explanation for Twilight. She thought about the book she needed which some fearsome dragons had, and—

“Rarity, WHAT are you doing?! We need to get Pinkie to stop screaming! Pinkie Pie!”

Rarity ignored her, instead thinking about the floating objects, and how they had changed shape, and how they reminded her of the maze and—

“I CAN’T DIE HERE!” Pinkie continued, rushing to Rarity and latching onto her. “Rarity, I don’t want to be a ghost! I’d be scared of myself, and I—”

“Pinkie, please!” an exasperated Rarity exclaimed, opening her eyes and turning to the mare. “I’m trying to… to…”

Rarity’s voice drifted off, eyes fixed on Pinkie Pie, and the earth pony finally understood and saw what Rarity had been doing.

Pinkie’s widening eyes lowered, landed on the glowing necklace, and just as quickly rushed back to meet Rarity’s own eyes. “Rarity—! Your eyes—! They’re all glowy like a firefly! Does that mean—” She stepped back, her hooves covering her elated smile and the whisper that followed: “Can she see me?”

Seeing didn’t even begin to describe it.

What a contradictory sensation, how her eyes were fixed, frozen, completely glued to Pinkie, and yet her mind was analyzing all the information that flooded her at a trillion miles per hour. Though, it wasn’t her own mind going on a frenzy, was it? No, it was Twilight’s.

No, that wasn’t right either.

It was both of them.

“What?” Rainbow asked, rushing up to inspect Rarity. “What’s the deal with her eyes? Is this weird unicorn magic again? I kne—mmph!”

Pinkie’s hoof on Dash’s mouth proved an effective muffler for the pegasus, and the two mares watched as Rarity blinked once, twice, thrice, and finally looked around.

It was unlike anything she’d ever felt before, as if she were seeing everything for the very first time, and she couldn’t help but feel fascinated, elated even. She took a step forward, and her gaze dropped to the floor because it was tangible. She raised her hoof again and slammed it against the ground, again, again, and again, and it made her giddy and it made her giggle that the ground stopped her hoof.

For once it didn’t go through.

She could no longer tell what part of her was Twilight, what part of her was Rarity, or whether her own mind was creating the illusion of feeling what Twilight would feel if she could be alive again, but whatever it was, it was leaving her breathless.

“Are you okay?” Pinkie asked, stepping toward Rarity, and when she placed her hoof on Rarity’s shoulder, the unicorn jolted away.

I felt that.

A statement that wasn’t untrue for either side, was it? Twilight, granted a glimpse of something now lost, and Rarity, whose senses were heightened as a result of the connection. She looked down at her forehooves, and with childlike fascination joined them together, and it was so easy…

It was so easy to imagine, to pretend, to wish that the two hooves didn’t belong to the unicorn, but to both Rarity and Twilight, and the more she thought about it, the more she—no, they—wanted it to be real. Rarity could feel Twilight’s endless longing for her physical state, for physical contact with others, and yet it wasn’t just Twilight’s yearning because Rarity and Twilight’s desire were one and the same. Rarity had always wanted to bring Twilight back to reality, but never before had she wanted it more than in that moment.

“That’s it,” Rainbow’s voice came, drawing the attention of the unicorn. “She’s lost it.”

“Shhhhhh!”

Rarity looked away from the mares and turned her gaze to her surroundings, taking in a sharp breath of air because heavens, breathing felt so nice, to fill in her lungs, to not do it out of habit anymore but of actual necessity.

Her attention landed on the floating rock next, and all her elation disappeared in the blink of an eye as she stepped back.

If anything, that gut reaction affirmed Rarity’s deduction that chaos magic was present in the room, but… as quick as the fear came, so it too vanished and she felt compelled to investigate the rock.

She circled it, admiring it as though it were a mannequin with her dress, and carefully scanned it over as though it were an age-old spell.

“It’s remnant chaos magic. Unicorn and alicorn magic can be separate from the caster, though only in small amounts, whereas chaos magic is entirely fueled by improbability, allowing it to act as an entity entirely separate from the caster,” she said quite naturally, the words flowing out her mouth in an effortless recitation. “Chaos itself is neither good nor bad; it simply obeys its need to create disarray, though disarray is most often caused through what are considered negative actions, giving life to the discordant side of chaos magic.”

“Whoa, I didn’t take you for such an egghead,” Dash said.

Rarity couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, frankly, me neither!” she exclaimed, and again the contradictory feeling as herself—Rarity—was delighted by the remark while some part of her—the alicorn part—took deep offense.

Hush, darling, Rarity thought, you wouldn’t even know what an egghead is if we weren’t connected.

Rarity looked back to the morphing object, and though she probably could have spent hours reciting facts about it, the socially adept side of her realized that the room had become eerily silent.

She turned around to a deathly quiet Pinkie and Dash, both backing away from her and regarding her with shock.

“What’s wrong?” Rarity asked, and she wondered if perhaps her connection with Twilight had gone too far? She looked herself over and found that no wings had sprouted and she still looked essentially the same.

“Ra-Ra-Rarity,” Pinkie stammered, lifting her hoof and pointing to the wall. “Th-the dr-drawing.”

Filled with an impending sense of doom, Rarity turned around and every part of her—Twilight and Rarity and the both of them—filled with dread at the sight of a massive drawing of Discord staring right at her with piercing glowing eyes and a wicked smile that stretched from one ear to the other.

It’s just the chaos magic, Rarity thought to herself, though she could not tell if it was Twilight stating a fact or her own self desperately trying to convince herself they were safe. Maybe both.

To the horror of all four mares, Discord lifted his paw, snapped his fingers, and though no sound was made a second drawing of him appeared next to the first, also staring right back at the unicorn. And then another appeared, and then another, until there were Discords surrounding them on both sides of the cavern, all of them grinning at the unicorn.

Rarity couldn’t help but screech, rushing toward the two mares, and with horror she saw the Discords on the walls follow her, eyes still set on her.

“Wait! Wait, he’s really here?!” Rainbow Dash blurted out, wings flaring. “Where?! I’ll kick his flank! I’ve been waiting so long for this!”

“He’s not here! It’s just his magic!” Rarity replied, eyes still fixed on the drawings. “It seems to… only be after me?”

But why?

Nothing leapt to mind, which likely meant that Twilight was as baffled as she was. Rarity was no different from Rainbow and Pinkie, save for having magic. Was the Spirit interested in unicorns?

“What do you want with me?!”

The Discords blinked, their smiles vanishing for a brief second. The original one once again snapped his fingers, and one by one, a glowing pink necklace appeared around the neck of each drawing.

It knew.

It knew Rarity and Twilight were communicating, and a terrible thought overcame Rarity.

What if it wanted to hurt Twilight?

The fear underlying that question didn’t really feel like it belonged to Twilight. Perhaps it was, to some extent, Twilight’s own fear, but more than anything, it was Rarity’s, and as fast as the thought arrived, as fast as she realized she might be used as a tool against the alicorn…

Ping!

She cut the connection, and almost collapsed from dizziness as her mind tried to adjust to its normal state. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by the same plethora of Spirits of Chaos, all now sporting disappointed frowns. One by one, they disappeared until only the original remained, his arms crossed as another sign of his discontent.

“Well, that was something,” Dash said, snapping the unicorn back to reality.

“That was scary! But kinda fun! But mostly scary,” Pinkie added, carefully trotting toward the drawing and waving her hoof near it.

“I… I think it’s harmless,” Rarity continued, making a point to ignore the drawing’s terrified look as its arms disappeared.

“She said harmless, silly! Not armless!”

Rarity also ignored that exchange, too busy dealing with the fact that she’d already started to lose memory of all the chaos magic information she’d known not even five minutes ago. It was a shame she couldn’t seem to keep the bulk of Twilight’s knowledge.

“I don’t care what it is, but we better keep moving,” Dash urged, looking toward the winding path and the transforming objects littering it. “If we stay here too long, a dragon is going to find us. Come on!”

Rarity reluctantly followed after Rainbow and Pinkie, only to find Discord still floating along the wall next to her.

“Oh! Oh, it’s following us!” Pinkie exclaimed, sounding far too happy about it. “Can we keep it? Let’s call him Big Dumb Meanie!”

Rarity frowned, looking away and toward the tunnel. Maybe if she ignored it, it would go away? “It could have been worse,” she muttered, trying to add some humor to the situation. “It could have made me over like that one time Sweetie did my makeup.”

She shook her head, deciding that dwelling on the matter wouldn’t do her any good.

“Miss Dash?” she asked, trotting to catch up with the pegasus. The pegasus had yet to deny or protest any of Rarity’s claims regarding the Spirit’s existence, and her earlier comment about wanting to beat him had raised several questions which she now intended to clear up. “May I have a word?”

Rainbow Dash looked back toward her. “Depends. Are you going to…” Rainbow drifted off, coming to a full stop, and after a moment, she bit down on her lip, obviously trying to stop herself from laughing. “Uhm… Rarity…”

“What?” Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow.

“There’s something on your face,” Dash replied, pointing at something beyond Rarity and barely suppressing a snort.

Rarity turned around again, and she gave a deep, deep, very deep sigh when faced with a life-sized, grinning drawing of her wearing as much makeup as a clown.

Oh, for goodness’ sake…

Rarity wished she knew how much time had gone by since their little incident. They had yet to find any dragons, and moreover, that blasted chaos magic was still following them like an unwanted pest.

Her only distraction so far had been the pegasus herself.

“But it doesn’t make sense! How would you know what chaos magic even looks like?” Dash asked.

“I read it in a book,” Rarity replied, which wasn’t untrue. Twilight had read it—probably even written a book on it—and by proxy so had Rarity for a brief moment in time. Not to mention the fact that she’d read Professor Awe’s research on it.

They probably should have woken him up, all things considered.

“The study of foreign magic isn’t something new. There are all types of magic from all types of species around Equestria,” she added.

Rainbow Dash came to a stop, squinting her eyes at the moving drawing, which had now taken the form of Discord resting on a beach lounge chair, a parasol shading him from the crudely drawn sun shining overhead.

“Ugh, whatever. It’s just creeping me out,” Rainbow said, rubbing her forehead. “Where are those dragons, anyway? We’ve been walking for, like, fifty years!”

Though Rarity was certain they hadn’t been walking for fifty years, she was also certain that the cave was getting hotter somehow. One of her favorite adventure novels was set in a mountain harboring an underground molten lava river, and she wondered if she’d stumbled upon something of the ilk? Or was it perhaps the dragons?

“Dragons breathe fire, right? So we must be close to them!” Pinkie exclaimed. “’Cause it’s so hooooot!”

“Oh, heavens, I thought that was only me!” Rarity exclaimed, laughing haughtily at her own joke. “Though, I must agree it’s gotten quite warm in the past minute. Not much fresh air makes its way into these caves, does it?” she added, turning toward the wall and noticing Discord looking right at her.

For a moment, she wanted to tell it that it was rude to stare, but before she could, Discord raised his paw and snapped his fingers. Rarity stepped back, expecting something to happen, but the walls remained the same. She relaxed for a moment, right up until she shivered with cold, as if the room’s temperature had dropped several degrees, and her eyes widened when a single snowflake landed on the tip of her nose.

The three mares looked up, and to Pinkie’s delight, a tiny grey cloud now floated above Rarity, sprinkling snowflakes atop her.

“Oh, har, har, har,” she said, brushing away the snow from her face. Her reply seemed to have triggered something within the cloud, for it stopped snowing and then, without warning, dumped a large pile of snow right on top of her.

“Will you stop that?!” she snapped at the drawing, which replied by snapping its fingers and drinking from the juice that appeared in its paw. The cloud, fortunately, disappeared from the ceiling along with the pile of snow, and Rarity was allowed a breath of relief.

She finally understood why Twilight detested the chaos maze plaguing her library.

“So, you believe in the legend, right?” a hopeful Pinkie asked Dash. “That’s why you want to teach him a lesson, right?!”

“Uh… Well…” Rainbow Dash seemed hesitant to reply. “Look, it’s complicated.”

“I do!” Pinkie continued, oblivious to the pegasus’ attitude. “And I’m gonna rescue all of them!”

Unlike Pinkie, Rarity wasn’t so quick to reveal her belief in the myth. All things said and done, Wonderbolts technically worked for Princess Denza, and she remembered very well the attitude of the princess’ guards vis-à-vis the legend of the princesses. It would be wiser not to reveal her cards until she was sure the pegasus was on her side.

“Pinkie? Didn’t you mention back in Hollow Shades that the Wonderbolts were rumored to have been created to help find the lost princesses?” Rarity asked, glancing from Pinkie to Dash. “Is this true?”

“Like I said, it’s complicated,” Rainbow repeated. “A really long time ago, like a really long time, Wonderbolts used to go on scouting missions for them, but they just kept turning out to be false leads, and other more important stuff was going on so they dropped the search squad thing and turned into a real deal aerial team. That’s what we’re told, anyway.”

“Yes, but, what do you think really happened?” Rarity pressed. “There’s proof enough scattered throughout Equestria that the princesses existed at one point in time, but the question is what happened? Do you too believe they’re still trapped or…” She measured her next words carefully, knowing full well Pinkie wouldn’t like them regardless. “Do you believe they were assassinated?”

Pinkie was aghast. “Rarity!”

“Assassinated?” Rainbow asked, furrowing her brow. “Nah, that didn’t happen.”

“That is impossible for you to know unless you’ve actually met one,” Rarity asserted. She then stepped back, tilted her head, and with a smile asked, “Have you? Pardon me for assuming, but it’s rather curious how you’ve had no qualms discussing this ‘legend’ as though it’s—how did you put it—our history?”

“Like you said, there’s proof enough they existed a really long time ago,” Dash countered. “Why would you think they’d been assassinated, anyway? That’s insane!”

“Oh, I agree completely, but a, err, reputed scientist seems to believe that Princess Cadance I had them assassinated so she and the Spirit could reign together.”

“But Princess Cadance would have never done that!” Pinkie blurted out, throwing Rarity a miffed glare for sharing the professor’s absurd theory. “Princess Cadance spent her entire life looking for the others, and—”

“HAH!”

Rainbow Dash came to a full stop, staring at Pinkie as though she’d just spouted something even more barbaric than Brazened Awe’s assassination theory.

“Princess Cadance spent her entire life looking for them?! Give me a break!” she snapped, her wings flaring.

“Yes, she did!” Pinkie protested. “And Princess Denza is loo—”

“Princess Denza?” Dash said, and her voice dripped with contempt. “Princess Denza would rather sit on her throne and wave than do anything to help the princesses!” She scoffed and went on her way. “Princess Denza helping! Hah!!”

“Rarity! Say something!” Pinkie pleaded, and though Rarity wanted to defend her sovereign ruler, the more she thought about it, the more…

If Princess Denza believed in the legend, why… why was her only attempt at finding them two guards who’d sneer at any evidence brought to them?

There had to be a reasonable explanation! Princess Denza would never try and harm anypony, nor would she allow the princesses to be locked away forever! If only she’d been able to speak to her when she went to Canterlot…

Her thoughts were interrupted by a thunderous roar, and the three mares jolted toward the nearby wall—even the drawing had been surprised, its drink and popcorn falling to the ground.

“We must be close!” Dash exclaimed, looking far more excited about dragons than any reasonable pony should. It didn’t help, either, that Pinkie’s elated smile meant she shared in that excitement.

“Maybe it’s a friendly dragon!” the mare suggested, bouncing up and down in place. “Let’s go say hello!”

“Pinkie, no!” Rarity whispered, signaling for the mare to come near. “We should stay close together, or else we run the risk of—”

Her breath caught as she noticed the ground beneath Rainbow and Pinkie was now seething with chaos magic.

“Wait, no!” she blurted out, but before her warning could do any good, the ground beneath the two mares turned into a layer of jelly through which Rainbow and Pinkie fell with surprised screams.

Rarity rushed to the edge of the hole left in their wake, and, peering down, she was immensely relieved to see they had simply fallen into another tunnel immediately below.

“Girls?! Are you all right?!” she asked, watching as Rainbow Dash picked up the fallen lantern, illuminating the lower tunnel.

“We’re fine! I think…” Dash got up and looked around. “We’re in another tunnel! Pinkie, can you get up?”

“What should I do?” Rarity called back. “Should I jump down there with you?”

“No, no!” Dash replied. “I’ll fly us back up there! Just give me a sec to—”

Rarity never heard the end of the sentence, for as soon as Rainbow had suggested flying back up, the chaos magic reverted the ground to its original rocky state.

“No! Rainbow Dash?! Pinkie Pie?!” Rarity shrieked, heart thundering in her chest as she stamped her hoof against the ground and the magic as hard as she could. “Stop it! Bring them back!” She gritted her teeth and turned to the wall, finding Discord waving cheerfully at her. “You—! You know what? I am not going to give you the satisfaction of allowing this to bother me! Hah!”

And so, she trotted off, trying to focus on what really mattered, which was finding the others. Dragons were lurking nearby, and she worried for herself and the two mares. What if their lantern ran out and they were left completely in the dark? And what about herself? If she ran into a vicious dragon, it would be far more difficult to overcome it all by her lonesome.

She glanced toward the side, noticing Discord was now floating along the wall, lounging about on a poorly drawn cloud. “If this is going to be my only company, I’d honestly rather be alone,” she muttered.

In reply, Discord got up from the cloud and snapped his fingers. Before her eyes, the drawing wiped its shape away, and Rarity found herself staring at a detailed life-sized reproduction of Twilight Sparkle. Such was the likeness that Rarity found herself momentarily mesmerized by it, and only reacted when a glowing necklace appeared around “Twilight’s” neck, which the drawing promptly pointed at.

Rarity blinked and looked down at her own necklace, which now glowed brightly.

“Oh!”

Rarity’s first reaction would have been to answer, but the sight of “Twilight” on the wall made her think differently.

“Hah! You’d like it if I answered, wouldn’t you?!” she said to the drawing, who replied by nodding his—her?—head. “Well, tough!”

Truth be told, Rarity would have loved nothing more than to be in contact with Twilight again, especially now that she was technically alone, but she refused to somehow put the alicorn in danger.

“And will you cease imitating her?!” she hissed, stamping her hoof against the floor. “After everything you, or rather your master, has done to her, you have some nerve taking her appearance!”

Rarity’s harsh words apparently wounded “Twilight,” which she demonstrated by lowering her ears and pawing at the ground, comically large tears rolling down her cheeks. A large red heart appeared above her, only for it to crack into pieces and rain down upon the desolate illustration.

And ponies called Rarity dramatic.

“Oh, please,” she muttered, harrumphing for good measure and continuing on her way, determined not to be bothered by the drawing again. She had half a mind to tell it she’d be delighted to come back with a can of paint thinner, but decided that it would be better to completely stop engaging with him at all.

She was doing a fine job ignoring him, actually, and even managed to concentrate on trying to listen for the girls, until she came to a halt upon noticing a bright yellow arrow painted on the floor, pointing right.

“What…”

She looked right, and immediately loathed herself for it. The drawing of Twilight was still there on the wall, except now not only was she was surrounded by dozens of red hearts, but she was also staring at Rarity with a lovesick expression the real Twilight probably wouldn’t be caught dead—or, in her case, alive—making.

“FOR THE LAST TIME, WILL YOU STOP?!” a flustered Rarity shrieked, turning around and stomping far, far, far away from the chaos magic because she wouldn’t just stand there and be mocked by some ridiculous sentient magic!

“Quick! I heard something over here!” a gruff voice came from nearby.

Dragons! Rarity thought, taking several steps back.

She turned to the wall, finding “Twilight” looking quite afraid. “Look at what you’ve done! This is your fault!” she accused, only to watch the drawing wave goodbye at her and fly far away within the wall. “Wait! Come back! Don’t you dare leave me here! You come back here this instant and face this with me!”

“There it is! A pony!”

Rarity turned around and felt her stomach drop at the sight of not one but two dragons rushing toward her. Fear paralyzed her, preventing her from running away or hiding.

This was it, wasn’t it? The end of the line, the last stretch, and now judgement day had come crawling down upon her to bestow its fiery sentence. Her only saving grace was that she’d refused to answer Twilight’s call, so at least the alicorn wouldn’t have to witness—and live through—her horrid demise.

“This is the last one, isn’t it?” one of the dragons said, looking Rarity over when they reached her. “They said they were just three?”

Oh dear, does that mean that Rainbow and Pinkie have been discovered as well?

“Hey! Pony!” the second one snapped, drawing the unicorn out of her stupor. “Anyone else with you?! You better not be hidin’ anyone, ’cause if you are…” She smiled, offering Rarity a very clear and terrifying view of her many sharp—and frankly horrifyingly yellow—teeth.

Rarity smiled nervously. “My, that certainly is quite impressive! I find myself envious of your pearly whites!” she said, hoping her charms might delay any intended pony-eating.

The dragon was thrown off for a moment. “Uh, thanks.” She shook her head and growled. “Flattery won’t get you anywhere! You’re coming with us!” That said, she turned around and walked off. “Watch the back, Chrome!”

“And don’t try any of your weird pony magic, got it?!” the first dragon hissed. “Turn off your light!”

Reluctantly, Rarity did as ordered, cutting off her illumination spell and drenching herself in darkness. She initially expected the dragon to bark another order at her, but instead, it blinked several times.

“Oh, wait, actually, that was kinda helpful…” he murmured. “Pony! Do it again! Now! And don’t try anything funny, or else…”

Rarity was not one for comedy, so she had every intention of following through with the order, but got struck with a much better idea. “Ah, yes, give me a moment,” she murmured, closing her eyes and casting the communication spell instead.

Come on, answer, answer, answe—

Ping!

As soon as it went through, Rarity opened her eyes and she felt surprise at the dragon peering at her. No, it wasn’t surprise, it was more… anger… worry…? toward herself, and tangential thoughts rushed through her mind at a million miles an hour. Why hadn’t she left? Why was she still going after that book?! What if they ate her, or WORSE, what if they imprisoned her forever, and then if she was imprisoned, Twilight would never see her again and if Twilight never saw her again, she’d—

“That’s not the same spell!” the dragon growled, taking a step back, its eyes turning to slits. “I told you that if you—”

“It’s a softer illumination spell! It’s…” She drifted off, suddenly unsure of where to go with her excuse until, just as before, the answer was quite literally transferred over to her. “Dragons in general have been observed to react positively toward natural sunlight, and less so toward artificial lighting. My illumination spell can only produce artificial light, which is why I thought it might be better for you if I used a softer spell.” That said, Rarity let out a theatrical sniffle, placing a hoof on her chest and dejectedly looking away. “I was only trying to be helpful, really…”

“Oh… Well, come on! Move it!” the dragon relented, pointing toward the end of the tunnel.

“All right…” Rarity softly whispered, only for her to turn around and allow a childish grin to decorate her face.

Hah! Scared? She wasn’t scared! She’d just tricked a dragon into believing what she said! She could do anything! Why, she could probably outwit the thousands of dragons inside Yaket Range! Except, technically and realistically speaking, there couldn’t be a thousand dragons inside Yaket Range, because that would mean that for every five cubic yards, there would be at least—

The point was that she could best any dragon now.

The dragons led Rarity further into the mountain, deeper and deeper, so much so that it felt as though there would never be an end to it. It seemed she had regained control of her own musings, considering no more intrusive thoughts made their way into her mind. She briefly glanced down at her necklace, letting out a relieved breath of air at the confirmation it was still glowing.

Looking back up, in the distance, finally, she saw… light?

Light at the end of the tunnel, and oh, she dearly tried not to think of what that sentence usually implied. The two dragons didn’t seem preoccupied, however, leading her to accept that while neither Elysium nor Tartarus awaited her at the end of the tunnel, it certainly didn’t guarantee she’d be spared from visiting those places anytime soon.

The dragons picked up the pace, and Rarity found herself at the source of the light sooner than she’d hoped.

To her surprise, the tunnel opened into a gargantuan cavern with a large circular rock platform in the middle and dozens of dragons scattered all over the place: clinging to the walls, covering the floor, everywhere they could fit, all their gazes fixed on Rarity and the other two dragons.

As for the cavern itself, several massive holes dotted the ceiling, allowing sunlight to filter in and confirm Rarity’s impression they’d been traveling up within the mountain. The holes didn’t look naturally formed, but rather like they’d been blasted into existence. Even the walls of the cavern, on closer inspection, were covered with signs of … scorched residue.

It reminded her, in fact, of the same explosion marks decorating some of the library’s walls, and as soon as she made the connection, Twilight’s own assessments infiltrated her mind.

Of course they would look similar, since both were made by alicorns during a battle. But, then…

Rarity felt her heart drop, though it was entirely possible Twilight’s own feelings were simply reinforcing hers. Besides the explosions, chaos magic permeated the walls of the cavern, and such an abundance of chaos magic made it easy to guess who the mysterious alicorn had fought. Though, the question remained…

Which princess had fought the Spirit here?

“Lord Taegar, we found the other pony!”

Rarity looked away from the walls, redirecting her gaze toward the middle of the room and then biting down a scream. Standing on the platform was the largest red dragon Rarity had ever had the misfortune of seeing.

His face and body had been permanently disfigured with a myriad of hideous scars, and his sickly yellow eyes betrayed no emotion. Red spikes lined his spine, reaching all the way down to the tip of his tail. His wings were blacker than the darkness of the caves, and Rarity was horrified to see the lower portion of the left outstretched wing had been ripped, or even shredded.

And it was curious, but she had the distinct impression she—or rather, Twilight—had met him before. A long long time ago, a moment in time that she could not clearly recall no matter how hard she tried to unearth memories that did not belong to her.

The dragons led her all the way to this Taegar dragon, and pure, blissful relief flooded her upon seeing Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash standing in front of the dragon, no doubt having been ambushed as well.

“Rarity!” Pinkie exclaimed, looking similarly relieved. “You weren’t eaten! Oh! And your eyes—!”

“Shut up, pony!” a dragon near her spat. “I didn’t say you could talk!”

Though her ears clamped against her skull, and her mane deflated a bit, Pinkie did not silence herself without first sticking her tongue out at the dragon, an action that endeared her all the more to the unicorn.

Lord Taegar lowered his head, regarding the three mares with contempt. “You three. What is your business with dragons?” he asked, and now even his rough, raspy voice felt familiar to Rarity, only strengthening her impression of having seen him before.

“We’re here to recover some items,” Rarity replied, standing as tall and proud as she could when faced with such a beast. She made sure to keep her voice at a respectful tone, lest she risk somehow offending Lord Taegar.

“Items that you stole!” Rainbow snapped, promptly ignoring Rarity’s frantic shushing gesture.

“Because you’re meanies!” Pinkie added, because obviously neither she nor Rainbow Dash had any concern for their own lives, or the lives of other present unicorns.

Lord Taegar laughed. “I don’t control what my dragons do!” He lowered his head further, close enough that Rarity could feel and smell his atrocious breath in her face. “How do we even know it’s yours? It’s dragon property now.”

“Actually,” Rarity said, smiling politely, “there’s a book in there that has my friend’s name in it.”

“Oh? This should be interesting,” Taegar said, drawing back and looking toward a group of dragons. “Bring me the book! Now!”

Moments later, a dragon emerged whom Rarity recognized as one of the teenaged dragons from the Trader’s Exchange. He looked bitter and upset as he reluctantly handed the book to Taegar.

“This is it?” Taegar said, taking the small book in between his massive claws. “Tell your friend that her book has sadly burned to a crisp!” Without bothering to verify Rarity’s claim, he took in a deep breath, threw the book into the air, and spewed fire all over it.

“No! We needed that!” Pinkie screamed, clamping her hooves against the sides of her face. “Without it, we can’t—! Rarity!”

Rarity turned to Pinkie with nothing but a patient smile on her lips. Truth be told, the only reaction Taegar’s action had inspired in the unicorn was irritation. Half of her felt irritated at the way the book had been treated, while the other side felt more irritated at so uselessly wasting time.

Taegar had yet to stop his flame-spewing when an object fell to the ground with a loud thump. To everypony’s surprise but Rarity’s, the book was completely intact, having been protected by its golden barrier spell.

What did surprise Rarity, however, was the reaction. Not from Taegar, not from the dragons, and not from Pinkie or Dash.

It was from the chaos magic scattered around the walls.

As fast as the barrier had appeared around the book, so did the chaos magic begin to go out of control, crackling and hissing. From every corner of the room, it launched an attack on the book: pies, smoke bombs, rocks, magic beams. A futile and desperate attempt to destroy an indestructible book.

“Wh-what’s going on?!” a dragon shouted.

Rarity stepped back, and everything clicked in her mind. Of course! The chaos magic had detected her earlier connection with Twilight, and now that it was faced with the remains of actual alicorn magic, it must be confused into thinking that it was the real deal.

But who’d cast that protect—

Celestia.

The name came naturally into Rarity’s mind, though she belatedly realized it was not a coincidence. Twilight’s consciousness had fallen silent for a while now, so much so she’d even forgotten they were still connected.

“Enough!” Taegar roared, and everyone in the room fell silent, including the rampant chaos magic. Once there was not a sound to be heard, Taegar looked back down toward the mares, an amused smile deforming his face. He took the book in his claws and looked it over before casually throwing it over to a pile of gems in the distance. “This will make a rare treasure for my personal hoard.”

“But, er, Lord Taegar, pardon my transgression, but I assume your hoard must already be of immeasurable worth,” Rarity said, taking a cautious step toward Taegar only to retreat when a dragon hissed at her. “Surely it couldn’t be such a monumental loss to return those items, now could it?”

“Listen to this pony!” Lord Taegar replied, turning to look at his dragons. “As if losing the puny belongings would take away from our glorious treasures! They’d be more useful as target practice for my flame!” Still laughing, he turned back to Rarity and shook his head. “A dragon, little pony, would never help or return things to the likes of your kind.”

“Yes, they would!” Pinkie protested, glaring at Taegar. “There are dragons out there who are nice to ponies!”

Now this—this made the dragons laugh. The entire room filled with the roaring laughter of Lord Taegar and his minions. Something about it bothered Rarity terribly, as if someone dear to her had just been personally insulted.

“Dragons?! Being nice to ponies?! No dragon worth his skin would see you as more than a meal!” he roared, slamming his claw against the ground and provoking slight tremors. He then lifted his claw and hissed, “Bring me a dragon like this, and I will shred away his kindness with my very own claw.”

Suddenly, Rarity understood why Rainbow’s friend had refused to go with them.

“It’s true!” Pinkie continued undeterred, the only sign of fear being the slight lowering of her ears.

“Oh, you are a funny pony. Look, my dragons! Look at these three creatures, how they come in here talking about dragons and ponies who are friends! Isn’t it funny?!” He turned back to Rarity and the others, once again lowering his face nearer than it had ever been before. “Tell me, do you know what happened to the last dragon who was ‘friends’ with ponies?”

As soon as he’d finished the questions, the entire room filled with hissing and growling. The dragons certainly knew, but all three mares had no idea… Or rather, Rarity thought she didn’t know, but the dragons’ reaction unlocked something inside her. A terrible sense of dread, and since she had no memories to elicit such a sensation, it could only mean one thing.

Twilight knew.

“The last time a dragon was nice to your kind, you tried to use him to save your coats against the Lord of Chaos,” Lord Taegar said, narrowing his eyes. “But no. No, it wasn’t just that.” He drew back again, imposing, angry, threatening. “Because a dragon was friends with ponykind, the entire dragon race was dragged into the war between Equestria and the Lord of Chaos.”

And then it happened. It was brief, very brief, but a memory forced itself into Rarity’s mind, a memory that did not belong to her and had no doubt resurfaced unwillingly from Twilight’s mind. For brief seconds, she remembered—or saw—herself in Canterlot’s throne room, facing down dozens of furious dragons led by a much younger version of Taegar.

“Attack one of us, attack all of us! Choose wisely, princesses, because you might be free from the wrath of the Lord of Chaos, but you will be faced with the scorching wrath of dragons!”

Rarity stepped back, heart beating thunderously in her chest.

What… What just…

“The Lord of Chaos?” Rainbow asked, and Taegar interrupted before she could proceed.

“Don’t act like you don’t know!” Taegar said, leaning back. “It’s the most famous myth of ponykind! The three princesses who stupidly lost their lives when they tried to deceive the Lord of Chaos!”

Rarity stepped forward. “But, what does that have to—” Rarity’s question about dragons fell silent, interrupted not by Taegar, or anypony else, but by a visceral incapacity to proceed. It was as if her entire rationale was pleading, begging her to ask no further, to please beg Taegar to shut up, please, please, please. A war raged inside her, Twilight’s consciousness consuming the connection with a panic of… Rarity knowing more…

“But… But…” The words stammered out of Rarity’s mouth, her own consciousness struggling to regain control because she wanted to know, she needed to know, please, they’d come so far, she just wanted to understand Twilight more.

Didn’t Twilight trust her?

“But what about dragons?!” Rarity finally blurted out, screamed almost, as if the words had come out of her mouth unbidden. Her eyes grew wide and she stepped back, chest heaving with every breath. The fear remained, but it was subdued now, it had relented, and when Rarity looked down to her necklace, relief flooded her at seeing it still glowed pink.

“But what does that have to do with dragons?” she asked again, at a much more decent volume, yet still loud and clear for everyone in the room to hear—Twilight included.

Taegar laughed again, but it was a very bitter laugh. “Of course you wouldn’t know. It shouldn’t surprise me that ponykind rewrites their history for their own benefit. Tell me, pony,” he implored, tilting his head, “why did the Lord of Chaos go after the four princesses? Why did he declare war on them again?”

Rarity could feel the fear in her resurging, but she bravely ploughed on. “They… They broke the peace treaty they had with him when they refused to give him the land he asked for?”

“Land? That’s what you think he asked for? You’re not too far off, pony. He was always given land the first few years. They even tried to give him the domain of our western tribe once! Ponies thinking they own everything!” His declaration was met with roars from the other dragons. “But no, that’s not what he asked for.”

He continued, “I was there, you know. I was there when it happened. The first time ponykind was ‘gracious’ enough to allow us entry into their pretty little castle. And not just us! Every race! Even that village of disgusting changeling creatures. Dragons forced to sit next to such a traitorous species.”

And again, more flashes of memory resurfaced unbidden, and Rarity could see it. See all kinds of species, from zebras, to changelings, to manticores… All ushered in by Discord, a delighted grin plastered all over his face.

“The princesses invited them?” Pinkie asked. “Isn’t that good?”

“No,” Rarity said, and she couldn’t pinpoint exactly whether the vision had allowed her to deduce it, or if Twilight was voicing the message. “It was him.”

He wanted witnesses.

But, why?

“But… That war! That was between us and him!” Rainbow pointed out. “Why the heck would he want other races there?! It wasn’t their business!”

“That’s what we thought,” Taegar replied, lowering himself again. “That’s what we all thought, every single race! But what your race has never seen and will never understand is that we are never free of all your damned wars. Whether we want to or not, you will always drag us in.” He stood back, poisonous hatred lacing every syllable that left his mouth. “I remember the war before your ‘peace’ treaties! I remember Discord creating havoc in my land, frightening my dragons with the help of that changeling queen. And even after all he’d done, those princesses still gave him the easy punishment!”

Guilt.

A wave of guilt plagued Rarity, and still she knew it was not hers, but she could feel it, melding with the latent desire for Taegar to stop talking, to stop divulging, please.

“You haven’t answered my question, Lord Taegar,” Rarity said persistently. “Why were dragons involved?”

“He was so happy,” Taegar replied. “He was happy, and I should have known something was wrong.” He sounded remorseful, angry at himself, his teeth bared. “Even your princesses—the way they looked at us. They knew something was wrong. He didn’t want land.”

And again, as soon as he’d finished, it wasn’t a visual memory that arose in Rarity’s mind, but a voice. A sickeningly happy voice which she could hear as clear as if its owner were there.

Honestly, I’m growing dreadfully tired of land! It’s so terribly lonely ruling alone… This time, I want something else! I’m sure you’ll agree!

Rarity’s anxiety grew, almost as wildly as before, and once more she could feel, hear, sense Twilight wanting it to stop, please, but it was far too late now to stop, the dam had been broken and all that was left was to swim or drown.

Rarity chose to swim, even if Twilight preferred to drown.

“What did he ask for, then?” Rarity asked, again stepping forward.

“He was looking at my brothers and me when he did it,” Taegar said, breathing heavily, fumes leaking out the sides of his mouth. “He snapped his fingers and a filthy, tiny cage appeared next to him, and you know what was inside? A terrified baby dragon calling out to those princesses for help!”

“Tw-Twilight! Princess Celestia!”

“No! No, Discord, what are you doing?!”

“Dragons live so long! I just want a companion forever!”

“A dragon?! N-no, that’s impossible!” Rainbow snarled, looking more agitated than she had the entire time. “That can’t be right! They asked for land! …Didn’t they?” She stepped back, looking down at the ground with wide eyes, no longer seeming angry but confused.

“But why?” Pinkie asked. “Why a poor baby dragon?!”

“Why?! Because he was a friend of theirs!” he roared, slamming his claw down against the ground. Everything shook under Rarity’s hooves, and the chaos magic swirling over the walls became restless again. “Because he associated with them, and what was his reward?! A CAGE!”

Despite the necklace still glowing, it was as if Twilight’s presence had left. As if the revelation had been too terrible to bear, and she’d repressed herself willingly, become a quiet spectator. But Rarity didn’t need her.

Rarity didn’t need her because she could put the pieces together by herself now. It all clicked, dominoes falling one by one. She remembered the greyscale painting of a baby dragon inside the library, she remembered Twilight’s assertions that not all dragons were bad, and she remembered the legend that spoke of a lonely princess and her fearsome companion that was loyal above all. She remembered this Spike creature who Twilight was afraid of mentioning, whose name slipped between the seams of unguarded conversations.

She realized just what species he was.

“But… But he can’t—!” Rainbow protested. “There must have been a law against it or something, I don’t know!”

A law? Rarity thought, lifting her hoof to hold onto the necklace. Why would he obey laws?

“You think a law would matter anything to him?! He’s the Lord of Chaos! A law is a dragon’s plaything for him! A law! Creatures like him have no morals or principles! Even dragons have those! But you know, ponies don’t have them either.” He gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes, lowering himself again. “The life of a dragon was used as a bargaining chip in a pony war, and you know how ponykind reacted?

“They called for his LIFE! All around us, you ponies begged your leaders to accept, to allow that monster to take an innocent dragon as his ‘companion’ in exchange for a year of peace?! They were willing to give him away!”

Taegar was furious, angered beyond comprehension, and Rarity understood. She understood because she could hear the chanting in her head, calling for the princesses to agree, and though she could no longer tell if it was Twilight’s memories or her own imagination, it no longer mattered. She could hear them calling for the dragon’s sacrifice.

Because that’s what it was, wasn’t it?

“And that’s not the worst of it,” Taegar viciously continued. “They poisoned him! Those ponies with their screams! They poisoned him so that even HE called for his own life, even he was ready and willing to give his life away to the Lord of Chaos just to save ponies from their own war! But it was never going to be his choice in the first place, was it?”

No.

No, it was the princesses’ choice. It was up to the four of them to decide whether they went to war or not.

A terrible, impossible decision where they would go to war no matter what, be it against dragons or Discord, and it dawned on Rarity that Discord’s intent was just that. War no matter the cost.

Rarity didn’t have to ask to know what the princesses said. Nopony in that room had to, because they all knew, all had grown up with the legend, and all understood finally.

“The princesses refused,” Rarity said, not really talking to Taegar anymore, but to herself and the alicorn listening in, “and Equestria went to war against Discord.”

But it wasn’t the princesses, not all four of them… was it?

Rarity knew, whether because Twilight knew or because it was all clear now, that the choice had never even been up to the four princesses simply because Discord hadn’t picked just any dragon. It hadn’t been all four of them who made the final decision, who went against the wishes of their citizens and plunged the kingdom into a war that would ultimately result with the eternal imprisonment of three princesses.

It was Twilight who’d made the choice.

And now Twilight came back, her essence, her despair, and more than anything, her guilt overcoming Rarity. It was asphyxiating, suffocating, the guilt because she said no. She plunged Equestria into war, she put Spike in danger by simply knowing him. It was her fault. Her fault, because the unicorn could no longer tell if it was hers or Twilight’s, because it felt like hers. Tears bordered Rarity’s eyes, and she could feel her knees buckling under the weight of understanding Twilight in such a terrible way.

My fault.

The familiar two words seeped into the mare’s mind, and Rarity could only struggle to keep her presence, to differentiate herself from Twilight because it hurt her so viscerally to know the pain Twilight had gone through by having been given an impossible choice.

Again, a terrible flash, a voice, and how she hated it, how she wanted to suffocate it, make it stop.

Now, Princess! Don’t worry! I’ll take good care of them! Princess Luna, Princess Celestia, and now you! You did bring this upon yourself, Twilight! If only you hadn’t been so foolish to trick me like that…

And a final image tore into her mind. A meadow, and Rarity was in it, facing Discord down, and she could hear her voice—Twilight’s or Rarity’s, it no longer mattered—her voice loud and clear.

“This is it, Discord! I’m ending this war now!”

CRACK!

The connection cut off suddenly, and Rarity was thrown off, desperately trying to steady her breathing and the beating of her heart. She knew she wasn’t casting the spell any longer, and when she looked down, she saw a large crack running down her crystal necklace. It hadn’t reverted to its crystal clear color, though, providing some hope that it still worked. Sadly, Rarity did not find much relief in this, as her head felt like it had also cracked apart, overwhelming her with a searing, throbbing pain.

“Rarity? Are you okay?!”

Rarity looked around and realized Pinkie was next to her, terribly concerned. Rainbow Dash, on her other side, had apparently failed to notice anything, still carrying on the conversation with the dragon.

“You just stopped! And I got worried so…”

“I…I…”

What could she even say?

“Y-your eyes! And the crystal!” Pinkie urgently whispered. “R-Rarity…”

“And we came here with their sun princess to fight him,” Taegar was saying, gesturing to the cavern. “Look at it! Our dens reek with his magic, with the marks their battle left here!”

“Wh-where is she then?” Rarity asked, gasped almost, struggling to catch up, to reassess the situation, grateful when Pinkie leaned next to her for support. Her headache was growing worse and worse, and it was hard to think. “Where is she? Where is Princess Celestia?”

“They left,” Taegar replied. “She and he both left, and when they did, our allegiance to ponykind ended. This is the only thing she left here,” he said, and he moved enough to dig his claw into a nearby gem hoard, only to pull it out again and throw a golden crown at Rarity’s feet.

“This… This is why dragons aren’t nice to ponies.”

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act II ~ 19 ~ The Promise Of A Future Meeting ~

“It’s very interesting, Fluttershy! This particular breed of daisies seem to have evolved from the ones present in my own time, which means that—”

“Uhm… Princess Twilight?”

“—using these flowers, and my Flower Genome Study book, we can potentially extract the very basic—”

“Princess Twilight, your necklace…”

“…My what?”

“Your necklace. The one Rarity gave you. It’s glowing?”

“It is?! It is!”

Rarity’s headache wouldn’t let her think straight, though now was the moment to do so. She stepped back, eyes fixed on the crown on the floor, and even with the massive dragon staring her down, all she could think about was how desperately she wanted to be back home in the library. She wanted to lie down on a cushion, close her eyes and be lulled away into blissful sleep by the sound of book pages turning and Twilight’s quill scratching against parchment.

“Wh… Why did you break your alliance with her?” she asked, struggling to keep herself lucid despite her pounding head. “She… They chose the dragon over ponies. Why desert…” She groaned, lifting her hoof to her forehead.

“I told you. Your princess took the Spirit somewhere else to fight with him. What, did she expect us to follow her when she didn’t even care to tell us where she went?” Taegar replied, glaring. “We waited for her here, longer than she deserved, but we are not your pets. A dragon’s loyalty isn’t eternal, pony.” He lifted his claw, pointing it toward the crown on the floor. “If she sunk low enough to reject her own crown, maybe she didn’t want to be followed.”

Rarity took the crown in her hoof gingerly, not wanting to strain herself. The crown had clearly seen better days: its golden exterior was blemished with scratch marks, and something had been removed from it—a gem, no doubt—leaving behind a diamond-shaped indent. Why would Celestia have done that?

Rarity nearly felt grateful Twilight was no longer there to see.

“You amuse me, little ponies,” Taegar said. Then for what was probably the very first time, he smiled at them, displaying his broken, blackened, sharp teeth. “Any other pony would be in our bellies by now, but you… you’re not like other ponies.” He looked back toward his dragons. “Chrome! Bring me this pony’s belongings!”

“But, Lord Taegar!” the dragon protested, his gasp echoing that of several dozen other dragons. “Those are our belo—”

“Now!” Taegar roared, and the dragon winced, bowing down and slithering away.

For all intents and purposes, it seemed Taegar might have had a change of heart, and yet Rarity refused to believe it yet.

“What about you?” Taegar asked, drawing Rarity’s attention from the spot the dragon had disappeared into. “What do we get in return?”

“What do you get?!” Rainbow Dash asked, indignantly stamping her hoof on the ground, once more carelessly risking their chances at success. “You want us to give you something for giving us back what you stole from us?!”

“Now, Miss Dash, don’t be silly. Finders keepers, as they say, and ponies really should take better care of their affairs!” Rarity quickly interrupted, doing her best to mask the forcefulness in her voice with good-natured amusement. She could see outrage at her words in the pegasus’s gaze, which she tried to ignore as she continued with her speech, offering Taegar a graceful smile. “The Trader’s Exchange is supposed to celebrate the trade of knowledge between creatures of all walks of life! Who are we to deny dragons from participating in such an event?”

Taegar’s smile widened. “You like talking your way out of things, don’t you, pony?”

“I try, my Lord,” she said, still smiling at the dragon and tilting her throbbing head to the side. “Dare I venture to say it seems to be working?”

“Lord Taegar! I’m back!”

The dragon from before returned, carrying with him all the stolen objects.

“Well, pony. What are you waiting for?” Taegar asked, extending his claw. “What do we get?”

Rarity faltered. “Err… Yes… Give me a moment…”

She turned to Dash and Pinkie, and neither one had anything the dragons might find to be of value. Rarity doubted they’d be interested in an old, rusty lantern, after all. As for herself, Rarity had Twilight’s book—which was out of the question—and… and the emerald.

But it was so small! If Seeker had rejected it, then Taegar would as well!

She reached into her saddlebag, finding she had nothing better to give. Just as she opened it, however, she noticed her cracked necklace flashing brightly. Did that mean it still worked?! Relief poured over her at the thought. Was Twilight worried?

“Well? Do you have anything?” Taegar asked again.

“Oh, er, yes, yes!” Rarity quickly said, reluctantly accepting she couldn’t answer the call just yet. Twilight would have to wait. Instead, she reached inside the saddlebag and took out the emerald. “I have this.” Powering through an ever-growing headache, she used her magic to levitate the gemstone toward Taegar. “It’s old, but in excellent condition.”

Taegar narrowed his eyes, taking the gemstone in his claw and looking it over. Rarity waited patiently, already trying to think of something else to exchange when he inevitably rejected the gemstone, but to her surprise, he tossed it over to his hoard.

“Give them to her,” Taegar said to the dragon, “and give her the book.”

The dragon obeyed, walking over to Rarity and dumping the objects in front of her with a visible scowl. He then made his way toward the large gem hoard to retrieve the book.

Goodness… That was unexpected…

“Hey, Rarity,” Rainbow Dash whispered, watching as the dragon took the book. “Wasn’t that too easy?”

Book in claw, the dragon returned to Rarity. Once in front of her, he lifted it up high in the air, and still scowling, dropped it with the apparent intention of damaging it with the fall.

Luckily, Rarity acted first, and though it seared her head, she cast a quick levitation spell and gently placed the book on the floor. The last thing she wanted was the magic barrier to activate, and the chaos magic to go berserk and start pelleting attacks at her.

“Well then! Isn’t it wonderful when everything works out for everypony?” Rarity said with a nervous smile, quickly gathering up the objects with her magic. “It was a pleasure meeting you, my Lord. We’ll take our leave now and shan’t bother you further.”

Taegar laughed. “Who said you were leaving?”

Oh.

As soon as his sentence finished, the dragons all around the cave smiled wickedly, some even starting to crawl down walls and toward the mares. They came closer and closer, claws scratching against the ground. A series of terribly unladylike expletives rushed through Rarity’s mind, followed by a desperate attempt to formulate some kind of plan.

“I knew it was too easy,” Rainbow Dash growled, still standing fierce despite the approaching dragons. “Why didn’t I ask Seeker to come?!”

Rarity didn’t much care anymore. Lamenting bad decisions would get them nowhere. If they got eaten then and there, it would be all over. Not just for them, but for Twilight and Luna as well, and possibly even Celestia herself. Nopony would believe in Luna, and as for Twilight, the two books Rarity had would be lost forever, and she’d never be free…

Wait.

The books.

“Wait.”

Quickly, she looked up and saw it. The drawing of Discord, watching from the ceilings with a delighted smile and a tub of popcorn. Even then it delighted in her misery, did it not? Maybe all was not lost yet.

“OUR LAST REQUEST!” Rarity cried, and the dragons paused. “Please, wait, stop, stop! We’re owed a last request!”

Taegar frowned. “A last request?”

“Yes, a last request!” Rarity insisted, summoning up all the courage within to step toward the dragon lord. “Dragons are noble, proud creatures, aren’t they? Well, any race worth its salt would offer its victims one last request! How could you ever have demanded tradition and respect from ponies, yet not be willing to offer the same?!”

“Well played, pony,” Taegar said with a smile. He turned to the dragons and called, “Let us return the favor!” He turned to Rarity again. “What is your last request, pony?”

Rarity stepped back, placing the objects on the floor and staring at the book. “I…” With the headache she had, she wouldn’t be able to sustain a call with Twilight, so she could only pray her plan worked. “The book. I want you to read the name on the first page.”

“What?! Are you crazy?!” Rainbow Dash hissed. “How’s that supposed to help us?!”

“Shhhh! Rarity knows what she’s doing, silly!” Pinkie whispered, frowning at the pegasus. She then faltered, glanced at Rarity, and asked, “You do, don’t you?”

“Yes, please, just trust me,” Rarity whispered back, eyes now set on the Discord drawing that watched them intensely. She cleared her throat and turned to Taegar, levitating the book to him. “If I am to die for that book, I’d like for you to at least know the name of its owner.”

Rarity was about to risk their lives on the hope that she could predict chaotic behavior. If it didn’t work…

Taegar lifted his claw and took the tiny book, all eyes set on him. Even the chaos drawing was watching him with narrowed eyes and furrowed brow. Rarity held her breath as Taegar lifted the open book up close to his squinted eyes.

“Property of Prin— What?!” He looked to Rarity, book still in claw. “This—! This book—! Her?!”

“Yes, her,” Rarity replied, smiling as charmingly as she could, glancing back and forth between the Discord drawing and the dragon lord. “Take a closer look, my Lord.”

“But—! But that means you—!” He drifted off, nearly pressing the book against his face.

“What would I gain from making this up, Lord Taegar?” she asked, and praying she wouldn’t be wrong, carefully added, “As such, I really must implore you to take care of it. She explicitly told me that if so much as a drop of water falls on it, what follows would prove to be quite an unpleasant experience for me.”

And then, the drawing smiled.

Rarity watched as the chaos drawing snapped away its popcorn and slithered up the walls, right until it was directly above Taegar and the book. Rarity stepped back, urging the others to do the same, and before her very eyes, a small drawing of a waterfall appeared over the dragon, and from it poured down very real water, soaking both Taegar and the book.

When the water stopped, Taegar looked up to the ceiling. “Wh-what?!”

Rarity, on her side, didn’t care for the drawing. She only cared for the book, which now glowed golden with Celestia’s protection spell. Please… Plea—

The walls began to crackle and hiss, even worse than the first time, and before Taegar could react, he found himself the victim of an all-out frenzied attack. It seemed the chaos magic resented not destroying the book the first time, for now it had abandoned its milder attacks in favor of booming explosives, massive rocks, and astronomical magic beams—every single desperate attack striking the dragon.

His pained roars filled the room, and the tighter he clutched the book, the stronger Celestia’s spell resisted and the fiercer did the attack continue.

“Lord Ta-Taegar! The book! Leave the book!” a dragon called, and Taegar obeyed, launching the book away.

As it flew through the air, the attack followed it, and in a burst of adrenaline, Rarity caught it in her magic grip. She turned to the other dragons with a vicious glare, brandishing the book toward them like a weapon until every dragon was cowering.

“Lord Taegar!” she called out, loud and strong, and as she did, the chaos magic came to a halt. Rarity levitated the book high in the air for all to see and then frowned. “Oh dear. I really wish it hadn’t come to this.”

“You… You… Pony…”

Taegar merely watched her, both shocked and angered, and Rarity forced a smile despite the fear consuming her.

“My name is Rarity, my Lord, and I’d appreciate it if you remembered it,” she replied, taking a step toward him, noticing other dragons stepping back. “You were right! I am no ordinary pony, and this book… I’m glad you remember the princess’s name. She remembers you quite clearly, in fact. Of course, you were younger and your wings weren’t a sorry mangled affair, but alas.”

“Rarity, what’s going on?!”

Taegar growled, smashing his claw against the floor. “But—! That’s impossible!”

“Oh no, no, no! Look! Haven’t you noticed, my Lord, how intent the chaos magic is on stopping me? Or annoying me? That’s because it knows I’ve found her.” She looked down to her necklace, no longer flashing. For a second, the thought of Twilight almost made her lose her nerve, but she held strong. “Why, I could easily call her, you know!”

No sooner she’d finished her sentence that the Discord drawing multiplied, dozens of them decorating the wall and staring intently at Rarity, much to the displeasure of the dragons, who hissed and stepped away from the walls in reply.

“If you think I’m the one in danger here, then you’re sorely mistaken, my Lord.”

Taegar was enraged. “You?! Dragons fear you?!”

“Me? Oh, heavens, no,” Rarity interrupted. “We’ll certainly put up a fight, but we’re no match for you. It’s her you should fear. I mean, after all, this book of hers is, what, a thousand years old?” She lowered the book, enough to magically flip through its pages but keep it in sight of everyone. “And the spell protecting it might be even older, but not a single scratch on it! It was burned, soaked, exploded, and it’s as good as new! If this is only a small fraction of her power, doesn’t it frighten you to think of what the real article can do? And even more so after a thousand years of practicing her magic?”

“But she’s trapped! He trapped them! All of them!”

“But Princess Twilight has been found,” Rarity replied.

“And Princess Luna, too!” Pinkie added, stamping her hoof against the floor.

“What?!” Rainbow Dash gasped, looking back and forth between the two mares.

Rarity continued. “Princess Luna was found by Pinkie, and Princess Twilight by myself and others who are not present. And she knows I’m here.” She stepped toward him again. “If I fail to return to the princess, she will know that my final breath was at your claws. And someday soon, she will be free of her prison, and she will come here. If you’ve moved, well, knowing how frightfully smart she is, you won’t evade her for long, and when you meet her again…” She took another step forward, smiling brightly. “You will find she will no longer be inclined to spare dragons again.

“So, with that said,” Rarity continued, stepping back, “I will politely ask you to please tell your dragons to step away from the entrance so my friends and I may leave your domains and bother you no further, yes?”

Taegar gritted his teeth. “You…” He looked past her, toward the dragons near the entrance. “Let them leave!”

And the relief that flooded Rarity nearly drowned her. She would have shown as much, had she not wanted to hold her ground until the moment her hoof stepped outside.

“Thank you, my Lord.”

“You are not safe yet, pony,” Taegar growled, stepping back. “If you’ve really associated yourself with the princess, then nothing I do can compare to what the Spirit of Chaos will do to you.”

Rarity smiled. “How generous of you to let us go, then.”

She levitated the objects once more, turned around, and quickly made her way toward the exit with Dash and Pinkie following behind.

“Is she worth it?”

Rarity turned around and saw Taegar looking at her.

“Pardon?”

“First that baby dragon and now you, risking yourselves over her,” he asked, leaning in as if expecting to peer inside Rarity’s soul. “Is this princess worth it?”

Rarity didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely.”

Again, she turned around, intent on leaving, but before she stepped into the tunnel, an idea occurred to her.

“Oh, Lord Taegar, I do have another request, actually!” she said, looking back to him. “We really don’t want ponies harboring further grudges against dragons, now do we?”

Rarity tried not to push her luck.

She had known that the fact that she stepped out of that cave alive was more than a miracle, and even then she was shocked by the fact she’d held her ground. Nevertheless, if she’d gone that far, then she’d damn well make sure she’d finish the story properly.

It was nearly midday when she stepped into the Trader’s Exchange, and though she pretended the reason ponies gasped and stared was because of her ferocious gaze, she knew it was because of the fearsome black and white dragon following behind her, tail between his legs.

The dragon had kindly offered to carry the stolen objects, save for the book which Rarity floated high above her head where he could see it.

They made their way through the market, in the direction Rainbow had pointed, and oh, Rarity felt some deep satisfaction at the look on Spitfire’s face when she and the dragon stood in front of her.

“Uh.” Spitfire took off her glasses and looked at the dragon, to Rarity, to Dash. “Wow.”

Rainbow nodded. “Yep.”

“Captain Spitfire? Here. Pinkie Pie has graciously offered to help return these to their owners, even though she has no obligation to do so.” Rarity levitated most of the objects out of the dragon’s claws and neatly placed them in front of the pegasus. “Next time, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t accuse me of being a thief. Thank you.”

She looked toward Pinkie.

“Darling, I shall see you later?” When Pinkie nodded, Rarity trotted off, gesturing to the dragon. “Come along, sir.”

She traveled deeper into the market, still ignoring the shocked ponies, and it wasn’t until she saw the dragon merchant’s stand that she wiped away her current expression and replaced it with an utterly charming one.

If she’d felt satisfaction with Spitfire, it simply could not compare to the satisfaction she felt at seeing the merchant blanch upon spotting her. Oh, Twilight wouldn’t approve, but she didn’t care.

“Good afternoon,” she said with a smile when reaching the stand. “Lovely day, isn’t it?”

The merchant said nothing, his terrified eyes fixed on the dragon.

Good.

“This lovely dragon has come to return your things,” she continued, levitating the remaining objects and placing them in front of the stallion. She then took the book and deposited it at the top of the stack. “Mustn’t forget the book!”

Again, the stallion said nothing.

“I’d like to trade for a diamond.” Rarity looked over his wares, eyes landing on a rather big one. “That one! Can I interest you in a scarf in exchange?” she asked, taking out a scarf she’d packed away in her saddlebag. When the stallion simply gulped and nodded, Rarity’s smile widened. “Splendid! Your taste is truly unmatched.”

She dropped the scarf atop the mound of objects, took the diamond and then turned to the dragon.

“I didn’t quite catch your name?”

The dragon blinked. “Uh…”

“Lovely name. So!” She lifted the diamond and showed it to him. “I’d like to trade this for one of your scales, if you please. After that, you’re free to go.”

The dragon gulped, eyeing the book. “I… One scale?”

“One scale, and that’s it, yes.”

The dragon narrowed his eyes, reaching for the gem which Rarity promptly levitated away.

“Scale first, please.”

The dragon gritted his teeth, lifting his arm and hissing painfully at ripping off a large black scale. Rarity nearly snatched it from his claws, but forced herself to continue smiling and wait until he offered it. Once he did, she gave him the diamond in return and the second he had it in his claws, he quickly stepped back, extended his wings and took off.

“Do give my regards to Lord Taegar!” she called, waving to him.

When he was but a speck in the sky, she turned to the shopkeeper. She lifted the scale, making sure he could see it, and then delicately placed it on top of the scarf before taking the book.

“Your scale, plus every single one of your stolen items. Do we have a trade?” she asked, her icy tone making it clear a negative answer would be most disagreeable.

He only nodded in reply.

Rarity smiled, eyelashes fluttering. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

She placed the book in her bag, turned and walked away, the enchanting smile vanishing from her face. Ponies still kept away from her, and it came as little surprise, considering she made no attempt to hide her scowl.

There was also the fact that she looked positively, hideously tired.

Now that the adrenaline had worn off, her headache had returned, with a throbbing, constant pounding. It matched her quick hoofsteps, a constant drumming to set her pace as she trotted out of the Trader’s Exchange and back to Professor Awe’s house.

She wondered, for a brief moment, if she ought to go back for Pinkie, but the thought was suffocated by her headache. Pinkie would find her, and by the time she did, hopefully Rarity would have slept a few hours. She needed rest if she wanted to properly deal with Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, who now knew everything.

She also wanted a very heartfelt apology from Captain Spitfire, while they were at it.

Eventually, walking proved its purpose and she saw the professor’s house in the distance, a beam of light in the midst of an awful grey day. She glanced toward the spot at the mountain’s base where she’d seen Seeker—or who she assumed to be Seeker—and saw no one there. What if they had died? Would he have waited for Rainbow Dash forever?

Would he have avenged her?

I could have died.

The thought struck her out of nowhere, and only then did she realize the gravity of the situation she’d been in.

She and Pinkie could have died, and in a single swipe so would have Princess Luna’s and Twilight’s chances to leave their prisons. Twilight would have known what killed Rarity, but Luna? She’d have continued her ageless eternity without ever knowing what happened to Pinkie Pie.

It was a scary thought, wasn’t it?

The door of the house was unlocked, and it swung closed once Rarity stepped inside. Almost mechanically, she made her way through the hallway and into the main room, still littered with papers and devices of all kinds. The curtains were still drawn shut, and she found the darkness inviting, soothing to her aching head.

“My goodness,” Professor Awe’s voice said, “what happened to you?”

Before she could turn to see him, the blinds opened and the rapid flood of light forced Rarity to close her eyes, a hoof pressed against her forehead.

“It’s been a long night,” Rarity murmured, not feeling eloquent enough to truly explain what had gone on. Not that he’d believe her, regardless.

“I won’t ask, then.” He trotted toward a desk and opened the top drawer. “Here. This does wonders for headaches and hangovers.”

“I am not drunk,” Rarity muttered, taking the pill he floated her way. “And thank you.”

“I never said you were, Miss Rarity.”

Rarity excused herself, trotting up the stairs and into her room. It was nicely quiet, but far too bright. After putting her bag on the desk, she closed the blinds and reveled in the darkness they granted. She could scarcely see the bed at the end of the room, but even so, it beckoned her.

Soon, my darling, she thought, making her way to the bathroom.

Even in the darkness, she could make out her reflection in the mirror. She closed her eyes and turned on the light, and when she’d adjusted, she opened them up and gazed—or rather, grimaced—at herself. There were bags under her eyes, her mane was a scandal, and… and her heart fell when her eyes landed on the large crack splitting her pink necklace.

She brushed her hoof against it. Twilight had stopped trying to contact her, it seemed. Maybe Rarity would try to call her after a much-needed nap.

She filled a little cup with water and took the medicine before turning off the lights and heading toward the bed. She fell on it with a great big thud, not even bothering to slip under the covers.

Closing her eyes was bliss, and even her headache began to fade now that she was hopefully allowed to rest. It didn’t take long for her to doze off, but she didn’t manage to sleep for long. Not even four hours had passed when her groggy eyes fluttered open, and only knowing that she needed to take a train later that night willed her out of bed.

The pocket watch she’d brought marked five o’clock when she looked at it, giving her plenty of time to prepare for her night train back home. She made up her mane, applied some sorely needed makeup, and only descended when she felt like herself again. Her body still yearned for sleep, but it would at least be enough to sustain her until the train ride.

“What’s taking her so long?!”

Stepping into the living room, she found visitors in the good professor’s home. Pinkie Pie, currently seated on a couch and gobbling away at cupcakes from a bowl, and Rainbow Dash, currently trotting in hasty circles.

“Taking whom so long?” Rarity asked, even though she was well aware to whom Rainbow referred.

Rainbow stopped mid-pacing, her eyes setting on Rarity for a second before zooming down to the necklace.

“Is it true…?” Rainbow asked, carefully. “Can you really talk to her with that thing?”

Rarity hesitated, her eyes searching Pinkie’s. “I…”

“It’s okay, Rarity!” Pinkie said, crumbs of cupcake falling from her mouth as she spoke, putting her bowl down on the floor. “I told her eeeeeeeeverything about eeeeeeeeverything! Well, not really, because I don’t know everything about Princess Twilight, but I do know a lot about Luna!”

“I see.”

Rarity wasn’t entirely confident in the situation, more so because she hadn’t been expecting to talk to Rainbow Dash about the topic so soon.

“Well? Can you?” Rainbow asked again.

“I can, yes,” Rarity said, trotting over to Pinkie and taking a seat next to her. She lifted her hoof and brushed it against the crystal. “It unfortunately cracked earlier, and I’m not sure it still works as before.”

Rainbow furrowed her brow. “Where does she live, then?”

Pinkie giggled. “I already told you that, silly.”

When Rainbow threw her a pointed stare, Rarity replied.

“She lives in an underground library deep in the Everfree Forest.”

Rainbow shook her head. “That’s impossible! That place was literally searched for, like, centuries!”

Rarity crossed her forelegs and raised an eyebrow. “Well, considering there’s been at least two ponies who have found her before me, clearly the ponies you’re referring to didn’t search too thoroughly. The Spirit didn’t hide her very well.”

Rainbow Dash glared. “Because she wasn’t there! The Spirit took her library from the forest and moved her somewhere else! And there’s no way anypony would have missed the library if it hadn’t been taken away!”

“How exactly do you suggest the library was taken away?” Rarity asked. “It’s an enormous old oak tree. And what would the Spirit even do with it, for that matter?”

“I don’t know! You saw what his magic did inside Yaket Range! He could totally just move a library around and put it somewhere where she couldn’t be found!” Rainbow protested. “That place is filled with sinkholes, anyway!”

Rarity fell silent.

Sinkholes?

Everything Rainbow Dash said was impossible, unless there was another lost princess living inside an underground library, which was highly unlikely. Even so, Rarity didn’t feel it was right to immediately brush off the pegasus’s claims. How could she herself ever hope for ponies to give her the benefit of the doubt regarding her princess if she wasn’t willing to do the same for Rainbow?

“It seems that we’re at an impasse, then, Miss Dash,” Rarity carefully said. “I have my story and you your own.”

Rainbow Dash backtracked, pushing a hoof through her mane. “But it makes no sense!” She turned to Pinkie. “You want me to believe you see her in dreams?! That’s ridiculous! Then why can’t we all see her in dreams? How do you know you’re not making her up?”

Pinkie was aghast. “I didn’t make Luna up! Only good ponies who believe in her and behave can see her!”

“Princess Luna used to watch over dreams and nightmares, if you remember the legend,” Rarity added in. “Furthermore, though I’m sure that being well behaved is not a requirement to see her, it makes sense that only ponies who believe in the legend can. The Spirit wanted to trap her, and I’m sure you can agree with me that not everypony is easily ready to believe her fairy tale is real.”

“But…” Rainbow gritted her teeth. “I mean, I’m not saying the princess isn’t real, but that sounds ridiculous.”

Rarity smiled. “Even so, why in Equestria would we lie about it? We stand to gain nothing by lying, and in fact, the only thing it’s accomplished so far is ponies thinking we’ve gone mad. Even the Canterlot Castle staff treated me like an absolute charlatan.”

Rainbow Dash froze at this, eyes darting back and forth between the two mares.

“You… You guys went to the castle for this?”

“Yeah, and they’re a bunch of meanies! I go there every year, and every year they’re all ‘ohhh we don’t know about any princesses because we’re meanies ohhh,’” Pinkie said, crossing her arms and pouting. “I don’t like them. I don’t like them one bit—and I like bits, ’cause one bit gets me a chocolate!”

Rarity nodded.

“I traveled to Canterlot a few weeks after meeting Twilight, and the guards were lovely enough to throw me into the dungeons on the basis of lying and providing forged evidence. The only reason I didn’t spend the entire night there was because a stallion believed me. The captain of the guard, I think?”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. “Wait a sec.” She took a step toward Rarity. “Who was it? What was he wearing? Please tell me he wasn’t wearing green armor.”

Rarity frowned. “Green? Don’t be ridiculous, his armor was hardly green.” She rolled her eyes. “It was a moderate arctic blue.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever! What about his name?! Was it Tilt Shield?”

“Rift Shield.”

Rainbow Dash groaned, burying her face in her hooves. “He’s even worse than Tilt Design!” A series of rather rude expletives left her mouth as she paced in circles, again bringing forth thoughts of Twilight. “If he believed you, then that means you…” She turned back to Rarity. “Fine! I believe you too, but… you’re probably being watched.”

“‘Watched’? Whoever by? The guards?” Rarity asked, skeptical. “They don’t even care! Not to mention that was months ago. I sincerely doubt they’re that dedicated to the cause.”

“Not them! Denza’s guards!” Rainbow clarified. “Rift Shield is one of them and if he or his buddies are following you…” She shook her head. “I don’t want to deal with them unless I’m a hundred percent sure of what I’m doing.”

“But we’re not lying!” Pinkie repeated for the umpteenth time. “Why doesn’t anypony believe us?!”

“Because,” Dash said, “we’ve believed ponies before, and it’s always false leads! Every single time!” She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Look, Seeker and I have been looking for these princesses too, but we’re sick of gettin’ nowhere, and I’m not going to be responsible for that again.”

“My train back home leaves tonight,” Rarity said. “Why not come with me and see her for yourself?”

In fact, she ought to just bring all of Equestria to Twilight’s library and be done with it. Of course, if she did that, then the library would constantly be crowded, and… and that was perfectly all right because she had no interest whatsoever in keeping her lovely princess all to herself.

That could wait until she was free, regardless.

Rainbow snorted. “What, and ditch all my duties for the month? I’m not the Wonderbolts captain anymore, but I’m still their awesomest member! If I go around canceling and trailing after you, that’s basically like shouting to Denza and her crew that something’s up!”

“And why is that so wrong?” Rarity asked, words laced with irritation. Princess Denza’s help would be most welcome, and Rainbow’s incredibly disrespectful attitude vis-à-vis Equestria’s ruler was not something Rarity approved of. “Why is everypony so convinced Princess Denza doesn’t want to help? You, Professor Awe…! Honestly!”

“Is it because she’s cursed?” Pinkie asked. She prodded at Rarity, no doubt trying to assuage the unicorn’s anger. “Remember she was cursed! She can’t look for them!”

Rainbow snorted. “Cursed? There isn’t any curse! That’s just some phony excuse they made up so they wouldn’t look bad not doing anything while others did the job for her.”

“How are you so sure about all this, Miss Dash?” Rarity asked. “All these claims you’re making, and all this information…” Rarity knew somepony hiding information when she saw them. “Seeing as Pinkie and I have told you a great deal about our own sources, it’s only fair you tell us who yours is. Did you perhaps find the other lost princess?”

And at this, Rainbow faltered, her eyes widening as she stepped back. “I…”

“You DID?!” Pinkie all but gasped, jumping out of her seat on the couch. “Who?! Princess Celestia?! Where is she?!”

“Wh-what?! I-I didn’t find any princess!” Rainbow quickly shot back. “Look, I just know these things, okay?! And even if I did know somepony, I told you I’m not bringing them in until I’m a hundred percent sure of this. How would your princesses feel if you told them, I don’t know, that you found out how to free them, and then they got all happy and excited, except it turned out you were wrong?! How would you feel, especially if it’s like the fiftieth time it’s happened?! Horrible, that’s how!”

“When can you come, then?” Rarity asked. She wanted to meet Rainbow Dash’s informant, and sooner rather than later.

“A month,” Dash replied. “No, wait, a month and a half! I have a thing with Spitfire in Hollow Shades at the end of the month, and after that I’ll get her to organize an event or something in Ponyville so it won’t look suspicious. Just make sure that you two and the princesses don’t go anywhere.”

Pinkie frowned, plopping herself back down on the couch. “I wish they could go somewhere…”

“You know what I meant!”

Rarity sighed. “Very well, but I’m not going to idle in Ponyville the entire time. I do have a life beyond Twilight Sparkle, and I have several commissions out of town that will require me leaving Ponyville.”

“Fine, just—”

The sound of an opening door interrupted her, followed in short order by Professor Awe entering the room, his face stuck inside a book and a cup of coffee floating behind. When he looked up, he found the three mares giving him pointed stares.

He did nothing at first, merely taking a long sip of coffee before clearing his throat and asking, “What have I interrupted? Is Miss Pie trying to convince somepony else of the existence of Princess Luna?”

“I’M NOT LYING! I’m not!” Pinkie protested when Rainbow Dash gave her a questioning glance.

“Of course not,” Awe replied, looking back to his book and heading toward the kitchen.

Rarity cleared her throat.

This conversation was not one she wished to have with the professor just yet, and the last thing she wanted was for him to go off about his ridiculous theories on assassinations and Princess Denza being the Spirit’s accomplice. “A month and a half it is, then, Miss Dash?”

“Yeah. A month and a half,” she replied, catching on to the fact that the conversation had come to an end.

“Is there anything else you’d like to ask about?”

Rainbow shook her head. “Nah. I won’t get my answers until I go to your place anyway,” she said, trotting over to the nearby table and taking her saddlebag. “I need to ditch this place. Seeker’s scared that the dragons are going to be extra annoying after what we did, so he wants to move out before tomorrow. Oh, by the way…” She reached into her saddlebag and took out a small purple scale, flinging it at Rarity. “I know it’s worth nothing now, but hey, a promise is a promise.”

Rarity caught the scale in her magic, examining it with a smile. She liked it. It would be a nice reminder of the one time she completely lost her mind and managed to best an ancient dragon and his minions.

Maybe she could give it to Twilight as a keepsake.

Once her saddlebag was firmly over her back, Rainbow Dash made a mocking salute. “Try not to mess with dragons or anything for a month, ’kay?”

Pinkie saluted back. “Yepperooni! I mean, noperooni! Or is it yepperooni?”

Rarity fluttered her eyelashes. “I’ll try, but danger loves coming to me.”

Rainbow Dash laughed, trotting toward the exit hallway. “See ya!”

Rarity waited until the front door slammed to a close before leaning back on the couch, hoof traveling up to her necklace. “Well, that’s that, I suppose. Nothing to do but wait for a month.”

Pinkie leaned back as well, reaching over to take another cupcake from her plate. “She was nice, though! Your friend will be super happy with her autograph!”

Rarity gasped. “The autograph!” she blurted out, nearly tripping over herself as she jumped off the couch and galloped toward the exit. “Wait, Rainbow Dash!”

The rest of the day went by rather uneventfully for Rarity.

No revengeful dragons attacked Rainbow Falls, as Rarity had privately feared they might, and she’d managed to get mostly everything she’d been asked for. She even got some nice new fabrics, and six new books for Twilight—including the one from the dragon merchant.

Rainbow Falls’ train station was filled with a plethora of ponies who, just like Rarity, were taking night trains home after the Trader’s Exchange. The event had gone off without a hitch, save for a few details, which was a relief considering Princess Denza had turned out to be too busy to attend the closing ceremony.

Despite Rainbow’s claims, Rarity still saw the best in her monarch. If offered, she’d gladly take the chance to see her and relay everything she’d discovered about Twilight and Luna. It felt simply ridiculous to believe Princess Denza would want anything but the freedom of the age-old alicorns.

“I’m sad that you’re leaving,” Pinkie said, looking toward the passing ponies, her ears swiveling down. “Why can’t my best friends live somewhere I can always be with them?”

Rarity smiled sadly, brushing back Pinkie’s mane. “Now, now, darling. We’ll see each other again soon if all goes well with Rainbow Dash.”

“But that’s soooooo far away! You’re going to find all the books by the time I get to see you again!” Pinkie whined, pawing at the floor. “Except that’d be good because then Princess Twilight would be free and if she’s free then she can come with us and I’ll get to meet her and—”

“Pinkie, I don’t think I’ll find all her books in just a month,” Rarity said with a laugh. As amazing as that would be, it would take an incredibly momentous miracle for that to happen. “Though…”

She looked around, eyes settling on a large calendar posted on the train station’s wall. She trotted toward it, flipping the page over to the next month, and smiled.

“You know, the twenty-sixth is a long weekend for Sweetie Belle and her little friends, and they want to organize a sleepover at Twilight’s library,” Rarity said at length, letting go of the calendar page and turning to Pinkie.

“Ohhh, that sounds like super fun!” Pinkie exclaimed, clapping her hooves. “I wish I could go…”

“Why don’t you?” Rarity asked, smiling brightly at the mare. “I’m sure Twilight would love to have you! She’s quite keen on meeting you.”

Pinkie’s reaction was immediate, her eyes widening and her mouth falling open. “You… I… I can?! Really?!” she exclaimed, jumping up and down, and then tapping her hooves against the floor. “Really, really, really, really, really, super really for realsies really?!”

Rarity laughed. “Yes, really.”

Pinkie was nearly beside herself, clapping her hooves together. “Ohmigosh! Ohmigosh, ohmigosh, ohmigosh! Can I throw her a party?! Does she like parties?! It’ll be the best party I’ve ever made! And I’ll even make her a special cupcake like I do for Lulla, and—! And now waiting for the sleepover is going to be even LONGER than waiting for Rainbow Dash!” She groaned, burying her face in her hooves. “Why can’t I make time go faster?”

The sound of the train whistle interrupted her rhetorical question.

“It’ll go faster than you realize,” Rarity insisted sympathetically, readjusting her saddlebag in preparation for boarding the train.

She hugged Pinkie goodbye, promising to send a letter soon, and finally boarded the train. It wasn’t as crowded as she’d expected, and it seemed that not many ponies were headed to Ponyville like her. Happily, this meant she should be able to secure a cabin just for herself, so she could lie down on the seats and sleep in private until morning arrived, bringing Ponyville with it.

She settled down in the cabin, levitating her luggage up behind the railing, and then patiently waited for the train to set off. When it did, and nopony had come in to sit with her, she took the liberty of closing the sliding door and relaxing.

The moon shone brightly in the sky, its beams of light filtering in through the half-closed curtains. Rarity wasn’t against sleeping under the moonlight, but trains had never been her preferred place to sleep, so perhaps absolute darkness would help lull her.

She closed the blinds with her magic, reveling in the darkness before laying herself down on the seat and closing her eyes. She must have stayed that way for quite a while, unable to find sleep. Eventually, after her attempts proved unsuccessful, she opened her eyes again, the black darkness hugging her with its pink hues, like a…

Pink hues?

She looked down to find her necklace flashing again. She lifted the necklace in her hoof, admiring its soft pink glow. It seemed Twilight wanted to talk, and now free from danger, Rarity wanted to talk, too. Besides, danger or not, she’d ignored the call several times already and doing so again would simply be rude.

Rarity closed her eyes and cast the spell, and after the familiar ping, there was silence. Stillness in her mind, at first, peaceful and serene, until an uncomfortable anxiety crawled its way up her chest. Never in her life had she been so worried about her own self, and it took a moment to register it was Twilight’s worry.

“Is she… Is she okay?”

Fluttershy?

No sooner had the thought entered her mind that she opened her eyes, and yet it wasn’t Rarity who’d done it, but Twilight. Rarity could feel herself lying on the train seat, and yet she could clearly see the library, feel the library, as if her mind was a camera lens. She was sitting at a round table, Twilight’s favorite one, and opposite her was Fluttershy, looking paler than usual. Rarity couldn’t think at all, as though her mind had gone blank, like all thought process had left and only Twilight’s thoughts remained.

She—no, Twilight—blinked once, twice, thrice and then the other necklace floated in front of her, wrapped in raspberry-colored magic.

Rarity’s first thought was realizing it wasn’t broken.

“It’s not broken.”

Fluttershy blinked at Twilight’s statement.

“Wh-what?”

“Of course it’s not broken, because I wasn’t the one casting the spell when the mind link broke.”

Twilight gasped. Or maybe Rarity did, or maybe both as the alicorn realized the connection was working. Twilight’s relief surged through Rarity, but worried panic did too, and the shock of it forced the unicorn’s eyes open just as she had started to settle into Twilight’s sight. For a second, or perhaps even less, nothing happened as Rarity’s own eyes adjusted to the darkness of the train compartment while her mind projected the library.

And then, she wasn’t able to take the simultaneous information.

If her headache from earlier that day had been intense, this one was utterly agonizing. Both their eyes slammed shut as Rarity buried her head in her hooves, her groaning indistinguishable from Twilight’s.

“Princess Twilight?! Wh-what’s wrong?”

“Headache—! I can feel pain again! I can… This is fascinating, though… I forgot… it hurts… so much…”

Rarity groaned again and turned around in her seat, all but ready to terminate the spell, until she—or Twilight, or whoever, she didn’t much care—cast another. It was a healing spell she’d never heard of before, but as the seconds passed, it felt like she’d always known it, and as they both cast it the headache waned and the drowsiness set in full force.

“Are you okay?! Is Rarity hurt?”

Again, Twilight’s eyes opened, and the sight of a stricken Fluttershy greeted her.

“I… I’m sleepy… I’m actually sleepy! Or she is? We are? Is this what drowsiness feels like? I can’t remember anymore, but it’s not letting me think straight. Is sleep always this botherso— Or is sleep a sign of weakness?!”

Twilight closed her eyes, and it was bizarre for Rarity to feel herself both lying on the seat and burying her face in her hooves at a table. Rarity didn’t quite know what to expect at first, but her mind soon focused on… on the memories of Discord, of the exchange, of everything they had in unison both revealed and found out.

A thought arose because of it, that maybe it was time for a long-overdue talk on dragons, and treaties, and secrets and guilt that had been carried for far too long.

Twilight’s fear gripped her again, and Rarity’s consciousness took control, soothing, gentle. Not every secret had to come out. Not yet, but maybe baby steps weren’t necessary anymore, were they?

“Princess? Is she okay? Are you?”

Sleep took over Rarity, pulling her away from Twilight, the magic in her horn slipping from her grasp as her mind took in the last fragment of a distant conversation.

“Yes. We’ll be okay.”

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act II ~ 20 ~ The Wrangled Maze ~

Sleep was neither kind nor unkind to Rarity. She managed to get almost four full hours of it, but her dreams were plagued with dragons, and princesses, and Spirits of Chaos. In one dream, she was there with Twilight and her dragon friend during that ill-fated day. In another, she was chatting with Rainbow and Pinkie outside the Trader’s Exchange. But in the one that finally woke her, she found herself trying to go back home but painfully unable to locate the library.

She spent the rest of the trip looking out the window, her thoughts drifting toward Fritter Cobbler. What happened to him, really? Why hadn’t he been able to find Twilight’s library again? Or, had he given up on her and simply pretended to not be able to find her?

It would at least explain the ominous apology he left behind.

Ponyville appeared in the distance, growing larger and larger as the train rapidly approached. It was a heavenly sight—one that Rarity might not have lived to see again. It seemed so normal and peaceful, so stable and without risk, and she, for once, was delighted to return to the safe and sound normal routine of everyday life. Well, as normal as friendship with a ghost could be.

The train pulled up at the platform, and Rarity’s eyes scanned the crowd. Most ponies were simply waiting to board the train when it emptied out, but she saw several brandishing signs with names on them. Maybe one of them had her name, and it would turn out that Princess Denza was summoning her to her castle!

Of course, that was entirely impossible, but she did see several familiar and worried faces amongst the crowd. Fluttershy, the Cutie Mark Crusaders—and Applejack—were waiting on the platform, brows furrowed as they scanned the train’s windows.

What on earth is going on?

What would warrant such looks? For a brief second, Rarity’s mind wandered into dangerous territory, and she felt her breath hitch at the thought that something might have happened to Twilight. It was the only idea she could conjure up that would justify all of them being here to get her.

When the train came to a full stop, she gathered her many suitcases and trotted out onto the platform.

“My, my, what a reception!” Rarity exclaimed, though the cheer in her voice did not linger long.

What a reception, indeed: the expressions on those familiar faces were about as varied as the ponies who had come from all around to attend the Trader’s Exchange. Apple Bloom and Applejack seemed relieved, the latter taking off her hat and wiping her brow; Scootaloo, too, looked relieved for a split-second before breaking into an excited grin; Fluttershy buried her face in her hooves; and a tear-stricken Sweetie Belle rushed to Rarity, throwing herself at her elder sister.

“Sw-Sweetie, whatever’s the matt—”

“You’re alive!” Sweetie shrieked, holding onto the mare with surprising force, drawing the attention of nearby commuters who stared at Rarity as if they expected to find something wrong with her at a glance. “I thought you were dead, but you’re alive!”

Rarity held her sister, awkwardly smiling at the staring ponies before looking up to Fluttershy for some sort of explanation. “Ah… yes, I am…?”

“Rarity!” Scootaloo blurted out, rushing to the unicorn and jumping up and down in place. “Is it true?! Did you really meet the dragon boss?! How did you escape?! Did you beat them up?!” She circled the unicorn. “Did you get any cool scars?! Princess Twilight said the dragon boss was, like, HUGE!”

Rarity stumbled over her words, wholly unsure of what exactly to say. She had many questions, ranging from when had Twilight divulged Rarity’s adventure to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, why had she told mere fillies that Rarity had nearly been eaten by dragons, and most importantly, why were they freely discussing the subject in front of Applejack.

“Applejack could stop dragons too!” Apple Bloom quickly said, tugging on her sister’s foreleg. “Right?!”

Applejack laughed good-naturedly, brushing a hoof on her sister’s head. “I figure it can’t be harder than wrangling a herd of timberwolves.”

“Are you sure they’re not coming back to eat you?!” Sweetie asked, pulling on her sister’s forelegs too. “What if they come back, and they find you, and then they go into the library, and then you’re a ghost like Princess Twilight, and then—”

“Sweetie Belle, darling, I would never let anything like that happen to me,” Rarity murmured, nuzzling her little sister. “You and I still have many things to do together, after all!”

Sweetie Belle sniffled. “Fluttershy told us this morning, and I was really scared… I don’t want you to turn into a ghost…”

“Rarity won’t turn into a ghost,” Fluttershy said, finally speaking up as she drew her face from her hooves, looking much more relaxed.

“’Sides, wasn’t Princess Twilight cursed by this Discord feller?” Applejack asked, and even more questions arose inside Rarity’s mind. “I think getting eaten by a dragon ain’t turning you into a ghost anytime soon.”

“Pardon me for interrupting,” Rarity loudly said, gathering everyone’s attention, “but…” She looked at Applejack. “…Princess Twilight?”

Applejack frowned, glancing at her companions. “That’s her name, ain’t it?” she asked, and only after a moment did she seem to understand the underlying meaning of Rarity’s question. “Oh! Oh, I know now. I haven’t met her, but I know ’bout her. Finally found out who’s been givin’ Apple Bloom potions homework too.” She frowned playfully at her sister. “Zecora’s assistant, huh?”

“Well, you didn’t believe me before…” Apple Bloom murmured.

Applejack’s ears lowered. “Apple Bloom…”

“I told her,” Fluttershy spoke up, her ears pressed against her head as her eyes avoided Rarity’s, like a child forced to confess to a misdeed. “Princess Twilight said she lost contact with you when you were with the dragons, and you didn’t say anything for almost a whole day, and I…” Her voice softened. “I thought you might not come back. I didn’t know who else could help me…”

Rarity felt a knot form in her throat.

She had failed to consider what effect her messages had on the others. She hadn’t found it necessary to call Twilight back after her battle, especially when she herself knew she was alive, but it wasn’t until that moment that she realized how terrible it must have been for Twilight, Fluttershy, and the fillies when she kept them in the dark for so long.

“I… I’m sorry, I hadn’t…” Her ears flattened and she offered a meek bow of her head. “It was extraordinarily inconsiderate of me to not have reported back sooner, and I apologize for worrying all of you like that.”

“You should have seen Princess Twilight! It was awesome!” Scootaloo exclaimed. It seemed she had been the least worried of the group. “She tried exploding her way out of the library, and she had these super cool laser beams, and she almost destroyed the library, and—”

Rarity was aghast. “What?!”

Scootaloo trotted a few steps back. “Err… well, that’s what Fluttershy said she did, but I bet it was SUPER AWESOME.”

“She was, uhm, very worried,” Fluttershy quickly elaborated, though it wasn’t much of an elaboration at all. Rarity could only hope the filly had grossly exaggerated what she’d been told.

Rarity bit her lip. She’d admittedly wanted to go home for a few hours and rest, but it seemed like it would be best to go and meet with Twilight first. She much preferred making sure the alicorn was doing well, and she could always just rest inside Twilight’s library.

“In that case, I—”

“We have to go see her!” Sweetie interrupted, her earlier worry having faded.

“‘We’?” Rarity asked, unable to stop the question from leaving her lips.

Her eyes darted back and forth between the ponies. Selfish as it may have been, she didn’t want them to go with her. She wanted alone time with her princess, and other ponies being around meant she couldn’t… well, it wasn’t that she couldn’t be herself when others were there, but she couldn’t act a bit more…

No, Rarity. They don’t deserve to be pushed away, especially after what you’ve put them through with your thoughtlessness.

“Ah… Yes! Yes, we should,” Rarity finally said with a smile, hoping it didn’t look even the teensiest bit disappointed. She glanced over at her suitcases, and faltered. “But…”

Applejack smiled. “Maybe it’d be a mite better to go after you’ve taken everything you own back home.”

Applejack was being terribly silent.

The sounds of the forest were overlaid with the chattering of the three fillies asking Fluttershy and Rarity questions about dragons, but Applejack hardly said a word the entire time. She stuck next to Rarity at the head of the group, frequently looking back toward her sister and frowning. A large lasso hung from her back, granting Rarity the amusing mental image of Applejack wrangling a timberwolf.

She probably could, too.

“A bit for your thoughts, Applejack?” Rarity asked, hoping to draw some sort of conversation out of the mare. “Is everything all right?”

“I’m thinkin’ about how Apple Bloom’s been travelin’ so far into the forest without tellin’ us,” she said, and the accusatory tone in her voice was not lost on Rarity. “And I ain’t sure I want to be there when Big Mac finds out.”

“Ah…” Rarity said, gulping and looking away toward Elara flying overhead, shame burning through her. If she had been in Applejack’s position, the farmer would have never heard the end of it.

“At least she goes with you an’ Fluttershy,” Applejack continued, expression loosening slightly. “Knowin’ her, she might have gone by herself anyway.”

“Yes, it seems Princess Twilight is quite the irresistible attraction,” Rarity conceded. “I hope you’re looking forward to meeting her at least?”

Applejack frowned. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t?”

“I don’t like thinkin’ Apple Bloom’s a liar. We Apples ain’t liars,” Applejack continued. “But if Princess Booky ain’t pony tales, then that means the family’s been accusing old Fritter Cobbler of being a liar for centuries, and that just don’t sit right with me.”

Rarity looked back toward the winding path, mulling it over. Well, all things said and done, there really wasn’t anything to mull over since she knew beyond a doubt that Twilight was real, but she could also understand why ponies would believe Fritter Cobbler was lying, especially considering he never actually returned to Twilight.

Did she not have owls back then?

“Then perhaps you and Apple Bloom might redeem him?” Rarity offered, glancing at the mare with a smile. “The fact that your ancestors branded Fritter Cobbler a liar does not mean you must continue to do so. In fact, I’m sure he would have wanted you to meet Twilight.”

“Yeah! Princess Twi’s really gonna like you!” Apple Bloom added in, joining the conversation. “She’s mighty nice, and she knows plenty of magic, and she says she really misses the jam that Gran-gran-gran-gran-gran-gran—” She took a deep breath. “—gran-gran-granny Heart Core used t’ make!”

The trek through the forest continued with much more lighthearted chatter. Apple Bloom’s idea of “Princess-Endorsed jam” proved to be a great way to distract Applejack from the prospect of finding timberwolves or any other forest creatures.

Eventually, the familiar old oak tree appeared in the distance, and Rarity’s entire disposition shifted. Oh heavens, she’d missed it. It was curious, wasn’t it? Every time she came to the library after being away for days, she always missed it and she was always surprised that she did. The feeling was far more intense this time, though she assumed it was because she’d been momentarily faced with the prospect of never seeing it—or anything else—ever again.

“This is it?”

Applejack’s voice roused Rarity’s attention.

She was looking up at the tree, an undecipherable expression masking her face. In a curious gesture, she took off her hat as a sign of… what? Awe? Respect? Rarity really didn’t know, but she liked it. Twilight Sparkle and her tree should be treated with the respect they deserved.

Applejack put her hat back on after a moment, trotted toward the edge of the hole surrounding the tree, and peered down. “What’s this here for? Don’t look natural,” she noted, looking back toward Rarity, and for a moment glancing at the fillies as they rushed past her and jumped below.

Rarity trotted past her and joined the fillies down in the hole. “I haven’t the faintest,” she replied, looking around at the walls of the hole. “The library was like this when I first found it. I suppose Twilight must have done this thousands of years ago.”

The fillies were already crowded around the trapdoor, which reminded her of a rather important detail. Though she had no qualms with everypony visiting the library at that exact moment, she did want to at the very least prepare Twilight for Applejack’s arrival. It was never polite to bring a guest uninvited, and it just so happened it would give Rarity a few minutes alone with the princess, which was all a very nice coincidence and in no way meant that she just wanted an excuse to be alone with Twilight.

“Now, girls, why don’t you wait here outside with Applejack while I fetch Twilight?” Rarity suggested, using her magic to levitate the Crusaders away from the trapdoor. She ignored their plaintive whines and gently plopped them several feet away from the tree.

Before they could protest, Rarity opened the trapdoor and stepped inside with a last promise to be quick. Once the trapdoor closed above her, she sighed, bringing about a short-lived relief that quickly turned into excitement at the reminder that she’d be seeing Twilight again.

With the help of an illumination spell, she descended the spiral stairs and looked into the depths of the tunnel. She could see the illuminated library in the distance, and more than that, she saw Twilight sitting right on the other side, inches away from the barrier and facing the tunnel, her eyes lowered toward a floating open book.

It seemed Twilight hadn’t noticed or heard Rarity’s arrival. For a moment, Rarity considered calling out to her, but a much better idea quickly presented itself. As silently as possible, she traveled the length of the tunnel until she was directly in front of Twilight.

Twilight, immersed in her research on Daring Do, was surrounded by a plethora of neatly stacked books. Her clock had been taken from its usual spot atop her desk and now sat on top of one of the book towers.

Had she been waiting for Rarity? Judging by the amount of books, it seemed she’d been intent on waiting for quite a while.

A smitten grin pushed its way onto Rarity’s lips. She daintily sat down, and after a moment, let out a polite little cough.

Twilight looked up with a furrowed brow, certainly annoyed at having her activity interrupted. Her annoyance faded out, though, as she blinked once, twice, thrice, and then her eyes widened.

“Rarity!” she exclaimed, dropping the book—carefully—and very nearly leaping at the unicorn. She would have been more successful if the barrier hadn’t immediately materialized and pushed her back several feet, with an “oof!”, a blush, and a nasty glare for the magical force field.

Rarity couldn’t help but laugh apologetically. She hadn’t expected Twilight would try to hug her.

“Twilight, goodness, I’m excited to see you too! A shame this pesky barrier is such a nuisance, is it not?” She finally stepped into the library, and then tilted her head and innocently fluttered her eyelashes. “If you’d like, I can cast the necklace spell and hug myself?”

Twilight frowned, almost as if she were considering the offer, until her blush increased ten-fold. “You’re so full of yourself.”

“Darling! Putting that idioms book I bought you to good use, I see! I knew it was a smart choice.”

Twilight smiled playfully, straightening herself. “I had to read something while you were gone.” Her smile did not last long, though, and her eyes darted down, examining Rarity. …Was she looking for injuries?

“I see…” Rarity drifted off, trying to find her next words. “I must say, judging by the reception I had earlier, I thought you’d be a bit more… how shall I say? Worried upon meeting me.” She turned toward the tunnel’s wall. “Fluttershy said that my incident drew out quite the reaction from…”

While the exit wall had been decorated with faded explosion marks before, now Rarity realized that Scootaloo had not been exaggerating when she claimed Twilight Sparkle had tried blasting her way out of the library. The floor was littered with rubble from the enlarged holes dotting the walls.

Rarity knew this meant she’d worried Twilight to an excessive degree, but she’d be lying if she did not admit she was secretly thrilled that all that had been done for her sake. Not that she’d ever tell Twilight that.

“Twilight.” She turned back to the alicorn. “Care to explain?”

Twilight’s eyes shot back and forth between Rarity and the damaged wall. “I… I… Well! What did you want me to do?!” she blurted out, cheeks flushing in full splendor. “You weren’t answering! And you were inside a dragon cave, and Fluttershy was here, and”—a chalkboard appeared next to her, full of mathematical equations—“the odds of you learning teleportation or any other means of defense in fewer than ten minutes were impossible, and if you died then I’d never—”

“But I didn’t,” Rarity interrupted. “And it’s all thanks to you.” She lifted her hoof and toyed with her necklace, smiling brightly. “They weren’t so keen on eating me once I told them they’d invoke the wrath of an ages-old alicorn princess. Especially…” Rarity paused, the words lingering on her lips. She was about to tread dangerous waters. “Especially one that long-ago chose them over her kingdom.”

The effect of her words was immediate.

“Oh.” Twilight stepped back, ears flattened against her head, and though she did not need oxygen, it seemed the habit of breathing heavily when stressed was hard to break. “Oh… Uhm… I… Aaaah…” She closed her eyes, and Rarity could easily imagine the internal struggle she’d sparked in Twilight with those words.

Rarity herself had literally lived it through Twilight, after all.

“Twilight, it—”

A large scroll appeared next to Twilight, which she looked over with a troubled expression. “This wasn’t supposed to go like this. This conversation is not at the top of my to-do list, and if I go out of order now, then I won’t be able—”

“In that case,” Rarity gently interrupted, “why don’t we finish all the tasks on your list until we get to this conversation, hm? Two ponies are faster than one, no?”

Twilight looked back and forth between Rarity and the scroll. “Not really. It depends on the average speed of each pony both in their usual tasks as well as with the assigned task. A pegasus can excel at quick aerodynamic activities, but they can’t finish physical tasks nearly as fast as an earth pony, whereas unic—”

“You’re rambling, darling.”

Twilight closed her eyes, ears still flattened against her skull. “You can’t help me finish the tasks I have before the conversation.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “And why not?”

“…Because I don’t want to put it on my to-do list…”

Rarity sighed. “Twilight… I realize this is difficult, but perhaps the time has come to be open and honest?”

Twilight bit her lip, grumbling slightly. A quill appeared next to her, which she begrudgingly used to write something at the very bottom of the scroll. Once she’d finished, both quill and scroll disappeared in a burst of magic.

“All right.”

Rarity clapped her hooves together. “Wonderful! Thank you, Twilight,” she said. “Though I must inform you that your to-do list won’t be useful today, as Apple Bloom’s sister is here to visit.”

Twilight perked up immediately. “What? She is? But you said she didn’t believe in me!”

“She had a change of heart, it seems. She’s actually quite eager to meet you,” Rarity replied. “And she—”

“Rarity! Come on!” Sweetie’s voice called in the distance. “Can we come down yet?!”

“Speak of the devil.” Rarity turned toward the tunnel. “Yes, come down! And be careful going down the stairs!”

As they patiently waited for the others to arrive, Twilight wasted no time in bombarding Rarity with a plethora of questions. What should she do? What did Applejack know about her? Did Rarity think that Applejack would be interested in talking about the growth of agriculture in the past millennia? No, it was not a boring topic! Apple Bloom was very interested, Rarity, and no, she wasn’t just “pretending” to be interested!

“Or was she…?” Twilight murmured, looking down and rubbing her mouth with a hoof.

“Don’t open your eyes yet!”

Apple Bloom was in the lead, looking terribly excited. Applejack meeting Twilight was an event she’d talked about ceaselessly throughout the past weeks, and it was expected she’d be over the moon about it.

Applejack’s eyes were indeed shut as she tentatively stepped inside the library, her brow furrowed.

“Open ’em!”

As instructed, Applejack opened her eyes, which widened as her mouth fell half-open. A natural reaction considering the unnatural circumstances.

Twilight, on her side, seemed to have completely discarded her trepidation from moments before, and her reaction was leagues different from the one she’d had with Rarity. While before she’d retreated to distance and suspicion, now she greeted them with all the class expected of a princess. She stood up straight, tall yet not imposing, and her wings half-splayed apart, further driving the point that she was indeed a bona fide alicorn of olde, not some silly pony tale.

Silence settled itself, almost at the risk of becoming awkward, as everypony waited with bated breath for Applejack’s reaction.

“I…”

Like before, she took off her hat, but rather than addressing Twilight, she turned to her little sister.

“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, Apple Bloom,” she said. “I shoulda trusted you.”

Apple Bloom looked embarrassed for a moment, rubbing a hoof behind her head. “Aw… It’s okay, Sis, I know it sounded somethin’ crazy, but look!” She rushed over to Twilight, bursting with excitement. “Show her your ghost thing, Princess Twi!”

Twilight blinked. “My what?”

“You know!” Scootaloo chimed in. “When you, like, go through bookcases and tables and stuff!”

Twilight’s ears perked up. “Oh! Uhm…”

She looked around. There were no walls nearby, and though she had stacks of books beside her, she chose an altogether very different target for her practical demonstration. Without warning, and with all the grace of a rock, she lifted her hoof and waved it around inside of Rarity.

“Twilight Sparkle!” Rarity shrieked, uselessly trying to cover herself from Twilight’s actions.

“Wh-what?” Twilight asked, startled enough to stop the waving, but not enough to actually retract her foreleg. “They asked me to do it!”

“And would you throw a pie in my face because Scootaloo asked?! Honestly, where are your manners?!” Rarity shot back, stepping back so as to personally remove Twilight’s ethereal foreleg from her chest. She’d be lying if she said she wouldn’t like to be a bit closer to Twilight, but certainly not like that!

“I’m seein’ it, and I’m still not believin’ it,” Applejack said.

Fluttershy softly laughed. “I understand what that feels like.”

Clearing her throat, Twilight adjusted her wings and offered Applejack a smile. Again, the little gestures stuck out to Rarity, reminding her of the progress Twilight had made in the past months. Hadn’t it taken Rarity weeks to get Twilight to smile at her? And here she’d smiled at Applejack mere minutes after meeting her.

She was about to speak, but Scootaloo interrupted instead.

“Come on, talking is boring! Let’s go play in the maze!” she exclaimed, rushing off, with Sweetie Belle following behind.

“Oh, wait!” Fluttershy blurted out, rushing after the two fillies while the rest lingered behind. “It might still be dangerous!”

“You are also a descendant of Fritter Cobbler, then?” Twilight asked, unaware of the weight Applejack earlier confessed to carrying regarding her ancestor.

Applejack faltered, toying with her hat. “That I sure am, Princess. Not directly, ’cause he never had any kids for himself, but he’s family,” she said. She paused for a moment before continuing, “He really believed in you, Princess. Never stopped lookin’ for you his entire life.”

Twilight’s expression fell for a moment. “Oh… Yes, Apple Bloom told me. He was a good friend.”

Nopony said anything for a moment. It seemed they were all lost in thought. Rarity’s mind kept going to Fritter Cobbler, and she wondered how terrible he must have felt. Maybe not so much over ponies calling him a liar, but more over Twilight and the fact that she’d never be freed. Or, rather, that’s what Rarity would be worried about had she ever been in his position.

“His granpappy Apple Crisp told him about you!” Apple Bloom said, looking to Twilight with excitement. “Is it true you met him?!”

“Apple Crisp…?” Twilight’s expression somehow fell further, though a sad smile decorated her lips. “He was the son of Captain Iron Cobbler. They were like my family before I was…” She drifted off, her eyes going over the piles of books. “I had promised to read him a bedtime story before it happened.”

“It’s all right, Princess Twi!” Apple Bloom continued, stamping her hoof against the floor. “You can tell it to us when we have the sleepover! It’ll be just like telling it to him ’cause Granny Smith says that the ponies we love are always watchin’ over us!”

“I’m sure he’d like that plenty, Princess Twilight,” Applejack added, putting her hat back on. “Both him an’ Fritter Cobbler.”

“See, darling?” Rarity said, feeling relieved by the lighter direction the conversation had taken. “I told you the sleepover would be a wonderful idea! And I’m sure Pinkie being here will make it that much more fun.”

Twilight turned to Rarity with a gasp, eyes widening. “Pinkie? As in the pony who knows where Princess Luna is?” Her tail practically wagged with excitement. “She’s coming?!”

“Oh! Goodness, I didn’t actually tell you, did I?” Rarity said, biting her lip. “She is indeed coming! I know you’ve been wanting to meet her, so I invited her to the sleepover. She’s such a sweetheart; she was so excited, I almost worried she’d start crying.”

“Wait a minute here,” Applejack interrupted, frowning. “‘Princess Luna’?”

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, pulling on Applejack’s foreleg. “Princess Selene’s real name is Luna! Ain’t that neat?! And Princess Sunshine’s name is actually Celestia!”

Applejack turned to Rarity and Twilight. “Y’all mean to tell me that you already found Princess Selene too?” She adjusted her hat and raised an eyebrow at Rarity. “Hoo-wee, Rarity. Apple Bloom told me you’d been travelin’ ’round Equestria lookin’ for these princesses, but I didn’t think you’d be so good at it.”

Rarity laughed haughtily, examining her hoof. “Ah, I don’t mean to brag, but I am quite the princess magnet, it seems. I’ll no doubt find Celestia just as quickly!” She turned to Twilight and grinned. “Aren’t you terribly fortunate to have me and my excelling finding skills?”

Twilight snorted. “Right. You can’t even find your way here without Themis or Elara.”

“What?! Yes, I can! I’ll prove it right now!”

“So this is where y’all been runnin’ off to?” Applejack asked, stepping past the two mares and halting a prospective game of find-the-library. She looked around for a moment and then turned her attention to Twilight. “And you really can’t get out?”

Twilight shook her head. “No. Discord left a barrier that stops me from leaving, and my magic can’t counteract chaos magic.”

Applejack didn’t reply initially, instead looking over to the exit tunnel with a pensive expression. After a moment, she turned her attention back to the library’s interior, looking up at the chandelier.

“Things musta changed a whole lot in them thousand years,” she remarked, now gazing at the paintings on the wall.

“Oh, yes!” Twilight said, a welcome cheer in her voice despite the rather somber remark. “Judging by the books and magazines Rarity has given me for my research, as well as the photographic evidence she’s collected, I now have a primary assessment of how much Equestria has changed since my imprisonment. In fact…” A scroll appeared next to her, which she perused. “I have a few questions for you on the development of agriculture and its socio-economic effects in the past millennia!”

Rarity coughed.

That was her cue to take her leave, and judging by her expression, Apple Bloom thought the same. As riveting as it would be to listen to such a conversation, Rarity would be lying if she said she didn’t have better things to do. She did! She had to talk to Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle, who certainly had less thrilling conversations than the farming history of Equestria.

“Very well, I shall leave you two to talk, then,” she said, and for a brief moment, Twilight frowned at the exclamation.

“Oh…” She looked back to her scroll. “Hmm… What should we start with…”

“Would you like to join me, Apple Bloom?” Rarity asked, a proposal which the filly wasted no time in accepting before running off to join her friends.

“Don’t get too excited, Apple Bloom!” Applejack called out. “You ain’t getting out of baking apple pies with Granny an’ me! This won’t take more than an hour!”

Rarity nearly laughed at that.

An hour! She’d be lucky if Twilight was done in a week.

Sitting next to a table, Rarity gazed over at the magic maze. It was calm, still, quiet, as it usually was whenever Twilight wasn’t around. The voices of the three fillies could be heard from within it, playing another round of their little maze games.

Actually, it had been quite some time since Rarity last saw Twilight trying to subdue the magic bookshelves. Had she perhaps given up on whatever she’d been trying to achieve? Yes, a magic maze could be annoying, but it was relatively harmless, was it not? After all, the only pony the maze attacked could not be harmed—literally.

She turned back to Fluttershy, who was staring down at her folded hooves on the table. Their conversation had not gone quite as Rarity had expected. The revelation that she had learned what “Twilight did” had dragged forth many questions from Fluttershy and few answers.

Worst of all, Rarity wasn’t entirely sure how much she should truly divulge to her friend.

“You think she’s wrong?” Fluttershy finally asked, looking up to Rarity.

Rarity sighed, lifting a quill from the table and toying with it. “I don’t know,” she replied. “Objectively, I’d say she is. The Spirit gave her a nearly impossible choice, and not even that, it was a…” She faltered, unsure of how exactly to phrase it. “It was a… ‘legally impossible’ choice.”

“Legally impossible?”

Rarity nodded. “Yes. I don’t know where she put it, but there’s a book in here that states that the Spirit could only request land in exchange for peace, and he asked for a living being.”

“A-a living being? Oh dear…”

“You can imagine how this entire ordeal only unearthed unpleasant memories for Twilight.”

Fluttershy looked back down to the table. “I didn’t know…”

Rarity sighed, turning to watch the maze again.

She hadn’t told Fluttershy just who Discord had asked for, and what it meant for Twilight; that detail was perhaps better kept private until she’d discussed it with the princess herself. Rarity was determined to lovingly but sternly make Twilight realize how silly she’d been, blaming herself for something that was in no way her fault.

If only she actually wanted to talk about it.

“I think she’s doing better.”

Rarity turned back to Fluttershy, finding her smiling ever so slightly, and she was right to do so! There was no use in dwelling on past mistakes when Twilight had already done that for far too long. Today was the time to celebrate her progress.

“She is, isn’t she!” Rarity agreed, lightening up. “I was thinking the very same thing earlier. We’ve come very far from how she was months ago.” She giggled and added, “I can’t say I terribly miss ‘Princess Frowns-A-Lot.’”

“And she cares a lot about you.”

Rarity blinked before allowing a smile to push its way onto her lips. Now that was a statement she was exceedingly pleased with.

“I can tell by the blast marks all over the exit wall!” she exclaimed, fluttering her eyelashes and brushing her mane back with a hoof. “Then again, I nearly got myself eaten by dragons for her, so I wager that I’d win the ‘who cares about who more’ contest!”

Fluttershy didn’t say anything, instead furrowing her brow and humming thoughtfully.

Rarity gasped theatrically. “Darling! Are you jealous?”

Fluttershy blushed. “O-oh! No, I—” She drifted off, turning around as if to make sure they were alone, before gulping. “Sweetie Belle… uhm… don’t be upset at her…”

Rarity sighed. “Oh dear, what did she do?”

It took some prodding, but eventually Fluttershy confessed with a whispered, “She told Applejack that you…” She faltered. “Really like Princess Twilight.”

Oh, for pony’s sake.

That filly needed a serious lesson on discretion, and fast.

Rarity sighed, admittedly a bit relieved. She’d expected something worse, and though she’d have preferred knowledge of her feelings be restricted to Fluttershy, she was confident enough that Applejack was much more discreet than her little sister—if she even believed Sweetie Belle, that is.

“It’s all right, darling,” Rarity said, waving it off. “Frankly, after what I went through with the dragons, a little rumor is nothing I can’t deal with.”

“About that…” Fluttershy said. “I know we all want to help the princesses, but… please be more careful…”

Rarity fidgeted a bit. “Ah, well, I can assure you that was an experience I do not intend on repeating anytime soon.”

All in all, it seemed like Fluttershy had grown as well. To think that months ago she’d been so visibly against Rarity embarking on her quest, and yet now she supported her as much as she was able. Things seemed to be turning around for the better in every way, and if Rarity had a say in it, so too would Twilight’s entire perspective on her past actions change for the better.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of distant voices, and she looked up to find Applejack and Twilight descending the stairs. How long had they been talking? It felt to Rarity like she’d been with Fluttershy for at least a couple hours.

“And what happened afterward? And what were the exact repercussions in the socio-economic dynamics of Ponyville, taking into account the recent devaluation of the bit mentioned in…” Twilight, reaching Rarity’s table, summoned one of Sweetie’s history books. “…oh, wait, the great bit depression was a century before this.”

“Well, o’ course the entire darn farm gettin’ eaten by parasprites wasn’t the best thing for Ponyville. No Zap Apple Jam that season, and you oughta seen Filthy Rich. Thought he was gonna kick the bucket right there and then,” Applejack said, coming to a stop next to Rarity and looking around. “Where’s AB? We better be headin’ home if we’re going to finish the apple pies for Cheerilee.”

Twilight frowned. “Oh… I suppose I have enough information now to update my research.” A new scroll appeared next to her, on which she wrote something down. “And I finished all my questions.”

Rarity turned to Applejack. “I trust you had a nice chat with the princess, then?”

Applejack nodded, glancing at Twilight with a smile. “Mighty fine princess Ponyville has! She knows what’s real important here.” She then faltered and added, “Still, might take a bit more time gettin’ used to her… ‘ghost thing.’”

Twilight didn’t say anything, lost in her scroll, but Rarity was very pleased by the reply. More and more ponies were meeting Twilight, and every single meeting had gone off without a hitch. It was sincerely encouraging.

“Apple Bloom! We’re leaving!” Applejack called, drawing out a very disappointed groan from within the maze.

“This is perfect timing, actually,” Rarity said. “Twilight and I have some pending matters to discuss, so why not have Fluttershy and the girls go back with you?”

Now Twilight reacted, looking up at Rarity.

“…Pending matters…?”

Rarity smiled sweetly. “Why yes! It’s even on your very important to-do list, is it not?”

Twilight blinked once, twice, thrice. “Wa-wait, Applejack!” she blurted out, giving her scroll another look over. “Actually, I still have a few questions left, apparently! Such as—”

“Twilight.”

Twilight looked at Applejack and pointed to the rope hanging on her back. “What’s that for?!”

“Twilight Sparkle, that is a rope, and you know very well what that’s for,” Rarity answered.

“I use it for wrangling,” Applejack explained, whirling her rope in the air. “Brought it along in case any timberwolves got any ideas.”

“Wrangling?” Twilight murmured, a dictionary appearing in front of her.

“Yessir! I can make even the rowdiest of cows behave with this. Won myself first prize at the Appleloosa rodeo for it.”

Twilight looked back up at Applejack, her brow furrowing. “Would you be able to subdue an inanimate object? A bookshelf?”

Applejack blinked. “A bookshelf? I reckon I could, but why the hay would you want to wrangle a bookcase in the first place?”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. She had a terrible feeling that she knew where Twilight’s train of thought was headed.

“Darling, I sincerely hope you’re not thinking of asking what I think you’re thinking of asking,” she said.

SLAM!

Half an hour later, Rarity could honestly say that, from experience, she failed to see the appeal of running and jumping atop bookcases. Never mind the vertigo it filled her with—it was dangerous. Worse still, they weren’t simply dealing with a normal bookcase, but one that was actively fighting against them.

She and Applejack each stood atop a bookcase in the maze, both holding a lasso and trying to find the rogue bookcase that housed the Spirit’s left-over chaos magic. After attempting to run away from them, it now resorted to blending in with the others.

Rarity ran across her row of bookcases, rope floating behind her, and she jumped to where Applejack stood.

“Applejack! I thought you were an expert at this!” Rarity said, looking back to the glowing bookcases.

“Beg pardon, Rarity, but crazy bookcases ain’t my usual targets,” Applejack retorted, glaring down at the maze. “Princess Twi?! You see anything?!”

For once, Twilight Sparkle was the only pony who couldn’t prowl atop the maze, the chaos magic keeping her forcibly grounded. As such, she was lost within the labyrinth, and no matter how far Rarity stretched her neck, she could not see her.

“It’s close!” Twilight’s voice called out. “Once the magic activates again, wait for the one that glows yellow!”

“Princess, they all glow yellow!”

“Actually, it’s more of a golden hue with black streaks—” Rarity fell silent at Applejack’s pointed stare and cleared her throat. “Twilight! What is the point of this, anyway?! The maze isn’t that bad!”

Before the princess could speak, the maze reacted, brightly glowing as it prepared to rearrange itself. Rarity scanned the entire thing for something that looked off, but they all glowed in the same hue! It was impossible to tell which one was the right one.

“Twilight, this is ridiculous! Isn’t there an easier way to find it than hide-and-seek?”

Applejack coughed. “Er… Rarity.”

“Yes?”

Rarity turned to Applejack, but rather than looking at her, Applejack was staring at the unicorn’s hooves. Confused, Rarity looked down and realized the bookshelf she was standing on was enveloped in crackling magic of a golden hue with black streaks.

“Ah.”

Without warning, the bookshelf flew up into the air and zipped in crazy circles, nearly launching the shrieking Rarity off it. She clung to the top of the whirling furniture with all her might, mustering barely enough control to messily lasso her rope around it.

“Rarity!” Fluttershy gasped from outside the maze now that her friend was in her view.

“Rarity!” Applejack called out. “Don’t let go, you hear?!”

Rarity would have thrown her a very pointed look had she not been otherwise occupied. “I’m trying, but it’s not as easy as you’d think, I’ll have you know!”

Applejack snorted. “Sure it is! This bookcase ain’t nothing like the bull at last year’s rodeo! Thing shook harder than Granny Smith’s hip, I thought for sure it was going to throw me right into Dodge Junction!”

And then, the bookcase stopped.

Stopped right in the middle of the air, for no reason at all, while Rarity continued clinging to it for dear life. For a moment, confusion filled her mind, trying to understand this strange event, and she wondered if the chaos magic had…

Chaos magic.

And now memories leaked into her mind of a certain chaotic drawing and its love of taking things to literal extremes.

“No,” she said, panic rising in her chest as she tripled her efforts to hold on to the piece of furniture. “No, no, no, WAIT, WAIT—!”

Her sentence was interrupted by her own shrieks when the bookcase took Applejack’s dare to heart and started to shake, thrash, and twirl around with all the strength of an angered bull desperately trying to shake off a cowpony rider.

Finally, the chaos magic’s effort came to fruition as Rarity lost her grip and flew toward the maze at a speed she was sure would kill her. She had gone up against dragons, against nightmares, against brutish guards, against timberwolves, and yet her untimely demise would come at the hooves of a bookcase.

A bookcase!

She closed her eyes, awaiting the painful impact, and waited, and waited, and waited, and it wasn’t until several moments of not dying had passed that she realized she wasn’t actually moving at all. Carefully, she opened her eyes, praying she would not find the white abyss of the afterlife, and was instead met with a far more heavenly sight.

Twilight Sparkle looked at her with a relieved expression, her horn aglow with the magic she’d used to catch and levitate Rarity before she could become intimately acquainted with the entire thirty volumes of Dusty Hooves’ Architectural Designs Throughout Equestria.

Her first thought was just how much she loved Twilight. The alicorn was looking her over, giving Rarity a chance to catch her breath and calm down. Granted, it would have been nice if Twilight would actually set her down on the ground, but she supposed levitation worked too.

“Rarity!” Fluttershy’s voice called out. “Are you all right?!”

“I’m fine, sweetie! Twilight caught me!”

“That was close,” Twilight said, glancing at the bookcase.

“Alarmingly so, yes,” Rarity replied, and before she could stop herself, a smirk decorated her lips. “Couldn’t let the maze outdo you, could we now?”

Twilight flushed a deep red, her concern turning into indignation. “Remind me to find my scrolls on memory altering spells…”

Rarity laughed. “Twilight, dearest, I was only teasing. You must admit, however, it’s quite the twist to have the princess-in-distress doing the rescuing around here, no?” she asked, offering her most charming smile and fluttering her eyelashes. “I’ll have you know I don’t literally fall for just anypony, you lucky thing you.”

Twilight giggled at this, cheeks turning pink and slightly tilting her head. “Right.”

A loud clearing of the throat distracted them, and the unicorn looked up to find Applejack standing atop the bookcase she’d nearly slammed into.

“If y’all are done flirting, I reckon we oughta get back to wranglin’ this crazy bookcase,” she said with a deadpan expression, which contrasted with Rarity’s mortified one.

“Pardon me, but that was friendly banter!”

Twilight blinked. “Flirting?” Her modern dictionary once more appeared next to her, which she promptly opened and read through before Rarity could stop her. After a moment, the blush on her cheeks intensified and she looked to Rarity with raised eyebrows, placing the unicorn on the floor. “You’re trying to attract me without serious intentions?”

Rarity wished she were back with the dragons.

“Applejack!” she quickly called out, hoping to entirely avoid that conversation. “Do you see the bookcase?!”

Applejack looked over the maze. “No! It went back to hiding now!”

Rarity sighed and trotted off, Twilight and Applejack following behind. “Honestly, why can’t you just hold it still with your magic?” she asked, her annoyance trumping her earlier embarrassment as she took a left turn into the maze. “It can’t be that hard for you to do it.”

“I already told you that chaos magic works differently than normal pony magic,” Twilight said, and Rarity was relieved that the flirting issue had been skirted for now. “It doesn’t follow the same rules we do, and I don’t know what effect it could have on me. The chaos barrier magic upstairs is the only thing I can technically touch, which means it’s incredibly power…”

“Powerful magic?” Rarity filled in after Twilight drifted off.

She turned around to look at Twilight, but rather than return her gaze, the alicorn was staring at a completely normal-looking bookcase with a large rope tied around it.

Ah.

Silence fell over the room, Twilight staring the bookcase down while Rarity looked up to Applejack, who’d already started readying her lasso. Applejack jumped down to where they were and took out several books from at least two of the lower shelves of a nearby bookcase.

“Y’all can fix this if it breaks, right? The wood, I mean.”

Twilight blinked. “I… In theory, yes?”

Before she could be questioned, Applejack gave two strong kicks and left two large holes at the back of the shelves.

“There!” she announced, nodding with satisfaction and missing Twilight’s horrified expression. She trotted over to the loose rope, prodded at it with her hoof, and when nothing happened, she quickly took it in her mouth and trotted to the other bookcase.

A few moments later, her hoofwork was complete and the two bookcases were linked by the single rope.

“Great!” she exclaimed, turning to Rarity and Twilight. “Now we wait for this thing to start swappin’ again, and when the bookcase tries to leave, I reckon the other one’ll be strong enough to keep it from flyin’ off. How long ’til it swaps?”

“Around twenty minutes,” Twilight sadly replied, still lamenting her damaged bookcase.

“Oh.” Applejack fidgeted. “Err… Got any more questions about farming?”

Rarity repressed a sigh when Twilight’s face lit up. Oh dear.

After twenty of the longest minutes of her life, in which she’d learned more information on the creation of compost that she’d ever wanted to know, Rarity was delighted to see it was nearly time for the maze magic to reactivate.

The three mares got ready: Applejack tied her own rope to the second bookcase, Rarity stood by in case her magic was needed, and Twilight simply waited to do… whatever it is she wanted to do. The minutes were counting down, and as minutes turned to seconds, Applejack patted the second bookcase and asked:

“This bookcase is nailed to the floor, right?”

Twilight blanched. “Oh. No.”

Applejack hummed. “Would have been a mighty fine idea to tell me that earlier, Princess.”

Rarity wearily rubbed her eyes. “Oh, for heaven’s sake.”

It all went by rapidly. First, the chaos bookcase shot up like a crazed animal; in turn, the second bookcase followed it into the air, nearly smacking Rarity in the face with the dozens of books that spilled from its shelves; and Applejack followed suit, pulled into the air with a yelp, until all three floating objects strained to a halt as Rarity used every ounce of magic within her to try and pull Applejack back down.

Knowing she really would not be able to hold much longer, she turned to Twilight and… and found the alicorn deeply preoccupied with her books, floating them down and ever so lovingly scanning them for any type of injury, as if nothing else mattered but them.

“Twilight—”

Twilight frowned. “Rarity, give me a moment.”

“Oh, yes. Yes, by all means do continue inspecting your books, please. We can wait. Terribly sorry to bother.”

“Thank you,” Twilight replied. “Though, it seems they’re mostly fine. Princess Celestia’s spell is very effective, after all, and—”

“Twilight, darling, dearest, sweetheart,” Rarity said, and when finally Twilight turned, she smiled sweetly. “I say this with love, but there are other things you should give priority to other than your books, don’t you think?”

“Can’t say I disagree with Rarity,” Applejack called down, struggling not to have her foreleg pulled apart by the bookcases.

“OH!” Twilight put the books down, looking back and forth between the two mares with an embarrassed expression. “Sorry! Sorry, sorry!” she blurted out, flying up into the air. “Uhhhhhh, right, right, right!”

Her horn flickered with magic, and Rarity watched her necklace disappear from around her neck and reappear in front of Twilight.

“Twilight!”

Twilight promptly ignored Rarity’s protests and continued further up until she was right beside the wildly thrashing bookcase. A book appeared next to her, which she opened and read from, and without bothering to explain what she was planning, she discarded the book and turned to her victim. Her horn glowed brightly, hiding the necklace inside an opaque magic sphere the size of her hoof before smashing it against the cursed piece of furniture.

The chaos magic began to crackle and hiss, much like it had back in the dragon caves, but Twilight’s concentration did not falter. She stayed there for about a minute, murmuring under her breath and keeping the sphere connected to the bookcase before finally ending the spell and extracting the necklace from the sphere.

Another crackle of magic, and the rope holding the levitating furniture came undone. Twilight caught the second bookcase in her own magic before floating it down as Rarity did the same with Applejack.

The chaos bookshelf shook several times, as if it were screaming at Twilight, before flying off and hiding in a different section of the labyrinth. By that point, Rarity wasn’t remotely interested in the pesky bookcase; she simply wanted her necklace back. She felt oddly unprotected without it, and since it was already cracked, she worried Twilight might have damaged it even more.

“Hoo-wee! I thought for a minute there that I’d lose my hoof,” Applejack said, wiping her brow and exhaling. “Y’all done with this thing, Princess?”

Twilight didn’t reply, and instead quickly took off through the maze. Rarity and Applejack followed her out, which took longer than Rarity would have liked, since neither Rarity or Applejack could walk through walls. Once outside, Twilight silently walked away from the labyrinth before coming to a complete stop and turning toward the maze.

“Twilight! What was the point of all that?!” Rarity asked as she and the others joined the annoyingly silent alicorn.

Twilight merely levitated the necklaces into the air, and their usual pink glow filled Rarity with relief. Her necklace was still cracked, though it thankfully hadn’t acquired any additional damage. Without any explanation, Twilight slowly levitated the necklaces toward the maze, and just as they were about a foot away, both necklaces flashed and the pink hue turned bright green.

“It works!” Twilight excitedly gasped.

“What? What works?” Rarity pressed. “Did you ruin the spell? Twilight, if you ruined the spe—”

“No, no! Look!” Twilight interrupted, levitating the necklaces toward her and demonstrating how they returned to their pink glow the second they were far from the maze.

Rarity’s heart slowed. “It… it can sense the chaos magic?”

“Exactly! If my hypothesis is correct, you can test it in the forest outside, as it should activate the spell and give off a low-intensity light since the forest was created by Discord,” Twilight said, her hooves phasing together as she clapped. “This is what I’ve been trying to do ever since you came back from Hollow Shades! It took me… a bit longer than a week, but now you’ll be safe because you’ll know if he’s close!”

Rarity gasped. This was exciting! It was great, even! With this, she’d never have to worry about that awful Spirit following her in the shadows!

“Is it true?”

Rarity turned around and found Applejack looking rather grim.

“Is what true?”

Applejack stood up straight, adjusting her hat. “That the Spirit is out there. The girls told me he is, an’ Fluttershy seemed mighty convinced of it.”

Rarity and Twilight looked at each other before Rarity finally replied.

“We believe so, yes,” she said, dearly hoping honesty would not result in Applejack and Apple Bloom never coming back to the library. “Admittedly, I have yet to meet him personally, but we have evidence to suggest he might still be around. I do not know if he’s aware of us, however,” she quickly added, “but it is a necessary risk if we hope to free the princesses. Isn’t that right, Twilight?”

Twilight gulped, taking a step back. “Errr…” She drifted off, floating the necklace back to Rarity. “Well… I…”

“We could certainly use your help, Applejack,” Rarity continued in earnest, hearing Twilight’s sigh of relief. “The more ponies there are, the more chance we stand against him or whatever we need to face. I understand you might not want to, but—”

“Not want to help? What d’you take me for?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow. “I’m not going to turn my back on the princess. Ponies’ve been doing that for long enough, and Apple Bloom really wants Princess Twi to be at the Cider Festival next year. ’Sides,” she said, flashing a smile, “I reckon’ I can take on any old Spirit, right, Princess?”

Twilight blinked, looking at a loss for words. “Are you sure?”

Applejack snorted. “Sure I’m sure! You said yourself that the Apples used to be like your family, and as far as I see it, once a part of the Apple family, always a part of the Apple family! Granny’s goin’ to love you, just you wait.”

Rarity beamed at Applejack. Goodness, she should have brought her along ages ago. “See, Twilight?” she said, turning to the princess. “I told you that…”

Twilight was smiling at Applejack, but what caught Rarity’s attention was the twinkle of unshed tears in her eyes. “Thank you.”

Applejack winked. “You can thank me over a nice cup of cider at the festival next year. You an’ Rarity.”

A dozen minutes later, stepping out into the forest, Rarity couldn’t have been more pleased. Though she’d technically accomplished nothing of what she initially wanted to do, she had to admit that what actually happened was just as good. She knew Applejack’s duties at Sweet Apple Acres would make it difficult for the farmer to actually go out and assist Rarity, but it was an incredible source of relief that there was another mare in Ponyville who believed her.

And especially Applejack! If she told anyone that Twilight was real, they’d surely believe her, wouldn’t they?

“So this Pinkie Pie pony is comin’ soon?”

Rarity turned to Applejack. “If all goes as planned, then yes, she should be,” she replied. “I do hope you’re planning on attending too, Applejack. Apple Bloom is terribly excited for it.”

Applejack frowned. “I’m still not sure I like trottin’ ’round this forest willy-nilly, but Apple Bloom ain’t never gonna forget it if I make her miss it. I’ll ask Granny Smith to help make some pies so we can eat somethin’ with the girls.”

“Oh! Rarity, look!”

Fluttershy’s voice distracted her, and Rarity turned to find the pegasus pointing at Rarity’s necklace. She looked down at it to find that its usual pink glow had lessened, mixing in with a green glow.

“Oh! It works!”

The glow wasn’t nearly as intense as when Twilight had placed the necklace next to the maze, leading Rarity to realize that Twilight’s theory was indeed correct. It seemed that the brighter it glowed, the stronger the chaos magic was.

“I wouldn’t be so happy,” Applejack noted. “Having a thing let me know if I’m being watched by the Spirit? Wouldn’t be able to stop looking at the necklace every minute.”

Rarity opened and closed her mouth several times. Her eyes fell back on the necklace, and now, rather than a source of excitement, it was a source of the teensiest bit of dread.

“That may be so…” she said carefully, letting the necklace drop and fall back to her chest, “but one simply cannot live in constant fear. Besides, the princess owes me a conversation that I believe will finally blow away some of the haze surrounding the Spirit and the legend.”

Applejack nodded. “I hope so, sugarcube. You going to talk to her tomorrow?”

Rarity shook her head. “In a week, I should think. Enough time to prepare my arguments.”

And, she thought, enough time for Twilight Sparkle to stop avoiding it.

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act II ~ 21 ~ The Checklist Conversation ~

An entire week went by before Twilight agreed to talk.

An endless number of tasks kept appearing on the checklist, kept moving up the list of priorities, and Rarity allowed them to.

It had been over a week, yes, but even so, she could still vividly picture the memories Twilight had inadvertently shared, as well as the fear and guilt that had accompanied them and briefly plagued Rarity. In that moment, Twilight Sparkle’s carefully constructed barriers had been ripped away, and it was only polite for Rarity to be patient with what came next.

The breeze caressed Rarity’s mane, taking with it the breath she exhaled. It brushed the lids of her closed eyes, her sensitive ears flicking with the sound of the life that filled Ponyville. Her town, and if all went well, Twilight’s future town as well.

Rarity was running late, but she thought what came next might be enough to excuse her tardiness.

Magic pooled in her horn, and the casting of the spell was accompanied by a welcome chime. She waited for her princess to answer, and when she did, a longing sensation swept over her.

She smiled, as if it could be seen by Twilight, and thought, Hello, Princess.

And she opened her eyes, taking in the sight of not dragons nor caves nor any such fantastic things. She took in the simple sight of a town going about its usual routine, and yet she could feel fascination bubbling within her. Hers and Twilight’s; both were the same, were they not?

She looked back toward her boutique, and she could feel the desire to go back, to explore it in the same way she’d once explored the library, but she resisted the pull and went about her way. We’ll explore that one day, she thought, but with both of us here.

As Rarity trotted through town, the two souls marveled over walking, breathing, over the ponies rushing by and the voices of those Twilight Sparkle could not yet reach, this wonderfully bizarre way of being. Eventually, a thought pushed itself into Rarity’s mind.

Why are we doing this?

And the answer was as obvious to Rarity as it would be to Twilight mere moments later. Because, why not? Why not stop to smell these roses, and why not take the long way through the market rather than the direct route to the forest, because why not show you our world?

“Rarity!”

Rarity turned away from the rose she’d been observing and toward a mare looking right at her.

“Roseluck!”

Rose laughed. “You’ve been staring at that flower with a silly grin for the past five minutes,” she pointed out. “If you want it so badly, I can give you a discount for it.”

Rarity turned to the flower and brushed her hoof against it, biting down a smile. “No, that’s all right, darling,” she replied, willing herself away from the flower stand. “I’d honestly love to stay here all day, but I’m meeting with a very dear friend of mine.”

It felt, for a moment, as if her own heart had skipped a beat at that last part of her sentence, but she did not dwell on it and instead focused on the mare. After a normally uneventful talk, which was rendered eventful by Twilight’s extreme interest in Rose’s every word, Rarity went on her way.

And yet, the closer she got toward the Everfree Forest, the stronger did Twilight’s psyche seem to pull her away from it. Why go to the forest, she seemed to be saying, when the building over there is fascinating? Why go to the library when Sweetie Belle and her little friends can tell Twilight about the new Daring book? But it was silly, Rarity’s own psyche insisted, since Twilight Sparkle had spoken to them the day before when they all went over to prepare the very same meeting Twilight was avoiding.

Because that was what she was doing, and Rarity couldn’t tell for certain if she’d realized it on her own or if Twilight’s own mind had betrayed her.

Rarity came to a stop and closed her eyes.

Twilight. It’s been a week. Postponing important meetings is unbecoming of royalty.

There was no reply that Rarity could tell, no foreign thought or sensation overcoming her. There was silence until a familiar ping abruptly put the mind-meld to an end. Rarity sighed and opened her eyes, rubbing a hoof over her necklace. Undeterred, she continued on the path toward the Everfree Forest, her mind long ago having been made up, whether Twilight Sparkle wanted it or not.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Rarity said to the princess over an empty plate that sat atop a table for two.

Empty, for one could not eat and the other was not hungry in the least.

What a funny display, Rarity had thought earlier when she finally arrived, to see a table perfectly set for dinner inside of the library. Two plates, two glasses of water, perfect cutlery, and all of this under the dim light of an immaculate chandelier. The silly doing of two fillies who’d terribly misinterpreted Rarity’s idle comment from the day before of having a very important date with Twilight.

A very earnest and heartwarming attempt, Rarity thought, though it was a shame that the forthcoming conversation would be anything but romantic.

“It wasn’t your fault.”

The statement Rarity chose to begin with.

It was simple and short, yet very effective, if Twilight’s ensuing silence was any indication. Rarity would have loved to tiptoe around it, perhaps lighten the mood, but she could not delay further. It had been delayed enough, had it not? Nearly a thousand years, in fact.

Twilight did not reply, her eyes fixed on the damaged golden crown in the middle of the table. Her brow was furrowed, preoccupied as always, and her horn flickered to life so as to straighten a crooked fork on the table. She was lovely, Rarity thought privately, as she waited for the tainted rose to shed her thorns.

“Princess Celestia…” Twilight drifted off, frowning deeper as she did when sentences got away from her.

“Princess Celestia,” Rarity echoed, and Twilight looked up. “You never talk about her.”

Twilight pursed her lips. “I try not to,” she said, and her frown disappeared. “It hurts. It’s easier to think when I only have to worry about myself. It used to be unbearable, like somepony was stabbing at my chest all the time, except I’m not technically supposed to feel pain in my chest anymore. Does that make sense? I’m not sure. I think it does.”

“You know, I believe there’s an actual term for that sort of sensation. The feeling of pain in limbs one no longer has. ‘Phantom pains.’” Rarity crossed her forehooves on the table. “Accurate, no?”

Twilight softly laughed. “Are you serious?”

Rarity leaned in and smiled. “Deadly.”

Twilight’s smile faded, her gaze lowering. “Then it stopped hurting. Everything did, and it didn’t really matter. I’m not sure how long it didn’t matter, but…” Her eyes flickered down. “I’ve started feeling the pains in my chest again.”

“You have? Why? What made it hurt again?”

Twilight looked up. “You did.”

There was no tone of resentment or accusation in Twilight’s voice, but Rarity couldn’t help but lean back, her playfulness vanishing into smoke.

“I apologize, Twilight,” she said, carefully. “If I had known it would unearth these feelings, I wouldn’t have used the necklaces.”

Twilight shook her head. “No, it wasn’t that. What happened with the necklaces had nothing to do with it. It was…” She trailed off, and gritted her teeth. “It’s hard to explain.”

Or perhaps, Rarity thought, you don’t want to explain.

Rarity hummed, storing that thought for a later moment. “Tell me about Princess Celestia.”

Even if it hurts, she wanted to add.

What was that saying? “It hurts because it mattered”? Things that mattered deserved to be spoken about, did they not?

“She was beautiful,” Twilight said.

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Why, Twilight, trying to make me jealous?”

Twilight giggled, rolling her eyes. “Not like that,” she said with the hint of a flush. She gestured with her hoof, trying to elaborate, to find the exact words. “I mean, yes, like that, but so was Princess Luna. But Princess Celestia… She knew everything. She knew how to fix everything.” A smile graced her lips. “She made me feel like she trusted me. Like I could do anything because she’d be right behind to help. I wanted to be just like her. She was my teacher ever since I was a filly.”

Rarity giggled affectionately. “Poor Princess Celestia. You must have been one of those foals who questioned everything.” She cleared her throat and mimicked Twilight. “Princess, why is the sun yellow? Why is it called yellow? What makes the colors? Can I read it in a book? What is a book?”

Twilight snorted. “I wasn’t like that.” She paused, and amended. “Not always, at least.”

“The dragons had her crown,” Rarity said, information Twilight already knew, but information that would at least get the conversation going. “And judging by the state of the caves and the fear the chaos magic had of her own magic, we can safely assume she did not go easy on Discord.”

Twilight let out a breath of air, almost ragged, like she’d forced it out. Her ears lowered as well, and she looked away. “Yeah.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Twilight,” Rarity repeated. She’d become adept at recognizing the little signs that betrayed Twilight’s real emotions. Maybe it was a lingering after-effect of the mind melding, or maybe it was simply the fact that Twilight could so easily enrapture her attention.

Maybe both.

“Discord tricked you. He broke the rules,” Rarity continued, and Twilight flinched, tensed as though to run away. “The book you wrote. It stated specifically that he could only ask for land, and that is not what he did.” She faltered. “I simply don’t…” She faltered yet again, finding that the conversation was hard for her as well. “Twilight, I do not intend to sound accusing and I sincerely hope you know that, but you had no reason to comply, darling, and even if he disagreed, it was as simple as stopping him again.”

“We couldn’t,” Twilight said.

“You couldn’t?”

Of course! The legend itself stated as much.

“Because Discord stole the Elements,” Rarity amended herself. “Is that right?”

Twilight didn’t immediately reply. She simply stared at Rarity, that penetrating stare she used whenever she was deep in thought, and finally said, “You don’t understand, Rarity. I made a mistake.”

“Twilight, that wasn’t a mistake, and even less was it a mistake you did.”

Twilight shook her head. “No, no! You don’t understand,” she insisted, and her ears pressed flat against her head. “Spike… The Peace Meeting wasn’t… Discord didn’t ask for Spike out of nowhere, Rarity. Something else happened that…” She cut herself off, and closed her eyes. Repressed memories leaking out, no doubt, but conversations such as these were like peeling off bandages. The longer you take, the longer it hurts.

“What happened?” Rarity asked. Her tone was forceful, and after clearing her throat, she asked in a gentler voice, “Why do you say that? I want to help you, Twilight.”

It was a sincere statement, after all.

“I’m scared,” Twilight replied.

“Of what, sweetheart?”

Twilight gritted her teeth, and replied in a demure voice. “Of what you’ll think of me.”

The statement left in its wake a deafening silence. Twilight Sparkle looked to Rarity, and for a moment she seemed to regress, return to the silent princess who refused to betray her emotions. She stared at Rarity with flat eyes, like she expected Rarity to be angry, or perhaps even return Twilight’s cold stare.

Such a solemn stare for such a silly statement.

How blind was Twilight to Rarity’s feelings? She could understand Twilight not catching on to her romantic antics, but to so bluntly miss Rarity’s general affections?

“Twilight, must I remind you what I’ve done to get your books? To free you?” Rarity said, picking up her fork and idly toying with it. “I can assure you that nothing you tell me now will change my opinion of you, and knowing you, I’m positive your worries are baseless.”

Twilight winced, her wings rustling. “But—”

“The only creature I hold disdain toward is Discord,” Rarity continued, putting the fork back down, “and that’s because he’s an absolutely vile monster.”

“No,” Twilight said at once, ears pressing flatter and eyes shutting altogether. She shook her head and it looked for a moment as though she intended on burying her face in her forehooves. “No, he’s not. Not always.”

Now Rarity lost her gentleness, sitting up straight and frowning.

“Twilight. Twilight. Yes. He. Is,” she said, emphasizing every word, because the last thing on this earth she would accept was Twilight justifying him. Dear princess, how deeply had the Spirit damaged her that she couldn’t see the harm he’d done? “You can’t look me in the eyes and tell me he’s not a monster after what he’s done to you! To Princess Luna, and Princess Celestia! He’s the Spirit of Chaos, for goodness’ sake! Evil is practically his definition!”

Twilight summoned the dictionary, opening it up and going through the pages.

“Chaos stands for disorder, Rarity,” she replied, and for a second the scholarly alicorn returned. “Chaos isn’t inherently evil, and it’s not inherently good, either,” she added when Rarity opened her mouth to protest. “If Discord were to make a chariot filled with sweets crash, the ensuing chaos would be terrible for the owner of the chariot, but great for the foals sitting nearby. Discord loved chaos on massive scales, which was bad for us ponies, but… his reign of floating objects, daytimes and nighttimes, and chocolate milk rain was more a nuisance than it was truly evil.”

She put the dictionary back down with a final thud, as if she expected the conversation to be over.

“Well, I’m expecting something must have changed then, because what he did to you isn’t a nuisance, it’s downright cruel, Twilight,” Rarity said, ignoring Twilight’s frustration at finding out she was wrong. “And besides, isn’t he supposed to be the Spirit of disharmony, as well? If my definition of the term is correct, and I do believe it is, he’ll make the cart crash, but also make sure the foals will start fighting over the candy. I read it in Professor Awe’s own notes about chaos magic, and—”

Twilight frowned. “I know that, Rarity, but…” She stopped, gesturing with her hoof for a moment. “What if I made it worse? What if I made his… ‘evil’ worse?”

Rarity blinked. “Made it worse?”

“I made a mistake. What he did with Spike, that was meant to hurt me,” Twilight replied, slowly, carefully. “The princesses had to fix it for me, but you can’t fix what I did, Rarity. I…” She looked down, and now she buried her face in her hooves. “Please. Please, don’t make me talk about it. I don’t care whether he was always evil or not, I still made it worse.”

Rarity gritted her teeth, frustrated not at Twilight but at herself. “Darling, you can’t avoid it forever. The checklist has to end eventually.”

Silence fell.

“I tricked him. I tricked him into reforming,” she clarified when Rarity shot her a confused expression. “I tricked him, and he believed me, but everypony always treated him badly, and I never did anything to try and make him fit in better, so when he found it had been a trick…”

“But what did yo—”

“Does it matter?” Twilight asked, and it felt like the room got colder. “It’s done, Rarity. It’s done, and I can’t change it, or fix it, so what’s the point of talking about it?”

“What about Spike?” Rarity asked. “What happened to him? The legend doesn’t mention him, and he lived with you, didn’t he? Isn’t that basket lying around here his?” She gestured to the portrait of a baby dragon hanging on the wall. “It matters to talk about, Twilight, because it can help others. It can help you.”

“Discord took Spike,” Twilight replied, and it seemed like she was trying hard to stay calm. “He told me himself, at least.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “And you really want me to believe he’s not evil…?”

Twilight winced. “Again, that doesn’t matter at this point. He told me that he took Spike because I didn’t give him up, and the only way I could help him or the others was by finding a map in the library, but I’ve looked for a map, and I can’t find it and… and my only hope is the books you keep bringing back, and he said that if I leave here without it, it’ll be gone forever.”

“That’s why you want me to find the books?” Rarity asked, startled. “Because you want to help Spike?” She bit her lip, trying to gather her thoughts. Besides the fact that Twilight still cared little about her own freedom, Rarity couldn’t help but think: “But, Twilight, what if he’s lying? He is the Spirit of Chaos!”

“What if he isn’t?” Twilight asked in return.

“And what if the books don’t have this ‘map’?” Rarity asked, starting to find herself irritated by Twilight’s assertions. “Have you thought about that? I gather them all, you’re free but you’ll lock yourself here another millennium more because of a map that may or may not exist? Listen to yourself!” A thought occurred to her. “What if he’s free out there? For all you know, he might be living in some cave in Equestria! Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash was acquainted with a dragon! Maybe he knows Spike! Maybe he is Spike! That scale I gave you earlier; you yourself said it was similar in coloring to his!”

“Spike isn’t the only purple-colored dragon in Equestria, Rarity.”

“But what if it is him?! What if he’s really out there, free of any curse, and yet you want to risk another millennium here for a map?!”

“Where is he, then?” Twilight asked, her voice on edge. She stood up, wings half-splayed. “If Spike really is out there, why hasn’t he come to the library? Only he, the princesses, and the Apple family knew I was staying here, so why isn’t he here?”

Rarity threw her hooves in the air. “I don’t know! Maybe he simply hasn’t found you yet!”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Hasn’t found me yet? If my calculations and your history books are accurate, then I’ve been inside this library for nearly one thousand and eighteen years, Rarity, and if your geographical books are accurate, then the Everfree Forest is ninety percent the size of Canterlot Mountain’s base. He’s had a thousand years to find me, and the only other explanation I can think of is that”—her voice lowered, and her frosty expression melted away—“he doesn’t want to find me.”

Rarity didn’t know what to say.

How terrible, she thought, that Twilight would rather spend her existence in the library than find out if…

“Oh, Twilight…” she murmured, and she reached out to the alicorn before she remembered they couldn’t touch, settling for placing her hoof near Twilight’s on the table instead.

Twilight looked away. “Can we move on to the next topic on the checklist?”

“But, Twilight—”

“Please, Rarity,” Twilight whined. “Just for today,” she insisted, teleporting the dictionary out of sight.

Rarity sighed.

“Very well.” Though she would have loved to keep the conversation going, it seemed like she’d grilled Twilight enough, and the last thing she wanted was to breach the trust between them. She looked to the plate and pushed a smile. “I’d suggest we eat, but it seems our delightful hosts forgot to leave any food for us.”

“Maybe they remembered I can’t eat,” Twilight suggested, and for a fraction of a second her smile returned.

Rarity sighed theatrically. “Alas, royalty always takes precedence over us mere mortals.”

“It was kind of Sweetie and Apple Bloom to arrange a formal dinner for us, though,” Twilight said, straightening up. “Many of the important discussions back at Canter Capital were held over formal dinners.”

Rarity hummed and took a sip of water. True as that may be, she was rather sure that a formal dinner to discuss historical events wasn’t what Sweetie Belle had in mind. But there was always the next time, wasn’t there?

An awkward silence followed now that the topic of conversation had been so unceremoniously cut short. Rarity put down her glass, her eyes roaming over the distant bookcase, and she thought that now might be the perfect time to divulge her future traveling plans to the princess. It had been another topic she’d wanted to discuss, after all.

“You know, I think I might travel away from Ponyville for a few days. About two, I expect,” she said, crossing her forelegs on the table.

“Leave?! Again?” Twilight blurted out. Her calendar appeared next to her, the days clearly crossed out, and colored in during the days Rarity had been in Rainbow Falls. “But it’s only been a week since you came back!”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “My, my, Twilight! I do have a life outside Ponyville and your library, you know?” she teased, fluttering her eyelashes.

“I know that, but…” Twilight gesticulated with her foreleg. “But I barely see you to begin with, and—”

Rarity laughed, delighted. “Barely see me? Twilight Sparkle, I come to the library nearly every other day! I’d wager if it were up to you, you’d want me here every day!” She bit her lip and rubbed her mouth. “In fact, it might do you well to learn to be apart from me for a while.”

Twilight blanched. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Rarity leaned back with a sigh. “Now, I know there truly is no such thing as life without moi, but I think I shall start staying more at Ponyville. How does a month sound?”

“A month?” Twilight gasped.

Oh, she looked absolutely horrified and Rarity loved every second of it. How awful of her, truly.

“Maybe two,” Rarity added, because Twilight’s expression was worth every moment of being awful. However, it did not last long, and her dramatics turned into a smitten giggle as she noted, “You’re rather gullible, aren’t you, darling?”

Twilight relaxed immediately, slouching as she sighed. “That isn’t funny, Rarity.”

“No, but you can’t deny that only two days without me is vastly better than an entire month, no?”

Twilight seemed to want to protest, her eyebrows scrunched down. “Where are you going?”

“As you know, I have several commissions out of town, and one of them happens to be for a mare in Heart’s Haven. It’s a quaint little village near the edge of Galloping Gorge,” she said, turning back and reaching for her saddlebag a few feet away. “Well, I tasked myself with studying the library cards of the books we’ve yet to find in case one of them was there, and…” She took out one of the worn-out library cards from her bag and placed it on the table. “Voila! Look at the address of the pony who took it.”

Twilight took the card with her magic and examined it.

“Twist Design, living in…” Her expression hardened. “Sanctum Village.”

“Sanctum Village!” Rarity repeated. She reached into her saddlebag again and extracted the history book she’d been lugging around. She opened it up and turned the pages, eventually reaching the right one and placing her hoof over the appropriate paragraph. “It says here that, five hundred years ago, Sanctum Village changed its name to Heart’s Haven!”

Rarity finished with aplomb, expecting Twilight to be immediately enthused about the upcoming trip. And yet, the alicorn continued to stare at the card with furrowed brows, and rather than reply, she teleported two maps to the table. The first one, in perfect condition, was the updated map of Equestria Rarity had given Twilight. The second, faded and torn, looked like a map of the Equestria of olde, and in it Rarity could see her target town drawn right next to Galloping Gorge, the name “Sanctum Village” written in impeccable calligraphy above it.

“You could be a bit more excited,” Rarity noted, watching as Twilight compared the two maps.

Yes, all right, she realized it might be a bit of a stretch to assume descendants of Twist Design still lived in the village, or even had the book, but it was a possibility, and it was certainly better than doing nothing!

“Are they a pony?”

Rarity blinked, disarmed by Twilight’s odd question. “Pardon?”

“Your client,” Twilight elaborated, looking up from the map. “Are they a pony?”

“I should dearly hope so,” Rarity replied. “If not, then it was the most convincing disguise of a mare I’ve ever seen. Why do you ask?”

Twilight looked back to the map, seemingly lost in thought.

“Cadance founded Sanctum Village,” Twilight said matter-of-factly, effortlessly slipping back into the learned persona Rarity was used to. “It was a refugee village she founded a year after the first war.”

“Refugee?” Rarity asked. “But, didn’t the war happen in Equestria? Why would there be pony refugees?”

Twilight shook her head. “Not ponies. Changelings.”

Faced with Rarity’s perplexed expression, Twilight summoned an old scroll, unfurled it and showed it to her. On it was a faded-out drawing of a hideous bug-like creature with arctic blue wings and holes all over their body, as if somepony had attacked them with a large hole-puncher. She vaguely remembered seeing similar creatures before.

Actually, weren’t they in one of those cave drawings in Rainbow Falls?

“I can assure you that Taffy Scratch looked nothing even remotely similar to that,” Rarity said, offended on her client’s behalf. She personally wouldn’t like it if somepony mistook her for that thing. “I think I’d remember if I ever met a creature like it.”

“No, you wouldn’t. Changelings are shape-shifters,” Twilight replied. “They can change their physical appearance into practically any existing species, and you would never be able to tell. You might have already met one, and had no idea they weren’t really a pony.” She rolled the scroll back up and teleported it away, bringing a large book in its stead and opening it to a page with even more illustrations of the creatures. “It’s actually very fascinating! It’s how they infiltrated Equestria during the first war. With Discord turning Equestria into chaos, it was easy for Chrysalis and her changelings to turn into ponies and offer to help us.”

Infiltrate? What an interesting word choice.

“Ah…” Rarity eyed the book with casual interest. “Yes, I suppose they’d have to hide their true shape. It would be hard to prove one’s goodwill when one looks like the lovechild of an insect and swiss cheese. Although… Wait a moment, I was under the impression they were working with Discord, not against him.”

“They were,” Twilight replied, turning the page of the book and showing Rarity a new illustration. “They just didn’t act like it.”

It was of two mares cuddled together. One of them—the changeling, no doubt—looked perfectly healthy and happy, while the other looked anything but healthy. The unicorn looked utterly exhausted, bags under her glazed-over eyes, and a weary smile. The illustrator had added some sort of magic aura around her, which the healthy pony seemed to… consume?

Rarity frowned. “What is it doing? Is it draining her of her energy?”

Twilight shook her head. “Close! It’s feeding off her love, actually.”

There was a moment of silence as Rarity stared at Twilight.

“Creatures that feed off somepony’s love? Heavens, and Sweetie says my romance novels are too cheesy,” Rarity remarked. She wanted to tease Twilight and ask if she too was a changeling draining Rarity’s affections, but decided it wiser to hold her tongue.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “It’s their nature. Without it, they constantly feel like they’re starving to death, so they have no choice.” She took the book and closed it. “Changelings used to be led by a hive queen who wanted to take over Equestria. She took advantage of the chaos Discord caused to have her subjects turn into ponies and associate with us, and because of the alliance with Discord, he didn’t interfere with changelings, so ponies grew to trust and be friendly with ponies who were ‘magically’ unaffected. They drained us of our love, and in turn we were too weak to actually do anything about Discord. Eventually, the princesses managed to defeat the changeling queen, but several of her subjects stayed in Equestria as refugees because they genuinely grew to like ponies.”

“And you let them live in Equestria and continue feeding off ponies?” Rarity asked, her hoof flying up to her chest. “I know you said it’s their nature, but Twilight, that’s terrible!”

“Of course we didn’t!” Twilight replied, frowning. “Cadance infused a crystal with a spell that amplified and broadcasted her feelings of friendship and benevolence to the changelings. That way, they could feed off it without harming anybody, and that’s how they could live in Equestria safely.”

“Oh.” Rarity drew back, feeling far more relieved.

That was leagues better than having those creatures feed off ponies, but the idea of them living amongst ponies was certainly an unsettling one.

“You don’t suppose they’re still alive, do you?” Rarity asked. “Or that there are still some of them out there?”

Twilight shrugged. “I don’t know, but… if you’re really planning on going there, we should make sure you’re prepared in case they’re still there and are no longer ‘reformed.’ We can’t take any more risks.”

Rarity flipped her hair back. “Risks? I’m practically fearless now!” she exclaimed, melting into giggles when Twilight replied with a skeptical stare. “All right, fine. What are you planning? Do you have any anti-changeling spells?”

“I have something better,” Twilight announced with a smile. Her horn crackled, and a dreadfully familiar book on teleportation appeared on the table. “Where did we leave off?”

Rarity buried her face in her hooves, letting out a very unladylike groan. “Twilight…” She looked back up. “Honestly! What is this obsession of yours with me learning teleportation?! There are far more useful spells I could be learning!”

“Hey! Teleportation is very useful!” Twilight shot back, indignant. “Just because you don’t do your daily exercises doesn’t make it any less so!”

Rarity mulled it over. Twilight had indulged her desire to know more about the past, so she supposed it was only fair for Rarity to indulge her crush’s intense desire to flirt with futility.

With an overly expressive sigh, she stood up from the table. “If we’re really going to do this, I at least deserve a proper meal,” Rarity said, taking her saddlebag from the cushion on the floor. “I refuse to go through your drill sergeant routine on an empty stomach.”

Twilight nodded. “All right. I’ll start writing up your exercise routine,” she replied, teleporting a scroll and quill and jotting several things down. Rarity nearly made it to the exit before Twilight spoke up again. “Oh, Rarity, wait!”

Rarity turned around. “Mm?”

“Uhm…” Twilight’s ears lowered for a moment. “When I said that you, er, ‘made it hurt again,’ I probably didn’t explain myself correctly. I meant that…” She drifted off, furrowing her brow. “I didn’t really… uhm…”

“If I may venture a guess,” Rarity interrupted with a smile. “Memories of those we’ve lost hurt again when we have something else we fear we might lose, don’t they?”

Twilight fell silent, but the blush on her face said far more than words could. Endeared, Rarity smiled at her princess and continued on toward the tunnel.

“Don’t worry, darling,” she called out, “I always find my way back, don’t I?”

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act II ~ 22 ~ The Secret of Heart's Haven ~

Heart’s Haven.

A secluded village known for its curious location at the bottom of Galloping Gorge, next to Galloping Valley. Local tourism books stated that many centuries ago, a river flowed at the bottom of the gorge, and it was only after it had dried out inexplicably that ponies founded the town down below. Local ghostly princesses begged to differ, however, claiming that actually, Rarity, Rustle River did not dry out, but was moved underground by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna so that the changelings could live in a secluded spot.

Changelings were another topic Rarity had come to learn much about. Granted, this was entirely due to Twilight’s forced six-hour lecture about them, which Rarity could not escape from seeing as she couldn’t walk through the bookcase somepony had placed in front of the exit tunnel. Though she understood Twilight’s desire to properly prepare Rarity in case of incidents, the unicorn herself found it a bit too much. Honestly, even if there were changelings still alive, what reason would they have to harm her?

Rarity’s saddlebag thumping against her body sounded loud in the quiet air as she trekked through Galloping Valley. Looking up at the clear blue sky, she could see the floating city of Cloudsdale in the distance and she briefly wondered if they had any of Twilight’s books. She turned her gaze back down and focused on her journey toward a little far-off house and a gate, which she assumed led down to Heart’s Haven.

For the first time, nopony had been roped into accompanying her on her quest, which led to the unicorn ruminating freely over her thoughts. Her main concern was the book, of course, and the potential revelation that whoever still owned that book no longer lived in Heart’s Haven.

Her second concern was her necklace. She found herself glancing at it more and more frequently, oftentimes out of the fear of a glowing green warning and not the hope of a flashing pink signal. It felt very much like both a blessing and a curse, just as Applejack had predicted. Yes, she could now know if the Spirit was close, but it also meant she was constantly paranoid about it. Maybe she’d have been better off without the added detection spell.

She shook her head, dispelling her thoughts. It was better to focus on the task at hoof.

As she approached the house, she noticed a pegasus flying circles over the Gorge. It stopped upon noticing her, and the next thing she heard was a distant whistle. Moments later, the door opened and out came a pony, looking right at her.

A system to greet tourists, I suppose? Or… a system to warn changelings of incoming ponies.

She shook her head again, forcefully this time. Dear, dear, it seemed like Twilight’s paranoia was getting to her.

When she was close, the pony revealed itself to be a stallion pegasus, waving enthusiastically at her. As Rarity had guessed, the house was just on the edge of the gorge, and the gate itself protected a path leading down to the village. Additionally, a metal box bearing two red buttons was attached to the gate.

“Hello!” the stallion exclaimed. “Lost, are we?”

Rarity shook her head. “Oh, heavens, no. My name is Rarity, and I’m a dressmaker from Ponyville. I have a delivery pending in Heart’s Haven.” She took out her map from her saddlebag and opened it up. “This is the right place, is it not?”

The stallion frowned for a split-second before clearing his throat and smiling. “Oh! Yes, I see. We don’t get many visitors, you know! If I may, who exactly are you planning on visiting?”

Rarity pursed her lips. She wasn’t entirely fond of disclosing her customer information.

“Well, I’m visiting Taffy Scratch. She’s the—”

“Owner of the clothes shop! Yes, I know her very well,” the stallion interrupted. His tone lowered, and his expression seemed less cheery. “Quite fond of the outside, that one.”

Rarity laughed politely. “I assume that’s a good thing? Or are Havenites not fond of other ponies intruding into their village?”

“Oh, no! We love visitors! Good for the economy, they are!” the stallion quickly said, his smile returning. “But don’t let me keep you! You can tell me all about your visit when you leave.”

Despite the fact that several things in that sentence rubbed her the wrong way, Rarity thought it wise to hold her tongue and continue ignoring the Twilight-like voice in her head overanalyzing every word the stallion said.

Oblivious to Rarity’s inner turmoil, the stallion trotted toward the gate and pressed the lower button. Rarity’s ears clamped against her head as a ridiculously loud sound erupted from the box, probably loud enough that even Cloudsdale could hear it. A moment later, the gate opened up, leaving the path clear for the unicorn.

After thanking him, Rarity crossed the gate and indeed found stairs carved into the side of the rock wall, leading all the way down to the distant village at the bottom of the gorge. Even at a distance, she could see… ponies down there, though they all seemed to glance up at her as they went about their day.

What a way to make an entrance, she thought. She wasn’t one to resent being the center of attention, but really, did they have to announce her arrival to the entire village? Unless, of course, it was so that they could change into ponies, which they hadn’t because—

“Well, even if they are changelings, I will continue to treat them as ponies,” Rarity murmured, as if Twilight Sparkle could somehow hear her.

The descent toward the village was longer than she’d expected. The stairs were steep and small, and the only source of security was the rickety wooden guardrail that separated Rarity from a deathly fall. Large holes pockmarked the gorge walls, but she very much doubted she’d be agile or fast enough to catch hold of one if she fell.

Looking up, she noticed the pegasus in the sky was watching her closely. Maybe he’d catch her if she fell; wouldn’t that be a heroic gesture?

She stopped for a moment to take a closer look at the village. It was actually much larger than she’d expected, having nearly as many houses as Ponyville did. The only difference was that Heart’s Haven ran the length of the gorge, probably giving the impression of being larger than it was. Rarity could see a tall building in the distance, right in front of a sizable plaza. And, still, most of the ponies she noticed from the top of the stairs remained frozen in place, eyeing her descent.

A dozen minutes spent not looking down later, she finally reached the bottom of the gorge. As she came closer, the ponies, realizing they’d been caught staring, quickly scurried away. Only a few foals stayed in place, observing Rarity with wide eyes.

Rarity, resolutely polite, simply smiled back and tried not to look as disconcerted as she felt. She took out her scroll again and reviewed Taffy’s instructions for reaching her house. Once she’d memorized them, she put the scroll away and continued on her way, looking at the houses she passed by. They were quite different from Ponyville’s houses. Most of them had two floors and an unflattering number of oval windows. Through those, Rarity could see several ponies still glancing at her.

Good heavens, they could at least try to be discreet.

Eventually, Rarity reached her destination in the shape of a large, colorful shop, with the name Pony Fashion branded on the front.

Subtle.

The building reminded Rarity of her own boutique in a way, and she knew that Taffy was quite the admirer. The chang— mare had visited Ponyville several times now, and had even purchased several of Rarity’s designs.

Continuing to ignore the ponies still staring at her, Rarity trotted toward the shop, the doorbell chiming as she stepped inside. Looking inside, Rarity realized the designs were actually pretty up-to-date, much more so than she would have expected of… well… whatever she’d expected from changelings.

“Hello?” she called out. “Taffy?”

“Oh, Miss Rarity! That was quick!”

Rarity turned around and found the mare trotting toward her, a dress hanging over her back. Despite what she might or might not be, her presence relieved Rarity. It was nice to find somepony familiar in such an unfamiliar place.

“Quick?” Rarity asked. “Ah, yes, I assume that dreadfully loud sound warned you I’d be coming.” She paused and added, “What a curious thing, really. I can’t help but feel that Heart’s Haven doesn’t take kindly to visitors.”

Taffy Scratch shook her head. “O-oh, of course not, Miss Rarity! We love visitors! We’re just not… very used to them,” she explained, leading Rarity toward the back of the shop. “You’re the first in a while…”

“You must admit your location certainly isn’t inviting to tourism,” Rarity replied. “Though I would like to take a look around! I don’t believe I’ll be traveling here again in the near future, and it wouldn’t be advisable to go back to Ponyville during the nighttime. I brought enough bits for a night at the local hotel, and—”

“You can’t stay here,” Taffy blurted out, stopping and turning to Rarity. Moments later, a flush colored her face and she quickly added, “Er, sorry! That is to say, we don’t have a hotel here, you see. Or anyplace for ponies to stay.” She bowed her head. “I apologize…”

Of course, they wouldn’t. A pony staying the night means they’d have to keep the charade going for much longer than they’re probably used to.

“In that case, shall we press on?” Rarity suggested, taking off her saddlebag and placing them on the table. “I’d like to look around the village before leaving!”

An hour passed by, and Rarity was nearly ready to go. Despite her best efforts, Taffy had adamantly kept the conversation related to dresses, evading Rarity’s many attempts to talk about Heart’s Haven and the Havenites.

“But really, Taffy, you can’t honestly tell me it’s not bizarre that nopony travels outside of Heart’s Haven!” Rarity insisted. “I’ve seen shy ponies, but the way ponies looked at me made me feel as though I were from a completely different species!”

“We’re not used to visitors, Miss Rarity, really,” Taffy insisted in return. “We don’t have much desire to leave our little village. We have everything we need, and isn’t that enough?”

“But—”

“I’m sorry, Miss Rarity. I wish I had more to tell you, but…” She smiled apologetically. “Maybe some other time?”

Rarity sighed, relenting. Taffy was much better than the other changelings at keeping a secret, and it seemed the harder Rarity pressed, the more Taffy silenced herself.

Looking at the walls, the explanation for Taffy’s more discreet attitude could surely be attributed to the many photographs of her in different locations throughout Equestria. Rarity wondered how many changelings lived their entire life without ever stepping out of the village.

“You’re fond of traveling, I see?”

Taffy nodded, a smile pushing onto her lips as she folded her new dress. “I try to travel whenever I can! The mayor thinks I travel too much, but the rest of Equestria is so fascinating.”

Rarity’s eyebrow raised. “Odd. Why would he be bothered by this?”

Taffy blinked, stumbling over her quick reply. “O-oh, well, like I said, we’re a small village, and we’re all very close. It’s always sad when one of us leaves for too long. Anyway! Thank you so much for the dresses, Miss Rarity!” she said, enthusiastically changing the topic.

“My pleasure, darling,” Rarity replied, closing her saddlebag and putting it over her back. “It seems we finished earlier than I expected, so I think I will take my little tour of the village.”

“Really?” Taffy asked, forgetting about her dress. “But there’s nothing here. Heart’s Haven isn’t as interesting as Manehattan or Fillydelphia.”

“Nonsense! I’m sure this must be a lovely village! I saw a little plaza as I was trotting down the stairs, and it looked like quite the charming place,” Rarity insisted, nodding promptly. She then hesitated. “I don’t suppose you know somepony called Twist Design, do you?”

Taffy frowned. “No? I don’t know anypony by that name, but the mayor is called Split Design. Maybe they were related?” She paused. “Why do you ask?”

Rarity smiled. “No reason! A friend asked me about him, though I suppose she got the name wrong, silly thing,” she replied. No sense in revealing Twilight knew somepony from ages past. Who knew if they were just like the alicorn and had their entire genealogy memorized. “I wager paying the Town Hall a visit would be a go—”

“Hello!”

Rarity turned around and found another pegasus stallion trotting into the back of the shop, smiling cheerily at the two mares.

“O-oh, Mayor Design!”

Well, well, speak of the devil.

“Hello, Taffy! I hope I didn’t come at a bad time? I heard our visitor came to see you, and it only seemed right I come to extend the town’s welcome,” he said, trotting toward Rarity and extending a forehoof. “Miss Rarity, I presume? Line Rider was kind enough to relay your name to me.”

“Ah, Mayor! What a pleasure,” Rarity replied. “We were just talking about you! Taffy was telling me that her constant traveling is a bit of a problem? Envy, perhaps? The mayor of Ponyville often complains her job lets her travel little!”

Mayor Design laughed. “Ah, caught me there, haven’t you? Yes, our little Taffy is quite the source of envy in our little town!” he said, affecting a smile. “And she draws in quite a lot of visitors, too! My poor ponies have had to learn to be more receptive of strangers as of late, haven’t they, Taffy?” he asked, and immediately the mare recoiled, giving a half-hearted smile.

“Visitors aren’t bad for us, Mayor.”

“I agree!” Rarity quickly said, eager to pull her friend out of the unflattering limelight. “In fact, I’d love to take a little look around and talk more with you, Mayor.”

Mayor Design smiled apologetically. “Ah, I’d love to, Miss Rarity, but our village isn’t much to look at. You’d be better off heading on your way! Anyway, let me accompany you outside.” He bowed his head toward Taffy. “I hope you’ll be at the town meeting tomorrow, won’t you, Taffy?”

Taffy quickly nodded. “Of course!” She glanced to Rarity and smiled softly. “Thank you so much, Miss Rarity.”

“Not at all! The pleasure is all mine,” she replied, dipping her head and following the mayor out of the room with a quick farewell to the other mare.

Once they were outside, Mayor Design looked up at the sky and continued on.

“It’s a shame daytime doesn’t last long this season,” he said, shaking his head. “But, even if it did, Equestria has so much more to offer than Heart’s Haven.” He turned to Rarity. “In fact, have you visited Trottingham? I’ve heard the Grand Library there is extraordinary and…”

As the mayor rambled on, Rarity couldn’t help but frown at him. No matter how keen they were on kicking her out, she was not leaving without Twilight’s book or, at the very least, information on its whereabouts. Unfortunately, it seemed like the changelings were just as determined as she was to…

Hm.

“But Mayor!” she exclaimed, pressing a hoof against her chest. “What about the Equestrian Welcoming Tour? I’m rather shocked you’ve forgotten about it!”

And now the mayor’s smile faded.

“The what now?”

Rarity rolled her eyes with pronounced exaggeration. “Honestly, Mayor, I sincerely hope you’re joking. The Equestrian Welcoming Tour? It’s only one of the oldest traditions of Equestria! When a mayor personally greets a foreign pony, it is their duty to take the pony on a personal tour of the village.”

“What? But, I’ve greeted ponies before and I’ve never heard of this… tradition!”

Rarity snorted. “Mayor, that’s for your benefit only, I can assure you. They were simply tactful enough to look past your faux pas so as not to embarrass you. Nevertheless! As somepony well-traveled, I can assure you it’s quite the common tradition amongst pony villages, and I daresay this is a pony village, is it not?”

“Of course it is!” Mayor Design gasped, stamping his hoof against the ground. “Heart’s Haven is Equestria’s most loyal village! We are an exemplary village of ponies, and we will continue honoring our princess’s kingdom!”

“Good!” Rarity exclaimed. “I knew you would agree!”

Mayor Design promptly nodded, before asking, “Wait. What exactly does this tradition entail? Is it just a tour?”

Rarity examined her hoof. “Well…”

Maybe, one day, Rarity would feel bad about it. Maybe sooner rather than later, when she told Twilight about it and the alicorn inevitably lectured her on lying, but really, if she was going to lie, she might as well go big, no?

“Is your tea all right, Miss Rarity?”

Rarity smiled to the stallion seated behind her on the personal chariot that had been touring her around the village.

“It’s perfect, thank you, Lion Flower!” she replied, acknowledging the pony before turning back to the sights.

“Now, right after the Shopping District is Heart’s Haven’s main plaza, commonly referred to as the Crystal Heart Plaza, which in turn is the inspiration for our village’s name,” Mayor Design rambled on, seated beside her, gesturing to the plaza the chariot had just entered.

The Crystal Heart?

Looking further down the path, Rarity noticed a large statue in the middle of the plaza, and more interestingly, there was a large glowing crystal object in the center.

“And you let them live in Equestria and continue feeding off ponies? Twilight, that’s horrible!”

“Of course we didn’t! Cadance infused a crystal with a spell that amplified and broadcasted her feelings of friendship and benevolence to the changelings so they could feed off it without harming anybody.”

Curious, she put the cup down and jumped off the carriage, trotting toward the statue, almost drawn to it.

It was a magnificent marble statue, reminiscent of the ones Rarity had seen back in Canterlot, and much like those statues, a faint magic aura surrounded it, protecting it from harm. At first sight, Rarity thought it was a statue of Princess Denza, but closer inspection revealed subtle differences, and her breathing hitched as she realized it was not a statue of the current ruler of Equestria, but of the third princess of legend.

Princess Cadance.

She was beautiful, and not just because her resemblance to Denza made Rarity biased. The princess was sitting down on her hindlegs, a soft smile on her lips, her hooves holding a levitating heart-shaped crystal.

“It was a present from Princess Cadance the First,” Mayor Design said, having joined Rarity. “She offered it to the founders of Heart’s Haven, back when our village went by a different name. It’s a replica of a sacred object from the Crystal Empire province.”

She couldn’t help but stare at the crystal, which slowly spun around in place like a slow motion top. It was beautiful, glowing with soft magic, and the longer she looked at it, the calmer and warmer she felt. Twilight’s words resonated in her mind again, the fact that the heart once—or maybe still—served as an object that channeled the love of Cadance and her descendants and shared it with the world. Rarity’s hoof went to her necklace, through which Twilight’s own magic could be channeled.

Looking down, Rarity noticed an inscription at the base of the statue.

So long as you stand by me
So will my love nurture and protect you

Such was her awe that Rarity momentarily forgot the secret she was supposed to keep.

“Is this how you feed?” she asked, mesmerized, only snapping back to reality when the mayor spoke up.

“What did you say?”

“Hmm?” Rarity didn’t flinch. “What did I say? Oh! Oh, well, I assume this is how you feed the village with peace and serenity? Looking at this object is so terribly relaxing, I can hardly imagine its effects wouldn’t be passed onto the Havenites!”

The mayor narrowed his eyes, but almost immediately affected a smile. “Indeed! Our Crystal Heart is the joy of our little town. We owe much to it.”

Eager to continue on and find the book, Rarity cleared her throat and looked around. “By the by, Mayor, would you happen to have a library in this charming little village?” She turned to him and fluttered her eyelashes. “I’m quite the bookworm, and I imagine an age-old place such as this one would have very rare books!”

The mayor nodded, trotting toward the chariot. “Well, it’s not a very big library, mind you, but we do have quite the rare books!” He jumped up on it and gestured for Rarity to join him.

Once she did, shooting the statue one last glance, the chariot went on its way, through the plaza and all the way up to the Town Hall. It was a large building, much larger than the houses, but just like them it was filled with windows. Stained glass decorated the topmost tower, depicting another interpretation of Princess Cadance.

A question hung on Rarity’s lips. As Professor Awe once said, there was proof enough about the ancient princesses’ existence, but did the changelings believe in the legend that claimed they were trapped throughout the land?

“Through here, please!”

Rarity followed Mayor Design into the building’s lobby. There was a desk, behind which a mare was busy filling out paperwork. Rarity idly wondered if she ought to ask about it, knowing Twilight would certainly love to know what kind of paperwork changelings filled out.

The mayor continued on toward some staircases, but Rarity lingered in the lobby, taking in the sight. There was a grand staircase leading up to the second floor, as well as a large painting hanging over the large wooden front door. Rarity didn’t need to see the magic preservation spell to know the painting was ancient.

The painting appeared to depict the founding of Heart’s Haven, or as it was called back then, Sanctum Village. She could see the then-mayor holding a pair of scissors so as to cut the inauguration ribbon; the four princesses standing behind him; and… Discord?

There, floating above the princesses, juggling some books, was the Spirit of Chaos himself. For a moment, Rarity feared she was seeing things, but the fact that the Twilight in the painting was laughing at him at least confirmed that she wasn’t hallucinating it. But why on earth would he be there? She remembered Twilight saying he’d… reformed… for a while, but enough for him to be present on such an occasion?

And why was Twilight enjoying his presence? Her hoof was on her mouth as she tried to muffle her laughter, and she seemed genuine in her enjoyment of it. Had… Had they been friends?

“Miss Rarity! Are you coming?”

Reluctantly, Rarity trotted toward the waiting mayor, following him up the stairs and deeper into the building. A few minutes later, they finally arrived at their destination: a medium-sized room filled with bookcases. Though it wasn’t Twilight’s library, it was certainly impressive, and the gold plaque nailed to the door proudly claimed that nearly a thousand books could be found in the room.

“Why don’t you take a quick look around?” he offered. “It is nearly nighttime, so we can’t be here long, I’m afraid.”

Thanking him, Rarity did as suggested and ventured into the room, finding a nice secluded spot between two rows of bookshelves. She then retrieved a library card from her saddlebag, making sure not to damage it. Princess Twilight’s Library was neatly written at the top, and below was the name of the book: Hidden Valleys of Equestria by Quazar Star.

“Quazar Star,” Rarity murmured, looking up to the bookshelves next to her.

To her great misfortune, it seemed like the library followed Twilight’s detestable classification system. To her great fortune, Rarity had been actually studying the cursed thing, and it only took her two guesses to find the history and geography section. Goodness, Twilight really was rubbing off on her, wasn’t she?

Having reached the appropriate section, Rarity got to work combing the bookshelves, and though she wasn’t able to find the appropriate book, it wasn’t because the library didn’t have it. It had taken her quite a while to understand the precise meaning of the numbers from the system, but she knew enough now to realize when a book was missing.

So what happened to the book in between?

Did somepony already borrow it?

The library card still in her magic grip, she traveled back to the entrance of the library, finding the mayor perusing some old-looking tome. She politely cleared her throat, rousing his attention.

“Excuse me, Mayor, where is the librarian? The book I was looking for seems to be missing from its bookshelf. Perhaps somepony borrowed it?”

The mayor blinked, then smiled. “I’m afraid that’s impossible, Miss Rarity! We don’t lend out books!” His expression turned grave. “Which means either the book is lost or it was stolen.” He cleared his throat and approached her. “What book do you say is missing?”

Rarity looked at the card. “Err… Hidden Valleys by Quazar Star?”

The mayor frowned. “Hidden Valleys by Quaza—” He cut himself off right in the middle of his sentence, regarding Rarity with wide eyes before quickly saying, “No, we don’t have that book. Terribly sorry.” He put the book he’d been reading away and affected what seemed like a very forced smile. “It’s late now, Mis—”

“Are you quite sure you don’t have it?” Rarity insisted, firmly standing her ground. “There’s a single book missing in the nine hundred and tenth section, specifically S79. It could very well be the bo—”

“Miss Rarity, I can assure you that there is no such book here, and I would suggest we move on. It’s nearly closing time and—”

“Yes, yes,” Rarity said, thoughtlessly waving the library card around, “But you see, Mayor, I have it on very good authority that a pony living in this village once had that book, and—”

“On good authority? Let me see that!” Mayor Design said, irritation lacing his words. He snatched the library card from Rarity, ignoring her protests, and looked it over. “What kind of autho…” He drifted off, his coat turning a shade paler. He looked back and forth between Rarity and the card before saying, “All right.”

Rarity blinked. “…Pardon?”

Without a word to her, the mayor turned around and barked to the open door: “Effigy! Augury! Come in here!”

Moments later, two mares trotted in, looking at Rarity with thinly veiled caution. They turned to the mayor, awaiting instructions.

He glanced at the card one last time before hoofing it back to Rarity and addressing one of the mares. “Effigy, please prepare a Shepherd’s tea for our guest while she waits, and Augury, please keep her company while I go get what she needs.”

“Sh-Shepherd’s tea?” Effigy asked, and when the mayor gave her a pointed stare, she eeped and rushed off with a “Right away!”

Once the first mare was gone, he turned to Rarity, his smile returning. “If you’ll wait here a bit, I’ll go get the book. Augury will keep you company and make sure you don’t get lost,” he emphasized, and Rarity didn’t need her magnificent social skills to recognize the underlying warning.

That said, Mayor Design walked out, leaving behind Rarity and a very jumpy assistant. The mare kept staring at Rarity with an awkward, cautious smile, which Rarity returned with a polite one.

“Quite the library you have, I must say,” Rarity noted, receiving only a hasty nod in reply.

Seeing that small talk would be a fruitless endeavor, Rarity withheld a sigh and turned her attention to the door. She didn’t quite know what to do. She very much doubted the mayor had gone to get the book, and something told her that it wouldn’t be a bright idea to stick around for this Shepherd’s tea.

“That’s a nice necklace.”

Rarity blinked, turning her attention to the mare. “Hmm?”

Augury cleared her throat and pointed to Rarity’s necklace, “That necklace. I’ve never seen any necklace glow like that.”

Rarity smiled, an acquired reflex when thinking of Twilight. “Why yes! It’s a rather special necklace,” she said, turning her attention down to it. “A dear friend of mine has…”

Rarity drifted off, Augury’s curious expression completely unnoticed. The necklace was indeed glowing, but rather than glowing its usual pink, it was glowing a soft but noticeable green.

Well, then. Well, well, well, well.

Rarity was not one to use curse words, but several of them ran through her mind.

“Pardon me, Augury! The sentence seems to have gotten away from me.” She cleared her throat and ran a hoof through her mane, hoping she didn’t look nearly as terrified as she now felt. Her eyes wandered over the room, trying but failing to find any sign of him. “In any case, I’m sure you won’t mind if I take another look around while we wait…?”

Augury shook her head, smiling amiably.

Rarity smiled in return before trotting deeper into the library, forcing herself to glue her eyes to the books, no matter how dearly she wanted to look for the Spirit. She felt the urge to call Twilight, but that wouldn’t be a natural reaction at all, would it? And if she suddenly started losing her composure over absolutely nothing at all, then the Spirit would know she knew he was there.

Much like the changelings, she had to play pretend.

As she went about, she toyed with the necklace, occasionally glancing at it and mentally cursing each time because it still glowed green. How long had the Spirit been following her? Was he following her, or was Heart’s Haven similarly plagued with remnants of chaos magic, as the Everfree Forest was?

She idled around for a few more minutes, nonchalantly leafing through a book here and there, and it wasn’t until she reached the end of the room and the necklace glowed such an intense green that she made up her mind about what to do. She lingered in the spot a moment longer, as if admiring an antique bust of a mare, before trotting back to the front of the room where Augury waited.

“Pardon me, Miss Augury,” she said, “but where might one find the little filly’s room here?”

Augury stared. “The little filly’s room? Why would you want to know?”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Well, my makeup is impeccable last I checked, so there’s only one other reason I’d be interested in visiting such a place. I hope you’d understand why I wouldn’t want to go into detail about it.”

“O-oh! Yes, uhm, sorry! I…” Augury winced, a blush creeping up her face. “Is it very urgent…?”

Rarity nodded. “Oh, goodness yes! Extremely so, I’m afraid.” She took several hurried steps toward the door. “So, where did you say it was?” A thought then occurred to her. “In fact, why don’t you take me? Wouldn’t want to let me get lost, now would we?”

“O-oh, yes! Follow me!”

With a hurried smile, Rarity followed Augury out of the library. It was obvious that being alone would have better suited Rarity’s needs, but she simply would never rest easy if she knowingly left an innocent creature in the same room as the Spirit. Not that Rarity could do much against the Spirit anyway, but at least two ponies could put up more of a fight than just one, no?

The second they were out of the room, Rarity looked down at her necklace and was immensely relieved to find it had regained its normal pink glow.

“Thank goodness,” she murmured, rubbing the necklace against her chest. She was extremely delighted to have Twilight back, not that ghastly demon.

“Is everything all right?” Augury asked, and Rarity remembered she wasn’t alone. The mare wore an expression hovering between concerned and suspicious, which Rarity’s nervous laugh did nothing to alleviate.

“Oh, yes! Yes, it is, sorry!” she quickly said, clearing her throat and letting go of the necklace. She glanced around, trying to figure out her next move. The sooner she got the book, the faster she could get far, far away from that ghastly being. She had half a mind to go back in there and confront him, but her better sense argued she wasn’t really prepared for that step quite yet. “Shall we be off?” she asked. “Where’s the ladies’ room?”

Augury bit her lip. “Follow me, please.”

Rarity followed her down the winding hallway, passing by several doors as they trotted along. Each door had a silver plaque above it, detailing what one could expect to find in the room. “Mail Room,” “Uniform Storage,” and other such names went by, and she could do nothing but hope that the “Treasure Room” was related to taxes and finances, not so much age-old treasures such as a princess’s book.

“Augury!”

Rarity looked around and was dismayed to see Mayor Design marching toward them, his severe expression drawing a squeal from the assistant. Rarity drew herself up, unwilling to let herself be bossed around by anypony. Anyway, there were other creatures in the building that intimidated her vastly more than an undercover changeling.

And then, she noticed the book he carried with him, and then did she let her guard down. Her eyes flicked back and forth between the book and the mayor. Was that…? Had she misjudged the changeling?

“Ah, where are you going?” Mayor Design asked, and Rarity wondered if his smile was wholly genuine. He gave Augury a pointed look and continued, “I thought you’d wait for me inside the library.”

Augury winced. “Er, Mayo—”

“I fear I’m at fault, Mayor!” Rarity quickly interjected. “I expressed my desire to go to the fillies’ room, and Augury here was kind enough to indulge me, but no matter!” She cleared her throat and eyed the book. “That’s the book, I assume?”

Mayor Design nodded. “It is, indeed. It slipped my mind earlier that we had one copy left.” He took the book, but rather than giving it straight to Rarity, he opened it to the third page, turned it around, and showed it to Rarity. “It’s a very delicate book, as you can see by the material used for the pages.”

Rarity smiled. “Well, worry not, I’ll be delicate with it,” she replied, making a move to take the book before Design pulled it back.

“What chapter are you interested in?” he asked. “I’ll have Augury write out some copies for you.”

“That really won’t be necessary,” Rarity replied, trying to take the book in her hooves and gritting her teeth when again the mayor pulled it away. “I’d just like to look at it, if you please.” Before he could pull it back again, Rarity snatched it away from him, nearly crying out in victory when she did so.

“Excus—!”

“So!” Rarity interrupted, eager to get going. Having successfully silenced the mayor, she disregarded the majority of the book’s contents and went directly to the first page, upon which she found it completely lacked Twilight’s usual inscription.

“But…”

“Is something wrong?” Mayor Design asked, eyeing Rarity carefully.

Don’t play innocent! You know exactly what’s wrong! Rarity thought, biting her lip and staring at the blank page. What was she going to do now? She couldn’t simply ask for another book when she had a perfect copy here, and she couldn’t try and activate the defense spell if the mayor was watching.

“Oh, not at all!” she quickly replied, turning her gaze back to the mayor. “Why would there be? This is the book, isn’t it?”

She looked at it for another moment, brushing her hoof against the page, and it wasn’t until then that she noticed something peculiar. The area where Twilight’s signature always was… if years of dealing with fabrics had taught her anything, it was to differentiate between the subtlest of variations in textures, and she could clearly tell something was off.

“Miss Rarity?”

She ignored the mayor’s call and touched a very thin layer of paper that had been pasted onto the pre-existing page. With no regard for the mayor or the book, her horn glowed to life and she ripped the paper off, revealing the neat and familiar lavender hoofwriting.

“AH-HAH!” she exclaimed, jumping back. “I knew it! Twilight’s signature! You really are related to that Twist Design changeling!”

And the moment she spoke, she realized what she’d inadvertently revealed. Mayor Design stepped back, eyes wide as saucers, terror pouring out of them at the discovery that yes, in fact, she knew.

“Guards,” the mayor whispered, so quietly Rarity almost didn’t hear. It wasn’t until he bellowed it out again that Rarity realized she needed to act, and fast.

Wasting not a single second, she screamed and bolted the other way, trying to find any exit out of the building. She could hear Mayor Design screaming in the distance and, when she turned a corner, came to a screeching halt at the sight of not one, two, nor three, but five ponies blocking her escape route. Figuring that running back where she came from would be an unwise decision, she made for the nearest door, yanking it open, rushing inside the room, and then slamming it shut.

She pressed her body against it, breath ragged, until she deemed her magic strong enough to keep it shut while she looked for an exit—which, once again, was understandably hard when she turned around and found herself faced with roughly a dozen changelings sitting at a table, every single one bolting up.

“Oh dear,” she whispered, the door opening behind her as her magic faded out from shock. “This isn’t the little fillies’ room, is it?”

It had to be karma.

Karma for tricking the mayor into carting her around on a chariot and serving her chamomile tea, tending to her every whim. Maybe that, plus some additional bad karma acquired in her youth, could explain why the universe seemed very keen on trapping Rarity in different locations. Dungeons, makeshift detainment rings, and now… a basement?

Really?

If this is how they treat ponies who discover their little secret…

The basement she’d been stuck in for the past hour was big, illuminated by a dim magical bulb dangling from the ceiling. It was dusty and dirty, but not intolerable, at least for another few hours. There were some stairs leading up to the exit door, but her earlier attempts to open it had been in vain, so she’d resorted instead to looking for another way out.

“They can’t just keep me here forever,” she mumbled, poking around the walls for a loose brick or secret path like in her more daring adventure novels. Well, that isn’t entirely true. They can keep me in here, but they won’t.

It was obvious that the changelings had incarcerated her not out of ill will, but the simple fear of having been found out, and despite Twilight’s warnings about them, the changelings Rarity had encountered were all mostly polite and amicable—until the incarceration matter, mind.

She felt the desire to ask Twilight for help, but considering the cracked state of the necklace, she didn’t want to try unless it was her absolute last resort. Speaking in Ponyville hadn’t put much strain on the crystal, but Heart’s Haven was considerably farther away from the library.

And… she didn’t want to risk attracting the Spirit’s attention again now that he seemed to be gone, did she?

She went back to her wall inspection, only briefly diverting her attention when she heard sounds upstairs. Once they died down, and her hopes of release died with them, she continued her inspection of the wall.

After she’d finally accepted the wall would yield no secret escape, she trotted toward the middle of the room, moving onto trying to find hidden switches on the floor. Unfortunately, just as with the wall, her search was fruitless, ending with her staring down at her… multiple shadows?

She blinked once, twice, thrice, furrowed her brow, looked up at the only source of light and then back again at the two shadows she was somehow managing to cast. That can’t be right, she thought, pressing her hoof against her chest and toying with her necklace. A quick glance at it revealed a green glow much more luminous than it was earlier in the library.

Rarity slowly looked back, once again petrified by fear. She wanted to scream, she wanted to scream very badly, but that would only show she knew he was there, and… and…

And she took a step forward, as nonchalant as she could, quickly trotting toward the stairs, the intruding shadow still mimicking her steps. She went up and politely knocked on the door, insisting she please be let out, after which her polite insistence became full-fledged yells that grew louder the longer her pleas remained unanswered.

Another series of expletives crossed her mind as she galloped back down and tried to remain calm. How could she escape? Damn those useless teleportation lessons! Why couldn’t she just… she just… A memory came back to her, of that agonizing headache in the train and how Twilight cured it, and just like that, the solution was before her.

If she couldn’t teleport, then Twilight Sparkle would simply have to do it for her.

Closing her eyes, she cast the familiar spell, and waited, waited, waited for Twilight to please, please, please answe—

Ping!

There was a moment of silence, both minds unsure how to proceed, until Rarity’s mind went off in a frenetic scramble trying to recapitulate everything that had led her there. Twilight’s mind did not respond, no fear or surprise or anything, but Rarity plowed through, trying desperately to somehow extract the secret to teleportation from the other mind.

Ping!

And just like that, Twilight halted the spell, leaving a shocked Rarity standing there alone. Was… Surely Twilight wasn’t… Surely she wasn’t going to just LEAVE Rarity there?! She knew Twilight wanted her to learn teleportation by herself, but this was just… just downright cru—

Her thoughts came to a screeching halt when a flashing pink glow overpowered the green one. Panicked, Rarity cast the spell again, and before her own mind could try to formulate a question, it was flooded with Twilight’s thoughts. Diagrams in books that Rarity had read before, instructions on mental and physical exercises, words that Rarity once found useless suddenly made absolute sense as she learned—or rather, remembered—how to teleport.

She, or Twilight, or both really, took the proper wide stance, her body slightly lowered. She’d done this a thousand times before, in the library, and it felt so remarkably easy to do, she didn’t quite understand how she’d never managed it before. The urge to teleport to a different part of the building overpowered her, and now it was her own mind that took over, mapping out what she remembered of the town hall. She focused so completely on the library from before, it was like she could see a vivid rendering of it inside her mind.

Pooling all of her magic, Rarity prepared the teleportation spell and…

Now!

CRACK!

Everything went dark, and her body felt as if it had been jerked off the ground, out of reality. It was only a fraction of a second, really, but to her it felt like an eternity spent in darkness before she landed with an oomph in a wholly different yet familiar room. She picked herself up off the ground, looking at the library with wide eyes.

We… We did it?

“We did it!” she gasped, her hoof slamming against her mouth. “We did it, Twilight! We did it, we did it!” She quickly grabbed onto her necklace, her joy dying out the moment she realized something wasn’t quite right.

She looked down to her necklace, and though it was no longer green, it wasn’t pink either. It was completely translucent, looking exactly as it had the day Rarity bought it save for the minor fact that half of the crystal had cracked clean off, probably left below in the basement.

“No. No, no, no, no, please, nooooo…”

Before she could finish mourning the necklace, the door to the library slammed open and three ponies rushed in.

“There she is!”

Rarity stepped back, closing her eyes and desperately trying to salvage whatever information was left regarding teleportation. If she’d done it once, she could do it again, right? She cast the spell as far as she could remember it, visualized the entrance of the building and… and again the darkness enveloped her, but rather than finding herself at the entrance like she’d hoped, she managed only to teleport to the adjacent hallway. Worse, what before felt like an effortless spell now felt like she’d gone through some kind of rigorous hour-long training crammed into less than a second.

Steadying her breathing, she jumped up and rushed off, the ponies close behind. She could hear voices all around her and even coming from the next hallway, but she was so intent on getting out, she was prepared to use any means necessary, no matter how unladylike they may be.

She went around the corner, but rather than more changelings, she found a familiar guard from Canterlot Castle.

“R-Rift Shield?!”

Rift Shield blinked at her before smiling brightly. “If it isn’t Miss Lost Visitor! Am I going to have to keep getting you out of scrapes the rest of our lives?”

Moments later, the ponies caught up to her, but just as she had, so too did they stop, gawking at the stallion.

“C-Captain Shield! This is the mare—! She somehow escaped the—!”

“So,” Rift interrupted, cracking a smile to Rarity, “got any new evidence for me?”

Rarity fell silent. Her eyes darted down to her necklace, and the moment she realized it was no longer glowing green, she launched herself at the guard.

“I found Princess Luna!” she blurted out, as if an unstoppable force now drove her.

Rift blinked. “Wh-what? His eyes grew wide. “Princess Lu—”

“Yes, and she’s somewhere near Hollow Shades!” she continued, still shaking him. “And she’s been guarding nightmares there ever since she’s been trapped! The caves near Rainbow Falls are completely plagued with chaos magic because that’s where he and Celestia last fought with the dragons, and I have her crown as evidence of it! And—! And the reason Discord declared war on the princesses and trapped them isn’t because they refused to give him land, but because Twilight Sparkle refused to give up her dragon companion called Spike! And they—!”

She pointed to the changelings.

“They have one of Twilight’s books and tried to hide it from me, and they’re not ponies! They’re changelings, and I know this because Twilight told me herself that Princess Cadance the First founded this village for them! So there!” She finally let him go, the guard stumbling back in shock as she withdrew. “If that isn’t enough evidence to prove I found Twilight Sparkle, Rift Shield, then I will go to Princess Denza myself if you don’t take me!”

“Whoa, calm down, Rares!”

“Do not ‘calm down, Rares’ me!” she snapped back. “I’ve just been falsely imprisoned, and I am fed up that the rescue of monarchs of Equestria is the sole purview of three other ponies and myself when we could have had the assistance of the entire royal army months ago! If I managed to talk my way out of being a dragon appetizer, I can damn well talk my way into an audience with Denza!”

Out of breath and words, Rarity stepped back and tried to steady her breathing. Even more ponies had by now arrived, among them the mayor, but she found she could not bring herself to be worried. She stood tall and proud, ready to put up a fight if she deemed it necessary.

“R-Rift!” Mayor Design called, looking back and forth between Rarity and the guard, who was now climbing to his hooves.

“I’m okay, old man,” Rift said, his bright smile having returned. He glanced at Rarity for a moment before turning to the mayor. “Mind if we use the conference room? This beautiful lady and I need to have a long conversation.”

Thirty minutes later found a much calmer Rarity seated at a large conference table, another cup of chamomile tea next to her alongside some old cookies. Changelings, after all, needn’t eat, and it was all they had in their pantry.

By then, Rarity had been given the time to reflect on her actions, especially since it seemed the Spirit had decided on leaving her alone. She’d revealed all her secrets to Rift in less than a minute, and only now did all of Rainbow’s and Professor Awe’s warnings come crashing back down upon her. Of course… Of course, being wary of Rift meant she indeed believed her sovereign ruler was working together with the Spirit, and despite the evidence for it, she couldn’t truly bring herself to believe it. Her entire life she’d been taught that the royal family sought only the better interest of Equestria, and as such she made the choice to stand firm in her loyalty to the crown.

The only thing she hadn’t told him about was her encounter with the Spirit. Not that she hadn’t wanted to, mind, but even though her necklace was no longer glowing green, she didn’t know if the tracking spell still worked and… the last thing she wanted was to tell the Spirit she had a way of, well, tracking him down.

“I gotta apologize for them again,” Rift said, sitting opposite Rarity. “Ponies don’t come down here a lot, so they have no idea how to deal with it. They’ve only ever dealt with the castle guards and the princess when she needs to recharge the life heart.”

“They called you?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Shepherd’s tea is the code word to have a chariot bring a guard here ASAP. I mean, they weren’t really going to keep you there forever, y’know? They just wanted somepony to come in and convince the intruder not to blab out the secret.” He grinned. “I’ve bailed a mare out of here at least five times in the past three years.”

Rarity delicately placed her tea back on the table. She could mention Pinkie Pie, but she decided she might as well keep that card under the table until she herself knew what Pinkie’s story was. “So, are you in need of any more evidence?”

Rift laughed, shaking his head and then leaning in, riveted by Rarity. “No, I’m fine. Though… You’re really something else, aren’t you, Rarity?” he asked, ending his question with a wink.

Months ago, maybe, Rarity would have leaned in and smiled, but now, Rift’s attempts at flirting were met with a solemn stare.

“Why do you refuse to help?” she asked instead. “Did you know there are ponies out there who firmly believe Princess Denza is working with the Spirit?”

Rift frowned. “Don’t be dum—”

“Then, again, why isn’t there an active search for them?” Rarity demanded. “Like many others, I firmly refuse to believe that Princess Denza would stoop to such levels, but her army is doing a very good job of showing their lack of desire to help.”

“Hey! It’s not that I didn’t want to help, but…” He drifted off, rubbing his forehead. “Look, it’s complicated.”

Rarity didn’t bat an eyelid. “Try me.”

Rift sighed, furrowing his brow. “I’m doing my rounds these next couple weeks, but can you come to Canterlot in two weeks? If you really want to speak to Princess Denza, I can arrange it.”

Rarity paused. Pinkie Pie was supposedly coming to Ponyville sometime next week, and it wouldn’t do to be away when she arrived. Her only option was to send her a letter asking her to come sooner rather than later.

“Two weeks?” she repeated. “You’re sure of this? You won’t back out?”

Rift shook his head. “Two weeks. Soldier’s honor. Look, I’ll even send you a letter this week with a signed parchment, just because I’m great like that.”

Rarity sighed, her hoof going over her necklace. “And I will meet Princess Denza?”

Rift faltered. “Y-yeah.”

She furrowed her brow and crossed her legs. “My, you don’t seem too convinced.”

Rift sighed. “Look. It’s just… This isn’t as easy as you think. There’s a lot you don’t know, and… If we’re not careful…” He got up and took his helmet. “It’s a lot to plan.”

Rarity similarly stood up. “Really? It’s just a meeting.”

He put his helmet on and grinned. “You’d be surprised!” Without another word, he trotted around the table and toward the door, opening it to reveal Augury and Effigy patiently waiting outside. “What’re you two doin’ here? Did the old man ask you to spy on us?”

The two mares blushed, shaking their heads profusely.

“No, no!” Augury quickly said. “I just… We just wanted to return what Miss Rarity asked for.”

Effigy stepped forward, lifting her hoof and displaying the missing part of Rarity’s necklace.

“Oh, thank you,” she said, sadly taking the necklace into her own magical grip.

She didn’t have the necessary tools to fix it right now, and even if she had those, she feared it might never truly be strong enough to hold the spell again. She delicately placed it inside a little pocket in her saddlebags, hoping Twilight’s reaction to the communication spell having ended wasn’t as explosive as last time.

“Before you go, Miss Rarity,” Effigy said, “The mayor wanted to invite you for tea as an…” She drifted off, cheeks tinted red. “…apology?”

“Actually, gals,” Rift interrupted, smiling at them and then at Rarity, “I was hoping to take this lovely lady away from here with me. My train leaves for Tall Tale soon, and I figure she might like visiting there before going back home tomorrow.”

Rarity didn’t miss a beat, smiling back at him. “I do appreciate the offer, Rift, but I have somepony waiting for me at home, and I wouldn’t want to be late,” she said, also not missing his disappointed expression. She looked to Augury and Effigy. “I believe I’ll take your offer before going home, yes. I have a few questions for the mayor.”

The two mares nodded, quickly setting off into the hallway, leaving Rarity and Rift Shield alone. The stallion exhaled deeply and let out a soft laugh.

“Man, I gotta say, whoever’s waiting back home is one lucky guy. Here I thought we’d hit it off pretty well back in Canterlot. You’re sure seeing me again hasn’t made you change your mind?”

Rarity smiled again, pressing her hoof against the necklace. “Now, Rift, being a sore loser isn’t becoming of you,” she chastised, trotting into the hallway and following after the two mares. “I’m sure you’ll find your fairy tale someday soon, too.”

“She’s getting good at this, isn’t she? Too good, one might say!”

“…”

“The changeling village, Princess Luna, even the dragons! And now, I wonder… shall we let her go through the test?”

“…”

“Now, now, isn’t this mare deserving of a meeting with Your Royal Highness? I think she is! Don’t you agree?”

“Very well.”

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act II ~ 23 ~ The Library's Revelations ~

~ Act II ~ 23 ~ The Library's Revelations ~

“Oh, Rarity, it’s lovely!”

Inside Carousel Boutique, Rarity smiled at her customer and adjusted her glasses. She took the dress she’d spent all morning working on and made a few last-second adjustments.

“Yes, it’s quite the design, if I do say so myself!” she agreed, carefully folding the dress and setting it inside its box. “I’m terribly sorry I took so long with it, Spring, but I’ve been traveling quite a lot as of late.”

Spring Showers shook her head. “Oh, it’s all right. I always figured this little town wasn’t enough for you,” she said with a wink. “You better run off to Manehattan before you meet Prince Charming and he keeps you here!”

Rarity masqueraded an embarrassed cough as a laugh. “Don’t be silly, darling! No ‘Prince Charming’ will keep me here,” she replied. After all, Princess Charming has had me running across the country like a madmare looking for her books.

Spring giggled. “Well, good for me, ’cause who’d make my dresses if you left?” she asked, trotting toward the door. “See you later, Rarity! Thanks again!”

“Thank you for the patronage!”

Rarity waited for the doorbell to chime before relaxing and letting out a yawn. Heavens, she really needed to stop pulling all-nighters the same nights she returned from trips. The train back home had arrived earlier than expected, but the lack of anxious ponies waiting to greet her made her feel comfortable enough to go home and work on pending commissions. Maybe Twilight hadn’t been too worried about the loss of contact?

Speaking of which, her nerves had considerably eased when a quick trek near the Everfree Forest made her necklace fragments light up green. Though the communication spell was sadly done for, she felt much happier knowing she still had a way of detecting Discord.

A meow interrupted her train of thought, and Rarity looked down to find Opalescence underhoof. She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. Maybe I ought to take a vacation from all this book-finding before I lose all my customers.

Another meow, and Rarity found Opal disdainfully sniffing the book on the chair, no doubt because the thing still smelled of Heart’s Haven’s inhabitants. Before the cat tried anything, Rarity levitated the book and unceremoniously dropped it into her saddlebag. It had been given to her by the mayor after she pointed out she did have the library card and was actively looking for it, though she strongly suspected he’d given it over in the hopes that the gesture of goodwill would keep her silent regarding her “discovery.”

“Hoo!”

Rarity turned toward the window and found a familiar black owl waiting by the windowsill, his gaze glued on the now-hostile cat. Well, somepony’s impatient, she thought, biting down a smile and pressing a hoof to the spot where her necklace would be… if the thing hadn’t given out on her.

She took her saddlebag and within minutes found herself following Themis toward the library. Or, rather, she led the way while Themis rested on her back and listened to her recount the changeling adventure. Truthfully, she could largely find the library without help now. The owls were merely a formality by this point. Or, more likely, Twilight’s way of pressuring the unicorn into visiting sooner.

Eventually, the library came into view, and just as she was about to jump down into the depression, Rarity stopped. Themis flew up, confused by the unicorn’s actions, and subsequently let out a surprised hoot when Rarity teleported herself down.

“Hah!” she exclaimed, a bit out of breath. It seemed like she still couldn’t teleport as easily as Twilight, but at least small distances worked for her, and she was sure Twilight would be delighted regardless.

Excitement doubled, Rarity hurried toward the tree, descending the stairs and trotting through the tunnel. Unlike a few weeks ago, Twilight wasn’t waiting for her at the end, and a cursory inspection of the wall revealed there had been no recent panicked explosions.

“Twilight?” she called out, taking several tentative steps further inside the library. “Twilight, darling! I’m back!”

A familiar crackle of magic sounded behind her, and Rarity turned around to find the Princess of the Library looking quite at ease.

“Oh! Rarity, you’re back!” she exclaimed, for a brief moment looking Rarity over. Checking for injuries, perhaps?

“I am! And you seem remarkably calm. Didn’t try to explode your way out of the library this time, then?” she teased, making a show of looking around for new scorch marks and then giggling at Twilight’s flushed expression.

“No. I trusted you to be fine,” Twilight replied flatly. Her eyes then lowered to Rarity’s neck, her ears lowering in unison. “The necklace broke, didn’t it?”

Rarity didn’t immediately reply, levitating the necklace’s remains from inside her saddlebag. Augury and Effigy had retrieved the other pieces from the basement, but even then she could tell that no amount of potential repair would restore it to its previous splendor.

“I’m afraid so,” she said, watching as Twilight’s own magic overtook the shards. “It would seem our little experiment proved to be too much for it.”

“Oh… I suppose you didn’t manage to teleport then…” Twilight furrowed her brow as she inspected the damaged necklace closely.

“The tracking spell still works, however,” Rarity quickly announced. “I tested it in the forest again with the leftover chaos magic there.”

Twilight didn’t look pleased by the news. “I don’t like that he’s following you, because that is what he’s doing.”

Rarity tried to smile. “But doesn’t that mean I’m heading down the right path?”

“I don’t know if that’s good, either,” Twilight murmured. “I think we could still try and cast the communication spell again, but it might be better to wait until we have a new receptacle. Meanwhile, you can still use your necklace to be on the lookout for him.”

“I didn’t expect him to be there,” Rarity continued. “I’m rather upset at seeing how woefully unprepared I was at the prospect of… well… facing him. Though, if I may say so, I did well with the changelings, all things considered!”

“Hm.”

Before Rarity could ask, Twilight trotted off toward a distant table.

“Twilight?”

Rarity levitated her saddlebag toward the entrance before following after Twilight. Once she arrived, Twilight had already sat down and magicked several blank scrolls, as well as fresh ink and a quill, onto the table.

“What’s all this for?” she asked, tentatively sitting opposite Twilight. Twilight’s sudden smile was disconcerting.

“Even though our minds were connected, I wasn’t able to gather as much information as I wanted about your trip, so!” Another scroll appeared, filled to the brim with question after question. Twilight lifted her quill, and continued, “I wrote down five hundred questions that should give me a good idea of Heart’s Haven and its social dynamics, as well as your escape.”

Rarity giggled, shaking her head. “Oh goodness, you really are incorrigible, aren’t you?” she said, laughing even more at Twilight’s completely indignant expression. “Isn’t five hundred questions overdoing it just a tad?”

“But—! But it’s been a thousand years! A lot has changed!” Twilight protested, whining piteously. “I only have notes on changeling behavior when they were starting to meld into pony society! I don’t have notes on what they’re like after a thousand years of social and geographical adaption!”

Rarity snorted. “For starters, I can assure you they’ve done a rather poor job at the social adaptation aspect. My sister is a better actress than the entire populace of Heart’s Haven combined.”

Twilight nodded gravely, jotting down notes on her empty scroll. “What about eating habits? Have they found a way to sustain themselves through organic feeding instead of magic extraction?”

“Actually, they still feed off love,” Rarity said, preferring the shorter term. “Your niece apparently powers up the crystal heart every so often.”

“Really?!” Twilight asked, ears perking up. She jotted something down on her scroll again. “Interesting! I thought the heart was specifically tied to Cadance, but it must have been altered after my imprisonment to work with her descendants’ magic roots. I have a book about the subject, but—” She cut herself off, looking back up at Rarity. “Did you… Did you get the book?”

Rarity hummed. “Your book?”

Twilight nodded.

Rarity hummed again, suppressing a devilish smile. “I did, but… silly me, I left my bag all the way over there at the entrance! Give me a moment, will you?” Rarity said, with a nonchalance that would give changelings a run for their money. Standing up before Twilight could teleport the bag over, she took a quick deep breath before lighting up her horn and—

Crack!

Rarity endured a moment of absolute darkness as she teleported to the door. While completely on target, this time it felt similar to her first unaided teleport back in Heart’s Haven. Rarity caught her breath, picked up the saddlebag and, although her better sense advised against it, teleported again. She didn’t manage to make it all the way back to the table, instead reappearing halfway between the two points, feeling even more winded than the first time. After catching her breath, she quickly trotted toward the table and settled herself down, making it a point to avoid looking at the suspiciously silent alicorn.

“Terribly sorry, my teleportation still isn’t as perfect as I’d hoped,” she said, looking inside her saddlebag. She produced the book moments later, and finally turned to Twilight, gracing the alicorn with her best smile. “Voila.”

Rather than take the book, or even notice it at all, Twilight stared at Rarity, her lips curved in the shape of a perfectly adorable O. Her eyes darted back and forth between the entrance and Rarity, apparently at a loss for what to say.

“Something the matter, Twilight?” Rarity asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

“You… You teleported,” Twilight whispered.

Rarity placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin against her hooves, barely able to keep her smile at a dignified width. “I did, yes!”

“You teleported,” Twilight repeated, lifting her hooves to her mouth, and oh, the elation on her face made Rarity’s heart flutter. After a second, she jumped up and exclaimed, “You did it!” She teleported to Rarity’s left. “Rarity, you did it!” And now she teleported to Rarity’s other side, and even levitated a little. “You did it! Oh my gosh, you actually did it!”

Rarity couldn’t help but laugh, watching as Twilight teleported herself around, repeating the same thing over and over with varying degrees of shock. Goodness, she was adorable. If the necklace cracking resulted in such a delighted Twilight, Rarity would gladly crack a thousand more.

“Quick!” Twilight blurted out, teleporting herself atop one of the distant bookcases. “Teleport here! No, wait!” She teleported herself further away. “Here! Wait, no.” She teleported a teensy bit closer. “Here! We need to test your range, and then your speed, and then—”

“Twilight, sweetheart, calm down,” Rarity said, stifling her giggling. “I’m not nearly that advanced yet!”

Twilight teleported back and sat down at her spot on the other side of the table, bright smile still plastered on her face. “I knew you could do it!” she continued, clapping her hooves excitedly. She then cleared her throat and matter-of-factly added, “I mean, technically, you cheated because I jumpstarted the process, but! But the reason you can keep doing it is because you already know the basics, see! And—” Her smile became extraordinarily smug. “And you said all our teleportation exercises weren’t going to work for anything.”

Rarity sighed theatrically. “I know, I’ve been so terribly daft! One way or another, I will just simply have to accept that you’re always right, Twilight,” she finished with a dazzling smile.

“Yes, I am,” Twilight promptly replied, before realizing she’d done so and allowed a blush to crawl over her face. “Well, no, I’m not always right. Just… Always. Mostly. Anyway! Rarity, this is great! Do you know what this means?! You have a means of escape now! And, if you learned teleportation, this means that in theory, we could move onto complex magical transmuta—”

“Don’t even think about it.”

Rarity’s near-threat was met with a few moments of silence, ending when Twilight giggled and rolled her eyes.

“Fine,” Twilight said with finality. “We can leave that for later, I guess.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Much later,” she replied, and Twilight’s still-exhilarated grin proved to be terribly infectious, coaxing the unicorn into laughing softly as she folded her forelegs on the table.

Another moment of silence lingered, but it did not intrude or bother; it was comforting to take just a moment to look at each other, to truly absorb what was going on, and, in Rarity’s case, to appreciate Twilight’s heavenly grin.

“You did it,” Twilight said again, eyes sparkling.

“We did it,” Rarity corrected. “Together.”

“Together,” Twilight repeated, softly now, her smile waning a little as if in awe of the fact.

They did it. Not Rarity, and not Twilight, but both together—as they’d decided to look for the books, as they’d faced down the dragons, and as they would face whatever the future held in store.

“But,” Rarity said, and her excited smile returned, “that’s not the end of the good news.”

Twilight’s ears shot up. “It’s not?”

Rarity planted an elbow on the table, resting her chin on her hoof, and smiled at Twilight in a positively devilish fashion. “It’s not, and I should inform you it is far better than the teleporting. I happened to meet a royal guard during my trip in Heart’s Haven and…” She fluttered her eyelashes. “Guess who has an official appointment to meet with Princess Cadenza Armor the Tenth, more commonly known as the lovely Princess Denza?”

Again, just like before, Twilight shot up to a standing position. “You do?!”

Rarity kept smiling. “Would I ever lie about something like this?”

“Rarity, this is—! Do you—! You’re going to—!” She cut herself off, unceremoniously falling down to her hindquarters, looking as if it had all become a bit too much for her to process. Eventually, she managed a “When?”

“In about two weeks, I expect! Rift Shield said he’d be sending me the official letter sometime this week, which gives us ample time to have Pinkie Pie’s upcoming visit, and then I can safely leave for Canterlot!” She giggled at Twilight’s stunned expression. “I told you I was well on my way to freeing you, did I not?”

Twilight gawked at her. “I… I… Can you—” She teleported away for a second, and when she returned, a firmly sealed scroll floated next to her.

“I…” She held the letter against her chest in a curiously reserved motion, clearly something dear to her. “It’s a letter Cadance wrote to me,” she elaborated, gently placing it on the table. “It’s the last one she sent before Discord trapped me here. I remember you said the guards at the castle didn’t believe you, but I’ve been thinking about it, and if you give that to Denza, I’m sure she will believe you. Cadance’s official seal and signature are a little worn out, but I used a restoration spell and they should be clear enough.”

Rarity carefully took the letter, her hoof brushing against the ancient parchment. “Twilight…”

She felt the urge to tug on the firmly knotted lace holding it together, curious to read the letter from the princess of old, but it was evident that the letter meant a great deal to the alicorn, and it would not do to disrespect it.

“I will make sure she gets it then,” Rarity promptly said, placing the scroll back on the table. She then winked and added, “And I promise I shall resist all temptation to read it.”

Twilight opened her mouth to reply, no doubt to scold Rarity, but instead, something far different came out instead: a smile. It was a rather foalish smile that went along nicely with the soft yet intense gaze she directed at Rarity. It was the kind of look Rarity herself constantly threw Twilight, that smitten love-struck gaze, and to suddenly feel herself become the target of such a stare—and from her crush, no less—well…

“Is something wrong, Twilight?” Rarity asked, feeling her cheeks grow hot and the butterflies in her stomach grow wild.

Twilight slowly shook her head. “I was just thinking that… I feel like maybe you really might be able to get me out of here.”

Rarity gasped theatrically. “‘Might’? Really, Twilight dearest, I didn’t realize you had that little faith in me!”

Twilight quickly shook her head. “What? No! I just meant tha—”

BOOM!

A sudden deafening explosion sounded from the floor below, interrupting Twilight and shaking the entire library like an earthquake, frightening the life out of Rarity in the process as she tumbled to the floor. Whatever it had been, the tremor didn’t last long, and after a few moments of complete paralysis, Rarity turned to Twilight.

“Rarity?! Are you okay?!” Twilight asked, rushing to the unicorn and using her magic to help her up.

Rarity gulped, breathing quickly. “Twilight!” she sputtered. “What on earth was that?!”

Twilight stepped back, ears flat against her head. “I’ll go down and—”

BOOM!

Again the sound rocked them, but to Rarity’s horror, it seemed like Twilight wouldn’t need to go down, as the problem had literally come up to meet them. The two mares screeched and jumped back as crackling yellow magic surged across the floor in front of them.

Twilight gasped. “The maze’s chaos magic!”

“What is it doing up here?!” Rarity asked, staring, eyes flicking back and forth between it and Twilight. “I thought it could only stay in the maze!”

“I don’t know! This has never happened before!” Twilight said, for once looking at a complete loss.

Before either could say or do anything, a hideous gurgling sound erupted from the chaos magic, and Rarity shrieked when it pulsed and shot out a wave of energy that skimmed out across the entire floor, prompting her to jump onto the table.

She watched as the magic reached the entrance to the library, and the usually transparent barrier stuttered into existence, colored an unnatural yellow-black. After one last flash, the chaos magic let out a low rumble, almost like a growl, and Rarity turned just in time to see it rise up into the shape of the ghastly Spirit of Chaos—a distorted figure formed of magic.

“Twilight?! Is that him?!”

“No! No, it’s not!” Twilight yelled back, her eyes fixed on the magic puppet. It continued to growl as it writhed in apparent pain, trying to finish materializing. “It’s just his magic! Chaos magic can follow the will of Discord even if he’s not here!”

Letting out a final groan, the puppet achieved its desired shape, two black dots appearing on its face. The puppet looked to Twilight first and stamped its feet against the floor with a hiss, giving off the impression that it was throwing some kind of temper tantrum. Rarity might have found it amusing were she not scared out of her wits.

Eventually, giving the floor a final stomp, the puppet turned around and the second its eyes landed on Rarity, it became far less comical. Its entire being flared up, like fire from a stove, and it roared at her, looking absolutely and positively enraged.

If looks could kill, well…

Rarity instinctively stepped back, watching with horror as the puppet lifted its paw and a crackling ball of magic materialized in its palm. Her entire body froze in fear, and she could do nothing but stare and await certain death as the puppet hurled the ball straight at her, only missing by an inch because Twilight Sparkle quite literally flipped the table over with her magic, throwing Rarity off it.

Rarity fell to the floor with a painful thud and scrambled away just in time to see magic engulf the table and turn it into a vat of gooey green gelatin. She stared at it, once again petrified, and only reacted when the chaos magic roared angrily at being thwarted. Again, it stamped a foot against the floor, and now turned its rage to Twilight, taking several slow steps toward her.

“Rarity! Get out of here!” the princess commanded, eyes fixed on the puppet, standing tall with her wings flared even though the thing was forcing her to step back. And yet… And yet, despite the fact she was trying to be brave, Rarity could hear the crack in her voice. “Now, Rarity!”

Rarity got up, horrified. “What?! But, Twilight, I can’t just leave you he—!”

“Rarity, please!”

Rarity stepped back, fear still gripping her but no longer paralyzing her. She couldn’t just leave! She watched as the puppet roared again, continuing its path toward its retreating target, and with every second that passed, the more sure she was. Even Twilight looked terrified, and how could she not? How could she not when it was that same magic that had trapped her here in the first place?

Finally, Twilight Sparkle reached the wall, and the barrier—which Rarity realized must of course extend along the library’s entire footprint—prevented her from backing up further. She made an attempt to run, but the puppet hurled a magic ball right next to her and she froze on the spot.

“Twilight! Twilight, run!” Rarity yelled to no avail. “Run!”

Twilight simply stood there, immobile, making no sign of having heard Rarity. She stared at the puppet with wide, terrified eyes. The puppet let out a burst of ghastly laughter, and summoned not one but two crackling spheres.

This sight was what broke through the fear holding Rarity back. She’d never let that thing hurt Twilight again. She looked around, her eyes landing on nearby books scattered on the floor, and knew what to do.

The puppet, meanwhile, grew tired of toying with Twilight and, with a small wave to the alicorn, let out another laugh and launched the two spheres right at her. Except, just as before, they missed their target when Rarity jumped in front of the petrified alicorn and blocked the attack with a shield made entirely out of a dozen books cobbled together. The chaos magic slammed against it, pushing her back, but as she’d expected, the protection spell immediately activated and disintegrated the spheres.

“Like hell you will,” she snarled, adrenaline rushing through her body while she held the makeshift shield high in the air and threw the puppet a murderous glare.

The puppet hissed at the books, recoiling from Celestia’s magic just as the chaos magic from the dragon caves had, and even more so when Rarity swung the books at it like dozens of swords. It snarled in pain when one of the books touched and disintegrated part of its body, and then it ultimately conceded defeat by sticking out its tongue and descending back to the lower floor.

When it was clear the chaos magic would not be returning, Rarity’s magic ceased and the books fell to the floor as she let herself drop down onto her hindquarters, heart beating thunderously in her chest.

That was close.

She breathed in and out, in and out, her mind desperately trying to assimilate what had just happened. Once her breath settled a few moments later, she turned around to make absolutely sure Twilight was perfectly unharmed.

And indeed she was, though much like Rarity, she too looked shaken. She was still sitting on the floor, staring at the other mare with the same blank expression she’d directed at the chaos magic puppet.

“Twilight, darling?” Rarity asked, tentatively. “Are you all right?”

Twilight blinked once, twice, thrice before jumping up, wings splaying out. “Rarity, are you CRAZY?!”

Rarity blinked as well before jumping up too, indignant. “What? Excuse me?!”

“That thing could have killed you, Rarity!” Twilight exclaimed, looking at Rarity as if she’d lost her mind. “What were you even thinking?!”

Rarity stared at her, flabbergasted. “It was about to attack you, Twilight!”

“So?!” Twilight shot back. “What could chaos magic even do to me that’s worse than what I already am?! But you! It could kill you, or worse, and you just jump in front of it?!”

Well, now, this was unacceptable.

“Oh. Oh, I see,” Rarity said, raising an eyebrow. “What did you expect me to do?! I didn’t have time to think whether or not I should intervene! So do forgive me for not simply sitting there and watching as some monster attacks the pony I love! Terribly sorry, Princess Twilight!” she snapped, irate.

“Well, even so! I don’t know, Rarity, you could have done something that isn’t getting yourself killed!” Twilight shot back, before groaning and burying her face in her hooves.

Annoyed, Rarity whirled around in place, huffing for good measure.

The nerve of her!

Then again, arguing about it wasn’t terribly smart at that point, and their time would be much better served actually figuring out what in Equestria had happened rather than arguing over who was allowed to die for whom. Letting out a deep sigh, Rarity turned around again.

“Twilight, I understand you’re upset about it, but nothing happened, and…” She drifted off, frowning slightly. “Twilight?”

Twilight’s face was no longer buried in her hooves; she peeked over them at Rarity, a noticeable blush on her cheeks.

“What?” Rarity asked, disconcerted. She turned around, but when she found nothing behind her, returned to Twilight. “What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Twilight closed and opened her mouth several times, her cheeks flushing even more when she lowered her hooves and asked: “…Attacks the pony you love?”

Oh.

To say Rarity’s cheeks went up in flames would be a gross understatement. She usually prided herself on her ability to keep her emotions in check, but her body betrayed her.

“You… You…” Twilight stood up, mouth again opening and closing, like her brain was having a hard time processing the implications.

“Twilight,” Rarity carefully said, attempting some amount of damage control, “Twilight, I didn’t mean it that way! Love is a very, er, adaptable word and I simply care abo—”

“Wait! Applejack!” Twilight interrupted, a dictionary appearing next to her, which she leafed through. “She said you were flirting with me! And… And… you had serious intentions… and ‘flirting’ comes up again in my list of new words!”

“Twilight, I—!”

The book disappeared and instead a scroll took its place, which Rarity recognized as the scroll Sweetie had filled with modern terms for Twilight to learn. She quickly unfurled it, read it over and after a moment, stared at Rarity with a mix of both awe and shock.

“You love me…?”

Rarity stared at her, at a loss of what to say. There, it had been said, despite her loud heartbeat nearly drowning out every sound, because Twilight knew. She knew, she knew, oh dear heavens, she kne—

Truth be told, had this happened at any other time, it would have been fine! Perfect, even! Really! Maybe not the lovely little fantasy she held where her confession would come after Twilight’s liberation and they could actually do something about it, but she could adapt to any situation. Except, it was rather hard to feel encouraged to be bold and unravel Twilight’s feelings when they’d just avoided death by remnant chaos magic.

“Twilight Sparkle, this is not the moment to worry about my feelings for you, for goodness’ sake! We have to deal with your rampaging chaos magic—which, may I remind you, tried to kill us both!” Rarity said, trying to sound as stern as she could despite her intense desire to bury her face in her hooves. “Honestly, Twilight, where are your priorities?!”

Thankfully, that seemed to work, and Twilight’s wings spread out, her scroll disappearing.

“Uhhhhhhh, yes! Right, yes, yes, yes, okay, yes!” she blurted out, ending her own rambling by teleporting away just like that.

Rarity sighed, rubbing a hoof against her forehead.

Well, I suppose that could have gone worse, she thought.

Immediately after, however, a large smile spread across lips, and her other hoof rose up to shield her face. It didn’t go worse, did it? Twilight hadn’t reacted negatively yet, and… and…

A loud sound again erupted from below. Startled, she rushed across the floor and descended the spiral staircase, finding Twilight standing in front of the maze, a chalkboard next to her. When Rarity reached her, the alicorn was busy mumbling under her breath, writing down complex equations onto the chalkboard.

“Twilight?”

Twilight didn’t reply, instead looking up at the floating chandelier. “Swirl! Levitation of sections seven hundred through eight hundred!”

Swirl’s candles flashed once, and Rarity watched as dozens of beams of magic shot out from the chandelier toward the bookcases on the walls, removing rows and rows of books and presenting them to Twilight. Twilight nodded her head, satisfied.

“Sextuple square grid formation!” Twilight called out, and immediately the books were arranged in several six-by-six squares. Twilight nodded again. “Return to position!” she called out, and all the books did as instructed.

Rarity looked up at the chandelier. “What… What was that about?”

“Before Owlowiscious found my library, I used Star and Swirl to get books and materials.” Twilight trotted back toward the chalkboard and jotted down more equations. “Theoretically speaking, I could have them imitate your defense mechanism and summon the books to create shields if the chaos maze acts up.”

“But what caused all this?” Rarity asked, watching the maze warily. “How can it be you’ve been here more than a thousand years and this is the first time it’s reacted this way? What’s different now?”

Twilight pensively looked to the maze. “What changed?” After a moment, she turned to Rarity and her prominent blush returned full force. “…You. You’re what’s different.”

“Me?” Rarity said, taken aback.

“Yes? I mean, I don’t know, Rarity!” Twilight stammered, talking fast. “I haven’t really had time to analyze, and you’re the only thing that’s changed for me in a thousand years, and I—!” She cut herself off, returning to her chalkboard and writing quick equations. “Because you’re an independent variable, and so in theory, I think that maybe you… you…” She drifted off, the chalk levitating down just in time for Twilight to stand completely still, her back to Rarity, and then lift her hooves to her face to quietly say, “Oh my gosh.”

“Twilight Sparkle, if you’re going to have a blushing meltdown every time I speak to you from now on, this will make things somewhat difficult.”

Twilight immediately spun around, mortified. “I am not having a blushing meltdown!”

Unable to stop herself, Rarity said, “Yes, and I didn’t accidentally confess I love you.”

“R-Rarity!” Twilight all but gasped, turning at least thirty different shades of red before returning to face her chalkboard.

Oh dear, she was adorable, wasn’t she?

Too bad it was rendering her completely nonfunctional. Rarity realized that until they properly talked out the accidental confession, they simply weren’t going to get anywhere. A faint blush graced her own cheeks, but she took a deep breath and summoned up her courage, ready for whatever might happen.

It seemed as if she would have to nip the potential romance in the bud.

For now, at least.

Carefully, she trotted over to the alicorn and cleared her throat. Twilight jumped up like a startled animal and stared at the unicorn.

“Ummmm… Yes?”

Rarity gently smiled, trying to fight the blush that rose to her cheeks. “Twilight, may I see your checklist, please?”

Twilight shifted her eyes. “My checklist…?”

“Yes! You know the one,” Rarity continued. “The checklist where you put all the important affairs to deal with? The one from some time ago.”

“Oh!” Twilight’s ears flipped up in recognition before immediately lowering. “…Why?”

“Please, Twilight.”

Twilight immediately teleported her lengthy checklist, which Rarity gratefully took and unfurled. To her relief, there was still a decent amount of space at the bottom. Perfect.

“Now, as far as I understand, everything on this checklist is what matters, yes?” Rarity said, looking it over. “Everything written here must be done and discussed with utmost priority?”

“Yes.”

Rarity nodded, satisfied. “Fabulous! And, following that same train of thought, we can safely say that everything not on this list is as irrelevant as if it had never happened or mattered, yes?”

“…Yes.”

Rarity cleared her throat. “Be a darling and fetch me a quill, please? Thank you!” Rarity folded the scroll, preparing the quill Twilight brought her, and then carefully wrote down, “Talk about Maze and Discord,” drawing a small empty check box next to it.

“What did you write?” Twilight asked, teleporting behind Rarity and trying to read over her shoulder.

Rarity waited for Twilight to read before announcing, “There! Our little talk regarding the maze is now in our very important to-do list! And now, remember the little revelation I made upstairs?”

“Err, well, uhm—”

“Focus, Twilight.”

Twilight shook her head, making it a point to look at anything but Rarity. “Yes, I remember.”

“Well…”

Rarity turned back to the checklist. She opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated briefly. That… really wasn’t at all the way she would have liked for any of that to happen, but if she wanted to make progress and reassure the alicorn, she would need to play Twilight’s game. Though she was well aware Twilight was very fond of her, she didn’t want to have Twilight feel like she’d been cornered into a spot she perhaps didn’t want to be in.

“Well, that conversation—” She very reluctantly rolled up the scroll. “—my confession, and any related talk, will not go on this scroll. Therefore it does not matter or exist, and we can focus on other things, all right?”

That’s that, I suppose.

“But I want to put it on the checklist,” Twilight immediately said, as if she were firmly stating a fact.

Rarity blinked, her heart speeding up. “You… You do?”

And then did Twilight realize what she’d accidentally implied, jumping away from Rarity, cheeks flaring up.

“Yes? Maybe? I don’t know!” she blurted out, trotting off in quick circles. “I hadn’t really thought about any of this too much? I mean, maybe I have, especially after we first tried the necklace, and I’d never really felt that way before toward somepony! And the magazines you left here talk about it a bit, but they don’t really go into as much depth as I wanted, so I didn’t have a proper guide! And I’ve had other things to worry about like Discord, and the princesses, and I’m displaced in time, so I didn’t think a lot about it, because I wanted to analyze it after I was freed since the logical thing is to be freed first and then I could read books on the subject and make a plan and I don’t know!”

She stopped pacing, finally, and shot back to her chalkboard, again going over her equations while Rarity could only sit there, suppressing an absolutely smitten grin.

Well, well, well.

“Twilight? I have another idea.”

Twilight stopped her equations and turned to Rarity, still looking very much flustered.

“…Another idea?”

Rarity giggled, taking the checklist and unfurling. “Come here, darling,” she asked, and when Twilight did as much, she took the quill and cleared her throat. “Very well, then! Let’s see…”

With her absolute best calligraphy, she drew two more empty check boxes. For the first one, she wrote: “Free Princess Twilight Sparkle.” And then, for the check box below, and unable to stop herself from giggling, wrote: “Talk about our feelings for each other.”

“There!” she said, looking to Twilight. “Are we feeling more at ease now?”

Twilight nodded, biting down a smile.

“Now may we go back to the very urgent matter at hoof?”

“Uhm, yes!” Twilight said, and the embarrassed cough that followed made Rarity’s heart flip. “Let’s.”

Carefully, Twilight approached the maze, which brought back Rarity’s worries.

“Darling,” Rarity said, taking a few steps toward the alicorn and the maze. “Isn’t there another way to—”

Rarity’s sentence came to a stop when raspberry magic surrounded her and levitated her away from the maze. “Twilight!”

Twilight did not reply, and stepped closer to the maze despite Rarity’s protests. Her horn glowed brighter, and several scrolls appeared next to her, as well as the chalkboard from before.

“Twilight, can’t you at least stand away from it?!” Rarity called out, still held back by Twilight’s magic. “What if it attacks you again?!”

Twilight turned to Rarity. “I can’t study it if I’m not near it, Rarity,” she pointed out matter-of-factly before returning her gaze to the labyrinth. She lifted her hoof and inched it forward, ears pressed against her head—though whether it was out of fear or due to Rarity’s own protests, it was impossible to tell.

With Twilight’s touch, the magic activated and the maze moved around at a much more volatile pace. Twilight quickly teleported next to Rarity, ignoring the unicorn’s attempt to somehow grab her before she could teleport away again, and both watched as the bookcases flew up into the air and almost angrily rearranged themselves.

That done, Twilight dropped Rarity, levitated her chalkboard over, and wrote down a series of complex calculations. Rarity patiently waited the lengthy span of three minutes before prodding her crush.

“Twilight, this is getting us nowhere! We need to find out what triggered it!” Rarity whined. “Something we said or did caused this!”

Twilight turned to her and frowned. “You told me about the changelings, then how you cheated your way into telepor—Don’t look at me that way! You did!”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “I told you about the changelings and then my teleporting, yes, then I told you I’d be visiting Princess Denza, and how I got one of your books and…” She stopped. “What if it’s the books?”

“The books…?”

“Well, yes! It makes sense, doesn’t it? The more we find, the closer we are to freeing you, and I doubt Discord would be happy about that.”

That would somewhat explain why the puppet had looked specifically furious at her, especially considering she was the one bringing the books back.

Twilight nodded slowly. “I suppose that could be the reason? But it still doesn’t explain why it didn’t attack before… You’ve been bringing books back for nearly ten months now.”

“Maybe it didn’t think I’d be able to find so many? It didn’t believe in me?” Rarity suggested, before fluttering her eyelashes. “Just like a certain somepony else, Miss-Maybe-You-Will-Free-Me.”

Twilight playfully rolled her eyes. “Right.”

“And besides,” Rarity continued, “Pinkie might have answers. There’s a chance she might have dealt with chaos magic outbursts before, especially considering she’s been with Luna for nearly all her life.”

Twilight teleported the device away and, after giving the maze one last dirty look, trotted toward Rarity. Rarity lifted her hoof to cover a yawn, and realized it was probably getting quite late. It wouldn’t be terribly wise to wander the Everfree Forest alone at night, especially when she no longer had a way to instantaneously communicate with Twilight.

“You have to go home?” Twilight asked, ears dropping slightly.

“I’m afraid that would be a wise choice, yes, sweetheart,” Rarity replied, offering an apologetic smile. “Don’t want to be out and about too late.”

A few minutes later, the two mares found themselves at the library’s entrance, and it was clear that neither of them really wanted Rarity to leave.

“Well, I suppose I shall be going now,” Rarity said for the fifth time, determined not to have her farewell extended any longer. The longer she delayed it, the less she wanted to leave. She adjusted her saddlebag and turned to the uninviting tunnel. “See you tomorrow, then!”

“Oh, Rarity, wait!”

Rarity turned around. “Mm?”

Twilight cleared her throat, looking a bit flustered. “I… umm…”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “…Yes? You ‘ummm’…?”

The question only seemed to fluster Twilight more, whose attempts to look strong and proud were greatly diminished by the way she was pawing at the floor with her hoof.

“I… errr… uh, yes,” she said with finality.

Rarity giggled. “I ‘uh yes’ you too, darling.”

Twilight snorted, playfully rolling her eyes. “Ha ha, very funny.”

“Oh hush, Twilight,” Rarity said, brimming with confidence, “you know you love me.”

Though Rarity meant it, she’d only said it to tease the alicorn and get another reaction out of her, but what she didn’t expect was what happened next.

Without missing a beat, Twilight laughed softly and said, “Yeah.”

Of course, not even a second later she processed her own words and then did Rarity get the flustered reaction she’d aimed for as Twilight nearly jumped back. “Wait, I mean, no! Maybe! I don’t know!” she quickly blurted out before teleporting away just as fast.

One, two, three seconds went by before she teleported back, looking extremely embarrassed. “Forget I did that.”

Rarity couldn’t help a laugh. “I’ll try, but I can’t promise anything!” she said, stepping into the tunnel and trotting off, butterflies stirring up a hurricane in her stomach.

She’d trotted the colossal distance of an entire five steps when she stopped and turned around. “On second thought.”

Twilight, still standing by the entrance, perked up. “On second thought?”

Rarity trotted back.

“On second thought, you know, I just simply don’t feel comfortable leaving you here alone after that thing tried attacking you,” she said, stepping back into the library. Granted, there was nothing she could do against it that Twilight couldn’t with Star and Swirl now, but still. “And I’ve finished all my commissions for now, so there’s really no harm in me staying over.”

“Sweetie Belle’s sleepover mattress is here,” Twilight quickly added. “It’s already late, and it’s a better idea for you to leave tomorrow morning.”

“Yes! And you know, I didn’t finish telling you about Heart’s Haven! See, all the more reason to stay,” she added, nodding in unison with Twilight. Noticing this, she stopped nodding and smiled widely. “Besides, let’s face it, you’re absolutely hopeless without me. I did have to rescue you from that awful thing, after all.”

Twilight snorted, trotting alongside Rarity deeper into the library. “Me? What about you? I’m the one who had to get you off that table before you were turned into green goo!”

Rarity sighed theatrically. “Oh dear, you did save me, did you not? I suppose that means we’ll just have to be each other’s heroes then, won’t we?”

Twilight laughed, looking happier than Rarity had ever seen her.

“That sounds great.”

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Interlude V ~ A Filly's Nightmare ~

Princess Luna hated birthdays.

Not hers, though; she had long ago stopped knowing or caring how old she was. No, she hated the birthdays of foals, for they served as reminders of her inevitable fate: being forgotten.

She took a deep breath and observed the scenery before her. A lush forest went on for miles and miles, and right in the middle of it gleamed a massive, crystal-clear lake. It was a memory from her foalhood, when she and Celestia once traveled far beyond Equestria and found the secret haven. A day spent in bliss, filled with laughter and joy, before duties and responsibilities took it all away from them.

Long ago, she would have given much to be able to go back to those times, but now a single thing had changed those tides and washed away her desire for olden years.

Princess Luna stood up and moved toward the edge of the lake, looking down at the reflection staring up at her. Beyond it, she could see the bottom of the lake with its rocks, fish, and treasure chests. But despite a quick search, she could not find the treasure she was interested in.

Where is she?

For a moment, worry crept into her heart, but it was quickly dispelled. They were in a dream, and physical damage could befall nopony in the realms of imagination—emotional, perhaps, but never physical.

Finally, she saw her, the twelve-year-old filly enjoying herself at the bottom of the lake, eagerly swimming toward the treasure chest alongside an overgrown alligator. Pinkie Pie opened up the treasure chest, reached inside, and took something out before looking up toward Luna and waving.

“Did you find the treasure?” Luna asked when Pinkie rose up to the surface.

The filly nodded, unable to speak due to the water in her mouth, making her look like a chipmunk of sorts. Pinkie lifted her hoof above water, presenting Luna with a beautiful silver necklace which the princess gratefully accepted. She admired it for a moment, and when she turned back to Pinkie, intent on praising the find, the filly expelled the water by spitting it directly at Luna.

“Got you!” she yelled, giggling with delight, and then dived back into the water before Luna could react.

With a spark of magic, Pinkie’s attempts to flee were halted. Luna levitated her out of the water and into the air, where Pinkie kept swimming upside down.

“That’s cheating!” Pinkie protested, swimming as fast as she could yet moving not an inch.

“I am allowed to cheat,” Luna replied, smiling mischievously when Pinkie stopped to cross her legs and stick her tongue out at the princess.

“Really old ponies like you are always allowed to cheat. S’not fair.”

Luna gently placed Pinkie on the floor, and another spark of her horn changed the scenery. The lake and forest disappeared, as did the sky and clouds, replaced instead with an endless valley under a starlit night.

“In olden days, to insult me in such a way would result in a most severe punishment,” Luna remarked. “A century in the dungeons would be a fitting sentence for you.”

Pinkie giggled. “You always say that,” she pointed out. “You know what? I’m gonna be a super big pony tomorrow! I’ll be thirteen, and Mommy says that makes me an adult! I’m gonna eat the BIGGEST cake to celebrate!”

Luna frowned. “When my thirteenth birth celebration arrived, I had to prove myself by finding the lost relics in the arid eastern deserts.”

Pinkie gasped. “Did you really?”

“No.” Luna’s smile quickly returned. “Sister asked the servants to bake me many pastries, and then I spent a week in bed with a most unforgiving stomach ache. Plus the reminder to never eat a hundred pastries in less than a day.”

Luna trotted off into the valley with Pinkie following behind. She made her way to the middle of the valley and then sat down on her hindlegs, sparks of magic shooting out of her horn and rearranging the stars into dozens of various patterns.

“Do a kitty!” Pinkie suggested, sitting right next to the princess while looking up at the sky.

“They will talk to you tomorrow,” Luna said, watching as the kitten in the stars yawned and stretched itself. They always do, and then take them away from me.

“Who’s gonna talk to me?” Pinkie asked. “Oh! You mean Elder Moonshine? She stopped by our house yesterday and said tomorrow’s gonna be a special day! I’m going to start helping with Seeking Night!”

Luna did not reply. She knew enough of Seeking Night thanks to dreams of foals and Pinkie herself. A celebration—or mockery, more like it—meant to treat the imprisonment of her and the others as a little game for foals. At least foals truly believed they were helping the princesses, truly believed their little actions would set them free.

But when they turned thirteen, they were invited to help with the festivities, and one could not believe in a mockery if one knew it was such.

There were a few foals, every now and then, who struggled with the idea that she was not “real.” They’d let her into their dreams maybe two or three weeks following their birthday, but eventually the doors would close, and each time, Luna felt her dream of escape dying a little more.

“Are you going to throw me a huge birthday party, Princess Luna?” Pinkie asked, ears perking up.

“Of course,” Luna replied. “I will spend the entire day preparing it, but…” She turned to Pinkie Pie and lowered herself. “Thou must Pinkie-promise thou wilt attend.”

“Of course I will, silly!” Pinkie exclaimed with a giggle. “Why wouldn’t I?”

It had been a full week since Luna last saw Pinkie Pie.

A full week in which the princess had entered every door, dispelled every nightmare, and found dozens of foals, but not a single one with the name Pinkie Pie. When foals slept and nighttime left, the Princess of the Moon would usually awaken as well, to glare at her prison and the barrier that trapped her, if only to hope something would be different.

But that week, the princess did not awaken.

She stayed in her dream world of fantasies and illusions, clinging to the hope that a door with a pink filly behind it would appear in the distance.

She took a deep breath, and looked around at her usual valley. Her home away from home, her haven in her nocturnal prison. She looked up to the stars, replicas of the real ones she so longed to see, and though she felt inclined to move them about she could not bring herself to do so.

Maybe Pinkie had simply not gone to bed yet. She’d taken so many sugary treats during her celebration that the rush had kept her away from slumber’s hooves. For a week. Surely.

Or maybe, a voice inside her whispered, she’s forgotten you just like everypony else.

“Highly unlikely.”

Luna turned around and a smile forced its way onto her lips at the sight of a familiar unicorn, her face stuck in a book. This was the image Luna treasured: the booksmart unicorn not yet damaged by three alicorns who should have known better.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said, looking back to the stars, “it’s been a long time since we have seen you last.”

“According to the facts,” Twilight continued, a chart appearing next to her, “Pinkie Pie has remembered your every dream with one hundred percent accuracy, which statistically speaking means that being told you don’t exist should do virtually nothing to change the existing variables.” The chart disappeared and Twilight giggled gleefully. “She probably got a really intense sugar rush.”

“And if she didn’t?” Luna asked.

“She did,” Twilight insisted. “I’m sure of it.”

Luna laughed, still staring at the stars. “You used to have such confidence,” she remarked. “Where did it go?”

“You took it away from me,” a different yet familiar voice said.

Luna looked down and her heart fell at the sight. Twilight Sparkle was there, yes, yet not the unicorn Luna knew, but the bitter alicorn her sister, Cadance, and she herself had created. Princess Twilight Sparkle stood next to Luna, taller than before despite the literal chains weighing her wings down. She looked toward the distance, her eyes plagued with the fear, guilt, and misery Luna had grown used to.

Luna stepped back. “Have we not gone through this enough?”

Without her permission, the dreamscape changed. The beautiful valley turned into one of Canterlot Castle’s familiar chambers, and inside were visions of her past. Twilight Sparkle, the princess, rushing into the room, tears in her eyes, and following behind was a Luna from long ago.

“Twilight Sparkle!” the other Luna yelled, fury tainting her words. “We will not tolerate thy attitude! Thou wert ascended because thou earned it!”

“No!” Twilight yelled, turning back and slamming her hoof against the floor. “Stop lying! This is a lie!” She extended her wings and pointed to them. “All of this! All of it!”

“Thou darest question my sister’s choices?!”

“No,” Twilight hissed. “I would never question Princess Celestia’s choices. I know why she did this! Not because I deserved it, but because it’s my fau—”

“Enough!” the other Luna roared, now stamping her own hoof against the floor. “I grow weary, Twilight Sparkle, of those three words that now plague your vocabulary!”

“But it’s true! I’m a joke! A farce!” Twilight protested, and tears flowed freely down her face. She fell down to her hindquarters, burying her face in her hooves and whimpering helplessly. “Please, Princess Luna… I don’t want this nightmare… Please…”

“Enough!” Luna yelled, her horn dispelling the memory—or nightmare; she could no longer tell. She turned to her vision of Twilight and stamped her hoof against the floor. “What do we gain by this?!”

“You aren’t needed,” Twilight said, and the chains around her wings broke and fell to the floor. Her horn flashed once, twice, thrice and again the scenery changed.

Luna gritted her teeth, turning around to find herself in the castle’s entrance. Again, another Twilight and another Luna appeared, trotting toward a carriage upon which Twilight brusquely threw her saddlebag.

“The war is over, Twilight Sparkle,” memory Luna said. “We vanquished Discord! We are at peace! There is no need to lea—”

“This isn’t victory, Princess Luna,” Twilight said, turning to the older alicorn. “And we can’t wait until the worst happens.”

“But it is not up to thee to mend!” memory Luna protested. “Thou were not the one who took the decision! We should be the ones to seek—”

“Princess Twilight! Are you ready?”

The two princesses turned around and found an armored stallion trotting toward them. He bowed before the two of them before awaiting their instructions.

Twilight’s expression immediately shifted, from angered to kind. “Captain Cobbler! I am, yes! All of our things are in place. Where’s your family?”

“They are already on their way to Ponyville, Princess,” he informed. “We only wait for yourself and your young ward.”

Twilight nodded. “Thank you.” She glanced at Luna. “Captain, could you get Spike? He must be in the kitchens.”

“Of course!” Captain Cobbler said, rushing off.

Once he was gone, memory Luna spoke up.

“If thou truly wish to leave, then let us help—”

“No!” Twilight roared, slamming her hoof against the floor. “No! I don’t want your help! You already helped me once, and look how that turned out!”

Memory Luna replied in kind. “Don’t be a fool! There is nothing wrong with seeking he—”

“I said I don’t want it, Princess Luna!” Twilight shot back. “I can do this on my ow—”

“NO, YOU CAN’T!” memory Luna thundered, enough that the entire room shook and Twilight recoiled. She slammed her hoof against the floor, enraged. “This—!” She pointed an accusing hoof at Twilight. “This foolish stubbornness and undying confidence of thine is what caused all of this!”

A moment of silence followed her statement as Twilight took a step back, her eyes growing wide. The other Luna reacted the same way, with immediate grief and regret.

“Wait! No, I apologize, Twilight Sparkle. I was upset and did not mean what I—”

“Yes, you did!” Twilight yelled, and her voice cracked, then softened. “Yes, you did,” she repeated, resentment leaking out with every syllable. She lifted her hoof and wiped her eyes before turning around and jumping into the cart, offering Luna her back. “I don’t need you, Princess Luna. I don’t want your help.”

Luna, the real one, couldn’t take any more, again dispelling the memory, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. And yet, despite her efforts, the first Twilight remained, still standing next to her, as unforgiving as Luna’s own conscience—because that’s what she was, wasn’t she?

“Why did you do that to me, Princess Luna?” Twilight asked, still looking toward the distance. “Why didn’t you find another way?”

And Luna replied, forgetting it was a dream. “We did what we did to help you, Twilight Sparkle! We did what we thought was best! We never thought it would turn out that way, we never thought we’d…” She drifted off, the words stuck in her throat. “We made a mistake.”

And again, the last memory made its way forward, and Luna knew what it was before it came. It was always that memory that haunted every nightmare, every dream, every moment of the alicorn’s life. The scenery changed again to a large room where her younger self sat, face buried in her hooves. Unintelligible screams could be heard outside, part of a riot she could never forget.

There was a guard by the door, who always asked the same condemning question.

“Princess Luna? Is it true?” he asked, taking off his helmet. “Did Discord really ask for… for Princess Twilight’s drag—”

“Auntie Luna!”

Cadance ran into the room, out of breath and desperate.

Memory Luna immediately rose. “What is it, Cadance?”

“Please… Twilight… She’s not reacting… I don’t know what to do…”

The dream moved and shifted, following the memories of Luna and Cadance out into the hallways and corridors, ending in an empty conference room. Twilight was there, at the end of the room, slumped against the wall repeating the same thing over and over, as if stuck in a trance.

“It was my fault.”

Funny how even then, thousands of years later, Twilight’s voice saying those words was still so firmly implanted in her psyche.

“Twilight,” memory Luna said, carefully making her way toward the young alicorn. “Twilight, thou must rise from this.”

Twilight did no such thing, barely even acknowledging the other ponies in the room.

“Twilight, please,” Cadance pleaded, similarly approaching the young mare. “Please, we’ve been over this.”

And as Luna watched the sorry scene, so too did she remember. She remembered the helplessness, the anger that boiled inside her at seeing her beloved friend in such a state, at seeing what everything had come down to.

“It was my fault,” Twilight repeated, and oh, what Luna would have given to change her past self’s reaction.

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” memory Luna roared. “THOU WILT STOP SAYING THAT AT ONCE!”

“Please, Aunt Luna!” Cadance yelled back. “This isn’t the way!”

“What other way is there?! Look at her! Look at what she’s—”

“Twilight.”

Silence filled the room as the memories, and Luna herself, turned toward the newcomer. Luna felt tears sting at her eyes, though she could not tell whether it was because she felt bitter toward her sister or because she missed her dearly.

Celestia, ever regal and graceful even in the darkest of times, stood under the frame of the door, garnering the attention of the room as effortlessly as she raised the sun.

“Princess…”

Memory Luna and Cadance turned around to find Twilight Sparkle, tears bordering her eyes, fixed on the elder alicorn.

“Princess Celestia…” she repeated again, and in a second she stood up and rushed toward the alicorn, missing the hurt expression that haunted the younger Luna.

Celestia went to Twilight’s side, embracing the weeping alicorn.

“Cadance,” Celestia said, looking up to her niece, “Go outside with your husband and see to the ponies. The last thing we need is a riot.”

“Yes, Aunt Celestia,” Cadance said, throwing Twilight one last worried glance before rushing out of the room.

“Luna,” Celestia said next. “Go to the dragons and negotiate for more time.”

“But Sister!” Luna protested. “I cannot leave Twilight Sparkle in this state!”

“Luna,” Celestia repeated again, her voice less kind. “Please tend to the dragons. If there isn’t a princess with them, they may take it as an offense and make a choice for us! Please, we cannot go to war with the dragons!”

“But Twilight needs me! Thou goest!”

“No! No, please, stay!” Twilight yelped between sobs, clutching onto Celestia. “I don’t know what to do! I didn’t want this, please, I’m sorry, I can’t fix it!”

Luna stepped forward. “But Twilight…”

“Luna, you are not needed here! I will see to Twilight!” Celestia barked, and the two Lunas stepped back. “Go to the dragons! NOW! PLEASE!”

Immediately did the memory stop, but it wasn’t Luna who did so. She turned around to find Twilight looking right at her.

“Cadance helped me,” she said. “Celestia helped me. You did nothing. You don’t deserve to be remembered.”

“Um… excuse me? Miss?”

Twilight disappeared, and Luna was overcome with dread upon recognizing that voice. She gulped and forced herself to turn around, coming face to face with Pinkie Pie, looking up at her with a curious expression.

“Who are you?”

Luna stepped back, tears flowing down her cheeks, struggling to remind herself that it was just a dream, it was just a dream, it was just a nightmare.

And then, in the distance, a black flashing door appeared, the pathway to the nightmare of one of Hollow Shades’ foals. Without hesitation, she rushed away from Pinkie Pie and headed toward it, eager to escape her own terrible dreams.

Once she crossed the doorway and shut it behind her, Luna fell to her hindlegs, breathing heavily.

“I don’t need your help, Princess Luna.”

“You are not needed here!”

“Who are you?”

Luna forced herself to stand up, doing her best to dispel the voices in her head. She looked around, finding herself at the outskirts of Hollow Shades, the night sky overtop. She made her way toward the town, trying to find the source of the nightmare.

“Liar!”

A voice in the distance. No… several voices, all viciously screaming the same thing over and over. Luna rushed to them, her own grievances forgotten, and arrived at the main plaza where her statue stood. Ponies of all ages circled the statue, and as Luna made her way through them, she saw who they were screaming at—and it filled her with rage.

There was Pinkie Pie, backed up against the statue, tears flowing from her eyes.

“No! I-I’m not lying!” Pinkie begged, shaking her head. “Princess Luna is real! I promise!”

“Liar!” a foal yelled. “Princess Luna doesn’t exist! Stop making things up!”

“But I’m not! I’m not, please, I’m not!”

“Hah!” a mare said, scoffing. “No wonder you come from Tall Tale! Liar!”

“Liar! Liar! Liar!”

“No!” Pinkie shouted before Luna could intervene, running away from the crowd and into the nearby forest.

“Pinkie Pie!” Luna shouted to no avail, running after the filly deeper into the forest.

“Princess Luna! Where are you?! Please, Princess Luna!” Pinkie desperately called, running away from the village and Luna. “I need you! Princess Luna!”

Before Luna’s eyes, Pinkie tripped and fell to the ground with a painful yelp before curling up into a ball and starting to cry.

It was a familiar sight. Luna had long remembered Pinkie’s first nightmare in Hollow Shades; she remembered a little filly curled up into a ball in the middle of a forest, crying for help, and she remembered humming a lullaby of olde as she approached the young one.

And so, just like before, Luna hummed quietly as she approached, watching as the little filly stopped crying to look around at her with big, terrified eyes.

“Princess Luna!” Pinkie called out, getting up and falling down in her rush.

Before she could get up, Luna levitated her with her own magic and brought the filly to her, enveloping her in a warm hug.

“There, there, Little One,” she soothed, her own tears falling onto Pinkie. “I am here.”

“They said you weren’t re-real! A-and I couldn’t find you anymore!” Pinkie blubbered, holding onto the alicorn with all her might. “I was so scared I’d never se-see you again!”

“That is a nightmare that will never come to pass, Pinkie Pie,” Luna continued, still holding her tight.

Pinkie hiccuped, looking up and reaching out to touch Luna’s muzzle with her forehooves. “It’s you? The real really real you?”

Luna leaned down, nuzzling Pinkie Pie, relief overflowing her.

“Yes, Little One,” she whispered. “So long as you believe in me, it will always be the real me.”

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Maxi.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act II ~ 24 ~ The Light of the Library ~

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

You don't get what all this is about
You're too wrapped up in your self doubt
You've got that young blood, set it free

~ King by Lauren Aquilina

~ Act II ~ 24 ~ The Light of the Library ~

Rarity sometimes likened Twilight to light.

It was a peculiar word to describe somepony, wasn’t it? Or that’s what Twilight would say, at least. She’d roll her eyes and point out that light was a concept, a notion, the result of the sun shining overhead or a candle flickering in the darkness. And yet, Twilight Sparkle was like light.

Rarity could be clever and point out that the word itself was inscribed in the alicorn’s name, or that her first name represented a shifting in light between day and night, but those weren’t the reasons for the description. There was a time—Rarity couldn’t remember when exactly—that the lights in the library had gone out, and there was nothing but the voices of a unicorn and an alicorn.

This is what it feels like, Twilight had said, out of nowhere, a statement of unprompted, unplanned sincerity. It feels like I can’t see the light, only the dark.

At that time Rarity had said nothing, remaining silent because her heart did not yet dare to prod further, but she remembered it nevertheless. She remembered the statement, and it wasn’t until that moment, watching Twilight quietly read, that the answer came to her.

Of course she wasn’t able to see any light.

How could she when the light was coming from her, when her very presence had drawn Rarity to her time and time again, like a moth to flame without care for whether it burned or not?

“Rarity?”

Chin resting on her hooves, Rarity smiled at the alicorn sitting on the other side of the table, who’d apparently lost interest in her book.

“Mmm?”

“What are you thinking about?” Twilight asked, closing the book with her magic and fixing Rarity with that intensely curious gaze of hers. Twilight never simply looked at Rarity, did she? She saw her, made her the focus of all her attention, much like she was the center of Rarity’s.

Rarity hummed. “I was thinking about you.”

Twilight blushed with embarrassed pleasure at this, and Rarity was hardly able to stop her smitten smile from growing wider.

“Haha…” Twilight rolled her eyes and softly smiled, and what a heavenly smile it was, Rarity thought. “What are you really thinking about?”

Rarity giggled audibly, much at Twilight’s expense, who was now sporting a brighter red. “I was wondering how much longer it would take the girls to arrive.”

Twilight opened her book again. “I still don’t understand why you didn’t go with them. Pinkie hasn’t met Applejack, has she?”

“No, but Pinkie Pie specifically stated in her letter that she wanted me to stay with you,” Rarity replied, leaning back. “She believes my presence here would make you less inclined to change your mind halfway through.”

Twilight frowned. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“I know, sweetheart, but this means a lot to her. She wants to make sure everything will turn out perfectly, for her and you.”

Twilight’s ears flicked down, and she stared at her book. After a moment, she looked back to the unicorn and asked, “Do I look all right?”

Rarity thought it a silly question. It was as if Twilight had forgotten she was currently stuck in the same, unchanging physical appearance. She felt inclined to point it out, but instead she sighed in an exaggeratedly dreamlike way and said, “Dearest Twilight! You are a sight for the sorest of eyes, the sunshine of this dark and dismal wor—mmph!”

Her sentence came to an end when a flustered Twilight magicked her muzzle shut.

“Thank you,” the alicorn pointedly said, and Rarity would have giggled again if she could have.

When Twilight finally let go, Rarity continued, “You did block the stairs, didn’t you?”

Twilight nodded. “I cast a barrier spell to stop them from trying to go downstairs. They’d have to knock me out to dispel it.”

Rarity nodded. “Fabulous! We’re all set then.”

The last thing she wanted was for the sleepover to be canceled, or for them to be in danger throughout it, so she and Twilight had spent most of the week making sure the library was as secure as it could be. The maze had become increasingly irate toward Twilight, activating itself the second she approached, but immediately calming whenever Swirl deployed a book barrier.

Only Applejack and Fluttershy knew what had happened a week prior. Fluttershy had been apprehensive, but the attack did not deter her from wanting to visit Twilight. Applejack had also relented once she’d seen the security measures implemented.

“They’re here!” Sweetie’s voice called out in the distance, ending the conversation. “Rarity! Princess Twilight!”

Rarity stood up, clapping her hooves. “Showtime, darling! Now shoo! Go hide somewhere!” she urged, gesturing to her crush.

Twilight threw her a playful look before teleporting away. That done, Rarity got up and called the chandelier to come down. Star immediately obeyed, transforming into a candelabra and submerging the library in darkness. With Star illuminating her path, Rarity made her way to the library’s entrance.

“Come on, Rarity!” Scootaloo called; she, Sweetie, and Apple Bloom were waiting at the threshold.

The four of them made their way through the tunnel and ascended the stairs. When they emerged from the trapdoor, the group found Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie trotting toward the edge of the depression.

“—and it’s not sooooo bad, Applejack! Lots of ponies don’t believe me, either!” Pinkie was saying, loudly enough that the entire forest could probably hear. She was blindfolded, again at her own insistence. “I’m sure Fritter Cobbler isn’t mad at you, or your parents, or your grandparents, or your grandparents’ grandparents, or your grandparents’ grandparents’ grandpa—”

“All right, sugarcube, you can finish that thought later,” Applejack interrupted, seeming relieved to have to put an end to the conversation. She was carrying a large basket with her, and Rarity pictured the apple pies she’d promised to bring within.

“But, I still have a lot of ponies left!” Pinkie protested, still walking straight toward the hole until AJ pulled her back. “Why’d we stop?! I didn’t trip again! Or did I?” she asked, blindly waving her hoof around.

“Hello, everypony!” Rarity called out, eliciting a surprised gasp from Pinkie.

“Rarity?! That sounded like Rarity! Was it Rarity?! Does that mean we’re here?!” she asked in a flurry. Before anypony could reply, she tore her blindfold off and her eyes widened at the sight.

Rarity watched with delight as Pinkie’s mouth fell open, her eyes glued to the oak tree. Without warning, Pinkie rushed forward, and much like Rarity when she first found the library, fell face-first into the hole surrounding the tree.

Rarity rushed to help the mare up. “Pinkie! Goodness, are you all right?!”

Pinkie nodded effusively, apparently too excited to care about her fall. She trotted over to the tree, leaving Rarity to wait for Applejack and Fluttershy to join her. After a moment, when she looked back toward the tree, she found Pinkie and the Cutie Mark Crusaders huddled around the trapdoor.

“Rarity!” Pinkie exclaimed, pointing to the metal plaque on the tree. “It’s just like you said!”

Rarity smiled, trotting over and lifting the trapdoor with her magic. “Shall we?” she asked, laughing when Pinkie eeped and practically threw herself down the stairs before awkwardly coming back up and asking if Rarity would like to go first—it was dark, after all.

With Rarity providing illumination, one by one the mares followed her into the dark tunnel, Pinkie right behind Rarity. As they trotted further in, the mare blurted out a plethora of questions, such as whether Twilight would like her, what was the library like, and were the books like ghosts too?

“That doesn’t even make sense!” Scootaloo said, the last one to step into the dark room.

“But it totally does!” Pinkie protested, squinting into the darkness. “Where’s the light switch?”

“Fluttershy? Would you like to do the honors?” Rarity asked, ignoring her sister’s protests over how she wanted to do it, Rarity!

Fluttershy, somewhere in the darkness, giggled and then cleared her throat. “Star? Light, please.”

“Who’s Star?” Pinkie whispered urgently. “I don’t remember you telling me about her! Or him? Them?”

Her question was answered when Star levitated itself toward the ceiling, Pinkie’s enthused gasp filling the room when it turned into a chandelier and illuminated the entire library in a sweeping motion.

“Oh. My. Gosh,” Pinkie said, eyes wide.

Rarity could hardly contain her giddy giggling.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” she said, trotting forth before turning to Pinkie and gesturing toward the bookcases with her forehoof. “Welcome to Princess Twilight Sparkle’s library! You are a much-anticipated guest, Miss Pie.”

Before another word could be said, Pinkie rushed forward, the fillies running behind her in an impromptu exploration of the library, who in turn were followed by Fluttershy just to make sure they went nowhere near the currently off-limits maze.

“So, where’s the princess?” Applejack asked, placing her basket on a nearby table. “Figured she’d be waiting for us.”

Rarity trotted off toward the bookcases. “She’s hiding, I hope! I thought Pinkie might like it if their introduction came as a surprise!”

As she ventured deeper into the library, she could hear Pinkie’s voice in the distance, still as excited as ever. After a moment, the mare appeared, seeming intent on reporting her findings.

“Rarity, I can’t find the princess!” she exclaimed, though she didn’t seem all that disappointed. “But I found a bunch of really old books on rocks! Do you think maybe Princess Twilight will let me borrow them for my family?! My sister Maud loves rocks!”

“I’m sure she’ll be delighted to do so,” Rarity replied. “Why not go and pick them out now?”

“Okie-dokie-lokie!” Pinkie exclaimed, running away and again disappearing from sight.

Where is Twilight? Rarity wondered, thinking that perhaps the surprise could wait no longer. She looked up, a habit she’d developed thanks to Twilight’s bookcase-top trekking habits, and she couldn’t help a smile at the sight of the alicorn standing atop a nearby bookcase, watching Pinkie.

After a moment, the princess teleported down, ignoring Rarity’s presence, and instead peeked into the hallway, following the pink mare. A terrible idea formed in Rarity’s head, which she simply couldn’t resist. As quietly as she could, she crept up behind Twilight and then, summoning all her magic, teleported right in front of her.

“Ah, here you are!”

Twilight eeked and stumbled back, startled by the unicorn’s sudden appearance.

“My, my, my!” Rarity said, smiling deviously. “The tables have turned, have they not?”

“Rarity!” Twilight whispered urgently, using her magic to pull Rarity into the aisle. “Don’t scare me like that! I thought you wanted me to surprise her!”

“You know, I think I’ve changed my mind,” Rarity cheekily replied. “Now, hush! Don’t move!” She turned around, cleared her throat, and exclaimed, “Oh! Twilight! Here you are!”

A distant gasp filled the room, and Rarity stared at the corner of the aisle with bated breath. A moment or so later, her patience was rewarded when slowly, very slowly, a pink face peeked into the aisle and then quickly disappeared after having caught sight of the two mares waiting. Not even a split-second later, however, Pinkie’s face reappeared and she cautiously stepped into the aisle, eyes fixed on the smiling alicorn.

Rarity stepped to the side, content with watching the scene unfold.

After several slow steps, Pinkie finally reached the princess. Pinkie stared at Twilight, and it was quite odd to see the pink mare so completely speechless for once. Furthermore, out of all of Rarity’s envisioned outcomes, she had certainly never expected to see tears bordering the earth pony’s eyes.

“You look just like… like Princess Luna showed me…”

Twilight faltered for a moment, but when Pinkie let out a childish smile, her resolve returned and she smiled back.

“Hello, Pinkie Pie. It’s nice to meet you,” she said, and was thrown off when Pinkie gasped.

“She knows my name!” Pinkie whispered urgently. “She knows my name…” Her awed statement dissolved into a fit of nervous giggles, and in but a second, the old Pinkie Pie returned, jumping up and down in place despite the tears still bordering her eyes. “H-hi, Princess Twilight! I’m Pinkie Pie! Princess Luna told me lots about you!” She bowed down several times, but continued talking before Twilight could interrupt. “And look! I made you something!”

She reached into her saddlebag and took out a plastic bag with a cupcake inside.

“It’s a bit squished ’cause I tripped in the forest, but it still tastes really good, I promise!” she insisted, nodding eagerly. “And I know you can’t eat it yet, but if you leave it in the bag, it’ll last up to three weeks thanks to a spell the local bakery helped me with!”

Rarity nearly snorted. Twilight free in three weeks! That would be a miracle…

“Oh, er, thank you,” Twilight replied, taking the bag in her magic and admiring the cupcake. She teleported it away and fell silent.

This disconcerted Rarity momentarily. Twilight had been dying to ask Pinkie Pie all sorts of questions about Luna, so why wasn’t she doing as much?

“Princess Luna told you about me?” she suddenly asked, as if the question had come without permission.

Pinkie quickly nodded. “Uh-huh! All the time! Sometimes, if she’s in a really good mood, she’ll show me silly memories of you and her! Like, that one time, in the astronomy tower, when a cute little rat came in and you screamed so hard you almost broke the telescope and—”

Rarity blinked. “You what?”

Twilight pointedly ignored the question. “But, I mean… she doesn’t have…” She faltered, gesturing aimlessly with her hoof. “She didn’t say… bad things about me…? She’s not angry?”

Rarity frowned at Twilight. “Twilight, we talked—”

“Angry?! Why would she be angry?!” Pinkie asked, aghast. “Don’t be silly, silly! Unless it’s fun silly, and then you should tooootally be silly, but you’re not being the good kind of silly! You’re just being plain silly!” Pinkie shook her head and then once again reached into her saddlebag, except rather than pull out another mushed-up cupcake, she extracted a neatly sealed envelope and hoofed it to Twilight. “Here!”

Rarity leaned over, inspecting the envelope. The swirly pink calligraphy made it obvious who had penned it, but what Rarity found curious was the name written down as the sender.

“From Princess Luna?” she asked, blinking at Pinkie. Wasn’t that, well, impossible?

Pinkie nodded. “Uh-huh! Princess Luna wanted to write Princess Twilight a letter!” she replied, hopping up and down in place. “See, I told her I would help, but ohmigosh, it was sooooo hard! Because Princess Luna told me the letter in dreams, so then I’d wake up to write it down, but I kept forgetting what she told me! I had to keep sleeping and waking up because I only remembered a few words sometimes, and then other times I remembered the ending but not the middle and it took us a whole week to write it! That’s like forever! But we did it! …Weeeell, maybe I missed a few words, but I think I did okay! Unless I didn’t, but I could try again if you want me to!” She took a deep, satisfied breath and then remembered something. “Oh! Oh, and I promise I totally don’t remember anything I wrote! Except maybe all of it, but I promise I won’t tell!”

Rarity turned to Twilight, expecting the alicorn to thank Pinkie, but seeing as Twilight was transfixed by the envelope, she decided she might as well do it.

“Why, Pinkie! That was terribly kind of you to do that,” Rarity said, bowing her head to the mare. “I’m sure Twilight is very grateful, aren’t you, Twilight?”

Twilight looked up. “Huh? O-oh! Yes, thank you, Pinkie Pie! I really appreciate it…” She drifted off, her attention once more caught by the letter she no doubt was dying to read.

“Come on, y’all,” Applejack called from the distance. “I ain’t setting up this table and the sleepover stuff all by my lonesome!”

“Oh! I want to help!” Pinkie exclaimed, rushing past Rarity and Twilight.

Twilight’s ears flicked down. “Oh… Er…”

Rarity smiled at Twilight. “We’ll handle it, darling. Why don’t you go read your letter?”

Twilight frowned, no doubt considering doing so. To Rarity’s surprise, however, she shook her head and teleported the letter away.

“I’ll read it later,” she said, and offering Rarity a smile, gestured toward the library’s foyer. “Let’s go?”

Rarity wasn’t entirely sure she liked Twilight putting the letter off, especially if she was correct in her belief that Twilight was afraid of reading it—a belief supported by the apprehension written on the alicorn’s face—but she did not press the matter further. Instead, she smiled and followed after Twilight.

“Let’s.”

“Twilight, I understand how you must feel, but could you at least try not to look so miserable?”

Sitting around a table littered with the remains of delicious apple pies, Rarity wished she could do something about poor Twilight. While everypony had been treated to a delicious feast, she’d been forced to sit and watch with hungry eyes—so much so that Rarity feared she might actually start drooling.

“Besides,” Rarity continued, “I was under the impression you couldn’t feel hunger.”

Twilight dejectedly stared at the last slice of pie. “I thought that too…”

“Aw, don’t fret none, Princess,” Applejack consoled, helping Rarity pick up the dirty plates and put them in a basket. “I promise whenever you’re outta here, I’ll bake you a pie so good, you’ll be licking your hooves for hours.”

Unfortunately, rather than console her, the statement only worsened Twilight’s state.

“Darling, I’m sure you’re not even hungry, and you just think you are,” Rarity insisted, covering the pie so Twilight could no longer look at it.

Twilight huffed and turned around. “Where did everypony else go?”

Rarity looked around and, indeed, the others were nowhere to be found. “Ah, they’re just finishing up their props for the contest,” she replied, turning back to the table. “They’ll be along.”

“Contest?” Twilight asked, turning back. “What contest?”

Rarity shrugged. “Oh, a little thing Pinkie suggested after remembering our usual Seeking Night costumes. We all went off to prepare for it while you and Applejack were busy with your farming questions.” Before Twilight could correct her, she turned back toward the distance. “Girls? Are you nearly ready? It’s getting late!”

A chorus of voices sounded off in the distance, ranging from positive to negative to in between. Rarity shook her head. Honestly, making fake wings and crowns wasn’t that hard.

It was Fluttershy who emerged first, smiling brightly at the three mares. “They’re almost done,” she announced, giggling when her eyes landed on the increasingly suspicious alicorn. “I like Apple Bloom’s idea best.”

“Ah ah ah! Save the judging for the contest!” Rarity scolded, watching as Fluttershy settled down next to her.

“Fluttershy?” Twilight asked, leaning toward the pegasus. “What contest?”

Fluttershy’s smile disappeared, and she looked to Rarity. “You haven’t told her?”

“Told me what?” Twilight asked, turning toward Rarity.

“Why ruin the surprise, darling?”

“Rarity!” Twilight insisted. “What are you talking about?!”

“Well,” Applejack said, sitting down next to Twilight. “This oughta be good.”

“Ladies and gentlecolts!” Pinkie’s voice erupted from beyond a nearby bookcase. “Welcome…” She slowly emerged from behind the bookcase, sporting a poorly crafted paper version of Twilight’s crown. “…to Ponyville’s First Annual Princess Booky Look-Alike Contest!”

Twilight turned to Rarity, unimpressed. “What?”

Rarity, in return, simply flashed a smile, her camera appearing in her hooves moments later.

“And now, for the judging!” Pinkie continued, trotting over and taking several pencils and blank sheets of paper from a nearby table. She distributed them among the four other mares before officially starting the contest, much to Twilight’s cautious curiosity.

The first category was the “non-pony” one, which was met with a round of cooing and awwing when a joyful Themis waddled onto the stage, wearing an adorable makeshift crown. Elara followed suit moments later, wearing an equally adorable crown, though her expression made it clear she had probably been unwillingly dragged away from her daily scroll-organizing routine.

That particular round ended in a tie, for nopony could decide who was cuter—though Twilight making sure that everypony voted the same for both owls didn’t help.

After that, the pony category began.

The first one to step onto stage was Apple Bloom, wearing a pair of paper wings, a paper horn, and her own paper crown—all of which earned a heartfelt cheer from her elder sister, which was in turn followed by a stern reminder from Twilight about not being biased. Apple Bloom cleared her throat and approached the judges, smiling demurely.

“Ohhh, that’s very good!” Fluttershy whispered since, much like Apple Bloom, she had only ever seen the more sociable side of Twilight.

“My name is Princess Twilight,” Apple Bloom announced, obviously doing her best attempt at mimicking Twilight’s own Canterlotian accent, “and I’m the best at magic!”

Rarity glanced at Twilight, who had a big smile plastered on her face. “My, my, I do believe you already have your winner, don’t you?” she teased.

“Well, she’s not wrong,” Twilight whispered back. “But no, I’ll wait for the others.”

After a few moments, Apple Bloom spun to leave and Scootaloo arrived next, costume horn and crown nearly falling off her head. She trotted toward Rarity and the others, and then watched them in silence for nearly an entire half a minute, prompting the adults to awkwardly stare at each other.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Scootaloo let out a pained gasp and fell to the floor, her eyes firmly closed and her tongue sticking out of her mouth. After another moment of silence, she loudly cleared her throat.

“Oh! Sorry!” Pinkie said, taking a flower from the table and rushing it over to Scootaloo, who blindly waved around for it before placing it on her chest, again sticking out her tongue.

It was Fluttershy who reacted first.

“Oh dear…”

“Well,” Applejack added, “that sure is somethin’ all right.”

“I’m not dead!” Twilight blurted out next, indignant. “I’m just displaced in time!”

“Come now, Twilight! I thought that was a wonderfully dramatic display!” Rarity replied. She took Twilight’s pencil and waved it toward her. “Quick! Give her almost full marks!”

Twilight blinked, her displeasure fading. “Almost? Why ‘almost’?”

Before Rarity could answer, Pinkie dragged Scootaloo away, giving way for the next contestant.

Sweetie appeared, wearing a crown and fake wings which were, in Rarity’s opinion, the best so far. The filly was carrying with her a picnic basket, which she placed in front of the adults. She then opened it up and extracted a little blanket, which she carefully laid down on the ground.

What was she doing?

Next, she took out a little candle, which she tried to light up with her magic. After three failed attempts, she gingerly approached Twilight.

“Princess Twilight? Could you please…”

Twilight blinked once, twice, thrice before casting a spell, a flame appearing on the candle’s wick. Sweetie Belle placed the candle on a platter in the middle of the blanket and then returned to the basket and extracted two paper cups, the words “fancy cups” scrawled on them in crayon. She placed one on either side, then did the same with two paper plates.

The more Rarity looked at it, the more she felt it looked like an adorably romantic—if childish—picnic, and it wasn’t until the thought left her mind that she remembered just who Sweetie had been constantly teasing.

Oh, please, no, Rarity thought, dread rising within her as she watched Sweetie Belle return to the basket. Oh dear, if anything even remotely resembling Rarity came out of that basket…

Thankfully, Rarity’s fears were soon replaced with confusion when Sweetie Belle took out a book. She watched as her sister carefully placed the book on one side of the blanket before settling down on the opposite side.

She then cleared her throat and then sighed in an overly dramatic fashion. “Oh, Book! I love you!” she exclaimed. “I wanna marry you!”

And now Twilight audibly reacted.

“S-Sweetie!”

“Well!” a delighted Rarity exclaimed. “It seems we have an unquestionable winner! What a remarkably accurate impression!”

“RARITY!”

“Hey! You’re not supposed to say who you’re gonna vote for, silly!” Pinkie chastised, lightly swatting Rarity on the head with a sheet of paper.

After five long minutes of arduous voting, during which Rarity and Twilight both failed spectacularly at keeping their decisions private and the Cutie Mark Crusaders whined their way into voting too, the result came in: Scootaloo and Apple Bloom tied with two votes, and Sweetie came first with a grand total of four votes, which came hoof in hoof with the grand prize of the last slice of pie.

While everypony reluctantly agreed to Sweetie’s demand they all watch her enjoy her victory feast, Rarity escaped the punishment under the guise of accompanying the alicorn who obviously did not want to watch.

Rarity trailed after Twilight, ending up in front of Sweetie’s makeshift picnic.

“Marry a book…” Twilight said, sitting down and rolling her eyes. She then turned to Rarity, who’d sat down next to her, and playfully raised her eyebrow. “I suppose you were the source of that?”

Rarity gasped, indignant. “Moi? Don’t be silly. Why would I spread such false rumors? That’s utterly beneath me!” she exclaimed. “Besides, we already know who you’d rather share a picnic with, do we not?”

“Do we?” Twilight asked, her smile betraying her intent to not play along.

“It’s all right, Twilight,” Rarity continued, tilting her head to the side. “Luckily for you, I’m not bothered by your total dependence on my presence.”

Twilight retaliated with a smug smile. “Oh? That’s an interesting thing to say coming from somepony who’s moved half of her studio here at her insistence.”

Now did Rarity feel her cheeks burn. “Touché, Princess,” she said, lifting her hoof and pretending to boop Twilight’s nose, an action which made the princess smile, softly now. Rarity looked back to the theatric picnic, lifting up Sweetie’s discarded crown. “You know though, it’s a shame I didn’t participate in the contest. I daresay I’d have wiped away the competition.”

Twilight laughed. “Oh, really?”

“Yes, really!” Rarity insisted, putting on the small crown, which looked a bit ridiculous on her. Afterwards, she levitated the equally small wings and used her magic to keep them affixed to her back. Finally, to perfect the look, she furrowed her brow as deeply as she could and said in a monotone voice, “I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, ruler of books and owls.”

“I’m amazed, Rarity! It’s like looking into a mirror!”

“Isn’t it?” Rarity asked, laughing haughtily. “I would say I’m surprised I make a better Twilight Sparkle than Twilight Sparkle herself, but I already know I excel at most everything.”

“No, you don’t,” Twilight replied, failing miserably to look stern.

Rarity fluttered her eyelashes and leaned in. “Don’t I?” she asked, and when a blush decorated Twilight’s cheeks, she smirked victoriously. “I’m glad you agree.”

“W-well, not at imitating me, at least! I am not that serious! When have I ever made that face?!” Much like Rarity had a moment ago, she furrowed her brow to an almost comical degree, making it terribly hard for Rarity to stifle her laughter at having her point proven so wonderfully.

“Rarity! Twilight!” Pinkie’s voice came. “Come on! We’re waiting for you!”

Rarity turned around, realizing the others had already turned the library’s lobby into a circular mess of pillows, blankets, and a single mattress. Night had long ago fallen, and it was a sleepover, after all.

“Shall we, Princess Seriousness?”

Twilight rolled her eyes and trotted off toward the others, with Rarity right beside her.

“So, who’s sleeping where?” Pinkie inquired when everyone was finally present, her question promptly answered when the Cutie Mark Crusaders threw themselves at the large mattress.

One by one, the corporeal mares settled down on the floor, each taking a bundle of pillows and a blanket. When Rarity herself laid down, she watched as Twilight immediately trotted toward her and settled down as close to her as she could without, well, going through her.

“So!” Pinkie exclaimed, clapping her hooves together. She looked conspiratorially to either side before cryptically whispering, “The time has come for the best part of the sleepover.”

“Scary stories!” three voices chorused.

“Uhm… maybe not scary stories, please?”

“Reading followed by group discussion?” Twilight suggested, later blinking when Rarity raised an eyebrow.. “…What? Isn’t that the best part of anything?”

“Goodness, you really would marry a book, wouldn’t you?”

“No, sillies!” Pinkie exclaimed, giggling and preventing Twilight’s flustered protest. “Well, I mean, yes, sillies, because stories are the best part of a sleepover! And I have THE BEST ONE.”

Sweetie Belle lifted her hoof in the air. “Oh! Oh! Is it when Rarity went to see the dragons?!”

Pinkie blinked. “…Okay! Maybe it’s the second best story, ’cause the dragon story is like, the best story, especially when we told the dumb dragon what a meanie he was!” Pinkie cleared her throat and sat up straight. “It all started a really long time ago… when I was eight years old.”

Everypony was riveted by what Pinkie called “The Great Missing Pie Mystery.” Apparently, when Pinkie was a filly, some foal stole a birthday cake she’d baked for a party, and the solution, clearly, was to drag Princess Luna around in an elaborate dreamscape detective investigation.

“And then,” Pinkie said, “Princess Luna stepped back and boom! The dream changed into a nightmare!”

“Into a nightmare?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow. “Take it that means lil’ Fizzy wasn’t as honest as the day is long, then.”

“See?” Twilight whispered to Rarity, leaning down toward her. The alicorn had spent half the story deducing the culprit and excitedly sharing her theories with her crush. “I was right!”

“But he seemed so nice,” Fluttershy countered. “And he did tell Pinkie where the platter was…”

“Well,” Twilight spoke up matter-of-factly, sporting the smile she wore when she was about to be particularly smart, “taking into account what happened with Elder Moonshine, it’s actually easy to deduce what happened. If you recall…”

As the discussion turned to the dishonesty of Fizzy Honey, Rarity couldn’t help but again be distracted by her favorite distraction. Despite her teasing, Rarity knew very well Twilight had long shed her impenetrability of the first few months.

Twilight looked genuinely content in that moment, lost in her own explanation, her sparkling eyes an aftereffect from the thrill of listening to a story about Princess Luna. She was always a stunning sight to behold, but she was never more gorgeous than when she was happy.

Rarity turned her sights to the others and focused on Pinkie. She too looked completely and utterly delighted to be here, her eyes focused on Twilight. Wasn’t this in many ways her dream come true? Wasn’t this all an impossible dream come true?

Not one, not two nor three, but seven ponies gathered together in a place of myth, all there to be with Twilight, and all joined together by the desire to help her. Looking back toward Twilight and sighing in contentment, Rarity dearly hoped Twilight could see she would never be alone again.

Eventually, the story ended, bringing with it Twilight’s immense satisfaction at having her deduction proven correct. Pinkie took the opportunity to move the conversation along to a topic that, surprisingly, no pony—not even Rarity—had really thought about: what would happen once Twilight was freed.

When Pinkie asked what their plans were, Rarity hadn’t been sure how to reply. She spent so much of her time trying to figure out how to free Twilight from the library, she’d barely given thought to what came after they succeeded.

“What d’you mean you don’t know?!” Pinkie asked, shocked. “I’ve known what I’m gonna do with Princess Luna since I met her! I’m gonna take her to the tippity top of Foal Mountain, and bring my telescope, and we’ll look at the stars all night, and then I’m taking her to Miss Frosting’s Bakery in Manehattan, and then… and then I don’t know!”

“I know where I’m takin’ Princess Twi once she’s outta here,” Apple Bloom said. “Gonna show her around the farm and show her the old family portraits.”

Twilight’s ears flicked up. “Ooooooh.”

“What? But I wanna go with her first!” Sweetie Belle protested. “It was my idea to come and find her! I get to choose where we take her first! And I’m taking her with me on our field trip to Horseshoe Bay!” She turned to her sister. “That’s in five months, Rarity.”

Rarity laughed. “I have a deadline now? I see.”

“But, Horseshoe Bay is, like, really boring!” Scootaloo protested. She turned to Twilight. “Don’t worry, Princess. I’m gonna take you to someplace awesome. We’re going to Rainbow Falls, and we can see the dragons, and cool stuff!”

“No, no! Bring her to Hollow Shades!” Pinkie interjected.

“I want to take her to Whitetail Woods,” Fluttershy said, folding her hooves. “Remember, Princess Twilight? I told you about it. There’s all sorts of wonderful creatures, and—”

“Oh! Oh! And you mentioned there are new plant specimens there!” Twilight added.

Fluttershy nodded enthusiastically.

“Pardon me,” Rarity spoke up, drawing the attention of everypony, “but please remember I’m the one doing the rescuing here, so I feel I should decide. Then again, while I personally want us to go to Manehattan, the decision is ultimately up to Twilight.”

“I agree,” Applejack said, shooting the others a stern look. “Don’t y’all think she should be the one choosin’ where to go?”

Twilight sat up straight. “Well, all of you suggested what sound like wonderful places, but…”

“But Manehattan is obviously the best choice?” Rarity added, fluttering her eyelashes at the princess.

“But,” Twilight continued, “I want to go to Hollow Shades and see Princess Luna first.”

“YES!” Pinkie exclaimed, hopping up to her feet. “I win! I win! Omigosh, Princess Twilight, you’re going to have so much fun! We can throw nightmare bombs, and then we can meet Elder Moonshine, and I can take you to the main plaza, and then we can visit Professor Meaniepants and show him he’s wrong, and then we can meet Princess Luna, and then we can have her—”

“Woah, slow down, sugarcube!” Applejack said. “Why don’t you wait ’til Princess Twi is actually there before making up your mind?”

Pinkie groaned. “But I’m already too excited!” Much like Sweetie Belle had, she looked toward Rarity and whined. “Rarityyyyy, find the books faster!”

“Pinkie, I’m doing my best but I am not a miracle worker!” Rarity protested. “And you’ve yet to get the books from the dear professor, may I remind you!”

Pinkie’s mane deflated a bit. “Oops…”

“Speakin’ of them lost books.”

Applejack got up and trotted toward her saddlebag. She searched inside and moments later pulled out what Rarity recognized as Twilight’s book.

“My book!” Twilight exclaimed, teleporting next to Applejack.

“You got it?! Granny actually agreed to return it?” Apple Bloom asked, jumping up.

“Granny Smith didn’t make it as difficult as I thought she might. I reckon she knows we’ve met the princess.” She smiled and hoofed it over to Twilight. “It’s mighty overdue, Princess, but here it is. Just don’t go chargin’ us any late fees, you hear?”

“I don’t charge late fees, Applejack,” Twilight quickly said, and Rarity privately thought that, even if she did, the necessary bits would be impossible to get. “Thank you for bringing it back.”

“How many books do you have so far, Rarity?” Fluttershy asked, turning to the unicorn.

Rarity hummed thoughtfully. There was the book she got in Canterlot, Fritter Cobbler’s book, the two she got from Manehattan, the three books Spring Showers had, the one from the dragon merchant, the one from Heart’s Haven, the three books from Professor Awe—which, granted, they didn’t technically have yet—and now Applejack’s book.

“Thirteen books, so far!”

“Only thirteen?!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “That means there’s, like, fifty left!”

“Seventeen,” Twilight said, having teleported back to her spot next to Rarity.

“Ohhh, maybe Princess Denza will have the rest!” Pinkie suggested. “You can all ask her when you go!” When Applejack approached, she turned toward her. “Maybe you can bring her an apple pie, Applejack! I’m sure she’ll be suuuuper happy!”

Applejack blinked. “Bring a pie to Princess Denza? Well, that’s a fine idea, sugarcube, ’cept I ain’t goin’ to Canterlot. Only Rarity is.”

“What? Just Rarity?” Pinkie asked, perplexed. “But why?! The princess can’t say no to helping if all of you are there!”

“She’s right!” Apple Bloom exclaimed. “I wanna help!”

“Yeah!” Sweetie and Scootaloo added, jumping up on the mattress.

“I’m sure the guards will be nicer if they see it’s a lot of us,” Fluttershy added.

Rarity mulled it over. “It does seem like the smart thing to do,” she agreed. The more ponies who were there to defend Twilight’s existence, the more chances they had of being believed. She turned to Applejack. “What do you think, Applejack? I’m going on a weekend, so school will be out and the fillies can come.”

“Well, if it ain’t gonna bother Apple Bloom’s school, then I don’t see why not.”

Finally, Rarity turned to Twilight, finding the alicorn unusually silent. “What do you think, darling? Do you want us all to go together?”

Twilight opened and closed her mouth, her ears lowering enough for Rarity to tell something was wrong. She cleared her throat, and smiled. “I think that sounds like a great idea!” she exclaimed, and it was evident from the cheers of everypony that only Rarity had noticed Twilight’s fake smile.

Despite this, she did not press the issue. She would not forget it, of course, but there was no need to put Twilight into a difficult position in front of the others. Besides, it was nearly bedtime for the fillies, so she settled down on the floor, resting her chin against her crossed forelegs, and spoke up.

“How about you tell us a bedtime story, Princess Twilight?” she asked innocently, smiling broadly when Twilight raised an eyebrow at Rarity’s use of her formal title. “I’m sure you must have something in your immense library that could quickly put these girls to sleep.”

Twilight frowned. “…Are you calling my books boring?” she asked, rolling her eyes when Rarity childishly giggled. Nevertheless, she stood up, unfolding her wings and turning toward the bookcases. “Though, I do have a book I’d like to read to them…”

“Is it about dragons?!” Scootaloo exclaimed. Rarity’s trip had certainly left a lasting impression on her.

“Is it about a princess being rescued and falling in love?” Sweetie asked next.

“Is it the bedtime story you promised you’d read to Apple Crisp?” Apple Bloom asked quietly, and Twilight’s expression was an adequate reply, her ears lowering slightly and her lips curving into a sad smile. “I asked if you could read it to me tonight, remember? ’Cause the ponies we love are always watchin’.”

Twilight didn’t answer with words, but with actions. Her horn lit up, and an old book appeared in front of her. As she laid down and opened the book up, everypony else got cozy, snuggling up against pillows and blankets. Rarity inched as close as she could to Twilight, and Twilight moved the book so it would be right in front of the two of them.

Rarity couldn’t help but smile at the cover: Twilight had chosen a fairy tale. She wondered if Twilight ever thought about how she herself had become one of the heroes of old she read about in her books.

“Thank goodness. I was afraid you’d read us a science book,” Rarity teased in a hushed voice, laughing when Twilight promptly shot her a miffed glare.

“Right! The Weary Travelers of Caelum by Grayscale,” Twilight exclaimed after a moment, and a genuine smile graced her lips. “Our story is about the deadly illness of a beloved king, and the princess and her guard who scale the highest mountain of Equestria to ask the Goddesses for their help.”

Twilight spent the next hour or so reading, her voice filling the library while everypony listened with rapt attention. Her voice was mesmerizing, Rarity thought, almost hypnotic, as one by one the fillies’ eyes began to close. Even Rarity eventually succumbed, snuggling up to the thin air that made up her beloved and letting herself be lulled to sleep by Twilight’s storytelling.

A few hours later she awoke, finding the lights dimmed to almost complete darkness and hearing the others sleeping beside her. She counted Applejack, her hat serving as a makeshift sleeping mask; Fluttershy, the two owls sleeping next to her; the Cutie Mark Crusaders, all three huddled up on their mattress, and…

Where’s Pinkie Pie?

“Yep! And it’s really fun ’cause I get to help fight the nightmares,” Pinkie’s voice came, approaching Rarity and the others.

Rarity quickly laid back down again, closing her eyes but peering through her lashes so that she could see without alerting anypony that she was awake. She saw Pinkie Pie emerge from an aisle of bookcases, her voice lowering to a whisper. Swirl was with her, having changed to its candelabra appearance, and behind Pinkie emerged Twilight, her nose stuck inside one of Pinkie’s dream journals.

“Wait, lemme get the next one!” Pinkie continued, trotting past the sleeping mares and heading to the entrance where her saddlebag waited.

Rarity watched as Twilight looked around, glancing at each sleeping pony before trotting toward Rarity herself. The unicorn quickly closed her eyes, waiting for a moment before she felt Twilight’s magic take her blanket and… tuck her in? Her tail was gently and magically moved to fit beneath the blanket, and once she was fully covered, she felt Twilight’s magic delicately brush against her cheek, much like one might lovingly caress their lover’s face.

Rarity was wholly unable to stop herself from smiling, her cheeks turning a shade of red as a terribly pleased expression settled itself on her face. Moments later, a whispered voice made its way to her ears.

“It might have been better if you’d woken up while I was still telling the story.”

Rarity giggled, opening her eyes and looking up at the unamused alicorn. “It’s hardly my fault your voice is so soothing.”

She got up, undoing all of Twilight’s magic work with the blanket, covered a yawn with her hoof and then brushed back her mane. As she did, Pinkie returned, greeting Rarity with surprised enthusiasm.

“What have I missed beyond Princess Diamond’s dangerous adventure with her intrepid bodyguard?”

“Not much!” Pinkie replied, both whispering and shouting at the same time. “Unless you wanted to hear me talking about Princess Luna to Princess Twilight, because then you missed a lot!”

Twilight looked around, making sure everypony was still asleep, before gesturing back to where they came from. “We should go back before we wake up the others,” she suggested, promptly trotting off with Rarity and Pinkie following behind.

As they trotted, Rarity stifled another yawn and wondered if she ought to go back to sleep instead. As much as she’d love hearing about Princess Luna, she knew Twilight would take some degree of offense if she fell asleep halfway through it. Pinkie quickly sat down, fluffing her pillow and covering herself with her blanket.

The sight made Rarity shiver, but before she could excuse herself to get her blanket and pillow, they were wordlessly teleported to her by Twilight, who took the extra care to make sure the blanket fell properly on Rarity’s shoulders. Rarity sighed with delight, thanking Twilight before lying down, watching as the alicorn did the same.

“Princess Twilight told me about the maze,” Pinkie said to Rarity. “That must have been really scary…”

“It was, but Twilight managed to get it under control,” she replied.

“I asked Pinkie if she’s ever had something similar occur to her,” Twilight began, “but it seems like her only contact with chaos magic was during your trip to Rainbow Falls.”

Pinkie nodded her head. “Uh-huh! And all the chaos magic I’ve seen before that has been in Princess Luna’s memory orbs, and she told me that the Spirit can’t go into dreams!”

Rarity sighed. So much for Pinkie being able to help. The maze had yet to attack again, but just because it had calmed down didn’t mean it might not try again—not that it could even get past Twilight’s security measures, but still. The library was one of Rarity’s safe havens and her favorite place, and the idea that it was dangerous was a hard pill to swallow.

“Although… maybe in my other dream journal…” Pinkie got up and sped off before she could be questioned. “Be right back!”

Once she was gone, Rarity turned to Twilight and found the alicorn looking back at her, her brow furrowed.

“Something on your mind, Twilight?”

“You,” Twilight replied, and smiled when Rarity laughed.

“What’s this? Stealing my lines now, are we? For shame!” Rarity reprimanded, shaking her head in a scolding manner. “I’ll steal yours, then!” She cleared her throat and asked, “What were you really thinking about?”

“You,” Twilight repeated, and with a spark of her horn, Luna’s letter appeared next to her. “I wanted to tell you I read Princess Luna’s letter.”

“You did?! That’s wonderful, darling,” Rarity exclaimed. “I take it your fears were unfounded?”

Twilight looked down to the letter for a second before levitating it toward Rarity. “Here. You can read it and see for yourself.”

Rarity took the letter, blinking at the alicorn. “I… Are you sure?” she asked. It wasn’t very polite to read other ponies’ correspondence, and much less so when the writer hadn’t been consulted on the matter.

Twilight nodded. “There’s a part I think you’ll like.”

Rarity carefully unfolded the letter, aware of Twilight lying down next to her and watching quietly, much like Rarity had done hours earlier with the bedtime story. The letter itself was neatly written in pink ink, a few words scratched out and rewritten here and there, and after receiving one last nod from Twilight, she began to read.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

There is much I would like to tell you, but it would take more time and paper than Pinkie Pie could have.

Do you remember the stars we watched every night from my observatory? It has been long since I last saw them, and I know the same holds true for you. I think of you whenever I gaze up at the night stars in foals’ dreams. I miss our conversations and even our arguments. I have known of our legend for many centuries now, and it is most pleasing to know your books have kept you company. They always were your second most faithful companions, were they not?

By this time, I hope you’ve talked with Pinkie Pie. She is a curious and odd mare, but she is very dear to me. She has brought back a joy inside me I thought lost.

She has spoken very highly of your Rarity. Pinkie scolds me for the pronoun, but that is what Rarity and Pinkie are to us, are they not? The rare ponies who have offered to help us. I assume Rarity has told you about our meeting. I was not able to converse with her much, but I saw enough to know she would go very far for your sake. You should trust her more.

It is, after all, because of her that for the very first time I believe we might be able to meet again soon. There will be much to talk about, and there will be time to do so, surrounded by these strange mares who have chosen to help us. But some things cannot wait.

I don’t know what you feel toward me now, but my feelings have plagued me for longer than a pony can stand. The role we both played in this haunts me. It was never your fault. Please do remember that. I do not hold anything against you, for there is no reason to do so, and I in fact want to apologize, Twilight, for whatever harm I have caused you.

I await our meeting,

Princess Luna

P.S. Pinkie pinkie-promises she will not remember the content of this letter.

As Rarity finished, a warm feeling washed all over her. She carefully folded the letter and hoofed it back to Twilight.

“Well?” she asked. “Are you happy?”

Twilight faltered for a second, and it almost seemed like she was about to cry when she nodded her head. “Yes. Yes, I am,” she said, eyes twinkling. She then looked at Rarity and asked, “What did you think about it?”

Rarity didn’t reply, but instead lifted her hoof toward Twilight. Twilight stared at it for a moment, unsure of what to do, before finally lifting her own hoof and gently hovering it against Rarity’s, the bottom of it brushing against the unicorn’s, making her tingle.

“I am getting you out of here, Twilight,” Rarity said, looking up to meet Twilight’s eyes. “You know that, don’t you?”

Twilight smiled. “I know.” She paused, and her ears fell a little, her eyes focused on their hooves. “…You’ll be careful in Canterlot?”

“Of course, my darling,” Rarity replied with a soft smile.

“I’m back!” Pinkie exclaimed, and the two mares quickly pulled back their forelegs.

Pinkie settled herself down next to them and hoofed her journal over to Twilight, both mares continuing a previous conversation about Luna. Or, rather, Twilight spoke and Pinkie listened.

Rarity laid down, resting her head on the pillow and smiling when Twilight once again carefully tucked her in. She marveled at how Twilight could do such little gestures while holding a completely unrelated conversation with somepony else. Wouldn’t it be marvelous if she could move over and bury herself against the alicorn’s coat?

For now, though, listening to Twilight excitedly speak about Luna, she was content with snuggling up and closing her eyes, feeling grateful she didn’t feel so tired anymore.

Sleep would be impossible, after all, considering she was sitting right next to the brightest light in the library.

~ Act III ~ 25 ~ The Old Castle's Secret ~

The train sped through the countryside, heading toward arguably the most important city in Equestria.

Inside, ponies moved about, going on with their daily lives. The servers trotted to and fro, pushing trolleys filled with food both sweet and salty. The engineer kept an eye on the unwinding track, while his assistant threw more coal into the engines of the train. The mothers shushed their loud foals, and the fathers read their newspapers.

Change usually went like that, didn’t it? Unnoticed by all save for the one experiencing it. One could be drowning in a sea of faces, and none would stop to help because only the one drowning knew they were drowning.

A story was told inside that train. An ancient story, nearly as old as the princess it was about and just as unknown as her location. An ancient story only a few knew, for it was a story passed down in the form of old letters.

A mare sat alone in a cabin, a bundle of letters beside her, kept intact by unicorn magic of old. She’d discovered their existence a week prior, the morning of a wonderful sleepover, and insisted they be given to her by their keeper.

The letters were all from a single stallion, addressed to his brother.

The first letter, written in rushed calligraphy as if the writer had been overtaken by the need to express himself, spoke of a library he’d found in the forest a few weeks back, and of the beautiful princess inside it. Pages and pages were dedicated to her. He spoke of her beauty, of her wisdom, and of her smile. He spoke of her two magic chandeliers, her only companions in her lonely existence. It was her, he insisted. She was the princess of legend.

The second letter, written nearly a year later, was more relaxed, but still held that fascination for the princess. While before he wrote of her with a reverential air, his words dripped now with familiarity. He spoke of the princess fondly, like his life revolved around seeing her, spending time with her, making her smile and making her laugh.

He confessed, almost with shame, that he dreamed of the day he could address her only by name, when he would be her equal and perhaps even more. He feared the princess did not feel the same way, but if he freed her, maybe she would be more inclined to give her heart away. He would go see the reigning princess, and wondered if his brother might go with him.

The third letter, still addressed to his brother, was written nearly four years later. He spoke of many trivial things at first, of the farm, of the family, of the village. Eventually, once formalities had run out and with them the excuses for his lack of correspondence, he spoke of the princess.

It had been four years since he’d last seen her, and he’d not been able to find the library, nor had the princess let go of his heart. Ponies said he’d lost his mind. He could hear them whisper when he walked by, calling him the mad pony of the Everfree Forest. He wished so terribly that he had left himself a way to find the library; maybe trained a beast to lead him, or made a trail of rocks and bricks. He wondered if she thought of him still. He thought of her still, nearly every other hour, and he went into the forest to look for her every other day.

The fourth and final letter was written decades later by a now-aged stallion, addressed to his long-gone brother. He started it off saying that writing to the dead only fueled the family’s belief he’d gone insane, but how could he not? How could he not write, when the weight of his brother’s death still dragged him down? Who knew timberwolves could end a life so quickly? Maybe if he hadn’t insisted they go look together… Maybe… So many things he wished he could change.

He spoke of his brother’s daughter, and the beautiful granddaughter she’d borne. He was fond of her, and they spent many a day talking when he wasn’t in the forest. Yes, dear brother, he still looked for her. What would she think of him if she could see him? She, as everlasting and breathtaking as life itself, and he, an old and lonely stallion who could barely see and barely walk. He spoke of the granddaughter again.

They had talked a few days ago, her sitting on his back while he walked through the farm. She’d asked him if he went to the forest because of the princess, and he said nothing. She then asked him if he went because he still loved the princess, and he smiled and said nothing. Lastly, she asked him if the princess ever loved him back, and finally he replied saying he hoped very dearly she didn’t. A lifetime without her had caused him endless grief, and he would never wish an eternity of such a thing on her.

Long after the mare finished reading the letters, while she and her five companions trotted past the many shops in Canterlot’s Moon Quarter, the letters resonated in Rarity’s mind. An otherwise pleasant train ride had been tainted by their melancholy, and she’d found herself missing Twilight more than she already did.

Silly, wasn’t it? Missing her after only being apart for a day. She could scarcely imagine the pain Fritter Cobbler went through if his feelings were as honest as his letters claimed they were. She was grateful Twilight had not fallen in love with him, and though she told herself this was because she wouldn’t have wanted Twilight to suffer, she knew it was mostly because she couldn’t stand the idea of… well… being a replacement.

“So, where are we supposed to meet this feller?” Applejack asked, looking away from the window of a clothing shop.

“I’m supposed to meet him next to the statue of The Lonely Mare. It’s somewhere in the Knowledge District,” Rarity replied, rereading the letter she’d received from the guard a few days back. She stashed it inside her saddlebags and turned to Fluttershy and Applejack. “He doesn’t know you’re all here, so I’d rather speak to him alone first. Wouldn’t want him to change his mind all of a sudden if he sees six of us.”

She looked around and noticed the fillies gawking at a nearby toy store, which luckily happened to be next to a café.

“Why don’t you wait for me there?” Rarity suggested, motioning toward the café. “I shouldn’t be long.”

“Do you have everything?” Fluttershy asked.

“I do!” she exclaimed, patting her heavy saddlebags.

Considering they’d be meeting with Princess Denza, Rarity made it a personal mission to bring along as much evidence as she could carry—despite Twilight’s protests. Photographic evidence of everything, be it the library or the princess; one of Pinkie’s dream journals, complete with semi-accurate drawings of Princess Luna; Cadance’s last letter to Twilight; and, finally, Celestia’s and Luna’s crowns.

The crowns were her pièces de résistance, which she hoped would prove her claims beyond a shadow of a doubt.

As she trotted toward the Knowledge District, her mind wandered back to Twilight and Fritter Cobbler. Truth be told, Twilight barely spoke about him. She obviously meant a great deal to him, but had the feeling been reciprocated? Maybe they hadn’t been of the romantic nature, but still… It must have been terribly sad for both of them.

Eventually, Rarity stepped into Knowledge District’s main plaza. While she did not find a statue resembling a lonely mare, she did become reacquainted with the dragon statue atop the library from months ago. The first time she’d seen it was under the light of the moon, and now, under the light of the sun, she was able to admire it in all its splendor. The winged dragon looked much less imposing now. Was it because of the light, or was it because of what happened in Rainbow Falls? Ever since she’d met Seeker and Taegar, huge beasts weren’t so terrifying anymore.

She flagged down a passing pony and, after inquiring about the whereabouts of The Lonely Mare, was told the statue could be found inside the library’s foyer. She thanked the pony and made her way to the building, walking next to a tour group headed in the same direction. The tour guide spoke with great enthusiasm as his group and Rarity followed him up the stairs and into the grandiose library.

“Right, right! Please gather ’round, everypony!” the guide called, walking up to the middle of the foyer and ignoring the loud shushing a passing employee threw his way. Once his group and Rarity had done as he’d asked, he smiled and threw his forehoof in the air, gesturing to the statue behind him. “Here she is! Canterlot’s lonely princess!”

Rarity felt her heart nearly stop.

The familiar third lost princess lay on the pedestal in a painfully familiar pose: a book in between her hooves and a fascinated smile on her face. Only the tourists gazed at the statue with awe, whereas librarian-ponies walked by without care for the statue. It was baffling, really, to think how many ponies have passed by that statue daily without knowing… without sparing her a thought… without…

“As with the other statues, this one is also rumored to depict one of the lost princesses of legend,” the guide continued, pointing to the inscription at the base of the statue. “Though it’s actually called The Faithful Student, the locals famously call it The Lonely Mare. Any idea why?”

A colt excitedly lifted his hoof and spoke up, “Because ponies who read lots of books are boring!”

…Boring? Rarity thought, looking incredulously at the foal.

Twilight Sparkle, who knew everything about anything, who was so passionate about her love of knowledge it was contagious, who was both mysterious and frightfully clever… was boring?

Indignation bubbled within Rarity, directed at the foal and at many other ponies who actively participated and spread the terrible nickname given to Twilight’s statue.

Twilight was fascinating because she thought everything was just as fascinating. Because the world and all its wonders, all its quirks and rules and phenomena were incredible to her, and she translated that feeling to ponies around her. She could see an entire world, a galaxy, a universe in pages of books Rarity found empty. Through Twilight’s eyes and words, Rarity had seen the world in a whole new light, where things that seemed dull years ago now felt new and vibrant and extraordinary because that’s how they were to Twilight.

Because she herself was extraordinary in more ways than the obvious.

“Good guess, but I’m afraid that’s not the answer!” the guide said, laughing at the colt’s suggestion. “If you recall, the two other statues of the princesses each had a small foal with them. This princess, however, is completely alone.”

The words, spoken so casually, pierced into Rarity’s heart like a dagger.

The lonely mare, guarded by the statue of her long-gone friend.

Rarity thought back to a time when that princess was completely alone. Images flooded through cracks in her memory of a Twilight who never shared what she thought; who silently analyzed and over-thought; who was detached and distant as a defense mechanism against abandonment; who never smiled, having lost any reason to do so. In that moment, it felt like that Twilight had been an entirely different pony from her Twilight Sparkle.

Her Twilight Sparkle laughed at Sweetie Belle’s antics and made snappy remarks at Rarity’s blunders; her Twilight Sparkle no longer feared being left alone or forgotten; her Twilight Sparkle got terribly upset when Rarity fell asleep mid three hour-long lecture, but cared enough to cover the unicorn with a blanket; her Twilight Sparkle had a brilliant smile, and an enchanting voice, and shining eyes, and a warm laugh that all combined made Rarity feel things she’d never felt before.

The tour guide and his group continued on, allowing Rarity to step toward the statue and brush her hoof against it. It was intoxicating to pretend for a moment that she could touch Twilight; to imagine marble turning into warm fur; to pretend she could feel Twilight’s heartbeat.

“This is why they didn’t believe you.”

Rarity turned around, finding a fully armored Rift Shield standing next to her, looking at Twilight’s statue.

“Pardon?”

“The guards from the castle. This statue is the reason they didn’t believe you,” he elaborated, taking off his helmet. “They think these statues are supposed to be historically accurate representations. Nopony in Canterlot thinks this is what they really look like, so when you waltzed up with a photograph of an alicorn identical to the statue everypony knows, they thought you were treating them like idiots.”

“That doesn’t excuse their behavior,” Rarity dryly remarked. “Representation or not, they shouldn’t have dismissed my claims so easily, and they most certainly shouldn’t have made their judgment based on what the statue looks like.

“But, I suppose what’s done is done,” Rarity concluded, before turning to him properly and smiling. “Hello, Rift. All ready to take me to the princess, I presume?”

“Hah! Straight to the point, eh?”

“I fear so, yes. There are many things to discuss with the princess and, as I recall from your letter, you also wished to ‘go over my evidence,’ did you not?”

The pegasus nodded, his brow furrowing. “Yeah, so I hope you brought as much as you could,” he said, voice losing its playful edge.

Rarity harrumphed. “I did!” she replied, and thought that would be a wonderful opportunity to flaunt her two crowns. “Just a moment…”

She opened her stuffed bag and ruffled through it, searching for the crowns which had been wrapped in paper and fabrics to avoid damage. In her search, she happened upon her necklace, and she took a moment to inspect the crystal, relieved to find it glowed not at all.

“There’s something else I need to talk with you about, too,” Rift continued, and something about his tone of voice sent a chill through her. When she glanced up, he was staring at her, looking like the bearer of terrible news.

Her saddlebags all but forgotten, Rarity straightened herself up, disconcerted by his sudden seriousness. “…And what might that be?”

Rift looked around. “No, not here. It’s not something to discuss in public where somepony might be listening.”

Rarity’s sense of unease only grew.

“…I see,” she replied. Thank goodness the Spirit didn’t seem to be following her presently. She cleared her throat, deciding there was no better time to make her confession. “There’s something I need to tell you as well.” She lifted her hoof toward where her necklace would have been. “I didn’t exactly come alone.”

Rift raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Rarity cleared her throat, and offered her most charming smile. “My friends know Princess Twilight, you see, and we thought it would be a marvelous idea if we all came to see Princess Denza! She might be more inclined to help us if she sees it’s not just one pony claiming to have found the princess of legend.”

Rift opened and closed his mouth several times, before looking around. “Where are they, then?”

“Oh! They’re waiting for me at this lovely café in the Sun Court. I didn’t think it would be at all courteous to meet with you and bring along five ponies without prior warning. You’re doing us a tremendous favor, after all, and I certainly wouldn’t want to overstep my boundaries.”

“And they all know Princess Twilight?”

Rarity smiled, and a group photo of everypony who’d attended the sleepover levitated out of her bag and toward Rift Shield. “See for yourself.”

Rift took the picture and whistled. “You really are the real deal.” He looked back at Rarity and hoofed the photo over. “Fine. Go get them, and then go to the castle and ask for me. We’ll take it from there.”

Rarity nodded. “Fabulous! I won’t be long, then.” She turned around, with the intention of trotting off, but stopped and turned to him again. “Before I go… that ‘thing’ you need to talk with me about? Nothing bad, I hope?”

Rift only smiled and, before trotting out, said, “I’ll see you later, Rarity.”

Rarity watched him go, dread crawling up into her heart.

Well, then.

Some time later found the six ponies walking up toward Canterlot Castle. The younger ones were thrilled, oblivious to the anxiety the older ponies carried.

“Maybe Princess Denza can’t meet with us for very long?” Fluttershy said, another suggestion thrown into the proverbial basket of figuring out what Rift Shield meant with his grave request.

“I suppose that could be it, but… the way he said it… I’m nearly certain it’s something serious,” Rarity said, though dearly wishing she was wrong.

“Rarity’s right, Shy,” Applejack continued, frowning at the pegasus. “What he said about not speakin’ round ponies ’cause they might be hearin’? That ain’t something you say unless it’s serious.” She turned to Rarity. “You don’t think the Spirit’s followin’ us, do you?”

Rarity sighed. “I don’t know. When I was with Rift earlier, my necklace wasn’t glowing, and I sincerely doubt the Spirit would be foolish enough to waltz around Canterlot right under the royal guard’s noses.”

“Unless he’s working for the princess…” Fluttershy murmured.

“Fluttershy!” Rarity scolded, coming to a stop. “You too? I can’t believe this!”

“I don’t think she’s evil,” Fluttershy quickly said, trying to defend herself. “But… everypony keeps saying she is…”

“It’s a possibility, Rarity,” Applejack filled in. “You can’t go around blindly believin’ in anypony just ’cause they’ve got a fancy crown and sit on a throne.”

Rarity groaned, stamping her hoof on the ground. “I’m not a fool, Applejack. I’m very well aware not everypony can be trusted, but I can’t blindly follow what an infamous professor and an ex-Wonderbolt tell me, either! Yes, granted, there is a possibility Princess Denza isn’t as benign as we think, but if she is, we’d be wasting the opportunity to have the entire Equestrian Army helping us! I may be able to find Twilight’s books on my own, but what about Celestia? What about Luna?”

Applejack sighed, defeated. “I guess you know what you’re doin’, sugarcube. But I kinda wish you’d wear the necklace instead’a keepin’ it in your bags like that. Don’t see how that’s gonna help us none.”

“Darling, if what Professor Awe said is true, then this castle is littered with chaos magic, and my necklace will hardly be an effective warning. Besides, don’t you think that waltzing around with a necklace that glows green with varying intensity would attract some undue attention?”

“I suppose that’s true,” Applejack conceded.

“Come on, you guys!” Scootaloo called, waiting with the others near the entrance of the main gates. “We’re gonna go in without you if you don’t hurry up!”

Rarity and the others caught up to the fillies, putting the conversation off for another moment. Two guards were posted on either side of the gate, and much to Rarity’s relief, they turned out to be different guards than last time. Not that she was afraid or concerned about them, mind, but she couldn’t promise she wouldn’t have chucked the crowns at them.

These guards were far more polite, as well, letting the mares in without protest and even urging them not to miss the three o’clock tour of the gardens.

A wide array of ponies idled by the castle entrance. Servants were walking about, their excited smiles no doubt due to all the juicy gossip they have collected; merchants and nobles were arguing loudly about policies and politics, and tourists gawked at the massive building, their cameras flashing brightly with each photo taken.

Some of them, in fact, were busy taking pictures of a certain royal guard, who was having a grand time posing and flashing them smiles. So much for keeping others away!

“Well, this is convenient,” Rarity said, gesturing for the others to follow her.

As she approached, Rift noticed her and waved cheerfully, trotting away from the tourists and toward her.

“Ah, Lieutenant Rift Shield! These are the friends I mentioned,” she said, gesturing to them.

Rift nodded, smiling. “Hello! Nice to meet you all.” His smile faded, and he looked around apprehensively. “Where is Sweetie Belle? We need to get going.”

“Sweetie?” Rarity looked around and realized that Sweetie was already at the castle’s doors, peeking inside. “Sweetie Belle!”

Sweetie, alerted by her sister’s shout, rushed back to join them.

“S-sorry!” she blurted out.

“Really, Sweetie! How do you expect Lieutenant Rift Shield to feel comfortable leading us through the castle if you’ll be running off like that?!” Rarity chastised, shaking her head at the remorseful filly. The stallion already looked stressed enough.

“I said I was sorry…” Sweetie whined piteously. “I just wanted to look inside already.”

“And it’s a good thing you did,” Rift said, “since we’re going in through a much more fun place!”

Rarity blinked. “We are?”

“Oh yes! We’re going in through the hidden entrance!” he exclaimed, and only the adult mares didn’t gasp with excitement. “I thought it might be entertaining for the fillies.”

“Oooooh! Is it, like, all dark and scary?!” Scootaloo asked, clearly already sold on the idea.

Rift nodded. “It is!”

“That’s not good…” Fluttershy squeaked. “Maybe we should take the normal entrance…? I’m sure it would be much more fun.”

“I agree,” Rarity quickly said. “It seems entirely unnecessary to complicate everything in such a way, and I would feel more comfortable if we went the proper route, please.”

Rift frowned at Rarity. “You’re no fun, are you?” he asked, and his tone of voice rubbed her the wrong way. “And besides!” he added, smiling again. “You’re the one who came here with five ponies without telling me. Do you want to wait three hours plus lunch break for the paperwork to be done?”

“Well… A few hours isn’t too bad.”

“Oh, please, Rarity!” the fillies begged.

“Come on, Rarity!” Rift insisted. “You went up against dragons, didn’t you? What’s the worst a secret entrance can do?”

Rarity frowned, mulling it over for a bit before making her decision. “Fine. But if I don’t like it, we’re coming back and waiting those three hours.”

Huge grin on his face, Rift Shield trotted off. “Follow me!”

The three fillies at his hooves, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy reluctantly followed behind. Rather than heading toward the doors as Rarity had hoped, Rift led them through the outer gardens, not even giving them enough time to appreciate the scenery.

Eventually, they ended up on the other side of the castle, staring at the lower part of the massive east tower. Rarity blinked once, twice, thrice at the doorless white wall in front of her, and then looked up to find a tiny closed window several yards above them. She hummed and turned to the stallion.

“I sincerely hope that laughably minuscule window isn’t the secret entrance you mentioned.”

Ignoring her comment, Rift approached the wall and narrowed his eyes. “Which one was it…? It’s been so long…” He lifted his hoof, almost as if to touch one of the bricks, before stepping back. “Ah-hah! There we are.”

Turning around, he smiled to Rarity and gestured to a slightly discolored brick. “Magic, please!”

Rarity looked back and forth between him and the brick, unsure of what to do. When one of the fillies cleared their throat, she trotted forward and gingerly brushed her hoof against the brick.

“What spell am I supposed to use?” she asked awkwardly, glancing back at Rift. “I am afraid I am not familiar with any spells that reveal secret doors.”

Rift shook his head. “A brush of magic should do. The pathway was designed so that even fillies could use it.”

Rarity turned back to the tunnel and conjured the simplest spell every unicorn knew—levitation, aiming directly at the brick in question. Just as soon as the magic made contact, a loud creaking sounded off from inside the wall, and one by one, the bricks began to disappear.

She stepped back, mesmerized, until there was a door-shaped hole in front of her and the others. Without thinking, she stepped toward it, finding she could see absolutely nothing but infinite darkness. It reminded her of the library’s tunnel, in a way, save for the fact that the princess awaiting her at the end of the tunnel wasn’t her favorite one.

When she turned to Rift, he was smiling at her. “Ladies first.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow, and though she felt inclined to point out it wasn’t exactly very chivalrous to have her lead the way into a dark tunnel, her instincts told her to rise above it. Besides, by that point, she could hardly say dark tunnels frightened her.

And while everything about the situation gave her a bad feeling… the sooner they got it over with, the sooner she’d meet with the princess.

Lighting up her horn, Rarity stepped into the darkness, followed by Fluttershy, the three fillies, Applejack, and finally Rift guarding the rear. The moment they were all inside, the entrance closed, submerging them in darkness. She was grateful that her hornlight was strong enough to guide all of them, because even though she sincerely appreciated Sweetie’s meager light spell, it really wasn’t doing much at all.

She walked on, and the air was unusually silent until out of nowhere, a torch on the wall lit up, startling everypony—save for Rift, who chuckled at the gawking mares. The show wasn’t over as seconds later another torch lit up, and another, and another, and another until the endless tunnel now lay illuminated before them.

“Look!”

Rarity turned back and noticed Apple Bloom pointing at a spot on one of the grimy walls. She trotted toward it, and found drawings carved upon the wall, which she recognized as cutie marks. A radiant sun, so perfect in its design as if a master artist had carved it; a blue crystal heart, with a magical aura around it; a crescent moon, drawn slightly above and larger than the sun; and finally, not one, but four attempts to draw a perfect star with surrounding smaller stars.

Oh Twilight, Rarity thought, endeared, ever the perfectionist.

It made her smile to picture Twilight sitting inside the dark tunnel, frustrated by her attempts to recreate her own cutie mark.

Rift Shield cleared his throat. “This tunnel was once used by the princesses in case of emergencies. Like the time of the rat and lizard infestation,” he said, the latter statement drawing a hearty chuckle out of him.

Sweetie frowned. “I’ve never heard of that legend…”

Rift simply smiled. “There are many things you don’t know, but I promise you will soon. You wanted answers after all, didn’t you?” he said, and then gestured toward the tunnel. “Come on, we don’t have all day!”

And so they trekked on, the conversation turning toward other more important matters.

“So, Rift, what is that you needed to tell me?” Rarity asked, eager to find out what warranted seclusion from the rest of the city.

Rift Shield smiled. “Hm? Oh! You’ll see! Patience is golden, Rarity,” he said with a smile. “You’d better focus on what you’ll say to the princess for now!”

“Do you think she’ll like us?” Apple Bloom asked, joining the conversation.

“Don’t see why she shouldn’t, sugarcube,” Applejack replied. “She’s the princess, ain’t she? She’s supposed to be nice to all of us.”

“Wouldn’t it make her tired to be nice all the time to everypony?” Sweetie asked. “I wouldn’t want to be nice to Diamond Tiara after how mean she is to us.”

“Being nice all the time is boring,” Rift Shield agreed, completely missing the stern frown Rarity shot his way. She understood trying to relate to the fillies, but she’d expected better of him considering his job.

“Well, Sweetie, that’s why you’re not a princess,” Rarity said, smiling slightly at Sweetie’s indignant gasp.

While Sweetie listed the reasons why she’d be a perfect princess, thank you very much, Rarity looked back toward the path. It felt like they’d been trotting for a good while now, and her hooves were starting to tire. It didn’t help that not only was the path going uphill now, probably taking them to the upper levels of the castle, but the magic torches were few and far between, forcing them all to once again rely on Rarity’s illumination spell.

Finally, in the distance, she noticed a large wooden door. The way out, perhaps? She certainly hoped so.

“I see a door!” she called out to Rift, who was still at the rear of the group.

“Already?!” he called back. “That was faster than I remember.”

“Oh! We’re there, then?” Fluttershy asked, sounding very much relieved at the idea of getting to a nicer area.

“No,” Rift Shield replied. “There’s still some climbing to do, but—”

Without letting him finish, the three fillies sat down on the floor, whining piteously.

“But we’ve been walking, like, forever!” Scootaloo complained. “And I can’t see anything!”

Despite her desire to meet Princess Denza as soon as possible, Rarity couldn’t keep herself from taking the little respite presenting itself. With a sigh, she sat down like the fillies, taking off her heavy saddlebags.

“Well, we can take a little break and then continue,” she suggested, looking around at the walls for any other drawings the princesses might have left behind. “You don’t mind, do you, Rift?”

Rift, however, did very much seem to mind, his brow furrowed as a show of the fact. “Hm. But we have to be quick. It’s not smart to stay here long, and I won’t be going with you.”

“You won’t?” Rarity asked, surprised.

“Why not?” Fluttershy asked, sounding almost alarmed.

“I have to get back and go through the main entrance. It won’t be good for me if I’m seen wandering around the area we’ll come out of.” He smiled. “Don’t worry. A guard will be waiting for you and will escort you from there.”

“Oh…”

“Wouldn’t want to make him wait long, would we?”

“Duly noted,” Rarity said. Though she really didn’t like the idea that Rift wouldn’t be accompanying them, the last thing she wanted was to get him into any trouble after everything he was doing for them.

“Did ya bring the snacks I gave you?” Applejack asked, approaching Rarity’s bags. “Nothing like a quick bite to pick these fillies up.”

“Yes, they should be there somewhere,” Rarity said, hoping said apples were still in a somewhat edible condition. She watched as Applejack ruffled through her saddlebags, but rather than take out apples, the farmer simply stared at the bag for a moment before frowning, closing it and then standing up straight.

“You know, it’s the darndest thing, but I’m suddenly feelin’ mighty sick.”

Rarity blinked at her. “Pardon? You feel sick?”

Applejack nodded. “Eeyup. Feelin’ downright sick. I don’t know why, but it ain’t good,” she said, lifting her hoof to check her temperature. “Might not be such a good idea for me to see the princess. Maybe we oughta go back.”

“Oh dear,” Fluttershy said. She turned to Rarity. “If she feels sick…”

Rift trotted over to Applejack, seeming less than pleased. “You don’t look sick to me,” he said after looking her over.

Applejack was resolute. “Well, that’s fine an’ all, but I know what I feel, and what I feel is sicker than an apple with a worm livin’ in it,” she continued. “’Sides, I just remembered I didn’t bring an apple pie for the princess, and I don’t want us Apples to look bad. I know Granpappy Jonagold will come for me at night if’n that happens.”

Rarity bit her lip, suddenly uneasy. “I…”

“I’m real sorry, Rarity, but I think we should go back,” she insisted. After Rarity threw her a pained expression, she gritted her teeth. “Can I talk with you for a minute? I don’t think you’re really understandin’ how scary Granpappy can be.”

One look at Rift’s face told Rarity that any further delays would be unacceptable, but Applejack’s expression was a thousand times more disconcerting.

“Very well,” she said, more and more apprehensive by the second.

She watched as Applejack picked up her saddlebags and led her into the tunnel, away from the others. When they were at a distance that Applejack found acceptable, the mare dumped the saddlebag on the floor and looked at Rarity.

“What’s wrong?” Rarity asked, trying to remain calm. “Something is wrong, isn’t it?”

“I reckon ‘wrong’ don’t begin to describe it,” Applejack said carefully, her voice barely above a whisper. “Maybe next time you’ll listen to me when I say something don’t feel right.” Applejack glanced around before turning to her again. “You need to look at your necklace.”

To say dread drowned Rarity would be a light way to put what she currently felt. Rarity stared at Applejack in complete silence for one, two, three seconds before glancing at her saddlebags on the floor. She didn’t want to open them. She had to, of course, but she didn’t want to.

“Rarity.”

Prompted by Applejack, Rarity steeled her nerves and finally opened them, heart pounding against her chest, and there, right on top of everything, was her necklace—glowing a light shade of green.

Her first thought was that there were three fillies with her, possibly in danger, along with two dear friends. Her second thought was that the only pony who knew anything about Discord was miles away in Ponyville. And her third thought was interrupted by Fluttershy’s voice.

“Rarity? Applejack? Are you all right?” Fluttershy asked, having trotted over to join the two mares. She looked deeply concerned, and the serious expressions she was greeted with did little to calm her nerves. “Rarity, if Applejack is sick, we really should—”

“I ain’t sick,” Applejack whispered.

“Fluttershy, I need you to stay calm,” Rarity began, already feeling she’d started to lose her composure. “I need you to be calm, act as nonchalant as you can, and look inside my saddlebag, please.”

Fluttershy did as bidden, and the small noise that came out of her mouth could only be described as a muted terrified scream. She then took a deep breath, smiled faintly and asked, “Can we get out of here now?”

“No,” Rarity quickly replied.

She looked back down at the necklace. Truth be told, it seemed glow just as much as it did in the Everfree Forest. It wasn’t glowing nearly as brightly as it did in Heart’s Haven, and…

“Fluttershy, do you remember what I learned from Professor Awe back in Rainbow Falls?” Rarity asked, and when Fluttershy blinked at her, she turned to Applejack. “The professor I told you about, Applejack. The one living in Hollow Shades. I happened upon his notes on chaos magic, and it mentioned that Canterlot Castle was plagued with it.”

Fluttershy gasped. “Like the forest!”

“Exactly.”

Applejack frowned. “Wait, so you mean you-know-who ain’t here?”

“I don’t think he is, no,” Rarity said, relief slowly finding its way to her heart. “The necklace is simply react—”

Rarity stopped mid-sentence, her attention caught and her panic returned tenfold. Rather than the dim green, the necklace’s glow was now as bright as a torch. Fluttershy’s panicked expression returned, whereas Rarity and Applejack simply star—

“Are you all done?”

The three mares let out a piercing shriek, jumping away and facing Rift Shield, who had apparently grown tired of waiting.

“…All right. I’ll take that as a no,” he said wearily. “We really don’t have all day, you know?”

Rarity couldn’t bring herself to speak, and it seemed neither could the others. They all stared at him with terrified eyes, and it was as though Rarity’s mind had gone completely blank. She only reacted when Rift Shield’s eyes lowered toward the saddlebag.

“Rift!” Rarity shrieked, immediately closing her bag and letting out a very nervous laugh. “Rift! Darling, dearest! So sorry, so terribly sorry, you spooked us! Didn’t he, girls?!”

Applejack did and said nothing, while Fluttershy shook her head so hard it seemed like it might come off at any moment. He narrowed his eyes at them, to which Rarity only smiled wider.

The stallion seemed unamused. “We have to keep going,” he said. He then smiled and added, “The princess is waiting.”

And, without another word, he turned around and trotted off toward the fillies.

As soon as he was gone, Rarity turned back to her saddlebags, opened it, and was dismayed to see it had returned to its former dim glow.

“What do we do now?” Applejack asked, going straight to the point.

Rarity felt sick.

She looked toward the others, unable to think of anything else but the fact that the… the creature talking to the fillies wasn’t Rift Shield, but…

Rarity looked away, her hooves rising and cradling her face because she’d fallen right into his trap, hadn’t she? She had willingly and foolishly walked alongside him into whatever he was planning, and Twilight wasn’t here, and… and…

And if she was alone, she would risk it. If she was alone, and no life but hers was at stake, she would risk going against him. She would take her chances fighting him, somehow avenging the damage he’d done to Twilight and the others, but she wasn’t alone.

“We can’t fight him,” Applejack said, as if she’d heard Rarity’s thoughts. “And I don’t think he’s gonna let us backtrack, either.”

It didn’t make sense. Nothing made sense anymore, and the more she tried to somehow rationalize and find a solution, the less she was able to because she’d walked right into his trap.

“But… he said he can’t go with us…?” Fluttershy whispered, her voice trembling. “Maybe Princess Denza will know he’s here and she can stop him…”

Rarity closed her eyes, trying to think back. She vaguely remembered something she’d read in Twilight’s book about the castle having a spell to ward off Discord and his magic.

“Our best option right now is to do as he says,” Rarity finally said, looking up. “One of Twilight’s books said he can’t go into the inner levels of the castle. All we have to do is just go through the door, and find a way out from there where he can’t get to us. I don’t think it would be very wise of us to risk angering him, unless we’d like to be the ghosts of the dark tunnel, would we?”

When the other two agreed that would be a dreadful thing to happen, Rarity picked up her saddlebags and they trotted off, joining the Spirit and the three fillies.

“Ready!” Rarity said, throwing them the brightest smile she could muster.

The Spirit nodded. “Good! That only took an eternity,” he said, and Rarity awkwardly laughed at his remark before falling silent.

They continued their path toward the door, the three older mares walking faster than the fillies for once. Once they’d reached the door, the Spirit spoke up.

“Here we are! Time for you to meet Princess Denza!” he exclaimed, grinning widely at the cheers his statement elicited from the fillies.

“Indeed!” Rarity said, quickly opening the old creaky door with her magic and practically levitating the fillies past the threshold, barely giving them a chance to say goodbye to “Rift.” “Thank you ever so much for your help!”

“Goodbyenicemeetingyou,” Fluttershy squeaked, practically running to the other side of the door.

“Thank you kindly,” Applejack said civilly, nodding her head and quickly crossing to the other side.

“Good luck!” he said, smiling brightly.

Rarity looked at him and offered her loveliest smile. “We don’t need luck, thank you,” she said before turning around, crossing through the door and closing it tightly behind her.

The second the door was shut, Rarity slid down against it, burying her face in her hooves again. What were they to do? They couldn’t go back the same way, in case he was still there, and she very much doubted a guard was truly waiting for them. She had no idea where the real Rift Shield was, and only now did she curse herself for not having even tried the communication spell with the broken necklace.

She wished Twilight was there.

She wished it desperately, that somehow she’d open her eyes and be back at the library with Twilight.

“Rarity?” Applejack’s voice came. “You better look at this.”

Slowly, Rarity lowered her hooves and stood up, her eyes landing on the winding path and what everypony else was staring at. She trotted forward past the group and found the tunnel littered with dozens of floating translucent protective spheres.

“What… What are they?” Fluttershy asked, stepping back.

Rarity approached one, and was surprised to see a shape-shifting rock inside the sphere. It turned into a cupcake, a tiny violin, a snowball, and then a rock, repeating the pattern over several times. She looked up and realized one of the torches on the wall was also encapsulated in a protective sphere, which contained the tiny fireworks ceaselessly shooting out of the flame.

And yet… And yet the magic wasn’t like any protective barrier she’d seen. It looked fragile, terribly fragile, as if it would burst like a bubble at the softest touch.

“This is it!” Excitement welled up inside her despite the predicament. “The spell that limits chaos magic! Professor Awe was right! And don’t touch it!” she scolded, using her magic to snatch Scootaloo’s hoof away from one of the bubbles.

“But why is this here?” Apple Bloom asked. “Is…” She rushed to her sister, latching onto her leg. “Is the Spirit here?!”

Applejack and Rarity shared a concerned look before the earth pony turned to the three fillies, having shaken Apple Bloom off her leg. “Now, girls, I don’t want you runnin’ off scared, but… Rarity’s necklace here sniffed out somepony real bad, and we best all be very careful.”

The three fillies went white, their desire to play with the magic bubbles having obviously vanished. As much as Rarity would have liked not scaring them with the truth, they couldn’t risk the fillies doing something careless as a result of being kept in the dark.

With the stern warning of not touching absolutely anything, they continued down the dark path, avoiding more and more bubbles of magic. Eventually, they reached another large door, which Rarity very slowly and carefully opened, hoping no pony might be on the other side. Peeking outside, she was relieved to see nopony there, prompting her to open the door wider and trot in along with the others.

When she stepped into the expansive hallway and looked around, Rarity felt a chill down her spine. When she thought of a castle, she usually imagined a lively place with sunlight filtering in through the windows, staff and attendants rushing around to get things done, but this…?

No sunlight could enter, hidden away by the curtains drawn over every window. Dimly lit torches were the only source of illumination, and the meager décor consisted of two kneeling suits of armor on either side of four of five doors, and even more of the magic bubbles.

There was a statue in an alcove as well, which Rarity approached carefully. It was an armored unicorn stallion, standing tall and proud, one of his forelegs raised. There was a symbol on his chest plate, which vaguely reminded Rarity of the star in Twilight’s cutie mark.

Much like the princesses’ statues, there was an inscription on the base of his, and yet, unlike theirs, it was not a title, but a phrase.

I will find you again, in this life or the next.

Curious. Considering the other statues, she would have expected it to be of Princess Cadance, and yet…

“Didn’t Princess Twilight have a brother?” Fluttershy asked, having joined Rarity.

“She did, yes,” Rarity said, and now she did truly feel melancholy settle into her heart, the inscription taking on an entirely different meaning. A terrible realization seeped into her mind, of Twilight’s brother spending his entire life looking for his lost little sister, much like Fritter Cobbler had.

Rarity stepped back, finding she no longer wanted to dwell on such things. She turned around and continued her inspection of the hall, leaving the others to continue admiring the statue. Rather than head toward the rooms, she continued on to the end of the hallway, reaching what she dearly hoped would be the exit. To her misfortune, however, as soon as she put her hoof on the handle, she heard two voices on the other side, apparently having a conversation.

Guards!

She quickly stepped back, unsure of how to proceed. Going through that door would mean facing the guards and being seen as what they unwittingly were: intruders.

After returning to the others and instructing them to find another way out, she trotted all the way to the other side of the hall and approached one of the doors flanked by suits of armor. To her surprise, she saw Princess Luna’s cutie mark painted on it, prompting her to open the door and find a spiraling staircase leading up.

Smothering her curiosity, she closed the door and moved away. She saw Fluttershy going toward one of the other doors, and upon joining her, both found a blazing sun drawn on the door.

“These are their rooms,” Fluttershy urgently whispered, and now did the placement of the statue make sense.

Rarity tried the handle of the door but found it locked. Resigned, they moved to the next door, which boasted a familiar star-shaped cutie mark. Immediately, Rarity tried the door and a smile warmed her lips when the handle turned and the door swung open.

They stepped inside, finding a massive room filled with empty bookshelves and unused telescopes and ancient devices. Paintings hung on the ceiling, depicting the princesses of old, some featuring Twilight and the stallion from the statue in the hallway. It was strange to think that, once upon a time, Twilight Sparkle lived here.

Much like in the hall and the secret passageway, bubbles of magic also floated around the room, again containing objects that had been polluted with Discord’s magic.

The only things that stood out, however, were the maps and diagrams plastered over most of the walls, depicting glowing stone orbs and their suspected locations. On the desk, Rarity found the remains of three of these orbs.

“What are these?” she asked, finding nothing even remotely remarkable about them, and yet…

And yet, even though the orbs seemed identical, one of them in particular drew her attention, as if something within it spoke to her.

Mesmerized, she approached, and just as she brushed her hoof against it, a wisp of light shot out from the orb and toward her saddlebags.

Her subsequent yelp drew the attention of Fluttershy, who’d been inspecting one of the telescopes.

“Rarity?”

Without bothering to reply, Rarity quickly opened one of the bags and… and found nothing out of the ordinary. All the objects were in their place, the necklace above them all still glowing a dim green.

“Find anythin’?” Applejack asked, trotting into the room and looking around. “Hoo-wee! Looks like somepony moved out from here.”

Rarity turned around, heart beating in her chest. “W-what?”

“I’m askin’ if you girls found anything?” she repeated, and then frowned. “You doin’ okay, sugarcube?”

“I…” Rarity wearily rubbed her forehead. What was the wisp, what were the orbs, why would Discord disguise himself as Rift, why… “None of this makes sense.”

Applejack blinked. “None of this makes sense? What do you mean?”

“I mean that it doesn’t!” Rarity exclaimed, gesturing wildly. “Discord, for starters! Why did he lead us here?! If he really is working with Denza, why not just take us through the main doors! Why go through the trouble of such a back-alley solution?! Why pose as Rift Shield to get us into the castle when the real Rift was going to do just that?!”

“Maybe it has to do with what Rift wanted to tell you?” Fluttershy suggested, gulping. “Maybe it’s something bad…” Her ears lowered and she stepped back. “We shouldn’t have come here. We can’t even ask Princess Twilight for help, and why would he have taken us here if it wasn’t for something bad, and…” Fluttershy buried her face in her hooves.

Applejack sighed. “I don’t know either.”

“That’s the problem!” Rarity continued. “We don’t know! We don’t know anything about anypony! I mean, what, he wanted to take us on a tour of their bedrooms?! Depress us over the statue in the hallway?! Nothing makes sense!”

“Sis! Rarity!”

They turned around and found Apple Bloom by the door.

“Come quick! We found something!”

Rarity exchanged glances with the other two before they all followed Apple Bloom into the last room, which Rarity assumed belonged to Princess Cadance the First.

Except, rather than a bedroom, it looked like a nursery no foal had played in for centuries.

There was a bed, yes, and a large framed painting of Princess Cadance, her husband, and Twilight, but everything else looked as if it belonged to a child. And yet, the toys were all perfectly organized, and the sole crib next to the bed was coated with a heavy layer of dust. It made sense in retrospect, didn’t it? Why would any of the reigning princesses want to disturb the room of Princess Cadance?

“Rarity, look!” Sweetie urged, drawing Rarity’s attention away from the crib and toward a nearby desk.

There was a most peculiar setting on it: an ancient-looking book with a music box encased in a protective bubble right above it.

“Is it one of Princess Twilight’s books?” Scootaloo asked, poised to grab the book at any moment.

Rarity furrowed her brow, taking a closer look. “Predictions and Prophecies, no author. No, this isn’t one of them. I’m fairly certain all the books had an author, but…”

But she couldn’t deny the title was intriguing. The book was the only thing that stood out in the room, and if Princess Cadance had been reading it, then surely it must be of some importance, wouldn’t it?

Maybe… Maybe this was what Discord wanted them to see?

“Well, there ain’t any way out of here,” Applejack said, moving away from the desk. “Either we make ourselves known to the guards, or go back through the tunnel. Maybe the Spirit got plumb tired of waiting and left?”

Rarity bit her lip, still wondering about the book. “I suppose it’s worth a shot…”

Though she could at least try and take the book? Twilight might find some use for it.

She lit up her horn and carefully surrounded as much of it as she could with magic, trying to avoid touching the protective bubble. The fillies were all watching intently, almost as if Rarity were about to perform a magic trick, which she technically was. She’d have to be fast, she expected.

She took a deep breath, focused her magic, and then, in one swift motion, pulled the book from below the bubble. Everypony stood absolutely still, watching as the bubble floated in mid-air for a few moments before, to their horror, popping and allowing the music box to fall with a loud thud.

Nearly half a minute went by, everyone staring at each other and the music box in muted horror, waiting for something to happen. Finally, just as they all started to relax, the music box popped open and began to play a soft melody, two plastic fillies chasing each other to the rhythm.

“Well, that could have go—”

Her sentence was interrupted when the music stopped and a large cylinder appeared, attaching itself to the music box and giving the impression of a very odd phonograph.

Rarity stepped back. “Oh no.”

The music box began to play again, but this time, the music blasted out of the speaker, forcing everypony’s ears to clamp down against their heads.

“Rarity!” Sweetie shrieked, pressing her hooves against her ear. “What did you do?!”

Rarity didn’t bother replying, instead desperately trying to turn off the music box only for it to become even louder each time she tried.

“Quick! The door!” she yelled. “Close the door!”

Fluttershy rushed to do as told, while Applejack went to the desk where Rarity was now considering levitating the music box and simply chucking it out the window.

“Give it to me!” Applejack commanded, taking the music box in her hoof and throwing it to the ground, where it continued to play. Before Rarity could question her action, the mare stood up on her hind legs and then crashed her forelegs down on the music box, smashing it to pieces, the music finally dying out.

“There,” she said, everypony else simply staring. “Now what?”

“Now we leave,” Rarity said, thankful that ordeal was over. She quickly stashed the book inside her saddlebag before galloping toward the closed doors, opening them and jumping back with a squeak.

On the other side were four very stern-looking guards, their weapons drawn out and directed at her. They weren’t her real concern, though, since right in between them was the reigning princess of Equestria herself, looking down at Rarity with an indecipherable expression.

The stare-down did not last long, mostly because, in her panic, Rarity had no trouble slamming the door shut in front of the princess, and then slamming her own body against it. When she looked back, she found her companions all gaping at her.

Fluttershy was the first to react.

“Did… Did you just close the door on Princess Denza?”

“Yes,” Rarity replied, doing a splendid job at hiding how horrified she was. “Yes, I did.”

The door suddenly shook against her, the guards demanding to be let in.

“Well,” Applejack said, sitting down on her hindquarters. “I sure am going to enjoy the dungeons, I reckon.”

Rarity let out a piteous whine, wishing she could somehow teleport all of them back to Ponyville. Alas, she was not Twilight Sparkle. With immense reluctance, she detached herself from the door and turned around, ready to face the music.

Immediately did the door open, revealing to Princess Denza and her guards five terrified ponies and one absolutely charming unicorn.

“Ah, Princess Denza!” Rarity said, smiling brilliantly. “What a delightful surprise meeting you here!”

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act III ~ 26 ~ The Legacy From Long Ago ~

Princess Denza did not say anything at first. She looked beyond the mares, into the room, and then back at Rarity, still completely and surprisingly silent.

“Your Highness! We’ll take care of the intruders!” a senior unicorn guard exclaimed, enveloping everypony’s hooves with magic, almost like he wanted to hoofcuff them. “Please return to the throne room until the area is secure!”

“Secure?!” Rarity protested. “Have you even looked at us?! I have children with me!”

“We’re not bad guys!” Sweetie exclaimed, terrified. “I promise!”

The guard opened his mouth to reply, but Denza was quicker.

“Windy, please make sure nopony else is in the other rooms, and then escort our guests to the throne room,” she said with a smile and turned to walk away. “Inform the secretary that all my appointments for this afternoon are canceled too. Thank you!”

“But—! Your Highness!” the guard protested. “They infiltra—!”

“Thaaaank you!”

The guard gritted his teeth and turned to Rarity, lessening his magic grip on them. “Come on. Don’t try anything, or I’ll take you to the dungeons.”

As Rarity learned later from the guard, the intrepid gang of Ponyvillians had infiltrated a highly restricted section. This explained the five additional guards summoned to escort them.

It seemed like, despite everything, Rarity would get to prove Twilight’s existence after all.

As they trotted along, everypony in complete silence, Rarity tried to go over what in Equestria she’d say. She didn’t feel confident enough to reveal that the Spirit had brought them, but reasoned that the princess would have been expecting them anyway due to Rift.

Glancing back, she noticed everypony looked as nervous as she felt. The three fillies were uncharacteristically subdued, their fantasies of a visit to the castle crushed now that they were being escorted around like criminals. Fluttershy, too, was perturbed by the situation, and only Applejack was able to offer an encouraging smile.

She hated the feeling, honestly. She loathed feeling so ill at ease when about to meet the princess she’d grown up her entire life admiring, and respecting, and adoring. Ever since the idea had been presented to her, that Princess Denza was not what she seemed, Rarity’s psyche had struggled to accept it, and now… Well, the princess’s reaction was hardly that of a terrible pony.

The path through the castle’s many corridors and halls seemed long and tortuous. She wished time would stop and she could take a day to prepare. But, time waited on no pony, and certainly not on her.

The doors to the throne room loomed in the distance and the courtroom alongside it with the Lady Justice of Equestria ready to decide their fate.

Tick, tock.

When they reached the doors, one of the guards stepped forward and knocked three times. He stepped back, and after a moment, the door swung open. Beyond it lay a spectacular hall with kaleidoscopic sunlight filtering in through stained glass windows.

It was divine, Rarity thought, but much like the hallway before, it felt haunting. Most of the curtains were drawn, and dim light illuminated the chaos bubbles spread throughout.

Guards were posted along the length of the hall, their eyes fixed on Rarity. Now, more than ever, she felt like an intruder, as though her actions had breached some terribly secret group and she was being forced to meet their leader.

She and the others were ushered in, slowly trotting down to the end of the throne room, where Princess Denza awaited them behind a large desk and a group of four guards, standing as if to create a barrier between the princess and her subjects.

The guards escorting her came to a halt several lengths away from the princess, and their lifted forelegs prompted Rarity and the others to do the same. When they’d stopped, the four guards posted before them moved, dividing into duos and placing themselves on either side of the large wooden desk. The curtains near the end of the room were drawn, but even so, Rarity could clearly see the alicorn.

Princess Denza was beautiful.

This was an undeniable fact, whether she truly be wicked or not. The pale cerise-colored alicorn stood in front of her golden throne, her long multi-colored mane held back by her simple yellow tiara. Back in the hallway, in the spur of the moment, Rarity hadn’t noticed an ethereal glow surrounding the princess, bewitching in its strangeness.

Most of all, though, what truly made her beautiful in that moment was her expression.

Rarity was used to seeing the princess in very different settings. Parades, inaugurations, all sorts of events where she was the center of attention, smiling with delight at everypony who addressed her. Always laughing, always joking around with her husband, always cheerful.

But now?

She wasn’t angry, or at least she didn’t seem to be. “Curiosity” was the word that jumped to Rarity’s mind. But it wasn’t the curiosity one would expect of a foal or of Twilight facing a new wonder. It was a sort of guarded curiosity, and Rarity supposed such a thing could be expected when faced with ponies who’d somehow made their way into a restricted area of one’s abode.

Nevertheless, looking so serene and regal, Rarity couldn’t help but continue to think highly of her monarch.

And yet…

And yet the uneasiness did not leave, and though her eyes saw nothing but beauty in the princess, her… her instinct, so to speak, told her that something was still not right at all.

But what?

“Princess,” one of the escorts said, levitating Rarity’s saddlebags into the air and placing them on the desk. “This is the only thing they had with them.”

“The door to the observatory wasn’t closed properly,” another guard added. “And they went inside the library. The…” He glanced at them uneasily before continuing. “We don’t know if they interacted with the orbs.”

Do they mean the stones on the desk…?

Princess Denza did not say anything at first, eyes resting on Rarity and the others and then lowering toward the saddlebags. Rarity gulped, remembering the magic wisp that had left the orb. Oh dear, had she unwittingly stolen… whatever that was?

“What are your names, my little ponies?”

Rarity blinked, taken aback. It wasn’t an odd question, by all means, but it certainly wasn’t the one she’d been expecting. She’d been prepared for something more along the lines of “why were you in my castle?” or “why did you slam a door in my face, and why shouldn’t I exile you for it?”

“R-Rarity, Your Highness,” she replied, smiling politely. “And these are my friends, Applejack and Fluttershy, and my little sister Sweetie Belle, and her friends, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. We’re from Ponyville.”

Princess Denza hummed, apparently uninterested in the saddlebags. “Ponyville? I’m very fond of Ponyville! They make the best apple pies there, and the cider is delicious!”

“Thank you kindly, Your Highness,” Applejack said, smiling pridefully.

The princess opened her mouth to speak, but stopped, her eyes fixing on something beyond Rarity. The unicorn turned around and was mortified to see her little sister raising her hoof as though they were in school.

“Yes, little one?” Princess Denza asked.

“Rarity’s really sorry she slammed a door in your face, Princess Denza!” Sweetie blurted out. “She didn’t mean it! Promise!”

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity gasped, appalled. She turned to the princess, sure that her face must have been aflame. “Though she’s right, Your Highness! I am truly, deeply, extremely, very, very, sorry.”

Princess Denza laughed softly. “It’s all right,” she said and then winked. “I have that effect on a lot of ponies.”

And Rarity couldn’t help but smile, feeling much more comfortable.

How could anypony claim the princess had ill intentions? She was perfectly lovely so far!

“I have to ask, though,” she continued, “why exactly were you inside those rooms? They’re restricted, and my guards are usually very good at keeping ponies out of there.”

“Yo-Your Highness,” a guard stammered. “We—”

“Don’t be upset, Windy. You know I’m a tease,” Princess Denza said, smiling at her guard. “I learned from the best, after all!”

The guard cleared his throat. “Yes, Your Highness.”

Princess Denza turned back Rarity. “Well?”

Rarity felt a blush creep up her cheeks. “I… Well, we, er… We wanted to speak with you,” she said lamely, the proper words to express herself making themselves scarce.

“You managed that pretty well, then,” Princess Denza replied, and her amused smile remained on her lips. “Sneaking into the castle is one way of avoiding the paperwork and long lines. You must have something really important to tell me if you’d resort to this.”

Silence fell as the princess—and the others, it seemed—waited for Rarity to reply and reveal all. But she couldn’t, so instead she asked about something else. Something that seemed important and, judging by the guard’s comment, was.

“The orbs,” she said, her eyes falling on her saddlebag. “What… What are they? Why were there diagrams of them all over the room?”

Princess Denza leaned back slightly, and her smile faltered. “Oh! They’re relics. Old things. I look at them sometimes, trying to find out their secrets,” she added, winking again.

“Rocks don’t have secrets, Princess Denza,” Scootaloo pointed out, almost chiding the princess for her silly statements. Rarity had half a mind to scold the filly for it.

Princess Denza laughed. “Some do!”

“But… but those aren’t rocks, are they?” Rarity continued, undeterred. Because those diagrams were plastered all over Twilight’s room, had her mark all over them, and Rarity knew Twilight didn’t research anything that she didn’t find important. “Princess Twilight was researching them.”

The name struck something inside Princess Denza, and though the princess’s smile vanished almost immediately, the guards stood taller, and Rarity’s nerve cracked, she plowed on.

“Those rooms. Those were the rooms of the Princesses of Equestria, were they not?” she asked. “The ones from the myth.”

Princess Denza’s smile returned. “Myths don’t come from nowhere, little ponies. And I should hope they were once alive, because I wouldn’t be here if that wasn’t the case!” She cleared her throat, as if moving the topic along, and asked, “Now, what did you want to ask me?”

Rarity once again hesitated at speaking the truth, until a thought occurred to her.

“But, Your Highness,” she said, taking a step forward, “weren’t you expecting us?”

And now it was the princess who seemed taken aback, blinking at the mare. “I… was?”

“Yes,” Rarity continued, even though the princess’s reply was anything but encouraging. “We were told by one of your guards that he’d arranged for us to meet you…?”

Applejack nodded. “Yessir! Even saw the letter an’ everything,” she said.

Princess Denza frowned. “Who? What was his name?”

Again, the sinking feeling returned, but Rarity pressed on, “Rift Shield, Your Highness. He’s one of your lieutenants, I believe. A pegasus.”

Princess Denza’s narrowed eyes widened, just like the eyes of the guards next to her.

“We met him several months ago,” Fluttershy chimed in. “He was very nice, and he asked us to keep collecting evidence on the princesses.”

“That’s impossible,” a guard said, stepping forward. “Rift Shield isn—”

The princess’s outstretched hoof silenced him, and he stepped back, gritting his teeth.

“Rift Shield told you he’d arrange for you to meet me?” she asked, and when Rarity and the others nodded, her frown returned. “Lance Fire, go and find Rift Shield, please. Tell him about this and that I expect to see him right away.”

It seemed like Rift Shield held some matter of importance in the princess’s view, though Rarity didn’t know if this was for better or worse. She’d be finding out soon, she expected, watching a guard gallop toward the exit.

Nevertheless, all that mattered was the dawning realization that, apparently, Rift Shield had never intended Rarity to actually meet the princess, which put Discord’s intervention in a whole new terrifying light—whatever his intention was, that is.

“What is your business with me?” Princess Denza asked, and though her voice was not hostile on the surface, Rarity could tell the time for games had come to an end. She was no longer addressing a playful mare, but the Princess of Equestria.

All of the warnings against Princess Denza came rushing back to her, from the professor and from Rainbow Dash and even from Applejack to some degree. She tried to think of Twilight, of what she would do, and all she could think of was how happy Twilight had been upon knowing Princess Denza was alive and knowing Rarity would see her.

If Twilight believed in her, then she ought to give the monarch the benefit of the doubt, shouldn’t she?

“I found the princesses,” Rarity said, finally, steeling herself. “We found the princesses.”

No emotion could be found on the princess’s face.

“You found them?” she asked, slowly, almost tentatively. She didn’t seem skeptical, or amused, or anything at all. It was terribly disconcerting. “All of you?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Applejack said.

“All of us,” Fluttershy echoed when Applejack elbowed her.

“And you’ve found all three princesses?”

“No,” Rarity replied. She wished she knew where Princess Celestia was! “Just Princess Luna and Princess Twilight.”

“Where is Princess Luna?” Princess Denza asked, and at that, Rarity faltered.

“I… Well, I’m not sure exactly, Your Highness, but she’s somewhere near Hollow Shades. I was there, and I saw her in my dreams, and—”

“Your Highness…” a guard said, looking back and forth between Rarity and the princess. “I don’t think—”

“Veil, I understand your concern, and I appreciate it, but Rift must have had his reasons to bring these mares into the castle,” Princess Denza said, smiling kindly at her guard. “It’s only polite for us to find out what that is, isn’t it?”

“…Yes, Your Highness,” Veil said, nodding and turning back to Rarity.

“I brought proof, Your Highness,” Rarity quickly said, feeling uneasy at the guard’s apparent discomfort at having her there. “It’s in my saddlebags!”

Princess Denza smiled, nodding at Rarity before gesturing to her guard. “Veil?”

“Yes, Your Highness!” he exclaimed, trotting toward the table and opening up the bags, shooting a mortified Rarity a very hard stare as he pulled up the book she’d, er, borrowed from the nursery room. “This was inside Princess Twilight’s library. Why is this in your ba—”

“Veil, we already have plenty of books in the library. One less doesn’t hurt us,” Princess Denza said, and if she was angry at the apparent theft, she did not show it. “Continue, please.”

Veil did as commanded, putting the book down and then continuing his inspection of the bag. Next, he extracted Pinkie’s dream journal, flipping through the pages with a confused expression.

“It’s a dream journal!” Sweetie informed him.

“There’s a mare who knows of Princess Luna, and she records her dreams of her in diaries like this,” Rarity continued, and before she could stop herself, added in a voice with just a touch of acidity, “She’s come to Canterlot several times asking for help, but has never been treated as anything more than a charlatan.”

Princess Denza hummed, her eyes moving to her guards, brow furrowing slightly. “Oh? Regardless of whether her evidence is real or not, I’m surprised to hear she’s been treated that way.”

Veil cleared his throat and continued, pulling out the brightly glowing necklace and giving it a brief look-over.

“Magic spell to make it glow?” he asked, but before Rarity could answer, he put it aside and continued his search.

The snacks Applejack packed came next, and when he reached inside again, Rarity held her breath at seeing him extract Princess Luna’s crown.

True, it could have looked better, and despite Rarity’s best efforts at polishing it, it still looked like an ancient, rusted old crown. Then again, that was what it should probably look like if she wanted a chance at the princess believing her.

“This…” He drifted off, and his eyes rose up to the princess.

Before he could continue his sentence, the crown was enveloped in the princess’s own magic, which she used to levitate the crown toward herself. To Rarity’s dismay, she said absolutely nothing about it, though her eyes drifted off toward Rarity every few seconds.

“Wait, there’s…” Veil dug into the bag again, and now he extracted Celestia’s crown. “What… What happened to this?”

“The dragon tribe in Rainbow Falls gave it to me,” Rarity explained, watching as Princess Denza took Celestia’s crown in her magic as well, carefully inspecting it. “A remnant from Princess Celestia’s fight with the Spirit. And Princess Luna’s crown we found outside Princess Twilight’s library.”

“Where is her library?” Princess Denza asked, looking at Rarity carefully.

“Th-the Everfree Forest near Ponyville, Your Highness. I found it while searching for my sister on Seeking Night.”

And again, Denza fell silent, though Rarity could have sworn she’d gotten paler.

“Do you have Princess Twilight’s crown here too?” Veil asked, moving the conversation along.

“No. I couldn’t bring it,” Rarity said.

“Why not?” Princess Denza asked.

“He made it a part of her. The Spirit, that is,” Rarity explained. “It’s the Element of Magic, you see, and she believes he did this so it would be useless against him.”

“I see,” Denza replied, lowering the crowns onto the table. She fell silent for a moment, her eyes fixed on the six ponies. “I think I’ve seen enough.”

“Wa-wait, Your Highness,” Veil interrupted, muzzle buried inside the saddlebag. “There’s more! There’s…” He pulled back out, and with him came several photographs and the letter from the original Princess Cadance. The letter did not interest him, falling onto the table, but the photographs? His wide eyes were glued to them, and he too had gone somewhat pale. “This is… This is…”

The photographs of Twilight and the library were levitated away from him, and the princess looked through them, her eyes growing wide like his. Next, she took the letter and, letting the photos fall to the table, opened it up and began to read. Once she’d finished, she carefully folded it and placed it next to the other objects.

“Princess Denza,” Rarity pleaded, taking another step toward her. “Please, we must help them.”

“Rift Shield brought you here?” Princess Denza asked instead, as if she cared little for helping. “Is that why you were in the Princesses’ Hallway?”

Rarity hesitated. “…No, Your Highness.”

“No?” Princess Denza asked, and it felt like the room’s temperature had lowered.

Rarity held her ground. “We… He was supposed to take us! I even have a letter to prove it, like I said!” she insisted, pointing to her saddlebag. “He asked me to meet him at the castle, and he’d escort us to you, but we… Well, we found him outside the castle in the gardens, but…” Her voice drifted off, because even then it was hard to admit they’d been tricked. “But now we’re quite sure it wasn’t him.”

“Wasn’t him?” Princess Denza asked. “Why would you think that?”

“Well, for starters, he didn’t take us through the main entrance,” Rarity explained. “He guided us to a tunnel that connects to the Princesses’ Hallway, as you called it, and that’s why we were there.”

“But who is this pony?” the princess insisted, looking more stern by the second.

“The Spirit, of course,” Rarity replied, almost as if it were obvious. “Though… I confess I don’t… I don’t truly understand why he led us to you, when Rift was supposed to take us to you regardless. But, we’re positive it was him!” She gestured to the necklace. “My necklace serves as a detection spell! Princess Twilight cast a spell on it, and it glows varying shades of green depending on how close he is to us!”

“It was glowing… very… very brightly,” Fluttershy added.

Princess Denza didn’t say anything for the longest time. She simply put the letter down and stared at Rarity in utter silence, as if a mask had been placed on her face, shielding whatever she really thought.

“Yo-Your Highness?” a guard asked, taking a step toward her.

“Please escort our guests out of the castle,” Princess Denza said quietly, levitating every object back into the saddlebags and then passing it to a guard to carry.

“Wh-what? Why?!” Rarity demanded, thrown off by the sudden change of attitude. “You don’t believe me?! What else do you want me to bring to you?! There are literal protective magic bubbles all over this castle!”

“It isn’t a matter of whether I believe you or not,” Princess Denza interrupted, her voice calm and collected. “That doesn’t matter. I’m sorry you went through the trouble of coming here, but I can’t help you, and I have to ask you to leave.”

Could… Could it be true? Had everypony been right?

Did Princess Denza really have so little desire to help find the princesses?

“But… you’re the princess!” Rarity protested, slamming her hoof against the ground.

“Ye-yeah!” Scootaloo called out. “Don’t you want to help them?!”

“Please! And Princess Twilight really wants to see you! She’s your family!” Sweetie added.

Only Fluttershy and Applejack remained silent, and when Rarity’s eyes met Applejack’s, the mare simply lifted her hoof and adjusted her hat.

“You are our leader!” Rarity pleaded, turning back to the princess. “You are supposed to help! You, of all ponies!”

And for a moment, it seemed like the princess’s mask cracked, and she flinched. “I know. Please leave. I’m sorry, I really am. I cannot help you.”

“But, Prince—!”

“Please,” a guard interrupted, loud and clear, “the princess has given orders.” He gestured to the others and one by one they encircled the mares. “Please, follow us to the exit.”

“I will not!” Rarity snapped, now feeling almost enraged. She had come all this way only to be sent back home?! “Is this really what you choose to do?! Turn a blind eye?! I believed in you, Princess Denza!”

And the princess said nothing.

Rarity gritted her teeth. “Very well,” she hissed, no longer caring that she was addressing the monarch of her kingdom. As far as she was henceforth concerned, the only ponies worthy of royal titles were all trapped as ghosts in different parts of Equestria.

“Let’s go,” she said, turning around and marching off, ignoring the protests of the fillies. She tried hard, very hard, not to look back and hurl a few choice remarks at the Princ… at Denza, knowing it would only provide brief satisfaction.

If the Spirit’s intention had been to show Rarity what a horrid pony Denza was, then he’d succeeded.

Once outside the throne room and after the doors closed behind them, one of the guards gave Rarity her saddlebags back without a word and without asking for the “borrowed” book back. Curiously, she noticed he was avoiding her gaze, almost shamefully so.

As he should, too, Rarity thought viciously, accepting her saddlebags and putting them on with a huff. It turned out that the Princess of Equestria was just as rude as her guards. She was only glad Professor Awe hadn’t been there, or else he’d have surely laughed at Rarity’s naïveté.

“Please, follow me,” a guard said, gesturing for them to follow.

And they would have, if a certain pegasus stallion in arctic blue armor hadn’t come galloping into the hallway.

“Rift!” called a guard. “Where were you?!”

Rift, if that was the real Rift, ignored his companion and instead stopped before the six Ponyvillians, blood draining from his face. He looked terrified. No, that wasn’t the proper word. He looked horrified to see them there, and frankly he should have, considering the choice words Rarity had for him.

“You… Please, tell me you didn’t meet with the princess,” he said, breathing heavily, looking at them wide-eyed. “Please!”

Rarity harrumphed. “Oh, we did, but I can assure you I wish I hadn’t!”

Rift stepped back. “No. No, no, no.” Before he could be questioned, a series of expletives left his mouth and he rushed toward the throne room, slamming the door open and stepping inside after barking orders to the others. “Don’t let them go anywhere!”

The guards hesitated. “But, Rift—”

“I said don’t!” he snapped, closing the door behind him.

And now the ill-at-ease sensation returned full-force. Rarity stared at the closed throne room door for a moment before turning to the guards and finding every single one of them intently avoiding her gaze.

“I knew it,” Applejack said. “I knew I had a bad feeling about all this.”

“What’s going on?!” Rarity demanded of the guards, but again, they remained silent, only briefly glancing at her before again staring at absolutely anything else.

“Did… Did we do something wrong?” Sweetie Belle asked, tugging on Rarity’s forelegs.

“I… I don’t know,” Rarity replied.

Minutes later, the grand doors opened again, and Rift Shield came out looking as pale as a ghost. He carefully closed the doors and turned to Rarity, seemingly at a loss for words.

“Rift,” Rarity said, as authoritatively as she could despite her now steadily growing fear, “what’s the meaning of this? What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry, Rarity,” he replied, taking off his helmet. “I am.”

“S-sorry?” Rarity asked, stepping back, ears flattening against her head. “Why are you sorry? Why are you sorry?!” she demanded when he did not reply.

All emotion was gone from his face, as though he were a terminally ill patient learning of his fate. “I… I thought if I kept you away… If I didn’t tell you, then maybe you’d…” He drifted off, though he never broke eye contact with her.

If there was such a thing as dying of fear, Rarity was quite sure that would be the way she would go any moment now. Her heart slowed to a stop, and everything else in the room faded to a blur save for Rift’s eyes. Positions had changed, it seemed, for now she was the ill patient sitting on a chair, and he was the doctor ready to give the horrible prognosis.

“Tell me what?” Rarity asked, her voice cracking. She didn’t want to find out what he’d done, what she’d done, and something deep within her wanted to run away from whatever he had to say, but in a game of chicken, Rarity was not the one to blink first. “Tell me what?!”

He stepped back, almost startled. Or afraid? Of her? Of what he was about to say? She couldn’t tell, but either option was terrible, wasn’t it?

“I… I didn’t want to tell you because even doing that might have…” His voice cracked, much like hers, and he fell onto his hind legs, his helmet falling and colliding with the floor, clanking loudly. “I’m sorry, I…” It was terrifying to see him at such a loss for words. “We don’t know anything about it—! It might spread from pony to pony, or anypony who works for her, or we don’t know! I thought if you never knew about it from me, then maybe it wouldn’t spread to you…” He drifted off again and then repeated two familiar words Rarity was beginning to loathe. “I’m sorry.”

“Spread?” Rarity asked, ignoring his apology because she felt angered now, panicked, faced with this terrible judge too afraid to give his own damning verdict. Every second he delayed only intensified her already asphyxiating dread. Every apology he stammered only enraged her more. “Spread what to me?! What are you talking about?!”

It was another guard who spoke up.

“The curse of Princess Cadance.”

Rarity said nothing, even as she heard gasps of horror around her. Rift said nothing, as well, his gaze fixed on hers. It felt, for a moment, like time had come to a stop, the guard’s words looping in Rarity’s head like a broken record.

Cadance’s curse.

As his final act of villainy, he cast a curse upon her, proclaiming that neither she nor any of her bloodline would be able to find the trapped princesses.

“Miss Rarity, I’ve read thousands upon thousands of variations of the legend. This one says it only affects her lineage. This one says anypony who speaks her name is cursed as well. Those two claim whoever works under her is affected for life.”

“Cursed? There isn’t any curse! That’s just some phony excuse they made up so they wouldn’t look bad not doing anything while others did the job for her.”

“But there is no curse,” Rarity said and her voice felt so frail, so soft, like she was about to die, because if there really was a curse and it had just passed to her, she would. She stepped back, shaking her head, balking. “Th-there is no curse! That… That was an excuse! It’s an excuse! It is! Isn’t it?!”

“I’m sorry, Rarity,” Rift said, and he sounded more sincere than she’d ever heard him, and she felt sick.

“No. No.”

Trembling, she turned to the guards, who again kept their gaze away from her, with the shame they shared with their lieutenant.

“Look at me!” she barked, and she tried hard not to let tears sting at her eyes. When they obeyed, she demanded, “He’s lying, isn’t he?!” and then felt faint when they lowered their gazes.

“Please,” she begged, needing to be told there wasn’t a curse because now she wasn’t so sure herself.

“Leave,” Rift Shield finally spoke up, his voice commanding.

Rarity turned to him, taken back. “Wh-what?”

For the first time, he acted properly. He stepped forward, now more intimidating than she’d ever seen him. “You say you don’t believe in the curse? Then don’t believe in it because that might help us all,” he said, carefully, almost threateningly. “Don’t let go of that belief, and take the first train to Ponyville, and if you pray, I don’t know and don’t care to who, you pray to them that you are able to find the library again. Pray, and if you don’t, you better start now.”

And she obeyed.

Without a word and without protest, she turned and left with the others trailing behind. They didn’t dare speak as they left the castle, nor did they speak when they crossed the city. Rarity walked, yes, but it was an external force that moved her body, that kept her going, because she felt nothing at all.

She hadn’t even truly processed that she was inside the train until her saddlebags fell to the floor, their contents spilling over. Everypony was sitting in the cabin, but it was as if she were alone, for nopony moved to clean up or even showed a sign of having noticed.

It was Sweetie who, eventually, rose to pick those things up, and she wore what Rarity could only describe as a broken but earnest smile. She carefully placed the items back in the saddlebags, informing them all that nothing had been damaged, which was good because Princess Twilight would be mad otherwise when they saw her back home, and… and… and her sentence died out, her voice breaking as tears welled up in her eyes.

“Are we cursed?” she asked, her voice quiet. “Does that mean we’re never going to see Princess Twilight again?”

Rarity couldn’t bring herself to reply. To say they wouldn’t would make it real, but to say they would… Well, she wasn’t entirely sure that would be the truth.

So, instead, she lifted her hoof, beckoning her sister, and Sweetie obeyed the wordless request, burying herself in her sister’s embrace, and though her sister sniffled beside her, Rarity could not relate. All emotion had drained out from her, as if she was nothing but a living ghost now and, oh, wasn’t that terribly fitting?

It was, wasn’t it, for the silence that followed her felt much like the Grim Reaper looming over her, ready to deliver his final service. And yet, even then, as she sat motionlessly in the train car, holding her little sister, she was not allowed the quiet he was supposed to bring, for the silence was loud, so deafeningly loud.

It was the longest train ride of her entire life.

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act III ~ 27 ~ The Princess's Last Letter ~

“Rarity, wait, please!”

Nothing mattered to Rarity.

Not Fluttershy’s pleading, not Applejack’s calls, not the cries of her sister and her friends, not the fact that she’d left her bags on the train; the world could be coming to an end around her and still nothing would matter but getting to Twilight’s library.

Please, let me find her, please.

To think of all the dangers she’d faced, all the times she’d been at risk, all the times she thought she’d been afraid, only to realize that fear was something she had not so truly and viscerally experienced until that moment.

On any normal day, when her entire world wasn’t at risk of crumbling, it would take her around fifteen minutes to travel from the train station to her house. On that particular day, it took her five, ignoring the ponies calling to greet her, ignoring the pain in her chest, ignoring still the friends she’d long left behind.

Arriving at Carousel Boutique, her chest only hurt more at the sight, or lack thereof, of the creatures who were supposed to be waiting for her arrival.

“No,” she choked out, before desperately yelling out, running around the exterior of her home as tears brimmed around her eyes. “Elara! Themis! Where are you?!”

They did not come, no matter how much she called. As the seconds went by she began to feel faint, finally falling numbly to her haunches.

“Rarity! For pony’s sake, hold still!”

She looked around and saw Applejack running toward her. She stood, feeling as if an external force was controlling her, and quietly spoke when Applejack caught up: “The owls aren’t here.”

It came out hollow, like she’d been given a death sentence and was simply relaying it to whoever might listen. The owls weren’t there.

Applejack didn’t reply immediately, stepping back and looking at Carousel Boutique. She rushed to the entrance, and even through the haze that now clouded Rarity’s head, she heard Applejack calling for the owls. After a moment, the mare returned, and though she looked serious, she did not seem as utterly hopeless as Rarity felt.

“We came early, Rarity. Princess Twi ain’t expecting us until tomorrow,” Applejack reminded, voice steady. “I’m sure it ain’t because of any curse. We just have to wait until they come and—”

“I know the way,” Rarity whispered.

She knew the way to the library. She didn’t need the owls, she didn’t need to wait, she could not wait, and she knew the way. Without bothering to explain, she stood and prepared to sprint, only to be brusquely pulled back.

“Whoa there, sugarcube! You ain’t goin’ nowhere in the state you’re in,” Applejack said, earning herself a nearly murderous stare from the unicorn. “Lookin’ at me like that ain’t changing my mind. You’re more shaken up than a cup of Granny’s cider, and I’m not gonna have you gettin’ into danger because of this!”

“Unhoof me this instant, Applejack!” Rarity protested, appalled and indignantly trying to break free from the mare’s grip. “I can’t wait until they come! Please, Twilight—!”

“Rarity! Applejack!”

They turned around to find Fluttershy and the Crusaders running to join them. Rarity once more tried to jerk herself away from Applejack’s grip in desperation, but the mare was resolute.

“Applejack, please—!”

“Fluttershy, stay here with the fillies,” Applejack said, and Rarity finally stopped her struggling to look at her.

Please, please, please.

Fluttershy looked unsure. “But… I…”

“Please, Fluttershy. Somepony needs to stay here and make sure they don’t follow after us,” Applejack continued, finally letting go of the unicorn. “Rarity and I are goin’ to see if we can find the princess.”

“But what about us?!” Apple Bloom demanded. “We wanna go fi—”

“No. Absolutely not,” Rarity interrupted, her sense of responsibility overpowering her sheer desperation to just leave already. “You will stay here. End of story.”

And before another protest could be uttered, Rarity took off without a care for whether Applejack was following or not. Her heart had gone back to beating itself into a frenzy in her chest, and beat faster still once the Everfree Forest appeared in her line of sight.

She knew the way.

She knew the way, she was certain of it, she could traverse the forest with her eyes shut. No curse, no Princess, nothing would keep her from Twilight Sparkle, because in less than a dozen minutes she would be in the library, and that was a fact, not prayerful hoping.

When at long last she reached the edge of the forest, she slowed to a stop and gave Applejack a second of her time.

“Rarity,” Applejack said, and Rarity knew that though the mare would not stop her, it did not mean she necessarily approved. “You’re absolutely sure you know the way?”

“I am,” Rarity said, and she was, because she had no other option; she refused the other option.

“And if you don’t? What if this curs—” Her sentence came to an end when a tendril of magic snapped her mouth shut.

“Don’t you dare say it,” Rarity nearly hissed, determined on taking Rift’s words to heart. “Don’t you even think about it, Applejack. There is no curse.”

There was no curse. It was her mantra now, her new agonizing philosophy, because she refused to believe anything else. After a moment, she let go of Applejack’s muzzle, and when the earth pony only shot her a less than pleased look, Rarity turned around, moved toward the forest, and began to feel ill not even a minute in.

She didn’t feel ill in the poetic sense. Her heart was not figuratively bleeding—yet—but she was faint, honestly and truly, like the blood had been drained from her body. Her gallop slowed to a canter, and the farther she ventured in the direction she knew to be right, the less sure she felt and so her canter became a trot and then nothing at all.

Standing still, she looked up at the trees, hesitating over which path to take. Cursed malaise! It was doing a fine job of making it difficult for her to focus, to remember the way and follow it! Why did such a thing have to happen now? Was the weight of her fear finally catching up to her?

She turned to Applejack, ready to insist that she knew the way before her companion might question her, but instead she found Applejack looking similarly under the weather. She’d gone pale, and as she rubbed a hoof against her forehead in a soothing gesture, her eyes did not leave Rarity’s.

“You feel it too, don’t you?”

It was not a question, though it was phrased as such.

Rarity stepped back and then quickly turned away. “Feel what? I feel nothing—no, I feel fine! Fabulous! Splendid!” she shrieked with a harrumph, ignoring the sinking feeling in her chest because she was fine. “I have no idea what you’re talking about! You must be imagining things!”

“Sugarcu—”

Rarity shushed her, turning her gaze back toward the forest. She took a deep breath and then focused on her surroundings and on the library. It took her a moment, but the sickness subsided as a certain path seemed to beckon her.

“Quickly, follow me!” she exclaimed, rushing off, once more confident in her choice. Her fears had clouded her view, but now they had gone and so she could find her way again.

This is the way.

The more she thought it, the more she was sure, and the more it felt like the forest was guiding her. Any minute now, any moment, she would arrive at the familiar old oak tree, and within it she would find Twilight, perfectly safe from any curse. She could feel herself getting close now, and finally she stopped, her heart nearly stopping alongside her.

She did not reach the library.

She reached two large timberwolves, both sitting on their haunches and facing them, like their master had ordered them to wait patiently for their food to arrive.

“Don’t move,” Applejack hissed, which frankly should have gone unsaid.

The two timberwolves stood up, green slime drooling from their muzzles. They stood still, apparently waiting for the mares to make their first move.

Eventually, it was Rarity who acted first, signaling for Applejack to run one way while she went for the other. They would get separated, yes, but simply standing there was putting them more at risk. Applejack didn’t seem all that convinced, but when Rarity screamed, both mares ran off.

Or, at least, Applejack did, because Rarity ran straight into a third timberwolf, falling to the ground, and barely had time to lift her forelegs in a kick before it lunged at her.

Rarity had a dream.

Not a dream in the sense of an aspiration or something to achieve, like becoming a world-famous designer or freeing Twilight Sparkle. She had a dream in the literal sense, where she could swim into the deepest oceans of her own psyche thanks to a questionable psychology book and five hours on Twilight’s proverbial couch.

She dreamt a timberwolf attacked her, and viciously, at that. She had been walking through the Everfree Forest, searching for the tree of legend, certain of going the right way but instead walking right into the roaming grounds of the Everfree’s nastier beasts.

Despite her best attempts, the beast was faster and stronger, and her leg was caught in its jaw, its claws and fangs tearing into her flesh. It was agonizing. She called for help, sure that death was at her door, and if it would stop the pain she’d gladly welcome it, but it was not. Instead, she was strong enough to overpower the beast, running away and reaching the library.

Inside, she found Twilight Sparkle, lying by the entrance and reading a book. How beautiful she looked, Rarity thought out suddenly. A sight for the sorest of eyes.

Rarity trotted toward her, trying to steady her breathing.

“A timberwolf nearly attacked me,” she said, but the words came out like casual conversation. How’s the weather? Fine, and oh, by the way, I was almost mauled by a feral beast. Quite the experience, honestly. He could have used some breath mints.

Twilight looked up. “Almost? It did attack you.”

Rarity looked to her leg, but she saw no evidence of an attack. She had felt the pain, yes, but perhaps it had merely been adrenaline. Her leg looked as splendid as it always did.

“Well, yes, but I escaped it!” Rarity said, playfully rolling her eyes.

“Oh?” Twilight said, and she frowned. “Did you really?”

Startled by the question, Rarity woke up.

Despite the late hour and dim lights, Rarity could still make out the interior of the white room she was in. She tried to get up from the bed, but a sharp pain in her leg forced her back down with a groan.

“I’m just saying this because your friends aren’t here,” a voice said, “but you’re hardcore, Rarity.”

Rarity turned around and found Rainbow Dash lying on a nearby couch, smiling at the unicorn. “I… what… where am I?”

“The hospital,” Rainbow said. “You’ve been here three days.”

Rarity blinked at her. She tried to get up, then yelped when an agonizing pain in her leg forced her back down. She lifted the covers to find her right hind leg swathed in bandages tinged pink.

I… I really was attacked? It wasn’t a nightmare…?

“Oh geez, you need a change,” Rainbow Dash said, her words barely registering in Rarity’s horrified mind. “I’ll call the nurse.”

“Wh… What about Applejack?” she whispered, eyes still glued to her foreleg. “The… The earth pony mare…”

“She’s alive, only got a few scratches. She saved your life,” Rainbow said, pressing a button on the wall before returning to the couch. “A nurse was telling me earlier that Applejack ran in here with you, like, dying on her back.” She grabbed a clipboard from the couch and looked it over. “All I got from this thing is that your leg was a timberwolf’s chew-toy, and some ligament is busted for a few weeks or more.” She waved it at Rarity. “Wanna read?”

Rarity slowly shook her head and instead laid back on the bed again, feeling numb.

“Don’t worry, Rarity. Scars are awesome!” Rainbow said enthusiastically. “And a scarred cutie mark totally screams hardcore.”

A… A scarred cutie mark…?

“What are you doing here?” Rarity asked, trying to keep herself collected. A realization dawned on her, and she turned to Dash. “Did you meet with Princess Luna?”

Rainbow grinned. “Wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t! I wanted to bring Pinkie along, actually, but she had to stay home and deal with other stuff,” she said. “Your friends told me about Canterlot, too. I’d ask how it went, but so far your friends don’t really want to talk about it, so I know it was a bust.”

Memories resurfaced of Princess Denza, the castle, the forest and… the curse… and Twilight…

“I haven’t seen any of Denza’s ladybugs, though,” Dash continued. “Guess they didn’t think you were worth dealing with.”

And of course she wouldn’t be worth dealing with when Rarity was now totally and utterly useless, wasn’t she?

Rarity tried to get up, even despite the pain. “Rainbow, you—you need to see Princess Twilight…”

“I will,” Dash replied nonchalantly. “I’d have gone yesterday but your friends didn’t really want to take me. Guess they got scared because of you, but Fluttershy said the owls can take me. And don’t worry, I’ll tell the princess you’re not dead yet.”

Rarity could feel herself drifting back into unconsciousness, only anchored by her desperate need to somehow see Twilight.

“Rainbow, please, you… you need to help find the princesses…” The words came out from her mouth unbidden, and for a moment, she felt a burst of energy flowing through her as she said them. Her eyes were fixed on Rainbow, and she felt again like some external force was taking hold of her. “Please.”

Rainbow blinked, taken aback. “I will, geez! No need to go all creepy on me,” she said, then clearing her throat. “Chill, Rarity. I’m definitely finding Princess Twilight.”

Her reassurance, however, went unheard by Rarity, who’d already collapsed back onto the bed, her consciousness fading back into dreams of her princess in the forest. She slept and slept, through the night and through the day and again through the night, waking in the morning to find her three friends sitting close by.

For a moment, she smiled, in hopes of good news.

Her smile died, however, when she took a closer look at their somber expressions.

They asked her about her well-being at first, and only after she’d finished did she get to ask her own questions.

“Well?!” she asked. “How did it go?! Did you find the owls, Rainbow?”

Rainbow crossed her arms, and though she was looking toward Rarity, it still felt to her as if the pegasus was avoiding eye contact.

“The owls don’t work,” she said flatly.

“What do you mean ‘the owls don’t work’?” Rarity carefully asked, because surely Rainbow must know that was impossible because they were owls.

Rainbow looked increasingly uncomfortable, ears lowering. “Listen, I know it sounds crazy, but I’m telling you: they don’t work. I tried following them into the forest, and all we did was run into timberwolves! Even they seemed confused!”

“That’s impossible!” Rarity snapped, trying to sit up despite the pain shooting up her leg. “You—! You must not have—!”

“What if the owls can get cursed?” Applejack asked suddenly.

“No!” Rarity insisted, slamming her hoof against the bed. “Rainbow Dash is simply doing something wrong!”

“No, I’m n—!”

“Yes, you are!” Rarity interrupted viciously. “The second I’m out of this forsaken place, I will go with the owls, and then you’ll see! In fact, when are they coming back? I have to write to Twilight and… and…”

She drifted off the moment her statement drew yet another somber expression from Applejack and Fluttershy.

“What?” she asked, her anger fading. “Why do you look like that? What happened?”

Fluttershy gulped before speaking up. “Princess Twilight wrote to you.”

“What?!” Rarity gasped. “When?! Why was I not told about this?!”

Fluttershy reached into her saddlebags on the floor, taking out three letters. However, rather than hoofing them over to Rarity, she continued talking.

“You were asleep whenever I came to visit,” she explained. “I haven’t read them.”

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Rarity demanded, gesturing for the letters. “I need to tell her—”

“She already knows,” Applejack interrupted.

“She sent me a letter yesterday,” Fluttershy continued, readjusting her wings and pointedly avoiding eye contact with Rarity. “And I told her about the curse and…”

She drifted off, and there was silence for a moment.

“Please,” Rarity whispered, hooves pressing into the mattress while she tried to keep calm. “Please tell me you did not tell her about the attack.”

When again Fluttershy replied with silence, Rarity felt herself go faint, forehooves flying to her mouth.

“You… You told her?!” she demanded, having half a mind to jump off the bed to go and—! And—! And something! “Why would you do that?! Do you want Twilight to torture herself?!”

Fluttershy winced, making herself small on the couch. “We-well, I—”

“I told her to put it in,” Applejack said firmly, sitting up straight. “The princess was mighty worried about why you weren’t replying to her letters, and I wasn’t about to have Fluttershy lie to her about somethin’ so serious.”

Rarity gritted her teeth, nearly shaking with anger. How could… How dare they… She was supposed to tell Twilight what happened! She was supposed to tell her, and Twilight wasn’t supposed to know, and her “friends” just… just completely jumped over her?!

Rarity laid back down, not wanting to look at them another moment.

“Look, I’m sure Princess Twilight is going to write back again soon with one of those corny ‘get well’ letters,” Rainbow said. “So just sit back and chill, ’kay?”

Rarity didn’t reply, Rainbow’s words only crushing whatever remaining delight Rarity had at seeing her friends.

“We’re only doing this because we care about you an’ her,” Applejack said, defensive tone gone from her voice. Rarity heard her get up, and moments later a hoof patted Rarity’s shoulder. “Try an’ get to restin’, and I bet you’ll have a new letter from the princess first thing when you wake up.”

In the three weeks after Twilight Sparkle cut off all contact, Rarity had very cruel dreams.

That was the only fitting description, and yet, if somepony else were to gaze into her dreams like through a window, they would be confused.

Where was the cruelty in dreams where Rarity spent her days in the library, doing things she usually did when awake? One might even call them boring, these dreams where she and Twilight talked of trivial affairs, kept each other company, read books, worked on clothes. Surely the cruelty couldn’t refer to waking up. Who would be sad to wake from such an unexciting dream?

Three knocks at the door, and Rarity’s ears pressed against her head.

No, not yet, she wanted to say. Let me go back to her.

She heard the door open, and Sweetie’s voice chime in, “Rarity? Wake up!” After Rarity replied with silence, Sweetie trotted into the room and shook her sister. “Come on, stop pretending you’re asleep.”

“Have the owls come back?”

“No,” Sweetie said. “But everypony’s downstairs for pancakes!”

“Curious. I don’t remember agreeing to hosting breakfast for whoever ‘everypony’ is,” Rarity dryly remarked, hissing with pain when Sweetie patted her on her hind leg.

“Ugh, come on, Rarity. Stop being so grumpy! Didn’t you say frowns leave wrinkles on your face?”

Rarity snorted. “I did, and you know what else is marvelous at keeping a frown on my visage? Being a prisoner in my own house, that’s what.”

“See you downstairs,” Sweetie said, moving away and leaving the room.

Rarity waited until she closed the door before sighing and rolling onto her side, wincing slightly when her bandages shifted over her wounds. The thought of her injuries no longer brought tears to her eyes, but even so…

If Twilight were there, she’d have already healed Rarity.

But she isn’t here…

Rarity took one long, deep breath and sat up, blowing air through her gritted teeth. She looked around and found her standing wrap, which she begrudgingly levitated toward her. She hated the thing. It was as unseemly as a cast, it brought attention to her injuries, and the only redeeming thing about it was its color: lavender, like Twilight’s coat.

That way, Sweetie had said, it’s like Princess Twilight is keeping your leg safe!

She tried not to look at her hind leg when putting it on. Wounds lined her flank, and when her eyes landed on her disfigured cutie mark, rendered hideous by three massive claw marks and bite marks, she…

Rise above it, Rarity, she thought, pushing back tears and looking away. Rise above it.

“Rarity!” a voice called. “Come on!”

“I’m coming!”

She sighed again.

This was her routine now.

Wake up, make clothes, limp to the doctor every five days, limp to the spa every three days, tea time with Fluttershy every two days, go home, sleep. If it wasn’t for the doctor, her routine would be no different than it had been a year ago or so. Her friends were constantly visiting and pampering her, her injury made everypony treat her like a delicate flower to be sheltered, and rather than feel grateful, she was irritated. Annoyed. Stressed. Miserable.

She lifted her hoof and pressed it against the cracked necklace hanging from her neck. She’d already tried so many times before, and yet she still closed her eyes and tried to cast the communication spell, only for nothing to happen, just like the time before that, and before that, and before that, and…

She let go of the necklace and finally got off the bed, wincing again when her hind leg touched the floor.

When she finally decided to grace the others with her presence, she found Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom huddled in the kitchen, preparing what smelled like admittedly delicious pancakes.

“Oh, good morning!” Fluttershy said, putting down the bowl of batter and smiling at Rarity. Her eyes flickered briefly toward Rarity’s leg before coming back up. “Did you sleep well?”

“I had a very nice dream last night, unlike yesterday’s nightmare,” Rarity said, pulling up a chair but debating whether to sit on it or not. “What do you make of the name Amethyst Wind? Isn’t it just awful?”

“Hey, Rares, don’t you have maple syrup?” Rainbow interjected, looking through Rarity’s cupboards.

“If it’s not there, I must have run out,” Rarity replied, now catching Apple Bloom glancing at her leg. Rarity had long ago learned Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were disastrous at being discreet, while Scootaloo didn’t even try and instead gawked at how “cool” the battle wounds were.

“Where is Scootaloo?” Rarity asked, moving to try and help Rainbow find the syrup.

“Saturday morning classes,” Sweetie replied, watching as Fluttershy flew over to the stove and started another batch of pancakes. “She failed the math test.”

“Rarity, how can you not have maple syrup?!” Rainbow said. “What kind of kitchen is this?!”

“Goodness, if it’s such a concern, I’ll go and buy some,” Rarity replied, shaking her head. Truthfully, she didn’t mind the walk to Sugarcube Corner, and she could use the exercise. “I’ll be back soon.”

“O-oh, wait, I’ll go with you!” Fluttershy blurted out, stopping everything she was doing.

Rarity turned to her, smiling brilliantly. “Darling, I’m simply going to the shop. I’m sure I can handle that all on my lonesome.”

“Yeah, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said, grabbing the batter Fluttershy had put down and hoofing it back to the pegasus. “One of the squirts can go.”

“Rainbow Dash, I do not need an escort,” Rarity curtly said, trying to keep a smile on her face. Honestly! What did they think she’d do?! Run off?

“Hey, Sweetie, question,” Rainbow said, grabbing chocolate syrup from the counter and pouring it into the batter. “How many times has Rarity tried sneaking out to the forest since she’s been out of the hospital?”

“None!” Rarity protested.

Sweetie frowned. “Uhm… Ten? No, wait, eleven?”

“That is slander!” Rarity exclaimed, trotting out of the kitchen. She took her black cloak from the rack and put it on, harrumphing though no pony could hear her.

She opened the door, intent on leaving before somepony could catch up to her, but Apple Bloom ran into the room, asking for her to please wait.

The trek toward Sugarcube Corner was much less pleasant than Rarity had hoped. Apple Bloom was a delight, yes, but the stares of everypony else weren’t. She knew that half the town had seen her bleeding her leg away on Applejack’s back, and the other half had already gotten the “delicious scoop.”

Every limping step she took felt heavier under the weight of their stares, their eyes almost always flickering toward her hind leg, which Scootaloo reported half of them thought was a peg leg.

A peg leg! What, should she be a pirat—

“Rarity? Are you listenin’?”

Rarity looked at Apple Bloom. “Pardon?”

Apple Bloom frowned for a moment before proceeding. “Zecora wrote me!” she exclaimed, her cheer returning. “She wants me to go to Canterlot to visit her ’cause there’s a big market there where I can buy lots of potion books.”

“Apple Bloom, that’s wonderful! You must be excited,” Rarity said, still trying to ignore the stare a passing pony gave her. “Especially with her gone for so long!”

Apple Bloom nodded enthusiastically. “Eeyup!” she said, grinning. “Except…” Her ears dropped and she kicked the ground. “Granny said I can’t go.”

“What? Whyever not?”

“’Cause Zap Apple Jam is next week, an’ nopony can take me,” she said.

“Well, that’s not too bad, darling,” Rarity said, looking up and noticing Sugarcube Corner in the distance. “Why, I remember you saying you were excited for Zap Apple Jam season sometime last month!”

Apple Bloom winced. “I know, but… that was when I thought I’d be able to bring some for Princess Twi…”

“Oh…” The words sunk into Rarity’s heart like a dagger, and yet she powered through. She stood up straighter. “Now, now, Apple Bloom! I’ll find a way to break this curse soon, and you’ll be able to give Twilight all the jam you want.”

“…But… Great Granpappy Fritter Cobbler never—”

“And I am not Fritter Cobbler, Apple Bloom,” Rarity interrupted, which she realized came off a bit more forcefully than she’d have liked when Apple Bloom’s ears lowered.

Stepping into the shop, Rarity was again met with stares and whispers. She marched right up to the counter, grateful that Missus Cake was at least discreet. She sweetly greeted Rarity, fetched the maple syrup, offered her a free cupcake, and everything was going along perfectly until the very last second.

“Dearie,” Missus Cake said, taking hold of Rarity’s hoof the moment Rarity lifted it to pay. “Everypony’s worried about you.”

Rarity smiled. “Worried about me? Whyever for?” she asked, even though both knew what Missus Cake had meant. “I’m perfectly fabulous!”

“Rarity,” the older mare continued, and her tone changed. “All this talk about how ponies keep seeing you go into the forest for months, and now… Sweetie Belle came here with her friends while you were in the hospital, and the poor dear looked miserable.”

Rarity gulped, her smile cracking. “We-well, I—”

“You’re an adult, Rarity. You can do whatever you want to do, but for the sake of those who love you, it might be best to let go of whatever keeps you going into that forest.” Missus Cake finally released Rarity’s hoof and smiled. “Don’t want to lose one of my favorite customers, hm?”

Rarity stepped back, heart thundering in her chest. “I… Thank you for the syrup,” she said weakly before turning around and joining Apple Bloom at the entrance.

The walk back to Carousel Boutique went by in silence. Whatever the filly said, Rarity did not hear, her mind too clouded by what Missus Cake had advised.

Let go of whatever keeps you going back.

How could she let go? She couldn’t let go! Twilight… Twilight…

Twilight already let go, didn’t she?

Rarity frowned, trying as hard she could to kill that thought, murder it, bury it six feet under. No, Twilight had not let her go. No, something had happened. No, there was another reason she had not sent the owls to Ponyville. No, no, no, Twilight had not let go of Rarity.

She told this to herself over and over, up until she opened the door of Carousel Boutique and stepped inside.

“Hey, you’re finally back!” Rainbow Dash said, poking her head out the kitchen. “Come on, everything’s ready!”

Rarity and Apple Bloom followed her into the kitchen where all was prepared, and finally, when Rarity sat down, they conversed. First about the doctor, and then Fluttershy, Rainbow, and the fillies talked about trivial affairs. The weather, Ponyville, all sorts of things Rarity cared nothing about.

Finally, the fillies left the room to play.

Rarity hummed. “Rainbow,” she said, turning to her friend, “you’ve been here for about three weeks, yes?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow said, speaking with her mouth full of food. Rarity chose to ignore it. “Why?”

“Why haven’t you gone to the Everfree Forest again?” she asked, and Rainbow rolled her eyes. Rarity, again, chose to ignore it.

“You already know why, Rares,” Rainbow said, going back to eating her pancakes.

“No, I do not!” Rarity protested. “We don’t know if you’re truly cursed! Maybe it wore off from whenever you got it! Maybe it’s not the curse, but you simply being a lousy seeker!”

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, dropping her fork and getting up. “I went in there five times, remember?! Even with those dumb owls, and like I’ve told you a jillion times, even they got confused! You want to permanently curse them, too?!” She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Look, I don’t like this curse thing, either, you know? That means that all the hard work I’ve been doing has been for nothing! But just because you don’t care about almost losing a leg doesn’t mean I’m going to risk my legs or my wings!”

“Then find somepony else! Not everyone in Ponyville is cursed!”

Rainbow Dash snorted. “Find somepony else? Who, Rarity? Anypony we ask for help might get cursed! And besides, remember last week?” She slammed her hoof down, enough for Rarity to wince. “Everypony saw you after your accident! You think just anypony is going to happily go find a lost princess after seeing that?! Get real!”

“You need to get better first,” Fluttershy said, cutting off Rarity’s protest before it could even be voiced. “Princess Twilight can wait for that.”

No, she can’t, Rarity wanted to say. No, I can’t.

“Anyway, I got another letter from Pinkie,” Rainbow said, sitting back down and trying to relax. “We have to do something about her, and quick. I don’t think she’s really buying our excuses anymore.”

Rarity sighed and rubbed her temples.

Pinkie Pie had no idea what happened in Canterlot. What she knew was that it went well, but Princess Denza requested some very particular things, and Pinkie could not visit until they were done. It was a lie, and like many other things, Rarity loathed it. Lying, misdirection, and deception were the three elements that got them all into that cursed position, and there she was, doing the same with Pinkie.

And yet, as Rift had said, they had no way of knowing how the curse spread. If it really spread just by talking about it or by asking for help while being cursed, then… then there was nothing they could do, was there?

“What do you suggest? We can’t risk her getting cursed,” Rarity pointed out. “You were able to see Princess Luna, weren’t you? We know the curse doesn’t affect dreams, so we could perhaps ask for her advice as long as we find a way to avoid Pinkie Pie in doing so.”

“Well, maybe you’ll think up something while you’re at your spa thing,” Rainbow Dash said, pushing away her plate. “Actually, isn’t that, like, happening in ten minutes?”

“Fifteen,” Fluttershy quickly said, taking the dirty plates and putting them in the sink.

Rarity got up, taking her own plate of uneaten pancakes and putting them in the fridge.

“We can talk about it later, Rainbow,” she said. “You’re sure you don’t want to come with us to the spa?”

“Pfft, right. I have stuff I want to do, but I’ll catch up with you guys tonight maybe,” she replied, trotting off toward the lobby. “Later!”

Once she was gone, Rarity ran a hoof through her mane and sighed. “It wouldn’t be too outrageous for her to go to the forest one last time…” she said, following Fluttershy into the lobby. It certainly feels like I’m the only one who cares about finding Twilight.

“When you’re better,” Fluttershy repeated, taking Rarity’s saddlebags and putting them on. Despite the fact that she was doing better, the pegasus was resolute against Rarity carrying her saddlebags and potentially worsening her injuries.

“Why don’t you go ahead without me?” Fluttershy said once outside, smiling at Rarity. “I have to go to the cottage for a moment, and I wouldn’t want us to lose our reservations.”

Rarity blinked. “I… You want me to go alone?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Without an escort?”

Fluttershy hesitated for a moment before nodding her head. “I trust you, Rarity,” she said with finality, her smile widening. “I won’t take long, all right?” She cleared her throat and trotted off. “Please tell Aloe I’ll be right there!”

Rarity waited until Fluttershy had left before slowly walking toward the spa. She walked, and walked and walked toward the one place to relax and let go, be perfectly content. The spa could certainly do all that, yes, except…

Except…

“…for the sake of those who love you, it might be best to let go of whatever keeps you going into that forest…”

Except a little detour wouldn’t harm anypony, would it?

Determined, Rarity walked away from the spa and toward the small plaza where the local ink and quill shop was. Rarity knew for certain that Twilight’s ink never lasted more than a week, so Inky Owl must have seen Elara or Themis in the past weeks.

When a dozen minutes later she found the shop, she was happy to see its owner standing outside, filling the large cauldron.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the talk of the town,” Inky said the moment he saw Rarity approaching.

“Hello,” Rarity said shortly, wanting to get right to business. Her eyes briefly flickered toward his peg leg, and shame burned through her upon realizing she was doing exactly what everypony had been doing with her. “Pardon me, but ha—”

“Well, come on, let me see!” he exclaimed, tapping his peg leg against the ground. “Must be some damage if even I heard about it!”

Rarity gasped. “Why, I never—!”

Before she could protest, the unicorn used his magic to lift her cloak, revealing her wrapped leg.

“You got lucky. And here I hoped I would have somepony who could relate to having a peg leg,” he said, smiling softly at her. He let go of her cloak, which she quickly readjusted with a loud harrumph. “We’re unique, Miss Rarity! The only two ponies to survive a timberwolf attack in nearly two centuries! We’d be joining Princess Booky otherwise!”

Rarity cleared her throat. “Mister Owl, if I may ask, have the owls come by lately?”

“The owls? You mean the ink owls?” he asked. “They have! The white one was here yesterday.”

“Yesterday?!” Rarity asked, stepping back. “But—! But…”

“And the black one came twice last week,” Inky Owl continued. “That one actually stayed for a few minutes!”

Rarity opened and closed her mouth several times, feeling herself go faint.

So…

So Twilight really had ordered the owls to stop coming, hadn’t she? Rarity suspected that already, but having it confirmed… Now she couldn’t help but wish she hadn’t come and seen Inky Owl at all.

“Is that why you were in the forest?” Inky Owl asked, but his question fell on deaf ears.

Anger boiled inside Rarity. How… how dare Twilight do that? Who did she think she was?! What gave her the right to—! To just—! To cut Rarity off like that?! After everything they’d done?! After everything Rarity had done?!

What gave Twilight Sparkle the right to let go?!

Tears stung at her eyes, and she stepped back even more, indignant, furious, betrayed.

She would go into the forest, and she would find Princess Twilight Sparkle, and she would—!

Rarity turned around and limped off, ignoring Inky Owl’s calls. The spa was long forgotten, as were Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash and anypony else who wasn’t the one alicorn who was extremely lucky her ethereal properties prevented Rarity from slapping her.

Once she finally arrived at the forest and crossed the threshold, the familiar sickness from weeks ago returned, mixing in with the chest pains Inky Owl’s revelation had forced upon her.

She knew the forest! She knew it, and no curse would stop her from finding the library, because she was the only one who was doing a damn thing to find Twilight.

And yet, the farther she walked, the more her conscience clawed at her, whispering about Fluttershy’s show of faith. It got louder with every wrong turn, every accidental retrace of her steps, every second the influence of the curse showed itself.

It’s the curse, the voice whispered venomously, and you will never see Twilight Sparkle again, because you didn’t listen.

But no! No, no, no! It wasn’t her fault! It was the Spirit’s fault! He did this!

She was innocent, completely and utterly, and everything she was doing was because she was forced into such a position. Besides, she could do it! She was Rarity! She’d faced off against dragons, timberwolves, all kinds of horrors and she’d done it all by herself!

She didn’t need anypony.

When she passed by the same tree again for the fifth time, she stopped and nearly stamped her hoof against the ground before remembering her leg would not appreciate it.

“It has to be here!” she exclaimed to no one, gesturing wildly. “Where is—!”

A growl that made her hair stand on end interrupted her.

She looked around, finding a lone timberwolf in the distance, watching her from between the trees. The beast was looking right at her, and the whispering voice inside Rarity died away, much like she soon would.

She had no options.

She couldn’t outrun it. She couldn’t fight it. She couldn’t do anything, especially when her entire body was consumed with paralyzing fear, the memories of her previous attack flooding her. Her hind leg began to sting.

She thought of Twilight, as she always did in dire moments. Only Rarity could help her, and if Rarity died then and there, so would Twilight’s chances of escape.

She had to run. She couldn’t, of course—she could barely even walk—but she’d have to try, and if she was unsuccessful, then at least… She took a deep breath, bracing herself for what could be her last moment of life, and just as she stepped back, the timberwolf howled and dashed at her.

And yet, it never reached her.

Winona, Applejack’s dog, came first, launching herself at the timberwolf and distracting it from Rarity. Applejack arrived next and jumped in front of it, throwing her lasso at the creature and pulling on its head, the timberwolf yelping in pain as it was yanked to the ground.

It didn’t stay down for long, however, and before Applejack could react, the timberwolf grabbed the rope with its paw and pulled violently, sending Applejack tumbling down.

The timberwolf howled and lunged at the mare, missing her by a hair when its target quickly—and painfully, by the sounds she made—rolled out of the way.

“A-Applejack!” Rarity gasped, stepping toward her.

“Stay back!” Applejack ordered, getting to her hooves.

Her warning was fruitless, though, as the timberwolf decided to attack Rarity regardless.

Just like a few weeks back, she watched as a timberwolf threw itself at her, and once again, she was rescued—this time when Rainbow Dash flew out from the trees, kicking the timberwolf as best she could and nearly breaking its leg.

Fluttershy came in moments later, rushing toward Rarity, asking if Rarity was alive and unharmed.

The beast tried to make Rainbow Dash its next meal, but Applejack yanked on the rope still tied around its neck and it fell back.

Like before, the timberwolf’s face crashed against the ground, but before it could rise again, Applejack stood on her hind legs and used her injured forelegs to quite literally smash its face in. The timberwolf howled in agony, ripping free of the lasso and running off, splinters and twigs falling from its deformed face.

All three newcomers stared into the forest, panting and, like Rarity, waiting to see if the beast would come back. When it was clear that it wouldn’t, they finally turned to her, and suddenly she felt like the terrible timberwolf.

“What is wrong with you, Rarity?!” Rainbow exploded, wings flaring and taking a step forward as though she was going to strike the unicorn—she probably wanted to. When Rarity responded by stepping back in silence, Rainbow yelled again. “Well?!”

Rarity gritted her teeth. There was nothing wrong with her! Nothing, she insisted to herself, even after a nearly-in-tears Fluttershy fell to her haunches and buried her face in her hooves.

“It’s all my fault!” Fluttershy cried out. “If I hadn’t gone to the cottage and—”

“This isn’t your fault, Fluttershy!” Rainbow protested. She turned back to Rarity, only further enraged. “What if Winona hadn’t been able to find you, huh?! Then what?!”

“I couldn’t just sit there anymore!” Rarity yelled back. “I had to do something!”

“Do somethin’, sugarcube?”

Applejack finally turned to her, stepping forward and giving Rarity a very good view of the marks the timberwolf attack had left on her forelegs. “You’ve done it, all right. You’ve really done it.”

“And?!” Rarity shot back, stepping away from her friends again, her conscience fighting every word. “Let me be! I didn’t ask for you to follow me! I didn’t ask for your help!”

“Are you crazy?!” Rainbow Dash said. “You’re our friend! Of course we’re going to come after you, you—! You IDIOT!”

“Friends?!” Rarity nearly choked on the word. “By keeping me trapped in Carousel Boutique?! By sitting here and doing nothing about Twilight?! I do what I have to do because Twilight is alone, and it’s obvious no one gives a damn but me!”

Silence fell afterward, the three mares staring at the unicorn.

“You really think that, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, looking more tired than Rarity had ever seen before.

“You—! You think you’re the only one who—! You don’t know anything!” Rainbow Dash snapped. “But fine! Fine, Rarity! You don’t want help? Great! Fluttershy, I never want to see you helping Rarity again, got it?!”

Fluttershy reeled back as though she’d been slapped, her wide-eyed gaze darting between Rarity and Rainbow. “B-but…”

“Why can’t you just let me be?! Why can’t you let me do wha—”

“Let me put it this way, sugarcube,” Applejack said, and she stood tall and intimidating in front of Rarity. “Being dead ain’t gonna reunite you with the princess.”

“A-Applejack!” Fluttershy gasped, while Rarity only stared in silence.

Applejack held up a hoof to stop any further interruption, her gaze never leaving Rarity’s.

“I don’t know why you think we don’t care about Princess Twilight, and I don’t rightly care because I can tell you I ain’t letting her stay there forever. We’re trying to figure this out just as you are, but it ain’t easy as pie, Rarity,” she continued, voice composed. “All I’m trying to say is, it’s gonna be mighty sad when I have to tell the princess you went and made yourself a nice home in the graveyard lookin’ for her.”

The world seemed to grind to a halt around Rarity. The distant howling, the wind against the trees, and the arguing between Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy: all these noises dimmed and grew distant as Applejack’s words sunk in, like she was drowning—but she could not bring herself to try and reach the surface.

Tears stung at her eyes, just the thought of Twilight… standing over her grave…

She couldn’t take any more, and buried her face in her hooves. A lady did not weep in front of others, even though she dearly wanted to, but it felt like Rarity had long ago given up so much of herself for the sake of Twilight Sparkle, and only now did she realize it.

She said nothing. It felt like she’d be conceding defeat, admitting she’d been wrong, and she could not bring herself to do as much. Apologies were the same as resignation, but desperation meant there was a fighting chance. She would not be Fritter Cobbler, she would not… She would not apologize for her actions until her dying breath, because her actions were all she had left.

“Come on, Rarity,” Applejack said, the edge gone from her voice. “Let’s go home.”

They’d locked her in her room.

Caged her like a beast, tied her like a dog, that’s what it felt like.

They were all downstairs, talking and talking and talking about what would be done with her, as if they were the wise adults and she was the misbehaving child. It was downright insulting, and whatever shock and regret Applejack had drawn from her earlier had now completely evaporated.

She moved away from the window and walked to her bed, carefully lying on top of it without putting too much pressure on her hind leg. She closed her eyes and laid there for countless minutes, breathing in and out, in and out. Eventually, she opened her eyes and they landed on Twilight’s letters, resting on her bedside table.

A pang of guilt made its way into her heart, and she forced herself to roll over, even if it brought pain to her leg. She thought of Applejack’s words again, of Twilight standing in front of a grave marker with Rarity’s name on it. But, worse than that, Rarity thought of Twilight still in her library, long after Rarity was gone from the world of the living.

Applejack was so sure they’d free her, but what if they couldn’t? What if Twilight stayed in her library for another thousand years because Rarity sat by and did nothing? Because she resigned herself to Twilight’s fate? Heroes did not win by not taking risks, did they?

She rolled over again and levitated the scrolls closer.

One by one she opened and read them again, and much like Rarity these past weeks, each was more desperate than the last. When Twilight had written them, she’d had no idea why Rarity had not come back. The poor thing had thought Rarity had been avoiding the library because she’d learned terrible things about Twilight, and asked for Rarity to please allow her a chance to explain.

She put them back on the table and closed her eyes, trying to hum herself to sleep.

A knock on the door interrupted her.

Silly, she thought, for them to knock when they had locked her in in the first place.

“Come in,” she called out, and heard the keys open the lock and the door swing open to reveal Rainbow Dash.

“Hey, can you come down in like ten minutes?” Rainbow said, sterner than Rarity had ever seen her. “We decided what to do.”

Rarity laughed dryly. “Splendid! Ten more minutes to continue my terribly busy affairs of lying in bed and staring at my ceiling while my future is decided by somepony else!”

“I know you’re upset, so I’m gonna pretend you didn’t say that, ’kay?” Rainbow said, grinning at the unicorn before turning around and leaving. “Ten minutes!”

“I demand at least thirty minutes to prepare my arguments against whatever you’re all planning!” she called out.

“’Kay! And you better start taking out a suitcase and packing your stuff, too!”

Rarity immediately sat up. “What?! Why?!” she asked, but no answer came.

She lay back down on the bed, turning her head toward the window, and that was when she saw it. There, resting on the windowsill outside, was one of Twilight’s scrolls.

She wrote me again.

Rarity jumped out of bed, ignoring the pain shooting up her leg, magicked the window open and took the scroll. It was Twilight’s! She was sure of it! She quickly undid the ribbon, a smile on her face, because Twilight hadn’t given up hope, because she was still communicating, because not all was lost.

Rarity unfurled the scroll and read:

Dear Rarity,

I’m not sure how to say this, and I don’t want to, but this is probably the last time I’ll be writing to you. I...

The scroll fell to the floor, and so did the tears from Rarity’s eyes when she stepped back, lifting a forehoof to her mouth and refusing to read whatever came next.

No.

She fell to her haunches, her eyes fixed on the letter because please, no, please, please, please. So many times before she’d wanted to faint, and yet now she felt alive, now she felt aware of a nearly still heart, of her difficult breathing, of the first step to a downward spiral she saw coming.

Twilight had let go.

And she would have laughed at how curious it all was, how funny, how years ago, a little filly had cried upon finding out the four princesses didn’t exist, and again, there she was, her fairy tale coming to an abrupt end.

No.

She stood up, levitating the scroll and rolling it again.

No.

She placed it on her bed, and then moved to her desk, because what else did she have in the face of despair but hope? She took out a fresh piece of parchment and began to write a letter to Princess Twilight Sparkle because she had not received any letter from the princess, and because Twilight Sparkle had not let go.

She wrote and wrote, hopeful sentence after hopeful sentence, like nothing had happened, like the curse was but a pesky illness Rarity would soon be rid of. She’d been attacked, yes, but she was full of life still, she insisted even as her heart shrank and withered. She would deliver the letter to Inky Owl, and once she knew it would be delivered to the owls, she’d devote herself to find a way to break the curse, and she would! She would! She would!

She would not be Fritter Cobbler.

She would not spend the rest of her days like him.

She refused to do so.

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act III ~ 28 ~ The Three Stallions ~

Dreams plagued Rarity’s nights, like an illness she could not recover from. She dreamt of a strange mare stealing her princess away, she dreamt of her life before finding the library, and ever since Twilight’s last letter, dreams featuring the alicorn had stopped being pleasant.

Her life seemed like a dream, truth be told. Passing inconsequentially, day after day. Her actions did not matter, because Twilight was gone.

Nearly an entire week had gone by since her second incident in the Everfree Forest, and in that time she had not thought of Twilight; she did not allow herself to think of the alicorn because she would see her soon, not because it hurt too much or any such thing.

She did not think of Twilight because she did not miss her at all.

Missing was for the hopeless, for those who’d given up and resigned themselves to their terrible fate. Rarity did not miss Twilight Sparkle, for Rarity would soon be in the library back where she belonged.

“Come on, Rares. Stop moping.”

Rarity tore her eyes away from the cabin window and directed them to the pegasus lying on the opposite seat, forehooves tucked behind her neck as she took up the entire bench. Rainbow was grinning at her; that detestably encouraging grin that seemed permanently plastered on her face ever since the intervention.

“I am not moping,” Rarity insisted, covering her wounds with her cloak. They’d started to finally scar, which meant she didn’t need those bandages anymore. She went back to glaring at the scenery. Much like missing, moping was also something reserved for the hopeless and resigned, and she was anything but.

She was, however, irritated.

She was irritated at Rainbow Dash, and Applejack, and Fluttershy, all of whom had unanimously agreed to force Rarity to leave Ponyville “for her own benefit” under the pretense of escorting Apple Bloom to Canterlot. Hah! To stay in Ponyville and find Twilight was to Rarity’s benefit, not having all her supposed friends rudely shove her into a train to Canterlot.

The only reason she hadn’t accused them all of kidnapping was because she was very much looking forward to marching up to the throne room and regaling Denza with several choice words.

“I would be much happier, mind you, if we were going someplace useful,” she added dryly, turning to Rainbow Dash.

“There’s the royal library,” Rainbow replied. “You might find something on the legend, or how to break the curse, in case what’s-his-face doesn’t have anything that helps.”

“Of course! I’m sure the castle staff have yet to find the one book detailing how to break the curse in the thousands of years they’ve been living there!” When Rainbow simply rolled her eyes, Rarity continued, “Canterlot will be no help at all, can’t you see?! If we just went to Hollow Shades—”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “We can’t.”

“But Princess Luna can help us!” Rarity protested. “Pinkie doesn’t even have to know we’re cursed! She’ll be fine!”

“And if she isn’t? What if this curse spreads to her somehow? You really wanna risk it without even knowing anything?” Rainbow asked, and when Rarity fell silent, she snorted once more. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.”

“Oh, please. How can you act so high and mighty when you’re just parroting everything Applejack said!”

Rainbow shrugged. “So what if I am? She’s still right.”

When Rarity huffed and went back to sulking against the window, Rainbow sighed and continued: “Applejack said she and Fluttershy would figure something out while we’re away, so just chill, all right? Read a magazine or take a nap or something. We’ll figure it out.”

Rarity gritted her teeth. We? Hah! That wasn’t fair. That wasn’t right. She was the one who’d been doing all the hard work for the past year! She was the one finding the books, and she was the one who’d promised to free Twilight! And now they were taking over for her without her consent? It was scandalous! Infuriating!

And! And she didn’t have any magazines to read, so there! And napping was out of the question when it constantly resulted in nightmares about that Amethyst Wind mare. Even her subconscious was torturing her.

The door to the cabin opened and in came Apple Bloom, apparently tired of exploring the train. Despite her earlier excitement at the prospect of seeing her mentor again, she now looked concerned with other matters.

“What’s up, pipsqueak?” Rainbow asked. “Missed the V.I.P. room too much?”

Apple Bloom half-smiled. “Somethin’ like that, I guess,” she replied, climbing up on the seat next to Rarity and looking at the floor. While Rainbow Dash went back to her attempts at napping, Rarity knew enough about children to realize something wasn’t quite right.

“Dear, is something wrong?” she asked, putting aside her own annoyances for the moment and assuming a concerned expression.

Apple Bloom smiled awkwardly. “No, I just…” She pointedly avoided Rarity’s gaze, as if she were guilty of some yet unconfessed deed. “There was a lady with some pet birds an’ an owl sure looked like Elara an’… you know…”

Oh.

“Yes, I know,” Rarity said, and though she tried to sound sympathetic, she could not withhold the edge in her voice as she glanced to Rainbow Dash.

“But maybe they’re already back! They wouldn’t leave us like that, no matter what the princess says!” Apple Bloom quickly added, no doubt trying to lighten the mood she’d inadvertently soured—not that it had been light to begin with.

Rarity simply smiled. “Let’s hope so, darling.”

With that, she turned back to the window and took a deep breath. After a moment, she glanced at her saddlebags where Twilight’s last letter lay buried. She hadn’t been able to finish it, either. She’d barely touched the thing since that first time, and whenever she tried to read it, a sickening sensation overcame her and forced her to put it back.

Why did you do this, Twilight? she thought, as if Twilight could hear her. Why? I thought you…

She gritted her teeth.

When she found her way back into the library in a few weeks, she would tell Princess Twilight Sparkle exactly everything she thought about her asinine actions.

If you find your way back, a little voice whispered, which she promptly smothered.

“Maybe Zecora knows somethin’?” Apple Bloom suggested, drawing the unicorn’s attention. She looked back and forth between the two mares, nodding eagerly. “She lives in the forest, so she knows it real well! If we go an’ tell her about Princess Twi, she’ll get us there with her lickety-split!”

“And what are we going to tell her when she asks why we aren’t going with her?”

Apple Bloom fell silent. “I… I don’t know…”

Rarity sighed, rubbing her hoof against the bridge of her nose. Everything felt hopeless, didn’t it? She supposed that such a feeling of despair meant the Spirit’s plan had worked splendidly. Their hooves were tied no matter what they did. If they encouraged others to search, they might risk cursing them. If they sat by and simply prodded ponies toward the right path, it could take months or years before any progress was achieved.

As much as she loathed admitting it, she now understood why the guards at the castle did nothing to help the princesses.

“I’ll go with her,” Rarity thought out loud. “If she goes into the forest, and I follow her rather than leading, we’ll find the library, I’m sure.”

“But if you confuse her too? And you find another…” Apple Bloom asked, and Rarity noticed the filly’s eyes lowering toward the area of her hind legs covered with the cloak.

“I’m not afraid of timberwolves,” Rarity replied, and she meant it. Her leg would heal eventually, and when it did, she would march right back into that forsaken forest and try again.

Rather than rooming at the castle like she expected, since she was travelling with the ex-captain of the royal aerial team, they put themselves up in Spitfire’s apartment. An offer the pegasus had graciously made since it would be coincidentally empty as she coincidentally had a weeklong event in Cloudsdale. Coincidentally.

“I still don’t see why we couldn’t simply stay at the castle,” Rarity complained for the third time, fiddling with the broken necklace hanging from her neck. It wasn’t that she enjoyed wearing broken jewelry, but she was determined to never again fall for that spineless lizard’s tricks. “Wonderbolts and their guests traditionally stay at the castle, as far as I know.”

Rainbow laughed. “Well, I mean, I totally could have scored us a room there, yeah, but then you’d have snuck out first chance to go and give Princess Denza a piece of your mind.”

“Pardon me?! That is not true in the least,” she protested without a hint of irony. She would have waited until nighttime to sneak out, not immediately after arrival like some sort of amateur.

Waiting for Zecora outside Spitfire’s apartment complex, Rarity observed Canterlot’s morning life in action. The apartment complex was in one of the trendier districts of the city, and though it was barely past eleven o’clock, ponies were out and about, attending to their daily affairs. It was almost demeaning to see them so happy and carefree, utterly unaware of the secrets Equestria hid.

“Look, look! It’s Zecora!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, waving at the distance. “Zecora! Over here!”

Rarity looked around and indeed, Zecora was trotting toward them. Saddlebags hung on the zebra’s back, and she waved to Rarity and the others with enthusiasm. Ponyvillians usually treated her with disdain, but Canterlot saw so many foreign ponies day in and out that a zebra didn’t seem to faze them.

Rarity stood taller, ears perking up. This would be the first time she’d be able to speak with Zecora in over a year, and internally, she was dying to share information on the princess. Surely Zecora of all ponies would believe in the tale! Maybe she even knew how to break the curse!

Except…

Rarity’s heart fell, as did her ears. She couldn’t actually talk about the princess, could she? Not without knowing how the curse spread or… or… Blast! Rainbow Dash was right, and Rarity was loath to admit it. She truly was tongue-tied until they knew how the hay the curse worked or spread or anything!

“Apple Bloom! My, how you have grown!” Zecora exclaimed, then smiled at Rarity and Rainbow Dash. “I’m glad to see you are not alone!”

“Zecora! It’s such a pleasure seeing you again,” Rarity said, smiling brightly. She cleared her throat and gestured to Rainbow Dash, “This is my friend, Rai—”

Zecora smiled. “Ah, Rainbow Dash, if I were to guess,” she said. “Your Seeking Night performance did impress!”

Rainbow stood up straight. “Course it did! It was awesome!”

“Do tell us, how has your trip been so far?” Rarity asked, hoping Zecora would announce she’d be going back to Ponyville soon. “It was certainly longer than a week!”

“Finding the information I needed was unusually tough. A week of time was not enough,” Zecora replied. She turned to Apple Bloom and affectionately patted her on the head. “But with little Apple Bloom in Canterlot under my care, what I have learned I can eagerly share.”

Apple Bloom jumped in place. “I wanna show you stuff, too! I’ve been doin’ all my exercises, and practicin’ my potion brewin’ with Prince—” She cut herself off, right before Rarity almost magicked her mouth shut. “Wi-with Princess… Rarity…?”

Zecora blinked. “Rarity? A princess? How very strange! What has happened to cause this change?”

“Now, Zecora! You know I’ve always been quite regal! You can’t blame Apple Bloom for thinking of me as a princess!” she offered, laughing rather loudly and nervously. “In any case, look at us dawdling here. What are your plans?” she asked, looking back and forth between Apple Bloom and Zecora.

Zecora hummed. “Apple Bloom and I will go to the Canterlot Bazaar. They have many treasures from places afar. The books Apple Bloom needs are indeed quite rare, so I hope that they will be there.”

“That sounds lovely!” Rarity exclaimed, sighing rather theatrically afterwards. “We’d love to come along with you, though Rainbow and I must unfortunately see to some affairs at the castle. Perhaps we can all meet up later tonight back at the apartment?”

The time and place set, the group divided and parted ways. Apple Bloom had earlier mentioned wanting to go with Rarity and Rainbow to the castle, and as such, Rarity was immensely grateful the filly had forgotten all about it in favor of spending time with her teacher.

Twilight would like Zecora, she idly thought, belatedly snuffing the life out of that thought before it led to more about Twilight.

She and Rainbow conversed about many things while they walked the streets of the city, and yet she kept getting distracted by other ponies. Every so often, one or two would stare at her as she passed by, and every time she told herself it was because she was a sight to behold, and not because of her limp.

“Don’t worry,” Dash had said, smiling at the indiscreet equines. “They’re staring because of me.”

“Mommy, why’s that pony walking funny?” a foal asked moments later, effectively wiping away the smile that had begun to form on Rarity’s lips.

Honestly, don’t ponies have manners anymore?

Their walk to the castle eventually led them to the Knowledge District, where the dragon statue was thankfully more fascinating to ponies than Rarity’s limp. She, too, felt her heart constrict at the sight of it, though probably for considerably different reasons than the gawking tourists.

“Isn’t it awesome?” Rainbow Dash said, coming to a stop, her ears flicking up and wings spreading out, almost mimicking the dragon’s. “It’s, like, the coolest statue in all of Canterlot.”

Rarity could hardly agree, her eyes fixed on the distant glass door that hid the true finest statue in the capital.

For a moment, for just a single moment, Rarity wanted to go into the library. She wanted to step through the doors and look at Twilight, see her reading a book with that silly grin of hers, to pretend for a moment she was really there in front of Rarity, to—

“You’ll be careful in Canterlot?”

“Of course, my darling.”

“Hey, are you okay?” Rainbow asked, waving a hoof in front of the mare. “Rarity? Are you crying?”

Rarity blinked, raising her hoof and wiping away tears she had not realized were there. “I… Well, darling! I’m a patron of the arts! Such a beautiful statue; how do you expect me to withhold my awe?” she said, laughing awkwardly. She cleared her throat and trotted off, smothering the desire to go and see the statue. “Shall we, then?”

They continued on toward the castle, eventually reaching the gates. Rather than stopping to speak with the guards, they instead trotted right past them, mixing in with the small crowd going in and out of the castle.

Once inside, she asked for the main office and the two mares followed the given directions, eventually entering a room large enough to host the several ponies lined up in front of a desk, all waiting for a meeting with Denza.

Rainbow flew up into the air. “Come on, I don’t have to wait in line like the rest,” she said, flying over the line. Or, she would have if Rarity hadn’t magically forced her back.

“Now, now, darling! I thought you used to be the captain of the Wonderbolts! I hope you didn’t get there with this complete disregard for protocol, hmmm?” she chastised, stepping behind the last pony in line.

“Of course not! I’m the best at protocol, but—! I’m not Captain anymore, and—! Ugh. Fine,” Rainbow muttered, hanging in mid-air like an unmotivated bullet. “Everywhere else I get to skip lines…”

One, two, three ponies went by, and Rarity ignored Rainbow’s pointed stare. Four, five, six, and seven came next, and finally it was Rarity’s turn. With a winning smile, she stepped up to the desk and smiled at the secretary, an older unicorn mare who looked like she hadn’t taken a vacation in years.

“Welcome to Canterlot Castle, where we care for your cares,” she droned, a rehearsed speech Rarity had already heard seven times. She lifted her pen and asked, “How can I help you? If you’re here to schedule an audience with the princess, the next available slot is in three weeks.”

“Three weeks?!” Dash exclaimed before Rarity could so much as say a word. “No offense, but don’t you know who I am?”

The mare stared at her for three whole seconds. “No,” she flatly replied, ignoring Rainbow’s indignant gasp, and then turned to Rarity. “How can I help you?”

Rarity brushed her mane back. “Hello! My name is Rarity, and I am here to see Lieutenant Rift Shield regarding Princess Denza’s curse!”

“…Can you please repeat that?” the mare said behind her desk, staring at Rarity with narrowed eyes, her pen still floating in mid-air.

“Of course!” Rarity cleared her throat and fluttered her eyelashes. “My name is Rarity, and I am here to see Lieutenant Rift Shield regarding Princess Denza’s curse!”

The mare finally put her pen down, and turned to a guard posted on the other side of the room.

“Silent Arrow!” she called to him. “Please tell Lieutenant Shield that Miss Rarity and Miss Rainbow Dash are here to speak with him.”

“I knew you know who I am!”

After the stallion saluted and trotted off, the secretary turned back to the mares and gestured toward some nearby chairs. “Please take a seat.”

Rarity smiled politely and did as instructed, sitting on the chair closest to the door, while Rainbow plopped herself down on the chair next to her and crossed her forelegs. Rarity noticed that her seat gave whoever came in a perfect view of her scarred hind leg, and though she initially made a move to make sure it was covered, a different idea sprouted in her mind.

Despite her vanity protesting her actions, she sat up straight and lifted her cloak back enough to display her scarring for all to see. Once she was satisfied, she turned back to Rainbow and found the mare staring at her, eyebrow raised.

“It’s just a little something to give Lieutenant Shield an incentive to be as helpful as possible, darling,” she replied, smiling when Dash smirked lightly. “He was the one to suggest I go into the forest.”

A dozen minutes went by, Rainbow distracting Rarity with stories of her “epic quests” while they waited for Rift to arrive. The pegasus was just in the middle of detailing a confrontation she had with an Ursa Major when she stopped, her delighted expression fading as her eyes fixed on a point beyond Rarity.

Rarity took a moment to prepare before turning around, smiling brightly. “Oh, Rift! How lovely; you’re finally here!” she exclaimed, finding his eyes glued to her abhorrent scars. She gasped and quickly covered herself. “Oh dear, I’m terribly sorry! This silly cloak is simply useless!” She sighed theatrically, playing with her necklace. “Timberwolves, such nasty beasts… Shame I went into the forest so woefully unprepared…”

She cleared her throat and stood up, Rainbow following suit. “I hope we’re not intruding? I’d like to speak to you, please.”

“Not at all,” Rift said, smiling politely. “Please follow me.”

Rarity stood first, nodding politely at the secretary before trotting toward Rift. Rainbow came next, not bothering with the mare and instead going straight for the stallion.

“Lieutenant Shield,” Rainbow said, though it was clear that there was no respect to be found in her words.

“Rainbow Dash,” Rift Shield said, still smiling politely. “How’s retirement working for you?”

“Great, actually! Except everything I’ve been doing is useless thanks to you guys,” Rainbow said cheerfully, following him and Rarity out of the room. “Not gonna lie, I thought you guys were bad, but this is on a whole new level.”

“You chose to believe what you wanted to believe,” Rift Shield replied, leading them into a nearby corridor. “Glad you guys left White Tail Woods, finally. We’ve already had dozens of complaints from locals.”

“Geez, you’re still spying on us?” Rainbow snorted. “What? The princess doesn’t have anything better to do?”

“Keeping watch over you is more accurate, but again, believe what you want, Rainbow,” Rift said, coming to a stop in front of two large doors, both boasting an insignia of a sun. He cleared his throat and smiled widely at Rarity, opening the door and gesturing inside. “After you, Rarity.”

Rarity trotted in, finding herself inside a large conference room. Bookcases were mounted all over the walls, showcasing a vast collection of ancient tomes, and Rarity briefly wondered if she ought to take a moment to see if any of Twilight’s books were here.

She turned to the table and found a plethora of items on it. Papers, photographs, letters and more, and upon closer inspection, she realized they all had to do with the legend—or rather, evidence of it. Even Pinkie Pie’s drawings were there.

“What’s all this?” she asked, lifting a photograph of the Everfree Forest.

Rift sighed, taking off his helmet and setting it on the table. “Even though some ponies think we don’t do anything, some of us try and get information,” he said. “Why don’t you sit down?”

The moment Rarity was comfortably seated, she crossed her forelegs on the table and asked about the only thing she was interested in: “How do I break the curse?”

Rift blinked at her, and then frowned. “I told you already; we don’t know how to break the curse. Don’t you think we’d have broken it already? We only have…” He faltered, sighed and continued, “We only have a few ideas on how it spreads.”

“Do tell.”

Rift brushed his mane with his hoof. “Look, it’s not an exact science or anything, but we think there’s two ways. We know for a fact that meeting Princess Cadance or any of her descendants will get you instantly cursed. It wa—”

“Wait, wait a sec!” Rainbow interrupted, wings splaying half apart. “Is that why me and the Wonderbolts have never met the princess?”

Rift sighed. “Yes. It’s not because she’s ‘too prissy to meet you,’” he dryly replied.

“Now, stop there a moment!” Rarity exclaimed, fixing the two of them a startled stare. “You mean to tell me the Wonderbolts have never met Princess Denza?! But, they’re the royal aerial team!” She balked at Rainbow. “You never questioned this?! You were their captain, for goodness’s sake!”

Rainbow faltered. “Errr…”

“The princess didn’t want to meet them either,” Rift interrupted, trying to save face for Rainbow Dash. “You think cursing the Wonderbolts is what she wants? And then, she can’t even say anything about it—”

“That doesn’t make sense, then!” Rainbow Dash interrupted again, feathers ruffling and her hoof banging against the table. “If I’ve never met Princess Denza, why did I have such a hard time finding Princess Twilight?! Rarity and the others didn’t tell me anything about the curse until after I spent half a week beating up timberwolves!”

Rift glanced uneasily at Rarity. “That’s when the timberwolves…?”

“Yes,” Rarity replied, moving to adjust her cloak again. She then turned back to Rift, folding her forelegs on the table. “It seems the curse leads us in circles or to timberwolves, not the princess.”

Rift frowned. “Yeah, that’s what our records say about—”

“Hey, hey! What about me?!” Rainbow interrupted, waving her hoof toward Rift. “You haven’t answered my question!”

Rift frowned for a moment, seemingly aggravated. “What did Rarity and others tell you?” he asked, glancing briefly at Rarity. “You said they didn’t say anything about the curse, right? So what did they say, then?”

Rainbow frowned. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Look, like I told you, it’s not like we’re one hundred percent sure, okay?” Rift sighed, grabbing one of the scrolls from the table and opening it up. “But we think that asking for help in finding the princesses is what passes on the curse from pony to pony. I know it sounds ridiculous, but records of older soldiers and what the Spirit said to Princess Cadance basically confirm it.”

“But—! What about when you and I met?!” Rarity exclaimed. “Why didn’t you curse me then?!”

Rift smiled. “I never once asked you to help me find any princess,” he said, rolling up the scroll and tapping the table with it. “You’re the one who was asking for my help. I just asked for proof of their existence.”

“But that’s stupid!” Rainbow protested. “Seeker has met with the princess, and he told me there is no curse!”

Rift Shield rolled his eyes. “Because I’m sure he’d have loved getting you cursed,” he replied flatly. “I don’t care what he tells himself; he knows the curse is real! Has he found any of the princesses? No! And more than that, has he asked you to help him find the princesses? Think about it! Has he?!”

Rainbow winced. “N-no, but… But that’s because he has a rep to maintain! You think he goes around asking for help?! He’s the coolest dragon around! And okay! Fine! He never asked me for help! Then who cursed me?! Huh?!” she asked, puffing out her chest and hitting the desk with her hoof. “Come on!”

“I don’t know!” Rift exclaimed, slamming his own hoof against the table. “I told you, this is all speculation and—!”

Rarity lifted her hooves to her mouth, having realized—or rather remembered—something altogether horrifying. If something as simple as asking somepony else to help could curse them, then…

“Wait.”

Rift Shield and Rainbow’s argument came to a stop, both of them turning to Rarity.

“What? What’s wrong?” Rainbow asked, the fire in her eyes dying.

Rarity turned to her and feeling faint, whispered: “I did.”

Rainbow leaned back. “Huh? Did what?”

“At the hospital,” Rarity said, and it felt for a moment like she’d gotten cursed all over again. Despite the fact that she very dearly did not wish to proceed, she cleared her throat and continued, “At the hospital, I asked you to help find the princesses.”

There was a moment of silence.

“Well, there you go,” Rift said with a long-suffering sigh. “Mystery solved, I guess.”

Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, simply fixed the increasingly uncomfortable unicorn with an absolutely undecipherable stare. Was she angry? Shocked? Neither? Both? Rarity couldn’t tell for a minute until the pegasus exploded, flying up into the air.

“You what?!” she thundered, and it felt like she’d summon rainclouds so as to bolt Rarity into oblivion. “Why would you do that?! What is wrong with you?!”

“I didn’t know!” Rarity shot back, jumping up and slamming her hoof against the floor. “How in Equestria was I supposed to know it would spread like that?! I was in the hospital! Please forgive me for not taking a moment to analyze my every action while I recovered from a timberwolf attack!”

Rainbow’s anger faded slightly. “But—! Okay, yes, but—! But this is stupid!” she shot, now directing her anger toward the stallion and pointing her hoof toward him. “This curse is stupid!”

“I’m not the one who made the rules!” Rift shot back.

“And?! It’s still stupid! Asking for help with the princesses?! What was the Spirit even thinking?! The only reason Rarity asked for my help was because she knew I believed in them! If she’d asked anypony else, they’d have called her crazy!”

“But isn’t that exactly what he’d want?” Rarity interjected. “He’s basically ensuring anypony who believes will get cursed! Yes, it’s a ridiculously specific and absurd method, but it’s working!”

“You two aren’t getting it,” Rift said suddenly. “Of course it sounds ridiculous to you, but that’s because this curse wasn’t meant for you!”

Rainbow hovered in mid-air, matching Rarity’s confused expression.

“Pardon?”

“This curse wasn’t meant for us. Yes, we got it, but that’s an afterthought. This curse was meant for Princess Cadance and the ponies from a thousand years ago,” he explained, again banging his hoof against the table to emphasize his point. “And a thousand years ago, everypony believed there were four princesses!”

Rarity’s anger dissipated completely, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. “I’d never thought of that…”

“The Spirit told Princess Cadance where the other princesses were! He gloated about it; that’s why it’s in the legend! And come on! Think! If you were just told the locations of where your friends are, and you didn’t know you were cursed, and you were in charge of an entire kingdom, what would you do?!”

Rarity’s eyes grew wide. “I’d ask everypony to help…”

“Exactly,” Rift said. He sighed and brushed his hoof through his mane. He then tapped his hoof on the table, scanning over the objects strewn about, and reached for what looked like an aged notebook of sorts. The moment he touched it, a burst of magic sprouted from the book, similar to the magic enveloping Twilight’s books. “Here.”

Rarity took the book, Rainbow landing next to her and looking over her shoulder. “What is this?” she asked, brushing her hoof across the cover. She opened it, and found the owner’s name written neatly in the top left corner. “‘Princess Mi Amore Cadenza’?” Realization dawned upon her, and she looked to Rift, eyes wide. “This is…”

“That’s Princess Cadance’s diary. The one from the legend. Open it up at the blue bookmark.”

“But how did you get this?” Rarity asked, looking back to the book and hesitating whether to flip through the pages or not.

“Princess Denza gave it to me,” he replied. He gestured to the papers on the table. “What, you thought this was all lying here waiting until you came? The princess has had me working on this ever since what happened with you guys.” He frowned. “She’s not very happy about me, quote, ‘working behind her back,’ unquote.”

“That’s exactly what you were doing,” Rarity pointed out.

“She’s right.”

A heavy blush decorated Rift’s cheeks. “Hey! I was trying to protect her! You know how many false leads she’s been presented with?!” He pointed an accusing hoof to Rainbow. “You of all ponies should relate!”

“Because of Spike?”

Rainbow Dash’s reply was cut short before it could even be voiced, her eyes landing on Rarity, who was idly reading a page from the princess’s diary. “Wh-what?”

“Seeker is Spike, isn’t he?” Rarity continued nonchalantly, still reading over Princess Cadance’s diary. “He’s Twilight’s dragon friend. That’s why you believe in the legend, why Princess Denza is keeping watch over you, why you’ve neglected to mention why he isn’t here.” Rarity closed the book and turned to Rainbow Dash. “He doesn’t know anything about this, does he?”

Rainbow Dash moved back, wings flaring. “No, but what would even be the point of telling him?! What’s the point of telling him I found Princess Twilight if I can’t even take him there anymore because of you, huh?! You know how many false leads he’s followed? A jillion more than Rift! I’m not going to be the one sending him rampaging through another forest!”

“So then he is Spike!” Rarity shot back. “When were you planning on telling me this?! Do you know what Twilight could have done with that information?! Or me?! I am tired, Rainbow Dash, I am so very tired of ponies keeping information from me! I have tried to be honest with everypony, and in return, I’m only being kept in the dark!” She turned to Rift. “And that goes for you, too!”

Rainbow gasped, indignant. “But—! But…” she drifted off, cheeks reddening and turning her head away. “Yeah, sorry, whatever.”

Rarity lifted the diary again, opening it again to the page she’d previously only glanced at. “This is where she speaks of the curse?”

“No, but it talks about how it spread,” Rift replied.

Rarity read in silence, Rainbow Dash again peering over her shoulder.

…Spike barely sleeps.

I’m glad Shiny convinced him to come home for a few weeks, but it pains me terribly that I can’t offer comfort. He spends his days in Twilight’s room, trying to continue her research on the missing Elements, and no matter what we or Shining tell him, his mood sours day by day. I don’t blame him.

I hoped Discord’s taunts would prove unfounded, but with each passing day my hope wavers. I haven’t received news from Auntie Luna in over a month, and Twilight… Twilight is gone.

The nobles of the provinces are coming tomorrow, and we hope we’ll be able to give them more information, even though we have so little. Discord seems to have moved the library, or so he told Spike. Shining doesn’t believe he could do such a thing, but he’ll be going to investigate once the situation in Canterlot eases.

I can't stop thinking about what happened in court. It was a nightmare. I don’t think I can go through that again, and Shining agrees. Tomorrow, we will only ask the nobles to help us and round up the ponies from their provinces. Nothing more, nothing less.

“Even ponies who aren’t cursed can be affected by a cursed pony,” Rift said. “We have the diary of one of the original ponies who lived with Princess Twilight, and though his diary never makes mention of any curse, he does mention the castle guards leading him to timberwolves.”

Rarity frowned. Well, that explains the owls…

“What about this part?” Rarity asked, turning to Rainbow. “Discord ‘moved’ the library? You mentioned this in Rainbow Falls as well.”

“Yeah. I told you, that’s what the Spirit told him,” she replied. “And he said the princess’s library wasn’t where it usually was.”

“But it’s there! Discord was lying!” Rarity protested. “How would you even move a tree of that size?”

“Why are you asking me? He’s the one who said it!” Rainbow replied.

“If he’s cursed, then the curse must have worked to make him believe that,” Rift suggested, taking Princess Cadance’s diary and putting it away. “Princess Cadance’s records suggest that Spike searched the Everfree Forest for a long time and found nothing. It’s why Prince Shining Armor called off the search there.”

“But have you seen the size of him?!” Rarity protested. “How can he not have found it! He can tear down trees!”

“Why would he do that if he thinks she’s not there?!” Rainbow interjected. “Maybe now that we know she’s there he’ll do it, but he didn’t have any leads until now! And, I mean, I’m sure he’s tried before, but…” She crossed her arms and groaned. “Ugh. Okay. I’ll get him to talk to you, but you’re the one who’s going to tell him you got me cursed.”

“I shall!” Rarity said, stamping her hoof against the ground. “And after I’m done, we’ll find that cursed library and draw a map so this never… never…” she drifted off, eyes going wide and hoof going to her necklace.

The map.

“What?” asked Rainbow Dash, brow furrowing.

“The map,” Rarity whispered, seconds before she smiled for the first time in ages. She lifted her hooves to her mouth, staying like that for a moment, before nearly jumping off her chair. “There is no map! Spike is free! Discord didn’t trap him, which means that I was right! I knew it!”

“Right? Right about what?” Rift asked.

Rarity was giddy. For once in weeks, she was ecstatic! Hope had risen within her, slowly but surely filling in the gaps the curse had left in her heart.

“Twilight—! Discord told her he’d hidden a map in her library, and if she left without having found it, it would disappear and she would never see Spike again! She’s so obsessed with the thing, she wouldn’t even leave if she could! But he lied! Spike is fine, so there is no map!” Rarity explained, very nearly jumping up and down in place.

Twilight would be free! Once Rarity took Spike to her, she’d have no reason to be afraid!

“All I have to do is find the rest of the books, and—!”

Rift interrupted. “The books? What books?”

Immediately, Rarity’s momentum stopped. She frowned at Rift. What did he mean “what books”?

“Twilight’s borrowed books, of course,” she replied matter-of-factly, raising an eyebrow. “The ones that will set her free.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Rift exclaimed, leaning in. “Books that will set her free?! How do you know that will free her?! Did she tell you that?”

Rarity blinked. “No, it was…” She faltered, closing her mouth. She hadn’t been going after the books because Twilight had said so, or because a book had instructed, but because a, in retrospect, fairly sketchy stallion in the forest had said so, and she couldn’t exactly say that. “A stallion did! One who knows of Princess Twilight and the legend.”

“What?! How come you never told me about him before?” Rainbow asked immediately. “Where is he?! Was he that one guy you were staying with in Rainbow Falls?”

“Him? Oh, goodness no! It was…” Again, she faltered until she remembered something from a trip long ago. “He and his wife sell books at the Canterlot Market! They even had one of Twilight’s books, in fact!”

“Wait, if this couple has known of Princess Twilight, why did they get you to look for the books? Why haven’t they done anything?”

Rarity opened her mouth to reply, but no words came to her aid. Truth be told, she didn’t know why they’d never done anything about it. The Book Bringer had mentioned being too old for it, but… why would his wife sell one of Twilight’s books to an unknown mare?

“I—! We’ll simply have to go to the market and ask them ourselves!” she suggested, trying not to dwell too much on her newfound concerns.

“You two will,” Rift said, leaning back and reaching for his helmet. “I’ve got things to do in the castle, and the princess isn’t exactly happy with me. Just saying I’ve never heard of that version, but it might be worth asking her about it.” He got up. “Anything else you girls want to know?”

“There is…” Rarity bit her lip. “There is something that doesn’t make sense at all.”

Rift frowned. “What?”

“The Spirit!” Rarity exclaimed. She gestured toward the window, where the calm city could be seen. “Look at Canterlot! Look at Equestria! Why isn’t it all plagued with chaos magic if he’s out and about?”

“Yeah, she’s right!” Rainbow added, turning to Rift. “What’s the deal with that, huh?”

Rift flinched. “Hey, relax! How am I supposed to know what he’s planning? It’s not like we sit down for tea and talk, you know?” He sighed. “The only pony I know who has more information on everything than us is Knowledge Quill, the old head librarian of Canterlot Library.”

“And where is he?” Rainbow asked. “Maybe he’ll actually be better than you guys at helping us how to figure out the curse!”

“He changed his name and moved to Rainbow Falls,” Rift said. “But he’s been staying at Hollow Shades for about three years now. Keeps going back and forth.”

“Hollow Shades?” Rarity asked. “You mean the professor? Professor Brazened Awe? But he doesn’t believe in the legend!”

“But he knows everything about it,” Rift replied. “He accidentally saw one of the chaos bubbles, and it set him off. The only reason we haven’t done anything about how he slanders the princess is because of everything he’s been finding out for us.”

“What are we waiting for, then?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, turning to Rarity. “We just have to wait for him to go back to Rainbow Falls, and once he’s away from Pinkie, we can ask him to—”

“Help you?” Rift interrupted. “Come on, Dash. Weren’t you paying attention? That’ll get him cursed in three seconds, and I didn’t go through years of making sure he never met Princess Denza just so you’d throw away our only promising lead left.” He brushed his mane back and put on his helmet. “I hate to say it, but the Spirit really did a good job with this curse.”

Canterlot Market was as crowded as ever, but Rarity valiantly trotted through the crowds and the stares, determined on finding the Book Bringer and his wife.

“Geez, Rarity, I know you’re embarrassed about your scars, but aren’t you dying under that cloak?” Rainbow asked, flying above the mare. “Just looking at you is giving me heat stroke.”

“Perhaps look for the book seller, then, darling,” Rarity reprimanded, glancing up at Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow said, flying up higher and narrowing her eyes. “Maybe I’ll find Apple Bloom and Zecora.”

Rarity rolled her eyes. So much for Rainbow scouting out the Book Bringer. Well, no matter! She was in much higher spirits, especially after figuring out the truth about the map, and she did not mind doing the searching herself.

She had a plan, too! She was sure she would be able to extract the required information without ever asking for help regarding the princesses.

She turned the corner of a large food stall and, finally, like a ray of sun on a stormy day, saw the familiar stand in the distance—except, instead of finding the mare from before, she saw the Book Bringer himself, waving away a little foal carrying a book.

“It’s him!” Rarity exclaimed, thrilled and waving to Rainbow Dash. “It’s him, it’s him! It really is him!”

She looked up, but rather than finding the pegasus, she found the sky. She looked around and saw that Rainbow had stopped to greet some fans, and though she was tempted to go and drag her away, she shook her head and instead rushed toward the Book Bringer.

The elderly stallion did not notice the mare running toward him, too dedicated to rearranging his books. He was smiling widely, no doubt pleased with his recent transaction, and it wasn’t until Rarity quite nearly screeched to a halt in front of him that he looked up.

“Why, hello, young lady!” he exclaimed, sitting up straight. “Have my books caught your gaze? Are you looking for anything in particular? A particular author you might like?”

Rarity smiled broadly at him. “Hello again,” she said, barely able to suppress her glee as she awaited his inevitable look of recognition.

And yet, it never came.

The stallion blinked. “Oh dear, have we met before? I usually remember my customers…”

Rarity was taken aback for a moment, but quickly smiled again. Oh goodness, the poor dear, his old age must be getting to him!

“Don’t you remember me?” she asked again, her hopeful smile faltering at his obvious confusion, unless… unless he was simply acting like he didn’t know her! Surely he was simply trying to keep the princess a secret! She smiled again, more forcefully this time. “We met in Ponyville during last Seeking Night!”

He cleared his throat in an embarrassed way. “My dear,” he said, “I’m very sorry, but you really do have me mistaken! I didn’t spend my last Seeking Night in Ponyville, but here in Canterlot.”

“Rarity!” Rainbow Dash called, catching up to the unicorn. “What’s going on? Is this the gu—”

Rarity’s raised hoof silenced her.

“Whatever do you mean you weren’t in Ponyville?” Rarity asked, trying to keep her tone polite even despite the sinking feeling clawing at her heart. “We met inside—” She stopped herself, remembering the curse. Curses! She couldn’t mention Twilight, could she? She cleared her throat. “We met inside the Everfree Forest! In front of the library…? Remember?” she continued, gesturing with her hoof because please, Princesses, he had to remember.

And suddenly, his confusion vanished.

“The library…?”

“Yes…? Yes, yes!” Rarity exclaimed, hope returning as her gestures became all the more enthusiastic. “The underground library! Surrounded by a sinkhole! That library! You and your family have been leaving books there for her for centuries!”

“Her…?” he asked, and the somber expression on his face did away with what little reassurance Rarity had regained.

“Yes, her! You know who I’m talking about!” Rarity insisted, her patience wearing dangerously thin. “You told me how to free her!”

“Come on,” Rainbow exclaimed. “There’s no point in hiding what you—” She stopped for a moment when he lifted his hoof, before going off again. “Hey! Why does everypony keep shutting me up?!”

“My dear ladies!” he exclaimed loudly, almost a bit too loudly, followed by a mirthful laugh. “These are wonderful stories, and I love stories more than anything! Might I suggest we continue a bit more privately?” he asked, and only then Rarity noticed the curious eyes of ponies passing by.

Rarity laughed nervously. “Oh, heavens, yes! How rude of us!” she continued, gesturing for Rainbow Dash to come down here, for goodness’ sake. Once the pegasus was beside her, she scooted closer to the stallion and whispered, “So you do know her!”

“My dear lady, I have never once met the ghost of the Everfree,” he whispered, and Rarity could detect no hesitation in his statement. “A close friend and I discovered the library decades ago, and she has forbidden me from going further than three steps in. The books I leave are only to prove the existence of the princess.”

“But…! But…!” Rarity drifted off, coming to a realization.

Of course! Twilight can’t measure the passage of time! She wouldn’t know how long it would have been except… except it wasn’t Twilight who said they’d been coming for centuries, but the Book Bringer himself.

And if it wasn’t this stallion she’d met on Seeking Night, and seeing as her necklace was not glowing green at that moment, then… then… then she could feel herself growing faint as a very terrible thought dawned upon her.

The fake Rift leading her to Princess Denza, the fake Rarity leading Apple Bloom to the library, and finally, the fake Book Bringer…

Rarity’s horrified gasp was cut off by Rainbow Dash.

“What, you really want us to believe you didn’t go inside? That’s insane! The first thing you do when you find a secret library is go inside! Duh!”

“I was warned against going inside,” he replied severely. “My friend is the shaman living in the Everfree Forest.”

Rarity’s heart skipped a beat. “Shaman? You mean Zecora?”

His eyes lit up. “Yes, that’s her! She came to visit my wife and I during Seeking Night, and she can attest to that! I can tell her to seek you out, if you’d like!”

“I’m very grateful, but that won’t be necessary. You see, fate has it we’re supposed to meet with her later today, isn’t that right, Rainbow?” Rarity said, smiling amiably and bowing her head. “Though I fear we now must leave post-haste! Our conversation with her cannot be delayed anymore.”

“But wait, please!” he exclaimed, getting up and stretching out his hoof toward her. “You must tell me about the princess! I’ve longed all my life to meet her!”

Rarity offered a painful smile. “If that’s the case, and I mean this with all the best intent, but you would be wise not to speak to me further.”

The stallion blinked, lowering his hoof. “But…”

Rarity bowed her head again. “Thank you, truly. It was a pleasure meeting you,” she said before turning around. “Let’s go, Rainbow.”

“But, Rarity!” Rainbow exclaimed, looking back to the stallion. “We haven’t even—! What about—!”

“Please,” Rarity insisted, and now she walked away, head held high.

Once they were far away enough, Rainbow Dash blocked her path by landing right in front of her. “Hey! What’s the big idea?! We haven’t finished questioning him!”

Rarity did not stop. “Darling, there’s no point in questioning him if he doesn’t remember me,” she said, scanning the area for either Apple Bloom or Zecora.

“But Rarity—!”

Now Rarity stopped, turning to Rainbow Dash and frowning slightly. “Rainbow Dash, think for a moment about what we know. I know I saw him in the Everfree Forest during Seeking Night, and he seemed very confident about never having met me before. What can we conclude?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Duh! He’s senile!”

Rarity slapped her hoof against her face. “No! He’s—! Oh, never mind,” she said, taking a deep breath. It might be better to confirm what he said about Zecora before even explaining properly. “Please, trust me and help me find Zecora and Apple Bloom. I give you my word we will glean more information from her than we would him.”

Rainbow clearly wasn’t pleased by the idea, but she did not protest further. “Fine, whatever,” she said. “But I’m sick of going at like one mile per hour because of you. You go back to the apartment and I’ll find them.”

“What?! Why can’t I help too?!” Rarity protested, indignant. See! There they went again, trying to keep her out of the way as though she were useless! “And pardon me, I’m just as quick as I was before my injuries!”

“Look, what if they’re already there, huh?” Rainbow shot back, and that silenced Rarity. “This market’s, like, tiny. We don’t need to both look for them! I can have this place scouted in three seconds flat.”

“Rainbow Dash, there’s over a hundred stands.”

“See! Even more reason why I should do it alone! By the time you look at, like, five stands, it’ll be next week!”

Rarity opened her mouth to keep protesting, but stopped to think for a moment. There was a chance that Zecora and Apple Bloom had already returned, and frankly it seemed like Rainbow Dash wouldn’t be wavering any time soon…

“All right,” she relented, though she harrumphed for good measure.

“Great! I’ll see you in a flash!” Rainbow exclaimed, saluting to the unicorn before speeding off.

Rarity watched her go before reluctantly making her way back toward the apartment. She tried her best to keep a lookout for her friends, and yet… and yet she kept getting distracted by the rampant thoughts in her head.

If the pony she’d met nearly a year ago truly was the Spirit, then nothing he did made sense! Rarity had had no intention of ever going back into the forest after Twilight attacked her, and wasn’t that what he wanted? Why lead her in?! Why give her a reason to keep coming back?!

“Nothing makes sense,” she muttered, stepping into the Canterlot Library plaza. She looked around and, much like before, her eyes lingered on the distant massive building. She felt a tug on her heart, her desire to see Twilight pulling her toward the statue hidden away.

Surely one quick glance won’t hurt…?

Rarity made her way toward the library, past the tourists and locals, up the stairs and then… she paused moments from the door. Was it dread she felt? A curious fear of stepping further in and glimpsing the heaven she’d now been barred entry from?

But that was silly, was it not? Why should she be afraid? It wasn’t as if she wouldn’t see Twilight again, was it? She would find a way to overcome the curse soon enough, and all that would be left was to find the remaining books!

She took a deep breath and valiantly pushed on, pulling the door with her magic only to lose her breath when her eyes set on the statue of Twilight Sparkle.

There she was, a cold and heartless statue smiling at a stone book.

There she was, so close and yet farther away than she’d ever been.

There she was, the princess who’d… who’d given up on Rarity after months of enchanting her, entrancing her, dragging her into an enamoring fairy tale that only now revealed itself as the nightmare it truly was.

Rarity’s heart constricted tighter with every passing second, and for a moment, for a single second in what had seemed the longest days of her entire life, her attitude changed and showed its true form: a perfectly crafted illusion where a single terrible thought was forbidden.

I might never see her again.

The sting of tears blurred her eyes, and feeling them roll down her cheeks was enough to pull her from her trance. She stepped back, inhaling deeply for the air she’d momentarily lost, and then quickly wiped away the silly tears a silly thought had brought forth.

Enough, she thought, to herself and to Twilight. She’d stayed too long, far far too long, and now she had to leave because it was getting late, and not because it was simply too much to bear.

“Ah, Rarity! There you are!”

Rarity turned around, finding the Book Bringer trotting toward her with a bright smile on his face. Her thoughts of Twilight were blissfully dispelled, allowing a wonderfully distracting confusion to settle in its place.

“Oh, hello…?” Rarity smiled at the elderly stallion.

“I’ve been looking all over for you!” he exclaimed, and indeed looked out of breath, panting heavily. It was so pronounced, actually, that it seemed like an act, and her previous melancholy was replaced with anger bubbling at the surface.

“Have you?” she asked, wondering what was the best way to look down at her necklace without appearing suspicious. “I must admit I’m surprised you found me so fast!”

The stallion smiled. “Ah, my dear, I am full of surprises!” he exclaimed, letting out a hearty chuckle.

“Oh, I’m well aware,” Rarity replied sweetly, fluttering her eyelashes. “What can I do for you?”

“Ah…” He frowned for a moment, like he was assessing her as much as she was him, before continuing with a smile, “You know, I’ve found you are full of surprises too, Miss Rarity! How delightfully curious! But don’t let an old fool like me ramble, no matter how fun it is! I have…” He looked to each side in a conspiratorial fashion, like a foal ready to tell a secret. “…something very important to tell you, my dear.”

“…Important, you say?”

“Of course! I’m the one saying it!” he exclaimed, laughing loudly at his own joke.

Rarity wasn’t impressed, though she kept the smile. “Ah, yes! You mentioned you were interested in sharing the recipe of your family’s traditional apple stew?”

The stallion stared for a second before continuing enthusiastically. “Oh heavens, yes! But I must do it in secret lest the missus finds out. She can be quite prissy when it comes to our family secrets!” He cleared his throat again. “But that’s not quite what I had in mind. I have something to tell you regarding the princesses, but this might not be the place for it! You might need to remind me what we talked about, too! The missus is making me senile, I tell you.” He smiled and gestured toward the door. “Shall we?”

“Oh dear…” Rarity sighed, thoughtfully looking down at her brightly glowing green necklace. Oh dear, dear, dear indeed. “A walk?” She hummed and looked up, trying to quickly assess her situation. There were no fillies with her, no friends or family to be endangered by her actions.

But there was a book on a nearby table, and it was big and old and certainly heavy enough to knock anypony out if Rarity really put her all into it.

“Is something wrong?” he suddenly asked, and it felt like his smile was just as fake as hers. How dare that beast ask her such a thing?! Oh, she imagined it must have given him deep pleasure to do so, too!

“I’ve had a long month,” she replied at length, levitating the book in her magic. “I was hoping to do some light reading to get my mind off things. I’m sure you’ve heard of the saying ‘hitting the books,’ have you not?!”

She punctuated the question by launching the book at the stallion, who jumped out of the way only moments before he could be crushed by knowledge.

The Book Bringer looked from the book to Rarity, and though his eyes flashed yellow for a moment, his smile only widened.

“Discord,” Rarity hissed, and though she knew it to be rather unrefined, she did not hesitate as she prepared to launch herself at him.

Or would have done so if a nearby librarian hadn’t intervened.

“Excuse me!” he bellowed, looking ready to throw Rarity out of the library. He grabbed the book and flared his nostrils at her. “This is a library, and these books are centuries old! Please stop damaging our property, or you’ll have to move your lover’s spat to the street!”

Rarity nearly gagged. Lover’s spat?!

The librarian harrumphed and stalked away, allowing Rarity to turn her murderous gaze to the now delighted-looking Discord.

“My, my, my! Rarity! You’ve just met me and already we’re lovers?” He stroked his long beard and sighed. “Well, I’m not surprised! I already knew you were a graverobber!”

“I’d rather make out with garbage!” she hissed.

Discord frowned, shaking his head. “Now, now, that’s no way to talk about poor Twilight.”

Oh dear, forget the book, she was going to hurl an entire bookcase at his face. And she would have, had the librarian not been staring at them like a hawk.

“You… You… You…”

Words failed to come to her, such was her rage. There he was, the creature who’d brought so much misery to so many, and there she was, utterly helpless to do anything.

“Me, me, me!” he said, and he offered a mocking bow of his head. “It is a pleasure, Rarity! To finally speak with you face to face, I never thought the day would come! It’s very lonely being the winner when you have nopony to listen to how you won, you know?”

“Winner?! You’re not the winner!” Rarity snapped. “You never took over Equestria! Princess Denza is at the throne!”

And Discord simply smiled. “Exactly. I won.”

Rarity stepped back, and she felt faint. “Wh-what…?”

Discord fluttered his eyelashes and when he raised his foreleg, a menu appeared in his hoof, from a restaurant called L’Éternel Protecteur.

“How about dinner at eight?” he asked, and when she blinked at him, he cleared his throat and looked over the menu. “You have questions, don’t you? And I have answers! And I think you’ll love this restaurant! I’ll even come pick you up!”

“You expect me to believe you—”

“You don’t have to go,” he interrupted, and the menu flashed away. He observed his hoof, seemingly uninterested. “I do have better things to do than entertain you if you’re going to so rudely reject my help.”

“Help?! From you?!”

He didn’t look up. “I do love how you know how to break the curse,” he said, and oh, that did a nice job at keeping her mouth shut. “Come now, darling. What do you have to lose? Though there is, however, one condition.” He glanced up at her. “No pony can know about this. If they do, and I will know, then our dinner is off. I don’t want that pest of a pegasus meddling.”

Rarity gritted her teeth. “Why?”

He looked up properly now, and his lips turned into a twisted smile. “She wasn’t part of the bet!” he exclaimed. “And with those parting words, I take my leave!”

“No!” Rarity exclaimed, watching as he disappeared into thin air, apparently unseen by anypony else but her. “You come back here! What does that mean?!”

His laugh echoed through the library’s foyer. “Now, now, my dear! You’ll find out soon enough! Besides… at least you’re not hanging from a literal cliff!”

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Interlude VII ~ A Vision II ~

Clink. Clink. Clink.

Rarity sat alone inside Carousel Boutique’s kitchen, her spoon clinking against her cup as she stirred her warm tea. She took out the spoon, placed it to the side, and then lifted the cup, but before she could take a sip her body intervened. She coughed once, twice, thrice, and her hoof rose to her chest and rubbed in slow circles.

When the coughing fit subsided, she finally lifted her cup and took her coveted sip, her eyes scanning the table and landing on a book. A leather-bound purple book about old magic spells. A book that looked brand new despite being a thousand years older than Rarity herself.

The final lost book.

Rarity put down the cup and floated the book over, gingerly taking it in her hooves. She ran her hoof over the cover, because it still felt surreal. The book she’d looked for all her life, found only once time had caught up to her. Destiny liked playing cruel tricks on her, much like it had made sure that she—not Amethyst—would be the one to find the last book.

A present from a client given to her because she always asked about old books.

She opened it and her eyes settled themselves on the painfully familiar calligraphy decorating the top of the page. For just a moment, she imagined herself as a young mare again, foolish and in love, running to the library in the forest with the last book, moments away from seeing her princess free at last.

“Rarity?” Amethyst Wind’s voice rang from a distance, and immediately Rarity closed the book and pushed it away. “Is the book ready?!”

Fear gripped her for a moment. No, she wanted to say, no, it’s not ready.

But she didn’t, because another voice replied, repeating over and over that her time was done. Her time was done, done, done, ended decades ago in Canterlot Castle, and now she had no choice but to let go.

She cleared her throat. “Yes, darling!”

“Okay!” Amethyst called back, excitement ringing in her voice. “I’m going to call her, then!”

Rarity sipped her tea again, distracting herself with the sensation of the hot drink burning her tongue. She didn’t want to see, truth be told. She wanted to leave, wanted to do everything but bear witness to what followed, but she had to, didn’t she?

Finally, Amethyst stepped in, smiling like a filly, her eyes glowing and Rarity’s… Rarity’s former necklace hanging around her neck, glowing bright pink. Amethyst did not spare the unicorn a glance as she went straight for the book on the table.

She picked it up, slowly, gently, and tears bordered her eyes. “Look, sweetie,” she whispered, opening it and brushing her hoof against Twilight’s hoofwriting. “It’s the last one.”

Even though shame burned her, Rarity looked away. She’d never seen Amethyst use the necklace before, and now that she did, she realized it was more than she could handle. Tears stung at her eyes, and she forced herself to look back to Amethyst. She tried to smile, but the smile did not come.

After a moment, Amethyst closed the book, giggling with delight and hugging the book against her chest, apparently still in communication with Twilight. She opened her mouth to speak but, instead, she shifted her sight away from the book and toward Rarity herself. Her expression changed immediately, the ecstatic smile fading just as the book slipped from her grasp and loudly fell to the floor, ignored by the two mares.

Amethyst stared at Rarity, and Rarity stared back because somewhere in there, perhaps now leading the two intertwined minds, Twilight Sparkle was looking at her for the first time in decades.

And now…

Now Rarity smiled, tilting her head to the side and speaking up.

“Hello, darling.”

Amethyst held Rarity’s gaze for a moment before, suddenly, the necklace’s connection ended so abruptly it threw Amethyst off. The younger mare stepped back, her hoof going to her head and rubbing.

“Oh, wow, uhm…” She opened her eyes, blinked three times and cleared her throat. “That’s weird, I kinda zoned out there…” She giggled nervously, picking the book up from the floor. “She got too excited about the book, I guess!” she ventured, lifting her hoof and pressing it against her necklace. She sighed and continued, “I’m so happy, Rarity. I’m so, so, so happy…” She looked up at the unicorn. “I owe this all to you.”

Rarity bowed her head. “It was my pleasure.”

Amethyst took a deep breath. “Okay! I’m going to go now!” she exclaimed, seemingly invigorated by all that had just transpired, and Rarity couldn’t blame her for it. “I’m going to finally save my Twilight…” She drifted off, giggling nervously, and rushed forward to hug Rarity. “Wish me luck?”

When Amethyst pulled back, Rarity shook her head. “You don’t need it,” she said, and with that, the younger mare nodded and ran off, taking with her the last missing book of Princess Twilight Sparkle.

“Don’t wait up for me!” Amethyst called, and Rarity simply took her tea again.

Rarity decided to wait, but not for Amethyst’s sake.

~ Act III ~ 29 ~ The Longest Night ~

Rarity returned to Spitfire’s apartment with a knot in her stomach, twisting and twisting and twisting some more. Threads of hope kept together her will to fight, but even then she knew they were frayed and might give in at any moment. So much of her had come undone already, it was hard to think it could get any worse.

For now, she clung to one belief.

There was no map. Therefore, finding all the books would free Twilight, once and for all.

But… but Discord had returned.

He’d chosen to reveal himself now, of all times, and the implications haunted Rarity. Everything she knew to be true had been turned on its head, and yet… and yet everything Discord said had proven to be accurate, had it not?

But why would he help? It was that question that burned her, giving her a headache she wasn’t sure would go away anytime soon.

Rainbow’s suggestion proved to be true, and Rarity found Zecora and Apple Bloom already inside the apartment, going over the filly’s new books. Small talk ensued, discussing topics the unicorn found no interest in. She debated speaking about Twilight—a fragment of her conscience warning she should wait for Rainbow—but she restrained herself, and only gave in when she sat down and Zecora caught sight of her scars.

“I’d recognize this magic from anywhere. The forest has made me deal with it more times than I’d care,” Zecora said, her hoof hovering in circles over the scars. She mumbled something in her native language, and Rarity was shocked to feel the pain in her leg subsiding.

“The pain in your leg should be at an end,” the zebra continued. “The scars, however, I cannot mend.” Once she was done, she retrieved her hoof and stepped back. “Stand for me, Miss Rarity.”

When Rarity did as told, her shock renewed at how easy it had been, and she couldn’t stop herself from slamming her hind hoof against the floor, feeling perfectly healthy. “Zecora!” she exclaimed, quite literally hopping in joy. “Oh, how can I ever thank you?!”

Zecora shook her head. “Your gratitude I will not heed. Your well-being is the only reward I need.” Her job done, she took a seat on the couch. “But why would you enter the Everfree, if you did not go there to come see me?”

Rarity faltered. While moments ago she’d been quite ready to share, now the thought of the curse stopped her. “Ah, well, you see… I…”

“You visit Everfree often, as Apple Bloom has said, but her interest in the topic has recently fled. She acts like she’s hiding a secret she told,” Zecora continued, and the warmth in her face briefly vanished. “Have you perhaps found a spirit of old…?”

“N-no! We haven’t found no spirit!” Apple Bloom interjected, seemingly unaware of the accidental confession that accompanied her quick denial.

“I… I…” Rarity gritted her teeth. She didn’t know what to say or how to say it. Did revealing she knew of the princess count as asking for help? She cleared her throat and smiled. “Now Zecora! I don’t believe in such things. The forest is simply rich in ores I can dig up for my dresses. Besides, you know the Legend of the Four Princesses is only a foal’s tale.”

“Unless my memory is starting to fail, I never mentioned that particular tale,” Zecora replied. She turned to Apple Bloom. “Deep within the Everfree, there is an ancient library beneath a tree. A great evil surrounds the site.” She glanced at Rarity, and again her expression hardened. “It would be surprising not to sense its blight.”

“There is no great evil!” Rarity protested immediately, before realizing what she’d said and adjusting her wording. “The legend says the princesses were kind, not that they turned evil.”

“Terrible magic dwells in that place. Tricks for fun and games aren’t all you’d face. If you’ve read the tale, it’s eager to tell: the Spirit is not just chaos, but disharmony as well.”

Rarity bit down on her lip. Zecora must have been referring to the chaos magic from the maze. The puppet creature that attacked them certainly fit the definition of evil to a tee. Ugh! This… This not being able to talk about Twilight despite knowing very well Zecora understood… It was downright aggravating!

“But, if you’ve, er, supposedly known of this lost princess for years now, why haven’t you told anypony?” Rarity asked, hoping that didn’t qualify as cursing the zebra.

Zecora smiled thinly. “When most ponies are so suspicious of me, why would they believe the strange things I see?” She then looked to Apple Bloom, patting the filly on the head. “I have a surprise for you, dear Apple Bloom. Why don’t you look for it in your room?”

“Really?!” the filly exclaimed, jumping down from the couch and running off.

The moment she was gone, Zecora returned her attention to Rarity.

“I had a dream once, when I was a foal,” Zecora said, “of the library and its princess that shook my soul. A terrible magic possessed your ruler, corrupting her thoughts to be wicked and crueler. When she turned to me, it was a terrible sight: her eyes were as black as a starless night. Within this dream I was a unicorn mare, and it’s for this detail I have decided to share.”

Rarity gulped, and for a moment, she pictured it. Twilight Sparkle gone and replaced with a monster of chaos, looking at her with… with a blank expression and eyes as black as the Spirit’s soul.

“Only now do I see the familiarity of yourself and the mare in my dream, Rarity. I would suggest that you take my advice: never go back, and do not think twice.”

Apple Bloom came back moments later and, feeling perturbed, Rarity excused herself, saying it had been a long day. She retired to her room, unceremoniously throwing herself on the bed and closing her eyes. She did not want to sleep, for sleep only brought about troubling dreams.

So instead, she allowed herself to think of Twilight.

Her Twilight. The real Twilight, not the Twilight Sparkle of dreams and nightmares.

Her hoof brushed against the necklace. What was Twilight doing back in the library? Was she all right? Rarity had given her the entire Daring Do series before she had left for Canterlot the first time. That should keep her entertained until Rarity returned.

If she hasn’t read them all in a single day, that is, she thought, and a smile pushed its way onto her lips. It’s Twilight. Of course she’s read them all in a single day.

And then, just as the thought finished, the little terrible voice inside her whispered: wasn’t it a shame, it said, that she’d never be able to bring new books to Twilight ever again? Rarity forced herself to think of something else before tears stung at her eyes.

Why do I torture myself like this?

Through the window, she noticed night was fast approaching, and so her thoughts turned back to Discord. It seemed so… surreal to think she’d met him. At the moment, she’d been overcome with anger. But as of a few hours ago, it was now disbelief that consumed her. She’d finally met the creature who’d brought endless suffering to the most important pony in her life, and what had he done?

Asked her out to dinner.

It was as ridiculous as it was perplexing, and it screamed “danger.”

Her conscience clawed at her, remembering his last words. If she went out to meet with him, no pony could know. She could always try and convince Rainbow Dash not to follow her, but what if the Spirit found out? What if he…

She rolled around on her bed, opening her eyes and frowning.

Well, it wasn’t like he could do anything to her, was it? He’d succeeded in doing the worst possible thing that could ever happen, so anything he did or told her might actually give her hope instead of whatever he was trying to achieve with his games.

One, two, three hours went by, and when her eyes fluttered open and a yawn left her mouth, it took her a moment to realize she’d fallen asleep.

She sat up with a jolt, gasping. “What time is it?!” she shrieked, turning toward the bedside table and levitating the clock. A surge of relief coursed through her at finding it was only a quarter to eight. She debated resting a few more minutes but resisted the temptation, not wanting to risk falling asleep again.

She left the room, discovering Zecora had departed and Rainbow had returned. The pegasus was lying on the couch, apparently fast asleep. Rarity felt tempted to wake her, but decided otherwise, instead making her way to the front window. She pressed her muzzle against it and squinted her eyes, trying to catch sight of Discord.

“If you’re looking for Zecora, she left like an hour ago.”

Rarity let out a muffled shriek. Rainbow Dash sat next to her, wide awake, with her muzzle pressed against the window too.

Before Rarity could say anything, Rainbow glanced her way and assessed her hind leg. “Hey! You really can move around now! Now you can go back to walking at one mile per hour instead of zero!”

Rarity playfully rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to the street.

“Did she tell you anything useful?” Rarity asked.

Rainbow blew a raspberry. “Nah. She did tell me she liked the Las Pegasus show a lot, so at least we know she’s trustworthy. Anyway, I’m really hopin’ we didn’t curse her because doesn’t she, like, live in the forest?” She ran a hoof through her mane. “How about you? Anything useful?”

“I fear I did not fare much better,” she replied, frowning lightly. “It seems she can sense the chaos magic inside the library. It’s why she told the Book Bringer not to go in.” She paused for a moment. “By the way, would you happen to know the location of a restaurant called L’Éternel Protecteur?”

Rainbow turned to her, frowning. “Yeah… Who told you about it?”

Rarity blinked at this. “Does it matter? I was simply curious. I’m supposed to meet an acquaintance there for dinner.”

“It’s a place at the east end of the city. It was Spike’s favorite joint before he, uh, got too big to be able to eat there,” Rainbow said, turning back to the window. She paused for a moment. “It was also Princess Twilight’s favorite place.”

Rarity’s heart skipped a beat. “It was?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow said, still looking out the window. “Spike says she used to spend all day there before the war. The owner loved to read or something. Anyway, it’s a good place.”

Anger flared inside of Rarity. So that was why Discord had chosen that restaurant. Rub salt in the wound, would he?

“So, who’s your friend?” Rainbow turned toward Rarity and frowned. “You didn’t call Pinkie Pie here, did you?”

“No!” Rarity exclaimed, indignant. “Frankly, it’s none of…” She drifted off, her eyes landing on a familiar stallion approaching the building.

“Hey, look! It’s what’s-his-face!” Rainbow exclaimed, pressing her muzzle and her hooves against the window. “Quick! Let’s go talk with him! Maybe he has new stuff to tell us!”

“Rainbow, wait, wait!” Rarity exclaimed, stopping Rainbow with her magic before the pegasus could fly off. Think, Rarity! “I… err, I must confess that’s who I’m having dinner with.”

“What? He is?!” Rainbow asked, stomping her hoof against the floor. “Why didn’t you want to tell me? I want to talk with him too!”

Rarity hesitated. “Yes, I know, but… when I, er, well, when I went back to talk with him, he seemed much more at ease without you there! As you said, his old age has caught up to him, and frankly, being in the presence of an esteemed pony such as yourself was simply too much for an old stallion’s nerves. And—! And, if there are two of us, there’s a higher chance we might accidentally curse him, if we haven’t already! Please allow me to take care of this.”

Rainbow frowned. “…Yeah, okay, fine, I guess… But!” She poked a hoof against Rarity’s chest. “But if you’re not back before twelve, I’m goin’ out looking for you! I still don’t trust you not to go running to Hollow Shades.”

Though she wanted to voice it, Rarity withheld the indignant scoff. Truth be told, that worked for her rather than against her. If she didn’t return before midnight, it meant that monster had done something to her, and it was comforting to know Rainbow Dash would seek out and help her; probably chastise her for hours on end as well, but alas, not every plan could be completely perfect.

“I’ll be fine, darling,” she said, turning away from the window while Rainbow continued looking down at the stallion.

She took her things and, with a final farewell, left the apartment. Every step she took as she descended the stairs felt heavier than the last, and her heart seemed like it would beat right out of her chest.

And yet, she wasn’t afraid.

Well, perhaps she was a bit afraid. But so far, Discord was the only source of information she had, and the thought helped keep her apprehension to a point where it would not hinder her.

When she finally left the building and stepped out into the street, the stallion grinned widely and waved with unrestrained enthusiasm.

Dear princesses, was everything a game to him?

“Ah, Rarity! I’m delighted to see you!” he exclaimed, and a quick glance at her necklace verified his identity. He looked up and waved just as enthusiastically at Rainbow Dash, who unwittingly waved back from behind the window, thankfully unable to see the necklace from such a distance. “I see you kept your end of the bargain!”

“What do you want, Discord?” Rarity asked, having no desire whatsoever to humor him.

“Me? Why, only to walk with you! It’s been quite some time since I last admired this horrid place!” He stroked his beard and looked at the ponies walking past. “It’s especially nice to do so when ponies aren’t looking at you like you’re a monster!”

“You are a monster,” Rarity spat.

Discord gasped theatrically, pressing his hoof against his chest. “Moi? Excuse me, but I am an exemplary specimen of a draconequus! But… if you’d like for me to go under another form…” He looked to the sides conspiratorially and then trotted off without a word.

Rarity narrowed her eyes and cautiously followed him, away from Spitfire’s apartment and toward a smaller street, hidden from Rainbow Dash’s view. Once there, he stopped and waited until Rarity joined him before doing an odd gesture with his hoof.

Rarity stepped back and stared at him, expecting something to happen. But moments passed and he remained as he was, the smug smile broadening. Disconcerted, Rarity opened her mouth to ask what exactly he changed, but a voice behind her interrupted.

“Maybe this would be better?” she asked, and Rarity felt faint at recognizing the voice. It pierced through her, and the only thing halting her unrestrained anger was the suffocating fear of turning around.

But turn around she did, and indeed did she almost faint at the terrible sight of a pegasus Twilight Sparkle standing behind her, smiling just as smugly as Discord. It was like time had come to a standstill, her brain rationalizing and telling her that wasn’t Twilight, but her heart…

She whirled in place, holding back tears because she’d be damned if she let him see he was getting to her. “Take another form,” she hissed. “Now. Now!”

Disc… Twilight Discord…? Twicord gasped in mock offense, and Rarity hated that just the sound of Twilight’s voice immediately drew her in. “Now, Rarity, why are you mad at me?” she said, shaking her head. “I’m being nice to you! Don’t you miss her? And here I am, giving you the illusion of a date with your precious princess! Frankly, you should be grateful!”

“Grateful?!” Rarity all but shrieked, rage building and building up inside her. “You did this! It’s your fault, and you want me to—?!”

“Rarity, really!” Discord began, the one disguised as the Book Bringer, and now Rarity turned her ire to him. “I’m only spurring you on! Seeing Twilight again should drive you forward!”

“Come now,” Twicord said, trotting past Rarity and heading toward a nearby street. “Don’t want to be late to our date, hmm? Princess Twilight Sparkle despises tardiness!”

Discord went after her, and it wasn’t until he called to Rarity that she reluctantly followed him. She focused on him, for glancing at the other Discord was too much for her to take. She desperately wished the necklace worked, because then she could summon Twilight and borrow her magic to blast both Discords into the next century.

They made their way through the bustling streets of the city. Ponies stared at them, and initially she assumed it was because of her unabashed scowl, but she soon realized ponies were staring at Twi—at the Discord disguised as Twilight. She didn’t understand why, at first, since they didn’t know what Twilight even looked like, but then she realized… they did, didn’t they?

The statue they passed by each time they went into the library.

It was a unicorn filly who finally gathered the courage to trot up to Twicord, prompting Rarity to quickly run up to them before he got any ideas.

“Uhm, Miss?” the filly asked, and in her eyes Rarity saw admiration. “You look just like the statue of the princess!” She reached out, intending to stroke Twicord’s wings, but the pegasus withdrew before she could. Nevertheless, this did not deter the filly. “Your wings are pretty!”

Twicord smiled. “Thank you!” she exclaimed, splaying them out and admiring them. “Much prettier than the original’s, don’t you think? It’s a shame she didn’t actually do anything to earn them. Nothing but a consolation prize.”

The filly blinked, confused, oblivious to the murderous stare Rarity shot Twicord.

“Move along, ladies!” Discord called. “We’re almost there!”

After enduring Discord quite literally talking to himself for another ten minutes, they finally arrived at the infamous restaurant. Rarity tried to focus on the idea that it was Twilight’s favorite, as if the alicorn’s presence somehow permeated the grounds and would protect her from whatever Discord was planning.

The building reminded Rarity of Twilight’s books: thousands of years old, yet looking brand new. There was a statue atop the restaurant—an almost identical replica of the dragon statue from the Canterlot Library.

Twicord took the lead into the restaurant, followed by Discord and Rarity. The place was filled with ponies, and Rarity had to admit she was relieved there was no Twilight statue to be found. She did, however, notice a plaque near the entrance, detailing the history of the place.

“Rarityyyy!” Twicord called, pulling Rarity away before she could read.

The unicorn gritted her teeth, and when she rolled her eyes, she noticed something quite peculiar. There, floating high above the ceiling, was a magic chandelier almost identical to Star and Swirl, and Rarity recognized the raspberry-colored magic powering it.

The sight of that chandelier was in many ways much more painful than a statue could ever be. There it was, more real than granite, proof that Twilight Sparkle was real. Proof that ages ago, an alicorn sat in that restaurant and tinkered with a way to offer perpetual light to a beloved place.

Affection washed over her, and she wished intensely that maybe one day she might be able to bring Twilight here. Sadness quickly followed, but she tried to push it away. Of course she’d bring Twilight here again one day.

Of course, of course, of course.

She forced herself to move on, her chest starting to constrict, and eventually she found the two Discords already seated at a table, both staring at her with their asinine grins.

Once she reluctantly sat down, Twicord clapped her hooves with glee. “Isn’t this perfect for a date?”

Frankly, Rarity would have rather gone on a date with a rock, and Discord laughed when she said as much. “Now, now, my dear, that can be arranged! Though I’m afraid you’re far below Tom’s standards.”

Rarity sucked in air through her teeth, directing her irritation at the patrons sitting at the other tables. How horrible, she thought, that to anypony else the three of them looked like normal ponies having dinner. If only they knew! Ignorance truly was bliss, wasn’t it?

She turned back to them—him?

“Why are you doing this?” she asked, or rather hissed, narrowing her eyes. “What do you want?”

“Why, I’d like to have dinner. I didn’t know it was a crime!” Twicord exclaimed. She then smiled wickedly and leaned in, adding, “Then again, it’s clear you could stand to be less generous with your intake.”

Rarity’s cheeks burned. She knew that it wasn’t Twilight, but still… “Oh? Can’t come up with anything more clever than insulting my figure?”

Twicord leaned back. “Hm, yes, I suppose this is a bit beneath you, isn’t it? You are a smart little pony, Rarity! Too bad you’ve made some delightfully silly mistakes, like following suspicious ponies into dark tunnels!” She leaned in again and fluttered her eyelashes. “How’s the curse going, by the way?”

A waiter approached to take their order before Rarity could bark a reply.

“I’m not hungry, thank you,” Rarity said curtly, glaring daggers at the two Discords.

Discord’s eyes never left Rarity’s as he smiled and said, “Oh, do give us ten more minutes, please. Unicorns can be so terribly indecisive.” When the waiter left, he tilted his head to the side and furrowed his brow. “You know, Rarity, I must confess I’m actually quite disappointed! You were doing so well; I thought you’d have broken the curse by now! A shame I overestimated you.”

Twicord sighed. “Thank Celestia we didn’t bet for her!”

There it was again!

“Bet?!” Rarity snapped, barely able to stop herself from getting up and slamming her hoof against the table. Control, Rarity, control. “Is this nothing but a game to you?! To bring suffering as a way to pass the time?! Is that it?!”

“But, games are fun!” Discord exclaimed, clapping his hooves together. “Don’t you like games, Rarity? Magic caves!”

“Magic labyrinths!” Twicord added.

“Aaaah, that was the best one!” Discord replied, nodding his head with foalish excitement. “Her face! I simply can’t remember laughing so much in the last thousand years! And remember when she went through the bookcase? It was like she’d seen a ghost!”

Both Discord and Twicord sighed fondly. “Ahhh, fun times indeed.”

“Why are you doing this?!” Rarity repeated, beside herself with fury. How could they?! How could a creature be so vile?! “Why curse me?! Why even tell me to go back to Twilight?! I was going to leave after she attacked me! I was never going to go back, and you made me go back! Why do that if I would become such a threat you had to curse me?!”

Discord laughed heartily. “You? A threat?!”

“Please,” Twicord added, wiping a tear from her eye. She cleared her throat and donned a pitiful expression. “Rarity, I was only trying to be nice and give her a friend! Is this what happens when you try to do ponies a favor? You get accused of being a monster?”

“You are a monster!” she spat, no longer caring about the patrons staring their way. “Why did you want me to meet Twilight?! Why would you lie about the bo…”

She stopped herself mid-sentence, realizing how that spur-of-the-moment accusation was going to end, and finding she was too afraid to voice it. She was too afraid because voicing it meant the potential confirmation that… that everything she’d done for the past year had been for nothing.

But both Discords leaned in, lips twisting into wicked smiles. “Yessssss?”

Rarity didn’t want to say it. Every inch of her mind fought against it, but she forced the words out regardless.

“It means… the books… won’t… free…”

“Ding-ding-ding! Bravo, Rarity!” Discord exclaimed. “Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t figure it out earlier.”

Twicord snorted. “Believing anything a sketchy stranger says in the middle of the forest? Really, Rarity, I thought you were supposed to be smart. That was just a thing I made up off the cuff, as it were!”

Rarity felt faint, bracing against the table for support. The books… But I’ve spent… Pain plagued her now, her chest compressing under the weight of the implications.

“But… But, it can’t be!” she protested, because princesses, please, it just couldn’t.

“It can’t?” Discord asked, still smiling, still leaning over.

It couldn’t! If the books weren’t the key, then why did the maze attack her?! She tried to go back, tried to think of that moment, truly ascertain what had caused the chaos magic to act out. They talked about Princess Denza, about the books, and about how…

Rarity felt the blood drain from her face, her eyes growing wide.

About how Twilight wanted to leave.

Her breathing slowed and slowed, as did her heart, because for a second, for a moment in time, the realization dawning upon her felt like it would kill her. She lifted her hooves to her mouth and looked at the Twilight in front of her as if she were the real thing, because heavens, now more than ever, she wanted to ask the real Twilight…

Why?

“She… She’s keeping herself trapped…?” she whispered, and every word felt like a dagger plunged into her chest. Twilight forbidding Rarity from helping. Twilight and her guilt trances. Twilight and the barrier keeping her trapped; the barrier that wasn’t the color of chaos magic, but the color of a familiar raspberry one.

For a thousand years, Twilight Sparkle had… she’d…

“Oh, no, no, no!” Discord said, as both he and Twicord leaned back in unison. “Don’t take credit away from me, now! The magic in my maze is making sure she stays there, of course, but…” His vile smile returned, and he stroked his beard with pride. “She’s doing a wonderful job at powering it.”

“All that guilt!” Twicord continued. “It’s like vanilla cake for my magic! Cotton candy and chocolate milk!” She licked her lips. “Deeeeelicious!”

“And now her only friends are gone forever! Poor little princess,” Discord said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that barrier’s turned pitch black.”

Rarity was shaking, though she could not tell if it was with rage, shock, sadness or all three. That—! That—! There wasn’t even a term that accurately described how she felt about Discord now.

The waiter arrived again, interrupting whatever Rarity could have said.

“Are you ready to order?” he asked, but Rarity didn’t reply. She simply continued sitting there, unmoving, unfeeling.

“Dearest?” Twicord asked, and only then did Rarity stand up, taking her bitbag, opening it and forcefully placing several coins on the table.

The waiter blinked. “Er, miss?”

“Your tip,” she said, and then, without another word, turned around and walked away.

It wasn’t until she was out of the sun-forsaken restaurant that she allowed tears to brim in her eyes. She headed to the nearest street, nearly empty due to the late hour, and once she was well and truly alone, she screamed. She screamed in anger and frustration, and a defenseless garbage can was lifted into the air, ready to be slammed against the wall, and yet…

And yet she put it back down, because a lady did not lose her temper—especially less so when she didn’t have the energy to do much more than put the bin back on the ground and fall to her haunches.

She felt numb now, actually.

She felt like everything she’d learned couldn’t be true, and thus she couldn’t process it, because it was too much, too much, too much, and she’d already had enough in these past weeks to last her a lifetime.

“Rarity! Why did you run away? I had to pay the bill!”

And just like that, the numbness died, went up in flames that ignited her rage once again. She got up and whirled around, facing her damning date.

“What do you want from me?!” she demanded, and she no longer cared to hide her tears. To her surprise, however, she was not confronted with a stallion or a pegasus.

No, this time, the terrible Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony chose to finally take on his original form. A slithering amalgamation of beasts, flying up in the air and staring her down, almost shocked from her outburst.

“Pinkie isn’t cursed,” she hissed, every syllable laced with unrelenting and unrestrained hatred. “She’ll find Twilight and free her.”

“Pinkie Pie? Really?” Discord snorted, a poofy mane appearing round his head. “I suppose she could! Though I can’t wait to see what you’ll tell her when she asks why you don’t visit your little princess anymore!” The poofy mane disappeared and he lied down on thin air, resting his chin on his crossed arms. “Doesn’t it burn you, Rarity?” He lowered himself, and for a moment, he was close enough Rarity considered slapping him. “Doesn’t it sting?”

He jumped into an upright position, still floating in the air, and when he snapped his fingers, miniature puppets of her friends appeared next to him, all of them crowding a similar figurine of Twilight.

“Look at them!” he exclaimed, idly poking at the Applejack figurine, tripping her with his fingers. “All of them! Hanging from your tail!” Another snap of his fingers and finally the Rarity figurine appeared, but she was encased in a glass bubble, kept away from the others. “You did all the hard work, and now somepony else will get the credit!” He snapped his fingers, and Applejack and Rainbow Dash disappeared. “The fame!”

“I don’t care about that!” Rarity indignantly protested, stamping her hoof against the ground.

“Oh?” Discord looked unimpressed, barely glancing at Rarity before looking back to his figurines and purposefully tripping Pinkie Pie now. “You don’t care about fame? Glory? Then you won’t mind if somepony else gets—” He snapped his fingers, and now only the Twilight figurine remained. “—the mare.”

Rarity nearly growled at him, but ah, memories of her recent nightmares of another pony taking Twilight away held her back.

“Honestly, this should be everything you wanted!” he exclaimed, and the Rarity figurine banged her hooves against her glass prison. He looked at the real Rarity now, and smiled widely. “Your own tragic fairy tale! And it’s not even an unrequited romance!”

“I didn’t want this!” Rarity shrieked, tears of anger rolling down her cheeks. “You did this! You cursed me!”

“Meeeeeee?!” Discord gasped, and with a final snap of his fingers, the figures disappeared, prevented from ever reuniting. He snorted and crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at the mare. “Now, Rarity, you were bound to get cursed eventually! You know your precious guard wasn’t planning on taking you to the princess! And what would you have done then? Don’t tell me you wouldn’t have forced your way to her!” When Rarity failed to reply, and instead gritted her teeth at him, he smiled victoriously and leaned in. “Quite the obsession Princess Twilight is for you, isn’t she?”

“How dare you—!”

“You should be thanking me! I’m helping you free them!” Discord interrupted, crossing his arms.

“Helping us?! You’ve cursed us! Tell me how to break the curse then!” she demanded, stomping her hoof against the floor. “Come now!”

Discord blinked. “Now, Rarity! That would be too easy! And you don’t need things to be easier! Look at you! In a year, you’ve done more to free them than ponykind has done in a thousand!” He looked to the side and rolled his eyes. “Then again, with that bore of a princess ruling…”

Even despite it all, Rarity found it in herself to be indignant on the princess’s behalf. “And to think ponies accuse Princess Denza of working alongside such a brute like you!” she exclaimed, and Discord choked for a moment.

“Me?! Work with her?!” he scoffed, looking away and pouting, vaguely reminding her of the chaos puppet. “Bah! The imagination of ponies is admirable. What will they say next? That she’s secretly the Changeling Queen come back to life?” He stopped for a second, and stroked his beard. “Well, technically speaking…”

“Then if you’re not working with her, why haven’t you taken over Equestria?!” Rarity demanded.

Discord stared at her for a moment before sighing. “Well, if you must know, there’s no fun in ruling a kingdom where the only ponies smart enough to actually be miserable are trapped in different places. It was fun when Chryssi was around for the first war, but then Princess Cadenza did away with her, and honestly, it’s not fun anymore. Complacent kingdoms are the worst.”

“How could you…?” Rarity whispered hatefully. “You brought misery to so many ponies, and Twilight could have defeated you permanently! Instead, she gave you a second chance and this is how you repay her?!”

And everything changed.

Discord stared at her, mouth ajar, and his momentary shock was quickly replaced with a fury Rarity had mirrored minutes earlier.

“She gave me a second chance?!” he hissed, and the skeptical laugh that followed echoed throughout the city. “Oh, that’s rich! My dear girl, is that what she told you?! Princess Twilight Sparkle, the benevolent pony?! Hah! HAH!” He slammed his paw against his chest. “I am the victim! I am the innocent! She and the others brought this upon themselves!”

“You were her friend!” Rarity shot back, matching the intensity of his words and expression.

“No!” Discord shot in return. “I was never her friend! But she was mine, and she betrayed me!”

And Rarity snapped.

“You trapped her in a library for a thousand years!” she yelled, and now the trashcan came flying at Discord, narrowly missing him. “You took everything away from her! She has done nothing to deserve—!”

“Then free her if you care so much, Rarity!” Discord replied, lowering himself until his face was merely inches away from hers. His voice lowered to a threatening whisper. “You talk big, don’t you, oh heroine?” He drew back and smiled, his ire fading. “What will it be, Rare-it-ee? Be the first pony to break the curse, or do nothing and go mad while your precious princess waits for a unicorn that will never come back?” He smiled and shrugged. “Either way, it’s still fun for me!”

That said, he let out an echoing laugh, and before Rarity could call to him or protest, he vanished out of sight.

“No! COME BACK, YOU COWARD!” she screamed, yet he did not do as she demanded. Instead, he left her to stand there, her chest heaving with every breath and with nothing more to do but reflect on the terrible things she’d learned.

After minutes went by, and she resigned herself to the fact that he would not return, she finally made her way back to the apartment.

The lights were turned on, and she found Rainbow Dash wide awake, apparently waiting for her. Rarity wanted to go to her bedroom; she did not want to talk or discuss or do anything, but she was allowed no such luxury.

“Rarity!” Rainbow exclaimed, jumping off the couch, and though she’d seemed initially filled with enthusiasm, it quickly faded after a closer glance at the unicorn. “Wh… what’s wrong? What did the Book Bringer tell you?”

Rarity stared at her. She felt tired. She felt so very tired.

“It was Discord I met in the Everfree Forest,” she said.

Rainbow Dash looked taken aback. “Yeah, you said… I mean, but, are you sure? Like, maybe he’s just—”

“That wasn’t the Book Bringer waiting for me downstairs,” Rarity interrupted, and it surprised her how casually it came out. It was like she was discussing the weather. Yes, it’s a balmy Sunday afternoon, and I’ve gone not to square one, but to something in the negative numbers.

“What?! But—!” Rainbow looked Rarity over in a panicked frenzy. “Are you okay?! What did he say?!”

“There is no way of freeing Twilight unless I break this curse, and the books are useless, and I’m as far away from Twilight as I will ever be,” she replied. “It’s been a long day. I’d like to go to sleep now. Is there anything else you’d like to discuss before I do so?”

Rainbow, for once, had nothing to say.

“Good night, then,” Rarity replied, turning around and trotting to her bedroom.

Once inside, she put her saddlebags on a chair, cleaned off her makeup, brushed her teeth, and got into bed, grabbing a nearby pillow and hugging it tightly to herself.

She’d thought for weeks now that no night would ever feel longer than the night she spent inside the train coming back from Canterlot.

It seemed she’d thought wrong.

That night, Rarity dreamt of Amethyst Wind one last time.

Two times she’d dreamt of her, of this fictional mare living a very real future, and two times had Rarity woken up with a dull pain in her chest. When she would, eventually, wake from that third and final dream, a simple ache wouldn’t be what she’d feel.

In her dream, the sun had just risen over Ponyville, bringing with it a summer day like any other, like all the ones Rarity had lived through in her years after going to the castle, without Twilight.

One would think that she’d make an exception for such a special day. That she wouldn’t bother with going through her entire routine. But she went through it regardless, her little way of honoring the days when her younger self had spent hours working on her appearance in the hopes of Princess Twilight commenting on it.

Settled down in front of her bathroom mirror, the elder pony combed her grey mane, put on her best eyeliner and eyeshadow, curled her eyelashes, and powdered her nose. She was not the stunning sight of her youth, no, but she was still quite something to behold. Her face, thinned with age, bore few wrinkles; she still had a full mane, and her coat retained its healthy sheen.

She stared at her reflection, her eyes dropping and lingering on her chest. She pressed her hoof on the spot where decades ago a pink necklace had hung. After a minute, her hoof fell and her eyes rose back to her face.

She asked herself if she was ready.

Yesterday, when the news had arrived, she had thought she was. But now, hours or even minutes away from meeting Princess Twilight Sparkle again, she realized that perhaps she was not ready at all.

“Rarity! It’s time!”

Rarity turned around and saw Amethyst peeking her head into the bathroom. She looked ecstatic, her eyes twinkling and Rarity’s old necklace hanging from her neck. She looked so happy, so terribly happy, and Rarity smiled in an attempt to be just as happy.

“It’s time!” she echoed, shooting one last glance at the mirror before turning to Amethyst with a bright smile.

“Are you still nervous?”

“Nervous?” Rarity asked. “Darling, I was never nervous.”

“Sure,” Amethyst said with a giggle. “And you totally didn’t try getting on the first train to Hollow Shades, either.”

Rarity gasped. “I did not!”

“Come on! She’s waiting in your studio!” Amethyst giggled again and disappeared into the hallway.

It took Rarity a moment, but eventually, she got up and followed after the younger mare. She descended slowly, carefully, every step heavier than the last, and though she told herself it was simply because of old age, she knew she was stalling for time.

But she did eventually reach her studio. As she’d learned with the passing of years, time was not kind to those who suffered, and it did not delay pain when it was due. She stood in the hallway for what seemed an eternity, heart beating right out of her chest, before finally going in and…

And finding nopony.

Irritation coursed through her. “Amethyst!” she called out, stepping into the room, grabbing a stray scrap of fabric off the floor and brusquely throwing it onto a nearby chair. “I don’t find this amusing at all!”

When no reply came, she huffed and walked over to her sewing machine, deciding she might as well work on her latest dress until such time Amethyst and… Twilight decided to be polite and give Rarity a minute of their time.

She levitated her glasses and put them on before adjusting the dress under the needle and—

“Rarity?”

There it was.

The voice of a lost legend, of times torn away from her, of a princess who haunted her every waking and sleeping moment. A voice Rarity hadn’t truly and fully realized how much she’d missed until that very moment.

She took a deep breath, reminded herself that she was over Twilight Sparkle, and then turned around.

Turns out, Rarity thought, I’m not ready at all.

There she stood, like a gift from the heavens, looking just as she had a long time ago.

There she stood, as real as she’d ever be.

There stood Princess Twilight Sparkle, finally free yet across an abyss carved between them, and how beautiful she looked. She was a vision, standing in silence under the frame of the door, her crown still gracing her head and her violet eyes penetrating to Rarity’s very soul.

What was she thinking? Was she shocked? Disappointed? Awed? They stared at each other across the threshold, as if once more a younger Rarity had been rescued from a tower of books and met the pony who’d damned her by saving her.

Twilight spoke first, if it could even be considered speaking. “I… I…”

“Might like tea?” Rarity ventured with a smile, knowing full well that was not what Twilight was thinking. “I might need some to soothe the shock out of me.”

And Princess Twilight Sparkle smiled.

Hours later, the princess stood in the corner of Rarity’s studio, and what a sight she still was, Rarity thought. An entire lifetime had passed since last they’d seen each other, and there was a certain melancholic pleasure at realizing the alicorn still took her breath away.

The princess—as she tended to call her ever since meeting Amethyst—breathed in and out, her curious eyes fixed on the sewing machine in front of her. Had things been different, had circumstance and destiny not gotten in the way, perhaps that scene would have come to be decades ago. Perhaps a younger Rarity would be standing beside her, teasingly pointing out that it won’t bite you, my darling.

But things were not different.

Twilight’s ears flicked, and she frowned lightly. That look of concentration Rarity had sorely missed, and wasn’t it incredible how so little had changed in so many years? Twilight took another deep breath and finally lifted her hoof, moving it toward the machine. Rarity watched in silence, lips brushing the rim of the teacup she held in her magic, and though she expected Twilight to touch the sewing machine, she lowered her hoof and took a dress in her hooves instead.

It did not go through her.

It was… it was surreal, really, to see Twilight play with the fabric, run her hooves over it. In the hours since they’d been reunited, Rarity had not approached Twilight closely enough for tact to play a part. No hoofshakes, or hugs, or…

She cleared her throat.

“What do you think?” she asked, stepping toward Twilight. “It’s my latest design!”

Twilight’s wings ruffled, and when she turned to Rarity, her eyes widened and her ears lifted. She’d done that several times now, as if her brain ground to a halt whenever she looked at the unicorn. But then she caught herself, and quickly looked back to the dress, the frown returning.

“Er… It’s very…”

“Goodness, am I such a jarring sight to behold you can’t stand to look at me for more than a second?” Rarity teased, even if her mock-offense wasn’t entirely false.

Immediately did Twilight turn back to her, a bright indignant blush burning up her cheeks. “What? No!” she blurted out, pressing the dress against her chest. “I just—!” She faltered and looked down. “It’s… It’s…”

Rarity laughed softly, placing her cup on a nearby table and catching Twilight’s attention once again. “I know, darling. I was only teasing. ’Tis a shame not all of us were blessed with eternal enchanting looks, hm?”

And finally, a sight for the sorest of eyes, Twilight offered an embarrassed smile.

She placed the dress back on the table and walked over to Rarity, finally taking a seat next to her. The distance between them was small, quite small, but to Rarity, it felt endless.

Three words hung on her lips. Not the three words everypony jumped to at the end of her romance novels, however, for she had long ago lost the privilege to even think of saying such a thing to Twilight.

I’ve missed you, is what she truly wanted to say, but she did not.

“Is it strange?” Rarity asked instead, because some words were better left unsaid. “To be…” She paused and a mischievous smile decorated her face. “To be alive again?”

The reaction was immediate.

“I wasn’t dead!” Twilight protested. “I—!”

“You were displaced in time,” Rarity finished, her delighted smile only deepening Twilight’s frown. The unicorn sighed and leaned back, levitating her teacup as if to take a sip. “I must confess that will never get old.”

Twilight laughed, and how Rarity had missed her laugh. “So, have you been practicing teleportation?” she asked, drawing a smile from the unicorn. “You must be an expert by now, right?”

Rarity sighed theatrically. “I fear I haven’t practiced teleporting in decades.”

“You haven’t?” Twilight asked, her brow furrowing, like time had rewound and they were back in the library so long ago. “Why not?”

Rarity smiled again.

“Isn’t it obvious, my darling?” She lifted her hoof and, without hesitation, brushed Twilight’s bangs back, allowing her hoof to later travel down the length of Twilight’s face and caress her cheek. She was soft. Princesses, she was softer than Rarity had ever dreamed she’d be.

“Is it?” Twilight asked, and though she tried to look stern, she sounded subdued, closing her eyes and leaning into Rarity’s touch, relishing it, the coveted first contact they had once dreamt of.

“What was the point of practicing teleportation,” Rarity whispered, “if you weren’t there to be impressed with my progress?”

There was a moment of silence.

Twilight opened her eyes, now twinkling with unshed tears. She let out a long breath she discovered she’d been holding, and Rarity wondered if she’d been waiting for that. The tacit confirmation that love had not died even then, and probably never would.

“Silly,” she whispered, lifting her hoof and pressing it against Rarity’s own. “That’s no reason to have stopped.”

“Now, now, Twilight. It’s unbecoming of a princess to cry,” Rarity whispered, tears bordering her own eyes as she slipped her hoof from under Twilight’s and then used it to cup the princess’s chin. “You’ve got an entire new life ahead of you now.”

“And you?” Twilight whispered back, and the words cut into Rarity’s heart like knives. How dare she, Rarity wanted to say, how dare she still have such a grip on her heart?

“Not quite as much as you do,” she replied, trying so terribly hard to sound nonchalant, like they were discussing the weather and nothing more. “But now that you’re out, I shall try and make the best of it, won’t I?”

Twilight’s eyes darkened and she looked away. “It hurts,” she said, and before Rarity could reply, she continued, “but it won’t hurt anymore if I never let anypony come close again, will it?”

Rarity stepped back. “Wh-what do you mean?” she asked, and she knew, deep down, something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

“You promised,” Twilight whispered. “You promised you’d come back. I guess you’re a liar too.”

And then, the dream shifted. It cracked, literally, into a thousand pieces, as if reality were a mirror shattering before her. The room blurred, and only Twilight was crystal clear, her eyes still distant, still dark. Before Rarity knew what had happened, Carousel Boutique and Twilight Sparkle were gone, and now she stood alone inside the library.

No, not inside the library. She stood inside the tunnel, and though she’d resumed her usual youthful appearance, she was too preoccupied with other matters to care. There, on the other side, she could see the library. She galloped toward it, and her attempt to call out Twilight’s name came to a strangled stop when she collided with the barrier.

Thrown back, she landed onto her haunches and stared, her heart beating frenetically in her chest.

“No,” she whispered, before getting up and colliding against the barrier again, and again, again. “No!” she yelled each time, until she found herself slamming her hooves against it. “Twilight?! Twilight, please! I’m here! Twilight!”

And with a crackle of magic, Princess Twilight Sparkle reappeared before her, sitting down on the other side of the barrier, and oh… oh, she looked different. The creature before her was not the smiling alicorn she’d talked to during their sleepover, but the distant spirit that had greeted her nearly a year ago.

“Twilight!” Rarity exclaimed nonetheless, her hooves pressed against the translucent barrier. So close, yet so far, so far, so far. “I can’t come in—! I don’t—!”

“Rarity isn’t coming back, is she?” Twilight said, and though it was phrased as a question, there was no uncertainty in it.

“What?! No! I’m here!” Rarity protested, banging her hooves against the barrier again and again and again. “Twilight!”

But Twilight did not see her. She saw right through her, right past her, because Rarity was nothing but a dream, it seemed, a ghost of the past. Elara arrived, sitting down next to her master, and the owl too looked into the tunnel and through the desperate unicorn.

Twilight laughed suddenly. A soft laugh, more like a chuckle, but there was no joy there. There was bitterness, and resignation, and… and disappointment.

“I should have known,” she said, and with a spark of magic, her necklace appeared before her. She stared at it for one, two, three seconds before unceremoniously tossing it into the darkness of the tunnel. “Maybe it’ll be better if no one can ever come back at all.”

Her horn lit up, and Rarity didn’t realize what she was doing until a bookcase in the distance levitated into the air, revealing behind it the creeping figure of the chaos puppet. Twilight Sparkle did not listen to Rarity’s desperate warnings as she levitated the bookcase all the way to the tunnel and then stepped back.

“Goodbye, Rarity,” she whispered, and for a split second she seemed to look at Rarity rather than through her, before finally dropping the bookcase in front of the tunnel.

“No!” Rarity screamed, and now the barrier turned pitch black as she banged her hooves against it. “Please! What are you doing?! Twilight! Don’t do this! Please! You’re better than this!” Rarity slammed herself against the barrier one last time before sliding down against it, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Please… Twilight…” she begged, but her pleading went unheard and unanswered, for she had caused this. She’d caused this, she had, she had. She had gone and cursed herself, and now Twilight Sparkle was paying the price, and it was all too much to bear.

And Rarity woke up.

She woke up inside her room in Canterlot, tears running down her face, an agonizing pain in her chest, and Discord’s words hissing in her mind.

“And now her only friends are gone forever! Poor little princess. I wouldn’t be surprised if that barrier’s turned pitch black.”

She buried her face in her hooves, trying to calm herself, trying to hold onto a rationality that was quickly slipping away. Hope was dying, coming undone, and in its wake so would she.

She needed to break the curse.

She needed to break the curse, or else it would consume her whole if it hadn’t already.

And so she would.

She got up from the bed, stumbling around and finding the light switch. Her breathing was erratic now, wild and unsteady, and it felt like she was fighting to breathe, to live. She scanned the room and saw her saddlebags.

She stared at them for a few seconds and then, only barely aware of the effort involved, her belongings levitated into the air and went straight for her saddlebags. Once the room was as empty as her mind, she grabbed them, put them on and went out.

She made it all the way to the darkness of the living room, but much like with Twilight in the dream, she was stopped right when she was closest. A pony came smashing against her, nearly tumbling her to the floor.

“Rarity?” Rainbow Dash’s urgent voice came. “Why are you up? Wait, never mind, tell me after I go to the bathroom because I’m like three seconds from… yeah…” Before Rarity could reply, Rainbow dashed away and turned on the lights. Her expression shifted the moment she saw saddlebags on the unicorn. “Rarity?! What—?! What do you think you’re doing?!”

Rarity stared at her.

And then she smiled.

“Rainbow, darling!” she exclaimed enthusiastically, because madmares were always quite cheerful, were they not? “Going to Hollow Shades to see Professor Awe, of course! Isn’t it obvious? He is my only hope at this point!”

Rainbow blanched. “Great, you’ve lost it.” She bit her lip, throwing the hallway to the bathroom a needy glance before turning to Rarity again. “Loo— Wait, you’ve been crying, too?” She rubbed her hoof against her forehead, for once looking at a complete loss. “Uhm, okay. Okay! Just…” She stepped forward, carefully grabbing Rarity’s saddlebags and putting them on the floor. “Don’t worry, Rares! I just—! Really need to go to the bathroom and then we’re going to Ponyville, and we’ll figure something out! Nopony has to go to Hollow Shades yet, okay? Okay! Awesome!”

Though Rarity did not protest, her smile did fade, and Rainbow seemed to take notice, now looking considerably more nervous.

“Look, just, come with me,” she continued, taking Rarity’s hoof and leading her away from the door and deeper into the apartment. Once they reached the bathroom door, Rainbow turned to Rarity. “Stay here and don’t do anything until I’m done, got it?”

Rainbow backtracked, still looking at the unicorn, and then carefully opened the bathroom door. Once she’d managed to go inside without losing sight of Rarity, she took a deep breath and smiled before closing the door and warning: “Stay. There. ’Cause I’m fast and you’re not, so I’m gonna catch up.”

Not even a minute had gone by since the door closed that Rainbow’s voice returned: “You’re still there, right?!”

“Yes,” came the toneless reply.

“Okay, keep staying there!”

And Rarity did indeed stay still.

But that wasn’t accurate, was it? How could Rarity stay there when Rarity wasn’t even there? Because the pony sitting there was somepony else, somepony else, somepony else, and the real Rarity—the adventurous one, the noble one—was in the library in the Everfree Forest.

She’d realized something, actually! In the midst of such madness and despair, who knew a clever thought could emerge! Because Discord hadn’t cursed her a month ago, oh no no no! She’d been cursed long before that day; it had been when she first stepped into the library.

Only now did she realize that while the library was Twilight’s physical prison, it had slowly but surely become her mental one as well. Because Twilight Sparkle lived consumed by obsession, and now Rarity too lived the same way. Because now, well and truly, she’d become as mad as Fritter Cobbler.

If a thread of sanity still held her together, it was fraying quickly now, and its damning moment came when her eyes landed on the single key inserted into the lock of an adjacent door. She stared at it for what felt eons, and then, in one swift motion, used her magic to take it out.

The key floated in mid-air.

Rarity stared at it, silently, quietly, the last shred of sanity in her begging her to reconsider.

And then the key floated toward the bathroom door’s lock, and Rarity’s morality fought harder and harder as the key slid into the lock with ease. Time came to a standstill. Her breathing slowed, her thoughts stopped, and everything hung in the balance of a single movement.

What would Twilight think of her?

What would she say if she could see her now?

And a memory resurged.

“Goodbye, Rarity.”

And the key moved with a click as the last thread in Rarity snapped.

There was a moment of silence, Rarity staring at the key in shock until Rainbow Dash spoke up.

“Rarity? What was that?!” Silence and then sound as Rainbow Dash tried in vain to open the door. “No! No, Rarity! Rarity, open the door! Open it!”

Rarity simply kept staring. It felt like an illusion. Like she was dreaming. Like a living nightmare, and surely she would wake up soon, wouldn’t she?

“Rarity!” Rainbow continued, sounding desperate now, her calls accompanied by pounding on the door. “Rarity! Why are you doing this?! Don’t! You’re better than this! I know you’re better than this, please!” How curious it was, to hear her nightmare in the flesh, but to be on the other side of the barrier. “Rarity!”

Rarity did nothing.

“Rarity! I’ll break the door down, I swear!” Rainbow threatened, and Rarity idly thought to herself that breaking such a thick mahogany door from inside such a small bathroom would be quite the feat. “Rarity, please! PLEASE! YOU’RE BETTER THAN THIS!”

And Rainbow was right.

Rarity was better than this, but Rarity was gone. She was gone, gone, gone and another mare stood in her place. Rainbow kept calling to her, and now to Apple Bloom, and in reply Rarity simply stood up. She stood up, slowly, quietly, terribly, and walked all the way to the living room, past Apple Bloom’s closed door, and once she was in the foyer, she put on her cloak, took her saddlebags, and walked out the front door.

What luck she had, to be in Canterlot! What luck, that trains departed every hour!

The train station was empty when she arrived, save for a few meandering ponies and employees. She approached the booth and smiled widely at the mare selling tickets. She reached into her bitbag, but as she did, she caught sight of her necklace.

For a moment, she hesitated.

For a moment, she told herself to reconsider.

For a moment, shame burned her.

And then the hesitation and the shame were smothered, and she took out her bitbag to pay for a single express train ticket to Hollow Shades.

She arrived an hour or so later, and here she saw ponies walking about, carrying lanterns and wearing cloaks. Off they went on their business, with their chores, these ponies that like the rest of Equestria were so blissfully and painfully unaware.

She looked up at the sky where moonlight shone down, and she thought of Pinkie Pie. She wouldn’t curse Pinkie Pie. She wouldn’t! Everything would be fine, and nopony would suffer anymore.

“Rarity!”

Rarity turned around, and her momentary panic was assuaged when she saw Elder Moonshine trotting toward her.

“My dear child, it’s nearly four in the morning! What are you doing here?” the elder asked, tapping her cane against the ground, as if she weren’t wandering around before dawn either. Another judge ready to condemn her actions, no doubt! “Pinkie didn’t tell me you were visiting at these hours.”

“I’m not!” Rarity quickly exclaimed, eager to get the conversation over with because she had very important matters to attend to. “I’m not here to see Pinkie at all, in fact! Terribly busy with other affairs.”

The elder furrowed her brow. “You seem troubled. Is everything all right? Should I get Pin—”

“Troubled? Oh goodness, no,” Rarity replied calmly because everything was fine! Fine, fine, fine, fine, fine! “I’m perfectly fine, never felt better! However, I must leave post-haste! So many things to do!”

Without allowing the elder to stop or continue questioning her, Rarity trotted off and made her way to the professor’s house. Upon arriving, hope rose within her at the sight of a few lights upstairs. She rushed to the door and knocked several times.

“Professor!” she called out. “Professor Awe!”

When no answer came, she stepped back and looked toward the upstairs rooms. She levitated a nearby broken branch and used it to knock on one of the lit windows.

“Professor! Wake up!”

The window eventually opened and Professor Awe’s head poked out, looking down at Rarity.

“Ah, Professor!” Rarity exclaimed with delight. “Good morning! May I come in?”

The professor stared at her for a moment before disappearing back into his apartment, leaving the window wide open. Rarity immediately rushed to the door and impatiently waited for it to open. She looked down to her necklace as she did so, and it was then that she noticed a most peculiar thing.

It was lightly glowing green, as it would in the Everfree Forest.

However, before she could dwell much on it, the door opened and revealed the professor, now sporting a very pronounced frown.

“Miss Rarity,” he said, and behind him floated a clock. “It’s four in the morning.”

Rarity laughed. “Oh goodness, is it? Time does fly by, does it not?” She cleared her throat and looked inside the house. “Might I come in, Professor? I must speak with you about an urgent matter.”

“Well, I’ll be glad to receive you tomorrow—er, today—at a normal hour. Good night,” he said, but his attempts to close the door were thwarted when Rarity used her magic to keep it firmly open. “Miss Rarity, this is—!”

“Professor.” Rarity smiled, and my, my, she struggled to keep her tone polite and kind. “Please.”

The professor groaned and pointedly rolled his eyes. “Very well,” he muttered, stepping away so Rarity could come in.

Without bothering to wait for him to lead her or offer anything to drink, Rarity rushed into his study, looking around at the papers and newspaper cut-outs plastered on the wall, trying to find anything that might help her.

“Well, what is this urgent matter that warrants such an early hour?” the professor asked, sitting down at the center table and staring Rarity down.

Rarity quickly sat opposite him, feeling so much more relieved. Finally, finally, she would end this curse! Surely!

“Well, you see, you are the expert on the Legend of the Four Princesses, and I need to know as much information as I can on how to break the curse,” Rarity asked, smiling brightly at him. She took a book from a nearby stack and began flipping through it. “You must have something!”

“The curse?” he asked. “You mean Princess Cadance’s Curse?”

Rarity nodded eagerly. “Yes! That one, exactly!” she said, closing the book and putting it aside.

The professor stared. “Well, for starters, Miss Rarity,” he began, sitting up straight, “it’s fake. It was merely a construct devised by Princess Cadance with the intention of covering the assassinations and having an excuse to be useless in ‘finding the princesses.’”

Rarity kept smiling, ignoring his forsaken theories. “I see,” she replied rather curtly. “But, hypothetically speaking of course, how would one go about breaking it if it were real?”

And again, the professor simply stared. “There is no ‘hypothetically,’ Miss Rarity. There is no way to break a curse that doesn’t exist. There’s nothing else to it.”

And Rarity’s smile faltered for a moment as she quietly dragged her hoof on the ground, like a cat dragging its claws on wood. Patience, Rarity, patience. “I understand that, Professor,” she repeated, and ah, she had to take a deep breath lest she break composure. “But, again, hypothetically speaking, how would one break it?”

“But—”

“Humor me, Professor Awe,” she interrupted, barely withholding the desire to slam her hoof against the ground. She then smiled, because oh dear dear dear, a lady did not act out, did she? “Surely a stallion of your intelligence can play pretend, can he not?”

The professor grunted. “There is information on how the curse might spread. For example, a bo—”

“Yes, yes, I don’t care about that,” Rarity interrupted. “I’m interested in how to break it.”

The professor grunted again, clearly displeased at the interruption. “Miss Rarity, no books explain how to break this curse, just as no books explain how to ‘hypothetically’ free these princesses. I did, admittedly, make some notes and theories on the subject a few years ago, but I hope you understand I’m not going to turn my house upside down at this hour for something like that.”

Rarity forced a smile. Deep breaths, now, darling.

“Well, I shall come tomorrow, then. At a more reasonable hour,” she relented, because yes, she could wait a few more hours! What were three or four hours to a lifetime? Nothing! Nothing at all! “I’m sure eight o’clock will be an agreeable time!”

“You may come at whatever hour you like, Miss Rarity, but you will leave empty-hooved,” the professor replied, raising an eyebrow. “All my notes on the curse, if I still have them, are at my home in Rainbow Falls, not here.”

Rarity gritted her teeth. “Professor.” She forced herself to smile again. “That won’t be an issue, of course! We can go to Rainbow Falls tomorrow! I shall even pay for your ticket!”

And at this, the professor snorted. “Miss Rarity, I don’t know what is your obsession with this fake curse, but I am not going to go anywhere! I have things to do—things, might I add, that I could be doing now—and if you want any information on a fictional curse, you’ll have to wait until next month when I’ve gone back to Rainbow Falls!”

Next month.

She blinked at him because he was joking, was he not? He was joking, he was delusional, he was cruel if he thought she should wait another month. This past month had felt like years to her, and now he wanted her to wait another?

“I can’t afford to wait a month!” Rarity snapped, her patience having worn out. “I need to know how to break it now!”

And the professor stood up. “There is no curse! And if there is, then there is simply no way to break it! And now, I insist you—!”

“I AM cursed, Professor!” Rarity interrupted, loudly, clearly, angrily, now broken beyond repair, standing up and slamming her hoof against the table. Every word that came out of his mouth now felt like an attack, like somepony else telling her to stop, to calm down, and so help her, if he dared say the curse was fake one more time… “Princess Denza cursed me! And you will help me find a way out of it, and I don’t care if you think it’s fake or not!”

“But there is no cur—!”

That did it. The final button pressed, the last cable cut, and the ticking time bomb inside Rarity reached the end of its counter.

“Yes, there IS!” she roared, grabbing him with her magic and slamming him against the nearest wall. She was gone now, and she knew this fact, yet she could not bring herself to care. She had been driven to this point, pushed past her limit, and if the world was intent on crushing her, she would not go down without a fight.

“Wh-what is wrong with you?!” Professor Awe demanded, trying in vain to free himself of Rarity’s magic grip. “This is una—”

“Unacceptable?! I will tell you what’s unacceptable because I am the one threatening you now, Professor!” Rarity snapped, pushing him as much as she could against the wall and then coming closer so she was right in front of him. “I found Princess Twilight Sparkle months ago, and now I cannot find her again because the Spirit tricked me into getting cursed!”

“Listen to yourself!” he protested. “You’ve gone mad!”

And Rarity laughed, and indeed did she laugh like the madmare she was. “Oh, my dear professor, I do not contest that! And now, you too are cursed!” The manic glee disappeared from her face, and her threat continued. “So listen carefully to me now, yes? You will take the next train to Rainbow Falls with me, and you will help me break this forsaken curse, or so help me I’ll—”

Her sentence cut-off when she felt somepony grab hold of her, hugging her in a desperate attempt to get her away from the professor.

“Rarity! Please, stop!”

Rarity’s entire world indeed came to a stop. It came crashing down on her, tearing her open with nothing but the sound of Pinkie Pie’s voice. That was not the calm before the storm. It was the calm after the storm that had left destruction in its wake.

Rarity turned around and there she saw Pinkie Pie, her eyes filled with tears and something else, something much worse. Rarity saw fear. A fear that was caused by and directed at herself, and it was only until that terrible moment that reality caught up to the unicorn.

She wasn’t having a nightmare.

Everything was real, and everything hurt, and she was the monster now.

She turned to the professor, and he was still in her grip, and the sight of her own magic holding him terrified her, shocked her into letting go. She stepped back, afraid of herself, and her hoof flew to her mouth. No. No, she hadn’t meant for this to happen. Please, she hadn’t, please.

“Ra-Rarity?”

And again she turned to Pinkie Pie, the one pony who’d been saved from the curse, the one pony who could have helped, and now Rarity had… had…

“I’m sorry,” Rarity whispered, tears stinging at her eyes, and she apologized again though she knew no amount of apologies would help or fix what she’d done. She turned to the professor, who was only now standing up, and she stepped back, back, back, back until she collided against the table, and she realized it was all too terrible to bear.

So she fled.

She ran, out the room, out the door, out into the somber town. She ran toward something or nothing, toward a place that would make it all stop, that would end the nightmare she could not wake from and she had herself brought forth.

When she ran out of breath and energy, she looked up to see where she was, and realized destiny was not done with her yet when her eyes landed on the statue of Princess Luna.

She fell to her haunches in front of it, staring up at the lonely princess, beseeching her for answers, for forgiveness. She pressed a foreleg against the statue, and stared at her own hoof, the feeling of the cool marble showing her that this was no dream. She really had attacked the professor, she really had come to Hollow Shades, she really had been attacked by timberwolves, and she really would never see…

“Rarity!”

She turned around to see Pinkie running toward her, carrying Rarity’s saddlebags with her, and oh, how Rarity wanted to scream. How she wanted to tell her to leave, leave, leave. Let me be, she thought, let me be, please.

“Rarity…?” Pinkie said when she’d arrived, and though the fear was gone, the sadness remained.

“I miss Twilight,” Rarity whispered.

The three words she’d been avoiding for weeks now, because the implications of them were too much.

But she’d said them now, and she buried her face in her hooves. She missed Twilight. She missed her so much and so viscerally, it was like raging fire in her chest, like water drowning her lungs, like a dagger through her chest that she’d tried and tried to ignore even though it was killing her.

She missed her, and she would never see her again.

Some way or another, amidst the pretense of duties and adventures, of doing it for the greater good, Rarity had let herself need Twilight just as—or perhaps more than—Twilight needed her.

“Ra-Rarity, we’ll figure something out!” Pinkie said, still trying to be cheerful, be optimistic despite the odds. “It-It’s okay! We’ll figu—!”

“No, it’s not okay,” Rarity choked out, face still in her hooves, because it wasn’t okay, because it would never be okay, because now she understood far too late that it would never be over.

There was no moving on from this. There was no licking her wounds and finding a new path, because for the rest of her life, Rarity would live every day knowing Twilight was still trapped in the library. For the rest of her life, she would wake every day with the knowledge that she had lost Twilight to a forest, and to that same lost princess she’d lost her heart, wholly and completely.

“I wish I’d never found her.”

The whispered words came unbidden from her mouth; the terrible, terrible confession.

“No, you don’t!” Pinkie immediately gasped, but Rarity nodded her head because yes she did.

“I wish I’d never met her,” she repeated, because it was too much, too much, and she hadn’t wanted that. Because that wasn’t a fairy tale anymore, that wasn’t a happy ending, that was cruel.

“No, you don’t,” Pinkie repeated, softer now.

There was a second of silence, before Rarity whispered into her hooves: “No, I don’t.”

No, she did not regret anything. She did not regret a single decision, not a day she had spent with Twilight Sparkle, and even if it was a pain that would follow her eternal, she would never wish Princess Twilight Sparkle hadn’t stolen her life away.

If she could do it all again knowing this was the only fate she could achieve, she would not even hesitate.

“You wanna know a secret?”

Rarity looked up at Pinkie through her puffy, reddened eyes, for a blissful moment pulled away from her pain. “Wh-what?”

Pinkie Pie sat down on her haunches, her smile fading. “I don’t think I’m going to get to see Princess Luna be free.”

When Rarity did nothing but stare in disbelief, because how could Pinkie of all ponies think that, the pink mare continued, pawing at the ground. “I don’t have any books, and I don’t even know where Princess Luna is. But…” She sat up straight, her ears flipping up, and she smiled. “Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try, right? Don’t you want Princess Twilight to be free, even if it isn’t because of you?”

“Of course I do,” Rarity whispered, because how could she not? How could she not want Twilight free and happy?

“Then we have to keep looking!” Pinkie continued, hopping up. “We need to get aaaaaaall the information we can, and then other ponies can use it to find the princesses!”

“But we can’t,” Rarity weakly protested. “I’ve cursed you now, and… and you’ll never see…” She buried her face in her hooves. “I’m sorry…”

Pinkie blew raspberries. “Pshhh, a silly curse won’t keep me away from Princess Luna, silly, just like a silly curse won’t keep you away from Princess Twi,” she exclaimed, trotting over and plopping herself down next to Rarity. She yawned and cuddled up to the unicorn. “I’m gonna ask her to do something really special just for you, ’kay?”

Rarity offered a half-smile. “Oh? Shall I be prepared for the princess to smite me?” she asked, but the reply she received was a soft snore. She blinked at the pink mare before letting out a long sigh and looking up to the sky, where the stars twinkled all over.

What a beautiful night, she thought, for such a terrible day.

She looked down, into the town, and in the distance she saw a couple trot by, snuggled together with their tails intertwined. She followed them with her eyes, watched as they laughed, and it was sad, wasn’t it? Sad that months ago, such a sight would have filled Rarity with hope for a similar future, and now…

She didn’t know how to break the curse. She didn’t know if it could even be broken.

She might never see Twilight again.

When the couple disappeared, off to their happy ending, Rarity looked up at the sky again. Twilight deserved a future like that. She remembered Twilight smiling in the library, laughing without restraint, and for once, free from her demons.

More than her own happiness, Rarity realized, she wanted Twilight’s, who… who had been left to suffer for far too long. She wanted the alicorn to have days in the sun again, to discover the marvels of the world, be it with Rarity or…

Tears bordered her eyes anew, a common occurrence nowadays. There truly would be no moving on from this, would there? It would haunt her every day. Her personal demon, her Amethyst Wind, and yet… and yet Twilight had been fighting for much longer, hadn’t she?

For the sake of Twilight’s happiness, Rarity would fight her own demons, if only so that one day, in the near or distant future, Twilight could leave hers behind.

The minutes went by, Rarity left to her thoughts, until a third pony arrived in the shape of a very out-of-breath Rainbow Dash landing in front of her.

“Rarity! There you are!” she said between breaths. Her nostrils flared and she stamped a hoof against the ground. “I had to fly Apple Bloom here with me! Do you even know how much she weighs?! And I have to get Spitfire a new door now, because… because…” She drifted off, and it seemed like only now had she taken a good look at the unicorn. Her anger faded, as did her ears lower. “…Are you okay?”

Rarity smiled. “Do I look okay?”

“You look terrible.”

“Do I?” Rarity asked, offering a bright grin and running a hoof through her mane. “Why, thank you! It’s my latest creation: the ‘Absolute Meltdown’! I’m trying to stay ahead of the trends, you see.”

“Yeah, I see.” Rainbow glanced at Pinkie Pie. “Is she like… you know…”

“I don’t know,” Rarity said, and her smile vanished. “I suppose we shall find out when she wakes up.” She lowered her gaze and brushed the hair out of Pinkie’s face. “I’ve really done it now, haven’t I? I can’t even begin to think how I’ll make up for this.”

“You got that right,” Rainbow said sternly, until finally her ears lowered and she looked away. “But… I guess we could have done more stuff to make you feel like we do care. Sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too.”

Rainbow trotted over toward the unicorn and sat on the opposite side of where Pinkie was. “Now what?”

Rarity sighed. “We wait for her to wake up, and after that… I don’t know.”

“Don’t know? Don’t know what?” Pinkie asked, blinking at Rarity. She sat up, let out a loud yawn and then gasped. “Oh! It’s Rainbow Dash! Hiiiii!” Her smile faded. “Why’re you lookin’ at me like that?” she asked when Rarity and Rainbow simply stared at her with expectant eyes. “Oh. Oh!” She clapped her hooves together. “I got to see Princess Luna! She says hi,” she said with all the nonchalance in the world.

Rainbow’s sigh of relief matched Rarity’s, the two of them leaning against the statue. Oh, thank goodness, Rarity thought. Thank goodness, thank goodness, thank goodness.

“Sillies,” Pinkie said, suddenly. “I thought you guys didn’t want to be my friends, anymore. I was really sad.” She stuck out her tongue. “But you should know no dumb curse is going to stop me, anyways!”

“See, Rarity? You can want to beat this curse and not be a drama queen about it,” Rainbow playfully noted, grinning when Rarity rolled her eyes.

“Hardy har har,” she muttered. She and the others stayed in silence for a few minutes before she finally took her saddlebags from the floor and levitated them over. “Very well, the show must go on. I have to go back to the professor’s house and…” She rubbed a hoof against her face. Oh dear, that was going to be a very difficult apology. On the bright side, maybe now he’d actually help.

She made a move to stand up, but when she levitated the saddlebags higher, the scroll tucked away at the top fell out and landed in front of her, sending a jolt through her heart. She lowered her things and carefully took Twilight’s letter into her hooves.

The time had come, it seemed.

“What’s that?” Pinkie asked with interest. “Who’s it from?!”

“Twilight,” Rarity replied. “I…” She faltered. “I haven’t read it.”

“What?! Are you kidding me?!” Rainbow blurted, standing up. “Rarity, if that thing has a way to stop the curse, I’m going to kill you!”

Shame burned Rarity, and though she wanted to protest, she couldn’t. If that letter did indeed have the key to ending the curse, she’d be elated and then Rainbow could forget about killing her because she’d do it herself.

“Well, come on!” Rainbow pressed, and Rarity bit her lip.

The show must go on, she told herself, unfurling the scroll and beginning to read.

Dear Rarity,

I’m not sure how to say this, and I don’t want to, but this is probably the last time I’ll be writing to you.

I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to say. I’ve written fifteen drafts of this letter.

Did you know my chest hurts? It’s actually fascinating! I didn’t know it could hurt like this. I think it’s what you explained once. Phantom pains? I wrote a small research paper about it between the sixth and seventh draft of the letter. It’s only thirty pages long, which is pretty poor for a first draft, I think, but I’m sure it’ll increase with revisions.

I don’t know how to break your curse. I’ve read all the books I have on the matter, and I can’t find anything that might help. I tried trapping the chaos magic from the maze again, but it’s even more volatile. I think it knows. It probably knows. I wrote a research paper on that too, which I’ll try sending to you if this isn’t my last letter.

You haven’t written to me yet. Of course you haven’t! You can’t! Fluttershy said in her letter that you were in a medical facility, and then I told the owls to stop guiding you to the library. Are you angry at me? They are, at least. Themis ignored me for… Well, I don’t know how long, since my clock and calendar had an accident I’d rather not discuss, but it felt like a long time. And Elara didn’t clean up my papers. I didn’t even realize I had so many of them lying around until now.

I think I’m scared of getting a letter from you. Not because I don’t want to! I miss you. I really miss you. I just worry one day you’ll stop sending letters, just like I always worry one day you’ll stop coming. And now you did. And so one day you’ll stop sending letters.

I’m going to try to find a way to break the curse, or at least, I’m going to wait for you. I’m not going to give up. You promised you’d come back, and I trust you.

I don’t need to send letters anymore, because I know I’ll tell you anything else I have to say when you come back.

Yours,

Twilight

“‘I don’t need to send letters anymore,’” Rarity read aloud, eyes sparkling with tears and a smile gracing her lips, “‘because I know I’ll tell you anything else I have to say when you come back.’”

A moment of silence followed as Rarity folded the scroll, and though she opened her mouth to speak, Pinkie was faster.

“Princess Twilight is so silly!” she said, crossing her forelegs and frowning. “Couldn’t she have started the letter with that?!”

Another brief silence before, for the first time in what felt ages, Rarity giggled, and what a heavenly feeling it was. She’d missed it so, so, so much.

“Hey, this isn’t all on Princess Twilight!” Rainbow shot back, but she too was smiling. “Rarity could have actually read the entire thing, too, y’know!”

And Rarity’s giggling turned to laughter, pressing the letter against her chest, and for the first time in forever, the thought of Twilight wasn’t a painful one.

Her silly little princess who she’d fight for, come what may.

“Oh dear, we truly are a match made in heaven, aren’t we?” she asked, and her cheeks hurt from smiling, because how she’d missed smiling and laughing and feeling that things might turn out all right after all.

Rainbow Dash stood up, finally, and she too looked better than she had in weeks. “Come on! This curse ain’t going to break itself if we just sit here laughing.” She flew up into the air. “I’ll see you at the hotel!”

Rarity and Pinkie watched her go, and once she’d disappeared from sight, Pinkie jumped up.

“Come on, Rarity!” she said, offering her hoof to the unicorn. “We’ve gotta help rescue the princesses, even if…”

Rarity didn’t reply, holding the letter close to her chest.

“Come on…” Pinkie encouraged with a smile. “Even if…”

“Even if it might not happen in our lifetimes,” Rarity said, though she felt no pain in such a statement anymore, for she had a promise she intended on keeping. She took Pinkie’s hoof, stood up, and then took a deep breath.

“Now we just gotta figure out what to do!” Pinkie exclaimed, trotting off into the town. “Any ideas?”

Rarity glanced back at the statue of Princess Luna, before following Pinkie Pie into whatever awaited them.

Perhaps, she thought, feeling sincerely hopeful for the first time in ages, my glowing green necklace might be a good place to start.

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Interlude VIII ~ A Better Future ~

Author's Note

...When the night has come
And the land is dark...

~ Interlude VIII ~ A Better Future ~

“Does something trouble you, little one?”

Pinkie’s ears twitched, her eyes fixed on the night stars reflected in the endless lake before her. She wanted to look up to her friend, but instead she stared down at the lake’s surface, lifting her hoof and dipping it into the water, watching as the ripples distorted her reflection.

“She’ll be okay, right?” she asked, finally, turning up to the princess.

Princess Luna smiled softly, glancing down at the mare. “Curious. Was it not you who assured her she would be?”

“’Cause she will!” Pinkie exclaimed immediately. “She’ll be okay!” She paused and once more looked down at the water. “I just…”

Princess Luna lifted her hoof, and with it did a trail of white smoke rise from the ground. Her horn flashed, and Pinkie saw Rarity reflected in the smoke, as if it were a screen. The unicorn was sitting inside a train carriage, silently looking out the window.

“She has been damaged,” the princess said sternly. “Her dreams have not been kind to her. They have haunted her.” Her horn flashed and the image on the smoke changed, now reflecting Twilight hugging a mare Pinkie had never seen before. “And they will haunt her still.”

“Can’t you fix it?” Pinkie asked, finding she did not want to keep looking at the smokescreen.

“Not all nightmares happen within my realm, little one,” the princess said. “If one does not face one’s fears, they may come true in the end.” She lowered her hoof, allowing the wisps of smoke to disperse and disappear. “But…”

Pinkie looked up. “But…?”

“But perhaps you should have faith in her.”

The princess stood up and turned around. When Pinkie did the same, she was surprised to find a white door in the distance. She followed Princess Luna all the way to the door, and she stood back when the alicorn opened it with her magic.

“Are we going into her dreams?” Pinkie asked.

Princess Luna did not reply. She merely stepped through, prompting Pinkie to quickly follow. When she crossed the threshold, the door disappeared and she found herself on the sidewalk of a bustling city.

“Oh! I know this place!” Pinkie exclaimed, jumping in place. “This is Manehattan! I came here, ’member?!” She looked around and pointed toward a large white building nearby. “That’s the train station!”

Princess Luna merely smiled. “And a most important train has arrived.”

Prompted by the statement, Pinkie stared at the train station’s entrance, and her heart jumped when she finally saw Rarity stepping out into the street. What struck Pinkie the most, however, wasn’t the lack of scars, but how happy Rarity looked.

“What’s she doing?” Pinkie whispered urgently, but received a cryptic smile in reply.

She turned back to Rarity, watching as the unicorn rushed back into the station and Pinkie’s eyes filled with tears when a giggling Rarity returned in the company of a blindfolded alicorn.

Princess Twilight Sparkle took several tentative steps forward, looking around and trying to find the source of Rarity’s laughter. Before she could do so, Rarity magicked the blindfold off, and an excited giggle left Pinkie’s lips as Twilight looked at the city before her, mouth hanging open.

The younger princess rushed toward a nearby cab, and then turned to the giddy unicorn, flagging her down with unrestrained excitement before trotting off into the street, Rarity trotting after her.

“Yes, little one,” Princess Luna said, “I believe that Rarity will be all right. Perhaps even better than she ever was.”

~ Act III ~ 30 ~ The Magic of Hollow Shades ~

It was an uncontested fact, or at least it should have been, that properly recovering from a meltdown was one of the most exquisite art forms.

One should always apologize, of course, but more than that, there should be pride in the act! Yes, all the proverbial marbles had been lost, thrown overboard to drift in the sea of insanity, but it was an act of passion! An act of beautiful desperation, and one should own it! Wear it like a badge of honor, like a trophy to be disp—

“You’ve been quiet, Miss Rarity. Are you perhaps contemplating when next to slam me against a wall?”

Sitting on Professor Awe’s living room couch, Rarity took a deeeeep breath. “Professor,” she said, trying hard to remember that she did, in fact, deserve his ire. She put her cup of tea on a nearby table and watched as the stallion turned back to his chalkboard. “I understand you’re upset, and you should be! But for Denza’s sake, it’s been three days, and I’ve already apologized twenty times at least! Really!”

Professor Awe snorted. “Ah, but apologies aren’t a very effective painkiller. Speaking of which…” With a smile, he excused himself and left the room, allowing Rarity to stew in her own shame.

Rarity’s cheeks burned, and she directed a miffed stare at her tea. She felt inclined to call out to the professor that if his back still hurt after three days, then either he was lying or needed to see a doctor, but she refrained. In the back of her mind, she knew she had to keep her mouth shut, no matter how much she detested the constant reminders of her… incident.

Though Pinkie and her friends back home had apparently let her off the hook for now, she could still feel her own judgement weighing upon her. She missed Twilight terribly, but dwelling on her actions would prove useless, wouldn’t it?

Come now, Rarity. Now more than ever you must be positive.

She stood up and trotted toward the large grey machine that sat in the room, long sheets of paper trailing down from its tray. She’d seen it once before, back in Rainbow Falls, and only vaguely remembered what it did. Some sort of magic analyzing device?

The professor came back moments later, giving Rarity the opportunity to showcase her new positive attitude.

“In any case, Professor, I must say I’m thrilled you’ve agreed to help us,” she said, poking at the machine with her hoof.

Truthfully, there was some sort of liberation that came with no longer fighting the curse and accepting they were all doomed to live with it.

She could think clearer now, at the very least.

She glanced toward a nearby table where pictures of Twilight lay scattered along with some of the professor’s notes. She walked over and lifted one of the pictures, smiling at Twilight’s grinning face. For a moment, she felt her eyes fill with unshed tears, as they often did nowadays when she thought too long about her princess.

Goodness, I miss you.

She forced her eyes away from Twilight and settled them instead on the photo of the CMC’s look-a-like contest. Apple Bloom looked quite happy in it, a stark contrast to how she’d looked when Rainbow Dash had taken her back home.

“A shame you think these are fake,” she said, forcing her thoughts in a different direction.

The professor grunted, putting his chalk away and trotting toward his machine. “I am a stallion of science. I don’t believe in silly pony tales, but when there is something real and plausible to investigate, I will do as much.”

Rarity noticed bags under his eyes. “You’ve had trouble sleeping lately, haven’t you?” she asked, watching as he punched data into the machine. “I heard you pacing at quite unheavenly hours. Something wrong?” She bit her lip. “…Unpleasant dreams, perhaps?”

“I’ve had no such things!” he exclaimed, anger flaring for a moment. “And my sleep habits are none of your concern, might I add!”

Rarity arched an eyebrow. What a strong reaction! Maybe he was visited by the princess… If so, she envied him. Three nights she’d spent in Hollow Shades, and the one time in weeks that she wanted dreams, she wasn’t having any!

Then again, there was a very real possibility Princess Luna would give her the earful of her life, so perhaps there was some silver lining to the dark cloud of her dreamless nights.

“All right, all right! No need to get riled up,” she said, moving on with the conversation. She cleared her throat and approached the machine. “So, how is this device supposed to help us…?”

“Well, in order to show you, I need your magic receptacle,” he said, offering his hoof to her while continuing to look at his machine.

“The magic rece—? Oh, you mean the necklace!” Her hoof shot up to the broken necklace hanging from her neck. “Ah…” She took it off, her eyes observing the light green necklace. “You… Well, you won’t break it, will you?”

The professor glanced at her. “It’s already damaged.”

Rarity scowled. “Yes, I know that. But this necklace is the last thing I have of Twilight.”

He smiled. “Ah, yes, the imaginary princess for whom you slammed me against a wall.”

Rarity stamped her hoof on the floor. Really, it was getting excessive! “Professor! If this is going to be your attitude, then I’ll—!”

“Find somepony else with a magic analyzer to help you?” he interrupted, turning back to the machine. When Rarity replied with begrudging silence, he smiled and extended his hoof toward her. “Necklace, if you please.”

Rarity pursed her lips and made sure to take her necklace off in the single most indignant way she could. It was as if he wanted her to be in a sour mood. Once it was off, she delicately placed the necklace in his hoof, harrumphing for good measure.

“If it breaks, Professor…” she warned.

He turned to her with a smile. “You’ll sla—” Thankfully, for once, her deadly expression silenced him.

Frowning, he opened a small slot in the machine and placed the necklace inside. Once it closed, he cast a spell on the machine and it quickly whirred into motion, an aura of magic flickering to life around it. Sheets of papers with what Rarity supposed were statistics poured out, sliding down to the floor at the base of the machine. It wasn’t until a considerable heap had piled up that the machine finally stopped, and the professor ripped the top sheet free and began to read.

“Well?!” Rarity asked, trotting over and trying to read over his shoulder. “What does it say?”

The professor cleared his throat. “The spell is of magic detection, as you said. However, it seems my machine cannot determine the magic inside the necklace. Considering I’ve acquired samples of nearly ninety-nine percent of magic creatures in Equestria, we can safely assume this is chaos magic.” He cleared his throat. “And that’s it.”

“That’s it?” Rarity exclaimed. “That’s nothing! I already knew all that! There must be something else!”

She tried to grab the sheet, but he pulled it away and continued reading.

“It also has information on the caster, which is the section that really matters, since I’ll use it to prove you wrong!” he exclaimed with surprising glee. He cleared his throat and stood up straight. “As I assume you are aware, the books of the late Princess Twilight have a preservation spell. I analyzed it with my machine, and the result was an amalgamation of pegasus, earth pony, and unicorn magic, therefore an alicorn, and it says here that…” He squinted his eyes, reading the sheet, and a moment later, his smug smile vanished entirely. “Hm.”

“What?” Rarity asked, and now she was the one smiling. “Found something interesting?”

The professor coughed. “Not at all. I’ll have to run the test again, since there was a—hey!”

Rarity snatched the sheet from him, jumping away before he could take it. “Magic… Fifty percent… Spell… AH-HAH!” She turned to him, a wicked smile on her face as she practically hopped in shameless joy. “Alicorn! It says alicorn! Ha ha ha! Alicorn!” She then stopped herself, cleared her throat, and hoofed it back to him. “What an unexpected turn of events! Surprising for you, I assume, but—” She fluttered her eyelashes. “—these are the facts.”

Before Professor Awe could voice his indignant reply, a door slammed open from beyond the room, and a piercing voice filled the air.

“Professor Meanie-Pants!”

The professor blanched. “Oh no.”

Pinkie Pie bounded into the room, looking happier than ever as she quite literally giggled her way toward Rarity and the professor.

“Soooooooooo,” she said, bouncing in circles around the increasingly irritated stallion. She finally came to a stop right in front of him, and the smug smile on her lips filled Rarity with pride. “What’cha think of Princess Luuuuuuuna, huh?”

Rarity faux-gasped. “My, my, my, Professor!”

“Ex-excuse me, but I have no idea who you’re referring to!” he blurted out, the fluster on his face clearly indicating otherwise. “I think nothing of her because she is not real!”

“Now, Professor, denial brings about nothing but misery,” Rarity chided. “I, sadly, know that too well.”

“I am not in denial!” he protested, stamping his hoof against the floor. “And that is hardly relevant, so if you are done with this nonsense, I would like to get back to the princess! I mean, necklace!”

He turned around, opened a different compartment in the machine, and extracted a small grey rectangular device with antennas, a light bulb, and a glass-covered indicator with an arrow for measuring, Rarity supposed, magic.

“Oooh, what’s that for?” Pinkie asked, apparently falling for the professor’s distraction.

“This,” the professor said, showing the device to Pinkie and Rarity, “is what we will use to discover the source of the chaos magic in Hollow Shades, if there truly is any, as Miss Rarity claims. It’s something I’ve been working on for quite some time now!”

He turned back to the machine and lifted the necklace again. Rarity felt inclined to warn him again not to damage it, but she instead withheld the desire and watched as he opened a small compartment on the portable device and placed the necklace inside. When the door clicked shut, the lightbulb turned on and the arrow moved upwards a quarter of an inch.

“As long as we have this, we can trace the source of the chaos magic,” the professor continued, turning off the larger machine with his magic and trotting away from it. He grabbed a saddlebag from a chair and turned to the two mares. “I suggest we find the limits of the chaos magic, first. I take it you don’t know when your necklace began to glow?”

Rarity coughed awkwardly. “Ah, I fear not. I was a bit, er, distracted at the time,” she replied.

“Well then,” he replied, trotting toward the exit of the room. “I hope you ladies enjoy exercise.”

“How curious, Professor,” Rarity said, going after him. “I thought you’d be the least interested in helping us prove the existence of long-gone princesses. Did you have a change of heart?”

The professor stopped and waved his device. “This has changed things, Miss Rarity. I’d never been able to study chaos magic before, but now… Now I’ll see what role it played in the princesses’ assassinations!”

Rarity sighed. I should have known.

After a precursory investigation, Rarity and the others discovered that the chaos magic was effectively contained to just Hollow Shades, much like in the Everfree Forest. Unfortunately, though it was a valuable piece of information, it didn’t in any way help them.

“I don’t understand,” Rarity complained, looking up at Princess Luna’s statue, as if beseeching her for an answer. “What’s the point of it?”

“Point?” Pinkie asked, blinking. “Silly Rarity! There is no point! The magic is a big circle around the town, not something with a pointy part!”

“I believe she meant what the chaos magic is here for, Miss Pie,” Professor Awe said, fiddling around with the device. “And the unfortunate answer is that there seems to be no reason for it.” He looked up and gestured vaguely with his hoof. “It just seems to be there.”

“There must be a reason!” Rarity insisted, turning to them. She liked to think she’d learned enough of Discord’s modus operandi to know that something had to be happening somewhere. “The Everfree has those forsaken timberwolves, the library has the maze, the caves in Rainbow Falls have the drawings!”

She stepped toward the town, thinking back to how she’d managed to trigger the magic on previous occasions.

“I know where Princess Twilight is!” she exclaimed, narrowing her eyes and glaring at her surroundings, expecting something to happen. “I am freeing her, and nothing you do will stop me!”

“Yeah!” Pinkie jumped in, glaring at the ground and stamping her hooves against it. “She’s gonna be free, and she’s going to come here, and free Princess Luna, and then you’ll be super sorry about what you did!”

Rarity turned to the professor. “Well?” she asked, watching as he inspected the device. “Any luck?”

The professor didn’t look up. “None.”

Rarity let out a frustrated sigh. As much as she hated to admit it, there was a possibility that the chaos magic truly wasn’t doing anything at all. If it was, the townspeople would have discovered it centuries ago, wouldn’t they? Rarity very much doubted the entire town was keeping secrets from Pinkie and the professor specifically, after all.

“Come on! Tell us!” Pinkie insisted, practically yelling now as she continued to stamp her hooves against the ground, trying to will the magic into doing something. “Meanie, meanie, meanie!”

“…Is there a problem, Pinkie?”

A stallion had approached them, and rather than concerned, Rarity could only describe his expression as “put off.” She quickly stood up, realizing she and Pinkie had been making something of a scene, but before she could excuse herself on Pinkie’s behalf, the pink pony spoke up.

“Oh! Hi, Odyssey!” she squeaked, bolting upright and away from him toward Rarity, holding onto the unicorn. “This is my friend, Rarity!”

“Oh, hello!” Rarity greeted, smiling brightly despite the concern she felt at just how tightly Pinkie was grasping her. She remembered the treatment Pinkie usually received from the other townsfolk, and her chest tightened. Nevertheless, she would remain courteous until given a reason not to be. “Lovely to meet you!”

He smiled at her. “Same.” He turned to Pinkie and playfully raised an eyebrow. “So, I’m guessing she doesn’t know about Moonlight Lullaby, then?”

“You mean Princess Luna?” Rarity asked immediately, hardly able to keep her smile at, unfortunately, realizing her show of faith had been misplaced.

The stallion laughed. “Heh. Imaginary friends can be whoever you want them to be, right?” he asked, and the wink that followed clearly demonstrated he expected Rarity to follow along with his “teasing,” if it could even be called such.

“H-hey!” Pinkie started, obviously a fighter until the very end. “She’s not imagina—”

“What a curious thing for you to imply,” Rarity interrupted, allowing her previously genuine smile to lose all of its sincerity. She tilted her head to the side and frowned. “Don’t you believe in the princesses? Hollow Shades is known for its enthusiasm for the legend, after all.”

The stallion shrugged. “Stuff like that pulls a lot of tourists here. Town’s in the middle of a forest. Gotta bring in money somehow,” he said.

“But they are real!” Pinkie protested, letting go of Rarity and taking a step forward. “And it’s not nice that ponies only care about Princess Luna because she makes money for them! She doesn’t even see one bit of it!”

The stallion breathed out a long-suffering sigh and rolled his eyes, completely missing Rarity’s unimpressed stare. Goodness, he was being very rude for no reason, wasn’t he? “Okay, Pinkie.” He adjusted his saddlebag and turned to leave. “Anyway, keep doing your thing.”

“They are!” Pinkie insisted, suddenly taking hold of Odyssey. “And just because you don’t believe me doesn’t mean you get to be a big jerk about it!”

And now this, it seemed, struck a nerve.

Odyssey turned back to her, arching an eyebrow. “Jerk? Jerk about what?” he asked, having apparently forgotten he was in the presence of polite company. “About not helping you find a fictional princess you’ve been looking for since we were in school? I don’t know if you’ve noticed everypony’s really tired of it?”

Well, then, Rarity thought irritably, deciding she’d seen quite enough. If that pony wanted to be boorish with no prompting whatsoever, then Rarity would gladly end the conversation then and there.

“Pardon me, but—”

Her sentence was interrupted when the previously silent professor held her back with a hoof, preventing her from interfering in Pinkie and the oaf’s conversation. She turned to him, intent on demanding why he wasn’t doing anything but before she could say a word, he turned the device toward her, allowing her to see the arrow shooting up.

What…?

“Pardon me, sir,” Rarity finally interrupted, her eyes briefly darting back and forth between the device and the stallion. “Why is it so difficult for you to entertain the idea that these princesses might be real?”

And again, Odyssey’s irritation seemed to grow. “Because it’s a pony tale,” he insisted, and Rarity noticed the device detect a higher presence of chaos magic.

“And where is your evidence of the fact?” Rarity pressed, wanting to know how deep the rabbit hole went. “As the professor here would be glad to show you, there’s enough proof in Equestria that the princesses were real.”

“No, they weren’t!” he exclaimed, slamming his hoof against the ground. His eyes, Rarity noticed, seemed unnatural, lightly glazed over. “And will you stop acting like they are?!”

“But they are real!” Pinkie protested, angered now.

The argument went on, a back and forth between Pinkie and Odyssey, and Rarity’s horrified understanding grew and grew along with her anger for the stallion. For every sentence Pinkie protested in the princesses’ defense, the stallion’s own anger increased, and the device detected more and more chaos magic.

“It seems,” the professor whispered rather somberly, “you have found your answer, Miss Rarity.”

“Oh, how terribly rude of us!” Rarity suddenly exclaimed, putting a hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder and snapping her out of the argument. Ignoring the mare’s confused expression, Rarity offered the stallion an apologetic smile. “It completely slipped my mind that we have business to attend elsewhere! Though I’m fond of being fashionably late, it would be dreadful if we’re late for our meeting!”

Odyssey frowned, stepping back. “Don’t worry. I was done with the conversation, anyway.”

“Wait, but, who are we meeting?!” Pinkie exclaimed, looking absolutely horrified and fortunately forgetting all about the oaf she’d been arguing with. “Is it Dashie?! She’s here?!”

“Yes, yes!” Rarity lied, seizing the opportunity presented to her. She bowed her head to the stallion before quickly trotting off, rather forcefully gesturing for the others to follow. “Come along now!”

Once they were far away enough, Rarity stopped and turned to her companions.

“Why are you stopping?!” Pinkie asked, anxiously. “Dashie and Spike are waiting for us!”

It was the professor who spoke up, explaining to Pinkie Pie what they had just discovered while Rarity buried her face in her hooves and tried to make heads and tails of the situation. Was that truly the purpose of the chaos magic? Manipulate ponies into refusing to believe the legend was real?

That’s why Princess Luna was trapped, wasn’t it? If Twilight was consumed by guilt, Princess Luna was consumed by… feeling forgotten? Abandoned?

And how could she not when…

Pain shot through her chest suddenly, her mind dragging her back to Twilight. If Princess Luna had remained trapped for centuries because she felt abandoned, what damage had Rarity now done to Twilight? Oh, she talked big in her letter, promising she’d have faith, but faith wavered when faced with hopelessness and… and…

“Rarity…?”

Rarity looked up and saw the professor and Pinkie were staring at her, both sporting concerned expressions. She realized her hoof was pressed against her chest, and her breathing was rapid and shallow.

“Are you okay?” Pinkie asked, taking a step toward her, which prompted Rarity to quickly step back.

“Y-yes, of course, darling!” she insisted, forcing a smile. Positive, Rarity, be positive. “I simply got caught up in my thoughts…” She ran a hoof through her mane, determined to make the best of what she’d learned. “Professor, we need to find more ponies. I’d rather not make any decisions based on one experience.”

“Spoken like a scientist!” he exclaimed. “I assume your princess would be proud.”

Rarity laughed softly. “I believe she would be, yes.”

And so it began, one pony after another stopped and questioned, and the further Rarity pressed each one of them, the angrier they got and higher did the needle go.

“What, and next thing you’ll say is that Princess Denza works with the Spirit? Who’s also real?” A stallion snorted, rolling his eyes and pushing his cart away.

“Pinkie, really, at some point you have to let go of your imaginary friends.” A mare sighed, shaking her head and returning to the magazine she’d been reading.

Mare after mare, stallion after stallion, all treating the legend and those who believed in it as nothing more than a joke.

“Now, really,” an elderly shopkeeper said, furrowing her brow, “this nonsense talk is ruffling my feathers. I can’t say the same for these two, but you, Pinkie, should know better after everything Elder Moonshine’s told you.”

“But they are real!” Pinkie whined, ears lowering and mane deflating. “You just think they’re not because the Spirit wants you to think that!”

The elderly mare stamped her hoof against the ground. “Now, Pinkie, stop it!”

“But Gran-gran!” a voice interrupted. “The princesses are real!”

Rarity turned toward the source of the voice, and though she initially found nopony, looking down revealed who’d spoken. A little pegasus filly stood next to her, fixing the elder mare with the iciest glare a filly could muster.

The shopkeeper’s disposition changed immediately. “But of course they are, darlin’!” she exclaimed, smiling widely at the filly. “Princess Luna won’t bring you a sweater next month if you don’t believe in her!”

The filly nodded her head. “She’s going to bring me my favorite sweater ever! Just like every year!” She turned to Pinkie and clapped her hooves. “What’s she bringing you, Pinkie?!”

Rarity didn’t know whether the change of expression in Pinkie was heartwarming or heartbreaking.

“Oh! Uhm, uhm!” Pinkie clapped her hooves together, sticking out her tongue as she pondered her reply. “She’s gonna get meeeeeeeeee… a trip to the moon! To the popsicle moon!”

The filly gasped. “She can do that?! Can I go too?!”

“Miss Rarity,” Professor Awe whispered, drawing Rarity’s attention away from the filly. “Look at this.”

Rarity blinked, taking the device and to her great surprise, the arrow had nearly gone back to its initial low reading. While it was clear that chaos magic was taking some effect on the foal, it wasn’t nearly as strong as with the adults.

They turned around, away from Pinkie and the filly, and so began their wild speculation. There was a certain thrill to it, admittedly, yet a pang shot through Rarity’s heart upon thinking how much Twilight would enjoy being there.

“It seems to be a condition that affects them throughout their entire life,” the professor said, clicking away at buttons on the device.

“But this doesn’t make sense! You’re not affected by it, and neither is Pinkie Pie!” Rarity exclaimed. She bit her lip and rubbed her hoof against her mouth. “Unless…”

The professor arched an eyebrow. “Unless…?”

“Pinkie Pie hasn’t lived here her entire life, has she? She moved here as a foal from Tall Tale,” she said, turning to him. “And you only recently moved here as well, did you not?”

The professor’s eyes widened. “Yes… Yes, of course! Hollow Shade’s residents have been conditioned since birth to distrust the legend, but we weren’t! Although…” His sudden excitement died down. “Although that brings us few solutions. We can’t possibly fight an influence that has been with most of these ponies all their lives.”

“And we won’t! We won’t even concern ourselves with the adults!” Rarity exclaimed, the cogs in her head shifting into high gear. She glanced at the filly Pinkie was talking to. “It’s the foals we must deal with! They still haven’t been completely affected by it! Whatever is going on here is obviously what’s keeping the princess trapped, and if we can stop it, we might free her!”

The professor furrowed his brow. “It could happen… If we truly plan this correctly, we could change the mindset of the next generations, but…” He looked at Rarity somberly. “It’s a long-term plan, Miss Rarity. I don’t think months or even years would suffice. This will be decades of effort if we want to change the mindset of an entire village and its coming generations.”

Rarity’s excitement withered at this, and the chest pains returned. Decades. Decades, or even a century, before Luna could be free, and more than that, decades before… before Rarity potentially saw Twilight again.

“Rarity… We have to help free the princesses… even if…”

“…Even if it won’t happen in our lifetime.”

She swallowed hard, trying to focus on Pinkie’s words. “It— it doesn’t matter!” She stamped her hoof against the floor, as determined as Twilight would want her to be. “This is the only lead we have. This might be our only hope of rescuing Princess Luna, and I am willing to work at it my entire life if it means we can do something to help.”

“Hey, whatcha talkin’ about?” Pinkie asked, her conversation with the filly finished. She blinked at the two unicorns and gasped. “Didja figure out how to save Princess Luna?! You did, didn’t you?!”

Rarity smiled, sincerely and genuinely. “We believe so, Pinkie.”

I hope…

As the hours went by, their theories about the foals proved to be correct. Only they seemed mostly free of the chaos magic’s grip, which further proved that if Rarity wanted to fight the chaos magic’s influence on ponies, she’d have to start before it could wholly take over.

Now she and Pinkie sat at the professor’s kitchen table, having spent the past two hours detailing ideas about how to thoroughly influence an entire generation of foals.

“If the chaos magic’s purpose is to stop ponies from believing in her, then the obvious path to freeing her is having foals believe in her and keeping it that way.”

“Maybe we can tell them Princess Luna’s really real every hour of every day?” Pinkie suggested, resting her chin on her hooves.

Rarity tapped the tip of a pencil against her chin. “I’m not quite convinced that would be the most efficient method, darling,” she said. “We need to somehow prove to them that Princess Luna isn’t a product of mere dreams. Sew dreams and reality together, so to speak.”

But how…

She reached for a blank sheet of paper and began a sketch of Princess Luna giving a toy to a little filly. It’s a tradition for Hollow Shades foals to receive “gifts” from the princess, isn’t it? If we could somehow make this a reality…

Perhaps if Twilight were there, she might have a book on extracting presents from dreams.

“But, wait! Is this curse the same as Princess Denza’s curse?” Pinkie asked.

“I don’t think it is, no,” Rarity replied. “I highly doubt all of Hollow Shades’ inhabitants have personally met the princess or any of her guards.”

Pinkie groaned, furrowing her brow and rubbing her eyes with her hooves. “There’s so many curses…”

Rarity sighed, rubbing the side of her head. “Yes, it’s rather aggravating. Our only saving grace is that Princess Denza’s curse doesn’t seem to prevent us from speaking to Princess Luna in dreams.”

She wondered for a moment if she ought to go up and check on the professor, but he had clearly expressed his desire to be left alone and tinker with his contraptions. Though she was curious, she didn’t want to interrupt, so for now she could only hope he hadn’t damaged her necklace.

“Do you think Dashie found anything from Spike?”

Rarity didn’t look up from her sketch. “I doubt so, darling. She would have already come to tell us.” She looked up and pointed her pencil at the mare. “You and I have our own mission, remember?”

Pinkie blew raspberries. “I know, I know. We need to find out everything we can before you meet Spike…” She grabbed a stray pencil and drew circles on a piece of paper. “But two weeks is sooooooo far away…”

“Two weeks is very little time, Pinkie, and especially for a creature who’s waited thousands of years,” Rarity pointed out, going back to her sketch. “I can’t waltz up to him unprepared.”

“I guess…”

Rarity changed her design, now drawing a small dragon. Truth be told, she was admittedly rather concerned about properly meeting Spike. Going off what she’d learned from Rainbow Dash, the dragon had become jaded regarding the prospect of ever finding help and had long ago turned to searching alone.

Her chest tightened, as it so often did nowadays. How would he react when he saw her? What possible aid or comfort could she bring him? How could she face him when she was no longer a beacon of hope, but another failure?

She quickly shook her head. No, Rarity, she thought, this is not who we are! The last thing Twilight would want us to do is to sit and mope about! We already did enough of that last week, did we not?

“Spike has waited over a thousand years for this, and I do not intend on being anything but hope for him,” Rarity continued, putting the pencil down and looking at her friend. “I will prove to the world that the Spirit of Chaos will not best me!”

“Maybe that’s what he wants,” Pinkie said, furrowing her brow and drawing a sad face on the paper. “You say he says this is a bet, so maybe he wants you to win! Because if you win then he wins and if he wins then he wins… he wins…” She petered out. “I don’t know what he wins, but he’ll win it big time!”

“Maybe there isn’t a bet. Frankly, I think he was simply trying to get under my coat,” Rarity said confidently, even knowing full well she was still trying to convince herself of the fact. “Nothing he does makes sense, so we can’t expect him to have some sort of plan or intention.”

Although…

She took a new sheet of paper and drew what she could remember of the draconequus.

“He seemed angry,” Rarity reflected, remembering just how viscerally he’d reacted at the mere idea that he’d betrayed Twilight and the others. “He said that Twilight betrayed him, and I…” She lifted the pencil and bit the tip, deep in thought. “I actually believe he truly and sincerely meant it.”

“Princess Twilight did something,” Pinkie said suddenly, drawing a star on the paper. “Princess Luna says that he got reeeeeally mad about it…”

Rarity blinked at her. Wait a moment…

“Pinkie,” she said, putting the pencil down and regarding the mare as though she were completely foreign. “Pinkie, do you know what happened? Has Princess Luna told you about what happened a thousand years ago?”

Pinkie quickly shook her head. “Oh, no! She never wants to tell me! Sometimes she soooorta tells me something, but then she realizes, and she stops and she never finishes! It’s totally awful! Like an unfinished storybook!” She paused and hummed. “Except it’s a sad storybook, so I don’t know if I really want to know how it goes.”

“But I want to know!” Rarity exclaimed, slamming her hoof against the floor. “Frankly, I deserve to know! I can’t be expected to somehow fight this curse and the Spirit without knowing why this all happened! I can’t consult Twilight anymore, and Princess Luna refuses to see me for stars know what reason, and I need leads! I need answers, Pinkie! Something!”

She turned back to the drawing, took the pencil, and drew an angry sort of scribble, wishing Princess Luna could somehow see it and feel Rarity’s irritation.

“Rarity?”

Rarity looked up to find Pinkie intently staring back at her.

“If Princess Luna tells you what happened, do you really think it’ll help you break the curse?”

Rarity faltered for a moment. “I… I don’t know if it’ll provide any solution for the curse, but I need to know what happened if I ever hope to save Twilight from whatever turmoil is plaguing her.” She looked down and started to sketch out the familiar alicorn. “How can I be there for her if I don’t even know what she blames herself for?”

“Okie-dokie-lokie!” Pinkie exclaimed, stamping her forehooves against the table. “If you promise to do your best to help Princess Twilight and Princess Luna, I promise I’ll get Princess Luna to tell you everything, okay?”

Rarity felt like snorting, but refrained. “You have my word,” she said sincerely, even though she’d like to see Princess Luna agreeing to it. “In any case, what will we do about your princess’s curse? It might be a good idea for you to consult with her and see what she has to say on the matter.”

“Rarity?”

Rarity once again looked up, but now she found Pinkie staring intently at the sketch she’d been doing of Twilight.

“Rarity, what if…” Her ears lowered, nearly clamping against her skull. “What if Princess Twilight really did do something bad? What if that’s why Princess Luna never wants to tell me what happened?”

Rarity sighed. The thought had been voiced, and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t keen on outright denying it. She didn’t know the full story of what had happened so long ago, but from what little she did know, she could at the very least tell that things were not as black and white as she’d always believed.

She was, however, certain of one thing.

“Whatever happened, Pinkie, does not justify what Discord did to them,” she said with confidence. “I don’t care who was at fault, but Twilight has suffered for far too long, and even if she’s incapable of forgiving whatever deeds she thinks caused this, I am not.” She pointed the pencil at Pinkie. “I will find her again, and mark my words, I will get through her thick skull.”

“And knowing what happened will help?” Pinkie asked again.

“Yes,” Rarity replied. “I honestly think that’s the only way I’ll be able to truly do something for the princesses.”

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act III ~ 31 ~ The Tale of the Four Princesses ~

Rarity had a very strange dream that night.

It began inside a large room within Canterlot Castle. It was a beautiful room, with marble floors and mahogany furniture, carved and polished until everything shined. Oil portraits hung on the walls, depicting elegantly dressed mares and stallions. The air smelled of fresh flowers, and not a speck of dust could be found.

It was an immaculate sight, save for one small detail.

Discord, or rather a statue of him, stood in the middle of the room, laughing at something or somepony. Granite and motionless, but goodness, the detail of the likeness… If she didn’t know better, she might have thought the Spirit himself had been turned to stone.

Loathing bubbled up inside her at the sight of him. That vile beast! If only it were him, encased in stone! She’d feel not a drop of guilt at kicking the statue over and watching it smash to pieces! Her only remorse would be in damaging such a pristine marble floor with such a vulgar creature.

Honestly, she thought, lifting her nose in distaste, why would anypony want to ruin such lovely décor with such a horrific addition?

She heard sudden voices in the distance, and to her startlement, the statue vanished before her eyes. She quickly stepped back, looking around for it, until the voices grew louder and her ear twitched with recognition. Was that… Princess Luna? She trotted toward the door, momentarily distracted from the statue’s disappearance, and stepped back when a tall white alicorn trotted past her down the hallway, followed by another mare Rarity recognized as the Princess of the Moon.

“Princess Luna!” Rarity called out, rushing into the hallway and following behind them. However, call as she might, neither of the alicorns turned back. She faltered for a moment. They can’t hear me?

“Sister, please, we must—!” Princess Luna said, cut short when the white alicorn stopped and raised a hoof.

“Just a moment, Luna.”

Rarity stepped past Princess Luna, her eyes settling on the final lost princess. Oh, she’d seen the statue of Celestia in Canterlot, but she’d never expected it to be accurate—and then some. Though she made for an imposing figure, white wings half-splayed against her coat, Celestia rubbed the bridge of her nose with a forehoof, giving the impression of a tired schoolteacher. Rarity recognized the crown on her head, so different from the charred remains the dragons had thrown at her hooves.

She was nothing short of what the filly had always expected a goddess to look like.

“We do not have ‘a moment’!” Luna protested, stamping her hoof and gesturing toward a nearby window. “We have given ourselves many moments, and our kingdom is in ruins for it!”

Rarity’s gaze traveled toward the large window next to Luna, and her heart fell at the sight. She trotted toward it, for a moment forgetting the two alicorns, and fixed her gaze on the castle gardens—or what was left of them, at least. The trees and bushes were glowing yellow, and it was as though they were stuck in a perpetual time loop, wilting in a second and then regrowing in the next. Beyond the gardens, Rarity could see the castle town, if only because some houses were floating upside-down high above the city.

“And now Chrysalis and her creatures are involved!” Luna continued, drawing Rarity’s attention. “We must end this now! Disarray we can handle, but our ponies drained of their very source of life?! They will die, Celestia! And the more we wait, the fewer ponies we are able to trust!”

“Don’t you think I know that?!” Princess Celestia snapped, her patience having worn thin.

“Then do something about it instead of wasting time with diplomacy!”

Celestia stepped forward, narrowing her eyes. “Oh? If it’s so wasteful, what do you propose we do, Sister?”

“The duel! We can use Twilight’s weapon to strike him down then!”

Rarity blinked. Twilight’s weapon…?

Celestia sighed, rubbing a hoof against her temple. “You know very well that our information on the Elements of Harmony is very limited, and furthermore, Twilight has—”

“We have no other choice!” Luna protested. “We must try! You are so sure it will not work! What if it does? I am willing to take a risk to find out!” She stood back and narrowed her eyes. “If you do not speak to her, I will, Celestia.”

Celestia took a deep breath and replied, “Very well, Luna. I will speak to her.” She turned and trotted back the way she came. “But we will not step hoof in Neighagra Valley without being prepared for failure.”

And then, just as Rarity made a move to follow Luna and Celestia, the room changed. No, not the room. The dream changed, she realized, finally understanding that Pinkie Pie had indeed kept her promise. The room swirled around her like a fading vortex, and Rarity spun, trying to find any sign of the princess.

“Princess Luna!” she called out. “Princess, where are… you…”

Her voice drifted off just as the dream settled itself into a different hallway inside the castle. There was Princess Luna, but rather than looking at Rarity, the princess was peeking into a room. Rarity’s gaze traveled down the hallway and a sense of familiarity washed over her. This hallway… She’d seen it once before, on the afternoon of what she could only think of as the day her downfall began.

The hallway of the princesses’ chambers.

It looked just the same as it did a thousand years in the future, save that no statue rested inside the nearby alcove.

Rarity turned back to Princess Luna, who was now looking into the hallway too, her brow furrowed. Rarity wondered briefly what was going on before making her way toward the room Luna had been looking into. The door was only slightly ajar, but voices could be heard coming from inside. A… a child? A child was speaking, and when he quieted another voice replied and Rarity’s heart almost stopped.

She recognized that voice.

She immediately tried opening the door, but her hoof went through it instead. She recoiled with a startled gasp, but after a moment, desire took over and she trotted through the door and into Twilight Sparkle’s observatory, where a baby dragon sat on a chair, his gaze fixed on the unicorn trotting back and forth.

She’s a unicorn…? Rarity thought, finding herself mesmerized by this mare that was so… familiar, yet so dissimilar from the one Rarity had fallen in love with. No magic coursed through her mane or tail, no wings fluttered at her sides, and she seemed distinctly shorter than the Twilight that Rarity knew.

More than anything, she thought, Twilight looked tired. There were bags under her eyes, her mane was disheveled, and in her eyes Rarity saw… She saw herself days after being cursed.

A mare who’d run herself ragged.

“Twilight…”

The words left Rarity’s lips unbidden, and Twilight stopped and turned toward her. Her breath hitched and she stepped back, having forgotten what it felt like to be the subject of Twilight’s gaze.

“Hello?” Twilight called out. She trotted forward and it wasn’t until she passed right through her that Rarity remembered with a jolt that she was just a ghost in this memory. How the tables had turned. Twilight opened the door and peeked outside before humming and going back into the room. “I could have sworn…”

“Twilight…”

Twilight turned toward Spike, who was vastly smaller than the dragon Rarity had seen in the caves. Twilight sighed, and again she walked right through Rarity and back toward the desk. “I know,” she said, looking up at the papers and scrolls plastered all over the walls. A crown levitated next to her, which Rarity immediately recognized as the one perpetually affixed to… her Twilight’s head. Twilight observed it for a moment before putting it back and then falling to her haunches, burying her face in her hooves. “I’m running out of time, and the princesses are counting on me…”

“They can wait,” Spike protested, crossing his arms. “You haven’t slept in days! If they want the Elements so bad, they can find them themselves!”

Rarity’s breath caught. Find the Elements?

“No!” Twilight said, turning to Spike. “I’m the one who found that tree! I’m the one Princess Celestia asked to do the research! She already has enough on her plate without cleaning up my mess too!”

“But you haven’t made a mess!” he protested, jumping off the chair. “You found one of the Elements! Why aren’t you happy about that?!”

“Because I’ve only found one in the three years I’ve been researching!” Twilight got up, snatched a scroll from the wall with her magic and waved it at him. “The Elements of Sun, Moon, and Love are still missing! Just because I have the Element of Magic isn’t cause to celebra—”

Three knocks at the door interrupted her.

“Twilight?” Princess Celestia’s voice came. “May we come in?”

Rarity watched the familiar sight of Twilight panicking, quickly putting everything back in place. “Yes, yes!” she blurted out, levitating Spike and putting him back on the chair, ignoring his confused expression. “I’m ready!”

The door opened, and Rarity moved away to avoid the unsettling sensation of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna walking through her. They settled into the room, their eyes fixed on Twilight, who smiled at them even though she looked—and no doubt felt—like a cornered animal.

“Spike,” Princess Celestia said, “may we have a moment?”

Spike quickly nodded and practically jumped out of his chair. “Y-yes, Your Highness!” he exclaimed, rushing out of the room and then closing the door after one last glance at Twilight.

“Is something wrong?” Twilight asked, and such was the panic in her eyes that Rarity was compelled to go and stand next to her in a show of support, even if it was an ultimately futile gesture. She knew what awaited the unicorn now, after all.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Luna began, her somber expression contrasting with Celestia’s bright smile. “We hope we are not interrupting you.”

Twilight let out a shaky laugh. “Of course not!” she replied, backing closer to her desk. “You did say you wanted to ta-talk to me, Your Highnesses.”

“Indeed we did!” Celestia said, and her tone was much kinder than her sister’s. She seemed nothing but relaxed as she looked around the room, trotting toward a nearby telescope and poking at it with a hoof. “How have you found your new quarters, Twilight?” She turned to Twilight and sat down on a floor pillow before turning to Luna and gesturing with her wing. “Won’t you make yourself comfortable? You’d think we were having a council meeting!” Once Luna seated herself with a barely hidden huff, Celestia again fixed her gaze on Twilight. “Well?”

Twilight nodded. “Oh, yes! I’m much closer to your private library now, and my research has been going much faster because of it. The view has also allowed me to more closely examine the grand-scale impact of chaos magic, as well as its natural habits and patterns,” she explained, and for but a moment, Rarity was looking at her Twilight. “It’s more than I could have asked for.”

“It’s nothing but a small sliver of what you deserve, Twilight,” Celestia said, bowing her head and drawing out pleased smiles from both Twilight and Rarity. Moments later, however, Celestia’s smile wavered and disappeared. “And though it pleases me immensely to hear your thoughts on the subject, there’s something much more pressing we must discuss.”

Twilight’s ears lowered. “…Discord.”

“The Queen of the Changelings and her army are advancing every day,” Princess Luna said, clearly not intending to be anything but to the point. “The day will come that even Canter Capital itself will be under attack, and we cannot stop them while our kingdom is afflicted by Discord’s spells.”

“Twilight, have you anything to report on the Elements of Harmony?” Celestia asked. “You were there when he challenged us, and Princess Luna and I would like for us to be as prepared as we can be.”

“I…” Twilight turned to her desk, and though she hid it from the princesses, she could not hide her absolutely stricken expression from Rarity. She rifled through random papers while whispering under her breath, reminding herself to breathe in and out. “Here!” She took a scroll and turned back to them, a confident smile affixed to her face. “I’ve yet to find the other Elements, but my analysis of the crown clearly shows that it’s inhabited by a strong, currently unidentified, magic essence!”

Celestia nodded. “Are you able to harness this magic in any way? You told me it reacted to you, didn’t you? I’m sure somepony as talented as you are would have no trouble with it.”

Twilight faltered, lowering the scroll. “I think ma—”

“Your Highness!”

A royal guard had burst in, breathing heavily, prompting the two princesses to immediately rise. Two more followed, carrying a stallion. They put him on the floor, and Rarity’s hoof shot to her mouth at the sight.

To say he looked on the verge of death was not accurate enough.

He lay on the floor, gasping to fill his lungs with ragged breaths of air. His filthy coat clung to his protruding bones, like he’d been starved for weeks on end, and his face… The longer Rarity looked at him, the more she wanted to look away.

“Quick Lance!” Celestia gasped, stepping back. “What—?! What happened to him?! I was told he took the weekend to be with his family!”

“We found him at the entrance of the abandoned tunnels!” one of the guards explained, taking off his helmet. “He says there are others deeper into the caves!”

“Others?!” Luna demanded, her wings unfurling. “What others? What—!”

“Pr… Princess…” Quick Lance began, struggling to speak. “My… my wife… my children… The others… Help… help them… Chang… changelings…”

“It’s happened,” Luna whispered, watching as he collapsed, unconscious. “They’re here.”

“You two,” Celestia said to the other guards, tone sharp. “Who else knows of this? What other guards have you alerted?”

“N-no others, Your Highness.”

Celestia was silent for a moment before levitating the stallion, placing him on the nearby couch, and then shutting the door with her magic.

“Starting this moment, you will trust no pony but those present in this room,” she began. “We will treat Quick Lance here. Iron, you are to bring back Quick Lance’s family without arousing the suspicion of the changeling with them. Use whatever excuse you must. Then send for Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. When you report back, you will prove your identity to me by listing the names of your children before saluting me.”

“Apple Fritter and Pear Heart!” the guard said before saluting and rushing off.

“Luna,” Celestia continued, “you and I will tend to Quick Lance, and then we will go to the abandoned caves. We will only bring our personal guards, and these two here.” Finally, she turned around. “Twilight, do you think you can harness the magic of the Element?”

Rarity turned around and was surprised to see an altogether different Twilight standing next to her. She was standing tall and proud, and if she’d had wings, Rarity knew they’d be splayed apart with conviction.

“Yes,” she said. “Yes, I can.”

And again the dream began to change as it had before. Twilight, the princesses, the guards, and the room began to fade, and soon enough, Rarity found herself in a vast meadow, standing in the company of not only three alicorns and a unicorn, but the vile Spirit of Chaos himself.

“Well, well, well!” Discord said, floating in the air. “Am I surrounded?” He looked toward the three alicorns standing behind him. “What a fearsome army! A pony who moves the sun, another who hates that she doesn’t move the sun, and one who wastes her time in romance!”

The three princesses standing next to Rarity did not flinch.

“Oh! Oh, but wait, I’m missing someone, aren’t I?” Discord continued, stroking his beard. He snapped his fingers, a saddle appeared next to him, and he looked around. “Now, where is your pet? Ah! There she is!”

Rarity looked down and saw Twilight standing in front of them, glaring Discord down. Though she still bore no wings, she was wearing the familiar star-studded crown. Rarity quickly trotted over to her, finding she was vastly more interested in Twilight’s side of it than the princesses.

“Discord!” Twilight called out. “This war has gone on for long enough!”

“War?!” Discord gasped, placing a paw on his chest. “I didn’t want any war! I was only creating a bit of havoc here and there, and you ponies got sooo worked up about it!” He crossed his arms and harrumphed. “Honestly, one would think you don’t like having fun.”

“You have assisted Chrysalis with her invasion!” Luna accused, stamping her hoof against the ground.

“Oh, please! I work alone!” he shot back, turning to the princesses. He snapped his fingers and a throne appeared in mid-air, which he promptly sat on. “It’s hardly my fault that ponies are dumb enough to let Chrysalis and her little ants take over! See! The changelings appreciate my fun! Maybe you should too!”

Rarity heard Twilight take a deep breath, and for a moment, she dearly wished she could offer her beloved some sort of encouragement.

“Discord!” Twilight called out again, grabbing his attention again as the throne swiveled in place. Her horn lit up, and so too did the star in her crown begin to glow. “I’m warning you! This is your last chance!”

Discord cleared his throat. “Oh, let me be serious, then. Can’t ruin your big moment, now can we? It’s not every day a little unicorn finds a trinket to actually give her some magic powers!” He grinned at Twilight and then cleared his throat, the throne disappearing behind him. “Come now, Twilight Sparkle! Wouldn’t want to disappoint your beloved princesses, would you?”

Twilight gritted her teeth. “Discord…” The magic pooling in her horn brightened, and her eyes began to glow like the star on her crown as a magic sheen spread through her coat, mane, and tail. “I’m ending this war now!”

A beam of light shot out of Twilight’s horn, aimed straight for Discord, who responded by laughing with great joy. The Element of Magic shot a beam too, but Rarity saw the spell fizzle out and fade not even a second after it had appeared. Nevertheless, when she turned toward Discord, she watched as slowly but surely his entire body turned to stone.

And yet—it might have been her position—she noticed something else, right before the spell finished: though Twilight’s magic had surely reached its target, Rarity noticed two other beams of light strike Discord from behind.

Once it was over, the statue of Discord fell to the ground with a loud thud, and Rarity realized the statue she’d seen earlier may not have been some mere statue after all. He lay there on the ground, petrified forevermore as a cackling decoration. Rarity’s heart tightened in her chest, and she couldn’t help but think that, all things said and done, being turned to stone wasn’t altogether much better than being trapped in a library.

Silence reigned for a moment before, finally, Twilight exhaled, her ears perking up and a dumbfounded smile curving her lips.

“It worked?” she whispered, before nearly breaking out into excited giggles. “It worked! It worked!”

And yet, despite Twilight’s elation, Rarity wasn’t able to join in. She saw the Element’s magic fizzle out! And she was sure the princesses had attacked him as well…

It was Celestia who made her way toward Twilight first, a delighted smile gracing her lips. “I am very proud of you, Twilight,” she said, and in her statement Rarity could detect no hesitation. The princess then turned toward the statue of Discord and frowned. “As for him…”

“As for him…?” Twilight prompted.

“As for him, we will discuss what to do in a moment,” Celestia repeated, her smile returning just as the tip of her horn glowed. “Petrification doesn’t necessarily mean he can’t see or hear us.”

Her horn flashed, and before Rarity’s eyes, a sound and sight barrier in the shape of a black bubble completely surrounded the Spirit. She blinked at it for a moment before turning toward Celestia and feeling her heart drop at the deep frown on Celestia’s brow.

A single thought entered Rarity’s mind.

Something’s gone wrong.

“P-Princess?” Twilight asked, and the crack in her voice showed she too realized something was off. “What’s wrong?”

“Twilight,” Celestia said severely, her eyes fixed on the statue. “No matter what follows, I am proud of you.”

“Sister!”

Rarity turned around and saw Luna and Cadance walking toward them, both of them looking as grim as the Sun Princess, which only intensified the sickening feeling inside Rarity’s chest—and Twilight’s too, no doubt.

“Sister,” Luna repeated, only briefly glancing at Twilight before turning her gaze toward the bubble. “How long do we have?”

“He is the Spirit of Chaos. We might have fifteen minutes if fortune will allow it,” Celestia said. “Five, if not.”

“Fif-fifteen minutes?” Twilight asked, looking back and forth between the princesses. “Fifteen minutes to…”

“Discord was not immobilized by the Element,” Luna replied, “but by a petrification spell that Cadance, my sister, and I had been preparing.”

Twilight stepped back, ears pressing against her skull and eyes growing wide. “I… I failed…?”

“No, you didn’t fail, Twilight,” Cadance said almost at once, looking at the darker alicorn with a stern expression. “It just… It…”

“You weren’t ready yet,” Celestia interrupted, eyes still fixed on the statue. “But…”

“But he doesn’t know that.” Luna turned to Celestia. “And that is what might save us, isn’t it, Sister?” she said, just in time for Rarity to step back and muffle a gasp with her hoof.

“I tricked him. I tricked him into reforming.”

“But—! But, Princess Luna!” Twilight protested. “We can’t—!”

“We have no choice!” Princess Luna replied, stamping her hoof against the floor. “You saw how many guards we found starved to death in those tunnels, Twilight! We cannot continue this way!” The alicorn turned to Cadance. “You agree, do you not?!”

“It wouldn’t make us much better than him, Auntie Luna,” Cadance quietly said.

“What if he finds out?! I can still find the Elements! I promise! I just need more time!” Twilight insisted before helplessly looking at Celestia. “Princess Celestia! Please, I didn’t fail, I can still fix—”

“We have no other option,” Celestia interrupted, impassive as the statue hidden beyond the bubble. “If we had time, I would find a better way, but time is a luxury we have run out of.”

As if fate had heard, the bubble around Discord began to crack, signaling the spell was fading.

“Twilight,” Princess Celestia said, and now she offered the unicorn a smile. “You’ve done enough. Stand behind him and we will take care of this.”

Twilight recoiled, ears again flattening against her head. “But— But I can… I can still… I’m…” Another crack from the bubble interrupted her. “Yes, Princess Celestia,” she whispered, tears bordering her eyes before she trotted away. “I’m sorry.”

Rarity looked at the three princesses for a moment, watching as they stood tall and proud in front of the bubble, before running off to join Twilight, who was now quietly standing behind the bubble, her head hanging down in… shame?

The bubble finally cracked, and Rarity watched, engulfed with loathing as a Discord made of flesh and bones emerged, gasping for air, back turned to Twilight and Rarity.

Celestia stamped her hoof against the floor. “Dis—!”

“You!” Discord roared, turning away from the three Princess and directing his ire at Twilight, who flinched and stepped back, trying to keep her ground. “What—?! What did you—?! How did—?!”

And, for a moment, Twilight changed. Gone was the remorseful student, and for a moment the confident alicorn Rarity knew returned.

“Discord!” Twilight called out, voice fierce despite the fact that Rarity could see her lips tremble and her chest heave. “I’m giving you a second chance to stop the war and surrender peacefully!”

“You?! Give me a second chance?!” Discord snapped before floating down toward Twilight and nearly pressing his face against hers. “Who do you think you—”

“I am Twilight Sparkle, the bearer of the Element of Magic,” Twilight hissed, neither stepping back nor losing a shred of confidence. Her horn began to glow, and with it the star in the crown. “And if you don’t want to spend the rest of eternity in stone, you will leave Equestria alone.”

Discord’s reply never came, for much like before, the dream stopped and again began to shift. The swirling vortex took him away, then the princesses, and finally Twilight. The scenery spun and spun around Rarity, until finally it stopped and she found herself on a castle balcony overlooking Canterlot Castle’s gardens, where dozens of ponies were gathered.

As far as she could see, no chaos magic controlled the land anymore. No houses floated upside down, and the gardens looked more splendid than she’d ever seen them. The three princesses stood behind her on the balcony, accompanied by a white stallion that looked eerily similar to the statue she’d seen in the Princesses’ Hallway.

The stallion cleared his throat, and with a winning smile announced, “Presenting the newest monarch of the Kingdom of Equestria!”

Rarity turned around just in time for the balcony doors to open and her heart to skip a beat at the sight of Twilight, two beautiful wings on either side of her body and… and a terribly sullen look on her face, which vanished almost instantly when the other princess turned to her.

She approached the balcony where dozens of cheers greeted her, to which she only nodded in reply.

“Twilight,” Celestia said, placing a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “You earned this.”

Twilight stared at Celestia for a moment before looking back to the crowd without a word.

The dream froze again and the transition process began anew, until long gone was the balcony and Rarity stood in the middle of a courthouse. Dozens of angry-looking ponies sat in the surrounding tribunes, with the four princesses presiding as judges and Discord floating beside her in the middle of the room, arms crossed.

“Well?” he asked, yawning loudly. “I’ve been here for ages. At this rate, you should have called this a Snooze Treaty rather than a peace one, really.”

It was Twilight who spoke up, her eyes scanning a map. “In accordance with what we’ve established during this, our first annual Peace Treaty, we the Princesses of Equestria will allow you to preside over the Province of Galloping Hills until such time we conven—”

“What?! Princess Twilight!” an elegant stallion bellowed from one of the tribunes, slamming his cane against the wooden railing. “You can’t give that beast the Galloping Hills province! That’s half the size of Canter Capital!” He waited as ponies around him murmured and exclaimed in agreement before pointing his cane at Discord. “This creature deserves nothing! What he’s getting is only out of the benevolence of ponies, but there is such a thing as being too generous toward those who have lost!”

“Oh, please,” Discord protested, rolling his eyes. “Galloping Hills is no bigger than a bathtub!”

“Oh, be quiet, beast! How dare you speak ill of what the princess has offered you!” an elegant mare sneered, throwing Discord an icy glare. “She can turn you back to stone in less than an instant, so remember your place in our kingdom!” She turned toward Twilight. “Princess, I will gladly offer the fields west of my land for you to give him instead of our beautiful Galloping Hills. They’re much smaller and more fitting.”

Twilight frowned, her ears lowering. “But I—”

“Thank you, Lady Steelwings,” Princess Celestia interrupted. “Galloping Hills might be too large an offer, I agree. Discord has allowed much harm to take place in Equestria, and we will not diminish the severity of Discord’s actions.”

Suddenly, one by one, ponies all around began to fade until only Twilight and Luna remained, the former looking away from the latter.

“We cannot arouse the suspicion of ponies, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said. “If we act as nothing less than the victors for even just a moment, that might be enough for Discord to suspect us.”

“It’s my fault,” Twilight replied, the three familiar words Rarity loathed as much as she did Discord. “If I had found the other Elements…”

Luna, Twilight, and the courthouse faded afterwards. Twilight’s parting words burned themselves into Rarity’s mind as the scenery changed and she found herself inside a dining room—empty save for two alicorns, a dragon, and a draconequus.

Princess Luna sat by herself on one side of the large dining table, her eyes fixed not on the scroll lying in front of her, but on the conversation between her companions. Discord was floating above the table, smiling widely at Twilight and Spike who, to Rarity’s surprise, seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves.

“Discord,” Twilight said, tapping the tip of a quill against a scroll. “Shouldn’t you be in Tempest Valley?”

Discord snorted. “Yes, because there’s so much to do in a valley the size of this room,” he pointed out before floating up the scroll Twilight was working on. “And you still have to finish writing down why I’m so wonderful!”

“Pfft, wonderful,” Spike said, oblivious to the eye roll Discord did behind the scroll. “Right.”

“I’m very grateful you’ve allowed me to study your magic, Discord,” Twilight said, her ears perking up as she sat up straight and pulled the scroll down. “It’s fascinating! I thought chaos was disorganized, but patterns are starting to form between our experiments.”

“Now, Princess Twilight, who am I to deny ponykind of the wonders of me?” Discord said, taking a look at his claws. “Even if you’re the only one who appreciates my services,” he added, throwing Luna a pointed glare, which she returned in kind.

“Forgive me for not mingling with the enemy,” she replied, looking back to her scroll.

Twilight cleared her throat, throwing Luna a nervous glance. “Actually, Discord, I might continue my research later. It’s almost supper, and I—”

Discord snapped his fingers, and a massive, delicious-looking three-tiered cake appeared before the alicorn, along with a small silver spoon.

Twilight blinked at the cake—which Rarity assumed was rotten inside—before taking the spoon and levitating it with hesitation.

“Oh, really, it’s just a cake!” Discord insisted, harrumphing and crossing his arms. “Wanting supper implies you’re hungry.”

“And our servants can take care of that,” Luna loudly pointed out.

“It’s okay, Princess Luna,” Twilight quickly replied, offering Discord an apologetic smile. “I’m sure it’s…” She gulped and took a spoonful of cake. “I’m sure it’s delicious!”

As if to prove her point, she brought the cake to her mouth, chewed, and, to the surprise of everypony staring save for Discord, exclaimed, “Oh! That was… actually really good!”

An old-fashioned chef’s hat appeared on Discord’s head.

“Of course it was! I made it!” He then turned to Spike. “Won’t you have a try?” he offered, snapping his fingers and materializing a second spoon next to the drake.

“Oh, don’t mind if I do!” Spike exclaimed as he took the spoon, eagerly scooping up a large piece of cake and popping it into his mouth. He chewed for a moment, but unlike Twilight, his reaction was not delight. Rather, his face turned green and he ran out of the room, the sound of retching following in short order.

“Oopsie-daisy!” Discord exclaimed, pressing his hands against both sides of his face. “It completely slipped my mind that that recipe is bad for reptiles!”

“Discord! That wasn’t nice!” Twilight said, frowning at him. She got up and went after Spike, but Discord teleported in front of her right as she reached the door.

“Now, now, Princess, I’ll go,” he insisted. “It was just a prank that went a bit too far!”

Twilight seemed intent on protesting, but relented. “All right, but please apologize to him.”

Discord harrumphed. “No pony apologizes to me for treating me like a monster!”

“Discord.”

“All right, all right!” he said, floating out of the room and grumbling under his breath. “Spike! I have another cake for you! A good one, I promise! Mostly!”

When he was gone, she rolled her eyes and returned to her seat, just in time for a blue aura to close all the doors, startling both Rarity and Twilight.

“You are spending much of your time with Discord, Twilight,” Luna said, staring down at her scroll.

“I… He’s a bit difficult, but he seems to like me,” Twilight offered, adjusting her wings against her body.

“And you seem to like him, too,” Luna replied, looking up just in time to see Twilight wince.

“Princess Luna, there’s nothing wrong with trying to be friends with him,” Twilight said, looking at the cake with determination. “He’s not bad.” She faltered. “I mean, he is, of course, but I’m sure he can be different if we give him a chance. He just needs somepony to show him a better way, and I like spending afternoons with him sometimes.”

“While you spend your nights researching an effective method to use his magic against him?”

Twilight frowned. “I’m not researching it to use it against him! It’s a magic I’ve never seen before! And I’m not just researching that! Princess Celestia wanted me to keep researching the Elements.”

Luna sighed and turned to the younger mare. “Twilight, you are treading dangerous waters. You are letting your guilt vanquish you. That beast deserves none of your pity. You did what you had to do. We all did.”

“I just…” Twilight pushed the plate away. “I don’t know.”

With those three words, the dream changed again, away from the dining room and into a room where a very irate Princess Luna was pacing back and forth, back and forth in front of a passive Celestia and a distraught Twilight, whose face lay buried in her hooves.

“Twilight, you’re sure of this?” Celestia asked, neither smiling nor frowning down at the alicorn.

Twilight nodded, face still buried in her hooves. “I saw him,” came the muffled piteous voice. “He was standing over my desk and… and…”

“And you are absolutely certain he was reading your research papers on the Elements?” Celestia asked, and Twilight finally looked up.

“I don’t know… I think so? I’m not sure!” She groaned and buried her face in her hooves again.

“Twilight Sparkle!” Luna thundered, taking her pacing to a screeching halt. “How many times have we told you to keep your room protected?!”

“I know, but I didn’t think he’d—! I thought he’d changed!” Twilight defended, looking up at the alicorn between tearstained eyes. “I thought we were friends…”

“He’s the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony!” Luna shot back, stamping her hoof against the ground. “We are nothing but entertainment for him! And you give him access to your cham—!”

“Luna, enough,” Celestia ordered, her eyes burning into her sister. “We don’t know whether he was looking at her research, and we should be grateful Twilight discovered him in time to prevent such a thing. All that matters is that her research is now where he can never find it.”

“Can’t we just tell him the truth?” Twilight suggested.

“And have him conquer Equestria again?!” Luna shot back.

“We can find a different way to stop him! I can do it this time!”

“This would have never happened if we’d banished him from Equestria!” Luna exclaimed, raising her voice and returning to her pacing. “Or forbidden interaction with ponykind! We allowed for this!”

“Banishing him would not have alleviated his hatred of us,” Celestia replied, still as calm as ever. “A truce was the only way we could hope to avoid any future conflict. Twilight was doing the right thing by trying to foster a friendship with him. If we had all followed her example, perhaps we wouldn’t be having this conversation, Sister.”

“And if we were?!” Luna insisted. “You are all so intent on proving his innocence! Have you forgotten what he did to us?! What he caused to pon—”

“If I find the Elements…”

Luna stopped talking, turning her attention to Twilight who was now standing straight, staring Luna down.

“If I find the other three Elements of Harmony, things will be all right, won’t they? If I leave Canter Capital and find them, that would fix my mistake, wouldn’t it? I can still fix this.”

“What? But that’s what he wants!” Luna protested, her ears flattening against her head. “Together is how we are stronger! Not torn apart! Perhaps you are right and he did not see your research! We are at peace now! Leaving would be telling him something is wrong!”

“Something is wrong, Princess Luna,” Twilight said, trotting past the princess and toward the door. “And it’s my fault.”

“Twilight!” Luna thundered, going after her just as the dream began to change again, and when it stopped, Rarity’s eyes grew wide upon recognizing the scenery.

A massive courtyard with dozens of different species gathered around, from dragons to yaks to zebras to changelings, all eyes focused on the four princesses and the creature floating in the air, stroking his beard.

“Honestly, I’m growing dreadfully tired of land!” he said, now crossing his arms and humming. “It’s so terribly lonely ruling alone… This time, I want something else! I’m sure you’ll agree!”

Out of all the princesses, only Celestia smiled.

“Peace between us is not acquired without mutual agreement, after all,” she said brightly.

“Yes, yes,” he replied almost absent-mindedly before turning to them and grinning. “I’d like… a companion!”

“A companion?” Cadance asked, raising an eyebrow. She sat up straight and fluffed her wings. “What do you mean?”

Discord gestured dismissively. “Oh, nothing toooo complicated. I’d like a pet!”

“A pet? They’re quite a joy to have, if I do say so myself!” Celestia said, still smiling brightly. “I simply don’t know where I’d be without my phoenix.”

Discord nodded. “Well, I want one too! And I promise I’ll take good care of him! I even got him a cage!” he exclaimed, and upon snapping his fingers, his pet appeared in the form of a terrified Spike trapped inside a cage far too small for him.

“Spike?!” Twilight gasped, standing up. “Discord, what are you doing?!”

“Twilight!” he called out, desperately reaching out through the bars of the cage, tears in his eyes. “Princess Celestia! Help me, please!”

“Now, now, let the adults talk!” Discord exclaimed, snapping his fingers and muzzling Spike. “Dragons live so long, though! I just want a companion forever!”

“You can’t!” Twilight protested. “That’s not—”

“That’s not what, Princess Twilight?” he asked, floating all the way down to her, and once again, just like five years before, he sneered in her face. “What will you do, my little pony? Turn me to stone? I thought we were friends.” He floated back up before she could reply. “Really, I’m not asking for anything outrageous! Why can’t he be my friend?” he asked, shaking Spike’s cage. “I’m sure you don’t mind letting me take care of him for a few millennia! Or, you could refuse, and I’ll be quite cross!” He glanced at the small group of changelings huddled near the dragons. “Who knows what might happen again, right, Princess Twilight?”

And then, the dream changed one last time.

It twisted, and twisted, and twisted until Rarity, alongside Princess Luna and Discord, found herself inside a dark and dank place that looked very much like the inside of a cave, and it wasn’t until she saw a translucent black barrier by the entrance that she understood just where she was.

“Twilight didn’t deserve any of this!” Luna spat. “We—”

“Princess, you brought this all upon yourselves!” Discord interrupted with glee. “Fool me once, shame on me; fool me for three years? My, my, what shame on you indeed! You really thought I’d sit there and be reformed? Oh, for the longest time, I simply couldn’t work out how a mere unicorn had single-hoofedly managed to bring me down from the God of Chaos to somepony groveling for your mercy—until I figured it out. Goodness, I couldn’t let you upstage me, could I? How am I doing, by the way?”

He snapped his fingers and an illusion of Twilight appeared, looking quite terrified.

“You should have let her face the consequences of her mistake all on her own. I always knew that little know-it-all wasn’t as strong or intelligent as you all made her out to be, but my, did you trick me into thinking she was. I suppose you had to cover it up, didn’t you, with your hero complex and all? What would Celestia do if anypony knew her precious student had made such a terrible mistake? Or Cadance, knowing her precious sister-in-law had failed Equestria? And you…” He snorted and made a dismissive gesture with his hoof. “You just wanted to pretend you were useful.”

“N-no, that is not—!”

“Unfortunately, I’m afraid I’m all out of tea, and though this has been terribly fun, I still have three more princesses to deal with! So much to do, so little time!” he said, snapping his fingers so a cup of tea appeared in his paw, which he promptly spilled all over the ground. He then threw the cup behind him, smiling when it smashed against the barrier.

“Since you’re too much of a weakling to destroy the barrier yourself, you’ll have to wait until your precious sister or friends come and save you. But don’t worry, I’m sure it won’t take too long for somepony to find them. After all, they’ll be missed, unlike other someponies.”

With a sinister laugh, he turned to leave, but then stopped.

“Oh! Silly me! I almost forgot!” The Spirit snapped his fingers and Luna’s crown appeared in his hand. “I’ll be borrowing this, Princess.” He flung the crown up in the air and clapped when it landed on his head. “Perfect for fooling those apple farmers into telling me where Princess Twilight Sparkle’s secret library is. Goodness, am I going to have fun with her.”

Rarity stepped back, her heart beating thunderously in her chest.

“Rarity.”

The dream shifted again, away from the dark cave, and now she found herself standing in front of a beautiful lake, the star-filled night reflected on its surface and Princess Luna seated beside her. Rarity stared at the alicorn, unsure of how to react or what to say.

“It haunts me still,” Princess Luna said, pensively looking down at her reflection, “the role we played in Twilight Sparkle’s self-loathing.” She offered a bitter laugh. “And to think history remembers us as tragic heroes.”

“Pr… Princess Luna…”

The princess lifted her hoof and threads of water arose from the lake, converging and forming a tapestry.

“O, what a tangled web we weave…”

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Interlude IX ~ An Enchanted Library ~

“Twilight, if what Captain Armor told me is true, then I agree with Spike. You are not at fault.”

Princess Twilight Sparkle did not immediately reply to Captain Iron Cobbler’s remark. She knew he meant it. She knew Shining Armor had meant it, as had Princess Luna, and Princess Celestia, and Cadance, and Spike. They had all meant it, and it was only polite she acknowledged their statement, wasn’t it?

“Thank you, Captain,” she said, looking up at him with what she hoped wasn’t an insincere smile. She appreciated his sentiment, even if she didn’t quite believe it.

Iron Cobbler yawned, the night sky looming overhead. “Well then, Princess, we better get back inside. My nephew should be arriving from his trip tonight, and somepony should be awake to greet him.” He looked down to his son, Apple Crisp, standing beside him, and then nodded toward Twilight’s library in the distance. “Would you like to come with me and escort the princess?” he asked, and Twilight could hardly stop a warm smile when the colt eagerly nodded.

As they made their way toward the tree, Twilight felt her steps growing heavier and heavier. Spike was gone, and without him, the thought of being alone inside the library was an unpleasant one. She missed home. She missed Canter Capital, and her mother, and her father, and her brother, and the princesses. She missed them terribly, and ever since they’d all separated to find the Elements, it felt like it’d been years since she last saw them.

Shining Armor was supposed to come see her soon, at least.

Just as they reached the library, she felt somepony patting her leg and she looked down to find Crisp gawking up at her.

“Do you want me to read you a bedtime story, Princess Twilight?” he asked.

“A bedtime story?” his father asked. “Are you trying to get out of going to bed early?”

The colt gasped. “N-no!”

In the back of her mind, Twilight thought a bedtime story would be wonderful. Maybe one where a bereaved little princess finally perfects a time-travelling spell and fixes all her problems.

“How about tomorrow?” she suggested. “I need to finish some research tonight on the elemental magics and essences of Equestria. Though… you did remind me of something.” With a spark of magic, she summoned a book from within her library, which she offered to the colt. “Here you are,” she said with a wide smile. “It’s a book on ancient Equestrian myths. Why don’t you read the first chapter, and we can read the second one tomorrow?”

The foal quickly accepted the gift and examined the cover, excitedly pointing out an armored pony that looked like his father. She waited patiently for him to finally open it to the first page and then allowed a proper grin to adorn her face when he saw the dedication meant just for him.

“It’s for me?! Thank you, Princess Twilight!” he exclaimed, barely giving her enough time to welcome him before he threw himself at her, book and all.

“It also has illustrations!” she added. “Princess Celestia illustrated some of the final chapters,” she elaborated. “I marked them out for you.”

“Can’t we read it tonight?” Crisp insisted, whining when she shook her head.

“Tomorrow,” she replied firmly, even though now she did want to read it again. “I promise.” As an added measure, she teleported a spare bag Spike had left lying around in the library and offered it to him just to make sure the book was transported in safe conditions.

“Thank you, Princess,” Iron said, bowing his head.

Twilight shook her head. “No, Captain. Thank you and your family,” she said. It feels like it’s the only family I have left…

She turned around and lifted the trapdoor to her library, staring down into the dark abyss that awaited her. Maybe, one day, when it was all over, she’d move her library up from the underground. It would be much more inviting, at least.

“Good night, Princess Twilight.”

Twilight looked away from the tunnel and smiled at the colt grinning at her. “Good night, Apple Crisp. Good night, Captain Iron,” she said before looking away, stepping down into the tunnel and closing the trapdoor behind her—just like that.

She let out a breath of air and began her descent, trying to go over her mental checklist of the many things she had to do, one of which had been her priority for so many years now that she’d stopped counting: find the Elements of Harmony.

She made her way through the dusky tunnel until she finally reached the pitch-black library. She placed her saddlebag on the floor and looked around for her companion—if it could even be referred to as such.

“Star?” she called out. “Light, please!”

In the distance, she watched as a candelabra flew up into the air and transformed into a beautiful chandelier without exploding! A pleased smile brightened her face at seeing her most recent invention finally working. No more having candelabras everywhere!

She trotted to a nearby desk, her notes scattered over it. She sat down on her haunches and tapped her hoof against the table, as if the rhythmic tapping would somehow inspire some sort of epiphany within her. She shuffled through her scrolls until her eyes landed on a drawing of an old withered tree inside a cave.

That’s where she’d found the Element of Magic. Well, technically speaking, that’s where she’d found the rock that turned into the Element of Magic and, unfortunately, she’d found nothing else. Maybe she ought to go back and look again. It would be the hundredth time, but maybe she was just that bad of a finder.

If I even knew what the other Elements were, she thought somberly. She was starting to accept that there might be no such things as Elements of Sun, Moon, and Love, but admitting that meant admitting that she’d been wrong for the past…

“Focus, Twilight,” she murmured, rubbing her eyes with her hooves.

She got up from the table and stretched her legs. Maybe some magic exercises would help her. Teleportation training was always a good choice, especially considering how it had taken her a few months to properly master short-range teleportation. She didn’t want to suddenly up and forget how to do it.

“All right, book,” she said to the tome that appeared before her. “Let’s see what you have.”

“Ah, so the rumors are true!” a chillingly familiar voice said, echoing throughout the room. “The princess is so lonely, she talks to her books. What a sad, pathetic sight.”

Every single hair on her coat stood on its end, and had she not been in the heat of the moment, she might have marveled at how fast one could go from relaxed to absolutely furious.

“Coward!” she roared, looking around the room for the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. “Come out and face me, Discord! Come out!”

Discord’s laugh filled the room. “Face you?! My dear filly, what confidence for somepony so outmatched!” In a poof of smoke, he appeared in front of her, chin resting on his intertwined hands. “You know, I always did admire that of you, Twilight.”

A growl left Twilight’s throat, and he’d barely finished his remark when a beam of magic assailed him—but his wicked grin only grew as he vanished before it could hit him. The beam hit the wall, leaving a large black mark and burning several nearby books to a crisp and enraging the alicorn even further.

“What do you want, Discord?!” she demanded. “My Element doesn’t work, and you know that!”

Discord appeared behind her, fluttering his eyelashes. “Your crown?” He snapped his fingers and Twilight’s crown appeared over her head, crooked and falling off. “I don’t want your silly little tiara!” He leaned back and arrows made of smoke appeared all over, every single one pointed at Twilight. “I’m here for you, Princess!”

“Me?” she asked, and for a split moment, fear gripped her, but as soon as she felt it, she smothered it. He disappeared before she could attack him again, and she looked around the library. “What do you want from me?! Haven’t you taken enough?!”

“Taken enough? Princess Twilight, there is nothing I have taken that you haven’t lost on your own!” he taunted from nowhere and everywhere at once. “I truly don’t understand why you’re so angry at me!”

“You won’t get away with this, Discord!” she warned, spreading her wings out. “The others will be here soon, and the four of us are strong enough to defeat you without the Elements!”

“Oh, will they?” he asked, and rematerialized next to her with a wide grin and, at the snap of his fingers, a horrifyingly familiar black crown appeared atop his head. “I do love Luny’s crown, really. Be honest, Twilight, who wore it better?”

“No,” she whispered, before rage fully consumed her and she launched another attack at him. “Where did you get that?! What did you do to Princess Luna?!”

“Twilight, this is quite the library you’ve made for yourself! The perfect secret lair for Equestria’s soon-to-be most-hated pony!” he exclaimed, nodding his head in approval as he looked around, ignoring her. He then directed his gaze downward. “And there’s another floor? Oooooh!”

And with a wicked grin, Discord quite literally phased down to the lower level. Twilight gritted her teeth and rushed to the stairs. When she finally crossed the threshold below, she saw Discord floating over her rows of neatly arranged bookcases, a yellow magic aura concentrated about his paw.

“Discord!” she roared, flying into the air and toward him.

She landed with a thud atop one of the bookcases and charged another magic beam. But before she could actually launch it, Discord gestured with his other hand and the bookcase Twilight was standing on brusquely moved away, toppling her to the floor with a painful thud.

“Princess Twilight!” Discord exclaimed. “Shall I show you my Element of Chaos?”

Just as soon as he’d finished the sentence, the magic forming around his paw grew in size, crackling and bursting with energy, and then, with a flick of his wrist, the sphere of chaos magic streaked toward Twilight, striking her before she could move to avoid it.

And yet, it didn’t so much hit her as it went inside her, filtering under her coat and, it felt, into her very soul. The first thing she felt was pain. Agonizing pain, washing all over her, followed by a calmness because her consciousness was subdued, beaten into submission by a stronger second presence. She fell limp to the floor, a black haze clouding her eyes, and her mind as blank as a freshly carved slate.

“Poor little Princess Twilight,” Discord’s voice said, flowing inside her and leaving its mark in her thoughts. Why shouldn’t it, when he was the master of the magic now possessing her body? “It was all your fault, wasn’t it?”

The three words resonated inside Twilight’s mind, and a voice inside her—the chaos magic or her own subconscious, maybe both—repeated the three words that had long ago become her mantra.

It’s my fault.

And yet, another voice fought inside her, taking the form of Spike’s voice, telling her to fight it, fight it, fight it and with a power she did not know she had, Twilight Sparkle—what little of her remained—gritted her teeth and looked up.

“Dis…cord…”

Discord simply smiled and snapped his fingers.

Nothing happened at first, and then it happened all at once. If the pain from moments before had been agonizing, this was on an entirely new level. It felt like her very soul was being ripped from her body. There was no other way to describe it. A suffocating feeling took over her, like the air was being sucked out of her lungs, like her bones were being forcibly extracted from her body.

For a moment, for a very brief and terrible moment, she wished for death, to spare her this pain.

And then it stopped, and the chaos magic burst from her body and swirled into the dozens of bookcases surrounding her.

After what seemed like an eternity, she managed to stand up, breathing in and out yet feeling as if no amount of breathing would refill her aching lungs. With what energy she had left, she splayed her wings and glowered at the Spirit, tears bordering her eyes.

“You…”

“Silence now!” Discord shouted, clapping his hands together. “The show has just begun!”

What a show it was, indeed.

Before Twilight could try to make sense of his statement, the deafening sound of creaking wood filled the room from every direction. She looked around in horror as the bookcases levitated into the air and began to rearrange themselves. Some dropped into a large ring with Twilight at the center, trapping her—except for a single bookcase-width gap in front of her. But before she could step toward it, another smaller ring of bookcases slammed back to the floor, cutting off her exit. She spun in place and saw another gap in this new ring, offset from the first, but then another ring slammed down, and another and another, and mere moments later she was trapped inside a maze built from her own beloved books with barely enough room to move.

Twilight looked back up at Discord, who was peering down at her over the top of the tightly circled bookcases. “This is your show?!”

Discord laughed, shaking his head. “Oh, no, no no! That’s just a little bonus!” He then smiled at her, tilting his head to the side. “The real show, Twilight, is what will happen when you realize what I did to you.”

Did to me…?

Twilight looked down at herself, trying to figure out what exactly was wrong with her. She still felt her magic aura, her wings were intact—she was having a bit of trouble breathing, but beyond that, nothing seemed superficially wrong. Fear overtook her at the idea that he’d somehow caused her internal damage. She looked herself over and noticed her right wing was sticking through a bookcase. The bookcases were encircling her so closely that she didn’t even have room to spread her wings properly. But her wing wasn’t sticking into an open area, into space on an empty shelf, but rather phasing straight through solid wood and clothbound paper.

She let out a piercing scream, stumbling back and through a nearby bookcase, and another, and another, Discord’s laugh intermingling with her terrified yells, until she was out of the maze.

“Why are you doing this?!” she finally yelled, tears bordering her eyes and disappearing before they could roll down her cheeks and land on the floor.

“Why?” he asked, and now did the mirth fade from his voice. “To teach a valuable lesson to little ponies who think they can trick me.”

“W-we had no choice!” Twilight protested, the terrible voice in her head screaming three words at her. “You were destroying Equestria!”

“We?! Oh, now, Twilight, let’s not play the blaming game!” Discord exclaimed, teleporting in front of her as she helplessly stepped away, wishing the nightmare would end, please, Princess Luna, please. “As far as I remember, you were the one who attacked me, weren’t you? You were my friend, and you betrayed me.”

“You were my friend, too!” Twilight retorted. “I trusted you! I didn’t want to lie to you! I know it was wrong, but I wanted to make it bett—”

“Yes! Yes, Twilight, good! You were wrong, and I was the victim! I was innocent!” he interrupted, almost hissing at her. He then leaned back and crossed his arms. “Oh, but that’s not the only time you’ve been wrong, has it?

“Twilight, Twilight, Twilight, what a sorry string of mistakes you have trailing after you,” he continued, now floating around her, throwing her a pitiful expression. A book appeared before him, which Twilight recognized as the very book she’d been writing on the events of the wars. “Look at all of this!” He let out a long-suffering sigh, flipping through the pages. “You didn’t find the Elements of Harmony; you forced your fellow princesses to lie to their kingdom; Celestia gave you another chance to find them and again you failed, and now Equestria is at war again because you couldn’t let go of one simple thing.”

“Stop it!” she cried, angry tears clouding her eyes. “I wasn’t going to let you keep Spike like a pet!”

“Of course you wouldn’t!” he agreed, looking toward her. “How could you when it meant losing your only friend? Really, even I befriended you out of pity! Who would ever want to spend time with a failure like you?”

“I-I’m no—”

He arched an eyebrow. “Oh, no? Tell me, Twilight, whose fault is it that the princesses had to resort to trickery to win a war?”

And, finally, the terrible acceptance left her lips.

“It was my fault,” she said, and Discord let out a vulpine smile.

The book floated away from him and toward her, opened to the chapter detailing the second Chaos War—which she caused.

“Your fault,” Discord repeated, and the same two words stamped themselves on the book as he said them, again and again as he repeated the same two words, over and over, moving forward as Twilight backtracked, the heart that no longer served a purpose compressing in her chest.

“Please,” she pleaded, falling to the floor, wanting to hear no more. “Stop… Go away…”

Finally, Discord did as told, the book disappearing as he leaned back. “Oh, I will! But only because I have to fetch my prize!”

Twilight looked, dread filling her up. “Prize? What prize?”

He snapped his fingers and books started flying off bookshelves and toward him.

“Now, where is the book I need? No, no, no—ah-hah!” A large book floated in the air, and the Spirit cleared his throat. “As I was saying, it might be much more fun to play with this.”

The book flew over and opened itself in front of her, the pages turning rapidly until they stopped at an illustration. The drawing depicted a large and fearsome fire-breathing creature flying overtop a volcano; volcanoes were, after all, the preferred dwelling of dragons.

“No. No! Stay away from him, Discord!” she roared, pushing the book out of the way only to find a small, very crude imitation of a purple and green dragon smiling at her from atop one of the bookcases. Its wings were much too short for its body, and the spikes on its head were much too large.

“You know, I do think the resemblance is uncanny, don’t you? Well, the only difference is that I have wings, like any proper dragon should,” he said, admiring himself. He lifted himself into the air despite the disproportionate wing to body ratio, and flew over to the top of another bookcase. “How sad that he’s your only friend left. And before you say you have ‘plenty of friends,’ let me remind you, books don’t count!”

“Y-you’ll never find him!” she exclaimed, ignoring his question and stamping her hoof against the ground.

The “dragon” laughed. “Never find him? My dearest princess, who do you take me for? I already have!” He snapped his fingers and a cage appeared around him. He turned to her and put on a pleading face, fluttering his eyes. “Poor wittle baby dragon, all alone with no one to help him.”

“Where is he?! What did you do to him?!”

The cage vanished, as did the smile on the dragon’s face. “You want to find him?” he asked, expression as grim as the atmosphere permeating the library. He disappeared and reappeared in front of the princess, having regained his original form. Before she could react, his magic took hold of her chin, forcing their eyes to meet.

“Listen well, my little pony,” he hissed. “I’ve hidden a coded map somewhere in the bowels of your precious library and if you step out of here even once without it… If a single hoof or hint of magic crosses that doorway without you having found that map… It will vanish and you shall never see your friend again.”

When he finally let go of her, he snapped his fingers and a large heart-shaped emerald appeared in his claw. “Spike made this for you once, didn’t he?”

“G-give that back!” she commanded, levitating books out of bookshelves and throwing them at him, watching helplessly as he effortlessly avoided any impact.

Discord laughed, throwing the emerald in the air and catching it in his claw before flying up toward the ceiling. “Princess Luna was so easy to trick! And now your little dragon friend, and I can hardly imagine Celestia and Cadance will be any harder!” he exclaimed joyfully. “Twilight, I must commend you! Look at all these ponies whose lives you’ve affected so terribly! But, before I go to them, I should really do something about those silly little farmers! I do believe I heard them say they wished more trees grew in the area! And they did point me to your location; it’s only right I return the favor!”

“No!” Twilight screamed, flying into the air and trying to no avail to catch Discord. “No, don’t you dare! Leave them out of this!”

Before she could stop him, Discord disappeared into the upper level, and seconds later, the maze below flashed twice, sending jolts of magic into the ground and triggering an earth-shattering quake. Twilight shrieked, watching as the ceiling quite literally sunk toward her.

Not wanting to go through the ceiling, she teleported upstairs and found Discord hovering by the exit tunnel, which was now blocked off by some sort of black barrier.

“Do you believe in ghost stories?” Discord asked. “Have you ever heard the one about the ghostly princess trapped for eternity inside a library? I hear it’s quite the tale!” He laughed and waved at her. “Goodbye, Princess! I do hope your beloved books will be good company!”

And with not another word, Discord floated back into the wall and through the tunnel, prompting Twilight to run after him and slam herself against the barrier, rolling back from the impact.

No.

She got up and tried again, and again, and again, and she slammed herself against the barrier again, and again, and again, each attempt accompanied by a desperate call for help. “Let me out!” she begged, slamming her now ethereal hooves against the only thing they could touch. “Spike! Princess Celestia! Luna! Cadance!” She slumped down against the wall. “Please… I’m sorry…”

A lonely princess walked the length of her library, having long ago lost the notion of time. It was curious, she thought, how she’d been used to a quiet library for so long and yet now…

Now the silence haunted her.

No fillies running around, screaming while they played tag. No soothing voice softly singing to the owls. No rhythmic whirring of a sewing machine. No lovely voice announcing her arrival with a sing-song calling of the alicorn’s name.

The princess made her way toward the entrance of her library, sitting down in front of the translucent raspberry barrier blocking her exit. She didn’t know how long it had been since a pony last walked through the tunnel behind it. Weeks? Months? Years? She didn’t know, and in the end, she didn’t really care.

She would wait for Rarity regardless of whether it was for a month or a thousand years more.

~ Act III ~ 32 ~ The Curse of the Everfree ~

“Pinkie, you’re positive you’ll be fine without me?”

Seeking Night would grace Hollow Shades in about a week, which gave Rarity and Pinkie only about that long to bring the tentatively named Princess Luna Confidence Project, a very long-term plan to slowly but surely combat the chaos magic plaguing Hollow Shades, to fruition.

Their current base of operations, also known as Professor Awe’s house, was filled with presents of all kinds: teddy bears, toy cars, dolls, balls, and balloons—anything a colt or filly would love to have.

“Rarityyyyy,” Pinkie said, rolling her eyes at the unicorn sitting on the other side of the table, “you already asked me that like a jillion times already, silly! I’ll be fiiiiine!”

“Yes, yes, but let’s just go over it one last time, shall we? You know just how horribly Discord has affected the lives of Luna and Twilight, and if we don’t make sure everything we do is perfect…” She drifted off, moving a doll from atop a notebook filled with enough checklists to make Twilight proud.

Goodness, she thought, pressing a hoof against her necklace, I miss Twilight.

“Now!” She cleared her throat, took a pen and underlined key words for the umpteenth time. “We know that the chaos magic affects ponies’ belief in Princess Luna, and it seems to have the most effect on ponies who’ve lived here their entire lives.”

“Uh-huh.”

“This of course means that our plan of attack—or, rather, generosity—will involve the foals of Hollow Shades. We don’t know yet if the influence of chaos magic can be reversed, but we can try and stall it for as long as we can.”

Pinkie nodded eagerly. “Yup! You said it.”

Rarity paused. “Pinkie,” she said at length. “What was the last thing I said?”

Pinkie blinked and a rosy hue tinted her cheeks. “Uhm. I wasn’t listening because I already know all this, but I know you’re repeating for yourself, and I didn’t want to make you feel like it’s not important, because it toootally is, but the teddy bear over there is super cute, and I know just who I’m—”

“Pinkie!” Rarity reprimanded. “I’m not doing this for myself!” She frowned and pointed the tip of her pen at the pony. “All right, then, Missy, what will be your tasks?”

“Oh, oh, I know this!” she exclaimed before sitting up straight and clearing her throat. “Princess Luna’s going to tell aaaaaall the foals in Hollow Shades that her super special helper—that’s me!—is going to give them all a super special present that’s made just for them!”

Rarity hummed. “And how will you know what present is the right one for each foal?”

Pinkie waved her off. “Princess Luna’s going to tell me what they like in their dreams, silly!” She giggled and took a pen herself, waving it at Rarity. “See! Pinkie knows her stuff!”

“Yes, all right, all right.” Rarity turned the page of her notebook and tapped the pen against her chin. “You also must make sure the professor continues his research. I still suspect the chaos magic is, well…” She waved her hoof in the air. “…tampering with the minds of ponies, so any insight on how to protect ponies from it will be tremendous.”

“What about you?” Pinkie asked, a note of seriousness entering her tone. “Are you ready for Ponyville?”

Rarity thought about her answer for a moment. That was quite the question indeed. In the time since her… little moment of weakness… she’d only returned to Ponyville once, and only for a few hours at that. She’d fully immersed herself in Hollow Shades and Princess Luna’s predicament, and though she was loath to admit it, she knew it was partially to keep her thoughts from wandering toward Twilight.

Which, unfortunately, was very difficult since not only was Twilight always at the forefront of her mind, but the… revelation Princess Luna had bestowed upon her had only made it harder for the unicorn to not dwell on her beloved.

Now that she truly understood why Twilight was the way she was and why she’d pushed herself into inner seclusion? Rarity had notebooks and notebooks filled with dozens of different ways of somehow helping Twilight move past her demons.

But, for that to happen, she needed to go back to Pony—

“Rarity?” Pinkie asked, waving her hoof in front of the unicorn. “You there?”

Rarity blinked. “Oh! Terribly sorry, darling, I was just thinking thoughts.” She cleared her throat. “In any case, I am indeed ready to go back to Ponyville. Besides, I don’t quite have a choice now that you-know-who is arriving.”

“I know!” Pinkie exclaimed, pressing her chin against the table and pouting. “You’re so lucky! I want to meet him too! I’ve never met a dragon before…except the ones who tried to eat us…”

Rarity arched an eyebrow. “Pinkie Pie, you’re meeting him tomorrow morning.”

“Oh!” Pinkie sat up again. “I am!” She then placed her chin on the table again. “But I want to meet him now!”

Rarity smiled good-naturedly. “Now, Pinkie, everything in due time. Princess Luna is relying on you to convey several messages to Spike, and you can’t convey them if you don’t know them yet, can you?”

“I gueeeeess…”

Satisfied, Rarity got up and glanced at the clock. Her train would be departing soon, so she might as well set off to the station early—especially if she wanted to stop by Elder Moonshine’s house and wish her an early happy Seeking Night. After all, it seemed like her future time would be shared between Hollow Shades and Ponyville, so she might as well start networking with the locals.

“Very well, then, darling,” she said, taking her cloak from the nearby rack and putting it on before making her way toward the entrance. “Please send Princess Luna my regards, and for pony’s sake, tell her she simply must stop teasing Professor Awe! He’s complained to me three times this week already!”

Pinkie giggled. “Okie-dokie-lokie! Have fun!”

As it turned out, despite her bravado, going back to Ponyville hadn’t been as easy as she’d expected.

When her train arrived, she found an enthusiastic group consisting of three fillies and two mares holding “welcome” and “we missed you” signs, and she was instantly overcome with guilt. Just because she’d been deprived of Twilight didn’t mean she had to avoid her family and friends, did it?

“Rarity!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, rushing toward the welcoming forelegs of her elder sister. “You’re not going back to Hollow Shades today, are you?”

“Oh, stars, no. Not for some time, I expect,” she reassured, disentangling herself from her little sister so as to embrace Fluttershy and Applejack.

She faltered for a moment when she noticed both ponies were sporting rather pronounced eye bags. Late nights in Ponyville, it seemed? Regardless, it wasn’t appropriate to point this out in public, so she ignored the matter for now and quickly hugged them.

“And you won’t have a total meltdown and throw ponies against walls?!” Scootaloo asked, though her tone of voice made it sound like she was more disappointed by the fact than concerned.

Rumors certainly traveled quickly. Definitely faster than she would prefer right this moment.

“I think I’ve had enough meltdowns to last me a lifetime,” she replied, feeling her cheeks heat up. “And I certainly won’t be able to help Twilight if I’m not doing well myself, now will I? Can’t find her library without a clear head.”

“Well, it’s mighty nice to have you back, Rarity,” Applejack said, trotting over and taking one of the unicorn’s suitcases. “I think we all had our apples in a bunch for a while there.”

The group made their way out of the station, and as they walked toward Carousel Boutique, Fluttershy and Applejack filled Rarity in on everything that had happened while she was gone.

“’Fraid the princess hasn’t sent us any letters,” Applejack said, looking toward the general direction of the Everfree Forest. “Reckon she really has a whole lot of faith we’ll find a way back to the library.”

“And have you made any progress in that respect…?” Rarity ventured.

“Well, we haven’t found the library, but… we found something I think might tickle your fancy,” Applejack replied. “It’ll be easier showin’ you rather than explainin’, though.”

“Applejack and I thought we could leave your things at home, and then, when night falls, we could take you to the Everfree Forest,” Fluttershy said with a surprising amount of enthusiasm which, considering it was Fluttershy and the Everfree Forest, meant that whatever they’d found must have been very promising.

“At nightfall? But it’s only midday!” Rarity said, her excitement getting the best of her. “Why not go now? Rainbow Dash isn’t due to arrive for a few hours, and—”

“Because what we want to show you only works when it’s dark, sugarcube,” Applejack interrupted. “Though…” She stopped and nodded toward the forest. “There’s something we might be able to do. Just a lil’ detour.”

Intrigued by whatever was going on, Rarity followed the group toward the border of the Everfree Forest. Once there, she watched with interest as Applejack reached into her saddlebag and took out a timberwolf’s paw, claws and all.

“Applejack!” she gasped, somewhat alarmed. “How did you—?!”

“You don’t want to know,” Applejack cut off, giving the claw to Rarity. “Take a gander.”

With some amounts of hesitation, Rarity indeed took a gander even though she… didn’t quite exactly know what she should be gandering at? She narrowed her eyes, inspecting the claw, and it wasn’t until a moment passed that she finally noticed something quite peculiar: the paw was enveloped in a very faint green magic, almost identical in color to her necklace.

“Chaos magic!” she exclaimed, excitement bubbling inside her. Of course! Timberwolves had been created by Discord, hadn’t they? But… She raised an eyebrow. “I’m not quite clear on how this will help us find Twilight…?”

Applejack pointed at one of the claws. “Use one of those and…” She lifted her hoof and tapped it against a nearby Everfree Forest tree. “Write your name here.”

Rarity blinked. “Pardon?”

“Do it, Rarity!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, jumping up in place.

When the others nodded in agreement, Rarity did as told, scratching the claw against the tree.

“It’s not working!” she exclaimed, unable to so much as leave a dent on the tree. “I can’t write anything!”

“Don’t matter none,” Applejack said. “You just write your name.”

Really, I don’t see what they’re trying to achieve with this, Rarity thought, humoring her companions and “writing” her name on the bark of the tree. Once she was done, she stepped back and returned the claw to Applejack.

“Well, that’s that, I suppose,” she said, staring at them expectantly. “Now what?”

“And now we wait for nightfall!” Applejack confirmed, trotting away with the rest of the group and ignoring Rarity’s complaints.

Honestly, acting all mysterious wasn’t becoming of any of them! What, would her name magically appear on the tree at night? Actually, that would be pretty useful. Was that why they all looked so tired?

But then again, it was chaos magic, so the magic markings would be far too obvious. Though, if it wasn’t that, what was it? Oh goodness, what if the tree screamed her name? Could trees even scream? …All right, that was ridiculous, but… what if it did?!

Rarity shook her head. Enough, I shan’t concern myself with this until nightfall.

Hours later, having finally arrived home and settled down, Rarity promptly ignored Fluttershy’s advice to relax and instead distracted herself with her actual day job. All the adventuring and princess-rescuing had moderately impacted her career, and the last thing she wanted was to lose any more of her clientele.

Maybe I ought to open a shop in Hollow Shades, she thought as she cut the patterns for a dress. There’s only one shop in that town that sells cloaks, and I wager I could give them a run for their money. I should consider visiting Mayor Mare, as well. Perhaps she hasn’t commissioned anypony to make the costumes for Seeking Night? It would be incredibly short notice, but I know she loved the ones I made last year and… and…

Last year.

In a week, one entire year will have gone by since she met Twilight, and rather than excite her, the thought only weighed her down. Twilight would spend their one-year anniversary all alone, sitting inside the library like she had for the past thousand years.

Rarity gritted her teeth, finding that her creative inspiration had quickly withered. She put her materials away and tried to focus on something else, but the harder she tried, the harder she had to fight the urge to storm out of the boutique and into the Everfree Forest.

Now she remembered why she’d avoided coming back to Ponyville.

Nevertheless, she took a deep breath. She was a changed mare, and she knew better now than to follow her impulses! She didn’t need to rush or hurry or be hasty! Rainbow Dash would soon be arriving and until that moment, she would be calm and collected and—!

Three knocks at the door interrupted her train of thought. See! she thought. Good things come to those who wait.

And indeed good things had come when she found Rainbow Dash on the other side of the door, smiling brightly at her.

“Rainbow Dash!” she greeted her, moving forward to hug the pegasi. “Is it time…?”

“To meet the awesomest lizard in Equestria?” Rainbow asked, her smile widening. “You bet it is. You ready?”

Immediately did Rarity’s heart accelerate. “Yes, yes! Let me gather my things!”

She hurried back inside, taking a moment to breathe. This was it. She was about to meet—well, technically, meet again—the only other living being besides Luna who knew Twilight a thousand years ago. And now that she truly understood the role he had in the wars of ages past…

She grabbed the saddlebag she’d prepared earlier and then quickly returned to the entrance, exiting her boutique and stopping short, surprised to find Captain Spitfire and two Wonderbolt recruits standing next to a chariot.

“Oh, Captain Spitfire! How lovely to see you!” she said, smiling at the pegasus and then throwing a confused glance at Rainbow and the chariot. “Are we travelling somewhere? I was under the impression we’d be meeting Spike on the outskirts of town? It’s not that far a walk.”

“Oh, I know, I know,” Rainbow Dash said, waving Rarity’s concerns away. “But there’s something I want to show you, so we’re taking a different route.” She gestured toward the chariot. “Hop on!” Once Rarity was settled inside the cart, she turned to Spitfire. “We’re all ready, right, Spits?”

Spitfire let out a long-suffering sigh. “Yeah, yeah. All one hundred and fifty of us.”

Rarity blinked. All one hundred and fifty of us…?

Rainbow nodded. “Awesome! Let’s do it!”

She sped off into the sky, followed in short order by Spitfire and then the chariot. Rarity held on, watching as Ponyville grew farther and farther away, until finally the chariot was high above the town. In the distance, she could see the valley where Spike was supposed to be waiting, but she failed to find any dragon or pegasi near it.

“Rainbow Dash?” she called out, still squinting at the same spot. “I can’t see Spike! Are we going to cut him off?”

Rainbow flew down next to the chariot. “Cut him off?”

“Well, yes,” Rarity said. “He doesn’t have wings, so I’m assuming he’s making his way here from Smoky Mountain by land, isn’t he? That’s why you asked for two weeks?”

“What? Oh, no way!” Rainbow Dash said, shaking her head. She grinned at Rarity and pointed at something behind her. “I asked for two weeks so I could organize that.”

Rarity turned around to see, her eyes growing wide and a hoof flying to her mouth. “Oh, my stars.”

A hundred uniformed pegasi and more were advancing toward them, flying in a perfect square formation. Each and every one of them had a chain looped around their body, with the other end bolted to a massive square platform. What shocked Rarity wasn’t so much that, however, as it was the large purple dragon lying on top of it.

The chariot flew toward him, and the closer they got, the more Rarity realized that Spike seemed either utterly terrified or utterly nauseous—both, perhaps.

“Hey, cadets!” Rainbow Dash called out. “What’s it like to be the first pegasi ever to transport a live dragon?! Isn’t it awesome?! Talk about endurance training!” When a cheer erupted from the pegasi, Rainbow turned to Spitfire. “And you said this wasn’t a good idea.”

Spitfire didn’t bat an eyelid. “It isn’t.”

“Goodness, is he all right?” Rarity asked, watching as Spike closed his eyes and took a rather deep breath.

Rainbow Dash waved her off with a gesture. “He’s cool. It’s just that he was, like, a baby dragon or something the last time he flew anywhere.” She flew down toward him. “Hey, loser! How’s the air sickness?!”

Spike finally opened his eyes and threw a scowl at her. “Come down here and I’ll spray it over you!”

Rainbow laughed. “Oh, yeah? Maybe I ought to switch this to a free-fall training session?”

“Wait, wait, wait!”

Rainbow Dash flew back up toward the chariot. “Just chill and hang on, ’kay?! We’re like five minutes away!”

Indeed, just as she’d said, the chariot landed in the valley several minutes later, followed by the careful delivery of the ancient reptile. Rarity stepped out of the chariot and watched as Spike practically bolted off the platform, not willing to risk it lifting off again, then laid down and sighed while Rainbow and Spitfire gave orders to the recruits.

This is it, Rarity thought, carefully approaching him. The single most important remaining link to Twilight.

Once the cadets had flown off, Rainbow Dash landed next to Spike and gave him a friendly pat. “See? I told you it’d be fine!”

Spike didn’t immediately reply, and instead he sat up on his hind legs and then, without warning, pressed his enormous claw down on Rainbow Dash, hiding her from sight.

“H-hey!” Rainbow Dash’s muffled voice called out. “Spike! Lemme go!”

“Huh. Weird,” Spike said, looking around in confusion. “That sounds like somepony who threatened to drop me.”

“I was kidding! Geeeez!” Rainbow protested. “Come on, stop! I’m not a kid anymore!” When Spike relented and released her, Rainbow stood up and playfully punched him. “Jerk.”

Rarity blinked, uncertain of how to feel. There was the dragon of legend, and there was Rainbow Dash, exchanging playful remarks as if he were nothing but a simple friend. It was… it was shocking, really, and she had to wonder if that was how Pinkie had felt at seeing Rarity treat Twilight as a friend rather than a living legend.

Eventually, Rainbow recaptured her attention, flying up and landing next to her.

“Here you are, Rares,” she said, patting Rarity on the back. “Spike the dragon, just like I promised.”

Rarity stepped forward, intent on introducing herself, but found herself intimidated into silence when the ancient dragon raised himself up and narrowed his eyes at her, his long tail swishing behind him. To think that such a massive beast had once been the absolutely terrified caged baby dragon she’d seen in her dreams…

“Where is Princess Twilight Sparkle?” he asked.

Straight to the point.

Rarity blinked. “The Everfree Forest,” she replied, and almost shrieked when he pushed himself onto all four legs and stretched his neck so his face would be right in front of her. She froze in place while he simply sized her up.

He sniffed once, twice, thrice and hummed. “You don’t smell like you’re lying.”

Rarity, still very much petrified, cleared her throat. “I rather think it wouldn’t be in my best interest to lie to a dragon the size of my house.”

Spike stared at her for a moment before grinning widely, giving her a very good view of his many sharp teeth. He leaned back, once again sitting on his hind legs and crossed his arms.

“I knew I liked you for a reason back in Rainbow Falls,” he said.

“Right?!” Rainbow exclaimed, flapping her wings. “I told you she was the real deal!”

And at this statement, Spike raised an eyebrow. “She did lie, though. She doesn’t know where Twilight is.”

“What?! Yes, I do!” Rarity protested, indignant. “She’s in the Eve—”

“If I asked you to go to her library right now, would you be able to do it?” he interrupted, and when she was unable to reply, he hummed again. “Then you don’t know where she is, and you’re another false lead.” He looked around and licked his lips. “I’m going to go look for some caves. I hear there’s tons of gemstones around here.”

Well, Rarity thought, less than impressed. This is not what I expected would happen.

“Hey! Wait a second, pal! You aren’t going anywhere!” Rainbow interjected, flying up into the air and practically smushing herself against his unimpressed face. “I didn’t haul you all the way here from Smoky Mountain just so you could blow her off in three seconds! She’s met Princess Twilight! She has phot—”

Spike arched an eyebrow. “And?”

Rainbow faltered at this. “A-and—! And you should help her break the curse! You’re the one who knows the most about it, and—”

“And I’m going to help her break the curse that I haven’t been able to break in a thousand years despite a thousand years of trying. Right.”

“Spike, what is your deal?!” Rainbow demanded, landing on his muzzle and stamping her hoof down on it. “What?! If she wasn’t cursed, then you’d—!”

“Pardon me!”

Both dragon and pegasus looked down at Rarity, who quite frankly was growing a bit tired of the entire affair, thank you very much. She was smart enough to see that it was going nowhere, and she certainly wasn’t going to have her time wasted, nor anypony else’s.

“Rainbow, though I appreciate the effort tremendously, I really insist you allow this fine dragon to do as he wishes,” she said.

“But, Rar—!”

“Mister Spike,” Rarity continued, smiling brilliantly at him. “Regardless of whether I was able to be of help to you or not, it was a profound honor to meet you again. Princess Twilight always spoke highly of you, and I do hope our paths will cross again. For now, I must thank you for your time and take my leave. Twilight is waiting for me, you see.”

That said, she bowed her head, turned around and trotted off, head held high.

“Hey, wait!” Spike called out to her.

Rarity stopped, allowing a vulpine smile to grace her lips before she quickly did away with it and turned around, offering the dragon an innocent expression. “Yes?”

“What do you mean Twilight is waiting for you?” he asked. “You don’t know where she is.”

Rarity fluttered her eyelashes. “Rest assured, that is only a temporary inconvenience. I gave Twilight my word that I would return to her, and I certainly don’t intend on having some curse stop me from keeping my promise.”

Spike immediately broke into a grin and pointed at Rarity. “See, now that’s not a lie!” he exclaimed to Rainbow Dash before turning to Rarity again. “What do you want to know?”

Rarity pressed a hoof to her chest, ignoring Rainbow’s intensely perplexed expression. “Why, Spike! I am so delighted you asked.”

In the several hours they’d been talking while Rainbow Dash was off looking for a gemstone cave, Rarity had found Spike was a lovely conversationalist. They’d settled down in the valley, the dragon curling up into a ball and allowing Rarity to sit on the tip of his tail.

“But that’s impossible!” Rarity exclaimed. “How can you be unable to cut them down?!”

“I know it sounds ridiculous, but there’s no way to cut the Everfree Forest down,” Spike replied. “Or burn it down, or freeze it, or anything. Discord’s magic can’t be beaten.”

“There must be a way!” Rarity insisted. “I remember that following my instincts led me to timberwolves, so obviously if I go in what I feel is the wrong way, I’ll find the library.”

Spike frowned. “And you think I didn’t try that a zillion times as a kid? I’ve been cursed for a thousand years. There’s nothing you can suggest that I haven’t already tried. And it wasn’t just me. Royal guards tried too, and dozens of ’em.”

“And you’re positive you can’t just tear down the forest? Look at you, for pony’s sake!” she exclaimed, gesturing at him. “You could easily destroy an entire house with a flick of your wrist!”

“Heh, probably,” he agreed, and suddenly Rarity could see where Rainbow Dash got her confidence from. He then shook his head. “But not that forest!”

Rarity sighed theatrically. “Well, then what? If you can’t help me, what else can I do? Shall I go back to Princess Denza and insist…” She drifted off, lifting her hoof and pressing it against her mouth. “Wait a moment. You… Surely Princess Denza knows of you! You could ask her to—”

“No,” he interrupted almost immediately. “I have had nothing to do with the royal family for nearly six hundred years, and I plan on keeping it that way for the foreseeable future.”

“But why?” she asked. “Is it because of the curse?”

“I have my reasons,” he replied curtly, signaling he would not be offering any more information on the subject.

“Very well, then,” she said with a sigh. “However, and I apologize for saying so, but I’m having a hard time believing you didn’t find the library if you spent as much time as you say you did inside the Everfree Forest.”

Spike clearly did not like the remark, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. However, rather than telling her off, he softened his gaze and said, “It was because of Discord. He told me he moved the library away from the Everfree Forest and trapped Twilight somewhere else in Equestria.”

Rarity let out an unladylike snort. “Come now, Spike, really. That’s impossible!”

“That’s what I said, too,” he replied. “I don’t know if it was the curse, or the forest, or what, but it wasn’t there anymore. It was like he ripped the entire tree from the ground and planted it Celestia knows where.”

“‘Celestia knows where’ indeed…” she repeated, sighing and rubbing her forehead. Moments later, a smile formed on her lips. “Twilight says that, as well, you know.”

Spike blinked. “Says what?”

“Celestia knows where,” she replied. “I always notice it. It’s a rather uncommon expression, as you can imagine.”

Spike smiled. “She would,” he said. “Old habits just die hard with us, I guess.”

Rarity fell silent, lifting her hoof and playing with her necklace. “Do…” She looked up at him. “Do you remember much of your childhood? Of her?”

Spike didn’t immediately reply. It seemed he was lost in thought, his brow furrowing until a moment later he simply replied, “No.”

Rarity held onto the necklace. “Oh… That’s unfortunate.”

“I mean, I remember some things. General stuff, but… most of the good stuff kinda fades away with time. The only thing that’s stuck with me is the bad stuff. You’d think it’d be the opposite, but…” He fell silent again. “I don’t remember her voice, or anything like that, but… But I remember I love her. That’s never left me.” He paused a third time and grinned. “And the Star Swirl Decimal System. She drilled that into me good.”

“Oh my stars, you too?” Rarity exclaimed, playfully rolling her eyes. “I once made a mistake with one of the classes, and you’d think I’d slapped her twice! And don’t even get me started on the teleportation!”

“No, wait, get started!” Spike exclaimed, now staring at Rarity with rapt attention.

“Well, several months ago, she was suddenly Tartarus-bent on having me learn teleportation, and you’d think I’d wandered into a drill camp!” she said. “Just because she’d mastered it in two weeks or so, she expected me to do it as well!”

“What?! She said that?!” Spike exclaimed, snorting loudly. “Look, I don’t remember much, but Twi did not master teleportation in two weeks. I don’t think she even really mastered it for like three months.”

Rarity arched an eyebrow. “Well, well, well, Princess Twilight Sparkle, you devious little liar!” she murmured, playing with her necklace. “That will be an interesting conversation, indeed.”

“What’s that necklace on your neck, by the way?” he asked. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed it’s broken.”

Rarity coughed, her cheeks tinting red. “Oh, dear! Yes, it is. Quite unfortunate.”

“You grab it when you talk about Twilight. I noticed,” he continued, eyes fixed on the broken transparent crystal. “You’ve been doing it this entire time. It’s kind of distracting.”

The faint blush on Rarity’s cheeks grew. “I hadn’t even realized!” she confessed, suddenly feeling quite self-conscious. “Though I’m not surprised. It used to be enchanted into allowing me to, err, mentally communicate with her. She has an identical one back in the library.”

Spike frowned. “Wait. Wait, I remember that! That was one of the spells she was working on! I know because we couldn’t get it to work with me because I didn’t have pony magic.” He then stopped and leaned back a little, as if he were seeing Rarity in an entirely new light. “Wow. She must really like you.”

Rarity played with a curl of her mane. “Ah… I suppose so, yes,” she said evasively. She cleared her throat and continued, “Unfortunately, as you can see, it broke a while back, the spell severed, and we very foolishly never replaced it.” She looked down at the necklace and felt a tug at her heart. “It’s the only thing I have left of her.”

“Yeah,” Spike said, oddly subdued. “I know that feeling. I—”

“Rarity!”

She turned around, seeing Applejack in the distance, waving at her. She looked up at the sky, only then noticing it was going to be dark soon.

“Oh dear, it’s almost nightfall! Where did time slip off to?” she exclaimed, looking back toward Applejack and waving in reply. “I’m afraid I have to go. That’s my frie—”

“AJ, right? Rainbow told me about your friends,” Spike said, looking beyond Rarity and at the earth pony waiting in the distance. “They’re helping you find Twilight again, right?”

Rarity smiled brightly. “They are, indeed!” she exclaimed, jumping down from his tail. “We’re all in this together, are we not?”

Spike grinned at her. “Yeah. I’ll wait here for Rainbow. Just don’t forget to come back and get me if you find Twilight tonight, huh?”

“Of course,” she replied, bowing her head before trotting off toward Applejack. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

As she approached Applejack, she couldn’t help but notice the absence of Fluttershy. Wasn’t the pegasus supposed to come with them on their task? Or was she already waiting by the Everfree Forest?

“Applejack! Ready to go, are we?”

Applejack offered a toothy grin, a lantern hanging from her neck. “Just waitin’ for you, sugarcube,” she said. “Big feller, that dragon. Is he really…?”

“The dragon from the legend?” Rarity nodded. “Perhaps tomorrow you might join me in visiting him? He’s awfully nice, and I’m sure he’d love to meet you.”

“Sounds good to me.” She cleared her throat and turned around, leading the way toward the forest. “Anyway, one of Fluttershy’s lil’ critters got mighty sick, so she ain’t comin’ with us tonight.”

“Oh, that’s unfortunate…”

At any other time, she’d have offered to wait until tomorrow so Fluttershy could join them, but her desire to see what they’d been planning was too overpowering. As such, she and Applejack continued on their way to the forest, exchanging idle chit-chat as they did so.

“And the amount of tourist traps! They should be ashamed of themselves, profiting off Prince—”

“Rarity, that’s mighty interesting,” Applejack interrupted, obviously not interested at all. “But you might want to look over there.”

Rarity looked in front of her, realizing they’d already nearly reached the forest. However, if there was something interesting to be found, she was definitely not seeing it. She did faintly recognize the tree she’d “written” on earlier, though. She trotted toward it and it wasn’t until she was several feet away that her heart sped up at seeing her name glowing on the tree.

“I was right!” she exclaimed with pleased delight, rushing to the tree and observing the phenomenon.

“A timberwolf attacked me last week while I was searchin’ for the library,” Applejack explained, taking the timberwolf claw from out of her saddlebag. “Thing scratched a tree instead of me, and left big glowing marks on it, and that’s where we got the idea.” She used one of the claws to draw a line on the tree. “Nothing else seems to work against the trees except for this.”

“Yes, Spike said no magic or force could damage the forest,” Rarity said. A devilish smile spread across her face. “But it seems the Spirit hadn’t thought of his own magic being used against him, did he?”

“Filly, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” Applejack said with a smile, putting the claw away, adjusting her hat, and trotting the length of the forest. “Hurry up, now! Harry’s waitin’ for us.”

They trotted for about ten more minutes, when Rarity noticed a bear lingering outside the forest, busily digging in the beehive nestled in his arm. Isn’t that Fluttershy’s animal friend?

“Harry!” Applejack called, and immediately the bear looked up, growling loudly and making his way toward them. “Rarity, this here’s Harry,” she continued, gesturing toward the bear. “He’s been coming with us into the forest for the past few weeks. Timberwolves ain’t so excited about seeing him, I can tell you that.”

“Well! It’s a pleasure having you with us, Harry,” Rarity said, admittedly feeling much more at ease about going into the forest now. She then turned to Applejack, eager to get started with… whatever they were supposed to get started with. “What is our plan of attack, darling?”

Applejack nodded toward a tree. “Look over there.”

Rarity did as told, walking toward the tree and noticing a glowing inscription. The number one had been marked down, along with an arrow pointing inside the forest. “Wait a second…” She stepped past the tree and realized the next one over had been marked with the number two, along with an arrow pointing to tree number three, and then four, five, six…

“You…” She turned back to Applejack, her heart practically beating right out of her chest. “You’ve been…”

“We’re up to our five hundredth tree,” Applejack said, taking the timberwolf claw out again. “Fluttershy and I have been taking turns every night. It might take us a long time, but we figure this might be easier than trying to stumble into the library.” She hoofed it over to Rarity, who felt like her hoof was shaking as she took it. “Why don’t you take the lead?”

Rarity nodded dumbly, a giddy smile spreading across her lips as she turned back toward the tree and tried not to gallop as she followed the markings. She rushed past the hundreds, past the two hundreds, past dozens of trees and numbers. As she did so, the familiar sickness from before came and went, but she made an effort to ignore it, to follow what was real and steady and the only actual string of hope she’d had in months.

Unfortunately, by the time she actually caught up to where Fluttershy and Applejack had left off, she felt like she’d never be able to walk again.

“I told you to slow down, for pony’s sake,” Applejack scolded, watching Rarity leaning against a tree, trying to catch some of her breath.

“Stars above, you have to do this every night?” she asked, moving away from the tree and trying to shake away the exhaustion from her legs. “At this rate, it’d be more efficient to just bring a tent and sleep here!”

“Well, we ain’t gonna mark more trees if you just stand there whining,” Applejack pointed out with a smile. “Up and at ’em!”

“Excuse me, I am not whining! I am simply pointing out more reasonable solutions!” she said, indignant.

She marched her way toward the next tree and continued the work, trying not to think too much about the fact that the Everfree Forest must be made up of thousands upon thousands of trees. It didn’t help that they hadn’t found anything else yet, as Rarity had hoped. Running into one of the abandoned houses would have meant they were somewhat close, after all.

However, after a couple hours, a few hundred trees, and two frightening occasions where Harry had bitten half the wood off two timberwolves, she encountered something definitely bizarre, to say the least.

“What is this?”

There, in front of her, was what could only be described as an enormous and seemingly endless sinkhole. She trotted toward it and carefully peered over the edge. Applejack did the same, and illuminating it with her lantern revealed that the thing must go on for at least a mile.

“The Everfree Forest sinkholes,” Applejack said, stepping back. “Fritter Cobbler talked about them in his diaries.”

“How far down do you think it goes?” Rarity asked.

Applejack looked around, grabbed a nearby rock from the ground and flung it into the hole, both of them watching as the rock faded out of sight.

“I’d say it goes down deep enough I don’t feel comfortable being so close to the edge,” Applejack remarked. After a few moments of waiting for the sound of the rock hitting bottom—which never came—she looked around and trotted toward the next unmarked tree. “Well, let’s keep goin’! These trees ain’t going to mark themselves!”

Rarity, however, was still too entranced by the sinkhole. Why in Equestria is this here? She trotted around it, and the more she observed it, the more unsettled she felt. It didn’t even look naturally formed. It was as if somepony had carved a perfectly circular hole and pulled out the ground.

“Applejack,” she called, looking to the mare. “You said Fritter Cobbler saw this before?”

Applejack nodded. “Sure did. He said in his diaries that he saw dozens of ’em all over the forest.”

Rarity frowned and bit her lip. Dozens of them? But that makes no sense! She’d travelled the forest a thousand times, and this was the first time she was seeing something like this! Why, she practically spent an entire day looking for Elara in the forest before she’d been curs…

She stepped back, her eyes growing wide.

“Applejack, another question,” she said carefully, trying to steady her breathing. “These sinkholes. Does he mention them before or after he’d been cursed?”

“After,” Applejack replied, stepping toward Rarity, apparently intrigued. “…Why?”

Rarity’s heart felt like it’d gone haywire, slamming against her ribs. Her earlier conversation with Spike came rushing back.

“It was because of Discord. He told me he moved the library away from the Everfree Forest… I don’t know if it was the curse, or the forest, or what, but it wasn’t there anymore. It was like he ripped the entire tree from the ground and planted it Celestia knows where.”

And wasn’t the library sitting right in the middle of a perfectly circular depression?

The claw fell to the ground, Rarity stepping back several paces.

“Rarity?” Applejack asked, sounding alarmed. “What’s wrong? What is it?”

It felt like her mind had gone numb. It was an illusion. She stared at it, right at the middle, knowing there was a very real possibility that she was standing in front of the library. And so she stepped back again, and again, and again, and then, without warning, galloped forward.

“Rarity!” Applejack yelled, reaching for her lasso. “What are you doing?!”

Rarity reached the edge of the sinkhole and, without hesitation, jumped toward the middle, ignoring Applejack’s and even Harry’s horrified calls. She went forehooves first into the hole, dropping past ground level, and then landed on thin air with a thud, Applejack’s lasso loosely wrapping itself around her torso.

“Well,” Applejack said, stopping and staring. “I’ll be.”

Rarity, on her side, was too entranced by the fact that the lower half of her body looked like it had quite literally faded out of existence. She shook free of the lasso and then, slowly and carefully, lifted her hoof and made her way toward the center of the sinkhole.

Except, to her despair, she made it all the way to the other side without bumping into anything.

“It’s not here,” she whispered. She turned to Applejack and Harry. “Quickly!”

She climbed onto the surface, looking around and rushing toward where she’d dropped the timberwolf claw. Once she had it, she ran to the next tree and marked it, and then on with the next, and the next, and the next, her body pushed forward by the adrenaline rushing through it.

Eventually, though they reached another sinkhole, Rarity didn’t immediately jump in.

“What’s wrong?” Applejack asked, noticing Rarity’s hesitation. “You think this might be a real one?”

Rarity shook her head. “No, this must be another illusion.” She looked at her friend. “Do you feel sick?”

Applejack arched an eyebrow. “Sick? I feel as fine as a fresh app—Oh.”

Rarity ran past the sinkhole and onto the next unmarked tree. “Hurry!”

She didn’t know how much time went by, or how many more trees she marked down, but she didn’t quite care as long as nighttime didn’t run out on her yet. Finally, the strange sense of sickness began to take over her, and her hope tripled when she saw a sinkhole in the distance. She stopped marking trees and went to it, her gut instinct waging a peculiar battle between feeling she was both going the right way and going the absolute wrong way.

“This is it,” she said when she reached the edge, heart hammering in her chest again and the distinct desire to turn around and leave overpowering her senses. She walked in circles around it, eyes glued to the center. “I’m sure of it, this is it.”

Applejack took out her lasso again, untied it and threw it to Rarity. “Put this on. We ain’t takin’ any risks.”

Rarity did as instructed, firmly tying the rope around her body before trotting toward the edge of the sinkhole. It felt like her entire body was shaking, and though she’d jumped into the other sinkhole without a shred of hesitation, now…

If she was right…

But if she was wrong about these sinkholes…

She took a deep breath. Both she and Twilight had waited long enough, hadn’t they?

She took several steps back, gratefully accepting the encouraging smile Applejack offered, and then galloped forward, jumped and, like before, landed on thin air. However, the moment her hooves touched the ground, an agonizing headache forced her to her knees.

“Rarity! What’s wrong?!”

Rarity buried her head in her hooves, eyes shut and a most unladylike groan forcing its way past her lips. After a moment, she heaved herself into a standing position, opening her eyes and immediately letting out a terrified shriek at the sight of dozens of timberwolves surrounding the sinkhole.

“Applejack?!” she called out, finding the mare nowhere in sight. It didn’t help that her head still felt like it was splitting apart and she couldn’t see or feel the lasso around her body. “A-Applejack, where are you?!”

“Where am I? What in tarnation are you talkin’ about?!” Applejack’s voice came from somewhere. “You’re lookin’ right at me!”

Hallucinations!

“I’m—! I’m hallucinating! Just… Give me a moment!” Rarity explained. She turned around, focusing her sights on the center of the sinkhole. She lifted her hoof again, and took a step forward, but as soon as she did, the headache somehow worsened. She fell to her knees again, biting down on her lip and feeling tears roll down her cheeks.

“Rarity.”

Her eyes shot open, and she looked up, finding the timberwolves were gone and now Princess Twilight Sparkle stood on the edge of the hole, staring Rarity down with an impassive expression.

“Rarity,” she said again. “Why are you doing this? I don’t want to be saved.”

Rarity let out a choked laugh. “A-ah, Princess… L-lying isn’t becoming of…” She groaned. “L-lying isn’t becoming of you.”

“And what makes you think delusions of heroism are becoming of you?” Twilight, or the illusion of her, asked. “What makes you think you can save me?”

With every ounce of willpower inside her, Rarity stood back up. Oh, darling, she thought, lifting her hoof and taking another step forward. You’re quite mistaken. You’re going to save yourself, not I.

Twilight frowned, her wings flaring as she slammed her hoof against the ground. “I told you! I don’t want to be saved!”

Rarity gritted her teeth, taking another step forward.

Maybe you don’t want that, but the real Twilight does.

Gathering all her strength, Rarity broke into gallop, ignoring Twilight’s protests and the timberwolves’ howls filling the air. She galloped and galloped until she slammed against something and violently rolled back onto the ground.

She lay on the ground for a moment, winded, and trying to regain some sort of composure. The sound of Applejack’s voice roused her into action, as well as the fact that her headache had almost completely disappeared.

Did that mean…?

Time felt like it had come to a stop. The headache was gone. The hallucinations were gone. But what if she turned around and the tree wasn’t there?

“Rari—?”

“Yes! I’m fine!” Rarity called out, getting up on her hooves. “Give me a moment, I…”

She drifted off, her eyes fixed on the now-visible ground. Her breathing hitched, and her eyes filled with tears when she lifted her gaze and found the large oak tree she’d thought she’d never see again. It felt like a dream, nearly, and she’d soon wake up and find herself back in Hollow Shades.

But, if that was a dream, then she wanted to finish it before she woke up.

Driven by this sole desire, Rarity tore the trapdoor open, shrugged off the lasso, and rushed down the stairs, ignoring Applejack’s calls all the while. When she set hoof in the tunnel, she froze at the sight of not only the illuminated library entrance in the distance but, just like so many times before, the sight of Princess Twilight Sparkle standing at the barrier, ears perked up.

Neither said a word.

They stared at each other across the distance, and in the back of her mind, Rarity wondered if Twilight too was half-expecting it all to be a dream, an illusion that was bound to shatter and be proven untrue.

Rarity willed herself forward, every step as slow and measured as the last, until something shattered under her hoof. She looked away from Twilight and toward the ground, finding the remains of the clock and the calendar Twilight had been using to mark the passage of time. Almost unconsciously, she picked up the discarded items with her magic and neatly pushed them to the side before returning her gaze to the alicorn and continuing on her path.

It wasn’t until she was at the barrier that Twilight backtracked, allowing Rarity to be bathed with the light of the chandelier and the relief—the infinite relief—of being back home. The two mares stared at each other, the rest of the world having faded into a blur.

“I’m sorry, Twilight,” Rarity whispered with an apologetic smile, tears bordering her eyes. “Were you waiting long?”

Like Rarity’s, the princess’s eyes filled with tears, her ears folding back.

“How…” She looked at Rarity’s necklace. “How long have you…”

“Just a few months. The longest months of my life,” Rarity replied, and even she could see the relief in Twilight’s eyes. Three months was nothing compared to years, or more.

Except… except the relief in Twilight’s eyes was short-lived and the tears and sadness in her eyes returned and increased, her gaze still fixed on Rarity’s necklace as she stepped back.

“Twilight…”

“I…” Twilight paused and finally lifted her gaze. “I can’t hold you,” she whispered helplessly, and what a silly statement it was, Rarity thought, because Princess Twilight Sparkle already held in her hooves everything Rarity was and would ever be.

“Oh, my darling, I know,” Rarity replied, stepping forward and lifting her hoof, tracing with it the air next to Twilight’s cheek.

It seared her. It seared her because Rarity too wanted to throw herself at Twilight, to hold and hug and kiss her and know without the shadow of a doubt that the nightmare was over, and she couldn’t.

“Rarity, I don’t…” Twilight choked on her words, visibly trying to steady her breathing. “I don’t—”

“Twilight, the communication spell,” Rarity softly interrupted, pressing a forehoof to her necklace. “We could try the communication spell. Do you have your necklace?”

Twilight’s eyes widened, and after a shaky nod, she teleported away and returned mere seconds later, her necklace floating beside her. “D-do you remember h-how to—” She cut herself off when Rarity nodded, her magic already enveloping the crystal hanging from her neck.

Heart hammering in her chest, Rarity waited for Twilight to count down to three before casting the initial communication spell. She followed the spell’s rules, allowing herself to be completely lost in thoughts about Twilight, and how much she’d missed her, and how—

Ping!

Her eyes flew open and a shaky laugh left her lips at the sight of her brightly colored pink necklace. It worked!

There was a moment of silence until finally Twilight spoke with quiet care:

“Rarity, not fixing the spell the second it severed was one of the stupidest things we’ve ever done.”

“Absolutely,” Rarity blurted out. “Yes. I agree. Yes. That was very thoughtless of us, yes.”

“Incredibly thoughtless.”

“Well, love does make one act like an idiot, does it not?” Rarity offered, and when Twilight couldn’t help a laugh, Rarity felt a crashing relief flood her.

Stars, the nightmare really was over, wasn’t it?

“Hoo-wee!”

She turned around and a winded Applejack walked into the library, falling onto her haunches and sighing.

“If I never see those hallucinations ever again, I’ll die a darn happy mare,” she said, taking her hat off and wiping her brow. She then looked up and nearly jumped up at the sight of the gawking alicorn. “Princess Twilight!”

“A-Applejack…”

“Princess, if you weren’t a ghost, I’d hug you. I can’t tell yo— Actually, you know what? I don’t even care,” Applejack said, moving forward and hugging Twilight, her forelegs going through the alicorn’s chest. “It’s mighty good to see you.”

Applejack’s remark stirred a thought in Rarity.

“I have to go,” she said, stepping back.

Twilight’s reaction was immediate, her expression going from delighted to horrified.

“What?! But you just came back!” she gasped, and suddenly enveloped Rarity’s entire body with her magic, fixing her into place. “You can’t leave me again! I’ve been waiting—!”

“I know, darling, I know, I know,” Rarity interrupted, trying to gesture in a soothing motion. “But, don’t you think Spike has been waiting even longer to see you…?”

Twilight’s eyes widened, her magic fading out as she whispered, “…What?”

Rarity turned to Applejack. “Applejack, I need—”

“Don’tcha worry none, Rarity,” Applejack said, putting her hat back on. “I’ll stay here with the princess.”

With nothing but a nod and a smile, Rarity turned and ran through the tunnel, practically flew up the stairs, and rushed toward the edge of the depression, but stopped immediately when a loud hoot sounded off. She turned around and a smile swept across her face at the sight of two familiar owls sitting atop Harry the bear and staring at her with wide eyes.

Themis reacted first, shooting toward her and greeting her by wrapping her entire face in a feathery hug.

“Themis, darling, I’m thrilled to see you too, but I can’t see!” she exclaimed, using her magic to extract herself from his wings. She found Elara flying above her, waiting patiently for a prompting.

“Please!” she called out to her. “I need to go back to Ponyville!”

Elara hooted and Rarity ran after her, Themis, and Harry, the necklace bouncing against her chest. An eternity later, she finally reached the town, only just starting to wake up with the rising sun. Shopkeepers mounting their stands greeted her as she galloped past them, her mind too focused on casting the communication spell, and it wasn’t until she reached the valley that the familiar ping sounded off.

She came to a stop, taking a lungful of air as she tried to cope with the mindmeld after so long. Thoughts rushed around in her head, both hers and Twilight’s, but they both ceased once her eyes landed on the distant dragon.

She started walking again, and yet, it didn’t quite feel like it was Rarity moving her legs forward. She’d willingly repressed herself, silently following the latent desires of her other half. The closer she got, the more she could make out in the darkness, and though Spike…

Spike.

Though the dragon seemed to be asleep, she saw Rainbow Dash sitting by a nearby campfire, apparently wide awake, and in turn the pegasus noticed her.

“Rarity? Rarity!” Rainbow called, getting up and trotting toward her, and how odd it was to wonder who Rainbow was for a split-second.

“Rarity, I’ve got a bone to pick with you!” Rainbow said upon reaching the mare, jabbing a hoof on Rarity’s chest. “You’ve got some nerve! I literally flew a forty-foot dragon here for you, and you can’t even, like, wait two hours for me to come back before running off to—” She stopped and stepped back, furrowing her brow. “Wait, are you crying? Why are—” She stopped again, her eyes landing on the glowing necklace. “Oh.”

Rarity blinked at her before silently moving her gaze toward the dragon.

Rainbow looked back at Spike. “Oh.” Then back at Rarity. “Spike. Spike. Spike!” she yelled, running toward the dragon and pounding her forehooves on him. “Spike, wake up! Wake up!”

The dragon groaned, rolling onto his other side and nearly squashing Rainbow Dash in the process. His frowning face, however, was now clearly visible, and he swatted away at something.

“No, I don’t want to read more books, Twilight,” he sleepily mumbled. “I want to eat more cake…”

Rarity fell down to her haunches, her forehooves flying to her mouth as her eyes again welled up with tears. The shock Twilight felt was very much hers now, and she felt no desire to make it go away because she wanted this to happen as much as Twilight did.

“Spike! Spike, wake up!” Rainbow insisted, flying up into the air and landing on his head. “Twilight is here! Or Rarity, actually? I don’t even know, but just wake up, you sleeping lazy sack of scales, or I’ll—!”

Another groan interrupted her, and finally did Spike’s eyes flutter open. He lifted his claw and grabbed Rainbow Dash, ignoring her surprised yelp.

“Rainbow,” he murmured, placing the pegasus back on the ground and lifting his head to glare at her. “It’s not even morning.” His eyes then landed on Rarity, who was still sitting on the ground gawking at him, and then he seemed to properly wake up, stretching his face out to her and squinting. “Rarity…?”

She lowered her forehooves, stood up, and slowly walked toward him. She stopped a few feet away from his face, and then, almost cautiously, lifted her hoof and stroked the tip of his muzzle. No sooner had she done so did she step back, her breath catching in her throat and a choked sob leaving her mouth.

Spike stared at her, at a loss of what was going on. “Er…”

“The necklace, Spike!” Rainbow blurted out, flying up and landing on his head. “The necklace, it’s glowing!”

He immediately sat up straight, staring at Rarity as though she were a ghost. His eyes flickered back and forth between Rarity and Rainbow. “She’s… You… Can she hear…?”

Rarity nodded.

“Yes,” she replied, lifting her hoof and pressing it against the necklace. “She can see and hear you.”

Spike faltered for a moment before looking toward the campfire and grabbing a saddlebag. “Rainbow, where’s—?!” He practically tore it apart, its contents littering onto the ground, when finally he dropped the entire thing and grabbed something from the bunch. In a very child-like way, he pressed his balled up claw against his chest before dropping a heart-shaped emerald at her hooves.

Which both sides of Rarity recognized.

“That… Discord gave me that a long time ago. It’s the last thing I have of Twilight,” he explained, his voice leveled. “Tell me something only she’d know about it. Please.”

Rarity took the gemstone in her hoof, carefully looking it over and remembering what it was—not that Twilight had ever forgotten, of course. A smile spread across her face, she looked up at Spike with twinkling eyes, and exclaimed, “Why, I do believe this is her favorite Hearth’s Warming present she’s ever received. You gave it to her when you spent the holidays in Trottingham, didn’t you?”

What a sight it was, to see a thousand-year-old dragon cry.

Large tears formed under his eyes, rolling down his cheeks and falling to the ground. He gulped, his mouth opening and closing several times, and for a moment, it felt like Twilight’s consciousness had retreated, waited patiently for his reaction.

“Spike?” Rainbow prompted after a moment of silence. “Are you ok— Woah!”

Spike had fallen on all fours, bowing his head to Rarity, eyes scrunched close. “I’m sorry,” he said, and his voice sounded so childlike. “Please, tell her I’m sorry.”

Rarity stepped back, ears folding back. “Sorry?” she asked, both parts of her horrified by the statement. “Spike, whatever for?!”

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, still refusing to look up, still subdued. “Isn’t she… Isn’t she mad at me for not having found her? I failed!”

Two hearts broke at the statement, which only intensified the feeling overcoming both Rarity and Twilight. However, before either one could react, Rainbow landed in front of her, looking absolutely mortified.

“No, no, no! Don’t listen to him!” she blurted out, grabbing Rarity by the shoulder and shaking her. “Rarity, Princess Twilight, whoever, please, you need to listen to me! He’s never stopped looking, ever, I promise! Even when I was a kid, he—! You’ve heard of the growing trees of Whitetail Woods, haven’t you?! How trees were uprooted for no reason and then replanted and nopony knew what was going on?!” She pointed at Spike with her hoof, tears in her eyes. “That was him! Looking for the library underground! He’s never stopped looking for her! He’s the reason I joined the Wonderbolts! He’s why I killed myself trying to be the youngest captain! So I could help him!” She turned toward him and slammed her hoof against the ground. “You are not a failure! You’re my hero, and you should be Princess Twilight’s too!”

Without a word to Rainbow, Rarity walked forward, past the pegasus and straight to Spike, once again brushing her hoof against his muzzle. “Oh, sweetheart,” she whispered, and Spike opened his reddened-eyes. “She’s not mad at you. She loves you more than you can possibly imagine.”

As though he’d reverted to being a baby dragon, he tearfully whispered, “…I love her, too.”

Rarity laughed, wiping away her tears. “She knows, and…” She stepped back, raising a foreleg. “If you’d be willing, she’d really love a hug from you.”

Not a moment passed before Spike’s claw wrapped itself around Rarity, allowing her to hug what she could of his muzzle, her—and Twilight’s—tears falling onto his scales.

In the back of her mind, Rarity knew there was still much to be done, and the hardest battle had perhaps yet to arrive, but for now? For now she was content with the heavenly knowledge that the nightmare she’d been in was finally well and truly over.

Author's Note

Been a long day without you my friend, and I'll tell you all about it when I see you again ~♫

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act III ~ 33 ~ The Shared Memories ~

It was strange that, for once, Rarity was the one impatiently waiting for somepony else at the train station. A large cup of coffee floated beside her, which she’d bought on account of not sleeping since her reunion with Spike a few hours back. Then again, it wasn’t as though she really needed the coffee, since she felt very much awake.

She’d had a busy early morning, after all: going to Cheerilee’s house and insisting that Scootaloo, Sweetie, and Apple Bloom were needed at home due to private matters; waking up Fluttershy, insisting she not ask questions and instead go get the Cutie Mark Crusaders together then wait for her by the edge of the forest; and, finally, going to the station and waiting for Pinkie’s morning train.

Eventually, a giddy smile swept over her face at the sight of a distant train rolling toward the station. Earlier, she’d hidden her necklace when fetching Fluttershy, but now she quickly took it out of her saddlebag and put it on. She then watched as the train came to a stop and found an equally giddy pink pony waving at her, face comically pressed against the window.

“Hi, Rarity!” Pinkie exclaimed, jumping off the train, her saddlebags thumping against her body. “Did you meet Spike?!”

“Indeed I did!” Rarity said, smiling brightly and puffing out her chest in an attempt to give her necklace more prominence. “And good morning! Did you sleep well?”

Pinkie shook her head. “Not reeeeeally. Writing down all of Princess Luna’s questions took waaaay longer than I thought, even after Princess Luna made Professor Awe help me!” She giggled, glanced left and right as if to make sure nopony was eavesdropping, then leaned in to whisper, “She said she’ll stop visiting his dreams if he didn’t help.” She bounced up and began to hop away. “So! Are we going to see Spike now?!”

“Yes, we are, but only briefly, I fear,” Rarity answered, pulling Pinkie back with her magic and plopping her back in front of her. “There’s somepony else we must visit.”

Pinkie’s ears dropped. “But, Rarityyyyy! I’ve been waiting aaaaaall of yesterday! Can’t they come with us, and then… and then…” She drifted off, her eyes gluing themselves to the grinning unicorn’s necklace. Slowly, she leaned down so that the tip of her nose poked the necklace before suddenly jolting straight up, sitting right next to Rarity and loudly whispering, “Rarity?”

“Yes, darling?” Rarity said, barely able to maintain her composure.

“Uhm, there’s something you really need to know,” Pinkie continued, throwing passing ponies suspicious glances. “Your necklace is glowing pink again.”

“Oh! It completely slipped my mind!” Rarity exclaimed with innocence. “Yes, Twilight and I restored the communication spell earlier today in the library.”

“Oh, okay,” Pinkie said, still whispering loudly. A second of silence passed, then she nearly bowled Rarity over but restrained herself at the last moment. “WHAT?!” She jumped back, stamping her forehooves against the floor. “Does that mean you—?!”

“Broke the curse?” Rarity asked, nodding her head, unable to hold back her wonderfully smug smile. “Yes, I did.”

“Ohmigosh, Rarity! You did it! You broke it!” Pinkie exclaimed, hopping up and down like a foal who’d had excessive amounts of sugar. “But wait!” She stopped and narrowed her eyes. “That was fast. Too fast. In my books, bad stuff happens when you do stuff too fast. Oh no!” She gasped and jumped back, looking horrified. “What if you broke it so fast because we’re all going to celebrate only for something even WORSE to happen and then you’ll be separated from Twilight AGAIN!”

“Pinkie, Pinkie, darling, calm down!” Rarity interrupted, playfully rolling her eyes. “After what we’ve gone through, I hardly think there could even be something worse.”

Pinkie narrowed her eyes. “That’s what they all say in the books, Rarity…”

Rarity shook her head and trotted off. “Pinkie, the only way I’d ever be separated from Twilight again is if she kept me out.” She cleared her throat and gestured for the mare to follow. “In any case, let us press on. It won’t do to keep Spike and the others waiting.”

When they reached the outskirts of the forest, Rarity was very pleased to see everypony did as instructed. Rainbow Dash waved to them, while Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom gawked at Spike, and Scootaloo gawked at Rainbow.

“Hello, everypony!” Rarity exclaimed, grabbing the attention of everypony save the Crusaders, who were still gawking at Spike. “Are we all set?”

“Y-yes,” Fluttershy replied. “I’m not sure for what, though…”

“OhmiGOSH!” Pinkie gasped, rushing over to Spike and practically climbing on top of him. “You’re so big! I have so many questions! Is it true you used to wear aprons when you were a baby?!”

“Pinkie, now’s not the time for embarrassing questions! I’ve been waiting my entire life for this moment!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, lifting off into the air and gesturing toward the forest. “Let’s go!”

“Go?” Scootaloo said, tearing her gaze away from Rainbow and toward Rarity. “Go where? I thought you wanted us to meet Rainbow Dash!”

“Or Mister Spike,” Sweetie Belle said, gingerly approaching him and poking the bottom of his claw. “Coooool.”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “The dragon’s okay, but Rarity wanted us to meet Rainbow because she’s cooler,” she said, completely missing Spike’s thinly veiled snort.

“It’s true! I’m so awesome, Spike here asks me to hang out with him all the time so I can teach him everything I know,” Rainbow replied, flying down and condescendingly patting the dragon on the head. “Right?”

“No,” Spike replied, grinning widely at her. “I let you hang out with me because somepony who thinks pegasi medicine will help a dragon grow wings clearly needs a lot of help.”

“Hey!” Rainbow blurted, a fierce blush decorating her cheeks. “I was a kid, okay?! Let it go!”

“But wait,” Apple Bloom asked, turning to Rarity. “If y’all didn’t want us meetin’ Mister Spike, why’d you get us out of school?”

Rarity opened her mouth to reply, but a softer voice interrupted.

“Rarity…?” Fluttershy said, and Rarity couldn’t hold back the grin at realizing Fluttershy had finally noticed the glowing necklace. “Your necklace… You… Princess…”

There was a second of silence when the three fillies turned to Rarity wide-eyed before simultaneously throwing themselves at her, nearly toppling her over and drowning her in a barrage of demands to know if Rarity had really found her, how did Rarity break the curse, did breaking the curse hurt, where was Princess Twilight, was she alive or was she still dead, did she miss them, could they see her, and so on and so forth.

“Yes, yes! We’re all going to see her!” she reassured, using her magic to pull the fillies away. She glanced at Spike and faltered. “Well, perhaps not all of us… Are you quite sure there’s no way for you to somehow come with us?”

Spike sighed. “No. There’s no way I can fit inside the forest, and like I said, these trees aren’t going to go down no matter what I do.” He smiled at Rarity hopefully. “But you’re going to come back later and let me talk to her with your necklace, right?”

“Of course she will!” Pinkie exclaimed, now sitting atop his head. “She’s going to let you talk to Princess Twilight until you can’t talk anymore, even if it means being here for days, and months, and years, and—”

“Now, let’s not get carried away!” Rarity quickly exclaimed. “I do have a life beyond being a highly sophisticated messenger!” She cleared her throat and gestured toward the forest. “Shall we?”

Despite the fact she’d broken the curse on herself, she wasn’t altogether sure that she’d be able to guide the others to the library. Elara and Themis hadn’t been able to, after all. However, since nighttime wouldn’t be due for a very long time, the markings would be of no help.

Which is why she’d stopped by a local shop and bought the longest rope they had available. If she tied it to herself and kept away from the others, surely she wouldn’t be in the curse’s sphere of influence. Rainbow Dash’s presence brought her great relief as well, since she was quite confident the pegasus would be enough to help her fight off any timberwolves bold enough to attack the group.

Once she began guiding them through the forest, it wasn’t until she’d been subjected to a fiftieth “are we there yet?” that her heart soared at the sight of the distant oak tree.

Oh, thank goodness, she thought, doubling her pace. I didn’t get cursed again! Perhaps it’s like the chicken pox and you can only catch it once?

“This way!” she exclaimed, breaking into a sprint toward the depression.

Upon reaching the edge, she gleefully jumped into it, only to hear the horrified shrieks of her companions, followed by Rainbow Dash brusquely grabbing her and flying her up.

“Rarity, what the hay is wrong with you?!” the pegasus yelled, holding onto her for dear life before dropping Rarity back with the others. The second she did, though, she fell to the ground on one knee, looking positively sick.

“Wh-what’s wrong?” Scootaloo asked, alarmed.

“Those…” She made a gurgling noise. “Those sinkholes… There’s a bunch of ’em… I saw them last time, and they… just going near them makes me dizzy. I almost fell into one last time…”

Rarity’s heart skipped a beat. Is that how the curse affects pegasi…?

“Rarity, what the hay?!” she said again, standing up and gulping. “Do you want to get killed or something?! This place is already making me feel sick enough without you suddenly wanting to practice your free-diving!”

“Heavens, no! That’s the curse! The tree is there!” she explained, pointing toward it. When the pegasus gave her a pointed stare, Rarity sighed and wrapped her in magic, ignoring her protests and whisking her over the “sinkhole” until she was pressed against the tree.

“Oh,” Rainbow said, knocking her hooves against its rough bark. “Look at that.”

Fluttershy reacted next, flying up and hovering near the edge of the depression until Rainbow Dash flew over and then practically dragged her to the tree. When she came in contact with it, she blinked several times and then gasped audibly, landing on the ground and falling onto her haunches.

“Ooooh, me next!” Pinkie exclaimed, rushing forward and jumping into the depression. However, as soon as her hooves touched the ground, she fell to the ground and groaned. “Ohhhhh, me not next…”

“Pinkie!” Rarity shouted, jumping after her and helping her friend up. “Darling, it’s all right, it’s the curse—”

“No!” Pinkie shrieked suddenly, eyes wide open and hooves clutching the unicorn, her gaze directed at some trees in the distance. “Wh-what do you mean you don’t want me to sleep anymore?! If I can’t sleep, I won’t see you!” Her eyes began to fill with tears. “You d-don’t want to see me anymore?! But, Princess Lu—”

“No, Pinkie, it’s not real!” Rarity said, and, without wasting a second, enveloped Pinkie in her magic, quickly levitating the horrified mare and pressing her against the tree.

“Oh! Oh, it’s the tree!” Pinkie gasped, her previous horror all but forgotten. She spread her forelegs and hugged the oak. “Oh, tree, I missed you!”

Once she’d put the mare down, she noticed the three fillies hovering by the edge, and rather than have them go through any dreadful hallucinations, she picked them up in her magic and took them through the same process, placing the ecstatic fillies on the ground next to Fluttershy—without letting them go, of course.

“Come on, Rarity!” Sweetie shrieked, trying to wiggle herself out of her sister’s magic grip. “I want to see the princess!”

Rarity ignored Sweetie Belle, trotting toward the trapdoor and only letting her sister free once she’d gone into the tunnel before the filly. She wasn’t trying to be cruel, of course; she simply wanted to make sure she witnessed the upcoming reunions.

When she hopped off the last step, she lit her horn and couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Applejack and Princess Twilight Sparkle, both of them staring into the tunnel like an overexcited puppy.

“Rarity…? Rarity!” Twilight exclaimed, slamming herself against the barrier and nearly collapsing. “Rarity, it’s you!”

“See? Didn’t I tell you she’d be back?” Applejack said, waving at the unicorn.

“Princess Twilight!”

Three fillies and a pink mare sped past Rarity, who lost her balance and nearly fell to the floor.

“Girls! Pinkie!”

Rarity rushed forward, stepping into the library and feeling her eyes tear up at the sight of the three fillies and Pinkie trying to hug the deliriously happy alicorn, millions of questions bursting out of their mouths.

Rarity sat down next to Applejack, both of them sharing a smile, before Fluttershy trotted in next, catching the attention of not only Twilight, but the two owls that immediately appeared from within the library and launched themselves at her.

“Fluttershy!” Twilight tearfully exclaimed, teleporting in front of her, clearly torn between wanting to hug her and knowing she couldn’t.

“Princess Twilight,” Fluttershy said, her own eyes watering with tears. “It is so lovely seeing you again.”

“Oh. My. Gosh.”

Rarity turned back and giggled at the sight of Rainbow Dash standing by the entrance, eyes fixed on Twilight.

“Hi!” Twilight greeted the pegasus brightly. “You must be Rainbow Dash?”

“Oh my GOSH!” Rainbow exclaimed, practically zooming toward Twilight. “Oh my gosh, Princess Twilight, I have been waiting for this, like, my entire LIFE. I have so many questions, you don’t even know! Okay, okay, okay!” She took a deep breath, and said nothing for almost an entire minute.

Twilight blinked, still smiling. “…Yes?”

“Okay,” Rainbow Dash blurted out, “so, like, are you dead?”

Rarity’s hoof went to her face. Oh, for pony’s sake, can’t anypony ask something else?!

Twilight frowned. “No, I’m… Actually! You know what? I don’t care anymore!” she exclaimed with a grin. After clearing her throat and, barely able to suppress her giggling, Twilight intoned, “Yes. Yes, I am dead.”

“I knew it!” Scootaloo gasped.

“That’s so awesome!” Rainbow exclaimed, flying up into the air for a moment. “Wait, wait, wait!” She landed in front of Twilight again and stepped back. “Can you, like, walk through me?”

Twilight giggled. “Would you like that…?”

“Of course I would!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“Of course she would…” Rarity sighed, playfully rolling her eyes.

Twilight stepped back, positioning herself, and then promptly trotted toward and through Rainbow Dash, smile turning into a grin at Rainbow’s gasp of excitement.

Finally, she came to a stop right in front of Rarity and giggled. “Hi.”

Rarity smiled brightly. “Hello, my darling,” she replied, tilting her head to the side, watching the fillies inspect Rainbow Dash post-ghost walk-through. “I must say, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you quite this happy.” She winked. “I shall take the liberty of pretending it’s because of me, hmm?”

“It is because of you,” Twilight replied, and Rarity could hardly stop several smitten giggles from leaving her lips.

“Hey, wait! Where’s the maze?!” Rainbow exclaimed, flying up and gathering everypony’s attention. “I want to see it! It sounds insane!”

“This way!” Scootaloo exclaimed, she and the other Crusaders rushing into the rows of bookcases and toward the end of the library, Rainbow Dash flying after them.

“Hey, wait!” Applejack called, running after them. “That thing ain’t safe! Apple Bloom! Apple Bloom, get back here!”

“Oh my gosh, Princess Twilight, we have SO much to tell you!” Pinkie exclaimed, stamping her hooves against the floor. “And you too, Fluttershy! And you, Rarity! …Wait, you already know what there is to tell.” She gasped in horror. “Did you already tell her about Princess Luna?! I wanted to tell them!”

“Princess Luna?” Twilight asked, ears perking up. “What about her?! Is she all right? Did you find a way to free her?!”

Rarity smiled, standing up straight and grinning. “I think we might have, yes.”

Rarity didn’t know what time it was when she got back to the library that evening, nor did she care. She’d talked extensively with Twilight about the chaos magic in Hollow Shades, she’d watched the others spend time with Twilight, and then she’d gone out to find Spike and made sure he talked with Twilight for several hours. By the end of it, though the dragon could have gone for hours on end, Rarity felt she’d finally earned some private time with the princess.

Though she did not immediately find Twilight upon stepping into the library, she did find that a comfortable-looking bed of pillows had been prepared for her. It wasn’t her queen-sized bed in Carousel Boutique, and she was certain the pillowcases here hadn’t been washed for months, but oh goodness, she wouldn’t trade being back home for anything in the world.

Her saddlebags weighed her down, carrying within them everything she’d need for an extended stay in the library. After dropping it off at a nearby table and taking off her cloak, she made her way to the bundle of pillows and unceremoniously dropped herself on it, closing her eyes and exhaling a contented sigh.

After a minute, her ears flicked when she heard the familiar crackle of teleportation, and a smile swept across her face. She waited for Twilight to speak up, but instead, she felt the distinct sensation of a tendril of magic brushing against her scars. She opened her eyes and looked back, noticing Twilight standing by the pillows, her brow furrowed and her gaze fixed on the unicorn’s disfigured cutie mark.

“Sweetheart, don’t look at those,” Rarity quickly said, belatedly chastising herself for having taken off her cloak.

Twilight glanced at her, and her ears bent backward and her gaze saddened. “Fluttershy told me about the timberwolf,” she said, returning her gaze to the scars, her magic still brushing against them. “It’s chaos magic, so I can’t fix them.”

“You don’t have to fix anything, Twilight,” Rarity said, trying to beckon the alicorn toward her. “I have it on Rainbow Dash’s authority that scars are, as she says, hardcore. It means I’m quite daring,” she elaborated when Twilight arched an eyebrow at the slang.

“I’m not sure if almost getting killed by a timberwolf is daring,” Twilight pointed out.

Rarity sighed theatrically. “You know, this usually would be the part where you swoon over me rather than chastise me for events already past.” She rolled onto her back, placing a hoof on her forehead and lamenting, “Alas, now that I’ve mastered the Star Swirl Decimal System, you shan’t be impressed by anything else I do!”

When she cracked an eye open moments later, she found Twilight intently watching her, and my, Rarity had forgotten how intense Twilight’s gaze could be.

“Something wrong?” she asked, tilting her head. “Was my assertion shockingly accurate?”

“Oh, no.” A smug smile swept across Twilight’s lips. “I’m just concerned that you don’t know what ‘mastering’ something means. It means you’re a skilled practitioner at a specific art or activity, just so you know,” she explained, her smile turning playful when she caught the pillow that flew her way.

“We haven’t even been reunited for a day, and already you’re attacking me!” Rarity whined, watching as Twilight levitated the pillow back to the bunch. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t leave.”

Twilight didn’t hesitate. “Because I missed you.”

Rarity could feel her lips curving into a smitten smile, but she quickly did away with it, and half-heartedly slammed her hoof against a pillow. “Drat. Now you’ve said that, I have no choice but to stay here the rest of my life.” She lifted her other forehoof, beckoning Twilight toward her. “How dreadful for you.”

Twilight giggled, walking to her and then bending her head down, and if circumstances were different, their lips would brush together. “Awful,” she whispered, closing her eyes and, like Rarity no doubt, pretending things were different. “Just awful.”

“So, do tell,” Rarity said when Twilight leaned back, “are you happy?”

Twilight eagerly nodded. “It’s a long-term plan, of course, but your idea for Hollow Shades sounds really good.”

“Of course it does! I came up with it, after all!” Rarity said, laughing haughtily. “Princess Luna will be so pleased, she’ll never let me have nightmares like the ones from a month ago.”

Concern flashed through Twilight’s eyes. “You had nightmares?”

“Oh, Twilight, they were dreadful!” Rarity exclaimed. “I had some horrific dreams where another mare found you while I was cursed, and you two were keen on each other, and honestly, I was terribly offended.”

A blush tinted Twilight’s cheeks. “I’m sorry?”

Rarity eagerly nodded. “And you should be, but not because you were keen on her! You know what you did? I finally met up with you as an old mare, decades into a no-doubt lavish and fabulous life, and the only thing that occurs to you to ask me is whether I’d practiced my teleportation or not!”

“And did you practice your teleportation?” Twilight asked, arching an eyebrow.

Rarity faltered. “Obviously not, but I did have an incredibly romantic reply, so honestly that makes up for it. It does!” she defended when Twilight rolled her eyes. “You even cried!”

“Well, when you find the last book and free me, I promise my first question won’t be about teleportation,” Twilight said, and immediately did Rarity’s heart sink.

“Ah yes…” she said, taking a nearby pillow and pressing it against her chest, failing at her attempt to nonchalantly look away. She suddenly wasn’t quite sure she was ready for that conversation. “The books…”

“What?” Twilight asked, teleporting to the other side of bed, furrowing her brow. “Did something happen with the books?”

Rarity hummed and looked to the other side. “Did something happen with the books? That certainly is a question that begets an answer, is it not? But what is an answer, all things said and done?”

The alicorn teleported back to the other side. “Rarity, what happened with the books?” she asked again, using her magic to grab Rarity’s chin before the unicorn could look away.

“Why, Twilight!” she exclaimed, fluttering her eyelashes. “And you said you couldn’t hold me!”

“Rarity.”

“All right, all right!” Rarity huffed, batting Twilight’s magic away with a hoof. She sat up straight, the pillow falling to the ground, and then she took a deep breath followed by a piteous whine. “Twilight, you must understand that…” She faltered, looking up at the chandelier above and biting her lip. “There’s really no easy way to say this, and—”

“Rarity!”

“Finding all the books won’t free you!” she said, finally, trying to maintain eye-contact with Twilight, who in turn backed away, irritation and, frankly, any emotion at all draining from her face.

“…What?” she whispered before standing straight and practically burning holes into Rarity with her stare. “How do you know that?”

Rarity laughed nervously, idly toying with her necklace as she considered her words. “How do I know that? Well! Apparently, and I am willing to admit that, in retrospect, I shouldn’t have so blindly believed everything a hooded stranger told me, but… you remember how I told you the Book Bringer told me that the books would free you?”

“Yes.”

“Well,” Rarity said, letting go of the necklace and looking at Twilight, “I’ve been informed that was actually Discord.”

“What?!” Twilight gasped, backtracking again, mouth agape. “Discord isn’t the Book Bringer! That’s ridiculous! Why would Discord bring me books?!”

“Twilight, I’m not saying the Book Bringer is Discord!” Rarity exclaimed. “Well, I am, but that’s because the Book Bringer I met was Discord posing as him!”

“Who told you that?!” Twilight asked, stamping her hoof against the ground. “The only possible way somepony could even know that was Discord would be… Discord… himself…”

Realization dawned upon her, and now Rarity remembered she was faced not with some common pony, but an ancient alicorn spirit. Twilight’s eyes turned to slits, her wings splayed out, and the chandelier hanging above flickered ominously.

Rarity moved back on her pillows, grabbing one and pressing it to her chest as though it were a shield. “Twilight, before you overreact, allow me to explain what happe—”

“It’s okay! You don’t have to tell me,” Twilight replied, sitting down and, after a crackle of magic, her necklace floated behind her. “You can show me.”

Rarity backed up farther and clutched the faux-shield closer against her chest and necklace. “Show you? Re-really? But, you know, it’ll be much better if I explain it,” she blurted out, knowing very well that the past three months had been anything but exemplary for her. The last thing she wanted was Twilight witnessing her utterly losing her marbles and then some!

“If we use the communication spell, I’ll know everything you know, Rarity,” Twilight insisted, her narrowed eyes clearly stating Rarity would not be winning the argument so long as she had a say in it. “Civilizations used the art of writing to perfectly preserve events as they happened, because oral transmission is one of the most unreliable forms of storytelling since the storyteller can willfully omit details. You can’t omit details if your mind is my mind, too.”

Rarity bit her lip until, finally, she relented. “Very well, then…” she said, dropping the pillow. “But it’s…” A blush crossed her cheeks. “It’s not the best side of me, and I don’t want you to think badly of me…”

Twilight frowned. “I would never think badly of you, Rarity,” she said matter-of-factly. “No matter what you did, but”—her necklace disappeared—“we don’t have to use the necklaces if you don’t want to, then.”

“No, no, wait!” Rarity blurted out, before swallowing, sitting up straight and lighting up her horn and necklace. “It’s all right. We can use the necklaces. I trust you to take this in stride.”

Twilight blinked. “…Are you sure?”

“Yes, yes!” she insisted, lying down on the pillows and closing her eyes, intent on at least being comfortable for the act. “Come now.”

Besides, if anything, Twilight would at least witness firsthoof the extent of Rarity’s devotion to her.

“All right, then,” Twilight said, a familiar crackle of magic sounding off moments afterwards.

Still with her eyes closed, Rarity waited, and waited, and waited until two pings echoed in the room, and she was again overcome with the now-familiar sensation of new thoughts entering her head.

She lingered on this sensation, fascinated by having thoughts quite literally inserted into her mind, and she could have stayed there for quite some time if an image of Canterlot Castle hadn’t been forcibly brought to the foreground. Yes, yes, I can take a hint, thank you very much, she thought, wishing she could open her eyes just to roll them.

And so, Rarity went over the worst three months of her life, starting at Rift Shield’s invitation to see the princess while at Heart’s Haven. She felt compelled to explain to herself who he was, and was later surprised to feel a rather intense satisfaction at her rejection of his advances.

Her memories then jumped to the impostor she met in Canterlot Castle, and she had to re-experience the shame at having fallen for Discord’s trap. Oddly enough, she couldn’t quite feel any other emotion, which meant that Twilight was willingly watching her chastise herself! Honestly, where was the sympa—!

“Rarity.”

With a last mental harrumph, Rarity went on with the mental journey, passing through the tunnel with the bizarre bubbles which were, in fact, chaos quarantine bubbles that Princess Celestia brought to life using a combination of—

“Well, well! Now who’s rambling!”

Of course, she wasn’t rambling, because Rarity had automatically known all those details, so really, technically speaking, it meant that she was doing it again. She shook her head and forced herself to think about the Princesses’ Hallway, which sent a wave of… homesickness coursing through her, and the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to advance with the memory.

Oh, drat, what happened next?

She’d explored the castle with the others, seen Princess Cadance’s room, and a warm sensation washed over her at the sight of the foal toys and crib scattered around. After that, she’d seen that statue of Shining Armor, and… and tears formed in her eyes, alongside an overwhelming and crushing heartache which was immediately pushed away and aside and she really simply wanted to know what happened next, thank you.

As such, she decided to just skip over to Princess Denza in the throne room, to the moment when she was looking over the evidence Rarity had brought, and though she couldn’t very much remember the conversation, she… she was overcome suddenly, the more she visualized the princess, with the sensation that… that something wasn’t…

Ping!

Rarity opened her eyes, her mind jolting back to reality at the communication spell having stopped. “What happened? Did you— Twilight?” She sat up straight, her face awash with concern. “Twilight, what’s wrong?”

Twilight was standing up and staring at her, ears pinned back, looking very much like she’d seen a ghost. It wasn’t until Rarity physically got up from the pillows and sat in front of her that she reacted by flinching back, whatever train of thought she’d been having interrupted.

“H-huh?” she blurted, looking visibly shaken.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Rarity pressed beseechingly. She wished she could take Twilight’s hooves in hers. “What did you see? What was wrong with Princess Denza? I felt there was something off with her, but—”

Twilight immediately jumped back. “There was nothing wrong with Princess Denza!” she replied, ears shooting upwards, wings flaring, and Rarity recoiled in reply. At the sight, Twilight’s wings lowered and she lifted her hoof, torn between approaching or staying away. “I…” she said, finally, lowering her hoof and shaking her head. “Nothing’s wrong, I just…” She looked at Rarity apologetically, ears flopping down. “I’m sorry, we shouldn’t have used the spell. I should trust your own memory.”

“It’s perfectly all right, Twilight,” Rarity said, repressing the urge to ask about Princess Denza again. All in due time, Rarity. All in due time, and for now, she was more concerned with Twilight. “Are you all right?”

Twilight relaxed somewhat, sitting back down on the floor. “Yes, I’m fine.”

Rarity cleared her throat and pressed a hoof against her necklace. Perhaps more information on Twilight’s little incident could be gleaned from sharing minds. “Shall we continue…?”

And yet, Twilight shook her head and offered an apologetic smile. “Maybe without the necklaces? We don’t really need them since you’re not hiding anything from me.”

Rarity sighed. A shame somepony else isn’t quite as transparent. Metaphorically speaking, at least.

“If you insist,” she relented. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and went over what was left to say. If anything, she might as well take advantage of the fact that she could gloss over her questionable acts.

“In any case, after we got cursed, I spent a few weeks searching for the library in the forest, and after the…” She cleared her throat. “…incident with the timberwolf, I decided I might be able to glean more information from Rift Shield and the princess. Applejack and the others wanted me to stay in Ponyville, but I insisted Canterlot was where the answer awaited!”

“And were they?” Twilight asked, ears perked up.

“No,” Rarity replied. “Not at first. Rift Shield hardly said anything useful, but I did meet with the Book Bringer.”

“The Book Bringer?” Twilight asked, excitement ringing in her voice. “Wait.” She narrowed her eyes. “The real Book Bringer? Or…”

“The real one!” she replied. “And you can imagine my surprise when he hadn’t the faintest idea who I was. I was thoroughly vexed, so I went off on a little walk, and who would stop me but the Book Bringer himself! I thought he was going to tell me he remembered me, but then I noticed your chaos magic tracking spell had activated and, well…”

“Well…?” Twilight asked, making a “keep going” gesture with her hoof.

“Well, I unmasked him as Discord, of course, after which he did the obvious thing on such an occasion and asked me out on a date.”

Twilight nearly choked. “He what?!” she sputtered, practically falling onto her back before jumping to a standing position, wings flared and fire in her eyes. Honestly, Rarity was flattered.

“Oh, you heard me. And that’s not even the worst part of it,” she replied.

“Rarity, what could be worse than that?!” Twilight asked, clearly never having read a book in her life where a character asked that very same question.

“Well, he brought a plus one on the date,” she elaborated. “Which was him posing as you.”

Twilight didn’t immediately reply.

In fact, Rarity didn’t get to see whatever reply she had, for the alicorn teleported away nearly instantly after she’d finished her sentence. However, she did hear somepony in the floor below shout quite the expletive, followed by a loud crash she dearly hoped wasn’t Twilight smashing one of her own bookcases.

After a minute, Twilight returned, looking wonderfully calm and composed. Rarity didn’t dare ask what the source of the noise had been, and instead waited for the alicorn to take the lead.

“Sorry,” Twilight said, sitting back down and folding her wings against her body. “You were saying?”

“Discord took me ‘on a date,’ so to speak, and he…” She drifted off, once again having reached the part of the conversation which promised to become very uncomfortable very fast. “He revealed he’d been the one I spoke with nearly a year ago, and if that stands true, then…” She took a deep breath. “Then it stands to reason that he was no doubt lying about the books being a key to freeing you.”

“So,” Twilight said, and how somber her voice sounded, her ears pinned back and her eyes betraying no emotion, “there’s no way to free me.”

“No, that is not true! That is not what I said at all!” Rarity quickly interjected. “This only means that the books aren’t the solution, not that there is no solution!”

“How do you know that?” Twilight asked, staring Rarity down. “I’ve been here a thousand years, and you said that until the books, nopony had ever heard of a way of freeing me. Maybe I can’t be freed.”

Rarity arched an eyebrow. “Oh? Then, I suppose we shouldn’t try exploiting our discovery in Hollow Shades because clearly you all can’t be freed.”

“That’s different! That’s for Princess Luna!” Twilight protested, again stamping her hoof against the floor. “There’s an obvious influence there!”

Rarity gawked at Twilight. “And there isn’t one here?! One that, may I remind you, personally attacked us?!”

Twilight frowned. “The maze…? You think the maze is keeping me trapped here?! Rarity, that’s ridiculous!” she exclaimed. “That’s only here to annoy me! I don’t—!”

“I don’t mean the maze! I mean the chaos magic! Discord said as much!” Rarity interrupted, getting up on the pillows, not intending to go down without a fight. “He said you’re powering it! And did it not attack us when you expressed the desire to leave?!” She trotted toward the alicorn, and shoved her hoof against—or rather, through—Twilight’s chest. “You can’t deny the evidence, Twilight!”

Twilight stood up perfectly straight, almost unnaturally so, and opened and closed her mouth several times. Eventually, she let out a long-suffering sigh and spoke in a measured tone which Rarity hardly appreciated.

“Let me make sure I understand what you’re saying because I don’t think you understand what you’re saying,” she said matter-of-factly, and at least Rarity had the decency to withhold her exasperated sigh. “According to you and Discord, who may or may not be lying, the chaos magic from the maze is keeping me here because I’m powering it?”

Well, if you put it like that.

Before Rarity could reply, Twilight continued.

“Why? Why would I do that?” she asked. “It makes no sense! I don’t want to be here, but the barrier is still there!” She stopped herself and deadpanned. “All right, fine.” She teleported next to the exit tunnel. “I want to be freed,” she declared monotonously, and after she lifted her hoof toward the exit and the raspberry-colored barrier pushed it back, she threw Rarity a pointed stare.

“Well, of course it’s not going to do anything if you say it like that!” Rarity protested, rolling her eyes. “That was the least convincing statement I’ve heard in my life!”

Twilight teleported back to her. “That’s because there is no way to free me! Why wouldn’t I want to be free?! Spike is fine now, and Princess Luna will be fine, and I’m sure you’ll find Princess Celestia and…” She faltered for a moment. “And Cadance and Shining Armor’s descendants are fine, and everypony is fine!”

“I don’t know, Twilight, but it’s honestly like you don’t even want to figure out a way to free yourself!” Rarity said, harrumphing and looking away.

“I want to figure it out for myself! I don’t want anypony helping me!” Twilight replied, teleporting in front of Rarity and forcing the unicorn to look at her. “Princess Luna and Princess Celestia are where they are because of me, and I’m not going to waste our time helping them by trying to find a way out of here!”

“Oh? You don’t want anypony helping you?” Rarity asked, each syllable icier than the one before. Well, then, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Well then. “I see.” She stood up and trotted toward the table where her things were. “If that’s the case, then let me not further waste my time or yours.”

“Wait!” Twilight teleported in front of her, her magic levitating Rarity’s bags out of reach. “Wait, where are you going?! I just got you back!”

The ghost of a smile wanted to creep up Rarity’s lips, but she held her ground. “I wasn’t leaving, Twilight. I intend on staying here as long as you want my presence, but—!” She snatched her bags back with her own magic, making the alicorn flinch and step back like a child caught misbehaving. “Since you, and I quote, find helping you a ‘waste of time,’ then I will do useful things with my hours and try to work on Princess Luna’s predicament. I gather you don’t object, do you, Princess?”

“…No,” Twilight said lamely, looking away and falling to her haunches.

“Splendid.”

Rarity promptly trotted off, head held high even though her irritation had already melted away, replaced instead with aggravation. Of all the possible things she wanted to do with Twilight, arguing was the very last on the list. However, she’d not even taken ten steps before raspberry magic held all four of her hooves in place.

She looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow at the forlorn alicorn, who meekly looked back at her, ears pinned back.

“…Are you mad?” she softly asked, her gaze piercing Rarity and melting her heart. Curse her! What gave her the right to have perfect puppy-dog eyes?!

Rarity sighed audibly, looking away and wishing her hoof was free to rub the bridge of her nose.

“That depends entirely on what you mean by that,” she said, looking back at Twilight and mimicking the alicorn’s trademark matter-of-fact stare. “Are you asking if I’m mad at you, or if I’m mad about you? Because, frankly, I’m both, so you can imagine the predicament I’m in.”

Like a shining light, a small pleased smile swept across Twilight’s face, her cheeks turning a lovely rosy hue. It did not last long, however, and soon did it disappear, as did her magic grip on Rarity’s hooves. A crackle of magic sounded off, and suddenly she’d teleported next to the unicorn.

“I’m sorry,” she said, bowing her head.

A pang of guilt shot through Rarity’s heart at the sight and she put her saddlebags down. Princesses, hadn’t Twilight been sorry for long enough? Why should Rarity add another shackle to the chains weighing her beloved down?

“Twilight?” she whispered softly, and when the alicorn looked up, she offered a smile, wishing she could actually physically comfort her. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I simply…” She sighed and waved her hoof in a circle. “I simply don’t understand your reasoning. Haven’t you considered that if you’re free, it will be that much easier for us to help the others?”

“But Discord said the books don’t work,” Twilight weakly protested, her eyes watering. “I can’t be freed.”

“Yes, you can, Twilight. No, don’t look away! Look at me, Twilight,” she insisted, and when Twilight did as much, she stamped her hoof against the ground. “Twilight Sparkle, mark my words, there is a way to free you, and we will work together to find it.”

Twilight looked uncomfortable now, chewing on her lip. “But what if…?” She sighed and stood up straight. “What if I mess up?” she asked severely, eyes fixed on Rarity. “What if that’s why Discord suddenly helped you? Why he supposedly told you how to free me? What if it’s because he knows I’ll make a mistake again?”

Rarity stamped her hoof again. “First of all, Twilight, you’ve done nothing wrong! Secondly, you—”

“Yes, I have!” Twilight interrupted, but immediately she tapered off, groaning and pressing her hooves to her face. “You don’t know what— You don’t get it, Rarity.”

Rarity sighed. If there was ever a moment to let the cat out of the bag, it seemed as though it had finally arrived.

“I do get it, Twilight,” she said, bracing herself for whatever consequence her confession would bring. “Princess Luna told me about what happened a thousand years ago, from how you—” She paused. “All four princesses fooled him into thinking they’d won, how he supposedly reformed, all the way up to the fifth Peace Treaty.”

Rarity felt very much as though her heart had been stabbed at the sight of Twilight’s reaction. The alicorn stepped back, a single hoof hovering over her open mouth. To say she looked as if she’d been slapped twice would be putting it mildly.

“…She told you…?”

“Yes, but it’s all right, Twilight!” Rarity reassured, taking a step toward her. “It’s all right, and I’m glad she did because now I’m even more driven to find Discord and give him a piece of my mind for everything he did!”

Twilight shook her head, still gaping at Rarity. “No, yo-you don’t understand! I did it! I messed up for everypony! It’s my fault that everypony is trapped somewhere except for Cadance and Shining Armor, and now that you know you think that too and you’ll probably never come to the library again, and that’s why you came here because you wanted to say goodbye before you left forever and—”

“Twilight.”

At the sound of Rarity’s voice, Twilight teleported away, leaving Rarity to do nothing but sigh a very deep sigh.

Come, Rarity, put yourself in her shoes.

“Twilight,” she said, looking around for the alicorn. “Twilight, please come back. I give you my word I am not planning on leaving the library forever.”

A moment of silence followed, after which Twilight teleported back in front of Rarity, teeth gritted and tears wetting her eyes.

“Twilight,” Rarity began, “you can’t just tele—”

“Rarity, why can’t we just be happy you’re here? What’s the point of talking about this? Or you knowing? It’s over. It already happened. Princess Luna shouldn’t have told you.”

“She told me because it’s haunting you, Twilight,” Rarity insisted, practically pleading, stepping forward and reaching out a hoof. “Maybe that’s why you can’t—”

“Please,” Twilight whispered, peering back at Rarity. “Not now. Please.”

Finally, if begrudgingly, Rarity relented. “All right, then. I won’t press the issue today,” she said, picking her saddlebags up from the floor and trotting toward the bed of pillows. “But we will talk about this, sooner or later.”

“Rarity?”

She stopped and looked back, finding the alicorn looking at her much like before. Forlorn, meek, apologetic. It only made Rarity want to find Discord and blast the living daylights out of him even more.

“What Princess Luna told you… You don’t think I’m a…” She petered out.

“I would never hold you accountable for a choice—not a mistake, Twilight, a choice—you were forced to make because of horrible external circumstances,” Rarity firmly replied.

She waited a moment for Twilight to reply, but when Twilight did not, she exhaled and continued toward her bed. She dropped the saddlebags next to it, intending to devise more ideas on how to free Luna, but the moment her body hit the pillows, the exhaustion of not having slept for two days washed over her.

Oh dear, maybe she ought to worry about Luna after a long sleep.

“Rarity?”

Suppressing a yawn, she looked up and found Twilight standing beside the pillows. “Yes?”

“Can you bring Princess Denza here?” Twilight asked.

Rarity stared at her. “Pardon?”

“Can you bring Princess Denza here?” Twilight repeated, because clearly fetching the monarch of Equestria and bringing her to a library inside a crazed forest was a thing ponies often requested.

“No, dearest, I heard what you said. I’m just not certain you heard what you said,” Rarity replied, sitting up. “You want me to bring Princess Denza here?” When Twilight nodded, she hummed and wished she knew what in Equestria had brought that about. “I suppose I could? I have done away with her curse, after all, and now she’d have no excuse whatsoever to not come and see you. I’ll try to arrange it for next week.”

“Can you do it sooner?” Twilight asked. “This week.”

“This week? But, Twilight, Seeking Night is in less than six days, and a trip to Canterlot would take me at least two days! Especially if you want me to get Princess Denza here! Why do you suddenly want to see her?” She narrowed her eyes. “Is it because of what you saw in my memories?”

“I didn’t see anything!” Twilight said quickly, too quickly. She pouted for a moment, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. “I think she can help with Princess Luna, but I need to talk with her myself. Please?”

Rarity hummed. “Only if you tell me the real reason.”

“Rarity! That is the real reason!” Twilight protested, ears flicking in irritation.

“…Darling. I do love you, but lying is not your strong suit.”

Twilight grimaced. “Rarity… I… Please. I promise I’ll explain after you’ve gone to see her. It might be nothing, and I’d rather not have to think about it until I have to think about it. Okay?”

Rarity frowned but decided to let it go. The last thing she wanted was to make Twilight even more uncomfortable or further spoil their time together. Twilight would tell her in due time.

“Well, all right. I’ll do what I can to go see her,” she said, taking a blanket out of her saddlebag before lying back down on the pillows, covering herself and closing her eyes. “But I shan’t concern myself with that until I’ve actually had some amount of beauty sleep.”

Truthfully, she also wanted to see the princess. With her and the royal guard, freeing Princess Luna and finding Princess Celestia would take no time at all.

Maybe then she’d have time to focus on Twilight’s own prison.

“Star!” Twilight called out, and a pleased smile graced Rarity’s lips when she felt the light dim.

Unfortunately, the smile left rapidly once she opened her eyes and saw Twilight reading at a table that was offensively far away. It wasn’t that Rarity had anything against tables or the like, not at all, but for months now, whenever she went to sleep in the library, Twilight always lied down and read next to her.

Well, it seemed as though she’d have to take some initiative, then.

“Twilight?”

Twilight looked up, ears perked. “…Yes?”

“Would you mind ever so terribly reading next to me?” she asked, moving a few pillows away and patting the ground beside her. “Please?”

“Uhm…” Twilight hesitated before eventually levitating her book and walked toward Rarity, doing a poor job at hiding her reluctance. When she reached her and without a word to Rarity, she lied down and stared intently at her book.

Rarity hummed. “Shall I venture a guess and say you’re still upset about what Princess Luna did?”

A telling silence followed in which Twilight’s ears folded back.

Rarity hummed again, positioning herself so she’d be facing Twilight. “Shall I venture another guess and say you’re still concerned over what I think of you?”

“Weren’t you going to bed?” Twilight asked, and when Rarity giggled, she looked up, irritated. “What?”

“You are a rather silly pony, aren’t you?” she asked, delighting at Twilight’s positively outraged expression.

“I am not!” Twilight protested.

“May I ask a favor of you?” She levitated Twilight’s necklace, dropped it on top of the book, and after a spark of magic, Twilight’s necklace began to flash.

Twilight’s eyes darted back and forth between the necklaces, and though she opened her mouth to no doubt protest, Rarity was faster.

“I won’t go anywhere you don’t want me to,” she assured. “I only want to show you something. As you said earlier, this is the best way of doing it without omitting or tampering with a single detail.”

Though she gave Rarity a concerned look, Twilight closed her eyes and cast the spell. As soon as the connection was established, Rarity felt a certain amount of foreign trepidation, but she quickly did away with it and simply contented herself with gazing at Twilight.

Nothing more, nothing less.

No thoughts of Discord, or princesses and choices made thousands of years ago. She simply focused on the alicorn before her, and the more she looked at her, the more she wanted to look at her, because goodness, she’d missed her. Her and her silly habit of teleporting away, her endless insistence on Rarity learning everything, her little ways of thinking she was so discreet when sneaking glances, and how she’d so easily stolen Rarity’s heart.

Thought after thought coursed through Rarity’s mind, and she could hardly stop the endlessly smitten grin at the sight of the fierce blush crawling its way up on Twilight’s face, and how fascinating it was to actually feel Twilight’s shamefully pleased embarrassment.

And she honestly thought that Rarity’s opinion of her had changed.

It was as though Rarity hadn’t spent the past months completely focused on finding Twilight again!

“Okay, okay! Stop!” Twilight squeaked, burying her flushed face through her hooves, and Rarity valiantly fought the alicorn’s urge for her to look away. “I get it! I get it!”

“Why, Twilight! Stop what? Am I not allowed to look at you?” Rarity asked ever so innocently.

Unfortunately, as much as she delighted in teasing Twilight, sleep came knocking back, ready to take her within its embrace.

“Go to sleep,” Twilight said, her flush fading. “You’re barely…” Both ponies yawned. “Holding on…”

For a moment, Rarity considered complying with her other self’s desire to end the spell, but instead…

“In a minute…”

She closed her eyes, snuggled up against the pillows and then, still maintaining the spell, placed one of her forehooves on top of the other. She vividly felt it, her own soft touch, and a warm splash of affection washed over her, which she knew wasn’t entirely hers.

It seemed Twilight Sparkle did not really need her body back to hold Rarity, now did she?

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act III ~ 34 ~ The Return to Canterlot Castle ~

The days went by faster than Rarity had expected, and soon enough she found herself hours away from her trip to Canterlot. Was it some sort of aftermath of her time spent cursed? Or was it because days without Twilight felt endless compared to those with her?

Rarity had barely left the library since her return to Ponyville. Spike had not spoken with Twilight again, as he’d gone back to Smoky Mountain to retrieve all his many possessions and bring them to his new permanent home. Thankfully, like Rarity, he too would be home in time for Seeking Night.

“Did you make sure you have everything?”

Rarity looked up from her notebook and fixed her gaze on the worried alicorn sitting opposite her. She understood Twilight was nervous about the trip, but honestly, that was the twelfth time she’d asked the question in the past hour.

“Twilight, it’s as though you think I secretly unpack things when you’re not looking,” she said, turning her attention back to the notebook and finishing the sentence she’d been writing. “Besides, I don’t have many things to bring.”

The moment Rarity finished writing, Twilight levitated the notebook toward her and gave it a look-over. “You won’t forget to cast the spell, will you?”

“Are you quite certain you want me to? They will notice, you know. The spell isn’t exactly discreet,” she replied, her observation drawing out a crease on Twilight’s brow. “I don’t think they’ll very much allow me to cast a spell they don’t know—especially less so during an audience with the princess.”

Twilight chewed on her lip, mulling over Rarity’s statement. “A protection spell,” she said eventually, lifting her gaze. “She cursed you once, so you’re taking the necessary precautions so it won’t happen again.”

“You… You don’t suppose she can curse me again, do you?” Rarity asked, lifting her hoof and playing with the necklace. Just the idea of being separated from Twilight again… It was enough to make her want to cancel the trip or send somepony else.

Twilight hummed, closing the notebook with her magic. “I don’t think so. Talking to the others didn’t curse you, and even if she does, you know how to break it.”

“True… Well, in that case, I suppose I ought to leave now,” Rarity murmured, her thoughts a bit distracted. She wished she wasn’t going alone, but if something bad was to happen, she’d rather it happen to her than to her and somepony else. No matter what awaited her, she wanted to make sure Twilight would never be alone again.

She stood up and put on her saddlebags, smiling gratefully when Twilight used her magic to adjust them on her back. A silly gesture, perhaps, but Rarity liked it. It reminded her of when her mother would fix her father’s scarves during the winter. To fuss over somepony is to care about them, isn’t it? Maybe one day she’d be able to fuss over Twilight, too.

Her steps felt heavier and heavier the more she thought about it. Twilight had stoutly refused and evaded any conversation on her… extraordinary self-esteem hiccups, and it was becoming more and more frustrating for Rarity to feel so helpless.

Or, maybe, her steps felt heavy because she just simply didn’t want to go, nothing more or less to it.

When she reached the entrance tunnel, she stared at it for an entire second before turning on her hooves and pouting at the alicorn behind her.

“Twilight,” she whined, sitting on her haunches. “I’ve only just got you back, and already you’re sending me away! This is completely unfair. Why can’t this trip to Canterlot wait another week?”

“Because you already bought your tickets,” Twilight replied matter-of-factly, levitating Rarity back into a standing position. “And I would never send you away, Rarity.”

“Did you ask me to go to Canterlot to fetch Princess Denza?” Rarity asked.

Twilight arched an eyebrow. “Yes.”

“Then you’re sending me away!”

Twilight let out an exasperated sigh. “Rarity… I don’t want this any more than you do, but…” She looked away, chewing on both her lips and an answer. “I… I need to know something, and I can’t know without Princess Denza.”

Rarity hummed, scrunching her eyes. “Does it involve you-know-what?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Yes.”

Ah, now that changed matters.

“Very well, then!” she exclaimed, turning around and facing the entrance. If this would get her that much closer to Twilight’s liberation, then she would not delay it further.

“Talk to you later, then?” Twilight asked.

Rarity looked over her shoulder and flashed a winning smile. “Absolutely.”

It was strange to think that, once upon a time, maybe a year ago or so, the idea of traveling to Canterlot would be one of endless excitement for Rarity. The glamour, the sophistication! Things she cared for once, and things that had slowly but surely been… Well, “ripped away” wasn’t quite the accurate term, was it? Other ideas and desires had simply taken their place.

But she thought it was still sad and a bit odd that stepping into Canterlot City now filled her with dread and trepidation. The shining beacon of Equestrian society now felt like a terrible omen in itself. After all, the last two times she’d set hoof in Canterlot had proven to be very terrible days for her.

Twilight’s attitude certainly hadn’t helped in that respect, either.

What had she seen during the communication session? Curiosity burned Rarity, and she wished Twilight hadn’t ended the spell before Rarity could pry into her mind for answers.

I’ll know soon enough, I suppose.

Though it was early morning, the city was filled with ponies trotting about their daily routines. She’d taken the night train with the intent of having an entire day to ensure a meeting with the princess, and she was quite confident she’d get it quickly enough. Other ponies would have to wait weeks or months for a chance, but she’d earned her easy access, especially if Rift Shield was around.

The look on his face when she’d tell him she broke the curse! She couldn’t wait to revel in it and, though it was not very ladylike to boast, she couldn’t wait to do that, too! She wished she’d brought her camera.

She made her way to the castle, and it wasn’t until she reached it that she remembered her promise to Twilight. She crossed the gates, smiling amiably at the two guards, before ultimately coming to a stop in front of the main doors and lighting up her horn. Twilight hadn’t specified exactly when she wanted Rarity to cast the spell, so she saw no harm in being safer than sorry and casting it then.

The necklace shone, and one, two, three seconds passed before finally the familiar ping filled the air and her mind seemed to shift. She shook her head, rubbing a hoof against her eyes, and when she opened them and looked up again, an overwhelming homesickness and wonder washed over her.

Her previous trepidation toward Canterlot had all but vanished now, replaced instead with a similar feeling to the one she—Rarity, at least—had experienced upon finding the library again.

Two guards trotted past her, and the sight of them brought her back to reality and the purpose of her trip. She focused on the guards, intending to follow them inside the castle, but no sooner had she mentalized that purpose that another idea was pushed into her mind.

No… No, going through the castle wasn’t what she—they?—wanted. She wanted to go through the secret entrance to the royal chambers. The desire consumed her.

But it’s so filthy! she thought in protest. And dusty, and frankly, it brings me awful memories.

But, ponies couldn’t hide things from her if they didn’t know she was coming, could they?

“My, my!” she murmured, trotting away from the doors and around the castle, now much more willing to go on with the plan. “Quite devious today, are we not?”

Unfortunately, to their conjoined irritation, a guard was pacing near the secret entrance. Had the princess ordered this to prevent any more “incidents”?

“Well, now what do you suggest?” Rarity muttered to herself, and no sooner had she done so that an admittedly predictable answer filtered into her mind.

If they hadn’t been mindmelding, Rarity would have pointed out that teleportation can’t be your solution to everything, Twilight. But, in that moment, she felt quite clever about having thought it up, and wasn’t she so lucky that Twilight had been so dedicated to teaching her because if she hadn’t then—

“All right, all right!” she muttered, forcing the intruding—and, frankly, a bit pompous—thoughts away.

She trotted as closely as she could to the guard and the entrance, smiling brightly and waving at him when he glanced her way. She pretended to admire the castle’s décor, her mind filling up with, or rather remembering, details of its construction, and when she was halfway through remembering the fifth grand restoration of the east wing the guard finally looked away, distracted by a passing stallion.

She focused her magic, closed her eyes, visualized the tunnel and crack! Not even a second later did she find herself inside the dreary hidden tunnel. A satisfied smile swept over her lips at the distant sound of a guard talking, unaware of her presence, and she proceeded into the tunnel. Much like the last time, a row of torches flickered to life and illuminated the winding path.

As she walked through the tunnel, memories filled her mind. What could only be described as a lecture began, details on the pathway’s use and purpose filtering into her thoughts. It had originally been designed as a private, protected entry and exit-way for the princesses, but had later been rendered useless when Discord discovered it following a picni—

And, suddenly, the thought brusquely cut itself off and the non-Rarity part of her mind was suddenly intensely fascinated by the sound of her hooves clopping against the cement. The Rarity part of her mind, however, was very distinctly irritated by that wholly unsubtle change of topic.

Her irritation remained for another moment, as did her silly fascination with inane details, and it wasn’t until they reached a familiar door that both sides of her became wholly in sync again. She pushed it open, her sights setting on the chaos bubbles still floating about.

Though Rarity knew she and Twilight were bonded together by so many wonderful things, she was thoroughly pleased that immense irritation toward Discord was one of them. Hatred of the same being truly did bond ponies together, it seemed.

She trotted along the path, making it a point to ignore the bubbles, as she thought Discord would enjoy the idea of distracting her from her mission. Eventually, she reached the hallway door, and carefully cracked it open, peering inside and feeling immensely relieved when she saw nopony waiting there.

It seemed the guards had thought one guard posted outside would be enough.

Much like the sight of the castle, so too did the sight of the now-familiar hallway wash her with sadness. What an odd feeling that, to want to hug and comfort herself. She looked around, trying to ascertain her next step, until her eyes set on the statue in the alcove.

And then.

Then did she realize the “sadness” she felt before could hardly hope to compare to what she felt now. In that moment, Rarity knew who that stallion was. She knew the sound of his voice, his thoughts, his aspirations, his affection and love for his family, and he was gone, and it seared her. Tears brimmed around her eyes, and she could not tell whether they belonged to her or Twilight. They belonged to both, she concluded.

She trotted toward it, once more reading the inscription on the base.

I will find you again, in this life or the next.

It was too much.

A will different from her own forced Rarity away from the statue, because it simply hurt too much. She wanted to think about it, though. She could feel it, feel Twilight’s intense desire to mourn, but the alicorn refused to surrender to that feeling.

It’s over now, a thought all but forced itself into her mind. He and Cadance lived happily. He and Cadance lived happily until they died, and it’s over. It’s done.

The thoughts circling her mind, she made her way across the hallway, her eyes landing on the door bearing Princess Cadance’s cutie mark. She very vaguely remembered it. The pristine room that looked more like a nursery than a dormitory, filled with dusty foal’s toys and an unused crib.

She halted, her thoughts lingering on that memory, but again she felt the urge to move, to not dwell too much on such things, and she relented.

She heard voices in the distance, shadows filtering under the crack of the hallway door. Guards were posted there, and now she wanted to go to them, to knock on the door and have them open it. That would surely get her an immediate audience with Princess Denza, would it not?

But ten steps forward and she stopped again, joy and excitement filling her at the sight of her—er, Twilight’s—cutie mark on a door. A thrilled noise left her mouth, and she convinced herself that really, a quick look inside the room wasn’t going to hurt anypony, would it? No, of course it wouldn’t, Rarity.

It was like a foal had been set loose inside a candy store.

It was her room.

Rarity rushed in, driven now by the peaking excitement in her chest, finding she recognized every object in the room. Every telescope, every painting, every nook and cranny; they were as much hers now as they were Twilight’s. On the walls she saw the posters she now recognized as Twilight’s research into the Elements of Harmony! And on the bed, she saw the device she’d built to detect magic surges! And on the table, she saw the cracked remains of three Element of Harmony orbs! And on the chair, she—

What?

All her thoughts ground to a halt.

There, on the table, were three of the lost Element of Harmony orbs.

Three of them.

Just like that.

She made her way to the table, mouth parted, and by this point, it felt as though it was Twilight driving her on. She levitated one of them, and moments later put it back down, her mental processes starting up again at a thousand miles per hour.

She knew everything about the Elements now, or everything Twilight knew, at least. A memory resurged, crisp and blurry simultaneously, of a large wilted tree inside a cavern. She saw herself as Twilight, digging with her hooves and finding a dirty stone orb. She saw herself wrapping it in magic, a white wisp of magic shooting out of it and into Twilight, only for the orb to transform into a distinctly familiar crown.

“Wait!” Rarity blurted out, to herself and to Twilight. “I saw that!”

She’d seen that wisp before, the white string of magic, shooting out of one of the broken orbs and into… her saddlebag?

She stepped back, her eyes growing large. “No, but… That’s…” And so she began to pace in circles around the room, both sides of her trying to somehow make sense of what it all meant.

What did it mean?! Did that mean the Element of whatever that Element is had bonded with her? But, it went into her bag? Did that count? If it had, why didn’t it transform? Unless it didn’t count? And why, out of all ponies, would it pick Rarity?! …Well, excuse herself, why wouldn’t it pick her?! She was wonderful! Fabulous! She could damn well be an Element of Harmony, thank you very much!

But her?! Really?! another voice protested.

If it had selected her, then that would mean the Elements weren’t attached to alicorns, and the entirety of Twilight’s research was wrong! Unless…

Rarity stopped, a hoof flying to her mouth and a giddy wonder filling her heart. “I’m secretly an alicorn…?”

She resumed her pacing. No, that’s ridiculous! She stopped. Or is it? She resumed her trot again. Yes, it is! And again she stopped. But maybe it isn’t! We—I mean, you—weren’t an alicorn before it bonded with you, and look at you now, Princess Twilight Sparkle!

No intruding thoughts came after that.

“Well, well!” Rarity exclaimed, flipping her mane. “Touché, I see!”

And, immediately after, she realized she was having a very silly conversation, which, incidentally, she had not yet won, thank you very much. Rather than sit there arguing over potential alicorns, their time would be better used finding out by whom, how, and when were the Element orbs found.

Driven by the thought, she levitated the Element orb fragments into the air and made her way out of the room, back into the hallway. She trotted toward the door, trying to come up with a proper way to meet Princess Denza, but as soon as the thought formed, and as soon as she was one knock away from alerting the guards of her presence, the sudden and forceful impulse to go look at the other rooms overtook her.

It was as though the drive she’d had not even a few minutes ago had left, and now she really didn’t want to meet Princess Denza. Now she really wanted to go look at the other rooms, because surely they were nicer, and surely they would be much more interesting, and Rarity realized her other self was… stalling for time?

It was that realization that led Rarity to knock on the door before somepony else could stop her, and when she did, she froze at the sound of the guards outside ceasing their conversation. She couldn’t quite accurately tell who had frozen, whether it was her or Twilight or maybe both, but she elected to believe it had been Twilight.

Steeling herself, and trying to take control of the situation, she knocked twice in a row, and it seemed that now Twilight had reduced her presence, waiting like Rarity to see the reaction, and what a reaction indeed.

The door slowly opened, two blinking guards peering in and subsequently jumping away in shock at the sight of a grinning unicorn.

“Lovely morning, isn’t it?” she said. “Your security isn’t very effective. Might be a good idea to improve it, hm?”

“Yo-you again?!” one of the guards blurted out, his lance pointed at Rarity. She wasn’t altogether afraid of it, but she was quite pleased by the sudden burst of foreign indignation and defensiveness that pushed into her mind.

“How did you get in here?! Why are you carrying those orb things?!” the other demanded, his lance pointed at her too. He then nodded his head toward her horn, and reasserted his stance. “And what’s that spell you’re casting?!”

“A protection spell!” Rarity replied, the words practically being fed into her brain. “Just a simple thing, nothing to worry your pretty little selves about. It’s casting a transparent shield around my body, creating an immunity against that pesky curse Princess Denza infected me with last time.” She stood on the tip of her hooves and looked beyond the guards, into the hallway. “Is the princess in, by the by? I really must see her at once. It’s about these ‘orb things,’ as you so smartly called them.”

The two guards merely stared at her.

“Come now!” she exclaimed, gesturing with her hoof. “Off you go, and I will follow!”

And indeed one of them did leave, stepping back a few paces before rushing off while the other barked for Rarity to stay put, which left both sides of her quite unimpressed.

Minutes later, the stallion returned, and with him came a certain lieutenant, which paradoxically both pleased and annoyed her.

“I can’t believe this,” Rift Shield said, gawking at the mare. “I really can’t.”

“Rift!” she exclaimed, smiling brightly at him. “How nice to see you again!”

“Rarity,” he asked, taking off his helmet. “What are you—”

“I broke the curse,” she cut in, still holding the smile in place, and reveling in the silence she created. “Though I’m still going to continue casting my protection spell. Can’t take any risks!”

“You… what?”

“You heard me, Rift,” she said, and she wasn’t able to stop herself from adding, “I broke the curse that, apparently, the royal guard could not break in a thousand years. Fancy that.”

Much like the guards before, he simply stared at her, so she continued speaking, finding she rather wanted to get somewhere with it all.

“I was telling your guards, who, may I point out, have yet to lower their lances, that I need to meet with Princess Denza post-haste,” she explained, harrumphing when the two soldiers quickly put their weapon away.

“Now?” he asked, flabbergasted. “You want to meet with her now?”

“Yes,” she replied. “Now.”

Rift looked very uncomfortable by the situation, stepping back. “Okay, look, just, put those down and we can figure this out?” he said, gesturing for Rarity to lower the Elemental Stones. “Before we even think of the princess, why don’t we talk about it first? I’ll organize it and you can talk to her tomorrow, or even later tonight, okay?”

“No. It has to be right this instant,” Rarity repeated, unwavering. “Or have you perhaps forgotten what happened the last time you didn’t instantly take me to her?” She paused for a second, and remembering Twilight’s motivation for using the tunnel, narrowed her eyes and asked, “Or is the princess hiding something, perhaps?”

“No,” he replied, almost immediately, standing straighter. “Absolutely not.”

Rarity smiled thinly. “Then, why not take me to her now? I’m sure that my reason for being here is monumental enough she can make a little time for me, don’t you agree?”

“Fine,” he muttered, eyebrows furrowed. He gestured to the two guards, and made a move to leave. “I’ll take you to the princess.”

Though she trotted after him with her head held high, she couldn’t feel more unsure than she did now. It wasn’t because she did not think she could handle the princess—she could—but because Twilight had gone, well, silent. She couldn’t feel any other presence within her, and the only way she could describe it was as though Twilight were blocking her thoughts from Rarity.

As such, she turned her attention to Rift, noticing he looked nothing but ill at ease. A pronounced frown marred his forehead, his eyes were narrowed, and he walked in short, loud steps. It was clear he did not like what was going on, and Rarity was all but too eager to find out why.

They turned a corner, and whether out of excitement or anxiety, her heart thundered in her chest at the sight of the throne room doors at the end of the hall. The guards on either side threw Rift what could only be described as bewildered looks when they reached the door, but he promptly ignored them and knocked on the door: three times at first, and after a pause, two times.

A signal…?

It certainly felt that way.

However, before she could ponder it more, the doors opened, he stepped to the side, and with odd gravity said, “After you, Rarity.”

With a polite nod to him, she walked into the throne room as she had done once before, on what could be aptly described as one of the worst days of her life.

Like the time before, the throne room was dimly lit, most of the curtains drawn to keep away the sunlight. She hadn’t thought much about it the first time, but now? Now it screamed at her, called for her attention, like she was forced into noticing these things now.

Or was it Twilight?

She forced herself to look away and kept her sights on the alicorn at the end of the room. It was a whole new feeling, seeing her while communicating with Twilight. There she stood, the last living relative of the two ponies who…

Who she hadn’t…

The thought was crushed away, snatched away by the alicorn before Rarity could finish thinking it, but it was not entirely difficult to guess how it was going to end.

Princess Denza was, like before, standing in front of her throne and behind her desk. She looked surprised by Rarity’s presence, her ears perked up, and her eyes… her eyes bored into Rarity, into her very soul it felt like, and Rarity feared for a moment she might see Twilight in them.

And she looked… She looked so much like Princess Cadance. It was nearly as painful as looking at the statue of Shining Armor.

And so Rarity looked away, because something—or somepony—compelled her to look away from those eyes and instead look at everything else, even despite the pain. The green aura still enveloped the princess, still faintly there, still hard to see due to poor light, but…but it felt like there was something more, something she was missing.

She was so similar to Cadance, and a thought shoved itself into her mind.

Perhaps she was a bit too similar.

“Bah! The imagination of ponies is admirable. What will they say next? That she’s secretly the Changeling Queen come back to life? Well, technically speaking…”

Rarity held her breath. No.

Rift Shield cleared his throat. “Your Highness,” he said. “Rarity of Ponyville is here to see you. It’s an emergency.”

Princess Denza’s eyes darted from Rarity to Rift. “Emergency?”

“Your Highness,” Rarity said, nearly forcing the words out, because Twilight Sparkle was getting at something, and Rarity wasn’t sure she wanted to accept it. Twilight was grasping at straws that weren’t even there.

Or was she…?

“Your Highness!” she repeated again, forcefully now, levitating the Elemental Stones and putting them on the table. “These orbs. Do you know what they are?”

“Yes,” Princess Denza replied. “Do you? I feel like you do.”

“These are Elemental Stones, aren’t they?” Rarity asked. “The ones Princess Twilight was searching for before and after the war, aren’t they?”

Princess Denza looked at the orbs. “Yes, they are.” Her gaze turned to Rarity. “But these stones aren’t why you’re here, are they?”

“The curse. I’ve broken the curse.”

The princess’s eyes widened. “You… You what…?”

“If I’m not mistaken, the Spirit of Chaos told ponies long ago that he’d moved Princess Twilight’s tree from the Everfree Forest, leaving an endless sinkhole in its place,” she said. “It was an illusion. The curse makes you feel a sort of misleading sickness when you’re close by, and the tree itself is sunk into the earth, and that’s how he kept tricking ponies.”

Silence followed.

It was deafening and endless in its briefness, the princess quietly watching her. Sizing her up, perhaps?

“What…” She stood up a bit straighter. “What evidence do you have of your claims? You brought evidence last time. The crowns and the photographs. Did you bring more to prove you’ve broken the curse?”

Rarity swallowed. “I have witnesses,” she said. “My companions back home, and a dragon. I am friends with the retired Wonderbolts captain, as I’m sure you know, and she introduced me to her dragon companion. I believe you know him as well.”

Princess Denza did not speak up, but her eyes? Her eyes and their stare said much more than words could possibly express. Rarity had rendered the Princess of Equestria speechless, and yet, she did not feel inclined to celebrate the fact.

The sinking feeling that something was wrong remained, but she pressed on, for hadn’t she made a promise to Twilight?

“But I have a proposal, Princess,” she said, and she forced a smile.

“A proposal?” the princess softly asked, her eyes seeming cautious rather than suspicious.

“If I may be so bold, Princess Denza, I’d like for you to come with me to Ponyville,” she said, and did not know how to feel when the princess betrayed no emotion. “I can break the curse on you. I’ve broken it on my companions, and I’m sure we can break it on you and your guard. The search for the lost princesses will go much faster with your assistance, I believe. Can—”

She faltered, like fear had gripped her for a moment, but the fear wasn’t hers.

She continued, nonetheless.

“Can you come?” she asked, resolute. “Now?”

Ages passed in the time it took the princess to reply. Rarity’s heart hammered in her chest, like something terrible hinged on the reply she—they—awaited. Twilight’s consciousness had gone silent, but it was still there, it was still clawing at Rarity.

“Yes,” Princess Denza finally replied. “I can come now.”

Surprise washed over Rarity, momentarily distracting her from the anxiety creeping up her heart. “You can?”

“I can, yes,” Princess Denza repeated, and Rarity was shocked by the fact that she seemed to sincerely mean it.

…But why wouldn’t she mean it?

“I will need to prepare, but my guard and I can meet you at the gates in about half an hour,” she continued, her wings ruffling against her. She turned to Rift and nodded to the door. “Please make the arrangements, won’t you, Shield?”

“Yes, Your Highness!” he replied at once, stamping a hoof on the floor.

He then gestured for Rarity to follow, and though she turned around to do as much, she didn’t even take one step before she felt compelled to stop.

“Is something wrong?” came Princess Denza’s voice.

Rarity didn’t immediately reply. Not because she didn’t want to, mind, but because she was struggling to understand the request she was being asked to fulfill; the question being burned into her; the need to know…

“Princess Denza?” she said, turning around. “Can you take a closer look at the orbs, please?”

The princess blinked in confusion, but she complied with the request, levitating the orbs toward her and studying them closely. After a minute, she put them back down on the table.

“I’m not sure exactly what I’m supposed to see?” she asked.

Truthfully, Rarity didn’t quite know either. Twilight was not giving her answers, just orders without explanations or context.

And yet.

And yet, she’d felt it. In that moment, she had felt something was strange, something was off.

“I… I…”

Why had that felt off? She thought back to the day of the communication spell, to the moment where Twilight had stopped the mind-link. It had been the princess, in that same throne room, inspecting the evidence. But why…? Why would that make Twilight falter? Why would it make her want to…

And she realized.

And in that moment, she understood Twilight’s fear.

In that moment, she understood why she’d wanted Rarity to go.

In that moment, Rarity was too afraid to find out, but…

But a coward she was not.

“Princess Denza,” she asked, and it felt like her voice trembled, the name sticking to the back of her throat. “Please, can you inspect the orbs again? I think you might be missing something rather vital.”

Princess Denza’s ears flicked back. “I… All right,” she said, once more levitating the orbs and giving them a much closer look, so much so that she was nearly pressing them against her nose. After a minute, she put them back down and helplessly declared, “I don’t understand what you want me to see. They look like stones.”

Rarity gulped, trying to smile, her body starting to feel faint. “Princess, please, can you pick them up again?”

“Why?” the princess asked, frowning. “Can’t you just tell me what—”

“Please, Princess Denza,” Rarity asked, and the princess complied again, her magic enveloping the orbs.

“No,” Rarity said, and now she could feel Twilight’s presence crushing her. “Not with magic. Take them with your hooves.”

The princess betrayed no emotion. “…Excuse-me?”

“The last time we met,” Rarity said, her voice trembling slightly. “The last time we met, when you inspected the items I brought, you…you only used your magic to touch them. Why?”

Princess Denza smiled. “Did I? I hadn’t even noticed! It must be because I’m so used to magic!” She placed a hoof on her mouth and giggled. “And I can admit I’m a biiiiit lazy.”

Rarity did not laugh, and she noticed that neither did the guards.

“Princess, do you know why that strikes me as odd?” Rarity said, and now it was as much her speaking as it was Twilight. They both knew what they were getting at, after all. “It strikes me as odd because I only know of one other pony who solely uses magic in everything she does, and that’s because she physically can’t use her body.”

Princess Denza’s smile vanished. “Oh?”

“Yes,” Rarity said, and how hard it was to keep her cool when it felt as though the world of two ponies were crashing around her. “And it’s odd, isn’t it? How both times you’ve stood in front of your throne rather than on it?”

“I can see what you’re getting at, Rarity,” Princess Denza said. “And it’s certainly imaginative, but I’m afraid it’s also untrue.”

“If it is, Princess, and you cannot possibly understand how desperately I want it to be so, I ask of you again.” With her magic, she moved the orbs closer to Princess Denza, a fear unlike any she’d ever had gripping her heart. “Please take these orbs with your hooves.”

“Now, really!” Princess Denza exclaimed, clearly agitated. “This is completely ridi—”

“NOW, PRINCESS CADANCE!” Rarity shrieked, tears that were not hers brimming her eyes as she enveloped one of the guard’s helmets in her magic and threw it straight at the crown princess.

And what a silence followed.

What a deadly, piercing silence followed, broken only by the sounds of the helmet crashing against the throne, and then by Rarity herself, falling onto her haunches, her hooves at her mouth.

Something broke apart at her core. No, that wasn’t accurate, was it? Something broke inside of Princess Twilight Sparkle, and Rarity could feel it, as if the thread keeping her sanity together had been cut, like her very soul had shattered irreparably.

She’d thought the phrase on Shining Armor’s statue was referencing Twilight, but it wasn’t.

Even Cadance and Shining Armor, a voice as hollow as death whispered in her head. Even Cadance and Shining Armor suffered because of me.

And then the communication spell stopped, and reality crashed down upon Rarity because there were thousands and thousands of different versions of the Legend of the Four Princesses, and they all had one thing wrong.

It hadn’t been only three princesses that were cursed to be spirits.

It had been all four.

“No,” Rarity whispered, shaking her head because it was too much, it was far too much, and Twilight was gone now, and it was simply too terrible to bear.

Princess Denza said nothing.

She just stared.

“No, that’s impossible!” Rarity exclaimed, getting up on her hooves and stepping back. “I’ve seen you in papers, travelling around Equestria! I saw you nearly a year ago during the Princess Parade, laughing and hugging Prince Silver Lance! How would that be possi…”

She stepped back again, Discord’s words rushing to her, and she stepped back again, remembering the one species in Equestria whose lives depended on Princess Cadance.

“Rift…” she whispered, and then she turned around, tears in her eyes, and faced the stallion who now cowered before her.

“Ra-Rarity, please, let us explain, we—”

He’d been at the village. They had called for him.

“Are you a pony?” she whispered, and then she stepped forward, an almost primal fear and terror driving her. “Are you a pony?! Answer me, Rift Shield! ANSWER ME!”

And he answered, but not with words, for moments later, Rarity stepped back in horror, the stallion before her now a shamed changeling.

“No…”

And the princess continued to watch in silence.

“Please,” he begged, stepping toward Rarity, “we only want to help! We’ve only ever helped Princess Cadance! Please!”

His pleas went unheard and uncared for. She felt dizzy now, so dizzy, like the world was spinning and crashing around her. Her entire life had been a lie. The entire kingdom had been a lie.

She turned to the other guards, because, please, Princesses, please, it couldn’t be true, but her fears were confirmed when one by one, the room was filled with changelings.

Finally, she turned to Princess Cadance the First and the Only.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered through the hoof pressed against her mouth, tears streaming down her face. “Princess Cadance, I’m so sorry.”

Princess Cadance smiled kindly, a very kind but very weary smile. “Why?” she asked. “This is the first time I’ve had hope in a very long time.”

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act III ~ 35 ~ The Last Seeking Night ~

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters.

Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Act III ~ 35 ~ The Last Seeking Night ~

Everything felt like a blur.

Somepony escorted her out. Was it Rift? Another one of the guards? She didn’t remember, and she didn’t much care. It felt very much like her entire world had shifted, but not like it had when she met Twilight. There was no sense of wonder and excitement to the discovery she’d just made.

There was just horror.

Horror at realizing just how deep the rabbit hole went.

A glass of water was set in front of her on the table. She looked up and she saw Rift Shield, a pony now, standing on the other side of the table.

“Drink, Rarity,” he said. “It’ll help.”

She didn’t feel like drinking, but she obeyed regardless. She started to use her magic, but she made it a point to use her hoof instead. To feel it, to know without the shadow of a doubt that things were real and she was not submerged in a world-shattering dream.

She took a long drink, and when putting it down, her ears flicked at the sound the glass made against the table.

“How long has… have you changelings…”

She faltered, because it was still hard to accept it.

“Since it started,” he replied, sitting down on a floor cushion and folding his hooves on the table. “Not me, obviously. Changelings don’t live that long, but everypony in Heart’s Haven has been doing this for a very long time. Only changelings know. No pony save for the Captain of the Guard has ever been promoted beyond lieutenant to avoid finding out.”

Rarity swallowed. The entire royal family had been a farce for over a thousand years, and nopony knew. The mere implications of such a fact would send her off into a dizzy spiral if she weren’t in it already.

“And nopony else? What about Spike?”

“…He knows, too,” he confessed. “He and the princess had a massive falling out centuries ago, because they… Well, everything was rough on them.” He shook his head. “Anyway, he’s never told anypony. Not even Rainbow Dash knows. She just knows Princess ‘Denza’ has changelings working for her. I know he hates the princess, but even he knows that a secret like this is something that Equestria’s society wouldn’t be able to handle without falling into chaos, like it did a thousand years ago when the princess tried to come clean with it.”

Rarity did not reply.

“They say she… She’s the reason it became a legend,” he continued, his voice sounding far away, like she could only just barely process it. “Ponies would come and she herself would tell them, and then they’d all be cursed, and she didn’t even know ye—”

“You’ve already told me this, Rift,” she interrupted.

“It eats her up inside. You have to understand this,” he continued, pleadingly almost, as if trying to justify the princess’ actions against the no doubt centuries of ponies accusing Princess Cadance of not doing anything to help. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her smile a real smile in my life until today.”

“Do you know how to free her?”

Rift faltered. “N-no… She says the Spirit just cursed her and told her what he’d done to the others.”

Of course he would, she thought, taking another drink of water. What’s the point of being a monster if ponies don’t know what you’ve done.

“Rarity, listen—”

“I need a moment, Rift,” she interrupted, burying her hooves against her eyes, and when no reply came, she continued, “Thank you.”

Truthfully, though there were many things to think about and process and accept, Rarity’s thoughts were consumed not by Princess Cadance and her predicament, but by Twilight. She could still feel it, the complete and utter destruction of self she felt through the necklace.

Through the necklace… Stars only knew how it must have been for her. How it must be for her now. Rarity cast the communication spell, ignoring Rift’s inquiry, and quietly waiting for an answer. She waited, and waited, and waited until several minutes had passed and no alicorn answered.

So she got up.

“I need to go home now,” she informed, levitating her things from the nearby rack and putting her cloak on.

“Wait, you can’t!” he exclaimed, similarly getting up. “Don’t you realize what you’ve just found out?! You can’t leave!”

“Why?” she asked, her patience wearing thin. “Because I’ll tell ponies? Because they’ll believe me when I tell them the monarch of our kingdom is a thousand-year-old pony cursed to live between fragments of time as an ethereal being? I’m positive my forced therapies with a psychiatrist will be lovely.” When he did not reply, she continued. “I’d like to talk to Princess Cadance more, but right now, I have another princess to concern myself with.”

Rift sighed, but he protested no longer, putting his helmet back on instead. “Are you going to tell Princess Twilight, then? I’d like to come with you and explain the situation to her. I can go the day after Seeking Night. I’d go now, but…” He glanced toward the door. “I have my own princess to take care of. This…” He gestured at Rarity. “This is going to change a lot of things.”

“I will prepare everything for your arrival in two days, then,” Rarity replied. She turned to him, her stare hard as stone. “Bring everything you have regarding Princess Cadance and the others. Anything Twilight can use to understand the situation. Evidence, scrolls, I don’t care what, but don’t you dare step into Ponyville empty-hooved, Rift Shield.”

“I won’t,” he said, and so she turned around to leave. “Good luck with the princess.”

“Thank you. Goodbye.”

Two guards stood outside the room, waiting to escort her out. The walk to the castle gates went by in silence, Rarity observing the guards and wondering whether they were ponies like her. Oh, the good professor would have a field day with the truth behind Princess Denza of Equestria.

When she stepped into the city, her heart shrank in her chest at the sight of ponies putting up Seeking Night decorations wherever they could. Banners, flags, posters and more, celebrating what they all thought was a silly holiday based on a made-up story.

It was just for a second, but for one terrible moment, Rarity was jealous of them and their blessed ignorance, because now? Now the holiday was painful, insulting, damaging to four ponies who’d been suffering for a thousand years.

It made her sick.

To her great misfortune, there were no trains she could take back home yet. All tickets were booked already by ponies either heading into Canterlot for the festivity, or heading to the other towns to celebrate back home. As such, she was forced to spend the day waiting with a stomach ache and heartache for nighttime to arrive and with it the train taking her home.

She thought, in the back of her mind, that she could go back to the castle and ask Rift to send her back home in a chariot, but truth be told, she was afraid. No, afraid wasn’t really the word. It was more that she didn’t know what to do.

She considered herself to be an eloquent pony, but the more she thought about it, the less she knew what she could say to Twilight.

What could she even say?

The question burned her throughout the day, and kept her up late into the night, the dusky landscapes of Equestria rushing past the overnight train’s windows. She tried calling Twilight again. She tried five times, in fact, all to no avail, and every time Rarity’s heart sank a little bit more.

When she woke up the next morning, the train a quarter-hour away from pulling up at the Ponyville train station, it felt odd to think that exactly one year ago she’d woken up to organize Ponyville’s Seeking Night. A week ago, she had been looking forward to Seeking Night. Two days ago, she’d been looking forward to Seeking Night. But now, on the day of Seeking Night itself, she wished it had never come.

She didn’t expect anypony to be waiting for her at the station, and frankly she didn’t want anypony to be waiting for her. However, it seemed that things continued refusing to go the way she wanted, and she found Rainbow Dash standing on the platform, her face marred with discomfort.

Rarity almost wished she didn’t have the obligation to ask.

“Rarity!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “Princesses, that train took forever! Did it get delayed or what?!”

“No, it was perfectly on time,” she replied, adjusting her saddlebags. She paused for a moment, a split second of time, and forced herself to ask, “Why? Is something the matter?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said, her ears flattening, and Rarity could only pray and pray that a familiar name did not follow. “It’s Twilight.”

A pain seared through Rarity’s chest.

Of course it would be Twilight. Of course.

“I see.”

Rainbow Dash looked surprised, as if she’d expected Rarity to react with shock or surprise. Despite this, she did not press the issue and instead flew up to the air. “Come on, the others are with Spike. It’ll be easier to talk there.”

It was painful to walk through Ponyville and see the decorations were already up. It wasn’t the sort of pain one would acquire from a sudden accident or wound. It was slow, like a specially crafted poison, crawling up her body, not enough to stop her from moving about, but enough to make it uncomfortable and difficult to walk, talk, breathe.

“Oh, Rarity!”

Rarity and Rainbow stopped, watching as Mayor Mare came rushing toward them, a bright smile on her face. Immediately did a smile affix itself to Rarity’s face, burning with well-rehearsed sincerity.

“Mayor Mare!” she exclaimed. “Good morning! I see that Seeking Night preparations are going along splendidly?”

“They are! Isn’t it wonderful? And look at your cloak! Already getting into the mood, aren’t we?” the mayor said, puffing out her chest with some amounts of pride. “I did hope you’d like them! It’s a shame you couldn’t help with festivities this year. You had such big plans for it even before last year’s event even happened!”

Rarity kept smiling. “I did, didn’t I? You know me, Madame Mayor, always planning ahead!”

“Rarity,” Rainbow said, indiscreetly moving her hoof in a “move it along” gesture.

“Oh, don’t let me keep you!” the mayor said, laughing awkwardly. “In any case, there’s always next year, Rarity!”

Rarity gratefully bowed her head. “Oh, I don’t think I should, Madame Mayor. But—”

“Now, now! If you want to do it, you should!” the mayor insisted, trotting off with a final addition, “knock on wood, but one never knows when it’s their last Seeking Night!”

“Come on!” Rainbow pressed, flying ahead when the older mare had gone.

Rarity swallowed the knot in her throat, quietly following after Rainbow Dash.

As the pegasus had said, when she reached Spike’s valley, she saw Applejack and Fluttershy gathered around the dragon, neither of them looking as happy as the Ponyvillians getting ready for Seeking Night.

“Hello, everypony,” she greeted them solemnly. “Rainbow Dash tells me something’s the matter with Twilight?”

“Tell her, Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, flying atop the other pegasus.

“Uhm… Well…” Fluttershy stumbled on her words, clearly uncomfortable, though Rarity could not tell if it was because she was in the spotlight or because of what she had to say. Maybe both.

“Yes…?” Rarity pressed, a little more irritated than she’d have liked, trying to keep a level head despite her shrinking heart.

Fluttershy swallowed, clearly steeling herself. “I went to see Princess Twilight yesterday, and I couldn’t go in.”

“Couldn’t go in?” Rarity asked, the knot reforming in her throat. Stars, if the curse had returned, she would… “What exactly do you mean by that? You couldn’t find the library? You need to be much more detailed than that, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy cowered under Rarity’s stony gaze, but she continued. “There was a bookcase on the other side of the tunnel. I… I tried knocking, but the princess didn’t answer, or move it, and I didn’t want to intrude…”

Rarity’s heart thundered in her chest, the sound of it practically drowning every other. She felt faint, but she steadied herself. “You’re positive it was a bookcase?” she asked, surprising herself with how calmly the words were coming out despite the suffocating fear of the ones coming next. “How do you know it wasn’t the barrier keeping you out?”

“It wasn’t,” Applejack interjected, and the confidence in her voice assuaged some of Rarity’s bubbling panic. “I went this mornin’ to check, and I know wood when I knock on it.”

“Maybe she just wants time alone?” Fluttershy offered with a forced smile. “I’m sure she’s just preparing a nice surprise for Seeking Night.”

“What? By locking herself in the library without telling anypony why?” Rainbow Dash said, folding her arms and shaking her head. “No way. Something’s wrong, and she isn’t telling us what.”

“Rarity.”

She looked up toward Spike, who had finally decided to end his unusual silence.

“Twilight asked you to go to Canterlot, right?” he asked, his stare piercing into her. How similar it was to Twilight’s. “To go get Princess Denza? Right?”

“She did, yes,” she replied.

“Oh, gee, that’s great! Bet that would have been useful!” Rainbow Dash snorted, rolling her eyes. “What, she said no? What was her reason? Too busy doing nothing while others do her job for her?”

Anger flared through Rarity, the knowledge of Princess Cadance’s situation fresh in her mind, but she held her tongue.

“Not at all,” she said, and she turned to Spike, locking eyes with his. “She was simply indisposed.”

Though Rainbow Dash snorted at the remark, Spike did not. His eyes widened, in fact, and a tacit message passed between him and the unicorn.

“Everypony,” he said, raising himself, his expression nearly as grim as Rarity’s own. “I need to talk to Rarity alone. Can you give us space?”

Fluttershy hesitated. “Is something wrong?” she asked, and Rarity nearly felt bad about keeping her in the dark.

“I need to tell her something about Twilight,” he continued. “It’s private. I’m sorry. I promise it’s to help her.”

Applejack adjusted her hat. “Well, I can see when insistin’ won’t get us nowhere. As long as it’s to help the princess.” She trotted off, the disconcerted pegasus following behind. She then stopped and, alongside Rarity and the others, looked to Rainbow Dash, still flying next to Spike. “Well? You heard him.”

Rainbow Dash frowned. “What? Pfft, no, he meant you guys. He and I are a team.”

“No, Dash,” Spike said, no hesitation in his voice. “Please go with them.”

“What?!” Rainbow Dash gasped, turning to the dragon and looking very much like she’d been slapped in the face. “Are you kidding?! What’s wrong with you? We don’t keep secrets from each other! And especially not about this!”

“Rainbow Dash,” he repeated, his voice an octave lower. “I said, please go with them.”

“But—! Spike!” she protested, eventually gritting her teeth and flying off toward Applejack. “Fine. Whatever. I’ll be waiting somewhere if you need me, I guess.”

Rarity watched in silence as they left, and it wasn’t until they were but a speck in the distance that she turned back to Spike.

“You know, don’t you?” he asked, again piercing her with his gaze.

Rarity smiled. “Know what? That Princess Denza is a thousand-year-old spirit and her entire personal guard are all changelings? I do.”

His gaze and expression did not waver. “Did Twilight know before this?”

“No, she did not.”

“And so you told her…?”

Rarity blinked. “Told her? Oh, no, no, no, goodness no!” She raised her hoof and tapped her necklace. “She found out with me.”

Spike raised a claw to his face in reply, uttering an expletive Rarity thought was quite appropriate. After a moment, he lowered his claw and let out a humorless laugh. “So much for telling her tomorrow.”

“I need to go to her,” Rarity said, adjusting her saddlebag. “I’ve tried calling her to no avail at least a dozen times, and I’m quite certain the chest pains I’m currently enduring have stripped ten years from my life, if not more.”

“I want to help, but this forest…” He gritted his teeth, raking his claws against the ground before turning to the distant forest and slamming his claw against the floor. “This sun-forsaken forest won’t let me do anything!” He huffed in frustration, side-eying Rarity. “Please. Don’t let her blame herself for this. Don’t let her, promise me.”

“I won’t,” she said before trotting off, having made a promise she was terrified she wouldn’t be able to keep.

A dozen minutes later, Rarity found herself walking through the Everfree Forest, just like one year ago. Both times, the trot through the forest had felt painfully long, but for altogether different reasons. She wanted to go fast, she wanted to run, for Twilight’s sake if not hers, but it was paralyzing to try and do so.

It was just so much, and she wanted more time to process. She wanted time to go to the Boutique, to draw a bath, to sink herself in misery and anxiety and have somepony else comfort her, but life dictated she had to be composed. Wasn’t she a lady, still? Or had she been stripped of such a title in the past year?

Two owls awaited her when she arrived at the oak tree. They sat high up on a branch, hooting at her, and near the base of the tree, she saw an inkwell presumably filled with fresh ink. It seemed like even for Themis and Elara, the Princess of the Everfree Forest was unavailable.

She jumped down into the hole, trotting forward and coming to a dead stop in front of the trapdoor. She breathed in and out, in and out, and affixed a bright smile to her face. After all, a lady always smiles, no matter how badly things might be going.

The trapdoor opened before her, her magic releasing the handle and levitating the inkwell instead. She looked down into the abyss, and then, stalling no more, stepped down the stairs, her hoofsteps echoing and filling the air.

There was no light at the end of the tunnel, and still she trotted through it, her horn guiding her. When she crossed it entirely, she saw the bookcase Fluttershy mentioned, and relief poured over her when she brushed her hoof against it and felt solid wood, not magic.

She knocked two times.

“Twilight?” she called out, hoof pressed against the furniture. “Twilight, it’s Rarity! May I please come in?”

No answer.

She knocked again, three times now, more urgently than before.

“Twilight, darling?” She laughed, a fake awkward laugh, and joked, “And you said you’d never send me away!”

A raspberry magic suddenly enveloped the bookcase, and the tunnel’s barrier instantly crackled in reply. She stepped back, ears flattening against her head at the groaning sound of the bookcase being dragged to the side.

When the dragging stopped and the path was cleared, Rarity hesitantly stepped in, looking around and finding Princess Twilight Sparkle sitting by a table, her gaze cast toward a book before her. Rarity swallowed and walked toward her, trying to keep the smile on her face.

“Darling, it’s not polite to close the door without warning!” she chastised, sitting at the other side of the table and placing the inkwell on the table. “Your poor owls couldn’t deliver your ink!”

A page of the book turned.

“You’re wearing your cloak again,” Twilight said, tonelessly, not even looking up and momentarily throwing Rarity off. That certainly wasn’t what she’d been expecting to hear, if she’d been expecting anything at all.

“I am! It’s quite fitting considering the day,” she said, dusting it off with a hoof. “I do love how my cutie mark looks on it.”

“You’ve been wearing it every day since you came back,” Twilight continued, still not looking up. “I noticed.”

Rarity stumbled on her words. “Well, I— Well, yes, I have, but…” She offered a forced smile. “Why? Is it not fashionable, you think? I rather like it. Gives off an air of…” She waved her hoof. “Je ne sais quoi. Mystique, perhaps?”

“Oh.”

Another page turned, and Twilight did not say another word.

“Twilight, I—”

“Shining Armor wanted three foals,” Twilight interrupted, and another page was roughly turned over.

Rarity fell silent, her eyes boring into the table. She couldn’t think of something she could say, so she chose not to say anything at all.

“Or, at least, I think he did. I don’t remember. I’ve been here for so long, I don’t remember anything, really. I remember some good things, but they’re gone now, so really, they’re bad because they’re gone and I can’t have them back because I’ve been here for a thousand years.” Another page turned. “Anyway! Anyway, I remember he wanted two colts, so they could be a part of the royal guard.” Another page, tears brimming around her eyes. “And he wanted a filly, and he’d say it was because of Cadance, but I knew it was because he wanted his little prin—” She choked on the word, and Rarity felt like she’d been stabbed in the heart. “Sorry! Sorry. Anyway, he wanted me to teach her magic. I was going to teach her magic, and teleportation, and…”

And she fell silent.

“I’m sorry, Twilight,” Rarity whispered, her own eyes watering, because, stars above, what else could she say? Nothing. “I am.”

“I saw it in your memory,” Twilight continued, another page turning. “And I wished so hard, Rarity. I wished so hard that I was wrong. I really wanted to be wrong.” A hollow laugh left her lips, and she levitated the book, hiding her face behind it. “It makes sense, doesn’t it? The one time I wanted to be wrong was the one time I was right! Of course! Of course!”

The book slammed down on the table, revealing her gritted teeth and tightly shut eyes.

“Of course.”

The silence screamed in Rarity’s ears, and oh, she struggled to keep her sights set on the alicorn.

“Twilight, I unde—”

Crack!

Rarity inhaled when Twilight teleported away, and not even a moment later did she hear a second crackle behind her.

“Rarity!” Twilight exclaimed, the nearly manic grin on her face in stark contrast to her broken gaze. “You’re wearing your cloak! I can’t stop noticing it! It’s just there. All the time! Isn’t it hot? I mean, I wouldn’t know what hot even feels like because I can’t feel anything at all, but you must be dying under it!” She paused for a second. “Oh! Rarity. You know what? I almost forgot! It’s Seeking Night, and you wanted to talk about what happened a thousand years ago, right?”

“Yes,” Rarity carefully said. “But not like—”

“Great!” Twilight exclaimed. “Let’s talk about it right now!”

Another crack of magic, and she teleported further away, Rarity’s book of legends now floating beside her.

“Okay, okay, okay!” Her voice was brittle now, her magic turning the pages of the book non-stop. “The Legend of the Four Princesses! Ready? Here we go! It’s a great story.” She cleared her throat. “Once upon a time, a thousand years ago, Princess Celestia asked her student to find the Elements of Harmony. She didn’t! Mistake number one! Oops.”

She teleported away, now nearly next to Rarity.

“So, after she didn’t find the Elements, the princesses decided to give her another chance! And what did she do? She failed again! And she tricked the Spirit of Chaos into believing she won, which she didn’t, because if you remember mistake number one, she had no Elements of Harmony! Who knew somepony could even fail so much, right?!”

“Twilight, stop it!” Rarity snapped, stamping her hoof against the floor. “What’s the point of this?! You did not—mmph!”

“Silly Rarity,” Twilight said, shaking her head and muzzling Rarity with her magic. “I’m not finished with the story.” The book floated in front of her. “Where was I? Oh, yes! So, after she tricked the Spirit into reforming, the Spirit was actually starting to be nice! Oops again! Except then he found out about being tricked, because of course he would! And what did he do?! He trapped them as spirits all over Equestria for a thousand years! And you know whose fault it was?! Mine!”

She slammed the book shut and looked at Rarity again, letting the muzzle magic go. “There! We talked abo—!”

Rarity snatched the book away and slammed it against the table. “You know damn well that’s not what I meant, Twilight!” she seethed. “And, mark my words, if you keep saying that this was your fault, I will—”

“It was, Rarity!” Twilight cut off, wings flaring. “Princess Celestia counted on me, and I failed! Princess Luna counted on me, and I failed! And because of it, look at what happened to them! And now Cadance! All of them and it’s my fault!”

“No, it is not—!”

“Three. Foals,” she interrupted, tears rolling down her cheeks. “They wanted to have foals, Rarity! They had a life planned! All of them! My brother—!” She choked on the words, like they seared her, and they probably did. “My brother spent his entire life unable to hold his wife or have foals because of me!”

“They forced you into this, Twilight! You were forced to decide, then and there! And frankly, this was the only thing you could do! He was a monster, Twilight! He is a monster! You were not wrong for doing what you had to do!”

“Yes, I was!” Twilight said. “He was reforming, and I was going to turn him to stone! To stone!”

“But you didn’t!”

“I would’ve if I’d actually found the Elements!” Twilight shot back. “And he didn’t deserve that!”

“Oh? And I take it you deserve being trapped in a library for a thousand years?!”

“Yes!” Twilight thundered, and Rarity’s ears pinned against her head. “Maybe I did deserve this, Rarity!”

“Twilight, for goodness’ sake, look at what he’s done to you! Forget what he did to your body! Are you even listening to what you’re saying?!” Rarity said, an agonizing pain ripping through her core at truly seeing the extent of the damage Discord had wrought on Twilight’s very being. “How can you think you deserve this?! No wonder you’re powering the chaos magic!”

Twilight’s voice turned cold. “Cadance watched him die, Rarity.”

Rarity faltered. “Twilight, I—”

“She watched him die, trying to save her. Do you even realize how awful that is?” Twilight continued, stepping toward Rarity. “Do you?”

Rarity held her ground. “Twilight, you’re ups—”

“Of course I’m upset, Rarity! Because I know how that feels! I know what it’s like to watch the pony you love wasting away their life trying to save you!” She pointed an accusing hoof at Rarity. “Look at your cloak! The one you’ve been wearing every day since you came back! Look at it!”

Rarity slammed her hoof against the floor. “Why do you care so damn much about my damn cloak?!”

“Because it’s a reminder that you almost died because of me.”

And to that, Rarity found she had nothing to say.

“I can’t free myself, Rarity,” Twilight continued. “I have tried. I tried when you nearly got killed by dragons because of me. I tried when you were cursed because of me. I tried and tried and tried when the only information I had about you was a letter telling me you’d barely survived a timberwolf attack because of me. Tell me why I haven’t freed myself. Tell me!”

“I-I don’t know, Twilight!” Rarity exclaimed. “If you’d stop blaming yourself for—!”

“And if that doesn’t work?! Then what?!”

“Then we find something else! We find another way!” Rarity shot back. “I’ll find a way to free you even if I have to spend the—”

“The rest of your life?! And then you die, and then what?! I get to spend the rest of eternity sitting here wishing I could have died with you!”

Again, Twilight pointed an accusing hoof at Rarity, and the unicorn felt like she’d been stabbed in the heart. “I was fine before you came here, Rarity! I was fine! But then you came into my life, looking for your little fairy tale, and you got it. But what do I get? I get to be forced to see the extent of the damage I did. I get to watch somepony else I love suffer because of me.”

Twilight’s voice fell to a near-whisper, unwavering and cold and unhesitant. “You’re right. Discord is a monster. But his revenge wasn’t trapping me in a library for the rest of eternity.

“His revenge was making you come back for me.”

The dagger in Rarity’s heart now twisted. Tears stung at her eyes.

“Y-you don’t mean that…”

“Yes,” Twilight hissed, tears sparkling in her own eyes. “Yes, I do.”

And then, as if to drive the point home, it happened.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion sounded from the floor below, shaking the library to its very core and tumbling Rarity down as chaos magic seeped up through the floor, gurgling and hissing until another explosion rocked her and the chaos puppet formed inside the room, twice as big as before.

“It’s back!” Rarity gasped.

Immediately, Star flashed with magic and a barrage of enchanted books shot at the chaos puppet, but it screeched in anger and threw them, completely unfazed.

Twilight’s entire disposition had shifted. Gone was the anger, replaced now with the terror of what she had summoned upon them.

“Get out,” she said almost in a shocked whisper, her wings splayed out, her horn lighting up. “Get out, Rarity! Please!”

Rarity crawled away from the puppet, but she still looked to the other mare. “But, Twili—!”

“Please, Rarity!” Twilight yelled, helplessly turning to Rarity. “I can’t los—”

Her sentence was cut off when the chaos puppet roared and flung itself right at the alicorn.

“Run, Twilight! Run!” Rarity shrieked, only to watch in horror as the chaos magic plunged into Twilight, slamming her against the table, the inkwell smashing against the floor.

Rarity stared in muted horror, watching as the alicorn writhed on the floor, her entire body overflowing with chaotic energy, until after an eternity she finally stopped.

“…Twilight?” Rarity called, and subsequently fell back into silence when the alicorn began to move.

Twilight groaned audibly, struggling to get up, and when she turned to look at Rarity, the unicorn saw not the violet eyes of her beloved, but pitch-black ones. Twilight blinked once, twice, thrice, groaned again, and when her hoof lifted and reached for the table, it did not go through it.

“Twilight…” Rarity whispered, for a moment forgetting the black eyes, the chaos magic, forgetting everything but the fact that Twilight was lifting herself up by physically grabbing onto the table.

And again, when she was standing up, Rarity saw it. Black ink covering Twilight’s forelegs and hooves, and the ink marks she left behind as she tried to steady herself.

“Twilight!” Rarity yelled, desperately. “Twilight! Look at your hooves! Look at the floor! Look! Please!”

“Get out,” the alicorn replied instead, staring at Rarity through glazed eyes.

A loud crackling noise shot off behind Rarity, and when she looked back, the tunnel’s barrier had flared to life, no longer raspberry-colored, but grey, crackling with overflowing magic.

Fear gripped Rarity, and she stepped back, returning her gaze to the possessed alicorn.

“Twilight…”

“Get out,” Twilight repeated, louder now, her eyes narrowing as the chaos magic around her flashed and turned darker. A beam of magic shot out from her horn, and Rarity felt herself float into the air.

“Wait, no, Twil—!”

“GET OUT!” Twilight roared, throwing her into the tunnel like a ragdoll, and the moment Rarity’s body crossed the barrier, it crackled one last time, turned pitch black, and solidified.

Silence.

A deafening, piercing silence.

Princess Twilight Sparkle stepped back, her eyes fixed on the barrier, her breathing unsteady, and her mind… Her mind was a void as empty as the silence inside her library, because she wasn’t Princess Twilight Sparkle anymore, was she?

The real Twilight was gone now, hidden away in her own body, having used the last of her will to protect the only pony that mattered from the real monster—herself. She stayed there for a minute or maybe ten, the magic in her body finding no pleasure in anything but the barrier in the distance.

There was no pain if there was no way to confront it, was there?

Her horn flashed, and the room was plunged into darkness, her ears barely twitching at the distant sound of a chandelier forcibly turning back into a candelabra.

The alicorn smiled.

Darkness was good, wasn’t it, Princess Twilight? Good for sleeping and sleeping and never waking up, never dealing with reality, and pain or anything else.

A light emerged in the distance, and the princess walked toward it, a frown marring her face at the sight of a glowing necklace tossed aside on the floor. She levitated it, and for a moment, she felt it.

Guilt. Sorrow. And the terrible yearning for Rarity to come back.

In reply, she tossed the necklace on the floor, watching as it landed and slid under a bookcase, and Twilight Sparkle’s consciousness surrendered to the chaos monster within.

Now everything was as it should be.

Now was the time to sleep for days, months and even more.

~ Act III ~ 36 ~ The Seamstress in the Library ~

You've got it all
You lost your mind in the sound
There's so much more, you can reclaim your crown
You're in control
Rid of the monsters inside your head
Put all your faults to bed
You can be King again.

~ King by Lauren Aquilina

Deep in the Everfree Forest, past the timberwolves and the thorn bushes, past the overgrown houses and the numbered trees that glowed when nighttime arrived, was an ancient oak sitting in the midst of a perfectly circular hole.

To any pony passing by, it would be nothing more than just another curio in the ill-famed forest. They might shrug it off and go on their way or, if they bothered to look closer, they’d realize something wasn’t quite right.

If they trotted closer to the edge of the hole, they would notice a window in the oak’s trunk. If they reached the oak, they’d find a trapdoor in the ground and if they followed the stairs down, they’d enter a most peculiar tunnel.

Drawings were pasted on its walls. Dozens and dozens of old drawings and messages of support, some of them clearly drawn and written by fillies, others most definitely drawn by older ponies. They lined the walls, all the way up to the black glowing wall that blocked any further exploration.

The messages on the wall wouldn’t be the only thing to find, however.

Dozens of dusty inkwells would be lined up against the walls, some of them dried up a long time ago, left there for no apparent reason, doing nothing more than creating a small trail toward the last curious object.

A neatly folded cloak near the tunnel’s end, bearing three blue diamonds alongside a note neatly pinned onto it with a message for somepony.

For you, a thousand times over.

Sitting inside the library, an alicorn with eyes as black as the night idly watched as books floated about. She’d tried, or rather the magic inside her had tried, to turn them into an assorted variety of objects, but had been thoroughly unable to bypass the protection spell the books were enchanted with.

Things were, to say the least, boring, and had been for a very long time.

The princess had yet to fight for her body. It wasn’t as though she could win, but the fact that she’d never even tried was disappointing. Such pitiful resignation from such a pitiful creature. It wasn’t fun, but it made sense, didn’t it?

Silly little princess.

Nobody loved her. Nobody wanted her. Even she knew it, deep down. She deserved this. The truth of the matter was that she wanted this. Rarity was gone, safe from her and the misery she brought, and nothing else mattered. It was better this way. No more mistakes. Nopony else getting hurt because of her. No reason to try and gain control of her body when it would only mean pain for her.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”

Her ears twitched, a frown creased her face. She looked around but saw no pony.

“Do you even know how much time you’ve been standing there since the last time I stopped by?”

She turned back to her books.

“What a pathetic sight.”

A poof of magic, and she watched with dull surprise as a draconequus materialized in front of her. The princess’ consciousness was watching, but even so she did not stir. Even so she did not fight.

She turned away from him, back to her books, back to trying to make them turn into goo or something of that ilk. Maybe that would get a reaction from the princess.

“Really? You won’t even attack me?” Discord asked, floating in front of her. He seemed much more irritated with her than bored. He snapped his fingers in front of her eyes. “Rarity’s back!”

Her ears twitched, and she blinked.

“Goodness, not even for her?” he muttered, floating back and crossing his arms. He looked away, as though there were somepony else in the room, and said, “This is a setback, isn’t it?”

She got up and trotted off, making her way through the aisles of bookcases, past pillows on the floor, and toward a desk littered with objects. Maybe something there could be fun. She hadn’t bothered poking around that area before.

“You’re going to ignore me?” he asked, following after her. “I can understand you ignoring me before, but there’s part of me in you now! And you don’t even have to bother with silly little pony things like eating or drinking! You should be thanking me! Frankly, I’m a bit hurt!”

She did not reply, shuffling through the papers on the desk and finding… photographs? She took a closer look, staring at a picture of two ponies sleeping, their bodies covered with scribbles. There was a pink pony that looked vaguely interesting, but her attention was caught by the white unicorn sleeping next to her.

She knew who that was.

Something stirred inside her.

A dull pain she hadn’t felt for a long time. The little princess knew who they were, these ponies she drove away.

“You know, this is your fault,” Discord continued, sounding aggravated. “Both of you—Twilight and my magic. I was making great progress, and then she has a meltdown, and you possess her! Then again, one of you is already used to ruining things.”

She did not reply, instead putting the photograph down and shuffling more papers. Another photograph appeared, again of that unicorn and those three fillies, all of them dressed up as the princess.

Something stirred again, and the pain grew stronger. The little princess wanted to look away, bury painful memories she’d caused. And yet, the alicorn did not look away from the photographs. Silly little princesses weren’t supposed to get what they wanted, after all.

“Well, I’m bored now,” he announced. “I don’t know what Rarity ever saw in you.”

Her ears twitched, and as the pain turned to anger, she frowned.

He hummed. “Then again, somepony as superficial as her was probably only interested in the glory. And you, you poor lonely thing, she baited you and you took it, hook, line, and sink—eek!” He jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the blast of magic that had been hurled his way.

Her hoof came slamming down on the desk, a groan leaving her mouth, her eyes scrunched up. She struggled to keep control, struggled as her head slowly turned toward him, her teeth gritted together.

“Dis…cord…”

“Twilight!” he exclaimed, delighted. “There you are! You do care about her! How heartwarming!”

Princess Twilight Sparkle groaned again, her mind coming undone at the seams and her sanity slipping into the chaos magic’s waiting claws. An image of Rarity clung to her consciousness, but the magic around her body pulsed, and memories resurfaced.

“I was fine before you came into my life!”

Another pulse, and it was as though the claws were shredding her mind.

“Discord’s revenge was making you come back for me!”

She groaned again, wishing the memories would go away because they hurt too much, and she wanted to sleep again; she wanted to sleep and sleep and sleep, because she’d hurt Rarity and no forgiveness could ever be earned for that.

“Now, now! Let her go! I actually do need to speak with her!”

Another pulse of magic overflowed her before it suddenly shot out of her body, the impulse sending her tumbling forward and through the desk, a yelp escaping her mouth.

“Welcome back to the world of the non-possessed!” Discord exclaimed, now floating above her. “How does it fee—eek!” He avoided another blast of magic from the now-standing alicorn. “Really! Can’t a draconequus taunt an alicorn in peace?!”

“What do you want from me, Discord?” she snarled, enraged. “What else could you possibly want from me?!”

“Want from you?” He blinked. “You have nothing for me to even take, my dear princess.”

“Because of you!”

“Meeeeee?! After all the hard work I’ve done?!” Discord exclaimed, pressing a paw against his chest. “I did nothing! As usual, I’m innocent! You’re the one who banished her from the library! Or have you forgotten?”

Twilight fell silent.

No.

No, she hadn’t. His magic hadn’t been kind enough to fully subdue her consciousness during the possession.

He smiled. “That’s what I thought.” He leaned back, shaking his head as he crossed his arms and sighed. “Oh, you poor thing, Rarity hasn’t set hoof in this library for a very long time, but that too you know, don’t you?”

Twilight kept silent.

Rarity was gone, just like Twilight had wanted and implied when the last thing she ever said to the unicorn was that meeting her was a more terrible fate than being trapped in a library for a thousand years.

It was over, wasn’t it?

Just like that. Just like she’d wanted. Just like she was always afraid would happen: that Rarity wouldn’t be driven away by a curse or an external factor, but by Twilight herself.

Self-fulfilling prophecy, indeed.

“Why are you here?” she asked, bitterness coating every word now, and pain as well. She missed Rarity terribly. She’d missed her every second she’d been possessed, and she wanted her now and she was gone.

“You won, Discord,” she said, getting up and trotting away, further into her prison of books and bookcases. “Go away.”

“That’s it?” he exclaimed, still floating behind her. “You’re just as apathetic as when you had my magic! Are you sure you’re still not under my control? I can work with many things, Twilight, but apathy is not one of them!”

Twilight frowned, his words meaningless to her. It was all a game, it seemed, had always been a game, and she had stupidly played it with him.

“It’s just sad to see you like this, Twilight!” he continued. “Even after all the hard work she went through to try and get you out of here!”

“She was wr—” She cut herself off, because now that she had nopony but herself and her demon, now Twilight truly lacked the energy to keep up a tired game. “It doesn’t matter now.”

“Poor, poor Rarity,” Discord crooned, following her around the library. “She loved you, and what did you do? Pushed her away and away and away. She would have gone to Tartarus and back for you. In fact!” He snapped his fingers, and a puppet of Rarity appeared, her leg caught in the jaws of a timberwolf puppet. “She almost did.”

She stood up, her wings flaring to life. “That will never happen again,” she hissed, tears stinging at her eyes. “Rarity is safe now. I locked her out to keep her safe. Safe from you, from me, from this nightmare, and she’s never going to be hurt again for the rest of her life. Nopony will ever be hurt again.”

He smiled. “Oh? Is that what you think?”

“No! Discord?! Leave them alone!” she yelled when he disappeared out of sight. “Discord! Don’t you dare!”

“Twilight, Twilight, Twilight!” his voice erupted from all over, filling the room. “I’m not going to hurt them! In fact, I just want to help you!”

“I don’t want your help!” she replied, teleporting atop a bookcase, trying to spot him. “I don’t want anything from you!”

And then he appeared in front of her, his face inches away from hers. “You love her, don’t you?”

Twilight stepped back, gritting her teeth, her horn lighting up. “Stay away from—”

“I was thinking about it, you know! Oh, the star-crossed lovers!” he interrupted, floating back and sighing wistfully. “An idiotic ghost princess with a crippling hero complex and her lover, a commoner unicorn with delusions of heroism and grandeur! What a tale!”

He effortlessly avoided a blast of magic.

“And then I realized something tragic, Twilight!” he continued, pressing both hands against his chest. “You’re too busy wallowing in self-pity to get out of here before she dies! What kind of an ending is that?!” He clapped his hands together. “And that’s when it hit me!” His lips twisted into a lupine smile. “Tell me, Princess, have you heard of the legend of the Seamstress in the Boutique?”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “No.”

“Oh, yes.”

“No! Please!” she yelled, begged, rushing forward and trying to catch him in her hooves, and watching in horror as he disappeared before she could do so. “DISCORD, NO!”

“Goodbye, Twilight!” he said, reappearing on the other side of the black barrier and waving. “I’ll tell Rarity you can’t wait to meet with her whenever one of you is freed!”

“No!”

She teleported herself to the barrier, slamming her hooves against it, thrown back again and again.

“No! Leave her alone! Discord?! Discord!”

She stepped back, an agonizing pain shooting through her chest. She couldn’t leave. She couldn’t break the barrier. She didn’t know how, but if she didn’t do something, the worst nightmare she never knew she had would come true.

She felt sick. She didn’t even know she could still feel sick, but she felt sicker than she’d felt in her entire life. Rarity was going to be trapped as a spirit for the rest of eternity, and it would all be her fau—

No.

Not anymore.

She turned around, looking into the library, her mind reeling at a thousand miles per hour. Maybe she couldn’t break the barrier, maybe she couldn’t free herself, but if she could somehow send a messa…

The necklace.

She still had that option left if Rarity still cared about her, which, princesses, she hoped she did—for both their sakes.

She rushed into the bookcase aisles, trying to put together the fragmented memories of her time under possession. One by one, bookcases were lifted into the air, her frown deepening when nothing showed up beneath them.

“No, no, no, no!” she exclaimed, coming to a full stop and in a single effort, levitating all the bookcases up into the air until finally she saw a soft pink glow in the distance.

They were still connected, even after…

She summoned the necklace over to her and cast the communication spell, the bookcases dropping to the floor, books scattering all over.

“Answer, answer, answer, answer,” she whispered over and over, a painful eternity flowing past with no unicorn answering her call. She threw the necklace to the floor, stepping back, her chest heaving as mounting dread clouded her thoughts.

Well then.

If Rarity wasn’t going to save herself, Twilight would just have to go and do it for her.

She ran through the toppled bookcases, all the way to the entrance of the library and then jumped, landing near a toppled table.

“Right! Right!” she exclaimed, trotting around in a large, quick circle. “Fact number one. Rarity isn’t answering the mental link, so either she’s dealing with Discord or she misplaced the necklace somewhere. Fact number two. Rarity said Discord said I’m powering the barrier. Scientific investigation has proven that screaming at it isn’t the key to breaking it. Fact number three. The barrier wasn’t black before I was possessed, therefore it’s powered by the chaos magic from the maze and Rarity was right. Fact number four. The chaos puppet appeared when I told Rarity I wanted to be free and when I was overwhelmed with guilt, therefore it acts on my emotions. Fact number five. Taking into acco—”

She stopped, having finally noticed the dried inky hoofprints on the floor.

She looked down at her hoof, finding both it and her forelegs stained with ink.

Oh.

“Fact number five. Possession by the chaos magic restored my body to its proper timestream.” She smiled. “Solution?”

CRACK!

“Hey maze!” she called out, having teleported to the floor below and now flying above Discord’s labyrinth. “Was that really the best you could do?!”

Beneath her, the maze hissed to life, yellow magic engulfing it as the bookcases flew up and then slammed down into the floor.

“Moving bookcases around? Really? According to Rarity, the chaos magic in Rainbow Falls could summon a waterfall! And the one in Hollow Shades influenced an entire town for centuries!” Twilight taunted, crossing her forelegs and arching an eyebrow. “But you? You possessed me, and yet you can’t even turn some dumb books into goo! No wonder Discord was bored!”

An explosion rang out, just as she’d hoped, and her smile widened when the chaos magic began to converge, the chaos puppet hissing and gurgling as it formed below her, finally looking up and growling at her.

Her horn flashed and the entire Daring Do collection appeared before her, some of the very few books in her library to not be under Princess Celestia’s protective spell.

“Oh, by the way.”

Another flash of her horn, and all five books turned to green goo, pouring onto the chaos puppet who let out a piercing, enraged shriek in reply before lunging at her.

CRACK!

She appeared before the barrier and, as she’d suspected, it was cracking and bursting with magic. Another loud tremor shook the library, and she turned around to see the chaos puppet emerging from the floor, murderously glaring at her, and yet it did not attack.

Was it waiting for her next move?

And at that, her bravado began to falter.

Discord wouldn’t be coming back after this. No pony would come back and free her from the possession. If she was wrong, like she’d been with the Elements, like she’d been with tricking Discord, like she…

She gritted her teeth. If she was wrong…

It was a risk she was willing to take.

She flared her horn to life, teleporting her necklace to her, and Twilight cast the communication spell again as the chaos puppet screeched in anger and lunged at her, seeping into her very core, sending her flying against the barrier.

It was agony.

No other word could describe the sensation of her soul being smothered like it was, her every conscious thought desperately fighting another being from taking over her body. Everything was dragged away from her, every thought, every intention, every shred of herself, and a thought pushed itself into her head.

I deserve this.

Another pulse of magic, and she tried to hold on to something, but all she could do was to continue powering the communication spell.

I can’t save her. I can’t save anypony. I can’t even save myself.

Another wave, and the pain faded away, her own thoughts fading along with it, because she was right, because it had been all her fault, because she’d been wrong again, and she’d never see the princesses again, or the fillies, or her friends, or Spike, or Rarity.

Rarity.

Another jolt of pain rushed through her, and all she could think of was Rarity, and how sorry she was, how desperately she wanted her to be safe, and so, with the last of her will, she held onto the communication spell, even as she faded into sleep and the chaos magic took ho—

Ping!

Twilight’s eyes flew open, a wave of foreign thoughts crashing into her, flooding her with panic, confusion, and relief all at the same time.

“Ra-Rarity?! What’s wrong?! Professor, help me!”

“Ra…” Another jolt of agony, and Twilight doubled over. “Rarity… I can’t… I’m sorry…”

And then, it happened.

It was energy, there was no other way to describe it. Rushing, overflowing, indignant, furious, boundless energy filled her, and before she could even properly register what was going on, she—no, Rarity—slammed her hoof against the floor and began to stand.

“No.”

The chaos magic pulsed inside her, and despite the extra energy, she doubled over in pain, falling to the floor again. And then, just like on a faraway day that felt so close, where Rarity was lying on a bed of pillows and giggling at her, emotions and memories poured into Twilight.

Rarity filled with awe at the strange alicorn inside a library. Rarity’s elation at showing Twilight a camera, and her subsequent horror at finding it broken. Rarity giggling all the way back home after the first time Twilight smiled at her. Rarity missing Twilight constantly during her trip to Hollow Shades. Their joy when she managed to teleport. Rarity accidentally confessing her love for Twilight. Rarity accepting Twilight, regardless of her past.

Another memory pushed itself into her mind, and she saw herself outside the tree, looking up at the hallucination the chaos magic had forced onto Rarity.

“What makes you think you can save me?!” the hallucination screamed, and so too did Twilight hear Rarity’s reply.

“Oh, darling. You’re quite mistaken. You’re going to save yourself, not I.”

Twilight groaned in pain, another pulse of magic shooting up her body, and another memory pushed itself into her mind in reply.

She was inside the tunnel now, on the coveted other side, her forehead pressed against a black barrier.

“Twilight? Twilight, darling, I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m leaving. I can’t stay here anymore,” Rarity’s defeated voice spoke. “Pinkie and Princess Luna need me, and I…” She faltered. “I will always be here for you, but only you can save yourself. As much as I may want to, I can’t fight this battle for you…”

And the memory stopped, Twilight’s grip on the spell having run out. The chaos magic intensified inside her, eager to take over now that Rarity was gone, but Twilight clung to Rarity’s words and then slowly and with every ounce of will within her, stood up.

She rushed forward, slamming herself against the barrier, which began to hiss and crackle, resonating with the magic inside her. The barrier pulsed and threw her back, rolling onto the floor, and though the pain remained, she stood back up and rushed forward again, because Princess Luna needed her.

And again, because Princess Celestia needed her.

And again, because Cadance needed her.

And again, because her past choices would not haunt her anymore.

And again, because even if they were mistakes, she could try her hardest to do better next time.

And again, because Rarity was willing to risk everything for Twilight, and so would Twilight in return.

She pushed, and pushed, and pushed against it, until the library and the earth shook beneath her hooves, and the foreign magic in her body pulsed one last time before disappearing. As the barrier vanished and the library was engulfed in darkness, Princess Twilight Sparkle flew into the tunnel, rolling and crashing against the stairs on the other end.

It was painful, to say the least, though perhaps not as painful as what she’d been subjected to not even five minutes ago.

The first thing she did after opening her eyes was breathe. Not a small breath, like the ones ponies took without thinking, but more like a gasp of air, as though her lungs were desperately trying to fill themselves with a thousand years’ worth of oxygen.

She collapsed against the wall, and the very next thing she felt was water dampening her fur. No, not water, she realized as she looked around, still breathing heavily. It was ink, all over, spilling over from the remains of dozens of inkwells scattered across the floor, the scent practically overpowering her nose.

She was back, truly and fully, back in her own timestream.

Her crown fell to the ground, landing atop the folded cloak bearing Rarity’s cutie mark, and the shock of it all finally dispersed as she remembered whose life was at stake. There it lay, the object that had caused everything, and there it lay, the symbol of the one who’d pulled her out of the abyss. She put the crown back on and then rushed up the stairs, vividly aware of the sensation of cement brushing against the bottom of her hooves and the sound of the trapdoor slamming open when she pushed past it.

Time, again, came to a standstill, her heart falling. A forest surrounded her, massive and daunting, sunlight barely filtering in through the trees, and for the first time she truly felt the crushing realization of just how long she’d been inside the library.

That was not the Ponyville she knew.

She tried to move forward but instead fell to the ground, exhaustion washing over her as her body tried to cope with existing again. She closed her eyes, breathing in and out, in and—

“Hoo?”

She looked up and found three grey baby owls standing in front of her, looking back at her with wide, curious eyes. She blinked back at them, rising to a stand, until she was thrown back to the ground when a white owl lunged at her and attached itself to her face for a moment before starting to fly in circles around her, hooting frenetically.

“Elara!” Twilight gasped, tears filling her eyes as she extended her forelegs and swept Elara into a hug, only interrupted by a black owl slamming himself against her, being swept up into the hug as well. “Oh, you’re alive, you’re alive, you’re alive, you’re alive!”

When they finally flew apart, Twilight stood up, pooling her energy and flaring her wings. “Please! Take me to Ponyville!”

The two owls hooted, and after their chicks joined them in the air, they flew off, Twilight galloping after them, up out of the depression and into the Everfree Forest. Discord still hadn’t gotten to Rarity; there was still time to save her so long as Twilight’s body held out for a bit longer.

Eventually, she saw a town in the distance, and she doubled her speed, galloping into a Ponyville that was much different than the one she’d left behind a thousand years ago. Colorful houses surrounded her, just like she’d seen in Rarity’s photos and magazines, but dread filled her at the fact that there wasn’t a single soul in sight.

Not a filly, colt, stallion, or mare could be seen wandering around, and even the owls were surprised, flapping their wings in place and hooting in confusion.

Had Discord…?

“Please, no,” Twilight whispered, and when she pressed a hoof to her chest, she realized she didn’t have the necklace with her.

She swallowed and kept galloping further into the town, desperately trying to catch sight of somepony, anypony, please, until she reached the main square and came to a grinding halt at the sight of dozens and dozens of ponies, all of them looking at the older mare talking from atop a podium.

“Now, calm down, everypony!” the smartly dressed mare was saying, adjusting her glasses and then gesturing down with her hoof. “I know earthquakes aren’t common in this area, but I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about! You can all go back to your… day…?”

The mare drifted off, blinking from behind her glasses and staring right at Twilight. A moment passed, and then, one by one, ponies began to look around, their eyes fixed on the slightly perplexed alicorn, her wings splayed out to her sides.

It was a foal who spoke first, gasping and tugging on her mother’s foreleg. “Mommy! Mommy, look!” she exclaimed, pointing to Twilight. “Mommy, it’s Princess Booky!”

Twilight blinked, thrown for a loop. “Uh…”

“Princess Booky?” the mare from the podium exclaimed, grabbing a sheet of paper and looking it over. “Ebon Quill!” She turned to a unicorn standing several feet away from her. “I know you’re excited about hosting Seeking Night, and I am impressed, but we’re still nearly two months away!”

“Bu-but, Mayor Mare!”

“Princess Twilight…?”

Twilight looked around, and her heart jumped in her chest at the sight of a yellow pegasus pony stepping away from the crowd and toward her, staring at her as though she was seeing a ghost.

“Fluttershy?” Twilight whispered, her eyes watering again and a smile parting her lips because Fluttershy was safe, and alive, and there, like no time had gone by, and—

“Well, I’ll be,” Applejack said, trotting out from the crowd next, gawking at the alicorn. “I’ve heard of earthquakes snuffin’ the life outta ponies, but this is new.”

“Princess Twilight?” Three familiar fillies’ heads poked out from behind the pegasus, blinking at her for a second before all three gasped in surprise. “Princess Twilight!”

They practically rocketed toward her, Twilight barely having time to extend her forelegs before Sweetie Belle knocked her mane over tail, hugging her face, and then Scootaloo latched onto her barrel, and Apple Bloom to her legs.

“You’re back!” they chanted, hugging her as if their very lives depended on it, their coats now tainted with ink while their tears of joy dampened the alicorn’s own coat.

Twilight used her magic to lift them up and, like with the owls before, swept them in a tearful hug.

“Oh, girls,” she whispered, shaky laughs leaving her lips, trying to take as many eyefuls of them as she could. “I’m back, I’m back, I’m never leaving again, I promise.” When they pulled back, Sweetie Belle lifting her hoof to wipe Twilight’s tears away, she looked around, not bothering to concern herself with the ponies staring. She only cared for one thing. “Where’s Rarity?”

“Rarity?” Sweetie Belle asked, and her joyful expression faltered as Fluttershy and Applejack joined them. Her ears fell and she looked down, piteously pawing at Twilight’s peytral. “Uhm…”

And ah, there was the dread coming back full-force.

Twilight took hold of Sweetie’s shoulder. “Sweetie? Sweetie, where’s Rarity?” she asked, her voice cracking as she tried to keep her calm. She looked up to Applejack and Fluttershy, beseeching them with terrified eyes. “Where is she?”

“She’s gone, Princess Twi,” Applejack said, and Twilight felt like the life had again been taken out of her. “She moved to Hollow Shades ’bout a year ago. She comes back every so often to, well, check up on you, but she moved her entire business there now.”

Twilight’s joy faded nearly completely. “A… A year ago?” she whispered, her ears drooping, and she finally asked the question she should have from the beginning. “How long have I…?”

“Almost two years, Princess…” Fluttershy replied.

“Two years…?” Twilight whispered, her hoof sliding off Sweetie’s shoulder and falling to the ground.

All things considered, two years was foal’s play compared to a thousand, but in the lives of everyday ponies, two years could be a lifetime. Rarity had only known Twilight for a year, and look at how that had changed her entire life.

“But she did tons of things!” Sweetie Belle quickly said, grabbing onto Twilight. “I promise! It’s not ’cause she didn’t want to help!”

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom added. “She opened a shop in Hollow Shades, and she has tons of ponies working to help Princess Luna, and everypony in Hollow Shades loves her, and Princess Cadance is helping!”

“You’d be proud, Princess,” Applejack added. “Pretty sure that mare crammed five years of work into one.”

“Princess Booky!” a voice suddenly boomed, echoing from all directions and startling Twilight back into a standing position, her wings splaying apart, her horn flaring, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders toppling to the ground. “Here you are!”

“Discord?!”

High above the air, a massive megaphone appeared, Discord’s voice blaring out of it and forcing ponies’ ears to clamp against their heads.

“Hello, hello, Po-ny-ville!” his voice exclaimed. “It seems that, for the first time in a thousand years, the Legend of the Four Princesses has received an extraordinary update!”

“Is that him?! Is that the Spirit?” Fluttershy asked, the blood draining from her face. She turned to Twilight. “Princess, what do we do?!”

“But, ah, what a tragic update indeed!” Discord continued before Twilight could reply or offer a solution. “Princess Booky is free, and the heroine responsible for it isn’t even here to see it! But don’t worry!” The megaphone disappeared, and Discord himself took its place, confetti spilling all over him. “All applause can proceed to me, the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony!”

“Why, Ebon Quill!” Mayor Mare exclaimed, her and the rest of Ponyville enthusiastically clapping their hooves as Discord bowed several times. “This is outstanding! Is that an illusion spell? I can’t wait to see what you’ll do for the actual event!”

Twilight balked. “You have got to be kidding me.”

Applejack snorted. “Princess, I wish I could tell you we are, but the—” She stopped, brow furrowing. “Wait.”

Twilight blinked, her heart hammering in her chest. “What? What’s wrong?”

“Don’t you feel it?” Fluttershy said, her eyes downcast. “The ground.”

Twilight stood completely still, and indeed she felt very faint tremors under her hoof. One after another, like hoofsteps almost, growing stronger and faster with every passing second until her attention was taken from it when a green fireball flew through the air, narrowly missing the draconequus.

“DISCOOOOOOORD!”

Twilight looked around, and though most of Ponyville now panicked and ran off, she felt her heart somersault at the sight of an enraged purple dragon stomping his way toward them.

“Spike!” she exclaimed, flying up into the air, and for a second he faltered before doubling his stamping. “SPIKE!”

“TWILIGHT!”

The impact of his hand against her body was painful, but she couldn’t bring herself to care in the slightest, too busy being held in his claws, her body pressed against his muzzle, her tears laughable in size compared to his.

“Oh, Spike,” she whispered, feeling as though she could hold onto his muzzle for hours on end and laughed with delight. “Look at you! You’re safe and—! And you’re huge! You’re practically the size of the castle’s east tower!”

“And you’re so small! Were you always this small?!” he asked, before closing his eyes and sighing, trying to nuzzle against her. “I’ve waited so long, Twilight. I’ve waited so, so long.”

“Well, isn’t this a gooey display of affection?” Discord said, appearing right next to them and fluttering his eyelashes. “Careful, you might start leaking sap!”

There was a moment of silence, after which Twilight’s eyes narrowed along with Spike’s.

“You know what, Twilight?” he said, his voice lowering to a near-growl. “There’s something I’ve been waiting to do for even longer than seeing you again.”

“Really?” she replied, magic engulfing her horn. “Me too, Spike.”

In an instant, she boosted herself away from Spike and shot a blast of magic at Discord, who promptly levitated out of the way with a yelp, and then again when a fireball nearly grazed him.

He disappeared in a puff of colorful smoke and reappeared on the ground next to Fluttershy, who shrieked in horror and practically toppled over trying to get away from him.

“Goodness! You two have awful aim! I actually feel sorry!” he exclaimed, arms crossed. He snapped his fingers and a circular target appeared over his head. “Look! I’m making it easy for you! Here it is!” His smile turned wicked. “The second chance you’ve been waiting a thousand years for.”

Rage like no other engulfed Twilight at his words, and as her horn crackled to life, so too did the star on her crown begin to glow and without giving herself time to think things through, a beam of magic shot from her horn, headed straight for the laughing draconequus.

A loud explosion shook the town square, the Spirit engulfed in a plume of magic, and his laughter silenced. Her chest heaved, her teeth gritted, and yet, surprise filled her when the smoke cloud dispersed and she found Discord on his knees, a paw pressed on his chest and the other on the ground, a pained groan leaving his mouth.

“I… I did it?” she asked, her anger all but fading as she simply blinked at him.

“Yo… You!” he roared, looking up, his eyes turning to slits. “How did—?! Tha— That’s impossible!” He groaned, inhaling sharply before looking back up. “I’m not even—!” He stopped himself, and an irritated smile marred his face, followed by a low chuckle. “Ah. I see. Playing dirty, aren’t we, dear princess?”

“I’m not afraid of you, Discord! Not anymore!” Twilight exclaimed, her horn lighting up again. “We’ll free the other princesses, and stop this! It’s over!”

And Discord laughed. “Over?” he asked, standing up and grinning at her. “Oh, my dear Twilight Sparkle, it’s only just begun.”

And, just like that, he vanished.

Gone.

“Discord?!” Twilight called, but her gut instinct told her he would not be coming back. Her chest heaved again and she flew down, landing on the ground and then sitting down, out of breath.

“Princess?” Fluttershy asked, trotting toward her and carefully placing a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. She quickly withdrew it, a gasp escaping her lips, and then placed the hoof back where it was, a bit more firmly. “Are you all right?”

Twilight breathed, in and out, in and out.

It was over, wasn’t it? It was over, well and truly, but it didn’t quite feel like it. Something was missing, somepony actually, and Twilight could feel the weight in her heart. Discord’s words rang in her ears, because yes, even though she’d freed herself, the heroine of the story was still absent.

Princess Twilight Sparkle sat there, surrounded by loved ones, finally free, and the one pony who’d fought for her to have that moment wasn’t there for it.

“Where’s Hollow Shades?” she asked urgently, getting up to her hooves and letting her wings unfurl. “I need to make sure Rarity’s safe.”

“H-hey, look!” Scootaloo said, and when Twilight’s gaze lifted, she found out that maybe fate had taken to being kind to her for once.

A cyan pegasus soared through the sky, headed toward the Everfree Forest, pulling behind her a small chariot.

And Twilight knew.

She took one step toward the forest, her heart hammering in her chest and a knot forming in her throat. “I…” She looked back, toward Applejack and Fluttershy, toward Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, and finally toward Spike. “I have to…”

“Go on, sugarcube,” Applejack said, taking off her hat and smiling at the alicorn. “But I want the two of you trottin’ back home, y’hear? I don’t think that mare can take to losin’ you a third time.”

Twilight’s eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head, determined. “She won’t. Never again.”

She stepped back, looking at them one last time, before turning around and rushing off, calling for her two owls. In the back of her mind, she realized she could teleport to the forest, but she wanted to run there.

She wanted to feel the earth under her hooves, the wind in her mane, the loud beating of her heart matching the sound of her hoofsteps, of Ponyville’s clear ground and then the Everfree Forest’s leaves crackling under her hooves because it wasn’t a dream, was it? It was real, and there was only one pony left who could confirm it without the shadow of a doubt.

The oak tree eventually appeared in the distance, and it felt like her entire body had gone numb, like nothing was real and yet it was at the same time. Time slowed to a crawl and her running slowed with it, from gallop, to canter, to trot, to walk, ending at the edge of the depression, her eyes set on the chariot inside it.

She was here.

Her ears twitched at a sound, and she held her breath when a pony emerged from inside the trapdoor, and only released it when she recognized Rainbow Dash, who sat on the ground and breathed heavily.

“Geez, I feel like my muscles are screaming in pain,” she said rather loudly, obviously speaking to somepony coming after her. “I should tell Spitfire to make this a training exercise…” She took a deep breath, and at last looked up. “Come on! Maybe she’s in Pony…” she drifted off, her eyes landing on the alicorn who’d just jumped into the hole.

Rainbow stared at her, getting up and taking several steps toward Twilight.

“Pri… Princess Twilight?” she asked, before soaring up into the air, clapping her hooves together and flying in quick circles around the alicorn. “Princess Twilight! You’re alive! Ohmigosh! Wait, wait, wait, you need to—! Wait.” She hovered in the air. “Please,” she said, slowly, almost afraid. “Please tell me I didn’t miss your reunion with Spike. Please.”

Twilight faltered. “Uhm.…”

“Are you kidding me?!” she exclaimed, landing and burying her face in her hooves. “Two years, and this happens the one week I’m not in Ponyville?! And all because of that dumb boutique?! And I bet Discord was here and I missed out on beating his face into next Tuesday too, probably!”

Twilight didn’t reply.

“…Really?! Come on!” She got up and turned toward the tree. “Rarity, I’m going to kill you!”

Another sound, Twilight’s heart again nearly coming to a stop, and a second pony emerged, calling out to Rainbow Dash.

“Dashie, wait for me! I want to…” Much like Rainbow Dash before her, Pinkie Pie drifted into a silent stare when her eyes met Twilight’s. Her mouth hanging half-open, she took several slow steps past Rainbow Dash and toward Twilight, until finally she was standing right in front of her. She closed and opened her mouth, but rather than immediately speak, she carefully lifted her hoof and pressed it against the tip of Twilight’s nose.

“Boop.”

And she fell back on her haunches, her eyes filling with tears and her hooves going to her mouth, barely hiding her shocked smile.

“Hi, Princess Twilight,” she whispered eventually, breaking into giggles. “I booped your nose.” Her eyes widened and her giggling suddenly stopped. “Rarity.” She jumped to her hooves, a gasp following shortly after, and she gestured toward the tree. “Rarity’s there! Rarity! Rarityrarityrarityrarityrarity!”

Twilight didn’t say anything, she barely felt herself nodding her head before she trotted past Pinkie Pie, past Rainbow, and toward the trapdoor leading to the library where a unicorn awaited, and yet…

And yet when she reached the trapdoor, when she looked down into the abyss, she instinctively stepped back, ears flattening against her head and a jolt of primal fear coursing through her body.

She’d have to go back into the library.

She’d have to go back into her prison, and just the thought of it, of trotting down the stairs and into the tunnel, twisted not only her heart, but her very soul. Every rational part of her brain and body begged against it. Better that she travel down into the pits of Tartarus itself than go back in there.

But hadn’t Rarity been willing to do that very same thing for her?

Twilight moved forward, descending the stairs, every step weighing on her soul and clawing at her fears. She reached the bottom and looked into the tunnel, a pitch black darkness awaiting her at the end. It disconcerted her for a moment—why would the light be turned off?—until she remembered the surge of power when she escaped had taken Star with it.

She made her way through the tunnel, her heart beating loudly in her chest, until she reached the edge and stopped again. The fear was there, consuming her body, begging her to turn back, to leave, to go outside, but… but her heart pulled her forward, and so she obeyed, stepping through the hole where a barrier once stood and into her library.

She could see nothing at first, such was the darkness inside the room, until a soft light appeared, almost as though it were floating in the air. Her breath caught at the dim sight of somepony trotting along the top of a leaning bookcase, two pink glowing necklaces hanging on her chest.

The figure trotted the length of the bookcase, her horn barely illuminating her face, but nevertheless allowing Twilight to see her eyes, narrowed as though she too were trying to make out the shape of the alicorn.

Twilight’s horn flashed with magic, the pony stepping back in surprise only for a clanging noise to ring through the space and a glowing candelabra to float into the air, rising above the pony and toward the ceiling.

Somepony spoke, but it wasn’t Twilight.

“Star,” Rarity said, and Twilight felt her heart skip a beat. “Light, please.”

The candelabra continued its path toward the ceiling before transforming into a chandelier and illuminating the library in its entirety.

There were many things Twilight could have looked at, all of which made it hard to breathe. Her books and their respective bookcases littered about, the tables overturned by the chaos magic, and the life she’d known for a thousand years in disarray.

Of course, nothing in the library was nearly as breathtaking as the mare standing atop the bookcase, and how different she looked from the day they’d met. Twilight Sparkle remembered the terrified mare lying on the library floor who could do nothing but gawk at her, but now?

Rarity stood atop the bookcase, sizing Twilight up through expressionless eyes, standing tall and proud and terrifying, this mare who’d faced off against dragons, and timberwolves, and Spirits of Chaos; who’d gone above and beyond the call of duty and love and earned in return three scars that disfigured her cutie mark but displayed the extent of her devotion.

There they stood, Princess Twilight Sparkle and Rarity the unicorn, as they had long ago on the fateful night they met and, just like then, one of them was deeply awed by the other.

The silence between them was crushing, Twilight felt. Though she said naught with words, Rarity’s stare was very telling, her lack of words a confirmation of Twilight’s fears. The memories of their fight came rushing back, every single hurtful word she’d directed at the mare now screaming in her head because Rarity loved—or perhaps had loved Twilight, she no longer knew—and Twilight had told her that meeting her was a fate worse than being trapped inside the library.

She couldn’t take the silence anymore.

“I’m sorry, Rarity,” she said, looking down, looking away, tears stinging at her eyes, and her heart thumping painfully within her chest. “I’m sorry about all the things I said.” The words tumbled out of her mouth, because the more she talked, the less space Rarity had to confirm her fears. “I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I promise I-I didn’t mean them, I was angry, and scared because of Cadance and my brother, and then your scars, and how you almost died, and it terrified me because I—” She gritted her teeth, because princesses, it was hard, it was so hard to speak, with all her choices and guilts and fears coming back, but she held her ground and finished her thought.

“I love you.”

Twilight stared at the floor, her tears dripping down, waiting for Rarity’s reply, but it didn’t come. It didn’t come and that in itself was somehow more devastating to her than anything Discord had ever done. She wanted to speak up again, to continue defending her actions, to justify them and earn forgiveness, but she held her tongue for there was nothing left to say that was more sincere than the three words she’d offered for Rarity to take or reject.

And yet, her ears twitched and she looked up in time to see Rarity teleport down from atop the bookcase. The unicorn blinked at the floor for a moment before looking at Twilight again and slowly, agonizingly slowly, walking toward her while Twilight could do nothing but fight the urge to step away.

No.

Not anymore.

No more running away.

Rarity stopped in front of her, and though she was looking toward Twilight, it didn’t feel like she was looking at her. Twilight waited for her to say something, anything, even anger would be welcome, because silence allowed her inner fears to be loud, so so loud.

Instead, Rarity lifted her forehoof toward Twilight’s face and she flinched in reply. It was quick, but noticeable and Rarity’s hoof faltered for a second, her eyes finally meeting Twilight’s and her brow furrowing.

Twilight’s chest ached, worried she’d made things worse. “I-I’m sor—”

Oh, she thought, frozen into silence by the heavenly sensation of Rarity’s hoof slowly caressing her cheek with much more tenderness and softness that she’d been expecting.

Her eyes closed without asking her permission, and she could do nothing but simply stand there, unable to stop herself from nuzzling against Rarity’s hoof because stars, she’d longed for that moment for so long and it was so warm and so, so nice.

When Rarity took her hoof away and the warmth vanished, Twilight opened her eyes and nearly asked why she’d stopped. Instead, she quietly watched as Rarity pressed her hoof against her chest, the frown all but gone.

“Goodness,” Rarity whispered, “you’re much softer than I ever dreamed you’d be.” She lowered her gaze. “And you’re covered in ink.”

Twilight blinked at her, her eloquence long gone. She’d might have imagined many things Rarity could have said, but that definitely wasn’t one of them.

“I…” She faltered, and again the fear returned. She swallowed, and forced the question out. “Don’t you hate me?”

“Hate you?” Rarity asked, her hoof dropping to the floor and ears folding. “Whyever would I hate you?”

Twilight’s ears pinned back, tears wetting her eyes. “Because I told you that meeting you was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Rarity hummed, levitating Twilight’s necklace off and then placing it around the alicorn’s neck. “I can’t say I disagree. Look at you, forced to accept you’re so very loved and the victim of terrible circumstances. Truly horrid what I’ve done to you, yes.”

Despite the smile on Rarity’s lips, despite how much Twilight wanted to smile back, she didn’t.

She couldn’t, and Rarity’s smile vanished.

“I won’t deny I’m hurt and saddened still, but…” The smile returned, and she lifted her hoof to tenderly brush back Twilight’s bangs. “Do you honestly think I love you so little that pushing me away would make a difference?”

Twilight’s heart caught in her chest, but still the fear remained.

“Yes,” Twilight weakly replied, closing her eyes, ears still pinned back. “Because it’s been two years, and I said all those horrible things, and you’re probably just being ni—”

Twilight fell silent, words interrupted by lips pressed against her own, and it was nothing like she’d ever imagined it would be. Every single sense was set aflame alongside the dizzying warmth running through her chest. The tart sweetness of Rarity’s lips and the scent of her perfume, each mingled with their salty tears; the softness of her lips, the impossible touch of her hoof pressing against Twilight’s chest; and, finally, the pounding pulse of her frenetic heart.

As she leaned into it, her own hoof finding its place atop Rarity’s, she felt like she could melt into it, as if she could stand never to breathe again if it meant she’d be able to kiss Rarity for as long as she wanted.

Was it terrible, she thought, that such a kiss had made those thousand years worth it?

When they finally separated, Twilight opened her eyes and locked them with Rarity’s tear-filled ones, who in turn closed the distance between their lips again for a painfully brief moment before sighing and resting her forehead against Twilight’s.

“Oh, Princess Twilight Sparkle, I have missed you and your neuroses terribly,” said the pony who’d stumbled not only into her library but into her heart as well. “Maybe tomorrow I’ll care about what you told me, and we will fight and argue, but all I care about now is that you’re here, and I desperately want to hold you, if you’ll allow me.”

Only then did the weight of it all come crashing down on her and, with a shaky nod, tears streaming down her face, Twilight pressed herself against Rarity, so hard they both nearly fell over. She buried her face in the crook of Rarity’s neck and could do nothing else but weep because it was over.

It was finally over.

“Oh, my darling,” Rarity whispered lovingly, her forelegs wrapping around Twilight and her lips leaving kisses on the top of Twilight’s head. “It’s all right. I’ll make sure no pony ever hurts you or anypony you love ever again.”

Twilight tried to speak, tried to nod, tried to say anything in reply, but she could only hold onto the unicorn, nuzzle against her until a great exhaustion washed over her and, finally nestled in her beloved’s embrace, Princess Twilight Sparkle fell asleep for the first time in over a thousand years.

Author's Note

Thanks as always to my amazing patrons, as well as my wonderful editors, and the talented chapter artist, ArcticWaters. Please let me know if you see a typo or error (preferably via PM)!

Thank you for reading The Enchanted Library. Hope to see you in the sequel, which is NOW OUT! Go lookit.

~ ??? ~ A Long Wait ~ End of Book I ~

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

~ Act I ~ 03 ~ The Questions in the Labyrinth ~

“Twilight, how are we supposed to live here?”

“The princess will help me build a library here, Spike. I need to have my books nearby during my research if we want to find a weapon to stop him.”

“But… how are we supposed to hide from him with a library here? He will find it! It isn’t as if we can build a secret library under the tree…”

“…Spike, you just gave me a great idea…”

The history of the Everfree Forest was shrouded in as much mystery as the story of the princess living in its midst. For how long had those trees been the guardians of the library, and how long would it take for the princess’ past to finish seeping out of her words like resin from the forest trees? It had been only two days, but questions howled in Rarity’s mind over and over, like timberwolves never giving up their chase for their prey—or, in her case, answers. Thousands of answers that lay buried within the lost library, and thousands of answers Rarity would soon acquire…

If only I could actually find the blasted library in the first place!

“Rarity, this is the third time we’ve been past this tree…”

“Don’t be silly! We haven’t been near this tree three times,” Rarity insisted, even though they’d walked past it four times already—which, incidentally, was likely the number of hours they’d spent searching for Princess Twilight’s library.

It was destiny, wasn’t it? Fate deciding that, now that Rarity was prepared, finding the library was suddenly akin to trying to find a discount Saddle Arabian fabric during the last day of a Bloominghooves’ sale. Her boots were completely covered in mud, her manestyle was starting to lose its luster, the assorted items in her saddlebag were starting to feel heavier and heavier, and her best friend was beginning to think she was off her rocker… if she hadn’t been thinking that since Rarity had gone to her with her proposal.

She isn’t, surely?

“Fluttershy, you saw the tree!” she exclaimed helplessly, stopping in her tracks and turning to the pegasus. When her friend bit her lip and looked down at the ground, Rarity stamped her hoof on the ground. “And that abandoned house the girls were hiding in? It makes sense! Honestly, what possible reason would I have for making any of this up? I know I have a cat, but that doesn’t make me a crazy old cat lady!”

Fluttershy’s ears clamped down against her head and she reluctantly looked up toward the irate unicorn. “Rarity… can we just go home? Please?” Her apprehension was understandable, especially since she had spent two hours lost in the Everfree Forest with the fillies the other night.

Though Rarity felt guilty that her curiosity allowed Fluttershy to wander off completely alone with two fillies, that same guilt could easily be applied toward the lonely princess. She couldn’t just give up on finding her again, could she? Even if she’d wanted to, she found it impossible to move on. Pretending that Princess Twilight didn’t exist was something she simply couldn’t do. It flowed through her head constantly. Every book she saw, every accidental glance toward the forest, every mention of the royal family…

All of those things would forever be reminders of the secrets she had discovered beneath that hollow oak.

Rarity looked away from Fluttershy’s accusatory gaze. “You… don’t believe me, do you?” she asked quietly, her resignation sounding much more like a hurt accusation. She expected that from anypony else, especially considering Diamond Dusk’s reaction to what she told them, but to see Fluttershy doubt her words… She would be lying if she said it didn’t sting that her most trusted confidant no longer seemed very earnest in holding said position.

“Rarity, I—”

“I understand. You clearly share Dusk’s belief that I must have suffered fear-induced hallucinations.”

Her words were much sharper than Fluttershy deserved, and though she immediately regretted them, her frustration far outweighed her instinct to apologize. It didn’t make sense, not a single bit, how difficult it was to find the library. It didn’t help that, for every step they took, for every minute that ticked by, her understanding of why her friend might think she’d lost her mind grew.

“That’s not fair,” Fluttershy replied, her voice loud and clear if a bit hesitant. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe you.”

Rarity looked back to her friend, grinding her teeth and flattening her ears against her head. For Fluttershy to have felt the need to say that, well… “I apologize, Fluttershy,” she said finally, frustration and helplessness dripping from every syllable. She lifted her hoof and rubbed it against her forehead, letting out a drawn-out sigh. “I just… You saw the book, and I— I give you my word I’m not lyi—”

“Let’s look around one more time,” Fluttershy interrupted her softly, an encouraging smile on her lips. She looked around and gulped. “If… if we don’t find it, we can always look again tomorrow, right? Princess…”

“Princess Twilight.”

“Right,” Fluttershy continued with a nod. “Princess Twilight isn’t going anywhere, is she?” she added with a soft giggle that was fortunately contagious.

Rarity smiled and shook her head. “No, I suppose she isn’t,” she said, giggling as well. “Onwards, then!” More marching through the dark and dismal forest followed her enthusiastic declaration, her eyes scouring the forest for the tree like a hawk. It wasn’t until they reached Zecora’s hut that she stopped briefly to rest.

Not a single light shone inside the herbalist’s house, which was not that surprising considering Zecora had left Ponyville for a week after Seeking Night. It wasn’t unusual for the zebra to leave for weeks on end, but she always made sure to attend important events, if only to help her public image.

“I don’t understand! The tree should be right near here!” Rarity exclaimed, turning away from the window and toward the forest. “Or the house, at the very least! We could see Zecora’s house from there, couldn’t we?”

Fluttershy looked around for a bit before turning to Rarity. “I… I don’t know?” she admitted. She looked toward the forest again, and rubbed her hoof against her mouth. “You just said that the light we saw was Zecora’s house, but the girls and I never actually saw if it was.”

“But it was!” Rarity insisted, even though she herself never went to Zecora’s house that night. “…Wasn’t it? I mean, what else could it have been?” She very much doubted anypony else lived in the Everfree Forest, and unless manticores or other beasts traveled with torches, there wasn’t much else the light could have been. “You’ll see. That house must be nearby,” she insisted, once more trotting off with Fluttershy close behind.

And, as the increasingly aggravating twists of fate would have it, the abandoned house was nowhere to be found. They went back and forth for at least twenty more minutes, and for a moment Rarity worried that maybe she had hallucinated the entire ordeal. She came to a halt and let out a frustrated and unladylike growl, picking up a stray branch with her magic and throwing it against a nearby tree. Well, fine! she thought, throwing the distant darkness a sullen glare. If she doesn’t want to be found, then so be it! I have much better things to do than play hide-and-seek with an oak tree all night.

A low growl pulled her out of her thoughts, and her ears flicked up, suddenly alert. Goodness, she knew they hadn’t had lunch or dinner yet, but that was no reason for Fluttershy to act like that. It was most unbecoming.

“Yes, all right, let’s go home,” Rarity sighed, finally giving in to her friend’s wishes. She turned toward Fluttershy and scolded, “There’s no need to make those noi— Fluttershy?”

Something was wrong. All color had drained from Fluttershy’s face, and her wide eyes were fixed intently on the worried unicorn.

“F-Fluttershy?” she whispered, her own heartbeat accelerating exponentially. “W-what’s wrong?”

“R-R-Rarity, d-don’t l-loo—”

Fluttershy’s stammered warning never reached its conclusion for she suddenly closed her mouth and let out a small, terrified squeak. It was, however, not difficult for Rarity to guess what the rest of her warning was meant to convey. Every single hair on her coat stood on its end, her breathing became quick and shallow, and she slowly turned around to see whatever had made that unearthly sound.

About ten feet away, two narrowed glowing green eyes stared back at her. The wooden wolf-like creature exhaled putrid green fumes from between its sharp bared fangs, and the twigs and leaves that made up its body were dripping with mud and other things Rarity didn’t want to think about.

She carefully took a step away from the timberwolf, not once breaking eye contact with it. “Fluttershy, darling?” she asked, trying to appear calmer and more collected than she actually felt. She received a barely audible squeak in reply. “You remember when Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo roped us into playing hide-and-seek with them? How we had to carefully sneak around the house so they wouldn’t find us?” Another squeak. “Follow my lead, then.”

In perfect terrified synchronization, the two mares stepped back, prompting the timberwolf to give a low growl and take a step toward them. They managed a frankly monumental five steps more, but their fortune ended with a dead branch: the timberwolf answered the crack under their hooves with an earsplitting howl. It jumped toward them, and they could do nothing but—

“RUN!”

Without wasting a second, Rarity bolted after Fluttershy. They lost themselves deeper and deeper in the frightening forest and all sense of direction disappeared too. It already felt like they’d been running for hours, and Rarity’s legs quickly started to burn with exhaustion, but the looming threat of the timberwolf’s jaws was, unsurprisingly, very effective in keeping them motivated.

Eventually, the howling dwindled more and more. She focused on the pony in front of her, and failed to notice the small hole she was running toward. With a high-pitched eek!, Rarity fell into the hole and landed on her right hoof.

Said hoof, still not completely recovered from the ordeals Princess Twilight had imposed on it, was not in the most healthy of states, so when she landed on it and twisted it completely, she could only let out an agonized shriek at the stinging pain that shot up her foreleg. She collapsed to the ground, tears running down her face, and looked up to Fluttershy.

“R-Rarity!” Fluttershy exclaimed, trotting toward her. She tried helping the unicorn back to her hooves, but stopped in fright when the timberwolf emerged once more from the trees.

Rarity looked at it, and then turned to Fluttershy and tried pushing her away, already presuming herself dead. “Go! Run!” she yelled, not wanting her friend to die as well in such a miserable state and place. She was very moved when Fluttershy responded by clinging to her in an awkward attempt at protection. Looking back to the fearsome beast that stalked closer, Rarity thought of Princess Twilight and desperately wished she were here to blast the timberwolf away.

And that’s when she heard the hoot of an owl.

Before the timberwolf could turn them into its evening feast, a familiar black owl flew down from the branches of a tree and started pecking away at the timberwolf’s face. The valiant attack was enough to distract the beast from the two mares, and he turned his attention toward the small owl instead.

Had… had the princess sent her familiar to save them?

Themis continued pecking at the timberwolf, flapping his wings wildly and eventually resorting to scratching at its green eyes with his sharp claws, giving Fluttershy enough time to help Rarity up, while the timberwolf viciously snapped and swatted at Themis.

Though the bird was quick, he wasn’t quick enough. Much to the horror of the two mares, the timberwolf’s frenzied swatting finally paid off, and Themis was hurled toward the bark of a tree. He slammed against it with a thud, falling to the ground and lying motionless at the base of the tree.

Oh no! Rarity thought helplessly. Is he…?

Anger boiled up inside of her, and she suddenly felt willing to take on the timberwolf—but her plans were preempted by a second hoot, much angrier than the first. Seconds later, a white owl shot out from another tree and began to viciously peck at the timberwolf. The timberwolf tried the same tactic that had worked so well on the black owl, but the white one was much faster, noisily flapping her wings and flying in circles around it.

Without warning, the owl took off into the forest and the timberwolf chased after her. It wasn’t until the growling faded away completely that Fluttershy went back to helping Rarity stand up. Despite the intense pain when she put weight on her hoof, she had other concerns. Fluttershy seemed to share one of them: a little owl that was groggily stumbling about. Once he had regained some amount of balance, he flew up a few feet, fell down, successfully tried again, and slowly and unsteadily flew off into the depths of the forest.

“W-wait!” called Rarity, trying to run after him but not getting very far with her injured hoof. He was probably going back to the library, and that might be the only chance she had of ever finding the place again. She turned back to Fluttershy. “Come on! We might still be able to catch him!” Her ears dropped when Fluttershy made no move to follow. “Fluttershy? Those are the princess’ owls! We need to—”

“No.”

“Fluttershy!” she half-exclaimed, half-whined, looking back and forth between the long-gone owl and her friend, gesturing wildly at the same time. “But—! You—! The owl—! And the princess—! What do you mean ‘no’?!” she demanded, receiving a meek but firm “no” in reply again. “Fluttershy!” she screeched, forgetting about her injured hoof until the moment she unconsciously slammed it against the ground in annoyance and then gave out a pained yelp.

Of all the times for Fluttershy to be assertive, why did it have to be now?! Rarity might have been proud of her friend if only she didn’t want to stomp off in a huff and follow the owl herself. “But, Fluttershy, he’s injured! Even if we don’t find the princess, we can’t just let him fly around like that!” she shot back, stomping her healthy hoof on the floor for emphasis.

Fluttershy winced slightly, her ears lowering. “He’s injured because of us, and because we didn’t leave before the timberwolf found us,” she pointed out. “I… I don’t like leaving the little owl injured like that, but it’s night already, and you’re injured too.”

“But Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy merely sighed and offered a small smile. “Let’s go home, please?” she said, still phrasing it as a question with an option even after everything Rarity had put her through. “We’ll try again when you’re better.”

Rarity observed her for a moment, part of her still deeply wanting to go after the owl, but she eventually relented and nodded her head. With a few shaky and painful steps, she went toward her friend and followed her home.

Without looking back, Rarity took a deep breath and told herself that she didn’t want to see Princess Twilight again.

Days later, she would miserably realize she had been technically right. It wasn’t that she wanted to see Princess Twilight again, it was that she needed—and that was a very strong needed—to see her again.

The constant sound of her hooves against wood served as the clock ticking down her descent into madness as she paced around her workroom for yet another hour. Her physical appearance did wonders accentuating the frazzled state of her mind: disheveled mane with strands of hair sticking out, constant chewing on her lip when she wasn’t busy mumbling, and the little twitch her eyes did whenever she stepped with her bandaged hoof.

Rarity was losing it, and she was well aware of that fact. Even other ponies were quite curious about the entire affair. Gossip and rumors spread like wildfire, and the entire town knew Rarity had gone into Everfree Forest during Seeking Night. There was also the fact that even though he hadn’t said what she’d rambled about, Diamond Dusk had mentioned to three dozen ponies that Rarity had been acting “odd” after they found her.

She wasn’t surprised the entire town was dying to know what she had seen in that forest, but if even Fluttershy didn’t believe her, then she couldn’t possibly expect other ponies to do so.

“I need to see her again, Opal. I fear that I’ll go mad if I don’t.”

For the cat curled up on her master’s chaise longue, the constant pacing might have been rather soothing and a perfect hypnosis into dreamland, but it was difficult to doze off when Rarity kept talking out loud to herself. Opal meowed out in reply, stretching herself for a minute before curling back up into a ball. While her meow was more a yawn than an answer, ponies sadly did not excel in understanding the intricate language of cats, and Rarity was free to interpret the answer as she wished.

“I’m not crazy, Opalescence!” she shrieked, stamping her good hoof against the floor and glaring at her pet, who replied by flattening her ears against her head and hissing at the unicorn’s shrill shrieks. Rarity harrumphed and went back to her definitely not delirious mumbling. “I don’t need to see her again!” she claimed. “I do need to see her again,” she confessed. “No, I don’t!” she exclaimed.

Did someone care about Princess Twilight? Not her, that’s for sure.

She didn’t care when she went back with Fluttershy, nor did she care the other six times she tried sneaking back into the forest. “Tried” was the key word because it was rather difficult to actually get in the forest when Fluttershy kept dropping by to check in on her. She knew Fluttershy wanted her to rest, but honestly, couldn’t a mare be left to sneak out of her house in peace?

Princess Twilight Sparkle didn’t matter. She most certainly wasn’t a thought that never went away and made it difficult to think of something else, because how can one think of something else if the thought never pauses and goes away like a fast-paced sentence with almost no punctuation whatsoever, just word after word that consumes thoughts and doesn’t let one breathe and—

“Her book!” she retorted to an unasked question, levitating the weighty tome she had borrowed and showing the first page to her thoroughly uninterested feline. “It says ‘Property of Twilight Sparkle’! See?!” She put the book down on the couch and levitated Opalescence over to her, pressing the cat against her chest. “They think I’ve lost my sanity, but they’re wrong!” She pulled Opalescence back and lifted her, their faces so close together that Opalescence could easily take a swipe at her. “You believe me, don’t you, darling?! Don’t you?!”

When her beloved cat and sole true friend in that dark and dreary world of despair and distrust merely yowled at her, a realization came crashing down upon Rarity with the force of a thousand scratching and sharpened claws.

Oh my stars, I really am turning into a crazy cat lady!

And if that was to be her destiny, then she would willingly embrace it.

“If Princess Twilight is to be my madness, then so be it!” she proclaimed, throwing her poor cat back onto the fainting couch. It didn’t matter that Opal fled the room, or that there was no cheering audience to feel inspired by her declarations; all that mattered was that her mind was set, and she’d find that forsaken princess even if she had to fight another timberwolf, no matter the cost.

And then, once the princess was found, all Rarity would need was an instant camera for instant proof of her permanent sanity. Ah, Rarity, you are a genius; misunderstood in your time. With a dazzling picture of the princess, no one would be able to refute her claims! Plus, she had plans to go to Canterlot in a fortnight so she could take them to Princess Denza herself! It was a fool-proof plan!

Chuckling to herself over what was a brilliant plan, if she did say so herself, she rushed into the foyer and donned her saddlebag. With a spark of magic, Princess Twilight’s book appeared in front of her and she quickly stuffed it into the bag. I’ll buy a camera, then go and find the princess, return her book and take the pictures, she told herself, trotting out of her boutique.

It was only midday, and a quick trip to Ponyville’s shopping area would land her in Flitter Shutter’s shop where she’d purchase the best instant camera available. Could cameras even take pictures of ghosts? She didn’t suppose there was such a thing as a guide on how to take paranormal pictures, was there? Maybe Flitter might have something of the sort.

So lost was she in her fantasy of being lauded as the “mare who found Princess Twilight” that she failed to notice the odd looks ponies gave her as she passed them by. Their whispers went unheard, drowned out by the sound of fast-paced trotting and her own loud thoughts. She could already see her beautiful vintage camera—

“Rarity!”

—and the pictures of Princess Twilight. Speaking of Princess Twilight, Rarity wondered what she would look like with her mane tied up; she imagined the princess would look rather fetching. Was it even possible to tie her mane up? Surely some kind of makeover could be done. After that, she’d take zillions of photographs, one for every resident of Equestria so then everypony would know without a shadow of a doubt that Rarity wasn’t off her rocke—

“Rarity!”

“Huh?” She turned around, snapped out of her thoughts, and saw an orange mare right behind her. “Oh, Applejack!”

The earth pony and her family were Ponyville’s resident farmers. Granny Smith, Applejack’s grandmother, was long rumored to be the oldest inhabitant of Ponyville. Though Rarity and Applejack did not share much in common, they got along well enough.

Applejack smiled and shook her head. “Land sakes, Rarity, I’ve been hollerin’ at you for at least five minutes. I was about ready to give up!”

“Oh? Have you?” Rarity felt her cheeks grow hot. She cleared her throat and adjusted her saddlebag.

Applejack smiled wider. “Sure as sugar. Been meaning to talk to ya, but I couldn’t find the time… ’til now, that is. I’ve… been hearin’ some things about ya.”

Rarity held her breath. “O-oh? Have you now?” she asked as nonchalantly as she could, which turned out to be not at all. “Good things, I hope?”

Applejack’s smile turned sheepish and she rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. “Well, not as such… A lot about what happened to ya on Seekin’ Night… I just wanted ta say tha—”

Sweet heavens above, did everypony believe she’d gone crazy?! She knew that she hadn’t been herself lately, but this was ridiculous! Oh, she couldn’t wait until she had those pictures to throw them at all their disbelieving faces!

“Applejack,” she interrupted, smiling thinly and taking a deep breath. “I don’t know what Diamond Dusk has gone around saying about me, but I insist you hear my version before believing his. Honestly, the Everfree Forest is a terrifying place, maybe he’s the one who got hypnotized, hm? And you know how he loves gossip, he might as well join the local gossip club!”

“Whoa there, sugarcube,” Applejack said, holding up a hoof to forestall any more ranting. “I was just gonna say I thought it was very brave that you went into Everfree all by your lonesome, especially to save your sister.” She looked to her left where the gloom of the forest loomed on the horizon. “Apples’ve been here since the town was founded, and in all that time, as many ponies dared go into that forest as I’ve got hooves. So…” She looked back and grinned. “Yer either brave or foolhardy, but I like that.”

Rarity smiled, drawing herself up a bit taller. She had been rather courageous, had she not? “Ah, yes, well I couldn’t just leav— Wait,” she interrupted herself, and tilted her head. “You… Your family! They’ve been here since Ponyville’s founding?” she asked, excitement bubbling up inside her. If that was true, then it would mean that one of Applejack’s ancestors must have met Princess Twilight and her library before she was trapped!

“Sure as sugar!” Applejack replied cheerfully. “Granny Smith’s grandaddy’s papa founded Ponyville, as a matter of fact!”

Rarity’s heart started beating wildly in her chest. This… This meant that the Apple Family must have had books, scrolls, information about Equestria before Twilight was trapped, all of it hidden away in their barn! Perhaps even a clue as to how to find the library again!

“Yep,” Applejack continued proudly, seeming lost in the story of her family’s role in the founding of the town. “He moved here with his lil’ struggling family, and since nopony had built anythin’ near the Everfree Forest, he decided to build his barn, and then other travelers settled in, and—”

Wait a second.

The Everfree Forest?

That couldn’t be right! The legend said the Spirit grew the Everfree Forest around Princess Twilight’s library! Even that house with that tree growing through it confirmed it! Didn’t it?

“Stop, stop, darling!” Rarity interrupted hastily, trying to keep her breathing steady. “You… You mean to tell me that the Everfree Forest was already there before Ponyville’s founding?” she said carefully, articulating every word as if talking to a foal.

Applejack nodded. “My great-great-grandaddy discovered the secret to Zap Apple Jam and figured he’d build the farm near the forest.”

“A-and did he build houses inside the forest?! Surely he must have!” Rarity said, her voice becoming increasingly desperate with every answered question. “A library, perhaps?”

Applejack merely snorted at that. “Don’t talk nonsense! Why would he—or anypony—want to live in the Everfree Forest?” she asked, shaking her head. She then took on a much less amused expression and continued, “That place ain’t safe, Rarity. My great-great-uncle Apple Crumble got himself killed by timberwolves. Then there’s all kinds of dangerous critters, not to mention them endless sinkholes. Nopony except for Zecora’s ever lived the—”

“No!” Rarity exclaimed, stamping her hoof against the ground. “No, no, no, no! It doesn’t make sense!” Without warning, she started trotting in circles around Applejack, rambling on relentlessly. “He couldn’t have built it after the Everfree Forest! Don’t you see?! The plaque on the library! It said ‘Ponyville Public Library’!” She stopped and turned to Applejack, breathing heavily. “How do you explain the plaque?! How?!”

Applejack looked completely at a loss for words. “Rarity, you ain’t making a lick of sen—”

“Applejack, I’m not crazy! I saw the tree, I saw the plaque!” she insisted helplessly, covering her face with her hooves and groaning with frustration. After a moment, she let them fall, sighing as she looked up and… found a small white owl flying in circles above them, carrying something in its claws.

“Elara…?” she whispered, her eyes going wide and her heart starting to beat at what was certainly an unhealthy rate. Oddly enough, it also felt as though time had stopped while her eyes stuck to Elara as if she was a ghost. She survived the timberwolf attack! But… had she come looking for Rarity? Had Princess Twilight sent her? Did this mean Rarity could find the library again?

Applejack looked up as well. “Wouldja look at that! I thought owls were night critters, but this one’s out in plain daylight!” she exclaimed, following Elara’s flight pattern with her eyes. She narrowed her eyes. “What’s it carrying?”

Before either of them could hope to figure out what Elara had, the owl suddenly looked down at Rarity and flew off toward the distance. Rarity panicked at the sight, realizing the only other creature in Ponyville who’d seen Princess Twilight was getting away. Without another word to Applejack, she ran off after Elara, pain shooting up her leg with every stride.

“Ra-Rarity?!” Applejack called, prompting the unicorn to glance back.

“We’ll resume this conversation at a later time! We need to talk!”

That said, Rarity looked back toward Elara, who made a sudden sharp turn and disappeared around the corner of a house. Oh no you don’t, Rarity thought, chasing after the owl and dodging ponies as she ran.

Every so often, the owl would turn back for a moment, almost as if making sure Rarity was following. After the third or fifth turn, she suddenly sped up tremendously, and Rarity panicked when she lost sight of her completely. Turning the corner of a house, Rarity reached a small commercial plaza with a fountain in the middle. Some ponies were trotting around, talking and eating, and others were looking at the displays of the plaza’s many shops. To Rarity’s great dismay, Elara was nowhere to be seen. She had been so close, and now her only chance to find Princess Twilight had literally flown away—possibly forever.

She looked around at the storefronts, hoping to find the owl perched on one of the buildings. She trotted past the fabrics shop, the grocery, the home goods store, and finally stopped in front of Inky Owl’s Quills & Scrolls. The outside of the shop was decorated with an owl motif, the wooden frame of the door carved with drawings of different kinds of night birds. On the other side of the window was a display of multicolored quills, as well as a large assortment of crystal inkwells shaped like owls.

Exactly like the one she’d seen in Princess Twilight’s library.

On the outside of the shop was a large blue cauldron filled almost to the brim with some sort of black liquid, and upon closer inspection, she realized it was black ink. Not only that, but placed right beside the cauldron was a single owl-shaped inkwell. Unlike the ones inside the shop, this one looked old and dirty, traces of ink still present inside it. The glass had scratch-marks, as well. Is this what Elara was carrying? she thought, gingerly taking the inkwell in her hoof to take a closer look.

“Put that back!” a voice suddenly hissed at her. “Put it back, I said!”

She immediately looked around and noticed a black unicorn stallion standing under the frame of the shop door, frantically waving down with his hoof. His foreleg had been replaced with a peg leg, and Rarity wasn’t sure she wanted to know what accident had made that necessary. “Oh, excuse me!” she said, quickly putting the inkwell back on the ground. “I thought…”

He harrumphed and trotted toward her, levitating the inkwell and taking out the cork. He then carefully dipped it inside the cauldron and filled it up with ink. Once filled, he cleaned it up, put the cork back on, and returned it to its former place on the ground. “Those owls have been coming for centuries, and I’m not letting a nosy mare be the first one to stop them,” he said, turning around and going back inside his shop, leaving Rarity alone with the inkwell. Did that mean it really did belong to the princess?

Rarity looked from the inkwell to the shop, eyes wide. They’ve been coming for centuries?! Centuries’ worth of owls… doing heavens knows what, and he’s never questioned it? Never wondered where or why they were coming?! Or… Or was she perhaps not the only one who knew of Princess Twilight’s existence?

“Wait a minute, please!” she called, rushing inside the shop.

Dimly lit magical light bulbs illuminated the somber-looking shop, the scent of ink and parchment filled her nose, and the entire wooden owl-themed decor made for quite the sight. Small cauldrons filled with ink of all colors were scattered around, and Rarity couldn’t help but think that all it needed was a cat for the place to look like a witch’s house. As she made her way toward the end of the shop, she passed by shelves and shelves of assorted calligraphy items: fountain pens, quills, inkwells, parchment of all colors—some of them boasting prices that were almost absurd.

She finally found Inky Owl bending down behind a wooden black counter, looking for something at his hooves. On the wall behind him hung a frame, and inside it was what looked like an elegant yet minimalistic drawing of a baby dragon. The parchment inside the frame was old and worn-out, and had small rips here and there. The word “Solar” was written on top of the dragon.

“What do you need?” Inky Owl asked, straightening up and placing a jar filled with chestnuts on the table. He tapped his forehoof impatiently against the counter, not bothering to hide Rarity’s unwanted presence. “Be quick, it’ll be back for the ink soon.”

“‘It’ will be back for ink?” Rarity asked. “The owl, you mean? And they’ve been coming for centuries?”

Inky Owl nodded and flashed a proud smile. “They’ve been coming ever since my great-grandfather started his business. Very first day, a brown owl landed on that very cauldron outside and my great-grandfather gave it his very first owl-shaped inkwell for good luck. Ever since then, owls have been coming to get ink and leaving a chestnut as payment.” He gave the jar a fond look. “My father used to say we were blessed by the owls.”

…Blessed by the owls? Really?

“But, don’t you know where they’re taking the ink? Or who’s sending them? Or why?” Rarity asked, not understanding how Inky Owl or any of his ancestors hadn’t asked themselves those questions before. “Haven’t you tried following them before?”

Inky Owl smiled thinly. “Oh, of course, I’ve tried following them. All the way into the Everfree Forest, as a matter of fact.” He lifted his peg leg and it landed on the table with a thud. “The timberwolves weren’t so happy to see me there, though. Must admit the only reason I’m alive is those owls found me and started pecking at the beast.

“I suspect they must keep coming out of habit,” he continued, looking toward the wall and using his magic to float down the framed illustration. He carefully took the parchment out of the frame and presented it to Rarity. “The first owl brought several of these to my great-grandfather; most were lost, but this one survived thanks to a preservation spell. According to my grandfather, every one of the messages was just a drawing and a title, probably done by the owner of the owls. I assume they must have passed away since the messages stopped coming one day.”

Rarity inspected the drawing, though it was a bit difficult to examine properly due to bad lighting.

If Princess Twilight had sent those messages after her imprisonment, their content didn’t make sense. Why not send a message for help? Why just… drawings? She turned it around and found the other side equally empty of any clues.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me…” Inky Owl took the jar with his magic, trotting away from the counter and toward the entrance, clearly forgetting he’d just entrusted a complete stranger with a relic passed down through his family’s generations. “It’s already been three weeks I’ve missed it, and the poor thing left a mess trying to fill up its inkpot by itself.”

Rarity watched him go before turning back to the parchment. She squinted her eyes, trying to find some other type of clue to no avail. If only the light were better. She looked around and saw a lit candle on top of one of the stands. She levitated the candle off the stand, brought it over to the drawing, and just as she started illuminating it with the candlelight, it… changed?

One by one, letters started appearing on the parchment until a shocked Rarity was left staring at a string of random glowing letters. “A… code?”

Wanting a better look, she put the candle on the table, but the second the flame moved away from the parchment, the letters immediately disappeared. “What in heavens is…” She blinked and moved the candle back toward the parchment, watching as the letters immediately reappeared. After repeating the actions several times, she felt her heart beat wildly in her chest. Princess Twilight had hidden a message in her letters, after all!

But why code them?

She looked around the counter for parchment and a quill, but just as she found them and started writing down the code, the illustration disappeared from her hooves. “Wh-what?! Wait, where did it—”

“Leave the drawing alone and hurry! It’s back, it’s back!” Inky Owl called, his face pressed against the shop window and the dragon illustration floating next to him. When Rarity joined him, pressing her face against the window, he continued, “See? The chestnut!”

Elara had returned and now stood on the ground next to the cauldron, pushing a chestnut toward the inkwell.

“They never stay,” Inky Owl continued in a hushed voice. “They just pick up the inkwell, leave the nut, and then take off. If I try going outside, they fly away immediately.”

Rarity bit her lip. She wanted to go out, but if that meant the owl would fly away, then…

All of a sudden, Elara looked up at the two ponies staring at her on the other side of the window. Her gaze rested on Inky Owl for a few seconds, and she then turned to look at Rarity. She flapped her wings and flew up into the air, digging one claw into the cork of the inkwell and wrapping the other around the glass.

Rarity took a step toward the door, watching the owl carefully.

Once the inkwell was secure in her claws, Elara flew to Rarity and hovered on the other side of the window. Inky Owl’s surprised gasp went unheard by the unicorn; her mind was completely focused on the owl. They stared at each other for a moment before Elara finally hooted loudly and took off.

It was apparent she wanted Rarity to follow her, but did the unicorn dare? Did she give in to the curiosity—or was it dark desire she had been suppressing for over a week? Yes, that’s what it was: a dark, irrational desire to go back and see this ghost that consumed her thoughts and her dreams. Her curiosity was leading her straight into the mouth of the timberwolf and she…

And she rushed out of the shop and galloped after Elara, not bothering to say goodbye to the shocked shopkeeper, ignoring the throbbing pain in her forehoof, ignoring the fact that she didn’t have the camera, and leaving behind what would have been a life of peace and quiet.

JOURNAL ENTRY № 23

I have finally found a lead, and I cannot wait to show it to Princess Celestia. I have already talked with my brother and Cadance, and they’re a bit worried, but I think they’ll always be worried about me—especially Shining Armor. He still treats me as if I were a filly!

I found an old oak tree in a valley, and I think that might be the best place to build my library and start my research. With Princess Celestia’s assistance, it shouldn’t be too difficult to build the library under it, and hopefully he won’t find it. Iron and his family have been posing as farmers, as well, to avoid suspicion.

Spike will be coming with me, as I hoped. He seems a little bit too excited about the prospect of “adventure.” “Twilight Sparkle the unicorn and Spike the dragon against the god of chaos!” he said. I think he is so happy because he doesn’t know yet that most of the adventure will be reading books. I can’t wait to see his face when he realizes life will be no different than back at the castle!

I will miss Canter Capital, though. My new library won’t be nearly as vast as the one in the castle, and I won’t have anypony to talk to except for Spike. I am not sure how much more he can take of my lectures on magical astrology! Although, if my suspicions are proven right, I won’t be away from home for much longer.

Spike and I met with the cryptographer Mister Vigenere a few hours ago. He has recently invented a cipher and taught it to Spike and me. It is a fascinating process, involving a key code and an alphabetical chart. Spike found it somewhat complicated, however. In any case, I do not doubt somedraconequus will try to read our letters and messages, so I believe we should have a way to make it more difficult for that to happen. I will also make sure to find a way so that only Spike can read the messages.

Princess Celestia believes that I can help stop Discord, and I refuse to let her down. She, Princess Luna, Cadance, Shining Armor… everypony is counting on me.

I will not let them down.

The dead leaves cracked under her hooves, her ears reacted repeatedly to the distant howling of timberwolves, and her heart pounded against her chest in sync with her trotting as she followed the owl through the forest. This is crazy, she thought over and over, crazily enough still not having the slightest desire to turn back toward Ponyville.

She noticed Elara flew at a constant pace, never stopping to look at where she was or take a break. She would only stop every so often to look back and make sure Rarity was still following, before hooting and continuing on her path. Elara seemed to know exactly where she was, whereas Rarity was sure she’d be lost for days if she lost sight of the owl.

Fifteen minutes in, Rarity heard a nearby growl, and she froze up immediately. Another timberwolf! she thought, panicking. Elara, however, didn’t seem fazed one bit by the nearby presence of the creature, even after what had happened a few days ago. She quickly flew over to Rarity, placed the inkwell at Rarity’s hooves, and then perched herself on the pony’s muzzle, using her wing to cover Rarity’s mouth. Does she want me to be quiet?

Her question was soon answered when Elara flew back up and into the forest, hooting loudly. Rarity almost ran after her, but stopped when she heard the timberwolf running away in the same direction as the distant hooting. Minutes later, when the forest had grown quiet and Rarity’s terror had tripled, she heard a blissful hoot and saw Elara flying toward her.

“Oh, thank goodness, you’re back!” Rarity exclaimed, receiving another hoot in reply.

Elara took back the inkwell and soared up into the air, hooting a third time at Rarity and flying off. Sometime later, after more twists and turns, they finally reached their coveted destination.

When Rarity saw the great oak tree in the distance, she fell short of breath. Elara went ahead of her and toward the open window, taking the inkwell with her while Rarity dropped down into the hole and stared at the daunting old oak.

She wasn’t crazy! She almost wanted to scream in joy, and rush back to Ponyville to rub it in all their faces.

Taking a deep breath, she trotted toward the trapdoor and magicked it open, peering down the staircase. Carefully, she stepped inside and made her way down, illuminating her way with a wisp of light from her horn. She stopped right before the entrance, remembering the barrier that had appeared before. She waved a tentative hoof across the door, and when no barrier appeared, she trotted inside the pitch black room.

Elara was nowhere to be seen, and Rarity assumed she was probably with the princess. Her mind drifted toward Themis, and how he’d been so brutally attacked by the timberwolf. Had he survived?

“Princess?” she called out with hesitation, trying to catch a glimpse of the alicorn amidst the darkness. How was one even supposed to summon a ghost? Lay down books and candles in the shape of pentagram while chanting the Star Swirl Decimal System?

Rarity looked around and noticed a familiar blue candelabra on a nearby table. She made her way over and noticed it still had the same raspberry glow. “Er… Pardon me?” she asked, feeling very silly talking to a candelabra.

Awoken from its slumber, the four candles lit up and the candlestick holder floated up and began circling her. It almost reminded her of an excited puppy. Still, as much as having a candelabra helped her search, she would no doubt find the princess faster if the entire room was illuminated. What did she say to get it to transform?

“Starlight, please?” she ventured, only for the candelabra to stop for a brief moment before resuming its never-ending circling. A few unsuccessful tries later and she decided she might as well continue her search.

“Princess Twilight?”

She went up and down the hallways of bookcases to no avail. Am I really this keen on finding her? Maybe this is destiny telling me I should go back home? Rarity let out a frustrated sigh. Had she truly come all that way to go back home just like that? Was she not destined to partake in a glorious adventure like Daring Do?

“Well, fine!” she exclaimed indignantly, flipping her mane and stomping her hoof against the floor. What, now that Rarity actually came back again out of her own free will, suddenly the princess was too busy with ghostly affairs to stalk her around the library? Well, maybe Rarity didn’t actually want to see her, either! Hmph!

“Some ghost,” she muttered, sitting down and scowling at the candelabra and its increasingly annoying floating. She noticed a small stack of books nearby and in her frustration whacked them with her hoof, watching the books clatter to the floor and glaring at them for a minute until she decided perhaps it was time to go. She flipped her mane, stood up, turned around, came face to face with an also-scowling princess, screeched out loud, and fell backward on her rump.

After an entire week consumed with the need to see the princess again, she found that perhaps she shouldn’t have been quite that eager in the end. Princess Twilight looked down at her with a very unimpressed expression, which looked quite terrifying under the light of the candelabra.

This is how I die, Rarity thought, swallowing hard.

One day, centuries in the future, somepony would find the library and the unicorn’s wilted body. It would be a handsome and incredibly intelligent detective from Manehattan, wearing a trenchcoat and a grey fedora. After a thrilling and suspenseful investigation, he’d find out who killed her and then dramatically declare: ‘It was Princess Twilight Sparkle in the enchanted library with the extended edition of Star Swirl the Bearded’s Memoirs!’

“Those were in alphabetical order,” Princess Twilight pointed out, waking Rarity from her pre-mortem reveries.

“I… I apologize… I…” Rarity squeaked.

The princess trotted past Rarity and used her magic to re-organize the books that had been unceremoniously thrown to the ground. Once the deed was done, she turned back to the unicorn, opening her mouth to presumably continue her scolding.

But it never came.

She stared at Rarity for a moment, closing her jaw and suddenly trotting very closely to her in what was surely a violation of the personal space a ghost should give a living being.

“It’s you again…” Her expression had softened quite a bit, and her tone was not one of anger or irritation, but disbelief. She looked baffled by Rarity’s mere presence.

Princess Twilight took a few steps back, allowing Rarity to shakily get up under her careful gaze.

Rarity laughed nervously, dusting herself off. “Ah, yes! It is me again,” she stammered, smiling and hoping her frantically beating heart would calm down soon. “I was the pony who stayed, and now I’m the pony who came back. Fancy that!”

Princess Twilight turned to the candelabra, still hovering around Rarity. “Star, stop that and go up.” At her command, the candelabra floated up to the ceiling and transformed into the chandelier. Once the room was lit, Princess Twilight turned back to Rarity.

The two mares stared at each other in complete silence. As the seconds passed and Rarity realized she didn’t know what to say, the silence settling between them felt even more awkward than ever before.

“Did you bring my book?” Princess Twilight asked, impassive.

“Oh!” Rarity quickly opened her saddlebag and took out the book on gemstones. “As promised, Princess,” she said, hoofing over the book.

Princess Twilight’s eyes widened, gingerly taking the book with her magic and staring at it with wonder. “You… You did bring it back…”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Rarity asked, closing her saddlebag and smiling at Princess Twilight. “Library books should be returned, should they not?”

Princess Twilight stared at Rarity as if suddenly Rarity were the supernatural being. She then nodded quickly in agreement, bearing a striking resemblance to an excited foal. A spark of magic shot out from her horn, and the box with library cards appeared next to her. A quill followed soon after, and Princess Twilight levitated the library card pertaining to Rarity’s book and wrote something down.

“Thank you for returning it,” she said, the cards and book disappearing with another spark of magic. “I…” She looked back toward the end of the hallway of bookcases. “I took good care of your bo—” She shook her head. “Magazine.” She paused and she suddenly looked somewhat distressed when she turned back to Rarity. “Did you come back to take it already?”

“Oh, well, I…”

Princess Twilight didn’t even wait for a reply and trotted off. “It’s over this way.”

Rarity followed after her amidst the rows and rows of bookcases, the silence no longer awkward but still present. Thousands of questions raced through her mind, but there was no proper way to ask them. She couldn’t very well just ask “so, Princess Twilight, how did you end up here forever?”, could she? She remembered the princess implying she thought the Spirit had been defeated. What did she think was going on outside her library? Why wasn’t she asking Rarity questions? Wasn’t she curious? The more Rarity thought about it, the more questions surfaced, but she still did not have the courage to just up and ask them.

Eventually, they reached the entrance of the library and Princess Twilight headed toward one of the tables scattered about. Rarity followed behind and saw her magazine opened on the table, lying next to a parchment with an unfinished text. Several old books on fashion were scattered on the table, as well. Had Princess Twilight been comparing the fashion from her time to the modern one? That would actually be quite a fascinating analysis to read.

Before Rarity could sneak a peek at the scroll, Princess Twilight rolled it up and put it next to one of her books. She then took Rarity’s magazine and levitated it over to the unicorn. “I didn’t have time to finish making notes about it,” she admitted, looking at the magazine with a bit of regret.

“…Was a week not enough time?” Rarity would have thought that judging by how eager the princess had been to read it a week ago, she would have read it forward and backward fifty times by then.

“It would have been, but…” She glanced toward the table where her scroll was and looked somewhat embarrassed. “I… assumed you would not be coming back so I thought I had more time to finish.”

Rarity sat down and took the magazine between her forehooves. “Oh, well, do you think you’ll need much more time?” she asked, rifling through the pages. “If not, I don’t mind at all letting you borrow it for a few more hours.”

Not only would the princess be happy, but that would give Rarity a few extra hours to finish exploring the library. She was still curious about what could be found on the floor below, and possibly even below that. She waited for the princess to reply, but when no answer came, she looked up.

To her surprise, Princess Twilight looked uncomfortable. No, that’s not it. She looks… guilty? Her ears were pressed against her skull, and following her line of sight, Rarity realized the princess was staring at her bandaged hoof.

“Oh! Princess, that’s not because of you…”

“I apologize…” Princess Twilight said, looking at Rarity remorsefully. “I have a spell… If you want…”

Rarity smiled kindly, pulling back her hoof. Though she now doubted the princess would actually attack her, she wasn’t sure she wanted to come in contact with the princess’ magic just yet. “There’s no nee—”

“Hoo!”

Rarity turned around and felt immense relief at seeing Themis waddling over to them, his left wing completely wrapped with a cloth that came more and more undone with each step. The small owl seemed excited to see Rarity, hooting several times in her direction.

“Themisto!” Princess Twilight scolded, levitating the little owl and putting him on the table. She used her magic to re-adjust the cloth. When she finished and Themis hooted joyfully, she sighed and sternly shook her head. “You can’t move around until your wing is better. What if you get injured again? I won’t be able to go out and help you.”

Suddenly, Rarity felt terribly guilty. The way Princess Twilight looked at Themis, how she’d been excited to share the magazine with Elara… Those owls were her only friends, and Rarity nearly got them both killed because of her actions. Her guilt only doubled when Themis disobeyed the princess and flew up to his favorite spot on Rarity’s head, stumbling about and holding onto her horn for support.

“Themis, stop that,” Princess Twilight scolded, levitating him down to the floor. “Go to your nest, or I’ll have Elara make you stay there.” Once he’d hooted his disappointment and waddled off, she turned to Rarity. “…Did my book help you?” she asked, and seemed pleased when Rarity nodded. Honestly, she just didn’t have the heart to tell the princess she hadn’t gotten past the first page. “Would you like to borrow another one?”

Before Rarity could even open her mouth, the princess answered for her. “Would you be interested in a book on personal appearance?”

Rarity blinked. “On fashion, you mean? If you’ll let me borrow one, I can’t say I’d be against it.”

Princess Twilight nodded. “Please wait a moment, then. I have to go get them downstai—”

“Downstairs?” Rarity interrupted almost immediately, smiling widely. Finally! The perfect excuse to take a look at the floor below. “May I come with you? I’d like to see what other books you have!”

Princess Twilight suddenly seemed a bit hesitant. “I… Downstairs? I suppose it would be all right, but… it is—” She paused and bit her lip. “—a bit of a mess.”

“Oh, I don’t mind in the slightest!” Rarity insisted, smiling brightly.

Princess Twilight observed her for a moment before turning toward the stairs in the distance. “All right…”

Admittedly, the floor below wasn’t all that impressive considering she couldn’t see a single thing. She followed Twilight down the spiral staircases, reaching a barely illuminated balcony overlooking the second floor.

Should we have brought the candelabra? Rarity wondered, looking down from the balcony into the darkness below.

“Swirl!” Princess Twilight called. “Light, please!”

All of a sudden, Rarity noticed a dim light flicker below. After a minute, the light got closer and closer until she could make out the shape of one of Twilight’s apparently many enchanted candelabras. Unlike the one in the floor above, this one wasn’t remotely interested in Rarity and instead kept floating up toward the ceiling. Once there, it transformed into a beautiful chandelier.

Now that the entire room was lit, Rarity looked down at the floor below and felt her jaw go slack. As she imagined, there were indeed several dozen bookcases, but instead of orderly rows like on the first floor, they had been shaped into an enormous and complicated circular maze. Though it was quite the impressive design, it certainly didn’t look practical at all.

“Why did you choose that design for your bookcases, Princess?”

Princess Twilight snorted. “Me? I’m not responsible for that,” she said, throwing the maze a dirty look before going down the stairs.

Odd. If she hadn’t done it, then…

“Was it the Spirit?” Rarity pressed, remembering that the legend mentioned he liked making a mess out of things. “The Spirit of Chaos, I mean.”

Princess Twilight stopped in her tracks and glanced over her shoulder at Rarity, eyes half-narrowed. “‘The Spirit of Chaos’?”

Rarity raised her eyebrow. “Well, yes,” she said as if it were obvious, which it was. How could Princess Twilight not know who the Spirit was? “The Spirit who… forced you to stay here,” she elaborated, feeling that was a much nicer way to put it rather than “imprisoned you here for eternity.”

Princess Twilight merely stared at Rarity for another minute and then continued her descent down the stairs without another word. Rarity quickly followed behind, realizing she had probably prodded at a sore spot for the princess. Where is your tact? she scolded herself, well aware that she wasn’t going to get in the princess’ good graces like that.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Princess Twilight quietly led Rarity around the outer wall of the maze until they finally reached the single entrance. The princess took a deep breath and glanced back and forth between the maze and Rarity. “Are you sure you want to go inside? I can find the books you need.”

Rarity nodded. “Quite sure.”

Twilight looked back toward the entrance of the maze. “You were right. The Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony turned the bookcases on this floor into a maze.”

“I can see why that would be a drag.”

Princess Twilight shook her head. “Oh, he did much more than just turn it into a maze. If you are sure you want to look for the book inside, I’d recommend you step inside before I do.”

Rarity furrowed her brow and cautiously did as told. Once inside, she held her breath in anticipation, but when nothing happened, she gave Princess Twilight a questioning look. Princess Twilight only took a deep breath, and when she trotted inside the maze, the ground started to shake.

A light yellow magic enveloped the maze, and the bookcases floated up off the ground. Princess Twilight looked more annoyed than anything, whereas Rarity stared in awe as the bookshelves started rearranging themselves. Books floated out from the shelves and inserted themselves in different ones, and a bookcase appeared in the spot where they’d come in, effectively trapping them inside the maze.

After a moment, when the magic dissipated and the bookcases returned to the ground, Princess Twilight took a deep breath. “We have approximately twenty minutes to find the section we want, get the book, and exit the maze,” she instructed, trotting off toward the left and looking at the numbers on the bookcases. “We need to find the social sciences classification, so please look for the number three hundred and ninety.”

“How will we know how much time we have left?” Rarity asked, trotting behind the princess and reading the numbers. It seemed like finding the correct section would be an arduous task considering section seven hundred and forty was in between sections one hundred and twenty and five hundred and fifty.

“I’ve been counting the seconds since we entered the maze,” Princess Twilight replied. She turned on the first left corner she saw, and continued, “My magic is blocked in here, so I am unable to teleport or summon the book.” She took a turn on the first right. “How do you know so much about me?”

The question caught Rarity off guard. “Wh-what?” she asked, looking away from the bookcases and trotting next to the princess. “What do you mean?”

“You seem—four—to know—three—why—two—I’m here. One.” She came to a halt and raised her hoof. “Stop, please.” Rarity did as instructed just in time for the ground to shake again, and several bookcases disappeared and opened new paths as consequence. “Seventeen minutes left,” Princess Twilight announced, starting along one of the paths. “You have yet to ask me why I am here, because you already know…” She stopped and turned to Rarity, eyes narrowed. “Don’t you?”

“I—Well, you see—”

The princess took another step toward Rarity, who stepped back in turn. “And the only one who could know about that is the Spirit of Chaos himself.” Another step. “And you too, it seems.”

Rarity shook her head, backtracking against the wall of the maze. “Pr-princess, I’m not him! I can expl—”

“I never said you were,” Princess Twilight interrupted, drawing herself up and turning around to continue her path. “Not this time. Sixteen minutes.”

They kept trotting for a minute until a bookcase suddenly appeared in front of them, blocking their path. Or, blocking Rarity’s path, since Princess Twilight trotted right through the bookcase, separating the two of them.

Rarity pressed her hooves against the bookcase, trying to get it to move to no avail. “Er, Princess Twilight?” she called, and when she received no reply, turned back to find another way to the princess. Several more minutes went by, Rarity trying to find her way back toward the princess.

“What is the ‘Legend of the Four Princesses’?”

Rarity stopped and looked around, but found nopony in sight.

“The first time you came to my library, you said, ‘The Legend of the Four Princesses is not real.’ What is it?” The princess’ voice carried clearly throughout the room, despite sounding as if she was on the other side of the maze already. “What is the tale about?”

“It’s about four princesses who lived long ago,” Rarity loudly explained, coming to a dead end and turning back, using the princess’ voice as a guide. “They got into battle with a Spirit of Chaos, and he scattered the weapons able to defeat him. Three of the princesses went out to look for the weapons but… he trapped them.”

“Ten minutes,” announced the princess in the distance. “Where? Where did he trap them?”

A bookcase next to Rarity disappeared, and she stepped into another area of the maze. “He trapped the Sun Princess near a waterfall, the Princess of the Moon inside a mountain, and the Princess of Wisdom inside a…” Another bookcase next to her disappeared, but this time she found Princess Twilight in the adjacent hallway.

The princess looked ahead, totally ignoring Rarity. “An underground library,” she completed with a hollow voice. She looked at Rarity and asked: “They lived long ago? How long ago?”

Rarity looked up, trying to remember an exact number. “The legend is over a thousand years old, Princess…” she said, watching as Princess Twilight’s ears fell and her eyes widened.

“Over a thousand years old?” the alicorn asked, looking down at the floor.

“Princess Twilight…”

How terrible it must have been, to realize everything she’d ever known and loved had been long buried with the passing of time. Rarity couldn’t even begin to imagine what it must feel like. She felt the need to console the disheartened alicorn and made a move to cross over to the other hallway.

“Eight minutes.”

Before Rarity could reach her, however, the bookcase reappeared and hid the princess from sight. “Shoot,” she muttered, stamping her hoof against the floor and trotting off toward the right. Why did it feel like the princess was purposefully avoiding her?

Once more, Rarity was completely alone in the undecipherable labyrinth. She started to tire of all the dead ends, of the changing bookcases, and of feeling so lost when it came to the princess.

“What about the Spirit?” Princess Twilight asked, her voice echoing through the room. The hints of hurt and sadness in her voice had vanished, replaced instead with a cold tone. “He was defeated, correct?”

Rarity made a right, then trotted several yards and made a left, trying to stall before answering the question. “No,” she finally said, for once glad she couldn’t see the princess, see her find out the one responsible for her fate was never punished. “According to the legend, he trapped the Princess of the Sun, then the Princess of the Moon, then… then you, and after that, he left Equestria.”

“Hah!”

As if reacting to Princess Twilight’s outburst, the entire maze lifted itself two feet into the air and came crashing back down with a loud boom. Several bookcases then lifted themselves at least ten feet in the air, creating a hallway of sorts through which Rarity could see the princess on the other side of the labyrinth.

“He ‘left’ Equestria?!” Princess Twilight asked, stomping her hoof on the floor. “Impossible! He was defeated! He had to have been. He didn’t have the power to defeat the princess!” The bookcases fell to the floor again, but Princess Twilight’s voice only grew louder. “It’s all wrong. Your ancestors didn’t do a very good job passing down Equestria’s history.”

Sounds like somepony is in denial.

“Princess Twilight, I mean no offense,” Rarity said carefully, knowing it was law that what followed would certainly offend, “but you’ve made it clear that you had no idea what happened after your imprisonment. You have no way of knowing if what the legend says is wrong.”

Silence.

A silence that ironically screamed in Rarity’s ears as, for the longest time, Princess Twilight simply didn’t reply. How many minutes went by? Rarity slowed her pace until she came to a full stop, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. Had she crossed a line?

“Do you have nightmares?” the princess asked at length.

“Nightmares? Of course,” Rarity replied in confusion. “Everypony has nightmares.”

She’d actually had at least three nightmares in the past week, and they all involved her being trapped as a spirit for eternity inside Carousel Boutique.

“In the past… before I was trapped in here, nightmares did not exist,” Princess Twilight continued. As she spoke, her voice moved around the room, and Rarity once again started her search. “Luna…” Her voice halted for a moment. “I mean, the Princess of the Moon would enter dreams and make sure nopony woke up unless they were well-rested and content. Before my imprisonment, I only ever had one nightmare.” A pause. “The night before I would never be able to sleep again.”

“Y-you mean…”

“Do you have somepony you care for like a brother or sister?” Princess Twilight asked, swiftly changing the topic of conversation.

“I have a younger sister,” Rarity replied, coming to a stop in front of yet another dead-end. She thought of Sweetie, and how thrilled the filly would be at knowing the princess was real. “Sweetie Belle.”

“What if your first nightmare was seeing Sweetie Belle attacked, and you were helpless to stop it?” Twilight continued. Rarity didn’t even want to think about it, but Princess Twilight seemed intent on creating the visual image. “What if that was to be your last dream? Seeing somepony you cared about hurt by a monster, every second of the dream haunting your every waking moment thereafter?”

“I…”

“Luna was like a sister to me. She cared for me, and I cared for her in return, even when she thought her own real sister didn’t.” Silence settled itself again. All of a sudden, Princess Twilight trotted right in front of Rarity, not bothering to turn to look at the unicorn as she passed through another bookcase. “In my nightmare, he did to me what I had planned on doing to him. He turned me to stone, punishment for what I had done.”

“Punishment for what you did?” Rarity asked, looking back at the numbers on the bookcases. She might as well try and actually find the books they needed before time ran out. She didn’t exactly know how much time was left and she didn’t dare ask the princess.

Princess Twilight reappeared again, and she started trotting down a path where the living could follow. Rarity sped up her pace and trotted alongside the princess, watching her carefully while avoiding smashing into the labyrinth’s walls when the princess made sharp turns.

The alicorn still stubbornly kept her gaze away from Rarity as she spoke. “He attacked her, and I couldn’t do anything but watch from my granite prison. I… Being turned to stone…” She stopped trotting and looked up. “I wonder sometimes if being trapped in the library isn’t almost the same in some ways.”

“Princess…” Rarity lifted her hoof, intending to offer a comforting pat on the shoulder. It wasn’t until the chilling moment her hoof went right through the princess that she was brought back to reality. She quickly took her hoof back and pressed it against her chest, her coat standing on end.

Princess Twilight closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and walked right into one of the bookcases, leaving Rarity all alone.

“Wait, Princess!” Rarity said despairingly, regretting her actions. “I didn’t mean to…” She let out a frustrated sigh and buried her face in her hooves. Why is this so difficult?

“Then I woke up.”

Rarity uncovered her face, her ears flicking up.

“I told myself Luna must have been hiding, that she couldn’t watch over dreams that night. I told myself that we had hidden ourselves well and he would never find us. Even I didn’t know where the others were. I lied to myself because the idea that… that something had gone wrong… I had already hurt so many and… as long as there was no tangible, real proof that she had been attacked, I believed myself. But then he came the next day”—her voice had taken on a bitterly angry tone—“wearing Luna’s black tiara on his head while taunting me with its ‘delightful’ qualities.”

Rarity’s eyes widened. “Black tiara…?” Her mind went back to Seeking Night, and the dirty rusty tiara she’d found discarded next to the tree. No wonder she thought I was the Spirit when she saw me with the crown!

“That is why I know the story you told me is wrong.”

Rarity turned around to find Princess Twilight sitting behind her, her gaze fixated on the books neatly arranged in front of her.

“He got to her first, then he came for me… and he must have gone down with Princess Cele…” She closed her eyes and let out a long, weary sigh. “Zero.”

Once more, the yellow magic permeated every single bookcase and rearranged the maze into a new design. Unlike the last time, Rarity couldn’t be bothered to stand around and watch because she was too busy looking at the princess.

Princess Twilight had finally turned to look at Rarity, and though her expression was impassive, her eyes showed wholly different emotions: desolation and resignation. Once the maze finished moving around, she looked at the bookcase behind Rarity and said, “Oh. The ‘costume and personal appearance’ section.”

Rarity glanced around and noticed the number three hundred and ninety-one marked on the bookcase behind her. Her eyes briefly traveled down the books until she realized she didn’t care about them one bit. “But, Princess Twilight, they’re out there—”

“If they really are trapped somewhere out there, there is nothing that can be done about it,” Princess Twilight said, clamping her ears against her head. “I can’t help them, or find them, because I’m trapped here.”

The princess had barely finished her sentence before Rarity spoke up, “But I am not.”

Two pairs of eyes widened as both mares realized the underlying implication in Rarity’s words. Had she just offered to do what she’d just offered to do?

Princess Twilight shook her head. “No, you can’t. If he really did trap the others, then I doubt his intention was for anypony to find them.”

“Yet here I am, aren’t I?” Rarity replied. “I found you. Twice, as a matter of fact. Perhaps I’ll have similar luck with the other princesses.”

“But…” Princess Twilight looked completely baffled. “But you—But—You want to find—Why?” she stammered, blinking at Rarity. “Why would you want to…?”

“Well, why not?” Rarity continued, finding it hard to stop now that the idea had been put on the table, even if part of her protested going on a glorified treasure hunt. She ran her hoof through her mane and frowned. “It’s not entirely unreasonable, really, particularly now that you can assist me from here. And somepony must have found the other princesses, too. Actually…” She bit her lip. “My friend Fluttershy and I are going to Canterlot in a few weeks, and we could ask Princess Denza for assistance!”

Of course! If she took the pictures of Princess Twilight, she could take them to the princess herself! And hadn’t Princess Twilight hinted at Denza being a descendant of the original fourth princess? Surely, Denza didn’t believe the tale was fictional, did she?

“No.”

Awoken from her thoughts, Rarity blinked at the princess. “…No?”

Princess Twilight sighed and looked away. “I… I don’t want more innocent ponies put in danger because of… this. If there truly was a way to free us, somepony would have found it much sooner.” She turned back to Rarity and her expression softened. “I… I already got more than I asked for with you coming back here.”

Rarity opened and closed her mouth several times. That’s it? She’s giving up that easily? Why? she asked herself, feeling as if the princess was hiding something from her. But, then again, there were probably millions of things the princess had no intention of divulging.

“If you say so,” she relented, albeit reluctantly.

Princess Twilight relaxed visibly and nodded. “I think you should pick the book you would like to take,” she suggested, looking toward the bookcase behind Rarity. “We don’t have much time to find our way out of here before the maze rearranges itself.”

Considering Rarity had taken fifteen minutes deciding what book she wanted, and Princess Twilight had spent another fifteen explaining why another book was a much better choice, the two mares had unwittingly triggered another maze rearrangement and actually left the maze much later than intended. Even so, Rarity had no desire to leave the library.

Instead, she’d settled herself down next to one of the main entrance tables to read while the princess finished writing her analysis on the magazine. By that time, Rarity felt much more at ease in the library, and she admittedly enjoyed answering all of the princess’ questions.

It wasn’t until two more hours and at least sixty questions had gone by that Rarity finally decided to take her leave.

“Very well, I ought to go home before Fluttershy has an entire armada of animals searching for me,” she said, closing her book on ancient fashion and returning it to her saddlebag. “I’ll leave my magazine with you, then?”

Princess Twilight looked up from the magazine, nodded, and then added, “And please remember the return date is in five days.”

“Five days it is! That should be enough time,” she said. Enough time to buy an instant camera, as well as some other supplies she realized the princess sorely needed. She’d also bring along her own copy of the fairy tale, just as the princess had quietly asked for after they’d exited the maze.

She’d also need a map of Equestria, and more information on the legend if she wanted to have a chance at finding the two lost princesses, as well as the lost books. Since the princess couldn’t leave the library, she would never find out Rarity had… lied about not looking for them, right? Just because the princess had given up so easily didn’t mean that she would do the same.

How could she, anyway? How could she live with herself knowing there were two other ponies helplessly trapped alone somewhere? It would be outright cruel to just pretend she didn’t know of their existence, let alone not rescue them.

Rarity turned toward the table. “Farew—”

She drifted off, discovering Princess Twilight had already left. She shook her head and continued toward the tunnel. Perhaps I ought to bring her a book on proper etiquette while I’m at it.

“Rarity?”

Rarity came to a stop right in front of the tunnel. She turned around and found the princess standing a few feet behind her, looking unsure of herself.

“Yes, Princess?”

“When you offered to look for the others. Whether you meant it or not, I wanted to say…” She paused for a moment before looking Rarity straight in the eyes. “Thank you.”

Rarity gave the princess her most dazzling smile. “You are most welcome, Princess Twilight.”

The princess nodded and vanished once more. Rarity stared for a minute at the spot where the princess had been before, still smiling, then turned around and stepped through the tunnel.

It’ll be my pleasure finding them.

Author's Note

Chapter artwork drawn by Arcticwaters. Thanks as well to my wonderful patrons and wonderful editors. If you see any typos, please let me know (via pm, if possible!). Thank you!

~ Interlude II ~ A Letter to Twilight ~

Dear Twilight,

It’s been so long! The war has been over for almost a year now, but you still spend all your time in your “secret library.” How are your wings? It took me the longest time to get used to my new horn when I got it. Hopefully, it isn’t the same for you.

We received news of the founding of Ponyville. You probably knew this already, but the farmers living with you there used to be guards at the castle! They retired before the war even started, and I think they lived somewhere near The Great Falls, but Shiny thinks they moved near you out of instinct. “Once a royal guard, always a royal guard,” he says.

Shining and I would have loved to be there, but we are still dealing with the aftermath of the war. According to Aunt Celestia, not all changelings have left Equestria. I thought they would have, considering we defeated their queen, but there’s a possibility some of them wished to make a life here—even if in secret. Despite having been allied to the changeling queen, Discord is being little to no help in the matter. I only hope we’ll be able to find them and reach a peaceful solution.

Everypony here misses you terribly, of course—especially Shiny, but you did not hear that from me. I know Aunt Celestia visited you last week. How did that go? She told me she enchanted your books so they would never be damaged. She also thinks you’ve forgotten you’re not a filly anymore. How strongly did you “joyfully throw” yourself at her to have almost tumbled her down, silly?

Aunt Luna might be visiting soon. Her… relationship with Aunt Celestia is a bit strained on her side. A nearby village organized another “sun celebration” for Aunt Celestia, and even if she would never admit it, you can imagine how Aunt Luna felt about that. It used to be less hard on her when you were here, but now that her favorite night-owl is gone, she has no one to remind her how beautiful her night is by stargazing all the time.

Shiny and I are trying to see if we can stop by Ponyville next month. I hear you’ve been eating very good apple pies. Don’t eat too much, though, or you’ll get a tummy ache!

Hope to see you soon,

Cadance

~ Interlude VI ~ A Vision I ~

Rarity dreamt of a unicorn mare called Amethyst Wind.

Amethyst reminded Rarity much of herself when she was younger, full of vibrancy and desire for adventures. She was several decades younger than the elderly Rarity, and unlike Rarity, Amethyst Wind was not cursed.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”

Rarity looked up from her book, smiling at the mare sitting opposite her, busy burying her face in her hooves with what could only be described as a love-struck expression.

“I remember being quite in awe of her back in the day, yes,” Rarity said, turning back to her book. A memory of long ago came back to the surface, of a flustered unicorn having confessed her feelings to an equally flustered alicorn.

Rarity had learned to suppress that memory.

Amethyst giggled. “I always forget you used to go to the library when you were young. She barely speaks of you.” After a moment, a blush shot through her face. “Er. Wait. That came out wrong.”

“That’s all right, darling.”

After all, Twilight barely spoke of Fritter Cobbler.

There were many things Amethyst Wind did and did not know. She knew her mentor had stopped visiting Twilight due to a terrible accident decades ago that was responsible for the scars on Rarity’s leg, though she did not know it was also because her mentor was cursed. She knew Twilight Sparkle and Rarity had once been friends, but she did not know they had once been in love.

Rarity had never said anything, and neither had Twilight.

An agreement that was made in silence and would stay silent.

“I think she likes me,” Amethyst said, and in her voice rang a feeling Rarity had not experienced in a long time. She giggled, and whispered, “I think Twilight loves me, actually. Maybe. I hope. I want to talk to her all the time, but I can’t! Uuuuuugh!” She groaned and buried her face in her hooves. “Why can’t I be with her all the time?” She giggled at the impassive stare Rarity fixed her with. “Sorry. You must think I’m silly.”

Rarity laughed. “Hardly, darling.”

With her magic, she levitated a jewelry box from a nearby shelf, and placed it on the table, right between them. Carefully, she opened it up, extracted a broken necklace she’d not touched in a long time and floated it over to Amethyst.

“Take this to her,” Rarity said with a soft smile. “She’ll understand.”