Fire Opals

*TOK TOK TOK*

Rarity grumbled quietly under her breath as she made her way down the stairs, muffling a yawn with her hoof once she reached the bottom. Whoever was beating on her door at this unseemly hour of the morning was going to get a very loud piece of her mind-

-or not, she quickly amended when she opened the door and found one of Celestia’s guards standing outside with a small, unobtrusive biga that was quite different from any other royal vehicle she had ever come across. As for the dark leather stealth armor he wore, she had only seen it once in her lifetime, and being presented with it in front of her now was more than a little unnerving. “Er- may I help you?” she asked politely, trying not to let her voice waver.

The guard said nothing, but presented her with a rolled up and sealed letter that she quickly accepted and opened with her magic.

Please come immediately to Canterlot for a private meeting.

All will be explained there.

~Princess Celestia

The hinted urgency made a little chill go down the back of her neck, and Rarity glanced up at the guard again as she rolled the letter back up. If he knew how important his assignment was, he gave no indication of it, his expression as placid as any other's.  “Might I have just a moment to leave a note for my little sister?”

“I don’t see why not.”

Leaving the door open so as not to be rude, she grabbed up one of the blank receipt papers from the shop and a quill.

Minor emergency with a client. Had to leave before breakfast.

There are blueberries, blackberries and cut up strawberries in the fridge; also cream. Don't forget your homework on the kitchen table.

Have fun at school, love you.

~Sis

Rarity quickly stuck the note to the fridge and turned to go, then caught sight of her reflection in the shine of one of the pots hanging by the stove and winced before shaking her head. She’d have to just let it go for now. The wind would ruin her mane further anyway, and she could give it a quick magical style when she got to Canterlot. Grabbing her saddlebag as she passed back into the front hall, she took a deep breath. “Alright, I’m ready, she said as she locked the shop door and made sure the ‘closed’ sign was in place.

The guard nodded, then stepped back and crouched to get himself back into the harness of the biga. Rarity stepped into the back and braced herself to hold on, trying not to worry about what she was getting into.

There was a jolt and then they were aloft, and she huddled down behind the biga’s main wall to keep from being buffeted by the wind.

“If you like, you can try and get some sleep on the way,” the guard called over his shoulder as they passed over the town hall. “It’ll take awhile with just me flying.”

“Thank you,” Rarity yelled back as politely as she could manage over the noise of rushing air.

She doubted between her concerns and the wind she’d get much rest, but she curled herself nose to tail to try for a small nap anyway.

===

To her own surprise, when she opened her eyes again and peeked over the edge of the floor, they were flying over one of the market districts of Canterlot.

She must have still been more tired than she expected, she thought with some embarrassment as she stood up and arched her back a little to stretch a kink out of it. The spires of the castle were only a short distance away, and the sky was still dark. To think Princess Celestia would still have been awake all night when she should have been resting to get ready for raising the sun… “The princess… didn’t happen to mention what she wanted to meet me for, did she?”

“‘Fraid not.”

That didn’t help her nerves any. And the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach only knotted tighter when she looked down at their landing spot near Celestia’s balcony and saw the princess’ majordomo -Kite? Kipper? Kibitz? That was it, Kibitz.- anxiously pacing about.

“Right this way, miss,” the unicorn said almost before the wheels of the biga had even touched the ground, and Rarity didn’t dare argue or grumble, trotting after him at a brisk pace. She quickly ran a wisp of her magic through her mane as they passed through one set of doors, then another, trying to at least make herself look presentable, and nearly crashed into his back when he suddenly stopped at a set of doors she recognized from travel guides as Celestia’s bedroom, rather than the parlour she typically received guests at. “Here we are.”

“Here?” Rarity asked in confusion, but when the door opened, she obediently entered.

The sight she was met with was alarming.

Rather than the calm, graceful, elegant princess presented to the public, the Celestia that paced slowly in front of the low-burning fireplace looked exhausted, almost sick. Dark shadows ringed under her eyes, and her mane and tail, while they still waved and flowed magically, had lost their sparkle and dragged the ground. She wore no regalia, and instead had a simple blanket draped over her shoulders.

Rarity put a hoof to her mouth in shock. No wonder the letter had been so urgent. “Your highness?” she asked hesitantly.

Celestia raised her head, and the smile was tired, but welcoming. “Come in. And don’t bother, please,” she added when Rarity belatedly remembered she ought to bow and started to dip her head. “I apologize for dragging you out of bed at such a terrible time of the night.”

“O-oh, it’s nothing!” Rarity said with a quick flip of her hoof, trying to interject a little giggle. “Nothing at all! Who could say no to an invitation from a princess after all?”

Her attempt at levity managed to at least earn a smile that was a bit brighter, then Celestia took a deep breath and let it out before gesturing for her to take a seat anywhere she liked, and the weight settled back in Rarity’s stomach as she complied.

“I won’t waste time with small talk,” Celestia said, using her magic to pull a large, plain-looking chest out of a closet from the other side of her bed. “There is a very dire situation at hoof that has been rising for some time. One that only you can help me with.”

“Me, your highness?”

“You.” The chest settled between them, and then a ball of magic generated above it, becoming a small model of the sun. “You see, the Sun isn’t just magically controlled. It’s an energy powerhouse in and of itself. However, that means sometimes it can generate too much energy.”

Rarity watched in fascination as the simulated sun pulsed and writhed like a living thing. She’d honestly never given much thought to the heavenly bodies beyond the fact that the princesses moved them. Seeing the sun in this kind of detail would have been kind of delightful under other circumstances. “But you can deal with that… can’t you?”

“Normally, yes,” Celestia said with a small sigh. “Unfortunately, with my having had to maintain both the sun and the moon, I haven’t had the power, nor the time to siphon off that excess energy as often I should have been. It’s been building up. And the amount I was able to remove in the time that Luna has been back has been far too little.”

Rarity looked at Celestia in wide-eyed alarm. “The Sun’s not going to explode, is it?!” she asked, panicked, and Celestia blinked at her in surprise before snorting out a small laugh that she politely hid behind a hoof.

“No, my little pony, it’s not going to explode. But there is still a storm coming because of the excess.” She gestured with a hoof to the illusion of the sun, and a wide flaring arc of fire whipped out of the sides of it to a small illusion of their planet that had popped into existence. “It’s called a coronal burst. And it’s going to be strong enough that even I’ll need a magical boost to protect our world from it.”

The chest’s lid opened, and Rarity made a tiny gasp. Inside were piled mounds of small and medium-sized opals. Clear, white,  red fire, and- “Black lightning opals! How in the world did you get so many of these?”

“The majority of them were gifts over the decades. Mages seemed to think the best way to prove they were worth their salt were to create and send me these. And they will all be at your disposal.”

Rarity blinked up at the alicorn, then her eyes widened as she clued in “Foci clothing. That’s why you called me.”

“Indeed.”

“I- I’m honored. But, again, why me? Surely for a magical focus aid, Twilight would be more qualified to-”

The princess shook her head and held up a hoof. “Twilight is exceptional, I will not dispute that. But I chose you for your specific talents. Besides your abilities as a seamstress, no unicorn I have ever met has the finesse at telekinesis that you do. And I have seen your gem work in clothing before. Whether you’ve been aware of it or not, you are a natural at constructing gem magic matrices.”

She could feel her face heating at the praise. Magic specialities where she was more qualified than Twilight? By the princess’ specifications, no less? Wow, now that was a compliment. “How long would I have if I agree?”

“A month.” Celestia stood up, and the illusion sun and planet vanished. “That is the longest I can continue to siphon off energy and hold off the burst. You would have access to any information you need, full room and board, and all materials will be procured at your request,” she said, staring into the chest of gems before looking back at Rarity. “I’ll pay anything you ask when you’re finished. Will you do it?”

Rarity bit her lip. A month was shaving it… awful close for something of this magnitude. Supposed natural abilities or no, a magical matrix would take study… and she would need materials that had shielding effects…

But Celestia had said ‘will’, not ‘can’. Celestia believed she could do it. And Celestia needed her to do it.

Rarity stood up and puffed herself up, holding her head high. “Your highness, I'll accept this commission for free!”