“I hope that I found all of the wounds. Oh please, please don’t die.”

That voice. Where do I know it from? The yellow mage’s eyes fluttered open. She saw the roof of one of her village’s houses. Fluttershy couldn’t recall who had lived here; all of the buildings looked the same as they burned. She had returned from a short walk to the river for some herbs when she caught sight of the smoke.

Fluttershy had rushed back, overwhelmed with fear about what was happening to her small village. By the time she had returned, however, it was too late. The small pony had searched the houses and the treelines for any signs of life; any indication that her friends were yet alive, but she only saw the dragons…or…they seemed to be dragons.

“Darling! You’re okay!” That voice again, Fluttershy thought, feeling lightheaded from just having awoken from her fall. She suddenly remembered it all: being cornered by those beasts, that white mage coming to rescue her, her managing to scare off their attackers before collapsing. “Oh thank Uldyui, you’re alright.”

“Why…? Why’d you do that?” Fluttershy’s vision was still blurry, barely making out the pony above her as she lay back on the bed. She licked her lips, feeling her mouth was dry.

“Shush dear, no talking. You are still too weak from the beating you took. Here, drink this,” Rarity lectured, levitating a bag filled with water from the river just outside the burned village. She placed the opened cap gently into the pegasi’s mouth and lifted it slightly. The injured mare took some quick gulps of the cold, refreshing liquid and coughed when she had enough. The white mage smiled sadly and brought the bag down next to her. “And…I helped you…because I could. A white mage’s duty is to heal and protect those in trouble, and you seemed to be in quite the tizzy, my dear.”

When the mare had fallen unconscious and fell from the sky, Rarity had acted quickly. Her horn shimmered in a bright azure aura as it caught the pegasus in her magic. She carefully lowered the black mage to the cobblestone road and began to identify the extent of the pony’s injuries. Those dravanzi had beaten her into quite the mess: three broken ribs, a disconnected nose, bruises, scratches and blood all over her body. Rarity marveled at the fact that this little pony had the will to stand.

She broke away from the mare below her to stare at her surroundings. They were still out in the open, and Rarity feared that those deformed dragonlings would return in greater numbers. She searched the houses, seeing which ones would give the best cover, and found one that had been scorched, but its flames had long been extinguished.

The unicorn’s horn quickly glowed in another azure aura, enveloping the two of them and teleporting them into the burned home. Rarity quickly set about healing the pony’s wounds, ignoring her own pain growing in her head. She knew she had sustained a concussion, but this mare had been through far worse and needed treatment before her.

Her first priority was to pull her broken ribs back together, then she set about reattaching her nose. Rarity cringed at the extent of her wounds, finding her in a worse condition than she had feared from the beginning. Cuts sealed up quickly and bruises shrunk, the reddened skin and fur returning to their natural colours. Her magic ran thin and the unicorn settled for wrapping the pegasi’s left fore leg in bandages to prevent her from jarring the limb as she awoke. Rarity had found that the leg had sustained severe injury as well, unfortunately having used up the rest of her healing ability before noticing.

With a loud, apologetic sigh, the mare stood up and went to search for some water. Rarity levitated a bag out of her saddlebags and set off on a trek to the river just outside the town. She could see it run all the way out to the ocean in the distance to the west, no trees or mountains obstructing its view.

She looked upon her wounded patient now, smiling that same sad smile as before. She hoped that what she was able to do would be good enough, but when her guild was attacked Rarity had only just started learning about apprentice healing magic. She’s lucky I was able to do this much. I hope it’s enough.
“Thank you.”

Rarity gasped, heart clenching in her chest. She placed a hoof to her mouth and saw the mare smiling up at her weakly. After a moment between them, the unicorn placed her fore leg back to the floor of the house and whispered, “You’re welcome.”

The room fell silent again, the two ponies locking eyes for a while. Fluttershy broke contact first, trying to sit up from her bed. Pain answered her efforts and the pegasus fell back heavily. She whimpered, feeling tears forming at the edges of her eyes.

“No! Please dear, you must remain still and rest.” Rarity sighed as she placed her hooves on the mare’s shoulders gently. “I don’t know how well my magic worked on you. You had three broken ribs, a broken left fore leg and a disconnected nose…not to mention all of the contusions and cuts all along your body. I’m…I’m not much of a white mage, but what aid I have has been given. My name is Rarity, by the way.”

She’s so nice…but she doesn’t seem to think much of herself. Fluttershy frowned, knowing how it felt to struggle with the perception of oneself. “I’m Fluttershy. It’s nice to meet you, Rarity. What you’ve done…is certainly a blessing to me.”

Rarity let out a laughing sob, feeling the fear of not being able to do what was necessary to save this mare’s life. Uldyui, please give me the power to heal her properly. She doesn’t deserve to die. Not here. “I have bandaged up your left fore leg. I wasn’t aware of its condition until I had used up all of my magic elsewhere, so…please don’t move it.”

“Okay.” Another silence filled the open room as Fluttershy stared up at the ceiling once more. “You know, it’s funny. I’m a black mage, but I’ve never really used my power until today. I was always helping others with injuries…nothing too serious, but…it’s ironic. And now you’re here, an actual white mage…I…I wish I…” Tears began to blur Fluttershy’s vision as she clutched the side of her bed with her good hoof. “I wish I was one…too…”

The unicorn in turn clenched her eyes shut, cursing herself for not being here earlier. How many ponies had lost their lives in this bloodshed, and for what? Rarity lowered herself down and wrapped her fore legs carefully around the sobbing mare, giving what comfort she could. The pegasus accepted the gesture in earnest, crying into Rarity’s white coat. “Shh…now don’t you lose hope. I’m sure some of the others managed to make it out safely.”

At that moment, Rarity caught a glimpse of what happened back at her guild. The bodies…burning and scorched; steam, smoke and fire rose from every direction. She pulled back from the embrace and smiled her widest smile at her new friend. She saw the black mage return the smile. “Thank you, Rarity.”

Rarity wiped her wet eyes. “Not at all. I can feel my magic returning, so let me see if I can get you walking again.”

“Careful now. Gently darling.” The unicorn braced herself against the pegasus as Fluttershy made another attempt at walking. She stumbled a little as she put weight on her recently injured leg. Rarity had healed it nicely, but to the black mage it still felt weak.

“I…I think I’m ready to try again.”

“Are you certain? You shouldn’t push yourself, you know.” Rarity rested a hoof on her shoulder and looked at Fluttershy with concern in her sapphire eyes. The timid pegasus shook her head with a smile.

“I know…but I think it’s fine now. You fixed me up just fine.” She smiled tenderly at the mare in front of her and saw the grin reflected back at her. Rarity carefully removed herself from the pony and allowed her to stand on her own. Fluttershy took one step and stumbled, being caught by Rarity before she fell.

The black mage placed the leg down again and nodded. Rarity released her again, and the pegasus began to walk around the room. I…hope that I healed her properly, the unicorn thought, suddenly overcome with a headache. She grunted as she dropped to her haunches, holding her head.

Fluttershy gasped and rushed over, forgetting that she had been injured. She sat next to the white mage and placed her hooves on Rarity’s shoulders. “Rarity, what’s wrong?”

The white mare groaned again as another wave of vertigo hit her. “My head…when I was knocked back into that building, I thought that I had sustained a concussion.”

“You knew? Why didn’t you…why didn’t you heal it?”

Rarity turned her head to grin at the pegasus. “Simple: your injuries were more severe than mine were. ‘Treat those that need it more than you first’, that is one of the fundamental rules that Uldyui taught us. I stick by that rule.”

“…Thou must move. It is no longer safe here. If thou feel that this mage is worth keeping, take her with thee and flee this place, lest thou risk another assault…”
The white mage gasped and held her head more tightly. “Rarity? What’s wrong?”

Only hesitating for a second, Rarity replied, “We must leave, now.”

“What? What about your injuries?”

The unicorn stood up and magicked all of her supplies onto her back. “We have no time. If we stay here, they will return soon enough.” She levitated her stave over to her and held out Fluttershy’s wand. “If we stick together, we have more of a chance of survival. We may also find your friends along the way.”

“But…” Fluttershy stopped, seeing the look in Rarity’s eyes. She was strong, maybe pretending to be so that she wouldn’t worry, but it left her without any words of protest. Swallowing hard, the black mage took the wand from the pony’s magic and nodded her understanding. “Alright. Let’s go.”

The two ponies left the building, and began making their way westward, following the path leading from the village.

“…If thou wishest to unlock my power, thou must return to the place from whence I came to be. Follow this path and make for the western ocean. A ship awaits thee at one of the cities along the coast, but first thou must venture into a dungeon of ice…”
Rarity heard each word in her head, keeping silent beside her friend as they walked. It rattled her skull slightly to listen to the ancient voice, making her concussion all the more noticeable. She nodded to herself in understanding and looked across at the pegasus. “If you don’t mind my asking, what was your village called?”

“Ostheim…it was where I grew up,” the pony replied, rather wistfully. “My father was the one who taught me black magic. He was a mage himself you see, and he was the protector of the village…”

The unicorn caught side of the tears at Fluttershy’s eyes as the sun’s rays glinted off the droplets. “I take it…he didn’t make it…”

Fluttershy shook her head. “He died years ago…along with my mother. Dad always said that I would take his place as the protector of Ostheim…but look at it now.” She sniffed miserably; surprised that she hadn’t started to cry at the memory.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-”

“It’s alright. My father wouldn’t want me to be sad that he died. He wasn’t killed, or murdered. He…he lived his life, and so did my mother…so…”

Rarity managed to smile at the strength in the little mare’s voice. “They both sound like strong parents.”

“Do…” Fluttershy bit her lip, hesitating. “do you have your parents?”

The unicorn hummed as the two kept walking, eventually shaking her head. “I never knew them. I was found as a foal by the Archmage of the White Mage guild. I don’t know who they are, or why I was left. The mages of Uldyui’s guild raised me and taught me their spells…though only a little.”

“I-I’m sorry…I shouldn’t have said that. It wasn’t my place.”

“No. It’s alright too. You told me what happened with your parents, so I shall do the same.” Rarity smiled as she recalled her early days in the guild. “As far as I knew it back then, the Archmage was my father. We were always together. He was so kind and caring, looking back on it now…I find myself wondering why he did it at all.

“I suppose he must have seen something in me. Or perhaps he wanted a daughter of his own, but…never met anyone. On my sixteenth birthday, he told me that he found me in the forest outside of the guild. That day, after thinking hard about all that he had done for me up until that point…I told him that I didn’t care. He was as much of a father to me as I could ever want, and I asked that he teach me to be a mage.” The unicorn wiped her eyes. “A few hours later, I was learning my first few spells.”

Fluttershy smiled over at the mare and nodded to show that she was listening. “He sounds like a very nice pony to me.”

“He was…”

Silence echoed around the two as they walked. Fluttershy held in a gasp when she understood what that simple response meant. Before she could tell Rarity not to continue, she said, “A year later…this year, we were attacked by the same creatures that destroyed your village. They…they killed all of my friends…all of my family…my teacher, my father…”

She collapsed to the ground and heard the sound of her stave hitting the ground as well. Fluttershy fell to her side instantly, holding the pony to herself. “They all died, I saw them all…burning…and…and I did nothing but run…” Sobs overtook her and tears ran down her cheeks and fell to the dirt. “White mages don’t run, they…they help those that are injured…the soul duty…of Uldyui’s mages.”

“Rarity, please stop. You…you aren’t to blame for what happened. You couldn’t have done anything.”

“HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?!” the white mage snapped, pushing the other pony away. She felt waves of racking sobs hit her, keeping her body close to the ground. “How do you know that I couldn’t have saved them? You weren’t there…you didn’t see what those beasts did…I was too afraid to help them…he told me to stay hidden and I’m ashamed to admit that I obeyed him!” Her throat was burning and dry, her chest heaved as she continued. Suddenly, Rarity stopped altogether and whispered, “I’m the only one left.”

Fluttershy gasped and held the mare more tightly. She searched her mind for something to say that would calm the distraught pony, and found it after a moment. “Your father would be proud of you. You saved me after all, and…and because you survived you can save more lives. You can teach more ponies to be like you…selfless and caring, determined. I don’t think your father would want you to be crying because of what he did to save you.”

She listened as the pony beneath her sniffed and wiped her nose. Rarity took several deep breaths, taking in what the pegasus said to her. The unicorn had no argument to Fluttershy’s speech. She was right, it would be inappropriate to lie here and cry when she knew he did it knowing every second how it would end for him.

“Thank you…” Rarity whispered to the dirt path. She tilted her head to the left to look into the pegasi’s eyes. “I’m sorry I yelled at you. You are right.” She let out a chuckle and wiped her eyes again. “I must look like a complete mess now, all covered in dirt and tears.”

The timid pony shook her head with a soft smile. “There’s nothing to apologize for…and you look fine too, Rarity. Let me help you.” She brought her hooves up to fix the mare’s face and mane and smiled happily when she finished. “There…just as I remember it.”

The white mage chuckled gently. “Thank you.”

“You’re quite welcome, Rarity.”

Rarity suddenly stood, defensive stance taken and protect cast over both of them. Bombs hit the shield and bounced off, exploding a few feet from the two mares as Fluttershy turned to where Rarity had been facing. The blast tapped the protective cocoon as little ripples formed where the explosion reached. Goblins ran forward as the timid pegasus looked on, beginning to cast a ball of water from her wand.

The white mage broke some rocks free of the earth and cast them straight into the face of one of the creatures. He fell back and dropped the grenade he was about to throw. Rarity could see that the goblins were flanked by five bite bugs. The flying beetles crashed into the shield and bit at its defenses, larger cracks forming in the barrier. Rarity felt her magic fade as she closed one eye to try and repair the damaged spell.

“Water!” Fluttershy shouted, as her wand tilted toward the group of bite bugs. It enveloped them and the bugs dropped from the air, falling to the ground in a heap. The two goblins had since recovered from the onslaught and readied a bomb to throw.

Rarity’s teeth clenched as she struggled to keep her barrier up. No time to cast another protect. Stoneskin! She turned to Fluttershy and focused her magic on the pegasus. Her stave glowed with a dim purple, a layer of rock surrounding Fluttershy as the bombs flew at the two mages.

The timid pony had barely enough time to turn her head to Rarity as she saw her fly back from the blast of the grenade. The protective barrier shattered around her, but the stoneskin spell held together. Fluttershy sucked in a terrified breath as she saw Rarity fall to the ground limply. She ground her teeth together and spun to face her opponents. “No one…NO one hurts my friends and GETS AWAY WITH IT!” Her eyes narrowed and her wand glowed a deep red. “Solar flare!”

Rarity opened her eyes long enough to see the field in front of Fluttershy being enveloped in a red and white light. She felt the heat radiating off of the blast of energy that the pegasi’s attack had created. All that remained once the light dimmed was charred grass and scorched goblin.

She felt Fluttershy running over to her as sensation returned to her body. Rarity smiled at the pegasus as she leaned down to inspect what injuries she had sustained. “What was that?”

“Stay still,” Fluttershy replied, feeling for any broken bones or other serious injuries. Fluttershy feared what the blast had done to her skull, having already had a concussion from the last battle.

The white mage allowed her to make sure that nothing was out of place. “That was amazing, Fluttershy; truly a magnificent show of force.”

“It…it was my…limit break,” Fluttershy answered timidly, finding no serious injuries on the unicorn. “I-I rarely use it, because it’s so…so destructive…but when I saw you there…lying helplessly again…I lost it.” She saw Rarity smile and chuckle at the concern she felt for her. Fluttershy smiled back softly. “You have to stop protecting just me. You’ll get yourself killed.”

“It’s what white mages do, darling. They…they protect the ones they care about…above their own well-being. You cannot ask me to forsake what I have known since I was a little foal.” Rarity struggled against Fluttershy and her own weariness as she fought to sit up straight. “Now. Now I can heal myself.” The black mage watched carefully as Rarity brought the pommel of her stave down upon the ground and felt a peaceful aura surround her. “Uldyui’s Light, protect and watch over me!”

“You took the hit so you could power up your own limit break?” Fluttershy asked in shock as she watched both of their injuries glow blue and seal themselves.

A nod was Rarity’s answer. “I trusted you to finish the job, but I never expected such a…dramatic reaction from you, my dear. You truly are full of surprises, hmm?” Rarity tittered with amusement as she watched Fluttershy’s cheeks turn pink. “Quite the becoming colour you have developing on your cheeks, darling.”

“Please…please warn me when you do that again, at least.” The unicorn’s breath caught in her throat as she heard Fluttershy’s reply and saw her expression. Rarity’s sapphire eyes narrowed after a moment, and she nodded. She rose to her hooves and Fluttershy rose as well.

“Well…shall we continue on in the direction from before we were so rudely interrupted by those cretins?” the white mage asked as they resumed their quick pace along the path.

“I suppose. How do you…stay in such a good mood? I-I mean…you sound like those goblins only interrupted us from a conversation or a meal to complain to us about something.” Fluttershy lowered her gaze away from the mare beside her, regretting asking that question now.

Such a lovely mare, to worry about me so. “It’s just how I am, I suppose. I’m a bit of an optimist, even though it may seem like I fuss over things so much.” She chuckled into a fore hoof. “I try to look on the brighter side of things.”

“…Thou hast good tact when faced with perilous odds…I am not surprised that Uldyui hath chosen thee as the world’s saviour. Though thou art not powerful enough as of yet…to face that which awaits thee soon. I shall lend thee some of mine power to aid thee in the coming battle…”
“Rarity? Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked, breaking the unicorn from her other conversation.

“Oh! Why yes, I am. My apologies, Fluttershy, I merely drifted off.”

Fluttershy gave her an appraising stare. It’s that same look as before…that strained look Rarity had when we walked out of the building. She turned her head away from Rarity and watched the treeline to her left, in case any new threats dared to show themselves. Does she know what’s going on?

Author's Note

Good evening,

So sorry about the delay, I forgot that this was meant to be updated today. So here is chapter 2. I love the emotion presented in this chapter about Rarity's family. It makes me tear up every time I read about what happened to her family and how she's coping with it.

Hopefully chapter three will be ready next Saturday, but I'll just let you readers know ahead of time that it may be delayed. I am not positive either way, but just so you're aware.

Thank you and happy reading. Ta ta!