After a good night’s rest, Rarity stretched her limbs as she headed out towards one of the many castle balconies. Last night was a long one and not all of her legs had entirely woken up just yet. Despite her sluggish movements, she was able to arrive at the balcony in a time manner, just in time to see the beautiful sunrise. It was a new day, the first one in a new chapter of her life.

Sighing, she continued to watch the sun rise as she waited for the others to wake. Her hooves rested lazily over the edge of the balcony as an Alicorn approached her from behind. She didn’t need to guess who it was, this was her castle after all. Rarity turned her head back towards the mare and smiled, “Good morning Twilight.”

Twilight yawned with a stretch. Seemed like she had a rough night too, “Good morning Rarity… You’re up early.”

She nodded in response, stating in a matter-of-fact tone, “It’s a habit of mine. While out in the wild, we had to be alert at all times. It has kept us alive for a long time.”

“I can imagine.”

Rubbing her eyes, she looked around the balcony, as if expecting somepony to be with her. That thought was confirmed when she asked the slightly taller nightmare pony, “Hey, where’s the rest of your family? Still asleep?”

Rarity nodded, turning towards her friend with a mischievous look on her face, “Indeed, my poor deer Spikey-wikey was exhausted last night. I couldn’t bear to wake him just yet, so I let him sleep.”

That mischievous grin turned to one of annoyance as she brought up her daughter, “And my daughter. Well, she went to bed way too late because of all the books you gave her.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow at her friend, a little confused by the hybrid’s actions, “Late? But I didn’t give her that many books to read, just enough to help her get to sleep.”

“She went to sleep alright Darling, in a fort made of books.”

The Alicorn chuckled nervously as she made her way for the door leading back into the castle, “Right… Anyway, I’m going to go get something for breakfast, want to come with me?”

Now it was Rarity’s turn to raise an eyebrow, a little befuddled. She hadn’t seen anypony else around the castle, so that would mean that either Twilight had learned how to cook since they last met up, or they’d be going out to eat. Following her in, she asked, “Twilight, you are a Princess here in Ponyville, don’t you have any servants to help you around the castle?”

Twilight smiled, shaking her head, “Nope… I prefer to do everything myself, just like I always have.”

At least Twilight had the power to actually do all the daily chores around here by herself, such is the power of an Alicorn. Rarity admitted that Twilight looked like she had really grown into her royal slippers while being all alone for the last hundred years. It was a good thing too, she can’t stay the young naive princess forever. It was starting to make Rarity a little self conscious about her own development since she left ponyville with spike all those years ago.

How much had she grown? Sure, she had gained plenty of survival skills and learn a lot about her dark powers, but outside that, what does she have to show for it? A beautiful daughter, that is what! Even after all this time in the wilderness and other places she could hardly recall, her daughter was a fine lady, one that she hoped would fit into pony society far better than she could.

Soon, Rarity found herself walking through the streets of Ponyville with Twilight in tow. She had nearly forgotten what they came here for, things were so different, so new to her. Figures, that is what happens when you come back to a town after a hundred years, things are bound to change, “Wow! I hardly recognize this place. Has it really been a hundred years?”

Twilight chuckled as she followed the taller pony. She expected this sort of reaction from her friend, it was only natural, “Well, time has a way of changing things Rarity. Reminds me a bit of Luna when she had returned. To her, a thousand years had passed. She was in a whole new world when we first met her.”

“Indeed…”

Rarity paused, thinking over Twilight’s analogy. The logic in that was sound, as Twilight’s logic usually is. She smiled, looking at her companion with an inquisitive expression on her face, “So, what is first on today's list, Twilight?”

“Simple, get something to eat with the morning coffee. Maybe a doughnut, or a muffin.”

That sounded about right. She’d probably have something similar. Perhaps she’s have Pinkie’s special to- She paused. Right, Pinkie Pie. She was certainly long gone by now. That old mare had her way with pastries and parties. She sighed, thinking aloud, “I wonder if Sugar cube corner is still open…”

As Twilight was responding to Rarity, somepony had their sights set on the dark pony. The figure grinned as they sat their binoculars down, taking the time to load a strange cylindrical object with its explosive ordnance. Lighting up their sights and taking aim, they fired at the Nightmare pony. A rocket flew there the air, arcing upward as it neared its target and exploded. There was a cacophony of chaos as the rocket unleashed it payload of confetti, balloons and party hats.

This sudden explosion of sights and sounds startled the mares, Rarity having actually jumped back in shock. The guffawing of a mare caught their attention. Out of instinct, Rarity scolded the pony, “That wasn’t funny Pinkie!”

“I’m flattered you confused me with my great-great grandmare Pinkie pie, but i’m not her.”

A milky white pegasus flew out of her hiding place to meet them. There were a few things that Rarity had quickly noticed about the strange mare. That familiar poofy hair, three balloons as her cutiemark, if it weren’t for the differing color scheme, she honestly would have confused her with her friend. She was definitely related to Pinkie, no doubt about it. The mare gave them a wide grin as she stowed away her party launcher, “I am Super Surprise, the great and powerful party planner of Ponyville!”

Great and powerful, huh? If it weren’t for the goofy grin and flourish she added to that statement,it could have been believable. Pinkie Pie did have her strange talents… As if to confirm her beliefs, Rarity asked, “She looks so much like… Is she?”

Despite the lack of a finished sentence, Twilight understood what she was going for and nodded, “Yep, she is Pinkie’s descendant alright.”

She gulped, having noticed just how much of an impact this scare had on them, “Hey Rarity… If you don’t mind, can you be a dear and bring back the day’s sky? It’s looking a little… Strange.”

And indeed it was. One could see the sun and the moon high in the sky, having been moved out of place by the Nightmare pony’s fright. Seems that she didn’t have a complete grasp of her powers after all. Her cry called out to the dark side of the moon and drew it towards her, as strange as that is, “Oh! I’m so sorry Twilight, I don’t know how I lost control like that…”

Twilight chuckled nervously as Rarity attempted to return the moon to it’s rightful place, “It’s okay Rarity. These things happen. If Celestia asks, I’ll blame Discord.”

She’ll believe that, right? After all, it is Discord. Super nearly gave Rarity another surprise as she exclaimed, perhaps a little too closely to her ear, “Wow, you can control the moon too?”

“Hmmm… Looks like your aim is off though.”

If the shout didn’t surprise her now, what Super Surprise did next certainly did. She had bent Rarity over, pointing her at the sky as if she were some sort of gun or crossbow. Actually, it was more like a shotgun, as she had cocked Rarity’s neck and prepared to fire. She even made a sound to accompany it, “Here, let me help, i’m really good at aiming!”

Just how the smaller mare was able to carry and point the much larger and heavier nightmare pony was beyond both Twilight and Rarity. Once the moon was in it’s proper place in the sky, far out of sight, Super Surprise had straightened up Rarity, leaving her vary confused as the pegasus crossed her hooves, satisfied with her work, “There, all better.”

When Rarity had recovered from the shock of these events, Super Surprise had presented them with a bag full of muffins, “Now that that is done, here are those coffee-time muffins you wanted! Free of charge, consider it welcome to Ponyville gift.”

She gave a wink to the elder mare as she handed them off, “I hope your husband and daughter enjoy them just as much as I did baking them.”

Before Rarity could even thank her, the strange mare had pulled out a grappling hook and soared off with it, “Have a nice day Princess, Aunty Rarity~”

“Say hi to Spike and Sparity for me!”

Bewildered, Rarity turned and asked her friend, “Did I ever mention my family to her?”

Twilight grinned, “Nope.”

“Then how did she-”

Twilight shook her head, laughing, “It’s a surprise?”

Rarity sighed, “Yeah, a surprise…”

She had one last question on her mind about the strange mare. Hoping Twilight had an answer, she asked, “Why did she use a grappling hook if she could fly?”

Twilight shrugged, “That’s Surprise for ya, always a surprise.”

While the two of them went to find a place to settle down and eat their muffins, Twilight engaged Rarity in some friendly banter, “So, your Daughter’s name is Sparity?”

Rarity raised an eyebrow at the Alicorn, “Didn’t I mention that before?”

“Nope, not in this medium anyway.”

Twilight clamped a hoof over her mouth, realizing her mistake. It happened again. Thankfully, Rarity seemed oblivious to her last comment, “If I had to hazard a guess, Spike was the one who picked out the name?”

There was a nodd of confirmation, “I figured that it would only be fair, as I had already given her everything else.”

Twilight smirked, playfully punching Rarity on the shoulder, “That’s sweet of you. As silly as they can be sometimes, he really enjoys naming things.”

The Alicorn’s ears twitched briefly before she frantically dug a hole, much to the surprise of Rarity.

“Dig a hole!”

That shout was all the warning Rarity had before a streak of rainbow flew through the streets of Ponyville, narrowly missing Twilight. Suddenly, it pulled 180 mid air and slammed hard into the nightmare Pony. It knocked the wind out of her, but she’d be fine. Twilight gasped as she jumped out of her hole, a look of concern adorned her muzzle as she looked between her fallen friend and her assailant, “How many times do I have to tell you not to fly through the town at such a high speed?”

The pegasus looking pony chuckled as she touched down, “It’s not my fault she didn’t use ‘Dig’ to avoid me.”

Twilight glared at her, “She doesn’t know that move yet.”

Rarity grunted softly as she got to her hooves, “It’s alright Twilight. A pony of my level isn’t so easily defeated… Who is she anyway?”

The pegasus gave her a smug grin as she stated something that would seem obvious to the average pony that lived here, “You must be new here. That would explain why you couldn’t dodge my sick moves.”

The mare lifted up her goggles, giving Rarity a good view of her strange eyes. They were sort of a cross between yellow and red, almost pink. It was a little mesmerizing to look at, much to the pegasus’ enjoyment. The twig in her mouth suggested she had quite an attitude, and indeed, she did. The mare grinned, flaring her wings in a showboaty fashion, “The name’s Aerial Ace, best stunt flyer in the Ponyville Kingdom.”

Aerial Ace sounded about right. Looking closely, her tri-color mane and tail seemed almost as exotic as her eyes. Those curves, her contours, she had the body of an athlete as well as a model! Already, thoughts about a new fashion line swirled in Rarity’s mind as she envisioned the pegasus showing off dresses and other fashionable accessories as she gracefully, albeit hastily flew by potential customers in Ponyville. She wondered if Ace would consider modeling for her, however, that would need to be put off to the side for now, she hasn’t even set up her business yet and here she was fantasizing about what sort of clothes she’d create next. Truly, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Suddenly, Aerial stood in front of Rarity, hoof held out offering her a potion of some kind, “Here, take this potion. I bought it from a zebra alchemist, it’s pretty good stuff.”

Accepting it, Rarity asked her, “Is it a healing potion?”

She grinned, nodding in affirmation. Rarity was impressed, momentarily, “Do you always carry one on you? Looks like somepony cares about safety after all.”

Aerial ace plucked the twig out of her mouth and gave her a wide grin, “Actually, those are for the ponies I bump into.”

That statement sent alarm bells off in Rarity’s head, “Wait, how many ponies have you crashed into?”

Ace returned the twig as she lowered her goggles once more. It would appear she was getting ready for take off, “Sorry baby, lost count.”

Aerial Ace showed a remarkable acceleration rate as she peeled out, already gone in a proverbial flash of light. Rarity didn’t understand what Ace had said upon take off as she was too fixated on Ace calling her baby. That irked her.

“Tsubame Gaeshi! Everypony dig a hole!”

The latter part she was able to actually understand. No doubt Ace was going to need more potions by the end of the day. In an attempt to clear her mind, she just laughed, “Just like Rainbow Dash… I’m sure she’d be proud.”

It had been so long since she heard Twilight that she started to wonder what she had been doing. Turns out, she was busy fixing the hole she had dug just recently, only taking a break momentarily to address Rarity’s comment, “Actually, she isn’t Rainbow’s descendant.”

That statement made Rarity’s jaw hit the ground harder than when she was taken out by Aerial Ace, “What?”

Twilight grinned, nearly done with her work, “Yeah. She’s actually Spitfire, Soarin, Daring and Ahuizotl’s descendent.”

Well, at least she had a good pedigree, but who was that last one? It was a name she didn’t recognize, but it probably wasn’t all that important anyway, so she dropped it. Instead, she focused on Rainbow Dash, “So, who is Rainbow’s Descendent?”

Twilight deadpanned, “Rarity, you were there the day she died, remember?”

They stood in silence for a few brief moments as the nightmare pony tried to remember more about the incident, and her friend.

“Filly fooler?”

“Yes.”

“Ok.”

“...”

“....”

“...”

Seeking to dispel the awkward silence between them, Twilight offered a suggestion, “H-hey! Let’s go buy some apples.”

It didn’t take them long to reach their next destination with a nervous Twilight leading the way. They were now in the market district, where various vendors awaited curious ponies to buy their wares. They approached an apple stand, where many apples of different kinds were being shown off, “Here we are, the Apple stand.”

Rarity beamed, “Is Sweet Apple Acres still in business?”

Twilight nodded, grinning ear to ear, “Yep, rain or shine, the Apple family will always be there.”

Stepping up to the stand, the Alicorn looked at their selection for the day, “Let’s see…”

The pony at the stand was a dark mare, her dark purple mane and hat covering most of her features as she didn’t look the two in the eye, but she tried to be friendly, “”W-welcome to our little apple stand P-princess… What can I get y-you?”

Rarity eyed the labels of the apple curiously, “This is quite a selection. When did they start selling all of these different kinds of apples?”

Twilight smiled, always willing to impart knowledge unto those that asked for it, “A while back the owner of Sweet Apple Acres decided to expand their range of products by planting new trees on their property. The apples they bore were named after the ponies ancestors.”

Rarity set the apple she was admiring down a moment to look at her friend, eyebrow raised in confusion, “Wait… Weren’t the Apples named after different types of apples anyway?”

Rarity’s statement caught Twilight off guard, “Honestly, I never really paid that much attention to all their names and products. I blame the reunion...”

Turning back to the vendor, Twilight ordered her apples, “I’ll take five apples of each kind you have today.”

The mare behind the counter shakily counted out the number of apples, fifteen in total and held out the bag to her. For once, Rarity was able to get a good look at the mare’s face. Her eyes were quite striking. A wonderful shade of light blue. She couldn’t quite place a hoof on where she saw them before, but those eyes were familiar to her.

“H-here are your apples, Princess… I hope y-you’ll enjoy them.”

The way the mare was staring at Rarity was beginning to make her uncomfortable. She leaned over and whispered to Twilight, “Is she scared of me?”

Twilight shrugged, lifting the bag of apples in her magical grasp, “Maybe, but I doubt it’s because of you being a nightmare. She’s usually like this around all new ponies.”

She smiled, looking back at the mare behind the counter, “Hey Eden, I would like to introduce you to my old friend Rarity. Actually, she was also your great-great grandmare’s friend too.”

The mare blinked in surprise, her mood brightening a bit, “Y-you mean she isn’t dead? Oh my… I’m so sorry about how I acted. I’m Apple Eden, nice to meet you!”

Rarity asked, “What does she mean by ‘not dead’?”

Twilight’s smile devolved into a nervous grin as she gave Rarity an answer, “She sees things. Things that most ponies can’t.”

“I see…”

As the two ponies left the stand behind, apples in tow, Rarity commented on the mare, “She seems like an earth pony version of Fluttershy.”

“Honestly, you’d be right in that regard, just don’t underestimate her. While she may seem like Fluttershy on the surface…”

Twilight motioned for Rarity to look again. Doing so, she saw a sight she hadn’t expected. Apple Eden had just hoisted up the whole stand to help a pony retrieve their lost money after it had rolled around on the ground. The sight alone terrified her.

“She can give even Big Mac a run for his money.”

Rarity hastily walked away, trying to get the thought of that monstrous strength out of her mind. Soon after, they had arrived at the center of town, finally able to relax and not run into and strange ponies. Rarity sighed, wanting to vent her turbulent thoughts. A lot has happened to day, and it’s not even noon yet.

“This is really strange…”

Twilight paused, looking at her best friend, “What is strange?”

Rarity closed her eyes as she looked down at the ground, “I’m a nightmare pony, a monster, and yet… No pony seems to be afraid of me at all.”

Twilight reach out and put a hoof on her friend's shoulder reassuringly, “That’s because this is Ponyville. My Kingdom… Meeting other species is normal around here, what with everypony coming to learn about friendship and togetherness.”

She beamed, “Forgiveness and second chances are our thing. Ponyville has become a real role-model kind of town for friendship. It’s my duty as the Princess of Friendship to spread this magic all across the land.”

She really has grown up to be a fine princess. Looking around, Rarity saw the fruits of her friends labor. Dragons, griffons, diamond dogs. They were all there, singing together, living together. It was almost too good to be true. But it was true. And thank Celestia it was. They smiled, finally beginning to enjoy their day as they sat and ate apples together.

Once that was finished, Twilight stood up and stated, “I think we’re done here, let’s head back to the castle.”

Rarity nodded in agreement. Spike and Sparity were probably up by now, and she wondered what they were going to do with their day, “Those apples tasted pretty good. I was so hungry, I could probably have eaten a whole orchard.”

“Since when did you start talking like Spike?”

Rarity laughed, “Since when did you get a sense of humor?”

Twilight snorted, “About ninety seven years ago.”

They shared a good laugh as they passed an old familiar tree. Stopping, Rarity read the sign on the door. Indeed, this place was familiar, “Golden Oaks library? Hmmm… I think I recall the day we helped rebuild-er… Regrow it? Tree houses have always confused me.”

Twilight smiled, pointing up at the tree’s canopy above, “Yeah… It’s grown quite nicely. I may have my castle now, but this town, it needed it’s library.”

Rarity looked between Twilight and the sign, a small smirk forming on her lips, “So… I wonder who the new librarian is. Last time I was here, Spike was the one taking care of things while you were busy with your princess duties.”

Twilight sighed, “Well, that would be my son… He lives here, mostly because he loves books as much as did when I was his age.”

She shrugged turning away from the ‘On Business’ sign on the door, “It’s a shame he isn’t home right now. I would have loved to introduce you to him.”

“A son?”

Rarity beamed, getting closer to the Alicorn, “Does that mean you have a coltfriend now?”

Now it was Rarity’s turn to playfully punch Twilight, teasing, “You were still single when I died, don’t tell me it took you this long to find a lover?”

Twilight started to blush, looking away in embarrassment, “Come on Rarity, i’m not that much of a hopeless romantic.”

Rarity disrespected Twilight’s personal bubble by getting in her face, something she usually does when she hears some juicy gossip. It’s been a long time coming, but now she can finally hear about Twilight’s exploits in romance. Sadly, she wouldn’t hear any now, even ask she asked the hotly blushing mare, “So, who is the lucky stallion?”

Tears were welling up in Twilight’s eyes as she tried to shy away from the taller mare, “I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you.”

“Why not dear?”

And now, a heart wrenching tale, written by the Princess of Friendship! It wasn’t easy for Twilight to explain all this, but thankfully she was with an understanding friend.

“Rarity, I’m a princess, the waifu of so many ponies in equestria and beyond. They love and adore me too much to accept any ship I am sailed on. I am grounded. Anchored by the fact that they would hate my lover, like they hated Flash Sentry.”

She gritted her teeth, tears filling up her shut eyes, threatening to overflow.

“We had to go our separate ways. It was either that or watch him cave under the pressure my subjects would put him through. I didn’t want that for him. I don’t want to make the same mistake again, to hurt another pony with my love.”

The dam that was her eyelids started to crack, salty tears trickling down her cheeks like a small stream does the earth.

“If they knew who he was, they would condemn him. Say we shouldn’t be together… They would taunt him, insult him… I love him Rarity, I love him with all of my heart, but I don’t want that for him. The pain…”

Rarity pulled the Alicorn close as the dam broke. She didn’t know anything about the whole ‘waifu’ term, but she did know that this had a significant impact on her best friend. tears flowed freely down Twilight’s muzzle as she cried out, “Why? Why is it so wrong for me, a princess, to love somepony? I just want to love somepony and be me… I just want to love.”

There were a few observers around them, but Rarity made sure that Twilight would have the time she needed to calm down. She deserved better, but that was all that could be afforded for now.

Author's Note

Alternate Title: Meet the new mane 6 Part 1

Next time on A Future Worth Fighting For:

"I've read this book a hundred times, and I still can't make heads or tails of it."

"They have found the romance novels."

"Don't worry, this cake is not a lie."

"I'd prefer if you didn't call me Prince. It makes me sound like i'm a snobbish noble..."

"Would you please get rid of that 'I ship it' face? It's really creepy!"