Sidewinders and Shadows

Chapters

Prologue - A Mare's Legacy
Setting the Board
A Moment to Think

Prologue - A Mare's Legacy

Trixie sighed, the smooth quill slipping out of her magical grasp and clicking down onto the table. A setting sun bathed the room in a fiery glow as a tired mare stretched herself out. She stared at the thin book that lay before her and brushed her mane back as she inspected her untitled work. When she flipped the book open, the words flowed by in page after page of sweeping text, eventually coming to an abrupt halt. With a small smile, she ran a hoof over the binding, thick leather firm to the hoof and warm from laying in the sun that fell on it while it rested on the desk. Trixie recalled the time she had spent researching bookmaking. The process took days, starting with an unscheduled trip to Canterlot and ending with the arduous task of binding a book together, a deceptively simple task that had cramped Trixie’s hooves and had resulted in several books being burned for their immense lack of quality. Trixie can master whatever she pleases, no matter the time required. She glanced around the somewhat dingy shack, taking in the noticeably stained walls and the dulled paint hiding behind weeks of inattention. With a huff, she fed a small stream of power to her horn, recasting the sun’s amber light in her horn’s lilac and setting various cleaning tools scattered about into motion, from brooms and mops to dusters and sponges. Slowly, layer after layer of built up dust and grime fell away until the walls gleamed with a “brand-new” shine. It’s at least possible to leave the place looking like a well-to-do abandoned shack.

Trixie opened a small cupboard off in the corner of the room, sweeping out the cobwebs and scouring away the lack of cleaning. Inside, her eyes traveled across everything stored there, eventually deciding on a few firmly sealed jars containing small amounts of flowers and vegetables.

“For a last meal, it’s not really that extravagant. Trixie will bear with it, though, given that she cannot truly afford to go out with a culinary bang.” After the somewhat bland meal, interlaced with a small amount of grit that somehow managed to worm its way into the jars despite them being supposedly airtight, Trixie paced over to her bed, hooves rapping against the hardwood clock ticking away her time left there with every step.

With the lithe grace of a snake, Trixie slipped out of her bed. Her horn ignited, bringing in a cold light that guided her way over to the thin book. Magic coaxed it into motion, bringing it to a rest in her saddlebags already decently stocked with a few supplies. Wooden floor turned into dirt under her hooves as she set out, the brisk night air filling her lungs and nostrils with the sweet scent of moongrass. Giving a single glance back toward what had served as her temporary home, Trixie slithered off into the night, leaving naught but a few hoofprints as memoir of her passing. As the air glazed over her coat, Trixie’s horn glowed a strange, deep blue and runes crawled and twisted through the air around her and the book. Slowly, the original ink inside slipped around and picked up ancient magic—illusions and incantations of ages past that would have done the world good to stay there.

Up in the distance, the Ponyville library lay dark, the lights of a long night’s study hushed by the deepest part of the early morning darkness. The immense structure sighed slightly with every twitch of the breeze, leaves rustling ever so slightly and the occasional shift of an owl in the darkness. With a casual step and a shift into subtlety, Trixie approached the darkened tree, cloaked by the new moon and some of her own illusionary magic. The only breath on the landscape came when the book softly fell to the ground and kicked up a tiny bit of dust in front of the door, plainly in sight of anyone opening it come sunrise.

The most important part of her plan now complete, Trixie sauntered off into the center of Ponyville, remembering how easily she humiliated all three of the ponies that decided to try their hand at challenging her. She paused momentarily when she remembered Twilight Sparkle, and how the dastardly mare passed herself off as completely unextraordinary, only to somehow defeat that Ursa Minor! How does she not show off her magic to the world? It’s clearly worth it, based on how the town reacted to that display. Either way, Trixie saved that book just for her. Trixie thinks that she’s going to enjoy reading it very much. A grin grew across her face as she continued her visit.

Trixie briefly stopped when she approached the town square, stars silently twinkling above and offering the dim shades of gray definition that barely glinted off the central fountain, looking directly at the spot where she trumped those other ponies. Fond memories, it seemed, did little for the mare. She continued on her path, trotting briskly through the rest of Ponyville. When she reached the edge of the Everfree Forest, Trixie gave one last look back at the Equestria that she had scavenged a living in for her entire adult life. It deserves what I’ve set loose in it. With a brief, disapproving snort, the Great and Powerful Trixie galloped off into the depths of the Everfree, forever lost to pony eyes.

With a small, contented sigh, Rarity opened her eyes to the very dull red of a rising sun. The barest hints of dawn’s stirring serenade crowed their way into the bedroom, growing in noise as the chamber magnified their echoes. “Oh dear, it’s rather early. Well, best to get a good start! I’ve been needing to get some gem hunting done, and early is an excellent time to start. Perhaps Spike will help me out again...” With a mind toward gemstones and dragons, Rarity peeled herself out of bed and fell into habit. She took a soft brush and plucked away a few of the more damaged bristles, remarking that she would most likely need a new one soon. With a few tugs and a gentle coaxing from the ubiquitous instrument, a gently curled violet mane tumbled down into perfect position and the small bits of matting in her coat slipped into a smooth sheen. Trotting downstairs, Rarity briefly considered her options for breakfast and decided on a simple fruit salad of grapes and honeydew.

She settled down to eat, carefully popping grapes into her mouth and letting the thinly sweet juice coat every bit of her tongue. Taking a piece of honeydew, she bit off a small bit and began to chew, letting herself indulge in the fruit after yesterday’s hard work.

After dabbing the last of the juices from her muzzle, Rarity cleaned up the small amount of mess she had made in the kitchen, carefully stowing her dishes away and nearly hearing the gleam of spotless countertops. She eased her saddlebags onto her back, carefully strapping them up as to take the weight of a very full sack of gems. Giving herself one final glance to ensure her presentability, Rarity trotted out the door and into a steadily brightening day.

With a warm sun easy and low in the sky, Rarity caught eye of the millions of little droplets of dew on the grass, glinting and gleaming with every turn of the head. As she entered the town square proper, she gave a kind wave to Applejack, who happened to be setting her cart up a fair bit earlier than usual. The farmer simply nodded in return, and Rarity continued clacking along the cobblestone pathways curving toward the library. The relative silence let her mind wander toward the sky, admiring the small tufts of delightfully puffy clouds lazily drifting to a halt as pegasi moved them into position.

When Rarity finally arrived at the library, she nearly gave a firm knock at the door before catching eye of a small note left on the handle: “Out to Canterlot on royal dragon business. Signed, Spike. Oh, well I may as well say hello to Twilight while I’m here.” Just before she went inside, a brown sheen caught in the corner of her vision. Taking a closer peek, Rarity realized that it was a small book. Taking it into her saddlebags, she finally opened the door and walked inside.

Ten minutes later, Rarity walked right back out of the library, the strange book still in her bags. Twilight slept heavily, and apparently would not be able to take the book until she woke up later on. Oh well, Rarity mused, I suppose that I could read the thing. It’s not very long and I could always use a bit more refinement. She stepped out and back into a lazy town just starting to wake up. After a moment of consideration, it occurred to her to pay a visit to Pinkie Pie. After all, when you lose a bet and promise to bake cookies with the mare, waiting for extended periods of time can quickly result in a pair of blue eyes watching your every move.

The door to Sugarcube Corner swung open with a small ring, tinkling around the shop and alerting a very chipper pink pony that waited upstairs on her day off. Before Mrs. Cake could say anything to the young mare that had entered, a blur of bouncy, pink energy practically teleported downstairs. Pinkie Pie smiled wide, jumping forward and pulling Rarity into a warm hug.

“Rarity! I was wondering when you’d show up! I mean, I was about to get up and go out and start looking for you to see if you wanted to bake those cookies today, but then I thought that you might be busy and that you might be coming tomorrow, but then you came walking in the door, and now you’re here!” By that point, Pinkie had let go of Rarity and started hopping happily toward the kitchen.

Mrs. Cake glanced uneasily toward Rarity, who still stood rooted to her spot directly in front of the door. She nodded back toward the kitchen. “You’re going to make sure that she keeps things in order, right?”

Rarity shook herself out of a minor daze. “Oh! Yes, of course. Although I’ll have to remember to never make a bet with that mare again...” Mr.s Cake offered a sage nod of agreement as Rarity moved toward the kitchen.

Upon her entrance, Rarity’s heart sank deep down. At least a dozen cookie pans lay empty and scattered about the room, and large bins full of various ingredients sat neatly on a low counter. Not to mention that the color scheme of the kitchen, while most definitely a good working environment for a baker, completely disagreed with everything she felt as elegant and noble in the world. A beaming Pinkie Pie stood in the center of it all. “Pinkie... we’re not going to fill all of these trays today, are we?” Rarity winced, offering a silent prayer to Celestia that Pinkie would say no.

The baker laughed, snorting along the way. “Of course we are, silly! It’s not like it takes much longer than making five, and that doesn’t take much longer than making just one. Well, unless you decide to make five DIFFERENT kinds of cookies, in which case it does take longer. But we’re only making one, so it’ll be over in no time at all!”

For some reason, Rarity strongly doubted that assertion. Even so, a bet was a bet, and she couldn’t attempt an escape. With a resigned sigh, Rarity pulled on a floury, slightly pink apron. No doubt from all of the red coloring she uses. As is befitting a lady, Rarity waited patiently, albeit uncomfortably, for Pinkie to give her instructions.

“Well,” Pinkie started, “since you have your magic and everything this should go really super-quick! First thing’s first, we’re going to need flour, and lots of it...”

Fifteen minutes of ingredients and mixing later, the dough sat ready in a bowl, smooth and off-white. Pinkie placed a bowl of cinnamon sugar on the counter, matching up to the other already there. “Okie dokie lokie, it’s time to get rollin’! First, you take a bit of dough.” Pinkie scooped a small clump of the gooey goodness out of her bowl. “Then, you roll it up into a nice little ball.” Using her hooves, she worked the dough around in circles over and over until it came together in a rough sphere. “And then you roll it in cinnamon sugar and flatten it on the pan!” In one smooth feat of motion, Pinkie rolled the ball into the bowl and it curved around, picking up a full coat of the sweet stuff and sliding back out and onto the pan. Once in place, she used her hoof to flatten it out a bit. “Easy peasy!” Just as Rarity lit up her horn and started scooping the dough up, Pinkie bopped it on the tip, stunning her for a bit and stopping the magic entirely. “No magic. Snickerdoodles have to be done the right way.” For a moment, Rarity saw a bit of fierce solemnity and a true love for her art. She smiled at the devotion, swallowed everything she knew about grooming, and picked up a bit of dough.

As the last tray slid into the oven, Rarity looked down at her hooves. Surprisingly, the dough hadn’t stuck to them nearly as much as she feared, but the cinnamon turned every bit of them a warm brown. Pinkie giggled in delight as she ate one of the first batch, which had cooled just enough to be safe to eat. After taking a short break to wash her hooves, Rarity took one of the treats for herself and took a bite. “Oh, Celestia...” She stared down at the cookie, examining every last bit of it to make absolutely sure that Pinkie had not altered them in any way. Rarity couldn’t help smiling, a soft comfort welling up inside her stomach. “It’s hard to not be excited all of the time, when these are the treats you make. I came in here thinking that it would be a very messy affair, and you’ve proved me wrong.” Pinkie hugged Rarity tightly.

“I knew you’d like it. Thanks so much for helping me out!” Her eyes brimmed with excitement and joy, glee practically dancing around in the cyan seas.

Rarity looked around at the treats, easily numbering in the hundreds. “So, I can take a few dozen of these home with me?” Pinkie nodded and fetched a bag, carefully stuffing it with two trays of the cookies.

As Rarity walked out of the kitchen, Pinkie gave her a wave. “Maybe we could make some more next month! I’m sure Mrs. Cake won’t mind if we let her sell some of these today.”

The unicorn silently agreed with her somewhat eccentric friend, sneaking another snickerdoodle before she exited the bakery.

Back at her home, she opened the front cover of the book and could barely believe what she saw. The words inside gleamed, carrying a light that nearly rivaled that of a perfectly cut flawless gem. As she read, she became more and more enthralled with every word that the book threw at her, poring over page after page of bright text. Just then, however, the flow of the text brought about its final conclusion:

The truest measure of a government’s power comes with the challenge of failure. Only by striking at the base of the tower can one see how strong it stands.

“What? Well, that’s certainly an interesting thought.” Just as Rarity moved to set the book aside, she caught a glimpse of the town hall in the window. Without her consent or desire, dark thoughts flooded her mind and rooted themselves deep in her head. If she had been staring at the book, she may have noticed a faint taint twisting its way out of the very pages of the book and into her mind. Temporarily seized by ideas only partially her own, Rarity summoned up her materials and began to sew.

Setting the Board

As she worked, Rarity hummed a little tune, a small number she thought up on the spot a few years back while making dresses. “Stitch by stitch...” With a flourish, she turned the fabric over and over in the air, the icy blue material flashing with a magical sheen and catching the sunlight in its translucent threads as she muttered some incantations she had read in the book’s rather useful appendix. As she finished, the material gave a short glow. Rarity smiled contentedly, letting her work flutter down onto a ponnequin—a rather excellent model for her purposes—enchanted specifically for the task. “Little by little, no need to rush this project. I have a very sizable amount of time to complete it.”

Just then, a knock came at the door to her boutique. With a quick swipe of magic, Rarity drew a thick curtain over her special project and trotted into the entryway. “Just a moment, darling!” After a quick second spent tidying up, Rarity answered the door. “Welcome to—oh, Rainbow Dash, such a pleasant surprise! What brings you here, perchance?”

With a brief flap of her wings, Rainbow hopped inside. Taking a brief, somewhat disinterested look around the currently clean shop, she turned to Rarity. “Well, let’s just say that I had a bit of a mishap with some of my flight gear.” A pair of tattered flight goggles came into view. “I was just wondering if you could patch them up, maybe even put a little flair in it. I gotta have pizazz when in the air, after all. As one of my pals likes to say, ‘Style is directly proportional to coolness.’” The smug smirk said it all.

Rarity gingerly swept the goggles into a blue aura, chuckling. “How very much like you. I think I will have something ready by tomorrow, at the earliest. Stop by then and maybe we can chat! Right now, however, I have a trip to make out into the market and a pony or two that I must visit.” The goggles settled on a workbench along with some scraps of rather durable fabric.

Rainbow Dash nodded and began waving her way out. “Okay, I guess I’ll be back tomorrow then. Thanks, Rares! And remember, coolness above fashion.” When the splashed color of the pegasus’ mane finally went out of sight, Rarity collected herself and prepped for her short shopping spree. She checked her workroom, ensuring that the rest of her projects had their notes up-to-date and that everything sat in its place. Walking back out into the main entry, she made sure to clear out some room in her saddlebags for everything from special threads to fruits and spices. After a quick glance to the book resting at her workstation, she picked it up as well and trotted out the door.

In the town square, the day lumbered to the trailing end of its peak, and the crowd lessened just enough to the point where it proved no challenge to navigate while also not drawing direct attention to a certain unicorn moving through it like water. Rarity swept herself from stall to stall, paying no mind to how many she visited. Bits exchanged hooves for peaches here, sage there, and numerous threads of varying value anywhere else—everything from simple silken threads to mage-spun cashmere ones. As her saddlebags slowly filled with substances ranging from pricy and rare to abundant and cheap and her coin purse slowly began to feel more and more like a sack of air, Rarity considered how she was to run her business while doing her more important work. Perhaps... Yes, that would work! It would work so, so very well...

When the sun sank down just before dinnertime, Rarity made her last stop of the day at a traveling blacksmith’s stall. His smile broadened when she approached. “Why, hello there miss! How can I help you today?”

With a devious grin, Rarity unleashed a barrage of jargon that could only be described as uncanny. After the stallion recovered from the sudden onslaught of phrases, he reached into his stock and pulled out two large, circular stones. “Here you go, miss, just as requested, although that’s pretty specific for a mare such as yourself. What could you need them for?”

Rarity simply turned a slight amount, showing her cutie mark to the stallion. “To cut gems, of course! Along with any other metals or materials I use to make my dresses and the occasional suit.” With a calculated swish of the tail and sway of the hip, she casually walked in the general direction of her boutique, the grinding stones in the pull of her light blue magic. They easily weighed a good twenty kilos each, and she felt the drag they caused as she trotted back to her home. Upon arriving there, she went about the house, stowing everything she bought and making a small list of the places she stored them. Then, she quickly made her way right back out and toward the library.

Twilight Sparkle answered the door to see Rarity, smiling beatifically and positively glowing with excitement. “Twilight! So good to see you awake and alert! I tried to come by this morning, but you were a little... unconscious.”

Grinning sheepishly, Twilight stepped aside to let Rarity in. “Well, let’s just say that I ended up staying awake a bit too late and my alarm got mysteriously destroyed while I was sleeping.” She grinned sheepishly and looked off to the side, suddenly very interested in the frame of the door. “Yeah, that’s it.” After smoothly sliding the door shut, Twilight picked up a duster and resumed her work cleaning the library shelves. “So, Rarity, how are you?”

Rarity carefully deposited her saddlebags in a small cubby made for that purpose. “I’ve been well, Twilight. I just recently completed a rather long shopping list.” She paced up toward Twilight, stopping within reach of the librarian. “As to why I’ve made a visit, which you’re no doubt wondering right now, I want you to teach me some advanced magic. Things such as teleportation and shielding, seeing as how it’s served you so much use already. I thought that a time may arise when we’re separated during some violent event. Given the tendency of disaster to follow us around, it would be excellent knowledge to have.”

Twilight momentarily stopped dusting to turn to her friend. “You know, Rarity, you didn’t have to explain it away. It’s only natural for a unicorn to want to know more magic. I’d be perfectly happy to teach you! In fact, we can have the first lesson right away!” With control and poise befitting an exceptionally powerful unicorn, Twilight drew objects and books from multiple places around the library, eventually ending with the amalgam of material stacked neatly on a desk.

Taking a deep breath, Twilight launched into an impromptu lecture on the inner workings of advanced magic. Rarity slid into a sitting position watched her friend talk about the material with such knowledge, such insight, that she became enraptured in a subject she previously might have regarded as somewhat dull. Needless to say, Twilight’s deep enthusiasm and natural pace pulled her into the teachings, showing her a world of magic that she never considered before. After perhaps half an hour of intense learning, Rarity slowly fed magic into her horn, approaching her growing understanding by aiming to observe the content directly.

Twilight took notice and smiled warmly, halting her lecture in order to witness the process of discovery that she herself undertook some years back when the Princess herself explained the nuances of advanced magical theory to her. Taking a seat next to Rarity, Twilight lit up her own horn and heightened their perceptions of the magic around them, proceeding to manipulate the currents and spin them around in intricate patterns. After considering the best way to explain the next portion, she continued the lesson. “All magic around us works like fine threads of spider silk drifting in a summer breeze. Unicorns can draw on that magic and weave the threads together to ensnare objects, lifting and moving them with barely any effort at all. The basic teachings usually skip out on the detail, instead using euphemisms that help children to harness their natural abilities without having to understand the concepts at work. However, advanced magic works in ways pertaining to these threads—understanding them can increase more than just precision and finesse; in-depth knowledge of magic can increase power and stability as well.

“Not only that, but those threads of magic allow pegasi to fly as well. Their wings catch hold of these threads, giving them a much more direct control of their velocity. Pegasi can come to a complete stop from immense speeds in a very small amount of time and vice versa. Furthermore, the threads can pull in any direction, giving pegasi a very small turn radius and allowing them to perform complex acrobatic feats while airborne. In all reality, this way of looking at magic can explain how more advanced spells work. For instance, weaving the threads into a fabric can create shields of varying shape and structure, although rounded shapes are preferred due to their ability to deflect rather than simply absorb. It’s much easier to make a spell or object change direction than to halt it completely, after all.” Rarity nodded, somewhat absentmindedly, as she played with the delicate little bits of magic stringing their way around the room. She noticed that the closer they got, the more they tended to lazily drift toward her horn, gathering on it in clumps and masses. She glanced over at Twilight, who simply watched. Rarity noticed that the threads on Twilight’s horn followed the spiral, coating it evenly and smoothly with gossamer ambient magic. With a silent sigh, Twilight darkened her horn and the magic slipped off it, returning to the soft currents swirling about the air. Rarity focused on her own horn, trying to straighten the threads out and get them to fall in order like Twilight had.

“No no, don’t force it.” Twilight put a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder. “Instead of trying to get the magic around you to form to your current, why don’t you try forming your magic to its current?” As she turned and walked away, Twilight grinned when she heard the gasp.

Rarity’s eyes widened as she watched the magic naturally curl into the spiral of her horn, resting naturally in the miniature leylines already laid out for their order. It’s so deceptively simple. I merely have to give in and let my own magic follow the natural magic. It’s... elegant, relinquishing complete power to gain a subtle control.

She gently reached out, the tentative magical hoof of a filly reborn in a world of new magic grasping at the tiny wisps of delightful energy lazily coasting around and through the room. As she let her magic flow freely, Rarity noticed the threads aligning and shifting, swirling about in a slow, cosmic dance that made its own tempo and fashioned the steps out of pure whimsy. Magic gently slid across and into her body, weaving this way and that, currents of infinite possibility holding in an immortal, timeless state until a creature came along and made that change into reality. In a moment of pure vision, the relatively miniscule unicorn caught a glimpse of the vast ocean of reality itself unfolding and waiting before her eyes, keeping itself in limbo until willpower caused it to take shape.

As quickly as the sensation came it left, Rarity’s horn fading into darkness and her deep sense of longing reaching out to the very real beauty of existence. Getting the urge to work further on her project with this newfound knowledge, she pulled herself out of a trance as she stood to leave. “Thank you so much, Twilight. I learned quite a bit. When do you think I’ll be able to come by again for another lesson?”

Twilight wore a pure smile, still enlightened and very much so wistful for the amazing view that only came when a unicorn first learned about advanced magic. She simply chuckled and reshelved some of the books she drew references from. “How about the day after tomorrow? Spike will be back by then, and he can make us a dinner. After all, you’re going to need to be well-fed starting next lesson.” She chuckled at the thought. “It’s still a little hard to believe, that I’m giving lessons on advanced magic. I thought I would only study it. I guess some things just happen.”

Rarity, having collected her saddlebags, stopped just short of the door. “You know, Twilight, I would venture to say that I can understand that better than the lesson itself. I’ll definitely be by then. See you, darling!” The door slid shut behind her, and Rarity slowly started on her way home through the deepening red of the evening sky.

She eased into the boutique, making sure not to hit anything as she moved through the dark rooms. Eventually coming to her own room, Rarity slid inside and lit up her horn. As she gazed at the swirling magic around her, she calmed her own influence and allowed the threads to find their own alignment. She felt her magic strengthen, and her horn grew visibly brighter. Imagining a needle, Rarity let her mouth hang open in awe as some of the strings wove together and became like a needle, complete with magic threaded through the eye. With a mind for exploration, Rarity manipulated the needle this way and that, pulling threads together and weaving them into a small patch of solid magic. As she continued to add thread after thread of ethereal magic, it slowly began to shine of its own right, bathing the room in a cornflower blue glow. When she reached out to touch it, Rarity felt the firm force of her magic stopping motion through the shield. With a happy sigh, she let the magic fall away. The miniature shield faded away and the world returned to its dark state. Oh, I could get used to doing magic like this. It’s definitely far more fluid and refined than that brutish way we were taught in early school.

Rarity flicked on the lights as she paced back into her workroom, picking up the old flight goggles Rainbow Dash dropped by earlier. They really were a mess—the leather wore thin in many places and tattered in others, compounded by the fact that the glass itself had lost most of its enchantments and teetered on the edge of completely shattering in the rings. “Oh, this simply won’t do. I’ll just have to make a new pair, completely from scratch!” Using some heavy silk thread and the durable fabric scraps still resting on the table from earlier in the afternoon, Rarity went to work fashioning a new set of goggles. The physical needle working the fabric pulled along with it magic that she imbued in every stitch of the material. After a good fifteen minutes of work, the straps lay complete. Taking note of the previous size of the glass, Rarity dug into the supplies she purchased earlier that day and withdrew a well-sealed box containing a sheet of solid lens material. With some specialty diamond-tipped tools and one of the grinding stones, she fashioned two smooth, new eyepieces. As she continued her work, Rarity drifted someplace else. Let’s see... There’s plenty of ways to imbue. Maybe I could try encasing the glass in a weave, or perhaps enhancing it with magic. Perhaps these threads could be used in other ways. I imagine I could create a spell with them and weave it into cloth, or perhaps even creating cloth out of the magical energy. It would lose much of its power, but it may be able to phase in and out of physical presence...

After an hour spent completing the goggles and fashioning them into an element of style and considering the depth of magic’s power, Rarity finally came to a stop directly in front of her project. With a newly opened mind, she set about her project, trimming here and spinning there, working tirelessly with a finely-tuned magical sense now spent developing a fine cloth. Her weaving intermixed with the mage-spun cashmere acquired earlier and the magic Twilight previously expounded before her very eyes. Thread by thread, Rarity continued toward a final garment that would serve her well in the coming performance.

A Moment to Think

Rarity stood encircled by her friends in Princess Celestia’s throne room. The large, vaulted windows caught the crepuscular light and refracted it into dozens of tiny sunbeams, illuminating the entire area in a dim glow. How did I get here? Before she could speak up, all five of the others took a step toward her, chanting one word.

“Deceit.”

Confused, Rarity turned to see that all of them wore different permutations of the same expression, with Twilight’s being the most pained. “Wait, what’s—”

Another step rang out in the vast room. “Treachery.”

In a strange coup d’état, the dawn breaking outside shifted into something blacker than night. The room itself seemed to shine of its own right, bearing down an exceedingly hot and bright spotlight down onto Rarity. She vainly lifted a hoof to try and shield her eyes from the light, but she couldn’t cast a shadow at all. When she attempted to look out into the impenetrable blackness outside, Rarity suddenly became colder than ice and her breath left her completely, leaving her practically frozen to the spot as the edge of her vision started to blur. With a gasp and a huge amount of effort, she looked back into the normal room and blinding light, the sudden heat searing her coat. However, her breath had returned.

If the next step didn’t deafen Rarity, it came close. “Subterfuge.”

She collapsed to the floor, clamping her hooves over her ears in an attempt to shut out the pointed voices. It seemed that her physical body could do nothing to shield her from light and sound, and Rarity let out an ear-piercing shriek when the resonance amplified the impossibly loud echoes. As the dull thudding in her head came to a stop, her eyes slid open and she let her hooves fall back to the strangely cold floor, hitting the unyielding surface with a light clop.

The last step came as barely more than a breath of wind, and all of her friends knelt down next to her and whispered. “Judgement.”

The other ponies became black wisps of torment and faded away into nothingness as Celestia herself paced slowly toward Rarity. When she looked up into the princess’ eyes, she could feel the contemptuous gaze rending her soul bare before an empty court. With a flash of the royal horn, an unbelievable pain racked Rarity’s skull. Even if someone had taken the fires of the sun itself, infused them into a pointed hammer, and driven it with a sledge into her head, it would pale in comparison to the pure essence of torture working it now. She clutched her head in raw agony, trying to hold it together as an unimaginable torment threatened to split it apart. In a moment of blissful relief, her horn split down the middle and shattered into dozens of pieces, causing Rarity to nearly lose consciousness as the gaping maw of the floor opened up under her. At this point, she could no longer feel the absolute cold or care about her inability to draw breath. While she tumbled deeper and deeper into already impermeable darkness, Rarity waited, hoping that everything would simply end.

Finally, she blacked out.

Rarity gasped deeply for breath, shooting straight up in her bed, drenched in sweat. With a shaky sigh, she reached up and, upon finding her horn intact, turned over into the pillow and sobbed. “Just a dream, just a dream, nothing more...” As she began to calm down a bit and the tears turned into red eyes and a wet face, Rarity slowly picked her head up from the bed, making a mental note to change the pillows when she felt up to it. She steadily slipped out of the bed, her matted coat occasionally sticking to the bed sheets and dragging them part of the way off with her. When she finally got all of her hooves on the ground, Rarity purposefully took step after step across her room, each hooffall serving to carry her back to reality and normalcy.

Rarity then found herself in the shower, streams of water gloriously tumbling down and soaking her to the skin as she used her magic and a small cloth to scrub away all traces of the recent episode. As the warm water continued to bleed out the terror, she scrubbed harder and harder until she simply plopped down into the thin layer of water, her tail uncurling and swirling around in the water as she stuck her head in her hooves. I seriously need something to take my mind away from all of this mess, especially considering what I’m going to do at Town Hall in a week or so. She imagined the various ways she could spend a day without the stresses of work or projects and gave a small, genuine smile. With a few rays of light shining through her otherwise dismally cloudy day, Rarity switched off the water, stepped out of the shower, and began to towel herself dry.

When she finally trudged down the stairs, her coat and mane once again in the usual manner, her eyes still reflected the previous night. She slowly plodded into the kitchen, taking a moment to rub her eyes. Her horn began to glow softly as she ground up a hoofful of coffee beans and wrapped them into a small sack, all the while filling a teapot with water and setting it on the flame. Rarity managed to take a seat at the kitchen table, sighing deeply and tracing circles in the table with her hoof. Images from the dream consistently surfaced in her mind, trying to bombard her consciousness into submission. She nearly jumped out of her chair when the kettle began its shrill alarm. I normally don’t prepare coffee, but this morning needs it. After setting the coffee to steep, Rarity perused her cabinets for the cookie jar. It took a fair amount of effort to hide it from Sweetie Belle, who had started coming into her magical ability not too long ago. Soon enough, no place would be safe unless by virtue of the filly’s manners. When Rarity found the jar again, she took a single chocolate chip cookie and began to nibble on it absentmindedly.

No short amount of time later, the smooth, black drink finally sat ready on the counter for a stiff shock to the brain. Rarity prepared herself a warm mug, carefully meting out a proper amount of cream and sugar to soften the bitter elixir. She moved out into what served as her living room, easing into her chair with a small sip of coffee. This month’s edition of Pony Magazine floated over, and Rarity flicked open the issue to a small bookmark stuck into where she had last left off. After reading a rather stirring article about Sapphire Shores’ rise to fame, she set down the magazine and went to take another sip of coffee. Just before the cup made it to her mouth, Sweetie Belle and her two friends came bursting into the boutique. Oh Celestia, I forgot. She took a glance down at the mug and proceeded to gulp down the rest of the drink.

After finally managing to get the Crusaders to settle down enough to sit down and eat breakfast, Rarity sighed relief as they scampered off outside to do whatever it was they spent their time doing. As she donned a sunhat to venture out herself, she caught herself. “Oh my! I nearly forgot Rainbow Dash’s goggles.” Whisking them up into her magical grasp, Rarity trotted out the door to pay an early visit to the brash pegasus.

Rainbow Dash scrunched her nose up as something feathery brushed up against it. After a few seconds of the tickling and tingling, she finally lifted a hoof and gave a swat at whatever had dared to invade her nap. Instead of coming into contact with some mischievous bird, she hit nothing but air and clouds. Brushing it off as some bit of cloud pestering her, she cleared out the area around her head and laid it back down to continue napping. Lo and behold, the sensation returned. With an irritated sigh, Rainbow stood up and opened her eyes, looking around for the source of the nuisance. A gaudy feather hovered just out of her reach, held aloft by an icy blue magic. Looking down, she noticed Rarity on the ground below, smirking and twirling what looked like a completely brand-new set of flight goggles. In a flash, Rainbow swooped down to the ground.

“Enjoy your nap, Rainbow Dash?” Rarity queried with a sly grin.

The pegasus simply glared, rubbing her eyes a bit and blinking herself awake. “Well, I was. But I see you got those goggles done. Thanks!”

A small smile graced Rarity’s lips as the flight gear exchanged hooves, leaving the rainbow-maned speed demon devouring the simple design changes with her magenta eyes. “Rarity, these are great! You didn’t go overboard or anything! They’re just... awesome.” For a brief moment, the pair simply stood there, somewhat awkwardly. Then, Rainbow Dash tentatively pulled Rarity into a brief hug. “Thanks again.”

The fashionable unicorn nodded her acknowledgement. “I take it you’ll go back to your nap, then?”

“As if! I gotta take these babies for a spin.” With that, Rainbow strapped on the goggles and took off, shouting back as she tore through the sky. “See you, Rarity!”

“Okay, now that that’s taken care of, it’s time for a treat!” Rarity hummed quietly to herself as she trotted contentedly in the direction of the spa.

Steam wafted about Rarity, breathing its hot and heavy warmth into every inch of her body. She let loose a shaky sigh as the heat seeped its way into her mind, turning to mist the crazy stresses of life and all of her tension. The towel around her hair sat comfortably on her head, giving a gentle pressure that kept Rarity from sinking too deeply into the seat of relaxation. As the ethereal tendrils of water softened her demeanor, she allowed her thoughts to wander and drift to and fro with the sauna’s fumes. Initially, the images came and went serenely. Thoughts of magic swirled around the room, eventually settling on tomorrow’s lesson with Twilight. I’ve already learned so much just from one lesson... I truly wonder what the next topic could be. With her mind dreaming up grandiose images of magical ability, Rarity barely noticed her eyelids growing heavy.

“Rarity?” The soft voice somehow managed to rouse her from an unplanned nap. White eyelids flickered open, bringing into view a softly yellow pegasus.

Rarity mumbled a little before sitting up. “Oh... Fluttershy.” She yawned emphatically. “Such a pleasure to see you, darling.” She hopped down onto the floor and gave her head a tiny shake. “I guess I just got a wee bit too relaxed.”

Fluttershy joined Rarity in a brief giggle fit. “I was just coming by for our usual spa day, and the girls told me you were already in here.”

For a brief moment, the ivory mare screwed her face up in concentration, and after a short while, gave a start. “Today is Wednesday? Oh my, I had completely forgotten. I guess I just got so wrapped up so much in yesterday that it felt like so much time had passed. Here I was, thinking I may have missed it! Anyway, how are you, Fluttershy?”

“Oh, well, um, today some of the mice had cute little babies. They’re so cute! Have you ever seen a baby mouse? They’re just so adorable.” The talk about animals spilled out of Fluttershy, and for a moment Rarity wondered if the mare was really quite as shy as she appeared to be or if she just never had much to say in normal conversation. The thought passed as smoothly and quickly as it had came, and Rarity smiled.

“So, seeing as we’re already here, let’s make a day of it! I didn’t really plan to on account of my forgetfulness, but why should it matter?” She trotted out of the sauna, Fluttershy in tow. “The usual, ladies!” At this, the two mares running the spa perked up, grins beaming across their faces.

When the pair eventually stepped out of the spa, their bodies moved along with a newfound lithe progression that could only come from an amazing bout of relaxation. With the sun slowly dipping down lower and lower toward the horizon, Rarity had a thought. “You know what, Fluttershy? Why don’t we pick up Applejack and go out for dinner? We don’t get out nearly enough together.”

Even though she didn’t fully agree with the idea, Fluttershy nodded her agreement anyway, and they set off toward Sweet Apple Acres.

By the time they had actually made it back into town and to the restaurant they planned to eat at, Twilight, Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash had all managed to catch eye of the group and join in on the impromptu gathering. Rarity took the lead as they entered Haystack, a very quaint little eatery agreed upon by everypony. Even she couldn’t say no to the amazing food and service.

“One table for six, please.” Rarity beamed at the soft tan hostess.

Bright Words picked up six menus and trotted into the main room. “I’ve got just the place if y’all follow me.”

As the group took their seats at a cozy table near the back, a grinning unicorn stallion trotted up to the table. “Hey, everypony! My name’s Second Helping and I’m gonna be your waiter this evening. Now, what can I get you beautiful mares to drink?” A small giggle went around the table.

Pinkie Pie took the reins. “Sarsaparilla all around, Mr. Helping! I bet that’s a great name to have when you’re a waiter, huh? It really fits, since you’re serving us food and all, but you’re also helping us have a great dinner and--” The muffled squeaks of a cyan hoof into a pink mouth cut short what could easily be another five minutes of ranting.

“Sounds like us, guy! Sarsaparilla.” Rainbow Dash waited until the waiter was a safe distance away before removing her hoof. “Okay, it’s all good.”

Applejack simply chuckled. “So, how’s things with y’all? I know I had a very busy week up until about yesterday. I had quite a bit of corn to harvest, but at least Applebuck Season ended a couple of weeks back. I’m definitely itchin’ for the harvest festival.”

“Oh, yes. I am most definitely ready as well. The Mayor even asked me to make her some special wear for the occasion!” Rarity sighed blissfully, comfortably melting into her friends.

“Ooh, there’s also going to be a blue moon this month!” Twilight giggled, “And I bet Luna will come visit again. I can’t wait!” She squealed quietly in sheer excitement.

Pinkie Pie put her front hooves on the table and stood. “How could you be forgetting the best part? Who goes to a harvest festival for anything other than the festival!? There’s gonna be so many different kinds of treats, like apple cupcakes, apple pies, caramel corn, carrot cake, and best of all, the Cakes are making an Apple Trifecta!” Pinkie looked around as some of the nearby tables stared at her. After sitting down, she smiled. “Don’t ask what it is, though! It’s a secret.” The entire table bust out in laughter as Second Helping came back with their drinks and ready to take the orders.

Rarity flopped down in her bed after finally making it back home. What had started as a dinner had quickly turned into a full night out, and to say that Rarity could hardly stand up now that all the excitement was over would not be far from the truth. She eased into the heavenly comfort of her pillows and blankets, slowly drifting off into a dreamless sleep.