Crystals Grow on Rainbows

by Jokie155

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Dark, Romance
Length: 56388

Rarity is given a task which will change her life completely, and Rainbow Dash is caught up in the ensuing craziness.

Rarity is chosen to be the mother of the next Crystal Princess, and is unsurprisingly stressed as a result. Rainbow Dash in the meantime chooses the most inconvenient time possible to pull a prank, which will ultimately form a bond between the two. Through tough times and deadly situations, will they both manage to stay strong, and together?

Next: The Magic of Swimming in Stars.

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Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-02-18 02:52:19 UTC

1. An Important Task

Part One: The Task

"Oh no no no! I cannot possibly be late again! Oh, why did I ever agree to make Pinkie a new party costume?" Clearly, there was far too much to the pink whirlwind of insanity to try comprehending. Nightmare Moon, undoubtedly for an upcoming party at Princess Luna's residence. After all, what sane pony would ask for a costume that was in a completely different body shape, and far too dark for a bright and colourful party that Pinkie was famous for hosting. Rarity's head shook again to clear her mind. The train to Canterlot had been delayed for her in particular, and she felt very embarrassed for holding all the other ponies up. Pacing became somewhat of a requirement to keep herself calm.

"Now now, calm yourself Rarity. It's just another discussion with Princesses Celestia and Luna, nothing to worry about at all... right?" That didn't feel like the case at all, as she fell back on her bed with a shuddering sigh. Stress was not an unfamiliar problem with the fashionista, but being late to a meeting with Princess Celestia and Luna was hardly normal. Twilight Sparkle had gone virtually insane about being late on a letter to the Princess, a rather worrying thought for the unicorn. Was there a chance she'd suffer a similar breakdown?

That wouldn't happen; she was visiting by their request after all. Her previous two trips had been for work purposes, designing a dress for Fleur-Di-Lis notably. Now that was done, she had the summons to follow up. All that had been mentioned was a very important task in relation to a very special subject for Rarity.

The Crystal Empire.

She hugged her pillow in tightly as she thought about the glorious city again. Crystal ponies, crystal buildings, crystal everything! Now that she thought about it, the recent return had to be significant, and they were a thousand years behind on the latest trends. Rarity's eyes began to droop soon after that thought, it was getting late into the night after all. Her head rested back onto the pillow, allowing sleep to come. Excitement and stress wouldn't do too well in the meeting, composure and patience was the key.

The arrival at Canterlot Station woke the sleeping unicorn, who for a moment looked around in a typical state of waking. Which of course didn't last long, she had only seconds to get out of bed, brush her mane and tail back into shape, and enter the capital at speed. Most residents of Canterlot seemed to be up far later than Ponyville, formal parties and gatherings being the common reason from what she observed. She hadn't felt it necessary to dress up for an unofficial meeting with the princesses, and thus felt rather exposed among the other unicorns. It was a good reason to continue on to the palace without distraction.

In the rush, she almost crashed right into the main doors, clipping her leg and tripping in her haste. Recovering before either of the Princesses could say anything, Rarity finally skidded to a halt at the base of the stairs. The grin adopted would surely bring forgiveness for her clumsiness and late timing. Sweat formed anyway as she watched the sisters look between each other in worry. Oh no, she had gone and blown it with appearing too eager to hear what they were going to say, when it wasn't that important after all.

"My dear Rarity, why must you always feel the need to fret about your visits? What we are to discuss in fact will involve a lot of time and patience by nature, it hardly seems appropriate to rush things from the start. Now come, there is a room prepared for us to speak; refreshments are on their way already." Princess Celestia led the way to the aforementioned room, while Luna paused to speak with Rarity.

"Do not fear Rarity, while my sister may be elusive at times, this is something to be joyful for. Such an honour has been reserved specifically for you." Luna left it at that, following after her sister as the unicorn stood there in silence. Clearly the 'honour' was a place at the Crystal Empire that she so coveted! A brief break out into laughter and other sounds of excitement pushed her worries away. Of course, she was still there in front of the throne, while the Princesses were in another room. Rarity quickly re-joined them before her delay would be noticed.

The room itself was very nicely decorated; colours and materials weren't overdone or lacking. She carefully sat down on one of the provided cushions, a very comfortable alternative to most chairs. Two unicorn Guards entered the room at that moment, carrying the trays of refreshments that Celestia had mentioned before. Some minutes passed, both Princesses seemed to be pondering on what they were going to say. Rarity was rather pleased with the preparation; it was a clear indicator of its importance.

"As you know from first-hoof experience, the Crystal Empire's return has caused quite a stir. For now, it is safe and peaceful once again, but my duties do not allow for me to be there on a regular basis. Thus, we need the help of a pony with a close connection to Crystal..." Rarity felt her heart leap, the moment she had been waiting for. The pause that was left however set her on edge. Tension and anticipation was growing very strong inside her, all she really wanted was to hear was the request to oversee the Empire.

"In turn, a Princess requires a lot of, magical influence to bring into being. The mother has to be able to use direct magic, and be willing to commit to a lot of care. Given your line of work, we decided that you are the suitable choice to fulfil such a role." All the excitement and eagerness that had been present in Rarity suddenly drained away, rather akin to water down the drain. Luna had a fairly good idea of what was to follow, silently excusing herself and closing the door behind her. The guards outside glanced between her and each other for a moment, following the lead as she motioned to cover their ears.

"Whaaaaat!" Luna jumped rather high as Rarity's outburst made the doors shake. The guards were rather disturbed, but managed to maintain their usual position. Before that one Galloping Gala in particular, nopony expected that the simple and relatively quiet ones could be so loud. That was a mistake well learned. Inside the room itself, the outburst was nowhere near as disastrous as it had been assumed to be. Celestia wiped the spilt tea off Rarity's face delicately. From the frozen look on her face, it seemed clear that she hadn't reacted quite as well as the Princess would have liked.

That period of silence continued. Rarity was so stunned and upset that Celestia finished cleaning the table and the cutlery, with no sign of change of her condition. The unicorn finally woke from her state as a fresh cup of tea was held to her lips. A few sips of the fresh tea brought life back to her pale cheeks, eventually leading her to bang her head on the table. Why her? Why did they think she would be the perfect one to have a foal, who would eventually be the Crystal Princess? And worse still was the implication it would require her to find a suitable companion. Luna seemed to have worked up the courage to enter the room again, moving to re-assure Rarity.

"Rarity, I'm not sure you fully appreciate the situation. You will be free to continue living at Ponyville, and construction for a railway to the Crystal Empire has already begun. There is also a new line of magic that has been researched; you'll be free to choose any pegasus for a companion. Gender will be one less obstacle in future." She looked up again with new hope. It wasn't as bad as she had imagined, after all, there was a big emphasis on her freedom in choosing. Her nature to be dramatic had probably taken over at that point. Celestia hadn't finished speaking either for that matter.

"Of course, conceiving and raising an alicorn is a very delicate and difficult process, even under the best of circumstances. Do not feel any rush to accept this important task; it is vital that you feel you are ready first." Rarity nodded rather timidly, Celestia's up front approach was an eye-opener, but it did make things better. Undoubtedly, the moment she'd return home, tears would flow in despair at what all her friends would think.

"Well, when you put it like that, I think I'll take a bit of time at home to consider this... proposal." Moving onto far more ordinary subjects such as Canterlot affairs and personal updates between them was rather relaxing for Rarity. This was her comfortable zone, just talking about normal and sensible things. Eventually it came time for her to return home, there was a party at the Town Hall she was unfortunately missing for this visit.

2. Party Secrets

"Alrighty! Let's get this party started!" Pinkie Pie pressed her hoof down onto the trigger of the cannon, releasing a flurry of streamers and other assorted party necessities. From there, she began her usual habit of bouncing around the town hall while it was transformed into a party wonderland. There was no particular occasion, apart from just wanting to throw a party of course.

"Mm mmhm! That there's the tastiest batch of cupcakes yet. Great work Pinkie!" Applejack made her way over to the seats near the stage with one of the delectable cupcakes, where Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash were in a hoof-wrestling match. The former needed to work on using her legs more often than her magic to get around; Dash was having no trouble beating the poor unicorn at the game. And while she had made them both look silly at the Running of the Leaves, this wasn't quite the same. "Hey uh, Twilight, mind if I show you a few tricks of the game? Looks like you could you them, no offence."

As her hoof hit the table once more, and Dash leaned back to gloat over yet another victory, Twilight sighed in defeat with a glance at Applejack. "Uh, sure. This was for fun anyway, right Rainbow Dash?" A half-sarcastic nod of glee came from across the table in response. Looking a bit contempt, Twilight got up to allow Applejack to take her place. Doffing her hat and laying it on the post of the chair, Applejack readied her hoof for the match. Rainbow Dash in the meantime casually leaned forward to meet the challenge, a wide grin on her face. Applejack was strong, but no match for weeks of solid training. This match would be an easy win; at least she didn't have to hold back for the sake of pride.

Twilight took up the role of starting the match, tapping the table hard with her hoof to mark the start. It began rather abruptly, both ponies struggling to adjust to the other's balance and weight. After the thirty-second mark had passed, it had settled down into a test of endurance, neither hoof moving from the firm grip. One minute, then two. Sweat had formed at that point, making it that much harder to maintain the hold. The stares too were just as tight, Twilight was very impressed that Rainbow Dash could keep her attention on one point in silence for so long. Three minutes, trembling muscles were setting in, and yet neither pony gave in. They had come too far to throw in the towel now.

"Whatcha doing?" Pinkie Pie's surprise appearance on the table caused both ponies to jump in fright, the intense hold released abruptly. A terribly disappointing end to what had become a full-blown match of wits and wills. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were about to prepare for a rematch, save for Twilight's timely verdict on the wrestle.

"I think that we can all call that a draw. Besides, it looked like you two were at the point of scraping hooves, that's a good result if anything." Fluttershy made her way over at that moment, rather put off by the crowd. Applejack and Rainbow Dash shook hooves before pulling up extra chairs for the other ponies. Twilight took the initiative as the sole unicorn there, bringing over a plate of cupcakes for them to enjoy. Pinkie had found a new way of entertaining herself, chasing one of the reflections from the disco ball around the table with her hoof. Dash was first to speak up about their absent friend, the empty space she left had become rather noticeable to her.

"Hey uh, where's Rarity been lately? All she said was that she had a dress commission in Canterlot, but I dunno if that's all there is to it." Twilight shrugged, as did most of the other ponies. Rarity was Rarity, Canterlot had always been her light to fly towards, and now she had been going back and forth on a somewhat regular basis. The unicorn found herself tracing around the table with her hoof at that point, rather to her embarrassment. Rarity didn't have a reason to lie about her visits, at least it seemed that way.

"She should be coming back tonight, I'll ask her if she comes by, otherwise it can wait for tomorrow. But right now, we should just enjoy the party. Which reminds me, mind taking Rarity's place as first song for the night Pinkie?" The eager nod was all Twilight needed before heading up to the stage. "I hope you're all having fun tonight! Unfortunately, Rarity couldn't make it tonight, but I reorganized the singing list, and first up we have... Pinkie Pie!"

Pinkie eagerly bounced her way up to the stage, immediately capturing the attention with her unique song and dance. It was sad that Rarity was missing out on a great party, but duties had to take precedence after all. Applejack decided to take a quick break for some air at that moment, the party kept the room warm in the cool, windy night, but she liked the fresh air after all.

*

All that was on Rarity's mind as she arrived in Ponyville once more was getting a nice and full sleep. Time to think, more like time to scream her lungs out into her pillow. What had she been pulled into? Sure, she wanted a filly of her own someday, but she didn't think that she'd be a Princess of all things. All those times she had waved off Twilight Sparkle's silly paranoia and worry about Celestia's ways now came back to haunt her.

We'd like you to be the mother of the new princess is what she really meant. Her head began to hang low again as her home entered her view. She wanted to design clothes for young mares and dashing stallions, and now that seemed destined to change. No more visits to all those parties with Fancy Pants for one thing. Though, was it all just a dream? Could she be able to wake up and find out nothing in the night had happened?

The wanderings of her eyes settled on Applejack for a split moment. She couldn't face one of her friends now! If they inquired about her night, there was no way she could come up with a reasonable explanation for her absence, aside from the truth. And Applejack especially wouldn't take to being lied to, and if faced with the question she would surely tell the others. And yet Rarity felt somewhat relieved it was herself of all ponies. They had differences enough, yet there was an undefinable friendship that always made her feel safe.

Now she faced the terrible predicament of seeking the comfort of her good friend, or trying to return home unnoticed. It did seem better to talk about it with a clear mind and rested body, so she resumed her walk towards the Carousel. Applejack called out a greeting of some sort at that point, over the ambience of the party Rarity couldn't discern the exact words. Once again, she felt herself at the decision between moving on and asking for help, even if it were just someone to let out feelings to. It was enough to bring on a sniffle.

Applejack reacted to the moment that seemed to be on the road to sadness by approaching the unicorn slowly. "Rarity, what's troubling you dear?" She sat down beside Rarity as she struggled to maintain her composure for a moment. Harsh reality was catching up, while she knew it was something she'd usually be ecstatic about, it didn't feel that way right now. Not so much the responsibility of becoming a parent, but having to make the decision of who to become a parent with.

"I uh... Found out tonight that, Celestia has chosen me to, have the Crystal Princess. And, I'm overwhelmed by this, though I believe that's clear enough." Applejack almost did a double take, save for the fact that her attention had been on Rarity the whole time anyway. Of all the things... And why Rarity in particular? Though, it would be very strange indeed to ask Twilight that. That filly had trouble enough enjoying social gatherings.

"Well uh, that's... odd. Celestia does some strange things though, and they always have a purpose behind them. I mean, at least she hasn't stuck you with Prince Blueblood y'know." A teasing nudge helped to lighten up Rarity's mood. Celestia definitely wouldn't make Rarity fall for anypony in particular. "Come on, how 'bout I walk you home, and fix you some tea while I'm there."

Rarity felt very blessed that Applejack was so nice in her time of need, after all her other melodramatic outbursts especially. As they got back up, she placed her hoof on Applejack's shoulder softly. "I know you don't like to lie, so if any of the others ask, don't feel you should. I'll tell them tomorrow, when I'm feeling better." Once they had reached her door, Rarity insisted that Applejack return to the party. It didn't seem fair to her at all to inconvenience her friend further. "Thank you again Applejack, I've always appreciated your support."

4. Patience, Wisdom and Love

Rarity departed for Canterlot, just four days following the rather unexpected revelation to the others. Twilight had been very helpful, given her sickness, in helping her do a bit of research into the magic of the princesses. Fluttershy had been 'weirded out' as Pinkie Pie explained, but settled down in time to help look after the Carousel while she was away. This visit was more of a formality; Celestia had offered to provide her with a new set of magic. Rather more passive than the sort Twilight used often, the Princess had described them briefly as being of great benefit to Rarity in what would surely be a stressful time to come.

The train trip provided her with time enough to compare the previous ones, before she had been excited about the summons. Now, the Crystal Empire was far at the back of her mind, clouded by the mix of emotions brought on by the reality of the situation. Perhaps Celestia would provide her with a means of getting there quickly, as opposed to waiting for the train line to be completed. It did make some sense that she should become familiar with the ponies her possible future foal would be living with.

Lunch in the food car prompted Rarity to look at the situation from a different perspective. It wasn't so bad, there had to be a few pegasi who liked fashion, and were of the appropriate age. Having a foal of her own would be nice too, even if the timing was a little constrained. At least she'd be living in a beautiful city for her job, with Princess Celestia herself as a mentor.

It was raining when the train pulled into Canterlot Station; she was prepared for this of course. With the purple umbrella opened and positioned above her with magic, as opposed to a saddle, Rarity proceeded onward through the city. It did seem rather heavier than usual, probably because the pegasi had forgotten the week before again. Last time such a downpour occurred hadn't gone too well at all.

The palace looked rather eerie in the dim light, more like the ruins in the Everfree Forest, and less like the gleaming capital of Equestria. Inside was far more inviting, candles and chandeliers lit the halls very nicely, and the throne room itself had a warm and cozy feel to it. Celestia was alone this time; perhaps it was not as formal as Rarity had previously anticipated. "Come, my dear Rarity. I do not mean to keep you long." She proceeded on towards the room that Rarity had mixed feelings about; given it was where her life changed quite a bit.

Where the table and cushions used to be had become a wide open space, the furniture mentioned moved to the sides in turn. Quick deduction concluded that the space would be necessary for whatever spell Celestia would be performing. "So uh, what does this first preparation session involve? I guess I would feel a bit more comfortable knowing what to expect after all." The Princess nodded silently, closing the door but opening the window. Fortunately, the rain was falling away from it; otherwise, the room would have become cold and wet very quickly.

"This spell will imbue your horn with a little more magic, you'll need to avoid using it to let the energy settle into alignment." Celestia brought a simple, but pretty box out from one of the shelves, resting it down on the ground between them. It opened to reveal three perfect diamonds, each glowing in a slightly different shade of blue. Each slowly lifted out of the box, hovering in front of Rarity. Three diamonds, just like her cutie mark. "Touch them with your horn, one at a time." Celestia demonstrated first, the glow of each becoming far brighter as she did so. "Patience, Wisdom, and Love. Three skills, three keys to helping you accomplish what you set out to do."

Deep blue eyes flowed across the three diamonds again and again. It wasn't quite what she was expecting, but it made sense to her at that moment. Breathing in deeply, she brought her horn into contact with the hovering gems. A rush of magical energy flowed back down into her, causing a large fizzle of sparks in her horn. It was all over in a matter of seconds, Rarity finding herself on the floor from the flow of energy. It took a few wobbly attempts to stand up again, by then Celestia helped her up with a gentle nudge.

"That was, enlightening if I do say so myself..." The warning to avoid using her magic until it settled seemed very wise, all over her body the feeling of energy was strong, focusing around her horn in particular. It would hardly be becoming to do something silly in front of Celestia. "So, that was it? I didn't think it would be so fast, but thank you anyway." The diamonds were returned to the case, which itself was returned to the shelf. It drew her eye back to the open window; suddenly it occurred to her that she was a lot warmer than she would've been. The room had been allowed to cool so she would be more comfortable.

"That's it, I assure you. Now, I realize that the train trips are rather tiring, especially when returning home at this hour, so I have a far more convenient method of travel in mind." Celestia turned to face the clear wall of the room, using her magic on it to form a rather typical in appearance door. Finding it rather strange at first, Rarity slowly walked over and pushed it open. Her laundry in the Carousel lay beyond. An instant doorway from her home to the Canterlot Castle.

She was speechless at first that Celestia would do such a thing for her; powerful magic had to be the source of such a spell. "Thank you Celestia, I really do appreciate this." Celestia smiled again, motioning for the unicorn to return home. Rarity nodded her head once more before proceeding through. The sudden change in sound between the wind of Canterlot, and the heavier patter of rain on leaves took a bit of time to adjust to, but it demonstrated just how much time was saved now.

The urge to sleep overcame her at last, in the dim light and heavy storm outside; there wasn't much else she could do. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, it became easier to ascend the stairs to her room. Sweetie Belle was back home, leaving her alone for a nice sleep in. For once, she was ahead of schedule on her commissions, a relaxing day would be welcome. At last, the bed was before her, though in the light it looked rather messy and big. Deciding it was an illusion, she slid under the covers.

*

Technically, it wasn't Rainbow Dash's fault that half of Equestria's weather control team forgot the downpour for the week before, even though she did distract them with an awesome addition to her sonic rainboom routine. But it was for the best, now it would provide her with some much-needed camouflage later on. And she had to admit, it looked quite nice from her view above. Once her job was done, she quickly dove down into the leaves of Twilight's tree to plan her prank.

Rarity was at Canterlot by that point, she had hours to get in and leave without a trace. This in particular prank would be subtle, but definitely effective. Waiting for the rest of Ponyville to head inside out of the rain, Dash proceeded back out into the rain on her path towards the Carousel. Getting inside was no problem, shaking the window handle opened the way easily enough. Rarity really needed to take more precautions; after all, nopony could tell when a certain purple dragon would find his way up there and eat all her precious gems. A great prank for another day.

Closing the window to prevent the rain from getting in, Dash silently made her way over to the resting place of Rarity's sleep mask. A grin formed on her face as she sat down on the bed and turned the mask over. Grabbing two photographs she had obtained for this prank from under her wing, she looked at them again for a quick giggle. Rarity covered in mud, and a dress so awful that even the coolest of cool ponies had to admit was bad.

More giggles followed as she stuck them down on the inside of the mask. If all went well, Rarity wouldn't see them until she opened her eyes again after putting it on. Replacing the mask back down in its original position, she began to tiptoe back to the window when movement in the house made her freeze. Rarity couldn't be back this early surely. It didn't matter, she was now trapped in the house, and running out of time to hide!

There was nowhere large enough for her to hide, even in the dim light! No time to get out the window, Rarity was right outside the door at that point. It was pure desperation that drove her to dive under the covers of the bed and curl up tight. The door opened at last, Dash severely regretted her choice to hide in the bed of all places. Maybe Rarity would just go to the wardrobe for her nightgown, that'd give plenty of time to sneak out through the door instead.

Much to her horror, that wasn't the case at all. Of all the times for Rarity to go to bed, why did it have to be now! Her teeth were grinding down at that point, curling up tighter as the unicorn shuffled closer still. This couldn't be happening, especially after that stupid gag about having a foal.

5. Two Very Special Ponies

"Waaaaah!" Rarity felt something touch her when she was about to settle into sleep, causing her to leap high out of the bed. Pulling her blanket and pillows around her as a precaution, her jaw dropped at what really lay before her. Rainbow Dash, cowering there on her bed. Of all the ponies... Words wouldn't even form in her mind at that point. Finally, the most logical and sensible question she could think of found its way out.

"Rainbow Dash! Would you please explain what you're doing in my bed?" It had been Dash who laughed her head off and made Rarity feel terrible. And now she was here, hiding in her bed. Sitting down at last, she patiently waited for Rainbow Dash to explain her childish and somewhat hypocritical behaviour. Rarity definitely wasn't in the mood for games coming from the pegasus.

Dash felt herself blushing, playing stupid for a few moments as she tried to think up a better story than the prank. "I uh... felt bad! About laughing at you and all that. Yeah, so I figured I'd stop by, but since you weren't here... I decided to take a nap! Yeah..." Pulling her best cheesy grin seemed to be the only option left. Maybe she felt a little bad about laughing, but it was unbelievably silly.

Rarity hesitated in her disgruntled stare for a moment. It wasn't like Rainbow Dash to apologize for laughing; maybe her initial resentment was misplaced. It was an apology either way. That deserved some credit. "It's, okay... The fact that you found it so funny was very hurtful, but I do appreciate you making the effort to come by personally and apologise."

The pegasus still felt awkward about being in Rarity's bed, but she wasn't blushing anymore. She didn't recall her ever being so, forgiving. But if it got her off the hook for a good luck, then what was there to complain about? Yet it still felt like her lie was edging towards becoming the truth. "No problem. So uh..." Roughing her mane up helped distract from the situation. Ironically, it allowed her position to register fully. In Rarity's bed, when the unicorn was meant to be considering pegasus partners...

What should have been an awkward moment didn't feel that out of place now that Dash had apologised. Rarity felt better that she wasn't being laughed at behind her back anymore. Though, now that the shock had passed, she once again found herself becoming sleepy. Another idea came to mind at that moment "Rainbow, I realise this may seem a bit... presumptuous, but you wouldn't happen to know any pegasi who like the fashion business? I don't really know that many ponies from Cloudsdale myself, so if there's anypony you can think of, would you help me out?"

For Dash, the question was virtually a golden ticket out of her predicament. Nodding eagerly covered up her moment of terror, in which she feared Rarity would choose her to be the special somepony! As if things weren't silly enough, she had narrowly avoided being roped into the life that scared her so. Becoming an egghead was bad enough after all, but a fashion pony?!

Taking the chance with both hooves to leave, she awkwardly backed towards the window. "I'll uh, see what I can do. I'm sure there's gotta be somepony who... likes frilly and fancy, stuff." Finding herself pressed up against the window, she eagerly pulled it open and stepped out. "So uh, catch you tomorrow then!" Lightning struck as Dash closed the window once more, lighting up Ponyville for a moment. It was enough for her to work out the best flight path back home.

After all that, Rarity no longer felt tired, watching Rainbow Dash depart caused guilt. It was good that they had settled the silly incident, but now she felt awful for just letting Dash go out into the rain without even offering to let her stay. The curtains had been left open however, nothing to complain about of course, but it provided her with a reason to move closer to the window. She didn't even get to thank her.

"Oh Dashie, there's nothing wrong with..." Rarity stopped herself there and reached out to close the curtains. A loud crack brought her attention back outside, where a heavy branch was falling to the ground. And Rainbow Dash was right in its path! The pegasus only caught sight of it at the last moment, unable to avoid it crashing down on her. Rarity's heart froze for a moment. She had been picky about pulling branches down before, but it hadn't caused harm to one of her friends. Now she severely regretted ever doubting Applejack in that regard.

She galloped down the stairs at breakneck speed, nearly tripping in the process. No time to waste, in the cold rain, Rainbow Dash wouldn't last long at all. Throwing the door open revealed a scene just as bad as she imagined. Dash was pinned into the muddy grass by the branch, no sign of movement or attempt to free herself. Rarity splashed her way across, lifting the heavy branch off with her magic. It was an emergency, and she couldn't possibly lift it off by herself. Rainbow Dash heaved air in heavily without the weight on her side. A nasty bruise was forming, and her wing was definitely not the right shape.

"Hold on!" Struggling against the grip of the mud, Rarity finally pulled Dash free. The pegasus did her best to keep her wing from catching on the slippery grass, as she had been taught to in such a situation. For the moment, she wasn't concerned about whoever was rescuing her from the storm. Rarity continued to pull her back towards the Carousel, not hesitating for anything until both were safely inside.

Despite the fact that both were dripping wet, Rarity finally managed to get Rainbow Dash onto her feet. Keeping their weight together made ascending the stairs a challenge, but one that Rarity felt she owed her friend in return. Dash was too dazed from the impact to pay much attention to who was helping her. But there was help at least, that was important. The stairs levelled out onto a flat surface again, carpet that she recognized from just mere minutes ago...

Rarity left Rainbow Dash to lie down on the floor while she went to get towels. It was a close call, but Dash was still able to walk at least. Wrapping the towel around her friend was hard with the broken wing, but she managed it in the end. Her friend was safe, and no longer in danger of injury or catching cold. Rarity sat down beside Rainbow Dash as she placed another towel around herself, smiling as she felt the messy rainbow mane rest closer towards her.

"You okay Dash? Before you left, I was going to offer the lounge downstairs for the night while the storm passed over, but I think it's better if you take the bed." A rather strange turn of events if anything, but she wasn't seriously injured at least. "I'll get you over to the hospital in the morning when it should be clearer. I'll make the bed for you in the meantime."

Rarity carefully got up again, lighting one of the candles before she began making the bed by hoof. Rainbow Dash watched her silently at work, seeing the unicorn unconcerned about her appearance was a rare occasion. Feeling her mind starting to wander in the direction she didn't like, Dash tried to get up unsuccessfully. The movement caused another jolt of pain in her wing.

"Hey uh... I don't mind sharing the bed. But just, don't get any ideas, okay?" Rarity nodded as she began drying their manes down. It felt odd, performing an activity that she'd usually have done at the spa in the dimly lit room with a grim thunderstorm outside. But Dash wasn't complaining that it was uncool, perhaps the branch had knocked her head around a bit too. Being unable to use her magic to lift Dash onto the bed proved to be inconvenient, but they managed to accomplish that in the end.

Rarity made the bed once the pegasus had settled down, hesitating for a few moments before sliding under the covers herself. It was perfectly fine for two ponies to share a bed, and yet she found herself snuggling up closer. There were signs that she couldn't ignore, had Dash stayed the night she wouldn't have been injured, and now she didn't pretend that things were fine to escape attention. Weird as it was, maybe the ideal partner was closer to her than she had imagined previously.

6. Care and Respect

Events of the night before didn't come back to Rainbow Dash immediately as she woke up that morning. Expecting to be in her cloudy bed, she was in fact lying on an actual mattress, inside a quiet room. A few flicks of her head as Rarity's room set in around her didn't create the most appealing image. Greyed out from the overcast morning, shadows were abundant, and the bright colours were washed out.

"I notified the hospital a few hours ago, they'll be coming over to see if you need to be moved." Rarity already had a breakfast tray carefully balanced on her back, sliding it onto the drawers for Rainbow Dash to get when she was ready. "I'm limited in how much I can do with my magic for the time being, but don't hesitate to ask in the meantime."

Dash was hesitant to eat at first, it did make sense that Rarity would put so much effort into helping out, being the Generous one and all. But how would it look if she just started eating what Rarity gave her all the time? And worse, what if Rarity started giving her more than food? It took a lot of self-convincing that it was only food, very good food at that. It was one reason to stay at Rarity's instead of going to the hospital.

Rarity went about her usual routine in the meantime; Rainbow Dash clearly needed her rest, and did make a point about not getting any ideas. She was merely caring for a poorly friend, no reason to distract from her work. But then, she didn't actually have any commissions to work on. And with the rain continuing on, it would be unlikely that anypony would be stopping by soon. Such a shame that an ideal subject for free design was stuck in bed.

As she turned to watch out the window in pondering for a new idea, Dash settled back down to sleep again when something she had forgotten struck back hard. The photos were still in the mask. Funny as the reaction would be, she wanted to see it from a safe distance, not right beside her. And Rarity didn't seem to have anything to do, what if she decided to sleep? It seemed that would become the case, until a knock on the door downstairs came as her rescue.

"Oh, I do believe that is them at the door, don't go anywhere!" Rarity was down the stairs in a mere few seconds, leaving the pegasus to exhale heavily. Don't go anywhere, oh if only you knew Rarity... Taking the chance, Dash began sliding herself closer towards the mask. A tiny window of opportunity she couldn't afford to miss. Within hoof's reach of it, she shuffled back into her original position as Rarity returned. So close.

The doctor approached at that point, removing the blanket to expose Rainbow Dash's bruised side and wing. It had darkened overnight, the compensation being a reduction in the pain. That didn't matter too much; she wanted to escape Rarity's clutches, especially the sort that she was thinking of in particular. A loud wince came as her wing was lifted up. "Oww, mind taking it a bit easy? This sort of injury isn't supposed to happen y'know."

Her frustration was pushed out as her wing was pushed back in. Pain from the bruise was pale in comparison to what happened at that moment. "I'm sorry that it had to hurt so much, but we are short on beds and medication at the hospital for the time being, Rarity has agreed to let you stay here in the meantime." Dash flew into a panic at that moment. She hadn't actually expected to stay with Rarity. That was supposed to be an alternative that wouldn't be needed! Burying her face into the pillow under the guise of pain was little relief from the downhill path of her situation.

"Don't worry dear, I haven't got any major works coming up, so I'll be able to attend to your needs without fail." The doctor left a small amount of pain relief with Rarity to take care of before departing. "Now, if there's anything that you..." A very loud yell from the bed caused her ears to ring, and teeth to chatter. Rainbow Dash was screaming her lungs out at the ceiling for whatever reason that escaped her.

A sore feeling had developed all along her throat by the time the pegasus coughed heavily from lack of air. "Rarity, I appreciate that you're doing all this, but it's downright freaky! Especially after you made such a big deal about wanting a pegasus partner to have a princess with! Don't you see how creepy this all looks?" It was a strain on her already sore throat from the release of stress to say that much.

Rarity was taken aback, literally edging back towards the window in worry. Well, she had considered the possibility for a brief moment the night before, but had she really made it seem like that she was trying to get comfortable with her? "I, but I... I guess it did cross my mind, but you're my friend! And you were rather miserable the last time you were in hospital, I assumed you'd prefer having somepony to talk with. It seems I was mistaken..."

Retreating into silence, she promptly left the room. Anything more said would be excessive, best to keep her point short and simple. And yet, the moment she closed the door brought on what felt like a panic attack. Not only had she just committed herself to spending time with one pegasus alone, she would also be neglecting other pegasi. And what would happen if other ponies learned that Rainbow Dash was staying there to recover?

Dash maintained her stance as Rarity left the room. No pony could make her feel guilty enough to go running and apologize. It was just too weird; staying over at Pinkie Pie's would be more comfortable for that matter. The circumstances were just rather bad, maybe if the unicorn weren't on that particular task it would be okay. Getting hit by the branch was uncool enough.

She owed Rarity a decent apology. That much was clear. Getting out of bed proved to be a challenge in itself, as her wing began to move again, it brought pain back to her shoulder. While the medication wasn't too far away, it didn't seem worth waiting for it to take effect. If Rarity decided to move on downstairs, then she'd be in real trouble. Struggling for the door handle almost caused her to trip through into another fall.

Pulling herself up again before anypony noticed, she approached her carefully. "Rarity, I really do appreciate you going to all this effort to take care of me. But, can you see how weird it is, for me at least?" For once, she didn't have to force herself to speak calmly. "I know that this is a big thing for you, and I guess I was wrong to assume you were trying to hook up with me, but other ponies might not get that. I'm just saving both of us from embarrassment “Finding herself beginning to wobble again, Dash timidly made her way over to sit beside the unicorn.

Silence followed for a few moments, broken only by the faint sound of the fading rain outside. Rarity hadn't expected such an apology, but she definitely felt more understanding about Rainbow Dash's view. "You're right; I was becoming a little too eager to help you. But, I do promise that I never intended to make you uncomfortable, you know that right?" Ironically, she couldn't resist hugging the injured pegasus for a brief moment, leaning back again more to avoid aggravating her injury again.

Dash wasn't upset by the hug; it was relieving enough to know that they could have a very simple understanding about each other's feelings and situations. A brief glance at the open bedroom reminded her of what Rarity had ahead of her. Well uh, I guess I'll get back to bed. I'll head back to the hospital when there's space, wouldn't wanna intrude and all. But I just wanted to make sure you were okay, being upset on a rainy day is definitely not cool."

Rarity was quick to give her support again, helping her back up and walking to the bed gradually. "Of course Dashie. I'll just keep busy downstairs in the meantime, give you peace to rest." Tucking Dash into the bed again, her hoof rested on the edge of the bed in a lingering moment, smiling softly at her friend. "I'll ask Fluttershy to bring some of your items over in the meantime, sleep tight."

End of Part One.

7. Holiday

Part Two: The Unicorn and the Pegasi.

"Having any luck in your search?" Twilight had taken the chance to help Rarity wash and dry her clothes in order to talk in a more relaxed situation. Keeping Princess Celestia informed of any developments as additions to the weekly letters proved to be most comfortable for Rarity, and it gave the unicorns more time to talk. Rarity's silence at that point seemed to indicate that it wasn't a positive answer that she would be giving.

Rarity merely stared into the distance at Canterlot as Twilight spoke. Search? What search? It felt like it came down to a choice of Rainbow Dash or nopony at all, silly as it was. Each day she asked herself why she had put herself in such a position, and refused to free herself from it. Clearly it was a one-way attraction in the end, she had seen it all too often in customers herself. Most admirers of none other than the one who produced such beautiful dresses.

"No, not really. I did talk with a few pegasi, but I couldn't picture myself having any involvement with them. And Rainbow Dash has made it clear that she has no interest at all. I fear that I am at a loss here." To Twilight, it seemed rather grim, if not typical of her friend to be so pessimistic. "I mean after all, each of us have gotten to know each other so well, and after the amount of times we've saved Equestria, I find it hard to feel anything deep for others outside of our friendship."

A cough came from the other unicorn, rather surprising for the prideful pony to admit to being that close to all of them. At least she had become more open about her feelings now, which would surely prove to be of great help in future. Right now, at least it meant that Twilight didn't have to inquire about Rarity's life, which saved making her feel exposed and defensive. Nopony wanted another to feel like that.

"Well, maybe you need a break from Ponyville then? Why don't you stay at Canterlot castle for a week, and enjoy the city while you're there. I'll take turns with Fluttershy in the Carousel, so you won't miss any new orders coming in. Right now what you should do is take your mind off things here, and enjoy being a pony like you usually do." While abrupt, it did make sense. Out of all of them, she undoubtedly had the hardest job. Not only did she need to create dresses, but cater to the customers on top of that.

Rarity remained silent for a moment in thought, looking back at her lovely home. A holiday, right when things were starting to pick up again. Still, perhaps that was the whole point of choosing that time in particular to go. "Oh Twilight, you always have ideas that really help out others. But I really don't want to impose on you, after all a week is quite a while." It was quite relieving to see Rarity be so accepting of her proposal, most of the time her advice wasn't taken seriously the first time.

"Well, I can always look at this as a lesson in being aware of other's needs, and you do need a break Rarity. Just don't fret about things here while you're gone, okay?" Fretting was exactly what Rarity did at that moment. A surprised face followed her as she rushed in and out with an assortment of bags and suitcases, roughly packed with her 'necessary items'. After all, for it to feel like a proper holiday, it had to begin with real packing. Using the doorway would ruin the feeling of travelling.

In less than an hour, Rarity was on the train to Canterlot. Twilight hadn't expected a reaction like that, and certainly not one so quick, to the point that there wasn't even time to tell the others. "Well, that's one possible mental breakdown avoided, I guess it's time to go see if Fluttershy's free for the week." There hadn't been any mention of upcoming migrations, or sick animals she needed to take care of. No problems whatsoever in promising Rarity that they'd both be there.

*

"I mean, what am I meant to do? She was literally snuggling up to me, and now I'm starting to hear rumours that she's gone all rainbow-crazy." Fluttershy and Derpy were the two pegasi Rainbow Dash could confide in, confident they wouldn't go blabbing about it to everyone. The latter she wasn't so sure about, but then it would be spectacular if she even understood the situation. Rarity had also confided in Fluttershy, which gave her a valuable perspective. But now Rarity had moved to Twilight, there was no accurate way to keep track of her intentions.

"Well maybe, you shoulda just go along with it!" Derpy bounced around on her cloud eagerly, creating a rather severe lightning storm for the tourists below. Dash buried her face into her own cloud again at the completely wrong answer. Become Rarity's special somepony, and have a foal with her for that matter? Completely uncool, and totally out of the question. Rarity hadn't actually said anything about having a relationship; it'd be really embarrassing to make the first move by accident.

Fluttershy was quick to see the distress, drifting over until she could pat her shoulder for comfort. "Rarity is very understanding and gentle. I'm sure if you just told her that she was making you uncomfortable, she would understand and do her best to not upset you more." Motivation was what Dash needed, the confidence that she could be honest with her friend without hurting her in any way. That was something she'd be cool with doing, making it clear that they could be close friends, but not that close.

It got her thinking again, which was crucial. Dash got to her hooves again, pulling Derpy away from the storm cloud as she paced around. "Alright, I'll just go tell her that this whole special somepony thing is making me uncomfortable. All that I need to do is find her a nice pegasus who likes unicorns. That's the hard bit of this I guess." Derpy sat down beside Fluttershy in a rather sad state, since it seemed like Dash was upset over her bouncing on the cloud. An eye roll followed from the mare in question.

The attention returned to Fluttershy, who ducked her head nervously in what was sure to follow. Usually it was about now that she was asked to do a very dangerous and scary task, while Rainbow Dash complained about her inability to do it. Although in this case, it would be her of all ponies asking. "Okay, whatever it is that you need me to do, I'm ready! Anything to help my friends stay friends!" Dash blinked in surprise, not just at Fluttershy's burst of courage.

"I uh, was just going to suggest you check up on the others. I'm gonna lay low for a bit in the meantime, take a nap and all. See you two soon, I guess!" She was gone mere seconds later, a faint rainbow streak across the sky. Checking up on their other friends didn't seem too bad, though there was no telling what Rarity was thinking at all.

8. A Favour for Rarity

The first thing Rarity did upon entering her room at the castle was fall back on the bed out of tiredness. This time there was no bell-colt to help carry her things up, which caused quite a strain on her magic of course. Celestia's enhancements proved to be very beneficial in that regard, at a guess it would have been far too difficult to manage so many items at once. And now, as she stared up at the canopy of her bed, all that came to mind was that one rainy night. Holding the pegasus close to her.

Her head shook right after that, dispelling the memory away. "Now now Rarity, this is your break, you shouldn't be thinking of such things for the time being." A yawn followed as she pulled herself from the bed. It was a good day, hardly one to be used sitting around in her room with new concepts. Rarity made her way out onto the balcony at that point, admiring the view of the glorious city beneath her, fixed to the tall mountains, and bordered by graceful waterfalls. So beautiful, different from Ponyville's appeal, and again that of the Crystal Empire's.

"How are things my dear Rarity?" Rarity jumped upon hearing Celestia's voice. She had obviously arrived silently, probably to check up on how she was going. Though it was the question that surprised, and confused her most. It was impossible to tell whether she wanted a progress report on her task, or was just inquiring about her current state. The answer would be the same, she didn't know. A mess of emotions, and unsure if she should try to pursue Rainbow Dash, or move on.

"Things are, alright. That is to say, they are not at the peak of what I would desire them to be, nor are they at disastrously low levels of inadequacy." Over-formalizing it seemed to be the only way to avoid lying; things certainly didn't feel alright. "Nothing that I should complain about, really." How surprised would her friends be to hear her admit something like that? It didn't matter, Celestia was always understanding of problems.

Celestia smiled in response as she moved to stand beside Rarity. "Some would say that is the right place to be in. So you always have something to aspire to, without becoming overwhelmed." Strange as it was to offer advice to ponies other than Twilight Sparkle, it had a unique appeal to it. "Why don't you make your way down to the donut shop for now. I took this chance to visit in between meetings, and I apologize that I cannot stay longer. But, it would give me great comfort to know that you are enjoying your time here."

Rarity was lost in thought for the moment, unmoving until Celestia was already on her way down the stairs once more. The donut shop? A very odd suggestion coming from her, but what harm could there be in following it up? Many Canterlot ponies wouldn't look twice if she didn't bother with wearing anything, which suited the relaxation part of her stay very well.

As she expected, walking through Canterlot was very straightforward. By not drawing any attention to herself, not one single pony stopped her out of recognition. A nice peace that was rare to come by, and under the circumstances very welcome. Donut Joe on the other hand was quick to greet her as she entered the shop. "Rarity! What a surprise to see you again, anything I can get you?"

For the second time in less than an hour, Rarity was rather surprised. She had only met the Baker twice, both times were rather embarrassing for herself, yet he seemed eager to make her feel welcome. "Well, just a coffee thanks, I am trying to maintain a good diet after all." A nod from the baker came before he set about to prepare her order, whistling one of Canterlot's tunes.

While waiting, Rarity was given a glimpse at the middle class society of Canterlot. Many ponies were talking over their afternoon purchases, going about their daily life without concern. Rather akin to how she felt when arriving there, unfazed by whatever went on around her. A nice change from the unicorn society, higher up in the city. For now, she would enjoy the anonymity.

Irony seemed to be strong that day, as Spitfire, Captain of the Wonderbolts, made her way up to the counter. The chatter that followed allowed her to gather that the Wonderbolts had finished a long slew of races, and would be on break for the next three weeks. While such information would be handy, it abruptly reminded her of their last encounter. Kicking them unconscious was a truly dreadful incident, one she wouldn't want them to remember.

"Hey, aren't you Rarity? Rainbow Dash's friend?" Rarity's nervous laugh followed as she turned to Spitfire in growing worry. What could the captain of the Wonderbolts possibly want with just a plain old fashion designer from Ponyville? "We were guest judging at the fashion show a few nights ago, and your recent line was really good. Really great use of colour, don't suppose Dash had a hoof in that?"

A heavy cough followed as Rarity tried to conceal her growing nervousness. Spitfire had caught onto her trend, would she work out the rest? "Well, I do my best after all. Of course, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy provide a lot of help, modelling and sewing in turn. I suppose that she did inspire some of the colour work after all, though I hadn't really made the connection myself. But I am pleased that you like them, might I interest you in a more personal line?"

The smile that Spitfire gave was virtually sparkling, making Rarity uneasy again. Rainbow Dash would go mental if she found out that such a conversation was happening, after all those times she had tried to earn one with the Wonderbolts. "Well, if there's anything me or the Wonderbolts can do for you, feel free to ask." Rarity in the meantime accepted her order, taking a few refreshing sips before realization struck her. Anything that the Wonderbolts could do for her...

"Well, there is one thing that I have in mind, if it's alright of course. Not for my own benefit either I assure you." If her idea worked, then Rainbow Dash would surely give her proposal consideration at least. It wasn't a guarantee that anything would develop, but at the very least, they would have tried. That's all she wanted right now, nothing more. And even then, it was a great act of generosity; nopony could ignore that

"Rainbow Dash had a rather serious accident a few weeks back, it left her bed ridden for a week. Since then she's been a little out of sorts, would it be any bother at all if you could... pay her a visit? I'll make all the arrangements of course, and I won't be heading back to Ponyville for the next week anyway, so I'll have your line ready by then!" This time she didn't have a birthday to prepare for, or other engagements for that matter. Still, it was several outfits to work on.

With a final nod, Spitfire carried the large spread of food and drink back to the table, where several of the Wonderbolts had gathered. Rarity finished off her own drink before departing, feeling rather relieved at long last. Things were looking up again; she had a high profile line to design, as well as a present for Rainbow Dash that would earn favour. "Oh Rarity, you do know how to handle things after all."

10. The Outfit

Just about every pony in Ponyville gathered to watch the Wonderbolts exclusive performance, with Rainbow Dash as a special participant in the show of course. While it was only just one day that she had to enjoy with them, it was well worth it. One of those rare moments where she could feel really happy, and not have a care in the world. And of course, it provided the perfect chance to practice her sonic rainboom, each time felt better and better.

Rarity on the other hand spent the whole time she was conscious pulling her whole effort and resources into coming up with a revolutionary outfit for Sapphire Shores. And this time she had a substantial supply of gems to draw on, should there be any notion of costume changes once again. Fluttershy and Spike had volunteered the afternoon to help on top of all that, much to her pleasure.

"I dunno, it looks a little too... frilly." The sleeve that had three layers of frilling on the cuffs, for which Spike clearly had a distaste. Fluttershy giggled softly from her turn at the sowing machine, working hard to finish the hem of the cloak. Rarity peered over the mannequin at Spike as he continued to voice his complaints. Gems hovered around her head as she continued to work on new arrangements.

"Oh Spike, there's some gems over in the small chest that you can have for a snack. They won't work for clothes, and you've been a very good helper." With his attention no longer devoted to being picky, the final pieces settled into place smoothly. "I think it's done! Would you like me to finish off the cloak Fluttershy?" She made her way over to check up on progress. Fluttershy had been very patient with her, and the stitching was excellent.

Spike returned with his mouth and arms filled with gems. A pat on the head accompanied with a bit of tutting was all Rarity managed before the cloak drew her attention away once more. So close to completion, and in just a mere matter of hours. Even if it wouldn't compare to her other recent works, it would certainly be a personal achievement. And she had her dear friends to thank for that. With a quick flick of her head, she pulled the cloak free and placed it over the rest of the outfit. Nothing short of stunning, just the right personality for a performance.

"Fluttershy, Spike... It's done. Now, are you sure Sapphire Shores said she would be returning later today? It's starting to get dark outside now." The Sugarcube Corner had been her destination according to Fluttershy, if there was a delay then there was one rather obvious answer. "Well, I think we should see if she needs rescuing from Pinkie Pie. I can only hope that she isn't too upset with the delay, it wouldn't do at all to have a bad impression."

It was quickly decided that the best option would be to take the outfit to its owner directly, that way there would be less worry about causing unnecessary delays. Fortunately, a lot of ponies were gathered outside Town Hall for the Wonderbolts farewell, the rest had probably gone to Sugarcube corner. Two famous groups in their town at the same time, rare as the chances were, it had happened.

"So Rarity, still having no luck finding that special somepony?" Rarity didn't respond to Spike's question for a moment. How could she possibly answer with certainty? She didn't know exactly what Rainbow Dash wanted to talk about; it could easily go either way. And how would he react knowing she was pursuing the weather pony? But something had to be said, it would be far worse if it seemed like she was deliberately not telling him.

"I uh... have somepony in mind. But I'm not certain if things will work out. Tonight, I should know." Her heart felt like one of Zecora's brews. Bubbly, mysterious, and impossible to discern what was inside. Spike's behaviour was more-so confusing; he seemed fine about everything, despite the heartache that must've been caused by her task. Was it just an infatuation, which until that point he felt was a genuine love?

The last gem that he had carried with him from the Boutique vanished into his chomping jaw. "Well, I hope it goes okay. I'm still going to be your friend, right?" That made her smile, such innocent questions. Maybe she was right, just a little infatuation that he wouldn't tear himself up over. It was at that point she noticed that Fluttershy had fallen behind, probably worried about intruding on their conversation.

"Oh silly, you'll always be my Spikey-Wikey." It was a fun excuse to rest for a moment, patting his head until he shook her hoof away in embarrassment. Now, the sounds of party coming from Sugarcube Corner were audible. Pinkie Pie was definitely there; her unique singing voice was as unmistakeable as her songs. What had her confused was a rather different voice, a very distinctive and unique voice.

Sapphire Shores was definitely singing, but without an appropriate outfit! She couldn't just stand by and let her continue to perform without looking her absolute best! "I'm coming!" Rarity bolted off with that, the dress and cloak struggling to keep up with her speed. A confused Spike and worried Fluttershy remained in her wake. It wasn't like her at all to be so abrupt; Pinkie was the abrupt one of their group.

A loud thud marked Rarity's failed attempt to charge through the door, resulting in quite a bit of pain in her horn. The second attempt proved more successful, bursting through into the midst of the crowd. Sapphire Shores was performing alright, and she did in fact have an outfit on. Though Rarity never expected that Pinkie Pie would provide her with what could only be described as an oversized cupcake for a costume.

"Fluttershy, I think she's broken." There hadn't been any movement from the unicorn, prompting Spike to wave his paw in front of her face. Her jaw began to move at last, sinking down into a silent gawk. One of her most esteemed customers was up there on stage... dressed as a cupcake! The outfit she had put hours into creating merely drifted off to the side.

"Uh, maybe you should go home and rest, Rarity. I'll make sure she gets the outfit after the show." At that moment, Pinkie Pie rushed from Sapphire's side to greet the arrivals, almost throwing Spike up through the second floor in her excitement. Fluttershy picked up the top of the outfit gently in her mouth before retreating to the side of the room where it was quieter. And there was still little movement from Rarity, but she was edging towards the door again.

"Aw! Come on Rarity! It's no fun being alone, especially when there's a party going on!" Seeing a confetti coated Pinkie Pie fill her view was enough to get the unicorn moving again. After all the effort she had gone to, a party certainly wasn't what she had in mind. Sleep on the other hand would be perfect, and nopony would keep her from that. Pinkie was about to try anyway, save for Spike intervening.

"Come on Pinkie, she's just tired. Hey, can I do some of the singing?" Unfazed as usual, Pinkie Pie eagerly bounced back to the microphone with him on her back. Now able to reach it, his moment to shine was there for the taking. Alongside Sapphire Shores, the pony of pop. "Uh, nice costume Miss Shores."

*

Fine trails of steam wafted out through the open window into the night. Rarity had managed to calm herself with a lovely cocoa. How could she have made such a fool of herself! Bursting into the party as if somepony's life depended on it! And what if Sapphire didn't even notice the outfit she prepared? What if she had the sudden urge to move from gems to food for costumes!

As if fate hadn't found enough entertainment at the cost of her reputation and mood, a knock at her door came loud. "Just leave me alone!" The door opened anyway, which for once actually felt a bit comforting. There was a good chance it was one of her close friends, who else would investigate anyway? Rainbow Dash certainly wasn't the pony she had initially expected however, but then she had mentioned returning later.

"Hey uh, I hope I'm not coming at a bad moment Rarity. But uh, we need to talk before I decide anything. About us, that is..." Closing the door carefully with a sweep of her wing, Dash approached the restless unicorn in slight worry. She looked a bit upset, not that unusual, but it did make her feel a bit awkward. There was a good chance she'd go even more sentimental and mushy, ruining the strength she had worked up to go there.

"No no, it's fine Dashie. Come, I'm sure you must be tired from the performance, I'll make you a cocoa if you like, I just had a little, incident at Sugarcube Corner."

11. Selflessness and Dedication

Sipping lightly from her cup of hot cocoa, very nice thanks to Rarity's practise when hosting sleepovers for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Dash gathered her thoughts now that they weren't clouded by the Wonderbolts anymore. Things had gone right for once; there was no need to run around in a panic trying to fix them. And Rarity had played a big part in that, bringing her hero team to town meant so much to the pegasus.

Rarity glanced back over her own cup, being careful to avoid getting foam on her lips as she drank. She didn't have any doubts about Rainbow Dash hearing her out; she was the Element of Loyalty after all. Perhaps that was another reason why she found herself so drawn to her of all pegasi. Despite her usually dismissive and inflated personality, she wouldn't let that take priority over her friends.

For Dash however, it wasn't quite as easy as just trusting Rarity to be understanding and considerate. There were certain things she needed to establish before moving on to the prospect of a relationship. "Alright, here's the thing. I like you, you're a great friend, and you know when it's time to do things, and I respect that, we're cool and all. But, you seem to be making too big a deal about this. And it honestly scares me. Obsession isn't cool at all."

Rarity nodded solemnly. At least they could talk like two sensible ponies; she wouldn't have it any other way. "Again, I apologise for my behaviour before. I was over the line, and I promise that won't happen in future, whatever happens." Another relieving sip from her mug followed, so convenient with magic to use. Outside, Ponyville was asleep; they had time to talk in privacy.

"Another thing... I'm not sure that I'm comfortable with everypony knowing about, us. And I know you like all those fancy parties and always wanted a big wedding, but I'm just not sure that it's, me. I'm cool and awesome, not froofy and elegant. No offence of course, but I just can't do that. Not yet at least." Rarity nodded again, that hadn't occurred to her, but she had to respect Rainbow's wishes all the same. Especially since she had actually mentioned the wedding.

Her hoof reached out to touch Dash's softly. Such consideration she hadn't expected at all. "I can live with that, it may be difficult to control the excitement, but I will manage. Celestia's task is the second priority, first is ensuring that whoever helps me fulfil that task is happy and content with me. I won't have it any other way." Not wanting to say more than necessary, she took a long drink from her mug.

Dash did the same, far more relaxed after seeing just how patient Rarity was being over this. Of course, this wouldn't be an immediate thing for them, but it was a good start. "Okay, that brings me to the last item, Celestia's task..." Rarity bit down on her lip at that moment. Celestia had left her options open in terms of choosing a partner, but she hadn't mentioned how it would work for a female.

"Yes, I'm not sure what preparations Celestia needs to perform. But I'll be having the princess, you needn't worry about that." For once, she didn't feel awkward talking about it. Dash didn't seem put off either, a very welcome change from before. "I don't mind if you'd prefer to sleep at your own place at times, I mean I can be somewhat of a bother at the best of times after all."

More silence followed as both continued to ponder. It felt good that they were discussing it so openly, without silly hesitations or second thoughts. Maybe under normal circumstances it would seem presumptuous, but normal circumstances didn't account for a Princess being involved. Rarity had begun to doze off when the lack of cocoa became noticeable. Rainbow Dash was still thinking, and didn't complain when her own mug was taken to be refilled.

"Okay, I think I can handle this, but I need a bit of time to get comfortable. Like training before a competition, if you know what I mean." Rarity returned with fresh mugs, the warmth clearing her mind again. Until then, she hadn't really noticed just how much she appreciated the personal company of one of her friends. And now, she had somepony closer still to her.

"Of course, a few low key dates sound alright?" The nod from Dash brought a few giggles to the surface. Another thought came to her as she took one last soothing drink. "Oh Dashie, may I make one teensy weensy request in return?" The wide grin that had appeared on her face had Rainbow Dash rather suspicious, but she nodded again out of courtesy. "Can I please make you a special dress for our dates?"

*

Just minutes later, Rarity was watching Rainbow Dash depart for home. She really was a nice and considerate pony, behind the proud attitude she always had. And now, she not only had solved the problem that bothered her for so long, but she was genuinely happy with her decision. Eventually she pulled herself away from the window again, back towards the waiting bed.

"Not long now Rarity, you just need to keep things simple, and make her happy. Then, you'll have your precious colourful gem in your hooves, and a smaller one on the way." Reassuring herself didn't seem too silly a thing to do, if it boosted her confidence that much more then it was worth it. Sleep followed soon after for her, warmth from the blanket and the cocoa helping to settle her.

Tomorrow was something she couldn't wait for. She had to get to making Dash's new dress right away, and there were dinner reservations to make. More important would be when they told their friends.

*

A deep exhale came as Rainbow Dash landed on the cloud outside her door. Part of her was concerned that she didn't really know what she was getting into, apart from the obvious romance with Rarity. They both loved being the centre of attention at least, but this was just one of those times that she just didn't want to be. Having a deep relationship was personal, something that she wanted more to herself than anything.

Before going inside, she quickly flew around and gathered up a cluster of clouds around her place. Now a soft drizzle fell around her place, rolling off the edges of the cloud in tiny rivulets. It would be a long night, and there were still a few things she needed to consider before morning. Rain helped settle her thoughts, though she'd never admit that to anypony.

The Daring Do books that Twilight gave her seemed to stand out in the dark. All those times she had made fun of her reading, only to come to love it too. Rather similar to the situation she had just been in. As she approached the bed, the one photograph she kept to herself reflected back in the moonlight. Graduation from the Pegasi Academy. Her parents had been there, one of the few times she actually recalled seeing them at all.

"I'll be helping to bring a Princess into Equestria..." Her eyes closed as she slid into bed, the photo was a memory she didn't feel like dreaming about that night. As if to help that, there was still a lingering taste of chocolate on her lips. A welcome reminder of the warmth she had enjoyed with Rarity, earlier that night, and when the unicorn had come to her rescue in the rain and mud.

She was making the right decision. Rarity genuinely cared, who could say that another pony who would do that much for her would come around in future? Her face tightened in reaction to a droplet of water on her face. It hadn't come from a leak in her cloud. Somepony, who had her well-being in mind, all the time. How long had it been since she had been able to tell herself she knew somepony like that?

End of Part Two.

16. When Sky and Earth Meet

12. Gardening Disaster

Part Three: Crystals Grow on Rainbows.

"Applejack, why are we out here anyway? I thought you finished the apple harvest a few weeks ago." Both unicorns had been summoned by her to a more overgrown part of the orchard, without explanation. The only deterrent for Rarity was the abundance of untamed nature, as for Twilight Sparkle, she was missing on some crucial study time for her next upcoming test. For once, she was the more reluctant conscript.

"Well ya see, these vines ain't the normal type. I can't get near 'em without getting a sharp crack to the face." To demonstrate, she pointed her hoof at the nearest tree. A few of the vines reared off the bark towards the approaching ponies, causing all three to take a cautious step back. "No idea where they came from, I tried everything I could think of before asking you two. Looks like magic's the only way to go about uprooting this one."

Twilight took a moment to observe before leaning closer towards the vines as they curled through the air in warning. "Well, I certainly haven't encountered this sort of plant before, though it shouldn't be too difficult to subdue." Building up the magical energy in her horn as a deterrent to the plants seemed to be a good first approach, doing so she slowly advanced forward.

It seemed to be working at first. The tips of the vines backed away in light of the sparkling horn, an encouraging sign for Twilight to continue on. "Any idea where the main plant is? Shouldn't be too difficult to send it back to the Everfree forest once it's uprooted." At that point, the behaviour of the vines changed rather abruptly. Maintaining their distance at first, they curved around to form a loop towards the tree. "Uh, this doesn't look too good." Her observation proved all too true, as they quickly whipped back towards the tree, pulling her with them in a crude net of sorts.

Impact with the tree was strong enough to throw off her magic concentration completely, her horn flickering out as her eyes rolled. Vines continued wrapping around her body to encase her, causing Rarity to faint. Applejack maintained her composure. "Hang on Twilight! I'll have these vines under control lickety split. You'll see!" Charging in seemed to be effective at first, the vines that got too close were quickly knocked away.

"Almost gotcha, get ready to run..." Unfortunately, for both of them, the vines seemed to catch onto her strategy, grabbing her legs successfully. From there, she was hurled up into the branches of the tree, with little regard for how painful it was. "Well gosh darn it... Rarity! Get off your back and do something!" Rarity was still unconscious on her fainting couch. Applejack rolled her eyes in disbelief before struggling to look at Twilight. She was having no luck in freeing herself with magic. Each time her horn began to glow seemed attract the vines, and they would knock her concentration off again.

"Rarity! Oh for hay's sake..." Fighting back wouldn't work, there were too many of them to deal with. A new approach would be necessary. Given the aggressiveness of the vines, she'd only get a single flare out, but surely, that would be enough to get the attention of somepony. "Here goes!" Charging her horn as fast as possible, a bright purple flare fired up into the sky. Immediately following that, the vines tightened their grip around her head and horn in particular. She was now completely helpless.

*

"Ooh! It's so pretty!" Pinkie Pie was staring at the bright light above Sweet Apple Acres in awe when Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy landed down beside her. It wasn't that spectacular, just a slow burning firework that hadn't gone off yet as far as Dash was concerned. But then, what was Applejack doing with fireworks anyway? Surely if there was going to be some sort of fireworks display, she would have told all of them.

"Pinkie Pie, do you know about any party? Because I don't, and a party without Rainbow Dash is just uncool!" Pinkie shook her head wildly before resuming her admiration of the slowly descending point of light. Fluttershy seemed to be transfixed by the display as well, but still receptive to insistent nudging. "Come on Fluttershy, we should check this out. Pinkie can be Pinkie all she likes, doesn't mean we should miss out on a party!"

She took off again in the direction of the light without hesitation. Fluttershy delayed to follow, until Pinkie Pie changed her mind and followed too. What else could she do now that both were going after all? As they approached, the pace quickened in response to cries for help. Applejack and Twilight, maybe something had happened with one of her spells. What if one of them had a bad injury!

"We're coming Applejack! Just hold on!" Both pegasi cleared the fence with speed, while Pinkie just bounced higher than usual to make it over. All three stopped short of the horrific scene before them. Twilight and Applejack were entangled in a mess of vines that were strangling the apple trees. And Rarity was unsurprisingly laid out across her favourite couch. Dash rolled her eyes at the typical behaviour displayed by her date, a great start to impressing her.

Help couldn't come soon enough for Applejack as she continued to struggle. Better still was the fact that it was one of the more, confident, and strong ponies there to assist. "Rainbow Dash! Stay back, these vines grab at anything they can!" Pinkie Pie either didn't hear the warning in time, or was too fascinated with those very plants to pay attention. Within moments, she was hurled up to hang beside Applejack, proceeding to laugh her head off at how fun it felt to be swung around like that. "Okay, Twilight says there should be a main plant somewhere. If you can find it, and pull it out, that should get all these vines to release us. Okay?"

Fluttershy merely paced around in front of Rarity as the vines warned her off threateningly. At a guess, the plant wasn't out for food, just upset that the ponies had trespassed. But it was the Apple family's orchard; there was no explanation for how it had gotten from the Everfree Forest to there. "I don't think you need to go to extreme measures to get it to go away. Maybe just asking it to leave might work."

Rainbow Dash caught most of the advice as she flew up to begin searching for the core of the plant. The vines couldn't reach up far past the tree line, stopping short of grabbing at her hooves. Hopefully the distraction would take the pressure off Twilight and Applejack. Pinkie Pie was still laughing her head off in the meantime, oblivious to the situation as ever. That didn't matter right now.

Fluttershy floated past at that point, heading to a particular spot above the trees. The way the vines were acting made it impossible to work out where the root was. Fluttershy on the other hand knew plants better; it made sense to follow her advice this time. "Okay, if you just point it out, I'll do the rest. There's plenty of clouds that can do with a little rain-work, maybe a nice shower will get it to leave." She'd have to rush this job, but time wasn't exactly in abundance.

"Oh, okay. It's just over here..." Fluttershy pointed to a clearing in the trees when several long vines launched upward to pull her down. The attack had opened up the view to the plant itself, a horrifying mess of leaves and vines. Rainbow Dash for a moment felt her stomach lurch as a large maw opened up to swallow her friend whole. Gone, just like that, and now her friends were being pulled in towards it too. It was trying to reach her too, straining the vines to the sky. She'd never seen anything like it before, and now it would be the last she saw of her friends. And Rarity...

Rarity, she was well outside of the monster's reach surely. "You'd better be up for a little gardening Rarity." Dash flew back to the couch at great speed on that thought. She was still there, though not for long as Dash grabbed her roughly and struggled to fly back up. The screaming didn't help a whole lot either, carrying another pony was hard enough under the best of circumstances. But Rarity was the closest unicorn to the scene, and Fluttershy couldn't have long inside the thing.

"Rainbow Dash! What are you doing? This is not how I expect to be woken up!" The pegasus continued on anyway until both were positioned roughly above the plant. At that point, Rarity began squirming again out of fear of being dropped. "Rainbow! I do hope you have a good explanation for bringing me up here!" The urge to drop her was getting quite strong, but that would seal Fluttershy's fate.

"Just use your magic! Celestia gave you improvements to your magic, isn't one of them extreme gardening or something?! Fluttershy is trapped in that thing, and you are the only one who can save her!" Rarity faded into silence for a moment, more to think than anything. Now she felt downright silly for being so quick to panic, especially now that Fluttershy was in grave danger.

"Okay, but I don't really know what spell would work. Twilight is the magic expert." An uprooting spell probably wouldn't work, especially if the plant had intelligence. And one of that size would require a huge exertion of magic. Twilight herself came into view, within metres of the plant's mouth. "Twilight! What spell will destroy the plant? I don't think I can manage a second attempt!"

There was too much noise from the thrashing vines to hear her properly. And she was on the verge of being swallowed too. For a moment, Rarity felt deeply that she had just failed her friends. "Behind you!" That was the last Twilight managed to shout before she too vanished into the plant. Rainbow Dash instinctively turned to look behind her in fear that the vines were preparing to ambush.

It caused Rarity a moment of pain as the sunlight hit her face. Was that what she meant by behind them? "Dash! Close your eyes, this is going to be bright!" Urging the pegasus to turn them back around, Rarity pointed her horn directly at the plant once more. Too much sunlight caused most plants to wither. Perhaps it would just be enough to do the same to this plant. "Bring it on, you filthy weed!"

17. Union

13. Acceptance

Fluttershy opened her eyes nervously to the sight of brown leaves silently floating down all around her. Being pulled down into the tangle of plant was the memory fresh in her mind, and very upsetting to say the least. Now, it seemed to be nothing more than a pile of withered vines and leaves. To her surprise, Twilight was slumped right beside her, which did explain the extra weight she felt around her. Leaves went everywhere again as Rarity fell from above, causing both ponies to jump in fright.

"Oops, sorry. I lost my grip, not to say you're heavy, actually you're pretty light. But you didn't really say just how bright that spell would be." Twilight did notice that Rainbow Dash was unusually apologetic to Rarity, even for dropping her by accident. Rarity had enough trouble in trying to get back up from the impact to take notice. Applejack finally freed herself from the limp vines to join the rest in the clearing. Some of the apple trees had been singed too, but it was a small cost in comparison to getting rid of the terrible plant creature.

"You ponies alright? That there was one of the most wild things I've ever come across. You did pretty good Rarity, might I say." Dash settled down beside Rarity to help keep her steady. Applejack was quite right, while she had acted like her usual self at first, the way she stood up to the plant was pretty awesome. And neither of the ponies swallowed by the plant were hurt, that was the really important part.

"How did you stop it Rarity? I hoped that you'd be able to at least hurt it, but you pretty much wiped it out completely, that level of magic is incredible for one without training like me." There was no response for a moment, as Rarity still couldn't maintain her balance. A constant throbbing in her head, centred on her horn, made it impossible to concentrate on anything for more than a few seconds.

"I don't quite know. My head hurts too much to think..." This time when she passed out, it was a dizzy slump to the ground. Rainbow Dash was quick to make sure she was still breathing. The faint movement of her chest was a relief to see, but the way she had collapsed without any obvious warning had her scared.

"She landed on the leaves when I dropped her, and we weren't that high anyway. I'm sure of it!" Twilight rested her hoof on Dash's shoulder to try and reassure her. There was definitely something going on, Rainbow Dash had always remained calm and confident when one of them was in trouble. Now she seemed close to panicking over Rarity's state.

"Fluttershy can go with you to notify the hospital. AJ and I will get her back to the barn in the meantime." Fluttershy did her best to comfort Rainbow Dash as well, before they both took off to get help. Pinkie Pie had taken the initiative in pulling together a makeshift stretcher, out of dead branches and the convenient abundance of vines. "I'll notify Celestia once she's in good hooves, for now we should try and keep her head cool."

*

Rarity found herself waking in a hospital bed. Her horn was still throbbing from pain, but it no longer caused her head to spin uncontrollably. She jumped briefly as her focus returned; all of her friends were there in the room. From what she could tell, all were fine and unhurt, a great relief to see. For a moment, she began to sit up in order to greet them properly, the lack of balance following drew their attention back.

"Easy Rarity, take it slowly. The doctor's say that you put quite a strain on your magic there, and it's taking its toll. The spell you used was really intense, and you haven't had the necessary training for that level of spell. It'll take time to recover." Rarity nodded slowly as Twilight eased her back. The reassurance wasn't all positive, but it was far better than hearing something like the spell burned her horn out altogether.

"I'll be without magic for a while then, assume..." She relied on her magic for the quality of her work; confirmation of those worries would be a real blow. The look on the attending nurse's face was enough. That settled it then. Simple things like preparing food and doing stitching wouldn't be hampered too much, but the more important tasks like full dress design would be delayed. Magic served as her extra pair of hooves.

On an impulse, she glanced over at the table beside the bed. Her dressmaking glasses, a gesture she appreciated. Despite her initial behaviour, they all cared enough to take time and consider her comfort. Underneath the glasses was a small note, one that she felt was the sort best read in private. Silence had fallen across the room by then. And rather surprisingly, she found herself feeling rather sleepy, made evident by a small yawn.

"We'll give you some time to rest then Rarity. Take care of yourself." Applejack replaced her prized hat on her head before leaving, followed gradually by the other ponies. It wouldn't be fair of her to expect them to stay with her at all; they had their own lives too. Twilight especially, she had already given up so much of her valuable time to help out in her busy times. Eventually, only Rainbow Dash remained. Unlike the others however, she didn't seem to be intent on leaving yet, casually glancing at the note beside Rarity instead.

It was a subtle hint, but she didn't need more than that to get it. Reaching for the note caused a moment of dizziness, which passed by the time she brought it into reading distance. I'm sorry that I've been so rough with you lately. Before, I just wasn't sure how serious you really were about our relationship, now I feel pretty stupid for doubting you at all. Just don't hesitate to ask anything, we're cool through and through now. Rarity glanced above the note at a now somewhat uneasy Rainbow Dash, before placing the note back in its original place. Such a considerate offer, from one who often held herself in high esteem.

"Thank... Thank you, Rainbow Dash. I really do appreciate the offer, so long as it isn't intruding on your time. I do have a lot of work that I don't think I will be able to keep up with now, if you're capable of handling my dressmaker's attitude." The uneasiness passed; soon Dash was standing beside the bed to rest her hoof on Rarity's shoulder. She had definitely changed recently, though this was the biggest change by far.

"I promised you I'd try to make this work, and after you pushed your magic to the limit to save everyone, I'm taking that seriously. They say you'll be ready to go home in an hour, I told them that I'd take care of you at home. I never did thank you properly for taking care of me on that night, so it's no big deal." The nurse came back into the room as if to confirm her previous statement.

"We've done all the necessary tests; this is something that will just need time to recover from. You can go home now if you feel up to it, otherwise we'll release you in the morning." A brief glance passed between the unicorn and the pegasus. She didn't feel too bad, save for the constant pain and imbalance. With Rainbow Dash to support her too, she could probably get home without even needing a wheelchair.

"Alright, I wouldn't want to take up a bed from other ponies who need it more than I do." Getting out of bed proved to be the start of the journey itself. Each shuffle towards the edge of the bed upset her horn, causing another bout of sickness. But Rarity continued on, she had friends who would support her, one right there for her now. Afterwards a visit to the palace wouldn't be out of place. If Celestia knew of some way to heal her pain, or perhaps even prevent a similar incident in future, then it would be well worth it.

The edge of the bed brought her thoughts back into how she would actually get down. Leaning too much made her eyes spin giddily. Worry continued to build as she started to slide from gravity alone, too fast for her head to adjust properly. In that moment, it felt like she would miss her footing completely, and land on her other side. Instead, she found Rainbow Dash there to keep her steady, her wing wrapped tightly over her back.

"It's okay, I got you covered. Just take it slow and we'll get you home, I promise. And try not to break out into song while you're at it." Walking with her was tedious and slow, definitely not what Dash liked at all. But this wasn't about her, or about speed and agility. Rarity wasn't trying to impress anyone, just doing what needed to be done, and she had suffered for that. Nopony could disrespect that in their right mind.

Going from the hospital to the Carousel proved to be a learning experience for both of them. While neither had been comfortable about being so close in public before, the reality proved to be far better than what they imagined. Ponies didn't turn heads, or whisper to their friends. There were no sounds of disapproval or confusion. If anything, there was concern for Rarity's poor state of health, and admiration that Dash was helping her.

Neither separated until Rarity was carefully lifted into bed. "Anything you need, just ask. I'll just hang out downstairs in the meantime, catch up on some reading and all." Before that, she made her way towards the window. "I think Ponyville's cool with us. Which is nice, I guess." Rarity had fallen asleep by then, which made Dash smile to herself. It was one wild day, admittedly not as wild as others she recalled, but it was definitely one to remember.

18. Massage

14. Headcase

To the dismay of Rarity, Celestia was busy at the Crystal Empire to help protect it from the winter. And as much as she'd like to visit, a train journey wasn't the sort of thing she imagined would be kind to a sore head. That left her with one other option to explore in curing her terrible headache, the mysterious Zecora. While she rarely visited her, mostly because of the journey through the Everfree forest it entailed, it seemed logical that the zebra would know of a natural remedy. Recovering her magic wasn't as important as relieving the pain for the moment.

Knocking on the door left her teeth chattering. Actually arriving at her destination proved to be a lot more nerve wracking than she had first expected, leaving her almost afraid that Zecora would actually be there. But her head was still in pain, four days after the incident, and what would be the harm in talking for a while anyway? So long as she had the relief first, a nice and casual chat with her wouldn't bother her at all.

The door opened to a slightly surprised Zecora. "Rarity with eyes of blue, tell me what ails you." Rarity made her way in slowly, being very careful to avoid bumping any of the zebra's items. At least there was the reassurance that she wasn't in the middle of any important preparations. No ingredients were laid out on the table, and the large pot was cold. It would hardly do to tumble into something crucial and cause a huge mess.

"Oh, there was a horrible plant that had lots of long vines, it tied up everyone and began to swallow them whole. I managed to wipe it out, but it had a terrible effect on my magic, and it’s still causing a lot of pain. Do you know of anything that will relieve a severe headache?" She sat down on the guest chair before placing her forehead on the table surface to provide a bit of relief. Zecora herself made her way around the room to collect ingredients while she spoke.

"Ah, a tendriculos you have defeated, now you come to be treated." The array of ingredients that were set down on the table before her caused a small gasp. So many unusual and exotic flowers and plants. All she really wanted was a simple cure that wouldn't take up much of Zecora's time; this however looked like a three course meal. But what did she mean in the first part of her sentence?

"A tendriculos?" The name was unfamiliar to her, and probably to Twilight, yet Zecora identified it from a very basic description. Something not native to Equestria then, but why was it in Applejack's orchard? "Do they like eating apples, as well as ponies? It was in a corner of Sweet Apple Acres, near the forest." Zecora was just as surprised as she had been; maybe she had experience with them.

"Such a monster coloured green, another of its kind I have not seen. Perhaps Twilight will know more, plenty of factual resources, and mystic lore." By that time, Zecora had finished grinding down the ingredients, now mixing them together in the now boiling pot. The smell alone brought a bit of relief to Rarity, easing the intensity of the throbbing. Coming here had definitely been worth the worrying trip through the Everfree forest.

Seeing the remedy poured out into a cup for her was a sight she couldn't enjoy enough. Relief, at long last! Of course, she was careful when sipping it down; it wouldn't do to cause more pain in the process of relieving some. As she drank, the warm soothing feeling in her head continued to spread across the pain. It was almost unbelievable just how quickly she began to feel better. "Thank you again, for your help. I can't imagine myself staying reasonably sane much longer with the constant distraction."

Zecora nodded with a smile, it was always a pleasure to help others for her. And once Rarity had explained the task she had been given, there was the promise of future support to come. "Travel safe to your home, do not let your curiosity roam." Rarity smiled softly before making her way out into the forest. Roaming was definitely something she wouldn't be doing any time soon.

*

"Tendriculos? And you're certain that Zecora said it's not native to Equestria? I don't have many books on extra-equestrian topics, and those I do have are about dragons and griffons." Twilight and Spike were both sifting through the bookcases anyway in search of a reference to the plant creature. Rarity took it upon herself to catch the books that flew in her direction, harder without use of her magic, but not impossible.

"Zecora seems to be the only one who knows anything about them, although she did mention not seeing one herself. I just feel it would be advisable to find out what we can about it, in case there are more around." A knock at the door drew her attention away from cleaning up after Twilight. For a moment, she hesitated in opening it in case some poor pony would take a book to the face, but eventually pulled it to. Pinkie Pie hurried past in a blur of pink which sent her dizzy again, Rainbow Dash was about to do the same when she noticed Rarity. Instead, she paused to hug her warmly.

"Fluttershy says that you found out the name of the bushy monster. So didja? Didja? Didja?" Twilight almost fell off the ladder when Pinkie poked her head out of the bookshelf. While Twilight was rather upset at almost falling, and probably hurting herself, it was hard to feel genuinely annoyed at Pinkie's eccentricity. And yet it took a few moments to come up with the exact words to say.

"Yes Pinkie, we did. Unfortunately, it looks like we need to search elsewhere, perhaps Canterlot, then the Crystal Kingdom. I just don't have anything in my library about tendriculos', let alone big pony eating plant monsters." Rainbow Dash looked to Rarity for a moment in concern that she wouldn't be up to two long train trips. Rarity however stepped forward with a very confident stride.

"I realize that making a journey like that on such short notice is inconvenient, but we have a duty as the wielders of the Elements of Harmony to keep Equestria safe. That plant nearly defeated all of us without much of a fight, save for Twilight's quick thinking on what spell would work. We can't let others fall into danger if there's more of them waiting to attack."

None of the occupants of the room expected Rarity to speak like that, and especially so soon after her terrible temporary loss of magic. "Uh, gee Rarity, that's... really big of you to say. Are you sure you're okay? Wouldn't wanna see you hurt yourself again." Rarity glanced at Spike to reaffirm her confidence before looking at the others again. Even Pinkie Pie paused in her bouncing to listen.

"I'm fine Spike, if anything; it taught me a great lesson. I saw that my usual nature of fleeing situations put all of my friends in terrible danger. And when I did my best to save them, I was not prepared for the consequences Which is why this time we must be ready." Her eyes found their way back to Dash, who once again rested her hoof on her shoulder. A vote of confidence from the toughest pony of them all, that was reassurance enough.

Twilight stepped back down from her ladder to join the circle that had formed. "Alright, Spike and I will clean up while you two go get Fluttershy and Applejack. If you really feel up to leading this search, then I think we're all ready to help." Pinkie waved her hoof around in a desperate attempt to avoid being left out of any plan. "And Pinkie, I think we'll need some snacks on the way, wouldn't want to do research on an empty stomach."

With the five of them leaving it at that, Rarity and Rainbow Dash quickly departed to inform the other ponies of their plan. "That was awesome how you stood up like that. Honestly, I probably would have waited longer before making up such a plan, but you did great getting it out just like that. Must be learning from me huh." It was nice to see Dash becoming more supportive of her, and less embarrassed at that.

"I care about everypony, and relying on them for help reminded me of that. More importantly, it reminded me of how much you do for others when things go bad. Now, I think you know better how to explain things to Fluttershy, I'll head over to get Applejack." Dash nodded briefly before taking off towards Fluttershy's cottage. Sweet Apple Acres wasn't too far away by that point at least.

Until now, she had been hesitant to visit Applejack out of paranoia around plants. She was understanding of course, but it still felt bad to not check-up. Now wasn't the time to become fretful again. She had been very assertive back there, and it was important that she continued to be assertive throughout. After all, while it had been Twilight's suggestion to check in the major libraries, she had been the one who made it clear they had to.

Rarity almost knocked over the stacked piles of clean apples in her haste, Applejack seemed to be in the middle of sorting out what remained from the tendriculos infestation. "Applejack, Zecora identified the plant as something foreign to Equestria, and we need to find out what it is exactly. I'm very concerned about there being more around. How quickly can you come?" Applejack didn't waste time in putting her work to the side.

"Sure thing Rarity, I'll be at the train station right away. Also glad that your visit to Zecora worked out, you look far better now than you did back at the hospital. That headache cure sure must've done wonders for you." For a moment, Rarity held onto that last statement. Her sudden burst of confidence, was it because of something Zecora put into the remedy, to boost her self-esteem when she was in a low mood?

No, she took control of the situation herself. All it required was a head clear of constant pain.

13. Acceptance

16. When Sky and Earth Meet

In the few months that passed following the incidents with the tendriculos', Rarity had undergone the rest of the preparations, eager and anticipating the day that they would come into use. Now with her body able to better handle the presence of imbued magic inside, and other specific spells that she and Twilight could use in case things went sideways, she felt truly ready for whatever lay ahead in the near future. Having the support of friends always brought them through the worst, their recent experiences proved that enough.

It was Hearts and Hooves day, which meant a nice day in the countryside for the six to talk and have fun. Rarity had set out the picnic blanket at a safe distance from the lake, to ensure that splashing didn't reach anyone at the sitting of course. Now, all she had to do was wait for the others to join her. Of course, the last picnic they had enjoyed ended with Twilight going insane over her obsessive compulsiveness, and the Hearts and Hooves day in turn ended with her front door being torn off and a giant hole in front of the Carousel. But this would be different, she was confident of that.

Pinkie Pie was the first to arrive, stopping at the very edge of the blanket with a slight wobble before straightening it out and sitting down. "Hey Rarity, nice work! How are you? Good? good? That's good. Always good! Lots of good! So much good!" Rarity was in the middle of setting out the food she had brought, eyes rolling behind the pink sunglasses she always wore. Applejack would be bringing most of it, but she felt it best to bring some too.

The others arrived soon; Twilight was just in time to save the cupcakes from Pinkie's 'taste testing'. Applejack in particular was pleased with that. "Thanks Twilight, gettin' a bit worried that we wouldn't have any of 'em scrumptious cupcakes." Rarity had finished laying out her items, and now watched from her corner of the blanket. Everything was in easy reach, especially with magic, and so long as Pinkie Pie didn't disturb her...

"Watch out!" Ducking just in time as Rainbow Dash came close to knocking Twilight's head off, it took a few moments for Rarity to work out where she had ended up. Fluttershy arrived shortly after with some flowers, a little worried about the landing of her friend. Twilight however was rather more disturbed with the fact that Dash had been so close to hitting her. Though, as she settled down next to Rarity, it was rather clear that something was on her mind.

"Uh, I like what you did with your mane." That was all Twilight could say in the end, her previous complaint didn't seem appropriate any more. The usual scruffiness of Dash's mane was shaped into a more, wild beauty of sorts. A vague resemblance to her brief time as a crystal pony, but not as stylized. Dash was uncomfortable about the amount of attention that had inevitably settled on her, prompting a change of topic.

"So, how's things with everypony? Been busy in Cloudsdale lately, kinda behind on what's up." A few varied answers came from each of the ponies, the Cake twins' first birthday became the main subject in the end. Rarity was more interested in the reasons for Dash's absence as of late. The last two dates she had been forced to cancel because of it, and hadn't stayed long enough to provide an explanation before leaving.

"And I just went kawoosh!" With Pinkie Pie launching herself into the air with an arc leading to the lake, the rest began to eat. An occasional pair of ponies would walk past, to which the group would wave at cheerfully. Fluttershy was reluctant to eat much at first, out of worry that there wouldn't be enough for the others, but as Rainbow Dash and Applejack made their way out to the lake with Pinkie's raft, it seemed that wouldn't be a problem anymore.

"This is good; Applejack and Pinkie Pie did really well with the food. You too Rarity." Rarity nodded to Fluttershy from beneath the small shade of her bandanna. The pink of her sunglasses now had a stronger vibe to them as the landscape brightened at least. Much to her amusement, Pinkie Pie still looked exactly the same, save for the pinkish hue of her eyes. Twilight looked odd to say the least.

"Sooo, Rarity. How have things been for you lately?" She averted her eyes at that moment; perhaps laughing inside at Twilight's colouring wasn't such a good idea at that time. That seemed to be the question that came up a lot, everyone wanted to know how things were. And now it had the implied meaning of how things were with Rainbow Dash in particular. Ever since the incident at Canterlot, their closeness was no secret.

"Oh, things have been fine. Unfortunately with no major events coming up, my working schedule is somewhat, lacking. And as you know, I find it rather difficult to keep myself occupied without a reasonable amount of dressmaking to be done." It didn't seem like the best time to talk about personal things, despite the theme of the day. It would be better to know that Dash was comfortable with talking about that first.

"Yeah, at least in the meantime you've got more time to pursue personal projects. I've been doing a lot of research on the Crystal Empire for example; they allowed me to borrow several books since I don't have any on the city at home." A very slight eye roll came from Rarity, hidden by the glasses. The Crystal Empire, probably the one place she wanted to go to more than any other. Even Twilight had a real reason to visit regularly, while she had to remain at home and manage the empty Carousel.

Pushing the negative thoughts aside, her attention moved to inquiry. "Really? Do tell me Twilight, for I am quite interested. After all, it is the place where..." Chewing on the words for a moment, she realized that what she was going to say had a rather nasty level of sarcasm to it. "I've really wanted to hear more about!" She did her best to smile in the hopes that Twilight wouldn't notice and just continue on, Rainbow Dash however took that moment to nudge her.

"Sure, it all began with..." She faltered in her speech as Rainbow Dash looked at her blankly. Obviously she wanted to talk with Rarity in private, and there wasn't a crucial reason to tell Rarity now instead of later. A quick nod to Fluttershy, and she was on her hooves, ready to go down to the lakeside. "Uh, I guess you two need a bit of time to talk..." It was a very silly observation, but it made the scene a bit less awkward to avoid.

Rarity finally rested her eyes on Rainbow Dash, feeling a bit odd with the silence that had fallen around them. Dash held her hooves together in a warm hold. "I'm sorry I haven't been around, finally getting into the Wonderbolt Academy did mess with our plans I know. But I did get you something while I was in Canterlot on the way back." She reached into her saddlebag to retrieve an object, which almost caused Rarity to faint again.

"Oh Dashie..." She pulled her bandanna away at that moment, letting the purple ponytail hang over her shoulder. Her whole body was starting to shake, and she couldn't contain the urge to hug Dash. The hug itself knocked both to the ground, with Rainbow Dash in particular struggling for air. The really surprising thing about her reaction was the lack of one. She had anticipated such a hug from Rarity upon seeing the gift after all.

"I'll take that as a yes then." She freed herself from Rarity's hold gently, carefully sliding the ring down onto her white horn. "Just remember, no frilly or fancy stuff, at least for me. This is the one time where I'd have to say that small and simple works better than large and flamboyant." Rarity's head was in danger of falling off from her nodding, stopped only by Dash's hoof under her chin.

"Ooh! Rainbow Dash is giving Rarity more jewellery! Teehee!" Pinkie Pie bounced around the two in her usual manner, singing about gems and gold among other things. The remaining three merely watched from the lake's edge. Pinkie's behaviour hadn't broken the moment between Rainbow Dash and Rarity, if that wasn't a sign then what possibly could be?

"Well, looks like there's another wedding in Canterlot on the way. Don't suppose any of you would like to tell me you're a Changeling before we proceed?" Applejack nudged Twilight over her comment, surprised that she of all ponies would be one to make a joke like that.

"Now now Twi, let's not spoil their moment." Still, as she glanced back at the pair, and the amount of food remaining beside them, there was a strong temptation to grab a few morsels for herself. Laughing it off, she looked over at Fluttershy, staring dreamily at the scene before them. Once the sensation of being watched settled in, she shook herself back into consciousness.

"Another, wedding?"

14. Headcase

17. Union

"Ohh, I just can't wait any longer!" Rarity's pacing had become rather bothersome to Twilight as she tried her best to concentrate. Given that this wedding was, by request of Rainbow Dash, rather more personal and close, details became that much more important. This time she was Rarity's mare of honour, Fluttershy being the best mare. Of course, that left her with what felt like the nightmarish task of helping Rarity with her own dress.

"Just calm down Rarity, the wedding's a few days away anyway. There's still a lot of things that need to be done, including a few new precautions. Wouldn't want another Changeling incident now would we?" Rarity continued to pace all the same. Between looking at the near finished dress and the window facing out over the landscape, excitement and apprehension were warring it out inside her head.

Applejack was far less bothered by the repetitive movement, taking the time on the train to sleep. Pinkie Pie would be helping with the catering too this time around, but that was no excuse to be slack in her work. "Twi, just let the mare pace okay? If it lets her use up all that built up energy, then why interfere?" Refusing to open her eyes on the chance that she wouldn't be able to return to sleeping left her reliant on what she heard alone.

"Yes yes, I know there's a lot of tasks that I must perform, but... I just feel overwhelmed by emotion. It is something that seems to be only really understood when experienced." Twilight hummed in agreement, bringing the book up a little bit more over her face. Provide emotional support. She glanced up at Rarity again as she read the passage, adopting a more sympathetic and open tone.

"That's a good thing actually; well at least that's what my brother says. It's a good sign that you're feeling so mixed up, because if you weren't, then there wouldn't be that great feeling of relief and joy when you finally make the commitment. It'd be pretty straightforward, and that isn't much fun at all." She wasn't actually sure if any of that was true at all, but if it did what it was supposed to do in making Rarity more comfortable, then it was worth saying.

Rarity finally settled down from her pacing into a more casual stride, sitting down at last on her bed to think about what Twilight had said. It made sense, she often had a great feeling of accomplishment whenever finishing an important commission. This was just something a little different in action, but not so much in principle. Looking at Applejack, still occupied with sleeping the trip off, she decided to do the same herself. Too much activity and not enough pondering.

*

The second train car on the other hand was somewhat less quiet, not exactly to Fluttershy's pleasure. But it came with her very special role and duty to Rainbow Dash. Tempting as it was to visit the other ponies for the quiet that they were enjoying, Dash was her friend, and she would never abandon her friend for her own wishes. Taking a pillow to the face in the ensuing pillow fight between Dash and Pinkie Pie stretched that dedication somewhat.

"And take that!" The pillow rushed by her face, knocking Pinkie Pie clear over. Recovery for her however was swift, a volley of three pillows flying right back at Dash as she hid on the upper bed. The first caught against her outstretched wing, bringing her face into the path of the second. Pushed out of the way of the third anyway, she quickly waved her tail in defeat. The one thing worse than surrender would probably be losing to Pinkie Pie.

"Aww! I was having lots of fun! Fun fun fun!" Now that Pinkie had nothing to do for the moment, the options were to either ask Fluttershy, or look into the other car. "I wonder what they're doing." All she could see was the three of them lying on their beds when she pressed her face into the window. "Eh, boooring!" The scene in her own car didn't look much better; both of them were lying in bed.

It began to feel like everything was suddenly determined to leave her bored. Canterlot Castle had been repaired since the battle, and now gleamed in the sunlight. But it was still some distance away, and with everyone settling down for late morning naps, that left her alone to entertain herself. Gummy was with Spike since he took such great care of them last time, and while her Party Cannon was within easy reach, it would clearly upset the others to use it.

"Fine, I'll just go chat with the train driver then." Pinkie definitely wasn't impressed with the other ponies as she made her way forward to the front of the train. Fluttershy looked out from her blanket once she was gone in slight worry. The wedding in itself was intimidating enough, especially when it was for two of her close friends. Surely, Pinkie would realize how important it was to take things nice and slow.

*

Twilight just barely managed to take deep and calming breaths in a desperate attempt to avoid reacting to Rarity's sudden impulse to be fussy, by bursting into flames. "Rarity! Do you not get the point of bridesmaids? The idea is that they don't take too much attention away from the bride, in this case you. I'm not going to be terribly concerned if there's a tiny detail out of place. No-one is meant to take that much notice to me anyway!"

Rarity was mostly oblivious to Twilight's outburst in her concern with making the final adjustments to the hem of her dress. "Now now, I know what I'm doing. Rainbow Dash wants this to be perfect, and I will support her in that decision." A groan came from Twilight as her attempt to make the bride see reason failed completely. It was over an hour now that she had been standing there, and the stress forming in her legs was quickly becoming painful.

"Can I at least take this off then while you work?" She managed to calm herself down again; Rarity was under a lot of stress too. "Rarity, it's perfect. I like it the way it is, could you at least fuss over your own dress? At least I won't feel bad about taking up all your time." Appealing to concerns other than her own seemed to have some effect; at the very least, the seamstress paused in her work long enough for Twilight to remove the dress.

"Very well, if you really truly believe that it is ready. I made the final touches to my dress last night anyway, and Applejack is at the throne room right now. I just felt it necessary to ensure that the maid of honour was looked after." Rarity's walk towards the balcony window caused Twilight to roll her eyes. She was offended by the rejection of her help, and was now going to make a point about it.

"Fine! You can work on it all you like, but I need to get down there as well you know. The wedding is this afternoon if you haven't forgotten." Taking the chance to leave, she didn't look back until the courtyard surrounded her. Rarity was gazing out over the valley, probably looking at Ponyville. Twilight shook her head again; stress was to be expected from such events. Right now, the best thing all of them could do was focus on the important jobs remaining, like ensuring that Pinkie Pie's 'accident' with the invitations remained under control.

As she entered the throne room however, the stress seemed to be piling high. There were far more ponies there than on yesterday's 'revised' list. More surprising was that Rainbow Dash of all ponies was guiding the new arrivals around. She after all had been the one insistent on the low-key status of the event. At least Fluttershy's mood had improved to the point she was comfortable with conducting the choir ponies who would be joining her birds.

It took some time for Twilight to get Dash's attention in between her organizing, encouraging her to a quieter part of the room. "Rarity's having another moody, and I've gotta perform the Changeling check again. Celestia's really concerned for everypony's well-being and she's worried they'll try a far less obvious approach. Disguise as one of the guests for example." Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement with the notion of extra precautions.

"Yeah, I'll go talk to her once I'm done. Honestly, I'm pretty sure that the Changelings won't try again; we beat them back pretty hard after all. And nopony messes with Dash on her wedding day!" Jumping into the air with a punch, she quickly came down again before anypony else noticed her odd behaviour. "Applejack's in the kitchen with Pinkie, apparently somepony got a little out of control while taste testing the cupcakes. She's probably guarding the wedding cake itself knowing Pinkie."

Twilight shrugged before she lowered her head to focus the magic of her horn. A bright purple beam of light scanned the pegasus from mane to hoof, vanishing again with a flash. "One down, three to go." Leaving Rainbow Dash to tend to the other ponies, Twilight made her way over to the choir. Fluttershy's assertiveness had improved quite a bit, a sight that made Twilight smile to herself.

"You're doing great with the performance Fluttershy, I'm rather sorry I have to pull you away from it for a few moments." Nodding to acknowledge Twilight's message, Fluttershy finished the song off before setting down. She looked rather stunning in the new dress that Rarity had made for this event in particular.

"Oh of course, I wouldn't want to keep you waiting after all. Just to be really sure, this doesn't hurt at all, does it?" A soft laugh between the two followed, ending with the scan itself. Fluttershy tilted her head to the side briefly in slight embarrassment as she shuddered from the scan passing over. "It feels weird. Thanks anyway Twilight, sometimes I'm so nervous, I'm afraid I'm a changeling without even realizing it."

*

Flying up to the balcony was the main intention of Dash; how she did it however would be something unique. Already she could tell that her bride was not in her usual positive mood, as Twilight had informed her, and that would clearly put a damp on the coolness of the wedding. With that in mind, she silently landed on the roof of the tower in which Rarity was staying, waiting for the right moment before jumping down beside her.

"Come on Rarity, you shouldn't be sad like this. In a few hours, we'll be together, just like you wanted. And you know, you did the right thing in the end by pushing me to give this a try. Kinda helps to get over the icky stuff when you've got somepony constantly encouraging you to keep going" Her hooves settled down on the railing beside Rarity, closing the distance between them to keep her warm.

At first, Rarity was surprised by the unexpected visit, but quickly relieved to see who it was of course. The words that came brought much needed comfort. Twilight had opened the eyes to her overbearing personality that seemed to become strong at times like this. Now she felt terrible for giving her maid of honour silence in response to her attempt to help.

"Thank you, Dashie. It is quite a relief to hear such kind words. But I feel like such a fool for being rude to Twilight. And everypony else for that matter, I'm surprised you've stayed with me in fact." She smiled softly as Rainbow Dash rested her hoof around her shoulders. She could be very touching and supportive, when she chose to be of course. But more often than not, she was the sweet and caring pony that she loved.

"It's no problem. Besides, I still haven't thanked you enough for helping me out on the night the branch got me. I probably wouldn't have ever taken off again if you hadn't." Rarity chuckled softly; humour was a great relief to her troubled mind. They had joked on many occasions about the magic of Equestria having something to do with bringing them together. Such a simple and otherwise bleak incident had caused bonds to begin forming. Now more than ever those bonds were showing in their full strength.

At that moment, both ponies looked up to see a griffon fly down to meet them, landing in the space that the two made for her arrival. Rainbow Dash recognised her former friend Gilda immediately. "Hey Gilda, haven't seen you in a long while. How ya been?" There was still a level of uncertainty about her, given what had happened last time, so she glanced at Rarity in search of an explanation.

"Oh, I felt it was only appropriate to invite her, especially after the apology she wished to deliver. I hope you don't mind Dashie, especially since my habit of inviting ponies got a bit, out of control." Yet another thing that she admired, that her mare hadn't been upset with the influx of guests. Before she could continue to list the endless qualities of Rainbow Dash to herself, Gilda finally spoke.

"Yeah, it was pretty stupid to get worked up over something like that. But that's all in the past, right? I wouldn't want to miss your special day, though I figured it'd be entering the Wonderbolts if anything. I mean, last thing either of us expected was that we'd actually get married." The air of confidence that Gilda had portrayed faded, as Rainbow Dash's face remained serious. Rarity felt just as concerned as the griffon, she hadn't at all expected that Dash would hold the past against her friend, even now.

As the pink eyes slid between the two, a snigger gave away her real motive. "Of course! I'm glad you're here too, why wouldn't I be? Just let me explain to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie first though. They might feel a little awkward otherwise, you understand." Watching as Gilda nodded before taking off down towards the palace, it reminded Dash of her special plan for the ceremony. "I'd feel kinda bad for saying this'd be the best wedding ever, but does coolest work?"

*

"Simmer down Pinkie Pie; this ain't the time for being silly y'know." Applejack had assumed a defensive position between the wedding cake and Pinkie Pie. She seemed to be still wound up from the trip, and preparing the reception hadn't helped to undo that at all. Unfortunately, for the rest of the ponies in the kitchen, that meant having to work around her overly eccentric mood.

"Come on! What if there's something wrong with the icing? What if Rarity gets sick?! That's no fun at all!" Applejack continued to hold her ground, despite Pinkie Pie attempts to take a sample of the cake. Twilight entering the room provided the perfect distraction for the defending pony, desperate to get her attention since Pinkie was already bouncing over to plead. "Please please please can I just make sure the cake is okay?"

Twilight's eyes flicked between the two, AJ's stern face as opposed to Pinkie's begging expression wasn't doing much to help the day at all. "Pinkie, it was finished just a few hours ago; I seriously doubt there's anything wrong with it." The temptation to continue on about the lack of worms and grey-green colour was pretty inviting, but it wouldn't be appreciated by the bakers.

"Look, I just need to perform the changeling detection spell, and then we can begin. The pegasi are almost done with helping everypony find their places, and everything else is ready." Glaring at Pinkie just to be safe, Applejack stepped forward and waited patiently while Twilight performed the spell. The brief moment away from her assumed duty of cake guard was filled with worry and panic.

"Ooh, my turn my turn! Yippee!" Pinkie's attention on the cake had been lost completely, now focused on the bright light that made her body feel funny. Knowing better than to question why Pinkie would look forward to a mere detection spell, Twilight pointed her horn and began the spell. The first moment seemed like any other, until her horn flashed a warning, accompanied by the gasps of everypony in the room. Where pink mare had been standing, a dark, insectoid pony was now staring back at her.

"Pinkie is a changeling!?" Not wasting any time in that moment of panic, Twilight pinned the changeling to the ground. Celestia's precaution had saved the cake from what would probably be some sort of mind control potion. "I've got it, tell the Canterlot Guard that we've..." She was about to subdue the changeling, when much to her surprise it spoke with a voice that wasn't like the changelings at all.

"Oops, I must've forgotten to take this off." Unzipping from the head, Pinkie Pie awkwardly freed herself from the changeling suit before jumping up into one of her poses. "Surprise!" While everypony was in fact surprised, Twilight especially, it was hardly for the reason that Pinkie expected. Silence followed, after which most of the ponies tried to resume their work to forget what had just happened. Applejack had a different idea in mind.

"Pinkie Pie, where the hay did you get a changeling... suit? On second thought don't answer that, but why would you even wear one today, of all days?" Pinkie merely began rolling up the black suit and placed it over her back. The lack of laughter proved to be a real disappointment for her. None of the other ponies were impressed with the whole incident, especially given the security scare.

"I wanted to surprise everyone at the ceremony, duh. Sometimes they can be so boring, and there's been way too much boring lately!" With that, she left the kitchens. Twilight merely at Applejack in complete confusion. In the end, they'd all say that was typical Pinkie, but hardly at the appropriate time. At least the wedding cake was safe from further attack, and all of them could relax again.

"Well, now that everyone's checked, I'd better get ready. You'll be there in time, right AJ?" Applejack nodded in response to her question before checking the cake one last time for any hoofmarks. Satisfied that everything was almost in order, Twilight made her quick return to the throne room for the start of the ceremony.

*

The long walkway that led from the open doors right up to the steps where Rainbow Dash was waiting seemed so clear and simple to Rarity. Her father often wore relaxed, open collar shirts for attire, seeing him in a proper suit made her proud. And it was clear he was proud of her in return.

As Apple Bloom and Scootaloo proceeded onward in the same manner they did for Cadence's wedding, Rarity took her first step down the aisle. It was far less populated compared to the royal wedding, understandable of course. It was rather relieving to not have so many ponies watching her, as she took every single step. All too surreal, yet very well happening, to her.

Fighting back a tear as she ascended the gentle steps, Twilight and Applejack to her left, with Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and of course Rainbow Dash to her right. Looking up at Celestia, shining in the sunlight, she glanced around once more while the princess began their pronunciation of union. Only the three of them knew about Dash's special plan, which seemed fitting.

Making eye contact with Spike made her blush slightly. While he had been cutting it close with his time of arrival, it made her happy that he was there. As her eyes settled on the colourful mane of her future mare, her eyes began to form tears again.

"It's time." The small whisper from Celestia was something Rainbow Dash had been eagerly awaiting the whole time.

Winking at Rarity, she flew up high into the air, still in her dress surprisingly, pausing for a moment to be sure of her path, before flying back down at great speed. "Every wedding needs a sonic rainboom." Feeling the wave of colour emerge as she proceeded to do so, the moment her hooves touched the ground shared the moment her lips met Rarity's.

End of Part Three.

15. Plant vs Ponies

18. Massage

Part Four: The Glimmering Jewel Within.

The crash at the door brought Rarity running. It was around the middle of the day, entering the early Fall months, which of course meant preparing for the Winter fashion season. And now she had Rainbow Dash for a willing model, at least for a few days of the week. Surprised to see her beloved mare slump forward as she opened the door, Rarity hastily pulled her back up to her feet.

"Hey, hey. Rarity, what if somepony sees that I need help?" Dash hurried inside and closed the door, hugging Rarity tightly. "And you shouldn't be straining yourself; she's starting to show y'know." Touching Rarity's slowly growing body, Dash stumbled up the stairs to the bedroom. Her last training exercise for the Running of the Leaves hadn't ended too well for her at all. On top of Wonderbolt training, she had really been pushing her physical boundaries.

Rarity shrugged off her excessive concern as she followed at a more 'inside appropriate' speed. From what little she saw of her mare in the brief time since she had arrived, there was a clear sign of concealment, something she was afraid of others seeing. Undoubtedly, another bruise on her leg, with the amount of running Dash had been doing it wouldn't be fair to expect no accidents at all. Physical activity was in her nature.

"Now dear, just tell me where it hurts, and we'll have you all better in no time." Dash was stretched out on the bed with her face buried into the pillow, moaning in pain. Rarity tutted to herself as she sat down beside her. The awkward, jagged movement of her wings seemed to point out where the problem was. "Oh, you really must try to keep your posture correct. Just look what it's doing to your wings; they're all twitchy and not at all right."

Dash rolled her eyes at Rarity's sweet talk. She didn't mind it at all, though she wouldn't admit to anyone but herself that she enjoyed it, so long as it wasn't meant to be demeaning. This seemed to be one of those times where her mare enjoyed treating her like a foal. Then again, she could probably do with the practise. "Rarity, my posture's fine, okay? Can you... Is there anything you can do about the pain? It's driving me nuts here; I dunno how long I can stand it."

Rarity placed her hoof down carefully between Dash's wings. The muscles were very tight and in need of help. "Oh Dashie, you really must consider seeing a masseuse. Your back is hardly in its best form." The wail of despair that followed caused her to grind her teeth slightly. Of course, the last time Rainbow Dash was in the spa had resulted in being called a softie. But between the two of them, they knew that was true enough.

"Look, I ain't going to see any spa pony or whatever. That's just not cool. I just figured you'd have something that'd relieve the pain while I continue to train, always fixed it for me before... oh..." While Dash was rambling on about how uncool seeking that much help from others was, Rarity merely positioned herself on her back to save the bother of questions.

Her many visits to the spa came in handy as she began the long process of relieving her mare's back with the long, drawn out rubbing with her hooves. "Now dearie, you couldn't possibly think that my visits to the spa were purely for my own benefit? I do learn quite a bit from observation, and experience of course" It was easy to replicate from memory, and the change from moaning in pain to humming in relief was a testament to that.

Relief for Rainbow Dash was blissful. Most of the time she hid whatever proved to be a bother from everyone else and waited for it to go away. Rarity's massage however, this was something she had definitely been missing out on. She turned her head to the side in order to look back at her mare as she brought the muscles back out of their contorted state.

"You look cute from this angle, foal inside and all. How's she going?" Rarity glanced down at herself. It had only recently began to show, yet she already felt excited. Three months in, eight more ahead. Celestia's final spell had given her protection against the unborn foal's magic, should it prove to be strong, which negated the need for isolation. And she had Rainbow Dash to herself whenever she was home as well.

"She's fine, as I am too. Though I must admit, she takes after her mother on choosiness, it is difficult to find a position to sleep in we both feel comfortable with." Satisfied with the muscles around the wings, Rarity moved forward to the shoulders. "You've clearly been hiding this from me for a while. And I thought we were a lovely little couple." The pink eyes rolled again, more smoochiness and sappy stuff like that.

"Hey, you get really obsessive over little things. I..." On the verge of saying something that would probably upset Rarity, Dash quickly thought of a better choice of words. "I'm concerned, for you and the baby. And it'd be unfair for me to just, soak up all the attention. I mean, that's pretty cool if you ask me... But you need more time to yourself, I guess." What she felt was a hard admission she hoped would have the desired effect of getting Rarity off her back, metaphorically. In the literal sense, she was really enjoying it.

Rarity was touched deeply by her mare's show of affection. Now that the state of Dash's neck had been improved too, she moved her attention down to the lower back. "How sweet, now I feel ashamed for ever doubting you. But really Dashie, you mustn't be afraid of me, I'll always love you. And you'll always be the coolest pony I know, even if you feel like you need a bit of a massage. There's nothing wrong with wanting a bit of personal pampering."

Rainbow Dash would have tried to disagree, were it not for the incredible feeling of relief that Rarity's massage had brought to her back and wings. The Elements sure had it right on her being Generosity. As her mare finished with the massage, Dash instinctively rolled onto her side, holding Rarity's back close to her. Wings wrapping around the locks of purple hair, both settled down into content relaxation.

"Y'know, you're pretty warm, in the good way of course." She moved her head to rest her chin on Rarity's shoulder, staring down at their foal. It still had her confused as to how it was at all possible, but thinking about things like that would undoubtedly give her a headache. Rarity had performed the spell, and things had happened between them. And plead as she did, her own precious unicorn wouldn't do the spell again, at least not for the time being.

*

Waking to the smell of good food had become familiar to Rainbow Dash. Preparing meals for herself often ended with the necessity to eat out, which she didn't mind a whole lot. At least now she had more time to train, and sleep of course. Rarity was good to her like that; she didn't have any problems with her preferred sleeping schedule. And in return, she was always there in case something needed to be done.

It was getting dark outside, sleeping through the afternoon without interruption was rather uncommon, but then she had slept far more peacefully than any other time she could remember. Finding her way into the kitchen brought the pleasant surprise of what she had been eagerly anticipating, another of Rarity's special dinners. Rarity was busy finishing off the cooking, providing Dash with the chance to wrap her wing around her discreetly.

"Remember, so long as you're taking it easy Rarity, and Applejack's always around to help with food too. Otherwise, I'll try my best to learn how to cool real food." Rarity pressed her head against Dash's softly. So different to what she saw in the former love of her life. Rainbow Dash cared for her so much, always thinking of her first. And better still, there was no more hesitation about showing that affection.

19. Trixie Returns

Five months in, and just about everyone in Ponyville now knew that their clothing designer was having a foal. Not as many knew however, or guessed even, that the pegasus who kept the skies clear was the biological father. Both took to avoiding the question if asked anyway, things of that particular nature were rather awkward, not to mention difficult to explain. In the meantime, Rarity went about her daily routine, cleaning the next lot of clothes with Twilight, preparing food for the elderly home with Applejack and Pinkie Pie, and in this case doing her market shopping with Fluttershy.

"Oh, you have the potatoes, that’s okay." Rarity placed the remaining two in Fluttershy's saddlebag with a kind shake of her head. Fluttershy had become even more so concerned for her, and the foal of course. Such kindness, through the best and worst of her behaviour. Though out of everypony, she knew that Twilight was under the most stress with her advancing lessons, and the fact that she still made time to help the fashion pony meant so much.

"Now dear, I do have food at home you know. There is no reason why you shouldn't have these potatoes, besides I find that they are not the ingredients I prefer for my particular cooking." Rarity began humming a tune Fluttershy taught her as a way of helping sleep to arrive on restless nights. The mood of the day seemed appropriate for the soft and cheerful melody. Fluttershy was pleased by it as well, joining in with her own vocal version.

Purchasing the remainder of their needs with the tune going, it ended with a burst of laughter between them. Those rare moments of simple joy that Rarity could share with her close friends were just as precious as the gems she collected. They had been brought closer together by her task; things that they used to conceal for their own reasons didn't seem that bad to talk about any more. And of course, there was the very special bond that had formed between her and Rainbow Dash.

Unaware that her face had shifted down into a dreamy state over how much her life had improved, a blue hoof waving mere centimetres from the tip of her nose brought Rarity into consciousness again. "Rarity, what did I tell you about going to bed late? You've been daydreaming like this for the past few weeks, it's not cool! Ponies kinda notice when somepony's just standing there with a blank expression y'know."

She shook her head in surprise at the interruption. Oh the irony, Rainbow Dash had just interrupted a dream about her. "I've been sleeping fine I assure you. It's just; the sight of you makes me lose all thought..." Dash gagged at Rarity's overkill on the romance. It was all in jest of course, but it seemed to work better if she kept her usual mood up in public. Nopony could know she found her mare's words of admiration cute!

"Uhm, girls, I'd really hate to interrupt, but you know how you mentioned ponies noticing?" The pair flicked their eyes around in perfect union. Snips and Snails seemed to be watching the pair from a distance. Dash took off awkwardly at that moment and flew out in the direction of the Carousel. Her absence didn't seem to have any effect on the unicorn pair, still staring at Rarity. It occurred to her that they were once again wearing their Trixie fan shirts.

"Fluttershy, please tell me that Trixie's behind me, and they're not looking at my, uh... generous size?" Fluttershy idly glanced over Rarity's shoulder to please her; it seemed highly unlikely that the egotistical unicorn would be back without making a huge deal of it. Thus, her expression was nothing short of surprised as Trixie approached Rarity slowly. There was no sign of fireworks, she wasn't wearing her cloak and hat, and she certainly didn't have the appearance of somepony who was full of herself at all.

"Rarity? The humble and sorrowful Trixie found herself in Canterlot when news came of a special unicorn with foal, and... felt it necessary to congratulate her. Though Trixie did expect it would be Twilight Sparkle..." Rarity glanced around again in fear that something would happen to her hair. Every time the magician was around, her mane seemed to be the first victim.

"Well, thank you. I'm glad that you made such a trip, so long as it isn't a disappointment that I am the one in question." Trixie shook her head with a smile; it wasn't her typical behaviour at all. It had been a while since their last encounter, and Rainbow Dash had been forgiving of Gilda. It was only fair that she be forgiving of Trixie. "Twilight has been busy with studies lately, but if you came to see her in particular, I think she can take a break."

There was still a lingering doubt about her, the fear that at any point her mane would be ruined again was rather strong. Instead, she found Trixie's hoof on her shoulder. "Of course not, the humble and considerate Trixie is very happy that Rarity is so lucky. May she ask who the stallion is?" Dash seemed to be choosing the more awkward times to make appearances, landing down beside her mare after she failed to appear at the Carousel. While she hadn't recognized Trixie at first, she was quick to put her hoof around Rarity protectively.

Fluttershy backed away before heading back home. She didn't want to interrupt their inevitable conversation, and she had finished her shopping anyway. It didn't stop her from catching a glimpse of Rarity's face as she looked at Dash. "Well, not really a stallion you see." Rarity removed herself gently from Rainbow Dash's hold, encouraging the group to begin moving again.

Trixie was of course utterly confused at first, how Rainbow Dash could possibly impregnate Rarity eluded her entirely. But there wasn't much doubt that they were a couple now. She knew the typical behaviour of performers, there was none of that in Rarity's behaviour. "Trixie doesn't quite understand, but that is alright. I am glad for both of you."

Between the market and the library door, it became quite apparent from conversation that Trixie had been through a lot since her last time in Ponyville. However, as the door opened to the three, Twilight reacted much the same as every other pony at first. Blinking at the sight of Trixie, without any of her usual stunts or clothes. "Well, they say life is full of surprises." Given the perfectly calm expression that Rarity and Rainbow Dash shared, it didn't seem too unreasonable to give her a chance to explain what she was doing back in Ponyville.

"Trixie heard that a unicorn of Ponyville was expecting, and came as soon as possible. Though she must admit that she anticipated it would be you." Twilight blinked again. Her? There was a good reason why Celestia chose Rarity instead of her for the task, several in fact. One of them was not having intense studies to keep up with. Another was the fact that she actually had an interest in being a mother in the near future.

"Well uh, I don't really know what to say, Trixie. I guess it's great to see that you're well and okay. But is that all? I mean you've come quite a long way, anypony would probably assume there's other things you wanted to do while you're here." Rainbow Dash pulled out chairs for all of them in the meantime. Rarity was still capable of sitting down without too much trouble, but still accepted the help her mare offered.

Trixie in the meantime was unsure of what Twilight really meant in her question. Whether it was a genuine inquiry, or another way of saying that she expected her to do something bad again was unclear. "Well, the humble and considerate Trixie has travelled far across Equestria, and still has not found a home that does not look at her as a negative influence." To be safe, she assumed that Twilight really meant it, either way it couldn't do that much harm to what remained of her reputation.

Twilight pondered on what she was trying to get at. "So, you want a place to settle down, retiring from being a travelling magician? That's a pretty big change in lifestyle, are you sure you wanna stay in Ponyville though? There's still a few ponies who are uncomfortable with talking about the Alicorn amulet incident." She herself was still unsure about Trixie; even now, there was still a lingering doubt about her radical change of personality. And the way she talked was always unnerving, though now she seemed to refer to herself in the third person all the time.

Rarity was still struggling to settle down with her growing body. It was only a little more weight to balance, but it threw off her sitting position entirely. Dash was doing her absolute best to avoid saying anything; the huff became a necessity to keep her sanity just barely intact. As the conversation between Trixie and Twilight continued, she discreetly switched Rarity's chair for a cushion.

Trixie glanced at the floor in a clearly nervous way. Rarity recognized it; she had seen Rainbow Dash make a similar gesture. It would probably be better to inform Twilight first, but there was no reason to assume that it meant the same thing. Though, the way she proceeded to lift her head and look at Twilight seemed to confirm what she was suspecting.

"Trixie was really concerned, that you had found a pony of your own... But since that is not the case at all, would you consider accepting me as a special pony? I really have tried to change my ways, if you would just give me a chance to prove that to you."

20. Flair for the Romance

Twilight nearly flew right through the roof and into the leaves of the tree itself. Had she not just reasoned to herself that she was way too busy with studies to consider a relationship!? And yet here was Trixie, out of the blue wanting in on her life. It had to be a prank surely, something Rainbow Dash had devised as a way to get some laughs. She could do with them really; this so far certainly wasn't funny to her at all.

"Does Twilight normally do that? Trixie hopes that she didn't offend her in any way." On her way back down to the ground, Twilight was grinding her teeth heavily; unable to conceal the expression of one that was on the very edge of exploding. Who did Trixie think she was? Humiliating her on two separate occasions before running off, then suddenly returning to be her special somepony? The mocking she could forgive, but the latter was just plain wrong.

"I..." That was all she could say before the shortness of breath took over. Dash seemed just as shocked as Trixie herself, ruling out the theory of a prank. Which could only mean... it was genuine. "I need something to eat, and time alone for that matter! Why doesn't anypony get the fact that I'm too busy for friends right now?!" With that, she stormed off into her kitchen and slammed the door with a rather strong kick. Both Trixie and Rarity were stunned by her behaviour, Dash giggled to herself for a few moments before settling down again.

"Well, that was rather awkward. Do forgive Twilight, she's been under quite a bit of strain lately, I think it would be best to wait until she is no longer this busy before asking. After all, it was months before Dashie didn't mind snuggling up." Rainbow Dash turned her head away at that point. Rarity was being her endearing self again it seemed. Too much baby talk to her belly more likely than not.

Trixie was clearly disappointed; eventually even Dash couldn't keep herself from patting her shoulder. "I would suggest hiding in her bed, but that might not work out like it did for us. By the way I was setting a prank up, just for the record." Rarity looked back with a slightly shocked expression, in a joking moment of worry that their relationship had quite literally been the result of a joke. Trixie however was taking the rejection rather seriously.

"Trixie didn't expect her to be so upset at all. Now, what will I do?" She looked very much on the verge of tears, causing Rarity to shuffle over and comfort her. Rejection was never a nice thing to experience, and it seemed this was a first occasion for Trixie. The circumstances just weren't right for that sort of thing though.

"You can stay with us in the guest room for the time being, until you're able to find a more permanent place to stay in Ponyville. Once she settles down I'll talk to her, she just needs time alone I guess." It seemed to help improve her mood, Trixie looked a bit better already. That was another thing that Dash admired about her mare, but she didn't really like mentioning. The way she could comfort any pony in such a simple way.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Rarity needs her sleep though, and it takes a while to convince her of that. Maybe we can stop by Applejack's and see if she knows of any places you'd like to look at tomorrow. I've got cloud gathering duty tonight though, so we'll have to be quick." It seemed to cheer Trixie up again, and it made Rarity a little less resentful about being told she needed to sleep.

*

It was rain time again by the time Dash returned to the Carousel, following after Trixie. They had gotten to know each other well enough that both felt more comfortable, though given Applejack's reaction at seeing Trixie again, it seemed better that they leave the house searching for the next day. And with rain making on top of all that, she was rather tired when she finally made her way through the door.

A familiar scene if anything, the place was still and dark, lit only by what little moonlight made it through the clouds. The rainfall was far weaker than the night she recalled at least, this was a normal downpour. It would be great to have a new unicorn in town, so long as it gave her more time for training while Rarity chatted about her interests with others. So long as Ponyville was willing to accept her back of course, and there was a lingering worry about that.

Shaking her mane down a bit in the laundry had become a necessity to avoid complaints, which was admittedly fair. She left it in a wild, spiky state while proceeding up to Rarity's bedroom. Seeing her mare lying there was the perfect image of peacefulness. Young and without worry or concern, just sleeping in the early rainy night. It would be a shame if it were to be disturbed. But what would be the fun in just leaving it like that?

Jumping onto the bed without being too rough, she nudged at Rarity's shoulder. "C'mon Rare, we agreed that rainy nights are snuggle nights for us. Trixie's fast asleep already." Rarity took a few moments to process the thought, somewhat confused from her deep sleep. She enjoyed their snuggle nights, being held closely by Rainbow Dash felt very much like pure warmth and softness.

"Yes, I do remember agreeing to that. I suggested it in the first place after all if you recall." Moving onto her side like always, she smiled as Dash settled down next to her in the usual fashion. Just a night to themselves, no dress orders or last minute cloud clearing to be done. "Love you Dashie."

21. Foal Shower

Another three months passed, leaving Rarity with three months of her pregnancy to go. Most of the time had been spent between resolving the past issues between Trixie and Ponyville, and work through her array of emotional problems. While referring to herself in the third pony had started out as demonstration of her confidence, it had become a shield of nervousness for her. Now, without the urge to hide behind her own name, Trixie found it far easier to become friends with other residents Ponyville at last. Even Twilight came to apologize over her behaviour in the end, albeit with the firm refusal of interest in any sort of a romantic relationship added.

Rainbow Dash had been rather reluctant to leave during that crucial time for her final session at the Wonderbolt Academy, but under the circumstances all agreed that her straight up honesty probably wouldn't have been what Trixie needed. And Rarity had been keen to see her mare fulfil her dream of joining the flyer group, despite the fact that it would mean not seeing her very often for the time being. She would be returning after the next month at least for special break, leaving them enough time together before the arrival of their foal.

*

"Spitfire's been really great and supportive lately, well all of the Wonderbolts have been. They've got toy versions of themselves ready to send with this, hope it arrives in time for the foal shower. Lightning Dust made it through at last, she took her suspension pretty hard, and I'm glad she's back in the air. Still waiting on the semi-final marks, keeping all of you in mind helps deal with the stress of this last month. Everyone's feeling the pressure now, so I guess I'm not alone in that regard.

I can't wait to get back to Ponyville and see you again; I really miss those belly rubs...

Stay awesome and cool, Rainbow Dash." Giggles spread around the ponies gathered around Rarity and her letter. Spike was already playing with the Wonderbolt dolls at that point, making no effort to conceal it. Pinkie had taken to chasing a remote controlled parasprite, flown by Scootaloo from the stairs. Twilight had to wonder whether it was really for the foal or Rainbow Dash to enjoy, her own gift being a book of Canterlot bedtime stories that parents read to her at a young age.

Trixie had provided an oversized rubber wand that was safe for the foal to chew on, and didn't cause any pain when 'accidentally' bumped on the head with. Pinkie proved that much to Twilight. While Applejack didn't have time to provide a gift in between preparing the food for the shower, Rarity considered all the times that she had come to help during her poor days just as much a gift as any other. Zecora and Fluttershy both worked together to produce a new type of flower that bloomed in a rainbow of colours, with a non-allergenic pollen, and a scent that was derived right from the Winsome Falls.

"Thank you all so much, you've been wonderful. I just can't express my gratitude enough, though I guess I sound pretty cheesy saying that." More laughs went around, especially after Pinkie's confusion about Rarity being made of cheese. And to think that almost a year ago, they had all been recovering from the shock of what happened in Canterlot, far less eager to laugh and enjoy life.

"Trixie... uh, that is to say, I'm really pleased to see you are happy again Rarity. We all know how much you miss Rainbow Dash." Hugs passed between the unicorns, the friendship they had developed in particular brought great hope to Trixie. "Pinkie Pie and I have a performance planned later at the town hall; I do hope that you will be able to attend."

Rarity nodded eagerly. Without Trixie former obsessive and boasting behaviour, it was far easier to appreciate the tricks she could perform. And all the colts and fillies found great entertainment in the displays. "Of course, my next visit to the hospital isn't until tomorrow; I'll have plenty of time to watch." Now that her foal had slowed in growth again, it was far easier to find comfortable positions when seated. The prospect of sitting in a chair for the duration was no longer bad.

"It's party time!" Pinkie slid out from underneath the carpet in typical fashion with her array of instruments, setting the one pony band into motion. "Rarity, come, dance, already, it's, no, fun, without, you." The fact that she managed to get a whole sentence out in between puffs on the harmonica was enough to convince Rarity to try at least.

"Pinkie, I'm not so sure that this is a great idea, but I'll do my best." No sooner was she attempting to join in with the other ponies than she found herself swinging to each side rather too much for comfort. Twilight intervened much to her relief, although from the way she urged both her and Trixie to a quieter part of the room, she guessed it wasn't entirely for her safety. There was a certain look on her face that seemed to indicate she had a personal reason to do that.

"So girls, how are you holding up? I haven't had much of a chance to catch up, and I wanted to be sure you two in particular were okay." Far different to her recent behaviour of isolating herself from pretty much everypony, even Spike had trouble getting through to her at times. Her sudden change in mood had the air of something being not quite right, especially the genuine concern for them.

"I'm fine, the new house is very homely and comfortable, Rarity helped with the curtains and other items of course." Trixie did her best to smile confidently, courtesy of Fluttershy's tireless lessons. After the magic she had worked in helping Discord, it was no surprise that even Trixie was coerced out of her emotional retreat.

"And I've been managing well enough. Applejack has been such a dear of course, but what about you Twilight? Out of everypony, I think it only fair to say that you would deserve more concern." Twilight glanced away hesitantly at the attention being brought back to her. She didn't want to admit that she was struggling to keep up, but what would be the use in lying?

"Things could be better; I'm just really worried that I might not pass this next test. Because if I don't, then what will I do? I've already had enough times where I feel unneeded in Ponyville, what if it spreads to other parts of my life?" Both unicorns could sympathise greatly, they had gone through that experience of not being wanted any more, Trixie especially.

"Well for starters, don't fret dear. You've done an incredibly large amount for Equestria, not just Ponyville. I'll admit that there are times where I begin to panic over a certain dress, but it works in the end, and that's the important thing to remember. Nopony is going to abandon you just because you haven't done your absolute best on a single test, the notion is just absurd."

"And even if it doesn't work out, you still have everypony there to support you. All that you need to do is ask for help, like I did." The simple support that both ponies offered was all that Twilight felt she really needed. She knew quite well that all her friends would support her, no matter what, but hearing it again for herself reminded her of that fully.

"Sorry for putting a damper on your foal shower Rarity, and for snapping at you before Trixie. Maybe I should take a break from studying, if you think it'll help." Rarity smiled as she rubbed Twilight's shoulder reassuringly. Trixie did the same soon after, having forgotten her proposal months before. It was something that didn't need to be brought up again anyway.

"Don't worry about it, I didn't really mean what I said in the romantic way anyway." The long due laugh from Twilight came as her spirits were lifted again. Hearing Pinkie Pie call for another dance seemed to indicate that interruption to their conversation was inevitable. An idea came to mind at that moment, one that hadn't gone so well the first time, but the second surely had to be better.

"Say, how about a sleepover at my place? I promise this time won't involve a tree crashing into the room Rarity." Trixie looked at both in surprise at that point when they laughed again. "Don't worry Trixie, it'll be fun. We can give each other facials, and have pillow fights, and play truth and dare!" Rarity chuckled half-heartedly as memories quickly began to return. That night was hardly the best example of her behaviour, but this one would surely be the chance to fix that!

22. Sleep Time

"Slumber 101: All you ever wanted to know about slumber parties but were afraid to ask. Hey, I have a copy of this book too!" Trixie began flicking through the pages eagerly while brushing her hair. The other unicorns were busy mixing up the facial masks in the adjacent kitchen, all of them eager to get started following the party earlier in the night.

"Aheheheh, yes I remember it well..." At least Twilight this time around wasn't so insistent on going by the book. While there was no rain for Rarity get her mane wet in, she didn't particularly like the idea of another bad round of Truth and Dare. Though they were decent ponies, and very considerate of her condition. She just needed to calm down and enjoy the night like it should be, rather than fretting over past mistakes.

Soon, they were settled down in front of the fireplace, hair and faces both done up. This was all a new experience for Trixie, and she enjoyed it very much so. Being able to look past her assumptions on how things would go this time allowed Rarity to do the same. While it might have been better if all of their close friends were there, it just wouldn't be right without Rainbow Dash too.

"And, done! Let's see how it turned out." Twilight passed out the face towels before cleaning up her own mask. Rarity's new recipe certainly did the trick, now free of the mask her skin felt amazingly clean and soft. "Ooh, this is great work Rarity; you've really outdone yourself this time." A blush came from her direction Compliments for her dressmaking she didn't mind too much, but for a simple facial mask recipe?

"Oh Twilight, you're too eager to show gratitude you know. It isn't necessary to put huge emphasis on a simple facial." Twilight nudged her shoulder insistently. Rarity had become so modest lately; it was almost worrying to see her tone down compliments. Then again, everypony lately seemed to agree that her maternal side was really starting to show now.

"I'm not just saying that, I really mean it." Twilight settled back down in front of the fire, such a nice and peaceful party. "This is great, just sitting here, talking about ourselves without worrying about tomorrow. You're such wonderful friends, and I don't say it anywhere near enough." Rarity chuckled again, they had all changed now. And it was so pleasing to see Twilight back to being her kind and grateful self.

The door opened at that moment, much to the surprise of the three ponies in front of the fire. That was quickly put out by the gust of wind let in, sending the whole place into darkness. Panic set in. Hardly the typical way that a slumber party should go. "Stay here Rarity, I'll check it out." Trixie was the one to get up, lighting her horn dimly to allow her to see just ahead of her. The tension in the air built with every trembling, hesitant step.

"Hey girls, what's up?" Trixie tripped herself up in panic at the sudden presence in front of her. It took a few moments for Rarity to recognize the voice. Trixie probably wouldn't have recognized it well at all, since Rainbow Dash had been gone most of the time she had been in town.

"Rainbow Dash?" Rarity hurried into the main room, almost knocking over her mare in the process of embracing her. Now wearing the full Wonderbolt uniform, Dash looked quite stunning with her mane in a blazing streak. Of course, the first question on everypony's lips was quite clear. "But don't you still have a month to go?"

Dash hugged her mare back tightly for the moment it lasted, such closeness that she missed sorely. "Marks came back soon after I sent the letter, and I got through! A month in Canterlot for the real deal of races, agility flight paths and performances, and I'm officially in!" Rarity hugged tightly again, Trixie and Twilight soon joining in once the effects of Dash's dramatic entrance had passed.

"Ooh, I'm so happy for you. So how long do you have before you return to Canterlot? Twilight invited us over for another slumber party you see." Rainbow Dash was about to respond when the reason for their gathering came out. A slumber party... Putting on her brave smile, she quickly began thinking of something that could let her escape the inevitable. It was still undecided if slumber parties were cool or not for Wonderbolts to attend.

"Well, I am kinda tired from the flight home y'see. And I was kinda hoping to get some rest, but I guess I can take a nap here if that's okay." Gradually edging herself towards the beds at that point, it seemed for a moment that she could actually get away with much needed rest. Of course, she wasn't anywhere near as tired as she implied, but napping was a speciality of hers.

"Great! Then you won't mind if we catch you up on the night." Dash didn't have time to react before Rarity pulled her hood off, ready for Trixie to begin smothering the facial on. Twilight brought all of them back into the kitchen with a quick sweep of her magic.

"This is great! You'll see just how relaxing it is Rainbow Dash, and lots of fun!" At that point, Dash knew she was completely at the mercy of the unicorns. Her new mane style was the first to fall victim. It had taken thousands of laps to get it into the blown back look, and now it was being turned into The Great and Powerful Brush's running ground. At least they had the decency to cover her eyes, sparing her some of the nightmare.

*

"I look... like Rarity." It was an exaggeration of course, though it wouldn't be completely untrue. The make-up she had been fortunate enough to avoid, but it didn't make up for her 'fancy' hair do and smooth face. Rarity seemed overly pleased in comparison, clinging to her mare without fail. The only small scrap of consolidation left was that no other ponies were there to see it.

"Is there anything wrong with that Dashie? I do recall you saying you missed those belly rubs." Rainbow Dash blushed again, she mentioned getting the letter at the party, and undoubtedly everyone had heard its contents. Not that she minded about the main part of it, but the rubs were kind of something she preferred to keep secret. Probably for the best that she wasn't there at the shower after all.

"Nonono. But it's just... not me. I thought you'd find the new look cool, but instead you turned me into a fashion pony..." Retrieving her Wonderbolts headgear, she threw it over her shoulder in defeat. Some surprise it had turned out to be, she'd ended up as the recipient of a joke. While that was fun at times, it didn't make up for having her plans ruined in one go.

All three unicorns quickly began having second thoughts about their idea to include Dash. For Rarity, seeing her disappointed was nothing short of terrible. "Oh Dashie, come on, it was just a little harmless fun. We didn't think you'd..." A sudden shift inside her caused a stumble when following Dash. Everypony quickly rushed to her side, moving her to the nearest bed.

"You okay Rarity?" She nodded in response with a slight giggle, hoof resting on her body. Naturally, everypony was quick to ensure her wellbeing. Each asked at a slightly different time, leading to a garbled mess of the simple question.

"She moved again, that's all. Who knows, she may not have wanted you to leave." A small smile returned to Rainbow Dash's face. As always, Rarity had a good point, she had made the trip to see her, and it wasn't fair to walk out just because she was upset over a ruined surprise. Her own hoof rested down beside the Rarity's, soon accompanied by Twilight and Trixie's too.

"I'm sorry for overreacting, you're really sweet. But can we lay off on the spa parties, at least until I'm not short on time?" This time they all felt the movement, Rainbow Dash and Trixie backing away for a moment. Twilight had a bit more experience with infants, hatching Spike from his egg after all. Rarity sat up again in slight nervousness at the attention being given to her.

"You're making me the centre of attention again you do realize. We still have s'mores to make after all, so why not make them?"

23. Newest Pony of Ponyville

"Dash Dash Dash! Tell me tell me tell meeeeeee!" Rainbow Dash was almost run into the ground by Pinkie Pie towering over her. If there was one time in particular that she went into hyperactive mode, it was this time. And nothing could stop the Pinkster when she was in her own hyperactive mode, as Dash herself always said. Today however was beyond hyperactive, impossible as the concept was. It had taken the magic of both Twilight and Trixie to keep her from bursting through the doors and interrupting for most of the day.

"She's fine okay? Just relax, she'll be up to having visitors soon enough. But only if you calm down." Dash walked past to sit down with Fluttershy and Twilight. It was hard to believe, but it had just happened. Twilight patted the mare's shoulder in a reassuring fashion to try and calm her down. Even now, she was still trembling in nervousness. Fluttershy held the other hoof, to comfort both herself and her friend.

"Sorry I'm late. Oh, you're out again Dash, how's Rarity doing?" Dash rolled her eyes for a moment, not at Applejack but the irony of the situation. Rarity, the one pony who they all expected to scream her lungs out more than any other pony, managed to remain really calm and quiet throughout. Full of contradictions as Twilight would say. All that meant for her was not needing the earplugs she took in with her.

"She's fine as I just said, they're doing all those check-ups, and then everypony can visit her, quietly!" Pinkie didn't taken too well to Dash's emphasis on the quiet, but if it was a rule she'd enforce then there wasn't really much choice. In comparison, Trixie remained the quietest of the group. Six months in Ponyville had taught her a lot, including respecting the wishes of others.

At long last, the doors opened to one of the unicorn doctors from Canterlot. Eyes turned towards Pinkie Pie, who was biting down heavily on her lips against the urge to shout whatever came to mind. After a few seconds, she settled back down into a somewhat normal state for her, enough that Dash nodded in approval. "If you'll follow me, she's ready to see you all now. The room is designed to dampen magic, so please refrain from trying to use it."

Dash led the ponies behind the doctor as he made his way through the hall. Spike was perched on Twilight's back as per usual; it had taken quite a bit of convincing for him to be allowed in on the first visit. Just about everypony was still nervous, having not seen Rarity for the past few days was a worrying experience. And now that they finally could, there was the hesitation of what lay ahead.

The white hospital gown was almost indistinguishable from Rarity's own colour, though it did highlight her locks of purple hair as they hung around her shoulders. Rainbow Dash settled down beside her on the bed gently to rub her shoulder. "Hey girls, and Spike, guess my mane looks like a total mess huh?" Pinkie giggled briefly before stuffing her hoof in her mouth to prevent an unwanted outburst.

Once the group had settled down around the bed, which Rarity found rather appropriate, she carefully rested the small alicorn foal down on her chest. Ice blue, her mane was coloured a deep azure, with the spiking edges splayed out in points of every colour. Gasps of awe spread around the group at the sight of the new foal. Rarity and Rainbow Dash's foal. And partly Celestia's of course, without her magic it wouldn't have been possible.

"Opal Flame, took a while to decide, but we both like it." Rainbow Dash carefully took hold of Opal as Rarity passed her over; each of the ponies took their turn to greet the new arrival. In complete contrast to her usual active and energetic self, Dash was taking the utmost care with her daughter. "It'll be a few days before she's home in Ponyville, Celestia's still tailoring some magical dampening spells for her. Opal came a few days earlier than we expected of course."

Twilight was the first to meet her, adoring the resemblance that she had of both parents. When she moved around to talk with Rarity at long last, Spike presented Opal with one of his treasured gems. Almost immediately, the foal began sucking on it, barely able to fit it in her mouth at all. "Well well well, I think Flame is an appropriate name, she might turn out to be a dragon after all."

Rarity's laugh was soft from her tired state, but she still managed to make it sound sincere. "My little Spikey-Wikey has a cousin to play with." Giggling to herself as she turned back to Twilight, the smile that she received from her was too warm to bear. "Oh Twilight, must you look at me like that? I only had a foal, it's nothing huge."

"I'd beg to differ Rarity; you took a pretty brave step. I don't know if any of us would have handled it so well." Rarity blushed again at her; everypony was so kind to her. It definitely made her feel more confident in herself. "So, are you two moving in together full time now?" The parents in question glanced at each other briefly, before Rainbow Dash nodded.

"Yeah, I think so. Kinda hard to let go of her now that she's here." Dash nuzzled her little foal with that, looking up as Fluttershy approached at last. She had hidden at the back of the group for fear of disturbing Rarity and Opal. Now that she was actually there, the worry melted away into the pure affection she had for all small beings.

"She's so cute, and her mane and tail are beautiful." Suddenly finding Opal in her hold made her sigh with wonder. For the most part, she had been the unfortunate one when things got rough; being eaten by two different plants hadn't helped her confidence at all. Being trusted to hold the newborn rebuilt that for her. Such a big gesture of trust. "Thank you Rainbow Dash, and Rarity. I feel so lucky that I have friends like you. You've been an inspiration for everypony."

Pinkie Pie and Trixie had chosen to let others go first, both for different reasons. Trixie felt strongly that she was still a newcomer to their group, and didn't want to appear presumptuous in any way. Pinkie on the other hand knew quite well that she probably wouldn't be able to control the urge to begin singing loudly, and wanted to save that instead for when it would be more appropriate.

As Fluttershy passed Opal back to her mother, Rarity looked at all the others with a soft happiness she had rarely experienced before. "You're all wonderful ponies. And nothing will change my mind about that, ever." Pinkie Pie found herself beginning to cry, not in her melodramatic fashion like usual, but genuine tears of happiness.

"I love you Rarity, we all do." From there it became one big group hug, leading to farewell hugs for the new parents. Pinkie's touching expression of emotion was too much for Rainbow Dash to doubt now, Rarity letting her stroke Opal's mane before she too departed for the rest of the day. "Stay safe Rarity, none of us would want anything to happen to you, ever."

End of Part Four.

24. Blazing Colours

Part Five: Parental Decisions of a Delicate Nature.

In this case, Opal's plan was to ride down the hill on Scootaloo's 'borrowed' scooter until reaching the launch ramp. From there, it would be a simple matter of performing complex manoeuvres, before retrieving the scooter and landing down safely. This was sure to get everypony's attention, 11 years on and Rainbow Dash still hadn't taught her the awesome parts of flying.

Up until launch went smoothly enough. She had used one of Twilight's spells to clear out all the rocks and sticks in one go, and then filled in the holes with her own hooves. It was an irony that frustrated her to no end. Flying was in her blood, not so much magic. And yet it was almost all magic training so far in her life. Five years in fact, most of it she had bludged through, teleporting had been a total flop. But she did have a knack for weather spells, being a weather pony like Dash seemed quite cool.

All those thoughts vanished when she hit the ramp at nowhere near the speed she expected. Her target was far short of the grassy fields, taking her instead to the thick forest below. "Nononononononono! Come on! I was so close!" She gripped onto the scooter tightly and began flapping her wings, but the descent was still way too fast. This was what she got for borrowing her aunt's scooter? Another trip to the hospital where they would all scold her for being so reckless. That'd be the second time this year anyway, and ninth overall.

Her eyes closed instinctively as the trees came close to giving her a nice, hard hug. All that training for her horn, and nothing that would save her from such an incident. Another way of teaching her to be a responsible little princess, or to stop taking naptime in class? A jolt to her side forced her eyes open, now no longer falling downwards, but sidewards. Her eyes slid around to hooves of sky blue, and a mane coloured like her own.

"Mooooooooooooom! This isn't fair!" She was still clutching onto the scooter, much to her relief. This was the third iteration of Scootaloo's method of transport anyway, breaking this one too couldn't end well for her. Though the moment she saw the ground nearby, she dropped it and tried to run for her life. Rainbow Dash caught her tail instead, pinning her to the ground gently.

"Opal! Don't you realize... that was pretty awesome, what you tried to do actually. But don't you realize that stealing Scootaloo's scooter is a bad thing? Even if it's to pull off a great stunt like you were going to?" Rarity had strong disapproval of her approach to discipline, but it seemed to work for her whenever Opal got out of control, like now. Presenting the pins that adjusted the height of the ramp to her seemed to deliver the message well enough.

Opal herself was hurt by the fact that her idol of all ponies, not to mention paternal mother, had sabotaged her attempt to pull off an awesome stunt. "But... all the other ponies care about is my magic. They want me to be able to, make all these awesome spells and do tricks, well Aunty Trixie does. Why won't you teach me to fly like you do?" A sigh came from the mare, a question asked so many times, and one she was soon to break on.

Ruffling the already scruffy storm of azure and rainbow hair that her daughter liked to wear her mane in, a different approach came to Dash's mind. "Learning how to control your magic is important. A lot of ponies need to learn it's there; you're special in that it's the other way around. But flying, it's a lot more dangerous. You can't just zap an injury with your horn and fix it." She was reminded again that the filly's twelfth birthday was coming up soon. "How about I make it a special present, for a special somepony on their special birthday."

An unsatisfied groan came as the response; Opal was rubbing her face into the grass out of frustration. "I don't want it for a birthday present. I wanted it three years ago, when you promised! It's not like I'll fly off into the Everfree forest and become a brumby pony the minute I can. Ponyville is great, far better than boring Canterlot with unicorns who dislike kids." Dash giggled at that, a rather accurate description of the capital city.

"Fine, tomorrow... I'll teach you take-off's, since that seems to be the part you struggle with most. Once we've got the basics covered again, we can move onto more practical things, like cloud kicking and speed. Deal?" Her filly nodded reluctantly after a few moments of considering it. "Good, now let's get you and the scooter home before Mom notices okay? You know what she's like, and she treats me the same way still."

*

Ponyville hadn't changed too much in the past twelve years. Trixie, in line with her new initiative as a proper entertainer, had set up a magic tricks shop for all ponies, mostly the non-unicorns of course. Twilight having graduated from her studies had in a similar fashion taken to teaching unicorn magic, being Opal's mentor for whenever she was in Ponyville. Pinkie was Pinkie, and now had Icing Sugar and Chimmy Cherry of her own. No-one felt they had the courage to ask how she had come to have twin foals, let alone who their father was. As expected however, they were almost identical to their mother.

"Opaaaaaaaaaal!" The two colourful ponies had set down near Sugar Cube Corner, seemingly in time for a filly who looked a lot like Pinkie to rush up and greet them. Icing's white streaks through her wild mane had earned her the name, as did her tendency to leave all cupcakes without any toppings. Opal did her best to please the Pinkie twins, but sometimes they just got under her skin.

"Oh hey Icing, I didn't think you'd be up at this time in the afternoon." The pink filly was only four, and the only word she consistently got right was the name she often squealed. "Hey uh, I don't have long to stay and chat today, maybe we can play tomorrow, okay?" It was hard to refuse her, but the alternative was Rarity feeding her gems for dinner. Spike wouldn't have a problem with that at all, but she grew out of chewing on them years ago. It was a reminder of her foalhood that seemed to work well as punishment.

Icing clung to her leg anyway, until Pinkie Pie rushed out and picked her back up. She hadn't really changed a bit in her own appearance, despite having two foals to look after. "Opal! I just finished a new cake recipe, do you wanna try? Do ya? Do ya? Do ya?" Rainbow Dash stepped in between the two at that point, to the filly's immense relief.

"She's uh, tired. Been racing down at Whitetail today, and y'know how fillies can be with their sleep. We'll stop by tomorrow anyway, I promise." Rubbing Icing's chin softly with her hoof, Dash motioned with her rear leg for Opal to break for it. That signal she didn't need to see twice to interpret, speeding away before Pinkie's attention was back onto her again.

Bursting through the front door at breakneck speed, she was up the stairs and in her own room in ten seconds flat. Seventeen and a bit actually, but she liked imitating Rainbow Dash's quotes. "So you're home at last Opal." The filly's eyes went wide at the sight of Rarity sorting out some of her clothes. Bad, very bad. She hadn't been fast enough, and now it would be emerald salad for tea!

Opal jumped up onto her bed with little enthusiasm. "I didn't mean to be out later than I was supposed to be, I promise." She lay down in a small huddle on the middle of the blanket. She was still rather small, though everypony had begun to insist that she'd start growing quite quickly once her next birthday had come. But right now, she could really do with not feeling like a newborn foal.

"Opal, I'm not upset, not about you staying out late at least. I'm only concerned that you didn't clean your room before leaving today, you've never left it messy on purpose before." Opal's face hit the covers again, another talk about her behaviour. Wasn't she allowed to have a little inconsistency in her life without alarm bells going off everywhere? At least she was consistent about not liking magic school.

"I wanted to try out a new idea I had, and I forgot. It's no big deal okay?" Rarity paused in folding up the clothing, turning at last to her daughter. To everyone else, she was almost entirely Rainbow Dash incarnate. She didn't like being part unicorn it seemed, and while that did have some concern for her mother, it was understandable. Despite that, Rarity chose the spot right above her horn to kiss her.

"Oh, you just had to say so before and that would have been fine. You've been such an independent filly, sometimes I worry that I'm not doing enough." Opal didn't like being treated like a princess; it had always come across as uncool to her. But she still had a really caring mother to go to, and the awesomest dad in Equestria of course. But it was the hugs from Rarity she appreciated, after every argument and punishment, she still loved them.

25. Magic of the Rainbow

The relationship between Twilight Sparkle and Trixie Lulamoon turned out to be one of those, undefinable friendships. Both had a talent for magic, albeit in different areas, and while they worked comfortably together on several occasions, it wasn't clear to anyone if there was something going on behind closed doors. All the student alicorn could find herself noticing was their rather creepy awareness of what the other had been doing.

"Now, just follow my lead. The purpose of this lesson will be to introduce you to the magic behind fireworks, a particular speciality of mine. And given your special asset, you have the potential to cast spells mid-flight, which could lead to limitless possibilities. And the Crystal Ponies do love a great celebration, this should be good practice, and I promise a lot of fun." Opal was too busy watching the skies to pay much attention. Of all the times for Rainbow Dash to get a Cloudsdale summons, why did it have to be the very day that her first real flying lesson was supposed to be?

Trixie concentrated her magic for a moment, causing a bright blue rocket to fire up into the air. The resulting firework wasn't as spectacular as it would probably be at night, but it was impressive nonetheless. It had Opal vaguely interested now; at least there had been a big point about the relation to flying practice. But it still wasn't going to make up for missing out today. "Ookay... Looks, great I guess."

Trixie seemed rather enthusiastic about the whole thing, but she couldn't find the motivation to have a similar level of involvement. Magic tricks were supposed to be an addition to flying, not a prerequisite. One of Princess Luna's big words from her very brief time at the Night Palace. "It's a simple spell that only requires the one spell itself to be learned first. We can move onto details at a future lesson."

A future lesson, sure. More likely than not it would be added onto the end of today's lesson. Okay, so she was an alicorn, and that generally meant powerful magic. But that didn't necessarily mean that she'd be a fast learner, or a good one for that matter. Oh of course, Aunty Trixie didn't know that she had scraped through magic school. For all she knew, she was the best in her class! More like the wanna-be drop out. Still, if she gave it a decent try, that would cut down on repeats, and that had to be worth a little effort.

"Okay okay, just give me a minute." Using the method that Twilight had taught her for focusing her magic, she spread her hooves out and lowered her head. As her horn began to glow, her wings spread out to the sides as if to reflect the magic back into her horn. It was a reflex, but it did help in this case, at least there was some sensation of magic coming from her horn. "It's, not working! I can feel it, but it's not enough!" Sparks were beginning to fly at that point, and still no projectile. Trixie moved closer to investigate why Opal was having trouble.

"Uh, Opal? Perhaps you're trying too hard; you could accidentally make a somewhat larger one than..." Larger was an apt description, the rocket itself produced a dazzling light of rainbows. Trixie had to stumble back to avoid being caught in the magical after-burn, and to get a good look at the result. Fortunately for the rest of Ponyville, but not so fortunately for judging Opal's performance, the projectile continued on for several seconds longer before finally exploding into a shower of colourful embers and streaks. Twilight was nearby when the display came, drawing her to Trixie's place.

"You two alright? That was a pretty big burst there, and for a moment, I was worried something had gone wrong. Looks like you did great Opal!" The filly looked blankly at her mentor. More enthusiasm about her growing magical powers! Really what she didn't want to hear at all. The temptation to run off and try another stunt suddenly felt really appealing. "I'm sorry you missed out on flying today, Rainbow's on her way back now. Apparently there was an emergency at the weather factory with one of the rainbow fountains, pretty dangerous stuff."

It was too much for Opal to take any more, one mom working on dresses all day, the other going out and doing really awesome stuff. And she had to sit there and make fireworks, in the daytime. "You know what? I'm sick of magic! I wanna learn how to fly, not do all this fancy-shmancy stuff like turning rocks into crystals, and making me disappear. It's just not cool enough... Why should I be grounded all the time when I have wings!?"

Twilight took a step back at the outburst. Sick of magic? How would she explain that to Celestia in her next letter? And right now, how could she possibly provide an answer that was both truthful and non-upsetting for the young princess? "Well... Magic is a key part of Equestria; it's entwined into every pony, in some form or another. And you've got a part of Celestia's magic in you, don't you recall the early years where they needed to mute all magic in your presence? I know it's difficult to understand, but all of us involved wanted you to live here, without causing problems."

A moment of unintentional silence passed. Opal looked at her wings again in desperation. So technically, it was Celestia's fault that she had to wait so long to learn how to fly like Dash. Of course, nopony would understand how she felt. They never did, or chose not to at least. Twilight was just a plain unicorn; magic was pretty much obvious for her path. But she had her destiny selected by others for her. To be a magical princess, not a cool one clearly.

"Well, I think I got the hang of my, correction, Celestia's magic. So will you two stop forcing these lessons on me, just because mom's not here?" Seeing no point in trying to argue more, the filly began storming off away from them. One more mention of magic and she was very well prepared to run off into the Everfree Forest and hide forever. That wouldn't be so bad; at least magic was less potent there. She wouldn't have to worry about ever using her horn again!

The sound of a pony landing down behind her made Opal jump. She half turned to see Rainbow Dash waiting there with a grin on her face. "Hey Opal, what's up? Sorry I couldn't keep our lesson today, there was rainbows pouring out over all of Cloudsdale. Looked pretty neat if you ask me, but y'know pegasi, they've got a very small appreciation for colourful stuff. Unlike us of course. So how's things been for you?"

The filly lowered her head again in shame. Would it be fair to lie about shouting at Twilight and Trixie about how she didn't want more magic in her life? "I uh... lost my temper at Twilight just now, she kept talking about magic. And I don't want more, I just want to fly." She hugged Dash's leg at that moment in the chance that it wouldn't come across well. Feeling the soft rub on her back removed that fear. Dash was always understanding.

"I'll talk to her about it, you just needed to say that you're not comfortable with the pressure being put on you and she would've understood. Twilight's as obsessive about magic as Mom is about perfection, but she won't ignore you, okay?" Wrapping her wing around Opal allowed her to sit properly again, without leaving her daughter insecure. "Now, when you're ready, what do you say to heading up and teaching you take off from that hill you rode down before?"

Opal's eyes lit up at that moment, finally, what she had been desperately waiting for! "Really? Thank yoooou!" Racing off back towards the mountain, she didn't notice Rainbow Dash head back in Twilight's direction briefly. Dash had told her she would sort things out after all. Twilight and Trixie both seemed rather hurt by Opal's outburst however, both holding each other close.

"Hey Twi, Trixie, try not to take it personally okay? I think it's about time she got some flying time in anyway. She'll be back to herself in a few days; I'll make sure she apologizes personally before her birthday, to both of you."

26. Birthday Number Twelve

"Surprise!" For once, just about everypony in the main room of Sugar Cube Corner got it at the same time as Pinkie Pie. Icing and Cherry took a bit longer to sound out the word. The effect was as expected anyway, Opal nearly hit the roof as the party cannon went off just mere centimetres from her face. The jump take-off that Dash had taught her contributed to the effect, and the laughter that followed.

"Told ya that you'd be flying by your birthday." Rainbow Dash appropriately ruffled Opal's mane in the way she usually did before joining the group. Four years until her coronation, and Ponyville planned to make each consecutive birthday a great celebration. And Rarity had finally given into not expecting her daughter to wear a special dress each time, though she wasn't too impressed by Dash ruining her recently stylized mane.

"Rainbow Dash, could you have at least kept her mane in order? Lotus Blossom put a lot of time and effort into cleaning it up without altering her, unique style." Their filly was soon lost in the wonder of party guests presenting gifts, it was really pleasing to see her happy again. The past year almost hadn't been good for her at all. Now they had a chance to talk in a comfortable setting.

"She's fine, it looks better when it's a bit wild anyway, like you." Rarity felt herself blush uncontrollably, turning to get one of the cupcakes. Her gaze moved across each of her friends as she did so, reminding her of how much, and how little they had changed. Applejack still wore her prized hat, although the ponytail had been switched to pigtails since Granny Smith's passing. Pinkie had her twins; Fluttershy had taken to a soft pink woollen jumper as a regular piece of attire, as well as being a bit more confident with how her mane flowed.

Twilight seemed to be the odd case; no-pony who had just come to town would realize that she was a unicorn mentor, and no longer a student. She put it down to the lack of need for glasses, and a somewhat basic maternal personality. Rainbow Dash in comparison had lost maturity, becoming more like Opal as she tried to become more like Dash. As for herself, Rarity had tried her best to keep away from both over-protectiveness and uncaring for their filly.

Seeing that the cupcakes had all vanished, into the Pie twins, came as rather a disappointment to Rarity. "Whoops, pardon me Rarity, I'll have a new lot out in just a second." Applejack carefully nudged the twins off the tray when a better idea came to mind. "Pinkie Pie! Could you keep an eye on your kids while they're near the food?" Pinkie had her head buried into a sponge cake, and thus didn't hear. Eyes rolled before Applejack made her way back to the kitchen. The birthday cake itself was safely kept there, appropriately cloud themed.

The return of the remote controlled parasprite became the crowd pleaser, as Opal sent the infamous insect on a low fly-by of the table. Flying a little too close to Rarity caused quite a startle. It was her birthday sure, but there was still the temptation to give her a stern warning about where she flew her toys. Rainbow Dash intervened rather quickly anyway, sliding up beside Rarity in a discreetly suggestive manner.

"Take it easy, she just turned twelve okay? Besides she'll leave us alone any time now." That prediction was spot on, as the filly quickly recoiled from the sight of her parents 'getting close' as friends called it. The new parasprite was very entertaining anyway, especially when the three pink ponies who now occupied Sugarcube Corner became fixated on it in union. Soon, presents were opened, songs were sung, notably by Sweetie Belle, and Opal finally found herself admitting that she was having one of the best days of her life yet.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack carried the birthday cake platter out between them, being very careful about each step. Opal quickly jumped up onto the stool set for her to reach. There was still no growth in her body yet, something that would hopefully change at any time. Watching the cake set down left her appropriately awestruck. The candles glowed in different colours, two of each to make twelve total, and were arranged to make the similar number.

"When you're ready dear." The filly gleefully tapped on the table for a moment as she pondered on the wish. Most in the past had been for flight, but that was becoming a reality now. She needed something new to aspire to. Glancing back gave her the perfect answer to base her wish on. I wish for my cutie mark to appear. Closing her eyes tightly for a moment in intense concentration on that thought, she opened them again to blow out the candles.

They blew out for a moment, before relighting again. Opal was about to try again when the light from all condensed into a flaming ball of light. Everypony's attention was drawn immediately to the array of colours that came from it. Twilight was about to step in and prevent it from doing damage to the place itself when Rarity stopped her. It was in that moment that the fire transformed into what looked identical to crystal. Opal's eyes were practically glued to it, head turning as it moved over her towards the centre of the crowd, a space for it forming appropriately.

Much to everypony's surprise, the crystal ball transformed into Princess Celestia right before them. Once again, she knew exactly how to make an entrance. Even Rainbow Dash found herself gasping, before shaking it off and nudging Rarity of course. Opal was still transfixed by the sight, barely noticing as Celestia turned to her with a benevolent smile.

"My dear Opal, I do apologize for not coming to your birthday party sooner. But ponies do tend to make a fuss over princesses, I'm sure I don't need to explain that to you of course." Opal giggled nervously, despite the times she didn't like the magic lessons, her aunt always knew what would make her laugh. And of course, they had that one thing in common. "I do hope that you are pleased with my gift to you, and that you will fulfil the responsibility that goes with it."

Opal's attention was returned to the crowd as she began looking for the gift. Rarity and Rainbow Dash approached, the looks between them were accompanied by smiles, directed at her. "What, what's the... gift?" Turning her head fully, she almost fell over in surprise at the speed her wish was granted. A perfectly spherical crystal opal, with the six Elements of Harmony positioned around it. Six points of a snowflake, just like the Crystal Empire's emblem.

"Looks pretty great if you ask me, though it could do with a bit more coolness." Opal nudged Rainbow Dash in their teasing way before hugging both of her parents as best she could, given her small hoof span. Definitely the best birthday to date, probably ever. The nuzzling completed it, nothing felt more comforting than being nuzzled by her mothers.

"Let's party everypony!" Pinkie Pie set the mood going again, now with new motivation and life thanks to Celestia's arrival. The Princess herself stole away from the crowd briefly to speak with the young family. Opal in particular still had one more thing to learn before she departed.

"Just remember, the Elements of Harmony are here to support you, and they always will be. Oh, and try not to be late for studies next year, I imagine you'll be quite busy with flying lessons to begin with already." Opal moved to hug Celestia too, locks of pink and aquamarine hair flowing around her. Busy with flying lessons? Surely, that could only mean... She would be attending the Cloudsdale School for Young Flyers at last!

"Oh Celestia, has Princess Luna mentioned anything about a certain dress design that I prepared for her?" Dash nudged Rarity hard at her unaware attempt to take some of the attention from their filly. She herself had become lost in the room again, showing off her new cutie mark to the other foals. Icing by that point already managed to get a hoof print of green icing all over it in a smear. But Opal didn't care too much, today was a huge turnaround from her years of growing tired of magic and missing flying. Nothing could ruin it for her.

27. Disagreement

Opal burst through the doors in tears. Her twelfth birthday had only been a few months ago, but in that time the growth had become noticeable. Only this time, her ice blue face was concealed by a much messier mane than usual. Rarity wasn't able to stop her at all as she charged right past to her room. "Opal! What happened dear?" She didn't look hurt, but something had really made her upset, and she was a tough personality.

Rainbow Dash followed soon after, walking through to the kitchen without a second glance at Rarity. Immediately, she began setting about to prepare one of her quick drinks out of vegetables. Usually she only made such alternatives to actual food when she was under stress. Rarity was still confused about her filly's behaviour, and why her mare seemed to be in a not so good mood.

There was a period of silence during which Rarity paced around between Opal's door and the lounge room. She was bawling her eyes out in there, and every attempt to open the door was met with a stronger resistance of magic. Dash didn't move one bit from her place at the kitchen table. The entire scene had her completely rattled. While it would probably be better to ask Twilight or somepony else to come over, she wanted to try handle this herself.

"Dashie? What happened?" Dash was still staring out the window at the evening sky. Notably in the direction of Cloudsdale. "Dash, was it something to do with the school?" There was only a slight change in her expression, anger. She paused in her slow advance towards her mare at that. Rainbow Dash didn't get angry at anypony, least of all her. So why did mentioning flight school annoy her so much?

At long last, her attention was drawn away from the window, back onto Rarity. She shuffled again uncomfortably at the staring. "She should have gone to flight school three years ago; when I said it was time..." A long gulp of what remained of the drink went down her throat before she got up to make another. Rarity was utterly confused now. Why was she upset about the timing of Opal's attendance?

"Dash, I don't understand... What made her so upset? I thought she loved flight school." A thud came from the kitchen; Dash had just slammed her hoof onto the counter, leaving a deep imprint. That really had Rarity worried, and she was more than ready to go and find Twilight for support. Yet, she felt deep down that Dash would never do anything to hurt her, not even under the worst of circumstances.

Finally, her mare returned to the table with a half-blended drink. "Oh yeah... she really loved flight school... Until they expelled her." Expelled? That definitely explained her filly's tears; she had to be heartbroken over that. Again, she felt the urge to go up and comfort her. But why in Equestria would Cloudsdale expel the Crystal Princess of all ponies from their school!? Unless...

"Why was she expelled then?" A long, drawn out breath escaped Rainbow Dash's mouth. It was now clear that she had a few scratches on her skin, from branches it seemed like. Flying low in the Everfree Forest? Things were starting to worry Rarity quite a bit. "Rainbow Dash, you can tell me. Nothing could convince me for one moment that Opal did something out of line, or that you are to blame for it."

The pink eyes settled onto hers again. A mix of deep, bitter anger, and regret. "She... almost... killed one of the students..." Rarity's heart froze at that moment. Opal? Her precious little gem, almost killed another student? No, that was not like her at all. She had always been so cheerful, and very passive with life. Fluttershy had become one of her closest friends even, surely Dash had been misinformed.

More crying from upstairs interrupted the silence. Nopony could claim she was without guilt at least, if the accusation was indeed true. But it couldn't possibly be. "He was harassing her outside of class, picking on her because she was older than the rest. Honestly, I think I would have done the same in her place, especially after what you've put her through..."

Rarity's mood shifted quite suddenly at that. All of a sudden, Dash was saying it was her fault? "And just what does that mean? I have devoted my life to raising her to be a good and kind princess, who loves and respects all ponies. So how could I possibly be responsible for leading into a circumstance where another pony's life was put at risk?"

"Because you never listened! She wanted to fly, but you, Twilight, and Celestia all insisted that she learn magic! The only reason she actually passed magic school, is because she didn't want to disappoint you! And now you just stand there and pretend that you didn't hold her back from the one thing she has wanted to do more than anything." That was a real blow to her pride. Maybe she should have paid a bit more attention to Dash, but then again, why did she have to?

"You still haven't explained the circumstances, or how her learning of magic has impacted on her flying. I thought you were doing a wonderful job catching her up with the basics." Rainbow Dash stood up at that moment, taking a very serious step towards her. Things were growing very heated, and her earlier certainty that Dash would restrain herself had begun to crumble.

"Oh yeah, the basics. Since when is a spell that cripples a pegasi's ability to fly considered important enough to teach a twelve-year-old princess!? He fell right off the edge, and had no way of saving himself. If he hadn't landed in a tree, he could very well be in a mortuary right now, not Cloudsdale critical care!" It proved to be a tipping point for Rarity. There she was, backing away from her own mare, the one who gave Opal her personality.

"Well, perhaps if you hadn't taught her to be so obsessive about flying, and for that matter lazy, she would have paid more attention in magic school! Did you ever consider the fact that it was lack of experience that caused such an incident, not this stupid idea that because she was enrolled a few years later than other ponies, she was open to bullying!?"

An ear-splitting lightning crack accompanied the sound of shattering glass. Throwing the argument aside, Rainbow Dash pulled Rarity to safety as a turbulent storm outside forced its way in through the kitchen window. No pegasi team could produce such a fierce display in that space of time, which had Dash even more confused. But right now, her concern was making sure Rarity was safe.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to shout at you. I just..." Rarity pushed her away; she was somewhat less willing to drop the matter. Hostility was a rather more serious matter to her. "Rarity! It's not safe, I need to get outside and see what the hay is going on with the weather. I don't think Discord would pull something like this off, it's more violent than chaotic."

There was no response from her mare. She had been going towards the stairs when the remaining lights in the house blew out in the wind, so that was where Dash decided to go. As she tread there slowly, the matter of how such a storm could brew in Equestria without warning continued to puzzle her. Too long for pegasi, not the right style for Discord. And Celestia didn't use her weather spells to make storms like this...

"Opal." Her pace went to a gallop. "Opal! Rarity!" She had always been brilliant with weather spells. But why would she cast up a storm like this? Could she have heard the argument going on, and panicked? If so, it would be her fault for shouting at Rarity. She had reason to be upset that her wishes for Opal were given second priority, but at the same time, she saw her mare's logic clearly.

As she finally ascended the stairs, she found Rarity sitting amidst glass on the porch. The smash from before had been outward, Opal had fled her room altogether. Dash wasted no time in pulling Rarity back inside from the pouring rain. In the brief amount of time she had been there, her body had become dangerously cold and wet. Even now, the droplets felt like tiny points of ice, almost piercing her skin physically.

"It's okay Rarity, Celestia will clear it up, and we'll find her. I am so sorry for being snappy and upset; I should've consulted Twilight before blowing off at you. Just please, say something." A thick, warm towel was placed around her shoulders, but Rarity still didn't move or say anything. Her face was motionless, stuck in a state of disbelief and shock. Her little filly had just run away from home.

28. Falling from On High

"We found her lying in a rivulet near the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, down south." Two weeks, five days, 8 hours since Opal made a run for it from her fighting parents. It had taken over a day for Celestia to undo the thunderstorm spell, and even then, there was damage to Ponyville itself that needed attention. In that time, every pegasus had joined the search for the missing princess, and now she had finally been located.

Hearing she was lying unconscious at the hospital made both Rarity and Rainbow Dash feel terribly responsible. After the anger had settled, they blamed themselves for a while, and became close again out of fear for her fate. Seeing her with a broken wing, very underweight, and virtually fighting for life was enough to make even Dash cringe. "She'll be fine in the end, right? I mean alicorns are supposed to be able to live forever, and Celestia's had her share of bumps and bruises."

The doctor glanced at both parents for a moment while checking all sorts of charts. "That may be the case for an adult, but she's rather young. There is signs of recovery, and she's being given nutrients as we speak, but the process will leave her unconscious. I'm afraid that's unavoidable, she won't wake until she believes she's ready." A nod and thank you seemed to be the appropriate response, though Rarity felt she needed to do much more in return.

Rainbow Dash returned to comforting her mare, doing her best to keep her warm as they continued to sit at the bedside for the following hours. It was a critical time, doctors and nurses were always in and out to check up on Opal. So many things that they wanted to say, but couldn't. Almost all were apologies, save for one really key development that neither had expected.

Night fell, and left once more to a dawn that went mostly unnoticed. At long last, the doctors finally decided that Opal was out of critical condition. Tired and weary, both parents were finally convinced by Twilight to go home and rest. Each of their friends had agreed to take turns in watching over the recovering filly, and it gave each the chance to talk to her. The incident at Cloudsdale had become common knowledge, but none of them held that against her. And now, her mentor would be the first to take up the role.

"So, here we are. I was really worried about you Opal, then again everyone was. Dash told me about how you felt you were forced into magic, and I didn't help with that much huh." A small cough came before she felt like continuing. Everything she wanted to say seemed to turn to dust at that point. Without substance or structure to her words, she couldn't do much more than sit and watch. "Just get better soon, okay? We need you Opal, you're too important to Rarity and Rainbow Dash for them to lose. They'd never recover..."

By afternoon, she had fallen asleep again, only to be woken by Trixie. "Get some sleep Twilight; I'm just as responsible for her safety as you are, okay?" Twilight eventually followed her advice, allowing Trixie to take her place at Opal's side. She hadn't felt it wise to think of anything to tell the filly beforehand, in fear it would seem awkward at the moment. So, most of the silence she spent pondering on what to say, a reasonable distraction while the nurses continued to check up on her condition.

"I don't know if you realized this, but you were one of the few ponies who accepted me as a friend without question. Probably because you weren't around for my bad phase, definitely a good thing. And honestly, you've really helped me be more sociable, just by following your example. I realize this must sound weird considering the age difference, but what's the big deal really?" She breathed in again, there was something that she didn't feel was right to tell everypony, yet seemed to be appropriate for Opal to hear in her unconscious state. "I guess you might as well know that Twilight and I are somewhat more than friends now, you would probably understand better than the others."

She continued to stay with her throughout the night, rather grateful when Applejack stopped by. Taking the half day off when she could very well have been working on the farm was a rather big commitment. But it was one that she wanted to make, and nopony dared question that. "Kinda awkward, since we didn't really cross paths much, but I'm here all the same. I've got a really special apple saved for you back at the farm, so you'd better get moving on waking yourself Missy." She meant that in jest of course, humour was something she felt couldn't go wrong under the circumstances.

Snoozing for a little bit helped calm her nerves again. Now that she had time to think about Opal specifically, she felt rather bad for not trying to get to know the filly more. Twelve years had gone by so quickly, and now reality was catching up to all of them again. "Tell ya what, when you're out and kicking again, I'll give you the ins and outs of apple bucking, just you and me." When Pinkie Pie arrived later that day, Applejack was rather reluctant to leave. But each needed their time with Opal, and Opal needed them in turn.

Pinkie seemed to take her injury the hardest, the lack of laughter was impossible to not notice. And the fact that she left the twins in the care of Rarity for the time being made it far more obvious. She never left her twins, at least not willingly. "Icing misses you; she always liked you as a big sister. I uh, almost ran out of excuses for why you weren't there. But that's the fun of excuses; waiting until they get so silly that you can't help but laugh at all!" That brought a giggle back to the normally gleeful pony.

"I dunno what everyone else said they'd do when you wake up, but I've got a nice and simple party planned for when you do. I'm sure you'll like it, because you always like my parties, right Opal?" Lacking a verbal response didn't bother her too much; deep in her heart, she knew the answer. Opal had her moments, but she was always a really sweet filly, especially to the twins. And part of her understood why Rarity and Rainbow Dash didn't have a second foal, taking care of a princess was obviously hard work. Poor Opal didn't have a sister of her own to care for.

Pinkie couldn't stay the whole night, but by then, the princess had reached a stable condition. Her wing was proving to be a complex job for the healing of her body, and so she continued to remain in her sleepy state. Fluttershy arrived early that morning, she still felt a little uncomfortable given the rumours floating around Cloudsdale. But that couldn't get in the way of their close friendship.

"I brought you a vase of the Spectrum Orchids. And a special jumper, if you feel like you need it of course." The breed of orchid that she and Zecora made for her had become rather popular with the flower ponies. Now it grew in its own special area of her garden. "Well uh, I'll be here if you wake up, and want to talk. If I knew that there was more that you wanted, then I would've brought more. Uh, then again, maybe I'm being too overbearing..."

A loud gasp came from the bed as Opal jerked back into consciousness. Fluttershy leapt right out of the chair and clung to the top of the curtain rail at the suddenness of her awakening. "Celestia! She's... he's... They're... No!" The force at which she flew out of the bed pulled the diagnostic equipment clean from the wall. Doctors and nurses began to fill the room in response, while Fluttershy carefully made her way out. Two words managed to escape the filly's mouth in that time before she slipped into unconsciousness again. "Elements... broken..."

30. Coronation

Part Six: The Princess of the Crystal Empire.

In comparison to the train that took several hours from Ponyville to Canterlot, the Canterlot to Crystal Empire track took three times as long, at least. Fortunately for the occupants, they had plenty of preparations that could be done on the way to occupy their time. Soon to be crowned Princess Opal Flame had turned sixteen the previous month, and now that the proper Ponyville farewell had been given, it was time for her to assume the Crystal throne.

The Crystal Ponies themselves were eagerly awaiting her arrival. She had spent time there as a filly to become familiar with the history of the city, and its previous rulers, anticipation was high as she was making her return. Nothing of her memory during the incident had returned however, which she didn't consider too much of a problem. It wasn't unexpected for there to be nightmares after all, nothing to worry herself about.

"Sit still dear, I know you really want to be a Princess who lives among the ponies, but they all have very stylized manes. You can't just walk in looking like a lightning bolt struck you." For once, Opal wasn't complaining against her mother's wishes. Sky Dancer yawned in her own adorable way at that moment. Coloured white with a mane identical to her mother's, she was fast asleep in Rainbow Dash's hold.

Pinkie bounced through the car on one of her oversized rubber balls. Between making each other look good for the ceremony, sleeping, and just watching Pinkie Pie, boredom was non-existent. At least it should have been. Opal had to sit there while her mother continued to 'formalise' her mane, and without Icing or Cherry to make funny faces for, anything she could do for fun was out of reach.

Another yawn came; both pegasi did so in an identical fashion. Sky had the personality of her mother, just like Opal. And Rarity was fine with that. After all, one Rarity was enough for anypony to handle. At last, she stepped back from Opal, encouraging her to stand up once more. "Just wait there a moment; I've got a mirror ready." Her horn glowed for a moment as a tall mirror rolled over to them.

Her azure hair had been splayed to either side to give the impression of a lively fountain; with the rainbow highlights, the effect was complete. It had the wild and untamed flair, without being messy. Opal was surprised with the care Rarity had put into it. She actually did like how it looked, far from the pretty and frilly fashion statement she had been fearful of.

"Thank you. I was worried for a moment that you'd go for the whole Crystal Headdress. Or Mom's hair when she was here before I was around." Dash opened one eye at that moment; it wasn't something she had thought about. And the implication that her crystallized mane style was 'uncool' was in fact 'uncalled for'. Admittedly, she wouldn't find herself wearing it anywhere else, but there wasn't a reason to mock it either.

"Hey, I can always ask Rarity to do just that y'know." Rarity winked back before making a few final adjustments. Dash settled back down to sleep with her filly again. While she had mixed reactions about being pregnant, it helped develop an appreciation for Rarity's side of things, at least that's how Twilight put it. It did mean a few years away from the Wonderbolts, but she did return as the captain anyway.

Rarity had moved onto testing how an imitation tiara sat with Opal's mane. It would be terribly awkward and inconvenient for the crowning to be halted due to hairstyle of course. "So dear, anything else you'd like before we arrive?" Much to her delight, the tiara settled into place flawlessly. As if to compliment that, Opal closed her eyes for a moment as a burst of magic transformed her body into crystal.

"Whew, that felt a little weird, but still cool. Just remember Mom, I'm a mare now, not a filly. And please try not to cry, it's really embarrassing." Rarity nudged her daughter with a smile. "Especially the nudging! It makes my shoulder itch whenever you do it!" Opal nudged back anyway. Giggles eventually spread between them; neither of them noticed the smile that formed on Rainbow Dash's face.

*

Standing on the large balcony in her last few minutes alone before the ceremony would begin proved to be an enlightening experience for Opal. In less than an hour, she would be the Protector and Overseer of the city. A seventeen-year plan, and it was coming to its key completion, here and now. All relying on her to stand there for a little while, say the appropriate vows, nod her head, and accept the role. And of course activate the Crystal Heart. No problem.

It was winter again, beyond the dome that protected the city from being enveloped in snow; the weather was wild and fearsome. Just like she wanted to be. Though the fact she was now a full Crystal pony didn't help that desired image too much. It certainly had a lot of the resident ponies excited, a few of the stallions she seemed to notice out of others.

"Opal, they're ready for you. Are you ready?" She turned to Celestia with a confident smile. Apprehension was very strong at that point, now more than ever, a show of bravery would be key. The silent walk beside her aunt into the main hall felt daunting. There were a lot of eyes trained on her at that point; every pony was excited from the Fair. So close now, the moment her whole life had been leading to, both the good and the bad.

Soon the chatter became murmuring, and finally faded into silence. The Elements of Harmony stood to either side, supporting her as Celestia had assured her. And now, it was her chance to support them in return. Opal took her position in front of the Crystal Throne, smirking at the sight of Spike in his top hat and suit. He had been given the task of carrying the crowning tiara up, but he still looked a bit silly. "What? This what I wear to every formal occasion."

Celestia smiled before beginning the ceremony. "Opal Flame, daughter of Rarity and Rainbow Dash of Ponyville, and ascendant to the Crystal Throne. The Crystal Empire is gathered here today, to witness and consent to the crowning of the first Crystal Princess in over a thousand years." Three crystal ponies stepped forward, the representatives of the city's population.

"On behalf of the Crystal Empire, we consent, and approve of the ascendant. May the light she provides never fade, and our faith and support never perish." Celestia nodded formally in response. As the only pony present to have participated in a coronation before, it was vital to ensure that Opal knew the routine too. Rainbow Dash was gagging to herself, something that the Princess couldn't help but smile at.

"And do you, Opal Flame, agree to take up the responsibility that is to be bestowed on you? To lead and protect the Crystal Empire, under any and all circumstances?" Both had decided that nodding would be suitable enough; Opal didn't feel confident that she could speak without faltering. Celestia nodded again, turning to Spike who held up the tiara. "Then, Opal Flame, I now pronounce you Princess of the Crystal Empire."

As the tiara floated through the air, the new Princess lowered her head in preparation to accept it. Eyes brought into line with the door, they quickly contracted down into tiny points. "Celestia! Move!" A thick black fog was rushing right towards the throne from the open space, two bright green eyes strong in the apparition. Opal didn't have any more time to react before what could only be King Sombra had enveloped her. A moment of guttural laughing shook the room, before the cloud vanished altogether. Opal was nowhere to be found.

31. Changelings

Panic would be a very big understatement for what followed. Screams of Sombra's return were strong and loud among the Crystal ponies. Rarity, short of fainting, was searching around hysterically in the off chance it was all just an elaborate prank. Celestia and Rainbow Dash were already speeding up towards the top of the tower to do the same. Everypony would probably be better off without Pinkie Pie running around at random to scream in their faces, but there wasn't really a way to stop her from doing so.

"Pinkie! Go check on the foals okay?" Twilight returned to the throne to examine the Crystal Heart. It had been untouched by Sombra's attack, yet he had to know that in an emergency Celestia could activate it too. Given the amount of screaming going on, she would probably have better luck working out his intentions in a quieter setting. "Girls! Upstairs with Pinkie Pie, we need to discuss a plan on finding Opal, and fast."

Upstairs, the ambient of fear drifted through the air like mist. News of Princess Opal's disappearance had spread through the city quickly. A bright ray of light from the top of the tower marked Celestia's attempt to reinforce the protective shield. Rainbow Dash in the meantime joined the others in the filly's room, Pinkie holding her twins while Rarity nursed Sky. "She's nowhere in the city, Celestia's heading back to Canterlot to round up anypony she can for a search. Did you manage to find anything here?"

Twilight was busy pacing in a desperate search for an idea. Opal could be anywhere in the north at all, they never did find the exact location where King Sombra had been trapped before. "I'm thinking. I just wonder how he got through the protective shield just like that, there were no dark crystals inside for him to hide in, we checked." Rarity passed Sky to Dash's hooves, taking a moment outside the room for air.

This wasn't just a random coincidence surely. He deliberately chose the coronation for a point of attack, when security would be at its tightest. Not for the first time, she found herself feeing regretful of being so eager for Opal to fulfil this task. Sure, nopony could possibly expect such a turn of events, and yet, they very well could. This was exactly the sort of thing that would happen to royalty, only she had never really considered that it would actually happen.

"Filled with pride, always telling others of how proud she is of her daughter. And yet, when the time comes for that daughter to prove herself, she panics, and worries. Without faith or knowing, and I thought you were better than that Rarity." Rarity's face darkened, she hadn't been berating herself that time. Trixie, looking rather mean spirited at that. Right now, Rarity couldn't care less about the sudden mood swing; nopony said horrible things about her parenting.

Her head remained steady in anticipation of a fight as she took a deliberate step towards Trixie. "What... are you calling me a bad parent? Because, I may not be one for violence, but I really will do some rather nasty things with a needle and thread if you do not explain yourself." Trixie smirked, deliberately daring her to continue. Twilight entered the hall at that point, shocked to find two of her close friends almost at the point of locking horns.

"Trixie... what are you doing? I'd ask the same of you Rarity, but from what I just heard... I'd rather not know." She didn't like the scene one bit; a standoff forming at a time like that would only give Sombra more time to attack. Both had reason to be edgy, but coming to blows with each other wasn't the way to let off steam at all. But Rarity had no intention of backing down from an insult like that.

"I'm merely drawing attention to the fact that ever since I came back from Vanhoover just a few months ago, Rarity has done nothing but say how competent and capable Opal Flame is. Now she frets about the Princess like a newborn filly. Is it wrong of me to say that such silliness is completely unnecessary?" That was the tipping point for Rarity. Silly was it, the concern she had for her child?

"Oh, it is on!" Nopony expected her to charge, especially not with such speed and force. But she did, knocking Trixie onto her back with a single rear of her head. It caused a lot of pain around the base of her horn, but the result was worth it. Seeing the self-important unicorn fall was enough to satisfy the built up resentment. But it didn't end there. Trixie was back up on her hooves in less than a second, taking her turn to charge.

Rarity planted her hooves down with the intention of holding her ground. The force at which their horns connected pushed her back several hoof-lengths still. "Both of you stop it right now!" Twilight began to pull both of them apart with her magic. To her surprise, Trixie was the one who forced her back. The struggle continued, both trying to throw the other off balance. It was causing Sky to cry, and Pinkie didn't seem to be far behind.

"You made a mistake Trixie. Nopony insults my daughter, maybe if you had a foal of your own you'd understand that." Trixie's eyes moved sideways for a brief moment, at Twilight. It was enough of a distraction for Rarity to rear up and hit Trixie's horn hard. She had intended to throw her concentration off; instead, the horn broke cleanly from Trixie's forehead. As it spun through the air towards the wall, it changed from a light blue unicorn horn, into a twisted spike of dark crystal. Everypony winced as it broke into several pieces, releasing a small cloud of black smoke as it did so.

Twilight didn't need another signal, tackling Trixie without hesitation. Every pony had been scanned for changeling status as a precaution, including Trixie. This time as Twilight's magic enveloped her supposed companion, the result was far different. Not unlike what had happened with Pinkie and her Changeling suit, the real one beneath her looked identical to the nightmarish ponies they had encountered before. Except the smaller, curved horn was now absent, replaced by a stump of the broken crystal. A Changeling, with one of Sombra's dark crystals for a magic horn. Rainbow Dash and Applejack moved to keep it pinned so Twilight could think for a moment.

"King Sombra and Queen Chrysalis... They're in this together. The dark crystal horn protected the changeling from my spell... and he hid in the crystal to get through the barrier. Then, the changeling would finish us off." So clever, had it not been for Rarity's protectiveness, there was a very real chance the changeling would have taken all of them out without a fight. But there were still questions that needed to be answered; some she had a pretty fair guess at the answers to. Trixie had been gone for some time on her trip to Vanhoover, and she hadn't seemed quite the same on her return.

"Twilight, if you're going to ask questions, could ya hurry up? This one's really strong." Twilight shook her head in a moment of regret before advancing again. Rarity was too stunned to speak about her actions, retreating into the room with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. Trixie had looked at Twilight at the mention of a foal of her own. Surely though, Twilight wouldn't have...

A pained squeal caused another wince; Twilight was pressing her hoof onto the changeling's shoulder. Was she actually torturing the impostor!? "Where's Opal? And for that matter where's Trixie? You've got a very short amount of time before I turn you into tiny crystal pieces." The changeling glared at her with a terrifying grin. This wasn't like them at all. When cornered, more often than not they would struggle for freedom.

Even Dash found herself grinding her teeth at the terrible sound of its actual voice. "You won't do that... I'm too important to you now. As for my Queen and King, they have the lovely Princess safe. Enjoy the storm that is coming, green is such a pretty colour." Rainbow Dash and Applejack recoiled as Twilight's horn flashed brightly. The changeling beneath her squealed again as its body began to turn into pure crystal. There was a moment of disbelief that Twilight had actually carried out her threat, made stronger when she pounded the petrified changeling to dust. Rarity moved back to her side at that moment

"Twilight... be honest with me. When it said that it was too important to you, it didn't mean finding my daughter, did it?" Twilight glared at her as if it were an accusation, before she broke down into tears. She knew that they had become closer in the past few months, and that Twilight was especially excited to see Trixie return.

"I'm sorry okay! I was just so glad to see her again. But she seemed perfectly fine I swear! There was literally no difference between before she left for Vanhoover, and up until today! Which means..." The Changelings almost certainly still had her. She had gone and gotten herself pregnant with a half changeling, and no way of rescuing the real Trixie without a very long search just to start with.

Reality caught back up to the group as a changeling flew right through the window, punching through the crystal floor. Rarity raced back out of the room with Sky Dancer, followed by Pinkie and Fluttershy carrying the twins. "We have to move, there's changelings everywhere. They're punching through the protection shield with those dark crystal horns, everypony is retreating back here." Twilight was quickly becoming distressed, prompting Rainbow Dash to take the lead.

"We'll find our baby, you and me. Twilight's in no condition to run around the Frozen North, and they'll need everything here to defend the Crystal ponies." Rarity touched Twilight's shoulder in a moment of sympathy. Dash was right, this was their job, and theirs alone.

32. The Ice Blue in the North

Cold, freezing cold... The dull feeling suddenly became a sharp pain in her leg, urging Opal to struggle upward. Or was it downward? She'd heard about ponies being trapped like this, the orientation of the earth was thrown into chaos when trapped deep in the snow. The recommendation was to relieve one's self, but she had a far less icky and definitely more effective method of freeing herself from the snow tomb.

The resulting explosion of magic would double as a signal to anypony nearby, but for the moment, it did the trick of getting her free at the cost of leaving her forehead singed. At least it was obvious she was somewhere in the Frozen North. Flying wouldn't be much use if she didn't know where to go, and of course, the one thing that would get her back home in a pinch was beyond her ability. Teleportation. Shelter had to become her priority.

"Come on Opal, mare up and tackle this like Rainbow Dash would." A nearly outcrop seemed to be the best option, initial protection from the wind, and a solid wall to keep her flank to. King Sombra had brought her out here, and there was a very good chance that he'd return at some point to finish the job. She didn't intend to be there when he did so.

While the outcrop didn't seem to be too far away, getting there against the wind proved to be a significant challenge. Unfurling her wings would just cause too much air resistance, and a lot of her magic had gone into the explosion. Determination to beat Sombra drove her forward, each step a struggle, but an achievement too. With that mindset, she found herself in the shelter of a jutting ice spike at long last.

"Stay warm, find or build shelter, and wait for rescue." That was the instructions she had been given on every camping trip. For now, she pushed snow up into a wall around her little sheltered area, using magic very sparingly to keep it from crumbling again. Once she had a reasonable space to hide in, she sealed the entrance up. It didn't take too long to warm up; at least she was no longer shivering her feathers off.

What seemed like hours, and was probably minutes passed. Patience wasn't a strong point of hers in such circumstances. She knew that the advice that she had followed so far was sound, yet it felt wrong to sit there. At least if she headed away from the Crystal Mountains, there was a reasonable chance she could escape the cold. But they twisted and turned at all different points, and she didn't know the exact location she had been put in.

And so she continued to wait. The effort that Rarity had put into styling her mane gradually faded, leaving it in a flattened mess. Sombra had really done it this time; she was definitely quite a way out. Each moment ate away at her motivation to keep going, the reality of her helplessness closing in tighter and tighter. And the cold was too, far from building up snow on the outside, the wind was eating away at her shelter. Snowflake, by snowflake...

"They'll come, they'll come... You just need to stay calm..." A heavy gust of wind tore out one side of her shelter. All the heat that had accumulated around her was washed out into the sea of ice. That decided it; shelter wasn't going to be viable. South was the only way to survive, she just needed to work out where south was. If she could get to a warm enough place, her magic could then recover and dispel the storm. It wouldn't last long, but it would certainly give her a lot more time to find her way to somewhere.

She didn't get far at all before the ground began to shake. The plan to avoid King Sombra was going to be very short lived it seemed. Flying was a possibility, but she didn't have enough magic to keep the winds settled and fend off the unicorn's attack. And the latter she wouldn't be able to sustain for long if she stayed. A pickle barrel full of pickles, like Pinkie would say to lighten the mood.

At last, her recently returned enemy made his appearance. A dense black cloud that reeked of evil, rearing up a column to support the head of the king. But it wasn't his face that was made manifest, at least not entirely. The eyes were slitted, a sick blue-green instead of red. And the horn was long and straight, with both lumps and holes in its surface now. What scared Opal most however, was the very distinctive voice.

"What have we here... A little Princess, far from home and family, wandering the ice looking for her mother. How ridiculously adorable, such a tasty morsel of love." Chrysombra was what Opal came up with for a name. They had merged into... whatever it was that they called two nasty enemies combined into one monster. Still, they snatched her right out of the Crystal Empire without trouble. And now she was stuck in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to rely on for help. The situation was definitely something she needed to tread carefully around. "So, King and Queen combine. That's pretty sick, in the bad way."

Laughing wouldn't quite be an accurate description of the sound they made, even though that was what it had to be. A truly horrible mix of shrills and gurgles. "Ah, you fail to see the significant advantage that such a union brings. The power to absorb love, without requiring a form to hide in. Celestia was powerless to stop us the first time, from the dear Shining Armor's love alone. And now, we have the whole of Equestria to feed on at will!" Shining Armor. Where was he now? In the aether undoubtedly, Twilight wouldn't remember him of course... It was something to think about when she wasn't in danger of being consumed.

"Yeah, well... Why haven't you gone and consumed me then? I'll admit I don't have a great grasp on magic, but Celestia always said I had a lot of potential I just didn't feel like using." Asking questions and taunting was building up her confidence again. "Or am I too powerful for you? Is trying to touch me going to burn? Some super-villain you two make!" Chrysombra hissed at her with a dark anger, but her idea had worked. Getting them mad would distract from precise thinking, and that was exactly what would save her.

"You, we need alive. As the youngest Princess, you are open to a new way of life. Every King and Queen needs somepony to carry on their legacy, after all." That hadn't occurred to her. Become corrupted, until she was the Princess of the dark Crystal Changelings, or whatever race they had made together. No, Rarity and Rainbow Dash were her parents. Nothing, and nopony would ever change that.

"Mind if I interrupt?" Rainbow Dash burst through the cloud at that moment, catching Opal in her hooves as she charged forward. "You know, that's just not cool. I mean, aren't you having changeling babies with yourself?" Both landed down beside Rarity, who had taken the brief window of opportunity to create an ice shield against any initial attacks. There was no time for happy reunions unfortunately.

"Dash! Get back to the Crystal Empire; get everypony, and the Elements of Harmony! Opal and I will delay, it, until Celestia arrives with help" Chrysombra laughed again, maintaining their distance for the moment. Dash was hesitant to leave her mare and older filly out in the cold, but Rarity was right. They couldn't face this threat alone.

33. Siege

"Okay, for those who don't know, here is the situation. We have a huge swarm of changelings, trying to break down the main door and take us down. And we cannot hold out forever. But we don't need to y’see; we only need to keep them out until Celestia arrives with reinforcements. Spike got an update on our situation through, but we haven't seen him since. Keep an eye out, he's the only one we can be sure isn't a changeling."

Twilight had taken up position on top of the crystal throne. Her task would be to pick off any Changelings that came from above, and hopefully in the meantime devise a way of counteracting the crystal horns. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were safely hidden beneath the throne room on the stairs. Nopony wanted to see the twins orphaned, and all three members of Sky's family was out in the snow. With Spike missing, that left the Crystal Ponies and Applejack to defend the line.

"Now, make sure that you hit it in just the right way, otherwise you're gonna end up with apple fritter all over your hoof. And for hay's sake don't hit Spike. He's the sure card, anything he says goes, understood?" Most of the crystal ponies nodded, some were less confident in their bucking skills than others were. Even Applejack had to admit that she would have preferred having more time to teach them, but making the best of what they had would be crucial in the battle.

"Applejack!" Applejack leapt over the barrier of chairs and tables towards the groaning door. A large crystal bar had been placed across it, but it still required several ponies to keep pushing the changelings back. Applejack's impact caused several to fall back, allowing the gap to be sealed again. Fortunately the changelings hadn't used their horns to blast their way in yet, getting through the shield had probably drained that from them.

"Clear the way!" A crack had begun to form in the main bar, prompting some of the other ponies to get more. Golden Laurel positioned herself opposite Applejack in forcing the door shut. "Borrowed these from behind the throne, we should be able to get everypony behind the tables before they give way." Applejack nodded, that seemed like a reasonable plan. Nopony wanted to be on the receiving end of those sharp horns.

"Fine, I'll keep it shut as long as I can, nopony faster on legs than this Apple right?" Grunting loudly, she along with the other ponies forced the doors shut again, allowing the supporting bars to be pushed into place. "Go go!" Her back was pressed up tightly against the crack, already she felt the sensation of changeling breathing. It unnerved her greatly, but she had to wait until the last moment.

That moment wasn't far behind, as the crack in the main brace went right through. With a yell, Applejack sprinted away from the doors like she had never dared to before. Twilight had her horn charged and ready to take out the first changeling that entered. Food would follow, effective enough at stopping anypony as seen before on several occasions. All of that went through Applejack's mind as the doors finally gave way just behind her.

Rainbow Dash would surely have been impressed with her slide under the tables. Up above was a flurry of kicking hooves, flying food, and bolts of magical energy. Applejack was quick to take her position in the bucking row too. Changelings had begun to pile up in front of the doorway by that point, as did food. Had Pinkie Pie been up there, their supplies would have probably been somewhat smaller.

"We're running out of food already! We need you down here Twilight!" Twilight looked down at Applejack; both had expected that it would come to physical blows at some point, but not after the first thirty seconds. And nopony wanted a pregnant unicorn to be fighting, but there wasn't much else they had to rely on. Laurel glanced between the two in waiting for an answer. "Now or never, we spent too long under Sombra's rule; we're going down fighting this time."

*

Fluttershy was doing her best to be strong. The sounds above were muffled, but she could definitely hear a lot of shouting from her friends. "What happens... if the changelings win?" Pinkie Pie patted her shoulder in a small attempt to reassure her. All three foals were fast asleep; it was a miracle that most of the other younger ponies were on the edges of the city. They'd be safer there than in the middle of the battle.

"They won't, Twilight and Applejack are great leaders, and Celestia will get here soon enough. Just think happy thoughts, okay?" Fluttershy nodded. She could do that, it wasn't too hard. Still, she continued to shiver out of fear. On an impulse, she carefully removed her jumper and laid it out on one of the stairs, setting Sky down on it. Pinkie did the same, Icing and Cherry surrounding the infant to keep her warm.

Fluttershy very carefully peered over the edge of the stairs. Heights she had been able to overcome years ago, it was more leaving Pinkie alone for more than a few seconds that worried her now. "Can anything get into here, apart from the way we did?" Pinkie could only shrug; she hadn't been in the stairway until today. Twilight though had said it was a very long way down, then back up. It seemed highly unlikely that the changelings would bother to check.

Five changelings zapped onto the staircase near them at that moment, effectively jinxing her moment of hope. "Fluttershy!" One of the changelings was making a grab for her. Pinkie pulled her back, hiding the foals from view. A threatening hiss caused them to wake; Sky was starting to cry at that moment. Pinkie didn't like that at all. Threatening to invade Equestria was understandable, but making foals cry? With a quick swing of her arms, she pushed the party cannon right at the face of the nearest changeling. "Taste party cannon, you big bullies!"

The resulting confetti from her party cannon knocked one changeling off the edge, while the other four continued to advance. That was all she had, now it could only serve as a shield between them and the changelings. They couldn't open the hatch, and they couldn't get past either. "Fluttershy, take the foals. I'll keep them busy." There was no movement; she couldn't leave Pinkie there without trying to help.

To their surprise, one of the changelings tripped off the edge with a loud squeal, smoke floating from the stumpy tail. Soon, the other three followed a similar fate, revealing the one who had burned all of them with a quick burst of green fire. "Spike! You saved us!" Fluttershy hugged him so tightly that his eyes were in danger of popping out. The Pie twins had begun to cry too at that point, prompting her to release him and care for them instead.

"I was up on top of the spire to send the letter when they found me. Took quite a bit of running, but I eventually got down, and then back up. I didn't know they could actually teleport though. Must be because of those new horns" There was a moment of relief as the floor opened up above them. Terror replaced that as a changeling hissed at them with a hoof swipe.

Spike was ready to bathe its face in fire when a bright beam of light blew it far away. "It's safe to come out now." Spike was still cautious, going ahead of the ponies to be sure. At last, to his great relief, Princess Celestia had arrived. Several of the Royal Guard, as well as scores of pegasi were busy doing their best to clean up the disaster around. Tables had been smashed; several crystal ponies had wounds from horns and hooves alike.

"Spike! Oh I was so worried when you didn't turn up in here." Twilight caught her favourite dragon in a tight hug, once again leaving him short of breath. She had a nasty bruise below her left eye, but otherwise seemed alright. Applejack however hadn't been so fortunate, bearing a stab to her shoulder, and several more welts across her body. As if to complete the scene, Rainbow Dash popped through one of the holes in the roof left by a changeling.

"Whoa, they really trashed the place." It was a great relief to see all of her friends still standing, and especially Sky in Princess Celestia's safe care. "Rarity and Opal are holding off Chrysalis and Sombra, they've become sort of super monster. She says that the Elements of Harmony are the only thing capable of stopping them, we need to go now." Celestia nodded in acknowledgement, performing a spell at that very moment.

Twilight's head dipped for a moment as the weight of the Element of Magic settled down. The other Elements had been summoned in a similar way; Rarity would have hers too undoubtedly. "Go now Twilight, there are still hundreds of changelings that must be dealt with. I shall join you once the Crystal Empire is safe again." While Rainbow Dash wanted a moment to see her filly again, Rarity and Opal didn't have much time

"Could you teleport us to the edge of the ice outcrop? Every second counts, if Opal had her full magic, she would've cleared the blizzard in her area. I don't think she can hold out much longer."

34. Last Stand

"Why are they just waiting there?" Rainbow Dash had been gone for at least ten minutes now, and Chrysombra continued to watch the pair from that position. It unnerved Opal to no end, Rarity didn't like it much either. It seemed very strongly that this was all part of their plan. Were they bait for the other Elements of Harmony? They could certainly give a decent fight, but if they had found a way to resist the most powerful force in all of Equestria...

"Now!" Opal had split seconds to grab her mother and speed out of the way as the monster crushed their ice shield to powder. The sudden rush was completely unexpected, exactly what had been planned undoubtedly. Opal didn't have much time to place Rarity back on the ground before the wind began to drag her off course. They had to hurry; time was growing very short for them.

"Fools, you're only delaying the inevitable. You see Opal, Celestia was stupid enough to give your mother some of her own magic. And it is that magic which will allow us to consume even the most powerful of ponies!" Rarity couldn't speak. They were going to absorb her magic? For food? Her eyes settled on Opal's, purple as her own mane. There was the tiniest droplet of water starting to form in the corner.

She couldn't help but hold her tightly. Things were going downhill at an alarming rate, and her own little filly had to watch it happen. "I'm so sorry Opal. After all those times I pushed you to be more of a princess than a pegasus." Opal remained silent. Only now, the memory that had been lost to her for so long was returning. The flicker of a vision of what was to come. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. All with the Elements of Harmony, trying to stop Chrysombra. No Rarity, and now she knew why.

A warm feeling on her chest made her panic for a moment. Had the magic of Equestria opened itself up to her in the hour of need? "Mom! The Element of Generosity! They're on their way!" Rarity was distracted by the sudden appearance of her Element, and thus unable to stop Opal from taking off into the air. There was a tiny sliver of hope for them yet, she hadn't expected that the Element would go right to her.

Chrysombra was moving to attack again when Opal flew up to confront them. It was an unexpected change, but not one that would be a huge bother. "Do not be a silly filly; accept your fate as our Princess, and this will all go away much faster. We will even make you sleep until it is done, so you will not have to watch..." That was met with a firm kick to the nose. There wasn't much she could do with magic, but a few months practise of apple bucking certainly did come in handy.

"Just try it!" One clear advantage that she had was her wings. If she minimized her time in the air, it kept the wind resistance to a minimum, leaving her more strength to kick with. And Chrysombra was struggling to keep up on top of that. Sure, she was only an annoyance to them, but it was buying them time. "And here's one for good measure!" She punched the corner of the green eye hard, causing the head to rear up in great pain.

Rarity was unsurprisingly horrified by her behaviour. Even for a life and death situation, she seemed to be taking great pleasure in hitting and kicking the beast. But it seemed to be working, what good would complaining about that do? And still, she felt so helpless. Her magic wouldn't do a whole lot to help, unless of course Chrysombra had a severe allergy to good fashion. At random, an arm emerged from the smoky mass, aimed towards Opal.

Rarity was quick to her hooves. That couldn't be good at all. "Opal! Look out!" Opal was in the middle of kicking right between the eyes when the point of the arm flashed briefly. A spear of dark crystal, aimed right at her. There was no time for the princess to react. The speed at which the spear flew through the air was incredible, though it was drastically slowed once it had Opal's body to push forward.

Falling back off the tip of their nose, she fell down towards the snow where the spear dug itself into the ground, holding her there. It had gone through the right side of her chest, narrowly missing her spine, but still through the smaller right heart. Her wings splayed out to the sides like a dying bird, as did her mane and tail. A single breath escaped her skewered lung before her entire body shut down.

That was it. Rarity couldn't believe it had just happened. They had just gone and killed her filly. She was meant to be a princess, and have a wonderful life in a beautiful city, and be forever known as the one who protected the Crystal Empire from harm. All that, gone. And she was next on the menu for the terrible brutes who had done that.

"She'll live, eventually. Alicorns are near impossible to kill permanently. I hope you take some small comfort from that Rarity, before you leave Equestria for good." Rarity didn't have the strength, or the will to fight back as the cloud picked her up. Her gaze was set on Opal's body. Crystal blood, not unicorn or alicorn blood. Liquid crystal, forming around the terrible spike in her body.

Her body convulsed as Chrysombra began to draw the magic from her body. The Element of Generosity had been shining brightly, but now it had started to fade in waves. In tune with her heartbeats. They continued to slow as she weakened further. No chance to say goodbye to Rainbow Dash, or Sky Dancer. Half of their family would be gone; she couldn't bear to think of what that would do to her beloved mare as the last of her life was sucked away altogether.

For a moment, Rarity hung limp on top of the black cloud, before being dropped into the snow below. Opal's flight had carried them away from the outcrop, how ironic that the Crystal Empire wasn't too far in that direction. It didn't matter to Chrysombra of course; they now had a morsel of Celestia's magic to feed from. "Let us take the Crystal Empire my dear." With that, the terrible fusion of Changeling and dark unicorn began the final path towards the city. Victory was at hand for the alliance.

"Twilight!" A flash of light blinded Chrysombra for a moment as the Elements of Harmony were teleported into the area right in their path. Twilight had mere seconds to run out of the way before being swept up in the thick cloud. Rainbow Dash moved to protect her from another attack, which seemed likely when the cloud turned back to face all of them.

"Well well, the Elements of Harmony finally make their appearance. Such a shame that the dear Element of Generosity won't be helping you." Dash faltered for a moment. What did that mean? Had they taken the Element from Rarity? Or was it more than that... "Go ahead; we are far too powerful to be stopped by simple trinkets now!"

Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie re-joined the pair in that moment of uncertainty. Rarity didn't have to be in the general vicinity for the Elements to work, but what if she was out of range? "Twi, Dash. We need to stop them, before they do more damage. Rarity wouldn't give up the Element without a fight. Let's take these two down before they do more damage."

Rainbow Dash still took a moment to look back at the direction Chrysombra had come from. She saw no figures, no signs of magic. In those moments, their enemy was getting closer and closer to attacking. "I... I don't know. What if something did happen to her?" Twilight pulled her back around firmly. It seemed that she wasn't going to let doubt get in the way of saving Equestria.

"Everypony, formation!" A snigger came from the cloud's direction as Twilight powered up the Element of Magic. "Remember! No matter what happens, we are more powerful than anything evil can throw at us!" It seemed to be working; each of the Elements was focusing their magic towards her. "You're finished Chrysombra! Just wait until Celestia gets here!" As her eyes opened, a bright beam of rainbows fired right at the smirking face looming in front of them...

Before flickering, and finally going out altogether. Twilight landed with a heavy thud in the snow. It had worked for a moment, but why would it suddenly cut out like that? No explanation she could come up with seemed to fit. Rarity had to be wearing hers for it to have worked at all, otherwise there would have been no beam. Unless, she was still wearing it, only...

"No, she can't be gone." Rainbow Dash fell back onto her flank in shock. She had felt the other Elements, except for Rarity's. Chrysombra would be the ones to blame. Rarity and Opal had stayed to hold them off after all. It didn't matter how or why they had been struck down, at least to Dash for that moment. Only that they had, and she had to avenge them.

But there wasn't much left to avenge on. Both Chrysalis and Sombra had been forced apart by the brief exposure to the Elements, now lying unconscious in the snow. There was no celebration among the ponies however. Not even as Princess Celestia arrived at last, banishing both evil leaders into glittering dust.

Twilight's head was so low; it had literally come to rest on the snow itself. "I'm sorry Celestia... We haven't found them, but we think... Rarity and Opal are gone." Celestia too lowered her head. There was always the slim chance they had survived, but Celestia knew better than to hang onto the smallest of hopes. Twilight had already lost one close to her already, and had gone through the terrible ordeal following it. She didn't need to again.

"Celestia! Over here!" Twilight quickly got to her hooves, following Celestia as they galloped towards Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy put her hoof around Pinkie Pie to keep her warm, Applejack taking the moment to lower her hat in respect. It took a few moments for each of them to gather up the strength and determination to follow. They didn't know what lay beyond the ridge, but they owed Rarity enough.

Celestia was removing the dark crystal spear from Opal's chest, quickly closing up the surface wounds with her magic to prevent further bleeding. Dash was digging Rarity desperately from the snow. The Element of Generosity at first seemed to be lifeless, until Twilight got closer. There was a faint, but definite pulse to it. "The Elements of Harmony... They put the energy into saving Rarity..." By then, her hooves were in danger of freezing off altogether. But that sliver of hope had become something she could hold onto.

"I'll need everypony's help to get them back to safety. They're both going to require a lot of attention if they're to pull through. I don't know if I have the ability to help them." None of them had expected Princess Celestia to admit there was something she couldn't do, but there it was. It only served to highlight just how desperate things had become. The sight of Dash cradling the near-death Rarity in her arms proved to be the final tipping point, even Pinkie Pie couldn't hold back the tears as they came.

35. Conclusion

"Everything's gonna be fine. They say there's no permanent damage, you'll just need time to wake up."

"Opal woke up last night. Celestia healed her smaller heart, and most of her lung. Every time she breathes, it sounds like she's choking. But at least she is breathing again. But she needs her mother, Rarity. Please, try to wake up soon."

"I'm doing my best at the Boutique, but I can't keep up any more. Between dressmaking and taking care of the animals, I'm starting to lose sleep. I need you Rarity. Nothing feels right without you around. Please?"

"Rarity? How long are you going to sleep? Opal's out of the hospital now, and you still haven't even opened your eyes. Sky keeps asking where you are, and I'm starting to wonder the same thing. You need to fight whatever is keeping you asleep, I need you."

"Mom? Come on, you never just give up like this. You always push yourself until you've accomplished the goal. And I know, I never did that myself, but I didn't think that it'd end up with both of us in the snow like that. Wake up..."

*

Rarity recoiled as light filled her vision. After two whole months in the dark, seeing the bright light of a hospital room caused a rather large amount of pain to her eyes. It was the good sort of pain. Like removing a splinter from one's hoof, or taking off a bandage. The sort of pain that told her she was alive, and wouldn't have to feel any more pain.

After several moments of constant blinking, her eyes finally adjusted to being open once more. Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Opal were all there. Her filly now had a bandage around the right wing, as well as a noticeable scar on her chest. But she was otherwise alright. Twilight's pregnancy had begun to show, she herself didn't look too concerned at all. But it was Dash's hug that gave her the most comfort in the end.

"Talk about beauty sleep. I was starting to go a little nuts back home." Rarity nudged her mare with a smile. Much to her surprise, she actually did feel well rested. Though her stomach clearly demanded she find something solid to eat for once. "You did it. We beat Chrysalis and Sombra. Though you gave me a real scare for a while there, I'm just so glad that you made it at last."

Dash glanced back at Opal, who had her eyes glued to looking at the floor. She couldn't handle guilt well. It concerned Rarity that her own daughter felt responsible, she had heard everything the others had said to her during her sleep. "Opal. It's not your fault. You did your best; nopony can blame you for that. You can't keep taking sole responsibility for everything, that's what we're here for, okay?"

It took a while for Opal to finally make her way over to the bed and embrace her parents. Her wing had hurt constantly from its dislocation, until that moment. Now it felt like nothing more than a dull discomfort in her shoulder. "I was so worried! And, you're meant to be the one who worries about me!" There was still some coughing she had to overcome yet, but Rarity didn't mind that at all.

Twilight's own cough however, was more to redirect attention. Rarity sat up further while Dash and Opal moved to make room for her. "We found out what the tendriculos were for. A few ponies say they spotted one right on the path where Trixie had been coming back from Vanhoover." A shadow fell across Rarity's face. She had a fair idea of where Twilight was going, and it definitely had her worried.

"That one which had planted in Applejack's orchard. It was meant to take us, so we could be exchanged for... Changelings. But the one in Canterlot already had several ponies, and it was a Changeling I saw flee from inside it." They knew Sombra had something to do with the attack on Canterlot, but to hear that Chrysalis had been involved too, right from the beginning made it seem far worse.

There was a moment during which Twilight had to take a shuddering breath. "We don't know how many are out there, but there is a very real possibility that they've spread right across Equestria. And all the real ponies are hidden in their main base, including Trixie, which we have no way of finding." Rarity didn't quite know why Twilight wanted her to know immediately, but it had to be for a good reason.

Unlike last time she recalled getting out of a hospital bed, she had no difficulty in standing up. Eventually, she rested her hoof on Twilight's cheek. "We will find her, I promise. You two had such a special bond; it isn't fair at all that the Changelings took that away from you." Twilight pulled herself away again, much to Rarity's surprise. This wasn't like her at all, what had her upset so greatly?

"Celestia used her magic to look at the foal, just a few days ago. She isn't just part Changeling... She has dark crystal in her too. She's got both my magic, and Sombra's magic. And, I don't know if there's any way to counteract his magic without finding another of those hybrid changelings." That made a lot more sense to her now. It had to be horrible, carrying the constant concern that her foal could turn out to be more evil than good.

"We will find her, I promise. There must be some information on the Changelings, anything that will help us. You must have faith Twilight."

End of Part Six.

*

(A preview of the sequel, 'The Magic of Swimming in Stars')

"I found it!" Spike almost fell off the ladder as he pulled the book clear from the shelf. The leather covering had become tacky, sticking to the other books like glue. As it continued to lean back, he struggled to grab onto the shelf, without success. "Twilight!" It was Opal, the young crystal alicorn with a mane of blue and rainbow that caught him on her back.

"You know Spike, if you used wooden wedges on the base of the ladder; you'd prevent it from falling back all the time like that." Spike wasn't too concerned by that, gently getting down off her back and bringing the book over to Twilight. She had fallen asleep over several research notes that described what was possibly an entrance to a small Changeling base. Even if it was abandoned, it would be invaluable for research.

"Twilight. I found it, the book that was in my dream! Y'know the one I told you about, where Opal came in and pointed it out to me?" Opal looked at him in worry. Somehow, the idea of appearing in his dreams was a little creepy. But she kept that to herself, putting on a polite smile. Twilight in the meantime woke with quite a start, but quickly returned to her usual hyperactive self once Spike waved the book in front of her.

"Really? That's great, if there's even a slight hint at where we can find the hive... Oh..." A slight hint wasn't what she found at all. Far from it in fact. What she did find had her heart racing. "Spike, this is what we've been searching for this whole time. Everything we've wanted to know about the Changelings... ever!" Spike felt pretty proud of himself for such a find, even if a dream version of the Crystal Princess led him to it.

She herself walked over slowly after cleaning up the rest of the books. Twilight's eyes were focused on the words, though not in her usual manner of study. "Hey, Spike? Isn't this, your writing?" To compare, she brought one of his letters to Celestia over. Her mentor had the same idea, lining up particular letters with each other.

"But, that's impossible! I don't know anything more about the Changelings than you two do! How could I write a comprehensive guide on a race that nopony knows?" There was no mistaking it however. Somehow, he had written that entire book. It even had his personal signature on the cover.

Twilight had an answer, the only real one that made sense. And yet it didn't. Such a conflict of logic was making her head hurt, but there was no other explanation. "You didn't write this book, at least... not yet. But one thing is really clear. I know where to find Trixie, and all the other ponies that have been replaced. I just hope that we can get there in time."

3. The Advice of Friends

Rays of sunlight crept across the early morning of Ponyville, waking the ponies to the new day. Twilight however had seemingly caught a bug from the festivities, now stuck in bed with hardly the best colour in her cheeks. And now, it was up to Spike to wake her from the sickly slumber. Fluttershy and Applejack had been kind enough to carry her back home, the latter of which would be coming by later to help with food.

"Come on Twilight, you need to get a bit of exercise every day, that's what the doctor said." She probably had at some point and he hadn't noticed, but there was no harm in trying to remind her just in case. At last, she rolled over, not to wake up it seemed. Spike decided it was better that way, casually turning around and heading out the front door as fast as possible. A glimpse of her face was enough reason to take the day off and let her sleep.

Rarity's waking in comparison was very quick and hasty. Breakfast for the Cutie Mark Crusaders was a priority, she wanted them to be back out and enjoying the day so she could think clearly. Applejack would be stopping over at Twilight's during the day to help the poor unicorn out, as she would be herself. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie on the other hand didn't seem like the best ponies to confide in next, which left Fluttershy to visit next.

Leaving three hot meals on the table for the fillies as they came down the stairs, Rarity hurried across Ponyville to Fluttershy's cottage without delay. A few moments of awkward silence followed after knocking on the door. Hopefully she hadn't disturbed the poor mare, but she had to discuss her situation. And of course, she wouldn't consider scaring her by mentioning the part about the pegasus companion. Fluttershy opened the door in due time, relieved to see it was Rarity, wearing a very cheerful grin.

"Rarity, uh, this is a surprise. Come in, unless of course you're just stopping by. I wouldn't want to delay you in any way." The pegasus had just begun preparing breakfast for herself, making sure to add more for Rarity too. She had politely sat down at the table, smiling briefly at Angel who merely hopped out to his house out of sight in response. They often had breakfast at each other's houses, admittedly, this occasion was rather unannounced, but both ponies were always prepared for an extra guest at any time.

"Oh Fluttershy dear, it is I who should apologise for arriving without fore notice. But I simply must speak with all of you, in relation to a very important task Celestia has assigned me." A soothing sip from her teacup helped relax the mood further. "Princess Celestia has asked me to undertake a task, which I must honestly say is one of the strangest things I have ever heard." It seemed better to delay on explaining what exactly the task was, poor Fluttershy didn't need to start off her day with hearing something like that after all.

"Oh, I see. So uh, is it because it comes from Celestia that you feel you need to accept it, or not like that at all. I mean, whatever choice you make, you've got lots of wonderful friends who are always there to support you. And Princess Celestia always knows what she's doing, she wouldn't ask you to do anything you couldn't handle or benefit from." Rarity hugged Fluttershy tightly after a mere moment of listening. It was the right decision to come by, so supportive in such a simple way. Fears and doubts were quickly melting away from her mind. She had the support of her friends throughout. That was the important thing.

"Thank you again, it really means so much. You're right, I do have friends who will support me no matter what, and I shouldn't be afraid to undertake whatever she asks me to." Returning to breakfast, where they discussed Twilight's sickness, Rarity was eager to help Fluttershy with the rest of her jobs before they returned to Ponyville. A great amount of confidence had been instilled in her, no longer fearful of reactions, but instead eager to see them.

But it still entailed the condition of a pegasus partner, and ego was one thing that the vast majority of pegasi had in common. She didn't mind that much; her own was rather large at times too. But it was the wisdom of asking two ponies of that nature to be together; surely, it would create contention in some way. She convinced herself that it didn't matter too much right now; Twilight was in need of their help to overcome her sickness. And hopefully she would be well enough to provide a bit of advice on her upcoming decision.

The pair arrived at the unicorn's door, Rarity taking the initiative to knock. "Hello? Twilight? Spike, is everything okay?" Rarity glanced back at Fluttershy hesitantly before making her way inside. Twilight was slumped at the kitchen table, a half-eaten breakfast pushed away from her. Rarity was understandably distraught that the poor mare had found herself in such a state, especially with Spike nowhere to be found. "Twilight darling! This sickness is downright terrible, why isn't Spike here to help?" Fluttershy hurried to clean up the mess left by the sick pony without hesitation.

Twilight took a while to regain consciousness, moaning most of the time from the turbulent storm her stomach felt like. "Uh, hey Rarity..." It was rather surprising to see her there, being one who valued her good health and cleanliness. Though in turn, it was touching that she would look past that to help out a sick friend. Fluttershy patted her shoulder in a caring way. "So... what are you two doing here? Applejack was going to come today, but I didn't expect you two."

Rarity laughed nervously. Twilight seemed to be getting better, at least temporarily, though her confidence and determination had waned since her arrival. This would be news to Fluttershy too, and she didn't want to cause Twilight too much excitement. "Well, you see, Celestia has asked me to undertake this very important task, which..." Applejack made her way through the open door at that moment with her saddlebag, the smell of freshly baked food wafting from it. Rainbow Dash and Spike followed, Pinkie Pie was pulling her party cannon in behind them.

"Spike said you weren't too good, so we figured we'd tag along with Applejack and come cheer you up. Being sick is definitely not cool." Spike felt rather awkward about leaving earlier on, on top of being the only dragon there. Most of the attention was focused on Twilight at that moment, who in turn had returned her attention to Rarity, in particular the task she was about to mention.

"So uh, Rarity, what is it you were going to say before?" Pupils tightened down into pinpoints at that moment, she hadn't expected all of them to be there when she actually explained the situation. Applejack could tell what was about to follow, returning her attention to fixing up Twilight's food. There were still six pairs of eyes now trained on her, one of which she especially felt uncomfortable with. She had gone along with Spike's obsession for the most part to please him, but how would he react to finding out that it wouldn't turn out quite as he had hoped?

The words caught in her throat, stuttering followed. It had been so simple when it was one pony to another. "I'm uh, apparently the ideal pony... to have the future Crystal Princess." The last bit was rushed; already she had her head lowered down to the floor. Peeking from behind her hooves showed that everypony was stunned for a few moments. Then the reactions came.

"Are... you serious? That's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard! You, becoming a mommy to a Princess?" Rainbow Dash was quite literally rolling around on the floor in hysterical laughter. Pinkie Pie seemed ecstatic undoubtedly at the prospect of Rarity having a foal of her own, pulling Fluttershy into a celebratory dance. Twilight looked like she was ready to vomit again, a bucket conveniently provided by Applejack. She looked ready to scold Dash for her childish behaviour, still unable to get up from her breathless laughter. That left Rarity to comfort Spike, who had worked out easily enough that he couldn't pursue her any more.

"Spike, we'll still be close friends, I promise. And I'll always have gems especially for whenever you come by. You'll always be my little Spikey-Wikey." He hugged her leg without hesitation, it was a great relief that he was so understanding of her situation. A small, touching kiss on his forehead followed, the most meaningful sign of gratitude she could think of. So brave of him.

"It's okay, really. For a moment, I was worried that I'd be right out of the picture." Rarity chuckled again, sitting down as she patted his head softly. Save for Rainbow Dash, they had all responded quite well. A brief thought came to mind, which she pushed away without hesitation. Now wasn't the time to consider possible partners. That could wait until Twilight was feeling better at least.

9. Two Surprises

"Oh my, I'm not sure that I can get it done right away. If it isn't too much of a problem, maybe it could wait until Rarity comes back." It was Fluttershy's turn at managing the Carousel, unfortunately for her Sapphire Shores had arrived in Ponyville early that morning. After seeing her new inspirational line at Canterlot, what else could the pony of pop do but ask her good friend for a new set once again?

"Well Miss Fluttershy! May I ask you a question?" A huddle of whimpering seemed to be what Fluttershy was turning into at that point. "Do you think you would be able to provide me with a suitable outfit? I am in rather urgent need of some stylization from Rarity herself, and since she is not here, that means you!" The whimpering grew louder for a few moments; Fluttershy was buckling underneath the responsibility. She could do repairs, and work on some projects, but gems were Rarity's speciality alone.

"Umm, maybe it would be better to wait until she gets back. She's coming home today after all." That was one hope to look for; she wouldn't be in charge for too much longer. So long as she could handle herself until Rarity took control and made things better, everything would turn out alright. Sapphire was browsing some of the displays in the meantime, pleased to hear that Rarity would be returning soon.

"Well why didn't you just say so dearie? I'll just pop on over to the Sugarcube Corner while I wait then, alright?" With that, Sapphire Shores was gone. Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash took her place in the doorway. Everything seemed normal, especially Fluttershy cowering behind the counter. At least she was still at the counter; Dash had to commend her for that.

"So Fluttershy, what was all that about? A visit from Sapphire Shores must mean something really important is happening." Twilight occupied herself with reorganizing some of the displays, as she did every day. One of Rarity's tips had been to keep things looking different after all. Dash in the meantime found herself with the task of dragging Fluttershy back into the open, occasionally peering over her shoulder in case Rarity made a surprise return.

"Oh, Sapphire Shores just wanted a new outfit, but I'm not very good with gemstones you see." With Twilight and Rainbow Dash back, Fluttershy no longer felt worried, though remained rather clingy to her pegasus friend. Dash shook herself free to gag in private as a rather pegasi inspired dress floated by, coloured very brightly. Surely, she wasn't the only one who had made the connection.

"Well, you certainly handled that well all the same. Rarity should be back any time now; we should get to the station to greet her." That set Rainbow Dash onto high alert. 'Back any time now'? She couldn't possibly go to the station with the others; there'd be way too much awkwardness to handle. At least coming up with excuses was a particular speciality of hers.

"You know, I think I'll catch you ponies later. I'm probably late for, uh, daily training!" Not much of an excuse admittedly, but Twilight and Fluttershy wouldn't question it surely. They hadn't said anything by the time she got to the door at least. "Have fun all the same, and tell her I said..." A long gasp overtook her voice as the door opened.

"Hey Dash, we were looking for you funnily enough. We decided to stop by Ponyville for a special performance before we head to Las Pegasus for vacation. But, we're missing a certain pegasus to show us around, and lead the flight of course." There was no response from the pegasus, still trying to convince herself that Spitfire of the Wonderbolts was in fact standing there. And asking her to join in with their special performance.

As the silence drew long, Spitfire casually nudged Rainbow Dash to wake her from the shock. "Oh my gosh, this can't be happening. What are you doing in Ponyville anyway? I figured you guys would be heading back to Cloudsdale after the end of the season." Rarity made her presence known at that point, providing her with a perfectly innocent suggestion as to the answer. A small smile formed as Rainbow Dash nodded eagerly to Spitfire's offer at last.

"I met them in Joe's donut shop the first day I was there for my holiday. And I couldn't help but offer to create a special fashion line for them in return for a favour. After all, that injury hurt so badly, you were just feeling poorly for days afterwards, weren't you Dashie?" Dash blushed slightly at being called that in front of Spitfire, but managed to nod eagerly in the end. Nothing could get in the way of a day with the Wonderbolts.

"Great, we'll be at Town Hall when you're ready; they're already pulling together a welcome party. Have fun!" As she departed, Rarity casually slipped past to make her way inside. Twilight and Fluttershy seemed to have done very well in managing the Carousel for her; such favours had to be thanked properly after all. A hoof was placed firmly in her way, much to the surprise of all the other ponies. Rainbow Dash was looking at her sternly.

In her usual fashion, the unicorn tried laughing to relieve the mood. It was starting to seem like her friend felt it was some sort of ploy, and would confront her about it. Opening her mouth to defend herself, a brief yelp came instead. Dash's hug had been very sudden, not to mention strong, and it had caught her by surprise. "I'm sorry for being rude before, when you were just trying to help. Uh, is it okay if I come back tonight? No offence but, I've been waiting to hang out with the Wonderbolts for so long."

Rarity was of course relieved to hear such a response, completely different to her previous worries. "Of course, I too felt bad for my behaviour, and wanted to rectify that. Please, have a good day, for me." She released her hold on Rainbow Dash with a big beam across her face. Once the pegasus had flown off again, she returned inside where Twilight and Fluttershy watched in silence. That wasn't the sort of meeting they had expected to see at all, but it was a good sign that things were better between them again.

"Well girls, shall we begin catching up on what I missed, or should I begin with what happened in Canterlot?" Fluttershy smiled nervously, listen to Rarity talk about Canterlot for hours, or watch her squeal in panic about Sapphire Shore's visit. Twilight had a very similar thought, though the idea of conveniently leaving the visit out was growing very strong.

"Mrs Cake picked up her apron set; Lotus Blossom has a few robes she'd like to be personalized for some new customers..." Twilight continued to rattle off the events of the week, while Fluttershy continued to fret. Sapphire Shores could return at any moment, how would they be able to explain not mentioning that? Pressure was continuing to build, getting closer and closer...

"Sapphire Shores stopped by in search of a new outfit! She's at the Sugarcube corner right now and..." Rarity actually did faint, whether from Fluttershy's outburst, or what the outburst was about neither could tell. Finally, Twilight moved her into a nearby chair with her magic. That wasn't quite how she wanted to handle things, but now that Rarity knew, the best course of action would be to keep her calm.

"Oh Twilight, I didn't think she'd faint. Do you think we should've let her talk about Canterlot first instead?"

12. Gardening Disaster

15. Plant vs Ponies

"Okay, I'll cover the archives, focus on mythological monsters and plant life to begin with, and spread out from there." They had gathered in the main part of the library which looked out over Canterlot, now moving off to their designated areas. Twilight knew her way around best, hence her going for the archives first. And while it would speed up the process if they brought other ponies in to help, they didn't want to cause panic based on suspicion alone.

"Weeeeeeee!" Pinkie Pie was already off down the stair railing towards the botanical section of the library. Fluttershy soon followed out of worry about what she would probably find in the other section. Being swallowed by the monster was bad enough, reading about hundreds more she could definitely do without. Pinkie however wasn't doing much to alleviate her fears, chattering on about all sorts of different creatures that gobbled up ponies whenever they woke.

"Come on, let's go show some plants who's boss!" Rainbow Dash led Rarity and Applejack into the darker section of the library. Some of the books had magical locks on them that only a unicorn could undo. At a guess, they didn't need to look in books like that, which significantly improved the speed of their search. Things went quickly from there; any index that didn’t cover plants was ignored. Until Rarity took one look inside the cover of a book and began backing away.

"On second thought... I think I'll go help Fluttershy." Dash and Applejack watched run off in fear, the former moving to take a look at what had scared her so much. After a few lines of reading, the urge to laugh hysterically was strong, but she continued to fight it. Rarity was close now, and it would hurt her feelings to mock her irrational fears. A few shakes of her head dispelled the giggles before she placed the book back again.

Applejack watched her behaviour, catching a glance at the open page. A smirk appeared, nothing more, however Dash's aversion to laughing audibly made it a smile. Things were working out for them after all, through Rarity's obsession and her reluctance. Now it seemed that the situation at hand was really beginning to show the inner side of things.

Rainbow Dash turned her head with a slight start, surprised to see Applejack looking at her. "It's uh... a monster that eats hair. No big deal, pretty funny but y'know..." Returning the subject of her eyes to the array of books, they flicked about nervously while she did her best to ignore the awkwardness. Rarity was making her soft, and much as she tried to convince herself it was uncool, some part of her refused to accept that. Rarity was becoming more important than being cool all the time.

"Hey Dash, this look promisin' to you?" Applejack pulled a green bound book off the shelf, the title 'Sentient Flora: A Guide to Plants that Bite Back' printed on the front in gold lettering. Dash was there instantly, not even bothering to hide her growing skill for flicking book pages as she hurried through the chapters. Applejack jumped as Dash suddenly pounded her hoof down onto the open page, lifting it up timidly to see the deep impression in the paper.

"Here. Tendriculos, an omnivorous plant native to the Wastelands. In the early stages, feeds on fruits and other smaller sources of food to sustain growth. Can capture live animals for the purpose of foraging more food for the main plant. Able to move across ground at a slow speed, made possible through use of vines and two larger tendrils. Can grow in size up to..." Her hasty readout of the passage stopped there, eyes moving towards Applejack in fear. She had been reading along with her, and had come to a similar reaction.

"Several hundred metres tall and wide... We need to find Twilight."

*

"Rarity, I didn't expect to see you here." Fluttershy had become somewhat absorbed in a book about how butterflies pollinated flowers when she tread into the aisle slowly. Seeing somepony more on edge than herself was supposed to be something that didn't happen, yet it seemed to be happening right now. Rarity jumped upon hearing her, causing the book to fall as she too flew back in surprise.

"Fluttershy! Don't scare me like that, do you realize there could be a hair eating monster lurking around at this very instant!?" She proceeded to examine the area around Fluttershy before searching again. "Now, have you had any luck in locating books related to the tendriculos?" Pinkie poked her head out of the shelves at that moment, a book clenched in her mouth. Rarity dived down behind Fluttershy in a moment of terror.

"Found something!" Tossing the book down, it opened up to a page on common pests. Among fruit bats and parasprites, the plant in question was clearly labelled out. "So can we party now?" Popping out from the books, Pinkie Pie prepared to fire her party cannon, conveniently produced from another alcove in the shelves. The other ponies were too occupied with reading to respond.

"... Does not react well to strong sunlight. Advised that all sources of shade be removed from area until plant is starved of food." At least they knew why it was in the overgrown part of the orchard, being darker there would be suitable for it to thrive. At least they now knew that strong sunlight was the key to keeping them at bay, a sun spell would finish the job quickly. "Well, once Princess Celestia returns, I'm sure she'll be able to get..."

The wall caved in abruptly as a giant green tendril smashed through the brickwork of the library. Fluttershy found herself being hurled away from the attack thanks to a well-placed shove from Rarity. In recoil, the tendril slid past into the glass area, revealing Twilight to be trapped in several small vines attached to the larger one before smashing out into the open once more. It was all over in a matter of seconds, not even Rainbow Dash had time to react.

"Dash, Applejack! Get back!" The damage to the upper section of the library was far more significant, now at high risk of collapsing. As what remained fell away, it opened up the view to the monster outside. They were too late; the tendriculos was virtually at dragon size now, and wreaking havoc on the castle itself. Spike burst into the room urgently before gasping at the sight of how much force the tendriculos could muster with its sweeping arms.

"Twilight found a spell that was supposed to make plants curl up and wither, but instead it made it huge!" The five remaining ponies managed to regroup amidst the ruined bookcases. With Twilight in the clutches of the plant, Rarity once again felt that she had to take the lead in this case. But she couldn't perform the spell again without risking serious damage. And on a monster that size, there was little chance it would do more than scorch it.

Biting down on her lip hurt almost as badly as the headache, but she couldn't resist. "Okay, Dash, if you can remove as many clouds as possible, that should slow it down. Fluttershy, Twilight needs to know that a sun spell is what we need to beat it, she may be able to perform it in time. Applejack, kicking fruit at it should draw attention away from Fluttershy when she moves in to tell her. And Pinkie... Pinkie?" She was gone again, for whatever reason they didn't have time to consider. "Spike, try and get a letter through to Celestia, I don't think we can do this without her, she is the Princess of the Sun after all."

Watching the group split off to their different subjects left her alone to ponder her own task. The doctors said she needed to give her magic time to recover, using it too much again would have far worse results the second time around. But if worst came to worst, there wouldn't be much difference in the end result for her anyway.

*

"Eek!" A bit of her hair caught onto the tendril as she ducked under its sweep, hurling Fluttershy along with it. Twilight seemed so far away, and with the haze of smaller vines as well as the tendrils to deal with, her task seemed impossible. Up above, Rainbow Dash was desperately kicking the clouds away to brighten up the area. And yet more seemed to be forming every moment. Was the plant so big it could produce clouds of its own?

Another sweep brought Twilight right past her again, the cries for help loudly ringing in her ears. "...shy! What... you doing?" Fluttershy chattered down on her hooves fearfully. Too much confusion, too much to deal with. Why did she always get the really hard missions that any other pony would be better at completing?

An orange almost caught her in the face, smashing into the massive body with a spray of juice. Followed by other assorted fruits, Fluttershy finally noticed Applejack with her salvo of food. "Get going Fluttershy! I don't have a whole lotta fruits to use if you didn't notice!" Applejack was supporting her at least, doing her best to keep the plant distracted and give her room. Even so, she couldn't keep her eyes open as she began the approach towards Twilight's voice.

"Please don't hurt me, big scary plant monster..." Her eyes opened for just a brief moment, enough for her to see the green of the tendril rushing up to meet her. All she could manage was a scream, cut short as the splat sound of her body overtook it. The vines were quick to pin her down, but to her relief not too far from Twilight. "Twilight! Rarity says that the plant doesn't like strong sunlight, and that you should try a sun spell!"

"Well how am I meant to perform any sort of spell when I'm trapped like this?" Her teeth were in danger of being ground down into dust as she struggled against the entanglement. The first time had been unpleasant enough, feeling it again made her recoil on top of the nausea from swinging around. "The vines are too strong; I can't get my horn free!" Fluttershy had become distracted by that point, as a new solution came towards them.

Pinkie Pie leaped down onto the tendril with a loud squeak. Dressed in bright yellow clothing with a sun headband on her head, she raced towards the beast right above Twilight and Fluttershy. "Nopony hurts my friends! Especially big meanie plants!" With another long leap, she landed right down on the mass itself. There were a few scorch marks from the Canterlot Guard's attacks, but nothing that indicated a weak point. That didn't matter too much, the tendrils were now moving away from destroying buildings. Towards her instead!

Despite now hanging upside down, Twilight had a clear enough view of Pinkie as she continued to do what she did best. "Great work Pinkie! Just distract it a little more, and I think I can get free..." A split along the plant formed, quickly widening into a dark and bleak hole. Pinkie vanished instantly, soon followed by Twilight and Fluttershy once the tendril shook them free. Neither were capable of escaping, the disorientation caused by all the movement prevented flying or teleporting.

But it didn't end there. The fall continued, further into the inside of the monster that started to reek of compost and rotting fruit. Finally, what Twilight hoped was a solid surface met her face again, though it had the consistency of firm mud on top of sludge. Pinkie Pie was already making loud sounds of disgust off to the side. Fluttershy had taken to whimpering in terror. She didn't blame her; this was different from the small plant.

"Everypony okay? Just try not to think about what we're standing in, because I really don't want to find out!" Standing proved to be the worst part, her hooves sank deep into the disgusting mess. A weeklong shower wouldn't begin to convince her that she was clean of it. At least she now had a bit of her magic back, enough to create a light for the others. That however proved to be a big mistake as she saw what was covering them.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwww! This is like all mushy and disgusting fruit salad! Yuck!" Pinkie fled towards the nearest wall rather haphazardly. Most steps caused her to fall face first into the mess again. Twilight rolled her eyes before moving to check on Fluttershy. She was still whimpering, and under the circumstances, there was no good reason to make her trudge through the mess.

"Just stay put Fluttershy; we'll find a way out." She returned to the wall where Pinkie had fled to, at least there she could walk without sinking up to her shoulder. "It must've used my magic to grow this big, there's still a lot of fruit matter for it to use. Unless..." It hadn't been this big before she tried the spell, but the amount of material had to say otherwise. Maybe it was buried deep into the ground, and she had caused it to unearth to its full size by trying to attack it. "Okay Pinkie, just stay close. I don't think teleporting out of here is a good idea, these walls are really thick."

There was no response for a few moments. At first, Twilight assumed that it was Fluttershy she could hear whimpering, until she turned to see that it was in fact Pinkie. "Oh Pinkie, what could possibly be that... bad?" Turning further to look at what her friend had noticed caused her to cower. One of the Canterlot guard, trapped behind some sort of thick green membrane. There were vines coiled around his body, and bubbles of air slowly floating through whatever fluid encased him on the other side.

That explained why there was only composting fruit in the tendriculos so far. It was saving the ponies up for its next meal! For once, Twilight ran to Pinkie in a panicked hold. Eaten, by a giant plant that was tearing Canterlot apart. Fates didn't get much worse than that. What if Fluttershy was being taken into one of those pods right then! The wailing from Pinkie continued as Twilight trudged back towards the pegasus.

"Fluttershy! Forget what I said before! We have to keep moving!" It wasn't Fluttershy that moved however. A silhouette above her leapt into the air, out of sight before Twilight could get a good look. "So... if it's not the plant that pulls ponies into those pods, then what was that thing?" There was no answer to her question. There was virtually nothing else to be observed. Just the muck, the pods, and something as of yet they didn't know anything about...

*

It didn't make any sense to her; Rainbow Dash was kicking clouds faster than she could possibly pull at any other time. And yet they seemed to be returning from the north faster still. All that faded from her mind when she suddenly froze in mid-air. The plant had just swallowed Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie down whole, effectively ending their plans to delay until help arrived. Even the Canterlot Guard and now the Wonderbolts were trying to attack it, with little success.

"Rarity! We're outta time! Just get to safety; I'll hold it off with the Wonderbolts until Celestia gets here!" Abandoning her duty of cloud kicking altogether, she dove down towards the mouth of the beast. Getting it to chew off one of its own tendrils would be incredibly risky and far-fetched, but their options were swiftly dwindling. Risky was becoming less and less of a concern with each passing second.

Rarity remained on the ruined balcony, watching in failing hope as her plan fell to pieces. It was too strong, and there would be no use in trying to get the Elements of Harmony with half of them trapped inside, and the plant itself blocking the way. Now there was a good chance three of her friends were gone, food for the hungry monster. Dash couldn't avoid the tendrils forever, and Applejack had run out of fruit to distract the plant from herself.

"I'm sorry Dashie... I can't leave now." Lowering her head, a small amount of pain caused her to wince as the charge began to build in her horn. This spell would undoubtedly be her end. But if it ended the plant too and saved her friends, then it had to have been worth it. Ironic, since it had been at the Crystal Kingdom where Twilight learned about self-sacrifice, and she would have had such a strong connection to the wonderful city...

As the spell continued to charge, her eyes latched onto Rainbow Dash, flying out from the clamping jaws as they snapped shut. One of the tendrils had been caught; tearing it away left a sizeable chunk in the mouth. But Dash was no longer concerned with dealing with the plant at that moment. Seeing Rarity in that particular position came as a chilling warning of what was to come.

"No. Rarity no!" Flying right towards her as the brightness of her horn continued to grow seemed to take forever. Nothing could convince her that what Rarity was about to do was worth it. They could still beat the plant and save their friends surely. Now Spike was there too, trying his best to distract her. Anything to break the spell before it did the damage. Now that she was so close, the line of tears from her eye were too visible to ignore.

The brilliant flash of light that she dreaded seeing blocked her vision. Instead of running into a warm unicorn, she found herself wrapping around a cold pillar. Too late, she had done it. She had gone and done it... She had saved everypony, but herself. Dash caught a glimpse of the large charred patch where the tendriculos had been as she peeled herself off the pillar. In the middle of the black patch, varieties of coloured blurs were strewn out. Purple, yellow, and pink were the ones she noticed most.

Once she had managed to get down onto the floor again, she began the long process of crawling away from the crumbling edge. Somepony was standing in her path; she distinctly saw a white hoof there in front of her face. How long would it be before Rarity fell, into her waiting hooves? Seconds? Minutes? The shock of the spell had left her conscious for a few moments after the first time, even though she had been dropped.

"Rainbow Dash?" She flinched as a hoof touched her cutie mark. Rarity. It was her alright, the unique way that she pronounced her name. But Rarity had to be on the ground near her, so who was standing there in front of her? "I can't see... Dashie?" She reached her hoof back to touch Rarity's. Her own vision was starting to return, enough to see what looked like gold on those white hooves.

"Oh, sorry Rainbow, I didn't see you there at first." A warm magic lifted her back onto her hooves, and removed the blindness caused by the flash. Turning immediately to where she had heard Rarity's voice, she didn't hesitate on throwing her hooves around her neck. She was alive, breathing, and conscious. That mattered more than anything else did at that point. Rarity was there. And there was one pony she had to thank for that...

"Princess Celestia, you came." She nodded silently in her usual manner. The glow of her horn was quite faint now; given the size of the monster, it wasn't too surprising that even she had to use a lot of magic to destroy it.

"I was helping to prepare the Crystal Empire for winter when King Sombra made his return, and attacked. Thus, I was unable to respond immediately when Spike informed me that you found a small tendriculos. I had to re-activate the Crystal Heart before coming here when Spike sent the second letter." Her horn glowed again, causing the other four ponies to materialize around the pair. Applejack had dropped her hat in the fight, and was probably in the middle of searching for it when Celestia brought her up there. The other three looked like they had been wading in filth, and smelled a bit like it too.

But Rarity wasn't complaining about that at all. Her attention was fully on Rainbow Dash, who still hadn't let go of her. She had tried to save her right up to the end, even though she had no idea Celestia had arrived. "Oh Rainbow... You really must stop saving my life; this would be the second time you know..."

29. On Things to Come

When fleeing the fierce argument between her parents, Opal had headed into the Everfree Forest after summoning the storm to disguise her route. But she hadn't counted on a tree falling, and trapping her in a tiny stream of water. A vast portion of her magic had been used up on the storm, and the forest had dampened her ability to recover it. What little remained went to relieving the pain, and keeping her alive. But by the time that the other ponies had found her, she had already begun to slip into the æther. The realm among the skies as Celestia had said, where all ponies no longer in Equestria lived in light and joy.

It didn't come to that point however, instead she found herself in a hospital bed. Too weak to speak, or do anything for that matter. Three weeks without food and barely any water wouldn't have been possible for a normal pony to survive, and it was very close to finishing her off for good. Now, all that she could see, hear, feel, and touch was the empty void of unconsciousness.

They were right to be concerned about your future. They were right to argue, to point out the problems, and deal with them. They were right to look for you. But you were wrong. You were wrong to leave. You were wrong to be lazy in your studies. You were wrong to focus on things that didn't matter. You were wrong to abandon your parents in the face of adversity. You were wrong to doubt their guidance, instead of seeking their counsel. You have been wrong about a lot of things, Opal Flame. Are you wrong in assuming that you can lead the Crystal Ponies too?

*

Opal hadn't experienced a lucid dream before; it didn't seem like an interesting lesson to pursue. Zecora was far more understanding about what did and didn't interest her than some ponies she could name. Now it was a decision she was coming to regret. "I guess I'm talking to myself here, aren't I? Well, at least nopony has to see it, so I can be weird like Pinkie Pie as much as I like!" At the very least, she was staying positive in the bleak circumstance.

"I hear you, Crystallus Ignis." Opal turned in surprise, Princess Luna standing there behind her. Of course, Scootaloo had mentioned having a similar experience, although that was a nightmare in the Everfree Forest. This was lying unconscious in a bed, not knowing if she'd survive to see her parents again or not. Maybe Luna was there to deliver bad news. Was she just too far gone for the doctor's to do anything?

There was no way to tell of course, it was an experience being played out entirely in her head. "Uh... is that some sort of fancy language that I've been lucky enough to not learn?" Luna merely looked down at her without expression. Maybe she had been a bit out of line with her sarcasm there. "So, what's the verdict? Am I going to be fine, am I going to die? Oh please don't tell me I'm gonna be a cripple. That'd be the worst."

Another pause followed, before the older princess spoke. "I have not come in response to your condition. In fact, it is the only time I can deliver the message to you in complete secrecy. You are the only one who can face this terrible news; my sister would try to stop the events that are to come right now if she knew of them." That wasn't what Opal expected to hear at all, let alone wanted. Since when was she important to terrible events of Equestria?

Luna tilted her head to the left, where a scene formed out of the darkness. "This is the day your parents came face to face with death. The tendriculos' had been sent to capture the Elements of Harmony, and then retreat into the shadows. Otherwise, they were to do as much damage as possible, to both Canterlot and Ponyville. King Sombra was behind this plan; he ensured Celestia would not stop them until the damage had been done by attacking the Crystal Empire at the precise time. His supposed destruction was far less permanent than we had hoped. And now, as the Crystal Princess, he is coming for you..."

A rush of revelations wasn't exactly what Opal needed. King Sombra was still alive, out there, and bent on taking back her future kingdom? And from the tone of Luna's voice, this was just the start of how bad things were becoming. "But... I don't understand. How would he get his hooves on monster plants? I don't think they would last long in the north surely."

The answer was closed eyes with a still nod. She recognised that well. Luna was right; things were only going to go downhill from there. "I know, that aspect I have not worked out yet. But, he is growing in power, and it is vital that you do not let doubt corrupt your heart." Doubt was exactly what Opal was starting to be overcome by. So it wasn't just Sombra in on the plan, but another enemy too!

"But Luna? What if I can't stop him? I'm meant to lead the Crystal Ponies, yet I don't even have any of the powers that the previous leaders have had! I can't even use a teleport spell! What about the Elements of Harmony? Won't they be able to defeat him?" Luna didn't respond verbally, summoning another scene instead. It was very brief, but the message was clear. Five ponies about to use the Elements of Harmony, but without success. A pang in her heart came as she noticed that Rarity was the one absent. Not Rarity, not her mother.

She turned back to Luna with a full swing, seeking comfort in her presence. Instead, an empty gasp that could have been an attempt to scream followed. Tall, black legs pitted with holes, a slick green mane hanging down around her face. A trick, it hadn't been Luna at all. The whole bit about not knowing who was working with Sombra was a complete lie. Boasting about the plan, to gloat over her lack of understanding...

At that point, the young alicorn flew into her conscious state. She's so confident that she gave me a warning. And he's been behind everything... They're up to something huge... That was all that went through her mind. But all of it was slipping away; holding onto the fragments of the dream was becoming impossible. She needed to tell somepony before it was gone for good. In the moment of frenzy, she noticed the one pony in the room. Fluttershy.

"I saw it... The Elements will be broken, by Sombra... Mom's in danger!" Most of that didn't seem to make it out as one of the tubes became wrapped around her throat. It became a struggle to breathe at that point, by the doctors got her back onto the bed she was unconscious again. Only this time, there was no dream, or nightmare to face. Just the blissful darkness...

*

Opal was grateful beyond words to see her parents again. Her second phase of sleep had only lasted a few hours, in that time Rarity and Rainbow Dash had returned to the hospital. Her memory from summoning the storm to waking up in a fit was gone. And she had no explanation as to what she had been trying to say before. Fluttershy didn't want to remember the sight of her going crazy, and couldn't recall anything said.

"We're both truly sorry for putting you in such a position, and you shouldn't have had to listen to our argument. Can you find it in your heart to forgive us Opal?" It was sincere Rarity through and through. Polite and considerate, without being dramatic or desperate. Such matters she knew had to be dealt with in maturity and carefulness.

The filly seemed rather surprised at her mother's question. "Of course mom, I just didn't like the situation, and so I avoided it. Though it was pretty stupid to summon the storm, even I couldn't handle it." Rainbow Dash smiled in admiration. After all that her daughter had been through, she still had such an arrogant, yet conscious personality that she couldn't help but admire.

"Well, they say you'll be fine soon enough. We'll need to get moving on the flying practise too, coz you'll be free to do your own thing soon. And I don't think I'll be able to fly for a little while either" Opal looked at Dash with a rather confused expression. Cryptic, and coming from her wasn't usual. Did the Wonderbolts have a new recruitment session coming up, which would require her to oversee them?

Rarity took her turn to speak, holding Rainbow Dash's hoof affectionately. "Actually, in about a year, you'll be a big sister. And don't worry; she's going to be just a pegasus." The filly blinked again as it took a bit of time to process. Sister? Only this time Rainbow Dash was pregnant? The concept seemed weird if anything, her being born to one parent, and her future sibling to the other. "Is there anything wrong with that?"

A random flash came to her mind, leaving confusion in her face for a moment. A shadowy figure, with bright green eyes, and a black horn... Hearing the question raised about what was on her mind sent it away again to her relief. Nightmares, nothing she should get herself all worked up over. "Oh, nothing... Must've been a random memory that came back from when I was out."

End of Part Five.