//------------------------------//
// chapter two: a lost star, a found dream 
// Story: Waning Moon 
// by salukiseason 
//------------------------------//

It was less infrequent than one may think, for Nightmare Moon to call the entire royal guard into an impromptu meeting… often over absolutely nothing. In addition to their scheduled weekly reports to the Princess, and their semi-random evaluations, it was no surprise to Rarity that nearly every pony in the room, standing in a perfect formation, had a great scowl on their face. After all, they were surely expecting yet another patented Princess scolding over ponies taking too long to change in the locker rooms, or doing too many hallway races in their off time. Little did most of them know, that for once, the Princess had news. Real news. 

Rarity sat by the large alicorn princess' right hoof side, as she always did during meetings. Although she lacked an ornate and beautiful throne, like Nightmare Moon herself had, she did have quite the wonderful position of power. On the other side of the Princess was Rainbow Dash, the Captain of the Royal Guard, sitting up straight with her hooves at her side. 

“Greetings, my defenders,” Nightmare Moon called the meeting to order with a powerful boom of her so-called Canterlot voice, “Some of you may have been told that we received a visitor, tonight.” She hissed through gritted teeth, “To those of you who may be stirring in rumors that spread these halls- I am here to inform you all that not only is it true, but it is greater than I may have predicted.” 

The sounds of mutters from the lines of guards came from every part of the room, curiously speculating upon what Nightmare Moon could be talking about.

“Is this about Rarity and Rainbow Dash sneaking around the castle?” One voice whispered. 

“No, I heard that an alicorn came to the castle!”

“Really?! Do you think it was Celestia?!”

“It can’t be- then who’s in the moon?” 

“Silence!” The Princess yelled, “What you have heard is true- an alicorn has visited our castle, but it is not my traitorous sister. No, it is something far more interesting.” 

She sure knows how to drag on an announcement, Rarity thought to herself, suddenly grateful that her tail was tied up in a tight bun, lest anypony see her annoyed twitching. Come on, Princess, I’ve got to pick up my sister!

	“The alicorn who has visited us is called Twilight,” She announced, finally, after the murmurs from the crowd had finally died down “She is not of our world, in fact, she is from an entirely different timeline.” 

Puzzled stares emitted from the audience, including from Rainbow Dash, who seemed to have trouble grasping the concept herself. The pegasus captain stared down at her hooves, narrowing her eyes at them as if they were a complex equation she was tasked with solving.  

“She revealed to me that a very powerful pony from her time used a spell, in order to change an event in the past that allowed the future to change drastically from her own time.” Nightmare Moon explained, not emoting as she did so, instead just staring straight down into the crowd of guards looking up at her, “It appears that the source of this magic is an enchanted table, which she used to make her escape. As well as her otherworldly nature, alongside her was a young dragon. I believe it is the very same dragon from the egg I have held onto for all of these years.”

The ponies in the crowd continued looking confused, even more so with every passing word. 

“So… she isn’t here anymore?” 

“Did she steal the dragon?” 

Alongside these ponies, Rarity had found herself just as confused- after all, how could Twilight have the very same dragon that was in the Princess’ hidden room? She more than anypony would know that there was no way, it was there, perfectly safe, seconds before Twilight had even made it into the door. 

Without paying much attention to the ponies questions, the Princess carried on, “This pony comes from a world not unlike ours- as a matter of fact, they are extremely similar- we share much of the same history, we share the same cities in the same places, we even share the same ponies. For each of you that sits in this room, there is another of you, in Twilight’s world, who has likely lived much of the same life, as well.” 

Rarity felt her heart sink. She remembered the confidence with which Twilight called out to her, knowing her name before she’d even gotten a look at her face. She thought of the way Spike ran towards her with such excitement. Her mind became filled with a vision, of her sitting across from the two of them at the Lucky Bale Diner in Ponyville, laughing about their jobs. She couldn’t help but find it strange that these two must’ve known her, or at least, a version of her in their own world, whereas she had no idea who they were in this world, or theirs. Maybe they were even friends. The idea unsettled her to her very core. 

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to speak, but immediately, it was closed as Nightmare Moon continued her speech. “If the magic to alter time exists in her world, that means that not only does it exist in ours, but so does she.” Nightmare Moon stamped her hoof into the ground. 

At that, the pegasus on the other side of the Princess finally spoke up, “Wait, so you mean that all this time there’s been another alicorn in our world? And, I wa-none of us knew?” She raised her eyebrows in alarm. 

Shooting a warning glare at the guard to stay calm, and to not interrupt her, the Princess continued her speech, “Not exactly, Captain. An alicorn is not born, they are ascended. When a pony does something worthy of ascension, such as a great magical feat…” She looked towards her own cutie mark, which she earned for raising the moon from the sky for the first time when she was nothing more than a young foal, “A unicorn may earn a pair of wings, or a pegasus may earn a horn- an earth pony will gain both.”

She looked toward Rainbow Dash, whose eyes were wide with confusion while she gave her lesson. Briefly, the pegasus held her hoof up to her own forehead, as if to contemplate what would happen if a horn were to sprout from there just then. 

“Since each pony in this world likely exists in the other, it is most probable that there is a Twilight in our own world- only ours did not accomplish whatever deed she did in her own world to earn her alicorn status. She, unfortunately, made her escape before she revealed to me what her accomplishment was- but, that is of no matter to me.” 

Our world, her world, this world, that world. Rarity felt as if her head was spinning. 

“Perhaps most importantly,” Nightmare Moon continued, “Anything that exists in Twilight’s world exists in ours. That means that not only is the magic to travel through time real, but there are at least two ponies capable of utilizing it. Firstly, the wizard who changed the past. Secondly, our alicorn friend herself, Twilight, who used the spell to make her escape.” 

Well, sure… Rarity thought to herself, wondering where the Princess could possibly be going with something like that. 

“In her world, Twilight can employ the product of the dragon’s egg,” Nightmare Moon began to list, “in her world Twilight is capable of traveling through time and changing the past, and in her world- Twilight is powerful enough to have ascended. Just because these deeds are not accomplished in our own world, does not mean that they are not possible- and if anypony is to wield that might, she must not serve against the Lunar Republic.” 

Rarity felt a chill up her spine, Of course, She thought, She wants to figure out a way to get our world’s Twilight to serve her… or… 

	“And if she refuses to serve my kingdom,” The princess spoke menacingly, “We may not allow a threat like that to run free.” 

Although she didn’t announce what plans she may have had for the potential threat to her kingdom, the princess’ voice was laced with obvious intent. Rarity looked down at her hooves, wondering if the princess was even correct, in assuming that just because one version of Twilight was capable of becoming an all-powerful alicorn, that another version is capable of the same thing. Though, her thought process wasn’t the clearest, since she was still trying to recover from the existence of an unknown alicorn princess, let alone one from another world near identical to her own, who apparently knows her, knows a dragon, Nightmare Moon’s dragon, and there exists a near-perfect counterpart in her own world. She was getting a headache just trying to think about it all at once. 

Nightmare Moon sat in silence for a few seconds, shaking her head with narrowed eyes as if she was trying to work out a complex problem- though, Rarity could hardly blame her, considering just how much there is to wrap her head around. Ultimately, the Princess stomped her hoof to the ground and yelled, “Go! All of you!” She demanded, “You’re dismissed! Alert the sleep shift, and return to your posts, as usual, tomorrow- but be ready- we shall prepare to find Twilight as soon as we can! And speak nothing of this outside these walls!” 

From the crowd, the guards moaned despondently at the idea of having more meetings- although this one was cut rather abruptly, it was only due to the fact that it was so sudden, with so little information on the subject- everypony was frazzled, even the princess. The guards began pouring out of the exit, followed lastly by Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and the princess, all of whom were at the head of the room. Rainbow Dash stood on the side of Nightmare Moon to escort her out, as was her duty as captain, while Rarity walked on her other side silently, until they all exited. 

“Madame Belle,” The princess arched an eyebrow, “Do you have what I requested of you? The book, from Ponyville?” 

“Oh, uh- why, yes!” Rarity exclaimed in surprise, realizing that she’d entirely forgotten about it in the excitement of the night. She closed her eyes to concentrate on summoning her saddle bag from her quarters, and once it appeared before her, she lifted the book with her horn. “The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide! Just as you requested!” 

Nightmare Moon nodded, transporting the book elsewhere. “Very well.” She said, as she slinked curiously past the door to her quarters and down the hallway. 

“Where is she going?” Rarity whispered into the pegasus pony’s ear, puzzled. 

Without much of a response, Rainbow Dash shrugged her shoulders, “I dunno, maybe she’s having the servers make her some hay fries.” 

Rarity rolled her eyes, “Be serious- I hardly think after such a crucial moment, the princess is going to gorge herself on hay fries.” 

“Well, that's what I would do!” Rainbow Dash shot into the air, “As a matter of fact, that’s what I’m gonna do right now! Later, Rarity!” She zoomed towards the entrance, leaving behind the vague remnants of a rainbow trail. 

Odd. Rarity thought to herself, Normally, she isn’t so… jumpy? She shook her head out. No matter, I must be headed off to pick up Sweetie Belle, anyway. She began to head out herself, with haste, thinking that once again, despite how long the night had been, she’d still been behind schedule. 


“I’m here!” Rarity called out to the schoolteacher, Cheerilee, in the courtyard, “I’m here!” She yelled, nearly tripping over herself trying to get to the front entrance. Thankfully, it wasn’t particularly easy to miss- one would think that the eternally dark Equestria would be, well, darker, but instead, since the disappearance of the sun, ponies have instead tacked inconceivably bright lights to everything. While she was sure it was fine for most ponies, spending nearly all day in a much darker castle in the Everfree Forest made walking in the brightly lit Ponyville quite the adjustment. “I am so, so terribly sorry I’m late! My duties at the palace took far longer than anticipated, is Sweetie Belle angry with me?” 

Cheerilee flicked her hoof, “Not at all, Ms. Belle!” She smiled, “Sweetie Belle is just waiting around with a couple of her friends, I’ll get her right now.” She walked into the playground and talked to Sweetie Belle, who was playing on the swingset next to an earth pony filly with a reddish mane and pale yellow coat. 

Rarity smiled, noticing that her sister’s earth pony friend also didn’t have a cutie mark. Maybe if she has more friends without cutie marks, she’ll stop obsessing so much over it. She waved to her sister while she leaped towards her excitedly. 

“Rarity, Rarity!” Sweetie Belle bounced, “You’ll never guess what happened!” 

Rarity smiled fondly at her little sister, wrapping her in a hug, “Why, I’m certain it’ll be the most thrilling thing I’ve heard all night!” She giggled, finding her own joke to be somewhat amusing. 

The two sisters began to walk back towards their home, while Sweetie Belle continued her story, “I met a new pony at school! She isn’t in any of my classes, but her brother was also late to pick her up, so we were waiting together- and she doesn’t have a cutie mark either! She said that maybe we can try to get ours together! Wouldn’t it be so cool if she’s got an idea for what my talent could be- and I can get my cutie mark? Or maybe I can help her find hers!” 

The older mare tried to stifle a laugh as her sister contradicted her previous thoughts on why befriending another pony without a cutie mark could be good for her, “Why, that’s wonderful, Sweetie Belle!” She grinned, “And even if you don’t find your cutie marks- a new friend is always something to be thankful for.” 

Dismissing her comment about not finding a cutie mark, Sweetie Belle continued, “Yeah! We’re gonna go zip lining, and bull riding, and surfing, and, and-“

“And, perhaps amidst all of the excitement, you may find time to tell me your new friend's name.” Rarity laughed. 

“Oh!” She bounced, “I, um… I don’t know? We were only talking for a few minutes, I forgot to ask!” 

She rolled her eyes, though, she smiled as she teasingly remarked, “Honestly, Sweetie Belle! It’s a miracle you’ve remembered anything, if you can’t remember to ask a new friend for her name!”

Sweetie Belle blushed with embarrassment, “I’ll find out her name tomorrow! For sure!” She skipped ahead of Rarity, “Come on! She told me about how she’s got a cousin who got her cutie mark in hoof wrestling, and if I wanna try tomorrow, I gotta stretch my muscles!” She zoomed off ahead. 

Rarity gasped at her sister’s sudden running, “Sweetie! Wait for me!” She trotted quickly after her, struggling to keep up until they reached the front door of the boutique, where Rarity was already out of breath, “Honestly, I have no idea where you foals get your energy from- it’s a shame you haven’t any wings, I bet you would’ve been training to be a Wonderbolt by now.” 

Sweetie Belle strained to open the door with her horn, before ultimately settling on opening it with her hooves instead, “Hm, I don’t think I’d like not having the ground under my hooves, so I guess I can cross Wonderbolt off my list, anyway.” 

“Right,” She laughed at her younger sister, “Because that was the problem with that plan- not that you don’t have wings or anything like that.” 

The younger pony shrugged her shoulders, throwing her saddle bag to the side of the room as she entered, “Why does that matter, some unicorns can fly, anyway.” 

“I-What?” Rarity gasped in shock, “Whoever said anything about winged unicorns?” 

“No, no, not winged unicorns- flying unicorns! Miss Cheerilee told us that with enough practice, unicorns can use their horns to levitate themselves and go wherever they want- which is kind of like flying! I tried during recess one time, but I was barely able to control one of my legs with my horn.” She unceremoniously raised her back leg, only to slam it back into the ground in demonstration. 

“Oh, yes, yes! I once knew a stallion who was able to do that for some time. Never could get the hang of it myself, though.” Rarity heaved a sigh of relief, Why am I worried, anyhow? She thought, It’s not like Sweetie Belle is going to reveal any castle secrets- especially when I don’t plan on telling her, anyway. She let out a dramatized yawn, “Well, it has been quite the night, and I think I’m going to retire to my bedroom- if you do not mind!” 

“Wait!” The small unicorn sprinted up towards her, “Can you help me study first? I’m not very good at geometry.” 

“Oh dear, I didn’t know you had an exam coming up… when is it?” 

“Thursday…” 

“Thursday?!” Rarity’s eyes went wide, “That’s only in two nights!” She exhaled, trying to stay calm on her sister’s behalf. “I’ll tell you what, sweetheart, how about you make yourself a snack, or perhaps take a bath, and I’ll draw you a few geometry flash cards? We can study for a little bit before bed, if that will make you feel better?” 

Sweetie Belle smiled, “Thank you so much, Rarity!” She zoomed off upstairs and left Rarity to work at the table while she bathed. 

For some time, Rarity sat down at the table, cutting up sheets of cardstock and drawing on them with markers in order to create a decent deck of flash cards. “Isosceles… Equilateral… Scalene…” She muttered to herself as she sketched out various shapes on the different cards before she had finished everything that was on the worksheet Sweetie Belle had done for homework the night before. She wrote out a set of practice questions before her sister had come back down with a towel wrapped around her mane, looking prepared. 

They’d gone for a while going through flash cards, looking over the different shapes and their names and angles. Although she didn’t think as much of her abilities, Rarity knew Sweetie Belle was a quick study, she was just always too busy chatting with her friends during class to pay any attention, to her own admission- she couldn’t blame her, either- even as a grown mare she can’t help but imagine she too would be far more interested in hearing the tale of Button Mash’s latest crush instead of the difference between triangles. 

“Alright, how many degrees in this angle?” Rarity asked, holding up a card with her hoof. 

Scribbling down numbers onto a sheet of paper, Sweetie Belle asked, “Uh, 90?” 

“Yes, indeed!” The older unicorn clapped her hooves together, “But, do remember that if it has a little square in the corner, it’ll be 90 anyway, no need to do the math on paper… What about this one?” 

“Oh! It’s a circle, so it has 360 degrees, right?” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. 

“Yes, good! And this one?” 

“180 degrees?” 

“Correct! And what is this?” 

“A scalene triangle!” 

“Indeed! And… this?” 

“Um, Rarity?” Sweetie Belle asked nervously, “I think that’s a little too advanced for me.” 

“Why, whatever do you me-” Rarity questioned, before she flipped the card over and realized her error- instead of one of the shapes on Sweetie Belle’s worksheet, she had instead drawn… “Ah. A six-pointed star! Silly, foolish me, that was just… a sketch of a new applique I thought up at work earlier!” 

Oh, for the princess’ sake, Twilight, you’re in my head. 

Sweetie Belle arched an eyebrow, “Really?” She asked, “For which dress? It doesn’t look like it’ll go with any of the ones you have now-” 

“Well, it’s for a new gown.” Rarity defensively crossed her hooves, “When did you become so nosy, Sweetie Belle- it is quite unbecomi-” 

“Oh! Oh! Is it a top-secret project for the princess?” Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened, “Are you making her a new dress for the Starshine Salutation this winter?”

“Yes, yes!” Rarity conceded falsely, hoping that it would get her sister off her back for the moment, “You’ve unveiled my secret, Sweetie, I’m designing the Princess an ensemble, and it is being kept absolutely top secret so those Manehattanite fashion buzzards will keep their claws away until the event, that’s it!” She hummed, before quickly changing the subject. “Now, do you wish to continue working on the flash cards, or shall we call it quits for tonight and return to your studies tomorrow?” 

Sweetie Belle yawned, “We can stop here, I’m going to make myself a sandwich,” She shuffled the flash cards with her horn before leaving them out on the table, “Thanks for helping, Rarity!” She walked away from the table and into the kitchen. 

Rarity briefly contemplated going back to sleep, but had begun to feel further energized after helping out her sister- besides, somepony had to make sure that Sweetie Belle didn’t somehow burn down the kitchen trying to make a tomato sandwich. She summoned her sketchbook and a pencil closer to her at the table and began drawing. 

Rainbow Dash did say that the pegasi need new guard uniforms… What a silly thing of me to forget about, wings! Of course they need to fly, Rarity, where is your mind as of late? 

	She began sketching a pony with a pair of pegasus wings, before adding various spins on her old design over it, without the bat-wing embellishments. Oh, but they are so pretty, She thought to herself, And the Princess was, well, over the moon with the original designs… Perhaps I can find a way to still work the bat wings in there! She drew some attachments to the wings themselves, before realizing that they would ultimately weigh them down. But, they do need to be protected as well! She shuddered at the idea of unprotected wings, as she recalled hearing stories from the guards who used to work for the former ruler, that some pegasi were harmed and needed metal prosthetic wings that were almost as heavy as the rest of their armor put together, and needed to be oiled four times a night. 

“Perhaps the bat wings could be a flexible covering… aluminum, maybe?” She mused out loud. Can pegasi even fly with wing coverings? I’ll have to ask Rainbow Dash tomorrow. She made the note to herself before turning the page. 

She looked down at her sketchbook, and without thinking, levitated her pencil and began drawing. “Oh, damnit, Twilight,” Rarity muttered under her breath as she touched the tip of her pencil to the page. 	

I can appreciate the need to make a dramatic entrance, Rarity thought, scoffing quietly to herself, But honestly, this would be excessive even for me! Entering from another world, knowing that the mere presence of an alicorn princess from an alternate timeline would be enough to halt the night of any old pony, and then leaving before you answer a single question? That’s a little much, even for me. 

You can’t even hear me, can you? Perhaps the other Rarity, the who you’re allegedly friends with is berating you for the same thing. ‘Oh, Twilight!’ She mocked internally, if one could possibly mock themselves in their own head, that is, ‘How could you do such a thing? Don’t you know me at all? That poor mare won’t be able to do a thing until she figures out what in Equestria you were doing there!’ 

Rarity was not patient- she was never quite capable of moving on with her life when there was something else within her sights. Rainbow Dash often complained that when she had a new idea for a dress, or a trip for her and her sister planned for the near future, she was functionally useless until it was out of her sight. Or, when a mysterious otherworldly alicorn princess visited, she could not be bothered to go about her night preparing for work, or drawing guard uniforms, when all she could think about were the dozens of questions left unanswered, potentially permanently. She couldn’t possibly wait an entire night’s rest, or put any of this on hold, she needed to do this now. She drew a few harsh lines on the sketchbook paper determinedly. 

Rarity often thought of herself as being the protagonist of her favorite mystery series, Shadow Spade. Much like the titular character, she was rather impatient, and sometimes obsessive, when it came to cracking a case. Whereas most ponies were inclined to forget about the smaller details, or to wait for answers to come to them, Shadow Spade and Rarity both were the exact opposite- they were restless in the pursuit of answers, and searched high and low for even the smallest inclination of one. Ponies like them knew that even in the smallest fragments of a clue- there was a key. 

“Alright, Twilight…” She mumbled as she began to draw a mare’s body, “You’re tall, quite taller than I am, anyway- though I have always been rather short, for a unicorn. Your wings are rather large, as well… not any bigger than our Princess’, but larger than that of the average pegasus.” 

“Oh!” Rarity mentioned, “Your horn, as well, it’s longer than that of most any other unicorn I’ve met, save for a few Canterlot unicorns, that is. And how could I possibly forget your mane and tail! You know, most unicorns can’t pull off blunt bangs, you must be a rather daring fashionista.” 

She looked down at her drawing and felt as if something was missing, before she turned her gaze to the pile of geometry flash cards she had made just moments before, “Oh, right,” She said out loud as she began drawing on the flank, “Your cutie mark… You know, I know I have to have seen this Moon forsaken thing before, but I can not for the life of me possibly place my hoof upon where…”

 “Rarity, are you talking to yourself again?!” Sweetie Belle’s irritated voice called from the kitchen. 

“No, I am not!” Rarity insisted back to her, “I am-” 

Talking to an alicorn Princess from another timeline who can not hear a single word I’m saying? Why, yes, I am. Not as if I have the ability to explain that to her. 

	“Yes, Sweetie Belle, I’m talking to myself,” Rarity confessed, “I’m sorry, I’ll try to keep it down!” She sighed, before closing her sketchbook and sliding it into her saddle bag. “You can relax, dear, I’ll take care of our supper, you go pack your bag for your sleepover with Zipporwhill tomorrow.” She walked further into the kitchen, leaving behind her saddle bag until the morning. Clearly, she was getting nothing done tonight, so she resigned herself to hoping that things would be better once she woke up.



“Rarity, Rainbow Dash.” Nightmare Moon called from her throne as soon as Rarity had arrived at work again. Rainbow Dash had already been waiting there, at her post beside the throne. It seemed as if after the egg fiasco, the Princess hadn’t intended on allowing the Captain out of her sights, or rather, she was keeping her close by, in case Twilight returned. Rarity herself had walked into the room somewhat later than she had intended, no matter how long she’d worked there, she’d still often found herself to be confused by the winding paths in the Everfree Forest. 

“Yes, ma’am!” Rainbow Dash flew to the Princess’ side without a wasted moment, while Rarity attempted to do the same, though, as always, she lagged behind the speedy pegasus pony. 

“Apologies for my tardiness, your highness.” Rarity sighed, “I got lost in the forest, yet again. Is something wrong?” She tilted her head with confusion- it wasn’t often that she’d received an immediate summons from the Princess, as a matter of fact, it was probably more common that she’d go through a whole shift without seeing her once until she leaves. 

The large alicorn said nothing, instead just beckoning the two ponies into the same conference room they were in before they left for work the night before. Unlike before, though, it was entirely empty, and it made the previously cramped room seem so much larger than it did when it was filled to the brim with half of the employees in the castle. 

“What’s going on, Princess?” Rainbow Dash asked just as she glided in through the front door, “Need to update security again? Because, I don’t really know if we have any more ponies in Ponyville who’re even qualified to work in the guard- it took me moons to train up the batch we have now.” 

Not responding to Rainbow Dash’s comment, Nightmare Moon used her horn to seal the door shut with magic- not just a locking spell, but rather, a soundproofing spell as well. Rarity swallowed nervously, realizing that whatever she was going to say must’ve been extremely important. “Some new information has come to light, after the both of you left the castle previously… I trust that I have your discretion, for it is something only our ears may know of.” She looked down threateningly, making it painfully clear to the two ponies that there was only one correct answer to her proposition.

“Is this about Twilight?” Rarity blurted out, before immediately slamming her hoof into her mouth with embarrassment. If there was a correct answer to her question, it was surely not that. 

Nightmare Moon narrowed her eyes at the unicorn, “Madame Belle, I would not be as hesitant to declare my discretion after the stunt the both of you pulled yesterday with the egg.” She reminded her. 

Beneath her fur, Rarity felt her cheeks growing hot with embarrassment- in all of the chaos of last night, somehow, the egg incident felt like it was weeks ago. “I- I apologize, your majesty.” She lowered her head towards the taller pony, “You have my discretion.” 

“Yes, your highness,” Rainbow Dash echoed Rarity’s sentiment. 

“Very well, then.” The Princess agreed, before she took her place on her massive chair, not quite as large as the throne in the entryway, but imposing nonetheless. “After the both of you returned to your homes last night, I realized that I had some… ideas about our alicorn visitor that could have been confirmed. Tell me, did something about her seem… familiar, to the both of you?” 

Immediately, Rainbow Dash looked suddenly anxious, “Uh, no?” She fluttered the tips of her wings, swishing her tail back and forth behind her, “I’ve never seen her before!” 

“Rainbow Dash, darling!” Rarity smiled at her friend to reassure her, “There’s no need for worry, she’s not going to be angry that you lack the same eye for detail as I,” She turned her attention back towards the Princess before saying, “Forgive Rainbow Dash, the small things are often lost on her- but I’ve been wracking my brain for hours trying to determine where in Equestria I’ve seen that cutie mark! Is that what you’re referring to, your highness?” 

Rainbow Dash gulped down a breath, before calmly shaking her head and looking back up at Nightmare Moon, “Oh, um, yeah, I guess I’m not really one to look at stuff like mane color and cutie marks all that much- sorry, Princess.” 

Why in Equestria is Rainbow Dash acting so odd? Rarity wondered internally, I’ve never seen her this nervous to address the Princess! 

If the pegasus pony was acting strangely, or suspiciously in the slightest, the Princess chose not to acknowledge it. “Indeed you’re correct, Rarity” She nodded her head in appreciative affirmation towards her unicorn secretary, “Her cutie mark should be familiar- it is quite similar to that of our dear prisoner. It seems as if they have a connection, of sorts.” 

Rarity froze in place, feeling as if her hooves suddenly became stuck to the ground, as she realized exactly why that six-pointed star cutie mark was so familiar. 

“W-what?” Rainbow Dash fluffed up her wings in surprise, “No, no, that doesn’t make any sense, it has to be a coincidence. How would she know him?” 

“Yes, Princess,” Rarity nodded her head, equally as surprised, “Just because they have similar cutie marks doesn’t mean they must know each other, besides, it’s not as if I’m close with every gem salespony in Equestria- well, except for Diamond Ring, but he’s the exception, not the rule.”


Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes at the two ponies, “If you will not take it from me,” She started, beginning to lower the barrier she set on the door, “Perhaps you’ll hear it from him. I’m sure Shining Armor would love to hear from his old friends.” 


It had been quite a long time since Rarity or Rainbow Dash had seen Shining Armor. It seemed like only a mere moon ago when they went to visit him near-daily, but the more she thought about it, she’d realized that it must’ve been more than a full year since she visited the prison in which he was kept. Though, it didn’t mean she had forgotten the way down, with every winding staircase leading down to the poorly lit basement, and every lamp she walked past revealing a new memory of when she and Rainbow Dash used to head down there to sneak their old friend food from the cafe, or a more comfortable blanket. As she allowed her hoof to touch the final stair on the downward descent, she remembered the last time she came there in vivid detail. 

She shook her head, as if she was shaking off the memory itself like a fly on her coat, some things were better not to dwell upon. 

“Is that you, Thunderlane?” Shining Armor’s voice echoed through the basement as the sound of the three ponies headed down had gotten closer and closer. His eyes widened with visible shock when he saw that it was Nightmare Moon herself, alongside Rarity and Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow… Loving the new manecut… What brings you two here?” He looked at his hooves with a palpable sadness.

He looked smaller than Rarity remembered. She recalled that when she met him, she was stunned by his tall and muscular stature, having not seen many unicorns as large as he was. But now, she looked at him and saw that he looked frailer, his coat had dulled, and his mane was unkempt, despite the fact that one of the first things Rarity did when he became imprisoned was giving him a hairbrush so he wouldn’t fall behind on his mane maintenance. His legs were no longer as muscular as they once were, and when she looked at his face, there was no longer the clean-shaven stallion she once knew, but rather, a pony with sunken cheeks and an unruly blue beard. However, there was something that hadn’t changed, his cutie mark- three stars behind a large blue shield- branded in the center with… 

That six pointed star. 

“Hello, Shining Armor,” Rarity dipped her head awkwardly, trying to play off the discomfort of the situation. 

What do you say to an old friend who you haven’t spoken to in a year? An old friend who lives in a dungeon… imprisoned by your boss… It’s a real shame nopony has written an etiquette manual for this situation, I think it would become an instant bestseller. 

“Rarity.” He responded shortly, not even looking back at her.

“What’s with the beard, Starswirl?” Rainbow Dash chortled, clearly having none of the same concerns that Rarity did about the situation. 

The unamused stallion exhaled through his nose and narrowed his eyes, “When you figure out how to shave without a blade, let me know.” He turned his back on the visiting ponies, “So, you just came down here to berate me? You know, I expected this from Rainbow Dash, but when did you become so cruel, Rarity?” 

“Why, I-” 

“You know exactly why we are here…” Nightmare Moon threatened, letting sparks crackle from the tip of her horn, “Speak, colt.” 

“Shockingly, I don’t.” The unicorn suppressed a growl, before turning back to look at the Princess, “When you stop speaking in riddles… that’ll be the day…” He muttered under his breath. 

Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes at the imprisoned pony, as did Rainbow Dash, but Rarity instead inched closer to the magical barrier which kept him in place. “Is it true that you know her, ” She asked bluntly, “Twilight, that is?” 

Instantly, his expression changed from irritation to wide-eyed surprise, and then, finally, rage, he flared his nostrils at Rarity before turning towards Nightmare Moon and glaring directly at her, “If you even look at Twiley,” He dimly lit his horn in threat. 

“What?” The alicorn princess mocked, stepping out from behind Rainbow Dash who darted in front of her in response to Shining Armor’s threat, “You’ll tear me to bits from behind a shield? You know, you know better than anypony that there’s no way for any one pony to take that barrier down, you wrote the spell- you know that only the caster may stop it- and I have no intentions to.” 

Immediately, he fired off his horn, ricocheting the beam of energy off of the barrier around the room, before it ultimately fizzled out right in front of his hooves. He snarled at Nightmare Moon, “I don’t care- I wrote the spell, and I would spend the rest of my damn life figuring how to rewrite it- and kill you if you hurt my baby sister.” 

Nightmare Moon produced a satisfied smirk, before turning back towards Rarity and Rainbow Dash, who was still defensively hovering over the princess’ shoulder, “A younger sister, you say? What did I tell you both, the cutie marks don’t lie.” 

Shining Armor ignored Nightmare Moon’s remarks, and instead looked at the two smaller ponies with a desperate stare, “Please,” He begged, “We were friends once- please, don’t let her hurt Twilight…” He turned to Rarity particularly, “You’re a good pony! You’d never hurt Twilight, you’d never let her hurt Twilight, you… you…” He rambled in a panic, at some point, trying less to convince Rarity and rather trying to convince himself. 

“Shining Armor, Shining Armor!” Rarity yelled, cutting off his tirade, “We do not wish to hurt Twilight, we just wish to… know about her. May you do that for me, please?” She leaned in closer to the barrier and blinked at him, fluttering her eyelashes sweetly. 

Frazzled, Shining Armor huffed, and responded, “You know that’s never worked on me,” He sat down on his bed and crossed his hooves, “I’m not some idiot lovestruck colt who you can just bat your eyelashes at and get to do whatever you want!” 

“You may not be a lovestruck colt for Madame Belle, here,” Nightmare Moon hissed threateningly, outstretching her wings to nearly their full size, “But how soon you forget, you have a fiancée on the outside of this dungeon whose fate rests upon your compliance.” 

Boldly, Shining Armor stamped his hoof into the ground to meet the eyes of the Princess, once again, his horn crackled with sparks of magic, “And how soon you forget, that you promised her that both of our lives would be spared in exchange for surrender.” 

The larger pony sighed and nodded her head cordially, then folded her wings back in place. “Worry not, colt, I made a promise to Lady Cadenza, and, if you recall, unlike my sister, I keep my oaths… If you refuse to speak- I will not force you… but,” She reminded the imprisoned pony matter of factly, already beginning to turn her back and walk towards the stairwell. “I may be willing to renegotiate your sentence in exchange for your cooperation. Remember, Shining Armor, a life sentence is quite a long time to wait to see your fiancée once more… it would be a shame for her to continue her long, long life with you withering away in a dungeon never to be seen again. I’m giving you the opportunity to change that.” 

She’s leveraging his sentence?! Rarity blinked in surprise, trying to keep a straight face. When Shining Armor was first taken into the dungeon, the Princess made quite the show of making certain that he would never see the sky again in all of his life- so she could hardly believe that she was offering to even slightly shorten his sentence. Though, knowing Shining Armor, he’d likely not even consider budging- everything was a matter of pride with him, Rarity recalled. But, the fact that Nightmare Moon was willing to do this in return for the mere promise of information on Twilight made her wonder if there was more to the situation than she’d let on. 

What could possibly be worth it to Nightmare Moon? 

	What could you possibly offer her, Twilight? 

	Before she could even look to see the response of Shining Armor, he had already turned around and laid down on his small cot, “You can forget it, Nightmare Moon.” He huffed, “I won’t let you get to her.” 

“Shining Armor, please,” Rarity was, admittedly, saddened, both for the fact that they’d gotten almost no further in learning about Twilight, and that even though he was given the opportunity, Shining Armor still refused the chance to leave his prison. Even though she worked for the princess, that didn’t mean that she felt no sympathy towards her old friend, she still hoped to see him freed. “Can’t you do this for Cadence?” 

“Would you do that to Sweetie Belle?” He spat back. 

Rarity couldn’t bring herself to answer him. 

“That’s what I thought. Just go, Rarity.” Shining Armor snarled, “It’s not like there’s anything you can do for me from here.” 

The unicorn mare felt tears welling in her eyes as she turned around, but she blinked them away before racing to meet the other ponies halfway up the stairwell without another word to Shining Armor. Because as much as she hated to admit it- he was right. There was nothing she could do. 


Hours had passed since she’d left the dungeon, and the rest of the shift went as one typically did, Rarity went through stacks of paper discussing appearances for the Princess, walking aimlessly around the hallway, assisting in various, menial activities. She’d had an awfully mediocre lunch, and she wandered the hallways. Most of the time, she found her work to be fun- she’d always enjoyed thinking about potential events, and organizing tours- of which she’d only had one during that particular shift, which went by in a matter of mere minutes as the group was absolutely boring and hadn’t asked a single question. However, on this particular night, she’d found herself to be completely and utterly bored the entire time.

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity whined, “Can’t you just leave your post for a moment to get dinner with me?” 

“Don’t you remember what happened last time I left my post to hang out with you?” Rainbow Dash arched her eyebrow, “We can hang out after my shift ends, just wait like, two hours for your dinner. Don’t you have planning for the Starshine Salutation to do, anyway?”

 The unicorn stomped her hoof into the ground with irritation, “I would,” She rolled her eyes, “If her Highness would choose a location to hold it in. I don’t know why all the fanfare, truly, we all know she’ll just hold it at the Castle again… where else is she going to hold it, Cloudsdale?” 

The pegasus pony snorted, “Hey, don’t knock Cloudsdale! It would be a great place for the party! Where better to have the Starshine Salutation than in the sky?” 

“First of all, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity started, “The Starshine Salutation is the celebration of the stars which aided in Nightmare Moon’s escape, held on the anniversary of her crowning as Equestria’s true ruler- it is not just a party. And secondly, how is everypony supposed to get there if it’s in Cloudsdale? It’s not as if I could suddenly learn to fly.” 


Defensively, Rainbow Dash responded, “Actually, some unicorns can use their magic to-” 

“Oh, for the sake of the Moon, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity scowled, “I’ve already heard this once from Sweetie Belle, I do not need to hear it from you, too.” 

Rainbow Dash blinked in puzzled surprise, “Sweetie Belle? What was she doing talking about flying spells?” 

“Oh, I don’t know,” She rolled her eyes, “Something about unicorn Wonderbolts, you know how she is.” 

The pegasus guard looked unconvinced. She shot a glance towards Gallant Gallop, the guard stationed next to her, and dropped her voice to a whisper, “You didn’t tell Sweetie Belle about… the alicorn, right?” 

Oh heavens, it’s not my fault flying unicorns have come up so many times in the past several nights! Rarity wanted to exclaim. Instead, she calmly whispered back to Rainbow Dash, “No, worry not- I know that filly can’t keep her mouth shut for long, I would never tell her about anything that important. She was just in another one of her ‘cutie mark brainstorming’ zones, and somehow, Wonderbolt came up.” 

She narrowed her eyes before seemingly reluctantly accepting Rarity’s explanation, “Right, right. Wonderbolt cutie mark, sure.” She chuckled nervously, tapping at the ground with her hoof. She stood up straight again and looked down the hallway, “Listen, Rare, I gotta stay here, but, I’ll knock on your door when it’s time for dinner, alright?” 

“Ugh, fine,” The unicorn dramatically twirled away to walk back down the hallway, “But if I have starved to death by the time you reach my door, it will be your fault!” 

Rarity wondered if any of her other friends were available to meet up- but knew the response would likely be the same. After the appearance of Twilight, all of the guards are under strict instruction to be on high alert in case she reappeared. She had nopony to return home to, on that particular night- Sweetie Belle was having a sleepover with her friend Zipporwhill, during which she promised she’d study for her upcoming exam- but somehow, Rarity doubted that that would be the case. Much more likely that they’d end up shoveling sugar down their throats and playing truth or dare- though, it’s not as if she didn’t do the same thing when she was a foal. 

When she had returned to her quarters, the first thing Rarity did was lock her door and look through the pages of her sketchbook to find the drawing of Twilight she’d done the night prior, now that she’d had nothing to do anymore. She narrowed her eyes at it, struggling to see any resemblance to Shining Armor other than the cutie mark. 

Well, Rarity shrugged, I suppose there is the blue mane, the shades are different, but it isn’t as if Sweetie Belle and I share the same mane color, either. 

Rarity felt as if she’d come into work with plenty of questions about Twilight, and the moment she got just one of them answered, she’d gained so many more. Truth be told, it wouldn’t bother her nearly as much as it was if not for the implication that she and Twilight were friends, in another life. Perhaps, she wondered, that was why none of the other castle employees seemed to be so consumed by it, because they couldn’t feel the desperation in Twilight’s voice, they didn’t feel as if they somehow turned their back on somepony who trusted them completely. 

They didn’t turn their backs on somepony who believed they were friends.

It wouldn’t be the first time Rarity had done that, but it didn’t get any easier. 

Owning up to her mistakes was something Rarity had never been the best at, to her own admission, but that didn’t mean they didn’t bother her greatly. Even though some… old friends think that she’s remorseless and cold-blooded, that was never the case. As a matter of fact, it was as far from the truth as one could get. She would be lying if she said she didn’t often look back tearfully at her burned bridges with a sense of regret, in some ways wishing that she could piece them back together. But that’s the thing about burned bridges, once they’re burned, you can’t make anything of their ashes other than a mess. 

She looked back down at the drawing of Twilight, and thought back to their encounter the night before. Her drawing was perfectly accurate, if she did say so herself, her proportions were rather exact, her wings were grand and regal, and she’d gotten the striping in her mane exactly correct. But, there was still something missing, something familiar about Twilight that couldn’t possibly be captured in a drawing, something Rarity had experienced quite a few times and knew all too well. 

There’s a distinctive look in a pony’s eye when they realize they’ve been betrayed by somepony they thought they could trust. It goes by in merely an instant, and what happens after changes drastically from pony to pony. Some get angry and spit in your face, or sulk away, defeated, never to be seen again, but no matter who they are, or what comes after, that split second is the same for everyone. 

Rarity knew that better than anyone. 

She finally saw the resemblance. 

She looked up at the clock on her wall, she’d still had hours to go before dinner with Rainbow Dash, and absolutely no work to do, either. There was nopony looking for her, or expecting her back at home, it would be so, so easy to… 

Quietly, Rarity shoved her sketchbook into her saddle bag and trotted out of her room as quietly as she could. She hoped that the guards asked no questions, so she deliberately exuded an air of confidence, keeping her head up high and glancing at nopony- she was a mare on a mission, and she couldn’t possibly be bothered to be stopped. 

Carefully, she slipped past the hallway filled with guards and into an armored door, feeling daunted by the downward spiral staircase. She tried to keep the pit in her stomach and the doubtful voices in her head at bay as long as she could. 

Once again, Rarity’s mind went back to her favorite novels. Shadow Spade stopped at nothing to get her answers, she’d gone through intensive lengths in order to quench her never-ending thirst for answers. She’d crossed the Dragonlands, spent nights in dungeons, and come face to face with her own worst nightmares, all in the name of justice. 

	I am Shadow Spade. I am Shadow Spade. I am Shadow Spade. Rarity repeated to herself over and over in rhythm with her hoofsteps tapping against the ground beneath her and echoing throughout the hallway. She was impatient, obsessive, and restless in the pursuit of answers. At that moment, the unicorn felt as if she too could live in the hoofsteps of her hero, and face her own worst nightmares- because that’s just what she had to do. 

At long last, Rarity’s hoof touched the floor, and her nostrils, for the second time that night, became overcome with the damp scent of an unkempt basement. If she listened closely, she could hear the rhythmic drip-drop of water up against the floor, and felt her hooves sink into the wet, warped wood ground. Within the poorly lit room, she made out the familiar figure, a tall unicorn stallion trapped behind a barrier, standing defensively with a piercing stare. 

“Back so soon? What do you want?” 

“Hello, Shining Armor.” Rarity stated calmly, making certain that her voice didn’t waver in the slightest as she spoke, refusing to let any semblance of fear come through her eyes, “I come in peace, I come alone, and I come with questions. Will you indulge me? For old time’s sake?” 

The unicorn’s eyes softened, slightly, though he still maintained his guarded expression as best he could. He loosened his stance and looked toward Rarity. He remained silent for several seconds, as if he was truly contemplating his next words as carefully as he could. 

“For old time’s sake.” Shining Armor sighed.