• Published 12th Nov 2013
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Empress Rarity's 250th Birthday - Lord-Commander



Today is the Birthday of the Empress of the Crystal Empire, Rarity Belle. Everypony is excited for the celebrations, that is everypony except for one...

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Chapter 15

Dear Twilight,

I’m sorry, I won’t be able to make it back in time for the party. The Goat-Lords of Yule are taking far more time than I thought with the Yaks. It seems every step forward is another trot back.

I know you are worried about the party, Twilight, but you can do this. Rarity is still your friend, and if anypony can remind her of that, I know it’s you. Just be yourself, your real self. Not the Princess Twilight Sparkle, Goddess of Magic, Diarch of Equestria, etc...

I’ll be back soon and I’ll make this up to you. Promise.

Love, Caddie.

P.S: Stop going into my room without my permission. I know you took my earrings. The gold hoop ones? You don’t even wear hoops. What do you… Gotta go, I hear yak rage.

Twilight stared blankly at the letter before lighting it on fire with a resigned grumble. Glancing in the bar-framed mirror on the wall across from her, she inspected her simple midnight blue dress for any trace of ashes. Finding none, Twilight set her mind back to the task at hoof. Interrogation.

She stared into the depths of her drink as one might stare into a bottle, hoping to find a genie at the bottom. She wished that the genie inside was the peachy, alcoholic type. And that drinking the sucker down would give her the solutions to the night’s problems. Well, Twilight thought as she downed the last of her drink and signalled the bartender for another, empty promises of joy and merriment seemed to be the motto for this evening.

Twilight berated herself, again, for letting a bad attitude get a foothold on her thoughts. It’s as Cadence had said, “You go in thinking it will go poorly, and it will.” But she couldn’t help it as she felt she was getting the coldest reception in decades.

Which is why, Twilight reasoned, that this evening was going to go better if she relaxed with a little help from her friends, Mr. and Mrs. Double Peach Daiquiri.

Twilight sighed in relief as the minotaur, who had been sitting next to her and trying desperately to get her attention, finally got up and left. He’d been talking at her for some time. Saying something about shrimp horderves, after saying something about… Lifting? Twilight wasn’t even sure what he had been trying to impress her with. But boy-howdy, as Applejack would say, was he trying. And his ‘cologne’ could kick the teeth out of a mule.

But as quickly as it came, her moment of relatively peaceful silence, filled only with the background noise of the party hall around her, was broken as she heard that same chair spin around.

“Ugh, what is that smell? Did somepony die in this chair?” groused the voice of one blue crystal pony as she clambered her way into it despite her nasal misgivings.

“Sapphire, what did I tell you?” asked a second voice, bubbly and overly cheerful voice to the grumpy mare’s left. “Maddie and I got this. All you gotta do is relax, k?”

Her curiosity overtaking her, Twilight looked over the rim of her newly refreshed drink at the pair of talking ponies. The bubbly one, a white pegasus, helped the blue crystal pony, who was wearing an absolutely gorgeous white pearlescent evening dress, into the chair near Twilight. The crystal pony grimaced, clutching an ice bag to her head.

The white one giggled at her friend’s frowny face. “And you know better than to touch Maddie’s turntable when she’s working her magic, you silly pony!”

“She didn’t need to kick me in the head,” whined the crystal mare. “That music isn’t go—”

“Remember who the party pony is,” the pegasus interjected suddenly before hugging the other. “It’ll be perfect, Maddie’s got this big fancy party thing down. It’ll knock everypony’s socks off!”

“But—”

“Shush, you enjoy the party. If you do all the work, what are you even paying me for?”

“I’m paying you?”

The white pony laughed a snorty giggle of a laugh that reminded Twilight so much of Pinkie Pie, she almost dropped her drink.

“Can you get my friend here a Blueberry Mojito?” the blonde mare asked as she broke her hug and flapped a few feet into the air over the bar.

“Actually,” interjected the other, “I’ll just take a salt lick; Neighpali if you have any, please.”

The bartender nodded, and before another word could be said, the white mare shot off into the air, leaving behind a small trail of confetti as she waved goodbye. The mare next to her thanked the bartender for her small salt cube on a plate, and took to it leisurely, as one would suck on an ice cube. Twilight put down her drink, and decided this was as good a place as any to start turning her evening around.

“Sounds like you’re having a rough night, too?” Twilight asked, looking over at the crystal mare next to her.

The mare nodded, her ice bag obscuring her view of Twilight. “Lady, you don’t know the half of it. This whole day's just been one big awful mess after another. I was so excited this morning, you know? Now? Now I just want it all to be over.”

Twilight let out a small chuckle. “Yeah, I can’t argue with that. What’s your story, miss...?”

“Merry Sapphire,” replied the other mare, massaging her head with the ice bag. “It’s a really long story, longer than I thought it would be. It’s just that… This was the most meaningful thing I’ve done for quite sometime, and… well, every step forward…”

“Is another trot back. I know the feeling, Merry,” replied Twilight. “I have a… dear friend of mine, and we’re in a rough spot, I suppose. Everything that I try to do to make things better, well, just seems to make it worse.”

“I hope everything goes better for you, umm…” Sapphire turned and looked at Twilight, and her eyes shrank to the size of pinpricks, and her ears folded back.

“Ohh, right, I’m sorry. I’m Twilight—” Twilight’s horn instantly lit up, her magic catching the dropped ice bag. She returned it with a hopeful smile. “—Sparkle.”

“P-princess Twilight,” the other mare stammered. “My apologies, I didn’t mean to stare it's just, I-I didn’t…”

Twilight smiled, and waved away at her explanation. She hoped that this crystal pony was different from the others that had given her the cold shoulder all night long.

“I am so, so, sorry, your highness. I-I didn’t mean to be, I mean the complaining, I just—”

“Relax, Merry,” said Twilight, her well practiced smile, one of care and comfort, still locked in place. “You have nothing to worry about.”

Nervously, Merry smiled back, and turned slowly in place to stare down at her plate, her appetite for her salt lick suddenly gone.

An uneasy silence passed between the two. Left in the moment with their own thoughts. Twilight was thinking about how, on tonight of all nights, that the lessons she learned about friendship seemed to be failing her. Merry Sapphire was thinking about how she managed to saddle up to the bar next to the one pony who could blow the lid off of her carefully kept two-hundred-year-long charade.

The bartender chose that moment to pop up and check on the two of them, trading a bit of small talk with Merry, before sliding down at the bar to see to some other customers.

Twilight let out a sigh, content for the moment to let her own thoughts keep her company and—

A bang on the bar in front of her snapped the princess out of her train of thought, and she looked up to find a monstrous half liter mug on the table, mostly full of a bubbling foamy froth... and what she could have sworn was a sizable chunk of some poor shrubbery sticking out of the top.

“I didn’t… This isn’t mine,” said Twilight.

“Compliments from the minotaur,” said the bartender as he gestured down the length of the bar. Twilight turned her head and saw the minotaur, that same one from earlier, throw her a boozy wink, while lifting his own mug at her. Her cheeks felt hot, and she turned away with a jerk.

This is going to be a very long night, isn’t it? thought Twilight. Suddenly very interested in whatever it was that Merry next to her had to say about any topic, even antiquing. Twilight turned back around and tried for some conversation again.

“Well, Merry,” said Twilight, nodding over to where the pegasus that brought Sapphire over was adding another set of speakers to an already impressively fortress-like sound system, “it looks like this is going to be quite the party.”

Sapphire let out a sigh and rested her chin on the slightly sticky bar. “Damn mare is going to shatter half the palace. I’ve spent weeks, literally, weeks trying to plan this thing, and she’s gone an—”

“You planned this?” asked Twilight.

Sapphire nodded. “Right down to streamers. I’m, uh, I’m Empress Rarity’s seneschal.”

“Oh, wow!” Twilight’s ears perked up in genuine interest. “You know Rarity!?”

Merry smirked, and brushed a hoof through her silver mane, “Yes M’lady. All her scheduling and event planning goes through me. Meetings, appointments, celebrations, funerals, and festivities. Anything that involves her being somewhere, I let her know where and when and why.”

“That sounds… pretty useful, actually.” Twilight paused, wondering if she could do with outsourcing her schedule like Rarity. “I didn’t know Rarity had a need for a seneschal. She must be pretty busy.”

“Something like that,” replied Sapphire as she once again picked up and took a lick of her imported salt cube.

Twilight nodded. That made sense to her, although the Rarity she knew prefered to handle everything by herself as much as possible. From all the times Twilight had accompanied Rarity to this fashion show or that design expo, she was always in the thick of things. Preparations, decorations, guest lists, knowing which after parties were the right ones to attend seemed to be second nature to her. And though she might have snapped a time or two, her justification for managing her own schedule every time had always been that if she did it, she’d know who did it right and who didn’t do it wrong.

“Wow,” praised Twilight, “Rarity must really trust you.”

Sapphire blushed, and offered a knowing smile at the complement.

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated again, knowing that it would not be entirely appropriate to pry into the Empire’s affairs. At a bar. With a pony who was so obviously intimidated by her.

Instead, she opted to ride out the conversation, if for no other reason than to avoid the noxious hissing that came from the foaming bushy monstrosity in a mug that sat untouched next to her half-finished daiquiri. As soon as she had made her decision though, the huge crystal gong that presided over the far wall against the palace proper, sounded, effectively quieting the room of everything save anticipation.

A crystal pony with a golden coat, wearing a uniform of white with royal purple accents, stood atop the flight of stairs that framed the gong, and cleared his throat. “Now presenting,” he said, his voice like rich coffee on a cool morning. “Her glorious Majesty, Guardian of the North, Heart of the Crystal Empire, Element of Generosity, and gorgeous birthday gal, Empress Rarity Belle!”

A stampede stomping of hooves, met by the roaring applause of clapping hands and paws by those guests that had them, reverberated throughout the ballroom, obliterating any active thought Twilight might of had.

The cheering continued for a time, and started to die off. But just before anypony could ask where, exactly, she was, the mare in question stepped into view and onto the landing beside the golden stallion who announced her. And Twilight joined the others in their renewed cheers and gasps of adoration.

Rarity always knew how to make an entrance into a statement. She wore a simple black evening dress. It was a silk affair that teased at her cutiemark. Her outfit completely contrasted the elaborate and heavy dresses and suits of her ponies. In fact, the only thing that looked remotely royal about her ensemble was her elaborate crown, with its budding magnolia branches of silver and pink pearls buds, made by the Deer Smiths of Elkdom.

As beautiful as the crown was, Twilight’s eye was drawn to something else entirely around the unicorn’s neck. The Element of Generosity. The first of the Elements of Harmony she’d seen in… had it been two centuries?

“Thank you, thank you all!” said Rarity, her horn glowing slightly to cast her voice out among the crowd through the speakers. The crowd slowly fell silent, waiting to hear more. “Welcome, everypony, and everyone else, to my two hundredth and fiftieth birthday!” Another round of applause echoed back, causing Rarity to wait until it had died down to continue. “I am honored and quite happy to have such fine company gathered under my roof. Please, eat, drink, and enjoy!”

The cheers roared out again as Rarity finished her short greeting and descended the stairs. By the time she reached the bottom, a steady line of guests, most likely sycophants in Twilight’s still dour reckoning, had already formed waiting to personally wish her a happy birthday, and probably a few other things as well.

Twilight turned around and looked back at her Double Peach Daiquiri and sighed. A polite hoof prod got her attention, and she looked to the prodder.

“Well?” asked Sapphire, jerking a hoof at the growing line to greet Rarity. “Aren’t you going to… you know?”

“Ohh, I… I don’t know about that, she seems awfully busy with the others at the moment.” Twilight gave a little nervous laugh as she picked up her drink and gave it a solid gulp.

“Princess Twilight, if you’ll forgive my forwardness, she’s your friend, and you should go and see her.”

Twilight chewed her lip some more before slowly nodding. “Yeah, it’s just… I don’t know how.”

Sapphire blinked a few times as if the princess suddenly turned into a frog or something. “You’re a princess, and you don’t know how to talk to another pony?”

“No, it’s not that, it’s… Rarity. It’s all just terribly complicated,” replied Twilight as she glanced back. Being a still growing alicorn, Twilight had no problem seeing over the crowd from her barstool, and catching a glimpse of Rarity, laughing at something. Suddenly, an idea popped into her mind. “Merry, you’re Rarity’s seneschal, has she told you anything about me?”

Sapphire blinked back at the eager alicorn. “Why do you think I told you to go talk to her?” she asked, bemusedly.

“Please, Merry,” begged Twilight. “If it’s something bad, you have to tell me. I’ve been getting the cold shoulder all night, and—”

“Okay, fine. You win,” said Sapphire, throwing up her hooves in mock defeat. “I’ll tell you. But only if you promise to talk to the Empress afterwards.”

Twilight nodded.

“To answer your question about if she’s told me good or bad things about your relationship, well, it’s complicated,” replied Merry. She held up a hoof to stop Twilight from interrupting her.

“When I asked Her Majesty about it, she was never specific. She said that you two simply grew apart, lack of communication, arguments, and anger had apparently done much more to spoil your friendship than harsh words said in the moment. I asked her about fixing it, and while she wasn’t against it, she did say it wasn’t something that would be fixed overnight.”

“I see,” said Twilight, a frown on her face as she looked over again at Rarity greeting a pair of well-to-do griffins.

“But,” said Sapphire, “what she says and what she needs are not always the same thing. She’s fickle, our Rarity.”

Twilight looked down at the surprisingly thoughtful crystal pony and asked, “What do you think she needs, Merry?”

“I think she needs an old friend back, not a princess.”

Twilight smiled, and put down her drink with some finality. “Thank you, Merry. You are a very wise little pony.”

Merry nodded in agreement. “Beyond my years, I’m told.”

Twilight nodded and gave Sapphire what she felt like was the first genuine smile in a long time. “Rarity is very lucky to have you. Let me know if you’re ever looking for work in Canterlot,” she said with a wink.

Merry smiled. “Thanks. Let me know the next time you’re in town for a drink.” The two shared a laugh and a wave goodbye, as Twilight stood up and turned to embrace what fate tonight had in store for her.

“Welp, I better get in line. Thanks again, I won’t forget your help,” said Twilight as she turned around and walked off towards a long overdue appointment.

“And I will never forget yours, Twilight Sparkle,” replied Sapphire, quietly under her breath. “Give Rarity the second chance that you and your friends gave me.”

* * *

Rarity smiled, shook hooves, posed for pictures, and engaged in some small talk with all of those that sought the chance to come before her and wish her a happy birthday. She couldn’t help but bounce slightly to the rhythm of that delightful music. It was a recognizable classical piece accompanied by just the right mix of thunderous bass, magical light, and a rather spirited DJ.

Despite her centuries of attendance to all the formal, elite, or prestigious gatherings Rarity had been to, she could never quite get over the giddy feelings of anxiety and anticipation that came with making an appearance. Part of it was the whirlpool of emotions that threatened to overwhelm her and erase the excited, yet dignified facade of an immortal and mature empress.

You can take the debutante out of the ball, but you can’t take the ball out of the debutante, as they say, she thought idly to herself.

But that wasn’t all there was to this feeling. She could feel it, giddy and full of joyous energy to be loved by its ponies. The Crystal Heart. It butted up against the forefront of her mind, like a little filly pressing her muzzle up against the window of a candy shop. Such gatherings were a fascination to it, an adventure in the roles of society.

She smiled at its eagerness, its innocence. Rarity remembered the first gathering she attended after fusing with the Crystal Heart as her eyes wandered over the crowded ballroom. It had been quite a different affair, being one of Fluttershy’s Foal Showers.

“...ust come und bless our Klippenhöhle mit…”

Rarity nodded as the pair of griffons continued on their merry way with their conversation. Over the years, she had come to rather like griffons. It was their unusual tolerance for severe cold and a fine eye for precious stones that helped her realize how similar they truly were.

She nodded again, and she realized the conversation had come to a close of sorts, as the two were looking expectantly at her. “Yes! Well,” she started, kicking herself for daydreaming in the middle of a small chat with Gale Wing and his guest. “I think your proposal sounds lovely, simply lovely. And once the sale of Shimmering Bay has finalized, we will see what can be done, yes?”

Apparently placated, the griffons bowed and hurried off as the next pony in line stepped up to wish the birthday girl well.

As the pony spoke, she felt her mind wander again. Frowning, she screwed her eyes shut and shook her head to clear the fog, as it were. “I’m sorry, I’ve had a dreadfully long day. Could you say that again, dar—?” And her words cut short. It wasn’t a darling, or a griffon, or a minotaur, or even a manticore.

But she sort of wished it was a manticore.

“Uh… I said, ‘Hi, Rarity, how are you?’” replied a bewildered-looking Princess Twilight Sparkle.

The smoky haze in her mind returned in worrying earnest, and Rarity stumbled back a step. Memories of the false prophecy that Sombra showed her, of her own form frozen in a block of crystal, and Twilight’s twisted laughter flooded her senses.

A pair of guards flanked their Empress from the nearby sentry position at the base of the stairs, silent and scowling, and their crystal spears crossed between the two old friends. Twilight jerked back slightly, but made no other move. Her face was locked in a battle between alarm and a steadfast determination to remain calm. Rarity suspected her own face looked very similar.

Twilight blinked a few times, regaining herself, and offered Rarity a respectful bow. “Empress Rarity,” she greeted, her voice carefully neutral. “I hope that favor and fortune have found you this day.”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle,” replied Rarity, standing up on unsteady hooves. She tried her best to match the alicorn’s movements. “I am pleased that you came. It is nice to see an old… friend?”

Twilight’s smile broke through for a moment, but her princessly mask soon fell back into place. “As am I, Empress. It’s, umm... good to see that you are in such fine health.”

A slight snicker at the awkwardness rose up from somewhere among the quiet gathering of guests around the two. Twilight stepped closer, leaning her head over the crossed spears and whispered. “Do you think we could talk somewhere a little more private?”

“Yes, I think that could be arranged,” said Rarity, nodding her head. The spears between them parted and she looked over at the gathered line. “I’m terribly sorry, loves, could you please excuse us? I’ll be back shortly, I promise. Thank you all for your kind and eager blessings.”

Without waiting for a reply, Rarity turned and Twilight followed. Rarity could feel nearly every eye in the room watching the two of them. A lot of ponies had been waiting for this night, and the more politically motivated of them had been waiting for this moment. The moment when two ruling immortals would have to come to terms with one another.

Rarity glanced behind her at Twilight. She was walking slowly to match her steps, but also flowed with a practiced grace, seemingly trying to instil a feeling of divinity and approachableness at the same time. A poor copy of Celestia’s, to be honest. But it was her face that caused Rarity to look away with a shudder. It was that hauntingly familiar serene fake smile.

The doors exiting the party hall had already been opened by the time the two reached them. A pair of Crystal Guards, and two of Twilight’s Arcane Guards silently fell in line behind them. The walk wasn't far, but what it lacked in length, it more than made up for in awkward silence. Very few words were exchanged, mostly between the pair of Arcane Guards as one of them kept trying to whisper something to the other before being hushed.

“Rarity? Where exactly are we going?”

Rarity looked back and gave Twilight a comforting smile. “Not far. There’s a private parlor by the throne room. We’ll just hop right on in an—”

Rarity closed the door as quickly as she opened it, blushing profusely. “Ah. They’re, umm... Quite busy in there, I suppose. We’ll just meet in the throne room then, yes?”

The doors to the throne room loomed in front of them as they entered the main hall. Rarity didn't need to say a word as the Crystal Guards advanced ahead and took their positions near the door. The pair of Arcane Guards, on the other hoof, had to take some assurance from Twilight that everything would be fine before they took their positions opposite of their crystal counterparts. One of them gave Twilight a plain-looking saddlebag.

“Garnet Tower,” commanded Rarity, locking eyes with the guard. “Darling, we’re not to be disturbed by anypony, not even Commander Onyx, am I clear?”

“Crystal, ma’am,” replied Garnet, pushing open the door for the two.

Twilight and Rarity stepped through, and the doors silently closed behind them.

* * *

Merry Sapphire slowly let out her breath through clenched teeth as she watched Princess Twilight Sparkle walk to the end of the line of ponies, and well wishers waiting to meet with the Empress. She’d just survived a close encounter. A lot closer than she liked. Sapphire turned back to her salt cube and thought about giving it a slow, long, thoughtful lick. But she knew she had to keep her faculties about her. Instead she opted for dainty ladylike pulls, savoring the taste as it warmed her mouth. She planned her next moves. It was almo—

“Is anypony sitting here?”

“Nope,” replied Sapphire, not bothering to look over at whoever it was getting into the chair. It wasn’t Twilight, and it wasn’t Rarity. So whoever it was was more than welcome there as she let down her hair so-to-speak. Her thoughts drifted aimlessly as she watched Twilight wade through the line. Not that she wanted to necessarily. It’s just that the other ponies in line ahead of Twilight would, upon realizing who was directly behind them, insist on her moving ahead of them. Each one was an awkward exchange all its own, as she slowly bubbled her way up the line like a pocket of air in a bottle of molasses.

Twilight was at the head of the line now, just behind the pair of griffons that—

“The walking mare balks at the moonlight.”

Sapphire spun around in her seat, grinning from ear to ear as she fought against the urge to scream and hug the mare sitting next to her. And though she didn’t recognize the unicorn sitting next to her, she knew her in an instant. “Only with the sunlight’s grace,” she replied in code and in kind.

Captain Shining Star smiled back and pulled Sapphire into a tight hug. “Oh, Lulu, it’s been so long!”

“Tia!” laughed Sapphire under her breath as she struggled in vain against her sister. “You’ll crumple my dress!”

“I couldn’t resist, Lulu, you look so cute like this,” said Shining Star as she continued to squeeze Sapphire. “Even cuter with that pouty face of yours.”

“I do not have a pouty face!” protested Sapphire as she finally managed to work her way out of the hug. “And don’t call me Lulu! What if somepony hears you?”

Shining Star turned to the half-conscious pony to her right and nudged him. “Hm-hic-m?” he asked, his breath flammable enough to impress a small dragon.

She pointed at herself. “I’m secretly Princess Celestia,” she said to him matter-of-factly.

He nodded before blinking warily. “Is that the changeling one?”

Shining Star shook her head. “No, the sun one.”

“Then why are you telling me?” he asked indignantly. “I’m secretly a drunk, but you don’t see me telling the whole bar.”

“I don’t think that’s much of a secret,” she replied, eyeing his mostly empty mug.

“A lesson in what’s a secret from Ms. I’m-secretly-a-princess in a party hall full of princesses and princes and kings and queens and… You know what? I’m gonna go. Come on booze, this place is no good for you.”

Sapphire laughed as the stallion hobbled away in a wobbly three legged fashion as he hoisted his mug along for the ride. “Okay, point taken. Still, we should be cautious. The former occupant of your seat was—”

“Twilight, I know. I watched the whole exchange,” said Shinning Star, still clutching to Sapphire as a foal would take to her blanket.

Sapphire sighed in defeat and resigned to just hanging there until her sister had her entertainment. Back on her seat, she let out a huff of annoyance as she inspected her dress. “You did wrinkle it. It’s not even mine, Tia; it’s Rarity’s!”

“We’re magical gods, Lulu, I think we can work a few wrinkles out,” replied Shining Star as she waved the bartender over. “A Rising Sun for me, please.”

“And I’ll take that Blueberry Mojito now, please,” added Sapphire. The bartender nodded to the two and left to assemble the drinks. Sapphire closed her eyes and with the briefest touch of magic, undid the binds that held her power in check. A quick glance behind her confirmed that the little trick had gone unnoticed by Twilight and Rarity, who were walking off somewhere. Hopefully to have a good long chat.

But Shining Star noticed. Her eyes narrowed at Sapphire with suspicion. “What was that, Lulu?”

“Me unbinding myself,” replied Sapphire. “Unless you’d rather talk to me through the lens of Merry Sapphire.”

“What?” asked Shining, the confusion clear on her face before Sapphire saw the realization hit her disguised sister before she had a chance to explain. “Right, for Merry you used the personality alterations you were talking about.”

“Binding filters, actually. But yes, Merry does have some unique modifications to her over my previous disguises,” replied Sapphire, pausing for a moment to take her drink from the bartender. “For example, I rearranged the spell’s matrix to reduce the already minor upkeep costs.”

“Truely?”

“Mhm. I could get knocked out cold, dead to the world, as it were, and keep up appearances.”

Shining Star nodded her thanks to the busy barkeep as she took her drink while he slid down the bar to see to another guest. “You’ll share, won’t you? I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since taking the job in the castle.”

Merry reached over and patted her disguised sister on the hoof. “Of course I will. I’ll also include the notes on the new personality filters I’ve added. At times it’s… well, it’s almost like being a different pony. So far, I’ve escaped Rarity’s detection.”

“So far?”

“Merry isn’t a true crystal pony,” continued Sapphire, pausing to drink and lick the blueberry foam from her lips. “The spell matrix reflects the Crystal Heart’s field of detection back on itself as a false positive, showing back what it believes to see, like a mirroring effect. A quick glance and Merry Sapphire seems just like any other crystal pony, but if Rarity were to focus hard enough…”

“She’d figure it out.” Shining Star nodded in understanding. “But I have heard that Lady Sapphire has a bit of an issue with alcohol.”

Sapphire glared at the unicorn, who couldn’t help but snicker. “True. It was an unintended consequence of the filter binding. I wasn’t intentionally avoiding alcohol up until that point, but I’m glad I did. The results could have been much worse. It was terrible, the filters plus the drink almost knocked me out entirely. By the time I was able to purge myself clean of the drink’s effect, I had found myself in a broom closet.”

“I hadn’t heard that part,” said Shining Star as she took a sip from her drink.

“I’m better now,” Sapphire said after a sip of her own drink. “I fixed the math on the offending filter.”

“Reminds me of that alfalfa incident. Didn’t yo—”

“One more word and I’ll end you here and now,” growled Sapphire with a smirk.

“Lulu, are you…” Shining Star paused to find the right words for her sister. “Are you going to be okay around Rarity?”

“Whud mayh woo say wthat?” asked Sapphire, licking down the salt cube again.

“Luna, the two of you… I’m just concerned about… this getting too personal for both of you. Her… judgments and nature getting in your way of seeing things clearly.”

“And what of you and Twilight?”

Shining Star bolted up in her seat. “That’s different! She’s always been my student. With Rarity, you’ve been her Honorary Big Sister and—”

“I’m fine, Tia,” snapped Sapphire, before her face softened. “I’m really and truly fine. You need not worry about me. We broke that off long ago.”

“Forgive me, Luna, but I do still worry,” admitted Shining Star. “The air is thick, almost oppressive with the Crystal Heart’s unspoken command for peace and ease, and I think Merry Sapphire is vulnerable to it, despite… or because of your new filters. What happened today? What happened with Rarity? The Nightmare?”

“‘Twas no Nightmare, Tia, it was something far worse.” Sapphire paused and took a long drink from her glass, washing the taste of the salt down. “It was King Sombra.”

“Sombra?” asked Shining Star, her ears flat against the top of her head. Sapphire could see the breath caught for just a moment in her sister’s chest. Finally, she said, “Luna, tell me everything.”

And so she did.

She started with what she knew first, relating the sudden pulse of emotional magic, Rarity’s collapse, and Luna entering into Rarity’s dream. Luna took her time, describing as accurately as possible the condition of Rarity’s mind and her cores, and finally arriving at the battle against the Dark King and its disturbing conclusion.

Watch the southern borders,” repeated Shining Star. “Burn the dead. What is he talking about?”

Sapphire shook her head, as lost as her sister was. “Equestria is south of the Empire, but I don’t think he was talking about Equestria.”

“Are you sure it was a good idea to leave him with Rarity?”

“‘Twas not my decision to make,” replied Sapphire. “Rarity chose to imprison him, instead of destroying him. I placed a lock on his gate that only you or I can open.”

“Yes, because nopony has ever broken one of those seals before,” said Shining Star, not bothering to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

Sapphire rolled her eyes but did little else to rebuke her sister’s comments. “I’m worried, Tia. Something is moving out there. Neither in the darkness nor in the light. I believe Sombra’s warnings have some truth in them, but I know not what.”

“But you do have an idea.” It came out more as a statement of fact, and less of a question.

Sapphire nodded her head. “I think you need to look more closely at Ambassador Blueblood.”

“Blueblood?” asked Shining Star, coughing out a surprised snort, before she placed her drink back down. “What for? He and his family are some of the most prestigious and well-mannered ponies of Canterlot and Equestria. The Blueblood charities have done a lot of good for less fortunate ponies, and he’s funded several academic and medical expansions. I think I’d know if my distant nephew’s family was involved in this shadowy business, Lulu.”

“I know, Tia, I know. And it pains me to offer accusations without more than just these words, but I believe him to be up to something,” said Sapphire. “I fear that he is planning to do a lot more than just staying on top of current affairs.”

“Like what?” asked Shining Star.

“I… I don’t know yet,” replied Sapphire, looking back down at her drink. “I have my suspicions, but no proof. Certainly not enough yet to bring it to Rarity or Twilight’s attention without exposing us.”

“But you do have something.”

Sapphire nodded, looking around to make sure nopony was looking at them. “This morning, I found Blueblood with the Equestrian Guard Liaison, Lieutenant Silver Dash, ordering her to continue to be a spy for him, or else he implied something terrible would happen to her mother. Something about her cancer treatments.”

Shining Star frowned and shook her head. “She’s not in the Arcane Guard so her command is outside of my jurisdiction. Pegasi usually fall under Marshal Firefly’s command, so… What sort of information is Silver Dash giving to him?”

“Blueblood made a mention of intelligence reports,” replied Sapphire. “I’ve managed to get Silver Dash on my side, and she’ll start supplying me with the same information he’s asking for. But I don’t believe it is just Silver Dash; she’s a courier. I fear he may have a network on both sides of the border.”

“That could be explained away. The nobles do love their gossip and any information that can help them play their little games...” said Shining Star. Sapphire caught a faint light behind her sister’s eyes; the keen and cunning mind of a tactician at work as pieces began to click together. “Twilight had a meeting at the embassy today, a group of ponies she hoof picked to help advise her on the growing strife between the Empire and Equestria. She told me how surprised she was about the Shimmering Bay matter. Which Blueblood tol–”

“How did he know about that?” asked Sapphire, slapping a hoof on the bar. “That deal isn’t twelve hours old yet, and yet he already knows? And Twilight knows?!”

Shining Star reached for her drink and took a sip. “Who else knew about Shimmering Bay?”

Sapphire shook her head. “I’m not sure, the Empress kept that close to the chest, as it were. None of the Council knew. Rarity has direct access to the treasury, and then…” Sapphire paused while her eyes narrowed as the piece clicked.

“Ambassador Emerald Shine, the Imperial Representative to the Griffon Republic. He’d been negotiating the deal for months until Rarity got impatient and decided to handle the matter herself. I remember him being rather angry in his own blustery ineffectual way the day Rarity asked him to leave it to her.”

Shining Star nodded in agreement. “Possibly disgruntled. It’s relatively easy to get information out of somepony who’s unhappy or feels slighted with their job. No proof, but an excellent motive. I fear you may be right about Blueblood. Would Silver Dash know more?”

Sapphire shrugged. “Maybe? But I also think he has other connections, with each knowing just enough to help him, but not enough to incriminate him beyond seeming like a bully or a lout.”

This time it was Shining Star’s turn to pause. “He is of the nobility and a government official. If he were to be planning something sinister, he may have the resources and the ponies to pull it off. If he is, and I can’t believe I’m even considering that he is, then the questions become ‘what is he planning’ and ‘when is he planning it?’”

“‘What’, I don’t know. But ‘when’ may be sooner than either of us are ready for. Tia... He gave Rarity the poison pill bill after Rarity refused the telegraph. The one to be signed, of course, by the Senate, but already signed by one Secretary General, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

Shining Star’s mask of calmness and serenity worked on many ponies, but not Luna. And she recognized the worry that pulled on her lips, and the tight panic in her cheekbones. She turned and looked at Sapphire. “A poison pill? Luna, I swear I—”

“I have seen the bill myself, Tia,” said Sapphire. “Though I lacked the discretion and ability to test its authenticity at that time if it is false or real—”

“Lulu, I’d like to think that I would know if Twilight even considered making such a document… a weapon like that,” snapped Shining Star, adding a shudder once she relaxed. “These bills offer only the devastation of war.”

“But without all the deaths...”

Shining Star nodded, finishing her drink in a single gulp. “It was brilliant when we made it.”

“But we never should have made it.”

“It was us or the griffins,” Shining Star muttered over her empty glass.

“Regardless, of that, or the impact of the bill on Twilight and Rarity,” continued Sapphire, a little louder and a little more steel in her voice to drive the point home. “The implications are scary either way. Blueblood knows somepony that either has direct access to Twilight’s most hidden documents, or has access and ability to forge the signatures with enough precision to give the Empress pause.”

“Where is the bill now?”

“I don’t know,” said Sapphire. “Either Rarity still has it or it was retrieved by Blueblood. Nopony has seen it since the Empress recovered in the Throne Room.”

Shining Star sat back, her frown deepening as she stared up at dancing lights across the crystal ceiling. “What would Blueblood get out of this?”

Sapphire leaned back, matching her sister’s pose. “I don’t know. Yet. And all of this? I can’t prove a word of it. ‘Tis no more than speculation that Blueblood or any other noble with half a brain could all too easily explain away, should he be confronted.”

“There is only suspicion,” agreed Shining Star. “But legally, there is not enough for us to go on.”

“I fear for Twilight and Rarity,” said Sapphire. “History is repeating, such as what happened with us, Sombra, and the others after Eventide. What did Sheli call it? It was a dragon word.”

“Rekma, the Drifting Apart.”

“What do we do, Tia? And if you utter some silly thing like hope, I’ll—”

“No,” replied Shining Star. “I think not. For now, I will watch Blueblood. Your fears may be well founded. And if he is not the source of… whatever it is you possibly suspect him of planning, then he is an instigator, or worse, an agent for some other power.”

Sapphire looked at her sister and asked the one question both of them were thinking. “But what power, and why?”

Author's Note:

I wonder how long Blueblood's plans are going to last now.

Thank you all for reading! I know the critical part many of you are looking for isn't here yet, that will be in Chapter 16. But I still hope this chapter was a joy to read and was able to answer some questions and provide a few more. I wanted to pace this and get some things out of the way before Twilight and Rarity sat down.

Some great news is that Chapter 16 is coming out on Friday, 10/16/2015.