chapter four: a sworn promise, a fickle hope
Rarity was never one to pack lightly, so it was no surprise when she arrived at the Ponyville train station carrying seven different suitcases for a four night stay in Canterlot. Her younger sister, on the other hoof, packed far more rationally, with one rather small suitcase which she struggled to hold up with her horn, yet insisted upon levitating the entire way to the station. Rainbow Dash wasn’t there yet, but Rarity was certain that she’d arrive at the last possible second, most likely in a puff of rainbow smoke. The train to Canterlot was arriving in a few minutes, and the brightly illuminated train station was straining Rarity’s eyes- as if that wasn’t giving her enough of a headache, Sweetie Belle was bombarding her with questions from every direction.
“Why are we going back to Canterlot? It’s been over a year!” She bounced carelessly back and forth, talking a mile a minute, “What’s Rainbow Dash’s friend’s name? Is she a unicorn too? Does she have a cutie mark?”
Putting her hoof to her head, Rarity tried to maintain her composure and not yell at her sister just for being excited, “We’re arranging preparations for the Starshine Salutation in Canterlot this year. Rainbow Dash’s friend is named Scootaloo- and I’m quite sure she’s a pegasus, if Rainbow Dash is foalsitting her in her house, it’s in a cloud, after all, and Rainbow Dash says she too, has no cutie mark.”
Seemingly content with those answers, Sweetie Belle took a notepad out from her small bag, something she started doing recently, charmingly mirroring her sister’s affinity for taking notes, “Cool! I’m so excited, I came up with a whole list of things I can do to get my cutie mark in Canterlot, but most of them are about magic… I’ve gotta find some stuff for pegasus ponies, too. Do you think the clouds are different in Canterlot? Oh! Oh! Maybe we can see the Wonderbolts!”
“That sounds lovely, Sweetie Belle,” Rarity nodded, “You know, it’s on the Princess’ list for us to book the Wonderbolts for the show, so perhaps you can convince them to give you a brief show.”
“I know that’s what I’m gonna do!” Rainbow Dash butted into the conversation as she trotted towards the station, beside her, a small orange pegasus filly on a scooter with a pink mane, shaved into a buzzcut that resembled Rainbow Dash’s own, “You know, back before I got this sweet gig with the princess, I was gonna audition for the ‘bolts myself! I could’ve gotten in, too- I bet I could still take Spitfire in a race.” She smirked confidently as she dragged her two large suitcases onto the platform.
“Totally, Rainbow Dash!” The young pegasus leapt up excitedly, flittering her wings quickly, yet barely rising off the ground further than an inch.
“Are you Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle jumped towards her excitedly , “I’m Sweetie Belle!” She grinned as the two struck up a conversation.
Rarity glanced at Rainbow Dash, “Just as I’ve predicted,” She rolled her eyes, the sound of her voice getting drowned out slightly by the sound of the oncoming train, “You’ve arrived at the last possible second.”
“You know it.” She clicked her tongue confidently with a wing-salute motion. “I don’t know what the big deal is, they would’ve waited for us anyway. Nightmare made a big deal about her captain of guard and secretary headed towards Canterlot, we even got a private car!”
Just as she finished her statement, the train pulled into the station and proved her point- with a single train car manned by two female pegasus royal guards, who rapidly escorted Rainbow Dash and Rarity into the doorway, with the scampering fillies following close behind.
“Woah!” Scootaloo’s eyes widened at the empty car, complete with the two guards, an entirely full table of food, and two large, comfortable beds built into the edges of the train, “Do you always get to ride like this?” She asked Rainbow Dash.
Smugly, Rainbow Dash grinned, “Yep,” She took a brief glance, “Well, the beds are new- but that’s only because Ponyville to Canterlot is sort of an all night trip, and we’re only getting on during sleeping hours, so we’ve got some time to crash.”
Excitedly, Sweetie Belle ran towards the bed on the side furthest from the door, “I call this one!” She bounced.
“Well, I suppose we’re sleeping on the right side…” Rarity thought out loud, “Rainbow, are you and Scootaloo alright with the left?”
Scootaloo opened her mouth to speak, but was promptly cut off by Rainbow Dash indifferently responding, “Eh, doesn’t matter to me.”
“Yeah, it doesn’t matter!” The pegasus foal echoed.
Rainbow Dash yawned, “I’m pretty beat, I think I’m gonna turn in early,” She turned towards the two guards and flicked her wing in their direction, causing them to immediately disperse towards the adjoining train car, presumably to stand guard in front of that door, “Scootaloo, you can crash on my bed, just don’t wake me up. Rare, can you watch them?”
“Oh, it’s no problem, darling.” Rarity responded, “I need to go over my checklists one more time, anyway.” She levitated hers and Sweetie Belle’s luggage into an overhead compartment, making certain to summon her sketchpad and notebook along with it.
Sweetie Belle jumped, “And I can show Scootaloo my list of things to do to get our cutie mark in Canterlot!” She grinned, grabbing her small notepad.
Bewildered, Scootaloo looked at Sweetie Belle in shock- and for just a moment, Rarity was worried that she’d found her younger sister’s enthusiasm to be intimidating, or her fixation on her cutie mark to be overwhelming, or an embarrassing reminder of Scootaloo’s own blank flank. However, instead, Scootaloo reached into her own saddle bag, and rummaged through, until she pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, “I have a cutie mark list too!” She bounced, and the two ran off to the other end of the cart to compare lists.
“Oh, for the sake of the Moon, there’s two of them.” Rarity feigned horror to a laughing Rainbow Dash, “Who’s foal is Scootaloo, anyway?”
Uncomfortably, Rainbow Dash shifted her wings, “Oh, uh, her parents aren’t in town much… or, um… ever.” She shrugged, “She’s Holiday’s niece, y’know, the earth pony mare who’s married to Lofty? They live just outside Ponyville.”
Blinking with confusion, Rarity responded, “I don’t know either of those ponies.” She admitted plainly, “When did you meet them?”
“Oh, Scoots is just, well,” Rainbow Dash struggled to articulate what she was trying to say, “I guess she was sort of a fanpony, she would wait outside the Everfree Forest sometimes to try to catch me and get my autograph. Said she wanted to be just like me when she grows up. Didn’t think anything of it, since, y’know, I’m pretty awesome. But, one time, I saw her practicing her scooter tricks out in Ponyville, and she’s pretty good! I told her she had nice moves, and she… pretty much hung on my every word after that. I showed her some tricks- she’s not much of a flyer, or, a flyer at all, for that matter, but she asked if I could… teach her, take her under my wing, or something.”
“Well, that was quite kind of you, giving lessons to your fans,” Rarity smiled.
“Nothing kind about it,” Rainbow Dash insisted, “Scootaloo is awesome, and she’s got a lot of potential! And she was super excited to come to Canterlot, she wants to see the Wonderbolts while we’re here.”
“Ah, yes,” Rarity opened her list, the one that the Princess had given her with her requests for the ceremony. “Well, the Wonderbolts are requested for the performance, she’s asking for some changes from them… I’m also meant to search for a few other ponies, Donut Joe, a pastry chef… Fancy Pants and his wife, of course… a traveling magician called Trixie… Good heavens, I don’t know when I’ll get the time to- um, rest.” She cut herself off at the end.
The real reason Rarity was so desperately looking for a reason to slip away from her royal duties, of course, was the promise she had recently made to Shining Armor. She had vowed to make sure no harm would befall his sister- Twilight Sparkle, and she surely couldn’t do that without finding her to begin with…
Well, perhaps she could. She certainly could just steer the Princess away from the topic of the time-traveling alicorn as best she could, assure her there’s nothing to be found- and perhaps eventually she would move on from the fixation. There was no real reason Rarity ever had to even look at the unicorn Twilight, and yet, she plans on spending her time in Canterlot in search of her- if only for the sake of her own undying curiosity.
“Oh, it’s no big deal,” Rainbow Dash peered over at the list. “You and I could split it up- you can wrangle Fancy Pants and that magician pony, I can take Donut Joe, and we can meet back at the Wonderbolts stadium.”
“I suppose you’re right…” Rarity blinked, “You wouldn’t mind taking Sweetie Belle with you, would you? You know how Fancy Pants can be, never wants foals near him.”
A blatant lie.
“Oh, um, yeah, sure!” Rainbow Dash smiled with a shrug, “But, if that’s the case, I’m gonna hit the hay- just one of them is a hooffull, if you know what I’m saying.” She flew into her own designated bed that they decided upon just minutes before and pulled the blanket over her head, knowing her, she’d probably be asleep within the minute. “Night, Rare.”
“Good night, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity concurred. She looked over at the chattering fillies, still on the ground excitedly sharing items from their lists, if she heard correctly, it seemed as if Rainbow Dash was going to have her hooves full indeed with those two, and she reminded herself to buy her a gift as thanks. “Sweetie Belle, you and Scootaloo will be going with Rainbow Dash tomorrow, she’s going to show you to the Wonderbolts arena.”
Sweetie Belle jumped, “Awesome! I’ve never seen the Wonderbolts in real life! I’ve only ever seen them on Rainbow’s tapes!”
Rarity smiled fondly at her sister’s excitement, “I haven’t met them myself, either, but Rainbow Dash says they’re delightful. I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time.” She yawned, as she stepped into her own bed, “I’ll be turning in, now, I trust that you and Scootaloo will do the same shortly.”
In my dreams, perhaps. She scoffed internally, knowing she’d be lucky if the two fillies fell asleep at all. Using her horn, she raised the blanket to lay down beneath it, and stared out from the window. In the corner of her eye, she saw the moonlight flitter in through the skylight on the top of the train car. She could remember the last time she was on the train to Canterlot, sitting in the adjoining train car with her friends… all of them. Forcing the memory away from her mind, she thought back to her goal- to find Twilight Sparkle.
She thought back to that night, where the alicorn Twilight appeared within her castle only to vanish shortly after. Rarity couldn’t help but envision what another alicorn in her world may do for Equestria.
She’d decorate the castle with brilliant bright hues, and walk the halls with dignity and kindness, not lurk in the shadows and menace her subjects. She’d share her wizardly knowledge with the kingdom, and her library would be restricted to none… and every morning, she’d use her magic to raise the su-
The moon. Raise the moon, of course.
She let the thought lull her to sleep.
It was early in the new night when they had gotten off the train, so all of the lights in Canterlot had been turned on, meaning that it was far brighter than Ponyville was on any given night. It reminded Rarity of times before, it felt as if the shadows moved throughout the night, the lights got brighter and dimmer depending on the time, or where the clouds were, like a strange, artificial sense of sun. It was strangely foreign to even her- but especially to the younger foals. She noticed Sweetie Belle wincing away, keeping her eyes pointed towards the ground. Rarity can’t remember the last time her sister had seen light so bright.
They had opted to stop at Restaurant Row before they set out on their journey to the hotel. They’d already given their bags to an employee who was taking them to the suite while they ate, but they had yet to decide what they’d be doing afterwards. “Well, Donut Joe’s place is in Palace Plaza, and Fancy Pants lives on Ursa Boulevard. So we can meet there, ” Rainbow Dash mulled over her hayburger, while Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo chatted between the two of them, “So you and I could go there tonight- then find Trixie and the Wonderbolts tomorrow?”
“That sounds well,” Rarity nodded, “But, the Princess did want me to assess the state of the palace, so I should do that tonight, as it might take quite some time to go through all that space, determine which room is the best for the viewing of the stars…”
“For sure.” She confirmed, hanging out her tongue exaggeratedly, “And, the fillies and I can get some tasty sweets at Donut Joe’s!” She continued, as if she was hardly paying attention to Rarity’s suggestions and instead solely thinking about the food she would later eat- despite the fact that the hayburger right in front of her was sitting there, still being eaten.
She pondered to herself when she’d have the time to sneak off and look for Twilight, and if she bit off more than she could chew to commit to something like that during her trip to Canterlot, considering just how full her hooves were going to be with the work she’ll be doing throughout the weekend- much less how she’s going to convince Rainbow Dash and Sweetie Belle that it truly took that long to wrangle a magician and put on an act. “When do you think you’ll be at the hotel tonight?”
“I dunno,” Rainbow Dash shrugged her shoulders, speaking with a mouth full of chewed up hay, causing Rarity to look uncomfortably down at her own hooves in disgust. “I’ll finish a little before you, so we can wait in the suite for you.”
She nodded her head, That’s good, she thought. No set time to come home, but I should probably be back before the fillies fall asleep… “That’s perfectly well.” Rarity agreed, flagging down the waiter for the bill.
Digging the bits from her saddle bag, Rainbow Dash agreed, “Cool, cool.: I’ll start heading over to see Donut Joe, come on, girls!” She playfully nudged Scootaloo’s side with one wing as she threw the bits on the table, “Say bye to Rarity!”
“Bye, Rarity!” Both fillies echoed as they followed Rainbow Dash from the restaurant, excitedly bouncing behind her, moving as quickly as their small legs could take them in an attempt to race the speedy mare.
Rarity waved pleasantly as the three left the door. She lifted the bits from her saddle bag with her horn, and placed them neatly beside Rainbow Dash’s messily tossed coins. She summoned her notepad from her side, and looked at the list of things she needed to do. Sighing, she stepped up from her seat and began trotting away from the seat, preparing for a long night ahead.
Rarity walked with her eyes pointed forward while she made the journey over to the old palace, careful to make sure she walked with her head held high. It was a skill she’d practiced since she was a filly, Canterlot ponies walked with their heads craned ever so slightly back, with confidence- Ponyville ponies simply looked at their own hooves as they trudged wherever they may be taken. Now, more than ever, her refusal to look up reveals her to be an outsider- after all, only tourists were blinded by the shimmering streetlights of Canterlot. It wasn’t as if she was a mere nopony anymore, she proudly donned the uniform of a servant of the Princess herself, nopony could ever question her place there. Though, she conceded to herself, it was best that she not give them a reason to.
She’d almost forgotten the route to the palace, although she swore she knew the city as well as she knew the back of her hoof. She squinted her eyes as she looked up to the sign, Palace Plaza, it read. She quickly remembered the route once taken, that if she followed that road for long enough she’d find herself at the old palace- it was likely where the Starshine Salutation would be.
Empty is the word that came to mind as she looked at it. There were a hooffull of lunar guards stationed outside the palace, two unicorn stallions and an earth pony mare- Rarity didn’t recognize any of them, so they were likely residents of Canterlot. They stood at the drawbridge that led to the palace, conversing with a fourth pony… an unfamiliar unicorn mare who wasn’t wearing any royal garb, but rather, what seemed to be a wizard’s robe.
Rarity felt her heart speed up, Surely, it couldn’t be that easy, could it? She wondered silently to herself, Surely, there will be more to finding the elusive Twilight Sparkle than just… following the path, is there? Yet, she couldn’t help but hope, that by some miracle, she ran into her
“Just let me in!” The unicorn mare stamped her hoof with irritation, “I traveled quite a long way to fulfill an appointment with the Princess- and I’m certain she won’t be happy to hear this!”
One of the stallion guards insisted firmly to her, “Ma’am, we told you, we don’t see your name on the list- and the Princess isn’t even in Canterlot tonight.”
“I was supposed to be doing a magic show for the Salutation- and I’m sure that her highness will be angry to hear that you couldn’t secure the greatest, most powerful magician in all of Equestria, just because she wasn’t on your silly list!”
“Hello, dear, are you…” Quickly checking her notepad to make certain, “Trixie Lulamoon?” Rarity interrupted the squabble to question the costume-clad unicorn, wearing a purple wizard’s hat and cape patterned with stars, behind her, a large wagon painted purple and blue. If she wasn’t Twilight Sparkle, and she wasn't the magician, Rarity had some choice words for her about her fashion sense.
The silver-maned mare smirked confidently, radiating ego, “The one and only,” She clicked her tongue, “Who might you be?”
Suddenly, Rarity felt a strange disappointment that she hadn’t quite expected, but decided to push it away before she replied. “I’m Madame Rarity, an associate of the Princess- I’ve been sent to-”
“Oh, yes! See, I told you!” Trixie bounced on the tip of her hooves, as if she lost containment of her excitement, “I heard that I was being considered for entertainment for the Starshine Salutation? I was here waiting for your arrival, but these guards wouldn’t allow me in! I hop- I am confident that the Great and Powerful Trixie will not fail to impress!” Before Rarity could even open her mouth to speak once again, as her eyes were clouded by smoke- and before she had known it, Trixie had already taken her place upon her stage.
Oh, pish posh. Rarity sat down to prepare for the show, having not even realized that there was a stage nearby until just then. She figured, eventually she’d have to sit for Trixie’s stage show, at least she’d be getting that out of the way first.
“Ah! Stage is set.” She sang to herself, before smoke-bombing back into the center of the stage “Behold, the magic, the prowess, the abilities, of the Great and Powerful Trixie!”
Great and Powerful, but surely not humble. Rarity chuckled to herself as she watched the show. It was a short, somewhat meticulously planned show- and although she displayed no incredibly powerful magic, she was surely, at best, a wonderful entertainer- if not a little bit full of herself, considering just how much of it was her talking about her own feats of magic, but it seemed to be a part of the act, and truly, was she ever one to talk? She was clearly very devoted to the Princess, it seemed as if the only pony Trixie respected nearly as much as herself was Nightmare Moon, considering how highly she spoke of her- she seemed to be the picture of a truly devoted subject, which is something that would be appreciated greatly by her. Rarity took note throughout the show to tell the Princess that she’d be a perfectly acceptable addition to the ceremony. Careful to show no indication of whether or not she was pleased with her show, Rarity remarked as they parted ways, “I’ll be in contact, expect a letter within the week.” She nodded her head.
Trixie seemed discontented with this answer, “How’d Trixie do?” She blinked, still speaking of herself in the third, as if she were still on stage, “Shall she prepare for her performance at the celebration?”
Inhaling, Rarity responded plainly, “Well, first, I must receive the Princess’ approval.”
“But you liked it?” She asked, before plainly flicking the wrist of her hoof, “I mean, of course you liked it, why wouldn’t you? I’ll start preparing right away.” She confidently flipped her silver mane, dropping her wizard’s hat onto the ground as she did so- only to quickly pick it back up with her horn and put it on, as if nothing had happened. She looked intently at Rarity to make sure she hadn’t noticed.
Which she did, of course, her eye for detail was absolutely unmatched, but she was immediately focused on a more pressing issue. Her wizard’s hat reminded her of Rarity's purpose in coming to Canterlot- not quite the purpose of securing entertainment, but securing… something else.
Could I…? She wondered. It wasn’t as if merely asking gave away her purpose, but somehow it seemed risky, it seemed dishonest, to reveal herself to somepony who could potentially tell others what she was doing.
Though, it wasn’t as if she was doing anything wrong, was she? As a matter of fact, the Princess had been searching for Twilight Sparkle for the past few nights, was there really much of an issue with Rarity inquiring? No, no, she was assisting the Princess. She did nothing wrong.
“Trixie, dear?” Rarity blinked cautiously. “May I inquire something of you?”
Nervously, the unicorn nodded her head.
Rarity dropped her voice to a whisper, making sure that the guards that lingered somewhat nearby wouldn’t be able to hear her. “Do you know of a unicorn by the name of Twilight?”
Instantly, the fur on Trixie’s back bristled, “Twilight Sparkle?” She blinked irritatedly, “Is she being considered as well?” There was no hiding the disdain in her voice, it was clearly on display for anypony to see, and the whisper that Rarity started was immediately shattered by the unicorn mare’s voice.
“Oh, um,” Rarity hesitated, before ultimately deciding upon, “Yes! You two are the last two ponies I’m considering.” Figuring that the explanation fell into her lap far easier than the true reasoning.
“Ugh,” Trixie huffed, immediately launching into a hardly contained rampage, “That pony has no showmareship, no talent. What, so she knows a few spells, reads a few books and thinks she’s so much better than Trixie?”
If one thing is certain- Trixie knows who she is. Rarity thought to herself, casually sneaking looks to make sure the guards still weren’t paying any attention to the conversation.
“She used to spend all her time holed up in the library, but since the Princess returned, nopony has seen much of her.” Trixie stamped her hoof to the floor, “I say, good riddance.”
“Since the Princess returned?” Rarity tilted her head curiously, “What happened then?”
Shrugging, the unicorn continued, “Not sure. Trixie doesn’t spend much time in Canterlot anymore- I’m a traveling act- haven’t lived here in a long time. When the Princess returned, I was in Manehattan putting on a performance, but anytime I come back to Canterlot, Twilight isn’t here, either. Figured she was one of those ponies, y’know? Got all scared of the dark and cooped up in her house when the sun went bye-bye.”
Rarity knew what Trixie referred to, of course- how certain ponies went into hiding when the Princess came into power, certain that the old ruler would return to rescue them from eternal night. Those ponies grew smaller and smaller as the moons went on, though, as more of them came to accept that Nightmare Moon wasn’t there to hurt them, only to take her rightful throne.
Still rambling on, Trixie continued, “If I were you, I wouldn’t waste my time with her, but if you really need to…” She drawled as long as possible, as if she were still deciding whether or not to reveal this information, before she ultimately sighed and said, “Last I heard, she lived on Crescent Lane.”
“Crescent Lane?” Rarity wondered out loud, “Isn’t that right there?” She tilted her horn towards the left, indicating the very next street, lined with extravagant homes that neared mansions.
“Right by the palace,” Trixie confirmed, “They used to be pretty expensive, since all the royals were right there, but it sort of took a nose dive when the Princess came back. Still pretty expensive, though- but she comes from a noble family, you know?”
Shining Armor’s defensive words echoed in Rarity’s mind, from when he claimed they weren’t nobles to be exact. She couldn’t help but giggle when Trixie confirmed her suspicions, though she continued to inquire as she gestured for the showpony to walk alongside her, unconsciously, she walked towards where she recalled Crescent Lane to be, “Nobles, you say?”
“Oh, definitely.” The blue mare continued, “Their great great grandmother was an important guardsmare for the old Princess- Lieutenant Starbright, it was.”
“You seem to know a lot about royal history, do you fancy yourself a scholar?”
Anxiously, Trixie shuffled her hooves, “No, no, nothing like that.” She admitted, “I just did some research of my own, family history.”
Intrigued, Rarity asked, “Oh, do you have noble lineage?” Although she hadn’t recognized Trixie’s surname, Lulamoon, she wouldn’t be surprised if the unicorn mare had history with the royal family- her cutie mark bears a crescent moon, and her blue coat surely resembles that of some older paintings of Nightmare Moon, those from before she was called that.
“Sort of!” Trixie grinned, “I don’t like to brag, or anything,”
Oh, for the sake of the Moon, what a line. She must’ve simply been waiting for me to ask such a question.
“But my family used to work for the Princess, back in the ancient years,” She shrugged, “I’m a descendant of her last apprentice, Soiree Lulamoon. After Nightmare Moon’s banishment, she left the castle, refusing to work under the… other princess.”
Soiree was a name Rarity had never heard before- she’d never heard of Nightmare Moon taking on an apprentice, even in the ancient years. Though, she was often secretive about her past, even to Rarity. “Fascinating,” she hummed to herself.
“I think so,” Trixie agreed, “That’s why you should pick me as the talent for the show, it’s not as if Twilight has any connection to the mare who would have likely been Nightmare Moon’s successor- if I were you, I wouldn’t bother with her…” She thought intensely for a moment, “How’d she get on your list, anyway? I don’t take her as the type of pony to apply to be a magic act.”
That’s surely a complicated question. Rarity pondered, knowing full well that she couldn’t tell Trixie just why she was looking for her- not only would she sound absolutely out of her mind, to claim that there was a second world in which the pony they’d been talking about was possibly an alicorn princess was, in a word, insane, but Rarity was also certain that Nightmare Moon likely wouldn’t want the news of her existence get out any further than the palace walls- she doubted even those few guards stationed outside the old palace had any idea of the situation. Instead, Rarity settled upon answering Trixie’s question with one of her own, “Why do you seem to despise her so much?”
It was something she had been genuinely curious about, Trixie’s reaction to Twilight’s mere existence seemed to indicate that she hated everything about the pony, angry at the mere fact that she exists. It baffled Rarity, to an extent, though she’d surely hated ponies, possibly more than most ponies do, she struggled to imagine Twilight as somepony who was loathed. How could anypony loathe Twilight? She somehow had a sinking feeling in her chest while she awaited Trixie’s answer.
Trixie rolled her eyes and curiously raised an eyebrow towards Rarity, face painted with a smug scowl, “Something tells me you don’t know her very well,” She chuckled, before flicking her ear to the right, “Crescent Lane is that way. Trixie has to go pack up her wagon and get ready for the performance!”
Rarity rolled her eyes fondly, realizing that, no, Trixie’s egotism truly had nothing to do with her magic act- and she was, in fact, just like that. She summoned her notebook in order to check off meeting with Trixie from her list of things to do… which, unfortunately, is not what she had set off to do that evening. She turned around and prepared to walk back to the castle, to check off her real itinerary item for the night.
Or…
No, no. You came here to do a job, Rarity.
But this is the closest you’ve ever been, isn’t it? She looked down the short distance of the crosswalk between Palace Plaza and Crescent Lane, You are one short crosswalk away from Twilight Sparkle.
Rarity Belle, you have a job to do, you’ve already wasted an hour viewing Trixie’s show, you’re behind schedule, there will certainly be time to search for Twilight Sparkle in a few nights, all you need to do is….
Wait.
The four letter word that had been Rarity’s arch nemesis for her entire life, once again, it was the only thing standing in the way of Rarity’s decision making. She had a job to do, she was a direct servant of the Princess and she has been sent on important royal business- at that moment in time, for the first time in her life, Rarity held the title she’s always wanted to, not the title of a Royal Chamberlain, or a highly esteemed dressmaker- but the real title she’s hoped for her entire life.
At that moment in time, Rarity was the most important pony in Canterlot.
Very important pony,
Twilight Sparkle,
Very important pony.
Twilight Sparkle.
Very important pony…
Twilight Sparkle.
Without wasting another moment thinking about it, Rarity let her hooves carry her to Crescent Lane.
For such a large street, there were only a hooffull of homes- likely because of the massive size of them, Trixie hadn’t exaggerated when she called them mansions. Most of them were painted with a fresh coat of purple, with polished silver moldings. The lights seemed notably dimmer, on this road, though perhaps it was because it was in the direct shadow of the massive palace that loomed overhead. On the steps of one home, she saw a pair of unicorn foals, a filly and a cold, practicing magic with their father supervising them, instructing them on where to point their horns. As she walked by, the stallion looked at her with narrowed eyes,
“May I help you, ma’am?” He asked suspiciously.
Instantly, Rarity picked her head up, realizing that she had once again been walking with her head pointed downward again, though she thought her uniform would give her at least some leeway for the ponies of Canterlot not to judge her so harshly.
“I’m quite alright, sir.” She dipped her head to him, before introducing herself, “Madame Rarity Belle, from the Everfree.”
The pony stiffened up, “Ah, from the Everfree?” He raised an eyebrow curiously, “You look quite small, to be a guardsmare.”
“Well, that’s because I’m not.” She insisted, moderately offended by the insinuation that she was too weak to be a guard, because, let’s face it, they may be correct, “I’m the Princess’ chamberlain and secretary- preparing for the Starshine Salutation.”
Almost instantly, the small colt perked up, “The Salutation is in Canterlot this year?” He suppressed a giggle, causing his sister to jab him in the side with her hoof, “Oh, this is gonna be good!”
“Oh, it’ll be more than good,” Rarity smiled softly at the young colt, “It’ll be splendid, divine, even.”
The foals’ father authoritatively whispered to the two chuckling young ponies, “Cut it out, you guys.” He shot a glare down at them, before turning back towards Rarity, “Apologies, Madame. Do you need any help finding anything in Canterlot? We’d be happy to help you out.” He grinned politely, as if to make up for his questioning from earlier.
She wondered if perhaps this pony could help her in her search for Twilight, seeing as they were very likely neighbors, but she figured, perhaps telling Trixie was enough for one night, the last thing she needs is for permanent, gossipy Canterlot ponies to know what the Princess and her staff were doing at the moment. Shaking her head, she continued, “No thank you, sir.” She turned away to walk further down the road, but, just for politeness’ sake, added “It was lovely to meet you.”
“You too!” He responded, before turning back to his two foals to seemingly scold them for their behavior.
“She’s gonna be so angry!” The filly laughed loudly to her brother.
“Please,” The colt snorted, “She’s gonna put that spell of hers over the whole block!”
Rarity couldn’t help but overhear the two foals' conversation- clearly, somepony was soon to be a very miserable mare. She pondered just what spell they were talking about, and she fought an instinct to go back and ask them what they might be talking about, but their father seemed angry at them, so surely, it wouldn’t help her to intrude. Though, deep down she wondered if they could be talking about her, the pony she was looking for. It would be terribly convenient, but… why would Twilight be made so upset by the Salutation? What spell could she possibly cast on an entire block?
With fascination, she gazed at the mansions lining the streets- she’d always dreamed of living in a place like this- while she much more fancied the modern architecture of Ursa Boulevard, she’d be more than happy to settle for a place like the ones on Crescent Lane… if she could ever afford it in her wildest dreams, that is. Other than the father and foals from earlier, she couldn’t help but notice how few ponies were outside. It made sense, it was the middle of the night, most ponies were working, or at school.
Will Twilight even be home? The thought suddenly hit Rarity. What if she’s at work? I mean, she must have a job, right? Even a mare of noble lineage has a job, how else could she live in a place like Crescent Row?
You, Rarity, have a job to do- which you aren’t doing, by the way! She internally berated herself for continuing to follow this path, yet, her hooves kept moving, and she did nothing to stop them.
She made careful attention to look at the mailboxes, as many of them had the owners cutie marks painted onto them, and if she was familiar with anything about Twilight, it was surely her cutie mark, after all the time she spent trying to determine where she knew it from.
Her mind became filled with thoughts of Shining Armor, and how he and Twilight must’ve grown up on the very road she walked down at that moment. He’d be standing right there, playing some silly sport, Rarity thought, looking towards a lawn, she then gazed at a patch of cobblestone beneath a street lamp, And she’d be sitting there, reading, pretending to be watching him throw the ball, only throwing it back whenever it just so happened to land squarely in front of her. She giggled at the thought, Who would’ve thought that those two foals would become the Captain of the royal guard, and an alicorn princess?
The thought came naturally to her, and just as naturally came the abrupt pause in her stream of consciousness as she realized just how wrong she was. Shining Armor wasn’t the Captain of the royal guard, Rainbow Dash was- Shining Armor was nothing more than a disgraced, failure of an ex-soldier locked in a basement, and Twilight was almost certainly not an alicorn princess- as a matter of fact, she was seemingly a long list of things, not one of which was an alicorn princess.
It all came back to that one question, the question she’d asked every night since Twilight’s arrival- although it had been so little time, Rarity has felt like it’s been forever since she first proposed that one simple question; Twilight Sparkle, who are you?
You are a unicorn scholar, you have great magical abilities. Far greater than most ponies. You’ve read far more books than nearly anypony I know, and spend most of your time in the library, studying. What is it you’re studying for, Twilight? And, do you really fear the night, as Trixie said? I must know everything written in the pages you keep your eyes so firmly locked upon- what will you ever do with all that magic? What are you here for? Wh-
“Ouch!” Rarity yelped in pain, realizing that she’d been so lost in thought, she’d walked herself directly into a wall, “Rarity you clumsy fool….” She exclaimed, before looking up to realize that, as a matter of fact, she hadn’t run into anything at all, there was no wall, there was… nothing.
She reached her hoof out to touch the empty space she hit her head against, only to find that her hoof slid easily right through it. She held her hoof to her head and touched where she was hit- it was painful to the touch, so she knew she didn’t just… imagine it. After all, how would that even work, for one to imagine such pain out of nowhere? If she ran into a wall, she’d know she ran into a wall. Of this, Rarity was certain.
She felt a strange sensation, as if her heart was beating suddenly quicker, What… happened? She found herself at a loss for words. She stopped to look inside of the strange invisible wall- behind it was a house, just like any other home on Crescent Row, large, extravagant, well maintained- though, intriguingly enough, unlike every other home on the row which sported a fresh coat of purple paint, this home still maintained the original white walls.
The mailbox, She remembered once again to check the sides of it. It hung entirely open, revealing an entirely empty box, and just slightly obscuring the door of it, but when Rarity craned her neck enough, she was quite certain she could make out the edge of what appeared to be a pink and white six pointed star.
This was it.
She couldn’t believe it- that it was right there in front of her, that she was right there in front of her. She tried to sneak a peek through the windows, the lights were all on, but she couldn’t catch a glimpse of anypony, all she could see was a bookshelf, with one book removed from the shelf. She narrowed her eyes to see the titles, but couldn’t make any of them out. She doubted she would know exactly what they were, anyway, Twilight didn’t strike Rarity as the Shadow Spade type. Perhaps she could introduce her to them, one night, she resolved.
Gently, this time, Rarity tried to walk through the space. One hoof slid in, perfectly fine, as did the next one, though she felt a strange sensation, as if she was stepping through cold water, only to come out on the other side perfectly dry. She quickly shoved her head through, feeling the inexplicable need to shake off the nonexistent water from her mane, but resisted, as to avoid messing up her coat. She prepared herself to walk through- she closed her eyes, and put one hoof in front of the other.
“Owww! Oh, for the sake of the Moon!” Rarity frustratedly yelled, feeling the sensation of a powerful wave crashing directly against her, pushing back any part of her that passed through the barrier.
Suddenly, though, from the other side of the strange magical wall, a noise was heard, the clicking of slow, deliberate hoofsteps against a wooden floor, getting louder and louder. The jingling of a doorknob, as it lit up with a magenta hued unicorn magic before opening, revealing the mare Rarity had longed to see more than anypony else for the last few nights.
Her blue mane was tied up into a messy bun, with strands of hair falling out of a golden hair tie, she wore gold-framed reading glasses and had a chain to keep them around her neck draping from the sides. Her purple eyes looked tired, bearing slight bags underneath them, and a squint on her face that revealed the fact that it’d been quite a few nights since she’d seen bright Canterlot streetlights. She was just barely taller than Rarity, standing at a height shorter than most unicorns she’d seen, yet smaller than the last time she’d encountered… her. Two things, however, were for certain. One being, that on her flank, she bore a pink and white six pointed star as a cutie mark, surrounded by five, white, smaller stars. The other, perhaps more important revelation, was the confirmation of something Rarity had already known, and yet was somehow disappointed to see with her own two eyes- the mare bore a horn, but no wings. Twilight Sparkle was a unicorn.
“It’s not going to work.” The unicorn said simply to an awestruck Rarity, as if it were the most obvious thing. “You can’t get past it- not wearing that, anyway.”
She gestured sarcastically with her hoof as she spoke, indicating Rarity's Lunar Palace uniform. More specifically, she pointed directly to the center of it, the crescent moon shaped silver badge which Rarity used to ward off the Timberwolves, as she walked through the Everfree Forest at the beginning of each night.
“I- um, I-” Rarity began, only to be cut off once more.
“I’m not inviting you to take off your clothes, or anything,” She clarified matter-of-factly, “I’d really prefer if you weren’t here at all- clothes or not. Just so we get that out of the way.”
“I, ah, hm. Excuse me?” She finally managed to choke out what appeared to be a semi-coherent sentence.
“You’re a Lunar Servant. You don’t dress like the other guards, and, to be frank, you’re a little bit small.”
“Why does everypony kee-”
“Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem, but you didn’t even try to disable the barrier, so you either don’t have much magic, or much confidence in your magic. Either way, you’re probably not a guardsmare.” She continued blathering on to Rarity, staring her up and down, taking in each and every detail about her, “But, you’re still wearing a uniform, so you’re a high ranking servant- you’re not a cook, or a cleaner, or anything like that. You don’t look like you’re used to the lights, so I’m gonna say you’re not from Canterlot… Manehattan? Trottingham? Ponyville? Baltimare?” Upon realizing that her questioning was eliciting no response, and that Rarity had been stunned into silence, she rolled her eyes, and added on, “You can just stop me whenever I get there,”
Rarity jumped, not expecting the sudden pop quiz, “I’m from, um,” She stuttered.
“Don’t tell me you forgot where you live,” Twilight groaned, a strand of her bangs coming misplaced as she hunched her neck in irritation.
What is wrong with you?! Rarity yelled internally at herself, Just say something!
“P-Ponyville?” The white mare hesitantly confirmed, inexplicably uncertain of this fact, despite the fact that it was without a doubt true.
“Ponyville?” Twilight repeated after her, demandingly, with a twinge of mocking of Rarity's accent, “Are you asking me or telling me?”
“T-telling you, of course!”
“Well, then act like it, for Celestia’s sake.”
“Ponyville.” Rarity stated, as a fact, rather than a question.
“Ponyville.” She confirmed, finally satisfied with Rarity’s response enough to continue without further questioning, “Right outside of Everfree, you’re a direct employee, here on official business, that’s why you’re still wearing the uniform.” She stated plainly, with no hatred, or malice in her voice, just an air of complete and total indifference to anything else that Rarity may have to say to her, “I have no interest in your official business. Goodbye.” She said, before turning back around and walking to re-enter her home, lighting her horn to turn the doorknob.
“W-Wh, huh?” The stunned unicorn stood outside, mouth hanging open- for the first time in quite a long time, completely and utterly speechless, “W-Twilight!”
To this, she stopped in her tracks, and loosened her magic’s grip around the door, “You know my name?” She asked cautiously.
“Why, yes I do,” Rarity sputtered, putting on a face of confidence as best she could, realizing that any other slip up would surely result in Twilight slamming the door in her face once and for all, “Y-you’re Twilight Sparkle, yes?”
She approached closer to the barrier around her home, with a deliberate slowness to her almost menacing steps, “How do you know my name?” She narrowed her eyes intensely, seemingly becoming angrier with each word.
A complicated question, Rarity realized, not entirely sure how to answer the question. She’s a magic enthusiast, is she not? Perhaps she’ll take intrigue in the tale of her time traveling, alicorn counterpart. Or, perhaps she’ll think I’ve got a pin cushion for a brain and make sure her magic barrier breaks my hoof, while I’m at it. Ultimately, she settled upon, “I met you, um, before, but n-”
Without missing a beat, Twilight cut her off to protest the explanation presented to her, “We’ve never met,” Her visible skepticism grew greater, and her eyes threatened to walk away once more, “If I did, I would surely remember it. It’s not every day a Lunar Servant arrives unannounced at my house and slams herself into my barrier… multiple times.”
Defensively, Rarity turned up her nose, “Why, of course we haven’t met,” She huffed, “But I met you! I mean, I didn’t meet you, per se, but I met a version of-”
“I’m going to ask you once, and I’m not going to ask you again,” Twilight’s horn sparked threateningly, her voice dripping with anger, “Who are you, and how do you know my name?”
Quickly, Rarity jolted backwards, “W-Wha, Twilight, please, calm down!”
“Tell me!” She demanded over the crackling of her magic sparks, continuously walking closer and closer, the magic in her horn growing with every step.
Rarity took a deep inhale, Keep it together, darling, she’s a good mare, remember? Not everypony can simply… become an alicorn princess, can they? She finally allowed herself to speak, through long, drawn out words, as if she were reading off of a script, as if she were back at the palace. She’d spent a long time learning to be needlessly hostile to ponies who ask her questions. She tried to envision Twilight as a mere tourist, asking her intrusive questions about the inner workings of the castle. She was in control, she tried to affirm to herself. “Excuse me, madame, but you best be careful where you point that horn of yours- I am not a common trespasser and I refuse to be treated as such,” She demanded, hoping that Twilight wouldn’t immediately notice her trembling hooves, “My name is Madame Rarity Belle, I am the secretary and chamberlain to Her Highness, Princess Nightmare Moon- and you would not believe how long the few nights I have waited to meet you have been. I have nearly been blasted to bits by my own boss, I have had to face down ponies I never wished to see again- your brother, if you’re curious, and I am currently lying to my dearest friend about my whereabouts so I would appreciate just the slightest bit of patience as I struggle to complete my senten-”
“My brother?” Twilight cut her off, the magic on her horn fizzling out immediately, “You’ve seen Shining Armor?”
“Twilight,” Rarity whined, completely forgetting the tough-mare act she was in the middle of putting on, “I was in the middle of telling you to allow me to complete my sentences, so I would appreci-”
“Wait.” She insisted, “What did you say your name was?”
Rarity huffed with irritation, having completely given up, “Madame Rarity Belle, secretary and cha-”
Breathlessly, Twilight’s eyes shot wide open, and the angry demeanor in her face dropped just as suddenly as it appeared, “You’re Rarity?”
“Why, yes of cours-”
Immediately, with a light touch of magic, Twilight removed the moon shaped medallion from her chest and wrapped it in a magenta bubble, pushing it through the barrier with ease. She paced back and forth in front of her door, arching herself over to see the side of Rarity’s body, “Diamonds, diamonds, diamonds…” She muttered to herself, the corners of her lips turned downward pensively, the gears in her brain visibly turning.
“Twilight, dear,” Rarity asked out loud, despite how little Twilight seemed to be listening to anypony other than her own, repetitive mumblings, “Do you plan on letting me in on what in the wide wide world of Equestria is happening?”
With one hoof, she gestured to Rarity, “You can come inside,” She started slowly, “But you’re going to answer every single one of my questions. Does that sound like something you can agree to?”
Rarity stuttered, “Why- I, it depends, what will you be asking me?”
Twilight raised an eyebrow suspiciously, “Seems like you came quite a long way to find me- doesn’t really look like you’re in the position to bargain with me, are you?”
Pondering this question, Rarity stood silently for a moment. There were certainly reasons not to trust her- as a matter of fact, the reasons to distrust her eclipsed the reasons to trust her in every sense of the word. When push came to shove, she truly knew nothing about the mare who stood before her other than her name, but then again, it seemed as if Twilight could say the same for her. She gazed up at the eager unicorn and saw flickers of familiar impatience in her eyes, it echoed her own. She hesitated, before her was Twilight Sparkle, the alicorn princess stripped of the wings and of the title she never bore. The promise Rarity made to Shining Armor hung heavy in the air, the one, tangible excuse she could come up with that she wanted so badly, against all reason to say;
“As you wish, Twilight Sparkle.”
this is the LONGEST i've taken to write one of these chapters, i essentially rewrote the thing twice, while having covid for the first two drafts, but ultimately, i'm feeling okay about how it ended up! so sorry to the people i said i'd post it in the next week only for it to be like... three months gjkldsjgklds. i also wasn't expecting it to be so long?
but, hey! they finally met! is that anything? as i've said, waning moon isn't a slowburn it's kinda like putting your hands under lukewarm tap water and waiting to get third degree burns. but i'm getting somewhere probably!
the next chapter will be out soon, i've already begun with it! thank you sm to everyone who's been reading and leaving nice comments they mean the world to me 
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Thank you for the update.
I know Starlight is a very powerful unicorn, but since when do unicorns get called wizards?
11396015
haha np! thank you for reading it
11396030
mostly in cases like starswirl, and sunburst (kinda)! i've sort of interpreted it as unicorns who have made magic/the study of magic their jobs. i figured it was the best way to describe starlight based on the perspective that shes a powerful unicorn and the pov character wouldn't really know much abt her
Nice chapter boss
Hey, I just wanted to let u know that I have been following this fic for a while now (I just recently created an account tho) and I’m absolutely hooked. I also wanted to tell you that there are probably plenty of others like me who are reading but not commenting, so don’t get discouraged. Anyway, I’m rambling, but I hope you continue this fic and I’m excited for the next chapter (although no rush, life gets busy sometimes).