The Earl and the Marchioness Again
The more, therefore, an aristocracy calls to its aid its innate forces, - its impenetrability, its high spirit, its power of haughty resistance - to deal with a crisis, the graver the danger.
“On Governance”, The Equestrian Encyclopedia of General Knowledge
Fine clothes are a passport into good society, if with them one possesses a knowledge of savoir faire. We would not believe, or state that an elegant suit of clothes would make a gentlemare or gentlestallion of Patrick or Bridget, for there is something more required than the outer appearance; but we do know that a gentlestallion shabbily attired fails to make the same impression upon us, as one who is well-dressed. And also that the knowledge of being well-dressed -- not necessarily in a very expensive attire, but becomingly and suitably dressed, does give one an ease of manner, and an unconsciousness of self, which can never be obtained, when one is conscious of looking badly, i.e., dressed in clothing which is out of date, or fits very badly, or does not blend harmoniously with one's complexion, height, or figure.
“On Deportment”, The Equestrian Encyclopedia of General Knowledge
I closed the door behind me and breathed a sigh of relief. I thanked the Magic my Luck was still running since there was no other explanation for how well that went. I had much of the day still ahead of me, so I trotted to check on the plane, then decided it was time and past time for me review my T’ai Chi katas. I found a quiet spot and started, moving as slowly as possible. When I finally broke concentration after kata 120, there stood the sheriff along with a good two dozen other townspeople who had gathered. Some even had folding chairs.
The locals saw me notice them and started clapping, cheering and whistling. I gave a T’ai Chi bow and somepony tossed me a towel since I was wringing wet.
“C’mon, Captain Mad, let’s go home and get some supper,” said the sheriff as he put a forehoof over my shoulder.
I just grinned as we turned toward his house.
The next morning, I cleaned my room again, had another very pleasant breakfast, then thanked my excellent host and hostess. I stopped by Marcia’s but she wasn’t home, so I counted my duty done and retrieved the plane. I flew over the town, then waggled my wings at the sheriff and at Mrs. Brickle before heading back up the tracks.
I landed in Appleloosa to a mob of relatives and ended up staying there until the 24th. Everypony had to have a ride in the plane and since they were relatives, well, I was happy to do it. I played with my young cousins, too, and found one who was an extremely promising future mechanic. She was only 8 but had put together a rubber band powered plane of her own. We flew it, I made a few modifications and then of course all the foals had to have one.
I waved good-bye the morning of the 25th, found the tracks and headed for Lord Cecil’s estate. I made good time and got there right at noon. I flew over the house, banked, flew back even lower and then landed on the racetrack.
I climbed out of the plane and was retrieving my saddlebags when the racer came tearing along and stopped next to me. It was Lord Cecil and Lady Gabrielle, Fleur looking very fetching in her white leather helmet with matching goggles. As they got out, I gave a half bow. Both returned it, then shook my right hoof.
“By Godfrey, Maker, you’ve done it again!” said Lord Cecil, forehooves on hips while he stared in admiration at the plane.
“She is beautiful, Maker,” said Fleur.
“Thank you, Milady. And only one of two, Milord,” I said, tapping on the aluminum skin. “I’ll make one more for myself, then retire this model.”
“Scootaloo 1,” Lord Cecil read. “I say, I remember that little filly from when I visited Ponyville. Always tearing around with the other two.”
“She’s the best pilot in the World now, Milord. She earned her wings just before I left and is qualified to teach others.”
“Well, I’m dashed! Shame Fall couldn’t join you this time.”
“Oh, you’ll see much more of her, Milord, never fear, when she starts building planes of her own.”
“Well, then! Lunch first, then a ride?”
“Delighted, sir.”
I sat in the rumble seat as Lord Cecil drove us back to the house. There was Fabersham to greet us, as always the perfect head butler. I asked about his youngest and he said she was working for Lady Astrid as a lady’s maid which was quite the position. I told him I’d catch him up on Fall later.
We had a very pleasant lunch and I kept the conversation light. After lunch, we drove back to the track and I took both up in the plane. Fleur proved an excellent student and was flying by day’s end. Lord Cecil was no slouch, either, and I thought another two days and both would be ready to solo or at least not crash the plane.
I did a touch-and-go, then let Fleur do the same. Lord Cecil bounced us around a bit but recovered well; he had a cool head from racing. We did that a half dozen more times, then I had Fleur land us for the day. She coasted the plane to a stop, then gave us a grin of triumph. Once again I reminded myself she was French after all.
I complimented both and then I showed them how to shut down the plane. I’d included a custom made MCU with it and told both it would revolutionize the World once Jon started making them en masse. Lord Cecil wanted me to tell him how it worked but I begged off citing a proprietary invention which wasn’t mine. Like any good host, he was fine with that.
We drove back to the house and Fabersham showed me to my room. I’d brought my tails and laid out my new cape with it; I thought I’d sweep it off as I walked into the dining room for a dramatic entrance. I ran a shower, then sang Listen to the Mockingbird in it since I was missing AJ:
I’m dreaming now of my Halley,
Sweet Halley, sweet Halley,
I’m dreaming now of Halley,
For the thought of her is one that never dies
She's sleeping in the valley,
The valley, the valley,
She's sleeping in the valley,
And the Mockingbird is singing where she lies
Listen to the Mockingbird, listen to the Mockingbird,
Listen to the Mockingbird still singing oe'er her grave,
Listen to the Mockingbird, listen to the Mockingbird,
Still singing where the weeping willows wave
I finished it and sang snatches from a few other songs, then got dressed. I opened the room door at 5 ‘til 6 to find Fabersham along with Lady Gabrielle and several of the other staff in the hall. They all applauded and I made a half bow while swirling my cape. My, that was fine, to swirl a cape at last! I couldn’t wait for Lady Magic to see it.
“I did now know you could sing so well, Maker,” said Fleur, taking my forehoof so I could escort her into the dining room.
“We often sing in the fields, Fleur, when we’re close enough for a duet. And of course we sing in the evenings, particularly during the Winter months. AJ plays several stringed instruments and I can play the piano myself.”
“How wonderful! Will you play for us after supper?”
“If I can warm up, Fleur; I haven’t been at a keyboard in weeks.”
After supper, we retired to the small parlor. Fabersham whisked away a cover and there was a superb Steinmare, the finest I’d ever seen. I used magic to tune her, then ran though some four-octave scales starting with C major and ending with B flat minor. Lord Cecil and Fleur clapped madly when I finished even though I told them I was just warming up.
I played a few classical pieces including Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman, then insisted both sing the chorus of Listen to the Mockingbird, Nelly Bly and Goober Peas. Both did, Lord Cecil in a tuneful if slightly nasal baritone and Fleur in a pitch-perfect soprano. Fabersham asked permission for the staff to listen and they stood around the walls, all of them right down to the gardener. I insisted they sing as well, so we had quite the choir.
I took a break after an hour and played while Fleur sang Ah, Les Crocodiles and few other fun French songs. Lord Cecil begged off since he said the songs he knew weren’t fit for mixed company. Next I sang some of the milder sea shanties including A-Roving and Drunken Sailor which caused much hilarity, nobles and staff alike belting out:
A rovin', a rovin',
Since rovin's been my ru-i-in,
I'll go no more a roving,
With you fair maid!
And
Way, hey and up she rises!
Way, hey and up she rises!
Way, hey and up she rises!
Ear-lie in th’ mornin’!
I looked around as I played, ponies noble and common laughing, clapping, loving life and was so moved I almost had to stop playing. In between songs, I had to wipe my eyes more than once. Only Fleur noticed and I saw her worried expression but pretended I didn’t. I won’t let this end, I thought, I swear it as Guardian.
I played Tell Me Ma and used Fleur’s name as the “Belle of Canterlot” which caused her to blush even while she clapped and sang along. My final number was Catch the Wind, a strange, haunting song and one of the few songs Jon liked. It made me think of my promise to sing at his wedding and I almost lost my composure again.
I didn’t, though, and rose to take a bow to raucous applause and whistles. The staff went back to their quarters or night duties and I wished my host and hostess a good night. I rinsed off in the bathroom, brushed my teeth and sat staring out at the gardens again. No moon tonight, so there wasn’t much to see but I found it soothing.
I heard a light knock on my door which I’d expected.
“Come,” I said.
Fleur slipped into my room with all her stealthy grace, then came and leaned against my left foreleg. When she looked at me I kissed her nose and somewhat to my surprise, she kissed my nose back. I thought of Rainbow Dash and did cry then, shaking but not making a sound.
Fleur just waited until I finished.
“Maker, what is it? Will you tell me?”
I nodded and said, “Day after tomorrow, Milady. You and Lord Cecil both. It’s too terrible to talk about now and I want these next two days to be ones we enjoy.”
Fleur rubbed her muzzle under my chin, then said, “Very well. Yes, let’s have a fine time, Benjamin.”
And she was gone. I sighed, then said my mantra: every day to the fullest.
And so the next two days were. We flew the plane, timed each other in the racer (Fleur won), galloped across the estate, went on picnics and had a splendid time. The second afternoon we all galloped to a gazebo during a sudden rain shower, Fleur between Lord Cecil and me. As we watched it rain, Fleur looked at both of us, one after the other.
“Je t'aime, mes beaux étalons,” she said, kissing Cecil’s muzzle and then mine.
“Je t'aime, ma petite pouliche” “Je t'aime, ma Dame” Cecil and I answered.
Finally, the second evening came. As we rose from dinner, I asked if there were somewhere we could discuss a Level 6 threat. Fleur and Lord Cecil looked at one another, then Fancy Pants led us to his locked study. He produced a key, opened the door, let us through and locked the door behind us.
We all lay in front of the unlit fireplace facing one another, our bodies spokes in a triangle. I took a breath.
“Lady Gabrielle de Rochechouart, I wish to invoke the Hand of the Council.”
Fleur nodded. “The charge?”
“Violation of the Fourth Law.”
Both unicorns stared at that, but Fleur kept to the form.
“The lawbreaker?”
“Princess Celestia, Senior Ruler of Equestria.”
“What?!?” Fleur was on her hooves, then backed away from me. “Are you insane, Maker?”
Lord Cecil went pale, then looked very sad. “No, he isn’t, Fleur.”
“Alistair, not you, too! Don’t you, either of you, realize you’re speaking treason!?! It’s the knife for both of you if Lady Astrid finds out.”
Fancy Pants sounded tired. “She already knows, Fleur.”
“Cecil, what…?”
Lord Cecil interrupted her. “Hero, you’re a 6?”
“Yes, Milord.”
“Now you’re a 7. Only three other ponies - Princess Luna, Chancellor and Lady Astrid - know what I’m about to tell you and Fleur.” Lord Cecil took a deep breath. “The Princess hasn’t raised the Sun in over a month. Luna’s been doing it for her although for reasons we don’t understand, Princess Celestia won’t admit Luna is helping.”
I nodded while poor Fleur stood with her mouth open. “Dark Magic effects the mind as well as the body, Milord. Soon she’ll begin to hallucinate. And the Dark Magic infection was why she lost to Chrysalis at the wedding and why the changelings managed to tear through into our World as well.”
Lady Gabrielle collapsed next to Cecil. “No! It can’t be! When? When could she have used Dark Magic, and more importantly, why?”
“I don’t know, ma petite. Hero of the Realm?”
I nodded and held out my right forehoof. Lord Cecil’s and Fleur’s met mine and we merged. In a few minutes, they knew all I knew.
After I released both, Cecil threw up on the hearth. Fleur went a deathly pale but wasn’t sick although it looked like she wanted to be.
“The griffons!”
I nodded. “And now I know my Purpose, Milady.” I used my cleaning spell to take care of Lord Cecil’s vomit and he nodded to thank me although he was still shaking.
“Horrible,” Fancy Pants said. “To kill a land. To kill a World!”
“And yourself eventually, Milord, in the most terrible way imaginable.”
They looked at one another, then at me.
“What do we do, Hero of the Realm?” asked Lady Gabrielle.
I told them.
We left the study without speaking to one another, lost in our own thoughts. I went to my room, bushed my teeth and sat staring out the window. I was calm again now that my aristocratic friends knew and I suspected I’d stay calm from now on. It was the way of things, I thought, and felt at peace.
I heard my bedroom door open. Fleur ghosted to my left and Lord Cecil to my right. Both slid their forehooves over my back and both were shaking, Lord Cecil crying without a sound like I did the other night. I put my forehooves around both and held them as tightly as I could. I wrapped both in my magic field and sent them reassurance. I am Guardian, I sent, I’ll give my life for you. I am Guardian, do not fear, I’ve trained for this, this is my Purpose. Confidence is high. Funny how that last phrase we’d used in the Guard always worked so well.
Soon both settled and we stared out the window together for a good 10 minutes, saying nothing.
“Call me Alistair when it’s just us and Fleur, Maker,” said Lord Cecil finally.
“You honor me with your Private Name, sir. I thank you. Alistair,” I continued, “I know how much you love Fleur. Marry her and give her foals. If I’ve learned nothing these past few months, it’s you must seize the day and live each day to the fullest.”
Alistair leaned forward at the same time as Fleur.
“Marry me?”
“I will, mon cher,” answered Fleur. “I’d like a Midsummer wedding. Will you sing for us, Ben?”
I pretended to be put out. “Honestly, here I go, off to save the World, and you two plan a wedding right in the middle of it. Will you at least put it off until after Sixth? I have to sing at Jon’s wedding then. Egad, I hate weddings and here I have to attend two in a row!”
Alistair laughed. “I say, if you don’t save the World, you won’t have to attend either one.”
I joined in. “Heeeyyy, that’s right! I hadn’t thought of that. Whew, a way out at last!”
Fleur, appalled, hissed at both of us as we doubled over laughing. “What’s the matter with you two? Stop that!” That made us laugh even harder, of course. Fleur never did join in, just looked annoyed and cursed us in French.
We soon sobered although it was genuinely funny. “Ah, me. Whoo! Ahem, I’ll see you both in the morning, yes? Alistair, if you could please fly me home tomorrow, it’s time for me to tell the family what I’ve told you.”
Both nobles nodded. “Thank you, Maker,” said Fleur, and kissed me on both cheeks.
“’Night, my friends.”
The Price
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
“Poems for Mages and Mechanics”, The Equestrian Encyclopedia of General Knowledge
The black plain again.
“Blood and magic, Brother-in-Law,” I heard.
I turned and there was Apple Bloom.
“Sister-in-Law,” I answered, then kissed her nose.
Apple Bloom kissed my nose in return, then held out her right forehoof. In it was a single multi-colored apple seed. A Zap Apple, a magic fruit which only Granny and Apple Bloom could grow and only under very specific conditions.
“Blood and magic, Maker,” she said, dropping the seed in my right forehoof. Then she turned and pointed at a spot next to a dead tree.
“Was this is the place, Bloom? Was this where she cast the spell?”
Apple Bloom just smiled, then slowly dissolved into black sand.
“Blood and magic, Maker,” the Wind whispered to me.
Of course.
I woke up, smiled to myself, then went back to sleep and enjoyed the soundest sleep I’d had in weeks. After breakfast on 28th before I boarded the plane, I gave Fleur a French double kiss and she returned the same.
“I’ll do what I can, Maker.”
“Thank you, my Lady. Likely I’ll lay low until the 10th of Third although I do need to talk to Ren and to Lady Astrid.”
Fleur nodded, then blew us a kiss as Alistair taxied and took off.
“Tough to do better than that, I tell you what, Alistair,” waving to Fleur as we passed back over the track.
“I know it. You were right, Maker. I should have asked her years ago.”
We talked of this and that on the flight. Alistair had some of the funniest stories I’d ever heard in my life about his time in the Navy and kept me laughing until I had to beg him to stop. I did some risqué Rodney Dangerfield jokes and he had to let me fly the plane until he could see again after wiping away the tears of laughter.
We landed at my field in Ponyville around 10. I hopped off and shook Alistair’s hoof.
“10th of Third,” he said.
I waved a hoof, then shut the door. I was back and it was time to face the family. First, though, Rarity, workshop, a pair of old saddlebags…and some seeds.
I trotted to Rarity’s, donned my cape and slammed through the shop’s front door. Using magic to make my cape flutter, I jumped into the middle of the floor, stuck a pose and yelled out, “Lo, the conquering hero comes!”
“Right with you!” I heard from the back. Curses, foiled again! No, wait! I fetched one of the sissy chairs Rarity had out for customers, then took the same stance I did for Marcia. When Rarity came out of the back, I delivered the line in a loud voice: “Let her come and find me for I stand at the head of my troops. What will Death do to me here?”
Rarity laughed and clapped her hooves in delight. “Yay! Bravo! Encore, encore!”
I grinned back, then used magic to flip my cape into her front hooves.
“Have a look, Gorgeous.”
Rarity knew fabric better than almost anypony in the World and she took her time looking over the cape. After a few minutes, she looked up.
“Benjamin, this is wonderful, just wonderful! Where in Equestria did you get it?”
“Muncy Valley. Here, I brought some swatches. The cape’s wool is from black sheep so there’s no dye, but Marcia makes her own dyes for her colored fabrics.”
Rarity put on her reading glasses and looked over the swatches. I wrote out Marcia’s name and address while she did.
Rarity looked up and nodded decisively. “I’ll take anything she can make, Benjamin, I don’t care what it costs,” she said, putting away her glasses. “What did you pay for the cape?”
“100 bits plus a 10 bit tip.”
“I could get three times that in Manehatten. Yes, I most certainly want to meet this weaver.”
“Before you die, you mean?” I asked.
“Well of course before then. What a thing to say! Honestly, Benjamin, sometimes you…”
“Knock, knock.”
Rarity stopped mid-rant and asked, “Who’s there?”
“Interrupting Cow.”
“Interrupting Cow, wh…?”
“Moooooo!” I yelled.
Rarity laughed in spite of herself.
I kissed her nose, retrieved my cape, swirled it up to the ceiling and let it fall across my shoulders.
“And so I’m away, Fair Maiden!” I gave a sweeping bow, kissed Rarity’s hoof and she curtsied in answer. I turned and raced toward the door, then struck a pose in the open doorway. “Farewell!”
I galloped away, cape flapping in the Wind. After a block or so, I took it off and trotted the rest of the way to the workshop. I walked into the kitchen and Mrs. Grass welcomed me back with a kiss on the muzzle. Jon and Winter were both out, so I told Mrs. Grass I was spending the rest of the day at the farm but would show up as usual tomorrow morning.
Mrs. Grass and I had a pleasant early lunch and I filled her in on my travels. I waved good-bye and headed for the farm, pleased I could still hear Fall’s clock whistle noon when I was well on my way.
I got to the Homestead, I dropped off my pouch and saddlebags, then searched around. Nopony was there which wasn’t unusual. I cast around in the tack room and found exactly what I wanted, a worn but serviceable pair of saddlebags. Next I went to the seed storage room. The Apple seed storage was legendary throughout all of Equestria. Granny did a brisk business trading and selling seeds and had not only fruit and vegetables but herbs, wild flowers and grasses, trees and even exotics like Dragon Fruit.
I walked in, grabbed some seed envelopes and a pen and then started. I took the basics such as corn, squash, beets, kale and so on. I also took apple, cherry and other fruit trees, second growth like walnut and hickory, then went through most of the wild grasses and wild flowers. My final stop was a safe with a combination lock. I opened it and took out two Zap Apple seeds. I closed the safe and spun the lock, put the Zap Apple seeds in a special envelope, then repacked the right side of my saddlebag so the seed envelopes lay as flatly as possible. I nodded with satisfaction, then closed the seed store door behind me.
Next, I went into Old House and found one of the small jars Granny used for preserves. I tossed my saddlebags in the Homestead, then trotted to my tomato field, the one I knew best on all the farm. I filled the little jar with dirt and made sure I got some earthworms with it. I sealed it with magic, then trotted back. I moved most of what was in my regular saddlebags into the old saddlebags (including the cape, of course), then hid them in my study. I had no idea what reaction I’d get from AJ and the family but I thought it best I prepare for whatever happened.
I heard the family coming in from the fields and raced out to meet them. All greeted me effusively and after kissing AJ, I picked up Airlie and swung her around as she giggled. We had supper as a family in the Homestead which we did several times a week, then spent the evening star gazing. I held Airlie until she fell asleep and caught AJ looking at both of us fondly. Soon we split up and I handed off Airlie to Granny to babysit. AJ and I had a fun romp to welcome me back home and then visited a few minutes. After AJ dropped off, I silently rehearsed again what I was going to tell her in the morning, then fell asleep to AJ’s steady breathing.
Earlier than usual, even before the Sun was up, I got up and then woke up AJ. We had a quick bite, then walked out into the cool predawn. We made our way to our favorite spot under the old apple tree which gave us a wonderful view of the Homestead and the other farm buildings as the Sun came up. I wrapped my magic field around AJ, took a breath and started talking. I talked for an hour, leaving out nothing.
When I finished, AJ was still. Then she stood up and walked a few feet away, her tail toward me. I pulled my magic field back to myself and waited.
“So,” she said, then paused.
“So, I was just a convenience to you, wasn’t I?” AJ continued. “The Apple family was just…handy for you and for the Magic of Equestria.”
“No,” I said. “No, that’s not true.”
“It is, though,” said AJ, still facing away and talking in a quiet, even voice. “You used us to gain power. Me, the Courtship, the Old Ways, all of it. It was just so you could become an Earth pony and gain our skills.”
“No,” I said again, but I knew it wasn’t convincing. “I had Free Will. It was my choice, AJ. Lady Magic chose you and so did I.”
“Why me, Benjamin? Why not Carrot Top? Why not Pinkie, huh?” said AJ, turning to me and raising her voice. “No, you chose the dumb country filly, didn’t ya? The one who’d never been with a stallion!!”
I had no answer, so I just looked at AJ and then rose to my hooves.
“Go,” she said, her expression stark.
“Applejack…” I started.
“Leave!” she said in a fury. She switched on her Element, too, and the green of fresh, new plants surrounded her.
“Go away, Benjamin! Leave! Go away and never come back!! I never want to see you again!!”
“I’m sorry, AJ. I love…”
“GO!!”
I went.
I teleported to my study, slid my dirk into a hidden sheath, put on my packed saddlebags, made sure I had the seed packets, checked the dirt jar and then teleported to the shop. I walked into the kitchen and the moment Mrs. Grass and Winter saw me, they knew something was very wrong.
“Is Jon here?” I asked without preamble.
“Yes, Mr. Apple, he’s in the Annex,” said Mrs. Grass. “What is it, Mr. Apple? What’s happened?”
“Maggie?”
“Yes, she’s upstairs,” answered Mrs. Grass, wringing her hooves. “Mr. Apple, what is it?”
“Get her, would you?”
Without questioning, Mrs. Grass headed upstairs. I turned to Winter. “Winter, be so good as to call Jon, then all of you please come into the study. There’s something I must tell all of you.”
I waited in the study. The Grass sisters came in first, followed by Winter with Jon and Pinkie.
“Oh, Pinkie, you’re here, too. Very good.” They sat around me in a semicircle and I gave an abbreviated version of what I’d told AJ.
“…and so, Mrs. Apple told me to leave forever and to never come back,” I finished.
The mares made noises of distress. Pinkie, tears rolling down her muzzle, stretched out her hooves to me.
“Ben, no! She doesn’t mean it! She loves you more than anypony!”
I shook my head. “Jon, would you please look after the shop? If I survive, I’ll contact you after Midsummer.”
“Of course, sir,” said Jon who looked worn and tired. Both Grass sisters were crying and even Winter was wiping away tears.
“I love you, each of you, and thank you for the joy you’ve brought to my life. Good-bye.”
I walked between Jon and Pinkie, then out the kitchen door. I stopped for just a moment and took a deep breath. That was it, then; family and work, both gone now. I had one last stop before I went to gather the rest of my allies.
I trotted to town, smiling and greeting ponies as if my life hadn’t collapsed in a flaming heap. I went around to the rear entrance at Rarity’s and walked in. I heard Rarity send off a customer and when I heard the front door shut, I walked through the curtain separating the back from the front. There stood Rarity, ringing up a sale.
“Rarity,” I said.
Rarity looked up with a joyful expression when she heard my voice. It changed to one of dismay when she saw me.
“Benjamin, dear, what it is?”
“Close the shop, would you?”
Rarity didn’t ask any questions, thank the Magic, just flipped over the sign on her front door and led the way upstairs to her private apartment. She had two bedrooms, a bathroom and a very pleasant sitting room with a fireplace. I tossed down my saddlebags and pouch at the sitting room door, then stretched out in front of the fireplace. Rarity came in behind me, shut the door and lay down next to me flank-to-flank.
“Merge, hon,” I said and extended my magic field.
Rarity extended her field and I asked for a Deep Merge. Rarity, bless her, didn’t hesitate and I felt us become One.
About five minutes later, I pulled back my field and looked at Rarity. She was staring at the empty fireplace, eyes huge, expression bleak.
“It was me. You chose me first, not AJ. It was the Magic of Equestria which kept us apart. It wasn’t anything I did.”
“No,” I said.
A few tears dripped down Rarity’s muzzle onto the fireplace hearth and she didn’t try to stop them. “I asked myself over and over again what it was I did that pushed you away after we were together that night.” Rarity looked up. “But it wasn’t me. It wasn’t my fault.”
“No,” I repeated.
Rarity smiled through her tears. “Oh, Maker, I’m so glad. I can’t tell you how glad!”
I nodded and gave her a half smile.
Rarity leaned over and kissed me. It was a kiss which contained all the frustrated passion of years, all the love and hope we once had and a promise of the future. I tasted the familiar lemon sorbet.
“Stay with me,” said Rarity into my right ear after she broke off the kiss. “Make love to me, give me foals, live with me forever. I’ll never send you away like she did.”
I just shook my head.
Rarity sighed. “I know, I know, you have to gallop off and save the World. No time for little ol’ me.” Rarity looked away again. “And you still love her, even after all that’s happened.”
“Yes. But I love you, too,” I said.
“I know, dear.” And with that, the Rarity I knew so well was back. “What will you do now?”
I got up, put on my saddlebags and pouch, then kissed her one last time.
“Gather more allies,” I said. “So long, Gorgeous.”
“’Bye, Maker. I lo…”
I didn’t hear since I’d already teleported.
I found myself on a stoop I’d visited only once before and I was glad I’d remembered it. I climbed the steps and knocked on the front door. In a few moments, Ren herself opened it.
“Maker! You have come to visit me? Quel merveilleux plaisir!” she said, smiling.
“Ho, Companion,” I said, and then felt myself falling into a dark tunnel. I heard Ren shout, then knew no more.
The Wind had started to howl. I looked up at the roiling clouds and watched the Weather Patrol try to control what was coming. I saw two torn to pieces and another struck by lightning, but still they kept fighting.
I looked down at AJ and my two foals, Airlie and another little white Earth pony.
“We need to get inside and into the basement,” I yelled so they’d hear me over the Wind.
“We can’t do that, Partner!” yelled AJ as her hat was lost to the twister which set down next to us.
“What? Why not?” I shouted as I wrapped my front hooves around AJ and the foals.
“Because you’re dead, Partner. You failed. You’ve killed us all.” The Wind pulled AJ and the foals from my front hooves and they vanished screaming into the twister.
“AJ!!”
I started awake in a strange room, another pony asleep next to me. Where was I? I raised my head and looked around. Ren. Ren was the other pony. I was at Ren’s house outside of Canterlot.
My head fell back down. I was still a little nauseous from too much teleporting too fast, but my magic was returning. I thought about what had happened in a day. I wondered if the family would miss me at harvest and decided they probably wouldn’t, not with the four LuluBelles. Harvest took three weeks last year instead of four with only three LuluBelles and the farm had done very well. I wondered if the cider factory…
I stopped myself. Not my farm or family any longer. I still had my Earth pony senses, though. Huzzah, Fluttershy Cheer for me. Price, I thought, that was part of the Price and I’d paid dearly. I yawned and stretched, then felt a gentle hoof fall across my chest. I looked over into Ren’s kind, dark brown eyes. I took her hoof in both of mine.
“Bonjour, ma chère.”
“Bonjour, mon ami,” she answered and gave me that gentle kiss of hers. Without asking, we each extended our magic fields. After the twin’s birth at Hot Springs it was no strain at all to merge.
Ren snuggled closer, eyes closed. A few minutes later she opened them and looked into mine.
“I am sorry, Maker, truly sorry. She is too young and too…slender-minded to understand.”
“Narrow-minded’, ma chère,” I corrected.
“Mais, oui, yes, ‘narrow-minded’.”
I sighed. “Passionate as well, Ren.”
“As am I, mon amour,” said Ren as she slid under the covers.
I sighed and lay back. Not like I didn’t see this coming since Hot Springs, I thought.
We had an early supper, Ren cooking since her two servants had the day off. It was as elegant and delicious a meal as I’d had in many a day and the conversation was outstanding as well.
I cleaned up the kitchen with magic to Ren’s delight since it was a technique most unicorns didn’t know. When I finished, we stayed at the kitchen table and watched the Sun set, not talking since we’d said all there was to say.
As the kitchen grew dark, Ren said, “Stay with me, mon ami. Stay here until next Third. I won’t ask you to leave as she did. And I know you must leave then to save us.”
I shook my head. “It’s too dangerous, Ren. If Herself gets so much as a hint I’m going to confront her, she’ll sic the Guard on me or even worse, come herself. Even infected she’s supremely dangerous. No, Veronique,” I continued, using Ren’s Private Name, “I have to make myself scarce for the next few months. I’d planned to lay low in Ponyville, but, well…”
Ren smiled and gave me a wink. “No? Not even for good food, good wine and good…company?”
I grinned back. “Tempting, very tempting, Companion. But, no,” I said, sobering. “Not even your exalted station will save you if Celestia comes for me. I’ll rest a couple of days, then go see Lady Astrid. She’s the key to all of this along with Luna.”
Ren nodded, then sighed. “And you still love her, mon ami, even after the way she treated you this very morning. Eh, peu, you are so noble at times it makes me want to stuff your thick head in the toilet and flush it.”
I laughed. “Not that noble, I hope. I suppose I’m just not French enough.”
Ren stood and held out a forehoof. “Let’s find out, mon amour,” she said as I stood and took her hoof.
We did.
I left Ren’s on the evening of 2nd of Ninth and walked the back streets to Lady Astrid’s. I knocked on the back door and a young Earth pony maid opened it.
“Benjamin Apple, Hero of the Realm, requests a discreet audience with Lady Astrid.”
“Please come in, Hero.”
The maid led me to a sitting room.
“If you would wait here, sir, I’ll ask if Milady can see you.”
“Thank you, Miss Fabersham.”
The maid giggled. “You’re welcome, Hero.”
I was admiring Lady Astrid’s exquisite collection of porcelain when I heard a gasp behind me. I turned and there was Lady Astrid herself. Juliette looked thin, stretched and worn around the edges but was still the most beautiful unicorn mare in the Kingdom.
“Maker? Maker, what in the name of Equestria are you doing here? And why didn’t you present yourself at Court?”
I gave a half bow which Lady Astrid returned.
“My Lady, forgive my unorthodox intrusion on your privacy, but the need is most urgent. May we discuss a Level 7 threat to the Kingdom here?”
Lady Astrid didn’t question, just turned and locked the door, then cast a Level 3 Defensive spell.
“We’re secure now. Ben, what is this?”
I sighed, then tossed my pouch and saddlebags on an elegant velvet settee. I went and stretched out in front of the fireplace, then turned and looked at Lady Astrid.
“My Lady, I would ask you for a Deep Merge. If you don’t wish to…”
“No, Maker, I’d…actually planned to ask you at Year’s End,” said Juliette, lying next to me flank-to-flank just like we always did.
“Were you now?” I said, thrilled and slightly aroused.
Lady Astrid’s ears and muzzle turned a delicate pink. “Yes, well, it was time, don’t you agree?”
I grinned like a fox, then let it fade. “I only wish it were under different circumstances, Juliette.”
Juliette nodded. I reached out my magic field and she met it without hesitation. We blended and became One. A few minutes later, I felt Juliette’s field clench mine. She started sobbing and I held her in my front hooves until she quieted. I felt her heave, then held her mane as she threw up on the hearth. I cleaned it up with magic just like I did Alistair’s. Even her vomiting was elegant, I thought as I cleaned her muzzle.
“Maker!”
“I know, Juliette.”
“What can I do?”
I got up, went to my pouch and pulled out a list.
“I need these ponies to assemble the 10th of Third, Year of Celestia 1,105 at 6 o’clock in the evening in Celestia’s anteroom next to the Main Throne Room. Likely it will take a Royal Summons from Princess Luna. And Princess Celestia must not find out.” I handed the list to Juliette:
Princess Luna
Princess Cadence
Princess Twilight
Lady Astrid Gräfin von Horsenberg
Brigadier General Shining Armor
General of the Army Louise-Renée de Kéroualle (Ren)
Lord Cecil Duncan Albert IV (Fancy Pants)
Lady Gabrielle de Rochechouart (Fleur-de-Lis)
Lyra Heartstrings (of Ponyville)
Pierre du Lac (same)
Chancellor
Lady Astrid read the list as I settled next to her again. She looked up.
“These are the most important and powerful mages in Equestria, Ben.”
“I know. I need them to bear witness. And if I’m right, I can help Celestia, at least temporarily, before I head to the Griffon Lands. But for that, I need some very intense firepower.”
“Why that date?”
“Spring Planting starts on 15th. I hope to make the Griffon Lands at the height of it.”
Juliette nodded, then got up. “Please excuse me,” she said, and I heard her rinsing out her mouth and then gargling in the bathroom. She used to shut the door even to sneeze, so I thought we were making progress.
Juliette came back into the parlor, turned down the gas a little and settled next to me again. We both watched the fire the way we always did and I took comfort in our routine. Soon Juliette stirred.
“Ben?”
“Milady?”
“Say ‘pruuuuuunes’.”
“Pruuuu…” I started. Juliette stopped me with a gentle kiss which went on a good while.
“Well, well, well!” I said, after she broke it off. “Somepony’s been practicing! With whom, I wonder?”
Juliette giggled and her ears went pink again.
“I’ll never tell!” she said coyly.
“Juliette, I have one last request. Will you show me ‘Subsume’? I know it but I can’t seem to get it to work.”
“Of course,” said Juliette, rising and turning the gas back up. “Let me see you try it.”
I rose and did, getting nowhere fast.
“Oh, I see,” she said. “Instead of this, try this.”
And there before me stood a perfectly lovely Earth pony with sapphire eyes, a dark blue mane and a sky blue body. Her cutie mark was clouds and Sun which reminded me of Sunny’s.
Then Juliette was back. “Now you try.”
I did and felt my magic shift to the back of my mind, there but hidden. I felt my body change, too, and odd feeling at first, then settle in.
“Ptthhhh!” said Juliette, eyes huge and both hooves over her mouth.
“What?”
Juliette tried to stay polite but just couldn’t contain herself. She doubled over laughing while I kept yelling, “What? What’s so funny? What?” and half laughing with her.
Juliette flapped a hoof at me, wiped her eyes, then pulled a mirror out of the bathroom. There staring back at me was a rakish looking Earth pony with a wild light tan mane, tan hooves, a dark brown body and eyes the palest possible blue. He was taller and thinner than most Earth ponies with knobby knees and a long neck. I smiled and the reflection smiled back. Huh, at least the smile was a good one. The cutie mark was what forest rangers used to blaze a trail. Trail Blazer or Pionnier in French.
“G’day, M’lady!” I said, looking at Juliette. “Fancy a lil’ canoodle?”
Juliette almost dropped the mirror and then had to lie on the floor, she started laughing so hard. I tried out four or five other accents including Appleoosan.
“Why, I don’t see nuthin’ funny here, ma’am.”
“Oh, Ben, have mercy, please, please, stop!” gasped Juliette. She finally stopped laughing and sat up. “I don’t know what’s so funny, I truly don’t. Perhaps because it’s just so different from you. It’s a perfectly good Subsume, too. Now, try and come back.”
Back was easy and I was myself again. I looked in the mirror propped on the settee and stuck a pose.
“Behold the original!”
“Huzzah!” cried Juliette.
I nodded decisively twice. “Thank you, Lady Astrid, Deputy Ruler of Equestria. I’ll be on my way, shall I?”
“What? You’re not leaving?” Juliette actually looked distressed.
“The longer I stay, the more danger I bring on you, Juliette.”
“At least stay the night. I have five bedrooms I never use.”
“Yes, all right. Thank you, Milady.”
Juliette released the defensive spell, unlocked the door and rang for her lady’s maid. Miss Fabersham (I couldn’t for the life of me remember her first name) came and showed me to a very pleasant bedroom with a connecting door and a huge bathroom, almost the size of the master at the Homestead. I felt a brief stab of loss at the thought, then set it aside.
I showered, dried off, meditated, then climbed into bed, more tired than I realized. I was soon asleep and knew no more until I woke up a little after midnight and had to take a leak. I did, and when I got back I found Lady Astrid in my bed, sitting up clutching the sheets, eyes wide and body shaking.
“Juliette? Couldn’t sleep?”
“I w…w…wanted…t…to…I wanted to…,” she started, teeth chattering.
“S…ss…ssorry, M…m…aker. I…wanted…t…” she tried again, then looked away from me.
I silently cursed her dead husband and wished him to the Lord of Hel for all eternity.
“Juliette, I’m awfully tired from our magic lesson. How about just a cuddle? Is that all right with you?”
Juliette let out an explosive breath, then nodded and scooted over. I got into bed and she snuggled against my side as I lay on my back.
Juliette gave one of those refined yawns of hers, her right hoof over my chest, her muzzle tucked into my chin right beneath my jaw. We merged our magic fields, a wonderful way to get to sleep.
“I love you, Maker. I don’t think I’ve ever told you before.”
“And I love you, Juliette.”
“Don’t die. Please don’t die. When you get back, come and live with me. I’ll…I’ll be fine, eventually, and…and we can be together. I’ll take good care of you, I promise, not like her.”
I patted her back.
She yawned and sighed again. “You still love her, don’t you?”
“Are you staying with my fam…with the Apples for Year’s End?”
I felt her nod.
“Be good to AJ, huh? And play with Airlie for me.”
I felt her smile, then her breathing steadied and deepened as she drifted off to sleep. My last thought before I nodded off myself was yes, oh, yes, I do still love AJ so.