A clock floated in front of bleary eyes and a body stirred out of bed; Rarity grumbled quietly under her breath as she made her way down the stairs, muffling a yawn with her hoof once she reached the bottom. Whomever was beating on her door at this unseemly hour of the morning was going to get a very loud piece of her mind-

-or not, she quickly amended when she opened the door and found one of Celestia’s guards standing outside with a small, unobtrusive biga that was quite different from any other royal vehicle she had ever come across. As for the dark leather stealth armor he wore, she had only seen it once in her lifetime, and being presented with it in front of her now was more than a little unnerving. “Er- ahem- may I help you?” she asked politely, trying not to let her voice waver.

The guard said nothing, but reached into his saddlebag and produced a rolled up and sealed letter that she quickly accepted and opened with her magic.

Please come immediately to Canterlot for a private meeting.
All will be explained there.
~Princess Celestia

The hinted urgency made a little chill go down the back of her neck, and Rarity glanced up at the guard again as she rolled the letter back up. If he knew how important his assignment was, he gave no indication of it, his expression as placid as if he’d merely been sent to deliver the morning paper. “Might I have just a moment to leave a note for my little sister?”

Leaving the door open so as not to be rude, she grabbed up one of the blank receipt papers from the shop and a quill.

Minor emergency with a client. Had to leave before breakfast.
There are apples, blackberries and cut up strawberries in the fridge; also cream and honey.
Don't forget your homework on the kitchen table and the library book you need to turn back in.
Have fun at school, love you.

Rarity stuck the note to the fridge in a spot where Sweetie couldn’t possibly miss it and turned to go, then caught sight of her reflection in the shine of one of the pots hanging by the stove and winced before shaking her head. She’d have to just let it go for now. The wind would ruin her mane further anyway, and she could give it a quick magical style when she got to Canterlot. Grabbing her saddlebag as she passed back into the front hall, she checked to make sure she had the essentials, then stopped and took a deep breath to calm her nerves before she went outside. “Alright, I’m ready,” she said as she locked the shop door and made sure the ‘closed’ sign was in place.

The guard nodded and stepped back and crouched to get himself back into the harness of the biga. Rarity stepped into the back and braced herself to hold on, trying not to worry about what she was getting into.

There was a jolt and then they were aloft, and she huddled down behind the biga’s main wall to keep from being buffeted by the wind.

“If you like, you can try and get some sleep on the way,” the guard called back over his shoulder as they passed over the town hall. “It’ll take awhile with just me flying.”

She doubted between her concerns and the wind she’d get much rest, but she curled herself nose to tail to try for a small nap anyway.

To her own surprise, when she opened her eyes again and peeked over the edge of the floor, they were flying over one of the market districts of Canterlot.

She must have still been more tired than she expected, she thought with some embarrassment as she stood up and arched her back a little to stretch a kink out of it. The spires of the castle were only a short distance away, and the sky was still dark. To think Princess Celestia would still have been awake all night when she should have been resting to get ready for raising the sun… “The princess… didn’t happen to mention what she wanted to meet me for, did she?”

And the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach only knotted tighter when she looked down at their landing spot near Celestia’s balcony and saw the princess’s majordomo -Kite? Kipper? Kibitz? That was it, Kibitz.- anxiously pacing about.

“Right this way, miss,” the unicorn said almost before the wheels of the biga had even touched the ground, and Rarity didn’t dare argue or grumble, trotting after him at a brisk pace. She quickly ran a wisp of her magic through her mane as they passed through one set of doors, then another, trying to at least make herself look presentable, and nearly tripped over him when he suddenly stopped at a set of doors she recognized from travel guides as Celestia’s bedroom, rather than the parlour she typically received guests at. “Here we are.”

“Here?” Rarity asked in confusion, but when the door opened, she obediently entered.

Rather than the calm, graceful, elegant princess presented to the public, the Celestia that paced slowly in front of the low-burning fireplace looked exhausted, almost sick. Dark shadows ringed under her eyes, and her mane and tail, while they still waved and flowed magically, had lost their sparkle and dragged the ground. She wore no regalia, and instead had a simple blanket draped over her shoulders.

Rarity put a hoof to her mouth in shock. No wonder the letter had been so urgent. “Your… your highness?” she asked hesitantly.

Celestia raised her head, and the smile was tired, but welcoming. “Come in. And don’t bother, please,” she added when Rarity belatedly remembered she ought to bow and started to dip her head. “I apologize for dragging you out of bed at such a terrible time of the night.”

“O-oh, it’s nothing!” Rarity said with a quick, casual flutter of her hoof, trying to interject a little giggle. “Nothing at all! Who could say no to a clandestine invitation from a princess?”

Her attempt at levity managed to at least earn a smile that was a bit more genuine, then Celestia took a deep breath and let it out before gesturing for her to take a seat anywhere she liked, and the weight settled back in Rarity’s stomach as she complied.

“I won’t waste your time with small talk,” Celestia said, using her magic to pull a large, plain-looking chest out of a closet from the other side of her bed. “There is a very dire situation at hoof that has been rising for some time. One that only you can help me with.”

Rarity almost choked on her own breath in surprise before managing to keep from spectacularly embarrassing herself by having a coughing fit in the middle of the Princess’s bedroom. “M- Me, your highness?”

“You.” The chest settled between them, and then a ball of magic generated above it, becoming a small model of the sun. “You see, the Sun isn’t just magically controlled. It’s an energy powerhouse in and of itself. However, that means sometimes it can generate too much energy.”

Rarity watched in fascination as the simulated sun pulsed and writhed like a living creature. She’d honestly never given much thought to the heavenly bodies beyond the fact that the princesses moved them. Seeing the sun in this kind of detail would have been kind of delightful under other circumstances. “But you can deal with that… can’t you?”

“Normally, yes,” Celestia said with a small sigh as she reached out with a hoof to gently cradle the magical image almost like one would cuddle a foal. “Unfortunately, with my having had to maintain both the sun and the moon, I haven’t had the power, nor the time to siphon off that excess energy as often I should have been. It’s been building up. And the amount I was able to remove in the time that Luna has been back has been far too little.”

Pulled out of her awed trance, Rarity blinked, then looked at Celestia in wide-eyed alarm. “The Sun’s not going to explode, is it?!” she asked, panicked, and Celestia stared at her blankly for a moment before snorting out a small laugh. Drawing back her hoof, she politely tried to hide it.

“Ahem. No, my little pony, it’s not going to explode. But, there is still a storm coming because of the excess and we are still in great danger.” She gestured with her hoof to the illusion of the sun, and a wide flaring arc of fire whipped out of the sides of it to a small illusion of their planet that had popped into existence. “It’s called a coronal burst. And it’s going to be strong enough that even I’ll need a magical boost to protect our world from it."

The chest’s lid opened, and Rarity made a tiny gasp. Inside were piled mounds of small and medium-sized opals. Clear, white, red fire, and- “Black lightning opals! How in the world did you get so many of these?”

“The majority of them were gifts over the centuries. Mages seemed to think the best way to prove they were worth their salt were to create and send me these. And they will all be at your disposal.”

Rarity blinked up at the alicorn, then inhaled sharply as she clued in. “Foci clothing. That’s why you called me.”

“I- I’m honored. But, again, why me ? Surely for a magical focus aid, Twilight would be more qualified to-”

The princess shook her head, halting Rarity’s protests. “Twilight is exceptional in her ability and her studies, I will not dispute that. But I have chosen you for your specific talents. Besides your abilities as a seamstress, no unicorn I have ever met has the finesse at telekinesis that you do. And I have seen your gem work in clothing before. Whether you’ve been aware of it or not, you are a natural at constructing gem magic matrices.”

She could feel her face heating at the praise. Magic specialities where she was more qualified than Twilight? By the princess’s specifications, no less? Wow, now that was a compliment. “How long would I have if I agree?”

“A month.” Celestia stood up, and the illusion sun and planet vanished. “No matter how much effort I put into siphoning off the excess energy, I will be able to hold off the burst no longer than that. You would have access to any information you need, full room and board, and all materials will be procured at your request,” she said, staring into the chest of gems before looking back at Rarity. “I’ll pay anything you ask when you’re finished. Will you do it?”

Rarity bit her lip, starting to run numbers and patterns in her head. A month was shaving it… awfully close for something of this magnitude. Supposed natural abilities or no, a magical matrix would take study… and she would need materials that had shielding effects that were probably going to be extremely difficult to find…

But Celestia had said ‘will’, not ‘can’. Celestia believed she could do it. And Celestia needed her to do it.

Shoving aside her trepidation, Rarity stood up and puffed herself up, holding her head high. “Your highness, I'll accept this commission for free!”

Kibitz opened the door with a flourish, and Rarity peered into the guest room she’d been led to before walking in and gently tossing her saddlebag onto the bed. Neat and tidy as expected, and the bed was even bigger than the one in the little tower she’d stayed in the last time she’d been in Canterlot. Passing the desk by the bed, she noticed it was much more well-stocked than one would expect for the average guest. Both quills and regular pens, paper and parchment, pencils, measuring compass…

It was almost enough to make one a little suspicious. But after a quick magical inspection of the drawers, Rarity was satisfied. This was a draftspony’s room awaiting her answer, not a designer’s room having already expected her to say yes.

The sound of a throat clearing made her remember she still had a companion, and she turned to find Kibitz had produced a pen and parchment from the pocket of his waistcoat. “I’ll be having breakfast sent up shortly,” the older unicorn said as he wrote something down. “If you’ll give me your preferences. Also a list of things you’ll be needing to get started on whatever project this is the princess has you working on.”

“Oh, yes, of course. Hm. Ah, do they have sweet orange and blackberry salad here?”

“I’ll take an order of that, please. And a cu-” she had to stop to bite back a yawn and quickly changed her mind. “Make that a pot of Saddle Arabican coffee. Double filtered. With the sugar brewed in.”

“Yes, miss.” He had the grace to at least try to hide his smile behind the parchment as he finished jotting down her food requests. “And supplies?”

Probably best to know what she needed to work with first… “If you could gather me some research books from the archives, please? Let me see… Materials with magical shielding properties. Um… materials with magic enhancement properties.... and shielding spells. That should be enough to start with.”

Kibitz looked up over the top of the parchment, and Rarity thought she caught a brief flash of concern before he schooled his expression into formal neutrality. “I’ll see what the archivists can come up with.”

“Thank you kindly,” Rarity said, nodding politely as he turned and closed the door behind him when he left. A flash out the window to her left caught her attention, and she shifted the curtain a little to see the sun princess, every inch her normal picture of grace and poise, lift off her balcony with her horn aglow to begin raising the sun.

Impressed at how quickly Celestia had gathered her public mask back together, Rarity drew the curtain back fully to let in the light before heading to the bathroom to see what she’d been given to do some cleaning up of her own with while she waited.

After a very quick shower and a brush of her mane and tail, Rarity came back out to find that breakfast had been delivered, along with three books and a note promising more once the archivist had finished the morning organization. Fair enough, she supposed. But one more thing first…

She’d been thinking while she was in the shower, and really, if this was going to be a month’s commission of such importance, and for one of the Princess sisters no less, steps were going to have to be taken.

Skimming through the drawers again, she found the stationary and envelopes she needed and quickly began writing off notes.

The Apple Clan had taken Sweetie Belle and Opal before, though not for such a very long time… She added in the information of her expense account so Applejack could access it for Sweetie’s care and any… mishaps . Any other pony, she would be loath to pass over such a thing to, but Applejack had always been good as gold when it came to both their family and business matters and she had not reason not to trust her friend.

The second went to Coco to give her full control of the Manehattan office and its deposit box for the month so she would have no need to contact Rarity for permissions.

The third went to Fleur to let her know to ask Applejack to let her into Carousel to pick up the dress she'd ordered for her aunt since Rarity would be out of town and the boutique would be closed.

~And please, my darlings, do not ask why I am currently indisposed.
You only need know that I am working on a project of the utmost importance and I will tell you what it is when the time is right.

I will be home in a month.
Sincerely yours,

Hn… She was sure she was probably still going to get an earful from Ponyville, but they would have to do. Sealing up the envelopes, she found a few stamps in the roll cabinet on top of the desk and addressed the envelopes before going in search of a palace worker.

She was nearly finished with her first pot of coffee and three hundred and fifty-seven pages into Silver Rain’s Treatise on Rune Wards when there was a knock at the door and Kibitz poked his head in, another stack of books floating over him. “Oh, good, is that my next batch?”

“Indeed, miss. Also, the delegation from the Pantheon clan council has been delayed by a rail mishap, so her highness has an open hour if you would like to take measurements.”

“Ooh!” Marking her place with a napkin from her tray, Rarity snapped the book shut and set it aside, sliding off the bed. “A perfect chance to stretch my legs a little. I don’t mind research in the name of a project, but I’m afraid this is Twilight’s passion, not mine.”

The elder unicorn chuckled as he set the stack he’d brought on the bedside table and produced a measuring tape one of his many pockets. “Yes, her highness suspected as much. I rather think she’s glad for the deviance from schedule as well. Pantheons are not known for their ability to stay on topic. These meetings tend to run much longer than ideal.”

“If it’s not too rude to query, what exactly is a Pantheon?” Rarity asked as she trotted a little faster to match his pace down the hall. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“Ah, well, they’re a bit like Everfree’s Deer, only much less… rigid,” Kibitz explained after clearly having to search for a polite term. “They live at the northernmost borders of Equestria and assist their highnesses by creating the dyes with which the aurorae are made. Very nice folk, and talented artisans, but just between you and me, a little absent-minded in matters that require diplomacy.”

Muffling a giggle, Rarity made a locking motion at her mouth with her hoof to indicate the secret was safe, then entered the door he pushed open for her.

Princess Celestia looked up from a stack of paperwork at her entrance and smiled, quickly waving off any attempt to bow. “Make yourself comfortable.” Rarity accepted the tape measure from Kibitz and he made himself scarce. “How are you settling in?”

“My room is lovely, your highness, and very cozy, thank you. And Kibitz has been most helpful. I’ve already made some good headway in materials research.”

She wasn’t exactly sure how to proceed. Anyone else she would have already ordered out into the standard measurements position, but to do so to a princess -well, one that wasn’t Twilight, anyway- was a little intimidating. Thankfully, Celestia saved her the trouble. One more quick signature, and the alicorn gracefully walked out from behind her desk, shedding regalia as she came. Fumbling a little, Rarity motioned for the stance she needed, and Celestia complied without complaint.

“He’s always been a dear. It took a little nudging to get him to quit fussing so over me so much and shift some of his time to you instead, but I think it will work out to the best of the project.”

“Indeed,” Rarity agreed. She’d forgotten to bring a pad with her, but Celestia didn’t seem to mind her nicking a pen and blank piece of paper off the desk, so she went to her work with quick and neat efficiency. “He’s very concerned, but he hides it well. I’ve no doubt that anything I ask for to protect you, he’ll find the best of.”

Close as she was, she saw the faint ghost of worry cross the alicorn’s face and bit her lip, then decided it was probably best not to bring it up. “Have you given any thought to color?” she asked brightly, trying to bring a little levity to the conversation.

“Well, it is your outfit, my dear, surely you must have some input! Would you like it in teal? Silver sequins? Perhaps with some sheer violet ruffles and neon pink streamers?” Rarity asked with an exaggerated bat of her eyelashes.

The ploy worked. Celestia smothered a loudly unladylike laugh with the hoof she’d been holding outstretched, managing to turn it into a cough after a moment. “Ah, I ruined that set of measurements, didn’t I?” she asked when she’d gotten herself back under control.

“Nothing that can’t be fixed in just a tail shake,” Rarity said, motioning for her to hold it out again.

She’d just finished scribbling down the last notes when there was a knock, and Kibitz peeked in.

“Very well, show them up. Rarity, do you want me to have a guard see you to your room?”

“I believe I can find my way now, your highness, but thank you,” Rarity said politely, and this time it didn’t even occur to her to bow as she made her exit. As she passed one of the open stairwells, she saw Kibitz on the floor below talking to a group of deer in charmingly rustic clothing with dark blue coats and short white manes and bellies. Surprisingly, even the adults seemed to have fawn spots, but when she squinted, they were little golden constellations that seemed to give off a faint glow.

“Wow… So they help make the aurorae...” Rarity murmured to herself, holding the little paper she carried a bit tighter in her magic as she walked the rest of the way back to her room.

An idea was forming in the back of her mind, but first, she had more research to do.

An absolutely cavernous yawn bubbled up in the back of her throat and her magical grip on Satin Slipper’s Guide to Magical Leather Binding and her empty coffee pot slipped briefly, nearly tripping her when the book dipped low enough to tap her left foreleg. Managing to keep from yelping out loud and waking the entire hall, Rarity regained her balance and her hold, then shook her head to clear the mental cobwebs.

While her wing of the castle was snoozing, the kitchen night shift was in full swing, and the caramel-colored unicorn mare who’d been so helpfully keeping her coffee pots full cheerfully waved to her when she peeked in. “Still burning the midnight oil, miss?” Toffee Chip asked as she bustled over with a floating trail of bowls magically stirring behind her.

“Afraid so,” Rarity said with a tired smile. “Deadlines wait for no one. May I have a refill?”

She nodded and marked her place in the book, allowing herself a minute to just indulge in the sights and smells of the kitchen while the older mare went to wash out the pot and give her a fresh supply. There were some cranberry and honeysuckle scones just coming out of the oven that smelled absolutely divine, Rarity wondered if she might beg just one to take back with her to nibble on while she finished her last tome for the night-

A familiar booming greeting made the fur on the back of her neck stand on end, and she quickly scooted away from the door as Princess Luna entered to the amused replies of the night shift chefs.

She’d forgotten to ask Princess Celestia if her sister knew about the project. And if Luna didn’t and caught her here, she was going to be in for an interrogation for sure.

Careful to stay well away from the princess’s line of sight, Rarity edged for the door, only pausing briefly to grab her coffee from a very confused Toffee Chip before fleeing for her room.

She hated to be a bother to the staff, but until she could catch Celestia next… maybe it would be prudent to ask that all refills be room service.

'Next' ended up unfortunately being nearly a week and a half into the project. A week and a half of avoiding Princess Luna. A week and a half of noticing little tensions that were beginning to nag at her. Her window, for better or worse, afforded her a very good view of both Celestia's balcony and Luna's observatory and she had been seeing things that were beginning to make her worry.

She was busily struggling with stitching together the under-leathers for the armor when a hoof touched her shoulder.

Rarity jolted, startled out of her 'work trance', then looked up and shook her head with a smile. "Not at all, your highness. Have a seat," she said, scooting over to make room at the table she'd been using as her work space. Celestia accepted the offer, looking over the barely-organized chaos.

"When Kibitz said you had already begun the final design, I admit I almost didn't believe him," she said.

Rarity gripped the thick-spun thread in her teeth, finally yanking the stubborn thing into proper place, then scrunched her face and gagged in disgust at the taste it left in her mouth and set the leathers down. "I confess, I wasn't sure about several of the materials. They were considered rare when these books were written, probably next to impossible to find nowadays. But your assistant really is quite a wonder. I gave him the list and he had everything ready for me to go within three days."

"May I?" Celestia asked, indicating said list, which was lying on top of the stack of note-tabbed research books. When Rarity nodded, the alicorn picked it up in her magic, and then made a soft noise of surprise a moment later. "He actually found powdered Jackalope-Horn glue? They've been extinct for seventy years!"

The princess chuckled. "Forgotten already. Dragonfire-tanned Angha leather, that's most impressive...Chrysomallus wool? They were willing to make a trade?"

"Enough for me to triple thread," Rarity said, indicating what she was currently working on.

"My, my, my. I'll certainly have to give him a raise," Celestia murmured. "And you've been working so hard as well. Castle gossip abounds."

The princess's tone was teasing, but slightly faraway, and Rarity could see the tiredness and worry lining her face. "It's weighing on you, isn't it?" she asked gently. "The more progress I make, the closer the time is."

"I can feel it growing," Celestia said softly, her expression becoming almost pained. "Like a steadily-building headache. But this is a visual reminder that time is short, yes."

Rarity hesitated a moment, then reached out and covered the princess' hoof with her own. "I'll have it ready, your highness. Don't you worry."

That earned her a soft, warming smile. "Thank you. It's nice to have that reminder, too."

She squeezed a little, then let go and picked up the leathers again. Celestia seemed content to merely sit and watch, so she began working the thick leather-punching needle back through the holes she'd made to stitch the golden thread into elaborate binds.

Loop, loop, through, and back. The princess was so quiet that it was hard not to let herself go back into her working trance, and Rarity finally found she couldn't let herself keep the question in any longer, lest she accidentally let it slip her mind. "Does... Princess Luna know what we're doing?"

There was a sigh, and then a shift, and Rarity looked up to see that Celestia had moved to look out the window. "No. No, she does not."

Rarity bit her lip, worried she'd caused offense, but before she could apologize for questioning out of line, Celestia continued. "My sister has enough on her plate trying to find her way back into Equestrian society. If she knew that this was caused by my taking on her duties while she was gone, she would find a way to blame herself for it. I can't put that kind of weight on her."

"That's awfully big sisterly of you," Rarity said before she could stop herself, and then shoved her hoof in her mouth when she realized what she'd said. "Er, permission to speak freely?" she asked in a tiny squeak when Celestia looked over her shoulder with a wry smile.

"I'd forgotten your friendship reports mentioned a little sister," Celestia said with a little chuckle. "Go ahead."

"I fully understand wanting to protect family from the darker aspects of the work you have to take on. Cele- er, Tartarus knows I do it with Sweetie Belle all the time. But... I think something like this, you're going to eventually have to tell her. If for no other reason than because she's going to find out. If not before it happens, then when it does. Wouldn't you rather it be in the way that she won't assume the worst?"

That drew another pause, and Rarity held her breath. Then Celestia put a hoof on her shoulder. "You make a good point. Breaking it to her gently would probably be the best course of action. And it would give her some peace from trying to spy it out of me," the princess added much more loudly, and Rarity jumped to her hooves in shock and dropped her work on the floor when there was a muffled crash from the ceiling, followed by an impressive string of cursing.

A panel opened and a very ruffled and dusty Princess Luna dropped down to land on her hooves, shaking her feathers back into order before glaring at her sister. Rarity covered her gaping with her hooves, then felt herself slowly breaking into a grin. It seemed big sisters and little sisters didn't much change from ordinary ponies to royalty.

Celestia, for her part, didn't seem at all fazed, and simply motioned for the younger princess to take a seat at the work table. "All right, let's all get on the same page, then."

Rarity fiddled with the wool threading as she looked back and forth between the solemn-faced princess sisters, and it was all she could do to keep from letting herself nervously undo the golden cord she had spent three and a half hours so carefully braiding together.

After what seemed like an eternity, however, Luna finally inhaled deeply, then let out a long breath that seemed to take all the tension in the room with it. “I see,” she said quietly. “I… cannot say I am happy that you waited so long to tell me-”

“-but I understand why you did so,” Luna finished, holding up a hoof to stop her sister. “And I am glad you told me now.”

Rarity hated to interrupt, but she tentatively raised a hoof. “Does this mean you’ll be able to help draw off some of the energy before the storm can burst?”

“Unfortunately not,” Luna said with a sigh. “As the realm of dreams is solely mine, so there are properties of certain heavenly bodies that fall only to Celestia. I can raise and lower the sun in a pinch, though it is sorely taxing, but this level of power manipulation, or shielding the world from it, is beyond my ken. However, any support power I can lend,” she added, leaning forward to tap the tip of Celestia's horn with her own, “-I will gladly give.”

Celestia’s relieved smile was so bright it almost hurt to look at. “And will be most welcomed, sister. As is any input you may have in this project.”

“Agreed!” Rarity said brightly. Normally having somepony looking over her shoulder would have gotten her artist’s hackles up, but for a commission this vital, she was willing to let her pride take the blow for once. Especially when that somepony was a pony as knowledgeable in old magic as Princess Luna was bound to be.

By nightfall, the souring of her stomach finally forced her to trade out the coffee for black tea. Thankfully, the seemingly never-sleeping Toffee Chip had proven to be quite helpful on that front as well, and the brown sugar sweetcake-flavored blend the kitchen mare had sent up with the last tray was quite delightful. Even so, Rarity was yawning a bit as she finished the last stitches on the under-leathers and got up to answer a knock at the door.

“Ah- your highness, do come in,” she said, trying not to squint sleepily when she found Princess Luna waiting on the other side.

From the alicorn’s faint grin, she’d been caught anyway. “I will not keep you up long,” Luna promised as she entered. “I just wanted to get a better look at what you have so far, since there was no chance to do so before normal duties interrupted our last meeting.”

“Oh, of course.” A quick shuffle rearranged her notes, sketches, and lists back into the order she’d had them in to show to Celestia, and she settled the finished leathers onto a makeshift ponyform she’d made to work with for the time being. “I should be able to begin the metals stage in the morning.”

“Only a little,” Rarity said with a blush. “I don’t like having to depend on others for the metals in my designs when I need them just so, so I learned the craft myself. But I’m not a smith by a long shot; most of it I do with telekinesis. I’ll only be doing the basic shapes at the forge.”

“Hm, still rather remarkable. And are these runes going to be etched or painted?”

“Actually, I have a question for you about that.” Luna looked over the sketch at her with a raised eyebrow of interest, and Rarity coughed politely before continuing. “Well, see, I happened to catch a glimpse of the Pantheons when they visited, and it has me wondering. I realize that both you and your sister are very busy, but why exactly would you need special dyes to help make the aurorae? Aren’t they just a light show?”

“Ah.” The princess laid the sketch down, but rather than chiding her for her question, Luna merely took a seat on a cushion and indicated for Rarity to do the same. Once Rarity had made herself comfortable, the alicorn folded her hooves on the table, resting her chin on them. “That is a story older than our reign.”

“You see, in between the times of Clover the Clever and Starswirl, there was short reign by a unicorn queen named Galaxy, who was, as they were, known as a great scholar of the heavens. And it was she who first learned that stars such as the Sun could be as much a threat as they were life-giving.”

“Exactly. Galaxy found that the best way to protect the world from such random events in space was to create a shield that drew life from the world itself. But ponies could not create it on their own. Unicorn magic was not powerful enough, nor was it the correct type of magic. So Galaxy sought the aid of the Pantheons to the north and the Zebras to the south, convincing them that all had to work together in the interest of all.”

“And the aurorae are that shield. I understand the process now. But then why do only you and the Pantheons maintain it? Surely the Zebras would still-”

“They would if they could.” Luna sighed and straightened up. “For a roughly a century after Celestia and I came to rule, they did, and the shield was at its strongest. Perhaps even strong enough to handle this matter on its own. Then the Inkanyamba, the great serpent who devours all, attacked their lands, and all the records on the spells the shamans had drawn up with Galaxy were lost. The Zebras still have the ability to cast their part of the shield, but no instructions to guide them. And, unfortunately, we don't know how their part worked either.”

Drat. That cut off a promising shielding spell she might have used… But she did still have the one possibility. “The Pantheon dyes… Do they only come in the colors of the aurorae, or could you possibly get them in any tint? Say a yellow or gold?”

Luna tapped her mouth with a hoof, humming in thought, then smiled at her, a glint of challenge in her eye. “I believe I could find out.”

Rarity made a miserable little whine as her back protested even the tiniest little stretch when she collapsed onto her bed. Even with her magic to aid her, shearing and beating the sheets of spell-enhanced gold into the shapes she needed had taken much more strength than her muscles wanted to give, and everything hurt.

Blowing out an exhausted huff and wiping her mussed, sweaty mane out of her face, she rested her head on her forelegs and closed her eyes, not even bothering to pull over a pillow. Just a nap, a little nap, then she would-

Something bumped her horn, and she jumped with a shrill squeak, nearly rolling off the edge of the bed. A floating pillow wrapped in a golden aura caught her, and she looked up sheepishly to find a concerned Princess Celestia. “Oh- my apologies, your highness. I didn’t hear you come in.”

“It’s quite alright,” Celestia said, gently settling her back on the bed. “Luna told me you were going to be going to the forges this morning and one of the maids saw you returning looking a little worse for the wear. Since I managed to finagle a little free time before dinner, I wanted to come see if you were alright."

Touched by the princess’s worry, Rarity managed a tired smile. “Nothing a little rest and a long bath before I get back to work won’t fix,” she said a little more airily than she actually felt, but couldn’t keep in a small wince when she tried to follow up with a sweeping hoof motion and muscles protested the movement nastily.

“So I see,” Celestia said, amused by her effort at bravado, then set down the small bag that she had bumped Rarity with when she came in. “In any case, I have something for you that may help with that.”

“Oh?” With only the smallest pulse of magic she could manage, Rarity lifted out the package inside and made a noise of surprised delight when she saw the familiar emblem of Wheat Grass and Flax Seed’s little cosmetics company blazoned on it. “Oh!”

“Consider it a little thank you for convincing me to pull Luna into the project. The entire castle feels lighter without that secrecy between us.”

Rarity laid the package back in the bag. “I-... I didn’t mean to tell you how to be a big sister or handle your duties or anything…”

“I meant it when I said you had made a good point then. I may have been a big sister for a very long time, but a different perspective on the matter does me good every now and then,” Celestia replied, pulling over a cushion to take a seat. “The length of one’s experience doesn’t always mean one has all the answers, as you saw.”

“I suppose so.” Feeling her weariness beginning to come back, Rarity laid her head back down. “Speaking of sisters, I wonder what Sweetie Belle’s been up to while I’ve been here. I’ve been able to send a few small report notes to Applejack, but nothing that would warrant any reply.” She swallowed a yawn, eyelids heavy. “I suspect she’s been splitting her time between gallivanting with the Crusaders and grouching about me not telling her why I’m away.”

She could have sworn she felt a hoof soothingly brush over her mane. “Would you like Luna to check up on her?”

Already slipping off to sleep, even with the princess still in attendance, Rarity made a faint hum of agreement. “Hmm... that would be lovely,” she murmured, before she dozed off entirely.

When she cracked an eye open again, it was dark out and Celestia was gone. A pot of tea and a clean cup had been left on the bedside table, but when she painfully scooted over to investigate it, she found it had long gone cold.

Very slowly, one hoof after another, she eased herself down off the bed and popped all of the kinks that had formed in her back, then took hold of the bag the princess had given her, heading for the bathroom to open her present.

Celestia must have made a mention whom the gift would be for, Rarity noted when she looked at the little bottles. Everything was in the pear blossom and honey mix she always ordered. A little giddy, she filled the tub with water as hot as she could stand it and climbed in, every muscle seeming to twinge gratefully at the relaxing heat as she sank in to the tip of her nose.

Clean and refreshed, Rarity floated the teapot ahead of her as she trotted to the kitchen. She hated to waste the tea, but as stale as it was, there was really no saving the flavor. She was just going to have to ask Toffee Chip for a refill, if the mare was on duty.

And indeed she was, seemingly everywhere in the kitchen as usual, Rarity found when she pushed the kitchen door open. And Princess Luna had already arrived, having settled herself on a stool to sample a couple of sweets. The alicorn noticed her and waved her over, pushing a plate with a stack of tempting-looking sugared scones in front of her when she came to the counter.

“Cherry and chocolate chip with spiced sugar glaze,” Luna said, then leaned over and raised a conspiratorial hoof. “I would be most grateful if you refrain from telling Kibitz. He always gets in a fluff about my sugar intake," she said in an exaggeratedly loud whisper.

Rarity covered a giggle as she set down her teapot and took a seat. “My lips are sealed, your highness.”

“Excellent.” Luna took another bite and hummed in pleasure before continuing. “I met with Sweetie Belle in her dreams tonight as Celestia requested. You will be happy to know she is enjoying herself with the farmers.”

“She does miss you, and she does somewhat resent the secrecy of your assignment… Which I understand entirely, given my own feelings on the matter when Celestia was hiding it from me. I did my best to impart the importance of your work-” Luna quickly waved her off when Rarity’s ears pricked forward in panic and she opened her mouth to fuss, “while using the abstract nature of dreams to keep the true danger hidden.”

Rarity let out a sigh, jangled nerves calming. “And you think that did the trick?”

“Well, if the big sisters are going to continue to band together, it only seems fair that the little sisters do the same,” Luna teased, surprising a laugh out of her. As Rarity got herself back under control, she saw Toffee Chip steal up out of the corner of her eye and whisk her pot away. “Back to more serious matters,” the princess said. “I have acquired your dye.”

“Pantheons may not be masters of politics, but they are masters of their craft. I will have the jars delivered to your room. Is there anything else you’ll be requiring?”

Rarity picked up a scone and took a bite, absently chewing as she focused fully on work. “For now, no, I don’t think so. I don’t want to get my workspace too cluttered, as I still need to finish the metalworking, and get the armor and the leathers sealed together. Oh, and make the padding. I’ll confer with Kibitz when I’m ready to move to the next stage.”

“Fair enough,” Luna said, magicking over a clean plate and piling on a few scones. “Take a few of these with you, though. It is almost time for the sun to rise, and you have more than earned some sweets for breakfast.”

Rarity looked up and found her teapot had been returned with fresh tea while she wasn’t paying attention, and smiled as she accepted the offered pastries.

Squinting in concentration, Rarity slowly manipulated the metal centimeter by frustrating centimeter. Rolling the sharp edges around themselves for safety, raising the decorative scrollwork, dimpling in the divots where the centerpiece stones would be set. Everything had to be even.

Her head was pounding so much by the time she finished the cuirass that she thought she might throw up. Panting so hard that each breath hurt in her chest, she released the magic and let the piece drop to the cushion below it, sitting heavily on the floor herself just a moment later.

Maybe learning some advanced smithing wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all, she decided as she squeezed her eyes shut against the pain that speared from her horn into her skull, throbbing into her brain. Surely the physical strain she’d felt earlier wasn’t as terrible as this.

A soft clink made her open her eyes to find Kibitz setting a large glass medication bottle next to her teacup. “For the magic stress,” he informed her kindly.

“Oh, bless you,” she mumbled, slowly hauling herself to her feet to stumble over to the table. The first swig of the shimmering liquid was like grapefruit-flavored used bathwater, foul enough to make her shudder, though it was quickly chased away by the sweet tea, but she could feel the effects almost instantly. “Bless you indeed.”

The older unicorn chuckled and bowed, leaving her another bottle of the stuff before he made his exit. She watched him go, then, slowly, she turned back around and glared at the unfinished gold. Squaring her shoulders, she took a deep breath, then magicked up the cuisses to get started on them.

A week and a half left before the deadline was up, and Rarity stood before the ponyform looking at her progress. The under-leathers and outer armor were finished, attached to each other, and grooved and coated with the powdered Jackalope-Horn Glue in preparation for the gems. Arming padding doublets were stitched and in place, the attachment straps had been double-stitched on…

Kibitz, as always, had retrieved the necessary tools with preternatural speed, and she looked them over as she instinctively sorted the gems Celestia had left to her use by color and size. The tiny diamond-tipped drill didn’t bother her too much, but it was hard to make herself look at the rock hammer.

Oh, just thinking about it made her heart ache! But all of the research books had been very specific. Black lightning opals worked better as inlaid mosaic panels, not as whole gems.

Finally, she sighed and picked up the hammer. Swallowing thickly, she squeezed her eyes shut, braced herself, and approached the pile.

*CRACK* *CRACK* *CRACK*

Rarity tentatively opened one eye, then blew out her breath at the pile of shimmering black chips of wildly varying sizes before her. Okay, as far as she was concerned, the worst of it was over. Tossing the hammer back into the toolbox, she went to the pile of clear opals next.

These would require a much finer touch, but be much easier on her nerves, she was sure. From the toolbox, she called the drill, a jeweller’s magnifying glass, and a tiny syringe, and from her work table, she summoned the jars of Pantheon dye and her notes on shielding runes.

She could do this, she kept telling herself as she carefully shaved each opal perfectly circular and then etched the tiny runes deep, deep into the center before injecting the magic dye into them, consulting her notes frequently to make sure they were exact.

When she finally looked up from her finished work, eyes itching and aching enough that she was considering amending her former opinion that breaking the black gems had been the worst task, night had fallen once again.

“No peeking!” she shouted with all the instincts of a big sister, and was rewarded with a laugh and a half-disappointed “Aww,” from that same panel that Luna had appeared from once before the prickling feeling went away.

With three days left to her deadline, her mane a terrible mess, and her right eye itching again, she called both princesses just after the sun had been lowered and the moon had been raised.

Finery and Firepower

by cosmicbiscuit

Construction