//------------------------------// // One: Treasonous Behavior? // Story: Tidally Locked // by cleverpun //------------------------------// Sun beat down upon the city. Canterlot sat in the middle of Corona, and the meridiem sun seemed to aim directly at Rarity. The gazebo, sunhat, seersucker dress, and subtle atmospheric magic tried to dull the heat, but they could only diminish it, not erase it completely. Rarity took another sip of her iced tea, fanned herself again. Queen Celestia finally arrived. “Hello, Lady Rarity. Forgive my tardiness.” Rarity stood up, bowed dutifully. “No, no, Your Highness, I know you have many duties to attend to. I would never begrudge a few minutes alone with this gorgeous view.” The Queen nodded to her attendants, and they trotted off. Rarity settled herself. To be summoned by the Queen herself, and to be alone, with no prying eyes or attendants there. Such privacy never boded well in politics. “You wanted to speak to me in private, Your Highness?” “I did.” The Queen picked up the iced tea that had been waiting for her. “Tell me, Lady Rarity, have you ever been to the Nightscape?” Rarity set her tea down. The Queen already knew the answer to that, which meant that she had asked only to see Rarity’s reaction. Rarity had already erred by setting down her drink, announcing her surprise and broadcasting her need to consider the answer. “No, Your Highness, I’ve never been. Most ponies don’t travel between the empires, unless business requires them to.” “Why do you suppose that is?” Another rhetorical question. The Queen wanted to test Rarity again, not know her opinion. “I suppose there are lots of reasons. Political, cultural, logistical.” “If you had to sum it up, pick just one factor, which would it be?” An oddly specific request. It had an air of sincerity to it, but the Queen masked all her speech that way. “I suppose, that if I had to pick a single factor, it would be the cultural differences,” Rarity said. “The Nightscape is a very alien place, full of strange things and bizarre practices. I hear they eat cave plants and fluorescent bugs, that they walk around naked, that they keep bats and owls as pets instead of proper animals like cats and dogs.” “Do you ever wonder if such exaggerations are accurate? If they are merely fear-mongering and xenophobia?” So that was it. The Queen had noticed Rarity’s bills and motions in parliament, advocating closer ties with the Nightscape. She had been summoned here to gather evidence of treason, to weed out a dissenter and find an excuse to exile her. “Sometimes, I do wonder if all the things we were taught in school are accurate. But I’ve never been there myself, and the Corona Empire is my only home.” Rarity took a sip of her tea, looked over the rim of her glass at the Queen. Celestia’s sunhat and prismatic mane shadowed her features slightly. Yet a hint of concern and age poked through her usual regal facade. It seemed a trap, and Rarity could not walk into it. “I’ve noticed that you have introduced quite a few bills lately that promote fraternization and cohabitation with the Nightscape. Perhaps something more than mere treaty, or subtle exploitation.” Celestia leaned forward, and the brim of her hat cast a shadow over Rarity’s face. “Perhaps something beyond even alliance. Something akin to integration, to a merger.” Rarity set her tea down. “Your Highness, I only have the best interests of the Empire at heart. The Nightscape is merely another resource to exploit, especially given our past history with them.” Celestia sat back in her chair. “You know, I trained you quite well. If anyone besides me were sitting across from you, you might have fooled them. Your facade of disdain and condescension masks your true motives quite well.” Rarity sighed. “Well I tried. I’ll pack my things, prepare for exile. I hear there’s a town on the border that is not too bad.” Celestia chuckled. Not a chuckle of condescension, or of victory, but one of sympathy. “You misunderstand me, my little pony. I do not intend to exile you, or punish you. In fact, your treasonous behavior has made me think.” Celestia closed her eyes. “I still remember the first time you asked, back during our first lesson, why the planet was divided in two, so long ago.” “You told me it was because you and your sister had disagreed about something important. That the two of you vowed never to speak to each other again, to draw a line across the planet and leave each other to rule alone.” “Yes, you remember too. And you asked me ‘what could be so important that you never talked to your sister again?’ You always were such a bright young filly.” Celestia opened her eyes. “Ever since then, I’ve watched you grow up, resist all the things I tried to teach you. I’ve watched you secretly disdain the idea of division, and to undermine the disconnect between the Nightscape and the Corona Empire.” Celestia's smile shifted slightly, became harder and more forced. Only someone like Rarity, who had known the Queen for so long, could have noticed the change. “I need you to deliver something to Queen Luna.” Rarity gagged on her tea. Only the most deep-seated training and diplomatic habit prevented her from spitting her drink onto the table. “Are you serious?” Rarity sputtered, all formality and tact forgotten. “It has been more than a thousand years! A thousand years teetering upon cold war, and you want me to deliver a message to Queen Luna? So it was exile after all? A declaration of war, and I am the messenger to be shot?” Celestia shook her head. “No, no. The fact that you could have been right only makes me that much more ashamed.” Celestia reached into her dress, pulled out a parchment scroll. “Here is the message I want you to deliver. I’ll seal it right in front of you, so you know there is no subterfuge. I want you to take it to Queen Luna, guard it with your life.” Celestia handed the scroll over, and Rarity silently opened it. Rarity put a hoof to her mouth, blinked back a tear. “Are you serious? Is this serious?” “There has been nothing more serious.” Celestia sighed, long and deep. The lines on her face deepened, if only for a moment. “I knew taking you as my personal student, all those years ago...I knew it would lead to some great change. From that first question, I think I knew what it was. I needed someone to push me towards it, because I was too weak to admit it to myself. Even now...” Celestia closed her eyes, and a tear poked out. “Say no more, Your Highness. I’ll begin preparations immediately.” Celestia opened her eyes. “Thank you, my faithful student.” She pulled out her royal seal from a pocket, and picked up the candle in the center of the table. “It will be a journey, to the capital of the Nightscape. The city of Everfree may not be that far away, but I imagine that there will be obstacles other than distance. Perhaps those cultural differences you mentioned—” she paused “—the ones I have created, perhaps those will be the bigger obstacle.” She stamped the parchment shut, handed it back to Rarity. Rarity stared down at the parchment. “What if Queen Luna says ‘no’?” “It is her right, after everything we have done to each other... after everything I have done to her.” Celestia stood up. “I suppose I will have earned such a rebuke.” Celestia turned to leave. “Good luck, my faithful student. “It’s funny, even after all this, after everything I’ve taught you and learned from you... part of me still wants you to fail. Part of me wants my sister to say no, so that I can continue blaming her for everything that has happened.” Celestia stood there, silent, for a long time. She had stopped in the middle of leaving, and her hoof hung in the air as she thought. “I hope that you can succeed, despite everything I have done to set up your failure. All the lies and propaganda weaving a web of mistrust around you.” Celestia turned back to look at Rarity. “All those scars of prejudice I left on you. But if anyone can overcome it, you can.”