Rekindled Embers

by applezombi


Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Letter sent from Knight Private Emberglow to disgraced former Knight Lofty Tale.  Confiscated by Knight Mystic censors, on suspicion of possible heresy.

Dear Lofty,

I received your letter today, and have just a few moments to sit down and write a response.  Things are hectic right now; I’m writing to you from an outpost outside of Manehattan.  In just a few hours we’re going to be airdropped into the center of the city.  Our objective is classified, but I imagine the mission might take several weeks.  If you don’t hear from me, please don’t think I’ve forgotten about you or am ignoring you.

It is such an honor to be asked to be your son’s goddess-mother.  Of course I accept.  As soon as I get back I’ll be right by to visit you and meet your foal.  Regardless of how he came to be, he is innocent, and deserves all the love and beauty in his life that he can get.

I won’t say I’m not disappointed in the choices that led you to this point, but I understand them, and I still love you.  You are one of my only friends in the world, and you could never do anything to lose my love.  I pray to the Saints on your behalf daily.  I’m sure Saint Applejack understands the difficult choice you had to make.

Keep strong.  The path you are walking on will be a difficult one.  Don’t lose hope, and don’t lose faith.

Your dear friend,

Emberglow

1112 AF, Manehattan Caves

“Wake up, sister.  Need you running on full batteries for a bit,” an aggravating voice interrupted her unconsciousness.  Something wet and cold splashed against her face.  “Wake up, or I’ll start blaspheming until you do.  Hey, did you hear the one about Celestia and the big, ribbed, pink rubber…”

“Shut up!” Emberglow muttered, her eyes fluttering as she tried to come to her senses.  What had just happened?  Where was she?  The room was spinning.  “I told you not to call me sister.”

“Oh, good, you’re waking up,” Heartwing's voice said.  “Be quick about it.  We need to figure out what’s going on.”

Suddenly Emberglow remembered.  Her eyes shot open. 

She was still in the room with the glowing crystalline roots.  With the fake unicorn Lady Rarity.  Her eyes darted to the central collection of roots, where she had seen the gorgeous mare.  Lady Rarity was gone, the glowing orb of force that had been holding her having disappeared. 

“Where is…” Emberglow began.  Her searching eyes found Heartwing.  He was standing between her and a prone figure, covered by a rough brown blanket, resting on the floor.  “Is that…”

“Rarity, in the flesh.  Quite literally.  She is alive, I checked, but still asleep.”  Heartwing declared.

“What kind of trick is this?” Emberglow hissed.  “If you think, for a second, that I’ll believe whatever asinine deception you have planned, you’re an idiot.”

“Emberglow, I promised I’d never lie to you,” Heartwing said.  “This is… completely unexpected.  I had no idea she was here.”  He snorted with disbelief.  “I was even starting to wonder if this was some sort of plot you cooked up to deceive me.”

“What was… but why would I… that makes no sense!” Emberglow floundered.  

Heartwing shrugged. “Well, I promise you this isn’t part of some heretic plot.  I corrupt Knights through teaching them critical thinking skills and allowing them to come to their own better conclusions as to the truth or falsehoods of their own epistemological assumptions, not through planting mystery mares disguised as ancient Saints in caves I’ve never seen before for reasons that make no sense.”

The statement certainly helped her understand their earlier conversations.  Setting that aside for now, she glanced back at the white unicorn.

“Who is she?” Emberglow asked.

“She’s Rarity.”

“No, really,” Emberglow said.

“No, really!” Heartwing shot back.  “I know enough dispelling magic to undo any illusions or see through any shapeshifting magic.  And as you know, cutie marks are never repeated.  This mare is really your Lady Rarity.  I’ll let you check yourself, if  you promise not to hurt her.”  She scowled at the implication, but he pointed at her threateningly with a hoof.  “I’m serious, Emberglow.  I swear to you, if you even harm a hair, or horn, on her head, I’m going to atomize you.  No hesitation.”  There was something about the threat that made Emberglow shudder.

“I won’t hurt her,” Emberglow said.  “I am a healer; I can probably tell more with a single spell than you can with hours of observation.”  She said it without pride; it was a matter of fact.

“Very well.  But be careful,” Heartwing said.  He stepped back, allowing Emberglow access to the mystery unicorn.  He stopped only a few steps away, however, his legs tensed for action, his brown ears tracking her.  His horn was lit, already glowing with a golden aura.  

Emberglow stepped up to the white mare slowly, cautious and afraid.  Slowly, so that Heartwing could see everything she was doing, she began writing the runes for a diagnosis spell in the air over the sleeping mare.  Heartwing’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

Emberglow’s spell revealed… nothing.  This mare was completely normal in every way, except for being a unicorn.  She was perfectly healthy, and perfectly beautiful.  

Was that thought really medically necessary?  

“I just cast a basic diagnosis spell,” Emberglow explained.  She needed more information.  “She’s perfectly healthy, that’s all I can tell.  I’ll need to do more.  I know a spell that will allow me to read the ambient levels of motic energy infused into her bones and organs.  It will give me an idea about where she might be from.”

“How so?” Heartwing asked.

“Every pony in Equestria is exposed to different levels of magical radiation based on where they live.  Those who live near New Canterlot City have more than, say, ponies that grew up in Rainbow Falls.  A pony that lived near Manehattan would have even more.  It will also tell me if she’s been infused, like a Knight, or if she’s experienced anything similar.  It won’t hurt her.”

“Proceed,” Heartwing said warily.  Emberglow cast the spell, looking around the mare’s body for the telltale glow that would give her at least a little more information about where this mare was from.  

She saw… nothing.

“That’s impossible,” Emberglow muttered.

“What is?” Heartwing asked.

“Nothing.  No motic radiation.  That’s completely impossible.  Everypony has at least a little.”

“This motic radiation, where does it come from?” Heartwing asked.

“Motic radiation is a side effect of rune magic.  Ever since the Saints gave it to us, it has been harmless, but detectable, in everypony in Equestria, at some level or another.”

“It began with rune magic, then?  So if she has none…” Heartwing trailed off.  Emberglow scowled at him.

“I know what you’re implying, but it makes no sense.  How could this mare possibly be over a thousand years old?”

“Magical stasis?  Miracles of the Saints?  Direct intervention from a godlike, meddling tree?  I have as little idea as you do,” Heartwing shrugged.  “I didn’t put the evidence there.”

“Didn’t you?” Emberglow asked.

“No, I didn’t!” Heartwing insisted.  “…and you’re right, it’s really annoying to answer questions with questions that way.  I’m sorry.”

Emberglow didn’t want to believe him.  She couldn’t believe him.  But cutie marks didn’t lie.  And neither did motic resonance detection spells.  She reached out a hoof to push back the blanket that covered the white mare’s form.  She needed to be sure it wasn’t a trick.  She slid the rough blanket back, slowly exposing the mare’s body, deliberately not admiring her pristine, immaculately kept fur, her slender graceful limbs, her perfectly kept mane that begged to have a hoof run through it, maybe Emberglow’s hoof...

“What are you doing?”  

It took all of her willpower not to yelp in shock when Heartwing spoke; she had nearly forgotten he was even there.

“I...I need to see her cutie mark again.  Make sure it’s not a trick.  Makeup, paint, a tattoo…”

“Go ahead,” Heartwing said cautiously, though he did step a bit closer.  Nodding, she continued pulling back the blanket to expose the mare’s flank, and her cutie mark.

There it was.  Three blue diamonds, arranged in a triangle.  Just like she had seen a thousand thousand times, just like the symbol painted on her very own armor, and emblazoned on the cover of the copy of the Book of the Saints she had sitting in her saddlebag right now.  

She stared, her eyes taking in every detail.  Reaching out with a hoof, she gently touched at the mark, though this close she was sure it wasn’t paint or makeup.  The mark was real.

And the fur is just as silky as it looks…

“If you’re done molesting the unconscious mare’s flank, could we perhaps discuss what to do next?” Heartwing asked suddenly.

“What!” Emberglow shrieked, jumping back from the sleeping form, spinning away from the mystery mare to face her adversary.  “I wasn’t… I couldn’t… how dare you insinuate…”

“It wasn’t an insinuation, it was a direct statement,” Heartwing said matter-of-factly.  “And I know she’s cute, but drooling?”

“I am not…!” Emberglow protested, raising a hoof to her lips.  She hadn’t been drooling, but she saw Heartwing’s smirk, and realized she’d fallen into his trap.  She took a deep breath, and tried to collect herself.  She wasn’t losing control, or being consumed by lust, she was just flustered by the situation.

Maybe not lust, but would attraction be the right word?

No.  Just because she couldn’t see how this was a deception, didn’t mean it wasn’t.  She knew the truth.  Lady Rarity was an earth pony.  This unicorn, though she didn’t understand how, was nothing more than a trap to manipulate her.  She found it slightly odd that Heartwing seemed just as confused as she was, but maybe it was a deception from some unknown third party?

“Huh… wha…?” came a sweet voice from behind her, and Emberglow spun again to face the mare. 

Sparkling blue eyes, half-lidded with sleep, with long, fluttering eyelashes and just enough subtle makeup to…

If you don’t want to start drooling, you’re going to need to put the brakes on these little mental tangents.

“Rarity?  Is that really you?” Heartwing asked, moving up beside Emberglow and bumping her out of the way a bit.  The mare’s eyes narrowed in confusion, and she blinked several times, looking around the cave.

“Where… where am I?” she asked.

“That’s going to take a bit of an explanation.”  Heartwing rubbed the back of his head with one hoof, looking overwhelmed.  “What is the last thing you remember?”

“Remember?  I…” her forehead scrunched as she considered.  “I was at the Manehattan Institute of Magitechnology.  Not my usual scene, mind you, but Twilight had just begged me to go observe some sort of experiment for her, as she was tied up in matters of state with Princess Cadence up in the Empire.  Starlight would have gone, but she was...” Rarity trailed off, her voice suspicious.  “Who are you two?  You look like ruffians, with all that martial looking attire.  And so soiled.  If you have kidnapped me for some nefarious purpose, I’ll have you know that while I may look like a delicate flower, I am more than capable of defending myself!”

“Please relax, Rarity,” Heartwing kept his voice even.  “Nopony’s going to hurt you.  We’re not ruffians, we’ve just been… roughing it for a few days.”

“Your voice,” Rarity said, her eyes narrowing in anger as she rose on her hooves, stamping one of them in a show of prissy anger.  “You think a little dirty armor and a poor disguise will make me forget who you are?  Discord, if this is one of your silly pranks, I’ll have you know that I am not amused!”

“Rarity, please calm down.  This is not a trick, this is not a prank, and I… I don’t even go by that name any longer.  Please sit down, I have a lot to tell you about, and you’re not going to like it.  If you ever saw me as a friend, please hear me out.”

“Well,” Rarity said, her anger drifting away into confusion at the sincerity in Heartwing’s voice.  “I suppose I can…”

“I knew that you both knew each other before!” Emberglow interrupted angrily.  Clearly the mare was confused, angry, and maybe even frightened.  She had to defend the poor unicorn from whatever manipulation the heretic had her caught up in.

“Emberglow, I like you, and I respect you a little bit.  But for the love of Celestia, I need you to SHUT THE BUCK UP RIGHT NOW and let me talk to Rarity.  For her sake,” Heartwing growled.  He lowered his horn, glowing with a yellow light, and Emberglow could see the intent in his odd colored eyes.  She took a step back, without thinking.  “Now, please, Rarity, you’re going to want to be seated for a moment.”

Slowly, with a look of incomprehension clear on her face, Rarity sank back on her haunches and sat on the floor.

“I remember that trip you took to Manehattan.  There was an explosion at MIMT, and nopony could ever find any of the scientists, wizards, or members of the press who had been there.  Twilight was beside herself with guilt when she told us all she’d asked you there to observe and take notes, since she was at that summit with Princess Cadence.  We never found you.  We looked for years; Twilight never gave up looking for clues as to where you disappeared to.  She nearly missed Rainbow Dash’s… um…”

“Go on, darling,” Rarity prodded him.

“Nearly missed Rainbow Dash’s funeral, because she was following up on a lead.”

Rarity blinked, and shook her head.

“I—I’m sorry, but did you say, funeral?  You can’t possibly mean…”

“I wish I didn’t have to be the one to give you this news, Rarity.”

“Rainbow Dash is…”

“Not just Rainbow Dash, Rarity,” Heartwing took a deep breath, and clenched his eyes shut.  “It has been over a thousand years since you disappeared.  Everypony you knew, barring a few exceptions such as myself, has passed on centuries ago.”

“You can’t be serious,” Rarity deadpanned.  “I must say, Discord, of all your silly little jokes in the past, this one seems to be in the poorest taste.  I had quite thought you were over these immature pranks.  Now please, snap your claw and bring me back to my boutique.  I’m sure the orders are piling up as usual.”

“Rarity, I told you, this is not a prank!” Heartwing said earnestly, his ears pinned back as he stomped an angry hoof.  “I can’t ‘fix’ this.  Time has passed.  Centuries.  We didn’t know where you were.  I just happened to stumble upon you in this cave, surrounded by the roots of the Tree of Harmony and some sort of magical stasis bubble.”

“But… but you said everypony died.  That can’t be true; Twilight was an alicorn!”

“Princess Twilight’s gone too, Rarity,” Heartwing said, his voice going small.  “After… after Fluttershy passed, she needed to use the Elements to stop a grave threat, even though there was nopony to bear them except herself.  It was too much…”

“You’re lying, Discord!” Rarity stamped her hoof against the floor with fury. “You’ve always been a scoundrel, but this is too low, even for you!”

“I told you, I don’t go by that name any longer.  I’m not even… anything close to what I used to be.  I’ve lost everything I was; I’m just a pony now.  You can call me Heartwing.”

Emberglow was lost.  She had no idea what either one was talking about, but from what she could glean from the conversation, the two of them had been… adversaries of some sort?  They certainly didn’t seem on friendly terms.

“Well, ‘Heartwing’, why don’t you just let this whole ‘non-prank’ play itself out, hmm?” There was a stretched sort of quality to her voice, a strain of barely controlled anxiety.  “Tell me whatever crazy story you want, so we can all move on with our lives.”

“Very well, Rarity, but it’s not a story." Heartwing took a deep breath. "After you disappeared, we all looked.  Twilight looked for decades, whenever she had free time from her princess duties.  Starlight looked too; she became so obsessed with finding you that it tore apart her friendships.  But after so many years and so many dead ends…” Heartwing shrugged.  “Lives move on. 

"Rainbow Dash was the first to pass; it was an accident, she died saving ponies from a mudslide.  After that, we all realized the others had lost their connection to the Elements of Harmony.  It made everypony believe that you had to be alive, somewhere.  But still, nothing.  Then old age happened.  First Applejack, then Pinkie Pie.  Finally Fluttershy passed.”  Heartwing clenched his eyes shut, his face twisted with pain.  “After that, I kinda… checked out for a bit.  Spent some more time as stone.  When I finally woke up, nearly all my power was gone, drained away.  And the world?  Equestria?” Heartwing shuddered.  “This place is a nightmare.”

“Whatever do you mean, darling?”  Emberglow could hear the hint of fear in her voice.

“This mare here,” he said, gesturing with a hoof.  “…is part of a church that rules everything Celestia and Luna used to.  They call it the Holy Equestrian Diarchy.  They’re fearmongers and bigots, and they’ve been holding Equestria in their hooves for longer than I’ve been in stone.  When I woke up three centuries ago, I’ve been trying to undo everything they’ve wrecked, but they’ve got a bit of a head start.”

“It’s you!” Emberglow said, realizing just then who Heartwing was claiming to be. Her stomach roiled with disgust as she thought about all the time she’d spent with him, fighting with him, talking with him, even trusting him, just a little. “You’re the Arch Heretic!”  She shoved her way in between Heartwing and Rarity, facing off against the heretic knight.  “I don’t know who you really are, miss, or what lies this creature has told you, but he’s dangerous.  Stay behind me, I’ll get you out of whatever mess he’s tricked you into.”

“I know he’s dangerous, miss, but maybe we should…”

“You want some proof of what I’m saying?” Heartwing interrupted Rarity.  “Ask this young lady what her offered protection means for a unicorn.”

“What is he talking about?” Rarity asked from behind Emberglow.

“He’s just parroting heretic propaganda.  Unicorns are treated quite well in the Diarchy.  Once your horn is safely removed, you’ll be taken to a relocation colony, where you can live out the rest of your life in peace, with other safe unicorns.”

“Remove my… horn?” Rarity hissed.  The horror and disgust in the mare’s voice made Emberglow turn to look at her.  Rarity’s face was suffused with revulsion.  She raised a white hoof to her horn, protectively, her terrified blue eyes wide on Emberglow’s.

“It’s quite a safe and painless process,” Emberglow said, her voice reassuring.  “It really is the best way…”

“You… you threaten me with murder, and try and tell me it’s painless?  The best way?!” Rarity shrieked, backing away from Emberglow so quickly she tripped against one of the roots.  “What kind of monster are you?”

“Murder?  No, just horn removal,” Emberglow replied, confused.

“She has no idea,” Heartwing whispered mournfully.  “Very few of them do.”

“Darling, a unicorn can’t live without their horn.  Literally.” Rarity shivered with disgust.  “Some can go as long as a few months after a full amputation, but losing a horn is… terminal!

“What?" Emberglow looked at Rarity in shock for a few moments before shaking her head. "No.  You’re wrong.  There’s whole colonies of unicorns, living safe and peaceful lives.”

“Have you ever seen one?” Heartwing countered angrilly.  “Or better yet, have you ever spoken with a hornless unicorn?  Rarity’s right about the time frame. An adult can last as long as three or four months.  Foals about half that.  Most unicorns are mutilated as babies, however.  They don’t usually last a week.” His voice slipped at the end, cracking just slightly.

Emberglow looked back and forth between the two unicorns.  There was no lie in their faces, only horror in Rarity’s, and sadness in Heartwing’s.

“But… the colonies...” Emberglow heard the blood pounding in her ears.

“Are fiction.  There are processing facilities to harvest the horns, then an unmarked mass grave.  If you need proof, I’ll take you to one.”

No.

“But that would mean…”

No.

“If something like this were happening, somepony would know!”

No. 

“Everypony would know!”

No.

“No!  I don’t believe you!”

Not him.

“I don’t believe you!”

That would mean…

“You’re a liar!”

That would mean my brother is…

“Liar!  Heretic!”

Lucky Break is…

“You’re lying!  Liar!”

Lucky Break is…

“Dead!” Emberglow shrieked, sobbing.  She was trembling; no, she was shaking, her entire body tremoring as she collapsed to the root floor.  “He’s not dead!  Not dead, he can’t be dead you’re lying you’re a liar!”  

She felt like she’d been stabbed.  A wrenching, twisting pain shot through her core, and the contents of her last meal, that scanty snack of mushrooms, flowed violently out of her esophagus as she vomited onto the floor.  Choking and gasping, she vomited again, and a third time, dry heaving as she shook and sobbed.

Slowly, after an eternity, her retching subsided. There was a ringing silence in her ears — she could still faintly hear conversation, but it was just background noise against the roaring of her mind. 

Her thoughts were a maelstrom.  Horror mostly; a crushing, expansive emptiness large enough to drown her.  But there was guilt as well, for the things she’d done in the name of lies.

And how could it not be lies?  Rarity was here.  Living proof.  Emberglow’s spells, Rarity’s cutie mark; even the sad, confused sort of shock Rarity was reacting to everything with.   She tried to think, but her mind was like a sieve; she couldn’t hold onto a single complete thought.

The world spun around her, and she screwed her eyes shut.  Her mind was buzzing with thoughts that swirled and spun out in dizzying circles, skipping through memories of her life. 

Her life. What had that all meant, in the end? Her constant, undivided devotion to the Saints? The sacrifices she had made, and those that others had made? How many lives she ruined in her unthinking service to her Saints?

Lucky Break. Bubblegum and her husband and the griffon. Captain Zuberi and his daughter and his crew.

“But they were… they were…”

Night Star.  He had a father who loved him.

“I can’t…”

...Gadget.

A loud wail echoed off of the walls of the cave.  Somepony was screaming.  Emberglow was screaming.  And in between the screams came the dry heaving, the cramping, clenching, wrenching pain of it all.  Her mouth tasted of bile again.

“This is too much.  There has to be something we can do for the poor mare.”  Rarity speaking.  Emberglow curled up in on herself.

The words continued, but Emberglow barely heard the conversation; it certainly didn’t register in her comprehension at all. She could barely hear anything at all over the buzzing in her ears.  

But as she sobbed, her throat rasping with each breath, the air like hot embers shoved down the naked tissue, she suddenly felt a gentle hoof stroking her mane.  Slowly, ever so slowly, she was pulled gently into a soft embrace; one hoof going around her, another gently stroking her hair.  The angelic voice of her comforter was singing something, Emberglow realized with surprise.  From the words, it sounded like a foal’s lullaby.  A little nonsensical, given the situation, but she found her sobs slowly becoming whimpers, then merely breaths.

“How are you feeling, darling?” the angelic voice above her asked.  Emberglow finally opened her eyes to look at Lady Rarity.  The unicorn was holding a white cloth she had found somewhere in the cerulean glow of her magic, and with a little surprise Emberglow recognized one of her bandages from her saddlebag.  Gently, Rarity used the cloth to wipe away the tears around Emberglow’s eyes, then passed the cloth to the pegasus, who managed to do some of her own cleaning.

“I’m so sorry,” Emberglow muttered, realizing how this must look.  An adult pony being snuggled like a foal in the hooves of a near complete stranger.

A very attractive, naked stranger.

She shot out of Rarity’s hooves so fast she nearly fell over.  She yelped in panic. “I’m so sorry!” she repeated.  “I’m such a wreck, you’re probably confused and traumatized and here you are having to deal with all of my issues and comforting me and I’m so embarrassed please don’t be mad…” Suddenly there was a white hoof at her lips, and Rarity was smiling gently.

“I can’t begin to understand what’s going on, darling, but I understand distress when I see it.  You needed a hug.  I was more than happy to provide.”

“I… um… but…” Emberglow stated.  Rarity continued to smile, but when Emberglow looked back at Heartwing, he had a knowing smirk on his face.  A too knowing smirk.  “Whatever you’re thinking…”

“What?” Heartwing said innocently.  “I just think you’re adorable when you’re infatuated.”

Blood flooded the vessels in Emberglow’s face, and she could see even Lady Rarity blushing a bit at Heartwing’s comment.  Emberglow made the best possible decision she could given her capacity for information processing at the moment; she hid her face in her hooves.

“Don’t tease the poor dear, Discord.  Or rather, Heartwing.  She’s going through enough as it is.”

“I was just trying to lighten the mood by changing the subject,” Heartwing said petulantly.  “Besides, you’re probably embarrassing her more than I am.”

“However do you mean, darling?” Rarity asked.

“As you are well aware, fashion changes based on fickle trends and impulses, shifting every month, sometimes every week.  Imagine, for a moment, how much fashion has changed in centuries?  Now, imagine that your own opinions on clothing and couture have been manipulated and twisted over hundreds of years to become a sort of nudity taboo.  It is now completely unacceptable to parade about in the buff, even though it was the norm back in your day.”

“Oh.  OH!”  Rarity said, sounding scandalized.  Emberglow didn’t dare look.

“Are you more upset because you’re naked, or because you’re out of fashion?” Heartwing teased.

“Nudity never really bothered me, Heartwing,” Rarity replied.  “But to commit a fashion faux pas, without even knowing the rules…” She shuddered with disgust.  “Give me that blanket.  I shall have to perform some triage, as it were.  Darling, do you mind if I borrow some of your tools from your first aid kit here?”  Emberglow didn’t trust her voice, so she just nodded.

“We might need that for survival purposes, you know…” Heartwing said.Emberglow heard a ripping noise.  “Never mind.”  There was a lot of rustling, and a few more tears, before Emberglow dared to open her eyes again.

Lady Rarity was just doing the finishing touches on a dress made entirely out of the brown wool blanket.  It was cinched about her barrel by one of Emberglow’s bandages, which had been tied in a wide bow on one side.  Holes ripped on either end for her front hooves gave the impression of a sleeveless summer dress, while the unicorn had somehow managed to use a needle and thread from Emberglow’s first aid kit to sew the front together.  She’d even taken a strip of the blanket and made it into a scarf.

“Great.  You killed my survival blanket,” Heartwing grumped.

“I didn’t kill it, darling.  I’ve given it a glorious second life,” Rarity said triumphantly, but then looked back at her handiwork.  “Well, maybe not a glorious second life, per se, but certainly much more fashionable than it was before.  I suppose it will have to do.  Miss… Emberglow, are you okay?”

“Fine, thank you.  And you didn’t have to… for me, I mean…”

“You were uncomfortable, dear.  I am more than happy to adapt,” Rarity said, her eyes twinkling as she smiled.  Emberglow could stare into those sapphires for weeks.  She shook her head violently.

“Well, now that that’s been taken care of,” Heartwing began with an eye roll.  “We have more important things to worry about.”

“Indeed.  Such as, where are we?” Rarity asked.

“The ruins of Manehattan,” Heartwing said.

“Ruins of…” Rarity gasped.

“Yeah, Manehattan.  It’s been rubble for centuries, Rarity.”

“Oh,” she replied, looking away.  There was a sadness in her gaze, and suddenly Emberglow wanted to reach out to comfort her, instead of the other way around.  She couldn’t bring herself to lift her hooves, though.  “What happened?”

“It’s a long story,” Heartwing sighed, then flinched.  “That’s a horrible cliche, isn’t it?  The short version is, things got worse.  Without--”

He cut off suddenly when he saw the stricken look that slid over Rarity’s face.  Emberglow got the feeling that Rarity was on the edge of her own meltdown.  Rarity shook her head quickly, her voice strained.  “Continue, please.  I’ll be fine.”

“Without your friends around, the situation deteriorated.  Manehatten became ground zero in  the conflict between the Diarchy, and a group of rebel unicorns.  It didn’t go well for the rebels.”  Heartwing glanced away.  

“So if the city is in ruins, why were you two here?  I get the idea that you both weren’t exactly on the same side.”

“We’re not.  As soon as I woke up from my stony prison, I discovered that my magic had been… erm… drastically depleted.  I couldn’t even snap myself a glass of lukewarm upside-down chocolate milk.  So I took the form of a unicorn and made my way about, trying to get a feel for things.  What I saw…” Heartwing shivered, and he looked angry.  “What ponies were doing to each other, and in her name…”

“Fluttershy was very dear to you,” Rarity stated softly.  Heartwing nodded, his heart in his eyes.

“I couldn’t handle it.  I had to hurt them.  How dare they torture and maim and oppress, all in Fluttershy’s name?  It was the worst blasphemy I could imagine.  At first, I wanted nothing more than to destroy them all.  I might have tried, too, if Princess Flurry hadn’t stopped me.”

“Flurry Heart is still alive?” Rarity gasped.  “That’s… at least that’s good news.”  She sounded like a drowning pony, grasping whatever desperate bright side she could.

“Of a sort,” Heartwing said, nervously rubbing one hoof against another.  “Empress Cadence is still alive as well, I think.  We don’t get along.  Flurry… reminded me that I bear some responsibility for how things turned out, and that my energies might be better spent trying to fix them.  I may have burned some bridges, metaphorically and literally, in my not-so-well-reasoned response to her reminder.  We haven’t spoken in a few centuries.  She was right, though.  I wasn’t around to stop what happened, so it’s up to me to try and fix things.  So I infiltrated the order of Holy Knights dedicated to Fluttershy, and co-opted the lot of them.  Now they work for me, and we try to undermine the Diarchy from within and without, saving as many unicorns and outcast ponies as we can.”

“You and I will have to have a longer conversation about history later,” Rarity said.  “I’d like to see more of this ruined city myself.  How do we get out of this cave?”

“There is an exit tunnel over there,” Emberglow said, grateful for the change in subject.  She didn’t want to think too hard about any of those things, just yet.  “But the problem is, there’s an angry whatsit on the other end.”

“An angry…?”

“Orthos,” Heartwing supplied.

“Oh, you mean like one of those adorable but… hrm… moist two headed puppies like Fluttershy owned for a few hours?”  Rarity asked.  Emberglow stared at her in mild surprise.  It was the same thing Heartwing had said.

“Imagine that, but twice as big, horribly mutated, and mean,” Heartwing replied.  Rarity shuddered. 

“I’d rather not, darling.  Is there any other way out?”

“I haven’t seen one,” Heartwing said.

“Have you tried asking the Tree of Harmony?” Rarity said.

“Asking the…” Heartwing began, sounding surprised.  “Rarity, it’s a tree.”

“A magical tree that apparently spoke to our students once, remember?  It claimed to evolve and grow over time.”  Rarity cleared her throat.  “Ahem, miss Tree of Harmony?  Darling, if you can hear me, I would like a word.”

“There’s no way it’s that easy,” Heartwing muttered, before a pony-shaped glow began to appear in front of them.  “Of course it’s that easy.”  

The glow was lavender, and began to take shape, with wings, a horn, and a golden crown with a red six-pointed star on top.  Its fur was lavender, and its mane purple with magenta and darker purple streaks.

“Princess Twilight!” Rarity gasped, but the figure shook its head sadly.  “Oh, that’s right.  When you spoke to our students, you took her form that time, as well.”  The figure nodded, looking sympathetic at the disappointment in Rarity’s voice.

“Time… passed… brought you back… you were needed…” the slightly glowing figure whispered softly.  All three ponies strained to hear; the translucent figure sounded weak.  “Saved you… for now.”

“You were the one who sealed me away?  Why?”

“Need… to find… the elements.  Find Elements… and new bearers.  Bring back… Harmony.  Bring back… alicorns.”

“We need to find the Elements of Harmony?  And their bearers?  Where shall we look?”

“Here,” the pseudo-Twilight said, gesturing at the three of them.  “And elsewhere.  Discord knows… where to start.”

“I do?” Heartwing mused thoughtfully.  The figure nodded.

“We need to get out of this cave, too,” Rarity said.  The Tree nodded, and its horn lit up.  A wall, made entirely of Tree roots, parted with a thousand creaks of moving wood to create an archway, revealing a path sloping upwards.  “And, darling, is there anything we can do for you?”

“You were always… my friend,” the Tree smiled.  “Didn’t… talk to you much, but… always, all of you.  Miss all of you…” a crystalline tear leaked down the Tree’s eye.  “Be safe… be happy… so proud…”  The image didn’t fade, it flickered, and then disappeared entirely.

“Oh,” Rarity said, a little sadly.  “I didn’t really ever know that she felt that way.  I suppose I did carry one of the Elements for years, off and on…”

“I think just the fact that you spoke to her personally touched her,” Emberglow said, still awed by whatever had happened.  “At least that’s the impression I got.”

“It was a kind thing she said, at least,” Rarity said.  “But what do you think she meant, that Heartwing knows where to start?  And to look ‘here’?”

“She must have known I have this,” Heartwing said, extracting a small pouch from around his neck.  Emberglow hadn’t noticed it before; he had apparently removed it surreptitiously when he removed his gambeson earlier.  With his magic, he upended the pouch into Rarity’s waiting hooves.  Out spilled a small gem, the shape of a butterfly.  It was pink.  “It… might have been a bit petty, but I couldn’t stand to let them keep it.  The idea of those monsters with their bloody hooves on Fluttershy’s element...”  Heartwing took an angry breath, then snorted.  “I stole it.”

“So we need to find a way to get the others from them, as well,” Rarity stated, as she stared at the pink butterfly gem.  Emberglow was gaping at it.  It was an Element of Harmony.  A sacred artifact straight out of scripture.  Something that Saint Fluttershy had touched.  She yearned to reach out, to touch it herself, but it didn’t feel like she belonged in this moment. 

“I think they only have two more,” Heartwing said thoughtfully.  “I have spies in the capitol, and I don’t think the Diarchy has the Elements of Loyalty or Generosity.  Last I heard, Flurry Heart had gotten ahold of Laughter.”

“But they might still have Magic and Honesty,” Rarity mused.  Heartwing shrugged, taking the Element of Kindness back with his magic and levitating it back into his pouch.  “And… who even will bear the Elements?  You said that our friends had lost their connection when… when Rainbow Dash died.”

Emberglow could see the sudden stab of pain in Rarity’s face as she stumbled over the sentence.  For a moment, she could think of nothing but sympathy and concern.  Here she was, wallowing in her own grief and misery, while this poor unicorn had just been told that everybody she ever knew and loved had passed away centuries ago.  She wondered how Rarity was managing to handle things so well.

“So we try to make contact with Flurry Heart,” Rarity said confidently.  “If that’s what we need to do to restore harmony to this world of yours, I’ll help you track down whoever the new Elements are.”  She turned to look at Emberglow.  “And you, darling?  How are you holding up?”

That was the ten-thousand-bit question, wasn’t it?  Emberglow honestly didn’t know how to answer.  Her mind was a wreck, pure scrambled eggs.  She had always been so certain, so set in her faith, and now it was a wreck around her.

“I’ve seen that look before,” Heartwing said.  “The solution is, take each day one at a time.”

“What?” Emberglow asked, confused.

“I’ve helped pick up the pieces after dozens, maybe hundreds of ponies have lost their faith.  Each pony is different, but the trick is, don’t try to take on too much at once.  Don’t try to answer every question, don’t try to think too hard about could haves, should haves, or might have beens.  Just try to answer one question at a time, take one day at a time, and eventually you’ll figure out where you fit into the world without your faith.  And for the love of Celestia, find somepony you can talk to about all this.  I’d be happy to introduce you to several dozen ponies who have gone through the exact same process you have.  The tunnel is long and dark, but there’s light on the other end.  I promise.”

It sounded like reasonable advice.  In fact, it felt like something she’d heard from Mercy Song after her issues in the Ivy Seminary.  But it was hard to hear wisdom from a heretic. Just a few days ago they’d been trying to kill one another.

If he’s right, does that mean I was on the wrong side?  Of a war?

She didn’t want it to be true. But wanting wasn’t enough.  Not any more.

One day at a time.  One step at a time.

“Darling?  Are you okay?”

She’d been breathing heavily again.

“Yeah, I…” She stopped the polite lie she was about to speak.  “No, I’m not.  But I’m trying.  Let’s get out of this cave.  I need to see the sunshine again.”  Emberglow felt more guilt.  Rarity was looking out for her.  Again.  She took initiative, making sure her saddlebag was situated on her back before moving through the archway created by the Tree of Harmony’s roots.  

“Just a moment, darlings,” Rarity said, walking over to where the Tree’s Twilight figure had been standing.  There, hidden between two roots, was the crystalline tear that the phantom had shed.  It was solid, not a projection or an image, but a real gemstone, bright blue and sparkling.  Rarity picked it up with her magic and levitated it over to Heartwing.  “Can you store this in your pouch, please?”  He nodded, and Rarity placed the gem in the pouch with the Element of Kindness.  Then she trotted off after Emberglow, the three of them moving up the uphill path out of the cave.

“I feel like I must mention how much more pleasant this cave is than the last one we were in,” Heartwing began, his tone jaunty.

“That’s a low bar to set,” Emberglow glanced at the tiny, claustrophobic cave they’d fallen out of.  

“Yes, that cave,” Heartwing said.  “This one is so much nicer.  I’ll have to thank the Tree next time we speak with her.”

“I have been meaning to ask, why were there roots of the Tree here?  In Manehattan?” Rarity asked.  “Wasn’t the tree in Ponyville?  And what’s Ponyville like now?”

“Ponyville was… um… destroyed,” Heartwing said nervously.  “All the ponies moved away, mostly to Canterlot or Manehattan.  A few years later, the folks who would eventually become the leaders of the Diarchy started building their city on top of what was left of the castle.  It’s called New Canterlot City, now.”

“Nothing survived of the original town?” Rarity asked, her voice shaking.  Heartwing shook his head.  “Oh.  I had hoped, maybe my boutique…”

“Boutique?” Emberglow asked.

“Yes, back in my day, — Rarity shuddered at the phrase — “I was quite the accomplished fashion designer.  I had shops open in Canterlot, Manehattan, and of course my home in Ponyville.  Carousel Boutique, it was called.”

“You designed and sewed dresses?” Emberglow asked.

“Yes, darling.  I wonder, what did your strange scriptures say about me?”

“Saint Rarity was the paragon of generosity.  She saw ignorant ponies going about their lives, completely naked, and dedicated her life to clothing the world.  She made dresses and gave them away to any and all who needed clothing.”

“I call that the Sparklevoice,” Heartwing said, giggling.

“Don’t be rude, Heartwing,” Rarity chided, though she was smirking slightly when Emberglow looked back at them.

“What?” she asked.

“Well, when you were giving your little… erm… expositional statement, you did sound a bit like my friend, Twilight Sparkle.  She liked to educate us rather frequently, and she had a particular tone of voice…”

“She liked to lecture,” Heartwing said, cackling.  “You can stop trying to sugar coat it.”

“Yes, well, it’s not a bad thing,” Rarity said.  Emberglow thought about it for a moment.

“So I remind you of Saint Twilight?” she asked.  “I’m going to take that as a compliment.”

“As you should,” Rarity stated firmly, with a quelling glare at Heartwing, who only giggled more.

The floor of the cave was flat, and the ceiling arched.  There were no more roots lining the floors or walls, but unlike the other cave rooms there was no stalactite growth or fungi.  The air was fresher, as well, without the stench of stagnant water or rotting things.  And there was certainly no sign of any orthos.  It wasn’t long before the three ponies could hear the sounds of outdoor insect life.  Finally the ponies rounded a corner in the cave and saw the starry night sky; a midnight blue blanket scattered with twinkling lights and a glowing half-moon.

“It’s… nighttime,” Heartwing stated dumbly.  “I guess I really lost track of my days in there.”

“Where are we, exactly?” Rarity asked.  Heartwing looked around at the broken, moss covered ruins, not a single one standing more than a story tall.  They were in an intersection of the streets, and Heartwing spotted a street sign on a rusted metal post, leaning at a forty-five degree angle into the intersection.

“110th and Bridleway, looks like,” Heartwing said, scraping some dirt off the sign.  Rarity gasped, spinning around in a circle, looking at the ancient decay around her.

“110th and Bridleway…” she repeated.  “My… shop, Rarity For You, was just a few blocks that direction,” she pointed towards a pile of moss-covered concrete.  “Miss Pommel  lived just a few streets that way… I stayed at a hotel with my friends, just over…” She trailed off vaguely, her hoof waving at an intact, vine draped ruin with crumbling walls.  “Oh.  Oh my!”  The unicorn plopped down in the middle of the street, weeping silently.

Emberglow understood.  Rarity had been pushing off this reaction nearly since she learned she was in the future.  Seeing the ruins of a city she was familiar with, however, had suddenly made things much more real.  All her friends were dead.  She moved towards the unicorn, but hesitated.  She was a complete stranger.  How could…

“Now would be an opportune time for hugs,” Heartwing muttered to her softly.  

Emberglow nodded, walking awkwardly over to the mare.  She reached out a shaking hoof to the purple mane, wondering if Rarity even needed comfort the way she had.  She almost stopped, preparing to back away, when a gentle shove from behind pushed her into the unicorn, her hoof going around the weeping mare’s head just like Rarity’s had for her earlier.  Emberglow stroked the silky hair, suppressing an unconscious flinch at the horn.  

“Sorry, I don’t know any lullabies,” Emberglow said softly.  “And I don’t think my voice is…” she cut off in surprise as Rarity wrapped her hooves around Emberglow’s barrel, crushing her face against Emberglow’s chest and sobbing.  The two mares held each other tightly.

“I’m so sorry, Lady Rarity.  I’m so selfish.  All that time in the cave, and I was only thinking about me, what I’ve lost, how I’ve hurt.  I didn’t even take a second to think about what you might be going through.”  Rarity shook her head, her nose rubbing against Emberglow’s fur.

“Thank you, darling,” the unicorn whispered.  “It was just… too much.  All my friends…”

“Not all of them,” Emberglow reasoned.  “You were friends with Heartwing before, right?”

“We were never as close as we should have been,” Heartwing said, standing aside to give the mares some room, but close enough to join in the conversation.  “I… I’m a different creature than I was before, Rarity, and you should know I regret how antagonistic and annoying I could be some times.”

“I just feel so hollow…” Rarity cried.  “Everything I was, everything I stood for, everypony I influenced, I loved, all for nothing.”  Emberglow tapped her gently on the head, and Rarity looked up at her, their eyes meeting.

“One day at a time, remember?” Emberglow said, and Rarity smiled tremulously.

“Those days might be much easier to deal with if one can still find a source of chocolate ice cream,” Rarity managed with a weak giggle.  She squeezed Emberglow one more time before backing away.  “Thank you, darling.  I needed that.”

“I think Emberglow was just looking for an excuse to touch you again,” Heartwing teased, and Emberglow shot him a glare before she looked at Rarity’s face, which was… speculative.  Curious.  Emberglow’s heart beat faster.

“And thank you, you lout, for ruining such a tender moment,” Rarity said, also glaring at the other unicorn.  But the speculative look remained when she glanced back at Emberglow.  Emberglow’s stomach felt fluttery.

“S-so now that we’re out, what do we do?” Emberglow stuttered.  Nice smooth subject change, there, genius.  You’ve known this mare for all of two hours, and you’re already crushing this hard?  She shook her head to clear it. 

“I’ll signal for my people to come find us,” Heartwing hesitated.  “Emberglow… there’s a place for you among my people.  If you want it.” Emberglow froze.  

Did she want to?  Leave her family, her faith, and her people behind to follow a heretic?  She was fairly certain she was a heretic now, as well, but... still.

“There are ponies I care about, back in New Canterlot City. And questions I need answers to.  I want to stay with you,” with Rarity… “…but I have some things I want to know first.”

“You’re going back?  Emberglow, you know they’ll arrest you if you start asking the wrong questions,” Heartwing said.  “I doubt we can rescue you if they arrest you for heresy, then it’s a black bag over your head as you disappear into a Knights Mystic facility forever.”

“I know how to be subtle,” Emberglow said, then glared at Heartwing when he snorted.  “I know what questions not to ask.  But I can’t just leave.  My friends and family are there; I need to figure some things out.  How do I… find you and your people when I’m done?”

“Our agents use dead drops in New Canterlot City.  I’ll give you the location of a few of them.  When you know you want to get out, and come find me again, leave a note at one of my dead drops, and you will be contacted.”

“What if I’m being followed?”

“Then whoever’s following you will report you to the Mystics, and you’ll probably be arrested for heresy,” Heartwing said bluntly.  “This is a bad idea.”  Emberglow said nothing, and Heartwing sighed.  “How are you even going to get back to your people?”

“Wings, remember?  I can’t fly at full capacity, but I’ll be able to get into the air, at least.”  She flapped her wings experimentally.  Surprisingly, there was no pain, only a bit of stiffness.  “Send your signal; I’ll wait with the two of you until your people come to pick you up.”

“Already did.  While you two were snuggling, I sent up an infrared signal with my horn.  I have a few spotters out there watching with the proper enchantments to see.  It’s only a matter of seconds before…”

“Heartwing!” came a baritone voice from the sky.  A dark figure landed next to the three ponies, and the two mares yelped in surprise.  Heartwing looked chagrined, sheepishly glancing at the pegasus who had just touched down in their midst.  “You’re safe!  You’re alive!”

The pegasus was nearly impossible to see in the dark; his fur was black, with a silver mane and tail.  He wore Knight armor just like Heartwing’s, with Fluttershy’s cutie mark painted on the flank.  A large barreled firearm was strapped across his back.  He paused, looking at the two mares warily.

“They’re safe, Termie,” Heartwing said.  With a nod, the pegasus stallion stepped over to Heartwing, and with one quick motion had wrapped his hooves around the other in a tight hug, complete with a joint nuzzle so tender Emberglow nearly blushed and turned away.

“I told you so, sir,” the pegasus said, burying his face in Heartwing’s mane.  He was about three inches taller than the unicorn.  “I said you shouldn’t go, that it was too dangerous.”  The relieved sounding stallion kissed his slightly smaller coltfriend, running his lips down the other’s ear and kissing at his cheeks, his lips, and his chin, with the franticness of snapped tension.  Heartwing put up with the attention patiently, his lips sliding up in a soft smile that Emberglow had never seen before.  “You worried me to death, sir.”

“I told you, you don’t have to call me sir,” Heartwing muttered, slightly embarrassed, though the gentle smile stayed.  He kissed the new stallion back on the nose, before pushing away.  “I want you to meet some ponies, Termie.”

“This is Lady Emberglow, Knight Radiant,” he said, pointing with a hoof.  “She’s experiencing a bit of a crisis of faith right now, so I wouldn’t expect her to try to kill you.”  Emberglow rolled her eyes.  “And this is Rarity.  Rarity, Emberglow, meet Terminus Flash.  He’s very special to me.”

“Rarity?” Terminus said, his mouth open in shock.  “You mean, Rarity?  THE Rarity?”

“The readings of Harmony magic  we were getting on the spectrometers?  Probably the stasis spell that was keeping her alive all these years,” Heartwing said.  Terminus stared.

“Oh please,” Rarity said, blushing and fluttering her eyelashes as she stepped forward to shake Terminus’ hoof in greeting.  “I’m not as special as all that.”

“I know I’ve come to expect the strange and supernatural when Heartwing is around, but…” Terminus said, trailing off.  “I’m shaking a Saint’s hoof.  I stopped believing in you twelve years ago, you know.  Should I apologize for that?”

“If it helps, I had no idea about all this ‘saint’ nonsense until about two hours ago,” Rarity said.  “So, you and Mr. Heartwing…?” she asked, her voice raising inquisitively with a twinkle in her eye.  

“We’ll have time for gossip later,” Heartwing rolled his eyes.  “Termie, you have a bus on the way?”

“Yes, sir, I radioed it in as soon as I saw the signal.  Wasn’t expecting more than one pony, so it might be cramped if Miss Emberglow can’t fly.”

“Emberglow won’t be joining us, unfortunately,” Heartwing said, and Terminus eyed the pegasus mare, his gaze turning hostile in a heartbeat.

“Going back?” he asked dangerously.

“Nothing like that, I hope,” Heartwing said.  Emberglow nodded.

“I just have some questions I need to ask,” Emberglow said, and Terminus’ hostile look became a skeptical one.

“Well, it was nice knowing you, I guess,” he said.

“Bus?” Rarity asked.

“Pegasus-pulled chariot,” Heartwing asked.  “Good for transporting us non-winged ponies.”  He turned to Emberglow.  “You’re sure I can’t convince you to come with us?  I’m sure I wouldn’t be the only pony who’d appreciate your presence.”  He eyed Rarity significantly, who was scanning the sky, watching for the approaching ‘bus’.  

“I need to sort some things out,” Emberglow told him.  “I promise I will try to leave a message at one of your dead drops.”

“Where do you plan on going?”

“I have a friend, a noble pony who lives in a manor outside of New Canterlot City.  I have to confirm something with my old mentor.  I have to know how much he knew…” she trailed off.  “I’m sure my friend will let me stay with him while I find Sir Steadfast.”

“Are you familiar with the Tirek’s Fall monument outside of the city?” Heartwing asked, and Emberglow nodded.  “In the park around the monument, there’s a bench next to two willow trees that grew up tangled next to each other.  There’s a public trash can next to the bench.  Put a note for me in the little hollow underneath the trash can.  Somepony will find it, and we’ll find a way to contact you.”

“I will.  Thank you, Heartwing.  I’ll wait with you ponies until your ride gets here, then I’ll start to make my way back to New Canterlot City.”

It took only a couple more minutes for the chariot to show up.  Drawn by two pegasi, it was an open carriage, with benches on two sides.  The pegasi, not Knights, were harnessed to the front.  They came to a gentle landing in front of the four ponies.

“Glad you’re alive, sir,” one of them said, saluting Heartwing.  “All aboard, we’d like to get out of here as quick as possible.  There’s still Diarchy forces about.”

“Sounds good.  Everybody who’s going, board up.”

“Um, Rarity?  Before you go, I have a favor to ask,” Emberglow asked nervously.  “I need to borrow your dress.”