It took three days via pony-drawn carriage to reach the city of Utopia from the town of Newhaven, and what a wonderful three days it had been. The southern continent, as it turned out, wasn't just reminiscent of Twilight's own Equestria, it may as well have been part of home this entire time. If she didn't know any better she'd have said that this wasn't a different world at all, but just some undiscovered country that had yet to be put on her maps.
By day their caravan travelled at a swift, steady pace; by night, they would camp out under the stars at designated camping sites. They weren't the only ponies on the road whatsoever, nor the only ones camping at these sites, but other traveling groups stuck to themselves and didn't disturb their caravan, or vice versa. It was all so delightfully mundane compared to the excitement of the past month.
The fields of green grass stretched out as far as the eye could see. During the day the sky was a gorgeous blue with plenty of perfectly white clouds. The sun shined brilliantly in the day but it was never too hot, and the moons and stars were bright enough to light the way even in the dead of night. There were plenty of plants and animals to be seen no matter where you looked. And oh, the smells.
It was all so real despite how different it was from the north. Was this really part of the same world?
Then they arrived at Utopia itself, sometime in the late morning, and Twilight noted that pictures didn't do the place justice whatsoever. The city was built into a shallow valley such that it filled most of the space available, save for a lake and a river on the far eastern side. It wasn't as big as New Pandemonium or even Hope's Point, but it was still big enough to impress folks who weren't used to such places. With its tall, white spires and cozy-looking homes, it actually reminded Twilight a lot of Canterlot.
It certainly seemed to live up to its name.
House Silver's estate was just on the far northern edge of the city, built up on the side of the slope leading down into the valley. The manor was much larger than House Sky's estate back in Newhaven, and more extravagant to boot, but then Twilight supposed that went hoof-in-hoof with the fact that the Silvers were the most powerful noble family in the south; they'd need a home to match.
The building itself was made of some sort of marble from what Twilight could tell, somehow tinted silver such that it even reflected light like the real metal would, but anypony could tell it wasn't actually metal. There was a large garden on the west side of the estate, replete with flowers, trees, and hedge trimmings that were being tended to by a single gardener. There also seemed to be a large yard of some sort on the opposite side, strewn with archaic training equipment.
When the caravan reached the manor gates, the guards wordlessly opened without so much as a second's hesitation; they obviously saw Lady Silverluck in the front carriage and didn't need much more confirmation than that. The party entered through the gates and parked in the front courtyard, whereupon everypony disembarked and watched as servants began collecting luggage without even needing to be told.
In the meantime, Silverluck sent a messenger along to Harmonia's temple to request an audience with Harmonia's Warden. The details were kept slim, but Silverluck said that they weren't necessary since Harmonia was literally all around them and very likely already knew they were here. The temple would probably summon them for a meeting before dinnertime tonight.
"Welcome, all, to Silver Manor, the estate of House Silver for over forty generations," announced Silverluck, who proudly gestured at her ancestral home. "You may all make yourselves at home as you see fit, and rooms have already been arranged and assigned. Lunch is being organized as we speak."
"You have a lovely home, Lady Silverluck," Twilight said with a smile as she looked about. "Has your family really lived here for over a thousand years?"
"Indeed we have, though obviously repairs and modifications have been made to keep the estate in top condition," Silverluck replied. "Naturally we have also made expansions to it in keeping with our standing in southern society. You may notice how our estate is significantly larger than House Sky's manor?"
"I did notice that, yes."
"That's because Lord Skycatcher has yet to complete his expansions. Because of his higher standing in the nobility these past few decades, he is more than allowed to do so, so I figure he's just taking his time to decide what he wants." A pause. "I suggested a pool house, but I suppose he does have the ocean right there."
Twilight tilted her head. "The nobility restricts how big you can make your house based on how important you are?"
Silverluck nodded. "Precisely. Though fret not, we don't make the lords or ladies demolish parts of their homes should they fall out of favor, though they are restricted from making use of the space. Their larger, empty homes serve to them as a reminder of what they once had and must work to regain."
"I see. Interesting."
Twilight kept the thought to herself that it sounded arbitrary and bizarre, but then that was how the nobility and aristocracy worked even back home even at the best of times. So many rules and traditions that they just didn't want to change no matter how outdated they might be.
The party was then soon greeted by the "proper" Lord and Lady of the house, Silverluck's parents: Lord Silverhoof and Lady Summer Rose. The latter hailed from another noble house, House Flower, hence the name. Apparently commoners here in the south were not allowed to name their foals with certain words if those words "belonged" to a noble house.
That every single flower was claimed by House Flower seemed rather limiting. Nopony was allowed to name their newborns with any variations of Daisy, Rose, Tulip, Violet, etcetera, unless they petitioned House Flower first. The same applied to the other houses, thus there were no commonfolk with the words Silver, Gold, Sky, Wind, Green, Night, Snow, Water, or Light in their names either.
Again, arbitrary and bizarre.
Though obviously this didn't apply to ponies in the north. Twilight did wonder, however, if any ponies in the north with names that evoked the noble houses in the south could trace their lineage here, or if they'd just been given the names like, well, a normal pony. It would probably take years to make that kind of genealogical connection.
That sounded like a fun project, actually. Something to think about after the merger.
Lord Silverhoof was, in a word, old. His coat and mane were slightly different shades of silvery gray, though that alone wasn't a sign of age considering his heritage, but he was a bit on the wrinkly side and had a great big beard. His wife, Lady Summer Rose, was younger, though obviously old enough to be Silverluck's mother, which would place her firmly on the older side of middle-age. Her coat was a lovely rose red, her mane a pale pink.
"Father, Mother," Silverluck greeted the pair with a low nod.
"Ah, my dear girl, it's good to see you again," Silverhoof said with a grin, stepping forward to pull his daughter in for a hug. "We received your messages of these strange tidings you bring, and though it troubles us deeply, we are proud of the work you have done. You shall make a wonderful lady of the house soon enough."
"Don't be so hasty to pass on the mantle yet, Father," Silverluck chuckled. "I still have much to learn on the proper way to lead our house, and circumstances are due to change rather soon." She then gestured towards the collected ponies—and other creatures—who had come along for the journey. "I believe that introductions are in order."
As Twilight had just been conversing with Silverluck, she was introduced first, with her proper title and everything; she could see some confusion on the old lord's face, but it was only temporary; Silverluck had sent word ahead of the situation they were all in, so the confusion was likely that he didn't expectTwilight to be so tall; nopony knew she was an alicorn if they didn't need to know.
These introductions continued down the line as only seemed proper, most of them kept short because the ponies being introduced weren't of noble origins and as such had no influence here and no need for Lord Silverhoof and his wife to be anything more than just polite and courteous, as opposed to openly friendly. And at least they were polite and courteous without a hint of pomposity.
Lord Golden Shield and Lord Skycatcher needed no introductions not only because Silverhoof and Summer Rose already knew them, but because they weren't here; the former had returned southwest to his home in Deepgrove to begin arranging things at his own estate, and the latter remained in Newhaven to do the same. They'd also be sending word to the other noble houses to arrange a summit of their own to discuss matters.
After greeting Queen Blackburn and King Lockwood, Silverluck introduced her parents to Rarity, which did actually give the lord and lady pause. Twilight didn't understand why at first, but Rarity was quick on the draw as always:
"My Lord, My Lady, it is a pleasure to meet you. Your reactions are perfectly understandable, and I apologize if I've brought up any bad memories with my presence," she said with a bow.
Silverhoof shook his head. "No… no, no bad memories. Just a wave of nostalgia, that's all. Silverluck told us about you, but until I saw it with my own eyes I did not think the similarities would be so striking."
"I had the same thought myself, Father," said Silverluck with a nod. "Though I feel I reacted more strongly than you and Mother have. Hence why I sent word ahead, to prepare you for it. It is quite the resemblance, is it not?"
"Hmm." Silverhoof gently brushed his hoof against Rarity's mane; she didn't seem to mind. "Different mane color, of course. But otherwise, yes, you could almost be our dear Silver Glow walking the world again, just as I remember her when I saw her last. You said your name is Rarity?"
"Yes, My Lord," Rarity responded with another low nod.
"A lovely name indeed. An amusing thought comes to mind, as we have an ancestor named Rarest Silver. A stallion, mind, but still."
Once introductions were finished—Gilderoy certainly drew a lot of curiosity, but it was the younger children that drew most of the old couple's attention, funnily enough—everypony present was invited to lunch here at the manor before they went about their business in the city.
Considering the road thus far, Twilight graciously and gratefully accepted the invitation, as sitting down indoors rather than riding along in a bumpy carriage sounded like heaven; her rear was sore from the ride and she desperately wanted to find the most comfortable chair that the estate could offer.
Ambassador Zultan, though, declined the invitation. "Thou art kind, My Lord, My Ladies, to inviteth me into thy home, but I regret that I hath duties to attend to before Harmonia doth grace us with her presence. His Majesty King Zaratite must be informed of our situation posthaste. Only a zebra messenger's words will be trusted, hence why I hath not sent word sooner."
"It's alright, Ambassador," Silverluck said with a smile. "Your duties to your country come first." A pause, and she brushed her mane out of her face, a hint of pink in her cheeks. "Are you… planning on traveling to Zeb'ra'den with the others when they leave?"
"Aye, My Lady, I must. His Majesty will no doubt desire mine account of these matters from mine own lips rather than via pen and parchment. But I will return to my duties here once my business at home is completed."
"Excellent. I shall arrange a meeting upon your return. You'll have to… fill me in on the details of your journey."
He smiled and took her hoof in his. "I look forward to that, My Lady Silverluck," he said with a kiss to her pastern, a gesture which Twilight knew was considered quite proper amongst nobles, yet it seemed much more friendly than that.
Obviously there was no other way to interpret it, though, as Lady Silverluck was married, even if she never had much to say about her husband.
As Zultan headed off, he wordlessly gestured for Sir Zircon to follow, who did so without hesitation after giving the ponies present a brief salute, hoof to chest. Zircon's eyes did drift slightly to Applejack, and Twilight could have sworn there was just the tiniest gesture of his head as if he were inviting her along.
Twilight was surprised—mostly because she'd been right!—when Applejack followed after the zebras, turning back to the group before she did. "Uh, no offense ta y'all, but these high falootin' lunches in a noble estate just, uh, ain't my speed. If y'all don't mind I'm gonna see what kinda food the rest o' the city has ta offer."
"You're sure?" asked Flathoof. "I mean, I get it, this fancy stuff really isn't for me either, but it's been a long trip. Sure you don't wanna just take it easy for a little bit?"
"Nah, it's fine. Mister Thou o'er here invited me ta lunch at the zebra embassy, then we're gonna do some trainin'. You're welcome ta join us if ya want."
Flathoof paused, tilting his head, then chuckled. "No, I don't think I will. Maybe later I'll head over to see how your training's coming along though."
"Sure, sounds good!" Applejack waved to the group as she headed off after the two zebras.
Twilight was glad that even if Applejack was refusing to participate in these "high falootin'" traditions, she was at least going off with others instead of just by herself. And at the very least Zircon would keep an eye on her; the two seemed like they'd become good friends and there was nothing about that that Twilight didn't approve of. Making friends with folks in this other world would help when it came time to merge the worlds together, after all.
*****
Applejack had heard Twilight compare this Utopia place to Canterlot while they were on the ride over. Seeing it up close like this, walking through the streets rather than riding in a carriage, just made that comparison seem more accurate, at least from Applejack's perspective. She was sure that Twilight was used to riding around Canterlot in a chariot or carriage nowadays, but Applejack had always done it with her own four hooves, even nowadays as part of the Friendship Council.
She followed along after Zircon, who in turn followed Ambassador Zultan, though Zircon kept his distance somewhat. Despite originally being called a "bodyguard" to the ambassador it was clear that Zircon was actually no such thing, and that had been clear for some time now; Zultan had brought him along just to help understand ponies better, nothing more.
"And now there is no doubt in my mind that he hath no need of such services anymore," Zircon said with a smile and a nod. "He hath a new guide from Lady Silverluck, and she shalt giveth him all the… experience he needeth to serve Zeb'ra'den honorably and, hmm, vigorously."
"Yeah, they sure do seem awful friendly with one another," Applejack said, scratching the side of her head. "But hey, that's a good thing, right? Makin' friends 'n' such is a mighty good thing ta be doin' considerin' all that's happenin' right now."
"Aye, a wise consideration indeed. 'Tis a shame that their friendship as it is blossoming now shalt not last forever. Mine only hope is that they can maintain good ties after the fact."
"Huh?"
"Ambassador Zultan is unmarried at present; he hath taken no wife, for he is not of high noble birth. 'Tis happenstance that he hath been appointed the Ambassador to Utopia. However, with all that hath happened as of late, 'tis certain that his standing shalt prosper, and thus he shalt likely be engaged in a marriage contract soon enough. "
"I ain't followin'. What's that got ta do wit' Lady Silverluck bein' his friend? She's married too, ain't she? Are married ponies not allowed to be friends wit' one another?"
"Of the sort of 'friends' they are, aye, 'twould be improper to continue their dalliances after that. There art certain limits to our customs, ponies and zebras both."
"Huh?"
Zircon tilted his head, as if surprised that Applejack wasn't following. "Hmm. Mayhap I am the only one who knows or hath noticed. Ah, if thou dost not knoweth, than I shalt not revealeth this to thee; 'twould be in poor form, and I fear I hath already said too much."
"Uh… sure, whatever. I'll drop it, I guess." Applejack shrugged and moved on after him, not sure what that was all about. "So, uh… what's Zeb'ra'den like, anyhow? I figure if we're headin' there soon, might be nice ta know a bit more 'bout it."
He smiled. "Words doth not do my home justice, for Common Equish hath no words that would suffice. 'Twould be akin to describing color to a creature who hath no eyesight."
"Psh, don't you gimme that malarkey, Mister Thou, 'cause I don't buy it."
"Couldst thou put the splendors of thine own home into words that thou wouldst feel truly capture what thou dost see when thine eyes gaze upon it?"
She blinked. "I mean… no, I guess not. I could tell ya what it looks like and sounds like 'n' such, but 'tain't the same as bein' there yerself." She shook her head. "But that's not the point. I didn't mean fer ya ta tell me what it looks like. What're the folks like there? They ain't all like you, I hope."
He let out a single, loud laugh. "Ha! Thou art attempting a jab at me, but thou canst not penetrate mine armor with such simple barbs." He shook his head. "But nay, they art not all like me. Zeb'ra'den hath both common folk and highborns, workers and warriors, artists and merchants; we art not too different from ponies much as we try to claimeth to be."
"I figured as much, but it's nice ta hear. I don't mind bein' 'round high-class folk like y'all, really, but I'd feel mighty outta sorts if'n that's what everyone was like. Not that you're one o' them prissy frou-frou high-class types, o' course. Ya know what it's like ta work hard."
"Thy praise is most appreciated." He paused for a long moment, then said, "'Tis clear to me that thou wouldst fit right in with the warrior culture of Zeb'ra'den."
She tilted her head. "How d'ya figure? I'm just a farmer."
"No, not 'just' a farmer. Thy heart is that of a warrior. I know that thou dost not likely see it as such, but I do."
"Shucks, I ain't no warrior. What, ya think just 'cause I know how ta fight that I'm some sort o' soldier or somethin'?"
"Nay, not a soldier. 'Tis not my intended meaning. Being a warrior doth not mean that one must fight in war." He gave her a small smile. "In my culture, to possesseth a warrior's heart is to have the drive to fight and win. Not just in battle, but in life. Thou art a farmer, true, but dost thou not strive in e'ry harvest to do better than thou didst the harvest before?"
Applejack tilted her head again, the other way, then nodded. "I mean, sure, I'm always lookin' ta make every year better than the last one. Don't sit right wit' me ta sit on my laurels."
"Aye, and 'tis a warrior's philosophy. There are many who hath called me the 'best' swordfighter in the south, mayhap the world. Dost thou not think that I still doth practice my swordplay e'ry day?" He shook his head. "Nay, for were I to stop, then I wouldst not be the 'best' any longer."
"Yeah… alright, I can buy that. If practicin' e'ry day makes ya the best, then ya gotta keep doin' it ta stay the best."
She nodded appreciatively, finding a certain wisdom in his words; she had to admit, she certainly did everything she could back home to be the "best" apple farmer in all of Equestria and bring prosperity to Sweet Apple Acres year after year. Maybe there was something to the "heart of a warrior" deal. She certainly didn't mind the praise, not from him at least; he made it sound like a desirable trait to have.
"So, ya think that just 'cause I'm always pushin' myself to be better, I'm some kinda warrior, an' so I'd fit right in at Zeb'ra'den wit' folks like you?"
He gave her another smile. "Aye. Thou wouldst find thyself right at home. 'Twould be mine honor to introduce thee to the sights and sounds, to my friends and family."
She smiled right back. "Well shucks, when ya put it like that, you're makin' me really look forward ta seein' it fer myself. You're alright wit' me, Mister Thou."
*****
It was after lunch, and Sunspire was overcome with a sudden bout of wanderlust. Wanderlust with a purpose, mind you; this was no aimless wandering that he was embarking on, oh no, he had a plan. He hadn't had time to look around Newhaven, but now he had all day here in Utopia to do whatever he wanted to do. He hoped that he wouldn't need the entire day to do it, though.
Serendipity and Green Guard came along with him, as they'd been doing for the past few days, and after they'd all asked permission to explore the city of course. Luckily they seemed to be a little less… weird today. Sunspire didn't know why they'd been acting so odd—they seemed to be competing, perhaps?—and he definitely didn't know why they'd stopped doing so today, but he was glad that they did, because sometimes they could be… distracting.
Luckily, the city had two very important qualities to it that made it easy for Sunspire and his friends to find what he was looking for:
First, it wasn't really all that crowded around here. Despite the size of the city—smaller than Hope's Point but still plenty large—it's population didn't seem particularly big. Sure, the streets were still packed with ponies walking to and fro as they went about their days, but the sidewalks were also a little wider and there just felt like there were less ponies to occupy them. The young ponies were able to travel about without much of a fuss at all.
Second, the ponies around here were very helpful, to the point that even Hope's Point seemed downright rude. He asked a random patrolling guard pony where he might be able to find the city's markets, and the guard not only told him where it was, but escorted him and his friends there without so much as a complaint. Sunspire had to ask twice, though; the guard, for some reason, didn't speak Common Equish that well, and instead spoke fluent Romantique.
He had to repeat that in his head to try and make sure it made sense: a pony, a perfectly normal, average pony, spoke fluent Romantique but lacked a grasp of Common Equish. A pony… that didn't speak Equish. No, it didn't make sense even after repeating it; in fact it made less sense after repeating it than it did in the first place. The south was truly bizarre at times.
"Wow, I didn't know you spoke Romantique, Sunspire," Green said, his tone tinged with awe.
"Oh, I don't speak it fluently," Sunspire replied with a grin. "I'm learning from Missus Curaçao as best I can, though. It's tough. Did you know that all of the nouns in the language are either masculine or feminine? It's very strange."
Serendipity tapped her chin. "I'm amazed you even have the time to take those extracurriculars with all the other stuff you're already taking, and with Miss Dawn's own workload she gives you."
"It's because he's a hard worker, that's why," Green said, nose in the air.
"Oh believe me, I know. I have to tell him to take a break every other day so that he doesn't work himself to death, or at least it feels like I do."
"Miss Dawn expects a certain level of work ethic from all of her protégés," Sunspire grunted. "I'm just trying to be the best that I can be."
Serendipity tapped his shoulder. "Just as long as you don't get too bogged down in— ooh!" She bent down and picked up a large bit that neither Sunspire nor Green had noticed right there in the middle of the street. "Check it out, a two hundred-bit piece! I didn't even know they made this denomination!"
"Looks like today's your lucky day," Green chuckled.
"Oh, Green. Every day is my lucky day."
In the city's market district, the trio walked around between various stands that had been set up and were selling their wares, as well as by a multitude of permanent shops doing the same. Everything was for sale, from various types of different food—and different vendors specialized in certain types or even specific kinds—to various types of clothing, from weapons and armor—both crude and professional—to toys and dolls. None of this was what Sunspire was searching for, however.
But he did eventually find exactly the sort of shop he wanted to find after about an hour of searching: a little hole-in-the-wall store that advertised that it was selling timekeeping devices. It was a small shop, certainly, with barely enough room for more than a single average-sized customer at a time. The walls were covered in various types of contraptions such as hourglasses, sundials, even magical water clocks and incense clocks.
But what really drew Sunspire's attention were the various clocks and watches in the glass cases right at his eye level. There were dozens of them in all sorts of intricate designs and made of shiny materials; yes, this was exactly what he was looking for.
He got the attention of the shopkeeper by ringing a bell near the counter. The shopkeeper was an older stallion, a unicorn, with a big fez cap with a too-long tassel. "Ah, customers! How can I help you today?"
Sunspire smiled and pointed at the closest glass case to him. "I wanted to purchase one of your clockwork… er, clocks, or watches. Could you help me select one?"
"Certainly, young master. What sort of qualities are you looking for?"
"Something old-fashioned like this was pretty much all I had in mind at first…" Sunspire muttered. "I'll be honest, I don't know a lot about these sorts of things. I'm used to digital clocks back home."
"Digital…" The shopkeeper paused, then clasped his hooves together. "Ahh, you're from the north, I assume?"
"Yes sir."
"While I do not often get many customers from the northern continent, I have had a few here and there. Typically tourists looking to bring home an 'old-fashioned' souvenir, as you would call it. A novelty.
"I'm afraid that these clocks are more work than you would expect from just some display piece, young master. They require maintenance, frequent winding, and great care for them to function properly." The shopkeeper shook his head. "If you are not ready for such responsibilities, I would recommend against such a purchase."
"Oh, it's actually not for me. It's a gift for…" Sunspire paused for a moment, then nodded. "For my big sister. It's not just for the novelty of it, either. She loves clocks, especially these sorts of old-fashioned ones. I think she would really enjoy one, and I know she'd take good care of it, too."
The shopkeeper nodded in understanding. "A fine gift it will be then, young master. Let us see if we can find something she would like, hmm?"
Sunspire and the shopkeeper browsed through many of the wind-up clocks, trying to find the perfect one, and eventually settled on a small pocket watch with a gold and palladium case with a brass finish on a silver chain. Having seen what Winter's Timekeeper looked like—the magical contraption was surprisingly plain—Sunspire knew that Hourglass would never be able to confuse the two.
"An excellent choice, young master," the shopkeeper said as he placed the watch into a gift box lined with velvet. "That'll be two hundred bits."
Sunspire paled; he hadn't brought nearly that amount of money. "Oh. Um…"
Serendipity then cleared her throat and handed him the heavy two hundred-bit piece she'd miraculously found earlier.
"I… but… I can't take this. It's yours."
"Just take it, sheesh," Serendipity grunted. "I found it on the ground for crying out loud, completely out of the blue. It's your lucky day now."
Sunspire shook his head and handed the bit over to the shopkeeper. "Um, will this do?"
The shopkeeper glanced at the piece, examining it with his magic, then bit it between his teeth for half a second. Once satisfied, he nodded. "Very good." He then passed the box over to Sunspire, who placed it in his saddlebag. "Have a pleasant day, young master. I hope your sister enjoys your gift, hmm?"
"Thank you!" He turned to Serendipity and Green and gave them each a smile. "Thanks for coming with me, guys. I appreciate the company. And the lucky break on the bits."
"Pshaw. What are friends for?" Serendipity said, throwing her hoof around Sunspire's shoulder.
Green scuffed his hoof on the floor. "I didn't even do anything, though. Serendipity found the money."
Sunspire tilted his head. "I mean, yeah, but… you still came with me when you didn't have to, right? I'm just glad you're here. Oh! Maybe you can carry the box back to the estate so that Hourglass doesn't see it? I want it to be a surprise."
"Oh. Sure. I can do that."
Sunspire handed the box over, and Green discreetly slipped it into his jacket pocket. "Thanks, Green. I appreciate it."
"Um… y-you're welcome," Green replied, his face a little red. "I think Hourglass is really gonna like her present, by the way."
"Yeah. I really hope she does."
*****
After finishing up lunch, Twilight joined Winter to go on a little excursion into the city for the time being while they waited for word from Harmonia's temple. Walking the streets of Utopia was an incredible experience. She felt like she was right back in Canterlot all over again, back when she was still young and attending Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns and was just taken in by all the sights for the first time.
Well, apart from being as tall as she was now, anyway. Being so tall made it impossible to look up at the buildings with the same kind of wide-eyed wonder that she once had, that other ponies who were seeing this city for the first time would likely have. A part of her was cursing her newfound role as an alicorn princess, cursing the fact that she couldn't see things with the same eyes that she had as a unicorn.
It also didn't help that she drew a lot of attention because of her height, either. Ponies like Crossfire, Flathoof, and Gray Skies nearly matched her height, but the three of them were already taller than average and had the bulk to go with it; Twilight was just tall, completely lacking the same kind of musculature that they had. Thank goodness nopony could see her wings.
All of those thoughts were forgotten when Winter brought her to their destination, though: the Utopian Central Library. The humor behind the name wasn't lost on her:
Years ago, when she and her friends had first arrived in this world and were still desperately pretending that they weren't from another world, even to Flathoof and Lockwood, before they had even met Winter, Twilight had applied for a job as a librarian. And, without a single bit of knowledge about this world other than there was a city in the south named Utopia, she'd come up with the Utopian Central Library on a whim to use as a reference.
It amused her that it was a real place after all.
Just thinking about that made Twilight remember those days again from long ago. She'd been happy spending time with Winter and Dawn at the library in New Pandemonium. She'd enjoyed the company of her boss, Archimedes. She wondered how Archimedes was doing these days, actually; he'd been distraught when she'd quit, telling her that she'd been the best employee he'd ever had. She felt bad leaving him high and dry like that.
The Utopian Central Library was everything Twilight imagined it could be, though. Books upon books upon books lined wall after wall after wall, stretching all the way up to high ceilings that only a pegasus, magic, or a tall, tall ladder could access. To say that she was impressed would be an understatement; she was astounded.
"This library is bigger than the Royal Archives back at home," Twilight said to Winter as they walked along aisles of books, real books, "and that's even including the forbidden section. How are there so many books here? I thought Lady Silverluck made a big deal about how they didn't preserve much from before the civil war?"
"Maybe the southern continent here is bigger than your Equestria back at home?" Winter suggested. "But then also remember that the south is still very much a feudalistic society that gives too much of a shit about bloodlines and stuff that I'm sure your world doesn't make publicly available."
"Hmm. Okay, I suppose that makes some sense. I remember Lady Silverluck saying that each noble house has their own copy of their family genealogical records with information that the public doesn't have, so that would imply that the public versions of those trees can be found here?"
"Yup." Winter gestured at the nearby wall, which was helpfully labeled "House Bloodline History". "See? An entire wall on display here, and then ya remember that there're only a dozen-ish noble houses with any kind of standin' down here. A lot of these books have information on houses that don't even exist anymore."
Twilight tilted her head. "Don't exist as in, they're just not nobles anymore, or…?"
"Let's just keep it at that, eh? The civil war was a bloody fuckin' affair. Nihila did a real number on this place on her first try."
"With everything I've heard about it so far, I don't even know how the south managed to repel her in the first place. I can't imagine anything like that kind of war that Silverluck told me about."
Winter shook her head. "Sheer happenstance, from what I've gathered about it. Nihila tried too hard and accidentally caused alliances to form against common foes. When we get down to Zeb'ra'den, expect to see somepony there from House Snow. They've been staunch allies of the zebras since the war, and they're the two forces that helped turn the tide."
"Hmm. I'll keep that in mind. If the creatures of the south came together to unite against a common enemy like Nihila twice already, they should be able to do it a third time, shouldn't they?"
"That's the hope, yeah."
Twilight sighed and shook her head as she looked at all the volumes in the Bloodlines display. The modern south had twelve noble houses; the ancient south had over a hundred. All of those ponies' entire families were completely wiped out due to hatred and anger caused by Nihila's influence and her minions. She'd be impressed if it weren't so horrible to think about.
Winter showed Twilight to another section of the library, though, and gestured towards another shelf. "But if you're lookin' for somethin' a little more pleasin' to your palate, this oughta do the trick. An entire section about the greatest spellcasters in southern history. Who knows, maybe there's a spell in here that ya might find interestin' enough to try?"
Twilight smiled and approached the shelf. "Wow. There're hundreds of books here. I could spend years reading through them all…"
"Sure, but you've only got a few hours. I'd say ya roll the dice and pick at random, see what ya get."
Twilight did just that, closing her eyes and snagging a random book out the collection before pulling it from the shelf with her magic. "Let's see," she said as she opened her eyes to look at her choice. "The History of the One-And-Only Mistress of Magic, the Illustrious Illusionist, the Amazing Arcanist, and the Splendiferous Spellbinder: Mirage, the—" She paused, taking a second look. "Mirage, the Great and Powerful?! What the hay is this?!"
"Ooh, good pick," Winter said with a smile. "Mirage was famous in the years after the civil war for her ponitarian efforts. She used to travel the continent helping ponies in need and entertaining folks who were downtrodden."
"So she was just a stage magician?"
Winter scoffed. "Just a stage magician? Sure, but what's the problem with that? Folks liked her shows and it lifted spirits all over the south in a time when ponies needed it most."
Twilight balked. "I… th-that's not what I meant. I thought you said this section was dedicated to the greatest spellcasters in Equestrian history?"
"And it is. Stage magic is still magic, Twilight."
"I… but… I mean, sure, but…"
Twilight grumbled and grunted and muttered to herself about how it didn't make sense, but then decided it was best not to argue about and instead just read the book. So she sat down at a nearby table with a very comfortable chair, and she started to read. And read she did, and honestly… she was rather impressed with this "Mirage" character.
If Trixie had been anything like her, Twilight would have never disapproved of her making friends with Starlight as she would've been more than just a good influence. Looking back on it now, though, Twilight realized she'd been kind of a jerk for disapproving, seeing as Trixie and Starlight were so close these days.
She'd barely gotten halfway through the book—she was speed-reading out of sheer frustration and bewilderment, so it took her only thirty minutes—when Winter interrupted her, getting her attention with a none-too-subtle cough and scootch of her chair.
"Ahem?"
Twilight lifted her eyes from the book to look at her friend. "Yes, Winter?"
"I was wonderin' if, um… if I could talk to ya for a bit. About somethin' important that's been buggin' me, if that's alright with you?" Winter said, not meeting Twilight's eyes and tapping her hooves together.
Twilight shut the book—she'd remember where she'd left off—and directed her full attention to Winter. "Sure. I've always got time to talk with you, Winter, you know that."
"Ah, yeah. Thanks. Um… I just wanted to start off by sayin'... I mean, I know I said this already, but I'm sorry about how I treated ya when you popped back into my life again. I was a right bitch, is what I was. Probably worse, actually, but I'm not gonna say the word I'm thinkin' of. We are in a library."
"Winter, I know you're sorry about what happened. I already accepted your apology, y'know. I get it, you were under a lot of stress, and you were mad that I'd done something stupid, and I can admit that I did do something stupid. We all made mistakes, but we're moving past that, right?"
"I know. I just… I guess I'm still afraid that I ruined everythin' I thought we might have had before because of how I acted when I finally saw you again." She took a deep breath. "And… and because of how I acted before you left in the first place."
Twilight tilted her head. "How you acted before I left…?"
"Yeah. The day that you left, I didn't talk to ya the way I'm talkin' to ya now, and I didn't treat ya the way I'd been treatin' ya before that. So… I'm sorry. That was a mistake, and I was wrong to do that to ya."
"You mean how you were a little…" Twilight carefully considered her word choices. "Distant?"
"Yeah, 'distant', that's a good way to put it."
"Y'know, I never really asked why you were acting like that," Twilight said, tapping her chin. "It sort of came out of nowhere."
Winter rubbed the back of her neck. "Ah… yeah. Um… this is kind of hard to ask, but do you remember what happened between us before that?"
Twilight paused, then turned her attention away from Winter for a moment; she could feel her cheeks getting hot. "Yeah. I remember. You never explained what that was about either, actually. Does that have to do with why you were acting weird?"
"Yeah… yeah, it does. Then, and lately too." Winter sighed, running both hooves over her face as she did. "For seven fuckin' years, Twilight, I've never been able to get you out of my mind for very long, and it's all because of a fuckin' kiss I never should've given ya while we were drunk."
Twilight paused for a long moment, still unable to meet Winter's eyes with her own. "I know exactly what you mean…"
"You… ya do?"
"Yeah. I do." Twilight sighed and turned to look Winter in the eyes again. "I spent seven years trying to find some way just to see you again, even if just for a moment, because… I couldn't get that moment out of my head either. I was young and ignorant, and I didn't understand what had happened, what it meant, what I was feeling at the time. That kiss just… blindsided me."
Winter took a breath and shook her head. "I'm sorry. It just… it just happened. I shouldn't have done it—"
"Why?"
"Hmm?"
"Why shouldn't you have done it?"
Winter balked. "I… because I… I just shouldn't have. We were drunk and I wasn't thinkin' straight, and—"
"Did you want to do it, though?" Twilight insisted; she knew Winter had trouble expressing her more positive emotions, and sometimes needed just a little push. She'd been waiting seven years for an answer, and she wasn't going to let it go so easily.
"What?"
"Did you want to kiss me?"
Winter paused again, then gulped and nodded. "Yes. I did. And that's why I shouldn't have done it." She put her hooves over her eyes. "You were leavin', for fuck's sake. I kissed you just days before you were supposed to leave back to your world and disappear from my life forever."
"And you kissed me anyway because…?"
"Because I fuckin' fell in love with you, dammit!" Winter hissed, looking Twilight right in the eyes; she was barely quiet enough for proper library etiquette. "I knew for weeks that I was never gonna see you again and I kissed you anyway because I didn't think I'd ever have another chance. And I shouldn't have done that, because for seven fuckin' years all I could think about was how much I hated myself for doin' it.
"But the real reason I've been hatin' myself is because for those seven years, all I could do was try to forget you. Do you understand me? I put myself through hell for seven years tryin' to forget you because it hurt too much to think about you. That's why I got so fuckin' mad at ya, Twilight. I thought that I'd finally managed to forget… and then you popped right back into my life."
Twilight was silent for a long moment, then tilted her head and asked, "Do you still feel that way about me?"
Winter balked again. "I… what?"
"Do you still love me, Winter?"
Another long moment of silence, then Winter leaned back into her seat, closed her eyes, and nodded. "I do. Dammit, I do."
"Then that's all that I needed to hear."
Twilight had never considered herself a spontaneous pony. Everything she did, she did with a plan in place beforehand, sometimes meticulously put into motion after hours, days, weeks, months of research. She never did anything without double-checking, triple-checking, sometimes even quadruple-checking her notes. She was the definition of circumspect given form.
But right now, the last thing on her mind was a plan; she acted on her thoughts the instant that it was clear what she wanted to do.
And what she wanted to do was lean down, use her magic to pull Winter forward by her scarf, and return a kiss that was seven long years in the waiting.
*****
Harmonia's Temple reminded Rarity more of a royal palace than some sort of place of worship. Not like Blackburn's palace, of course, but like Twilight's back home, with beautiful stained glass windows, long hallways with long rugs with beautiful patterns, high ceilings and tall doors that would make any pony feel small, and with walls and floors made of stone and marble rather than metal.
There had been a number of expectations Rarity had for the innermost place of worship for a goddess such as Harmonia. She expected perhaps to see a multitude of objects of worship or depictions of what the ponies who worshipped her believed that she was capable of. She expected stained glass windows and lavish rugs like the halls outside. Or perhaps something that depicted the fact that Harmonia represented all of the heavenly bodies at this point, sun, moons, and stars.
The inner sanctum was none of these things. If anything, it appeared to be a library. The walls circled around them, lined with rows upon rows of books, far more than she cared to count. Twilight had gushed just moments ago about the Utopian Central Library, but this wasn't that; did this library perhaps carry copies? Or were all of these tomes different, unique to Harmonia's sanctum and exclusive to her Warden's eyes?
Whatever the case, she was confused as to why the inner sanctum was a library of all things. Nothing in the rest of the temple seemed to hint that Harmonia had a particular fondness for books.
A raised platform at the end of the sanctum had a desk and seating accommodations for a large number of guests, larger even than their current group, which included Rarity and her otherworldly friends, Winter, Gray, Gilderoy, Blackburn and Lockwood, and Ambassador Zultan. All it needed was a clerk and the illusion would be complete. Perhaps the Warden served that purpose?
Rarity set those thoughts aside when the small door on the other side of the platform opened.
Harmonia's Warden, Mémoire, looked every bit like the statue of him out in the main hall, though obviously more colorful than just sleek white marble. He was an indigo pegasus with a thin frame and a brown mane, and he wore a white cloak with its hood up to conceal the messy state his mane was in. The cloak bore the same insignia Rarity had seen all over the city: a silver cross emblazoned over a turquoise heart.
"Pardonnez-moi for the wait, everyone," he said, his voice light and airy with the strong touch of a Romantique accent. "There was much to do so that I could prepare for this rendezvous. Aimez-vous ma bibliothèque? Ah… do you like my library?"
"Hello, Warden Mémoire," Twilight said, clearly taken aback by the Warden's forward friendliness. "Yes, I certainly think you have a robust selection here. Is this a private collection, or are these copies of the ones in the city's central library?"
"Oui, copies, but they are my own—" Mémoire paused, then chuckled. "Ah, excusez-moi, I am letting my personal matters come before business!" He trotted into the center of the platform and, to Rarity's surprise, bowed down low to greet them. "C'est un plaisir to finally meet you all."
Twilight hesitated, then met his bow with one of her own, as was considered polite; she'd taken the lead it seemed, so she needed to play the part. "It's good to finally meet you too… I suppose?"
Rarity followed Twilight's example, as did all the others. "You speak as though you were expecting us," she said. "And I mean besides the fact that we sent word ahead of us."
"Oui, I have been expecting you," Mémoire said as he walked over to the desk, though he did sit at it or anything of the sort. "Or rather, My Lady Harmonia has been expecting you for days now. I am sorry that we made you wait, but My Lady was curious about many things in your request letter. She had me look into some things before we summoned you."
"Well we're all here now," Winter said, taking a step forward. "Sorry if I sound pushy, but we need to move things along, eh?"
"Oui, I agree, there is much to discuss. But not with me, of course," the Warden said with a grin. "My Lady wishes to speak with you personally, if you would give me but a moment."
Everypony nodded, but didn't ask any questions. Having seen Dawn channel her father's astral form before so that he could speak to "mortals", or having at least heard about her doing it before, nobody present was expecting anything less than for Harmonia's Warden to channel the alicorn goddess's presence in much the same manner.
The process seemed different, however, to how Rarity had had it described to her:
Mémoire took a deep breath and closed his eyes. After a moment, his body glowed with a dim white light that radiated throughout the room, bathing the creatures before him in a comforting warmth. A moment passed, then the glow surrounding Mémoire dissipated, then he at last released the breath he'd been holding. When his eyes opened, a bright white light shone forth from them.
He gave the group before him a bright smile, then spoke to them in a voice that was not his own, but instead a soft-spoken, velvety, feminine voice that flowed and echoed about the room, entrancingly slow and beautiful. The glow from his eyes spread softly out around the room, and in the light there appeared a pearly-white outline of a pony, larger than all of those present, with both wings larger than his own, and a horn.
Those who had seen Silvertongue do this before seemed impressed; apparently Dawn's father wasn't quite as showy.
"Greetings, my little ponies," Harmonia said, her voice utterly drowning out her Warden's. She then turned and nodded at Zultan. "And to thee, my zebra comrade." And another nod to Gilderoy. "And to thee, good sir gryphon. I hath not seen one of thy kind in many a year." She frowned. "'Tis quite a curious surprise, as 'twas mine understanding that thy people were no more. 'Tis untrue, 'twould seem."
"Indeed it is, My Lady," Gilderoy said with a small smile. "Though not entirely untrue. I am the last of my kind, I'm afraid. It's a rather somber tale."
"And one I would very much like to hear, good sir, yet I fear it must wait for there is a more pressing concern to address." She turned to the collective group as a whole, her eyes piercing through each and every one of them. "Thy message mentioned 'Pandemonia'. I wouldst demand an immediate explanation, for if 'tis a jape, I findeth it in poor taste."
Rarity was actually rather surprised at the goddess's tone; despite the warmth and kindness she had expressed earlier, now she was terse and quite serious. And no wonder, come to think of it; it wasn't often that one received news of a sister that had not used her real name in over two thousand years.
It was Twilight who stepped forward to speak first, but before she could even get a word out, Harmonia turned on her, her face alight with curiosity. She did not speak, however, just let Twilight get right into it, and she did not once interrupt as Twilight spun the tale of Pandemonia as they all knew it thus far. Though Rarity did notice that the room's light constantly shifted through the story; the southern goddess's emotions might as well have been a storm, if the light shifts meant anything.
Once Twilight concluded the story, Harmonia stayed silent for a long time, the light of the room steadily dimming until it was near the levels it had been at before the goddess had appeared, maybe a bit lower actually.
"'Tis true, this tale that thou hast spun…" she murmured, her voice impossibly sad; Rarity felt her heart sink just from that voice alone, as if the weight of the world was crashing down on her. "'Twas not my sister that made war with me. 'Twas not my sister that brought such pain and death to our world. 'Twas never her… 'twas never her… oh, Pandemonia, forgiveth me…"
"No, it was never her," Twilight repeated with a gentle tone. "Everything that's happened over these past two thousand years was Nihila's doing, not your sister's. Pandemonia loves you, and she misses you terribly. But because of the Beacons—"
"I cannot senseth her presence in either the mortal realm nor the Dreaming," Harmonia completed. "'Tis a cruel irony; my sister lives free of Nihila's influence, and yet I cannot embraceth her as I once did in ages past. She is so close, and yet so far away. She wouldst find it poetic that I must overcome Adversity myself to achieve mine own Prosperity."
Harmonia's warm, soothing light returned, and her form seemed to straighten. She stared right at Twilight, her curious expression returning. "Hmm. Thou art an alicorn. I wouldst claim the sight to be impossible, were it not standing before me. How is it that this hath come to be? Who art thou, truly?"
Twilight nodded and unfurled her wings from out of her sweater. "Yes, I am an alicorn. I'm also not from this world." She gestured at Rarity and the others from home. "My friends and I hail from a different world than this one, and were brought here by accident. Twice, actually. Once seven years ago, and most recently a month ago."
"Hmm. Thy words ringeth true; thy spirit cannot hideth falsehoods from my gaze. Other worlds… 'tis not a subject on which I know much."
"And there's more," Winter said, stepping forward. "This world is dyin', My Lady. The balance between Light and Darkness is subtly shiftin' towards Darkness because of Nihila's presence, and Twilight here is the only thing keepin' her in check. But soon, even Twilight's Light and the Light of her friends won't be enough to stop it. The world will die."
Harmonia stared at Winter for a long moment, then nodded. "I hath sensed this imbalance of Light and Dark of which thou speakest, but I didst not know what didst bringeth it to such a state. Now that I do, I shalt aid thee in thy quest, loath though I am to engage in conflict. 'Tis not in my nature to do so, you see…"
"We've heard as much," said Twilight. "From Lord Silvertongue."
Harmonia's light flared slightly, and she eyed Twilight curiously for a moment. "Hmm. Again the truth in thy words ringeth true, and yet again I wouldst not believe it even though I knoweth it to be true. Thou claimest that my former Warden Silvertongue still lives and that he hath spoken to thee? How? When?"
Twilight then explained Silvertongue's role not just in recent events, but in events past, and Gilderoy filled in some of the details. Again, Harmonia remained silent through it, her only reaction being the flickering of light from her form as she listened. Rarity was thankful that the reactions were not nearly as strong as they had been during Pandemonia's tale; she was afraid it might damage her eyes.
Harmonia shook her head once the tale was concluded. "My Warden… my dearest Warden Silvertongue, thou hast committed such atrocities all in the name of balance, of perfection. 'Tis a distressing truth…" She looked between Twilight and Gilderoy. "And thou sayest that he hath ascended into an alicorn state such as mine? That he doth reside in the Dreaming now?"
"Indeed he does, My Lady," Gilderoy said with a nod. "Though I am afraid that that has unfortunately only complicated matters further. If I might put it into mathematical terms, using my knowledge of how our world's balance works and the data that I have collected from Miss Glow, I think I can succinctly explain why your involvement is absolutely mandatory moving forward.
"You are still the undisputed source of Light in our world. If one looks at the balance as a percentile, then your Light, and that of your Beacon, measure together at fifty points out of one hundred. Silvertongue and the northern Beacon also register at fifty, together; however, Silvertongue does not have total dominance over the northern Beacon as you do here in the south, and so that Darkness might not be on our side, so to speak."
"Nihila, wherever she might be, brings the northern Darkness up to about ninety points; Pandemonia adds another thirty, bringing the total to one hundred twenty. Twilight only brings the Light back up to about ninety points herself, and her friends', unfortunately, add very little."
"Hence the imbalance," Winter noted. "That's the current level, which is a lot higher than it was one week ago, which was higher than it was weeks before that. Twilight's presence, as I've said, is the only thing keeping the world from dyin' sooner. I've run the math: it's mostly her."
"The world is already in its death throes, and removing the Beacons from the calculations won't fix anything," Gilderoy continued, "but doing so will rebalance things to an acceptable level so that Nihila can be countered, specifically by you. Twilight is powerful enough with the Light that she can destroy Nihila's physical form, once we find where it is that she's hiding. And you, Harmonia, would destroy her in the Dreaming."
Harmonia was silent for another long moment, then nodded. "The wisdom in thy words is quite profound. 'Tis another cruel irony that these Beacons that Silvertongue didst build hath prevented Nihila from rising up against us all for hundreds of years… but also protecteth her from me even now, as we speaketh here."
"Yeah, that's pretty much what we've been thinkin'," Winter huffed. "I'll give Silvertongue credit for doin' what he did and basically makin' work easier for us Chronomancers over all these years, but he messed around someplace where he shouldn't have and know we're all payin' for it."
Gilderoy laughed. "Ah, I'd avoid telling him that, Miss Glow. He might take offense that you're blaming him for the world's current predicament. Knowing him, he would argue—reasonably—that Nihila is at fault for it all in the first place. She started a war in the south and was banished north, where she built an army to destroy the south again, and after he stopped it, he had to build the Beacons to prevent her from continuing to do so."
"Psh, yeah yeah, whatever. What are you, his biggest fan now?"
"Hardly," Gilderoy grunted. "I despise him down to his core for what he's done to my people, but were it not for his actions, Nihila would have just forced somepony else to do it eventually. It does not mean that I forgive him for it, but it does mean that I would rather that it had been him than somepony without his… hmph, resolve."
"Is there no way that we might prevent such tragedy and save this world?" Harmonia asked. "To abandon it to its fate is… 'tis unthinkable."
"Unfortunately, there's nothing that can be done about it," Winter sighed, shaking her head. "The plan is that after Nihila is destroyed, everythin' that can be moved will be moved."
"And the Dreaming? What is to become of the millions of souls there?"
Winter let out a breath. "I don't know. Chronomancer HQ is workin' on somethin' to make that work, but I honestly can't give ya an answer right now, and we can't afford to wait and see what they come up with before we start workin' on this. If we don't, then everything and everyone is going to just… cease to exist. The Void doesn't discriminate."
Harmonia tooked up at the ceiling in silence, eyes closed, clearly in deep, deep thought. Rarity could sympathize; what would Celestia have done if something like this had happened? Or Luna? She knew what Twilight would do, though: put absolutely everything she could into saving as many creatures as possible. Which is pretty much what she was doing. Rarity just hoped that Harmonia was the same.
"If thou wishest for me to assist thee with bringing an end to Nihila so that we might save the creatures of this world… then thou shalt hath my favor," Harmonia said, giving Winter and Gilderoy a firm nod. "For over two thousand years I hath been a goddess of peace and harmony among all living things. I abhor senseless conflict, for 'tis a thing that only breeds pain and misery.
"But in ages past, my sister and I were joined together in symbiosis. As the Goddess of Prosperity, I didst not loathe my sister's Adversity, for one cannot appreciate Prosperity when one hath no obstacles to overcome, just as one cannot overcome Adversity if one doth not have the promise of Prosperity on their horizon.
"Nihila is not a part of this balance, this symbiosis. She is a parasite. She only seeketh death, destruction, despair, and she seeketh not to deliver these things to mortals to strengthen them, to ignite their inner flames, to drive them forward. Revenge is a repulsive concept to me, but Justice is not. If my Light will deliver this Justice to her, then it is my Light that thou shalt have."
Twilight smiled. "Excellent! Then all we need to do is set up a time for you to deactivate the southern Beacon and we can proceed with the plan, right?" She looked at Gilderoy. "You said you just need to fiddle with something inside the Beacon itself to allow her to do that? Sounds easy enough."
"'Tis not that simple, Princess Twilight," said Ambassador Zultan, shaking his head. "Though Harmona hath given her blessings to this plan, the Beacon doth reside in Zeb'ra'den, and as such is under the protection of all zebras, everywhere. We art sworn to guard it from any who would do it harm; Warrior Princess Zarya swore an oath to Lord Silvertongue, and that oath standeth strong even today."
"And that's where you come in, right? You're gonna help us negotiate with the zebras to allow us to go through with this?"
"'Tis our hope, aye, but even with Harmonia's blessings, thou wouldst still need to convinceth the zebra court to alloweth this action. Harmonia's word is not enough unless she couldst speaketh to us via a zebra Warden, of which there are none."
Rarity spoke up here; she'd learned about this from Zyra. "Remember, darling, the zebras believe that Lord Silvertongue never officially gave up his position as Harmonia's Warden, and they're under the belief that all of Harmonia's Wardens since then have been frauds. Even if Warden Mémoire were to come with us and channel her as he's doing now, it wouldn't help."
Harmona nodded at Rarity. "Yes, and 'tis a shame that they wouldst do so, but I hath never faulted them for their beliefs and I doth not do so now. 'Tis not in my nature to correct their beliefs, for 'twould be a violation of their freedoms."
Zultan bowed before Harmonia. "My Lady, I thankth thee for thy blessings, and beg for thy forgiveness for the follies of my people."
"There is no need for that, my zebra comrade," Harmonia said with a smile. "Thy freedom is a gift, and to useth it so is a blessing of its own regardless of whether thou art 'right' or 'wrong'. I wouldst not taketh that from thee any more than I wouldst rob a bird of its ability to fly, or a fish its ability to swim.
"'Tis in thy nature to doubt and question thy pony neighbors, and 'tis that facet of thy people that didst help oppose Nihila in ages past. My sister wouldst embrace thy people were she to see what thou hast become, and shalt likely do so should this 'merging' succeed. Thy warrior culture wouldst appeal to her."
"'Twould be an honor to be blessed so by Lady Pandemonia, a goddess given flesh. Thy words bringeth me hope, My Lady."
Twilight let out a breath. "So even with your direct blessings, straight from your… mouth, I guess. Your Warden's mouth? Whatever. Even with that, we're still stuck playing politics." She sighed and ran a hoof over her face. "Looks like it's time to put all my work as Princess Twilight to the test."
Blackburn grunted a laugh. "Will help, of course. Have good relations with King Zaratite and his kingdom, can assist with negotiations."
"As best we can, at least," Lockwood agreed. "Frankly I'm a little nervous trying to convince the zebras to abandon an oath that they've been sticking to for hundreds of years, but hey, we managed to talk them into speaking plainly with non-zebras. I figure that's gotta stand for something, right?"
Zultan nodded. "And I shalt lendeth whatever assistance I can, as will Sir Zircon once I speaketh with him on the matter. Though he hath given up his claim to the throne, distant though that might be, he is still a favored nephew of His Majesty. 'Twould be a boon to have him at our back."
"Yeah, I think that we'll need all the help we can get," Twilight breathed, looking around at the various speakers. "Thanks everyone. Sorry if I seem nervous, I just… I never thought that the fate of an entire world would ever come down to whether or not I can negotiate well at a royal court."
"Yeah, we're used to fighting bad guys to save the world and stuff," said Rainbow, punching the air. "No courts, no politics, no negotiations. Just us, our wits, and our hooves. Booyah!"
"And we're usually making friends with the baddies afterwards!" Pinkie added, pulling in Fluttershy for a hug. "Like Fluttershy's bestest buddy Discord, isn't that right? He was a baddie, and now he's not, 'cause Shyshy here has tea with him twice a week!"
"I don't see how that's relevant," Fluttershy peeped. "It doesn't sound like Nihila's the sort to, um… want to be our friend."
"Yeah," Applejack said, tilting her hat over her eyes. "If someone like Queen Chrysalis didn't wanna take Starlight's offer, I don't think Nihila's gonna ours. Some folks just wanna watch the world burn, y'know."
Harmonia smiled at all of those present. "Then 'twould seem that thou art ready for the next stage of thy plan. I bid thee good luck in thine endeavors. Shouldst thou needeth mine aid, I shalt do what I can to assist thee, difficult though that might be."
Her eyes then locked onto Rarity's for a moment; it felt like the goddess was looking right into her soul, but in a sort of… comforting way. She did the same for Blackburn, oddly enough.
"Thank you, Harmonia," Twilight said with a bow. She then turned to the group. "Okay, everyone, let's head back to Silver Manor and get some rest before tomorrow. We might as well get moving as soon as we can, right?"
As the group started to move, Harmonia—who had yet to abandon her Warden's form just yet—got the group's attention with a flash of light. "Hold, friends. Before thy departure, might I giveth one more blessing upon thy group?"
Twilight turned and tilted her head. "Oh. Um, sure."
Harmonia then stepped forward with Mémoire's body… towards Blackburn and Rarity, as they were standing next to one another. Rarity felt her entire body grow pleasantly warm and fuzzy in such close proximity to the goddess, even though she was in this immaterial state, like she'd just sunk down into a nice, hot bath. With scented bubbles and candles, and a glass of fine wine at her side.
"'Tis rare for me to hath such an opportunity in this form, but to thee I must offer my congratulations," Harmonia said, smiling and looking between the two mares. "Bringing new life into the world, even in circumstances such as these, is a greater blessing than anything I couldst ever achieve. May my Light blesseth thee with strong, healthy foals."
Blackburn laughed and nudged a blushing Lockwood in the side. "New experience, confirmation from Harmonia herself. Will be quite the story to tell."
Rarity, eyes wide, looked at Blackburn and Lockwood in surprise. "C-confirmation? You mean… I… we… is it true?"
"Doubt the words of a goddess? Told you potion had guaranteed effectiveness."
"N-no, of course not. It's just… but it hasn't even been that long since—"
Blackburn tilted her head and smiled. "Would expect a goddess to see such things before we could, hmm?"
"I… suppose so, yes." Rarity let out a breath. "This certainly was not something that I was expecting to learn about today." She bowed to Harmonia; Blackburn did the same. "Thank you, Harmonia, for your blessings."
Harmonia nodded. "Thou art welcome, my little ponies. Now, I must depart back into the Dreaming to prepare for my coming role. May the Light guide thee forward."
In another flash of light, Harmonia's form vanished from around Mémoire's body, and the very mortal Warden stumbled back, woosy and weary. He blinked and looked amongst the group, then headed back up the platform and sat at his desk without a word. Nopony really had anything to say to him, honestly, and there was nothing he could really add that Harmonia herself hadn't already.
It seemed like a rather thankless job, from their perspective.
Not that Rarity was paying him much attention. She was paying much more attention to the fact that all of her friends were staring at her in utter shock and surprise.
It came as no surprise at all that Pinkie was the first to react, gasping so loudly that she might as well have just about have sucked all of the air out of the room. "You're pregnant?! What?! When?! Where?! Who?! How?!" A pause. "Wait. Not how. I know how." She grabbed Rarity's face. "But all the other questions! Answers! Give! No particular order!"
"Easy, Pinks," Rainbow chuckled, pulling Pinkie off of Rarity before giving Rarity a look of confused approval. "But yeah, what she said. The heck? Pregnant? You? I have all of the questions too."
Rarity chuckled nervously and cleared her throat, her eyes darting to Lockwood and Blackburn briefly. "Ahem. Well, this is quite a pickle, isn't it? I was going to tell everypony the truth eventually, but I was just waiting for the right time. With all the world-threatening troubles going about, though, I guess I just figured that now wasn't the right time at all. But now here we are."
"It sounded like you didn't know you were pregnant, though," Twilight noted, eyebrow raised. "So what were you going to tell us? Nothing bad I hope?"
"No no, nothing bad at all. I was going to inform everypony that I'm in a… rather unique relationship, actually," Rarity said with an anxious grin. She tilted her head towards Lockwood and Blackburn. "With them. The three of us are, um… together."
Her friends—sans Fluttershy, who already knew—glanced, shocked, at the royal couple. "What?" was the in-unison reaction.
Lockwood chuckled and rubbed the back of his head; Rarity sympathized, since the three of them had been planning on a less dramatic reveal of all this, and here the poor married stallion was staring down the five best friends of a mare he'd gotten pregnant while in a secret relationship. There were all sorts of bad ways to interpret that.
"Ahh… yeah," he said. "We were kinda trying to keep it secret until the world was saved and stuff, since we didn't want to distract anypony or make them worry about our personal matters. But, uh… hmm. Ta da?"
"We adore Rarity," Blackburn said with a smile in her direction, draping her wing over Rarity's back. "Invited her to be a part of our family. She accepted, has been with us since the night of Havoc's wedding."
Gray, who hadn't been part of the conversation and who Rarity honestly forgot was present at all, let out a loud laugh and put Lockwood in a headlock, immediately setting to work on tousling his mane. "So that's why you two were so insistent. I thought it was a little weird, but now I get it. Havoc's gonna get a kick outta this when I tell her."
Blackburn then indicated the bracelet on Rarity's leg; until now, Rarity had been telling everypony that it was just a fancy piece of jewelry, a gift from a friend and nothing more. "Bracelet not just jewelry, but indicator of our relationship."
"Aye, a unity trinket," said Zultan with a nod and a smile to Rarity. "I didst suspect as much when first I didst layeth eyes upon it. 'Tis an icon of our culture, a symbol of love and camaraderie. Forgiveth me for not addressing thee properly, Lady Rarity, but I didst not know for certain. It gladdens me that I didst not spoil the surprise."
Rarity nodded and smiled back. "That's quite alright, Ambassador. And thank you for your discretion. We really weren't trying to hide anything, just… waiting for the right moment. This isn't exactly orthodox in our world, you understand."
Applejack held up her hooves and took a harsh breath. "Wait wait wait, e'rybody just hush up an' hol' on a doggone minute here. Rarity, lemme get this straight:you're tellin' me you're sleepin' around wit' a married stallion? That you're havin' his foal?"
Rarity rolled her eyes; she knew Applejack would start off with the judgmental questions. "Yes, Applejack, I am. And I'm sleeping with his wife, too. All three of us. Together. It's a mutual three-way relationship that we're all equal partners in, and nopony is being hurt by this in any way, shape or form. And yes, I am having his foal. And so is Blackburn."
"You're a throuple!" Pinkie said with a sagely nod. "It's like a couple, but with three. A throuple! Just a throuple of good-looking ponies having a good time and being in looove! It's a funny word. Go on, say it, give it a couple of goes on the tongue. Throuple. Thhhhrouple. Throu-ple. Really roll those 'R's."
Fluttershy shook her head at Rarity, but she was smiling as she stepped over to whisper, "You didn't mention this part of the relationship, by the way. The, um… foal-having aspect. I'm happy for you."
Rarity let out a breath. "Yes, well, that part was supposed to be a surprise to you, too," she whispered back. "And thank you."
Rainbow sauntered up to Lockwood and prodded him in the chest. "Alright, bucko, I'm only gonna say this once: you knocked up my friend, so you'd better be ready to take responsibility, got it? 'Cause if I find out you're being shady about all this, you know that you can't outrun me."
"Lockwood is the last stallion that you'd ever need to tell that to, Rainbow," Rarity scoffed before Lockwood could even defend himself; he didn't need to, not if she could help it. "Believe me, we've already talked about it, and we're planning to arrange things once the worlds are merged."
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Then what are we even having a discussion about it for?" She gave Rarity a big smile. "Rarity, congratulations on… well, everything, from what it sounds like. I know you and I know that you know what you're doing, so I can't possibly be anything else but happy for you. However, I think that we can all save the celebrations and such for after we save the world."
"I couldn't agree more, darling," Rarity said, returning the smile. "That was the plan after all. Incidentally, if we're all done focusing on me?"
Twilight blinked, then gasped. "Oh! Right." She turned to Blackburn and Lockwood and gave them each a polite bow. "Congratulations to you too, Your Majesties. Sorry, got caught up in all the excitement."
Blackburn chuckled and nodded back to Twilight. "Please. Save all this for later. Would like to return to Silver Manor, prepare for dinner, sleep." With a smirk and a nudge to Rarity, she added, "Eating for two now, after all."