Chapter 46
Excerpt from a magical journal, with entries written by Sir Terminus Flash of the Knights Discordant and Colibri, of Angel’s Rest
Hey Butterfly-
It breaks my heart that I’m gonna miss the wedding. We’re on our way back to Jubilation, but the way things are going? I’ll be surprised if we’re back in time. There’s little chance of us finding the Element of Magic and making it back. I’m really sorry. You’ll draw pictures in the journal, right?
Things are a mess here. Rarity is still giving Heartwing the snowy treatment, but can you blame her? I want to help, but I’m not exactly objective. I wish we had all the time in the world to let her sort her feelings out, but things always seem to be moving too quickly to let us slow down and take stock. The worst part is, she can’t see how much she’s hurting Emberglow.
They almost had something going, you know. You would have loved to see it. But now Rarity's withdrawing in on herself, barely talking to any of us and only communicating with that little construct of hers.
Lest you think all is doom and gloom, there have been some good developments. The other Elements of Harmony got in touch with us in our dreams! It’s a long story, but we all went inside Heartwing’s dream and rescued him from a nightmare, together.
It’s kinda private, but the end result is progress. Good progress. I’ll share more when I know more, but I’m hopeful.
Tomorrow we get into Jubilation. I’ll try to stay in touch, but I’m sure things will be chaotic.
Stay safe, and give Slate my love.
Hey Termie!
So, news, and you’re not allowed to be mad.
Slate and I decided to delay the wedding. It wasn’t because of your latest message! We just couldn’t stand to have the ceremony until you got back.
SO YOU COME BACK UNHARMED, OKAY? OR ELSE I’M GONNA HARM YOU PLENTY!
So I can’t draw pictures of the wedding, because we’re waiting on my best stallion. You'll just have to be here in person. We can, however, draw pictures of the dress. Klieo will, at least. She’s the one who finished it, based on Rarity’s design.
Honestly, Termie? I don’t know how else to say this, but I’ve never felt more ‘me’ than when I tried on the dress for the first time. I just wanted to spread my wings and fly all over Angel’s Rest, show everypony just how happy I am.
In other news, things here are tense, but in a good way. The Knights, even Slate, are all eager. Like they’re dancing on their hooves, ready to spring off in any direction at once. We can all tell that something big is coming. All of us feel it. Cobalt has all the Knights in a state of readiness; he’s cancelled non-essential raids, and is ammassing Knights and regulars for whenever Heartwing calls.
I’m afraid. Most of my friends are Knights. Dad’s talking about re-enlisting. Mom, of course, would be with any supply train. And I still feel the instinct to pray to the Saints, to ask them to watch out for you.
I’m thinking about volunteering. The idea of fighting, of hurting another pony, makes my legs shake and my eyes clench up. I still remember what it felt like last time. The way the knife drove into—
nevermind i cant think about it any more its over i cant
Sorry about that. Cobalt tells me if I volunteer, I can sign up to work with the quartermasters. So I’d be doing logistics, food preparation, supply chain stuff. I wouldn’t have to—
Write me back, okay? I want to know what you think. Slate’s supportive, but I can see the fear in his eyes. But if something huge is coming, I just don’t know if I can be away from him, and you, and Mom and Dad.
Sorry to dump all my drama on you. Give that sweetheart of yours a hug and a kiss from me, okay? And I’m really happy it sounds like he’s getting better. Don’t you dare let him backslide.
P.S. Could you pass along a message to Rarity for me, from Klieo? Let her know the necklace she wanted made is done. That’s a really cool gemstone, but Dad says he doesn’t think it’s a diamond. It almost looks like amber, but it’s clear instead of yellow. Where’d she get it?
A few days later
Termie? Haven’t heard from you in a while.
Termie?
Terminus Flash, is everything okay?
1113 AF, Jubilation
Rarity tromped into Willow’s home, her shoulders slumped, her horn barely flickering as she pulled the door open.
“I do hope Emberglow and Terminus had better luck than we did. Not a peep!” She tried not to sound petulant, but several hours in unpleasant company could do that to a mare. The thought was unworthy, and she felt a twinge of guilt before she reminded herself why Heartwing’s company was so unpleasant these days. They’d spent the entire time searching for Justice and Chip in near-complete silence, barely even shooting each other awkward glances.
“I hope so, too,” Heartwing said as they moved into the living room. “It’s…”
He cut off when they saw Willow’s living room was occupied. Two zebras sat on the couch. One, a young mare, looked furious. The other’s face was twisted with regret. Rarity recognized the colorfully-dressed storyteller from the Gold Run, the one who’d first told her the story of Celeano’s last flight. Willow stood behind him, a storm cloud of fury in her eyes.
The zebra mare’s eyes lit up when they entered the room, and she bowed low. “Forgive our intrusion, but we came to confess a collusion.” She shoved the other zebra with one hoof. “Penha is my name, and my father, Yazid, has come in shame.”
Yazid’s guilty eyes locked on the floor. “It’s true. But I had no choice!”
“What happened?” Heartwing stepped forward, eyes narrowing as he got right in Yazid’s face. The zebra flinched away.
“This coward told us he sold out Emberglow and Terminus to the Mystics!” Willow snapped. Rarity gasped, and Heartwing’s horn flared with angry yellow light. The front of Yazid’s robes glittered yellow as he was hauled to his hooves, muzzle to muzzle with Heartwing.
“You will tell me what happened. Now.” His voice was cold with promised retribution. Yazid gulped.
“P-please, there is no need…”
“This is not telling me what happened.” Yazid’s robes twisted in Heartwing’s magic, and he let out a strangled sort of gulp. Rarity was about to step forward, but Heartwing suddenly released him, then shoved with one hoof, throwing Yazid back into the couch. “Talk. And no sniveling and begging. I’m not in the mood.”
“M-my daughter witnessed an attack. Your Knight Justice and her squire, assaulted by that Knight Mystic with the silvery mane. A few others, too. They… cut off the squire’s horn.”
Rarity hissed, sucking air in through a clenched jaw. Chocolate Chip, that sweet colt with a stutter. Hornless? She felt faint even thinking of it.
“Where is Chip now?” Heartwing’s voice was the eye of a hurricane, calm in the middle of a raging fury.
“Safe and resting. He’s in the bedroom,” Willow said. Rarity wanted to scream. He wasn’t safe and resting. He was sick and dying.
“Okay.” Heartwing took a deep breath, and Rarity could see he was trembling. “We’ll set that aside for now. Where are Terminus and Emberglow?”
“You have to understand, they made me!” Yazid pled. “I had…” his robes twisted again in Heartwing’s yellow magic, and he squeaked with fear. “Okay! Okay! After Penha came and told me what she’d seen, and we’d taken the squire to a safe place, the silver-maned Mystic cornered me. He threatened my family, said he’d kill my daughter and her husband if I didn’t lure them into a trap.”
He told the story, his voice coming out in fits and bursts as he nervously shot glances between Willow and Heartwing. He confessed to leading the Jubilation Guard and a Knight Mystic to surround and capture Emberglow and Terminus.
“When they were cornered, the mare…” Yazid gulped, trembling in fear. “She… went berserk. She threw herself at the Mystic, pounding at him with her hooves. She was shrieking and yelling something. I think she even clipped the other one, her friend, when he tried to hold her back. It took four of the Jubilation zebras to pull her off him, and he was pretty bruised. Laughing, though.”
“But where are they now?” Heartwing hissed, low and furious. Yazid tried to shrink into the couch cushions.
“They were taken to the Treaty Hall,” Yazid’s daughter chimed in. “With chains, muzzles, and all.” Heartwing turned his baleful gaze on her, and she stood her ground, meeting his eyes.
“S-she had nothing to do with it, she didn’t know. It was all me, I…” Yazid babbled, but Heartwing’s backhoof slap silenced him.
“Your turn to talk is done,” he growled, and turned back to the daughter, who glared at him angrily. “You’re sure? They went to the Treaty Hall?” She nodded, and Heartwing turned to Rarity.
“Heartwing…”
“C’mon, Rarity. We’re getting them back.”
* * * * *
“What do you think you’re doing?” Rarity demanded angrily, scrambling to keep up with Heartwing’s pace.
“We have no resources, no backup. Emberglow and Terminus are in jail. I’m out of options. So I’m going to appeal to a higher power.”
“A higher power?” Rarity could barely take in the sights around them as she panted in his wake. Several zebras eyed them askance as Heartwing rudely pushed through the locals, leaving Rarity to offer hastily muttered apologies and embarrassed smiles as she followed.
“Flurry Heart hates me. Her subordinates worldwide have a standing order to arrest me and drag me to the Empire to stand trial. For… for you know what.” He trailed off into a silent mutter.
“So you’re going to surrender yourself to agents of the Empire?” Rarity scoffed.
“In exchange for their help freeing Terminus and Emberglow?” Heartwing said? “Yes. In a heartbeat.”
“Sacrificing yourself can’t be the best option,” she pled with him. He stopped, turning back to look at her. His eyes were wide, full of worry. It brought her up short.
“You don’t think I know that?” he whispered harshly, his eyes darting about impatiently as his tail lashed about. He turned away from her again, and sighed. “If you believe you can think of something better, you have until we get to the Crystal Empire’s embassy. Besides, tell me there’s not a part of you that wouldn’t mind seeing me in chains for what I’ve done.”
It stung, but he wasn’t wrong. She stared at him until he started to gallop again, before scrambling after him.
“I’m sorry!” she called out to his back. He didn’t turn. “I’m still going to need some time, Heartwing!” He ignored her.
The crowd had thinned by the time they reached the Crystal Empire embassy. Like most buildings in Jubilation, it was a single story with wide windows and a flat roof, surrounded by a tall wall with a gate at the front.
There were two guards at the closed gate, crystal ponies wearing lavender-colored uniforms and bearing rifles with bayonets. Heartwing slowed his gallop to a walk as he approached.
“Greetings, gentlestallions,” he addressed them grandly, as Rarity rushed up, panting. How was he not out of breath? “I have pressing business I need to discuss with Ambassador Honeycomb.”
“The ambassador is a busy mare, mister…” the guard began, trailing off a bit condescendingly.
“My name is Heartwing. I don’t have any sort of appointment, but if you give the Ambassador my name I’m sure she’ll deign to speak with me,” Heartwing smirked confidently. “After all, I have a warrant for my arrest issued by the pink dodo herself.”
The guards looked confused. “Dodo?”
“You know, small, flightless bird?” Heartwing said. “Completely powerless, runs around in the dirt, that sort of thing?” He sighed at their blank expressions. “I’m insulting your princess, you morons.”
“Heartwing, darling?” Rarity chimed in cautiously. “I’m not exactly sure that…”
“One moment, please,” he said calmly. Rarity gaped in shock as he strolled closer to the guards, and they began to lower their bayonets threateningly. “I’m trying to get arrested. I thought insulting Princess Penguin Puff might be the fastest way.”
“T-trying to get arrested?” Rarity stammered. “Why would you…”
“Please, Heartwing,” the guard began.
“Sir Heartwing. Of the Knights Discordant, if that helps,” he interrupted. “Sorry, continue.”
The two guards gave each other nervous glances, and one nodded.
“Please wait right here,” he said, as his fellow fully lowered the rifle to point right at Heartwing’s chest. “Don’t move.”
“I shall be rooted to the spot,” he declared. He glanced back at Rarity, and she almost smirked despite the grim circumstances. In the old days, he would have literally grown roots.
The guard cracked the gate open and slipped inside, shutting it behind him. The other guard, now alone, looked visibly nervous. Heartwing, for his part, remained still, only the twitch in his tail betraying his anxious energy. Rarity opened her mouth, feeling compelled to fill the silence.
“I’m rather sorry for my companion’s rudeness, mister…” Rarity trailed off, and the guard merely lowered his brows at her implied question. “Well. Mister Guard. He’s never quite been one for the social graces.” The guard harrumphed at her, never taking his eyes fully off Heartwing. “B-but I suppose if you prefer to wait in silence—”
He did, as it turned out. She waited, shifting awkwardly from hoof to hoof as she watched through the gate, into the embassy building beyond. It didn’t take long.
The embassy doors burst open, and five guards, including the one who had left, spilled out. Each one was a crystal pony, dressed in the same lavender military uniform. The one in the front carried a set of black iron shackles, complete with a chain and a collar for a pony’s neck. They charged the gate, and the guard outside opened it for them.
“S-sir Heartwing?” the mare carrying the shackles stepped forward, holding up the restraints. “Come with us, please.”
“No,” Heartwing said simply. “No restraints. No arrest. Not until I have an arrangement with the ambassador. Take me to Honeycomb, and then we’ll talk.” The guards all shared inscrutable looks. “If it helps, I give my word that I won’t harm any of you. My word as a Knight.”
“Follow me,” the mare said after a pause. Heartwing nodded, ignoring the way the other guards crowded in a circle around them. Rarity couldn’t help but glance worriedly at the martially dressed guards pressing in on either side of her, practically frog-marching them forward into the Embassy.
“I do hope you know what you’re doing, Heartwing,” Rarity muttered as they were escorted through the front doors. Inside, it was cool enough to make her shiver; the temperature dropped drastically as soon as they crossed the stone threshold of the building.
Heartwing laughed. “Cooling enchantments? You all miss the frozen tundra that much, huh?” The guards ignored him, shoving both of them with shoulders and hooves when it seemed like Heartwing might hesitate.
“Would you relax?” Rarity snapped. “We’re going where you want. There’s no need to shove.” She looked around at the interior, noting the crystalline light fixtures hanging from the ceilings, and built into the stucco walls. “And what do you mean about that, Heartwing? Last time I was in the Empire, it wasn’t cold at all.”
“That was before the Empress had to repurpose the Crystal Heart,” Heartwing said as they were led down a long hallway. Tinted skylights above them let in just enough sunlight to fill the hall, but not enough to provide any real heat.
“Empress?”
“Cadance’s new title. Well, ‘new’. She…”
“No talking!” the mare guard leading them growled. They stopped in front of a wooden door. “You’ll be waiting in here. Don’t try to leave; the door will be guarded.”
The room inside was not a jail cell of some sort, as Rarity had originally feared. Instead, it appeared to be a comfortably furnished conference room, with a wide rectangular table in the center surrounded by plush chairs. At the head of the table was a large painting of what Rarity recognized as an adult Flurry Heart, though the last time she’d seen her Flurry had still been in diapers.
By the time Rarity glanced away from the portrait, the door was closed behind them, and Heartwing had slumped into one of the larger chairs. His eyes closed, and he appeared relaxed, though Rarity could see the tension wrinkles along his eyes and his tightly pulled lips.
“So what comes next in this genius plan of yours?” Rarity couldn’t help to keep the contempt out of her voice.
Heartwing let out a long breath. “Negotiations. We’ll…” he paused, and one eye opened, pointing towards the door. “You hear that?”
Rarity cocked an ear. Indeed, there were sounds of commotion coming from outside the door. Somepony was arguing with the guards.
“Maybe I should—”
Rarity didn’t get to finish before the door burst open to reveal a crystal pony mare with orange mane and yellow fur, dressed in a sturdy looking travelling skirt. Behind her was an earth pony stallion, with light green fur and a black short-cut mane, wearing the yellow armor of the Discordant. The guard outside looked upset and uncomfortable.
“If somepony gives you grief, you can send them to the Princess. I’m sure she’d be happy to listen to you whine about how I usurped your command, or whatever.” The mare sounded impatient and dismissive, before turning to Heartwing and Rarity. Her face lit up with delight and relief. “Heartwing! You really are here! What’s this nonsense I heard about you being arrested?”
The mare didn’t wait for an answer, instead rushing over to hug the rather surprised looking Heartwing.
“T-topaz Glitter?” Heartwing stammered, before returning the hug with a relieved look of his own. “And Lofty Tale!?”
The stallion Heartwing named Lofty Tale gave the guard a cold look before closing the door behind him, shutting the guard outside. “You didn’t think we were figments of your dream, did you?” His voice was a pleasant tenor, with a precise cadence and diction that reminded Rarity of Shining Armor. His eyes darted to Rarity, then widened, his jaw falling slack.
Lofty Tale. Rarity swallowed, recognizing the name. This was the stallion Emberglow had said was chosen by the Element of Generosity. Her element. She felt off balance, and at a loss for words. From the dumbstruck look on his face, so did he.
“I know… Emberglow said you’d be here, but…” he trailed off in a whisper. “Some things have to be seen to be believed.”
“Lofty,” Topaz eyed him with an amused look. “Be amazed later. Business first?” She turned her head to Heartwing, obviously waiting for an answer for her earlier question.
“I turned myself in to your embassy, hoping to exchange myself for your ponies’ help in getting Terminus and Emberglow from Jubilation’s prison.”
Topaz blinked, then gave a dismayed moan. “Oh. Oh my, this is…” She laughed, a sound that didn’t touch her distressed eyes. “Disaster really does trail in your wake, doesn’t it? I can fix this. I hope.” Finally she glanced over at Rarity, seeming to notice her for the first time. “Oh!”
“Rarity?” Heartwing said with a wry look. “Meet Topaz Glitter, the Element of Laughter. And Lofty Tale, the…” he only hesitated for a second. “The Element of Generosity.”
“You don’t need to tiptoe around it, darling,” Rarity put on her best, most winning smile, and hoped nopony noticed just how fake it was. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both.” She held out her hoof and shook both theirs. The pair looked relieved that she seemed to be taking things so well. No need for them to realize just how adrift she felt. She wished she were in private, anywhere she could pull out the construct and talk to Twilight. That was at least one thing she still felt anchored to.
“Now that that’s out of the way,” Topaz narrowed her eyes at Heartwing. “Tell us what happened.”
Heartwing stayed calm, somehow, but Rarity thought she could sense the tension and worry in his voice. He told Topaz everything he could.
“I don’t understand why you came here.” All four of them were sitting in chairs around the conference table, though none of them looked relaxed. Topaz rubbed one hoof against another thoughtfully. “Why does Flurry Heart have an outstanding order to arrest you?”
“Because I am responsible for the death of her aunt,” Heartwing said, his voice low and sad. Rarity’s whole body tensed.
“You mean… hundreds of years ago?” Topaz shrugged. “And she still bears a grudge?” Her voice was incredulous, and the hackles raised on Rarity’s neck. “That’s… ancient history.”
“I’ll thank you not to speak so dismissively of my best friend,” Rarity hissed, and everypony in the room froze. She stood so quickly the chair fell backwards. “Ancient history?” The fury built in her like a boiling kettle. “Ancient History?! I’ll have you know for me, the last time I saw Twilight was just a few months ago! Maybe Flurry Heart has the right idea!”
The sounds of her scream faded, and she stared into all three of their stunned, guilty faces. Topaz looked the worst, and for a second Rarity felt bad for yelling. But then she felt a cold hoof on her shoulder, and she spun, jerking in surprise.
Behind her was a sight that made her blood run cold. A pony in a ragged cloak and hood, with a baleful glow in place of its empty eye sockets. A naked skull stood atop a fleshless body, and its hoof was still extended from where it had touched Rarity.
Rarity backed away, shrieking in terror, while the creature looked on, its head cocked slightly to the side. She could hear chairs being shoved away from the conference table, and the pounding of hooves, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the horror. Suddenly Heartwing and Topaz were in front of her, while Lofty was at the monster’s side. For some reason, he was holding out a hoof to the creature, muttering something softly.
“Rarity. Rarity, calm down! Stop screaming, everything is okay!” Topaz said frantically, waving a hoof in front of both her and Heartwing. “It’s Starlight. Starlight Glimmer!”
Rarity gaped. Starlight? No. No, it wasn’t possible. This… thing? This macabre mannequin of bleached bone and rags? There was nothing left of her, no flesh or fur, no mane.
Dimly, in the distance, she realized ponies were still talking. The door was open, and several guards had flooded into the room. There were angry voices, placating voices, desperate voices. Flashing colors as ponies moved quickly and determinedly about the room. All of it faded into mere background noise as Rarity and the creature met eyes and stared at each other.
In their distraction, nopony noticed as Rarity began to walk forward, one hoofstep at a time, while the creature started to shake and tremble, then shrink away until it was sitting on its haunches.
“It’s my fault,” the creature whispered. No, that was wrong. It was Starlight’s voice. Rarity had spoken to her just a few months ago, before…
Before.
“What’s your fault, darling?” Rarity asked gently. She lifted her hoof, suddenly no longer afraid of Starlight’s fearsome appearance. Where before, Starlight’s eyes had appeared baleful and ominous, now the blue glow reminded Rarity of the light of Starlight’s horn. The severed stump where that appendage used to be filled Rarity with an aching sort of compassion, and it drowned out all of her disgust and terror.
“I don’t remember.” Starlight shook her head. “I don’t remember, but it’s my fault. My fault. My fault.” She sunk so low that her ribcage was on the floor, her empty eye sockets pressed down so that the top of her hood hid her head. Rarity could hear her still muttering the two words, over and over, while her cloaked form trembled and shook.
“Darling, please, get up,” Rarity touched Starlight’s face, feeling the rough cloth and the hard bone underneath. “There’s no need for any of this. I forgive you.” Suddenly she realized that the rest of the room had gone silent. Everypony was staring at them.
“But how can you forgive me when I don’t even remember what I did?!” Starlight still didn’t raise her head.
“Starlight?” The new stallion, Lofty, spoke into the silence that followed. Rarity glanced his way, noting the way his eyes filled with empathy. “Where is True?” At Rarity’s quizzical expression, he smiled. “True is my son. Starlight seems to remember more things when she’s around him. I don’t know why.”
“True is…” Finally, Starlight looked up, glancing at Lofty. “Sleeping. He’s having a nap, in your quarters.” Starlight spoke with hesitation, the words coming in spurts as if she had to consider each and every phrase. Slowly she stood, rising on her hooves until she could meet Rarity’s eyes. There seemed to be no hint of her earlier cowering. Instead, she cocked her head slightly to the side in a curious expression. “Do I know you?”
“This is Rarity, Starlight,” Lofty offered, with the patience one might take with a small foal. Or perhaps a pony with memory loss. “You remember Rarity, right?”
“I…” Starlight paused, glancing about the room. “I don’t remember any…” The lights in her eyes flickered, as if she were blinking. “Wait…”
“Topaz?” Lofty called. “I’d like to go check on True. Do you mind if I take Rarity and Starlight with me?” Rarity liked the idea; watching Starlight stumble to remember hurt, and if Lofty was right, being around his son somehow helped Starlight’s memory.
The rest of the room appeared to have calmed down, Heartwing now engaged in a low conversation with Topaz, while several guards stood by, nervously watching them. Topaz glanced over at Lofty’s question with a strained smile. “That’s a great plan, Lofty. Heartwing and I have to go have a chat with the ambassador. We might be a bit.”
“Not too long, I hope,” Rarity said. “Our friends are locked away in some prison, after all.”
“We’ll get them out, Rarity,” Heartwing said.
* * * * *
Lofty led Rarity through the halls of the embassy, with Starlight trailing behind her. Rarity kept looking back behind her at the strange, skeletal mare. A billion questions buzzed in her head, each one with its own little barb of frustration; there was no way Starlight would even remember enough to answer any of them.
The Knight in front of her was just as frustrating, though for different reasons. He seemed kind and noble, and would probably answer any questions she posed. But Rarity wasn’t sure she wanted to ask. She’d thought she’d caught a glimpse of a golden torc beneath the gambeson he wore under his armor, and Rarity wasn’t quite sure she was ready to think about that too hard.
The embassy was not empty; there were crystal ponies moving about, as well as zebra staff. Several gave them curious looks as she passed, but Rarity never saw the glint of recognition that she’d grown used to the past few months. In a way, it was welcome; she knew at least somewhere in the world there were ponies that looked at her and didn’t immediately think of Saint Rarity.
“The embassy has a guest wing, with a few different temporary apartments for visiting dignitaries and such,” Lofty explained as they moved through the hallways. “Topaz and I have been staying there the last two days, along with True, Starlight, and another friend. How long have you all been in town?”
“We snuck in just this morning,” Rarity said. She shuddered a bit to remember that journey. “We began searching for some friends, only to find they had befallen tragedy, and that Emberglow and Terminus had been taken.”
“I’m sure Topaz and Heartwing will come up with something,” Lofty said. Rarity was certain he was trying to sound reassuring, but she could hear the worry in his voice, too.
“You’re one of her oldest friends, aren’t you?” she asked. Lofty nodded. “Emberglow speaks highly of you.”
“Thank you.” Lofty bowed graciously.
They stopped in front of a wooden door, and Lofty reached out and pushed the door open as gently as possible. He poked his head just inside, then retreated to smile at Rarity, and Starlight behind her. “Looks like he woke up. Miss Rarity, would you like to meet my son?”
Lofty opened the door the rest of the way to reveal a furnished suite, with two beds, a desk, and a brunch table. Two ponies sat at the table: a pegasus stallion and a tiny earth pony colt. The pegasus had brown fur and a red mane and was helping the foal with the rainbow explosion of crayons that littered the table. He looked up at them and waved as they approached.
“Rarity, this is my friend, Escher. Escher, you’ll have heard of Rarity, of course.” Escher nodded a greeting, but it wasn’t the usual star-struck look she was used to. Lofty pointed to the colt. “And this is my son.”
The colt’s face was screwed up in an adorable look of intense concentration, the tip of his tongue sticking out as he scribbled with a bright yellow crayon on a sheet of paper already covered with foal scrawling. He glanced up as soon as Lofty and Rarity entered the room, with Starlight close behind them.
“Hi Daddy! Hi Star!” he waved cheerfully, before noticing the new pony. He stared at her with the unbridled curiosity of the young. “Who’re you?”
“Why hello there, young colt,” Rarity stepped up towards the table. “My name is Rarity. What’s yours?”
“True Tale!” he chirped cheerfully. “Wanna see my picture?”
“I would love to see your picture!” Rarity cooed and glanced down. Like all foals, True’s art skills were questionable at best, but it was clear to see the deck of a sailing ship. Lofty and Topaz stood at the back, while True and a skeletal pony were at the prow, fighting off what appeared to be some sort of sea serpent. “Ooh, that’s lovely, darling! That’s your father, and Topaz, and you and Starlight!” She pointed to each in turn. “You were on a ship to get here?”
“Yup!”
“And did you fight sea serpents?”
“Uh… that part’s made up. But whales!”
“We saw several pods of whales,” Lofty supplied.
“Looks like you’re going to be a brave Knight, just like your father,” Rarity said.
True nodded. “And Star! Star’s brave too!”
“She is. Sometime I’ll tell you the story of how she helped save me and my friends from an evil changeling queen.” She watched as his eyes lit up.
“You did?” he glanced at Starlight, who cocked her head to the side in confusion.
“I… maybe?”
“Star can’t remember stuff,” True said.
“I remember more when I’m around you, though,” Starlight said. Rarity met Lofty’s eyes, and the Knight nodded. “I don’t know why.”
“True?” Rarity asked. “I’m going to ask Starlight some questions. Can you stay, so that she can remember better? You can keep drawing if you want.”
“Yup!” True flipped the paper over again and picked up a brown crayon. “Gonna draw Esser.”
It was fascinating how quickly True became absorbed in his task. Escher met eyes with Rarity, and then leaned over to assist True. She got the message; he was going to keep the foal occupied so she could have her chat with Starlight.
“Starlight? Do you remember more, now?” Rarity inched closer, scanning the skeletal face for any hint of recognition.
“It helps if you ask specific questions,” Lofty offered. “And don’t expect too much.”
“Starlight? Do you know who I am?” she asked. Starlight was silent, staring back at her. Rarity waited, daring to hope. The time ticked on, accompanied only by the sound of True’s crayons dragging against the paper. “Starlight, it’s me, Rarity.”
“Rarity?” Starlight suddenly jerked forward quickly enough that Rarity flinched, but she was only reaching out her hoof to Rarity’s face. She steeled herself to stillness, feeling Starlight’s hoof tickling along the fur of her cheek. “Rarity. RARITY!?”
With a wail, Starlight collapsed to the floor, whimpering and sobbing, her face buried against the floor. It was just like before, in the conference room. Only this time, she was repeating Rarity’s name over and over.
“Starlight, darling. I said I forgave you. Would you please stand up, so we can talk?”
“Rarity, it’s you,” Starlight said as she pulled herself up. “It’s really you. I looked. For years, I looked. I did… this… to myself.”
“You didn’t have to go that far.”
“But it was my fault! If I hadn’t…”
“Hush, darling. I don’t want to hear any more talk of blame.” Rarity patted her on the shoulder. “What we need to be worried about now is moving forward.”
“Princess Cadance and Princess Luna both want you to find rest, Starlight,” Lofty added.
“Rest?” Starlight’s voice was full of so much longing that Rarity almost wept for her. “I’m so tired.”
“What would that take, darling?”
“I…” She went silent, the light in her eyes fading for a few moments, long enough that Rarity thought something was wrong. “There was a book. A journal. I kept it in… in your place, in Canterlot. I found it. Your boutique.” She said each sentence as if she were realizing it for the first time. Her eyes brightened as she spoke. “I was there for a long time. A very long time.
“You!” she suddenly gasped, then pointed at Lofty. “You came! With… with somepony else! A mare! But you ran away!” She was bouncing up and down on her hooves. “I’m remembering things! How am I remembering things?!”
“That was Emberglow and I,” Lofty said. “We were squires, and we got lost trespassing in the ruins of Old Canterlot. At the time, I thought I was being led by Princess Luna. I’m sorry I ran, Starlight.”
“But you came back! You came back, and now I can…” She began desperately glancing around herself. “The book! My journal! Where is it?”
“I have it with my luggage, Starlight. One moment.” Lofty moved over to one of the beds, where a set of saddlebags rested against the foot of the bed. He pulled out an ancient looking journal and brought it over. “Here.”
“Thank you. I’ll just…” Starlight began, cocking her head to the side. “Wait, why isn’t…”
“Starlight,” Rarity said. “Did you forget about your horn?”
“My horn? Oh!” Starlight reached up, touching the stump. “Oh. I… there were ponies. Dressed in white armor. I acted like I was dead? I think? But they still took my horn.”
“White armor would be the Knights Radiant,” Lofty said. “The order that…”
“Yes, I know all about it,” Rarity interrupted. “Please, darling. What’s in the journal?”
“Spell research,” Starlight said. “I was working on several different things. Before I couldn’t remember what I was working on any longer.”
“May I look, Starlight?” Rarity asked, and Starlight nodded. She took the book in her own magic and began to flip through the pages. “These are notes on the spell you altered. The one that gave up your memories, in exchange for life.”
“I had to,” Starlight whimpered. “It was my fault you were missing. It’s my fault she’s dead.”
Lofty and Rarity both froze, staring at her. “She? Who’s she?”
“Sunset Shimmer. But I was working on that, too.” Starlight reached out and flipped towards the middle of the journal. “See?”
Rarity scanned the pages. The work she’d been doing with Twilight had given her a crash course in sorcerous notation and magical theory. Much of the notes were beyond her, but she was able to catch the general gist.
Starlight was trying to recreate her time travel spell. But without the map room to use as a magical focus, she was attempting to adapt the spell to use something else.
“Starlight…” Rarity gasped in horror, her mind buzzing as her eyes darted about the page. “How could you even consider…”
“If it worked, Rarity,” Starlight pleaded. “If it worked, Sunset would be back. She would be saved. And I… I would be gone.” Her voice caressed the last word with loving longing. “Please, Rarity. Help me with this spell.”
Starlight’s end. Starlight’s rest. That’s what they wanted, right? And how was using her own life, her own soul, as a catalyst for a time travel spell any different than what she’d already done?
Would it hurt just to help?
“I’ll do what I can, darling. But I want you to promise me you won’t cast it without asking me first.”
“Okay.” Starlight held out her hoof. “Can I see the book?”
“One moment, darling. There’s another spell. It takes up nearly the entire second half of the book.”
“Rarity…” Starlight’s voice pleaded. “I don’t want you to see…”
But she had to know, now. Everything in the journal was a wretched, twisted thing Starlight had done to herself, to scourge herself with her own guilt. The third spell was no different.
“A tantabus,” Rarity breathed, when she realized what Starlight had created. “You recreated a tantabus.”
“A tantabus!” Lofty recoiled, hissing with horror.
Rarity slammed the book shut with disgust. “Starlight, why would you do this to yourself?”
“You know why,” Starlight hissed. “It’s all my fault. I deserved—"
“Nopony deserves any of this,” Rarity interrupted. “Nopony deserves a tantabus. Nopony deserves to lose what you gave up.”
“Then help me end it,” Starlight begged. “Help me finish the spell. Help me save Sunset.”
“I will, darling,” Rarity touched her once more. “But we may have a bigger problem. What happened to the tantabus?”
“I don’t dream any longer,” Starlight said. “Not since the ponies in white armor took my horn. I don’t know where the tantabus is.”
“We should ask Emberglow, once we get her free,” Lofty offered. “She may know more.”
Rarity nodded, but she was still worried. There was a tantabus out there, loose in the world. Possibly torturing innocent ponies. And there was nothing she could do about it. She huffed in frustration.
“We should check on Heartwing and Topaz,” Rarity said finally. “There’s nothing we can do about the tantabus for now.” It aggravated her, but it was true. She’d have to read the journal. Twilight would have been proud; more spellwork to study. She was becoming a regular scholar.
* * * * *
“Good news, everypony. I’ve been granted the privilege of subjecting myself to arrest, extradition, and trial!” Heartwing’s voice was gratingly cheerful when Rarity and Lofty finally rejoined Topaz and Heartwing in the conference room. There were several other ponies in the room: two guards, standing nervously at either side of Heartwing as he sat in his conference chair, and an older crystal pony mare, dressed in fine robes.
Starlight had disappeared, along with that worrisome journal. Rarity didn’t want to think about what she might be doing. But she didn’t want to be here, with Heartwing, either. Something about his flippancy made her want to scream. He was guilty of what Princess Flurry wanted him arrested for. He didn’t have the right to joke about it.
“What sort of arrangement did you make?” Rarity asked.
“Well, they’re fetching the manacles as we speak. Apparently my word as a Knight was not enough for the honorable Ambassador Honeycomb.”
“The fugitive creature known as ‘Heartwing’ has a reputation for deception and escape artistry. We will not be taking chances.” The ambassador was a yellow furred crystal mare with a honey colored mane.
“In the meantime, these two intrepid young soldiers have promised to split me with their spears if I so much as wiggle.”
“That’s all well and good, Heartwing.” Rarity actually had to suppress the urge to say ‘darling’. She wasn’t quite feeling like he deserved it. “But I didn’t hear where in this arrangement we get Emberglow and Terminus out of Jubilation custody?”
“Princess Flurry Heart has never conceded to the legitimacy of the Diarchy or it’s government,” Ambassador Honeycomb said. “As such, the only legally recognized government of Equestria is the expatriate government-in-exile of ponies living in the Empire, led by President Buck Stop.”
“They’ve also never recognized the legitimacy of the Knights Discordant,” Heartwing explained cheerfully. “Though they’ve never really bothered to oppose us. Technically, though, that means we’re committing crimes of vigilantism against the government-in-exile.”
“So…” Rarity needed him to get to the point.
“So we’re all going to be extradited as criminals!”
‘Heartwing!” Rarity shrieked, slamming her hooves on the table loud enough that the guards jumped. “I don’t see how that’s going to help Emberglow or Terminus! They’ll be trading a Jubilation cell for one in the Crystal Empire!”
“While that would be a step up, Miss, I can assure you that Sir Terminus and Lady Emberglow will not see the inside of an Empire prison,” the ambassador said. “Vigilantism is a minor misdemeanor. I don’t think there’s a single case of a Knight Discordant being actually prosecuted. But it’s still on the books, and we have an extradition treaty with Jubilation.”
“The Diarchy does not have an extradition treaty with Jubilation,” Heartwing noted helpfully. “Which means all extraditions will have to be negotiated on a case-by-case basis. To date, none have been granted.”
“So this all comes down to some sort of… legal fight?” Rarity was incredulous.
“I have already rushed my team of lawyers down to the Jubilation Treaty Hall. They’ll stall any attempt by Diarchy personnel to extradite your friends. Then we spirit you all to a ship heading to the Empire before the Diarchy Knights can get a formal complaint through the courts.”
“But what about…” Rarity paused, glancing about the room. There were guards, and the ambassador.
“The Element of Harmony?” Heartwing said, ignoring the shocked looks on the ambassador and the guards. “We may have to take a loss on this one. For now.”
“You mean retreat? Give up?” It turned Rarity’s stomach.
“I’d give up a thousand Elements of Magic if it meant getting Terminus free,” Heartwing said, and for a moment Rarity was unpleasantly reminded of the Element he now bore. She brushed it from her thoughts.
“Excuse me, but… what are you talking about?” Ambassador Honeycomb asked.
Heartwing and Rarity shared a long look, and Heartwing shrugged. So. He was going to leave the decision in her court, as it were? Very well.
“The Elements of Harmony are why we’re here in Jubilation. Our quest is to find them and bring them together. The last one still lost is the Element of Magic. We believe it’s close to Jubilation somewhere. The treasure mentioned in the ‘Last Flight of Captain Celeano’.”
“That old wife’s tale?” The ambassador snorted. “You know that’s just a foal’s fantasy.”
“We think maybe not,” Rarity said. “And we think the Diarchy knows it too. They’ve been building an outpost of some sort on one of the barrier islands off the coast, haven’t they?” That was what Willow had said. “One of our Knights was killed. Another, a young squire, got his horn chopped off trying to investigate.”
“He did?” Ambassador Honeycomb looked ill. “The Knight is one thing. I’m afraid the zebras will see it as a casualty in the ongoing conflict between your two… groups. But maiming a prisoner like that? I’m… I’m so sorry. I’ll see what my own intelligence ponies know.”
“You mean your changelings,” Heartwing said, and the ambassador scowled at him. “What? It’s not like it was a secret from me.”
“Yes, we’ll have changeling agents look into it while you go collect your friends from the Treaty Hall.” She shook her head. “You may not believe me, but it is my job to represent all the citizens of the Empire. Including Diarchy expatriates here in Jubilation. We know most of them are citizens of the Free Zebra Republic, now, but an insult to them is an insult to us. Cutting off the horn…” she shuddered. “We’ll do what we can to make things right. As much as possible.”
The colt was missing his horn. Nothing would make that better. But a small part of her was grateful for the sentiment anyway.
“Topaz and Sir Lofty will handle the transportation of the prisoners. Heartwing will stay here, under guard,” Ambassador Honeycomb said.
“I insist on going with,” Rarity said. The ambassador looked like she was about to protest, but Topaz nodded. “I remember what Emberglow looked like when I rescued her from the Diarchy last time. I need to be there to help her this time, as well.”
“I will keep them both safe, if that’s your concern,” Lofty offered. Ambassador Honeycomb nodded.
“I want it understood, Sir Lofty. In this matter you are representing the Crystal Empire. You will probably come in contact with Diarchy Knights. You are not to speak to them. You are not to engage them, except in defense of your life, or Rarity’s, or Duchess Topaz’.”
“D-duchess?” Topaz’ jaw gaped.
“I thought you knew,” Ambassador Honeycomb raised an eyebrow at Topaz. “Princess Flurry Heart recently sent a memo to all the Embassies. Your family’s noble title has been reinstated. You’re a Duchess, my lady.”
“Huh.” Topaz blinked a few times, then giggled. “Well, let’s see just how far my royal authority can get us in Jubilation.”
* * * * *
Rarity was beginning to hate this city.
Jubilation, when she first arrived, had been a mélange of sights and sounds and smells, an exotic vacation, even. Now, as every step brought the three ponies closer to the Treaty Hall, she was growing increasingly furious.
“I can’t believe we’re even in this situation,” she groused, possibly for the thousandth time while Topaz nodded patiently. “I thought the zebras were supposed to be on the side of good.”
“Is everything ever that simple?” Topaz mused, and Rarity huffed. “Well, consider this. Zebras here, even the ponies here, are far removed from the nightmare going on in Equestria. They have no frame of reference for how bad things are. So when the Diarchy comes, and offers sweet promises of prosperity and peace, it’s easy to see how some lose sight of the suffering.”
“But isn’t there a guerrilla war going on out there?” Rarity waved her hoof vaguely beyond the walls.
“For most of the Free Zebra Republic, yes. The Diarchy has always steered fairly clear of Jubilation, though.” Lofty gave her a weird look. “What? I’ve been brushing up on local politics ever since I became a junior ambassador. It seemed important.”
“Okay then, so maybe you can explain why Jubilation is the exception,” Rarity said.
“It's the same reason the government building is called the Treaty Hall. Ages ago, the zebras were basically a very loose confederation of tribes. They weren’t at war or anything, but each group was largely self-sufficient. When the Diarchy began trying to nose in on zebra lands, they decided to present a more unified front. The confederation of tribes met in this spot here, to form a Republic.
“Originally Jubilation was just supposed to be the council meeting place, where the elected representatives of each zebra band gathered to make decisions. But a whole town sprang up around their meeting place, the ‘Treaty Hall’. Now it’s more-or-less the center of the Republic. That’s why the embassies are all here; from the Crystal Empire, the Griffons, even the Diarchy.”
“If the council is made up of representatives from tribes that are still fighting out there, why would they even consider a closer relationship with the Diarchy?” Rarity asked.
“Apparently that’s not the Council of the Republic itself, but rather the City Council of Jubilation. The Council of the Republic usually doesn’t get involved in how the city runs itself, as long as they don't get too out of hand.” Topaz pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Ambassador Honeycomb doesn’t think they’ll stay silent about what the City Council is doing for long, though. But by the time they weigh in, it’ll be too late for us.”
“So we have to get them out today.”
“That’s the goal,” Topaz nodded. “Don’t worry, Rarity. They’ll be safe soon, I promise.”
Rarity bit back an angry response. There was no way Topaz could really promise such a thing; with how everything seemed to go wrong all at once, how could she know? Rarity kept her dark thoughts to herself, though, as they rushed through the streets towards the Treaty Hall.
The building was the grandest Rarity had seen yet in Jubilation. It was shaped in a giant curve, like a horseshoe, with a central courtyard filled with bright and lively greenery. On top of the courtyard was a pointed dome, made up of metal struts that reached from the surrounding building. At the top of the point, a statue of a majestic looking zebra stood, looking out over the city.
The walls of the building were made of reflective glass, and they tilted outwards, with a roof that extended far enough over the windows to provide shade.
The whole complex was also surrounded by a high wall, with a security gate at the front. Zebra Republic guards in uniforms stood at attention at the gate, eyeing Lofty and his armor with suspicion as he approached. One of them opened his mouth to challenge the three, but Topaz beat him to it.
“Good day, sirs. My name is Ambassador Topaz Glitter, of the Crystal Empire. I am aware that several of my government’s legal representatives are inside, arranging the extradition of two prisoners into our custody. I require entry so that I may confer with them.” She fished a folder of documents out of her saddlebags. “Here is my documentation and identity papers. These other two are my companions. Their own paperwork is in here as well.”
“Your… companion, Lady Ambassador, is, well, dressed in…”
“I have hired this mercenary as my bodyguard. The Empire is allowed, by our treaty with Jubilation, to have security forces under arms. He’s working for me, and therefore is not breaking any of Jubilation’s weapons laws.” Ambassador Honeycomb had been very helpful filling them in on the relevant policies.
“Okay, um, wait here, Ambassador. We’ll get you visitor’s passes.”
The guard slipped into the small guardhouse adjacent to the gate, emerging with three badges on lanyards. He handed them to each of the ponies, and Rarity slipped hers on.
“I’ll have to ask you to leave all weapons here, at the gate,” he said. Lofty shrugged. He’d brought none. “The Treaty Hall is strictly neutral ground for all conflicts and feuds. It is a violation of Republic law to attack or assault another within our walls. Obviously any violations will be responded to quickly and without quarter.”
“If my charges are attacked, I will defend them,” Lofty noted.
The guard nodded. “You are allowed that right, if attacked first.”
“Good. You have my word I will start nothing.”
The zebra guard hesitated for a moment at that, but then ignored it. “Follow me. I will show you to your legal team. They are currently meeting with Representatives Boghani and Coconut Milk.”
“Actually…” Topaz said. “Can we be shown first to the prisoners in question? While I do have a political interest in their release, I am also a doctor, and am currently treating one of the prisoners. I wish to check on their wellbeing.”
“You’re a doctor?”
“Yes, a psychologist. I’ve been treating the prisoner named Emberglow for months now, for issues stemming from post-traumatic stress and torture she received at the hooves of the Diarchy.”
One of the guards looked a little suspicious, but the other smiled sympathetically. “Of course. The prisoners are safe in our care, but I’ll let you see for yourself.”
“Safe until your government tosses them right back into the hooves of the same ponies that tortured her, you mean,” Rarity couldn’t help but mutter. The guard glanced sharply at her, as Topaz hushed her with a hoof. “Sorry.” She wasn’t.
“This way, please,” the guard said, gesturing with his hoof as the other guard unlocked the gate and pushed it open. They followed, with Lofty in front and Rarity bringing up the rear. She could see his face darting this way and that, scanning the lush grounds for any hints of a threat.
“Pardon me, but I couldn’t help but wonder,” Rarity called out, loud enough for the guard up front to hear. “This doesn’t seem to be the kind of place to house prisoners.”
“We don’t, usually,” he called back. “Only foreign nationals awaiting extradition.”
“I see.” The fact that Emberglow and Terminus were already being given some sort of special treatment made her nervous. She wished they would move faster.
They approached the building itself, heading not for the grand front doors but towards the inside of the central courtyard. Rarity couldn’t help but stare in awe at the colorful array of plants, with bright green leaves reaching tall overhead, just underneath the pointed metal dome. It was surprisingly cool; the trees provided plenty of shade. There were water features everywhere, little natural-looking fountains where brightly colored birds stopped and drank.
“I must say, your building is quite lovely,” she said. “I wish I were here under better circumstances.”
“Perhaps your travels will bring you back, someday,” the guard said.
“I hope they do.”
The path ended in a door, much smaller than the front entrance. It was also under guard, but the soldier standing there simply opened the door for them.
Inside was a single desk with an official-looking zebra sitting behind it, wearing glasses and scratching away with a quill on a pile of bureaucratic paperwork in front of him. He glanced up as they all filed into the room, his eyes widening with shock.
“Who is this?” he asked, sounding annoyed.
“Ambassador Topaz Glitter of the Crystal Empire wishes to see the prisoners below. The rebel Knights from the Diarchy.”
“T-that is quite impossible at the moment,” the bureaucrat stammered. “You see, the prisoners are already being interviewed by… um…”
“The ambassador is also a doctor treating one of the prisoners. She has demanded the right to check on her well-being.”
“Th-that may be so, but I d-don’t think…”
“I believe denying a prisoner access to medical care is a violation of her rights,” Topaz said casually. “Is there a good reason I can’t go see my patient?”
“W-well, that is…”
The guard who had escorted them narrowed his eyes. “It seems some of my coworkers don’t know the law. I will show you down, but you must again promise to keep the peace.”
Rarity felt a growing sense of dread. Something was very wrong. At least the guard seemed to be on their side. She and Lofty both nodded.
“Meanwhile, you,” the guard pointed at the bureaucrat. “Go find the Crystal Embassy lawyers and inform them that Ambassador Topaz is here. You should find them in Representative Boghani’s office.”
“But…”
“Go, or I shall inform your superiors that you allowed Diarchy personnel to interrogate prisoners under our custody.” Rarity’s worst fears were confirmed when the bureaucrat cringed and stood up and rushed out of the room. The guard looked back at them. “I am sorry about this. I don’t understand how some of my fellow zebras can so easily forget what they are.” There was no need to say which they he was talking about. “Follow me. Keep the peace.”
Behind the bureaucrat’s desk was another locked metal grate, which the guard opened with a key pulled out of his uniform. He then led the party down a staircase, leading into a dark, cool basement.
Rarity could hear voices from below. She was in the back of the line, and part of her wanted to dart ahead, to rush down and ensure her friends were safe, but the hallway was narrow and the guard was taking a too-slow pace. Rarity was practically dancing with impatience by the time the stairway opened into a wide room. It was another guard post, with another locked grate and an uncomfortable looking zebra speaking with a mare that Rarity recognized. It was the Knight wearing white armor, the tall, elegant beauty that they had encountered the last time they were in Jubilation. Mercy Song, Rarity remembered.
Mercy stood up, looking angry and alarmed as the four of them entered the room, but then something passed over her face and she let out a moan of dismay.
“Lofty… no…” she whimpered. “Could this nightmare be any more complete?”
“M-mercy?” Lofty gasped. “What are you doing here?”
“Me? What are you doing here? And in that armor?!” Both guards, the new one and the one who had guided them down, slowly maneuvered so they would be ready to spring between the two Knights, if they had to.
“That is irrelevant,” Topaz interjected, with an apologetic look back at Lofty. “Miss Knight, you are here illegally. The Free Zebra Republic and the city government of Jubilation have no extradition treaty with the Diarchy. You are interfering with my prisoners, and I insist you leave immediately.”
“Your prisoners? Who the buck are you?” Mercy snarled.
Topaz brought herself up tall and proud. “I am Duchess Topaz Glitter of the Crystal Empire, ambassador to the Diarchy. As we speak, our legal team is negotiating for the release of these prisoners into my custody, which I assure you will be granted. Now leave immediately, or I will have these good guards toss you out.”
Mercy stepped forward threateningly, but Lofty jerked in between them.
“Don’t try it, Lady Mercy,” Lofty whispered threateningly. “Harm a hair on this mare and I will put you down, hard.” The menace in his voice sent a shiver down Rarity’s spine, and perhaps a hint of jealousy. Wouldn’t it be lovely to have somepony be that protective of her?
For a moment, she remembered the way Emberglow had jumped stalwartly in front of her, back in the cave with Mlinzi. It sent another shiver down her spine, this one much… warmer. She needed to get Emberglow out of this place, and fast.
In the silence that followed Lofty’s threat, they could hear angry voices coming from behind the second metal grate. Topaz’ eyes widened, and she was shaking with fury. “Wait… is there another Knight in there? With the prisoners?”
“Brightblade is just…”
“Brightblade?” Topaz hissed. Rarity’s own fury boiled. So Emberglow had shared the name of her tormentor with her therapist. “You sent a prisoner’s torturer in to interrogate her? My embassy will hear of this… violation. I demand you go and stop this interrogation immediately.”
The guard that had been there already stared, shocked, at Topaz. Their escort eyed him angrily and nodded, and he gulped, turning to unlock the grate. He rushed inside, and they heard angry shouting and arguments.
The ponies left in the room stared at each other, tense and nervous. Mercy Song looked like she’d been struck; every time her eyes rested on Lofty she flinched. Rarity tried to strain her ears to hear the terse, whispered argument from the room beyond, but she couldn’t make out any words. But then the guard cried out in pain, and they heard a loud thud.
Lofty and the guard who had escorted them dashed towards the opening. Mercy Song also sprung into action, trying to follow. Topaz was frozen to the spot.
Rarity’s horn glowed, her magic surging within her like an electric pulse as she cast on pure instinct and panic. A glowing wall of force, filling the room with blue light, burst into reality between Mercy Song and the other ponies. It was thicker than any shield Rarity had cast before, more solid, and it glittered with intensity.
In the moment of frozen time that followed, Rarity was reminded of something she’d read out of Twilight’s training book.
True unicorn spellwork is a combination of study and practical effort. One can read everything in the world about Teleportation, for example, but never be able to cast it until they practice. But sometimes, in a moment of stress or impulse, a unicorn familiar with the spell can force it to take shape with mere impulse and instinct. It requires tremendous power, and perhaps a little luck. It’s how I learned to Teleport the first time.
She barely managed to hold on to the spell through her shock. She’d been reading Twilight’s book for weeks. She’d practiced spells, worked on increasing her control, but she’d never been able to manage anything even a quarter this powerful before. She felt alive, crackling with power, as much as she had when Twilight’s enchanted book had seized her and filled her with power before. It was barely any effort to maintain the spell.
“Go!” she shouted to the others, who had frozen to stare. “Take care of her companion. I shall hold her here!” Rarity felt a rush of adrenaline as she spoke, a giddy sort of sensation. She felt like a hero, and had to hold back the urge to laugh.
Lofty and the guard both rushed into the room beyond the open grate, while Topaz followed close on their hooves. It left Mercy and her alone in the guard room.
“You will not harm her anymore, you harridan!” Rarity snarled, pouring magic into her horn. The flat wall of the shield pressed backwards, against the Knight, forcing her to retreat. A look of panic crossed Mercy’s face, and she raised her gauntlet and began casting.
Rarity didn’t know the runes she was drawing, but as she felt them taking shape she could feel the sensation of something fighting her spellwork. It was like a pressure, something at the edges of her shield, trying to dissolve and unravel it at the edges. It was a counterspell.
“I don’t think so,” Rarity snarled. Even as her shield began to crack, she began another spell herself. She was reminded of the time a young Twilight had struggled against an Ursa Minor; the way the unicorn’s horn had flared with effort as she sustained several strands of magic at once. She remembered thinking, at the time, that she’d never be able to manage such multitasking. Her horn blazed as she reached out with the second spell: a telekinesis spell. She lifted a chair, probably the guard’s, tossing it through the air at Mercy.
The Knight dodged, and the chair shattered into splinters of wood, clattering against the stone. But Rarity was not finished. She felt the beads of sweat tickling at her brow, but she ignored them, picking up a dozen pieces of the broken chair in her magical grip as she battered against the Knight.
Mercy Song dodged and parried, grunting in pain each time a piece of wooden shrapnel slipped through her guard to gouge at her flesh. But Rarity was relentless, driving Mercy back towards the stairs. She retreated slowly, grunting and flinching as she raised her gauntlet one more time, forming another spell. This time, it was a summoning spell, creating a blade of crackling energy along the forehoof that did not hold the gauntlet.
“You disgrace my legacy with that armor,” Rarity growled, even as Mercy began to pummel at the shield with her glowing weapon. “How dare you wear that, and cause such harm to ponies? How dare you take my name and hurt those I care about? HOW DARE YOU!” Rage flowed into Rarity’s magic, but no matter how much power she poured into the shield spell, the construct itself was beginning to come apart due to Mercy’s counterspell. So she let it fail, shattering into a billion motes of cerulean light.
Mercy wasted no time taking advantage, dashing towards Rarity with her lethal blade leading. But Rarity was ready. She dropped her makeshift storm of weaponized shrapnel and instead gripped something else instead: Mercy Song’s bladed hoof.
It was much harder than Rarity had expected; some kind of enchantment fought her grip. She’d been told that Knight armor was full of all sorts of mystical protections; perhaps one of them was simply to prevent a Knight from being picked up and tossed around. But the resistance was no match for Rarity’s newfound power, and she felt her telekinetic grip snap through the resistance.
There was an audible pop, and Mercy Song was lifted into the air. She screamed in pain as she dangled below her own suspended hoof, thrashing about in Rarity’s magical grip.
“The next time I see you, darling, I expect you to have removed that abominable lie. You absolutely do not have permission to claim my name or my blessing as you go about your foul work. Now, begone from here, and leave Emberglow alone!” With one last mighty surge of her magic she tossed Mercy Song back towards the stairs, once again wrenching past the backlash of the armor’s enchantments. Mercy hit the stairs with another scream and a sickening crack of bone, and Rarity realized that her forehoof, the one she’d held, was twisted unnaturally. Mercy tried to stumble to her hooves, but stepped on her broken forehoof and collapsed onto the stairs with a gasp.
“Stay down, or I shall be forced to hurt you more. I don’t want to.” Rarity was panting and sweating, but she was sure she could do at least a little more. Without taking her sight from the slumped figure of the Knight, she began to back her way into the hallway leading to the cells, where there were still sounds of a struggle going on.
Rarity spared a quick glance towards the fighting occupants. One guard was limp on the floor, and a second was standing, but bleeding from a head wound. Lofty was engaged in a tight grapple with another pony she slightly recognized, the one-eyed brute who had chased them out of Jubilation last time. Lofty was bleeding from a deep gash just below his ear, while the other pony had several smaller wounds. They were wrestling for a long blade. The second guard, their escort, circled around the combatants, his eyes wild, looking for an opening. Topaz stood to the side, nervously prancing on her hooves.
The room had four large, comfortably furnished stone cells, each with one side made entirely of metal bars. Only two of the cells were full; on the one side of the room, Terminus stood close to the bars, near Topaz, watching the fight intently. On the other side of the room, Emberglow lay in the back of her cell, curled up on the floor with her head resting on her hooves. Her eyes were closed. She had bruises on her face and forelegs, and the scarf she’d worn, the enchanted one they’d bought together in Nyumba Yo Joka, was a torn and bloodstained rag wrapped around her neck and shoulders.
The sight filled Rarity with rage once again, and it washed away her weariness. Ignoring the way sweat was beginning to plaster her mane to her forehead, her horn blazed once again with telekinetic might. She seized the latch on Emberglow’s cell. It was strong, welded iron. She pulled, and the room was filled with the screech of twisting, tortured metal. Stone and brick dust tumbled from the ceiling in little puffs as the bars in the wall strained against their settings. The blue light of her horn filled the room, and suddenly the rest of the action paused, all eyes on her.
The cell door gave a final, wrenching scream as the weak link in the system gave out: the latch itself. There was a loud metallic snap as the bent cell door lurched open, swinging wide on twisted hinges. Rarity only had eyes for the mare inside, though, who stirred a little at the sound and slipped her eyes open. Rarity rushed into the cell.
“R-rarity, your horn,” Emberglow breathed, her eyes shooting wide with shock.
“Never mind me, darling. Are you all right?”
“Well, I… Rarity, behind you!”
Time seemed to slow, and Rarity’s tired limbs, sapped to sluggishness by the magic she’d had coursing through her, reacted too slowly. Her head turned, cursing herself for turning her back to the fight. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Lofty, slumped on the ground. Topaz stood over him protectively. She was shouting a warning, as was Terminus. And the other Knight, the one with the eye patch, was thundering towards her with the long blade in hoof, his face twisted with hate.
“Abomination!” he howled, slashing wildly through the air as he grew closer. She spun, knowing it would be too late for her to stop him. She’d been distracted, and now she was going to pay for it.
Desperately, she tried to ignite her horn, to cast some sort of shield, to toss him away, anything. Reaching for her magic, though, felt like she was trying to pick up a spool of thread while wearing a pair of galoshes. Her horn sputtered and sparked as her doom descended.
“Brightblade!” a voice shrieked from the entrance. It was the Knight she’d been tossing around earlier, barely standing, holding her broken hoof up while leaning weakly on her others. “No!”
It wasn’t enough to stop the Knight, but he did hesitate just enough to stumble, his knife burying in Rarity’s barrel rather than slashing at her throat. White hot pain spasmed through her middle, and she screamed. Adrenaline once again flooded through her exhausted form, and she was able to finally grasp hold of her magic. She had no control, instead lashed out in a wave of brute telekinetic force, shoving the Knight back, hard enough that his blade clattered to the floor.
“Brightblade, you moron!” the other Knight continued. “We can’t kill her! We can’t kill either of them!” She stumbled over to him, but he shoved her hard enough that she stepped on her broken hoof, yelping in pain and crumpling to the floor.
“Brightblade… it’s time to go. Strategic retreat. Please.”
The escort had rushed over and seized the blood-stained blade. Lofty was struggling to his hooves, with Topaz’ help, and was already raising his gauntlet. Emberglow was struggling to her feet, trying to move between Rarity and the Diarchy Knights. Brightblade’s rage-shrouded eyes danced about the room, and he screamed with fury.
“Brightblade. Steadfast put me in charge. I’m giving you orders.”
“You’re dead. All of you are dead. You just don’t know it yet,” Brightblade snarled, and then began to back out of the room. Nopony followed. Mercy Song looked about the room one last time, her desperate gaze falling on Lofty.
“Lofty Tale, you can’t—"
“Get out of here, Mercy,” he interrupted, his voice tinged with pain from his own wounds. “I won’t ask again.”
With a wordless sob of mourning, she turned and limped out of the room. It was good timing; only a few moments later there was a clatter of hooves as a dozen alarmed zebra soldiers rushed into the room. They had probably just missed the departing Knights.
“Well, looks like that’s all handled, then,” Rarity said, then heard a liquid dripping sound. She glanced down at the floor, where a pool of blood was forming from the wound in her side. “Oh. I think I’ll lie down now, if nopony objects.”