//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6 
// Story: Lawmare 
// by Jade Ring 
//------------------------------//

Neither sibling moved. Not an inch. Not a millimeter. They barely breathed.

"You probably want to talk." Shining Armor cut his eyes back towards the wall that contained his exit from the city, but made no sudden moves. He was no slouch at spellslinging, say true, but Twilight was a Lawmare. She could put a hole through his heart between its beats. The only reason he was still breathing at all was because of her surprise at seeing his face. "I don't have a lot of time, but if you came with me..."

"It's a trick." Twilight meant for it to come out as a statement of authority, a slap back in the face of reality, a denial of the image before her, but instead it came out as a choked sob. "It's a trick! You're not Shining Armor. You're not my brother. He wouldn't..."

"When you were three years old, you broke Mom's favorite vase." He said, trying to pretend the pained wail she uttered didn't make him ache to his core. "And I took the blame."

"Oh, Shining Armor, why?!" The tears were flowing freely now. The Lawmare had receded. Only the betrayed baby sister remained. "How could you side with her?"

"You don't understand, Twily." The stallion risked a small, backwards step. "But if you'll let me explain..."

The darkness around them was suddenly lit with violet as Twilight's horn sparked back to life. "Don't move. If you try to run, I swear to Celestia, I'll..."

"What? Kill me?" He challenged, though he did stop moving. "Is your devotion to her so absolute that you'd kill your own brother?"

"You're the Captain of her Royal Guard!" Twilight screamed. "Where's your devotion?! Where's your loyalty?!"

"Twilight, you know me." He pressed. "You've known me all your life. Doesn't that give me a little credit? Can't I at least try and explain myself?"

"Yes, you're my brother." Twilight's magic flashed. "Which is why I don't understand why you'd throw everything away in service to... to that monster!"

"She's not a monster, Twily." His tone was calm and even, surprising given he was one wrong move from death. "That's just another lie you've come to accept."

"Not a..." Twilight gasped on air like a fish plucked from the water. "SHE HAD MY SISTERS KILLED, SHINING ARMOR! MY...My..." She blinked rapidly as another realization took hold. "You... did you know...?"

"Did I know what?"

"DON'T PLAY DUMB!" This time a bolt of magic actually arced towards the stallion, and it was only a quick shield spell that deflected it into the dirt. She sent no further volleys, but he kept his shield up... just in case. "You told us there were enemy agents in Ponyville! You sent them there! Please tell me you didn't know... didn't know..." She took a deep shuddering breath and glared at him. "Did... you... know?"

He looked into her eyes. "...Yes." It was the way he said it that broke her. That calm, reasoning tone. The same matter-of-fact 'that's the way of the world, Twily' tone he'd used when he'd told her their father was dead. He lowered his shield charm and gestured at his heart. "I knew all that awaited the Lawmares in Ponyville was death. It wasn't my idea, but I knew. So go ahead. Kill me. Avenge your sisters by slaying your brother." He closed his eyes and waited. "An eye for an eye, right? That's Celestia's way."

Twilight's rage swelled within her breast. Her magic became brighter and brighter. All it would take was a thought, and the backstabbing stallion would be dead. Her sisters would be avenged. And then...

And then... what? The pain would still be there. And the questions. She could kill him right now, should kill him right now. He was a traitor, a conspirator, a servant to the Good Mare. He was... he was...

He was her big brother. Her first and best friend. The one who had comforted her during thunderstorms. The one who had attended her tea parties with her dolls and stuffed animals. The one who had held her hoof when she got her shots. The one who'd first taught her magic. The one who had been there for her no matter what. 

Her magic faded, and the pair stood silent in moon-lit darkness. "You're under arrest."

The stallion opened his eyes and smiled at her. "I knew you wouldn't do it."

"Shut up." A single bolt of magic shot from her horn into the night sky. It coalesced into an orb, floated for a moment,  and zipped away. "That'll bring the guards. Once they get here, you'll go quietly into custody. You'll stand trial for sedition, conspiracy to commit treason, and accessory to the murder of fifteen Lawmares."

"Sixteen." He corrected her automatically. His eyes widened. "Unless... Ah. I see. That's how you know what happened in Ponyville. One made it back." He smirked. "I hope it was Sunset. Flash always fancied her..." 

She ignored him, her gaze hard as steel. "Just tell me why. What could she have told you that convinced you so thoroughly that you'd throw away everything?"

"She told me the truth, Twily." He looked away and gazed up at the moon. "Princess Celestia's not a bad pony. She's as much a monster as the Good Mare is. But she is a despot. A tyrant. She's held the throne for far longer than she should have."

Twilight barked out a harsh laugh. "And who would she cede the throne to? Blueblood?" She clenched her teeth. "Is he involved in this too?"

"I wouldn't know. None of us know anypony else's identities. It's safer that way in case one of us is captured." He chuckled. "Though it does lead to unfortunate instances like that bunch who blew up the fountain trying to kill me as well. It's a good thing you killed them all. I don't think she would have been too pleased if one of them had managed to hit me."

"Yeah, I guess you have been pretty valuable to her." Twilight shook her head. "Can't imagine how valuable you'll be now that we know who you are."

"Oh, I think she still holds me in pretty high regard." He straightened up. "Considering we're married and all."

A revelation like that on it's own should have been enough to send Twilight screaming into the relative safety of insanity. But after the day she'd had? All it did was barely stagger her. "What? But... how?"

"She has her ways." Shining Armor shrugged. "That's why you can believe me when I tell you she's not the monster Celestia says she is."

"What? It just strains your credibility even more." Twilight wanted to laugh, but it seemed that she'd forgotten how. "Figures a stallion would be led to treason by his sheath." She shook her head. "Celestia was right to choose mares..."

"Because Celestia knows best, right?" Shining Armor snapped. "Celestia knows. Celestia always knows. She knows everything. So you shouldn't be surprised to learn that she knows exactly who the Good Mare is."

"Oh, stop lying." Twilight chanced a glance back. Where were the guards? They should've been there by now. "There's no point in lying anymore."

"Exactly how you know I'm not lying, Twily. She knows who the Good Mare is... and she knows exactly where she is."

"That's ridiculous!" She rolled her eyes. "If Celestia knew, then why even allow her to gain so much influence? If she knew where she was this whole time, then why not do something about it?"

"Why indeed?" Shining Armor looked behind his sister. Still no sign of the guards. Good. "The easy answer? She's known where she is because she put her there. Hid her there like a dirty little secret. Because that's what Celestia thinks she is; just a dirty little secret she thought she could just hide away forever. Out of sight, out of mind. You should ask her about it when I'm gone, Twily. You should ask her about her niece."

"You're not going anywhere, you..." 

He leaned forward and bucked with all the strength in his back legs. The false part of the wall crumbled away to reveal a hole into darkness just big enough for a grown pony to pass through.

On instinct, Twilight's magic shot out...

...and rebounded off the shield spell Shining Armor had cast in front of her when he'd lowered his own. It had only been a stunning charm, thankfully, and it knocked Twilight senseless to the dirt. She could only stare into the night sky and listen as her brother's hooves carried him down the tunnel and out of her life forever. 

His voice echoed back, his parting cry finally carrying some of the emotion he'd been denying. "I'm sorry, Twilight! I love you! Remember that! I love you, sis!"

Twilight didn't give chase. It was just too much. She felt unconsciousness come for her, and she didn't fight it. She let it guide her into a deeper darkness.

There was still some sense and peace in sleep, at least.

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It was the comforting crackle of a fire and the smell of good, fresh coffee that drew her back into the waking world.

Twilight cracked one eye open and scanned her surroundings. She was somewhere in the palace, that much was clear. The architecture and tapestries could attest to that. But where  exactly? She couldn't say for sure. Not until she spied the mare sitting across from her, a look of relief on her face. "P...Princess?"

"You're awake. Good. I was getting worried." Her voice was as soothing and caring as the morning she wardened. Her sun-tinged magic floated over a tray with a steaming pot and two cups. "Can you sit?"

Twilight pushed herself up with a groan and rubbed her aching head. "Where am I?"

"My private chambers." Celestia explained as she poured the coffee. "Flash Sentry found you outside and brought you to the barracks. I happened to be there talking to the apprentices, and I had him bring you here at once." She held one cup aloft until Twilight's own magic could take hold. "Something a little stronger than tea, but I thought you might not mind. I was hoping you could explain how you managed to stun yourself, and why Flash found you beside one of the city's emergency tunnels."

Everything came rushing back at once, and the resulting pulse of Twilight's magic shattered the cup she was levitating. "Shining Armor! We have to go after him! And Sunset! Sunset is..."

"Shhh..." Celestia shushed her gently, her own magic reforming the cup and transferring the liquid back inside. "Easy, Lawmare. Control yourself, I beg. Be calm, and tell me what's happened."

After several deep breaths and two cups of coffee, Twilight was able to do just that. She told her Princess about their recent investigations. She told her about finding Sunset Shimmer and the fate of the Lawmares in Ponyville. Finally, she told her about Shining Armor's betrayal and escape down the tunnels.

Princess Celestia sat and listened, not reacting visibly to any of these shocking revelations. Not even when Twilight told her of the massacre of the Lawmares. She simply nursed the same cup of coffee until Twilight was finished. When Twilight finished talking, the great mare lowered her mug and sighed. "So... Shining Armor has fled the city."

"I should have killed him." Twilight spat. The coffee had done wonders. The after-effects of the stunning spell were all but gone. Now in retelling her tale, the bitter rage returned with force. "Now there's no telling what he's going to tell the Good Mare."

"Cadance." Celestia corrected her, refilling her mug. "Her name is Cadance."

The loaded silence that followed that pronunciation was broken only by Twilight's mug shattering for the second time. This time, however, no attempt was made to salvage it. 

"It... it's true?" Twilight stared at her Princess with mounting horror. "Everything Shining Armor said... it's true?"

Celestia nodded, but then gave a thoughtful look. "For the most part, yes. Though I don't agree with everything he said. I don't consider myself a despot, for one thing. I think I'm fair, and I believe I've done a good job, all things considered. But as far as the Good Mare's identity and location? Yes; I've known all along. Her name is Cadance, and she's in the last city that remains of what was once the Crystal Empire."

Twilight swooned, and it was only her training that allowed her to keep her seat... and her head. "You... you knew. All this time." She shook her head. "Why... why the ruse? Why keep this information from us?"

"Guilt, I think." Celestia sipped as she thought. "That's how this all started, of course. With guilt. The guilt I felt about how badly I handled everything with Luna." She saw Twilight's question coming and halted it with one raised hoof. "Please, Twilight. I've not told this to anypony in a millennium. Let me say this, I beg." When Twilight had settled once more, Celestia continued. "Trixie and her ilk stand outside my gates and tell their stories of rewritten history, of lies and falsehoods. But I never lied, Twilight. I withheld. There's a difference."

Twilight couldn't help herself. "Is there?"

"Yes. It can seem small, but the difference can be huge. Catastrophically so. The populace is taught that my sister and I ruled in peace until she fell to darkness. This is true, though I withheld from the histories as to exactly why Luna succumbed to shadow. It was..." She paused, the words seeming to stick to her throat. "It was my fault for not seeing what was happening sooner. I saw her jealousy growing, and I refused to address it. I've felt guilt over that for over a thousand years. You're all taught that there was a catastrophic battle, and when the dust settled my sister had become the 'mare in the moon.' I withheld the fact that she has no chance of ever returning."

Twilight's jaw dropped. "But... but the longest day of the thousandth year! The stars..."

"Twilight, that day has come and gone. My sister was freed and I sealed her away again immediately. I knew where she would be, and I was waiting there. And, in another thousand years, I'll do it again. The mare I loved as my flesh and blood is long gone, reduced to a beast of fury and vengeance. I can never allow her to return. Not ever."

(Celestia knows. Celestia always knows.)

Twilight stared at the floor. "When did it happen?

"A year ago, I think. Right before the Good Mare started making her first moves." Celestia lowered her mug and sighed. "I should've seen it coming. It must have upset her, not being able to talk to her mother after all this time. Not even having the chance to salvage a part of the mare she once was."

Twilight's eyes snapped back to Celestia. "The Good Mare... Cadance... is Luna's daughter?"

"Of course." Celestia shrugged. "How else would she be my niece?" She smiled wistfully as she peered into the distant past. "She was the sweetest little filly. The light of Luna's life before she fell. It broke my heart to send her away to the Empire."

"So why did you?" Twilight asked. "Send her away, I mean."

"Guilt, as I said before. I couldn't look upon her without seeing the sister I knew could never return. I couldn't handle her constant questions about where her mommy was, when her mommy was coming home... It was for the best. It was, as much as I'm pained to admit it, the easiest way. Not unlike the decision to block stallions from being Agents of Harmony. I have so very many decisions to make. Difficult decisions. It's such a relief when an easy one comes along."

"Easy." Twilight repeated dully.

"She wasn't alone out there. I'm not a monster." Celestia assured her Lawmare. "There's an entire tribe of Crystal Ponies at her beck and call. She could rule there in peace and prosperity for all time. But I suppose that just isn't enough anymore. Now she's coming for the throne she feels she deserves." She took a sip. "That's what the glass has told me, anyway."

"Glass?"

"...I may as well tell you everything, then." Celestia sighed as her horn lit once more, and a hidden compartment in the wall slid open. "The glass did tell me that you would find out about it in time." She floated out a sphere wrapped in scarlet cloth. Carefully, she set it on the table between them and lifted the wrappings aside. "And there's no time like the present."

Twilight stared in awe at what was revealed; a perfect crystal sphere of the most stunning coral pink. It winked in the ambient light, seeming to sparkle like a star. "What is it?"

"The wizard Marelyn crafted thirteen of these glasses in the days so long ago that even I've forgotten them. Each has been lost or destroyed over the years... all save one. This one. Marelyn's grapefruit. The wizard's glass. This is the answer to the riddle that vexes all of my little ponies. 'How does Celestia always know?' The answer is that I don't. I only know what the glass tells me. It shows me the past, the present, and sometimes the future." She gave the bauble a withering look. "It can be irritating at times. Sometimes it only gives me the vaguest hint of what's to come. If it had told me that all the Lawmares would have been killed in Ponyville, I wouldn't have..." She stopped when she caught the look on Twilight's face. "What?"

"You... you sent them to die." Twilight wanted to vomit. She wanted to scream. "I kept asking you, and you knew... you knew they were dead." She leapt to her hooves and shrieked. "YOU KNEW! YOU ALWAYS KNEW! You've treated us like... like playthings in some game!"

"You aren't playthings." Celestia's voice was just as caring, just as soothing as it had always been. "You're my little ponies. Everything I've done is for you. I will deal with Cadance when the time is right..."

"You mean when this... this thing tells you to!" 

"...when the time is right, she will be dealt with." Celestia pressed on. "The loss of the Lawmares is a tragic one, but I'm confident that you, your ka-tet, and Sunset can mold the current batch of apprentices into..."

"Into what? Chattel? Meat for the grinder?" Twilight shook her head angrily. "All my life, I believed that we were doing something important! Something that mattered!"

"You are."

"We aren't!" Twilight's magic lanced out and broke a nearby table to splinters. Celestia didn't even flinch. "We're cogs in your great machine! We either age out or break and then get replaced! Replaced and forgotten!"

"No." Celestia reached out a hoof. "Never forgotten."

"Don't touch me!" Twilight jumped back like the offered appendage was covered in filth. "They gave everything for you, and you sent them away to die like they were nothing!" Tears were flowing now, but she paid them no mind. "But they were something! They were my sisters! And you... and you..." Twilight glared at the mare who had been one of her mentors with absolute hatred. "You've forgotten what sisterhood means."

A veritable shock-wave of magic knocked the Lawmare off her hooves. Celestia was glowing, her eyes pure white and emitting a searing heat that seemed to come from the sun itself. She rose into the air without flapping her wings and glared down at the smaller mare. "You forget the face of your mother, Twilight Sparkle. And you forget your place!" Another wave of magic shook the room, knocking delicate treasures from shelves and sending them crashing to the floor. "Everything I've ever done has been for you. I've never married, never had foals, because of you. I've denied myself every happiness in this life that other mares have for you. And my sister? My own flesh and blood? She fell to darkness and was lost to me forever because I was too concerned with you to see what was happening!" Another wave of magic shook the walls...

...and the wizard's glass rolled off the table.

In an instant, the heat and the light were gone. Celestia cried out as she threw herself to the stone floor, catching and cradling the crystal sphere before it could be broken. She lay there, holding it and breathing heavily. She gazed at it, turned it over in her hooves. Checked it for cracks and flaws. Finding none, she clutched it to her chest and offered thanks to the universe.

She didn't even notice that Twilight Sparkle had fled.

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There are moments in our lives when time stands still, do ya kennit? Where the world around us fades away and we sink into a void of contemplative silence. The learned among us will say this is a kind  of defense mechanism. Our brain encounters something that shatters our basic understanding of the universe, so it takes a moment to withdraw and try to make sense of things. 

Twilight Sparkle experienced one such moment when she saw her brother's face emerge from beneath a hood of black. Lyra Heartstrings, her bondsmare, is having one of those moments now. 

Her life has been devoted to her role as a Lawmare. She comes from an affluent family, her parents pushing her from birth towards a destiny in music and the arts. Her future lies with the upper crust of Canterlot society, they tell her. No one is more surprised than they are when she is found to have the spark of a Lawmare in her magical core. The life of a Lawmare is wild and dangerous, and it is everything her stuffy, controlling upbringing was not. She loves it, and believes that there is nothing in life that she can ever love more.

Until she meets Bon Bon.

Bon Bon, who owns the little sweet shop off Firefly Avenue. Bon Bon, whose laughter makes her heart swell to bursting. Bon Bon, whose loft behind her shop is so cozy and warm and safe. Bon Bon, whose breathless exaltations during love can be as addictive as the sugar she crafts.

It happens so quickly. They meet, they court, they marry... and Lyra is happy. Happier than she ever dreamed. She is a Lawmare. She has a wife. Everything is perfect.

Which is why time was standing still now... with a familiar hooded robe of black cradled in her hooves. A robe she's found tucked under her wife's side of the bed.

"Lyra?"

The Lawmare jumped at the sound of her wife's voice, the familiar tones shocking her back to the present. The robe dropped to the floor, out of sight. "Yes?"

"Moon Dancer's gone. Left a note that she had to start settling her mother's affairs." The earth pony stepped into the bedroom. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Lyra kicked the robe back under the bed and turned to smile at her beloved. "Did Moon Dancer say where she was going?"

Bon Bon shook her head before nimbly jumping up onto their cozy marriage bed. "Probably to start the funeral arrangements. Do you think she's going to be okay?"

"Of course she is." The smile felt forced, even for her. "Everything's gonna be okay."

Bon Bon cocked her head. "Are you alright? Something on your mind?"

(You're on my mind. I found your little costume you wear when you and your friends get together and plot to overthrow the Princess I've sworn my life to. Celestia above, Bon Bon, how could you do this to me? To us? To Canterlot? Why? How could you do this? Was it something I did? Was there something I missed? What was it? Tell me!)

"Nope. Just thinking about... stuff."

Bon Bon shook her head as she fell onto her side. "That's my Lyra; head always in the clouds." She sighed dramatically before closing her eyes. "Are you going out again tonight?"

Lyra stiffened. "Why?"

"Because with everything that's happened with Moon Dancer, you haven't slept a wink."

(Want to report my movements to your conspirator friends, right? Easier for you to sneak out if I'm not in the house, isn't it?)

"Actually... I don't think Twilight will mind if we take the night off. I mean, Moon Dancer just lost her Mom. Her head's not going to be in the right place." Lyra laid down until she was face to face with her (traitorous) wife. "What if we just hang out tonight? Like old times."

Bon Bon opened one eye and smiled. "That sounds great. I love you, Lyra."

(Liar! How can you lay there and lie to me like that! Did you ever really love me, or was it all just a ploy? A game? Celestia above, how could I not have seen!? You don't love me! You're a liar! A liar! A...)

"I love you, too." She kissed her wife softly, gently.

But inside she screamed.

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Rarity opened the manor's front door, fully intending to give a thorough tongue lashing to whoever was fool enough to come pounding on it at this hour. Instead she grunted as the air was pushed from her lungs by a distraught purple unicorn who immediately started weeping into her coat. "T-Twilight?" She gasped. "What's wrong?"

"E-everything's w-wrong!" The Lawmare managed before she once again devolved into incomprehensible sobs.

Rarity spied her maid in the corner and signaled for her to shut the door. "And bring some brandy to the study, please." She added as she began guiding her lover out of the foyer.

"Rarity?"

The white mare looked up to see three fillies peering down at the scene with concern. "It's alright, girls. Everything's alright. Go back to bed." She helped Twilight into the study and lowered her onto a cushion in front of the fire. The maid brought the brandy, filled two snifters, and bowed out of the room. Once they were alone, Rarity used her magic to swirl the amber liquid in its glass and hold it to her lover's lips. "Drink this, darling. For your nerves."

Twilight sipped delicately, letting the warmth flow down her throat and steady her somewhat. She took the glass in her own magic with a nod of thanks and continued to nurse it. "Thank you."

"It's what I'm here for." Rarity brushed a stray lock of mane out of the Lawmare's eyes and touched her cheek. "Now can you please tell me what's wrong?"

For the second time that night, Twilight told somepony everything that had happened in just the last few hours. She talked about Sunset, the Lawmares, and her brother's betrayal. This time, however, there was an epilogue to the story; Celestia's confession.

Rarity gasped at the reveal of method behind Celestia's supposed omnipotence. When Twilight was finished, the unicorn held her lover close before she could start crying again. "There there. It's alright."

"No, it's not." Twilight sniffled. "It's not alright. Nothing's alright. My brother's a traitor, my sisters are dead, and everything I've ever stood for is a lie."

"It wasn't a lie if you believed in it." Rarity assured her, stroking her mane. "If you and the others really believed you were doing good, then you were doing good."

Twilight coughed. Her throat felt raw and swollen. "Sunset thinks Lyra or Moon Dancer is the traitor."

"And what do you think?"

"I... I don't know what to think. After Shining Armor? I don't know who to trust."

"You have to trust yourself, darling." Rarity giggled. "If you can't trust yourself, you can't trust anypony." She sighed as she began stroking Twilight's back. "In any case, I can't say that I'm not relieved that I opposed Sweetie Belle's joining your number as strenuously as I did." She felt her lover stiffen in her embrace. "What is it, darling?"

"You... you always were against it, weren't you?" Twilight's voice was low, dead. "Why?"

"It's as I told you, darling, I..." The words died before they could come out. They fled back into her mind at the sight of Twilight's horn flaring to life inches from her face. "Twilight?"

Twilight said nothing as she pulled out of Rarity's embrace. She kept her eyes closed tight. She knew that if she looked at the mare's face, she wouldn't have the strength. That had been her mistake with Shining Armor. It was not a mistake she'd make a second time. "How long?"

"What?"

"How long have you been with them? The conspirators? The traitors?" Each word tasted like poison on Twilight's tongue. "Did you join them while I was on the roads? Or have you always been with them? Is that..." She tried to bite her tongue, but the possibility was too awful. Too monstrous. "Is that why you've been with me? Easier to keep tabs on me while I'm in your bed, right?"

Rarity swallowed hard. "Twilight, I don't know what this is..."

"Shut up!" She tried to ignore Rarity's gasp when a bolt of magic singed the air beside her head. "You gave yourself away by telling me to only trust myself. Because, really, who can I trust anymore? Not my brother, not my princess, and certainly not you." She growled. "Why serve the Good Mare, Rarity? What did she promise you? A better title? More influence in court? Or was it always about the abolishment of the Lawmares? Did you think it was the only way to keep Sweetie Belle from joining us?"

Rarity's world was the magic emitting horn that, in an instant, could deliver her to the darkness. "Twilight, darling, please... Please look at me."

"Everything was perfect!" Twilight shouted, and another stray bolt shattered one of the brandy snifters. "I was a Lawmare! I had a purpose! A destiny! And then you... you...!" She cried out and finally opened her eyes to behold the cowering mare before her. "You..."

Rarity closed her eyes. "I loved you. That's all I did. That's all I've ever done. I swear to you on my mother's name, Twilight; I'm no servant of the Good Mare. If you think I'm lying... then do what you must." She sniffed. "Just promise me you'll take care of Sweetie Belle. And remember that I always loved you. Even at the end."

Twilight saw Rarity tremble, saw the tears start to flow... and let her magic fade. "Rarity, I..." She collapsed to the ground, her eyes not leaving the shaking mare she loved. "I'm... oh... Oh, Rarity, what have I done? I've... I've forgotten the face of my mother. I-I've let this... this thing..." She bent her neck and seized her badge in her mouth. She twisted and pulled the image of the sun free of her leathers and cast it aside. It hit the plush carpet and lay there like a dead insect. "I've let it... let all of this poison me, make me destroy everything that matters... oh Rarity!" Twilight pushed herself across the floor and took her lover into her arms, holding her tight. She peppered her face with kisses, paying no mind as her own tears mixed with Rarity's. "Oh, forgive me..."

Rarity's kiss was her answer, and the two mares stayed there on the floor just holding each other for quite some time. They held onto each other like two survivors of a sinking ship, terrified that if either let the other go then they would be gone forever...

"Well, isn't this just the cutest?"

The two mares looked up in shock at the voice. "You..." Twilight stared in amazement.

"Forgive me, madam." The maid shuffled nervously, unable to meet Rarity's eye. "She just barged in when I opened the door."

"Send your gilly away, Lawmare." The mare in black tossed back her hood, letting her silver mane tumble free. Trixie Lulamoon smiled as her eyes flashed at Twilight's just as they'd done the first day they'd lain eyes on one another. "It's time we held palavar, you and I. Long passed time, I'd say."