//------------------------------//
// Chapter 64 
// Story: Rekindled Embers 
// by applezombi 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 64


Priority Directive, sent from Grand Master Proud Stone to all Knights Vigilant

My loyal Knights-

The past few days have been an exercise in both perseverance and faith.  Many of you have spoken to me, or written, looking for comfort and guidance.  The Mystics have withheld their council, expecting us to find our own path and wisdom through this darkness.  No doubt they are preparing something concrete to help guide us.  Nonetheless, while we wait I shall do what I can.

There is glorious news, though.  I have been visited by Lady Applejack, both in my dreams and in my waking moments.  I did not recognize Her at first.  But the Saint of Justice has blessed me with Her direction and Her will.  It was a small voice at first, counseling me to act, to stay my hoof no longer in the pursuit of justice and the enforcement of peace.

Thus far we of the Vigilant have always relied on process, procedure, and the trappings of civilized society to undertake our duties.  It is necessary, in times of peace, to maintain these structures.

Lady Applejack has made it clear to me that we are nowhere near a time of peace, and thus a firmer hoof is required.  New Canterlot City is already beset by myriad dangers; traitors, looters, common criminals, and heretics are already taking advantage of the chaos to spread their terror among the citizenry.

Useless formalities such as trials, lengthy and expensive imprisonment, and attempts at reformation are to be set aside for now.  What we need now is stability, at the point of a spear if necessary. 

Her voice commands me every day.  If the streets must be painted with the blood of looters, traitors, and criminals, then so be it.  Hesitation will not be accepted.  The Saint of Honesty will forgive those who, through innocent mistake, may bring harm to bystanders.  As long as we work towards renewed peace, all is allowed.

Please see your superior officers if you have any questions. More detailed updates on these policies, and our plan for dealing with the traitors who are even now besieged in Diamond Home, as well as the snakes among our own ranks, will be forthcoming.  If anypony knows of any of our ‘supposed’ brothers and sisters who may have allegiance to the Seamstress’ Orphans or the Knights Angelic, they are encouraged to come forward.  Failure to do so will be considered treason and shall be dealt with via the firing squad.

This is Saint Applejack’s will.  Her voice commands me.

Proud Stone.

Canterlot Palace, 1113 AF

Rarity watched Emberglow and Topaz flee the tent, her heart pounding with worry.

She allowed herself a few seconds.  That was all she had time for; Heartwing was already barking orders at the others in the room, preparing them for the inevitable attack.  She met his eyes, and he nodded.

“Go.  I trust your discretion.”

It was a difficult thing to be a leader, Rarity knew.  The charge up the mountain had been difficult enough.

“Of course.  Princess, by my side please.”  Princess Flurry was right; her magical might would be useful.  It would also be nice to have her close.  “Bubblegum, you as well.”

She stepped outside of the tent, her compatriots in tow.  Soldiers and Knights were everywhere.  She caught a glimpse of Emberglow’s pink wings, fluttering towards their own tent.

“Be safe, my love,” she whispered, before igniting her horn.  It glowed with a blue light, and she cast a complex, but very useful spell.  It was a sympathetic spell, keyed to all the members of her command.  Each one wore an earpiece, a rather fetching silver clip-on earring that doubled as practical fashion.  She had one herself, keyed to Heartwing’s magic. In conjunction with her spell, her voice was transported right to their ears.  Even Princess Flurry wore one.

“Listen to me, all of you.  Gather at the northernmost side of the palace.  Squad Cashmere and Squad Polyester, you are to be reserves in the courtyard.  Everypony else to the walls; fill in space where we can.  Shield spells at the ready, we are expecting a landslide from above.  I shall meet you there. Let nothing through!”

She knew they could hear her.  Rarity could even make out familiar unicorns as they galloped away to follow her orders. 

The ground rumbled again under their hooves.

“Look!” Princess Flurry cried, pointing with one hoof towards the southwest.  Rarity looked.  The three Mystic airships hung in the air, but they were now pointed towards the palace.  They were steadily, inexorably approaching.

“What do we—”

“We do nothing,” Rarity said firmly, and Princess Flurry glared at her.  “We have a duty, Princess.  And you have placed yourself under my command for the duration of this fight.  I expect obedience with exactness, or I shall inform your superior officers in my after-action report.”

Princess Flurry sputtered with indignation, but Rarity saw Bubblegum hide a smile behind a hoof.  Rarity smiled to soften her stern rebuke.  “I’m not above writing a letter to your mother, Princess.  So please don’t make it necessary.  Other ponies will deal with that threat, we have our own.”

Princess Flurry nodded, perhaps a little reluctantly.  But for Rarity, the matter was settled.  She marched through the growing cacophony towards the north wall, where her soldiers were already gathering.  Squads Cashmere and Polyester were already assembled just below the ramparts.  They stood at attention, saluting Rarity and the Princess as they passed.

“Keep yourselves ready and rested,” Rarity said, pausing for a moment.  “I’ll be calling on you if any holes form in the shield.  We may be protecting the palace from a lot of mud, snow, and debris, so I’ll need your eyes wide, looking out for anyplace where the shield might be weakening.  Reserve your strength, but do not wait for orders if you see an emergency.”

Orange Zest and Foxtail, the sergeants for her two reserve squads, both nodded their assent.

“Good luck to us all,” Rarity said, even as the ground once more rumbled violently.  It seemed to roll; for a split second solid stone moved akin to the waves of the ocean.  Dust, snow, and bits of rock rained down from the walls, and the air was echoing with terrified screams. “To the wall!”

Rarity didn’t wait for the princess, her horn blazing as she pulled herself between spaces with a pop of ozone.

Startled soldiers on the wall scrambled to back away from her as she reemerged, but Rarity ignored them.  She had a job to do, and her entire focus was on the mountain peak reaching high into the sky above them.

Mount Canter was a familiar sight to Rarity; even a thousand years later, not much had changed.  The snow-capped peak rose above her like a spike, violently piercing the skies above.  The tremors were knocking vast clumps of snow loose, spinning into the air in white clouds.

“Shield spells, unicorns,” Rarity called as she poured magic through her horn.  A glacier-blue shield, faceted like a gem, took shape.  It was massive, far bigger than any Rarity could have managed in the past.  But it wasn’t enough to cover the whole wall.  Dust and pebbles started to rain down from above.  “Angle them so that the debris runs off to either side of the palace!”

A few other shields snapped into place, but there was another quake, this one strong enough to nearly drive Rarity off her hooves. The pebbles from above gave way to full-sized stones.  The first missiles were the size of a pony's head, and they slammed down the hill with enough force to rip chunks out of the ancient walls.

“What are they thinking?” a crystal pony soldier beside Rarity said, staring upwards with eyes wide.  “They’re going to destroy the entire palace!  I thought they’d want to re-take it!”

“I don’t know what they are thinking, soldier,” Rarity said to him.  “But Sir Heartwing thinks it is part of a larger plot.  Or perhaps they simply care more about destroying us. So keep your eyes open, and be ready.”

The soldier glanced nervously at the unicorns all around him and clutched his spear more tightly.  “Yes, ma’am!”

Rarity heard a flutter of wings and flicked her eyes to the side to see Flurry Heart landing right next to her.  “You didn’t have to teleport.”

“I’m glad I did,” Rarity said.  “I wasn’t a moment too soon.”

“Indeed,” the princess said.  “How can I help?”

“Shore up the walls beneath us,” Rarity said.  “If the avalanche takes out the structure we’re standing on, this critical shield goes away and we get buried in the mess. We would be vulnerable even if we survived.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Princess Flurry said, with only a hint of sarcasm in her voice at the honorific.  Rarity smirked back.

Yellow light from her horn flowed over the walls beneath them like a liquid, so bright it shined and shimmered in the wan daylight. 

“Hold fast, Princess. We’re all relying on you,” Rarity said seriously, and the Princess nodded, her mouth thin with concentration.  

The debris from above was now crashing down faster and harder, and Rarity could see unicorns all down the line straining and grunting as snow battered against their shields, flowing like liquid off the sides of the peaked barriers.

Rarity could feel the impacts against her own, the force of hundreds of tons of snow and rock continuously pounding and flowing against her magic.  She held on, barely straining despite her shield being the largest of the lot.  Twilight’s gift to her was truly coming in handy today.  If only she could do something about Emberglow’s worries, and the strange nodules of magic left behind by Twilight’s spell. 

Without warning, Rarity heard an explosion behind her.  She allowed herself a second to glance back.

In the center of the courtyard, the Discordant Knights had set up a row of three mortars.  Crews of soldiers and Knights were rushing to reload the first, which had clearly just fired.  While she watched, a second blasted off in a puff of gray smoke, sending its deadly payload in a high arc towards the incoming airships. 

The mortar shell itself was too fast to watch, but she saw as it exploded, just to the right of one of the coming airships.  It was too far away to see much detail, but the ship itself rocked to the starboard side a little from the force of the impact.  She could see the reflection of light against a shield spell as shrapnel ricocheted off the ship’s protections.

“Don’t worry about them, remember?” the princess said, her voice strained with effort.  “Isn’t that what you told me?”

“Indeed, highness,” Rarity muttered back, turning back towards the avalanche descending on their shield.

The seconds turned into minutes, and Rarity started to feel the strain.  As the snow was shunted off to either side of the palace, tumbling down the slopes below, she could see the other unicorns under her command flagging. 

“Keep strong,” she called out.  “Steel your minds, your hearts, and your horns!  Our friends are all depending on us down below!”

She didn’t know if her words were having any effect, but she could hope.

“Hold fast!” she called again.  “The avalanche cannot last forever.”

Rarity heard the princess grunt with effort beside her.  Large rocks were hammering the walls and the shield.

There was a scream to her left, and Rarity snapped her head up.  A cataclysmic roar burst through the shield, and there were cries of pain and terror.  A section of the shield was broken, and the onrushing avalanche poured through, flinging unicorns off the walls and crushing them under its fury. 

“Polyester, shore up that–”

Rarity didn’t have to finish her orders.  Unicorns from the reserve rushed up to fill the gap, their magic pushing against the flow of snow and rock.  Others frantically lifted the debris, pulling out the wounded.

Her faithful soldiers were handling things.  Rarity felt a flash of pride.

“Well done, all of you!  Evacuate the wounded to the Shrine of the Generous!  Watch for your comrades that may be about to break, and support them as they need it!”

More sections of the shield burst as unicorns grew exhausted and lost control.  But her reserve was there, filling in the gaps and carrying away the broken and tired soldiers. 

“Can you… see?” Rarity grunted to the princess, her own strength tested as she poured her magic into the shield.  “How much more might the mountain has to throw at us?”

“Not much,” Princess Flurry said.  “The motion is slowing,”

“We need to either shove what’s left off the mountain, or find a way to fully block everything off, so we don’t have to keep holding the shield!” Rarity said.  “If there’s no–”

But she didn’t get to finish.  An explosion rocked the camp, an order of magnitude greater than the mortar volleys.  She spun to look, spotting a smoking crater in the center of the courtyard.  Wounded soldiers and Knights stumbled away, and limp figures lay still.

“Wha…” Rarity looked at the enemy airships.  They were firing ordnance of their own, straight into the camp.  And they were much closer than they’d been before.

A second explosion tossed up dirt and snow, flinging cloth and tent-poles in all directions. 

The tents.

Her tent.

Rarity’s breath froze.

Her tent.

Rarity was moving without conscious thought, her hooves crashing one after the other.  She reached the edge of the battlement, and Princess Flurry’s hoof stopped her.

“No, Rarity!  If you let go now, we’ll all be crushed!”

She’d been about to teleport.  She met the Princess’ eyes and her vision was blurry.  She wanted to scream.

“Hold that line, Rarity.”  It was Heartwing’s voice, magically projected to her ear.  “There’s only so much mountain they can drop on us, and we’ll need you to rejoin the defense as soon as the avalanche has ceased!”

He didn’t know.  He hadn’t seen.  It was like…

“Look, Rarity!  Look!”

Princess Flurry was pointing with one hoof, and Rarity looked.  Over by the Shrine of the Generous, underneath a shield generated by several yellow-armored Knights Discordant, stood Emberglow.  She wasn’t looking at Rarity, but she was busy directing wounded, and those carrying them, inside the relative safety of the building.  Her parents stood behind her, looking frightened.

“She is unharmed, Rarity.  Please.  Focus.”

Rarity glanced back up.  Her own shield was bowing, bending under the weight it held back.  The avalanche had slowed to a mere fraction of what it had been before.

“A-any reserve left, use your telekinesis,” Rarity stammered.  She felt raw and shaken, brought to the brink of disaster and then pulled back.  “Push as much as possible off the sides.  Stabilize what’s left.  We can worry about repairs later when everypony is safe.”

The airships were growing closer, and Rarity worried that her soldiers would soon be urgently needed elsewhere.  More explosions in the courtyard scattered dirt and shrapnel everywhere.  Cannons on the decks of the Mystic ships flashed with deadly fire.  They were nearly directly over the palace, now, and Rarity gasped as dozens of purple-armored pegasi darted out from the sides of the ships, protected by glowing shields as they dove towards the palace grounds.

“Enemy Knights incoming!” somepony from the grounds shouted.  It sounded like Heartwing.  “Get them on the ground!  Take away their advantage!”

Soldiers and Knights fired bolts of magic at the descending pegasi, who stayed clustered in a tight spearhead formation as they plowed towards the ground.

“They’re trying to form a beachhead,” Rarity guessed, sparing a glance.  “To safely land whoever else is on their airships.  We can’t let them.”

The work with the avalanche was almost done, and then she could act.

“Rarity!” It was Heartwing.  “They’re using their artillery to clear a landing spot.  I need your unicorns to pressure the enemy on the ground, to keep them from their objective!  Lady Snow is forming a center line of Knights.  Your soldiers need to form up behind her!”

“You heard, princess?” Rarity said, and Flurry nodded.  Bubblegum stood firm next to her, itching to enter the fray.  “Stay close to me, at my side.  You and I shall lead the reserve units, while the rest of the unicorns on the wall will finish with the avalanche.”  Heartwing had sounded worried.  There had to be a reason the Mystic pegasi were trying to insert themselves right in the middle of the defended courtyard, rather than trying the safer routes of a siege or an assault outside the walls.  It worried her, too.

“Yes, Rarity,” Flurry saluted.  In the back of Rarity’s head, a part of her wanted to giggle at the far older alicorn so eagerly following her orders.  With a nod, she lit her horn, teleporting back down to the central courtyard.

The sound changed instantly; instead of the oppressive rumble of the avalanche, now she could more clearly hear the dissonant music of war.  Weapons scraped against armor, cannons roared, and ponies screamed battle cries at each other. 

Flurry appeared with a pop a second later, her faithful bodyguard clinging onto one hoof.  Bubblegum didn’t look bothered by the movement; instead, she had a sort of dazed excitement on her face.  Rarity remembered Emberglow mentioning that the mare was a bit of a thrill seeker.

“Orange Zest!  Foxtail!  Form up behind me!  The rest of you, once the avalanche is stable, you are the rearguard and relief!” she called out, using her own enchantment.  Even over the chaos of battle, she could hear the shouted orders of other officers.  Her own unicorns galloped to follow her command, forming two lines behind her.

“We’re to act as support for Lady Snow and her Knights.  Keep the pressure on their line, shield our own when you can, and try to stop whatever it is the dastardly Mystics are trying to do.”

Several had landed in the cannon-scarred courtyard, and several more were flooding in off of the airships.  They were up close and personal with the yellow-clad Knights, exchanging blows with spears and spells.

Rarity could see that the unicorns among the Discordant specifically were being targeted by the Mystics.  She watched as two purple armored bullies bore down on one of them, the first Mystic pinning the unicorn down, while the second lined up a sharp thrust from his spear. 

A beam of yellow force slammed into the second Mystic.  His shield spell held, but the sheer force of the attack drove the Knight back and away from his victim.  Flurry Heart was seething with rage, and nearly plowed forward, but then held herself back with a glance at Rarity.

“No, you have the right idea,” Rarity said softly to her, before lighting her horn for the communication spell again.

“They’re targeting unicorns!  Even the odds and support our Knights!”

A cheer went up from her soldiers, and they followed Flurry Heart’s example.  Keeping their distance, each unicorn began firing off beams of force towards the attackers.

But even with the help, it was a nightmare.  The Discordant were holding their own, but as more and more armored Knights poured down from the airship they were quickly becoming overwhelmed.

The regular soldiers among them were not faring well.  Rarity watched as a Knight thrust a spear through a Diamond Dog in Empire colors, too fast for her to react.  The dog fell, blood spurting from his chest.  She still blasted the Knight for good measure, sending her sprawling, but it was too late for the soldier.

All around them more were falling, The Mystics pressing them back with each wounded or dead Discordant.  Rarity’s soldiers fell back, keeping their distance and range advantage between themselves and the front line. 

And that was when the cannons struck again.

Not on the Discordant in front of them, but right over their heads.  Rarity didn’t have time to react before something slammed into her.  Her ears filled with the sound of cannonballs screaming through the air, and somepony shouting, and her world lurched and flew.

She hit the ground with a thud, something heavy lying on top of her, pressing her down.  Her ribs ached from the impact, and one of her hind legs had twisted painfully under her. 

Rarity took a second to breathe before opening her eyes.  Bubblegum had leapt to intercept, shoving her aside as soon as the cannonball hit.  But that meant…

“Princess…” she coughed.

“Right here, Rarity,” a voice from above Bubblegum said, even as the Knight scrambled off Rarity.  She could make out the outline of the Princess’ shield above them.  “Are you hurt?”

Bubblegum’s expression mirrored her own concern as she looked Rarity over.

“I’m fine, thanks to your bodyguard,” Rarity said.

“It’s a clumsy way to get a mare to mount you, Rarity,” Bubblegum said with a smirk, as soon as she appeared satisfied that Rarity was unharmed.  “Besides, I’m married, and you’re committed to Miss Blush-a-lot.”  She held out a hoof to help Rarity up.

“Cute,” Rarity said sardonically, as she pulled herself to her hooves with Bubblegum’s help.  Quickly she reoriented herself back on the battle.

Her unicorns had responded to the threat from above, casting their shields above the fighting, a few of them even firing up at the airships.  Something buzzed in her ear.  Heartwing’s voice.

“Rarity!  Rarity, are you…”

“I’m fine, Heartwing.  Bubblegum and the princess protected me.   What do we…”

There was another furious whistle of artillery, and all three ponies ducked instinctively.  The explosion bounced right off the shield above them, making Flurry Heart grunt.  There was an overwhelming sound, and then suddenly nothing as all Rarity could hear was a high-pitched whine.

She looked up.  Flurry’s mouth was moving.  Bubblegum’s was too. 

Slowly the whine receded, and Rarity could hear the sounds of battle again.  Screams.  Explosions.  Screams.  Metal clashing against metal.  Screams.

And then Heartwing’s voice in her ear.

“…we’re being overrun in the courtyard, I’m sending in fliers to try to take the pressure off of you,” he was saying, and Rarity looked up in time to see a squad of armored pegasi up above.  Terminus’ black form was among them as they charged towards the airships.

“Good,” Rarity managed, coughing.  “We need the assistance.”

She glanced back towards the forward line, which was bowing in their direction.  There was now a clear open space in the courtyard, where several Mystics were not fighting.  Instead, the pegasi Mystics were bringing down earth ponies, who were busily casting spells with their gauntlets.  Some kind of shield, so they could establish a foothold?  Or something more sinister?

“We have to keep the pressure on them,” Rarity said, even as fear started to grow in her chest.  “We can’t let them succeed.  Squads Cashmere and Polyester, ranged support. The rest of you are with me. We’re taking the fight to them.  Heartwing, darling?  If you can hear me, I could use whatever help you can offer.”

Bubblegum was staring at her, looking both worried and determined.  “Rarity, the princess shouldn’t…”

“Knight Bubblegum, I shall be accompanying Rarity into the fray.  I hope you’ll stay at my side.”

Rarity knew she should object. The battlefield was no place for a princess.

The battlefield was no place for a fashionista, either.  The incongruence struck her hard.

She’d rather be anywhere else in the world right now. 

Suddenly an image flashed before her eyes: a young foal, standing behind the curtain at her first fashion show.  The breath caught in her throat, her eyes searching for every imperfection, every mistake, every worst-case scenario that could go wrong during her debut.  Her stomach seemed to flutter and dance.

This was a thousand times worse.  It wasn’t dark, like Rarity’s charge up the mountain, so she saw every wounded, every fallen, every mud-spattered plate of armor and every blood-soaked spear.

Rarity felt herself freezing up.

She didn’t belong here.

She didn’t…

“Rarity!”

Bubblegum’s voice snapped her gaze up.

“We need you!”

Three simple words. 

But in Bubblegum’s eyes Rarity saw so much more.  Sympathy.  Empathy.  The weight of experience.  Compassion.  But also desperation.  Hope.  And fear.

Bubblegum was afraid too.  But Bubblegum was ready to charge.

“Okay.  Thank you.”  Rarity took a breath.  And then another.  There was something Emberglow had told her once, about counting down from ten in emergency situations.  With each breath, she let out her worries, her anxieties, her fears, her despair.

Rarity didn’t have ten seconds.  She did what she could with one last, long exhale. 

“Princess, at your leisure, we can—”

The princess’ return smile was fierce.  There was no hesitation and no fear in her eyes.  It was inspiring.  She also didn’t even wait for Rarity to finish speaking, surging forward into a canter so suddenly that Rarity and Bubblegum had to leap to catch up.  Her horn blazed with a furious yellow, and her hooves pounded the mud with violent intent.

“Keep your foul hooves and tainted magic away from this place!” Princess Flurry howled, her battle cry rising over the din of battle.  “You do not belong!  You never did!  This is not your home!  You have no right to claim it!”

Each statement was punctuated by a blast of magic mighty enough to hurl Mystics through the air.

Rarity saw the effect it had on her own soldiers.  Unicorns who looked tired, frightened, and confused suddenly brightened up at her shout.

Rarity saw an opportunity.

Being a seamstress and a fashionista required creativity, adaptability, and an eye for detail.  All were skills that translated into military command.  And Rarity wouldn’t be the pony she was if she didn’t know how to leap at an opportunity.  She lit her horn so her soldiers would hear her voice.

“Ponies, we’re going to create a wedge, to disrupt whatever foul ritual those in the middle are surely casting!  Reserves, fill in behind us!”

“Support coming on the north flank!”

Heartwing’s voice in Rarity’s ear filled her with hope, even as her heart pounded.  She ran alongside Flurry, glancing to the left in time to see a flash of colorful movement.

It was a single squad of changelings.  Just about six of them, not even enough for the Mystics to take real notice.  Until they all exploded in a choreographed flash of green fire.

It was no longer six changelings.  It was six elephants, each one towering over the enemy by several pony heights.  Screams of rage and terror erupted from the north flank as an avalanche of their own plowed through the Knights Mystic.

Rarity didn’t have more time to look.  They were practically in the middle of the fight.  Bubblegum surged ahead of them, her spear-tip leveled towards the enemy.  Rarity had expected her to charge fully into the fray but she held back, eyes alert and darting about, watching for any threat.

And the threats did come.  Princess Flurry Heart was quite the spectacle, towering over nearly everypony on the battlefield.  Rarity was close enough to see the disdainful sneer in the expression of a pegasus mare as she rounded towards them, moving away from the newly downed Discordant she pulled her spear out of.

“Abomination!” she howled, and several other nearby Mystics took note, forming up around her.  Now Bubblegum set her hooves for a charge.

“Remember, Princess, they…”

Princess Flurry didn’t wait to see what Bubblegum was going to remind her.  Her horn blazed, and Rarity heard Flurry’s grunt of effort.

With a shout, the Mystics were thrown in the air, tossed away like rag-dolls, limbs flailing.  They slammed into the mud, and began to scramble to their hooves.  They weren’t very far.

“Remember that their armor has enchantments that resist telekinesis,” Bubblegum finished.  “You can’t just throw them around!”

“Think creatively, darling,” Rarity said as Flurry scowled.  She lit her own horn for telekinesis, but instead of targeting the Mystics, she lifted the frigid mud right in front of them, flinging it outwards even as they resumed their charge. She certainly would have hated having mud hurled in her face.

She tried not to think about how much of it was dirty slush and how much was the blood of her allies and enemies.

But it was enough inspiration for Flurry Heart; her golden magic ripped along the ground, tearing a huge gouge even as the earth trembled beneath Rarity’s hooves.  It was violent and sudden, and their foes, partially blinded by Rarity’s thrown mud, struggled to keep their balance, wings fluttering furiously.  It completely broke the momentum of the counter-charge, and Rarity surged forward alongside Bubblegum.

The Mystic in the front, the cruel-looking pegasus mare, didn’t have time to find her balance before Bubblegum’s spear-shaft jerked up, slamming into her chin.  Her head whipped back, and Bubblegum didn’t waste the chance, slamming the blade into her throat. 

The spray of blood spattered on Rarity’s own armor and coat, and she had to suppress her stomach’s reaction.  Now wasn’t the time.  She could melt down later. 

Bubblegum wasn’t fazed at all by the killing; she continued on, stabbing at the other Mystics.  Flurry kept up her barrage of magic, tearing small rifts in the ground and keeping the enemy ponies off balance.  Rarity began to pick up broken paving stones, flinging them like projectiles.

At this close range she could hear the crunch as they slammed into armor and flesh.

“Can you see what they’re trying to do?” Rarity said as she picked up another stone.  She tried not to think of the sharp, jagged edge on one side as she fired it towards a howling Mystic who was mere hoof-lengths from Flurry.  “I can’t make it out!”

“No, but we’re almost there!”

The earth pony Mystics were in a circle, their gauntlets all glowing silver.  Rarity tried to fling a rock their way, but it shattered against an invisible barrier.  They were shielded. 

Suddenly the battlefield was rent by a tremendous trumpet of pain, and Rarity looked up in time to see one of the elephant changelings careening towards them.  She altered her magic, dropping the rocks she was holding in order to pull Flurry and Bubblegum back in time for the massive body to splatter into the mud, right where they’d been standing.  A dozen spears, some broken, jutted obscenely out of the poor creature’s body, and then with a pitiful flash of green light, there was nothing but a young changeling in the crater the elephant’s body had left behind in the mud.

The pink-and-red figure was completely still.  Even Rarity could tell their insectoid eyes were devoid of life.  She felt a pang of guilt and sorrow.

“Rarity!”

Bubblegum’s voice was full of horror and alarm, and Rarity whipped her head away from the dead changeling and towards where Bubblegum was pointing.  It was the circle of Mystic casters.

They had completed whatever they were working on.

Every gauntlet in the circle flashed brightly enough with silvery light that Rarity had to shield her eyes.  From the cries of pain and alarm she could hear around her, she wasn’t the only one.  A webwork of silvery-greenish light flashed along the ground, spreading out all around them and crawling up the walls.

Rarity felt a thrill of fear that started in her gut, and instinctively she cast a shield, large enough to cover the three of them.  Whatever this was, it wasn’t good.

The earth pony Mystics let out a cry of victory as the webwork of wicked-looking light flashed again and then disappeared.

“What—” Rarity began, but then cried out as her stomach clenched in pain.  It was like lightning jerking from her horn all the way down her spine, before spasming in her stomach and intestines.  With a lurch, she retched, bile in her throat as a wave of nausea crashed through her.

She wasn’t the only one feeling sick; all around her unicorns fell, clenching stomachs and moaning in pain as they were struck by sudden illness.  Several were vomiting, Rarity noted in horror, as her own stomach clenched and roiled.

“Rarity?  Rarity!”

She could hear Bubblegum’s voice, but it sounded distant.  Even Flurry Heart was coughing and choking.

“What… what just happened?”

Heartwing’s voice in her ear sounded just like Rarity felt.  He was clearly feeling the same.  “U-unicorns!  It’s done something to our magic!”

Sure enough, Rarity’s shield was flickering and fading.  She let it drop, and suddenly her stomach pain eased.  It was still awful, but she no longer felt like vomiting.

It was her magic.  Somehow they’d cast a spell to make unicorn magic make them sick.

The thought brought a wave of crushing horror.  The Mystics had somehow managed to turn off their access to one of their greatest advantages.

Her horror was reflected in Princess Flurry’s eyes as well.  With a grimace of pain, and a visible paling of her face, Flurry lit her horn.

“Heartwing, what do we do?” Flurry hissed out.

The Mystics were advancing slowly and cautiously.  Rarity could see the wary apprehension in their eyes as they watched Flurry, to see how well their vile spell worked on the alicorn.

Rarity forced herself to her hooves.  She couldn’t take her eyes off the advancing enemy, but she tried to see if she could spot a spare weapon in her periphery.  Bubblegum was at her side, spear ready, expression grim.

“Here,” Bubblegum said, picking up the closest abandoned spear and passing it to Rarity quickly, as if she had read Rarity’s mind. 

Rarity barely knew how to use a spear.  Her heart pounded as she pointed it at the Knights.  They looked huge, even though she knew it was a trick of her mind.  Knights were no bigger than any other pony, but they were stronger.

The looks of disgust they shot her horn filled Rarity with cold fear. 

It didn’t help that all around them, the sounds of battle were becoming the sounds of a massacre.  Rarity’s unicorns, her faithful soldiers who had followed her fearlessly into battle, were down, most writhing in pain. 

Rarity wailed as she saw the Mystics moving among them.

Spears plunged.

Ponies screamed.

Ponies fell silent.

Rarity tried to light her horn.  The nausea ripped through her like a wave, and her stomach lurched. There was nothing she could do to prevent the slaughter.

There was a howl of fury, loud enough to send an icicle of agony through Rarity’s already overwhelmed mind.

It was Flurry.

Her horn blazed, and even though Rarity knew just how much it must have hurt her to do so, she could see the overwhelming power crackling from the Princess’ horn.

“You will not harm my ponies!” she roared, eyes blazing with fury and magic.  “I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!”

“What…” Bubblegum whispered, sounding frightened.  The three Mystics advancing on them paused, looking wary.

“Look!” Rarity pointed with her spear, up at the sun.

The very fires of the heavens were responding to Flurry Heart’s command.

“You violate this sacred place!”

Flurry’s voice was not the voice of a single pony, but rather the echoing boom of royal command.  Rarity remembered a Nightmare Night, centuries ago, when Princess Luna had visited Ponyville, and the Royal Canterlot Voice.

But this wasn’t endearing or awkward.  This was terrifying.  Even as the Princess stood tall, defending her charges, Rarity wanted to cower.

“You bring death and misery, and leave nothing worthwhile in their wake!” Flurry roared, and every ear nearby pinned back.  Yellow magic flared from her horn, and bolts of sun-fire lashed out from it, like lightning in broad daylight.  She appeared to be brushing off the strange ailment that had struck each of the unicorns.

“YOU HAVE ALL FORGOTTEN!” she roared.  “YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT A GODDESS WALKS EQUESTRIA NOW!  YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN WHO RAISES THE SUN AT DAYBREAK, AND RAISES THE MOON AT TWILIGHT!”

The very air vibrated with her anger.  Flurry spread her wings, and Rarity found little comfort in the shade cast by the feathers.

“What is happening?” Bubblegum hissed, her voice cold with terror.

“She’s been holding herself back,” Rarity said, her throat dry.  “But no longer. She is an immortal, Bubblegum.  And she commands the power of the sun and the moon.  We—”

There was no more snow on the ground, Rarity realized.  It was getting hotter.  Tongues of plasma lashed about the battlefield, slamming against Mystics, tossing them aside with screams of pain.

“Princess!  The spell!” Rarity shouted.

The earth pony Mystics were still standing in a circle.  As fire danced through the air about them, the white-hot energy splashed against the shield they were still behind.

“They’re still shielded!”

Breaking that spell was their only chance.  The unicorns were defenseless.  But Princess Flurry…

Rarity was afraid she was beyond reason. Just as she had nearly let herself succumb to fear, Flurry may very well be lost to anger.

The princess leapt into the air, her wings moving in powerful, slow strokes.

“PRINCESS!” Rarity screamed, and Bubblegum leapt forward, trying to chase.  Rarity moved behind her.

They caught the first Mystics by surprise.  Bubblegum bowled the first one over with her charge, and Rarity scrambled behind.  His comrade tried to stop them, and Rarity, unthinking, lit her horn for a blast of magic.

She saw stars and felt something hit her chest and face, hard.

It was the ground.

Rarity’s head spun, and as she tried to look up from the mud-soaked ground, her eyes wouldn’t focus.

Bubblegum was running ahead, trying to reach the Princess.

Flurry was blazing through the air towards the shielded circle of Mystics.

Rarity’s stomach hurt.  Her horn hurt.  Her head hurt.  And the Mystics around her took notice.

Belatedly she realized she’d dropped her spear when she fell.

“Lay still, deceiver, and I’ll make this quick,” one stallion said.

He didn’t hesitate.  He lifted his spear.

Rarity struggled to get her hooves underneath her.  She didn’t want to die laying in the mud.

She couldn’t stand; her hooves were too weak.  She clenched her eyes shut, taking her last breath.

Screaming.

The stallion was screaming, and something was burning.

Rarity opened her eyes.  The Mystic who had been about to end her life was on fire.  He writhed on the ground, trying to smother the flames but the red blaze angrily refused to stop.  Rarity watched with horror as his armor began to glow, melting into his flesh even as he screamed in agony. 

It was one of the longest few seconds of Rarity’s life, and she crawled away from the horror, emptying her stomach.

“THERE.  YOU ARE SAFE.”

The voice was cruelty and rage, unnatural and terrifying and wrong even as it spoke words of comfort.  Rarity looked up, already expecting what she saw.

It was Princess Flurry, but it was not.  Her mane, once flowing and beautiful like tufts of cloud, was now flat and straight, beginning as a cold blue before blazing to life at the ends in embers of dancing flames.  Her eyes were slitted, like Nightmare Moon’s had been, all those years ago.

There was no kindness in those eyes, only vengeance and cold fire.

Having turned back to aid her, Bubblegum rushed up, out of breath.  She was covered in mud and soot.  It wasn’t hard to see where the soot was coming from.  All around them, fires burned.  Rarity did her best not to think about what it was that was burning. Though the stench made that rather difficult.

“STAND UP, RARITY.  WE HAVE WORK TO DO.”

“Princess, what—”

“I HAVE OUTGROWN THAT TITLE,” Flurry said, her gaze shifting off to the north.  Towards the empire.  “LIKE MY GREAT AUNT, THE NIGHTMARE HERSELF.  NO LONGER SHALL ANY REFER TO ME AS PRINCESS.  BESIDES, IT IS PAST TIME FOR MY DEAR MOTHER TO HAVE REST.  I SHALL TAKE HER PLACE, ONCE I HAVE CLEANSED THESE LANDS OF CORRUPTION.  AS I HAVE CLEANSED THOSE WHO SULLIED THIS HOLY PLACE WITH FOUL MAGIC.”

Bubblegum glanced behind her, and Rarity couldn’t help herself.  The earth pony Mystics who had been hiding behind the shield were gone.  In their place was a smoldering pile of limp figures.

Rarity gulped.  It was an effort to keep her mind focused; it was as if the whole world had gone mad. She tried to block out everything else. “If you do not wish to be called Princess, what should I call you, then?”

Rarity felt herself trembling.  There was a pause, and she could hear the battle around them, still ongoing, though it was turning in their favor.  Several Mystics were down.  Most were still smoldering.

Rarity was grateful when Flurry’s voice brought her from her observations.

“I SHALL BE EMPRESS, RARITY,” Flurry said, her voice shaking the ground.  “EMPRESS OF ICE, AND EMPRESS OF FIRE.  GODDESS OF THE SUN AND THE MOON.  YOU MAY CALL ME… PARHELION.”

“But I’m not sure Empress Cadance shall—”

“IT IS NOT YOUR CONCERN.”

The Empress’ horn lit, and Rarity noted, with some surprise, that it was not Flurry’s usual yellow, but rather a baleful orange.  Suddenly, Rarity was jerked to her hooves, pulled upright by a strong, yet somehow gentle grip.  It didn’t stop her from yelping in surprise.

“Be careful, Empress!” Bubblegum shouted her objection.  “Rarity is still your friend.”

The Empress turned her gaze on her bodyguard, and for a moment Rarity was certain Bubblegum was about to be struck down for her temerity.  But despite the fear in Bubblegum’s eyes, she stood her ground. 

“SHE IS, BUBBLEGUM.  AS ARE YOU.  AND ALL THESE CREATURES WHO CAME WITH ME.  AND I WILL KEEP THEM SAFE.  I WILL MAKE THE WORLD SAFE.”

She turned back to Rarity.

“GO COLLECT TOPAZ.  A TRUE EMPRESS RECOGNIZES WHEN SHE MADE A MISTAKE, AND I OWE HER AN APOLOGY.”

“An apology?  Why—”

“BECAUSE SHE WAS RIGHT.  I SHOULD NEVER HAVE HELD MYSELF BACK.  THE FURY OF THE SUN, THE CALLOUS WINDS OF THE COLD NORTH, THESE SHOULD HAVE SCOURGED THIS EVIL FROM THE LAND AGES AGO.”

“Empress, I don’t think—”

“DO AS I COMMAND, RARITY.  WE DON’T HAVE MUCH TIME BEFORE THE RECKONING BEGINS.”

It was with a new sort of fear, and shaky hooves, that Rarity rushed off towards the Shrine of the Generous. What exactly was her friend becoming?


*   *   *   *   *


Rarity didn’t have to go far, for which she was grateful.  Topaz was already rushing out to meet them, weaving through the busy ponies outside the Shrine.  The tiny building was overfilled; wounded from both sides, many with horrific burns, were being laid on emergency cots outside the building.  Rarity looked for Emberglow, but could not see her.

“What—”

Rarity didn’t let her finish.  “Princess Flurry has had an incident, Topaz, and we need your help.  Do your people tell the tales of Nightmare Moon?”

Topaz paled.

“Oh, no…” she moaned.  “Grandmother—”

“We don’t have time for a long conversation,” Rarity said.  “The ‘Parhelion Empress’ demands your presence.  Maybe you can help stop her from doing something terrible.”

“She can’t have…”

“She did.  Just like Luna.  It was sudden and…” Rarity gulped and turned back towards the battlefield, where she could see the towering form of the twisted alicorn as she rapidly turned the tide of battle. 

“B-but,” Topaz said, even as she rushed up alongside Rarity.  “We don’t have what you had when you defeated the Nightmare.  How can we—”

“I don’t know, Topaz.  But we have to try.”  Rarity had to hope.  “Maybe she can be reasoned with. At least she still seems to care for us.”  She paused, remembering.  “She isn’t as… nightmarish as Nightmare Moon was.  She still has feathery wings, and her color palette isn’t so… hostile.”

“I’ll do my best!” Topaz said. 

But the Empress was starting to move their way already.  Whatever her reason, Rarity nonetheless felt a pit in her stomach.

Bubblegum stood in front of the Empress.  She had dropped her spear, and her hooves were spread wide.  The Empress’ expression was a stormfront of fury, and her orange-slit eyes blazed.  Her horn was already lit.

“YOU WILL GET OUT OF MY WAY, KNIGHT BUBBLEGUM, OR YOU WILL BE MOVED.”

“Empress, please.  Our own wounded are there.”

“AS ARE THE WOUNDED OF THE USURPERS.  THEY GAVE UP THEIR RIGHT TO LIVE THE MOMENT THEY…”

The Empress paused, glancing up at Topaz and Rarity’s approach.

“AH.  DUCHESS TOPAZ.  THE THRONE OWES YOU ITS DEEPEST APOLOGIES.  WE REGRET OUR ARGUMENTS IN THE PAST.  YOU WERE RIGHT THE WHOLE TIME.  WE SHOULD HAVE LISTENED, AND INTERVENED SOONER.  A GREAT NUMBER OF DEATHS WOULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED.”

There was genuine sorrow behind the cold gaze of those eyes, and for a moment it gave Rarity hope.

“PLEASE INFORM KNIGHT BUBBLEGUM THAT WE HAVE NO WISH TO DO FURTHER HARM TO OUR PONIES.  WE SHALL MOVE HER IF NECESSARY, BUT WE WILL BE DESTROYING THE ENEMY KNIGHTS AND SQUIRES TAKING REFUGE IN THE SHRINE RIGHT NOW.”

“You mean… the wounded?” Topaz recoiled.  “Grandma, no!  You can’t!”

“I AM THE PARHELION EMPRESS.  I CAN IF I SAY I CAN, DUCHESS.  AND YOU WILL NOT FORESTALL ME.”

“Oh yes I will!” Topaz shouted, stomping her hoof.  Rarity could see the fear making her limbs weak.  “I’m not going to let you slaughter ponies that are no longer a threat.  And that’s not even counting the Radiants and the Angelic!  They’re neutral!”

“YOU ARE CORRECT,” the Empress said.  “AMBROSIA AND FEATHER BOLT HAVE, THUS FAR, KEPT THEIR KNIGHTS IN LINE.  MY FURY SHALL NOT DESCEND ON THEM, UNLESS THEY CHOOSE TO PROTECT THE CRIMINALS IN THEIR CARE.”

“They will, Grandma,” Topaz said.  “They’ll fight, and you’ll kill innocent ponies.  Ponies that want nothing more than to heal the wounded.”

“TO HEAL OUR ENEMIES!  TO HEAL THOSE THAT USE TRICKERY AND DECEPTION TO SLAUGHTER OUR PEOPLE!  IF THEY SIDE WITH THOSE THAT WOULD DO MY PEOPLE HARM, REGARDLESS OF THEIR INTENTIONS, THEN I SHALL BURN THEM OFF MY MOUNTAIN!”

Topaz shared a glance with Rarity.  She looked lost.

“Darling, I think it really would be best,” Rarity said, subtly moving up alongside Topaz and Bubblegum, “If we spoke with Heartwing about all of this.  I’m sure he—”

“DO NOT PATRONIZE ME, RARITY.  I AM FULLY CAPABLE OF MAKING MY OWN DECISIONS; BETTER DECISIONS THAN THAT CREATURE.”

It seemed there was still some buried animosity there.  Or perhaps Flurry’s transformation had drawn it out.  Still, Rarity lit her horn, ready to summon Heartwing herself.

“YOU WILL NOT REBEL AGAINST ME, RARITY.  I AM THE EMPRESS, MY WORD IS LAW.”

Rarity felt a pressure on her horn, almost disturbingly like the sensation of the wretched spell from before.  With a gulp, she stopped trying.

“Grandmother, please.  We only wish to help,” Topaz begged.  “Rarity only wishes to help.  Heartwing only wishes to help!  Let us aid you!”

“HEARTWING HAS HIS OWN TASK.  LAST I SAW, HE AND SOME OF THE OTHERS WERE MOVING TO OBLITERATE THE AIRSHIPS.  HIS PRESENCE, AND HIS DUBIOUS WISDOM, ARE NOT NEEDED HERE.”

Rarity spared a glance towards the airships.  Two were in full retreat; the third was on fire, slowly listing.  From a distance she could see Knights on board, scrambling off the sides as fire consumed the rest of the ship.

Even though it was Mystics, she still couldn’t watch as they plummeted.

“Empress, please!  Look at what is happening!  The battle is over!  We won, because of you!” Rarity pleaded.  “We don’t need for there to be any more death or destruction!  Let there be peace!”

“THERE WILL BE NO PEACE UNTIL EVERY DIARCHY SOLDIER IS ASH!” The Empress’ roar filled the air, and everypony in Old Canterlot cringed.  The sun seemed to blaze along with her fury, for a moment burning through the omnipresent snow clouds up above.

It was a temporary thing, and the gloom was back a moment later.

“Don’t you see?” Rarity said.  “This won’t work!  You can’t fight hatred with hatred, Flurry.  That only begets more hatred!”

She pointed up at the skies, at the thick clouds still gathering over New Canterlot.

“Don’t you remember why we came?  To save these ponies from the weather!  From the influence of windigoes!  And you can’t do that this way!  Look, please!”

And, miraculously, Flurry Heart looked.

Rarity held her breath as the Empress was silent.  Finally she spoke.

“VERY WELL. I WILL LISTEN TO HEARTWING FOR THE MOMENT.  I WILL NOT DESTROY THE WOUNDED YET.  BUT THEIR LIVES BELONG TO ME.  IF EVEN ONE OF THEM STEPS OUT OF LINE, THEIR SCREAMS WILL BE HEARD DOWN TO THE CITY.”

The Empress turned back to Rarity.

“I THINK IT IS A MISTAKE, RARITY.  THESE PONIES WILL DISAPPOINT YOU.  THEY ARE NOT WORTHY OF YOUR MERCY.  AND WHEN YOU ARE PROVEN WRONG, I WILL CORRAL THEM AND WATCH.  LET THEM BE CONSUMED BY THEIR HATE AND LET THEIR HEARTS FREEZE IN THE BLIZZARD THAT FOLLOWS.”

“Thank you, Empress,” Topaz said, bowing.  “You are very wise.”

“DON’T YOU PATRONIZE ME EITHER, DUCHESS,” the Empress warned, her baleful eyes narrowed.  “YOU ARE ALL ON THIN ICE.”

“There was a time, grandmother,” Topaz said, “when you valued my opinions, no matter how controversial.  You appreciated somepony who could keep you honest, and stop you from making poor decisions.  No matter how angry I make you.”

The Empress was silent for a long time.  Finally she spoke.

“TREAD CAREFULLY, DUCHESS.  TREAD CAREFULLY, KNIGHT BUBBLEGUM.  AND YOU AS WELL, RARITY.  I SHALL BE IN THE COMMAND TENT.  FIND HEARTWING QUICKLY, AND MEET ME THERE.”

She turned her head to the crowd of ponies that had started to gather.

“MY BELOVED PEOPLE, MY WONDERFUL SUBJECTS.  THE DIARCHY IS ON BORROWED TIME.  SOON WE SHALL ALL BE SAFE FROM ITS EVIL.”

For some reason, the declaration didn’t make Rarity feel any safer.  She swallowed, her throat dry, as she stared at the Empress.  Without another word, the Empress turned, marching all the way back to the command tent.

After one last worried glance at Rarity and Topaz, Bubblegum followed closely behind.

“Well, that was… something,” Rarity said, and Topaz laughed hysterically.  “What do we do?”

“I have no idea,” Topaz breathed.  “Bring Heartwing.  He’ll have something.”

“I sure hope so.”  She lit her horn, summoning the communication spell.  “Heartwing, darling?  We have a development, if you haven’t heard yet.  We need you at the command tent.”

It was a long time before Rarity heard the response.  Something was wrong; Rarity could only hear one word out of every two or three.

“…soon…Rarity…line…there to help.  Flurry…hear…fire.”

“Darling, I can’t make out what you’re saying.  Please hurry.”  It must have been the disruptive spell from earlier.

“…train tracks…more…let Princess…”

Topaz was staring at her, and Rarity shook her head.

“I can’t tell what he’s saying,” she said.  “Something about the train tracks?  We should let the Empress know.”

“You’re allowing her the title?” Topaz asked.

Rarity shrugged.  “I don’t know if ‘allow’ is the right word, darling.  I don’t think I can stop her.  Could you?”

Topaz gulped, and shook her head.

“Come.  Let’s meet her at the command tent and hope Heartwing will be there soon.”

By now, the noise of battle had quieted.  What few remnants of Mystics that hadn’t been burned by the Empress were surrendering, and either limping off or being carried to the Shrine of the Generous.  The unicorns of Rarity’s squad, those who survived the disastrous charge and subsequent massacre, were hard at work clearing out the piles of snow and rock that remained from the avalanche.  Discordant healers moved among the fallen, performing triage.  It was as if the adrenaline of the fight had collapsed into a sort of slumped silence.

But for Rarity, the fight was still going.  Her heart pounded so hard it hurt.  This new danger, this new twisted alicorn, was not what she’d expected.  She longed for Emberglow’s presence, but she was sure the poor dear was busier than Rarity was, healing the wounded.

At her side, Topaz was just as nervous.  It was obvious in her gait, jerky and stiff as if she were ready to jump in any direction.  It was obvious in her expression, fear and sorrow warring for a place on her muzzle.  Rarity felt compelled to comfort her.

“Don’t worry too much, Topaz.  We’ll find a way to fix this.”  It wasn’t as if she felt that confident herself.  But she knew the mare needed to hear words of support, and Topaz’ wan smile proved it.  Rarity pushed just a little bit more. “Besides, darling.  I’ve dealt with crazed dark alicorns before.  I’m experienced.”

Topaz’ smirk let Rarity know that the false confidence was a touch obvious, but she didn’t challenge Rarity on it.  Instead, they walked in silence the rest of the way through the artillery-scarred battlefield.

The command tent had collapsed; its canvas tarp in charred tatters still draped sadly over broken poles.  A crater in the center told the story of what had happened to it.

The Empress stood, tall and regal, in the center of the wreckage, waiting impatiently.  Next to her stood Bubblegum, her face stoic and alert.  But they weren’t alone; various Crystal Empire officers and high-ranked Discordant milled about, waiting for instructions.

The Empress’ wings were spread wide, as if she were ready to spring into the air at a moment’s notice. Rarity was taken aback by their span.  She was sure it was longer than before.  And was Flurry taller…?

Rarity didn’t want to think of the implications.

“What does it mean?  She’s… bigger?” Topaz asked.  “Why did it happen?  When it happened to Luna, what triggered it?”

“I don’t know,” Rarity admitted.  “We only featured in the tail end of that story.  I know that Luna was twisted because of her jealousy and loneliness.”

“So what happened to Princess Flurry?”

Rarity sighed.  “Please understand this is a guess, but… I think seeing the unicorns being slaughtered, unable to defend themselves, broke her.  She has been holding back her ire for centuries, I think.  And she no longer wishes to.”

There was a piece of Rarity that did not blame her.  But that was beside the point now.

“We might have to figure out how to help her without the Elements,” Topaz said fearfully.  “Because right now she’s a liability.”

“Heartwing will help,” Rarity said. “Besides, see her wings?  Still the wings of a pegasus, not the Nightmare that I faced with my friends.  There’s still hope.”

She had to believe that.

“IS HEARTWING ON HIS WAY?”

The Empress sounded as impatient as she looked, accosting them with the booming power of her voice before they fully reached the tent. 

“I spoke with him via the spell, but I’m not sure,” Rarity said, glancing up at where the last airship had been.  Silently she hoped he was safe.  She glanced over at the castle walls, where there was still a flurry of activity, even the occasional beam of hostile magic fired off at the two surviving airships.  “Something was malfunctioning with—”

There was a pop of magic, and everypony jerked back before they recognized Heartwing.

“Rarity!” his voice was panicked.  “Didn’t you hear my message?”

“No, I couldn’t.  You were breaking up, I didn’t—”

“There’s something happening on the train tracks, further down the mountain!” he said urgently.  “I need you at the wall!  Princess, I…”

He turned to look, and his eyes went wide.  Rarity watched him visibly swallow, taking in the Empress from top to bottom.

“I see,” he said simply.

“I AM NO LONGER PRINCESS FLURRY, HEARTWING.  YOU SHALL REFER TO ME AS THE PARHELION EMPRESS.  WHAT DID YOU SEE ON THE TRAIN TRACKS?  I HAD THOUGHT WE DESTROYED THEM AFTER OUR PASSING.”

“We did, Empress.”  Heartwing, if nothing else, was adaptable.  He glanced at Rarity, a thousand questions in his eyes, but continued.  “Our long range scouts report movement on the tracks past the spot we destroyed.  They carried some equipment there.  We didn’t see what.  Either way, they’re moving something up the rails towards us.”

“WE HAVE BEATEN BACK THEIR ATTACK.  WHATEVER THREAT THIS IS, I SHALL DEAL WITH IT.”

The Empress spread her wings and lunged into the air.  Bubblegum let out a cry of dismay.

“Pri…Empress, no, please wait!” Heartwing shouted.  “We don’t know anything about the threat?” he tried.

“WHATEVER THE THREAT, IT SHALL BE NAUGHT IN A MOMENT, HEARTWING,” the Empress boomed, but she hesitated in the air.

“Please, at least let your guard come with you.  And myself.  And Rarity.”

The Empress seemed to consider.

“NO.  YOU SHALL REMAIN BEHIND.  YOUR LEG MAKES YOU A HINDRANCE.”

Her bluntness made Rarity flinch.

“I SHALL TAKE BUBBLEGUM AND RARITY, THOUGH.  GATHER CLOSE, YOU TWO.”

“Wait, Empress, you can’t simply—”

“I DO NOT TAKE ORDERS FROM YOU, HEARTWING,” the Empress said, and reached out with a wing-tip, jerking Rarity forward towards her.  Bubblegum closed in alongside, her blank expression not quite hiding her obvious nerves.

“Keep her safe!” was all Heartwing could manage before the Empress’ magic enveloped them all.  With a pop and a whiff of ozone, they were gone.

Rarity took a moment to breathe before she opened her eyes.  It was much more disconcerting to teleport when one was not casting the magic herself.  At least, wherever they were, the air was fresher.

She hadn’t noticed how intense the smell of burning flesh had grown down in the courtyard.

Rarity opened her eyes.  As she’d suspected, they were on the battlements.  She had a perfect view of the smoking artillery craters down below, as well as the chaos and mayhem the short battle had caused.  There were fallen ponies everywhere.

Looking out towards the city, she could still make out the retreating two airships.  They had paused and were now hovering over one of the more intact buildings in the empty city that surrounded them.

The battlements were still full of soldiers.  There were fewer wounded; the ones up here had been spared the bloodbath of the courtyard down below.  Each one, though, stared at the Empress, faces filled with apprehension.  A few, however, cheered her arrival, and the Empress nodded magnanimously.

“I AM HERE, MY LITTLE PONIES,” she said.  “YOUR EMPRESS IS HERE TO WIN THE WAR, AND TO KEEP YOU SAFE.”

Though most of the soldiers looked confused, the cheer this time was stronger.  Rarity suppressed a shudder, though she understood.  Victory at any cost was a darker outcome than she wanted.

“That’s the train station,” Bubblegum said, and both the Empress and Rarity looked.  She was pointing at the building the airships had paused above.

“WHY WAS IT NOT OCCUPIED OR GUARDED?”

“We pulled all of our forces into the palace, because it was more defensible,” Rarity said.  “There was no reason to occupy the train station.”

“AND NOW OUR ENEMIES PLOT TO USE IT AGAINST US.  LIKELY AS A STAGING GROUND.  THEY HAVE EITHER REPAIRED THE TRACKS OR ARE PLOTTING SOMETHING ELSE.  DO NOT BE CONCERNED.  I SHALL RESOLVE THE ISSUE.”

Her horn blazed to life, and Rarity gasped.

“PLEASE, RARITY.  YOU NEED TO ACCEPT THAT MY METHODS HAVE CHANGED.  I WILL RESTRAIN MYSELF NO LONGER.  I WILL BE A SURGEON AND CUT OUT THIS TUMOR UNTIL NOT A SINGLE DISEASED CELL REMAINS.”

There was a cold echo in her voice.  It reminded Rarity not just of Nightmare Moon, but of Sombra.  It made her wonder what sort of path that dark king had taken.

Had it been good intentions that led his hoofsteps, even at the start?

“Empress, we don’t even know—”

“THERE.”  The Empress pointed with a hoof, and Rarity suppressed a scowl.  She was getting tired of being interrupted.  “THERE IS MOVEMENT.”

She was right.  Ponies were moving up the streets, weaving between buildings.  It was only a few Knights, but it still made Rarity nervous.  What had they planned?

“They’re taking cover from the walls, trying to get closer,” Bubblegum said.  “I don’t like it.”

“WHAT THEY DO IS IRRELEVANT.  I WILL DESTROY THEM.”

The Empress spread her wings, and both Bubblegum and Rarity reached out at the same time.

“No, Pr-Empress!”

“Flurry, please!”

She paused.

Rarity shook her head.  “Please do not go off on your own.  We are your friends.  We do not wish to see you hurt.”

“HURT?  I AM AN ALICORN, RARITY.  THEY CANNOT HURT ME.”

“They can, though.  Remember what they tried to do to you, and to your mother.”

She realized it was the wrong thing to say the second it left her lips.  The reminder had the Empress growling in fury, and she launched herself off the wall to land in front of the gate.  Her expression had been the expression of a creature beyond reason, lost to rage and vengeance.

“No!” Rarity cried again in dismay.

“Take us down there!” Bubblegum begged.  Rarity nodded, throwing a hoof around the other mare as she summoned enough magic for another teleport.  An instant later they were standing in front of the closed gate.  Rarity turned, shouting up at the gate.

“Send help, please!  Assemble some reinforcements, and be ready for Sir Heartwing’s orders!”

She felt helpless, as if she had completely lost control of the situation.  Perhaps because she had.  The soldiers up on the wall saluted at her orders, and Rarity turned to look at the Empress.

She was already marching off into the ruins, her gait slow but steady with determination.

“We can’t leave her alone,” Rarity said, lighting her horn.  Several hours of battle and spellcasting had taken their toll; she was exhausted.  Even a simple communication spell was taxing.  “Heartwing, darling.  Flurry is completely out of control. I don’t know what to do.  If you can hear me, I’ve ordered the soldiers on the wall to assemble and prepare to muster out after us, but I simply cannot leave her side.  Bubblegum and I are on our own, with Flurry.  Please.”

She didn’t know what else could be said. She didn’t even know if he could hear her.  Or if he could respond. Everything that was happening felt inevitable, as if she were being led in a gallop towards disaster.  Each hoofstep made her hooves feel like lead.  Her head hurt.

“Keep your chin up, Rarity,” Bubblegum said with a smile, even though she looked as tired as Rarity felt.  “This will all turn out right in the end, I promise.  You and Emberglow are just too perfect together; why would the universe set you up, if only to trip and fall now?  You’re just fine.”

As far as pep talks went, it was a little weak.  But Rarity gave Bubblegum a smile anyways.

The two mares pulled to a halt.  Ahead of them, the Empress had stopped. They were at a crossroads, an intersection between two streets.  Ruined buildings at all four corners were intact enough to provide plenty of cover.  The falling snow had covered the thousands of tracks from yesterday, leaving a lumpy, uneven blanket over the cobbled roads.  The silence out here, away from the battlefield inside the castle, was oppressive.  Rarity felt as if she’d gone deaf.

“DIARCHY WORMS, I CAN SMELL YOUR FEAR-SWEAT AND HEAR THE POUNDING OF YOUR TERRIFIED HEARTS.  PRESENT YOURSELVES SO YOU CAN DIE WITH SOME DIGNITY.”

Rarity had no idea what the Empress was talking about.  She couldn’t see or hear anything.

The enchanted earring in her ear crackled with magic.  Heartwing.

“…ity!...ot news!...rd sco…gons are coming! The d…”

Rarity’s exhausted brain tried to parse the broken words, even as her eyes darted about the intersection, watching for signs of the approaching Mystics.  Did Heartwing say…

“I think… I think Heartwing said that the dragons are coming,” she whispered, and Bubblegum’s eyes went wide.

“Dragons?  That’s the last thing we need!”

“No, I think—”

There was a flash of movement, and Rarity dragged enough magic out from the morass of her exhaustion to throw a quick shield around the three of them.  Bubblegum leveled her spear, and the Empress’ horn lit.

But it was a white flag, waving from behind the remains of a house wall.

“Empire forces!  We seek temporary truce!”  It was a mare’s voice.  She sounded young.

Rarity glanced at the castle behind them.  The gate was opening.  They had reinforcements on the way.

Her hopelessness started to recede.

“I DO NOT BARGAIN WITH ASSASSINS, LIARS, AND THIEVES.”  Rarity could feel the ground tremble at the cold fury in the Empress’ words.  “IF YOU SEEK TO SURRENDER, THEN COME OUT WITHOUT YOUR WEAPONS AND WE SHALL DISCUSS THINGS.”

“V-very well.”  The mare sounded absolutely terrified.  “We are unarmed.  Please do not attack us; our intentions are entirely peaceful.”

Three ponies came out from behind the wall.  The mare was young, perhaps the same age as Emberglow.  She wore glasses, and made each step with a sort of terrified worry that was evident in her motions.  In one hoof she carried a white flag on a short pole.

The first pony behind her wore a helmet and a scarf, but there was something off about his eyes.  They were sunken and unhealthy.  He looked thin, even behind his armor, and had to be helped as he walked.  Perhaps he was old. 

The third pony was helping the second; she was a mare as well, a pegasus, middle aged, with several feathers missing and singed.  So she’d probably been on one of the airships that had escaped.  Perhaps she’d even directly fled the Empress’ fury.

None of the ponies were armed, but Rarity didn’t think that meant much.  Mystics were wily; it was likely they had some sort of tricks up their sleeves.  Besides, each one was still armored.  They all had their rune gauntlets.

Her stomach still hurt from the last time she’d dealt with Mystic magical trickery.

The three proceeded slowly across the intersection, until they were right in the center, perhaps only a few lengths from Rarity and the others.

“THAT IS FAR ENOUGH.  IS IT JUST THE THREE OF YOU WHO ARE SURRENDERING?”

“Y-yes,” the young Mystic stammered.  “Just us.  My name is J-Joyful Noise.  I’m an artificer, not an inquisitor.  I joined the Mystics because I wanted to learn, and to build things.  I didn’t join for all this death.  I’m tired of it.  Please.  Let me…”

She took a step forward, and the Empress’ horn blazed.

“IF YOU ARE EARNEST, THEN AT THE VERY LEAST YOU CAN REMOVE THE STOLEN SYMBOLS YOU WEAR.  TWILIGHT SPARKLE WOULD NEVER HAVE AUTHORIZED THE HORRORS YOUR KIND UNLEASHED.”

“Y-you want us to… to take off our armor?” the mare asked.

“IF YOU WISH ME TO ACCEPT YOUR SURRENDER, YES.”

“Prin-Empress,” Rarity began.  There was something pathetic about the mare, about the fear in her eyes, that drug out the glimmer of sympathy in Rarity’s heart.  She didn’t want to pity these ponies.  But seeing how scared Joyful Noise was brought out the pity anyways.  “You’re not going to force them to strip in the middle of this winter, are you?”

“I AM.  I DO NOT TRUST THESE WEASELS FOR A MOMENT.”

“But one of them is…” Rarity eyed the bundled one, who was shivering.

“I DO NOT CARE, RARITY.  THOSE ARE MY TERMS.”

“O-okay,” Joyful Noise said, and slowly began to remove her armor, leaving the gambeson underneath.

The other two did as well, piling the plates behind them.  Rarity watched as the Knights reluctantly stripped.

“What’s their angle?” Bubblegum hissed.  “I don’t get it.  She’s surrendering because she wants to give up?  It makes no sense!  And who are the others?”

“YOUR COMPANIONS HAVE NOT GIVEN THEIR NAMES.”

“I am Lady Spark Shot,” the pegasus mare said.  “I… I saw what you did.  In the palace.”  She shuddered.  “We don’t stand a chance.  Please, Princess.  Be merciful.”

“I WILL SHOW MERCY TO THE HUMBLE.  AND YOUR LAST?”

The voice that emerged from behind the scarf was reedy and weak, harsh with pain.

“I… I am called Death, abomination.”

It was a signal of some sort.  All three Mystics, partially out of their armor, burst into frenzied motion.  The sickly one whipped off his scarf, flinging it through the air towards them.

Underneath, Rarity recognized the pony.  It was Brightblade.

She didn’t even have enough time to say anything.

The scarf glowed with silvery light, and Rarity caught a glimpse of something heavy and metallic hidden on the inside.  She didn’t have time to see what it was before it exploded.

It wasn’t a grenade, but a pulse of familiar greenish-silvery light.  Rarity didn’t even have time to turn off her magic before she felt the too-familiar stomach cramps, pain shooting from her horn to her gut.

Rarity’s shield fell, and all three Mystics were in motion.

It was like slow motion.  She wasn’t fast enough.

Joyful Noise pulled something out of the bottom of the flag.  A blade, a stiletto, thin and glinting, slid out of the base.

Spark Shot leapt forward, letting Brightblade fall limply into the snow.  Her wings spread wide, she howled.  “Die, die, die, die!”  She was aimed right at Bubblegum.

The Empress took a step back, shock and rage writ on her features.  Her horn lit up, and Rarity watched her expression twist with the pain of the wretched spell.

In desperation, Rarity tried the same again, and nearly crumpled.

Spark Shot was unarmed, flinging her whole body at Bubblegum.  Bubblegum set her spear, even as Spark’s gauntlet trailed silvery light.

There was a wet sound as Bubblegum’s spear pierced Spark’s chest, followed by an even worse noise as Spark’s momentum carried her forward, along the haft.  A spray of blood announced the spear’s exit from Spark’s back, through one of her wings.  It twitched, spasming in agony.

But Spark was undeterred.  With a grin made all the more sinister by the blood that spurted from her mouth, she finished her spell.

Rarity knew in that moment she would be too late to help.  She lunged forward anyways, passing the Empress, who was struggling to summon her fire again.

Snow and slush from the ground floated up, coalescing into a jagged crystalline blade around her hoof.  Bubblegum tried to jerk her spear out, to defend herself.  But it was too slow.  Spark slammed the summoned blade down on Bubblegum.

Rarity was unable to hold back her cry of dismay as the blade sliced through Bubblegum’s cheek, slipped past the edge of Bubblegum’s criniere, and plunged into Bubblegum’s neck.

Bubblegum’s eyes shot wide, and she choked, blood dripping down her own chin like a macabre mirror of her opponent.  Spark spat once, her smile triumphant, before her eyes glassed over and she fell into the red-splattered snow.  Bubblegum soon followed.

“No!” Tears filled Rarity’s eyes.  It had all taken seconds.  Less than a second.  Frantically she pulled Bubblegum off the fallen Mystic.

She was alive.  Her eyes were clenched, but she opened them wide to Rarity.

“I… I didn’t…” she choked, blood spraying out of her mouth.  And then her eyes went glassy as well.

Dead.

“YOU SHALL BURN FOR AN ETERNITY!” The Empress howled.  “FOR THIS TREACHERY I WILL DESTROY EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU MYSTICS!”

She didn’t cast her spells.  Her horn was sparking, and with every flash of baleful orange light the Empress’s face twisted with pain.  So instead she charged, lowering her wickedly pointed horn as she rushed for Joyful Noise.  Her hooves churned snow as she ran forward.

At the last moment, Brightblade threw himself off the ground, slamming into Joyful Noise and tossing her aside.  Flurry’s horn impaled him through the chest, his blood soaking his gambeson.

His blood.

It was orange.

“What…” Rarity said.  Her mind was just too full to comprehend what was happening.  As the blood oozed out of the wound, the Empress screamed in agony.  The unnatural blood seemed to shimmer and writhe where it touched the Empress’ horn.  It started to disappear, as if the horn were absorbing it.

“WHAT… WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!”  Flurry’s voice was shaking with pain.  “WHAT IS HAPPENING!?”

“We did it, abomination bitch,” Brightblade coughed, and spat in the Empress’ face.  The orange glob of bloody spittle landed just above her eye, and she howled anew in pain, stumbling back.  Brightblade fell to the ground.  “I have done my duty.  I…I have fulfilled my destiny.”

“You were brave to the end,” Joyful Noise said, her voice proud.  She moved up to him even as the Empress stepped backwards, screaming in pain.  She took her stiletto, running it along his wound to gather up the blood.

Suddenly Rarity recognized the orange ooze.  It looked alarmingly like the poison that had lined Turquoise’s blade, when Turquoise had stabbed Emberglow.

A poison made to destroy a goddess.

Rarity was moving before she realized it.  With numb hooves she jerked Bubblegum’s spear out of the fallen Knight.  Her hindhooves burned with exhaustion.  Her stomach blazed with agony.  Her head hurt.  Her vision was swimming.  But she could see the Knight.  She could see Joyful Noise clearly enough to charge.

Rarity’s hooves slid in the snow as she ran.  She nearly fell, and the spear wavered and danced in the air.

Joyful Noise was only a few feet from Flurry. Her stiletto dripped.

Rarity ran, pushing herself harder than she had ever pushed herself before.

Joyful’s hoof reared back for a strike.

Rarity reached Flurry, pushing past her.

Joyful’s blade flashed, slicing towards the distracted princess.

Rarity was no warrior.  But at the end of the day, it was like threading a needle.  Or lacing a boot.  A sharp, pointy thing piercing a target. 

But Joyful was a Knight.

Rarity’s spear was true on target, but Joyful was fast enough to knock it aside with one hoof.  The blade of the spear, still dripping Spark’s blood, slid outside of a lethal strike, instead gouging along Joyful’s cheek.  The blow knocked her glasses off, and Joyful screamed.

But Rarity was off balance, and she was no match for Joyful’s strength.  Her hoof struck Rarity’s jaw, enough for her to see stars.

She collapsed into the snow, struggling.  This was it.  This was her limit.

Maybe if…

Joyful stepped past her.

“Stay down, Rarity.  Steadfast needs you alive.  Don’t m-make me h-hurt you more.”

Strangely enough there was still fear in her voice.

“This will only take a moment.”

The Parhelion Empress struggled on the ground, one hoof clutching her sputtering horn.  Vile orange blood was still being absorbed, even as she tried to wipe it off.

Joyful lunged.  Rarity lunged after her.

The stiletto fell.

The Empress screamed, lashing out with a hoof, and Joyful went flying, to collapse into the snow in a lump.  Rarity rushed over.

The stiletto was embedded in Flurry Heart’s back.

“R-rarity…” she whimpered.  Flurry’s eyes were shifting, from the slitted eyes of the Empress back to her usual gentle cyan.  “Rarity please.  Rarity it hurts so much. Help me, please.”

Rarity didn’t know what to do.  Tears splashed down her cheeks, and she summoned her magic again.

The pain nearly sent her to her knees next to the princess.

“Don’t w-worry, darling.  Help is coming.  You’ll be just fine.”

“Rarity, I’m sorry.  It hurts.  Please.  I… I can’t… I can’t…”

Flurry’s eyes glowed with bright white light, and magic poured from her horn, from the tips of her wings, and from her hooves in an explosion of brightness.  Flurry’s whole body shook and spasmed.  Once.  Twice.

And then she was still in the snow.

The light left her eyes, and in their wake?

Death.  Just as Brightblade had said.

Princess Flurry Heart, the Parhelion Empress, was no more.

And then something struck the back of Rarity’s head.  There was pain, and then blackness.