//------------------------------//
// Mulberry 
// Story: A Song Of Silk And Steel 
// by SilverNotes 
//------------------------------//

The new mare looked uncomfortable with the salve on, and Zecora couldn't blame her. For somepony who'd already been caked in grime, it was just one more layer of gunk in her coat. Even the ponies who'd grown accustomed to putting it on each day would admit that it sometimes itched and that moving the wrong way could have it pulling individual strands against the grain. Zecora, sadly, could do little about that, as the stickiness was part of the point; she'd been working on the best way to weaponize it, so that if the worst came to pass they could hurl it at descending changelings and disable their shapechanging for however long it took for them to clean themselves off.

The little filly was awake now, and was taking being covered in the goop with a bit more grace, in the sense that she was more curious about Zecora herself than anything. While clearly in need of rest and food, she'd mustered enough energy to start asking all sorts of questions. She'd asked what kind of pony Zecora was--the gentle correction that she wasn't a pony had been taken in stride--about how her magic worked, about whether her stripes were natural or something she dyed into her fur, what part of the world zebras came from, why she spoke in rhyme, what her mark meant...

"If you will permit, I have a question of my own," Zecora said softly during a moment when Sweetie Belle seemed to have run out of queries, at least for the moment. "About the two ponies who have found themselves in my forest home."

Rarity tensed slightly, and it was hard to tell if it was at the words or the wet squelch of mud as her hoof took its latest step. "Of course. I daresy it's only fair, after the recent interrogation you've weathered."

Sweetie's ears flattened in embarrassment, and she murmured a small, "Sorry, Miss Zecora..."

"It is all right, young filly." Zecora gave a gentle nod. "To want to learn is never silly." She paused, choosing her words carefully for more than their potential rhyming scheme. "It is a case of voices, something I did catch." She glanced from the elder unicorn to younger. "I wondered how it is that sisters have accents that do not match."

Rarity stared at her. "Ah. Yes, I suppose I do sound... odd, compared to Sweetie." She seemed to be choosing her own words carefully as well. "I've travelled a great deal in my adult life, and I tend to absorb speech patterns, including accents. Recently, I was in Applewood, and you can imagine what that does to a linguistic sponge."

Zecora considered that, then nodded. "I am the opposite, in that I find my accent hard to lose," she admitted, "Yet we are the same in that, how we sound, we do not fully choose."

Rarity smiled, and Zecora basked in the feeling of common ground. At least until she glanced at Sweetie Belle again, and felt sombre feelings reasserting themselves. There was another question she could ask, and almost did, but she already felt she knew the answer, and to give it voice would just tear open a wound that she doubted had even fully closed yet.

After all, why else would two sisters be travelling, one of them so young, without their parents?

And so, with the proper respect and compassion paid to the grieving, she simply kept leading the newest members of their herd home.





"You're back!"

Zecora had barely pulled back the curtain of foliage to reveal the village behind before the call rang out, and Rarity saw everypony in sight stop in the middle of what they were doing and look over. She suddenly felt very scrutinized, like a butterfly under glass, as a few of the ponies crept closer to stare and whispered amongst themselves at the sight of her. Being under so many eyes when she felt so filthy made her want to launch herself into the nearby stream until she was presentable again, and she had to fight to squash the urge.

There were mostly earth ponies here, she noted distantly. There were a couple of pegasi, including the yellow and pink mare--she was wearing so much of this green, and Rarity felt like she pulled it off so much better--who had called out in the first place and was making her way over. She thought she spotted one other unicorn, as well, but she didn't get a good look, because that pony decided to scurry into their home and hide rather than approach the newcomers.

An understandable reaction, really. Ponies reacted to the new and unusual with fear at the best of times, and right now was a time far from the best.

"Is anypony hurt?" the pegasus asked as she closed the distance. "Or sick, or..." She was suddenly right beside Rarity with a brief flap of large wings. "Oh you poor little dear. When's the last time you ate?"

Sweetie Belle ducked her head, trying to hide behind Rarity's mane in a fit of classic filly shyness. "I um..." Her belly then took it upon itself to answer, letting out a growl announcing its emptiness to the world. "...A while." 

She then squeaked in surprise as the pegasus suddenly scooped her up in her forelegs, wings flapping as she hovered in an upright pose. "Oh, we simply must get you something to--"

NO

Rarity's horn lit in a fit of instinct, and the sudden magic light around Sweetie Belle made the pegasus give a frightened whinny and jerk backward. Sweetie herself may as well have been a ragdoll cat for how quickly she relaxed into the hold, and Rarity gently drew her back to where she'd been laying, taking time to arrange the young filly on her back with care before she looked over and saw the pegasus hiding behind Zecora.

Another understandable reaction, when the swarm's magic took the form of similar light, and she would have apologised, were she not so rattled by the momentary separation. "She would appreciate a good meal, I'm certain," Rarity said, trying to steady her voice, "But I would also appreciate a lack of marehandling of my little sister, if you please."

The pegasus mare had her already-wide eyes widen further. "Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't think, I just--"

"It's... it's okay," Sweetie spoke up, softly. "I really would like some food, i-if that's okay with you."

"Yes, it's water under the bridge," Rarity assured with a smile. "I'm just a little... protective, as you can no doubt understand."

"Oh yes, I understand entirely. I just... get carried away sometimes, when someone needs help." She stepped out from behind Zecora, pointing herself toward one of the larger buildings and starting to trot, her wings kept folded at her sides. "Let's get you both some dinner, and then we can find a place for you to sleep tonight."

Rarity sent one more glance toward Zecora, who nodded, and smiled again as she fell into step behind the pegasus. "That would be lovely. We've been sleeping on the ground, out in the open, and it's been just terrible..."

"Oh I can imagine. I don't know what everypony would do if Zecora hadn't helped us set up shelter here. Now just follow me this way..."





Despite the misstep earlier, the new ponies had been gracious. They'd introduced themselves as food had been gathered, and conversation was light. Fluttershy still wasn't very good with other ponies, but she'd been trying to be there for any new souls who found their way here. When the future was so uncertain, everypony needed to be there for each other more than ever.

Being a unicorn, Rarity didn't have wings to shelter a foal under, but Fluttershy could tell just from how the two laid next to each other that, if she did, Sweetie Belle would be tucked safely under a blanket of white feathers. When she'd finally been placed on the ground--Fluttershy still flinched at the sight of a lit horn, but she was trying to remind herself that unicorn magic wasn't changeling magic, and that the glow wasn't going to suddenly morph into flame--Sweetie's legs had wobbled, and she'd lowered herself cautiously to the ground in order to eat.

Both unicorns were laying on their bellies, legs tucked beneath them, and their approaches to the offered grasses, vegetables, and berries were very different. Sweetie practically inhaled it, and even when she came across food that her expression said clearly that she didn't like, the hunger demanded she gobble it down anyway. Rarity, meanwhile, was barely picking at hers, nibbling here and there with a politeness that nopony had seen in a while.

"Is there anything wrong with the food, Rarity?" she asked gently, and the slow eating further slowed to a stop.

Rarity glanced at the food, then back at Fluttershy, and offered a small, apologetic smile. "Not at all, darling," she responded, "I just... It's so easy to taste something and find yourself nostalgic for a favourite treat..." She sighed. "And then the reminder that you may never taste it again..." At the words, Sweetie Belle moved that bit closer, leaning against Rarity, who gave a sad smile. "And here I go, being melancholic when we've finally found a safe haven. I'm sorry."

There seemed to be more to it than that. The bittersweetness to Rarity's expression and voice also seemed weighed down by guilt. 

"Would you like to talk about it?" Fluttershy smiled gently. "I'm told that I make a very good listener."

"Thank you, but..." Rarity leaned her head down, gathered up a few sweet berries, and chewed, not speaking again until she'd swallowed. "I'm doing my best not to dwell on the past. It does nopony any good."

Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak again, but the comforting words on her tongue faded with the excited whoop that came from nearby. They'd been eating out of doors, to let everypony see the new arrivals, but nopony had tried to fully close the distance to speak to them yet. However, as she saw the familiar purple-pink mare headed their way with a gaggle of foals behind her, Fluttershy knew that that was going to change.

Rarity tensed as Cheerilee approached, and the way her eyes focused on the mare reminded Fluttershy a bit of a cat's. Tracking her movement, and preparing to spring to her hooves if she got too close. And just like she would with an uneasy animal, Fluttershy got to her hooves to intercept. Opening her wings to provide a bit more of a protective barrier, she stepped in between the once-schoolteacher and the new unicorns, offering a kind smile. "Cheerilee, it's good to see you. Did you need anything for the foals?"

"No no..." Cheerilee leaned to one side, looking past Fluttershy to look at Sweetie Belle. "I'd just heard that a new foal had arrived and thought I should introduce myself."

Rarity was getting to her own hooves, but before any of the adults could say anything more, a blur of orange and purple shot beneath one of Fluttershy's wings and practically pounced on the tiny unicorn, who squeaked as her horn let off a few startled green sparks. "Hi! Name's Scootaloo. What's yours?"

"I-I'm Sweetie Belle..."

"Nice t' meet you, Sweetie Belle," piped up another voice as less-blurred yellow and red ducked beneath Fluttershy's wing as well. "I'm Apple Bloom. You wanna play with us when you're done eatin'?"

"I..."

Sweetie Belle looked up at Rarity, who was silent for a few moments. She looked to the foals, to Cheerilee, then back to the foals, and finally, slowly said, "You may, just... don't push yourself too much, dear. This is your first big meal in a while, and you'll no doubt get tired soon."

Sweetie's smile turned to a broad grin. "I'll be careful! Promise." She then went back to wolfing down her food with even more gusto.

Rarity, meanwhile, took a few steps forward, the tension in her body seeming to have eased some. "And you would be?"

"I'm Cheerilee. I'm--" The friendly smile she'd been wearing faltered, and she looked down at some of the foals still gathered by her hooves. "I mean, I was one of Ponyville's teachers. My students and I evacuated during the attack, and since then I've been... something of an unofficial caretaker for the foals here."

Rarity looked pained, and without thinking about it, Fluttershy laid one of her wings along her back. She startled a bit at the contact, but then offered a sad smile to both mares. "It's lovely to meet you, Cheerilee. I'm Rarity... and I... I think it would be good for my sister to be around foals her own age again."

Cheerilee nodded in understanding, and Fluttershy felt a bit more tension leave Rarity. Whatever the two had been through, it had left its mark, but it looked like they would fit in here just fine once they remembered how to trust again.

Then a bird swooped down to land in Fluttershy's mane, twittering with urgency, and she had to turn away to let the other mares continue their conversation.

It looked like new ponies weren't going to be the only interesting thing today.





"I-It's okay, Rarity, he's my friend."

These ponies were insane.

The ponies of the village were entirely too calm right now, as they peered from all corners, watching as Fluttershy casually painted her friend in Zecora's concoction. Green stripes were zig-zagged through golden fur on a body many times the pegasus' size, the occasional blotch ending up in the red-brown mane by mistake. A few patterns were splashed across bat-like wings as well, but the long, stinger-tipped tail was left untouched, sedately curled at his hip as he allowed himself to be covered.

A manticore. Fluttershy had flinched away from Rarity when she was friends with a manticore.

Manticores were technically sapient. Technically. They had difficulty forming the right sounds to learn any language but their own, and it was a rare one who ventured out of the wild places to make such lessons necessary in the first place, because they were solitary creatures by nature. They didn't tend to spend time around anyone but immediate family, and so leaving the forest to live in a village, town, or city was out of the question for all but the most strange of outliers.

This one, apparently, when his name was translated into Equestrian, went by Manny Roar, and true to that tendency, wasn't part of the community proper. But he liked Fluttershy, so she'd been informed, and so he visited on occasion. And the ponies here were okay with that. Skittish by nature they may be, but Rarity supposed the old adage that one could come to consider anything normal with enough exposure held true.

Well, it wouldn't do to gawk like this. He was a guest of the village she'd just joined, and it was uncouth to stare.

"A... pleasure to meet you, Mr. Roar..." Rarity managed with a forced smile. "To what do we owe this visit?"

Manny made a sound that, were it scaled up in pitch and down in volume, could have been described as a meow, followed by several other sounds like it. Fluttershy's ears twitched as she listened, and she frowned. "He says that the last forest fire hit the deer village not far from here. There's a few injuries, and a lot of damage to their homes."

Speaking of creatures that rarely left wild spaces... Though, deer at least clustered into herds and tended to tame their surroundings somewhat, as much as they would take offense to it being described in such terms. "And they're looking for assistance?" Rarity guessed.

Fluttershy nodded. "They're aware that we're in here, but there hasn't been a lot of contact. I guess they knew Manny was a friend and asked him to pass along a call for help."

Deer asking for help from ponies. Rarity wondered if such a thing had ever happened before.

"Well then, it wouldn't do to keep them waiting any longer than necessary." She smiled, and gave a firm nod. "If you could point the way, Mr. Roar, so that we can go and extend a hoof post haste."

Fluttershy blinked. "You want to come?"

"But of course. You've welcomed in Sweetie and I so readily. It's only proper to pay it forward and lend what assistance I can to my new neighbours."

"That's very generous of you."

Rarity could hear the unspoken surprisingly in that sentence, and her smile simply brightened. "Generosity is something I aspire to, darling. If I don't, then in these trying times, who will?"

"If you are planning to meet with the deer," Zecora said as she strolled up, her saddlebags looking much heavier than they had before, "Then allow me to grant you the proper gear."

As Zecora started laying out objects of use, Rarity found it hard to focus, her gaze straying to Sweetie Belle. She was sitting near Cheerilee, and in conversation with three little fillies, the two who had introduced themselves before plus another earth pony with a curly red mane and thick glasses that looked like they'd seen better days.

This would be the first time they'd be apart since...

We found other ponies. She'll be safe now. Even if something does happen to me.

Rarity took a deep breath, and looked back to Zecora, trying to force herself to listen to the explanations she was being given, and as she did, she nudged the necklace around her neck. She'd talked a big game about generosity, but now it was time to walk the walk, and show everypony what she could do. She'd need to, if she was ever going to convince them to help her with her own plans.

She was on stage, the curtains were open, and she knew her role. Now it was show time.





The sun-emblazoned throne was bathed in the light of the crimson sky.

Queen Chrysalis laid stretched across what had once belonged to the precious Equestrian princess of the sun, and she looked out at what remained of Canterlot with a fanged smile. This throne room had seen better days, to put it mildly; scorch marks littered the floor, tapestries were torn, sculptures shattered, and several windows only had a few shards of broken stained glass left of whatever they had previously depicted. Such is what happened when a changeling queen and an alicorn did battle.

Her drones were out, leading ponies and other creatures from place to place and feeding whenever their whims suited them. She'd instructed them to keep families, friends, and other loved ones together when possible, to keep their love alive, though a few of the bolder escape attempts had mandated some separations. Such were the troubles with being emotivores. Love tinged with hope was delicious, but could also drive their food source to do inconvenient things. 

A careful balance had to be struck to make the most of Equestria's bounty during their occupation. The well would inevitably run dry no matter what they did, but each time, they would refine their methods to make each conquest last for just a little longer. And it helped that Equestria was so incredibly saturated with love, thanks to its benevolent princess. 

She would need to thank Celestia for creating such a prosperous land, when next she saw the alicorn face-to-face. Her anguished reaction would no doubt be delectable.

"Your Majesty?"

The familiar voice was a welcome one, and the gleeful cackles she'd been falling into smoothed into a fond smile as she saw the armoured mare standing in the doorway to the throne room. "General Vixen! Just who I was wanting to see today." She glanced at the few soldier drones on either side of the room, and gestured with a hole-filled foreleg. "You all go off and join the feast. The general and I have something important to discuss."

"Of course, my queen," the eldest of the drones said, before all of them opened their wings and eagerly buzzed from the room.

Vixen watched them go, then stepped fully into the room and closed to the heavy doors behind her. "It's like watching grubs descending on their first love source. Morale is higher than I've ever seen."

"Like our first victory, years ago." Chrysalis agreed, pulling off her crown briefly to roll it between her hooves. "The broken King Orion fleeing, the overflowing love of the star-pegasi grieving for their broken city-state... We were on top of the world."

Changelings usually weren't one for a lot of creature comforts--luxuries meant little when starvation was a constant gnawing threat--but this crown was different. She'd warped and blackened it with her own magic, making it the first trophy she'd taken of a successful harvest. The crown, and the title she'd donned afterward, had become a symbol that the changeling horde would survive, and triumph.

She shook her head a little, placing the crown back on it. She was getting sentimental in her immortality, it seemed. "But enough about that. As I said, I asked you here for something very important." She spread her wings, and buzzed her way to the centre of the room, where she landed with a grin. Then, with a flash of green flame, there were suddenly several bottles floating in the air.

Vixen reached out with her magic to take one, and a red liquid sloshed behind gold-tinted glass. The label was incredibly faded, but she could still make out some words in a language not spoken for centuries. "Wine?" she questioned.

Chrysalis grinned. "The sun princess's personal stash of wine, from her wine cellar." She bounced her on her hooves as her voice briefly turned sing-song. "The spell's pass-code was the name of her sis-ter." She giggled as she plucked her own bottle from the cluster, letting it twirl in the air. "Effective for keeping most creatures out, but I'm old enough to remember that morose little foal."

A smile bloomed across Vixen's face. "So that's what this 'urgent business' was about?" She laughed. "As if you needed a pretense to get me to drink wine and celebrate with you."

"Appearances are important," Chrysalis insisted, as another flash of flames brought them two ornate glasses. "I can't have them thinking I've went and gone soft, after all."

"Of course." Vixen's telekinesis deftly opened the bottle, and the crimson liquid flowed into her glass. "The rest of the ranks would start thinking they can get snarky with me." She raised her glass. "A toast, Your Majesty?"

Chrysalis snorted. "You know not to call me that in private, General." She raised her glass as well. "A toast! To the prosperity of changeling-kind, and the brilliant leadership that has brought us there!"

"To prosperity and brilliant leaders!" The glasses collided with an audible clink, and neither were bothered by the wine splashing over to strike the floor. After all, there were plenty more bottles, and when they depleted the cellar, more to find elsewhere. Plenty of the Canterlot nobles had had wine cellars of their own to raid, and the other cities would have their own supply.

No matter how much they took, be it love or wine, there would always be more.