It had been a week since Amber Dawn’s second coup attempt, and Equestria was all but fully recovered. Her magic had indeed included sterility, so nopony was reporting any unwanted pregnancies from the three days of mass rioting and orgies. The physical damage to Equestria’s cities was mostly undone: Unicorns, many of which were from the Royal Guard, had been busy casting mass repair spells. Nothing of significance had ultimately been lost, just a lot of food and a variety of economic activity. Equestria had gotten off lucky.
Twilight Sparkle had taken a half-week hiatus to deal with the effects of her captivity. This had involved being alone in the library during that time, with Spike on an enforced “vacation”, which he served out helping Rarity in her shop. Princess Celestia was rumored to have been seen entering the library at one point, but everypony would have had to take Scootaloo’s word on it.
After her brief vacation and a medical checkup, Twilight finally felt confident that she wasn’t suffering from any lasting damage aside from a bruised ego. As she told Rainbow Dash, “it was worse than the time I was caught in King Sombra’s illusions.”
Upon returning to work she had learned of Amber Dawn’s fate via correspondence with Princess Cadance. Amber had been assigned indefinite house arrest and psychiatric care, with Cadance heading the effort. There had been no reports of resistance to her treatments, but unfortunately it seemed that Amber had fallen into a deep depression.
Twilight could only imagine the myriad reasons why, and despite the terrible things Amber had done, she felt sorry for her. It may have been their similar history and personalities, or perhaps Twilight was feeling particularly compassionate, but the pity was there.
As with everything, Twilight came up with a plan: Amber Dawn probably felt as though she was bereft of accomplishment or value to society, so somepony had to make her feel valued.
Thus, a week after Amber’s defeat, Twilight returned to Canterlot castle, two familiar mares in tow. Using the directions in Cadance’s letters, she quickly located the patient’s quarters: A single bed guest room in the east wing under heavy guard.
“Princess Twilight!” a lieutenant greeted her stiffly at the door. “We have strict orders from Princess Celestia to admit only personnel with top level clearance, no exceptions.”
Twilight pulled out one of the letters and handed it over. “This allows me and my guests to visit the patient,” she responded, meeting his formality with equal measure. “With Princess Cadance’s personal permission.”
The guard looked over the letter intently for the longest time before nodding. “You are clear, Princess Twilight.”
“Thank you,” Twilight replied graciously, and turned to her guests. “Wait here for now. I’ll call for you shortly.” Taking in a long, deep breath, she slowly opened the doors.
The room revealed was probably the least ornate in the entire castle. The walls were a gentle green with blue highlights, and a simple flower arrangement on a table near the door lent a spot of cheer. At the other end of the room, wrapped in several blankets on a couch that was set against the window, was Amber Dawn.
She didn’t seem to notice her visitor at first as she gazed vacantly out at the sky. Just as Twilight was about to start fidgeting Amber slowly turned toward her, eyes widening slightly as she realized who it was.
“Twilight Sparkle,” she breathed, and looked away with a sad smile. “This is an interesting circumstance, that a former captive would visit her captor of her own free will.”
“I wanted to see how you were doing,” Twilight spoke, ignoring Amber’s depressing words. “Cadance said that you’ve been making progress.”
Amber shrugged. “That is true. The megalomania is gone, that’s a certainty. My mind isn’t always on civil rights, or justice, vengeance, betrayal, that sort of thing.” She chuckled mirthlessly. “I don’t have to masturbate constantly anymore, either. The doctors said it must have been related to the megalomania.”
Twilight nodded. “Well, that’s all very good to hear,” she said, “but I was also told that you are troubled, too.”
“More like empty,” Amber replied, resting her head on her hooves. “I feel empty. For the first time in nearly a thousand years, I have nothing to work for or aspire to. It wouldn’t be so bad if I had accomplished something meaningful in all that time.”
“Well, about that,” Twilight continued, “I can’t exactly recommend a course of action because that’s Cadance’s job. But I can prove that you have made a difference.”
Amber sighed and shook her head. “Please don’t take this as disrespect, but I find that difficult to believe, Twilight.”
“Believe what you will,” Twilight said with a smile as she opened the doors more widely. “Come on in girls!”
Amber watched as two more mares joined them. One was a gray Earth Pony with violet eyes, a pink bow-tie, and a well-kept black mane. The other was a white Unicorn with a spiky two-toned blue mane, magenta eyes barely visible behind her sunglasses, and a white coat. Both had cutie marks indicating some talent in music.
“Amber Dawn,” Twilight announced, stepping to the side, “I’d like you to meet Octavia Melody and Vinyl Scratch.”
Octavia bowed. “It is an honor to meet the leader of the civil rights movement herself!” she greeted enthusiastically, holding out her hoof which Amber Dawn took confusedly.
“Yeah, likewise!” Vinyl added, seizing Amber’s hoof and shaking it vigorously.
“Um, thank you,” Amber replied, then repeated, “‘The leader of the civil rights movement’?”
“Well, yes!” said Octavia. “I mean, you weren’t a notable topic in school textbooks, but neither is the entire movement. They would usually say something like, ‘The era following the Exile of Nightmare Moon saw a continuation of distasteful social trends, though ultimately Equestria would evolve past those trends such as institutional bigotry against same-sex couples two hundred years later.’ Wow, I guess I really remembered that one!” She giggled and blushed.
“But anyway, anypony with an affinity for their own gender that wants to know who to thank for their freedoms reads up on Amber Dawn, the mare who was so fervent about injustice that she opposed the country itself.”
Amber had to shake her head, taken aback. “So… you two are a couple?”
Both mares nodded. “I’m not a reader like Tavi here,” said Vinyl, earning a small glare from Octavia, “but she really pushed me to do some about you! Did you really kill a hundred ponies all by yourself?!”
“Vinyl!” Octavia snapped with a deploring look, then smiled apologetically at Amber. “Anyway, I happened to be visiting the Ponyville library and couldn’t help but overhear Twilight mention you were here in the castle, so I volunteered to visit you and she said yes!”
“I… I appreciate that,” Amber said quietly. “Octavia… Melody, was it? The family name sounds familiar.”
The cellist grimaced. “Yes, I imagine it would. The House of Melody has been a wealthy musician family for much of Equestria’s history. Our earliest predecessor was a minstrel in the retinue of Princess Platinum. We had quite the line of bigoted patriarchs - very enthusiastic ones, I might add. My father himself had some silly beliefs,” she added, putting a hoof around Vinyl, “but he outgrew them when I brought Vinyl here home a couple years ago.”
Vinyl chuckled. “That was weird,” she said. “You know, I’ve been in Canterlot for most of my life. I only moved to Ponyville recently, but that city has more fillyfoolers than anywhere I’ve ever been!”
“Ugh, Vinyl! What have I said about that word?!” Octavia complained.
“What? You can’t avoid this stuff, you gotta take it and claim it!”
Amber watched with a growing smile as the couple argued over rhetoric. “So… would you say Equestria is safe for same sex couples?” she asked hesitantly.
“Oh yes!” Octavia exclaimed. “Safer than anywhere in the world, really, though given how a lot of the other nations are that’s not hard. Still, the worst I’ve ever gotten was a weird look in Appleloosa and having to argue a bit with my father. Otherwise, I’ve always felt safe and sound in Equestria. Even Manehatten of all places. You know, there’s a statue of you at the board school I went to there!”
Amber blinked. “W-what?”
“Yes, I had no idea it was you until I did a bit of research, but it’s quite a sight! Solid bronze, a little bigger than you actually are, part of a very nice fountain. I read that Princess Celestia commissioned it a few years after signing the Royal Civil Rights and Marriage Act..." she fell silent as Amber began sobbing quietly. “Are... are you alright?”
Getting no response other than more sobs from the bundle of blankets, Octavia murmured, “Oh dear,” and turned to Twilight with a confused expression.
“Sorry about that,” Amber choked out, drying her cheeks with the corner of one of the blankets. She looked at Vinyl and Octavia warmly.
“Thank you so much for being here, it means all the world to me. You’ve given me...” She sighed. “I just... I need to be alone now. Twilight, would you please stay a moment before you leave?”
Twilight nodded and mouthed her thanks to the couple. Vinyl and Octavia bowed briefly to Amber and walked out, the doors magically closing behind them.
“Thank you for bringing them,” said Amber quietly.
“Of course,” Twilight replied. “Even after what you’ve done... and especially for what you did then, you deserved to know what came of it all.”
Amber nodded, then fell silent. After a long look out the window she looked guiltily up at Twilight. “When you were in captivity under my... ‘care’, you mentioned that that Celestia indulged you in your... fetish. I take it that you two are lovers.”
Twilight was nervous at the direction of the conversation, but slowly answered, “...yes.”
“Please, don’t take my question as jealousy,” Amber chuckled. “I love Tia and always will, but that ship sailed into jagged rocks a long time ago. No, I ask partly out of curiosity. I’m not surprised, of course; you and I are actually quite alike.”
“I suppose we are,” Twilight answered carefully, though her lips twitched up slightly. “You said ‘partly’. What was the other reason you asked?”
Amber breathed in heavily. “I... would like you to promise me something,” she whispered, “and I hope that in spite of everything that has happened, you will make that promise.”
She looked up at Twilight as she fought back her tears. “Please... promise me that you will take care of Celestia for me? Watch out for her, comfort her, give her the strength. She... she needs it, and...” She waited, her lip trembling.
Twilight held up a hoof. “You have my word, so long as our love shall live,” she vowed.
Amber sighed in relief, dabbing once more at the corners of her eyes. “Good. Thank you for visiting me Twilight. It was... a lot more than I deserved.”
“Don’t mention it,” Twilight replied. She hesitated for a moment, but seeing Amber’s gaze return to the window she sensed that it truly was time to leave. As she stepped through the entrance and shut the doors behind her, she heard a single loud sob.
---
“...and seeing that I would have just kept teleporting all over the world, I flooded the Box with energy, causing it to shatter!” Discord exclaimed triumphantly, finishing his tale of his whereabouts since the battle with Amber Dawn.
“Fascinating,” said Fluttershy. “Discord... who was Palderias? I mean, it was his or her box.”
“Ah, Palderias!” Discord laughed. “Well, he was like me... one of those who were around when the world first began. Palderias was an interesting fellow, obsessive inventor type. Looked like a cross between a bat and a praying mantis... anyway, he made a lot of things like the Box. Some were fascinating, some were wonderful, and some actually made me a little nervous. Unpleasant fellow,” he scowled. “No manners. We didn’t get along... I once found myself in the odd position of defending Equestria from him!”
“Oh my. What happened to him?”
The draconequus smiled darkly as he stroked his beard. “Last I checked, he was still in Tartarus. The Princesses put quite a few of my kind there, and by their logic Palderias qualified more than most for that wretched place.”
Fluttershy swallowed hard and looked down at the ground. “Alicorns can be really scary.”
“You think?” Discord chuckled sardonically. “Now, why are you meeting with Rarity again?”
“I have another apology letter to deliver her.”
“GAH!” he spat. “Honestly, the first five apologies were enough, Fluttershy. Isn’t this the tenth?”
“As long as Rarity expects an apology, she’ll get one,” Fluttershy answered firmly. “Please, Discord, this is important to me.”
Rolling his eyes, Discord let out an exaggerated sigh. “Fiiine. Just reconsider by the twentieth at least.” He saw that they had reached the Boutique. “Well, here’s your stop. Good luck, Fluttershy.” And with a snap of his fingers, he disappeared.
Fluttershy stood in front of the door to the Carousel Boutique, once more gathering her courage. The everyday noises of the town gradually returned to fill the nervous silence that tended to follow whenever Discord visited Ponyville.
She pondered the last nine times she had been there and sighed. “This isn’t getting any easier,” she whispered, “but it’s all I can do for now. At least she keeps agreeing to see me.”
Fluttershy raised a hoof to knock tentatively on the door. Before long it was opened by Rarity, who stared at Fluttershy for a while before inviting her inside. Cringing at the cool reception she entered, doing her best not to let too much of her fear show on her face.
“Bide a moment,” said Rarity primly, “I am making tea.” She bustled about the kitchen, moving calmly and easily in stark contrast to the tension holding Fluttershy rooted to the spot.
Rarity came into the room, tea tray held by her magic, and stopped in her tracks, letting out a sigh. “Fluttershy, do please relax. I’m not going to yell at you or make you leave. Though if you’ve brought another written apology,” she said with a small, crooked smile, “I may have to ask you to keep it.”
Her eyes widening at the declaration, Fluttershy whimpered quietly. “But... but I thought you...”
“I know,” interrupted Rarity, “but please, just come sit with me and have some tea.” She set the tray on a side table and gestured to a cushion next to it with a hoof. “Please?”
Fluttershy nodded and complied, settling herself into a taut bundle next to the table. She accepted the teacup Rarity offered her with almost inaudible thanks and sipped it gingerly.
“Now,” said Rarity after a sip of her own, “let’s get this cleared up, shall we?” She turned and waited for Fluttershy to raise her head so she could look into her eyes. “First off, I am not denying or refusing your apology. I’m just... tired.”
With an effort Fluttershy managed not to hide behind her mane. “Tired?” she asked in a squeak.
“Yes, tired. Of this little dance we’ve been trapped in, of you looking like a kicked puppy whenever I’m around, and most especially of my own apparent inability to just sit down and talk with you like an adult instead of sulking like a petulant filly!” Rarity huffed daintily, tossing her coiffure.
Fluttershy’s heart skipped a beat and she blinked owlishly. “Um... I’m sorry, but... what?”
Smiling gently, Rarity reached out a hoof to tap one of Fluttershy’s. “Darling, I’ll put it simply: it’s my turn to apologize to you.”
Fluttershy’s cheeks pinked; it was the first time Rarity had touched her intentionally since they had fought side by side against Amber Dawn. “I... I still don’t understand,” she murmured.
“Oh Fluttershy, I’ve been an absolute boor! I’ve ignored you, snubbed you, and generally treated you poorly. Now before you protest,” she held up a hoof and Fluttershy, who had indeed been about to speak, subsided. “I am still upset about the choices you made when Amber was manipulating you, though I have - finally - gotten over my reaction sufficiently to really start thinking about... what went on between you and I, and what it really means for me.”
Confused but buoyed by a sudden glimmer of hope, Fluttershy contented herself with nodding in silence, mildly punctuated with a sip of her tea.
“Before I get into that, though, I have one question for you. I know I’ve shouted it at you before, but now I would like merely to ask and to hear your response.” When Fluttershy nodded, Rarity took a breath, then said quietly, “Why did you choose to let Amber do what she did to me?”
Fluttershy started to speak, then closed her mouth quickly, her brow furrowing in thought and her wings quivering with tension. She raised her eyes to see Rarity waiting silently, with no hint of rancor about her, and that gift of patience freed her mind and tongue.
“I’ve known you for years, Rarity, and since the day I met you I’ve admired you. Not just because you’re beautiful,” Fluttershy allowed herself the tiniest of smiles when she saw a faint hint of pink on Rarity’s cheeks, “but because you are strong and smart and capable. You put on a mask of haughtiness, but... but I know that your heart is huge, that you feel deeply, and that you give freely of your time, your talent, and yourself.”
Fluttershy’s eyes were damp as she continued, not noticing the answering smile on Rarity’s face or the shine in her eyes. “I don’t know when I first fell in love with you, but once it settled in it felt like I always have. I... I tried to tell you many times, but I was too afraid, and you spent so much time talking about your dream of a handsome stallion that I never thought... I never thought you could find it in yourself to look at me that way for a moment, let alone actually love me back.”
Fighting not to look away from Rarity, Fluttershy spoke past the tears that dampened her cheeks. “So when Amber told me that she could help me, and you, by... by bringing out your attraction to mares and increasing your libido, and that it wouldn’t change you, just make it possible for you to see me that way, I... I couldn’t say no. Even though part of me knew that I should.”
Fluttershy dropped her gaze and pawed at the floor with one hoof. “I’m so sorry...”
Rarity stared at her, unblinking, for several long seconds that passed like hours for Fluttershy. She turned her head and stared off at nothing for a while longer, then took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Shaking her head, she stood up and walked over to Fluttershy, lifting a hoof to tuck a lock of pink mane behind one yellow ear.
“Listen, Fluttershy,” she said in a voice softer than Fluttershy had ever heard her use, “I’ve been thinking a lot about everything that happened, and what you’ve just told me has helped me put the last few pieces in place. I have something to confess to you,” she took a deep breath. “I... I am not as straight as everypony might believe.”
Fluttershy went still, her eyes wide. “R... really?”
Rarity nodded. “I’ve been turning a blind eye to... myself, really, when it comes down to it. Oh, sure, I lean toward stallions, and finding a prince for myself is a dream I’ve carried since I was a foal. A foolish dream, perhaps, for one with more aspirations than breeding, but it was mine.” She sighed wistfully, though there was a hint of pain in her voice.
“That dream changed a bit when I finally started meeting stallions of so-called ‘good breeding’,” Rarity said with a wry grin. “I suppose they can't all be uptight, snobbish, self-centered twits, but there does seem to be a certain pattern. And then came you.”
“Me?” Fluttershy eeped.
“Yes, you,” replied Rarity with a warm smile. “You courted me flush with desire and full of flattery, and while perhaps I was... randier,” she said with a little shiver, “than I would once have imagined myself given your gender, I was certainly flattered and, if I am honest, even pleased.”
Fluttershy’s wings started to spread of their own accord, and Rarity looked at her sharply. “Now don’t get the wrong idea. I still have not forgiven you. I dislike being used, and while perhaps I understand it better now, the choice you made was very hard on me.”
As Fluttershy shrank back down into her cushion Rarity relented. “But I am finally ready to tell you this: though it still frightens me somewhat, I can see what you intended, and I believe in what you say you feel for me. So... slowly, carefully, and with utmost caution, I am willing to give you another chance.”
“A... a chance?”
“To court me. To spend time with me. To... to date me.”
Fluttershy stood up, her eyes wide. “Um... yes, please! ...if you’re sure that’s alright with you.”
“Just one thing: no sex!” said Rarity firmly as she held up a hoof between them. She grinned as she added, “At least, not at first. I don’t know when I’ll be ready for that. Let’s just start with dinner and maybe a stroll.”
Fluttershy nodded, her smile wide and happy. She took a half step forward, then paused. “Um... may I hug you?”
“Oh my dear Fluttershy, of course!” They embraced, resting their chins on each other’s shoulders. Rarity sighed in glad relief, then said very quietly, “In fact, if you wish, I... well, I would even welcome just perhaps the tiniest kiss. If you can keep those wings under control,” she added with a little giggle.
Almost vibrating with glee, Fluttershy lifted her head to look into Rarity’s eyes. She leaned in slowly, hesitantly, and planted a soft, quick kiss on her lips. One wingtip flickered, which both ponies studiously ignored.
“Thank you, Rarity. I... I love you”
Rarity smiled warmly. “I know.”