“Come on, girls!” Twilight shouted over the gale-force winds. “We’ve only got one chance!” Wielding their Elements, the six raced down into the shattered wreckage that had been the town of Withersdale. They’d just arrived after having nearly been beaten down by the initial attack, but now it was time to end this. As they reached the town limits, several guards were stationed there, doing perimeter duty.
The sergeant approached. “Your grace, we’ve already cleared the town and our forces have the target pinned down. Captain Armor has the area locked down, but we don’t know how much longer he can do it.”
“Okay, we’re going in,” Twilight ordered. “Tighten up the perimeter – if reinforcement windigoes get here, have every unicorn strike at them. Keep them busy until we can take their boss down!” As the six raced down into the depression, the sergeant barked orders to get the troops into the new formation.
“Oh, my,” Fluttershy said, looking around at the destroyed houses; one of the ruined shells had an unopened Smarty Pants doll box. “The poor ponies that lived here! They lost everything!”
“We’ll give them something to smile about,” Pinkie promised, “once we get rid of Mr. Meanie McMeanypants!”
As they reached the center of the town, they saw Shining standing there, powering his barrier shield. “Hey, girls,” he said, his jaw firm as he put his all into the spell. “Dealt with his generals?”
“Oh yeah! Pasau, Fazuzu and Pazusa couldn’t stand up to these babies!” Rainbow said proudly as she pointed to her Element.
“What Rainbow means t’ say is that we managed t’ save Empire City, Manehattan an’ Los Pegasas,” Applejack pointed out. “Glad t’ see you an’ Silver were able t’ keep that varmint pinned down before he could get t’ Canterlot.”
“Right now Celestia, Luna and Cadance are hitting every windigo nest around the world,” Twilight told her brother, “but if we can banish their boss, that should keep them at bay for another five thousand years!”
A sudden thought came over Rarity. “Shining…where’s Silver?” Her voice sounded panicked.
“He’s in there,” Shining told her. “My shield wasn’t going to hold out against the King of Windigoes forever, so Silver went in to keep him busy while I cast it.”
“What?” Rarity said, shouting at her friend. “He just recovered from the duel two weeks ago and you sent him in? How could you?”
“Rarity, he’s a soldier and he’s here to do his duty,” Shining reminded her. “If you were here in this situation instead of him, I’d have sent you in. Lives are in the balance – the whole world’s at stake!”
“Fine,” Rarity said angrily. “But if he gets hurt, Shining, I’m holding you accountable.” The white unicorn started to walk towards the barrier.
“Geez, what got into her all of a sudden?” Rainbow said.
“Shiny, please tell me that was the only option,” Twilight asked her brother. Upon their return, Celestia had told them everything, including Silver’s near-death at the clutches of the villainous donkey Roadspierre. During his two weeks of convalescence, Rarity had refused to leave his side, and if anything, the sudden reappearance of the windigoes had been what brought her back to some semblance of normalcy – but only because they needed her to be.
“He volunteered to do it,” Shining told his sister. “I was against it as well, but Silver refused to be coddled. Said that he couldn’t protect his friends and family and love if he was perpetually sheltered.”
“I see,” the vicemagus said. “Well, let us get into position and then drop the shield.”
“Be careful, little sis,” he told her, worried. “He’s huge – bigger than an ursa major, even.”
“The bigger they are….” was Twilight’s answer as she and the other Knights went to join Rarity.
“Okay, let’s get into formation!” Twilight ordered, as the six ponies got into position. She turned around and called back to her brother, “Lower the shield!”
The opaque magenta shield fell…and six ponies gasped, but for very different reasons. The first five gasped as the finally gazed upon the five-story tall force of nature that was Pazuzu, King of the Windigoes, still gaining power after waking up from his millennia-long slumber. The creature balefully stared at the virtual insects at his hooves, knowing they were here to challenge him.
But Rarity stared at something different. Her eyes grew wide in horror as she saw Silver, frozen solid in a block of ice, holding Sun’s Blessing as he clearly attempted to fight against the wind demon. Based on the numerous slashes on his legs, Silver had given as good as he’d gotten before Pazuzu got serious.
“SILVER! NO!” Rarity screamed in a panic, immediately racing towards her coltfriend, only to be caught up in Twilight’s magic. “Twilight! Let me go! Silver’s in trouble!”
“Rarity, we’re all going to be in trouble if we don’t deal with Pazusu!” Twilight shouted back.
“Fine!” she grumbled as the six stared down the titanic windigo, their Elements starting to glow.
A blanket around him, Silver continued to shiver from the residual cold still in his body after being frozen in a block of ice. “Y-you kn-now,” he said, his teeth chattering, “I alw-ways th-thought that I w-w-was c-cool, but I did-ddn’t think it’d be like th-that.”
“Oh, hush,” Rarity said, an irritated look on her face. “I’m very cross with you right now, I’ll have you know.” Her horn flickered, and before her a cup of hot chocolate appeared, which she immediately hoofed over to him. “You’re lucky I’m too much of a lady to pour it over your thick skull.”
He took a sip, grateful at the chocolatey warmth sliding down his throat. “Rarity,” he sighed, “I’m a soldier. It’s my duty to protect Equestria, her majesty and the Royal Family, and our citizenry. It’s what I do.”
“What, get yourself killed on a regular basis? I just watched you get turned into an ice cube!” she said. “And the time before that, I nearly watched you get cut into ribbons and then poisoned by that brute!”
“I had to step in or else Pazuzu would’ve smashed Shines’ shield in an instant!” Silver replied. “And I had to step in to face Roadspierre or else he would’ve hurt you! I can deal with being torn to bits, love,” he told her, “but I can’t deal with losing you.”
“As if it’s any easier watching you die in my hooves!” she moaned. “Do you realize how much my heart broke that day, Silver?”
“Do you realize how much my heart raged seeing that bastard eye you like you were some mare of the night?” he retorted back testily.
“Hey, hey, cool it, you two,” Twilight said, approaching them. “We still may have leftover windigoes in the area and you know they feed off negative emotions.”
Silver and Rarity looked at one another, then back at Twilight, and then with a “hmph!” that seemed all-too-well choreographed, they turned their attentions away from one another.
“Rarity, do you mind coming with me for a second?” Twilight asked. “We’re setting up some emergency shelters for the townsfolk that just lost their homes and we need all the unicorns we can get working on it.”
“Of course, dear,” she sighed. “I’ll be right there.” Not acknowledging her better half as she walked away, she hadn’t meant to snap at him like that, but she’d nearly lost him less than a month ago, and now here she was, at the tail end of yet another one of Equestria’s crises, and he’d risked his life again. What would happen the next time? Or the next time after that?
What if he never came home one day? Or worse, came home in a coffin?
“Twilight….” Rarity said, knowing she had to discuss this with someone. While Fluttershy would have been the ideal choice, she had offered to help the medics in taking care of the various wounded. Likewise, Applejack would’ve been better as well, but she was assisting the rescue teams in searching the damaged buildings for anypony that still needed assistance. Rainbow had already departed for nearby Cirrusburg, in order to get needed supplies for the recovery effort; and Pinkie was helping to set up a soup kitchen to feed the survivors and guardsponies present. That left Twilight as the lone pony to talk to. Granted, she loved Twilight dearly, but Twilight was the only one of them not in a relationship and likely wouldn’t understand.
“Yes, Rarity?” the vicemagus asked.
The fashionista shook her head. “Nevermind….”
“You’re worried about Silver, aren’t you?” When Rarity looked at her sister royal, Twilight smiled. “I’m not that clueless about relationships. I did date Soarin’ a couple of times before that went south, and went on a another date with a stallion Life Bloom fixed me up with – didn’t work out well, though. And before you ask, no, I’m not attracted to mares; while I also went on a date with a marefriend of Lyra’s, that just confirmed my preferences, though it’s nice to know somepony thinks I have a nice flank.”
“My apologies – I didn’t think you’d understand, and I didn’t want to bother you with my troubles,” Rarity commented.
“Rarity….” Twilight stopped and looked at her fellow unicorn. “I’ll tell you the same thing I told Sweetie: we’re family now. To me, ‘sister royal’ isn’t just some official bond, oath or title, it’s an acknowledgement. We are sisters, period, and I am always here for you. Even if I don’t understand, you need somepony in your corner, and I will always be there.”
“Always?”
Twilight nodded. “For you, and whatever foals you have, and whatever foals they have, if I’m still alive. I will do everything I can for my family, because family means the world to me.” Twilight embraced Rarity, and said, “Now, please, tell me what’s wrong?”
Rarity nodded as the two continued walking towards their destination. “The events of the past few weeks have just gotten to me, I suppose. I was so afraid that I’d end up in Roadspierre’s clutches, and when Silver stepped up to rescue me, I knew he’d save me…but I didn’t count on him getting poisoned by that fiend.”
“You’re lucky Celestia was there,” Twilight said. “Iocane’s a fast-working poison, and only a hoofful of ponies know the medicinal counterspells.”
“Please don’t remind me,” Rarity said sadly. “But after two weeks spent in convalescence, here we are, just in time again for him to end up hurt once more. I can’t bear to see it anymore, Twilight. I’m all too used to us being in danger – I was even foalnapped by those misguided diamond dogs once – but it’s different when you’re watching somepony you love take the slings and arrows. When I held Silver’s head in my forelegs, wondering if each breath he was taking would be his last while Roadspierre threatened to do horrible, despicable things to me…I…I….” She was shamefully quiet for a second before admitting, “I would have let him do it to me if it meant saving Silver’s life – I would have gladly, willingly lifted my tail if it meant saving Silver!”
“Rarity, you shouldn’t blame yourself for that. Everything you told me about that jack said that he needed to be stopped before he did something we couldn’t counter. And Silver risked everything to save you. Didn’t you want to be saved?”
“Yes! I mean, no! I mean – aarrrgh!” Rarity grunted in frustration. “Yes, I wanted to be saved, but not at the cost of Silver’s life, or him getting injured, for that matter! What if he’d lost an eye, or a leg? I’d still love him even if he’d been turned into a hideously scarred beast – even though I’d probably discreetly inquire about industrial grade glamor-spells – but I don’t want to see him hurt!”
“I….” Twilight began, but stopped. She then said, “I’d tell you the same thing: I’m sure he’d rather have lost a leg or an eye than to see you be hurt as well, but I know that’s a cold comfort for you right now. What I’d recommend is that when we get back, talk to Cadance. She’s probably the best pony to talk to about this and she won’t steer you wrong.”
“I see,” was all Rarity said. Twilight’s eyes widened and Rarity amended it to, “I know you’re not just ignoring my needs, dear, I know you better than that. It’s just that’s what I figured that you were going to say…and frankly, had I talked to Fluttershy, Applejack or any of the others instead, I suspect they would have given the same advice.”
“Sorry I couldn’t have been more help,” Twilight apologized.
Rarity gave a faint smile as they arrived at their destination. “You already have been, more than you know,” the white unicorn said as she nuzzled her friend and sister royal. No, Twilight’s right. Not just ‘sister royal’. Not anymore. Just sister.
“Hey, Silver, how you feeling?” Shining asked.
“Inside or outside, Shines?” the earth pony asked. “Outside, well, I’m not a stallioncicle anymore, so that’s a huge plus. On the inside, though….”
“Yeah, I heard,” he said. “I wasn’t listening in, but unfortunately your conversation with her carried on the wind. Listen, Rarity’s just a little stressed right now, an—”
“No offense, Shines, but save it,” Silver said, sounding somewhat rejected. “I already had to deal with this the last time, and I’m really not in the mood to go through it all again.”
“Fine, but if you need somepony to talk to, you know where I am.”
“Yeah. Thanks. So what’s up? I take it you didn’t come here just to cheer me up.”
“You’re right, I didn’t,” he admitted. “Just got word there’s a nest of windigoes that cropped up near Whitehorse. The princesses are completely tied up with other nests, and yours is the only cohort we can spare.” Pointing to the airship that floated just in the distance, he said, “The Cybele’s Reverie is ready to take off immediately. I know your folks aren’t a standard unit, but the 249th Combined is already on site and I’ve sent orders for Coronet Tomato Ketchup to report to you.”
“Okay, I’m on it,” Silver nodded. “Let me get to my troops and we’ll get going.”
“Don’t you want to say goodbye to Rarity, Silver?” Shining asked. “You’re going to be gone for at least a couple of weeks.” Instead, Silver didn’t answer and just walked up the hill towards where his troops were. Shining sighed; he knew that was enough of an answer.
“Well, that’s that,” an exhausted Rarity said, spent from long hours of putting together relief supplies and tents. Finally, as another group of unicorns arrived to relieve her and Twilight, she set down her work, glad to be able to take a rest and get some sleep.
“Hi, Rarity! Hi, Twilight!” Pinkie came up, carrying huge bowls of stew, bread and mugs of cider for both, as well as herself, apparently. How she managed to do so while walking upright and balancing everything on her forelegs and her head was anypony’s guess. “Flutters and Applejack ate already and went to sleep early since they were tired,” she told them. “Dashie’s bringing in another round of supplies; she already ate, too. I thought I’d wait for you gals!”
“Thank you, Pinkie, dear,” Rarity said, gratefully taking the stew, bread and mug from her. “How are things faring on your end?”
“Oh, great!” she chirped. “I was cooking all day and it was kinda bad because I didn’t have time to bake anypony a cake or plan any ‘Yay We Beat the Windigo King’ parties, but I guess I can do that tomorrow. Fortunately, all the troops that left a few hours ago made that easier.”
“We had troops depart?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah! Silver and his ponies left on the airship several hours ago and….” Clarity suddenly set in as a look of shock popped onto Rarity’s face. “You didn’t know?”
Rarity immediately dropped her dinner as she leapt to her feet, racing towards the area where the 18th Specialized Operations Cohort was camped. When she saw nothing there but an empty field, she immediately skidded and turned towards the command tents where they were camped along with Shining. She barged into his tent while was poring over troop movements with his cadre.
“Shining!” she panted. “Silver – he’s gone!”
He looked at her sadly before turning to his troops. “Okay, you all have your orders. Send me your movement reports as soon as they’re ready and we’ll discuss things later. Dismissed.” He waited until the officers had departed before looking at her again. “Rarity, as much as I know you’re not used to it, your rank as a Knight does come with military duties and I’d appreciate it if you’d at least try to act with military decorum?”
“I don’t care about that!” she shouted. “Where’s Silver?”
“He left on the Cybele’s Reverie a few hours ago. Assaulting a major windigo nest that the princesses can’t get to right now, and he’s the only forces we could spare at the time.” When she looked at him helplessly, he knew what that meant. “Yeah, I know. Look, I’m not going to lie to you: he was very hurt and angry when he left.”
“When will he be back?”
“I don’t know,” Shining answered. “My guess is that it’ll be a couple of weeks to dig that nest out, but the truth is – the princesses are the ones directly assaulting the nests for a reason. Hell, my own wife is tackling one on her own and she’s the weakest of the trio. He’s going to have his hooves full.”
“Will he be safe?” Rarity asked, her fears coming to the fore. When Shining couldn’t answer that, she gasped. “But I…. I didn’t mean to…. Oh, Silver….” She looked at him with fear in her eyes. “Shining, what have I done?” She started crying, uncontrollably, not caring at all. And as Shining went up to her and embraced her, all she could do was to fear the worst.
“We’ve got them on the run, troops!” Spinnaker shouted as they continued their assault on the windigo nest that had unearthed just outside of their valley. “Don’t give them any quarter!” Picking up a pike, she speared another, watching as it shrieked its unearthly sound before disintegrating into nothing more than snow and wind.
A bottle of something noxious spilled onto the mesa and suddenly the area became a wall of flame, burning three more windigoes into nothingness. A voice at Spinnaker’s side called out, “Spin, you okay?”
The pegasus turned to face her friend. “Thanks to you, Cloister. How’s everyone else doing?”
The zebra looked at her. “My husband is circling around with a group of close-in combatants to make sure none of these monsters get away. Candlewick’s still making sure the infirm and youth are protect, and Revanche, well, as for her….” Cloister merely pointed a hoof upwards, and Spinnaker followed its direction. What she saw next, surprised her.
Moving with a speed and grace that didn’t seem possible for combat-trained pegasi, Revanche seemed to be able to call lightning at will then almost literally ride its length to savage windigoes as they moved into her striking pattern. With a deft touch, she then spun away from them, forcing others to follow in her path. As soon as she had enough, she then immediately flipped her direction, whipping her wings forward as she spun, creating a downburst. The wind pattern in question was fatal for any kind of pegasus – not to mention anything already on the ground in the path of the windstrike – and so the wind demons had no chance. Half of them disintegrated before they hit the ground, while the remainder did so upon painful impact.
Revanche waggled her wings as she rocketed past her friends, still on the hunt for further windigoes that could threaten her fellow Weather Undergrounders. She’d been with them for nearly a year now and her opinion of them had definitely changed in that time. While she still wasn’t completely sold on their goals, there was no denying that she felt a kinship with the small band of rebels, a camaraderie she hadn’t known with those she knew in the Guard. She knew without a doubt that the beings she worked with now had her back just as much as she had theirs, and it made it all the much easier to integrate their tactics into her repertoire and vice versa.
Likewise, while she found almost all of the propaganda they’d been spewing out was nothing more than a joke, even she had to admit a lot of it had a certain ring of truth to it. Everypony knew the princesses were keeping secrets; hell, Princess Luna’s whole existence had been nothing more than a carefully orchestrated secret until a few years back. Plus, the myriad other dangers: Discord. Chrysalis. Sombra. The Heralds of Tirek. And now Pazuzu. So many things that the average pony didn’t know about, all because the princesses had tried to do the right thing in keeping the secrets forever buried instead of letting them come out into the light of day, where they could be defended against. If for nothing else, the government needed a change.
But of one thing she was sure of: the corruptness at the core. Rarity had stolen her love from her and then turned all her friends and family against her. That harridelle had been the one that had forced her, even if unintentionally, to kill Goldie, and cause her to abandon everything she believed in. That in and of itself would be unforgivable, but then there was the insult upon insults: the report that the Underground’s spies had collected that showed that Rarity had nearly gotten Silver killed by threatening to marry a noble from Donkonia unless he fought to the death for her. He did as bid, and was almost killed for it.
To Revanche, that had almost been the final straw. She would have left that night had it not been for Candlewick – kind, dear, sweet Candlewick. He’d been the one to talk to her, calm her down, offer her better ideas and stratagems. And his logic was unassailable: if Rarity had been able to expose Silver to such a threat, it meant she didn’t have him completely under her hoof yet. That meant there was still a chance to save him.
She sighed; it was plainly obvious how Candle felt about her. And truthfully, he was charming, handsome, kind – the type of stallion that any mare would be honored to have as a significant other, herself included. But she’d made a promise so long ago, that she’d be the one to ever be with Silver, and for good or evil, she now had to see that vow through. If things had been different, she’d have taken Candle’s offer to be her special somepony. But it was more than just that now.
She needed to free Silver from Rarity.
She needed to free the world from that damned unicorn.
Banishing the thoughts from her mind, she continued to focus on her attacks against the windigoes. There would be time to make Rarity pay for her sins later. For now, there was the fact that she had to protect the Underground from this current attack, and then pick up the shattered pieces, bury and mourn the dead and make sure that nest would never be habitable again.
And then after that?
Time to finally plan that sweet, sweet revenge: That was time long in coming, time to settle accounts long overdue. And when that happened, Revanche would not only finally become her namesake, but she could absolve herself, earn her husband back and finally return to what she was in the beginning.
“Miss Rarity, you’ve been in bed for three days now. This isn’t healthy.” Diamond Tiara brought a bowl of soup and a lily salad sandwich to her mentor. “You promised me that we were going to go to the Summer Fashion show this evening – while I know we’re not presenting this year, I’d really hoped that we’d get to see some of the new fashions.”
“Diamond, I’m sorry, dear, but I’m really not up to it,” Rarity said.
“But isn’t this important for you?”
“Dear, there’s a lot of things that aren’t as important as they used to be,” the unicorn said, turning over in the bed. Waving a hoof in her direction while not looking her way, she said, “Just set it down on the table and go. I’m sorry, Diamond. I’ll make it up to you somehow.”
“All right,” Diamond said, dejectedly, setting the tray on the table and leaving the room. But before she did, she stopped at the door and said, “Miss Rarity?”
“Yes?”
“Whatever’s bothering you? Well…I know I’m just your apprentice…but you’ve helped me out a lot on more than just learning to be a seamstress. If you need somepony to talk to, I’m always here. I-I’m probably not as good as you are, but….” Diamond didn’t know what else to say, so instead she just departed the room, leaving Rarity to stew in her own juices.
Rarity lay there in the bed, alone, still smelling his scent on the sheets. They’d been back from Withersdale for three days now, and while most of the crisis was over, the Princesses were still jutting around the world taking care of various nests. Celestia had the Knights return to their daily duties “so that it might be a morale booster for the capital”, but in truth she was likely more worried about some of the nobility taking advantage of the princesses’ extended absence – though, surprisingly, both Blueblood and his bride Champagne Dreams had done much to put a stop to that.
None of that mattered at the moment, as Rarity’s heart was breaking. Shining didn’t tell her much about what was going on, but she’d had some of her own staff make discreet inquiries and found that Silver’s unit had moved on from the spot he was initially sent to shore up and had been through a few more places during this worldwide crisis; at the moment, he was somewhere in Inari, where Luna was assisting the kitsune in dealing with a newly-awakened windigo general atop Inari’s famed Mt. Sakuyahime.
She didn’t care about that, though. She only cared that she missed him horribly and that she worried about him every moment he was gone, every single time he got a report from another one of her guards that he’d been moved into a new combat zone. She dreaded seeing a report that said he’d been injured in battle, but thankfully that hadn’t happened.
But what hurt most of all? She hadn’t heard from him since. During previous times he’d been out in the field on a mission, he’d always taken the time to send her a letter or flamefax, one that she could turn around and correspond with him. And yet he hadn’t sent one. Admittedly, she hadn’t sent one either, but that was more due to the fact that she didn’t know where to send it or if who administered his flamefaxes while he was out in the field – she could hardly send a note only to find out that it ended up in the hoof of some illiterate panda bandit in distant Zhanguo. So she was stuck, and the distance continued to grow.
Please come back to me, Silver, she thought, as if hoping her mind would send an answer to him somehow. Please come back.
Meanwhile, downstairs, there was a knock on the door. “Mare, I hope she didn’t forget about tonight. We don’t get enough time to hang around as is, and tonight woulda been great!” a voice said.
“I know, I know, but I suppose this is what we get for springing a surprise on her,” a second voice said.
Suddenly the door opened and a filly poked her head out. “Can I help you?”
A white unicorn mare wearing eyeglasses fixed magenta eyes on the filly. She had her hair set back in a two-tone blue docktail and wore a simple naugahyde jacket. She looked familiar, Diamond thought, but she couldn’t place where. “Hey, ‘scuse me,” the unicorn said, with a grin. “Does Rarity live here?”
A voice behind the unicorn nickered. Diamond looked in that direction and found a beautiful earth pony mare with a gray coat and black mane; the mane style was in that casual-yet-stylish look that Diamond always wished she could get away with. She was wearing a t-shirt with a sweater over it and looked beautiful in it. “Are you sure this is the place?”
“Beats me – I haven’t been to her new pad yet, and I’m guessing you haven’t either, Tavi.”
“Um…this is Miss Rarity’s place,” Diamond said, looking at both.
“See, Tavi? Toldja!” the unicorn said boisterously. “Well, can you tell her that Vinyl and Tavi—”
“Octavia, Vinyl – you’re practically the only one who calls me ‘Tavi’!”
“Yeah, what she said. Anyway, is she here? We were figuring she was going to head to the Summer Fashion Fling, and we’re old friends of hers, so we figured we’d spring a surprise on her—”
“Because you’re absolutely incapable of planning anything, you know,” Octavia said as she rolled her eyes.
“Aw, c’mon, Tavi! It’s not my fault that Ly and Bonnie were out of town last weekend when we went to go visit.”
“Which I knew, if you’d bothered to ask!”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatevs. So, kid, can Rarity come play?” she said gleefully.
“Um…my mistress is feeling somewhat under the weather, so she’s not going to be able to go anywhere,” Diamond lied. But a second later, a thought came to mind. “Wait – you said you’re going to the Summer Fashion Fling?”
“Yeah. I really think it’s stuck up and snooty, but I like to scope out my rivals – I hear Tequila Sunrise is playing there this year, that talentless hack – and it’s good for connecting with those who need to be connected with, at least for Tavi’s job. And, hey! Free boozahol!”
“Is that all you ever think about?”
“No, I’m also thinking about the cute plot on that piano player in your orchestra. Guy can’t play the keys for crap, but he’s bu—”
“VINYL!” Vinyl merely responded by flashing Octavia a grin, and Octavia just looked at the ground, shaking her head. “Remind me why we’re friends?”
“Because you, me and Ly grew up together?”
“Anyway,” Octavia said as she turned to Diamond, “why were you asking?”
“Well, Miss Rarity and I were going to go, but then she got sick an—”
Octavia waved a hoof. “Say no more; you can come with us, young miss. I don’t think Rarity will mind, and if she does, I’ll talk to her…especially since I seem to be the only adult here.”
“Aww, come on, Tavi! Let the filly relax – it’s not often somepony gets to hang with DJ P0N-3!”
Diamond’s jaw fell. “You’re DJ P0N-3?”
“Yeah, but keep it on the downtempo, kiddo. I’m just going as myself, Vinyl Scratch, because even I want to enjoy myself sometimes. Plus, this way instead of me having to sign autographs, we can all go out for coffee after the show and find out what’s really bothering Rarity.”
“What do you mean?”
Octavia smiled. “For starters, Rarity would have to be dead to miss an event like this. And second, if she were really sick, she wouldn’t let you go either, both because you might spread germs and because she’d be worried about your health.” When Diamond opened her mouth to apologize, Octavia went up and patted Diamond on the withers. “We’ll talk about that later. For now, let’s just go have fun and make sure Vinyl doesn’t, okay?”
“But Tavi…!”
“Vinyl, if you hit on Ivory one more time, I am going to take your old Rickenbucker guitar and beat you over the head with it!” To Diamond’s surprise, Vinyl looked somewhat shocked and Octavia, who had previously been the soul of maturity, blew a raspberry at her friend.
“Sergeant, I figured you’d be asleep right now,” Silver said as he stood in the Kitsunegahara Forest, the largest in Inari and one of the largest in the world. The Inari samurai – soldiers like himself, but with very different armor – were scouting out the area, leaving the ponies behind in reserve. Silver didn’t mind that, as this was their nation and they were only here to assist; there was also the undeniable fact that as foxes, they could weave through the thick brush easier than ponies could. Plus, he’d been fighting practically non-stop for the past three or four days now, and frankly, he needed a break.
“Sorry, sir,” Wheatstalk said as he sat down next to Silver. The kid had earned his promotion and at the rate he was going, he would be a shoo-in for Master Sergeant in a few years, then Warrant Officer before making his way up the officer ranks. Silver was looking forward to seeing that happen; Wheatstalk was a talented stallion and was more than capable of solving any problem in front of him. “Just thinking of my gal.”
“Oh, you started dating?”
He nodded. “Met her in the flower shop just outside the garrison; she’s the owner. White Gardenia’s her name and…well, no offense to your gal, sir, but Gardenia…when she smiles? Makes me feel like I’m the greatest stallion in the world and I know that smile’s for nopony else but me.”
“Yeah, I know that feeling,” Silver said with exhaustion, trying to keep the fake smile up. He had to admit, it’d had been a few days now and he hadn’t written back to Rarity. Of course, when did he have the time? It was one battle after another, collapse from exhaustion, eat something barely this side of nutritious, then back into battle. This was a global-scale crisis, even if it was in the final phase and winding down, and there was no time to focus on minor things like love!
And yet you’ve always found time to write her before, he chided himself. No, what you’re afraid is that it’s the situation with Derpy, all over again. He reached into his barding and pulled out a small scroll, a letter he’d written to her letting her know that he was okay, and that she needn’t worry.
“Last call for mail!” a voice shouted out, as a junior soldier came around with a satchel of mail. “Sir,” he addressed Silver, saluting. “Got room for one more, if you’ve got a private message that’s gotta go out.”
“Well, actua—”
“Wait!” A mare rushed up, carrying a stack of letters. “These are for the intelligence bureau – they must get there immediately!”
“Roger that,” the mailcarrier said, taking them and sticking them in his pack. He then turned back to Silver. “Sorry, Ensign, but I’ve hit my weight limit – can’t safely carry another letter, sir.”
Silver slipped the letter back into his inner pocket. “No, that’s understandable, guardspony. Carry on.”
“I see,” Octavia said as she and Diamond had coffee at Pony Joe’s after the show. Vinyl, who had too much to drink, was asleep next to Octavia, drooling on her sweater.
“I know it’s none of my business, but Miss Rarity has been good to me, and if there’s anything I can do to help, I want to. But all I can say is that because Mister Silver’s not been around as of recent, and she’s not talking and acting depressed, they must’ve had a fight. But that doesn’t make sense, because everypony’s been running around dealing with the whole windigo crisis.”
“Well, she’s a Knight and he’s a guardspony; it’s entirely possible that they ran into each other somewhere and things just went bad. I know how that is. My first coltfriend and I broke up because I accused him of fooling around with one of my friends, but it turned out that I was wrong.”
“You were?”
Octavia nodded. “Turned out he slept with some other filly instead, but that’s not the point.” Octavia then elbowed Vinyl. “Attention, stupid, I need you awake for this.”
“Why yes, Ivory, I do that with a saddle o—oh, gee, thanks, Tavi; you ruined a good dream,” Vinyl muttered. When Octavia glared at her friend, Vinyl just returned a wider grin. “Didja at least get me some coffee?”
“No, that’s your problem. Anyway, looks like Rarity and her coltfriend are having a lover’s tiff, and it’s got young Miss Diamond here bothered. I wish I could think of something to do to help, but I’m really at a loss, considering that I’m currently happy with the coltfriend that you seem intent on sleeping with.”
“Oooh, but he’s got the cutest little dimple on his pl—” Vinyl squeaked. When Diamond just looked stunned and Octavia looked like she was going to commit metaphorical sororicide, the DJ took her friend’s coffee and downed it. “Aaah, much better. Seriously though, Diamond, while I tease Tavi a lot, we grew up together – she’s like my sister, and she knows I would never do that to her, so you can relax. Any fuses she’s going to blow are simply because she’s used to blowing them around me anyway.”
Diamond looked at the older mare curiously. “That’s…good?”
Vinyl nodded. “Of course it is – gets her saddle all unbunched. But anyway, I was paying a little more attention than Tavi here gives me credit for, and I think I have the blatantly obvious answer.”
“What’s that?” Octavia interjected, interested in her friend’s idea. It was probably idiotic, but trust Vinyl to come up with an idiotic idea that worked.
Vinyl rubbed Octavia on the crown of her head and said, “Don’t be stupid – who else?” Vinyl then said the name at the same time the lights turned on in Octavia’s brain as she suddenly said, “Cadance!”
Octavia grinned. “Vinyl! You’re a genius!”
“Are you actually complimenting me, or did you get replaced by a changeling when I wasn’t looking? And if it’s the latter, can I have your coltfriend?”
Octavia rolled her eyes. “Look, Diamond, it’s getting late and I’m sure you have school tomorrow. Just take care of Rarity and leave everything to me and Vinyl…okay, well, me, because Miss Immaturity here’s going to be in Manehattan for the next couple of days,” the earth pony said. “I’ll send a message to Cadance and see what she can do to help – she’s friends with Rarity as well, and if not, Cadance would do it for us and Twilight if we asked.”
“Sorry to hear about her grace’s extended illness,” Rarity’s assistant said to Diamond the following week. “Has she consulted a doctor?”
“She has, sir,” Diamond said, taking the stack of papers that they’d left for Rarity, It would join the already monumental stack of documents on the desk in Rarity’s personal office, untouched while the unicorn remained upstairs, in bed, still depressed. “But I will inform her of your concern.”
“Thank you, miss. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have other business to attend.” He saw himself out, and Diamond looked at the grandfather clock in the foyer. She had just enough time to grab her saddlebags and skedaddle off to school. “Miss Rarity, I’m headed off to school!”
Silence.
“Miss Rarity?”
The silence became deafening. Diamond feared the worst and galloped up the stairs, fearing for her mentor’s sanity. Things had deteriorated the past few days and while Rarity wasn’t on the verge of a CMFIS, she was clearly on the verge of her mind snapping in some manner. “Rarity!” Diamond shouted in a panic the moment she reached the top of the stairs.
Opening the door, she saw Rarity, almost catatonic, holding onto a long brown naugahyde duster that she’d made for his birthday. He’d forgotten it here, apparently, and she was holding it to her as tightly as she would if it were Silver himself, taking in its scent. The room smelled of chocolate and Diamond had to guess what was going on.
She blushed furiously – she was still a teen, but she’d already been told about the birds and the bees, but to.... No, just…no.
“Miss Rarity? It’s me, Diamond,” she said, carefully approaching the slightly-unhinged fashionista. Diamond wasn’t so much worried about herself as she was about Rarity’s health. “C’mon. Let’s go get you in the shower, then we’ll get some help.”
“There’s no help for me, for I am ever lost, adrift in a sea of passion unyielding to the darkeness of despair,” she said, staring off into the distance, and apparently quoting from some book of poetry. “I am ever lost, never to be found by my lover’s caress.”
“Please…this…this isn’t like you, Miss Rarity. You were always strong and brave, whenever I’ve seen you. I don’t know what’s wrong, but…this isn’t you.”
“I don’t know what I am anymore,” she said to no one in particular, burying her muzzle into the duster. “All I know is that I’ve lost hope.”
“Then trust in love,” a soft voice said as the room filled with a rosy, warm light. Diamond turned to the door to find an alicorn standing there.
“Sorry, I’d have been here sooner, but had a nest in Jaguapultapec to finish off,” Cadance said, looking a bit exhausted. “Pack some bags; we’re going to my place for a couple of days.”
Silver grunted as he finally reached his destination. He felt like five thousand miles of bad road, but that’s finally why Shining ordered his unit to return to Canterlot. The war, for lack of a better term, was winding down and Equestria could pull its military back and let other nations deal with the windigo issues in their own countries.
Besides, he had a different war to fight right now.
As he stood in front of Rarity’s home, he noticed no lights were on. Usually at this time of night, she’d be home, tutoring Diamond or giving her training in becoming a seamstress. Or she’d be sitting down, reading a book or any of a number of things that would cause her to be downstairs and the manse somewhat alive with…well, life. But this place looked cold and dark, as though nothing had really been home in the past few days.
He was tempted to use his keyspell to open the door, but he didn’t. He thought about knocking…but he didn’t do that either. He had to wonder if she was actually home.
Or, if she’s faking not being home so she doesn’t have to see me.
Turning tail, he sighed and headed towards his apartment, on the other end of town. He was too exhausted from the fighting to have to deal with yet more of it. He’d deal with it tomorrow.
Assuming there was a tomorrow.
“Oh, Cadance, I’ve been such a fool,” Rarity said as she wiped her tears from her eyes. “And I owe you all an apology for making you all worry about me. And Diamond, I hope you can forgive me for putting such a burden on you.” After all but throwing Rarity in the bath and having her hoofmaidens take care of the recalcitrant fashionista, Cadance sent off a note of excuse to Diamond’s school and the rest of the day they spent retrieving Octavia from her music practice, and Vinyl from a recording session.
“No, you’re not a fool,” Cadance said, leaning back in her chair. “You’re just having the same fears that Derpy had when she was with him – those same fears that I used to have about Shining being in the Guard. In my case, it turned out to be wholly incorrect, as I was the one put in more immediate danger by Chrysalis, not him. And you know Derpy – she’s not exactly a wallflower. But she left Silver because she was afraid of becoming a widow.
“You’re at that stage now, Rarity. Worse than she, because from what I know she was unconscious when she was caught in that explosion in Appaloosa, so she never saw Silver end up torn to shreds in front of her like you did. And unlike you, she has daughters to worry about, though I don’t doubt Sparkler and Dinky are any less worried about their father, and if you and Silver were to have foals the same would apply.
“I want you both to be happy, but I also want you to do what you feel is best,” the romance alicorn said. “And if you ask me, I think you’re strong enough to manage what Derpy couldn’t. Nothing against her – she’s a dear friend – but if she felt that confident, she wouldn’t have left him and you wouldn’t be in this position.”
“I see,” Rarity said. “Well…a wisemare once told me that no matter how old you get, you still have plenty of growing up to do. I suppose I’ve reached that point. I’ll talk to him as soon as I see him in person. I’ve been a foal and I want him to know that I love him – and that I’m not giving up on us, no matter what happens.”
“Good for you, Rares!” Vinyl said, downing a mug of cider. “When does he get back?”
“Tonight,” Cadance replied. “I asked Shining to have Silver’s unit relieved the other day; even if this issue didn’t come up, he’s been on the front lines too long and he’s probably exhausted.” The romance alicorn then closed her eyes, paused in thought and said, “Well, he’s not at your place. I left a small tracer spell there in case he went there looking for you.”
“Which means that he’s probably at his apartment, then,” Rarity said. “I feel ashamed to admit, he’s probably sleeping there for the first time in weeks…and sleeping there alone.”
“Well, I wish I could teleport you over there,” Cadance yawned, “but I have to run the Day and Night courts while my aunts are out of town and relieve Twilight and Applejack before they start wholesale imprisoning the nobility…which might not be a bad idea. But anyway, I’m heading to bed; feel free and stay as long as you need to – and if you need to stay overnight, let the duty hoofmaiden know and she’ll prepare some bedrooms.”
“Oh, heck no, mare!” Vinyl said. “We’ve got a mission of mercy to take care of! Saving the day for love! Isn’t that your job, Heartflank?” the unicorn cracked.
Cadance turned around and instead of chewing Vinyl out, went over and whispered something in the unicorn’s ear. The mischievous grin suddenly fell from Vinyl’s face. “You wouldn’t!”
“That’s what you get for annoying your old foalsitter,” Cadance said with a grin, before nuzzling Vinyl. “But you know I wouldn’t. I love you all too much…at least until you push your luck again, Vi.” Waiving a good night, the alicorn went upstairs to head to bed.
“So now what?” Rarity said, looking as her apprentice, droopy-eyed, had all but fallen asleep on the couch. She flagged the attention of the duty hoofmaiden and asked her to carry Diamond to the bedroom she’d be staying in while they were at Cadance’s.
“I don’t know about you two, but for me, it’s getting late,” Octavia said. “As much as I’d love to hear your stupid idea, Vinyl, it’s two in the morning.”
The grin on Vinyl’s face was wide. “I know – that’s why it’s perfect!”
The earth pony facehoofed. “That’s what I was afraid of.”
Silver twisted and turned uncomfortably in his bed. It was a weird experience: he’d had this apartment for years, it was his home, and yet he felt like a stranger here. The place felt empty and unfamiliar, more like a hotel room or a spare bedroom at a friend’s place than anything that he could actually call his own.
I hate to admit it, but I’ve gotten way too used to staying at Rarity’s place, he thought as his eyes opened up. Although it’s not the bed that’s the problem…it’s the lack of company. He turned and sighed again. He’d gotten into this same situation when he was with Derpy, staying at her place so long that her place had become home back then. And now here he was, back in that same situation once more.
Well, the unit has the week off, after all that crap, so I’ll head over there first thing in the morning and talk to her. What I wouldn’t do to see her face again right now, though.
And then that’s when the music started: A soft jazzy rhythm, not enough to wake the neighbors, but definitely enough to catch his attention. He tried to ignore it at first, but the volume just continued to increase, enough so that he wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight. Wondering if his neighbors were going to complain at first, he finally decided that wasn’t likely to happen, mainly because it sounded as if it were being directed only towards his window and that meant magic.
What, some freakin’ kid playing a game or something?
Getting out of bed, he went to the window to shout at whatever teenagers thought the juvenile prank was a good one. Instead, he got the strangest view of his life. Standing there, in the street facing his home, was Rarity, wearing the duster she’d made for him a couple of months ago. She was looking at his window with hope, her horn aglow as if she were casting a spell. But the weirdest part of all was the contraption she held over her head in her forehooves as she stood on her hindlegs, a silvery-metal box that seemed to be where the soft jazz was coming from. She just stood there as the music blared from what he assumed were speakers on the thing.
“Vinyl, what in Tartarus is that thing?” Octavia asked.
“I call it a boombox,” Vinyl said to her friend as they hid behind a nearby bush. “I commissioned my sound engineer to build it for me when I realized I needed a small sound system for when I need to travel light at some music gigs. Works great, too! But wondering why you’re not letting me play my patent-proving love wubs! That woulda rocked his world for sure!”
“Vinyl, we’re trying to get Rarity and her beau back together, not have him never speak to her together because he fears the portable earthquake she’s carrying.”
Silver, needless to say, rushed outdoors immediately. “Rarity, what’s going on?”
Seeing him, she turned off the boombox and set it down. “I want you to know something: I’m never giving up on you. I’m never giving up on us,” she told him. “I don’t care what Derpy said in the past or any of your previous relationships or whatever: this life is just you and me, and so long as you’ll have me I’ll always be your mare.”
He smiled softly. “Rarity…I o—” She immediately shut him up with a delicate placement of her hoof.
“Silver, I owe you an apology. I was thinking like a spoiled foal again. I realize that you’re a guard officer and you have duties, but I didn’t think about how it would affect the both of us – I only thought about how it would affect me. It was selfish of me to react as I did, especially when you keep doing it because you wish to keep me safe. For that alone, I owe you an apology, love, and hope you won’t think unwell of me.”
“Love, I could never think that way,” he told her. “You were worried about me. You cried when you thought I was on the verge of death, not because you thought Roadspierre had won, but because you were afraid of losing me. And then you did it again when it looked like Pazuzu had defeated me. How on earth could I ever think badly of a mare who wants nothing more than the best for me? If anything, I owe you an apology for storming off that day without telling you where I was going.”
“I guess we’re just a couple of foals then,” she laughed softly. “So, split the difference and call it a draw, love?” she asked. His answer was to kiss her gently. She joined in, willingly, hungrily. The two just stood there for several minutes, doing nothing but kissing one another and letting their love speak for itself.
As they broke the kiss, he said, “Come on in. We’ve got some making up to do, and lost time to make up for.”
“Yes, let’s,” she said, nuzzling him as they went into his apartment.
“See? Toldja it’d work!” Vinyl said with a grin as she went to go retrieve her boombox.
“Well, if it works that well,” Octavia cooed, taking the boombox out of the unicorn’s hooves, “Ivory only lives a half-mile away, so I’ll be borrowing this. Ta-ta!” she sang out, walking down the street with the box balanced on her back.
Vinyl looked at Silver’s apartment, where the lights had just gone out; then down the street, where Octavia had just disappeared into the distance. She sighed. “I really gotta get me a coltfriend,” she muttered, as she started the walk back to her own apartment.