The moment she woke up, Rarity knew something was wrong.
It wasn’t the fact that she was asleep over a sewing machine. That was a fairly common occurrence for one such as she and had ceased to concern her long ago.
It wasn’t the completed prototype of her armor design that she was currently drooling on. While it had been some time since she had last made an outfit in her sleep, this, too, was not particularly worrisome.
The piece was a curious hybrid of ideas. The core design concept had been durability without excessive weight. But how to achieve that without heavy metal plating? The answer had come to her in a flash, inspired by that poor mare’s plight in this very room: layered silver-silk. The material was light and flexible on its own, but multiple layers of it should prove highly efficient at deadening blows as well as, should it become necessary, stopping blades.
More importantly though, it looked absolutely smashing!
And while it was surprising that she had apparently completed such a complex piece overnight, that was nothing to be overly concerned about, in and of itself.
What did worry Rarity, however, was the fact that the sun was up.
Normally speaking, she would not be bothered by such a mundane observation, were it not for one simple fact: Her alarm should have gone off hours ago.
She looked around the room for the offending piece of clockwork, intent on finding it so as to determine what could have possibly gone wrong. The search proved fruitless, though; it seemed the reason it had failed to wake her was, quite simply, that it was gone.
The door opened very quietly, allowing a pink mane, followed by a yellow body, to sneak inside as quietly as a mouse. On any other occasion, Rarity would have swooned at how thoughtful her marefriend was being, but now she could only think of how she had overslept and how Fluttershy had apparently allowed her to oversleep, seemingly intent on not waking her even now. Rarity’s sleep-befuddled mind could not make heads or tails of this behavior, and for the moment was forced to file it away in a small portion of her mind marked ‘things to think about.’
“I’m—” Rarity yawned “—awake, darling. Do you know what time it is?”
Fluttershy whirled around, nearly dropping the box she was carrying—which apparently contained breakfast—as she did so. “Goodness, you startled me!”
“Sorry,” Rarity said, biting back another yawn. “I’m just a little concerned. I could have sworn I set the alarm to wake me, but I can’t seem to find it anywhere.”
Fluttershy nodded brusquely. “That’s okay. Now come and have some breakfast. You have a big day ahead of you today. Luna invited us along to the party so she can show you off.” Fluttershy blushed. “Um, I mean, show off that you designed the dress.”
“Oh?” Rarity responded, raising a brow. “She liked it, then? I was half asleep when she came by. She said... something about having an idea on how to push her sister toward taking action. She danced around the room a bit, and then I woke up here.”
“You were very tired... But I bought us some croissants and coffee—” Fluttershy held up a hoof to stave off the coming question. “Yes, I got it extra strong this time.”
“Well, good,” Rarity huffed. “I don’t know how Joe even dares call that hot murky water of his ‘coffee!’ It did nothing for me.” She sat down at the table, picking up a cup of coffee and taking a deep draught, and then sighed with satisfaction. “Croissants sound wonderful. Did you bring butter?”
“Of course.” Fluttershy reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a small bag, which contained little paper cups filled with butter, a butter knife, and a tiny jar filled with preserves. “After you eat, you should probably get some more rest.”
Rarity spread some butter on one of the croissants, then bit off half of it in one single, sinful bite. Squealing happily, she idly wondered what it was again that had concerned her so. She had an exquisite breakfast before her, a wonderfully soft bed to get back to, not to mention a marefriend to snuggle up with. Things could not be better! And the suggestion of getting some more well-deserved sleep sounded absolutely delightful.
Still there was that nagging feeling in the back of her mind. Something she was supposed to be worrying about... She had wanted to be up extra early for a reason, but at the moment, she couldn’t imagine what that reason might have been. It had been something she had been both dreading and looking forward to...
Fluttershy leaned over the table and gave her a little peck on the forehead. “Enjoy your breakfast. And afterwards, you should really go back to bed and sleep.” She paused, an adorably wicked smile growing on her face. “Or we could both go to bed and not sleep, if you’d like.”
“Just a moment,” Rarity said distractedly, putting the croissant down in favor of another sip of coffee. “I need to think.”
“What you need is more sleep,” Fluttershy insisted. “You don’t want to disappoint the princess, do you?”
“Disappoint—” There had been somepony she had desperately wanted to avoid disappointing, hadn’t there? Not Luna. Somepony else...
Who could it have—?
Finally, Rarity remembered. How could she ever have forgotten?
“I’m going to be late!”
Fluttershy shushed her, embracing her in a warm wing-hug. “You don’t have to go. It’s okay.”
“It’s not—”
“They’re not important. My mom or my dad. I love them, but—”
“No buts!” Rarity fended off the hug, enticing as it was. She kissed Fluttershy instead, flashing her a sad little smile. “I have to go. I’m likely going to be late, but I can still make it.”
Standing unsteadily, she shot one final, longing look back at her steaming coffee and her delightful, half-eaten breakfast. Her eyes swept across the room and finally fell on her prototype. On impulse, she levitated it over to herself, before quickly belting it onto her torso and donning the helmet. It felt a bit heavy on her, but certainly less so than the earth pony armor she had worn during her exam.
If she couldn’t have breakfast, fix her mane properly or redo her makeup, at least she could still look good in uniform.
“Chaser, you’ll be sparring with Sunbeam.”
Rarity arrived at the training yard. She was sweaty, disheveled, and very late. She caught Posey’s eye and was given a warning look before she even had a chance to speak up.
“Windy, you’re with Dust.”
All of the recruits from yesterday’s test were squaring off against each other, it seemed.
Rarity waved hesitantly at Dusty, who flashed her a little grin before following his opponent. The sounds of conflict came from all around: Hooves rang off against metal, spells flashed to strike their target or fizzle into the ground or walls.
“Beam, you’re going up against Boulder.”
Rarity waited patiently to be called, or at least acknowledged. While she did so, she did her best to smooth down the unruly mess that was her mane. She really needed to make an appointment with a mane specialist in the very near future. Perhaps this afternoon—
“You’re late, recruit.”
Rarity snapped out of her reverie, bringing her eyes level with Posey’s. She hadn’t even noticed that the pegasus had deigned to look at her at last. “Um, well, you see, there was a very important last minute order—”
“That armor is not regulation,” Posey said, ignoring Rarity’s excuses.
“Oh! No, no, I suppose it isn’t,” Rarity stammered. “I came up with the design last night. It’s quite a bit more maneuverable than the bulky affair I had to put on yesterday.” She looked away from the cold, hard eyes of Posey, down to her own hooves, which badly needed a hooficure. “I fully intended to arrive dressed in the proper armor, of course, but I’m afraid I overslept—”
“You’re sparring with Charmer.” Posey gestured to a familiar face. This was the selfsame unicorn she had helped during the test on the first day.
“Yes, sir!” Rarity said quickly, relieved that she was being let off the hook. She wasted no time and rushed over to her opponent.
Skidding to a stop in front of Charmer, she smiled apologetically. “Terribly sorry... Um, I’m afraid I missed any sort of explanation as to what we’re supposed to be do-o-o—” Rarity stifled the unexpected yawn with a hoof “—Oh! Goodness, how rude of me.”
Charmer responded quietly: “It’s very simple. We’re going to spar, you and I. Hoof-to-hoof is allowed, and magic can be used to levitate objects, distract, or block attacks. No direct magical blasts, though. Sound good?”
“Well, no, to be honest. It rather sounds like one of us might get hurt.” Rarity shifted into a basic karate stance: upright, with her right hind leg forward whilst her left hind-hoof faced left. “You’ll forgive me if I’d rather it not be me.”
“A sensible attitude,” Charmer said, mirroring her stance. “I’ll try to avoid causing you any real injury.”
Rarity shook her head, stifling another yawn. “Don’t go holding back now, darling.” She smiled. “I won’t be.”
She began with a quick rush to his body, aiming her left forehoof at his midsection. If his balance was off even slightly, this would topple him quickly, and then this would all be over. It was not so much an all-out attack as a feint, though; an attempt to gauge the skill of her opponent. It had been far too long since she had faced off against another pony—unless one counted changelings, that is, and Rarity personally did not.
The transparent left was duly blocked, of course. She had expected no less. Rolling with the deflected impact, Rarity twisted her body around to strike at the stallion’s helmet with a quick right. It was a glancing blow, doing no more than making his ears ring a little, but she allowed herself a small smile nonetheless.
Charmer danced back quickly, shaking his head. His horn lit up, and a cloud of smoke sprang up between them. “Not bad,” came his voice through the smoke.
Rarity’s eyes darted to and fro, and she swiveled her ears around, in an attempt to catch sight or sound direction from her opponent. A spear of light punched through the cloud, causing her to rear back in surprise. A small blackened spot marked the place she had just been standing.
I thought he said ‘no direct magical attacks!’
“Good reflexes. I wasn’t sure what to expect from you.”
“Well, I don't like to brag or anything, but let's just say the belt I managed to reach as a foal contrasted nicely with my coat and leave it at that.” That being said, I am a bit rusty, and you are clearly not.
“Heh.” The chuckle was coming from the left. Rarity pivoted on her left hind leg to face it. “I’d studied a few disciplines before I signed on. Thought I would breeze through the exam. The sarge made me fight her. Important lesson in humility there. Not that I would ever accuse you of an excess of pride.”
Rarity winced internally. But then she realized there was something about what he had said... “You’re not a recruit, then?”
She heard some quiet swearing on the other side of the smoke and turned to face the source of the sound. As a result, she saw the concussive blast aimed at her hooves way ahead of time and was easily able to dodge it. “I wasn’t supposed to say anything. The sarge likes to plant a few ringers in each new group. We report back on how each individual acts. I was here to see if any of these yahoos would help out a floundering member with something as basic as getting equipped. You were the only one who bothered.”
“Oh!” Rarity’s eyes searched for any signs of movement through the smoke. “Well, pleasure to be of assistance. I don’t suppose you can return the favor by holding still—” The smoke thinned for a brief moment, showing her a flash of armor. She charged at it, punching through the smoke, but ultimately ended up hitting little else in the process.
“Close! You’ve got good eyes.” The voice was coming from a spot just to the left of where she had been aiming.
“Well, thank you for that. Perhaps you could just let go of that little cloud so we can hit each other properly?” She scanned the swirling wall of dirt for any sign of Charmer’s location.
A low chuckle came from the right. “Thanks, but I’d rather avoid that if I can.”
Growing frustrated, Rarity gathered any loose pebbles she could find and started flinging them at random, aiming roughly at head height. Finally, one of them made a satisfying pling sound as it ricocheted off Charmer’s helmet. She quickly followed it with a second one, aimed slightly to the right, hoping to hit his horn.
“Ow!”
Bingo.
The smoke cloud dropped the moment Charmer lost his focus. Rarity immediately took advantage of this lapse in his concentration, dropping into a low sweeping kick aimed at his hindlegs.
The kick connected—or seemed to. It was rather like trying to kick a cloud, which was all well and good if you were Rainbow Dash, but rather less good if you were not.
While a confused Rarity struggled to maintain her balance, Charmer shook his head to rid himself of the ringing.
“Very... inventive!” he gasped out, glaring at her with just a hint of a smile. “You have some real potential!”
“Thank you,” Rarity said, still trying to puzzle out what had just happened.
“Charmer! Are you going to hit her or dance with her?” Posey called out from the observation stand.
The stallion grinned sheepishly. His horn lit up once more, and now the smoke enveloped both of them with a thick cloud.
“Not this again!” Rarity grunted in irritation.
She looked around the swirling cloud, listening intently for his position. Seeing a telltale flash of armor, she charged forward—only to be struck with a hoof coming from her left. She gasped for air for a brief second. It had been a glancing blow, but the unexpectedness of it had knocked the wind out of her.
I would have sworn he was right in front of me... How is he moving so quickly?
“Confused? That’s understandable.”
That was Charmer’s voice, coming from two directions at once now. The smoke cloud dropped once more and she could now see Charmer—and just to the left of him, another Charmer.
The twins flashed a simultaneous grin, rushing toward her from both directions at once.
Rarity dodged the one on the left, only to be struck with a jab from the one on the right. She whirled around to follow both as they rushed past her, eyes narrowing as she tried to puzzle out what was happening.
An illusion, possibly? That means the one on the right was real.
Setting her jaw, her mouth reduced to a grim line, she got down on all four hooves and charged directly at the real one. She braced herself for the impact of armor against horn.
But when she should have felt the impact, instead she passed through him as if he were made of smoke.
Oh, come on! That’s hardly fair!
“Sorry, but the sarge wants a show and I can’t disappoint her,” the two voices apologized.
Rarity whirled around, thoroughly irritated with all the smoke and mirrors. “Oh yes! I’m sure it’s been thrilling to watch smoke spin around. Why, next I suppose you’ll be pulling rabbits out of a hat!”
The twin Charmers advanced on her, saying nothing but smiling smugly.
Okay, so it wasn’t the one on the right. Let’s try the one on the left, then. But maybe I can throw them off with a little misdirection of my own...
She ignored the left for the moment, charging at the right instead. Twisting her body around, she swung a hoof at the illusion. Following her body’s momentum as it passed through harmlessly, she pivoted on her right hind leg, using her unspent energy to deliver a swift kick directly to the chestplate of the real Charmer.
It connected, and he was driven back in surprise.
“Wooohooo!” came a loud cry from the stand.
Rarity smiled triumphantly. She knew which was the real one now. “Finally! Now can we please just hit each other like civilized ponies?”
A hoof struck her head from the right. She turned to see the illusion frowning at her.
“As you wish.”
Rarity shifted her attention to the right, blocking a flurry of blows, her mind reeling as she tried to figure out how any of this was happening. She had hit him. She had felt it, yet this time, too, she had simply passed through him like smoke. There was just no way...
Just that instant she saw an opening, and she struck with all of her might. There was the brief flash of a spell being cast, and yet again she found herself stumbling as though she had (yet again) passed directly through the pony she had only just been been forced to defend against.
She dropped down to four hooves, skidding to a stop. “All right! Just what are you?”
“Just a pony with a talent—” Right Charmer replied.
“—and that’s the only hint you’ll be getting,” Left Charmer finished with a wink.
Posey watched with displeasure as the two unicorns sparred. Charmer was showing off again... She might have to put him in his place again, to remind him of what he was supposed to be doing. There was a time and a place for showboating, and this was not it.
Her daughter, meanwhile, was giving the stallion a look she had only rarely ever seen. Fluttershy was clearly angry. No, more than that... Seeing anger in her daughter’s eyes betrayed a rare instance of lost control—something that had failed to happen even when she had been fighting six colts at the same time, all of whom had been actively trying to hurt her.
Fluttershy did not get angry; to see her eyes smoldering like this had to mean that she was furious.
Seeing those eyes and recalling the words her daughter had spoken yesterday, Posey began to wonder if she would even have to worry about disciplining Charmer herself. Because by the looks of it, Shy-shy was genuinely planning to make good on her promise. Which might, all things considered, actually be pretty fun to watch, provided no permanent damage was done.
She turned her attention back to the fight, groaning inwardly as Rarity dove through the illusion once again. Granted, this was slightly more interesting than staring at a smoke cloud and vainly trying to determine what was happening inside, but it was still pretty painful to watch. Maybe she should have sent in Dusty instead... She had just thought pitting Rarity against Charmer would be a bit more interesting, but in the end he seemed to be doing more dodging than fighting.
“He’s a bully!”
Posey’s ears perked up. She glanced at her daughter, who was glaring death at Charmer.
“Something wrong, Shy?”
“He’s just... picking on her!” Fluttershy fumed. “L-like some kind of meany-pants!”
“They’re sparring. He’s supposed to hit her,” Posey replied judiciously.
“But he’s not doing that!” Fluttershy shot back indignantly, stomping her hoof in frustration. “He’s skipping around and taunting her and she can’t even hit him back for it!”
Posey’s eyebrows rose at that. She knew Shy’s history with bullies; it was why she had finally ended up taking the long-suffering little mare under her wing. But as much as Shy hated such ponies, she had never suggested wanting to get back at any of them... This ‘Rarity,’ it seemed, had awakened quite the protective streak in her daughter. She couldn’t help but wonder just how deep it went.
“You’re worried about her...” Posey pointed out, cocking her head quizzically. “Don’t you think she can handle a simple test?”
Fluttershy whirled around to face her, tears welling up in her eyes. “I do! I just… I just don’t want her to get hurt.”
Posey regarded her daughter for a long moment, eventually turning away to once again watch the antics below. “Shy... She’s never going to be safe, you know. Not entirely.”
“That... that doesn’t mean I have to like it when she takes risks she doesn’t have to.” Fluttershy’s eyes flicked over to her father, seated further down in the stands. “This is just stupid!”
Posey nodded slowly. “That feeling, right there. That worry deep down in the pit of your stomach. That’s how Silver feels. That’s why this is important to him, even if it seems unnecessary to you and I.”
“If he was so worried about me, why did I have to visit him all the time?” Fluttershy scoffed. “Why didn’t he ever come with you?”
Posey groaned as Charmer fired off a few potshots at Rarity’s hooves. She turned back to Fluttershy, choosing her words carefully. “You’d have to ask him. But personally, well... I think he wants to keep his little girl exactly as he remembers her. If he sees you have a life, and a home, it’s real. You coming to see him is not the same.”
“Then... then this really is pointless,” Fluttershy said, her shoulders slumping. “If that’s all he wants to see, then that’s all he’s ever going to see.”
There was another long and uncomfortable silence between the two.
Posey finally got up and walked over to her daughter’s side, sitting down next to her. She wrapped one wing around her, still looking steadily towards the fight.
Rarity braced herself, planting her hooves firmly and glaring at her attackers.
The Charmer Twins didn’t look like they were faring much better than she. While she had guessed wrong quite a number of times, with only two targets to choose between Rarity had managed to still get a few good hits in here and there. These had slowed her opponents down quite a bit. At first she had thought that seeing him wheezing or sporting a bruise here and there might aid her in successfully identifying the real one, but the images continued to be completely identical, right down to the ruffled mane and torn belting on his armor.
Still, she had managed to glean some information from their exchanges: The spell he was using was, without a doubt, unique; she was sure Twilight would be fascinated by it. It took him a mere second to cast and, as far as she could determine, allowed him to instantly swap locations with his mirror image. As a teleportation spell it was horribly limited, but in the current situation it was actually rather annoyingly effective. If she hadn’t managed to notice the flash of his horn just after she had hit him, she probably never would have figured it out.
The problem now was how to use this information. Charging at random only served to tire her out, and she had been running on a second wind as it was, possibly even her third. More than once, Rarity had actually considered throwing in the towel—but that would just convince Silver that he was right. She had no fear of his attempts to pair Fluttershy up with a more ‘suitable’ mate; she just wanted him to accept her and, more importantly, to stop the escalating estrangement between father and daughter once and for all.
And so she kept going, driven purely by the powerful forces of Love, Pride, and, of course, Sheer Stubbornness.
The two Charmers appeared to be getting ready for another volley of percussion blasts, of which only one would actually be real. Rarity was getting extremely tired of dodging these incessant barrages... It felt like it was time to try something else.
So, this time, she picked one of them at random and ran at him at full tilt. Either she had guessed right and he would miss her, or she had guessed wrong and was about to be hit in the face with a magic blast.
Her ear flicked as she heard the blast land well behind her. She quickly changed her target for the other, who was simply staring at her, completely dumbfounded by the fact that she had charged directly down his apparent line of fire. That look of surprise shortly changed to one of pain, as Rarity’s horn crashed into his chestplate with a sickening crunch. She saw (with no small amount of satisfaction) that she had made a deep indentation in the center of the armor, even piercing into the metal slightly in the center—not quite deep enough to punch through the heavy plating, but still, not too shabby. Another advantage of regular and meticulous horn-care!
A slightly surreal moment followed as the mirror image also ended up sailing through the air, before vanishing into a puff of smoke as both versions hit the ground with a thud.
Rarity stood her ground, breathing heavily. She was waiting for him to get up, or perhaps to make the smoke swirl again.
She was not, however, prepared for the quiet chuckling that greeted her ears.
“Relax. You scored the knockdown, that’s the end of this match.”
Rarity stared at him, not quite believing what she was hearing. “I… I won?”
“For the moment. She’ll pair off the winners once everypony else is done.” Charmer flashed her a pained grin. “Nice work. Rest up for now.”
Rarity slumped. She had won, but it had only been the first round. “I have to do that again?!”
“Well, yeah, didn’t you hear the Sar—” Charmer stopped, smacking himself in the forehead with a grimace. “Right, you missed assembly. Yeah, the winners go on to fight the winners. Same thing goes for the ones who lost.”
She nodded dumbly. That made sense, even if she didn’t really want to hear it right now.
The approaching sound of frantic flapping announced an incoming Fluttershy. Rarity braced herself for it.
“Rarity! Are you all right? I was so worried about you!” Fluttershy immediately rounded on Charmer. “And you! You should be ashamed of yourself!”
Charmer laughed weakly from the ground. “Very much, I assure you.” He picked himself up, wincing. “Rarity, it was a pleasure. We’d be lucky to have you.”
“Likewise, I’m sure,” Rarity replied tiredly. “Are you all right?”
“A few bruises. Possibly a cracked rib. I’ll be fine.” He examined his breastplate. “My armor, on the other hoof, will likely need some repairs. Teach me to stand in the path of a charging unicorn...”
Fluttershy looked back and forth between them in confusion. She had expected Rarity to be angry with the bully, but her marefriend just seemed exhausted. “Rarity, you should come sit down and rest. Unless you’d rather go to the infirmary? I’m sure mom would understand if you’re hurt...”
“I—” Rarity stopped to yawn, her body reporting in on its current condition: bruised, badly rested, and generally protesting at her treatment of it. Also, her horn hurt, albeit only slightly. “I should be fine, darling. I just need a moment to catch my breath.”
Fluttershy flashed an angry glance at Charmer, although it softened when she saw how he was limping away. “Um... Mr. Charmer, sir? Do you need to see somepony? I could take you both...”
He waved a hoof in negation. “I can make it myself, thank you.”
Rarity, meanwhile, was making her way to the nearest seat in the observation booth. After one final concerned look back at the retreating stallion, Fluttershy followed.
“Are you sure you don’t need to see a nurse?”
Posey sat down next to her husband, who was glaring down at the training grounds, watching Rarity’s opponent limp away.
“Enjoying the show?” Posey asked.
“Unicorns... Bunch of flashy magic when they could have just been hitting each other,” Silver grumbled. “Half the time I couldn’t even see what was going on!”
“Well, in case you missed it, Rarity won.” Posey allowed herself a small smile as she said that.
“She won because he wasn’t really a challenge! He spent most of the fight trying to avoid getting hit, and went down after just a single successful attack.”
“Still, this is what you wanted, right? For her to prove herself worthy of our little girl?”
Silver was silent for a while, glowering. “Proves nothing,” he scoffed eventually. “She’s a unicorn, he’s a unicorn. First time something dangerous looks at her funny, she’ll hide behind a rock or something.”
“He’s one of my best, Silver. I didn’t match her with a raw recruit.”
“Then your ‘best’ are incompetent morons!” He pointed at Rarity, scowling all the more to see his daughter fawning over her. “Just look at her! She’s such a scrawny little thing! I wouldn’t put it past her to have simply paid your ‘best’ off to take a fall after a little smoke and mirrors!”
Posey regarded her husband sadly. She hadn’t been aware, previously, that he had this much vitriol inside of him. Well, perhaps that wasn’t entirely true; she had seen this side of him before. Any time Shy was threatened by anything, he got angry. It had been far, far worse when she had been sick, because then he had had nothing to focus on and had simply gotten angry with himself instead.
“Well, she still has to make it through the second round,” she pointed out. “I can make sure it’s not a unicorn this time. Would you like that?”
“I’d like for her to go home and leave my baby alone!” Silver snapped back, tearing his eyes away from his precious daughter. “But if I can’t have that, I would like to see how she does against your very best. Even better, I’d like to see her fight you.”
“And if she wins again, will you accept her?” Posey pressed him, gazing at him with a silent intensity.
They locked eyes, a silent battle of wills raging between them. He held her gaze for far longer than he had ever managed before. But eventually, he did look away, grumbling under his breath.
“Fine. But the kid gloves come off. No more nonsense.”
Posey gave a firm nod. “She’ll face the best.”
Luna yawned mightily as she walked down the long hallway. She was on her way to find her sister, who had proven scarce during their usual ritual of lowering the moon and raising the sun together. Granted, the magics could be performed without ceremony, but Celestia was a creature of habit, and any abrupt change in her routine was usually a cause for concern.
She had expected her sister to be waiting in the dining hall as usual, but had found only the normal repast that would be laid out for the both of them every morning. Inquiries in the kitchen had told her only that Celestia had taken two dozen donuts from that morning’s delivery. (Another bad sign. Fond as she was of confectionaries, her sister normally avoided openly indulging in excess.)
Questioning the guards outside Celestia’s door had proved more fruitful, fortunately; her sister had left word that she would be reviewing that morning’s guard tests and did not wish to be disturbed.
Of course, such an order generally applied only to the castle staff, not to a fellow diarch. And even if it had been intended to apply to her, Luna would not have heeded it. Celestia had certainly been spending enough time disturbing her sister of late; at this point turnabout was not only fair play, but entirely warranted.
Luna was doing her best not to become overly upset. This was the third night in a row she had spent watching one of the ponies she cared about experiencing nightmares, and unlike with Twilight or Rainbow Dash, there was nothing she could do to help Celestia. Not in the dream realm, at least.
Celestia’s magical defenses were such that anything attempting entry would be met with immediate hostile action. However, her current nightmares resulted not from some external influence but purely from internal conflict. And while her mind was normally disciplined enough to control such things, her unresolved stress was proving enough to fracture even such a finely ordered mind.
So, being unable to enter her big sister’s dreams and aid her directly, all Luna could do was watch—watch, and worry. Until Celestia woke up, at least.
Luna had finally reached the observation balcony. Sounds of conflict and pain could be heard from below, and she delighted to hear it. There was something about a good battle that just made her heart sing. Oh, the thrill of it…
Darker times, Luna. You have other matters to attend to.
Matters like, say, a morose sibling, who had apparently gotten through both boxes of donuts in the short time she had spent watching her guards spar.
“Good morning, sister.”
Celestia turned her head slightly, a small smile on her lips. “Good evening, Lulu. How was your night?”
“Fretful, and rather long,” Luna said dryly, as she took a place by her sister’s side. “How was yours?”
Celestia nuzzled her sister affectionately. “Well enough. Have you come to pester me again?”
Luna shook her head, gazing over the matches going on below before glancing back at her sister. “I won’t press you further. You already know of my opinion. I’m simply here to look in on my dear sister, who, for some reason, did not see fit to raise the sun from her balcony this morning.”
Relief washed over her sister’s face. “Ah, forgive me, Lu. I was very tired.” She turned back to the yard below.
“Yes, I imagine you were,” Luna said, just under her breath.
Celestia’s ears perked up. She gave her sister a sidelong look. “What was that, Lulu?”
“I said—” Luna paused, looking down at the yard in disbelief. Her earlier gaze had revealed nothing of particular interest, but that purple mane spilling out from underneath that helm... “Is that Rarity?!”
“It is,” Celestia said with a curt nod. “And she is doing quite well, too.”
Luna stared down at the scene below her. “She told me what she was doing, but somehow I dismissed it. Remarkable.” She pointed at the incoming missile of pink and yellow. “And look! The victor is being showered with kisses, while the loser limps away. How nostalgic… Such scenes remind me of the jousts of old!”
The two of them sat in silence, watching the couple slowly made their way back to the stands. Luna noted, with some concern, that Rarity seemed to be looking especially bedraggled. Still, she had won the day. She could rest now.
The gown Rarity had made for her—the overnight creation which was no doubt part of the reason why the fashionista seemed so worn out—was particularly stunning. Luna was very much looking forward to showing it off at Fancypants’ party tonight—as well as, hopefully, Rarity and Fluttershy themselves. After all, such an exquisite gown needed the proper accessories!
But that was for this evening. Her business this morning concerned quite another couple she had taken an interest in.
“Sister, I have been thinking about something...”
Celestia turned her head slightly. “Hmmm?”
“It’s about your student...”
“Lu…” Celestia cautioned. There was a meaningful pause, and then: “I told you I decided—”
“—and I fully respect that decision!” Luna cut in hastily. “But it’s not entirely about Twilight, you see. It’s more about her marefriend.”
Celestia turned to face Luna fully, confused by this shift in tactics. “What about Pinkie, exactly?”
“Well...” Luna smiled mischievously. She was about to lay a trap and needed just the right bait. “You see, I felt a, shall we say, connection to her, during her visit. She is... warm, and pleasant to be around, and she makes me laugh. I have decided I am going to court her, and Twilight as well.”
There was a stunned silence, quickly followed by an angry glare. “Why would you tell me that?”
“Simple courtesy, my dear sister! It would be horribly awkward to find them both in my bedroom, or learn about it from a friendship report, would it not?” Luna responded frankly. “Perhaps I should ask Twilight to call them something else... a report on romance instead. Yes, that has a certain ring to it.”
“Luna, please,” Celestia began, her voice a mix between a desire to sound dangerous with an underlying plea for mercy. “Don’t do this to me.”
“Don’t do what, exactly?” Luna demanded. “I am not about to force myself on them. I’m simply going to present them with a proposition!” Luna gesticulated wildly as she thought about the party mare as a potential paramour, suddenly beginning to wonder how much of this was actually for Celestia's benefit. “Have you seen how Pinkie dances, Tia? Consider how much energy she must have! And I know Twilight Sparkle is prone to late night studying... They would be a rather perfect couple for me!”
Celestia opened her mouth, but closed it again after several moments of stunned silence. “They don’t need that sort of—”
“That is not for you to decide,” Luna interrupted, looking her sister dead in the eye. “As I’ve been telling you, time and again, so long as the couple is comfortable with it there is no harm in the asking. If either of them dislikes the idea, then I will not pursue it further. But if it turns out that they don’t mind... Oh Tia, you have no idea how joyous it is to share in the love of a couple! It is like basking in the sun!” Luna stopped, smiling sheepishly. “Well, I suppose you do know what that feels like. I’m afraid I lack a better metaphor.”
“But it is not yours to bask in!” Celestia responded angrily. “They are in love!”
“And?” Luna shot back. “Love is not some precious commodity, Tia. Like the light of the sun, it shines for all. And much like the moon, I shall shine the brighter for partaking in that light!” Luna gestured down to the couple embracing each other on the training grounds. “I have made similar overtures to Fluttershy and Rarity. Thus far they have been... mostly noncommittal. But I would delight to share in what they have. Do you not see how precious they are?”
“Of course I do!” Celestia cried out. “But I am not like you!” She was on the verge of tears now. “But I won’t stop you, if it will make them happy, then you... you have my blessing.”
Luna regarded her sister, who was even now weeping silently, her head hanging low and her eyes fixed on the ground beneath them. This was not the reaction she’d expected. Anger, certainly, but not depression. Perhaps it was time to try another tactic. “Tia...” She moved forward, embracing her sister. “Tia, you are right, you are not like me. You do not bask; you shine with a brilliant light all your own.”
“I—”
“You do. It is a gentle, healing light, which anypony could benefit from. You say you will cause a rift between them. I say you will help them heal.” Luna gently lifted her sister’s chin, looking her in the eyes.
“Help them heal?” Celestia asked, confused. “What do you mean?”
“Pinkie came here to get her Twilight back, Tia, but she has no idea why Twilight left to begin with!” Luna replied, bitterly. “Left to their own devices, how long do you think they will last before one of them breaks down again?”
“But...” Celestia protested, feeling her resolve beginning to weaken. “But Pinkie Pie, she—”
“Pinkie merely wants Twilight to be happy,” Luna finished for her sister. “If you can help her do that, you will be her favorite pony in the whole wide world.” Luna took a deep breath, a slight blush gracing her dark cheeks. “I... I was being serious, Tia. About wanting to be with them. I would love for that to become a reality, but as I said... I am not like you. You have ever been the peacemaker of us, sister, and that’s what they need. Just... just give it some more thought. And if not for yourself, at least give it a try for Twilight’s sake. Don’t hide the light within you, share it with the ponies you love.”
Luna kissed her sister on the cheek. “I’m going to bed. Should you decide to get some sleep, too, please try to have better dreams, won’t you?”
Celestia watched Luna leave, absentmindedly touching her cheek where her sister had kissed her.
Rarity slumped back in her chair, content to sit still while she was being fussed over.
The pony doing all the fussing was, of course, Fluttershy. She was currently lifting Rarity’s hooves for any signs of cracks or chips, whilst expressing general feelings of anxiety and frustration.
“—can’t believe you did that! You could have been seriously hurt! I wish you would have just gone back to bed—”
Rarity let it all wash over her, being far too tired to respond in any meaningful way. She was currently watching Dusty—
No, Corporal Dusty. Mustn't forget his promotion. Or perhaps I should say ‘Corporal Stardust’? I wouldn’t want to be impolite...
She was currently watching Corporal Stardust—
Wait, he distinctly mentioned he preferred ‘Dusty.’
She was currently watching Dusty wrestle with his pegasus opponent, and silently cheered him on, lacking the energy to do so at any kind of audible volume.
The rest of the ponies in her training group were, for the most part, making their way back to the stands under their own power. In one instance though, both combatants had to be carried off in stretchers. That particular little sparring session had presumably ended in a tie.
A few matches were still ongoing: One between two earth ponies, who were grappling with each other using what looked like traditional greco-rhonan wrestling moves; one between a pair of pegasi, who were currently engaged in a high-speed air-battle; and, of course, there was the aforementioned Dusty.
He seemed to be having a worse time of it than even she had had. His sparring partner had been literally flying circles around him, occasionally diving in for a few quick kicks or jabs. The pegasus mare—who was called Windy, if Rarity recalled correctly—seemed to be taking great pleasure in watching the earth pony chase her around fruitlessly. At first glance, Rarity thought the lithe green pegasus was mocking Dusty, but after watching him being playfully flicked across the nose with that light blue tail...
She’s flirting with him! Rarity thought to herself, surprised by this sudden insight. She wondered if Dusty would notice as well. His general demeanor spoke more of annoyance than anything else.
Hmmm. No, I don’t think so.
Either he hadn’t noticed, or he simply didn’t reciprocate the attraction; she hadn’t known him nearly long enough to make assumptions either way.
She watched the match with even more interest now, seeing sly little grins turning up on the mare’s face every so often. These were replaced with a full-on grin when he briefly managed to embrace her in a clumsy tackle, only for her to escape again a moment later. How easy it was to recognize in others, when she herself had apparently been missing all the obvious signs coming from her current marefriend for so long…
Granted, Fluttershy could be nigh-inscrutable at times; expressing her wants and needs was difficult for her at best, and more often than not even close to impossible. The poor dear tended to consider herself extremely rude whenever she did find the courage to do so.
“—can’t we just go home and forget about all of this?” Fluttershy carried on, her gentle voice drifting into Rarity’s conscious mind again. “I don’t like the idea of you being hurt just because you want to prove something! I just…” She noticed Rarity staring at her glassily. “Sorry. I worry. I’ll... be quiet now.”
Rarity turned away from the training grounds. Seeing Fluttershy shrink back on herself, she couldn’t help but feel horribly conflicted. This was exactly what had worried her: that her marefriend would be afraid to speak her mind. But at the same time, Fluttershy’s actual concerns were not something she could address at the moment.
“Darling, I am so sorry to be worrying you. I promise you, once this matter is finally finished we will attend to our other business here without fail.” She reached out to brush Fluttershy’s mane from her eyes. “I’ll be fine, my love.”
Fluttershy’s mouth was twisted in a rare display of irritation. “But it’s all pointless! My Dad will never see what he doesn’t want to see—”
Rarity held up a hoof, and Fluttershy stopped with a grimace. “I know he’s stubborn. I’m only doing this so that he will give us a chance. Can’t you see this is best for both of you? It’s not healthy to bottle it all up, like you’ve been doing!”
“‘Best’? For who?” Fluttershy asked, a look of frustration etched on her face. “For me, who has to worry herself sick about you? Or for my dad, who’s just going to resent you either way?!”
“Darling, please—”
“Shy, can I talk to you for a moment?”
They both turned to the source of the interruption to find Posey looking at them with a look of mild amusement.
“Sorry, but I don’t have the time to wait for your little lovers’ spat to wrap up.”
Rarity fought back the urge to tell Posey off, albeit barely. That would be a serious faux pas, and being so close to the end of this little test, that was truly unacceptable.
“Of course. I wouldn’t dream of keeping a mother from her daughter,” Rarity replied smoothly.
Fluttershy looked at her mother, but then her eyes flashed back to Rarity for a moment. She opened her mouth, but closed it again without saying a word. “I’ll be back,” she said finally.
Rarity nodded, blowing a kiss to Fluttershy as the latter turned to follow her mother.
She turned back just in time to see that Dusty had somehow managed to capture Windy in an inescapable-looking bearhug, only to be totally flummoxed when the pegasus twisted around and planted a big, wet kiss on his lips.
Then, of course, she toppled the big stallion over and pinned him, still smiling that devious smile.