//------------------------------//
// 84 - Chronicles: Rarity 
// Story: Re:Harmony 
// by starcross7 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 84 - Chronicles: Rarity
 
Long before the Duke Blueblood's attempted coup, the Crystal Empire lived in peaceful bliss.  All the crystalline buildings and our protective barrier sparkled beautifully, and the citizens could not be any happier. 
 
However, the Royal Family has been going through a lot of personal issues as of late.  Lord Umbra, who had replaced my father as king by marrying my mother, was not popular with the ponies.  They began to spread rumors of him being responsible for my father's untimely death and mother's illness.  Some say he poisoned them.  Others say he cast a curse.  I too wanted to believe these rumors, but my mother stood by him and defended his honor time and time again.  She even scolded me if I dared mention any ill intent towards him.  
 
I did my best to get along with him, at least in public appearances.  I hardly talked with him, and even made an effort to avoid my new stepfather within the castle.  His wavy black mane and dark coat made him look too much like his infamous ancestor, King Sombra, who had thrust the Empire into turmoil almost a thousand years ago.  He might be my uncle, but he certainly was not my father. 
 
On top of a stranger ruling the Empire, my mother became pregnant sometime before her marriage to Lord Umbra.  The mareservants tried and tried to make her regal as possible, but her public appearances dwindled.  My mother's illness worsened, and while the doctors and wizards' attempts to treat her went nowhere, I decided that the least I can do is make her happy by creating the prettiest garment in the Empire for her to don upon her magnificent recovery.  Hopefully, that would more than make up for the embarrassing scandal the viziers put her through before. 
 
I had gathered the best sewing machines and the finest fabric into my bedchambers and locked myself inside.  Day in and day out, I worked tirelessly on creating the perfect dress.  Mind you, this was literally my first attempt at dressmaking.  I could not count the times where a needle pricked my hoof or how many strands of my mane and tail I accidentally snipped off.  My room became an utter mess with roll of fabric shredded upon the floor along with a layer of glitter dust.  There were days and nights where I went without meals or baths in my effort to create that dress.  No maid or butler could disturb me, even if they should beat repeatedly on my door. 
 
Finally, the morning came when I put the finishing touches to the perfect dress I made from the finest lavender and magenta silk accented with diamonds and gold.  I was so excited that I did not bother to fold it neatly or wheel it on a dress form.  I ran straight to my mother's bedchambers carrying the dress between my teeth, not realizing that the faces of the servants I pass by were not of joy. 
 
I found my mother laying perfectly still in her bed with a snow-white cloth draped over her face.  The doctors and nurses had their head bowed with sadness, and Lord Umbra tended to a babe inside a jeweled rocking crib. 
 
"I am sorry," said Lord Umbra.  "I did all that I can."
 
"But… Why didn't anypony didn't tell me?" 
 
"We tried.  I personally sent maid North Star to summon you, but you sent her away.   I assumed you somehow learned about your mother's worsening condition.  I wanted to come in by force, but your mother thought it would be best you didn't see her pass.  Sweetie--" 
 
"No!  Don't you dare call me sweetie!  I am not your daughter, and you'll never be my father!  I always knew that you wanted to marry my mother, and you did.  Are you happy?  Are you happy that she died giving birth to that love child of yours?" 
 
"Princess, please!" 
 
"I refuse to be princess if you're going to be around!" 
 
I did not want to live a castle surrounded by strangers, especially from the likes of him.  I threw my mother's dress to the ground and ran away as fast as I could.  While the guards gave chase, I managed to give them slip by going through the castle's secret passages created since the foundation of the Empire.  Normally, I would have averted myself from the icky spider webs and dust found inside, but I would brave swarms of bugs and mountains of dirt if I could just get away. 
 
When I made it out, the city was in high alert.  Royal Guards were at every corner searching for a missing princess, and I could only assume that Lord Umbra wanted to imprison me and then use me as a figurehead.  So I kept running.  I ran until I snuck through the fertile farmlands and towards the very border of our Empire.  As expected, Lord Umbra and the court wizards secured the magic barrier so that nopony could escape.  Then to my great fortune, magic streamed from my wandering horn, and it became strong enough to cut a path through the impenetrable barrier. 
 
However, my horn had a mind of its own.  I was hesitant to pass through, but my magic lifted me off my hooves and out of the warm safety of the Empire.  From there, a fierce blizzard greeted me, and so much snow blew into my face that I could not see several feet in front of me.  I managed to regain control of my horn and body, but I knew not how far I traveled.  I could be a few feet or a hundred feet from the Empire's barrier, but surely I became lost.  
 
I took shelter behind a large rock, but even that was not enough to shield me from the violent blizzard.  As the snow slowly buried me alive, I began to curse myself for fleeing the Empire.  How could I be so selfish?  I rejected the generosity of my own ponies, and led myself to believe that my own uncle wanted to usurp the throne.  My folly led me here to shiver as I prepared for my frozen death. 
 
Then I heard a boom the likes of which I never heard before.  When I turned around the blizzard suddenly stopped, giving way to utter stillness.  The dark clouds parted to reveal the brilliant sun and the blue sky.  In that part was a stream of rainbow, followed by a colorful wave that split the large rock in half.  To my disappointment, I did not find a cache of gems and crystals inside, but behind the rock I beheld the beauty that lies outside our Empire's borders.  I always thought the outside world was rife with war and suffering, and yet here I experienced pure serenity.  This was the first time I saw the sky in its purest blue, and the split rock became the rare jewel in this endless white tapestry. 
 
I almost wanted to stay here and become devoid of all the complications of my royal life.  However, I saw past the transparent protective barrier of the Empire every pony of almost every age and every class frantically searching for me, including that of my loyal maidservant North Star who was a few years older than me.  I might not be able to hear their words, but their lips shouted "Rarity" every time their mouth opened.  Even my father, who carried my newborn sister on his back inside a woven basket, crawled on his stomach in his search.  Deep down, I wanted to think it was just a ruse to lure me in, but would any pony do what he did for a filly he bore no relation to? 
 
I took a deep breath, and quickly combed my mane and tail back to its styled curls.  After all, lady never leaves without her brush.  Once proper, I daintily trotted back into my beloved Empire with my horn unconsciously casting a spell to allow me pass through the magic barrier.  Every pony within my vicinity gasped and then bowed before me.  I approached my father who dirtied himself more than I expected and gave him a royal curtsy. 
 
"Father," I said.  "Your highness.  I humbly apologize for my unladylike behavior."
 
"Apology accepted," he said with a sad smile.        
 
"Am I still your princess?" 
 
"You will always be.  Look Rarity.  Look at your new baby sister, the last child King Magnum has sired." 
 
I'm not sure if what he said was true, and that he might have only said it to put me at further ease.  With his magic, Lord Umbra lifted the wailing newborn foal from the basket he had strapped on top of his cloak, and he sat on his haunches to hold her in his hooves--not before a butler rushed in and placed a pillow underneath him. 
 
When she saw my face, the newborn foal stopped crying.  Oh, what a doll she is!  She had sparkling emerald eyes, a snow-white coat like mine, and a naturally curled pink and purple mane.  North Star, as loyal as always, had anticipated my need for the dazzlingly colorful dress I made for mother and had brought with her neatly folded on a basket on her back.  I used my magic to lift it the dress out and used it as a soft bundle upon which I used wrap my new little sister.  I held her in my hooves while rocking her back and forth. 
 
"What did mother want to name her?" Rarity asked 
 
"Sweetie Belle," replied Umbra. 
 
"What a beautiful name.  Sweetie Belle, I am your sister, Princess Rarity.  See here?  This is mom's dress, and it will be yours when you grow up.  I promise that I will raise you into the proper lady that will make our parents proud." 
 



 
"That is how I received my Destiny Glyph," said Rarity, "and how I earned my title as Diamond Princess.  Oh, I really didn't want to tell this story because it will drive me to tears.  Opal, more tissues, please!"
 
"Sis," wept Sweetie Belle as she threw off her fabrics and then hugged her sister.  "I'm sorry I caused mom's death."
 
"No.  Do not ever say that.  It might have been a cruel destiny, but mother gave up her life for yours.  Be proud that you are alive and well.  Mother and father would have it no other way."  
 
"But am I Lord Umbra's daughter not your blood sister?" 
 
"All it matters that you are my sister, Sweetie Belle.  And yes, you are my blood sister.  I had Twilight confirm that using this special magic technique she called 'genetic testing'.  Also, I had Applejack confirm it with her Element of Truth not too long ago."
 
"That's such a sweet story," said Apple Bloom.  "Don't you agree Scootaloo?"
 
"Huh, what?" Scootaloo asked.  "I'm not crying!  My eyes were watery 'cause I'm allergic to this silk."
 
"That's cotton, dear," said Rarity. 
 
"Yeah, I'm allergic to cotton as well.  Can we go now?" 
 
"Of course."  Upon that, Rarity magicked all off the fabric off Fluttershy and the three fillies,
 
"Didn't you say that Rainbow Dash was at the dining hall?" asked Apple Bloom. 
 
"She could be," replied Rarity. "Why don't I take you there?  I have to deliver these new capes and 'wrestling masks' anyway."
 
"Wrestling masks?" 
 
"Don't ask.  I only do as the customer requested and I have to fulfill it to the utmost." 
 
"That is such a sweet tale," wept Fluttershy after blowing a nose on her hundredth tissue.  "It makes me want to have a little sister for myself.  But Rarity, there's something I noticed about your story."
 
"Which is?"
 
"That rainbow explosion; that happened when I got my mark as well." 
 
"Hmm, that is quite a coincidence.  We were in different countries when that happened."
 
"What do you think it was?"
 
"Big sis, we're going!" Sweetie Belle cried. 
 
The answer would have to wait, not that the Diamond Princess had one prepared for her pegasus friend.  Rarity would not want to leave her sister and her friends unsupervised, and Fluttershy, despite having no relatives, also felt compelled to continue looking after them.  Quickly, Rarity packed into garment boxes the requested capes and masks and followed the girls and Fluttershy out of the colorful sewing room and into drab metal hallways of the Spitfire.  They did not go far, as it was the white unicorn who seemed to know the way. 
 
She had only been on the airship for a few days, and she barely knew her way around.  It was an honor to lead the girls and Fluttershy to the dining hall, but she could not help but see the bored scowl on Scootaloo's brow.  A lady does not need to run unnecessarily, even in these steel halls.  At the same time, Rarity could understand Scootaloo's impatience in wanted to see Rainbow Dash so badly.  Her newly acquainted fashion designer friend Coco Pommel could not stop gushing on how the Captain flew and swaggered in pony and on television.  To that, Rarity thought it would be best to trot a little faster up to dining hall. 
 
When she and companions arrived, they found something amiss.  The doors cracked open suspiciously.  Pinkie Pie should be inside decorating amidst bright lights and uplifting music.  Instead, after Rarity and the others creaked the door further open, they saw darkness.  The dim light from the steel hallways illuminated deflated balloons.  The banners lay collapsed all over the tables, and almost all of the prepared food were either smashed or half-eaten. 
 
An intruder?  Or was this another one of Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie's games?  The ominous air put everypony on edge.  Fluttershy took the air to scout for signs above pony-height while Rarity pulled both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom closer to her for protection.  She tried to corral Scootaloo in, but the pegasus filly had already bravely, if not foolishly, went in ahead of everypony into the darkness in her aeroscooter.  Not long after, the aeroscooter's engines became dead silent. 
 
The rest of the ponies chased after Scootaloo into the darkness, and once inside, the doors shuttered behind them.  A sharp thump crashed onto Rarity's back, nearly startling her and the girls.  It turned out Fluttershy had been scared so stiff by the darkness that she now rode on top of Rarity for protection.  Rarity was not sure if she should be frightened or annoyed by Fluttershy's lack of bravery.  Though she was a light pegasus, her shakes made it difficult for Rarity to keep balance, but she had to maintain her dignified composure for the girls. 
 
"Scootaloo!" cried Rarity.  "Where are you?" 
 
From what very little light they had, Rarity and other others saw and felt quick shadows darting around them.  The sound of grinding metal echoed nearby.  They heard somepony breathing heavily, and each exhale sounded like a snake's. 
 
In the middle of dining room, several crimson candles illuminated a table.  In the middle there was a platter of blue-frosted cupcakes topped with a cache of orange feathers.  The candle wax looked like blood, and the filling that bled out of the cupcakes also looked like blood. 
 
Then without warning, an equine head pushed out its snake-like neck over Rarity's right shoulder.  The long bangs, though combed perfectly straight, made her appear murderous.  Only half her face could be seen, but if Rarity and the others saw the rest, one of them would undoubtedly suffer a heart attack.  This horror was so close and so terrifying that they felt her ethereal tendrils ensnaring them to the ground.  Her power was such that nopony could move or scream. 
 
"Hey," said she.  "Good thing you came in time, 'cause I need some new ingredients badly.  You four are the perfect ponies to complete my masterpiece."