CADANCE OF HOUSE SONGBOURNE
She felt his coming from far off, like a father with an eye towards the sunset for a prodigal son. She felt also his limping, his staggering. She felt the little minds of his followers--his brave guard, her legionnaires. They were not words or thoughts but simple presences. Tiny lights approaching a much greater light: Imperial Center. Never taken by force of arms, yet surrounded now.
Cadance shook as if she felt the blizzard outside. She tried to rise, but her body no longer obeyed. The weight of the Crystal Heart’s power kept her pinned to her seat. Her hated golden seat.
There was a legend once, she recalled as she slumped down into her throne, that was told in some far off land. There were two stallions. One was a king, and the other was simply a noble of the capital city. The noble and the king were friends, and when in the depths of their cups, as Cadance had heard the story told, the noble would often remark how wonderful it must be to be a king. How carefree, how glorious it must be to be without restriction! The king would never comment on this beyond smiling. Until one day, he allowed his friend to sit in the throne, and it was just as good a view as the noble had imagined. But then he looked up. Perhaps he did it to see the tapestries, or to admire how tall the great hall was, but for whatever the reason, he looked up. And then he saw it.
Above him was a sword, hanging by a thin and--was it fraying?--rope. This, the king told him calmly, had always been there, and was above all thrones.
Cadance closed her eyes. With the Crystal Heart’s power, she could feel the darkness before dawn, and knew that dawn was not coming. Since Celestia had left, the sun had risen uncertainly. Cadance did not know why or how it was this way. She knew only that it was and would no doubt remain so until such a time as Celestia returned. Or was replaced.
Shining was safe within the walls, half illusory and half real. She wanted to go to him.
Where was he? It was hard to say, even for her. She knew he was within the gates, but she could not exactly pinpoint him. Yet, in her mind’s eye she saw him, limping between the great crystal towers of the gate, down the well-paved Imperial streets, past the neat little market stalls. Her little ponies lined the streets. They would not mob their king in his state. He staggers, the crowd surges, but with recovery they keep their distance.
She knew, at once, that he would make it. He would come to her, high up in the Spire of Imperial Center, and they would hold one last counsel of War, and she would give up her long burden and then perhaps there would be silence. War would come. It must. It had already arrived and waited at her gates to be, at long last, acknowledged.
RARITY
Rarity’s experience of warfare had been wildly inconsistent.
The arming and mustering of Ponyville’s short lived militia had been pathetic. Laughable. She had shivered while Canterlot waited, while it watched. Then Rarity had been always seeing but never seen. She had been nearby and seen the armies of Equestria march on Manehattan, their proud banners stabbing at the sky as if they would bring it down with their timing, their will, their rhythmic, hoarse songs.
The rousing of a city was probably different every time, she thought as she watched the city wake. News had travelled fast. Within an hour of Shining Armor’s return, the ponies of Imperial City were in a panic. The sight of the beleaguered survivors of his command had erased the last vestige of safety that was left. They had come limping, hollow-eyed, streaked with dried blood and wrapped in half-hearted filthy bandages. She had seen them, but from a distance.
How often had she seen such things, but only from a distance? How very often had she been content to sit at the periphery?
When the Griffons had landed in Manehattan, nopony could have predicted what would happen. It was shocking—they had appeared without warning, a vast armada sailing out of the horizon. Their ships flew crimson and black sails, and before them the ponies of Manehattan had either fled in frenzy or boarded up their homes. But there was no real escape. Where could they go? Some dispersed into the surrounding countryside, but most were in the process of clogging the streets when the first ships offloaded their warriors. The city fell quickly with little resistance.
At least at first. By the time Luna had mustered the Royal Guard and the levied troops from the houses, the resistance had begun. She had been in Canterlot, reading reports from the first scouts. It was doomed and pathetic and futile and it made her want to cry. But she had not. And the army marched.
They sat there. The Griffons didn’t seem keen on invading or raiding. Just… sitting.
They’d come for answers and restitution. But that was before the mutiny. Before they ran out of meat.
She closed her eyes. Around her, Rarity could hear the clang of metal as the palace was prepared for a long siege. She wondered how the ponies of Manehattan had reacted. Had they armed themselves, only to surrender anyway? What had they been thinking, those ponies in Manehattan, as they watched their futures sail out of the sun?
“Shining sure is taking a while,” Rainbow said.
Rarity opened her eyes and glanced over. “He has a lot to do,” she said evenly.
“Yeah, I know. But… what do we even do? I can get into fights. I can scrap with the best of them, but that’s a big difference from open warfare. We’re useless here, Rares. This is the big leagues.”
“We can do what we can,” Rarity said, but even in her ears it sounded hollow.
They sat in the middle of a great reception hall. Any semblance of state had been pushed hastily to the side as the ponies of Imperial Center were armed and arranged into small parties of militia. Rarity watched one such group pass.
“They aren’t soldiers,” she said quietly.
“Neither are we,” Rainbow answered.
“Yes, but between the two of us we can fight.”
“Maybe they’ll be fine,” Rainbow said.
“Or maybe, dear, they are going to die horribly.”
“You’re really a downer sometimes.”
“I’m… I’m aware, Rainbow.” Rarity sighed. Their eyes! So unfocused, as if walking through a fever dream. Young stallions stumbling their way into unfamiliar barding. Her eyes followed a mare with a bobbed mane with eyes like flint. Her mouth was set in a firm slash across her face, unyielding, unafraid. Or perhaps incredibly afraid. Terribly afraid. Ready to crumble at any moment. Which?
“Where’s Flutters?” Rainbow asked.
Rarity blinked, caught off guard, and looked back at her. “Not sure,” she said after a pause. “Could be anywhere.” She shook her head in dismay. “No, I’m sorry. That isn’t quite right. I believe she’s below us. The guard is setting up a triage, I believe it’s called. She offered to help.” Rarity shifted uneasily and looked down at one hoof. She simply blinked at it, as if not understanding it. “They aren’t the guard, though, are they? They’re legions here. In the Empire. Empire is a strange word. It’s rather foreign, isn’t it?”
“I guess.”
“Rainbow, we have to do something.”
“Can you do something?”
“No. But I have to try,” Rarity said. She shook herself again and started walking out into the middle of the chaos. Behind her, she felt Rainbow close the gap and brush her side lightly, as if to say she was there, she was coming. Rarity was not alone. For now.
It was another hour before Shining sent for them.
The maps were laid out as they had been. The officers were harried, as they had been the last time Rainbow and Rarity had walked through the throne room. It was hard, Rarity supposed, to pay attention to decorum on the edge of war. It was the little things, the pretty things, that went first. Always. The spacious walks of Canterlot were crowded now, or at least they had been when she left. It would be the same now, of course. It may even be worse now, if more refugees were taken in, Rarity thought. She bit her lip.
If anything, tension had given way to looseness. It is like being told news after a long wait. When one lets out a long-held breath.
They walked through the rushing officers. They did not furrow their brows; that was new. Now their eyes were wide. Their steps were free, long reaching, frantic but energetic.
Shining and Cadance waited at the far end. The veil had been removed. Cadance’s sad state had been laid bare, and it almost brought Rarity up short. But she continued on, because she had to. Because Cadance’s eyes had already caught her in an icy, strained grip. They said come. They would threaten her if she faltered, they would encourage gently if she walked. They would plead if she stopped. She could not stop. Her skin itched, her legs felt weak. All at once, she began to believe it. The enemy was at the gates. The gates were battered and about to fall apart without their help.
Shining greeted them with a tight smile. Rarity did not return it. She could not bear to. But she nodded.
“Glad you could make it,” Shining quipped.
And at his voice, her heart quieted. She could not say why. Her thoughts had been racing with fire and shattered light, but now those things were gone. No, she thought at length as she opened her mouth to speak, she knew what this was. The mask had fallen. And yet it did not feel as if a distance had opened between her and those around her. She simply calmed.
“Well, unfortunately, we’ll not be leaving anytime soon,” Rarity said, and this time she smiled softly. “It is rather disappointing, but I suppose we’ll manage. A lady bears up under any weather,” she added. Shining nodded as if this were serious, and she found it funny. She was genuinely, openly amused in a way she had not seen in some time.
“We wanted to talk to you before their assault comes,” Shining said.
“We wanted to apologize,” Cadance added. Her voice was weak and strained, and yet even now to Rarity’s ears it sounded beautiful.
“Yeah. Apologize.” Shining sighed. “There’s no way we could send food or troops now. I had been figuring out the logistics, but…”
“It’s a moot point now,” Rarity finished.
“Yeah, nothing is getting out of here,” Rainbow said. After a second’s hesitation, she added, “Without a fight.”
“We last the night and I’ll send a legion,” Shining said with a grin. “Stars, I might send two if there are enough of us left.”
“I shall hold you to that,” Rarity replied. Why was she so calm? How could she smile?
“Your friend Fluttershy has already joined the royal doctors in converting the lower chambers into a makeshift hospital. I confess I am unsure as to what your plans are, but I of course would ask for your help,” Shining said, his tone attempting formality.
“Well, duh. I’d like to be alive tomorrow,” Rainbow said.
Cadance smiled at her. “There are many ponies in the city, and we do not know when the Mitou will attack.” She took a deep breath, and seemed to falter. She looked to Shining, who nodded.
“I need you to help us evacuate the city. More importantly, I need your help keeping the ponies fleeing this way calm. If they panic—and trust me, ponies will panic—then we won’t be able to focus on securing our defenses. Panicking ponies set things on fire and trample each other. The not-burning-things option is the best,” he finished.
“Yeah, that’d suck,” Rainbow said lamely. “How are we supposed to keep a bunch of random ponies from freaking out? I mean, I’m kinda freaking out.”
“You think I’m not? No, if you weren’t at least worried you wouldn’t be a pony. Only monsters and crazies are fearless. You keep them safe and brave by continuing,” Shining said.
At his side, Cadance closed her eyes. Her brow furrowed and she seemed to wilt.
“You just… you keep going,” Shining said. “You don’t stop, you don’t cry, you don’t shut down. You keep walking. You keep talking. You keep trying.”
RAINBOW
She was amazing. She really was.
Rainbow watched how Rarity smiled, how she talked with ease and walked like a princess among her hopeful little ponies. Honestly, she was the best. She had Twilight’s intelligence. She was brave—and Rainbow didn’t think that she would ever admit that as openly as she would now. It was a brave new world, after all. Twilight said that sometimes, but she always said it with a sneer. But she said it honestly, with wide eyes. What a brave new world, with such ponies in it. With Rarity making frightened ponies feel like they might just be alive the next day.
The evacuation was grueling and slow. Imperial Center was swollen with refugees and over capacity, and it showed. The streets were clogged. Ponies had to be convinced to take only vital things, like food and medicine, weapons if they had them at home. Rainbow had had to keep several old mares from carting off heaps of diamonds, or convincing their younger relatives to help them move some great wardrobe or chest of keepsakes. None of them understood.
Maybe they really did. Maybe they just didn’t want to. She didn’t want to.
It was a cold afternoon, overcast and gloomy. Any moment, she expected the rain to come pouring down. Part of her wanted that to happen. A Pegasus can feel storms. She could feel this one as it was born, slowly and surely, spinning and roiling and growing. In her bones she felt the lightning that stirred up above behind the clouds. The lightning which waited behind the veil would come. She knew it was only a matter of time. Soon. Very soon.
Rainbow Dash wanted to ride the lightning’s arc and feel the rain on her back. Pegasi lived for storms, flying when nothing else could or would.
But for now, there was no storm. Only dark, pregnant clouds and Rarity looking across the crowd right at her.
Rainbow blinked. She fidgeted. Yes? she mouthed.
Rarity did not say or mouth anything. Her brows knit together, her face softened. How are you holding up? she seemed to ask.
Rainbow shrugged. In reality, she was tired and a bit on edge, but it would little good to report such.
Rarity smiled at her, and Rainbow could not help but smile back. What a smile! What a beautiful smile.
Rarity moved on to the next house. Rainbow did the same on her side of the street. She knocked on the door, waiting for some sign of life. Nothing. She knocked again. Again, nothing. Rainbow grimaced and moved on. Ponies would hide, some of them, no matter how bad an idea it was. They refused to leave their little lives and their little homes on the great Imperial way.
They continued for another hour. Most of the homes were empty now. News travelled ahead of them.
Rainbow drained the canteen and then let out a long sigh.
As soon as ponies had vacated the outer districts of the city, Shining had sent the city’s garrisoned legions out to fortify the streets. Rainbow had watched this cohort of the Third Legion build a barricade three ponies high across the street. They piled chairs and tables high and dense, binding them together with magic and with the weight of even more added to the pile.
She wondered if it would be helpful. She guessed it would be better than being completely overshadowed. The Mitou were huge. She remembered what it was like to be dwarfed by them.
“I kind of expected them to attack by now,” Rainbow said.
Rarity lay in the street at her side. Rainbow knew she was tired, but Rarity had not complained. She hadn’t even acknowledged her own weary legs.
Rarity shifted, trying to shrug without rising. “I didn’t. I fully expect their assault to come after nightfall.”
“It’s pretty overcast right now. Might as well be dark,” Rainbow replied.
But Rarity shook her head. “No, they won’t come until it’s dark. I’m positive. Not just slightly dark but total darkness--that’s what they’ll need to make this assault the only one.” Her brow furrowed.
“Geeze.”
“Forgive my morbidity, Rainbow. Though, a question occurs to me.” Rarity sat up, and Rainbow grinned at her.
“Ask away, milady,” she drawled, and then cackled.
“Will you finally consent to wearing some sort of armor?” Rarity asked. “It has always made me wonder that none of us ever did, even when we went into Ponyville.”
Rainbow grimaced. “Ugh. Probably. I don’t want to. Armor is heavy, it’s harder to move in, and it usually slows a pony down. None of that’s my style, you know? Better for somepony like AJ who can carry it and not get slow. Pegasi are weird about barding.”
“Weird?” Rarity raised an eyebrow.
Rainbow nodded. “Yeah. It kinda depends on if they’re male or female. Male pegasi are bigger, if you hadn’t noticed, and traditionally they’ll wear more barding. Us? In the old days we would go in with a helmet and probably that’s it. Sometimes something light. Part of it’s practical, but mostly it’s traditional. Actually…” Rainbow stopped and looked at the barricade for a moment. “Actually, paint was our armor of choice.”
“Paint? Surely not.”
“Absolutely.”
“But your coat….”
“Could be washed,” Rainbow finished. She gestured as if the whole sight were before her. “We made dyes that could be washed out--and some that couldn’t be. It all depended, you know? But when the paint was on, you were one pony and when the paint was off you were another.”
“So, getting in character.”
Rainbow laughed. “You make it sound a lot more safe than it was.”
“Not totally inaccurately, though. Would you want to do that? I suppose we have time.”
Rainbow glanced over at her. “You think so? Seems like they could be here any moment. That’s what it feels like, anyway. How’re you gonna be okay doing that when we could be, you know, helping?”
“Because we’re just two ponies, Rainbow,” Rarity said. “In the end, we’re just two ponies. I need time to make peace, the same as you do. I suggest we both do so while we have the chance.”
Rainbow stood and shook out her wings. The air had been still, but it was heavy. She knew the wind was coming. She could feel it coming.
“Then let’s go,” she said evenly. “I mean, we might as well, right? ‘Die with your horseshoes on,’ right?”
“I would prefer not to die, myself,” Rarity answered, and then laughed. It made Rainbow’s heart leap.
FLUTTERSHY
Fluttershy was losing her mind.
It was bad enough being able to feel the storm like a needy creature pawing at her. It was bad enough to feel the electricity jumping from feather to feather, to feel it excite the blood to dancing. It was bad enough. But this time she could not hide from these sensations in her little cottage, wrapped in blankets. Now, with the storm calling her, she was in the middle of her own storm.
The Legionary medics were competent. She found herself both repulsed by and comforted by their steely eyes and curt manner. These were not gentle ponies. Yet they were good ponies. They thought of everything, and worked with what they had.
Fluttershy had seen the effects of battle before. She had stayed behind the frontlines at Manehattan--at no point had she seen what Twilight and the others had seen. They had refused to elaborate and Fluttershy rarely pressed them at the best of times. What experience she had of war came not-quite-secondhand, loading frightened or unconscious ponies onto stretchers, binding wounds, staunching rivers of blood. She had seen every way the equine body would break. At least, that was what she thought.
The snow then had been comforting. Snow and cold did not burden a pegasus as they burdened other ponies. Yet, in the presence of snow the winged often found themselves drowsy, as if secure in the knowledge that there would be no test of their strength.
But she felt only pressure.
It was hard to forget the Mitou. She could not. She could not even begin to try to forget them, those great mountains of shadow and rage. Fluttershy was a coward. She had lived her whole life knowing this, believing this, and was not surprised to think it now. She quailed before even the smallest of dangers. She hid from the gaze of those she did not know. Weak, weak, weak. She was the weakest of the companions. Six had set out from Canterlot, but it might as well have been only five. One of them was useless. One of them was extraneous. One of them, unfortunately for all involved, was Fluttershy.
Fluttershy returned to the Doctor of the Palace bearing a box of bandages on her back. “This should be the last of what you asked for,” she said softly. “We’re not running low yet, but the stallion at the supply depot wanted me to tell you that he, um, can’t spare anymore without a written order from one of the Royals. Sorry.”
“You’re kidding me,” came the response. The Doctor of the Palace was an older stallion, graying mane and the hard eyes she had found so ambiguous were best exemplified in his stare. “Obstructionist! By the Heart, of all of the insubordinate… Fluttershy, please, I’m not angry with you.” He sighed. “I know you probably did your best, but he does have a point. The main infirmary is here, but we’ll have to set up several throughout the city and they all need to be stocked. We have two in the northern wards, and if we hurry we can have two set up in the southern half of the city before nightfall.”
“Oh, I can do that, sir,” Fluttershy said. “I mean, if you need me to. I don’t know.”
“Actually, I have another job for you, Fluttershy. I can send some of the medics. This is kind of their thing, anyhow. I don’t know how they survive, working in primitive conditions. Outside, of all places!” He shuddered. “Honestly. No honest medicine can be practiced under heaven’s gaze. Out in the elements. Sorry, I find myself distracted even now, even here.”
“It’s alright.”
“But yes, I have something different for you.” He cleared his throat. “I need you to do nothing.”
“I… I don’t understand. I’m sorry, I’ve been trying… I know this isn’t really something I qualiified for. I’m more of a… uh, veterinarian then…”
“No. I mean rest. You’ve done far too much. I have three dozen strong medics right out of the legions who can run this city four times over and just break a sweat. You need to be rested for when we really need you. And as for the difference in treating ponies and squirrels, well…” he shrugged. “You can bind a wound, can’t you?”
“Um, yes.”
“Good enough. In these barbaric conditions, I’ll take anything,” he added with a grumble. “Go find a nice wall. Better yet, you can rest on one of the cots. I’ll make sure you’re left alone.”
“I… is that really alright?” Fluttershy asked.
The Doctor of the Palace looked at her quietly. “Yes. Let me ask you something.”
“Of course.”
“You’ve seen what the aftermath of battle looks like. Am I wrong?”
“No. I’m… I’m familiar,” she said, grimacing.
“I am as well. You know, most of this city is practically ancient. I was alive long before Sombra.” He spat. “And I would like to be outlive him by quite a bit, may the earth reject his body. But I saw quite a bit of battle’s cost. You have the makings of a fine doctor, I think. Frankly, and pardon me for saying so, but I think you’ve been wasted on animals. You’re patient, attentive, and hard working. I need you to be all of those things and have the energy to use that patience and alertness when I am about to drop dead from exhaustion, or else we’ll lose even more lives.”
“I understand,” Fluttershy began, but trailed off. “It’s just that I would terrible, not doing anything when everyone else is working so hard. When we’re all in such danger.”
“That’s why I need you to rest. So that you can be the one filling in the gaps for the first pony to break or get slow.” He scratched his mane, looking away from her. “And you’re young. I think the young need more time to make peace with death than the old do, my dear.”
“Do you think--”
“I know. This will not last more than a night. I’ll eat my diploma if it does. I’ll sautee it if it lasts two days.”
Fluttershy chuckled. “But we might not lose.”
“We might also be overwhelmed after only a few moments. In the end, we are rather small.” He smirked. “Go lie down. I’ll have someone get you when the party has, ah, started.”
SHINING ARMOR AND CADANCE
There was a storm once over Canterlot. It was an accident, really. Most things end up being so, one way or another. Even in the well-tended, groomed skies of Equestria there are yet wild storms. It is best to think of the great blue expanse as a barren sort of garden. Even in the most beautiful gardens there are occasional weeds.
But of course you went out to see it, didn’t you? You walked quickly, almost a skip, almost a run, your hooves clacking on the worn-out cobblestones with giddy excitement. A storm!
A storm. Yes, and there I was, ignorant of the strength of wind and the omnipresence of rain and the rapacity of lightning. I stood out in one of the parks, the one nearest our house.
Clover’s Fields.
Yeah, that one. Clover’s Fields. Clover the Clever. My sister’s favorite pony in the world, you know? Until she met the princess. Clover the Clever was Twilight’s hero of heroes. Until she met the princess.
But you saw the storm, you were saying.
Yes, I saw it. Oh, I saw it. You know I’m not good with words.
It was massive. Endless. A great thunderhead of malicious intent, a behemoth of force and chaos. No, not chaos as you think it but something else entirely. Presence. Enormous presence, like it was something in the ground but not in the ground. Like it was something in the air but not just the wind or rain. You were untouched and yet it pressed on you like touch, like a kiss on your lips, like a punch right to the nose that cracks on your bone like--
Like it was impressive. Which it was. And by the time it started to rain I felt something.
What did you feel, Shining, my only?
I felt afraid. More than just afraid. Terrified. Absolutely small in every single imaginable way. Beyond tiny. Dwarfed.
It was going to swallow you up.
It was going to crush me.
And you felt that feeling again, didn’t you?
I did. I’ve felt it several times, like I was being crushed slowly. I felt it the first time I was in battle. I felt it the first time I saw the Mitou. I felt it yesterday when we were out there on my last patrol. I shouldn’t have gone out there. That was stupid. There was nothing I could do.
They’re coming. They’ll be here soon. They’ll be here tonight. How is the shield?
It holds.
But not for long. I just want to leave this behind sometimes. I wish we could drop the shield and run as fast as our legs would take us--I would carry you out if I had to, you know.
The city has been fortified as best it can be. The wide streets are blocked with barricades, and the smaller byways are guarded. We are spread thin. The squares, the intersections, the parks are now little fortresses. The palace has been fortified. The gaps in the walls have been laid thick with traps.I have personally inspected most of the cohorts that will die in our streets. I have had ammunition and spare guns doled out. Bandages. A bit of food. A measure of wine.
A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
I just wish there was a way to wipe the slate clean, to erase them, to break through the clouds and just... I don't know.
Like a scroll.
What do you mean?
You'll see. Perhaps. Come to me.
RAINBOW DASH
Rainbow tried to be still, but it was difficult. The brush Rarity had found was cold. She felt the light chill pass her coat and touch her bare skin. It tickled, too, though she wouldn’t dare say so. Yet, though she could stay still as a statue, she could not keep a smile from her face.
“Now, you are quite sure that you can’t remember the actual designs?” Rarity asked for perhasp the fifteenth time. Her eyes were narrowed; her brows were furrowed. “Because as much enjoyment as I derive from the creative process,” she said, cracking a smile, “I would hate to impinge on something cultural.”
“Nope, don’t remember,” Rainbow lied happily. “It’s not that weird for ponies to make it up as they go, so you’re fine.”
“If you say so,” Rarity said. She continued, starting to hum.
Rainbow listened to her song, wanting to hum along but also wanting to listen. She was not being honest, but somehow did not feel bad about twisting the truth. I’m the element of loyalty, not honesty, she thought, wanting to laugh but not wanting to give away the game.
Actually she knew only one of the patterns and it was the simplest one she’d ever seen. But it was boring. It would bore Rarity and it would bore her. The last thing she needed on the eve of battle was disappointment. Drink and be merry, for tomorrow they died. Or tonight. She wasn’t sure. She reflected that she would actually probably be very alright with maybe just a ton of wine. Wine was not her favorite drink. But, wine had one characteristic that elevated it above all other spirits: Rarity liked it.
It was amazing what the threat of imminent, gruesome death could do for a clouded mind.
“So. Do you feel like a warrior out of the tales? A dashing pegasus knight, hm?” Rarity laughed. Rainbow heard silver bells. “I’m afraid I know far less of your tribe than I should, Rainbow. I cry your pardon, dear.”
“Eh, it’s okay. I’m not that big on history, really. I mean, sometimes I am. When it’s cool,” she added. “Thanks for doing this.”
“It’s nothing. Actually, it’s something, and in a situation like this something to do is far better than nothing to do. The mind needs occupations, Rainbow. A Lady thrives on the art of being busy without being harried.” Rarity stopped briefly, humming before nodding to herself. “Don’t speak for a moment. I need to do your face. Just a bit, don’t worry, just a bit on your cheeks here…”
Rainbow obeyed. The magic-held brush lapped at her face like a great wet tongue, and the image almost wrung a chuckle out of her.
“You know,” Rarity continued, a bit more softly, “I’ve been meaning to say something for awhile.”
Rainbow’s heart skipped a beat. Or two. She blinked rapidly, trying to contain her feelings, trying to bottle them up tight. Don’t make a fool of yourself, Rainbow. This is not the time. You need to focus.
“I’m glad that it was you and Fluttershy who accompanied me to the Empire. Specifically, I am very glad that it was you, Rainbow. I know I’ve been difficult at times,” she said, frowning as the brush did its work. “I know I can be a bit of prima donna. I get caught up in foolish things more often than I would like. I’m not a fighter, like you. I can fight--combat is something you learn on the road in such a world! But it’s not who I am, not really. It’s only a mask or a hat that I put on. Without you, I’m not sure I would have managed to keep that mask on at all.”
See? Not what you feared. Hoped. Whatever. The brush left her face, and Rainbow answered. “I’m glad I came too. With you. I mean, no matter who I would have gone with, we’re all friends, but… I’m bad at words.”
“I wouldn’t say so. Regardless, I can be patient. We have all the time in the world.”
“Not really,” Rainbow said, grimacing.
“Perhaps. I think we have all the time we need. Some things take no time at all. Some take lifetimes, and those things I feel at peace about.”
Rainbow swallowed. The brush moved from her chest and shoulders to her flanks, and she shivered at its touch.
“I don’t understand that,” Rainbow said, but without much force or conviction. There was silence as Rarity worked out her design in care and gentleness. The brush danced on her coat. It was not the short, thin coat of her youth. The encroaching cold had changed even small things, just as it had pushed them to the ends of the earth in search of help. Pegasi may not feel the cold’s bite but even they could suffer in the elements eventually.
Rainbow pursed her lips. “You know… I’ve only worn the medicamen once. I mean, not counting now.”
“Is that what it’s called?” Rarity asked. She had moved out of Rainbow’s eyesight, hovering at her side, closer to her flank. Rainbow tried not to think about that.
“Yeah. Medicamen.”
“And you’ve worn it before, hm? Tell me about it,” Rarity asked.
“Well, it was a long time ago. It’s pretty common, right when you become an adult, to wear it as a sort of… uh…”
“Coming of age?” Rarity offered from somewhere behind her.
“Yeah! That. I was pretty stoked, honestly. I went back to Cloudsdale. Dad was still around then, though he was pretty sick.” She paused. “He made it though. I always appreciated that. He toughed it out and he gave me the medicamen.”
“That was good of him. You’ve not spoken of him much,” Rarity said.
“I loved my dad. He was great. But it hurts, you know? It still hurts. I mean, he died a long time ago. I should move on. I have moved on! I don’t get so… broken up about anymore.”
“It is not a sin to love one’s parents. Even when they are long gone. Especially then,” Rarity remarked. She stopped painting for a moment.
“Rarity, are you afraid? About dying, I mean.” Rainbow hadn’t meant to ask. She had never meant to. But she could not stop at that. “Like, not abstractly sometime, eventually. Like right now. In a few hours.”
“I am very frightened,” Rarity said, evenly. As if she wasn’t at all.
“Yeah, you sound like you’re quiverin’ in your horseshoes,” Rainbow shot back quickly. Her voice cracked.
“Sorry. I am frightened, Dash. It’s just… I have to keep it together.” Rarity sighed. They were silent for a moment.
“You called me Dash.”
“Oh? I did, didn’t I.”
“You don’t, usually.”
“I do like the sound of it. Dash. It’s delightful.” Rainbow could almost hear her smiling. “Dash, I certainly do not wish to die. I would like to live. In fact, I would like to live and make it home. I wish for my friends to be safe and whole and sane and I wish the same for myself. I’ll take two out of three even. I’m flexible, you could say.”
“One would hope.”
“Hm?”
“Nothing,” Rainbow said. “I’m jittery. Jumpy. Ready to go. Or something, I don’t know--how do you act so calm?”
“I really have no idea. I think I’m just in shock, perhaps.” Rarity laughed and continued painting. “I’m almost done, by the way. You’ll have to wait a bit for it to really dry well. I’ve some spells that should help with that.”
“Thanks again. How’s it looking?” Rainbow asked. She tried to imagine herself, but couldn’t. It had just been too long since she’d worn the paint. Come to think of it, she had trouble remembering much of that night. All she had was a collection of images. Her smiling father. Starlight. The cold feeling of a brush. Someone speaking monotonous pegas.
“You look fantastic. More so than usual,” Rarity said. She came back into Rainbow’s line of sight, the brush between her lips, smiling in a way that was different than before. It was less guarded. At least, Rainbow thought that it was less guarded.
“Thought you were using magic,” Rainbow said. She wanted to make some quip about Rarity’s comment on her beauty, make some sort of reply that would impress her. Mostly she just felt embarrassed. In a good way, perhaps, but still embarrassed.
“I was,” Rarity answered after picking the brush back up with her magic, freeing her mouth. “I wanted to finish the last bit that way. A bit more of a personal touch. You, ah, don’t mind? I hope not.”
“Nope.”
“Well, good.” Rarity put a hoof to her chin and hummed. Slowly, almost meditatively, she circled Rainbow.
Rainbow, for her part ,spent most of this time straining for glimpses of Rarity.
“At any length, I seem to avoided any serious errors. I’m a bit rusty with a paintbrush, but not so much that I’ve made a fool out of either of us. Top marks, me.” She chuckled. “Though I am sorry I couldn’t give you a more traditional look.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Doesn’t matter. The action is what matters,” Rainbow said with a smirk, though Rarity didn’t see it from back towards her flank.
In truth, Rainbow had not shown Rarity the one design she knew because she wanted to see what Rarity would do on her own. She missed the old Rarity and the old life. Rainbow Dash the weatherpony and Rarity the dressmaker. Creating and building and sewing and kicking the clouds into submission, side by side but not together, all as a part of a larger spinning wheel of life. She missed it. And if she could have a bit of that again, for a moment… if she could pretend once more to be the old Dash, then that was alright. The old Dash with her quips and her lusty looks at the busy unicorn’s flanks and he half-mocking bellyaching about having to be a model. When modeling for Rarity was the worst and most agonizing thing she could imagine ever possibly happening.
Rarity returned and sat before Rainbow, smiling in a gentle, contemplative sort of way.
“You know what I remembered just now?” she asked.
“The boutique? Me modelling for you?” Rainbow offered.
“Yes, actually. I’m glad we were in one accord! That exactly.”
“I miss it,” Rainbow blurted.
“I know you do.”
“I… hold up. What?”
Rarity. “I had a feeling. Just this spark of intuition. Do you really not know how to paint the medicamen?”
Caught. “Uh… I…” Rainbow shrugged. “Yeah, I do. But the only pattern I know sucks,” she said, and it was no lie. It was kind of lame. “I wanted you to do something that you made up. Hey, if I’m gonna get painted up for my funeral I might as well have it done by the best.”
“Don’t say it like that,” Rarity said sharply. “If anything, I want this to be a reason for you not to be crushed like an insect, thank you very much.”
“I’ll try, Rares,” Rainbow said. “Sorry, I just wanted to be able to see what you would do. I just felt like it was important. I mean, it’s not. I know.”
Rarity just sat and smiled at her. “You know, you’re beautiful, Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow started.
“You really are,” Rarity continued. “Just stunning. Like something out of an old tale, and yet so down to earth, in only the strictest metaphoric sense of course! I cannot believe that I ever thought of you as anything but dear to me.”
“I… thanks.”
“No, thank you. Also,” she added, scooting closer, “do try not to move too much, would you? And be still for a moment, I need to apply my sealing spells.” Her horn glowed. Her eyes closed. “Rainbow, please don’t talk of dying. You think I have a nice facade of calm at the moment, but if you talk much more of such a thing I am going to lose that calm very quickly. I can’t bear it, I really simply cannot bear to think of that. I’m not sure what I do would do and where I would go, if you left me alone.” Her horn lost its glow and her eyes opened. She seemed… Rainbow didn’t know the word. Not confused, and something other than flustered. “I’m sorry. You know I’m prone to strange histrionics. It’s the edge of battle, dear, it really is, making me say all of that.”
Rarity closed her eyes again and continued weaving her spell. “You know, when I was a much more foolish me, I wanted to be a princess so badly? You remember how I dreamt of marrying a prince. Well, I can safely say Shining Armor is not my type, but I think that the pressures of being married to an authority figure may not have been what I was expe--”
She did not finish her sentence. In fact, the thought itself was probably lost for all time, because at that very moment Rainbow did something that was amazingly, incredibly, world-shatteringly stupid.
Rainbow kissed her full on the lips. Not lightly. Not playfully. Earnestly. It was the kind of kiss that screamed that she was afraid. That she was going to die and it was horrible only now to reveal herself but she could not bear to go into the dark without trying. It was desperate.
She was almost overwhelmed. Rainbow had thought about this before, but in the end, hadn’t she always shied away? Hadn’t she always tried to distract herself. When she admired her friend’s beauty, her body, her eyes, her mane, her voice--she could pass this off as aesthetic appreciation, even base sexual appreciation. But a kiss like this could not be passed of as these things. It could not be hidden behind a joke. Her lips were soft, as Rainbow had imagined they would. Rarity was good, just as Rainbow had dared to imagine she would be in dreams. Rainbow loved the taste of her, the feeling of yielding softness, the temptation to sink and sink until she was overwhelmed in pleasant haze. This was new, wonderfully new. She had kissed mares before. She had kissed a few stallions. But none of them were like this. None of them were close.
And then she pulled away, weak in the knees.
They stared at each other, both wide eyes, both with open, gaping mouths. Rainbow’s heart hammered in her chest, furious, frightened. She had made a mistake. It was ruined. Rarity would be furious. How dare she do this? How dare Rainbow presume? Like she could just roll the whole universe into a tight little ball and play with it like a child, just stop time for her stupid lusts and her asinine childish fantasies. She was an idiot. She was stupid and she was going to die and she was going to die knowing that Rarity’s feelings about her were disgust. That here, before ponies were about to die, she would choose this moment. Rarity would think of her as shallow, wanting nothing but sex or false comfort before something that was too terrible for her to bear. Rainbow shook slightly, a ball of barely contained nervous energy that wanted to explode in all directions.
She opened her mouth, closed it, tried again. To her horror, she felt an old ache, and knew she was going to tear up. She hated it. She hated everything. Covering it up was the only option. “Rarity, I’m sorry. I… Look, I just… please, let’s--”
Rarity stepped back to her. She closed the gap in a fell motion, fluid and forceful like the ocean at high tide. Her eyes were blue electric arcing fire, unstoppable, swift.
Rarity kissed her passionately, almost violently, pressing against her, pushing her back. Rainbow’s wings flared in shock. Her knees were weak. Her body was electric like a song.
Rarity pulled away, staring right into her eyes. “Shh.”
“But I just…”
“Sh.” Rarity looked around hastily, and only now did Rainbow see her blush. “Oh dear. For once, I am glad for the distraction of… well, you know. Let’s the two of us find somewhere to go. To talk.”
Rarity smiled at her, and Rainbow’s heart melted. The battle, the war paint, the city, the snow--it all fell away in an instant and somehow Rainbow felt as if they were alone already, under the shade of a beech tree in the warm waving grass.
They walked the deserted streets. Minutes passed but to Rainbow it seemed like an hour crawled by. Her heart had not slowed at all. Her legs still felt weak. She had been in relationships. She had shared kisses. She had even fooled around, but never gone far. She had walked side by side with a lot of ponies and never felt as terrified and equally as joyful in the same moments.
But at last they came to a little square, shared by several upper-scale apartment buildings. The grass lived even through the frost, and somewhere in the back of Rainbow’s mind she knew it must be magic at work.
And Rarity stopped leading her and turned. She smiled again. Rainbow smiled back, blindly, happily, forgetting even her trepidation. This was unreal. It wasn’t happening. Battle had been real, or felt real. Death had been a real threat. Everything had seemed grounded and solid but suddenly she was dreaming and that was alright. She would wake up later.
“Rainbow. I… Oh dear. I hadn’t imagined it like this.”
“Imagined what?” Rainbow asked. Her mouth seemed to work on its own. Her brain floated on surreal seas.
“This sort of confession. I mean, I knew I was being obvious.”
“Obvious? Rares, I’m lost. I knew that I was obvious.”
Rarity stared at her, and then laughed. After she recovered, she began again. “Is this… do you mean this? If it is simply a case of battlefield nerves, of the fear of death, of a deep companionship you’re turning to in crisis, tell me. Because it would not destroy me. It wouldn’t, it really wouldn’t. Because I care for you. I love you, honestly and whole-heartedly. I would do that for you.”
Rainbow blinked. “No. No, it’s not. Gods. I thought you might think this. I was afraid you would. But it’s not, Rares, it’s not like that at all. I love you. I do! What I feel, what I want is as close to what I think love is as I know. I’m not as good at this kind of thing. So I know you must think I’m clueless. Maybe I am. But I like you a lot. I think I love you. I know I just want to go wherever you go and I don’t want you to leave me behind. I don’t want to leave you behind.”
Rarity was quiet. She stroked Rainbow’s cheek softly, and Rainbow imagined for a moment she could feel her face burn with excited shame.
“Might I kiss you again?”
“If I say ‘hell yeah’ would you still want to?”
Rarity did so. It was not quite as forceful, but it was not yielding and soft. It was Rainbow who yielded.
They parted. “I’ve wanted to do that for awhile.” A pause. Rarity continued. “I really would like to do it again.”
“I won’t stop you.”
“I know you won’t. You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” Rainbow nodded. She tried to look serious. Whatever the hell that looked like.
“I hoped… I’ve hoped for sometime, Rainbow. I dreamed--literally, even. But I never dard believe it might be true, that you would ever want me. I assumed it was just desire or loneliness that twisted everything in my mind, trying to give me false clues, little red herrings along the way.”
“Well… it didn’t. I’m here. I like you a lot. I want to… be with you,” Rainbow finished lamely. “This is the worst way I could have done this.”
“Nonsense. I’m not really sure it could have gone any other way. This was never going to be graceful, Rainbow.”
“Even with you involved?”
“Especially with me involved. Darling, in private I am a far more messier individual than my friends believe.” She laughed like silver beat to fragile thinness, in lines, in beautiful designs.
Rainbow looked away. “I kind of figured I was too, I don’t know, flighty for you. I mean, you’ve had coltfriends before, and I know you’ve played with mares, but I guess I wasn’t sure and even then they were all beautiful and I’m kind of all muscle and feathers and--”
“And you’re gorgeous. I’ve told you several times, you know. You always forget.” Rarity tsked, but smiled. She sat in the grass, and gestured. Rainbow awkwardly sat about a hoofslength away, unsure. She was not shy, and she was cautious about only a few things.
“I’m… I mean, I don’t exactly have a lot of experience with this. I’ve never felt like this. I don’t even know what it is. I could be crazy for all I know,” she said, and tried to laugh. “I just really… ah, screw it.”
She scooted closer and nuzzled under Rarity’s chin. She felt stupid, and warm, and happy, and confused.
“This is amazing, really. You, I, a war to end all wars, a grand Empire and it’s beautiful, ancient city. I couldn’t have written a more perfect scene.”
“I could’ve. This is about as cliche as it gets, Rarity. The whole ‘we might die tomorrow so lets do the sex’ bit is so cliche. Even I know that.”
“Ah, but you said that was not your angle, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity purred. It made Rainbow shiver. “And do you think that would happen?”
Rainbow thought about saying that she wouldn’t be opposed, but decided that not thinking before acting had gotten her into this mess. Not that it was a bad thing. “Probably not. You’re too dignified and I’m an awkward virgin. Kind of. It’s just too cliche.”
“Are you really?” Rarity asked.
Rainbow felt something moving through her mane. It was like a brush, but more fine, more controlled. It touched her coat and she knew it was magic in an instant, like soft griffon’s claws.
“Yeah. I am. I played around when Ponyville was still a thing, but I never really went that far. I was nervous about it. It’s big, you know? So invasive, so awkward. I’m all about preserving my cool, and I just couldn’t let myself do something with somepony that was going to make them see as… well, not that.”
Rarity hummed. “That’s a strange thing to say. As if making love could do such a thing.”
“I saw you do this to Fluttershy once. Twilight too.”
“With magic? Yes. It’s calming--for me and for them. It makes me happy. Do you not like it?”
She did like it. She felt warm. She felt, despite everything, safe and sound. She nodded slightly. “I like it.”
“Good.”
“What do we do now? I mean, I know what I want to do. But that’s hormones. It’s now. What do we do later? Do we have time to be…”
“Girlfriends?”
“Yeah.”
“I like that word myself. Marefriend, girlfriend, my most special one. Different shades. Do you like it?”
“Yeah.” She shifted a bit.
“Would you like to be that?”
“I think so.” Soft. A grumble almost. “Yes.” An admission. Or a revision. Either way.
“I would like that also. You’re right, on the edge of battle we’re caught up in the drama and the adrenaline. We will have to be slower about this. But I think that won’t be so bad. We’ll have to talk. A lot of talking.”
“I don’t mind talking.”
Rarity kissed her mane. “I don’t mind it either. I wouldn’t mind talking at all. Lots of it. I want to know you. I already do, of course, but I want to know you more. Deeper. To be able to know what you are and what you feel by touch or sight. That’s madness, I know, but I still want it.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
Rarity kissed her mane again. “Darling, do you think we’re going to die?”
“No.”
“Really?” She asked again. Her voice was soft. It did not change. It did not grow louder. It was like smoke, blowing but never vanquished, like the haze of incense. She smelled like incense, the kind offered to mysterious gods. Rainbow felt almost dizzy.
“Maybe. I don’t know. I don’t want to. I want to make it and I want to talk to you. I want to kiss you again and be marefriends and walk and go home together.”
“You don’t have to wait for at least one of those things,” Rarity said quietly. She shifted her weight back and tilted Rainbow’s face up.
“I’m usually in charge,” Rainbow said, smirking. “It’s weird to not feel in charge.”
“It’s not about that,” Rarity said quietly.
“I know.” Rainbow kissed her. It was sweet.
“I don’t want to go back,” Rarity murmured.
Rainbow sighed. “Can we stay here for awhile?”
“Of course. There’s time enough for that. The city’s been evacuated. This neighborhood is empty and the closest soldiers are a blocks away. We won’t be bothered for at least a while.”
They didn’t talk for some time after that. They communicated solely through kisses. Some were isolated, small, soft. Some were long, drawn out, strung together like waves lapping at a shore happy to be born away. Each one was different. They worked out their salvation in fear and trembling and with careful kisses. They held one another in turn. They spoke not a word because they did not need to. Because they were both afraid and they both knew that when night came it would really all be over, wouldn’t it? All of it. Kissing, talking, living, walking. They would not share another round of wine in beautiful state chambers. They would not trudge through the snow. They would be nothing but ash.
They got up and walked. They walked through the empty apartment buildings, seeing the doors left hanging open, the tell-tale sign of abandonment: left behind toys, an overturned luggage crate, somepony’s lost coinpurse. They left the memories to be washed out in the rain, to be covered in the snow that would come after the magic had faded, and found that the lobby of one of the buildings was open. They sought refuge inside, away from the cold, and were soon lying on the couch. They said little. Rainbow was afraid that she would make a fool of herself, but mostly she knew that it did not matter. She no longer felt afraid. She felt sad. She felt like there was something left undone. She wanted something. There was an ache in her chest that would not be filled and she did not understand it enough to fill it.
“Rarity?”
“Yes, dear?”
“Why would you like me?” Her voice cracked again. She had to stop doing that.
“You’re brave. You’re beautiful. You can keep up with me, surpass me, and I can give chase. Rainbow, in case you haven’t noticed, you’re a spectacular example of a mare.”
“I have been told that a few times. Just maybe I’ve heard someone say something like that.”
“You’re also a braggart. I find it endearing sometimes. Sometimes.” Rarity laughed.
“If we live, you’ll still want me, then? Even if I get nasty scars or lose a wing or something like that?”
“Do try not to lose a wing. You love to fly. It would break both of our hearts.”
Dash shivered and pulled a face. “Gods, I’d rather die.”
“Don’t do that either. Yes, I would still want you. I love how you look. I think you’re beautiful. But a scar would not steal that away. Not even several.”
“Good.”
“Confidant again, I see.” Rarity kissed her nose.
Love was a strange word. It communicated a lot, and yet it also left a lot unsaid and uncommunicated. Rainbow thought, in a flash, that it was so much like an arrow. Or fire. It filled the air but left something empty in its wake. It could not fill all emptiness. At least, when she heard it, she still felt a sort of sucking emptiness right below her chest. Nerves. Lots of nerves. She tried to ignore them.
Rainbow smirked. “Hey, it pays to make sure.” She settled into a more easy, calmer smile. “Honestly, I’m kinda torn. I hate being awkward and unsure. But I also hate being sure and then looking like an ass, you know?”
“Oh, I do.”
“I don’t know how to be.” She said it almost like an accusation, with a grimace.
“Don’t be either exclusively. Don’t think about that. Just enjoy this time. I enjoy you. It sounds so presumptuous, but enjoy me.”
“I do,” Rainbow said, a bit too vehemently. “Think they’ll find us?”
“I suspect we’ll know when the time is right.”
Rarity shivered against her, and it occurred to Rainbow that she would feel the brunt of the winter cold. Rainbow unfolded one wing and blanketed Rarity, shielding her as best she could. She hugged Rarity tighter, trying to give even just a bit of her natural defense.
“Wish I had a blanket. I forget you guys don’t like the cold. I mean, I don’t either, but still.”
“I feel a bit warmer,” Rarity said, unconvincingly.
“Right.” A pause.
That emptiness would not go away. Yet, she felt happy. She felt confused. She was full of feelings, and so she could bear a bit of whatever it was that gnawed at her. She could bear it. Uncertainty? Ironic, as she was uncertain even of what it was she felt. Perhaps a bit. Disbelief, even. That could be it. This was fast. An hour, at the utmost. Probably less.
It was only natural to doubt something that you had thought about for weeks, had hoped and prayed for for weeks, and received almost effortlessly. But Rainbow hated doubting ponies. She hated it. And at last, she supposed that the emptiness she felt was doubt. She doubted Rarity, here in this moment. But she didn’t want to. It wasn’t right to doubt her. She was beautiful, perfect, kind. Generous. And Rarity was loyal. It wasn’t just the way that the stupid Elements of Whatever had defined her. She had always defined herself that way.
So when she doubted, it hurt her. She couldn’t see inside Rarity’s mind. She wanted to know. She wanted to be sure. But she couldn’t understand Rarity, because she wasn’t Rarity.
Wasn’t Loyalty just Generosity, militant and personal? She could understand that. Rainbow sighed. That wasn’t really the point, but somehow it made her feel better. Crazy.
“Rarity, can I ask you a question?”
“I think we’re far beyond permission at this point.”
“I know you aren’t a virgin,” Rainbow began, as awkwardly as possible.
“That’s not a question, Dash. I am not.”
“You don’t care if I am?” Dash pressed. “That I haven’t really gone that far?”
“No, not particularly. That doesn’t bother me at all. I’m not after your experience, you silly fool.” She smiled up at Rainbow. “I’m in for you.”
“Would you hit me if I said I kind of don’t want to die that way,” she said quickly.
Rarity smacked her chest lightly. “Yes.”
Rainbow laughed nervously. “Sorry. That was lame. But… God. I have no idea. This is usually where I peel off like a bird about to hit a window.” She took a deep breath, and looked down at Rarity, whose eyes were suddenly very focused, very sharp. She swallowed. But that little emptiness in her chest ached. She felt suddenly lonely. She felt suddenly warm, all over her body. She knew what arousal was like. She recognized it as it happened, but there was something else, something that hurt.
“You want to? Because we may die?”
“Yes. I mean, no. Geeze. Rares, I don’t know. Maybe it’s just because I’m a pegasus and we’re horny?” Another light smack. “Yeah, I know. Sorry. I feel lonely. I feel kind of stupid,” she added, deciding to take the plunge. Go all the way. Be honest. A warrior was honest with herself. “I should have told you sooner. A few days ago, even. That would have been so much better, but now it’s all happening so fast because I kind of blew it.”
“I helped you along that path. I daresay we share that load equally.”
“Probably. A little of it is that I don’t want to die without having had… sex one time. You know,” she said, suddenly smiling. “Dad always told me a warrior was honest?”
“A wise stallion.”
“A good one. I’m trying to be honest here. Even if that’s not my thing. I want something. I want to have something of you when I’m out there. Something I can hold on to. That may not make sense, but--”
Rarity kissed her. It happened rather quickly. One minute, they were side by side and the next Rainbow found herself on her back, her wings pinned neatly under her, her hooves spread. Rarity looked down at her with eyes that glittered like diamonds in the cavernlike darkness of the abandoned lobby. “So you want this, then? Somepony experienced?” Rainbow could see her grinning even in the low light. She felt that suddenly the air was charged with something that was dangerous, but full of promise. Something weighty, something pregnant with meaning she had missed.
“I just want you,” she said, knowing how lame it sounded. But it was true. To tie herself to somepony, to be able to say that of anything, that it was hers.
Rarity leaned in and nibbled at her neck, and to her own surprise, Rainbow let out a high, keening moan. She clamped her teeth together, appalled.
“My. I did not expect that.”
“Shut up.”
“Come now. I liked it.”
Rainbow groaned in dismay. Mild, but still real dismay. Great. Way to lose what remained of her dignity, her cool.
“So you do want this. My gift to you. Or your gift to me.” Rarity stroked her face. She stroked her stomach and her flanks, down her legs, feeling every bit of them. “It astounds me that you’ve never seemed to understand just how amazingly you were formed. How brave your spirit is. It takes a lot of courage to risk this. Any of it.”
“Or a lot of, uh, being dumb.”
“Or that.” Rarity bit Rainbow’s shoulder lightly and was rewarded with a tiny groan. She moved back to kiss Rainbow, and then smiled down at her. “Well, I agree, as it happens. I want this too. I want you to leave me something, something I can take with me however long I can. But this is a promise, Rainbow Dash. Do you hear me?”
Her hooves wandered. Her horn flared, and Rainbow felt playful feelers move downwards, downwards.
“A promise?” she managed, eyes wide.
“You’re going to come back to me. In one piece. Safe, sound, sane. And if you lose a wing I will break the other one,” she said, but she grinned like a predator and Rainbow Dash loved it. She also loved that the playful magic feelers had lost their playfulness and found their destination and suddenly she could think of nothing. She was lost. She was drowning.
RARITY
Rainbow Dash panted. Rarity could feel how her chest heaved beneath her, and she shifted to give it space. Idly, she kissed the matted, sweat-soaked fur.
“Oh, gods. Stars. Light. The Hells below Tartarus,” Rainbow said hoarsely.
Rarity was giddy herself. She smiled and snuggled.
Eventually, when Dash’s breath was normal, she moved up to kiss her gently and they lay in the dark and waited.
She did not know how much time passed. She did not care. She actively wished not to know. Time was not her friend, not today. Not now.
“They’ll be sending a search party soon,” Rainbow said.
“I think not. We’re only two ponies.”
“Right.”
More silence. A few soft kisses. Soft, idle, comfortable caresses. It was amazing what a simple act could do. It was not simple. She reminded herself of this even as she knew that it was, indeed, simple. IT was both. She did not understand it. It was not a thing one understood.
“So,” Rainbow said again after the long pause. “A promise?”
“I meant it. That was not just hormones talking, Rainbow Dash. No more talk of death. We’re living. You’re living. You’re going to fly and I’m going to use every ounce of my magic and we’re getting out of here. We’ll carry Fluttershy all the way to Canterlot if we have to.”
“Aw, hell, what am I gonna tell her?”
“I think she won’t be even a little surprised.”
Rainbow laughed. “Probably not. I never could get what I was feeling deep down past her.”
Rarity sighed. “The sun’s not peeking through the blinds anymore.”
“I guess not,” Rainbow answered.
Rarity kissed her lover’s--what a strange word!--chest, her shoulders, her cheek. She did not want to go. She felt like she could not. But she did. She rose, stretching, yawning. In truth, she perhaps paraded a bit, showed off. Why not? Whyever not, in such a world, in such a place, where nothing was in place and thus nothing was out of place?
“Come, Rainbow. I want to walk a bit before the fire’s upon us.”
Grumbling, Rainbow rose and stretched her legs and wings. Rarity watched those toned, fine legs, admired those strong wings.
They left the lobby and walked the streets again. It was the edge of night. The sun had retreated to a final fortress. The night that would not pass was coming. She looked out and thought, for the briefest of moments, that it was like the end of the world.