Epilogue - Reunited
I
The celebrations went on well into the night… and then carried on to the next morning, Cragsburg had probably never seen such festivities in all its years. Naturally time was taken before hand to tend to any wounded and make preparations for the dead, but almost as if fate had been on their side during the final battle, very few ponies actually lost their lives, and those who were injured, quickly found themselves recovering thanks to the efforts of the Celestial Sisterhood. Really, everypony was in the mood for celebrating their great victory, and with Rarity returned to them and the injured on their road to recovery, there was little reason to hold it off.
Everypony was saying it was a night to remember, but for Rarity, it was what happened the following morning that really made everything complete. It started out as whispers of something seen flying in from the distance, a few jokes that Cogs had let another one of his contraptions run wild, and finally full blown panic as everypony realised that, yes, Princess Celestia was flying in on her personal chariot. The celebrations came to a swift halt, as everypony composed themselves for the Princess’s presence. Rarity found it rather funny how in the past, some, if not many of them, had actively opposed the Princess, and yet faced with her impending presence, they couldn’t help but stand in line.
As the covered chariot touched down, the eyes of everypony fixed on it, and the doors opened, there was a collective holding of breath as the Sun Princess stepped out for everypony to see. Once out she stood to her full height, really it was a wonder she could even fit in that chariot, and she looked around at all her little ponies as they bowed politely.
“Well don’t stop on my account,” she said in a cheery voice, smiling brightly over them.
Rarity looked over to Twilight, who had gone into a low bow, but was now sniggering slightly at her mentor’s casual greetings. Rarity turned back to the Princess, she was smiling right up until she saw who was behind her, poking their heads out of the chariot. Rarity’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped as the three ponies clambered out behind her, looking around nervously for her. Finally, it was the smallest one spotted her first, her face lighting up like the morning sun.
“Rarity!” Sweetie Belle screamed in delight, as she charged forward.
Rarity immediately said ‘screw it’ to any social etiquette when standing before a Princess, and broke into a run herself. The moment they were close enough, Sweetie Belle leapt into Rarity’s outstretched hooves and they embraced tightly, both crying into each other shoulders as their parents ran into join them. Somewhere in the background, a few ponies ‘aww’d’, but most just smiled on silently.
“We’ve missed you so much!” her mother wept.
“Why didn’t you write?” her father asked, trying desperately to hold back his own tears as he clutched his daughter tightly. “We were so worried about you.”
“I think you’ll find…” Princess Celestia began calmly as she approached the family, all of whom immediately piped down to listen to her. “That your daughter has been quite busy as of late, she has accomplished a great many things since she came here.”
“She… she has?” Rarity’s mother asked, slightly blown away by the praise the Princess was giving her daughter.
There was a tumultuous cheer across the crowd of gathered ponies, and while it was difficult to make many of them out, it was clear that they were cheering for Rarity.
“Your daughter is a hero,” Princess Celestia finished, smiling down at Rarity.
“Not quite,” Rarity replied, before her parents could begin gushing with praise. “The things I did… I didn’t do them alone.”
Rarity glanced back at where her friends stood, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, but beyond them, there were even more. She saw Water Lily and Rose Bud, Big Mac and Cogs, Applebloom and Scootaloo, Spitfire and Feather Duster, Hammerhead and Cirrus, Holly and Hex, and even Spike, now returned to normal size.
“I was just one hero,” Rarity specified. “One of many.”
II
After the initial excitement of their reunion, Rarity’s family finally allowed her some space so the Princess could address her and the others. Things were a little more formal at that point, the task of addressing the Princess fell to Rarity and Lily, who briefly informed her of the events that led up to the battle, as well as the current political landscape of the country. Twilight Sparkle stood by the Princess’s side the entire time, occasionally whispering into her ear. Rarity glanced over at the others, who all stood off to the side and waited in silence for them to finish, but as Rarity looked at them, she couldn’t help but feel bothered by something, like something… or somepony was missing.
“Well, things have certainly been very interesting here,” Princess Celestia said, when Lily finished delivering her assessment. “And most definitely very difficult for you all, I deeply regret not having been here to lend you the aid of myself and my armies. Still… you handled yourselves incredibly well on your own, if anything, it looks like you’ve all come out stronger than before. If this isn’t enough evidence to prove to the rest of the Equestrian government that Panchea is fit to rule itself, I don’t know what is.”
Lily stared back in amazement, her mouth hanging open slightly. Rarity managed to keep her composure a little better, even if she too was internally jumping for joy.
“And of course,” Princess Celestia continued. “You will have Equestria’s full support, both in your immediate recovery following this conflict… and as your ally in the future.”
“I… thank you for your understanding Princess,” Lily stammered in a disbelieving tone, before sinking into a clumsy bow.
“I take it you shall be leading the Rebellion… I’m sorry, the Union, in the absence of all your previous leaders?” Celestia asked, directing her attention specifically to Lily for a moment.
“Actually…” Lily began, looking across to Rarity. “It was Rarity who led us during our most difficult times; I think it should be her who continues to lead us. She’s certainly proven herself time and time again to have the talent for it, but more than that, she has the combined wisdom of all her friends to help her.”
“A very interesting proposal,” Celestia commented, although it was clear she had planned for the conversation to go in that very direction. “What do you say Rarity? The darkest part of the night is behind you, will you continue to lead this country to a new morning?”
Rarity didn’t immediately answer, taking up the role of leader when things were at their worst was one thing, but it was like the Princess had said, the worst part was now behind them. Rebuilding the country and helping to restore true and lasting peace would be a huge responsibility, she could always pass it onto somepony more qualified, there was no urgency this time around. However, as she looked around at her friends and thought of what Lily had said about their combined wisdom, Rarity knew she could provide something as a leader that few others could.
“I will continue to lead,” Rarity announced at last, there was a monumental cheer from the surrounding crowds until Rarity held up a hoof to indicate she was not yet finished. “Until such times as a stable, national government can be set up, and official elections can be held.”
The cheers resumed and the Princess smiled down at Rarity, clearly pleased, and even a little impressed at her decision. Rarity looked to her friends for signs of approval, which she received across the board. As the noise started to die down, Rarity turned back to Lily who was also smiling, she was getting pretty comfortable with that Rarity had noticed.
“I hope you’ll stay with me,” Rarity said to her. “I’ll need my Marshal… and I don’t think Rainbow Dash would be happy if I tried to promote her.”
Rainbow chuckled behind Rarity, but she ignored that.
“Well, I would be honoured to continue serving you,” Lily said, bowing her head respectfully before snapping it up as if she’d suddenly thought of something. “But I will have to make one request.”
“Um, of course, anything,” she promised, a little taken a back but not annoyed.
“I will continue to serve you… but Rose won’t,” she stated firmly, her brother did a double take at that, but she carried on. “You won’t ever ask him to be a soldier, an agent, a spy or an assassin. You’ll never ask him to fight for you… heck, you’ll never let him fight.”
Before Rarity could answer, Rose made his way over to his sister and began conversing with her in his usual silent way.
“No Rose,” Lily said flatly. “You’ve followed me long enough; you’ve given up more than enough to watch over me. When I joined the Rebellion, I did it because I believed passionately in what they were seeking to achieve… but I never stopped to see that none of that mattered to you, that you had given up everything that you were passionate about, just so you could stay by my side… or maybe I did see, and I just refused to acknowledge it, because what I wanted was more important than what you really wanted. Not anymore though, I’ll continue to do what I’m doing, but I want to know you’re doing what makes you happy as well.”
Rose gave her a few looks which she quickly read.
“I know the garden centre is gone,” she admitted. “I’m sure we’ll figure something out though.”
“You know,” Applejack cut in, stepping forward. “If you’re lookin’ for a place to do some gardening, then you’re more than welcome to stay at Sweet Apple Acres. We’ve got tonnes of space, and we could always do with an extra set of hooves about the farm, especially an expert in plants such as yourself.”
Rose contemplated the idea, Rarity could tell he hated the idea of leaving Lily on her own, but the sound of Applejack’s offer was incredibly tempting.
“Yeah mister!” Applebloom chipped in, jumping up behind Applejack. “Our farm’s great, we’ve got loads of space, and we’re always welcomin’ new ponies, you’d be right at home!”
“Eyup,” Big Mac agreed, right before swiping up Applebloom and carrying her away from the incredibly important diplomatic meeting about gardening she just interrupted.
Rose blinked slightly before glancing back at his sister, who gave him an encouraging nod. Finally he relented and gave a quick gesture, which Rarity knew meant he would consider it.
“You know…” Princess Celestia began, looking over at Twilight Sparkle. “What with Panchea’s new status and our relationship with them, we’re going to need to appoint an official ambassador. Somepony who would be able to travel over regularly, and is already on good terms with the locals.”
“I think that would be for the best,” Twilight agreed. “And I’d be honoured to fill the role.”
“You’re sure this wouldn’t be placing too much responsibility on you?” Celestia asked in a slightly wary voice. “You already have so many other duties.”
“I think I shall be able to handle it, besides…” Twilight assured her, glancing off to where Spike stood, shuffling awkwardly to hide his anticipation. “I’ve already found a suitable candidate for an assistant, someone who has agreed to alleviate some of my burdens in return for… certain rights he would not usually be otherwise familiar with.”
Celestia followed Twilight’s gaze, her eyes widening ever so slightly, before nodding in acceptance.
“I shall leave that decision in you capable hooves,” Celestia replied simply before looking in Fluttershy’s direction. “Now, Sister Fluttershy, could you step forward so I might have a word with you?”
Fluttershy squeaked in horror at being addressed by the Princess directly, looking in panic at Rarity, who offered her no sanctuary, but rather shooed her on up to the spotlight. Fluttershy slinked forward, bowing low in front of the Princess.
“You may rise Sister,” Celestia allowed, which Fluttershy reluctantly obeyed. “I am aware of the incident regarding the previous High Priestess, Starlight Glimmer. Naturally I am horrified and deeply ashamed by her actions, I will see to it that she receives due punishment for what she attempted to do in her position. You however… you defied centuries of tradition and lead your fellow Sisters from the Bask into a war.”
Fluttershy didn’t say anything, she had no excuses, her actions spoke for themselves, but that didn’t stop her trembling in the Princess’s gaze.
“It is clear that the Celestial Sisterhood has been stagnating for some time,” Celestia said suddenly, earning shocked gasps form many ponies, and for Fluttershy to stare at her in disbelief. “To continue to abide by such out dated traditions in this day and age, the Sisterhood could never have functioned as it was intended. In truth, I was at fault for allowing this to happen, but you… you have changed that, you have given the Sisterhood renewed purpose. I can think of no pony better to lead your fellow sisters through this time of change, as such I will anoint you, Fluttershy, as the new High Priestess of the Celestial Sisterhood, if you are willing to take on this mantle.”
“I... of course, I mean…” Fluttershy stammered, clearly unable to decide how she felt about it all, before finally composing herself. “If this is what you wish, then I will accept your offer.”
Rarity broke into a wide smile, as Princess Celestia began the process of anointing Fluttershy as the new High Priestess; she could see the look on Fluttershy’s face, like she couldn’t believe this was really happening, while Celestia looked back at her with… pride? Rarity wasn’t able to think about that for too long, before she felt something tap her on the shoulder. Looking around, she saw a face poking out from behind the crumbling remains of a wall some distance away. Rarity knew somepony had been missing, Pinkie Pie had vanished the moment the Princess showed up, but there she was again, pelting her with stones to get her attention.
As Pinkie disappeared behind the wall, Rarity slipped away from her friends, navigating to where Pinkie was hiding. Pinkie was shifting about, pacing back and forth as she waited for Rarity to come talk to her. When she looked up and saw her friend had arrived, she gave a wide smile and pulled her into a surprisingly gentle hug.
“I wanted to say goodbye before I left,” Pinkie whispered, letting go quickly and starting to back up.
“Left?” Rarity repeated, confused.
“Yeah, you know,” Pinkie replied in an uncomfortable voice. “Lots of places to go, things to see, there’s only so long the Spirit of Chaos can stay in one place, you know?”
“You’re leaving?” another voice asked from behind Rarity.
Rarity first saw Pinkie flinch, clearly caught out by the one pony she didn’t want to see, before turning to see Twilight had followed her behind the wall. Twilight was looking wide eyed and confused; Pinkie was trying not to meet her gaze.
“B… but why?” Twilight asked, perplexed.
“You know why,” Pinkie whispered back. “She can’t see me, she’ll know who I am in an instant, and then… and then it’s back to Tartarus. I can’t go back there, I don’t remember much, but what I do remember… I just can’t.”
“But Pinkie,” Twilight began, rushing forward and grabbing hold of her hooves so she couldn’t disappear randomly. “I… I can talk to her; I’ll make her see that you’ve changed, that you’re good now.”
“I can’t ask you to do that Twilight,” Pinkie said forlornly. “I know how much she means to you, I can’t ask you to risk your relationship for my sake.”
“But it’s not fair,” Twilight mumbled, screwing up her face and clenching her eyes. “You’re just as much of a hero as the rest of us… you shouldn’t have to run.”
“It’s only temporary,” Pinkie promised her. “I’ll find a way to show I’ve changed on my own, then you won’t have to, but until then… I can’t stay.”
“You’ll come back, right?” Twilight asked, sounding a little desperate. “You always come back... even when I don’t want you to.”
“Of course I will,” Pinkie assured her. “No matter what happens, no matter where we go, you and I always seem to find our way back to one another.”
Rarity hadn’t interrupted, but she was just releasing how close the two were drawing to one another. She began to feel rather awkward as she watched the pair freeze, staring deep into each other’s eyes, their muzzles mere inches apart, with their mouths slightly parted. She really should have called this, but as touching as it was, all Rarity really wanted was to get out of there and not be the only witness to… whatever was happening between these two. However, just as things were about to reach the climax, Twilight flinched back suddenly. She quickly let go of Pinkie’s hooves, backing up slightly, before turning and running away.
Pinkie stood still, her hooves still hanging in the air where Twilight had been holding them, her eyes were glazed and she had an odd look on her face. As Rarity walked over to her, she seemed to shake it off, giving a small sigh as she dropped back to all fours.
“I was hoping to avoid that,” she muttered in a disappointed voice.
“You really don’t have to go,” I told her. “We won’t let Celestia harm you.”
“I know you won’t, but…” Pinkie began, shuddering slightly. “You don’t know her like I do, she despises me.”
“Why?” I asked in utter bewilderment.
“Just another question I need answering,” Pinkie replied in a stern voice, before reverting back to her usual joyful persona. “I’ll be back before you know it Rarity, so until then…”
Pinkie pulled up her jester hood and donned her grinning mask.
“Smile.”
And with that, she vanished, simply disappearing from Rarity’s sight. Maybe she teleported, maybe she turned invisible and was currently running away, or maybe she jumped into an alternate dimension. When it came to Discord, anything was possible… Pinkie Pie was no different.
III
Rarity, Twilight and Celestia walked together through the Union camp; the revelries were once again in full swing, now that the diplomatic matters had been dealt with for the time being. Rarity noticed how withdrawn Twilight had been following her encounter with Pinkie Pie, she was obviously feeling very conflicted over it, as much as Rarity would have liked to sit down with her and have a heart to heart about it, she decided it would be best to give her a little time first. Not to mention she was practically glued to Celestia, and mentioning Pinkie around her was obviously a bad idea considering the circumstances of her departure, it had been hard enough trying to hide Pinkie’s involvement with everything from the Princess.
As the three of them travelled together, Rarity took it upon herself to talk as much as she could to the Princess, even when she didn’t have anything worth saying, just trying to keep her focused, so she wouldn’t pick up on how mopey Twilight had become. Celestia didn’t want to stay too long, as she had to get back to Equestria, but there were a few individual’s she wanted to speak to personally outside of myself and my friends. We found the pair of them sitting outside Twilight’s tent, they were joined by four Union soldiers who were supposed to be guarding them, but all six of them were chatting and drinking and generally getting along quite well.
When they saw us approaching, both the ‘prisoners’ were quick to stand up and bow low before the Princess, while the four soldiers all stood to attention for Rarity. She excused them, and very soon the trio were left alone with Feather Duster and Spitfire.
“Princess, I want to begin by…” Spitfire tried to say, but Celestia didn’t let her get any further.
“Captain Spitfire, I wish to speak to Feather Duster alone for a moment,” she stated, her tone making it very clear that there would be no question in the matter. “I would like you to wait elsewhere, and I will speak to you in a moment.”
Spitfire quickly closed her mouth and bowed once more, before quickly marching away. Now only Feather Duster remained, trembling slightly under the Princess’s gaze.
“You needn’t be afraid my little pony,” Celestia assured him in a calm, understanding voice. “Rarity and Twilight have already told me everything you’ve done. You helped Blueblood by joining his renegade faction known as the Solar Empire, you performed reconnaissance work in the city of Port Mule, and ultimately played a minor role in the destruction of the Fort there and the subsequent deaths of a great number of ponies… but you also cooperated with your interrogators and supplied information that aided in the stopping of the Solar Empire. More than that, you volunteered yourself to help the Union army during their fight with Blueblood, and accounts I’ve heard, say you fought valiantly.”
I could see Feather Duster looking almost hopeful as he listened to the Princess praising him.
“You know that we must still charge you for what you’ve done,” Celestia continued. “But I can promise that you will be looked upon favourably and punished leniently because of the steps you have taken on the path to redemption.”
“T… thank you Princess!” Feather Duster gushed, suddenly quite overwhelmed by emotions as he bowed again. “I can’t tell you how much I regret what happened… I promise I’ll prove myself a changed stallion.”
“You’re already making a good start,” Celestia told him with a smirk. “Now why don’t you run on and have fun with your comrades, I don’t think you’ll try to run away. Also, if you could call Captain Spitfire over on your way, I would appreciate it.”
Feather Duster did as he was bided, leaving, but not before beaming at Rarity, who returned it quite genuinely. Moments later, Spitfire marched back looking determined, if not slightly resigned to what was coming.
“Princess,” Spitfire greeted, giving a short bow before saluting.
“I would like to begin by thanking you Captain Spitfire,” Celestia began, although her voice had a clear edge to it. “The tip off you gave us into the actions of the Solar Empire were vital, had you not, they might have been able to go undetected for much longer, whenever we did discover them it might have been too late. It is clear you never had any real ties to Blueblood or his group, so you can rest easy knowing you will not be charged for involvement… however, you disobeyed my express orders by returning here with the intention of seeking revenge for your friend.”
Spitfire grimaced, she was clearly annoyed at being scolded, but didn’t respond, just stood silent and waited for the Princess to say what she wanted to say.
“I will not keep you,” Celestia went on, picking up on her irritation. “You will be suspended for a period of six months, during your absence, Surprise was promoted to Deputy; she will stand in as Captain until you return. You may leave now, and in future when I give you a direct order, I expect you to follow it.”
“Yes Princess,” Spitfire replied in a dull voice, bowing, if only to hide the grinding of her teeth.
Once she too had left, the Princess had one other pony she was eager to speak to, but this was on a more positive matter, one which Rarity was keen to get involved in. Cogs wasn’t celebrating like the rest, he was found sitting on his own, warming himself by a campfire.
“Hello there Cogs,” Rarity greeted, snapping him out of his daze. “Is there something wrong?”
“Oh, hello Rarity… Princess,” Cogs replied, hurriedly standing up and stooping into a bow when he noticed Celestia. “And yes, eversing is wonderful, after today, I don’t believe anysing can be wrong.”
“You just looked a bit… lonely, sitting here on your own,” Rarity informed him. “I figured you’d be joining in with the celebrations.”
“Oh I’m much too old for zis level of excitement,” he replied with a little chuckle. “Perhaps once I have recovered my energy a bit, I shall go back for more. Until then, how might I be of service?”
“I wanted to personally congratulate you on your involvement with yesterday’s victory,” Celestia informed him. “Rarity has told me a great deal about your research and the inventions you’ve made, we’ve been discussing a proposition if you’d be interested.”
“Oh, what proposition is zis?” he asked, sounding intrigued.
“Well, we have been thinking about how we might cut down the travel time between our countries,” Rarity began to explain. “Three week long voyages can be a large time commitment for anypony, and not everypony has access to Princess grade chariots.”
“Well, quite,” Celestia picked up, giving a small titter. “Essentially what we would be asking of you, is that you adapt your Dreadnaught model to a more… commercial design, something that would allow quick and regular transport for lots of ponies between Panchea and Equestria.”
“Zat sounds very possible,” Cogs replied thoughtfully. “It would be extremely expensive, and would take some time to get it lifted off the ground… no pun intended.”
“Well you don’t need to worry about costs,” Celestia promised. “We’ll take care of all that, we are after all expecting this development to mean big things for the world of international trade, so I think it’s a worthy investment.”
“And if you have any other bright ideas,” Rarity went on. “Like adapting that underwater boat we found to improve our ships, or long range communication like the one you had installed in the plane, just let us know and we’ll help you make it a reality.”
“I will be sure to,” Cogs responded with a nod. “Ah, zis is quite an exciting opportunity, a technological revolution… finally my creations might be used for good, instead of war and violence.”
“Do not fear,” Celestia assured him, with a smooth grin. “So long as I rule Equestria, these developments will never be used for evil.”
IV
Rarity was very thankful for when the Princess left to attend to some private business, because it meant that she was free to spend some time with her family, catching up and hearing about their lives since she left, as well as introducing them to her new friends. She primarily wanted them to meet Applejack, since she would eventually have to tell them about what happened to the house and that Applejack had offered to let them all stay on the farm as long as they wanted, although Rarity promised it would only be until they could get back on their hooves.
Of course Applejack was her usual courteous and respectable self; Rarity’s parents fell in love with her instantly, and she knew they would get along with the rest of the Apple family just as well. Sweetie Belle was a little more difficult when it came to introducing her to other ponies, Rarity knew she was just anxious around strangers, it made her a little worried how she’d handle living at Sweet Apple Acres, which was now packed with ponies who would all be new to her, but her worries were quickly assuaged when Big Mac arrived on scene with Applebloom and Scootaloo.
If her parents got along well with Applejack, it was nothing compared to how perfectly Sweetie Belle seemed to mesh with the other two fillies. Rarity was instantly relieved that they managed to kick things off so well, she was also a little touched, and very embarrassed, when Scootaloo started gushing to Sweetie Belle about what an awesome big sister she had. Rarity was happy to let the three run off together, so long as Big Mac followed and kept an eye on them. As they started running off, she could already hear Scootaloo proposing that the three of them make a club together, she wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard something about cutie marks.
After that, Rarity led her parents away from the celebrations towards the camp, they were both quite exhausted from their long travel, especially after being swept away at such short notice. Rarity took them both to her own tent, where she hurriedly changed the bedding and allowed them to make themselves at home. She left them be, and promised she would come back and see them later that evening, they still had much to discuss, but it could wait a while yet. When she got back to her friends, she found Applejack and Rainbow Dash just starting a drinking competition, an event which had drawn quite a crowd of rowdy soldiers who were eagerly betting on it.
Rarity didn’t chastise anypony for this or try to put a stop to it… if only because she ended up putting twenty bits on Applejack winning against Gale. It looked like it might take a while, since both of them would probably hold their own for quite long, so Rarity moved on and made a mental note to come back and see if she won or not. She found Fluttershy, who was meeting with Holly and a number of other sisters; they were all congratulating her on her promotion, and asking what she was planning with regards to the big changes Celestia was hinting at. After taking that first step from the Bask into the big bad world, and seeing first-hand what good they could accomplish outside the confines of their sanctuary, they all seemed quite eager to go further and do more.
Fluttershy was obviously still reeling from becoming High Priestess, and all the questions were clearly overwhelming her a bit. So Rarity came to the rescue and assured them that Fluttershy had lots of ideas, which she just needed to run by the Princess before making any kind of announcements. This seemed to placate the mares and they all left quite cheery, leaving Fluttershy to let out a long sigh.
“Oh, I have no idea what I’m doing,” she moaned.
“Of course you don’t,” Rarity told her, as if it was obvious. “But you will, you just need to give yourself time to adjust and learn what kind of leader you’ll be, figure out exactly what you want to do, as well as what’s best for the ponies following you.”
“It can be difficult having leadership thrust upon you, but you’re not the only one who did…” Holly added, glancing between Fluttershy and Rarity. “You’ll both do fine, but nopony says you have to figure it all out on your own. If you work with and support one another, then you’ll do more than fine, you’ll be more than fine, you can be exceptional leaders.”
“Thank you Holly,” Rarity responded, taken by surprise, but feeling rather touched by the sentiment.
“Yes, thank you both of you,” Fluttershy agreed. “It’s going to be strange, but… I’m looking forward to it.”
Holly suggested going over to the medical centre to check in on the few ponies who were still be treated, as well as the other sisters still on duty, so Rarity bid them farewell and went on her way. She ran into Hex next, he was holding a magic mirror and was in the middle of contacting Diaboli, telling her of their success and the political developments. When he saw Rarity approaching, he waved her over and invited her to talk to the older mare, who lit up upon seeing her.
“Ah, Rarity my dear,” she greeted warmly. “Well done on your victory, Hex here tells me it was all down to you and your friends. I just knew the moment I saw you, there was something special about you.”
“Well thank you Mistress Diaboli,” Rarity replied, feeling a bit light headed from all this praise. “But really, we couldn’t have done it without the combined efforts of everypony.”
“Don’t be so modest dear,” Diaboli went on. “After all, you wouldn’t have been declared the new leader of Panchea if you hadn’t played a significant role. So what is it they’re calling you now? President Rarity?”
“I hope not,” Rarity said, with a noticeable shudder.
“Well, whatever you settle on,” she continued with a small chuckle. “You’ll be pleased to hear that a number of the council have resigned, and in their place some considerably more… rational ponies have been selected, ponies who will quite readily support the ending of the Arcane Order in favour of a unified Panchea government.”
“I am glad to hear it,” Rarity responded, with a knowing smirk. “Can I trust you will be available to help represent this new government?”
“Certainly President Rarity, so nice of you to offer,” Diaboli answered in an overly innocent voice.
Rarity scowled and gave the mirror back to Hex, who was sniggering, unable to maintain a straight face. Rarity very quickly laughed good-naturedly, and said goodbye to both of them. The next ponies she encountered was Hammerhead and his friends, who in all the time Rarity had spent with them, had never actually told her their names. Most surprisingly, she found them sitting alongside Cirrus, Cyclone, Zephyr, Eerie and Alabaster, all of them chatting, laughing, drinking heavily, and patched up to various degrees.
She sat down and joined them briefly, accepting a drink cider, which she found definitely took the edge off. She stayed and chatted with them until she was finished, Cirrus and the others said they would go back to their club at Olympus, while Hammerhead and his friends told her that they would finally settle back down in Cragsburg, now that it was no longer run by psychos. When she left them and moved on, she was faintly aware that Hammerhead had been a little too drunk and distracted by their new friends from Olympus, to remember his earlier offer of the pair of them going out for a drink together, she wasn’t sure whether she was happy about that or not.
The last stop she made was on the roof of the Cragsburg keep, she wasn’t sure what drew her there, but somehow she wasn’t surprised to see a familiar pair hiding up there, chatting away in privacy. At least one of them was chatting away, the other just sitting and listening. Rarity held back, ducking down behind the same tower she had hid behind during the surprise attack, listening in for a moment before revealing herself.
“I was… nearly not about to leave,” Lily admitted awkwardly. “I still thought I could run from it, you can thank Rarity for wising me up… you can thank Rarity for a lot of things.”
Rarity smirked at that, she probably shouldn’t have been eavesdropping, but she couldn’t help herself.
“You two always got along so well,” she went on. “I remember the first time you brought her up; I couldn’t believe it was the same pony I’d met in Pivot. You seemed so… interested in her, even back then, she would have made a better sister than me.”
Rose gave her a short, sharp jab on the shoulder in response; I could make out the frown on his face.
“I know, I’m sorry,” she replied, rubbing the place where he hit her. “But just you wait, things will be better from this point onwards. I hope you’ll take Applejack up on her offer, it’ll be good for you… and I could escape once in a while and join you, live like we used to, before the Rebellion and the war.”
Rose nodded, looking satisfied at the thought, before quirking an eyebrow, nudging Lily and indicating something to her.
“Oh…” Lily responded, her voice a little cooler. “Quit hiding back there Rarity!”
Rarity smirked; she was surprised it had taken Rose that long to catch her out. She stepped out and made her way over to them, they weren’t sore about her listening in, and they let her stay with them and the three… or more accurately the two talked, while the third listened and occasionally signed. After a while, they decided it was time to stop hiding from everypony and returned to the camp. They got fresh drinks, found some familiar faces to join… and Rarity collected her twenty bits.
V
It was getting late into the evening when Rarity, Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia detached themselves from the celebrations, that had once again returned to full swing, and went for a walk around the battlefield. Even in the low light, Rarity could still make out the carcass of the Dreadnaught, Blueblood may have been ripped from the bridge, but the husk of the ship itself remained at the sight of where it all ended. There was talk of leaving it, preserving it exactly as it was in its ruined state, to serve as a monument to the end of the conflict.
Rarity was lagging back from the other two, they were discussing some rather personal matters, and she didn’t want to appear nosey. Not that she couldn’t hear every word they were saying, they weren’t exactly trying to keep their conversation from reaching her ears.
“We couldn’t have got her out,” Twilight said, her voice full of shame. “I imagine she’s buried under the cathedral now.”
“It’s alright Twilight,” Celestia said, lifting her chin up with her hoof. “Expecting you risk your lives to preserve one… body, would be ridiculous. What’s done is done; you shouldn’t feel guilty for what happened.”
“Blueblood…” Twilight began in a high pitched voice, before composing herself. “Blueblood only knew about her tomb… because of me, he figured it out after I went there and you… shouted at me.”
The last few words came out as little more than a whisper, now it was Celestia’s turn to look guilty.
“I’m sorry I lost my temper with you over that,” Celestia said sincerely. “It seems a bit late for an apology I know, but at least now you know why I reacted the way I did.”
“I just feel like it was all my fault,” Twilight muttered. “She was your friend, and she was desecrated because of what I did.”
“What you did?!” Celestia repeated in disbelief. “Never say that Twilight! Blueblood made the choice, the fault is in him and his allies… but you made the choice to stop him, and for that I am truly grateful.”
Celestia placed a comforting hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, but she still looked ill at ease.
“When we found out what they had done…” she began in a distant voice. “I was… so angry, and I don’t know why. It felt like… like what he did to Clover… he had done against a good friend of mine, like Rarity or you.”
Celestia’ s hoof retracted quickly from Twilight’s shoulder, a brief look of worry flashing across her features, but only for an instance, before she returned to her usual look of serene calm.
“Empathy is an important life skill Twilight,” Celestia pointed out. “There’s nothing wrong with getting angry or upset over what happened, if anything, I’m touched that you can appreciate my pain over the matter.”
“Yeah…” Twilight replied, not sounding too certain about it. “Thank you Princess, and again, I’m sorry for what happened, I’ll give you a moment alone.”
Twilight gave a curt bow, before turning and making her way back towards the city, as she passed by Rarity, she noticed that same distant look reappearing on her face. With Twilight gone, and Princess Celestia staring out over the battlefield and the Dreadnaught remains, Rarity suddenly felt very awkward.
“Um… Princess?” she began tentatively. “Would you like me to go as well, so you can be alone?”
“Hmm? Oh, no Rarity, it’s fine,” Celestia assured her, although it sounded like she had only just remembered Rarity was there. “Besides, you look like something’s bothering you. Is there something you would like to discus with me?”
“Um, yes actually,” Rarity admitted, making her way over to stand by the Princess. “I wanted to talk about what happened after we defeated Blueblood, when I…”
Rarity drifted off, but Celestia could tell where she was going.
“You are referring to when your Element was damaged,” she finished. “And you disappeared.”
“Yes,” Rarity confirmed. “I was wondering… do you know what happened to me?”
“I’m afraid not,” Celestia admitted. “The Elements and their properties have always been a mystery to me, they really were Clover’s domain.”
“Oh, well… when I became disconnected,” Rarity began. “I got caught in the crossfire of the magic we had been using against Blueblood… and I ended up going someplace else for a while.”
“Blueblood is safely locked away in Tartarus,” Celestia stated with a frown. “You don’t mean to tell me you followed him, do you?”
“No, thankfully,” Rarity assured her with a look of relief. “No, because my friends tried to hold back… I ended somewhere else. I was on a boat… in the middle of endless sea… and there was another pony there with me.”
“Oh?” Celestia uttered, raising a curious eyebrow.
“She asked me how I came to be there,” Rarity recalled. “And I told her my story; from the day I first met Twilight and Blueblood, to the day where we defeated him here. When it was over, she gave me my Element back and told me I could use it to go back home if I thought about my friends.”
“And that worked?” Celestia questioned, to which Rarity nodded in response. “Interesting, do you know who this pony was?”
“Well, that’s the thing…” Rarity continued in a hesitant voice. “When I opened the door, and I was able to come back, I asked if she wanted to come with me… but she said she couldn’t. She did however, ask me to deliver a message to somepony very important to her… to you.”
Celestia froze, her face completely blank and expressionless as she waited for Rarity to continue.
“She stood up and revealed herself to me, and she…” Rarity stopped, trying to find the right words to describe the pony, until she glanced up to see the first stars appearing overhead. “Princess Celestia, there was a moment some time ago, back when I first met Fluttershy, where she took me out to look at the night sky. I had never really taken the time to stop and appreciate just how incredible it all was, it was… enchanting. Ever since then, I now look up at the stars in the sky and I’m at awe of the sheer magnificence of it all. This pony I met on the boat… it was as if she encapsulated all the beauty of the night sky in one body.”
Celestia’s eyes were now wide, her breathing had become shallow, and her whole body tensed.
“And what did she say?” Celestia asked in a barely audible voice.
“She wanted me to tell you…” Rarity started, closing her eyes and thinking back, so she got it word for word. “It doesn’t matter what happens, because even when we’re worlds apart, I’ll always be with you, and I know you’ll be there with me… always, until the end.”
Celestia’s breath seemed to catch in her throat, and for a moment, Rarity was sure her eyes had become shiny with unshed tears.
“Princess…” Rarity began in a concerned tone
Celestia didn’t answer for some time; it was like she was no longer there in the present with Rarity, as the message became the only thing that mattered.
“Thank you for delivering that message Rarity,” Celestia finally said in same quiet voice. “Now… I think I would like to be left alone.”
Rarity nodded, bowing in a similar fashion as Twilight had done, before making her own way back. As she walked away, she briefly glanced back and saw Celestia was no longer staring over the battlefield or the Dreadnaught, but up at the night sky, as more stars began to twinkle into view.
Rarity sat down on the rocky crag, her parents and sister were already waiting there for her. Sweetie Belle opened her mouth to say something, but was quickly shushed by her mother, they continued to wait in silence for Rarity to speak.
“The house is gone,” she said finally. “There’s nothing left.”
Sweetie Belle gasped, but her parents nodded in acceptance, they had no doubt guessed as much. Rarity reached into her saddlebags and pulled out the photos she had held on to this entire time, passing them over to her parents.
“It was all I was able to recover,” she stated as her parents looked over them, smiling as they did. “I’m so sorry I didn’t write, but after seeing what happened to the house… I wanted to try and sort an alternate out before I wrote to you; I wanted to be able to show something for my travels. After a while though, it stopped being about finding a suitable house and more about… building a better home.”
“We were just so worried,” her father told her again. “We don’t blame you, but…”
“It was hard,” her mother finished. “We thought you’d been hurt or di… or worse.”
Rarity bit her lip, she had indeed been hurt many times, even died, but she decided it would be better to tell her parents about that gradually. Instead, her eyes lit up as she remembered something, pulling the draw string pouches from around her neck she passed them to her father.
“It wasn’t always easy,” she began, as her father stared in delight at what she was holding out to him. “But I kept them safe, I… I didn’t really realise how much I missed you all until I was already gone, but being able to hold onto these… just made everything that much easier.”
Her father pushed her hoof back, clearly indicating she should keep the objects, before pulling her into a tight hug.
“I’m so proud of you,” he whispered, and she could hear his voice cracking as he did. “Hero or not, you’re still as perfect to me as the day you were born.”
“Thank you father,” Rarity replied, returning the hug enthusiastically.
As they pulled apart, Rarity suddenly felt a slight pang in her chest as her eyes were drawn to her weapons, which she was still wearing.
“Mother… father…” she began awkwardly. “I know the word ‘hero’ has been getting thrown about a lot lately, but you should know… not everything I’ve done has been good.”
Rarity drew her sword, looking over the now clean blade, seeing it bathed in all the blood it had drawn since the day Applejack bequeathed it to her.
“I’ve made… many mistakes,” she admitted, looking away from her family in shame.
She suddenly felt a hoof on her own, and glanced up to see that it was her mother's. Her mother squeezed her hoof, the gentle persuasion making Rarity drop the sword the few inches to the ground.
“Everypony makes mistakes Rarity,” she began, but continued quickly when she saw her daughter was about to argue. “And sometimes they can be hard to live with, but know that nothing you’ve done could ever make us stop loving you. The fact that you can sit here and admit that you’ve made mistakes, proves that you’re a good pony… not that you ever needed to prove that to us.”
Rarity pulled her mother into a hug, smiling as she remembered what Twilight had told her the first time they met in Port Mule. Once they pulled apart, Rarity removed the sheath for her rapier, as well as her three daggers from their place on her belt, then she set them all to the side. As she did, Sweetie Belle began bouncing up and down in her face.
“Rarity, did you ever open that present Mister Fancy Pants asked me to give you?” she asked excitedly.
“I did actually,” Rarity told her with a smile, as she reached into the pouch where her compass was and pulled out the dull stone.
Sweetie Belle looked confused and a little bit disappointed when she saw it.
“I don’t understand,” she muttered in a put down voice. “What was so secret about this?”
“Sweetie Belle,” Rarity began as she held it out closer to her. “This little stone saved my life.”
“It did?!” Sweetie Bells exclaimed, her eyes growing wide.
“Yes, it used to contain a very powerful magic,” Rarity explained. “If not for this, I don’t think I’d be here today, and since it was you who gave this to me, in a way you are the one who saved my life.”
“I… I did?” Sweetie Belle asked in a hopeful voice.
Rarity pulled her into a hug, whispering directly into her ear
“Yes, thank you Sweetie Belle,” she said. “Thank you for saving me.”
Once all was said and done, Rarity instructed her family to lie back down on the crag. They all obeyed, a little confused as to what she was getting at. Once they were all lying down, staring up at the night sky, Rarity instructed them simply to look, and for a long time that was all they did. They lay together, reunited at long last, under the sea of stars.
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- Reeve · 42k words · 39 6 · 1.1k views
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The story is complete, to anyone who made it this far, you may have come across some linked text in the latter epilogue chapter and one of the chapters in Part 10. Clicking on these will lead you to two secret chapters (although they're hardly secret anymore, now that I'm blatantly telling you), although you need a password to access them. The password is simply 'Who was Rarity telling her story to?', this should be fairly obvious by the end of the story, but I ask that nobody give it away for anyone still reading. I didn't put final words in the author notes for this story, instead I did so in this blog if you care to read it.
Ah fuck, I accidentally deleted that linked blog post, and I don't remember what all I said on it so I can't faithfully recreate it. Well it went something along the lines of thanking people for reading and apologising for the unlikelihood of the sequels being written, hopefully anything else that was important was reiterated in my more recent blog post.
been reading since the first chapter. it was a good ride. thanks :)
Great story all along.Thank you very much for making it
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6842985
6842081 Thank you to both of you, I'm glad you stuck with it
6839136 I can see where you're coming from, I hope it wasn't too much of a deal breaker for you, thank you for reading none the less
Great story, finished it a couple of days ago but been way too busy to properly write anything, I do wonder if you plan to continue it if you do please let us know
6853826 I will, although even if I decide to I doubt I'll have enough free time to do any proper writing for some time yet, but thak you for reading anyway and I'm glad you liked it enough to want to see more
This is an excellent story; lots of imagination, excitement, feels, and complexity. I have to note in particular that there wasn't any over-drama, poor trope use, or simplistic plot devices, which is refreshing on this site.
There was one drawback to this story, though. It's a grammatical thing. I noticed that in many of your sentences, there were comma's where there should have been periods, or at least semi-colons. This resulted in a lot of run-on sentences and instances of being jarred out of the narrative, which was kinda annoying. Aside from that, though, the story was great.
I really want to read this. But 83 chapters...
1.bp.blogspot.com/-oppMm1oaNbI/Vdwtu34m2oI/AAAAAAAAQ0I/crZvMTMt3B4/s1600/omg-really.png
7088771 Tell me about it... I only read it for the first time recently
In all seriousness, I did actually read it from start to finish for the first time since writing it recently, had to do a huge edit, so if you want to read it, now is the best time since it's been fixed up a lot.
Edit: also I only just looked at the views this story has received in the last few days, would you know any reason why it got so much attention recently?
What chapter did Celestia lose her temper.
An amazing story, from start to finish. It is well worth the time to read for anyone. It's so sad that the author has left the site and that this will never have a sequel of any sort.
I love long fics like this and am profoundly glad that I stumbled across this one.
I've just started to read the story and it's amazing.
Great job, Reeve
I need to re read this. Well then, i know what my plan for the week is
Glad to find out I was wrong about those passworded chapters being sealed away forever.
Fantastic story. Well-crafted AU full of depth, all sorts of great action, my only gripe is that more proofreading was needed in a lot of parts. And the death/resurrection part of the story to a degree.
I really enjoyed this one.