Azure Edge

by Leaf Blade

80. The Students of Celestia

Haven’s Hold.

Rarity remembered it well; an underground cavern etched from floor to ceiling in faintly glowing yellow runes, the walls lined with weapons and armor and other magical items, decorated with nothing but dreary gray slab as far as the eye could see.

Rarity had only seen it once before, the night that changed her life forever, and she hated it then too.

She stood at the top of the stairs leading into the place, grimacing at the prospect of going down there again. Not only would it mean that she would need to once more fight against a dragon, but she would have to suffer the dreadful décor as well, and she wasn’t sure which was worse.

Rainbow Dash had no such hesitation, and by the time Rarity was done steeling her nerves, her partner was already halfway down the steps.

Rarity followed suit, and at the foot of the steps, standing right in the entrance to the dim and narrow hallway that led into the Hold proper, was a familiar fiery-tinted pegasus.

“Spitfire!” Rarity said with delight, affecting a charmed smile for her old friend.

“Glad you could finally make it, Rarity,” Spitfire grinned. “Was almost afraid you were gonna miss the reunion.”

“Reunion,” Rarity whispered, biting her lip even as it curled into a cautious smile. “We’re all together again, I take it?”

“Yep,” Spitfire nodded, “just waiting on you. And the Queen, obviously, but she’s always late to stuff like this.”

“Last minute preparations, I would assume,” Rarity said idly, though a groan from Rainbow Dash soon distracted her.

“Come on, you guys!” Rainbow grumbled. “We’re wasting time!”

“Let’s see if you’re so eager once we get to Baltimare, Rainbow Dash,” Spitfire chuckled, and Rainbow gave some teasing reply in return, but Rarity had checked out, biting on her thumbnail.

She was glad that Rainbow and Spitfire were excited, although it was too bad their enthusiasm didn’t rub off on her. Spitfire always was one to look forward to dangerous situations, though she was exceptionally cautious, and her confidence was not unearned.

Spitfire would be a boon to any mission, but Rarity was especially glad to have her around because she knew with Spitfire on board, Rarity wouldn’t have to feel so ‘in charge’ of everypony.

Rainbow and Spitfire exchanged idle banter and boasts of confidence, and Rarity followed them into the darkened hall until another voice interrupted them.

“This isn’t a competition, you two,” a beleaguered sounding woman said, and Rarity smiled at the familiar voice.

A pale earth mare dressed in gaudy purple leather, with a mane of raven hair tied into a loose ponytail, greeted the trio at the end of the hallway. Rarity recognized her instantly; the third of Celestia’s four prized students, Countess Coloratura.

“Well if it was,” Rainbow snickered, needling Spitfire with her elbow, “I’d definitely win.”

“Yeah, we’ll just see about that, Crash,” Spitfire playfully punched Rainbow in the arm, and Coloratura, her chiding being ignored as usual, let out a long-suffering sigh.

“Rarity, Rainbow Dash,” Coloratura said, her sternness enough to even get Rainbow’s attention, “do you two need to arm yourselves?”

“Nah, I got everything I need already,” Rainbow shrugged, and Rarity cracked a smirk at Rainbow’s commitment to doing everything with her own tools.

“You don’t want to peruse Celestia’s armory?” Coloratura had never met Rainbow Dash before, so from her perspective her question was quite reasonable, but Rarity knew Rainbow’s answer before she even spoke it.

“No,” Rainbow replied firmly, walking past Coloratura without another word, and Spitfire gave a halfhearted shrug and a smirk at the earth mare as Spitfire followed behind Rainbow.

“I would like to use the armory,” Rarity said, realizing she had left is such a rush that she didn’t have most of her own weapons on hand. “Would you mind showing me to it?”

“Not at all,” Coloratura said cheerfully, affecting a warm smile toward Rarity, who felt even more relaxed in the company of yet another of Celestia’s students. “Follow me, Rarity.”

Rarity wanted to make small talk with Coloratura, catch up on how she was doing and all that, but she was too distracted by mentally going through her process, making sure she knew what her role was to be in the upcoming battle and that she had everything she needed to be as effective and useful as possible.

“Going through the old routine, Rarity?” Coloratura smirked; she knew Rarity too well.

“Never hurts to be prepared,” Rarity smiled back, admittedly a bit bashful that she was read so easily, even if Coloratura always did have a knack for figuring out how others were feeling.

“Not at all,” Coloratura said with a sly grin, “unless you wind yourself up into a tizzy trying to cover every minute detail before the battle even begins.”

“What an intriguing hypothetical,” Rarity said innocently, and Coloratura let out a giggle as they reached the armory.

“Have you ever been in here before?” Coloratura asked as she closed Rarity’s gaping jaw. Celestia’s armory was far more expansive than Rarity was prepared for; a golden-lined room absolutely smothered in weapons, and Rarity scarcely knew where to begin.

“No, I haven’t,” Rarity said casually as she quickly took stock of the items in front of her.

She knew she would need a bow, and though she was certain the arrows available in Celestia’s armory would be powerful, she still lamented the absence of Pinkie Pie’s enchanted arrows.

Rarity found a longsword and a short-axe that were to her liking, and her own transforming shield was already fastened to her arm, that particular item never leaving Rarity’s side unless absolutely necessary.

“Truth be told,” Rarity said as she swung her newfound blade a few times, “while getting to use Celestia’s personal armory is a delight, I honestly prefer using the weapons my dear friend Applejack makes for me.”

“Applejack,” Coloratura said distantly, and Rarity suddenly blanched as she recalled the two’s connection. “How is she doing?” Coloratura asked, clasping her hands in front of her, though before Rarity could answer, Coloratura turned away and shook her head. “No, never mind. This isn’t the time for reminiscing.

“If you’ve got everything you need,” Coloratura took a deep breath and exited the armory, “then we should join the others as soon as possible.”

Rarity followed Coloratura back to the main room of Haven’s Hold, and she steeled herself because she knew there was only one more of Celestia’s students for her to run into.

Sure enough, the final student was standing, arms crossed, in the center of the room, dutifully waiting for Queen Celestia to arrive and ignoring the noisy chatter of Spitfire and Rainbow Dash.

Rarity’s stomach turned when she saw her. While Rarity had her arguments with Spitfire, the two worked together painlessly, and she enjoyed the pegasus’ company enough. Meanwhile, she and Coloratura were fast friends, and Rarity felt completely comfortable around her.

She couldn’t say any of those things about the burgundy giantess who she could never see eye to eye with. A mountain of a unicorn mare, towering above everypony but the Queen herself, with her plum-colored mane styled into a mohawk; she was quite a sight to behold, though even with her impressive manestyle and stature, it was hard for the eye not to be drawn to the unicorn’s shattered horn.

Rarity didn’t dare say anything to the unicorn as she and Coloratura approached, though she didn’t miss her contemptuous glance either.

“Rarity,” she said coldly.

“Tempest Shadow,” Rarity replied curtly.

When Celestia originally took her little quartet under her wing, she was originally supposed to only take three students from the academy; an earth pony, a pegasus, and a unicorn. Tempest was selected as the unicorn, but when Rarity made her, ahem, ‘stunning’ entrance into Celestia’s class, and Celestia took her as a fourth student, Tempest must have believed Rarity stole attention away that Tempest believed was hers.

Or something. Truth be told, Tempest’s disdain for Rarity was something Rarity could never figure out; all she knew was that while Tempest was a powerful, respectful, and responsible soldier, and proud student of Celestia—all things Rarity liked to believe they had in common—she was also quite unpleasant.

But Rarity wouldn’t have to dwell on Tempest for long, because just as Rarity was settling in, a bright yellow flash tore through the space in the center of the room as a shining white alicorn teleported into Haven’s Hold.

“You’re finally here!” Rainbow cheered, throwing her fist in the air, although Rarity noted that Celestia looked much less enthused.

“I am,” she said sternly, and Rainbow’s fist fell to her side. “Is everypony ready to defend Equestria? The situation in Baltimare is already dire, and we need to leave right away.”

“My Queen!” Coloratura said proudly, banging a fist against her chest. “We have all come prepared! We await your orders!”

“Yeah, what she said,” Spitfire added casually, arms behind her head.

“As long as Rarity doesn’t choke this time,” Tempest grumbled, and Rarity was about to offer a sharp retort, but Celestia beat her to it.

“Tempest Shadow!” Celestia glared at Tempest, gleaning a shocked expression from the normally unflappable mare for a fraction of a second. “Rarity is here because I summoned her, and I will not have my choice of comrades questioned. Understand?”

“Yes, my Queen,” Tempest bowed her head. “I apologize.”

“Now, before we depart,” Celestia said, her gaze falling on Rarity, who stood at attention, “there is one last order of business. Rarity?”

“Y-yes, my Queen?” Rarity saluted instinctively, though she should have known better than to treat Celestia differently than usual, as the Queen only chuckled at Rarity’s over-seriousness.

“This is for you,” Celestia’s horn flashed and after a crack of her yellow magic, a sword appeared in her hand that she held out to Rarity. “This onyx blade has a powerful enchantment on it. If the blade pierces the skin of an enemy, and you activate the enchantment, that enemy will die without fail.”

“W-what?!” Rarity balked stepping away from Celestia and her horrifying weapon.

“Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that,” Celestia scratched her cheek, but she didn’t lower her hand that held the sword. “But we are on a strict time limit, so I need you to take this.”

“Okay, I will,” Rarity swallowed her nerves and gently took the deadly weapon from Celestia’s hand and fastened it to her belt. “But why give me something like this?”

“Because I trust you with it,” Celestia smiled warmly, and Rarity took a deep breath, feeling a faint comfort from Celestia’s smile and her praise… and also from Tempest’s snort and Rainbow’s accompanying snicker. “You will need it in the coming battles.”

“I understand,” Rarity said, her resolve shining through as she stood proudly in front of Celestia; no longer a student of the Queen, but a comrade.

“Now,” Celestia said urgently, “is everypony ready?”

The five ponies on Celestia’s squad gave firm confirmations in reply, and Celestia nodded in return. With a crack of her horn and a flash of yellow energy, the cave was left empty as the party was teleported halfway across Equestria, to the port town of Baltimare.

Author's Note:

be glad i didn't call this chapter "the dragon euthanization specialty unit" cuz i almost did

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

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