The Looking Glass
Celestia let out a yawn and rubbed her eyes, she lit her horn and levitated a very dusty looking tome to her side. She flipped through the pages and glanced between the book and the multitude of loose papers she had before her at her desk. She crumpled up some papers, tossed them in a bin and dipped her quill in an ink pot before writing down her new calculations and notes. She set the book aside and took a moment to sit back and massage her temple. She sighed. How long has she been at this? Day in and day out calculations, theories, formulas, and enough magical mumbo jumbo to disinterest even the most eager scholar.
Celestia breathed deep, she couldn’t give up, she won’t. I’m so close to a breakthrough, she thought every time the idea of taking a step back from her work or going to sleep came up. The sun princess continued her writing; tired eyes scanning each and every mark on the page, making sure not even the smallest mistake was made. She levitated the old tome to her side again, flipping through the pages to find her next clue. But after a few moments, she snapped the book shut and grumbled. She set it aside and lit her horn, in an instant, Celestia was standing before the directory in the Royal Archive.
The soft pale moonbeams shone through the skylight, casting a haunting glow on the ancient texts. Celestia began reading the directory, her hoof gliding over the pages as her lips kept repeating the same words over and over again until her hoof stopped. The princess had a moment of relief as she set off in search of the next book. Celestia navigated the towering aisles with the efficiency of a veteran librarian and soon tracked down the book she needed. She quickly peeked inside the pages and let out an excited, “Yes!” before teleporting back to her room. She set down her new tome and was about to take a seat at her desk, but something felt... off.
Celestia’s eyes darted around the room, everything seemed just as she left it, but that didn’t stop her from checking if there was anything under her bed; finding nothing. She pulled aside her curtains and checked the doors to her balcony; they were locked and there was nothing outside. She opened her closet door; nothing but dresses and extra regalia. No... there was something here, Celestia was sure of it. Her search was interrupted when she heard a knock at the door.
“Celestia?” the muffled voice of Luna called out. “I know you’re there sister, do you have a moment? I’d like to speak with you.”
Celestia quickly organized her papers and hid them in her desk and placed her tomes under her pillows. “Y-yes Luna! Come in!” The lunar diarch opened the door and entered. “N- now. What is it you’d like to talk about?”
“Sister,” Luna said calmly. “I’m starting to grow... concerned with your behavior as of late.”
Celestia was no stranger to this conversation. It’s been happening a lot, and for quite some time. But even though she knew Luna was coming from a good place, Celestia wasn’t really in the mood for this talk. “I know what you’re going to Say Luna, but I’m fine.”
“No you’re not,” Luna said with a bit of force. “You can’t keep going on like this Celestia, you need rest. I fear if you don’t get some sleep, you’ll have a breakdown of some kind.”
“Luna, I appreciate your concern, really I do. And I swear to you that as soon as my...-“ Celestia let out a rather loud yawn. “-project is done, I’ll get as much sleep as I need and then some. But I can’t stop, I’m so close to a breakthrough.”
Luna rolled her eyes. “That’s exactly what you said last time, word for word. Would you at least let me help you in this endeavor of yours?”
“No!” Celestia was louder than she meant to be. “I’m... sorry Luna, I didn’t mean to snap. I’m just tired. But this project has to work and I really am close to a discovery. Please, just give me a little more time.”
Luna looked at her sister with glazed eyes and sighed, “One more night, after that I’ll put you to bed myself if it means you actually getting some sleep.”
Celestia nodded. “Thank you Luna, goodnight. Oh, and sister, just one more thing,-“ Celestia narrowed her tired eyes. “- tell your thieving cat to stay out of my room!”
Luna tilted her head. “You think Capper’s been in your room? News to me, but if it’ll put your mind at ease, I’ll pass the message along. Goodnight Celestia.” Luna promptly left.
Celestia waited a moment before turning back to her desk and taking out the pages she was working on and the books she was reading. She sat back in her chair and yawned. Maybe Luna had a point, perhaps she was long overdue for some much needed forty winks. But then, a light shone in Celestia’s eye. She looked at the small bonsai on the corner of her desk. Hanging from one of its branches was a shard of mirrored glass and sharing that space was a tag; the word “always” was written in a very lovely script. Celestia pushed aside all of her fatigue as a new vigor rose within her.
“No. No, not yet. I’ll figure this out, I swear it.” Celestia began to write again taking a moment every so often to cross check what was written in the books from the archive.
Please. Just wait a little longer.
Luna trotted on the fine carpet that stretched down the darkened halls, she paused for
a moment as she checked her surroundings.
“I trust you failed in your mission?” she said.
In the shadows of the castle, a pair of sharp green eyes shone bright. Capper stepped out into the pale light of the moon, shrugging his shoulders. “Sorry Lulu, but whatever your sister is working on, she doesn’t want anypony to know about it.”
“Capper, I’m seriously worried about Celestia,” Luna confided in her advisor. “Going as long as she has with little to no sleep is very detrimental to her health, let alone the dangers of this so-called ‘secret project.’ It may indeed hold the fate of all Equestia. Isn’t there anything you can tell me?”
Capper blew out his cheeks as he leaned against Luna’s back like guardrail. “Nothing I could make heads or tails of. Just a bunch of magic mumbo jumbo and calculations. Some dusty books; fairly certain from the royal archive, since they had Star Swirl’s name on them. And her notes all seem to be written in code. I doubt nothing short of a magical genius could crack it.”
“That doesn’t really put my mind at ease you know.”
“I think you’re worrying too much Lulu. Celestia’s a big girl, if she was in actual trouble she’d ask for help. Or at the very least get Twilight Sparkle to fix her problem. But pestering and spying on your sister will just make her more cautious and paranoid. I swear if I was even a second slower leaving her room, I’d either be a charred outline on the floor, or I’d have to do my work from the moon.”
Luna smirked. “Oh? What’s this? Is the great cat burglar’s claws starting to dull from castle life?”
Capper chuckled and pulled out a book from one of his inner coat pockets. It had Luna’s cutie mark on the cover as well as a lock binding the covers shut. “Well, I wouldn’t say that.”
Luna caught sight of what Capper was waving around in his paw and blushed furiously. “AH!” she gasped as Luna abruptly sat on the ground, causing Capper to fall off the moon princess’s back. Luna’s magic snapped the book from Capper’s mitts in the confusion and she held it close to her chest. “”You! Y-y-you lout! If thou hast read even one solitary word of mine diary, I’ll snuff out the rest of thine nine lives!”
If Luna’s threats scared Capper he did a very good job at hiding it. The princess’s royal advisor dusted off his waistcoat and adjusted his ascot, making sure the crescent moon symbol was perfectly centered. “Geez, you ponies are so emotional. Don’t worry, I didn’t read anything; after all, a princess’s thoughts and feelings are hers and hers alone. Anyway, I believe it’s time I turned in. See you tomorrow Lulu.” Capper slipped back into the shadows; his smug laugh echoed off the darkened walls of the castle.
Luna merely glared daggers into the darkness, clutching her diary, and spat out, “Tch! Thieving cat!”
“Please sir, I’ve been to factory after factory! I need to work; I have a wife to think about
and a little one on the way! A young green earth pony said atop the stage at the School of Friendship. “You can’t imagine what life is like for a guy like me! I can’t go back home without good news! I just can’t!”
“Cut!” Autumn Blaze announced before walking center stage. “Great job Matcha; I love that you’re off book, buuuut, let’s see if we can work on your character more.”
Meanwhile, sitting near the audience seating, were Twilight, Applejack and Spike. All three watched Autumn work her magic on stage.
“Ah ‘preciate ya doin’ this fer Autumn, Twilight,” Applejack said. “Ah love having her help ‘round the farm, but Ah could tell she was missin’ the theatre like a Breezie missin’ the wind.”
Twilight waved a nonchalant hoof. “Oh it’s no trouble at all Applejack. I’ve been hoping to find a teacher for our theatre department and as far as I can tell, Autumn Blaze is more than qualified for the position.”
“So I see you chose a more confident attitude for your character, Matcha,” Autumn said to her student as she read over the script. “Which isn’t a bad choice, but I want you to try something. Your character has been looking for work, desperate to provide for his family. He’s been to every factory and shop in town and this is his last shot. So channel that fear of failure, harness that feeling of fleeting hope! And just to make it a little easier to visualize,“- Autumn took out a piece of chalk and drew a straight line; right in front of Matcha’s forehooves. –“I want you to deliver the lines like somepony is about to push you off a cliff.” Autumn’s hoof pressed against the earth pony’s back and gave a small nudge.
Matcha’s eyes shrank and he gulped, feeling the nervous sweat starting to build. “Aaaand, go,” Autumn whispered.
Matcha trembled, a true far cry from his earlier persona. He opened his mouth and shakily said, “Please sir... I-I’ve been to factory after factory... I... need to work. I-I have a wife to think about a-and a little one on the way,” his voice cracked. “You... can’t imagine... what life is like for a guy like me. I can’t... I can’t go back without good news! I... just can’t!”
Jaws were hung open as Matcha finished his monologue. All of a sudden, the other students began to clap and whistle at the performance they witnessed. Autumn clapped her hooves as well.
“Bravo! Now that’s what I call acting!” the Kirin commented, before Matcha sighed and fainted right on stage.
“Perhaps a little overqualified,” Twilight said with a nervous smile.
Spike finished his round of applause. “I think she’s great! Heck, I’m fired up to see what she has planned for a real production. Ooh, I hope she does- BUURRRP!” Spike was interrupted by a flaming belch and a neatly rolled piece of parchment with an ornate ribbon landing in his claws.
“Is that from Princess Celestia?” Applejack asked.
“Sure is,” Spike replied. “I’d recognize that seal anywhere. Here ya go Twilight.” Twilight took the scroll from Spike and unrolled it, eyes scanning from top to bottom. “So?” Spike inquired. “What does it say? Are we in danger again?”
“I... I don’t know,” Twilight said as if she just read a crossword puzzle riddled with spelling errors. “the princess is being really vague. But it does say we’re wanted in Canterlot ‘as soon as possible’. Better tell the girls.”
Rarity let out a content sigh as she placed her last dress in a well packed box. Thanks to Spike’s help, she was able to finish Blue Suede’s order in record time. The fashionista made a mental note to do something to thank Spike properly. Perhaps a nice dinner? Rarity blushed, that sounded an awful lot like a date. Maybe a nice box of gems? Though Rarity liked her dinner idea more. She taped the box shut and wrote out the shipping label. The fashionista felt like she earned a nice treat for her hard work and there is a container of her favorite ice cream in her freezer. Rarity trotted down the stairs, but before she entered the kitchen, she heard a knock at the door, pouting that somepony was getting between her and her sweet reward. She walked over and put on her best customer service face before opening the door.
“Welcome to Carousel Boutique! How may I-? Spike!” Rarity’s breath caught in her throat. “H-hello darling. What are you-? I mean, how can I help you darling?”
“Hey Rarity,” Spike greeted. “I wanted to let you know that Twilight got a letter from the princess and we’re needed in Canterlot asap.”
“Really? I hope everything’s alright. Though given that it’s from the princess, I highly doubt things are going swimmingly.”
Spike chuckled,” Probably not.”
“Thank you for telling me Spikey. I’ll get myself ready and meet you at the station in two shakes of a pony’s tail.”
“Great! I’ll see you there. I gotta go and find Pinkie and Fluttershy now, bye Rarity.” Spike waved and he took off into the sky.
Just then a realization hit Rarity. If she has to go to Canterlot at the request of the princess, then that means Twilight will most certainly be traveling alongside her. Rarity’s heart thumped as memories of Twilight’s rage flashed in the white mare’s head. What was going to happen when the two of them meet again after all this time?
Careful darling. She just might tear you to pieces
Rarity gasped and she looked around the room in a panic. The voice echoed in her mind like a chime of a sinister bell. Rarity took a deep breath and tried to calm down. After a moment or two, she prepared to leave for the station.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to tag along Twilight?” Flash Sentry asked as he walked beside the Princess of Friendship down the halls of the school. “Part of my job is to make sure you’re safe.”
“You know I appreciate your concern Flash,” Twilight responded. “But Princess Celestia said to only bring, ‘the element bearers, Spike and Starlight.’ Whatever she needs our help for must be top secret, and if Ponyville is in danger, I’ll need you and the rest of the guard to protect the town.”
Flash gave a reluctant sigh, “Alright. But off the record, if I find out you’re in danger, I just may disobey orders and come for you.”
Twilight sidled up to her captain. “I wouldn’t expect anything less,” she said with a playful tone.
“Oh Twilight, thank goodness I found you!” Starlight said as she quickly trotted up to the pair.
“Starlight? Shouldn’t you be at the station? Our train will be leaving soon.”
“About that,” Starlight said sheepishly. “I don’t think we’ll be making this train.”
Twilight cocked a brow. “Why ever not?”
“Well, because I think you forgot we have a meeting with some transfer students and their parents. Remember? Orientation?”
Twilight slapped her forehead. “That’s today? Oh figs! I was so wrapped up with the princess’ letter it completely slipped my mind. Alright, Let’s go Starlight, the sooner we have the meeting the sooner we can leave for Canterlot. Flash can you go to the station and let the girls know they have some time to kill. And if you see Spike, tell him he’s needed for the meeting.”
Flash saluted and flew off.
“Spike’s already at the meeting,” Starlight said. “I told him to keep the parents and students company till we got there.”
“Ten steps ahead of me as usual I see. Thanks Starlight, remind me to write the princess that we’ll be a little late.”
The Ponyville express let out a loud whistle as it pulled away from the station platform. The only ones left were four mares. Applejack was busy flicking playing cards into her hat as Rarity and Fluttershy were having a conversation on knitting sweaters for bears while Pinkie Pie took this opportunity to snack on some cinnamon nuts.
“Dang it!” Applejack exclaimed. “Thirty-three! Ah was so close te beatin’ mah record too!” the farm girl grumbled something under her breath as she picked the cards out of her hat and the one that missed the mark and set herself up for another go.
“Well you’ve got plenty of time to practice darling,” Rarity commented as her conversation with Fluttershy wrapped up. “the next train to Canterlot isn’t for another few hours.”
“I hope Twilight’s meeting doesn’t take too long,” Fluttershy said. “We wouldn’t want to keep Princess Celestia waiting.”
“Oh well! Nothin’ much to do about that other than wait and see,” Pinkie said. She downed another hooffull of nuts and looked into the bag. “Ooh, gives me time to stock up on more snacks.”
Just then a bolt of technicolor landed on the platform. “Hey girls, sorry I’m late!” Rainbow Dash said. “I had a few things to wrap up at the Wonderbolts base. How long till the train gets here? Hey, where’s Twilight?”
“Last minute meeting darling,” Rarity said. And the train came and went.”
Rainbow Dash gave Rarity a quick cut of her narrowed eyes before turning her attention to the others. “So we got some time to kill? Great. Rushed here for nothing. Wish Spike was here to chat with.”
“I’m afraid Spike’s at the meeting,” Rarity said trying to be civil. “it was just dropped on him as well.”
Rainbow Dash shot a glare at the fashionista and spat, “Like you dropped that chandelier on his head?”
A painful silence hung in the air after Dash’s jab. Nopony there was sure what to say or even do. Till Rarity took a few steps back, doing her best to avoid eye contact.
“Well, um, I think I’ll... go get something to read.” Rarity trotted away at a quickened pace.
Dash rolled her eyes. “Tch.”
“Rainbow Dash, what in tarnation’s gotten inta you?” Applejack asked.
“What?” Dash asked in genuine confusion.
“it’s just that, well, you were really mean to Rarity,” Fluttershy said.
“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie chimed. “That wasn’t very friendly-ish of you!”
“Mean? Friendly-ish?” Rainbow Dash gawked. “How am I supposed to act around Rarity? Just say, ‘hey Rarity, good to see you again’? No way! Not after what she did to Spike!”
“Dash, Ah think you might be holdin’ that grudge a lil’ too tight,” Applejack said with an edge. “You know Rarity didn’t actually drop that chandelier on Spike.”
“Yeah, I know she didn’t,” Dash said reluctantly, but still retaining her anger. “I just-“
“Then don’t blame ‘er fer somethin’ she didn’t do!”
“You don’t get it Applejack, none of you do. I was there. I saw how hurt he was.”
“We all saw-“
“No.” Dash wasn’t loud, but her word had enough power to silence the farmer. “You don’t get it. I was there... at the party. I saw how badly Rarity hurt Spike, all so she could get on some stuck up nopony’s side. He was totally destroyed and it was Rarity’s fault.” Rainbow Dash shook her head, as if to throw out the memory before it made her choke up. “How am I supposed to forgive her for that? She treated one of my best friends like dirt and you expect me to play nice?”
A yellow hoof rested on Dash’s shoulder. “Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said calmly. “we understand how you must be feeling about this. I know you’re angry, but you’re letting it overwhelm you.”
“It’s not overwhelming me; you guys are being too soft on her!”
“It ain’t that simple,” Applejack said. “what Rarity did te Spike was bad, but she’s been workin’ hard as anypony te set things right.”
“Yeah!” Pinkie said. “She’s been super nice to Spike and hasn’t upset Twilight.”
“Not to mention,” Fluttershy said firmly, then brought her volume down as if it were a reflex. “um, she stayed in Canterlot to take care of Spike. I think we owe a lot of his recovery to Rarity. And if she isn’t causing any trouble to Spike or Twilight, it isn’t really our place to meddle.”
“it’s great that you all forgave her,” Rainbow Dash pouted. “But how am I supposed to let this go?”
“Nothin’ quite like an open and honest talk,” Applejack said with a small smile. “Ah know Ah feel better af’er one o’ those.”
“You don’t have to trust Rarity right away,” Fluttershy said. “She did make a big mistake. But you’ll feel better if you just get what you want to say out of your system. Say it so you can move forward. After all, Spike and Twilight seem to be giving Rarity a second chance. Maybe you should trust their judgement.”
“Good friendships start with good communication!” Pinkie said as she pulled out another bag of cinnamon nuts.
Rainbow Dash wanted to retort, wanted to keep her argument going. But in that moment she lost her voice. Was it really worth stubbornly holding onto this anger and resentment? Wouldn’t it be better to try and work through this? Dash sighed. She had quite the weight to get off her chest.
The Ponyville express hustled down the tracks on the road to Canterlot. The orientation went off with only minor hitches; the parents weren’t exactly thrilled that the headmare was going to be absent on their kid’s first day of school, but Twilight was nothing if not an expert in diplomacy and was able to quell their concerns. As of now, said headmare was tapping her hoof impatiently as she watched the scenery zip on by. Twilight sent a letter to the princess to apologize for being tardy, but it didn’t exactly calm her nerves. For all she knew, the meeting closed off a very sensitive time window and now Equestria was doomed. Whether it be from Queen Chrysalis, a Tartarus jailbreak, or some other ancient evil from a thousand years ago ready to wreak havoc.
“Twilight? You ok?” Starlight asked.
“Just a little antsy,” Twilight responded. “I hope everything’s alright.”
“Ah think we’ll be fine Twilight,” Applejack said. “Princess Celestia did say te come when we could. It didn’t sound too urgent.”
“I just have this... feeling. Something weird is going on. I don’t remember the princess giving a letter that felt so... indirect. It was almost as if she was too scared to write down what she needed our help with.”
“I think you’re worrying too much Twi,” Spike said. “If it was an emergency the princess probably would’ve sent a carriage or something for us personally. I don’t think Equestria’s safety is hanging in the balance.”
Twilight sighed, “I...really hope you’re right.”
Spike took a moment to look around the area. Everypony was present except... “Hey, has anypony seen Rarity? It’s like she disappeared.”
Pinkie shrugged. Fluttershy shook her head and Dash flinched.
“I saw her go that way,” Twilight said sheepishly. “She’s probably in the dining car.”
“Oh, thanks. I think I’m gonna go see what she’s up to.” Spike stood up and walked to
the back of the car, all the while a pair of magenta eyes followed the dragon until he was through the car doors. Rainbow Dash sighed and stared out the window, taking in the scenery and putting her thoughts in order.
Rarity tipped her head back as she downed the contents of her glass in one quick motion. “Another,” she said in a hollow tone.
“Are you sure, miss?” said the earth pony in a sharp vest behind the counter. “That’s your third peach lemonade, don’t you think you’ve had enough?”
“I’ll tell you when I’ve had enough!” Rarity barked.
“Y-yes miss! Right away miss!” The bartender quickly refilled Rarity’s glass and gave his patron space. Rarity took another big gulp of her drink and sulked. I shouldn’t be surprised, Rarity thought. I was a fool to think only Twilight wouldn’t forgive and forget. Now I’m stuck on a train with two ponies who think the worst of me. A dark part of her mind told her that this is what she deserved. A ruined friendship or two was fair after what she’d done. If anything, Rarity was surprised Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie didn’t chastise her along with Rainbow Dash. The white mare shook her head as in an attempt to uproot those dark thoughts. She still had friends and Spike is all better. She should count herself lucky in that respect.
“Hey Rarity.”
Rarity straightened up like a bolt of static ran through her body. She turned and saw Spike, carrying a sympathetic smile on his face. Rarity scolded herself for how she must look, four lemonades in with a gloomy grey cloud.
“Spike! H-hello darling. Um, what brings you here? Need a snack?”
The dragon shook his head. “Naw, I came to check up on you.” Rarity felt her heart flutter hearing that Spike was worried for her. “You kinda just up and disappeared. Didn’t want to be around Twilight?”
Rarity bit her lip but quickly recovered. “Y-yes. I’d rather not upset her, especially before meeting with Princess Celestia.” Spike needn’t know the other reason she made herself scarce. No need to burden him with that.
Spike rubbed his neck as he took a seat next to the mare. “I don’t blame you. I mean, after what happened at the hospital... even I was scared of Twilight. But if it makes you feel any better, I don’t think she’s mad anymore.”
“That is good news.”
“Oh, I just remembered!” Spike reached into a bag he was carrying and pulled out a small board and deck of cards. “I brought a game to pass the time. Do you want to play?”
Rarity raised a brow. “Cribbage? I didn’t know you played, Spikey.”
“I learned it when I was in the hospital,” Spike began shuffling the deck. “one of the doctors taught me how to play. Seemed really eager when he heard I was Twilight’s brother, and insisted we ‘make it interesting’. But Dr. Hawkeye convinced him to play for fun. Not sure how, but the doctor seemed really sweaty and nervous after his talk.”
Rarity giggled, “Well it is a more interesting game with some stakes. How about...” Rarity spotted a small wicker basket on the counter and brought it over to where they were sitting. “We’ll play for peanuts.”
“Heh, well somepony seems eager.”
“I won’t go easy on you darling,” Rarity said confidently as she split the nuts between them. “I just so happen to adore this game.”
“And that’s another two points for me, Spike,” Rarity snickered as she moved her peg up on the small board.
“It ain’t over yet Rarity,” Spike said. “I’m dealing next and I feel lucky.” Spike shuffled the deck and split it in half, then he turned over the top card. “Three.”
Rarity inspected her cards. “Hmm...” she played a three. “Six. And another two points for me.” She moved her peg up another two spots. “Watch out Spikey, I’m nearly at one hundred and twenty-one.”
Spike smirked and placed a four down. “Ten.”
Rarity played a five. “Fifteen! Another two points.”
Spike played another four. “Nineteen. And two points for me.”
Rarity narrowed her eyes on the dragon. He seemed awfully calm and confident for somepony who’s eighteen points behind and with her so very near the finish line. Rarity played a three. “Twenty- two and six points.”
Spike played yet another four. “Twenty-six. That’s six points for me.”
Rarity was at a loss for words. While Spike was certainly a challenge, he had never gained so many points so quickly in the games they’ve played thus far. There’s no way he has four of a kind I’m so close to the goal. But her hoof didn’t have anything of high value. She played an ace. “Twenty-seven.”
Spike chuckled and played his last card. It was a four. “Thirty-one! And twelve points, plus another two.”
Rarity had just finished picking her jaw off the floor when she noticed that Spike’s peg was one point away from victory. I can still make a comeback. There’s still the crib.
Spike flipped the four face down cards. And ace, a three, a jack and a queen. Rarity gleamed, she had three of a kind and with those six points she was neck and neck with Spike. However...
“Well lookie, lookie,” Spike said with a touch of smugness. “The jack and the starter are both clubs.” Spike moved his peg to the last spot. “And as the dealer, that means I get a point and that’s game.”
Rarity was stunned. Spike came from behind and swooped victory right out from under her. Even so, she couldn’t help but giggle. “Bravo darling. That game was one for the history books. You were certainly taught well.”
Spike grinned. “Well I didn’t have much else to do in the hospital while I was waiting for you.”
“Want to play again Spikey?”
“Actually, I think I need a quick bathroom break.” Rarity pointed a hoof. “In the next car darling.”
“Thanks, be back in a jiffy.”
Spike got up and walked to the next car at a quick pace. Rarity smiled as she tossed some peanuts into her mouth. This trip certainly took an interesting turn allowing her to spend time with Spike. Her heart warmed at that thought. It really did seem like things were slowly going back to normal. Rarity and her favorite dragon working on dresses, playing games, and just enjoying each other’s company. She truly took quality time like this for granted, but now she’ll treasure every minute of it. If only things could be better between Twilight and...
“Hey,” came a raspy voice.
Rarity jumped as Rainbow Dash brought the fashionista out of her thoughts. “Oh, um. Hello.”
Dash took a seat right next to Rarity. The tension between the two was palpable, with Rarity unsure what to say to the cyan Pegasus. Being cordial didn’t seem to work back at the station. Perhaps it’d just be easier if Rarity got up and went to another car for the time being.
“Listen,” Dash sighed. “I...I’m sorry for what happened at the station. But...” Dash took a deep breath. “I couldn’t help it. I’m just so mad... and... disappointed...”
Rarity’s lips slightly parted in surprise as she finally worked up the courage to shift her eyes to the technicolored mare.
“Ya know,” Dash continued. “for the longest time, I thought I had you figured out. Posh, Passionate, a lil’ snooty, but generous and a good friend... a great friend... but that night at the party...” Rainbow Dash gnashed her teeth as if to hold back anything she might regret. “I saw everything. I saw what you did to Spike with my own eyes. You treated him like he was your servant,” she said in a more even tone, though it was still laced with frustration. “No. Even worse than that. You treated my friend like he was beneath you. That he didn’t matter to you at all. You were choking the life out of him and what hurt the most was that you didn’t even care.”
Rarity’s heart ached as is somepony was strangling it with barbed wire. But she didn’t interrupt, just listened.
“I saw an ugly side of you that night I never knew you had. You threw a friend on the tracks just to make a good impression on somepony who only thinks of herself and what she could gain. You broke Spike’s heart that night Rarity, I... I’ve never seen him like that before. He looked like his entire world fell apart...” Rainbow Dash attempted to wipe her eyes as quickly and nonchalantly as she could, but Rarity saw the tears.
"But even after all that; the party, what Spike went through... you still stuck around to help him. He was looking better every time I saw him. I don’t know how you did it, but I have you to thank for his recovery. Rainbow Dash finally turned her head and met Rarity’s eyes. “I’m still mad and I don’t know if I can trust you yet, but I had to be honest and get this off my chest and... try to tell you that I’m willing to be friends again.”
Rarity was silent for a moment. Her eyes drifted to her drink on the counter. “Rainbow Dash... I’ve... I’ve never been more ashamed of myself than on that night. Even if I lived a hundred lifetimes I don’t think I’ll ever make it up to Spike. But I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing; even if Spike never forgave me, I had to make sure he was safe. I just had to...” Rarity took a moment to dab her eye with a cocktail napkin. “But I swear to you, myself and to anypony else in Equestria, I will never repeat my mistakes. I’ll never take Spike for granted again and I’ll never hurt him like that again.”
Rainbow Dash gave a low chuckle and held her hoof out. “You better not. Cause next time I won’t be so nice.”
Rarity smiled and awkwardly bumped Dash’s hoof with her own.
The car door slid open and shut as Spike rejoined his cribbage partner at the bar. “Sorry about the wait, there was a pretty long line. Oh, hey Dash! Want something to drink? I can spot ya.”
Dash gave Spike a playful punch to the arm. “Naw, but thanks for the offer big guy.”
Rarity smiled. “We were just having a little ‘girl talk’ darling. Now, let’s get back to our game. Care to join us Dash?”
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Eh, why not. It’s either this or watching Twilight try not to panic.”
As soon as the train pulled into the Grand Central station of Canterlot, Twilight and her
friends wasted no time and hustled their way to the castle. Eventually they came to the entrance to the throne room. Twilight braced herself and opened the doors. “Princess Celestia! We came as soon as we could!”
“Sorry, Celestia isn’t here, come back later,” said Capper in a flippant tone as he focused his attention on filing his claws. He sat comfortably on Luna’s throne, occasionally blowing on his manicured paw. He looked up, “Oh! My mistake. I thought you were another stuffy aristocrat. I’ve been waiting for you, and now it seems like everypony’s here now.”
“Wait, Capper, where’s Princess Celestia?”
Capper shrugged. “Beats me. I haven’t seen Celestia for a couple of days. But Luna said to meet you here and since we’re all present and accounted for, would you kindly follow me.” Capper hopped off his boss’ throne and began walking away.
Twilight sighed, trying to get answers out of the alley cat would probably take longer than just following him. Though Capper didn’t go very far, he reached the back of the room and began tapping the wall. Eventually he pushed on a section of brick and it opened up before him. Capper walked through the passage followed closely by his guests.
“Oooh, super mysterious!” Pinkie said as she passed through.
“I didn’t even know there was a secret passage in the wall,” Twilight marveled.
The other side of the wall wasn’t much to write about. Just a large room with adequate lighting and a few familiar faces.
“Cadence!” Twilight trotted over to her dear sister in-law and gave her a hug.
The princess of love giggled, “Nice to see you too Twilight.”
“Sunburst?” Starlight asked. “What’re you doing here?”
The befuddled stallion adjusted his glasses. “I’m- I’m not sure. Princess Cadence told me I was to join her in Canterlot and here I am.”
Twilight was quick to notice the other stallion in the room. Heck, it’s hard to mistake a beard like that or robes quite so mystical. “Star Swirl? You’re here too?”
The sagely pony nodded. “Indeed. I was continuing my trek across Equestria when the princess sent me her letter. I must say, this castle is rather different from their first, and I would've been lost for a fortnight if it wasn’t for Luna’s Abyssnyan helper.”
“My advisor Starswirl,” a regal voice said.
“Ah, Luna!” Capper said to the lunar ruler as she passed through the secret door. “As you can see, everypony has arrived.”
Luna nodded. “Yes, thank you Capper. Hello everypony, I’m glad you’re all here. Something strange is going on.”
“Is Princess Celestia in trouble!?” Twilight asked in a panic. “Is that why we're meeting in a secret room? Oh no! We were too late!” Starlight patted her mentor’s shoulder and slowly shook her head.
“The thing is, I’m not sure. My sister has been working day and night for ages on some secret project with very little rest. Then a few days ago she tells me that she was finished with her work. Next thing I know, she sent out the letters to call you all here. For what I still don’t know.”
There was a flash of light as Celestia teleported to the center of the room. “Thank goodness,” Celestia said as if she were holding her breath. “I appreciate you all coming on such short notice, but I’m in dire need of your help.”
“Princess! What’s going on? Is Equestria in danger?” Twilight said.
“I am curious as to why we’re here as well,” Star Swirl mentioned.
“I do apologize for the vagueness of the letters,” Celestia said. “I wasn’t sure how to tell you all that... well, perhaps it’s just easier if I show you.” Celestia’s horn lit up and in an instant the group teleported leaving an empty room. Everypony then found themselves in some sort of magical laboratory filled floor to ceiling with books, beakers and various herbs and tonics. And some object with a thick cloth draped over it. “For the last several months,” Celestia announced. “I’ve been working tirelessly, on this. In hopes of saving somepony very precious to me.” Celestia grabbed the cloth and pulled it off, revealing a very large mirror with several cracks scarring the glass.
“Wait. Is that a portal mirror?” Twilight’s questioned. Just then gasps echoed in the lab. Princess Celestia, the high ruler of Equestria, the Mare of the Morn, and one of the most powerful ponies in the world, was bowing so low to her subjects and fellow royals that the tip of her horn was scratching the floor.
“Princess?”
“Sister?” Luna asked in shock.
“I... I have no right to ask you all of this!” Celestia said, eyes squeezed shut and head still bowed. “This is quite possibly the most selfish request I could make! But I don’t have anypony else to turn to. Please! Help me! Help me save my beloved Sombra!”
Dun. Dun! DUUUUUUUNNN! Celestia's secret project has finally been revealed and we enter the final arc of this story! What mysteries and trials wait on the other side of that glass? Wouldn't you like to know, keep reading! Geez this was a long time coming. I wanted this chapter to be around 3k words but then I was like, "Oh I need this, and now I need that and I really need to close the chapter off with the portal to mirror Equestria and... dang it, it's 6k again!" But I'm happy with how it turned out (really hope it was worth the wait.)
I'm actually glad I didn't use Rainbow Dash in my previous chapter, cause if I did it would've made her scenes in this seem bizarre. And it was pointed out to me by my bestie and some very astute readers (you know who you are) that Rainbow Dash would still be mad at Rarity since she was an eye-witness to what happened to Spike and that gave me food for thought and I wrote the scenes. I don't remember where I saw or read this, but I really like the idea of Spike and Dash being buddies. A kind of friendship that's unique to the rest of the mane six, and given Dash's personality, I saw her as the kind of character that would hold a grudge.
And yes, to my fellow comic readers this is indeed the portal to the Equestria of Good King Sombra of the legendary Reflections arc. But to those of you who haven't read it, I'll go over the broad strokes so no one feels left out. By and by if you haven't read the Reflections arc, I highly recommend it. It's the best piece of MLP in the history of G4, and there hasn't been anything like it since. And I say an apology to Andy Price and Katie Cook, though you created the best arc in MLP I shall be manipulating it for my own use.
Fun fact, the theatre scene where Autumn gives her student a tip on getting a stronger performance was based on an actual scene I ran in college. Though my professor's advice was not to pretend that I was being pushed off a cliff, but to pretend someone was holding a gun to my head. Needless to say my performance greatly improved and there were several watery eyes in the house.
The cribbage scene was annoying to write. I looked up rules, gameplay and terminology, but I couldn't seem to picture it in my mind and I probably butchered my description of the turn. But if I can fudge my way through the D&D bit, why not this?
Let me know what you guys think of this chapter, I love reading the comments.
As always, thanks for reading. See you next time 
Silver Wit
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Glad to see you are still working.
11612834
Never stopped
is it wrong i'm hoping if or when they go over through the portal that Rainbow meets a good version of Lightning dust, which causes her to reach out and try to become good friends with her worlds LD
Glad to see Rarity and Rainbow smooth things out with each other a little.
It's good that Rainbow Dash and Rarity had a heart to heart. I'm not fond of the mirror verse from the IDW comics and tend to have larger reservations with most of their MLP comics. Still I am curious to see where this story goes.
Cribbage. For when you dont want people to know you like playing Yu GiOh but still want a mentally stimulating game without going as far as Mornington Crescent or Bridge?
Another wonderful chapter from one of my favorite stories! Keep up the good work my good man
11613149
. In all honesty I chose cribbage as a loose reference to M.A.S.H. It's the game that gets Charles kicked out of Tokyo and sent to the 4077. Silly little reference.
I like that
11612851
Well there'll surely be some familiar faces. That much I can promise
11612854
Baby steps, but their friendship is still intact
11612881
Well here's hoping you enjoy the next segment of my little tale.
11613190
Really proud of this one. I've been aching to get to this for ages. As a long reader, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
11613822
Exactly
11613216
Even so, I'm about to expect more tension, stress and even more anger in the future chapters.
Hope you finish this soon.
I finish re-reading this last night it still give me chills when spike yells at rarity but also sweet rarity uses her money for the gems use to heal spike. I really hope this story continues, one of my top sparity stories.
11859489
I’m honored that you think so highly of my story, it certainly makes me feel like my writing is reaching out to people. And I can’t apologize to you and my other readers enough for the delay (as well as thank them and you for the infinite amount of patience) but I have 3 chapters waiting in the wing and as soon as I’m done with those I’ll release them periodically. Gives you lot something to read and buys me a little more time to work out the kinks in this arc.