CRISIS: New World Order

by GanonFLCL

Chapter Twelve: Exodus

Moving from Goldridge to Hope’s Point was itself not terribly difficult, which amazed Rarity considering the vast differences between this journey and the last time she’d made the same trip.

The biggest difference, obviously, was the sheer size of the traveling party. Rarity had made this journey once with nine ponies, and had expected to be making it the second time with six, and later seven when Weaver joined up. Now, the party consisted of roughly one hundred, which included over sixty changelings and forty ponies. Strictly speaking, the traveling party had grown into a caravan. The stronger members of the caravan party, such as Pewter, Weaver, and Apple Bloom, hitched wagons to themselves to pull along everything and everyone—pony or changeling—that could not make the journey on their own.

Next, Rarity learned that there was a new route between Goldridge and Hope’s Point that made travel extraordinarily easy and quick during the majority of the year. A canyon of sorts—Merchants’ Canyon, Bluebolt called it—had been dug through the southern Goldridge Mountains, big enough for merchant caravans to travel through between Hope’s Point and the western Great Expanse. It trimmed the travel time down so dramatically that Rarity desperately wished that such a thing had been around twenty-one years ago, but given how much time and effort Bluebolt said it had taken Hope’s Point to make it, she understood that it hadn’t been feasible back then.

Rarity actually suspected that the primary reason for its existence was so that nopony would ever need to risk going through the Blood Mire again, lest somepony get injured in the same manner as Lockwood had been. Blackburn would be the sort to muster the entire might of her city to ensure nopony else suffered like that if she could help it.

Furthermore, Rarity marveled at the difference between the Great Expanse now and how it looked when traveling through in the winter. Gone were the dark, stormy clouds that blocked out the sun at all times of the day. Now, the sun shone bright in the clear blue sky, a bright beacon of warmth and hope to relieve those that had been stuck indoors for most of the winter. The snows were quickly melting away such that by the time the caravan reached the other side of Merchant’s Canyon, green grass was poking out for miles around. Flowers bloomed along the route, and a young tree or two could be seen here and there as they went. The sounds of insects filled the air. There were even honest-to-goodness rivers and ponds along the way formed from melted snow.

Yes, Rarity thought, this time certainly had been different in more ways than she could count.

As for Rarity and her original traveling companions, they did whatever they needed to do to both help the caravan along and to occupy their time. Hopes and spirits were high and anxieties were low because they knew that this was to be the last leg of their journey. For Rarity, Bloom, and Flurry, that meant it wouldn’t be long before they headed home. For Sundial it meant she was that much closer to fixing the problem her world seemed to be having.

Bloom and Weaver pulled along some of the wagons as they were particularly physically fit and could handle some of the heavier loads, mostly belongings such as Sundial’s grandfather clock. Rarity knew that a pony need not be particularly strong to haul a wagon—Trixie had done so alone for years before she settled down in Ponyville with her new friends—but when you had ponies of a certain strength, you used that strength to its fullest.

Bluebolt, Symphony, and Sundial took to being the caravan’s spotters and scouts, making sure the wagons were kept on level terrain and that nothing threatening was approaching, namely that the NPAF hadn’t sent off more of those dreadful robot scouts ahead to intercept them. Bluebolt and Symphony seemed certain that there was little danger of such a thing since everything east of Merchants’ Canyon was part of Hope’s Point’s territory and was carefully monitored. If an AMP scout was spotted in this region, it would likely ruin the NPAF’s surprise.

Flurry tended to travel from wagon to wagon within the caravan keeping the travelers’ hopes as high as hers were. Many of the Goldridge settlers had been despondent or afraid because of the sudden move they needed to take, so she seemed to feel it was her duty to keep them inspired. Rarity was delighted to see the young mare taking such a bold step forward in an attempt to be a leader, and was certain now more than ever that she’d be a fine princess once this was all over.

Incidentally, Venture had come along for the journey, which had surprised Rarity quite a bit. As a self-proclaimed explorer, archaeologist, etc., the mare would surely be better serving her goals by traveling elsewhere in search of new mysteries to uncover now that the winter was over and the northerns lands were sunny and bright again. From Rarity’s understanding the Great Expanse likely hid all sorts of wonders from a time well before the Beacons were built.

Still, Venture stayed with Aculeata for the entirety of the journey, helping the changeling queen and her partner, Comet, in keeping the many, many young changelings calm and occupied. Comet, to Rarity’s surprise, was a talented astronomer, and used the nights over the journey to show off the stars to the youngsters—pony and changelings both—to keep them all engaged. His dedication and attachment to Aculeata’s children was actually rather inspiring.

As for Venture herself, she just had a way about her that put the little ones at ease, and it even spread to other members of the caravan at times when tensions looked like they might be rising. The mare was a true enigma to Rarity, which she found bothersome. Why, she knew Twilight Sparkle better after only knowing her a single day than she knew Venture after being locked indoors with her for two months.

And Rarity, well, she’d taken to assisting Ambrosia with foalsitting Pumice and Scoria, which was very high on Tick Tock’s list of important tasks to do over the journey. The twins were more energetic and curious than ever, having never traveled outside of Goldridge and the neighboring mountains before, so every single sight was just as new to them as it was to Rarity at times. It was a delight to spend some time with such happy, enthusiastic youngsters. Tiring at times, yes, but delightful all the same.

At any rate, today was the beginning of the fourth day of travel, and it was now sometime between breakfast and lunch. Rarity wasn’t precisely sure of the exact hour. Sundial’s itinerary suggested that the caravan would be arriving at the great coastal city well before nightfall; in fact, if they hurried, they’d make it roughly around dinnertime and could consider sampling the city’s vast and varied cuisine offerings. The journey had thus far been smooth, calm, and trouble-free, as different as could be from what Rarity remembered of her last visit.

Rarity was taking a break from taking care of the twins for the time being, using it to walk alone a little ways from the main caravan so that she could marvel at the new terrain around them. A small pond was as good a place as any to take a breather. She could take a load off her hooves for a few moments before she had to catch up, take some time to reflect on the journey—as she was doing now—and think about what was to come.

She’d expected to be left alone.

So, when Sundial swooped down next to her, Rarity was a little bit miffed. But only a little bit.

“Oy, Rarity, what are ye doing over here all by yerself?” Sundial asked, uncharacteristically pleasant.

Rarity let out a short breath then gave Sundial a little smile. “If you must know, dear, I was taking a short break from watching the twins to have a little ‘Me’ time. By myself. Alone.”

She hoped Sundial would get the hint.

“Aye, aye, sounds good,” Sundial said with a tone that clearly indicated she hadn’t gotten the hint at all. “So, how are ye liking everything now that ye get ta see how it is in the spring? Sure is different from winter, aye?”

Rarity took a deep breath through her nose, doing what she could to keep herself calm. “So much for ‘Me’ time…” she grumbled to herself.

“Say again, lass? I didn’t quite catch that.”

“I said, ‘it certainly is’,” Rarity said with a too-bright smile. “Certainly much better than when this was all wasteland, too. It’s rather nice having grass under my hooves and cool wind in my mane. Feels like back home, actually.”

“Aye, that it is. And are ye enjoying time with the twins, then?”

“Oh, of course. They’re delightful girls, those two. I’m very happy for Tick Tock and Pewter. Their daughters are lovely, and they’re lovely together.”

Sundial smiled and nodded. “They’re a fine pair, aye. Ye know, the only reason I even got this position is because o’ those two wanting ta start a family.”

“Oh?”

“Aye. See, Mum and Pewter shacked up together not long after ye lot had yer wee adventure, from what I understand.” Sundial chuckled and leaned closer to Rarity. “Truth be told, she said that as soon as she got home from that whole business, she went straight ta the checkpoint and got her brains shagged in, aye?”

Rarity blushed and put her hoof to her mouth, a little embarrassed but also intrigued. “Oh my, really? Goodness, how forward of her.”

“Aye, really. She picked me out as her apprentice a few years after that and started training me because she wanted ta settle down and retire after all she went through. Y’know, start a family and all that, aye?”

“Well, I’m glad that she found such a qualified apprentice, then,” Rarity said with a smile. “One that she felt confident enough in that she could do such a thing.”

“Well thank you, I appreciate that,” Sundial said with a nod.

There was a little awkward pause. Rarity was just a little curious now why Sundial was even here. No, more than a little curious. Very curious. The other mare had never, ever, over the entire course of winter taken the slightest amount of time to seek Rarity out for a conversation of any sort. Not once. So why was she doing so now?

“So, darling—” Rarity started to say, hoping to try and figure out what this was all about.

“Enough small talk shite then, aye?” Sundial blurted.

Rarity was taken aback and the sudden outburst. “I beg your pardon?”

Sundial let out a breath, clearly having trouble thinking of what to say. “Look, lass, I know you and I don’t really talk much, aye? Like, I don’t think I’ve ever had a proper one-on-one with ye over the whole of the winter.”

Rarity blinked. “I was just thinking the same thing, actually—”

“Well, I’m coming ta ye now because I’ve got ta ask somepony about something, and ye’re the only one I feel I can trust ta both keep yer bleeding trap shut about it, and who actually might know something about the subject.”

Now Rarity was desperately curious. “My my, this sounds serious, dear. Do tell.”

Sundial took a deep breath. “It’s like this, lass. My job is, in a word, stressful. I’m up ta my bleeding neck in shite all the time, aye?”

Rarity nodded in understanding. “You’ve certainly made a pretty big deal about the kind of difficult work you have to do, yes. Tick Tock used to talk about it all the time, too, come to think of it. Chronomancers seem to have to deal with a lot of hassles, don’t they?”

“Aye, that we do, and there’s not much in the way o’ stress relief either. Mum used ta say that until she shacked up with Pewter, she was at wit’s end every bloody day o’ her life.” Sundial closed her eyes. “Look, I’m gonna be straight and ta the point with ye, lass. But first, I need ye ta promise me ye won’t tell anypony anything about this, aye?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, darling.” Rarity crossed her hooves over her heart. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” She capped it all off by pressing her hoof to her eye, gently.

Sundial blinked. “What kind o’ bloody promise was that?!”

Rarity giggled. “A Pinkie Promise, darling. Trust me, nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise. If I did, Pinkie Pie herself would immediately find a way to cross through as many worlds as she needed to in order to give me an earful about it. As delightful as it would be to have her here, the circumstances wouldn’t be ideal.”

“I… suppose that works then.” Sundial shook her head. “Okay, so, here goes.” She took another deep breath. “How do ye know if ye’re attracted ta somepony?”

Rarity’s lip curled into a big, pleasant grin, and she set her hooves on Sundial’s shoulders to look her right in the eyes. “Oh, darling, you and I are about to have quite an interesting conversation.”

*****

It was roughly an hour before nightfall when the caravan crested over a large hill that had been looming on the horizon for most of the day. And when they did, Hope’s Point itself finally came into view.

Rarity was astounded by the differences she noticed in the city since the last time she’d seen it. From her recollection it had once been a reasonably-sized city, smaller than Canterlot but not by much, built on, into, and around a massive cliff that marked the southernmost point of the northern continent. The city had been surrounded by a dome of golden magical energy as well, which served to both protect it from the harsh elements of the old Wasteland as well as invaders such as the NPAF.

The city had grown tremendously since then. There really wasn’t a word that better described the city now besides sprawling. It wasn’t quite as big as New Pandemonium City up north—that looked like it would surely take several more decades of expansion—but it absolutely dwarfed Canterlot now.

The first thing Rarity noticed was that the city’s borders expanded far to the north, completely overtaking the wide valley that had once been the breeding grounds for Gargantuans long, long ago. With Aculeata as the last of their kind as far as anyone knew, Hope’s Point had apparently deemed that territory free for the taking, and take it they had. This new territory more than tripled Hope’s Point’s old borders.

Rarity could see that most of the new territory wasn’t an actual city expansion either, just the upper valley and the rest of the cliffs. The lower valley was, from what she could tell, an absolutely staggering farm. Years of friendship with Applejack had taught Rarity the difference between just a plain, untended field and a field suited for farming, and nearly everything in that valley down there was farmland, startlingly fertile and green even after just coming out of the winter season.

The second thing she noticed was that the city had also expanded far west along the coastline. She could see what looked like harbors and ports from this distance based on her knowledge of what Canterlot’s airship ports looked like. She had assumed that the city was still using its underground, underwater hangars for everything, but those ports out there looked like they were meant for actual seafaring vessels. She couldn’t see any ships from here, but she assumed they were there.

The new harbor had completely overtaken the old coastline, which amused Rarity a bit. That dreadful little beach down there—the Bone Sands, Tick Tock had called it—had once been infested with dangerous creatures made of sand and rock called silt threshers. Had Hope’s Point cleared them out entirely? Even the huge canyon—the World’s Wound—that led down towards the beach looked like it was in the process of being overtaken for some purpose.

What intrigued Rarity the most, however, was that glorious golden shield that surrounded the city and kept it safe. Namely that it simply wasn’t there.

Rarity turned to Bluebolt and Symphony, the former of whom was on the ground with the caravan now that there was no need to worry about threats or dangers. “Bluebolt, dear, where’s the shield? Last time I was here, there was this beautiful golden barrier over the city.”

Bluebolt tilted her head. “Oh, that? Mom only puts it up in winter to protect the surface levels from the thunderblizzards. Otherwise it’s just a huge waste of power since, y’know, we haven’t been attacked in more than twenty years. I don’t know if the shield even extends out far enough to cover all of the newer developments, actually.”

“It’s probably gonna get a good workout in a few days though, huh?” Symphony said with a knowing smirk. “I hear it can withstand anything, even the NPAF’s most powerful weaponry. Makes you wonder why they’re even trying.”

“Well, Mom said that they had a few older weapons that could disrupt the shield. They’ve used them before,” Bluebolt explained. “She’s put a lot of work into making sure that that doesn’t happen again, and has so many protective measures around the power generator now that there shouldn’t be any problems even from somepony with Weaver’s abilities. Besides, if the NPAF is sending an actual fleet this way to try and do a large-scale attack—”

“—Her Majesty might just deploy our own fleet to meet them!” Symphony smiled excitedly and hopped up and down a few times. “The fleet’s never engaged in a full-scale battle before! Oh man, I bet that’d be awesome to watch.”

Rarity coughed. “Darling, I highly doubt seeing a war going on would be ‘awesome’, hmm?”

Symphony balked. “I… uh, that’s… not what I meant. What I meant was… uh…”

Bluebolt tugged Symphony’s ear gently. “Just drop it, songbird, we know you didn’t mean anything by it.” She gestured towards the main city with a bright grin. “Anyway! Everypony, follow me! I’ll take care of everything we need to get us into the city, no sweat.”

“Lead the way, Princess,” Rarity said with a little bow.

The path to the city gate was much easier to traverse than it had been last time Rarity was here. There was just a long, flat, well-maintained road that stretched out north along the edge of the valley. From here, Rarity could get a good look out onto the farms below. They were too far away to see what kind of crops were growing, but she guessed that if they were anything like the small farm that Pewter maintained at Goldridge, there was a plentiful variety.

At the end of the road, Rarity saw that the gate structure had been modified substantially. For one thing, it was much larger than she remembered it, stretching nearly one hundred feet across and looking more similar to an actual, well, gate. Before it had felt more like a small doctor’s office leading into the city proper, which was far from exciting. At least now the gate looked like it suited the city’s glowing reputation.

There were several guards protecting the gate, naturally, and it was no surprise that they all stood at attention the moment the caravan came into view. As the caravan drew closer, a trio of guards approached the front of the formation. Rarity couldn’t see their faces under their armor, but she noticed that they weren’t pointing those guns they had strapped to their backs at anypony just yet. Security seemed to have relaxed a bit in twenty-one years.

Bluebolt stepped ahead and away from the others, Symphony in tow, and waved at the guards. “Hello!”

The guards saw that it was Bluebolt greeting them and immediately bowed.

“Good evening to you, Princess Bluebolt,” said the lead guard of the trio, an earth pony whose armor bore a green stripe. “Welcome back. We didn’t know when to expect your return.” He glanced curiously behind her at the caravan. “Or to expect you to return with such an entourage.”

“It’s good to be back, Captain Overlook. Sorry about the little group I’ve got together. It’s a bit of a long story, and I don’t think we have the time to go over it right now, hmm? I’ll save the details for my mom.”

Overlook nodded. “Of course, Princess. Still, proper protocol is that I call this in to the chief, as it’s a bit of an unorthodox situation. One moment, please.”

Bluebolt nodded back. “Of course, Captain, I understand.”

The Captain set his hoof to his ear. “This is Captain Overlook at the city gates. Put me through to Chief Storm, protocol one, code four-four-three.” He waited a moment, then brightened again. “Chief Storm, this is Captain Overlook. I’ve got Princess Bluebolt here at the front gates at the moment, and she’s got a… caravan with her.” He paused. “Yes ma’am, I’ll patch you through, one moment.”

Overlook then took a small datapad from his belt, tapped the screen a few times, then passed the device over towards Bluebolt. Symphony took it in her magic and hoisted it up for Bluebolt to see the screen clearly. From here, Rarity couldn’t get a good look, but she could hear what was going on at least.

“Hey, Chief Storm!” Bluebolt greeted with a little smile and wave. “You’re looking good. New manecut?”

An older, feminine voice replied: “Princess, if we can dispense with the pleasantries, you’ve put an awful lot of work on my plate if you’ve really got an entire caravan out there.”

Bluebolt chuckled. “Yeah, I know. Sorry about that. I would’ve let you guys know about it but it came up over the winter so I couldn’t send anypony out to inform you.”

The mare on the other end grunted. “Very well. First, where exactly is this caravan from?”

“This is the entire settlement of Goldridge,” Bluebolt said, not losing an ounce of pep. “We’ve got roughly one hundred in number out here, too. Mostly youngsters, actually. I’ll cut to the chase here: this was an evacuation.”

“Evacuation?”

“Yes, ma’am. If you think you’ve got a lot on your plate now, you’re not gonna like what I’m about to tell you. The NPAF is amassing a fleet and is making preparations to attack Hope’s Point.”

The mare on the other end was given clear pause. “You’re certain of this?”

“Absolutely. I saw the cruisers myself, and have it on good authority that they’ve been gearing up for this for a while, and in complete secret at that. The fleet was setting up outside the city gates and preparing to weather the thunderblizzards. Since Goldridge is en route from New Pandemonium, we thought it was a good idea not to take chances.”

“Smart move, Princess.” The mare took a deep breath. “I’ll pass along this information to Her Majesty immediately. Seeing as the caravan is from Goldridge, and is accompanied by you, I’ll authorize a major security bypass and get them all inside without a fuss. Does that sound good to you?”

Bluebolt nodded. “Sounds good to me. Can you do anything to speed along getting them residences and such too? Unless they’re lucky and the NPAF just leaves Goldridge alone, these folks are probably gonna be moving here permanently.”

“I’ll put in a request with Secretary Ruby as soon as we get off. I’m sure she’ll have some suggestions or solutions.”

“Thanks!”

“And Princess?”

“Yes, Chief?”

“Welcome home.”

“Thanks. It’s good to be back.” Bluebolt then passed the datapad back to Captain Overlook with a grin. “You got all that, Captain?”

Overlook saluted. “Yes, Princess, every word.” He turned towards the gate and set his hoof to his ear. “Gate control, this is Captain Overlook. Open her up, and we’re doing a complete bypass on the incoming guests. Clearance code nine-nine, Chief Storm’s sending in her authorization any second.”

After a few seconds of waiting, the large gate structure gave a mighty rumble, and the gate itself lowered down into the ground at a slow, steady pace, revealing the grand city beyond.

Overlook bowed and gestured towards the gate. “Princess, it’s good to have you back in Hope’s Point. You may proceed as planned.”

Bluebolt nodded. “Thank you, Captain.” She turned back towards the caravan, a smile on her face, then gestured towards the city beyond the gate. “Well, everyone? Welcome to Hope’s Point!”

*****

Hope’s Point was as much of a city as a city could be, populated by thousands of ponies that walked to and fro through the streets, going about their business without paying much heed to the others around them. Rarity was amazed at how little the city had changed from this perspective, as the general atmosphere was roughly the same as she remembered. The buildings weren’t particularly tall or fancy, at least on average, but there were a lot of them. The streets were paved and well-maintained, there were street lamps along every block, and everything felt just shy of being congested.

Rarity loved it. It was like being back in Canterlot again, only with a little more urban charm to it than Canterlot’s white spires and regal aesthetic. Closer to Manehatten, really, but not as large. Not that she didn’t love Canterlot—she adored it, actually—but Hope’s Point’s citizens did one thing all day, every day, that Canterlot’s did not: wear clothes.

On a typical day in Canterlot, not every creature would feel the need to wear articles of clothing. On an early winter morning, certainly, there would be all sorts of creatures wearing warm outfits—except the yaks, of course—to protect them from the cold weather. On a sunny summer afternoon, there’d be a lot less clothing and a lot more hats to protect creatures from the rays of the sun. Other than that, not much else except for the fashion-conscious. Even Rarity herself went out without clothes most times.

But from Rarity’s understanding, the ponies of Hope’s Point had it ingrained into their society that going about without clothes was taboo, a belief that had begun in New Pandemonium and spread throughout the northern continent. Even those who had emigrated from the south, where clothing was decidedly more optional, followed the customs in order to be polite and to assimilate themselves into their new home.

And so, every last pony had at least a few articles of clothing on display, be it as little as a simple shirt to as complex as a fancy dress with all the trimmings. And since Hope’s Point was such a colorful, bright city, the sheer variety of fashion to be seen was like a dream come true for a fashionista like Rarity.

Still, she didn’t let herself get distracted from what was important. Not yet, anyway.

For the most part, getting things set up with the caravan was beyond her scope, so that had been left to the gate staff to organize and engage in. The majority of the group stayed behind to ensure that the transition into the city was smooth and easy, including Tick Tock, Pewter, and Aculeata, since it was their settlement that had been moved, after all. The only ponies moving forward with Bluebolt at the moment were Symphony, Rarity, Apple Bloom, and Flurry Heart. Even Sundial and Weaver had stayed behind to ensure that everything went as smoothly as possible.

So for now, Bluebolt led the way through one of the upper street levels until they reached what Rarity recognized as one of the elevator systems that would take them down into the city’s underground levels.

Bloom and Flurry, of course, gawked at the sights around them as they went. While the city had some resemblance to Manehatten back home, it was decidedly more advanced.

“This here city o’ yers is just… wow,” Bloom mumbled as she watched a small airship fly overhead. “Y’all got flyin’ things 'n' fancy lights 'n' everythin’!”

Bluebolt stuck her nose up proudly. “Yup! This here’s the best damn city in the world, let me tell you. We’ve got everything here that anypony could ever need in life: restaurants of every variety, any kind of entertainment you like, plenty of ponies to meet, parks, museums, libraries, shopping centers, an amusement park, everything.”

“And you said that this is just the surface level?” Flurry asked, head tilted as she watched a screen posted over a building entrance advertise some sort of beverage.

“Yup, everypony lives underground,” Symphony continued with a grin.

“How come?”

“It’s been that way since the city was built. Used to be because it kept the citizens safe from the Wastelands and from invaders, but nowadays it’s just habit, I guess.”

“It’s very odd,” Flurry said, scratching her chin. “You said the population was mostly pegasi, correct?”

“Yeah, something like sixty percent,” Bluebolt confirmed. “What’s odd about it?”

“Well, it’s odd that pegasi would want to live underground instead of building up into the sky. Pegasi back home like to make their homes higher up if they can. I mean, there are a few exceptions here and there, but that’s the general rule.”

“Well, like I said, they did it at first to protect themselves from everything that used to make the north suck,” Symphony said with a shrug. “I mean, sure, now we could build upwards if we wanted to, but I think Her Majesty wants to use up all of the territory we have down here first.”

Bluebolt puffed out her chest. “You’re right though, Flurry. You know what I’m gonna do first thing when I’m the queen? I’m gonna build a big tower, like some of the ones they’ve got up north in Pandemonium. Only ours is gonna be pretty, and filled with good ponies, and it’ll be clean. It’ll double as a lighthouse, even!”

“Ooh, that sounds neat! Just like the city’s emblem,” Symphony said.

When the group reached the elevator, Bluebolt punched in a little code, and the doors opened to let them all inside. As the elevator descended, the group could see out through the glass windows into the subterranean city below the surface, which Rarity noticed hadn’t changed one bit from the last time she saw it, apart from the sheer size.

Like the city above, the subterranean levels had expanded to accommodate the city’s growing population. Rows of residential apartments and homes covered almost every inch of this level of the city, as well as other critical structures. Rarity recognized the hospital—taller than she remembered—off in the distance, where she and her friends had visited Twilight after she’d worn herself out helping Lockwood recover. She also recognized the giant power station that Briarthorn had pointed out to her and her friends, which kept the lights on throughout the entire city day after day without stopping.

And of course she recognized the royal palace, the largest structure in the underground, with its great towers of red and gold. When the elevator reached the bottom and the group disembarked, they approached the palace with no small amount of enthusiasm. Guards noticed Bluebolt passing through and gave short bows of acknowledgement, which she returned with brief nods of her own.

Then, as they reached the palace gates, Rarity noticed something different that definitely hadn’t been there before.

It was a finely crafted marble statue of two ponies that Rarity had only known for a few hours, but who had made a tremendous impact on her life and the lives of her friends: Gadget and Crossfire. The former was a short unicorn mare, and the latter was a tall earth pony stallion; the statue didn’t show their colorations, but Rarity recalled Gadget being pink with an orange mane, and Crossfire being light brown with a dark brown mane.

The statue of the two presented them standing with a proud posture as they protectively watched over the palace gates. There was an obsidian and steel plaque at the base that Rarity could clearly read as they passed by:

Gadget and Crossfire

Chief Royal Guards in Service of Queen Blackburn

Gave their lives in defense of their Queen, their friend, their city, and the world.

Symphony stepped over to the statue and touched the plaque gently, giving a small smile to Rarity. “You’re lucky. You got to meet them, if only for a little while.”

Bluebolt came up behind Symphony and pressed her hoof to Symphony’s back. “We wish we’d had the chance. From all the stories Mom and Dad told us about them, they were something special.”

Rarity smiled at the two and nodded. “I did not know them very well, I’ll admit, but from what I got to see of them they were both very, very brave.”

After taking a moment to observe the statue and pay their respects, the group entered through the palace gates.

They were greeted almost immediately by an older, dark purple unicorn mare with a bright red mane, wearing what looked like a suit of ornate body armor. Rarity noticed her horn was artificial, a silver spike with neon blue rings. Her face was decorated with a few scars here and there, giving her a fearsome appearance. This mare reminded Rarity of Tempest Shadow back home, almost disturbingly so. They were even about the same age, which wasn’t far off from Rarity’s own.

“Princess Bluebolt,” the mare greeted with a short bow. Rarity recognized her voice from the datapad at the gate. “Once again, welcome home.”

“Chief Storm, good to see you,” Bluebolt said, returning the bow slightly. “I wasn’t expecting you to greet us. What’s up?”

“I was actually on my way out, to tell the truth,” the chief said. “I waited a few minutes so I could see you first and welcome you home properly. I hate doing it over the streaming system.”

“Where are you heading off to?”

“Her Majesty requested that I personally oversee some of the security checks on that caravan you brought in. She trusts you implicitly, you understand,” she was quick to add, “but given your other crucial bit of information, she’s not taking any chances.”

Bluebolt rolled her eyes. “Of course. Fair enough, I can’t blame her for being cautious—”

“Actually, she’s more concerned with the fact that you apparently brought the changeling queen along with you, so I’m to serve as an envoy in addition to my regular duties until Her Majesty can properly extend a greeting. Setting up defense orders was her first priority.”

“Oh… uh, yeah, I forgot to mention that, didn’t I? Whoops. I’ve been around her for the whole winter and it just kind of slipped my mind that she’s a foreign dignitary.” Bluebolt tilted her head, clearly nervous. “Mom’s not mad at me, is she?”

The chief smiled. “No, she’s just a little overwhelmed by all of the things this caravan’s brought with it besides ponies and changelings. Incidentally, the two changelings we have amongst the populace have also been informed that their mother has arrived, and I am to meet them and escort them.”

“Oh, well that’s—” Bluebolt paused. “Wait, you already knew we had changelings here? Why didn’t I know about this?”

“Of course. Your mother sniffed them out fairly easily—she’s made it a point about spotting shapeshifters thanks to a certain somepony—but extended her welcome to them seeing as they’re the first of their kind to visit the city and since Tick Tock claimed they were trustworthy.”

“Figures,” Bluebolt sighed. “Nothing gets past her, not even shapeshifters.”

Rarity couldn’t contain a smile. She figured exactly why Blackburn wouldn’t let any shapeshifters escape her attention ever again, benevolent or not: Curaçao.

While on this world, Curaçao had been capable of shapeshifting that would make even the most talented changeling jealous, and was far, far smarter than she had any right to be. She made Chrysalis look downright dim. She’d even made a fool of Blackburn by pretending to be “Fireburst” in order to spy on the group, so clearly the queen had taken note.

The chief then looked out onto the rest of Bluebolt’s group, and her eyes widened slightly when she saw Rarity. “Wait a moment, don’t I know you from somewhere? You look awfully familiar.”

Rarity tilted her head, confused. “I don’t believe we’ve met, no, but you make it sound as if you do know me, not just ‘maybe’. Should I be worried?”

The chief shook her head. “Ah, forgive me, I’m getting ahead of myself.” She offered her hoof to Rarity, who took it and gave it a dainty shake. “I’m Stellar Storm, Chief Intelligence and Enforcement Officer. I’m in charge of the city’s information network and security system.”

“A pleasure to meet you then, Miss Storm. I’m Rarity.”

Storm smiled and nodded. “Ha, I knew I recognized you from somewhere before. I ran background checks on your and your friends when you were trying to get into the city way back when, before King Lockwood was His Royal Majesty. I even gave the go-ahead to get in touch with Briarthorn.”

Rarity laughed. “Aha, I see. Well, thank you for what you did, in that case. And thank you for getting us cleared this evening as well, in fact. I was worried things might be difficult considering the security last time, even with Bluebolt here with us.”

Storm turned to Bluebolt. “Anyway, Princess, I must be going. I’ve got a lot of work to do, and not a lot of time to do it in. Such is life, hmm?”

Bluebolt waved her off. “Bye, Chief!”

Storm then trotted off outside the palace gates, making her way for the elevator that led to the surface.

Bloom nudged Rarity gently. “Hey, Rarity, didn’t that kind o’ look like—”

“Tempest Shadow, yes, I had the same thought,” Rarity replied with a grin. “Sundial did mention a lot about alternate versions of various ponies throughout the worlds, didn’t she? Perhaps this Stellar Storm is an alternate version of our Tempest?”

“Makes sense ta me. She even had a similar job, right? All that security officer stuff sounds an awful lot like being Captain o’ the Royal Guard.”

Bluebolt tilted her head. “That’s pretty much what she is, actually. So is your version of her in charge of protecting your Princess Twilight and stuff?”

“Well, not anymore, but she was for a while,” Rarity said. “She’s retired these days and lives on a beachfront near Los Manegeles. Royal Guard retirement packages are quite robust.”

“Yeah, she passed that job off ta mah friend Gallus a few years back,” Bloom said with a smile. “She trained him 'n' everythin’, so that’s what he does now, an’ he’s darn good at it, even if we don’t get many threats these days.”

“Hang on now, she said she cleared us to get into the city twenty-one years ago?” Rarity asked, eyebrow raised. “And she’s still working in that position?”

Bluebolt nodded. “Oh, yeah, she’s been on my mom’s council for a long time. Like, I think my mom appointed her within a few weeks of taking the crown, after the last Chief, uh… died. Same attack that killed Grandma and Grandpa.”

Rarity frowned. “Oh, I see. I’m terribly sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t worry about it, it happened way before I was even thought of, y’know?”

“So, yeah, Chief Storm’s been at it longer than my dad was Secretary of Commerce,” Symphony said with a nod, “and she’s still going strong. She’s a super workaholic. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Oh yeah, she’s dedicated to her job and is totally loyal to the city and to my mom,” Bluebolt added. “My mom’s the one that gave her the chance to prove herself, y’know? And she’s loyal to my dad too, of course. She likes to poke fun at him since he doesn’t exactly act like a king.”

Rarity smirked. “Darling, I’m well-acquainted with Starlight Shadow, who hasn’t taken a single day off of work in the past fifteen years since she started teaching at that school of hers. She even works weekends, over both summer and winter vacations, on holidays, everything. I actually worry about her at times.”

“Oh no, we’re not comparing our workaholics,” Bluebolt said, shaking her head. “We’ll be here all day trying to one-up each other over whose is more addicted to their work.”

“My money’s on Chief Storm,” Symphony quipped. “Her Majesty has to order her to take days off.”

Bloom chuckled. “I’ll take that bet. Princess Twilight says Miss Shadow makes her ol’ self look downright normal, an’ I remember how she used ta be before she became a princess.”

Flurry tilted her head. “So, if she’s in charge of your Royal Guard equivalent, does that mean she’s in charge of Symphony, too?”

Symphony shrugged. “I mean, technically she’s my boss, since I’m technically a royal guard, but my orders are to follow my oath to Bluebolt so I only take orders from the Princess herself. Even Her Majesty can’t supercede Princess Bluebolt giving me a command.”

“Yeah, so I’m the only one who can boss you around,” Bluebolt teased, gently tugging Symphony’s ear. “Now that we’re back home, I’ve gotta think of some things to make you do, hmm?”

Symphony waggled her eyebrows. “Your every wish is my command, pecha, you know that.”

Bluebolt turned to Rarity and the others and gestured into the palace. “Well, c’mon on then. I know you guys have probably just been dying for this moment.”

Bloom excitedly hopped in place. “Are ya kiddin’? I finally get ta meet more o’ mah family! I’ve been waitin’ fer this since the moment we fell outta that rift an’ found out where we were! Let’s get a move on!”

“Getting to see my old friends again does certainly put a fire in me,” Rarity said with a fond smile.

“Well then enough chit-chatting, follow me!” Bluebolt cheered.

Bluebolt led the way into the palace, through hall after familiar hall, as they made their way towards the throne room. Rarity could see Bloom was clearly bursting at the seams with eager anticipation, and could admit she felt exactly the same. She just did a better job of keeping her excitement inside, that’s all. Flurry was clearly excited as well, though Rarity figured it was more of a polite sort of excited since she wasn’t meeting family and she wasn’t meeting an old friend, but an old friend of the family.

However, just before they reached the throne room, with its overly large doors decorated with jewels and elaborate metal engravings, they were stopped by a burly guard in hefty armor. He was an earth pony with a black coat and a thick, gray mane. The pony bowed to Bluebolt as she approached, but she seemed confused by his presence.

“Welcome back, Princess. I trust you found your vacation exciting?” he greeted.

“Oh, hey Gunpowder. What’s up?” she asked. “What are you doing out here? Where’s Dad?”

The guard—Gunpowder—gestured off to the side. “His Majesty has requested that you and your guests meet him in one of the private chambers. Her Majesty is terribly busy at the moment and will be joining you as soon as she completes her current business.”

Bluebolt rolled her eyes. “Let me guess: the caravan?”

“I believe so, yes.”

Rarity tittered. “It seems we caused quite a stir around here, arriving with such a large entourage like that, darling,” she said to Bluebolt. “Perhaps we should have sent somepony ahead to warn them?”

“Yeah, I’m not surprised Mom’s going all ‘royal’ on this whole thing. But would it kill her to give it a rest for a few minutes for me, though?” Bluebolt shook her head. “Whatever.” She turned to Gunpowder. “Lead the way.”

“Of course, Princess.”

Gunpowder led them down an adjacent hall to another room, and opened the door for Bluebolt to step inside. She briefly turned back to the others. “Okay, you guys wait out here for a minute, I’ll call you when I’m ready for you to come in,” she whispered.

Bloom raised an eyebrow. “What? Why can’t we go in right now?” she whispered back.

“I saw how Chief Storm acted outside towards Rarity, so that means she had no idea Rarity was even here, which means my mom and dad probably don’t, either. I want to surprise them. You have no idea how good it’ll feel for me to get one past my parents. So, please? Just for a minute?”

Bloom rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine.”

Bluebolt and Symphony headed into the room with Gunpowder right behind them, but they left the door open just enough that Rarity could hear everything.

“Hi, Dad!” Bluebolt greeted as she walked in. “I’m back!”

“Heyyy! There’s my little cookie pilot, back from her big winter adventure!” came the voice of Bluebolt’s father, King Lockwood. He sounded just like Rarity remembered.

Rarity could see that Bloom and Flurry were just barely holding in a fit of laughter at “cookie pilot”. She herself was keeping her composure, and not doing very well.

“Dad!” huffed Bluebolt, obviously annoyed and embarrassed. “I told you not to call me that anymore! I’m twenty years old, not a little filly.”

Rarity could hear Symphony chuckling, and she knew Lockwood well enough that she could just hear the coy smile he must’ve had on his face right now. “Awww, is my widdle cookie-wookie feeling grumpy-wumpy?” he cooed.

“Dad!”

Rarity saw Bloom have to physically restrain herself from laughing, biting down on her hoof. Flurry simply excused herself to walk a little further down the hall. Rarity kept herself together, though. She certainly wasn’t holding her breath to keep from laughing aloud, no sir.

Lockwood chuckled. “Sorry, honey, I just needed to get that out of my system. You’ll always be my little cookie pilot. I missed you, you know?”

Bluebolt grumbled something that Rarity couldn’t hear, but was certain wasn’t polite language. “Dad, stop, you’re embarrassing me in front of my friends,” she said through clenched teeth.

“Oh, that’s right, I heard you’d brought a few guests with you to meet with me and your mother. Let me guess, they’re waiting outside? And they heard all of that?”

“Yes, Dad, they got to hear all of that stupid ‘cookie pilot’ mushy junk. So thanks a lot for that.”

“Aww, you’re welcome, honey. Go on, show them in.”

Bluebolt snorted, then headed back to the door. “Okay guys, time for your big entrance,” she said, teeth still clenched. “Come on in.”

Flurry, who’d composed herself by now, went first, followed by Bloom, followed by Rarity.

Rarity grinned when she saw the dumbfounded look on Lockwood’s face when she walked in. “Now now, Lockwood,” she said, “it’s impolite to gawk. Last time I saw that expression I’d just stepped out of a bath without any clothes on.”

He looked just like she remembered him, only more properly regal: a gray-coated pegasus with a brown mane and the most striking gold-colored eyes she’d ever seen. Well, eye, more like. His right eye was covered by a fancy white eyepatch, and his left wing was wrapped in a decorative sleeve of some sort, both hiding the old injuries he had sustained helping get her and her friends to Hope’s Point twenty-one years ago. He was otherwise dressed in a fancy white coat with a popped collar. There was a wedding earring in his left ear—that was this world’s tradition.

“R-Rarity?!” he blurted. “When did this— how are you— what in the world are you doing here?!” He paused. “And that was an accident, by the way! You rushed into the room.”

“Oh, is that how you remember it? Awfully convenient, wouldn’t you say?” Rarity approached and gave him a big hug, which he returned immediately. “Well anyway, it’s all a rather long story why I’m here, darling, one I’m sure we’ll have time to share later on. How are you doing? You look marvelous, by the way.”

“I’m doing well, thank you.” He broke from the hug to look her over. “Look at you, though. You’re still as gorgeous as ever, as if you could be anything else,” he said with a grin.

Rarity playfully slapped his chest. “Flatterer. Don’t let your wife catch you being so complimentary with me, hmm? She seems like the jealous type.”

“She’d forgive me just this once. Though maybe we should keep the whole ‘out of the bath’ thing just between us, shall we? That would just raise too many questions.”

“Among other things, as I recall?”

Rarity’s eyes drifted over to Bluebolt, who just had this mischievous grin on her face. She knew Bluebolt well enough by this point to guess that she was going to use this little conversation to her advantage next time Lockwood pulled that “cookie pilot” nonsense again, and felt she owed the mare that much for putting this all together.

Lockwood cleared his throat, then gave Rarity another hug. “It’s so good to see you. Forgive me for asking, but where are the others?”

Rarity smiled slightly, but shook her head. “Not here I’m afraid, but they send their love.”

“Well, that’s a shame. I certainly never expected to ever see any of you ever again, but with you here I sort of hoped…” Lockwood then turned to the Apple Bloom and Flurry Heart. “But you’re definitely not alone, I see. Who are your new friends?”

Bluebolt hopped in before Rarity could even speak, and with a big smile practically grabbed Bloom up off the ground in a tight hug. “This is Apple Bloom, Dad!”

Bloom fidgeted in Bluebolt’s grip. “Whoa nelly, easy now! I can introduce mahself just fine, Bluebolt. Sheesh.”

Lockwood’s smile brightened. “‘Apple Bloom’, you said? As in Applejack’s sister?”

“Yes sir, that’s me!” Bloom said with a smile of her own. She offered her hoof to him to shake. “It’s an honor ta finally meet ya, uh, brother-in-law? I don’t know if that’s the right word fer it, family trees get confusin’ sometimes.”

Lockwood took her hoof gently at first, then pulled her in for a hug, to Bloom’s surprise. “The honor’s all mine, Apple Bloom.”

“Aw shucks, I wasn’t expectin’ a hug,” Bloom muttered as she returned it.

“Nonsense! We’re family!” Lockwood said as he pulled out of the hug. “Your sister talked about you all the time. How is Applejack, by the way? And Flathoof, too, of course. Gosh, it feels good to have a chance to find out.”

“Well now, that’s a pretty loaded question, ain’t it? I’ve got a lot ta tell ya 'bout how they’ve been doin’, an’ other things ‘sides that. Believe me, we’ve got a lot ta talk about. Not just from mah end, neither, y’know?”

“I can’t wait to hear it, and I can’t wait to share.” He then turned to Flurry. “And who might you be, young lady? You don’t look related to anypony I know, though you’re sort of familiar.”

Flurry gave him a polite nod and a smile. “Hello, I’m Flurry Heart. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty. I’ve heard about you from my Aunt Twilight.”

“Aha, you’re Twilight’s niece, huh? Well now, how about that? It’s a pleasure to meet you, too. And please, drop the whole ‘Your Majesty’ business. Your aunt and her friends are practically family to me—especially Applejack, obviously—so as far as I’m concerned, you are too. Just ‘Lockwood’ will do.”

“Well then, thank you, Lockwood.”

Lockwood looked to Rarity again, eyebrow raised. “I’m at a total loss here, Rarity, and you have no idea how rare that is for me these days. Has something happened back home? What are you doing here?”

“As I said, it’s a long story,” Rarity said, shaking her head. “Suffice to say, however, there’s no emergency back home this time that we need to worry about, so while we do want to get home as soon as possible, we can afford to wait if need be. To catch up with old friends, for example.”

“Or wait out a rough winter,” Bloom added.

Lockwood’s good eye widened. “You’ve been here all winter?!”

“Yeah! They holed up with us at Goldridge,” Bluebolt said with a proud grin. “I’ve been hanging out with my cousin for two whole months, and it’s been a blast.”

“Well, technically she’s your aunt—” Lockwood started to say.

Bloom shook her head. “Oh no, uh uh, I ain’t havin’ nopony her age call me ‘Aunt’ Apple Bloom, if’n y’all don’t mind. I’m not that much older’n she is, an’ I don’t need ta feel older’n that. ‘Cousin’ will do.”

Lockwood smirked. “Alright, fair enough. Just don’t start calling me ‘Uncle’ Lockwood, okay?”

“Deal.”

“So,” Lockwood said, looking back to Rarity again, “I assume you’ve got Sundial helping you get home this time around. She’s a reliable mare, so I have no doubt you’ve already got a plan in mind?”

“Indeed we do,” Rarity replied. “She’s taking us south towards Zeb’ra’den to see if that portal we built is still working. We might make a pit stop on the way, but both of our goals are meeting in the same place.”

Lockwood frowned. “Down south? Oh dear…”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “‘Oh dear’? Whatever is that supposed to mean? Is there a problem with that?”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that there’s a problem. With those winters storms about, we can’t really get much news from around the world, you see. Well, once things cleared up, we got a little bit of troublesome news. It might cause somewhat of a delay in those plans of yours.”

Rarity frowned as well. “‘Oh dear’ indeed, then. What sort of news?”

“Southern continent embroiled in civil war,” came a voice from the doorway.

Everypony turned to see that a smoke gray pegasus mare had walked into the room, one that Rarity recognized instantly as Queen Blackburn herself. Like Lockwood, she’d changed little over the years, apart from looking older. Blackburn’s mane was still long and bright blue, of course, but like Rarity’s hers had long streaks of gray running through it. She wore a regal white coat with a high collar, nearly identical to Lockwood’s. She had an identical wedding earring in her right ear.

“Blackburn, darling!” Rarity greeted with a smile and a wave. “It’s so good to see you, dear.”

Blackburn gave a slight smile and a nod to Rarity. “Rarity. This is a surprise.”

Bluebolt grinned wide, triumphant. “Ha! Ha ha! I just knew I’d finally gotten one past you, Mom! You had no idea I had Rarity here with me, did you? Did you?!”

Blackburn shook her head. “Correct. Between southern conflict, end of winter season, the caravan you brought, a visiting foreign dignitary, and news of impending NPAF attack, I must have missed that. You move too quickly. Well done.”

Bluebolt nudged Symphony. “Ooh, listen to that, songbird, that’s pride right there. ‘Well done’, ha!”

Symphony smirked and tousled Bluebolt’s mane. “Way to go, pecha. You’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”

Blackburn stepped forward to give Rarity a hug, and Rarity returned it. “Good to see you, too. Arrival comes at inconvenient time, but a pleasure nonetheless.”

Rarity gave a little laugh. “Well, it seems that I have a bit of a habit of arriving in your city at inopportune moments, don’t I? Terribly sorry about all that, darling, but it was a rather extreme circumstance.”

“No matter.” Blackburn turned to Bloom and Flurry. “Heard introductions from outside. Apple Bloom, sister of Applejack. Flurry Heart, niece of Twilight Sparkle. A pleasure to meet you both.”

“A pleasure ta meet ya too, Blackburn,” Bloom said with a polite nod. “Shucks, y’all have no idea how neat it is ta finally meet you 'n' Lockwood. I hear I’ve got other family here in the city?”

“That you do!” Lockwood said with a smile. “I’m going to make arrangements for you to meet them as soon as possible. They’re going to be just as excited to meet you as you are to meet them, I promise you that. I hope you’ve got a lot of stories to share about Flathoof—our mom’ll love it.”

“Oh boy, do I ever. Y’all got no idea, heh.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Your Majesty,” Flurry said with a small bow. “Aunt Twilight told me a lot about you and the things you and your husband did to help them get home.”

Blackburn smiled slightly. “Yes, many sacrifices, much effort. But we succeeded.” She raised an eyebrow. “Though your being here concerns me. There is a story to tell, will make time to hear it.” She turned to Rarity. “Have to make arrangements for your departure anyway, will have time set aside to ‘catch up’.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” Rarity then frowned and shook her head. “Hold on, though, you said that there was a war going on down south? How is that possible? I thought the southern continent was peaceful? I believe the word ‘pacifist’ was thrown around an awful lot.”

Blackburn sighed. “Conflict has been brewing for years. Rising tensions between noble Houses. House Silver at center of conflict; Silvertongue was a member of their House long ago. News of his deeds spread; House Silver’s name tarnished, other Houses seeking to capitalize.”

“And the death of Harmonia’s Warden, Mémoire, complicated matters,” Lockwood added. “As Harmonia’s ‘voice’, so to say, he would have been responsible for mediating things.”

“Also, Mémoire killed in zebra territories during diplomatic mission.” Blackburn shook her head. “Relations between Zeb’ra’den and southern ponies heavily strained.”

Rarity felt her heart leap up into her throat just a little. “Oh no. Please tell me the zebras aren’t involved with the fighting.”

“No. House Snow still calls them allies, House Snow remains neutral in conflict. Other Houses know it would be foolish to antagonize both.”

Rarity breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. But what about Harmonia? How has she allowed all of this to happen? I thought she and her Wardens kept peace in the south, even before the Beacons existed?”

Lockwood scratched his chin. “Well, the last anypony’s seen of her was up here in the north, helping to re-fertilize the soil and cleanse as much of the corruption in the land itself as she could. But nopony’s seen her in years now, even us.”

“As if she just vanished,” Blackburn said, shaking her head. “Situation escalated during the winter—it was summer in the south—and is worsening. News has been pointedly scarce.”

“Normally that wouldn’t be a problem for us, but Newhaven’s on complete lockdown right now because of the conflict.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Newhaven? I thought that was Hope’s Point’s territory?”

“Technically just the ports are ours. The town itself is under the rule of House Sky, one of the Houses that’s staying neutral in this whole engagement. I think it’s just them and House Snow at this point that aren’t involved in any fighting. Though there might be others, we’re not sure just yet.”

“Their fear is that Hope’s Point’s involvement might escalate war further,” Blackburn grunted. “Currently, there has been little open warfare. However, tensions are rising; Lord Skycatcher’s worries have merit. Have been negotiating for some allowance of port use.”

Bluebolt’s eyes widened. “Wait, is Fireglow still down south?!”

Lockwood smiled and gave a brief nod. “He is, but we’ve got it on good authority that he’s in Newhaven at the moment. It’s neutral territory, so he’s not in any danger.” He turned to Symphony. “Neither is your family, Symphony. All the news we’ve gotten so far is that everypony at Newhaven is safe and sound.”

Symphony let out a breath of relief. “Che sollievo.”

Lockwood gave a proud grin. “We’re arranging with House Sky at the moment to figure out a way to provide aid to any innocents that are affected by the little game the noble Houses think they’re playing. It’s a lot of diplomatic work, but Hope’s Point has the best diplomat on the job.”

Bluebolt grinned. “You, Dad?”

“Well, not to toot my own horn or anything, but I’m trying my best.”

Symphony nodded. “If anypony can figure this out, it’s you, Your Majesty.”

Rarity hummed. “So, what does that mean for us, exactly?”

Blackburn gave Rarity a weak smile. “You will remain here in Hope’s Point until further notice. Will make preparations to arrange a neutral transport to take you to Newhaven. Will take seven, no, six days, approximately, if all goes well.”

Rarity let out a breath. “Well, I suppose after spending the entire winter in Goldridge, spending a few extra days here in Hope’s Point won’t be all that bad. Again, we’re not on any sort of a time limit.”

“What about that there fleet that’s comin’ this way, though?” Bloom asked, nervous. “What if we’re still here when they show up?”

“Oh, that’s right, I’d almost completely forgotten about that,” Rarity muttered. “Last time this happened it was an absolutely dreadful affair.”

Blackburn put her hoof on Bloom’s shoulder. “Will do what I can to get all relevant information. Rest assured, city has not fallen before, will not fall now; will never fall. You are safe here.” She turned to Rarity and nodded. “Have time to prepare. Will not trust passive measures. Will actively scout fleet, determine strengths and weaknesses, organize defenses accordingly.”

“You might want to ask our friend Weaver for help,” Flurry suggested. “It’s kind of a long story, but he seemed to know a lot about their capabilities.”

“Yeah! When we spotted the fleet, he told us all about how they scrapped the old Gargantuan-class cruisers, like the ones that attacked that day,” Bluebolt said. “He knew what they were doing and everything.”

“His boss was involved with some shady shit, too,” Symphony added. “But he’s on our side now, Your Majesty, and he’ll be happy to help, I just know it.”

Blackburn eyed the girls briefly, seemingly processing this information, then nodded. “You trust this pony. Will give him the benefit of the doubt.”

Lockwood clapped his hooves together. “So, I think we can all agree that we’ve made some arrangements and plans to move forward, yes? Well, in that case, why don’t we all take advantage of these few days we have together to catch up on old times, relax, and show off all the changes we’ve made around here.”

Rarity smiled and nodded. “We might as well make the most out of a bad situation, darling, I agree.”

Bloom nodded excitedly. “Well then why’re we waitin’ here, huh? Let’s get a move on!”

Comments

[Ponygood11]

She’s retired these days and lives on a beachfront near Los Manegeles.

Pft. Silly pony names.

[Turquoise pony]

I'm sorry you're getting so views on your story, GanonFLCL. I think it's an excellent story.

I do have a question that has been bothering me for quite a while, in your name what does FLCL stand for?

[GanonFLCL]

10158808
FLCL is an anime series that I was a huge fan of when I was younger and first created this username (which was originally just my gamertag on XBox Live).

[Turquoise pony]

10159701
You don't mean Fooly Cooly do you?
Wow, I haven't thought about that anime years.

[RoboRed]

“Southern continent embroiled in civil war,” came a voice from the doorway.

This....this complicates things.

[TheCommunistDog]

10156702
Well is tehre anything in their would that isn't a pun?

[My name is R]

A canyon of sorts—Merchants’ Canyon, Bluebolt called it—had been dug through the southern Goldridge Mountains, big enough for merchant caravans to travel through between Hope’s Point and the western Great Expanse.

Nice ta see their names are as creative as ever.

“I… suppose that works then.” Sundial shook her head. “Okay, so, here goes.” She took another deep breath. “How do ye know if ye’re attracted ta somepony?”

Is it Weaver? I've noticed you seem almost eager ta share a bed with 'em.

This mare reminded Rarity of Tempest Shadow back home, almost disturbingly so. They were even about the same age, which wasn’t far off from Rarity’s own.

Aye, she's tha Tempest a this world. Far as I know she never fell in with a bad lot here. Her past's a bit of a blank though.

Well, technically she’s your aunt—” Lockwood started to say.
Bloom shook her head. “Oh no, uh uh, I ain’t havin’ nopony her age call me ‘Aunt’ Apple Bloom, if’n y’all don’t mind. I’m not that much older’n she is, an’ I don’t need ta feel older’n that. ‘Cousin’ will do.”

I just don’t get it.

So tha North's bloomin' with new life while tha South degrades into war. Appropriate fer tha death of tha old forced balance. We're goin' from marbled ta properly blended.