Chapter 73
Chapter 73
Summary of the Old Canterlot Accords, temporary peace agreement, dated 1113 AF.
On this day of new spring, we ponies gathered here resolve the following, and bind these Accords upon ourselves with our Oath and our Honor:
First, that the Knights Discordant and the Knights Resplendent will withdraw with peace and order from the Diarchy. None shall be molested or harmed.
Second, that the Knights Radiant and Knights Angelic shall claim residence in the city of Old Canterlot upon the Canterhorn Mountain.
Third, that a place of safety and peace shall be established upon that very same mountain. Old Canterlot shall remain hallowed and sacrosanct to all Knight Orders.
Fourth, that each Knight Order shall send a representative, one year from now, to create a new and more lasting Accord between our peoples.
Fifth, that the assembled Orders will no longer use unicorn horn as an ingredient in Knight potions, on the condition that the Angelic and Radiant freely share with all their methodology for creating the potion without that ingredient.
Sixth, and finally, none who are party to this Accord will seek retribution or retaliation for the events of the Battle of New Canterlot. Let the Windigoes and their winter stay far from our hearths and homes.
Signed,
Sir North Wind, on behalf of the Knights Adamant and the Knights of the Diarchy
Sir Heartwing, on behalf of the Knights Discordant
Sir Oak Chips, on behalf of the Knights Resplendent
Lady Magenta Mirror, on behalf of the Knights Angelic
Lady Eucomis Comosa, on behalf of the Knights of the Mother (conditional upon approval by Lady Annika Garamundi)
Lady Fairy Light, on behalf of the Knights Radiant
Skies Over Northern Equestria, 1113 AF
There was relief, but not really joy.
Perhaps even a sense of resolution that Rarity didn’t fully trust.
She wanted to, of course. She wanted to believe that it was all over. That this last leg of the journey, a long and frightening and wonderful journey that had led her across continents and oceans, that had brought her love and agony, that had brought her destiny and duty, would actually be the last.
She tried to believe it.
But mostly she just wanted to rest.
Still, sleep was elusive. There was a sort of ache in her limbs, and in her horn. Her new horn, still lingering with the sense of dull emptiness that she’d felt after it had been removed.
When she’d been dying.
Now, the emptiness was still there, but instead of growing, it was shrinking.
Rarity wondered if it would ever fully be gone.
The private room on the airship was well-furnished, if small. Soft yellow lamplight from a glass-covered wall sconce filled the wood-paneled room. A bed large enough to fit two sat on one side with plush blankets and sheets. There was even a divan, which she was currently reclining in. Emberglow shared it with her, cuddled up with her head on Rarity’s lap.
Emberglow didn’t seem to have trouble sleeping. Her eyes were closed and her breathing slow and even. Though every so often she twitched, flinching in her sleep.
Rarity’s hoof gently stroked her mane and her wings, coaxing her back into peaceful sleep whenever some nebulous dark thing in her dreams would cause her to wince like that.
She was certain that, when she finally managed to sleep, she would be the same.
Idly, she lit her horn, levitating the pitcher of water the captain had left for them. It wasn’t the first time, and Rarity had been noticing something strange.
Sometimes her magic was a usual, familiar blue glow.
Other times, it was mulberry. The familiar hue of Twilight Sparkle’s magic.
This time it was blue.
It was a mystery, and perhaps Rarity would take more time to be worried about it later. But, for now, she didn’t have the energy to worry about much at all. She felt like a worn band of elastic, stretched so thin she worried she’d never bounce back.
Oh, she knew she would, with time and rest. But she just felt so overwhelmed that she was numb.
She’d seen similar looks on the other Elements as they’d retreated to their own private cabins. She was sure they’d have a chance to gather, to renew their bonds and enjoy one another’s presence again. But for now, they simply needed to rest and heal. Especially Heartwing—the Radiant medics had confirmed that he would need a good deal of recovery and surgery to be able to regain as much movement as possible from his forelegs.
His hindlegs were probably paralyzed for good.
Rarity sighed. Did every victory in this age have to come with such melancholy? Perhaps. But at least the violence was over, for now.
There was a soft knock on her door.
“Come in,” Rarity called, as softly as she dared. She poured herself a cup of water from the pitcher she’d levitated, and returned it to the table.
The door opened just in time for the figure entering to see the pitcher resting on the table. Sunset Shimmer stood there, eyes wide in surprise. She’d changed out of her armor, and was now wearing a soft cotton dressing gown, much like the garments Rarity and Emberglow wore.
“Woah. That’s not right, is it?” Sunset pointed. Rarity looked at the aura of her magic.
It had changed to mulberry again.
“It’s been happening ever since the battle,” Rarity said. “I don’t know what it means. But it probably has something to do with this.”
She pointed at her horn. She’d seen it in the mirror, an antique, gold-leaf gilded thing that hung from the wall of the captain’s cabin. The horn was her usual white, but the grooves were purple, the same color as Twilight’s.
“I lost mine. I think Twilight gave me hers, somehow.”
It didn’t make much sense. Twilight Sparkle’s physical body had been vaporized, centuries ago. But somehow she’d managed to give Rarity her horn?
Whatever. Rarity didn’t have the energy to sort it out now. Sunset met her eyes, and Rarity saw the same sort of exhaustion reflected there.
“Sure. Probably should look into that later,” Sunset said, rubbing one hoof against another. The mannerism reminded Rarity of Twilight Sparkle. “I, um, thought that maybe I should come introduce myself. Officially. I’m Sunset Shimmer.”
There hadn’t been a lot of time for formalities. Everything since the battle’s conclusion had been a rush.
Steadfast’s defeat had led to a pause in the fighting. The Resplendent, pushing to evacuate the Radiant and Angelic, had been locked in battle with the Adamant leading the other Diarchy orders. But when the Elements ignited and cleansed the Windigoes from Steadfast Word, everypony had stopped.
For one too-brief moment, nopony had any desire for violence. It was like the hostility had been sucked out of every single Knight and soldier.
Rarity felt a flush of gratitude for the Radiant. They’d quickly seized on the sensation, calling for an immediate cease-fire.
And then, in the shell of a destroyed Diarchy cathedral, they’d hammered out a truce.
It was a flimsy, ephemeral thing. Words on a paper that the representatives of the present Orders had signed. The Diarchy Knight representing the enemy, a young general wearing bandages and blood spattered on his blue armor, had impressed even Rarity with his calm, controlled air.
When Heartwing had questioned whether or not the document would be binding if the rest of the Diarchy orders were not present, Sir North Wind had simply nodded.
“I’m in charge now,” he had said, firmly and confidently. “It was one of the last things Sir Steadfast did.”
With a shake of her head, Rarity returned to the present.
“Indeed, darling,” Rarity said, holding out her free hoof, while the other remained wrapped tightly around the sleeping mare she was cuddled up to. “As you know, I am Rarity. I would rise, but—”
“No, no,” Sunset said, shaking her head as she stepped over to shake Rarity’s hoof. “You’re fine. Comfy and resting, right?”
“As you should be,” Rarity said, scolding gently. Sunset closed the door to the captain’s cabin and sighed, slumping down to sit on the bed.
“I tried. Really. But I can’t sleep. Can’t even lie down. Too much adrenaline. Too many thoughts in my head. Too many worries. Just too much, really.”
Rarity nodded at Sunset’s inarticulate vagueness. She certainly empathized with the sensation. “I totally understand, darling.”
A sort of half-smile graced Sunset’s muzzle. “You sound so much like her.”
“I remember Twilight telling stories about you,” Rarity said. “Something about there being another me in another world. It’s odd to think about; you’ve met me already, and yet… not.”
But Sunset was already shaking her head. “No. You’re not the same. I mean, you have the same face and name. And very similar origins. But for some reason I don’t see my Rarity sitting where you are now. I don’t see her as an alicorn. A princess. A leader.” Sunset smiled. “Different circumstances, different paths.”
“Do please tell me that she’s at least the princess of her own boutique,” Rarity said, trying for some levity.
It worked. Sunset gave a soft laugh. “Not yet, no. She’s working for somebody else. But she’s moving towards it. It won’t be long.” She paused, and winced. “Or, she was working towards it. I don’t know what’s happening there, now. Or even if time is moving the same way. Probably not. It’s…”
Sunset trailed off with the same sort of vague, inarticulate sense of a mare who was overwhelmed.
Rarity’s brand-new wings twitched, as if in sympathy.
“So anyways,” Sunset continued. “I’ve been checking on everypony. Flying to the other ships, to make sure our people are settled in.”
“And?”
“Nothing bad’s happening. I dropped in on the hospital ship, our wounded are being treated well. And Smolder is still out there with her brood, making sure there’s no last-second betrayal. So far everypony’s been good on their word.” She shifted a little on the bed, uncomfortably. “I keep waiting for the next disaster, you know? But maybe everything really is done.”
“Nothing’s really over,” Rarity said, a touch sadly. “Not like the storybooks. In the fairy tales they never mention the heroines waking up the next morning to tackle the next obstacle, the next challenge, the next disaster, as you say.”
“So what is next?” Sunset asked.
Rarity was silent as she thought. She kept stroking Emberglow’s mane, more for her comfort than for the sleeping mare.
“You and I need to have a long talk with Cadance,” Rarity said. “And figure out where we stand in this new world.”
“I think Cadance is going to ask us to shoulder most of the responsibility of rule,” Sunset said. There was a mix of both fear and confidence in her voice. “Like Celestia and Luna. The sun and the moon.”
“The moon?” Rarity sat up a little, eyes widening.
“Just a guess,” Sunset said. She nodded towards the tiara that sat on the bedside table, its silver filigree glinting in the lamplight. “But it seems to fit your aesthetic. Silver for the moon.”
“I thought it was just because silver went better with my coloring than gold,” Rarity said. In truth, the idea was overwhelming. The moon? Hers? Her duty and privilege?
The idea felt heavy, like the wings on her back.
“I think it’s meant to be shared. Leadership, I mean. I remember how tired Celestia looked sometimes,” Sunset said. “I wish I’d paid better attention to her back then, but I was a complete bitch.” Sunset blushed. “Sorry.”
“Neither of us is the mare we were any longer,” Rarity noted. Her wings twitched again.
“My past is not today, right?” Sunset said with a smile. It was a melancholy expression that didn’t quite touch the distance behind her eyes. “Oh well. Honestly? I’m really grateful to have somepony else to go through it with. Knowing you’re there is really comforting.”
Rarity hadn’t thought about that. But she met Sunset’s eyes and nodded. She was right.
“Not just me, darling. You can feel the others too, can’t you?”
It was there, in the back of her mind. A glowing path of twinkling lights. Rarity knew that with a thought, she could close her eyes and slip. To commune with the Path. To see those lights again, to explore what-has-been, what-might-be, and what-could-be.
Later. There would be time for that later.
“Yeah. Twilight’s there,” Sunset said. “Celestia too.” Her smile became warmer. “We’re not alone. And you have your Elements, too.”
Her Elements. That was certainly another intimidating thought. Rarity nodded slowly. “Did you meet them as well?”
“I stopped by to check on them, yes. Heartwing’s in a healing coma, so we didn’t talk. There’s a half-dozen Radiants working on him over on the hospital ship. Terminus is right by his side. I did stop in and chat with the other two. Topaz Glitter and Lofty Tale.”
They were just a few cabins down.
“They’re resting?” Rarity asked.
Sunset smirked. “Yeah, I found them in just about the same position as I found you here, cuddled up with some hot cocoa. They’re fine.”
There was something else in her voice, a tinge of sadness.
Rarity didn’t need to ask about it. She could guess well enough; everypony who’d been through this would be changed by the events. Damaged, perhaps. Rarity knew she would be. And Emberglow…
Emberglow twitched and flinched again, and Rarity made some soft, cooing noises as she continued to gently caress the sleeping mare.
“Wounded, but not broken,” Sunset said softly.
Rarity nodded. “Yes. But it was a very close thing. Especially for dear Emberglow.”
“I’ve asked around, and heard bits and pieces of your story,” Sunset said, voice thick with empathy. “You’ve had it rough.”
“You too,” Rarity whispered. She didn’t know much, but she could guess. Time travel. Being replaced by a changeling, who died in her place. Whatever nightmarish disasters preceded that.
The two alicorns fell into silence, punctuated only by the creaking of wood and the distant rush of wind outside.
“We’ll get through it,” Sunset said suddenly, determination blazing across her expression. “We’re princesses, right?” She laughed. “The sort of thing both of us always wanted, if you’re anything like your counterpart.”
“I never would have imagined the path we took to get here, though,” Rarity said.
Sunset’s laugh was bitter. “Yeah. Is it awful that I’m having a hard time being happy about it? I mean, we won, right? Objectively, the world is a better place because of what happened.” She nodded to Rarity. “Because of what you and your friends did, mostly.”
“It’s not perfect, no,” Rarity said. She noted the haunted look in Sunset’s eyes. “We lost too much to be celebratory, I think.” Now Sunset looked stricken, gulping. “How many of your new Knights did you lose?”
“Nine,” Sunset breathed. “I know, in the grand scheme of things, that nine is barely any losses. Statistically, compared to the other Orders, the Resplendent came out practically unharmed. I get that. I’m supposed to think of the big picture. Of what we won, what we accomplished. But all I can do is keep going over those nine names, over and over, in my head.” Sunset scowled. “I really want to be happy that we won, but everything is just so…”
She trailed off.
“Give it time,” Rarity said softly, though she felt the same. “We can mourn for now. There’s plenty of time left for us to enjoy the fruits of our labor later.”
“Will there be, though?” Sunset’s muzzle twisted. “Or is it gonna get even busier for us? We have duties now. The sun and the moon. Learning from Cadance. Figuring out all the new… stuff that comes with these.” She fluttered her wings. “Damn. We’re probably going to have to have some huge coronation ceremony, too.” She scowled.
“Ah, but a coronation means new dresses. Darling, you must let me design yours.”
There wasn’t as much energy in the words as there would have been. But a spark of joy nevertheless shone through the haze of melancholy—a hint of the eagerness she knew she’d feel in full when she’d had a little more time to process.
Sunset, for her part, stared at Rarity for a few seconds before bursting into laughter.
“Of course. Of course that’s the first thing you’d think about.” There was a sort of relief in Sunset’s voice, a release of tension. Rarity found herself smiling along. In her hooves, Emberglow stirred, but didn’t rise. “I’d love that, Rarity. It sounds like the sorta thing we’ll need to decompress from all of this.”
“Things may have changed, but they didn’t change that much.” Rarity was sure that, no matter what, her need to be fabulous would never fade away.
Sunset stood, smiling. She did look a great deal less stressed after her laugh. “I’ll let you both rest. I’ve got some more faces I want to check on.” Her grin became sheepish. “I might be micromanaging, but I worry about my Knights. Even though Oak’s already tried to order me back to my cabin to rest three times now.”
“Go have fun tormenting your Knight,” Rarity teased, and Sunset’s grin grew wicked. “I’ll be here if you need me.” They shared another smile, and Sunset slipped out of the cabin, closing the door gently behind her.
There were a thousand things to fret about. There were ponies to mourn. There was the future to consider. Her new wings were sore and desperately in need of stretching. Plus the mystery of her horn.
There were questions about her new alicorn nature. And there was the Path, the great mystery and the billion pony souls that rested there, waiting. Another mystery that demanded attention.
But after her visit with Sunset, suddenly it all felt so much less daunting than before.
Rarity laid back on the cushioned, velvety surface of the divan. She lit her horn, floating a blanket over herself and her sleeping marefriend.
The aura shifted. Blue. Mulberry. Blue. Mulberry.
Rarity didn’t care. She closed her eyes and let herself drift off to sleep.
* * * * *
Emberglow woke with a small gasp, echoes of her nightmares still lingering on the edges of her thoughts.
She was warm.
Comfortable.
Safe.
She waited for the voices. She waited to hear the cold hate in her mind again.
Nothing.
Blissful silence.
Instead, she heard the creaking of timbers. There was wind, but it was a mundane, soft thing; white noise that filled the background, not her psyche. And the soft breathing of somepony close by.
It was dark, but she could smell wood. Lamp oil.
And Rarity.
The familiar, beloved scent banished the last fragmentary memory of her nightmares. Emberglow blinked a few times, letting her eyes adjust. Again, she was cuddled up to something warm, and something was wrapped around them both.
Rarity.
She inhaled deep, letting the scent of her love, the presence, the closeness, fill her up. Emberglow let the memories the smell invoked flow into her mind.
A comforting embrace in a cave.
A kiss on board a sailing ship.
A night of passion in a crystal palace.
Other details tried to insist upon Emberglow’s mind, but she let them pass by. It wasn’t denial; they were there, just…
Right now, she felt untouchable.
There was anxiety and uncertainty. But in this moment she knew; no matter what the future held, there would be plenty of chances to make more memories with the mare whose hooves and wings curled around her.
Emberglow savored it as long as she could. Eventually, muscle stiffness and bodily needs pushed her to gently extract herself from the divan.
She carefully arranged the blanket around Rarity. Rarity barely stirred, murmuring just a little in her sleep as Emberglow rose. She smiled down with affection and love, kissing Rarity’s cheek softly. Rarity smiled, but her eyes never opened.
Looking around herself, Emberglow lit the oil lamp on the wall. She would have been happy to have normal quarters, but the airship captain, upon realizing that Rarity herself would be traveling aboard her airship had insisted the two of them take her cabin.
After everything that had happened, Emberglow didn’t have the energy to argue too vociferously.
It only took a moment to find what she was looking for. Right next to the bed, in the bedside table’s drawer, was a small pad of paper and a pen. She felt a little guilty for borrowing the captain’s supplies, but she had said that whatever they needed was at their disposal.
Emberglow would apologize later.
Quickly and silently, she scribbled out a quick note.
Rarity-
Went to get some fresh air on deck. Join me when you can.
Love, Emberglow.
Writing the ‘love’ made her smile, a soft, fluttery sensation growing in her chest. She looked back at Rarity, still asleep and tucked into her blanket. Her gaze lifted to Rarity’s new horn, and Emberglow shuddered.
It was just hours ago that she’d found Rarity hornless. Now she was looking at a miracle. The first unicorn in history, as far as anypony knew, to survive horn removal.
The thought made Emberglow think of her brother and of her parents. They’d had barely enough time, as the Discordant were evacuating Old Canterlot, to reassure them that she was safe, and that they’d reconnect when the airships all landed in the Empire.
Her conflict with them seemed so petty now, in retrospect.
Leaving the note on the table where Rarity couldn’t possibly miss it, she quietly snuck out the door and into the hallway.
There was nopony about as Emberglow made her way up the stairs and, after a quick stop in the privy, out onto the airship’s deck. Once she arrived above decks, she was surprised- the sun was down, and the velvety black skies above twinkled with stars.
It had been a while since Emberglow had seen stars.
There were still a few wispy clouds in the sky, but a gentle breeze from the south was already blowing them away. Emberglow shivered; it was cold out here, outside of the blanket and outside of Rarity’s embrace. But it wasn’t a stabbing cold.
It wasn’t the cold of death.
For a moment she waited at the top of the stairs, observing the dark figures of the night crew sailors going about their tasks. Some of it looked familiar from all the time she’d spent on board ships. Idly, she wondered what they were thinking—Diarchy citizens, surrounded by those they called heretics, transporting them safely northward.
In the darkness beyond the airship, Emberglow could see the shadowy figures of dragons in the sky.
It felt like an impossible circumstance. And yet, here she was.
Finally she moved over to the railing, leaning out so she could look down below. It was a new moon, and the stars didn’t provide enough light to see much more than vague outlines of terrain down below, but she could barely make out, far to the north, the faint outline of the Crystal Mountains.
For several quiet, chilly minutes, Emberglow leaned over the railing and stared out over a sleeping Equestria beneath her. She let her mind go blank. For a while, it worked- her thoughts were like dew, delicate and ephemeral, floating away no sooner than they had time to condense.
“Silly mare,” grunted a voice behind her, one thick with a Stalliongrad accent. “You should find a bed.”
It brought a smile to her muzzle, and she turned. Oak Chips wasn’t in his pony form, as Emberglow had first expected. He was himself, red and black chitin, standing proudly with his orange gradient armor.
“Looks good on you,” Emberglow said. “Sir Oak.”
Oak flinched. “You’re changing the subject,” he said, his affected accent disappearing. “You really should be resting. Not freezing out here. How are you not cold?”
“Pegasus, remember?” She fluttered her wings. “We’re cold-resistant. Are you…” she paused, taking in his insectoid features. “…are you exothermic?”
“Changelings are a special case,” he said, sounding grumpy. “Endothermic, but since our sustenance is produced by emotion, our heat regulation is dependent on our magic, and how well we’ve been feeding.”
“So you’re cold, because you haven’t been eating enough love?”
“No, I’m just old and grumpy and tired of chasing mares back to their beds for rest,” Oak snapped back.
Emberglow giggled, beckoning him with a hoof. He joined her at the railing, and she wrapped a wing around her old friend in a hug.
“There. You can be a little warmer.”
“Silly mare,” he repeated.
“Silly bug,” Emberglow shot back. He laughed. “Are you okay?”
It was a big question, one she was sure she’d be asking a lot of ponies in the next few days.
It was a question with a very complicated answer, and Oak’s sigh just compounded that.
“Provisionally. My princess lived. Me and my Knights are heading home, where we will, presumably, be safe for a time. The world was broken and remade before my eyes, and I’m still trying to process it. I’m old, Emberglow, and sometimes I wonder if I’ve seen too much.”
He sighed again.
“But I know Escher would be proud of me. I know my Princess, the rebellious, obstinate young fool that she is, will thrive. I know that for an entire lifetime I’ve done my best to do my duty for my people and my Empire, and this new phase? My new duty? It exhausts me, but it also excites me in ways that make me feel young again.”
“So… the short answer is, ‘it’s complicated’,” Emberglow said, and Oak huffed out a laugh. “I feel the same.”
“Have you talked to your parents yet?”
“We haven’t had a real chance. They know I’m safe, but beyond that I don’t think they have any idea what happened.” Honestly Emberglow wasn’t sure how to explain everything that had changed in the last few weeks. “We fought, when they were still in Old Canterlot. They… they accused Rarity of mind-controlling me.”
Oak snorted. “Just parents panicking. Old ponies are scared of change sometimes. Uncertain futures are terrifying to those of us who’ve lived one way for so long.”
“I know,” she admitted, with a small shiver. “Stepping out into the darkness… you really have to have faith sometimes that everything is going to turn out okay.”
Oak looked at her for a moment, then shook his head. “I don’t think so. Not just faith, at least. Or not faith on its own. I don’t want to just wait around and hope for good things to happen. I want to step into that darkness and seize the future, reshape it, make it fit me and those I care about. I remember a very young, very silly filly teaching me that lesson years ago, when she grew past her beginnings to become a doctor and a Knight. And then later, a hero who saved the world from eternal ice.”
“I’m not all—”
“Oh, shove the modesty, Element of Honesty, and get used to being a role model,” Oak interrupted. “I’m not kidding.” His gaze drifted out over the starlit shadows down below. “You really do inspire me, Emberglow. Even if, ever since I met you, I find myself more and more burdened by silly mares in my life.”
Emberglow laughed and set aside her protests. “Thank you for saying so.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll deflate your ego quick enough whenever I need to,” Oak said. “But sometimes you need to know just how much good and right you’ve done for people. Even me.” He paused. “Besides, we’re going to be seeing a lot of each other in the future, I think.”
“We are?”
“I’ve been speaking to the Princess,” he said. Emberglow realized he meant Princess Sunset. “About what my Knights will be doing. We’re to be protectors, I think. Guardians. Of the princesses first and foremost, like Princess Sunset and your Princess Rarity.” Her heart fluttered a little at the possessive pronoun. “You know that I’ve already heard ponies calling her the Princess of Hope?”
“Really?” Emberglow asked, but she wasn’t too surprised by the title. It made sense, in a way.
“Not just the Radiants, but my own Knights as well. Discordants and Angelic too. So we’re going to be keeping her safe, alongside Princess Sunset. Keep the ‘flame of hope’ burning, or something like that. But not just her—the Princess’s families, and other people important to the Empire. We have to—it’s a bigger world than it was before the shield came down. Bigger and, in some ways, more unsafe.”
He was right. The Empire was more unsafe than it had been before. It was a part of the wider world, now, rather than keeping to its own little isolated corner.
“There’s a part of me that feels like I’m responsible for that,” Emberglow said.
Oak snorted with amusement. “Silly mare. The intelligence service has been warning about the Diarchy threat for years. Isolation was only going to work for so long. We had to come out of hiding someday.”
Emberglow nodded and squeezed Oak with her wing. She had a startling realization; she was taller than him now.
He had always been bigger in her childhood—if not physically, then in wisdom and experience.
“Yes,” she said softly. “But there’s a part of me that’s… unsettled. Whether or not I’m responsible, it was our actions that broke the isolation. There’s an entire country of people whose lives I helped upend. Even if it had to happen anyway…”
She shook her head. That wasn’t it.
“…there’s more. With everything that changed, with everything we did accomplish, it still feels like a beginning, not an ending. There’s unanswered questions, unresolved issues. How will we ever relax when the next catastrophe could be just around the corner?”
“I know how I’m going to do it,” Oak said. “By delegating.” Emberglow laughed. “No, I’m serious. Colibri and Life Flight are good eggs. Sure, my duties make me feel younger but I’m still old. I’m already planning my retirement, when the two of them are ready for it.”
“I meant more for me, silly old stallion.”
“Hmm,” Oak mused. “Same thing, I’d say. Find ways to delegate and share your burdens. You have enough friends for it. Why, I’m sure—”
He broke off, his entire body jerking and stiffening.
“Rancid eggshells! That mare!”
“What?” Emberglow looked at him, stunned.
Oak pointed to one of the other airships in the convoy. Emberglow could barely make out on deck an orange figure landing. It was the hospital ship.
“She’s supposed to be resting! And she’s slipped her guard again! She’s like a foal who keeps stealing from the cookie jar! Only with more lasers.” Oak groused. “Excuse me. I have a princess to go argue with.”
He looked her in the eye and smiled.
“Really, you’ll be fine, Emberglow. Maybe you should be resting, too.”
And with that he sprung off the railing, wings buzzing as he flew towards the hospital ship.
Emberglow laughed. The ship was far too distant for her to hear what was happening, but she could imagine the conversation just from what she could see of Oak and Sunset’s postures. Oak landed, and Sunset flinched, then stood her ground. Oak began gesticulating wildly, a hoof waving through the air. Sunset leaned forward, clearly arguing back.
Finally Sunset turned, tossing her mane and marching off towards the hospital ship’s belowdecks. Oak followed angrily.
For a moment Emberglow wondered idly if she should go back inside. Hoofsteps behind her made her pause.
“You know,” came the most beautiful voice in the world. “I’m not sure why we need to brave the cold when we could have kept snuggling in bed.”
Emberglow smiled and didn’t even turn around. She did, however, extend a wing. Rarity slipped underneath it.
Like a puzzle piece that fit perfectly. Emberglow felt a blanket float around their backs, even as she pulled Rarity tightly to her side.
“Maybe I needed the breeze to carry away all my worries.”
“It is far too early,” Rarity yawned, “to be waxing poetic, darling. But I certainly appreciate the sentiment.”
“We could go inside if you like,” Emberglow offered, but Rarity nuzzled in closer.
“I think not,” Rarity said after a long pause. “I should rather stay out here with you. At least until somepony decides to tell me where to find the coffee.”
That sounded just fine to Emberglow. She breathed in deep, filling her lungs with the chilly air.
It came with the same comforting scent that had driven off her nightmares when she’d awoken. The scent of her love.
“What about you, though, Emberglow?” Rarity asked after a moment. She could hear the concern in Rarity’s voice; emphasized by the fact that Rarity used her name, rather than an affectation. “Are you okay?”
It was the same question. And she smiled as she gave the same answer. “It’s complicated,” she said with a small, soft laugh.
“You sound amused by that,” Rarity said.
Emberglow went silent, considering. She was amused. She was happy. She knew it was a temporary thing; that in the days ahead she’d have a thousand questions to answer, a thousand problems to overcome. She’d have duties and responsibilities befitting an Element and a noble of the Empire. She would have to reckon with her parents. With the help of her friends, she’d have to reckon with her fears, her guilt, her doubt, and her insecurities.
And it wasn’t just all about her. The entire world was a mess, and Emberglow was certain she’d have to play a role in fixing that. Doubly so, with her marefriend being a princess now. There was no escaping it. The Diarchy still limped onward on its twisted path. Their actions had only straightened some of its problems.
Harmony was returning, but the march of progress would be slow and gradual. And there were ponies who would resist it every step of the way.
Tomorrow, Emberglow would have to reckon with all of that.
But as for today…
“It’s just, I asked Oak the same thing a few minutes ago,” Emberglow said, smiling. “And I got the same answer. It’s complicated.”
She thought long and hard about trying to put it into words.
But in the end, it didn’t seem to matter.
“For now, though? There’s no place I’d rather be. And no matter how complicated the future is, I’m just glad you’re in it with me.”
Rarity said nothing at first, though Emberglow did hear her give a cute little sniff. She reached up with a hoof to wipe at her own tears; her eyes were suddenly wet, leaving a moist trail on her cheeks.
“So tomorrow can take care of tomorrow. And yesterday can worry about yesterday. For today, I’d like to cuddle here with you and watch the sun rise.”
The two of them looked out over Equestria, silently letting the sounds of the ship, the wind, the sailors, and a thousand little things wash over them.
“I think that would be perfect, darling.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.042 seconds
Total duration
751 users online
926,630 hits today, 2,571,732 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
oh hey we're about to end
A tentative ceasefire, supposed change, and an uneasy feeling in the air.
Such is the atmosphere in the wake of war.
Is Steadfast dead or not?
felt there was too much of a skip here, feels like we missed a chapter, we needed to see the surrender of the diarchy, having diarchy ponies see rarity and not knowing to be afraid or in awe
11572682
That's fair criticism. And I certainly considered it.
At the end of the day, though, it felt like things like the negotiation of the ceasefire, arranging for transport, and those sorts of moments were part of a different tale, not Emberglow's. That and I didn't want to draw out the conclusion for pacing reasons.
11572777
but will we get to see unethical magical experiments on close friends?
If I haven't said it before, when you DO finish this story, I would very much like to chat about getting a physical copy of this epic tale.
After following this incredible story for so long, it’s really bittersweet to be so close to the conclusion. All I can say is that I’m looking excited to see how this all wraps up, and thanks for writing such a great fic!
Ok so I don't know if my math checks out but...
Sunset returns sometime around 323 AF (I think, my memory is bad)
If we assume Camp Everfree takes place over 4 days (just an overestimate), the time dilation started when she entered the Camp, Sunset notices the journal entries on the 5th day after leaving Everfree, and takes 2 days to prepare for her journey. This makes 7 days passed since Twilight's death.
323 MLP years / 7 EQG days = ∼46 MLP years per EQG day.
Present year 1113 AF - Sunset's return 323 AF = 790 MLP years passed since her arrival.
790 MLP/46 MLP = ∼17 EQG days since Sunset's departure, assuming time dilation hasn't been affected..
11572777
I totally get that, the pacing of the story takes priority
Still though, I hope you write it up as a side story or something
11573555
There is an expanded story of the events of the Battle of New Canterlot, being played out as an in-progress RP on my Discord server.
I have to agree with the fact that it feels like this chapter is missing something and to be honest I haven't been a fan with the amount of involvement a discord rp has had with the story as a whole. I've been keeping my overall feelings on the story to myself until the end, because I do enjoy it, but I felt this needed to be said
11572803
Hey, there's nothing wrong with experimenting with friends. Sometimes it's rather enjoyable... other times you get turned into a monster and die.
11573602
Unless they are keeping a some sort of archive compilation of the Discord RP(hopefully revised and aproved in accordance to the story so it make sense and not full of fan service) I too am from the same opinion that Fan involvement in the creative process of the author in the story writing is rather concerning and a lil bit bothersome...
11574962
I was a bit eye roll-y with the inclusion of OCs and some minor worldbuilding that came up in the RP but it was generally fine. i take issue mostly with the fact a whole vital section of the story was skipped over and is being handled, instead, by an RP on a discord server
edit to add: i understand the logic that that sort of thing is not part of emberglow's story but there are ways to include it happening without focusing on it. the pacing has become muddy
11575260
11574962
Actually, this seems to be a pretty common tactic. I know of a few (quite good!) authors that do RPs in their universes, explicitly to generate backstory that they don't feel like coming up with themselves.
11579696
while I find that practice to be fairly lazy, using rp to buff out some worldbuilding is very much not the same as regulating a fairly vital part of the story to a discord role play. a whole chunk of the story is missing now (why not have emberglow come down from all that had happened WHILE things were being hammered out is beyond me) and I'm not joining a discord to watch people play it out. it's not why I read this in the first place.
11579905
11579696
Like I said it's a lil bothersome that a lot of the in fighting in the capital went to a Side Story, it isn't strange that authors skip some content from the main one in to a separated stand alone story (Side Story, Chronicles, etc), but it still feels wrong since the pace went really fast we were from being stranded to the office and to the office to the climax of the battle, also what happend with Sunset before her arrival to the final battle?
11579905
11579965
These are certainly valid concerns, and I thank you for sharing.
When I mentioned the RP, and that the larger story of the Battle of Canterlot might be playing out there, it was never to suggest that the complete story could be found outside of this one.
This is the complete story. Anything in the RP is purely tangential, and a bonus to that, absolutely unnecessary. I apologize if I gave off that impression.
The reason for the pacing decision was simply that Emberglow's part in the battle was over when the elements did their bit to Steadfast. Everything else that's happening at the same time as this is not a direct part of her story. My intent (as it has been all along) is to suggest that while Emberglow's story is central to the events of the narrative, they are not the only story going on at the same time. By making the pacing decisions I did, I hoped to emphasize that; the Battle of Old Canterlot, and the Old Canterlot Accords all happened outside either Emberglow or Rarity's perspective, and they had little to say in how they turned out.
If this writing decision fell flat for you, I really genuinely apologize.