Piece by Piece

by Eltirions

Chapter 1: Conversation over ice cream

8 December 1008

They stayed together for a while, and ended up leaving the food unfinished. Rarity, instead, ordered a large bucket of ice cream to be brought up to her chambers. The servant didn’t so much as twitch as he took the plates away and promised to have the ice cream sent upstairs immediately.

‘’Are we going to your room?’’ Flurry asked softly as they walked out of the dining room. ‘’Where is it?’’

‘’It’s up in the palace,’’ Rarity replied, ‘’In one of the towers.’’

Flurry nodded. ‘’Is it Mummy’s room?’’

Rarity shook her head. ‘’No, it’s not.’’ That one had been completely destroyed by Sombra, and Rarity had left it untouched. Nightmare Moon hadn’t expressly forbidden her from doing anything with it, but still she thought it better to wait for her permission to do anything.

Honestly, Nightmare Moon’s reaction to the news of Sombra returning hadn’t been what Rarity had anticipated. She’d been in the alicorn’s solar in the Crystaller Building, talking about inconsequential things over a cup of tea, when a messenger had arrived bearing the ill news.

‘’Your majesty,’’ the thestral had said between pants - she’d later found out he’d flown all the way from Bridlepolis with the news, that being the fastest way to transport news with the radio still out of commission - ‘’Sombra has returned to the Crystal Empire! He has captured Princess Cadence and Prince-Consort Shining, and his forces have taken over the country!’’

Rarity had dropped her cup of tea, but Nightmare Moon caught it at the last second with her telekinesis, even as she turned to the guard. ‘’You have more to tell me.’’ It was a statement, not a question.

The thestral had gulped. ‘’He- he has executed the Princess and her husband.’’

Nightmare Moon had gone very, very quiet for ten seconds, while Rarity and the thestral had watched her with growing apprehension that had overtaken the feeling of disgust Rarity felt in her stomach at the thought of Cadence and Shining’s death.

Then, Nightmare Moon spoke.

‘’He will burn.’’

That conversation had been eight months ago. Nightmare Moon had redirected all the forces she had north, with a simple order: bring Sombra to her. Celestia’s forces had been retreating past the Twilight Range to Shire and Ponderosa, and while the bulk of the Lunar forces continued to pursue them into Yonderhill and Coltfoalnia, a significant part moved north to fight the hordes of mind-controlled crystal ponies Sombra sent forth.

Two months later, Nightmare Moon had left Manehattan for a final confrontation with her sister in Tall Tale. When she had returned, it had been with Flurry Heart on her back, or more accurately said, attached to the back of her neck.

And then, Rarity had been sent to the Crystal Empire, together with Flurry. Why Nightmare Moon had sent her only remaining family with Rarity instead of keeping her in Manehattan, only she knew, but Rarity had been made her official guardian and sent on her way.

And for six months, she had been neglectful of her duty. Oh, there were plenty of excuses she could use: she didn’t know how to approach the filly, she had to rule a war-torn and traumatized country, her own family life was in shambles, the list went on and on.

But it was her duty now to care for Flurry Heart, and she had failed to do that.

‘’Mi- auntie?’’

‘’Huh?’’ Rarity blinked rapidly as she was shaken out of her thoughts. She looked down to see Flurry was looking up at her, a lost look on her face. ‘’Sorry darling, I was lost in thought. Is there a problem?’’

Flurry waved her hoof forward. ‘’Do we go up here?’’

Did I walk to the stairwell out of muscle memory?

Rarity looked at the stairs for a moment, before concluding that these were indeed the right stairs. ‘’Yes we do,’’ she confirmed. ‘’Don’t worry, I’m not up very high.’’

Flurry looked up the stairwell, then back at Rarity. ‘’Can I be on your back? I’m tired.’’

‘’Are you sure you can hold on, darling?’’ Rarity asked. Her falling off my back and down the stairs wouldn’t be good.

‘’Yeah, I can do that,’’ Flurry assured her.

‘’Okay then,’’ Rarity agreed after a moment of deliberation. ‘’Can you get on yourself or do you need help?’’

‘’No, it’s alright.’’ Flurry spread her wings and flew up, then landed on Rarity’s back and settled on it.

Rarity took a moment to get used to the weight, then began to climb the stairs. They weren’t very steep, but there were a lot of them.

I pity the person that has to clean them all. And the one that has to bring the ice cream up.

‘’Is it far yet?’’

‘’No.’’ Rarity sped up a little regardless. ‘’Just a few more stairs…’’

And here we are.

Rarity’s room was down the hallway. It wasn’t quite at the top of the tower, but they were still quite high up.

‘’What’s behind these other doors?’’ Flurry asked as Rarity walked down the hallway.

‘’Unused rooms,’’ Rarity answered. ‘’This is a tower meant for visiting delegates and diplomats. I just picked the largest room of all.’’ She came to a halt in front of the door. ‘’We’re here.’’

Flurry jumped off her back onto the ground. When she looked up Rarity expectantly, the older mare laid her hoof on the door handle and opened it.

Rarity had picked this room for a couple of reasons. Number one was the view: from her balcony, she had a perfect view over Crystal City. Number two was the size: this was the largest of all the delegate rooms. And number three was the most petty of them all: it was the room she’d stayed in before.

‘’This is nice,’’ Flurry commented as she walked in beside Rarity.

‘’This is the study,’’ Rarity explained, gesturing at the desk and shelves. ‘’Through that door is the bedroom, that one leads into the bathroom, the balcony is over there, and finally I have my designing room there.’’

The designing room had originally been another delegate room, but Rarity had remodelled it to be part of her room instead, with the remainder of the delegate room becoming part of its other neighbour.

‘’I like it,’’ Flurry declared. She set hoof on the carpet and immediately paused. ‘’This is really soft. Can I get one too?’’

‘’Of course,’’ Rarity replied. ‘’In this colour too?’’

‘’Sure.’’ A second later, Flurry tilted her head. ‘’What colours are there?’’

Rarity smiled. ‘’Whichever you want.’’

‘’I want it in pink,’’ Flurry decided after a few seconds of thought.

‘’What tint?’’ She probably doesn’t know-

‘’Like Mummy’s coat.’’

Ah.

‘’I’ll go order one tomorrow morning, alright?’’ Rarity suggested very, very timidly.

‘’T-thanks.’’

Rarity pulled Flurry in for a loose hug. ‘’I can also go and look for some pictures,’’ she offered softly. ‘’I think I still have a few laying in Ponyville, and I can ask my friends if they have some as well.’’

Flurry buried her face against Rarity’s chest. Rarity sat down and put her other foreleg around Flurry as well, before lowering her head a little.

She wasn’t sure what she noticed first, the tiny shakes of her body or the tears running down her coat. The moment she found out that Flurry was crying, however, she tightened her hug a little, stroking the filly’s feathers with her hoof. ‘’It’s alright,’’ she whispered. ‘’You can cry. It’s okay.’’

Flurry began to sob. Even muffled by Rarity’s coat, the sound was still gut-wrenching, and not just because of the sound itself, but also because of the memories. How often had Rarity comforted Sweetie like this, in the past years? This was a different type of grief, of course, but the tears didn’t sting any less because of it.

Did she cry before this? Rarity asked herself. Has she been crying herself to sleep, and was I too busy to notice?

Rarity didn’t want to believe that, but it was possible. And it was more than possible that the servants, if they noticed, wouldn’t say anything.

‘’Flurry,’’ she asked softly, ‘’have you been crying a lot?’’

‘’N-no,’’ the filly sniffed. It didn’t sound very convincing. But I don’t want to press the issue.

‘’Yes,’’ she admitted even more quietly. ‘’Sometimes.’’

Fuck. Rarity looked down. ‘’Why didn’t you say anything to me?’’
Flurry mumbled something in reply.
‘’Come again?’’

‘’Didn’t wanna bother you.’’

‘’Oh darling,’’ Rarity sighed. ‘’I’m so, so sorry. I failed you.’’

Flurry looked up with red-rimmed eyes that didn’t seem to understand. ‘’Failed me?’’

‘’I’m your guardian, I’m supposed to take care of you.’’ And I’ve done a bloody poor job of it, so far.

‘’It’s alright.’’

‘’It’s not.’’

‘’It is.’’

‘’It’s-’’

‘’Auntie, stop it,’’ Flurry cut in. ‘’We both did dumb things, and we should stop arguing about it.’’

Rarity blinked at the sudden interruption. ‘’That’s very wise of you, Flurry.’’

The filly blushed, which was an adorable sight even with the red eyes and the tear stains. ‘’Thanks,’’ she said. ‘’I heard Auntie Luna say something like that to two adults once. They stopped arguing afterwards.’’

‘’Well, your auntie is very wise too,’’ Rarity quipped. ‘’I-’’

Someone knocked on the door. ‘’My lady, your ice cream is here.’’

Perfect timing. ‘’Come in!’’

The door opened and a mare stepped in, carrying a tub of ice cream on her back. ‘’Princess, governess,’’ she greeted with a bow of her head.

‘’Put it down on my desk, please,’’ Rarity requested. ‘’I assume you brought spoons.’’

‘’Yes, my lady.’’ The mare did as requested, then stepped back from the desk. ‘’Is there anything else you require?’’

‘’No,’’ Rarity replied, before hesitating. ‘’Flurry,’’ she asked, ‘’do you want to have a sleepover here?’’

‘’In your room?’’ Flurry asked for clarification, and Rarity nodded in reply. ‘’Sure!’’

‘’Then,’’ Rarity turned back to the mare, ‘’can you get Flurry’s pillow and stuffed toys from her room? Oh, and her toothbrush.’’

‘’Of course, my lady. Anything else?’’

‘’No, I don’t think so, darling. Thank you.’’

‘’Of course. Princess, governess.’’ After giving a small bow, the mare walked out of the room again.

As soon as the door was closed, Rarity lifted the tub of ice cream, complete with two spoons, from the desk with her magic. ‘’Shall we eat this on the bed?’’

‘’Yeah!’’

With a chuckle, Rarity stood up, finally letting go of Flurry. She took a moment to adjust to the lack of a body pressing against her chest, then walked away from the centre of the study and opened the door to her bedroom. ‘’Ta-da!’’ she announced as she held the door open.

‘’That’s a big bed,’’ Flurry observed after a moment.

‘’I like big beds.’’

‘’So do I.’’ Flurry spread her wings and flew over to it, then sat herself down on the covers. After a moment of touching them with her hooves, she laid down on her belly. ‘’It’s soft and warm too.’’

‘’Yours is too, I hope?’’ Rarity joke-asked.

‘’Yeah, it is.’’

‘’Good.’’ Rarity climbed onto the bed and laid down next to Flurry. She placed the ice cream in front of them both, and opened the tub. ‘’Don’t eat too much.’’

‘’I won’t,’’ Flurry promised, before lifting up her spoon with her magic and taking a scoop from the tub. ‘’Oh, I like this ice cream,’’ she said after she’d swallowed the first bite.

‘’Nothing above plain old vanilla, no?’’ Rarity remarked between scoops. ‘’So, you said at dinner that you made friends. Do you want to tell me about them?’’

‘’Okay,’’ Flurry agreed. ‘’I made a lot of friends today. Swift Hoof, he’s nice but a little strange. Star Glitter, she’s nice too! And she has a bow!’’

‘’They sound nice,’’ Rarity commented with a smile. ‘’Are there more?’’

Flurry’s face scrunched up in thought. ‘’There’s Jewel Heart, but I think she’s a little stuck-up. Oh, and there was a thestral filly as well. Her name is Moon Tower. I think she’s called that because she’s tall. Like, really tall. Even the guard was impressed,’’

Huh. They sound like a good group. ‘’Well, I’m happy you’ve made friends,’’ Rarity said. ‘’Are you going to see them again tomorrow?’’

‘’Yeah, we agreed to meet again after lunch.’’

After lunch… ‘’Sounds nice.’’

Flurry nodded, then looked at the door. ‘’When are the pillows going to be here?’’

‘’I don’t know.’’ Rarity took a glance at the tub of ice cream and then did a double-take. It was already more than half-empty.

‘’Right,’’ she pushed the tub away and used her magic to lift the lid up from the bed, ‘’I think that’s enough ice cream for today.’’

‘’Awww…’’ Flurry pouted. ‘’Okay,’’ she sighed, before putting the spoon on top of the now-closed box. ‘’So what did you do today?’’

I did not expect that. ‘’Nothing interesting, I’m afraid,’’ she answered. ‘’There’s always a lot of paperwork, and I still have my boutiques as well. Plus, there are meetings I have to attend. A lot of ponies want to meet with me.’’

‘’’cause you’re important, right?’’

Rarity nodded. ‘’I am important, yes. And I-’’

‘’My lady? I’m back with the things you requested!’’

Again?

‘’You can come in!’’ Rarity called back. ‘’We’re in the bedroom!’’

She heard the door open, and a few seconds later the mare appeared, carrying a bag in her mouth. ‘’Princess, governess,’’ she said after she carefully placed the bag on the floor.

‘’Thank you, darling.’’ Rarity lifted the bag up with her magic and floated it over to the bed, placing it on the edge before opening it. Flurry’s toothpaste and toothbrush laid on top of her pillow, and underneath that were her stuffed toys.

‘’Here you go, Flurry.’’ One by one, she lifted the items out of the bag. Flurry immediately laid the pillow and toothbrush to the side, before collecting her stuffed toys between her forelegs.

‘’You can go,’’ Rarity waved her hoof dismissively at the mare.

The mare hesitated. ‘’Do you want me to take the ice cream with me, my lady?’’

Rarity glanced down at the tub. ‘’Store it in the fridge in the designer room,’’ she ordered after a moment, before floating the tub over to the mare. The mare grabbed the tub, then bowed again and walked out of the room.

‘’Did she get everything, darling?’’ Rarity asked as soon as she estimated the mare couldn’t hear her anymore.

‘’Yeah,’’ Flurry confirmed. ‘’Do I need to brush my teeth already?’’

Rarity turned her head around to look at the clock on her nightstand. 7:30. That’s later than normal.

‘’It’s late,’’ she said. ‘’Are you tired already?’’

‘’No.’’ A moment later, Flurry yawned loudly, and after that she had the decency to look abashed. ‘’Okay, maybe a little.’’

Rarity smiled. ‘’Well, that sounds like it’s time for bed.’’

‘’But it’s a sleepover!’’

That’s true too. But- I have an idea.

‘’But you have to get up early tomorrow,’’ Rarity rebutted.

Flurry tilted her head. ‘’Why?’’

Rarity’s smile widened. ‘’We’re going somewhere.’’

Author's Note:

So, what I said about The Wrong Mare being a one-shot? About that...

I accidentally created something that wouldn't stop bugging me, and maybe it'll turn into something big. I don't know, I don't have anything written or planned, but we'll see where it ends up going.

Just to be clear: there's no upload schedule. I'll post updates when I write something for this story, but if I end up taking an extended break, I'll let you know.

Cheers!

Comments

[shining paladin]

awesome chapter mate keep it up cant wait for the next chapter

[The Great Scribbly One]

So it begins...

[N4rwh41]

I haven't had the chance to plY the Civil War path, so I have a ques5ion: What happens to cadence and shining if Luna wins?

[Eltirions]

11671130
They can remain in charge as de jure monarchs of the Crystal Empire.

[Victor07]

Sombra your bastard, burn in hell

[Victor07]

Daww, Flurry is so cute trying to be mature