CRISIS: Equestria - Divergence, Book 3

by GanonFLCL

Chapter Fifteen: Ready

Blackburn typically preferred a light breakfast when she started off her day, and today was no exception. A cereal bar made right here in Hope's Point was perfect for an on-the-go mare like herself, somepony who was always moving and never stopping unless it was for something important or truly shocking. A cup of coffee always went along with it, in this case a blend that Lockwood had picked out from Seaside in the south.

She walked the halls of the palace eyeing a datapad that she held with one wing, sipping from her coffee that Gadget held in her magic—Gadget always knew just when to tip the cup so that Blackburn didn't have the slurp—and racing her mind through all of the information coming her way.

It was business as usual in Hope's Point, as she and Lockwood had decided not to inform the general populace about the recent news until they had a solution in mind. As such, Blackburn treated everything as business as usual even if the back of her mind was screaming out how everypony was going to die if they couldn't find what they needed. But she ignored that pitiful mammalian part of her brain that just couldn't help itself. No, it was business as usual, and that was it.

With the sandstorm gone, they could begin shipping with New Pandemonium again. The sheer number of request orders required an entire datapad for themselves; Hope's Point was expected to ship literal tons of food, medical supplies, and more, but most importantly alcohol, to make up for the economic downturn following their lockdown. Nothing out of the ordinary, of course, but Blackburn insisted on scanning the entire shipping order herself to make certain that nothing fishy was happening.

Then there was the immigration manifest, as a three-week delay in travel had caused a backlog of sorts of all the ponies who wished to make the trip into Hope's Point from New Pandemonium. Again, it was a large list, and Stellar Storm would be going over her own copy even more thoroughly; Blackburn wasn't concerned about a security risk, but with the numbers. They could all be accommodated, but then she knew that it wouldn't really make a difference soon, one way or another.

Gadget interrupted her train of thought. "Your Majesty, I'm getting a call from the hangar bay. The Comet Chaser just docked and is requesting your presence to make their report personally."

Blackburn nodded; this was excellent news but she never jumped for joy when that sort of thing came her way. "Means they found something important. Good. Come, wasting time here."

"Right behind you, boss."

The hangar bay of Hope's Point wasn't actually in the city, strictly-speaking. It was situated at the very bottom of the cliff upon which the city was built, accessible from the city only by elevator, of which there were four, one being in the royal palace itself. Blackburn and Gadget rode down the elevator down, down, down, past floors dedicated to maintenance, floors that were designed to house power junctions, and supply rooms for emergencies.

Most of these were also accessible by an emergency stairwell, but nopony ever used it; the city had never experienced a power outage in over forty years.

At the very bottom floor, the pair exited out into the hangar bay, a tremendous hallway that stretched out farther than Blackburn could see in either direction. The hall was lined with bay doors that opened into the individual docking bays of each and every ship in the fleet, all of which were uniquely designed for a purpose and to accommodate their captains' tastes and appeal.

One such bay belonged to Blackburn's personal airship, the Wyvern; the bay was locked tight at the moment until Blackburn was ready to take her airship out for a spin again, but she knew she needed to perform some maintenance first to make sure all of the repairs had taken properly. The ship was her pride and joy; before she had Bluebolt, the Wyvern was the closest thing Blackburn had to a daughter, and she still tended to baby it every now and then. Seeing her get hurt— damaged, well, it wasn't a pleasant experience.

As she walked down the hall, she stopped at one particular hangar, one belonging to the Thunder. She always tended to pause briefly around this one when she was down here nowadays. The bay was left permanently open, and the Thunder itself had been ordered to stay under constant upkeep so that it was in the most pristine condition possible. It looked nicer now than it had looked two months ago.

This was the typical procedure for retiring a ship, but for the Thunder, the late Captain Briarthorn's ship, well… it wasn't treated any differently, but it certainly drew her attention. The fleet hadn't retired any ships because of a death before, because a death usually meant that the ship had been destroyed too.

She didn't linger long, though. She couldn't. She needed to focus, and memories of fallen friends didn't do much to help her in that regard.

The Comet Chaser's dock was farther along the hangar hall, and the bay doors were currently open; the ship had finished its docking procedures by now, naturally. The airship itself was no longer really an airship, as the modifications made to its design to accommodate its new role in the fleet as a deep sea vessel would make it clunky to fly. An unusual consideration if it were a pony: a pegasus that could swim better than fly.

The three-pony crew were all present and accounted for:

The ship's ensign was the first one to attract attention because the mare was clearly still getting used to the newer procedures. Blackburn thought for a moment to recall her name… Starlight Spark? She was a pegasus pony with a white coat and a lavender mane with a silver streak. She wore a typical ensign uniform: a simple jacket in the crew's colors, black and light blue.

She was in the process of restocking the ship's supplies, meaning the crew's food and water mostly, but also the ships' fuel. She wasn't particularly efficient by Blackburn's standards—who was compared to Gadget?—but if the ship's captain kept her around she clearly got her jobs done at a satisfactory rate.

The ship's engineer was also a pegasus, Copper Blaze, which was unusual as most engineers were unicorns, occasionally earth ponies. Her coat was pale yellow, her mane long and bright green with lime green streaks She was wearing similar coveralls to Gadget, but had spruced hers up with "graffiti" to make it stand out. She was currently tending to some repair work on the ship's hull; had it been damaged? A slightly troubling thought.

Last was the ship's captain, Ember Heart, a pegasus mare—all ships captains had to be pegasi in order to operate their ships—with an amber coat and a two-tone red and orange mane. She wore a flight jacket over her flight suit; the jacket was navy blue, while the flight suit was in the crew's colors. As the most "normal" of the crew this made her ironically the least stand-out compared to most captains.

Captain Ember noticed Blackburn and Gadget enter the hangar, and immediately turned and snapped to attention with a salute. "Your Majesty! Good to see you. That sure was fast."

"At ease, Captain," Blackburn replied, her eyes mostly on the Comet Chaser at the moment. "Heard you have a report. Deliver it."

"Yes, ma'am." Ember pulled out a datapad and tapped through it a few times. "We went out a bit further than the original guidelines suggested. I figured that if these minotaurs had their whole civilization sunk but nopony had ever seen evidence of it, it had to be deep, deep down there."

"Logical deduction. Heard you were nearly at the Belt?"

The "Belt" was the Belt of Tranquility, the ironically-named equatorial storm that divided the world into its northern and southern halves, right where the Dark energies of the northern Beacon met with the Light energies of the south. The two antithetical magical forces did not react well when mixed together, apparently, creating an impassable barrier that nopony had traversed in hundreds of years, until Hope's Point developed shielding technology that could survive it.

Nopony knew what it looked like underwater, though. Nopony except the crew of the Comet Chaser.

Ember nodded. "Yeah, our last trip out took us right up against the edge. Even underwater, that thing looks dangerous, y'know?" She then shook her head and gave off a proud grin. "But my crew's the best in the fleet at what we do, ma'am. We knew that if none of the other crews had found anything yet, then these ruins just had to be within the Belt itself.

"So after our last refuel, we made a beeline right for the Belt edge and poked our way in. The dang thing put a lot of strain on the stabilization systems and the new shields got one heckuva workout, but we pulled through and started our search." She showed the datapad off to Blackburn now, pointing at the image on the screen. "After two days of looking, we found this."

Blackburn glanced at the image, a picture taken by the Comet Chaser's external cameras. It looked like the remains of a stone building, torn apart and ruined by some unknown force. It was barely poking out of the sandy ocean floor, easy to miss if not for the searchlight aimed directly at it. On its own this would already be an interesting discovery, but what made it even more interesting was the iconography.

Nopony knew what a minotaur even was except for Pandemonia, and she'd helpfully described what they'd looked like: bipedal creatures whose bottom halves resembled a bull's, complete with cloven hooves and a long tail, but whose top halves were smooth and hairless, with forelimbs that ended in four-fingered hands. Its head was still that of a bull's, including the horns. They were apparently huge even compared to the tallest of ponies, but how huge, not even Pandemonia could say accurately.

This ruined structure had imagery that resembled the description perfectly, albeit in less detail.

"This is it," Blackburn said, pushing the datapad back to Ember brusquely in her excitement. "You've found Athenos, Captain. Commendations in order."

Ember's eyes widened, and she smiled and nodded excitedly. "That's wonderful news! Thank you, Your Majesty." She then offered the data pad again. "Now, we explored a little further and found other evidence, if you want to—"

"No, don't need to see it, irrelevant at present. More important: forming an expedition team. Found any entrances into the city? Any intact structures?"

"We didn't search too deep," Ember said, scratching her cheek. "The Belt doesn't make it easy to take your time down there. If we're making another incursion though, we at least know where to start searching, so we'll have more time to find whatever we're looking for. I already put in a requisition for a secondary shield generator. Blaze thinks it should give us some extra rotations."

"Good forethought. And yes, will be going back out there, Captain." Blackburn turned to Gadget. "Contact Winter Glow and Princess Twilight. Need to form their expedition team."

"Already done, boss," Gadget said with a smirk. "They'll be waiting for us upstairs when we're done here."

Blackburn nodded, then turned back to Ember. "Captain, continue with ship preparation. Take time to rest, refuel ship, refuel self and crew. All facilities and services needed will be compensated. The Comet Chaser sets out tonight for Athenos, will be taking an expedition team. Be ready after… standard dinnertime hours."

Ember saluted. "Will do, ma'am! Sparky's already got most of the ship refueling procedures taken care of, but the crew's gonna be glad to hear we've got full run of everything we need to refuel ourselves. Let's see… naps, showers, and food? Yeah. I'll make sure that they know."

A pause, and she scuffed her hoof on the floor, face a little red. "Uh, the full accommodations. Does that include—"

"Includes all facilities and services, Captain. All expenses paid by royal treasury, regardless of context." Blackburn tilted her head and smirked. "Yes, also includes… more personal needs. Would recommend… hmm, Eggplant Lounge. Has excellent reviews. Right, Gadget?"

Gadget nodded and set her hoof on Ember's shoulder. "When you get there, ask for Marble Tower. He's the owner. Good guy, knows his staff well, and he's just this big ol' teddy bear. He'll set you up with the right… package, whatever floats your boat. Trust me. I make use of the place every Spring."

Ember gulped and nodded. "R-right, yeah, sounds good. I'm getting hit a little early this year, and—" She then shook her head, then saluted to Blackburn again. "Your Majesty! We won't let you down!"

"Glad to hear it, Captain." Blackburn gestured for Gadget to follow, then made her way back towards the elevator.

From there, she and Gadget then headed for the meeting room that Gadget had arranged for everypony to meet in, where she was greeted by pretty much everypony she expected to see, and a couple who she didn't.

Winter Glow and Hourglass made sense; they were the experts—Winter was, at least—on what sort of information was needed to answer the questions about Pandemonia. Twilight Sparkle was a bookish sort and somepony with extraordinary magical power, so she would likely be useful in actually obtaining that information.

Sunspire's presence was unexpected, but only slightly. He had the same sort of academic interests that Twilight did, and his ability to observe magical energy might come in handy. So she didn't really question his presence; she was just surprised that somepony so young was volunteering to go.

She had no idea why Rainbow Dash was here, though. The other mare was an athletic sort with no interest in academics, at least according to tidbits she'd heard from Rarity over the past few weeks, and a simple background check into her history in this world did nothing to change that opinion. This task didn't seem to be something a pony like that would have an interest in.

Blackburn had come to terms with Rainbow's appearance a long time ago after studying her old profile. That seemed an odd thing to say, but it wasn't something that she mentioned to anypony else. Nopony would have even asked if she didn't mention it, so she kept it that way.

Gadget and Crossfire might have noticed it, but nopony else would have, even Lockwood: Rainbow Dash was the spitting image of Blackburn's mother, Blue Blitz. Their mane colors were drastically different, and Rainbow was younger now than Blitz had been when Blackburn was born. They even had a similar love for flying and style.

"Everypony punctual, good," Blackburn said as she and Gadget entered and Blackburn took her seat. "Gadget already informed you: crew of deep sea vessel Comet Chaser discovered evidence of Athenos. Crew is refueling selves and ship, will be prepared for departure tonight, after dinnertime. This is your expedition team?"

Winter nodded. "Yup. Hourglass and I know—"

"Don't need an explanation for you two or Twilight," Blackburn interjected. Her gaze shifted to Sunspire. "Still surprised at Sunspire's presence. Already went on one 'expedition', ruins of Aeropolis. However, gryphon ruins already documented, known qualities, could account for variables easily. Athenos unknown, potentially dangerous."

"I had the same thought myself, Your Majesty," said Twilight, setting her hoof on Sunspire's shoulder. "I'm not particularly fond of bringing along somepony so young on a potentially dangerous adventure. But he insisted."

Sunspire made to speak, but Blackburn was quicker: "His magic-detecting abilities would be useful, yes, understand that. Played role in discovering Pandemonia originally, perfectly logical consideration that he would be helpful with discovering additional information about her."

"And we can vouch for him being capable!" Hourglass interjected, setting her hooves on the table. "Sunsy knows what he's doing."

"I've instructed him to stay by my side at all times," added Twilight. "Whatever happens down there, I'll be sure to keep him safe."

Blackburn nodded, glad to see that Twilight Sparkle was everything that Golden Dawn wasn't. Their intellects were their only similarities as far as Blackburn was concerned. Twilight seemed to be a respectable mare with good morals, a sense of responsibility, an understanding of others, and an unwillingness to compromise herself to accomplish a goal. An upstanding leader; Blackburn looked forward to further interactions once their worlds were merged together.

She then turned to Rainbow Dash, eyes narrowed. "You, though… purpose uncertain. No offense meant, just curious: why are you here?"

Rainbow spread her wings proudly. "'Cause I figured if my pal Twilight was going on an archaeological adventure, then there was nopony else better than me to come with her."

Blackburn tilted her head. "Was unaware of any archaeological expertise."

"Oh, Rainbow doesn't have any academic experience in the subject whatsoever," Twilight said with a cheeky grin. "What she does have is 'Daring Do' experience."

Rainbow looked even prouder than ever. "Yup! I own signed collector's editions of every single Daring Do book ever written. You know I'm even in one of the books? Yup yup, I got to meet the real Daring Do and everything. You could say I'm a… scholar. On Daring Do."

"And… that helps how?" Blackburn muttered, genuinely at a loss. This was a rare sensation.

"Psh, it helps because Daring Do's our world's leading adventure archaeologist. I've 'studied' every single book she's ever released, even experienced first-hoof what her adventures are like. Nopony knows about exploring mysterious old ruins of some ancient civilization better than me."

Winter sighed. "For the record, I don't agree with this sh— stuff."

"Oh yeah? What're you gonna do when we come to some trapped hallway with deadly buzzsaws and dart launchers, huh? What're you gonna do when you have to take out the magical eyes of the big minotaur statue so that the room doesn't flood with molten lava? What're you gonna do when the hidden temple starts falling apart because you stepped on the wrong tile?"

"You're assumin' that the minotaurs set traps around their city to protect it from intruders looking to plunder its riches… while they still lived there?"

Dash nodded, looking as smug as a snake. "Heck yeah. That's like rule number one about adventure archaeology: always assume the ancient civilization you're investigating set traps to protect their hidden treasures."

"Even if it makes no sense?"

"Especially if it makes no sense. That's how they getcha."

Blackburn sighed and shook her head. "Discussion irrelevant. If Rainbow wants to go, and if the group allows it, not my decision. Trust your judgment." She rose from her seat. "Discussion concluded, I think. Meet at hangar bay elevator tonight, after dinnertime. Will introduce you to Comet Chaser crew. Any questions?"

"I think we've got it pretty well handled, yeah," Winter said, rolling her eyes as Rainbow stuck out her tongue at her.

"Good. Take care of business needed before leaving; trip will take days. At least one to reach site, same to return, unknown time needed to investigate. Comet Chaser equipped to handle a week-long expedition, hopefully will not take that long." With a nod, she concluded with, "See you all tonight."

*****

Rainbow was pumped, psyched, stoked, fired up, and just plain rarin' to go, as Applejack might put it. She hadn't been outside the bubble shield of Hope's Point yet; in fact, she hadn't been out in the Wastelands at all since she and her friends first arrived in this world, apart from a few brief moments when Dawn teleported them here a few days ago. That didn't count.

The bubble was kind of cool, actually. She remembered when Shining Armor made a magical bubble to protect Canterlot way back when, and this was pretty much the same thing. Just, y'know, golden instead of bubblegum pink. Seeing the city from up here was cool, too; it looked kind of like Manehattan, just with not quite as many tall buildings.

But there was no other place better to practice her new superpowers than out in the middle of nowhere where nopony could get hurt. Well, technically it wasn't the "middle of nowhere" since they were only a quarter-mile outside the barrier, but since there was nothing out here but air and earth, it might as well have been the same thing. They could be this close to the city without any problems; the barrier could take any accidental discharges that might occur.

Rainbow had donned her Wonderbolts flight suit, of course, because this seemed like an appropriate time to wear it. Havoc was dressed much more casually in just a black jacket that her new wife had made her.

"So, that old bird dude really gave you and your pals superpowers?" asked Havoc, hooves crossed over her chest in disbelief; they were hovering a few hundred feet over the arid ground below. "And that's why you dragged me out here? To practice with 'em?"

"Yup!" Rainbow said with a wide grin. "I figured that you knew how to use yours well enough that you could teach me how to use mine. I mean, they're not the same types of powers or whatever, but there's gotta be some… I dunno, technique to it?"

Havoc tilted her head. "'Technique'?"

"Yeah, technique. Like a skyball maneuver, or a flight maneuver. Any pegasus can fly, some better than others, but there's a technique to performing the other stuff." Rainbow put her hooves on her hips. "There's a big difference between a barrel roll and an aileron roll, y'know, and there's a technique to each of them."

"Dash, there's a biiig difference between throwing a fireball and… what was your power again?"

"Weather control!"

"A big difference between throwing a fireball and making a cloud or whatever." Havoc demonstrated by igniting her hoof and tossing the fire out into the air; it exploded dozens of feet away. "See? I just did that with my hoof. Unless you can, like, shoot a fuckin' tornado outta yours, it ain't the same thing."

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "I know that, sheesh. What do you think I am, some sort of moron?" Before Havoc could respond, Rainbow added, "Don't answer that. What I mean is, when you make those fireballs, you just… do it. There's gotta be something that you do to make that happen."

Havoc tilted her head. "Like what?"

"I dunno. Do you have some sort of… chakra or something? Like, do you have a thing you do in your head or something that you focus on? Ooh, like how a martial artist has like this inner ki, and they let it all out with a kiai. Hiyaa!" Rainbow emphasized her point with a dramatic karate chop.

"Ohhh. I mean, yeah, I do. But I don't think it'll work the same for you."

"Just lay it on me, let me make that decision."

Havoc shrugged. "Alright. It's like this: I just get mad."

"You 'get mad'?"

"Yeah. I mean, I don't really need to do it for the little stuff like this." Havoc ignited her hoof and waved the fire about like her hoof was a lighter at a really good rock concert. "This shit's easy. I just… I just do that. At least nowadays I do. I used to have to think about it, but now it's just, like… subconscious or some shit. I dunno, I'm not a psychiatrist."

Rainbow crossed her hooves. "Okay. So the little stuff is easy for you now, I get that. I mean, it makes sense; the better you are at something, the more you can do it without thinking about it. Same like with the Sonic Rainboom. I used to have to really focus on doing it, now I just… do it. Y'know they book me for weddings and stuff back home? Used to pay the bills before making the Wonderbolts."

"I still haven't had much of a chance to practice my Sonic Flare," Havoc admitted, letting her shoulders slump a little; the name was fitting, Rainbow had approved of it. Like a solar flare, but different. Rad. "I mean, when have we had the chance to?"

"You could practice it now, y'know."

"Naw, not really. Like I said, my fire, my real fire, is one hundred percent anger. That, I know for sure. I remember that when I did it the first time, it was because I was pissed. Like, angry beyond rational thought. All I could think about was hate, pain, rage. That's what fuels my fire, Dash, even the little stuff."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "What, like you're angry all the time or something?"

"That's my secret, Dash. It's just about knowing when to release it and how." Havoc stared off into the distance and launched another fireball. "Nowadays, most of my anger comes from Dawn." Another fireball. "About how she treats me like shit." Another. "About how she treats our family like shit." Another. "About how much of a selfish bitch she is!" A big fireball.

"Okay, I think I get it. It's an emotional thing. So if your thing is anger, what's mine?"

Havoc snorted. "How the fuck should I know? I mean, you're on the right track, 'cause I know Gray and Velvet are the same. Y'know, emotion-driven powers?"

"How so?"

"Velvet's powers work best when she's… well, not angry, just emotional in general. To be honest, I think she gets off on fear or something, 'cause the way I heard it, she was a fuckin' killing machine when those fuckwads tried to kill her, but she wasn't angry or nothin'. She was scared. Scared about what they would do to Caramel and Marée."

"And Gray?"

"At her best when she's unemotional. Just calm, collected, and logical. She's scary when she gets that laser focus goin', I tell ya." Havoc whistled, and made a crushing motion with her hooves. "I haven't gotten a chance to train with her a lot lately, but hey, I live here now, so maybe I'll get a shot. Or… maybe I won't. Depends on how this all goes, I guess."

Rainbow tapped her chin and considered Havoc's words, just not the morbid bits. "Okay, I kinda get it. Hmm. Twilight said that we had these powers or whatever because it was how our old Elements translated to your world's… uh, 'dynamics' or something. So, maybe my power is driven by the same thing?"

"Sure, maybe. What was that again? Loyalty or some shit?"

"Yup, that's me, the Element of Loyalty. So maybe I've gotta… focus on being a good, loyal friend?"

Havoc held up her hooves. "Don't take this the wrong way, Dash, but that sounds kinda gay."

Rainbow shoved Havoc and chuckled. "Bite me, dingus."

"What? It just sounds like some frou-frou bullshit. 'Oh, you can use your destructive tornado powers by thinking about friendship and gumdrops'. Blech." Havoc shook her head and pounded her hooves together. "Think of Loyalty in a metal way, Dash. Like… being a loyal protector! Like a soldier."

Rainbow tapped her chin. "Yeah… yeah! I'm military, I know what taking an oath is all about!"

"That's it! You're loyal to a cause! In this case, the cause is kicking the shit out of Nihila and anypony that supports her!"

"Yeah!"

"They wanna hurt you and your friends, maggot! Are you gonna let 'em do that?!"

"No way! Those punks are goin' down!"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah!" Rainbow adjusted her goggles over her eyes. "Let's do this!"

She zipped off into a wide open area, then began flying in a wide circle at first, feeling the wind whipping through her mane and pressing against her suit. The faster she flew, the harsher the winds were, but that was just to be expected.

As she tightened her circle, she concentrated on not just the angle of her turn but on her speed, the degree at which her body was tilted for maximum speed and minimum wind resistance.

All the while, she focused her heart on her friends. They were depending on her to put a stop to Nihila, to save the world. There was nothing cooler than that. She was utterly dedicated not just to them as individuals, but to the cause they were representing; this was bigger than her, bigger than them, bigger than everypony. And nothing was going to stop her from doing what needed to be done.

The winds were fiercer now, not just from the speed she was going but because there was definitely a forceful wind surrounding her. So she flew faster, flew tighter, focused harder, and the winds intensified. She could even feel sand particles impacting her suit and goggles; she was glad to be wearing them.

At last, she flew straight off out of her cyclical path. She removed her goggles and glanced behind her to see that a veritable whirlwind had formed in her wake, whipping up sand and dirt as it tumbled off behind her for a few moments, then gradually dissipated into nothing.

"That was dope!" Havoc shouted as she flew over. "Dude, you just made a fuckin' torando! High hoof!"

Dash met Havoc's hoof with her own, then put her other hoof over her mouth and hummed, deep in concentration. "Hmm. Definitely bigger than anything I've ever seen a single pegasus do before. Not as big as I was expecting, though."

"That's what practice is for," Havoc assured her. "When I was just starting out, I couldn't make a fireball big enough to blow up a building. I can now—not that I would—and that's just 'cause I train all the time. Gotta keep my body and mind in shape and my skills and powers honed, 'cause you never know what you're gonna deal with."

"Yeah, makes sense. I'll just keep at it. How long we got 'til dinnertime?"

Havoc glanced at her watch. "Uh, about seven hours, assuming you're gonna actually eat dinner before you head off on your little undersea adventure."

"Alright, then I've got time to get some more practice in before I leave. I gotta try out a few things here and there, y'know, not even just tornadoes."

Havoc tilted her head. "Like what? Lightning or something? Rain?"

"Yeah, all of it. All of the weather: lightning, rain, tornadoes, hurricanes, snowstorms, all of it. Just watch, buddy." Rainbow replaced her goggles over her eyes. "I'm gonna be a one-mare weather machine."

*****

Applejack followed Flathoof to Hope's Point's Militia Headquarters, a large building near the royal palace that held the barracks for… not all of the militia ponies, but a fair number of them. There was essentially room and board available here for anypony that signed up for military service, and a fair amount of them chose to stay here with their brothers and sisters in arms. It was cheaper than buying their own place, and it certainly wasn't uncomfortable.

At least that was how Flathoof described it; he wasn't absolutely sure, having never used the facility as a home the entire time he'd been living in the city. Just a benefit of having his sister-in-law be the queen, and now his wife was an ambassador who lived at this big embassy building. Quite a step up from his old life.

"So, when're y'all plannin' on tellin' yer folks 'n' such about all the, uh… new developments?" she asked as they entered the building. "No matter how ya look at it, this here's gonna turn their lives upside-down."

"Eyyup, I know," he replied with a sigh. "It's pretty much the most life-changing news a pony could possibly deliver to his family, bigger than a marriage announcement, bigger than a pregnancy announcement, bigger than anything I ever thought I'd have to tell them about. But it's just too much in too short of time, y'know?"

"Yeah, I guess. 'Tween me showin' back up in their lives 'n' all that plus you 'n' yer wife makin' friendly with some sort o' goddess an' whatnot, I imagine they couldn't take any more excitement."

He chuckled. "No, I don't think so, at least not my mother. I thought that she was gonna have a heart attack when you walked in the door. She knew you were back, but there's hearing about it, and then there's seeing it."

"Shucks, I hope it wasn't really that bad. She seemed okay ta me," Applejack said with a nervous grin.

"Oh, she put on a big show for you, but boy, you should've seen what she looked like behind the scenes. I haven't seen her that excited since Gray and I told her we were having a foal together." With a sidelong glance, he added, "They all missed you. A lot. Having you around way back when was like having another member of the family, so this was like seeing a cousin you haven't seen in… well, seven years."

Applejack nodded. "Yeah. Y'all made me feel like family, too. And hey, at least this time I didn't break down cryin' 'n' all that. Had a chance ta really mellow out o'er the years 'bout my parents, y'know. Got a lil' bit o' closure when Granny tol' some stories ta me 'n' Mac 'bout 'em."

"How is your brother, by the way? Rarity said he got married?"

"Oh yeah, to this sweet lil' thing, Sugar Belle. Funny enough, she'd fit right in with all y'all; one o' the best bakers I've ever seen, yessiree. Not that she don't mesh real well wit' Mac o' course," she chuckled. "Just a funny thought, s'all."

"They have plans for kids? Just asking."

Applejack snickered. "Oh, sugarcube, I done told ya last time I was here that the Apple Clan's all about family. The bigger, the better. Now sure, no news yet, but a lil' birdie tol' me they'd started tryin' a few weeks ago. Just 'fore me 'n' the others showed up here, actually. Shucks, wouldn't be a darned bit surprised if'n I got back home an' Sugar was already showin' a lil' bump."

"Ahaha, well, sounds like the family's doing good back home in that case."

"Sounds like it's the same on this end. Shame I didn't get ta see lil' Shorthoof. Though I guess he ain't so little anymore, huh? Pro'ly grew up faster'n Bloom did, anyway." She smirked and shook her head. "Well, maybe I'll get lucky an' we'll see each other once all this junk gets sorted out."

"He's gonna love seeing you again, I guarantee it."

Flathoof showed her into what looked like a locker room, where there were currently dozens of ponies just doing regular locker room things: changing, chatting, and checking gear. What surprised Applejack though was that there were mares and stallions in here. Together. Doing all of those aforementioned things. Which meant, yes, some mares and stallions were very much in various states of undress. In the same room.

Applejack didn't mind, of course. If she'd said it once she'd said it a hundred times, she didn't normally wear clothes at all, aside from her stetson of course, and it didn't bother her none that everypony back home was exactly the same. The fact that ponies in this world seemed to care so much about being naked had always just seemed weird to her, but she wasn't about to rock any boats.

This locker room was legitimately the most "normal" thing she'd seen in this world since… ever.

"Hope you don't mind," Flathoof said as he took her along the rows of lockers and benches past dozens of ponies of both sexes doing their thing like it didn't even matter. "Hope's Point is a little more lenient about the whole 'nudity' thing as it is, sure, but the military is even more so."

"Don't bother me none," Applejack said, her attention not even drifting an inch; she wouldn't gawk at ponies back home, so she sure as hay wouldn't do it here. "Feels a lil' bit like home, minus the fact that y'all got mares 'n' stallions in the same room. That don't bother nopony?"

"Like I said, the military is even more lenient. Everypony here is part of a team, and the philosophy is that camaraderie is bred at home: you live with your squadmates, you eat with your squadmates, you serve with your squadmates, and if the worst comes to pass, you die with your squadmates. Might as well get comfortable being around them all the time, right?"

Applejack nodded. "Makes sense. If y'all get nervous 'round one another 'cause o' some stupid clothes rule, then ya can't rightly trust one another ta get yer back when things get rough, right?"

"That's the basic gist of it. Blackburn says they do the same thing in the south, both ponies and zebras." A pause. "Of course, down there they've just got a lot of different philosophies on other stuff that I find strange, but this isn't one of them."

Flathoof showed her over to a locker on the far end of the room and gave it a light tap. "Here's my locker. I don't use it much these days since I keep all my stuff at home and use a public gym, so you're welcome to use it whenever you'd like." He handed her a key. "Made a spare for ya. Let me know if you lose it."

"Shucks, thanks!"

He then used his own key to open the locker up and hoisted out a gym bag that was already in it. "And this is for you too. I called down here last night when you told me you needed help, and I figured I'd go all out."

He opened the bag to show Applejack its contents: "Training gear that's comfortable and functional so that you've got something to wear outside the locker room, and a towel and some shampoo for the showers afterwards. Basic gym stuff."

Applejack smirked and took the training gear out. It looked like a full-body suit of some sort, a lot like the flight suits the city's pilots wore, or like Rainbow's Wonderbolts flight suit. Not quite so all-encompassing—it didn't cover her head or her hooves—but pretty comparable. The towel still in the bag was also plenty big, and the shampoo bottle was sizable; the label said it was coconut-scented.

"Hoo doggie, you went all out there, sugarcube. You didn't need ta get all this fer me. I'd've been just fine workin' out in this," she said, pawing her hoof at the plaid work shirt she'd worn every day for the past three weeks. "But thanks. I appreciate it."

"Hey, no problem. That's what friends are for." Flathoof took his own gym bag, which he'd carried with him, and set it down so that he could take his own training gear out of it. "Welp, don't just stand there. If you wanna get working on your training, we might as well get started right away."

She nodded. "Yup, sounds good ta me."

Applejack took off her walk-around clothes and set them in the bag—except her hat, which she hung on a hook inside the locker—then started slipping on the training gear. True to its look, it was a snug little thing that was probably the most comfortable dang thing she'd ever worn; she hesitated to say that it felt like she was wearing nothing at all, but it was darn close.

And though she was changing right next to Flathoof, within only a few feet from other stallions and mares who were all either in their own walk-arounds, training gear, or nothing, she wasn't tempted to look at anypony whatsoever, nor was she self-conscious about them looking her way. It was just like being on the hoofball team back in high school all over again, except for there being stallions present.

Okay, that was a teensy white lie. She didn't gawk at anypony, but a curious cursory glance here and there never hurt nopony. She certainly didn't stare or anything like that, especially not at Flathoof; now that would be weird, seeing as Flathoof was more than just a friend to her. He was like a… brother from another mother, to borrow a phrase that she'd heard from Dash. And she didn't just mean that he looked almost exactly like Mac.

Once she was dressed and he was too, he set her gym bag into the locker alongside his and showed her back out of the locker room and towards the training facility. She was surprised at how large it was. It was more like a small arena than a gymnasium, but she couldn't argue that it was the latter with all of the exercise equipment present.

Ponies of all shapes and sizes served in the militia, it seemed. Unicorns trained both their magic and their bodies together at weight-lifting stations; pegasi trained their wings and legs on treadmills in front of large fans; earth ponies trained every part of themselves on various pieces of equipment. Being in the Hope's Point militia meant keeping in shape, and everypony here definitely fit the bill.

Those who weren't just working out were busy doing other training exercises, and not just purely physical ones, either. Besides seeing ponies sparring with one another in martial arts, boxing, and wrestling, she also saw what looked like some sort of range where ponies were practicing their aim with guns. Also, not all ponies were training with other ponies, but with strange pony-looking machines called—

"AMPs," Flathoof explained when she got caught gawking at one. "Automated Mechanical Ponies. Up north, the NPAF relies on them for the bulk of its front-line military; they're cheaper and easier to replace than flesh-and-blood soldiers, who serve in specialized roles."

"And down here?" she asked.

"Down here they're just used for… target practice, let's say. Our engineers reprogram them. On their own, they're pretty tough compared to the average sort of pony, but they can be tweaked with a variety of settings to make them more or less challenging. They're even programmed with several forms of martial arts so that they can be effective sparring partners, if that's more your speed."

He led her over to an empty section of the training area, where one of those AMP things was standing slumped over, its head lopsided and quite nearly about to fall off. Flathoof grunted in annoyance and stood the machine upright, then popped the head on roughly and gave it a little twist.

"I hate when folks forget to reset the machines when they're done. It's just lazy."

He popped open a side panel and tapped a few buttons on it, then shut the panel; she had to laugh at how he was still the same old Flathoof after all these years. Still as work-focused as ever, even when it wasn't his work to do.

"Now, I know you've made a pretty big deal about knowing how to handle yourself in a fight before, but there's a big difference between a bar fight and real hoof-to-hoof combat."

Applejack scoffed. "Why d'ya assume I get inta bar fights?"

Flathoof just stared at her, eyes half-lidded.

She chuckled. "Yeah, alright. I've gotten inta my fair share on a rowdy weekend night after work. Usually just me 'n 'Rainbow, though, or sometimes some jerk who thinks he can make a pass at a couple o' mares like he's the top dog in the kennel. Heh, never works. Dash's got different tastes, an' me, well, I ain't flag my tail fer no fella like that."

"Right." He shrugged. "Well, I set this thing onto a pretty basic setting just to see where you're at strength-wise and skill-wise."

"Fair enough, but ta be honest, I ain't all that worried 'bout my fightin' skills bein' up ta snuff. We can work on it, sure, I don't mind none, but I'm more focused on there here 'superpowers' or whatnot that I'm s'posed ta have now."

"Hm. Fair enough. Well, nothing says we can't work on both at the same time."

He set down his saddlebag and pulled out a hunk of solid rock that he'd apparently been lugging around this entire time; it was big enough to be heavy, but not big enough to be cumbersome. It was flat, too, which would make it easy to work with. He set it on the ground in front of the machine pony, and gestured for Applejack to stand on it.

"I figure that we can test out the difference between regular old Applejack and… stoney Applejack," he said. He patted the top of the machine's head then stood out of the way. "So, before you use those new powers of yours, let's see how much you can do the natural way. Hit that sucker as hard as you can."

Applejack nodded, then settled herself into a pretty standard "ready" stance that earth ponies used when they got into a fight: front end down and watching her opponent, rear end raised and ready to jump, run, or strike, whichever was needed. In a swift motion, she wheeled her whole body around and bucked her hind legs right into the chin of the machine with a sweet, satisfying crack.

Flathoof clapped his hooves briefly as Applejack turned to see her handiwork. The machine's head had snapped back at a rough angle; it actually made her just a tiny bit squeamish, because she imagined what that might have done to a flesh-and-blood pony.

She knew she was strong, but she'd never realized that if she really tried, she could probably kill somepony with just one good kick. She could swear that she'd kicked ponies hard like that before, but none of them had ever had that happen.

Probably just another thing that made this world different from hers.

"Hot damn, now that was a kick," Flathoof whistled. "I think I should've set the resistance levels higher. I knew you had a good kick in you, AJ, but wow."

"Shucks, don't you start showerin' me wit' praise 'n' whatnot there, sugarcube," she replied with a roll of her shoulders. "I bet y'all can do at least as good as me, 'specially now that ya got yerself in real good shape."

"Well, not to brag, but I've got a few records set in here. Crossfire's just taller, not stronger," he said with a smug little smile. "But hey, you're gonna be breaking my records in no time at all. Stronger than any mare I know of anyway. Besides my wife, of course."

"Heh, that ain't even a competition. Yer wife's a big as a dang ol' house, wouldn't surprise me none if she could kick harder'n me 'n you. Now, are we done gabbin'? I wanna see what I can do wit' this here rock o' yours."

Flathoof set the machine's head back in place, then stepped back again and let Applejack do her thing. She settled into the same position as before, only this time she kept her hooves locked on the sheet of flat rock that Flathoof had procured. She could hear a… resonance within the slab, a sort of "call" as Gilderoy had described it. And, like she'd done with the ruby, she let that resonance wash over her until her entire body felt as hard as a rock.

And, once in this new form, she swiveled again and kicked as hard as she could. Another satisfying crack. When she looked at her handiwork, though, there wasn't much of a difference from last time.

"Well dang, that's a bit disappointin'," she muttered, scratching her head.

"I wouldn't say that," Flathoof replied as he stepped up and reset the machine again. "Fine, maybe you're not stronger in this form, but you're probably a lot tougher. It'll still be useful in a fight, that's for sure. Some damn fool's gonna break their hoof trying to kick you, and you've definitely got nothing to fear from a knife or a gun."

"Yeah, I guess that's true. An' it ain't like I'm weaker or nothin'."

"Can I make a suggestion?"

She tilted her head. "Uh, sure. What's on yer mind?"

"I noticed that your whole body turned to stone there, head to tail. Emphasis on tail."

Applejack glanced back, realizing that yes, her tail was made out of solid rock, except for the band she used to keep the end in a tight bundle. "Yeah, so?"

"As somepony who's trained in a lot of close-quarters combat over the years—I'm still not much of a gun nut—I will say that there are a few fundamental concepts that ponies are taught to follow when fighting an earth pony like us, especially one that fights with your particular style.

"One of those rules is just a basic idea of where to watch for an attack to come from. Your stance has a certain limitation to it: you can only buck in one direction, directly behind you. One of the first things we teach new trainees is how to guard their face and chins. Most folks won't expect an attack to come from, say, the side."

She nodded. "Yeah, alright, makes sense. What's that got ta do wit' me?"

He smirked and gestured to her tail again. "Well, when you swing yourself around like you do, instead of bucking up with your legs, why don't you let your tail do the work? A big chunk of solid rock hitting somepony in the face is gonna wreck their day up real good."

"Aw yeah, I getcha. Swing my tail at 'em like a club. I can do that."

Flathoof nodded and stepped back. "Go on then, give it a shot."

Applejack settled back into her ready stance, then swung her body around like before, only she didn't kick upwards when she normally would, just let her momentum carry her solid, rocky tail swinging right into the side of the machine's face. She felt a sweet, satisfying crunch… followed by a very odd feeling of nothing.

A glance back at the machine told her it was still there, of course, it's head and neck mangled again and this time leaning far to the side.

However, her attention was really drawn to what was in the midst of crumbling apart in the air: her tail. All of her tail, pretty much, right up to the thin base near where it connected with her rear. Within a second of it falling apart, the solid rock turned back into golden blonde hair and fell to the floor.

Her eyes widened in shock. "What in tarnation?"

Flathoof was at her side almost instantly. "Holy crap! Are you alright, AJ? It doesn't hurt, does it? Do we need to get you to the hospital?"

"Easy, easy, I'm alright. It don't hurt any more'n gettin' a haircut does. But, uh… what just happened? I sure wasn't expectin' that."

Flathoof rubbed his chin and shook his head. "Looks to me like you hit the damn thing so hard your tail just broke off right at the base. Probably 'cause it wasn't as sturdy in that spot. Too thin, maybe? I mean… it might've worked better if you were hitting a regular pony or a straw dummy. This thing's made of pretty sturdy metal." A glance at her broken tail. "You're sure it doesn't hurt?"

"I'm fine, sugarcube, no worries."

Applejack let herself regain her normal flesh-and-blood form, then glanced back at her rear to see that her tail had indeed been completely clipped except for the first couple of inches. She was pretty sure it was a style in Las Pegasus, where some mares liked to keep their manes and tails shorter than usual to show off their rears, but this was a little much even by their standards.

With a sigh, she muttered, "Rarity's gonna kill me when she sees this…"

*****

Rarity was rather glad that Lockwood and Blackburn had invited her to a late dinner, and not for the usual reasons. Well, not just for the usual reasons, anyway. Wishing the little expedition party good luck on their travels had left her with a little sinking feeling in her stomach; several of her friends were going on a deep sea adventure, and Rarity just couldn't help herself from worrying.

A nice little private dinner with the royal couple did wonders to soothe her nerves, though. The food was excellent, and now she had the opportunity to truly savor it, and savor it she did. She didn't think anypony could make pumpkin soup quite this good, and the little kick of spice in it was a lovely surprise. And she absolutely needed to get the recipe for these garlic bread rolls.

Once dinner was finished, she and her hosts enjoyed a light dessert of cheesecake with raspberries, all while they carried on a little post-dinner conversation. It was mostly small-talk, of course, just musings on what was to come and what had happened over the past day, but that didn't bother Rarity one bit.

She was just enjoying herself too much. Only a few days ago, she dreaded Lockwood's charming little smiles, the warmth in his eyes, the delightful way he would touch her hoof when he had something important to say, his peculiar-but-cute sense of humor; now, she adored them, looked forward to them, welcomed them with open hooves.

She'd been terrified of every glance her way from the Iron Queen, as every look, every word, every sound that Rarity made could be something that flipped some switch in Blackburn's head and led Rarity into the dungeons of Hope's Point. Did the city even have dungeons? Surely not; surely they had a prison or a simple jail, and that just sounded so much worse. Now, though, every glance her way gave Rarity a little… thrill.

She was surprised, though, when there was a knock at the door to the royal couple's private chambers. While this was merely their private lounge and not their bedquarters, a part of Rarity was suddenly very nervous; what if somepony discovered her here who wasn't supposed to? No, surely not; Gadget was outside, a confidant to the royal couple—Crossfire knew too, naturally—and she wouldn't just let some random individual wander all the way to the door.

"Enter," Blackburn called. With a look to Rarity, she added, "Not to worry. Invited guest, she will maintain discretion."

Rarity raised an eyebrow; she wasn't curious as to why Blackburn knew she was nervous since Blackburn was always quick on the uptake. "A guest, you say?"

The door opened, and Gadget showed the guest in. A zebra mare, one clad in a white robe with a sword strapped to her back. She looked familiar, but Rarity couldn't remember where from just yet.

"Your Majesties," the mare said with a little salute; hers was not a hoof to her forehead as most of the soldiers around her delivered, but one to the heart. "You summoned me?" Her eyes drifted to Rarity for just a moment, slightly confused, but only for just a moment.

"Zyra, welcome," Blackburn said. "Have an assignment for you."

"Of course, Your Majesty."

Blackburn then gestured to Rarity. "This is Rarity. Close friend of ours. Assigning you as her security detail."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Zyra replied with a nod. She turned to Rarity. "Miss Rarity, a pleasure. I am Zyra, and I will now serve as your security details on the orders of Her Majesty Queen Blackburn. My sword is sworn to protect you."

Rarity smiled and nodded back at the mare; she was delightfully professional. "A pleasure as well, dear. I thought that I recognized you, and now I remember from where: you were in the halls beneath the palace a few weeks ago, when I was visiting the… special guests. You were engaged in quite a discussion with another soldier, hmm?"

Lockwood nodded and gave Zyra a light smile. "Oh yeah, I remember that. She was fraternizing with Commander Pinpoint. While he was off duty, of course."

Zyra's face reddened slightly and she coughed into her hoof. "Ah. Yes, now I recognize you as well, Miss Rarity. Commander Pinpoint and I are… friends."

"Mmhmm," Rarity said with a knowing smile. She then turned to Blackburn. "What is this all about, though? A security detail? Am I in some danger that I don't know about?"

Blackburn shook her head. "No. Assign security details to particularly important individuals. Visiting diplomats and foreign dignitaries, important business associates, members of my Council, etc. Some do their work in secret and from a distance: have assigned one to Twilight Sparkle, for instance, but he does not make presence known." A breath. "Did not accompany her on expedition."

"I believe that we actually assigned the aforementioned Commander Pinpoint to that position, come to think of it," Lockwood added, tapping his chin. "He's very discreet. If you don't already know he's there, you never will."

"Ideal choice for protecting somepony who would refuse protection, perhaps deem it unnecessary?"

"I see," Rarity said with a nod and a glance to Zyra then back to Blackburn. "Did Fluttershy and I have security details before now? Just out of curiosity, of course."

"Yes. Fluttershy still does, as do your other companions. Foreign guests always receive them, though they are not always made aware."

"I thought the city was supposed to be safe, though? Are you expecting trouble to come after us? Or any of your other guests?"

"No. But never can be too careful."

"Blackburn's always been a little bit cautious about keeping everypony safe and secure if she can help it," Lockwood whispered loudly enough for Blackburn to hear. "I wouldn't worry about it, that's just how she is. If I didn't know better I'd say she had somepony tailing me while I was still living up north."

Blackburn gave him a cheeky grin. "And how do you know I didn't?"

"Ooh, an idle attempt to instill paranoia," Lockwood tutted. "Nice try honey, but if you did, you would've known about certain things that you didn't before I told you."

"Fair. Caught me lying," she replied with a shrug.

"Well, I appreciate the concern, certainly," Rarity said with a grin. She then turned back to Zyra again, this time fully putting her attention on the zebra mare, though she still spoke to the royals: "Might I ask why you are making Zyra known to me now if I had some hidden guardian angel out there before?"

"You're important to us," Blackburn said simply, tilting her head towards Lockwood. "Protector now known, hopefully inspires feelings of safety, contentment."

Rarity raised an eyebrow. "No offense meant to Zyra, but I don't know if I really need a protector. I'm perfectly capable of handling myself, you know."

"Please. I insist."

"What Blackburn means is," Lockwood interjected, scooting his chair close to Rarity to take her hoof in his. "You mean a lot to us and we want to be absolutely sure that you're protected and safe as long as you're here, no matter what happens. Not just in the city, but wherever you go; Zyra's assignment commits her to follow you anywhere in the world."

"Really? You'd follow me anywhere?" Rarity asked Zyra, eye wide.

"Yes, Miss Rarity. Until Her Majesty removes me from my post, it is my duty to protect you from harm whether external or otherwise," Zyra said with a deep nod. "No matter where your journeys might take you, I will follow."

"That's… an awfully strong commitment to somepony you hardly know, dear," Rarity muttered. She turned to Lockwood and Blackburn. "I don't know if I'm completely comfortable with this."

"If you don't want the protection, then just say the word and we'll send Zyra on her way," Lockwood said with a nod, his hoof caressing hers. "But before you refuse, just know that… with everything that's happening, now and in the future, your well-being matters to us. We care about you too much to let you be put at risk."

Rarity felt her face get hot and took a short breath. "Well, you certainly make a convincing argument." She looked at Zyra and gave her a warm smile. "And she's so polite, too. Oh, alright. Zyra dear, I think it will be lovely getting to know you. I hope that you don't mind following around somepony such as myself. I've been told I'm rather… high-maintenance."

"Not at all, Miss Rarity," Zyra said with a polite nod and a smile.

"Well, now that that's settled, I think it's time we move on to… the other thing?" Lockwood asked, giving Blackburn a meaningful look.

Blackburn smiled and nodded, then rose from her seat and walked over to a nearby cabinet, from which she procured a small, lovely jewelry box. She stepped around the table and gestured for Rarity to stand up, which she did, as Lockwood had done so as well. Rarity was extra curious as to what was going on; something was very strange about the way the two were behaving and smiling at one another.

Then, Blackburn offered the box towards Rarity. "Open it. For you."

Rarity raised an eyebrow, then lit up her horn and opened the box. Inside was a truly lovely little bracelet, just large enough to fit around her foreleg but not too large. It was made of gold—solid gold, Rarity could tell just by looking—laced with bands of silver; the craftsmanship was remarkable, as the metals blended together to make perfectly-spaced stripes without bleeding into one another whatsoever.

"My my my, how lovely," Rarity said, lifting the bracelet out of the box. "Thank you, both of you. I wasn't expecting a present. Oh, now I feel awful, I have nothing to offer you in return." She marveled at how well it matched her coat, and she hadn't even put it on yet. "What's the occasion?"

"No occasion," Blackburn said simply. "Token of our new relationship."

Rarity's eyes widened and she shifted her eyes over to Zyra briefly; the zebra's eyes were transfixed on the bracelet, oddly enough, as if she hadn't even heard what Blackburn had said. "Darling," Rarity said, turning back to Blackburn, "is it alright to just… ahem, well, I suppose Zyra would find out sooner or later if she's to shadow me, hmm?"

Zyra turned to Lockwood and Blackburn, as if a little stunned. "Your Majesties, forgive me. I did not understand the gravity of my task."

She then turned to Rarity and unsheathed her sword with her tail—Rarity was very confused—before kneeling down before the unicorn and presenting the sword as if it were some token, again, with her tail. How was she doing that? Why were some of those markings on her blade glowing?

"Lady Rarity, my sword is sworn to you as a soldier of Hope's Point. On my honor and on the honor of my ancestors, your life is my life, and no harm shall come to you so long as I draw breath."

Rarity blinked, unsure of what to make of all of that. "What?"

"Tell her she can rise," Lockwood whispered.

"Oh. Ahem. You may… rise?"

Zyra did so immediately and resheathed her sword, then saluted to Rarity as she had done before, a hoof to her chest.

"Am I missing something? What was all of that about?" Rarity asked Lockwood.

"Well, that was a traditional Zeb'ra'den oath of service. As for why she did that, I think that Zyra can explain it better than either of us can," Lockwood replied.

"Nonsense," Blackburn said with a coy grin. "Can sum up history in five… no, four sentences. Hmm. Explanation more romantic from Zyra, though. A fair point."

Rarity blinked and tilted her head at the royals. "Zyra can explain it better? More romantically? What does any of that mean? And what does it have to do with this?" she asked, gesturing at the bracelet. She turned to Zyra now. "Zyra, dear, please tell me what's going on. This is all so dreadfully confusing."

Zyra nodded. "Of course, My Lady. If I may, forgive me for earlier misappropriations of your title. I was not aware of your status. A lack of information is no excuse, but it is the only explanation I can give."

"My… proper title? I…" Rarity shook her head; best to play along. "Yes yes, you are forgiven for… whatever transgressions you're talking about. Now please, explain why everyone is acting so strangely all of a sudden."

"Of course, My Lady." Zyra gestured at the bracelet. "That is a union trinket, or at least it is called that in my culture. The gold-and-silver bands are unmistakable, and the process of making such a band is an ancient art passed down by zebra blacksmiths to their apprentices over many generations."

"A zebra jeweler, Zulique, moved here two years ago," Lockwood explained. "He's quite talented, and he does such incredible work on short notice to boot. We commissioned it yesterday afternoon, and he finished it this morning. Impeccable craftsmanship, hmm?"

Rarity felt her heart pounding in her chest; the name of the thing alone was rather romantic. "A… union trinket you say? Like a wedding band?"

"Not exactly, no. In zebra culture, it is not uncommon for noble couples to invite a Consort to share their bed and live with them," Zyra explained with a sagely nod. "Even His Majesty King Zaratite has several such Consorts. When last I saw Zeb'ra'den, he had eight, which is pleasantly high for his age. An admirable stallion indeed."

"A… a consort?" Rarity balked, wheeling on Lockwood and Blackburn. "What does she mean 'consort'?

"Term refers to—" Blackburn started.

"I know what the word means. I want to know why she's referring to such things when I'm involved."

"It's alright, Rarity. Please, just let her finish," Lockwood said gently. "You'll understand."

Rarity then turned back to Zyra, unsure what to make of any of this and getting just a little upset. "Go on. Sorry. This is all just… I'm flustered, is all. Please, continue."

Zyra cleared her throat. "Forgive me if I caused offense, My Lady. None was intended. You see, in zebra culture we have laws that forbid polygamy, at least in terms of marriage contracts. However, many noble couples marry for political purposes rather than out of love, much as the pony nobles do.

"In many such cases, the couple invites another zebra into their lives, often one that is loved by one of the two and who loves them in return. His Majesty's First Consort, Lady Zumia, was a minor lord's third-born daughter. His Majesty met her at a tournament and fell in love with her when he was only a teenager, but he was already arranged to wed Lady Zarnia, who is now our Queen."

Zyra then pointed at the bracelet. "A unity trinket such as this is similar to a wedding band in that it signifies to others that the Consort has been made legitimate; she is not a concubine, she is family. Typically a Consort is female and is invited by the husband—there are some male Consorts but they are rare—and she would share much of his wife's authority and benefits, though his wife's authority is still higher. Additional Consorts would be considered 'lower rank' than the First Consort."

Rarity's eyes widened as she stared at the bracelet; she understood all of the history but the implications of what it meant for her were impossible to ignore. "You mean… this bracelet, this relationship, makes me a proper Lady?"

"Yes," Blackburn said simply. "Mutual invitation from myself and Lockwood. Entitles you to all of our authority, though we take precedence."

"Technically 'Lady' isn't the proper title since we don't have an aristocracy here," Lockwood muttered, tapping his chin. "'Princess' might be inappropriate since that's Bluebolt's title, and we don't want there to be any confusion."

"Regardless of whether she was a noble-born lady beforehand, the proper title would be Consort," Zyra said simply. "Technically, her full title would be Lady Rarity, Consort to the King and Queen. At least in zebra culture. A union trinket does still allow her to take a noble-born title, however, though she would not be considered noble in terms of pedigree."

Lockwood blanched. "Oh, no, we can't go around calling her 'Consort'. That sounds demeaning."

"Perhaps in pony culture, Your Majesty. In zebra culture it is endearing; a Consort is one who is truly loved, at least in the majority of cases."

"Companion," Blackburn suggested. "She is our Companion. Appropriate, exemplifies appreciation and respect."

"Ooh, I like that," Lockwood said with a smile. He turned to Rarity. "How about you, Rarity? Any ideas?"

Rarity just stared at the two royals for a moment, then looked at the bracelet, then back to them. "And you knew about all of this when you gave this bracelet to me? All of the… the ramifications?"

The two royals shared a look, then nodded in unison. "Yes," they both said.

Lockwood stepped forward and took Rarity's hoof in hers, looking into her eyes. "We wouldn't joke about this. We're giving this to you because we want you to be a part of our lives. I love you. I meant that when I said it the first time, the second time, and every time after that since then, now, and into the future. That isn't going to change."

Blackburn smiled lightly and she stepped forward to put her hoof on Lockwood's and Rarity's. "Appreciate your company, appreciate you. Lockwood makes you happy, you make him happy, you make me happy. Want to make you happy too."

Rarity balked, shaking her head. "I… I don't know what to say. This is… well, it's most unorthodox." She sighed. "Ever since I was a little filly, I dreamed of meeting a handsome prince, falling in love and marrying him all in an evening, becoming a princess as beautiful and radiant as Princess Celestia herself.

"As I grew older, I realized how silly that dream was. There was no Prince Charming, just Prince Charmless; there was no distinguished celebrity to whisk me off my hooves and take me off into the sunset; there was no happy ending so long as I tried to live by that dream and that dream alone.

"And then you two… give me this. You tell me you love me, appreciate me, want me in your lives. You offer me everything that I ever could have wanted and more." Rarity brought her free hoof to her eye to wipe a tear. "I never thought that anypony could make me feel this way before. I would very much like to be your Companion… if you'll have me."

Blackburn nodded at Zyra. "Would you do the honors?"

"Of course, Your Majesty." She gestured for Rarity to pass over the bracelet, which she did, then unhooked the latch and helped Rarity put it on.

A perfect fit.

The royal couple then drew Rarity in for a hug. She had never felt so warm and loved in all her life.

Comments

[RoboRed]

Man I sure do love the zebras in this world.

I'm excited to see what happens on the expedition.