• Published 23rd Oct 2012
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Valor is Magic - NotSoSubtle



Twilight, Princess Luna, and others relate their experiences during the Great Griffin Invasion with the hope that Equestria may benefit from the lessons they've learned.

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Chapter 9: Flight of Fancy

Flight of Fancy

Twilight was just starting to dry her tears when Spike sauntered down the stairs with a big basket of dirty laundry. “Well, that’s all taken care of,” Spike said, still unhappy about the extra chores. “The bed sheets are changed and I cleaned out the dresser. Now to put these in the wash and…”

He froze halfway down the stairs when he saw Twilight crying. “Twilight?”

“Oh, Spike.” She wiped her face again with a hoof again and sat up, trying not to think about how long she had just sat there when there was important work to do. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

Spike had run down the stairs while she was talking, abandoning the laundry basket to a messy pile in the corner. Standing next to her, he put a hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright?”

“Look, I’m fine.” She smiled down at him, and gave him her best reassuring hug. “The girls and I are going to take care of this, just like Nightmare Moon and Discord.”

“I know,” Spike said, hugging her back. “But it’s different this time, isn’t it?”

Twilight gasped, pushing him back to where she could meet his eyes. “What?”

“Well, I remember what happened with Discord, and some of Nightmare Moon. You were scared both of those times, but you didn’t seem to let it bother you so much.” He looked up at her, real concern in his eyes as he fidgeted with his claws. “Something really bad happened in Canterlot.”

She froze. They had known each other all his life, but she had never known Spike to be quite so perceptive. He was growing up, but not nearly enough to handle what was going on. Twilight forced a smile. “Don’t be silly, Spike. I’m just tired from being busy all night. Look, why don’t you get some breakfast going? I’ve got a few things I need to look into before the girls get back.”

“If you say so, Twilight,” he mumbled doubtfully, but headed towards the kitchen anyway. “I’ll make some eggs or something.”

She was able to keep up her smile until Spike left the room, then she hit the books. It wasn’t hard to find things that might help her in the next few months; the problem was there were too many. Most of the library’s world history books had information on the griffin prides, but they were all from pony point of view with nothing specific. Military history was a fairly popular topic in books for stallions, but they were mostly just full of artwork and firsthoof accounts of this battle or that; nothing that really explained why the commanders had made their decisions. She couldn’t even find a good glossary of terms! How was she supposed to have a knowledgeable conversation with military ponies if she still didn’t even understand what they were talking about?

Soon she ran out of space on the center table for everything she had pulled from the shelves. She was deciding whether or not to put away her reading about Troa when there was a knock at the door, followed by a familiar voice.

“Twilight, I’m back!” Rarity had let herself in, and was wearing a scarf, hat, and saddlebags of her own design. The outfit was capped off with her usual confident smile. “Though it pains me dearly, I’ve closed Carousel Boutique and I am ready to—”

She was halfway to where Twilight sat in front of the round table when she stopped suddenly, her eyes wide as she looked at her friend. “Is anything the matter, dear?” Rarity seemed to sense that Twilight was about to give her a litany of all the things happening with the invasion when she narrowed it down a bit. “More than what you’ve already told us, I mean.”

“No, everything’s fine.” Surprised and maybe a little spooked by the question, Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Why would you ask that?”

Rarity gave her a piecing look. She wasn’t buying the innocent act. “You’ve been crying, dear.”

“What? No.” Oh, right. She had been crying. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

“Twilight, I can still see the tear tracks.” She trotted over and put a reassuring hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Darling, you’ve done a marvelous job of keeping up appearances so far, but it’s about time you talk with somepony about what’s really bothering you, and it looks like that pony is me.”

“But I-”

“No buts,” Rarity said with a firm shake of her head. Her mane bounced a little with the motion, as if to further emphasize the point. “Besides, you and the girls have always been there for me when I needed a pony to talk to. If we’re supposed to represent harmony to all Equestria, what kind of a pony would I be to let a friend wallow in...”

Rarity paused to consider something, taking long enough to elicit a raised eyebrow from Twilight. Rarity smiled. “You know, I never did look that up.” She waved a hoof as if to brush the concern away, then sat herself firmly in front of Twilight. “What I’m trying to say is that you need a friend right now, and I’m here.”

Twilight’s eyes grew a bit misty, but this time not from sadness or fear. She nodded with a smile. “If you insist, Rarity.”

“And I do.” Rarity winked. “Come now, out with it.”

It took Twilight a minute to get her thoughts in order, but her friend waited patiently. “What little I know about war I learned from reading history or poetry. We’ve all seen violence before. A few months ago we fought the changelings. Even the day we met we all ended up fighting a manticore, until Fluttershy stepped in. I was scared each time, because I knew if we failed something bad would happen, but I never really thought…”

That wasn’t quite it. She took a breath, thought about it some more, and started over. “What the griffins are doing isn’t haphazard. They started with simultaneous attacks on three Equestrian cities. One them turned out to be a diversion, and it looks like the entire effort might be to cover for a fourth force that’s headed this way.” She rubbed a temple. “This isn’t random violence, or the work of one misguided griffin. There is no way any nation could pull this off without months of planning, with a military infrastructure willing to go along with it. Even if we all got near this Cyrus or whoever, used the elements on him and convinced him why all this is so wrong, we’d have hundreds or even thousands of griffins that would still be out for blood.”

Twilight closed her eyes for a moment just to breathe and think. Yes, seeing Canterlot on fire had hurt her dearly. She knew ponies had already been killed in the hundreds, maybe even thousands. Celestia had been hurt in the fighting; the only silver lining to the whole night had been that the princess looked like she had gotten by with just a few scratches. Now, with time and a little distance between those revelations, Twilight felt a chill as she realized where her deepest fears lied.

“They tried to kill my brother, Rarity.”

Rarity’s eyes widened for a moment, then nodded. “I suppose they would have. He’s a captain of the guard after all. It’s his duty to protect the princesses and the castle.”

“No, Rarity!” Twilight stood in angry huff, her voice rising. “It wasn’t that he was just doing his job! They knew his name, knew about his shield. Princess Celestia had to stop Cyrus from murdering him herself!”

Seeing her friend’s jaw hang loose brought Twilight back down to reality, and she exhaled slowly as she took a seat. “Spike asked me if things were different this time. I didn’t want to think about it, but they are. Discord’s antics or eternal night would have eventually hurt ponies, but they didn’t just…” She blinked a few times to clear her watering eyes. “A lot of ponies have already died, Rarity, and more are being murdered as we speak. I don’t see any way to end this war soon. I don’t even understand it yet.”

Rarity nodded in understanding. “And you think that they might know something about us, too.”

“I’m sure of it. Even if they don’t know our names or have our descriptions, they will have heard of the elements and the ponies that use them. As dangerous as it will be for anypony on the front lines, we’ll practically have targets painted on our flanks!” She looked out the window. “And you know Rainbow.”

Rarity smiled sadly. “She’ll want to fight, and she’ll be positively stubborn about it.”

“I know Discord got to all of us, but you remember how Rainbow got when she thought Cloudsdale was in danger. Now, it really is.” A sudden notion crossed her mind. “I wonder if he knew.”

That was a dark thought. Many of Discord’s schemes and taunts had seemed to have purpose, but as far as Twilight knew they had been short term. If he had even stopped to consider how his words might have impact years in advance, it would make him a far more dangerous enemy than any of them had considered. If he knowingly set Rainbow up to feel more pain in the off chance that Cloudsdale really did suffer an attack…

“That might be,” Rarity said, clearly just as unsettled by a possible Discord connection as Twilight was, “but I can’t see how anything Discord planned would affect what we do now. He’s still a statue in Canterlot, right?”

“I assume so. Nopony mentioned anything about him, and I spoke with both princesses. It would have come up.”

“Then I wouldn’t let that distract you right now. We’ll probably have lots of time to worry about Discord after…” Rarity dismissively waved a hoof in a few circles. “After all of this is settled. Wouldn’t it be best to focus on what we can do right now?”

Twilight nodded. One thing at a time. She took a deep breath, trying to get her thoughts in order. “Alright. I guess that means…Rainbow Dash wants to go to Cloudsdale. I don’t think we can talk her out of it. As much as I don’t like it, having even one of us at Cloudsdale could have an impact on the battle just by showing up. But if there is even a chance we might be targeted like my brother, I don’t think any of us should travel alone.”

Rarity thought about it. “I suppose there is some merit in that. After all, if we’re supposed to be the image of friendship like Celestia wants, it would be hard to explain why we’d let a friend go gallivanting alone into a warzone.”

Twilight blinked. “I meant it’s going to be dangerous. I’d hate to see anypony get hurt without a friend to look out for them.”

“Oh of course.” She innocently batted her eyelashes. “But if Princess Celestia wants us to represent harmony, our image will be immensely important. No sense in getting in harm’s way if we aren’t doing our best to do what the princess wants.”

Twilight was going to protest, but in the process of trying to figure out how she realized Rarity had made a good point. Celestia hadn’t asked them so much to end the war as to represent the elements to the ponies that were fighting. She smiled in spite of herself. Trust Rarity to never miss how something made a pony look, even during wartime. “Alright, so none of us should travel alone, both for safety and image, but that still leaves Rainbow itching to dash off to Cloudsdale. I’d go with Rainbow myself, but the military seems to expect me to be here, helping to organize or…something. I don’t really understand what yet. I’m sure Vedette will help me figure that out.”

Rarity smiled evilly. “Yes, I’m sure he will.”

Twilight gasped. “Rarity, he’s married!”

She laughed playfully, clearly enjoying herself at Twilight’s expense. “Darling please. I could tell, and he clearly sees himself in a paternal role. Besides, he’s much too old for you.”

“Aaanyway.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “It can’t be Fluttershy. Petronel and Black Jack seemed convinced that the fighting there would be,” she took a shaky breath, “brutal. I know she can be strong when somepony needs her, but I don’t know if she could handle it for weeks or months.” She told Rarity the story about Manifold, and how he thought he’d have to make his last stand there before Twilight had shared the cloudwalk spell.

The fashionista shivered. “My, that does sound serious.”

“I know. But if not Fluttershy, then who? The rest of us can’t fly. We’d have to take a balloon or be carried to the city. After my ride on the chariot last night, I don’t think either would be safe.”

Rarity nodded. “And you said you don’t want to give any orders, which I think is very admirable of you and suited to the element of magic, so you need a volunteer.”

“Yes.” Twilight frowned at her friend, slouching under the perceived weight of such a conundrum. “So you see my problem then?”

“I do indeed, Twilight.” Rarity smiled confidently, a slight hint of mischief gleaming in her eye. “But I think I know just the solution to your worries.”


Stupid griffins. Stupid paperwork. Stupid Twilight.

Stupid promise.

When the word got around that Equestria had gone to war, the ponies of Ponyville had filled the town square even with the snow and winter chill. The mayor had given a short speech and answered a few questions, insisting that if we all worked together everything would be alright in the end. Major What’s-His-Face had apparently brought plans to the mayor, and now he was helping her organize the earth ponies and unicorns with whatever they had cooked up in Canterlot to protect the town, or something like that. Ponies from the army were arriving by train and hoof now, and they were helping out too.

As the ranking member of the Weather Patrol, Rainbow Dash had her own responsibilities.

“Next!” Rainbow Dash shouted while tapping her clipboard. The long line of pegasi shifted forward, and Dizzy Twister stepped up to Rainbow’s table. “Name?”

“Um, I’m Dizzy Twister. Don’t you remember?” she asked with a hurt tone.

Rainbow sighed. She had to have been the tenth pony to ask a question like that. “Yes, I remember, I just have to keep this official. There’s even a script I have to follow. Don’t take it personally.”

“Oh.” Dizzy couldn’t seem to decide if she was relieved Rainbow had remembered her or worried that things were scripted, but she nodded in understanding. “Okay.”

“Age?” Rainbow wrote down her answer, and kept asking questions in the order they were printed on the enlistment papers.

She had always hated paperwork, but this was so much worse. After Rainbow had left the library, she gotten her weather patrol gear and reported to the mayor. Not many ponies knew this before the war, but the Weather Patrol was founded with a mandate almost the same as the Coast Guard. In peacetime, the serving pegasi would carry out their duty managing the weather patterns over the entire nation. During wartime, they immediately reverted to the control of the Air Corps to support any war effort.

When she reported to the mayor, Rainbow had been given a letter from her regional headquarters. Most of it was boring official nonsense and stuff Twilight had already said, so she had skimmed ahead to the part about her orders, and followed them.

So there she was, Ponyville’s Weather Patrol officer, dutifully filling out applications for the militia enlistees.

Rainbow sighed as she finished up the last line of Dizzy’s militia application form. “Alright, Dizzy. That’s all here. I’ll be across the bridge later to swear everypony in when I’m done with everypony’s paperwork.” She waved her off to where the other applicants were waiting. “Next!”

Thunderlane stepped forward, but his eyes looked past Rainbow and focused on something behind her. “R-Rarity, what are you doing here?”

Rainbow scrunched her brow angrily. Twilight sent a pony to check up on her, huh? Her already sour mood turned grumpy, and she couldn’t suppress and angry snort. “I’m still here, Rarity. You can go back to Twilight and let her know I haven’t left.”

Rainbow could picture Rarity’s innocent duckface pout even without turning. “Why Rainbow, whatever do you mean?” Agh, she even sounded like she was pouting.

“Look, I get it, okay? After the tricks Discord pulled I ran off and abandoned you guys. I’d be worried about me, too.” She reached down to a box to get another enlistment form, still without turning.

Thunderlane pawed the ground nervously. “Maybe I should come back later.”

“No!” Rainbow demanded, slamming a hoof on her clipboard. She might not get to go to Cloudsdale, but there was no way the pegasi that actually were going would be delayed because of her. “Rarity’s seen what she needs to see. Go back and tell Twilight I’m still here, and let me get back to work.” She stared frustrated daggers at Thunderlane. “Name?”

“Um.” The stallion hesitated. “Don’t you remember-”

“THUNDERLANE.” Rainbow scribbled it down, the pencil violently scrapping against the paper. “Your name is Thunderlane! Age?” He told her, and she scribbled the information down just as hard.

“Rainbow, you seem a little,” Rarity hedged, “tense. Are you certain nothing’s the matter?”

“Of course I’m okay! I mean, take a look.” She waved a hoof to indicate the ponies in the town square, talking loud enough for lots of ponies to hear. “All these ponies are preparing for the fight of their lives. But they won’t be doing it for their own good, no! They’ll be fighting to defend little colts and fillies, their families and friends. Why? Because they’re Equestrians, and proud of it!” A few stallions overheard Rainbow and cheered, further making Rainbow’s point for her.

But it also felt like salt in an open wound. Or her pride. Or…something painful. She slouched. “Cloudsdale needs ponies now more than ever before, and it feels like everypony is racing off to protect it. I’m being left behind because of some stupid promise.”

“But darling, nopony asked you not to go.” Rarity’s voice was surprisingly sympathetic, and Rainbow felt a hoof on her shoulder. “Twilight just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t go unaccompanied. But fret no longer, for that problem has been solved.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes and shook away Rarity’s hoof. “Yeah, right.” She had learned to accept and deal with Fluttershy’s fear over every little thing, but there was no way Twilight had talked her out of the cottage so soon. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

She felt Rarity withdraw her hoof, and there was a long pause before Rarity “ah-hemed.” A few moments later she did it again, louder than the first.

“Um, Rainbow?” Thunderlane asked cautiously. Rainbow didn’t look up. “I think Rarity wants you to turn around.”

She rolled her eyes. Of course she did. “Fine. What could possibly…”

Rainbow never really came to understand Rarity’s frou-frou fashion sense, but it was pretty clear she had dressed for travel. She wore a funny-looking hat, scarf, and boots for cold weather, as well as a small matching saddlebag. Just as noticeable were the two suitcases that sat next to her.

As Rainbow turned, Rarity pulled back the scarf to show off the real surprise, and Rainbow wasn’t the only one to react. Half the ponies in the town square stopped to gawk as Rarity spread a new pair of gossamer butterfly wings. She must have talked Twilight into casting the wings spell on her again, but that could only mean one thing.

“That’s right, Rainbow. You are going to Cloudsdale with all these wonderful pegasi.” Rarity stepped into one of her fancy poses. Somehow, this time it even came off a little bit awesome. “And I’m coming with you.”

Rainbow was too cool to jump up and hug her friend, and there was no way she shed even one tear, no matter what anypony else might say. But if there were any tears, they would have been happy.

Dash finished her paperwork, swore in the militia, and grabbed a few things from home. Then she, Rarity, and the newly enlisted pegasi of Ponyville took flight and headed for Cloudsdale.


The hat was not funny looking; it was Rarity’s take on a traditional Ushanka, foregoing the traditional fur materials in favor of something synthetic Twilight helped her whip up. After all, what would Fluttershy think if her best friend took to wearing a pelt on her head every time it got cold? It matched the rest or Rarity’s outfit flawlessly, and the wool lining turned out to be perfect for flying in the cold winter chill. Of course Rainbow, for all her other wonderful qualities, couldn’t be expected to understand the finer nuances of fashion, but it had to be said. Now then, where to pick up with Rarity’s story? Oh yes!

Wings.

Rarity had forgotten just how splendid her beautiful butterfly wings could be. Okay, maybe she hadn’t really forgotten. How could a pony forget such colorful splendor, such freedom of taking gracefully to the skies? Still, Twilight had outdone herself this time. As magnificent as the first set had been, the new wings even surpassed that high standard. Words could never do them justice, and it would be a disservice to Twilight’s abilities to attempt to do so. Besides, as wonderful as they were, what was most important is that they allowed Rarity to travel with and comfort her friend in such a trying time.

Unfortunately, the long flight had done nothing to help Rainbow get in touch with her feelings, and even less to help her attitude.

“Are you quite certain you don’t want to talk about it?” Rarity asked, hoping the third time was indeed the charm.

“For the last time, no! I don’t want to talk.” Rainbow shook her head in frustration, and then once again focused on scanning the clouds above. “Look, I know you want to help and all, but we’re all busy here. We’re headed into a warzone, Rarity. These skies might not be safe and every pegasus needs to keep their eyes peeled looking for danger.”

She directed a quick frown at Rarity. “It’s bad enough that you’ve got poor Thunderlane carrying your luggage.”

“Only because he volunteered,” Rarity amended, looking back over her shoulder at the stallion. He was struggling with the bags a little, but his valiant effort was just so adorable. “And besides, he received more compensation than he even dared hope.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “How is a kiss on the cheek compensation?” Rarity was only too happy to explain the nuances of how a lady should interact with and inspire colts not quite old enough to begin a serious courtship, preparing them for whatever mare they eventually find a true interest in, but Rainbow found it necessary to rudely cut her off. “You know what? I don’t need to know. We’re going to move the formation through that hole in the cloudcover. Move back with the other ponies so we can keep a proper lookout.”

“But Rainbow, you still haven’t-”

Rainbow glared daggers at her, which was needlessly provocative. Rarity could take a hint.

“I can take a hint, dear. No need to pull rank on a dear friend.” She flapped her wings a little slower to start to slow. “I’ll just make an effort to be a caring and supportive friend some other time.”

Rainbow muttered something, but Rarity pretended not to hear it. A lady does not acknowledge being called such horrible things.

Falling back into the “main body” of the pegasi formation, Rarity found herself next to Thunderlane who, in spite of his rustic upbringing was proving to be quite the gentlecolt. “I wouldn’t worry about Rainbow too much, Miss Rarity. She takes her work very seriously, and this is about as serious as it gets.” He was quite sharp for a young stallion, though Rarity wasn’t ready to accept the wisdom of his words.

“Perhaps, but sometimes she makes being a good friend so hard. I care about her feelings, and want to help her work through what’s going on as best I can.” She pouted, but only a little. “It’s like she doesn’t even want my help!”

“Um.” Thunderlane strained as he, Rarity and the rest of the pegasi began to climb upward toward the gap in the clouds Rainbow had mentioned. Goodness, Rarity hadn’t packed that much. Perhaps he wasn’t as strong a flier as he was observant. Of course, his next comment would prove that to be more a measure of his understanding of pegasi than his flying ability. “Maybe she isn’t ready for that kind of help.”

Rarity was aghast with shock, and maybe a bit of horror. “What could you possibly mean? This can’t be easy on her, after all.”

Thunderlane nodded sadly as they passed through the gap. “Well, no. Everypony is hurting over this, but I’ve seen Rainbow at work when things get tight with the Weather Patrol. She’s the type of pony who likes to work through a problem. Any time something starts to bother her, she just turns it into more energy to keep going. I’m not sure you’ll ever get a pony like that to slow down and talk about her feelings, even after all this is,” he stopped without finishing his thought as they cleared the cloud cover.

Rarity had been so amazed at the revelation Thunderlane was proposing that she had been listening intently to the colt when he trailed off, his eyes focused on something in the distance as the cadre of pegasi came to a hovering stop. “What, what is it?” She asked while turning to see for herself.

Rarity had been blessed once before with the honor and privilege to visit Cloudsdale under happier circumstances (with her first set of marvelous wings,) and she could easily recall the magnificent splendor she had seen from her last visit. The city’s marble architecture was stunning and would have been dazzling beyond description even if it were situated on the ground, but to build such magnificent facades in the sky was a stroke of brilliance! The natural cloudscape flowed harmoniously into the artificial cityscape, making it hard to distinguish where one ended and the other began, giving the impression that such buildings were just as natural as the clouds they sat upon. Taken all together and from any angle, the city seemed to simply radiate with the pride and splendor of the pegasi while using whites and blues that suggested a timeless, immutable purity.

And the brute griffins had come along and trampled all over it!

Smoke rose from the city, but unlike Canterlot’s single great plume seen at a distance, Rarity could never have hoped to count all the separate, little trails. Most rose a short distance above the city and trailed away in the winter winds. In other places dust and soot hung just above the city, soiling marble black with ash. Here and there in the hanging smoke rose sundered columns, their tops severed and jagged as broken bone. Not even the clouds beneath the city had been spared; they had been stained by rainbows draining out beneath the streets, in splotched browns and blues, with traces of scarlet. It was hard not to imagine the city as a once majestic beast that had been beaten, bruised and broken until it barely clung to life.

Not even in her nightmares had Rarity ever dreamed such a crime against fabulosity, nay! Against beauty itself. It was enough to bring tears to her eyes, and she wasn’t the only pony who felt that way.

Mares behind Rarity began to weep softly at the sight, their tears falling to the cloudscape below as Rainbow did her best to get the formation moving again. It broke Rarity’s heart to watch her friend barely contain her own sorrow while also doing her best to keep others focused on the next step, and for her sake that is all that needs to be said. She eventually succeeded, but only after stopping just shy of threats. Everypony was silent the rest of the way to the city, and the whole flight Rarity’s despairing heart was stuck on a seemingly impossible conundrum.

What could Rarity ever say to support her friend now?


Rarity couldn’t help but thank Celestia when they reached the city without coming across any of the vile griffins. If they had found such a beautiful city to be so offensive that it warranted destruction, who knows what they would have done seeing a sight as marvelous as Rarity and her magnificent wings. As happy a blessing it might have been, it did little to quiet her worried heart. There was still much peril ahead for everypony, and she still had no plan to help Rainbow open up.

The military seemed organized despite the state of everything else. Three had come out to meet the Ponyville pegasi as they came near, two in jumpsuits and the other a serious-looking young mare lieutenant. After the officer had checked Rainbow’s paperwork and asked a few questions, she directed them to a quaint little cloud that had been set up as a reception zone for the arriving ponies. Once everypony from Ponyville was comfortably landed and resting after the flight, the lieutenant pointed to a short line where other Weather Patrol officers were reporting to the Air Corps ponies.

Would you believe she left without ever even glancing at Rarity’s wings? Some ponies have no sense of the spectacular, even when they see it right in front of them.

Rarity took it upon herself as an element of harmony to join Rainbow in line, which Dash initially rejected until Rarity explained her reasons.

“Fine, whatever.” Rainbow agreed with unspoken reservations, understandably still worked up from earlier experiences. “Just don’t interrupt anything that sounds official, okay? The last thing anypony needs right now is a scene.”

It hurt to hear a friend talk that way, but Rarity understood. She did have a flair for the dramatic, after all. “Of course. I would never want to embarrass you or Ponyville’s pegasi at a time like this. Please lead the way, Rainbow. I’ll be on my best behavior.”

Dash raised an eyebrow, but her expression quickly changed to a thankful smile, and that was that. The two friends joined the other ponies in the line, and waited their turn to report. They didn’t wait long. An elderly pony with a scraggly beard and corporal’s stripes sat behind a table, filling out paperwork for the arrivals much as Rainbow had been doing in Ponyville. Rainbow answered his questions and handed over all the forms she had collected while he quickly stamped or signed off on detail after detail.

“Looks like everything checks out, Dash,” he finally said after what seemed like ages. “I’ll need you to move your pegasi up to the community center just up the road to report for processing, indoctrination and assignments to—what on earth are those?”

It had taken the desk pony long enough, but it seemed he had finally gotten around to noticing Rarity’s wings. She thanked him with a slight turn and her wonderful smile. “Oh, these old things? Just a little something the element of magic gave to me so that I could join the war effort with my friend here.”

To Rarity’s surprise and slight horror, the stallion only raised an eyebrow. “The element of what?”

“Twilight Sparkle. Protégé of Princess Celestia?” When he still didn’t seem to understand, she continued. “The mare that defeated Nightmare Moon! With the help of her fabulous friends, of course.”

He still looked confused.

“Discord?” Rarity tried, growing a bit desperate. “Queen Chrysalis?”

“Oooh, the changeling broad.” He looked between the two mares, suddenly interested. “You mean you two had something to do with that?”

Rarity was only too happy to explain every detail, but Rainbow cut her off. “We were there, but it wasn’t that big of a deal.” She turned to Rarity with a sad look on her face. “Look, this is where we part ways. I have to make sure the volunteers get settled into their assignments and find out where my posting will be.”

“What?” Rarity was positively mortified at the idea of being separated from her friend. “But we’re elements of harmony, Rainbow! Why can’t we stay together?”

“Because I’m going to be assigned to a combat unit. I know you like your wings and all, but I don’t really think they’re suited to the kind of flying that I’ll be doing.” She looked away. “Just…try to be somewhere that I can find you later, and stay away from the front lines. Okay?”

Rarity nodded, but Dash wasn’t quite done yet.

“And, well, I kinda wanted you to know that this means a lot to me. Coming to Cloudsdale, I mean.” She scraped the cloud beneath them with a hoof. “So, thank you.”

Even though Rarity and Rainbow had never been what you might call close, she knew what those words had cost the proud pony. Rainbow was a pegasi who spent every moment trying to live up to her own ideas of ‘awesome,’ and those words were decidedly not awesome. Rarity was touched beyond even her considerable ability to express, and was suddenly struck with a fit of inspiration and acted without thinking. As Rainbow shifted to leave, she stepped forward and embraced her pegasus friend.

“Don’t worry, Rainbow. I know you can do it.”

Apparently that did the trick. She felt her friend’s jaw go slack at the sudden, unbidden vote of complete confidence. They hugged for a few moments and said their final goodbyes, but when Rainbow collected the Ponyville volunteers she looked like her old self again, brimming with confidence and ready to take on the world. Her confidence seemed to further reassure the others, and while they were a long way from smiles at least their nervousness seemed to pass.

The corporal had apparently been listening to the entire exchange. “It’s a special pony that knows how to inspire others like that. She’s lucky to have a friend like you.”

“It’s a gift,” she replied with a beaming smile. Now that it seemed she was to be separated from Rainbow for a while, her thoughts turned to how she might best carry out Princess Celestia’s decree. “Sir, would you care to direct me to where I might find the ponies in charge? I suppose at least one element of harmony should speak with this General Manifold.”

The corporal never got to answer the question. A crashing echo coming from the direction of the stadium cut him off. It wasn’t an explosion that one might have expected, though. Instead, it was a mare’s voice that cut through the sky, bouncing between buildings as it traveled. Even though Rarity had never heard it herself, she had been told enough stories from all her friends to know exactly what it was. After all, only one pony in all of Equestria could be that loud.

“Citizens of Cloudsdale!” boomed the Royal Canterlot Voice. “Thy Princess of the Night HATH ARRIVED!”

As the echo died away, a new sound rose to take its place. Pegasi of all colors, shapes and sizes stopped what they were doing, standing or taking flight with a great cheer. What Rarity’s few small words had done for Rainbow, Luna seemed to have done for the entire city. In their darker moments, many had probably wondered if the defense of the city was a lost cause, but if the princess was sure enough of victory to join them, how could they fail?

For Rarity, however, it also served as a direct answer to her question. "I suppose that settles that, at least,” she muttered to nopony in particular. She collected the bags dear Thunderlane had been so gracious to carry all this way, and with a quick toss of her mane she headed off to find the Princess of the Night.

Author's Note:

For those looking for just a little more content, you might want to take a look at this. It was after this chapter that I offered a chance to do an "Ask a ViM character" blog interview, staring Twilight, Kaleb and Luna. The questions and answers range from serious to funny and shed some light on some things that may not come up in the course of the main chapters. Don't worry, there are NO spoilers there.