Diprosopus

by WritingSpirit

Camp Éigríochtar

Rarity still couldn't understand why.

"I accept the recommendation of the Probation Department..."

She knew it was the judge and the jury's decision, yet it doesn't seem fair.

"On the notion that..."

She always questioned the law, just like how she questions everything else. It was a new thing to her, the inquisition of the laws against crime and order in Canterlot, though what puzzles her even more is their perspective of a pony being a victim. This case proved even more of a bafflement.

It was the first trial she had to attend as a witness, as well as to support her friend in need. They were all there, watching at the single, broken and tumultuous Fluttershy standing rigidly in the center of the room, with dozen pairs of eyes staring down with concern and, for the remaining ponies, fear. The pegasus herself, however, just held onto a void of expression on her face, staring a little too carefully at the ponies giving out her sentence. It had been almost half an hour and after all the discussing between each member of the jury, they were finally ready.

"The accused must be at a minimal of six feet away from the child, and that she is to be put under surveillance of the Royal Guard until her sentence is over. Anything otherwise would result in further prosecution. Does the defendant understand the charges being given as such?"

"Yes," Fluttershy responded, voice frozen like the deep winter.

Rarity could only scowl at them. It doesn't feel right, splitting her friend from her daughter just like that! It wasn't her fault that she acted that way; she only wanted to protect Amber from harm! Isn't it a mother's instinct to protect their young from something so horrific as Janus?

What was even more saddening was that the four members of the Apple Family was there, watching her demise. It was exceptionally so for Big Mac, who could only watch solemnly with his daughter in his hooves as the sentence was being carried. It wouldn't be surprising if he would just burst through the banisters, charge at the prosecutors and probably buck them straight off into some foreign land.

"Gotta be hard to go through that..." Spike muttered, gazing at the pair.

"I don't get it. Why Fluttershy, of all ponies...?"

"Me neither."

With a sigh, Rarity snuggled closer against the dragon for the rest of the trial, letting her mind wander between Fluttershy's situation, the rumors of a war brewing in the north, and ultimately Spike himself. After all, they had rarely hung out these days and some part of her just... yearns for it once again.

One day, perhaps, she and Spike could go out for dinner, just like they had done before all of the melodrama of bombings and wars. To return once again to the romantic nights they had like they did back in Pendant Lakes... hopefully when that opportunity comes, there wouldn't be all these dread and devastation around then. Hopefully then, she wouldn't have to worry about Janus and nightmares and such.

That would be a good time worth looking forward to.

At once, the ponies in the room stood up, signaling the end of the session. All of them could only watch dismally as Fluttershy was led away from the group through another door, the pegasus turning back only to give a meek wave to her husband, who returned it with one of his own. All Rarity could do was bite her lip at the bittersweet sight; if only there was something they could do to renew her friend's punishment.

"Those dang ponies..." she could hear Applejack curse, and for a very good reason. Really, if she were to make a choice between Canterlot and the now-ruined Pendant Lakes, her preference would be of the latter. The ponies that lived there -- or once lived there -- were warm and welcoming, and always enjoyed the prospect of the conversation with anypony they meet, unlike a city she knows.

"Rarity?"

The unicorn turned at the mention of her name to see Twilight's troubled expression staring back at her. She would've brushed it off, seeing how the sentence was carried out and how she was pinned down by Fluttershy as a result of revealing it to her, but something else told her otherwise.

"Yes, darling?" she asked.

"Whatever is the matter?"

"It's about this... this..."

Twilight sighed, planting a hoof on her shaking forehead, which only baffled Rarity even more. What could be such of an enigma that even the Twilight Sparkle, the smartest unicorn she had ever known in the whole of Equestria, couldn't pronounce?

"Ugh..." she finally groaned in defeat.

"I can't tell you like this..."

"Tell what?" Rarity asked.

"What is it, darling?"

"Just come back with me to the palace," was the flustered reply.

"And bring Spike along, just in case. I need you guys to see this."

With that being said, Rarity, dragging along an incredibly confused Spike, followed her friend out the double doors of the courtroom and back into the hallways of the palace, with only a few urgent goodbyes to spare for the remainder of the bunch, whom Rarity knew was equally confused as her.

Their humdrum wander around the corridors was short, which was lucky for Spike, since Twilight was hissing at the dragon for trying to ask a question. At the end of their journey, however, stood a glazing white door, to which the librarian quickly gave an obligatory knock before opening it with her horn.

"You've made it."

Princess Celestia's soft voice ushered them into the rotunda, which would've been pitch black if not for the giant chandelier overhead. The glistening cluster of crystals nestled within each holder frightened Rarity more than amazed her, having remembered the attempted murder of Octavia back in Pendant Lakes.

Aside from the alabaster alicorn, there was Princess Luna, with all of them surrounding some sort of machine perched in the center of the room. From what she could discern from the looping metal rings around it, it looked like some sort of colossal gyroscope, with a large, oval platform in the center that could hold around six ponies. Her horn tingled a little as she got closer, probably from some residual magic resonating from the metal rings, she surmised.

"What is this, Twilight?" she asked the mare, slightly nervous.

"It's some sort of dimensional transport system," the librarian began to explain.

"Basically, using the fundamentals of teleportation magic, I've managed to compress some of the resulting magical field of teleportation into a capsule of this machine. With the use of Princess Celestia's dimensional magic and a few little touch-ups, this was what came out of it: a teleportation device or what I call, a Stream Gate."

"So simply put it," Spike began after scratching his head.

"You build some machine that could teleport us anywhere? That it?"

"Yes!" was the pride-filled answer.

"I've did some basic testing to it and it works completely fine!"

"And you called us here because...?"

"Because I'm sending Twilight on an inspection in the north."

Princess Celestia stepped from the group, wearing the serene smile she was known for wearing, whether to mask something out or otherwise, Rarity doesn't know. What was more surprising is that Twilight was being sent somewhere by the alicorn again. Who knew that being the protege of the Goddess of the Sun would require so much work?

"Twilight is to use this Stream Gate to head towards the northeastern town of Cirrus Deep and visit the Highland-reinforced camp set to defend the town from invasions." she explained.

"There had already been a few reported attacks, though the motive was unclear whatsoever. Whatever the case, we need to take a survey of the camp, just to see if they enough resources to last through each attempt of an invasion."

Both Rarity and Spike nodded simultaneously, though they still couldn't understand.

"But why us?" the former of the couple asked.

"Why were we needed here? To oversee if this goes on successfully?"

"Well, Twilight was about to head off into the camp," Princess Celestia answered.

"But it's too remote and dangerous of a place to venture alone, which is why I suggest she should bring along companions to aid her in her journey."

"So I chose you two!" Twilight continued her teacher's sentence.

"Everypony else was preoccupied with all their matters and such, that I didn't want to bother them or probably stress them out and putting themselves into danger. I would've called Applejack, but with what's going on with Fluttershy recently, I don't think she would have the time now. Rainbow Dash just had her two daughters to take care off too, so there's not much of a chance with her..."

"And so you called us."

The librarian nodded excitedly, which only made Rarity ever the more nervous. To be sent on some sort of diplomatic inspection wasn't what she would put in her checklist at all, though if it was for the need of helping a friend, she couldn't help but do as such. There was only one last thing bothering her, however.

"But w-what about Sweetie Belle?" she asked.

"What if she finds out when I'm gone?"

"Your sister will know the reason of your departure," Princess Luna replied.

"We would make sure that she gets the message, as well as the rest of your friends."

Rarity just exchanged an unsure glance with Spike, the dragon managing only a shrug. She knew the dragon would've been okay with it; as long as she is there, everything would be fine with him. Then again, meeting a few Highlanders wouldn't be something she could experience everyday now, wouldn't it?

"I suppose we could have a little adventure," she murmured.

"Alright then! It wouldn't hurt from just one visit, right?"

"Great! Now if you can just stand on that..."

The pale unicorn soon clambered up the platform, with a little lift from Spike, of course, followed by Twilight and lastly the dragon himself. Twilight then raised a hoof up with a nod, signaling Princess Celestia to pull down a switch bolted onto the wall with her magic. Sure enough, the rings surrounding her started spinning, some of them already starting to glow with some sort of cyan, ethereal light!

"Get ready!!" Twilight exclaimed over the heightening whirring of the rings and crackling bolts of magic. All she could do was grip tighter onto Spike's claw, clenching her eyes shut from the blinding light. She could feel her body vibrating, then suddenly being jerked back and forth like a sailboat drifting in an oppressive storm: violent, turbulent and, at some point, nauseous. Every single sound seemed to merge into one, forming a hiss of white noise that only addled her head as much as it seared through it.

*SNAP!!*

The metallic sound forced her eyes open as well as silenced the hellish abomination of noises, making way for the sounds of chirping birds and rustling grass in the breeze. Rarity stepped forward in awe at the sight, breathing in the fresh air of mint and pine that only the northern tundra of Equestria would possess, all the while staring down at a meandering group of tents right around the hill they were on; no doubt the same place that Twilight was supposed to visit.

Further in the distance, probably by a few miles downhill, was a small town similar to Fenderville and Pendant Lakes, albeit a dwarf compared to those two: Cirrus Deep, Rarity figured, as the Princesses had mentioned. There are a few interesting hot-spots she could spy from above, but all those thoughts were soon interrupted by a gruff squawk of a voice.

"You must be Twilight Sparkle. The Princess notified me of yer arrival."

"Yes," the said mare answered.

"And you must be the Captain of this camp, right?"

"Ye' ain't wrong about that, lass," was the reply.

Rarity had never seen a gryphon like this before! She had met a little of them from time to time, but this one had to be the biggest she'd ever seen! His wings are exceptionally humongous, some of the feathers already darkening with age. His face and beak was flurried with old scars, which only made her wonder even more so on how he hadn't lost an eye yet! Sheathed on his talons were sharp steel spikes, probably used for hunting or, she gulped, for war.

Everywhere around them were tents with flags of the Celestial Empire billowing in the wind, their different sizes fit to accommodate the trio species of ponies, minotaurs and gryphons alike, all geared up and preparing for another invasion. Some of them turned heads at the sight of their new 'guests', as well as the machine that popped them here, its mechanics already tired and fizzing from its single yet distant journey.

"Name's Alsenaar," the gryphon said.

"Captain Kynsi Alsenaar of the ou'pos' of Cirrus Deep. Welcome to Camp Éigríochtar. I presume the other mare and... dragon are your companions, eh?"

"Oh yes! Of course!"

Rarity tried not to giggle as Twilight dragged Spike back to the group with her horn, snapping him out of his curiosity-fueled reverie at the sharp, glinting poleaxes and halberd spears standing rigidly on the racks. The lavender unicorn shot him a glare that made him chuckle out of humiliation, before she spoke:

"This dragon here is Spike, my assistant given to me by Princess Celestia, and the unicorn beside me is Rarity, one of my friends from Ponyville."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Captain," Rarity said, extending a hoof.

"The same, the same!" the gryphon replied, shaking her hoof and grinning happily before turning back to Twilight.

"I understand yer Princess sent you here for some sor' of inspection, yes?"

"She did," Twilight exclaimed cheerfully.

"She also said about a few attacks here by some of Janus's forces..."

Both gryphon and unicorn's voices began to drone in Rarity's head, who only sighed as she glanced back at the machine. Some part of her told her that the machine needs time to cool down; she don't have to be an expert on whatever magic or mechanical subject to know about that. Glancing around at the tents, all she could see other than the warriors sharpening their blades and training their archery was woodland, which she figured would've spanned through miles away. The only place she would expect something worth her interest would be in the town of Cirrus Deep, though she doubt even the town might not have anything else to do there other than roaming around and having a few snacks.

A small claw planted firmly on her shoulder made her turn to Spike, who inhaled deeply at the fresh air. Rarity could see his upper fangs peeking out from his curving lips, which somehow soothed and frightened her a little at the same time, remembering his outburst at the Princesses and his fight with that wannabe assassin a few days back.

"So, Rare," he began, stifling a smile.

"Got anything in mind other than ditching Twilight and getting back to Canterlot?"

"Well, aren't you mean," she shot back, making him laugh.

"To be honest, there isn't much to do here aside from chatting with those minotaurs and hear their... graphic stories."

"We've just got here! Who knows how much there is in store for us!"

"I'm perfectly fine back in Canterlot-- no, Ponyville, thank you."

If there was somepony to blame for her delirium, however unfair it may be, it would be Princess Celestia herself. She was respected and known throughout the whole of Equestria for her prowess! Why is it that she needs the help of her own student to run her affairs? Is it not important for her to just help out once in a while?

"But I wouldn't mind taking a look at Cirrus Deep," she continued.

"It might have something of interest over there."

Spike just looked unsure. For a dragon not to doubt her choice was unnatural. After all, they were about to walk in together, hoof by claw, into the eyes of civilization again. What's the chance that they wouldn't face some sort of discrimination from the inhabitants living there?

"Well......" he sighed.

"If you insist. But if anypony there starts to jeer at us..."

"Then I'll give you your permission to spit fire at them."

The dragon just blinked, whether from over-excitement or shock, she couldn't discern.

"Really?" he asked, a little stunned.

"As in just go up in smoke, out of the frying pan, light it all up kind of fire?"

"Whatever else?" Rarity answered with a grin.

"Really, I'm a little tired from ponies saying that you and I can't go together! Just one peaceful day of us walking around without anypony staring at us... it would be the best day I would ever have! And I know you would do the same now, wouldn't you Spikey?"

"Only if you want me to, Rarity," the dragon answered with a sigh.

"But if anything happens and we got caught by Twilight, I'm not going to take any of the blame for it. Any of it, all of it, everything would be your fault. Deal?"

"That would be so unfair~!"

Rarity crossed her hooves, though it wasn't long before she turned back, her sarcastic frown turning into a small little smirk as she nudged at Spike's shoulder, chuckling a little before saying:

"Deal."

O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O

"Do we have to turn in there?"

"We don't have much of a choice, old chap," Caduceus replied.

"It's either Growlett Avenue and beyond, or nothing."

Stellar Lionheart bit his lip at the road laid before him, filled with debris from the ravaged houses all around and fallen lampposts, some still fizzing with minimal flickers of light, casting looming shadows in the darkness. It was already a horrendous, not to mention grotesque, choice of a path before the destruction of the city; to venture into it at its current, desolate state with all those abominations lurking around would be deemed suicide by any sane pony!

"I'm not sure about this," he continued hesitantly.

"It's a hellhole within a hellhole, if you ask me."

"The most hellish of them all," his friend remarked with a faltering grin.

"And from what Jovern could see, we had to venture deeper into another forsaken place."

"What do you mean?"

"Most of the exits through this avenue, except the one behind us, are barred."

Jovern crouched downwards, puffing a few irritated rings of smoke at the direction they were supposedly about to head. It was what stood in their way, however, that only horrified Stellar even more, his eyes fixated to the one single building in the whole of Growlett Avenue that he didn't want to traverse, yet ultimately was forced to.

"That building ahead has an only exit out," the black dragon continued.

"One of your friends run that place before, right?"

"Cleptius did, yes," Stellar muttered, still shocked by their forced decision.

"But isn't there any other way? Another way instead of going through that exact building?"

All of them bit their lips, with the ponies looking up and, for Jovern, down, at the building they were supposed to enter, leering at them like the ponies that once inhabited it. It would've been a miracle if there wasn't any derisive, hysterical laughter ringing from the hallways like it did back then, and to hear them once more... he reserved none of his sanity for that.

Of all the places they had to go, Stellar cursed, they had to choose this one.

"The Celestia-be-damned asylum..."

"However damned you wish it to be, it's the only way out of Growlett Avenue."

With that said, Caduceus picked his lantern up, limping forward and leaving the other two of his companions to catch up. The duo of old colts cautiously stepped inside the doorways of the asylum, with Jovern slinking to the side as he dug through a few of the rocks instead to the other side.

Stepping into what was supposed to be the reception area, which remained unchanged in both physical state and atmosphere and was expected as such by them, Stellar trotted ahead, glancing about warily at the dreary room they were in. Like many of the lampposts outside, a small table light, toppled over and covering the table with shards of broken, green-hued glass, was flickering, illuminating the torn plaster wallpaper and a few shredded oil paintings hanging lopsidedly from a single nail in the cracking wall. At the other end of the room was a metal door, twisted and hanging from its hinges with its singular round glass window already shattered apart, revealing the corridor beyond.

"Still think it's a good idea?" Stellar asked with a scowl, glancing ahead at the hallway before them, hued a deep macabre red from the rays of a few emergency lights swiveling from the ceiling.

"You know we can always wait until Jovern digs his way through."

"He needs us on the other side to make sure he knows where he's digging."

With a sigh (more to his friend than to the task at hoof) Caduceus clambered first into the hallway, bumping into his friend's shoulder in the process and flashing him a smirk, to which Stellar only grumbled at. Treading carefully through the cracking, tiled floor, both colts held their breath as they reached a corner.

Slowly, they stepped out, sighing in relief at the vacant yet still dreadful path downwards. Every lurking shadow dancing and traipsing about the walls only made the corridors more eerie and morbid than it already seemed, their spines chattering as if somepony, or something, would just manifest out of the darkness and give them a life-threatening scare.

"Stellar Lionheart..."

"Huh?" the stallion quipped, turning to his friend.

"Did you call for me, Caduceus?"

"I don't think so..." his friend replied, wearing the same look of bewilderment as himself.

"You're sure it wasn't just your imagination? Is the place getting to you again?"

"But I could've sworn..."

"Stellar Lionheart...!"

Both colts froze at the same moment, their ears perked up and twitching at that voice; a voice that jerks back the darkest days of the last ruling Palgiot; a voice that once induced fear in the whole of the city and the palace itself; a voice that both ponies had found it sweet as a butternut treat, until time and darkness transformed it into their greatest enemy and graced the fall of the splendor of Pendant Lakes.

"I-It couldn't be!" Caduceus stammered, eyes wide with shock.

"C-Could it...?"

"Impossible..."

Stellar suddenly raised his blade, having caught a sharp glint at the corner of his eye, just in time to deflect the swing of a white, deceitfully pure and decorated blade whipped from a chain. He growled, stepping backward at once for another pony to leap from the darkness above and into their view, with her once-curled mane now a mess and a few strands of blood dripping from the sides of her body.

"Who are you...?" he asked cautiously, wanting to make sure.

"What do you want from us?"

"Tsk, tsk..." the pony -- a mare, judging from her voice -- cooed.

"Still ever the careful one, Stellar Lionheart. You really mustn't doubt what your mind had decided upon. As of a matter of fact, let's try to earn each other's trust again, shall we?"

Before he or Caduceus could reply, the mare started to trot down the hallway, turning around only to gesture her hoof, urging them to follow. Reluctantly, they did so, grasping onto their weapons ever the more tighter with all their fears and doubts pushed to the head of their 'guide'. Every turn she took, they followed, though her wielding a blade was enough of a sign to not take any chances.

"Just a little more now..." the mare muttered, then, with the edge of her blade, she jammed it into the cracks of the metal door before them, using it as a lever to force it open with a loud clang. Stellar just held his breath at the sight of the exit , holding it only when he saw the sly grin the mare was wearing.

"Don't think it's over yet however," she continued.

"You know how big the asylum actually is. There's more to explore for the both of you."

All the two friends could do was exchange nervous looks, before stepping out into the open. Sure enough, his hooves trodden upon the rocky surface of the ruins again, this time facing a grander cluster of buildings that he knew in his heart were closer to the palace. Caduceus too breathed a sigh of relief, placing down his lantern and settling right onto a giant, rotting tree root poking from the ground. Their sights were set on the menacing corridors leading them, no doubt, out of the forsaken, collapsed building, its grotesque state only made more vivid by the single, red emergency light being swallowed in the darkness nestling within its deeper confines.

Both colts turned at the mare who led them here, watching with a mix of disbelief and shock as she came into their full view. Her mane was visibly purple, already overgrown with a few strands draping over her bruised, battered and scarred pink skin, with splatters of blood all around, some dried, some recently made. The once-dismal, red pupils that she bore now glowed intently like a predator lusting for a kill, which brought only shudders to her counterparts with her menacing stare. Stellar just tightened his grip on the Patriarch's blade, watching as she licked her lips with a small yet discomforting smile as she hastily planted her blades down into the rock below her hooves and mumbled:

"Miss me?"

"Never thought we would see you again," was what Stellar could only reply with malice, with Caduceus inadvertently agreeing by giving a small, simple nod. She shouldn't be alive, and they know that. What pony would survive a deep, fatal stab wound and a plummeting fall from the palace down into some crevasse at the foot of Mount Hoovingaar?

"You're not supposed to be here," he continued, gritting his teeth once she started to snicker at his delirium.

"Harmony Peridot."

O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O

"... and he asked again, his voice gruffer this time, whether I want the crimson kerchief or the scarlet one. I specifically mentioned again that I only want it to be red, yet he still insisted that I choose one of the two!"

Pinkie tried her best not to guffaw at Ganger's story, lest she wants to spit out the little lollipop she was eagerly suckling and slurping on. It was exceptionally rare for the cook to let out a few tales or two (even rarer so for his sister to actually smile at some of them) but it was a tale worth listening to nonetheless. Their conversation had meekly wandered about, from the first batch of soup he made to how he had to travel across a mountain range just to find a herb for his salad, until this current one: about his dining experience in one of the more elegant towns he had stopped by.

"You could say that the argument escalated," the aquamarine unicorn continued with a sigh.

"To the point where I got kicked out just because I... well, yelled aloud about how thick and moldy their mayonnaise was. Believe me, those refined ponies don't take criticism well."

"They're refined little maggots, if you ask me," Dapple spat, no doubt having seen her brother's ordeal as well and clearly not enjoying it.

"You give him a chance to get behind the table, I told them, he would put their fathers to shame! Really, they were darn fortunate that I just so happen to have left my shotgun in my room that day! And if I ever see them again..."

"Their loss, perhaps," Velvet answered, looking up from his book

"I always said, when ponies don't change, just wait until change catches up to them. It's either they reconstruct themselves by a tad bit, or they lose out entirely."

"Velvet's First Law," Ollivander piped in teasingly from above, making all of them chuckle.

It was a refreshing sight for Pinkie, to see the caravan truly united once again with Selena taking to the skies happily with her gryphon-friend once more and Brutus himself walking right next to Velvet and having their usual secret conversations again. She could imagine it: the eight members of the caravan, walking through the gates of Valewood with glinting sunglasses and tuxedos tossing in the wind... ah, the wonders of her imagination...!

"How much further is it?"

"Just around a few miles more," the gryphon gave Phoenix the answer.

"Yer gotta have to trot along fer about two, s'ree hours tops. One if yer gallop. Or fly."

"Can't we just stop for lunch?" Pinkie complained, having not eaten ever since she woke up, with the lollipop she just swallowed not doing any god. True to her words, a loud gurgle erupted from her stomach, which made her scrunch her lips and blush in embarrassment as the rest of them tried their best not to burst out in laughter.

"I'm starving~!! Just a little bite? Something filling, please? Pweety, pweety pwease?"

"Alright, alright!"

With a sigh, Phoenix came to a halt and glanced around, a smile creeping up his lips once he spotted a grand bluff overlooking a giant, shimmering lake. He struck his blade into the ground like a flagpole, turning back to the rest of the group and saying breathlessly:

"Who wants to go for a lakeside picnic?"

It would be a shame, not to mention a miracle, if any of them said no.

In no time at all, the whole group rushed towards the lake, with Dapple using her magic to reshape the caravan to full size and leaving the rest to head inside the caravan itself and scavenge for foodstuff, utensils and a mat, before laying them out on the grass and leaving the twins to set up the cooking booth.

Phoenix was, surprisingly, the first to dive in, his burning tail sizzling with fumes into the water as he submerged, before popping out and spurting water out of his mouth like a renegade hose. Selena became the undesired next, as she was pushed off the cliff by Ollivander with loud, hysterical laughter, causing her to wear a scowl that soon turned into a mischievous grin. No sooner than that did the gryphon became a close third, his soaking-wet marefriend having zipped up to him and hoisting him down into the lake, leaving them splashing at each other with undying laughter.

"Look out beeeLLLLOWW~~!!!!"

In a flash, Pinkie took a leap, curling into a fluffy, pink ball before splashing into the water. She opened her eyes, marveling once the flood of bubbles departed and revealed the crystal clear view of the lake's rocky bottom, the sunlight shining down on it being sifted by the rippling surface above her head. Surprisingly, there were a few fish swimming about on the bed of the lake, seamlessly dodging through some of the rocks and whipping a few plumes of dirt and sand in the wake of each darting movement.

She swam downwards, smiling happily as she twirled among a school of playful fish, who eagerly spiraled around her like a gymnast's ribbon. It was after a few spirals that she swam back up for a gasp of air, catching sight of Ganger and Dapple joining the fray and Phoenix waving to her in the distance.

"Be careful!" he shouted.

"Don't wander too far off!"

"Don't worry, Phoenix!" she called back with a giggle, wet mane draping over her face.

"I'll be fine!"

Without time to waste and a gulp of air, she swam back down into the lake, all too eager to play with her new aquatic friends once again! She had never had so much fun with fish before, and she couldn't believe she missed out so much with these creatures! Oh, if she had only knew how playful they were!

She turned back with a wide smile, but it immediately faded at the sight of nothing. What was once a colorful backdrop of swimming creatures became an empty world of blue, which only left her frazzled. She glanced around in bewilderment, kicking her hooves and propelling herself forward as her eyes scanned the deep blue.

"Pinkie..."

At the sound of the menacing whisper, she turned around, letting out a bubbled gasp at the sight of a pony. He (she assumed it was a 'he', at least) was a translucent white, with a horn and, from what she could discern, folded wings at the side, which only surprised her more. On the contrary, his eyes, however, were a devilish red, which glowed with vivid yet terrifying brilliance once the pony glided closer to her.

Something told her this wasn't the pony that guided her up the shrine. No, this was a different specter; one whose intentions she believed were not for the greater good. She wanted to swim away, yet something... something was stranding her there!

"Move, Pinkie Pie!!" her mind screamed, her hoof trying its best to struggle, with no avail. As in response, the pony glided closer, his mouth opening to reveal a black emptiness that lingered inside; a darkness eating away the dappled sunlight shining from above. She jerked and tugged, forcing out wave after wave of bubbles through her mouth as she tried to scream for help.

"MOVE, CELESTIA DAMN IT!!" her mind yelled.

"JUST MOVE!! JUST MOVE YOUR BODY!! JUST MOVE YOUR--!!"

Suddenly, the pony's jaws snapped beyond its limit to reveal a spiraling vortex of darkness; a merciless black hole rushing to her at an incredible speed. The mangled, distorted face he possessed, along with his piercing red eyes, was the last thing she saw and screamed about, before she felt him sieving through her body, sifting through her as if she was never there. Her heart dropped to the bottom of her chest, her throat slammed back and forcing out all the air within her, her energy zapped to naught as she flipped backwards, the water rushing into her lungs.

Her vision faded into a blur, the last of the air bubbles escaping her mouth as she was finally let loose from the invisible bonds. Sinking to the bottom, all she could do was see the sunlight shining from above, with one single tune popping in a deranged echo that resembled a creaky gramophone from the back of her head.

"Weep not, little gypsy! You are not alone~!

Fear not, my child. You're going strong!

A life of solitude you have lived;

A forgotten heart you never retrieved!"

Somepony was singing it... a mare... a familiar voice. She couldn't tell if it was Selena or Dapple, but this voice...... it possessed the bubbly, outgoing personality that she had as well. But she couldn't have heard it before; she would've known if any of the caravan sung it! Yet... yet she was sure it was sung by somepony.

Somepony she knew.

"L'amour de ma vie, L'amour de ma vie;

The other that shares the pain!

L'amour de ma vie, L'amour de ma vie...!"

"The love of my life he remains..."

That was the last sentence Pinkie could think of, before blacking out.

O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O

"Your eclair, mademoiselle."

"Thank you very much."

Rarity just glanced down at the food being delicately placed onto her table, licking her lips at the sight of her treat: two slices of fine, crispy bread sandwiching puffy whipped cream and topped with a glazing layer of glossy, scrumptious molten chocolate. It was something different from what she usually ordered, but she doesn't mind a sugary thing or two. After all, they did say chocolate can be good for one's skin.

Carefully, she sliced it with the tip of her knife like every mannered lady would, though the eager to have a little taste of it was too hard of an experience to resist. It was after a few bites and a dab with her napkin that she glanced around the restaurant, trying to spot her dinner partner amid the chatting crowd.

Spike had excused himself, once again heading to a restroom. His food, which were two pieces of toast sprinkled with shards of sapphires hoofpicked from her stash, had already been laid out before him, leaving it and the mare to only wait patiently for the dragon's return.

Aside from the overwhelming aftertaste of the eclair in her mouth, Rarity had only a glass of wine to savor, though it was much more of a bore to not have to share it with anypony, or any-dragon, for that matter. Strangely enough, the bottle of wine the waiter had picked was a brew from Palgiot's Finest; apparently one of the newer formulas, as the waiter had phrased it, the label being evident proof.

Axle 1645

"Still admiring the wine, I see."

She couldn't help but stifle a smile, turning towards Spike standing behind her chair, his head poking in just above her shoulder. Always a tease, that dragon, a part of her said. Just as Twilight mentioned.

"You should at least finish your toast, Spike," she replied.

"It's rather rude to keep a lady waiting."

The dragon just chuckled, his eyes apparently glinting with interest at the articulately cursive letters designed on the baroque label, right above an ink-sketched scenery of Pendant Lakes, with the once-standing palace drawn at the edge. Rarity could remember many things there, with most of them manifesting into the form of nightmares.

Axle was also a name worth remembering: he was the self-proclaimed Oracle of some strange, dysphoric dimension trapped in a box, or was it trapped in a box, she wasn't sure. What she could confirm is that the aforementioned stallion's grotesque mass of a form remained dormant, only deciding to pop out a few times in her dream state, and when he did... let's just say her mental health would deteriorate if this keeps going on.

"Anyways," Spike said, interrupting her thoughts as he himself sliced into his toast.

"Sweetie Belle wanted to mention something to you," he briefly paused to let Rarity's eyes widen in surprise, before continuing: "she told me it's something about your parents."

The dragon couldn't clearly see her response, though he could've sworn she flinched a little.

"What about them?" she asked, albeit hesitantly.

"Said they were coming back to visit you guys," he answered nonchalantly.

"They're quite the vacationers, right? Rarely saw them around in Ponyville."

"Good."

"Wha--?"

Spike almost lurched backward into his chair, fortunately catching himself at the last minute. He stared at her, unable to distinguish if she was sullen or just thinking, though he was a little uncertain of the answer to that question. Suddenly, she glanced his way, his back turning rigid and straight upwards like a poker the moment she did so, wearing a smile that only tossed him into confusion.

"It's good," Rarity spoke, still wearing her grin.

"I wanted your first meeting with them to be a surprise. They know quite a little about you, and you about them, but I'm sure if you had the chance to meet officially, you will expect surprising results."

The glee that she composed only left the dragon more bewildered than ever before, though he quickly dismissed his anxiety in a form of a sigh, crossing his arms and leaning back into his chair.

"Whatever you say, Rare," he responded.

"Didn't know you were fond of surprises..."

"I didn't say I wasn't. And please, stop calling me... 'Rare'. It sounds a little..."

"Little... little what?"

"Blunt."

"Well, you let Rainbow Dash call you that," Spike answered with a smirk.

"So why can't I do the same? I became Rainbow Dash once, y'know. At that time, you were going heads over heels for some, uh... large boulder, right?"

Rarity just shuddered. "Please don't remind me," she muttered.

Their conversation soon waned as quickly as their meal came to an end, and finally they rose from the seats, trying their best not to show their affections in front of all the ponies seated at the tables around them. Even the cashier raised an eyebrow at the sight of the two handing the bill, though Rarity's hiss of displeasure chased it off soon after.

"So much for lighting ponies on fire," Spike snickered once they were outside.

"Just when I thought you were getting fun..."

"You really don't think I meant it literally, do you?" the unicorn said with a sly grin.

"Plus, I can be fun in my own ways. You and I both know that."

Rarity couldn't help but wink, laughing almost a little too loudly when she saw Spike rolling his eyes. Reaching out her two hooves, she quickly clung onto his arm, glancing around the mediocre town square basking from the moonlight above and the iron street lamps aligned at every sidewalk. In the center of it all was a sculpture depicting ponies planting a flag: the formation of Equestria, as carved on the bronze plaque bolted into its marble pedestal. Surrounding them on all four sides were stone benches, one of which the two soon settled on to admire the scene.

She leaned against his shoulder, the dragon himself clutching her hoof as both eyes glanced up at the marveling sky of Luna's handiwork of constellations. It was surprising to be able to see some in the midst of civilization; usually they would have a journey to some cliff or Sweet Apple Acres even to have a look, but it seems the lights of Cirrus Deep are a merciful one at most.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"It really is..." she answered the dragon.

Rarity's glance lowered towards her partner, though her eyes soon caught sight of a figure in the darkness. It was a pony, no doubt, wearing a black, raggedy cloak that shrouded him or her in the alleyways. Unfortunately for the pony, she spotted their light gray coat, the mane a darker hue, but what was more alluring were the eyes: a strange shade of indigo, luminescent and the size of blackberries.

She would've called Spike to look, but the pony raised a hoof to their mouth: a demand of silence. A gulp ran down her throat, and all Rarity could do was watch helplessly as the figure slid away from view, unnoticed by the dragon sitting right beside her.

"What is it?" he asked suddenly, following her gaze.

"What's wrong?"

Rarity's gaze was fixated onto that single spot, making sure that mysterious pony wouldn't suddenly jump out of nowhere. A part of her said whoever that pony was did not reserve the best of intentions for her and Spike, though something else was bothering her... a wave of nostalgia maybe?

"I thought I saw somepony..." she mustered the courage to answer.

"It's like I've seen her somewhere before, but... something was off..."

Spike glanced between the mare and the alleyway on the other side of the square. Eventually, he held back a sigh, asking the unicorn a question out of concern:

"You're sure it wasn't just your imagination?"

She couldn't answer or, at least, she didn't want to. The dragon felt her hoof clenching tighter onto his scaly arm, her eyes darting uneasily throughout the square as if it was Pendant Lakes all over again.

"Let's go," she spoke suddenly with a shiver, which was something Spike had seen before. It was trepidation; the fear she possessed when she had the birthday present from Mirror Mare; the fear when she had to face Janus at the final stage in Pendant Lakes; the fear that sustained in the form of nightmares, haunting her every time she falls into what would've been a comforting slumber.

"I don't know who that pony was..." Rarity began.

"But something tells me he or she would do more than watch the next time we meet."

Author's Note:

Hope this chapter was worth the wait!!

Comments

[Fury of the Tempest]

Well, look at all those developments... but mostly, the Mirror Mare still lives.