"You excelled on every one of our physical tests, Miss Dash, and passed all the written exams, but that was to be expected. We asked members of the Wonderbolts to apply for a transfer to the Shadowbolts because Princess Luna wanted the best of the best as the core of her elite air squadron, and you certainly count amongst that number. However, we're still trying to interpret the results of the Somniorum Iudicium administered to you last night."
"You mean the dream test thingy? That was pretty cool. You think I could get Luna to let me do it again?"
"The Iudicium Somniorum is a hallowed trial that Princess Luna created to test the resolve of her applicants, and to ensure that none of her guards would ever follow her down the path of darkness ever again. As part of the Shadowbolts, you would pledge your loyalty to our Princess, and that loyalty cannot be twisted as it has in the past."
"Gotta say, sticking someone into a dream world where Nightmare Moon pulled off her whole Eternal Night thing is a really awesome way of testing that."
"From what I understand, it was inspired by classified events involving Princess Twilight's student that I'm not at liberty to know about. Regardless, the Iudicium Somniorum consists of three trials within this dream, each designed to test if your resolve to protect the innocent in the face of an undefeatable foe wearing the Princess' face. Few of our applicants passed more than one. You failed all three."
"But I — wait, there were three trials? I thought it was just about how hard we could kick flanks and take names!"
"Which is why we're still evaluating the results of the trial. Perhaps it'd be better if you walked us through your thought process during the events, so we can refine our assessment."
"Sure. So the dream started with me getting called up to the main hall of the castle..."
High Lady Rarity was waiting for her by the entrance to the throne room. She had her hair done up in a bun, which was great because it let you see the amazing curve of her neck and how her perfect white coat narrowed down to a "V" in that smoking-hot uniform she was wearing that gave her these cute little bat wings and let you see all of her cutie mark.
She even had her tail pulled up so you could see how toned and soft her sweet, sweet rump was—
"Miss Dash, can you please stop describing Miss Rarity's posterior?"
"Do you want this story to be good?"
"I—"
"Then no, I can't. Anyways, so her flank was—!"
"—Be that as it may, perhaps it would be more pertinent to focus on what Miss Rarity was doing while you were ogling her."
"Fine, whatever. Don't blame me if you get bored to death."
"I don't see why I should open up our storerooms just to give food to the farmers who should be supplying us without us receiving anything in return." Rarity had her head cocked up in that cute way she does when she wants to look like she's above whatever everypony else is doing.
"Please, High Lady, our family is starving! Ever since the Sun stopped rising, we haven't been able to grow our crops as well in the dark!" Meanwhile, the earth pony kneeling in front of her was basically kissing the ground and didn't look like he'd ever been groomed before. Dash was surprised Rarity hadn't already dragged him into a fitting room somewhere for a makeover.
Instead, Rarity snarled in a really ladylike way where she turned her lips just enough to make sure you knew she was angry but not enough to make her look ugly. "You dare question our glorious Queen's decision to gift us with her Everlasting Night? You should be thanking her instead of blaming her for the consequences of your laziness!"
"We meant no offence!" Well, Rarity always knew how to reduce a stallion to tears — it was just one of the many ways she was awesome. But the way she was using her skills right now wasn't that awesome.
"Perhaps a night in the dungeons will teach you to appreciate the light of the moon."
"Hey Rares, how's it going?" Dash walked up to the two ponies with her usual swagger, ignoring the farmer crying on the floor. "I heard you wanted to see me?" She made made sure to flex her wings a little as she spoke. "Did you finally decide you couldn't go another second without me?"
Rarity rolled her eyes. "That's High Lady Rarity to you, Officer Dash." The way she tilted her head to assert dominance was almost pegasus-like, and Rainbow started to feel a little warm under her feathers. "Honestly, sometimes I wonder how an uncouth brute like you ever made it higher than a guard post in the Badlands."
"I'm awesome, that's how." Dash struck up a pose that showed off all her toned muscles. "So, what'd you want from me?"
"In a moment," Rarity said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. "I still need to deal with this... heretic." Her horn lit up, and danger filled the air.
"Oh, come on, he's not worth it," Dash said with only a passing glance at the farmer. "Just give him some grain or whatever and let him go. It's not like you don't have a ton of it in the storerooms that nopony uses." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Unless you wanted to do something else on those soft bags? I heard they're even better for a secret roll in the hay than, well, hay."
Again, Rarity rolled her eyes. "It's the principle of the matter, not that I'd expect you to understand."
"Are you really telling me that you want to waste your time on a guy that's dressed like that?" Dash pointed at the tattered rags that could barely be called a tunic that the farmer wore. "Just throw him some food so he'll stop bugging you and then we can do something more fun." Dash walked up close to Rarity, until she could feel the warmth of the other mare's coat. It was nice warmth, like a thermal blowing at her side. "Besides, you don't really want to see this guy's whole family starve to death, right?"
Rarity sighed. "I suppose not."
Dash bumped flank lightly against Rarity. "That-a-girl."
The scandalized blush on Rarity's face was solid gold, and completely worth the glare she got from her. "I should have you court-martialed for assaulting a High Lady like that!"
This time, it was Dash's turn to roll her eyes. "Whatever. I know you liked it. You've been alone for all these years — I'm sure you're just dying for a slice of this concentrated awesome." She made sure to gesture to herself with her hoof to make sure Rarity knew exactly what she meant. "Maybe, after this, we could grab a drink together? I know a really great bar across town that wouldn't ask any questions about a High Lady slumming it there. And we can get better... acquainted."
"You're incorrigible," Rarity muttered. She turned to one of the guards in the hall and said in a louder voice. "Take this stallion to dungeons to rest his hooves for the night. In the morning, bring him to the East Wing and allow him to take as much grain as he can carry in a bag with only his mouth."
"What the hay?" Dash shouted as the guard advanced towards the very confused-looking stallion. Instinctively, she moved away from Rarity as the High Lady shot her a cool glare that glittered with danger.
"As I said, a lesson needed to be taught." There was no fire in her voice now. Just pure ice. "Rest assured, his family will not starve to death in a single night. Now then, if you're finished with your antics, I need you to oversee the transfer of a group of rebels we captured earlier tonight to the dungeons. Assuming your heart hasn't gone completely soft yet."
"Yeah, sure, whatever." Sometimes, Rarity took all the fun out of everything.
"One of the rebels is your old friend Fluttershy," Rarity said. "I trust that won't be a problem?"
"Fluttershy?" Dash raised an eyebrow. "The Fluttershy I knew wouldn't hurt a fly. Guess she's changed since then." She shrugged. "So, where is she?"
"West entrance, by the barracks. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to prepare a report on our latest attempts to purge the Buffalo filth from Appleloosa. Hail Nightmare Moon!"
"Hail Nightmare Moon." Dash replied reflexively. "So, does that mean it's a 'no' for drinks?"
A grunt of frustration was her only reply before Rarity stormed off, leaving Dash alone in the hallway.
"So the purpose of the opening scene is to establish the evils of the empire ruled by Nightmare Moon, and the cruelty shown by her ponies towards others. And your response to this was to begin hitting on the High Lady, Nightmare Moon's second-in-command. This wasn't even one of the trials but I'm pretty sure you failed regardless."
"You made Rarity the High Lady. I'm not exactly sure what you expected. By the way, is the High Lady always Rarity? Because I don't know how she'd feel about being the bad guy in every dream trial."
"No, the Somniorum Iudicium fills in the details of the scenario with familiar faces, which helps reduce the cognitive dissonance induced by the alternate reality imposing itself on the mind. It also ensures that the childhood friend being imprisoned is always someone close to the dreamer, which is supposed to concern them. You barely spoke a word to her during the transfer."
"I had other stuff on my mind, and it's really easy to forget that Shy, like, exists. Girl's basically a ninja sometimes. Besides, I got what you wanted me to get out of her. Really, this is all you guys' fault. I mean, you cast a spell that put Rarity in that smoking-hot outfit and you just expect me to not hit on her? Like, you've seen Rarity, right? I can't really be blamed here."
"Miss Rarity's preternatural sexual appeal is not the point. The point is that you were supposed to identify her as the villain of the piece."
"And I did! I'm not stupid, you know. I knew there was a lot of shady stuff going on that Rarity was involved in before I got invited to meet with those rebels. I'm guessing that was the first trial?"
"Yes, and we would very much like to hear your side on how you reacted to it."
The Black Trough was the seediest bar you could find in Everfree City. Admittedly, it didn't hold a candle to some of the dives in Trottingham or Baltimare, but it still had that everything-has-been-broken-before look that told you a bar fight happened at least once every other night in here.
Dash really hoped that today wouldn't be a bar fight night. She had stuff to do.
"The stars will aid in her escape."
Dash almost couldn't hear the code phrase over the sound of laughing and drinking and general carousing. Which was kinda the point, she guessed.
"And she will bring about a new dawn." Dash turned to face the mare who had spoken the first line, and saw a familiar Stetson hat with a familiar mare attached to it. "What's up, AJ? Haven't seen you since, well, before."
"I've been better," the farmer replied, taking a swig of something that was technically moonshine and also technically paint remover. "But I'm hoping I'll be better again soon. So, Fluttershy dropped you the code phrase?"
"Yeah, she told me about all the bad stuff that Nightmare Moon was doing — like I didn't know already, and then she told me that there was some resistance going on to beat her."
"I knew you didn't go over to the dark side like Rarity did." Applejack smiled. "You ain't the type to sit by while others suffer."
Dash shrugged and pretended to take another sip from her mug. "So, what are you gonna do about the Queen?"
Next to Applejack, a unicorn mare approached Dash. "We believe we can rally the ponies to rise up against her tyranny."
"This is Twilight," Applejack explained. "She's been a huge help to the resistance ever since we found her hiding out in what's left of Canterlot."
"I was the personal student of Princess Celestia. I've studied everything there is to study on sociology and mob psychology, in addition to reading every book on political science that exists." Twilight's eyes burned with the type of determination of someone who had just gone all in on a hand of poker with only a pair of twos. "The situation across Equestria is quickly becoming untenable, and the economic turmoil is beginning to affect the capital.
"There's enough unrest that we could begin raising a militia and turning some of the soldiers. We just need someone on the inside who can cover up any odd activities that might result from our preparations. If you come with us back to our base, we can explain the situation in more detail."
"Actually, I've got somewhere I've gotta be." Dash flipped over a couple bits to the bartender and stood up. "But good luck with your resistance thing."
"But Dash, we need you!" Applejack reached out to grab Dash's foreleg. "This resistance won't work unless we have someone high up on the inside."
"I'm sure you'll figure it out. You've always been a good problem solver." Dash gently pried herself from the other mare's grip. "And your friend Twilight looks like a real leader. Somepony who can bring ponies together and make them wanted to work towards something. Between that and your honesty, I'm sure you won't need me." With a final encouraging smile, Dash trotted off into the smokey haze of the bar, making a beeline for the exit.
"Besides, I've got important business to attend to."
"In the five dozen trials we've run so far, two-thirds of the applicants passed the first trial and agreed to spy for the resistance. Of the remaining candidates, some were too loyal to Nightmare Moon to defect, and others were too scared of being found out to agree to turn coat. Given your unique history, we weren't expecting this trial to be an issue for you. And we certainly didn't expect you to walk out on the first meeting with the resistance leaders with such a blasé attitude. Care to explain why the Element of Loyalty abandoned her old friend?"
"Twi's plan wasn't ever gonna work. Nightmare Moon defeated Celestia. It didn't matter how much of an army she had — all that was going to happen was that more of them would have gotten killed trying to beat her. I wasn't gonna send more ponies to die. And like I said, I had more important things to do..."
Ever since the whole "Eternal Night" thing had happened, candelabra design had really taken off as an industry and an art form. Not that Dash paid much attention to those things, but she could still appreciate the beautifully engraved crescent moon-shaped dish that held the candles Rarity was using to illuminate her writing desk.
"Do you ever actually sleep?" Dash asked as she stood at the door leading into Rarity's office.
"Lieutenant Dash," Rarity replied coolly, ignoring her question. "What brings you here at this hour? Was there a problem with the prisoner transfer?"
"Nope. Fluttershy and the others are all locked up and won't be getting out until the Queen figures out what to do with them." With one hoof, she reached inside for the small bag she had tucked under her wing and pulled out a couple bottles of cider. "I managed to snag some of Sweet Apple Acres' best, from the before times, and I figured you might be thirsty."
"Drinking outside of the designated areas of the castle is a serious offence," Rarity said, but made no move to shoo her away.
"Eh, I'm sure the High Lady won't mind." Dash walked in and set down the bottles on the table.
Rarity stared suspiciously at the golden liquid inside them. "And is this another poor attempt to seduce me?"
Dash shrugged as she grabbed one of the bottles and settled down on a chaise lounge in the room. "I was gonna say no and do that whole song-and-dance thing about just wanting to talk, but I ran into somepony today who reminded me how important honesty was.
"So yeah, I totally wanna see if Miss Prim-and-Proper is a total freak in the sheets." Dash popped open the bottle with her wings in a manoeuvre Gilda had taught her back in flight school. Simpler times. "But I also just wanna chat, get to know you a bit. I'm not the kind of girl to go after a mare just because she's got a nice flank, even if it's your flank."
"Not that I'm eager to get anywhere near your brutish physique, but I was under the impression that we were already acquainted." Rarity hadn't stood up from her writing desk yet, but Dash could see her eyeing the bottle.
"Nah, I knew the old Rarity. The one who ran a dress shop in a town full of ponies that didn't wear clothes, and carried a fainting couch with her everywhere she went just in case she found out the spa was closed for the day." Oof, the cider had a bit of a punch this time — Dash grimaced as she took her first sip. "Now I wanna learn more about High Lady Rarity. Like, do you send people to the dungeons for fun now? Is that a thing you do?"
"I am not having this conversation sober," Rarity muttered as she finally picked up her own bottle and floated it over to herself. She popped the top off with her magic and immediately chugged down half of it with an expertise that was usually only found in sororities.
"I'm just saying, you've changed a bit since the Queen took over." Another sip. This time, it burned a little less. "What're you working on, anyways?"
"A reporter in Trottingham is publishing some problematic articles on the Griffon-only schools the Queen has set up in the north. We can't have him sowing such discord against our hardworking pony teachers, so I'm arranging for him to... disappear." Another gulp of the cider. "Are you going to tell me that what I'm doing is wrong? Because I would remind you that, as a Shadowbolt, your hooves are hardly clean." Rarity shot Dash a glare that dared her to speak.
"Nah." Man, this chair was really soft. Dash let herself sink into the cushion as she admired the view she had of Rarity's backside. "Like I said, you've only changed a bit since before the whole 'High Lady' thing. Planning a kidnapping is, like, the kind of thing I know you'd be great at. It's a lot like making a dress, with all the little details you have to make sure to get perfect and stuff."
Rarity's lips quirked upwards. "Well, you've certainly changed. I don't recall you being so... insightful or worldly."
Dash shrugged. "Joining the Bolts taught me a bunch of stuff about how stuff works, y'know? Things aren't always that simple. I don't like some of the stuff I have to do, but sometimes a mare's gotta do what a mare's gotta do."
"How unusually introspective of you." Finally, Rarity trotted over to Dash with the bottle floating next to her. With the grace of the lady she always strived to be, she daintily sat herself down next to Dash, barely disturbing the fabric of the chair. "And you're wrong, by the way. I've changed a lot since the time of the Sun. I finally have all I ever wanted and more."
"Oh?" Dash cocked her head towards Rarity. "Really?"
Rarity emptied the bottle in another huge gulp before replying. "Not only am I a lady as I deserve, but I have also been elevated above all the other petty nobleponies to stand as the right-hoof mare of the ruler of our glorious nation. My dresses, when I have the time to make them, are worn around the world by the crème de la crème of high society. Each word I speak holds more power than I could ever have imagined. Before, I thought I was powerful when I could bend the will of a single stallion for an hour with my wit."
A smile formed on her lips, cunning and smug and uniquely Rarity. "Now, the whole world bends to my command, and those who do not bend are broken."
The warmth spreading through Dash's body was more than just from the alcohol. "Dang," she whispered. "I should have hit on you way before yesterday."
Rarity snorted. "I'll forgive you that comment if you have another bottle of that wonderful cider on hoof."
"Well, tonight's your lucky night." From her saddlebag, Dash pulled out one of the many spare bottles she'd brought along. She'd planned for a long night, after all, and she wasn't gonna do this sober. "Here."
Rarity grabbed the bottle with a hoof, and Dash enjoyed the brief physical contact between them way too much. "Thank you, darling." A pause as she downed a significant amount of the cider. "I'll admit, I haven't had a chance to relax like this in far too long. Always so much to do."
"I hear ya." Not to be outdone, Dash quickly finished off her own bottle before reaching for her second. "But it's important to take some time for yourself. Don't wanna burn out like I did in Flight School."
"Quite." The next pause between them was... comfy. Rarity was really nice to be around when she wasn't trying to act like she was better than everypony else. "Do you want to know something?"
"Hmm?" It would be so easy to learn over and rest her head on Rarity's soft coat. But that wasn't what she was here for. Not tonight.
"All the games I had to play to get to where I am. All the lives ruined and ponies I've crossed to advance. All the plans I have to make and dissent I have to suppress in order to stay at the top of this dog-eat-dog world." Rarity leaned over towards Dash, her hot breath tingling across Dash's face as she whispered her next words. "I don't regret any of it."
"Cool." Dash took another swig from her bottle. "This is great stuff. I should ask AJ what her secret is."
Rarity's brows furrowed. "Really, that's your response? You don't think I'm some reprehensible monster?"
"Eh." Dash shrugged. "You gave that farmer the wheat in the end. And you probably don't charge as much for those dresses of yours as you should, considering you don't seem to be swimming in bits. You've still got that generous heart of yours that you've always had. So no, I don't think you're a monster. I think you're ambitious, and I get it."
"You do, don't you?" The look Rarity was giving her reminded Dash of all the times right before she'd bugged her about getting a makeover. But this time, it didn't look like the fashionista was looking at what Dash was like on the outside. "Sometimes I felt like nopony in Ponyville could. They were all so content with their dull, base lives in a town nopony had ever heard of. No one looked up at the stars and thought 'one day, I'll dance among them.' Except me. And you."
"Yeah, but everyone else always seemed a lot happier about it." The cider was starting to kick in now. Dash could feel a slight buzz in her head. "I used to wonder if maybe I was the dumb one for wanting more."
"And now you command a small army." Rarity's smile got a bit dopey, and Dash could tell the cider was hitting her too. She let out a soft chuckle. "Look who's laughing now."
"Heh." Dash's smile never left her face, even when her voice suddenly got serious. "Just remember, you're a good pony. Don't ever lose that generous part of you because you need to get ahead."
"I appreciate the concern, and I'll take your advice under advisement." Another chuckle. "I must say, this has been an incredibly liberating experience. I haven't felt so free to speak my mind in ages. I suppose it's true what they say. In Vino Veritas." As Dash's blank look, she quickly added, "in wine, there is truth."
"Ah. I know that," Dash lied. They both chuckled at that before she continued. "But I don't think it's just the cider. I ran into Applejack earlier today, and she reminded me that I hadn't really had a friend to talk to in a while."
"Applejack, you say?" Rarity suddenly perked up.
"Yeah, she brought her friend Twilight with her, and we were talking about making friends and honesty and stuff, and it made me think about how you don't really have anyone to be honest with."
"Twilight... Sparkle?"
"Yeah, that's the one. Looked like a total egghead, but maybe that's AJ's type these days. I dunno."
"Interesting." There was a fire in Rarity's eyes again, and the way they sparkled nearly made Dash lean in for a kiss. "I think I need to send a report to some relevant parties."
Dash put a hoof on Rarity's shoulder as the other mare tried to stand up. "You can do that later. Right now, I just wanna have a drink with a friend."
"Is that what we are? Friends?" Dash could see the gears grinding in Rarity's brain as she studied the mare sitting in front of her.
"I mean, if you want to be." Dash tried to play it cool, but she could hear the longing in her own voice. "It'd be cool to hang out with you more."
"I think— I think I'd like that." This time, Rarity's lips curled up into a cute little smirk. "As long as you stop trying to seduce me into a roll in the hay."
"Nah, I wouldn't do that." And that was the second bottle done. Time for the third. "I told you, bags of grain are a lot more comfy than hay."
Rarity flung one of the empty bottles at Dash, and missed by a mile. "You're incorrigible!"
"And you love it," Dash shot back. "Or do you really want me to stop telling you how beautiful you are?"
Rarity's pretended to think about it for a moment. "Hmm, I suppose you make a compelling argument. Very well, tell me more about my dazzling pulchritude."
That probably meant that Dash was supposed to be complimenting her more. "Just let me open this up real quick, and I'll talk for days about those sweet flanks of yours."
As the moon continued its circular path around the sky, the Shadowbolt and the High Lady laughed and drank and talked as Rainbow Dash and Rarity recounted stories from the times before and after the world had been shrouded in an eternal lullaby.
The glistening moonlight filtered into the office, and as it glinted off the crescent-shaped candelabra, a multitude of colors shone back. It almost looked like a rainbow.
"So instead of helping the resistance to fight Nightmare Moon, you chose to get drunk with her second-in-command? And you never once tried to subvert or subdue her?"
"She needed a friend, and she needed someone she could be honest with. And I wanted to see her eyes light up when she laughed. She doesn't do it that often, but it's like, you know how beautiful she is normally? That times a million."
"You are displaying a worrying sense of priorities."
"I mean, no harm done, right? Everything worked out in the end."
"You do realize that you gave Rarity the intel she needed to determine that Applejack was working with the rebels. From our analysis, the Somniorum spell had to rapidly adjust itself to ensure that everypony cleared out from the headquarters before the surprise raid on Sweet Apple Acres."
"Oh, umm... whoops? But like, Rarity and I had a really good heart-to-heart. Which was pretty important. You'll see."
"You know, for a pony who's best friends with Princess Twilight, one would think you would understand that information is power, and that you shouldn't be handing out power to tyrannical despots and their most loyal servants."
"Have you met Starlight Glimmer? I'm pretty sure she's accidentally taken over Equestria at least once with her mind control shenanigans, but Twilight still teaches her spells from books that have all sorts of warnings about souls and why you shouldn't trade them away."
"Please don't remind me that one of the greatest threats to national security is under the protection of our primary source of national security. Anyways, after your unique failure of the first trial, the dream continued onto the next day and kindly gave you a day to recover from a well-deserved hangover to ensure that you would be able to face the next trial."
"Yeah, by the way, what's up with that? The dream was like, a week long, but I was only sleeping for a night."
"Time compression. Time can flow faster or slower in a dream if Princess Luna wills it."
"Huh, that sounds like the kind of thing you use to do all sorts of cool egghead stuff."
"Princess Twilight is already researching ways to use it as a study aid. I believe she wants to test out the idea of handing out extra homework to her students to complete in their dreams."
"...That's gonna haunt my nightmares for a while. So, I'm guessing the second trial was the thing with Fluttershy?"
"Yes, and we are particularly interested in your justification for this one..."
The guard who handed her the orders shrugged. "That's what it says, ma'am."
"But there's no proof that they're rebels!" Other than what Fluttershy had said to her, but nopony had heard them.
"The High Lady doesn't need proof. Her word is law, unless countermanded by the Queen herself."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." It took Dash a moment to realize why something felt wrong about this. "Why isn't the High Lady telling me this herself? Is Rarity too good to talk to me now?"
"It is not my place to speak for the High Lady." The guard quickly looked around to make sure nopony was nearby. "That being said, she did look more... distraught than usual this morning."
"Hmm." Dash kept her expression strictly neutral. "Alright, fine. Go back to doing whatever you were doing."
"Yes ma'am." The guard snapped off a crisp salute. "Hail Nightmare Moon!"
"Hail Nightmare Moon."
Dash spread her wings and took to the air. It was faster to fly than to run, and she didn't want to waste any time.
She found the warden of the dungeons in his office by the by the entrance. "Iron Cuff, I need to talk to you."
"Yes, Officer?"
"High Lady Rarity says to execute all the suspected rebels that I transferred over a couple days ago." Dash handed over the letter with the orders.
"I see. And what would you like me to do about it?"
"You oversee executions, right? So it's your job to do this?"
"It is indeed. Shall I have them hanged or beheaded? Or were you looking for a more exotic method of execution? We haven't used the lightning chair in quite some time, but I'm sure I could get it working again."
"Nah, I was thinking of something a bit more old-school. March 'em all out into the heart of the Everfree Forest, and tie 'em to a tree somewhere. We'll let the monsters take care of them."
"Most excellent. I'll have a small contingent of guards ready to do as you say in an hour."
"Great. And see if you can find some of the raw meat they're using to cook for the Minotaurs to bring with you. Wanna make sure that all the animals know what's going on."
"Inspired. It shall be as you say."
"Good. Now if you'll excuse me, there's somepony who needs me."
"This is a test that most ponies passed. Between our kind's natural aversion to murder and most of them being unwilling to stand by while their own friend was killed, the ones unwilling to stand up directly to the High Lady usually found some way to orchestrate an escape. And of the ponies who failed, almost all of them were very reluctant about having to follow their orders.
"And you, of course, dropped the logistics on the warden and then ran off to be with your crush."
"Wait, you don't have a file on Fluttershy? I thought you guys knew everything about us. Which is kinda creepy, I guess, but considering how awesome I am, I'm not surprised you want to follow me around and stuff. Hey, you want my autograph while I'm here?"
"No, I do not want your autograph... but if I could get one for my son, that would be nice. That can wait until afterwards, though. We have very little information on Miss Fluttershy. Princess Luna's notes only state that she is incredibly shy, and the wielder of the Element of Kindness. She also loves animals, so it was especially cruel of you to sentence her to such an ironic death."
"You know what? Go back to that Somnambula thing and see what happened to Fluttershy after the guard left her tied up in the Everfree. I'll wait."
"...Very well. I'll be back in a few minutes."
...
...
...
"So, did you see it?"
"I could feel her eyes piercing into my soul."
"Yeah, it does that sometimes."
"I saw the disappointment of my mother when I told her I was going to join the guard instead of becoming a baker like her. I saw my first failing grade in officer school. I saw every soldier I ever let down in my career. I saw everything, and became nothing."
"Oof, looks like you accidentally got a full-on Stare. Sorry about that. I was gonna warn you but I didn't think you'd get the whole thing. You gonna be okay?"
"I'm not sure I'll ever be okay again. Those eyes will haunt me until I pass from this world, and possibly afterwards. I had to leave the dream recording before I saw what she did to that bear."
"Oh, good, Harry found her? I was worried the meat thing wouldn't be enough. Why don't you go watch the rest of that part? Trust me, you won't regret it."
...
...
...
"Better?"
"Oh Luna that was the most adorable thing I've ever seen."
"Gonna go with better."
"I learned what hope truly was today. This world is good so long as such purity still exists in it."
"Great, so... back to the interview?"
"I did not know wonder until— right, yes, the interview. So, you anticipated this outcome?"
"Yeah, I knew what was gonna happen if I put Fluttershy and some animals together."
"Very well, in light of that, I suppose we can say that you passed the trial. Although, it's still... questionable that you didn't stay to make sure your plan worked instead of cavorting with the enemy. Again."
"You heard what the guard said. Rarity needed me..."
"I don't want to talk to anyone! Leave me before I have you dragged over a bed of hot coals and then stuffed into a corset made from neon light tubes and plaid fabrics of non-complimentary colors!"
"Eh, that's not really my thing, but I'm always down for trying new stuff in bed if you want," Dash said as she pushed open the door into Rarity's personal quarters. It was probably an abuse of power to use her position as a Shadowbolt Officer to get the keys to the High Lady's rooms, but it wasn't like this government didn't already have tons of that going on.
Rarity was... well, Dash wanted to say she looked like crap, but this was Rarity— her worst was still pretty great. Though, the mascara running down her face was a pretty big turn off. "Oh, it's you," she said, her reddened eyes glaring at the intruder. "If you're here to make another romantic overture towards me, I am very much not in the mood."
"Nah, not my style." Dash strode into the room and plopped herself on the bed next to Rarity, making sure to keep a good distance away. "I just got worried about you. Didn't see you today, and then I get your orders delivered from a guard? Figured something was up with you."
"Did you do as I commanded?" Despite the hitch in her voice, Rarity was every inch the judge as her piercing gaze settled on Dash.
"Yeah, I arranged something with the warden," Dash replied. "You won't be seeing them again."
Rarity nodded to herself, but she didn't look satisfied. In fact, from the way her body tensed, Dash's answer just seemed to have made her feel worse. "I needed to make sure you were still loyal to the Queen. Your behaviour of late was... concerning, and we felt a test was necessary."
"You know me. Loyal 'til the end." Dash smiled in what she hoped was a comforting way.
"You don't think me less for asking you to turn against your own friend?"
"Fluttershy made her choice." Dash shrugged. "And I get it. Loyalty's important. It's good that you're devoted to Nightmare Moon. Gotta believe in something, right?"
"I'm glad you're so understanding," Rarity muttered. "If only others could see things as you do."
"Why, what happened? Is that why you're so sad right now?"
"It's my sister, Sweetie Belle." For a moment, the mask that Rarity always wore broke, and Dash saw the mare who had grown up in Ponyville instead of the High Lady. "I discovered that she was the one who warned the rebels of our impending raid on their headquarters. My own sister, an agent of the enemy."
Something inside Dash ached for Rarity. Which was odd, since Dash didn't have any siblings. But somehow, she understood the kind of pain Rarity had to be feeling, how broken she must be at being betrayed by her own family. "What did you do?"
"I— I faltered." Rarity laughed, and the laugh turned into a choking sob. "I'm such a hypocrite. Here I am, testing your loyalty, when mine is even more suspect. I should have sent Sweetie down to the dungeons, to let our interrogators have their way with her until she gave up all her secrets. Then she'd join the other rebels on the gallows."
A shudder wracked its way through Rarity's body, sending ripples down her matted coat. "But I couldn't. She's my sister. And now I'll never see her again."
"Oh?"
"I had her exiled from Equestria, and pulled some strings to ensure that she'd be safely escorted to the Zebra lands and provided with the means to live a comfortable life." Another harsh laugh that seemed to hurt Rarity as she let it out. "I could only allow myself a few minutes to speak with her alone before she was sent away."
Rarity paused to wipe the tears from her eyes with a tissue. "She told me she hated me, and that she never wanted to see me again. I tried to explain that I'd done what I could, but she just called me a horrible mare and wished I would drop dead. And those are the last words I might ever hear from my only sister."
"That's rough." Unable to keep her hooves to herself, Dash reached out place a comforting foreleg on Rarity's shoulder. "It sucks that you had to go through that. But you saved her life, and you found a way to stay loyal to your family and your Queen. That's what's important. You'll get through this — you're a strong mare."
"I thank you for your kind words." Rarity slid over and leaned into Dash's hoof. "But I'm afraid they're little comfort in the wake of all I've lost. Regret is not my cup of tea, but it's a bitter draught I've been forced to taste tonight."
"She's your sister." Dash wrapped her foreleg around Rarity's neck, pulling the soft mare closer towards her. Rarity didn't resist. "She loves you. One day, she'll understand why you did what you did, and she'll forgive you, even if she doesn't agree with it."
"You think so?" There was a glimmer of hope in her eyes, and she looked so vulnerable that Dash just wanted to pull her into a hug and keep her safe from the world. She almost laughed at the thought — as if it wasn't the world that needed to be protected from Rarity!
"I know so." There was nothing sensual about the way Dash rubbed slow circles across Rarity's shoulder with her hoof. This was all about making her feel better. "But I also know that sometimes, you need a good cry to get everything out of your system."
Rarity's snuggled up closer to Dash, pressing her barrel against hers. "Maybe I'm tired of crying," she said, her voice dropping low and husky. "Maybe I want to feel something else besides this pain in my chest." A hoof slid down Dash's foreleg and began lightly stroking her wings in delicate, precise motions, making Dash groan with pleasure.
"R—Rarity, what are you—?"
"Shh." A dainty hoof was pressed against her muzzle, shutting her up. "You've made it abundantly clear you desire me, and you're quite the specimen yourself." Rarity's smiled at Dash, but the smile never reached her bloodshot eyes. "I think the night should be a time of passion rather than regret."
She leaned in towards Dash, and Dash gently but firmly pushed her away. "Okay, first of all, it's always night time now. And second, as much as I'd like to rock your world right now, I'm not going to take advantage of a mare who just lost her sister."
Disbelief broke the mask Rarity wore wide open, and Dash could see the pain of rejection plain in her features. "You—You don't want to be with me now?"
"Oh, I do. I so do." Dash gave Rarity a reassuring smile. "You have no idea how much I wanna pick you up, drop you back on the bed, and make you scream my name until your throat hurts. But you're hurting right now, and if we're gonna hook up, it's gonna be because you want me, not because you want to forget about somepony else."
Rarity blushed at Rainbow's words, her gaze hardening. "You know, I could order you into my bed."
Rainbow met that gaze with her own. "Yeah, but you won't. You're not that kind of mare."
"I might be tempted to do so with a mare who clearly wants me but is too soft-hearted to act on her desire," Rarity retorted.
"Believe me, there's nothing soft about what I'm feeling right now."
Rarity let out a hacking cough as her breath caught in her throat. "R-Rainbow Dash!" she spluttered between gasps of air. "How vulgar! That double-entendre doesn't even work for us, on account of how we lack the requisite anatomy!"
"Yeah, but it got you to laugh, right?" Dash smiled, and a moment later, so did Rarity, and this time, it did reach her eyes. "Tell you what, I'm not going blow your mind — or any other part of you — tonight, but we can still cuddle if you want."
Rarity pretended to think hard on her offer, her face scrunching up cutely. "You drive a hard bargain, Officer Dash, but I suppose I can live with cuddles."
"Great!" Dash pulled Rarity in again, wrapping her wings around the mare and covering her in a blanket of feathers. The warmth of their bodies mingled into one as they shifted around to find a comfortable position to hold each other in.
"Thank you," Rarity said after a few minutes of silence. "I haven't known kindness like this in a very long time."
"Anytime, Rarity. And if you're up for it tomorrow, we can totally see if we can sneak off and have some fun in the storeroom."
"Rainbow Dash!"
"If nothing else, we can commend you for possessing extraordinary strength of will. After observing that scene, all of the admissions staff had to break for fifteen minutes to take a cold shower."
"It's still a little creepy that you were watching us the whole night. Like, I get the thing with the trials, but did you have to go through everything?"
"We needed to know why the events of the Somniorum played out as they did. As such, we watched all of your interactions with Miss Rarity. We noted for this scene that you never once tried to turn her against Nightmare Moon, and in fact praised her for exiling her own sister."
"Rarity didn't needed somepony being preachy at her. She needed a friend to be there for her and make her feel better."
"Once again, I would like to reiterate that we're talking about Nightmare Moon's right-hoof mare, the one in charge of overseeing her reign of terror."
"If you wanted some big bad evil pony without a heart for that, you should have picked someone else."
"The Iudicium Somniorum selects a pony that the subject fears for the role of the High Lady."
"...huh. Well, you might want to rethink that one. Like, power is sexy, right? And if you give a pony who's scary a bunch of power, and that pony turns out to be Rarity, then— whew. Like, I thought she was hot when she went all Boss Lady mode on us during some of her fashion emergencies, but this is a whole other level."
"We hadn't considered that someone would try to seduce the High Lady, and everypony else managed to keep it in their flight suits during the trials."
"Yeah, but again, Rarity."
"...we did not predict the existence of Miss Rarity, it's true. Regardless, I believe we should move on to the third trial."
"Yeah, about that. I've been counting, and I keep coming up with four? Unless one of those just kinda happened by accident."
"No, it's true, the third trial is different. Because the trials are sequential, the way the third trial plays out — and what it tests for — can be different. In your case, the first part of your trial was a test to see if you'd act directly against a tyrant in a premeditated manner, even if that tyrant wore the face of your Princess..."
"Hey Pinkie. How's my favorite baker doing today?"
"Hiya Dashie!" Pinkie had gotten a lot less bubbly since the whole Eternal Night thing, but she was still all smiles when Dash walked into the kitchens. "We're super busy getting ready for the Minotaur delegation that's coming to town tomorrow, but I always have time for one of my friends! What's up?"
"I need to ask you for a little favour." Dash noted that Pinkie's smile looked a bit forced today, but didn't say anything about it. "Do you know what Rarity's favourite candy is? I wanna give her something that she'd like."
Pinkie peered curiously at Dash for a minute. "Well, I do have a box of her favourite chocolates around here somewhere. Gimme a sec to find it."
As Pinkie walked into the pantry and began searching, Dash got bored and began rifling through the recipe books on the nearby table. "Huh, didn't know you could make ice cream from squid ink. Who would do that?" Flip. "Ooh, daffodil sandwiches." For some odd reason, it felt like she'd know someone who would've loved those. Flip. "Heh, apple fritters. Oh man, AJ would have a fit if she saw how fancy they were making them here."
Flip. "Wait, what's this?" There was a slip of paper tucked in-between a recipe for something called an MMMM and hastily-scrawled notes on harvesting bamboo shoots (with a warning about a panda guarding the nearby preserve who eats shoots and leaves).
"I found it!" Dash's head turned towards the source of the voice in time to see Pinkie pronking out with a small, fancy-looking box on her back. "It was under 'C,' which is odd because the pantry isn't actually arranged alphabetically—" she stopped talking when she saw the book Dash was looking at.
"You got one of those too, huh?" Dash asked, holding up the slip of paper with the words "the stars will aid in her escape" on it.
Pinkie's smile grew visibly strained and she let out a nervous laugh. "Oh, that's just something from a game I was playing from some of the other chefs."
"'And she will bring about a new dawn.'" Dash handed the slip of paper back to Pinkie. "You really shouldn't be keeping the code-phrase lying around. At least it doesn't have the counter-phrase on it."
Pinkie let out a sigh of relief as she visibly un-deflated. "Phew, I thought I'd blown our cover," she said. "Everything's going according to Twilight's plan. She's a real smart cookie, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess," Rainbow replied, frowning. "What plan?"
"Oh, Twilight managed to make some kind of poison that works on alicorns." Pinkie reached into her mane and pulled out a vial of pulsing black liquid. "A few drops of this on the squid ink ice cream, and Queen Meanie will be gone and we'll have Princess Celestia back." The energy in her voice drained out of her as she spoke.
"You're going to poison Nightmare Moon?" Dash's jaw dropped at the revelation. "You, Pinkie Pie, are going to assassinate somepony." She wasn't sure if the last sentence was a statement or a desperate question that she hoped Pinkie would give the right answer to.
"I'm the only one who can do it." Yep, that smile on her face definitely wasn't real. "No one will suspect good ol' Pinkie Pie of putting something in the dessert."
"Of course they won't. Because you're Pinkie Pie." Dash shook her head. "This is wrong. This is all wrong."
"I don't want to do it." It was heartbreaking listening to Pinkie's voice lose all its joy. "But everypony is counting on me, and I can't let them down."
Before Dash could respond, hoofsteps and the sound of clanking armor echoed out from the kitchen entrance, and a moment later a pair of guards appeared at the door. "Officer Rainbow Dash!" one of them said, snapping a quick salute at her. "We're here to apprehend the rebel!"
"Huh?"
"We received a tip that Pinkie Pie was working with the rebels, and we're here to take her in," the other one said.
"No, wait, you're making a mistake!" Pinkie said as she backed away from the soldiers. "Dash, tell them I'm not working with the rebels!" The box of chocolates clattered onto the floor and slid towards Dash.
"Sorry, Pinkie." Dash picked up the box and slipped it into her saddlebag. A moment later, she swiped the vial of poison from the table too. "I'm saving you from yourself. This isn't you, and it's better if it doesn't become you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a hot date to go on."
"I suppose it would be stale and repetitive if I told you what the other applicants did, and compared it to your own behaviour."
"Lemme guess, some of them helped take down the poisoner, some of them tried to fight the guards — I could totally have taken both of them, by the way — and some of them slipped the poison into Nightmare Moon's dessert themselves."
"Quite so. When you took the vial, we had hopes that you'd finally try to act against Nightmare Moon, but we never saw it again."
"I mean, would it even have worked? Poisoning Nightmare Moon seems like way too easy an answer."
"No, of course not. Any attempt would have been thwarted in order to advance the dream into the last part of the third trial. But at least the applicants who realized that loyalty to Princess Luna did not mean loyalty to Nightmare Moon tried to rid the realm of her."
"And how'd that go for them? ...Yeah, I thought so."
"Part of the trial was seeing if one would continue to fight in the face of an overwhelmingly powerful foe, one who could not possibly be defeated."
"Sounds like fun, but like I said, I had a hot date set up, so..."
"Officer Dash, there you are." Rarity met Dash in the hallway leading to the East Wing. Her uniform was perfectly neat and proper, as always, but she was obviously wearing a bit more makeup than usual on her face. She really didn't need it — she looked beautiful no matter how much goop she used — but Dash could understand that this was Rarity's version of armor.
"High Lady Rarity," Dash replied, inclining her head slightly in a respectful bow. "What's up?" Okay, she was kind of bad at trying to be formal and stuff, but at least she was trying!
"May we speak in private?" Rarity gestured towards one of the doors lining the walls.
"Sure." They made sure to keep a professional distance between them as they trotted over towards the door.
But, as soon they made it into the dimly-lit corridor and slid the lock-bolt into place, Rarity quickly closed the distance between them to nuzzle Dash softly on the neck. "I've... missed you," she said, slowly and reluctantly. "I cannot believe I've let you worm your way into my mind like this. It's almost disgraceful."
"Grace is overrated." Dash nuzzled Rarity back and reached into her saddlebag. "Here, I got you something."
"Oh my." Rarity's eyes lit up as she saw the small box of chocolate in Dash's hooves. "These are my favourite. However did you know?"
"A little bird told me." This was a time for fun, not for thinking about what Pinkie had almost done.
"I must remember to learn how to send a thank-you note to an avian, then." Rarity lips turned upwards in a coy smile. "And I should reward you for being so thoughtful as well." This time, when Rarity's leaned forward, Dash did the same, allowing their lips to press together.
The kiss was short, sweet, and when they broke apart, Dash saw a big goofy grin spread out on Rarity's muzzle for a second before she schooled her features back into a casual smirk. "You're much more skilled than I expected. The wages of a misspent youth, I take it?"
"Maybe." Dash leered at Rarity. "You're not so bad yourself. I always thought you were too prim and proper to do anything like that."
"On the contrary, a lady may do as she wishes, so long as she doesn't kiss and tell."
"Whatever you say, High Lady." Rainbow hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "So, about what you said yesterday... did you really mean it when you said you wanted to go all the way?" She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, the blood rushing through her ears more loudly than they ever had when she was performing as she waited for Rarity to give her response.
"I—" Rarity faltered, and Dash's heart skipped a beat. "I did. I was distraught, yes, and I appreciate that you did not take advantage of me in my time of mourning. But I wasn't lying when I said I wanted you. You've shown me such kindness and generosity in these past few days, and possessed the courage to befriend me when others would not. Despite my love of social games, I can appreciate your candor in wooing me, and I think... I think I would much rather prefer it over a dance of whispered sweet nothings."
"Don't forget how awesome I am." Dash struck up a triumphant pose, showing off her toned muscles to Rarity. "And funny. I missed when you used to laugh more."
"I miss it too, sometimes." Rarity sighed. "You understand me so well it's frightening. I'm unused to being on the back hoof when dealing with another pony."
"If it helps, I can you let you be on top when we finally do it."
"Rainbow Dash!" Despite Rarity's scandalized gasp, a grin spread out across her face, lighting it up.
"What, I know you love it when I say stuff like that." Dash reached out to place a hoof around Rarity's neck and pull her close into a kiss. It really was the best way to shut her up.
"Where are your quarters?" Rarity asked, panting, as they finally came up for air. "Mine are too far away for convenience, and I fear we might be seen before we can consummate our liaison."
"South Wing. Farther away than yours." Dash smirked. "But the storerooms are really close. And I meant what I said about those bags being better than hay. Trust me, I used to nap on them all the time when nopony was watching."
"Ooh, how scandalous." Rarity tittered. "I suppose if we're going to go through with this little amorous tryst, we should conform to the classics. Lead the way, Officer."
"Yes ma'am." It took less than a minute for them to reach the row of doors at the end of the hall. They picked the closest one, pushed it open, and ignored the scent of a dry harvest as they hurried inside.
The moment they closed the door, their muzzles and hooves were all over each other. There was very little talking, and quite a bit of moaning, and Dash was very happy that Rarity's uniform revealed so much of her flank as her hooves' position got more and more scandalous.
"You know, in all my pursuit of ambition, I don't think the future has ever been as bright as it is now," Rarity murmured as she slowly stroked Dash's wings, her hooves creating delicious friction against her primaries. "You've given me hope for something beyond myself, beyond a nebulous concept of building a strong nation to rule over. I've worked in the shadows for so long that I forgot what the light could be like."
"That's nice," Dash replied as she peppered kisses down Rarity's neck. "I like you a lot, too. I really look up to you, y'know? Don't tell anyone, but I always thought you were braver than me. I just do things too fast to think about them, but you actually stop and think and still do stuff that could ruin you. That takes guts."
They kissed again on the lips, and then Rarity dragged Dash over towards the nearest the bag of grain. She tossed the pegasus mare onto it and then sprawled herself on top of her armor, her lightning up as she began to work on the straps that held the metal plates together. "Mmm, I've been waiting for this moment since yesterday. I'm going to bring you to heel, Officer, and teach you why all bow before the High Lady of Nightmare Moon."
"Bring it on, Rares."
Rarity's muzzle drifted downwards, lower and lower, licking and nibbling and slowly making its way until she reached...
"That was mean, y'know. Like, this was a dream, right? Couldn't you have just given me another five minutes before bringing everything crashing down?"
"First of all, five minutes? Really?"
"What can I say, Rainbow Dash does everything fast. I'm awesome like that."
"...Moving on. I would also like to note that if events had progressed as you wished, the entire admissions panel would have played voyeur to your encounter with Miss Rarity."
"Actually, that sounds kinda hot."
"...Definitely moving on. I admit at this point I'm surprised you actually went to investigate the alarm, instead of continuing to seduce the High Lady."
"I thought about it? But Rarity wanted to go too and I didn't want some giant monster walking in on us. Besides, I figured if we played our cards right we could have an actual excuse for me to be in Rarity's room getting a 'debriefing,' if you know what I mean."
"Our armor doesn't have... never mind. So the alarm went off, and the two of you went to investigate. Surprisingly, everything played out standardly from there, at least for a little while..."
"Lieutenant, report! What's happening?"
Dash and Rarity had rushed over towards the war room as soon as the alarm had gone off. They found the pony in Communications and pulled him over for an update on the situation.
"Officer Dash," the lieutenant replied, "we have reports of an assault by the rebel forces against the castle. They somehow managed to bypass the anti-teleportation wards in the dungeons and broke their compatriots out, and now we've lost contact with at least two units. We believe they're jamming our communications, but we can't be sure."
"Okay, the first thing we need to do to is figure out what they want." This was actually serious, and Dash quickly put her brain in Tactical Mode. "We can't plan around them until we know that. If they're after the Queen, then this should be enough of a distraction to draw her out. But then what?"
"Nightmare Moon is an immortal alicorn," Rarity pointed out. "Even if they could draw her out, they can't possibly expect to be able to hurt her."
"Uh oh." Dash suddenly remembered what was in her saddlebag. "I think I know what they're after."
That was when the first wave of magic flung her across the room.
"Ugh." Dash groaned and looked around the war room. Whatever had hit her had sent everything in the room flying. Chairs were toppled over, papers were scattered everywhere, and the lieutenant was out cold in the corner. Dash saw the subtle rise and fall of his chest, so he was still alive, but he was definitely down for the count.
And as for the other occupant of the room... "Rarity!" Dash glanced over at the other side of the room, and saw the High Lady glaring at the entrance of the room, her horn glowing and a magical bubble surrounding her.
"My apologies, Officer Dash," she said, steel in her tone. "I couldn't get the spell up in time to protect both of us."
"It's fine," Dash replied, getting back up on her hooves. "What even was that?"
"A concussive wave of force powered by approximately point-four-two thaums of magical potential." Dash turned towards the entrance of the room, where a familiar purple mare stood alongside three others.
"Oh, it's you guys," she said. "Duh. I should've guessed."
Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie all strode into the room, bodies tense and ready to fight. "Well, well, well, look what we have here." Applejack said. "If it ain't the High Lady herself. Twilight tracked the location of the poison to this room — guess I should've expected you'd be the one holding on to it."
For her part, Rarity didn't even try to contradict Applejack. "Applejack," she said, venom lacing her tone. "Fancy seeing you here. I never expected I'd get to be rid of you myself. I must thank you ever so much for giving me the pleasure."
"Oh, the pleasure's all mine." Applejack stepped forward, and Rarity's horn glowed brighter. "So, are we gonna do this the easy way or the hard way?"
"I think you know the answer to that, darling." All around her, splinters of wood began to float into the air and spin, creating a mini-tornado of shrapnel. "You turned my own sister against me, you cur. I'm going to enjoy tearing you apart. Slowly."
"I didn't do nothing to Sweetie Belle," Applejack replied. "She's the one who came to me and warned me you were gonna hit Sweet Apple Acres. I'd do a lot to get rid of Nightmare Moon, but I'd never go after family. You know that."
"Regardless, I'm very tense right now, and your little sortie interrupted some much-needed stress relief." The makeshift weapons paused and all turned to face the rebels. "So it looks like I'm going to have to resort to another form of physical therapy."
"It's four against one, Rarity," Applejack retorted. "You can't win."
"Four against two, actually." Rarity inclined her head towards Dash. "I may not be the most martial pony, but Rainbow Dash is an officer of the Shadowbolts."
"We'll take you both on, if it comes to that." Applejack turned to face Dash, and her expression softened. "But I hope we won't have to. Dash, you know that Nightmare Moon has to go. Equestria's suffering, and the land is dying with the sun. We gotta take her out."
"I swore an oath, AJ," Dash replied softly. "You don't have to do this either, you know. We don't have to fight." She turned to face Rarity. "You too."
Rarity scoffed. "A fine sentiment, but these ruffians won't understand anything but violence."
"And the High Lady here needs to take a bit of her own medicine."
"Are you sure we can't talk it out? Maybe there's something we can learn from each other?"
Another voice echoed through the room as a dark mist filled the air. "Oh, I'm afraid the time for talking is past, Officer."
"Despite how the rest of the trial went, I want to commend you on your actions during this phase of it."
"What, you're not gonna crap on me for not taking a side?"
"In this case, no. You tried your best to de-escalate a situation before anypony could get hurt. It was worth a try, even if it didn't work out."
"Oh. Well, thanks. So, the last part of the trial was the thing with Nightmare Moon, right?"
"Yes. While the third trial can play out in different ways depending on the choices made by the dreamer, the ending will always involve Nightmare Moon and rebels facing each other in some context."
"And you're sure the trial isn't about whether we can beat Nightmare Moon?"
"Nightmare Moon is an alicorn fueled by the power of a dark spirit that amplifies her powers beyond that of her baseline. She was not designed to be defeatable, but rather to test an applicant's resolve to fight in the face of certain defeat. And to teach the harsh lesson that not all fights can be won, and that while one should never stop fighting, one should also not expect to win every fight. It's a lesson that all those in the guard have had to learn multiple times in the past few years."
"Yeah, you guys really didn't think about me when you invented this thing, huh?"
"Your Majesty!"
Rarity immediately bowed as Queen Nightmare Moon materialized in the room. "These are the leaders of the rebellion we've been tracking for the past year. Officer Dash and I were just about to subdue them."
"Were you now?" Nightmare Moon glanced over towards Dash, whose armour was still dented from the shockwave Twilight had launched at her. "I fear you may have overestimated your abilities. After all, this is my sister's prized pupil standing before me."
"Your reign of terror ends tonight!" Twilight shouted as she released the magic building up in her horn. A beam of light struck Nightmare Moon right in the chest... and did absolutely nothing.
The dark alicorn cackled. "I'm almost insulted that you thought that would work." Tendrils of darkness extended out towards the rebels. "I think it's time we put an end to your futile antics."
"Wait!"
The tendrils paused as Nightmare Moon turned to face Rainbow Dash, annoyance clear on her face. "What is it, Officer?" She asked. "My time is much more valuable than your life, so this had better be good."
"I don't think you should kill them." Dash looked at both Nightmare Moon and Rarity as she spoke. "There's already been too much pain and suffering since all this started. Maybe it's time to give friendship a chance."
"Princess Twilight really did a number on you, didn't she?"
"Little bit, yeah."
"You know, we thought we'd seen every possible reaction to this final trial. Ponies standing by and watching, throwing themselves in front of Nightmare Moon's attack, sacrificing the rebels for a chance to strike at her. One candidate even tried to negotiate a promotion for capturing the rebels — she was not chosen to continue, of course. Not a single one of them tried friendship on the power-mad alicorn, though."
"Are you telling me that, after everything that's happened to Equestria, it was a bad idea?"
"...let's move on."
Everyone had kinda stopped what they were doing to stare at Nightmare Moon laughing for a good thirty seconds.
"Are you sure you are not my Court Jester, Officer?" the Queen finally asked. "Because surely you were japing when you suggested that I befriend these interlopers."
"I'm just saying, I think there's a lot you could learn from them." Dash walked over to Applejack, who was staring at her like she'd lost her mind. "Like Applejack, here. She's the most honest mare I've ever met, and she's the most reliable and dependable pony in Equestria. It'd be nice if your subjects listened to you without having to scare them into it, right?"
"I am the night," Nightmare Moon retorted. "Why do I need honesty when I have more than enough terror to spare?"
"Alright, fine. What about Fluttershy, then?" Dash lopped a foreleg around her oldest friend, who "meeped" and flinched at the touch, but didn't move away. "Everypony loves Fluttershy because she's so kind and sweet. And they want to do stuff for her because of that."
"A little kindness goes a long way," Fluttershy agreed with a nod.
"And the threat of punishment goes even farther." Nightmare Moon continued to look unimpressed, but Rarity's disbelief had slowly faded into consideration.
"And then there's Pinkie—"
"—Oh, are you going to say how everyone needs a little laughter in their lives, and how ponies work better when they're cheerful rather than sady-wady, which is really just the same thing as saying that morale is really important?"
"Uhh, sure. Let's go with that. Anyways, so Pinkie's got some good ideas, and Twilight does too. I mean, she managed to bring the rebels together, and she's probably been studying to be a leader and stuff since she was a filly. She's managed to make some great friends along the way, too, so whatever she's doing is probably working."
"I am not going to take counsel from a lackey of Celestia—"
"Actually, I think Rainbow Dash may have a point."
Everyone turned to look at Rarity, and even the mare herself seemed to be shocked that she'd said something. "I mean, with all due respect, Your Majesty, perhaps there are other ways?"
"Are you listening to this traitor?" Nightmare Moon gestured at Dash as she spat out the words.
"I don't think she is, Your Majesty." Rarity shot Dash a nervous smile. "A traitor, that is. Officer Dash has proven herself to be loyal to you, and I truly believe that she does not mean to strike against you."
"I swore an oath to you and to Equestria, Your Majesty," Dash said, meeting Nightmare Moon's glare with her own steely gaze. "And I'm not going to go back on either one."
"Enough!" Nightmare Moon's horn glowed, and darkness filled the room as the light was drained into nothingness. "This farce ends now!"
A spear of inky blackness materialized in front of the alicorn and pointed towards the rebels. "I'm going to dispatch them first, and then we're going to have a long and painful talk about the meaning of loyalty."
The spear was launched forward, right at Applejack's heart.
There was a flash of light, and the spear splintered into pieces less than an inch from its target.
"Wh-What?" Nightmare Moon gaped at the deep purple light protecting Applejack. "What trickery is this?" She turned around to try and find the source of the magic, and her eyes settled on her right-hoof mare.
"I— I'm not sure." Rarity was radiant as a magical glow surrounded her. Her eyes were pure purple, and every word she spoke resonated with power. "I couldn't let you hurt them, Your Majesty."
"I will not stand for this treachery!"
"It's— it's not like that." Dash's vision was clouded with red, and something powerful welled up from deep inside her. She felt strong, like she could create a storm that could devastate a city all by herself if she wanted to, but she didn't want to. This power wasn't for hurting, and she didn't want to harm anypony.
She wanted to help them.
"Rainbow Dash is right." As Rarity spoke, Dash looked around the room and saw the rebels glowing with their own light that called out to her. "I have served you faithfully these past years, and you have given me everything I've ever wanted in return. And now, it's time I gave you back a gift."
Rarity's magic reached out to her, and Dash gave over control of whatever was possessing her without a second thought, a gesture of pure trust that was rewarded with a familiar feeling of having their souls mixing. Had she felt this joining before? It felt like she had.
"Generosity is not simply about giving." The others had also blended their magic with Rarity's, and Rainbow Dash could feel a connection beyond anything she'd ever experienced before with each of them. "It's about knowing what somepony needs most, and being willing to sacrifice yourself to make sure they receive that."
Rarity and Nightmare Moon each charged up a spell. "I'll eviscerate you!" Nightmare Moon screamed as she let loose a beam of raw dark magic.
"What you need, Your Majesty, is friendship." A rainbow of light consumed the darkness, and then raced forwards to wrap the stunned alicorn in a tapestry of color. "Let me show you a better way. The way that Rainbow Dash showed me."
The world was consumed in light, and when Dash could see again, Nightmare Moon was gone.
In her place was a smaller mare, barely larger than Dash herself, with a dark blue coat and a look of unfathomable guilt on her face.
Something inside Dash's mind clicked, a forgotten memory restored, and she stepped forward. "Princess Luna," she said, extending a hoof towards the reformed alicorn, "will you be my friend?"
"And that was when the dream spell crashed."
"Which really sucks, because Rarity and I had a date to finish."
"Unfortunately for your imaginary love life, the trial was completely unprepared for you reforming Nightmare Moon. That wasn't supposed to be possible."
"I kinda did it before, remember? Like, in real life?"
"With the aid of the Elements of Harmony, which weren't supposed to exist in the dream world. The spell created a world where Nightmare Moon had won and destroyed the Elements."
"Yeah, but the Elements were inside of us all along. We just needed to bring them out."
"So you were trying to turn Miss Rarity over to the side of the rebels!"
"It's not like that. This wasn't about sides. It's about honesty, loyalty, laughter, blah blah blah, you get the picture. The others already had their things; AJ was still honest, Twi was making friends, and Pinkie Pie was still being Pinkie Pie — that's why I had to take the poison away from her, to make sure she stayed Pinkie Pie. But this Rarity forgot that she was generous, so I had to remind her."
"And then you could turn her against Nightmare Moon."
"Again, not about turning. I never turned against Princess Luna. Rarity and I were both loyal to her at the end. I think that's why my Element still worked. We just realized that what Luna needed more than anything was friendship. So we gave it to her. With lasers. Pretty awesome, huh?"
"You shouldn't even have been able to remember what the Elements were."
"Friendship finds a way, I guess."
"That's bull manure."
"Yep, that's pretty much what every bad guy says before taking a friendship laser to the face. And I didn't really remember what the Elements were. I just knew that I needed to bring out Rarity's generosity and make Luna happy again."
"So seducing Miss Rarity..."
"I mean, it helped with the whole generosity thing? But like, that was pretty much just for me. Because like hay am I gonna give up the chance to get with her. I'm definitely asking Luna to give me another chance to go all the way. Now that I know how the trials work, I can just speed right by them."
"The Iudicium Somniorum is not a tool to be used lightly. It is a dignified tradition for testing the resolve, loyalty, and willingness to give one's life up to protect the innocent."
"Right, and why did I have to take it again? Like, did you all look at all the times I saved Equestria and go 'you know what, maybe the Element of Loyalty isn't really that dedicated to this whole saving lives thing.'"
"Admittedly, it was supposed to be a formality for you, as well as a lesson that not all battles can be won."
"Uh huh."
"...We'll work on refining it in the future. But in light of your explanation of events, I don't suppose there's any actual objection left to allowing you into the Shadowbolts. Congratulations, I suppose."
"Woohoo! Yeah, go Rainbow Dash! Who's awesome? I'm—"
"—But before we make this official, let me remind you that the Shadowbolts are not your friends on the Council of Friendship. You haven't been with the Wonderbolts for long, so you haven't had the chance to get any military experience with them, but in the field, we need to be able to trust each other. And that means not risking everything on the off chance that some ancient magical artifact will save the day. Are we clear?"
"...Yes, ma'am."
"Good. Now, that's all the official business done. May I ask you a personal question?"
"Uhh, sure?"
"You seem quite enamoured of Miss Rarity. Why haven't you acted on your feelings?"
"I mean, she's my friend, and I like that she's my friend, and both of us are, like, super busy with our career stuff. I'm gonna be training a lot as a Shadowbolt, and Rarity's got three stores to take care of now. It's probably better if we're just friends, y'know?"
"And it's not because you fear rejection?"
"Pfft, nah. Of course not. I mean, you saw me in the dream, right? Did I look scared of Rarity saying no to me?
"If I may, the Iudicium Somniorum selects a person that you fear — or that you associate with some deep fear — to fulfill the role of High Lady. Perhaps you should reflect on why it chose Miss Rarity for you, even if it turned out to your advantage in the end."
"...I'll think about it. So, are we done?"
"We are. Welcome to the Shadowbolts, Rainbow Dash. We're very happy to have you."
"And I'm really happy to be here. It's like a dream come true."
