The Ship

“What ever happened to him?” said Rarity. “How come I feel this story doesn’t end happily?”

Illustrious continued to look down at the small castle in the sand. “That depends on your definition of ‘happily’,” she said with a weak smile. “Come now, Auntie, you must be more specific...”

“Your definition. Are you happy?”

She met Rarity’s eyes, still forcing that same smile.

“I’m here and he’s not. Even when I leave, I still won’t see him. But none of that matters. What matters is that we save Sweetie Belle and nothing else.” Illustrious got up and walked towards the door. “End of story.”

The two of them sat alone on the infinite, lonely beach. The water didn’t move, instead remaining still and flat. The city sat opposite, the rigid shapes of the skyline standing stark to the dull, but soft appearance of the ocean. And between the two great forms was the thin strip of ashy sand, only discernable by the slight change in colour. Distant mountains of colour shifted slowly among the skyscrapers. Back in Asaralubat, Rarity was left to gather her thoughts, the crying princess still in her arms.

A lot could be said about what she just saw. Terrifying, baffling, mystifying—any of those words could be used to describe the last hour. Things were happening faster than she could process. Strange memories, castles made, and voices from somewhere else—it confused and inspired her, but something stood above them. It wasn’t obvious at first, but the moment it crossed her mind, she saw no more accurate a description.

She had seen something truly romantic.

Not romantic, in the sense of an undying devotion or passionate intimacy. No, what took place before her was fanciful, idealistic even. Things like that could only be described in so many words, but didn’t need to be.

“Thank you so much...” whispered Illustrious as she tightened her grip.

“For what? What did I do?” asked Rarity.

“You altered it, the castle. You gave me something novel to look at. It was really beautiful...”

“I-I don’t understand.”

She rubbed her cheek against Rarity’s chest. The silence that followed was strange. There was no look of thoughtfulness on Illustrious’ face. Had she not heard her, or was she just ignoring her?

“Auntie Rarity, did I look happy before? When I was with Dauntless?” she asked.

“Yes, very much so. You were crying, in fact,” answered Rarity quickly. “Why? Didn’t you feel happy?”

The puzzled face became sweet and happy again. “Fantastic,” she whispered. “I’m exceptionally relieved to hear your report.”

“Darling, you’re being cryptic. Did you think you would be sad? I’ve gathered that you’re in love with the gentlecolt, so why would you be anything but happy?”

Illustrious began to sway as Rarity held her. Rarity followed her movement, but was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

“I like you a lot, Auntie,” said Illustrious. “You’re very pretty. I’ve already said this twice before, but sometimes I think that an upkeep of flattery is necessary to all relationships. Only sometimes, though.”

“Please, Illustrious, you’re confusing me.”

“What would you do if you were alone and trapped, but had all the time in the world to live out your memories?” she said with a sudden seriousness, stopping her swaying. “How do you spend infinite time with only finite entertainment material?”

Rarity choked. Of all the things she expected Illustrious to ask, that was among the last things she foresaw. The question hit her like a cloud of poison.

“What happens when you spend your heart feeling his touch over and over again until you can’t feel anymore? These memories... There’s nothing left in them, no feeling, no happiness, only a script to follow,” she continued sadly.

Rarity could feel her shaking out ragged breaths in her arms. They reminded her of what a pony was like before they broke down into a sobbing fit. “Illustrious, is this—is this you commenting on yourself?”

Her voice escalated and cracked constantly. “Auntie, what happens when the only reflection you want to live out is the fantasy where you’re a coward? It makes you happy because there’s the hope that it can all end, but then you wake up and realize you’re just not lucky enough?”

Rarity understood what she was talking about for once. She was familiar with ‘being a coward’. When she was younger and subject to the throes of hormones, she favoured ‘being a coward’ over suicide. She held the shaking princess at arms length and saw her crying. While she only had a faint clue as to why, it was clear that Illustrious was in pain. Even if she had only barely met her, Rarity had to say something to comfort her. Unfortunately, she managed the least comforting phrase in the world.

“I-I—I’m so sorry—I don’t know what you should do in that situation,” she admitted. “But it’s going to be okay, darling. I’ve got the shard and you’re that much closer to leaving it all behind.”

Illustrious either didn’t hear her, or ignored her.

“You find a really pretty unicorn who makes really pretty castles,” she said, answering her own question. “She’ll make things interesting, if only for a little while.” She looked down and let her tears fall. “Magicians are icky. They have no imagination, no colour. You thought that the castle needed to be real, so it became that. It was your reflection upon mine.” Illustrious looked up at her with a warm, bittersweet smile. She looked so innocent, childish even. Seeing her cry sank Rarity’s stomach like lead. “Wasn’t it so pretty?”

Rarity grasped at anything she could say to make her feel better.

“Darling, is that all you want from me? To go into your memories and cast my thoughts upon yours?”

Her sharp, sparkling eyes stared back at Rarity.

“I have no idea!” she said with a girlish tone that made Rarity cringe. Given the topic matter, there shouldn’t have been so much lightness in her voice.

“Wh-what do you mean? Excuse me for not understanding, but didn’t you just say how much it hurts to not feel anything?”

“More questions!” she announced. “Now, what do you do when you can fall in love every day of your life?” Her eyes became dreamy, and the weirdest, reflective expression came over her. “I can see things as they were. I can be with him whenever I want, but if finish this, I can’t come back. Asaralubat is the only place I can do this.”

“Illustrious... You ought to give a girl some time to think. These are some deep questions.”

“It’s okay, I’ll wait. Unlike the first set of questions, I don’t have an answer to this one. Tell me when you’re done calculating.”

Rarity thought. The sheer volume of information she’d received in a short period was mind-numbing. After some time she gathered her statements and arguments. Illustrious had confessed to somehow being able to live out memories over and over again. Considering how they were just in one, and it hadn’t appeared that it took too much effort to enter it, she saw the draw of living them out. It was a double-sided edge, though.

There wasn’t a single pony alive who wouldn’t want to relive a cherished memory. But live it out too much and that cherished memory loses its meaning. Considering Illustrious was alone, the dangerous spiral was obvious.

The princess had taken to humming a light, haunting tune while she waited. It was peculiar and dark, but so strangely fitting. It was Rarity’s song, Over the Rainbow.

“Well, first and foremost, we’re not staying here,” said Rarity finally, breaking Illustrious’ fantastic reverie. “You promised to leave to save my sister, and as much as I sympathize with your predicament, Sweetie Belle takes priority.” Rarity gave Illustrious a moment to respond, but she didn’t. Rarity took a deep breath and continued. “But you’re in pain. Dauntless means a lot to you and so do your memories. I’m an outsider to all this, so I can’t begin to imagine what it’s like living them out repetitively, but here is what I think; you need to let go.”

Illustrious heaved a heavy and sudden sob as Rarity said that last phrase. She knew that nothing would negate the impact of that sort of statement, but also hadn't realized how seriously Illustrious would take it.

Illustrious clenched around her stomach as she began to slump down. Rarity paused to consider something that only just occurred to her. This was probably the only direct contact Illustrious had had with another pony in the centuries she’d been trapped. Illustrious was professing deep, foundational feelings to a near complete stranger, and Rarity was playing a consoling role. Even stranger was how seamless it was. Everything came to her, perfectly, idealistically even. It was almost unnerving.

Still, she spoke again after the perfect length pause.

“Your memories belong in your memories. You’re going to miss being with him everyday, but that’s what makes it so special. By missing him, you know that you loved him. Your time together is infinitely more meaningful when it’s only lived once.”

Illustrious sniffled. “I’ve already lived them more than once... Is there still hope for me?”

“Of course, and we’re going to start now. Take me to your next memory, and I promise to make you a new one.”

Illustrious smiled, still crying. “I greatly enjoy hugging you, Auntie! As long as you have the shard, we can start anytime you want!”

“Are you talking about this?” Rarity held up the Two of Hearts.

Illustrious lit up as she saw it and nodded in earnest. “Mhmmm!”

“Now, if I may ask you a question, why do you keep calling me auntie? I’m not terribly opposed to it, but it just seems sudden.”

“You’re my Auntie Rary. You played with me in the fields, and we had a water-balloon fight. Don’t you remember?”

“Yes, I suppose I do remember that. It was a long time ago, wasn’t it?” said Rarity, her jaw going slack as she lost herself in a memory from long ago.

“Yup!” Illustrious finally released her and stood up. “We should be efficient with our time, Auntie. I would very much like to treat you to dinner in Equestria, so let’s move on, shall we?”

“I—Yes, let’s go.”

Illustrious took a wide, overly dramatic step to the left.

“We’re here!” She gestured grandly to the bland beach. The unabashed, dull greys were anticlimactic to say the least. “In order to decrease the amount of time we spend in Asaralubat, I’ve chained my memories to have starting and ending points in close proximity!”

“Fantastic. Go ahead and begin, I’m ready.”

“Wait, I have to give you the introduction into the next one.”

Illustrious held up a piece of paper that shimmered white for a moment before slowly turning to grey ash. After clearing her throat, she read from it in a flat voice with forced inflection.

“And after the two of us played at the beach for what felt like too short a time, Dauntless had to go back home. I remained at Stella’s, heartbroken and yearning for what I’d soon find out would be the stallion that stole my heart! Before he left, he promised to come back and go sailing with me.”

She gestured and read with all the grace of an actor in a middle school play. “I waited and waited, building a world of sandcastles on the beach. Until the day came that we’d finally go sailing...”

The paper blew away in the wind.

Rarity blinked.

In a single instant, the bland, grey world once again exploded into colour. The assault on her senses was staggering. The salty, tangy air of the beach forced its way into her lungs. She squinted and fluttered her eyes as a myriad of colours pounded her retinas. Birds of paradise flew across the bay, their squawks bringing the previously dead world shouting to life. The sand wasn’t pearly like before, instead holding the more natural looking combination of fine and peppered salt. The ocean was a deep blue and perfect as it could ever be. Clouds streaked the sky, and the shining sun was far above in its midday position.

They stood on the sandy banks of a small bay. Rocky hills covered in tropical trees shot up around the far ends of the cove. Behind them, a trail led up to a gently smoking volcano. Even in its picturesque stillness, she could feel the fiery beast breathing like a slumbering giant. On the shore before them was a simple log raft held together by rope with a single sail. It was loosely pushed into the sand to keep it from floating away.

Rarity looked at it like it just asked her weight in an extraordinarily offensive way. “That? We’re going to go sailing on that?”

“Indeed! Once Dauntless gets here, we’re off to exerting ourselves in the name of entertainment!” she replied.

“You have got to be joking!” she sneered, raising a single brow. “I will not put up with sailing the oceans aboard a makeshift dinghy. We are just going to have to do something else!”

“So what activity do you plan for us to partake in?”

“I’d tell you, but that’d ruin the surprise.”

Dauntless approached, head ducked with a goofy, awkward smile on his face. “Hey, Lily, what’s up? It’s been a while.”

“Dauntless!” she exclaimed. “It has been a while! Do you know how long?”

“Heh, too long?”

“Wrong. You know how much I hate a lack of precise definition when it is clear that you know. You should know that from all my letters. All seventeen-hundred and nine of them.” With feigned disinterest she looked down at her hoof and polished it against her coat. “You only sent five-hundred and eighty-six, by the way...”

“Yeah—you uhh—you write fast.” He laughed weakly, scratching the back of his neck. “It’s been ten years to the day.”

“Exactly. And yes, it has been far too long. I wish to embrace you now, Dauntless.”

“Embrace—that means holding close. Just looked that one up—”

She didn’t wait for him to finish, rushing and toppling him over. She rubbed her cheek against his. “Yes, it does! As does hug, cuddle, envelop, grab, snuggle, cling, and entwine!”

He blushed bright scarlet, laughing with an awkwardness that made Rarity’s skin crawl. “Did you know you know like a thousand different words? I had to look up half your letters. Sort of why it took so long to get back to you.”

“Pre-adventure. Your chagrin traumatizes me. I differentiate scarcely twenty-four thousand, eight-hundred and twenty-two words,” said Illustrious. “What is your dissertation to that?”

He laughed. “Now you’re just messing with me.”

“Chagrin, Illustrious?” interjected Rarity. “Are you sure that is the best term? I think befuddlement would be stronger and equally confusing to the stallion.”

“Oh, I almost forgot, this is my Auntie Rarity.” Illustrious climbed off the stallion, letting him get to his hooves.

“Milady, Dauntless,” he said, introducing himself with a small bow.

“My, my, a gentlecolt, classically trained in etiquette,” said Rarity. “My name is Lady Rarity.”

“Wh-what?” he said, perplexed and blushing a bit.

“My name is Lady Rarity,” she repeated.

“I mean the part about the gentlecolt, classically trained?” he asked further.

“Yes, you addressed me by milady...”

“Yeah, my mom just always told me to address older mares by ‘milady’.”

“Your mother taught you well then.”

Dauntless began to look uncomfortable, avoiding eye contact with Rarity and shuffling in the sand. He wore a goofy smile, not completely unlike Illustrious’. They were an oddly mismatched couple. Seeing them stand next to each other gave Rarity the uncanny image of two bashful, shy teenagers trying their hoof at romance with a connection that was immediate and fitting. Both of them stole glances at the other, their eyes meeting momentarily before becoming self-aware and breaking only to do it again.

Rarity had the weird feeling of being a chaperone. “Shall we be off then? Don’t we have a boat to catch? Adventure awaits!” she exclaimed, leading the way to the raft. “Illustrious, what is our destination?”

“Oh, coordinates are to a small island just beyond the cove, the same one I always go to.” Rarity forced a long laugh. “Oh, Illustrious! We’re not going to that small, dismal, dreary island! We’re going to a castle!”

“Right!” agreed Illustrious hesitantly. “Change of plans, Dauntless, we’re gonna—” She sounded uncertain, maybe even uneasy, but her cheeriness still forced its way through. “We’re gonna do whatever she says!”

“Hmm, whatever I say?” Rarity nudged the raft, pushing it off the shore a little. “Tell me, Illustrious, did you ever get married in your lifetime?”

Illustrious was silent, her jaw slowly hanging open. She blushed, but not of embarrassment or warm feelings. There was concerning pensiveness on her face, and when Rarity turned around she instantly regretted asking the question.

“Y-you don’t have to answer that,” said Rarity. “That was far too prying.”

“No.”

“It was, really.”

“No... I’ve never been married before. We—were never able to get that far...” Illustrious’ tone was quiet and reserved. She sounded as if she was either being dealt punishment or patiently awaiting a reward. Oddly, Rarity had a difficult time deciphering which one it was. “Is that what you want to do for me?” Illustrious added. “Is that part of your artistic vision? To marry me and my Dauntless?”

“Darling, you don’t have to be subjected to anything you don’t want to. It was merely a fleeting thought. I suppo—”

“Will you be giving me away to my betrothed since Stella isn’t here?” A small smile formed on her face. Her eyes were still glued to the ground. “I’ve always found that strange ceremony of weddings to be warming. It implies an endearing level of ownership.”

“I erhm—Princess, if you’re not comfortable with it, we can do something else.”

Illustrious ignored her. “Dauntless, you better go ask Auntie Rary for her blessing!” she exclaimed. “Since I wish to have a resilient legal bond now, you’d better make haste with yourself!”

Dauntless had been busy air-boxing and karate-kicking. He turned to meet both of their concerned, expectant looks. “I—What?”

“Dauntless, sweetie. You know how we’ve talked about getting married?”

“Yeah,” he replied simply.

“Auntie Rary wants to marry us, but you have to ask her permission first!”

“Wh-why?”

Rarity slowly brought her hoof to her face. Illustrious pursed her lips and furrowed her brow.

“Because I want you to!” whined Illustrious.

“I thought—”

Illustrious began batting his face with her tail. “Go! Do it! Ask her!”

Rarity smiled as she watched them bicker. Dauntless was now shielding himself from her relentless swatting, pulling his hooves up around his head. She kept on badgering him with each hit.

“Do you remember what Mom and Dad said?” said an all-too-familiar voice to Rarity from behind.

Rarity quickly turned her head to the source of the voice and was met with olive green eyes.

“S-Sweetie Belle?” Rarity stammered. What was only slightly less surprising was that she wasn’t a filly anymore, but a full-grown mare.

“Yeah...?” Sweetie Belle gave her a smirk coupled with an eyeroll. “Why are you looking at me all funny? All I did was ask a question.”

Her confident, casual tone put Rarity into an uncomfortable complacency. She couldn’t tell how surprising it was to see her little sister all grown up in such a strange world. It was surreal, and Rarity wanted to flip out, but something held her heart from bursting out her chest.

“I—I’m just—happy to see you.”

“Okay?” said Sweetie Belle, raising a brow. “I’m happy to see you too?”

“Sorry, I’ve just been having a weird day. Go on, you were saying?”

“Oh, I was just wondering if you remembered what Mom and Dad told you.”

“They said a lot of things, Sweetie, you must be a bit more specific,” said Rarity.

“Really? With the two of them fighting over needing to ask for a marriage blessing, doesn’t that ring a bell?”

Rarity was still too entranced by the sudden appearance of her sister to think clearly. She had grown up into such a stunning young mare. Rarity didn’t like to openly admit it, but she always considered herself one of the most beautiful unicorns in Equestria. Now, Sweetie Belle was making her second guess her original opinion. Maybe it was the swirling emotions inside her or a personal bias, but Sweetie Belle was the most beautiful pony she’d ever seen.

Sweetie Belle sighed. “They said that if they weren’t around when I got engaged, whatever stallion I did find was supposed to ask you for permission. I don’t think they ever trusted my taste in boys. Always thought you’d make sure he was a gentlecolt.”

“Did they? I don’t remember when they said this,” she said honestly.

“You don’t? It was right after you got back. When you—left—we all took it hard...” She paused. “I mean, they’re okay now, but can’t you see the age in their eyes? Parents don’t handle that sort of twist of fate lightly.”

“Wait, what? What do you mean, ‘when I left’?”

“Uhm, Auntie Rary?” said the voice of Dauntless.

Rarity glanced over to see the colt standing before her. Behind him was Illustrious, nervously chewing her lip as he made his bid for her hoof in marriage. It was superfluous, more ceremonial than anything, but it was all in good spirit. Rarity glanced back to where Sweetie Belle had just been and saw that she was gone. She looked around more, perking her head about to see if she had ran off, but she’d vanished into air.

Rarity sighed, crestfallen. “Yes, darling?” she said dryly, turning back to Dauntless.

He winced at her tone, but maintained wobbly eye contact. He was nervous, but hid it well enough. “Can I marry Illustrious?”

“I think, that ‘May I have her hoof in marriage’ would have been more appropriate, but of course you may. I would be honoured to have you marry her.” Her flat delivery didn’t pick up, but she did manage a smile. “Now we must get going, we have a wedding to sail to.”

The ice in Rarity’s stomach grew and the world around them began to change. Giant mounds of sand rose up from the earth, hanging in midair.

The princess was watching the sands rise in awe, her mouth agape. She looked so genuinely amazed by Rarity’s simple display that it almost seemed daft. Either Illustrious had the mind of innocent child, or a mastermind with superb acting skills. Was she really this impressed, or was there an agenda beyond this?

As if invisible ponies had held up small piles to their lips and blown the sand in a steady stream of air, it sprayed out into the air, turning pearly white. The resulting reflective glare from the sun on the sandwas blinding, encasing the three in a void.

Rarity tried to put Sweetie Belle in the back of her mind, but it just occurred to her the price of failure. If she didn’t do whatever it was that Illustrious wanted her to do, she’d never get to see Sweetie Belle get married. She wouldn’t get to design the most stellar, fabulous dress in all of existence for the one pony who deserved it the most. Even worse was that despite the high price of the failure, she didn’t even know what failure was.

Their task was to go into Illustrious’ memories and pluck random items out of them. It may not be possible to fail, but it also wasn’t clear how it was all truly connected; the world, Sweetie Belle, the talk of reflections and such. Additionally, Illustrious wanted her to put her own thoughts into the memories for entertainment purposes. She was, more or less, an unstoppable force of creative power that could manipulate the world at will, at least as she understood it. None of it mattered though, as they were just memories.

That was what Rarity found to be odd. There was no reason not to make a journey more enjoyable, but it just felt weird, tacked-on almost. Why was it so important that she be an artist? What wasn’t Illustrious telling her about the nature of her reflections?

If Rarity remembered correctly there were six memories they needed to attend. Each one was something Illustrious had already seen before, but with all the new memories she’d inevitably make after freedom, why draw these old ones out?

She got the loneliness piece. Illustrious hadn’t had any friends or new things to do in so long, but the term ‘smoke and mirrors’ began surfacing in her mind. After seeing Sweetie Belle, she was sure there was plenty of intrigue to this place, Illustrious, and her situation.

When the dust settled, they were standing on the deck of a ship, an old sailing galleon in the middle of the bay. It looked just like what Rarity imagined in all the literature she read about pirates; wood planks and flooring, ropes all surrounding a large center mast, cannons on both sides. It creaked and moaned in the ocean, shifting calmly beneath her hooves.

“Auntie! We’re on a real ship now! I’ve never been sailing on a real ship before!” exclaimed lllustrious. She raced to the edge of the railing.

“Lily, look! Cannons! Oh, this is so awesome!” said Dauntless, going to check out the weapons.

Rarity raised a brow, trying to contain a growing smile. She had to admit, there was some novelty to being able to create whatever she wanted. Part of her didn’t believe what Illustrious had said about making all her fantasies come true, but so far it hadn’t lied. She wanted a pirate ship, and she got a pirate ship.

“Oh my stars...” said Rarity, as the strange power of seeming godhood tingled beneath her skin. “It worked. This place... is amazing.”

“Oh, Auntie! This brings back so many memories from when I used to be able create so freely!” said Illustrious, the wind blowing in her mane.

“Used to?”

“Indeed! Before my colour was shattered by the soul gem, I used to be able to do things like this. It takes colour to create and your art is bringing my colour back!”

“So, you need an artist to remind you how to create?”

“Fantasize is a better term, but you are mostly correct. It isn’t absolutely necessary for the completion of our task, but it would be advantageous for both of us to have the inspiration needed to change the reflections if need be!”

Hearing that made Rarity feel a little better. At least in a tenuous way, this was still about saving Sweetie Belle. She didn’t know what she’d be up against in later reflections, but having Illustrious have the same potential she had held obvious value.

To test her power, Rarity brought forth a cinnamon bun. It simply dropped into her hoof from thin air. She took one bite of it and threw the rest into the ocean.

“Prepare yourself, Darling, for you’re about to see wonders unlike any other!”

Rarity unleashed her mind upon the world, laughing wildly as she did. The wind picked up and the ship raced forward, heading out of the bay at full speed. The wind blowing in her mane, she jumped up to the helm and began navigating.

The sun plummeted from the sky, leaving them at the center of a calm ocean in the middle of the night. It was a perfect mirror to reflect the grandiosity of the sky. In the sheer scope of the scene, it was hard to see where exactly the ocean ended and the galaxy above them began.

The stars shone with colours unlike those in reality. Auras of red, blue, green, and purple faintly twinkled around the white light. They gathered heavily in some places, gravitating around something, or maybe even each other. The larger clusters were focused on top of one nebula or another. Each nebula was a different starry, cool colour. In the sky and on the ocean, they shone with perfect clarity.

Misty purples and blues laid reflected before them as they crossed a star-filled ocean in silver moonlight. Rarity stepped down from the wheel as the ship slowed to a comfortable speed.

Illustrious was left in awe, a smile growing across her face. “Auntie, this... this is something...”

Rarity laughed. “It most certainly is. Isn’t this a tad bit better than a sunny day on a raft?”

“Dauntless, come here, I want you to stand by me,” she beckoned.

The aforementioned stallion had become engrossed in the cannons. “These are real, operational flintlock cannons! They’re even loaded!” he said, peering down the barrel of one. “Oh, this is so cool.”

“Dauntless!” cried Illustrious. “Your Lily is currently alone! Remand your negligence! She requires constant, obsessive attention!”

“But the cannons...” he whined.

“I wouldn’t get too cozy yet, Princess,” warned Rarity. “There’s still more. We have a castle in the stars to go to.” The ice in her stomach grew larger. A series of lanterns, each of a different colour, flickered to life around the railing. Rarity levitated a red one from a large pile sitting inconspicuously in the center of the ship shoved it into one of the cannons. “Dauntless, darling, could you fire this one at the sky? Try to hit one of those big space clouds,” she said pointing from the cannon to one of the larger green nebula.

“Heh, sure,” he replied. For the first time Rarity saw the confidence of his namesake. He effortlessly swung the cannon around and aimed it with expert precision. “This is going to be loud.” He lit the wick and ducked down, pulling his ears down against his temples.

Rarity followed his example. Thanks to Pinkie Pie, she knew how loud cannons could be and took the proper safety precautions. Illustrious, however, looked dumbly at the wick as it burnt down. There was a deafening bang that rang all their ears and nearly knocked Illustrious over. She stumbled about to regain her balance. A bright, scarlet star shot out into the distance followed by a trail of dripping orange and yellow liquid, disappearing in a flash.

“Aiiee! Why is that so loud?!” bellowed Illustrious in an effort to hear herself over the ringing.

The star hit the nebula. At the point of impact there was a red eruption that soon spread like a wave across the space cloud. The crimson light spread across it, saturating it from its previous cool colour into a brilliant, bold red that tore apart the sky. Moreover, the way the star hit right at the horizon gave it a dual effect. Before long, the streak reflected between the ocean and sky in perfect symmetry.

By this point in time, Rarity had already gathered all the lanterns on the ship and shoved them into cannons on both sides.

“Dauntless, on my mark!” shouted Rarity, holding her hoof up. He stood ready with a match in his mouth, all the wicks tied together into a single knot at the center of the deck.

“Oh, that’s going to be excessively loud,” said Illustrious.

“Fire!” Rarity bellowed.

After waiting fifty agonizing, anticlimactic seconds for the flames to reach the cannons, the entire ship exploded with colour. Streaks of colour shot up from the cannons at varied angles, loop de looping in mid-air and striking each and every major nebula in the sky.

The force of twenty cannons firing in perfect synchronization dazed and disoriented her. She thought she had fallen down the stairs to the deck, but didn’t remember as she was too busy knocking into the cross-eyed Princess Illustrious. The three of them stumbled about, running into each other and falling over. They got back up, only to fall back over again.

When they finally recovered from the concussive blow and decided that staying still and not getting up was the best course of action, the sky had painted itself over. It was a complete spectrum of the warm colours; lemony yellow, orange, and strawberry red. They laid flat on their backs and took a moment to take in the sight of distant nebulae and bold colour sitting against the backdrop of space and stars.

“Wow...” said Dauntless, awestruck.

“I second that,” agreed Illustrious, slowly taking Dauntless’ hoof in her own.

Rarity got up and dusted herself off. “Not too shabby, but now that we’re here, it’ll be nice to actually get this adventure started.”

“Agreed! Maintain course to marriage!” said Illustrious, looking up to her love.

Rarity turned around, the passions of inspiration burning in her eyes. “Dauntless, your fiance has spoken—are you ready to work this ship until the bitter end?!” she exclaimed with big sweeping gestures. Rarity was having way too much fun for her own good.

His eyes sparkled at Rarity’s offer. “Only if Lily can stand by my side the entire time,” he said, nuzzling her.

“Ah, a smitten heart whose courage stems from his love, no doubt! Aye, nothing shall separate you now or ever as long as you stay true!”

Illustrious choked a bit, but neither of them noticed. Her eyes grew huge and her lips pursed. A heavy emotion came over her face. Be it sadness or joy, Rarity didn’t notice, nor could she have figured it out if she did.

“We set off to the stars!” Rarity exclaimed.

Dauntless rolled off his back and stood up, looking heaven bound. Illustrious followed his lead closely, but looked down at the wooden deck, the only part of the world that remained plain.

The entire ship left the water, sailing through the air. It rose, gaining altitude. Once it was high enough, between the perfectly smooth water reflecting the stars, and the stars themselves, the three became lost in space. Dauntless went to the balcony to watch, but Illustrious didn’t follow.. Rarity approached the princess with a great, merry smile on her face.

“My goodness, you really must stop me before I get out of hoof.” She chuckled. “This place has a way inspiring the romance to just roll off the tongue. I’ll soon fall into delusions of grandeur if I don’t pace myself.” She noticed how quiet Illustrious was and softened her tone. “Darling, are you alright?”

“Yes...” she replied quietly, eyes glued to the stallion.

“You don’t sound alright. What’s the matter?”

“Nothing...”

“Now I know something is wrong. You have ten seconds before I reflect something ghastly upon you,” said Rarity with a devilish smile.

Illustrious was quiet.

“I jest, darlin—” started Rarity.

“I know. It’s just hard knowing that these are the last fews days I’ll be able to see him, and if it keeps going like this, they’re going to be so wonderful. Thank you...”

“You’re very welcome.”

Illustrious’ face scrunched up and she went to hug Rarity. It wasn’t wholly unexpected, but it still caught Rarity off guard. “You’re doing this because you want to make me happy. I can tell because you could remain idle and it’d have the same effect. You’re really nice and you make me wanna—wanna—” Illustrious’ own attempts to stifle a sniffle interrupted her.

“Want to what?” asked Rarity.

“C-colour...”

“Colour?”

“Mmhmm, in my colouring books...”

“Why don’t you?”

“I can feel Asaralubat coming back to life,” she whispered into Rarity’s ear. “It’s talking to me. It doesn’t want me to leave.”

Rarity squeezed her tighter. “Don’t listen to it. You have a full and meaningful life ahead of you. When we get out and you save my sister, I’m going to introduce you to all my friends and find you somewhere to live. Don’t you dare think about turning back now.”

She took a deep, calm breath to steady herself. “I’m not going to. It’s just difficult...”

“I know it is.”

Illustrious closed her eyes. “I still like hugging you.”

“I know.”

Her sadness passed and when she opened her eyes they seared like burning hot amethysts. A smile curled across her face. The wind that blew her starry, baby blue mane picked up, and for the first time Rarity felt it. It didn’t lap her coat or skin, but the harder it blew, the brighter life around it became. Colours were more vibrant, shapes more cartoony, and expressions brighter and livelier. Illustrious broke away from the hug and looked up at the starry ocean above them as they fell through the sky.

“You’re bringing me back to life as well, Auntie,” she said, a playful fire in her tone. “That’s not surprising considering the state of things right now. I’m going to break out of the gem and save your sister, but first we have an adventure to go on! So, what’s next, Milady?!”

Rarity beamed. “Are you thirsty?” There was a euphoria in seeing her new friend lively and happy again.

“Thirsty?” Illustrious cocked her head . “Why of course I’m thirsty! Who wouldn’t be thirsty right now?”

“Would you like something to drink?”

“Or course I would! I do think that I would love something to drink!”

Dauntless shouted from the edge. “Incoming! We’re about to land! Brace yourselves!”

The entire ship splashed in a sea of red, creating massive waves and a column of of splashing water. The three of them stumbled from the force of the impact and bounced back up as the ship bobbed in the water a few times. The mist of the sea splashed everywhere.

Illustrious tasted the liquid by sheer fortune of it being everywhere. “This—this is fruit punch. We’re in a sea of fruit punch.”

“Actually, Illustrious, we’re in a nebula of fruit punch.”

Illustrious looked out across the horizon. They were sailing through the stars on a cloud of fruity red punch. It was curious, how the nebula looked wispy and light, but held an invisible weight to it, acting very much like the sea. Rarity could hear the waves splashing against the hull, but couldn’t see the source.Illustrious stuck her face out to lick the cloud and smiled with an ‘Mmmmm’.

Small rivers connected each of the great nebula bodies, all leading up to a majestic structure. The castle from Illustrious’ last memory sat at the end of the sea, the moon sitting behind it. Its details were hard to make out as it was just a silhouette, but it was indisputably that perfect castle from before.

Around them, a thick field of tiny stars raced by, glowing brightly and illuminating their journey. Illustrious deftly stuck her hoof out and caught one of the stars. After looking at it, she burst into rollicking laughter.

“It’s a pear! The star is a pear!” She took a huge bite out of it. “We’re sailing through a fruit punch nebula amidst a pear starfield!” exclaimed Illustrious, catching another star and eating it. “I just ate a star—that was also a pear. This is brilliant!”

They passed by a truly gargantuan, orange planet on their left. It was immovable, something so large that it never looked any different no matter how fast they moved. Yet it was alive, teeming with citrus and orange juice.

A single blazing strawberry shot across the great sky above them. It streaked and burned like a comet, tearing the void in two. It was soon followed by apples, pears, lemons, grapes, and fruit of every colour. They fell in a cosmic meteor shower that subtly lit the castle as each one passed before it.

Rarity wore a smug smirk. “You like it?”

“Like it? I adore it!” Illustrious exclaimed. “So much colour, so much wonder. So much...” Illustrious trailed off. Her eyes remained glued to the orange planet.

Its outer peel began to rupture from the inside, something puncturing its way out. In a shimmering haze of zest, a thin, black, spidery leg burst out. It clawed at the opening, tearing it wider and wider until it got another leg out.

Illustrious’ eyes grew wide. “Dauntless, ready the cannons!” she said with sudden fierceness. “Shoot them all of the cannons on the left side simultaneously on my imperative! Aim for the anomaly in the big orange!”

Dauntless turned around. He had been looking over the side of the ship. “What was that?”

Rarity caught on quickly enough to know that whatever was trying to get out of the orange was a bad thing. She walked up to the stallion and calmly gave a polite order. “Dauntless, darling, prepare the port guns for broadside. Be ready to fire on Illustrious’ command.”

“Aye.”

He went to work quickly and efficiently, loading and arming all the cannons. Illustrious was trotting anxiously in place, biting her lip as two more legs burst out from the orange.

“So, I’m curious, what exactly are we shooting at?” said Rarity.

“Colour Eaters. Actually, precisely one Colour Eater, but where there is one, more are sure to follow! Auntie, would you mind making the ship go approximately nineteen-hundred percent faster? We need to velocitate in—!” She made a grand sweeping gesture, pointing to the castle. “That direction!”

The legs ripping the orange open finally burst through, and an enormous spider crawled up through the hole. On its back was a familiar mountain of fused, colourful artwork. It shuffled around on the orange with breathtaking speeds. It was small in the distance, but in relative size to the orange itself, it was truly gargantuan.

“Wait, those—those big, moving, colourful piles of junk from the city are Colour Eaters?”

“You are correct.”

The Colour Eater stuck its eight black legs in the orange and sucked it dry of its colour. The entire thing lost a shade of saturation in one throbbing wave, and brought the Colour Eater one shade closer to an orange hue. Every few seconds a booming black shock wave that stole the orange’s colour rippled out. Soon it was drained completely. The orange became a dull sight amidst the otherwise picturesque scene, and the Colour Eater, a shimmering silhouette of pure orange.

“Dauntless! Commence firing all the cannons simultaneously! Aim for the big glowing orange spot!”

In the silence before their own barrage, a series of distant explosions sounded from the Colour Eater. A dozen beams of light shot off the creature, arcing wildly in their direction. Because of the distance, it’d take almost ten seconds for them to reach the surface of the nebula.

Seconds later, their own barrage exploded in a deafening burst. Streaks of every colour shot out from the cannons, arcing in much the same way as the Colour Eater’s. The shots collided in mid-air, creating fantastic explosions of colour that consumed all the stars in the space they inhabited. After the initial salvo, shots passed through in both directions. Huge splashes of glowing fruit punch erupted on all sides of them as the shots missed their mark. Each one created a shock wave across the sea and sent the liquid towering high above them in an enormous column. In a mist of delicious fruit drink, the small crew raced to reload the cannons.

Another set of shots were traded, a few more of the spider's shots getting through. So far the Colour Eater wasn’t accurate, but it was able to shoot much faster than the small group. Within the next two barrages, it’d have a free, uncontested shot.

“Auntie! Make the ship go faster! We must make it to the castle! The shard is there!” Illustrious called out.

Rarity reflected a great wind to surge up behind them, sending them soaring across the cloud. The curious, unyielding scent of fruit medley accompanied the wind, so thick with sweetness Rarity’s eyes began to water. At the helm, she steered clear of explosion after explosion as Illustrious’ and Dauntless’ efforts stood futile against the Colour Eater’s never-ending barrage. Despite moving four times faster than before, the castle never drew closer, remaining an unchanging picture against the night sky.

“Illustrious! We aren’t going to make it!” bellowed Rarity over the sound of three more stray shots missing by only a few dozen meters.

“I know, we’re not supposed to,” she replied. She struggled to get another lantern into the barrel as mist continue to spray across them.

Rarity looked back up at the Colour Eater as a new wave of missiles shot out. These ones were green, and for some reason, Rarity knew they’d hit. Time slowed down as they approached. The ghost voices from before spoke. Every other noise in world silenced as they began their dialogue.

“You told them?! You told them about Asaralubat?!” Illustrious would have cried.

“It’s the only place that they can go...” he would have replied firmly.

“How could you? I made this place for us, not somepony and her sister!”

“Do you have any better ideas?! Tell me of another place Stella could do that sort of spell. She’s dealing with the souls of ponies, and you want to risk that going wrong?” There would have been silence as Illustrious dealt with the truth. “Think about them for a moment. Think about how you would feel if you were separated from me like that.”

“Be careful in your assumption that I don’t understand what it’s like to be betrayed by somepony I love, because right now, I'm starting to feel that!” she would have hissed with pure venom. “So, it’s between me and them, and you picked them?”

He would have became frustrated. “No! That isn’t it at all! Can’t you get it through your thick skull that there are bigger things than us?!”

“Oh, so now I’m thick? Maybe you’re right, because I told you about the one thing sacred to me. Yeah, that does seem a little daft, doesn’t it? Maybe I’m also daft for letting you hit me so much.”

He would have choked. “Lily... don’t use that card. I want so badly to forget about that. I was in—”

“In the darkness? Where have I heard that one before?”

“I l-love you,” he would have sobbed.

“Heard that one too.”

“Please, Lily... You know I-I’ll never forgive myself...”

The voices left and the sound returned. Things still moved in slow motion. Rarity hadn't known it, but the real Dauntless had been barking orders at her. “Hard-a-starboard!”

“Rarity, I need to end this reflection, now!” yelled Illustrious over the chaos. “Marry us and aim for the castle!”

Rarity flung the wheel and brought the cannons to bear against the distant fortress. The entire ship moaned and creaked in protest of the turn. The green missiles were nearly on top of them, but that was when the cannons broadsided. Streaks of rainbow soared out in wide arcs, hitting and illuminating the castle to its complete brilliance. They splashed and exploded, each burst bouncing a cluster of fireworks high into the sky.

“Dauntless, will you take Princess Illustrious to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do.”

“Illustrious, will you take Prince Dauntless to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“Most certainly.”

Explosions and beams of green light surrounded them. The entire galaxy sat as a background to the two. There were millions of stars filled with infinite possibilities. The castle was in full celebration, a spectacular rainbow firework display in bloom. Nebulae, giant fruit planets, and a rainbow meteor storm, the entire galaxy  watched them, both oblivious and knowing of the romantic impasse.

Illustrious looked to Dauntless and kissed him.

Rarity smiled.

Somewhere, ice grew in the gut of a pony. A flock of doves showered two others in their feathers. Three ponies bittersweetly observed the pointless ceremony, two had an euphoria that only a day like this could bring, and one was absent.

By the power vested in me by the State of Princesses, I now declare you husband and wife.

Rarity blinked and saw the young couple standing on a bright, sunny, and bustling boardwalk. Ponies laughing and celebrating in the carnival atmosphere replaced the galaxy. Shops and booths had been set up. There were games and food for everypony. Ponies were enjoying themselves; dancing, singing and generally being merry. It was an important occasion too. A new ship was leaving for its first tour of duty, and the entire town had come by to see it off. At the center of the scene were the adolescent Illustrious and Dauntless. The latter wore a dapper, white sailor’s uniform.

Illustrious giggled and blushed bright red as her lips left Dauntless’. “Our first kiss!” she exclaimed.

“How was it?” he asked, blushing himself.

“How was a first kiss from an absolutely gorgeous stallion?” She tapped her chin. “Electrifying is far too cliche. Wonderful is dull and flat. How about, cosmic?”

“Yeah, I think that describes it. Cosmic,” he parroted. His smile slowly faded. “I should probably get going.”

“Agreed! I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to come sailing with you! I brought my favourite colouring books and games!”

He bit his lip. His friends were undoubtedly watching him talk to his ‘young’ girlfriend. “Yeah, I don’t think you can come...”

“But you told me I’d get to come,” said Illustrious, her eyes widening.

He threw out a pained smile, and scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, I know. It’s the guards though. Can’t have everyone’s girlfriend come along, there’s just not enough room on the ship!” He could hear his friends snickering from the ship.

“But we were supposed to go sailing today. You promised.”

“I—I know,” he choked. His lie had been shameless and he knew it. “When I get my leave, I’m coming straight back, and I’ll take you sailing on our own boat, just the two of us.”

“O-okay. I’ll be waiting.”

The ramp began to pull away and he ran up, not wanting to get left behind. He waved to her and she waved back, watching him leave. After the ship was far beyond the horizon, she left with her luggage. Dolls, toys, colouring books, and sweets filled her saddlebags. What was absent from them was anything useful on a long voyage.

Head slumped, she slowly began her long walk home with little spirit left.. A stallion bumped into her, knocking her over. She looked up to him, hurt, but he ignored her and walked on. A small, plastic shovel used for digging up sand on the beach fell out of her bags, left behind. She didn’t notice it though. Her eyes became misty as someone else accidentally tripped over her bag and knocked the rest of its contents out.

Rarity trotted over to help her pick up her things, but she was too late. Illustrious left it behind and ran off into the crowd, tears streaming her face.

Rarity walked over and picked up the plastic shovel. It shimmered faintly as she picked it up, and the next thing she knew, she was back in the dead city of Asaralubat. The boardwalk was the same, if not just stripped of its colour and covered with seven-hundred years of dust. The festival was still there. The booths and games were still set up and a ferris wheel was a little ways down.

Yet, no one was playing. It had all been forgotten.

The sudden shift from colour to complete dullness hurt her eyes. She rubbed them, then looked around. Illustrious was standing behind her, her face twisting with anger.

“He lied to me...” she hissed. Next Chapter: The Reflections Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 14 Minutes