The Reflections

“It hurt... It hurt so bad...” Luna cried.

Rarity crept forward, unsure of how to approach such a regal figure in the throes of sadness. Luna continued to weep despite the tension of her timid company. Rarity felt like she needed to say something, anything to break the deteriorating monologue of the princess. Yet she stood there, eyes wide and wanting to understand, but not knowing where to start.

Just as the silence grew unbearable, Luna spoke.

“The first thing she said to me... It was a name. I didn’t know what to think. I wept with happiness, but then I realized she didn’t mean it, not like I did.”

Rarity could almost feel the heat of Illustrious’ boiling blood as she stood next to her.

“Did you see that?! He lied to me!” Illustrious said in a low voice. “Confirm my suspicions, Auntie! Dauntless was lying to me! I am emotionally jeopardized, so provide rationalized insight!”

Rarity swallowed with a dry tongue that stuck in her throat. Illustrious’ anger was a surprisingly frightening thing. The goofy smile was gone, her sparkling eyes were lavender infernos. The girlish voice was still there, but it held a sharp maturity now. Rarity kept her head down and her eyes averted. After a few moments, Illustrious turned to glare at Rarity, reminding her that she’d just been asked a question.

“Well—” Rarity said. “He did fib a little.”

“How come that hurt so much to watch? How come I feel like such a immature little filly? Why did he lie to me? I’d never lie to him! Rarity, say things to make me feel better!”

She choked. “Darling, you have a wonderful, youthful exuberance about you on top of being very well-spoken. I think Dauntless is the one at fault for lying to you,” Rarity said. The more she talked, the more she found herself agreeing with the viewpoint. “It takes a heartless pony to lie to an innocent young mare. If he loved you, he would have been honest and found a way to make a concession.” The ice in Rarity’s stomach grew. She felt a chilly breeze waft in from the wind moving Illustrious’ mane.

“Is that really the case? Is he heartless? Is he at fault?” She looked straight at Rarity. For the first time since meeting her, she noticed Illustrious’ eyes twinkling with the uncanny reflection of a crystal pony.

“Certainly, I don’t blame you for falling in love, but I blame him for disrespecting your innocence. He is no loss to you.”

Illustrious was quiet. Her face was tense as she subtly searched the air in front of her for an answer. She crinkled her nose. “But I love him... and he hurt me... He hurt me so much. Centuries of falling in love only to have him push me away every time... Auntie, am I unintelligent for loving something that hurts me?” she asked in a tone of diminishing emotion and rising rationality.

“Of course not, but maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves,” Rarity admitted. “He lied to you, that much is certain, but if he’s willing to make it up to you I don’t think you should throw it all away.”

“No...” Illustrious said quietly, her eyes falling upon Rarity’s chest and then to the ground just to her left. “I think you were right before. If I don’t change it now, centuries of pain under the guise of love will follow, only to be effaced in an instant.”

There was a pause, and then her brilliant eyes snapped up from their pensiveness, piercing Rarity. “You haven’t seen it, but he hurts me. And I relive it like the stupid pony I am. Everyday I’m hurt and beaten. And I couldn’t stop myself before, but now I can.”

Rarity’s lungs froze to ice at the confession. “I—I apologize sincerely for my presumption... I just know so little. Was there physical violence? Is he really so horrible?”

“Yes, he is. Maybe you haven’t seen it, but he becomes worse. His untruthfulness is the most redeemable of his traits, as you’ll see soon enough.” The charming, goofy smile curled up her face. It was the exact same expression Rarity had grown accustomed to over her adventure, but now it looked troubled to her , maniacal even. “Did you know that you were never supposed to see that, the boardwalk?” she blurted suddenly with her usual cheer.

Rarity scratched at the ash on the ground. “I sort of figured, but it’s been hard to tell.”

“Well, that was the memory I must have buried away under all the reflections, the real one,” she explained. “It happens sometimes. You forget how it really happened, and then you start making things up and—kablooey! You have something that in no way resembles the original memory!”

“The original memory?”

“Yup, and that particular memory reminded me of another memory. We’re taking a detour from our original path. There is a memory that needs changing, and once I change it, I’ll finally be free.” She trotted off down the boardwalk. “Please follow me! We have an inconsiderate stallion to address and demoralize!”

“Wait, isn’t changing your memory how you ended up losing it in the first place?!” Rarity called after her. She was met with joyful humming.

Rarity was uncertain at best. The princess didn’t seem as concerned with escaping anymore as she did with her personal vendetta against what was effectively a ghost. How could she change a memory and what good would it do? What purpose did it serve to refute a memory?

He finally found her on the balcony. She was alone and looking out over the dark world. His clothes were tattered, bruises covered him from head to hoof, and he sported a black eye to top it off. So far, he hadn’t had a very good night.

“What was that?! How come I just got my flank beaten by a group of guys I didn’t even know? Why did they say ‘That’s for Illustrious’? What’s going?!” he said.

“Oh, I just told them you hit me. Why?” She looked at him with huge, innocent eyes, a lollipop in her mouth.

“Who? What’d you tell them?!”

“I told Stella... Rosetta... Anyone who wanted to know, really... I told them you hit me.” She popped the lollipop out of her mouth and looked at it, more interested in the confection than the stallion.

His stomach dropped. “S-sweetheart...” he stuttered. “W-why did you do that?”

“You hit me. That’s why,” she sneered.

His mouth hung open. “Is this some sort of joke?!” he shouted. He hadn’t meant to be so loud. Those stallions were still searching for him.

“No, why would I joke about something so serious as spousal abuse?” She gave him a sheepish look of concern. “Now, Dauntless, just because you beat and degrade me doesn’t give you the right to shout and be uncivil.”

“What are you talking about? Have you lost your mind?! I’ve never hit you! Where did this even come from?! Just yesterday you told me you’d finally forgiven me for being late!”

She rolled her eyes. “Well maybe I haven’t.”

Those words hung heavily in the air. He just looked at her bland, bored expression, trying to find any trace of maybe a joke gone too far. He would have been angry with a joke in such poor taste, but given what it meant to him, he could forgive it. After a heated minute of tension, he finally spoke.

“What’s gotten into you?” he said finally. “I know I messed up, but the Lily I know wouldn’t have been so cruel. She’d be forgiving, and caring, and not the heartless thing you turned into.”

She popped the lollipop back in her mouth. “Are you going to continue talking at me, or will I need to ask you to leave?”

A gang of stallions burst through the balcony door, one of them pointing at Dauntless.

“There he is! Ready for round two, scum?” the thug said.

“Oh, looks like I don’t need to. My friends are here to show you out,” she said with pure venom. She walked up to the thug and whispered in his ear before leaving through the door. “Don’t go too easy on him.”

The two mares entered a fine dining restaurant. It was a mansion made entirely of glass. Despite the delicacy of its construction, there was a certain thickness and solidness to it. The structure didn’t come to any high-rising point. Had it been turned on its top and dropped upside by a sudden change of reality, it would have retained its shape and probably survived the fall. Stained glass in abstract shapes and colours along the walls decorated the restaurant.

Rarity wore an outfit she’d designed a few months ago. It was a simple, baby blue dress with sparkling gold shoes, gold lace, and a matching bow across her haunches. Illustrious only wore her royal regalia. It was magnificent enough in itself, but it took much convincing for Rarity to not design a dress for her on the spot. The two approached the hostess.

“We have a reservation for two,” Illustrious said.

“Certainly,” replied the hostess politely. “Right this way, Princess.”

She led them through a dining area filled with floating candles and ponies talking quietly among their own tables. Rarity was glad she decided to wear a formal dress. The restaurant was clearly an upscale establishment. Every other pony wore either a tuxedo or premier, fashionable outfit.

For the first time, Illustrious’ royal title felt like more than just a self-proclaimed formality. As they walked by table after table, Rarity could hear hushed whispers of Illustrious’ name under the breath of the patrons. It occurred to Rarity that Illustrious must have lived in Equestria at some point in time. If she was an alicorn, that meant she was of royal title and should have known Celestia.

Rarity blinked.

She did so again, feeling slightly stupider the second time. That should have clicked earlier. Here she was with royalty and it never occurred to ask about her relationship with ponies she knew personally. Connections should have been the first thing she solidified. If she did know the sister monarchs, perhaps they could ask for help.

“I don’t think I ever had the opportunity to thank you for what you did,” Illustrious said as they were seated. “Sometimes I forget that happened...”

“May I serve your drinks?” said the waiter..

“Lemonade,” replied Illustrious.

“Water with lemon, please,”  said.

He gave a small bow and scurried off.

“What do you mean ‘you forget’?” Rarity asked. As much as she wanted to ask her questions, she wouldn’t rudely ignore her friend’s choice of topic. There would be time.

Illustrious put her two forehooves together in the cushion she was sitting on, rubbing them against each other. “Reflections are silly things,” she said pensively. “When something happens, you get a memory. When you think about a memory long enough, you get a reflection. Time and your personal viewpoints can warp a memory into a reflection, and a reflection into a memory.”

“Indeed,” Rarity agreed. As much she wanted to ask Illustrious about Equestria, she had enough questions on the topic of reflections to warrant hours of conversation. “Illustrious, is it normal for a pony to hear voices and see things—unusual things—in Asaralubat?”

Rarity seemed to have garnered her intrigue. There was a curious sparkle in her eye and a slight twitch in her ear. So far, Illustrious had been the all-knowing expert, leading Rarity by a carrot on a stick, but now she seemed interested enough to approach the conversation seriously.

“Unusual things? This is a world of reflections, so you will see the world change constantly around you, such as the periodic fruit punch nebula, but for the sake of conversation I’d like to hear your personal experiences.”

Rarity smiled at the mention of her own artistic work. “Well, I saw my sister back on the beach. And every so often I hear you and Dauntless talking when I shouldn’t,” she explained, averting her eyes from the princess and down to her hooves. “I’ve chosen to take this all lightly since you asked me if I was 'ponderin in my noggin' our methodology for saving Sweetie Belle, but honestly, I’m becoming a little worried.”

“Expand,” said Illustrious simply.

“Well—first there’s my sister. This entire venture is in her interest, and for some reason it doesn’t seem to be going as planned. You seem surprised by the transpiring of events, despite having claimed to have had it all planned out in advance.”

Illustrious took a sip of her lemonade. “No offense, but that’s your fault! You’ve changed me as a pony, so my reflections must change accordingly.”

She took another sip of her lemonade.

“Exactly how much has changed? We’re still going to save my sist—Wait, where did you get that?” Rarity said, eyes glued to the glass.

“This?” Illustrious gestured to the sparkling yellow juice. “The waiter brought it by. Don’t you remember?”

Rarity’s complete confusion compounded as she recalled the memory. Only seconds before, the waiter had brought their drinks. Yet at the same time, she had a clear remembrance of the waiter never coming by again. Her heart rate picked up. Malice and darkness filled the establishment. The glass construction of the building became reflective of smoke that wasn’t there.

“I was thirsty,” Illustrious whispered, “and I didn’t feel like waiting.” She smiled and took a sip of her drink. “You gave me colour, and now I’m using it. Just a little reflection of convenience.” She took another sip of her drink. “Do you remember what we were talking about?”

She took another sip of her drink. Rarity could hear the fluids moving inside the plastic straw. They screeched against each other, numbing her focus. She furrowed her brow in discomfort and the princess stopped.

“I—You were telling me about how upset you are...” Rarity said mindlessly. “About something...”

Illustrious had been crying.

She had broken down a few minutes ago. She had been so upset Rarity had to order her drink for her. Illustrious had told Rarity her favourite drink was lemonade, so she got her that. Even sipping her favourite drink didn’t dry her tears. She was upset because of Dauntless—he’d probably done something. It was a reasonable conclusion. Illustrious was always complaining about something he’d done one time or another, but she didn’t remember what caused this crying fit in particular. The ice grew in her stomach. Illustrious took a sip of her drink. Now she remembered; it was Dauntless. Dauntless had been tormenting her with fake memories. An eternity of reflections upon reflections had made her forget who she was.

Maybe that’s all Illustrious was; the pony who’d forgotten who she was in her reflections.

Rarity looked down and saw that Illustrious’ glass was filled with a red liquid. It was fruit punch. One time long ago, they had a wonderful adventure whose details were lost to time. The only thing they remembered was sailing and sipping fruit punch. After that, they had decided that fruit punch was their favourite drink.

Illustrious was crying now.

“I-I don’t remember what’s real and what’s not,” she stammered. “I-I’ve lived out so many memories and had so many reflections, that I can’t tell which ones happened and which ones I made up...”

Rarity’s tongue caught in her throat. She looked for something to say, anything to comfort Illustrious, but nothing came. She was in a situation unlike any other and experience brought her no insight. Rarity was the type of pony who learned from experience, and in order to help her she’d need to relate it to something she knew.

“Do you still love Dauntless?” she asked.

“I-I shouldn’t. He lied to me and made fun of me, but whenever I feel like forgetting him forever, it hurts really bad...”

“You still love him, don’t you?” Rarity looked her straight in the eye. She needed to know somepony was there for her.

Illustrious’ face scrunched up as she nodded. “Mhmm...” she whined.

Rarity gave her a reassuring smile. “Have no fear, Lily. No matter what you think, what you feel inside your heart always remains the same. If you loved him, you can know without a doubt that the memories that brought you to those feelings are the true ones.”

Illustrious didn’t look any more secure. “Auntie, I know that,” she said quietly. “I have thousands of reflections of certain events, each one holding the requisite level of love. Not to mention my fantasies.” The pain on Illustrious’ face intensified. Rarity wished she could somehow take Illustrious’ pain away, but part of her thought it was silly. Illustrious was just a filly having a tantrum. “I’ve fallen in love with him more times than days I’ve known him. I’ve been searching for the memory where I went wrong, so I can fix it.”

Each and every word that rolled off her tongue made Rarity sink in her seat. It may have been foolish to think, but Rarity actually thought she was beginning to understand the world. It was as simple as saving the princess from miserably living out the same memories over and over again. Yet, Illustrious was on a different level entirely and Rarity had been put in her place. She was an outsider trying to look in on a timeless entity’s innermost thoughts and feelings, trying to decipher centuries of intrapersonal turmoil.

“I’m not sure if I understand. What is there to fix?”

“I’ve hurt for so long,” she sobbed. “I’ve thought about him everyday, and even time doesn’t dull an edge that sharpens itself. My mind is relentless. I keep falling in love with him, and I want to stop.”

The entire room silenced. They both turned, the sound of shifting in their cushions meeting their ears. Rarity saw a familiar face being brought in by the hostess. It was Dauntless. He looked nervous, biting his lip. He snuck up behind Illustrious, took a deep breath, and threw on a warm smile. Illustrious’ face was the complete opposite, one of tears, pain, and hatred.

“Hey,” he said to her like an airy, lovestruck schoolcolt. “You look beautiful.”

“You’re an hour late,” she sneered. Illustrious took a sip of her drink, but she was talking too. Her eyes looked in two places at once. One pair at Rarity, and the other pair turned around at Dauntless. Rarity felt light headed—something was wrong. It was getting colder and colder.

His mouth hung open, devastated. Rarity could see complete, genuine shock on his face. He gathered himself and swung to her side. “Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry. I thought you said seven. Sergeant Ironside just kept talking up a storm, and I felt bad about being five minutes late, but an hour?”

“Yeah, an hour.”

“Lily...” His eyes were so true and sincere that Rarity couldn’t help but hang on every word he said. “I-I—I gotta tell you I feel like a piece of garbage right now. First day back, first time I get to see you, and I already botched it. Can I make it up to you?.”

Tears were streaming her face, but her voice didn’t waiver nor did her resolve. “No, you can’t.”

“Wh-what?” he stammered.

“You’re going to leave me alone.”

The glass mansion shattered around them silently. Millions of shards of glass exploded outward, raining down in black sparkles amidst the smoke. Illustrious’ colour left her, fading her to a dull grey. Only her burning amethyst eyes remained coloured. “I don’t want to see you again. You laughed at me before you left, and then you stood me up.”

“I-I didn’t laugh at you. I don’t even know what you’re talking about! You told me seven, and it’s seven!” he protested. He began getting teary. “Okay, whatever, maybe I need to get my ears checked. I’ll admit to being late, but you don’t mean that. Come on, Lily, I thought about you every day...”

“I said get out of my face!”

Dauntless pursed his lips and crinkled up his nose, nodding for loss of anything else to do. Maybe he was agreeing with his fate, or maybe he was thinking about how much he should be hurting right now.

“Lily,” he said, holding his tears in. “I know you’re upset. I’d be upset too, but I love you. We’re not really gonna let it end because I was an hour late, are we? Come on, I got the boat all set up. You said you wanted sailing! Out on the ocea—”

“What part of ‘get out of my face’ don’t you understand, you stupid pony?!” she shouted, shoving him away half-heartedly.

Rarity spoke out. “Illustrious! That is enough!”

She ignored Rarity. Dauntless either did the same or was unable to hear nor see her. It was at that time that the waiter came back with their drinks. He was either oblivious of or ignoring the situation. Rarity watched him place down drinks where drinks already were and weren’t.

“Lemonade, water with lemon. I shall be back in a moment to take your orders,” said the waiter.

“Fruit punch, one more fruit punch. I shall be back in a moment to take your orders,” said the waiter.

Dauntless just stared at his as he left. His eyes watered more and more with each passing second. A single tear streamed his cheek. He was a sharp pony, and it didn’t take him but a second to figure out how long she’d really been there for.

“An hour late?” He nodded sarcastially. “Yeah? Best place in town takes an hour to get your drinks out? How come I don’t believe that?!”

Illustrious took a long, screeching sip of her drink that muted the world. They began shouting ferociously at each other, but Rarity couldn’t hear them. Spit was flying as they degenerated into animals. She was going to finish her entire drink. Dauntless struck Illustrious, and she struck him back. It became gruesome quickly. Rarity watched on in horror, tears welling up in her own confused eyes. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This was supposed to be a loving encounter that would set a precedent of happiness for the rest of their lives. Illustrious was halfway done with her drink, and for a moment Rarity was afraid that this would become their fate.

She heard the ghost voices again. They saved all three of them.

Illustrious would have sat there, anxiously looking about for her date. Already almost five minutes had passed. It was nothing alarming, but she’d told him seven sharp, and military ponies lived by the clock. Oh well, as long as she got to see him sometime tonight, all would be forgiven.

He would have arrived only a few minutes late. He snuck up behind the mare with the utmost stealthiness and whispered in her ear.

“Hey,” he said like an airy, lovestruck schoolcolt.

She would have squeaked in surprise and turned around to see a bouquet of flowers. He silenced her outburst by catching her lips with his own. She lit up like a fireworks display. Her body and senses melted away, If only held up by his lips. All other feeling washed away and for a moment it was just her and Dauntless. After the short kiss, he pulled away, letting her chase him a little.

“I missed you,” he would have said before kissing her again.

“Mmm,” she cooed. “I missed you too, Sweetheart. My lips feel strange. They are both quite numb and exploding with sensation. However, they are trending tinglingness negatively from the short burst only seconds ago. Care to reverse it?” she said through closed eyes.

He would have rolled his eyes and kissed her again. That one did her in. Everything was lost in the light touch; her mind, her manners, everything. They might have been shamelessly kissing in a public restaurant, but she didn’t care. This was her moment to have. She may say something stupid in a few seconds, but she didn’t care.

This had been her moment to have.

“You’re getting all silly again, aren’t you?” he said.

She would have giggled girlishly. “I can only think of one argument for why we shouldn't get married, and it's of a petty nature!”

He smiled. “Oh yeah, and what’s that?”

“It would too easy. Life would be too easy.”

Illustrious looked directly at Rarity and finished her drink.

The shouting and bickering of the two ponies in front of her replaced the ghost voices. Rarity hadn’t noticed before, but Dauntless had changed. He was now a crude metal sculpture. His body was rusty old copper, his mane was nickel painted blue, and his eyes were two small disks of copper, oxidized to a light olive colour.

“You’re completely devoid of any sort of feeling or empathy!” Illustrious cried. “Do you know how much it hurts to love a pony who can’t even love you back?!”

“See if I care. I’m leaving,” it replied metallically.

The metal Dauntless fell to dust. Soon the rest of the world followed and they were left back in the city of Asaralubat. In the pile of dust that was once Dauntless, Rarity saw a bloom of red shimmering in the grey world. It was a rose. She picked it up.

Illustrious was still crying, laid out across Dauntless’ dusty pile.

“Why did you do that? Why did you lie to him?” Rarity said quietly.

“’Cause...”

“’Cause? ’Cause isn’t good enough. Why did you do that?” she repeated.

“Because!”

“Because isn’t good enough either. He loved you. And you loved him. Why did you do that?” said Rarity. “You wanted to remember what really happened only to change it! You’re making things up and all it’s doing is hurting you. I refuse to believe you’re doing all this blindly. Now give me a good reason for why you did that!”

“Because, Auntie, he’s hurt me so much that maybe the pain needs to be reciprocated!”

“Reciprocated on who?!” she spat in disbelief. “It’s not really him! He’s an illusion; smoke in mirrors. The voices I hear, those are the real memories!” she exclaimed. “I hear love and respect in your life, and all these stupid reflections are your own bitterness!”

“You don’t know that...”

Rarity wanted to scream at her, but she knew it wouldn’t do any good. “I know when I see a hurt mare. I know it may feel like there is nothing else besides the pain, but darling, you need to let go. Once we’re back in Equestria, you can have a new life beyond this madness.”

“A new life? What else is there beyond this?! I don’t care about Equestria!”

The world melted away and they were left standing on an invisible floor among a smokey, dark void. Illustrious huffed out a small breeze through pursed lips, clearing a space and a figure. Before them, they saw Dauntless strapped to a rack, his back exposed. Dark, black gashes covered him. He let out an exhausted groan.

Illustrious snapped out a flail. Each length a different, sparkling colour. She cracked it, and in a long rainbow arc, she brought it against the stallion’s back. Rarity screamed as it connected. His cry was guttural and immediately shook Rarity’s nerves. It was savage and primal.

“Illustrious, you’re hurting him!” Rarity cried. “Have you lost your mind?! Stop it this instant!” Rarity moved against Illustrious, trying to struggling away the flail with her magic, but she was nowhere near as powerful as the princess. Illustrious ignored her, unleashing herself upon the stallion. She growled and grunted, her entire form seething with hatred and rage. Her assault was relentless, each lash erasing one part of him or another. Illustrious was crying, though. Her eyes poured amethyst stars of light across the space, covering every inch of darkness.

Each passing second of pain drained her eyes of their brilliant colour. With no end in sight, it wouldn’t be long before they lost their light too.

“Give it back! Give me back my colour! You took it from me and left me stranded in this forsaken place!” she screamed. “I gave you everything, and I want it back!”

“Illustrious!” Rarity screamed. “Stop it! You’re only hurting yourself!”

The ghost voices returned.

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

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

“I know, but I was thinking about it. I don’t want to go sailing with you on a ship filled a bunch of other ponies. I want it to be just us.” He smiled and nuzzled her. “I think we’ll have the best time when we can just be ourselves with no one around to judge us.”

“Like when we colour our colouring books... and make sandcastles modeled after the home we’ll live in, in the future?”

He would have chuckled with a growing blush on his face. There was a warmness in his smile that came from finding the only pony in his small port town that he could still be a little kid around. “Mmhmm. I don’t want to have to deal with anymore guys who thinks it’s funny to pick onfillies who like to do little foal stuff. So, when I get back we’re going to go sailing all by ourselves, got it?”

“Most certainly!”

Then they vanished.

Dauntless continued screaming and Illustrious continued crying. The darkness was becoming pure purple. One final strike erased Dauntless completely, leaving a floating black silhouette in a world of purple. Tiny sparkle of purple left in Illustrious’ eyes finally left her. It was the last colour left in her.

She collapsed to the ground, heaving out pained sobs. She curled up into a ball as the last of her purple left her. Her tears became normal again and soon her face was a slightly soggy mess of fur.

“H-he’s gone,” she said finally. “I-I’m free.”

Rarity shook her head. “No, Princess. You’re so miserably wrong,” she said. “He’s not gone and you’re not free.” She pointed to the black silhouette who huffed out ragged breaths. “He’s right there, wondering why the love of his life beat him senseless. And you’re still trapped in your gem.”

“You don’t understand! It hurts, Auntie! You would never know! I hate sailing! I’m going to go freeze to death!” She stumbled to her hooves and ran off beyond the purple light, wailing at the top of her lungs.

Rarity considered chasing her, but she didn’t want anything to do with the princess. Not anymore, at least. Given Rarity could catch her, what would she even do? She had no idea where she was or what she was doing. Trying to talk some sense into a heartbroken girl had never worked in Equestria, let alone Asaralubat. She sighed. What had begun as an adventure to save her sister had fallen into the madness of a deranged, broken mare.

The black stallion was still choking out ragged breaths, probably struggling to stay alive if he was so in the first place. He hung by his hooves spreadeagle, probably bruised and beaten. Rarity looked off in the direction Illustrious fled and chewed her lip. The wails were growing quieter. Illustrious was creating distance. Now would be her last, and probably only, chance to follow her. She furrowed her brow and instead turned to Dauntless.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “Here, let me get you down from there.”

“P-Princess?” he stuttered blindly, still out of it.

“No, it’s just me, Lady Rarity.” She began unraveling his bindings. “I don’t know how much pain you’re in, but I’ll try and do this as quickly as possible.”

There was some silence as he gathered his strength to speak again. “Auntie Rarity...?”

“Indeed, the one and only.” He grimaced as she tugged and attempted to loosen the bindings. The ropes were tied tightly, and she didn’t know how to undo such complex knots. She resolved to use a few spells and just blast him free. Beneath the cuffs and chains were shimmering bands of his natural amber coat. The flail hadn’t stolen all his colour.

“I know she doesn’t seem like it right now, but Lily really looks up to you...” he said. For just been flogged of his colour, he seemed to have a strange calmness about him.

“Does she now?” she scoffed, gallons of sarcasm poured into her voice.

He winced as the last binding was undone and he dropped to the ground. Dauntless made no attempt to get up immediately, groaning instead. Rarity wasn’t sure if she pitied him or not as he writhed. Her trust for any sort of emotional display had plummeted, to say the least. Her most recent impasse with Illustrious had made sure of that.

Illustrious had made a mockery of all the love in her life. Everything was a lie, even the truthfulness of raw feeling. Still, she was alone, and this pony was apparently the only sentient being around. She chuckled lightly as she considered asking him if he could help her save Sweetie Belle.

“Can you stand, dear?”

“Yeah, just hurts is all.” He gathered himself and took a deep breath before standing to his full height.

It was strange talking to the stallion directly, especially when he was just a shadow. So far, Dauntless had been enigmatic to her. She never felt like she truly shared existence with him, instead being more of an ethereal visitor who he could vaguely recognize. Yet, now they spoke plainly.

“She certainly has issues, doesn’t she?” Rarity commented as the wails faded off in the distance.

“She’s just really sensitive,” he said with a smile. Rarity wasn’t sure how she knew, but from the way he talked, he sounded happy, almost endeared. “She’s been through a lot. I guess it’s all my fault for selling out Asaralubat. That really upset her. Imagine your one sanctuary being used by someone else.”

“Yes... About that.... What happened exactly? Illustrious never told me what happened between you two.”

He sighed. “It’s not really my place to say. Illustrious told me she wants to be the one to tell you. She’s kind of like that. Don’t worry, you’ll find out in a reflection.”

“I’d say I don’t understand, but I already feel like a broken record, so I won’t bother. This entire experience has been a little unorthodox.”

“Has it?” he chuckled. “I guess when you live your life in a city of cloudy mirrors, you sort of forget what’s normal and what’s not.”

“Indeed.”

There was another silence. Rarity looked around. Dauntless was looking at her as if he enjoyed nothing more than the conversation they shared. He wasn’t disturbed or seemingly aware of the fact that they stood in a featureless purple space. Rarity had tried to take that with a grain of salt, but a dead weight was forming in her gut. Where else could she go from here?

Dauntless picked up on her discomfort. She could sense him frown. The atmosphere became pensive. There was something he needed to say.

“Auntie?” he said finally.

“Yes?” she replied.

“There isn’t a lot of time. You’re entering the final hours of your stay here, while I’m entering my final minutes.”

Rarity closed her eyes, turned her head away, and sighed. “I feel the same way,” she agreed.

She wasn’t sure what compelled her to say that. She didn’t know that. It was technically new information to her, but somehow it felt right. Her stay in Asaralubat was entering its final act.

“It was great seeing Lily again, but before I go, I have to tell you something.”

“And what is that?”

He took a deep breath. “I’m the one who took Sweetie Belle...”

The relaxed, casual mood dropped like lead. Rarity turned up to glare at the stallion. No amount of pleasantry would keep her docile in the face of such a crime. At first she didn’t believe him, but could detect no dishonesty. He was sincere and apologetic, yet spoke in a tone as if it was a healed wound far in the past. He talked as if they both somehow knew of his crime, and it was forgiven.

“You what?” she seethed.

He winced at her outburst. “Little foal in the forest? Yeah, I may have had something to do with that...”

Rarity’s blood began to boil. She knew all of this was connected; her sister, these stupid ghost ponies, the soul gem—everything. She should have just thrown it out when she had the chance. It was a soul gem. How was she even okay with that in the first place?

“I’m not perfect, but look. I’ve spent my entire life trying to be a good pony. It was only last year that I decided to try something so desperate.”

“What? What do you mean, last year? That happened within the last few days! Have I been gone for a year?!”

“No, probably not, but that’s not the point, the reflection has—”

“Start making sense! I’m tired of you and your mysteries, and—” Her face scrunched like a bright red cherry. “Your talk of twinkling mirrors and such! I hope you’re aware that you should be condemned to only the worst of punishments for what you did!”

“I’m a good pony, honest!” he shouted, stomping and imposing his height over her. “I’ve saved lives before. Can’t I make a mistake?”

“I don’t care if you’ve saved the entire world! Return my sister before I tear you to pieces!” Rarity screamed, taking up an aggressive stance.

“I—I can’t. Only Illustrious can.”

“Is that so?!” she said. “Well, I don’t remember the last time I spared a foalnapper some sort of justice!”

Rarity struck him hard across the cheek, her hoof cutting deep into what she supposed was his flesh. He let his head turn with the force of the blow. He spat black.

“I deserved that.”

“Yes, yes you did!” She struck him again, this time with the other hoof. Again, it cut into him, and his face turned the other way. Black ink covered both her hooves now. “Did you deserve that one too?”

“I... don’t know.”

Once more she connected her hoof angrily to his cheek, and one last time, he simply took it. Rarity had to stand on her hind legs to reach him, barely having enough stability to cause any damage. He didn’t resist. She admired that at least he had the character to take his punishment.

He spat again. “Has anyone ever told you that you hold a striking resemblance to Illustrious?”

Rarity was about to strike him again, but stopped mid swing. She hesitated. “No—yes. Illustrious told me that when we first met. Then she told me it wasn’t true,” Rarity said, going back to all fours. She looked down and saw his black ink spattered across the floor. It was clear that her justice wasn’t doing anything but cause more pain. “Why?” she said calmly.

“She’s a terrible liar. You look just like her. Just as beautiful...” he said sincerely.

Normally she would have beamed at such a compliment, but instead it just buried the guilt deeper. She refused to look up at him. Why did she feel so guilty? He’d taken her sister, and for some reason she felt like the bad guy. “Do I now? Isn’t her mane blue while mine is purple?” she replied sheepishly.

“Sometimes it’s not always about appearances that defines beauty and if two things look the same. It’s kind of hard to explain, but when I look in the mirror, I see both myself, and someone else. We look the same, and different, at the same time.”

“How thoughtful.”

“When Illustrious looks in the mirror, she see someone else too. Now, we need you to be that someone else. I’ve cast my vote and so has Lily. You’re now the Princess of Expression.” He bowed, his muzzle nearly touching the floor.

“What are you talking about? Actually, don’t tell me, because it will be a cryptic riddle, and I think I’ve had enough headaches for ten lifetimes.”

The ice in Rarity’s stomach grew larger.

“Didn’t Illustrious tell you? Asaralubat is a democracy.”

Rarity noticed out of the corner of her eye a royal purple mane flowing in an unseen wind. She turned her head to see where it came from, but it pulled as she did. It was her own mane. When she turned around to look at Dauntless, he was gone. All that was left was a tall vanity mirror and in it, her reflection.

She was astounded when she saw her mane and tail had lengthened and been cut much in the same fashion as Illustrious’. She wore matching regalia set in onyx and sapphires instead of platinum and amethysts. Her eyes sparkled a blueish-white, much like the diamonds on her cutie mark.

She had no words, nothing to say at all. She was frustrated, but what was she going to do? She was standing in the center of what could most accurately be described as ‘simply purple’, she was being hauled about some psychotic mare’s innermost workings, and her sister’s life was still in jeopardy. To top it all off, she was the princess now, whatever that meant.

There was nothing that she could do. Considering her options were running out into the purple and getting lost, kicking the mirror, or sitting there and wondering if she’d die of starvation, nothing seemed to appeal. Maybe there was something more creative she could do, but that seemed to hold contingencies as well. In a weird way, she felt responsible for derailing Illustrious’ planned set of memories. Maybe if she hadn’t changed them, things would have gone smoother. It seemed that Illustrious had quite the stable system of memory-reliving going before Rarity showed up.

Out of wild conjectures to make, Rarity decided to take in her surroundings. It didn’t take long to find the only other thing occupying her space. Laying right in front of her was the soul gem from before, as innocent as ever. She eyed it warily. It was too obvious, too displayed to just pick up. Illustrious had probably set this up somehow in her horribly misdirected revenge of something that never happened. By picking it up, she would be playing into her hooves.

She glanced across the empty space around her and sighed. There seemed to be no other option. She picked up the gem in her hoof and looked between it and the mirror.

“Sweetie Belle, if I ever make my way out of this mess, it will be my royal decree that you may never leave my sight,” she said to herself. “The forest will be off limits forever.”

Gem in hoof, she pushed it into the surface of the mirror and the display from before repeated. Colour filled the mirror, and Rarity stepped through it, disappearing beyond its smooth glass. Where it’d take her, she didn’t know, but she knew one thing. Her first course of action would be to hunt Illustrious down and make her finish her task. They’d spent enough time playing around in their sandbox. Now it was time to get serious.

She would save her sister, no matter the cost.

Princess Luna sat alone on a cushion in Stella’s wooden cottage, watching the fire. She sipped her tea quietly. It was dark outside and would remain that way forever. This was her sanctuary, and if she didn’t want the sun to rise, it wouldn’t. It had been a long time since it last rose in earnest. Maybe recent events would change that and maybe they wouldn’t, she didn’t know. Yet, with how much had been sacrificed so far, she couldn’t rightfully give up.

There was a knock at the door.

She sighed and got up, placing her tea on the table. Who would be visiting at this hour? No pony came by so late. Not anymore, at least. A little more than a millennia ago, this place was a home, somewhere that a foal could feel safe in. Now, it was a place of darkness, ghosts, and subtlety. It was made that way by evil words that ruined lives. Luna was its protector and resident. When she felt lonely in Canterlot, she liked to go to Stella’s cottage and feel lonely there. At least there had once been love in this house, unlike that castle.

She swung the door open to meet a grey Illustrious. It was troubling to see, but her happy-go-lucky expression somehow made up for it.

“Hi! Miss me?” Illustrious said cheerfully.

Luna’s jaw dropped, her lip trembling. She took a staggered step back.

“It’s uhh—it’s been awhile, hasn’t it?” Illustrious added. “You okay? You don’t look okay...”

Luna remained speechless, horrified by the pony who stood in front of her. Illustrious’ smile cracked. She scratched the back of her neck. As the awkward silence went on, Luna’s eyes grew in size, appalled. She swallowed hard, trembled, and shook her head. “Seven-hundred years... and this is all thou sayest?”

“Actually, it isn’t! There is an exceptionally long story to all this. Basically I got trapped in a soul gem, and then I brought this unicorn into it to help make the Sparkling Reflection, but then she started messing with my reflections and I went totally psycho-crazy on Dauntless,” she said quickly without pause.

“Now I’ve lost my colour, the unicorn is romping around Asaralubat without me, and apparently I’m free.” She chewed her lip for a second. “I really need to get back and finish the mirror before our little mistake happens all over again. It gets really hard to keep tabs on all the changes she makes, and without colour, her little sister is going to die.”

Luna only registered the end of her rant. “Little sister?”

“Yeah, she’s fallen into the grey. Remember that void that Celestia left? That place. I have no idea how she got there, but she’s there. Now, I promise I’ll come back and hang out with you, but I really, really need to get going.” She trotted anxiously in place. “I need my colour back. Do you have any photographs? Something to help me remember who I am? Just a tiny bit.”

“I—erhm...” Luna looked down to the corner of her eye. “This is very sudden,” she said flustered, but trying to remain composed. “Hundreds of years and you show up on my doorstep like it was just yesterday—Can I take a moment?”

“I really want to take a good five years. We have so much to talk about, but I’m really pressed for time at the moment,” Illustrious interjected. “And this isn’t your doorstep, it’s all of ours!”

“I haven’t felt that way in a long time. And please, like you weren’t always getting into one predicament or another. I can’t count how many times you told me you needed something so urgently.”

“I blame Dauntless.”

Luna smiled, but it quickly faded. “I don’t have anything for you. All of our things were lost hundreds of years ago.”

Illustrious frowned. “Have any good stories or jokes? Really, I just need anything to remind me who I am.”

“I—” Luna paused. “Are you sure you want to go back? You’re free now. You can come home and see Celestia again. I don’t know what she’ll say, but I know I’ve missed you.”

“Absolutely certain. That unicorn’s little sister is lost and I won’t let her die. Don’t worry, once I get the Sparkling Reflection operational again, I’ll be back. And what would life be like without colour?”

They both smiled.

“I won’t answer that,” said Luna.

Illustrious giggled. “Yeah, I don’t think we need reminding.”

Then they laughed. They laughed about things that they shouldn’t have laughed about. The last time that happened, ponies had been separated from their friends and their lives had been ruined. Maybe it was the tension, or maybe it was the surreality of the situation, but they laughed.

Luna saw a twinkle of colour in Illustrious’ eyes that had not previously been there. “Okay, I do have one thing to tell you... It’s kind of big. Much along the lines of what happened.”

Illustrious smiled. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

Luna blushed. “I’ve—I’ve found somepony. I’ve been able to move on. It still hurts, but everyday it gets better. We’re... in love. I think.”

Illustrious’ smile grew larger and larger. She literally lit up, colour returning over her in a wave. Their happiness reflected between them until the cottage felt warm again. Had there been better news in all the world, Illustrious couldn’t imagine it. Energy surged inside her. She wanted to explode with happiness.

“I calculate that you are very much in love! Selena, I’m so happy for you!” she gushed. The shape of the gem appeared around her in a display of red light. She began to disappear as the translucent gem took her back to her prison.

One last time Princess Selena saw Illustrious’ smile just before a bright flash blinded her. Everything was white for a moment. She heard a small object hit the floor, and when the glare subsided, she saw the soul gem laying on the doormat.

Selena picked it up and closed the door.

Rarity woke up amidst golden twilight in her own bed, her own room. Outside the sun was setting as Celestia’s daily goodbye to the world painted the sky amber. It bathed Rarity in soft, but vibrant colours. Dust hung apparent in the air, shimmering and glowing, an unseen wind stirring it gently. Rarity fluttered her lashes to see unstill air drift through space.

She looked at her hoof and turned it over. She focused beyond it, to the mirror at the far side of her room and saw her reflection. It wasn’t that of a princess, just her usual self. Her chest tightened with bated breath as she watched it, waiting for something to happen.

“Is this...” she whispered. “Was that a dream?”

Her first instinct was to say ‘no’. Asaralubat was a tricky place and this could be another one of its illusions. Still, she had hope. Maybe there was a way to tell if it was real or not. She racked her mind for everything she remembered about how the world worked. This would be a reflection if anything, so she should have the ability to change anything at will. She had to test it.

“I want a cinnamon bun...” Rarity said nervously, shaking a bit. She held her hoof out and waited for the dessert to drop into it. Nothing happened for a minute, and a smile curled across her face.

She heard a knock at the bedroom door. “Hey, Rarity?” said a familiar voice. “C-can I come in?”

Rarity’s heart leaped at the utterance. Her chest tightened up. If that was who she thought it was, this terrible nightmare would finally be over. She closed her eyes and prayed to the princess for such good fortune.

“Sw-Sweetie B-Belle?” she coughed out, an unstoppable smile growing wider and wider. “Sweetie Belle, come in here! Your big sister needs to see you right now!” Next Chapter: The Beauty of it All Estimated time remaining: 39 Minutes