Princess Luna's chambers

"Oh my goodness!" gasped Rarity. "Whatever happened here?"

"I must admit," said Celestia, as she cast an eye over the debris filling Luna's living area, "nothing too unexpected."

Three of Equestria's most prominent figures lay on the floor at the centre of the room. A scholar, a noble and the younger Diarch herself, the three mares twitched as a dark, red liquid pooled around Luna's head. Then Twilight Sparkle giggled, thrashed a hoof, and knocked her own glass of wine over, spilling to meet the stain in the navy carpet where Luna's drink had been tipped. The three ponies on the floor burst out laughing once more, whilst the two newcomers stood, Rarity looking astounded, while Celestia was merely knowingly amused.

"Twilight," the sober Princess asked softly, earning only a hazy wave in return.

"Princess," mumbled Twilight, "you gotta hear thish... Luna was at the... Luna-"

"Princess Luna," tittered the third mare, Princess Cadence, Twilight's sister-in-law, with no hint of sincerity in her voice.

"Oh, sure," Twilight exclaimed, gesticulating wildly. "An' while we're at it, you c'n call me Doctor, Lady... Mage Twilight..." She frowned. "Twilight... Sp..."

"I think it can wait," muttered Celestia, as she heaved her sister and the magician into the air with her magic. Cadence's eyes followed them, but quickly went out of focus.

"Woah," Twilight blurted, as the comforting stillness of the floor left her and she found herself staring her former mentor in the face, from the wrong angle. "Princess... Why're you standin' on the ceiling?"

"I'm not," said Celestia. She rolled Twilight over, but the studious unicorn flipped all the way around in the air, and remained with her tail dangling just inches off the floor. On Celestia's other side, Luna was still in fits of laughter, Rarity backing off to get away from the smell of alcohol on the alicorn's breath.

"Desperate times," muttered Celestia to herself, dropping the two unceremoniously to the floor. Twilight muttered an unworried ow, while Luna only paused briefly in her gale of hilarity. Across the room from them, Cadence stared with wide, distant, vacant eyes.

Rarity gazed on with amazement in her blue eyes as the regal white Princess readied herself for a spell, her horn lighting up in the golden aura that accompanied all the alicorn's magic. A stream of gold light flowed from her hornpoint to the middle of the chamber, where it split into three and reached out to touch the tip of the horns of each of the drunken mares. Clarity grew in their hazy gazes as the light pulled itself away once more, this time pooling into the ruby on Celestia's gold peytral, its owner gazing distastefully on it as she relinquished her spell, and appraised the room once more.

Furthest away from her, near the door to Luna's study, Cadence sat blinking in confusion. The winged princess' long, multihued mane was quite ruffled, and her tiara had been misplaced somewhere along the line - as, she noticed, had three of Luna's silver slippers. Her sister's starry mane had not suffered the same fate as the younger noble's - science was still trying to decide whether or not her hair actually existed - but she was looking somewhat worse for the wear in every other sense as she sat up, finally recovering from her hysterics.

Twilight had collapsed to the floor, hooves clasped over her head as she tried to come to terms with sobriety. Around the three were scattered glasses, wine stains, empty bowls with had spilled the remaining crisps within out over the ruined carpet, and flat pizza boxes - some empty, others with their formerly delicious cargo sitting cooled within.

"What..." Rarity managed, her class-oriented mind struggling to understand the gathering that had taken place here. Princess Luna's chamber looked no better than her own home back in Ponyville had after one of Pinkie Pie's parties - perhaps even worse.

"Like I said," Celestia told her as the three ponies on the floor suddenly came round, "nothing I didn't expect."

"I really am learning the most interesting things about the royal family tonight," Rarity observed to nopony in particular, but Princess Celestia heard, and smiled. I shall have to ask her about that sobering spell, noted the former dressmaker. It could be useful.

"Ugh..." Twilight groaned as she stood up, shaking herself out. She turned to the two newcomers with tired eyes. "This is something important, isn't it? It was really important last time-"

"You mean you've do this before?" Rarity nearly shrieked.

"Sure I have... Eating and drinking with friends?" Twilight gave her a confused stare. "Heck, I've done it with you, Rarity."

"Yes, well, I suppose, but," Rarity stammered, "the princesses?" This earned her giggles from Luna and Cadence. "What?"

"I told you I didn't care for high society," Celestia muttered. "Yes, Twilight, it is of the utmost importance." She levitated Rainbow's letter, from where Rarity didn't know, and tossed in to the floor at Twilight's hooves. Taking it in her own magic, Twilight pulled it to eye level, and began to absorb the information. A slow, horrified grimace began to spread across her face.

"What does it say?" asked Princess Luna, now listening intently. "Read it aloud, Twilight."

Yes, Rarity wondered desperately, what does it say? The other unicorn paused and looked uncertainly at her mentor, who nodded her approval.

"Oh, um, alright then," Twilight began hesitantly. "Dear Princess Celestia, We-"

"Is Rarity OK to hear this, Auntie?" Cadence interrupted.

Celestia glanced down at the confused white unicorn, who gave her a worried stare back. "Yes," she said. "I have already... Read the letter, Twilight."

"OK. Uh... Dear Princess Celestia...

"We made it to Celagia during summer last year, I don't know exactly when. We were slowed up by followers and injuries - I'm sorry I didn't write to you after the Fire, but we were being chased by the Knights, and Spitfire was broke her fetlock on the way out. I couldn't send a letter straight to you without sticking out like a sore wing - I get what you mean now when you said the Element had a clear trace.

"When we got to Port Bridle, your guy there told us that Captain Royal had been killed by the Knights, but you probably know that by now. We managed to get on board a ship with a pony called Captain Wayfinder. He didn't ask too many questions, but by the time we disembarked he had found out we were working for you. He seemed OK, though.

"From Mareakesh where we disembarked, we continued east. The Knights -"

"Um, excuse me, Twilight?" Rarity asked cautiously. "These knights..."

"I will explain afterwards, Rarity," Celestia cut her off. "You and the others need to understand the letter. Carry on, Twilight."

"The Knights stopped attacking us after we crossed the Eastern Sea, but we had some trouble with the fighting desert tribes. This warlord Sandstrike captured us as w-"

"Ah!" Rarity gasped. "Ca-Captured?"

Twilight frowned. "- Captured us as we headed to the Great Forest. We managed to escape into the woods, I don't think he sent anypony after us. After that, the spell Twilight put on the Element of Loyalty to try and trace its source picked up a second pull. I thought it might be second source of magic, so I convinced the others to track it down so I could report to you.

"We discovered, in the heart of the Great Forest, a great stone gate set in the side of a cliff. It was decorated with letters I couldn't read and there was no sign of how to open it. It was also giving off a lot of magical energy. We're camped within walking distance from it now. We can wait as long as you need to reply.

"Sorry for keeping you hanging waiting. We're still some way from the Elements' origin, as well. I hope we aren't wasting time.

"Your servant,

Rainbow Dash"

The room was quiet as its occupants processed the letter. Looking for some form of guidance, Rarity's head whipped around as she looked from princess to princess, with Luna and Celestia displaying straight, if sad, faces, while Cadence's hooves were clutched to her mouth in appalled realisation.

"No..." muttered Twilight.

"What?"

"No, no, no... I know what this is, Princess. I know what you're going to ask."

Princess Celestia hung her head, face downcast. "I'm sorry, Twilight," she said, "but there is nopony else I can turn to."

"Ask what?" Rarity asked, beginning to panic. "Twilight, what's wrong? What did Rainbow find? Is -"

"She found the Dread Gate," Princess Luna answered her. "The portal through which the souls of the deceased cross to the Fair Lands. It is a powerful source of magic and no proof exists of it. Only old memories."

"What do you mean?" Rarity wondered anxiously, glancing at Twilight, who was re-reading and re-reading the letter again, the pained desperation on her face growing more and more total as she reinforced the fears that were growing in her mind.

"I've seen the Gate myself," Luna said, calmly. "But it was not for Ponykind to know of it. I had the records of that expedition collected."

"And hidden?" Rarity asked.

"And burnt."

"I won't do it." Twilight snapped, breaking herself out of her revery.

"Twilight..." Princess Celestia stepped towards her, stretching out a motherly hoof, but Twilight backed away, clutching the letter in her magic so tightly that it began to crumple.

"I won't do it, you hear me?" Twilight's voice began to rise feverishly in pitch, cracking and wavering. "I won't! I won't go! I have - I have a life, and -"

"Will somepony please tell me what is going on?" Rarity shouted over the rising argument. "Twilight, darling, what on earth is the matter?"

Twilight didn't reply. She stood shooting fearful, angry glances at the two elder princesses, looking not unlike a cornered animal looking for an escape route.

"Twilight..." came a new, softer voice. A hoof came to rest on Twilight's shoulder. As the jumpy scholar raised her own to brush it off, a third hoof clamped itself down on top of it, holding her foreleg to her shoulder, and pushing the agitated mare gently but firmly to the floor.

Princess Cadence sat next to her, a sad, understanding expression on her face as she consoled her husband's sister. "You should tell your friend... I'm sorry, you should tell Rarity what's going on. She should know."

"Why should she know?" Twilight spluttered. "It's... It's not going to happen-"

"Tell her, Twilight," Cadence said softly. "Please...?"

Twilight Sparkle sighed heavily. She sat down, closing her eyes, and when she opened them again they were watering. "Rarity..." There was a muffled thud to her right as Rarity sat down next to her.

"It's alright, Twilight, darling. I'm here." Rarity placed her own hoof on her friend's shoulder. Twilight sat for a few moments more, breathing deeply, until, comforted by the presences of the unicorn from Ponyville and her sister-in-law, she began to speak.

"Rarity, I..." Twilight gritted her teeth. "I won't do it, Celestia, I-"

"Twilight Sparkle!" shouted Princess Celestia, angry now. "We must remain focused on the matter at hoof. Regardless of your wishes, which you know I respect, this is not a problem that we can allow to go unaddressed." She calmed for a moment, working her jaw from side to side. "Listen to yourself, Twilight. You know what this means for the world." Twilight shut her eyes and began to shake her head slowly from side to side, all the while Cadence's concerned, sorrowful gaze watching.

"What what means?" Rarity pleaded, her eyes beginning to glisten with tears of frustration and distress as Twilight fretted beside her. She felt utterly useless, unable to do anything more than ask questions while her old friend was clearly hurting. "Twilight, please, tell me what this all means!"

"And remind yourself as well," added Luna, who stood over them, her words not unkind. Rarity looked up at the indigo alicorn to see her gazing down at where they sat, pain also clear on her face. What could possibly be upsetting them all so much?

"I - I..." There was a horrible, empty silence as Twilight shuddered, refusing to look at anypony. When she breathed, her breaths were long and ragged, as if she was going to cry - but no-one said anything for fear that she would. It was several minutes before she spoke again. "Fine," she moaned, "I'll tell her."

"Rarity - Luna told me about the Dread Gate when I was studying natural magic for my PhD. It's the point where the souls of the dead enter the afterlife, but if it's closed, they won't be able to pass through."

"Oh, goodness," gasped a horrified Rarity. "I, I - are you sure, Twilight? Is that really what - I mean, where do they go - I, no, what happens to the poor creatures?"

"We don't know," Twilight admitted, "but there are stories of souls having remained behind in the past. Is possible their spirits are trapped in our world."

"Well, then, we have to open it!" proclaimed Rarity, certain. She looked around, hoping to see approval on the faces of her companions, but none of them were looking remotely happy. If anything, Twilight's face fell even further.

"That's the thing, Rarity... It's broken - I... I don't suppose you know about the Year of Twilight?"

"No." Rarity frowned. "Wait, yes. Cele - erm, Princess," she said, indicating Celestia with a bow of the head, "you said something about a month of twilight, but not a year -"

"Nopony knows how long it lasted," Celestia admitted. "Even we don't, and we were there."

"Life in Canter Keep was somewhat repetitive," Luna added with distaste. "The passage of time meant little to us. Even as the sun and moon ceased to move, our Grandfather, the King, insisted that mother continue to school Celestia. He sent me back from the capital to join her as the crisis dragged on - he became very busy, you see. Back then we could only take the time by the cycles of night and day, so the affair was... Disorienting, to say the least."

"So then," Rarity asked, trying to put the pieces together in her head. Celestia had told her that the two sisters had gained their powers by moving the satellites, but... "Why had I never heard of this month, or year, or however long of Twilight before?"

"Because I had it stricken from record," confessed Celestia quietly, shamefaced. She looked away, gazing out of the window at the clear night sky. "I didn't want to... History is such a beautiful thing, and yet..."

"Well then why?" insisted Rarity.

"Because of how it ended," intoned Luna, gravely. "And the same reason there are no records kept of the Dread Gate."

Twilight, who had been sat, lost in angry thought, stirred beside her. She began to speak once more, but never looked up from the carpet, refusing to meet anypony's eye. "The sun and the moon are great wells of natural magic," she explained, with none of the usual excitement she held when explaining the mysteries of the Equine world, as she had to Rarity so many times in the past. "They comprise a key component of life on this planet. But their power... Started to break down."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I started to look into it during my PhD, I was even the first to prove that something happened far in the past to initiate the decline! I never got to what exactly happened, but I was at the cutting edge! I could have made a historic discovery! But..."

"Yes, Twilight?" Rarity coaxed.

Twilight frowned. "But the Princess never let me publish my findings." She stopped speaking, her face twitching around the outline of frown, but she never brought it up to face Celestia. She had gotten over this a long time ago. "I... I guess she was right to stop me. I could have put them out anyway, but in the end I didn't want to."

"Well..."

"The magic of the earth, the sky, and of the world's physics can be attended to by any earth pony, pegasus, or unicorn," Twilight continued, "but these huge magical wells could never be managed by a group. They require a single dedicated controller, but no normal pony has the capability to do it themselves. Once a suitable pony reaches out to the well, it shares its magic with them, giving them the strength they need to care for it, and..." She shuddered. "Becoming dependent upon them.

"For example, now that the sun and the moon have been managed by the Princesses for so long, if they were ever to attempt to let things work as they had before, the celestial bodies would simply hang in the sky. The magic behind them is too badly damaged to allow them to be left alone. So the wells keep their custodians, so as to never be left untended."

There was a deathly hush in the room as Rarity absorbed this truth. "So then... The sun and the moon..."

"They won't let us die, Rarity," Celestia said with finality. "They couldn't, unless there was somepony - someone - to take our place." Once again there was silence, only punctuated by Twilight's heavy breathing. Next to her, Cadence glanced up at the elder Princesses, grief and sorrow written on her face for her elders - and for Twilight.

Rarity looked away, thinking for herself now. The white unicorn stared at a single carpet thread as her brain began to draw the dots together, pulling her foreleg away from Twilight.

"The Ga-"

"No, Twilight," said Rarity, "I think I understand now. The Gate is another well, and it needs its own attendant now that it has stopped working." She turned to glare resentfully at Princess Celestia. "You want her to do what you do," she said in a low, angry voice. "You want her to be like you, even after everything you told - you must have told her so much more than you told me tonight, over all these years... And she knows that it would hurt."

Celestia lowered her great head once more. "I didn't want it to come to this," she muttered resentfully, "but there is no-one else better suited for the task than Twilight Sparkle is. She is one of the most kind and intelligent ponies I have ever known, and she knows the most about what lies ahead - she studied under me, Rarity. She knows more about ali-"

"Don't say it," moaned Twilight. "Don't!"

"You know more about alicorns than any other pony who isn't one." Twilight drew breath sharply as Celestia said the dreaded word. "You know what pains me, but you know where I find joy, and how I take hope. I -"

"You take hope in the people, Princess!" Twilight ranted. "You look at them and they celebrate you, and you think you must be doing a fantastic job! Maybe you are, but how am I supposed to do that with no-one around! You can attend the sun from anywhere, Princess, but the Gate is a completely different well. I've done my research, if I go there and do... What you want me to do, I won't be able to leave it."

"Nopony lives within three hundred miles of the Gate. Nopony! You want me to go away and be alone forever. And I am not going to do it!" Twilight's voice rose in pitch throughout her tirade, and when she finished she paused for a moment, still giving the Princess a hateful glare - but then she let her hoof drop, as she burst out in tears. Merely thinking about her unwanted fate was too much. Nopony spoke for several minutes, as the purple unicorn wept like a frightened child.

"I don't want to go," she moped. Next to her, Cadence rubbed a hoof up and down her back, struggling to find comforting words.

"In the fullness of time," Celestia intoned, "things will change, Twilight. Once we understand the Gate's power it may be possible for you to come back to Equestria, and watch over it from here."

"No it wouldn't," Twilight insisted, "I'd have to be near it, I'm certain of it. I'd be like - like an immortal doorstop." The Diarchs flinched at the accusation.

"Do you really think that, Princess?" Rarity asked, desperate to learn anything she could use to comfort Twilight or dissuade the Princesses. "That Twilight could come back?"

"I... Yes," said Celestia, uncertainly, "but I have never met an alicorn who has had to watch over such a localised well."

"If you can control the sun from... However many miles away the sun is, how can Twilight be certain that the Gate must be attended to up close?" Rarity continued, trying hard to paint an alternate picture.

"I don't know," replied the Princess, honestly. "There is a certain level of symbolism in my duties - I... I feel that the sun is rather... A manifestation of my power than my power as a whole, if that makes sense. Even if it was here before me," she went on, trying very hard to put her feelings into words. "It's like - like my power is over... Life, as a whole, and the sun is the means by which I manage it. Or maybe an emotion, hope, or pride. I think there is another alicorn whose duty is over life, though we have never met. It's hard to explain," she admitted, with an abashed smile. "I've never tried to tell another pony how it feels... I didn't think they would understand."

"And do you agree with her?" Rarity looked to Luna now, the dusky alicorn already nodding.

"Emotion. My strength is in both the fear of the dark and the comfort of home, in passionate love and calming sleep. All the things that ponies feel at night I hold dominion over - but only as long as it is night." There was no doubt in her voice.

"I... Yes," breathed Celestia, new understanding dawning on her. "And life... Living, working, playing, as the things they do in the day, I give them the day to do it in. Luna, you are wiser than I could ever hope to be."

"I've had a lot of time to think about it," muttered Luna.

"It was very poetic," Cadence mumbled, still holding Twilight tightly, as if she would never let her go. Because if she does, she might never come back, Rarity realised.

"Well then," Rarity pondered, "what if the same can be said for the Gate? The Gate is merely a manifestation of the true power at hoof. Which would be..." She frowned.

"Death?" offered Cadence. She continued holding Twilight for a moment, but then let go, suddenly, realising what she had just said. Her eyes flew wide open and she shuffled away from her sister-in-law. "Oh, no, sorry, sorry, I'm not, that's not helping, I-"

Twilight gave a frustrated, despairing growl.

"Princess?" Rarity asked the pink alicorn, but Cadence just kept apologising.

"I didn't - I'm sorry, that wasn't, I wasn't thinking, Twilight, I shouldn't have-"

"Princess Cadence!" Rarity said, as loudly as she could without shouting. Cadence jumped and turned to face her, suddenly silent. "What do you... I mean, you aren't like your aunts, are you? You're not..." She trailed off, unsure of how to phrase the question.

"No," answered Cadence, "I'm not an... Alicorn proper, as such... There are just so few ponies like me that everyone assumes I am." As if to demonstrate, she stretched out her wings a little, smiling sadly.

"Hm."

Rarity's thinking was constantly interrupted by pathetic whines and moans from Twilight Sparkle. "There's still something I'm missing," she vocalised, cogs spinning desperately in her head as she tried to work out what she wanted. She didn't like the idea of Twilight leaving and being alone, but the Princesses didn't either, they simply thought it necessary. Twilight was also convinced that the experience proposed to her would be awful, but Rarity had very little by which to compare it.

"Why," she said, the answer already becoming clear in her head as she spoke, "does this have to be our problem?" She looked from Cadence, to Luna, to Celestia, ignoring Twilight because Twilight was ignoring her - lost in her own world where she was alone and she was death.

"Because of the very reason I never allowed the Gate's existence, or indeed the very reason for our being, to become public knowledge," Celestia replied, righteously. "We said that a suitable pony could take control of a magical well - but most ponies would count as suitable. If we do not install our own custodian at the Gate-"

"-Somepony else will," Rarity concluded. "And we have no way of knowing whether or not they'd be on our side." Celestia nodded. "So in short, Twilight should go - in your opinion," she emphasized - "because she is smart, kind, understands alicorns and is loyal to you. But she will not go because she wants to live her own life, does not want the pressures of immortality, and is afraid that she may be trapped in a place she does not want to be."

"...Correct," Celestia sighed despondently, her great head sinking despairingly. Beside her, Luna closed her eyes and turned her head away. Cadence had withdrawn even further from Twilight, mortified by what she had implied, while Twilight herself was - well, Twilight was a wreck.

She looked even worse than when she had been drunk. Her mane and coat were utterly dishevelled and her muzzle was streaked with tears. Her eyes were red and bloodshot when they briefly opened, but they didn't stay open for long as the reduced scholar entered another bout of grizzling. Rarity half expected Princess Celestia to tell her to pull herself together, but she loves Twilight as much as I do, she realised. Perhaps even more. Why should she have to send away one of the few friends who truly understands her?

"Princess," she ventured, quietly. All three of them looked up, not sure who was being addressed. In all fairness, Rarity wasn't entirely sure either.

"I think... I think that I understand the issue now. And..." Celestia's eyes involuntarily widened as she hoped, desperately, for a resolution. "And I don't think Twilight should go. But," she added, before the Princess could interrupt, "While I don't think Twilight's fate is as bad as she has convinced herself it would be, she is entitled to avoid it. But we still must send a trustworthy ally to the Dread Gate to prevent the creation of an alicorn pitted against Equestria. So..." The room waited with baited breath. Even Twilight looked up.

"...I shall go. In her stead. I shall go to Celagia, and-"

"No!" Twilight screeched. "No, no, no, no, no-" Cadence once more rushed to Twilight's side as the unicorn thrashed about in aimless hopelessness. "Rarity you can't, you can't do this to yourself Rarity, you've got just as much-"

"Twilight Sparkle!" Rarity snapped. "Stop being so - so selfish!" Twilight froze as if Rarity had slapped her. Her old foalsitter quickly pulled her into a tight hug - partly to keep her still, but partly out of that strange sisterly, motherly concern she had for the unicorn. Unnoticed by the others, the Diarchs leaned their heads together, whispering rapidly between each other.

"You have given perfectly good reasons for why you do not want to take up this responsibility," Rarity went on, "and I am not going to begrudge you any of them! But my decisions are also mine to make. If, by doing this, I can help release tormented souls and ensure the safety of Equestria from a god-like threat-" Twilight gasped. "-Then I will do it, regardless to what it my cost me, because it is for the greater good. I would even save you by doing it, Twilight."

"I think... I don't think you should-," Twilight began to protest, but Rarity wasn't having any of it.

"What? Am I not good enough for the job? Don't you think I could do it? Believe me, Twilight Sparkle," snapped the unicorn, "I've been in enough scrapes with you to care about this. I may not be a mage, or a scholar, but I know enough about evil to know how far I'd go to stop it. Remember Discord? Or Nigh-" She faltered, remembering Luna was in the room, and trailed off, slightly embarrassedly.

"No..." Twilight muttered. "I mean... I'd rather I went than... Than losing you, I-"

"Well, then we're in a bit of a situation, aren't we?" Twilight slumped in Cadence's forelegs.

"Rarity," Luna spoke softly. She glanced away from her reduced friend to meet the Princess' gaze - but the rippling veil of night that flowed from her head made it hard to keep eye contact, as the myriad lights within demanded her attention. She could see infinity in the Princess' mane... Rarity's eyes went distant for a moment - she had to concentrate very hard on Luna's words.

"Rarity, me and my sister would both be very supportive if... I, no, that sounds too formal. Rarity," she tried again, "we're sure you would make a brilliant custodian - that is, to say, a just and gracious alicorn-" Rarity found herself shuddering a little - partly in delight, partly in horror, the odd mix of emotions inspired in her by Twilight's fear and Luna and her sister's beauty. "-But this must be a fate you are absolutely prepared to accept. You have made this proposition very quickly - do not act irrationally, Rarity, because if you do have regrets it will take a long time for you to overcome them. Believe me," Luna whispered, her voice dropping to a sad, mindful hush, "I know."

"It doesn't have to be that way," Twilight spoke up. "I - Oh, Rarity, you're so kind, I - everything you said is true. Maybe I am being selfish. Maybe it should be me to go. Maybe-"

"Don't either of you worry about it," Rarity cut across. "I'm quite set on it now. This prospect seems thrilling to me." This wasn't entirely true. She had the same concerns as Twilight, and less of the knowledge to back them up, but she was convinced that what she was doing was the right thing.

"Well then," Celestia said, sighing. "Why don't you both go?" The unicorns gaped at her. "Oh, come now. It will be a long journey to the Great Celagian Forest - it would be dangerous and lonely for a single traveller. And of course, only one being can control any celestial well, but you'll have plenty of time to discuss that on the way. By the time you get there, I'm sure you'll have chosen the best candidate." Her suggestion was accompanied by a weary smile.

"I..." Rarity thought. Was that right? That one of them should be dragged along, worrying all the while about a fate they would never be subjected to?

Something changed within Twilight, however. For the first time since reading Rainbow's letter, the scholar sat up and met her mentor's eyes. "You... You're right, Princess," she said, voice still shaking but steadier than before. "You're all right... I know what has to be done, I know what's at stake here, I..."

A little grin began to pick at the corners of her mouth. "If we're going to be taking a journey - me and Rarity, that is - we're going to need to make a plan. We're going to need maps and food, and... Lots of things, really. And - oh! Princess Luna, you should tell me everything you know about the gate! The accounts may have been destroyed, but you were there, so you should be able to..."

"Good to have you back, Twilight," Celestia muttered, under her faithful student's tirade. Luna's mouth twitched briefly into a smile, before the alicorn of the night stood, beckoning to Cadence, and the two stood by the door, conversing in hushed tones, whilst Twilight babbled on, excitedly now, the prospect of the journey ahead - and more importantly, the joyous task of preparing for it - eclipsing the fear of what lay at the end.

"Rarity?" Luna called, as the two ponies by the door ceased deliberating. "Would you step outside for a moment, please?" Rarity moved towards them, and Twilight leapt up to follow, but Celestia kindly gestured with a hoof for her to sit once more.

"Stay here awhile, Twilight," she said. "We can start setting out our plans now. The others needn't worry themselves with-" Rarity didn't hear the rest of her words as the balcony doors swung shut behind her.

Outside once again, her teeth began to chatter. Lighting up her horn, she attempted to recreate the warmth which Celestia had given to her before, but only succeeded in igniting her mane around her forehead. With a yelp, she patted at it with her hooves, putting out the tiny flame before her whole head caught fire. With an amused smile, Luna cast her own spell to keep the unicorn warm.

"Thank you, Princess," Rarity said, as the winter chill once again dissipated. She walked over to the parapet, and, resting her hooves on the wall, stared out at the moon above, deep in thought. Luna and Cadence joined her, and the three stood in contemplation for a moment as they pondered that which had just come to pass.

It was Princess Luna who broke the silence first. "Rarity," she began, cautiously, "I do think you did a courageous thing tonight, but you must remember what lies ahead. The journey to Celagia will be long and dangerous, and there will be those who will try to stop you from reaching the Gate at any cost."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm going then, isn't it?" Rarity replied, unconcerned. "Somepony should be by Twilight's side. Or rather, is it her standing by mine?" she mused.

"Whatever it is," Cadence said, taking over, "We just want to remind you that while Twilight is... Well, she's a mage. She's trained in magic, and while she's no real battlemage she can put up a good arcane fight. But you-"

"I am a dressmaker and an actress," Rarity interrupted, nodding. "And that is of no concern to me. I will do what needs to be done to ensure the safety of Equestria, no matter what that means."

The two Princesses once again shared a knowing glance. "While your words are true, young one, I must ask that you question their basis," Luna pleaded. "You - you're making these decisions remarkably quickly, I -"

"If something went wrong, Rarity, if for whatever reason you didn't make it back," Cadence implored her, "then your family, your friends, your career - everything." She paused, swallowing. "That would be it."

"But we've all been very insistent on there being an afterlife tonight, haven't we?" Rarity argued. She wasn't going to let anypony change her mind - her course was set.

"You shouldn't live your life in mind of the next, Rarity." Remorse filtered into Luna's tones. "We can never be sure of what is to come. Live your life to the fullest."

"Well, the fullest it is then!" Rarity squealed with exaggerated enthusiasm. "What better way to spice things up than an adventure, hm?"

"You're incorrigible, you know that?" Cadence gave a reluctant grin.

"I just got back from a year away," Rarity conceded, "but I could easily handle a while more. See some sights, broaden my horizons - you know, maybe this is just my mid-life crisis."

"You're thirty-three, you silly filly!" laughed the pink princess, giving her a shove. "You're hardly at mid-life!" The two guffawed out loud whilst the older princess joined in with a gentle chuckle.

"Princess Luna?" Rarity asked, after they had all calmed down, "I have a few questions that-"

"Don't worry about them for now, Rarity," Luna gently told her. "We'll get down to details in a few days once we've got the arrangements sorted out."

"A few days?" Rarity frowned. "I thought we would be going tomorrow or something. We are in a hurry, aren't we?"

"Of course, there is need for haste," Luna agreed, "but also for discretion. My sister and Twilight will likely be devising an excuse that puts you out of town at New Year and for the rest of your journey, but the Princesses' close friend and respected mage leaving town without so much as an explanation to their friends and family so close to Hearth's Warming would probably raise a few-"

"Oh my goodness!" Rarity shrieked. "It's Hearth's Warming's Eve in three days!"

"Two," Cadence corrected her. "It's gone midnight."

"Ah! But - but I haven't done any shopping, or booked tickets home to Ponyville - I don't even know where I'll be staying, I only got back yesterday, I don't know if my sister is in town, or, or, or anything!" Rarity threw her hooves up in desperation. "Whatever am I going to do?"

"You'll be fine, I'm sure, dear," Luna answered her calmingly, "you should go and rest now - you should be able to shop tomorrow, we will have much to discuss here before you and Twilight depart. I'm sure Cadence would gladly accompany you."

"I haven't done any shopping either," Twilight's sister-in-law admitted with a guilty smile. "I don't like thinking about it too much. I've just been thinking about how much I miss Shining..."

"I've been missing them too," Rarity agreed, "and Rainbow Dash, of course - but you have more reason to miss him - Shining Armor, that is - than I do any of them. Where did they-"

"Twilight will answer all your questions in due time, Rarity," Luna said once more. "But you really should sleep now, if you want to get a full day on the town in tomorrow."

"Yes, Princess," Rarity nodded, tipping her head slightly, but, remembering her conversation with Celestia, not entering a full bow. "I'll go back to my studio-"

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," Luna dismissed the idea. "All the guest rooms in the castle are made up but most are empty. You'd be welcome to stay the night."

"Really?" Rarity gasped, her eyes lighting up. Despite everything, there was still adoration within her for her beloved royal family, if not the squabbling nobles beneath them.

"Of course! It'll give us a chance to talk at breakfast, too," the Princess went on. "My sister and Twilight will likely have the basics of our movements nailed down by then. Anything else will be logistics that we'll sort out while you're in Ponyville."

"Well - that sounds ideal, then." Rarity gave a pleased smile. "After all, neither of us should fret too much over Hearth's Warming. After all, for one of us it may be the last time we spend it at home." Luna gave a brief mental shudder as Rarity said this so nonchalantly, but she didn't let her feelings show.

"It's settled then. Come along, Rarity - we shall find you a room. I think there is a spare guest room near Twilight's own lodgings, actually, it's not too far from here..." Luna began to make her way down the staircase to the castle below, but Rarity paused for a moment, her eyes locked on the tall pink princess who still stood at the balcony. Her eyes glistened...

"Princess Cadence," she said softly, "don't be afraid." Cadence's gaze snapped over to her. "I trust your husband and Spike so much. They're both so brave, and strong - remember, he's got a growing dragon by his side."

"You don't know what they're up against," Cadence sighed, but not in a way that told Rarity she was frustrated with her.

"I will in time, though," Rarity replied. "But for now, enjoy the holidays. I'm sure Songbird wouldn't want to see her mother return home upset." Cadence smiled at that. "So then... Shopping trip tomorrow then?"

"Shopping trip," Cadence agreed, with a grudging smile. "And - Rarity, when you go..."

"Yes?"

"Make sure my little sister is happy," Cadence said, pride growing in her voice as she spoke of the filly whose life she had been a part of throughout, blood relation or not. "Wherever she ends up, whether I see her again or not, I just want to know she was happy on the way."

"I will," Rarity promised. "I certainly will. I wish for exactly the same."

They stood in quiet companionship for a moment more, until Rarity turned to go. At the top of the stairs, she stopped, paused, and turned back, to give Cadence one last smile, before running down to catch up with Luna.

"Be safe, Rarity," Cadence whispered to the night, staring up at the Solstice moon. "Whatever may come, be safe."