A Human, A Pony Princess, and a Mistake
Chapter 8: Adventure's Call
It had been a day since the appointment with Dr. Mind. As Tom had predicted, Moon Dancer had jumped on the problem with zeal. She and Twilight had been shooting proofs, theorems, and various spells at each other for hours. One would suggest an idea and the other would soon rebuff it. Case in point:
“What about reversing Quick Wit’s Melding of the Minds spell?” Moon Dancer asked.
“That only projects a sympathetic version of the caster’s mind into the subject. It wasn’t designed to move actual Minds,” Twilight countered, “What about Sir Harmonica’s Theory of Spirit Manipulation?”
“Tom isn’t a spirit, he’s a Soul. That’s like apples and oranges, Twilight. Even if we could modify the theory for application to a Soul, that’s straying uncomfortably close to Necromancy,” Moon Dancer sighed. This whole conversation had been mostly over Tom’s head, so he was content to just echo Twilight’s thoughts to Moon Dancer. The main sticking point the two had run into was moving Tom’s Soul out of Twilight’s body. They hadn’t even considered how to make a suitable receptacle for his Soul if they could get it out of her body yet.
A deep scan had revealed that Discord had been correct when he had said Tom’s and Twilight’s Souls were entangled. Any “basic” form of Soul manipulation was designed with unattached Souls, mostly of the dead, in mind. Naturally Necromancy was a highly regulated school of Magic. Not quite totally illegal, the moral implications kept most from practicing it in the first place and those that did so anyway were required to take years of ethics classes in addition to their magical studies. Even studying Necromancy on a technical level, without the intent to cast spells, required a license that was subject to review every other year. Twilight had such a license, but if she wanted to try and cast any spells that would require upgrading that license and that could take upwards of a year. Of course, it would be helpful if Twilight and Moon Dancer could agree on a spell to cast in the first place.
Despite the frustrations of both mares, not being able to find or create a suitable spell, Tom could still sense they were both enjoying themselves immensely. It was the strange satisfaction of having an intellectual equal going over a tough to crack problem in a field you were passionate in. Even if they had been trading failed suggestions all morning, both were struggling to keep a smile from their lips.
“Could we use the Mirror Pool?” Tom suggested, “You did say it splits a Soul when it makes a copy. Maybe it’ll just take my Soul wholesale and put it in the copy.”
“The Mirror Pool?!” Moon Dancer spluttered in shock.
“Absolutely not,” Twilight immediately vetoed, “Even if it did just take from your Soul and didn’t create some kind of amalgamation of both our Souls, it wouldn’t take your whole Soul. It would take just enough for some echo of sapience and that construct would be compelled to copy itself over and over, further drawing from the original Soul. The only reason it didn’t destroy Pinkie was her Element of Laughter protected her.”
“The Mirror Pool is real?!” Moon Dancer exclaimed.
“Yeah, Pinkie found it a few months back,” Tom answered.
“Although, speaking of the Mirror Pool, that gives me an idea,” Twilight fed Tom a spellform and he cast it. The result was an illusory Twilight Sparkle.
“Testing, testing, 1 2 3,” If Moon Dancer was surprised to hear Twilight’s voice coming from the illusion, she didn’t show it.
“Lady Subterfuge’s Body Double spell combined with Loud Mouth’s Thought to Voice spell?”
“Correct! It’s a shame I can’t get any sensory information from this illusion, but it should save Tom having to repeat everything I say,” To Tom, it was like having an echo in his head. He could hear Twilight’s thoughts in his head, but also with his ears. It was mildly disorienting.
“How long can Tom maintain the spell? The Body Double is pretty mana intensive,” Moon Dancer noted.
“I estimate about an hour before needing to rest. Less if he has to use a notice-me-not on top of it,” Twilight shrugged.
“I always forget how ridiculous your Mana Font is,” Moon Dancer shook her head.
“It’s only gotten bigger since I became an Alicorn. To be honest, if I were casting it, I could probably maintain it for two hours, but Tom still has a lot of inefficiencies in his casting. Ah, that isn’t to say what you’re doing is unimpressive, just that you’re still relatively inexperienced,” Twilight backpedaled. Tom rolled his eyes.
“You were literally chosen to represent Magic itself. I think I’ll get over it if I’m not quite a match for you,” Tom said dryly. Twilight chuckled sheepishly.
Twilight and Moon Dancer continued going back and forth with suggestions, with obscure books being pulled from the shelves intermittently to double check some fact or other. This went on for another half hour before Tom’s ear flicked to the side.
“Do you hear that?” Before either mare could answer, the door to the library burst open.
“TWILIGHT, SAY IT AIN’T SO!” Rainbow Dash begged, looking teary eyed, “Why the heck are there two of you?”
“One is just an illusion I’m maintaining,” Tom replied.
“And what do you want me to tell you isn’t so?” Twilight asked.
“The next Daring Do book getting pushed back TWO MONTHS!” Dash sounded on the edge of hysterics.
“I’m afraid that’s correct, Rainbow. I got word of it a couple of days ago from my Mom,” Twilight replied.
“Why would your mom know?” Rainbow was confused.
“Didn’t I tell you she’s the editor for the Daring Do books? I could’ve sworn I did…” Twilight frowned to herself.
“No. You’ve never told me anything like that. Kinda like how you never told anyone you had a brother. Or that you were babysat by a princess. Or that you had friends in Canterlot. Or-”
“Alright, alright, I get it! I’m terrible at sharing personal information,” Twilight pouted. Moon Dancer was struggling to keep a smirk off her face.
“Don’t feel too bad, Rainbow Dash. I didn’t know she had a brother for years, until he came to pick her up from school one day,” The smirk was now in full bloom.
“Can we go back to Daring Do being delayed?” Twilight groaned.
“Oh yeah. We gotta do something!” Rainbow shouted.
“Do what? Books get delayed all the time for any number of reasons,” Twilight pointed out reasonably.
“Hey, you said your mom edits for A.K. Yearling; does she know where she lives?” Rainbow questioned.
“I’m sure she has an idea. She has to know where to send her corrections and suggestions. Why?” Twilight asked suspiciously.
“Well, maybe we can help A.K. Yearling with whatever it is that’s keeping her from finishing the next Daring Do book!” Rainbow suggested.
“No. That would be a gross violation of her privacy,” Twilight denied.
“Come on, Twilight, what’s the worst that can happen? We turn up at her door and she tells us to go away? What if she does want our help? We could witness greatness as it happens!” Rainbow said with awe.
Tom personally didn’t see what the big deal was. He had read the Daring Do books at Twilight’s behest, and while he thought they were good for what they were, he preferred high fantasy or sci-fi to an Indiana Jones like series. However, he was also aware how rabid a fanbase could be and Rainbow clearly filled the ‘rabid’ category. Wisely, he kept his thoughts to himself.
“That is a surprisingly logical argument from you, Rainbow,” Twilight remarked.
“Hey!” Rainbow could tell when she was being given a backhanded compliment.
“However, I’m sure if A.K. Yearling wanted help, she is perfectly capable of hiring it on her own,” Twilight said resolutely.
“What kind of help could measure up to me and an Alicorn? A.K. Yearling deserves the best!” Rainbow insisted.
“I think we should go,” Tom threw in his two cents.
“Tom?!” Twilight was taken off guard.
“Look, we both know Dashie is gonna figure out a way to find A.K. Yearling with or without us. She may be a jock, but she isn’t dumb. At least if we go with her, we can try and curb her enthusiasm. As she said, the worst that can happen is A.K. Yearling tells us to piss off and that’s the end of it,” Tom reasoned. Twilight mulled it over for a minute.
“Oh, fine, I guess you’re right. I’ll write Mom and ask for an address,” Twilight sighed in defeat.
That was how, a day later, Tom, Twilight, Moon Dancer, and Rainbow wound up outside a severely beaten up looking cottage. They had used a teleport chain to get there as quickly as they had.
“Looks like someone either threw quite the wild party or there was a heck of a struggle,” Tom noted.
“Why would anyone ransack a writer’s house like this? It’s not like Yearling comes from old money or would have tons of valuables at her house,” Moon Dancer wondered.
“No sense standing around wondering right now. Yearling could be hurt,” Twilight pointed out. The door fell off its hinges as Rainbow knocked.
“Hello? Ms. Yearling, are you here?” Rainbow called out. Somehow the inside of the cottage looked even worse than the outside. Books strewn everywhere, tables and chairs destroyed, the whole nine yards.
“Ms. Yearling, if you can hear us, please say something!” Tom shouted into the house, but received no reply. They cautiously entered the cottage.
“I’ll check upstairs,” Rainbow flew off to do just that. Tom and Moon Dancer looked over the ground floor. It wasn’t a big cottage, so it took but a moment. A.K. Yearling was nowhere to be found.
“At least there’s no blood,” Tom said lightly.
“That still begs the question of where A.K. Yearling is,” Moon Dancer said.
“She’s right here,” A female voice growled, the quartet turned to see A.K. Yearling herself standing in the doorway, “What in Tartarus happened here?!”
“A.K. Yearling..?” Rainbow was in full fangirl mode.
“It was like this when we got here,” Tom responded.
“We were worried you had been hurt, so came inside to look for you,” Moon Dancer added.
“Wait a minute, aren’t you Velvet’s kid? Twilight Sparkle?” A.K. Yearling asked.
“Yes ma’am,” Tom lied.
“I didn’t think Velvet’d sic her kid on me for being late with the manuscript. Especially not the kid who’s also a princess,” Yearling deadpanned. Yearling shook her head and began rummaging around the mess, clearly looking for something. “Have to say, never thought her little ‘Twi Pie’ would wind up a princess.”
“‘Twi Pie’?” Rainbow Dash looked like she had just hit blackmail gold.
“Oops, did I say that out loud?” Yearling was totally unrepentant, “Ah ha! Found it!”
Yearling pulled a book out from under some rubble, fiddled with a locking mechanism, and pulled out some kind of golden ring from the hollowed out book.
“Er, I know this is probably a bad time, but is there anything we can do to, you know, help you get your next book finished?” Rainbow asked hopefully. Yearling favored her with a level glare.
“I told Velvet and I’ll tell you, it’ll be done when I’m done! Sweet Celestia, I get put behind just a little because of some unforeseen circumstances and suddenly everyone from the Princesses down wants answers,” Yearling grumbled.
“We’re sorry, we’ll be going now,” Tom apologized. He had to shove Rainbow out the door, but they did technically leave.
“I told you A.K. Yearling wanted privacy,” Twilight reprimanded Rainbow.
“Yeah, yeah, you were right,” Rainbow sighed.
“Uh, I think the ponies who ransacked Ms. Yearling’s house are back,” Moon Dancer pointed to the roof of the cottage, where seven ponies were slipping in the window.
“That’s not good,” Tom said unnecessarily. They bolted back to the door, only to find Yearling already fighting the invaders after shedding her disguise.
“A.K. Yearling is Daring Do?!” Rainbow and Twilight shouted in shock.
“Don’t just stand there, help her!” Tom called out has he joined the fray with bolts of magic. Rainbow Dash, not one to be outdone, charged in as well.
“I- uh- but- I didn’t sign up for this!” Moon Dancer complained, but ultimately assisted with spells from as far a distance to the actual brawl as she could manage.
If the cottage was banged up before, it was on its last legs now. Wooden support pillars were groaning ominously, but none of the combatants paid it any mind. They were all focused on the ring. It changed ownership every few seconds, being pulled this way and that by hoof, wing, and magic.
Eventually, Daring, who had the ring at the moment, was sucker punched by a burly Earth Pony while she was fighting an enemy unicorn for control of the ring. The unicorn, surprised by the sudden lack of resistance, didn’t compensate and the ring flew into the doorway. Tom spotted it flying and teleported to it, picking it up. Before he could do anything else, he was hit hard in the head from behind.
Tom’s vision swam and a kick to his legs brought him down. The ring was plucked from his grasp. He then felt his left wing being pulled out before it was stepped on with a sickening crunch.
“AHHHHHHHHHH!” Tom screamed in pain. It wasn’t the worst pain he had ever felt, but that was little comfort.
“Twilight!” Rainbow and Moon Dancer cried out.
“Cabelleron, you son of a bitch!” Daring snarled, “She has nothing to do with this!”
“She got in the way of what I want. She is lucky I don’t lower myself to killing. Although, it would be fascinating to find out if Alicorns are as immortal as legends suggest…” Dr. Cabelleron shrugged, “Something for later. I have what I want. Come along, men.”
With that, Dr. Cabelleron’s forces withdrew. Rainbow clearly wanted to go after them, but chose staying by Tom and Twilight’s side instead. Those two weren’t the only ones banged up, as Daring was moving about with a noticeable limp in her right foreleg.
“Oh, Celestia, I’m so sorry, if I had only-” Moon Dancer started babbling.
“None of that,” Tom ordered through gritted teeth as Daring fashioned splints for both herself and Tom, “Cabelleron’s the lowlife who fought dirty and broke my wing. You performed admirably for that being your first real fight.”
“Twilight’s right. We were outnumbered and playing defense. They also didn’t care about who got hurt. Now we just have to get the ring before Ahuizotl gets it from Cabelleron and his hold on the Fortress of Talacon becomes permanent for eight centuries. Then I can give it to Celestia like I was hired to do in the first place,” Daring explained.
“Celestia knows Daring Do?!” Twilight was shocked.
“Does my Mom know you’re Daring Do?” Tom asked.
“We can talk while we walk,” Daring said as she exited her cottage by wing, “And I sure hope so. We went to school together and she’s the one who came up with the name A.K. Yearling in the first place.”
“So Mom and Princess Celestia both know Daring Do is a real pony and neither told me. I want to be angry at them, but at the same time, secret identity, so whatever,” Twilight sighed.
“Celestia hired you?” Rainbow asked.
“Sure, most of my adventures have been on Celestia’s behest. Writing is nice and all, and extra bits are never a bad thing, but these jobs from Celestia are what really pay the bills,” Daring answered.
“I feel like my childhood is being ruthlessly crushed,” Rainbow moaned piteously.
“Rainbow, you didn’t even know the books existed a year ago,” Both Twilight and Tom deadpanned. Daring snickered.
“Welcome to the real world, kiddo,” She said mercilessly.
“So, I’m guessing that ring was the last of the Rings of Scorchero Ahuizotl needs to break the Radiant Shield of Razdon?” Twilight asked and Tom passed along.
“Exactly…I guess I shouldn’t be surprised Velvet’s kid has read my books. Before you ask, yes, they’re all accurate retellings of my adventures, just with some civilian names changed and dates moved around,” Daring preempted Twilight’s next question.
“So, what’s the plan? Are we gonna swoop in and swipe back the ring before they can do anything about it? Are we gonna wait until cover of night and sneakily take it while they’re all asleep? Ohmygosh, this is so cool!” Rainbow was full on fangasaming.
“Take a breath before you hurt yourself, filly,” Daring chided, “Anyway, if I know Cabelleron, he’s going to take the Ring straight to Ahuizotl, no stops or breaks. He’s a cruel taskmaster. Although, I have to wonder what Ahuizotl offered the rat bastard.”
“Doesn’t Ahuizotl still have the Dark Prince’s Crown from book two? The one that’s powered by the evil intentions of a pony’s Heart?” Rainbow asked.
“Hmm, something useless to Ahuizotl, but in Cabelleron’s hooves could cause a lot of trouble…yeah, that sounds way too likely. I’d hate to see what kind of damage Cabelleron could do with it,” Daring shuddered.
“All the more reason to stop him before he gets that far,” Tom said simply.
Day faded into night and night gave way to day as the group tirelessly followed Cabelleron’s trail. Eventually it ended at the Temple of Talacon. Thanks to an invisibility spell Moon Dancer knew, slipping inside was no problem, but what they saw nearly cause them to panic. The last ring was about to be put in position with Ahuizotl and Cabelleron watching on eagerly.
“I want my Crown, Ahuizotl,” Cabelleron said in his oily voice.
“Yes, yes, after the ceremony is completed, then you’ll have your precious Crown,” Ahuizotl waved him off.
Thinking fast, Dash flew at top speed at the ring. Fortunately, Dash’s top speed was quite considerable, and she was able to grab the ring before any of the cult of ponies could stop her.
“WHO DARES?!” Ahuizotl bellowed.
“I’ve foiled you so many times, is it really any surprise?” Daring Do mocked as Moon Dancer dropped the invisibility spell.
“Daring Do, I should have known you and your little friends would appear as an annoyance once again. What are you standing around for?!” Ahuizotl barked at the cult, “GET THEM!”
Unlike when Cabelleron’s goons had ambushed them, Tom, Twilight, and Moon Dancer had been preparing for this confrontation. Together, they were able to muster dozens of incorporeal illusions to baffle their enemies.
“Earn your keep, Cabelleron!” Ahuizotl ordered as he joined the fray, trying to find the real ring. Cabelleron did as he was told, although none of his henchmen seemed to be around.
While they were all distracted by illusions, Daring and Rainbow tried to take down all the rings. Daring had informed them beforehand that if all the rings were removed, the temple would be destroyed and thus unable to fulfill its curse. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. The rings were almost solid gold, so they were quite heavy in their own right and with Daring’s sprained foreleg, she could only help Rainbow lift so much. Add on the fact that the rings were resistant to Unicorn magic, well; Rainbow and Daring were only able to remove half of the smaller rings before they were spotted.
“Shit, we gotta take out these rings while we have the chance!” Daring swore as a spear came uncomfortably close to skewering her. Tom and Moon Dancer were also quickly running out of steam from maintaining so many illusions.
“Tom, I have a crazy idea, but it might just work. Drop the illusions and if both you and Moon Dancer focus all your mana on the rings, it might overcome their natural resistance. If we’re lucky, they might even melt,” Twilight suggested. Tom relayed the plan to the rest of the team. Tom personally didn't like the number of mights and maybes in the plan, but couldn't see an alternative. Not with his wing still busted and thus unable to help Daring and Dash lift the rings.
“Daring and I will fly interference. Don’t take too long, even with our combined awesomeness, I’m not sure how long we can hold them,” Dash offered.
“I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but I’m willing to try,” Moon Dancer’s heart was beating loudly in her ears. How did Twilight and the others do this on a regular basis? But she kept a grip on herself and took a steadying breath.
“OK, on my mark. Three, two, one, NOW!” All the illusions vanished. Daring and Rainbow plowed into the still confused ponies without remorse. Meanwhile Moon Dancer and Tom were pouring every thaum of mana they still possessed into the rings. Both their horns were glowing near white. Moon Dancer achieved a full second corona, an impressive feat for any Unicorn, and Tom was straddling the line between three and four coronas with the extra power Alicornhood offered. Sparks of wasted energy flew off both horns as the rings slowly, ever so slowly began to lift off the ground.
“Must I do everything?!” Ahuizotl yelled in frustration as he charged the two casters. Thankfully, Rainbow Dash was faster. Making a snap decision, she flew up into the sky through the skylight and flew for all she was worth downwards, into Ahuizotl’s path, achieving a Sonic Rainboom in the process.
Several things happened at once when the Rainboom went off. Moon Dancer and Tom both received a sudden power boost, sending Moon Dancer to a full third corona and Tom to five. The rings all instantaneously melted. Ahuizotl, Cabelleron, and their goons were sent flying by Rainbow’s impact. Finally the Temple of Talacon began to collapse and so did Tom and Moon Dancer.
“We’ve gotta get outta here!” Daring shouted over the falling rubble, “Everyone RUN!”
Those with their wits still about them after the Rainboom either fled to save their own hides or helped unconscious comrades escape the crumbling temple. Rainbow and Daring took their unconscious friends and flew out the skylight. Only Ahuizotl remained in the temple, cursing Daring Do’s name and lamenting all that he had lost as the temple fell around him.
Tom awoke to a splitting headache in an unfamiliar bed.
“Oh boy, I remember how this story ends. Am I in another new body?” Tom winced as he spoke.
“No, I’m afraid you’re still inhabiting Twilight’s body,” A gentle voice responded. Tom cracked open an eye and saw Celestia sitting at his bedside.
“What happened? Last thing I remember is Rainbow doing a Rainboom,” Tom whispered so as to not aggravate his headache.
“The Rings of Scorchero are destroyed thanks to the five of you and the Temple of Talacon is nothing more than rubble now. You and Moon Dancer have both been out cold for two days from magical exhaustion. She awoke a couple of hours ago, so I knew you wouldn’t be far behind. Equestria, and indeed Equuis as a whole, owe you all a debt of gratitude for what you have done,” Celestia said.
“I’m sensing a ‘but’ here and I think I know what it is. This whole adventure is strictly ‘off the books’ except for what Daring publishes under the guise of fiction, right?” Tom asked.
“That is correct. Only a select few ponies know Daring is a real pony at all and she’s always been paid directly from my personal finances to avoid creating a paper trail. It wouldn’t do for it to become public knowledge that some of the things she’s collected for me actually exist,” Celestia explained.
“A select few ponies like my Mom,” Twilight groused, but didn’t say anything further.
“So where are we anyway?” Tom finally asked.
“We’re in the hospital wing of the Royal Palace. Twilight has been here often enough from magical mishaps,” Celestia teased, “Some things never change.”
“I haven’t needed to stay in the hospital wing since I was sixteen!” Twilight protested as Tom tested his left wing. It was good as new.
“So when are we free to go? I imagine our Ponyville friends are wondering where we disappeared to,” Tom mused.
“They’ve been told that the four of you went on a top secret mission for the Crown. I leave it up to your discretion if you tell them anything more,” Celestia informed them.
“Rainbow’ll need to tell someone or she’ll explode. The rest of the former Bearers can certainly be trusted to keep their mouths shut,” Tom said with a shrug.
“I quite agree with you. For now, I must take my leave. I’ve been away from the court long enough and I’m sure the doctor would like to check you over for a few hours to make sure you’re both recovering properly,” With that, Celestia left and the doctor entered the room to begin a seemingly endless battery of tests.
Luna had been flying for nearly three days straight. The only reason she hadn’t just teleported to the Hive was that her memories of it were fuzzy at best and she didn’t want to risk teleporting into a rock. That was unpleasant and messy even for an Alicorn. But finally, her goal was in sight.
Luna pushed her tired wings for more speed and was soon outside the entrance to the Hive. It looked slightly different to what she remembered. A thousand years ago, it had been more of a beehive shape, whereas now it looked more akin to the stretching spires of Canterlot Castle. Seeing no living soul around, Luna entered the Hive.
Under normal circumstances, Luna would have cast a scanning spell to see if anything were alive in the Hive, but the monolith that prevented all but Changeling magic from working in and around the Hive seemed to still be working. Luna felt a pang in her heart. Chrysalis had once made an exception for her in the monolith’s workings, but that looked to no longer be the case.
“Hello? Are any Changelings still dwelling here?” Luna called out. She resisted the urge to use the Canterlot Royal Voice. While that would certainly make sure anything still living in the Hive would know she was there, she knew the Changeling’s more sensitive hearing would definitely not appreciate it.
Suddenly her ears perked up, was it her imagination or had she just heard the skittering of Changelings? She heedlessly bolted forward, her former weariness forgotten. She chased the sound, ignoring everything else, until it found her entering the throne room, home of the monolith. It was dark as the blackest night that deep in the Hive, but Luna was the night itself and had no trouble seeing the spindly, clearly starving figure on the throne.
“Chrysalis.”